Lyr/Origins Req/Add: The Sally Buck

Subject: Tune AND lyrics sought for 'The Sally Buck'
From: sadie damascus
Date: 21 Mar 03 - 04:25 PM

This is a magical, or nonsense song, similar to "Nottamun Town" I don't know where I heard it. Does anyone have tune and/oir lyrics?

Subject: Lyr Add: THE SALLY BUCK^^
From: masato sakurai
Date: 21 Mar 03 - 08:11 PM

From Cecil J. Sharp, Nursery Songs from the Appalachian Mountains [1st series] (Novello, [1921]; with tune). Two versions are in Sharp's English Folk Songs from the Southern Apalachians, ii (pp. 217-219).

THE SALLY BUCK

1. As I rode out a-hunting,
    'Twas on a winter day,
    The trees were in full bloom
    And the flowers fresh and gay,
    Yes, the flowers fresh and gay.

2. I tracked the Sally buck, Sir,
    Down to the river brim;
    I spied a thousand deer
    That all on the tide did swim,
    Yes, all on the tide did swim.

3. I loaded up my pistols
    And under water went,
    To kill the fattest buck,
    O, it was my whole intent,
    Yes, it was my whole intent.

4. I being under water
    Ten thousand feet or more,
    I fired off my pistols,
    And like cannons they did roar,
    like cannons they did roar.

5. I killed one of those deer, Sir,
    And out of water went,
    To seek for those that fled,
    O, it was my whole intent,
    Yes, it was my whole intent.

6. I bent my gun in a circle,
    And shot all round the hill,
    And out of five and twenty
    O, ten thousand I did kill,
    Yes, ten thousand I did kill.

7. As I stood there a-grazing,
    I saw the moon draw nigh;
    Clapped wings upon my back
    And hopped on as she passed by,
    Yes, hopped on as she passed by.

8. And as the moon went down, Sir,
    She fetched a certain whirl,
    And that's how this poor boy
    He did fall into the world,
    Yes, did fall into the world.

9. The money that I got, Sir,
    All for my meat and skin,
    I put it in a barn,
    And it would not all go in,
    Yes, it would not all go in.

10. The balance of my money
    I lent it out of hand,
    And now intend to live
    O, a jolly gentleman,
    Yes, a jolly gentleman.^^

See also The Traditional Ballad Index: The Sally Buck.

~Masato

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Sally Buck, The

DESCRIPTION: The singer goes hunting "one cold and winter day." (He tracks "the Sally buck all day.") Sundry adventures follow; the singer reports "of (15 or 20), ten thousand I did kill." The singer ends "If you can tell a bigger lie, I swear you ought to be hung."

AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1918
KEYWORDS: animal nonsense supernatural hunting talltale
FOUND IN: US(Ap,SE)
REFERENCES (3 citations):

Sharp/Karpeles-80E 70, "The Sally Buck" (1 text, 1 tune)
Ritchie-SingFam, pp. 107-109, "[I Went Out A-Hunting, Sir]" (1 text, 1 tune)
Fife-Cowboy/West 4, "A Hunting Tale" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #3607

RECORDINGS:
Bascom Lamar Lunsford, "On a Bright and Summer's Morning" (on BLLunsford01)
Notes: The variation in this song is immense; of the four versions I've seen, the only common element is the fact that the singer is a hunter and that at some point, "of fifteen or twenty" (or four-and-twenty, or some such), "a thousand (or ten thousand) I did kill."
Along the way the hunter meets various misadventures; these may be borrowed from other songs, and in any case take on local color.

The final stanza, along the line of, "The man who wrote this song, his name was (Benny Young/Bango Bang); If you can tell a bigger lie, I swear you ought (to be hung/to hang)," is characteristic but does not occur in all versions. - RBW
File: SKE70

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Subject: Add: A HUNTING TALE (Sally Buck)^^
From: GUEST,Q
Date: 21 Mar 03 - 08:59 PM

A. E. and A. S. Fife, 1969, "Cowboy and Western Songs," have another version under the title "A Hunting Tale," with music and guitar chords. It consists of 20 couplets each with part of the last line repeated.

A HUNTING TALE (Sally Buck)^^

Oh, I took my gun out on my back and a-hunting I did go,
It was to kill a big fat buck and track him in the snow,
And track him in the snow.

I followed him to that river that runs up on yonders hill;
At the bottom of that river this herd of deer did dwell,
This herd of deer did dwell.

When I came in sight of them, like divers they dove down,
They dove into the bottom and they squat upon the sand,
They squat upon the sand.

I took my gun all in my hand, out into the water ran;
It was to kill all those that fled, that was my whole intent,
That was my whole intent.

When I was under water five thousand feet or more
I fired off that rifle, like a cannon it did roar,
A cannon it did roar.

I fired all in among them, I chanced for to kill one,
The rest stuck up their bossets and at me they did come,
And at me did come.

Their horns were in the velvet, [the fiery ship could mask?]
And like so many streams of lightning, why, they pitched my body past,
They pitched my body past.

Till it became like a riddle and a bulldog could jump through,
I threw all in a passion, my naked sword I drew,
My naked sword I drew.

Five hours I held them battle, six hours I gave them play.
Well, I killed about five thousand and the rest all ran away,
Why, the rest all ran away.

Well, I gathered up my venison, all out the water went,
It was to kill all those that fled that was my whole intent,
That was my whole intent.

Then I bent my gun in a circle and I shot around the hill.
Then out of four and twenty a thousand I did kill,
A thousand I did kill.

Then I gathered up my venison and I started out for home,
It was a hot and summer day, and a blustery squall of snow,
And a blustery squall of snow.

Well, I traveled over hills and mountains, and over hills so high,
That when I stood a-gazing I could almost reach the sky,
I could almost reach the sky.

As I stood a-gazing, the sun came running by,
And I gathered up my venison, I jumped on as it passed by,
I jumped on as it passed by.

It carried me all around the world and o'er the swelling tide,
And I sold my venison to the stars so merrily I did ride,
So merrily I did ride.

Just as the sun was going down it gave a sudden whirl,
Then I lost my hold, I landed in the other world,
Landed in the other world.

But as Saint Providence would have it I lodged upon the moon
And in course of half a day or so I landed safe at home,
I landed safe at home.

Then I gathered up my money for venison and for skin,
And I took it to the big frame barn, it wouldn't near half go in,
It wouldn't near half go in.

The rest I dealt out to the poor, bright guineas out of hand,
And now I think it's time to stop and live again to man,
And live again to man.

Now the man that made up this song, sir, his name was Bango Bang,
And if you can tell a bigger lie I swear you ought to hang,
I swear you ought to hang.^^

A misheard sentence and a couple of other mistakes in the Fifes' version, but fun.

Subject: RE: Tune sought for 'The Sally Buck'
From: Malcolm Douglas
Date: 21 Mar 03 - 09:08 PM

The above text is a collation made from bits of the two traditional texts Sharp found in Kentucky and Virginia. I'll add tunes and so on later if no one else does.

Subject: RE: Tune sought for 'The Sally Buck'
From: Malcolm Douglas
Date: 21 Mar 03 - 09:10 PM

Blimey, that was unexpected. I was talking about the text Masato posted!

Subject: RE: Tune sought for 'The Sally Buck'
From: Sorcha
Date: 21 Mar 03 - 10:36 PM

We need the tune......

Subject: RE: Tune sought for 'The Sally Buck'
From: Malcolm Douglas
Date: 21 Mar 03 - 11:08 PM

Yes, I know. I'll be back with them, if the people who post the texts don't feel able to. Don't have time just now.

Subject: Lyr Add: NOTTINGHAM FAIR (from Vance Randolph)
From: GUEST,Q
Date: 21 Mar 03 - 11:10 PM

The DT has the songs "Fair Nottamun Town" and Paddy Backwards. Thread 13671 discusses this song: Nottamun Town .
Vance Randolph, "Roll Me In Your Arms," pp. 302-305, has three versions of "Nottingham Fair" aka "Nottamon Fair" of which one is fairly complete. These "lying songs" (of Irish type?) concern a visit to the fair by a young man and the improbable sights and happenings there.
They seem rather distantly related to the hunting song. Lying songs have always been popular.

A short one from Randolph:

Nottingham Fair

As I was a-walkin' to Nottingham Fair,
I seen a fair damsel all on a gray mare,
With her ass painted blue and a bull on her back,
A bundle of fodder was stuck in her crack.

And there was the King and a company more,
A-riding on horseback all walkin' before,
A stark naked drummer a-beating the drum,
With his heels in his ass-hole before them did run.

The mare throwed the damsel right off in the ditch,
So I out with my old doogey an' mounted the bitch,
She drawed back her foot an' kicked me in the shin,
Before I got on I was off her ag'in.

It is stretching to relate these songs.

Subject: RE: Tune sought for 'The Sally Buck'
From: GUEST,Q
Date: 21 Mar 03 - 11:21 PM

I would imagine this type of song would have whatever tune the singer thought suitable. It would be good to have any tune Sharp collected, however. I am unable to post the music.

Subject: RE: Tune sought for 'The Sally Buck'
From: Malcolm Douglas
Date: 21 Mar 03 - 11:52 PM

This kind of song turns up all over the place, so I wouldn't characterise it as typical of any country in particular. Here's a couple of 19th century broadsides at  Bodleian Library Broadside Ballads  to be going on with:

The gray mare (American stage version, c.1860)

Shottle wake

Subject: RE: Tune sought for 'The Sally Buck'
From: sadie damascus
Date: 22 Mar 03 - 12:19 AM

Wow, thanks, everyone. I have long been enamored of "Nottamun Town", and those new verses are wicked juicy. I'm still looking for a tune to "Sally Buck", and any more versions folks can come up with. This is fun!

Subject: RE: Tune sought for 'The Sally Buck'
From: kytrad (Jean Ritchie)
Date: 22 Mar 03 - 05:37 PM

English Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachians, collected by Cecil Sharp. "Nottamun Town," words and music, is in Volume Two, song number 191, page number 270. My sister Una Ritchie and our cousin Sabrina Ritchie were boarding-students at the Hindman Settlement School in Hindman, Kentucky (Knott County). Mr. Sharp and Miss Karpeles made their headquarters there when they were collecting in the area. Una went home over the weekend with Sabrina, so that they could get Uncle Jason Ritchie to sing it for them, as "he knew all the words." He gave them all he knew of, "Nottamun Town," and, "The Little Devils"("Farmer's Curst Wife"). Una and Sabrina sang for him on Sept. 20, 1917. Una's dad also knew the song, but Jason's home on Ball Fork of Troublesome was nearer to the school than was Viper- off over the hills in Perry County. Our family's lyrics are somewhat different than Jason's, and we have filled in the half-verse (vs. 5) with two first lines. The melody is about the same.

Mr. Sharp was excited over,"The Little Devils," because in England he had heard that it used to have a whistled refrain after the first lines of the verses, but it could no longer be found in England. Our family had kept the whistle, although Jason altered the pitch of the whistle because he couldn't whistle that high. The original pitch for the whistle began an octave higher than the note preceding it. I think that Sharp did put the higher whistle into his printed music, but no one ever sings it that way now. It's a better tune, but harder to do, I guess.

Subject: Lyr/Tune Add: SALLY BUCK
From: Malcolm Douglas
Date: 22 Mar 03 - 09:13 PM

SALLY BUCK

(Sung by Mr William Wooton at Hindman, Knott Co., Ky., Sept 21, 1917)

I started out a-hunting,
One cold and winter day,
The leaves were growing green
And the flowers were fresh and gay, gay,
And the flowers were fresh and gay.

I tracked the Sally buck all day,
I tracked him through the snow,
I tracked him through the waterside,
And under he did go, go,
And under he did go.

I got under the water
Ten thousand feet or more,
I fired off my pistols,
Like cannons they did roar, roar,
like cannons they did roar.

Out of ten and twenty big, fat bucks,
My chance, I killed one.
The rest they raised their bristles
And at me they did come, come,
And at me they did come.

Some they were on top of me,
A-holding of me down;
Ten and twenty big, fat bucks
They pinned me to the ground, ground,
They pinned me to the ground.

My hide was like a riddle
That a bull-dog could jump through;
And this it made me angry
And my broad sword I drew, drew,
And my broad sword I drew.

I bent my gun a circle,
I fired around the hill;
Out of ten and twenty big, fat bucks,
Ten thousand did I kill, kill,
Ten thousand did I kill.

To the stars I sold my venison,
To the moon I sold my skins,
I took it to the forfeit barn;
It would not all go in, in,
It would not all go in.


Cecil Sharp & Maud Karpeles, English Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachians, II, 159A, p. 217.


Roud 3607


X:1
T:Sally Buck
S:William Wooton, Hindman, Knott Co., Ky., 1917
Z:Cecil Sharp
B:English Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachians, II, 159A, p.217
N:Hexatonic (no 4th)
N:Roud 3607
L:1/8
Q:1/4=100
M:2/2
K:G
D2|D2 E2 G2 G2|E4 D2 D2|G2 G2 B2 d2|
w:I start-ed out a-hunt-ing, One cold and win-ter
d6 d2|e2 d2 d2 B2|(B2A2) G2 G2|B2 B2 A2 G2|
w:day, The leaves were grow-ing green_ And the flowers were fresh and
E4 F2 E E|D2 D2 HB2 A2|G6|]
w:gay, gay, And the flowers were fresh and gay.

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Subject: Lyr/Tune Add: SALLY BUCK
From: Malcolm Douglas
Date: 23 Mar 03 - 06:23 AM

I was quite mistaken to say that the set published by Cecil Sharp in Nursery Songs from the Appalachian Mountains was a collation. Looking more closely, I see that it's entirely Alex Coffey's version, though "tidied up" for publication. It isn't really necessary to post it, but here it is, anyway; for the sake of completeness and so that the editorial process can be seen. I omit the repeats after the first verse, as in the book.


SALLY BUCK

(Sung by Mr Alex Coffey at Nash, Va., May 9, 1918)

As I rode out a-hunting,
'Twas on a winter day,
The trees was in full bloom,
And the flowers fresh and gay,
Yes, the flowers fresh and gay.

As I rode down to the river brim
I spied a thousand deer
All on the tide did swim...

I cocked my gun immediately
And under water went;
For to kill one of them deers,
It was my whole intent...

I being under water,
Ten thousand feet or more,
I fired off my pistol,
Like cannons they did roar...

I killed one of them deer
And out of water went;
For to seek for those that fled
It was my whole intent...

I bent my gun in a circle,
And shot all round the hill,
And out of five-and-twenty deer
Ten thousand I did kill...

As I stood there a-gazing,
I saw the moon draw nigh;
And I clapped my wings upon my back,
Hopped on as she passed by...

And as the moon went down at night
She fetched a certain whirl;
And that's the way this poor boy
Fell into the world...

The money that I got
For my meat and skin,
I put it in a forty foot barn,
And it would not all go in...

The balance of my money
I lent it out of hand,
And now intend to live
A jolly, jolly gentleman...


Cecil Sharp & Maud Karpeles, English Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachians, II, 159B, p. 218.


X:2
T:Sally Buck
S:Alex Coffey, Nash, Va., May 9, 1918
Z:Cecil Sharp
B:English Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachians, II, 159B, p.218
N:Pentatonic. Mode I.
N:Roud 3607
L:1/8
Q:1/4=100
M:2/2
K:G
G2|c2 c2 A2 G2|c2 A4 G2|c2 c2 d2 c2|e6 d2|e2 e2 d2 d2|
w:As I rode out a-hunt-ing, 'Twas on a win-ter day, The trees was in full
c4 A2 G2|c2 c2 A2 E2|G4 G3 G|c2 c2 A2 E2|G6|]
w:bloom, And the flow-ers fresh and gay, Yes, the flow-ers fresh and gay.


Sharp also noted variations for bars 2, 6-7 and 10-11.

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Subject: RE: Tune sought for 'The Sally Buck'
From: katlaughing
Date: 23 Mar 03 - 10:49 PM

Thank you, kytrad for the first-hand history of this song. Fascinating and would love to hear more!

kat

Subject: RE: Tune sought for 'The Sally Buck'
From: kytrad (Jean Ritchie)
Date: 24 Mar 03 - 07:20 PM

Thank you, Kat- And Malcolm, thanks for setting out Sharp's collected version from William Wooton. Will was Uncle Jason's close friend and singing buddy, so Jason knew many of the same songs that Will did. I got mine from Jason- it's published both in Singing Family of the Cumberlands, and in, Celebration of Life. Uncle Jason's ending lines were: To the moon I sold my venison, to the stars I sold my skins; The man who tells the biggest lies commits the biggiest sins-O, Commits the biggest sins!"