The Whistling Gypsy
"The Whistling Gypsy", sometimes known simply as "The Gypsy Rover", is a well-known ballad composed and copyrighted by Dublin songwriter Leo Maguire in the 1950s.
There are a number of similar traditional songs about a well-off woman's encounter with
Child 200). The story-line usually revolves around a woman leaving her home and her "wedded lord" to run off with one or more Gypsies, to be pursued by her husband. Dorothy Scarborough's 1937 book A Song Catcher In Southern Mountains: American Folk Songs of British Ancestry includes a lullaby called "Gypsy Davy", which Scarborough collected from two Virginia women who had learned the song from their respective grandmothers who in turn had learned it in Ireland. Scarborough's "Gypsy Davy" has a similar construction to Maguire's song, both in some of the lyrics in the verses and in the "ah dee do" chorus that does not appear in the other aforementioned Gypsy-themed songs.[2]
However, in Maguire's song the lady is pursued by her father, and when he catches the pair the "Gypsy" reveals himself to be the "lord of these lands all over".
The song was first recorded by
New Musical Express for the best recording of the year.[4] Later that year it was selected as the title tune for the film The Black Knight, starring Alan Ladd and Patricia Medina. For this purpose it was given new lyrics by Maguire and Elton Hayes,[5] who sang it in the film.[6]
Since then it has been recorded by numerous artists, including
Foster & Allen and The Wiggles
.
References
- ^ "1 Roud Folk Song Index". Library.efdss.org. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
- ^ Dorothy Scarborough, A Song Catcher In The Southern Mountains; American Folk Songs of British Ancestry, Columbia University Press, 1937; pp.224-225
- ^ B 10572 released by Rose Brennan in October 1953: "If you love me" / "The Whistling Gypsy"
- ^ Times Pictorial (18 September 1954). "Singing Star". The Irish Times. p. 7.
- ^ "British 1950s TV and Radio". Whirligig-tv.co.uk. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
- ^ Arts Page (1 October 1954). "Music". The Irish Times. p. 6.
