Lamorna (folk song)
Lyrics (Lamorna)
So now I'll sing to you, about a maiden fair,
I met the other evening at the corner of the square.
She had a dark and roving eye, she was a charming rover,
And we rode all night, through the pale moonlight
away down to Lamorna.
Chorus
Twas down in Albert square
I never shall forget,
Her eyes they shone like diamonds
and the evening it was wet, wet, wet.
Her hair hung down in curls,
she was a charming rover,
And we rode all night,
through the pale moonlight,
away down to Lamorna.
As we got in the cab, I asked her for her name,
And when she gave it me, well, mine it was the same,
So I lifted up her veil, for her face was covered over,
And to my surprise, it was my wife,
I took down to Lamorna.
Chorus
She said, I know you now, I knew you all along,
I knew you in the dark, but I did it for a lark,
And for that lark you'll pay, for the taking of the donah:
You'll pay the fare, for I declare,
away down to Lamorna.
Chorus
Lamorna (Roud 16636) is a traditional folk song/ballad associated with Cornwall, and dealing with the courtship of a man and a woman, who turned out to be his wife. The title comes from Lamorna, a village in west Cornwall.[1] Sheet music held in the British Library dates the song to 1910.[2]
Lamorna is a Cornish adaptation of a music hall song titled
The song became popular in Cornwall the 1960s and 70s through performance in Cornish folk clubs and has since gained wider currency. Versions of the song have been recorded by
Notes
- It is claimed that the Albert Square in the song was a place in Pomona Docks. There is an "Albert Square" in St Just in Penwith, about 5/6 miles from Lamorna.
- The cab referred to in the song would have been a horse-drawn cab (an essentially urban vehicle, most unlikely to be found in a small coastal village).
- donah in verse 3, pronounced 'doe-na', is slang for a woman; (perhaps from Italian donna or Lingua Franca dona) which had been adopted into London argotby the early 1890s.
- Some versions of the song interchange roved with rode both versions are acceptable.
- "they rode all night" comes from the habit of couples hiring a cab with curtained windows so that the two could "be alone" for several hours if necessary. Women (possibly married) would disguise themselves with a veil so that they would not be recognised by their acquaintances while they picked up a young gentleman for the evening.
Other possible origins
The songs below share some of the key lyrics and are mainly
"So, we'll go no more a roving"
- Her eyes are like two stars so bright,
- Mark you well what I say!
- Her eyes are like two stars so bright,
- Her face is fair, her step is light;
- I'll go no more a roving from you, fair maid.[7]
"The Black Velvet Band"
- And her eyes they shined like diamonds,
- I thought her the pride of the land.
- Her hair hung over her shoulder,
- Tied up with a black velvet band.[8]
"Dark and Roving Eye"
- Oh she'd a dark and a rovin' eye and her hair hung down in ringlets
- She were a nice girl, a decent girl but one of the rakish kind[9]
References
- ISBN 0-907566-71-5
- ^ Title: Lamorna. Song, words by L. Johnson,etc Composer: Goffrieì. Louisa Juliana Publication details: London: Leonard & Co.. 1910
- ^ "Way Down to Pomona - Manchester Central Library – Archives+". www.archivesplus.org.
- ^ Geographers' A-Z Map Company Limited Manchester: a premier street map; edition 5. Sevenoaks, [c. 1980]
- ^ Gardens (en), Parks and. "Pomona Gardens". Parks & Gardens.
- ^ Ashton, Geoffrey Lost Rivers of Manchester
- ^ Frederick J Davis & Ferris Tozer, Fifty Sailor Songs or Chanteys, 1887
- ^ "The Celtic Lyrics Collection - Lyrics". celtic-lyrics.com.
- ^ "The Black Brothers". Archived from the original on 8 July 2011. Retrieved 1 May 2010.
External links
- Cornish Songs: Lamorna
- Translation of song into Cornish language
- Words in Cornish dialect
- Down to Pomona, words of the Manchester version of the song from the Bodleian Library