“Foggy Dew” or “Foggy, Foggy Dew” is an English folk song with a strong presence in the South of England and the Southern United States in the nineteenth century. The song describes the outcome of an affair between a weaver and a girl he courted. It has been recorded by many traditional singers including Harry Cox, and a diverse range of musicians including Benjamin Britten, Burl Ives, A.L. Lloyd and Ye Vagabonds have arranged and recorded popular versions of the song. The song is a ballad, first published on a broadside in the early nineteenth century. Cecil Sharp collected eight versions of the song, particularly in Somerset, England, but also in the United States. Early versions of the song refer to her fear of the “bugaboo” rather than the foggy dew, as do many recent traditional American versions. In these older versions, an apprentice seduces his master’s daughter with the help of a friend disguised as a ghost (“bugaboo”). “Bugaboo” changed to “the foggy dew”, which seems to have sent the song in different directions. Peter Kennedy, who collected several traditional English versions, has suggested that “Foggy Dew” is “an Englishman’s attempt to pronounce the Irish orocedhu, which means “dark”, or “black night”…”, but also points to James Reeves’ observation that “foggy” in Middle English refers to “coarse, rank marsh grass” whilst “dew” represents virginity or chastity.
Songs with Banjo from Harold Hagler
