My Jolly Shantyboy

DESCRIPTION: The singer overhears a girl praising her shantyboy and lamenting that her parents dislike him. She is advised to marry a drygoods clerk rather than "throw herself away." But "If I had my will I'd love him still, my jolly shantyboy."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1957 (Fowke)
KEYWORDS: love logger mother father separation
FOUND IN: Canada(Que)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Fowke-LumberingSongsFromTheNorthernWoods #55, "My Jollu Shantyboy" (1 fragment, 1 tune)
Roud #4383
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Bonny Laboring Boy" [Laws M14] (tune, theme)
NOTES [66 words]: Fowke considers this a reworking of "The Bonny Laboring Boy" [Laws M14], and this is nearly certain; it's absolutely certain that it's derived from a song of that type. I thought about lumping them, as I did with "The Railroad Boy." But this song is so defective (only two stanzas) that we cannot tell its final outcome; I think it has to remain separate until we find a version with an ending. - RBW
File: FowL55

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