Lyr Req: Long Years Ago (from Shirley Collins)

Subject: Lyr Req: Lyrics to 'Long Years Ago'
From:
Date: 22 Feb 03 - 08:14 PM

Howdy Folks:
   Would any of you good people know the lyrics to "Long Years Ago"? I just got Shirley Collins CD box set (.within.sound.)and I can't get her sweet voice out of my head.

Most Sincerly: Danny Walden

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Lyrics to 'Long Years Ago'
From: GUEST,sorefingers
Date: 22 Feb 03 - 08:47 PM

I searched for you, could have done it yourself - top right of the page -

Found several songs, none with that title.

Maybe some of the more knowledgable Muddies knows which one it is?

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Lyrics to 'Long Years Ago'
From: GUEST,Danny
Date: 22 Feb 03 - 09:19 PM

Hi:
   I did search the song myself, was not to be found:(

Danny

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Lyrics to 'Long Years Ago'
From: GUEST,Q
Date: 22 Feb 03 - 09:22 PM

Would that be the hymn?

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Long Years Ago (from Shirley Collins)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 06 Jan 12 - 02:08 PM

LONG YEARS AGO appears on the Shirley Collins 4-CD set "Within Sound" (2002). It is called "traditional."

I transcribed these words from a short sample at Allmusic.com:

...I was young
The flowers bloomed and the birds they sung
A sailor and his lovely bride lay sleeping by the ocean....


I also found a column in Capper's magazine (Nov.-Dec. 2009, page 16) where Ethel McCallie from Nowata, Oklahoma was looking for "an old song from the 1920s or '30s that my grandparents used to sing." The lyrics she quoted were:

It's been six years since I was young.
The flowers bloomed and the birds they sung.
A sailor lad and his lovely bride
Were weeping by the Oceanside.
Tra-la-la-la-la-la.

I wish that I was sleeping too
Beneath the waves in the ocean blue—
My soul to my God and my body to the sea
And the deep blue waves a-rolling over me.


[more to follow]

Subject: Lyr Add: SAILOR AND HIS BRIDE (from M MacArthur)
From: GUEST,999
Date: 06 Jan 12 - 02:16 PM

From

http://www.margaretmacarthur.com/themstarslyrics.html

It's song 4 on the page.

SAILOR AND HIS BRIDE traditional

In the spring when I was young
The flowers they bloomed the birds they sung
But not one bird as happy as I
When my love the sailor lad was nigh

The eastern stars were shining bright
the moon beams in the glistening night
The sailor and his lovely bride
Sat weeping by the ocean side

Scarce three months since we were wed
But oh how fast the time has fled
Three months passed and the dawning of the day
When a proud wind bore my own true love away

Time goes by and he comes no more
To greet his love by the ocean shore
The ship went down in the middle of the storm
And he no more came home

I wish that I was sleeping too
Beneath the waves of the ocean blue
My soul to my god and my body to the sea
And the dark blue waters rolling over me

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Long Years Ago (from Shirley Collins)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 06 Jan 12 - 04:13 PM

There's a version in our DT, taken from Randolph's "Ozark Folksongs," called THE SAILOR AND HIS BRIDE.

There's a version on "Mudcat CD Violet" also called THE SAILOR AND HIS BRIDE. Lyrics are in this thread.

Subject: Lyr Add: THE BRIDE'S LAMENT (from Sydney Scott)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 06 Jan 12 - 04:28 PM

Found at the Orkney Singers web site:

Lyrics in a PDF

Notes on this song.


THE BRIDE'S LAMENT – Sydney Scott's version

Long years have gone since I was young.
The flowers they've bloomed and the birds they've sung.
A sailor lad and his lovely bride
Were weeping by the ocean tide.
    Tra la la la la la la la
    Tra la la la la la la la la
    A sailor lad and his lovely bride
    Were weeping by the ocean tide.

'Tis scarce six months since we were wed,
But oh-h how the time has fled,
But now we must part at the dawning of the day
When the good ship bears my love away.
    Tra la la la la la la la
    Tra la la la la la la la la
    But now we must part at the dawning of the day
    When the good ship bears my love away.

Long years have passed and he comes no more
To greet his bride on the lonely shore.
The ship went down in the howling of the storm
And the waves enclosed his lifeless form.
    Tra la la la la la la la
    Tra la la la la la la la la
    The ship went down in the howling of the storm
    And the waves enclosed his lifeless form.

Now he is free beneath the sea.
The mermaids they'll shed tears for me.
The mermaids down at the bottom of the sea
Are shedding their sad tears for me.
    Tra la la la la la la la
    Tra la la la la la la la la
    The mermaids down at the bottom of the sea
    Are shedding their sad tears for me.

I would that I were sleeping too
Beneath the waves of the ocean blue.
My soul to my God and my body to the sea
And dark cruel waves roll over me.
    Tra la la la la la la la
    Tra la la la la la la la la
    My soul to my God and my body to the sea
    And dark cruel waves roll over me,
    And dark cruel waves roll over me,
    And dark cruel waves roll over me.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Long Years Ago (from Shirley Collins)
From: Edthefolkie
Date: 06 Jan 12 - 04:49 PM

I was wondering how on Earth the original poster "just got a copy of Shirley's box set", when I realised they started the thread in 2003. Has anybody else noticed how much that set can fetch these days? A lot. Please press some more Mr. Suff.....

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Long Years Ago (from Shirley Collins)
From: GUEST,SteveG
Date: 06 Jan 12 - 05:05 PM

This is laws K10 and several American oral versions are listed but no British ones. He also gives a reference to a De Marsan broadside (New York c1860) but no other broadsides. I certainly have no British ones. The song is older than the De Marsan broadside as there is a 7 stanza text in the Stevens-Douglass Ms of Western New York dated 1841-1856.

However a 5 stanza version is given without source and tune in the first vol of the Greig-Duncan Collection p39. It could quite easily have come across from America.

Subject: Lyr Add: LONG YEARS AGO (from Shirley Collins)
From: Mick Pearce (MCP)
Date: 06 Jan 12 - 06:59 PM

Here are Shirley's words from within sound (if Ed is right, please don't burgle me). She seems to have learned it from John Hasted originally. The version is similar to those posted above, though v1 has a missing final word in the last line; the rhyme makes it obvious, but I presume Shirley chose to leave it as she (I imagine) learned it.

Roud # 274, 34 entries; as Steve said above, almost all USA.


Mick

---

LONG YEARS AGO

Long years ago when I was young,
The flowers bloomed and the birds they sung,
A sailor and his lovely bride
Lay sleeping by the ocean.

It's scare six months since we were wed,
But, oh, how fast the time is fled;
And I must go at the break of day
When the great ship bears my love away.

The years have gone, he comes no more.
She sits weeping by the ocean shore.
The ship went down in the howling of the storm,
And the waves consumed his lifeless form.

I wish that I were with him too
Beneath the waves of the ocean blue.
My soul to God, my body to the sea,
And the great green waves a-rolling over me.


Source: Shirley Collins: cd 1 of within sound


The notes say: "John Hasted learned this song from a soldier during World War Two. To quote the original note from A Pinch of Salt, "like a ship that passed in the night, the soldier was gone without leaving his name or his place of origin"."

Subject: Lyr Add: THE SAILOR'S WIFE'S LAMENT (from Thompson
From: GUEST,SteveG
Date: 07 Jan 12 - 03:42 PM

You might as well have the earliest text I have.

From Harold W Thompson's 'A Pioneer Songster' publishing the aforementioned ms.

The Sailors Wives Lament (The Sailor's Wife's Lament)

It was early spring the year was young
The flowers they bloom the birds they sang
They all seemed glad but none so glad as I
For my love the sailor lad was nigh

Scarce three months since we were wed
Alas how swift the moments fled
And we must part at the dawning of the day
For the proud ship bears my love away

The morning star was shining still
And the twilight peaped oer the eastern hill
The sailor and his early bride
Sat weeping by the river side

Long years have past he came no more
To his weeping bride on the lonely shore
And the ship went down at the howling of the storm
And the waves engulfed my sailors form

It is autumn now and I am a lone
The flowers are dead the birds have flown
And all is sad but none so sad as I
For my love the sailor no more is nigh

My sailor sleeps beneath the waves
And the mermaids sing oer his ocean grave
The mermaids are at the bottom of the sea
Aweping there sad tears for me

I wish i was a sleeping to
beneath the waves of the ocean blue
My soul to god and my body in the sea
And the blue waves roling over me


I must say this version has all the hallmarks of having passed through several hands. I have seen similar pieces that can be traced back to the 17th century, 'Ah my Love's Dead' for instance and 'The Butcher's Boy', 'Early early all in the Spring', etc.

Subject: Lyr Add: THE BRIDE'S LAMENT (from Frank Crumit)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 03 Apr 13 - 10:26 AM

THE BRIDE'S LAMENT
As sung by Frank Crumit on "Vintage Recordings 1926-1938" (originally recorded on Victor 21668, 17-Jul-1928)

1. Long years ago when I was young,
The flowers they bloomed and the birds they sung.
A sailor lad and his lovely bride
Were weeping by the ocean side.
Tra-la-la-la, la-la-la-la.
Tra-la-la, la-la-la-la.
A sailor lad and his lovely bride
Were weeping by the ocean side.

2. 'Tis scarce six months since we were wed,
And oh how fast the time has fled,
But we must part at the dawning of the day
When the good ship bears my love away.
Tra-la-la-la, la-la-la-la.
Tra-la-la, la-la-la-la.
But we must part at the dawning of the day
When the good ship bears my love away.

3. Long years have passed and he comes no more
To greet his bride on the lonely shore.
The ship went down in the howling of the storm
And the waves engulfed his lifeless form. (etc.)

4. And now he sleeps beneath the sea.
The mermaids there shed tears for me.
The mermaids are at the bottom of the sea,
A-shedding their sad tears for me. (etc.)

5. I would that I were sleeping too
Beneath the waves in the ocean blue,
My soul to my God and my body to the sea,
And the dark blue waves a-rollin' over me. (etc.)

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Long Years Ago (from Shirley Collins)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 03 Apr 13 - 10:47 AM

From an article "The Wedding at Connevoe" by A. M. Williams, in The Catholic World, Vol. 37, No. 222 (New York: The Catholic Publication Society Co., September, 1883), page 758:

...and two charming young girls, sisters, one with a natural soprano and the other with an alto, and an exquisite, untaught harmony and feeling, sang modestly yet bravely a sweetly pathetic ballad whose title I could not learn. I afterward induced one of them to repeat it for a transcript, and, as I have never seen it in print, I venture to give it, although its simple pathos needs the voices that gave it for its full effect:

'Twas early spring; the year was warm;
The flowers they bloomed and the birds they sang;
Not a bird was happier than I
When my loved sailor-boy was nigh.

The evening star was shining still;
The twilight peeped o'er the distant hill;
The sailor-boy and I, his bride,
Were walking by the ocean side.

Scarce six months since we were wed;
But, ah ! how quickly the moments fled.
Since we must part at the dawning day:
The proud bark bears my love away.

Time's long past. He comes no more
To his weeping friends on the silent shore.
The ship went down in the howling storm,
The seas engulfed his lifeless form.

I wish that I was sleeping, too,
Beneath the waves of the ocean blue,
My soul to God, and my body in the sea,
The broad waves rolling over me.

It was a touch of pathos which the finest art could not reach.

Subject: Lyr Add: THE SAILOR'S BRIDE (trad. Ohio)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 03 Apr 13 - 11:19 AM

From an article, "Traditional Texts and Tunes" by Albert H. Tolman and Mary O. Eddy, in The Journal of American Folk-Lore, Vol. 35, No. 138 (Oct-Dec, 1922), page 411:


THE SAILOR'S BRIDE.
Pound, 42.

I.
Sent by Miss Eddy. Written by Rev. Franklin Eddy in an album dated Ashtabula, O., 1852.

1. 'Twas early spring when I was young,
The flowers they bloomed and the birds they sang,
All was happy, but none so happy as I,
When my lovely sailor lad was nigh.

Chorus.
Trol lol lu, trol lol la, etc.,
All was happy, etc.

2. The evening star was shining still,
And twilight peeped o'er the eastern hill;
The sailor lad and his lovely bride
Sat weeping by the ocean's side.

3. 'Twas scarce three months we had been wed,
And oh, how fast the moments fled!
But we were to part at the dawning of the day,
And the proud ship bore my love away.

4. Long months passed by, he came no more
To his weeping bride on the distant shore;
The ship went down 'mid the howling of the storm,
And the sea engulfed my sailor's form.

5. 'Tis autumn now, and I am alone,
The flowers have bloomed, and the birds have flown;
All is sad, yet none so sad as I,
For my sailor lad no more was nigh.

6. My sailor sleeps beneath the wave,
The mermaids they kneel o'er his grave,
The mermaids they at the bottom of the sea,
Are weeping their sad tears for me.

7. I would that I were sleeping too,
In the silent wave of the ocean blue;
My soul to my God, my body in the sea,
And the wild waves rolling over me.

II.
Sung to Miss Eddy by Mrs. Daniel Ross, Shreve, O. Miss Eddy sends a third text, which is a little shorter.

[A tune is also given for this song.]

1. Our youthful hearts do ofttimes weep
For those who plow the briny deep;
Think how many find a grave
Beneath a wide, out spreading wave.
La la la la la, la la,
La la la la, la la la!
Think how many find a grave
Beneath a wide, out spreading wave.

2. But now I will relate a case
Which happened in my early days,
Of a sailor boy whose heart was true,
But now he lies in the ocean blue.

3. 'Twas early spring, the year was young,
The flowers did bloom, the birds they sung,
But not a bird was happier than I,
When my loved sailor boy was nigh.

4. The moon had risen o'er the eastern hills,
The stars they shone in the twilight still;
The sailor boy and his bride
Were walking by the ocean side.

5. 'Twas scarce three months since first we met,
But oh, how swift the moments fled!
And we must part at the dawning of the day,
And the proud ship bears my love away.

6. Long months passed away, he came no more
To his weeping bride on the ocean shore;
The ship went down at the howling of the storm,
And the waves closed o'er my lover's form.

7. Would that I were resting too,
Beneath the waves in the ocean blue;
My soul at rest in the bottom of the sea,
And the blue waves rolling over me.