''The Unfortunate Rake'' is an album released by Folkways Records in 1960, containing 20 different variations from what is sometimes called the ' Rake' cycle of

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

s. The album repeats a claim made by Phillips Barry in 1911 that the song is Irish in origin, a claim made on the basis of a fragment called "My Jewel My Joy" collected in Ireland in 1848. The song is incorrectly said to have been heard in Dublin, when the cited source states it was collected and had been heard in Cork. However, the notes to the album make no mention of what is now thought to be the oldest written version of the song, one called "The Buck's Elegy". The album contains what appears to be claimed to be one of the earliest-known written versions of the whole song, a "19th century broadside text", sung by A L Lloyd. No source reference is given for this song. The liner notes refer the reader to an article written by Lloyd for "Sing" magazine in 1956. In this article, Lloyd refers to the 19th century broadside published by Such, which is a song called "The Unfortunate Lad". However, the words sung by Lloyd are not identical to those on the Such broadside. Significantly, in view of the research later done on the origin of the song St James' Infirmary, and in view of attempts to find a British hospital with the name St James',See, for example, the liner notes to this LP and also the article here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._James_Infirmary_Blues some of which research cites this LP as a source, the words St James' Hospital do not feature on the Such broadside, nor in "The Buck's Elegy". The album also includes the variations that evolved from the earliest song, including the American standards " St. James Infirmary Blues" and "

The Streets of Laredo "Streets of Laredo" (Laws B01, Roud 23650), also known as "The Dying Cowboy", is a famous American cowboy ballad in which a dying ranger (1911/ Rhymes of the range and trail) tells his story to another cowboy. Members of the Western Writers of Am ...

". The album also contains songs written for humorous and political purposes, like "The Ballad of Sherman Wu" and "The Professor's Lament".

Track listing

# "

The Unfortunate Rake "The Unfortunate Lad", also known as "The Unfortunate Rake", is a traditional folk ballad (), which through the folk process has evolved into a large number of variants. Synopsis In nineteenth-century broadside versions, the narrator meets a comr ...

" - A. L. Lloyd and Alf Edwards – 2:59 # "The Trooper Cut Down in His Prime" - Ewan MacColl and

Peggy Seeger Margaret "Peggy" Seeger (born June 17, 1935) is an American folk singer. She has lived in Britain for more than 60 years, and was married to the singer and songwriter Ewan MacColl until his death in 1989. First American period Seeger's father ...

– 4:30 # "The Young Sailor Cut Down in His Prime" -

Harry Cox Harry Fred Cox (27 March 1885 – 6 May 1971), was a Norfolk farmworker and one of the most important singers of traditional English music of the twentieth century, on account of his large repertoire and fine singing style. His music inspired ...

– 1:57 # "Noo I'm a Young Man Cut Down in My Prime" -

Willie Mathieson Willie Mathieson (born 20 July 1943) is a Scottish former professional footballer who played in the left-back position for Rangers, amongst other clubs. He was included in the Rangers F.C. Hall of Fame on 5 February 2007. Mathieson spent fif ...

– 2:17 # "The Bad Girl's Lament" -

Wade Hemsworth Albert Wade Hemsworth (October 23, 1916 – January 19, 2002) was a Canadian folk singer and songwriter.Alan Hustak, "Canadian composer dies at 85". ''Calgary Herald'', January 20, 2002. Although he was not a prolific composer, having writt ...

– 2:49 # "One Morning in May" - Hally Wood – 2:36 # "Bright Summer Morning" - Viola Penn – 2:24 # "The Girl in the Dilger Case" - D. K. Wilgus – 1:08 # "

The Cowboy's Lament ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

" - Bruce Buckley – 2:39 # " Streets of Laredo" - Harry Jackson – 4:59 # " St. James Hospital" - Alan Lomax – 3:33 # " Gambler's Blues" -

Dave Van Ronk David Kenneth Ritz Van Ronk (June 30, 1936 – February 10, 2002) was an American folk singer. An important figure in the American folk music revival and New York City's Greenwich Village scene in the 1960s, he was nicknamed the "Mayor of Ma ...

– 2:44 # "I Once Was a Carman" - "I Once Was a Carman in the Big Mountain Con" - Guthrie T. "Gus" Meade – 1:12 # "The Lineman's Hymn" -

Rosalie Sorrels Rosalie Sorrels (June 24, 1933 – June 11, 2017) was an American Folk music, folk singer-songwriter. She began her public career as a singer and collector of traditional folksongs in the late 1950s. During the early 1960s she left her husband an ...

– 1:49 # "The Wild Lumberjack" - Kenneth S. Goldstein – 1:51 # "A Sun Valley Song" - Jan Brunvand and

Ellen Stekert Ellen Stekert (b. 1935) is an American academic, folklorist and musician. Stekert is a Professor Emerita of English at the University of Minnesota and a former president of the American Folklore Society. Early life and education Stekert was bo ...

– 1:28 # "The Ballad of Bloody Thursday" - John Greenway – 3:44 # "Streets of Hamtramck" - Bill Friedland, Mark Newman, and Morris Howarth – 2:23 # "The Ballad of Sherman Wu" -

Pete Seeger Peter Seeger (May 3, 1919 – January 27, 2014) was an American folk singer and social activist. A fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s, Seeger also had a string of hit records during the early 1950s as a member of the Weavers, notably ...

– 2:07 # "The Professor's Lament" -

Roger Abrahams Roger David Abrahams (June 12, 1933 – June 20, 2017) was an American folklorist whose work focused on the expressive cultures and cultural histories of the Americas, with a specific emphasis on African American peoples and traditions. Abrahams ...

– 3:25

References

External links

The Unfortunate Rake
at Folkways {{DEFAULTSORT:Unfortunate Rake 1960 compilation albums Folk compilation albums Folkways Records compilation albums