Maria

DESCRIPTION: "I wonder where Maria's gone (x3). Ear-lye in the morning." "Guess she's gone and I can't go (x3), Ear-lye in the morning." "Yonder she comes and howdy-do (x3), Ear-lye in the morning."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1917 (Cecil Sharp collection); 1907 (JAFL20)
KEYWORDS: nonballad
FOUND IN: US(Ap)
REFERENCES (3 citations):
Ritchie-SingingFamilyOfTheCumberlands, pp. 66-67, "[Maria]" (1 text, 1 tune)
Sharp-EnglishFolkSongsFromSouthernAppalachians 258, "Maria's Gone" (1 text, 1 tune)
Skean-CircleLeft-FolkPlayOfKentuckyMountains, p. 23, "Mariah" (1 text, 1 tune; Skean notes that the name is pronounced "Mariar")
Roud #3625
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Drunken Sailor (Early in the Morning)"
NOTES [93 words]: The similarity to "The Drunken Sailor" will be obvious even from the lyrics -- but since the theme of the song is different, the chorus is absent, and the tune somewhat modified, I decided to classify these as separate songs. Presumably at some point someone put new lyrics to the "Drunken Sailor" melody. - RBW
The 1917 version collected by Sharp -- in Hindman, KY, where many of the Ritchies attended the settlement school -- has a rather different melody; perhaps the words and earlier melody came first, then someone switched tunes to "Drunken Sailor." - PJS
Last updated in version 5.0
File: JRSF066

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