7U. Wheel of Fortune (When I Was Young); Roud 1075 (The False Lover; Come, Roll 'round the Wheel of Fortune)
Aa. "Wheel of Fortune," broadside Firth c.18(132) from Bodleian Library online [no imprint, no date] 9 stanzas; c.1830.
b. "Wheel of Fortune," broadside called a "street ballad" in possession of Richard Ford, a London bookseller, dated c. 1840.
c. "Wheel of Fortune- A Fine New Song" broadside from Charles Harding Firth Collection at Sheffield University Library printed by W. & T. Fordyce, 48 Dean St. Newcastle, c. 1840 but as early as 1830.
d. "Wheel of Fortune," Poet's Box, 6 St. Andrew's Lane Glasgow, dated March 3, 1855. Air- All Around My Hat.
e. "Wheel of Fortune," Broadside by T. Hoggett, Printer, Durham w/Green Grow the Rashes O/Streamlet see; Lucy Broadwood Manuscript Collection (LEB/9/247/3)
B. Wheel of Fortune- William Christie's Traditional Ballad Airs, Volume 1 (1876) from the singing of an old woman in Buckie, (Enzie, Banffshire) before 1866. Christie added text from a broadside.
C. "When I Was Young I Was Well Belov-ed," sung by Mrs. Margaret Gillespie (1841-1910) of Glasgow who is Rev. J. B. Duncan's sister, c. 1890.
D. "The False Lover." Sung by William Watson of New Byth, collected by Greig. 1908. Greig-Duncan Collection.
E. "When I Was Young," sung by Mrs. Duncan of Aberdeenshire c. 1908. Greig-Duncan Collection.
F. "When I Was Young," sung by David Parrott of Bedfordshire, learned from his family; Hamer, Garners Gay p.45.
G. "Come, Roll 'round the Wheel of Fortune." The song was recorded near Cumberland Gap, Tennessee, by Glada Gully, a student in Lincoln Memorial University, circa 1932. From Folk Songs from the Southern Highlands by Mellinger Henry, 1938.
H. "The False Lover" sung by Herbert Cunningham of Mullagh, Ireland on Jan. 14, 1939. From Sam Henry's Songs of the People p. 383.
Ia. "I Little Thocht My Love Wid Leave Me" sung by Norman Kennedy at a concert in Watertown near Boston on October 23, 1999 that was released in 2004 on his Autumn Harvest CD. About 1963 he learned from Isla Cameron (1927-1980).
b. "I Never Thought My Love Would Leave Me" recorded by June Tabor on "Abyssinians" (1983); her source was Isabel Sutherland who collected this song from one of the Stewarts at Blairgowrie.
J. "The Wheel of Fortune," sung by Tom Anderson, from IMTA site recording: http://www.itma.ie/gd/inishowen/song/wheel_of_fortune_tom_anderson/ Recorded at Deighan's [Deehan's] bar, Magilligan, Co Derry, 1969.
[The Wheel of Fortune[1] is a broadside and a traditional song which is the antecedent of some UK stanzas of "Love is Teasing" collected in the early 1900s. Its stanzas are also found in the US song "Little Sparrow" and other members of the extended Died for Love family. Its chorus (which follows) is used for the chorus of versions of Spanish Lady, a ballad that is part of 8A. Madam I Am Come To Court You song family. Here's the chorus which is the main identifying stanza as taken from my Aa, a Bodleian broadside[2]:
But turn you round, you wheel of fortune,
It's turn you round and smile on me;
For young men's words they are quite uncertain,
Which sad experience teaches me.
Boccaccio "De Casibus Virorum Illustrium" showing Lady Fortuna spinning the Wheel
The UK stanzas of "Love is Teasing" do not use the main identifying stanza of "Wheel," instead they primarily use the opening stanza, "When I was Young" and the "I did not think he was going to leave me" stanza (see: Love is Teasing). Versions of The Wheel of Fortune, in general, do not have the Love is Teasing stanza common to Waly, Waly. Some versions, lacking the "Wheel of Fortune" stanza, are clearly versions of "Wheel," which identified by the opening stanza:
When I Was Young[3]- sung by Mrs. Duncan of Aberdeenshire about 1908.
1. When I was young, I was well beloved
And sat on every young man's knee
When I was blooming and in my blossom
A false young man deceiv-ed me.
This version also includes three other stanzas of "Wheel" and is identified by the opening stanza. The ten "Wheel of Fortune" stanzas[4] are floating stanzas which form a variation of the Died for Love theme: A young maid is deceived by a false lover who takes advantage of the maid and leaves her. Her "fortune" or her "fountain" have been broken, both are symbols of the loss of virginity. In at least one version[5], she is pregnant. In other "Wheel" versions her pregnancy is implied by the breaking of her "fortune"-- symbolic of the loss of her virginity. Although similar to the Died for Love theme, the maid in this song refuses to let the false lover break her spirit and is defiant in some stanzas-- even though in the end her fate is similar: "And love will soon put an end to me." She also condemns the false young man to a place of torment (hell) in the last stanza. Here's the text of my Aa, the nine-stanza Bodleian broadside, Wheel of Fortune:
1. When I was young I was much beloved
By all the young men in the country;
When I was blooming all in my blossom,
A false young lover deceived me.
2. He has tried his whole endeavor,
He has tried all his power and skill,
He has spoiled all my good behaviour,
He has broken my fortune against my will.
3. I did not think he was going to leave me,
Till the next morning when he came in;
Then he sat down and began a-talking,
Then all my sorrows did begin.
4. I left my father, I left my mother;
I left my sister and brothers too;
And all my friends and old aquaintance,
I left them all to go with you.
5. But turn you round, you wheel of fortune,
It's turn you round and smile on me;
For young men's words they are quite uncertain,
Which sad experience teaches me.
6. If I had known before I had courted,
That love had been so ill to win,
I wad locked my heart in a chest of gold,
And pon'd it with a silver pin.
7. Then fare-ye-weel, ye false-hearted young man,
It's fare-ye-weel, since we must part;
If you are the man that has broke my fortune,
You're not the man that shall break my heart.
8. Of all the flowers that grow in the garden,
Be sure you pull the rose and thyme,
For all others are quite out of fashion,
A false young man he has stole my thyme.
9. But time will soon put an end to all things,
And love will soon put an end to me;
But surely there is a place of torment,
To punish my lover for slighting me.
The broadsides can be reasonably be dated 1830-1860. One early printing was by W. & T. Fordyce of 48, Dean Street, Newcastle who included "Wheel" with 17 other songs in "The Golden Songster: Comprising the Following Excellent Songs," 1832. A second broadside, my Ab, called a "street ballad" in possession of Richard Ford, a London bookseller, dated c. 1840, has an extra floating stanza (see first stanzas above) which follows the 4th stanza:
For after evening there comes a morning,
And after morning a bonny day,
And after one lover there comes another,
And it's ill to hold them that must away.
Ab is the same ten-stanza text as my Ac, "Wheel of Fortune- A Fine New Song" from W. & T. Fordyce, printers, 48 Dean St. Newcastle, c. 1840 which was printed in their Golden Songster as early as 1832. Ac and Ae have "you are the young man that broke my fountain," a veiled reference to the loss of her virginity-- already mentioned above. Both Aa, Ab and Ad have "you are the man that has broke my fortune," a more subtle inference. A number of broadsides were printed from around 1830 until 1860. According to Steve Gardham[6] "the broadside versions I have all seem to be the same 10 stanzas other than the 9-stanza Glasgow Poets Box which designates the tune as 'All Around My Hat'. It is not massively widely printed but I have records of printings all seemingly in the north of England and Scotland. [I have] Fordyce, Newcastle; Stephenson, Gateshead; Hoggett, Durham; Sanderson, Edinburgh, Elder, Edinburgh, Glasgow Poets Box (1855), nothing really earlier than c1830."
A song with the Wheel of Fortune title was sung by bass singer Richard Leveridge (1670-1758) at the Theatre Royal In Lincolns Inn Fields between 1714 and 1750 which might date as early as the late 1600s. It could be a reference the old song (c.1725) usually known as "Wheel of Life" with the first line beginning, "Wheel of life is turning quickly round." "Wheel of Life" has been also been printed as "The wheel of fortune. A new song (London, 1790)."
William Christie published a version, my B, in 1876 which he claims is from tradition and print in his book, Traditional Ballad Airs. Christie's tune came from"the singing of an old woman in Buckie, (Enzie, Banffshire,) from whose singing he arranged a great number of old Airs and Ballads. She died in the year 1866 at the age of nearly 80 years." Here is Christie's text;
The Wheel of Fortune.
WHEN I was young I was well beloved
In many gentle company:
And when thus blooming, just in my blossom,
A gay young man prov'd fause to me.
I did not think he was going to leave me,
Until one morning that he came in,
Till he came in and sat down and told me,
Then all my sorrows did begin.
"Oh, since it's so that you are to leave me!
And you and I must for ever part;
Though you have tried to spoil my fortune[7],
You're not the man that can break my heart.
But had I known, before I saw you,
That love was something so ill to win,
I'd have lock'd my heart in a golden casket,
And pinn'd it up with a silver pin."
Oh, how can I be blithe and glad now,
Or in my mind contented be!
Since the bonny lad, that I lo'ed so dearly,
Has now gone far awa' from me!
Of all the flowers that grow in the garden,
Be sure to pu' the rue in time!
For other flowers soon get out of fashion,
I pu'd rue late, and now it's mine.
Oh, turn ye round, ye wheel of fortune!
Oh, turn ye round and smile on me!
For young men's words are so deceiving,
As sad experience teaches me.
But after evening there comes the morning,
And after dawn there comes the day;
And after a fause love may come a true love;
He's ill to hold that will not stay.
Christie's version seems to have been edited to cover up the implied loss of virginity that is found in several stanzas of the broadside. The version also has an unusual ordering of stanzas. Other versions have been found in tradition but they are somewhat rare. Wheel of Fortune stanzas are found in the various Died for Love songs and its extended family-- especially "Love is Teasing." Usually only one or two stanzas are borrowed. The ballad is parallel to Waly, Waly sharing one stanza but does not share its Love is Teasing stanza. My C version "When I Was Young I Was Well Belov-ed," sung by Mrs. Margaret Gillespie (1841-1910) of Glasgow, has one stanza of Died for Love:
WHEN I WAS YOUNG I WAS WELL BELOV-ED
1. When I was young I was well beloved
In every young man's company
When I was blooming in my blossom
A false Young man deceived me.
2. I didna think he was going to leave me
Until the morning when he came in
When he sat down and began a talking
Then all my sorrows they did begin.
3. He has used all his endeavour
He has tried all his power and skill
And he has spoiled all my good behaviour
And broken my fortune against my will.
4. If I had known before I courted
That love it was so ill to win
I'd have locked my heart in a chest of gold
And pinned it up with a siller pin.
5. But after evening there comes a morning
An after dawning there comes a day,
An after one lover comes another
They are ill to hold that winna stay.
6. But gine my baby it were born
And set upon its nurse's knee
An I mysel were dead an gone
An the green grass growing over me.
7. But turn around ye wheels o' fortune
Turn around and smile on me
For young men's words are so deceiving
And sad experience teaches me.
Stanza 6 is borrowed from Died for Love. Importantly, it shows the maid is pregnant, a condition implied by her loss of virginity in the broadsides. "Wheel of Fortune" stanzas are also found in the "Come All You Fair and Tender Young Ladies/Little Sparrow" songs once popular in America. My G is categorized by Mellinger Henry as a version of "Young Ladies" as it has the two "little sparrow" verses. Here's the text:
"Come, Roll 'round the Wheel of Fortune." The song was recorded near Cumberland Gap, Tennessee, by Glada Gully, a student in Lincoln Memorial University.
1. Come, roll 'round your wheel of fortune,
Come, roll around once more for me;
A young man's love is quite uncertain,
My own experience teaches me.
2. Once I had a gay, young lover,
He was my joy; he was my pride;
But now he's going with another,
He's sitting by another's side.
3. 1 must confess I dearly love him;
I kept the secret in my breast;
I never knew an ill about him
Until I learned to love him best.
4. I never knew he was going to leave me
Until one night when he came in;
He sat down by me and told me,
'Twas when my trouble first began.
5. Had I the wings of a little sparrow,
I wouldn't pine nor would I die,
But I would follow my false-hearted lover
And tell him where he told a lie.
6. Had I the wings of a little swallow,
Or had I the wings of a turtle dove,
I'd fly away from this world of sorrow
Into some land of light and love.
7. Now, all you girls, take warning;
Be careful how you love young men,
For they are like the stars of morning,
As soon as daylight they are gone
Henry's version is similar to the "Young Ladies" versions in the US except for the inclusion of the "Wheel" identifying stanza, rarely found in tradition. Henry's ballad more clearly shows the "Wheel of Fortune" as an antecedent of "Young Ladies." Only the "swallow/sparrow" stanzas and the warning stanza are independent and found in a different broadside, "The Lady's Address to the Fair Maidens." The warning stanza found in "The Lady's Address" and also UK versions of "Love is Teasing" is sometimes preceded by stanzas of "Wheel." This short version from Bedfordshire, my F, shows the warning stanza was also present in the UK in the early 1900s:
"When I Was Young," sung by David Parrot of Bedfordshire, learned by 1924 from his family, collected Hamer.
1. When I was young I was well belov-ed
By all young men in this countree;
When I was young and just in my blossom,
A false young man deluded me.
2. He spoil-ed all my good behaviour,
He has used all his wit and skill
He spoil-ed all my good behaviour
And made me love him against my will.
3. Now listen all ye pretty maidens,
And pay ye heed unto what I say
Now listen all ye pretty maidens,
And by no man be thus led astray.
Although the 2nd stanza has substituted the 3rd line for the 1st line then repeated it, this important version shows the warning stanza associated with "Wheel." Another stanza may be used as an identifying stanza-- this is from the broadside Aa:
3. I did not think he was going to leave me,
Till the next morning when he came in;
Then he sat down and began a-talking,
Then all my sorrows did begin.
The B version from Grieg Duncan begins with this stanza[8] as does another Scottish version mixed with stanzas from Died for Love as well as the "Love is Teasing" stanza:
I Never Thought My Love Would Leave Me- sung by June Tabor
I never thought that my love would leave me
Until that morning when he came in.
He sat down and I sat beside him;
'Twas then our troubles they did begin.
Oh love is pleasing and love is teasing
And love is a pleasure when first it's new.
But love grows older and grows quite colder
And fades away like the morning dew.
There is a tavern in yon town
And there my love goes and he sits down.
He takes a dark girl on his knee
And tells her what he once told me.
There is a blackbird sits on yon tree;
Some say he's blind and cannot see.
Some say he's blind and cannot see
And so is my false love to me.
I wish my father had never whistled,
I wish my mother had never sung;
I wish the cradle had never rocked me,
I wish I'd died, love, when I was young.
The last three stanzas are associated with Died for Love. Tabor's source was Isabel Sutherland[9] who collected this song from one of the Stewarts at Blairgowrie. Lucy Stewart sang the Died for Love stanzas in her version of "I wish, I Wish." Stewart also sang "Love is Teasing" with a similar melody and style. A similar version, "I Little Thocht My Love Wid Leave Me," was sung by Norman Kennedy, a Scot singer who moved to the US.
The "Wheel of Fortune" stanza is found occasionally in versions of "Love is Teasing" and was collected by Barry from a singer of County Tyrone who insert in a courting song[10] (see JAF 1911) which is a different song sometimes titled, "Madam I Have Come to Court You." A number of versions (for example on titled Dublin City) from the UK have the "Wheel" opening stanza in them.
The "Wheel of Fortune" broadside was not widely print and only a half-dozen traditional versions are known. Its influence on other related songs including "Love is Teasing" and "Young Ladies/Little Sparrow" has been recently discovered[11] and perhaps more details on its origin may someday be known.
R. Matteson 2017]
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Footnotes:
1. In this ballad the maid asks the Wheel of Fortune to turn and change her bad luck with love. Rota Fortunae or The Wheel of Fortune, is a medieval and ancient belief of the fickle nature of fate. When the goddess Fortuna spins the wheel, where it stops determines a good or bad future for that person. In The Bathhouse at Midnight: An Historical Survey of Magic and Divination by William Francis Ryan, he writes that ". . .the notion of the Wheel of Fortune is part of pagan belief in astrology going back to Zoeraster. . ." The Wheel of Fortune is the tenth Major Arcana card in most Tarot decks. Various constructions of the Wheel have been use to divine the future in Western civilization.
2. "Wheel of Fortune," broadside Firth c.18(132) from Bodelian Library online [no imprint, no date] 9 stanzas; probably printed by Hoggett (Durham).
3. "When I Was Young," sung by Mrs. Duncan of Aberdeenshire c. 1908, collected by Gavin Greig, The Greig-Duncan Collection.
4. The broadsides are nine or ten stanzas. Ten stanzas are the complete set.
5. One Died for Love stanza wishing her babe could be born is found in "When I Was Young I Was Well Belov-ed," sung by Mrs. Margaret Gillespie (1841-1910) of Glasgow. As she is Rev. J. B. Duncan's sister, I've date her version c. 1890 although it's probably much older.
6. Sent to me in an email in March, 2017.
7. Christie has "spoil my fortune" making the loss of virginity ambiguous.
8. "I never knew he was going to leave me" sung by Mrs. Milne of Aberdeenshire c. 1908. Greig-Duncan Collection.
9. Reported online at Mainly Norfolk.
10. The standard title is "Twenty Eighteen" or "Madam I Have Come to Court You." The same song with "Wheel" sung was reported in later Scottish tradition. Most versions use "Ripest Apple" stanza instead of Wheel of Fortune. Barry's version [Madam, I have come to court ye] was sung by S. C., Boston, Mass., native of County Tyrone, Ireland. See: Irish Folk-Song by Phillips Barry; The Journal of American Folklore, Vol. 24, No. 93 (Jul. - Sep., 1911), pp. 332-343. Given in full in appendix (bottom of this page).
11. The recent studies include this and the other Died for Love studies from 7. Died for Love and especially this Appendix (7U. Wheel of Fortune) and its related appendices 7K. Love Is Teasing (Love Is Pleasing); 7Ua. Young Ladies (Little Sparrow) and 7V. The Ripest Apple (Ripest of Apples).
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Appendix
Ab. "Wheel of Fortune," broadside called a "street ballad" in possession of Richard Ford, a London bookseller.
When I was young I was much beloved
By all the young men in the country;
When I was blooming all in my blossom,
A false young lover deceived me.
He has tried all his whole endeavor,
He has tried all his power and skill,
He has spoiled all my good behaviour,
He has broken my fortune against my will.
I did not think he was going to leave me,
Till the next morning when he came in;
Then he sat down and began a talking,
Then all my sorrows did begin.
I left my father, I left my mother;
I left my sister and brothers too;
And all my friends and old aquaintance,
I left them all to go with you.
Its turn you round, you wheel of fortune,
Its turn you round and smile on me;
For young men's words they're quite uncertain,
For sad experience teaches me.
If I had kept before I had courted,
That love had been so ill to win,
I wad locked my heart in a chest of gold,
And sealed it with a silver pin.
Then fare ye well, ye false-hearted young man,
It's fare ye well, since we must part;
If you're the man that has broke my fortune,
You're not the man that shall break my heart.
For after evening there comes a morning,
And after morning a bonny day,
And after one lover there comes another,
And it's ill to hold them that must away.
Of all the flowers that grow in the garden,
Be sure and pull the rose and time,
For all others are quite out of fashion,
A false young man he's stole my time.
It's time will soon put an end to all things,
And love will soon put an end to me;
But sure there is a place of torment,
To punish my lover for slighting me.
----------------------------
Ac. "Wheel of Fortune- A Fine New Song" broadside from W. & T. Fordyce, printers, 48 Dean St. Newcastle, c. 1840.
When I was young I was well beloved
By all young men in the country;
When I was blooming all in my blossom,
A false-hearted lover deceived me.
He has tried all his whole endeavor,
He has tried all his power and skill,
He has spoiled all my good behaviour,
He has broken my fountain against my will.
I did not think he was going to leave me,
Till the next morning when he came in;
Then he sat down and began a talking,
Then all my sorrows did begin.
I left my father, I left my mother;
I left my sister and brothers too;
I left my friends and whole aquaintance,
I left them all for to go with you.
But turn ye round, you Wheel of Fortune,
Turn you round and smile on me;
For young men's words they're quite uncertain,
Sad experience teaches me.
If I had known before I had courted,
That love had been so ill to win,
I would have lock'd my heart in a chest of gold,
And pinn'd it up with a silver pin.
Fare you well, false-hearted young man,
Fare ye well, since we must part;
If you are the young man that broke my fountain,
You are not the man that'll break my heart.
For after evening there comes a morning,
And after morning a bonny day,
And after one true love comes another,
They're ill to hold that will must away.
By all the flowers that grow in the garden,
Be sure and pull the rose in time,
For all others are out of fashion,
A false young man has stole my time.
Time will soon put an end to all things,
And love will soon put an end to me;
Surely there is a place of torment,
To punish my love for slighting me.
------------------------------
Ad. "Wheel of Fortune," Poet's Box, 6 St. Andrew's Lane Glasgow, dated March 3, 1855. Air- All Around My Hat.
1. When I was young I was much beloved
By all the young men in the country;
When I was blooming all in my blossom,
A false young lover deceived me.
2. He has tried his whole endeavour,
He has tried all his power and skill,
To rob me of my good behaviour,
And break my fortune against my will.
3. I never knew he was going to leave me,
Till the next morning when he came in;
When he sat down and began a talking,
Then all my sorrows they did begin.
4. I left my father, I left my mother;
I left my sisters and brothers too;
I left my friends and dear relations,
I left them all for the sake of you.
5. But turn you round, you wheel of fortune,
Turn you round and smile on me;
For young men's vows they are so uncertain,
Sad experience teaches me.
6. If I had known before I courted,
That love it was so ill to win,
I'd have locked my heart in a chest of diamonds,
And seal'd it up with a silver pin.
7. Then fare-you-well, you false-hearted young man,
It's fare-you-well, since we must part;
If you are the man that has broke my fortune,
You're not the man that will break my heart.
8. Of all the flowers that grow in the garden,
Be sure to pull the rue and time [thyme],
For all my rue is quite out of fashion,
And that false young man has stole my time [thyme].
9. But time will soon put an end to all things,
And love will soon put an end to me;
But surely there is a place of torment,
To punish my lover for slighting me.
-----------------------------------------------
"Madam, I have come to court ye"
Has identifying stanza of "Wheel". See other title: Twenty Eighteen. Same song with "Wheel" sung in later tradition, most versions use "Ripest Apple" stanza instead of Wheel of Fortune.
[Madam, I have come to court ye]- Sung by S. C., Boston, Mass., native of County Tyrone, Ireland. From: Irish Folk-Song
by Phillips Barry; The Journal of American Folklore, Vol. 24, No. 93 (Jul. - Sep., 1911), pp. 332-343.
I. "Madam, I have come to court ye,
If your favor I could gain,
If you highly entertain me,
I will surely call again.
Chorus: With my 20, 18, 16, 14, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2, and 1,
With my 19, 17, 15, 13, 11, 9, 7, 5, 3, and 1.
2. "Madam, I have gold and silver,
Madam, I have house and land,
Madam, I have worldly treasures,
[ All shall be at your command." ]
3. "What care I for your gold and silver,
What care I for your house or land,
What care I for your ships on the ocean,
All I want's a nice young man."
4. "Round about the wheel of fortune,
It goes round and wearies me,
Young men's ways are so uncertain,
Sad experience teaches me!" []
This is apparently the original of "The Quaker Courtship," current in many different versions, one of which, never before printed, may here be included for comparison. Sung by R. B. C., Newbury, Vt. Mixolydian.
I. "Molly dear, I've come a-courting,
Hum, hum, hi-ho-hum!
'T is for labor I'm now sporting,
Hum, hum, hi-ho-hum!"
2. "I want none of your love nor money,
Hi-d-le linktum, hi-o-a,
I want a man will call me ' Honey,'
Hi-d-le linktum, hi-o-a."
3. "Here's a ring cost forty shillings,
Thee may have it, if thee's willing!"
4. "I want none of your rings nor money,
I want a man will call me 'Honey'!"
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