British & Other Versions 7U. Wheel of Fortune-- Roud 1075 (When I was Young)
["Wheel of Fortune" was printed as a broadside about 1830 in Newcastle by W. & T. Fordyce, printers, 48 Dean St. At least a half dozen broadsides were printed until c.1855. "Wheel" was also included in the Golden Songster (songbook, Fordyce, 1832; see also Chas. Sanderson's More Favourite Songs) and Scottish chapbooks[1]. Here's one of the early broadside texts:
"Wheel of Fortune- A Fine New Song" broadside from W. & T. Fordyce, printers, 48 Dean St. Newcastle, c. 1830.
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.
This is one of two broadsides with ten stanzas-- most of the prints had nine. The extra stanza, not found in the nine stanza prints, is:
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.
This stanza is found in other songs and ballads including Sweet Bann Water. The floating stanzas of "Wheel" 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[2], she is pregnant. This is implied by the loss of her virginity in the other versions. 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.
Stanzas of "Wheel" were used in versions of "Love is Teasing" collected in the UK in the early 1900s forming a composite. For those versions see Love is Pleasing (Teasing). The identifying stanza of "Wheel" is:
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.
This stanza is missing in many traditional versions found in the UK. The earliest traditional version was collected by William Christie before 1866. Christie used stanzas from print to complete his text.
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 (stanza 3 and 6) to cover up the implied loss of virginity that is found in 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. Another Scottish version was collected by Duncan by 1905 from his sister who was living in Glasgow:
"When I Was Young I Was Well Belov-ed," sung by Mrs. Margaret Gillespie (1841-1910)
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. Some traditional "Wheel"versions are missing the identifying stanza. They are identified by the common opening: "When I was young I was well beloved." Here's a version collected in N. Ireland by Sam Henry in 1939:
"The False Lover" sung by Herbert Cunningham of Mullagh, N. Ireland on Jan. 14, 1939. From Sam Henry's Songs of the People p.383.
1. When I was young I was well beloved
By all young men in this countree;
When I was blooming all in my blossom,
This false young man deceived me.
2. I did not know he was going to leave me,
Till the next morning when he came in;
When he sat down and began a-talking,
It was then my sorrows they did begin.
3. Turn you round, love, your wheel of fortune,
Turn you round, love, and smile on me;
For surely there's a place of torment,
For this young man he deceiv-ed me.
4. When secret hearts, love, they shall be opened,
He can not deny what he told me;
Against the day of the resurrection
For this young man he deceiv-ed me.
5. Against the day of the resurrection
This false young man's face I would like to see,
When secret hearts, love, they shall be opened,
He can not deny what he told me.
In the 1960s two versions with the 3rd stanza of "Wheel" as the opening stanza where found. Here's stanza 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 two versions are 1) "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 his song from Isla Cameron (1927-1980) and 2) "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.
Both versions feature floating stanzas from Died for Love and the "Love is Pleasing" stanza. Tentatively I have listed them here under "Wheel" because of the opening stanza.
Summary
The Wheel of Fortune, also known as "When I was young" and "The False Lover" is a rare traditional song that is derived from the various print versions of the early to mid-1800s. The "Wheel" identifying stanza is sometimes found in "Madam, I have Come to Court You" (Roud 542) as a floating stanza. In the US "Wheel" stanzas are found in the British folk song, "Come All You Fair and Tender Ladies (Young Ladies)." However, the "Wheel" stanzas are not found in the British antecedent, "The Lady's Address to the Fair Maidens," dated c. 1760. A different early song, usually titled "Wheel of Life," from c.1725, has been printed with the "Wheel of Fortune" title.
R. Matteson 2017]
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Footnotes:
1. See Roud no. 1075 for these and additional print listings.
2. See Greig-Duncan A sung by Mrs. Margaret Gillespie on this page.
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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)
1) Wheel of Fortune- (UK) c.1830 Firth broadside
2) Wheel of Fortune- (Lon) c.1840 R. Ford broadside
Wheel of Fortune- (Newc) 1840 broadside Fordyce
Wheel of Fortune- (Glas) 1855 Poet's Box broadside
Wheel of Fortune- old woman (Banf) 1866 Christie
When I Was Young- Gillespie (Glas) 1905 Greig A
When I Was Young- Mrs Duncan(Aber)1906 Greig D
I Never Knew- Mrs. Milne (Aber) 1907 Greig B
False Lover- William Watson (Aber) 1907 Greig C
When I Was Young- David Parrot (Bedf) 1924 Hamer
False Lover- H. Cunningham (Magh) 1939 Henry
Wheel of Fortune- T. Anderson (Derry) 1969 Shields
I Never Thought My Love Would Leave Me- June Tabor (Aber) 1883 REC
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Random Notes:
Hoggett's broadside was reprinted in Ulster Folklife - Volume 21 - Page 53
https://books.google.com/books?id=9xzaAAAAMAAJ
1975 426 WHEEL OF FORTUNE (The) 'When I was young I was well beloved' TA 6925 Magilligan.
The Wheel of Fortune
Roud Broadside Index (B29566)
The False Lover
Hoggett (Durham)
Roud Folksong Index (S144258)
First Line: When I was young I was well beloved
Source: Folk Music Journal 3:3 (1977) pp.230-231
Performer:
Date:
Place: N. Ireland
Collector: Henry, Sam
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Chas. Sanderson's More Favourite Songs p.3
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The Wheel of Fortune
Roud Folksong Index (S225375)
First Line:
Source: James Lindsay, Catalogue (1856) Slip songs No.147
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Related titles:
Rattle on the stovepipe
Tarry Trousers
Brummings Love is Pleasing
As I walked through London City
Shields "Wheel of Fortune"
false lover
Hamer "When I was young"
Favorite Irish Songs
Ballads from the Pubs of Ireland Mercier (Cork)
"In company at deighan's"
Ripest apple
Joyce, Old Irish Folk-Music "love is pleasing"
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June Tabor sings I Never Thought My Love Would Leave Me
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.
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Sam Henry's Songs of the People - Page 344
Sam Henry's Songs of the People
edited by Gale Huntington, Lani Herrmann
Sweet Bann Water [last stanza]
For after night, love, there comes a morning,
And after morning comes a new day,
And after one false love comes another,
It's hard to hold them that must sway.
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ITMA notes Tom Anderson's version 1969 Shields
Versions of this English love song vary greatly, each combining motifs of lyric expression differently. The love which is ‘teasing’ in some texts (CI) and ‘bonny’ in others (G) recalls a ‘Waly, waly’ lyric that seems to derive from the ballad ‘Jamie Douglas’, Child no 204. Some versions reinforce a sombre mood with the symbol of the Wheel of Fortune, commonplace since Classical times. Tom’s version is textually epitomized and musically irregular, yet gives a very strong feeling of coherence in the vigorous personal style of his performance. He learned it, like male singers of some of the other versions of this song (F, I), from a woman: Sarah Sweeney of the Point road.