Recordings & Info 1. The Gosport Tragedy/ Cruel Ship's Carpenter/ Pretty Polly
[See print sources
R. Matteson 2016]
CONTENTS:
1) Alternative Titles
2) Traditional Ballad Index
3)
4)
ATTACHED PAGES: (see left hand column)
1) Roud No. ( Listings)
2)
Alternate Titles
Pretty Polly
Pretty Little Polly
Pretty Molly
Gospard Tragedy
Polly's Love
Cruel Ship's Carpenter
The Gosport Tragedy
Love and Murder
BROADSIDE TUNE in ABC;
T:B367- Peg and the Soldier
S:or Peggy's Gone Over Sea with the Soldier
Q:20
M:3/8
L:1/8
K:Em
GAB|BAA|dBd|e3:|\
gfe|fed|gfe|f3|\
gfe|dBd|e2e|E3|]
Traditional Ballad Index: Cruel Ship's Carpenter/ Pretty Polly
[Laws P36A/B]
DESCRIPTION: The carpenter gets the girl pregnant. They meet, allegedly to plan their wedding. He announces he spent the night digging her grave, then murders her. He flees to sea; her ghost follows to demand justice. His crime is revealed, and the man dies
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1767 (Journal from the Vaughn)
KEYWORDS: homicide burial ghost pregnancy betrayal sailor
FOUND IN: Britain(England(South),Scotland) US(Ap,MA,SE) Canada(Mar,Newf)
REFERENCES (28 citations):
Laws P36A, "The Cruel Ship's Carpenter A (The Gosport Tragedy)/The Cruel Ship's Carpenter B (Pretty Polly)"
Wiltshire-WSRO Wt 318, "Johnny, the Ship's Carpenter" (1 text)
GreigDuncan2 201, "The Gosport Tragedy" (1 fragment, 1 tune)
Carey-MarylandFolkloreLife, pp. 59-61, "The Gospels of Libby" (1 text, with the title being a clear corruption of "Gosport City")
BrownII 64, "The Gosport Tragedy" (3 texts plus 1 excerpt and mention of 1 more; Laws lists the "A" text as P36A, and the rest as P36B, but "D" and probably "C" are "Pretty Polly (II)")
BrownSchinhanIV 64, "The Gosport Tragedy" (3 excerpts, 3 tunes; the "C" version is probably "Pretty Polly" and the others Laws P36B)
Morris, #183, "The Cruel Ship's Carpenter" (1 text)
JHCoxIIA, #17A-C, pp. 73-78, "Pretty Polly," "Come, Polly, Pretty Polly" (2 texts plus an excerpt, 2 tunes; the "A" text is the full "Cruel Ship's Carpenter" version; "B" is the short "Pretty Polly (II)"; the "C" fragment is too short to tell but has lyrics more typical of the latter)
Creighton/Senior, pp. 114-120, "The Ship's Carpenter" (4 texts, 2 tunes)
Fowke/MacMillan 70, "The Ship's Carpenter" (1 text, 1 tune)
Peacock, pp. 404-406, "The Ship's Carpenter" (1 text, 1 tune)
Karpeles-Newfoundland 27, "The Cruel Ship's Carpenter" (1 text, 1 tune)
Mackenzie 29, "The Gaspard Tragedy" (1 text, 1 tune)
Leach, pp. 698-700, "The Gosport Tragedy" (2 texts, but the second goes with "Pretty Polly (II)")
Leach-Heritage, pp. 147-148, "Pretty Polly" (1 text, 1 tune) on p. 203
Cambiaire, pp. 74-75, "The Cruel Ship's Carpenter (Pretty Polly)" (1 text, with the moralizing ending in which the ship sinks but no ghost)
Scarborough-SongCatcher, pp. 128-134, collectively titled "The Cruel Ship's Carpenter" but with individual titles "Pretty Polly," "Dying Polly," "Pretty Polly," "Pretty Polly," "Pretty Polly," "Oh, Polly!" (6 texts; 5 tunes on pp. 395-398; of these only the "C" text has a ghost; in "D" and "E" there is no ghost but Willie's ship sinks; the others by our criteria are versions of "Pretty Polly (II)")
SharpAp 49, "The Cruel Ship's Carpenter" (21 texts, 21 tunes -- but many of them, being fragmentary, could as easily be classified under "Pretty Polly (II)")
Sharp/Karpeles-80E 36, "The Cruel Ship's Carpenter" (1 text, 1 tune)
Huntington-Whalemen, pp. 129-131, "The Ship Carpenter" (1 text, long but broken off just before the murder, 1 tune)
Leach-Labrador 20, "Pretty Polly" (2 texts, 2 tunes)
Manny/Wilson 92, "The Ship's Carpenter" (1 text, 1 tune)
Ashton-Sailor, #86 insert, "The Gosport Tragedy or The Perjured Ship-Carpenter" (1 text)
BBI, ZN1429, "In Gosport of late there a damsel did dwell"
DT 311, SHIPCARP* SGIOCRP2*
ADDITIONAL: John Ashton, _A Century of Ballads_, Elliot Stock, London, 1887; reprinted 1968 by Singing Tree Press, pp. 101-105, "The Gosport Tragedy, or The Perjured Ship Carpenter" (1 text)
Leslie Shepard, _The Broadside Ballad_, Legacy Books, 1962, 1978, p. 149, "The Cruel Ship's Carpenter" (reproduction of a broadside page with "The Cruel Ship's Carpenter" and "Death of Lord Nelson")
Frank Harte _Songs of Dublin_, second edition, Ossian, 1993, p. 24, "Miss Brown" (1 text, 1 tune, short enough that it might be any of several murder ballads, but some of the material seems characteristic of this song)
Roud #15
RECORDINGS:
Harry Cox, "In Worcester City" (on Voice17)
Sam Larner, "The Ghost Ship" (on SLarner02)
Joshua Osborne, "The Ship's Carpenter" (on PeacockCDROM) [one verse only]
Mike Waterson, "The Cruel Ship's Carpenter" (on ESFB2)
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 28(267), "Love and Murder" ("In Worcester town, and in Worcestershire"), W. Armstrong (Liverpool), 1820-1824; also Harding B 25(1156), Harding B 28(285), Harding B 28(24), "Love and Murder"; Harding B 11(3053A), "Polly Love" or "The Cruel Ship-Carpenter"; Johnson Ballads 458, Harding B 11(3057), Harding B 11(3058), Harding B 11(3056), Harding B 11(49), Firth c.13(205), Harding B 25(1520), "Polly's Love" or "The Cruel Ship Carpenter[!]"; Harding B 15(74b), Firth c.13(290), "The Cruel Ship Carpenter"; Harding B 11(824), "The Cruel Ship-Carpenter"; Harding B 3(33), "The Gosport Tragedy" or "The Perjured Ship-Carpenter"; Harding B 3(34), "The Gosport Tragedy" or "The Perjured Ship Carpenter"
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. esp. "Pretty Polly (II)" (a much-reduced form of this ballad which as now sung has a different plot)
cf. "The Sailor and the Ghost [Laws P34A/B]"
cf. "Pat O'Brien" [Laws P39]
cf. "Captain Glen/The New York Trader (The Guilty Sea Captain A/B)" [Laws K22] and references there
cf. "Willie Was As Fine a Sailor"
cf. "The Fog-bound Vessel" (parody of this)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
Willie and Nancy of Yarmouth
NOTES: Although there is no clear dividing line between the full ballad "The Gosport Tragedy" and the drastically shortened form "Pretty Polly," the latter has now clearly taken on a life of its own. I tend to distinguish them by the presence or absence of the ghost. - RBW
Pretty Polly (II) [cf. Laws P36]
DESCRIPTION: Willie urges Polly to go riding with him "some pleasure [to] see" before they get married. Although she is "afraid of [his] ways," she comes, only to find her new-dug grave awaiting her. Willie kills and buries her and heads home (or out to sea)
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1856 (Thompson-Pioneer)
KEYWORDS: homicide burial betrayal
FOUND IN: US(Ap,MA,MW,Ro,So) Canada
REFERENCES (22 citations):
Thompson-Pioneer 23, "Pretty Polly" (1 text)
Randolph 153, "Pretty Polly" (2 texts plus an excerpt, 1 tune)
BrownII 64, "The Gosport Tragedy" (3 texts plus 1 excerpt and mention of 1 more; Laws lists the "A" text as P36A, and the rest as P36B, but "D" and probably "C" are "Pretty Polly")
BrownSchinhanIV 64, "The Gosport Tragedy" (3 excerpts, 3 tunes; the "C" version is probably "Pretty Polly" and the others Laws P36B)
Moore-Southwest 67, "Pretty Molly" (1 text, 1 tune)
Brewster 64, "Pretty Polly" (1 text plus a fragment)
Leach, pp. 698-700, "The Gosport Tragedy" (2 texts, but only the second goes with this piece; the first is, obviously, "The Gosport Tragedy")
Wyman-Brockway I, p. 79, "Pretty Polly" (1 text, 1 tune)
Wyman-Brockway II, p. 110, "Pretty Polly" (1 text, 1 tune)
Fuson, pp. 69-70, "Pretty Polly" (1 text)
Sulzer, p. 12, "Pretty Polly" (1 text, 1 tune)
McNeil-SFB1, pp. 140-141, "Pretty Polly" (1 text, 1 tune)
JHCox 89, "Come, Pretty Polly" (3 texts, 1 tune)
JHCoxIIA, #17A-C, pp. 73-78, "Pretty Polly," "Come, Polly, Pretty Polly" (2 texts plus an excerpt, 2 tunes; the "A" text is the full "Cruel Ship's Carpenter" version; "B" is the short "Pretty Polly (II)"; the "C" fragment is too short to tell but has lyrics more typical of the latter)
Lomax-Singing, pp 172-174, "Pretty Polly" (1 text, 1 tune, a composite version)
MHenry-Appalachians, pp. 53-54, "" (1 text, very short even by the standards of this worn-down song)
Scarborough-SongCatcher, pp. 128-134, collectively titled "The Cruel Ship's Carpenter" but with individual titles "Pretty Polly," "Dying Polly," "Pretty Polly," "Pretty Polly," "Pretty Polly," "Oh, Polly!" (6 texts; 5 tunes on pp. 395-398; of these only the "C" text has a ghost; in "D" and "E" there is no ghost but Willie's ship sinks; these presumably should file with Laws P36, while "A," B," and "F" go here)
Hubbard, #26, "Pretty Polly" (1 text)
Lomax-FSUSA 84, "Pretty Polly" (1 text, 1 tune)
Darling-NAS, pp. 143-144, "Pretty Polly" (1 text)
Silber-FSWB, p. 227, "Pretty Polly" (1 text)
DT 311, PRETPOL2*
Roud #15
RECORDINGS:
Estil C. Ball, "Pretty Polly" (on LomaxCD1701, LomaxCD1705); "Pretty Polly" (AFS, 1941; on LCTreas)
Frank Bode, "Pretty Polly" (on FBode1)
Dock Boggs, "Pretty Polly" (Brunswick 132A, 1927); (on Boggs1, BoggsCD1)
Coon Creek Girls, "Pretty Polly" (Vocalion 04659, 1939; Perfect 16102, 1935?)
Bill Cornett ,"Pretty Polly" (on MMOKCD)
Cranford & Thompson, "Pretty Polly" (Melotone 45092, 1935)
John Hammond, "Purty Polly" (Challenge 168, 1927)
Lester McFarland & Robert Gardner, "Pretty Polly" (Brunswick 116, 1927)
Ivor Melton & band, "Pretty Polly" (on Persis1)
Pleaz Mobley, "Pretty Polly" (on JThomas01)
New Lost City Ramblers, "Pretty Polly" (on NLCR13)
Jean Ritchie, "Pretty Polly" (on RitchieWatson1, RitchieWatsonCD1)
Sauceman Brothers, "Pretty Polly" (Rich-R-Tone 457, n.d.)
Pete Seeger, "Pretty Polly" (on PeteSeeger16)
Lee Sexton, "Pretty Polly" (on MMOKCD, ClassOT)
B. F. Shelton "Pretty Polly" (Victor 35838, 1927; on BefBlues1)
Stanley Brothers, "Pretty Polly" (Columbia 20770, 1951)
Pete Steele, "Pretty Polly" (AFS 1587/1702, 1938; on PSteele01, KMM)
Turner & Parkins, "Pretty Polly" (Superior 2635, 1931)
Jack Wallin, "Pretty Polly" (on Wallins1)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. esp. "The Cruel Ship's Carpenter (The Gosport Tragedy; Pretty Polly)" [Laws P36A/B], from which this ballad is descended at a great distance
cf. "Fair Eleanor (II)" (plot)
cf. "Pastures of Plenty" (tune)
SAME TUNE:
Pastures of Plenty (File: Grnw293)
NOTES: This much-shortened form of "The Gosport Tragedy" has now taken on a life of its own. Although no clear line between the two can be drawn, I tend to call the piece "The Gosport Tragedy" if it includes the ghost and "Pretty Polly" if it omits.
One of Cox's texts (the C text, which also has a tune) was called by the informant "Young Beeham." There is no basis for this in the text of the song. One has to think this the result of some sort of confusion with "Young Beacham." - RBW
Many if not most American versions are probably traceable back to B. F. Shelton's recording, which was enormously (and deservedly) popular.
According to J. M. Jarrell of Wayne Co., WV, cited by J. B. Cox in "Traditional Ballads Mainly From West Virginia," in the early 19th century one Polly Aldridge was murdered by William Chapman, who was convicted and executed in Martin Co., KY, and this ballad was being sung about the killing c. 1850. - PJS
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Bill Cornett - "Pretty Polly"
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Pretty Polly - II [Laws P36b/Sh 49/Me I-A45]
Rt - Cruel Ship's Carpenter ; Dublin Murder Ballad ; Hattie Stout - II ; Jellon Grame
At - Young Beeham ; Polly and Sweet William ; Come Pretty Polly
Rm - Pastures of Plenty
Mf - Black Lung Blues
Pb - Pretty Polly (Parody)
Uf - Cruel Ship's Carpenter
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Stanley, Raymond. Kirkland Recordings, Tennessee Folklore Soc. TFS 106, LP (1984), trk# 1 [1937/07/26]
Steele, Pete. Banjo Tunes and Songs, Folkways FS 3828, LP (1958), trk# 14
Steele, Pete. Anglo American Ballads, Library of Congress AFS L 1, LP (1956), trk# B.04 [1938]
Sweeney's Men. Sweeney's Men, Transatlantic ESM CD 435, CD (1996), trk# 18 [1969]
Taussig, Harry. Taussig, Harry / Advanced Guitar, Oak, Sof (1975), p 27
Taylor, Earl; and the Stoney Mountain Boys. Folk Songs from the Blue Grass, United Artists UAL 3049, LP (1959), trk# B.06
Tennessee Railsplitters. Tennessee Railsplitters, Tin Ear, LP (1983), trk# B.04
Thompson, Mrs. Vestie. Sharp & Karpeles / English Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachians, I, Oxford, Bk (1932/1917), p323/# 49K [1917/06/02] (Cruel Ship's Carpenter)
Tottle, Jack. Tottle, Jack / Bluegrass Mandolin, Oak, Sof (1975), p 47
Traum, Happy. Traum, Happy (ed.) / Flat-Pick Country Guitar, Oak, Sof (1973), p 51
Travis, Merle. Okun, Milt (ed.) / Something to Sing About, MacMillan, Bk (1968), p 48
Trischka, Tony. Trischka, Tony / Teach Yourself Bluegrass Banjo, Oak, Sof (Oak), p27
Unidentified Singer from Boulder Colorado. Edwards, Jay; and Robert Kelley / Coffee House Songbook, Oak, Sof (1966), p217
Unknown Singers. Music of the Worlds Peoples. Vol. 1, Folkways P 504, LP (1951), trk# 20
Waddell, Elizabeth. Randolph, Vance / Ozark Folksongs. Volume II, Songs of the South and ..., Univ. of Missouri, Bk (1980/1946), p113/#153B [1928/06/09]
Wallin, Jack. Family Songs and Stories from the North Carolina Mountains, Smithsonian/Folkways SF 40013, CD/ (1995/1992), trk# 9 [1992-93]
West, Harry and Jeanie. Smoky Mountain Ballads, Perpetual 302-063-034-2, CD (2007/1956), trk# 12
West, Hedy. New Folks, Vanguard VRS 9096, LP (1961), trk# B.05
Whisenhunt, Mrs. M. E.. Moore, Ethel & Chauncey (ed.) / Ballads and Folk Songs of the Southwest, Univ. of Okla, Bk (1964), p158/# 67 [1930s] (Pretty Molly - I)
White Lightnin'. White Lightning, ABC ABCS-690, LP (1969), trk# 4
Wiley, Paul. Comin' Round the Mountain, Voyager VLRP 302, LP (1968), trk# 4
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The Cruel Ship's Carpenter [Laws P36a/Sh 49]
Rt - Pretty Polly - II ; Banks of Red Roses
At - Gosport Tragedy
Pb - Molly the Betrayed
Uf - Pretty Polly - II
Laws, G. Malcolm / American Balladry from British Broadsides, Amer. Folklore Soc., Bk (1957), p268
Leach, MacEdward / The Ballad Book, Harper & Row, Bk (1955), p698 (Gosport Tragedy)
Ball, Noah. Scarborough, Dorothy(ed.) / A Song Catcher in the Southern Mountains, AMS, Bk (1966/1937), p131 [1930ca] (Pretty Polly - II)
Buckner, Sarah. Sharp & Karpeles / English Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachians, I, Oxford, Bk (1932/1917), p321/# 49E [1916/09/18]
Donald, Laura Virginia (V.). Sharp & Karpeles / English Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachians, I, Oxford, Bk (1932/1917), p326/# 49R [1918/06/08]
Douglass, Clementine. Scarborough, Dorothy(ed.) / A Song Catcher in the Southern Mountains, AMS, Bk (1966/1937), p130,396 [1930ca] (Pretty Polly - II)
Droghon, Fitzhugh. Sharp & Karpeles / English Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachians, I, Oxford, Bk (1932/1917), p322/# 49G [1917/05/22]
Fitzgerald, Clinton. Sharp & Karpeles / English Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachians, I, Oxford, Bk (1932/1917), p326/# 49Q [1918/04/28]
Gibson, Mary. Sharp & Karpeles / English Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachians, I, Oxford, Bk (1932/1917), p327/# 49U [1918/09/03]
Hylton, Sarah & Docia; and Abby Moseley. Sharp & Karpeles / English Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachians, I, Oxford, Bk (1932/1917), p323/# 49I [1917/05/21]
Lizemore, Diana. Sharp & Karpeles / English Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachians, I, Oxford, Bk (1932/1917), P325/# 49P [1917/09/11]
McAlindon, Hughie. Diamond Green and Other Traditional Ballads, Outlet OAS 3019, LP (1979), trk# A.05 (Ship's Carpenter - I)
McCluskey, Paddy. Folk Songs of Britain, Vol 7. Fair Game and Fowl, Caedmon TC 1163, LP (1962), trk# A.06 [1953/08] (Young Willie)
Parrish, Mrs. J. H.. Morris, Alton C. / Folksongs of Florida, Univ. Florida, Sof (1990/1950), p341/#183 [1934-39] (Ship's Carpenter - I)
Rice, Mrs. Tom. Sharp, Cecil & Maude Karpeles (eds.) / Eighty English Folk Songs from th, MIT Press, Sof (1968), p 60 [1917ca]
Rice, Mrs. Tom. Sharp & Karpeles / English Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachians, I, Oxford, Bk (1932/1917), p317/# 49A [1916/08/16]
Shelton, W. Riley. Sharp & Karpeles / English Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachians, I, Oxford, Bk (1932/1917), p320/# 49D [1916/08/29]
Smith, Hillard. Sharp & Karpeles / English Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachians, I, Oxford, Bk (1932/1917), p319/# 49C [1910/08/10]
Smith, Nanny. Sharp & Karpeles / English Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachians, I, Oxford, Bk (1932/1917), p325/# 49O [1917/08/24]
Spencer, Leo. Fowke, Edith (ed.) / The Penguin Book of Canadian Folk Songs, Penguin, Sof (1973), p162/#70 [1962] (Ship's Carpenter - I)
Stockton, T. Jeff. Sharp & Karpeles / English Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachians, I, Oxford, Bk (1932/1917), p318/# 49B [1916/09/04]
Van Ronk, Dave. Dave Van Ronk, Fantasy 24710, LP (1970/1962), trk# 3.02
Wilson, Grover. Scarborough, Dorothy(ed.) / A Song Catcher in the Southern Mountains, AMS, Bk (1966/1937), p132,397 [1930] (Pretty Polly - II)
Southern Folklore Quarterly - Volume 43 - Page 195 Alton Chester Morris - 1978 -
"The Cruel Ship Carpenter" gives way in the song to the murderer's simple admission that he is going to hell. The melody of "Pretty Polly" has dictated a triplet form in which the first line of the couplet is repeated and the second line sung only once: Pretty Polly, pretty Polly, come go ... Judy Collins, "Who Knows Where the Time Goes" (New York 1968) Elektra EKS— 74033, side two, band 4, "Pretty Polly"
Edmund Hook was born on or about 9 April 1683 in Portsmouth, son of Mr. Edmund and Elizabeth Hook (St. Thomas baptismal register). In the year 1711, at the age of 28, he received his first command, the Jamaica sloop on the West India
-----------------
It was first recorded by East Kentucky banjo player John Hammond as 'Purty Polly' for Gennett, April 8, 1925. He rerecorded it September 17, 1927.
Banjo
1. So [I] went a little bit longer, the city Maryland town
So [I] went a little bit longer, the city Maryland town.
I met with a lady, her beauty is never found.
2. They call her Purty Polly, her name I knew so well
They call her Purty Polly her name I knew so well
I loved of her body and sent her soul to hell.
3. So where is Purty Polly? Oh yonder she stands,
With the rings on her fingers, and lily white hands.
4 Come and go my Purty Polly come go along with me,
Before we get married and pleasure to see.
5. he led her over hills and o'er valleys so deep,
Finally she mistrusted and then began to weep.
6 Pretty polly, Pretty Polly, what makes you so sad,
With nothing concerning for you to be so mad?
7 Oh Willie oh Willie I'm 'fraid of your ways,
The way you've been rambling to lead me astray
8 "Pretty Polly, pretty Polly, your guessing just right,
I dug on your grave six long hours of last night.
9 She threw her arms around him and cried into tears,
How can you kill a poor girl that loves you so dear?"
10. There's no time for talking, there's no time to stand,
He drew out a weapon, all in his right hand
He stobbed her through the heart and that blood it did flow
And down in the grave Purty Polly sure did go.
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The new American songster: traditional ballads and songs ... - Page 144 by Charles W. Darling - 1992 -
[has following version with Hammond's "six long hours"
4 "Come on pretty Polly and go along with me,
Before we get married some pleasures to see. "
5 "Oh, Willie, sweet Willie, I fear from your ways,
The way you around me, you leave me afraid. "
6 She went up a-farther to see what she could find,
A new dug grave and a spade lyin' by.
7 Had no time to study, no time left to stand,
He stood with a knife though all in his right hand.
8 "Pretty Polly, pretty Polly, you guessing just right,
I dug on your grave six long hours of last night. "
9 She threw her arms around him and suffered no tears:
"How can you kill a girl that loves you so dear?"
10 He stabbed her to the heart, her heart blood blood it did flow,
And into the grave pretty Polly did go.
11 "Oh, Willie, sweet Willie, turn loose of my hand,
You see my heart blood puddling around where you stand."
12 "Gentlemen and ladies, I bid you farewell,
For killing pretty Polly it'll send my soul to hell. "
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Our Singing Country: Folk Songs and Ballads
edited by John A. Lomax, Alan Lomax
------------------------------
Antiquarian Society listings
-----------------
The Gosport tragedy; : shewing how a young damsel was seduced by a ship-carpenter, who led her into a lonesome wood, and there destroyed her, and the infant with which she was pregnant; how her ghost haunted him when at sea, and he died distracted. : To which is added, Paul Jones, and Mary's dream.
Baltimore; : Printed for the purchaser., [181-?]
8 p. : ill. ; 22 cm.
----------------------
The Gosport tragedy or The perjured ship carpenter. : To which is added, Bonny Wully, (a Scotch ballad.)
New-York: : [s.n.] Printed for the hawkers., --1798.
8 p. ; 17 cm. (8vo)
--------------------------
The Gosport tragedy, : showing how a young damsel was seduced by a ship carpenter, who led her into a lonesome wood and destroyed her, &c.
[Boston] : Sold wholesale and retail [by William Rutter] corner of Cross & Fulton Sts. Boston., [between 1829 and 1834]
1 sheet ([1] p.) ; 23 x 20 cm.
--------------------------
Broadsides- Gardham
The Gosport Tragedy or The Perjured Ship-Carpenter: (34 sts unless otherwise stated.)
Bow Church Yard (Diceys)
Aldermary Church Yard
Johnson, Falkirk
Pitts, London
Besley, Exeter
Various Forget-me-not-Songsters
Robertson, Glasgow (35)
Harward, Tewkesbury (33)
All the rest have 11 sts unless otherwise stated
Polly's Love or The Cruel Ship Carpenter:
Pitts/Catnach/Ryle/Fortey/Hodges, London
Harkness, Preston
W. Ford, Sheffield
Polly's Love:
Hook Brighton
The Cruel Ship's Carpenter:
Just about everybody following on from Pitts/Catnach all over the country.
Ship Carpenter:
Russell, Birmingham
Wm Walker, Newcastle
Wilson, Cambridge
Love and Murder:
Armstrong, Liverpool
Williams, Plymouth
Marshall, Newcastle
Pollock, North Shields
Bloomer, Birmingham
Nancy's Ghost: (10 sts)
Angus, Newcastle
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From: Jim Brown - PM
Date: 04 Apr 16 - 08:43 AM
I haven't read David Fowler's original article, but to go by Paul Slade's summary combined with his fresh information from the archives, the basic idea seems plausible enough. On the other hand I think Paul Slade also has a point in casting doubt on Fowler's identification of the likely murderer as John Billson. His first argument, that the records show that Billson must have been at least in his 40s and the actions in the ballad seem like those of a much younger man, perhaps involves too many presuppositions about someone we know practically nothing about, but I find the second, that the ballad actually says the murderer was "carpenter's mate", more persuasive. Calling any carpenter working on a ship a "ship carpenter" makes sense, but why bother to identify his position more precisely as "carpenter's mate" if he was actually the master carpenter? (Unless, of course, the writer was deliberately making the murderer younger for the sake of the story.)
The main weakness seems to me to be the failure of either David Fowler or Paul Slade to find record of a burial in Gosport that looks like that of the victim, but I'm sure there are plenty of possible explanations for that.
------
Out of the list you posted, the Robertson, Glasgow chapbook made me curious, because of having one more stanza that the usual 34.
I've found it online at the National Library of Scotland. It's dated 1801. The text is very similar to Buchan's version. As I see Buchan also does, it replaces the Roxburghe stanza 17 with two stanzas that look like an intermediate stage towards stanzas 15 and 16 in the Deming Version:
A grave and a spade standing by she did see,
And said, Must this be a bride bed for me?
O perjured creature, the worst of all men!
Heav'n will reward you when I'm dead and gone.
O pity my infant and spare my sweet life,
Let me go distress'd, if I'm not your wife;
O take not my life, lest my soul you betray,
Must I in my youth be thus hurried away.
However it doesn't omit stanza 8 of the Roxburghe version as Buchan does – hence the 35 stanzas.
The NLS site also gives facsimiles of three chapbooks printed by J. Morren, Cowgate, Edinburgh – no date printed but they estimate 1800 (text more or less in the Robertson chapbook, two with stanza 8, one without), and one by M. Randall, Stirling (with stanza 8).
Since the Glasgow chapbook is dated 1801, that seems to push the line about the "spade standing by" back a few decades and to the British Isles.
--------------
From: Steve Gardham - PM
Date: 04 Apr 16 - 04:28 PM
Again going by style I've always thought Morren's pieces mostly somewhat earlier than 1800, say about 1780.
I'm not sure how this fits in with your posting at the moment but Peter Buchan was briefly apprenticed to Randall before setting up his own press in Peterhead. Unfortunately very little of what Peter actually printed seems to be extant. For someone who had such an enormous collection of ballads published it has always remained a mystery that he didn't appear to print any of them on his own broadsides, or maybe he did and they somehow disappeared.
Is the Buchan version from Gleanings p46? That's the only Buchan reference I have to a version. Most if not all of the 'Gleanings' pieces were straight off broadsides. The BL version I have seen but not got a copy of was printed in Aberdeen in 1775 as the Gosford Tragedy and this had 17 and a half double stanzas.
-------------------------------
Here is what I call the "standard text" as found in the Roxburge and Deming broadsides that is found partially or wholly with variation in all traditional versions (Pretty Polly/Polly's Love etc.):
Standard Text Type A Roxburghe:
14. So with kind embraces he parted that night,
She went to meet him in the morning light;
He said, "Dear charmer thou must go with me,
Before we are wedded, a friend to see."
15. He led her through valleys and groves so deep,
At length this maiden began for to weep;
Saying, "William, I fancy thou leadst me astray,
On purpose my innocent life to betray."
16 He said, "That is true, and none you can save,
For I all this night have been digging a grave."
Poor innocent soul! when she heard him say so,
Her eyes like a fountain began for to flow.
(This next stanza (17) where she begs for her life is standard but the reference to her child is usually missing. The last two lines of 17 are included except for "infant":
O pity [the infant], and spare my life,
Let me go distress'd if I'm not thy wife.")
18. Her hands white as lillies in sorrow she wrung,
Beseeching for mercy, saying, "What have I done
To you my dear William, what makes you severe?
For to murder one that loves you so dear."
19. He said, "Here's no time disputing to stand,"
And instantly taking the knife in his hand;
He pierced her body till the blood it did flow,
Then into the grave her body did throw.
20. He cover'd her body, then home he did run,
Leaving none but birds her death to mourn;
Standard Text Type B: The Deming Broadside
12) With tender embraces, they parted that night,
And promised to meet the next morning at light
William said — Mary, you must go with me,
Before we are married, our friends for to see.
13) He led her through groves and valleys so deep
At length this young damsel began for to weep
Crying William, I fear you will lead me astray
On purpose my innocent life to betray.
14) He said you've guess'd right all earth can't you save
For the whole of last night I've been digging your grave,
When poor ruined Mary did hear him say so,
The tears from her eyes like a fountain did flow
15) A grave with a spade lying near she did see,
Which caused her to sigh and weep bitterly;
(Half of 15 and part of 16 are not standard. The text in brackets should not be part of the standard text)
16) Oh, pity [my infant] and spare my poor life,
Let me live full of shame if I can't be your wife,
Oh! take not my life, lest my soul you betray,
[And you to perdition be hurried away].
17) Her hands white as lilies, in sorrow she wrung,
Imploring for mercy, crying what have I done;
To you dearest William, so comely and fair,
Will you murder your true-love that loved you so dear?
18) He said, this is no time disputing to stand,
Then instantly taking a knife in his hand--
He pierced her fair breast, whence the blood it did flow,
And into the grave her fair body did throw.
19) He cover'd the body, and quick hastened home-
Leaving none but the small birds her fate to bemoan:
(Some standard modified versions have him boarding a ship where he sets sail and the ship sinks- this is not part of the broadside text)
----------------
1767 (Journal from the Vaughn)
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 28(267), "Love and Murder" ("In Worcester town, and in Worcestershire"), W. Armstrong (Liverpool), 1820-1824; also Harding B 25(1156), Harding B 28(285), Harding B 28(24), "Love and Murder"; Harding B 11(3053A), "Polly Love" or "The Cruel Ship-Carpenter"; Johnson Ballads 458, Harding B 11(3057), Harding B 11(3058), Harding B 11(3056), Harding B 11(49), Firth c.13(205), Harding B 25(1520), "Polly's Love" or "The Cruel Ship Carpenter[!]"; Harding B 15(74b), Firth c.13(290), "The Cruel Ship Carpenter"; Harding B 11(824), "The Cruel Ship-Carpenter"; Harding B 3(33), "The Gosport Tragedy" or "The Perjured Ship-Carpenter"; Harding B 3(34), "The Gosport Tragedy" or "The Perjured Ship Carpenter"
Although there is no clear dividing line between the full ballad "The Gosport Tragedy" and the drastically shortened form "Pretty Polly," the latter has now clearly taken on a life of its own. I tend to distinguish them by the presence or absence of the ghost.
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William and Molly's courtship, or, The Gosport tragedy. To which ..., Volume 29
The Gosport tragedy, or, The perjured ship-carpenter.
[London] : Printed and sold at No. 4 Aldermary Churchyard, [between 1760 and 1765?]
Midwest Folklore - Volume 5 - Page 98
1955
That principle resulted in the separation of "Earl Brand" and "Erlinton," of "Kemp Owyne," "Allison Gross," and "The Laily Worm and the Machrel of the Sea." Accordingly we now separate versions of "The Gosport Tragedy" from versions of "Little omie wise."
Yates: Jeff [Stockton] came from the area of Flag Pond, a settlement so named because of the flag irises that grow around the edges of local ponds. It is one of the most beautiful parts of the Appalachian Mountains, set at some 2,000 feet above sea level in the midst of rolling hills. Jeff was born on 12th January, 1859, the son of Samuel Stockton (18.3.1828 - 9.2.1894) and Elizabeth Stockton, nee Horne (died 12.9. 1904). County records record his name as T Jefferson Stockton, the 'T', I presume, standing for Thomas, after the US President. On 24th December, 1874, Jeff Stockton married Eliza Carter (2.10.1885 - 28.7.1925) and the couple had no fewer than ten children. An 1880 census shows that Jeff was a farmer who worked in both Tennessee and neighbouring North Carolina.
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