Lyr Req: june tabor's Young Allan (Child 245)

Subject: Lyr Req: june tabor's young allan
From: Roberto
Date: 13 Jan 04 - 12:58 PM

I'd lie to get the text of the ballad Young Allan (Child #245) as sung by June Tabor. Many of the words in my transcription I'm not sure of, and some I miss. Please, help. Thank you. Roberto

All the skippers in Scarsburgh
Sat drinking at the wine
They fell to boasting one by one
Unlucky (?) was the time

And some there praised their hawk, their hawk
And some there praised their hound
But Young Allan he praised his comely cog
That lay upon the strand

There's not a ship in Scarsburgh
Can sail along with mine
Except it be the Burges Black
Or the Small Cordvine

There's not a one among you a'
Can sail along with me
But the comely cog o Hecklandhawk
And the Flower o Germanie
And the Black Snake o leve (?) London
They a' can outsail me (?????)

Then it's up and spoke a little wee boy:
So loud I hear you lie
My master has a coal-carrier
Can take the wind from thee

For she'll sail in at your foremast
And out at your fore-lee
And nine times in a winter's night
She'll take the wind from thee

And it's then they fell to wagering
Full fifty tuns of wine
And aye as much o' the good black silk
Would clothe their ladies fine

But they had not sailed a league, a league
A league but barely three
When through the side of the bonny ship
They saw the green walled sea

Then Young Allan he cried and he wrung his hands
For he knew not what to do        
The wind is loud and the waves are proud
We'll all sink in the sea

O where can I get a little wee boy
Will take my helm in hand?
And who will steer my bonny ship
And bring it safe to the land?

I'll give him the half of all me gold
And a third part of me land
And if he'll bring us safe ashore
I'll give him me daughter Ann

O here am I, the little wee boy
Will take your helm in hand
And I will steer your bonny ship
And bring it safe to the land

Take fifty ells of the canvas broad
And wrap it all around
And as much of pitch and as much of tar
To make her hale and sound

Spring up, spring up, me bonny ship
And bring us safe to land
For every iron nail in you
With silver you shall have ten
.... (????)
To beat (?) the red gold in

Now the ship she listened all the while
And hearing of her hire
She .... (????????) the salt salt sea
As sparks do from the fire

And the first land they came upon
'Twas bonny Aberdeen
The pipes and drums did sweetly play
To welcome Young Allan in

O bring to me the little wee boy
That took my helm in hand
And who did steer my bonny ship
And bring it safe to the land

I'll give him the half of all me gold
And a third part of me land
And since he brought us safe ashore
I'll give him me daughter Ann

O, here am I, the little wee boy
That took your helm in hand
'Thoug I'll have none of your land or gold
I'll wed your daughter Ann

Forty ships went out that night
Forty ships and five
But none of one of them come back
But Young Allan and I

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: june tabor's young allan
From: GUEST,Mad4Mud at work
Date: 13 Jan 04 - 01:02 PM

There are two listings for this title in the DT. Have you checked them both?

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: june tabor's young allan
From: Malcolm Douglas
Date: 13 Jan 04 - 01:54 PM

Of the DT texts, the first is relevant here. The second acknowledges no source of any kind, but it is the text that James Duncan (The Greig-Duncan Folk Song Collection, II, 1983, no. 326R) got from Mrs Margaret Gillespie, without a tune. The DT midi provided belongs to a different version (Miraladen (326B), which Gavin Greig got from Mrs Thain, 1908). The DT mentions a "missing verse", which requires some amplification; so I quote from Greig-Duncan, II, p.578: "Mrs Gillespie adds a note at the end: 'There should be another verse, stating that he drowned him, instead of giving him his daughter. Perhaps you will find it some-where else.' Duncan comments: 'Mrs Gillespie never heard such a verse, however; she was only told that it existed. William [Duncan] says that this specified additional verse is a mistake between this ballad and the sinking of the 'French Gallee'."

June Tabor's arrangement of the song (and it would not be a bad idea to name the recording on which it appears; we are not all fans) is an anglicised collation, so far as I can see, made of bits from the various texts in Child; including his example C (The first DT file) and A.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: june tabor's young allan
From: Roberto
Date: 13 Jan 04 - 03:36 PM

The recording is June Tabor ON AIR - BBC, Strange Fruit SFRSCD074, recordings 1976-1990, published 1998.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: june tabor's Young Allan
From: Joe Offer
Date: 14 Jan 04 - 03:04 AM

I guess it might be an idea to post the entry from the Traditional Ballad Index.
-Joe Offer-

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Young Allan [Child 245]

DESCRIPTION: In a drunken gathering, Allan boasts of the speed of his ship. Challenged, he takes part in a race and is caught in a storm. Allan calls on a "bonny boy" to steer the ship (with offers of reward), then begs the ship to rescue him. Somehow, all survive
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1803 (Skene ms.)
KEYWORDS: ship storm gambling escape
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (6 citations):
Child 245, "Young Allan" (5 texts)
Bronson 245, "Young Allan" (16 versions)
Ord, pp. 320-322, "Young Allan" (1 text)
Leach, pp. 608-611, "Young Allan" (1 text)
DBuchan 58, "Young Allan" (1 text)
DT 245, YNGALAN* YNGALAN2*
Roud #242
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Sir Patrick Spens" [Child 58] (lyrics)
Notes: Child sees analogies between this ballad and mythical vessels which sailed at the will of their masters (e.g. the Phæacian ships in Odyssey viii.557 or the Scandinavian Elliða). Given, however, the sorry state of the versions in Child, one may doubt how much of this is tradition and how much simply confusion. - RBW
File: C245

---

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The Ballad Index Copyright 2003 by Robert B. Waltz and David G. Engle.

Subject: ADD Version: Young Allan
From: Joe Offer
Date: 14 Jan 04 - 03:29 AM

Here's the version in Ord's Bothy Songs and Ballads (1930). Ord has no tune, and no background notes.


YOUNG ALLAN

A' the young sailors o' merry Ardeen
As they sat drinkin' wine,
They fell a-reesin' amang themsels
At an unlucky time.

Some o' them reesed their horse, their horse,
And some o' them reesed their hound;
But young Allan he reesed his bonnie new ship
It cost him mony a pound.

Oot then spak' a little wee boy
At the fit o' young Allan's knee—
"Ye lee, ye lee, young Allan," he said,
"Sae loud as I hear ye lee.

"My father has a bonnie ship
To-morrow it will sail wi' thee."
"What will the wager be, brave boys,
What will the wager be?"

Thirty pints o' guid red wine,
And drunken it shall be;
There's no a ship in all the seas
To-morrow will sail wi' me;

"Except the Duke o' Dermondee,
Or the Rose o' Auchlingene,
The Black Snake o' the Leelangin—
That three we winna tak' in."

They drank late, and they drank ear',
And they drank Marsindene,
And they took farewell o' their ladies gay.
And left their girls at hame.

They sailed up and they sailed doon,
Through mony a stormy stream,
Till they saw the Duke o' the Dermondee.
She sank and never was seen.

Young Allan he grat and he wrang his hands
And he didna ken hoo to dee;
For the winds blew loud, and the waves beatroud,
And we'll a' be lost at sea.

"0, where will I get a bonnie boy
To tak' my helm in hand,
Till I gang up to yon high topmast
To look out for some dry land?

"He'll hae the ae half o' my gear,
And the third part o' my lan',
And if we do get safe on shore,
He'll wed my daughter Ann."

"Here am I, a bonnie wee boy,
That'll tak' your helm in han',
Till ye gang up to yon high topmast
To look out for some dry lan'.

"I'll hae the ae half o' your gear,
And the third part o' your lan',
And if we do get safe on shore,
I'll wed your daughter Ann."

"Come down, come down, my master dear,
Ye see not what I see;
It's throch-and-through your bonnie new ship
The green-wall seas do gae."

"Ye'll tak' four and twenty feather beds
And busk the bonnie ship roun',
And ye'll tak' as much o' the canvas cloth
As keep her safe and soun'.

"And where ye want an oaken spell,
Ye'll beat the yellow gold in;
And where ye want an iron nail,
Ye'll drive a silver pin."

They took four and twenty feather beds
And buskit the bonnie ship roun',
And they took as much o' the canvas cloth
As keepit her safe and soun'.

And where they wanted an oaken spell,
They beat the yellow gold in;
And where they wanted an iron nail,
They drove a silver pin.

The ship she hearkened to their voice,
To her helm answered she;
And she gane skippin' out owre the waves
As a bird gangs owre the lea.

The first kent shore that we cam' to
Was at the Rose o' Linn,
Wi' guns and swords they kept us out,
And they wadna let us in.

The next kent shore that we cam' to
Was bonnie Aberdeen;
Wi' dancin' and wi' harpin' loud,
They welcomed young Allan in.

The sailors they danced on the green
Wi' their new buckled sheen,
To see their bonnie ship back again
Through twenty ships and ane.

There were four and twenty bonnie ships,
They a' set sail frae hame,
But nane o' them cam' back again
But just young Allan his lane.

"Where is now the bonnie boy
That took my helm in han',
Till I went up yon high topmast
To look for some dry lan'?

"He'll hae the ae half o' my gear,
And the third part o' my lan',
And since we've now got safe on shore
He'll wed my daughter Ann."

"Here am I, the bonnie wee boy,
That took your helm in han',
Till ye gaed up yon high topmast
To look out for some dry lan'.

I'll no hae the ae half o' your gear,
Nor the third part o' your lan';
But since we've now got safe on shore
I'll wed your daughter Ann."

Hey, it's one of those rare ballads with a happy ending. Nice story.
-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: june tabor's Young Allan (Child 245)
From: Roberto
Date: 14 Jan 04 - 04:18 AM

Thank you, Joe. Ord's text helps me to make a step forward in the 14th stanza, although I still can't complete it:

Spring up, spring up, me bonny ship
And bring us safe to land
For every iron nail in you
With silver you shall have ten
And where you want an oaken ....
I'll beat the red gold in.

I'm not a June Tabor's fan, as Malcolm seems to think, but this is a fine recording (and I know no other recording of this ballad): I hope someone has got the CD and is going to help me with this transcription.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: june tabor's Young Allan (Child 245)
From: Roberto
Date: 15 Jan 04 - 04:05 AM

Now I've reached a complete text, but with some doubts, especially on the 15th and 4th stanzas.

All the skippers in Scarsburgh
Sat drinking at the wine
They fell to boasting one by one
Unlucky was the time

And some there praised their hawk, their hawk
And some there praised their hound
But Young Allan he praised his comely cog
That lay upon the strand

There's not a ship in Scarsburgh
Can sail along with mine
Except it be the Burges Black
Or the Small Cordvine

There's not a one among you a'
Can sail along with me
But the comely cog o Hecklandhawk
And the Flower o Germanie
And the Black Snake o Leve London
They a' can outsail me (?)

Then it's up and spoke a little wee boy:
So loud I hear you lie
My master has a coal-carrier
Can take the wind from thee

For she'll sail in at your foremast
And out at your fore-lee
And nine times in a winter's night
She'll take the wind from thee

And it's then they fell to wagering
Full fifty tuns of wine
And aye as much o' the good black silk
Would clothe their ladies fine

But they had not sailed a league, a league
A league but barely three
When through the side of the bonny ship
They saw the green walled sea

Then Young Allan he cried and he wrung his hands
For he knew not what to do      
The wind is loud and the waves are proud
We'll all sink in the sea

O where can I get a little wee boy
Will take my helm in hand?
And who will steer my bonny ship
And bring it safe to the land?

I'll give him the half of all me gold
And a third part of me land
And if he'll bring us safe ashore
I'll give him me daughter Ann

O here am I, the little wee boy
Will take your helm in hand
And I will steer your bonny ship
And bring it safe to the land

Take fifty ells of the canvas broad
And wrap it all around
And as much of pitch and as much of tar
To make her hale and sound

Spring up, spring up, me bonny ship
And bring us safe to land
For every iron nail in you
With silver you shall have ten
And where you want an oaken bolt
I'll beat the red gold in

Now the ship she listened all the while
And hearing of her hire
She sprang as fast oot (?) the salt salt sea
As sparks do from the fire

And the first land they came upon
'Twas bonny Aberdeen
The pipes and drums did sweetly play
To welcome Young Allan in

O bring to me the little wee boy
That took my helm in hand
And who did steer my bonny ship
And bring it safe to the land

I'll give him the half of all me gold
And a third part of me land
And since he brought us safe ashore
I'll give him me daughter Ann

O, here am I, the little wee boy
That took your helm in hand
'Thoug I'll have none of your land or gold
I'll wed your daughter Ann

Forty ships went out that night
Forty ships and five
But none of one of them come back
But Young Allan and I

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: june tabor's Young Allan (Child 245)
From: Wolfgang
Date: 15 Jan 04 - 05:19 PM

Roberto,

I don't have the recording so I can't really help, but I now very well your feelings for I often do try to transcribe songs and even one line whihc is not perfect bothers me.

With Child Ballads I often go to this place and look at the different versions.

None of these versions has exactly your two missing lines, but some are quite close and might give you an idea. To me both lines make sense in your version but as I said I don't have the recording.

Good luck.

Wolfgang

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: june tabor's Young Allan (Child 245)
From: Roberto
Date: 16 Jan 04 - 12:59 PM

Thank you, Wolfgang, for your solidarity. I had already checked the Child texts, and that site is one I often use. I think by now my transcription is almost complete. The first question mark is because I'm not sure of the meaning: is Young Allan saying that he can beat every ship except for the three he mentions? The secon question mark is because I think I hear "oot", but I'm not sure June Tabor uses such a scotticized word, although she also sings "a'" for "all" and uses other Scots words and expressions.