Peggy Gordon (song)

"Peggy Gordon" is a Canadian folk song that has become popular in many English-speaking countries. As a folk song it was first collected in the 1950s and 1960s in Canada, mainly in Nova Scotia.

History

In the 1820s and early 1830s, a song called "Peggy Gordon" was published on American song-sheets: in New York and in Boston (available at the libraries of Brown University, RI and the New York Historical Society).

A couple of decades later, a song called ”Peggy Gordon” was mentioned in Fitz-Hugh Ludlow's story ''The Primpenny Family''. The story was published in serial form in the magazine '' Vanity Fair'' in 1861, mentioning the song in chapter VI in a conversation between Mr. Kineboy and Miss Primpenny: .

The chorus of Kineboy's performance is very similar to the chorus of present-day versions:

Another version of this song, in the form of a vaudeville song called ''Sweet Maggie Gordon'', was published in New York from 1880. The song tells a story of a man who is madly in love with a woman of this name and how he longs to be with her.

In 1938, a song called ''Sweet Peggy Gordon'' was recorded by Herbert Halpert in Sloatsburg, New York. The name of the singer was Mort Montonyea.

Folk song tradition

The song “Peggy Gordon” has been recorded by many artists. One of the first commercial recordings was by Canadian folk singer Alan Mills in 1959 on the album ''Canadian Folksong''. It was recorded by Charles Jordan on the 9-LP set ''Canadian Folk songs, A Centennial Collection'' in 1966, issued in 1967. Also around this time it was recorded by Toronto folk singer Bonnie Dobson.Bonnie Dobson - Vive La Canadienne (2010 re-issue)
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The song was featured in the film '' The Proposition'', sung by one of the Irish outlaws.

The Melvins’ cover of the song on their 2010 album, '' The Bride Screamed Murder'', was described as "a serenely bizarre version of the Canadian folk song".

Covers

*Liam Clancy ''The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem: In Concert'' 1967 (Columbia Records LP)
*The Dubliners ''Live at the Albert Hall'' 1969 (Major Minor SMLP 44 LP)
*John Allan Cameron ''Here Comes John Allan Cameron'' 1969
* The Quare Fellas (Dublin City Ramblers) ''A Fond Tale'' 1970 (CBS 63997 LP)
*Ryan's Fancy ''Curraghs, Minstrels, Rocks and Whiskey'' 1971 (Gunn GBY LP 1003 LP)
*The Corries ''Sound the Pibroch'' 1972
*Happy Traum ''Relax Your Mind'' 1975
*Paddy Reilly ''At Home with Paddy Reilly''
*Pecker Dunne ''The Tinkerman'' (1987, re-released 2001)
*Buddy Wasisname ''Miracle Cure'' (1992)
* Sinéad O'Connor ''Sean-Nós Nua'' 2002
* Brian Kennedy ''On Song 2'' 2005 (CURCD-160)
*The Chieftains (with the Secret Sisters) ''Voice of Ages''
*The Corrs ''Home'' 2005
* Marc Gunn
*The High Kings ''Friends for life'' 2013
*Roddy Campbell- Peigi Ghordain( in Scots Gaelic) -Back To Barra (2005)

References

External links

Maritime Folk Songs: from the Collection of Helen Creighton
Maritime songs remembered by an older generation of Canadians, mainly from Nova Scotia.
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Peggy Gordon