“True Love from the Eastern Shore”

Author: unknown
Earliest date: 1918 (Cecil Sharp collection)
Keywords: courting rejection death mourning burial lover
Found in: US(SE)

Description

Singer tells sweetheart who spurned him/her that s/he "would not serve you as you served me." Singer plans to mourn and weep, and tells sweetheart to grieve over his/her tombstone. (Singer vows to "court the girl, the old lady ain't in")

Notes

Sharp's "A" version doesn't define the sex of the singer or sweetheart. The "B" version is a fragment, which doesn't really overlap the "A" version; Sharp may have been using this as a catchall. - PJS

References

  1. SharpAp 187, "True Love from the Eastern Shore" (2 texts, 2 tunes)
  2. Roud #3610
  3. BI, ShAp2187
The Traditional Ballad Index is copyright ©2008 by Robert B. Waltz and David G. Engle. The Digital Tradition is copyright The Mudcat Cafe.