Sweet Betsy from Pike

"Sweet Betsy from Pike"
Song
Published1858
GenreBallad, Western
Lyricist(s)John A. Stone

"Sweet Betsy from Pike" is an American ballad about the trials of a pioneer named Betsy and her lover Ike who migrate from Pike County (theorized to be Pike County, Missouri[1]) to California.[2] This Gold Rush-era song, with lyrics published by John A. Stone in 1858,[3] was collected and published in Carl Sandburg's 1927 American Songbag.[4] It was recorded by Burl Ives on February 11, 1941[5] for his debut album Okeh Presents the Wayfaring Stranger.

The melody derives from a popular English comic song "Villikins and his Dinah", first published in London in 1853 and which had become a hit in America by 1855. Villikins and his Dinah closely parodies the lyrics of an old street ballad extant in England from the early 19th century, William and Diana; but it is unclear whether it simply borrowed the same melody as the existing ballad it parodies, or used a different tune written especially for theatrical performance.

Members of the Western Writers of America chose it as one of the Top 100 Western songs of all time.[6]

  1. ^ Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Sweet Betsy History
  2. ^ Digital Tradition Folk Music Database: link
  3. ^ The Mudcat Cafe: link
  4. ^ Sandburg, Carl (1927). The American Songbag. New York: Harcourt, Brace & Company. p. 107. Retrieved 2014-07-06.
  5. ^ Naxos: link Archived 2007-09-29 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ Western Writers of America (2010). "The Top 100 Western Songs". American Cowboy. Archived from the original on 19 October 2010.