‘The Ballard of Sweet Betsy from Pike’
Dublin Core
Title
‘The Ballard of Sweet Betsy from Pike’
Subject
Gold Rush
California
Women
California
Women
Description
‘Sweet Betsy from Pike’ is an American ballad about a pioneer named Betsy and her lover Ike who migrated from Pike County to California during the gold rush. There are Pike Counties in both Missouri and Illinois from where many gold seekers began their journeys. The lyrics are sung to a tune of Irish origin thought to have been brought to America by Irish migrants fleeing the potato famine. The ballad describes the challenges of the long journey - injury, starvation, Indian attacks, raging rivers, burning deserts, cholera, etc. - and the strain that these put on Betsy and Ike’s relationship. Betsy proves to be a strong character and is not dismayed when, once they have reached their destination, Ike choses to leave her, believing her to be unfaithful.
Creator
Unknown
Publisher
Video and soundtrack at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mr03En-8fH8
Lyrics at:
http://twain.lib.virginia.edu/roughingit/map/wombetsy.html
Background information from:
http://www.balladofamerica.com/music/indexes/songs/sweetbetsyfrompike/index.htm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mr03En-8fH8
Lyrics at:
http://twain.lib.virginia.edu/roughingit/map/wombetsy.html
Background information from:
http://www.balladofamerica.com/music/indexes/songs/sweetbetsyfrompike/index.htm
Date
Versions of this ballad are known to have been published from 1847 to 1870.
The ballad is included in a songbook ‘Put’s Golden Songster’ published in 1858 by John A. Stone, a San Francisco based entertainer.
An 1870 version of the lyrics was published in The Western Women’s Reader, eds. Schissel, L. and Lavender, C. (Harper Perennial, New York)2000.
Many other versions of the lyrics also exist.
The ballad is included in a songbook ‘Put’s Golden Songster’ published in 1858 by John A. Stone, a San Francisco based entertainer.
An 1870 version of the lyrics was published in The Western Women’s Reader, eds. Schissel, L. and Lavender, C. (Harper Perennial, New York)2000.
Many other versions of the lyrics also exist.
Contributor
Margaret Minchin
Rights
None – a mutable folk song
Language
English
Type
Aural – ballad
Identifier
19th century California
Files
Collection
Citation
Unknown, “‘The Ballard of Sweet Betsy from Pike’,” The American Pacific Rim: Colonisation, Conflict and Connections, 1800-Present, accessed May 2, 2024, https://theamericanpacificrim.omeka.net/items/show/3.