Lonely Waterloo [Laws N31]

DESCRIPTION: The singer sees a girl grieving for her love. She describes Willie, and the singer tells her Willie has died at Waterloo. The girl suffers terribly from grief; (in some texts he reveals himself as Willie and prepares to marry her)
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1929 (Greenleaf/Mansfield-BalladsAndSeaSongsOfNewfoundland)
KEYWORDS: Napoleon separation grief brokentoken reunion clothes
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
June 18, 1815 - Battle of Waterloo
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Bord)) US(MW) Canada(Newf) Ireland
REFERENCES (11 citations):
Laws N31, "Waterloo II"
McMorland/Scott-HerdLaddieOTheGlen, pp. 72-73, 151, "Bloody Waterloo" (1 text, 1 tune)
Gardner/Chickering-BalladsAndSongsOfSouthernMichigan 88, "Bloody Waterloo" (1 text)
Greenleaf/Mansfield-BalladsAndSeaSongsOfNewfoundland 88, "Lonely Waterloo" (2 texts)
Peacock, pp. 1007-1008, "Lonely Waterloo" (1 text, 2 tunes)
Leach-FolkBalladsSongsOfLowerLabradorCoast 127, "Lonely Waterloo" (1 text, 1 tune)
Lehr/Best-ComeAndIWillSingYou 67, "Lonely Waterloo" (1 text, 1 tune)
Graham-Joe-Holmes-SongsMusicTraditionsOfAnUlsterman 60, "The Plains of Waterloo" (1 text, 1 tune)
Dallas-TheCruelWars-100SoldiersSongs, pp 87-88, "Bloody Waterloo" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT 390, BLDYWLOO*
ADDITIONAL: Willie Scott, "Bloody Waterloo," School of Scottish Studies Archive SA1970.373,Tobar an Dualchais/Kist o Riches accessed 14 September 2013 from http://www.tobarandualchais.co.uk/en/fullrecord/67740/1
Roud #622
RECORDINGS:
Mrs. Mary Dunphy, "Waterloo" (on MUNFLA/Leach)
Ken Peacock, "Lonely Waterloo" (on NFKPeacock)
Willie Scott, "Bloody Waterloo" (on Voice08)
NOTES [86 words]: The ballad is recorded on one of the CD's issued around the time of the bicentenial of the 1798 Irish Rebellion. See:
Franke Harte and Donal Lunny, "Lonely Waterloo" (on Franke Harte and Donal Lunny, "My Name is Napoleon Bonaparte," Hummingbird Records HBCD0027 (2001))
Harte notes that his version came back to Ireland via a singer who had seen the text in Peacock. - BS
This has recently been set to a new (and highly effective) tune by Daithi Sproule of Altan. This seems to be a song everyone wants to revive. - RBW
Last updated in version 4.2
File: LN31

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