Donrznol - Folklore Society of Greater Washington

Do n r zn o l
o f t h e FOLK LORE S OCIETY
o f GREATER W A S H IN GTON
V O L U M E 2,
N UMBER 1
W IN TE R
1 9 7 0 -7 ]
P R IC E , $1.00
TH E J O URNAL OF TH E F O LKLO R E S O C IE TY O F G R E ATE R WAS H ING TO N
VO LU ME II
NUMBE R 1
WINTE R
1970-71
GE ORGE C AR E Y, E D ITO R
E D ITO R IAL S TAF F :
J OS E PH C. HICKE RS ON, b ook r e vie w s
GE ORGE A. S IMPS ON, r e c o r d r e vie w s
R O B E RT BANKS , cir c u la t ion
M IC H AE L Q U ITT, s a le s and a d ve r t is in g
c o ve r d es ign b y RONI BOWIE
ME MB E RS H IP S UBS CRIPTIO NS TO
Th e F o lk lo r e S ociet y o f G r e a t e r Wa s h in gt on
a r e a va ila b le fo r $ 5 / yea r (in d ivid u a l)
o r $ 7 . 5 0 / yea r (fa m ily).
AR TIC LE S AND NOTE S FO R P U B LIC ATIO N AND
BOOKS AND RE CORDS F O R RE VIE W SHOULD
BE S E NT TO:
Th e F o lk lo r e S ocie t y o f G r e a t e r Wa s h in gt on
P . O . Box 19303
20th S t r eet Sta tion
Wa s h in gton , D . C . 20036
F ir s t P r in t in g, Ma r ch , 1971
C O NTE NTS OF TfflS ISSUE
P a ge
E D ITO R IAL NO TE
1
SOME THOUGHTS ON THE MODE RN LE G E ND
b y G e or ge C a r e y
3
F O LKLO R E IN TH E NEWS
A Legen d in t h e Ma k in g?
10
A NO TE ON SOME ALTE R E D ADS
b y G e or ge C a r e y
11
AN INS TANC E OF C U LTU R AL AD AP TATIO N
b y G e or ge C a r e y
15
SOME TR AD ITIO NAL NE GRO TALE S IN TH E C ITY
b y Mich a el Qu it t
16
BOOK RE VIE WS
19
RE CORD NO TICE S AND RE VIE WS
34
P H ILAD E LP H IA F O LK F E S TIVAL 1970
A Rep or t
b y Rich a r d Rod ge r s
35
E dit or ia l Not e
If t h is s lim and m u ch bela t ed volu m e of the jou r n a l con t a in s any u n ifyin g
fa ct or , it is sim ply that t he a r t icle s in it clu s t e r a r oun d colle ct ion s fr om u r ba n
and m oder n cu lt u r es . F olk lor is t s ha ve r ecen t ly begun t o sh ift t h eir in t er es t
fr om r u r a l t o u r ba n cu lt u r es , and fr om old t im e-h on or ed folk lor e for m s t o m or e
m od e m t ypes of or a l u t t er a n ce su ch as the jok e, t he sha m r id d le, and t h e sh a ggy
d og s t or y. M or eover , t h er e a ppea r s t o be an ever in cr ea s in g d e s ir e on t he pa r t
of som e s ch ola r s t o eva lu a t e what h a ppen s t o t he old er m or e t r a dit ion a l for m s
of folk lor e when t hey do m ove in to the cit y —t o wit : E llen S t eck er t ’s fin e a r t icle
on folk b e lie f in the m ost r ecen t is s u e of t he J ou r n a l of Am er ica n F olk lor e
LXXXIII (Ap r il-J u n e, 1970), 115-147.
In a m odest and m odified wa y, t h is is s u e of t he jou r n a l t ou ch es on t h es e
m a t t er s . With m y b r ie f com m en t s on m oder n legen dr y I t r y not on ly t o give
s om e exa m ples of con t em p or a r y legen d s, but a lso t o su ggest p os s ib le r ea s on s
for t h eir em er gen ce and p e r s is t e n ce . In m y sh or t n ot e on "Alt er ed Ad s" I
a t tempt t o dr a w at t ent ion t o a r ela t ively new for m of t h e sh a ggy dog s t or y wh ich
h a s com e t o m y a t t ent ion, and again I pr offer wh a t a r e d ou bt less som e ma d com ­
m en t s on it s or igin and n a t u r e. Mike Qu itt ’s sa m plin g of t h r ee t a les ga t h er ed
fr om a bla ck B a lt im or e n a r r a t or , r e ve a ls bot h t h e r ew a r d s and d ifficu lt ie s of
colle ct in g fr om in -m igr a n t s .
F or t h ose of you u n fa m ilia r with Mike Quitt , h e is a s en ior E n glish
m a jor at Ma r yla n d who ha s exh a ust ed t h e lis t of U n iver sit y folk lor e cou r s e s .
He h a s don e field wor k in Ba lt im or e, C ollege P a r k , and on t h e E a st er n Sh or e
of Ma r yla n d. He is a lso t a len t ed on bot h ba n jo and con cer t in a and ben t , so he
t e lls m e, on a dva n ced d e gr e e s in folk lor e at eit h er Indiana or P en n sylva n ia .
In pr ep a r in g t h is is s u e I am gr a t efu l t o J oe H ick er s on for h is h elpfu l
su ggest ion s and ed it or ia l a s s is t a n ce. Als o Dor ot h y Ga r r et t , S ecr et a r y at t he
U n iver sit y of Ma r yla n d E n glish Depa r t m en t , h a s not on ly t yped the en t ir e m an u ­
s cr ip t , but a lso len t a ccu r a cy and im a gin a t ion t o t he fin a l cop y. Wit hout h er h elp
t h er e wou ld b e no Volu m e II, Nu m ber I.
G eor ge Ca r ey
*
*
*
*
* AD VE R T I S E M E N T
*
*
*
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HARRY MIDDLETON H YATT’s
HOODOO - CONJ URATION - WITCH CRAF T - ROOTWORK
is now a va ila ble fr om
Th e Am er ica n U n iver sit y B ook s t or e
Ma ssa ch u set t s and N ebr a sk a Aven u es, N. W.
Wa sh in gt on , D .C . 20016
Two volu m es of a p pr oxim a t ely 1,0 00 pa ges ea ch
Boxed and post pa id: $31,50
(Gr ou p or join t or d e r s for five set s or m or e: $25, In dividu a lly m a ile d .)
"T h is field colle ct ion of folk b e lie fs r ela t in g t o t h e s u bject s
in t h e t it le is im m edia t ely a cla s s ic. Not hing w ill su r pa ss
it , and the m a t er ia l ca n n ever a ga in be r em ot ely ca pt u r ed
a s it ha s been h er e.
Hyatt is u n qu est ion a bly the gr ea t es t
sin gle field colle ct or of folk b e lie fs , cu s t om s , and s u p er s t i­
t ion s that Am er ica ha s k n ow n ." — Duncan E m r ich
E dit ion Lim it ed t o 1,0 00 Sets
*
'SMSnlp'?
SOME THOUGHTS ON THE MODE RN LE G E ND
b y G e or ge C a r e y
"Le ge n d s , " w r it e s Rich a r d M. Dor s on , "d e a l wit h p e r s on s , p la c e s ,
and even t s . " A good s t a r t , and h a r d t o t a k e is s u e wit h . He goe s on t o
fle s h ou t h is r e m a r k :
Beca u s e t h ey p u r p or t t o b e h is t o r ic a l and fa ct u a l,
t h ey m u s t b e a s s ocia t ed in t h e m in d o f t h e com m u n it y
wit h s om e kn own in d ivid u a l, geogr a p h ic la n d m a r k , o r
p a r t ic u la r ep is od e. Ma n y o r a ll t h e m e m b e r s o f a give n
s o c ia l gr ou p w ill h a ve h ea r d o f t h e t r a d it ion and ca n r e ­
c a ll it in b r ie f o r ela b or a t ed fo r m . Th is is in d eed on e o f
t h e m a in t e s t s o f a legen d , th a t it b e kn own t o a n u m b er
o f p eop le u n ited b y t h e ir a r e a o r r e s id e n c e o r occu p a t ion
o r n a t ion a lit y o r fa it h . Th e s e gr ou p s k eep a live and p a s s
a lon g legen d s o f h e r oe s and b a d m en , of lo c a l vis it a t ion s
fr o m d em on s and gob lin s , and o f m ir a cu lou s in t e r p o s i­
t ion s in b a t t les and p la gu es . *
S u r ely th e d e s c r ip t io n is s u ccin ct and h igh ly a ccu r a t e. Ye t it s e e m s
t o m e, t h e r e s t ill r e m a in s om e ge n e r a lly m is c on c e ive d n otion s abou t fo lk
legen d s th a t ca n b e e a s ily c le a r e d u p. A good m a n y p eop le b e lie ve th a t le g ­
en ds m u s t s t em , i f n ot fr o m a h oa r y a n t iqu it y, th en at le a s t fr o m s om e r e ­
m ot e r u r a l a r e a w h e r e "t h e fo lk " a r e m os t lik e ly t o h an g ou t. Ad m it t ed ly,
t h e fir m es t a b lis h m en t of su ch w id e ly kn own m igr a t o r y legen d s a s t h e Wa n ­
d e r in g J ew and t h e F lyin g Du t ch m en lea d on e t o t h in k o f t h es e s t o r ie s a s a r ­
ch et yp a l legen d a r y fo r m s . An d, God k n ows , is ola t e d com m u n it ies t h r ou gh ou t
t h is cou n t r y h a ve p r ovid e d t h e fo lk lo r e c o lle c t o r with a gr e a t d ea l o f le ge n ­
d a r y fod d er in t h e fo r m o f n a r r a t ive s abou t wit ch es , h au n ted gr a ve ya r d s , and
h ea d les s s p e c t e r s . Bu t fo r a m om en t le t u s m ove t o t h e p r e s e n t and t o t h e
c it y, to Wa s h in gton , D . C . , in fa ct , and s e e e xa c t ly wh a t we fin d .
Two cou p les s t op p ed on e n igh t a t a n ot a b le c a r r y ­
ou t fo r a fr ie d ch ick en s n a ck . Th e h u sban d r et u r n ed
t o t h e c a r wit h t h e ch ick en . Wh ile s it t in g t h e r e in t h e
c a r ea t in g t h e ir ch ick en h is w ife s a id , "M y ch ick en
t a s t e s fu n n y. " She con t in u ed t o ea t and con t in u ed to
com p la in .
Aft e r a w h ile t h e h u sban d s a id , "Le t m e s e e it . "
Th e d r ive r of t h e c a r d ecid ed t o cu t t h e ligh t on and
th en it wa s d is c o ve r e d th a t t h e wom a n wa s ea t in g a
r od en t , n ic e ly flou r ed and fr ie d c r is p . Th e wom a n
wen t in to s h ock and wa s r u s h ed t o th e h os p it a l. It
wa s r e p or t e d t h a t t h e h u sban d wa s a p p r oa ch ed by la w ­
y e r s r e p r e s e n t in g t h e c a r r y-o u t and o ffe r e d t h e s u m of
$35, 000. Th e wom a n r em a in ed on th e c r it ic a l lis t fo r
s e ve r a l d a ys . Sp ok es m en fr o m t h e h os p it a l wou ld n ot
d ivu lge t h e fa ct s abou t th e ca s e and n u r s es w e r e in ­
s t r u ct ed t o k eep t h e ir m ou th s sh u t. An d it is a ls o r e p or t e d
t h a t a s econ d o ffe r wa s m a d e fo r $75, 000, and t h is t oo wa s
r efu s ed . Th e wom a n d ied and p r es u m a b ly th e c a s e w ill
com e t o cou r t .
3
4
C lea r ly, t h is s t or y colle ct e d by J osep h H ick er son fr om a r esid en t
of t h e Wa sh in gt on a r ea in O ct ober , 1970, p os s e s s e s a ll t h e ea r m a r k s of
a legen d. It is t old about a s p e cific p la ce, and a s su bsequ en t con ver s a t ion
with t he in for m a n t r evea led , t h e "n ot a ble ca r r y -ou t " p la ce wa s n on e ot h er
than G in o's , t he d is p en s er of Colon el Sa n der ’s Ken tu cky F r ied Ch icken .
Lik e a ll legen ds, it wa s r ela t ed a s fa ct , and as fu r t h er colle ct in g d is clos e d ,
t h e t a le wa s known t o a fa ir ly la r ge gr ou p of p eop le, u n it ed in t h is ca s e by
t h eir subur ban cu lt u r e and a s s ocia t ion s .
(Anyone who live s in t he Gr ea t er
Wa sh in gt on a r ea and is not fa m ilia r wit h t he C olon el’s fin ge r -lick in g-good
ch ick en , eit h er ha s ca t a r a ct s or e ls e live s in a d u n geon .) In t er est in gly
enough, t h e in for m a n t wh o ga ve Mr . H ick er son h is ve r s ion of t h e t a le cla im ed
va lidit y for h er s t or y on t h e gr ou n ds that h er b r ot h e r -in -la w wa s a fr ien d of
the n u r s e in the h ospit a l wh er e t h e wom a n wa s t aken . Th is is t he u su a l
pa t t er n with many of t h ese m od er n legen d s; t he n a r r a t or a t t em pt s t o ga in
cr e d e n ce by st a t in g that he knows a fr ien d of a fr ien d who wa s som eh ow
d ir e ct ly in volved in t h e in ciden t , but no on e eve r kn ows t h e a ct u a l p eop le
it happened t o, or in t h is ca s e t h e exa ct h ospit a l wh er e t h e wom a n wa s t aken .
Ger a ld in e and J im J oh n son r ecen t ly sou gh t t o colle ct ve r s ion s of the
Gin o’s t a le a m ong m em ber s of t h e Ca pit ol p olice for ce wh er e J im had wor k ed
du r in g the pa st s u m m er . Th eir colle ct in g a ls o d is clos e d a gen er a l kn owledge
of t h e s t or y and a ccept a n ce of it a s fa ct . "I don ’t kn ow if t h is is t r u e, but. . . "
wa s oft en t he r ea ct ion a s if t he in for m a n t wa s r elu ct a n t t o a dmit gu lla bilit y,
but at t he sa m e t im e r ea lly want ed t o b e lie ve the t a le. Accor d in g t o m ost in ­
for m a n t s the event t ook p la ce s om et im e du r in g the pa st su m m er (1970) and t h e
p la ce in ever y in st a n ce is Gin o’s . Va r ia t ion occu r r e d in the a ccou n t s of s e v­
er a l of the in for m a n t s a s t o exa ct ly what ca u sed the w om a n 's dea t h . Two felt
that it wa s du e t o t he r a t ’s h a vin g been poison ed , wh ile t wo ot h er s thought t he
wom a n had died fr om sh ock . One man in s is t ed that sh e had s u ffer ed a cor o­
n a r y t h r om b os is . In on e p a r t icu la r ly in t er es t in g ve r s ion , the in for m a n t ex­
pla in ed why the r at had been in the ch ick en in t he fir s t p la ce . G in o's , he a f­
fir m ed , had been ha ving t r ou ble with r a t s and had r ecen t ly been fu m iga t ed.
One vict im of the p oison had gon e a st r a y and fa llen in to t h e ba t t er and la t er
been cook ed and s er ved up t o t he u n lucky clien t . St ill a n ot h er in for m a n t a dded
fu r t h er d et a ils t o t he s t or y when he a s s er t ed that t he wom a n knew she had t a k­
en a bit e out of a r oden t when sh e spied a t a il hanging down fr om h e r p ie ce of
"fr ie d ch ick e n ."
One s en s es in a legen d su ch a s t h is t he d e s ir e on t he pa r t of t he su b­
u r ba n folk t o st r ik e out at a la r ge, a fflu en t , and seem in gly im p er s on a l con cer n
su ch a s Gin o’s . G in o's ha s st r u ck it r ich , or s o t he folk m igh t s u r m is e, and
t hey d e s e r ve a bad t ur n or t wo. Lik ew is e t h e Colon el h a s got fin a n cia lly fat
off h is own fr ied ch ick en and he m igh t w ell do with an econ om ic sha ke up.
Th is specu la t ion s eem s pla u s ible when we ob s e r ve that t wo in for m a n t s w er e
a ppa r en t ly p lea sed t o n ot e that when t h e r a t s t or y wa s at t he h eigh t of it s c i r ­
cu la t ion la st su m m er , bu s in es s wa s so ba d at G in o's that t he com pa n y fa iled t o
m a ke it s p a yr oll. And on e in for m a n t cla im ed that beca u s e of t h e in ciden t ,
Colon el San der s had a ct u a lly r et ir ed .
If we exa m in e s ever a l ot h er m od e m legen d t ypes we find m u ch t h e sa m e
pa t t er n in evid en ce. In t h is ve r s ion of a w ell known m igr a t or y legen d u su a lly
ent it led "Th e Death C a r " a S ilver Spr in g in for m a n t em p loys t he t r a dit ion a l s t or y
t o dr a w u n fa vor a ble a t t ent ion t o a lit t le r es p ect ed ca r d e a le r in t he a r ea :
You know that ca r d e a le r out on U n iver sit y B ou leva r d ?
It s sp ecia lt y is r e p os s e s s e d ca r s . Well, t h ey sa y t hey
r e p os s e s s e d t h is r ed Cor vet t e a few yea r s a go. The
own er had been m u r der ed and hidden in the t r u n k. Well,
t h is ca r d e a le r clea n ed up t he ca r , r epa in t ed it and r e ­
ca r p et ed t h e t r u n k, and about a week la t e r t hey sold that
ca r t o s om e gu y. But he r et u r n ed t he ca r a ft er a week ,
sa id t h er e wa s a ba d s m ell in it that he cou ld n ’t get r id
of. Th is ha ppened a cou p le of m or e t im es wit h ot h er
people wh o bou ght t he ca r , and now that d e a le r is st u ck
wit h t h e ca r . It think it s goin g p r ice is som et h in g lik e
$100. But it s e r ve s t h em r igh t . That p la ce is a big
clip join t anyway. I h ope t h ey n ever s e ll t he ca r .
E qu ally debilit a t in g in it s ca st iga t ion of a huge depa r t m en t s t or e ch a in
is t h is legen d that wa s in wid e cir cu la t ion t wo ye a r s a go.
Th is ha ppened t o m y gir l fr ien d ’s s is t e r -in -la w . One
da y sh e wa s sh oppin g at Klein ’s Depa r t m en t St or e in
Gr een belt . She sa w s om e swea t er s that w e r e on s a le /
and t r ied s om e on . She felt t h is p r ick on h er a r m but
thought it wa s ju st t he t a g. Anyway, sh e con t in u ed
sh oppin g. La t er in t he da y h er a r m st a r t ed it ch in g.
It swelled up and got r ea l r ed . By even in g she felt
fa int . H er husband t ook h er t o t h e h ospit a l wh er e sh e
wa s lis t ed in s e r iou s or cr it ica l con dit ion . Th ey com ­
plet ely r e t r a ce d h er st eps that da y t o t r y and fin d out
what ha ppen ed t o h er . Com e t o find out it wa s fr om that
p r ick fr om t h e s w ea t er s . Th e swea t er s had been im p or ­
t ed fr om J a pan. Someh ow a sna ke got in t o t h em and
st a r t ed a n est . Th e eggs
had h a tch ed a n d-t h er e
w er e
lit t le t in y sn a k es in s om e of the s w ea t er s.
Of t he seven ve r s ion s of t he a ccou n t in t he Ma r yla n d F olk lor e Ar ch ive,
on ly on e ha s t he even t occu r r in g any p la ce but K lein 's (at G a r fin ck el’s), yet
when I m en t ion ed t h e s t or y in cla s s a s a fin e exa m ple of an u r ba n legen d, I
wa s pr on ou n ced a lia r by a coe d fr om
New Yor k Cit y. Not on ly wa s t h e s t or y
t r u e, sh e a r gu ed, but it had ha ppened t o a fr ien d of a fr ien d of h er m ot h er s
in M a cy’s Depa r t m en t St or e.
Lik e t he ep isod e at Gin o’s t h e a ccou n t s on K lein ’s w e r e in ever y ca s e
a t t est ed t o a s t r u e, and in ea ch in st a n ce the cy cle of s t or ie s spa wned a qu ick
r es p on s e fr om t h e bu s in es s in qu est ion . Bot h con ce r n s m a de st a t em en t s t o
t h e loca l p a p er s that t h e s t or ie s w er e u t t er fa br ica t ion s . In t h eir a r t icle on
t h e K lein ’s s t or y, t he Wa sh in gt on Sta r 4 a llu ded t o a s im ila r s t or y t old about
t he Glen E ch o a m u sem en t pa r k . On ch eck in g in to t h e m a t t er a student co l ­
le ct or at t he U n iver sit y of Ma r yla n d d is cove r e d t h is in t er es t in g it em :
Th e fir s t t im e I h ea r d about t he sn a kes wa s on a
t r ip t o Glen E ch o t o go swim m in g. I wa s about
t welve [t his would m a k e it about 1957] and s om e of
m y fr ien d s and I w er e goin g t o Glen E ch o. We
6
wa lked by the old fun h ou se and saw that it wa s a ba ndoned—
ju st a st on e sh ell of a bu ildin g. Th er e wa s a st r ea m that
flowed t h r ou gh t h e bu ildin g. Th is st a r t ed a d is cu s s ion as
t o why Glen E ch o no lon ger had a fun h ou se and som ebody
s a id —I for get who it w a s —t he r ea s on for t h e clos in g wa s
that at on e t im e a gir l and h er da t e w er e r idin g in on e of
t he boa t s t h r ou gh the fun h ou se and sh e wa s t r a ilin g h er
hand in the wa t er . Sh or t ly a ft er t he r id e bega n , the gir l
wa s bit t en on t he w r is t by a wa t er m occa s in . Sin ce t he
boa t wa s ju st st a r t in g it s t r ip t h r ou gh t he fun h ou se t h er e
wa s no wa y t o get any h elp or m ed ica l a t t ent ion . Th e cou ­
p le had t o con t in u e t he r id e t h r ou gh t h e da r k fun h ou se. By
t he t im e t he r id e wa s fin ish ed t he gir l had died of t he sna ke
bit e. The fun h ou se wa s clos e d at that t im e and t h ey found
a lea k fr om t h e Ch esa pea k e and Ohio Canal int o t he st r ea m
that went in to t he fun h ou se. The sn a kes ca m e in t o t he fun
h ou se t o get in to the w a r m er wa t er .
The fun h ou se wa s
clos e d down per m a n en t ly beca u s e t hey cou ld n ever st op the
le a k .6
Th is s t or y, t h or ou gh ly m oder n in con t ext , p r ovid es yet a n ot h er ch a r a ct e r ­
is t ic com m on t o folk legen d s. Built int o t he t a le is the n a r r a t or ’s a t tempt t o e x­
pla in som et h in g seem in gly m ys t er iou s and, in t he u su a l folk p r oce s s , he fr a m es
h is r a t ion a le in n a r r a t ive for m . To be s u r e, m ost folk legen ds a tt empt t o ex­
pla in away m or e m yst ifyin g t hin gs than t he d em is e of t he fun h ou se at t he loca l
a m u sem en t pa r k . Mor e oft en it is t h e a ppea r a n ce of an u n a ccou n t a ble ligh t or
an u n ea r t h ly a ppa r it ion that gen er a t es a hidden t r e a s u r e legen d or yield s the ya m
of a fou l m u r d er . But it is t he sa m e ba s ic m ot ive at wor k : t he colle ct ive qu a li­
t ie s of m ind in t h e human bein g that pr od h im t o give a r ea son for ever yt h in g.
S ca r e s t or ie s a lso ca n wor k t h em selves int o r ecogn ized legen d s. Recou n t ed
in the d or m it or y la t e at night , or in t he va r iou s haunts that t een a ger s fr equ en t ,
t h ese t a les p r ovid e a m ple p r oof that t he you n ger gen er a t ion ha s a r ich supply of
legen ds and b e lie f t a les and t hat t h ese you n g p eop le, in t h eir own wa y, a r e as p r on e
t o su per st it ion a s a n yone. Un qu est ion a bly the bu ll s es s ion , so com m on t o colle ge
ca m p u s es , has don e m u ch t o in ject new life in t o t h ese t a les , t hough t he Ma r yla n d
coed who ga t h er ed t h is well-kn own legen d h ea r d it at a s lu m ber pa r t y in 1968.
Th ese t wo g ir ls w er e st a yin g a lon e in a colle ge d or m ove r
a va ca t ion and t h ey h ea r d that an a xe m u r d er er wa s on the
loos e . One of t he g ir ls wa s a fr a id t o sta y a lon e in h er r oom ,
but sh e cou ld n ’t t a lk h er fr ien d in to st a yin g with h er beca u s e
h er fr ien d thought it wa s stu pid. H er fr ien d t old h er t o lock
t he d oor and then sh e left . A lit t le wh ile a ft er that the gir l
h ea r d a s cr a t ch in g on h er d oor . She wa s s ca r ed t o dea th so
sh e didn ’t open t he d oor . At dawn t he n ois e st opped and she
open ed t he d oor . Th er e wa s h er fr ien d wit h an a xe st ick in g
out of h er hea d. She had m et the m u r d er er ha lfwa y down the
h a ll and had cr a w led ba ck and had been s cr a t ch in g for h elp.6
In Hood and F r os t bu r g State C olle ge s ’ ve r s ion s , t he g ir l’s t h r oa t is s lit and
it is a st r a n ge gu r glin g sound that t e r r ifie s t he r oom m a t e and h a st en s h er t o lock the
d oor . In a r en dit ion fr om R ock ville, Ma r yla n d, t he t wo g ir ls a r e on t h eir way
h om e fr o m s ch ool and d e c id e t o s t a y t h e n igh t at on e o f t h e ir h om es . Du r in g th e
c o u r s e o f t h e n igh t, on e o f t h e g ir ls wa k es u p and s ee s a s t r a n ge m a n s it t in g in
a r ock in g c h a ir d a n glin g s om et h in g in h is h an d. She w h is p e r s t o h e r fr ie n d t h a t
on t h e cou n t o f t h r e e t h ey m u s t ge t u p and d a s h ou t t o t h e o t h e r ’s h om e. She
d oes s o, on ly t o fin d t h a t s h e is a lon e, and wh en s h e a r r ive s at h e r h om e h er
m ot h er fa ils t o r e c o gn ize h e r b eca u s e h er h a ir h a s t u rn ed c om p le t e ly wh it e. La ­
t e r s h e le a r n s th a t t h e ob je c t t h e m a n wa s d a n glin g w h ile h e r ock ed in t h e r ock in g
c h a ir wa s h er g ir l fr ie n d ’s h ea d.
An ot h er ve r y com m on t a le a ls o em p loys t h e m o t if o f t h e h a ir t u r n in g wh it e.
H e r e t h e s t or y, oft en t old a s a s o r o r it y in it ia t ion p r a n k , is d u ly h u n g on p eop le
in t h e m e d ic a l p r ofe s s ion :
Th e r e wa s a d o c t or wh o wor k ed in a B a lt im o r e h os p it a l
and h e wa s a lwa ys p la yin g p r a c t ic a l jo k e s . His g ir l
fr ie n d wa s a n u r s e in t h e h os p it a l and s h e had a r oom m a t e.
Th e d o c t or and t h e n u r s e d ecid ed t o p la y a p r a c t ic a l jok e
on t h e r oom m a t e wh o wa s a ls o a n u r s e on t h e op p os it e
s h ift . Th ey t ook an a r m th a t t h e d o c t or h ad a m pu ta ted
and h u n g it on a s t r in g h a n gin g fr o m a ligh t in t h e c e ilin g,
s o th a t wh en t h e r oom m a t e gr a b b ed t h e ligh t c or d s h e
wou ld gr a b t h e a r m in s t ea d . W e ll, wh en it ca m e t im e fo r
t h e r oom m a t e t o c om e on du ty s h e d id n ’t s h ow u p. Th is
kin d o f b ot h er ed t h e n u r s e wh o had h elp ed wit h t h e jok e, s o
s h e c a lle d t h e a p a r t m en t bu t n o on e a n s wer ed . Th e n u r s e
and t h e d o c t or wen t t o t h e a p a r t m en t and fou n d t h e n u r s e
s it t in g in a c o m e r , h e r h a ir t u rn ed c o m p le t e ly wh it e,
ch ewin g on t h is a r m . Th e g ir l had gon e s t a r k - r a vin g m a d
and h ad t o b e pu t in an in s t it u t ion . Th e d oc t or lo s t h is l i ­
cen s e and t h e n u r s e wa s fir e d . E xa ct ly on e y e a r la t e r , at
t wo d iffe r e n t loc a t ion s , t h e d oc t or and t h e n u r s e w e r e both
in volved in a ccid en t s in wh ich t h ey lo s t an a r m . ?
Te e n a ge r s s im ila r ly fa s h ion t h e ir legen d a r y a ccou n t on m a ca b r e even t s ,
th ou gh t h e ir t a le s d o n ot n e c e s s a r ily t u r n on p r a c t ic a l jok e s t h a t m is c a r r y . A
s p a t e o f s t o r ie s t old on "t h e h ook m a n " p u r it a n ica lly s u gges t s th a t "p a r k in g" on
lon e ly r oa d s is an u n wis e ven t u r e. A B a lt im o r e g ir l p r ovid e d t h is evid en ce:
Th is s t or y h a ppen ed on Clyb u r n La n e in B a lt im o r e n ea r
t h e m en t a l in s t it u t ion t h e r e . On e n igh t a cou p le wa s ou t
on a d a t e. Th e g ir l wa s a r gu in g wit h h er d a t e b ec a u s e h e
wa n t ed t o "p a r k " and s h e r efu s ed t o. He d r o ve t o Clyb u r n
La n e and p a r k ed t h e c a r . She k ep t t e llin g h im th a t it wa s n 't
s a fe. She wa n t ed t o go h om e. H e r b oyfr ie n d s a id t h a t a ll
t h e c a r d oor s w e r e lock ed . Wh ile lis t e n in g t o t h e r a d io t h ey
h ea r d a n ews fla s h th a t a p a t ien t had es ca p ed fr o m t h e in ­
s t it u tion n ea r t h e r e . He wa s a d a n ger ou s r a p is t and cou ld
b e id en t ified b y a h ook on h is le ft a r m in p la c e of t h e h an d.
Th e g ir l wa s fr igh t en ed and s t a r t ed c r yin g. Th e b oy flo o r e d
t h e ga s p ed a l and zoom ed a wa y. Th ey d id n ’t t a lk t h e wh ole
wa y h om e. Wh en t h e b oy got t o t h e g ir l’s h ou s e, h e wen t
a rou n d t o t h e ot h er s id e o f t h e c a r t o le t h e r ou t and t h e r e
wa s a h ook h a n gin g on t h e d oor h a n d le. ®
Ot h er you n g s t o r y t e lle r s h a ve t h e even t o c c u r r in g in B u r t on s ville , Ma r yla n d
(wh e r e "a ll t h e t e e n a ge r s h a ve s wor n o ff p a r k in g in t h os e d a r k d e s e r t e d p la ces
t h a t e ve r yon e kn ows a b ou t "), S a lis b u r y, S ligo C r e e k Pa r k , Ad elp h i, Tows on ,
and Gu n p owd er Roa d , n or t h o f B a lt im o r e . An in t e r e s t in g ve r s io n fr o m Le o n a rd t own , Ma r yla n d , com b in es t h e "h ook m a n " wit h a n ot h er w id e ly t old t een a ge
legen d :
Th e r e wa s a cou p le wh o w e r e p a r k ed ou t on a lo n e ly r oa d
d own n e a r t h e r iv e r . Th e g ir l and t h e b oy had ru n ou t o f
ga s o r s om et h in g h ad h a ppen ed t o t h e ir c a r . Th e b oy le ft
t o go and ge t s om e h elp . Th e g ir l fe ll a s leep on th e s ea t
and on e t im e s h e wok e up d u r in g t h e n igh t and s h e th ou gh t
s h e h ea r d a s cr a t c h in g on t h e r o o f o f t h e c a r bu t s h e d id n 't
th in k a n yth in g o f it . She th ou gh t it wa s ju s t s om e t w igs and
s in ce s h e d id n 't h a ve a wa tch s h e d id n ’t h a ve an y id e a wh a t
t im e it wa s . She th ou gh t m a yb e h e h ad ju s t le ft .
Th e n ext t h in g s h e k n ows , it ’s m or n in g and t h e r e ’s a p o­
lic e c a r n ea r h e r c a r . Th e p olicem a n wok e h er u p and s a id ,
"M is s , p le a s e ge t ou t o f t h e c a r and wa lk t o t h e p o lic e c a r
wit h u s , bu t d on ’t look b a ck . " Bu t a s s h e wa s wa lk in g t o th e
c a r , h e r c u r io s it y got t h e b es t o f h e r and s h e t u r n ed a rou n d
and look ed b a ck , and h a n gin g fr o m a t r e e b y h is fe e t o ve r
t h e c a r wa s h e r b oyfr ien d and h e look ed lik e h e’d b een s lit .
His clot h es w e r e a ll in r a gs and h e wa s b leed in g. He wa s
d ea d . Wh a t s h e had h ea r d d u r in g t h e n igh t w e r e h is fin g e r ­
n a ils s cr a t ch in g on t h e r o o f o f th e c a r .
I a ls o h ea r d in con n ect ion wit h t h is t h a t t h e r e wa s su p­
p os ed ly a "H ook Ma n " ru n n in g a rou n d in t h e a r e a . S e ve r a l
p eop le had t old s t o r ie s abou t t h is in r e fe r e n c e t o th e "H ook
Ma n ". E ve r yon e s u pp os ed it wa s t h e "H ook Ma n " wh o had
d on e t h is . ^
C le a r ly at w or k h er e th ou gh on a d iffe r e n t le ve l, is t h e s a m e ep ic folk
p r o c e s s t h a t m a d e le ge n d a r y h e r oe s ou t o f Rob in Hood and J e s s e J a m es : give
a d og a ba d n a m e and h e k ills e ve r y s h eep in t h e la n d .
F r o m t h is ve r y m od es t s a m p lin g o f legen d s on e b egin s t o s en s e t h e flu ­
id it y o f o r a l s t o r yt e llin g. Th e t a le s m ove fr o m lip t o lip s h ift in g and a lt e r in g
a s t h e n a r r a t o r a d a p ts h is a ccou n t t o h is p a r t ic u la r a u d ien ce o r d r a ws on loc a l
a s s ocia t ion s t o m a k e h is s t o r y m o r e b e lie va b le . An d in h is a t tem p t t o fu r n is h
fu r t h er ela b or a t ion t o h is t a le , t h e s t o r y t e lle r oft en em p loys m ot ifs th a t h a ve
b een in o r a l c ir c u la t ion fo r ce n t u r ie s , su ch a s t h e h a ir t u r n in g gr a y fr o m fr igh t .
It a ls o s eem s a p p a ren t t h a t t h e flu id it y o f t h e s e m od er n legen d s s p r in gs
a s m u ch fr o m t h e e a s e and r a p id it y o f t r a ve l a s it d oes fr o m t h e m a s s m ed ia .
It is n ot d iffic u lt t o s ee h ow a s t or y lik e t h e on e t old on Gin o’s m igh t qu ick ly b e
t r a n s p or t ed a c r os s t h e cou n t r y and ge t pin n ed on a com p a r a b le es t a b lis h m en t
in , s a y, San F r a n c is c o o r D e n ve r . A s tu den t c o lle c t o r at t h e U n ive r s it y o f
Ma r yla n d p r ovid ed a s p len d id exa m p le o f t h e u b iqu it y o f a legen d wit h t h is r e n ­
d it ion o f a n ot h er b r oa d ly d is s em in a t ed a ccou n t .
Wh en I wa s fift e e n o r s ixt een ye a r s old b ou ffa n t h a ir
s t yle s w e r e ve r y m u ch t h e r a ge . It wa s a lm os t a s i f it
w er e a con t est t o s ee wh ich gir l cou ld r a t h er h a ir t he
h igh est and pou r t he m ost h a ir spr a y on it . One da y I
went t o t he bea u t y shop t o ha ve my h a ir don e. My h a ir ­
d r e s s e r t old m e t h is s t or y, and sh e s w or e that it r ea lly
ha ppened t o a fr ien d of h er n ie ce ’s .
Th er e wa s t h is gir l who had r a t t ed h er h a ir s o high,
and put so m u ch h a ir spr a y on it , that sh e n ever t ook it
down and com bed it out or wa sh ed it . One da y a sp id er
fe ll int o h er h a ir . When t he ba by bla ck widow s p id er s
h a t ch ed, t h ey bit h er s ca lp and she died . I h ea r d t h is
s t or y a ll ove r n or t h er n and sou t h er n C a lifor n ia . When
I m oved t o B a lt im or e, I m et p eop le who had h ea r d t he
sa m e s t or y. Th ey sa id it happened t o a g ir l wh o had
been a d a n cer on t he Buddy Dean Show, on B a lt im or e
t elevis ion . Th es e p eop le sa id that a bee had got t en in ­
t o t he g ir l’s hea d and stung h er and sh e died fr om t he
bee st in g beca u s e t he d oct or s cou ld n ’t get t o h er head
in t im e due t o h er h a ir .
It s eem s u n den ia ble that a ll t h es e t a les h a ve about t h em t he fla vor of
m od e m exis t en ce. Even t h e m ost cu r s or y gla n ce r e ve a ls that t h ey dea l with
a ppu r t en a n ces of ever yda y subu rba n exis t en ce: h a ir d r e s s e r s , ca r d e a le r s ,
depa r t m en t s t or e s , pa r k in g gr ot t oes , ca r r y -ou t p la ce s . And t he t a les t h em ­
s e lve s , lik e m ost r u m or la den m a t er ia l m oves fr om a h igh vogu e of popu ­
la r it y t o a m u ch dim in ish ed or a l cir cu la t ion , though seld om a r e t he s t or ie s
com p let ely for got t en . It is t he sen sa t ion of the a ccou n t that fir s t ca t ch es t he
im a gin a t ion and t he s m a ll p os s ib ilit y that t he s t or y m igh t be t r u e that m a k es
it p e r s is t for a t im e in or a l t r a dit ion . L e t ’s fa ce it , if t he s t or y about t he
d e e p -fr ie d r oden t w e r e hung on t he J ock ey Club, I r a t h er dou bt that it wou ld
e ve r ca t ch on.
^Richard M. Dor son , ’’Legen ds and Ta ll T a les , ” Ou r Livin g Tr a d it ion s
(New Yor k , 1968), p. 155.
^ Th is a ccou n t ca n be found in t he Ma r yla n d F olk lor e Ar ch ive at C ollege
P a r k u n der a cce s s ion n u m ber (6 9 -1 3 3 ). H er ea ft er on ly t he a cce s s ion
n u m ber s will be lis t ed .
3See colle ct ion (69-133). F or ot h er r e fe r e n ce and com m en t on t he t a le
s ee Xen ia E. Cor d, ’’Depa r t m en t St or e Snakes, ” Indiana F olk lor e II :1
(1969), 110-114.
^ F ebr u a r y 23, 1969.
^ See colle ct ion (69-71).
^ See colle ct ion (68-120). F or ot h er r e fe r e n ce s and com m en t s s ee Lin da
Degh ,"Th e R oom a t e’s Deat h and Rela t ed D or m it or y S t or ies in F or m a t ion ,"
Indiana F olk lor e 11:2 (1969), 55-74.
10
^ See colle ct ion (69-143).
^See colle ct ion (69-171). F or fu r t h er in for m a t ion con su lt Lin da Degh ,
"Th e Hook, " Indiana F olk lor e 1:1 (1968), 92-100.
9 See colle ct ion (69-55) and for ot h er r e fe r e n ce s s ee Lin da Degh , "Th e
Boy F r ien d ’s Death, " Indiana F olk lor e 1:1 (1968), 101-106. Though I
wa s not at t he la st m eet in g of t he Am er ica n F olk lor e Societ y I wa s in ­
for m ed that a gr a du a t e student at UCLA by the n a m e of Sharon R.
Sherma n pr esen t ed a film en t it led "T a le s of t he Su per n a t u r a l" wh ich
dea lt with t h e gen er a l m ilieu and p r es en t ion of t h is t ype of t een a ge
s ca r e s t or y.
lOSee colle ct ion (67-12).
F OLKLORE IN THE NEWS
A Legen d in t he Ma kin g?
A 7 6 -ye a r -old F a lls Ch u r ch man wa s a wa rded $20, 000 in da m a ges
yes t er d a y on h is cla im that he wa s "per m a n en t ly sick en ed " by dr in k in g a
bot t le of C oca -C ola that con t a in ed pa r t of a m ou se.
G eor ge P et a la s wa s a wa r ded t he set t lem en t by a F a ir fa x County
Cir cu it Cou r t ju r y, wh ich deba t ed t wo h ou r s.
In h is su it , P et a la s cla im ed that he bought a 10 -cen t bot t le of C oca Cola on Ma r ch 20, 1969, fr om a ven din g m a ch in e in a Safewa y s t or e at
3109 Gr a ha m R d ., F a lls Ch u r ch .
He t ook t wo swa llows in t he p r e s e n ce of a s t or e em p loyee, Willia m
Wh eeler , P et a la s sa id , when he n ot iced "a st r a n ge t a st e. " He and Wh eeler
t hen went ou t side t he s t or e and pou r ed out t he r es t of t he bot t le on a dr ivewa y,
P et a la s t es t ified . At t he bot t om , P et a la s con t en ded, wa s the ba ck legs and
t a il of a m ou se.
P et a la s wa s h osp it a lized for t h r ee da ys at Ar lin gt on H ospit a l followin g
the in ciden t , he t es t ified . He a lleged t h r ou gh h is a t t or n ey, Rober t J . Ar t h u r ,
that he has s in ce been u n a ble t o eat m ea t , and has lived on a diet of gr ille d
ch ees e, t oa st and n ood les .
P et a la s, who lives at 4418 Duncan D r ., F a lls Ch u rch , a sked $100, 000
in da m a ges fr om the t wo defen da n t s, Safewa y S t or es, I n c., and the C oca Cola Bot t lin g Compan y of Alexa n dr ia . Accor d in g t o Ar t h u r , the m on ey r e p ­
r esen t ed m ed ica l expen ses and "p a s t and fu t u r e m en t a l an gu ish . "
Accor d in g t o the p r es id in g ju dge, Alber t V. Br ya n J r . , t he bot t lin g
com p a n y's defen se wa s that the m ou se cou ld on ly h a ve got t en in the bot t le
t h r ou gh t a m per in g.
Sa fewa y's d efen se, t he ju dge sa id, wa s that it bu ys soft dr in k s for it s
m a ch in e d ir e ct ly fr om t he bot t lin g com pa n y without open ing t h em . Both com ­
pa n ies a r e a ppea lin g the ver d ict .
Wa sh ingt on P ost
F ebr u a r y 3, 1971
11
A NOTE ON SOME ALTE RE D ADS
by G eor ge Ca r ey
If we ca n h a ve ’’p er ver t ed p r ove r b s , ” it s eem s t o m e that we ca n a lso
ha ve "a lt er ed a d s ." In h is sem in a l study and cla s s ifica t ion of t h e sha ggy dog
s t or y, J an Brunvand lu m ps t he p er ver t ed p r ove r b s u n der Sect ion C as s t or ie s
in wh ich "t h e lis t e n e r is t r ick ed not by a la p se of n or m a l human r es p on s es ,
but by a m ea n s of ver ba l dou ble c r o s s —an ou t r a geou s pun, u su a lly r esu lt in g
in a p e r ve r s ion of a p r over b or ot h er popu la r sa yin g wh ich is u sed a s t he punch
lin e. " Un der m ot if lis t in g C1400-C1599 he p r ovid es a ca t egor y la belled " Pun ch
Lin e fr om Ad ver t is in g, " then lis t s on ly t wo exa m ples, r e s e r vin g r oom for
ot h er s t o fill in with r ela t ed m ot ifs . 1
Br u n va n d’s study wa s don e a lm ost eight yea r s a go, and a s s u r ed ly in that
t im e a good n u m ber of a ddit ion al m ot if n u m ber s h a ve been filled in t hough I ha ve
not r ecen t ly com e a cr os s any pu blish ed colle ct ion of sha ggy dog s t or ie s wh ich
h in ge s olely on a dver t isin g sloga n s. But for t he r e cor d , h er e a r e fou r su ch t a les
r ecen t ly su bm it t ed t o t he Ma r ylan d F olk lor e Ar ch ive at C ollege P a r k , Mar yla n d.
Milt F a m ey
Ba ck about 1930 t h er e wa s t h is fa m ou s ba s eba ll p it ch er
n a m ed Milt F a m ey. He had an 0. 00 ea r n ed run a ver a ge and for
t h e sea son he had won t h ir t y-five ga m es and los t n on e. He on ly
had on e hangup. He wou ld on ly pit ch on t he da ys he wanted t o.
Anyway, he led h is t ea m , the St. Lou is Blu es t o t he pennant.
He didn ’t want t o pit ch the open in g ga m e of t he wor ld s e r ie s .
His t ea m va lia n t ly won . He didn ’t pit ch t he secon d ga m e of t h e
s e r ie s and the t ea m st r u ggled t o a los s . He didn ’t pit ch t he
next fou r ga m es eit h er . The t ea m p it ch er s won h a lf t h ose ga m es.
Th e s e r ie s wa s t ied 3 -3 . Milt F a m ey decid ed t o pit ch the la st
ga m e. It wa s a good t hing ’ca u s e a ll t he ot h er p it ch er s w er e wor n
out.
That da y Milt F a m ey went dr in kin g b e e r . He dr a n k about
t h r ee ca s e s of b e e r b e for e t he ga m e and when he went out on t he
mound he cou ld ba r ely hold ont o t he ba ll, let a lon e pit ch . All he
cou ld do wa s wa lk the ba t t er s. At the end of the fir s t in n ing h e’d
wa lked seven t een ba t t er s and t h e s cor e wa s 19 -0. He kept wa lkin g
ba t t er s and at the end of the ga m e, he had walked one hu ndr ed and
fou r ba t t er s and yield ed n in et y-eigh t r u n s. Th e fin a l s cor e wa s
98-0. Aft er the ga m e he went out t o h is st a t ion wa gon and dr a n k
som e m or e b e e r . As the ot h er t ea m loa ded ont o t he bu s, the
p la yer s look ed ove r at him and sa id, "T h e r e ’s t he b e e r that m a de
Milt F a m ey wa lk u s . "
The Y ellow F in gers
Long tim e ago in m erry old England th ere w as a king who
w asn’t too m erry. His ca stle w as being besieged by a bunch of
b arb arian s. He knew his people couldn’t ward off the attack by
th em selves. If only he could get help from a neighboring king.
The kings in those days would help each other out like that. The
king sent out one of his m essen g ers to take a m essage to the other
king. The only problem w as the knight had to c r o s s a bridge that
w as guarded by two huge yellow hands. T hese hands would grab
anyone who tried to c r o s s that brid ge. The knight n ever made it
a c ro ss the bridge. The king sent out two m ore knights, but the
yellow hands got them too. Then one of the kin g's page boys cam e
up and pleaded to go. At fir s t the king said no, but then he relented
because he was desp erate. They had to have help. When the page
cam e to the bridge, he walked right a c ro s s . The yellow fin gers tried
to get him but couldn't because he was too sm all. Now the m oral of
the story is: "L e t your pages do the walking through the yellow
fin g ers. ’’
The Salem T ree
Now this man went to Salem, M assachusetts (you know, the
place where they had all the witch tria ls) and he went to a hotel
and asked fo r a room , a bottle of w hiskey, and som e ic e and a
woman. The m anager said he would send the fir s t th ree things,
but not the woman becau se all the women in Salem had been burned
during the witch tr ia ls . So the man said, "What the hell do you do
fo r sex around h ere?" and the m anager said that all the men in
town u se an old tr e e in the cen ter of town.
So th is guy went to his room and had a few drinks and then
he decided he needed som e sex. So he went to the tr e e and lined
up with all the men. When his turn cam e he had the b est exp eri
ence he'd e v er had. He went back to his room and a few hours
la te r he decided he w as going to go back to that tr e e and cut it
down and take it home with him. So he cut down the tr e e and put
it in the back of his c a r. But all the town men cam e after him and
stopped him and said, "Hey, man, don't you know you can't take
the country out of S alem ?"
Bad T aste
This guy and this g ir l w ere dating a lot and they got to like
each other an awful lot. But there w as one problem : the g irl
alw ays used w ords lik e "a in 't", and bad speech lik e "he done it"
and "I'm gonna git me som e" and stuff like that. And so this guy
he'd alw ays be co rrectin g her. So anyway, they fell in love after
a while and got m arried .
'2>Mahip,c'
13
So i t was on thei r wedding night and they got all settl ed in
thei r motel room and the gi rl slipped into the bathroom saying
she’d be out in a few mi nutes. So thi s guy lay back f or a while
but af ter about f if teen mi nutes he couldn’t stand i t any more so
he y el l s, " W hatever are you doing in there. ’’
She shouted back, " I ’m cleaning my cunt!"
And he said, " I ’ve told you a thousand ti m es not to use tal k
l i ke th at! "
So she screamed back at him, " What do you want, good gram ­
m ar or good taste?"
All f our stori es w ere coll ected by U ni versi ty coeds within the l ast y ear.
The f i rst tal e was rel ated by a student bus boy in the col l ector’ s sorori ty ,
the second by a tw enty-f our y ear old male f rom New Y ork City whose f orte
was perv erted proverb type tal es. " The Salem T ree, " i nteresti ngl y enough,
came f rom a rel igi ous education di rector at a nearby U ni tarian church. The
l ast story came f rom the col l ector’ s f iance, a young B al ti more man of tw entythree who remembered heari ng the story f rom a photographer f ri end. The
couple plan to be m arri ed in the spring.
Brunvand bel i eves that thi s kind of narrati v e gains popularity because i t
i s easi l y made up, and he recal l s having an inf ormant make one up f or him
ri ght on the spot. M oreover, he argues, such tal es produce more of a groan
f rom l i steners than they do a laugh, and surel y thi s i s the case with the f i rst
two examples given here. But the thi rd tal e, employing as i t does a scatal ogi cal pun, evokes more m i rth than head shaking as one tends to f orget the
i dioti c constructi on of the fanciful town of Salem and i ts odd i nhabitants in
the cl ev er word play which casti gates one of the better known of those recent
singing com m erci al s. The story, " Bad T aste, " moves us cl osest to conven­
ti onal humor. Here the raconteur creates a credi bl e situati on and l ures the
l i stener into thinking he will be fed the typical " honeymoon joke" when the
tal e i s curtai l ed by a punch l i ne which borrow s the exact w ords of the Winston
ci garette ad. N either of the l atter two narrati v es employs the spooneri sti c
gimic which humorously def l ates the f i rst two accounts, and the perv ersi on,
i f one cares to cal l i t that, generates f rom the total l y al tered context in which
the commerci al slogan i s found. The ad i s not only perv erted, i t i s debased
through overt sexual associ ati ons.
It seems to me that these tal es which turn on the al terati on of an adver­
ti sement not only i ndi rectl y ri di cul e the corporate society with i ts money l ords
on M adison Avenue, but they also make fun of the very art of oral storytel l i ng.
As Charl es Reich has recentl y pointed out in The Greening of A meri ca, i t i s
thi s corporate society which produces the products, both good and terri bl e,
and then f oi st them upon the A merican consumer, who, deluged with adv erti se­
ments, has l i ttl e control over what he gets, or even over what he real l y wants.
The absurdi ty of the spoonerism in the f i r st two tal es by associ ati on l eads us
to think of the ads themsel ves as absurd. (Can f i ngers w al k? Can beer pro­
duce f am e?) The obvious sexual pun in the thi rd story, i f we think about it at
al l , renders a pi cture that i s quite derogatory tow ards the attracti v e, cl ean
14
livin g you n g wom a n , in t h e t elevis ion ad, who r u n s t h r ou gh t h e gr een field s
befou lin g h er lu n gs. Th e "cou n t r y" ha s becom e a s u r r oga t e for h er . And
cer t a in ly bot h Ma dison Avenu e and t he t ob a cco in du st r y fa r e p oor ly when cou ­
pled in t h e la s t s t or y with cu nn ilin gu a l im a ger y.
M or eover , for t h e student of folk n a r r a t ive, t h er e m a y be som et h in g
in st r u ct ive in t h is t ype of t a le, in fa ct in m ost of t he t a les that hang on
p r over bia l p e r ve r s ion s . Lik e t he r ecen t r a sh of sha m r id d les that m ock t he
r id dlin g p r oce s s by d er id in g logic (e .g . What’s gr een , weigh s 5, 000 pou nds
and live s in t h e oce a n ? An s. Moby P ick le .) or t he Mot h er G oos e vice ve r s e
("L it t le J a ck H or n er / Sat in t he com e r / E at ing h is s i s t e r .") wh ich d e file s
r e ver ed ch ild r e n 's r h ym es, t he p er ver t ed p r ove r b r un s s t ylis t ica lly cou n t er
t o t he m od e m cu r r en t of or a l n a r r a t ion . As r ecen t r e s e a r ch h a s m a de cle a r ,
du e t o t h e t eles cop in g of t im e in ou r m oder n s ociet y t h e or a l n a r r a t ive ha s
be com e sh or t and a n ecdot a l and t h e lon g win ded r a con t eu r in va r ia bly los e s
h is a u dien ce when he fa ils t o con for m t o t he n or m . Yet a s on e ca n s ee by t h e
n a t u r e of t h e sha ggy dog gen r e, t h e t a le at t he hands of a splen did t a le t e lle r
cou ld be dr a wn out t o in or din a t e len gt h s, and u n qu est ion a bly, t h e lon ger and
m or e r a m ified t h e st or y, t h e gr e a t e r the gr oa n at the end. The lis t e n e r gr oa n s
not ju st beca u s e of t he u t t er dea r t h of log ic, but a lso beca u s e he ha s been foolis h
enough t o wa st e h is t im e in a t t en da n ce on a n a r r a t or who h a s r ewa r ded h is in du l­
gen ce wit h n on sen se.
F in a lly, it cou ld be specu la t ed that an a u dien ce is a t t en t ive t o t h es e p e r ­
ve r s ion s in pa r t beca u s e of t h e open in g for m u la t hey oft en em p loy. In st ea d of
bein g t r ipped wit h t h e u su a l "Did you h ea r t he one a b ou t .. . " t he lis t e n e r is fr e ­
quent ly caught up by "On ce upon a t im e in a fa r off k in gd om .. . " or as in the secon d
s t or y given h er e, "Lon g a go in m e r r y old E n gla n d .. . " wh ich , in t h eir obviou s
pa r ody of t he st er eot yped open in gs of Ma r c h en , su ggest that a lon g t a le is about
t o follow . It u su a lly d oes if t he n a r r a t or is any good, and t he lis t e n e r , d iver t ed
by a d iffer en t begin n in g ha ngs on t o t h e bit t er end. And in cer t a in in st a n ces t he
ending it s e lf lik ew is e p a r od ies t he old e r fa ble for m of n a r r a t ive, d eliver in g the
fin a l pun or s p oon er is m as a m or a lis t ic addenda. ("Now the m or a l of t h is s t or y
is : 'L et you r pa ges do t h e wa lkin g t h r ou gh the yellow fin ger s ")
Thou gh it is t oo ea r ly t o sa y, fu r t h er colle ct ion and study of t h ese a lt er ed
a ds a s a m od e m n a r r a t ive for m m a y p r ove t h em t o be cove r t p r ot es t t a les on
t he on e hand, and t he d ep ict ion of the cu r r en t a ge’s disen ch a n t m en t with t r a dit ion
and t r a dit ion a l gen r es on t he ot h er . ^
1
See J an Br unva nd, "A C la s s ifica t ion for Shaggy Dog S t or ies , " J ou r n a l of Am er ica n
F olk lor e, LXXVI (1963), pp. 42-68 .
2
Sin ce t h is a r t icle wa s com p let ed a n ot h er t a le of t h is s or t h a s com e t o m y a tt ent ion.
Aga in the colle ct or is a Ma r yla n d coed who h ea r d it ver y r ecen t ly fr om h er fia n ce.
A lon g t im e ago in t he da r k woods of t he Middle Ages , t wo kn igh ts
and t h eir pa ges w er e los t . It st a r t ed t o r a in and t h ey n eeded a p la ce t o
sta y for t h e night . So t hey wa n der ed on and on and beca m e m or e los t
than e ve r wh en a ll of a sudden in t h e d ist a n ce t hey sa w a ca s t le and t h ey
t u r n ed in that d ir e ct ion . Even t hough it wa s r a in in g and da r k , t hey cou ld
15
s e e t h a t t h e c a s t le wa s w e ir d look in g, a ll or n a t e and c u r vy. Bu t
p r e t t y s oon t h ey ca m e t o t h e c a s t le d o or and k n ock ed . It wa s
a n s wer ed b y a m a n wh o t a lk ed in a ve r y e ffe m in a t e vo ic e : "S a y,
won ’t you com e in fe lla s ? "
Th e k n igh t s s a id , "Lo o k , w e ’r e lo s t and we n eed a p la c e
t o s t a y u n t il we ca n fin d ou r wa y b a ck t o ou r k in gd om . Ca n we
sta y h e r e ? "
So t h e q u e e r s a ys , "S u r e fe lla s , a n yt im e.
you o ff wit h you r h ea vy, cold , wet a r m or . "
Now ju s t le t m e h elp
So b y t h is t im e t h e t wo k n igh t s w e r e ge t t in g a b it s u s p iciou s and
on e o f t h em look ed at t h e ot h er and h e s a ys , "P r o m is e h im a n yth in g,
bu t g ive h im ou r p a ge. "
AN INS TANC E OF C U LTU R AL AD AP TATIO N
b y G e or ge C a r e y
As w e kn ow, m os t fo r m s o f fo lk lo r e adapt t h e m s e lve s t o fit t h e gr ou p
th a t em p loys t h em . Th e m od er n jok e is n o excep t ion . In Ap r il, 1968, I wa s
at a gu n clu b lu n ch eon in Pr in ce t on , New J e r s e y, and a ft e r t h e m ea l va r iou s
m e m b e r s of th e ga t h er in g, m os t o f t h em b u s in es s m en wh o com m u t ed b y t r a in
t o New Yo r k Cit y, r o s e and d e live r e d t h e la t es t r a s h o f jok e s ove r h e a r d at th e
o ffic e . On e n a r r a t o r t old t h e a m u s in g a ccou n t o f a com m u t er wh o, w h ile
r a cin g t o ca t ch h is t r a in h om e, wa s a ccos t ed by a n ews p a p er r e p o r t e r . Th e
r e p o r t e r fir e d t h r e e qu ick qu es t ion s at th e m a n wh o r et u r n ed t h r e e n on s equ it u r a n s wer s , a ll p oin t in g t o th e ob viou s com m u n ica t ion s b r ea k d own in
t h e n a t ion .
Th r e e m on th s la t e r a s tu den t at t h e U n ive r s it y o f Ma r yla n d c o lle c t e d
t h e exa ct s a m e t a le fr o m a wom a n wh o ca m e o r igin a lly fr o m t h e h ills o f Nor t h
C a r olin a . Th ou gh th e jok e wa s id en t ica l, t h e s it u a t ion and th e r e a s on fo r th e
m is u n d er s t ood qu es t ion s had a lt e r e d n ot icea b ly:
Th e r e wa s t h is r e p o r t e r wh o wen t u p in to t h e
m ou n ta in s o f Nor t h C a r olin a t o fin d ou t t h e p e o p le ’s
vie w s on cu r r en t is s u e s . He fou n d t h is old fe llo w
in a cou n t r y s t o r e a rou n d t h e r e and h e a s k ed h im :
"Wh a t d o you th in k of m a r iju a n a ? "
He s a id , "Ye a h , t h a t ’s a r e a l n ice p la ce; m y w ife
and I wen t t h e r e la s t ye a r and had a r e a l good t im e . "
Th en t h e r e p o r t e r s a id , "W e ll, wh a t d o you th in k
o f LS D ? "
Th e m a n s a id , "W e ll, I d on ’t th in k h e s h ou ld h a ve
b een e le c t e d vic e -p r e s id e n t , mu ch le s s p r es id en t . "
So th e r e p o r t e r s a id , "Wh a t do you th in k o f th e
Viet n a m p o s it io n ? "
An d h e s a id , "W e ll I lik e it , bu t m y w ife s a ys it
h u r ts h er b a c k . "
16
SOME TRADITIONAL NEGRO TALES IN THE CITY
by M ichael Quitt
This sampling of two tal es comes f rom the repertoi re of L eman Jones,
a bl ack story tel l er who has lived in B al ti more City f or the l ast twenty y ears.
B om in 1916 in North Carol i na, L eman worked doing odd jobs until the age
of eighteen, when he l ef t home to see the w orld. For five y ears he chose to
l i ve the l i f e of a hobo and toured the states of Georgia, North and South Carol i na
by means of the f rei ght-car. When not on the " f rei ghts" , he and twenty or so
other hobos lived communally in caves and hobo camps; and around campf i res,
the group would si t, " dri nki n’ and tel l i n’ l i es. " I t was at these folk gatheri ngs,
L eman maintained, that he l earned all his stori es.
When he gave up thi s f ree and easy l i f e, he moved to V i rgini a f or a ti me
and then to B al ti more. Much of his stay in the city has been in a white r esi ­
dential neighborhood which, in recent y ears, has become predominantly black.
He has earned hi s living as the custodian of an apartment building and a motion
pi cture studio. Throughout hi s stay in B al ti more, however, he has always
kept in contact with other bl acks.
Though I had known L eman f or seven y ears, collecting tal es f rom him
did not come easi l y. In the f i rst place, he never trusted my sinceri ty in
wanting to hear hi s tal es, and secondly, he obviously f elt hi msel f open to
ri di cul e when he told them. For i nstance, i f anyone entered the room during a
coll ecti ng sessi on, L eman immediately said that he j ust couldn’t remember any­
more of the tal e in progress; but as soon as the i ntruder departed, hi s memory
mi racul ousl y improved and he finished the tal e in tact.
Entertai nment i s the sole purpose f or L eman’ s storytel l i ng. These tal es
do not spri ng to l if e in the course of conversation, but rather each narrati v e
becomes a kind of art f orm in and f or i tsel f , a singul ar perf ormance. Each
tal e i s brought to l i f e by L eman’ s use of hand gestures, f aci al contorti ons, and
voice modulations. He i m i tates dogs and hunting horns, as well as characters
in his narrati v es. To watch him i s to w itness a raconteur who acts out and
vi rtual l y l i ves hi s tal es.
How active are these more tradi ti onal Negro tal es found in L eman’ s
repertoi r e? His origi nal mi l ieu removed, L eman no longer recounts his
tal es in the city as he once did in the hobo camp. Further, as Roger A brahams
points out in hi s study, Posi ti vel y Black, N egroes in the urban setti ng who render
the ol der animal tal es are i nvariably considered " Uncle Toms" by thei r peers.
W hether thi s i s the actual case with L eman, I was not able to determi ne because
of our somewhat l i mi ted sessi ons. If he knew any of the more modern " Shine"
tal es, f am i l i ar to urban bl acks, he did not tel l them to me.
Since his stori es do not ori ginally spri ng f rom the streets of B al ti more,
one i s inclined to di sm i ss L eman as a product of urban folk cul ture. Y et Ellen
Sfceckert contends that any f olkl ore found in the city can be called urban, and
should be studied f or what ef f ects the urban environment might have had on i t.
But these borderl i ne judgments as to what i s urban and what i s rural in oral
fo lk lo r e t r a d it ion s ee m s ir r e le va n t . I s e e Lem a n J on es a s a s t o r y t e lle r wh o
a t t im e s p e r fo r m s a t r a d it ion a l a r t fo r m in a n ew s u r r ou n d in g, and on ly fu r ­
t h e r r e s e a r c h w ill r e ve a l wh a t e ffe c t s , i f an y, t h e u rb a n cu lt u r e wor k s , o r
h a s wor k ed , on h is r e p e r t o ir e .
"Th e Ta r Ba b y"
O l1 B r e r Ra b b it loved ca b b a ge. Ca b b a ge, yea h , and c a r r o t s t oo, ya
kn ow. B e in th a t wom a n ’s ga r d en e ve r y n igh t ea t in g m o r e of t h a t ca b b a ge
u p. B r e r Ra b b it b e t h e r e e ve r y n igh t. Cou ldn ’t ca t ch B r e r Ra b b it . Old w o­
m a n cou ld n ’t ca t ch B r e r Ra b b it . E ve r y n igh t wh en s h e got h om e a ll t h e ca b ­
b a ge b e gon e. She pu t ou t m o r e ca b b a ge. Th a t wen t on abou t a m on th . ’Til
t h a t o l’ c o lo r e d la d y s a id , " I ’m gon n a ca t ch th a t B r e r Ra b b it . I kn ow wh a t
B r e r Ra b b it d o n e . "
B r e r Ra b b it s a id , "Oh , n o, it a in ’t m e. ’’
Sa id, "B r e r Ra b b it , you b een ea t in ’ m y ca b b a ge. "
B r e r Ra b b it s a id , "n o, n o. "
So s h e m a d e h er a t a r b a b y. You kn ow lik e a r a b b it . Ta r b a b y. O l’
B r e r Ra b b it got ou t t h e r e t h a t n igh t, ea t in ’ ca b b a ge, ea t in ’ ca b b a ge,
s t u ck h is foot on th a t t a r b a b y. Cou ld n ’t ge t h is fe e t off. Stu ck. Glu ed t o
it . Th a t m or n in ’ eve r yb od y r is e .
"You b een e a t in 'm y ca b b a ge. "
"No , h e ea t in ’ you r ca b b a ge.
"No, you w e r e r a b b it .
"Ye a h , k ill m e .
t h e b u s h e s ."
Ta r b a b y. "
I’m gon n a k ill you . "
Ea t m e.
P le a s e d on ’t t h r ow m e, d on 't t h r ow m e in
Said, "Wh a t d o ya m ea n B r e r Ra b b it .
You wa n t m e t o ea t y o u . "
"Ye a h , ea t m e, p le a s e ea t m e. " B r e r Ra b b it wa s b u lls h it t in ’. He
d id n ’t wa n t h er t o ea t h im , h e wa s b u lls h it t in ’. He wa n t ed t o ge t a wa y.
"P le a s e ea t m e. "
Sa id, "B r e r Ra b b it , I’m gon n a ea t you . "
"P le a s e ea t m e. I d on ’t wa n t t o go n owh er e. Don 't t h r ow m e o ve r
t h e r e . Don ’t t h r ow m e in th e b r ia r p a t ch . Don ’t t h r ow m e in t h e b r ia r pa tch .
Don ’t t h r ow m e o ve r t h e r e , n ow ea t m e. "
Said, "No, god d a m n it , I’m gon n a t h r ow you in t h e b r ia r pa tch . " She
t h r owed h im a ll th e wa y o ve r t h e r e .
B r e r Ra b b it s a id , "H e ll, I b een b or n ou t h e r e .
I'm fr e e . "
18
La u gh t er
"I been bor n out h er e.
Ifm a fr e e r a bbit n ow. " B r e r Ra bbit wen t.
(Type 175, "Th e Ta r ba by and t he Ra bbit . ” Type 1310, "B r ia r -p a t ch P u n ish m en t
for Ra bbit . ’’ )
"F ox and Ra bbit in t h e W ell"
The ol? B r e r Ra bbit , oP B r e r Ra bbit wa s s lick , ya know. Old B r e r
Ra bbit wa s wa y down in t h e w ell. Down in t he w ell, so t he sun sh in e br igh t .
He ca m e out ea r ly one m or n in g. OP B r e r Ra bbit wa s down in t he well ea t in ’
t hat , ea t in ’ that ch ees e. OP B r e r Ra bbit cou ld n ’t get out the w ell. He figu r ed
how he got in t he w ell. He look ed up, old B r e r F ox com e by t h er e, had t wo
bu ck et on t he well, ya know. One bu ck et - old B r e r F ox com e by t h er e.
"H ey B r e r F ox, com e down h er e.
We h ave a good t im e down h er e. "
B r ot h er F ox sa id, "I don ’t know B r e r Ra bbit . " B r e r Ra bbit got in that
da mn well.
"Hop in that bu cket B r e r F ox, com e on down . "
Old B r e r F ox sa id, "I don 't know. ’’
"P le a s e com e down h er e, we got plen t y of ch ees e down h er e. ’’ E a t in ’.
"We ha ve a fea st down h er e. " Had a good t im e by h is s e lf.
Old B r e r F ox sa id, "I don ’t k n ow ." Aft er a wh ile B r e r F ox sa id, "Yea h ,
be I com e P m cor n in ’ down . " B r e r F ox ju m ped in that bu ck et , he wen t down ,
B r e r Ra bbit com e up.
Said, "Th a t ’s t he wa y t he wor ld goes , s om e cor n in ' and som e goin ’. "
He sa id, "Som e cor n in ’ and som e goin '. ’’ Left B r e r F ox in t h e bot t om
of t he w ell. Left B r e r F ox down t h er e. B r e r Ra bbit got up, went about h is
bu s in es s .
B r e r Ra bbit wa s a bit ch .
(Mot if K 651, "W olf d es cen d s into well in on e bu ck et and r e s cu e s fox in t h e
ot h er . ’’)
BOOK REVIEWS
F olk lor e Ar ch ives of t he Wor ld: A P r elim in a r y Gu ide. Com piled by
P et er Aceves & Magnds E in a r sson -Mu lla r Ky. E dit ed by Magnus E in a r s s on Mu lla r ky. Bloom in gt on , I n d .: F olk lor e F or u m , Bibliogr a p h ic and Specia l
S er ies , No. 1, N ovem ber 1968. iii, 27 pp. P a per bou n d, $1.00 p e r yea r
(two is s u e s ). Ava ila ble fr om F olk lor e F or u m , c /o F olk lor e Instit ut e, In­
dia n a U n iver sit y, 714 Ea st 8th St r eet , Bloom in gt on , Indiana 47401.
F or fou r ye a r s , t h e b i-m on t h ly F olk lor e F or u m ha s been an ou t spoken
veh icle for you n g folk lor is t ic r e s e a r ch and com m en t a r y. It is issu ed by
gr a du a t e stu den ts at the Indiana U n iver sit y F olk lor e Institute for a s u b s cr ip ­
t ion cos t of on ly $2.00 p e r yea r . They a lso is s u e a sem i-a n n u a l B ib lio­
gr a ph ic and Specia l S er ies , a va ila ble for $1.00 p e r yea r , of wh ich t h is p r e ­
lim in a r y su r vey of F olk lor e a r ch ives is Nu m ber One.
Th e com p ile r s a r e t o be lauded for pu blish in g t h is list in g of a r ch ives ,
r ela t ed in st it u t ion s, and pr iva t e colle ct ion s , for t h er e a r e few su ch s u r veys
cu r r en t ly a va ila ble, t h e m ost a cce s s ib le except ion s bein g A P r elim in a r y
D ir e ct or y of Sound R ecor d in gs C ollect ion s in t he United St a tes and Can ada ,
p r ep a r ed by a Com m it t ee of t he As s ocia t ion for R ecor d ed Sound C ollect ion s
(New Yor k P u blic L ibr a r y, 1967, $3 .00 ), and a lis t in g of Nor t h Am er ica n
folk lor e and folk m u sic a r ch ives com p iled by t h is r eview er and a va ila ble on
r equ est fr om the Ar ch ive of F olk Song, Libr a r y of Con gr es s , Wa shingt on ,
D .C . 20540.
Ot her s u r veys a r e in p r ogr e s s : P r ofe s s or E llen J . St ekert of the
Wayne State U n iver sit y F olk lor e Ar ch ive ha s been con du ct in g a su r vey of
Am er ica n colle ct ion s ; M r s . Ann B r iegleb, Ar ch ivis t of t he U . C . L . A . In st i­
t ut e of E t h n om u sicology is com p ilin g for the Societ y for E t h n om u sicology a
D ir e ct or y of Sound Ar ch ives in the United States Con t aining E t h n om u sicologica l
R e cor d in gs ; and P et er Kennedy of t he Da r t ingt on Inst it ut e of Tr a dit ion a l Ar t s,
Tot n es, Devon , England, is pr ep a r in g The In t er n a t ion a l Tr a d it ion s R es ea r ch
Ar ch ive D ir e ct or y in a s s ocia t ion with S . I . E . F . (Societ e In t er n a t ion a le d 'E t h n ologie et de F olk lor e) and I. F . M. C. (Int ern a t ion a l F olk Mu sic Cou n cil). Mea n ­
wh ile, it is u sefu l t o ha ve t he F olk lor e F or u m list in g.
J oseph C. H ick er son
L ib r a r y of C on gr es s
P e r s p e ct ive s on F olk lor e and E du ca t ion . Bloom in gt on , I n d .: F olk lor e
F or u m , Bibliogr a p h ic and Specia l S er ies No. 2, May 1969. 53 pp. P a p e r bound. $1.00 p er yea r (two is s u e s ).
Th is F olk lor e F or u m pu blica t ion on folk lor e and edu ca t ion is a colle c­
t ion of 7 a r t icle s pr ovid in g b r ie f glim p s es into pr epa r a t ion for con t em p or a r y
s ch ola r s h ip and in to the r ole of folk lor e in con t em p or a r y edu ca t ion .
20
In t wo a r t icle s u n iver sit y in s t r u ct or s d e s cr ib e how t h ey en cou r a ge
colle ge students t o in vest iga t e folk lor e in it s livin g con t ext . C ollect in g
p r oje ct s s e r ve in on e u n iver sit y as ve h icle s by wh ich st u dent s ca n develop
bot h t h eir cu lt u r a l a wa r en ess and t h eir ca p a cit y for ob ject ive a n a lysis . In
t h e ot h er in st a n ce su ch p r oje ct s in volve ea ch student in in vest iga t in g the
fu n ct ion a l r ela t ion sh ip bet ween a given folk lor e it em and t h e ca r r ie r or p e r ­
for m e r of that it em .
One a r t icle in t r odu ces t h e p r ogr a m of the Cen t er for t h e Study of
P opu la r Cu lt u r e at Bowlin g Gr een U n iver sit y in Oh io, wh ile a n ot h er d e­
s cr ib e s folk lor e edu ca t ion at u n iver s it ies in s elect ed E u r opea n cou n t r ies .
On a le s s soph ist ica t ed level, a w r it e r d e s cr ib e s h is exp er ien ces with
t elevis ion a s t h e m ediu m by wh ich folk lor e wa s p r esen t ed in p r ogr a m s for
p r e -s ch ool and p r im a r y you n gst er s.
Most folk lor is t s a r e ed u ca t or s , and J an H a r old Brunva nd n ot es that
m ost folk lor is t s on colle g e fa cu lt ies s e r ve a s m em b er s of E n glish d ep a r t ­
m en t s. He d e s cr ib e s in a m u sin g fa sh ion t h e a dva n t a ges and oppor t u n it ies
of su ch a r r a n gem en t s.
Th om a s A. Gr een su ggest s that t o be m ost effect ive in s t r u ct or s shou ld
figu r a t ively "wa lk on e m ile in t he m occa s in s of t h eir st u den t s, " p r om ot in g
p r id e and m ot iva t ion t h r ou gh t h eir folk lor e . I n s t r u ct or s m ay d is cov e r that
folk lor e ca n be ju st t h e m ea n s n eeded for con n ect in g t he w or ld of t he cla s s ­
r oom t o t h e wor ld of t he st r eet , for br in gin g r eleva n cy and in t er es t int o
sch ool w or k for m em b er s of m in or it y gr ou p s.
E a ch w r it e r p r es en t s b r ie f glim p s es of t op ics seldom con s id er ed away
fr om t h e u n iver sit y ca m pu s.
Thou gh fr a gm en t a r y and d iscon n ect ed , t h ese
fla sh es of in sigh t will be of genu in e in t er es t t o p er s on s con s id er in g or in ­
volved in folk lor e s ch ola r s h ip .
J ohn F . Put nam
Lan h am , Ma r yla n d
J u m p-Rope R h ym es : A Dict ion a r y. E dit ed by R oger D. Abr a h a m s.
P u blish ed for t h e Am er ica n F olk lor e Societ y by t he U n iver sit y of Texa s P r e s s ,
Aust in & Lon don , 1969. P u blica t ion s of t he Am er ica n F olk lor e S ociet y, B ib­
liogr a p h ica l and Specia l S er ies , Vol. 20, 1969. F or ew or d by Br ia n Sut t onSmith. xxiv, 228 pp. Bibliogr a p h y, Na m es Ment ioned in the Rh ym es, Na m es
and T e r m s . $6.50.
In t h is book , it s eem s , t he Am er ica n F olk lor e Societ y ha s a n ot h er good
s e lle r . Th is "d ict ion a r y ," if t h a t ’s t he wor d for it, wou ld be va lu a ble t o any
s er iou s student of folk lor e , p a r t icu la r ly of ch ild r en ’s folk lor e .
F or t he c o l ­
le ct or of ju m p r ope r h ym es — and the r a n k s a r e swellin g a s what Br ia n
Sut ton-Smit h ha s ca lled t he "t r ivia lit y b a r r ie r " d isa p p ea r s — a n a la gou s d ocu ­
m en t a t ion has been lon g ha r d t o com e by. But now, a s many as 63 occu r ­
r en ce s ca n be cit ed for a sin gle r h ym e (Abr a h a m s 214, "I ce Cr ea m Soda,
Dela wa r e P u n ch .")
21
The book con t a in s a sign ifica n t eigh t -pa ge bibliogr a ph y of wor k s cit ed ,
in clu din g r e cor d in gs , a lis t of n a m es of ju m p r op e ga m es and of n on -ver ba l
ch a r a ct e r is t ics of ju m pin g r ope, and a lis t of p r op e r n a m es and t h eir e x­
pla n a t ion s. The b r ie f in t r odu ct ion in clu des a su r vey of r ecen t r e s e a r ch and
con ject u r a l expla n a t ion s of ch a n ges in r op e skippin g activity., Th e r h ym es
t h em selves a r e list ed a lph a bet ica lly.
Th er e a r e a few m in or d ifficu lt ie s . F or on e, it s eem s un usua l t o lis t
occu r r e n ce s of ea ch r h ym e in ch r on ologica l or d e r r a t h er than in a lph a bet ica l
or d e r by a u t h or s, ed it or s , or com p ile r s . Also, t h er e s eem s t o b e a loos e ,
im plied cr it e r ion that a llows t he in clu sion of su ch a r h ym e a s n u m ber 357
("M ot h er , m ot h er , w h er e’s t he k e y ?"/"G o a sk fa t h er . "/"F a t h e r , fa t h er , w h er e’s
t h e k e y ?"/"H a v e you wa sh ed t he d is h e s ?" "Ye s . "/"H a v e you swept the fl o o r ?"
"Ye s . "/"T u r n t h e key in t he lock and run out t o p la y ."). One dou bt s wh et h er
t h is r h ym e fr om a book of pla y a ct ivit ies for elem en t a r y s ch ools wa s ever
u sed by ch ild r en .
Usin g t h is wor k t o annotate a colle ct ion of s even t y-t wo r h ym es su bm it ­
t ed by ch ild r en in a Wa sh in gton , D .C ., s ch ool, I find about h a lf t h e it em s
in clu ded. H owever , a few w er e not ea sy t o fin d. "M is s P ot t a had a b a b y /
And she ca lled it Tin y T im " is n u m ber 224, "I had a lit t le b r ot h er and we
ca lled it Tin y T im ." "B lu b er r y, cock a ch e r r y " is n u m ber 41, "B lu eb ells ,
cock le b e lls ."
On a br oa d e r le ve l, t h is book r a is e s ot h er qu est ion s. Of it s 613
r h ym es, m or e than 400 occu r but on ce in t h e s ou r ce s cit ed . Th is cou ld
in dica t e t h e la ck of colle ct in g a ct ivit y in t h is a r ea or it cou ld in dica t e that
r op e -s k ip p e r s oft en cr e a t e t h eir own r h ym es or b or r ow fr om ot h er s ou r ce s
(a n u m ber of cou n t in g-ou t r h ym es and so for t h a r e in clu ded) and that the set
of su ch fixed figu r es a s n u m ber 353, "Mot h er , m ot h er , I am i l l , " is r e la ­
t ively s m a ll.
The t r u e t est of t h is book will com e on ly a ft er it ha s been u sed for
a wh ile. One wou ld p r es u m e that it s exclu s ion of t h e n on -ver ba l a sp ect s
of ju m pin g r op e w ill not tend t o cr e a t e an over em p h a s is on t he pu r ely
lit e r a r y a s p ect s . F or a s Dor ot h y H owa r d, Ma r yla n d’s expa t r ia t e a u th ority
on ch ild r en ’s folk lor e , ha s wr it t en : "Th e d ict ion a r y of pla ygr ou n d la n gu age
is gest u r a l beh a vior — su bt le and w h im s ica l. P la ygr ou n d r h e t or ic, if
t h or ou gh ly exp lor ed , m ight r evea l bilin gu a lit y a s a r equ ir em en t for s u r vi­
va l in ch ild p e e r -gr ou p s wh ich d evelop in t o adult p e e r -gr ou p s wh ich r u le t h e
w or ld w illy-n illy" ( Ma r yla n d E n glish J ou r n a l, Vol. 7, n o. 1, F a ll 1968,
p. 18).
Geor ge A. Sim pson
Bet h esda , Ma ryla n d
Th e Saga of Coe Ridge: A Study in Or a l H ist or y. By Willia m Lyn wood
Mon t ell. Kn oxville: U n iver sit y of Ten n ess ee P r e s s , 1970. xxiv, 231 pp.
Sket ch es of In for m a n t s, Ta le Types, M ot ifs, and M igr a t or y Legen d s, Geon eologica l Ch a r t s, Bibliogr a p h y, Index, Ma ps, Illu st r a t ion s, P h ot ogr a ph s. $8 .95 .
22
When m a n u m ission ca m e t o Kent ucky a gr ou p of s la ves own ed by t he
wh it e Coe fa m ily in Cu m ber la n d County m oved on t o a n ea r by r id ge — t a king
t h eir for m e r own er ’s la s t n a m e a s t h eir own and givin g it , even t u a lly, t o
t he r idge on wh ich t hey lived . Over t h e ye a r s s ocia l and econ om ic p r e s s u r e s
ca u sed many of the in ha bit ant s of Coe Ridge t o lea ve and t u r n ed m ost who r e ­
m a in ed in to m oon sh in er s, t h ieves , and
m u r der er s.
Toda y Coe Ridge is d es er t ed but
it s h is t or y live s on in t h e for m of l e ­
gen ds, a n ecd ot es, son gs, and sa yin gs on the lip s of t he loca l in ha bit an t s
a round Coe Ridge and t he descen da n t s of the Coe Ridge N egr oes . Mon t ell
has ca pt u r ed t h is h is t or y and r ecou n t s it in vivid , com p ellin g, and a ccu r a t e
for m — u sin g the t ech n iqu es of the Or a l H ist or ia n and F olk lor is t and dem on ­
st r a t in g the va lidit y of t h is com bin ed a ppr oa ch t o h is t or y.
Th e book is en r ich ed by the a ddit ion of bibliogr a ph y, ph ot ogr a ph s,
sk et ch es, gen ea logica l ch a r t s , and in dex.
One cou ld (and I w ill) qu a r r el wit h the la you t of t he book and t h e way
in wh ich foot n ot es a r e u sed . Th e pa ges a r e a p pr oxim a t ely 8 in ch es squ a r e
wit h h a lf of ea ch pa ge r e s e r ve d for t ext and t he ot h er h a lf r e s e r ve d for foot ­
n ot es. When the foot n ot e h a lf is fu lly
u sed t h er e is a feelin g of r ea din g t wo
t ext s at t he sa m e t im e; when it is not
u sed t h er e is a lot of wa st ed s p a ce and
I find it ver y d ist r a ct in g.
Mon t ell occa s ion a lly ove r r e a ch e s in t r yin g t o a ssign a Mot if n u m ber t o
som e of t he n a r r a t ives he u s es (e .g ., s ee p. 38, n ot e 33 and p. 59, n ot e 57),
and h is at tempt t o con n ect the d e s ir e t o be bu r ied in on e’s h om e t e r r it or y
wit h an Afr ica n or igin (s ee p. 75, n ot e 41) is a bit lu d icr ou s . But t h ese a r e,
per h a ps, t r iflin g cr it icis m s of an ot h er wise fin e book .
Ch u ck P er du e
W ood ville, V a ., and
Un iv. of P en n sylva n ia
J on es T r a cy : T a ll-T a le H er o fr om Mount D es er t Isla n d. By C. Rich a r d
K. Lunt. Or on o, M e .: N or t h ea st F olk lor e Societ y, 1969. (N or t h ea st F olk lor e,
Vol. 10, 1968.) 74 pp. Bibliogr a p h y, Map, P h ot ogr a ph s. P a per bou n d. $3.00
(NFS M em ber s , $ 2 .0 0 ).
J on es T r a cy wa s bor n and died on t he coa s t of Ma in e. Bet ween 1856
and 1939 he t ook up s p a ce t h er e — m os t ly on Mount D es er t Isla n d. He
t illed h er s oil, h elped feed h er p eop le and s u m m er vis it or s , k illed off h er
ga m e (m or e or le s s ), and had a t im e doin g it , or so h is r epu t a t ion a s a
wa g and r a con t eu r wou ld su ggest . Rich a r d Lunt ha s set out t o a s s e s s and
defin e that r epu t a t ion in t h is volu m e. He t r a ce s T r a cy ’s life in a b r ie f
biogr a ph y, d e s cr ib e s h is s t or yt ellin g p r ow es s , p r es en t s bot h a p r im a r y and
s econ da r y ca n on of J on es T r a cy t a les as t old and r em em ber ed by h is r e la ­
t ives , n eigh bor s and coh or t s , and con clu d es by a s s e s s in g T r a cy ’s sta tu s as
a T a ll-T a le H er o. Alm ost a s an a ft er th ough t in an epilogu e, Lunt offe r s a
b r ie f com p a r is on bet ween t he T r a cy "s t y le ” and t h e cu r r en t sta tus of t he a r t
on Mt. D es er t Isla n d.
23
As a "s u m m e r p e r s on " on Mt. D es er t Isla n d, I wa s deligh t ed with the
in sigh t into h er h is t or y and p eop le pr ovid ed by t h is colle ct ion of J on es Tr a cy
t a le s . Rich a r d Lunt ha s a good eye for the p la ce and an in fect iou s t hough
n ot sen t im en t a lized ent h u sia sm for h is su bject . As a New E n gla n der and
a m a t eu r t a le t e lle r , I en joyed t h is a ddit ion t o ya n kee lor e as a fu r t h er ex­
a m ple of bot h it s con t in u it y and it s va r iou s n es s . But a s a folk lor is t I wa s
disa ppoin t ed. I think Lunt ha s m is s ed h is t op ic.
The os t en s ible su bject of t h is study is T r a cy h im s elf; h is life , h is
st yle, and h is "ca n on " as Lunt ca lls it . J on es T r a cy is dea d. At t em pt in g
t o a s s e s s t he st yle and p er for m a n ce of a dea d man for wh om t he on ly a va il­
a ble r e cor d of eit h er is t h e m or e or le s s a ccu r a t e m em or y of h is a u dien ce
(h owever con s ciou s t hey m ay have been of "s t y le " and "p e r for m a n ce ") is a
t r ick y bu s in es s . It ’s es p ecia lly d ifficu lt if t h e in vest iga t or d oes not h a ve a
fir m n ot ion of st yle and p er for m a n ce as t h ey apply t o n a r r a t ive a r t , or if
he h a s not est a blish ed a wor k a ble defin it ion of t he con cep t s a s t hey a r e
u sed (or not ) by h is in for m a n t s. Lunt is a wa r e of t h ese d ifficu lt ies (p. 21),
but he h a sn ’t r ea lly cop ed with t h em . He t e lls u s that T r a cy d e s e r ve s a
"h igh p er for m a n ce r a t in g" beca u s e "H is a u dien ce lik ed h is s t or ie s and how he
t old t h em " (p. 22). Even though Lunt ha s m a de a cu r s or y defin it ion of what
the a u dien ce lik ed (he wa s a "ca s t e r of s p ells , a m y s t ifie r ", he cou ld "get
t h em t o suspen d d is b e lie f" [m y it a lics ]), the r ea d er is not con fiden t that
anyone ha s a cle a r s en s e of t he T r a cy s t yle. A m or e det a iled a ccou n t of
what peop le think of T r a cy and h is t a les , of t h e on es t h ey r em em b er and t h eir
fu n ct ion or cu r r en t st a t u s, of t he va r ia t ion s in "s t yle " of con t em p or a r y v e r ­
s ion s, wou ld t o m y mind h ave been a m or e m a n a gea ble t op ic, a m or e r e a lis ­
t ic and u sefu l a ppr oa ch .
F olk lor e a s a fr u it fu l in t ellect u a l a ct ivit y in t h is cou n t r y is a lba t r ossed
by t oo many st u dies m a n qu e. It ’s a t r a dit ion , and on e that s oon er or la t er
s om eon e will have t o r eck on with. Even s o, I ’m gla d t o h a ve Rich a r d Lun t ’s
a ccou n t of J on es T r a cy. It ’s a gen uine con t r ibu t ion t o New England t r a dit ion s;
an exa m ple of the st u ff of folk lor e .
Ch a r les S. Ada m s
Univ. of Ma ssa ch u set t s
Am h er st , Ma ss.
Myths & Legen ds of Our Own La n d. By Ch a r les M. Skin ner . P h ila ­
delph ia and London : J . B. Lippin cot t C o., 1896. Reissu ed by Singing T r e e
P r e s s , Det r oit , 1969. 2 vols . 318, 335 pp. Illu st r a t ion s. $15.00.
Ala s, m or e for e s t s r a va ged, m or e pulp m ills spewin g t h eir ick y gunk
in t o a lr ea dy ba dly clogged r ive r s so that p eop le at t he Singing T r e e ca n br in g
out m or e unwanted r ep r in t s . Unwanted at lea st so fa r a s the folk lor is t is con ­
cer n ed . In dr a win g t oget h er a book of legen ds fr om a ll ove r t he cou n t r y
(though the "T a le s of P u r it a n La n d" ou t weigh a ll the ot h er s by about t h r ee t o
on e), Skinner wa s wor k in g with what is u n den ia bly Am e r ica ’s m ost r e p r e s e n ­
t a t ive n a r r a t ive for m : the legen da r y a ccou n t . Yet h is a ppr oa ch , seen fr om
t h e cold and cle a r vis ion that t wen t y-t wen t y h indsigh t p r ovid es , is r om a n t i­
ca lly ill-s t a r r e d .
24
Set on poin t in g out that ou r cou n t r y is "n ot devoid of m yt h and folk ­
lor e , " Skinner fin ds legen ds at t h eir m os t fa scin a t in g wh er e t hey com bin e
myth and h is t or y, though we n ever do lea r n exa ct ly what he m ea n s by
"m yt h . " And, he goes on, "it is n ot t oo ea r ly for u s t o begin the colla t ion
of t h os e quaint ha ppen ings and t h os e spok en r ep or t s that ga in in p ict u r es qu e­
n es s wit h ea ch t r a n s m is s ion " (p. 6).
With su ch t ona l qu a lit ies fixed for u s in the in t r odu ct ion , it is not hard
t o im a gin e t he kind of book t h is is . Dr edgin g up ever yt h in g fr om Cot t on
Ma t h er ’s Ma gn alia t o I r vin g’s "Rip Van W in k le ," Skin ner feed s h is r ea d er
a ll t h e sweet and t er r ifyin g old s t or ie s in a st yle that wou ld ga g a p r esen t
da y lit e r a r y m a ggot . Not m u ch folk id iom is t o be found h er e. No in d ivi­
d u a lit ies of n a r r a t ive st yle a r e t o be u n cover ed in t he t a les of the R ock ies
and t h ose of the Dela wa r e. And, of cou r s e , no d ist in ct ion is m a de a s t o
wh ich legen ds a r e a ct ive (or w er e in t he 1890’s) and wh ich on es sim ply hauled
out of ot h er book s . On ce m or e, a s is t h eir wont , t he Singing T r e e ha s t aken
a gr ea t st ep ba ck wa r ds in h elpin g t o a dva n ce folk lor e st u dies.
G eor ge G. Ca r ey
Univ. of Ma r yla n d
The Sa cr ed Harp by B. F . Whit e and E. J . Kin g (fa cs im ile of the
t h ir d edit ion , 1859). In clu din g a s a h is t or ica l in t r odu ct ion : The St or y of
t he Sa cr ed Ha rp, by Geor ge P u llen J a ck son . N a sh ville: Br oa dm a n P r e s s ,
1968. xxxii, 432 pp. P r e fa ce by Da vis C. W oolley. P os t s cr ip t by Willia m
J . Reyn old s. Index of F ir s t Lin es , Gen er a l Index, M et r ica l Index, Mu sic.
$ 6 .5 0 .
Th e Br oa dm a n P r e s s h a s w is ely ch osen t o r ep r in t n ot t he fir s t edit ion
of the Sa cr ed Harp (1844), but t he t h ir d edit ion of 1859, t he la st edit ion t o
p r e s e r v e t he or igin a l r e p e r t or y, with it s own a ddit ion s a s well a s t h ose of
t he secon d edit ion t u cked int o t h e ba ck . They ha ve a lso w is ely ch osen t o
r epr in t by way of in t r odu ct ion G eor ge P u llen J a ck s on ’s excellen t Th e Stor y
of t he Sa cr ed Ha rp, 1844-1944, ba ck ed up by a p os t s cr ip t com m en t in g on t he
cu r r en t st a te of Sa cr ed H a rping - com p let e with a n u m b er -by-n u m ber a ccou n t
of t he 1966 Den son Mem or ia l Singing, and a b r ie f p r e fa ce by a m em b er of
t h e H is t or ica l C om m is s ion of the Sout her n Ba pt ist Con ven t ion . Th ey ha ve
a lso pr ovid ed — won der , won der , won der — a fir s t -lin e in dex for t h os e who
h a ve t r ou ble m a t ch in g t u n es, s u bject s and lin es with geogr a p h ic loca t ion s (the
sh eph er ds a r e in Sh er bu r n e; Windham is t he wa y that lea d s t o dea th ; and
J es u s, my a ll, t o h ea ven is gon e fr om t h r ee sepa r a t e loca t ion s wh ile bein g
don e wit h the w or ld ).
Th ose wish in g a sin gle Sa cr ed Harp t o sin g fr om w ill do bet t er t o buy
t he 1966 edit ion of t he Den son Revis ion — u n less t hey p a r t icu la r ly d is lik e
a lt os — a s it is t he ve r s ion cu r r en t ly m ost sung fr om , it con t a in s fa vor it es
su ch as "Wa yfa r in g St r a n ger " not in t h e 1859 ve r s ion , and, at $3 .0 0 a copy
(plus 25£ post a ge), it is con s id er a b ly ch ea p er .
[Th e Den son R evis ion is
a va ila ble fr om Mr . Hugh McGr a w, T r e a s u r e r , Sa cr ed Harp P u blish in g C o . ,
Box 185, Br em en , Geor gia 20110. The Coop er Revis ion (1950 pr in t in g) is
a lso s t ill u sed somewh a t and is a va ila ble for $3 .50 fr om Sa cr ed Harp Book
C o., P . O. Box 46, T r oy, Ala ba m a 36081. J .C .H . ]
*
25
All t h os e with a deep in t er es t in Sa cr ed Harp sin gin g, h owever , will
be thankful for the Br oa dm a n r epr in t , wh ich sh eds m u ch ligh t on t he ea r ly
h is t or y of the book . (It is r em a r k a ble, for in st a n ce, how many " r e for m "
t unes — "M is s ion a r y H ym n ," "Du ke St r eet " — m a de t h e or igin a l colle ct ion .)
It a lso con t a in s many bon u ses, even t h r ee ext r a ve r s e s of "N or t h field " (though
not the p r e -s u p p e r on e about id le m a id s).
Wayn e D. Sh ir ley
L ibr a r y of C on gr es s
Th e Study of Indian M u s ic. By F r a n ces Den sm or e. Smit hson ia n R e­
por t , 1941. F a cs im ile Repr odu ct ion , 1966 (3r d "e d it ion ," 1968). The Shor ey
Book Shop, 815 Th ir d Avenu e, Seat t le, Wa sh in gt on 98104. (SJ S # 1 1 3 .)
527550 (i . e . , 24) p p ., 6 p la t es.
P a per bou n d, $ 1 .5 0 .
If the r e a d e r wish es t o ve r ify t he old a dage, "You ca n ’t t ell a book
by it s cove r , " you r s ea r ch is ove r . "Th e St or y of Indian Mu sic, " by F r a n ces
Den sm or e, is ba sed upon h er r e s e a r ch of many t r ib e s . Th e In t r odu ct ion p r o­
vid es a ca psu la t ed h is t or y of the u s e of r ecor d in g m a ch in es in the field study
of t he Am er ica n Indian, and h igh ligh t s of the even t s lea din g M iss D en sm or e t o
devot e h er life t o t h is st udy. It r evea ls h er r e s p e ct for Indian cu lt u r e, and
h er a wa r en ess of t h e effect s of a ccu lt u r a t ion . Without h er mon u men t a l wor k ,
t h ou sa n ds of t r a dit ion a l m elod ies wou ld ha ve been los t for e v e r .
Addit ion a lly, Miss Den sm or e p r ovid es d et a ils of h er r ecor d in g equ ip­
m en t and p r oce d u r e s , r ecor d in g con dit ion s, a t t em pt s at s cien t ific st a n da r di­
za t ion , and d elica t e dea lin gs wit h t he In dia ns. In t h ese pa ges we find a
cle a r st a t em en t of h er p r ofes s ion a l cr e d o: "Indian son gs a r e of lit t le va lu e
u n less cor r e la t e d with t he life of t he p eop le. Indian m u s ic should be r e cog ­
n ized a s an im por t a n t br a n ch of et h n ology" (p. 541). And, "My wor k h a s
been t o p r e s e r v e t h e pa st , r e cor d obs er va t ion s of t he p r esen t , and open the
wa y for t h e wor k of ot h er s in t h e fu t u r e" (p. 550).
Now, u n for t u n a t ely, t h ese gem s a r e r ep r od u ced upon ext r em ely p oor
qu a lit y pa p er , and Miss D en s m or e’s det a iled pla t es a r e r en der ed a lm ost un­
in t elligible. Sin ce t he edit ion is t he t h ir d of t h e 1966 Sh or ey Repr in t , one
m igh t humbly su ggest that t h er e is a con t in u in g m a r k et — on e wh ich would
gla dly pa y a h igh er t a r iff for pu blica t ion con s id er a t ion s m or e a ppr opr ia t e t o
t he va lu e of the con t en t s.
T. Tem ple Tu t t le
Un iv. of Ma r yla n d
Sin ger s of t h e B lu es . [By] F r a n k Su r ge. Min n ea polis: L e r n e r P u bli­
ca t ion s C o ., 1969. A P u ll Ahea d Book . 63 pp. P h ot ogr a ph s. $ 3 .9 5 .
The p u blis h er ’s ca t a log d esign a t es t h is book for "G r a d es 5-12 (high
in t er es t — low voca b u la r y)." It con s is t s of a s ect ion t it led "What a r e the
B lu e s ," followed by seven t een biogr a p h ica l sk et ch es cover in g, a mon g ot h er s,
Ma Ra in ey, Lea d belly, and B illie H olida y. The in for m a t ion is in t er est in g,
but dea d. Th e over a ll im p r es s ion is that Mr . Su r ge, kn owin g n oth ing about
t he blu es or blu es s in ger s , bega n colle ct in g what p ict u r es and in for m a t ion he
%
26
cou ld find on t he su bject and st opped when he had enough t o fill h is s ixt yt h r ee p a ges. Th er e is no con t in u it y or s elect ion a ppa r en t in t h e or ga n iza ­
t ion of the book . F or exa m ple, pa ge t wo (wh ich is bet ween the fir s t and
secon d t it le pa ges) is a p ict u r e of Vict or ia Spivey, with a s ix-lin e ca psu le
biogr a ph y a s a ca pt ion . Th e r e a d e r ’s in t er est ha ving been s t ir r e d , she
is dr opped except for a m en t ion in Lon n ie J oh n son ’s biogr a ph y that t hey
p er for m ed t oget h er .
P h ys ica lly the book is well put t oget h er and a t t r a ct ive. It wou ld ma ke
a n ice gift for som e you ng p er s on you owe a gift t o and d on 't know well
enough t o ch oos e for , but don 't expect t o a r ou se a lifelon g in t er es t in blu es
s in ger s wit h it .
F r a n k Da spit
Wa s h in gt on , D. C .
In is Bea g: Isle or Ir ela n d. By J ohn C. M ess en ger . New Yor k :
Holt, Rin eh a r t and Winst on, 1969. (Ca se Studies in Cu lt u r a l An t h r op ology.)
viii, 136 pp. R e fer en ces , Recom m en ded Rea din g, P h ot ogr a ph s.
P a per bou n d,
$ 2 .5 0 .
Although it p r esen t s not hing r ea lly new about I r is h folk cu lt u r e and
is in som e in s t a n ces —t he d es cr ip t ion of st or yt ellin g, for exa m ple—highly
d er iva t ive, M es s en ger 's ca s e study of In is Bea g, an u n iden t ified Ar a n isla n d
off the coa s t of E ir e, has the vir t u e of bein g an im m en sely a ppea lin g book
that r e fle ct s sen sit ivit y, sa n it y, and h u m or . F u r t h er , it a r gu es for the an­
t h r op ologica l study of Am er ica n s of west -E u r op ea n ext r a ct ion , the n eglect of
wh ich is bot h a r r oga n t and un endur a bly foolis h .
S cor e a dou ble-p lu s for M e s s e n ge r 's u n m er cifu l exp os u r e of r om a n t ic
n eo-Rou ssea u via n t wa ddle in bot h a r t is t ic and s ocia l-s cie n t ific p or t r a ya ls of
the Ir ish folk . But t h er e a r e many wa ys t o n ot -st u dy man in s ocie t y. One
ca n lit t er the pa ge with n o-d ep os it n o-r et u r n t er m s su ch a s "Oedip u s com p le x ,"
"pu r it a n ism , " "M a s och is m , " and "ca u s e, " wh ich t h r owa wa y w or d s seem t o ha ve
os t en s ive and lin gu ist ic defin it ion s as w ell a s expla n a t or y p ow er —but u su a lly
d on 't . M es s en ger 's book cou ld ha ve om it t ed su ch le xica l m a gic, for the
da ta a r e bet t er than good enough t o spea k for t h em s elves . Th e sp a ce devot ed
t o in voca t ion of the Ma r ch en t ypen and r econ s t r u ct ion of s t or yt ellin g p r a ct ice s
now ext in ct m igh t bet t er ha ve been devot ed t o con t em p or a r y da t a on t he s o­
ciology of speech gen r es and n on lexica l com m u n ica t ion in t he fou r villa ges of
the Lit t le I s le.
Th ese object ion s a side, M ess en ger st eps fir m ly t owa r d a kn owledge of
west er n man ba sed upon sound fieldwor k . P er h a ps som eda y m or e folk lor is t s
w ill ce a s e ca r e s s in g t h eir ca r d ioid s , ch op t h eir M yla r -coa t ed u m bilica l cor d s
t o Ma Aca dem e, expose discip lin ed sen sin g s elves t o t he r ea lit y of human s o­
cia l com m u n ica t ion , and follow M e s s e n ge r 's lea d. Did you ever r u m in a t e u p­
on why folk lor is t s wr it e so lit t le about field wor k and why m ost of what is
wr it t en is so su per la t ively in a n e? But that is t oo fa r off t he s u bject .
Kay L. Coth ra n
Univ. of P en n sylva n ia
27
The P et r ie C ollect ion of the An cien t Mu sic of Ir ela n d . Ar r a n ged for
t h e P ia n o-F or t e . Edited by Geor ge P et r ie. Dublin: P r in t ed at t he U n iver ­
sit y P r e s s , for t he Societ y for the P r es er va t ion and P u blica t ion of t he
M elodies of Ir ela n d, by M. H. Gill, 1855. Repu blish ed in 1967 by Gr egg
P r e s s L t d ., F a r n bor ou gh H a n t s., England. 2 vols . in on e. xxiv, 196,
48 pp. Index, Index t o t he Air s , Mu sic. aC 7.1 0.
Th ese volu m es r ep r es en t a lifelon g colle ct ion by Dr . P e t r ie . O r ig­
in a lly pu blish ed in 1855 u n der the a u s p ices of "Th e Societ y for the P r e s e r v a ­
t ion and P u blica t ion of t h e Melodies of Ir ela n d, " Volu m e I con s is t s of a p p r oxi­
m a t ely 150 p ie ce s of I r is h m u s ic. Volu m e II is an in com p let e sequ el t o t he
fir s t — a 48 pa ge volu m e pu blish ed post h u m ou sly.
P e t r ie ’s len gt hy in t r odu ct ion r ela t es a dven t u r es a s a you n g colle ct or ,
p er s on a l views about I r is h m u s ic, and ju s t ifica t ion for the s elect ion and
a r r a n gem en t of the a ir s in the book . He a ls o fin ds fault wit h a p r eviou s
colle ct or , Edwa rd Bunting, wh ose wor k is a lso en t it led An cien t Mu sic of
Ir ela n d .
The m a jor fla w in t he colle ct ion of I r is h m u sic a s seen by P et r ie, is
t h e u se of in st r u m en t a l m u sicia n s for the s ou r ce s of a ir s . Th is
st r on g b e ­
lie f is eviden t in h is cla im that Bu n t in g's r en dit ion of the t une, "St . P a t r ick 's
D a y ," would ha ve been bet t er t aken fr om P la yfor d 's Da n cing M a s t er , r a t h er
than t he h a r p er , P a t r ick Quinn. P e t r ie felt that in st r u m en t a list s d es t r oyed
t h e n a t u r a l r h yt h m s of many t un es in or d e r t o d isp la y t h eir own vir t u os it y.
He cit ed t h em
on ly r elu ct a n t ly when he u sed t h em for a s ou r ce, a s he b e ­
lieved "it wa s on ly fr om t h e cha nt ing of voca lis t s ...t h a t set t in gs cou ld be
m a de wh ich wou ld ha ve any sta mp of pu r it y and a u t h en t icit y" (p. xvi).
P et r ie in t r odu ces ea ch s elect ion wit h ba ck gr ou n d m a t er ia l about the tune,
in clu din g wh er e he obt a in ed it and t he set t in g in wh ich it exis t ed . In addition ,
he ha s a lso a r r a n ged t h es e t r a dit ion a l a ir s for t he p ia n ofor t e. As t r a dit ion a l
I r ish Ga elic sin gin g is h om oph on ic and not con du cive t o fou r pa r t a r r a n gem en t s
on the pia n o, t h is effor t is n eit h er "p u r e " n or "a u t h en t ic." His at tempt t o h a r ­
m on ize t h ese a ir s on an in st r u m en t in ca pa ble of pr odu cin g t he I r ish m od es is
s u r ely an a bber a t ion as gr ea t a s p r odu ced by an u ilea n n p ip er or h a r p er . He
fr e e ly a dm it s s elect in g t he set t in gs he felt m ost a ccu r a t e. It follow s that he
m ay h ave a mended t hem t o con for m t o exist in g m a n u scr ipt s, a s did O'N eill
la t er on.
Despit e t h ese object ion s , P et r ie m a de an at tempt t o r e cor d and p r e s e r v e
t he t r a dit ion a l
a ir s of Ir ela n d. Most of the t unes w er e colle ct e d p r ior t o the
fa m in e m a kin g the colle ct ion a va lu a ble r e cor d of a vibr a n t p er iod for Ir ish
m u s ic. It is an in t er est in g, if im p er fect , p ict u r e of ea r ly 19th cen t u r y I r is h
m u s ic.
J ohn J . Cu r r y, J r .
H ya t t sville, Ma ryla n d
Sir Wa lt er S cot t 's M in st r elsy of the Scot t ish B or d e r . E dit ed by T. F„
H en der son . Edinbu rgh and Lon don: Willia m Bla ck wood and Son s; New Yor k :
Ch a r les S cr ib n e r 's Sons, 1902. Reissu ed by Singing T r e e P r e s s , Det r oit ,
28
1968. 4 vols. xl, 376, [vi], 414, vi, 420, vi, 412 pp. Frontespiece,
Index. $64.50.
Detroit’s Singing Tree Press has recently reissued T. F. Henderson’s
1902 edition of Scott’s Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border. Originally pub­
lished in 1802-3, this edition was the first since the finally-corrected edition
of 1833, which contained additional notes by Lockhart.
In the light of 19th-century ballad scholarship, Henderson retains only
those of Lockhart’s notes which he feels are not obsole.te, and adds his own
introduction and footnotes to each of the ballads. Also included are Lockhart’s
’’Advertisement;" Scott’s "Introduction," "Dedication," and "Introductory Re­
marks on Popular Poetry," and Henderson’s preface. The latter two essays,
especially, provide the student of ballad scholarship with a picture, from two
points in time seventy years apart, of the various arguments on ballad origin
and collection.
The ballad texts are categorized as either historical, romantic, or "imi­
tations of the ancient ballad" (this last with accompanying explanatory essay by
Scott). They are, it is now generally agreed, composite texts, doctored "im­
provements, " or copies of forgeries, and not versions as collected from oral
tradition. This most influential collection, however, served as a corpus on
which later scholars based their collecting activities.
Henderson’s introductions to each ballad are themselves almost a history
of the Scottish border region. Although often wordy, these notes are by far the
most noteworthy feature of the four-volume set. They cite historical, literary, and
folkloristic sources, and should prove an indispensable reference to the scholar
of the Scottish ballad and Scottish history.
Sara Grey
Philadelphia, Penna.
Folk-Songs of the Upper Thames, with an Essay on Folk-Song Activity in
the Upper Thames Neighborhood. Collected and Edited by Alfred Williams.
London: Duckworth and Co., 1923. Reissued by Singing Tree Press, Detroit,
1968. 306 pp. $14.00.
There’s a growing interest, these days, in songs from the British Isles among
young city singers of traditional folksongs. When I first saw this book in a library
I was somewhat excited by the wealth of variants of songs that I had heard being
sung around. For instance there are nice and occasionally very different versions
of "Fathom The Bowl," "Butter and Cheese and All," "Will The Weaver,"
"The Carrion Crow," "When Joan’s (Jones') Ale Was New," "The Husbandman
and the Servingman, " "Rosin the Beau," a very nice hard times (a la "Rigs of
The Time") song, hunting songs, Child Ballads, and songs we associate with
the Copper family of Sussex, like "Spencer the Rover," "Old Brown Ale" ("Good
Ale"), "Twanky Dillo, " "Dame Durden, " and others.
The author was not a folklorist. He operated a steam-hammer in a
railway-works for 25 years during which time he studied languages (Latin,
Greek, French) and poetry, published several books of poems, and took
29
r a m bles in t h e cou n t r y that r esu lt ed in a cou ple of book s about loca l cou n ­
t r y life , and even t u a lly in t h e colle ct ion of about 800 son gs, of wh ich t h is
book con t a in s a ppr oxim a t ely 260.
Th e book ha s a few s h or t com in gs of wh ich t he p r im a r y on e is , a sid e
fr om p r ice , the la ck of t u n es, wh ich a ll but p r even t s u s fr om lea r n in g m or e
than a few son gs (if that is ou r in t er es t ). An ot h er dr a wba ck is that Mr .
Willia m s engaged in t he p r a ct ice of r e -w r it in g (s om et im es con s id er a bly) som e
son gs in or d e r t o "im p r ove " gr a m m a r and p oet r y. Th is pr even t s u s, in som e
ca s e s , fr om u sin g t h em for any s er iou s a ca d em ic stu dy.
Th e colle ct ion h a s m or e than a handful of flow er y-la n gu a ge, 18t h -cen ­
t u r y a r t son gs and Vict or ia n d r a w in g-r oom ba lla ds and few, if any, of u s
w ill be t em pt ed t o sin g t h em in the n ea r fu t u r e. H owever , a s wa s poin t ed
out by F r a n k P u r slow in t he E .F .D . S. S. 1969 F olk Mu sic J ou r n a l (s ee b e ­
low), t h is colle ct ion gives a m u ch cle a r e r p ict u r e than u su a l of the en t ir e
r a n ge of son gs a cer t a in s ect ion of the popu la t ion w er e sin gin g at a cer t a in
poin t in h is t or y (1914-1916). Most colle ct ion s show on ly what folk s on gs wer e
bein g sung.
Th e au th or in clu ded a 20-p a ge "E s s a y On F olk -Son g Act ivit y In The
U pper Th a m es Va lley" by wa y of an in t r odu ct ion , wh ich is a ver y n ice a c­
cou n t of t he cu lt u r a l en vir on m en t fr om wh ich t h ese son gs w er e colle ct e d and
t h e a im s and id ea s of t h e au th or in colle ct in g t h em .
On t he wh ole, t he book ha s s om e n ice ver s ion s of son gs that many of
u s will r ecogn ize, som e love ly-look in g son gs wh ich w ill be new t o m ost of
u s, and a n u m ber of son gs wh ich a r en ’t lik ely t o be of in t er est t o m or e than
a ver y few. I’m gla d t h is book is a va ila ble again , but at $14.00 it ’s not
lik ely t o be a hot s e lle r .
I wou ld lik e t o ca ll y o u r a t tent ion t o t h r ee a r t icle s in t h e 1969 F olk
Mu sic J ou r n a l of t h e E n glish F olk Da n ce & Song Societ y wh ich con cer n t h em ­
s e lve s with Alfr ed W illia m s , h is life , h is wor k , and h is colle ct ion s . The
t h ir d a r t icle d ea ls wit h son gs colle ct e d in t he u pper Th a m es va lley bet ween
1966 and 1969. Th is, t oo, ha s som e n ice son gs, a ll wit h t u n es, s om e of
wh ich w er e colle ct e d fr om descen da n t s or n eigh bor s of som e of Mr . W illia m s '
in for m a n t s.
Mich a el Coon ey
F a lls Ch u r ch , Va.
A P ed la r ’s P a ck of Ba lla ds and Son gs. With Illu st r a t ive N ot es. By
W. H. Loga n . Edinburgh: W. P a t er son , 1869. Reissu ed by Singing T r e e
P r e s s , Det r oit , 1968. 479 pp. Illu st r a t ion s. Appen dix. $1 7.5 0.
Th is is not exa ct ly t he t ype of book you ’ll find im p os s ible t o set a sid e
on ce you 've st a r t ed r ea din g. It’s m u ch bet t er t aken a few pa ges at a t im e.
Th e or igin a l colle ct ion wa s for m ed ar ound t he 1840’s, t aken m ost ly fr om
br oa d s id es in t h e p os s e s s ion of on e Mr . Maidmen t, who wa s at t he t im e t he
ch ie f P eer a ge La wyer of Scot la n d. The volu m e wa s or igin a lly int en ded for
30
pr esen t a t ion t o the Abbot sfor d Club of E dinbu rgh . But that Club ha ving d is ­
ba nded b e for e the wor k wa s com p let ed , it wa s p r esen t ed for t h e a ccep t a n ce
of t he m or e enligh ten ed of t h e gen er a l p u b lic.
The t ext con t a in s bit s of h is t or y it wou ld be d ifficu lt t o find els ew h er e.
F or exa m ple, in r e fe r e n ce t o the ba lla d "R os e y An d e r s on ," Mr . Loga n n ot es,
"Th e Noblema n m en t ion ed in t he ba lla d [Lor d E lgin ], wh o, it wa s a dm it t ed,
had been in t he habit of m eet in g h er on Kinnoul H ill, wa s a ft er wa r ds Am ba s­
s a d or t o Con st a n t in ople. His fir s t wife wa s M iss N isbet of Dir let on , wh om
he d ivor ced in con sequ en ce of a du lt er y with Mr . F er gu son of Ra it h . By h is
secon d wife, M iss Oswa ld of Du n n ekier , he wa s fa t h er of t he la t e E a r l, who,
it n eed h a r dly be m en t ion ed, wa s t he fir s t n a t ive of t h is cou n t r y who open ed
up a t r a de with J a pa n " (p. 393).
It wou ld ha ve been n ice if t h e Singing T r e e P r e s s cou ld ha ve a ided t he
r ea d er without hu rt ing the ch a r m of the book . The son gs and ba lla d s a r e
u n der va r iou s su bject h ea din gs in t he t a ble of con t en t s, but wit hou t ch a p t er
br ea k s it is difficu lt t o t ell when you ’ve m oved fr om t h e Ma t r im on ia l into
the M iscella n eou s sect ion , et c.
Ron i Bowie
Ar lin gt on , Va .
Moder n St r eet B a lla d s , with F ift y-S ix Illu st r a t ion s . By J ohn Ash t on .
New In t r odu ct ion by L e s lie Sh epa rd. London : Chatto & Windus, 1888.
Reissu ed by Singing T r e e P r e s s , Det r oit , 1968. xvi, 405 pp. Bibliogr a p h y.
$1 4.0 0.
"O ver St r eet Ba lla ds m a y be r a is ed by t h e wa il of ’Ich a bod
Ich a bod, t h eir glor y is depa r t ed. ’ Th ey h eld t h eir own for
ma ny cen t u r ies , br a vely and w ell, but h a ve su ccu m bed t o a
ch an ged or d e r of t h in gs, and a new gen er a t ion h a s a r is e ’ , who
will not st op in t he s t r eet s t o list en t o t h ese ba lla d s bein g sung,
but p r e fe r t o ha ve t h eir m u s ic s er ved up t o t h em ’pipin g h ot ’,
with the a ccom pa n im en t of wa r m t h , ligh t , b e e r and t oba cco
(for wh ich t hey duly ha ve t o pa y) at the Mu sic H a lls; but wh et h er
the cha nge be for the b e t t e r , or not , ma y be a m oot poin t .
"T h e s e St r eet Ba lla ds w er e p r odu ced wit hin a ver y few
h ou r s of the pu blica t ion of any even t of t he sligh t est pu blic
in t e r e s t .. . Th ey owe a gr ea t dea l of t h eir ch a r m t o the fa ct
that t hey wer e a bsolu t ely con t em p or a r y with the even t s t hey
d e s cr i b e .. . Th eir lit e r a r y m er it is not gr ea t - bu t what ca n
you expect for h a lf-a -cr ow n ? wh ich wa s the p r ice wh ich
J em m y C a t n a ch .. .u s ed t o pa y for t h eir pr odu ct ion .
"I have taken the fir s t fift y ye a r s of t h is cen t u r y, when
t h is st yle of St r eet Ba lla d wa s at it s b e s t .. . and I ha ve s elect ed
t h ose that bea r on m ost , and elu cida t e bes t , t he s ocia l m a n n er s
and cu st om s of that p er iod
J ohn Ash t on " (fr om the In t r odu ct ion ,
1888 edit ion ).
31
J ohn Ash t on com p iled book s in t he field s of s ocia l h ist or y and folk lor e fr om
h is r e s e a r ch at t he B r it is h Museu m, Lon don . Th is cu r r en t pr in t in g of Moder n
St r eet Ba lla ds con t a in s an in t r odu ct ion t o J ohn Ash t on and a bibliogr a ph y of h is
s om e t h ir t y wor k s pu blish ed in Lon don fr om 1882 t o 1904.
Th er e a r e 138 s t r eet ba lla ds (or "br oa d s id e ba lla d s ") wit hout m elod ies
gr ou ped in t h is book u n der t he followin g h ea din gs: S ocia l, H u m or ou s, Coun t r y,
Sea, Th e Queen, H is t or ica l, P olit ica l, M is cella n eou s . Th e t it les in clu de "Villik en s
and His Din a h ," "M is s B a iley’s G h os t ," "Th e Gr een la n d Wha le F is h er y, " "J im Cr ow, "
"Bot a n y Bay, " "Va n Diem a n ’s La n d" and "Th e Th r ee B u t ch er s ".
J ohn R. Dildin e
Accok eek , Ma r yla nd
The Mu sic of t h e W a t er s : A C ollect ion of t he S a ilor s ’ Ch a n t ies, or Wor kin g
Songs of t he Sea, of All Ma r it im e Na t ion s; Boa t m en ’s, F is h er m en ’s, and Rowin g
Songs, and Wa t er Legen d s. [By] La u r a A. Smith. London : Kega n P a u l, Tr en ch
and C o . , 1888. Reissu ed by Singing T r e e P r e s s , 1969. xiv, 360 pp. Mu sic.
$1 5.0 0.
La u r a Alexa n dr in e Smith pu blish ed on e of t h e ea r lies t popu la r book s t o dea l
with sea ch a n t ies. It wa s a ssem bled fr om a n u m ber of s ou r ce s , in clu din g a bit of
d ir e ct colle ct in g on h er own pa r t and a good dea l of secon d-h a n d in for m a t ion fr om
m or e ea s ily a cce s s ib le con s u ls , ca pt a in s, and en t h u sia st s. Setting t he p a ce for
la t er book s about s ea son gs, she devot ed m u ch of h er book t o d es cr ip t ion of t he life
of a s a ilor and t h e wor k in g sit u a t ion s that en cou r a ged ch a n t ies. In pu r su it of t he
idea that p eop le of t he sa m e cla s s ar ound the wor ld sin g the sa m e s or t of son gs, she
p r esen t ed ch a n t ies fr om many for eign cou n t r ies in addition t o t he cor e colle ct ion
fr om t he E n glish -sp ea k in g w or ld . The book is now r epr in t ed by Singing T r e e P r e s s
without p r efa t or y com m en t .
Ala n J a bbou r
L ibr a r y of C on gr es s
E t h nology in F olk lor e . By G eor ge La u r en ce Gom m e. London : Kega n P a ul,
Tr en ch , Tr iiber & C o . , 1892. Reissu ed by Singing T r e e P r e s s , Det r oit , 1969.
viii, 200 pp. Index. $7. 80.
F or Gom m e folk lor e "con s is t s of b e lie fs , cu s t om s , and t r a d it ion s wh ich a r e
fa r beh ind civilis a t ion in t h eir in t r in sic va lu e t o m an , though t hey exis t u n der t he
cov e r of a civilis e d n a t ion a lit y" (p. 2). Th ese m ea n in gless, fu n ct ion less s u r viva ls ,
r et a in ed t h r ou gh in er t ia , a r e t he r em a in s of p r e -Ar ya n cu lt u r es a r r est ed at the
sa va ge level by over la id st r a t a of p r ogr e s s ive ly m or e a dva nced Ar ya n cu lt u r es .
The t a sk of folk lor e s cie n ce is t o peel ba ck t h ese st r a t a and, u sin g a com p a r a t ive
m et h od, t o dem on st r a t e t h e p r e h is t or ic n on -Ar ya n p r oven ien ce of the r u de, ir r a ­
t ion a l, and s e n s e le s s cu s t om s of t he pea sa n t r y. In t h is way the p r eviou s ly for m ­
le s s study of folk lor e is t o be br ou gh t in to lin e wit h developm en t s in h is t or ica l
geology, p h ilology, a n t h r opology, and a r ch a eology, but with a dom a in of s cien t ific
r ea lit y a ll it s own: t he st r a t igr a ph y of Ar ya n t r a dit ion .
32
Th r ou gh G om m e's pa ges r ip p le t h e evolu t ion -a n d -em p ir e excit em en t and
e xce s s of Vict or ia n Br it a in . Th e h is t or y of ea r t h and man qu iver s on the br in k
of in t elligibilit y. Un beset by t h e in t r ica cie s that fu n ct ion a list m et h od would la t er
r e ve a l—one d oes n ’t in t er view a pea sa n t on t he fu n ct ion a l m ea n in g of a p r a ct ice
when t he p r a ct ice ha s none by defin it ion and when t h e pea sa n t wou ldn 't know it in
any even t —t he gen t lem en folk lor is t s go at t h eir su bject and at on e a n ot h er wit h a
m a n n er ly yet en t h u sia st ic sh a r p n ess la r ge ly m is s in g fr om la t t er -d a y in t er ch a n ge.
Of cou r s e one will not cr it iciz e m od er n folk lor e s ch ola r s h ip for m aking the
Vict or ia n folk lor is t s out t o be wr on g, but on e ha s t o fa ult it for m a kin g t h em a ppea r
t o be du ll. The r ea pp ea r a n ce of book s su ch a s Gom m e’s will s u r ely help t o r e ct ify
t h e m is im p r e s s ion s fos t er ed by t he m od em lit er a t u r e.
Kay L. Cot h ra n
Un iv. of P en n sylva n ia
Obser va t ion s on t he P opu la r An t iqu it ies of Gr ea t Br it a in . By J ohn Br a n d.
Ar r a n ged, Revised, and Gr ea t ly E n gla r ged by Sir Henry E llis . New Biogr a p h i­
ca l Not e by L e s lie Sh epa rd. London : Geor ge Bell, 1849. R eis s u ed by Singing
T r e e P r e s s , Det r oit , 1969. T h r ee volu m es , xx, 539, v, 521, iv, 499 pp. Index,
Illu st r a t ion s. $38.75.
H er e is a n oth er a n cien t set of book s , s ys t em a t ica lly r e s e a r ch e d and a bly
wr it t en b e for e t he s cie n ce of folk lor e wa s bor n , now r esu s cit a t ed by ph ot opr in t in g.
Th e fir s t volu m e is devot ed t o yea r ly fes t iva ls . Th ese a r e ch r on ologica lly a r r a n ged
t h r ou gh the yea r , begin n in g wit h New Ye a r 's E ve and ending wit h t h e Qu aaltagh.
Volu m e Two t r ea t s su n dry ot h er cu s t om s , ga m es and celebr a t ion s su ch a s "cou n t r y
wa k es, " "h u n t -t h e-s lip p er , " "foot -b a ll, " and "p op u la r n ot ion s con cer n in g t h e a ppa ­
r it ion of t h e d evil. " Th e con clu din g volu m e d ea ls wit h popu la r b e lie fs : s or ce r y ,
wit ch cr a ft , gh ost s, om en s and ch a r m s a m on g s im ila r fa it h s. Bot h for r ea din g and
for r e fe r e n ce , t h e book s a r e w ell wor t h own ing. Th e in dex is t h or ou gh .
F r a n k Goodwyn
Un iv. of Ma r yla n d
F olk -L or e of Wom en a s Illu st r a t ed by Legen d a r y and Tr a d it ion a r y T a les ,
F olk -R h ym es , P r over b ia l Sa yin gs, Su per st it ion s, E t c. By T. F . T h is elt on -D yer .
Ch ica go: A. C. McClu r g & C o . ; Lon don : E lliot Stock, 1906. R eis s u ed by
Singing T r ee P r e s s , Det r oit , 1968. xvi, 253 pp. In dex. $ 9 .5 0 . Th e F olk -L or e
of P la n t s. By T. F . T h is elt on -D yer . Lon don: Cha tt o & Win dus, 1889. R eis s u ed
by Singing T r e e P r e s s , Det r oit , 1968. iii, 328 pp. Index. $1 1.0 0.
It is a lwa ys n ice t o be a sked t o r eview a book wit h a t it le lik e F olk -L or e of
Wom en . The ed it or , by h is a skin g, im p lies that the r eview er is t o s om e d e gr e e an
a u t h or it y, and who cou ld fa il t o be fla t t e r e d ? As it t u r n s out , on e who had no kn ow­
led ge of wom en , folk lor is t ic or ot h er w is e, cou ld r ea d T h is e lt on -D ye r ’s book and
com e away with qu it e t he sa m e im p r es s ion as the exper t , n a m ely, that h er e is a
volu m e of ext r em ely lim it ed u s efu ln es s . A sh or t p a s sa ge, s elect ed at r a n dom , will
illu s t r a t e.
33
Alt h ou gh a well-k n own p r over b t e lls u s that "a silen t wom a n
is a lwa ys m or e a dm ir ed than a n oisy on e, ” the Ch in ese ha ve a fa ­
vou r it e sa yin g t o the effect that "a wom a n ’s t on gu e is h er swor d,
and sh e d oes not let it r u s t ;” with wh ich m ay be com p a r ed t he
Hindustani p r over b , ” F or t a lk I 'm bes t , for w or k m y eld er b r ot h e r in -la w ’s w ife ;” wh ich ha s it s cou n t er pa r t in t h is cou n t r y, wh er e it
is sa id, ”A wom a n ’s st r en gt h is in h er t on gu e, ” and in Wa les the
a dage r u n s
e t c...
(p. 63)
Indeed s o it r u n s—pr a t t lin g t h r ou gh 27 ch a p t er s of w om en 's eyebr ow s ,
wom en ’s s e cr e t s , wom en ’s blu sh es a s r em a r k ed upon t hr ough ou t t h e a ges and
a r oun d the w or ld . In a s sem blin g t h is p ot p ou r r i of wit t y sa yin gs, t he a ut hor did
n ot think t o sepa r a t e for m a l lit er a t u r e fr om or a l t r a dit ion , n or did he oft en st op
t o give s ou r ce s for h is ge m s . N ever t h eles s , t aken a few pa ges at a t im e, F olk L or e of Wom en r ea d s plea sa n t ly, and it d oes p r ovid e a p a r t icu la r ly good exa m ple
of an a ppr oa ch t o or a l t r a dit ion that h a s now fa llen out of fa sh ion : the u n cr it ica l
a ccu m u la t ion of d isem bod ied it em s for t h e sa k e of "a big colle ct ion . ”
In h is ot h er book , The F olk -L or e of P la n t s, T h is elt on -D yer s t r ik es n e a r e r
t h e m a r k of m od e m folk cu lt u r e st u dies. Alt hough it s u ffer s fr om the cr it icis m s
leveled a bove, P la n t s has m or e t he feel of t he t r ea t is e than t he d isp la y ca s e . It
is bet t er foot n ot ed, and t h er e a r e at lea s t two ch a p t er s , ’’Doct r in e of Sign a t u r es"
and "P la n t s and the Ca len da r , " that a ppea r t o con t a in a u t h or it a t ive in for m a t ion .
St ill t he qu est ion a r is e s , What pu r p ose m igh t a book lik e t h is s e r v e ? I have
t u r n ed t o Th e F olk -L or e of P la n t s m ys e lf in t he cou r s e of in vest iga t in g t r a dit ion a l
u s es of wild pla n t s in New Yor k State and found it t o be h elpfu l in som e r e s p e ct s ,
but not in ot h er s . It did not p r ovid e even a jot of in for m a t ion u sefu l in t h e r e s e a r ch ­
in g of b e lie fs and p r a ct ice s I u n cover ed in the fieldwor k , but it did r en d er a n u m ber
of wor thwhile lea ds in for m in g my qu est ion s.
"Ca n you u s e m a r igold som eh ow t o fix t h in gs up bet ween a boy and g i r l ? " I
wou ld a sk.
"N ope, " t h e in for m a n t wou ld sa y and then a ft er a lon g pa u se, "bu t t h ey’s som e
sa y ya r r ow w ill do it . "
In t he a ge of m oon r ock s , a book that will h elp wr in g that kind of a d m ission
out of a ma n m u st be wor t h som et h in g.
Ger a ld E . P a r s on s
Un iv. of P en n sylva n ia
34
RECORD NOTICES AND REVIEWS
The Smithsonian Institution with its F estival of A m erican Folklife going
into its fifth y ear has produced an lp drawn from perform ances during the fe s
tiv a l’s f irs t th re e y e a rs. The reco rd , sim ilar to the Institution’s b rie f film
’’F estival in Washington, D. C ., ” p resen ts an overview. But w here the film was
b ra sh (one suspects the publicist’s influence), the reco rd is calm , d eliberate,
and tastefully put together.
The job of selecting and editing seem s staggering, considering the v a ri
ety of m ateria l available. But the set is fairly well balanced. T here is som e
thing to please alm ost everyone and nothing that should displease anyone.
Superb are Antonio Mosquero with his Galician bagpipes and B irch, Bill,
and C harlie Monroe singing and playing a religious song — on sep arate cuts.
During the festival’s bagpipe workshop in 1970, when asked to talk about his
instrum ent, Mosquero played a tune, then shrugged his shoulders and excused
him self, saying he wanted ju st to play. His tone is c le a r and his tunes filled
with subtle changes in rhythm and melody. The festival perform ance was the
Monroe b r o th e r s ’ firs t public reunion in over forty y e a rs, and th is recording,
according to Ralph R in zler’s jacket notes, is the firs t ever issued of the th re e
b ro th e rs singing together. Bill Monroe, the fath er of b lu eg rass m usic who in
1970 was belatedly honored by country and w estern m u sic’s officialdom by
being named to the Country Music Hall of Fam e, is also rep resen ted on th is
reco rd as he leads his group, the Blue G rass Boys, in his com position "Uncle
Pen. ’’
O thers represented include Grandpa Jones, Chet P a rk e r with his ham m ered
dulcim er, Muddy W aters, B ernice Reagon, Ed Young and family, and the late
Skip Jam es.
One w ishes that the excellent n o rth eastern fiddling of the Riendeau family
would have been balanced by including, say, a selection by the Texan Solomon
b ro th e rs o r North Carolinian J. E. M ainer. And some of the b est m usic at
the festival is not included. It cam e from the blacksm ith’s anvil, and though
th e re seem to be a num ber of apprentice blacksm iths around, the m usical smithy
is ra re .
Copies of the reco rd (it’s called ’’F estival of A m erican Folklife”) may be
obtained at $3.50 apiece from the Division of P erform ing A rts, Smithsonian
Institution, Washington, D .C . 20560. (Specify Stereo or M ono.)
A fter m ore than ten y e a rs of practice on stage and in living room s any
moment of which Joe Hickerson could have successfully recorded, he finally
has produced an lp. It is ’’Folk Songs and B allads sung by Joe Hickerson
with a Gathering of F rien d s" (Folk-Legacy FSI-39) and is one of the b est avail
able recordings of revival sin g ers.
35
Th e p e r for m e r , R efer en ce Libr a r ia n at the Ar ch ive of F olk Song, U. S.
L ibr a r y of C on gr es s , ha s lon g been a ct ive not on ly in t h e s ch ola r ly d is cip lin e
of folk lor e but in en cou r a gin g t he en joym en t of a pplied folk lor e — in sin gin g,
da n ce, and (not the lea st ) cook er y.
As t h e ja ck et n ot es ob s e r ve , t h er e is no gim m ick r y in t he sin gin g. The
m a t er ia l is t r ea t ed with r e s p e ct — be it a h u m or ou s ditt y or t r a gic son g. And
t h er e a r e bot h on t he r e cor d .
Am on g the h u m or ou s, but by no m ea n s t a wdr y son gs a r e "La t h er and
Sha ve" ("Th e Love of God Sh a ve"), "Th e Th in nest Man" (he fe ll t h r ou gh a h ole
in the sea t of h is pa nt s and ch ok ed h im s elf t o dea t h ), and "Woa d" (the pigm en t
u sed by P iet s t o cove r t h eir n a k edn ess). Th er e is a t r a gic "Th e Blin d F id d le r ."
And t h er e a r e su ch ot h er good son gs a s "Good F is h Ch owder " ("m a k es you h ea r
t he ocea n s r oa r ") and "Goin g Down t he Va lley, " t he fin a l son g of the set . The
la t t er son g, con cer n in g dea t h and Ch r ist , cou ld be s u cces s fu lly sung on ly by
ve r y few r eviva l s in ger s . J ohn D ild in e's ba n jo and Ba r r y O 'N eill’s con cer t in a
add sign ifica n t ly t o som e cu t s.
F olk -L e ga cy’s u su a l com p let e n ot es w er e not r ea dy, but a p os t ca r d in
the albu m r equ est in g t h e n ot es when pr in t ed h a s been dispa t ch ed, and the n ot es
a r e da ily awaited in t he m a il. The r e cor d , at $5 .9 8 m a y be obt a in ed fr om F olk Lega cy R e cor d s , Shar on, Con n ect icu t 06069.
G eor ge Simpson
PH ILADELP HIA F OLK F E STIVAL 1970
A Repor t
Although t h is y e a r 's P h ila delph ia F olk F est iva l bega n wit h appa r ent em ­
ph a sis on loca l su r plu s s on gw r it er s , it m ana ged t o have t r u ly gr ea t m om en t s.
The la t t er in clu ded B r u ce P h illip s ' wor k sh op on La bor Son gs, the Ceildh , and
the con cept (though not the p er for m a n ces ) of the Bawdy Song Wor k sh op.
Som e p e r for m e r s d e s e r ve s p ecia l m en t ion . Ola B elle Reed pr oved h er ­
s e lf t h e only t r u ly fr e e s p ir it at the fes t iva l. E n glish ma n Da ve Coop er and the
bet t er known Rober t s and Ba r a n d w er e out sta nding n ew com er s t o t h is fes t iva l.
Da ve Van Ronk wa s a m on g t he p e r for m e r s , and for the ben efit of t h ose
wh o, lik e m ys elf, m a y not ha ve seen him in the la st few ye a r s , we duly r ep or t
that he ha s not m ellowed . Tom P axt on has t oo m u ch in t en sit y and t oo m u ch band
around h im . His poign a n cy ha s su ffer ed a s a r esu lt .
Mike Coon ey m a de a poin t of sin gin g folk son gs; an effor t not gen er a lly
m a de by ot h er n on -B r it is h Isle p e r for m e r s . Doc Wat son and Paul Ca dwell
a ga in pr oved that an yone with t h ir t y-five fin ger s on t h eir left hand ca n m a s t er
a st r in ged in st r u m en t .
P h ila delph ia s eem s t o ha ve t wo ve r y s er iou s ha ngups, a devot ion t o J ohn
H a r t for d and a s a d is t ic d e s ir e t o dea fen a ll t h os e who pa y for sea t s n ea r t h e fr on t .
On the la t t er poin t , the sound cr e w 's idea of good sound is t o t ur n up a ll m ik es t o
m a xim u m (s o t h e y'r e h ea r d bet t er in t he pa r k in g lot ) and t o h ell wit h ba la n ce.
One poin t of con gr a t u la t ion s, though, t h is yea r t h ey didn 't dr own out the voice
m ik es with t he e le ct r ic pia n o.
Rich a r d R od ger s