Mary Blain

DESCRIPTION: "I wish I were in Ireland, And sitting in my chair, And in my hand a glass of wine, And by my side my dear." "Oh, then, farewell, poor Mary Blain, Oh, do take care of yourself, my dear..." The singer promises to come back, and praises her great beauty
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1931 (Shoemaker-MountainMinstrelsyOfPennsylvania)
KEYWORDS: beauty love separation nonballad
FOUND IN: US(So)
REFERENCES (3 citations):
Hudson-FolkTunesFromMississippi 3, "Mary Blain" (1 text, 1 tune)
Shoemaker-MountainMinstrelsyOfPennsylvania, p. 143, "Mary Blane" (1 fragment); pp. 304-305, "Mary Blain" (1 text, which appears to have been made into a minstrel song, with no mention of Ireland) (p. 121 in the 1919 edition)
Dime-Song-Book #9, p. 49, "Mary Blane" (1 text)

Roud #4454
NOTES [40 words]: The Dime-Song-Book #9 text, found also in many broadsides, as a minstrel-type song which never mentions Ireland. Is it the same as Hudson's text? I'm not entirely sure, but there is clearly common influence at least, so both forms appear here.
Last updated in version 6.6
File: HudT003

Go to the Ballad Search form
Go to the Ballad Index Song List

Go to the Ballad Index Instructions
Go to the Ballad Index Bibliography or Discography

The Ballad Index Copyright 2024 by Robert B. Waltz and David G. Engle.