The Rich Lady- Wilson (MO) 1940 Randolph D
[From Randolph's Ozark Folksongs; Volume 1: British Ballads and Songs. Randolph takes no position on the debate about the classification of "Pretty Sally" but he places the ballads in his Child ballads section and seems to accept the ballads as versions of Child 295. Randolph's notes follow.
This version is missing the first opening stanzas.
R. Matteson Jr. 2014]
40. PRETTY SALLY OF LONDON
Similar to several pieces reported from Virginia by Davis (Traditional Ballads of Virginia, pp. 537-543), who publishes them as variants of "The Brown Girl" (Child, English and the Popular Ballads, 1882-1898, No. 295). In this he follows the authority of Campbell and Sharp (English Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachians, 1917, No. 36) who recovered similar items in Virginia and in North Carolina. Barry, Eckstorm and Smyth (British Ballads from Maine, 1929, pp.418-425) print five texts from Maine, and consider it as a secondary form derived from Child 295. For other American references see Barry (JAFL 18, 1905, p. 295, Tolman (JAFL 29,1916, p. 17S), Cox (Folk-Songs of the South, 1925, pp. 366-370), Kirkland (Southern Folklore Quarterly 2, 1938, p. 79), who reports a "Rich Irish Lady" version, "Sally Dover" in Chappell (Folk-Songs of Roanoke and the Albermarle, 1939, pp. 75), Gardner (Ballads and Songs of Southern Michigan, 1939, pp. 150-151), Treat (JAFL 52, 1939, pp. Belden (Ballads and, Songs, 1940, pp. 111-118), Brewster (Ballads and Songs of Indiana 1940, pp. 164-165), and "A Brave Irish Lady" in the Brown (North Carolina Folk-Lore collection.
D. "The Rich Lady," contributed by Mrs. S. E. Wilson, Verona, Mo., July 21, 1940.
There was a rich lady, from Ireland she came,
A beautiful damsel called Sally by name.
There was a poor young man as we all do hear,
Toward ffi ;;;"g ruai his courtship did steer,
But her ffii ili;-g lofty and riches so high,
That upon this young man she would scarce cast an eye'
Oh, sir, I don't hate you nor no other man'
But to *:t t-ft"t I love you is more than I can'
I could love and'"'pttl you but I will not of course'
And I know I'll never love you unless I am forced.
Six months had not gone, six months had not passed
Till I h;;l;1t'i' lady's misfortune at last'
She was entangled in love and she knew not for why'
So she sent for this v";;; ;;; *r'o- once she denied'
He rode like a doctor unto her bedside'
Saying is the p;i; i; vo11 1'"1a' ti-t1"'puil in vour side?
oji.it: it i, n"ilrtt' uttd I'll tell vou the rest'
The pain that is hurting me lies deep in my breast'
Oh Sally, oh Sally, oh Sally," says he,
oh do I first courted thee?
You scorned laughed poor birth,
I'll dance on your grave cold in the earth.
she drew from her finger her diamond rings three,
Saying take them and wear them while you're dancing o'er me,
Oh yes, I will, Sally, and joyful I'll be
To think of a rich lady who once died for me.
Now Sally is dead, as we may suppose,
Some other rich lady wears all her fine clothes,
Her body is lying in a bank of cold clay,
Her red rosy lips they are mouldering away.