Origins: History of 'My Good Old Man'

Subject: History of 'My Good Old Man'
From: GUEST,Puffenkinty
Date: 10 Aug 03 - 12:54 PM

There's a great song titled "My Good Old Man"
in which it becomes apparent that one of the speakers is
a ghost or "haint", and that she is "hainting" the man
of the story. Does any body know the origins
of this song, where it came from, who has recorded it?
It seems to be part of the tradition of "Haint" songs. Any
comments on this tradition would be appreciated also.

Subject: RE: History of 'My Good Old Man'
From: GUEST
Date: 10 Aug 03 - 12:57 PM

I first heard it by Burl Ives, in the mid-40s.

Dave Oesterreich

Subject: RE: History of 'My Good Old Man'
From: Malcolm Douglas
Date: 10 Aug 03 - 01:54 PM

The song itself is quite widespread (number 240 in the Roud Folk Song Index), having apparently travelled to the USA from England. Frank Purslow reckoned it dated back to the 17th century, but I don't know on what grounds. I've only seen one set, an American one, that speaks of haunting (doubtless there are others) and that seems to be something that got tacked onto a few variants of the song later in its history. Kennedy (Folksongs of Britain and Ireland 153) prints a set in Welsh, Yr Hen Wr Mwyn, remarking that it was quite popular there. I wouldn't know whether the song started out in England or Wales, but the format of the gradually escalating argument that reaches absurd levels is quite an old one.

Subject: RE: History of 'My Good Old Man'
From: GUEST,Guest
Date: 10 Aug 03 - 02:04 PM

See ZN2908 in the broadside ballad index at www.erols.com/olsonw for late 17th century copies, "The Jealous Old Dotard".

Subject: RE: History of 'My Good Old Man'
From: Desdemona
Date: 10 Aug 03 - 02:09 PM

It's one my (English) mother's always sung, but I never asked where she learnt it, since most of her songs seem to have come from her granddad, who died in the '40s.

D.

Subject: RE: History of 'My Good Old Man'
From: masato sakurai
Date: 10 Aug 03 - 06:42 PM

From folktrax:

MY GOOD OLD MAN - "O where are you going to, my G O M?" (spoken) "Going to the -" - dialogue between husband and wife - supper - eggs - infidelity - ROUD#240 - ROXBURGHE 1871 "The Jealous Old Dotard" or "The Discovery of Cuckoldry" - SHARP-KARPELES CDC 1974 #317 pp360-1 Capt Lewis, Minehead, Somerset 1909 "GOM" - SEDLEY 1967 collated from Roxburghe & Sharp - PURSLOW WS 1968 p81 Gardiner: E Quintrell, Helston, Cornwall - REEVES IP #36 pp115-6 Sharp: Capt Lewis "GOM" - REEVES EC 1960 #52 pp125-6 Gardiner: Fanny Stephens, St Columb, Cornwall (w/o) "GOM" --- SHARP FSSA 1917/32 #230 (vol 2 pp338-9) 2var: Miss Polly Anne Kelly,Hindman School, Knott Co., Ky 1917/ The Misses Una & Sabrina Ritchie, Hindman School, Knott Co, Ky 1917 "The GOM" - LOMAX OSC "Where have you been, MGOM?" - RANDOLPH OFS 1946 3 pp171-4 Charles Ingenthron. Missouri 1940/ Reba & Wilmerf McDonald, Ark 1941/ Mrs Olga Trail. Ark 1941 2v/m "The Best Old Feller in the World" - McINTOSH FSSGIO pp33-35 Illinois 1933 "Kind Old Husband" - see Cajun version -- Jack ELLIOTT Birtley, Co Durham: LEADER LEA-4001 1969 (from John Bell Ms collated by Jack & Frank Rutherford) --- Jean RITCHIE (dulc) with Oscar BRAND (gtr) & Dave SEARS (banjo): RIVERSIDE RLP-12- 646 1957 - Folksongs of the Louisiana Cajuns" ARHOOLIE 359 "La Patate Chaude" ("Hot Potato") & "Le Vieux Soulard et sa Femme" ("Old Drunkard and his wife") - Cleoma BREAUX & Joseph FALCON in Cajun rec COLUMBIA 1928/ Anthology of American Folk Music Folkways SFW 40090 - Texas GLADDEN rec by Alan Lomax, Salem, Va 1941: AFS 5233 A2/ ROUNDER 11661-1800-2 2001 "My Lovin Old Husband"