Gypsy Davy O- Cornelison (MO) c1890 Randolph E
[From Ozark Folksongs; Randolph, I, 1946, p. 160 (E). His notes follow.
R. Matteson 2015]
Ozark Folksongs Notes: 27. THE GYPSY DAVY
Many texts of the "Gypsy Davy" ballad are found in British collections (Child, English and Scottish Popular Ballads, 1882-1898, No. 200). For American versions see JAFL 30, 1917, p. 323. Also the Bulletin of the Virginia Folk-Lore Society (No. 8, p. 7; No. 9, p. 7; No. 11, p. 8). Compare Campbell and Sharp (English Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachians, 1917, No. 27), Raine (Land of the Saddle-Bags, 1924, p. 119), Cox (Folk-Songs of the South, 1925, p. 130), Kincaid (My Favorite Mountain Ballads, 1928, p. 33), Davis (Traditional Ballads of Virginia, 1929, pp. 423-431), Lunsford and Stringfield (30 and 1 Folk-Songs, 1929, p. 4), Greenleaf (Ballads and Sea Songs from Newfoundland, 1933, pp. 38-39), Chappell (Folk-Songs of Roanoke and the Albemarle, 1939, p. 37), Eddy (Ballads and Songs from Ohio, 1939, pp. 67-69), Linscott (Folk Songs of Old New England, 1939, p.207), Neely (JAFL 52, 1939, p. 79), Belden (Ballad; and Songs, 1940, pp.73-76), Brewster (Ballads and Songs of Indiana, 1940, p. 13a), Rayburn (Ozark Country, 1941, pp.200-201), Morris (Southern Folklore Quarterly 8, 1944, p. 156), and the Brown (North Carolina Folk-Lore Society) collection.
E. [Gypsy Davy- O] Sung by Miss Rose O'Neill, Day, Mo., May 14, 1938. Miss O'Neill learned the ballad from Mr. Conrad Cornelison, Reeds Spring, Mo., in the late 90's. She always pronounces the last syllable of "Gypsy" as if it were spelled "sigh." Harry Leon Wilson printed a variant of this text, obtained from Miss O'Neill, in a novel The Lions of the Lord, 1903, pp. 376-380.
"There was a young lady came a-tripping along,
And at each side a servant-O,
An' in each hand a glass of wine
To drink with the Gypsy Davy-O.
An' in each hand a glass of wine
To drink with the Gypsy Davy-O.
Oh will you fancy me, my dear,
An' will you be my honey O?
I swear by the sword that's a-hangin' by my side
You never shall lack for money O,
I swear by the sword that's a-hangin' by my side
You never shall lack for money O.
Oh she's put on her high-heeled shoes,
All made of Spanish leather O,
An' she's put on her bonnie bonnie brown,
An' they've rode off together O,
An' she's put on her bonnie bonnie brown,
An' they've rode off together O.
Soon after that her lord come home
Inquirin' for his lady O,
When some of the servants made him this reply,
She's gone with the Gypsy Davy O,
When some of the seryants made him this reply,
She's gone with the Gypsy Davy O.
Go saddle me my milk-white steed,
For the gray is not so speedy O,
An' I'll ride all night, an' I'll ride all day
Until I overtake my lady O,
An' I'll ride all night, an' I'll ride all day
Until I overtake my lady O.
He rode all night an' he rode all day,
Until he come to the water O,
Then he paused an' a tear come a-trinklin' down his cheek,
For there he spied his lady O,
Then he paused an' a tear come a-trinklin' down his cheek,
For there he spied his lady O.
Will you forsake your houses an' lands,
Will you forsake your baby O,
Will you forsake your own wedded lord
To foller a Gypsy Davy O?
Will you forsake your own wedded lord
To foller a Gypsy Davy O?
Yes, I'll forsake my houses an' lands,
Yes, I'll forsake my baby O,
For I am bewitched an' I know the reason why,
It's a-follerin' a Gypsy Davy O,
For I am bewitched an' I know the reason why,
It's a-follerin' a Gypsy Davy O.
Last night I lay on a velvet couch,
Beside my lord an' baby O,
Tonight I will lie on the cold cold ground,
In the arms of a Gypsy Davy O,
Tonight I will lie on the cold cold ground,
In the arms of a Gypsy Davy O.