Sung In Cornish by John Bolitho Withiel Church 2005
Sung in English by John Bolitho, Cobwebs Inn, Boscastle 1992
The story of Maggie May starts in the USA. It was composed as a pop song for the minstrel shows by Charles Blamphin and GW Moore circa 1869. It was published as sheet music in Chicago in 1870. It would seem to have arrived in St Mabyn that same year, whether as sheet music or from the singing of someone who had learnt it we do not know. What we do know is that a mine Captain called T Collett heard it at St Mabyn in 1870 and recalled a fragmented version 60 years later to sing to Cornish folk song collector Ralph Dunstan. Neither would appear to have been aware of its origins and Dunstan reconstructed and arranged it for his collection of Cornish Dialect and Folk Songs published in 1932.
John Bolitho
This is a classic example of the folk process as from here it became part of the traditional community singing repertoire in Cornwall with variations on the tune and lyrics quite disconnected from the now long forgotten American Pop song.
Folk Song collector Sabine Baring Gould recorded it from the singing of Robert Hard of South Brent during his collecting period 1889/95 but recognised it as a minstrel song and made little of it. The song may have lingered around North Cornwall following its arrival in St Mabyn but it was Dunstan’s version that was popularised in the nascent Cornish folk scene of the 50s and 60s by Brenda Wootton, Charlie Bate and John Bolitho. John Bolitho sung a version in Cornish and entered it for the Pan Celtic Singing in Killarney, Ireland, 1979 and it is his version that we provide here.
Video of Mabe Ladies Choir sung in Cornish with subtitles, “Kenewgh! Sing!” project 2018