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Jenny Jenkins/ Jennie Jenkins/Will You Wear Red?
Old-Time, Play-Party Song/Game and fiddle tune; USA; England
ARTIST: Bascom Lamar Lunsford
CATEGORY: Fiddle and Instrumental Tunes.
DATE: Appears in JOAFL as “Drunkard’s Song” 1905 Perrow; Lyrics originated in the mid 1800’s as “The Rebel Soldier.” First printed version as "The Rebel Prisoner" in the 1874 songbook "Allan's Lone Star Ballads." The Scottish melody ["Robi Donadh Gorrach" set by Nathaniel Gow (1763-1831) as an "An Old Highland Song"] is associated with "The Wagoner's Lad," "The Drunken Hiccups," "Rye Whiskey" "Jack of Diamonds," "Clinch Mountain," "The Cuckoo."
RECORDING INFO: Jenny/Jennie Jenkins [Sh 260]
Cazden, Norman (ed.) / Book of Nonsense Songs, Crown, Sof (1961), p104
Lomax, John A. & Alan Lomax / Folk Song USA, Signet, Sof (1966/1947), # 15
Flanders, Helen H. & George Brown / Vermont Folk Songs and Ballads, Folklore Associates, Bk (1968/1931), p166 [1823] (Jane Jenkins)
Scofield, Twilo (ed.) / An American Sampler, Cuthroat, Sof (1981), p 39
Mursell, James, et.al.(eds.) / Music Now and Long Ago, Silver Burdette, Bk (1956), p 20 Glazer, Tom / Treasury of Songs for Children, Songs Music, Fol (1964/1981), p137 (Will You Wear the Red?)
Ball, E. C. and Orna. Anglo-American Shanties, Lyric Songs, Dance Tunes & Spirituals, Library of Congress AFS L 2, LP (195?), trk# A.07 [1941]
Ball, E. C. and Orna. Sounds of the South, Atlantic 7-82496-2, CD( (1993), trk# 1.19 [1959/07ca]
Ball, E. C. and Orna. Lomax, John A. & Alan Lomax / Our Singing Country, MacMillan, Sof (2000/1941), p129 [1937]
Bonyun, Bill. Scott, John Anthony (ed.) / Ballad of America, Grosset & Dunlap, Bk (1967), p 48
Butler, Street. I Kind of Believe It's A Gift, Meriweather Meri 1001-2, LP (198?), trk# 1.03 [1977]
Chase, Susan. Flanders, Helen H. & George Brown / Vermont Folk Songs and Ballads, Folklore Associates, Bk (1968/1931), p164 [1930/07/24]
Collins, Mitzie. Sounds Like Fun, Sampler AAFM 8204, Cas (1982), trk# B.03
De Cormier, Robert; Folk Singers. Lift Every Voice. The Second People's Song Book, Sing Out, Fol (1953), p78
Drake, Rod. Owens, William A. (ed.) / Texas Folk Songs. 2nd edition, SMU Press, Bk (1976/1950), p118 [1952]
Feldmann, Peter. Barnyard Dance, Hen Cackle HC 501, LP (1980), trk# A.04
Glazer, Tom. Glazer, Tom / Eye Winker, Tom Tinker, Chin Chopper. Fifty Musical Fin..., Doubleday/Zephyr Books, Bk (1973), p42
Glazer, Tom. Tom Glazer Concert with and for Children, Washington WC 301, LP (195?), trk# A.02
Horn, Frances Merrow. Linscott, Eloise Hubbard (ed.) / Folk Songs of Old New England, Dover, Bk (1993/1939), p299 [1920-30s] (Will You Wear the Red?)
Hughes, Delie. Sharp, Cecil & Maude Karpeles (eds.) / Eighty English Folk Songs from th, MIT Press, Sof (1968), p 86a [1917c] (Will You Wear Red?)
Hughes, Delie. Sharp & Karpeles / English Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachians II, Oxford, Bk (1932/1917), p371/# 260 [1918/10/05] (Will You Wear Red?)
Kreitzer, Maggie K.. Randolph, Vance / Ozark Folksongs. Volume III, Humorous & Play-Party ..., Univ. of Missouri, Bk (1980/1946), p208/#453 [1940/10/28] (I'll Never Wear Red)
Lambert, Corie. Solomon, Jack & Olivia (eds.) / Sweet Bunch of Daisies, Colonial Press, Bk (1991), p141 [1939] (Dora Della Jenkins)
Langstaff, John. Langstaff, John / Lark in the Morning, Revels CD 2004, CD (2004), trk# 21 [1949-56] (O My Love Will You Wear Red)
Langstaff, John. Songs for Singing Children, Revels CH 1086, LP (1986/1962), trk# A.11 (Will You Wear Red?)
Lunsford, Bascom Lamar. Smokey Mountain Ballads, Folkways FP 40/2040, LP (1953), trk# 3
MacArthur, Margaret. Folksongs of Vermont, Folkways FH 5314, LP (1963), trk# A.04
McCoy, George and Ethel. Folk Music in America, Vol.13, Songs of Childhood, Library of Congress LBC-13, LP (1978), trk# A.02a [1975/09/28] (Jimmy Jenkins)
Norris, James. Tobitt, Janet E. (ed.) / Ditty Bag, Tobitt, Sof (1946/1939), p 36
Okun, Milt; and Ellen Stekert. Traditional American Love Songs, Riverside RLP 12-634, LP (1956), trk# 16
Reed, Susan. Susan Reed Sings Old Airs, Elektra EKL 126, LP (1961/1954), trk# B.08
Ritchie, Jean; and Oscar Brand. Courting and Riddle Songs, Washington WLP 706, LP (196?), trk# B.03
Scott and Stanley. Hard Times in the Country, Talkeetna TR 100, CD/ (1974), trk# B.05 Stevenson, Nancy McCuddy. Wolfe, Charles K.(ed.) / Folk Songs of Middle Tennessee. George Boswell, Univ. Tennesse, Sof (1997), p 69/# 39 [1953/12/05] (Jilly Jenkins)
E. C. & Orna Ball, "Jennie Jenkins" (AAFS 8)
Mr & Mrs. Estil C. Ball, "Jennie Jenkins" (AFS, 1941; on LC02)
Warde Ford, "Jinnie Jenkins" (AFS 4198 B4, 1938; tr.; in AMMEM/Cowell)
New Lost City Ramblers, "Jennie Jenkins" (on NLCR10)
Margaret MacArthur, "Jenny Jenkins" (on MMacArthur01)
OTHER NAMES: “Jennie Jenkins,” "Jilly Jenkins" "Julie Jenkins (Brown)" "Will you wear Red?
RELATED TO: "Miss Jennia Jones"
SOURCES: Mudcat;
Randolph 453, "I'll Never Wear the Red Any More" (1 text)
Lomax-FSUSA 15, "Jennie Jenkins" (1 text, 1 tune)
Sharp/Karpeles-80E 65, "Will You Wear Red?" (1 text, 1 tune)
Scott-BoA, pp. 48-49, "Jenny Jenkins" (1 text, 1 tune)
Arnett, p. 11, "Jenny Jenkins" (1 text, 1 tune)
Silber-FSWB, p. 346, "Jenny Jenkins" (1 text)
NOTES: A play-party courting song often found in tradition in America, so there are a lot of different versions. Jennie Jenkins was first published in 1823 in the Green Mountain Songster as Jane Jenkins (Version 1).
The song is often used as a courting game: The boy will ask the girl if she will wear a particular color. She is required to answer in rhyme (e.g. "Will you wear the blue... No, I won't wear the blue, for the color isn't true"). If she fails, she must kiss the boy or, perhaps, go to the dance with him.
A similar color game song "Miss Jennia Jones" was transcribed by W. W. Newell, 1883, "Games and Songs of American Children," No. 11, pp. 63-66. Brown suggests that Jenny Jenkins is an off-shoot of "Miss Jennia Jones." Some sources suggest the song originated in the 1700s.
Here is a short set from From English Folk-Songs from the Southern Appalachians, 1932; North Carolina (1918):
WILL YOU WEAR RED?
(Noted by Cecil Sharp from Mrs. Delie Hughes at Cane River, Burnsville, N.C., in 1918)
O my love, will you wear red?
Will you wear red, Gilly Jenkin?
I won't wear red, for it's the colour of my head.
I'll buy me a dillow, wear a double over dill,
I'll buy me a dillow, wear a daisy.
A recording, Jinnie Jenkins, made by Sidney Robertson Cowell of Warde Ford in Central Valley, California in 1938 can be found at California Gold: (Library of Congress). Jenny
Teh song has been recorded by a variety of artists including Jerry Garcia and David Grisman in 1993, "What Will You Wear, Jenny Jenkins." Others Recordings include:
E. C. and Orna Ball, ('Field recordings')193?
The Solitary Singer, Terry Gilkyson, 1950
Smokey Mountain Ballads, Bascam Lamar Lunsford, 1953
Traditional American Love Songs, Various Artists (Milt Okun and Ellen Stekert), 1956
Susan Reed Sings Old Airs, Susan Reed, 1957
Old Timey Songs for Children, New Lost City Ramblers, 1959
How The West Was Won, Bing Crosby (w/ Rosemary Clooney on Jennie Jenkins), 1959
Anglo-American Shanties, Lyric Songs, Dance Tunes and Spirituals, Various Artists (E. C. and Orna Ball) , 195?
Blue Ridge Mountain Music, Various Artists, 1960
Folksongs of Vermont, Various Artists (Margaret MacArthur), 1963
Courting and Riddle Songs, Jean Ritchie and Oscar Brand, 196?
Hard Times in the Country, Scott and Stanley, 1974
Folk Music in America, Vol.13, Songs of Childhood, Various Artists (George and Ethel McCoy), 1978
Barnyard Dance, Peter Feldmann, 1980
I Kind of Believe It's A Gift, Street Butler, 198?
Fish That's A Song, Various Artists (New Lost City Ramblers), 1991
Great Big Hits, Sharon, Lois, Bram, 1992
Sounds of the South, Various Artists (E. C. and Orna Ball), 1993
Friends, Two Of A Kind, 1994
High Atmosphere: Ballads and Banjo Tunes from Virginia and North Carolina Collected by John Cohen in November of 1965, Various Artists (E. C. and Orna Ball), 1995
Marianne, The Easy Riders, 1995
Songs from the Big Front Porch...A Celebration of American Folk Music, Bridget Ball and Christopher Shaw, 1996
E. C. Ball, E. C. Ball, 1997
Definitive Transatlantic Collection, Hamish Imlach, 1997
Through The Years, 1937-1975, E. C. and Orna Ball, 1998 Roll Along, Chris Molla, 1999 Fish That's A Song, Various Artists (New Lost City Ramblers), 19??
Ain't It Great To Be Crazy, Various Artists, 19??
Sing It Yourself!, Laura Boosinger, 19??
Jenny Jenkins (Karaoke), Various Artists, 19??
Colonial & Revolution Songs Disc 1, Keith & Rusty McNeil, 19??
Wee Sing Fun 'N' Folk (Book/CD), Pamela Conn Beall and Susan Hagen Nipp, 19??
Many A Wonderful Moment, Rosemary Clooney, 2000
Lomax (Blue Ridge Muntain Music, Atlantic) records a nice version from Estil C. Ball in Virginia and discusses the game nature: Such courting duets were popular at country suppers...as a way to break the ice between a pair of timid lovers. In English versions the color symbolism... [relates to magical association]... but in most American varsionsthe list of colors mearly serves as a framework for improvising impudent or downright silly rhymes. He includes 'purple; it's the color of a turkle' (not turtle) which is a local name for a turtle dove. Here are the first lyrics printed:
JANE JENKINS- Green Mountain Songster, 1823
(From The Green Mountain Songster, 1823: compiled by "an old Revolutionary Soldier of Sandgate, Vermont".)
Will you wear grey, Onere, Onere?
Will you wear grey, Jane Jenkins?
No, I won't wear grey for its colour of the clay,
So buy me my tallawalawise, so buy me my tallawalawise.
Will you wear black, Onere, will you wear black, Onere?
I won't wear black, for the colour it is slack,
So buy me the tallawalawise, so buy me the tallawalawise,
So double rose Dillevally, Sukey, Dicky,
So double rose Dillevally, Sukey, Dicky, white bands appear,
Where are the robes that you wear, Jane Jenkins.
Will you wear red, Onere, will you wear red, Onere?
l will not wear red for the colour I do dread,
So buy me my tallawalawise, so buy me my tallawalawise,
So double rose Dillevally, Sukey, Dicky, white bands appear.
Will you wear green, Onere, will you wear green, Onere?
I won't wear green for it's the colour that is mean;
So buy me my tallawalawise, so buy me my tallawalawise,
So double rose Dillevally, Sukey, Dicky, white bands appear.
Will you wear white, Onere, will you wear white, Onere?
Will you wear white, Jennie Jenkins
O no I won't wear the white 'tis a colour I dislike,
So buy me my tallawalawise, so buy me my tallawalawise,
So double rose Dillevally, Sukey, Dicky, white bands appear.
Will you wear yellow, Onere, will you wear yellow, Onere?
Will you wear yellow, Jennie Jerkins
So buy me my tallawalawise, so buy me my tallawalawise,
So double rose Dillevally, Sukey, Dicky, white bands appear.
Will you wear blue, Onere, will you wear blue, Onere?
Will you wear blue, Jennie Jenkins
O yes, I'll wear blue for the colour of it's true,
So you've bought me mmy tallawalawise, so you've bought me my tallawalawise,
So double rose Dillevally, Sukey, Dicky, white bands appear.
As quoted in Vermont Folksongs and Ballads (Helen Hartness Flanders and Alice Brown, 1931). Original spellings retained. No tune was printed.
JENNY JENKINS- Bascom Lamar Lunsford
JENNY JENKINS- from Lundsford's book
Will you wear green, oh my dear, oh my dear?
Will you wear green, Jenny Jenkins?
I won't wear green, it can't be seen,
I'll buy me a tally fallyizer
I'll buy me a tally, walker belt-o-silk to wear with my robe.
To go with m'robe, Jenny Jenkins
I'll buy me a tally fallyizer
I'll buy me a tally fally
Double dose a dilly-dally
Suky, suky why man
As' a rosy, juicy why
Jenny Jenkins!
Oh, will you wear red, oh my dear, oh, my dear?
Will you wear red, Jenny Jenkins?
I won't wear red, it's the color of my head,
I'll buy me a tally fallyizer
I'll buy me a tally, walker belt-o-silk to wear with my robe.
To go with my robe, Jenny Jenkins
I'll buy me a tally fallyizer
I'll buy me a tally fally
Double dose a dilly-dally
Suky, suky why man
As' a rosy, juicy why
Jenny Jenkins!
Will you wear black, oh my dear, oh my dear?
Will you wear black, Jenny Jenkins?
I won't wear black, it's teh color of my back,
I'll buy me a tally fallyizer
I'll buy me a tally, walker belt-o-silk to wear with my robe.
To go with m'robe, Jenny Jenkins
I'll buy me a tally fallyizer
I'll buy me a tally fally
Double dose a dilly-dally
Suky, suky why man
As' a rosy, juicy why
Jenny Jenkins!
JENNIE JENKINS- Lunsford's additional verses from recordings
Will you wear green, Oh my dear, Oh my dear,
Will you wear green, Jennie Jenkins?
I won't wear green, it can't be seen
I'll buy me a tally-fally-I-zer
chorus: I'll buy me a tally walker belt-o-silk
To wear with my robe, to go with my robe
Jennie Jenkins
Similarly: ...won't wear red;
It's the color of my head.
...won't wear black
It's the color of my back
...won't wear blue
It's the color of my shoe.
Yes I'll wear brown,
I'll go uptown.
From Bascom Lamar Lunceford
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