| Author | Topic: Add: Faithful Emma | |
| dmcg | Posted - 29 Sep 07 - 11:50 am | |
The lambs they skip with pleasure, And the meadows are so green One of the finest mountains That ever eyes have seen. There's fine hunting, fine fishing, And fine fowling also On the top of yonder mountain Where the finest flowers grow. On the top of yonder mountain There my true love's castle stands It is deck-ed up with ivy From the top down to the strands. There's fine arches, fine porches, And there diamond stones so bright, It's a pilot for the sailors On a dark and stormy night. At the bottom of the mountain There's a river runs so clear, And a ship from the West Indies Once lay at anchor there; With a red flag a-flying And the beating of a drum Sweet instruments of music, And the firing of a gun * * * * * * If little Mary had proved faithful She might have been my bride, But her mind it was more fickle Than the rain upon the tide, Like a sjip upon the ocean That is tossed to and fro, May the angels now direct her Wherever she may go! Source: Broadwood, L, 1893, English County Songs, London, Leadenhall Press Notes: From Sussex. Lucy Broadwood wrote:
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| jeff | Posted - 04 Oct 07 - 02:44 pm | |
The 2nd and 3rd verses are (more or less) what I sing as part of "The streams of lovely Nancy". My words for v.2 are :- "On yonder high mountain a castle does stand./ It's build-ed of ivory from the diamond's black strand,/ Fine porches, fine arches, and the diamonds so bright,/ It's a pilot for sailors on a dark stormy night." I have heard the last verse given here sung as part of "The streams of lovely Nancy", which is not as obscure a song as one might think (at least not to me). However, I now wonder if the story I thought I could discern in "Streams of Nancy" is incomplete, and is indeed only part of a longer ballad involving a "Faithful Emma". I don't have access to any sources right now. Purely for my own interest - does any know who collected "The streams of lovely Nancy", and was it perchance in Cornwall ? | ||
| Malcolm Douglas |
Posted - 04 Oct 07 - 05:24 pm | |
See the database entry for this song, where you will find a link to a preset search of the online Roud Folk Song Index, which classes Faithful Emma' under Roud number 18820: that is, 'Streamers' / 'Green Mountain'. This group is closely related to the 'Streams of Lovely Nancy' group (Roud 688) and shares material with it. It's usefully considered as separate though related; some singers actually knew both songs. I don't think there are any examples that are much more coherent than this one, though; at least not sufficiently to provide much of a clue as to what is actually going on. These songs are further related to all sorts of things, like 'Bonny Udny', 'Bonny Portmore', 'The Boys of Kilkenny', 'Yarmouth is a Pretty Town' and various others which, at one time or another, have drawn on the same stock of material. Various explanations have been suggested (some quite arcane), but the jury is still out. The subject requires a lot more work as things stand, but it won't be me that does it. | ||