Historical Information
The song is often interpreted as a metaphor for the English, Scots-Irish and general British experience in western early and colonial America, with nods to their earlier experiences on the margins of Ireland, Scotland, and the Borders. Some versions of the song, notably the cover by The Chieftains and Rosanne Cash from The Chieftains' album Further Down the Old Plank Road, end with the man's being released and traveling across the Atlantic to "ramble through old Ireland/And travel Scotland o'er". Despite leaving America, he finds that he is still in love and mentally fixated on the woman, known in this version as Flora. Another Chieftains cover, from their earlier album The Long Black Veil and sung by Mark Knopfler, is set in Ireland.
The song has been recorded by Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, The Chieftains, Josh Andrews, The Flash Girls, Caroline Groussain, Sheri Kling, Show of Hands, Peter, Paul and Mary (as "Flora"), Mark Knopfler, Crooked Still, Dirty Linen, Branimir Štulić (in Croatian, titled "Usne Vrele Višnje") and Pat Gubler (PG Six) on the album Slightly Sorry (Amish Records 2010) among others. The "Green Mountain Bluegrass Band" does a version of this song as well.
From "The Collected Reprints from Sing Out! the Folk Song Magazine Volumes 7-12, 1964-1973" page 6, preceding the song's notation and lyrics:
“ This old ballad has been kept alive over the centuries by both print and oral tradition. Originally an English street ballad (or broadside), the song became particularly popular in the United States by parlor singers and ballad-printers. During the 19th century it was known throughout the country and, in time, became part of the folk heritage. Its popularity was such that in Kansas, local versifiers used the song for a parody: Come all you folks of enterprise who feel inclined to roam Beyond the Mississippi to seek a pleasant home. Pray take a pioneer's advice, I'll point you out the best - I mean the state of Kansas, the Lily of the West ”
Read more about this topic: Lily Of The West
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