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26 Aug 05 - 03:34 AM (#1550015) Subject: Lyr Add: THE CRUEL MOTHER (from Hedy West) From: Roberto Please, help me complete and correct this transcription. Thank you. R The Cruel Mother Hedy West, Ballads, Topic 12T163, 1967. Collected by Cecil Sharp in North Carolina in 1918. There was a lady in New York All alone and loney She fell in love with her father's clerk All down by the greenwood sidey As she was going over the bridge All alone and loney She found herself a-growing big All down by the greenwood sidey She leaned her back against an oak All alone and loney First it bended, then it broke All down by the greenwood sidey She leaned herself against a thorn All alone and loney There she had two little babes born All down by the greenwood sidey She ........ keen and sharp All alone and loney She pierced those little babes to the heart All down by the greenwood sidey She laid them under a bunch of rue All alone and loney She prayed to the Lord they'd never come to All down by the greenwood sidey As she was walking cross the porch (?) All alone and loney She saw two little babes at play All down by the greenwood sidey O babes, O babes, if you were mine All alone and loney I'd dress you up in silk so fine All down by the greenwood sidey Mother, O mother, when we were thine All alone and loney You neither dressed us coarse nor fine All down by the greenwood sidey Mother, O mother, ... All alone and loney You'all always carry the key to Hell's Gate (?) All down by the greenwood sidey |
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26 Aug 05 - 10:13 AM (#1550250) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Hedy West's Cruel Mother #20 From: s&r Probably 'drew a knife...' compare to this selection from the Digitrad Stu |
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26 Aug 05 - 10:53 AM (#1550270) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Hedy West's Cruel Mother #20 From: Paul Burke "took a penknife keen and sharp" scans better... don't let anyone in the Matty Groves threads see this, or this thread will end up resemblimg MOABST down there. |
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26 Aug 05 - 11:00 AM (#1550274) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Hedy West's Cruel Mother #20 From: Roberto My lp is a little bit ruined at this point, but it seems the verb has a "k" sound. R |
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26 Aug 05 - 11:06 AM (#1550278) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Hedy West's Cruel Mother #20 From: Bill D She carried a penknife both keen and sharp All alone and loney She pierced those little babes to the heart All down by the greenwood sidey Mother, O mother, for our sakes All alone and loney You'all always carry the key to Hell's Gate (?) All down by the greenwood sidey also...both Ferrara & I seem to hear in the first refrain line "all along, Little Omie..or "Lomie" listen, and see if you don't agree it's not a standard text, but Hedy didn't do it like everyone else. |
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26 Aug 05 - 11:16 AM (#1550288) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Hedy West's Cruel Mother #20 From: Roberto Thank you very much. Yes, it seems you get it right. I would choose "all along, little Omie". R |
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26 Aug 05 - 05:13 PM (#1550548) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Hedy West's Cruel Mother #20 From: Little Robyn 'She's taken a penknife keen and sharp' is the way I used to do it. I haven't heard Hedy's version. Robyn |
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27 Aug 05 - 04:39 PM (#1551011) Subject: Lyr Add: THE CRUEL MOTHER (from Cecil Sharp) From: Desert Dancer I've not heard the recording, but it looks as though the text is from Sharp's The Cruel Mother "H" set (in English Folk Songs of the Southern Appalachians, sung by Mrs. Mary Gibson at Marion, North Carolina, Sept. 3, 1918: There was a lady in New York, All along little Omy, She fell in love with her father's clerk, All down by the greenwood sidey. SHe was a-going across the bridge, She found herself a-growing big. She leant herself against an oak; First it bent and then it broke. She leant herself against a thorn; And there she had two little babes born. She carried a penknife both keen and sharp; She pierced those little babes to the heart. She burried them under a bunch of rue; She prayed to the Lord they'd never come to. When she was a-walking across the porch, She saw two little babes at play. O babes, O babes, if you were mine, I'd dress you up in silk so fine. Mother, O mother, when we were yours You neither gave us coarse nor fine. Mother, O mother, for our sakes You'll always carry the keys of Hell's gates. -- Several of the other versions use "All alone and a-loney". I'll post the tune in a moment. ~ Becky in Tucson |
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27 Aug 05 - 05:25 PM (#1551060) Subject: Tune Add: THE CRUEL MOTHER From: Desert Dancer X:1 T:Cruel Mother (H) C:Trad. N:C. Sharp, EFFSA Q:1/4=130 V:1 M:2/2 L:1/8 K:F F2 |G2 A2 G2 F2 |G2 A2 G2 F2 |c3 c c2 cc |A4 G2 F2 |G2 A2 G2 FF |G2 A2 C2 A,2 |C2 AA F2 F2 |D4 F2 |] ~ Becky in Tucson (distracted and delayedby Max's broadcast on PalTalk) |
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27 Aug 05 - 06:35 PM (#1551120) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Hedy West's Cruel Mother #20 From: Bill D hmmm...seems like the Child ballad might have been mixed with the story of "Omie Wise", at least in the use of a few words. "you hear what you expect to hear" |
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27 Aug 05 - 07:04 PM (#1551144) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Hedy West's Cruel Mother #20 From: The Borchester Echo Straying just a little off topic, Maggie Holland's All Alone, a contemporary song which she wrote based on an actual family tragedy, uses this variant tune of The Cruel Mother, Maggie being a great admirer of Hedy West's banjo style. It's beautifully done though very hard to listen to. As she writes in the notes to Getting There (irr 035), "for once, I have no need to apologise for the occasional break in my voice". |
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28 Aug 05 - 05:43 PM (#1551772) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Hedy West's Cruel Mother #20 From: GUEST Becky in Tucson (Desert Dancer) - if you found that text without knowing the cover notes to the Hedy West record, that was well done. And the tune you posted is exactly what Hedy sings on the record, too. |
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28 Aug 05 - 05:48 PM (#1551775) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Hedy West's Cruel Mother #20 From: OldPossum Oops, that Guest at 5:43 was me. I forgot I had logged out. |
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28 Aug 05 - 06:37 PM (#1551795) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Hedy West's Cruel Mother #20 From: Desert Dancer OldPossum, fortunately Roberto did include the note Collected by Cecil Sharp in North Carolina in 1918, which is a pretty big tip-off. Back in the old days folkies had to get things from books, instead of just from other folkies' recordings... and the big books were easier to get hold of. :-) ~ Becky in Tucson |
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28 Aug 05 - 07:00 PM (#1551812) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Hedy West's Cruel Mother #20 From: Malcolm Douglas Nevertheless, the compliment is deserved. You know your onions, as the saying goes. The "big books" can certainly be a problem nowadays. I had to photocopy all four volumes of Bronson; it took nearly two years, on and off! At some point I'll have to do the same with Sharp-Karpeles; although I do have a copy to hand, it isn't mine, and the real owner will eventually want it back... |
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28 Aug 05 - 07:01 PM (#1551814) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Hedy West's Cruel Mother #20 From: snarky I can't read that Midi crap! Becky can you hum a few measures? time signature? tempo? keys? |
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28 Aug 05 - 07:30 PM (#1551848) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Hedy West's Cruel Mother #20 From: Malcolm Douglas It isn't midi, but abc notation, specially developed for the easy notation in plain ascii text of Western European folk music. To hear a midi rendition, or see a conversion to staff notation, simply go to http://www.concertina.net/tunes_convert.html and copy-and-paste the abc into the conversion window. Note that html pages like this one insert a space at the beginning of each line; remember to remove those before hitting the "submit" button. |