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{{short description|Traditional song}}
'''The Lass of Roch Royal''' ([[Roud Folk Song Index|Roud]] 49)is [[Child ballad]] number 76, existing in several variants.<ref>[[Francis James Child]], ''English and Scottish Popular Ballads'', [http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/eng/child/ch076.htm "The Lass of Roch Royal"]</ref><ref name-"RFSI">https://www.vwml.org/search?ts=1487958052489&collectionfilter=RoudFS;RoudBS&advqtext=0|rn|49#record=5</ref>
"'''The Lass of Roch Royal'''" ([[Roud Folk Song Index|Roud]] 49, [[Child Ballads|Child]] 76) is an English-language folk song, existing in several variants.<ref>[[Francis James Child|Child, Francis James]]. ''English and Scottish Popular Ballads'', "The Lass of Roch Royal".</ref><ref name="RFSI">{{Cite web|url=https://www.vwml.org/search?ts=1487958052489&collectionfilter=RoudFS;RoudBS&advqtext=0%7Crn%7C49#record=5|title=Child 76 Variants|website=Vaughan Williams Memorial Library|language=en-gb|access-date=14 February 2018}}</ref>


==Synopsis==
==Synopsis==
Line 6: Line 7:


==Variants==
==Variants==
Alternate titles of "The Lass of Roch Royal" include "Lord Gregory", "Fair Anny", "Oh Open the Door Lord Gregory", "The Lass of Loch Royal" and "Mirk Mirk".
Alternate titles of "The Lass of Roch Royal" include "Lord Gregory", "Fair Anny", "Oh Open the Door Lord Gregory", "The Lass of Loch Royal" "The Lass of Aughrim", and "Mirk Mirk".

⚫
''[[The New-Slain Knight]]'' has, in some variants, verses identical to those of some variants of ''The Lass of Roch Royal'', where the woman laments her baby's lack of a father.


⚫
"[[The New-Slain Knight]]" has, in some variants, verses identical to those of some variants of "The Lass of Roch Royal", where the woman laments her baby's lack of a father.


Also Child ballad number 216 ("[[The Mother's Malison]]") is almost identical to "The Lass of Roch Royal" only in a reversed manner, telling the story of a young man looking for his beloved.
Also Child ballad number 216 ("[[The Mother's Malison]]") is almost identical to "The Lass of Roch Royal" only in a reversed manner, telling the story of a young man looking for his beloved.


==Literary Influences==
==Literary influences==
The [[Northamptonshire]] poet [[John Clare]] wrote a poem "The Maid Of Ocram, Or, Lord Gregory" presumably based on an Irish version of the ballad. Clare was influenced by Gypsy travellers and may have heard folk songs and ballads from them.<ref>https://www.poemhunter.com/best-poems/john-clare/the-maid-of-ocram-or-lord-gregory/</ref><ref>http://www.mustrad.org.uk/reviews/j_clare.htm</ref>
The [[Northamptonshire]] poet [[John Clare]] wrote a poem "The Maid of Ocram, or, Lord Gregory" presumably based on an Irish version of the ballad. Clare was influenced by Gypsy travellers and may have heard folk songs and ballads from them.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.poemhunter.com/best-poems/john-clare/the-maid-of-ocram-or-lord-gregory/|title=The Maid Of Ocram, Or, Lord Gregory|last=Clare|first=John|website=Poem Hunter|date=13 April 2010 |access-date=14 February 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |magazine=Musical Traditions |url=http://www.mustrad.org.uk/reviews/j_clare.htm|title=George Deacon: ''John Clare and the folk tradition'' |last=Stradling |first=Rod |authorlink=Rod Stradling |date=10 October 2002 |access-date=2021-05-08}}</ref>


"The Lass of Aughrim," an [[List of Irish ballads|Irish version]] of "The Lass of Roch Royal," figures prominently in the story [[The Dead (short story)|"The Dead"]] by [[James Joyce]].<ref>[http://www.columbia.edu/itc/english/seidel/joyce/edit/images/general/jom10_11.jpg The Dead]</ref>
"The Lass of Aughrim", an [[List of Irish ballads|Irish version]] of "The Lass of Roch Royal", figures prominently in the story [[The Dead (Joyce short story)|"The Dead"]] by [[James Joyce]], as well as being performed in [[John Huston]]'s 1987 [[The Dead (1987 film)|film adaption]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.columbia.edu/itc/english/seidel/joyce/edit/images/general/jom10_11.jpg|title=The Dead|website=columbia.edu|access-date=18 April 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://studylib.net/doc/8012050/musical-allusions-in-james-joyce_warren.doc|title=An Analysis of the Use of Musical Allusions in James Joyce's ''Dubliners''|last=Warren|first=Lindsey|website=Study Lib|page=7|access-date=14 February 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/the-lass-of-aughrim-performed-in-film-adaptation-of-james-joyce-s-the-dead-1.3046108|title=► VIDEO: 'The Lass of Aughrim' performed in film adaptation of James Joyce's 'The Dead'|newspaper=[[The Irish Times]] }}</ref> It is also sung by [[Susan Lynch]] and [[Ewan McGregor]] in the film [[Nora (2000 film)|Nora]] (2000) where they play [[Nora Barnacle]] and her husband Joyce respectively.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.tcd.ie/irishfilm/showfilm.php?fid=56007 |title=NORA |publisher=Irish Film & TV Research Online |website=www.tcd.ie/irishfilm}}</ref>


==Early Printed Versions==
==Early printed versions==
This ballad was printed as a [[Broadside ballad|broadside ballad]] under the title "The lass of Ocram". J Pitts of Seven Dials, London published it sometime between 1819 and 1844.<ref>http://ballads.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/enwiki/static/images/sheets/05000/04289.gif</ref> It was alos published by Catnach, also of London, and Collard of Bristol.<ref name-"RFSI"></ref>
This ballad was printed as a [[broadside ballad]] under the title "The lass of Ocram". J Pitts of Seven Dials, London published it sometime between 1819 and 1844.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ballads.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/enwiki/static/images/sheets/05000/04289.gif |title=Archived copy |access-date=2017-02-24 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170225131816/http://ballads.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/enwiki/static/images/sheets/05000/04289.gif |archive-date=2017-02-25 }}</ref> It was also published by Catnach, also of London, and Collard of Bristol.<ref name="RFSI" />


==Collected Versions==
==Collected versions==
The Roud Folk Song Index lists 12 versions collected from traditional singers from Scotland, 4 from Ireland, 1 from Canada and a massive 82 from the USA, with 30 from Virginia. However, many of these are based on the "Who's gonna shoe your pretty little foot, who's gonna glove your hand" motif. For example, the version listed for [[Charlie Poole]], entitled "When I'm Far Away" from North Carolina goes as follows:
The Roud Folk Song Index lists 12 versions collected from traditional singers from Scotland, 4 from Ireland, 1 from Canada and a massive 82 from the US, with 30 from Virginia.<ref name="RFSI" /> However, many of these are based on the "Who's gonna shoe your pretty little foot, who's gonna glove your hand" motif. For example, the version listed for [[Charlie Poole]], entitled "When I'm Far Away" from North Carolina goes as follows:<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.jerrydallal.com/poole/When_Im_Far_Away.txt|title=When I'm Far Away|website=Jerry Dallal's Home Page|access-date=14 February 2018}}</ref>
<blockquote>
<blockquote>
Who's gonna smoke the old clay pipe? x3 </br>
Who's gonna smoke the old clay pipe? x3 <br />
When I am far away</br>
When I am far away<br />
</br>
<br />
followed by</br>
followed by<br />
</br>
<br />
Who's gonna be your little man?</br>
Who's gonna be your little man?<br />
</br>
<br />
Who's gonna glove your little hand?</br>
Who's gonna glove your little hand?<br />
</br>
<br />
Who's gonna shoe your little foot?</br>
Who's gonna shoe your little foot?<br />
</br>
<br />
Who's gonna kiss your little lips?<ref>http://www.jerrydallal.com/poole/When_Im_Far_Away.txt</ref></br>
Who's gonna kiss your little lips?<br />
</blockquote>
</blockquote>


There are longer versions, notably Jean Ritchie's "Fair Annie of Lochroyan", which fairly accurately tells the story, ending with a quatrain:
There are longer versions, notably Jean Ritchie's "Fair Annie of Lochroyan", which fairly accurately tells the story, ending with a quatrain:<ref>{{Cite journal|editor-last=Goldstein|editor-first=Kenneth S.|title=Side II, Band 5: Fair Annie of Lochroyan (Child #76)|url=https://media.smithsonianfolkways.org/liner_notes/folkways/FW02301.pdf|journal=British Traditional Ballads in the Southern Mountains|volume=1|pages=8|via=Smithsonian Folkways}}</ref>
<blockquote>
<blockquote>
Then he took out a little dart</br>
Then he took out a little dart<br />
That hung down by his side</br>
That hung down by his side<br />
And thrust it through and through his heart</br>
And thrust it through and through his heart<br />
And then fell down and died.<ref>http://media.smithsonianfolkways.org/liner_notes/folkways/FW02301.pdf</ref></br>
And then fell down and died.<br />
</blockquote>
</blockquote>


==Recordings==
==Recordings==
===Field Recordings===
===Field recordings===
There are recordings of 7 versions on the Tobar an Dualchais/Kist of Riches website - three by Scottish traveller Charlotte Higgins,<ref>http://www.tobarandualchais.co.uk/en/fullrecord/14537/2</ref><ref>http://www.tobarandualchais.co.uk/en/fullrecord/30209/3</ref><ref>http://www.tobarandualchais.co.uk/en/fullrecord/38727/4</ref>, and one each by John McEvoy,<ref>http://www.tobarandualchais.co.uk/en/fullrecord/47979/1</ref> a 13 year old Isla St Clair,<ref>http://www.tobarandualchais.co.uk/en/fullrecord/57242/5</ref> Stanley Robertson<ref>http://www.tobarandualchais.co.uk/en/fullrecord/82624/6</ref> and Cathal O'Connell.<ref>http://www.tobarandualchais.co.uk/en/fullrecord/98967/7</ref>
There are recordings of 7 versions on the [[Tobar an Dualchais – Kist o Riches|Tobar an Dualchais/Kist of Riches]] website—three by Scottish traveller Charlotte Higgins,<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.tobarandualchais.co.uk/en/fullrecord/14537/2|title=Lord Gregory|work=Tobar an Dualchais|access-date=14 February 2018|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.tobarandualchais.co.uk/en/fullrecord/30209/3|title=Lord Gregory|work=Tobar an Dualchais|access-date=14 February 2018|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.tobarandualchais.co.uk/en/fullrecord/38727/4|title=Lord Gregory|work=Tobar an Dualchais|access-date=14 February 2018|language=en}}</ref> and one each by John McEvoy,<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.tobarandualchais.co.uk/en/fullrecord/47979/1|title=The Lass of Roch Royal|work=Tobar an Dualchais|access-date=14 February 2018|language=en}}</ref> a 13-year-old [[Isla St Clair]],<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.tobarandualchais.co.uk/en/fullrecord/57242/5|title=Lord Gregory|work=Tobar an Dualchais|access-date=14 February 2018|language=en}}</ref> [[Stanley Robertson (folk singer)|Stanley Robertson]]<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.tobarandualchais.co.uk/en/fullrecord/82624/6|title=Lord Gregory|work=Tobar an Dualchais|access-date=14 February 2018|language=en}}</ref> and Cathal O'Connell.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.tobarandualchais.co.uk/en/fullrecord/98967/7|title=Lord Gregory|work=Tobar an Dualchais|access-date=14 February 2018|language=en}}</ref>


There is a version by Irish singer Elizabeth Cronin on the Cultural Equity website.<ref>http://research.culturalequity.org/rc-b2/get-audio-detailed-recording.do?recordingId=7364</ref><ref>http://research.culturalequity.org/rc-b2/get-audio-detailed-recording.do?recordingId=7366</ref>
There is a version by Irish singer [[Elizabeth Cronin]] on the Cultural Equity website.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Lord Gregory (part 1) {{!}} Lomax Digital Archive|url=https://archive.culturalequity.org/node/56341|access-date=2021-11-10|website=archive.culturalequity.org|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Lord Gregory (part 2) {{!}} Lomax Digital Archive|url=https://archive.culturalequity.org/node/56343|access-date=2021-11-10|website=archive.culturalequity.org|language=en}}</ref>


===Recordings by Revival Singers and Groups===
===Recordings by revival singers and groups===
*"Fair Annie of Lochroyan" on ''British Traditional Ballads in the Southern Mountains, Volume 1''; performed by [[Jean Ritchie]] (1960)
⚫
*"Lord Gregory" on [[The Corrie Folk Trio and Paddie Bell]] by [[The Corries]] (1965)
*"Lass of Loch Royal" on ''Who's Going To Shoe Your Pretty Little Foot? Who's Going To Glove Your Hand'' by Peggy Seeger & Tom Paley with Claudia Paley (1964) (Topic 12T113)
⚫
*"Lord Gregory" on [[Fifth Album (Judy Collins album)|Fifth Album]] by [[Judy Collins]] (1965)
⚫
*"Lord Gregory" on ''[[The Corrie Folk Trio and Paddie Bell]]'' by [[The Corries]] (1965)
⚫
*"Lord Gregory" on ''[[Fifth Album (Judy Collins album)|Fifth Album]]'' by [[Judy Collins]] (1965)
*"Anne of Lochroyan", by [[Isla St Clair]], recorded 1971 ([[Tangent Records]])
*"Anne of Lochroyan", by [[Isla St Clair]], recorded 1971 ([[Tangent Records]])
*"Lass of Loch Royal" on [[Silly Sisters (album)|Silly Sisters]] by [[Silly Sisters (band)|Silly Sisters]] (1976)
*"Lass of Loch Royal" on ''[[Silly Sisters (album)|Silly Sisters]]'' by [[Silly Sisters (band)|Silly Sisters]] (1976)
*"Lord Gregory" on [[Peat Fire Flame]] by [[The Corries]] (1977)
*"Lord Gregory" on ''[[Peat Fire Flame]]'' by [[The Corries]] (1977)
*"Lass of Lochroyan" on [[New Directions in the Old]] by [[Roy Bailey (folk singer)|Roy Bailey]] (1997),
*"Lass of Lochroyan" on ''[[New Directions in the Old]]'' by [[Roy Bailey (folk singer)|Roy Bailey]] (1997)
*"Lord Gregory" on "Crook of My Arm" by [[Alasdair Roberts (musician)|Alasdair Roberts]] (2001)
*"Lord Gregory" on ''[[Restless Home]]'' by [[Orion (band)|Orion]] (1998)
*"Lord Gregory" on [[Bloody Men (album)|Bloody Men]] by [[Steeleye Span]] (2006)
*"Lord Gregory" on [[The Dark Ages EP]] by [[Equation (band)|Equation]] (2000)
*"Lord Gregory" on [[The Dark Ages EP (album)|The Dark Ages EP]] by [[Equation (band)|Equation]] (2000)
*"Lord Gregory" on ''Crook of My Arm'' by [[Alasdair Roberts (musician)|Alasdair Roberts]] (2001)
*"Fair Annie of Lochroyan" on "British Traditional Ballads in the Southern Mountains, Volume 1"; performed by [[Jean Ritchie]], (1960)
*"Anne of Lochroyan" on ''Looking at the Stars'' by [[Vikki Clayton]] (2001)
*"Lord Gregory" on ''[[Bloody Men (album)|Bloody Men]]'' by [[Steeleye Span]] (2006)
*"The Lass of Aughrim" on ''Echos of Home The Solo Piano of Phil Coulter'' by [[Phil Coulter]] (2014)
*"Fair Annie of Lochroyan" on ''Silver Came'' by [[Burd Ellen]] (2019)
*"Lord Gregory" on ''[[The Outlander (Jim Moray album)|The Outlander]]'' by [[Jim Moray]] and [[Josienne Clarke]] (2019)
*"Lord Gregory" on '' Nine Waves '' by [[Ye Vagabonds]] (2022)


==See also==
==See also==
Line 68: Line 75:


==References==
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{Reflist}}


==External links==
==External links==
*[http://www.contemplator.com/child/gregory.html ''Lord Gregory'']
*[http://www.contemplator.com/child/gregory.html ''Lord Gregory'']
*Aytoun, Ballads of Scotland, (1858): https://archive.org/details/balladsofscotlan01ayto
*Aytoun, Ballads of Scotland, (1858): [https://archive.org/details/balladsofscotlan01ayto The ballads of Scotland]
*Jamieson, Popular Ballads & Songs (1806): https://archive.org/details/popularballadsa06jamigoog
*Jamieson, Popular Ballads & Songs (1806): [https://archive.org/details/popularballadsa06jamigoog Popular ballads and songs, from tradition, manuscripts, and scarce editions];
*Bell, Early Ballads, (1861): https://archive.org/details/earlyballadsillu00bellrich
*Bell, Early Ballads, (1861): [https://archive.org/details/earlyballadsillu00bellrich Early ballads illustrative of history, traditions and customs]


{{Francis James Child}}
{{Francis James Child}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lass Of Roch Royal}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lass Of Roch Royal}}
[[Category:Child Ballads]]
[[Category:Child Ballads]]


{{Folk-song-stub}}

Latest revision as of 02:45, 5 September 2024

"The Lass of Roch Royal" (Roud 49, Child 76) is an English-language folk song, existing in several variants.[1][2]

Synopsis

[edit]

A woman comes to Gregory's castle, pleading to be let in; she is either pregnant or with a newborn son. His mother turns her away; sometimes she tells her that he went to sea, and she goes to follow him and dies in shipwreck. Gregory wakes and says he dreamed of her. He chases her, finds her body, and dies.

Variants

[edit]

Alternate titles of "The Lass of Roch Royal" include "Lord Gregory", "Fair Anny", "Oh Open the Door Lord Gregory", "The Lass of Loch Royal" "The Lass of Aughrim", and "Mirk Mirk".

"The New-Slain Knight" has, in some variants, verses identical to those of some variants of "The Lass of Roch Royal", where the woman laments her baby's lack of a father.

Also Child ballad number 216 ("The Mother's Malison") is almost identical to "The Lass of Roch Royal" only in a reversed manner, telling the story of a young man looking for his beloved.

Literary influences

[edit]

The Northamptonshire poet John Clare wrote a poem "The Maid of Ocram, or, Lord Gregory" presumably based on an Irish version of the ballad. Clare was influenced by Gypsy travellers and may have heard folk songs and ballads from them.[3][4]

"The Lass of Aughrim", an Irish version of "The Lass of Roch Royal", figures prominently in the story "The Dead" by James Joyce, as well as being performed in John Huston's 1987 film adaption.[5][6][7] It is also sung by Susan Lynch and Ewan McGregor in the film Nora (2000) where they play Nora Barnacle and her husband Joyce respectively.[8]

Early printed versions

[edit]

This ballad was printed as a broadside ballad under the title "The lass of Ocram". J Pitts of Seven Dials, London published it sometime between 1819 and 1844.[9] It was also published by Catnach, also of London, and Collard of Bristol.[2]

Collected versions

[edit]

The Roud Folk Song Index lists 12 versions collected from traditional singers from Scotland, 4 from Ireland, 1 from Canada and a massive 82 from the US, with 30 from Virginia.[2] However, many of these are based on the "Who's gonna shoe your pretty little foot, who's gonna glove your hand" motif. For example, the version listed for Charlie Poole, entitled "When I'm Far Away" from North Carolina goes as follows:[10]

Who's gonna smoke the old clay pipe? x3
When I am far away

followed by

Who's gonna be your little man?

Who's gonna glove your little hand?

Who's gonna shoe your little foot?

Who's gonna kiss your little lips?

There are longer versions, notably Jean Ritchie's "Fair Annie of Lochroyan", which fairly accurately tells the story, ending with a quatrain:[11]

Then he took out a little dart
That hung down by his side
And thrust it through and through his heart
And then fell down and died.

Recordings

[edit]

Field recordings

[edit]

There are recordings of 7 versions on the Tobar an Dualchais/Kist of Riches website—three by Scottish traveller Charlotte Higgins,[12][13][14] and one each by John McEvoy,[15] a 13-year-old Isla St Clair,[16] Stanley Robertson[17] and Cathal O'Connell.[18]

There is a version by Irish singer Elizabeth Cronin on the Cultural Equity website.[19][20]

Recordings by revival singers and groups

[edit]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Child, Francis James. English and Scottish Popular Ballads, "The Lass of Roch Royal".
  2. ^ a b c "Child 76 Variants". Vaughan Williams Memorial Library. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
  3. ^ Clare, John (13 April 2010). "The Maid Of Ocram, Or, Lord Gregory". Poem Hunter. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
  4. ^ Stradling, Rod (10 October 2002). "George Deacon: John Clare and the folk tradition". Musical Traditions. Retrieved 2021-05-08.
  5. ^ "The Dead". columbia.edu. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
  6. ^ Warren, Lindsey. "An Analysis of the Use of Musical Allusions in James Joyce's Dubliners". Study Lib. p. 7. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
  7. ^ "► VIDEO: 'The Lass of Aughrim' performed in film adaptation of James Joyce's 'The Dead'". The Irish Times.
  8. ^ "NORA". www.tcd.ie/irishfilm. Irish Film & TV Research Online.
  9. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2017-02-25. Retrieved 2017-02-24.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  10. ^ "When I'm Far Away". Jerry Dallal's Home Page. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
  11. ^ Goldstein, Kenneth S. (ed.). "Side II, Band 5: Fair Annie of Lochroyan (Child #76)" (PDF). British Traditional Ballads in the Southern Mountains. 1: 8 – via Smithsonian Folkways.
  12. ^ "Lord Gregory". Tobar an Dualchais. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
  13. ^ "Lord Gregory". Tobar an Dualchais. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
  14. ^ "Lord Gregory". Tobar an Dualchais. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
  15. ^ "The Lass of Roch Royal". Tobar an Dualchais. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
  16. ^ "Lord Gregory". Tobar an Dualchais. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
  17. ^ "Lord Gregory". Tobar an Dualchais. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
  18. ^ "Lord Gregory". Tobar an Dualchais. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
  19. ^ "Lord Gregory (part 1) | Lomax Digital Archive". archive.culturalequity.org. Retrieved 2021-11-10.
  20. ^ "Lord Gregory (part 2) | Lomax Digital Archive". archive.culturalequity.org. Retrieved 2021-11-10.
[edit]
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