She Chucked Up Everything And Just Cleared Off: The Appeal Of The Gypsy Laddie
She Chucked Up Everything And Just Cleared Off: The Appeal Of The Gypsy Laddie
Simon ROSATI-- 2008
Child ballad number 200, The Gypsy Laddie, is possibly the most popular with singers today. This article describes British and North American written versions, and then contemporary recordings. It suggests that the appeal of the ballad is a romantic fantasy of escape from modem, sedentary ways and dull family life.
The standard collection of popular ballads in English remains The English And Scottish Popular Ballads (ESPB), 305 ballads compiled in five volumes by Francis James Child (1882- 1898). (Popular, incidentally, means of the people, not widely liked.) Number 200 in the collection is called by Child The Gypsy Laddie, and it is with this ballad that this paper will concern itself. (A Japanese translation is available in Yabushita & Yamanaka 2005-2006: I, 239 -240.)
Since its origin in Scotland in the seventeenth century, The Gypsy Laddie has consistently proved one of the best-liked ballads both in the British Isles and North America. Child printed 11 versions. American collections made since Child list multiple versions: to give She Chucked Up Everything And Just Cleared Off (Rosati) - 37 - just a few examples Barry et al list 7 versions (1929: 269-277), as do Belden & Hudson (1955: 161-168); Davis lists 8 (1929: 423-431) and then a further 5 (1960: 253-261); Flanders gives 25 (1931: 193-229), and Bronson, in his discussion of melodies for the ballad lists over 100 musical records (1976: 349-355). Atkinson suggests that it has always been among the most widespread ballads in England (2002: 237-238; cf. KekiWiinen 1983: 10). Moving on to recordings, rather than printed versions, we find it common among traditional singers, for example Harry Cox and Walter Pardon (England), Jeannie Robertson, Elizabeth Stewart and John MacDonald (Scotland), Dolores Keane and John Reilly (Ireland), and Jean Ritchie, Texas Gladden and Almeda Riddle (USA). And among current 'revival' (professional) performers it would seem to be the favourite ballad, more so even than Barbara Allen (Child 84), the perennial number one.
This paper will describe some versions of the ballad and then attempt to suggest some reasons for its enduring popularity. It should be noted that I have chosen to stick with the name gypsy, rather than traveller or Roma. Those involved with gypsies in Britain use the word, whether in books (for example Evans, Levinson & Silk) or on recordings (for example Topic Records, Musical Traditions), and I have followed this practice.
The Ballad
The basic plot of the ballad is very simple: wealthy married woman runs off with the gypsies. In more detail: one or more gypsies present themselves at the lord's gate in his absence; if there are more than one, there are three or seven. The lady of the house answers the door and is persuade to run off with them, perhaps by use of a magic spell, perhaps by the power of music or perhaps by charm in the more modern sense. When the lord comes home and finds her gone, he pursues her and the gypsies. On catching up with them, he points out to his wife the wealth she is giving up and the hardships she will have to endure. She is defiant. In many versions the story ends here, but in older versions the gypsies are hanged, and in some later American versions she soon regrets her actions (and returns home), or the lord is remarried within six months.
Let us look a little more closely at four of the variable elements of the ballad: the use of magic; whether the gypsies are hanged or not; whether the lady repents; and whether the man or men are actually gypsies. How far the ballad is based on historical truth will be considered separately.
Child's A text (that is, the one he regards as best) has the following:
"And she came tripping down the stair,
And a' her maids before her;
As soon as they saw her well-far'd face,
They coost the glamer oer her." (Child IV: 65)
-The word glamer, earlier gramarye, is a Scottish word meaning grammar or learning (Middle English), and later occult learning, magic, or necromancy (late 15th century). This has become both grammar and glamour in modern English. Six of Child's eight complete versions include this use of magic, with the implication that the lady cannot help herself and is not responsible for her own actions. This magic is not found, or at least not explicitly, in later, mostly North American, versions. Bronson (1976: 349) lists versions collected in England from Mrs. Overd (1904), Shepherd Haden (1909), and Harry Cox (1946) without magic. Harry Cox, for example, sings 'they cast their gazes over her'. In North America extensive folksong, and particularly ballad, collection was stimulated by the ESPB, so most collections date from the first half of the twentieth century. A comparison of around one hundred versions (in Barry et al; Belden; Belden & Hudson; Bronson; Cox; Davis (1929); Davis (1960); Flanders; Flanders & Brown; Fowke; Greenleaf; Hudson; Karpeles; Karpeles; Leach; Lomax & Lomax; Randolph; Scarborough) reveals only one mention of magic, when the lady says towards the end of the ballad 'I am bewitched an' I know the reason why' (Randolph 1980 I: 156). It has been suggested that the effects of Christianity have led to the deletion of the supernatural in ballads, although McCarthy (1991), comparing North America with Southwest Scotland, suggests that later versions of ballads in the old world show the same tendencies towards a decline of magic (Thomas 1971).
What remains in many North American versions which retain the opening of the ballad as the seducer's arrival at the lady's door is the use of singing (or on one occasion (Davis 1929: 423) whistling) by the seducer, so that many versions have an opening stanza much like this (Flanders 1931: 212):
"Oh, Gypsy Davy came over the hills,
Came down through the Eastern valleys.
He sang till he made the wild woods ring,
And he charmed the heart of a lady."
The verb charm is so widely used today in this context that it is difficult to tell if any hint of magic remained in the minds of rural singers of up to a hundred and fifty years ago (Child IV: 72) (cf. Gammon 2003:43). I suspect not. Even in Child, one version replaces gramarye with:
"They called their grandmother over" (IV: 70, possibly dating from 1720)
This is a delightful attempt to fill a misunderstood line - the correct number of syllables, many correct sounds - but somewhat unlikely.
The lady, then, in more modern versions, is responsible for her actions, and not controlled by the magic of an alien ethnic group. Connected with this is the punishment (hanging) of the seducer and his colleagues, who are the guilty parties. Child's ABCDF and G texts end with the hanging of the gypsies, numbering from seven to sixteen (IV: 65-71; and V: 301 indicates
another such version, though incomplete). In these versions a noble Lady leaves with poor, dark gypsies, which cannot be tolerated. The Lord takes action to recover his Lady, as we infer from the hangings (Child IV: 63), and the social, ethnic and gender order is restored. The hanging is found in the British version sung as late as 1946 by Harry Cox and given by Bronson (see above).
In no North American version is there any hanging, and the ballad mostly ends with the wife's refusal to return home. She is usually no longer a noble lady, nor is the generally lone man a social, as opposed to personal, threat. (In Newfoundland the gypsies tend to remain seven in number (Karpeles 1970: 81-84).) He remains a gypsy in most cases (whether Gypsy Davy, Black Jack Davy, or similar), but is now an attractive figure, the black seeming to refer to his eyes (Davis; Karpeles; Barry et al.). In one version a band of Indians is involved (Davis 1929: 428-429), and in another the seducer is named as Harvey Walker (Davis 1960: 260), apparently a reference to a true, local seduction.
In British versions there is rarely any hint that the lady regrets what she has done (except version M of Greig-Duncan (Greig-Duncan, Ed. Shuldham-Shaw et al, 2: 336», even if magic was used to entice her, and even if her husband does apparently force her to return home. This is true in most North American versions too. Coffin (1963: 122) talks of 'an almost puritanical revision of the end in the interests of seeing justice done', but in fact this is quite rare. Some versions lay some stress on her impoverished circumstances in a way that suggest possible regret, most strikingly Davis (1960: 260):
"Tonight I lie on the cold frozen earth
So cold, so cold and dreary."
Usually, however, she welcomes her new poverty. In one version she regrets her actions after two weeks, but her husband won't have her back (Davis 1929: 426). In one she returns home (Cox 1998: 132). In two the husband marries another (Flanders 1963 III: 206-208). In one Davy drowns while escaping (Scarborough 1937: 224). And in one the husband murders the eloping pair (Flanders 1963 III: 210), which reminds one of Little Musgrave and Lady Barnard (Child 81, usually known as Matty Groves in the New World). But six versions out of such a large number is not much evidence of Puritanism.
In British versions the man or men are always gypsies, and gypsies were and are familiar to most people (Greig-Duncan, Ed. Shuldham-Shaw et al, 2: 331-336, 13 versions; Greig 1963: article CX, no pagination). In the North American versions, it is usually one man, known either as the Gypsy Davy or Black Jack Davy. Although he is often ostensibly a gypsy, the main
attraction is the wandering way of life, as Coffin (1963: 122) points out, and he could just as well be a cowboy (or Indians, as mentioned above). The slight sense of mystery and otherness of the British versions has dissipated.
The North American versions display some elements of late ballads. Often the husband's tears are described as trickling, trinkling (a word used in Scotland by Jeannie Robertson among others), pouring or rolling down as he rides after his wife, giving a new level of sentimentality. There are occasions of a first person narration, unusual in older versions. Versions tend to be shorter, with the initial seduction omitted and the song starting with the husband's return home, which actually makes good ballad sense by focusing on the key scene: her refusal to come home. Floating verses from Seventeen Come Sunday are also frequently found, like this:
"How old are you, my pretty little Miss?
How old are you, my honey?"
She answered him with a sweet little kiss,
"I'll be sixteen next Sunday,
I'll be sixteen next Sunday." (Davis 1960: 258; BB2)
Since it later turns out that she is married, the song seems to lose coherence (though many women in the Appalachians in the past were married by this age, see Sharp and Scarborough). One final indication of the song's popularity in the New World is that it was parodied, in DeWitt's Forget-Me-Not Songster (1872: 223, quoted by Belden 1955: 73 & 75):
"Elopments now are all the go,
They set the ladies crazy;
Now then, ladies all, beware,
And look out for Gypsy Davy,"
Far more North American versions have been collected post-Child than in Britain, perhaps because each state or province wanted to claim as many Child ballads as possible. Systematic collection simply has not occurred in Britain, but there are nonetheless a good number of published versions. As already said, gypsies are invariably involved. There is no magic; the lady
has no regrets; and there is no hanging (see for example MacColl & Seeger, Palmer, Reeves, Williams). The exception to this is the version given by Ord (1930: 411-412), from the North of Scotland, where magic is used and the gypsies are hanged. Reeves (1960:141-144) gives two versions. The first of these was collected by Baring-Gould and is in two parts. Part two is
the familiar ballad, but part one is a long preamble explaining that the lady is in fact a gypsy herself, liable to run back to her old life, who apparently refuses to marry the lord (although her wedded lord is later mentioned). Reeves feels this explains 'the gypsy girl's behaviour, which in the standard versions has always seemed to me abrupt and unexplained' (pI44). Palmer (1972:46 and notes p109) gives the most recent version I have, recorded in 1967 in Staffordshire, which starts with the lord's return home and ends with the conversation in the fields. The last two lines, spoken by the lord, are:
"For I know the little one with colour in her eye
For she stole Lord Cashill's money 0"
which would seem to mean that she is a gypsy herself. (This version was recorded from a P. Murphy and is said (p 109) to be similar to a version sung by Paddy Doran, an Irish singer, so I assume this is an Irish version.)
Finally, a broadside version (Holloway & Black 1979:83-84), from the first half of the nineteenth century, has the gypsies call their grandmother over. The notes suggest this indicates 'a text set in the printer's shop while the ballad was sung' (p 84). This is possible, but the error may go further back, as in the Child version (Child IV: 70) mentioned earlier.
Recordings
Versions of The Gypsy Laddie collected in books almost all date from fifty years ago and more. So let us now review some commercially available recordings of the song, to see how it seems to appeal to a more modern audience. Such a review is necessarily selective. The Roud Folk Song Index (available via the EFDSS) lists 148 traditional sound recordings; the Child
Ballads Project lists 113 commercially available recordings; and the Child Ballad Database lists 663, both sound and manuscript, though a great many of these are duplications (see the relevant websites). I will concern myself with around fifty which are available to me on record, cassette and CD.
Traditional recordings do not show any great difference from the versions published in books. The Americans Eunice Yeatts MacAlexander and Almeda Riddle both give a full version in which the seducer charms the heart of the lady, and in which she has no regrets, although Riddle herself sees the events as 'scandalous' (Abrahams 1970: 26). MacAlexander's version includes the floating '16 next Sunday' stanza. In the versions sung by Texas Gladden and Jean Ritchie, the song starts with the lord's return home (an English lord in Ritchie's case). In the former version the lady has no regrets, but in the latter the gypsy - and he is a gypsy in this more conservative version - casts the lady off, an example of Christian moral influence on what is largely a secular genre. Roud includes the Carter Family and Woody Guthrie as traditional singers. The Carter Family sing a full version and include the sixteen next Sunday stanza. They also, like Texas Gladden, include a stanza that is reminiscent of James Harris, The Daemon Lover (Child 243, usually called The House Carpenter in North America):
"Come go with me, my pretty little miss,
Come go with me, my honey.
I'll take you across the deep blue sea
Where you never shall want for money
Where you never shall want for money."
She is of course married. In Child 243 the married woman runs off with a man who turns out to be the devil. He punishes her adultery and child abandonment by sinking her to the bottom of the sea (she is literally between the devil and the deep blue sea). Woody Guthrie's version has become more of a cowboy song (boss, wagon tracks, big guitar, campfire) and is told in the
first person by the husband (boss). The seducer is, however, a gypsy. In none of the American versions is there any magic, nor are there any hangings.
Turning to the home of the ballad, Scotland, the singers are generally travellers, who although not gypsies have reasons to be sympathetic to the gypsy way of life. Jeannie Robertson, in various recordings, her daughter Lizzie Higgins, and Elizabeth Stewart all sing full versions, including the use of magic at the hall door (a spell), the lack of regrets, and the hangings. The number of gypsies at the door initially may be three or five, but it is always seven who are hanged at the end.
England is represented by two Norfolk singers, Harry Cox and Walter Pardon. In Cox's version the gypsies are 'blackhearted', or possibly 'blackguarded'. He sings:
"They cast a gabriel over her"
Gabriel is glossed as cloak in one set of sleeve notes (Topic TSCD512D), but not another (Rounder 1776). Whether the rationalization is from the note writer, Cox or his source, traces of the original magic remain. As usual in Britain, the lady has no regrets and the gypsies are all condemned (hanging is not specified, but we may assume it). Pardon's version does not
include magic or hanging; the focus is on the lady's eagerness to embrace her new life. Finally there are Irish versions, as sung by Paddy Doran (mentioned earlier in connection with P. Murphy's version collected by Palmer in Staffordshire), Dolores Keane and John Reilly. Doran's version is somewhat confused. The lady appears to go with the gypsies with some reluctance, and certainly ends up back home:
"But tonight I'm lying in a bed of down
And me own truelove 'longside me-o"
She is one of the few to be tempted by a warm bed. Reilly gives a full version with no regrets and no hangings. Keane's version apparently comes from Doran and Riley (sic) (sleeve notes to CC23CD), though it is rather different. We find seven gypsies who do not use magic, local names, no regrets and no hangings.
An apparent offshoot of the ballad is The Roving Ploughboy, sung by John MacDonald and Jane Turriff, and by professional performers Jean Redpath and Malinky. As Henderson explains (in the sleeve notes to CDTRAX9005 and in Henderson 2004: 115-118) this song contains two stanzas of The Gypsy Laddie, one about saddling the horse for the pursuit, the other about the comfortable bed, to which two later stanzas have been added concerning a champion ploughman. So The Gypsy Laddie clearly remained in the Scottish oral tradition until recently, if perhaps only half-remembered in some cases.
Traditional musicians ideally learn their songs orally with no interference from written sources. This researcher's and collector's ideal may not really be true, but it does have some correspondence to reality. Modern professional musicians, on the other hand, learn traditional songs from a variety of sources, and may use distant ones. Thus, for example, the British performers Steeleye Span, Fotheringay, June Tabor and Barry Dransfield all sing American versions, entitled Black Jack Davy or similar, perhaps because the song starts with the master's return home, and is therefore shorter.
One way to look at how modern professionals approach this ballad is to see how 'traditional' their approach is. Jack Beck, Norman Kennedy, Ewan MacColl and Mike Waterson sing it unaccompanied, and stress their traditional source, such as Jeannie Robertson. Shirley Collins is accompanied only by handclaps, and credits Paddy Doran as her source. This, then, is an attempt at authentic traditional singing, though neither MacColl's portentousness nor Waterson's nasality are to be found in the tradition.
Other individual singers have simple accompaniment. This is most often the guitar, which it must be stressed is in no sense a traditional instrument. Cordelia's Dad (a band but a solo performance here), Bob Dylan, Ray Fisher, Nic Jones, Benji Kirkpatrick, Jean Redpath, Mick Ryan and Jon Burge, and Gordon Tyrrall all have guitar. Skip Gorman uses a mandolin, the
extraordinary John Jacob Niles (recorded back in 1939) a home-made dulcimer, and the classically-trained soprano Custer LaRue a lute. Also relatively simple are Martin Carthy and Dave Swarbrick, guitar and violin, Archie Fisher, whistle and dulcimer, Nancy Kerr and James Fagan, mandolin and violin, Jon Loomes, melodeon with a little hurdy-gurdy, and June Tabor,
accordion and violin. Barry Dransfield has cello, fiddle and violin, and Waterson-Carthy have fiddle, guitar and melodeon. In all these cases the focus is on the vocals, and thus the story.
On the other hand, the accompaniment provides rhythm, and often decoration between stanzas. Unaccompanied singing often does not fit any particular time signature and may not use a classical scale, so accompaniment alters the music towards a form familiar to modern listeners. However, all the musicians mentioned in this paragraph, most certainly including Bob Dylan, are steeped in traditional music.
There are versions of the ballad which approach it from rock music, which tends to mean the use of electricity and drums. Sandy Denny and Fotheringay use bass, drums and electric guitar; Steeleye Span bass, drums, electric guitar and violin; The Irish band The Waterboys have penny whistle, accordion, and violin, but also guitar, bass, and drums to the fore, as well as an implausible fake Scottish accent; Taj Mahal in his reggae version bass, drums, electric guitar and banjo; Jim Moray electric guitar and multi-tracked brass. Less rock oriented but nonetheless very much bands are The Tannahill Weavers, who use percussion, bass, bouzouki and Highland bagpipes, and Planxty, with guitar, mandolin, bouzouki and uillean pipes.
Performers, particularly Scottish ones, who remain close to traditional arrangements tend to retain the magic (MacColl calls it comprolls, Tyrrall gabriel, etc.) and the hangings. This includes Jeannie Robertson and Lizzie Higgins, who might be expected to have dropped the hangings out of sympathy with fellow travelling people. In Nic Jones' version he uses such a jaunty melody that the hangings come as a shock. Regrets on the part of the lady are very rare. In the version performed by Jean Ritchie (traditional), the gypsy soon casts her off, and in the Fotheringay and Barry Dransfield versions (modern), the lord soon remarries. In Ewan MacColl's rather academic version the lord swears revenge and the lady says she will not come back:
"Till I hae drunk the breest I brewed
And that's in the water 0 Eerie 0"
(MacColl glosses breest as a brew, for those who could not guess.) In Skip Gorman's cowboy version (Clayton Boone), she regrets only leaving her child. Mick Ryan and Jon Burge give a version in which she is initially 'as happy as a lark in the gypsy's arms', but then poverty strikes and 'soon the lady changed her mind' and in the end:
"And what befell the lady then I think it is worth relating
Oh, the gypsy found another lass and he left her heart a-breaking"
The overt moral, the comment on her feelings, the first person intervention, and the different rhyme scheme all point to a late, presumably broadside, version.
Almost all the arrangements, whether traditional or modern, focus on the narrative and on clear vocals. Exceptions are Steeleye Span, The Tannahill Weavers, Nancy Kerr and James Fagan, and Taj Mahal. The Steel eye Span version is structured like a standard pop song, with two stanzas, chorus, stanza, chorus and so on, including an instrumental break; the chorus is
one of the original Child stanzas repeated. The Tannahill Weavers have a jolly singalong chorus (Laddie-o, laddie-o, etc) sung in mass unison, and verses with bagpipes playing along, which make the vocals hard to hear. Nancy Kerr's problem is that, like many a pop diva, she focuses on her own voice rather than the song; and she does tend to gabble. Taj Mahal's sunny version celebrates the irresistible male seducer, and the narrative is reduced to a minimum. Indeed the lady, or girl, is unmarried, and we may wonder if this is still the same song. The Gypsy Laddie is clearly popular among fans of traditional music. It remains a song and is not included in poetry anthologies, unlike, say, Sir Patrick Spens (Child 58) or Edward (Child 13). Its popularity in folk clubs twenty or thirty years ago is attested by the existence of a parody (MacColl & Seeger 1986: 177). With the possible exception of Barbara Allen (Child 84), it is the most commonly sung ballad today. Why?
The Appeal of The Gypsy Laddie
One part of the appeal of some ballads is that they tell true stories, or at least stories which seem true to the singer and the audience (if there is one). Some ballads clearly relate historical events, such as the death of Jane Seymour in childbirth (Child 170), the murder of the Earl of Murray (Child 181) and the battle of Otterburn (Child 161 and 162). Others seem to the singer to be true, but are not. For example Scarborough (1937: 114) tells of a singer in North Carolina who said the following about Earl Brand (Child 7), which he called Seven Sleepers:
" 'Seven Sleepers' was a true song. It happened away back yonder in Mutton Hollow. I was there myself. Somebody got killed over the girl. I was there soon after it happened. Another man was after the girl and one man shot him."
However, the oldest version given by Child was published by Bell in 1857, and it may go back to 1720 (see above), and Danish cognates (Ribold und Guldborg) date back at least to the sixteenth century (Child I: 89). Ballad collectors have been known to exaggerate the historical truth of ballads; Scott (Ed. Henderson 1931) is particularly known for this. And there is a considerable recent scholarly literature on the ballad as history, generally tinged with regret at having to reject the accuracy of most of them (Cowan 2000; Gerould 1932: 131ff; Ives 1997; Reed 1973).
With the possible exception of the glamour (or charm), which we moderns may take in the modern sense, the story of The Gypsy Laddie is plausible. However, did it actually happen? In short, the answer has to be 'No', but there are historical underpinnings (Child IV: 63-65; Rieuwerts 1991). There were gypsies in Scotland in the fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries;
Faa (the gypsy's name in some versions, as early as Ramsay (1788: 427-428) at least) was a common name among gypsies; following an Act of Parliament in 1609, gypsies in Scotland were hanged for the capital crime of being gypsies. Turning to the lady, there was an Earl of Cassillis. Tradition associates the ballad with Lady Jean Hamilton (1607-1642) who married the sixth Earl in 1621 (very young, an arranged marriage ?), but he was clearly heartbroken when she died. On the other hand, this same sixth Earl seems to have been involved in hanging gypsies (Rieuwerts 1991: 93-94). In short, the events in the ballad most probably did not happen as described, but some of the individual elements did.
Turning from academic writings to sleeve notes for recordings, we find that they tend to follow a similar pattern: great interest in the historical background, with the conclusion that the story is not factual. About half of the sleeves give some background (perhaps a reflection of the need to introduce songs when performing live), so it seems people might not quite agree with Martin Carthy when he writes:
"There is a whole school of thought which seeks to show that ballads are records of historical occurrences. Possibly they are, but I can't see that it matters two hoots." (Topic TSCD344)
It does matter to many people, including performers. But this alone cannot explain the popularity of this particular ballad compared with others with historical moorings.
The love of scandal, particularly scandal involving those in high places, is certainly part of the appeal, as Shirley Collins suggests (FLED3028). Martin Carthy (notes to Waterson:Carthy, TSCD509) says that the story of the ballad has appeared twice in the British press in the last thirty years as a contemporary event, once involving a gypsy and once a travelling salesman.
But once again, other ballads are full of upper class scandal, sometimes considerably more juicy. The Earl OJ Erroll (Child 231), for example, involves said Earl proving that he is not impotent in front of witnesses (fifteen of each sex in Child's B text).
In the end, there seem to be two particular elements in the ballad's popularity. The first is the gypsies and everything they represent; and the other is the wish to escape from an unsatisfactory marriage.
Gypsies live throughout the British Isles and North America. In Britain they may be seen camped by the roadside with their vans and horses. But most people have never actually spoken to any, and gypsies are an idea. As Texas Gladden (1895-1967, Virginia) says (notes to Rounder 1800):
"It's always fascinated me. I've built up the most beautiful thoughts of Gypsies from that song. In the song it was a romantic thing. The Gypsy Davy was like a knight of old; in my mind he was sort of an exalted kind."
Gypsies represent romance, freedom, knowledge of faraway places, and, yes, to some degree magic (fortune-telling, for example). Running away to sea or running off with the circus are familiar ideas, and some people even actually did it. Likewise, the open road, with no fixed plan, still has a strong appeal, as the travels of many young people testify. Gypsies do not appear to accept stability, predictability, security and the possible boredom that go with them. Jeannie Robertson (Porter & Gower 1995) and Betsy Whyte (Whyte 2001), both travellers (not gypsies) were conscious of this difference. For the sedentary population, such people are a challenge. What if their way of life is better? What if it really is more fun not to live in the same house all the time? They are also people who continue to suffer discrimination, and it seems that some singers want us to value gypsies - sometimes spelt gipsies - as bearers of our tradition.
The Gypsy Laddie is a fantasy. To a male singer and audience, he represents what many
men would like to be, and for a woman singer and audience he is their ideal man, smouldering
with romantic passion, rejecting all social rules and carrying the lady off. One could argue that
there are two versions of the song, one in which magic is used and the lady has no choice; and
one in which there is no magic and she leaves of her own free will. Actually, I feel that
whether it is magic or singing is unimportant. The lady feels a passion for the gypsy and in
most cases embraces her fate. She escapes from a husband who is clearly rich, abandons her
child and all her money. But it is worth it for the freedom and excitement, clearly including
sexual excitement.
We know we are not irresistible lovers, and we know we shall never run off with the gypsies. But it is fun to think about it, and to imagine having the freedom and courage to reject all responsibilities, and live in the moment (cf. Levinson & Silk 2007:8). Which is why The Gypsy Laddie has remained popular for perhaps 300 years. As Philip Larkin wrote in Poetry of Departures:
"Sometimes you hear, fifth-hand,
As epitaph:
He chucked up everything
And just cleared off,
And always the voice will sound
Certain you approve
This audacious, purifying,
Elemental move."
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Holloway, J. & J. Black (1975-1979) Later English Broadside Ballads. 1\\'0 Volumes. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul
Hudson, AP. (1936) Folksongs OJ Mississippi And Their Background. Reprinted 1981 New York: Folklorica
Ives, E.D. (1997) The Bonny Earl OJ Murray: The Man, The Murder, The Ballad. Urbana, Illinois: University Of lllinois Press
Karpeles, M. (1970) Folk Songs From Newfoundland. Harnden, Connecticut: Archon
KekaJainen, K. (1983) Aspects Of Style And Language In Child's Collection Of English And Scottish Popular Ballads. Helsinki: Suomalainen Tiedeakatemia
Leach, M. (1955) The Ballad Book. New York: A S. Barnes
Levinson, M. & A Silk (2007) Dreams Of The Road: Gypsy Life In The West Country. Edinburgh: Birlinn
Lomax, J.A. & A. Lomax (1941) Our Singing Country: Folk Songs And Ballads. Reprinted 2000 Mineola, New York: Dover
MacColl, E. & P. Seeger (1986) Till Doomsday In The Ajternoon; The Folklore OJ A Family OJ Scots
Travellers, The Stewarts OJ Blairgowrie. Manchester: Manchester University Press
McCarthy, W.B. (1991) "The Americanization Of Scottish Ballads: Counterevidence From The Southwest Of Scotland", in Harris pp 97-108
McKean, T. A (2003) The Flowering Thorn: International Ballad Studies. Logan, Utah: Utah State University Ord, J. (1930) Bothy Songs And Ballads Of Aberdeen, Banjf & Moray, Angus And The Mearns. Edinburgh: John Donald. (Undated Reprint)
Palmer, R. (1972) Songs OJ The Midlands. East Ardsley, Yorkshire: EP Publishing
Porter, J. & H. Gower (1995) Jeannie Robertson: Emergent Singer, Transformative Voice. East Linton, East Lothian: Tuckwell
Ramsay, A (1788) The Tea-Table Miscellany: A Collection OJ Choice Songs, Scots And English. 10 Volumes. Kilmarnock: J. Wilson
Randolph, V. (1980) Ozark Folksongs. Four Volumes. Columbia, Missouri: University Of Missouri Press
Reed, J. (1973) The Border Ballads. Reprinted 1991 Stocksfield, Northumberland: Spredden Press
Reeves, J. (1960) The Everlasting Circle. London: Heinemann
Rieuwerts S. (1991) "The Historical Moorings of The Gypsy Laddie': Johnny Faa And Lady Cassillis", in Harris pp 78-96
Scarborough, D. (1937) A Song Catcher In Southern Mountains. New York: Columbia University Press
Sharp, C. J. (1932) English Folk Songs From The Southern Appalachians. Two Volumes. London: Oxford University Press
Shuldham-Shaw, P., E .B. Lyle et al (1981-2002) The Greig-Duncan Folk Song Collection. Eight Volumes.
Aberdeen: Aberdeen University Press! Edinburgh: Mercat Press
Smith R. (1928) South Carolina Ballads. Reprinted 1972 Freeport, New York: Books For Libraries Press
Thomas, K. (1971) Religion And The Decline OJ Magic. London: Penguin
White, N.J. (1952) The Frank C. Brown Collection OJ North Carolina Folklore. Seven Volumes. Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press
Whyte, B. (2001) The Yellow On The Broom. Edinburgh: Birlinn
Williams, A. (1923) Folk Songs OJ The Upper Thames. East Ardsley, Yorkshire: S. R. Publishers. (Undated Reprint)
Yabushita, T. & M. Yamanaka (2005-2006) chairudo baraddo. Francis James Child's The English And Scottish Popular Ballads. Three Volumes. Tokyo: Otowashobotsurumi.
Recordings
Beck, Jack (2001) Half Ower, Half Ower The Aberdour. Living Tradition LTCDl006. The Gypsy Laddies
Carter Family, The (2000) Can The Circle Be Unbroken. Columbia CK65707. Black Jack David
Carthy, Martin & Dave Swarbrick (1994) Prince Heathen. Topic TSCD344. Seven Yellow Gypsies
Collins, Shirley (2000) The Power Of The True Love Knot. Fledg'ling FLED3028. Seven Yellow Gypsies
Cordelia's Dad (1995) Comet. Normal 179. Gypsy Davy
Cox, Harry (2000) The Bonny Labouring Boy. Topic TSCD512D. Black-Hearted Gypsies 0
Cox, Harry (2000) Classic Ballads Of Britain And Ireland Volume 2 (Various Artists). Rounder 1776. The Gypsy Laddie
Denny, Sandy (With Fotheringay) (2004) The Collection. Spectrum 982341-2. Gypsy Davey
Doran, Paddy (2000) Classic Ballads Of Britain And Ireland Volume 2 (Various Artists). Rounder 1776. The Gypsy Laddie
Dransfield, Barry (1996) Wings Of The Sphinx. Rhiannon RHYD501O. Gypsy Davey
Dylan, Bob (1992) Good As I Been To You. Sony SRCS6580. Blackjack Davey
Fisher, Archie (1982) (no title). Celtic CM007. The Three Gypsies
Fisher, Ray (1991) Traditional Songs Of Scotland. Saydisc CD-SDL 391. Gipsy Laddies
Gladden, Texas (2001) Ballad Legacy. Rounder 1800. Gypsy Davy
Gorman, Skip (2005) Song Links (Various Artists). Fellside FECDl90D. Clayton Boone
Guthrie, Woody (2005) This Machine Kills Fascists. Snapper SBOX009. Gypsy Davy
Higgins, Lizzie (2006) In Memory Of Lizzie Higgins. Musical Traditions MTCD337-8. Three Gypsies
Jones, Nic (1998) In Search Of Nic Jones. Mollie MMCD01. Seven Yellow Gypsies
Keane, Dolores (1978) There Was A Maid. Claddagh CC23. Seven Yellow Gypsies
Kennedy, Norman (2001) Live In Scotland. Living Tradition LTCD2002. The Earl 0 Cassillis Lady
Kerr, Nancy & James Fagan (2006) Landmarks (Various Artists). Fellside FECD203. Seven Yellow Gypsies
Kirkpatrick, Ber\ii (2005) Song Links (Various Artists). Fellside FECDl90D. Draggle-tail Gypsies-O
La Rue, Custer (1995) The True Lover's Farewell. Dorian DOR 90213. Gypsen Davey
Loomes, Jon (2005) Cutting Edge (Various Artists) Fellside FECS3. Three Gypsies
MacAlexander, Eunice Yeatts (1998) A Century Of Song (Various Artists). EFDSS CD02. Black Jack Davy
MacColl, Ewan (1964) Child Ballads, Volume Two. Folkways F-3510. The Gypsy Laddie
MacDonald, John (1992) The Muckle Sangs (Various Artists). Greentrax CDTRAX9005. The Roving Ploughboy
-50- THE RYUKOKU JOURNAL OF HUMANITIES AND SCIENCES Vol.30 No.1 (2008)
Malinky (2002) 3 Ravens. Greentrax CDTRAX233. The Roving Ploughboy
Moray, Jim (2003) Sweet England. Niblick Is A Giraffe NIBL003. Gypsies
Niles, John Jacob (2006) My Precarious Life In The Public Domain. Rev-Ola CR REV138. The Gypsy Laddie
Pardon, Walter (1998) Tonight I'll Make You My Bride (Various Artists). Topic TSCD656. The Raggle-Taggle Gypsies
Pardon, Walter (2000) A World Without Horses. Topic TSCD514. The Raggle-Taggle Gypsies
Planxty (1989) The Planxty Collection. Shanachie 79012. Raggle Taggle Gypsy
Redpath, Jean (1991) First Flight. Rounder C-1l556. The Gypsy Laddie; Ploughboy, 0
Reilly, John (1996) Hurry The Jug (Various Artists). Giobestyle CDORB090. The Raggle Taggle Gypsy
Riddle, Almeda (2002) Songcatcher II (Various Artists). Vanguard VCD 79716. Black Jack Davey
Ritchie, Jean (2003) Ballads. Smithsonian Folkways SFWCD40145. Gypsy Laddie
Robertson, Jeannie (1992) The Muckle Sangs (Various Artists). Greentrax CDTRAX9005. The Gypsy Laddies
Robertson, Jeannie (1994) The Great Scots Traditional Ballad Singer. Ossian OSSCD92. The Gypsy Laddies
Robertson, Jeannie (1998) It Fell On A Day, A Bonny Summer Day (Various Artists). Topic TSCD667. The Gypsy Laddies
Robertson, Jeannie (2000) Classic Ballads Of Britain And Ireland Volume 2 (Various Artists). Rounder 1776. The Gypsy Laddie
Ryan, Mick and Jon Burge (1978) Fair Was The City. Transatlantic LTRA506. An English Lord
Steeleye Span (1994) All Around My Hat. Chrysalis 321091. Black Jack Davy
Stewart, Elizabeth (2004) Binnorrie. Elphinstone Institute EICD002. The Gypsy Laddies
Taj Mahal (1993) World Music. Columbia Legacy CK52755. Blackjack Davey
Tabor, June (2005) Always. Topic TSFCD4003. Gypsum Davey
Tannahill Weavers, The (1989) The Best Of The Tannahill Weavers 1979-1989. Green Linnet GLCDllOO. The Gypsy Laddie
Turriff, Jane (1996) Singin Is Ma Life. Springthyme SPRCDl038. The Rovin Ploughboy
Tyrrall, Gordon (1997) Ballads (Various Artists). Fellside FECDllO. Seven Gypsies
Waterboys, The (1990) Room To Roam. Chrysalis F2 21768. The Raggle Taggle Gypsy
Waterson, Mike (1999) (no title). Topic TSCD516. Seven Yellow Gypsies
Waterson:Carthy (1999) Broken Ground. Topic TSCD509. Raggle Taggle Gipsies
Websites
Child Ballad Collection, The http://members.chello.nl/r.vanclijk2
Child Ballad Project, The http://thechHdballads.com
EFDSS www.efdss.org