Bold Riley

My influences for learning this song were FIRST and foremost, hearing it sung and played by Aubrey Atwater on dulcimer, at the Dutchland Dulcimer workshop in Lancaster, PA, summer of 2018. It was a workshop on sea songs/shanties.  I loved the melody and when I went home, I discovered I had two other versions of the song on CDs.  I have Kate Rusby's version, and the Wailin' Jennys version.  I also like the full harmony version sung by The Teacups.  I also discovered the meaning behind some of the lyrics which is always so interesting. I know nothing about sea culture.

I've included a link to the Atwater-Donnelly CD which features this song.

The World is Old Tonight
Atwater-Donnelly Trio 2016   https://www.atwater-donnelly.com/shop.htm



"White stocking day" explained on BEFORE THE MAST Facebook Page

White-Stocking Day as mentioned in Bold Riley:

During the 19th Century in Liverpool, ladies of quality and fashion wore white cotton stockings. On White-Stocking Day, women were required to draw their 'allotment' which was the half pay of their sailor husband or son away at sea. These wives and mothers wore white stockings on that day, considering themselves 'ladies', if only for a day !

 

"bending" according to Darcy Lever: The Young Sea Officers Sheet Anchor: A Dictionary of Sea Terms  "Get bending lads, it's a hell-of-a-way"

bend.

A kind of Knot - as a Sheet Bend, &c. - or a Seizing - such as the Bends of the Cable.

To Bend.

To make fast - as to bend the Sails, the Cable, &c.

 

A very detailed account of the origins, many recordings etc. of Bold Riley can be seen at this website

https://mainlynorfolk.info/lloyd/songs/boldriley.html

Link to more lyrics http://www.traditionalmusic.co.uk/sea-shanty/Bold_Riley.htm

Link to MY Song Sheet PDF of Bold Riley https://docdro.id/Po7k0Ws
I indicate a C-G-C tuning which I have since lowered 1/2 step for my own voice.

The song goes HIGH in parts so after a lot of experimenting, I decided to attempt it with a LOW B-F#-B tuning, which my Simerman dulcimer can handle. This tuning was reached after first attempting it in D-A-D and continuing to tune it down a half step several times. My voice sounded too SHRILL in the higher keys, so I settled on the lower tuning. I have Baritone dulcimers as well, but just stuck with the same dulcimer which I like for fingerpicking, as it is a loud dulcimer, and my bare-fingered fingerpicking can be very faint.

Come All Ye Fair and Tender Ladies

There are so many versions of this song out there.  I found this version and deleted one of the verses because it was too difficult for me to phrase it while singing.  So if it won't be missed, I just drop a verse.  I usually try to keep the recordings short.  This one was fun to just strum the melody so I think I do it 3 times without deviating at all....unusual for me.  Getting the rhythm for the strum is difficult so you'd have to play around with it to get comfortable.  I've heard it done much slower than this, and also fingerpicked or might sound good with a banjammer or comparable dulcimer.

I listened to several versions to learn the song, by the following artists:
Amelia Hogan, Paul Siebel and Tony Markellis, Psaltrio (instrumental), Joan Baez, and Robin  Greenstein.  I think I liked Robin's version the best.

Here is a link to the version of the song I've posted on the DISCOVERING DULICIMERS and EVERYTHING DULCIMERS Facebook pages, as well as on my YouTube Channel

YouTube Video of Come All Ye Fair.....  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gu4gHfg9OsQ

Link to PDF of the song sheet (lyrics and chords) https://www.docdroid.net/kUHujsE/come-all-you-fair-and-tender.pdf

A discussion of the song on the MUDCAT website:
https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=19342


According to Wikipedia:
"Come All You Fair and Tender Ladies" (a.k.a. "Tiny Sparrow" or "Little Sparrow") (Roud #451) is an American folk music ballad, originating from the Appalachian region.^[1] It has been recorded under either of its two title variations by numerous artists, including The Carter Family, Pete Seeger, Joan Baez, Odetta, Peter, Paul and Mary, The Kingston Trio, Leon Bibb, Makem and Clancy, Emmylou Harris, Bob Dylan, Dave Van Ronk, The Rankin Family, The Country Gentlemen, Murray Head, Dolly Parton, and Gene Clark and Carla Olson.^[2][3][4][5] The title of the song varies from recording to recording, and prior to the 1960s the song was usually known as "Tiny Sparrow" or "Little Sparrow". Some versions substituted "Sparrow" with "Swallow", another species of bird.^[6] In more recent times, the song's title sometimes finds "Maidens" substituted for "Ladies", and "Come All Ye" or "Come All You" sometimes omitted.^[7]

In 2010, Marideth Sisco performed a portion of the song in the film Winter's Bone.^[8]