DTStudy: Come Write Me Down

Subject: DTStudy: Come Write Me Down
From: Joe Offer
Date: 03 Jun 02 - 01:59 PM

This is an edited DTStudy thread, and all messages posted here are subject to editing and deletion.
This thread is intended to serve as a forum for corrections and annotations for the Digital Tradition song named in the title of this thread.

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COME WRITE ME DOWN

Come write me down, ye powers above
The man that first created love
For I've a diamond in my eye
Wherein all my joys and comforts lie
Wherein all my joys and comforts lie.

I will give you gold, I will give you pearl
If you can fancy me, my girl
Rich costly robes that you shall wear
If you can fancy me, my dear
If you can fancy me, my dear.

It's not your gold shall me entice
To leave off pleasures to be a wife
For I don't mean or intend at all
To be at any young man's call...

Then go your way, you scornful dame
Since you've proved false, I'll prove the same
For I don't care, but I shall find
Some other fair maid to my mind...

Oh, stay, young man, don't be in haste
You seem afraid your time will waste
Let reason rule your roving mind
And unto you I will prove kind...

So to church they went the very next day
And were married by asking, as I've heard say
So now that girl she is his wife
She will prove his comforts day and night...

So now his trouble and sorrow is past
His joy and comfort has come at last
That girl to him always said nay
She will prove his comforts night and day....

@English @courting @marriage
From the Copper Family Song Book
filename[ COMWRIT1
Tune file : COMEWRIT

CLICK TO PLAY
SOF
oct97

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Traditional Ballad Index:

Come Write Me Down (The Wedding Song)

DESCRIPTION: Man offers gold and pearls; woman refuses, saying she'll never be at any young man's call. He tells her t he'll find another. He picks up his hat to leave, but she changes her mind. They are married the next day; "she'll prove his comfort day and night"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1866 (Musick-JAF-TheOldAlbumOf-William-A-Larkin); c.1840 (broadside, 2806 c.16(240))
LONG DESCRIPTION: "Come write me down the powers above/That first created a man to love." Man offers gold and pearls; woman refuses, saying she'll never be at any young man's call. He tells her to "go your way, you scornful dame"; he'll find another. He picks up his hat to leave, but, as could be predicted, she changes her mind. They are married the next day; "she'll prove his comfort day and night"
KEYWORDS: courting love marriage wedding dialog lover
FOUND IN: Britain(England(South),Scotland(Aber)) Canada(Newf) US(MW)
REFERENCES (11 citations):
Gardham-EarliestVersions, "COME, WRITE ME DOWN"
Greig-FolkSongInBuchan-FolkSongOfTheNorthEast #159, p. 1, "My Joy and Comfort" (1 text)
Greig/Duncan5 980, "Look Ye Down, Ye Powers Above" (5 texts, 1 tune)
Kennedy-FolksongsOfBritainAndIreland 126, "Come Write Me Down the Powers Above" (1 text, 1 tune)
Peacock, pp. 571-572, "Oh Write Me Down, Ye Powers Above" (1 text, 1 tune)
Musick-JAF-TheOldAlbumOf-William-A-Larkin 9, "Pretty Polly" (1 text)
Bronner/Eskin-FolksongAlivePart1 10, "Polly Gathering Flowers" (1 text, 1 tune)
Copper-ASongForEverySeason, pp. 270-271, "Come Write Me Down" (1 text, 1 tune)
Purslow-TheConstantLovers, p. 17, "Come, Write Me Down" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, COMWRIT1
ADDITIONAL: Jon Raven, _The Urban and Industrial Songs of the Black Country and Birmingham_, Broadside, 1977, p. 153, "Powers Above" (1 text)
Roud #381
RECORDINGS:
Cecilia Costello, "Come Write Me Down the Powers Above" (on FSBFTX13)
Charlotte Decker, "Oh Write Me Down, Ye Powers Above" (on PeacockCDROM) [one verse only]
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, 2806 c.16(240), "The True Lovers" ("Look ye down, the powers of love"), W. and T. Fordyce (Newcastle), c.1840
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Corydon and Phoebe" (plot)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
Oh Write Me Down, Ye Powers Above
The Scornful DameThe Ways of a Maid
NOTES [115 words]: Like "Corydon and Phyllis," whose plot is virtually identical, this no doubt began life as a minstrel piece or "rural romance" broadside. But it's entered tradition, with over half-a-dozen collections cited by Kennedy-FolksongsOfBritainAndIreland. The song has long been associated with the Copper family of Rottingdean, Sussex, having been collected from them as early as 1899, but it is also found in Dorset, Hampshire, Devon -- and Newfoundland.
It is distinguished from "Corydon and Phyllis" by the characteristic phrases quoted in the [long description]. - PJS
Musick-JAF-TheOldAlbumOf-William-A-Larkin 32, "Purty Polly" is "the same as number 9, above" but does not repeat the text. - BS
Last updated in version 6.8
File: K126

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Subject: RE: DTStudy: Come Write Me Down
From: Joe Offer
Date: 03 Jun 02 - 02:00 PM

COME WRITE ME DOWN 2
(Lynn Noel)

I opened the bills when I got home
And I can't believe my telephone
Why must you live so far away
Why must I have so much to say
Why must I have so much to say?

Ah, where are the days when a parted pair
Would write fond letters their love to share
I dry my eyes and I sign my name
When I write the check-- but it's not the same
When I write the check it's not the same.

Perhaps someday when I'm old and grey
And the grandchildren have come to play
We will climb the stairs to the attic box
Where the old phone bills lie filed and locked
Where the old phone bills lie filed and locked.

Now (416) made me lose my head
And (617) said we'd soon be wed
And 251-4552
Was a love he swore forever true
Was a love he swore forever true.

Oh, where are the sketches and poetry
Of the grand love letters that used to be
And the tender words that I unfold
To warm my heart when a love grows cold
To warm my heart when a love grows cold.

So I tie these bills with a ribbon blue
I hear the phone, it must be you
And with all my heart, you'll hear me say
Hang up my love, write me today
Hang up my love, write me today.

Copyright Lynn Noel
@parody @telephone @money
filename[ COMWRIT2
Tune file : COMEWRIT

CLICK TO PLAY
AJS

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PLEASE NOTE: Because of the volunteer nature of The Digital Tradition, it is difficult to ensure proper attribution and copyright information for every song included. Please assume that any song which lists a composer is copyrighted ©. You MUST aquire proper license before using these songs for ANY commercial purpose. If you have any additional information or corrections to the credit or copyright information included, please e-mail those additions or corrections to us (along with the song title as indexed) so that we can update the database as soon as possible. Thank You.

Subject: RE: DTStudy: Come Write Me Down
From: nutty
Date: 03 Jun 02 - 03:24 PM

Here's a broadside of the song in the Bodleian Library printed around 1820

THE POWERS ABOVE

Subject: RE: DTStudy: Come Write Me Down
From: Malcolm Douglas
Date: 03 Jun 02 - 04:04 PM

This song has been quite widely recorded in the folk revival; almost all such recordings are arrangements of the set famously associated with the Copper Family of Rottingdean in Sussex. Text and tune, noted by Kate Lee from either William or Thomas Copper, appeared in the first edition of The Journal of the Folk Song Society in 1898; differing only a little from the way the family sings it (when performed solo) over a century later. They don't as a rule sing the precise text in the family song book; instead of wherein all my joys... in verse 1, for example, they generally sing where.

THE WEDDING SONG

(Noted by Kate Lee from Mr. Copper, c.1898)

Come write me down, ye powers above,
The man that first created love,
For I've a diamont in my eye,
Where all my joys and comforts lie
Where all my joys and comforts lie.

"I'll give you gold, I'll give you pearl,
If you can fancy me, dear girl.
I'll give you more, as you shall hear,
If you can fancy me, my dear
If you can fancy me, my dear."

"It's not your gold shall me entice,
For to leave all pleasures to be your wife,
For it's I don't mean to intend at all
To be at any young man's call."

"Now go your way, you scornful dame,
Since you are false, I'll prove the same,
It's I don't fear, but I shall find,
Some other fair maid to my mind!"

"Now stay, young man, don't be in haste,
You seems afraid your time you'll waste,
Let seasons rule your roving mind,
And unto you I will prove kind."

To church they went the very next day,
And was married by asking, as I've 'eard say,
And now that girl she is his wife,
She'll prove his comforts day and night.

But now my sorrows and troubles past,
My joy and comforts come at last,
That girl to me always said nay,
She'll prove his comforts night and day.

The song appeared in a number of scarcely-varying broadside editions, generally as Second Thoughts are [is] Best from the turn of the 18th/19th centuries onward, in a form very close to texts found in 20th century tradition. Of some 11 examples at Bodleian Library Broadside Ballads, this is typical:

Second thought is best ("Come write me down ye powers above ...")  Printed between 1819 and 1844 by J. Pitts, wholesale Toy, and Marble warehouse, 6, Gt. Saint Andrews Street, Seven Dials [London].

Beside the ubiquitous Copper Family set, the song has been found in a number of parts of England during the 20th century (first half, mainly), in Aberdeenshire, and occasionally in the USA and Canada.

Subject: RE: DTStudy: Come Write Me Down
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 03 Jun 02 - 04:21 PM

And of course it's included in the song section at the back of Bob Copper's book A Song for Every Season, with the same words as in the DT. (I don't think there's anything about it in the text, but maybe someone could check.)

Subject: RE: DTStudy: Come Write Me Down
From: Malcolm Douglas
Date: 03 Jun 02 - 04:29 PM

Not with the same words as in the DT, which is copied from the family songbook. The text in A Song for Every Season is given as they actually sing the song. (See my comment above).

Subject: RE: DTStudy: Come Write Me Down
From: GUEST
Date: 03 Jun 02 - 04:53 PM

Song is based on a broadside ballad entered in 1656. See ZN894 in the broadside ballad index at www.erols.com/olsonw. On the Bodleian ballads website search for first line 'fierce dispute'.

Subject: RE: DTStudy: Come Write Me Down
From: Malcolm Douglas
Date: 03 Jun 02 - 05:04 PM

Thankyou, Bruce. The broadside in question can be seen here:

If you love me tell me so; or, Loves fierce dispute  Printed between 1674 and 1679 for F. Coles, T. Vere, J. Wright, and J. Clarke (London).

Subject: RE: DTStudy: Come Write Me Down
From: nutty
Date: 03 Jun 02 - 08:50 PM

It's interesting to note the change in the second line of the song from - That first created man for love in the Bodleian version to - The man that first created love in the Copper version

Subject: RE: DTStudy: Come Write Me Down
From: Nigel Parsons
Date: 21 Jun 02 - 09:03 AM

Refresh: in an attempt to get some interesting threads back in the system

Subject: Lyr Add: SECOND THOUGHTS ARE BEST (from Bodleian)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 24 Jul 08 - 07:34 AM

I've compared 10 versions at The Bodleian Library Ballad Collection, and this one seems most typical: Harding B 17(278a). I've added punctuation, and boldfaced the parts that I think are significantly different from the Copper version. Note that Copper's 6th verse, "To church they went....", doesn't appear here, or in any Bodleian version.
^^
SECOND THOUGHTS ARE BEST
"Printed by T. Birt, 10, Great St. Andrew-Street, Seven Dials, London."
[between 1828 and 1829]

1. Come write me down, ye powers above,
That first created man to love.
I have a diamond in my eye,
Where all my joy and comfort lie.

2. "I'll give you gold; I'll give you pearl,
If you can fancy me, my girl.
Rich costly robes, too, you shall wear,
If you can fancy me, my dear."

3. "It's not your gold shall me entice,
To leave my pleasures to be a wife.
I never do intend at all
To be at any young man's call."

4. "O go your way, you scornful dame.
If you are shy, I'll be the same;
For I don't fear but I can find
Another fair maid to my mind."

5. "O stay, young man; be not in haste.
You seem afraid your time will waste.
Let reason rule your roving mind,
And unto you I will prove kind."

6. My sorrow and trouble now are past.
My joy and comfort come at last;
But the girl that always said me nay,
Now proves my comfort night and day.