George Collins is a handsome young man with his whole life ahead of him, so why does he die within a few short verses and leave a trail of devastation in his wake?

Today’s episode takes us back to supernatural legends from medieval Northern Europe, in which brave young men are easily seduced. We also travel across the Atlantic to meet a dying hobo who wandered into this song sometime in the late 19th Century.

In the end, these legends are a legacy of the things we didn’t properly understand. Nonetheless, if you do meet a beautiful maiden by the riverside it’s best just to back away, jump on your horse and ride home as fast as you can.

Music

Verses from two different versions of George Collins as recorded in the Folk Song Society Journey 1909: https://archive.org/details/sim_folk-song-society-journal_1909_3_13/page/300/mode/2up

Traditional Breton Tune

Faroese Folk Tune – Grímur á Miðjanesi

Incidental music – Rosebud in June

The historic American recording, and many others, can be found here: https://www.mustrad.org.uk/articles/collins.htm

Final song: This is the version sung by Shirley Collins on The Sweet Primroses, 1967. I’ve slowed it down and recorded it with a guitar accompaniment which is somewhat inspired by Dolly Collins’ beautiful organ arrangement.

References

Bluegrass Messengers - George Collins- Barbara M. Cra'ster 1910

https://archive.org/details/englishscottishp22chilrich/page/278/mode/2up?view=theater

https://www.mustrad.org.uk/articles/collins.htm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gwerz_an_Aotrou_Nann

https://balladspot.blogspot.com/2016/03/sir-olof-and-elves.html

https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=xlIJAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA161&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false

https://archive.org/details/sim_folk-song-society-journal_1909_3_13/page/300/mode/2up

https://archive.org/details/folksongsofsouth00coxj/page/110/mode/2up