"Sarah Taylor" New Bedford, Massachusetts Jessup
[From Flanders; Ancient Ballads; 1966, version A. Coffin's notes follow.
R. Matteson 2014]
Lord Lovel
(Child 75)
Phillips Barry in British Ballads from Maine, 145-47, gives a good history of this song, telling of its popularity among the nineteenth-century printers and the many uses it served for political parody and music hall gaiety. The American versions which are known wherever ballads are sung almost all stem from the same tradition as Child H, an 1846 London broadside. American printers reproduced texts from this tradition throughout the period between the Mexican and Civil Wars. The Flanders versions are in no way exceptional and are much what one would expect to find. As with texts from other areas, the original name of the church, St. Pancras (see E), has undergone radical modification, but all in all proximity to print has held variation to a minimum. The tune to "Lord Lovel" is also consistent. In South Carolina Ballads (Cambridge, Mass., 1928), 121, Reed Smith comments that "the difference between reading [Lord Lovel] as a poem and singing it is the difference between tragedy and comedy." The use of a tune that is too light for the story no doubt accounts for the tact that parodies have turned up in Maine, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, and Missouri, among other places, in this country (see Coffin, 79, for a bibliography) and in Scotland (see Greig and Keith, 57) abroad. Bibliographical references can be had in Coffin, 78-79 (American); Dean-Smith, 85 (English); and Greig and Keith, 57-58 (Scottish).
The five tunes given here are related, four of them very closely. Only the Fish tune diverges. In order to save repetition of references, the related tunes for the group consisting of the Grindell, Moore, Britton, and Pierce. Tunes are given here: SAA,20; SSC, 122; Sharp , 149 (C), 149 (D and E), 116 (distant), and 147 (distant); AA, 124; DV,524, No. 20 (E, L, and O); EO, 39, 40; BES, 139 (not too close); BI, 92. obviously this tune group is very widespread and its correlation with the Child 75 text is great.
A. Lord Lovell. Sent by Mrs. Sarah Taylor of New Bedford, Massachusetts, as sung by her "Grandpa Jessup." Mrs. Taylor wrote that "Lord Lovell" was "Grandpa Jessup's favorite. This she learned when a little girl. H. H. F., Collector; January 5, 1951. Structure: A B C D D (2,2,2,2,2); Rhythm A; Contour: arc; Scale: hexachordal; t.c F. Note the 9/8 measure before the end.
Lord Lovell
Lord Lovell he stood by his castle gate
A-combing his milk-white steed
When along came his Lady Nancy Bell
A-wishing her lover God speed, speed, speed.
"Oh, where are you going, Lord Lovell?" she cried,
"Oh, where are you going?" cried she'
"I'm going," Lord Lovell answered her,
"strange countries for to see, see, see,
Strange countries for to see."
"How long will you be gone, Lord Lovell?" she said,
"How long will you be gone?" said she,
"A year or two or three at the most,
Then I'll return to my Lady Nancy, see, see,
I'll return to my Lady Nancy."
Now Lord Lovell had been gone but a year and a day
Strange countries for to see
When alone in his heart he longed for to see
His own little Lady Nancy, see, see,
He longed for his Lady Nancy.
He called for his groom to saddle his horse
And he rode with all his speed;
He rode all day and ride all night
Until he reached London Town
And there he heard St. Patrick's bell
And people all gathered around, around, around,
And people all gathered around.
"Is anyone dead?" Lord Lovell, he said,
"Is anyone dead?" said he.
"Our Lady is dead," the people all said,
"We call her our Lady Nancy, see, see,
We call her our Lady Nancy."
"Oh, why did she die?" Lord Lovell did cry,
"Oh, why did she die?" cried he.
"She died of grief, it is our belief,
A-wanting her heart's desire, desire;
A-wanting her heart's desire."
They placed her in the old churchyard
Soon Lord Lovell was placed close by her
While out of her boosum[1] there grew a white rose,
While out of his back bone a briar, a briar.
The rose and the briar they grew and entwined
Until they reached the old church tower.
They grew and entwined in each other's pure mind
A-longing their heart's desire;
A-longing their heart's desire.
1. original spelling kept