US & Canada Versions: 293. John of Hazelgreen
One area of Virginia became the repository for a specific version of this ballad. From this region the Virginia Folk-Lore Society, under the direction of C. Alphonso Smith (who died in 1924) and later John Stone and Kyle Davis Jr., collected eleven texts and three melodies (Sharp collected two in 1918, one in a MS; Scarborough- two; Davis again in More Ballads- one; Karpeles/Cowell one; Wilkinson- three; Foss- three). At the time their book, Traditional Ballads was being completed (c.1928) there were no other versions of John of Hazelgreen collected in the US (that would change as Barry published a version from Maine in 1929).
George Foss, who wrote an excellent article titled, From White Hall to Bacon Hollow, collected an excellent version in 1961 from Robert Shiflett, who was Raz Shiflett's son (see also Davis H; collected from Raz). Here are some excerpts:
From White Hall to Bacon Hollow is about a place and about its culture and people. I have granted myself the author's indulgence of selecting a title significant in its double meaning. White Hall to Bacon Hollow is a stretch of twisting country road, Virginia route 810, crossing the line between Albemarle and Greene Counties.
The earliest settlers of importance to the area were members of the Brown family. The patriarch of the Virginia Browns was Benjamin Brown, who began acquiring land in Albemarle County in 1747. He amassed six thousand acres of what was to become known as Brown's Cove. Included in these holdings was a tract patented to him by King George III in 1750.
It is of importance at this point to mention Arthur Kyle Davis, Jr., who was a collector of ballads and folksongs specifically of Virginia. He was not a collector in the same sense as Sharp, that is a field worker and face-to-face gatherer of songs. He was more in the mold of Francis James Child, the great collector-editor of English and Scottish Popular Ballads, that is, he served to gather and organize, to sift and evaluate the field work of numerous amateur, hobbyist and professional collectors. As early as 1929 he produced Traditional Ballads of Virginia; in 1949 he published Folksongs of Virginia and More Traditional Ballads of Virginia, all three under the auspices of the Virginia Folklore Society. A courtly gentleman “of the old school,” he was professor of English literature at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville for a great span of time. It was professor Davis who was Paul Clayton Worthington's teacher at the University during the 1950's and inspired Paul's interest in balladry and folksong.
Two later collectors who visited and worked in the White Hall-Bacon Hollow area were Richard Chase and professor Winston Wilkinson whose manuscripts are now kept by the University of Virginia. They were the first collectors to record the songs of some of the finest singers in the region, Ella Shiflett and Victoria Shiflett Morris as early as 1935.
Some of the family names still found in northwest Albemarle County and Greene County date from pre-Revolutionary times: Brown, Frazier and Jones. Other names commonly found are Walton, Powell, Sandridge and Wood. But by far the most commonly found are Morris and Shiflett. This makes the tracing of relationships very difficult since various branches of the family are only very distantly related but share the same name. Robert Shiflett (designated “Raz's Robert,” i.e. Erasmus' son Robert, to distinguish him from the region's numerous other Robert Shifletts) speculates that the family was originally descended from French mercenaries brought over by Lafayette to aid the colonies in their War of Independence.
The Davis J version dates back to c. 1850. It is based on Scott's poem (ballad recreation) Jock o' Hazeldean in which Scott used the first verse of John of Hazelgreen (Child E a). I'm including versions of Jock o' Hazeldean here since they are based in part on a traditional version (Scott's first verse) and traditional material has been added from versions of Hazelgreen. Two articles (see attached to Recording & Info page) were written about Scott's ballad and the resulting traditional versions:
Jock of Hazeldean and Child 293 E
by Maurice W. Kelley
Modern Language Notes, Vol. 46, No. 5 (May, 1931), pp. 304-306
Scott's "Jock of Hazeldean": The Re-Creation of a Traditional Ballad
by Charles G. Zug, III
The Journal of American Folklore, Vol. 86, No. 340 (Apr. - Jun., 1973), pp. 152-160
A traditional version based on Scott's poem Jock o' Hazeldean from Canada that was by sung Mrs. McGill was sent to Barry in 1928 (see Jock o' Hazeldean- McGill {NB} 1928). McGill learned her version in Scotland before 1911. A fragment of the first verse was collected in Florida pre-1950. The other importnat version collected in the US that is based on Scott's poem is from Tulsa Oklahoma (Moores 1964) sung by a Mr. Insch formerly also from Scotland.
A Victor record (18401) of Scott's Jock o' Hazeldean, sung by Henry Burr, was released in 1908.
R. Matteson 2014]
CONTENTS: (Click individual versions attached to this page on left hand column to open them)
Jock o' Hazelgreen- Ferneyhough (VA) 1850 Davis J
Young Johnny of Hazelgreen- Delorme (NY) c.1880
John of Hazelgreen- Raspbury (OK) 1898 Moore B
Jock o' Hazeldean- Insch (OK-Scot) pre 1907 Moores
Jock o' Hazeldean- McGill (NB) pre1911 Barry
Jack o' Hazelgreen- (VA) 1914 Davis B
John o' the Hazelgreen- (VA) 1914 Davis C
John o' the Hazelgreen- (VA) 1915 Davis A
John of the Hazel Green- (VA) 1917 Davis G
John o' the Hazelgreen- Davis (VA) 1917 Davis I
John of the Hazelgreen- Fitzgerald (VA) 1918 Sharp
John of the Hazelgreen- Fitzgerald (VA) 1918 Sharp
John of Hazelgreen- Bailey (VA) 1919 Davis D
John of the Hazelgreen- Garrison (VA) 1919 Davis F
John of Hazelgreen- Herndon (VA) 1920 Davis E
John over the Haz- Raz Shiflett (VA) 1922 Davis H
Willie of Hazel Green- Nelson (NB) 1929 Barry A
John of Hazelgreen- Brother (KY-APP) 1932 Niles
John of the Hazelgreen- Morris (VA) 1933 Davis AA
John the Hazelgreen- McAllister(VA) 1935 Wilkinson
As I Walked Out- Lewis (VA) 1935 Wilkinson
John Over The Hazelgreen- Mace (VA) 1935 Wilk
John Over The Hazel Green- Gibson (VA) pre1936
John Over The Hazel Green- Morris (VA) pre1936
Jock o' Hazeldean- Hughes (FL) pre1950 Morris
John of the Hazelgreen- Fitzgerald(VA) 1950 Cowell
Johnny From Hazelgreen- Stevens(NL) 1959 Peacock
John of Hazelgreen- Robert Shiflett (VA) 1961 Foss
John the Hazelgreen- Flor. Shiflett (VA) 1962 Foss
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Notes from Davis: Traditional Ballads of Virginia; 1929
JOHN OF HAZELGREEN
(Child, No. 293)
The ten texts and three melodies here given seem to be the only traditional copies of this ballad to be printed from America. One repetitive text has been excluded. The Virginia variants A to I evidently belong to a single version which is not particularly close to any Child version, Virginia J, on the other hand, is fairly close to Child E and to the "Jock of Hazeldean" that Scott built upon the traditional Child E. The first stanza of all three is practically identical, but the beginning of the second Virginia stanza is more like the beginning of Scott's third stanza than like the traditional second stanza. But the traditional name "Hazelgreen" is retained for the hero and as the contributor assures us that the version was " known and sung in Louisa Co., Va., in the '50's," the song was surely, in spite of its semi-Scottish language, traditional in Virginia.
The story of the ballad is more fully told by the A to I variants, but even there it is a bit fragmentary. A walker discovers a fair maid in distress, and offers her his eldest son in marriage. She scorns his offer, saying that she longs for John of Hazelgreen, whom she describes in glowing terms. She rides to the town, where she is met by her lover with kisses and promises of fidelity. How much of the story has been dropped out in the Virginia versions will be sown by a comparison of this with the Child summary: "A gentleman overhears a damsel making a moan for Sir John of Hazelgreen. After some compliment on his part, and some slight information on hers, he tells her that Hazelgreen is married; then there's nothing for her to do, she says, but to hold her peace and die for him. The gentleman proposes that she shall let Hazelgreen go marry his eldest son, and be made a gay lady; she is too mean a maid for that, and anyway, had rather die for the object of her affection Still she allows the gentleman to take her up behind him on his horse, and to buy clothes for her at Biggar, though all the time dropping tears for Hazelgreen. After the shopping they mourn again, and at last they come to the gentleman's place, when the son runs out to welcome his father. The son is young Hazelgreen, who takes the maid in his arms and kisses off the still falling tears. The father declares that the two shall be married the next day, and "the young man shall have the family land." In comparison with the Virginia narrative, the Virginia ballad is simply a maid's lamentation ended by a lovers' union.
These Virginia variants are reported in Bulletin, Nos. 3-7, 10, No other American texts have been printed.
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Recordings: "Jock o' Hazeldean" (7254, by Mary Garden).
Jock o' Hazeldean (folk song) A 1191 (19888) recorded 1912.
An advertizement in Theatre Magazine, Volume 30, 1919: "Two songs of Celtic origin, a brave spirit is blended with certain wistful pathos are sung by Henry Burr on one Victor Record. "Jock O' Hazeldean,” is one of best of the Scotch ballads. . ."
JOCK O' HAZELDEAN- Victor Record 18041
sung by HENRY BURR B6250=2 V-5519 - 6/5/1908 Scott's version
Why weep ye by the tide, ladye?
Why weep ye by the tide?
I'll wed ye to my youngest son,
And ye shall be his bride.
And ye shall be his bride, ladye,
Sae comely to be seen.
Chorus: By aye, she loot the tears doon fa'
For Jock o' Hazeldean.
Now let this wilful grief be done
And dry that cheek so pale,
Young Frank is Chief of Errington,
And lord o' Langly dale.
His step is first in peaceful ha'
His sword in battle seen.
The kirk was decked at morning tide,
The taper glimmered fair,
The priest and bridegroom wait the bride,
And dame and knight are there.
They sought her baith by bower and ha'
The lady was not seen,
She's o'er the border and awa'
Wi' Jock o' Hazeldean.
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Remembering The Old Songs:
JOHN O' THE HAZELGREEN [CHILD #293]
by Bob Waltz
(Originally published: Inside Bluegrass, April 2002)
Last month, Lyle gave us a Romeo and Juliet story, in the form of the Silver Dagger variant Katy Dear. Which is convenient, because it gives me the chance to vent about Romeo and Juliet stories.
Did anyone ever stop to think how incredibly dumb those kids were? Confronted with the need to get away from their parents, they concocted this incredibly complicated plan to fake their own deaths and then run away. It was the sort of plan that only a pair of romantic idiots could conceive.
And it got what it deserved. There is an old military maxim, sometimes attributed to Helmuth von Moltke, which says, "No battle plan survives contact with the enemy." Or you may have heard a more "street" version: "Keep it simple, stupid."
Romeo and Juliet's plan was too complex; it depended on an impossible degree of timing. Hence the alleged tragedy.
And so, too, the tragedy of Katy Dear. The guy says, "Ask your parents," and proposes to run away if the parents don't consent. When she says, "It's not so simple," what does he do? Answer her objections? No, kills himself.
The only good news is, at least the elimination of these dimwits improves the average intelligence of the species slightly.
But it's characteristic of the ballads to tell two sides of a story. For every tale with a sad ending, there is one with a happy ending. For Lady Diamond, in which a princess gets pregnant by a commoner and the king kills him, there is Willie o' Winsbury, in which the king spares him. For The Twa Magicians, in which the man uses magic to rape the girl, there is The Broomfield Hill, in which she uses magic to escape. And for The Silver Dagger, or the Scottish Bonnie Susie Cleland in which a father burns his daughter at the stake for wanting to marry the wrong man, there is John of Hazelgreen, in which she and her lover run away (in the original Scottish texts, they flee to England, but that's not really essential to the plot). In other words, instead of acting like they've both been taking overdoses of Stupid Pills, they do the logical thing. Gee, what a concept! (I guess they aren't planning careers as politicians.)
In Folk Revival circles, this song is best known from the rewrite by Sir Walter Scott, Jock o' Hazeldean. But, as Bertrand H. Bronson wrote, this "rather too literary" piece is "surprisingly widespread." He prints no fewer than twenty-eight versions of the song.
What's really amazing is how many of these are from the U. S., where the proper plot of Jock o' Hazeldean makes relatively little sense. But on this side of the water, the song has undergone a transformation. There is a whole family of versions collected in Virginia by Arthur Kyle Davis, in which it's just a song about two lovers reuniting.
I learned this song from the singing of Joan Sprung, and I can't tell with certainty which version from Davis she used (though I gather she did learn it from print); they're quite similar, and Sprung changed the text a little. And her tune doesn't exactly match any of the versions printed in Bronson's Traditional Tunes of the Child Ballads. (Bronson, we should note, patched the Davis transcription, and Sprung apparently worked from the messed-up original.) But it looks to me like Sprung's version is intended to be that of Davis's "A" text (Bronson's "C"), said to be from the singing of "a mountain woman." There isn't much plot left (and even that looks a little cleaned up), but it's a very fun little tune.
It's interesting to compare this with Scott's text:
Why weep ye by the tide, lady?
Why weep ye by the tide ?
I'll wed ye tae my youngest son,
And ye shall be his bride.
And ye shall be his bride, lady,
Sae comely tae be see,
But aye she loot [let] the tears doonfa'
For Jock o' Hazeldean.
Whereupon the father reveals his plan to marry her to "Young Frank," the
chief o' Errington And lord o' Langley dale.
She isn't interested. The song ends like this:
The kirk* was decked at morning tide,
The tapers glimmered fair,
The priest and bridegroom wait the bride,
And dame and knight were there.
They sought her baith by bow'r and ha',
The lady was nae seen;
She's o'er the border and awa'
Wi' Jock o' Hazeldean.
The text below is the full one printed by Bronson; Sprung omitted the next-to-last verse, and I can't say it's much loss.
As I walked out one May morning
Down by the greenwood side,
There I spied a pretty fair maid
And all alone she cried.
"If you go home, it's home with me,
It's home with me to stay.
You may have my oldest son
A husband for to be."
"I neither want your oldest son,
He's neither lord nor king;
For I intend to be the bride of none
But John o' the Hazelgreen."
His arms are long, his shoulders broad,
He's the flower of all his kin;
His hair hangs down like links of gold,
John o' the Hazelgreen.
As she rode down the lengthy road
And drew near to the town,
Out stepped John o' the Hazelgreen
And holp his lady down.
Three times he kissed her ruby lips,
Three times he kissed her chin;
He took her by her lily-white hand
And led his lady in.
"If ever you have forsaken me,
I hope sweet heaven will forsake you,
And send you down to the torment place,
And there forever be."
"If ever I have forsaken you,
The rocks must melt in the sun,
The fire shall freeze to ice,
And the raging sea shall burn. "
* "kirk": church
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293. JOHN OF HAZELGREEN
Texts: Barry, Brit Bids Me, 369 / BFSSNE, III, 9 / Davis, Trd Bid Va, 529 / MLN, XLVI, 304 / Morris, F-S Fla, 482 / Scarborough, Sgctchr So Mts, 225 / SharpK, Eng F-S So Aplcbns, I, 294 / Smith and Rufty, Am Anib Old Wrld JBlds, 62 / SFLQ, XIII, 173 / Va FLS Bull, 4s 3-7, 10.
Local Titles: John (Jack, Jock) o' Hazelgreen, John of (over) Hazelgreen, Willie of Hazel Green.
Story Types: A: A walker discovers a girl crying, and he offers her his eldest son in marriage. However, she refuses, saying that she loves John of Hazelgreen, whom she describes glowingly. She then rides to town and is met by John, who kisses her and promises fidelity. Examples : Davis (A), SharpK.
B : The story is parallel to that of Type A, except that instead of going to town the girl rides home with the walker after she has refused the offer of his son's hand. At the house she is met by her Willie, who conveniently turns out to be the son. Examples: SFSSNE, III, 9.
Discussion: The full story of the ballad as given by Child, V, 160 is as follows:
A gentleman overhears a damsel making moan for Sir John of Hazelgreen. After some compliment on his part, and some slight information on hers, he tells her that Hazelgreen is married; then there is nothing for her to do, she says, but to hold her
peace and die for him. The gentleman proposes that she shall let Hazelgreen go, marry his eldest son, and be made a gay lady 5 she is too mean a maid for that, and, anyway, had rather die for the object of her affection. Still she allows the gentleman to take her up behind him on his horse and to buy clothes for her at Biggar, though all the time dropping tears for Hazelgreen. After shopping they mount again, and at last they come to the gentleman's place, when the son runs out to welcome his father. The son is young Hazelgreen, who takes the maid in his arms and kisses off the still-failing tears. The father declares that the two shall be married the next day, and the young man shall have the family lands.
The Type B version cited here, although obviously a fragment of the same story, does not follow any Child version. The Type A stories are not close to Child's version either and frequently in America appear little more than a maid's lament and a lover's reunion.
The Davis, Trd Bid Fa, 536, J, version has been the subject of some scholarship because of the influence that Scott's Jock of Hazeldean has had upon it. For a discussion of the role played by Scott in the composition of the English text in the light of this Virginia version, see Maurice Kelley's article, MLN, XLVI, 304. Check also Davis, op. cit. 9 529 and Morris, F-S Fla, 482. See BFSSNE, III, 9 where a New Brunswick song that corrupts Scott's poem with lines from the traditional ballad is printed. Scott's poem and its history are fully treated here. There is no clear story to be seen in this fragmentary Canadian version, however.