Black Jack Davey is from a Scottish ballad first noted in the 1700s, under title variants such as "Wraggle Taggle Gypsies O" or "The Gypsy Laddie". It usually concerns the tale of a lady abandoning her husband and baby to run off with her Gypsy lover (scandalous!). Or sometimes, the Gypsies are kidnapping her or putting her under a spell. It has been recorded by many artists over the years.
The version I used for making my dulcimer tab is from a 1958 recording of Lula Davis of Arkansas, thanks to the Max Hunter collection online. Click this link to actually hear her sing it.
I include this ballad here because it has a lovely yet very simple melody to play on the dulcimer. You can sing the wonderful lyrics with or not... or perhaps get a singing friend to sing them while you play. Enjoy!
continue reading the rest of this post here...
