Corydon and Phillis, together with The bright god of day

The English lyric “Corydon and Phillis” was written by John Cunningham (1729-73). The text may have circulated orally in America as there are several variant versions. In each there are many small word changes from Cunningham’s original and they are different from one another. The song was first published in Dublin in The London Magazine as “Sheep in Clusters. A Particular Favourite Song” (446-48). The song became quite popular and was copied into manuscript songbooks and printed in songsters well into the nineteenth century, appearing in twenty-three songsters between 1780 and 1820 (Roud; R. Keller, Early American Songsters).

It is interesting to compare this text of “Corydon and Phillis” to the earlier and much earthier song of the same title found on Corydon and Phyllis. These names were literary commonplaces and were usually used as subjects of pastorals like this one. By the late eighteenth-century period, the lustier text was more likely to be populated with lovers named Jockey and Jenny.

“The Bright God of Day” is described in A Death Song of an Indian Chief.