The Gypsy Laddie

"The Gypsy Laddie" (Roud, Child 200), also known as "Black Jack Davy" and "The Raggle Taggle Gypsies" among many other titles, is a Border ballad, possibly written about 1720 on the Scottish side of the border. The ballad has often been used and recorded in many different variations in Scotland and England from the 18th century, the United States, Canada from the 19th century, and more recently Ireland from the 1970s.

History

The ballad was first recorded in Nithsdale, now located in Dumfriesshire, Scotland in 1814 in Francis James Child's compilation The English and Scottish Popular Ballads (1882–1898). The Gypsy Laddie is ballad number 200 in the collection, and Child describes that the printed versions of the ballad probably date to 1720 and is a traditional Scottish folk tune. The earliest known printing was in Tea Table Miscellany (1740). "Lady Cassilles' Lilt" (aka "Johnny Faa, the Gypsiey Laddie") is among the Skene manuscripts from the 17th century.

Nick Tosches, in his Country: The Twisted Roots of Rock 'N' Roll, spends part of his first chapter examining the song's history. He compares the song's narrative to the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. The ballad, according to Tosches, retells the story of John Faw, a 17th century outlaw, described as a Scottish Gypsy, and Lady Jane Hamilton, wife of John Kennedy, 6th Earl of Cassilis. Lord Cassilis led a band of men (some sources say 16, others 7) to abduct her. They were caught and hanged on the "Dool Tree" in 1643. The "Gypsies" were killed (except for one, who escaped) and Lady Jane Hamilton was imprisoned for the remainder of her life, dying in 1642.

Robert Burns used the song in his Reliques of Robert Burns; consisting chiefly of original letters, poems, and critical observations on Scottish songs (1808).

Due to the Romanichal origins of the main protagonist Davie or Johnny Faa, the balad was translated into Anglo-Romany in 1890 by the Gypsy Lore Society.

Description

The ballad consists of different variations. A woman, usually married to a lord but sometimes the daughter of a lord, leaves her home for a Gypsy. The lord comes home to find his lady "gone with the gypsy laddie." He saddles his fastest horse to follow her. He finds her and bids her come home, asking "Would you forsake your husband and child?" She will not return, preferring the cold ground ( "What care I for your fine feather sheets?") and the gypsy's company to her lord's wealth and fine bed.

In another version the gypsy has six brothers, and the lord has all of Gypsies hanged. In some versions the gypsy turns out to be genuinely wealthy.

The song "Lizzie Lindsay" has a similar theme. Robert Burns adapted the song into "Sweet Tibby Dunbar," a shorter version of the story. There is also a children's version by Elizabeth Mitchell which has lyrical content changed to be about a young girl "charming hearts of the ladies", and sailing "across the deep blue sea, where the skies are always sunny".

Although the hero of this song is often called "Johnny Faa" or even "Davy Faa," he should not be confused with the hero/villain of "Davy Faa (Remember the Barley Straw)." [Silber and Silber misidentify all their texts] as deriving from "Child 120," which is actually "Robin Hood's Death." According to The Faber Book of Ballads the name Faa was common among Gypsies in the 17th century.

Broadsides

• Bodleian, Harding B 11(1446), "Gypsy Laddie," W. Stephenson (Gateshead), 1821–1838; also Harding B 11(2903), "Gypsy Loddy"; Harding B 19(45), "The Dark-Eyed Gipsy O"; Harding B 25(731), "Gipsy Loddy"; Firth b.25(220), "The Gipsy Laddy"; Harding B 11(1317), "The Gipsy Laddie, O"; Firth b.26(198), Harding B 15(116b), 2806 c.14(140), "The Gipsy Laddie"; Firth b.25(56), "Gypsie Laddie"
• Murray, Mu23-y3:030, "The Gypsy Laddie," unknown, 19C
• NLScotland, L.C.Fol.178.A.2(092), "The Gipsy Laddie," unknown, c. 1875
• Tosches, Nick (1996). Country: The Twisted Roots of Rock 'N' Roll. Da Capo Press. ISBN 0-306-80713-0.

External links

• "The Wraggle Taggle Gipsies-O" melody and lyrics
• Origins: "The Raggle-Taggle Gypsy" at The Mudcat Café
• ^ "FAQ". mikescottwaterboys. http://www.mikescottwaterboys.com/mikescottwaterboys/mainframes.asp?file=News/faq.htm. Retrieved October 28, 2005. 
• Variant lyrics, with chords from The Waterboys arrangement
• Child Ballad #200 Entry at Contemplator.com
• Ariella Uliano: The Wraggle Taggle Gipsies, song from 'Leave Only Your Footsteps Behind', 2008; modern setting.
• John Smith - "Seven Gyspies" acoustic performance video document