Edited by Azizi Powell
This post showcases two video examples of the American fiddle song (Old Time music) song "Pretty Little Girl With The Blue Dress On." This song is also known as "Pretty Little Gal With The Blue Dress On" and "Pretty Little Girl With The Red Dress On".
This post also includes information about "Pretty Little Girl With The Blue Dress On", including its probable source in a 19th century African American "patting" dance song and its use as a sea shanty (sailors' song). In addition, this post includes song lyrics for those examples as well as for this song as sung by the Carolina Chocolate Drops.
The content of this post is presented for folkloric, cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to the composers and the collectors of this song. Thanks also to Carolina Chocolate Drops and for their performances of this song. Thanks also to the publishers of these videos on YouTube and thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.
****
INFORMATION ABOUT "PRETTY LITTLE GIRL WITH THE BLUE DRESS ON"
"Pretty Little Girl With The Blue Dress On" (also "Pretty Little Girl With The Red Dress On") is an American fiddle song (Old Time Music song) that is found in African American and Anglo-American repertoires.
"Gal With The Blue Dress" is also a shanty (sailors' song) that is part of the "Johnny Come Down To Hilo" family of songs. An example of "Gal With A Blue Dress On" is included in Stan Hugill's 1961 collection of four hundred sea shanties Shanties from the Seven Seas http://www.stanhugill.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/Stan%20the%20Author/shanties_from_the_seven_seas.htm. A. A. Lloyd who sung the song "Johnny come Down To Hilo" and some other songs for this collection wrote that "Johnny Comes Down To Hilo was "A halyard shanty, most shelbacks say, though at least one 19th collection names it a pumping song. Known to Liverpool seamen, but sounding much like a Negro composition." (quoted by curmudgeon in http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=52717 "Origin: Johnny Come Down to Hilo".
Versions of this song can be traced back to the 19th century African American secular dance song "Pretty Little Gal With The Josey On". (a josey is a type of female cape (coat) which was fashionable in parts of the 19th century). Mudcat blogger Charley Noble wrote in that same discussion thread about that song "Well, apparently a plantation version can be traced back to the 1860's, as recalled by Solomon Northup, one of the best known Black itinerant musicians of the 19th century according to Eileen Southern in her book THE MUSIC OF BLACK AMERICANS. This fragment is what's called a "patting song", one that was used for dancing when there weren't any instruments:
Who's been here since I've been gone?
Pretty little gal with a josey on.
Hog eye!
Old hog eye!
And Hosey too!
Never seen the like since I was born,
Here comes a little gal wid a josey on.
Hog eye!
Old hog eye!
And Hosey too!
-snip-
"Hog Eye" is the title of another group of Old Time African American dance songs.
Charley Noble and some other bloggers in another Mudcat folk music discussion thread suggested that the "gal with the blue dress on" (or "the red dress on") was a sexually promiscuous woman. Charley Noble wrote "She's been around. Sometimes she hangs with Johnney, when he's not off to Hilo. Sometimes she entertains other folks while Johnney is away." http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=59635"
"Pretty Little Girl With a Blue Dress On"
On that same Mudcat thread Stewie shared "She's been around. wrote "In her 'red dress', she turns up in all manner of songs such as Leadbelly's 'Poor Howard', Uncle Dave's 'Come on buddie don't you want to go' and Jim Jackson's 'Old Dog Blue'.
Also on that same Mudcat thread about Guest, Pete Walker wrote this comment and quoted these song lyrics:
This halyard shanty comes from "Shanties from the Seven Seas" by Stan Hugall, singing of A. L. Lloyd, and various forgotten sources over the years. Also called "Shake Her, Johnny, Shake Her" and "Gal With A Blue Dress On"
A gal asleep with a blue dress on,
> Shake 'er Johnny, shake ''er!
She waitin' there for your Uncle Tom,
> Shake 'er and we'll wake 'er.
This gal she did look good to me,
For I have been ten months at sea.
She's a Down East gal wid a Down East style,
For a dollar a time it's all worth while.
Wake up you b&&ch* and let us in,
Wake up you b&&ch* we want some gin.
Roust an' shake her is the cry,
The bloody topmast sheave is dry!
The big wind comes from the Wes'-nor'-west,
This gal ain't gonner get no rest.
What can you do in Tiger Bay,
But give them flash gals all your pay.
Shake 'er, bullies, oh helm's a-lee,
She'll git washed out wid a big green sea.
Her oilskins they are all in pawn,
It's wet an' draughty 'round Cape Horn.
So roust 'er up from down below,
An' haul away for Uncle Joe.
This gal she is a high-brown** lass,
High-brown lass in a flash blue dress.
So roust 'er up be quick I say,
An' make yer port an' take yer pay.
Soon we'll be down Mobile Bay,
Screwin' cotton for to git our pay.
-snip-
* This curse word was fully spelled out in this quote.
** A "high brown" lass = a light brown skinned Black woman (one whose skin color may have been darker than Black women who were referred to as "yellow" and definitely darker than those Black woman who were referred to as being "high yellow".)
****
FEATURED EXAMPLES
These examples are presented in chronological order based on their publishing dates on YouTube with the examples with the oldest dates presented first.
Example #1: Carolina Chocolate Drops : "Pretty Girl With the Blue Dress On" (FolkAlley.com)
FolkAlleydotCom, Uploaded on Nov 10, 2011
The Carolina Chocolate Drops performing live from the Folk Alley Studios
****
Example #2: The Chieftains with Carolina Chocolate Drops Pretty Little Girl
BrownSauceTVPublished on Sep 19, 2012
The Cheiftains with Carolina Chocolate Drops performing Peggy Gordon from their album of collaborations 'Voice Of Ages' live on Later with Jools Holland 27th April 2012.
****
LYRICS - PRETTY LITTLE GIRL WITH THE BLUE DRESS ON
[as recorded by The Chieftains, featuring: Carolina Chocolate Drops]
Pretty little girl with a blue dress on
Pretty little girl with a blue dress on
Pretty little girl with a blue dress on
Stole my mule and away she's gone.
(?)
Swing that girl with the blue dress on
Pretty little girl with a blue dress on
Pretty little girl with a blue dress on
Pretty little girl with a blue dress on
Stole my mule and away she's gone.
Walked out that door in quiet shame
Got no one but myself to blame.
-snip-
As suggested in the information about this song that was given earlier in this post, the lyrics of this song as sung by the Carolina Chocolate Drops is only one of multiple versions of song lyrics for "Pretty Little Girl With The Blue Dress On".
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
No comments:
Post a Comment