"Sweet Betsy from Pike" | |
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Song | |
Published | 1858 |
Genre | Ballad, 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]