| Author | Topic: Add: A Maiden Sat A-Weeping | |
| Jon Freeman | Posted - 28 Oct 02 - 04:40 pm | |
A Maiden Sat A-Weeping A maiden sat a-weeping Down by the sea shore, What ails my pretty mistress? What ails my pretty mistress? And makes her heart sore! Because I am a-weary, A weary in mind, No comfort, and no pleasure, love, No comfort, and no pleasure, love, Henceforth can I find. I'll spread my sail of silver, I'll lose my rope of silk, My mast is of the cypress-tree, My mast is of the cypress tree, My track is as milk. I'll spread my sail of silver I'll steer toward the sun And thou, false love wilt weep for me, And thou, false love wilt weep for me, For me - when I am gone. Source: Songs Of The West, S Baring Gould Notes: Baring Gould notes: Word and melody from James Parsons. Again, from Will Aggett, Chagford, In our opinion, a delicately beautiful song. The tune is probably of the siteenth century. %%scale 1 X:1 T:A Maiden Sat A-Weeping B:Songs Of The West, S Baring Gould S:Taken down from James Parsons F:/songs Q:1/4=80 M:3/4 L:1/8 K:F (DF)|A2A2B3/2 A/2|(AF) D2A2|F2D2(FG)|A4d2|c3B c d|(Ac) c2B2|A3G A B|(FA) A2(FG)|A2F2G F|(ED) ^C2A2|(F2G) F E2|D4|] w:A_ mai-den sat a-wee_ping Down by the sea_ shore, What ails my pre-tty mis_tress?, What ails my pret-ty mis_tress? What_ ails my pret-ty mis_tress And makes_ her heart sore! | ||
| Jon Freeman | Posted - 28 Oct 02 - 04:54 pm | |
Just adding a note: In the music, lines such as "What ails my pretty mistress?" are repeated 3 times. In the lyrics, they are only shown as 2 repeats. I assume this is an error in the book. Jon | ||
| Malcolm Douglas |
Posted - 28 Oct 02 - 05:48 pm | |
Roud 170. Baring Gould seems to have edited this text a little. James Reeves (The Everlasting Circle, 1960) quotes from the original MS notes as follows: The Forsaken Maiden A maiden sat a-weeping Down by the sea-shore. What ails my pretty Sally, What ails my pretty Sally And makes her heart sore? Because I am a-weary A-weary in my mind. No comfort and no pleasure, No comfort and no pleasure Henceforth can I find. I'll spread my sail of silver, I'll loose my rope of silk. My mast is of the cypress tree, My mast is of the cypress tree My track is white as milk. I'll spread my sail of silver, I'll steer toward the sun, And thou, false love, will weep for me, And thou, false love, will weep for me, For me when I'm gone. The heroine appears in other versions variously as Sally, Sylvie, and Sylvia. It should be noted that the editors of the Penguin Book of English Folk Songs used James Parsons' final verse, somewhat re-cast, to end their collated set, published as As Sylvie Was Walking. I can't speak for Baring Gould's tune, but the melody used for most of the other versions seems first to have appeared in print in Charles Coffey's ballad-opera The Beggar's Wedding (1729) as Once I Had a Sweet-Heart, though set to other words. For a broadside example at Bodleian Library Broadside Ballads, see: Bunch of green ribbons Firth c.18(28), printer and date unknown. | ||
| IanC | Posted - 29 Oct 02 - 11:25 am | |
It may be worth noting the resemblance between the first verse of this song and the children's game song "Poor Jenny sits a-weeping", current in East Anglia (and probably most other parts of Britain) until at least the 1970s. :-) | ||
| Jon Freeman | Posted - 29 Oct 02 - 03:49 pm | |
I can't find that in "100 Singing Games Old New & Adapted" (a second hand book I bought a month or so ago). I wonder if Dave has it in his book. Jon | ||
| IanC | Posted - 29 Oct 02 - 05:21 pm | |
From memory, something like ... Poor Jenny sits a-weeping, a-weeping, a-weeping, Poor Jenny sits a weeping, all by the sea shore. Oh, why is she a-weeping, a-weeping, a-weeping, Oh, why is she a-weeping, all by the sea shore. She's weeping for her true love, her true love, her true love, She's weeping for her true love, all by the sea shore. So, Jenny, pick a true love, a true love, a true love, So Jenny, pick a true love, go weeping no more. I think the game's fairly obvious. :-) | ||
| dmcg | Posted - 29 Oct 02 - 06:29 pm | |
Thats well remembered, IanC! It is in "The Singing Game" by Peter and Iona Opie. I will make a database entry for it after I've had my tea (well, maybe tomorrow). The entry takes nearly 5 pages and includes the tune, lyrics and the description of the game, plus about a page of references. It is also known as Poor Mary, and Sweet Jenny. | ||
| dmcg | Posted - 29 Oct 02 - 07:03 pm | |
Here is the Poor Jenny database entry. | ||
| IanC | Posted - 30 Oct 02 - 10:00 am | |
DMcG When you publish your masterwork, you can take the above version as having been collected from me. 48-y-o Cambridgeshire (originally) male, from memory of primary school games until the age of 11. ;-) | ||
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