131. The Irish Girl

131

The Irish Girl

A love-lyric of variable length and content, frequent in ballad
print and in traditional song-; see BSSN 199 and BSM 292. The
reduced form in the North Carolina collection is nearest to the
Missouri texts.

'As I Walked Out One Morning.' Contributed by Miss Jewell Robbins
of Pekin, Montgomery county, in 1922.

1 As I walked out one morning
All down the river side,

I cast my eyes around
And an Irish girl I spied.

2 So red and rosy was her cheeks
And so curly was her hair,

So costly was the jewelry
That Irish girl did wear.

 

368 NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE

3 The tears came flowing down her cheeks
And she began to cry :

'My true love's in Ireland
And quietly I'm forsaken !^

4 'Then I wish I was in Ireland,
A-sitting in my chair,

And in my hand a glass of wine
And by thy side, my dear.

5 'I'd call for whiskey, wine, and punch
And I'd drink before I go;

I'd cross the deep, deep ocean
Let the tide be high or low.'
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131

The Irish Girl

'As I Walked Out One Morning.' Sung by Miss Jewell Robbins. Recorded at

Pekin, Montgomery county, in 1922. Observe the triadic structure of measures

2, 3, 5, 6, and 7.


For melodic relationship cf. ** SharpK 11 255, No. 180B, last five measures ;
also Texas FS 160.

Scale: Heptachordal, plagal. Tonal Center: d. Structure: abb^c (2,2,2,2).