Ocean is Wide, The
DESCRIPTION: "The ocean is wide an' you cain't step over it, I love you true, an' you cain't help it." "Sure as the grass grows round the stump, You're my darlin' sugar lump." "The ocean is wide, an' you cain't jump it, If your folks don't like it, they can lump it."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1905 (Solomon-ZickaryZan)
KEYWORDS: love playparty nonballad
FOUND IN: US(So)
REFERENCES (3 citations):
Randolph 580, "The Ocean Is Wide" (1 text)
Henry-SongsSungInTheSouthernAppalachians, p. 238, (no title) (1 short text, "The ocean is wide, The sea is deep, And in your arms I love to sleep." The form looks different from Randolph's, but with only three lines and a similar theme, I don't see how to split them)
Solomon-ZickaryZan, p. 127, "(The road is wide"); p. 133, "(The river is wide)" (2 short texts)
Roud #7669
NOTES [61 words]: The first Solomon-ZickaryZan text is from an autograph album from the family of Kate, Ella, Lucy, Maggie, and Bessie Burton, compiled 1895-1905; the second is also said to be an autograph rhyme although no source is listed. Most autograph album verses were composed for the (small) format; this is an interesting example, because it looks as if it's from tradition. - RBW
Last updated in version 6.4
File: R580
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.