Lowlands of Holland, The

DESCRIPTION: A young couple are parted (when the young man is taken away to sea). While in service, he is drowned. The girl vows she will not dress in fine clothes nor seek another man until the day she dies
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1760
KEYWORDS: recruiting death parting pressgang separation ship marines
FOUND IN: Britain(England(South,Lond),Scotland(Aber)) US(Ap,NE,So) Canada(Newf) Ireland Australia
REFERENCES (26 citations):
Bronson (92), 22 versions
Ford-Vagabond, pp. 55-57, "The Lowlands of Holland" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #9}
SharpAp 26, "The Lowlands of Holland" (1 fragment, 1 tune) {Bronson's #12}
Greig #83, pp. 1-2, "The Rocks of Giberaltar"; Greig #135, p. 2, "The Lowlands o' Holland" (2 texts plus 1 fragment)
GreigDuncan6 1116, "The Lowlands of Holland," GreigDuncan6 1118, "The Rocks of Gibraltar," GreigDuncan8 Addenda, "The Lowlands of Holland" (6 texts plus a single verse on p. 546, 2 tune)
Sharp-100E 23, "The Low, Low Lands of Holland" (1 text, 1 tune)
Reeves-Sharp 60, "The Lowlands of Holland" (3 texts)
Wiltshire-WSRO Wt 456, "Lowlands of Holland" (1 text)
Randolph 83, "The Lily of Arkansas" (2 texts, 1 tune)
Randolph/Cohen, pp. 72-74, "The Lily of Arkansas" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 83A)
Shay-SeaSongs, pp. 45-46, "The Lawlands o' Holland" (1 text)
Gray, pp. 88-89, "The Lowlands Low" (1 text, slightly damaged)
Flanders/Olney, pp. 113-114, "The Lowlands of Holland" (1 text)
Meredith/Anderson, p. 179, "The Lowlands of Holland" (1 text, 1 tune)
Logan, pp. 22-25, "The Lowlands of Holland" (2 texts)
OBB 160, "The Lowlands o' Holland" (1 text)
Combs/Wilgus 132, p. 150, "The Soldier Bride's Lament" (1 text)
SHenry H180, pp. 149-150, "Holland Is a Fine Place" (1 text, 1 tune)
Hayward-Ulster, pp. 54-55, "The Lowlands of Holland" (1 text)
Ord, pp. 328-332, "The Lowlands of Holland (Scottish Version)"; "The Lowlands of Holland (English Version)"; "The Rocks of Gibraltar" (3 texts)
MacSeegTrav 12, "Lowlands of Holland" (1 text, 1 tune)
OLochlainn-More 7A, "The Lowlands of Holland" (1 text, 1 tune)
Morton-Maguire 48, pp. 140-141,174, "The Rocks of Giberaltar" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT (92), LOWHOLLD* LOWHOLL2* LOWHOLL3* LOWHOLL4 LOWHOLL5 LOWHOLL6 LOWHOLL7* LOWHOLL8
ADDITIONAL: Fred W. Allsopp, Folklore of Romantic Arkansas, Volume II (1931), p. 213, "(The Lily of Arkansas)" (1 fragment)
Walter de la Mare, _Come Hither_, revised edition, 1928; #377, "The Lawlands o' Holland" (1 text)
ST R083 (Full)
Roud #484
RECORDINGS:
Anita Best and Pamela Morgan, "The Lowlands of Holland" (on NFABestPMorgan01)
Paddy Tunney, "The Lowlands of Holland" (on IRPTunney01) (on Voice02)
BROADSIDES:
NLScotland, L.C.Fol.70(68b), "The Rocks of Bonnie Gibraltar ," Poet's Box (Dundee), c.1890; also RB.m.143(121) "The Lowlands of Holland," Poet's Box (Dundee), c.1890
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Bonny Bee Hom" [Child 92] (given as an appendix to that ballad)
cf. "All Things Are Quite Silent" (theme)
cf. "The British Man-of-War" (tune)
cf. "Our Ship She Is Lying in Harbour" (lyrics)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
The Lily of Arkansas
NOTES: "The Lowlands of Holland" is frequently connected to "Bonny Bee Hom" (Child 92), a link dating back to Child (who printed four stanzas of Herd's text). The matter has been much studied, without clear conclusion. It might be noted, however, that "Bonny Bee Hom" involves a magic device (the stone that tells the lover whether his sweetheart is true), a theme not found in "The Lowlands of Holland."
It will also be obvious that "The Lowlands of Holland" has been enduringly popular, whereas "Bonny Bee Hom" has had very little currency in tradition. - RBW
Roud assigns #2174 to "The Rocks of Gibraltar." Aside from the location being changed from "The Lowlands of Holland" there's hardly anything to distinguish between the two songs. - BS
Last updated in version 2.6
File: R083

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