British & Other Versions 7C. Sheffield Park (Unfortunate Maid)
[This British ballad is based on print versions dating back at least to 1770 when it was titled, The Unfortunate Maid[1]. Stanzas 1, 2, and 4 of the original prints are very similar to the Butcher Boy broadsides printed in the US by 1858 indicating a similar ancestry. The theme of the rejected maid by her false lover, the similar stanzas to Died for Love E, Butcher Boy as well as the borrowing of stanzas from Constant Lady to make a new ending in the 1820s broadside, qualify Sheffield Park to be 7C, an appendix to Died for Love.
The earliest print version is "The Unfortunate Maid," from "The Choice Spirits Delight Part II: Being a Choice Collection of New Songs, Sung this and the Last Season, at Renelagh, Vauxhall, Sadler's Wells, the Theatres, and in the Politest Companies. . ." printed by Dicey & Company in Aldermary Church-Yard, Bow-Lane, London, 1770. This version may be viewed in full on Google Books. It's possible The Unfortunate Maid was included in Part I which may have been printed as early as 1760 but obviously before 1770.
The Unfortunate Maid
IN Sheffield Park there liv'd and dwell’d,
A young man fair, I lov’d him well;
He courted me my love to gain,
Left me in grief and full of pain;
And when that I did send for him,
He laugh’d and said how fond I’d been,
And from my company would part;
His words went bleeding to my [heart].
I went upstairs unto my bed,
I laid me down, but nothing said;
My mistress came and to me said;
Pray what's the matter with my maid?
O mistress, you do little know,
What grief and sorrow I undergo;
Come lay your hands upon my breast,
My panting heart can take no rest.
My mistress cries, what shall I do?
Some help I'll have for you just now;
No help, no help, no help I crave,
A young man sends me to the grave.
Take you this letter into your hand,
And read it that you may understand,
Carry it to him just now with speed,
Give it to him if he can read.
He took this letter immediately,
And read it o'er while she stood by:
Then he did this letter burn,
Lest her in grief to make her moan;
She wrung her hands and tore her hair,
Crying I shall fall into despair,
O fatal death, come pity me,
And ease me of my misery.
This version was reprinted (see B) then reworked in the 1820s with a new ending taken from the c.1686 broadside Constant Lady and the False Hearted Squire. Here's the new text from Pitts, Printer, wholesale Toy and Marble warehouse 6, Gt. St. Andrew Street, Seven Dials, c. 1820:
Sheffield Park
IN Sheffield park, O there did dwell,
A brisk young lad, I lov'd him well,
He courted me my heart to gain,
He is gone and left me full of pain.
I went up stairs to make the bed,
I laid me down and nothing said,
My mistress came and to me said,
What is the matter with you my maid.
O mistress, mistress you little know,
The pain and sorrow I undergo,
Its put your hand on my left breast,
My panting heart can take no rest.
My mistress away from me did go,
Some help, some help I will have for you,
No help, no help, no help I crave,
Sweet William brought me to the grave.
So take this letter to him with speed,
And give it to him if he can read,
And bring me an answer without delay,
For he has stole my heart away.
She took the letter immediately,
He read it over while she stood by.
And soon he did the letter burn,
Leaving this maid to make her mourn.
How can she think how fond I'd be,
That I could fancy none but she,
Man was not made for one alone,
I take delight to hear her mourn.
Then she return'd immediately,
And found her maid as cold as clay;
Beware young maids don't love in vain,
For love has broke her heart in twain.
She gather'd the green grass for her bed,
And a flowery pillow for her head,
The leaves that blow from tree to tree,
Shall be a covering over thee.
O cruel man, I find thou art,
For breaking my own child's heart,
Now she in Abraham's bosom sleep,
While thy tormented soul shall weep.
This new text and a similar text found in the Thomas Birt broadside of c. 1828 were subsequently reprinted by Catnatch, Pratt and others. The crucial third stanza from the original 1770 text was taken out in the new broadsides. The first three stanzas of the new broadsides are very similar to stanza found in Butcher Boy, a balled found primarily in North America. This similarity suggests a similar ancestry from an unknown missing antecedent. The 1800s prints are English and most of the collected traditional versions are from southern England. For the most part traditional texts stay close to the modern 1800s broadsides.
Died for Love stanzas are rarely found in traditional versions of Sheffield Park. The Alehouse stanza is included in Steven Sedley's Seeds of Love collated from broadsides in Dorset and Essex. The "Dig my grave" ending is found in Leather's "Sheffield Park" as sung by Mrs. Smith of King's Pyon, Herefordshire in September, 1912. Other added stanza come mainly from Constant Lady with the "apron's full" stanza[2] and the "hearts-ease" stanza[3] being added at the end. These same Constant Lady stanzas are also added to Died for Love songs.
Although printed a number of times with a respectable traditional record, Sheffield Park mysteriously is not included in the Traditional Ballad Index. The ballad is not widely known in England and has had little circulation outside of it.
R. Matteson 2017]
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Footnotes:
1. The 1770 text of "The Unfortunate Maid," was printed in "The Choice Spirits Delight Part II: Being a Choice Collection of New Songs, Sung this and the Last Season, at Renelagh, Vauxhall, Sadler's Wells, the Theatres, and in the Politest Companies. . ." printed by Dicey & Company in Aldermary Church-Yard, Bow-Lane, London.
2. Found in Sheffield Park as sung by E. Lawrence of Midhurst, Sussex on Jan. 1, 1912. Collected by Clive Carey.
3. Found in Sheffield Park as sung by Frank Hinchliffe of Yorkshire, 1976.
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CONTENTS: (To access individual texts click on the blue highlighted title below or on the title attached to this page on the left hand column)
Unfortunate Maid- (London) 1770 Collection; Dicey & Company, London
Young Man of Sheffield Park- (Lon) Jennings; c.1790
Young Man of Sheffield Park- (Lon) Evans; c.1794
Sheffield Park- (Lon) Pitts broadside; c.1820
Unfortunate Maid of Sheffield- Holroyd (York) 1892
In Castle Park- Amos Ash (Som) 1905 Hammond
In Yorkshire Park- R. Barratt (Dor) 1905 Hammond
Sheffield Park- Moses Blake (Hamp) 1906 Gardiner
Chapel Park- T. Colcombe (Heref) 1906 Jekyll
In Sheffield Park- Whiteland (Hamp) 1907 Gardiner
Shepherd Park- Eliz Smithers (Glou) 1908 Sharp
Sheffield Park- Cranstone (Sus) 1909 Butterworth
Sheffield Park- E. Lawrence (Sus) 1912 Carey
Sheffield Park- Mrs. Moseley (Sus) 1912 Carey
Sheffield Park- Mrs. Smith (Heref) 1912 Leather
In Sheffield Park- Miss King (Wilt) 1916 Williams
Sheffield Park- W. Carpenter (Heref) 1921 Sharp
In Sheffield Park- Enos White (Hamp) 1954 Copper
Sheffield Park- Frank Hinchliffe (York) 1976 REC
In Sheffield Park- Ben Butcher (Hamp) 1977 REC
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Notes:
The Park district of Sheffield lies just to the east of the city centre and it is to this area that Frank had always understood the song to refer, although there is also a place called Sheffield Park in Sussex, and it must be said that this is the only example from the north of England in Roud's 81 entries. But Frank said that the song was well-known in his area, and Ford of Chesterfield printed it on a broadside together with The White Cockade which Frank also knew. It was also printed as The Unfortunate Maid of Sheffield in Holroyd's Collection of Yorkshire Ballads ed. C Forshaw (1892). It certainly dates from before 1832, when it was listed in the catalogue of songs printed by the Catnach Press.
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EHFS Eight Hampshire Folk Songs (1907)
Alice E. Gillington
"Sheffield Park"
________________________________
The Young Man of Sheffield Park, Evans c. 1794. ]
In Sheffield Park, O there did dwell
A brisk young lad, I loved him well,
He courted me my heart to gain,
He is gone and left me full of pain.
I went upstairs to make the bed
And laid me down and nothing said
My mistress came and to me said
What is the matter with you, my maid?
O mistress, mistress, you little know
The pain and sorrow I undergo
It's put your hand on my left breast
My panting heart can take no rest.
My mistress turned away from me did go
Some help, some help, I will have for you,
No help, no help, no help I crave
Sweet William brought me to the grave.
So take this letter to him with speed
And give it to him if he can read
And bring me an answer without delay
For he has stole my heart away.
She took the letter immediately
He read it over while she stood by
And soon he did the letter burn
Leaving this maid to make her mourn.
What a foolish one this girl must be
To think I love no-one but she
Man was not made for one alone
It's my delight to hear her moan
Her mistress returned without delay
And found her maid as cold as clay
Beware, young maids, don't love in vain
For love has broken her heart in twain
She gather'd green grass for her bed
And a flowery pillow for her head
And the leaves that blow from tree to tree
Shall be a covering over thee.
O cruel man, I find thou art,
For breaking my own child's heart,
Now she in Abraham's bosom sleep,
While thy tormented soul shall weep.
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Sheffield Park
England.
The words are collated from Dorset and Essex versions.
The tune is from Puddletown, Dorset.
This tune is unusual, in that it is written in 5/4 timing.
In Sheffield Park o there did dwell
A brisk young lad, I loved him well,
He courted me, my heart to gain,
He's gone and left me full of pain.
There is an alehouse in this town
Where my love goes and sits him down,
And takes a strange girl on his knee,
And tells her what he don't tell me.
I went upstairs to make the bed,
I laid me down and nothing said,
My mistress came to me and said,
What is the matter with you, my maid ?
O mistress, mistress, you little know
The pain and sorrow I undergo.
It's put your hand on my left breast,
My fainting heart can take no rest.
So take this letter to him with speed,
And give it to him, if he can read,
And bring me an answer without delay,
For he has stole my heart away.
She took the letter immediately,
He read it through while she stood by,
As soon as he had the letter read
Into the fire he threw it with speed.
How can she think so fond I'd be,
That I could fancy none but she ?
Man was not made for one alone,
I take delight to hear her mourn.
Green leaves they gathered for her bed,
And a flowery pillow for her head.
The leaves that blow from tree to tree
Shall be a covering for thee.
----------
Sheffield Park
England. Ron Clarke arr.
The words are collated from Dorset and Essex versions.
The tune is from Puddletown, Dorset.
This tune is unusual, in that it is written in 5/4 timing.
In Sheffield Park o there did dwell
A brisk young lad, I loved him well,
He courted me, my heart to gain,
He's gone and left me full of pain.
There is an alehouse in this town
Where my love goes and sits him down,
And takes a strange girl on his knee,
And tells her what he don't tell me.
I went upstairs to make the bed,
I laid me down and nothing said,
My mistress came to me and said,
What is the matter with you, my maid ?
O mistress, mistress, you little know
The pain and sorrow I undergo.
It's put your hand on my left breast,
My fainting heart can take no rest.
So take this letter to him with speed,
And give it to him, if he can read,
And bring me an answer without delay,
For he has stole my heart away.
She took the letter immediately,
He read it through while she stood by,
As soon as he had the letter read
Into the fire he threw it with speed.
How can she think so fond I'd be,
That I could fancy none but she ?
Man was not made for one alone,
I take delight to hear her mourn.
Green leaves they gathered for her bed,
And a flowery pillow for her head.
The leaves that blow from tree to tree
Shall be a covering for thee.
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online stanza
There is an alehouse in this town
There my love goes and sits him down
And takes a strange girl on his knee
And tells her what he don't tell me
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In Sheffield Park (posted in By jeeves British Isles folk song -- original author unknown) No known source,
In Sheffield Park, where I did dwell
A brisk young lad I loved him well
He courted me my heart to gain
He's gone and left me full of pain
I went upstairs to make the bed
And lay me down and nothing said
My mistress came and to me said
What is the matter with you, my maid?
O mistress, mistress, thou little know
What pain and sorrow I undergo
It's put your hand on my left breast
My fainting heart can take no rest
My mistress turned away with speed
Some help, some help, I will go seek
No help, no help, no help I crave
Young William has stolen my heart away
Then write a letter to my love with speed
Ask him the question that he can read
And bring me an answer without delay
For he has stolen my heart away
She took the letter immediately
He read it over while she stood by
But as soon as he did her question learn
Into the fire he threw it to burn
What a foolish one this girl must be
To think I love no-one but she
Man was not made for one alone
It's my delight to hear her moan
Her mistress returned without delay
And found her maid as cold as clay
Beware, young maids, don't love in vain
For love has broken her heart in twain
We'll gather green grass all for your bed
And a flowery pillow for your head
And the leaves that blow from tree to tree
Shall be the covering over thee.
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Provenance [notes prob by Yates]
The earliest version of this lament that mentions Sheffield Park is on a single slip printed by Evans of 42 Long Lane, London, titled The Young Man of Sheffield Park, c1794. It consists of four double stanzas and largely corresponds to the standard ten-stanza version printed in the early nineteenth century by Pitts and Catnach and their contemporaries, and then by many of the provincial printers up as far as Newcastle. The first double stanza is the first of the common version and one not found in this version; the second double stanza equates to stanzas 2 and 3 of the common version; the third double stanza to 4 and 5; and the fourth is stanza 6 of the common version and one not found there. Therefore the last four stanzas of the common version are new, but three of them appear to have been added from a ballad of c1686 titled The Constant Lady and false-hearted Squire; Being a Relation of a Knight’s Daughter near Woodstock Town in Oxfordshire printed for Richard Baldwin near Fleet street, London. (See Pepys Vol 5, p285) Some of its stanzas are found in the black-letter ballad The Diseased (Deceased) Maiden Lover printed by Coles, Vere and Wright c1663-74. (Pepys Vol 3, p124) Stanzas from this general stock have also crept into the various laments that form the large family of Died for Love/ Brisk Young Sailor songs. They continued to be refashioned into other songs into the early eighteenth century. D’Urfey’s Pills to Purge Melancholy, 1720, Vol 3 p52 has A Forlorn Lover’s Complaint which is a contraction of the Coles, Vere and Wright version.
Perhaps not coincidentally the first three stanzas of the standard ten stanza version of Sheffield Park also frequently turn up amongst the various members of the Died for Love family.
Frank’s fourth stanza, line 4, has been influenced by another love song Young Colin stole my heart away. In other versions the lover’s name is William. His first five stanzas are stanzas 1, 2, 3, 5 and 9 of the standard version, but the first part of his sixth stanza rather curiously harks back to The Constant Lady and False-hearted Squire mentioned above;
‘Now there’s a flower,’ she did say,
‘Is named Heartsease, night and day.’
But this is also found in later versions using the general stock of verses in Died of Love family songs.
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In Sheffield Park
Roud Folksong Index (S209556)
First Line: O mistress come away with speed
Source: Folktracks FSB 015 (`All Round My Hat')
Performer: Butcher, Ben
Date:
Place: England : Hampshire
Sheffield Park
Roud Folksong Index (S363777)
First Line: In Sheffield Park where I once did dwell
Source: Plunkett Collection (Sussex Texts typescript)
Performer:
Date: 1957 - 1960
Place: England : Sussex
Collector: Plunkett, Mervyn
Sheffield Park
Roud Broadside Index (B52268)
First Line: In Sheffield Park O there did dwell
Source: Occomore & Heath-Coleman, Folk Songs Coll by Vaughan Williams p.60
Roud No: 860
Format: Book
Src Contents: Text
Sheffield Park
Roud Folksong Index (S338540)
First Line: In Sheffield Park a maid did dwell
Source: Ruairidh Greig Collection (CECTAL A91-70)
Performer: Taylor, John
Date: 1970 (27 Jun)
Place: England : Yorkshire : Sheffield : Lodge Moor
Collector: Greig, Ruairidh
Sheffield Park
Roud Folksong Index (S376480)
First Line: In Sheffield Park there once did dwell
Source: Russell, Traditional Singing in West Sheffield 1970-1972 (1977) Vol.2, item HanB 10
Performer: Hancock, Bob
Date: 1971 (28 Jan)
Place: England : Yorkshire : Sheffield
Collector: Russell, Ian