Recordings & Info: 7U. Wheel of Fortune
False Lover (I), The
DESCRIPTION: "When I was young, I was well beloved By all young men... When I was blooming... This false young man he decieved me." The girl tells how the false lover abandoned her, hopes for better fortune, and wants God to bring him to trial for his falsehood
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1905 (GreigDuncan6)
KEYWORDS: love betrayal
FOUND IN: Britain(England(South),Scotland(Aber)) Ireland
REFERENCES (3 citations):
GreigDuncan6 1173, "When I Was Young I Was Well Beloved" (4 texts, 2 tunes)
Wiltshire-WSRO Wt 496, "Love It Is Easing" (1 text)
SHenry H790, p. 383, "The False Lover" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #1075
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Firth c.18(132), "Wheel of Fortune" ("When I was young I was much beloved"), unknown, no date
NOTES: The notes in Henry/Huntington/Herrmann list this as a variant of "Wheel of Fortune" and "Love is Pleasing." Similarly Roud. The theme, of course, is the same as the latter (but that's commonplace). It has only a half stanza in common with "Wheel of Fortune," and less than that in common with "Love is Pleasing." It's at least as close to "Dear Companion." I firmly believe it's a separate song. - RBW
Wiltshire-WSRO includes floating verses: "love is teasing", "I left my father ... all for the sake of you" and "like a star on a winter's morning." - BS
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Folktrax
WHEEL OF FORTUNE, THE - "When I was young, I was well beloved by all young men in the country - I left father mother sister brothers friends & acquaintances - I'd have locked my heart in a chest of gold, and pinned it up with a silver pin" - ROUD#1075 - CHRISTIE TBA I 1876 p260 - DUNCAN "When I was young" - HENRY SOP #79/ HUNTINGTON 1990 p383 5v/m "The False Lover" - FMJ 3:3 1976 pp231-2 Bs Hoggett (Durham) - SHIELDS SRT 1981 pp156-7 Tom Anderson, Clooney, Co Derry 1969 (European Ethnic SRT-2) - see also WHEN FORTUNE TURNS THE WHEEL -- Tom KINES acc by Russell THOMAS: (RCA VICTOR PC/PCS 1014)/ CASS 0233
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Golden Songster W&T Fordyce (Newcastle) 18 songs c. 1832
The Golden Songster: Comprising the Following Excellent Songs, Viz:- The Golden Glove ... [and 17 Others].
Publisher W. & T. Fordyce, 48, Dean Street, Newcastle, 1832
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Love is Pleasing
by T. Stephens
When I was young I was well beloved
By all the young men in this country.
When I was young, love, and in full blossom,
A false young man came a-courting me.
O love it is pleasing, and love is teasing,
And love is a treasure when first it's new.
But when it grows older it waxes colder,
And fades away like the morning dew.
I left my father, I left my mother,
I left my brothers and sisters, too.
I left my home and my kind relations
I left them all for the love of you.
O love it is pleasing, and love is teasing,
And love is a treasure when first it's new.
But when it grows older it waxes colder,
And fades away like the morning dew.
I never thought that my love would leave me,
Until one morning when he came in.
He drew up a chair and sat down beside me,
And then my sorrows they did begin.
O love it is pleasing, and love is teasing,
And love is a treasure when first it's new.
But when it grows older it waxes colder,
And fades away like the morning dew.
O turn you round, love, your wheel of fortune,
Turn you around, love, and smile on me.
For surely there'll be a place of torment
For this young man who deceived me.
O love it is pleasing, and love is teasing,
And love is a treasure when first it's new.
But when it grows older it waxes colder,
And fades away like the morning dew.
So girls beware of your false true lovers,
Never mind what a young man say.
He's like a star on a foggy morning,
You think he's near, and he's far away.
O love it is pleasing, and love is teasing,
And love is a treasure when first it's new.
But when it grows older it waxes colder,
And fades away like the morning dew.
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ITMA Reference: 868-ITMA-MP3
Creator: Tom Anderson
Date: July 1969
Location: Deighan's [Deehan's] bar, Magilligan, Co Derry
Subject: Ireland: Singing in English
Language: English
Collection: Hugh Shields Collection, HS 6925
Type: Sound
Copyright: Shields Family
When I was young I was well beloved
By all young men in this country,
I left my father, I left my mother,
I left my brothers and sisters three,
I left my friends and my kind relations,
I left them all for to go with you.
He never told me he was going to leave me
Until one evening when he came in,
When he told me he was going to leave me,
Ah, then my sorrows they did begin.
Turn you round, oh you wheel of Fortune,
Turn you round and come, take my part;
You are the young man that broke my fortune
But you’re not the young man to break my heart.
Notes
Versions of this English love song vary greatly, each combining motifs of lyric expression differently. The love which is ‘teasing’ in some texts (CI) and ‘bonny’ in others (G) recalls a ‘Waly, waly’ lyric that seems to derive from the ballad ‘Jamie Douglas’, Child no 204. Some versions reinforce a sombre mood with the symbol of the Wheel of Fortune, commonplace since Classical times. Tom’s version is textually epitomized and musically irregular, yet gives a very strong feeling of coherence in the vigorous personal style of his performance. He learned it, like male singers of some of the other versions of this song (F, I), from a woman: Sarah Sweeney of the Point road.