Lyr Add/Origins: St. Regious Girl (Carter Family)

Subject: Lyr Add: ST. REGIOUS GIRL (Carter Family)
From: GUEST,Bob Coltman
Date: 03 Dec 06 - 10:51 AM

One of the stranger Carter Family songs is "St. Regious Girl." It raises some questions.

1. Where is St. "Regious"? There is a St. Regis River in NY state. I could find no Regious, and no other such listing, in the atlas or on the web. Did Carter mishear and misspell "Regis"? Or could there be a tiny "St. Regious" in southwestern VA or nearby that does not appear on the maps?

2. Is the song, with its bereft-by imprisonment theme, about an actual person or occurrence? Anyone have any insight into A.P. Carter's source, if any, or what spurred him to write this?

3. There are some questionable words here; my copy is not a very clear one. Can anyone help me iron them out?

Bob

ST. REGIOUS GIRL

In a   pine-shaded grave by the river,
Where the nightingale sings soft and low,   
All alone lies the St. Regious maiden,   
Who['d a-?] sang this sad song years ago.

Nevermore will my heart fill with gladness,
As I [stole?] through the forest again,
For the prison has taken my lover,
That's why my poor heart's full of pain.

When in prison you're dying from sorrow,
I hope you'll remember the day,
When together we [sinned?] in this valley,
And the vows that we said on this quay.

Oh if I could but burn down that prison,
To steal you away for a while,
They could carry me off to the gallows,
And I'd go to my doom with a smile,

When the moon is high in the heavens,
And the mountain's [adream?] in its light,
How often I'll dream of you, sweetheart,
As I mourn there alone in the night.

There will be a green grave in the forest,
And people when passing that way
Will think of the St. Regious maiden
As she lies there alone in the clay.

A shadow has crossed o'er this valley
Where once only sometimes it [reigned?],
But wherever life's pathway may lead you
I shall ever remember our dream.

In the future someday I will meet you,
On the bright shore so far from this world,
And there before God I will greet you,
That's the dream of the St. Regious girl.A

Subject: RE: Lyr add/origins St. Regious Girl
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 03 Dec 06 - 01:12 PM

The song is titled "St. Regis Girl," and listed as recorded at Charlotte, NC, 6/8/38, at www.icdc.com/~fmoore/carterfamily/st_regis_girl.htm
St Regis Girl

Subject: RE: Lyr add/origins St. Regious Girl
From: bobad
Date: 03 Dec 06 - 01:26 PM

St. Regis is the name of an Indian reservation on the shore of the St. Lawrence river in New York state. It is the home of members of the Mohawk nation and today is known as Akwesasne, it's Mohawk name. Perhaps the girl in the song was from there.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Regis_Mohawk_Reservation,_New_York

Subject: Lyr Add: ST. REGIS GIRL (Carter Family)
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 03 Dec 06 - 01:30 PM

The text at the above website differs in a few words from that given by Bob Coltman. Here is the entire text (easiest for comparison).

Lyr. Add: ST. REGIS GIRL
(Carter Family 1938)

In a pine shaded grave by the river
Where the nightingale sings sad and low
All alone lies a St. Regis maiden
Who did sing this sad song years ago.
2.
Nevermore will my heart fill with gladness
As I stroll through the forest again
For to prison they've taken my lover
That's why my poor heart's full of pain
3.
When in prison your dying from sorrow [you're]
I hope you'll recall those last days
That together we spent in this valley
And the vows that we've shared on its quay.
4.
Oh if I could but burn down that prison
To steal you away for awhile
They could carry me off to the gallows
And I'd go to my doom with a smile.
5.
When the moon is high in the heaven
And the mountains do gleam in its light
How often I'll dream of you sweetheart
As I mourn there alone in the night.
6.
There will be a green grave in the forest
And people when passing that way
Will think of that St Regis maiden
As she lies there alone in the clay.
7.
A shadow has crossed o'er the valley
Where once only sunshine did reign
But where ever life's pathway may lead me
I shall ever remember our dream.
8.
In the future someday I will meet you
On the bright shore so far from this world
And there before God I will greet you
That's the dream of the St. Regis girl.

From the website linked above: www.icdc.com/~fmoore/carterfamily/st_regis_girl.htm

Subject: RE: Lyr add/origins St. Regious Girl
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 03 Dec 06 - 01:33 PM

A thought- does the tune remind one of "Bright Mohawk Valley- Red River Valley?
I haven't heard this recording.

Subject: RE: Lyr add/origins St. Regious Girl
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 03 Dec 06 - 01:37 PM

re Bobad- St. Regis reserve, and St. Regis Lake, NY, would have quays (one mentioned in the song).

Subject: RE: Lyr add/origins St. Regious Girl
From: Malcolm Douglas
Date: 03 Dec 06 - 01:42 PM

The Carter Family recording seems to have been issued under various spellings: several times as 'St Regius.'

Subject: RE: Lyr add/origins St. Regious Girl
From: GUEST,Bob Coltman
Date: 03 Dec 06 - 04:44 PM

Thanks everyone -- DT does it again! My search on the title as spelled turned up no texts at all.

Clearly nobody knew what it was supposed to be. Decca must have used "St. Regious," "St. Regius" and "St. Regis" indifferently, depending on the printed labels' local factory of origin or something.

Interestingly the Carters sing "quay" like it looks, instead of "key." The word was strange to them. Could this be an indication that the song is not original with A.P. Carter, but has a deeper history?

Tentatively it would seem that this is one of those "Indian girl" (native American woman) songs like "Red Wing" and "Snow Deer" ... and that too might indicate earlier origin in the decade (roughly 1905-15) when such songs were a fad.

Certainly the Carters personally had no connection and probably no knowledge of upstate New York or the Native American reservations thereof. (Barring an unrecorded Adirondacks vacation...) I'm betting the song is older, though it may be a pop product without any backstory.

Does it occur anywhere else besides the Carters' recording or a later version learned from them?

Bob

Subject: RE: Lyr add/origins St. Regious Girl
From: GUEST,Bob Coltman
Date: 03 Dec 06 - 05:10 PM

A couple more thoughts.

The song does not sound like a conventional pop song. Thus Tin Pan Alley origin seems unlikely. The girl isn't even named -- as are the heroines of most such songs: Fabiola, Anona, Cherokee Rose, Snow Deer, Blue Feather, Rainbow, Seminola, Singing Bird, Starlight, My Little Indian Napanee, Moon-Bird, Golden Arrow, Iola, Lo-Na, Falling Leaf, Towanda, Watseeka et al. (OK, I admit it, I've been collecting them for years.)

It could be a newspaper or magazine poem set to music or something of the kind. But it sounds too modern to be placed among older songs (1840s-90s) like "Blue Juniata," "The Sachem's Daughter," "Minnehaha," etc.

What tickles the imagination is that there could be something quasi-historical in this. The mention of the lover in prison is an odd note that hints at somebody's life story. It is nearly unheard-of, in the first half of the 20th century, for prison and Indian love motifs to appear together in a song.

Re the "Bright Mohawk/Red River Valley" question, though the scansion is similar, the tune is nothing like Red River Valley. I doubt any connection.   

Bob