Charlie / Weevily Wheat

[ Roud 729 ; G/D 1:135 ; Ballad Index R520 ; trad.]

Guy Carawan sang Charlie (Weevily Wheat) in 1958 on his Topic album Mountain Songs and Banjo Tunes.

Shirley Collins sang Charlie in 1959 on her first LP, the Argo album Sweet England, on wich she was accompanied by John Hasted, Ralph Rinzler and Guy Carawan. The album’s notes commented:

A fresh setting on the British-American jingle about Prince Charlie with verses from Seventeen Come Sunday. The tune is from Jean Ritchie’s Singing Family of the Cumberlands and the extra words are traditional.

Ian Campbell sang O’er the Water to Charlie in 1968 on his Transatlantic album of songs and poems from Robert Burns, Tam o’ Shanter. He noted:

O’er the Water to Charlie is credited in some collections to Burns, and in others is given as traditional. If it is by Burns it must be a reworking of a previously established Jacobite song. It was known in very similar form in 1746, and was then thought to be a new version of an older song with similar tune and chorus. Perhaps it was just one of Burns’ favourites.

Barbara Dickson sang O’er the Water to Charlie in 1969 on her Trailer album with Archie Fisher and John MacKinnon, The Fate o’ Charlie.

Jean Ritchie sang Over the River to Feed My Sheep on her 1971 album Clear Waters Remembered. She also sang Charlie’s Neat and Charlie’s Sweet in 1974 at the Fox Hollow Festival, which was included a year later on the festival’s 10^th anniversary album, You Got Magic.

Mick West sang Come Boat Me O’er in 1997 on the Linn anthology The Complete Songs of Robert Burns Volume 3.

Lyrics

Shirley Collins sings Charlie

Oh, Charlie’s neat and Charlie’s sweet and Charlie he’s a dandy
And ev’ry time he goes to town he brings me sugar candy.
And I don’t want none o’ your weevily wheat and I don’t want none o’ your barley
Just take some flour in half an hour and bake a cake for Charlie.

It’s Charlie here and it’s Charlie there, Charlie over the ocean,
Oh, Charlie he’ll be back again if he don’t change his notion.
My pretty little pink, I once did think I’d never do without you
But since I lost all hopes of you I care very little about you.

How old are you, my pretty little miss? How old are you, my honey?
If I don’t die of a broken heart I’ll be sixteen on Sunday.
Oh, rink toomah dink toomah diddle eye dum, rink toomah dink toomah doodle,
Rink toomah dink toomah diddle eye dum, and a rink toomah dink toomah doodle.

Now can you court, my pretty little miss? And can you court, my flower?
I’ll court more in a minute and a half than you can in an hour.
Oh, rink toomah dink toomah diddle eye dum, rink toomah dink toomah doodle,
Rink toomah dink toomah diddle eye dum, and a rink toomah dink toomah doodle.

Will you marry me, my pretty little miss? Will you marry me, good lookin’?
I’ll marry you but I won’t do your washin’ or your cookin’.
Oh, rink toomah dink toomah diddle eye dum, rink toomah dink toomah doodle,
Oh, rink toomah dink toomah diddle eye dum, and a rink toomah dink toomah doodle.

Oh, Charlie he’s a nice young man, Charlie he’s a dandy
And every time he goes to town he brings me sugar candy.
And I don’t want none o’ your weevily wheat, I don’t want none o’ your barley
Just take some flour in half an hour and bake a cake for Charlie.

It’s Charlie here and it’s Charlie there, Charlie over the ocean,
Oh, Charlie he’ll be back again if he don’t change his notion.