East Virginia
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Transcription: by Darryl D. Bush
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Lyrics:
I was born in east Virginia.
North Carolina I did roam.
There I met a pretty fair maiden,
Her name and age I do not know.
Her hair it was of a brightsome color
And her lips of a ruby red.
On her breast she wore white lilies.
There I longed to lay my head.
Well, in my heart you are my darling
And at my door you're welcome in.
At my gate I'll meet you my darling
If your love I could only win.
I'd rather be in some dark holler
Where the sun refused to shine
Than to see you another man's darling
And to know that you'll never be mine.
Well, in the night I'm dreaming about you,
In the day I find no rest.
Just the thought of you my darling
Sends aching pains all through my breast.
Well, when I'm dead and in my coffin
With my feet turned toward the sun,
Come and sit beside me darling,
Come and think on the way you done.
“East Virginia” (also known as "Old Virginia", like “The Cuckoo”,<br> is a perennial folk song with complex roots. Some of the verses<br> can be traced back to 17th century England, others are “floating”<br> ones, which can be found in other folk songs like “Man of Constant<br> Sorrow” or “The Drowsy Sleepers”.<br> One of the earliest printed version comes from Cecil Sharp’s<br> English Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachians.<br> Many in the mountains would accompany their performance of<br> “East Virginia” with the 5-string banjo, most of the time tuned<br> in the “saw-mill” tuning (gDGCD), which allows the tune to keep its<br> modal nature.<br> During the 1930's the song developed a major mode sound and was<br> usually known as "East Virginia Blues" or "Greenback Dollar".<br> In this form it was taken up by Bluegrass bands.<br> In the folk revival years Pete Seeger and Joan Baez both recorded<br> modal versions and Woody Guthrie sang a major version.<br> Early modal recordings were done by Clarence Ashley ("Dark Holler"),<br> Buell Kazee, Pete Steele, Lily May Ledford and Roscoe Holcomb.<br> Major mode versions were recorded by Clarence Ashley ("East Virginia<br> Blues" and "Greenback Dollar"), The Carter Family, Mainer's<br> Mountaineers, Roy Acuff, The Blue Sky Boys and The Stanley Brothers.<br> Later modal recordings were done by Pete Seeger, Jean Ritchie,<br> Doc Watson, Joan Baez and The New Lost City Ramblers.<br> This is pretty close to the version recorded by Joan Baez.<br> For some reason this version seems to have melodic echoes of<br> "St. James Infirmary" in this section.<br>
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