Mid-Hudson Song and Verse
by Constance Varney Ring, Samuel P. Bayard, Tristram P. Coffin
The Journal of American Folklore, Vol. 66, No. 259 (Jan. - Mar., 1953), pp. 43-68
MID-HUDSON SONG AND VERSE
EDITED BY CONSTANCE VARNEY RING, SAMUEL P. BAYARD, AND TRISTRAM P. COFFIN
ORIGINAL INTRODUCTION
THE SONGS and verses in this collection were gathered for the most part between I920 and I930 by various members of the college class in folklore from natives or old residents of Dutchess, Ulster, and Columbia counties in New York on the mid-Hudson. They were taken down as recited from memory or copied from manuscript versions preserved in the family, and the tunes were in every case sung from memory and either noted directly from the singer or reproduced from a phonograph record on an old style Edison which we have found useful for fieldwork. Most of these last tunes were recorded by Constance
Varney, Vassar '2I. The Dutch songs and some eight others were taken down by Harriet Stocking, Vassar '26, later Marston fellow in music at Vassar. A few were read from phonograph records by Gertrude Brown, formerly instructor here in musical theory. The notation has been checked by Professor George S. Dickinson of the department of music at Vassar, to whose cordial cooperation, as also to that of President MacCracken, we are particularly indebted. . . . The Dutch nursery songs, all too few of which are still current here on the Hudson . . . have been kindly prepared for us through the courtesy of the Netherland-America Foundation by Dr. A. J. Barnouw, Queen Wilhelmina Professor at Columbia University.
Our sincere thanks are here extended to all those who have contributed so generously to the bringing together of this regional miscellany of popular verse and melody.
Vassar College, MARTHA W. BECKWITH, 1937
Poughkeepsie, New York
EDITORS INTRODUCTION
The manuscript of mid-Hudson song and verse was submitted to The American Folklore Society in I948 for possible inclusion in the Memoir series. However, funds for publication of the entire material have never been available. In I951, Dorothy A. Plum of Vassar College and MacEdward Leach arranged that Tristram P. Coffin re-edit and abridge the manuscript to make significant songs and ballads readily available to IAF readers. Samuel P. Bayard, one of the original readers of the material, consented to assist in editing and supervising the selection of musical scores.
As the publication of the Ring MS. as it appears below has been handicapped by space limitations, the editors have felt justified in including only that material which is unique or noteworthy in a scholarly sense. Four groups of songs have been omitted: (I) widely collected texts and tunes that have highly standard forms in northeastern America and that seem in no way unusual in their mid-Hudson versions; (2) some of the nineteenth-century sentimental material that was collected without music or from commonplace books; (3) material, such as songs from the music hall and entertainment circuits, that can by no stretch of the imagination be considered to have an oral tradition; and (4) three songs written by E. B. Dodge of Pawling for the Cleveland-Hendricks campaign.
On the other hand, some rather unusual Anglo-American texts and tunes, a couple of oddly corrupted play-party songs, some fresh Dutch-American matter, and a few local, sentimental ballads that seem to have had some oral currency are included. Arbitrary decisions had to be chanced concerning inclusion and exclusion of the mass of fragmentary material found at the end of the Ring MS. Copies of the parts of the manuscript omitted from this article may be had by writing to Tristram P. Coffin at Box 89, Wakefield, Rhode Island, or by consulting the microfilm at Vassar College.
Partly because of space limitations and partly because of common sense, bibliographical references to other texts and tunes of the songs printed below have been kept to a minimum. The editors have felt that it is necessary only to start the scholar on the road to building up a list of versions and variants from other collections; thus, a couple of pregnant citations have been considered adequate. In one or two cases, no reference at all could be given.
SAMUEL P. BAYARD AND TRISTRAM P. COFFIN
I. ANGLO-AMERICAN FOLKSONGS
Omitted Material, Originals, and Variants With music: Child 274 ("The Gay Old Man"); "Young Charlotte"; "The Frog's Courtin'"; "Oh, When I Was Single" ("I Wish I Was Single Again"); "Paper of Pins"; "Shule Aroon" (majorized tune); "The Farmer's Boy"; "Look Me in the Eye, Johnny"; "The Little Fellow"; "The Old Maid's Song"; and a variant of "The Three Rogues" ("In Good Old Colony Times").
Without music: "The Frog in the Well"; "The Lost Sailor" ("The Soldier's- Sailor's Return"); "Mary of the Wild Moor"; "James Bird's Farewell"; "The Spanish Maiden"; "Billy Boy"; "My Lost Lady Love" ("I'll Hang My Harp on a Willow-Tree"); "Old Grimes"; "Johnny Sands"; "Yankee Doodle"; two texts of "The Butcher Boy"; variants of Child 274, "The Frog's Courtin' "; "Come, Pretty
Soldier" ("How Can I Marry Such a Pretty Girl as You"); "The Quaker's Wooing"; and two fragmentary variants of "The Old Maid's Song."
1. "Hans and Katrina"
This is a Dutch parody of the English music-hall favorite; see Earl J. Stout, Folklore from Iowa (The American Folklore Society, mem., 29, New York, 1936), 54, and Alton C. Morris, Folksongs of Florida (Gainesville, Fla., 1950), 340. For a detailed discussion of "Willikins and his Dinah" and "William and Diana" see H. M. Belden, Ballads and Songs Collected by the Missouri Folklore Society (University of Missouri Studies, 15, Columbia, Mo., I940). Informant: Miriam Wood of Poughkeepsie, October, 1925, who had the text from a pre-I859 copy written by her mother, Mrs. Amanda Haight. In the manuscript, spelling modifications were made but not specifically indicated.
1. There was one fine Dutchman in New York did live.
He had one fine daughter you'd better believe.
Her name was Katrina as fair as the rose,
And she had a large fortune in the hands of old Mose.
2. As Katrina was drawing a lager one day,
Her fader came to her and thus he did say,
"Hurry up, Katrina, the parlor go to,
Der's a customer wants to go ridin' mit you."
3. "Oh, Fader, why don't he some udder gal find?
To ride mit dese fellows I don't feel inclined.
For de way dey dribe de buggy it makes me feel weak,
For I wants to get married to Hans Dunder next week."
4. My fader got mad and he swore
his-
That I nebber should marry wid any
young man.
"If you love this Hans Dunder, so go
take his pags
Mit his hooks and his packets and go
gater rags."
5. So Katrina den back to de kitchen
she ran,
Says, "I'll eat up mine preakfast so fast
vat I can
And trable all day if I can't be his
wife!"
And dis was de way dat she los-ed her
life.
6. For as she was eating a pig plow of
sausage
It sticked in her throat and stopped up
a passage.
She tried for to preathe, but by grief
overcome,
Her head it reeled round and she fell
very dumb.
7. Hans Dunder he happened to walk iw
de door.
He spied his Katrina lying dead on de
floor,
A pig plown of sausage was lain by
her side.
Says Hans, "I'll be blamed 'twas mit
tis ting she died."
8. Now all you young womans whatever
you do
Don't let tis Hans Dunder tink something
of you.
And all ye men dat court in de passage,
Think of Hans and Katrina and de pig
plown of sausage.
2. "Jack Monroe"
Use Belden, I940, p. 17I, and Vance Randolph, Ozark Folksongs, 4 vols. (Columbia,
Mo., I946-50), I, 215, for bibliographical references and related discussions.
The tune, seemingly a Scots air, has been found widely in the South to this and
other songs but is very rare in the Northern States. Informant: Tune from Mrs.
Freeman Pulver of Hillsdale, October, 1925, as sung by her mother; words from
an old printed songbook of English and American material. The manuscript gives
no name for, or location of, this songbook.
46 Journal of American Folklore
i.
In Chat -ham lived a mer - chant, A ve - ry weal-thy
I JI|r-rJ4J24J44.j |jLJ nMan He had an on ly daugh - ter, As you can un der-
CHORUS
4 ^ -U1 ^i 1 h
stand. And sing tir-ee um de dum de tir-ee tir- ee um de dee._
She was court-ed by Lords and Dukes And man-y a
y J? i r r vI r m-r r
wealth - y Knight_ There was none but Jack the
CHORUS
b J. J ? I J > ~ j 1!. j
sail - or could give her heart de - light And sing
tir - ee um de dum de tir-ee tir- ee dum de dee._
3.
When her fath- er came to hear of this, An ang-ry man was
' r i. r~ Jr-' - '
he, Say-ing,"I'll send youngJack the sail - or All
CHORUS
,,i, J J f J j li - J~lj j 41
in the wars of Gar-ma - nee." And sing Tire-e um de
dum de tire e, tir e um de dee. dum de tire e, tire - e um de dee.-
Mid-Hudson Song and Verse
4. Now Jack he is on board
With his sword and troubled mind,
Leaving of his own true love
So closely confined.
5. "Now Jack he is on board
No more of him I'll see."
Saying, "I will be at your disposal
If you will set me free."
6. She left her father's house
And dressed in man's array.
She is waiting for an officer
To carry her away.
7. "We do not list any young men
Until their names we know."
So boldly she answered him,
"They call me Jack Monroe."
8. Now Jack she is on board
With a sword and troubled mind.
To land at French Flanders
Is her whole design.
9. She fought in many a battle,
She fought courageously;
Privates and colonels
Down by her side did die.
10. "An officer's commission
On you I will bestow,"
Saying, "Push and make your fortune,
My darling Jack Monroe."
I. The drums they did beat
And the trumpet they did sound,
And for the field of battle
They all did march around.
12. She walked among the ranks
And among the wounded men,
And there she saw her own true love.
She thought he had been slain.
13. She pulled out her handkerchief
Some private marks to show,
Saying, "Jacky, won't you marry me?
Oh, Jacky, don't you know?"
14. The priest he was sent for
The knot for to be tied,
The officers and privates
Begrudged Jack of his bride.
15. The drums they did beat
And the trumpets they did sound,
And all for old England
They did march around.
i6. As they were going down Dover Street
The people they did say,
"Here comes the tars of war
From the wars of Germany."
17. "I do not like your clothing,
I do not like your talk,
I do not like that vagabond
That by your side does walk."
I8. Then up steps her mother
And unto her did say,
"You look just like my daughter
That from us went away."
I9. "I am not your daughter,
Neither do you I know,
I am from the Highlands
They call me Jack Monroe."
20. She fought in many a battle,
'She fought courageously,
Until young Jack the sailor
Down by her side did dies.
21. She pulled out her broadsword
And bid the world adieu.
Here's an end to Jack the sailor,
Likewise to Jack Monroe.
3. "The Three Rogues" ("In Good Old Colony Times")
Use Belden, 1940, p. 268, and Randolph, I946, I, 416, for bibliographical references
and related discussions. A similar tune entitled "King Arthur's Servants"
47
48 Journal of American Folklore
is in W. G. Whittaker'sN orth CountrieB allads( London,I 92I). Informant:S ung
by Ellen Curtis of MabbettsvilleM, ay, 1922, as heard from her grandmother,
ElizabethP hillips Curtis,o f GreatB arringtonM, assachusetts.
fi"lh I j1 IhIJ J i J' j.N
Longy earsa -go in c'lon-ialt imesW henw e wereu n-detrh eK ing,T hree
_~#_ .h ~ .rP !h J,J J
rogu-ishc hapsg ot in-to mis-hapsB e-causet heyc ould-n't sing._ The
weav-er he stole yarn.- Andthe mil-ler he stole corn,_ Andthe
A i I I
v4 r E r r - r
lit-tle tai-lor stole broad-cloth_ To keep those three rogues warm._
The weaver got hung in his yarn.
And the miller got drowned in his dam,
And the devil clapped his claw on the little tailor
With the broadclothu nderh is arm.
4. "The Dumb Wife"
One of the earliest known texts of this song is in William Chappell, Popular
Music of the Olden Time, 2 vols. (London, I855), I, I20. This version, dating
from about I728, was sung to a tune known as "I am the Duke of Norfolk" to
which the Dutchess County melody (a version of "The Landlady of France")
bears no relationship. For further investigation, see William Chappell, Old English
Popular Music, 2 vols. (London, 1893), I, 285, and Patrick W. Joyce, Old Irish
Folk Music and Songs (Dublin and London, I909), no. 389. In America, Randolph,
I949, III, II9; Mary O. Eddy, Ballads and Songs from Ohio (New York,
I939), p. 214; and Paul G. Brewster, "More Indiana Ballads and Songs," Southern
Folklore Quarterly, 5 (I94I), 181, give bibliographical leads. Informant: Sung by
Virgil Winans, May, 1922, as heard from her mother-in-law, Carrie Guernsey
Winans, of Clinton Corners.
F-L k pir 4f4 h iJ x L4
There was a coun -try blade And he wooed a lit - tie
mmaaidi d AAnn d hhee ssfa fe - - lyyc o con dduu. e ttee d hhee . r hhooe me, hhoomme,,e ,
Mid-Hudson Song and Verse
--#t- t K . I ____ . I h-h- iI R K , I
r r r i
home. She was neat in ev-'ry part, And she stole a-way his
.? . . L k.. . I -
he. But the pret l-te it ear i dum
heart. But the pret-ty lit -tie dear-ie she was dumb, dumb, dumb.
2. She could brew and she could bake,
She could knit and she could flake,
She could sweep her house down with
the broom, broom, broom.
She could card and she could spin
And do every other thing,
But this pretty little dearie, she was
dumb, dumb, dumb.
3. To the doctor then he went
To make his heart content
In curing his dearie of the mum,
mum, mum.
"'Tis by far the easiest part
That lies within my art
To make a woman speak who is dumb,
dumb, dumb."
4. Next morning she arose
And she quick put on her clothes,
And she rattled in his ear like a drum,
drum, drum.
Her feet began to walk
And her tongue began to talk.
"I'd give anything on earth if she was
dumb, dumb, dumb."
5. To the doctor then he goes
With his bosom full of woes.
"O doctor, doctor dear! I'm undone,
done, done.
My wife has proved a scold,
And a deal her tongue would hold.
I'd give anything on earth if she were
dumb, dumb, dumb!"
6. Said the doctor, "Then indeed
I have proved a friend in need
Of curing your dearie of the mum,
mum, mum.
But it's past the art of man,
Let him do the best he can,
To make a scolding woman hold her
tongue, tongue, tongue!"
5. "Tinky-tanky-tay" ("Come, Pretty Soldier")
Use Randolph, I946, I, 289, for bibliographical references and
sions. Informant: Sung by Emmett Coon of Cokertown, August,
A a . .
related discus-
I922.
"Ob, Tink-y-tank-y-tay, won'tyou mar-ry me to-day By the
r i r r r t J
s ir-r O_ r "s
ris - ing of the sun?" "Oh, not Oh, nolt says
l*JP_I W =LIJ. I
Tink -y tink y -tay, "I have no clothes to put
Ai
49
on "
6. "The Quaker's Proposal"
Use Randolph,I 949, III, 55, for bibliographicarle ferencesa nd relatedd iscussions.
Informant: Sung by Ellen Curtis, May, 1922. The stanzas (cf. Belden, I940,
p. 506, for discussion and bibliographical reference) that begin "Madame, I have
gold and silver ... all I want is a handsome man," frequently confused with this
song, were also recorded from the recitation of Sylvia van Wagenen of Kerhonksen,
May, 1922.
I have a ring worthfor-ty shil-lings, Ur, ah, ur, ah!
You may have it if you are wil-ling. Um, ah, um, ah! .
* r=r r 'r- 4 rT t h
I want none of yer rings ner your mon ey.
I want some bod-y to call me hon - ey.
Too.dle dad-die, doo-dle dad-die, doo-dle dad-dle day.
7. "The Country Scholar"
For similarr efrainsi, n both melodya nd nonsensew ords,s ee FrankB . Ogilvie,
200 Old-Time Songs (New York, I896), no. 49; Sigmund Spaeth, Weep Some
More, My Lady (New York, I927); and The Amateur's Songbook (publ. in
Boston by Elias Howe, I843). Check also the music to "I Want for to Go to
WiddecombeF air" in Sabine Baring-Goulda nd H. FleetwoodS heppardS, ongs
and Ballads of the West (London, 1892), no. I6. Informant: Sung in May, 1922,
by Ellen Curtis who stated that the air is supposed to resemble the motion of the
wheel, "When you begin to turn it you go slow."
J !J JIi tJ IJ J J J IJ
A young coun-try schol-ar stood mus-ing a - while And a
jor J nte c r u witah si, An
jour-ney-man car-pen-ter came up with a smile, An
50 journaol f AmericaFno lklore
Mid-Hudson Song and Verse
1J 1J 1 J J^IJ J J iJ <Jaxe
on his shoul-der he was wish-ing to grind But
,1 J J li J . IJ J J J J l
know not where a grind-stone to find. Ri - too, di
; J uL-dJ iy J J i IJ r D - n
noo, di nid-dy-not- noo, Ri - too, di - noo, di - ni.
2. He asked simple Hodge if a grindstone
he'd got.
Hodge nodded and ran for the watering
pot.
"That'sr ight,"s aid the carpenter", now
you may learn
That you're a fine fellow the grindstone
to turn."
3. Hodge turned till his hands were all
blistered and sore,
He thought that the carpenter ne'er
would give o'er.
But hoping some little reward to obtain
Kept turning with all his might and
his main.
4. At length the axe was sharp as sharp
could be.
Then the carpenter spoke, "You young
scapegrace," quoth he,
....... "Now off to school,
Or I'll dust your jacket, you idle young
fool!"
Chorus: Ri-too, di-noo, di-niddy-not-noo;
Ri-too, di-noo, di-ni.
8. "The Old Cow"
For another "Cow" text see Robert W. Gordon, Folksongs of America (National
Service Bureau Publication, New York, 1938), 105-106. The more common
"The Old Sow" versions are in Randolph, I948, II, 149, and Eloise Linscott, Folksongs
of Old New England (New York, I939), p. 253. Cf. also Baring-Gould and
Sheppard, I892, p. I3; Cecil J. Sharp, "Narrative and Historical Ballads and Songs
of Country Life and Custom," Journal of the Folk Song Society, 5: 20 (19I6), 283;
and Alfred Williams, Folksongs of the Upper Thames (London, I923), p. I67.
Word-Lore, 3: I (1928), 94-95, prints a Cumberland, England, dialect version called
"T 'Oald Boar." Also related is "The Red Herring" game-song; see Julia D. Whiting,
"An Unprinted Game-Song," JAF, 2 (1889), 238. Informant: Given by Ellen
Curtis, May, I922, as heard from her grandmother, Elizabeth P. Curtis.
5I
Journal of American Folklore
i. What'll we do with the old cow's head?
Make as good an oven as ever baked
bread.
Oven or a stove or any such thing,
The old cow had the measles and died
last spring.
2. What'll we do with the old cow's hide?
'Twill make as good a saddle as ever
man did ride.
Saddle or a bridle or any such thing,
The old cow had the measles and died
last spring.
3. What'll we do with the old cow's tail?
Will make as good a hammer as ever
drove a nail.
A hammer or a hatchet or any such
thing,
That old cow had the measles and died
last spring.
9. "Whistle, Whistle"
See "The Jew's Garden, etc.," JAF, 64: 252 (I951), 225, where Martha W.
Beckwith prints a Reading, Pennsylvania, text of "Spinn, spinn, mein' liebe Tochter,"
"a mixture of German and Berks County Dutch." Use Randolph, 1946, I,
4I0, for bibliographical references and related discussions. Add Cecil Sharp and
Maude Karpeles,E nglish Folksongs from the Southern Appalachians,2 vols.
(Oxford, I932), II, I69, to his references, also Morris, 1950, p. 420, who has an
American "Whistle" type. Informant: Recited by Sylvia van Wagenen, May, 1922.
i. "Whistle, whistle, loving daughter,
And I will give you a horse."
"I never whistled, Mother,
And I cannot now, of course;
It puckers up my mouth so!"
2. "Whistle, whistle, loving daughter,
And I will give you a cow."
"I never whistled, Mother,
So, of course, I cannot now;
It puckers up my mouth so!"
3. "Whistle, whistle, loving daughter,
And I will give you a man."
"I never whistled, Mother,
But I am very sure I can!"
And very soon the whistling began.
Io. "The Sailor Boy"
This song is closely related to the popular Northumberland chantey "Home,
Dearie, Home" which Joanna Colcord, Songs of the American Sailormen (New
York, I938), p. I67, and Roll and Go (Indianapolis, I924), p. 86, prints in an
American form. See also the English text of Laura A. Smith, Music of the Waters
(London, i888), p. 25. Informant: Sung in February, I93I, by Dr. Henry N. Mac-
Cracken, who obtained his version from Frank Lown of Poughkeepsie.
52
Mid-Hudson Song and Verse
I. When I was a maid in Rosemary Lane,
I gained the affection of master and
dame;
Till along came a sailor boy fresh from
the sea,
And that was the beginning of my sad
misery.
2. The sailor being weary, he hanged
down his head,
And called for a candle to light him
to bed.
I lit him up to bed as a maiden
ought to do,
And he said, "Pretty maiden, won't
you lie two and two?"
3. I being young and foolish, and thinking
it no harm,
Just jumped into bed to keep that sailor
warm.
And what he did there I never shall
declare,
But I wish that one night had been
seven long year.
4. It was early next morning that sailor
so bold
Put his hand in his pocket and pulled
out some gold.
Said he, "Take this, it will buy you
meat and bread.
You have earned it, my darling, for
lighting me to bed."
5. And if it be a girl, I will trot her on
my knee.
And if it be a boy, I will send him off
to sea.
With his low gartered shoes and his
jacket all so blue,
He shall tread the quarter-decka s his
daddy used to do.
Chorus: Then home, dearest home, what
is home now to me.
Then home, dearest home, in my own
country,
Where the ash and the oak and the
bonny willow tree,
They are all growing greenly in my
north country.
ii. "The First Place that I Met My Love"
The editors were unable to identify this piece, although it seems fairly certain
that it is an English, at least British, city ballad. Informant: Lavinia Wallace of
Hyde Park, New York, through her niece, Katherine Wallace Kitts.
i. Oh, the first place that I met my love
was in yon shady grove,
And as he passed by me he offered me
a rose.
But I would not accept of it, so I
quickly passed him by,
Before I'd humble to him I would lay
me down and die.
2. The next place that I met my love I
asked him for a ring.
He said that he'd deprive me of a far
better ring.
He said that he would serve me as he
serve two or three,
But good riddens to bad rubbage when
he said farewell to me.
3. It's every Sunday eve we sit together
and chat,
And very little better I like him for all
that.
His tongue it was too limber, and his
watch it was too slow,
And often I would tell him for to take
his hat and go.
4. He has love in both his pockets and but
little in his heart.
He can share his love with you and me
and give us each a part.
His love is like the dewdrop that glitters
on a thorn.
He can put it on on Sunday eve, take
it off on Monday morn.
53
Journal of American Folklore
5. I hear he has a new sweetheart;h e won
her by a joke.
He really thinks within his heart that
it will me provoke.
But it will never me provoke, as he can
plainly see,
For I've had choice of many a one
since he said farewell to me.
6. Now he may go home, put his mother's
mind at ease.
I hear she is an old lady, very hard
to please.
I heard she has talked ill of me, but
that she need not do.
For now she need not fret herself for I
don't want her son.
12. "The Turkish Bride"
The following appears to be a British-broadside reworking of a "grateful dead"
Marchen. See Antti Aarne and Stith Thompson, Types of the Folk-Tale (FF
Communications, 25: 74, Helsinki, 1928), types 5o6A and 5o6B. Informant: Alice
Coon Weaver of Rhinebeck, October 2, 1925. Recorded by Virginia Wiley, Vassar
'26. The words were recited, not sung.
Lo, here is a ditty, a truth and no jest,
Concerning a gentleman who lived in the west,
Who by his gaming came to great povertee,
Who went on a voyage . . . on a sea.
(He went to Turkey and spied a dead man's body
He asked the natives what made it there lie,
And one of them made this reply,
(And he said):
"This was a Christian, sir, while he had breath,
His debts being unpaid he lies on the earth."
lying on the ground.)
(And he says):
"What will you take to put him in the ground?"
"Forty pounds sterling," they quickly replied.
(The money was paid down and the dead body was put in its grave.)
Then he went on further and by chance he did spy
A beautiful damsel just going to die.
(He says):
"How much will you take to free her from death?"
"A hundred pounds sterling...."
(Well, he paid, and carried her to fair London town, and he set up a store there,
and she was his maid, and she said):
"Dearest master, I do understand
That you are bound factor to such a land.
I have flowered a vesket....."
(And she says, "I want you to let it be seen by the great majesty...." And as
soon as the old prince cast an eye on his vesket, he says):
"Dear friend, do tell me, I pray,
Who flowered your vesket... ?"
54
Mid-Hudson Song and Verse
(He said that he wanted his daughter. The man who should safe bring her to
him, his bride she should be. When he came home he told her about it.)
She says, "Let's sell off our goods and give our money to the poor, for my father
has enough for us, too. I want to see my dear parents again."
He said, "What say you to be my bride?"
And she said, "Were you a beggar I'd be your bride, for when I was dying you
saved my life."
Then they went on a ship, and the captain came to her the next morning, and
he was feared the factor had fallen overboard. Of course, the captain threw him over.
The captain wanted her for his bride.
Her father said, "What say you, my daughter, will you take him for your husband?"
"Yes, but for my beloved factor I'll mourn forty days."
And he swum to an island.
She was a-setting out on the porch, and she saw her beloved factor coming. She
ran out to meet him, and they went after the captain, and he jumped in the water
and that proved his grave.
Then the factor told her how he had swum to an island, and he had no money,
and along come a little old man in a canoe, and he had to give him something. He
said he had nothing.
"Yes, you have; in the space of a few years you'll have a son and a daughter, and
I'll take the firstborn."
But, of course, he didn't tell his lady that. Then he had to promise that he would
give his firstborn. In the space of a few years he had a fine son and a daughter, and
there came a little old man who knocked at the door, and when he came in he knew
him right away. Then he told his wife he was the old man who had saved him, and
he said, "I will have my choice; give him to me." And this made the whole family
weep bitterly. And then he says, "No, I won't take him; I am just the spirit of the
dead man."
II. GAME (PLAY-PARTY) SONGS
Omitted Material, Originals, and Variants
With music: "The Old Miller" (tune: "Old Zip Coon"); "War Song" ("We
Are Marching on Quebec").
Without music: "Old Dan Tucker"; "Ransy Tansy Tee" ("Here Goes Four
Maids a-Roamin'"); "Needle's Eye"; "Oats, Beans, Barley"; "Tisket, Tasket";
"Two Little Girls A-sliding Went"; two variants each of "Let's Go to Boston"
(see "Gip Along Josey") and "The Old Miller."
13. "Gip Along Josey"
Use Randolph, 1949, III, 385, for bibliographical references and related discussions.
The melody (see Ogilvie, 1896, no. I97, "Jim Along Jo") is a fiddle tune.
Informant: Sung by Emmett Coon, August, 1922.
55
56 Journal of American Folklore
4 4 J L tj ji 1 j 4 i( LLJ I
Hi, gip a-long gip a-long Jos-ey! Hi, gip a-long,
gip a-long, Joe! Ev-'ry pret-ty girl that wants a beau,
4bi J J LJ j 4?1j %I 14 P I
Fall in the arms of gip a-long oe. Hi gip a-long,
i> J r Ji ! hj r 1I J f I
gip a-long,Jos-ey, Hi gip a long, gip a - long Joe!
Ev-'ry pret ty girl that wants a beau, Fall in the arms of
LI1j4iJ J I 4 j J i
gip a-longJoe. Come, my love,let's go to Bos-ton,Come,my love, let's
I 1Jjj-J U 4 ilJ 4i 4l
go to Bos-ton,Comemylove,letsg o to Boson,Ear-ly in the mom-ng.
Squir-rel up the plum-tree, can't you catch him, can't you catch him?
:4 ? r j Ji j4 j1 J 4 I
Squir-rel up the plum tree, can't you catch him now?
i
7 ; p J f j J 1) g f JW qp .j) J
Whats a mas-sa ails you, can't you catch him, cant you catch him?
ib has sa as y, ct yu cantJch m
What's a mas-sa ails you, can't you catch him now?
Mid-Hudson Song and Verse
I4. "I Put My Right Foot In"
Use Linscott, I939, p. 23, and William W. Newell, Games and Songs of
American Children (New York and London, I903), no. 68, for bibliographical
referencesa nd related discussionsI. nformant:S ung by SarahE lmendorfo f Old
Hurley, August, I925.
"I put my left foot in" follows, and the song continues through as many parts
of the body as the group desires. The chorus repeats after each stanza.
j J J 4 J. ji i -LJ IJ J _
I put my right foot in, I put my right foot out, I
Fine
~~LL J JJ J J
give myr ightf oota shake,shake,shaAken dI turnm y.selfa - bout.
CHORUS i
Yan-kee doo-dle doo-dle doo-dle, Yan-kee doo-dle dan-dy.
14 J---J; J .fr.r .I..I..r.. . J LU - .- -
Yan-kee doo-dle doo-dle doo-dle, Yan-kee doo-dle dan- dy.
I5. "Sailing on the Ocean"
For bibliographical references and related discussions refer to Newell, I903,
no. i68, and Emma M. Backus, "Song-games from Connecticut," JAF, 14 (I90I),
296 (tune), and E. E. Gardner, "Some Play-party Games in Michigan," JAF, 33
(I920), I03, I22. Informant: Sung by Emmett Coon, August, I922.
4 0 ii-LU e a f J i j
Sail - ing on the o - cean, the tide rolls high,
Sail-ing on the o - cean,the tide rolls high,Sail-ing on the o - cean, the
Jb J I. J J i. h ! IJ i. J I
tide rolls high, Wait for the pret-ty girl to come by-and-by.
4 :J J !j . U2 0 pJ ).L
Choose your part-ner and stay till day, Choose your part-ner and
Oars in the boat and they wodt go round, Oars in the boat and they
57
Journal of American Folklore
Ir r i r er > J- i
stay till day. Choose your part - ner and stay till day
wont go round Oars in the boat and they won't go round
- tI hh , , h IJ I I .11
v M 0 p w t T I
For we don't care what the
Till you kiss that pret- ty girl
old folks say.
you just found.
i6. "Little Brown Jug"
This popular nineteenth-century lyric has been a play-party and game song
in Missouri; see Goldy M. Hamilton, "The Play-party in Northeast Missouri,"
JAF, 27 (I914), 296; in Michigan, see Gardner, I920, p. IO9; and in Texas, see
William Owens, Swing and Turn (Dallas, I936), p. 52. The final stanza of the
four-stanza New York text, obviously borrowed from "Old Dan Tucker," is of
interest in this connection. See Edwin F. Piper, "Play-party Games in the Middle
West," JAF, 28 (I915), 284, for the same lines. Informant: Not given in the Ring
MS. Collected in.Mabbettsville, October, I92I.
I. My wife and I we live alone
In a little brown hut we call our own.
She loves gin, and I love rum,
And I tell you what, we have lots of
fun.
2. As I go walking on my farm,
I take my little jug right under my
arm.
I set me down by a shady tree.
Little brown jug, don't I love thee!
3. We have a cow; she gives us milk.
We dress her in the finest silk.
We milk her eighteen times a day
And feed her with the best of hay.
4. Over the hills and a great way off
A woodchuck died of the whooping
cough;
He combed his hair with a wagon
wheel
And died with the toothache in his
heel.
Chorus: Ha, ha, ha! It's you and me.
Little brown jug, don't I love
thee!
III. DUTCH-AMERICAN SONGS
Omitted Material, Originals, and Variants
Without music: "Spinn, spinn, mein' liebe Tochter." See Beckwith, I951, p.
225, for a similar text.
I7. "Zoo rijd'n de heeren"
This is an old Dutch nursery rime. See J. van Vloten, Nederlandshe Baker-en
Kinderrijmen, p. 14, where a rime beginning "Ziet zoo rijden de Heeren" appears.
58
Mid-Hudson Song and Verse
Recall also the English rime beginning, "This is the way the farmers ride
/Wimble, wamble," and the more widely known "This is the way the ladies ride
/Trot, trot, trot."I nformants:V ersionA was sung by Mrs. Dubois de la Vergne
of Kingston, October, 1925; B was sung by Mrs. Grispell Brodhead of Old Hurley,
July, I925. Both variants have identical lyrics.
A
^ j_.J j !i.)..j J1u heJ
Zoo rijdn de heer-en Met de moo-ie kleer-en. Zoo rijdnde vrou-wen
^ .lAJ>. p j ji l~-p~-prrrir Met de moo-le mou-wen. Zoo rijdt de ak-ker-man
B
,r JI. J4' J2 >- . jJ J J I
Zoo rijd'n de heer-en Met de moo-ie klee-ren.
JJ . J J I. J I
Zoo rijda de vrou- wen Met de moo-ie mouw-en.
Zoo rijdt de ak - ker-man Met zijn paar-dje acht-er-an.
td L $ I ir JL - LcrA1
Ju, paar-dje, ju!
Thus
With
Thus
With
Thus
With
ride the gentlemen
their beautiful clothes.
ride the ladies
their beautiful sleeves.
rides the husbandman
his little horse in the rear.
I8. "Trippa, troppa, tronjes"
See van Vloten, p. 4, for a Netherlands version that begins "Tikke-takketoonen."
The song is also quoted by Theodore Roosevelt in his African Trails
(New York, 1910), p. 51, as a rime he sang from memory to Boer settlers,
who recognized the lines. In a text published by M. P. Ferris through the Holland
Society, New York, in I89o, the sixth line reads "De kalf in de lang gras." Informants:
Version A was sung by Mrs. Brodhead, July, 1925; version B was sung by
Ju, paar-dje, ju! so!
59
60 Journal of American Folklore
Mrs. de la Vergne, October, 1925. The concluding line is spoken with an exaggerated
inflection. "Quo dot! myn Midchen so grooten was!" ("What of that!
My little girl is so great!") and "Plish-plashp, lish-plash"a re commonv ariations
used. Texts A and B are, however, identical.
A
Trip-pa,Tropa, Tron-jes! De var-kens.in de boon -es, De
k ko-jes in de kla-ver, De paar-deen in de ha - ver, De
t jLDL4J 4> I' J I J44 L-LJLJLI
een-jes in de long-en plass,De goo-jes in de wa-terplaas,So
[f Musich orc
unintclligibli I
B 3 times
t^ J.J >}, 1aj. s _ _ I r. .:I
Trip- pa,trop-po, tron-jes Var-kens in de boon-jes, etc.
The pigs are in the beans,
The cows are in the clover,
The horses are in the oats,
The ducks are in the long grass,
The geese are in the water-place,
So great my little child is!
I9. "Daar is een mooi meisje"
Dr. Barnouw, who transcribed the lines, wrote, "The second stanza is part of
an old Shrovetide song which van Vloten gives on p. 69. But the first four lines
do not occur in his version, and the text of these is so corrupt that I cannot guess
at their meaning. The first line is, of course, clear." Informant: Sung by Mrs. de la
Vergne; also known to Rachel Elmendorf of Old Hurley, whose father used to
sing it to her.
Mid-Hudson Song and Verse
C A-I'|p <II-- 1' ' '4' ,' Itr I I ..j I [ i4..',. I . .....I. - , ,- --A iA
Daar is een mooi meis-je in't wa ter ge - val * len,
-4p - i LJ2 lDj4tip -J - J L I
De had-denn iet has de plun - ge And as a mit Kop-pe
na- bo- ge de stan As we wis fe ver- drank- e
CHORUS
[And] Hier een stoel en daar een stoel, Op ie-der stoel een
7J 1 ^k1s. l-Je I hL e
JX 1
kus - sen, Mooi meis - je hou je kin- ne-bak toe, Of ik
_~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ j I . II, . h ~
sla - der een pan ne - koek Tuss - chen.
There is a beautiful girl fallen into the water....
Chorus: Here a chair and there a chair,
On each chair a cushion,
Pretty girl, hold your chops to
Or I shall slap a pancake between them.
20. "Tire-lire-laatjes"
Miss Stocking,w ho recordedv ersionA , wrote," The rathers low pacea t which
this was sung to me gave a lullaby flavor to the music. It may have been a slumber
song or it may have been a song of the pat-a-caket ype."I n Upper Red Hook,
Dutchess County," someone"r ememberedh er father singing the first lines when
he watched the women shaping cheese balls with the hands. Compare the air to
"Trippa, troppa, tronjes," no. i8, version B. Informants: Version A was sung
by Mrs. de la Vergne, October, 1925; version B was sung by a Miss Kitly of
Old Hurley over the telephone in October, I925.
62 Journal of American Folklore
A
tx JL ) IF- | .j I 7 -=I
Ti- re- li - re - laat - jes, Ti - re li - re - laat - jes,
Als mijnm oe-derw af-ele-jesb akt, Looptd e bo-ter-doodre graat-jes.
B
et IJ .j t IJ. j. ! I|J. L|
Ti' laat-jes, Ti' laat-jes, Ti-re-li, Ti-re-li- laat -jes,
^J~ j I,L j_~,i|. j 7iJ.ji
As my ma-ma wa-fel-tjes bakt, De bo-ter looptdoor de graat-jes.
As my mother bakes waffles
The butter runs through the holes.
21. "Peter Ludlaw"
This song is widely known in the Netherlands, where its hero is Pierlala. See
Floren van Duyse, Het Nederlandshe Lied, II, 1164; S. M. Noach, De msterdammer,
June 3, I916; and van Vloten, p. 37. Informant: None indicated in the Ring
MS.
Pete Ludlaw was ein kleine kind
Von ses vader sehr geliebt,
Er sprucht die dachsel von der kist
Und sprung darout, nie man wisst,
"Ha! ha!" sagte Pete Ludlaw,
"Ich lebe noch!"
Pete Ludlaw was a little child
By his father greatly beloved....
He sickens and dies.
He raised the lid from the coffin
And sprang out, no one knew,
"Ha! ha!" said Pete Ludlaw,
"I am still alive!"
IV. LYRICS FROM TIIE NINETEENTH-CENTURY MUSIC HALLS AND PRINT SHOPS
Omitted Material, Originals, and Variants
With music: "The Flying Trapeze"; "Sister Ruth"; "'Way Down in Piedunk";
"My Willie's O'er the Dark, Blue Sea"; "Well-a-day"; "Over the Mountains and
Over the Moor"; "My Grandmother."
Without music: "Jockey Hat and Feather"; "Annie of the Vale"; "The Silver
Moon"; "Bonaparte's Grave"; "Scenes of My Childhood"; "Serenade" ("Come
to My Window, My Love"); "The Watcher"; "John Atkins."
Mid-Hudson Song and Verse
V. LOCAL SENTIMENTAL BALLADS
Omitted Material, Originals, and Variants
Without music: "The Six Young People That Was Drowned," "Three Young
Ladies Burned to Death in the Year I832," and "The Bloody Tragedy of a
Woman Who Murdered Herself and Children," all from the commonplace book
of Lucy Ann Wright of Stanfordville.
22. "The Johnsville Tragedy"
The ballad describes the death of two young men who had gone to the field
to get the horses from their new three-horse threshing machine. Johnsville, now
Wickopee, is two miles from Brinkerhofville on the road to Hopewell in Dutchess
County. Informant: Miriam Wood, who took it from the pre-I859 manuscript
of her mother, Mrs. Haight, who sang the piece to the tune of "Auld Lang Syne."
i. Majestic thunders loud did roar, 3. Three horses they designed to take
Red lightning doomed to kill; Beneath a spreading tree,
Was called from home to be no more When they a sudden flight did make
Two youths from our Johnsville. Into eternity.
2. Into the fields with haste they sped
With orders to comply,
A flash of lightning struck them dead,
Not thinking they must die.
4. Young men and maidens of this place
Who that sad scene did view,
Tears started fresh from every face;
The call was something new.
23. "In Beveridge Town"
Informant: Recited at Germantown by Mary Green of Ulster County, who was
seventy-five at the time, June, I925. Also familiar to an old relative, who could
recall it from her youth.
I. In Beveridge town there lived of late
A wealthy youth who met his fate,
Which caused so many tears to flow
And filled so many hearts with woe.
2. Uriah Church, that was the name,
Of this unfortunate young man
Who fell within the bloom of life
By the one that was to be his wife.
3. He went one day his love to see,
In friendship sweet they did agree;
They being joined in pleasant talk
Few paces from the door did walk.
4. He, being very full of mirth,
Some snow he threw into her face;
She kindly smiled, rebuked the same,
And bade him ne'er do it again.
5. "If again you fill my face with snow
This scissors at you I will throw!"
He did not her words take heed,
But ventured to repeat the deed.
6. Again he filled her face with snow
And she the scissors then did throw;
But when she gave her shears a toss,
Poor girl, no thought what it would
cost.
63
Journal of American Folklore
7. It entered deep her lover's side
And the great artery it did divide;
Life's blood in terror down did run.
Louisa cried, "What have I done?"
"What have I done?" and quick did
send
For a physician near at hand.
8. When the physician there did come,
He instantly closed up the wound,
And then the blood did cease to flow
And eased Louisa's heart of woe.
9. The doctor said, "Young man, attend,
And hear the counsel of a friend!
If you unto my words take heed
Soon from this wound you shall be
freed."
Io. He then return unto his home;
His friends rejoiced to see him come,
But greater stories still to tell
That he was really getting well.
i . Uriah walked the fields one day;
He chanced to fall, and then straightway
A pain did pierce his wounded side
And never left him till he died.
12. Louisa heard the mournful news
And to her true love then she goes;
"Oh, tell me, Uriah, tell me true!
Can you forgive what I did do?"
I3. "To ease your heart, Louisa dear,
I can forgive what has passed here;
I can forgive the hand that gave
The wound that sends me to my
grave."
24. "Benjie Wheeler"
Benjamin Wheeler was among the first settlers of New Marlborough, Berkshire
County. Informant: Recited in August, I922, by Ellen Curtis whose greatgrandfather
was the Reverend Samuel Phillips of Boston, whose descendants were
neighbors and acquaintances of the Wheelers for years. One of the Phillips fought
in the same company with Benjamin Wheeler during the Revolution.
'Twas on New Marlborough'sr ocky hills,
As all you people know,
Where old Benjie Wheeler built his hut
One hundred years ago.
'Twas here he toiled 'mid snow and rain,
Through the drifts of snow;
'Twas here he reared his little ones
A hundred years ago.
VI. FRAGMENTS AND MISCELLANY
About 50 per cent of this material has been omitted at the discretion of the
editors. Much of what is included was difficult to identify.
25. "Beautiful Valley"
This tune is an old British, perhaps Irish, air that has been widely used for
such games as "To Help us with our Dancing" and "Round and Round this
Green Sugar Tree." It is also a popular dance air in America and the "old
country." Like many a dance-game tune it seems to have been converted to the
64
Mid-Hudson Song and Verse
uses of the camp-meeting spiritual. Informant: Sung in February, 1933, by Louise
Platt who learned the words and the tune from her mother, Emma Bartlett Platt,
who was born about I850.
'Twas way down in that beau- ti ful val- ley where
i souls Tra-I laa | D i .
souls Tra -la -
tV r ' V ra r
a la - l*a la -a la - la la -- llaa - - a
26. "Rock-a-by Baby"
The words to this song have the old theme of the deserted father rocking the
cradle: cf. "Peggy is over ye sie wi ye souldier" in the Skene MS., see F. J. Child,
English and Scottish Popular Ballads, 5 vols. (Boston, 1882-98), V, 398. The air
has been used as a fiddle tune (with a second part) and is also known as a fifer's
march. Informant: Sung in February, I933, by Emma Bartlett Platt, who had
learned it from her father, Dudley Bartlett, of Whitesboro, New York.
E^A'S L i Lfi J I Lf u J J I
Rock- a - by ba- by and rock 'em to sleep, I
pay for your nurs-ig two shillings a week But as for your moth er she
ttaakkeessll iitt--ttliee ccaarree FFoorr shee haass ggoonnee o- vveerr sseeaass wwiitthh aa ssaaiill-oorr. .
27. "Right from the Premaker"
This song, sung in Old Hurley during the I870's and '80's, has names local
to the neighborhood: Premaker is the stream between the DeWitt place and
Newkirk's; Cobbetje (Jacobus) is the stream between the Wynecoop farm and
the Brink place. Informant: Not given in the Ring MS.
65
Journal of American Folklore
Right from the Pre-mak-er to the Cob-bet-je slope I
Mp IFTM pp ~ I
peeked thru the bush-es to see the old boat Char-ley in front and
1J Ir r F ,} u
I came be-hind, And Ja-mie in the mid-die to car-ry the twine
28. A Group of Fragments
A. Informant: Notes in the Ring MS. read, "Sung by a colored girl."
Mama sent me to the spring one day.
She told me not to stay.
I fell in love with a pretty yellow boy
And stayed till Christmas day.
Oh, Willie, oh, Willie, my darling;
Oh, Willie, oh, Willie, my dear!
B. This is a common wandering fragment in the South. See Piper, 1915, p. 276;
and Robert D. Bass, "Negro Songs from the Pedee Country," IAF, 44 (1931), 425.
No informant is listed in the Ring MS.
Some folks say that niggers won't steal,
But I've got one in my cornfield.
Got my gun and have some fun
Lord a massy, how that nigger did run!
C. This fragment of a Civil War song was given by Sylvia van Wagenen in
September, 1925.
"Where are you going?" said Mrs. O'Flahrety
To Mike one morn as he shouldered his gun.
"I am going," said he, "to put on regimentals
And march with the boys till the war is all done.
"Then, Mrs. O'Flahrety, won't you be proud
Of your Mike when he comes home all covered with scars,
To show that he stood in the front of the battle
Where no man can stand who stays home from the wars."
D. This fragment was obtained from Anna Haight. No date is given in the
Ring MS.
66
Mid-Hudson Song and Verse
Come gather round the kitchen fire
And pile the chunks on higher and higher,
Set out the old fiddle and partners choose
And shake her down in your cowhide shoes.
E. The Ring MS. states only that this verse was collected "from Katherine
Vosburg's grandmother."
Here I stand slim and slender,
Come and kiss me while I'm young and tender.
By-and-by I'll grow old and tough,
And then you can't kiss me half enough.
F. The Ring MS. states that the following was taken from "a recitation of a
child from Ulster County."
Little Nobby Grey
His head was made of straw
And his tail was made of hay.
He can ramble and he can trot
And he can carry the mustard pot
Through the town of Woodstock.
G. Informant: Amasa Disher of Germantown. No date given in Ring MS.
The fragment used to be sung by Amasa's father, John Disher, who had heard
it all his life. "Rufus Lasher's hotel was down at the old East Camp at Cheviot
for years and years."
Here a sip and there a nip
And then into the ashes,
And here a nip and there a nip
And down at Rufus Lasher's.
But whiskey is the divil,
It leads a man astray;
It knocks him in the head
And lays him on the hay.
H. The following localizations of a Civil War rime were collected in Old
Hurley (the Ring MS. gives no other information concerning the informant, etc.).
Locally it was reported that "an old man named Washington up in the hills lost
his wife, and the old woman who worked there married him. So the boys used to
whistle these songs as they went by." The date when the songs were popular was
given as about I875.
The Israelites in the wilderness prayed for bread,
And the Lord he sent them manna;
Uncle Washington prayed for a wife,
And the Devil sent him Hannah.
Sarah Margaret think's she's some
Because she married Washington.
67
Journal of American Folklore
I. The Ring MS. indicates that this fragment was collected from Mr. Elmendorf
of Old Hurley, who learned it from a maid in the family. The stanza was
popular around 1878.
There is a woman of Marbletown,
She invited Jesse down;
She is Jacob Wells's bride,
Was invited by Jess to take a ride.
Mush-aring, ya-ya, fa-dy-adya,
Mush-a-ring, ya-ya, fa-dy-ring, ya-ya.
Pennsylvania State College,
State College, Pennsylvania
Denison University,
Granville, Ohio