The Black Velvet Band

"The Black Velvet Band" (Roud number 2146) is a traditional English and Irish folk song describing transportation to Australia, a common punishment in 19th century Britain and Ireland. The song tells the story of a tradesman who meets a young woman who has stolen an item and passed it on to him (the lyrics of the song vary from place to place). The man then appears in court the next day, charged with stealing the item and is sent to Van Diemen's Land for doing so. This song was adapted in the United States to "The Girl In The Blue Velvet Band."

Versions

While working for the BBC, Peter Kennedy recorded a version in Belfast in 1952. In 1959, a version was found in Australia. The collector G.B. Gardiner noted a version in Hampshire in 1907. The first versions found were called "Tars of the Blanche" (the Blanche was a ship). A version by the publisher Swindells in Manchester, is very wordy, and has no chorus. It places the events in Barking, Essex.

One day, being out on a ramble, alone by myself I did stray,

I met with a young gay deceiver, while cruising in Ratcliffe Highway;

Her eyes were as black as a raven, I thought her the pride of the land,

Her hair, that did hang o'er her shoulders, was tied with a black velvet band.

The first publication date of that version is 1819. There are at least twenty copies in the Bodleian library.

Alternative version

There is an alternative version of the song detailing the same story, to the same air, titled The Black Ribbon Band 1 It has many similarities to the more popular version, although with various changes. One such variation is the opening line, where the phrase

"In a neat little town they call Belfast" from the Black Velvet Band is replaced with "In Tralee in the sweet County Kerry" (Black Ribbon Band).

Recordings

• The Irish Rovers on their album The Unicorn, which reached #27 in the US on the Billboard 200 in 1967, also released in the UK and Australia in 1968.
• The Dubliners on their album A Drop of the Hard Stuff, which reached number 16 on the UK Singles chart in 1967.
• Ewan MacColl
• Dropkick Murphys on their album Blackout, this version differs slightly from the traditional.
• Four to the Bar on their live album Craic on the Road, in a medley with "The Galway Shawl" and "The Wild Rover".
• Bill Monroe (as "Girl In The Blue Velvet Band")
• Brobdingnagian Bards on their album The Holy Grail of Irish Drinking Songs.
• Bakerloo on the compilation Here's To The Irish, Vol. 2.
• The High Kings on their album The High Kings.
• Seamus Kennedy on his album By Popular Demand.
• The Blackwater Boys on the album Irish Drinking Songs Vol. 2.
• Harry Cox on compilation album The Bonny Labouring Boy.
• Gareth Davies-Jones on his album "Water & Light".
• Swagger on their album "Trouble On the Green".
• Cutthroat Shamrock on their eponymous album
• Martin Lignell, a Swedish folksinger, recorded the song under the name Silkesbandet (The Ribbon of Silk) on his first record in 2004, Irländska på Svenska - Levande Krabbor (Irish in Swedish - Living Crabs).
• The Sandsacks on their album Folk-Show
• The Wiggles on Sing a Song of Wiggles (2008)
• Gael in the Harbor on "Leaving Van Dieman's Land"
• Firkin on their album Firkinful of Beer
• Andy Stewart recorded a parody "The Green Crystal Bag", about a man arrested for driving while drunk - the 'green crystal bag' being a type of breathalyser.

External links

• Cyril Poacher's version
• Swindels version
• The Black Velvet Band, Sheet Music