As I roved out; 1

As I was standing it was produced by Riverside Radio City and Ray grant from the National Association of educational broadcasters. When I was a little girl singing with the family on our front porch summer evenings. I used to wonder whether the people in the happenings in our old time songs were real. Beautiful ladies always live in castles. When I had never seen a castle. Logs and frame houses sitting about dirt roads that was the main kind of building in and around Viper Kentucky. And I used to wonder things like well just what does a ship look like and could a man really die for love alone. Why did so many of our songs talk about London Town Dublin City Bonnie Scotland. Well in my college days I became interested in the songs themselves and this interest took the form of collecting them from my kinfolks and neighbors around us. Setting down the words in the tune so they would not be lost. In doing this I learned

more and more about the history of my own family the riches. And I wasn't surprised to find that our ancestors came over on a British ship back in 1768. Our family songs then must be representative of the people in their doings and around and before that time. For until fairly recently the mountain people have been more or less shut away from the rest of the country for the natural barriers of the narrow Cumberland ridges. And so would get pretty much to the old country manners and ways of working playing and singing. When I realised this I came to have as my main desire in life a trip through England Scotland and Ireland. Then I heard about the Fulbright grants. My friends encouraged me to apply and it was a happy day when the letter came informing me that I had been awarded a grant which would allow me to travel for a year around the British Isles meeting the rural people and studying their music. My husband George Picco magazine photographer and journalist came with me so that we have a fun pictorial record of

our year. In addition to miles of beautiful tape recordings. Because it's frustrating to be limited by lack of space or lack of time on a program. The few songs we were able to squeeze in here represent only a fraction of the amount of material we'd like to include. It was equally heartbreaking for me to leave the British Isles after one short year. I had only scratched the surface as far as collecting was concerned. Personally however the trip was deeply satisfying. Singing with Mrs. Cronan or Jeannie Robertson listening to Johnny Pickering's fiddle. Sitting with families and friends gathered around many fireplaces in the lonely cottages. I had the warm feeling that I was back home in Kentucky. But these were my kinfolks. And I knew that I had found what I had come searching for. I had found my roots and the sources of my songs. Scotland is a wonderful country. I think the riches really came from Scotland in fact I. Found their sort of mist up in Inverness and riches. They told me our sit at

the McIntosh clan. Well anyway Scotland is what I always imagined it would be full of sweeping Heather hills and craggy scenery. And mist and wonderful people. On the banks of red roses is a Scottish song taught to me that Ella Ward. Ella Ward was born. Ella McConnell she's a pretty young Edinburgh housewife and mother of two children. The story of how she learned this song will illustrates the process of oral transmission of folk music. And folklorist at the University of Edinburgh. It. Took us to see her and he had taught it to her and he told us this tale. Of how he got it. And here's his words. Banks are red roses was sung to me by a blind singer called me. He was brought up in Inverness but now he's in the workhouse. One summer's morning he was down on Lhasa green there an elegant and a tinker's camp and a note taker came to

the door of his caravan and asked Ben Jamie for a song. He gave them a song and the man then brought out a little girl and told her to sing and the song she sang was the banks the red roses. He.

He. He. Being. That. Your. That is well.

He is the key. To the heart so in Scotland we met Jimmy there now. Jimmy tells everyone who comments on his name. I is a direct descendant of King maybe if you'd had written. That imitates his accent a little bit. He might well be. Jim is a branch of the family are roaming folks whose main trade is mending pots and pans. Hence the name tinkers which they prefer to any other. Another time honored trait of the Roman folks is that of singing for pennies at fairs market places and games and Jimmy has a real.

Outdoor. Aged voice as you could tell. And for most of his life he's Jimmy has roamed around from fair to fair. Learning and passing on the old favorite songs of what he calls the real Scotland. Now here's a song he sings called the cuckoo's newest. Is a general favorite at these fairs and games and around the camp fires. All over the Scottish countryside. Jimmy. Told me that it was a bit blue which means off color but listening to a song I couldn't find any fault with it. I know I have to go back on the place. They always make an epic Live Nation when I nation and then beg on Dec. 5. Or the Google home or they could go over the Cuckoo's Nest or the go go either Google or the Cuckoo's Nest given him an egg.

I'm not part of the barest luck that feather up the goo goos the cuckoo she's airborne imbalance your Courcelles and your flaw is the cuckoo she's a born advantage at your clothes and shoes just socks on first to McEvoy softly and she never cries go to jail less a model or the Cocoa where the cocoa or the coke or financed all the coke or coke or either Coke or nation. Give any monic any part of that mess. That Off they go. I love his beautiful Scot's brogue. Jimmy has a wonderful speaking voice. We were pretty lucky. To. Get a full bred in a country where people spoke English even though it's a little hard to

understand the Scots sometime and the Irish too and sometimes little artists understand English if they're very very English. But we were lucky. At that English was the one language spoken in all the countries we visited. But of course there's a difference in the idiom but the language is at the bottom the same as is the music and spirit. Touching all aspects of life from sorrow and loneliness to rollicking joy as in this song sung by Seamus Innes from Ireland. Her a rare bug interaction bug in a bug in the early read about interaction in the bog down in the valley or now in this blog there was it's we read today on actions read a tree in the back of the TV in the bog in the bog down in the layoff. Oh like a rattle and love in the bog down in the lovely oh look at that and logging about done in the light of day are now on the street that runs a blower. The air blower that

limbo the bow in the tree the tree in the bog in the bog down in the valley all the rotten by. I'm going to fall down in the way that I've done in the long bow there was a red limb the rotten limb from limb of the bone the bone the tree in the tree in the bog and about down in the valley off poli that awful involving about down and coal ended up involving about down in the light of day on there was a branch of red but I'm sure not in the bargain about done in the world by that I've been involved in the gun and off the red about going out and bobbing about down in Long Island as French there was a nest nest the nest on the limb the bone the bone the train the train the bog down in the alley. They all say that Apple involved in the bog down in

the valley all that I've been involved in about done and now in this nest there was an egg head go out to the neg. The egg in the nest and the nest on the branch and the branch and the bone the bone between the gene the bug in the bog down in the alley all involved in the bog down in the valley off the bed bug unwrapped and bobbing about down in the valley on Oct. And there was a bird rare bird that limbered the bird in the egg in the nest in the nest on the branch and the branch in the limb and the limb the bone the bone the tree in the tree in the bog and about down in the valley all told you got a bug in the bog down in that hole i.e. that Apple involved in the bog down in the valley. Now in this there was a negative man and I got to the neg the egg in the bird in the bird in the egg and the egg in the nest in the nest the branch the rest. Limb the limb on the tree in the back in the back down in the valley. And so it goes on you know when you

when you get to the egg in the bird you have the bird and the a bird and the bird in the air in the world as long as the company like this is made to join in. I always feel like joining him and Seamus sings that song. Same as it is is one of the most infectious singers I've ever met and his voice has the ring of the paps in it. Let him begin a song and folks are usually just whipped into singing with him whether they know the song or not. Seamus is a fan Gaelic pepper and filler. Having learned from his father who was also the source of many of his songs. Seamus interest in folklore and knowledge of the Gaelic language won him a position with radio air and in Dublin then with the BBC in London as a full time collector of folk material. In addition he is in great demand as a singer and musician and is often seen on British television. A song like that to match the songs like this.

There's the green. And then there's there's a whole. And you know. It's called there was a tree in our. Tree down in the valley. And another part of Ireland it was in in the town of Kitty and as matter

of fact we were taken to see the family. Mrs. Sarah Macon was the mother and grandmother. And she had. Sons whose names were. Jack and Tommy. And you may have heard of Tommy since then. We were there and I guess it was at 53 and now Tommy has come to America and has teamed up with the Clancy Brothers and now it's called the Clancy Brothers and Tommy making when they go around singing very spiritedly Irish songs. Well Tommy wasn't singing very spirited at that time as a matter of fact we could hardly get him to sing at all. Listen to Tommy Macon now as he sings today. He's recorded on tradition records and the name of the record is. Come feel your glass with us. And Tommy Makem and the chorus sang courtin in the kitchen. Come sing to me attention. Don't ever fall in love. It's the devil's own invention. For once I fell in love

with the soul be with him. Henry would have kept with me. At the age of seven. It was prenticed grocer not far from Stephen's Green where Mr. Henry was to go or my nerves were hard to twitch and she invited me to be the next Sunday. We were the flareup. I dressed myself quite as the captain had no if he had gone a fishing and we picked up stairs in the kitchen with. Just as the clock struck six we sat down to the table and

I drank coffee and the hours passed quick away. When you're coding. With me arms around her were just slightly to the door and read. Here's Captain Rice I'm filled with poison. She was when the captain at the door waltz right into the total She flew an overhead didn't happen to hear from Mr Mitchell But the 22 year old with a blizzard. He told me I grieve to

see me all smeared with nice shoes but it's eaten my fish he says lay on the floor and the water she kept Pichon the man broke the door and walked straight into the kitchen. When the captain came downstairs goal he saw his situation in spite of me prayers like he was marched off to the station. For me that take me to get my it was what I had to tell it how I came into the kitchen. I said she did invite me but she gave a flat denial. She did didn't know you was sent for. She swore I rocked the house in spite of ballers screeching and I got six months for me curtain in

the kitchen. To the T. After several months of wandering around England Scotland and Ireland collecting songs or listening to songs that were. Like my family's songs to sort of compare the two and found out where the. Family's songs really came from. I had to admit that I really had found what I had come for. So many times. I was surprised though in the things that I did find. For instance it was easy to find a version of Barbara Allen almost anywhere. And any of the long ballads like Lord Thomas and Ferial under all the gypsy leddy. Those are fairly easy to find or Lord Randall. But when it comes to a song like Careless Love that really surprises me because you know you think of Careless Love as being. Well 100 percent at least 100 percent American maybe 200 percent. I always thought it was made a pirouette born here

but in in Scotland. Thank yous Aberdeen Yes Aberdeenshire. I found Jeannie Robertson and my husband and I and Hamish Anderson went to see her. We were the first people ever to have recorded her. She's recorded for many people since then. She was born in a tinker's caravan the daughter of one of the great roving clans. Now she has settled in for health reasons she says in Aberdeen where she lives with her husband and their daughter lives. Now she's a mature dark handsome woman. And she has a score of memories of those roaming days. She liked best the times the caravan took him through the Highlands for the Helens and she speaks fondly of the old people of Paris year when remembering sources for hundreds of songs. She couldn't recollect just where she learned this one but she said it just seems like I've had it always.

And she calls it the blackbird and the verses that you know take note of as being. Like the Careless Love Song is the verse that starts when my apron hung low and was tall. Both. And. It was

the. And it has so many verses we couldn't possibly sing them all here. We don't have time. But I've taken the liberty of using only the ones which are most suitable for comparison with the Scottish verses that you just heard. The two new words here are the ones heard around my home in Terry County Kentucky. Coming along with us today and I hope you can join us again next week we'll be

traveling through the music of America and many of the portions of this program were compiled from recordings made by Gene Ritchie and her husband. She was on a Fulbright scholarship in the British Isles in her next program which she will discuss sing and play folk songs based on chip marriage and other notions. This program was produced by Stuart silver and directed by Isidore hable Jean Ritchie is a recorded production of Riverside Radio in New York City under a grant from the National Association of educational broadcasters. This is the ne e Beeb Radio Network.