BILL MESNIK'S SUNNY SIDE OF MY STREET PRESENTS: SOVAY by A.L. LLOYD (TOPIC, 1984) EPISODE #88

DIG THIS WITH BILL MESNIK AND RICH BUCKLAND- THE SPLENDID BOHEMIANS

You remember that anachronistic Sea Chanty internet meme a couple of years ago? All over the world people were recording themselves singing “The Wellerman”, proving the endurance of the Anglo folk tradition. You can thank Bert Lloyd (1908-1982) in the UK, for being the folklorist and song collector who documented and compiled many of these ancient songs, and for keeping the folk flame alive in the age of modern recording.

He started collecting songs when he worked as a sheep herder in Australia, and his index expanded while working on whaling ships. In 1938 the BBC hired him to do a radio documentary about sea life, and thus began his career as a journalist, creating the singular vocation of “professional folklorist”.

Sovay (or, Sophie), the much covered tale about a lady highwayman who tests the fidelity of her lover, appears on Bert’s Topic Records collection “First Person: some of his favorite folk songs”, and that’s where I discovered it. I have an affinity for this niche of song collecting, developed years ago, while researching the archive of Sing Out magazine in the Smithsonian library. It’s been a gift that keeps on giving.