| Polly Vaughn |
"Polly Vaughn" is an Irish folk-song (Roud 166, Laws O36).
A man, sometimes called Johnny Randle, goes out hunting for birds. Usually, this is described as being in the evening or by moonlight in the rain. He sees something white in the bushes. Thinking this is a swan, he shoots. To his horror, he discovers he has killed his true love, Polly Vaughn, sheltering from the rain. Returning home, he reports his mistake to his uncle and is advised not to run away. He should stay and tell the court that it was an honest mistake. The night before Polly's funeral, her ghost appears to confirm his version of the events.
The narrator imagines all the women of the county standing in a line, with Polly shining out among them as a "fountain of snow". Since the fairest girl in the county died, the girls are said to be glad of her death. In some versions, there is no scene of a guilty confession and no ghost.[1]
Polly wears a white apron, and has a name which usually sounds like "Mailí Bhán". In Irish Gaelic, this translates as "Fair Mary".
Baring-Gould commented that there is some similarity to Celtic legends about "The Swan Maidens". Anne Gilchrist in the Journal of the Folksong Society (number 26) points to many tales about women turning into swans. There is a fairy tale called "An Cailin" (The Fair Girl). A version of this story was recorded as "Cailín na Gruaige Báine" on the album Aoife by Moya Brennan. In Ovid's Metamorphoses, the Aeolian prince Cephalus accidentally kills his wife Procris with a javelin while hunting.[2] Roy Palmer compares this story to that of Polly Vaughn. This interpretation might be called the "Romantic Celtic" version, and has been embraced by Shirley Collins.
There are no versions known before 1806 (there are a number of versions from 1765 to 1806).
Hugh Shields suggested that the story might be based on a real event in Kilwarlin, co. Down.[1] The song is discussed in "EDS" (English Dance and Song) Autumn 2006 edition.
There are versions of this song called "This Shooting of his Dear", in which the protagonist similarly mistakes Polly for a swan, but "never shall be hung for the shooting of his dear."[3]
There is a slight tendency for the name "Molly" to be used more frequently in the Irish versions of the song, and for "Polly" to be used in the English versions.
Most traditional songs involving death are included among the Child ballads. The absence of this song from that list has puzzled several commentators, since Francis Child should have known about the song.[1]
It was published in Robert Jamieson's 'Popular Ballads and Songs from tradition, manuscripts and scarce editions', 1806. Jamieson writes about this song, "This is indeed a silly ditty, one of the very lowest description of vulgar English ballads which are sung about the streets in country towns and sold four or five for a halfpenny".
Jamieson says that it also goes by the name "Lord Kenneth and Fair Ellinour". This seems like a misinterpretation, since there is a Child Ballad (number 73) called "Lord Thomas and Fair Elleanor" which involves a man killing a woman.
Broadside printings of this song are known from:
The song exists under the titles:
The Irish tune "An Cailín Bán" appears to have evolved separately from the English tune, and appears to be earlier.
And Polly Vaughn arranged by Rodney Dillard and recorded by The Dillards on Elektra Records 1962.
According to "The Fiddlers companion" website, the title "Molly Bawn" is an Anglicised corruption of the Gaelic "Mailí Bhán," or Fair Mary (Fairhaired Mary, White Haired Mary). The symbol of a bird to represent a departing spirit from a dead body is common in art, particularly in scenes of the death of Christ.
The idea that a woman might transform herself into a swan is widely known from Tchaikovsky's ballet "Swan Lake".
The word bán in Irish means "white", "pale", or "fair";[5] bawn is an Anglicized version.
The Colleen Bawn is a melodramatic play by Dion Boucicault. Molly Bawn: A comedy drama in four acts (1920) is by Marie Doran.There is also a song by Samuel Lover in the one-act opera Il Paddy Whack in Italia (1841) called "Molly Bawm". Margaret Wolfe Hungerford wrote a novel called Molly Bawn (1878). These stories are unrelated.
The story is adapted and illustrated by Barry Moser in 1992 as the children's book, , which is set in the Southern United States,[6] and again as part of the 1998 children's book, Great Ghost Stories, complete with an afterword by Peter Glassman.[7]
Samuel Lover wrote tunes as well as novels and dramas. Ciaran Tourish recorded "Molly Bawn's Reel" but it is not connected with the song. The website Reel suggests that Samuel Lover composed the tune.
In Canada, there is a company doing Whale and Puffin tours, called "Molly Bawn". There is a poem called "Polly Vaughn" in Les Barker's book Alexander Greyhound Bell. It is presumably a parody of the song.
The earliest known version of the tune for the Irish version of the song, is earlier than the earliest printing of the words. Edward Bunting's "General Collection of the Ancient Music of Ireland" appeared in 1796. He printed the Irish tune three times in his manuscripts, each time noting it was traditionally the first to by learned by beginning harpers.
Under the Irish title "An Cailín Bán" it was first mentioned in 1839 (The fair girl) as a tune rather than a song. The tune appears in "The Concertina and How to Play It" (1905) by Paul de Ville (as "Molly Bawn"), implying it is for beginners. This would suggest that the words were not with the Irish tune until sometime between 1840 and 1905.
The English tune is known from around 1890.
In Atlantic Canada, particularly Newfoundland, a variation of the original song, titled "Molly Bawn", depicts a man, reminiscing in despair, over the loss of his young bride many years ago. However, nowhere in the song is the manner of the girl's death mentioned.[8] (The Leach song, not Molly Bawn, is a version of Boating on Lough Ree by John Keegan Casey (1816–1849), from "Amatory Poems", ref. Mudcat Discussion Forum)
Section 1 – Performed as a folk song
| Album/Single | Performer | Year | Variant | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "The Acoustic Recordings (1910–1911)" | 1911 | "Molly Bawn" | classic tenor | ||
| "Columbia World Library of Folk and Primitive Music: Ireland" | 1955 (rec. 1949/51) | "Molly Bawn" | . | ||
| "The Shooting of His Dear" (single on HMV) | 1951 | "The Shooting of His Dear" | . | ||
| "The Voice of the People: Good People Take Warning" | 2012 (rec. 1952) | "Molly Bawn" | |||
| "Folk Songs of Britain, Vol 7" | 1962 (rec. 1953) | "Polly" | . | ||
| "Columbia World Library of Folk and Primitive Music: England" | 1955 | "Polly Vaughan" | . | ||
| "The Maid From Ballingarry & Other songs From the Muscrai Tradition" | John O'Connell | 1999 (rec.c. 1960) | "Molly Ban" | . | |
| "Marine Folk songs" | Louis Boutilier | 1962 | "As Jimmie Went A-Hunting" | Not really a marine song | |
| "Back Porch Bluegrass" | 1963 | "Polly Vaughn" | 1st USA version | ||
| "In The Wind" | 1963 | "Polly Von" | Unusual spelling | ||
| "Hazards of Love" | 1964 | "Polly Vaughan" | Same as A.L. Lloyd version | ||
| "Sings at the Toronto Horseshoe Club" | 1965/2001 | "Molly Bawn" | Newfoundland Version. | ||
| "Byker Hill" | 1967 | "Fowler Jack" | with Dave Swarbrick (fiddle) listed as "The Fowler" | ||
| "Ballads and Songs of the Upper Hudson Valley" | 1968 (rec. 1966) | "Molly Bawn" | USa version | ||
| "Power of the True Love Knot" | 1968 | "Polly Vaughan" | Tune composed by Collins | ||
| "Mainly Norfolk" | 1968 | "The Shooting of His Dear" | from Walter Pardon | ||
| "At It Again" | 1968 | "Molly Bawn" | . | ||
| "The Voice of the People vol 3" | Phoebe Smith | 1998 (rec. 1969) | "Molly Vaughan" | . | |
| "Folksongs & Ballads" | 1971 | "Polly Vaughn" | . | ||
| "The Voice of the People vol 6" | Packie Manus Byrne | 1998 (rec. 1974) | "Molly Bawn" | . | |
| "Folk Songs from Hampshire" | Cheryl Jordan | 1974 | "Polly Vaughan" | . | |
| "Songs of a Donegal Man" | Packie Byrne | 1975 | "Molly Bawn" | . | |
| "On Banks of Green willow" | Tony Rose | 1976 | "Polly Vaughn" | . | |
| "Dark Ships in the Forest" | John Roberts and Tony Barrand | 1977 | "Polly Vaughn" | . | |
| "Live" | 1978 | "Molly Bawn" | . | ||
| "You Can't Fool the Fat Man" | Dave Burland | 1979 | "The Shooting of His Dear" | . | |
| "Step Outside" | 1986 | "Molly Bond" | . | ||
| "Them Stars" | Margaret MacArthur | 1996 | "Polly Vaughn" | . | |
| "Voices – English Traditional Songs" | 1997 | "Fowler" | . | ||
| "Racing Hearts" | Al Petteway and Amy White | 1999 | "Polly Vaughn" | . | |
| "Black Mountains Revisited" | Julie Murphy | 1999 | "Polly Vaughan" | . | |
| "Put a Bit of Powder on it, Father" | Walter Pardon | 2000 | "Polly Vaughn" | . | |
| "Far in the Mountains" | Dan Tate | 2000 | "Molly Van" | Unusual spelling | |
| "Down the Old Plank Road: The Nashville Sessions" | 2002 | "Molly Ban" | . | ||
| "Over the Edge" | Moher | 2003 | "Molly Ban" | . | |
| "Red colour Sun" | Pauline Scanlon | 2004 | "Molly Ban" | . | |
| "The Hardy Sons of Dan" | Maggie Murphy | 2004 | "Molly Bawn" | . | |
| "Song Links 2" | Dave Fletcher and Bill Whaley | 2005 | "Polly Vaughn" | . | |
| "A Promise of Light" | Jamie Anderson | 2005 | "Polly Vaughn" | . | |
| "No Earthly Man" | 2005 | "Molly Bawn" | . | ||
| "Day Is Dawning" | Sussie Nielsen | 2005 | "Molly Bawn" | . | |
| "Of Milkmaids and Architects" | 2006 | "Polly Vaughan" | . | ||
| "Stranded" | Craig; Morgan; Robson | 2006 | "Polly Vaughan" | . | |
| "Freedom Fields" | 2006 | "The Setting of the Sun" | Unusual title | ||
| "The Weeping Well" | 2007 | "Polly Vaughan" | . | ||
| "" | 2007 | "Molly Bán" | . | ||
| "Night Visiting" | 2007 | "Molly Vaughan" | . | ||
| "Bring Me Home" | 2008 | "Molly Bond" | . | ||
| "Footsteps" | 2008 | "Polly Von" | Same version as Peter, Paul and Mary | ||
| "Is It the Sea?" | Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, Harem Scarem and Alex Neilson | 2008 | "Molly Bawn" | Live album recording of a 2006 performance at Queens Hall, Edinburgh. Released in 2008. | |
| "Daughters" | 2015 | "Polly Vaughn" | |||
| "Wild Hog" | 2016 | "Polly Vaughn" | |||
| "Mama's Apron Strings" | Blackberry Blossom Farm | 2018 | "Polly Vaughn" |
Section 2 – Performed as a classical music arrangement
Benjamin Britten wrote many arrangements of folksongs. "Folksong Arrangements – volume 6" contains "The Shooting of His Dear". Ernest John Moeran composed "Six Folk Songs from Norfolk" in 1923. The 5th song is "The Shooting of his Dear". According to Barry Marsh, the song became a basis for Moeran's Symphony in G minor.
| Album/Single | Performer | Year | Variant | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Music For voice and guitar" | 1993 (rec. 1964) | "The Shooting of His Dear" | The Britten version | ||
| "Britten: The Complete Folksong arrangements" | Jamie MacDougall and Craig Lewis | 1994 | "The Shooting of His Dear" | . | |
| "Down by the Salley Gardens" | Benjamin Luxon and David Willison | 2001 | "The Shooting of His Dear" | . | |
| "Scarborough Fair" | James Griffett | 2002 | "The shooting of his dear" | arr Britten | |
| "The Fowler"(single) | Christine Smallman + choir | unknown | The Fowler" | (arranged by Moeran) |
Section 3 – Performed as an instrumental
| Album/Single | Performer | Year | Variant | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Traditional Music of Ireland" | Joe Burke with Charlie Lennon | c. 1973 | "Molly Bán" | . | |
| "All Around The Circle: 12 Instrumental Selections" | The Stringbusters | c. 1973 | "Molly Von" | Unusual Spelling. Instrumental rendition of the Newfoundland variant. Performed on a Traditional Irish-Style button accordion, accompanied by typical Country-Western instrumentation of that era (Electric Guitar, Drums, Steel Guitar, Electric Bass). | |
| "Old Hag You Have Killed Me" | 1976 | "Molly Ban" | In the set called "Michael Gorman's" | ||
| "Traditional Music of Ireland" | James Kelly, Paddy O'Brien & Daithi Sproule | 1981 | "Molly Bawn (White-Haired Molly)" | . | |
| "Carousel" | Seamus McGuire, Manus McGuire and Daithi Sproule | 1984 | "An Cailin Bán" | . | |
| "A Whistle on the Wind" | 1994 | "Molly Ban" | . | ||
| "Under the Moon" | Martin Hayes | 1994 | "Fair Haired Molly" | Unusual title | |
| "Traditional Music from the Legendary East Clare Fiddler" | Paddy Canny | 1997 | "Molly Bawn" | . | |
| "The Wide World Over" | 2002 | "Little Molly" | Unusual title | ||
| "Ragairne" | Seamus Begley & Jim Murray | 2002 | "Cailin Ban" | . | |
| "Down the Line" | Ciaran Tourish | 2005 | "Molly Bán" | . | |
| "Bakerswell" | Bakerswell | 2005 | "Molly Ban" | . | |
| "Duck Soup" | Duck Soup | 2005 | "Molly Bawn" | . | |
| "In Session" | Eoin O'Neill | 2006 | "Molly Ban" | . | |
| "The House I Was Reared In" | Christy McNamara | 2007 | "Molly Bán" | . |
Edward Madden wrote the words, and M. J. Fred Helf wrote the music to a song called "Colleen Bawn" in 1906. The second verse is as follows:
Colleen Bawn when I am gone I wonder will you miss me,
Don't be afraid some other maid Will fall in love and kiss me,
For if they do I'll think of you A waiting here and sighing,
I'll drop my gun and start to run, And home a flying.
The song is about a soldier who longs to return to his Irish sweetheart.
In Canada a song called "Molly Bawn" has been captured by song-collector MacEdward Leach. It has the line:
Oh, Molly Bawn, why leave me pining, All lonely, waiting here for you?
The air "Molly ban so Fair" (1905, Stanford/Petrie collection), is probably unrelated.
According to "The Fiddlers companion" website, there is a variant similar to O’Carolan’s composition “Fairhaired Mary.”
Broadsheet sources are given here:
The ballad is discussed here:
The Irish tune is discussed here:
The lyrics are given here:
There is an mp3 version sung by Eula Maxfield Garrott, recorded in 1952 here:
Bob Dylan's version:
Paul de Ville's "The Concertina and How to Play It" containing Molly Bawn:
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