Folklore from Iowa

By Earl J. Stout

This early works is a comprehensive and informative collection of folk-songs and current beliefs in Iowa. Practically all of the material in this collection was gathered during the fall and winter of 1931. Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900's and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Obscure Press
• Release date: May 30, 2024
• ISBN: 9781528799409

Book preview

FOLKLORE FROM IOWA

COLLECTED AND EDITED BY

EARL J. STOUT

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PART I

Introduction

Ballads and Folk-Songs from Iowa

1. The Twa Sisters

2. The Three Ravens

3. Lord Thomas and Fair Eleanor

4. Barbary Allen

5. The Gypsy Laddie

6. James Harris

7. Our Goodman

8. The Mermaid

9. Jemmy and Nancy

10. The Silk Merchant’s Daughter

11. John Peel

12. Van Dieman’s Land

13. Little Johnnie Green

14. Polly Oliver

15. Give Me Three Grains of Corn

16. Captain Jinks

17. Billy Boy

18. Blow, Boys, Blow

19. The Farmer’s Boy

20. Mary of the Wild Moor

21. The Old Man Who Came Over the Moor

22. The Frog and the Mouse

23. The Frog in the Well

24. Lady LeRoy

25. The Little Mohea

26. The Butcher Boy

27. A Paper of Pins

28. The Black Duck

29. O, No, John

30. The Banks of Sweet Dundee

31. The Mistletoe Bough

32. William and Nancy

33. The Girl I Left Behind Me

34. The Wagoner’s Lad

35. The Prisoner’s Song

36. The Jealous Lover

37. Young Charlotte

38. Put Me In My Little Bed

39. Vilikins and his Dinah

40. Hello, Central, Give Me Heaven

41. Two Little Girls in Blue

42. In the Baggage Coach Ahead

43. The Orphan Girl

44. The Lady Elgin

45. After the Ball

46. Just Tell Them That You Saw Me

47. The Letter That Never Came

48. Poor Little Joe

49. Johnny Sands

50. We Are Coming, Sister Mary

51. The Hawthorne Tree

52. A Bird in a Gilded Cage

53. The Train That Never Returned

54. Nobody’s Darling

55. The Letter Edged in Black

56. Red River Valley

57. Rosie Nell

58. The Gypsy’s Warning (and Answer)

59. The Blind Girl

60. Kitty Wells

61. Rosewood Casket

62. The Little Black Mustache

63. Poor Liza Jane

64. Meet Me By the Moonlight Alone

65. I Saw Esau Kissing Kate

66. Common Bill

67. The Creole Girl

68. The Man Who Wouldn’t Hoe Corn

69. A Married Woman’s Lament

70. The Sorrow of Marriage

71. Why Did They Dig Ma’s Grave So Deep?

72. Grandfather’s Clock

73. A Comical Ditty

74. Down in the Coal Mines

75. The Constitution and the Guerriere

76. The Spanish Cavalier

77. Hot Time in the Old Town

78. I’m Going to Fight mit Siegel

79. Calomel

80. The Irish Jubilee

81. Down Went Dan McGinty

82. The Dying Cowboy

83. Sweet Betsy from Pike

84. The Texas Rangers

85. Pretty Sarah

86. McAfee’s Confession

87. Jesse James

88. Charles Guitteau

89. The New Bully

90. Down at the Water Tank

91. Break the News to Mother

92. Old Uncle Ned

93. The Soldier’s Poor Little Boy

94. Corporal Schnapps

95. Just as the Sun Went Down

96. Waters of Blue Juniata

97. The Drunkard’s Lone Child (A)

98. The Drunkard’s Lone Child (B)

99. The Little Brown Jug

100. On Eli’s Sunny Hill

101. The Newsboy

102. On a Cold December Night

103. Early Iowa School Songs

104. Nursery Rhyme

105. Where Did You Get That Hat?

106. Irish Barber

107. Dunderbeck

108. Mush, Mush, Mush

109. The Newsboy on the Train

110. The Blind Boy

111. Clara Noland’s Ball

112. I’ll Eat When I’m Hungry

PART II

Current Beliefs from Iowa

Birth and Infancy

Childhood

Love and Courtship

Marriage

Death and Burial

The Human Body

Articles of Dress

Table Superstitions

Furniture Omens

Weather Signs

Heavenly Bodies and Effects

Animals, Birds, Trees and Plants

Cures and Preventives

Warts

Colds

Rheumatism

Miscellaneous

Household Lore

Days and Seasons

Dreams

Sports and Games

Miscellaneous

Table of Sources of Information

Index, Part I

Index, Part II

INTRODUCTION¹

The inspiration to make this collection of folk-songs and current beliefs in Iowa was aroused in me during the summer of 1931, and the inspirer was Dr. J. W. Ashton of the English Department of the State University of Iowa. It was under his instruction in a graduate class that my first interest in folklore was born and since that time I have been an ardent collector. Naturally, then, it is my wish that should this collection have any merit, a portion of the credit should be given to that inspiring friend and professor.

Practically all of the material in this collection was gathered during the fall and winter of 1931. A considerable amount of it I obtained in personal field work. Another section of it was secured through the kindness of high school English teachers who became interested themselves and, in turn, interested their English classes to such an extent that the students discovered many fine pieces of folklore among their own families and neighbors. Another section of the material was supplied by my own relatives and personal friends who became interested in my collection and have tried to help by sending various old pieces to me themselves or telling me where something valuable might be found. Space here will not permit an enumeration of the many interesting things that happened during the making of this collection. However, I do wish to thank all those who have aided in any way. In every instance, I have tried to give proper credit for any material I have used.¹

To those who do not find in this presentation songs or lore that they have given to me, I wish to mention that this particular collection is but a portion of all the material I have and that anything of folk-song value not given here will appear in subsequent collections.

In sending forth this sampling of folk-song and folklore from Iowa, it is my hope that I can thereby help to dispel the somewhat prevalent idea that Iowa is merely a hog and corn state. Those of us who know her best realize that her people have brought with them the old-established traditional background nourished in their original environs. The traditional songs and lore of these people, especially in the pioneer days, helped to make Iowa great, and it is in the spirit of appreciation of what they did that I am happy to aid in the preservation of many of the things they loved so much and believed in so sincerely.

E. J. S.

¹ Abbreviated references: Barry, Ancient British Ballads; Barry, Eckstorm and Smyth, British Ballads from Maine; Belden, A Partial List of Song-Ballads and Other Popular Poetry Known in Missouri, Second Edition, 1910; Buck, The Oxford Song Book; Campbell and Sharp, English Folk-Songs from the Southern Appalachians; Chappell, Old English Popular Music; Colcord, Roll and Go, Songs of American Sailormen; Combs, Folk-Songs du Midi des Etats-Unis; Cox, Folk-Songs of the South; Davis, Traditional Ballads of Virginia; Dolph, Sound Off; Duncan, The Minstrelsy of England; Elson, Folk-Songs of Many Nations; Gilbert, One Hundred Folk-Songs; Gray, Songs and Ballads of the Maine Lumberjacks; Hatton and Faning, The Songs of England; Hudson, Specimens of Mississippi Folk-Lore; Jackson, English Melodies from the 13th to the 18th Centuries; Journal, Journal of American Folk-Lore; King, Book of Chanties; Lomax, Cowboy Songs and Other Frontier Ballads; McGill, Folk-Songs of the Kentucky Mountains; Mackenzie, Ballads and Sea Songs from Nova Scotia; Moffat, The Minstrelsy of England; Pittman, Brown, and Mackay, Songs of Scotland; Pound, American Ballads and Songs; Pound, Syllabus, Folk-song of Nebraska and the Central West; Richardson and Spaeth, American Mountain Songs; Sandburg, The American Songbag; Scarborough, On the Trail of Negro Folk-Songs; Sharp, English Folk-Songs; Shearin and Combs, A Syllabus of Kentucky Folk-Songs; Shoemaker, North Pennsylvania Minstrelsy; Smith, The Traditional Ballad and Its South Carolina Survivals; Spaeth, Read ’Em and Weep; Spaeth, Weep Some More, My Lady; The Chelsea Song Book; Wier, Songs the Whole World Sings; Wyman and Brockway, Lonesome Tunes.

¹ Whenever the national affiliation of the informant appeared to be of possible importance, this has been indicated. Thus (French) following a statement concerning a contributor means that he (or she) was of French descent.

PART I

BALLADS AND FOLK-SONGS FROM IOWA

1. THE TWA SISTERS.

(Child, No. 10)

For reference, see Richardson and Spaeth, p. 27; Cox, p. 20; Campbell and Sharp, p. 323; Campbell and Sharp, No. 4; Journal, XVIII, 130 (Barry; Rhode Island and Maine); XIX, 233 (Belden; Missouri and Kentucky); XXX, 286 (Kittredge); XXX, 287 (Missouri, Nebraska); Bulletin, Nos. 6—8. Add Journal XLV, 1 (Henry); Hudson, p. 4; Pound, p. 11; Gray, p. 75; Davis, No. 5; Shearin and Combs, p. 7; Pound, Syllabus, p. 11.

No local title. Contributed by Leone Densmore, Harlan, as sung by her grandfather, Manford Fritz, Harlan, who learned it a long time ago in school.

1. There was an old woman lived under the hill,

And she had daughters two or three;

The youngest one had a beau,

The oldest one had none.

Chorus:

I’ll be true to my love,

If my love will be true to me.

2. Oh, sister dear, let’s walk the seashore

And spy the ships as they sail o’er.

Chorus:

I’ll be true etc.

3. The oldest shoved the youngest in

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Chorus:

I’ll be true etc.

4. Oh, sister, dear sister, it’s sister lend me your hand,

Balance sent to me;

I’ll neither lend me my hand or glove.

Chorus:

I’ll be true etc.

5. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

She swam into the miller’s brook.

Chorus:

I’ll be true etc.

6. Oh, miller, dear miller, I’ve gold rings three,

If you’ll take this lady from the brook.

Chorus:

I’ll be true etc.

7. The miller threw out his great grub-hook

And took this fine lady from the brook.

Chorus:

I’ll be true etc.

8. The miller takes off gold rings three

And pushed the lady in the sea.

Chorus:

I’ll be true etc.

2. THE THREE RAVENS.

(Child, No. 26)

For reference and interesting discussions of the origin of this song and some of its variations, see Journal, XLV, 8 (Henry) and Cox, No. 6 (head-note).

For other texts, see Hudson, No. 6; Barry, No. 27; Sharp, Folk-Songs of English Origin, Second Series, p. 22; Campbell and Sharp, No. 10; Cox, No. 6; Journal, XXVII, 63; XXVIII, 201 (Smith); XXXI, 273 (Tatlock); XLV, 8 (Henry). Add Marcella Sembrich, My Favorite Folk-Songs, New York, 1917, p. 28; The Chelsea Song Book, p. 31; Jackson, p. 24.

A.

Crow Song. Contributed and sung by Mrs. Sophia H. Wilcox, Soldiers’ Home, Marshalltown, October 1, 1931. She learned it as a girl in Erie County, New York, probably before the Civil War. Mrs. Wilcox wrote down this version and added, I don’t know the age of this song.

1. There were three crows sat on a tree,

Oh Billy Magee Magar!

There were three crows sat on a tree,

Oh Billy Magee Magar!

There were three crows sat on a tree,

And they were black as crows could be,

And they all flapped their wings and cried

Caw, caw, caw, Billy Magee Magar!

And they all flapped their wings and cried

Billy Magee Magar!

2. Said one old crow unto his mate,

O Billy Magee Magar!

Said one old crow unto his mate,

O Billy Magee Magar!

Said one old crow unto his mate,

What shall we do for grub to ate?

And they all flapped their wings and cried——

Caw, caw, caw, Billy Magee Magar!

And they all flapped their wings and cried

Billy Magee Magar!

3. "There lies a horse on yonder plain,

Who’s by some cruel butcher slain,"

And they all flapped their wings, etc.

4. "We’ll perch ourselves on his backbone,

And pick his eyes out one by one,"

And they all flapped their wings, etc.

B.

Three Black Crows. Contributed by Professor S. A. Lynch, Iowa State Teachers College, Cedar Falls, October 6, 1931. He learned this song as a boy. He wrote concerning it, There were other stanzas, but this is the only one I can recall.

1. There were three crows sat on a tree,

And they were black as crows could be.

Said one old crow to his other mate,

What shall we for our breakfast take?

C.

Three Black Crows. Contributed and sung by George Post, West Bend, September 1, 1931. Mr. Post learned this song as a boy in Pennsylvania and brought it with him to Iowa about 1865.

1. There were three crows sat on a tree

And they were black as black could be;

Says one black crow unto his mate,

What shall we do for grub to ate?

2. "On yonder plain lies an old dead horse,

That has only been three days slain;

We’ll perch ourselves on his breastbone

And pick his eyes out one by one."

D.

Three Black Crows. This version was contributed by Miss Jen McLaren, Lake Park, who learned it at a school exhibition near Norway, Iowa, about 1875. (Scotch)

1. There were three crows sat on a tree,

And they were black as crows could be;

Said one old crow unto his mate,

What shall we do for grub to ate?

2. "There lies a horse on yonder hill,

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

We’ll perch ourselves on his jawbone

And eat his eyes out one by one."

E.

The Three Ravens. Contributed by George Dew, Reinbeck, and reproduced here as reported by him.

1. There were three ravens sat on a tree,

Down a down, hey down hey down;

They were as black as they might be, with a down.

And one of them said to his mate,

Where shall we our breakfast take? with a down derry, derry, derry, down, down.

2. Behold, alas, in that green field,

Down a down, hey down hey down;

There lies a knight slain under his shield, with a down.

His hounds lies beside his feet,

So well do they the master keep, with a derry, derry, derry, down, down.

3. His faithful hawks so near him fly,

Down a down, hey down, hey down;

No bird of prey dare venture nigh, with a down.

But see here comes a fallow doe,

And to the knight she straight doth go, with a down derry, derry, derry, down, down.

4. She lifted up his ghastly head,

Down a down, hey down, hey down;

And kissed his wounds that were so red, with a down.

She hurried him before the prime,

And died herself at ev’nsong time, with a derry, derry, derry, down, down.

F.

Three Black Crows. Contributed by George Dew, Reinbeck, and reproduced here verbatim from his copy.

1. Three black crows sat on a tree,

And they were black as black could be.

One of them said to his mate, What shall we do for bread to ate?

"There lies a horse on yonder plain that has but lately been slain,

We’ll perch ourselves on his backbone and eat his eyes out one by one."

3. LORD THOMAS AND FAIR ELEANOR.

(Child, No. 73)

For reference texts, see Cox, p. 45; Shoemaker, p. 138; Campbell and Sharp, No. 16; Pound, No. 12; Mackenzie, p. 97 (Nova Scotia); Belden, No. 4; Journal, XVIII, 128; XIX, 235; XX, 254; XXVII, 71; XXVIII, 152; XXIX, 159. Add Sandburg, p. 156; Hudson, p. 10.

A.

Lord Thomas and Fair Eleanor. Contributed by Miss Edith Stanley, Massena, as sung to her by her mother Mrs. Effie Collman Stanley, Massena. Mrs. Stanley learned the song many years ago from a neighbor, Mrs. Irene Karas. With music.

1. Lord Thomas he was a bold forester,

And a keeper of the king’s deer;

Fair Eleanor was a fine lady,

And Lord Thomas he loved her dear.

2. Come riddle my riddle, dear Mother, he said,

"To riddle my riddle, come;

Whether I shall marry with fair Eleanor,

Or bring the Brown girl home?"

3. "The brown girl she has houses and lands,

And fair Eleanor, she has none;

Therefore, I charge you on my blessing,

To bring me the brown girl home."

4. As it befell on a high holiday,

As many more did beside,

Lord Thomas he went to fair Eleanor,

Who should have been his bride.

5. But when he came to fair Eleanor’s bower,

He knocked there to come in;

And who so ready as fair Eleanor,

To let Lord Thomas in.

6. What news, my love, Lord Thomas, she said,

What news hast thou brought unto me?

"I am come to bid thee to my wedding,

And that is bad news for thee."

7. O God forbid, Lord Thomas, she said,

"That such a thing should betide;

I thought to have been thy bride my own self,

And you to have been by my side."

8. Come riddle my riddle, dear Mother, she said,

"And riddle it all in one;

Whether I shall go to Lord Thomas’ wedding,

Or whether tarry at home?"

9. "There are many that are your friends, daughter,

And many that are your foe;

Therefore, I charge you on my blessing

To Lord Thomas’ wedding don’t go."

10. "There’s many that are my friends, Mother,

And if a thousand more were my foe;

Betide my life, betide my death,

To Lord Thomas’ wedding I’d go."

11. She clothed herself in gallant attire,

And her merry men all in green;

And as they rode through every town,

They took her to be a queen.

12. But when she came to Lord Thomas’ gate,

She knocked there to come in;

And who was so ready as Lord Thomas

To let fair Eleanor in.

13. Is this your bride? fair Eleanor said;

"Methinks she looks wonderful brown;

Thou might’st have had as fair a lady

As ever the sun shone on."

14. Despise her not, fair Ellen, he said,

"Despise her not unto me;

For better I love thy little finger

Than all her whole body."

15. The brown girl had a long pen-knife,

That was both long and sharp;

And between the long ribs and the short

Pierced fair Eleanor to the heart.

16. Oh, Christ now help thee, Lord Thomas he said,

"Methinks thou look’st wondrous wan,

That used to look with as fresh a color

As ever the sun shone on."

17. O art thou blind, Lord Thomas? she said,

"Or can’st thou not very well see?

O dost thou not see my own heart’s blood

Run trickling down to my knee?"

18. Lord Thomas he had a sword by his side;

As he walked about the hall

He cut off the brown girl’s head from her shoulders

And threw it against the wall.

19. He set the hilt against the ground,

And the point against his heart;

There were never three lovers met

That sooner did depart.

B.

Lord Thomas and Fair Annet. Contributed by Dwight Davis, Corydon, who wrote, I obtained this song from my grandfather who heard it from Miss Lillie Fisher who came into Jefferson county, Iowa from East Tennessee. A folk-song which probably their ancestors brought from England. It was sung in 1866. Verbatim.

1. Come riddle my rights dear father, he said,

Come riddle my rights for me;

Say shall I marry fair Elinar

Or bring the Brown girl home.

2. The Brown girl, she has house and lands,

Fair Elinar she has none;

Therefore, I charge you with my blessing

Go bring the Brown girl home.

(Rest of the song not remembered but Mr. Davis’s grandfather said that the song goes on to tell how the son told Fair Elinor his father’s decision and how he left Elinor with a dagger plunged in her heart.)

4. BARBARY ALLEN.

(Child, No. 84)

For references, see Pound, No. 3; Mackenzie, p. 35; Smith, p. 13; Campbell and Sharp, p. 90; Shoemaker, p. 107; Journal, XXIX, 160; XXX, 317; XXXV, 343; Cox, p. 96. Add Sandburg, p. 57; Duncan, p. 71; Buck, p. 14; Moffat, p. 132; Hudson, p. 14; and Cox, No. 16.

A.

Barbary Allen. Contributed by Miss Edith Stanley, Massena, who secured it from her parents, Mr. and Mrs. John W. Stanley. She wrote: This version was dictated to me by my father, John W. Stanley, who learned it years ago from his mother, Mrs. Aaron Stanley, Fontanelle, who must have known it more than sixty years ago. My mother, Mrs. Effie Collman Stanley, learned the same song when she was a little girl by hearing her older brothers and sisters sing it. The song was commonly sung in the community where she then lived which was Kendall County, Illinois. My father and his mother, however, were native Iowans. The latter learned the song from her mother, Mrs. Mary Lilly (Mrs. David Lilly), and it was one of the favorite songs at the ‘lyceums,’ held at country schoolhouses, which my great-grandmother and her family used to enjoy.

Miss Stanley added that her mother’s version differed slightly from her father’s, given below. With music.

1. In Scarlet town where I was born

There was a fair maid dwellin’

And every youth cried well-a-way

Her name was Barbary Allen,

Her name was Barbary Allen,

Her name was Barbary Allen.

All in the merry month of May,

When the green buds they were swellin’,

Young Jenny Groves on his death-bed lay,

For the love of Barbary Allen.

2. He sent his man unto her then

To the town where she did dwell in,

Saying, "You must come to my master,

If your name be Barbary Allen,

If your name be Barbary Allen,

If your name be Barbary Allen.

For death is printed on his face,

And o’er his heart is stealin’,

Then haste away to comfort him,

Oh! lovely Barbary Allen."

3. Though death be printed on his face,

And o’er his heart be stealin’,

Yet little better shall he be

For bonny Barbary Allen,

For bonny Barbary Allen,

For bonny Barbary Allen.

So slowly, slowly she came up,

And slowly she came nigh him,

And all she said when there she came,

Young man, I think you’re dying.

4. He turned his face unto her straight,

With deadly sorrow sighing,

"Oh! pretty maid, come pity me,

I’m on my death-bed lying,

I’m on my death-bed lying,

I’m on my death-bed lying."

"If on your death-bed you do lie,

What need’s the tale you’re telling?

I cannot keep you from your death;—

Farewell!" said Barbary Allen.

5. He turned his face unto the wall,

And death was with him dealin’,

Adieu, adieu, my friends all,

Adieu to Barbary Allen,

Adieu to Barbary Allen,

Adieu to Barbary Allen.

As she was walking o’er the fields,

She heard the bells a knellin’,

And every stroke did seem to say,

Unworthy Barbary Allen.

6. She turned her body round about,

And spied the corpse a coming,

Lay down, lay down the corpse, she said,

"That I may look upon him,

That I may look upon him,

That I may look upon him."

With scornful eyes she looked down,

Her cheeks with laughter swelling,

Whilst all her friends cried out amain,

Unworthy Barbary Allen!

7. When he was dead and in his grave,

Her heart was struck with sorrow,

"O Mother, Mother, make my bed

For I shall die tomorrow,

For I shall die tomorrow,

For I shall die tomorrow.

Hard-hearted creature, him to slight,

Who loved me so dearly;

O! that I’d been more kind to him,

When he was alive and near me."

8. She on her death-bed as she lay

Begged to be buried by him;

And sore repented of the day

That she did e’er deny him,

That she did e’er deny him,

That she did e’er deny him.

Farewell! she said, "ye virgins all,

Reviews for Folklore from Iowa

[waltzmn · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is the sort of book that really makes you regret that you don't have three wishes.Wish #1: More tunes.Wish #2: More folktales.Wish #3: Just plain MORE.This was the first real attempt at a collection of Iowa folklore, and it has only two parts: folk songs and "folk wisdom," which is really a collection of short sayings and beliefs.The first is a genuinely excellent collection, containing versions of many familiar folk songs, as well as information about the source and (usually) at least one or two other folk collections in which it can be found. This is truly an excellent resource. Unfortunately, almost none of the items have tunes; it's usually just texts. Hence the wish for more tunes.The sayings are pretty typical of folk wisdom: cures for warts and colds and the like, most of which probably don't work but some of which might be worth trying. They are organized into categories, and there is an index of key items mentioned in the sayings (e.g. you can look up "carbolic acid" and find that it is connected to saying #937, "Use carbolic acid to keep infection out of a wound" -- advice which is, in fact, correct; carbolic acid was the first real disinfectant).Sadly, although Iowa must have folktales of some sort, none of them are collected here; unless the item is a song, or is only a few lines long, it is omitted.So this should not be treated as a collection of all types of folklore from Iowa. And it's a relatively thin book; it isn't absolutely comprehensive even for the two categories it includes. Still, it has the basics that should be found in all folklore collections (source information), and the songs at least are quite good. (There is no way you'll get me to try those folk remedies....) Those interested in midwestern folklore should have this book. They'll simply find themselves wishing for more.