Annie of the Vale

DESCRIPTION: "I'm lonely and weary, Without thee I'm dreary, Sighing for thy sweet melting voice." The singer begs, "Come, come, come, love, come... Dear Anna, sweet Anna of the vale." He will go to be a soldier; if he dies, he hope to meet her in heaven
AUTHOR: Words: probably George Pope Morris (1802-1864); music: possibly J. R. Thomas (source: sheet music published by Firth Pond & Co., according to Wolf)
EARLIEST DATE: 1863 (Dime-Song-Book #8)
KEYWORDS: love separation soldier rejection
FOUND IN: US(So)
REFERENCES (4 citations):
Belden-BalladsSongsCollectedByMissourFolkloreSociety, pp. 222-223, "Annie of the Vale" (1 text)
Huntington-TheGam-MoreSongsWhalemenSang, p. 300, "Annie of the Vale" (1 text, 1 tune)
Wolf-AmericanSongSheets, #47, p. 4, "Annie of the Vale" (5 references)
Dime-Song-Book #8, p. 5, "Annie of the Vale" (1 text)
Roud #7950
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 18(499), "Annie of the Vale," C. Magnus (New York), c. 1860; also Harding B 18(15), H. De Marsan (New York), c. 1860; Firth c.26(35)=Firth c.26(150)=Harding B 11(70), T. Perason (Manchester), before 1900
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Reason Why" (tune, per broadsides Bodleian Harding B 11(3238), 2806 c.15(284) and Firth b.28(13) -- assuming that's the same "Annie of the Vale")
SAME TUNE:
My Mustache Is Growing (Wolf-AmericanSongSheets p. 104)
Nellie of the North ("The watch-fires are gleaming -- the bright stars are beaming," by John Ross Dix) (Wolf-AmericanSongSheets p. 106)
Welcome "Jeff" to Baltimore ("In charms now we slumber, and insults in number") (Wolf-AmericanSongSheets, p. 196)
Hamilton ("Far up the hill of science, where bright lights are glowing, Let Hamilton be the first to take her stand") (Henry Randall Waite, _Carmina Collegensia: A Complete Collection of the Songs of the American Colleges_ first edition 1868, expanded edition, Oliver Ditson, 1876, p. 7)
NOTES [59 words]: Although rare in tradition (I know of no field collections except Belden-BalladsSongsCollectedByMissourFolkloreSociety's), it seems to have been widely printed. Wolf-AmericanSongSheets shows five different editions in the Philadelphia collection, and the Bodleian has at least two other editions. Wolf also has an item, "Annie with the Veil, A Parody." - RBW
Last updated in version 6.6
File: Beld222

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