The Banks of Sweet Primroses

Synopsis

The narrator walks out on a midsummer morning and sees a young woman by the banks of sweet primroses. He asks where she is going and why she is distressed, offering to make her as happy as any lady if she grants him one small relief. She tells him to go away, calling him false and deceitful, and says he has made her poor heart wander. She declares she will go to a desolate valley where no one can find her. The narrator then advises that many a dark morning turns into a sunny day.

Versions

The Roud Folk Song Index lists 329 examples, though some may appear in multiple publications or recordings. Of these, 92 were collected in England, mostly in the south, with 17 from Sussex and only 2 from Yorkshire. Two versions each came from Wales and Scotland, and two from singers in the same part of Nova Scotia. The earliest known recording was made in 1937 by the Welsh singer Phil Tanner.

In the nineteenth century, broadside publishers printed many versions. Peter Kennedy recorded Emily Bishop of Gloucestershire in 1952. Topic Records issued several traditional versions in the Voice of the People series. Seamus Ennis recorded the Copper Family of Rottingdean, Sussex in April 1952.

Shropshire singer Fred Jordan and Suffolk singer Bob Hart also recorded the song; Hart's rendition, recorded by Reg Hall, is at the British Library Sound Archive. Folk revival performers such as Shirley Collins, The Dubliners, Fairport Convention, Martin Carthy and Dave Swarbrick, June Tabor, Martin Simpson, and Eliza Carthy have recorded it.

Discussion

Steve Roud notes that the song was so popular with traditional singers early in the 20th century that some collectors did not record every example. He also observes that the story seems incomplete and mysterious, as the narrator's prior actions are unknown and the ending is unexpectedly upbeat. Ralph Vaughan Williams and A. L. Lloyd remark that tune and text have shown remarkable constancy across versions, suggesting singers found the song unusually memorable and satisfactory. The line "I will make you as happy as any lady / If you will grant me one small relief" is discussed as a consistent trope in English folk music and is often interpreted humorously as innuendo.