Nearly five years ago, I had my first in depth experience diving into music history with my late mentor Joan Crane. This new record "Folk Songs For Old Time's Sake" is a culmination of what she taught me, and harbors mostly traditional material revisited and rearranged that Joan inspired in me. Some of the songs are by pioneers such as Elizabeth Cotten, The Carter Family, Mississippi John Hurt and Jimmie Rodgers, with the mindset of preserving their legacy and exposing their history to my generation and its successors. After starting the music history podcast "American Songcatcher", my desire for preservation has become a mission, and inside the liner notes of the limited edition vinyl gatefold resides a summary of the song or artists history behind the 14 tracks. This installment is the first of many to come honoring the legacy of American roots music.
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First documented in a 1660 diary entry in London, England, and known under titles such as "Barbara Allen", "Bonnie Barbara Ellen" and "Barbrous Ellen", this traditional Scottish ballad is considered by far and away the most widely collected in the English language- equally popular in England, Scotland and Ireland, and with hundreds of versions collected in North America. The story of the song tells of a young man named William who, while on his deathbed, calls out Barbara’s name and sends a servant to ask if she would tend to him. She takes her time, and when arriving at his bedside, she coldly says “young man I think you’re dying”. William then pleads for her love, but Barbara refuses because he had given a toast to a group of women at a local tavern with his friends, and in turn slighted her. William died shortly after, and on her way home, she hears the mournful strokes of a death bell for him, and immediately regrets her judgement, and an overwhelming grief causes her to die shortly thereafter. It didn’t take long for variations of the lyrics to soften the tone and state that they were buried side-by-side at the same church, that a rose grew from his grave, a briar from hers, and they grew to form a true lovers' knot. Today in America, the song remains our best known ballad, having been recorded more than three hundred times in the US, and over 500 times worldwide. It’s been covered by Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Cisco Houston, The Everly Brothers, Dolly Parton, Art Garfunkel, Burl Ives, The New Lost City Ramblers, and Pete Seeger to name a few. This version is inspired by Jean Ritchie's, who sang it in a minor key by way of the traditions in her home town of Viper, Kentucky.
lyrics
Twas in the merry month of May
When flowers were a-bloomin',
Sweet William on his deathbed lay
For love of Barbry Allen.
So he sent his servant to Scarlett town,
To the place where she was dwellin',
Saying, "You must come to my master, dear
If your name be Barbry Allen."
So slowly slowly she got up,
And slowly came beside him,
And all she said when she got there,
"Young man, I think you're dyin'."
So he turned his face unto the wall
And death was coming for him
"Goodbye, goodbye to my friends and all
Be good to Barbry Allen"
And when he died and laid the in grave
She heard those death bells callin
And every stroke to her did say
Why oh why Barbry Allen.
Oh mother, mother dig my grave
Make it long and narrow,
Sweet William died of love for me
And I will die of sorrow.
He was buried in the old churchyard
And soon she was laid beside him,
Above Sweet William there grew a rose
And out of hers a briar.
They grew and grew in the old churchyard
Till they could grow no higher
Then they formed a true lover's knot
The rose around the briar.
credits
from Folk Songs For Old Times' Sake,
released November 2, 2021
Nicholas Williams - Guitar, Vocals
Gordon Inman - Clarinet
Cody Ray - Lap Steel
Host of the music history podcast
"American Songcatcher", Nicholas is a 37 year-old multi-instrumentalist and
storyteller who is dedicated to playing it forward by preserving the songs and styles that have shaped America: ragtime, Piedmont blues, traditional folk, old time and early country. He's opened for Taj Mahal and The Wood Brothers.
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