Sally Anne

DESCRIPTION: "Oh where are you going, Sally Anne? (x3) I'm going to the wedding, Sally Anne. Oh shake that little foot, Sally Anne, (x3), You're a pretty good dancer, Sally Anne." "Did you ever see a muskrat, Sally Ann...." Other verses are equally unrelated
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1918 (Cecil Sharp collection)
KEYWORDS: dancing nonballad marriage courting animal
FOUND IN: US(Ap,SE,So)
REFERENCES (10 citations):
Sharp-EnglishFolkSongsFromSouthernAppalachians 240, "Sally Anne" (1 text, 1 tune)
Sharp/Karpeles-EightyEnglishFolkSongs 63, "Sally Anne" (1 text, 1 tune)
Brown/Schinhan-FrankCBrownCollectionNCFolklore5 673, "Sally Ann" (1 text, 1 tune)
Rosenbaum-FolkVisionsAndVoices, p. 82, "Sally Ann" (1 text, 1 tune)
Burton/Manning-EastTennesseeStateCollectionVol2, p. 42, "Sally Ann" (1 text, 1 tune)
Arnold-FolkSongsofAlabama, p. 38, "Sally Ann" (1 text, 1 tune)
Lomax-FolkSongsOfNorthAmerica 117, "Sally Anne" (1 text, 1 tune)
Seeger-AmericanFavoriteBallads, p. 53, "Sally Ann" (1 text, 1 tune)
Silber/Silber-FolksingersWordbook, p. 175, "Sally Ann" (1 text)
NorthCarolinaFolkloreJournal, James Ruchala, "'Sally Ann' and the Blue-Ridge String-band Tradition," Vol. LIV, No. 2 (Fall-Winter 2007), pp. 29-75, "Sally Ann" (fragments of text on pp. 32, 34, 35, 37, 53, 54, 61; tunes on pp. 66-70; most are just a few lines, often fiddlers' mnemonics; some are "hog-eye man" fragments; many might file with "Sally Anne" or "Sally in the Garden")

Roud #3652
RECORDINGS:
Frank Blevins & his Tar Heel Rattlers, "Sally Aim [sic]" (Columbia 15765-D, 1932; rec. 1927; on LostProv1 as "Sally Ann")
Fiddlin' John Carson, "Sally Ann" (OKeh 40419, 1925)
Rufus Crisp, "Blue Goose" (on Crisp01)
The Hillbillies, "Sally Ann" (OKeh 40336, 1925) (Vocalion 5019/Brunswick 105 [as Al Hopkins & his Buckle Busters], 1927)
Clint Howard et al, "Sally Ann" (on Ashley02, WatsonAshley01)
Snuffy Jenkins, "Sally Ann" (on ClassBanj)
Doc Roberts, "Sally Ann" (Perfect 15467, 1931)
Pete Seeger, "Sally Ann" (on PeteSeeger06, PeteSeegerCD01); Sally Ann" (on PeteSeeger18)
J. C. "Jake" Staggers, "Sally Ann" (on FolkVisions2)
George Stoneman, "Sally Anne" [instrumental] (on LomaxCD1702)
Art Thieme, "Sally Ann" (on Thieme01)
Wade Ward, "Sally Ann" [instrumental] (on Holcomb-Ward1)

CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Great Big Taters in Sand Land" (tune)
cf. "Sal's Got a Meatskin" (lyrics)
NOTES [106 words]: Lomax says that this is the same melody as the fiddle piece "Sandy Land," in turn related to "Sally Goodin." [But Lomax wasn't a fiddler. The tune is related to "Sandy Land" (actually "Great Big Taters in Sandy Land"), but I draw the line at "Sally Goodin." I'm no fiddler, either, but I've backed up a lot of them. - PJS]
Certainly the banal and unrelated verses are what one would expect of a fiddle tune with words added. - RBW
The Rufus Crisp recording, "Blue Goose," is a conglomerate. But as we define it, "Sally Anne" is a song with this pattern, a lot of floating verses, and the name, "Sally Anne." What more do we want? - RBW, PJS.
Last updated in version 6.1
File: SKE63

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.