Singing to the walls_02 Croodin Doo

I first heard Croodin Doo on a record I picked up at a second hand shop here in Edinburgh. 'The Long Harvest' by Ewan Maccoll and Peggy Seeger is a collection of traditional Ballads presented in their English, Scots and North American variations. For some reason I was drawn to 'Croodin Doo' the American Version, sung unaccompanied by Peggy Seeger. Although he's written some timeless songs and is a towering figure in the world of folk music I was never really a fan of Ewan Maccoll's singing. It always sounds slightly stuffy to me or intellectual. Sorry, it's hard to explain. Anyway, I had heard the English version 'Henry my Son' before as sung by the great Frank Harte and another excellent version by Irish band Lankum but this American variation had some strange, slightly other worldly appeal. It was spooky. A kind of dark lullaby.

And what might the song be about? Personally I feel this variation has a lot of depth to it and could be open to quite a wide interpretation. Like a fairytale, there are hidden lessons or metaphors lurking in the subtext. A child goes to visit its grandmother and is fed with a fish procured form a 'gutter hole'. After this meal, the child feeds the leftover skeleton of this fish to its dog. The dog later steals away and dies as a result. A simple, misfortunate incident. But what can we read beneath this happening? My personal interpretation of the song is probably completely incorrect but I wondered if the 'fish' could be symbolic of generational ills or poisonous philosophies of some kind. Often there are traditions or beliefs from earlier times that ultimately we need to transcend in order to move forward and flourish as often these beliefs, and the actions taken in their name, bring death and destruction. it is also common in folk tales and religious text to be wary of any food being given to us. It might kill us or indeed get us thrown out of paradise. But why then does the child not succumb by eating the fish and why do the 'bones of the fish' kill the poor dog? I will ramble some more. The dog is an innocent. Even more so than the child. It perhaps lacks the foresight to see how the bones might cause it harm. It ingests this morsel in a state of hunger and unknowing. It is common for innocent parties to come to the worst end in societal hierarchies. They reside at the bottom of the pyramid. They are thrown the scraps and ultimately do not hold the power over their own future. Could the dog and its fate be a metaphor for those at the lower end of some worldly power structure? I don't know but I have always enjoyed trying to pick apart texts. I believe this is why songs of this nature have longevity. They present us with a familiar set up. it all seems innocent, but underneath we can sense some unseen menace. Something tells us all is not as it seems.

In the English version 'Henry my Son' the fish and its bones are replaced by 'poison beans'. Listen to Frank Harte.

This is a very different story and situation but the ingestion of something toxic, nauseating and ultimately fatal remains. We only get to realise who gave these poison beans to Henry at the end of the song. When asked what he will leave after death for his sweetheart he replies 'A rope to hang her' alluding that she is the murderer.

'Croodin Doo' or 'Ma Wee Croodin Doo' has quite a rich history behind it.

While visiting the mudcat.org website I found reference to a a book called "Popular Rhymes of Scotland 1870'. This collection of songs links Croodin Doo to an older ballad called 'Grandmother Aldercook' which was apparently popular in Germany. The ability for songs like these to migrate and transform across the world is fascinating to me. Like Myths, folktales and other works of art, songs have a way of hanging around, of traversing time and space. The good ones still feed our imaginations and I'd imagine they will continue to outlive us for many many ages.

I'll list the variations as found on 'The Long Harvest' for those who might be interested.

- Lord Randal (Scots)

- Jimmy Randal (American)

- Henry my Son (English)

- Willie Doo (Scots)

- Croodin Doo (American)

- Billy Boy (American)