- Written by
- [Traditional]
- Publication date
- 1765
- Language
- English
- Comments
-
This ballad is Child 58 of James Francis Child's collected ballads, and one of the most popular. While most musicologists seem to believe that the ballad is based on a historical event, this is disputed. In any event, there is no historical record of a Sir Patrick Spens, although some contend he was actually Sir Patrick Vans.
The most popular view is that the ballad recounts a voyage to Norway that Alexander III of Scotland dispatched to return his grand-daughter, than 7 years old, to Scotland. The girl's mother, Margaret, had died in childbirth, making the grand-daughter, the Maid of Norway, the heir to the throne. The Maid of Norway did die on the trip, but not in a shipwreck. Another view is that the ballad actually chronicles a voyage Margaret took in 1281 to marry Eric II of Norway. During the return voyage, a ship transporting many of the nobles who had accompanied Margaret to Norway drowned when that ship sank. Unfortunately, this historical incident does not otherwise really fit the ballad. A third theory maintains the ballad is based upon the combination of the two events. - Licensing
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Song
Versions
Sir Patrick Spens written by [Traditional] English
Title | Performer | Release date | Info | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sir Patrick Spens | Ewan MacColl | 1951 | |||
Sir Patrick Spens | Ed McCurdy | 1955 | |||
Sir Patrick Spens | John Langstaff | March 1957 | |||
Sir Patrick Spens | Hermes Nye | 1957 | |||
Sir Patrick Spens | Jean Redpath | 1962 | |||
Sir Patrick Spens | Buffy Sainte-Marie | May 1966 | |||
Sir Patrick Spens | Fairport Convention | July 1970 | |||
Sir Patrick Spens | Nic Jones | 1970 | |||
Sir Patrick Spens | Michael Cooney | 1979 | |||
Sir Patrick Spens | Wendy Grossman | 1980 | |||
Sir Patrick Spens | Geoff Kaufman | 1987 | |||
Sir Patrick Spens | Martin Carthy | 1998 | |||
Patrick Spens | Louis Killen | 2001 | |||
Sir Patrick Spens | Jim Malcolm | 2002 | |||
Sir Patrick Spens | June Tabor | September 2003 | |||
Sir Patrick Spens | Robin Williamson | October 23, 2006 | |||
Patrick Spence | Kris Drever | 2006 | |||
Sir Patrick Spens | John Roberts | 2007 | |||
Sir Patrick Spens | Martin Simpson | 2009 | |||
Sir Patrick Spens | Jonathan Francis | 2010 | |||
Sir Patrick Spens | Anaïs Mitchell & Jefferson Hamer | February 11, 2013 | |||
Sir Patrick Spens | Richard Meyer [US2] With Mark Babson | 2015 | Unverified |