My Generous Lover

DESCRIPTION: False Jimmy deceives an innocent young woman into yielding to him; she says, "My generous lover, you're welcome to me", but the generosity is all hers. She leaves her home; he leaves the country, telling her not to allow any other to love her; she regrets
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: c. 1960 (recording, A. L. Lloyd)
KEYWORDS: hardheartedness seduction sex abandonment lover
FOUND IN: Britain(England)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Huntington-SongsTheWhalemenSang, pp. 225-227, "The First Time I Saw My Love" (1 text)
ST RcMGL (Full)
Roud #1996
RECORDINGS:
A. L. Lloyd, "My Generous Lover" (on Lloyd01)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
Pretty Peggy
NOTES [188 words]: The alternate title "Pretty Peggy" should not be confused with "Pretty Peggy-O", a version of "Bonnie Lass of Fyvie". The young woman's name does not appear in this song. - PJS
Huntington's version of this (Roud #1996, for which he currently lists only this song) has a rather simplified plot, in which the man's faithlessness is not clear and the sexual element is very muted (I didn't see it until Paul's description brought it out). I tie the two versions together based on the key line "My generous lover, you're welcome to me."
Huntington says he has not seen any other versions in print, and I must admit that I haven't seen any either. Huntington is reminded of "Logie o Buchan," and I get the same feeling. But they are definitely separate songs.
A point of interpretation: I believe the key line "you're welcome to me" does not mean "let's do something dirty" but "you will always be welcome home to me, whatever my family thinks of you." - RBW
I don't agree; the context makes the offer explicitly sexual. Not something dirty; she's offering her heart and body in sexual love, and he proves unworthy of the offer. - PJS
File: RcMGL

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