Silver Dagger (song)

"Silver Dagger"
Song by Joan Baez
from the album Joan Baez
LanguageEnglish
Released1960 (1960)
GenreFolk
LabelVanguard
Composer(s)Traditional
Silver Dagger
Midi file of the score above, one of a number of different melodies used for the song.[1]
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"Silver Dagger", with variants such as "Katy Dear", "Molly Dear", "The Green Fields and Meadows", "Awake, Awake, Ye Drowsy Sleepers" and others (Laws M4 & G21, Roud 711, 2260 & 2261), is an American folk ballad, whose origins lie possibly in Britain.[2][3] These songs of different titles are closely related, and two strands in particular became popular in commercial country music and folk music recordings of the twentieth century: the "Silver Dagger" version popularised by Joan Baez, and the "Katy Dear" versions popularised by close harmony brother duets such as The Callahan Brothers, The Blue Sky Boys and The Louvin Brothers.

In "Silver Dagger", the female narrator turns away a potential suitor, as her mother has warned her to avoid the advances of men in an attempt to spare her daughter the heartbreak that she herself has endured. The 1960 recording by Joan Baez features only a fragment of the full ballad.[4] "Katy Dear" uses the same melody but different lyrics, telling a similar story from a male perspective.[5]

  1. ^ Matteson, Richard L.; Jr. (2010). Bluegrass Picker's Tune Book, p.204. Mel Bay. ISBN 9781609745523. and (2012). Acoustic Music Source Book, p.194. Mel Bay. ISBN 9781619110991.
  2. ^ "Roud Folk Song Index - search result for 711". Vaughan Williams Memorial Library entry - Roud Folk Song Index. Archived from the original on 2007-09-27.
  3. ^ Robert B. Waltz; David G. Engle. "Silver Dagger (I), The [Laws G21]". The Ballad Index. Archived from the original on 2016-08-05. Retrieved 2016-05-29.
  4. ^ "Silver Dagger". The Contemplator's Folk Music and Carolan Resource Center.
  5. ^ Lyle Lofgren. "Remembering The Old Songs: KATIE DEAR (Laws G21)." 2002-03. Inside Bluegrass. Retrieved 2010-12-15.