{"id":4868,"date":"2011-05-12T09:00:03","date_gmt":"2011-05-12T08:00:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.badreputation.org.uk\/?p=4868"},"modified":"2011-05-12T09:00:03","modified_gmt":"2011-05-12T08:00:03","slug":"with-a-brace-of-pistols-all-at-her-side-kickass-women-in-folk-songs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/badreputation.org.uk\/2011\/05\/12\/with-a-brace-of-pistols-all-at-her-side-kickass-women-in-folk-songs\/","title":{"rendered":"With A Brace of Pistols All At Her Side: Kickass Women in Folk Songs"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Black<\/a>Struggling as usual to come up with the \u2018pop culture\u2019 bit of the feminist pop culture adventure that you and I are embarking on together, I hit upon a brilliant idea: I could write something about the pop culture of the 1800s<\/em>! So here I am talking about traditional Anglo-American music. Problem solved.<\/p>\n

I was also inspired by a question from @FeministInti<\/a> to her twitter followers: do you know any folk songs that feature gender-based violence? The answer is yes, AND HOW. In a few moments we had amassed enough for a limited edition CD box set of traditional songs about rape, domestic violence and murdered women.<\/p>\n

It tends to be these songs that a lot of modern folkish artists have picked up on. Yes, I\u2019m looking at you Nick Cave. And you, Decemberists, although I love you. There are also a lot (a LOT) of waiflike folk girls with guitars singing about how love is like a cloud or they\u2019re not sure which handbag matches their heart, as parodied<\/a> by Bill Bailey.<\/p>\n

As an antidote to the murdery and misogynist on the one hand and the mindlessly insipid and pathetic on the other I thought I would take this opportunity to share and celebrate some traditional songs in which women come out on top.<\/p>\n

Note: Because the songs are hundreds of years old in some cases there\u2019s quite a lot of variety over names and lyrics. I managed to find versions of nearly all of them on Spotify and have made a collaborative playlist so y\u2019all can add any others you find: Kickass women in folk songs<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Cross-dressing adventurers<\/h2>\n
\"Scanned<\/a>

'The Female Sailor' broadsheet from the National Maritime Museum<\/p><\/div>\n

Now THIS is what I\u2019m talking about – songs about women dressing as sailors, hunters and highwaymen, whether to find their true love or just for kicks. Some of them sound a little unhinged: like Sovay, who is prepared to blow her lover\u2019s head off if he gives up the love token she has given him. But the heroine in ‘The Golden Glove’ is very endearing as she cleverly arranges matters so that she can marry the man she loves (and \u201cenjoy\u201d him, as she sings gleefully).<\/p>\n

If you\u2019d like more stories of derring-do like this, I recommend Dianne Dugaw\u2019s Warrior Women and Popular Balladry, 1650-1850<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n

Sovay<\/h3>\n

\u201cSovay Sovay all on a day
\nShe dressed herself in man’s array
\nWith a brace of pistols all at her side
\nTo meet her true love, to meet her true love, for did she ride\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n