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Song

Music written by
Lyrics written by
Publication date
1858
Language
English
Comments
This American gold-rush ballad about the trials of a pioneer named Betsy and her lover Ike, who migrate from Pike County to California in the "days of forty-nine," was first printed in 1858, but probably written several years earlier. According to Alan Lomax, "Such songs were performed by the professional entertainers who toured the gold camps, and were circulated in the little pocket song books of that day." Though earlier versions may have existed, it is believed that John A. Stone wrote much of the song that is normally sung these days. Stone, who died in 1864, had crossed the plains from Pike County in 1849-1850, with a small singing group, the Sierra Nevada Rangers, which toured the mining camps. His published version appears to have omitted some of the bawdier verses which were probably sung in the camps.

(Commentary by Raymond Crooke and reprinted here.)

Stone apparently just wrote the lyrics; which, like many songs now called "traditional", has many variations. The tune was apparently taken from an English dancehall song called "Vilikins and His Dinah" (or some variant thereof) which was written by Parry.
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