More Folk Songs from Lincolnshire by Patrick O'ShaughnessyReview by: Margaret HamerFolk Music Journal, Vol. 2, No. 2 (1971), pp. 151-152Published by: English Folk Dance + Song SocietyStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4521883 .

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the folk we find no fewer than seven good "Cruel Mothers", one of whom acts out her lugubrious drama "in the green woods of Borneo" (of course, a mishearing of "so bonny o"). There is a nice complete "Unquiet Grave", and four sets of "Lamkin", one of them twenty verses long but with no dead wood. Also two good "Grey Cock" tunes, the first one with an unusual Lydian inflection. Hopes are raised by the presence of "The Streams of Lovely Nancy" in the Contents-list; are we at last, from far-off Newfoundland, to receive a version that will restore order to what we have hitherto only known as a picturesquely chaotic and unfathomable song? Alas, New- foundland singers reproduce the same cryptic jumble as our per- formers, and the song still remains obscure, veiled and quite irresistible.

It's an interesting reflection on the character of the modem folk song revival that certain songs almost, or entirely, unknown in print have a fair currency through the folk song clubs. Two such rarities appearing here are "The Bloody Gardener", which circulates in a form reasonably close to the Newfoundland one, and "When a Man's in Love" (here called "A Man in Love"), which our club singers know in a rather hand- somer version than that offered by Miss Karpeles. So far as I know neither of these songs has appeared in any British printed collection, though "When a Man's in Love" has become well-known through the efforts of Paddy Tunney.

Expensive as the book is, it is not entirely free from misprints. We even get, in bold capitals, a reference to the Appalachian collector SGARP. Still, it's full of fine songs, and it's a monument to the diligence and intrepidity of a folk song pioneer whose fruitful work is by no means over yet, praise be. If you can't afford it, agitate your local library to get it. It's a valuable collection,

the folk we find no fewer than seven good "Cruel Mothers", one of whom acts out her lugubrious drama "in the green woods of Borneo" (of course, a mishearing of "so bonny o"). There is a nice complete "Unquiet Grave", and four sets of "Lamkin", one of them twenty verses long but with no dead wood. Also two good "Grey Cock" tunes, the first one with an unusual Lydian inflection. Hopes are raised by the presence of "The Streams of Lovely Nancy" in the Contents-list; are we at last, from far-off Newfoundland, to receive a version that will restore order to what we have hitherto only known as a picturesquely chaotic and unfathomable song? Alas, New- foundland singers reproduce the same cryptic jumble as our per- formers, and the song still remains obscure, veiled and quite irresistible.

It's an interesting reflection on the character of the modem folk song revival that certain songs almost, or entirely, unknown in print have a fair currency through the folk song clubs. Two such rarities appearing here are "The Bloody Gardener", which circulates in a form reasonably close to the Newfoundland one, and "When a Man's in Love" (here called "A Man in Love"), which our club singers know in a rather hand- somer version than that offered by Miss Karpeles. So far as I know neither of these songs has appeared in any British printed collection, though "When a Man's in Love" has become well-known through the efforts of Paddy Tunney.

Expensive as the book is, it is not entirely free from misprints. We even get, in bold capitals, a reference to the Appalachian collector SGARP. Still, it's full of fine songs, and it's a monument to the diligence and intrepidity of a folk song pioneer whose fruitful work is by no means over yet, praise be. If you can't afford it, agitate your local library to get it. It's a valuable collection,

full of glowing pleasures. A. L. LLOYD

full of glowing pleasures. A. L. LLOYD

More Folk Songs from Lincolnshire Ed. PATRICK O'SHAUGHNESSY. Oxford University Press in con-

junction with the Lincolnshire. Association, 1971, vii+63 pp. 75p It has been a privilege to review

this book, particularly as two of the singers from whom the songs were collected are personally known to me. They also feature in the book designed to be a successor to Garners Gay. It is a coincidence that two people should have had the thought, almost simultaneously, of publicising Lincolnshire songs, even though the publication dates do not coincide. As Mr O'Shaughnessy states in his Introduction, this book, following his earlier one from Percy Grainger's Collection, now makes sure that there is a readily available selection of songs from this area.

The book follows a pattern similar to that of its predecessor. It has an Introduction plus 63 pages, made up of 15 songs (pp. 1-29), extensive notes on each song (pp. 30-59) and a very full bibliography (pp. 60-63). The notes include the singer's name, the locality of the song, the original key if an alteration has been made, the background story of each song, relevant information on any variants and an almost too full list of other published versions. Perhaps this moved Mr O'Shaughnessy to state in the Introduction that these lists are not guaranteed to be exhaustive. He certainly omitted Garners Gay as another source of a version of "The Derby Ram".

The choice of songs is varied, ranging from the classic ballad to sea songs, custom and ritual, and nursery songs. It seems debatable whether to include those songs which have so many other versions in print. What have they to justify their in- clusion in this comparatively small

More Folk Songs from Lincolnshire Ed. PATRICK O'SHAUGHNESSY. Oxford University Press in con-

junction with the Lincolnshire. Association, 1971, vii+63 pp. 75p It has been a privilege to review

this book, particularly as two of the singers from whom the songs were collected are personally known to me. They also feature in the book designed to be a successor to Garners Gay. It is a coincidence that two people should have had the thought, almost simultaneously, of publicising Lincolnshire songs, even though the publication dates do not coincide. As Mr O'Shaughnessy states in his Introduction, this book, following his earlier one from Percy Grainger's Collection, now makes sure that there is a readily available selection of songs from this area.

The book follows a pattern similar to that of its predecessor. It has an Introduction plus 63 pages, made up of 15 songs (pp. 1-29), extensive notes on each song (pp. 30-59) and a very full bibliography (pp. 60-63). The notes include the singer's name, the locality of the song, the original key if an alteration has been made, the background story of each song, relevant information on any variants and an almost too full list of other published versions. Perhaps this moved Mr O'Shaughnessy to state in the Introduction that these lists are not guaranteed to be exhaustive. He certainly omitted Garners Gay as another source of a version of "The Derby Ram".

The choice of songs is varied, ranging from the classic ballad to sea songs, custom and ritual, and nursery songs. It seems debatable whether to include those songs which have so many other versions in print. What have they to justify their in- clusion in this comparatively small

151 151

This content downloaded from 195.34.79.195 on Tue, 10 Jun 2014 22:36:17 PMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

collection? Or was the original field of choice so small? Historically it may be important to show the existence of these songs in this particular part of the country. "John Barleycorn" as part of the Haxey Hood Game is of value and interest; the same applies to the "Lusby" Plough Play Trio and "The Derby Ram". This latter version, however, has a somewhat suspect origin, in spite of the interpretation of a Lincolnshire folk song adopted by the Editor (Introduction, p. iv, para. 5). It seems a pity to have to resort to such marginal methods, even though the version is a good one.

The majority of the songs seem to belong to the northern part of the county. The exceptions are "The Derby Ram" and two songs from Bourne-the latter being a result of Cecil Sharp's fleeting visit to Lincoln- shire. Even so, one of these had its true origin in Northamptonshire. Many readers will be interested in the Joseph Taylor songs.

To me, it is a disadvantage not to have simple information regarding the origin of each song alongside it. Perhaps Mr O'Shaughnessy is more interested in scholarship than in personalities. Musically, the songs are presented meticulously. All vari- ants in tune for separate stanzas are reproduced, and further help is provided for the singer by giving stresses and note-values in each verse for most of the songs. This could initiate the question whether singers are expected to keep rigidly to this interpretation or are they to be allowed to interpret in their own personal way ?

I can admire and commend the patient research which has gone into the book, but at this price for so few songs I fear it will not be a sufficient encouragement to popularise the singing of Lincolnshire songs in the folk song world.

MARGARET HAMER

152

collection? Or was the original field of choice so small? Historically it may be important to show the existence of these songs in this particular part of the country. "John Barleycorn" as part of the Haxey Hood Game is of value and interest; the same applies to the "Lusby" Plough Play Trio and "The Derby Ram". This latter version, however, has a somewhat suspect origin, in spite of the interpretation of a Lincolnshire folk song adopted by the Editor (Introduction, p. iv, para. 5). It seems a pity to have to resort to such marginal methods, even though the version is a good one.

The majority of the songs seem to belong to the northern part of the county. The exceptions are "The Derby Ram" and two songs from Bourne-the latter being a result of Cecil Sharp's fleeting visit to Lincoln- shire. Even so, one of these had its true origin in Northamptonshire. Many readers will be interested in the Joseph Taylor songs.

To me, it is a disadvantage not to have simple information regarding the origin of each song alongside it. Perhaps Mr O'Shaughnessy is more interested in scholarship than in personalities. Musically, the songs are presented meticulously. All vari- ants in tune for separate stanzas are reproduced, and further help is provided for the singer by giving stresses and note-values in each verse for most of the songs. This could initiate the question whether singers are expected to keep rigidly to this interpretation or are they to be allowed to interpret in their own personal way ?

I can admire and commend the patient research which has gone into the book, but at this price for so few songs I fear it will not be a sufficient encouragement to popularise the singing of Lincolnshire songs in the folk song world.

MARGARET HAMER

152

Sabine Baring-Gould: Squarson, Writer and Folklorist, 1834-1924 By BICKFORD H. C. DICKINSON. David & Charles, Newton Abbot, 1970, 191 pp., £2.50. Thirteen years ago-in 1957-was

published Onward Christian Soldier, a life of Sabine Baring-Gould, Parson, Squire, Novelist, Antiquary, by William Purcell-and now we have this second "life" by one of his successors as rector of Lew Tren- chard. Truly he has been well served, and rightly so, for Sabine Baring- Gould was almost a legendary figure, even during his own lifetime.

It is a curious fact that the Church of England during the Victorian era produced many distinguished clerics, most of them Incumbents of country parishes, who were also antiquaries, botanists, lepidopterists, musicians, novelists, poets, artists, and so forth -and Baring-Gould, a magpie- minded man of astonishingly wide interests, was undoubtedly in the forefront of such. Many of these were also eccentric scholars who made a vivid and lasting impression on those with whom they came in contact- and again Baring-Gould was no exception.

His four hymns, of which "Onward Christian Soldiers" is the most famous, were composed while he was curate of the mission at Horbury Brig, Yorkshire, between 1864 and 1867. In addition to these, he wrote more than 130 songs and sired 15 children! The variety of his literary work beggars description. His output over some 70 years (he was 90 when he died) included a Puseyite de- votional manual and several volumes of sermons, as well as a biography of R. S. Hawker, a guide to Devon- shire, many travel books ranging from Iceland to Provence, studies in archaeology and folklore, his- tories of the Anglo-Catholic move- ment and of the Evangelical Party in the Church of England, and two volumes of reminiscences.

Sabine Baring-Gould: Squarson, Writer and Folklorist, 1834-1924 By BICKFORD H. C. DICKINSON. David & Charles, Newton Abbot, 1970, 191 pp., £2.50. Thirteen years ago-in 1957-was

published Onward Christian Soldier, a life of Sabine Baring-Gould, Parson, Squire, Novelist, Antiquary, by William Purcell-and now we have this second "life" by one of his successors as rector of Lew Tren- chard. Truly he has been well served, and rightly so, for Sabine Baring- Gould was almost a legendary figure, even during his own lifetime.

It is a curious fact that the Church of England during the Victorian era produced many distinguished clerics, most of them Incumbents of country parishes, who were also antiquaries, botanists, lepidopterists, musicians, novelists, poets, artists, and so forth -and Baring-Gould, a magpie- minded man of astonishingly wide interests, was undoubtedly in the forefront of such. Many of these were also eccentric scholars who made a vivid and lasting impression on those with whom they came in contact- and again Baring-Gould was no exception.

His four hymns, of which "Onward Christian Soldiers" is the most famous, were composed while he was curate of the mission at Horbury Brig, Yorkshire, between 1864 and 1867. In addition to these, he wrote more than 130 songs and sired 15 children! The variety of his literary work beggars description. His output over some 70 years (he was 90 when he died) included a Puseyite de- votional manual and several volumes of sermons, as well as a biography of R. S. Hawker, a guide to Devon- shire, many travel books ranging from Iceland to Provence, studies in archaeology and folklore, his- tories of the Anglo-Catholic move- ment and of the Evangelical Party in the Church of England, and two volumes of reminiscences.

This content downloaded from 195.34.79.195 on Tue, 10 Jun 2014 22:36:17 PMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions