Handed Down
Handed Down celebrates traditional songs and the people who sing them. The show is presented by Jenny Shaw, an amateur musician and professional writer. Each episode is full of music, tales and curiosities as we delve into the history a single song, often with the help of a fellow folk musician, to uncover the strange stories and colourful characters that lie beneath.
These are the songs that have been handed down from our ancestors. This podcast and the people involved in it help keep them alive so that we can hand them down in turn to future generations.
Handed Down
George Collins - Don't Go Kissing Watery Tarts
George Collins is a handsome young man with his whole life ahead of him, so why does he die within a few short verses and leave a trail of devastation in his wake?
Today’s episode takes us back to supernatural legends from medieval Northern Europe, in which brave young men are easily seduced. We also travel across the Atlantic to meet a dying hobo who wandered into this song sometime in the late 19th Century.
In the end, these legends are a legacy of the things we didn’t properly understand. Nonetheless, if you do meet a beautiful maiden by the riverside it’s best just to back away, jump on your horse and ride home as fast as you can.
Music
Verses from two different versions of George Collins as recorded in the Folk Song Society Journey 1909: https://archive.org/details/sim_folk-song-society-journal_1909_3_13/page/300/mode/2up
Traditional Breton Tune
Faroese Folk Tune – Grímur á Miðjanesi
Incidental music – Rosebud in June
The historic American recording, and many others, can be found here: https://www.mustrad.org.uk/articles/collins.htm
Final song: This is the version sung by Shirley Collins on The Sweet Primroses, 1967. I’ve slowed it down and recorded it with a guitar accompaniment which is somewhat inspired by Dolly Collins’ beautiful organ arrangement.
References
Bluegrass Messengers - George Collins- Barbara M. Cra'ster 1910
https://archive.org/details/englishscottishp22chilrich/page/278/mode/2up?view=theater
https://www.mustrad.org.uk/articles/collins.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gwerz_an_Aotrou_Nann
https://balladspot.blogspot.com/2016/03/sir-olof-and-elves.html
https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=xlIJAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA161&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false
https://archive.org/details/sim_folk-song-society-journal_1909_3_13/page/300/mode/2up
https://archive.org/details/folksongsofsouth00coxj/page/110/mode/2up