Gypsy Laddie
Robert Shifflett
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Young Gypsy Davey came merrily by Whistling loud and gaily, He whistled and sang till the green wood rang. Charmed the heart of a lady. Merrily down the castle stair Came this fair young lady, In her hand so fine was a glass of wine, To drink a health to Davey. Her Ingram Lord came home that night, Inquiring for his Iady, The waiting maid cried, as she replied, "She's gone with Gypsy Davey." "Oh, saddle with speed my milk-white steed, Quicklv make him ready, I will de this night, 'till broad daylight, Till I overtake my lady." He rode that night, he rode next day, Till he come to the banks of the river. On the other side his wife he spied, Beside her gypsy lover. "Turn back, turn back my own fair one, Turn back to your home and baby, How can you roam from your fair home, To follow a gypsy laddie? "I won't turn back, I shan't turn back, For neither lord nor baby. I would give your home and the rest you own, For one sweet kiss from Davey. "Last night on a bed of down you lay, Your baby lay by you. Tonight you will lay on the cold, cold clay, With the gypsy lad beside you." "I won't turn back, I shan't turn back, For all your words of honey. I wouldn't give a kiss from the Gypsy's lips, For all your land and money. "Take off, take off your costly glove, That's made of Spanish leather. Your hand I will grasp in a farewell clasp, 'Twill be farewell, forever." |
It was specifically in search of this version of the ballad, "The Gypsy Laddie," that I came to meet and know Robert Shifflett. I had been recording the singing of Marybird McAllister along with two friends and fellow folksong collectors, Roger Abrahams and Paul Clayton, when they told me about a man who lived just up the road. They said he knew a version of "The Gypsy Laddie" with the most intricate and beautiful internal rhyming:
"He whistled and sang till the green wood rang."
"In her hand so fine was a glass of wine."
"Your hand I will grasp in a farewell clasp."
They told me of his reluctance to sing for them and I felt the challenge of trying to get this rare specimen for my collection. Over the next several years and during many visits with "Raz's Robert" I not only got this exceptional version of the ballad, but also benefited greatly from his knowledge of the region, his appreciation for old-timey things and his wonderful way of telling a tale.
©1993 George Foss
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