110. The Lass of Roch Royal (Child 76) - (Traditional)

Another of the English and Scottish ballads collected by Francis James Child. There are several versions of this tragic story, which is also known as "Lord Gregory" or "Love Gregory". The first two verses "Who's gonna shoe your pretty little foot, etc." have found their way into many ballads.

This song is on my fourth CD: "PIGS MIGHT FLY and Other Politically Incorrect Ballads."

You can watch a playlist of my renditions of the Child ballads:
http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=B2D0D5657EA394E4

For lyrics and chords of my songs please see my website: http://www.raymondcrooke.com

Category:

Music

Tags:

• folk
• song
• ballad
• love
• tragedy
• gregory
• shipwreck
• drowning

[Hikikomori013]

Hello again.

I followed the link here from the Thumb Lead Banjer site on Red Rocking Chair. The rhythm and lyrics have changed, but it still has the same melody.

[raymondcrooke]

@Hikikomori013 Not quite sure what link got you here, but, yes, both songs share this tune. I would guess that some American singer wanted a tune and found "Red Rocking Chair" fit the lyrics.

[stewballmax3]

Hello

Raymond...

I came here to investigate the stark contrast between yours and Alan's interpretations,and I must indicate that they are both stylish and contain deeply personal and distinctive contributions by the individual performers...just as they ought to be rendered.

Pax,

Max

p.s. I had always thought that Child 76 was "Risselty Rosselty".

[raymondcrooke]

@stewballmax3 I think 'Risselty Rosselty" is a variation on Child 277 - "The Wife Wrapped in Wether's Skin". Child 76 seems to be the set of songs asking "Who's gonna shoe my pretty little foot?" Thanks for checking out my rendition of the song.

[SirCoughsalot]

What a tragic story.. This bears many similarities to Mary of the Wild Moor, which I'm pretty sure you could find on YouTube if you haven't heard it. Recorded by Johnny Cash, among others.

[raymondcrooke]

@SirCoughsalot Thanks for pointing it out. I had a listen to Johnny Cash doing it. The woman locked out with her baby seems to be a common motif in the old ballads.

[jessyquedens]

Supposedly the Carter family's "The Storms Are on the Ocean" is a distant relative of this.

[blueukulele]

Never heard this before and I love it. it reminds me of the House Carpenter.

[Smolokurova]

Thanks for song!

[raymondcrooke]

It depends on what you mean by home. I was back home in Australia for a few weeks to see my new grandson (my first). Now I'm back home in Hong Kong, hard at work. During the summer holidays I also had a chance to make trips to Yangshuo (China) and Cebu (Philippines). Apart from those breaks, I'm still managing to put up a song a day. Have you caught up with the songs I wrote for my subscribers?