Bar’bry Allen

TB and Piano

The earliest known mention of this song is an Englishman Samuel Pepys’s 1666 diary. The origin of the folk song is questionable, some attributing it to England, others to Scotland or Ireland. Wherever it originated, the tune eventually traveled the Atlantic Ocean and arrived in the Appalachian mountains of America where legendary folk singers added new versions to the ever-growing collection; in 1960 the number of known version was documented at over 100. At least a dozen contemporary singers have since recorded their own special take on this piece, with both text and melody often altered to suit the style of the singer.

The folk tale of “Barbara” or “Bar’bry” Allen is always pretty much the same, although her name gets various spellings, and her lover receives varied names, the most common being Sweet William.  Along the way, the tune has been subject to much more variation than the story, suggesting it was easier to recall the story than the melody, or that folk singers simply liked to give the melody their own personal twist, or that the story got written down but not the tune. 

My version uses a tune that’s a bit more sinister than the one most people may know. I thought it was more in line with what eventually happens to the title character.

Bar’bry Allen was written for and dedicated to the Prior Lake High School Meistersingers.

The Text

Traditional

All in the merry month of May
When green buds they were swellin’
That young Jimmy grove on his deathbed lay
For love of Bar’bry Allen

He sent his men into the town
To the place where she was dewellin'
Sayin' "Will you come to my master dear,
If your name be Bar'bry Allen?"

And slowly, slowly got she up
And slowly came she nigh him
And all she said when there she came,
“Young man, I think you're dyin'."

"Oh yes I'm sick, I'm very sick.
Indeed I think I'm dyin'.
But a word from you would revive me again
If your name be Bar'bry Allen."

"Do you recall young man," she said,
"When the red wine you were swillin',
How you made the ladies' health go 'round
And you slighted Bar'bry Allen?"

And death is printed on his face
And all his heart is stealin',
But still he cried when she left his side,
Hard-hearted Bar'bry Allen.

As she was goin' over the field
She heard the death bell tollin',
And ev'ry sound that death bell gave,
“Hard-hearted Bar'bry Allen.”

“Oh mother, mother make me a bed.
Make it soft and narrow.
Since young Jimmy died for me today,
I'll die for him tomorrow.”

 Performed by the St. Mary's International School Varsity Ensemble, Tokyo, Japan
(Randy Stenson, conductor).