A man from the north- Charlotte Renals (Corn) 1978
[From the Veteran recording: VT119CD, Catch me if you Can, ‘Songs from Cornish Travellers’ Charlotte Renals Betsy Renals & Sophie Legg. Song notes by Mike Yates follow.
R. Matteson 2018]
A man from the north- sung by Charlotte Renals of Cornwall, 1978
There was a man come from the North land,
He came here one day unto me;
He said he would take me back to the North land,
And that’s where he would marry me, marry me,
That’s where he would marry me.
You get me some of your mother’s food,
And some of your father’s gold;
And take me tonight to your father’s stable, where nags do stand thirty and three,
where nags do stand thirty and three,
You take me tonight to your father’s stable where nags do stand thirty and three.
I got him some of my mother’s food, and some of my father’s gold;
I took him that night to my father’s stable, where nags do stand thirty and three.
Now tongue now tone my pretty Polly, now tongue now tone cried he,
Till he came down by the wide river side, those words that he shouted to me.
Pull out, pull out my pretty Polly, Pull out, pull out cried he;
For six pretty maidens I have drowned here,
The seventh now you shall be, the seventh now you shall be,
For six pretty maidens I have drowned here, the seventh now you shall be.
You take me off your rich silk gown, And hand them over to me;
For it looks a pity such fine gowns as that,
To be rotted all in the salt sea, the salt sea,
To be rotted all in the salt sea.
‘You turn your back to the facing of me, in viewing those flowers so gay,
For it isn’t a-fitting such ruffian as you, for a naked young woman to see.’
He turned his back to the facing of her, in viewing those flowers so gay,
She put her arms around his waist, and bundled him in the salt sea, the salt sea,
She bundled him in the salt sea.
‘Oh, take me out my pretty Polly, oh, take me out,’ cried he,
‘Oh, take me out my pretty Polly,
My bride then you will be, will be,
My bride now you will be.’
‘Lie there, lie there, you false hearted man, lie there in the place of me;
For six pretty maidens you have drowned here,
But the seventh have drownded thee, the seventh have drownded thee,
For six pretty maidens you have drowned here, but the seventh have drownded thee.’
She mounted on her lily white steed, an’ got hold of her dapple grey;
She got back to her father’s house, three hours before it was day;
‘Now don’t you flitter, now flutter Polly,
Nor tell no tales on me, your cage shall be made of the glittering gold,
And your door of the best ivory, your door of the best ivory,
Your cage shall be made of the glittering gold, and your door of the best ivory.’
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Scholars call this The Outlandish Knight and it can be traced directly to a German broadside of c.1550, although it was known as a tale long before that date. In many European versions of the ballad there is an episode that has all but vanished from our present story. As the eloping couple reach the waterside, the man persuades the girl to stop beneath a tree. She is asked not to look up into the tree’s branches, but is asked, instead, to de-louse the man’s hair. As she is complying, she glances up into the branches where she sees the severed heads of his previous victims. Thus warned, she is able to outsmart her would-be murderer. This scene is also depicted on wall-paintings in a number of medieval churches in parts of eastern Europe (especially in Hungary and Slovakia), where the man is either depicted as St. Ladislas, an 11th century King of Hungary, or else as a Tartar or Scythian warrior. Scholars now believe that the story probably originated in the Steppes of Russia or Mongolia, long before the birth of Christ, and one image of the de-lousing scene, preserved as part of the design of a gold-plated sword scabbard and dated to c.300 BC, is now housed in Russia’s Hermitage Museum. Most recently collected versions of the ballad stem, indirectly, from a broadside published in London by John Pitts during the first quarter of the nineteenth century.
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Betsy Renals, Charlotte Renals and Sophie Legg were born into one of the best-known West Country travelling families, the Orchards. They were 78, 77 and 60 years old respectively in 1978 when these recordings were made.
Charlotte Renals (Cornwall)
Charlotte Renals was born in 1902 into one of the best known West Country travelling families, the Orchards. She is Vic Legg's aunt and was source of many of his songs as were her two sisters Betsy and Sophie (Vic's mother).
Their father Edwin was born in 1879 and was married to Susan (also an Orchard) when he was twenty and she was sixteen. At that time they run a coconut shy at local fairs until Edwin became a fairground bare-knuckle fighter, taking on all-comers for three weeks. He earned good money, in fact he earned enough to buy themselves a wagon, enabling them to give up the fair life to go on the road. They hawked haberdashery and when they stopped at night they would often meet up with other Gypsy families and songs would be shared around the camp fire.
Charlotte and her sister Betsy married brothers Bob and Jack Renals, on the same day in 1924. They went on the road and although the boys were Gorgios (non Gypsies) they took to travelling life for the next seven years. (from Pete Coe's notes)