Black-eyed Susan
| Song Title | Black-eyed Susan (Search) |
| Composer(s): | Richard Leveridge |
| Author(s): | John Gay |
| Keyword(s) & Features: | Adieu; Air; Ballad; Billows; Black; Boatswains; Breasts; British; Captains; Compasses; Cords; Crews; Decks; Departed Love; Downs; Eyes; Faithful; Faithfulness; Fleets; Glowing; Hands; Hearts; Jovial; Kisses; Kissing; Larks; Lightning; Lips; Metaphor: Heart as Compass; Mistresses; Mooring; Nests; Parting; Ports; Promises; Rocking; Sailing; Sailors; Sails; Seas; Separated Love; Streamers; Susan; Tears; Tempting; True Love; Voices; Vows; Waving; William; Wind; Yardarms |
| First Line | All in the Downs the fleet was moored (Search) |
| Year of composition | 1719 (Search) |
| Link to English Text Online | https://www.bartleby.com/40/276.html |
| Musical Form | Strophic (Search) |
| Author's associated movements or -isms or Groups | Scriblerus Club; Ballad opera (Search) |
| Original Language | English (Search) |
| Score Source | https://books.google.com/books/about/Reliquary_of_English_Song_Series_2_1700.html?id=Y6kQAAAAYAAJ |
| Difficulty Level | HS (Search) |
| Range: | C4 - E5 (Search) |
| Original Key | A minor (Search) |
| Notes | "Richard Leveridge (1670-1758) was one of London's leading singers. Charles Burney in his General History of Music refers to Leveridge's 'deep and powerful base [sic] voice'.13 Leveridge first came to prominence as the leading bass in a number of productions of Purcell's works during 1695, the last year of the composer's life, and he went on to become a leading figure in Italian opera in London in the first decade of the eitghteenth century." (Search) |
| Recommended Printed Source | Reliquary of English Song, Vol. 2 (Search) |
| Sources Cited | GUSTAR, ANDREW. “The Life and Times of Black-Ey'd Susan: The Story of an English Ballad.” Folk Music Journal, vol. 10, no. 4, 2014, pp. 432–448. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/43590034. Accessed 4 Apr. 2020. (Search) |