Plain Golden Band, The [Laws H17]

DESCRIPTION: The singer recalls his parting from his former sweetheart and why she gave back her engagement ring. A young man comes to her and tells her stories of the singer's falsehood. She briefly dallies with him. Having stained the ring, she must return it
AUTHOR: Joe Scott
EARLIEST DATE: 1928 (Family Herald, according to Ives-Joe-Scott-TheWoodsmanSongmaker); thought to have been in tradition by 1911
KEYWORDS: farewell ring infidelity lie trick
FOUND IN: US(NE) Canada(Mar,Newf,West)
REFERENCES (7 citations):
Laws H17, "The Plain Golden Band"
Ives-Joe-Scott-TheWoodsmanSongmaker, pp. 191-227, "The Plain Golden Band" (4 texts, 2 tunes, with mentions of 7 versions)
Doerflinger-SongsOfTheSailorAndLumberman, pp. 247-249, "The Plain Golden Band" (2 texts, 2 tunes, although Laws apparently does not include the first text and tune, which are fragmentary, with this ballad)
Ives-DriveDullCareAway-PrinceEdwardIsland, pp. 149-151,253, "The Plain Golden Band" (1 text, 1 tune)
Ives-FolksongsOfNewBrunswick, pp. 159-162, "The Plain Golden Band" (1 text, 1 tune)
Manny/Wilson-SongsOfMiramichi 39, "The Plain Golden Band" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT 693, PLAINGLD
Roud #1963
RECORDINGS:
Mike Kent, "The Plain Golden Band" (on MUNFLA/Leach)
NOTES [69 words]: Ives-DriveDullCareAway-PrinceEdwardIsland: "Of all Joe Scott's ballads, this is the one most closely identified with him. Even people who didn't know the song itself would often tell me that it was about Joe's own life--that this Lizzie had jilted him and it broke his heart." - BS
Note that Ives-Joe-Scott-TheWoodsmanSongmaker labels the relevant chapter "'The Plain Golden Band': The Ballad As Autobiography." - RBW
Last updated in version 4.2
File: LH17

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