Judy Cook, Folksinger

Barbara Ellen (Barbara Allen)

Author: trad (KY) [Child 84]

Source: From Cecil Sharp & Maude Karpeles' "80 Appalachian FolkSongs" sung by Mr Bin Henson at Barbourville, KY. text from the singing of Miss Carrie Howard at Pineville, KY. Both were collected in 1917. Mr. Henson sang only one verse. I'm changing to use his first two lines instead of "Down in London where I was raised, down where I got my learnin'" I also added a few more repeat lines.

Notes: Child #84 "Bonny Barbara Allan" Francis James Child "The English & Scottish Popular Ballads v2". has 3 versions, all from Scotland. "The Greig-Duncan Folk Song Collection v6" has 8 versions from NE Scotland. Cecil Sharp "English Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachians v1" has 16 versions from GA, NC, TN, VA, KY from 1907-18. Bertrand Bronson "The Traditional Tunes of the Child Ballads v2" has 198 versions. Arthur Kyle Davis "Traditional Ballads of Virginia" has 36 of the 92 texts he found and a dozen tunes.