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Too Young to Marry/My Love She's But a Lassie Yet
Old-Time, Bluegrass, Scottish, Irish, English, American; Reel, Polka (Ireland) and Country Dance Tune. USA; New England, Southwestern Pa., New York. England, Northumberland.
ARTIST: Lyrics from Brown Collection of NC Folklore
CATEGORY: Fiddle and Instrumental Tunes
DATE: The title was fixed on the tune because of two songs composed to it, one by Robert Burns and the other by the "Ettrick Shepherd," James Hogg, although the tune seems to have first appeared in print in Bremner's Scots Reels" of 1757 as "Miss Farqharson's Reel."
RECORDING INFO Too Young to Marry [Me IV-B 6]
At- Big Town Fling ; My Love Is But A Lassie [Yet] ; Old Folks, Old Folks You Better Go to Bed ; Old Lady Tucker ; Miss Farquharson's Reel ; Buffalo Nickel
Rm - Old Taylor ; Lead Out ; My Love She's But a Lassie Yet ; Pussy Footing/Footin'
Ford, Ira W. / Traditional Music in America, Folklore Associates, Bk (1965/1940), p 66b (Darling Child)
Bowman, A. S. (ed.) / J. W. Pepper Collection of 500 Reels, Jigs, ..., Pepper, fol (1908), p 33 (Hornets Nest)
Brody, David (ed.) / Guitar Picker's Fakebook, Oak, Sof (1984), p143
Blue Ridge Highballers. Ballads and Breakdowns of the Golden Era, Columbia CS 9660, LP (1968), trk# B.08 [1926/03/23] (Darling Child)
Blue Ridge Highballers. Blue Ridge Highballers, County 407, LP (1974), trk# A.01 [1936/03/23] (Darling Child)
Boiled Buzzards. Fine Dining, Marimac 9043, Cas (1991), trk# B.08
Brody, David. Brody, David (ed.) / Fiddler's Fakebook, Oak, Sof (1983), p278
Burke, John. Burke, John (ed.) / Book of Old Time Fiddle Tunes for Banjo, Amsco, sof (1968), p76
Cadwell, Paul. Paul Cadwell, Shirley Keller, Charlie Wright, Twilight PSC 165, LP (1983), trk# A.08d
Carlin, Bob. Banging and Sawing, Rounder 0197, CD (1996/1985), trk# 1 [1982-85]
Cockerham, Jarrell and Jenkins. Down to the Cider Mill, County 713, LP (1968), trk# 10
Curley, Clyde. Songer, Susan; & Clyde Curley (eds.) / Portland Collection. Contra..., Portland Collection, Fol (1997), p198
Dickey, Lotus. Fiddle Tunes from Orange County, Indiana. Vol. 1, Marimac 9029, Cas (1992), trk# 1a [1989/04/06] (Yellow-Eyed Cat)
Douglas, Wilson. Back Porch Symphony, Douglas C-7625, Cas (1995), trk# A.07 (Sweet Sixteen (tune))
Driftwood, Jimmie. Battle of New Orleans, RCA (Victor) LPM-1635, LP (1958), trk# 6 (I'm too Young to Marry)
Enloe, Lyman. Fiddle Tunes I Recall, County 762, LP (1977/1973), trk# 12 (Ten Nights in a Bar Room)
Haley, Ed. Forked Deer, Rounder 1131/1132, CD( (1997), trk# 1.11 (Love Somebody (Yes I Do))
Kessinger, Clark. Clark Kessinger, Fiddler, Folkways FA 2336, LP (1966), trk# 7 (Chinky Pin (Chinkapin Pie))
Knuth, Ron. Hoedown, Wisconsin Style, Stoneway STY 119, LP (197?), trk# B.05
Krassen, Miles. Krassen, Miles / Clawhammer Banjo, Oak, sof (1974), p76
Last Straw String Band. Last Straw String Band, Jack Rabbit 001, LP (197?), trk# B.08
Old Virginia Fiddlers. Old Time Fiddle, Patrick County, VA, County 201, LP (1977), trk# A.01 [1929] (Midnight Seranade)
Poole, Charlie; and the Highlanders. Charlie Poole and the Highlanders, 1927-29, Puritan 3002, LP (1971), trk# 8c [1927-29] (Trip to New York. On the Train)
Price, J. S.. Thede, Marion (ed.) / The Fiddle Book, Oak, Bk (1967), p 47b [1930s] (Love Somebody (Yes I Do))
Reeltime Travelers. Reeltime Travelers, Yodel-Ay-Hee 034, CD (2000), trk# 1
Rorer, Posey; and the North Carolina Ramblers. Cotton Mills and Fiddles, Flying Cloud FC-014, LP (1990), trk# 4 [1926/09/18]
Sapoznik, Hank (Henry). Brody, David (ed.) / Banjo Picker's Fakebook, Oak, Fol (1985), p172
Smith, Paul. Devil Eat the Groundhog, Rounder 0409, CD (1999), trk# 33
Stefanini, Rafe. Hell and Scissors, County CD 2728, CD (1999), trk# 8 (Midnight Seranade)
True West String Band. Rough and Ready, True West, CD (2004), trk# 19
Wear, DeWayne; and the Great Wear Family. Hoe Down! Vol. 4, Rural Rhythm RR 121, LP (197?), trk# 8 (Soapsuds Over the Fence)
Welling, William B. (Will). Welling, William B. / Welling's Hartford Tunebook, Welling, Fol (1974), p11b
Williams, Vivian; and Barbara Lamb. Twin Sisters, Voyager VRLP 316-S, LP (1975), trk# B.06 (Fourth of July)
Wilson, Nile. Tie Hacker Hoe-down, MSOTFA 202-CS, Cas (1995), trk# 2.04 (Lead Out)
RECORDING INFO: Love Somebody (Yes I Do) [Me IV-B 2]
At - Missouri Mule; Ten Nights in a Bar Room
Sm - Soldier's Joy
Uf - Too Young to Marry ; My Love She's But a Lassie Yet
Sandburg, Carl (ed.) / American Songbag, Harcourt, Sof (1955/1928), p140
Country Ham. Where the Mountain Laurel Blooms, Vetco LP 515, LP (1979), trk# 2
Ritchie, Jean. Jean Ritchie at Home, Pacific Cascade LPL-7020, LP (1974), trk# 11
Ritchie, Jean; & Sons. Mountain Born, Greenhays 70725, CD (1995), trk# 3
Sanderson, Al (Alvin). National Oldtime Fiddlers' Contest & Folk Music Festival. 1969, NOTFC 69, LP (1969), trk# A.07 (Missouri Mule)
Thompson, Joe. Family Tradition, Rounder 2161, CD (1999), trk# 12 (Soldier's Joy)
OTHER NAMES: "I Am My Mamma's Darlin' Child," "Buffalo Nickel [1]," "Chinky Pin," "Chinquapin/Chinquipin," "Crumb Creek Posey," "The Cumberland Square Eight," "Darling Child," "The Duke of York," "Farmer Had a Dog," "Fourth of July," "Hair in the Butter," "I'm My Momma's Darling (Child)," "The King's Head" (floater‑Pa.), "Lead Out," "Lindsay Munnell Tune" (Pa.), "Love Somebody(, Yes I Do!)," "Midnight Serenade [1]," "Miss Farquharson's Reel," "Old Kingdom," "Richmond Blues," “Soapsuds Over the Fence [3],” "Sweet Sixteen," "Ten Nights in a Bar Room," "Too Young to Marry [1]," “Tripping on the Mountain,” "The Virginia Reel [4]" (floater‑Pa.), "The White Cockade" (floating title, Pa.), "Yellow Eyed Cat." “My Lover’s but a Lady Yet.”
RELATED TO: Brisk Young Soldier; Soldier's Hornpipe; Ole Turkey Buzzard; Bert's Tune; Pas D'Ete; French Four; Farewell Mary Ann; Soldier's Round;
SOURCES: Kuntz, Fiddler's Companion, http://www.ceolas.org/tunes/fc).
Source for notated version: Tony Mates [Silberberg]. Aird (Selections of Scotch, English, Irish and Foreign Airs), vol. II, c. 1782; No. 1, pg. 1. American Veteran Fifer, 1927; No. 61, pg. 31. Bayard (Dance to the Fiddle), 1981; No. 323A‑V, pgs. 283‑289. Bruce & Emmett (Drummers and Fifers Guide), 1880; pg. 24. Ford (Traditional Music in America), 1940; pg. 51. Gems of Scottish Song, pg. 160. Gow (Vocal Melodies of Scotland), 1822, 2nd ed. pg. 21. Graham, 1908; pg. 32. Howe (Diamond School for the Violin), 1981; pg. 60 (appears as a set of "Caledonian Quadrilles"). Howe (1000 Jigs and Reels), c. 1867; pg. 123. Jarman, Old Time Fiddlin' Tunes; No. or pg. 20. Johnson (Scots Musical Museum), 1787‑1803, vol. 3, No. 225, pg. 234. Kennedy (Fiddlers Tune Book), vol. 1, 1951; No. 57, pg. 28. Kerr (Merry Melodies), vol. 1; No. 10, pg. 22. Miller & Perron (New England Fiddlers Repertoire), 1983; No. 60. Neil (The Scots Fiddle), 1991; No. 186, pg. 241. Ostling, 1939; pg. 21. Riley (Flute Melodies), 1820; vol. 2, No. 22. Silberberg (Tunes I Learned at Tractor Tavern), 2002; pg. 104. Smith (Scottish Minstrel), 1820‑24, vol. 5, pg. 106. Sweet (Fifer’s Delight), 1965/1981; pg. 56. Thede (The Fiddle Book), 1967; pg. 47. Trim (Thomas Hardy), 1990; No. 20. Wilson (Companion to the Ballroom), 1840; pg. 65. Cló Iar Chonnachta CICD 165, John Wynne & John McEvoy – “Pride of the West” (2007). F&W Records 1, "F&W String Band."
NOTES "Love Somebody": Love Somebody is the Appalachian courting song that uses the basic melody of Soldier's Joy. Land Norris recorded under the title "I Love Somebody" (see lyrics here and also Version 3 Soldier's Joy) in 1925. Jean Ritchie and others have used the Love Somebody title. Jean sent me an email with some additional infomation about her version.
Kuntz and Meade separately list the tunes. "Love Somebody" is grouped with the "My Love Is But A Lassie Yet" songs and several with this title appear under Meade's "Too Young Too Marry" classification. The "My Love Is But A Lassie Yet" songs have a similar melody. Rather than list the songs in multiple places I've listed them under Soldier's Joy, so go there for lyrics versions of Love Somebody.
Kuntz: LOVE SOMEBODY [2]. AKA- "Buffalo Nickel," "Darling Child," "Farmer Had a Dog," "Fourth of July," "Hair in the Butter," "I Love Somebody, Yes I Do," "I'm My Momma's Darling," "Lead Out," "Midnight Serenade," "My Love is But a Lassie Yet," "Old Kingdom," "Old Lady Tucker," "Old Missouri," "Richmond Blues," "Sweet Sixteen," "Ten Nights in a Bar Room," "Too Young to Marry," "Yellow Eyed Cat." Old-Time, Breakdown. USA: Texas; Greer County, Oklahoma (main title), Tennessee, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri (alternate title). D Major. Standard. AABB. The tune is used for a country dance popular in England and America called "The Cumberland Square Eight," and a version appeared in this country as early as 1839 under the title "Richmond Blues" in George P. Knauff's Virginia Reels, volume II (Baltimore). In Scotland the tune is called "My Love is But a Lassie Yet," a version of which Beethoven set for orchestra. "An interesting example of the re-naming of a fiddler's selection is that of a tune brought from Texas by settlers in the region which is now Greer County, Oklahoma, and called by them 'Love Somebody.' This same melody in Illinois, Missouri, and Indiana is designated 'Old Lady Tucker,' and as such was transported to the Indian Territory from that region" (Thede, 1967). In Arizona the tune is known as "Old Missouri."
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Charles Wolfe (1991) says the tune is better-known in white repertory than black and that it was popular as a fiddle tune in middle Tennessee, often being heard at the Grand Ole Opry in the 1920's and 30's. A version was collected by African-American collector Thomas Talley (Negro Folk Rhymes), which goes:
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I loves somebody, yes, I do;
An' I wants somebody to love me too.
Wid my chyart an' oxes stan'in' 'roun',
Her pretty liddle foot needn' tetch de groun'.
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I loves somebody, yes I do,
Dat randsome, handsome, Sickamastew,
Wid her reddingoat an' waterfall,
She's de pretty liddle gal dat beats 'em all.
***
Versions appear in Perrow (Songs and Rhymes from the South, 1915, pg. 125), and fragments in Brown (3:140-41). Sources for notated versions: J.S. Price (Greer County, Oklahoma) [Thede]; John Powell [Chase]. Chase (American Folk Tales and Songs), 1956; pg. 206. Thede (The Fiddle Book), 1967; pg. 47. Victor 40099 (78 RPM), the Crook Brothers Barn Dance Orchestra (1928). Vocalation 14857 (78 RPM), Uncle Dave Macon with Sid Harkreader (1924).
NOTES: Meade lists instrumental versions of Love Somebody (titles that are sometimes found under Soldier's Joy) under "Too Young Too Marry." All of Meade's listings are
instrumental versions. Soldier's Joy is a related but different melody. The lyrics from Brown are listed at the bottom.
Kuntz: MY LOVE IS/SHE'S BUT A LASSIE YET [1]. D Major (most versions): C Major (Huntington). Standard tuning. AB (Howe, Silberberg, Sweet): AABB (most versions). The title was fixed on the tune because of two songs composed to it, one by Robert Burns and the other by the "Ettrick Shepherd," James Hogg, although the tune seems to have first appeared in print in Bremner's Scots Reels" of 1757 as "Miss Farqharson's Reel." It appears in James Aird's collection (of Scottish tunes), but although Samuel Bayard (1981) for some reason said he could find neither the title nor the music therein—Sara Johnson, and others who have looked find it “plain as day” in Aird, 1782, vol. 2, page 1, No. 1. The writer of Gems of Scottish Song asserts that the original title of the tune was "Lady Bodinscoth's Reel." In modern times the reel is often played in a set to accompany the dance “Dashing White Sergeant.”
Although of Scottish origin it soon became a popular tune south of the Tweed, as attested to the title's appearance in Henry Robson's list of popular Northumbrian song and dance tunes ("The Northern Minstrel's Budget"), which he published c. 1800. Northumbrian musician William Vickers included it in his 1770 music manuscript under the title “My Lover’s Butt a Lady Yett.” "My Love She's But a Lassie Yet" is also the name of a Scottish country dance, though a somewhat unusual one (Flett & Flett, 1964).
Imported to Ireland, the tune was converted to a polka and played under the titles “My Love is But a Lassie” and “Tripping on the Mountain.” The last title is the name it was famously recorded as in the 78 RPM era by flute player John McKenna and fiddler James Morrison.
The melody also found currency across the ocean and Bayard deems it perhaps the most widespread instrumental folk tune in Pennsylvania tradition, and that it in fact seems mostly to have been known as an instrumental air among folk musicians in general. The tune was printed under the title "Richmond Blues" in George P. Knauff's Virginia Reels, volume II (Baltimore, 1839) and was still cited as commonly played for country dances in Orange County, New York, in the 1930's (Lettie Osborn, New York Folklore Quarterly). In the South, old‑time musicians know the tune under the title “Sweet Sixteen” and "Too Young to Marry.” Jim Taylor (1995) says the tune in its various titles was well-known to musicians in both North and South during the American Civil War era. See also note for “Richmond Blues.”
MY LOVE SHE'S BUT A LASSIE YET AKA and see "The Duke of York," "My Love is/She's but a Lassie Yet," "Richmond Blues," "Love Somebody.” Scottish, Scotch Measure. D Major. Standard tuning. AABB. Barnes (English Country Dance Tunes, vol. 2), 2005; pg. 26 (appears as “Cumberland Square Eight”, the name of a dance the tune is set to). O’Farrell (Pocket Companion, vol. II), c. 1806; pg. 114.
My Love She's But A Lassie Yet- Robert Burns
Chorus: My love, she's but a lassie yet,
My love, she's but a lassie yet!
We'll let her stand a year or twa,
She'll no be half sae saucy yet!
1.
I rue the day I sought her, O!
I rue the day I sought her, O!
Wha gets her need na say he's woo'd,
But he may say he has bought her, O.
2.
Come draw a drap o' the best o't yet,
Come draw a drap o' the best o't yet!
Gae seek for pleasure whare ye will,
But here I never missed it yet.
3.
We're a' dry wi' drinkin o't,
We're a' dry wi' drinkin o't!
The minister kiss't the fiddler's wife -
He could na preach for thinkin o't!
My Love She Is But A Girl Yet (Translated from Burns)
Chorus: My love, she is but a girl yet,
My love, she is but a girl yet!
We will let her stand a year or two,
She will not be half so saucy yet!
I rue the day I sought her, O!
I rue the day I sought her, O!
Who gets her need not say he is courted,
But he may say he has bought her, O.
Come draw a drop of the best of it yet,
Come draw a drop of the best of it yet!
Go seek for pleasure where you will,
But here I never missed it yet.
We are all dry with drinking of it,
We are all dry with drinking of it!
The minister kissed the fiddler's wife -
He could not preach for thinking of it!
Too Young to Marry- Brown Collection
Too Young to Marry 140
This scrap of song I have not found elsewhere. Mr. Smith's note on his text implies that it is a dance or play-party song.
A. 'I'm My Mammy's Youngest Son.' Contributed by I. G. Greer of Boone, Watauga county, apparently in 1915 or 1916.
I'm my mammy's youngest son,
I'm my mammy's baby,
I'm my mammy's youngest son,
I'm too young for to marry yet.
I'm too young,
I'm too young to marry yet;
I'm my mammy's youngest son,
I'm my mammy's baby,
I'm my manuny's youngest son,
I'm too young for to marry yet.
'I'm My Mammy's Youngest Child,' Reported by Thomas Smith of Zionville, Watauga county, as a "banjo song," with the notation that it is all that he could recall of "a song with a good tune. This tune has been a favorite with fiddlers and banjo pickers for many years."
I'm my mammy's youngest child.
I am my mammy's darlin',
1 am my mammy's youngest child,
1 am too young to marry.
'Love Somebody." Recorded by Dr. Brown as sung by Mark Erwin on Rabit Ham in Leicester Township, Buncombe county, probably in 1921. The second stanza belongs to a quite different song.
I'm my mamma's darhn' chile.
I'm my mamma's darlin' chile,
I'm my mamma's darlin' chile,
I'm most too young to marry yet a while.
I love somehody. ves I do,
I love somebody, yes I do,
I love somebody, yes I do,
And I wish somebody loved me too.
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