LITTLE MATTIE GROVES

Created on 08/12/2009
Latest update on 16/02/2024

Artist: John Jacob Niles
Author: traditional
Label: Victor
Year: 1941

Child ballad #81. On album American Folk Lore Vol 3 (four 78's) along with Black Is The Color Of My True Love's Hair. Murder ballad first collected in 1630.

Covers:

1943:

Benjamin Britten [used this folk song's tune for his chorale The Ballad Of Little Musgrave And Lady Barnard]

1956:

Paul Clayton [als Lord Darnell and in '62 as Massey Groves]

1957:

Bob Gibson [as Matie Groves]

1958:

Jeannie Robertson [als Little Musgrove And Lady Barnard; Peter Kennedy recording on Classic Ballads Of Britain And Ireland Vol 1 in the Alan Lomax Collection]

1961:

Jean Ritchie [as Little Musgrave on From Her Appalachian Family Tradition]

1961:

Ewan MacColl & Peggy Seeger [as Matty Groves]

1962:

Joan Baez [idem]

1964:

Spinners

1966:

Hedy West

1966:

Doc Watson [als Matty Groves]

1968:

Martin Carthy & Dave Swarbrick [pre Fairport as Little Musgrave And Lady Barnard]

1969:

Fairport Convention [as Matty Groves on Liege And Lief; using the tune of American variation Shady Grove (My Darling) (see there)]

1970:

Nic Jones [as Little Musgrove]

1976:

Christy Moore [also sang it with Planxty ('92)]

1980:

Planxty [as Little Musgrave]

1990:

Paul Roland [as Mattie Groves]

1999:

John Wesley Harding

2001:

Janet McTeer & Emmy Rossum [in film Songcatcher]

2002:

Ralph Stanley [as Little Mathie Grove]

2005:

Paul Roland [as Matty Groves]

2005:

Kadril [idem]

2007:

Martin Simpson

2009:

James Yorkston [as Little Musgrave, in pure folk song tradition with slightly different words, melody and plot]

2009:

Tom Waits [on Orphans as Mathie Grove]

2019:

Naomi Bedford & Paul Simmonds

Contact


If you noticed blunt omissions, mis-interpretations or even out-and-out errors,
please let me know:

Arnold Rypens
Rozenlaan 65
B-2840 Reet (Rumst)

info@originals.be

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