A Rich Lady from London- Ingenthron (MO) 1892 Randolph F
[From Randolph's Ozark Folksongs; Volume 1: British Ballads and Songs. Randolph takes no position on the debate about the classification of "Pretty Sally" but he places the ballads in his Child ballads section and seems to accept the ballads as versions of Child 295. Randolph's notes follow.
R. Matteson Jr. 2014]
40. PRETTY SALLY OF LONDON
Similar to several pieces reported from Virginia by Davis (Traditional Ballads of Virginia, pp. 537-543), who publishes them as variants of "The Brown Girl" (Child, English and the Popular Ballads, 1882-1898, No. 295). In this he follows the authority of Campbell and Sharp (English Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachians, 1917, No. 36) who recovered similar items in Virginia and in North Carolina. Barry, Eckstorm and Smyth (British Ballads from Maine, 1929, pp.418-425) print five texts from Maine, and consider it as a secondary form derived from Child 295. For other American references see Barry (JAFL 18, 1905, p. 295, Tolman (JAFL 29,1916, p. 17S), Cox (Folk-Songs of the South, 1925, pp. 366-370), Kirkland (Southern Folklore Quarterly 2, 1938, p. 79), who reports a "Rich Irish Lady" version, "Sally Dover" in Chappell (Folk-Songs of Roanoke and the Albermarle, 1939, pp. 75), Gardner (Ballads and Songs of Southern Michigan, 1939, pp. 150-151), Treat (JAFL 52, 1939, pp. Belden (Ballads and, Songs, 1940, pp. 111-118), Brewster (Ballads and Songs of Indiana 1940, pp. 164-165), and "A Brave Irish Lady" in the Brown (North Carolina Folk-Lore collection.
F. [A Rich Lady from London] Sung by Mr. Charles Ingenthron, Walnut Shade, Mo., Sept. 6, 1941. He calls it "A Rich Lady from London," and says that he learned it near Walnut Shade in 1892.
A rich lady from London she came,
A beautiful dam-sell pretty Sally by name,
Her riches was more than possess, [1]
Her wit and her beauty was more than the rest
There was a poor young man like we are all here,
Who toward this rich lady her [2] courtship did steer,
But her mind being lofty and her eyes were so high
Toward this poor young man she would scarce cast an eye.
Oh Sally, oh Sally, pretty Sally, says he,
I'm sorry that your love and mine can't agree,
Unless that your hateward [3] would turn into love,
Your love is my ruin, I'm sure it will prove.
I have no hateward for you nor no other man,
But to tell you that I love you is more than I can,
I don't wish to entertain you nor stop your discourse,
But never will I marry you until I am forced.
Six months had not come and six months had not passed
Till I heard that this rich lady missed fortune at last,
She was taken so quickly I could not tell why,
She sent for this poor young man she once did deny.
He rode like a doctor and to her bedside,
Is the pain in your head, love, is the pain in your side?
Oh no, it is neither, I'll tell you the rest,
The pain that's now killing me lies deep in my breast.
Oh Sally, oh Sally, pretty Sally, says he,
It's don't you remember when I courted thee.
I asked you some questions, you answered with scorn,
And now I'll reward you of things past and gone.
Forgotten, forgiven, all things past and gone,
But to look at the sweet pleasures that is yet for to come.
Oh no I won't, Sally, enduring my breast,
I'll dance on your grave when you're gone to your rest.
She taken from her fingers, 'twas diamond rings three,
Saying take them and wear them while dancing on me,
Oh yes, I will, Sally, rejoicing 'twill be,
to think what a pretty girl has once died for me.
Now this lady is dead, as we may suppose,
Some other fair damsel is a-wearing her fine clothes,
Her body now lies in a cold tomb of clay,
Her red rosy cheeks have all faded away. [4]
1. were (was) more than any king could possess,
2. his
3. hatred
4. Perhaps originally, "Her red-rosy cheeks are a-moldering away."