Comparing Groves, A Very Open Thread

 

   Yesterday I posted Mudcrutch doing the old old song Shady Grove. And typically, I got to playing it over and over in my mind. And I realized that I had heard that tune somewhere before. It reminded me strongly of Matty Groves as performed by Fairport Convention. Hm. I was interested to realize that both songs had the name Grove or Groves in the title. Surely, these songs must be related somehow Madame Obvious observes to herself. 

   Therefore, I made a quick study of various versions of both songs. I read up on them. I did not find an explanation for the morphing of the story of a bloody story of adultery to the song a young man sings about his love for a girl named Shady.
   However, I am not the only person who wondered. There is a lot of material on the matter.

The Dorian mode melody was first published as "Shady Grove" in the Journal of American Folklore in 1915, but it was traditionally used in Appalachia for the ballad Matty Groves, as sung by traditional singers including Sheila Kay Adams ("Lady Margaret") and Dillard Chandler ("Mathie Groves"). This suggests that the melody may originate in England or Scotland.[citation needed] The fact that "Shady Grove" and "Matty Groves" share a tune suggests that "Shady Grove" is a variant of "Matty Groves".[citation needed] There is also speculation that the name Shady Grove may be a place-name, a woman's name or nickname, or possibly a mondegreen.writing on the subject.

https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Shady_Grove_(song)

   Conclusion? Only that folk songs move like a leaven through people, places, and time, picking up new narratives as they go along. 

   Maybe I could call it generational riffing!
   It occurred to me also that there is kind of back and forth with folk songs. We can sense something that was important enough to maintain a traditional story about in the past, and those people back then also sent a bit of themselves up into the future. Maybe that was their intention.