I Am a Young Maiden (If I Were a Blackbird)

DESCRIPTION: The girl has been courted by a sailor, but now is deserted. She wishes she were a blackbird so she could follow her love. She tells of how her parents' dislike caused her to love him the more. He promised to buy her ribbons, but now has left her
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1906 (Reeves-TheEverlastingCircle)
KEYWORDS: separation courting love floatingverses
FOUND IN: US(MA,NE) Ireland Canada(Mar,Newf) Britain(England(Lond,South),Scotland)
REFERENCES (13 citations):
Gardham-EarliestVersions, "IF I WAS A BLACKBIRD"
Cazden/Haufrecht/Studer-FolkSongsOfTheCatskills 38, "I Am a Young Maiden" (1 text, 1 tune)
Henry/Huntingdon/Herrmann-SamHenrysSongsOfThePeople H79, pp. 428-429, "If I Were A Blackbird" (1 text, 1 tune)
OLochlainn-IrishStreetBallads 46, "If I Was a Blackbird" (1 text, 1 tune)
Meredith/Anderson-FolkSongsOfAustralia, pp. 170-171, "If I Was a Blackbird" (1 text, 1 tune)
Reeves-TheEverlastingCircle 74, "If I Was a Blackbird" (1 text)
MacColl/Seeger-TravellersSongsFromEnglandAndScotland 31, "If I Was a Blackbird" (2 texts, 2 tunes)
Hamer-GarnersGay, p. 52, "The Blackbird" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud/Bishop-NewPenguinBookOfEnglishFolkSongs #47, "If I Were a Blackbird" (1 text, 1 tune)
Pottie/Ellis-FolksongsOfTheMaritimes, pp. 58-59, "The Blackbird" (1 text, 1 tune)
Blondahl-NewfoundlandersSing, p. 119, "If I Were a Blackbird" (1 text, 1 tune)
Lane/Gosbee-SongsOfShipsAndSailors, p. 229, "If I Was a Blackbird" (1 text, 1 tune, with the genders reversed)
DT, (IFBLKBRD -- apparently a reworking of the song from a man's perspective) IFBLKBR2*
Roud #387
RECORDINGS:
Diddy Cook, "The Blackbird" (on Voice15)
Hanna O'Brien, "The Old Blackbird" (on MUNFLA/Leach)
Blanche Wood, "I'm a Young Bonnie Lassie" (on FSB01)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Wagoner's Lad" (lyrics)
NOTES [39 words]: Although this song is composed entirely of floating lyrics -- from "The Wagoner's Lad," "Oh, Dear, What Can the Matter Be" and others -- this combination is sufficiently widespread that it must be considered a song in its own right - RBW
Last updated in version 6.8
File: FSC38

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