No. 20 The Cruel Mother
[The Cruel Mother is the sad tale of a woman who falls in love with her "father's clerk" (some versions say "father's priest," it's more likely "father's student"- see Percy Society notes 1846) and has illegitimate twin babies by him. Unable to bear the shame, she secretly kills them and returns to her father's house where she is the "lealest (truest) maiden among them all." When she sees two little children (her children's ghosts) playing ball she wishes they were hers and speaks to them. She tells them that if they were hers she would buy them the finest clothes. The children tell her that they are the children she bore and murdered. Her fate?-- The "hotest place in hell is reserved for thee."
For detailed notes on the Child texts A-Q see English and Other Versions attached to this page. The O and P texts from the Percy Papers are the oldest versions given by Child. P, a broadside titled The Duke's Daughter's Cruelty, is dated c. 1690 by Kittredge.
According to Cazden and Wiki, Hyder Rollins listed a broadside print dated 1638. Since the title doesn't appear in Rollins' Analytical Index to the Ballad Entries in the Stationers Register, that information seems to be inaccurate. Surely by now, someone would have uncoverd that document.
R. Matteson 2012]
CONTENTS:
1. Child's Narrative
2. Footnote (added at the end of Child's Narration)
3. Brief (Kittredge)
4. Child's Ballad Texts A-Q; (Originally A-M; additional texts N-Q from later editions; Additional versions in Additions and Corrections: 1) from a manuscript of Thomas Wilkie and 2) from Findlay's Manuscripts.)
[Child originally gives two N versions and no P version in the additions and corrections. The first N is from 1884, the second N is from 1886 and he gives O also then. Both the N and O should be renamed O and P; see Child's correction in a later edition: "N, O should be O, P, II 500: see I, 504"]
5. Endnotes
6. Appendix- 'Lady Anne'
7. "Additions and Corrections"
ATTACHED PAGES (see left hand column):
1. Recordings & Info: The Cruel Mother
A. Roud Number 9: The Cruel Mother (312 Listings)
B. History, Symbol, and Meaning in 'The Cruel Mother'
2. Sheet Music: The Cruel Mother (Bronson's texts and some music examples)
3. US & Canadian Versions
4. English and Other Versions (Including Child versions A-Q with additional notes)]
The Duke's Daughter's Cruelty c. 1690
Child's Narrative
A. Herd's Manuscripts, I, 132, II, 191. Herd's Ancient and Modern Scottish Songs, 1776, II, 237.
B. a. 'Fine Flowers in the Valley,' Johnson's Museum, p. 331.
b. Scott's Minstrelsy, in, 259 (1803). ["Lady Anne"]
C. 'The Cruel Mother,' Motherwell's Minstrelsy, p. 161.
D. a. Kinloch Manuscripts, v, 103.
b. 'The Cruel Mother,' Kinloch, Ancient Scottish Ballads, p. 46.
E. 'The Cruel Mother.'
a. Motherwell's Manuscript, p. 390.
b. Motherwell's Note-Book, p. 33.
F. 'The Cruel Mother.'
a. Buchan's Manuscripts, II, 98.
b. Buchan's Ballads of the North of Scotland, II, 222.
G. Notes and Queries, 1st S., VIII, 358.
H. 'The Cruel Mother,' Motherwell's Manuscript, p. 402.
I. 'The Minister's Daughter of New York.'
a. Buchan's Manuscripts, II, 111.
b. Buchan's Ballads of the North of Scotland, II, 217.
c. 'Hey wi the rose and the lindie O,' Christie, Traditional Ballad Airs, I, 106.
J. a. 'The Rose o Malindie O,' Harris Manuscript, f. 10.
b. Fragment communicated by Dr. T. Davidson.
K. Motherwell's Manuscript, p. 186.
L. 'Fine Flowers in the Valley,' Smith's Scottish Minstrel, iv, 33.
M. From Miss M. Reburn, as learned in County Meath, Ireland, one stanza.
N. 'The Loch o the Loanie,' Campbell Manuscripts, II, 264. [1st N. from The English and Scottish popular ballads: Volume 2 - Page 504; 1884; Version O published in 1886 was incorrectly labeled Version N]
O. Percy Papers, with no account of the derivation. [Version O when first published was labeled Version N; changed to O.]
P. [The Duke's Daughter's Cruelty] Pepys Ballads, V, 4, No 2, from a transcript in the Percy Papers. [No P is originally given; Original O from 1886 changed to P.]
Q. 'The Cruel Mother,' Shropshire Folk-Lore, edited by Charlotte Sophia Burne, 1883-86, p. 540; "snug by Eliza Wharton and brothers, children of gipsies, habitually travelling in North Shropshire and Staffordshire, 13th July, 1885."
Two fragments of this ballad, A, B, were printed in the last quarter of the eighteenth century; C-L were committed to writing after 1800; and, of these, E, H, J, K are now printed for the first time.
A-H differ only slightly, but several of these versions are very imperfect. A young woman, who passes for a leal maiden, gives birth to two babes [A, B, one, H, three], puts them to death with a penknife, B-F, and buries them, or, H, ties them hand and feet and buries them alive. She afterwards sees two pretty boys, and exclaims that if they were hers she would treat them most tenderly. They make answer that when they were hers they were very differently treated, rehearse what she had done, and inform or threaten her that hell shall be her portion, C, D, B, F, H. In I the children are buried alive, as in H, in J a strangled, in J b and L killed with the penknife, but the story is the same down to the termination, where, instead of simple hell-fire, there are various seven-year penances, properly belonging to the ballad of 'The Maid and the Palmer,' which follows this.
All the English ballads are in two-line stanzas.[1]
Until 1870 no corresponding ballad had been found in Denmark, though none was more likely to occur in Danish. That year Kristensen, in the course of his very remarkable ballad-quest in Jutland, recovered two versions which approach surprisingly near to Scottish tradition, and especially to B: Jydske Folkeviser, I, 329, No 121 A, B, 'Barnemordersken.' Two other Danish versions have been obtained since then, but have not been published. A and B are much the same, and a close translation of A will not take much more space than would be required for a sufficient abstract.
Little Kirsten took with her the bower-women five,
And with them she went to the wood belive.
She spread her cloak down on the earth,
And on it to two little twins gave birth.
She laid them under a turf so green,
Nor suffered for them a sorrow unseen.
She laid them under so broad a stone,
Suffered sorrow nor harm for what she had done.
Eight years it was, and the children twain
Would fain go home to their mother again.
They went and before Our Lord they stood:
'Might we go home, to our mother, we would.'
'Ye may go to your mother, if ye will,
But ye may not contrive any ill.'
They knocked at the door, they made no din:
'Rise up, our mother, and let us in.'
By life and by death hath she cursed and sworn,
That never a child in the world had she borne.
'Stop, stop, dear mother, and swear not so fast,
We shall recount to you what has passed.
'You took with you the bower-women five,
And with them went to the wood belive.
'You spread your cloak down on the earth,
And on it to two little twins gave birth.
'You laid us under a turf so green,
Nor suffered for us a sorrow unseen.
'You laid us under so broad a stone,
Suffered sorrow nor harm for what you had done.'
'Nay my dear bairns, but stay with me;
And four barrels of gold shall be your fee.'
'You may give us four, or five, if you choose,
But not for all that, heaven will we lose.
'You may give us eight, you may give us nine,
But not for all these, heaven will we tine.
'Our seat is made ready in heavenly light,
But for you a seat in hell is dight.'
A ballad is spread all over Germany which is probably a variation of 'The Cruel Mother,' though, the resemblance is rather in the general character than in the details. A, 'Hollisches Recht,' Wunderhorn, II, 202, ed. of 1808, II, 205, ed. 1857. Mittler, No 489, p. 383, seems to be this regulated and filled out. B, Erlach, 'Die Rabenmutter,' iv, 148; repeated, with the addition of one stanza, by Zuccalmaglio, p. 203, No 97. C, 'Die Kindsmörderinn,' Meinert, p. 164, from the Kuhlandchen; turned into current German, Erk's Liederhort, p. 144, No 41o. D, Simrock, p. 87, No 37a from the Aargau. E, 'Das falsche Mutterherz,' Erk u. Irmer, Heft 5, No 7, and 'Die Kindesmörderin,' Erk's Liederhort, p. 140, No 41, Brandenburg. F, Liederhort, p. 142, No 41a Silesia. G, Liederhort, p. 143, 41b, from the Rhein, very near to B. H, Hoffmann u. Richter, No 31, p. 54, and I, No 32, p. 57, Silesia. J, Ditfurth, Frankische V. 1., n, 12, No 13. K, 'Die Rabenmutter,' Peter, Volksthümliches aus Osterreichisch-Schlesien, I, 210, No 21. L, 'Der Teufel u. die Müllerstochter,' Prohle, Weltliche u. geistliche V. 1., p. 15, No 9, Hanoverian Harz. Repetitions and compounded copies are not noticed.
The story is nearly this in all. A herdsman, passing through a wood, hears the cry of a child, but cannot make out whence the sound comes. The child announces that it is hidden in a hollow tree, and asks to be taken to the house where its mother is to be married that day. There arrived, the child proclaims before all the company that the bride is its mother. The bride, or some one of the party, calls attention to the fact that she is still wearing her maiden-wreath. Nevertheless, says the child, she has had three children: one she drowned, one she buried in a dung-heap [the sand], and one she hid in a hollow tree. The bride wishes that the devil may come for her if this is true, and, upon the word, Satan appears and takes her off; in B, G, J, with words like these:
'Komm her, komm her, meine schonste Braut,
Dein Sessel ist dir in der Holle gebaut.' J 9.
A Wendish version, 'Der Hollentanz,' in Haupt and Schmaler, I, 290, No 292, differs from the German ballads only in this, that the bride has already borne nine children, and is going with the tenth.
A combination of B, C, D, F is translated by Grundtvig, Engelske og skotske Folkeviser, No 43, p. 279, and I, from the eighth stanza on, p. 282. C is translated by Wolff, Halle der Völker, I, 11, and Hauschatz, p. 223; Allingham's version (nearly B a) by Knortz, L. u. R. Alt-Englands, p. 178, No 48.
Footnote
1. All the genuine ones. 'Lady Anne,' in Scott's Minstrelsy, in, 259, 1803, is on the face of it a modern composition, with extensive variations, on the theme of the popular ballad. It is here given in an Appendix, with a companion piece from Cromek's Remains of Nithsdale and Galloway Song.
Brief Description by George Lyman Kittredge
'The Cruel Mother' is strikingly similar to a Danish ballad, recovered by Kristensen in 1870 (Jydske Folkeviser, I, 329). Versions A and B of the English ballad, which are fragmentary, were printed in the last quarter of the eighteenth century. P is from a broadside of about 1690.
Child's Ballad Texts A-Q;
(Originally A-M; additional texts N-Q from later editions)
['She's leand her back to a thorn']- Version A; Child 20- The Cruel Mother
Herd's Manuscripts, I, 132, u, 191: Ancient and Modem Scottish Songs, 1776, II, 237.
1. And there she's leand her back to a thorn,
Oh and alelladay, oh and alelladay
And there she has her baby born.
Ten thousand times good night and be wi thee
2. She has houked a grave ayont the sun,
Oh and alelladay, oh and alelladay
And there she has buried the sweet babe in.
Ten thousand times good night and be wi thee
3. And she's gane back to her father's ha,
Oh and alelladay, oh and alelladay
She's counted the leelest maid o them a'.
Ten thousand times good night and be wi thee
* * * * *
4. 'O look not sae sweet, my bonie babe,
Oh and alelladay, oh and alelladay
Gin ye smyle sae, ye'll smyle me dead.'
Ten thousand times good night and be wi thee
'Fine Flowers in the Valley'- Version B a; Child 20- The Cruel Mother
a. Johnson's Museum, p. 331. b. Scott's Minstrelsy 1803, III, 259, preface
1 SHE sat down below a thorn,
Fine flowers in the valley
And there she has her sweet babe born.
And the green leaves they grow rarely.
2 'Smile na sae sweet, my bonie babe,
And ye smile sae sweet, ye'll smile me dead.'
3 She's taen out her little pen-knife,
And twinnd the sweet babe o its life.
4 She's howket a grave by the light o the moon,
And there she s buried her sweet babe in.
5 As she was going to the church,
She saw a sweet babe in the porch.
6 'O sweet babe, and thou were mine,
I wad cleed thee in the silk so fine.'
7 'O mother dear, when I was thine,
You did na prove to me sac kind.'
* * * * *
'The Cruel Mother'- Version C; Child 20- The Cruel Mother
Motherwell's Minstrelsy, p. 161.
1 SHE leaned her back unto a thorn,
Three, three, and three by three
And there she has her two babes born.
Three, three, and thirty-three
2 She took frae 'bout her ribbon-belt,
And there she bound them hand and foot.
3 She has taen out her wee pen-knife,
And there she ended baith their life.
4 She has howked a hole baith deep and wide,
She has put them in baith side by side.
5 She has covered them oer wi a marble stane,
Thinking she would gang maiden hame.
6 As she was walking by her father's castle wa,
She saw twa pretty babes playing at the ba.
7 'O bonnie babes, gin ye were mine,
I would dress you up in satin fine.
8 'O I would dress you in the silk,
And wash you ay in morning milk.'
9 'O cruel mother, we were thine,
And thou made us to wear the twine.
10 'O cursed mother, heaven 's high,
And that's where thou will neer win nigh.
11 'O cursed mother, hell is deep,
And there thou'll enter step by step.'
'The Cruel Mother'- Version D a; Child 20- The Cruel Mother
a. Kinloch's MSS v, 103, in the handwriting of James Beattie.
b. Kinloch's Ancient Scottish Ballads, p. 46: from the recitation of Miss C. Beattie.
1 THERE lives a lady in London,
All alone and alone ee
She's gane wi bairn to the clerk's son.
Down by the green wood sae bonnie
2 She's taen her mantle her about,
She's gane aff to the gude green wood.
3 She's set her back untill an oak,
First it bowed and then it broke.
4 She's set ber back until a tree,
Bonny were the twa boys she did bear.
5 But she took out a little pen-knife,
And she parted them and their sweet life.
6 She's aff until her father's ha;
She was the lealest maiden that was amang them a'.
7 As she lookit oure the castle wa,
She spied twa bonnie boys playing at the ba.
8 'O if these two babes were mine,
They should wear the silk and the sabelline!'
9 'O mother dear, when we were thine,
We neither wore the silks nor the sabelline.
10 'But out ye took a little pen-knife,
And ye parted us and our sweet life.
11 'But now we're in the heavens hie,
And ye've the pains o hell to drie.'
'The Cruel Mother'- Version E; Child 20- The Cruel Mother
Motherwell's MS., p. 390. b. Motherwell's Note-Book, p. 33. From the recitation of Agnes Lyle, Kilbarchan, August 24, 1825.
1 THERE was a lady, she lived in Lurk,
Sing hey alone and alonie O
She fell in love with her father's clerk.
Down by yon greenwood sidie O
2 She loved him seven years and a day,
Till her big belly did her betray.
3 She leaned her back unto a tree,
And there began her sad misery.
4 She set her foot unto a thorn,
And there she got her two babes born.
5 She took out her wee pen-knife,
She twind them both of their sweet life.
6 She took the sattins was on her head,
She rolled them in both when they were dead.
7 She howkit a grave forenent the sun,
And there she buried her twa babes in.
8 As she was walking thro her father's ha,
She spied twa boys playing at the ha.
9 'O pretty boys, if ye were mine,
I would dress ye both in the silks so fine.'
10 'O mother dear, when we were thine,
Thou neer dressed us in silks so fine.
11 'For thou was a lady, thou livd in Lurk,
And thou fell in love with thy father's clerk.
12 'Thou loved him seven years and a day,
Till thy big belly did thee betray.
13 'Thou leaned thy back unto a tree,
And there began thy sad misery.
14 'Thou set thy foot unto a thorn,
And there thou got thy two babes born.
15 'Thou took out thy wee pen-knife,
And twind us both of our sweet life.
16 'Thou took the sattins was on thy head,
Thou rolled us both in when we were dead.
17 'Thou howkit a grave forenent the sun,
And there thou buried thy twa babes in.
18 'But now we 're both in [the] heavens hie,
There is pardon for us, but none for thee.'
19 'My pretty boys, beg pardon for me!'
'There is pardon for us, but none for thee.'
'The Cruel Mother'- Version F a; Child 20- The Cruel Mother
a. Buchan's MSS, II, 98.
b. Buchan's Ballads of the North of Scotland, II, 222.
1. IT fell ance upon a day,
Edinburgh, Edinburgh
It fell ance upon a day,
Stirling for aye
It fell ance upon a day
The clerk and lady went to play.
So proper Saint Johnston stands fair upon Tay
2. 'If my baby be a son,
I'll make him a lord of high renown.'
3. She's leand her back to the wa,
Prayd that her pains might fa.
4. She's leand her back to the thorn,
There was her baby born.
5. 'O bonny baby, if ye suck sair,
You'll never suck by my side mair.'
6. She's riven the muslin frae her head,
Tied the baby hand and feet.
7. Out she took her little pen-knife,
Twind the young thing o its sweet life.
8. She's howked a hole anent the meen,
There laid her sweet baby in.
9. She had her to her father's ha,
She was the meekest maid amang them a'.
10. It fell ance upon a day,
She saw twa babies at their play.
11. 'O bonny babies, gin ye were mine,
I'd cleathe you in the silks sae fine.'
12. 'O wild mother, when we were thine,
You cleathd us not in silks so fine.
13. 'But now we 're in the heavens high,
And you've the pains o hell to try.'
14. She threw hersell oer the castle-wa,
There I wat she got a fa.
['There was a lady lived on a lea']- Version G; Child 20- The Cruel Mother
Notes and Queries, 1st 5., vita, 358. From Warwickshire communicated by C. Clifton Barry.
1 THERE was a lady lived on [a] lea,
All alone, alone O
Down by the greenwood side went she.
Down the greenwood side O
2 She set her foot all on a thorn,
There she had two babies born.
3 O she had nothing to lap them in,
But a white appurn, and that was thin.
'The Cruel Mother'- Version H; Child 20- The Cruel Mother
Motherwell's MS., p. 402. From Agnes Laird, Kilbarthan, August 24, 1825.
1 THERE was a lady brisk and smart,
All in a lone and a lonie O
And she goes with child to her father's clark.
Down by the greenwood sidie O
2 Big, big oh she went away,
And then she set her foot to a tree.
3. Big she set her foot to a stone,
Till her three bonnie babes were borne.
4. She took the ribbons off her head,
She tied the little babes hand and feet.
5. She howkit a hole before the sun,
She's laid those three bonnie babes in.
6. She covered them over with marble stone,
For dukes and lords to walk upon.
7 She lookit over her father's castle wa,
She saw three bonnie boys playing at the ba.
8. The first o thorn was clad in red,
To shew the innocence of their blood.
9. The neist o them was clad in green,
To show that death they had boon in.
10. The next was naked to the skin,
To shew they were murderd when they were born.
11. 'O bonnie babes, an ye were mine,
I wad dress you in the satins so fine.'
12. 'O mother dear, when we were thine,
Thou did not use us half so kind.'
13. 'O bonnie babes, an ye be mine,
Whare han ye been a' this time?'
14. 'We were at our father's house,
Preparing a place for thee and us.'
15. 'Whaten a place hae ye prepar'd for me?'
'Heaven 's for us, but hell 's for thee.
16. 'O mother dear, but heaven's high;
That is the place thou'll ne'er come nigh.
17. 'O mother dear, but hell is deep;
'Twill cause thee bitterlie to weep.'
'The Minister's Daughter of New York'- Version I a; Child 20- The Cruel Mother
a. Buchan's MS., II, 111.
b. Buchan's Ballads of the North of Scotland, it, 217.
c. 'Hey wi the rose and the lindie O', Christie, Traditional Ballad Airs 106.
1. THE minister's daughter of New York,
Hey wi the rose and the lindie, O
Has faen in love wi her father's clerk.
Alone by the green burn sidie, O
2. She courted him six years and a day,
At length her belly did her betray.
3. She did her down to the greenwood gang,
To spend awa a while o her time.
4. She lent her back unto a thorn,
And she's got her twa bonny boys born.
5. She's taen the ribbons frae her hair,
Bound their bodyes fast and sair.
6. She's put them aneath a marble stane.
Thinking a maiden to gae hame.
7. Looking oer her castle wa,
She spied her bonny boys at the ha.
8. 'O bonny babies, if ye worn mine,
I woud feed you with the white bread and wine.
9. 'I woud feed you wi the ferra cow's milk,
And dress you in the finest silk.'
10. 'O cruel mother, when we were thine,
We saw none of your bread and wine.
11. 'We saw none of your ferra cow's milk,
Nor worn we of your finest silk.'
12. 'O bonny babies, can ye tell me,
What sort of death for you I must die?'
13. 'Yes, cruel mother, we'll tell to thee,
What sort of death for us you must die.
14. 'Seven years a fowl in the woods,
Seven years a fish in the floods.
15. 'Seven years to be a church bell,
Seven years a porter in hell.'
16. 'Welcome, welcome, fowl in the wood[s],
Welcome, welcome, fish in the flood[s].
17. 'Welcome, welcome, to be a church bell,
But heavens keep me out of hell.'
'The Rose o Malindie'- Version J; Child 20- The Cruel Mother
a. Harris MS., fol. 10,' Mrs Harris and others. b. Fragment communicated by Dr T. Davidson.
1 SHE leant her back against a thorn,
Hey for the Rose o' Malindie O
And there she has twa bonnie babes born.
Adoon by the green wood sidle O
2 She's taen the ribbon frae her head,
An hankit their necks till they waur dead.
3 She luikit outowre her castle wa,
An saw twa nakit boys, playin at the ba.
4 'O bonnie boys, waur ye but mine,
I wald feed ye wi flour-bread an wine.'
5 'O fause mother, whan we waur thine,
Ye didna feed us wi flour-broad an wine.'
6 'O bonnie boys, gif ye waur mine,
I wald clied ye wi silk sae finn.'
7 'O fause mother, whan we waur thine,
You didna clied us in silk sae fine.
8 'Ye tuik the ribbon aff your head,
An' hankit our necks till we waur dead.
* * * * *
9 'Ye sall be seven years bird on the tree,
Ye sall be seven years fish i the sea.
10 'Ye sall be seven years eel i the pule,
An ye sall be seven years doon into hell.'
11 'Welcome, welcome, bird on the tree,
Welcome, welcome, fish i the sea.
12 'Welcome, welcome, eel i the pule,
But oh for gudesake, keep me frae hell!'
Version K; Child 20- The Cruel Mother
Motherwell's MS., p. 186.
1 LADY MARGARET looked oer the castle wa,
Hey and a lo and a lilly O
And she saw twa bonnie babes playing at the ba.
Down by the green wood sidy O
2 'O pretty babes, an ye were mine,
I would dress you in the silks so fine.'
3 'O false mother, when we were thine,
Ye did not dress us in silks so finn.'
4 'O bonnie babes, an ye were mine,
I would feed you on the bread and wine.'
5 'O false mother, when we were thine,
Ye did not feed us on the bread and the wine.'
* * * * *
6 'Seven years a fish in the sea,
And seven years a bird in the tree.
7 'Seven years to ring a bell,
And seven years porter in hell.'
'Fine Flowers in the Valley'- Version L; Child 20- The Cruel Mother
Smith's Scottish Minstrel, iv, 33, 2d ed
1. A LADY lookd out at a castle wa,
Fine flowers in the valley
She saw twa bonnie babes playing at the ha.
And the green leaves they grow rarely
2. 'O my bonnie babes, an ye were mine,
I would cleed ye i the scarlet sae fine.
3. 'I'd lay ye saft in beds o down,
And watch ye morning, night and noon.'
4. 'O mithor dear, when we were thine,
Ye didna cleed us i the scarlet sae fine.
5. 'But ye took out yere little pen-knife,
And parted us fran our sweet life.
6. 'Ye howkit a hole aneath the moon,
And there ye laid our bodies down.
7. 'Ye happit the hole wi mossy stanes,
And there ye left our wee bit banes.
8 'But ye ken weel, O mither dear,
Ye never cam that gate for fear.'
* * * *
9 'Seven lang years ye'll ring the bell,
And see sic sights as ye darna tell.'
--------------------
Version M; Child 20- The Cruel Mother
Communicated by Miss Margaret Reburn, as learned in County Meath, Ireland, about 1860.
'O mother dear, when we were thine,
All a lee and aloney O
You neither dressed us in coarse or fine.'
Down by the greenwood sidy O
-------------------
'The Loch o the Loanie'- Version N; The Cruel Mother; Child 20
'The Loch o the Loanie,' Campbell Manuscripts, II, 264.
1. As I lookit oer my father's castle wa,
All alone and alone O
I saw two pretty babes playing at the ba.
Down by yon green-wood sidie
2. 'O pretty babes, gin ye were mine,'
Hey the loch o the Loanie
'I would clead ye o the silk sae fine.'
Down by that green-wood sidie
3. 'O sweet darlings, gin ye were mine,'
Hey the loch o the Loanie
'I would feed ye on the morning's milk.'
Down by the green-wood sidie
4. 'O mither dear, when we were thine,'
By the lock o the Loanie
'Ye neither dressd us wi silk nor twine.'
Down by this green-wood sidie
5. 'But ye tuke out your little pen-knife,'
By the lock o the Loanie
'And there ye tuke yer little babes' life.'
Down by the, etc.
6. 'O mither dear, when this ye had done,'
Alone by the lock o the Loanie
'Ye unkirtled yersel, and ye wrapt us in 't.'
Down by the lock o the Loanie
7. 'Neist ye houkit a hole fornent the seen.'
All alone and alone O
'And tearless ye stappit your little babes in'
Down by the lock o the Loanie
8. 'But we are in the heavens high,'
And far frae the loch o the Loanie
'But ye hae the pains o hell to d[r]ie.'
Before ye leave the green-wood sidie
---------------------
['There was a duke's daughter lived at York']- Version O- Child 20 The Cruel Mother
Percy Papers, with no account of the derivation. [At first titled N. in The English and Scottish popular ballads: Volume 2, Part 2 - Page 500; 1886; Gives O. also which is now P. ]
1. There was a duke's daughter lived at York,
All alone and alone a
And she fell in love with her father's clarke.
Down by the greenwood side a, side a,
Down by the greenwood side a, side a
2. She loved him seven long years and a day,
All alone and alone a
Till at last she came big-bellied away.
Down by the greenwood side a, side a,
Down by the greenwood side a, side a
3. She set her back against a thorn,
All alone and alone a
And there she had two pretty babes born.
Down by the greenwood side a, side a,
Down by the greenwood side a, side a
4. She took out a penknife long and short,
All alone and alone a
And she pierc'd these pretty babes to the tender heart.
Down by the greenwood side a, side a,
Down by the greenwood side a, side a
5. So as she was walking in her father's hall,
All alone and alone a
She saw three pretty babes playing at ball.
Down by the greenwood side a, side a,
Down by the greenwood side a, side a
6. The one was clothed in purple, the other in pall,
All alone and alone a
And the other was cloathed in no cloths at all.
Down by the greenwood side a, side a,
Down by the greenwood side a, side a
7. 'O pretty babes, pretty babes, will you be mine?
All alone and alone a
You shall be clothed in scarlet so fine,
And ye shall drink ale, beer, and wine.'
Down by the greenwood side a, side a,
Down by the greenwood side a, side a
8. 'We are three angels, as other angels be,
All alone and alone a
And the hotest place in hell is reserved for thee.'
Down by the greenwood side a, side a,
Down by the greenwood side a, side a
--------------
'The Duke's Daughter's Cruelty'- Version P; Child 20- The Cruel Mother
Pepys Ballads, V, 4, No 2, from a transcript in the Percy Papers.
1. There was a duke's daughter lived in York,
Come bend and bear away the bows of yew
So secretly she loved her father's clark.
Gentle hearts, be to me true.
2. She loved him long and many a day,
Come bend and bear away the bows of yew
Till big with child she went away.
Gentle hearts, be to me true.
3. She went into the wide wilderness;
Come bend and bear away the bows of yew
Poor she was to be pitied for heaviness.
Gentle hearts, be to me true.
4. She leant her back against a tree,
Come bend and bear away the bows of yew
And there she endurd much misery.
Gentle hearts, be to me true.
5. She leant her back against an oak,
Come bend and bear away the bows of yew
With bitter sighs these words she spoke.
Gentle hearts, be to me true.
6. She set her foot against a thorne,
Come bend and bear away the bows of yew
And there she had two pretty babes born.
Gentle hearts, be to me true.
7. She took her filliting off her head,
Come bend and bear away the bows of yew
And there she ty'd them hand and leg.
Gentle hearts, be to me true.
8. She had a penknife long [and] sharp,
Come bend and bear away the bows of yew
And there she stuck them to the heart.
Gentle hearts, be to me true.
9. She dug a grave, it was long and deep,
Come bend and bear away the bows of yew
And there she laid them in to sleep.
Gentle hearts, be to me true.
10. The coldest earth it was their bed,
Come bend and bear away the bows of yew
The green grass was their coverlid.
Gentle hearts, be to me true.
11. As she was a going by her father's hall,
Come bend and bear away the bows of yew
She see three children a playing at ball.
Gentle hearts, be to me true.
12. One was drest in scarlet fine,
Come bend and bear away the bows of yew
And the other[s was naked] as ere they was born.
Gentle hearts, be to me true.
13. 'O mother, O mother, if these children was mine,
Come bend and bear away the bows of yew
I wold dress them [in] scarlet fine.'
Gentle hearts, be to me true.
14. 'O mother, O mother, when we was thine,
Come bend and bear away the bows of yew
You did not dress [us] in scarlet fine.
Gentle hearts, be to me true.
15. 'You set your back against a tree,
Come bend and bear away the bows of yew
And there you endured great misery.
Gentle hearts, be to me true.
16. 'You set your foot against a thorne,
Come bend and bear away the bows of yew
And there you had us pritty babes born.
Gentle hearts, be to me true.
17. 'You took your filliting off your head,
Come bend and bear away the bows of yew
And there you bound us, hand to leg.
Gentle hearts, be to me true.
18. 'You had a penknife long and sharp,
Come bend and bear away the bows of yew
And there you stuck us to the heart.
Gentle hearts, be to me true.
19. 'You dug a grave, it was long and deep,
Come bend and bear away the bows of yew
And there you laid us in to sleep.
Gentle hearts, be to me true.
20. The coldest earth it was our bed,
Come bend and bear away the bows of yew
The green grass was our coverlid.
Gentle hearts, be to me true.
21. 'O mother, mother, for your sin
Come bend and bear away the bows of yew
Heaven-gate you shall not enter in.
Gentle hearts, be to me true.
22. 'O mother, mother, for your sin
Come bend and bear away the bows of yew
Hell-gates stands open to let you in.'
Gentle hearts, be to me true.
23. The lady's cheeks lookd pale and wan,
Come bend and bear away the bows of yew
'Alass I,' said she, 'what have I done!'
Gentle hearts, be to me true.
24. She tore her silken locks of hair,
Come bend and bear away the bows of yew
And dy'd away in sad despair.
Gentle hearts, be to me true.
25. Young ladies all, of beauty bright,
Come bend and bear away the bows of yew
Take warning by her last good-night.
Gentle hearts, be to me true.
---------------
'The Cruel Mother'- Version Q; The Cruel Mother; Child 20
'The Cruel Mother,' Shropshire Folk-Lore, edited by Charlotte Sophia Burne, 1883-86, p. 540; "snug by Eliza Wharton and brothers, children of gipsies, habitually travelling in North Shropshire and Staffordshire, 13th July, 1885."
1. There was a lady, a lady of York,
Ri fol i diddle i gee wo
She fell a-courting in her own father's park.
Down by the greenwood side, O
2. She leaned her back against the stile,
Ri fol i diddle i gee wo
There she had two pretty babes born.
Down by the greenwood side, O
3. And she had nothing to lap 'em in,
Ri fol i diddle i gee wo
But she had a penknife sharp and keen.
Down by the greenwood side, O
4. . . . . . . . . .
Ri fol i diddle i gee wo
There she stabbed them right through the heart.
Down by the greenwood side, O
5. She wiped the penknife in the sludge;
Ri fol i diddle i gee wo
The more she wiped it, the more the blood showed.
Down by the greenwood side, O
6. As she was walking in her own father's park,
Ri fol i diddle i gee wo
She saw two pretty babes playing with a ball.
Down by the greenwood side, O
7. 'Pretty babes, pretty babes, if you were mine,
Ri fol i diddle i gee wo
I'd dress you up in silks so fine.'
Down by the greenwood side, O
8. 'Dear mother, dear mother, [when we were thine,]
Ri fol i diddle i gee wo
You dressed us not in silks so fine.
Down by the greenwood side, O
9. 'Here we go to the heavens so high,
Ri fol i diddle i gee wo
You'll go to bad when you do die.'
Down by the greenwood side, O
____________________
End-Notes
B. Superscribed, "Fragment to its own tune. Melancholy." Against the first line of the burden is written in the margin, "perhaps alas-a-day," and this change is adopted in Herd's printed copy. Scott suggested well-a-day.
42. Manuscripts and ed. 1776 have ze ... ze'll.
b. "A fragment [of 5 stanzas] containing the following verses, which I have often heard sung in my childhood." Scott, III. 259. No burden is given.
11. She set her back against,
12. young son born.
21. O smile nae sae.
3, 4, wanting.
51. An when that lady went.
52. She spied a naked boy.
61. O bonnie boy, an ye.
62. I 'd cleed ye in the silks.
72. To me ye were na half.
Cunningham, Songs of Scotland, I, 340, says:
"I remember a verse, and but a verse, of an old ballad which records a horrible instance of barbarity," and quotes the first two stanzas of Scott's fragment literally; from which we may infer that it was Scott's fragment that he partly remembered. But he goes on: "At this moment a hunter came — one whose suit the lady had long rejected with scorn — the brother of her lover:
He took the babe on his spear point,
And threw it upon a thorn:
'Let the wind blow east, the wind blow west,
The cradle will rock alone.'
Cunningham's recollection was evidently much confused. This last stanza, which is not in the metre of the others, is perhaps from some copy of 'Edom o Gordon.'
D. a.
62. I was.
b. Kinloch makes slight changes in his printed copy, as usual.
41. until a brier.
51. out she's tane.
62. She seemd the lealest maiden amang.
81. an thae.
E. 1[1], 11[1]. Lurk may be a corruption of York, which is written in pencil (by way of suggestion?) in the Manuscripts [Lurk is more likely a corruption of "wark" as in "Newark."]
a. 161. on your.
b. 41, 141. upon a thorn.
52. twind wanting.
61. sattins wanting.
13, 14, 15, 16, 17 are not written out in the note-book.
181. the heavens.
192. but there is none.
F. a. 9 stands last but one in the Manuscript
142. Here,
b. 42. has her.
72. sweet is omitted.
Printed as from the Manuscript in Dixon's Scottish Traditional Versions, etc., p. 46. Dixon has changed baby to babies in 4, 5, 6, 8, and indulges in other variations.
H. The ballad had been heard with two different burdens; besides the one given in the text, this:
Three and three, and three by three
Ah me, some forty three
7. 'Lady Mary Ann,' Johnson's Museum, No 377, begins:
O Lady Mary Ann looks oer the castle wa,
She saw three bonie boys playing at the ba.
I. a, b. 141, 161. fool, i.e. fowl spelt phonetically.
a. 31. greenwoods
b. 22. it did.
82. with white.
112. wear'd.
132. maun die.
c. "Epitomized" from Buchan, II, 217, "and somewhat changed for this work, some of the changes being made according to the way the Editor has heard it sung." Note by Christie, p. 106.
Burden, It 's hey with the rose, etc.
71. As a lady was looking.
72. She spied twa.
112. Nor wore we a.
122. What sort of pain for you I must drie.
132. What sort of pain for us you must drie.
142. And seven.
Printed as from the Manuscript in Dixon's Scottish Traditional Versions of Ancient Ballads, p. 50, 'The Minister's Dochter o Newarke,' with a few arbitrary changes.
J. a. 91. You.
b. has stanzas corresponding to a 1, 3, 4, 6, and, in place of 2,
She 's taen oot a little pen-knife,
And she 's robbit them o their sweet life.
Burden1. Hey i' the rose o Mylindsay O.
11, until a thorn.
12. An syne her twa bonnie boys was born.
31. As she leukit oer her father's.
32. bonnie boys.
41. an ye were mine.
42. bread.
62. claithe ye in.
L. 8 looks like an interpolation, and very probably the ballad was docked at the beginning in order to suit the parlor better.
Appendix
Lady Anne
"This ballad was communicated to me by Mr. Kirkpatrick Sharpe of Hoddom, who mentions having copied it from an old magazine. Although it has probably received some modern corrections, the general turn seems to be ancient, and corresponds with that of a fragment [B b], which I have often heard sung in my childhood." Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border, m, 259, ed. 1803.
Buchan, Gleanings, p. 90, has an additional stanza between 8 and 9 of Scott's, whether from the old magazine or not, it would not be worth the while to ascertain.
Cunningham, Songs of Scotland, I, 339, has rewritten even 'Lady Anne.'
Translated by Schubart, p. 170, and by Gerhard, p. 92.
1. Fair Lady Anne sate in her bower,
Down by the greenwood side,
And the flowers did spring, and the birds sing,
'T was the pleasant May-day tide.
2. But fair Lady Anne on Sir William calld,
With the tear grit in her ee,
'O though thou be fause, may Heaven thee guard,
In the wars ayont the sea!'
3. Out of the wood came three bonnie boys,
Upon the simmer's morn,
And they did sing and play at the ba',
As naked as they were born.
4 . 'O seven lang years wad I sit here,
Amang the frost and snaw,
A' to hae but ane o these bonnie boys,
A playing at the ba.'
5. Then up and spake the eldest boy,
'Now listen, thou fair ladie,
And ponder well the rede that I tell,
Then make ye a choice of the three.
6. 'T is I am Peter, and this is Paul,
And that ane, sae fair to see,
But a twelve-month sinsyne to paradise came,
To join with our companie.'
7. 'O I will hae the snaw-white boy,
The bonniest of the three: '
'And if I were thine, and in thy propine,
O what wad ye do to me?'
8. 'T is I wad clead thee in silk and gowd,
And nourice thee on my knee: '
'O mither, mither, when I was thine,
Sic kindness I couldna see.
9. 'Beneath the turf, where now I stand,
The fause nurse buried me;
The cruel pen-knife sticks still in my heart,
And I come not back to thee.'
"There are many variations of this affecting tale. One of them appears in the Musical Museum, and is there called 'Fine Flowers of the Valley,' of which the present is either the original or a parallel song. I am inclined to think it is the original." Cromek's Remains of Nithsdale and Galloway Song, p. 267.
This is translated by Talvj, Versuch, p. 571.
1. There sat 'mang the flowers a fair ladie,
Sing ohon, ohon, and ohon O
And there she has born a sweet babie.
Adown by the greenwode side O
2. An strait she rowed its swaddling band,
Sing ohon, ohon, and ohon O
An O! nae mother grips took her hand.
Adown by the greenwode side O
3. O twice it lifted its bonnie wee ee:
Sing ohon, ohon, and ohon O
'Thae looks gae through the saul o me!'
Adown by the greenwode side O
4. She buried the bonnie babe neath the brier,
Sing ohon, ohon, and ohon O
And washed her hands wi mony a tear.
Adown by the greenwode side O
5. And as she kneelt to her God in prayer,
Sing ohon, ohon, and ohon O
The sweet wee babe was smiling there.
Adown by the greenwode side O
6. 'O ay, my God, as I look to thee,
Sing ohon, ohon, and ohon O
My babe 's atween my God and me.
Adown by the greenwode side O
7. 'Ay, ay, it lifts its bonnie wee ee:
Sing ohon, ohon, and ohon O
'"Sic kindness get as ye shawed me."'
Adown by the greenwode side O
8. 'An O its smiles wad win me in,
Sing ohon, ohon, and ohon O
But I 'm borne down by deadly sin.
Adown by the greenwode side O
Additions and Corrections
P. 218. D. b. Kinloch Manuscripts, VII, 23. Insert again at p. 221.
F. a. Also in Motherwell's Manuscript, p. 514. Insert again, at p. 222.
I. a. Also in Motherwell's Manuscript, p. 475. Insert again at p. 223.
Add: N. 'The Loch o the Loanie,' Campbell Manuscripts, II, 264.
219 b. Add to the German versions of 'The Cruel Mother:' M. Pater Amand Baumgarten. Aus der volksmässigen Ueberlieferung der Heimat: IX, Geburt, ['Das ausgesetzte Kind.'] N. A. Schlosser, Deutsche Volkslieder aus Steiermark, p. 336, No 306, 'Der alte Halter und das Kind' (not yet seen by me). (Köhler.)
220 a. A ballad of Slavic origin in Nesselmann's Litauische Volkslieder, No. 380, p. 322, resembles the German and Wendish versions of 'The Cruel Mother,' with a touch of 'The Maid and the Palmer.' (G. L. Kittredge.)
220 b, line 7. Read: Hausschatz.
225. Add version N.
226 a. C. Cunningham, as Mr. Macmath has reminded me, has made this stanza a part of another ballad, in Cromek's Remains, p. 223.
P. 219 b. Add to the German versions: M, O. Knoop, Volkssagen, Erzählungen, u. s. w., aus dem östlichen Hinterpommern, Posen, 1885, pp. x, xi: 'Es trieb ein Schäfer mit Lämmlein raus.' Fr. Schönwerth, Aus der Oberpfalz, I, 234, gives a prose tale which is evidently founded on the ballad of 'The Cruel Mother' (three children, one in the water, one in dung, one in the wood). R. Köhler.
225. The Duke's Daughter's Cruelty, or, The Wonderful Apparition of two Infants who she murtherd and buried in a Forrest for to hide her Shame. Printed for J. Deacon at the Sign of the Angel in Guil[t]-spur Street.
Either the printer or the transcriber was careless.
52. sights.
111. gowing.
122. was naked inserted by Percy.
161. you foot; throne, and perhaps also in 61.
201. coldeth.
231. wand.
252. waring.
After 10 is introduced, absurdly, this stanza, derived from 'The Famous Flower of Serving Men:'
She cut her hair, changed her name
From Fair Elinor to Sweet William.
P. 21 8 b. Danish. 'I delgsmål,' Kristensen, Skattegraveren, V, 98, No 644; corrupted.
(N, O should be O, P, II, 500: see I, 504.)
Q. The Cruel Mother,' Shropshire Folk-Lore, edited by Charlotte Sophia Burne, 1883-86, p. 540; "sung by Eliza Wharton and brothers, children of gipsies, habitually travelling in North Shropshire and Staffordshire, 13th July, 1885."
1. There was a lady, a lady of York,
Ri fol i diddle i gee wo
She fell a-courting in her own father's park.
Down by the greenwood side,
2. She leaned her back against the stile,
Ri fol i diddle i gee wo
There she had two pretty babes born.
Down by the greenwood side,
3. And she had nothing to lap 'em in,
Ri fol i diddle i gee wo
But she had a penknife sharp and keen.
Down by the greenwood side,
4. . . .
Ri fol i diddle i gee wo
There she stabbed them right through the heart.
Down by the greenwood side,
5. She wiped the penknife in the sludge;
Ri fol i diddle i gee wo
The more she wiped it, the more the blood showed.
Down by the greenwood side,
6. As she was walking in her own father's park,
Ri fol i diddle i gee wo
She saw two pretty babes playing with a ball.
Down by the greenwood side,
7. 'Pretty babes, pretty babes, if you were mine,
Ri fol i diddle i gee wo
I'd dress you up in silks so fine.'
Down by the greenwood side,
8. 'Dear mother, dear mother, [when we were thine,]
Ri fol i diddle i gee wo
You dressed us not in silks so fine.
Down by the greenwood side,
9. 'Here we go to the heavens so high,
Ri fol i diddle i gee wo
You'll go to bad when you do die.'
Down by the greenwood side,
219 b, 504 a, II, 500 a. (M at this last place should be O.) Add: P, 'Die Schäferstochter,' as sung in the neighborhood of Koslin, Ulrich Jahn, Volkssagen aus Pommern u. Rügen, No 393, p. 310 f. (G.L.K.)
A Magyar-Croat ballad of the same tenor as the German, Kurelac, p. 150, No 451. (W.W.)
To be Corrected in the Print.
500, 20, first line. Read O for M. English N, O should be O, P.
P. 21 8 b, III, 502 a. 'Barnemordersken,' Kristensen, Jyske Folkeminder, X, 356, No 90, A, B.
219 b, 504 a, II, 500 a, III, 502 b. Add: Q, R, Hruschka u. Toischer, Deutsche Volkslieder aus Böhmen, p. 129, No 40 a, b.
220 ff. a. Manuscript of Thomas Wilkie, p. 4, in "Scotch Ballads, Materials for Border Minstrelsy," No 33. "Taken down from Mrs. Hislope, Gattonside. The air is plaintive and very wild." 1813. b. "Scotch Ballads, Materials," etc., No 113; in the hand of T. Wilkie.
1. As I looked over my father's castle-wa,
All alone and alone, O
I saw two pretty babes playing at the ba.
Down by yone greenwood side, O
2. 'O pretty babes, if ye were mine,'
All alone and alone, O
'I would dead you o the silk so fine.'
Alone by the greenwood side, O
3. 'O mother dear, when we were thine,
All alone and alone, O
Ye houket a hole foment the sun,'
And laid yer two babes in, O
4. 'O pretty babes, if ye were mine,
All alone and alone, O
I would feed you wi the morning's milk.'
Alone by the greenwood side, O
5. 'O mother dear, when we were thine,
All alone and alone, O
Ye houket a hole foment the sun.
And laid yer two babes in, O.
6. 'But we are in the heavens high,
All alone and alone, O
And ye hae the pains of hell to dri.'
Alone by the greenwood side, O
7. 'O pretty babes, pray weel for me!'
All alone and alone, O
'Aye, mother, as ye did for we.'
Down by yone greenwood side, O
a. 31. when that ye had done is written above we were thine.
b. 1. Burden, second line, by the.
22. with the.
After 2:
'O mother dear, when we were thine,
Ye stabd us wi your little penknife.'
Down by the, etc.
31. when that ye had done.
4, 5. Wanting.
6. Burden, second line, Down by the, etc.
The copy at II, 500 b (Pepys, V, 4, No 2), is also in the Crawford collection, No 1127, and in that from the Osterley Park library, British Museum, C. 39. k. 6 (60). It is dated 1688-95 in the Crawford catalogue, and 1690? in the Museum catalogue.
The text printed II, 500 is here corrected according to the Museum copy.
21. lovd.
32. for her heaviness.
62. pritty.
81. long and sharp.
122. other as naked as.
132. would.
142. dress us.
211, 221. O mother, O mother.
231. Alass! said.
After 10, etc.: hair and.
Title: Infants whom.
Imprint: London: Printed, etc.: Guiltspur.
(92, 192. have into, wrongly.)
P. 218. Findlay's Manuscripts, I, 58 f., derived from his mother.
1. I lookëd ower the castle-wa,
Hey rose, ma lindie, O
Saw twa bonnie babies playin at the ba.
Doon in the green wood-sidie, O
2. 'O bonnie babies, an ye were mine,
Hey rose, ma lindie, O
I wad feid ye wi flour-breid an wine.'
Doon in the green wood-sidie, O
3. 'O cruel mother, when we were thine,
Hey rose, ma lindie, O
You did not prove to us sae kin.'
Doon in the green wood-sidie, O
4. 'O bonnie babies, an ye were mine,
Hey rose, ma lindie, O
I wad cleid ye wi scarlet sae fine.'
Doon in the green wood-sidie, O
5. 'O cruel mother, when we were thine,
Hey rose, ma lindie, O
You did not prove to us sae fine.
Doon in the green wood-sidie, O
6. 'For wi a penknife ye took our life
Hey rose, ma lindie, O
And threw us ower the castle-wa.'
Doon in the green wood-sidie, O
7. 'O bonnie babies, what wad ye hae dune to me
Hey rose, ma lindie, O
For my bein sae cruel to thee?'
Doon in the green wood-sidie, O
8. 'Seven yeare a fish in the flood,
Hey rose, ma lindie, O
Seven yeare a bird in the wood.
Doon in the green wood-sidie, O
9. 'Seven yeare a tinglin bell,
Hey rose, ma lindie, O
Seventeen yeare in the deepest hell.'
Under the green wood-sidie, O
219 b, 504 a, II, 500 a, III, 502 b, IV, 451 a. Add S, Deutsche Volksballaden aus Südungarn, Grünn und Baróti, in Ethnologische Mitteilungen aus Ungarn, II, 201, No 4, 1892.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
P. 219 b, 504 a, II, 500 a, IV, 451 a, V, 212 a. Add: T, Wolfram, p. 90, No 64, 'Es hütet ein Schafer an jenem Rain,' 'Die Rabenmutter; ' Böhme's edition of Erk's Liederhort, I, 636, No 212 e; and to the literature several items at p. 637.
219 b, III, 502 b. Similar Slavic ballads: Polish, Kolberg, Lud, IV, 52, No 220; XII, 308 f., Nos 611, 612; XVII, 9, No 17; XVIH, 188, No 346; XXI, 85, No 179; XXII, 160, No 284; Kolberg, Mazowsze, II, 160, No 352; IV, 366, No 436.
P. 220. C, sts 9, 10, 11 are in Motherwell's Manuscript, p. 183, written in pencil.