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Some Tyrant Has Stolen My True Love Away
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The Americans Have Stolen My True Love Away
My True Love Is Lost / Some Rival / Some Tyrant Has Stolen My True Love Away / The Americans Have Stolen My True Love Away
[
Roud 587
, V8363
; Master title: My True Love Is Lost
; Ballad Index BuDa005
; VWML GB/6a/2
, GB/4/19
, AW/6/129
; Bodleian
Roud V8363
; Wiltshire
949
; trad.]
Lucy Broadwood: English Traditional Songs and Carols Karl Dallas: The Cruel Wars Michael Dawney: The Ploughboy’s Glory James Reeves: The Everlasting Circle
The Etchingham Steam Band (Shirley Collins, Ashley Hutchings, Ian Holder and Vic Gammon) sang Some Tyrant Has Stolen My True Love Away live on 23 December 1974 at the “Nova Scotia” in Bristol. This recording was included in 1995 on their eponymous Fledg’ling CD, The Etchingham Steam Band. This version is based on Henry Hills’ My True Love I’ve Lost, as collected with other songs by W. Percy Merrick in November 1899 and printed in Journal of the Folk Song Society, I (3) 1901, 96 [VWML RoudFS/S155496] . The E.S.B.’s first verse is introduced from elsewhere and the second is altered.
Malcolm Douglas noted on Mudcat in 2003 that Henry Hills’ phrase ‘Venus and Volum’ was actually a mis-hearing of ‘Phœnix and Female’ as shown in the ca. 1802-1819 broadside Harding B 16(203c) of the same title at the Bodleian Library. Also, some versions of this song have the title The Rifles… where ‘rifles’ very probably is a corruption of ‘rival’.
George Butterworth collected The American King from Mrs Cranstone (c. 50), of Wood Dale, Billingshurst, in July 1907 [VWML GB/4/19] . This was printed in 1977 in Michael Downey’s book of “hitherto unpublished folk songs collected by George Butterworth”, The Ploughboy’s Glory.
Steeleye Span (then with Martin Carthy and John Kirkpatrick) sang this song as Some Rival in 1977 is on their tenth album, Storm Force Ten; it was also released as the B-side of their single The Boar’s Head Carol. This is a set from Lucy Broadwood’s English Traditional Songs and Carols (1908, pp. 108-11), which was noted from farm labourer Mr Lough at Dunsfold, Surrey, in 1898 [VWML GB/6a/2] .
Keith Kendrick learnt Some Tyrant Has Stolen My True-Love Away from Eddie Upton (who was dance caller with the Etchingham Steam Band; hence their nearly identical verses) and sang it in 1997 on his Fellside CD Home Ground. This track was also included in 2001 on the Fellside anthology celebrating their 25th anniversary, Flash Company.
Eliza Carthy sang this song with several different verses as The Americans Have Stolen My True Love Away in 1998 on her album Rice, accompanied by Saul Rose on melodeon and Ed Boyd on guitar. She also sang it on the 1988 Folkfestival Dranouter anthology. According to Malcolm Douglas, her text appears to be collated from two sources: a set noted by Cecil Sharp from Robert Rowlands at Shipley, Sussex, in 1908; and one which appeared in The Journal of the Folk Song Society (I (4) 1902, 205); tune and first verse from Henry Burstow of Horsham, Sussex, with four verses from Mr Woodman (like Henry, a bell-ringer) at Warnham, Sussex. A few additional changes have been made to the text as transcribed here. Verses 1-2, 5: Mr Rowlands. Verses 3 (a standard floating verse, here changed a bit from its form in FSJ) and 4: Mr Woodman.
Diney Godfrey sang The Rifles in 1998 on Chris Bartram’s and Keith Holloway’s WildGoose CD From the Vale. Chris Bartram noted:
When he was collecting songs in the mid-1960s, John Baldwin spent quite a lot of time around Castle Eaton, just to the west of Swindon, looking for members of a formerly famous singing family, the kings, who remembered their family songs. He didn’t have much success. That was a great pity, as I’d liked to have had the original tune for The Rifles, the words of which Alfred Williams collected during the Great War. Instead I wrote this setting in 1975 for my friend Sally Davis (now Sally Smith). It’s sung here by a very old friend from Charney Bassett, Diney Godfrey, as neither Keith or I fancied singing a woman’s song!
Kate Rusby sang the Etchingham Steam Band’s version as Some Tyrant in 2001 on her CD Little Lights.
Belgian group Kadril sang The Americans Have Stolen My True Love Away on their 2005 CD De Andere Kust.
Audrey Smith sang Some Rival on the 2005 Musical Traditions anthology Songs From the Golden Fleece. Rod Stradling noted:
I got this is from Lucy Broadwood’s English Traditional Songs and Carols—but I’ve re-gendered it. Roud has 25 examples from right across southern and southeastern England. Ms Broadwood traces it to a 1656 Roxburghe broadside in which “Some tyrant has stolen my true love away”, whereas the King family in Wiltshire sang “The rifles have stolen…” to Alfred Williams. All the ‘Rival’ versions are from the Hampshire/Surrey borders. Clearly, four centuries allows plenty of time for things to get very confused since, in five of the Sussex versions, it is ‘The Americans’ who have been doing the stealing!
Olivia Chaney sang Some Rival on the fRoots Magazine CD Looking for a New England accompaying their 2009 issue 317/318.
Tim Radford played the tune of My True Love Is Lost in 2009 on his Forest Tracks album of songs collected by George B. Gardiner in 1906-07 from the Hampshire gardener George Blake (1829-1916), George Blake’s Legacy. He noted:
Gardiner mss. no. 333 from original notebook 9, page 43, and collected on 22 November 1906 in St. Denys. Only one verse was collected. The Roud number given is 587. Gardiner also collected the some song from Mr. Munday of Axford H968 and several other Hampshire singers. The Roud index number also includes songs that have a similar but different theme. Most of them are songs of a man being taken away from a woman, and that is the opposite sentiment to Blake’s words above. Does gender matter?
Cecil Sharp collected similar songs in Somerset, and they too are catalogued with songs like: Some Rival/Rifle Has Stolen My Love, The American’s Have Stolen etc. and even versions of The Turtle Dove, although he also collected My True Love is Lost from John Fox in Somerset.
Blake’s tune sounds more akin to The White Cockade which starts: “They say my love has listed” which I also think of as a woman singing about a man taken from her.
Jon Boden sang Some Tyrant Has Stolen My True Love Away, leaving out the third verse, as the 25 January 2011 entry of his project A Folk Song a Day.
Maz O’Connor sang Some Tyrant in 2011 on her first EP, On Leaves or on Sand.
Jim Moray sang The Americans Have Stolen My True Love Away in 2016 on his CD Upcetera.
Narthen (formerly Coope, Simpson, Fraser & Freya) sang The Rifles in 2018 on their eponymous No Masters album Narthen. They noted on the song and its collector:
This song was collected from the King Family of Castle Eaton in Wiltshire by Alfred Williams [VWML AW/6/129] . It was first published in 1915 as part of a serialisation, and then in his collection Folk Songs of the Upper Thames [ Wiltshire 949 ] , published in 1923.
An interesting collector, [Williams] was born in 1877 and due to family hardship missed most of his education, leaving school at eleven and then going on to be a blacksmith in the railway works.
While still at work he undertook an English Literature correspondence course, going on to first write poetry and then prose, always about the Wiltshire he knew. He left the ironworks due to ill health, but joined up in 1916, serving in Ireland and India before returning in 1919. His collections are a wonderful record of the material sung at the time.
This version has been set by John Tams to a variant of the tune for Farewell to Tarwathie.
Lyrics
Henry Hills sings My True Love I’ve Lost
My true love I’ve lost, and I cannot her find,
For who knows, for who knows that she mayn’t change her mind?
I’ll go and search some shady grove by night and by day,
For to find, for to find, for to find,
For to find out my own true love, the girl that I love best.
And when I have found out my joy and heart’s delight,
I’ll comfort her more kinder by day and by night;
It’s I will prove more constant than any turtle-dove
Unto her, unto her, unto her,
Unto her like some lover I always will prove true.
Here’s Venus and Volum, they were both as one,
So keep yourself single as you and I have done;
So keep yourself single, so constant I’ll retire
Unto her, unto her, unto her,
Unto her like some Venus that flourishes like fire.
We’ll make the bugle speak, and the serpent shall sing,
here’s instruments of music for to make those valleys ring;
The huntsman he shall holloa, and the hounds shall make a noise,
For to fill, for to fill, for to fill,
To fill my love’s heart with ten thousand of bright joys.
George Blake sings My True Love Is Lost
My true love is lost and I cannot find her
I cannot think the reason why my love have changed her mind
I will go and search the shady groves by day and night
Till I find, till I find, till I find
Till I find out my own true love, my joy and heart’s delight.
The Etchingham Steam Band sings Some Tyrant Has Stolen My True Love Away
Some tyrant has stolen my true love away
And it’s why in old England no longer can stay.
I will cross the wide ocean all on my bare breast
For to search for my true love that I love the best.
And it’s when I’ve found out my joy and my delight
I will welcome her kindly by day and by night.
Here’s a health to all others that are loyal and just
Here’s confusion to the rivals that lives in distrust.
There’s Venus and Volum, they are both joined as one,
So keep yourselves single as you and I have done,
So keep yourselves single and constant I’ll retire
Unto her like some Venus that flourishes like fire.
The bugle shall speak and the serpent shall sing
There’ll be instruments of music for to make the valleys ring.
Oh the huntsman he shall holler and the hounds shall make their noise
For to fill my love’s heart with ten thousand bright joys.
Steeleye Span sing Some Rival
Some rival has stolen my true love away
So I in old England no longer can stay;
I will swim the wide ocean around my fair breast
To find out my true love, the one I love the best.
And when I have found out my joy and delight
I will welcome him kindly by day and by night.
For the bells shall be ringing and the drums make a noise
For to welcome my true love with ten thousand joys.
Here’s a health to all lovers that are loyal and just
Here’s confusion to the rival that lives in distrust.
For it’s I’ll be as constant as a true turtle dove
And it’s never will I prove false to my love.
(repeat first verse)
Keith Kendrick sings Some Tyrant Has Stolen My True-Love Away
Some tyrant has stolen my true love away
And it’s I in old England no longer can stay.
I will cross the wide ocean all on my bare breast
In search of my true love that I love the best.
And when that I’ve found out my joy and my delight
I will welcome her kindly by day and by night.
Here’s a health to all others that are loyal and just
And here’s confusion to the rivals that lives in distrust.
Now there’s Venus and Volum they are both joined as one,
So keep yourselves single as you and I have done,
So keep yourselves single, so constant I’ll retire
Unto her like some Venus that flourishes like fire.
For the bugle shall speak and the serpent shall sing
There’ll be instruments of music for to make the valleys ring.
Oh the huntsman he’ll holler and the hounds will make their noise
For to fill my love’s heart with ten thousand bright joys.
(repeat first verse)
Eliza Carthy sings The Americans Have Stolen My True Love Away
The Americans have stolen my true love away
And I in old England no longer can stay.
I will cross the briny ocean all on my sad breast
To find out my true love who I do love best.
And when I have found him, my joy and delight
I’ll be constant unto him by day and by night;
I will always prove as constant as a true turtle dove
And I never will in no time prove false to my love.
When meeting is a pleasure but parting’s a grief
And an inconstant lover is worse than a thief.
For a thief he will but rob you, take all that you have,
But an inconstant lover brings you to the grave.
The grave it will rot you and bring you to dust;
There is not one in twenty pretty ladies can trust.
For they’ll kiss you and court you and swear they’ll prove true
And the very next morning they will bid you adieu.
Come all you pretty maidens wherever you be
Don’t settle your mind on yon sycamore tree;
For the leaves they will wither and the branches will die
And you’ll be forsaken, you won’t know not for why.
Audrey Smith sings Some Rival
Some rival has stolen my true love away,
So I in Old England no longer can stay;
I’ll swim the wide ocean all round by fair breath,
To find out my true love whom I love best.
When I have found out my true love and delight,
I’ll welcome him kindly by day or by night;
And the bells will be a-ringing, and the drums make a noise,
To welcome my true love with ten thousand joys.
Here’s a health to all lovers who are loyal and just!
Here’s confusion to the rival who lives in distrust!
For it’s I’ll be as constant as a true turtle dove,
And I never will, at no time, prove false to my love.
Jon Boden sings Some Tyrant Has Stolen My True Love Away
Some tyrant has stolen my true love away
And here in old England I’ll no longer stay.
I will cross the wide ocean all on my bare breast
In search for my true love who I love the best.
And when I have found her, my joy and delight,
I’ll be constant unto her by day and by night.
Here’s a health to all others that are loyal and just
And confusion to the rivals who thrive in distrust.
The bugle shall speak and the serpent shall sing
There’ll be instruments of music for to make the woods ring.
Oh the huntsman he’ll holler and the hounds make their noise
For to fill my love’s heart with ten thousand bright joys.
Narthen sing The Rifles
Oh, the Rifles have stolen my dear jewel away,
And I in old England no longer can stay;
I will cross the wide ocean, all on my bare breast,
𝄆 To find my own true love,
To find my own true love,
To find my own true love who I do love best. 𝄇
And when that I find him, my own heart’s delight,
I will prove to him kinder, by day and by night,
I will prove to him kinder than the soft turtle-dove,
𝄆 And I ne’er will prove false,
I ne’er will prove false,
I ne’er will prove false to my own one true love. 𝄇
And when we are married the bells they shall ring,
With many sweet changes our love they will bring;
The music shall play and the drums make a noise,
𝄆 To welcome my true love,
To welcome my true love,
To welcome my true love with ten thousand bright joys. 𝄇
(repeat first verse)
Acknowledgements
Eliza Carthy’s version was transcribed by Kira White, and Narthen’s by Henry Peacock.