15. Little Musgrave and Lady Barnard
15. LITTLE MUSGRAVE AND LADY BARNARD (Child, No. 81)
Diligent search has failed to recover any more of this ballad in West Virginia tradition than the following stanza, contributed by Mr. John Hill, Hughey, Logan County, January 7, 1916 (printed by Cox, xlvi, 22, 64; cf. 145). This was all he could remember except that a person named Matthew Groves, or Mathy Groves, was mentioned in the song.
The first came down all dressed in red,
The next came down in green;
The next came down Lord Daniel's wife,
As fair as any queen.
For Nova Scotia texts see Mackenzie, Journal, xxiii, 371, and xxv, 182 (Quest, p. 14), Texts from Kentucky (Wyman) and Missouri (Belden) are printed by Kittredge, Journal, xxx, 309; from North Carolina, Tennessee, and Kentucky, by Campbell and Sharp, No. 20 (29 B is reprinted by Pound, No. 15). For reports from Virginia, Kentucky, North Carolina, and South Carolina, see references in Journal, xxx, 309. Add Bulletin, Nos. 6, 7, 9, 10.
From Professor J. H. Combs, West Virginia University, April 12, 1924, the editor received the following version, "Sung by Mrs. Margaret Green, Knott County, Kentucky, and called "Lord Daniel's Wife" in 1910.
1 The first came down all dressed in red;
The next came down in green;
The next came down Lord Daniel's wife,
She's as fine as any queen, queen,
She's as fine as any queen.
2 " Come and go home with me, little Gayly,
Come and go home with me to-night;
For I know by the rings on your fingers
You are Lord Daniel's wife, wife," etc.
3 A little foot-spade[1] was standing there,
A-hearing all they say;
He made a vow Lord Daniel should know
Before the break of day.
4 He had but sixteen miles to go,
And ten of them he run;
He run till he came to a broken-down bridge,
He held his breath and swum.
5 He swum till he came where grass grows green,
He turned to heels and run;
He run till he came to Lord Daniel's gate,
He rattled those bells and rung.
6 "If this be false you bring to me,
And I believe it to be,
I'll build a gallows just for you,
And hangen you shall be."
7 "If this be false I bring to you,
As you believe it to be,
You need not build the gallows for me,
Just hang me on a tree."
8 He travelled over hills and valleys,
Till he came to his staff stand still; [2]
He placed his bugle-horn to his mouth,
And blew most loud and shrill.
9 He took little Gayly by the hand
And led her through the hall;
He drew his sword and cut off her head,
And kicked it against the wall.
1. Error lor foot-page.
2. A corrupt line.