18. Young Hunting (Child 68)
For the occurrence of this ballad in the United States and the interesting variations it has undergone, see BSM 34-5; and add to the references there given Tennessee (BTFLS viii 71-2), North Carolina (FSRA 21-2), Florida (SFLQ vm 146-7), Arkansas (OFS I 92-3), Missouri (OFS i 90-1), Indiana (BSI 166-9), and Wisconsin (JAFL LII 30, brought from Kentucky). The name given to the victim of jealousy in our text I have not found elsewhere; most commonly he is called "loving Henry." Mrs. Steely found two texts of this, one with tune, in the Ebenezer community in Wake county.
'Lord Bonnie.' Contributed in 1939 by James York of Olin, Iredell county.
1 Lord Bonnie he was a hunting man
And a-hunting he did ride
With a hunting horn all around his neck
And his sword by his side.
2 He rode till he came to his friend Jesse's [1] hall;
He knocked and loudly called.
No one so fair as his own true love
For to rise and bid him come in.
3 'Come in, come in, Lord Bonnie,' she cried.
'And stay the night with me.
A rounding- fire you shall have
And a cup of white chalk tea.' [2]
4 'I will come in and I will come in,
But I have but a moment to stay;
For the girl I love much better than thee
I shall see ere the break of day.'
5 While setting there all alone on her lap
A-kissing her so sweet,
With a little pen-knife that was sharp at the point
She wounded him most deep.
6 'Lord Bonnie, Lord Bonnie, Lord Bonnie,' she cried.
'What makes you look so pale?'
'I think I feel my own heart's blood
A-falling at my feet.'
7 'Don't die, don't die, Lord Bonnie,' she cried,
'Don't die so soon!
You shall have all the doctors in the whole round town
For to heal and cure your wounds.'
8 'I must die, I must die,' Lord Bonnie he cried,
'You have wounded me so deep.
There was not another lady in the whole round town
That I loved as well as thee.'
9 Just three long hours till the break of day
She called her housemaids three.
Saying, 'Lord Bonnie he has died in my lap;
I think it's time he was taken away.'
10 Some took him by the yellow gold locks.
Some took him by the feet.
And they threw him in the cold water well
Where it was wide and deep.
11 'Lie there, lie there, you false-hearted man,
Till the water covers over your chin.
There's not another lady in the whole wide town
That will bid Lord Bonnie come in.'
Footnotes:
1. So the manuscript ; one supposes that it should be "Jessie's."
2. One supposes that this should be "rousing." But what is white chalk tea?
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18. Young Hunting (Child 68) [Music from Volume Four]
'Lord Bonnie.' Sung by James York. Recorded at Olin, Iredell county in 1939.
For melodic relationship cf. *SharpK i 107, No. 18F, measures 1-2 and 5-6; ASb 64, measure 6 with measure 5 in this version; FSOA 60, measure I.
Scale: Mode III, plagal. Tonal Center: f. Structure: abac (2,2,2,2) = aa1 (4,4)-
18(1) 'Young Hunting.' Sung by Mrs. J. Trivette. Recorded at Heaton, Avery county, August 10, 1939. Another title given by the singer is 'Oh Henery.' In BT 152 and in BBM 122 our stanza is the ninth.
For melodic relationship cf. **SharpK i 112, No. 18J, measures 4-8; *OFS I 90, No. 14, measures 4-5 and very end.
Scale: Mode III, plagal. Tonal Center: d. Structure: abcd (2,2,2,2).
Text: Come down, come down, my pret - ty lit - tle bird,
And sit all night on my knee, —
I'll line — your cage- with silver and gold,
Your door with liberty*.
*irory