The Roving Kind is a 1950 popular song by Jessie Cavanaugh and Arnold Stanton, both pseudonyms used by music publisher The Richmond Organisation. It was adapted from a British folk song, "The Pirate Ship". "The Roving Kind" is about a girl who is nice but a wanderer. The best-known version was recorded by

Guy Mitchell Guy Mitchell (born Albert George Cernik; February 22, 1927 – July 1, 1999) was an American pop singer and actor, successful in his homeland, the UK, and Australia. He sold 44 million records, including six million-selling singles. In the fa ...

in 1950, which reached No. 4 on ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' in December 1950. The single also reached No. 6 on the '' Cashbox'' charts the same month.Guy Mitchell charting entries
Retrieved 09-19-11 The song had first been recorded by the American folk group,

The Weavers The Weavers were an American folk music quartet based in the Greenwich Village area of New York City originally consisting of Lee Hays, Pete Seeger, Ronnie Gilbert, and Fred Hellerman. Founded in 1948, the group sang traditional folk songs fro ...

. Mitchell's jocular version followed the original sea-shanty style. Columbia's A&R director

Mitch Miller Mitchell William Miller (July 4, 1911 – July 31, 2010) was an American choral conductor, record producer, record-industry executive, and professional oboist. He was involved in almost all aspects of the industry, particularly as a conductor ...

followed this "folk-origin" formula for most of Mitchell's subsequent hits.The Independent; ''Obituaries: Guy Mitchell'' 5 July 1999

References

1950 songs Guy Mitchell songs The Weavers songs {{1950s-song-stub