Sally Wheatley (Alex Glasgow) Noo Ah'm myest distressed and sad tho' Ah once'st was blithe and glad and cud trip aboot tha toon both (trim and neatly?) Ah was happy neet and morn But aall soch joys Ah've shunned since Ah fell sa deep in love wi' Sally Wheatley. Oh dear me, Ah divent na what to de for Sally's stole my heart away completely, and Ah'll niver get it back for she gans wi' Mr. Black and they say he's gan ter marry Sally Wheatley. Hoo Ah felt Ah divent naa, the forst time I Sally saa, in a threesome reel she stepped (hopped?) aboot so sweetly, and Ah might a stood a chance had Ah asked hor up to dance but Ah was ower shy ta speak to Sally Wheatley. Oh dear me...... Noo as often is the case ye'll find others in yer place if you fail ta shove ahead and fettle reetly, for Ah'd scarcely torned me back when Ah spied yon Mr. Black- he wuz jiggin' roond tha room wi' Sally Wheatly. Oh Dear me... and he must hev got it reet when he set hor hyem that neet - after work dressed up he gans ta see hor neetly There's great deanger in deleay and A'd not be sad todeay- if Ah had a hort Ah'd break't for Sally Wheatley Oh dear me..... with regard to the lyrics for "Sally Wheatley":I don't have an authoritative source, and the ballad is a bit obscure so I don't think you'll be lucky. However, I was 15 years in the North East of England and have family connections there. Consequently I have heard it a few times, although I would not say it was still popular as a folk song. I've done my best from memory, please excuse my poor attempt at a Geordie dialect. This would normally be delivered by someone with a strong Newcastle accent, which is very hard to understand if you haven't lived there, but this accent softens somewhat when they sing -a bit in the way that everybody tends to favour an American accent when singing no matter what their origins. KRS Copyright Alex Glasgow Differing opinions regarding authorship: Though most recordings say that it's traditional (and it's obviously a lot older than Alex Glasgow!), that's not the whole story. The north-eastern singer Bob Fox credits it to Joe Wilson of Newcastle (c.1840-1874), a stage-comedia Feet Still, Geordie Hinny. Bob knows his stuff, so I'd take that as definitive. I believe that the version mostly sung nowadays has changed a bit from the original, though, so it's on its way to being traditional, at any rate. MD Sally Wheatley is a Joe Wilson song and published in "Bits of Sangs and Homely Stories by Joe Wilson" Published in Newcastle in the late 1880's (I don't have my copy to hand but I will check out the date and publisher). The song also features in the Musical "Joe Lives!" which was written by Alex Glasgow and others hence the association. "Joe Lives" was a project carried out by the Newcastle Playhouse sometime in the mid 70's and recounts the Life of Joe Wilson together with many of his songs and drolleries. Joe was a real 'Character' and in his time was a publican, a music hall performer and a famous Temperance speaker. PB HK oct00
Thanks to Mudcat for the Digital Tradition!