Geordie
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ballad
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Transcription: by Darryl D. Bush
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Lyrics:
As I walked out over London Bridge
One misty morning early,
I overheard a fair, pretty maid
Was lamenting for her Geordie.
Oh Geordie will be hanged in a golden chain,
Tis not the chain of many.
He was born of the king's royal blood
And lost to a virtuous lady.
Go bridle me my milk white steed,
Go bridle me my pony,
I will ride to London's court,
To plead for the life of my Geordie.
Oh my Geordie never stole cow nor calf,
He never hurted any.
He stole sixteen of the King's royal deer
And sold them in Boeny.
Six pretty babies have I borne,
The seventh lies in my body.
I'd freely part with them one and all
If you'll spare me the life of my Geordie.
The judge looked over his left shoulder.
He said, "Fair maid, I'm sorry"
Said, "Fair maid, you must be gone
For I cannot pardon Geordie".
Oh Geordie will be hanged in a golden chain,
Tis not the chain of many.
He was born of the king's royal blood
And lost to a virtuous lady.
There are two distinct and for the most part separate variants of this song,<br> one deriving from seventeenth century English broadsides and sung by traditional<br> singers in England, Ireland and North America, the other printed in one<br> eighteenth and some nineteenth century ballad collections and collected from<br> Scottish singers and some North American singers.<br> Steve Roud and Julia Bishop (New Penguin Book of English Folk Songs) comment<br> that in Scottish versions Geordie tends to be released, while in English ones<br> his lady "has come too late" and he is executed.<br> The historical antecedents of this ballad are disputed. Some suggest that it is<br> based on the life of George Gordon (1512-1562), Fourth Earl of Huntley, the<br> son of Margaret Stewart, she being an illegitimate daughter of James IV. A<br> blackletter ballad cited by A. L. Lloyd names Geordie as George Stoole of<br> Northumberland, executed in 1610, but Lloyd suggests the ballad itself<br> predates the 17th century.<br> It was printed in The Scots Musical Museum (1792), F. J. Child's The<br> English and Scottish Popular Ballads #209 (15 texts),<br> Bertrand Bronson's Traditional Tunes of the Child Ballads #209, (58 versions),<br> The Roud Folk Song Index ( #90) lists many distinct versions - 40 from England,<br> 27 from Scotland, 2 from Ireland, 52 from the United States and 8 from Canada.<br> It was recorded by Harry Cox, Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger, Joan Baez,<br> Jean Ritchie, John Jacob Niles, Doc Watson and others.<br> I learned it from Joan Baez's recording.<br>
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