US/Canada Versions of the BALLAD - Child 76
[This is a title page for the US/Canadian version of the BALLAD of the "Lass of Roch Royal" which is Child 76. The following versions of the ballad are also found on the left hand column (click highlighted title to open):
1) The Lass of Aughrim- From: The English and Scottish Popular Ballads by Francis J. Child; version H, Volume 3: Ballads 54-82; Published June 1885. Taken from Mr. G. C. Mahon, of Ann Arbor, Michigan, as sung by a laborer, at Tyrrelspass, West Meath, Ireland, about 1830.
2) Georgie Jeems- Carlisle (Ark.) c.1912 Randolph G -- Fragment of the older ballad from: Randolph; Ozark Folksongs, Illinois Press, Urbana; 1946 Vol. 1. Sung by Irene Carlisle, Fayetteville, Ark., Dec 9, 1941. She calls it "Georgie Jeems" and learned it from her grandmother about 1912.
3) Fair Annie and Gregory- Haines (WV) 1916 Cox A -- From Folk Songs from the South, John H. Cox; 1925. Contributed by Mrs. J. J. Haines, Parkersburg, Wood County, January 15, 1916, who writes: "I have heard these old ballads sung from my earliest recollection by my grandparents and others.
4) Storms Are on the Ocean- (NC) 1917 Brown A -- From The Brown Collection of NC Folklore, Vol. 2, 1953. Taken down on Buck Hill in Avery county in 1917 from the singing of "an old lady who lived up there and who varied her household duties with work in the mica mill at Plumtree.
5) An Old Love Song- Harris (NC) c.1920 Brown B -- From The Brown Collection of NC Folklore, Vol. 2, 1953. Mrs. Sutton got it from Jim Harris of Caldwell county. This is a version of "The Storms are on the Ocean," which has enough elements of "The Lass of Roch Royal" to be distantly related to the ballad.
6) Sweet Annie of Roch Royal- (WV) 1924 Woofter -- No informant named - Dora, WV. From: Folk Songs of the Southern United States by Josiah Combs 1925, edited Wilgus 1967. Carey Woofter's contributions have come under suspicion from several sources including Wilgus. Probably a ballad recreation based on Cox A (Child D).
7) Who's Goin' to Shoe- Wilcox (VA) 1933 Niles B -- From: The Ballad Book of John Jacob Niles, 1961 version B. Sung by Prez Wilcox; August, 1933, near Marion, Virginia. With Niles, it's impossible to determine if the version is traditional or a ballad recreation.
8) Lass of Roch Royal- Edwards (VT) 1934 Flanders A -- Fragment from Flanders Ancient Ballads, 1966; version A- as recalled by George Edwards as sung by his grandfather of Seaton, East Riding, Yorkshire, England; October 16, 1934.
9) Fair Annie of Lochroyan- Ritchie (KY) 1961 Recording -- 1961 Folkways recording attributed to her Uncle Jason, this appears to be arranged from print.
10) The Lass of Roch Royal- Clark (Ont.) 1962 Fowke -- British Ballads in Ontario by Edith Fowke; Midwest Folklore, Vol. 13, No. 3 (Autumn, 1963), pp. 133-162. Sung by Mrs. Gordon Clark, Richmond, Ontario, 1962.
11) Sweet Annie of Rock Royal- Gardner (WV) 1975 Gainer -- From Folk-Songs from the Virginia Hills, Patrick Gainer, 1975. This is a rewrite (ballad recreation) of his friend Woofter's version which is likely from Cox A (similar to Child D).
Versions 5, 6, 7, 9, and 11 are, in my opinion, ballad recreations and are not traditional. No. 8 is too fragmented to be valuable.
R. Matteson 2015]