Origins: The Gypsy's Warning

Subject: Lyr Add: THE GYPSY'S WARNING (1857)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 01 Mar 22 - 07:34 PM

I found a source older than the sheet music; it is presented as a poem rather than a song. It has numerous small differences from the sheet music; I have marked them with boldface.

From Godey’s Lady’s Book and Magazine, Vol. 55 (Philadelphia: Louis A. Godey, November, 1857), page 448:


THE GYPSY’S WARNING.
By Georgiana D. S.

1. Do not trust him, gentle lady, though his voice be low and sweet.
Heed not that he kneels unto thee, softly pleading at thy feet.
While thy life is in its morning, cloud not thus thy happy lot.
List unto the gypsy’s warning; gentle lady, trust him not.

2. Do not turn so coldly from me; I would only guard thy youth
From a stern, a with’ring sorrow; I would only tell thee truth.
I would shield thee from all danger, woo thee from the tempter’s snare.
Lady, shun that dark-eyed stranger; I have warned thee; now beware.

3. Lady, once there lived a maiden, young and pure, and like thee, fair,
Yet, oh, yet, he wooed and won her, filled her gentle heart with care
Then he heeded not her weeping, he cared not her life to save.
Soon she perished; now she’s sleeping in the cold and silent grave.

4. Keep thy gold; I do not need it; lady, I have prayed for this,
For the hour when I might foil him, rob him of expected bliss.
Ay, I see thou’rt filled with wonder at my words so fierce and wild.
Lady, in that green grave yonder lies the gypsy’s only child.

Subject: Lyr Add: THE GIPSY'S/GIPSIE'S WARNING (Coard, 1864
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 01 Mar 22 - 06:07 PM

From the sheet music at Johns Hopkins University (the Levy Collection):
(Duke University has another copy which I think is identical.)


THE GIPSY’S WARNING^[1]
THE GIPSIE’S WARNING^[2]
Composed^[1]/Arranged^[2] … by Henry A. Coard.^[3]
Published by D. S. Holmes, Brooklyn, N.Y. [1864]

1. Do not trust him, gentle lady, though his voice be low and sweet.
Heed not him who kneels before you, gently pleading at thy feet.
Now thy life is in its morning; cloud not this thy happy lot.
Listen to the gypsies warning; gentle lady, trust him not.
Listen to the gipsie’s warning; gentle lady, trust him not.

2. Do not turn so coldly from me; I would only guard thy youth
From his stern and with’ring power; I would only tell thee true.
I would shield thee from all danger, save thee from the tempter’s snare.
Lady, shun that dark-eyed stranger; I have warned thee; now beware.
Lady, shun that dark-eyed stranger; I have warned thee; now beware.

3. Lady, once there lived a maiden, pure and bright, and like thee, fair,
But he wooed, and wooed, and won her, filled her gentle heart with care
Then he heeded not her weeping, nor cared he her life to save.
Soon she perished; now she’s sleeping in the cold and silent grave.
Soon she perished; now she’s sleeping in the cold and silent grave.

4. Keep thy gold; I do not wish it; lady, I have prayed for this,
For the hour when I might foil him, rob him of expected bliss.
Gentle lady, do not wonder at my words so cold and wild.
Lady, in that green grave yonder lies the gipsie’s only child.
Lady, in that green grave yonder lies the gipsie’s only child.

- - -
1 According to the title page.
2 According to page 1 of the music.
3 Note that no lyricist is mentioned

Subject: Lyr Add: GYPSY'S WARNING (Arthur Smith, 1938)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 01 Mar 22 - 03:20 PM

My transcription from the recording at Honking Duck. (Yes, that website’s still around after many, many years, and it looks like it’s been modernized.)


GYPSY’S WARNING
As recorded by Arthur Smith and His Dixie Liners on Bluebird B-7893-B (1938)

Gentle lady, do not trust him, though his voice is low and sweet.
Heed not him who kneels before you, gently pleading at your feet.
Now your life is in its morning; spoil not this your happy lot.
Listen to the gypsy’s warning; gentle lady, trust him not.

Lady, once there lived a maiden, pure and bright and oh so fair.
Then he wooed her till he won her, filled her gentle heart with care.
Then he heeded not her weeping, nor cared he her life to save.
Soon she perished; now she’s sleeping in a cold and silent grave.

Keep your gold; I do not want it; lady, I have prayed for this.
For the day when I might fail him, rob him of expected bliss.
Gentle lady, do not wonder at my words so cold and wild.
Lady, in that green grave yonder lies the gypsy’s only child.

Subject: RE: Tune Req: The gypsy's warning
From: GUEST,.gargoyle
Date: 28 Sep 02 - 02:29 PM

Dalhart's tune is slightly different - resolving to the major more frequently - his is the tune that sticks in my head.

Subject: Lyr Add: THE GYPSY'S WARNING (from Vance Randolph)
From: GUEST,.gargoyle
Date: 28 Sep 02 - 02:27 PM

Directly FROM -

OZARK FOLKSONGS – Collected and Edited by Vance Randolph Revised Edition, Volume IV Religious Songs and Other Items University of Missouri Press Columbia and London, 1980 p. 219-222 No.743 "THE GYPSY'S WARNING".

" Nobody knows who wrote the words of this piece, according to Cox (Folk-Songs of the South, 1925, p. 439), but it was published "with music arrange by Henry A. Coard" in 1864, and has since appeared in many popular songbooks. It appears in Trifet's Budget of Music No. 15, March, 1892, p.72, with the note "by permission D. S. Holmes, owner of copyright." The famous Cherry Sisters from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, who convulsed Broadway in 1896, sang the song as part of their soul-stirring dramatic sketch entitle "The Gypsy's Warning." A piece called, "Do Not Trust Him, Gentle Lady," probably identical with the "The Gypsy's Warning," was the first song ever heard on the telephone, when Alexander Graham Bell, demonstrating his invention before an audience in 1878, persuaded on Thomas Augustus Watson to sing into the transmitter. Finger (Frontier Ballads, 1927, p. 116) reports the song as he heard it years ago in New Mexico and one of the standard versions is printed, without the music, in Spaeth's Read 'Em and Weep(1927, p. 20). There are phonograph records by Harry A. McClaskey (Columbia A1913) and Vernon Dalhart (Victor 20795, Brunkswick 122).

Now thy life is in its morning;
Spoil not this, thy happy lot,
Listen to the gypsy's warning,
gentle lady, heed him not

Lady, once there lived a maiden,
Pure and bright, and like thee, fair
But he wooed, he wooed and won her,
Killed her gentle heart with care.

Then he heeded not her weeping,
Nor cared he her life to save,
Soon she perished, now she's sleeping
'Neath the cold and silent grave.

Do not turn so coldly from me,
For I've only told the truth,
From a stern and withering sorrow,
Lady, I would shield thy youth.

I would shield thee from all danger,
Shield thee from tempter's the snare
Lady shun the dark-eyed stranger,
I have warned thee - now beware

Keep thy gold, I do not want it.
Lady, I have prayed for this
For the hour that I might foil him,
Rob him of expected bliss

Oh I see thou'rt filled with wonder,
At my looks so fierce and wild,
Lady, in that grave yonder,
Lies the Gypsy's only child.

The song which follow is called "The answer to the Gypsy's Warning," mentioned by Belden (Song-Ballads and Other Popular Poetry, 1910, No. 35), Shoemaker (North Pennsylvania minstrelsy, 1919, p. 94), and Cox (Folk-Songs of the South, 1925, p. 439), The present text is from a manuscript belong to Mrs., W. M. Elkins, Hardy, Ark., Apr. 2, 1934.

Lady, do not heed her warning,
Trust me, thou shalt find me true,
Constant as the light of morning,
I will ever be to you.

Lady, I will not deceive you,
Fill your guileless heart with woe,
Trust me, lady, and believe me,
Sorrow thou shalt never know.

Lady, every joy would perish,
Pleasures all would with fast,
If not heart could love and cherish
In this world of storm and blast.

As the stars that gleam above thee,
Shine their brightest in the night,
So will he who fondly loves thee,
In the darkness be they light.

Down beside the flowing river,
Where the dark green willows weep,
Where the leafy branches quiver,
There a gentle maiden sleeps.

In the morn a lonely stranger
Comes and lingers many hours,
Lady, he's no ruthless ranger,
For he strews her grave with flowers.

Then do not heed her warning,
Lay thy soft white hand in mine,
For he seeks no fairer laurel
Than the constant love of thine.

When the silver moonlight brightens,
Thou shalt slumber on his breast
Tender wounds thy soul shall lighten
Lull thy spirit into rest.

Still another item in this group is know as "The decision in the Gypsy's Warning," and is similar to the "Decision" song in Belden's collection (Song-Ballads and Other Popular Poetry, 1910, No. 35). I have seen two versions of this song in manuscript, and it is said that one was printed in a St. Louis newspaper about 1870. The text which follow is from Mrs. Warren Durbin, Pineville, Mo., Mar. 19, 1927.

Down beside yon flowing river,
there bereft where willows weep
There must lie that fair one ever.
Stranger, why these vigils keep?

Why go there alone and early,
All those mornings flowers to strew?
Did you love, in truth, so dearly?
Do you grieve as others do?

Now she's in the cold ground sleeping,
By the river's moaning wave,
And the willows now are weeping
O'er that maiden's early grave.

Warnings from that grave do tell me,
And a living voice I hear,
Of a wooer who would seek me,
pleading by a love sincere.

That without me, life is sorrow;
Take this hand and heart of mine
Promise bliss for every morrow,
Then forsake me, let me pine.

Stranger, I will heed the warning,
coming from the river's side.
Flowers you strew there in the morning
I'll renew at eventide.

There we'll walk, but not together,
For the gypsy tells me true,
Mourns her child in tears that smother
Every kindly thought of you.

Another piece in the "Gypsy's Warning" collection is a much more recent song called "Trust Him Not," in which the gentle lady tells her mother all about her meeting the Gypsy. This opus was copyrighted by Monroe H. Rosenfield in 1899, and I quote only the final stanza:

I can ne'er forget the anguish, dearest mother,
As she rose with tottering footsteps and drew near,
Then she tossed away the glittering gold I gave her,
While she grasped my arm as I drew back in fear.
You must not wed him! shrieked the trembling woman,
I beg you go! she screamed in accents wild,
For she, for she who's sleeping over yonder
Was my own babe, the fortune-teller's child.

Sincerely,
Gargoyle

Subject: RE: Tune Req: The gypsy's warning
From: GUEST,.gargoyle
Date: 28 Sep 02 - 08:32 AM

First time I heard it is this morning. Sticky little tune, can't get it out of my head. Thank you for the Rose Lady - great collection of classics.

Sincerely,
Gargoyle

Subject: RE: Tune Req: The gypsy's warning
From: GUEST,Arkie
Date: 28 Sep 02 - 02:17 AM

I first heard this sung by Bob Blair of the musical Blair family in Stone County, Arkansas. I believe it is in Vance Randolph's four volume set of Ozark Folk Songs. This was supposedly the first song sung over the telephone. Does anyone have any verification of this? Somewhere I read that there were many answers to the Gypsy's Warning and even one called a "Final Answer to the Gypsy's Warning".

Subject: RE: Tune Req: The gypsy's warning
From: Mudlark
Date: 27 Sep 02 - 08:07 PM

My granny used to sing this while doing laundry, throwing her whole heart into it, with an 1890's quiver in her voice. I've had a soft spot for this tearjerker ever since.

Subject: RE: Tune Req: The gypsy's warning
From: masato sakurai
Date: 27 Sep 02 - 07:56 PM

Gypsy's Warning -- Vernon Dalhart [Realaudio] from The Record Lady's All-Time Country Favorites.

~Masato

Subject: RE: Tune Req: The gypsy's warning
From: RangerSteve
Date: 27 Sep 02 - 06:39 PM

Check the website "Rose, The Record Lady" I don't know the actual web address, but if you enter the name at Yahoo, you'll get it. Rose has the recording by Vernon Dalhart, and you can download it into your computer.

Subject: RE: Tune Req: The gypsy's warning
From: Joe Offer
Date: 27 Sep 02 - 02:00 AM

Say, this is a nice one I wasn't familiar with. We have the lyrics and tune in the Digital Tradition (click).
Click here for a related thread.
Click here for sheet music for "The Gipsy's Warning [The Gipsie's Warning]," by Henry A. Coard, 1864.
Click here for "Do Not Heed Her Warning. Reply to the Gipsies Warning" [Words by Thomas Manahan. Music by Henry Tucker] (1860-sic)

-Joe Offer-

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GYPSY'S WARNING (DT Lyrics)

Do not trust him, gentle lady, though his voice be low and sweet
Heed not him who kneels before you, gently pleading at thy feet
Now thy life is in its morning; cloud not this thy happy lot
Listen to the gypsy's warning, gentle lady, heed him not
Listen to the gypsy's warning, gentle lady, head him not

Do not turn so coldly from me, I would only guard thy youth
From his stern and withering power, I would only tell the truth
I would shield thee from all danger, save thee from tempter's snare
Lady shun the dark-eyed stranger, I have warned thee, now beware
Lady shun the dark-eyed stranger, I have warned thee, now beware

Lady, once there lived a maiden, pure and bright, and like thee, fair
But he wooed and wooed and won her, filed her gentle heart with care
Then he heeded not her weeping, nor cared he her life to save
Soon she perished, now she's sleeping in the cold and silent grave...

Keep thy gold, I do not wish it. Lady, I have prayed for this
For the hour that I might foil him, rob him of expected bliss
Gentle lady, do not wonder at my words, so cold and wild
Lady, in that green grave yonder lies the gypsy's only child

Lady, do not heed her warning. Trust me, thou shalt find me true
Constant as the light of morning I will ever be to you
Lady, I will not deceive thee, fill thy guileless heart with woe
Trust me, lady, and believe me; sorrow thou shall never know

Stranger, I've been thinking sadly, how you promised, wooed and won
How her innocent love gladly heard fair words, built hopes thereon
Now she's in the cold ground sleeping by the river's moaning wave
And the willows now are weeping o'er that maiden's early grave

Warnings from that grave do tell me, and a living voice I hear
Of a wooer who would seek me, pleading by a love sincere
That without me, life is sorrow; take this hand and heart of mine
Promise bliss for every morrow, then forsake me, let me pine

Stranger, I will heed the warning coming from the river's side
Flowers you strew there in the morning, I'll renew at eventide
There we'll walk, but not together, for the gypsy tells me true
Mourns her child in tears that smother every kindly thought of you

Lady, every joy would perish, pleasures all would wither fast
If no heart could love and cherish in this world of storm and blast
E'en the stars that gleam above thee shine the brightest in the night
So would he who fondly loves thee, in the darkness be thy light

Down beside the flowing river where the dark green willow weeps
Where the leafy branches quiver, there a gentle maiden sleeps
In the morn a lonely stranger comes and lingers many hours
Lady, he's no heartless ranger, for he strews her grave with flowers

Lady, heed thee not her warning, lay thy soft white hand in mine
For I seek no fairer laurel than the constant love of thine
When the silver moonlight brightens, thou shalt slumber on my breast
Tender words thy soul shall lighten, lull thy spirit into rest

Down beside yon flowing river, there bereft where willows weep
There must lie that fair one ever. Stranger, why these vigils keep?
Why go there alone and early, all those mornings flowers to strew?
Did you love, in truth, so dearly? Do you grieve as others do?

@gypsy @courtship @death
printed in Folk Songs Out of Wisconsin
filename[ GYPWARN
TUNE FILE: GYPWARN
CLICK TO PLAY
SOF

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Ballad Index Entry:

Gypsy's Warning, The

DESCRIPTION: "Trust him not, oh gentle lady, Though his voice is low and sweet." "Listen to the Gypsy's warning, Gentle lady, trust him not." The Gypsy tells of a girl betrayed; the lady scorns (her). (The sequel may give the man's self-defense and the lady's answer)
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1864 (sheet music)
KEYWORDS: Gypsy love warning
FOUND IN: US(MW,Ro,So,SW)
REFERENCES (17 citations):
Randolph 743, "The Gypsy's Warning" (4 texts, 1 tune, the first being the "Gypsy's Warning" proper, the second the "Answer to the Gypsy's Warning," the third being "The Decision in the Gypsy's Warning," and the last an excerpt from a copyrighted piece by Monroe H. Rosenfeld)
Randolph/Cohen-OzarkFolksongs-Abridged, pp. 525-527, "The Gypsy's Warning" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 743A)
Arnold-FolkSongsofAlabama, p. 73, "Gipsy's Warning" (1 text, 1 tune)
Henry-SongsSungInTheSouthernAppalachians, pp. 154-155, "The Gypsy's Warning" (1 text)
Brewster-BalladsAndSongsOfIndiana 55, "The Gypsy's Warning" (1 text plus mention of 1 more); 56, "Answer to the Gypsy's Warning" (1 text)
Peters-FolkSongsOutOfWisconsin, pp. 75-76, "The Gypsy's Warning"-"Do Not Heed Her Warning"-"The Decision" (1 text, consisting of the three parts, 1 tune)
Stout-FolkloreFromIowa 58, pp. 76-79, "The Gypsy's Warning (And Answer)" (3 texts, two being of the "Warning" and one being the "Answer")
Cox-FolkSongsSouth 149, "The Gypsy's Warning" (1 text)
Cox/Hercog/Halpert/Boswell-WVirginia-B, #30, pp. 201-202, "The Gypsy's Warning" (1 fragment, 1 tune)
Boette-SingaHipsyDoodle, p. 50, "The Gypsy's Warning" (1 text, 1 tune)
Hubbard-BalladsAndSongsFromUtah, #60, "The Gypsy's Warning" (1 text, 1 tune); #61, "Answer to the Gypsy's Warning" (1 text)
Finger-FrontierBallads, pp. 116-118, "The Gypsy's Warning" (1 text)
Spaeth-ReadEmAndWeep, pp. 19-21, "Love's Ritornella" (2 texts, 1 tune, with this piece listed as an appendix to the song named)
Wolf-AmericanSongSheets, #744, p. 49, "The GIpsy's Warning" (1 reference)
cf. Gardner/Chickering-BalladsAndSongsOfSouthernMichigan, p. 479, "The Gypsy's Warning" (source notes only)
DT, GYPWARN*
ADDITIONAL: Aline Waites & Robin Hunter, _The Illustrated Victorian Songbook_, Michael Joseph Ltd., 1984, pp. 82-83, "The Gipsy's Warning" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #1764 and 3761 and 6421
RECORDINGS:
Vernon Dalhart, "The Gypsy's Warning" (Perfect 12330, 1927; Romeo 601, 1928) (Brunswick 122, 1927; Supertone S-2011, 1930)
"Gooby" Jenkins, "The Gypsy's Warning" (Okeh 45069, 1926)
Arthur Smith Trio, "The Gypsy's Warning" (Bluebird B-7893, 1938)
NOTES [123 words]: This probably originated as three separate pieces, the original being "The Gypsy's Warning" (Roud #1764) and the sequels being the "Answer to the Gypsy's Warning" (Roud #3761, in which the young man begs the girl "Do not heed her warning") and the "Decision in the Gypsy's Warning" (Roud #6421, in which the girl decides to heed the warning).
The three can, however, be sung together, and they are obviously dependent. What is more, the versions have sometimes merged (e.g. in the version in Peters-FolkSongsOutOfWisconsin). So I am listing them as one song even though I know they are multiple.
The song seems to have been in tradition by 1880; Laura Ingalls Wilder quotes the first part in By the Shores of Silver Lake, chapter 22. - RBW
Last updated in version 5.2
File: R743

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Subject: RE: The gypsy's warning
From: Mudlark
Date: 27 Sep 02 - 12:16 AM

F'sticks...I've got the words somewhere, but no midi file. If no one else comes up with this I'll be glad to send the words, at least.

Subject: The gypsy's warning
From: GUEST,fiddlesticks
Date: 27 Sep 02 - 12:08 AM

I would like to have the words and a midi file for the song--The gypsy's warning. Thanks