> A.L. Lloyd > Songs > The Seven Gipsies
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The Gypsy Laddie / Seven Yellow Gipsies / Raggle Taggle Gipsies

[ Roud 1 ; Child 200 ; G/D 2:278 ; Henry H124 ; Ballad Index C200 ; The Gypsy Laddie at Fire Draw Near ; VWML CJS2/9/2103 , CJS2/9/2540 ; GlosTrad Roud 1 ; DT WRAGYPSY ; Mudcat 1654 ; trad.]

A.L. Lloyd sang The Seven Gypsies in 1956 on his Tradition album The Foggy Dew and Other Traditional English Love Songs. He noted:

As the story goes, 300 years ago, Lady Jean Hamilton, married to the grim puritanical Earl of Cassilis, fell in love with John Faa, a leader of a Scottish gypsy band. The couple eloped, the band was pursued, and John Faa was captured and hanged. History is silent about this incident, but the ballad (Child 200) has survived in many forms all over England, Scotland and America. Perhaps it was the piquancy of the situation in which the rich man’s wife finds a poor man more desirable, that has commended it so long to the singer’s fancy.

Jeannie Robertson sang The Gipsy Laddies, in a recording made in 1955 where she is accompanied by Josh MacRae on guitar, on her 1956 Riverside album Songs of a Scots Tinker Lady. Another recording made by Bill Leader in 1959 was released on her eponymous Topic album Jeannie Robertson. Hamish Henderson noted on both albums:

This classic ballad—no. 200 in the great Child collection—is widely known throughout the British Isles and America. In Scotland, the ballad is often associated with the Ayrshire house of Cassilis, and is declared to be a “true” ballad, although history does not bear this out. However, the ballad tale, in which handsome gipsies beguile a noble lady by the sweetness of their singing, has naturally made it very popular with the Scots travelling folk.

The 1961 Caedmon / 1968 Topic anthology The Child Ballads 2 (The Folk Songs of Britain Volume 5) has a track The Gypsie Laddie that was spliced together from versions sung by Harry Cox, Jeannie Robertson and Paddy Doran.

Jean Redpath sang Gipsy Laddie in 1962 on her Elektra album Scottish Ballad Book. She noted:

There seems to be no particular historical basis for this fine ballad, although several events may separately have set the scene and provided the dramatis personae for the tale as it is told here. Tradition has it that one Lady Jean Hamilton wed John, 6th Earl of Cassilis, but was in love with Sir John Faa of Dunbar. While Lord Cassilis was in Westminster, Sir John, disguised as a gypsy, came to the lady, but was captured by the surprise return of her husband and hanged. Records show how common among the gypsies was the name Johnny Faa, which appears in many of the older British versions. From such a combination of sources the main elements of this ballad may have emerged. The many American versions vary considerably in details, and in this as in many other ballads tend to differ from their Scottish counter­parts in two specific ways: tragic conclusions are usually resolved into happy endings, and all references to spells (camprols) are omitted. I learned the melody from the singing of Jeannie Robertson of Aberdeen, and the text corresponds to that recorded by Gavin Greig in the second volume of his Folk-Song of the North-East.

Harry Cox sang Black-Hearted Gypsies O (or Black-Guarded?) to Leslie Shephard on 9 October 1965. This recording was included in 2000 on Cox’s Topic anthology The Bonny Labouring Boy.

Shirley Collins sang a variant called Seven Yellow Gipsies on her 1967 album The Power of the True Love Knot, and it was included on her producer Joe Boyd’s compilation CD White Bicycles: Making Music in the 1960s. She noted:

With two handsome gipsies (Robin Williamson and Mike Heron) clapping her on, the lady’s off again, with her lord in full pursuit. This account of a well-known bit of scandal has a rare, crackling pace about it, and a reference to an arranged cash-marriage in the last verse. It comes from an Irish singer, Paddy Doran. I think the girl must be daft to leave her comfortable castle to go rolling in the fields with seven yellow gipsies.

Harry Green from Tilty, Essex, sang The Blackguard Gypsies th Fred Hamer in 1967. This recording was released at the end of the 1980s on the Veteran Tapes cassette Harry Green (VT135) and in 2010 on Veteran’s Harry Green et al anthology The Fox and the Hare. John Howson noted:

A fragment of a song dating back to the eighteenth century, which was very widely distributed particularly in England, Scotland, Ireland and North America. Under a variety of titles including Black Jack Davy, Gypsy Davy, Gypsie Laddie Oh, Draggletail Gypsies, Dark Eyed Gypsy and Raggle Taggle Gypsies, the song tells the story of a band of Gypsies casting a spell on a lady to make her run away with them. Her husband returns home and discovers she’s gone and sets off in pursuit. When he catches up with them the lady refuses to leave the Gypsies. In earlier versions the lord takes his revenge by hanging the Gypsies. This is a rare song in most of East Anglia although in Norfolk George Butterworth collected three versions in the early 1900s and fuller versions can be heard from Walter Pardon (A Country Life) and Harry Cox (The Bonny Labouring Boy).

Martin Carthy sang Seven Yellow Gypsies on his 1969 album with Dave Swarbrick, Prince Heathen, and reissued on Martin Carthy: A Collection. He also sang it live in studio in July 2006 for the DVD Guitar Maestros. Martin Carthy noted on the first album:

There is a whole school of thought which seeks to show that ballads are records of historical occurrences. Possibly they are but I can’t see that it matters two hoots. The idea of a wife being taken by the gypsies is as old as the gypsies themselves. I have taken the liberty of filling the story out by plundering different versions.

Martin Carthy’s brother-in-law Mike Waterson recorded Seven Yellow Gypsies for his eponymous album of 1977, Mike Waterson. A.L. Lloyd noted:

It used to be thought that the ballad told a true story of the elopement, in the seventeenth century, of the young bride of the Earl of Cassilis (pronounced ‘Cassels’). It’s rubbish, as is so often the case when historical traditions get attached to ballads. But the ballad is a great favourite and considerably more than a hundred versions of it have been recorded in Britain, Ireland and America, to a variety of tunes. The melody Mike uses here is a very individual variant of the favourite setting of Cecil Sharp’s Somerset version, known through school books as The Wraggle Taggle Gypsies. The words, as Mike sings them, are dredged from the memories of his sister Lal, Hull-based Scottish singer Ian Manuel, and of Mike himself, recalling schooldays.

Christy Moore sang The Raggle Taggle Gipsies in 1972 on his Trailer album Prosperous. Hes sang it in the following year on Planxty’s eponymous Polydor album Planxty. A 1973 live recording from the National Stadium was included in 2016 on the DVD of Planxty’s 2016 album Between the Jigs and the Reels. Another live recording from 2018 in Bremen, Germany, was released on their 2018 CD One Night in Bremen.

Joe Holmes sang The Dark-Eyed Gipsy in Eddie Butcher’s house, Magilligan, Co Derry, on 18 March 1975. This recording by Hugh Shields was included in 1985 on the Folk Music Society of Ireland anthology Early Ballads in Ireland 1968-1985, reissued on CD in 2015 by An Goílín.

Walter Pardon sang The Raggle-Taggle Gypsies at home in Knapton, Norfolk in ca. 1975. This recording by Mike Yates was released in 1982 on Pardon’s Topic album A Country Life, and was included in 1998 on the Topic anthology Tonight I’ll Make You My Bride (The Voice of the People Series Volume 6).

The Tannahill Weavers sang The Gypsy Laddie in 1976 on their Plant Life album Are Ye Sleeping Maggie and again in 1979 on their eponymous Plant Life album Are Ye Sleeping Maggie. They noted:

Rumour has it that the gypsy in this song was, in fact, a prince. Thankfully, for once, he hasn’t started life as a little green amphibian only to arrive at the final humiliation—marriage, to a woman who kisses frogs.

Dick Gaughan sang The Gipsy Laddies in 1977 on his Highway/Trailer album Kist o’ Gold. He noted on his now defunct website:

Perhaps the most common and widely distributed theme in balladry. This version is a collation from several other versions—I think I started out with Jeannie Robertson’s basic reading of it then over the years, as I heard verses in others which attracted me, I included them in one form or another. The guitar was tuned DAAEAE.

John Kirkpatrick and Sue Harris sang The Gipsy Laddie in 1977 on their Topic album, Shreds and Patches. They noted:

More than a hundred versions are known of this favourite ballad of the lady who forsook her lordly husband, her babes and her fine feather bed to go off with the wild gipsies. Some say it all happened in 1643, and the roaming lady was Jean, wife of he sixth earl of Cassilis. Indeed, Robbie Burns was so convinced that he got the name of Cassilis inserted into a printed copy of the ballad, and so it has stuck in many versions, including the one sung by Harry Cox in vol. 5 of The Folk Songs of Britain. Alas; there’s no basis for the legend; attractive idea, though. The tune here is based on a version collected from gipsies in Shropshire by Charlotte Burns about a century ago.

Nic Jones sang Seven Yellow Gypsies in a BBC “Folk on 2” session recorded on 1 March 1981. This recording was included in his anthologies In Search of Nic Jones and Game Set Match. Like Shirley Collins’ version, this one is based on Paddy Doran’s.

Ray Fisher sang The Gipsy Laddies in 1991 on her Saydisc CD Traditional Songs of Scotland. She noted:

Another song from the extensive repertoire of Jeannie Robertson from Aberdeen. The ballad of the Wraggle, Taggle Gipsies (also known as Seven Yellow Gipsies) has long been a favourite within the folklore of Scotland and England due to the widely held belief that the gipsies could cast spells on people and persuade even ladies of high degree to abandon their fine lifestyles and throw in their lot with the gipsies. It was thought inconceivable that such ladies went of their own free will: thus the perpetuation of the myth that the gipsies cast their ‘glamourie ower’ innocent folk.

The tune of this ballad is sometimes referred to as Lady Cassilis’ Lilt: it is interesting to note that the aggrieved Lord is named in several versions as Earl Cassilis!

Sandra and Nancy Kerr sang Seven Yellow Gypsies in 1996 on their Fellside CD Neat and Complete. They noted:

A great favourite with travellers, this version was collected in Dublin from a man called John Riley. Sandra once sang this in a session in Milltown Malbay during the Willie Clancy School. There was an audible gasp at the (then) shocking last verse about being in bed “with seven yellow gypsies to annoy me”.

Gordon Tyrrall sang Seven Gypsies on the 1997 Fellside anthology Ballads. Paul Adams noted:

Gordon’s version of this extremely popular ballad (The Gypsy Laddie, Black Jack Davy, The Raggle Taggle Gypsies, etc.) is loosely based on the one collected from the magnificent Norfolk singer Harry Cox. Harry’s version mentions the Earl O’Cassil. A basis for the story is reported to be Lady Jean Hamilton who loved Sir Francis Faa of Dunbar (Faa was a common gypsy name and some versions of the song are called Johnny Faa). She married instead the 6th Earl of Cassilis (also called John). According to the story Sir John Faa came to Cassilis castle disguised as a gypsy accompanied by some genuine gypsies. The Earl came home and hanged them all. Another supposition is that it developed from a Celtic tale of a fairy abduction (a theme in Tam Lin).Whatever, it makes a good and lasting story. There is an example of the oral tradition at work where the line “cast their gaze all over her” has become the meaningless, but rather poetic, “cast their gabriel over her.”

Roger Wilson sang Seven Yellow Gypsies in 1998 on The House Band’s Green Linnet album October Song. They noted:

From the repertoire of Mike Waterson, one of the truly great English interpreters of folk song. This version came to Mike from the Irish singer Paddy Doran.

Waterson:Carthy with Eliza Carthy in lead sang this song in 1999 as Raggle Taggle Gipsies on their third album Broken Ground; this track was also included on the anthology The Folk Awards 2001. Martin Carthy commented in the original album’s sleeve notes:

The Raggle Taggle Gipsies is about as old an idea as gipsies in these islands are themselves. The story is supposed to be about the Countess of Cassilis who ran away with some gipsies who were hanged for their trouble. Hanging was, of course, par for the course for gipsies at the time—sometimes just for being gipsies—indeed I sometimes think that some people nowadays yearn for such a time, gipsies being the most reviled (and legislated against) portion of our population. Within Norma’s and my lifetime there have been two occasions when her descendant, the Countess, has been confidently reported in the paper as having run away with someone or other. Thirty year ago or more one of the Sunday papers splashed that she had run away with (I think) gipsies, and within the last seven or eight year she was said with equal certainty to have run away this time with a travelling salesman. One wonders what the Count had been putting in her caviar or, on the other hand whether the whole thing feeds on and propagates itself as an ongoing myth. (What did they call an urban myth in the 16th century?) This way of doing the song was given by the beautiful Norfolk singer Walter Pardon to Mike Yates in the 1970s.

This video shows Waterson:Carthy playing The Raggle Taggle Gipsies somewhere in 2007 or earlier:

and at Folkfestival HAM 2009:

Jack Beck sang The Gypsy Laddies in 2001 on his Tradition Bearers CD Half Ower, Half Ower tae Aberdour. He noted:

Primarily from the singing of Jeannie Robertson, this was influenced by many other versions heard over the years. Most American variants have the lady going off with the vagabond Black-Jack Davy to live happily ever after—a typical change found across the water. For a fascinating insight into the popularity of Scots ballads in Appalachia read The Lion’s Share by Prof. Tom Burton.

Dave Arthur with Pete Cooper and Chris Moreton (later Rattle on the Stovepipe) sang Harrison Brady in 2003 on their WildGoose album Return Journey. They noted:

The source of this American version of The Gypsy Laddie (Child 200) was Lily Bell Dietrick, of Morganstown, West Virginia. In 1949 George Korson, printed it in his Pennsylvania Songs and Legends (John Hopkins, Philadelphia). I used Lily’s fourth verse as a chorus, added the ‘gold and furs’ verse, and set it to a variation of Winder Slide, which seemed to fit the lyrics like a glove. The earliest printed copies of the ballad date from 18th century Scotland; the first being in Allan Ramsay’s Tea-Table Miscellany (1750), where the seducer, who casts the ‘glamer’ (glamour) over the lady, is the Gypsy Johny Faa. As early as 1540 the Faas (Faws) were recognised by James V as being ‘Lords and Earls of Little Egypt’.

In some versions of the ballad the vengeful, cuckolded, Lord wreaks his revenge by hanging several of the Gypsy gang. Ballad scholar Francis James Child suggests that the hanging of ‘Captain’ Johnnie Faa and seven Gypsy companions in 1624, for ignoring the expulsion orders intended to drive them out of Scotland, may have given rise to the ballad. But whatever the origins, the romantic (if unlikely) idea of a high maintenance lady abandoning her rich husband, home and, sometimes, her baby, to roam the countryside with a dark-eyed, impecunious, Gypsy lover, obviously tickled the popular imagination, for the ballad under various titles (Johnny Faa, The Gypsy Laddie, The Wraggle-Taggle Gypsies O, Black Jack Davy, Gypsum Davy and Harrison Brady), has been collected all over the British Isles and America, and is number 4 in the Canadian most popular Child Ballad charts.

Benji Kirkpatrick sang Draggle-Tail Gypsies-O in 2005 on the Fellside anthology of English traditional songs and their American variants, Song Links 2, and Skip Gorman sang the related American variant Clayton Boone. Paul Adams noted on Draggle-Tail Gypsies-O:

From 80-year-old Shadrach ‘Shepherd’ Hayden of Bampton, Oxfordshire, recorded by Cecil Sharp on 21 August 1909 [VWML CJS2/9/2103, CJS2/10/2308] . An agricultural labourer right through to his fifties, ‘Shepherd’ acquired.his nickname when he became a shepherd in the hamlet of Weald. Weald was close to Bampton, home of a long-established custom of Morris dancing, and it was ‘Jinky’ or ‘Jingy’ Wells, the noted Bampton fiddler who played for the Morris, who suggested to Sharp that he find ‘Shepherd’ Hayden and listen to him sing. Sharp paid him six further visits, and noted down twenty-seven songs from him.

Child put forward a theory that the story is based on a real event of the early 17th century, one Lady Cassilis being abducted by gypsies, but then returned to her home and the gypsies hanged. In most versions—and it’s a favourite ballad that was widely sung—the story is that of a lady who chooses to live rough with the gypsies rather than stay with her rich husband—a subtle way for a country or gypsy singer to say “we’re as good, if not better, than you are”

… and on Clayton Boone:

Clayton Boone is a version of The Wraggle-Taggle Gypsies, more popularly known in America as Black Jack Davy, where the ballad was second in popularity only to Barbara Allen. It was here in the New World that a different hero, another itinerant, came on the scene, in the form of a cowboy.

Skip Gorman learned this song from the cowboy singer, Harry Jackson. Skip writes: “Harry Jackson was born in Chicago in 1924, learning his first western songs there as a young boy from a cowpuncher who worked handling horses in the Chicago stock yards. He later moved to Wyoming where he worked on the famous Pitchfork Ranch outside Meteesee. Harry learned Clayton Boone from an old cowboy named Ed Marshbank on the Whitt Ranch on Rawhide Creek. Harry Jackson was also a very talented painter and sculptor, particularly renowned for his bronzes.”

Kieron Means sang Harrison Brady in 2005 on his Fellside album Far As My Eyes Can See.

Vicki Swan and Jonny Dyer sang Seven Yellow Gypsies in 2005 on their WildGoose album Scatter Pipes. They noted:

Many will have sung or heard a version of Wraggle Taggle Gypsies or the Dark Eyed Gypsy. This is ours. In the last verse, the gypsies are hanged by the Lord of the land.

We have an alternative ending that is often favoured by less bloodthirsty audiences where the lady successfully runs away to join the gypsies:

There were eight little gypsies all in a gang
And none of them more lazy oh.
And they sang high and they sang low
And cast their spells around them oh.

Just goes to show that we don’t all want a good death toll in our folk tales.

Ron Taylor and Jeff Gillett sang Seven Little Gypsies in 2006 on their WildGoose CD Both Shine as One. They noted:

A clash of cultures is enacted in the life and decisions of one woman. This is just one of the many fine versions of this ballad, in which a nobleman’s wife is lured away by one or more gypsies, most of whom subsequently pay for their temerity with their necks. It was collected by Peter Kennedy from Paddy Doran in Belfast in 1952.

Lauren McCormick and Emily Portman sang Seven Yellow Gypsies in 2007 on their privately issued EP Lauren McCormick & Emily Portman.

Marilyn Tucker and Paul Wilson sang Gipsy Countess in 2008 on their CD of traditional songs from Devon and Cornwall from the collection of Sabine Baring-Gould, Dead Maid’s Land. They noted:

Sabine reconstructed some of this version of the Gipsy Laddie (Wraggle Taggle Gipsies). Exactly how much we may never know. What is important is that the story is well told and what is fascinating is that there are autobiographical echoes of Baring-Gould’s own courtship—though his story had a happier ending!

Wheeler Street sang Gypsies on their 2009 album roodumdah.

Jon Boden sang Seven Yellow Gypsies as the 16 April 2011 entry of his project A Folk Song a Day. He also sang Seven Bonnie Gypsies on his 2019 Hudson album Rose in June where he noted:

So many great versions of this song but not too many with a chorus so I’ve borrowed this one from Sheath and Knife which I first heard at a formative stage from a recording of Eliza Carthy accompanied by Dan Plews, both of whom subsequently become good friends and colleagues / employers. The tune is my own. There are different ways of interpreting this song, and in particular of interpreting the socio-historical origins of the story, but I very much see it as a song about people being trapped in situations where the escape route is almost as painful as would be remaining. So the lady chooses to abandon her baby in order to escape an unhappy marriage. What is particularly moving for me is the lack of rancour or bitterness expressed between the characters, just an overwhelming sense of sadness.

Rosaleen Gregory sang The Gypsy Laddie in 2012 on her first album of Child ballads, Sheath and Knife. She noted:

My favourite version of this well-known ballad of enchantment and elopement. As it sometimes has a happy ending, and I don’t have many of those in my repertoire, that’s how I sing it.

Bella Hardy sang her own song Good Man’s Wife on her 2013 CD Battleplan. She noted:

Raggle Taggle Gypsies, Seven Yellow Gipsies, The Gypsy Laddie, Johnny Faa, (Roud 1, Child 200)… This is my take on a well known, and well loved ballad story.

Stick in the Wheel sang Seven Gypsies with verses nearly identical to Martin Carthy’s on their 2015 CD From Here.

Arthur Knevett sang Raggle Taggle Gypsies on his 2016 CD Simply Traditional. He noted:

A very widespread ballad in which a lady forsakes her rich husband to run off with a band of gypsies. Francis J. Child’s collection of ballads gives eleven versions and Bertrand Bronson in The Traditional Tunes of the Child Ballads gives 128 texts with tunes but does not include this version which was collected from the Norfolk singer Walter Pardon after Bronson had compiled his monumental work.

Nick Dow sang The Dark Eyed Gypsy on his 2018 album of unaccompanied traditional folk songs, Far and Wide. He noted:

Collected by Nick Dow from the Lee family of Travellers in Blackpool.

The version of the well-known ballad is backup up by a Gypsy-style tuning (mouth music). The ballad was sung by Sam Gorman to his daughters and granddaughters, who later married into the Lee family. The tuning is as close as I can get to the style sung by the Gormans, and by my wife’s family. My wife Mally learned to dance to mouth music on the top step of a Gypsy caravan, when she was a child.

Alistair Roberts sang lead on The Dark-Eyed Gypsies on the Furrow Collective’s 2018 album Fathoms. They noted:

Our version of this well-known ballad was learnt from a 1961 recording of Cathal O’Boyle featured on the LP Singing Men of Ulster (Green Linnet Records). Born in Armagh but living in Castlederg, Co Tyrone at the time of the recording, Cathal had had this song in his family for at least four generations. Our recording features some additional verses from F.J.  Child’s English and Scottish Popular Ballads and a chorus borrowed from Harry Cox’s version as reproduced in The New Penguin Book of English Folk Songs.

Joshua Burnell sang Raggle Taggle Gypsies on his 2019 album The Road to Horn Fair.

Claire Hastings sang Seven Gypsies on her 2019 CD Those Who Roam. She noted:

An 18th century song that is said to have originated in the Dumfries area of south west Scotland.

This video shows Claire in August 2020 at Capture Works, Glasgow, performing for her featured week on Global Music Match. She was accompanied by Jenn Butterworth on guitar and Laura Wilkie on fiddle:

Ye Vagabonds sang Seven Little Gypsies in 2019 on their River Lea album The Hare’s Lament. They noted:

Of the countless versions and variations of this song that exist, from the Raggle Taggle to the Dark Eyed, there have been few that have interested us as much as Paddy Doran’s Seven Yellow Gypsies. It’s not for his lyrics which seems at times strangely muddled (“saddle to me my pretty fair maid”…) or for the completeness of the tale he tells, which is also oddly fragmented. Both of these features may have had something to do with the way in which the song was recorded on that particular day. Paddy Tunney collected a slightly different version of Doran’s lyrics which are in his book The Stone Fiddle. What we love about that recording and all of the other recordings of Doran’s songs that we’ve heard is his style and his voice. To us he’s unique. We haven’t remained faithful to Doran’s lyrics but it was his version that inspired us to sing the song at all. And his singing continues to inspire us to sing.

Oysterband sang Seven Gypsies in 2019 on Topic’s 80th year anthology, Vision & Revision. John Jones noted:

Nic Jones remains one of our favourite artists ever and re-visiting anything that Nie has touched remains a challenge. It took us many listens to define the tune from his interpretation and once we added verses from other versions we felt we had something. Time will tell.

Bellwether sang Gypsie Laddie in 2020 on their eponymous EP Bellwether. They noted:

This is an old traditional song that over the years has spawned many, many versions. It comes often as The Three Gypsies, Seven Yellow Gypsies and The Raggle Taggle Gypsy among others. This version is a new one, and is a bit of a conglomeration of multiple versions we have discovered in manuscript and recording. Eric [McDonald] has mixed, matched and morphed lyrics to suit the setting, but the story and essence he tried to keep intact. The melody is his own, and it paired perfectly with tradition morris tune, The Blue Eyed Stranger, which Alex [Cumming] found in the Esperance Morris Book by Mary Neal.

Vic Shepherd and John Bowden sang Clayton Boone in 2022 on their Hallamshire Traditions album Revel in the Stories. They noted:

Child 200, variously known as Gypsy Davey, Black Jack Davy, The Gypsy Rover and many other titles, is probably one of the best-known ballads, both in Britain and North America.

This unusual version is the cowboy’s take on the story, which contains many lyrical images, such as a “saddle made of silver” and “bridle reins of the beaten gold” while adding a pistol, cowboy’s chaps and a mandolin! It was recorded for the Library of Congress by Harry Jackson, who learned it from an old cowboy named Ed Marshbank, and has since been recorded by a number of singers, including Skip Gorman and Larry Hanks (brother of actor Tom). We first heard it sung at Chippenham Festival a few years ago by David Jones, an English singer now resident in New Jersey.

Jim Causley sang The Raggle Taggle Gypsies on the 2023 anthology Sing Yonder 1. He noted:

This recording of the Raggle-Taggle Gypsies is an amalgamation of the version in Sing Yonder with other versions I have absorbed in folk clubs over the years. The piano pulse I hope gives the flavour of an eager pony desperate to run free! I’m playing accordion too and the funny tinny noise is not a bee trapped in the bellows but actually me playing my accordina which is a French free-reed instrument invented in the 1950s.

Thomm Jutz sang The Gypsy Laddie, as collected from Jane Gentry of Hot Springs, Northern Carolina, on 14 September 1916 by Cecil Sharp [VWML CJS2/9/2540] , in 2023 on Martin Simpson’s and his Topic album of songs collected from Mary Sands and Jane Gentry, Nothing But Green Willow.

Nick Hart and Tom Moore sang Raggle Taggle Gypsies on their 2023 album The Colour of Amber. Nick Hart noted:

Our melody is inspired by the one sung by Harry Green of Tilty in North Essex, with the words coming from several half-remembered versions. This is undoubtedly one of the most prolifically collected ballads in the English language and it’s interesting to note that almost none of those versions come from traveller singers (Jeannie Robertson’s being the only one that comes to mind). Paul Burgess noted that the Romany singer Wiggy Smith “gets angry when he hears the song” and it’s certainly true that many of the characters display a prejudice that Gypsy and Traveller singers may not be at pains to dredge up in their leisure time. From my perspective though, it seems fairly obvious that the sympathies of singers and listeners to this ballad have always been with the female protagonist, and it therefore represents to me an enduring counterpoint to what might be our most enduring bigotry.

Matt Quinn sang The Gypsy Laddie, “from the album Shreds and Patches by John Kirkpatrick and Sue Harris”, on his 2024 download album Quinn the Roud: 1-10 in which he followed up Series 1 of his folk song podcast In the Roud with his own recordings of the Roud 1-10 songs.

Eamon O’Leary and Nuala Kennedy sang The Dark-Eyed Gypsy on their 2024 album Hydra. They noted:

These words come from the version recorded by Cathal McConnell which we’ve set to a melody from Sam Henry’s Songs of the People.

Lyrics

Harry Cox sings Black-Hearted Gypsies O

Seven Gypsies all in a gang,
They were brisk and bonny O.
They rode till they came to the Earl o’ Castle’s hall,
And there they sang so sweetly O,
Sweetly O, sweetly O.
They rode till they came to the Earl o’ Castle’s hall,
And there they sang so sweetly O.

They sang so sweet and so complete
Till downstairs came a lady O,
And, as soon as they saw her pretty, pretty face,
They cast a gabriel over her.
Over her, over her.
As soon as they saw her pretty, pretty face
They cast a gabriel over her.

She gave to them a bottle of wine.
She gave to them some money O.
She gave to them when far finer things
Was the gold rings off her fingers O,
Fingers O, fingers O.
She gave to them when far finer things
Was the gold rings off her fingers O.

Then she pulled off her high-heeled boots;
Put on her highland claddie O.
“Last night I slept with my own wedded lord,
And tonight with the Gypsy laddie O,
Laddie O, laddie O.
Last night I slept with my own wedded lord,
And tonight with the Gypsy laddie O.”

When her dear lord come home that night,
Enquiring for his lady O,
The waiting-maid made this reply,
“She has gone with the black-hearted Gypsies O,
Gypsies O, Gypsies O.”
The waiting-maid made this reply,
“She has gone with the black-hearted Gypsies O.”

“Come saddle me my best black horse.
Come saddle it quite swiftly O,
So I may search for my own wedded wife,
Who is gone with the black-hearted Gypsies O,
Gypsies O, Gypsies O.
That I may search for my own wedded wife,
Who is gone with the black-hearted Gypsies O.”

So he rode high and he rode low.
He rode brisk and bonny O.
He rode till he came to a far waterside,
And there he found his lady O,
Lady O, lady O.
He rode till he came to a far waterside,
And there he found his lady O.

“Oh, what made you leave your house and land?
What made you leave your money O?
What made you leave your own wedded lord
To follow the Gypsy laddie O,
Laddie O, laddie O?
What made you leave your own wedded lord
To follow the Gypsies’ laddie O?”

“I know I’ve left my house and land.
I know I’ve left my money O,
And here I am and here I’ll remain,
So fare you well, my honey O,
Honey O, honey O.
Here I am and here I’ll remain,
So fare you well, my honey O.”

Seven Gypsies all in a gang
They were brisk and bonny O,
And tonight they are all condemned for to die
For a stealing Earl o’ Castle’s lady O,
Lady O, lady O.
Tonight they are all condemned for to die
For a stealing Earl o’ Castle’s lady O.

Shirley Collins sings Seven Yellow Gipsies

There were seven yellow gypsies and all in a row,
None of them lame nor lazy-o;
And they sang so neat and so complete
They stole the heart of the lady-o.

It was late that night when the lord came home
Enquiring for his lady-o,
And the answer the servants gave to him,
“She’s gone away with the seven yellow gypsies-o.”

“Then saddle me my bonny black horse,
The white one’s ne’er so speedy-o.
That I may ride on a long summer night
In search of my false lady-o.”

So he rode west and he rode west,
He rode through wood and copses too,
Until he came to an open field
And there he saw his lady-o.

“Would you give up your house and land?
Would you give up your baby-o?
Would you give up your new-wedded lord?
To run away with the seven yellow gypsies-o?”

“Well, what care I for my house and land?
What care I for my baby-o?
Sure I wouldn’t give a kiss from a gypsy laddie’s lips
Not for all Lord Cassilis’ money-o.”

Martin Carthy sings Seven Yellow Gypsies

There were seven yellow gypsies and all in a row
And none of them lame nor lazy-o,
And they sang so sweet and so complete
That they stole the heart of the lady-o.

And they sang sweet and they sang shrill
That fast her tears began to flow,
And she lay down her silken gown,
Her golden rings and all her show.

She plucked off all her highheeled shoen,
All made of the Spanish leather-o,
And she would in the street in her bare bare feet
To run away with the seven yellow gypsies-o.

They rode north and they rode south,
And they rode it late and early-o
Until they come to the river side
And oh but she was weary-o.

Says, “Last night I rode by the river side
With my servants all around me-o,
And tonight I must go with my bare bare feet
All along with the seven yellow gypsies-o.”

It was late last night when the lord come home
And his servants they stood ready-o.
And the one took his boots and the other took his horse,
But away was his own dear lady-o.

And when he come to the servants’ door
Enquiring for his lady-o,
The one she sighed and the other one cried,
“She’s away with the seven yellow gypsies-o.”

“For I met with a boy and a bonny, bonny boy,
And they were strange stories he told me-o,
Of the moon that rose by the river side
For to pack with the seven yellow gypsies-o.”

“Go saddle to me my bonny, bonny mare,
For the brown’s not so speedy-o.
And I will ride for to seek my bride
Who’s run away with the seven yellow gypsies-o.”

O he rode north and he rode south,
And he rode it late and early-o
Until he come to the river side
And it was there that he spied his lady-o.

“What makes you leave all your house and your land,
All your gold and your treasure for to go?
And what makes you leave your new-wedded lord
To run away with the seven yellow gypsies-o?”

“What care I for my house and my land?
What care I for my treasure-o?
And what care I for my new-wedded lord,
For I’m away with the seven yellow gypsies-o.”

“Last night you slept in a goose-feather bed
With the sheet turned down so bravely-o.
And tonight you will sleep in the cold barren shed
All along with the seven yellow gypsies-o.”

“What care I for my goose-feather bed
With the sheet turned down so bravely-o?
For tonight I will sleep in the cold barren shed
All along with the seven yellow gypsies-o.”

There were seven yellow gypsies and all in a row,
None of them lame nor lazy-o.
And I wouldn’t give a kiss from the gypsies’ lips
For all of your land or your money-o.

Christy Moore sings The Raggle Taggle Gipsies

There were three auld gypsies came to our hall door.
They came brave and boldly-o.
And one sang high and the other sang low
And the other sang a raggle taggle gypsy-o.

It was upstairs, downstairs the lady went,
Put on her suit of leather-o,
And it was the cry all around her door;
“She’s away with the raggle taggle gypsy-o.”

It was late that night when the lord came in,
Enquiring for his lady-o,
And the servant girl’s reply to him was;
“She’s away with the raggle taggle gypsy-o.”

“Then saddle for me my milk-white steed
Me big horse is not speedy-o
And I will ride and I’ll seek me bride,
She’s away with the raggle taggle gypsy-o.”

He rode east and he rode west
He rode north and south also,
And when he rode to the wide open field
It was there that he spied his lady-o.

“Arra, why did you leave your house and your land,
Why did you leave your money-o?
Why did you leave your only wedded lord
All for the raggle taggle gypsy-o?”

“Yerra what do I care for me house and me land?
What do I care for money-o?
What do I care for me only wedded lord?
I’m away with the raggle taggle gypsy-o.”

“It was there last night you’d a goose feather bed,
Blankets drawn so comely-o.
But tonight you lie in a wide open field
In the arms of the raggle taggle gypsy-o.”

“Yerra, what do I care for me goose feather bed?
Yerra, what do I care for blankets-o?
What do I care for me only wedded lord?
I’m away with the raggle taggle gypsy-o.”

“O, for you rode east when I rode west,
You rode high and I rode low.
I’d rather have a kiss of the yellow gypsy’s lips
Than all the cash and money-o.”

Dick Gaughan sings The Gipsy Laddies

Three gipsies cam tae our haa door
An wow bit thae sang bonnie-o
Thae sang sae sweet an sae complete
That thae chairmt the Earl o Fyvie’s ladie-o

An it’s she cam trippin doun the stair
Wi her maidens twa afore her-o
An thae tuik ane luik at her weil-faured face
An thae cast thair spells out ower her-o

Thae gied tae her the nutmeg fine
Likewise the wee bit ginger-o
An the ane o thaim stept tae her side
Stole the gowd ring aff her finger-o

An ’tis she’s taen aff her silken goun
Pit oan her tartan plaidie
An she’s caad her maidens tae her side
For tae bid fareweil tae thair ladie-o

Bit whan her guid lord cam hame that nicht
He wis spierin for his ladie
“O, the hound has rin an the hawks are flown
An the gipsies awa wi your ladie-o”

“Gae saddle tae me the bonnie black steed
The broun wis never sae speedie-o
An it’s A will neither eat nor drink
Until A bring back my ladie-o”

An it’s he’s rade east an he’s rade west
An he’s rade thro Strathbogie-o
Until he spied his ain bonnie lass
She wis followin the gipsy laddies-o

“Well, last time that A crossed this burn
A had dukes and lords tae attend me-o
Bit this nicht A maun tak tae ma white feet an wade
Wi the gipsies wadin aa roun me-o”

“Thair’s sieven brithers amang yese aa
An wow bit ye sang bonnie-o
Bit this verra nicht ye’ll aa hing high
For stealin the Earl o Fyvie’s ladie-o”

An he’s sent for a hangman frae Fife
An anither frae Kirkcaldy-o
An he’s lain thaim aa doun ane by ane
For stealin awa his bonnie ladie-o

“Last nicht A slept in a braw feather bed
Wi the sheets turnt doun sae bravely-o
Bit this nicht A maun lie in a cauld barren field
Wi the gipsies lyin aa roun me-o”

Mike Waterson sings Seven Yellow Gypsies

O there’s seven little yellow Cassilis gypsies and they’re all in a row,
And they’re all of them lame and they’re lazy-o,
And they sang so neat and so very complete
That they stole away the heart of the Earl of Cassilis’ lady-o.

And she come tripping it down the stair,
She being dressed in her silk and her amber-o,
But they tooken one look at her well-far’d face
And they cast their spells out of her hair-o.

She given to them the nutmeg fine,
So they given her back the ginger-o;
But she given to them a far greater thing,
It was the gold ring offen her finger-o.

Her lord, he come home late that night
Enquiring for his lady-o,
But the servants cried on either side,
Stole away been the Earl of Cassilis’ lady-o.

“Go saddle to me my good grey steed,
For the black one’s not so speedy-o,
And away I will ride over yon hillside
For to seek for the Earl of Cassilis’ lady-o.”

And he rode high and didn’t he ride low,
Why, he rode through the woods and the copses-o
Till on yon hillside there he has espied him
The fire at the camp of the raggle-taggle gypsies-o.

And boldly he, he rode up that hill,
It being an hour before the dawning-o,
And so boldly didn’t he enter him in
To the camp of the raggle-taggle gypsies-o.

“What makes you leave, leave your houses and your land?
What makes you leave your baby-o?
And what makes you leave your new-wedded lord,
Run away with the raggle-taggle gypsies-o?”

“What care I for, for my houses and my land?
What care I for my baby-o?
And what care I for my new-wedded lord?
For I’m happy with my raggle-taggle gypsies-o.”

“Last night you slept and in a goose-feather bed
In sheets turned down O so bravely-o,
But tonight you will sleep in the cold open field,
Rolled around with the raggle-taggle gypsies-o.”

“Last night I’ve slept and in a goose-feather bed
In sheets turned down-o so bravely-o,
But tonight I will sleep in the arms of my dear,
He’s the king of the raggle-taggle gypsies-o.”

There’s seven little gypsies all in a row,
And they’re all of them lame and they’re lazy-o.
But the Earl of Cassilis, he had ’em all hung
For the stealing of the Earl of Cassilis’ lady-o.

Walter Pardon sings The Raggle-Taggle Gipsies

Three gypsies come round to my door,
Downstairs ran my lady-o.
One sang high and one sang low
And one sang Bonny Bonny Biscay-o.

Then she took off her silken gown
And dressed in hose of leather-o.
The dirty rags around my door;
She’s gone with the raggle-taggle gypsies-o.

Twas late at night my lord returned
Enquiring for his lady-o.
The servants one and all replied,
“She’s gone with the raggle-taggle gypsies-o.”

“Go harness up my milk white steed,
Go fetch me my pony-o.
And I will ride to seek my bride
Who’s gone with the raggle-taggle gypsies-o.”

he rode high and he rode low,
He rode through woods and copses too,
Until he came to a wide open field.
There he espied his lady-o.

“Why did you leave your new wedded lord
And your house and lands and money-o
To go and seek a roving life
’Long with the raggle-taggle gypsies-o?”

“What care I for my new wedded lord,
My house and lands and money-o?
For I will seek a roving life
Along with the raggle-taggle gypsies-o.”

“Last night you slept in a goose-feather bed
With the sheets turned down so bravely-o;
Tonight you’ll lie in the cold open fields
In the arms of the raggle-taggle gypsies-o.”

“What care I for a goose-feather bed
With the sheets turned down so bravely-o?
For I will seek a roving life
Along with the raggle-taggle gypsies-o.”

Nic Jones sings Seven Yellow Gypsies

There were seven gypsies all of a row
And they sang neat and bonny-o;
Sang so neat and they’re so complete,
They stole the heart of a lady.

She’s kicked off her high heel shoes
Made of the Spanish leather,
And she’s put on an old pair of brogues
To follow the gypsy laddie.

Late at night her lord come home
And he’s enquiring for his lady.
And his servant’s down on his knees and said,
“She’s away with the seven gypsies.”

He’s ridden o’er the high, high hills
Till he come to the morning,
And there he’s found his own dear wife
And she’s in the arms of the seven gypsies.

“Well, last night I slept in a feather bed
And the sheets and the blankets around me;
Tonight I slept in the cold open fields
In the arms of my seven gypsies.”

Seven gypsies all of a row
And they sang neat and bonny-o;
Sang so neat that they all were hanged
For the stealing of a famous lady.

Sandra and Nancy Kerr sing Seven Yellow Gypsies

There were seven yellow gypsies all in a gang,
There was none of them lame or lazy-O.
And the fairest one is among them all
She has gone with the dark-eyed gypsy-O.

“Will you come with me my pretty fair maid?
Will you come with me my honey-O?”
“O I wouldn’t give a kiss of the gypsy laddie’s lips
Not for all Lord Cash’s money-O.”

When her dear lord came home that night,
Enquiring for his lady-O
The waiting maid made this reply,
“She has gone with the dark-eyed gypsy-O.”

“Will you saddle for me my pretty white steed?
Will you saddle it up so bonny-O?
So that I may go and search for my own wedded wife
Who has gone with the dark-eyed gypsy-O.”

Well she rode west but he rode best
Until he came to Strabally
Where who should he see but his own wedded wife
And she’s gone with the dark-eyed gypsy.

“What made you leave your house and your land?
What made you leave your honey-O?”
“O I wouldn’t give a kiss of the gypsy laddie’s lips
Not for you and all your money-O.

“Last night I laid in a fine feather bed
With the sheets pulled down so handy-O,
But tonight I am lying in a bed of down
With seven yellow gypsies to annoy me-O.”

Waterson:Carthy sing Raggle-Taggle Gipsies

Three gypsies come round to my door,
And downstairs ran my lady-o.
And one sang high and one sang low
And one sang Bonny Bonny Biscay-o.

Then she took off her silken gown
And dressed in hose of leather-o.
The dirty rags around my door;
She’s gone with the raggle-taggle gypsies-o.

Twas late at night my lord returned
Enquiring for his lady-o.
The servants one and all replied,
“She’s gone with the raggle-taggle gypsies-o.”

“Go harness up my milk white steed,
Go fetch to me my pony-o.
And I will ride and seek my bride
Who’s gone with the raggle-taggle gypsies-o.”

So he rode high and he rode low,
He rode through woods and copses too,
Until he came to a wide open field
Where he has spied his lady-o.

“Why did you leave your new wedded lord
And your house and lands and money-o
To go and seek a roving life
Along with the raggle-taggle gypsies-o?”

“What care I for my new wedded lord
And my house and lands and money-o?
Tonight I’ll seek a roving life
Along with the raggle-taggle gypsies-o.”

Last night she slept in a goose-feather bed
With the sheets turned down so bravely-o;
Tonight she’ll lie in the cold open field
In the arms of the raggle-taggle gypsies-o.

“What care I for a goose-feather bed
With the sheets turned down so bravely-o?
Tonight I’ll lie in the cold open field
In the arms of the raggle-taggle gypsies-o.”

Benji Kirkpatrick sings Draggle-Tail Gypsies-O

There was three gypsies came to the door
And they sang brisk and bonny-o.
They sang high and they sang low
And downstairs ran the lady-o.

Then she pulled off her new silk gown
And round her shoulders a blanket thrown,
Round her shoulders a blanket thrown
For to toddle with the draggle-tail gypsies-o.

And when the old lord he came home
Enquiring for his lady-o,
The housemaid gave him this reply,
“She’s gone with the draggle-tail gypsies-o.”

“Then bridle me my milk white steed
And saddle him so bonny-o,
That I may ride to seek my bride
Who is gone with the draggle-tail gypsies-o.”

Then he rode all that dark night long
And part of the next morning-o,
And there he saw his own true love
A sitting with the draggle-tail gypsies-o.

“How could you leave your house and land?
How could you leave your money-o?
How could you leave your new wedded lord
To toddle with the draggle-tail gypsies-o?”

“What care I for house or land?
What care I for money-o?
I don’t care a fig for my new wedded lord,
I’ll toddle with the draggle-tail gypsies-o.

“Last night I lied on a warm feathered bed
And my new wedded lord at my side-o.
And tonight I’ll lay in the cold open field
Along with the draggle-tail gypsies-o.”

Skip Gorman sings Clayton Boone

Way out in old New Mexico along the Spanish line
I was working for old Clayton Boone, a man well past his prime.
Well he rides in and asks of me, “What’s happened to my lady?”
I says to him, “she’s quit your range and runs with handsome Davy.”

“Go saddle for me the proud cut dun with the coal-black mane and tail,
Going after me them fresh-laid tracks and after them I’ll trail,
And after them I’ll ride.

“I’ll buckle on leather chaps, I’ll tie my pistol lower,
I’ll step aboard that blackstrap dun and ride this whole world over.”

I rode upon a saddle fine, a saddle made of silver,
My bridle rein of beaten gold, not of your common leather.
I rode until the midnight sun till I see the campfires burning,
I heard the sweetest mandolin and the voice of Davy singing,
The voice of Gypsy Dave.

“Come home with me to your own sweet bed, the sheets turned down so gaily.
Do not forget my silver and gold and your darling little baby,
Our little blue-eyed boy.”

“Well, I’ll not come home to my own sweet bed, the sheets turned down so gaily,
I’ll not forget your silver and gold, and all for the love of Davy,
But I can’t forget my baby.

“Last night I slept with a mean old man in golden rooms so stately,
Tonight I’ll sleep on the hard cold ground by the warm side of my Davy,
And I’ll ride along with Dave.”

Jon Boden sings Seven Bonnie Gypsies

There’s seven bonnie gypsies and they’re all in a row
There’s none of them lame or lazy
They sang so sweet and so complete
That they won the heart of a lady

The squire came home on a summer’s night
Enquiring for his lady
The servant girls replied to him all
She’s away with the gypsy laddie

Chorus (after every other verse):
The broom blooms bonnie
The broom blooms fair
And where’er it blooms my love lies there

Go saddle for me the bonnie grey mare
The white was ne’er so speedy
That I may ride on a long summer’s night
And search for my bonnie lady

So he rode east and he rode west
And he rode late and early
Until he spied his own wedded bride
In the arms of the gypsy laddie

O how could you leave your house and land?
And how could you leave your baby?
How could you leave your own wedded lord
To run with the gypsy laddie?

O what care I for my house and land?
And what care I for my baby?
Tonight I’ll lie in the wide corn field
In the arms of my gypsy laddie

Eamon O’Leary and Nuala Kennedy sing The Dark-Eyed Gypsy

There were three gypsies in the east
They were brave and bonny-o
And they sang so sweet at the castle gate
They charmed the heart of a lady-o

She gave to them the sparkling wine
She gave to them the brandy-o
And the gay gold ring that the lady wore
She gave to the dark-eyed gypsy-o

When the lord of the castle he came home
Inquiring for his lady-o
She’s gone she’s gone cried the servant lad
Away with the dark-eyed gypsy-o

Go saddle to me the milk-white steed
The bay is not so speedy-o
And I’ll ride for a day and all the night
To find my wedded lady-o

Then he put spurs to his horse
Away he rode so speedy-o
Till he came upon his own wedded love
Along with the dark-eyed gypsy-o

Will you forsake your houses and land?
Will you forsake your children three?
I will leave them all for the one I love
And follow my dark-eyed gypsy-o

Last night I lay on a feather bed
My own wedded lord beside me-o
But tonight I lie on the cold barn floor
In the arms of my dark-eyed gypsy-o

Acknowledgements

Transcribed by Garry Gillard and Greer Gilman with heartily thanks to Steve Willis for corrections.