THE GIRL I LEFT BEHIND ME
After supper, when night and lamplight came, Pa
took his fiddle out of the box and tuned it
lovingly... He played 'The sweet little girl, te
pretty little girl, the girl I left behind me!'
-- On the Banks of Plum Creek, Chapter
30, "Going to Town"
"The Girl I Left Behind Me" is a traditional Irish tune first known as "Rambling Laborer"; it was brought to America in the mid-17th century. It was a traditional fife tune in England, and was used as a fife tune in the colonies during the Revolutionary War. In 1816, it was published in a collection of flute melodies as "Brighton Camp or the Girl I Left Behind Me." The earliest known published lyrics appeared in Dublin's Charms of Melody. Those lyrics are similar to the ones given below.
As was the case with most traditional music, endless variations in lyrics have been written throughout the generations. During the Civil War, "The Girl I Left Behind Me" was much used by both Union and Confederate troops, who adapted the song to describe various battles as well as the parting of soldiers from loved ones at home.
In On the Banks of Plum Creek, Charles Ingalls plays the song to celebrate a homecoming, not a journey. Wilder includes the song with other songs popular during the Civil War. By mentioning some of the lyrics as well as the title, she suggests that this was a song not only played by Pa on the fiddle, but that he sometimes sang along with the fiddle. In the manuscript for On the Banks of Plum Creek, the two songs Pa played after coming home from the harvest fields are "When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again" and "Bacon and Greens." "The Girl I Left Behind Me" only appears in the published book.
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THE GIRL I LEFT BEHIND ME (early 1800s lyrics)
1. I'm lonesome since I cross'd the hill, And o'er the moorland sedgy Such heavy thoughts my heart do fill, Since parting with my Betsey, I seek for one as fair and gay, But find none to remind me How sweet the hours I passed away, With the girl I left behind me.
2. O ne'er shall I forget the night, The stars were bright above me And gently lent their silv'ry light When first she vowed to love me. But now I'm bound to Brighton camp Kind heaven then pray guide me And send me safely back again, To the girl I left behind me.
3. Her golden hair in ringlets fair, Her eyes like diamonds shining Her slender waist, her heavenly face, That leaves my heart still pining. Ye gods above oh hear my prayer To my beauteous fair to find me And send me safely back again, To the girl I left behind me.
4. The bees shall honey taste no more, The dove become a ranger, The falling waters cease to roar, Ere I shall seek to change her. The vows we made to heaven above Shall ever cheer and bind me, In constancy to her love, The girl I left behind me. |
THE GIRL I LEFT BEHIND ME (from On the Banks of Plum Creek)
The sweet little girl, the pretty little girl, The girl I left behind me!
Use the navigation bar above to listen to "The Girl I Left Behind Me" - midi sequence by Barry Taylor. If you do not see the midi player above, click HERE to listen.
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