Lily of the West

Many broadsides of the song were collected in England and Ireland around 1820-50; the English and Scottish versions generally begin "It's when I came to England some pleasure for to find",[5][6][7][8] whilst the Irish broadsides began "When first I came to Ireland some pleasure for to find".[9][10][11] Sabine Baring-Gould collected several versions from traditional singers in the English West Country in the 1890s,[12][13][14][15][16] and George Gardiner and Charles Gamblin collected another in Dummer, Hampshire in 1906.[17] The traditional tune is a variant of that also commonly used for the Irish folk song The Lakes of Pontchartrain and it belongs to the same Irish melody-family as a song variously known as On the Trail of the Buffalo / Buffalo Skinners / The Hills of Mexico / The State of Arkansas / Boggus Creek.

Below is the first verse of a version printed in 1857 in Glasgow, Scotland, described as a "highly popular song":

It's when I came to England some pleasure for to find,

When I espied a damsel most pleasing to my mind,

Her rosie cheeks, and rolling eyes like arrows pierced my breast,

And they called her lovely Flora the Lily of the West.[18]

In "The Collected Reprints from Sing Out! the Folk Song Magazine Volumes 7-12, 1964-1973" (on page 6, preceding the song's notation and lyrics), it is stated that:

“This old ballad has been kept alive over the centuries by both print and oral tradition. Originally an English street ballad (or broadside), the song became particularly popular in the United States by parlor singers and ballad-printers. During the 19th century it was known throughout the country and, in time, became part of the folk heritage. Its popularity was such that in Kansas, local versifiers used the song for a parody:"

Come all you folks of enterprise who feel inclined to roam
Beyond the Mississippi to seek a pleasant home;
Pray take a pioneer's advice, I'll point you out the best
- I mean the state of Kansas, the lily of the West

The song survived long enough in North America for audio recordings to be made of traditional versions, particularly in the Ozark region of the United States. Recordings collected by Max Hunter and performed by C.W. Ingenthron of Walnut Shade, Missouri (1958)[19] and Fred High of Arkansas (1959)[20] are available online via the Max Hunter Folk Collection.[21][22] Irene Sargent of West Fork, Arkansas was recorded performing a version in 1960, and Lowell Harness of Leslie, Arkansas was recorded performing another in 1962.[23] The song also had a presence in Appalachia, where Alan Lomax recorded a version performed by Eliza Pace of Hyden, Kentucky in 1937,[24] and Evelyn Ramsey of Sodom Laurel, North Carolina had her version recorded by Mike Yates in 1980.[25] Several Canadian versions were recorded in Newfoundland and Nova Scotia in the 1950s and 60s by Helen Creighton, Herbert Halpert and Kenneth Peacock.[26][27][28][29]