East Virginia (Dark Hollow)

DESCRIPTION: "I was born in (east Virginia); North Carolina I did go. There I met a pretty woman, And her name I did not know." The singer grieves that her parents would marry her to another. "I'd rather be in some dark hollow... than see you be another man's darling"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1917 (Cecil Sharp collection)
KEYWORDS: love courting separation grief
FOUND IN: US(Ap,SE,SW)
REFERENCES (17 citations):
Brown/Belden/Hudson-FrankCBrownCollectionNCFolklore3 279, "Must I Go to Old Virginia" (1 text, with a distorted first line and many floating bits; Roud lumps it with "Porto Rico")
Bronner/Eskin-FolksongAlivePart2 40, "East Virginia" (1 text, 1 tune)
Sharp-EnglishFolkSongsFromSouthernAppalachians 167, "In Old Virginny" (4 texts, 4 tunes, but "C" is "Man of Constant Sorrow" and "D" is a collection of floaters)
Burton/Manning-EastTennesseeStateCollectionVol1, pp. 63-64, "I Was Born in East Virginia" (1 text, 1 tune)
Burton/Manning-EastTennesseeStateCollectionVol2, pp. 92-93, "Virginia Blues" (1 text, 1 tune)
Dunson/Raim/Asch-AnthologyOfAmericanFolkMusic, p. 80 "East Virginia" (1 text, 1 tune)
Ritchie-SingingFamilyOfTheCumberlands, pp. 134-135, "[Old Virginny]" (1 text, 1 tune)
Ritchie-FolkSongsOfTheSouthernAppalachians, p. 65, "Old Virginny" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roberts/Agey-InThePine #105, "Dark Hollow Blues" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roberts-SangBranchSettlers, #29, "When I Left the Blue Ridge Mountains" (1 text, 1 tune)
Lomax/Lomax-OurSingingCountry, pp. 144-145, "East Virginia" (1 text, 1 tune)
Burton-TennesseeTraditionalSingers, p. 53, "East Virginia Blues" (1 text, 1 tne)
Cohen/Seeger/Wood-NewLostCityRamblersSongbook, p. 27 "East Virginia Blues" (1 text, 1 tune)
Cray-AshGrove, p. 12 "East VIrginia" (1 text, 1 tune)
Darling-NewAmericanSongster, pp. 115-116, "Oh, Molly Dear" (1 text, very mixed, with verses from this song, from "The Drowsy Sleeper" [Laws M4], and some floaters); pp. 275-276, "East Virginia (1 text)
Silber/Silber-FolksingersWordbook, p. 44, "East Virginia" (1 text)
DT, EASTVIRG*
Roud #3396
RECORDINGS:
Clarence "Tom" Ashley, "Dark Holler Blues" (Columbia 15489-D, 1929; on Ashley04)
[Clarence] Ashley & [Gwen] Foster, "East Virginia Blues" (Vocalion 02576, 1933)
Carter Family, "The East Virginia Blues" (Bluebird B-5650/Montgomery Ward 4550, 1934; Victor 27494, 1941)
Logan English, "East Virginia" (on LEnglish01)
Betty Garland, "I Was Born in East Virginia" (on BGarland01)
Texas Gladden, "Dark Island" (on USTGladden01)
Charlie Glenn, Shirley Glenn, "East Virginia Blues" (Piotr-Archive #185, recorded 06/06/2022)
Kelly Harrell, "O! Molly Dear Go Ask Your Mother" (Victor 20280, 1926; on KHarrell01 -- primarily a version of "The Drowsy Sleeper" but with several verses belonging here)
Roscoe Holcomb, "East Virginia" (on MMOK, MMOKCD)
Buell Kazee, "East Virginia" (Brunswick 154B, 1927; on AAFM3); "East Virginia" (on Kazee01)
Uncle Dave Macon, "East Virginia Blues" (Victor 27494, 1941; rec. 1935)
New Lost City Ramblers, "East Virginia" (on NLCR01); "Dark Holler Blues" (on NLCR16)
Pete Seeger, "East Virginia Blues" (on PeteSeeger02, PeteSeegerCD01)
Pete Steele, "East Virginia" (on PSteele01)
Dan Tate, "Once I Lived in Old Virginia" (on OldTrad1, FarMtns2)
Doc Watson, "East Virginia" (on RitchieWatsonCD1)
Doc Watson & Clarence (Tom) Ashley, "Dark Holler Blues" (on FOTM)
Walter Williams, "East Virginia" (AFS, 1937; on KMM)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "When I Left the State of Georgia" (lyrics, theme)
cf. "I Don't Want Your Millions, Mister" (tune)
cf. "Greenback Dollar" (words, tune)
cf. "Little Birdie" (floating lyrics)
SAME TUNE:
Carter Family, "East Virginia Blues, No. 2" (Banner 33463/Melotone 13430/Romeo 5482/Conqueror 8535, 1935)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
Dark Holler Blues
File: JRSF134

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