Dear Evalina

DESCRIPTION: The singer met Evalina "way down in the meadow." They courted for a time, but after three years he still has no money; though he cannot marry her, "Dear Evalina, Sweet Evalina, My love for thee shall never, never die."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1863 (sheet music published by E. A. Daggett of New York)
KEYWORDS: love courting poverty separation
FOUND IN: US(MW,Ro,SE,So)
REFERENCES (11 citations):
Randolph 823, "Sweet Evelina" (1 text)
Brown/Schinhan-FrankCBrownCollectionNCFolklore5 686, "Sweet Evelina" (1 short text, 1 tune)
Pound-AmericanBalladsAndSongs, 101, pp. 211-212, "Evalina" (1 text)
Cambiaire-EastTennesseeWestVirginiaMountainBallads, p. 87, "Sweet Evelena" (1 text)
Wolf-AmericanSongSheets, #2267, p. 153, "Sweet Evelina" (1 reference)
Heart-Songs, pp. 417-418, "Dear Evelina, Sweet Evelina" (1 text, 1 tune)
Dime-Song-Book #13, p. 51, "Sweet Evelina" (1 text)
Gilbert-LostChords, p. 113, "(Sweet Evelina -- parody)" (1 text)
Silber/Silber-FolksingersWordbook, p. 257 "Sweet Evelina" (1 text)
Zander/Klusmann-CampSongsNThings, p. 95, "Dear Evelina" (1 short text, 1 tune)
Zander/Klusmann-CampSongsPopularEdition, p. 49, "Dear Evelina" (1 short text)
Roud #15352
RECORDINGS:
Arkansas Woodchopper [pseud. for Luther Ossenbrink], "Sweet Evalina" (Supertone 9643, 1930)
The Blue Sky Boys, "Sweet Evalina" (Bluebird 7348, c. 1938)
W. Lee O'Daniel & the Light Crust Doughboys, "Dear Evalina, Sweet Evalina" (Vocalion 04440, 1938)
Ola Belle & Bud Reed, "Sweet Evalina" (on Reeds01)
Phil Reeve & Ernest Moody, "Sweet Evalina" (Victor 21188, 1928)
SAME TUNE:
The Retreat of the Grand Army from Bull Run ("Way down in Virginia," by Ernest Cliftan) (Wolf-AmericanSongSheets, p. 193)
NOTES [66 words]: The 1863 sheet music of this credits tohe words to "M" and the music to "T." I would assume this means that it was taken from tradition. It seems to have been picked up fairly quickly; according to Edwin Wolf 2nd, American Song Sheets, Slip Ballads, and Political Broadsides 1850-1870, Library Company of Philadelphia, 1963, p. 153, there was another Civil War-era broadside printed by Magnus. - RBW
Last updated in version 6.6
File: R823

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