438. Matty Groves (Child 81) - (Traditional)

A typical ballad of love and murder from Child's collection, this goes back to at least the early 17th Century and has survived in many forms. The main character is known variously as Musgrave, Mossgrey, Matty Groves, Matthew Groves, Little Sir Grove and Marshall Groves among others. The husband can be Lord Barnard, Barnet, Barnabas, Arnold, Arlan, Allen, Daniel and so on. In the US, a popular shortened version of the song developed, known as "Shady Grove". I first heard this song sung by Joan Baez (1962). Other notable recordings are by John Jacob Nile (1956), Doc Watson (1966), Fairport Convention (1969), Martin Carthy (1969), Christy Moore (1976), and Planxty (1992). I have previously uploaded the variation known as "Little Musgrave and Lady Barnard." You can see it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zk-Jj7Grr0 You can watch a playlist of my renditions of the Child ballads: http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=B2D0D5657EA394E4 My website is here: raymondcrooke.com