Marc Nerenberg - Posted - 09/28/2018:  08:27:16

This Tune of the Week is predicated on two surprises to me. I've been working on an album lately, largely consisting of murder ballads, and I thought Pretty Polly probably ought to be on it, so I figured I would work out a version for myself - the first step of my process being to look up the song in the BHO TOTW archive.

Surprise #1 - it's not there! So I started doing some research elsewhere, and checked out Wikipedia.

Surprise # 2 - the distinctly American song, Pretty Polly, is actually a fragment of a much longer British murder ballad, The Cruel Ship's Carpenter, albeit with a different melody and structure. This being the "tune" of the week, it will focus only on the American melody (i.e. "tune") but I will also make reference to the British song lyrics.



Here's what I learned from Wikipedia (note -the links in this are to other Wikipedia articles, and they don't actually work in this pasted version):

 

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

(footnotes omitted)

"Pretty Polly", "The Gosport Tragedy" or "The Cruel Ship's Carpenter" (Laws P36, Roud 15) is a traditional English-language folk song found in the British Isles, Canada, and the Appalachian region of North America, among other places.

The song is a murder ballad, telling of a young woman lured into the forest where she is killed and buried in a shallow grave. Many variants of the story have the villain as a ship's carpenter who promises to marry Polly but murders her when she becomes pregnant. When he goes back to sea, either he is haunted by her ghost, confesses to the murder, goes mad and dies, or the ship will not sail, he denies the murder and is ripped to pieces by her ghost.

There are a number of extant broadside copies of "The Gosport Tragedy", the earliest known version. It is a lengthy ballad composed of rhymed couplets, sixteen verses of eight lines each. A copy at the Lewis Walpole Library has an estimated date of 1760 to 1765. In "The Gosport Tragedy: Story of a Ballad", D.C. Fowler argued that the events described in the song may have taken place in 1726. The ship, identified as the Bedford often "lay at Portsmouth" as in the song. Fowler found evidence that a ship's carpenter on the Bedford by the name of John Billson died at sea on September 25, 1726, and that there was a Charles Stewart among the crew members at the time, as noted in some versions. The tragic protagonist, "Molly", does not seem to have been buried at the Parish Church of St. Mary's Alverstoke, the presumed "Gosford Church", as claimed in the song. Although hardly conclusive, a number of subsequent commentators have regarded Fowler's scenario as plausible.

In the nineteenth century, considerably shortened and altered broadside versions began appearing under a wide range of titles including "Love and Murder", "The Cruel Ship's Carpenter", "Polly's Love", "The Cruel Ship-Carpenter", "Nancy's Ghost", "Molly the Betray'd" and "The Fog-bound Vessel". The protagonist frequently appears as "Polly" (though not "pretty Polly") and the locale is often given as Worcester, although the names of Molly and Gosport appear in some, and there is little doubt of the connection with the "Gosport Tragedy".

In the United States, the song had gained new life as a banjo tune by the time of its earliest recordings in the mid-1920s: John Hammond's "Purty Polly" of 1925 and 1927, and the "Pretty Polly" versions of B.F. Shelton and Dock Boggs, both of 1927.

American versions of the song, such as those of B.F. Shelton and Dock Boggs, tend to begin in the first person ("I courted Pretty Polly...") and switch to the third person for the murder ("he stabbed her to the heart"); Judy Collins' 1968 recording featured alternating verses switching back and forth between Polly and Willie's perspectives. American versions also tend to omit the reason for killing Pretty Polly and Willie's subsequent madness or haunting by Polly's ghost.

The ballad is the musical basis for "Ballad of Hollis Brown" by Bob Dylan who played "Pretty Polly" himself in his early years.

Woody Guthrie used the tune of "Pretty Polly" for "Pastures of Plenty".

David Lindley's version alters the ending and has Polly draw a razor and kill Willie instead.

The song was performed by Hilarie Burhans for the closing credits of the sixth episode of Season 2, "Something Very Expensive" of the HBO series Deadwood.

The song was sung by Frank Underwood (Kevin Spacey) in Season 2 Episode 4 of the Netflix original series House of Cards.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

I draw your attention right away to the reference above to Hilarie Burhans' rendering used in the tv series "Deadwood". If Hilarie has a copy of that, it would be super cool if she would post it in this thread.

Here are some other links:

Here's a video of Dock Boggs in 1966 (shot by Alan Lomax): youtu.be/kl1NPpg5XDg

Here's a non "old-time" version by Ralph Stanley and Patty Loveless in 2008: youtu.be/3XV7mxfIIr0

Here's an even less "old-time" version by the Byrds in 1968: youtu.be/KKoh9xreYjM

Here's a contemporary "old-time" thumb-lead-two-finger-picking version by Clifton Hicks from February of this year: youtu.be/YfTVl48QkRI

And here are 5 diverse versions by me. (The first three are all "unlisted" videos on YouTube, being all potential parts of a larger work in progress of mine, but I think they can be seen here if I embed them. If they don't actually appear here, please let me know in the comments below, and I will make them "public"):

The first is the "American" version of the song. Being a fragment of the British song, this is actually an excerpt from the middle of a recording I did of the whole story - and is the section that usually makes up the American version:

The second is a version that restores some, but not all, of the original beginning and ending of the song. falling about halfway between the British and American versions, I call this my "Canadian" version of the song. I do it here on an 1880's fretless banjo, and I have a tambourine fastened to my right wrist to provide "period appropriate" percussion along with the banjo. (This version is intended for the album I am working on.):

Third, here is the whole long re-constructed story from the British ballad - but using the American tune and structure. (This one is intended to be used as a "bonus track" on my album.):

The fourth and fifth of these videos are of other songs that use the Pretty Polly melody, or variants thereof, Woody Guthrie's "Pastures of Plenty", and Bob Dylan's "The Ballad of Hollis Brown". The Guthrie song doubles up the second line, to turn it into a 4 line melody. It's the only one of the five here in which I actually use the usual tuning for Pretty Polly i.e. "Sawmill" or "G modal" (in this case, tuned down to E). In the other 4 of these videos I use a tuning of my own devising that I find to be very versatile: eAEAE (or the equivalent intervals pitched higher or lower).

Pastures of Plenty:

The Ballad of Hollis Brown:

p.s. These are (more or less) the lyrics I sing in the long "British" version of Pretty Polly - i.e. "The Cruel Ship's Carpenter":

Near the harbour, where ships sail to many a foreign town (2x)

There lived a lovely damsel known as Pretty Polly Brown.

She courted handsome Willie, his darling wife to be

She courted handsome Willie, for his darling wife to be

His trade was long and steady: a ship's carpenter was he.

Willie said that they would marry; but her trust he did betray

Willie promised they would marry; but her trust he did betray

Yes, he vowed that they would marry; but instead led her astray 

Soon Polly, she could see that things just were not right

Soon Polly, she could see that things were just not right

And Willie, he could see that her dress was growing tight

So Willie, he told Polly “My time has come to sail” (2x)

“I’ll be gone a year or more on a ship that’s hunting whale.”

Before Willie turned to go with the sailors out to sea, (2x)

Polly begged for him to stay. She fell down upon her knee.

“Oh Willie, please Willie, do not leave me here, alone (2x)

You have yet to keep your promise to make of me your own.”

“Well now, Polly, Pretty Polly, come and take a walk with me (2x)

Before we be married, some pleasure to see.”

Then he took her in a forest, so damp and dark and deep. (2x)

The depth of darkness in that place made Polly start to weep

“Willie, oh Willie! I guess you’ve brought me here to die, (2x)

For you wish not for a wife, nor to hear your baby cry.”

“Oh Polly, Pretty Polly, well, you’re guessing just about right, (2x)

I was here, to dig your grave, the better part of last night.” 

“Oh Willie, please Willie! Won’t you pardon me my life? (2x)

I never more will covet for to be your darling wife.”

“Look how your grave’s wide open; my spade is standing by. (2x)

Now into that deep grave, your fair body, it must fly.”

How he stabbed her, and impaled her! How her blood did flow! (2x)

Till deep into that grave, her dead body, he did throw.

He buried her so neatly, and he covered her so well, (2x)

He knew that there was no one who had seen, or who could tell.

When he went to board that ship for to sail the wide world round (2x)

He thought not that Polly’s awful fate ever would be found.

Then, early on one morning, well before the break of day, (2x)

His captain stepped upon the deck, these grisly words to say:

“There is a killer on this ship! Filthy murder has he done! (2x)

Our ship is deep in mourning! She refuses to sail on.”

Then up stepped the first-mate, saying, “I am not the one” (2x)

“Nor I”, said every sailor. They each swore it, one by one.

Last, up stepped Willie, the ship’s carpenter, to swear, (2x)

“Indeed, it is not I, sir: I so swear and do declare.”

As Willie was a-turning from his captain, feeling bold (2x)

Pretty Polly stood before him! It made his blood run cold!

The ghastly ghost grabbed Willie, and ripped him into three. (2x)

“That’s what you get for murdering my unborn babe and me!

Eeee – ee-ee – eeeeee – – – eeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Okay - that's enough from me. (Hmmm? ... maybe "too much" ?)

Your turn!

Edited by - Marc Nerenberg on 09/28/2018 09:49:31

JanetB - Posted - 09/28/2018:  17:09:20

Thorough coverage, Marc! They say the older the song, the more the variety we'll encounter. Best wishes for success on your CD projects -- you've put out much effort and given performances for decades.  It's good to see you'll produce a couple of keepsake CDs showcasing your amazing talent.



Ralph Stanley and Abigail Washburn don't make a likely combination, but I've put them together here in sawmill tuning and included modulation to represent the two characters, Willie and Polly. I wonder why Willie is the bad guy in many a song....

Edited by - JanetB on 09/28/2018 17:11:22

Pretty Polly (TOTW)

 

banjo_brad - Posted - 09/29/2018:  14:52:20

Really nice, Marc. I really like your way with songs, and appreciate the "old" words - I will have to try to get them down and start using that version.

I play this one but haven't recorded it, so I'm adding a recording by my brother from the 80's. I think it qualifies as he is the reason I now play OT clawhammer music.

Pretty Polly

 

Marc Nerenberg - Posted - 09/30/2018:  13:40:29

Thank you JanetB and banjo_brad for the comments and the audio clips. They were both terrific. You should record one yourself, Fred - your brother's is lovely - now show him up, a few decades later!

JanetB - Posted - 10/01/2018:  11:54:45

Here's Abigail Washburn with Bela Fleck.  It's different, artistic, very plaintive and took me by surprise.  I used her Pretty Polly interpretation as the modulated second part of my arrangement.

Emiel - Posted - 10/02/2018:  06:30:39

This is the way I play Dock Boggs' version of Pretty Polly. A quick recording… Banjo: 1926 Gibson TB-3 ball-bearing with a 5-string reproduction neck.