Bold Privateer, The [Laws O32]

DESCRIPTION: (Johnny) tells (Polly) that he must go to sea. She begs him to stay safe at home. (He points out that her friends dislike him and her brothers threaten him. He offers to exchange rings with her), and promises to return and marry her if his life is spared
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: before 1831 (Broadside Bodleian Harding B 25(240))
KEYWORDS: sea farewell
FOUND IN: US(Ap,MW,NE,SE) Britain(England(North,South)) Ireland Canada(Ont)
REFERENCES (14 citations):
Laws O32, "The Bold Privateer"
Randolph 233, "The Union Volunteer" (1 text, 1 tune, with a "Union Volunteer" substituted for the "Bold Privateer" but no other substantial changes)
Eddy-BalladsAndSongsFromOhio 79, "The Bold Privateer" (1 text)
Sharp-EnglishFolkSongsFromSouthernAppalachians 138, "The Bold Privateer" (1 text, 1 tune)
Brown/Schinhan-FrankCBrownCollectionNCFolklore4 322, "The Bold Privateer" (1 excerpt, 1 tune)
Huntington-FolksongsFromMarthasVineyard, pp. 34-35, "The Bold Privateer" (1 text, 1 tune)
Williams-Wiltshire-WSRO Wt 502, "Bold Privateer" (1 text)
Kidson-TraditionalTunes, p. 101, "The Bold Privateer" (1 text, 1 tune)
Henry/Huntingdon/Herrmann-SamHenrysSongsOfThePeople H514, pp. 297-298, "The Bold Privateer" (1 text, 1 tune)
Huntington-TheGam-MoreSongsWhalemenSang, pp. 123-124, "The Bold Privateer" (1 text, 1 tune)
Lane/Gosbee-SongsOfShipsAndSailors, p. 35, "The Bold Privateer" (1 fragment, padded out to a full text, 1 tune)
Wolf-AmericanSongSheets, #171, p. 13, "The Bold Privateer" (4 references)
Dime-Song-Book #1/72, p. 53 and #1/64 p. 49, "Bold Privateer" (1 text)
DT 486, BOLDPRIV BLDPRIV2*
ST LO32 (Full)
Roud #1000
RECORDINGS:
Tom Brandon, "The Bold Privateer" (on Ontario1)
Robert Cinnamond, "The Wild Privateer" (on IRRCinnamond03)
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 25(240), "Bold Privateer," R. Walker (Norwich), 1780-1930; also Firth c.17(207)=Firth c.17(311), "The Bold Privateer," J. Catnach (London), 1813-1838; also Firth c.13(53)=Harding B 16(30a)=Johnson Ballads 170, "The Bold Privateer," (ibid.); also Harding B 25(241), "The Bold Privateer," J. Pitts (London), 1819-1844; also Harding B 11(386), "The Bold Privateer," (ibid.); also Harding B 11(585), J. T. Burdett (London), c. 1855; also Firth c.13(52), "The Bold Privateer," The Poet's Box (Glasgow), 1858; also Harding B 18(50), "The Bold Privateer," Thomas M. Scroggy (Philadelphia), n.d.
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Pleasant and Delightful" (meter)
cf. "Adieu Sweet Lovely Nancy" (lyrics)
NOTES [214 words]: Some versions of this are so mixed with "Adieu Sweet Lovely Nancy" that they might almost be one song. But there are sufficient distinct versions that I think they must be considered separate songs.
A thread by "Rory" on mudcat about this song suggests that the earliest version is "George and Nancy's Parting. A New Song," Bodleian, Harding B 12(140), Burbage and Stretton (Nottingham), 1797-1807. The plot is identical; the words distinctly different. I could make a case for this as a rewrite of that, or a mix, or just another song on the same plot. Roud initially split them, filing "George and Nancy's Parting" as V32745, but has now transferred it to #1000, the number for this song. I'll let you decide.
The Sam Henry text contains an interesting reference, "The French they are treacherous, right very well you know, Did they not kill their own poor king not so very long ago?" Presumably this refers to the execution of Louis XVI in 1793, though there are other possibilities, including Louis's son Louis XVII, who died in 1795, some say by poison.
Huntington placed his version of "Our Captain Calls All Hands (Fighting for Strangers)" here, and early editions of the Index did the same, but while there is some similarity in theme, they are certainly separate songs. - RBW
Last updated in version 6.6
File: LO32

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