Annotation:Little Betty Ann

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LITTLE BETTY ANN. AKA and see "Shady Grove." American, Song and Breakdown. A moderately place song/tune that melodically is a close relative of "Shady Grove. The words however, have been heavily borrowed from other songs, so-called "floating verses." One version of the song was collected in 1916 by English folklorist Cecil Sharp, from the singing of Ellie Johnson of Hot Springs, Madison County, North Carolina. In 1980 Inez Chandler, resident of the same county, sang:

'Til I went down to my little Betty Ann's
And I hadn't been there before.
She fed me out of the little pig trough
And I'll go there no more.

Reel and rock my little Betty Ann,
Reel and rock I say.
Reel and rock my little Betty Ann,
For love I'm going away.

Source for notated version:

Printed sources:

Recorded sources: Mercury Records, Mike Seegar - "Music from the True Vine" (1972). Musical Traditions MTCD324, "Far in the Mountains, vol. 4" (2002. Various artists).

See also listing at:
Jane Keefer's Folk Music Index: An Index to Recorded Sources [1]

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