Folk Music of the United States: Versions and Variants of Barbara Allen From the Archive of Folk Song Lp LIBRARY OF CONGRESS (Composer), Charles Seeger (Conductor) Format: Vinyl. In Scarlet town where I was born There was a fair maid dwelling And every youth cried well away For her name was Barbara Allen. See all formats and editions Hide other formats and editions. Looking at the video, you can pretty quickly get a sense of how Joan Baez plays Barbara Allen. "Barbara Allen" migrated to North America, where it was one of the most popular folk ballads. It has been classified as Child Ballad 84. Also known as Barb'ry Ellen and Barbara Ellen. The girl's name is always Barbara/Barbary/Barbra Allen/Ellen. He sent a servant unto her To the place she was dwelling The popularity of Barbara Allen, at least in the version that Johnny sings, is possibly due to its inclusion in Chappell’s Popular Music of the Olden Time of 1859. One of the oldest and beloved songs in medieval antiquity is the ballad of Barbara Allen. The song is in 4/4 time. There are numerous later editions including "Barbara Allen. Price New from Used from Vinyl "Please retry" — — $249.00: The story, too, is always the same: Sweet William is dying for love of Barbara Allen. Find album release information for Versions & Variants of Barbara Allen - Various Artists on AllMusic Origins. Twas in the merry month of May The green buds were a swelling Sweet William on his deathbed lay For the love of Barbara Allen. Near Medicine Bow, where I was born Was a young girl dwellin' Made all the boys ride saddle-sore and her name was Barbry Allen. Scholars have identified four basic tunes and four basic sets of lyrics for "Barbara Allen", although there are many variations, with one source claiming to have collected 98 different versions in Virginia alone. Even the young man has only a few names ("Sweet William," "Sir John Graham," some Ozark versions have "Young Belfry"). It is over three centuries old. Barbara Allen - Chords, Lyrics and Origins. There are countless versions of Barbara Allen and on Celtic Radio we have a total of eight versions available to request. (Roud 54) The author is unknown, but the song may have originated in England, Ireland or Scotland. "The Ballad of Barbara Allen", also known as "Barbara Ellen," "Barbara Allan," "Barb'ry Allen," "Barbriallen," etc., is a folk song known in dozens of versions. Subject: RE: Lyr Req: 'Barbara Allen' different versions From: GUEST,shamus Date: 11 Mar 00 - 10:37 AM A bluegrass banjo picker/story teller from Chicago recorded a Western flavored entry, Art Thieme. The YouTube recording below features a very young Joan Baez playing this song, I suspect in the late 1950s or early 1960s. [A ballad.] Barbara allen : 169 versions par 94 artistes, Billie Joe + Norah, Norah Jones, Billie Joe, Joan Baez, Art Garfunkel, William Holly, Pete Seeger, The King's Singers, Craig Duncan, Poussières d'etoiles, Merle Travis, Tríona Ní Dhomhnaill, Mairead Ni Dhomhnaill, Jerry Reed, Marie Laforêt The earliest printed version extant and probably ever is held by the British Library which lists it as: Barbara Allen's cruelty; or, the young-man's tragedy etc. The ballad was first mentioned in Pepys’s diary when, on 2 January 1666, he wrote that the actress Mary Knipp sang “her little Scotch song of Barbary Allen”. Barbara Allen. Some published versions have this ballad ending with stanza 9, after Barbara Allan announces her impending death, leaving out the “true love’s knot” that symbolizes their reunion.