Narrative: 3. The Bramble Briar; Bridgewater Merchant's Daughter; In Bruton Town
A. "Near Turnbridge Waters" found in Chapter 18 in Tales About Christmas by Peter Parley (Samuel Griswold Goodrich) p. 147-148; London, 1838.
B. "The Bridgewater Merchant," from a New York MS taken from a great-aunt of Douglass; dated circa 1820, part of Douglass/Stevens MS from A Pioneer Songster- Thompson and Cutting, 1958.
C. "The Apprentice Boy" from Ohio/Michigan taken MS book (c. 1852) of Mrs. Elsie Clark Lambertson. Published in Ballads and Songs of Southern Michigan by Gardner and Chickering; 1939.
D. "The Bamboo Brier" Sung by Mrs. Samuel Harmon; Cades Cove, TN from Council Harmon (1806-1890) dated c. 1840
E. "The Merchant's Daughter"- Carl Mayhew Missouri, dated 1870, collected in 1910, Belden A in Ballads and Songs, 1940.
F. "The Bamboo Briers"- Hannah Ross from Virginia to West Virginia; 1875 Cox A in Folk Songs from the South, 1925.
G. "The Bramble Brier"- Sung by Jane Goon of Ohio was taken from Carrie Brubaker by 1876. It was published in Eddy's Ballads and Songs from Ohio in 1939.
H. "The Bramble Brier," from Henry J. Wehman (Wehman's Universal Songster); printed in NY. No. 28, p. 23; 1890.
I. "The Jealous Brothers," sung by Mr. Doney Hammontree of Farmington, Arkansas; from Randolph, Ozark Folksongs dated 1890s.
J. In Bruton Town" sung by Mrs. Overd in Somerset, England; collected in 1904 by Cecil Sharp. Published in the 1905 JFSS.
K. "A Famous Farmer" sung by George Digweed, Hants. Collected by H. E. Hammond in 1906.
L. "Lonesome Valley" was collected by Katherine Pettit in Kentucky from an unknown informant before 1907 when it was published in the JAF by Kittredge.
M. "The Brake o' Briars" sung by Sebbage in Sussex in 1911; collected by Gillington and published in her book, Songs of the Open Road, pp. 10.
N. "The Apprentice Boy" was collected by Hubert Shearin in Kentucky from an unknown informant before 1911 when it was published in the Sewannee Review.
O. "It's of a Farmer" was collected from an unknown informant in Herts in 1913 by R. V. Williams. It was later published in Palmer's, Everyman's Book of English Country Songs.
P. "Lord Burling's Sister" was collected by Broadwood from Joiner in Herts, 1914.
Q. "The Farmer's Daughter." Sung by Richard Gardner of Hardwick, Oxfordshire and collected by Alfred Williams. It was published, December 1915.
R. "In Seaport Town." Sung by Stella Shelton of Madison County, NC in 1916 (Sharp A).
S. "Near Bridgewater." Sung by Eliza Pace of Hyden, KY in 1917 (Sharp E).
T. "In Transport Town." Sung by Mrs. Mollie Broughton at Barbourville, Knox Co., Kentucky on May 8, 1917 (Sharp F, MS)
U. "Brandberry Briars." Communicated by Frances Sanders (WV) 1924 (Cox C).
V. "The Bridgewater." Sung by George Vinton Graham of California, learned in Iowa. Recorded in 1938 by Cowell for LOC.
W. "The Bridgwater Farmer." Sung by Caroline Hughes of Dorset, England. Recorded in 1962 MacColl/Seeger.
As a word, "Bramble Briar" is redundant. A bramble is a wild prickly bush and in England it usually refers to a blackberry bush. A briar (also brier) is a thorny plant that forms thickets. In this ballad the bramble briar is the place where the brothers throw the corpse of their sister's lover, who was their servant or apprentice boy. The location of the murder and the site of his body's disposal has also been sung as "a brake of briars[1]," "a dry ditch,[2]" or "a ditch of briars[3]." In A Midsummer Night's Dream, (The Merchant Of Venice, Volume 5) Shakespeare writes, "Enter into that brake," which Kennett (MS. Lansd. 1033), defines as, “a small plat or parcel of bushes growing by themselves.[4]” It's called “A grounde full of bushes and brambles; a brake of briers; a thicket of thornes,” in the Nomenclator, 1585[5].
The briar, well known in ballad lore from the "rose and briar" ending[6] where it grows on the woman's grave[7], in this ballad represents the painful separation, revenge and death within this family[8] and painful death of the daughter's lover. The pain of the briar as a symbol is evident, for example, in the crucifixion of Christ. Porter[9], for example, refers to the bramble briar as the "central symbol of the song." Even though the exact words, bramble briar, are missing in most versions of the ballad or distorted into "greenberry[10]" and the like, "The Bramble Briar" is the most powerful and symbolic title and far more revealing of the plot than "The Merchant's Daughter[11]."
The ballad story has been told as early as 1353 in "Isabella and the Pot of Basil" which is Philomena’s story in the fourth day of The Decameron, a collection of short stories by Italian writer Giovanni Boccaccio (1313–1375)[12]. German poet Hans Sachs used the theme as the subject of his first narrative poem in 1515 and returned to it three more times over the course of the next thirty years and in 1818 John Keats wrote a narrative poem based on Boccaccio's story[13]. In 1905 Broadwood pointed out the similarity of the ballad story with Boccaccio's:
"This, apart from its fine tune, is a ballad of great interest, for we have here a doggerel version of the story, " Isabella and the Pot of Basil," that, though made famous by Boccaccio, was probably one of those old folk-tales, popular long before his time (1313-1373), of which he loved to make use. Hans Sachs (1494-1576) has put Boccaccio's story into verse, and his translation has much of the directness and homeliness which we find in this Somersetshire version. Both contrast curiously with Keats's flowery and artificial transcription, and certainly suggest better than his a primitive story of the people."[14]
In 1918 Belden published a detailed study of the ballad titled "Boccaccio, Hans Sachs, and the Bramble Briar."[15] A synopsis of the similarities of the ballad story and Boccaccio's was given by Belden:
A merchant's daughter is in love with and loved by a dependent of the family-- an "apprentice boy," a "servant man." The lovers are overheard by one of her brothers. Instead of taking vengeance on the spot he reports to his brother, and they plan together to murder the young man either because they are jealous or feel he is below their sister's station. They offer to take him hunting or bring him on an excursion. They bring him to a lonely spot, murder him and hide the body. The girl questions her brothers when they return without her lover, and the brothers answer they do not know where her lover is. While she weeps alone upon her bed, her lover's ghost appears to her, bloody and disheveled, bids her cease weeping for him, tells her he has been murdered by her brothers, and gives her directions for finding the corpse. She sets out, finds the body, and goes into a passion of grief over it. She goes home and accuses her brothers of killing her love. They decide to leave on a boat and their boat is wrecked and sends them to their grave.[16]
There are differences. The most notable difference, missing in the ballad, is the dramatic ending of Boccaccio's story where the girl buries her dead lover's head in a flower pot, plants basil in it and waters it with tears. There are also details found in the ballad that are missing in Boccaccio's story. For example, she stays three days with her lovers body before hunger forces her to return home. Belden, however, concludes that it it "highly probable that The Bramble Briar is derived from the story as Boccaccio told it." A 1620 English translation of Boccaccio's story with minor editing was given by Steve Gardham[17] in an appendix to his article "The Bridewater Merchant" as follows:
Isabella's Tragedy
In Messina there dwelt three young men,
Brethren and merchants all they were.
Very rich by their father's death then,
And lived in fame with little care.
They had a sister Isabella,
And she was beautiful and fair,
And as of yet she remained unmarried
And with great portion it was her share.
The trading of the brothers' business
That brought them plenty of store and gain,
Was by a factor, thus a servant,
Lorenzo was this factor's name.
Lorenzo being of fair complexion,
Gracious in this young maid's eyes,
Isabella placed her whole affection,
Gave him many looks and sighs.
Lorenzo noting her behaviour
Fixed his heart on her likewise;
Both respected one another
But kept their secret from prying eyes.
It was one day the eldest brother
At length he chanced upon the scene;
He told it to his other brethren
The secret meeting he had seen.
With no sign unto Lorenzo
From the city they rode all three,
And talking with him kind manner,
Took Lorenzo in their company.
When they came to a lonely valley
Such as matched their vile intent,
They ran upon him, quickly slew him,
Interred his body where no-one went.
When they returned unto Messina
They gave it forth they had him sent
To do some trading in a far country
As formerly it was their bent.
Many demands she made unto them
To which far country he had gone.
What do you mean by all these questions?
The brothers said, you do us wrong.
One night as she lay sore afflicted
Lorenzo came to her bedside,
In torn and unbefitting garments,
With looks so pale and eyes so wide.
My dear, he said, do not torment you,
Nor call my name and thus repine;
Thy brethren they cruelly slew me,
My mangled body you soon shall find.
In the morning she rode a journey
Directly to the designed place:
She found the body of her Lorenzo
And held him close in fond embrace.
His body was so little corrupted,
She washed it over with many a tear;
Infinite kisses bestowed upon him,
My love's no more, to me so dear.
Returning back to her cruel brethren
This maiden wept and pined away,
She could not cease from all her mourning,
Died upon the very next day.
As their offence might be discovered,
From Messina all three were bound
And sailing on their way to Naples,
Their ship was lost, all three were drowned.
Gardham in his series of articles on the ballad concurs with Belden stating, "That it derives directly from one of the many English translations of Boccaccio's Isabella and the Pot of Basil is surely unquestionable.[18]" Gardham and Belden however differ on the possible origin of the ballad. Belden states that "its appearance only in remote country places, on both sides of the ocean, and the diversified, corrupt, and often defective character of the texts are arguments, so far as they go, against its having been disseminated as a stall ballad." However, Gardham argues that it's more likely to have originated from an undiscovered stall ballad.
Other ballad researchers are not so quick to claim Boccaccio as the source of the ballad. In "Folk Songs of the Catskills" Cazden and all first mention Boccaccio, Hans Sachs and lastly Keats. Then they comment[19]:
"None of these forms seem to have had a direct influence on the text lines or the images of the two ballad strains. It may be more fruitful to regard the core of the tale as a popular theme, probably handed down in oral tradition since long before Boccaccio, with its various literary renderings, broadside ballad texts, and possibly other outcroppings constituting particular formulations or crystallizations."
Whether The Bramble Briar is based on Boccaccio's story has not been conclusively proven. What is known is that, other than Boccaccio's ending, the two stories are remarkably the same. A common mistake is to date the ballad back to Boccaccio's story when the ballad, as Gardham notes, is based on a translation of Boccaccio's work- most likely the 1620 or 1702 translations. Broadwood has pointed out a different broadside based on the Boccaccio translations. The missing Bramble Briar broadside is simply not dated back to 1353 and is not one of the oldest ballads-- although the theme or story is.
* * * *
The Bramble Briar ballad, collected in the early 1900s[20], was first printed in Tales About Christmas by Peter Parley (Samuel Griswold Goodrich), London, 1838. Here's the entire excerpt from Chapter 18:
A bricklayer, judging by his appearance, then entertained the company with the long ballad of "Lord Bateman's Daughter:" though he had by no means a good voice, yet you might have heard a pin drop on the floor while he was singing; and yet I question if equal attention was not given to a labourer, in a smock frock, who was the next singer.
He began his ditty with a twang, singing somewhat through his nose; but that did not signify, for the narrative contained in his ballad was full of interest. It began thus,
"Near Tunbridge waters a man there lived,"
and went on to say that the man had two sons and a daughter, whom he loved very dearly.
"A servant man with them there lived;
A servant man as you shall hear,
And this young lady did him admire,
And they loved each other dear."
It seems that the brothers of the young lady were highly offended, for, after some time,
"A hunting match there was provided
To take this young man's sweet life away."
This cruel plan succeeded too well, for the two brothers fell upon the servant man, in a lonely place, and killed him; thus the young lady was deprived of her lover, and thus the hard hearted brothers rid themselves of the servant man.
"Near Tunbridge waters a brook there runneth;
With thorns and briers it is overgrown,
And, all for to hide their cruel murder,
In that brook he was killed and thrown."
Despite providing only two stanzas and three lines with some of the story, this is my version A. The first and last stanza of A provides an alternative title, "Near Tunbridge Waters" as well as a possible alternative setting for the lost broadside/ur-ballad which is thought to be Bridgewater[21]. The opening "Near Bridgewater" is very similar to "Near Tunbridge Water(s)." However, without the discovery of other early versions or the missing broadside, Bridgewater remain the logical choice for the location. The discovery[22] of A cannot be underestimated-- it provides a traditional version of the ballad in England from the early 1800s similar to the ones that have been collected in America that date back to that time. Previously, the first known version in England was Mrs. Overd's "In Bruton Town" secured by Cecil Sharp in 1904. There is a connection between the two early English versions that has not been pointed out. In A, "a brook there runneth" where the body is thrown. In Overd's version, J, the brook appears in stanza 6:
She rose early the very next morning,
Unto the garden brook she went;
There she found her own dear jewel
Covered all over in a gore of bled.
In another English version, K, "A Famous Farmer," the place is a creek but "It was near the creek where there was no water." Whereas another English version "In Bruton Town" sung by Mrs Baggs of Chedington, Dorset, in August, 1907 has:
She woke up early, so early next morning,
And went to the brook where the briars grew;
A establishes a detail (the brook) about the setting found in the English versions not found in the US ones.
The ballad is presumed to be older than the early 1800s from which A and B are taken. Belden says, ". . . one is inclined to account for its existence among the mountaineers of Kentucky and the Ozarks by supposing it to be a part of their English inheritance, brought by their ancestors when they came to this country in the seventeenth or eighteenth century.[23]" Mike Yates commented[24], ". . . some early settlers took it there, along with all those other songs and ballads." Frank Purslow in a handwritten note found in Vaughan-Williams collection said: " 'A Famous Farmer' and its corrupted version 'A Female Farmer' are other names for 'Bruton Town' which dates from the early 18th century at least, but is probably much older." Gardham says that Purslow's date is too early and gives a date of around 1750.[25]
Out of the over 65 US versions and 17 English versions, I've selected twenty-three (my A-W) to represent the ballad. Most are early versions to which are added a few later complete versions. All 82 of the ballad texts with sources and notes are given under US & Canada Versions or British & Other Versions which are pages attached to this one. B, The Bridgewater Merchant, taken from a MS written down in New York by a great-aunt of Douglass and dated c.1820[26], is the longest extant version recovered. This version was the primary ballad used by Gardham to create his "Reconstructed Broadside Ballad[27]." C, "An Apprentice Boy," is another full version taken from a manuscript that I've dated c.1852. Collected in Michigan[28], C came originally from New Jersey then to Ohio before ending up in Michigan. It also uses Bridgewater as the setting. D, "The Bamboo Brier" is a fragment from the singing of Mrs. Samuel Harmon, Cade's Cove, Tennessee (1930), who learned it from her grandfather, Council Harmon (1806-1890) of Watauga County, NC before she left NC for Tennessee. The opening stanzas are missing. Some of the Hicks/Harmon ballads unquestionably date back to Council's grandfather, "Big Sammy" Hicks, who came from Virginia to the NC mountains in the late 1700s. Whether this ballad is one of them is unknown. What is known is four versions from the Hick/Harmon/Presnell line have been recovered. I do not have access to Sam Harmon's version recorded in 1939 by Herbert Halpert which will be similar to his wife's version.
Version E, "The Merchant's Daughter" was sung by Carl Mayhew of Missouri. It came down to him from his grandmother through his mother and is dated pre-1870. The ballad was collected in 1910 and appears as Belden A[29]. Gerald Porter used it as one of his two fundamental ballads in his "Brake of Briars: Regeneration of a Ballad" in 1991[30]. This is surprising because there are a number of corruptions in Mayhew's version and only a few stanzas that properly represent the ur-ballad or missing broadside. The story, however, is a full one. F, "The Bamboo Briers" was sung by Hannah Ross whose mother brought it from Virginia to West Virginia circa 1875. It is given as Cox A[31] and is missing the revenant visitation or dream. G, The Bramble Brier, is a particularly good text of 15 stanzas and one of two versions where the spot of the murder is properly named, the bramble briar. It was sung by Miss Jane Goon of Perrysville, Ohio who got it from Carrie Brubaker by 1876[32]. It is the only version that names the murdered servant[33]. H, "The Bramble Brier," is the only extant print version and is taken from Henry J. Wehman Universal Songster[34] which was printed in New York in 1890. Current opinion, and I concur, is that the Wehman version was taken from oral traditional and rewritten. The Wehman version has been analyzed by Steve Gardham[35] who has looked at each stanza and compared them to traditional versions. Unfortunately only phrases and some lines remain that have not been changed by some writer for the Wehman's Songster. I, titled "The Jealous Brothers," a short versions of 10 stanzas with the dream and brothers drowning, was sung by Doney Hammontree of Farmington, Arkansas. It is taken from Randolph, Ozark Folksongs and dated the 1890s.
J, "In Bruton Town," the first full version collected in England was sung by Mrs. Overd in Somerset and collected in 1904 by Cecil Sharp[36]. It begins, "In Bruton town there lives a farmer," and in the same edition of JFSS (1906) another English version of 9 stanzas appeared titled "In Strawberry Town" which began, "In Strawberry Town there lives a farmer."
K, "A Famous Farmer," a full version of 13 stanzas collected by H.E.D. Hammond, was sung by George Digweed, of Micheldever, Hampshire in March 1906. L, "Lonesome Valley," collected in Kentucky by Katherine Pettit, was the first US version published (1907)[37]. Returning to England, M, "The Brake o' Briars" collected in 1911 by Gillington[38] was the first of four Travellers' versions and provided a new location for the murder, "a brake o' briars." It's important to note that "brake" is not found in any US versions. N, "The Apprentice Boy" is a full fifteen stanza version collected in Kentucky before 1911 by Shearin when it was published in The Sewannee Review. O, "It's of a Farmer" was collected in England (Herts) in 1913 by R. Vaughan Williams.
P, Lord Burling's Sister, which was also sung in Herts, is one of the best and fullest English versions[39]. It was collected 1914 by Lucy Broadwood. It has the dream and the "three days and nights" stanza. Q, titled "The Farmer's Daughter" was collected in 1915 in Oxfordshire by Alfred Williams. In this version the two brothers were hung at the end. R, is the first of three important versions collected by Cecil Sharp in Appalachia[40]. Titled "In Seaport Town," R was sung by Stella Shelton in NC in 1916 (Sharp A) and includes the revenant visit as well as the brothers' death at sea. S, titled "Near Bridgewater" was sung by Eliza Pace in Kentucky in 1917 (Sharp E). It is archaic and has phrases similar to those found in The Bridgewater Merchant (B) from a New York MS circa 1820. T, "In Transport Town" is a full version sung by Mrs. Mollie Broughton in Kentucky in 1917 (Sharp F, text from his MS).
U is a full version of fifteen stanzas and I've titled it "Brandberry Briars." Collected in 1924 it was published by Cox in his Traditional Ballads and Folk Songs Mainly from West Virginia in 1939. V, titled "The Bridgewater" is from a recording made by George Vinton Graham for the Library of Congress in 1938. Graham learned this in Iowa from his mother as a child and it represents the northern (New York) texts which have migrated to the west. W, is from Dorset England and titled "Bridgwater Farmer." It's an excellent "Brake of Briars" version from a Traveller named Caroline Hughes that was recorded in 1962.
Most of the English versions have the standard opening but are missing the other opening stanzas[41] as well as the ending which features the drowning of the brothers at sea. The complete story line is best told in the American versions B, then C, G, S and V. The rhyme pattern (lines 1 and 3; lines 2 and 4) in these five versions is very consistent throughout but is missing part of the rhyme in the first stanza and 17 as well as 18. The collated texts (see the 24 stanza version below) use only traditional versions and not Wehman's print version which is too badly rewritten.
In stanza two of the collated texts below, the servant is called a "factor" which also appears in the 1620 English translation of Boccaccio as well as in versions B (factor), C (factors) S, (factory) and H, Wehman's print version (factor). This points to a possible connection between a translation of Boccaccio (see above) and the missing broadside. A "factor" would represent their father and brothers, and sell their merchandise in their name. The servant must have risen to a high position of trust in order to handle their merchandise abroad. According to B, they "sent him factor o'er the main."
The use of "factor" in Boccaccio's story in the Decameron is just one indication that his story was made into a broadside. In the 1905 JFSS, Lucy Broadwood pointed out:
"I have not yet been able to find any printed English ballad on this subject, but in the Roxburghe Ballads (B. M.) there is, on a seventeenth century black-letter broadside, a doggerel version of the tale of Grisilda, the last story in Boccaccio's Decameron, showing that early ballad-writers either used his material, or, more probably, drew from the same common stock of stories."
Is the use of "factor" in stanza 2 the link between the missing broadside and English translation of Boccaccio?
Another possible motive for the murder is the division of their father's inheritance as found in stanza 4. Although the amount the daughter receives varies, it's clear that she feel that her love, the factor, should receive the same inheritance. There could have been a dispute between the daughter and her brothers over her inheritance and her awarding a portion to her lover. The last two lines of stanza two are: "To this young man that ploughed the ocean/She was resolved to bestow the same." So the daughter was determined to give the same amount of inheritance to her love. Perhaps this was another reason the brothers were jealous. In another version "The Ditch of Briars" sung by Mr. and Mrs. James York in 1940- the father apparently left the same amount to her love,
The 'prentice boy who was bound to him,
To him alone was left the same,
which would explain the daughter's position in other versions where "she was resolved to bestow the same." The obvious motive for the murder is that the brothers did not want "an apprentice" or "a servant" to become part of the family. As head of their sister's household he would be now regarded as an equal in family and business matters.
Stanzas 5 and 6 of the collated texts below (the brothers discover the love affair and vow to murder the servant) are found only in B, C and S. Other versions[42] condense the actions into one stanza. The phrase identifiers are "sport and play" and "send him headlong to his grave." Versions E, F, L, N, R and S are archaic versions that supply details in the opening stanzas such as the sum of the daughter's portion (i.e. seven thousand pounds).
B alone provides stanza 8 while A and B give the second line of stanza 9 (Where thorns and briers had overgrown) perhaps indicating that the line, "And through strange places that were unknown," found in many versions may not be the original.
Stanza 9 as given from a New York MS from Douglass' aunt is nearly identical to a stanza in "Lord Burling's Sister" sung by Joiner in Herts in 1914.
In Stanza 14 her lover's ghost describes where she may find his body. It is found fragmented condition in only E and an unlettered version "Over High Hills" from JAF, 46. Steve Gardham included it in his "Reconstructed Broadside Ballad."
In Stanza 16 as found in some US versions it is the girl's tears that are "salt as any brine" whereas in most US versions it is the murdered lover's lips that are "salt as any brine." The girl's use of a handkerchief to wipe the eyes of her dead lover is found only in the English versions and not in the US. Also in Stanza 16 as found similarly in many US versions is the line "she off-times kissed his face" which is different than many revenant ballads where kissing a corpse results in death.
Stanza 17 is rare and found only in B, P and R. It precedes the "Three days and three nights" stanza. Stanza 20 which is the second stanza after she confronts her brothers, is also rare found only in B and V. The last three stanzas (22-24) are taken verbatim from the Douglass version in A Pioneer Songster.
* * * *
The ballad story collated from the traditional texts[43]:
A wealthy merchant (margent or in England, a farmer) lived "near Bridgewater" in C, V, W (in A, "near Tunbridge Waters"; in B, "At Bridgewater"; D "Across Bridgewater" G, "In Portly town" H, "Near Blue-water"; J, "In Bruton Town"; L, "In yonder town"; N, "In yon post-town"), who had two sons and a daughter fair (in C, "dear"[44]), when the father died (in V, "from life to death"; in B, "of life to death"), they were bereaved, which filled his children's hearts with fear (in C, "care"). Unto the seas the two sons (in S, "young men" in V, "two boys") ventured, to bring home their father's gain (in B, "bring back their gain"). They had an apprentice by firm indenture (in S, "strong indebted') and sent him factor (in S, "factory") o'er the raging main (in S, "o'er the sea"). He was comely of a fair complexion, neat (in B, straight) and complete in every limb. And on him their sister placed her whole affection, Unbeknownst to any of them. Three thousand pounds (in E, Five hundred pounds; in F, "Seven thousand pounds"; in G, "Ten thousand pounds") it was her portion, all for this fair and comely dame. To this young man that ploughed (in B, crossed) the ocean, she was resolved to bestow the same (in F, "And unto him she bestowed the same"). One night (B, It was one day) the youngest brother, by chance did see them sport and play (in F, "chanced to overhear"). He told it secret to the other, And then these words they both did say:
"Of parents low (B, "mean") he has descended, maybe he thinks her for to have; But this courtship shall soon be ended, we'll send him headlong to his grave (in F, "Or send him headlong to his grave").
Now for to end this bloody (in L and S, "cruel") matter (in B, "slaughter"), and fill their sister's heart with woe. This poor young man they (B, both) did flatter, with them a-hunting for to go.
When they returned home to their sister, she said, "Where is your servant man? I ask because you seem to whisper, Tell me, dear brothers, if you can."
"We lost him in our game of hunting, no more of him could we see; But to tell the truth I am offended, that you do thus examine me."
That very night as she lay sleeping, there this young man he came and stood. By her bedside he stood a-weeping, All covered o'er in a gore of blood.
He said, "It is vain my jewel, for you to murmur or repine (pine). Your brothers killed me both rash and cruel (in B, "have killed me being cruel"), and in such a place you may me find. You rise up early to-morrow morning, over hills and lofty mountains wind. Go straight way to yon ditch of briars (bramble/bamboo briars), in such a lonesome place you may me find."
The very next morn to the woods she retired, With many a sigh and a bitter groan, There she found whom she so admired, In that same place was killed and thrown (in N, "she found him killed and thrown"). Although his lips (in L, cheeks) with blood were dyed, Her tears (in L, his lips) as salt as any brine.
She ofttimes kissed him and cried, "Alas! thou bosom friend of mine (in N, "You dearest bosom friend of mine")."
"Although (R, "Since") my brothers have been cruel, to take your precious life away. One grave shall serve for both my jewel
while I have breath I will by thee stay."
Three days and nights she stayed there weeping (in L, N, "Three days and nights she tarried with him") all down upon her bended knees, Until fierce (sharp) hunger came o'er her creeping, she uttered forth such words as these:
"Although my love for you is tender, yet I shall be obliged to yield, or unto death I must surrender; oh, like one that's conquered, I'll quit the field."
It was late that evening when she return-ed, her brothers asked her where she'd been.
She said: "You hard-hearted, deceitful villains, for him alone you both shall swing. Oh! dear brothers thou knowest the reason that makes your sister look so wan, against the law you have acted treason, by the killing of your servant man."
The murderers knowing her grief and sorrow, straightway on board of a ship did go, if you will believe me on the morrow, black clouds and storms were seen to blow. While in a rage and a foaming billow, which cast both ship and gunnel too, these murderers knowing their grief and sorrow, began to tremble and look blue.. For to look blue it was no wonder, just like an over-breaking wave. Both these young men were washed over, and the seas became their silent grave[45].
There are several common phrases which are "ballad identifiers:[46]"
1. "Gore of blood," "a gore of blood," "gores of blood," "all rolled over in gores of blood [Eddy]," "covered o'er a gore of blood [Thompson]" and "wallowed in a gore of blood," see stanza 12 of the collated text below.
2. "Three thousand pounds it was the portion [Thompson]," "Seven thousand was his daughter's portion[Cox A]," "Ten thousand pounds was this gay lady's portion [Shearin]," "Five hundred pounds was made her portion, [Belden A]," "Ten thousand pounds it was her portion [Eddy]," "Ten thousand pounds was the fair maid's portion[Cox C]," see stanza 4 of the collated text below.
3. "your two brothers killed me, rash and cruel [Eddy]," "Your brothers both being rash and cruel [Shearin]," "Your brother killed me rough and cruel [Sharp A]," "Since your two brothers have been so cruel [Cowell]," see stanza 13.
4. "You dearest bosom friend of mine! [Shearin]," "Said: You are the darling bosom friend of mine [Sharp A]," ""You're the dearest bosom friend of mine [Pettit]," See stanza 16 below.
5a. "strange places where it were unknown[Shearin]," "valleys that were unknown," "And through a many of a place unknown[Sharp A]," "And through such places as was quite unknown [Henry]," "And through strange places that were unknown [Pettit]." Not found in the ur-ballad which uses "overgrown."
5b. "killed and thrown." "And there she found him killed and thrown [Shearin]," "And there they had him killed and thrown [Eddy]," "Where this young man was killed and thrown [Gardiner]," "There they had him killed and thrown [Sharp E]." See stanza
6. "deceitful villains!" "deceitful villains [Sharp A and G]," "deceitful villains [Eddy]," "deceitful villains [Preston TX]," "deceitful villains [Lisha Shelton]." See stanza 20
7. "We'll send him headlong to the grave [Thompson]," "We'll send him headlong to the grave[Gardiner]," "Or send him headlong to his grave [Cox A]." See stanza 6.
8. "Three days and nights there she sat weeping [Thompson]," "Three days and nights she did stay by him [Belden]," "Three days and nights she tarried with him [Shearin also Pettit]," " Three days and nights she tarried by him [Eddy]." See stanza 18 below.
The collated texts representing the ur-ballad or missing broadside:
1. A wealthy merchant lived near Bridgewater,
Who had two sons and a daughter fair,
when the father died they were bereav-ed,
Which filled his children's hearts with care.
2. Unto the seas the sons did venture,
To bring home their father's gain;
They had an apprentice by firm indenture
And sent him factor o'er the raging main.
3. He was comely of a fair complexion,
Neat and complete in every limb.
On him their sister placed her whole affection,
Unbeknownst to any of them.
4. Three thousand pounds it was the portion,
All for this fair and comely dame.
To this young man that ploughed the ocean,
She was resolved to bestow the same.
5. One night the youngest brother
By chance did see them sport and play.
He told it secret to the other
And then these words they both did say:
6. Of parents low he has descended,
Maybe he thinks her for to have;
But this courtship shall soon be ended,
We'll send him headlong to his grave.
7. Now for to end this bloody matter
And fill their sister's heart with woe,
This poor young man they did flatter
With them a-hunting for to go.
8. In a small wood not much frequented
Where harmless lambs did sport and play
These villains could not be contented
But must take his precious life away
9. In a dry ditch where there was no water
Where thorns and briers had overgrown
There for to hide their bloody slaughter
There this young man was killed and thrown.
10. When they return-ed home to their sister,
She said, "Where is your servant man?
I ask because you seem to whisper,
Tell me, dear brothers, if you can."
11 "We lost him in our game of hunting,
No more of him could we see;
But to tell the truth I am offended
That you do thus examine me."
12. That very night as she lay sleeping
There this young man he came and stood
By her bedside he stood a-weeping
All covered[47] o'er in a gore of blood.
13. He said, "It is vain my jewel
For you to murmur or repine;
Your brothers killed me both rash and cruel
And in such a place you may me find."
14. "You rise up early to-morrow morning[48]
Over hills and lofty mountains wind,
Go straight way to yon ditch of briars
In such a lonesome place you may me find."
15. The very next morn to the woods she retired,
With many a sigh and a bitter groan
There she found whom she so admired,
In that same place was killed and thrown.
16. Although his lips with blood were dyed
Her tears as salt as any brine
She ofttimes kissed him and cried,
"Alas! thou bosom friend of mine."
17. Although my brothers have been cruel
To take your precious life away
One grave shall serve for both my jewel
While I have breath I will by thee stay.
18. Three days and nights she stayed there weeping
All down upon her bended knees,
Until fierce hunger came o'er her creeping,
She uttered forth such words as these:
19. "Although my love for you is tender,
Yet I shall be obliged to yield,
Or unto death I must surrender;
Oh, like one that's conquered, I'll quit the field."
20. It was late that evening when she return-ed,
Her brothers asked her where she'd been.
She said: "You hard-hearted, deceitful villains,
For him alone you both shall swing."
21. "Oh! dear brothers thou knowest the reason
That makes your sister look so wan
Against the law you have acted treason
By the killing of your servant man."
22. The murderers knowing her grief and sorrow
Straightway on board of a ship did go
If you will believe me on the morrow
Black clouds and storms were seen to blow.
23. While in a rage and a foaming billow
Which cast both ship and gunnel too
These murderers knowing their grief and sorrow
Began to tremble and look blue
24. For to look blue it was no wonder
Just like an overbreaking wave
Both these young men were washed over
And the seas became their silent grave.
* * * *
A similar but different ballad, "The Merchant's Daughter and Constant Farmer's Son," was issued by broadside printer W. Taylor as written by George Brown about 1837[49]. Belden, who lists Taylor's broadside as the first print version, says in his 1918 article[50] "The natural inference is that The Constant Farmer's Son is a working over of The Bramble Briar by some hack for the ballad press." Frank Purslow adds[51]: "The Constant Farmer's Son is a 19th century re-write of the older song in a different metre." Brown's ballad uses the theme and is original until the 6th stanza when it clearly begins quoting The Bramble Briar. The 7th and 8th stanzas quote Bramble Briar while the 9th quotes the broadside Polly's Love (Cruel Ship's Carpenter). The importance of Brown's work is that it establishes an early London version of Bramble Briar circa 1832-1837 that may have been the missing broadside.
Since The Constant Farmer's Son is based on The Bramble Briar and the story of the Bramble Briar is similar to Boccaccio's story of the pot of basil, Decameron, iv, 5 therefore: The Constant Farmer's Son is also based on or similar to Boccaccio's story. A brief synopsis follows:
Mary's parents consent to let their daughter marry a farmer, but her brothers want her to marry a lord. To prevent the marriage, the brothers ask the farmer to go with them to a fair and instead murder him with a stake. They tell their sister he has left with another girl. She has a dream of her lover's death by a crystal stream, then goes there and finds his body. She returns and sees her brother's guilty faces, has them executed, and dies of sorrow.
Another early broadside of Constant Farmer's Son, the Pitts broadside, dated 1819-1844, has the imprint: "Pitts Printer and Toy Warehouse 6 Great St Andrew Street Seven Dials." The last line of the first stanza begins as Burstow[53] sings it, "For only one, . . ." but adds " 'twas" ('twas a farmer's son). The word crystal is misspelled "chrystal." It seems likely that Burstow's version is based on the Pitt's broadside rather than Taylor's.
Some confusion has existed between these two similar ballads possibly because some of the British versions of Bramble Briar are about a farmer. In Bruton Town begins[54], 'In Bruton town there lives a farmer," establishing another tie with "Constant Farmer's Son." It is likely that the "farmer" in Bramble Briar not found in US versions, has been acquired by English singers from the Cosntant Farmer's Son broadside and was not, as Broadwood wrote[55], originally "father" as found in Hans Sachs reworking of Boccaccio.
The Constant Farmer's Son has been collected in Canada and the US[56]. Some collectors and writers have lumped the two ballads together when clearly the Bramble Briar is older and Constant Farmer's Son based on it (see stanzas 6-8). I have listed Constant Farmer's Son as an Appendix 3A. See 3A for headnotes and all versions.
* * * *
The "Bramble Briar" has been compared to the antecedent ballad, "The Braes O' Yarrow[57]." The parallel story is this: a rich feudal lord has a daughter who falls in love with a poor ploughboy. Because of his meager station, the lord's seven sons plan to kill ploughboy. When the brothers leave to carry out the murder, the daughter has a dream and sees her lover dead along the Yarrow. As she rushes off to save him, the brothers ambush the ploughboy who kills six of them but the seventh stabs him in the back leaving him to die on the Yarrow. She reaches her love but it's too late-- he dies in her arms and she dies of sorrow.
The comparison is made by Belden: When I printed A IV and The Constant Farmer's Son in the Sewanee Review in 1911, Mr. William MacMath of Edinburgh wrote to me[58]:
"It would not greatly surprise me if The Constant Farmer's Son and The Merchant's Daughter should be found to have an affinity with The Braes o' Yarrow "; and he pointed out particularly that in versions J, K, L of that ballad the lover is a "servant lad in Gala." The Braes o' Yarrow does indeed show what the popular ballad makes of such a theme. There is social inequality between the lovers in most of the versions; those in which the man is a "servant lad" have not a little of the vulgar ballad quality; but he is nowhere presented as in the service of the girl's brothers. And despite his social status the lover is heroic; he fights against heavy odds, disposing in proper ballad fashion of all his assailants (nine in most versions) save one, who gets in behind him or overcomes him when exhausted by the length of the contest. Either the fight is agreed upon beforehand between the combatants (A, B, C, D, E, F, HI, I) or the girl's father sends the lover forth to fight for her hand (J, K, L), or the girl herself (whether intentionally or not is not clear) betrays him into an ambush (M, IN). In The Bramble Briar, on the other hand, as in the Decameron, there is no fighting; the lover is simply and suddenly murdered, and the telling of it is as brief as the doing. There is in several of the versions of The Braes o Yarrow a foreboding dream, but no revelation by a ghost."
Some of the English and also American versions are not a revenant visitation but a dream about the visitation.
* * * *
There is evidence[59] that suggests The Bramble Briar was the work of a broadside writer who used a translation of Boccaccio's work to produce a broadside in the early to mid-1700s. The broadside would have become lost but not before it entered tradition both in England, represented by the A version, and abroad in the US as best represented by B, and C. The B version, in particular seems to be remembered from print. Around 1837 when broadside writer George Brown penned "The Merchant's Daughter or Constant Farmer's Son," he may have used a copy of The Bramble Briar broadside to create his parody. Brown's work has some of the details[60] not found in recent (since 1904) English versions of the Bramble Briar suggesting that a version similar to the missing broadside, B, was brought to the US where it was written down about 1820[61].
___________________________________________
Footnotes:
1. "The Brake of Briars" or "The Brake o' Briars" is associated with a version collected from a member of The English Travellers, a nomadic group English gypsies of Romani origin. Collected from Sebbage in Sussex in 1911 by Gillington.
2. First from "The Merchant's Daughter" taken from an MS of Douglass' aunt circa 1820 in New York state.
3. A Ditch of Briers- Wheeler (VA) 1918 Sharp H and The Ditch of Briars- Yorks (NC) 1940 Brown C also found as a "patch of briars."
4. From: "A Dictionary of Archaic and Provincial Words, Obsolete Phrases, Proverbs and Ancient Customs from the Fourteenth Century" by James Orchard Halliwell-Phillipps - 1881
5. "Nomenclator omnium rerum, propria nomina duabus linguis explicata indicans" by Hadrianus Junius, 1585.
6. The Rose and Briar" ending has appeared in a number of ballads including the following child ballads: Earl Brand (Child #7), George Collins (Child #85), Fair Janet (Child #64), Lord Thomas and Fair Eleanor (Child #73), Lord Lovel (Child #75), and Fair Margaret and Sweet William (Child #74).
7. David C. Fowler has said that the rose symbolizes true love, hence, it grew from his grave, whereas the spikiness and conditionality of her love produced the briar. The ending has long been associated with Barbara Allen, in which case is assessment is accurate.
8. The brothers kill the servant because they consider him below his sister station and/or because they are jealous of his involvement with their sister. Later after discovering the murder, the daughter reports the murder saying her brother will be hung for slaying her lover.
9. Gerald Porter, "Fragments and Meaning in Traditional Song;" 2003
10. "greenberry" is found in "The Murdering Sweetheart" sung by W.A. Ammons in West Virginia Folklore 2:2 (Jan., 1952).
11. The title as found in Belden's A version in Ballads and Songs (1940) first printed in The Sewanee Review, Vol. 19, No. 2 (Apr., 1911), pp. 213-227. The same title is found in a version printed in "Bulletin" - Volumes 16 of the Tennessee Folklore Society (1950). It's better known as "The Bridgewater Merchant" the oldest US version dated circa 1820. Both titles lack the mystery of Bramble Briar. A later broadside ballad based on the Bramble Briar and titled "The Merchant's Daughter and Constant Farmer's Son," was attributed to George Brown circa 1832 and printed by W. Taylor in London.
12. Decameron means an event of "ten days." Each of the ten characters tells a story every day so one hundred stories are told in ten days. Boccaccio borrowed most of his stories and those not traced to an earlier source may be from oral tradition [see Broadwood, 1906 JFSS]. A number of transcriptions have been made, the earliest is William Walter's in 1525. It is believed that perhaps a broadside writer based his ballad on the 1602, 1702 or 1741 transcriptions. This broadside however, has not been found. Broadwood points of that the translation of another of Boccaccio's stories was used by a Broadside writer, giving credence to the possibility that the "Isabella" story was also used.
Isabella, or the Pot of Basil is the story of a woman whose family wants her marry to "some high noble and his olive trees." Instead, she falls in love with Lorenzo, her brothers' workers. After the brothers learn of this love, they murder Lorenzo and bury his body. In a dream his ghost reveals the brother's murder. She exhumes the body, brings the head home and and buries it in a pot of basil. She nurtures the plant with drops of water from her hair, and withers away. The end of the story about the "pot of basil" is not found in the ballad.
13. John Keats' 58 verse narrative poem titled "Isabella; Or, The Pot Of Basil: A Story From Boccaccio" begins:
I. Fair Isabel, poor simple Isabel!
Lorenzo, a young palmer in Love's eye!
They could not in the self-same mansion dwell
Without some stir of heart, some malady;
They could not sit at meals but feel how well
It soothed each to be the other by;
They could not, sure, beneath the same roof sleep
But to each other dream, and nightly weep
14. Folk-Songs Noted in Somerset and North Devon by Cecil J. Sharp, Frank Kidson, Lucy E. Broadwood and J. A. Fuller-Maitland; Journal of the Folk-Song Society, Vol. 2, No. 6 (1905), pp. 1-60. Published by: English Folk Dance + Song Society.
15. "Boccaccio, Hans Sachs, and the Bramble Briar" by H. M. Belden; PMLA, Vol. 33, No. 3 (1918), pp. 327-395. Belden's article was actually published earlier in a 1914 German publication: Das Geistermotiv in den schottisch-englishchen Volksballaden, von K. Ehrke..
16. Ibid
17. Dungheap Article No. 21. See online (http://www.mustrad.org.uk/articles/dung21.htm)
18. Ibid
19. Folk Songs of the Catskills by Norman Cazden, Herbert Haufrecht, Norman Studer (ISBN: 9780873955812) Albany: Suny Press, 1982.
20. Overd's version was collected in Somerset by Cecil Sharp in 1904. A number of traditional versions followed that were collected both in England and the US before 1920. Parley's 'Near Tunbridge Waters" was not collected in the strict sense of a "collected ballad." Parley made no attempt to get the complete text or tune, which his unfortunate.
21. Since "Bridgewater" or more properly "Bridgwater" appears as the setting in many of early versions more complete versions, I concur with Steve Gardham that "Bridgewater" is the likely original setting until other early versions or the missing broadside surfaces to prove otherwise. "In Seaport Town" is a generic replacement title for the setting that was changed and repeated in Appalachia.
22. Apparently Parley's "Near Tunbridge Waters," published in London in 1838, was undiscovered as a version of The Bramble Briar until it was posted on the Mudcat Discussion Forum in April 2016. It may be accessed by Google Books. Parley's version has a setting, Tunbridge Waters, as well as 11 lines, several of which are found similarly in other versions. Important is the last stanza's "overgrown," in line two that rhymes with "killed and thrown" in line four.
23. Although Belden mentions the "seventeenth century" which seems to be be too early a date for this ballad to have been brought to the US, he also states an early date of the "early eighteenth century."
24. Yates made this comment in a thread posted in the Mudcat Discussion Forum in April, 2016.
25. See the date in Gardham's article "The Bridgewater Merchant" online- Dungheap Article No. 21. See online (http://www.mustrad.org.uk/articles/dung21.htm)
26. "The Bridgewater Merchant," is a New York MS taken from a great-aunt of Douglass; dated circa 1820, which was part of Douglass/Stevens MSS published in A Pioneer Songster by Thompson and Cutting, 1958.
27. "The Bridgewater Merchant" by Steve Gardham; Dungheap Article No. 21. See online (http://www.mustrad.org.uk/articles/dung21.htm)
28. "The Apprentice Boy" from Ohio/Michigan taken from a book of MSS dated c. 1852 of Mrs. Elsie Clark Lambertson; reprinted in Ballads and Songs of Southern Michigan by Gardner and Chickering; 1939.
29. "The Merchant's Daughter" communicated by Carl Mayhew of Missouri (dated 1870) was collected in 1910. It appears in Belden's 1916 article titled "Boccaccio, Hans Sachs, and the Bramble Briar." It appears as Belden A in Ballads and Songs, 1940.
30. Porter's "Brake of Briars: Regeneration of a Ballad" appeared as 13 pages in the 1991 "Singing the Changes: Variation in Four Traditional Ballads." One of the ballad featured in Porter's regeneration was "The Merchant's Daughter" by Carl Mayhew which is a good version but certainly not one of the better full versions. Porter's analysis has minor mistakes and does not consider the complete set of available versions.
31. Cox A was published in Folk Songs from the South, 1925. "The Bamboo Briers" was brought by Hannah Ross's mother from Virginia to West Virginia around 1875.
32. "The Bramble Brier" was sung by Jane Goon of Ohio was taken from Carrie Brubaker by 1876. It was published in Eddy's Ballads and Songs from Ohio in 1939.
33. The servant's is named "Salome" which perhaps could be derived from a corruption of "sailor."
34. Gardham's comparison is found in an appendix to his "Bridgewater Merchant" --Dungheap Article No. 21. See online (http://www.mustrad.org.uk/articles/dung21.htm)
35. Folk-Songs Noted in Somerset and North Devon by Cecil J. Sharp, Frank Kidson, Lucy E. Broadwood and J. A. Fuller-Maitland; Journal of the Folk-Song Society, Vol. 2, No. 6 (1905), pp. 1-60. Published by: English Folk Dance + Song Society.
36. Even though it's just 7 stanzas. Also from: Folk-Songs Noted in Somerset and North Devon by Cecil J. Sharp, Frank Kidson, Lucy E. Broadwood and J. A. Fuller-Maitland; Journal of the Folk-Song Society, Vol. 2, No. 6 (1905), pp. 1-60.
37. Ballads and Rhymes from Kentucky by G. L. Kittredge, The Journal of American Folklore, Vol. 20, No. 79 (Oct. - Dec., 1907), pp. 251-277.
38. See: Alice E. Gillington's book, Songs of the Open Road, pp. 10. The Brake o' Briars, is given by Gillington as a New Forest Gypsies Ballad. However, the first half of the text was "The Brisk Young Country Lady."
39. See: Narrative Ballads by Lucy E. Broadwood, A. G. Gilchrist, Cecil J. Sharp, Clive Carey and Frank Kidson; Journal of the Folk-Song Society, Vol. 5, No. 19 (Jun., 1915), pp. 122-148; Published by English Folk Dance + Song Society.
40. All three version are from Sharp and Campbell I, English Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachians; 1917 and 1932.
41. The standard English opening is simlart to the Overd version:
1. In Bruton town there lives a farmer
Who had two sons and one daughter dear,
By day and night they was a-contriving
To fill their parents' heart with fear.
42. Such a condensation occurs in many version including K, A Famous Farmer:
One of these brothers said to the other:
"We see how our sister means to wed.
Let all such courtship soon be ended:
We'll hoist him to some silent grave."
43. Here, the ballad story is told by the ballad text. Variants appear bracketed as such: (in B, variant). Every variant is not included.
44. "Who had two sons and a daughter dear" is a fairly common second line (all the examples won't be given). It goes with a fourth line that appears similarly, "And filled his children's hearts with fear."
45. A number of different endings are found usually the brothers death at sea is condensed into one stanza as in L:
They studied o'er this bloody matter;
Concluded the ocean they would sail,
The wind did blow, and I think no wonder,
The sea did open and provide a grave.
Another popular ending they are in prison condemned to die (Ammons - West Virginia):
And now they are confined in prison
And now they are condemned to die
Whilst she lies down in her chamber mourning
Giving up herself to die.
The English versions show more variety as in M:
Then she rode home the same night after,
She rode home most speedily;
She poisoned herself and her own two brothers:
All four of them in one grave do lie!
46. Ballad identifiers are found consistently in most version of a ballad. I have not tried to write out every identifier but have included some as examples.
47. Several versions have "wallowed" which I prefer.
48. This stanza was reconstructed from two partial versions. Neither had a complete stanza.
49. The date is given as between 1832 and 1837 in A Book of Scattered Leaves: Poetry of Poverty in Broadside Ballads, Volume 1 by James G. Hepburn.
50. "Boccaccio, Hans Sachs, and the Bramble Briar" by H. M. Belden; PMLA, Vol. 33, No. 3 (1918), pp. 327-395. Steve Gardham, a broadside expert, concurs that Taylors version was probably first. It was also printed by Pitts which is dated 1819-1844 with the imprint: "Pitts Printer and Toy Warehouse 6 Great St Andrew Street Seven Dials."
51. Purslow's comment was handwritten on a MS of "The Female Farmer" in the Gardiner Collection.
52. See comments by MacMath in footnote 20 in Belden's "Boccaccio, Hans Sachs, and the Bramble Briar" (1918). See also Traditional Ballad Index and Michael E. Bush Volume 5: Folk Songs of Central West Virginia. Whether "Braes" (Child 214) is an antecedent is debatable. "Braes" is dated to the 1700s whereas the early dates for "Bramble" are conjecture.
53. Heny Burstow's version was collected by Broadwood in 1893. Even though it was collected from tradition, Burstow's version is nearly identical to the Pitts broadside.
54. J, "In Bruton Town," was sung by Mrs. Overd in Somerset, England. It was collected in 1904 by Cecil Sharp and published in the 1905 JFSS.
55. The full quote by Broadwood from Folk-Songs Noted in Somerset and North Devon; Journal of the Folk-Song Society, Vol. 2, No. 6 (1905) follows: The word "farmer" in the first verse printed above should no doubt be "father," he being thus mentioned in Sachs's poem. There are obviously two lines missing after the first verse, making a confusion between the "father" and the "son," to whom "He told his secrets," really refers. Hans Sachs represents the one brother as confiding to the other brother his private fears. The German and Somersetshire versions tally in all the main incidents and should be compared by every student of ballads. The English fragment stops short with the wiping of the dead lover's face. It would be of the greatest interest could other variants be found which possibly might carry on the story to its terrible end.
56. A full list of North American versions can be found in 3A, US and Canada Versions.
57. This is Child ballad No. 214. Versions of No. 214 are mixed with No. 215: Rare Willie Drowned in Yarrow.
58. See footnote no. 50 in "Boccaccio, Hans Sachs, and the Bramble Briar" by H. M. Belden; PMLA, Vol. 33, No. 3 (1918), pp. 327-395.
59. The evidence, for example, is the use of the word, factor, in the 1620 transcription of Boccaccio and the word, factor, being found in the same place in the early traditional versions. There are also phrases in Constant Farmer's Son not found in English versions of the Bramble Briar but in early American versions suggesting that the missing broadside was used to create the parody, Constant Farmers Son about 1837 and that a version or versions resembling the broadside came to the US in the late 1700s or early 1800s.
60. The line, "The salt tear stood upon his cheeks, all mingled with his gore," has twp phrases very similar to traditional versions found in the US.
61. "The Bridgewater Merchant," was taken from a great-aunt of Douglass who died in 1850 and at that time the MS appeared to be old and is dated circa 1820. This part of Douglass/Stevens MSS from A Pioneer Songster- Thompson and Cutting, 1958.
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The Ballad Texts
A. "Near Tunbridge Waters" -sung by a labourer, in a smock frock. From Tales About Christmas by Peter Parley (Samuel Griswold Goodrich) p. 147-148; London, 1838.
Near Tunbridge waters a man there lived,"
(and went on to say that the man had two sons and a daughter, whom he loved very dearly.)
"A servant man with them there lived;
A servant man as you shall hear,
And this young lady did him admire,
And they loved each other dear."
(It seems that the brothers of the young lady were highly offended, for, after some time,)
"A hunting match there was provided
To take this young man's sweet life away."
(This cruel plan succeeded too well, for the two brothers fell upon the servant man, in a lonely place, and killed him; thus the young lady was deprived of her lover, and thus the hard hearted brothers rid themselves of the servant man.)
"Near Tunbridge waters a brook there runneth;
With thorns and briers it is overgrown,
And, all for to hide their cruel murder,
In that brook he was killed and thrown."
----------------
B. "The Bridgewater Merchant," from a New York MS taken from a great-aunt of Douglass; dated circa 1820, part of Douglass/Stevens MS from A Pioneer Songster- Thompson and Cutting, 1958.
1. At Bridgewater there lived a Merchant,
Who had two sons and a daughter fair.
Of life by death they were berieved[1],
Which filled their children's heart with care.
2. 'Twas o'er the seas their[his] sons did venture
All for to bring, bring back their gain.
They had an apprentice by firm indenture
They sent him factor o'er the main.
3. He was of a fair complexion,
Strate[2] and complete in every limb;
Their sister placed her whole affection,
On this young man, unbeknown to them.
4. Three thousand pounds it was the portion
All for this fair and butiful[3] dame.
To this young man that crossed the ocean
She was resolved to bestow the same
5. It was one day the youngest brother
By chance did see them sport and play.
He told it secret to the other
And then these words they both did say,
6. Of parents mean he has descended,
May be he thinks her for to have;
But this courtship shall soon be ended,
We'll send him headlong to the grave.
7. Now to contrive this bloody slaughter,
They did conclude it should be so,
That this young man they both would flatter
With them a hunting for to go.
8. In a small wood not much frequented
Where harmless lambs did sport and play
These villains could not be contented
But must take his precious life away
9. In a dry ditch where there was no water
Where thorns and briers had overgrown
There for to hide their bloody slaughter
There this young man was killed and thrown
10. When they returned to their sister
Who asks where is your serveant[servant] man
I ask because you seem to whisper
Dear brothers tell me if you can
11. We lost him in our game of hunting
And nothing more of him could see
To tell you plain I am affronted
What makes you thus examine me.
12. That very night as she lay sleeping
There this young man he came and stood
By her bedside he stood a weeping
All covered o'er in gore of blood
13. It is vain says he my jewel
For you to murmur or repine
Your brothers have killed me being cruel
And in such a place you may me find
14. The very next day to the woods she retired
With many a sigh and a bitter grown
And there she found whom she admired
In that same place was killed and thrown
15. Although his lips with blood were dyed
Her tears as salt as any brine
She ofttimes kissed him and cried
Alas! thou bosom friend of mine
16. Although my brothers have been cruel
To take your precious life away
One grave shall serve for both my jewel
While I have breath I will by thee stay
17. Three days and nights there she sat weeping
'Till seemed her heart would burst with woe
Feeling sharp hunger on her creeping
Homeward she was forced to go
18. When she returned to her brothers
Who when these murderers came see
With blushes they of her inquired
What makes you look so mournfully
19. Oh! dear brothers thou knowest the reason
That makes your sister look so wan
Against the law you have acted treason
And for the same shall surely swing.[4]
20. The murderers knowing their grief and sorrow
Strateway[Straightway] on board of a ship did go
If you will believe me on the morrow
Black clouds and storms were seen to blow
21. While in a rage and a foaming billow
Which cast both ship and gunnel too
These murderers knowing their grief and sorrow
Began to tremble and look blue
22. For to look blue it was no wonder
Just like an overbreaking wave
Both these young men were washed over
And the seas became their silent grave.
1. bereaved. The beginning of this line is improved in Graham's version: "And through life to death"
2. Straight
3. beautiful
4. Note by original copyist: You may use either the last line of the 19th verse or the line below:
By killing of your servant man.
---------------
C. "The Apprentice Boy" from /New JerseyOhio/Michigan taken from a MS book (c. 1852) of Mrs. Elsie Clark Lambertson. Published in Ballads and Songs of Southern Michigan by Gardner and Chickering; 1939.
1 'Twas near Bridgewater a rich man lived;
He had two sons, one daughter dear;
But soon by death they were bereaved,
Which filled these children's hearts with care.
2 These young men had to cross the ocean,
All for to bring home their gain;
And a 'prentice bound by firm indenture,
Which made them factors of the same.
3 This young man was neat in every feature,
Completely built in every limb;
And this fair maid placed her whole affection
Upon her father's servant man.
4 By chance one day her younger brother
Happened to see them sport and play.
The secret told he to the other;
These very words to him did say:
5 "This young man is born of some meaner parents;
He intends our sister for to have.
But this courtship shall soon be ended;
We'll send him headlong to the grave."
6 These villains did this young man flatter
With them a-hunting then to go,
And there was a ditch where there was no water
Where this young man was killed and thrown.
7 When they returned home to their sister,
She said, "Where is your servant man?
I ask because you seem to whisper,
Tell me, dear brothers, if you can."
8 "We lost him in our game of hunting,
No more of him could we see;
But to tell the truth I am offended
That you do thus examine me."
9 Then she went to her chamber weeping,
And lo, a spirit came and stood
At her bedside as she lay moaning,
All covered with a gore of blood.
10 He said, "It is in vain, my jewel,
It is in vain for you to pine.
Your brothers killed me, being cruel,
In such a place you may me find."
11 The very next morn to the woods she retired,
And presently she did him find.
She kissed him whom she so admired,
Crying, "O bosom friend of mine."
12 "Although my brothers have been cruel
To take your precious life away,
One grave shall serve me and my jewel,
For while I've breath I'll with you stay."
13 Three days and nights she stayed there weeping
All down upon her bended knees,
Until fierce hunger came o'er her creeping,
She uttered forth such words as these:
14 "Although my love for you is tender,
Yet I shall be obliged to yield,
Or unto death I must surrender;
Oh, like one that's conquered, I'll quit the field."
15 Then she returned home to her brothers.
As soon as they did her see
They earnestly made this inquiry,
"What makes you look so mournfully?"
16 "You are the cause of this my mourning,
And do not think I'll conceal the thing;
But that although you are my brothers,
For being cruel you both shall swing."
17 Then to avoid this bloody slaughter
These villains did on shipboard go.
But oh, believe me, on the morrow
The bitter storms and winds did blow.
18 As though such crimes must still be punished
By angry winds and dashing waves,
It blew off both these bloody murderers,
And the sea became their final graves.
--------------------
D. "The Bamboo Brier" Sung by Mrs. Samuel Harmon; Cades Cove, TN from Council Harmon (1806-1890) dated c. 1840, who learned it from Grandfather Council Harmon (1806-1890). Fragment with stanza lines wrong.
1. It was early, early in the morning
When those young men became a-hunting,
They hunted over hills and lonesome valleys
And through such places as was quite unknown.
2. Till at last they came to the Bamboo Brier
And then her true-love was killed and thrown.
It was getting late when they was turning.
"O brother dear, where my servant man can be?"
3. "Among my hunt and all our rambles
We have lost your servant man there."
4. It was early, early the next morning,
This young damsel became a-hunting.
She traveled over hills and through lonesome valleys
And through such places as was quite unknown.
5. At last she came to the Bamboo Brier,
There her true-love was killed and thrown;
The blood on his cheeks was just a-drying;
His feeble lips was salt as brine.
6. She kissed him o'er and over a-crying:
"I have lost a bosom friend of mine."
It was getting late when she was returning:
"Sister, dear, where have you been?"
7. "Oh, ye, oh, ye, ye cruel villians!
For my true-love you both shall hang."
They started to the sea for to drown all sin and sorrow.
The top of the ship became in a totter
And in the bottom of the sea their graves lie low.
--------------------
E. "The Merchant's Daughter." Written down in 1910 by Carl Mayhew, a high-school pupil in West Plains, Mo. Mayhew learned it from his mother, who in turn learned it from hers. The mother, and the grandmother, were reared in Missouri.
1. In a seaport town there lived a merchant,
He had two sons and a daughter fair.
An apprentice-bound boy from all danger[1]
Courted this merchant's daughter fair.
2. Five hundred pounds was made her portion;
She was a neat and cunning dame:
Her brothers were so hard and cruel,[2]
All of this was to the same.
3. One evening they were silent, courting,
Her brothers chanced to over hear,
Saying, "Your courtship will soon be ended,
We will send him hither to his grave."
4. Next morning early, breakfast over,
With them a hunting he did go;
They went over hills and lofty mountains
And through some lonely valleys too,
Until they came to a lonely desert,
There they did him kill and throw[3].
5. When they returned back home that evening
Their sister asked for the servant man;
"We lost him in the woods a-hunting
And never more we could him find."
6. Next morning she was silent, weeping,
He came to her bedside and stood
All pale and wounded, ghastly looking,
Wallowed o'er in gores of blood.
7. Saying, "Why do you weep, my pretty fair one?
It is a folly you may pawn[4]
Go over hills and lofty mountains,
This lonesome place you may me find."
8. She went over hills and lofty mountains,
And through some lonesome valleys, too,
Until she came to a lonesome desert,
And there she found him killed and thrown[5].
His handsome cheeks the blood was dyeing,
His lips were salt as any brine;
She kissed him o'er and o'er crying,
"This dear beloved friend of mine."
Three days and nights she did stay by him,
'Twas on her bended knees she stood[6];
All in the height of her great anger
She uttered forth such words as these:
"My love, I thought I would stay by him.
Until my heart should break with woe;
But I feel sharp hunger growing on me,
Which forces me back home to go."
When she returned back home that evening
Her brother asked her where she'd been.
"You hard and cruel and unkind creatures!
For him alone you both shall swing."
And then to avoid all shame and danger
Away to the sea they both did go.
The wind did blow and it was no wonder
The roaring sea proved both their graves.
1. firm indenture= for all danger
2. The last two lines make no sense. If the third line is replaced and the fourth changed:
For the young man that crossed the ocean
She bestowed on him the same.
3. The wording of this has been changed from 'killed and thrown' as it appears later in stanza 8. The beginning of the line would also need to be changed, "Where this young man was killed and thrown" or similarly.
4. Belden offers no explanation. Clearly "pawn" is "pine" as in repine." Reworded slightly the line becomes, "It is folly for you to pine."
5. In 1911 when first published "thrown" appears as "thro." It was changed in Belden's 1940 edition.
6. It's hard to stand on bended knees!!
-------------------
F. "The Bamboo Briers"- From Hannah Ross whose mother brought it from Virginia to West Virginia; 1875 Cox A in Folk Songs from the South, 1925.
1 Across Bridgewater a rich man lived,
He had three sons and a daughter fair;
He divided up their equal portion,
Seven thousand pounds was his daughter's share.
2 Seven thousand was his daughter's portion,
The maid being brisk and a comely dame;
She fancied a young man who plowed the ocean,
And unto him she bestowed the same.
3 One night, as they were setting courting,
Her two brothers chanced to overhear;
They vowed the courtship should be broken,
Or send him headlong to his grave.
4 So early next morning they forced him hunting,
Over high hills and lofty mountains,
Through silent places quite unknown,
Until they came to bamboo briers,
Where they did him kill and slay[1].
5 As soon as they returned from hunting,
She quickly asked for the servant-man:
"You seem to whisper, what makes me ask you[2],
Pray, brothers, tell me, if you can."
6 "We lost him in our game of hunting,
His face again you will nevermore see;
We lost him in the bamboo briers,
His face, his face, you'll see no more."
7 Early next morning she started to hunt him,
Over hills and lofty mountains,
Through silent places quite unknown,
Until she came to the bamboo briers,
There she found him killed and slain.
8 Three days and nights she stayed there with him,
Kissing him just as he lay[3]:
"One grave will bury us both, my darling;
I'll stay here with you until I die."
9 Three days and nights she stayed there with him,
Seeking life for her sad mourn[4];
She felt sharp hunger come creeping o'er her,
And back home she was forced to return.
10 When she returned from where they were hunting,
They quickly asked, " Where's the servant-man?"
"You cursed villains did that murder,
And for the crime you both shall hang."
11 Then they both darkened their faces,
They walked slowly off down by the seaside;
The fearful waves rushed from the ocean,
And caused their faces from this world to hide.
1. Usually "killed and thrown" to rhyme as in, "Where he was killed and thrown." See also similar wording in stanza 7.
2. The wording is confusing.
3. lie
4. This line is confused. Another WV version (Bush B) has:
Three days and nights she stayed there by him,
And kissing him on her bended knees,
-------------------
G. "The Bramble Brier"- Sung by Jane Goon of Ohio was taken from Carrie Brubaker by 1876. It was published in Eddy's Ballads and Songs from Ohio in 1939.
1. In Portly town there lived a merchant
Who had two sons and a daughter fair;
And a prentice bound from a far intender[1],
Who plowed the vict'ries all over the main.
2. Ten thousand pounds it was her portion;
She was a neat and camly[comely] dame;
And upon the salome[2] that plowed the ocean
She had a notion to bestow the same.
3. One night while they were sitting courting,
Her two brothers chanced to overhear,
They said this courtship should be ended;
"We will send him headlong unto his grave."
4. And for to conclude this bloody murder,
These two villains hunting did go;
And upon the salome[2] they coaxed and flattered
Along with them hunting to go.
5. They traveled over high hills and mountains,
Through lonely valleys that were unknown,
Until they came to the bramble brier,
And there they did him kill and thrown.
6. And when they had back home returned,
Their sister asked for the servant man;
"We left him in the woods a-hunting,
And we no more of him could find.
7. "Oh, sister dear, what makes you inquire
All so for this young man's sake?"
"Because I thought you seemed to whisper;
Come, tell me, brothers, or my heart will break."
8. One night while she was lying sleeping,
He appeared to her bedside,
And he was all in tears a-weeping,
And all rolled over in gores of blood.
9. He says: "My dear, leave off this crying,
It is a folly for you to know[3];
For your two brothers killed me, rash and cruel;
In such a place, love, you may me find."
10. She traveled o'er high hills and mountains,
Through lonely valleys that were unknown,
Until she came to the bramble brier,
And there they had him killed and thrown.
11. Three days and nights she tarried by him,
Kissing on her bended knees;
When in that time she was constrained
To utter forth such words as these[4]:
12 "I had a mind for to stay by him
Until my heart it did break with woe,
But I felt that hunger came creeping o'er me,
Which forced me back home to go."
13. And when she had back home returned,
Her brothers ask where she had been;
"Begone, ye proud and deceitful villains!
For him alone you both shall swing."
14. And for to shun this bloody murder
These two villains to sea did go;
And to tell the truth it was on the morrow
That the stormy winds began to blow.
15. The winds did blow, and it was no wonder
That these two villains were cast away,
And by the flood they were tost under,
And the raging sea formed their grave.
1. firm indenture
2. sung Sa-lome known as the lover's name by the informant. He is called a factor (merchant) in some versions and perhaps his name could be derived from "sailor."
3. pine, clearly known is wrong; from repine.
4. Cf. stanzas 11 and 12 in The Jealous Brothers from T. Lockard (WV) 1969; Bush B.
--------------------
H. "The Bramble Brier," from Henry J. Wehman (Wehman's Universal Songster); printed in NY. No. 28, p. 23; 1890.
Near Blue-water a rich man dwelt,
With two sons and a daughter fair,
Who of his wife had been bereft,
Which caused their hearts much fear.
These young men journeyed across the sea,
To get riches was their aim,
But finding things not as they wished them to be
Returned with a factor to their domain.
Now this factor was tall and handsome,
Neat and genteel withal;
Their sister soon in love with him fell,
Quite unbeknown to them all.
One night as the lovers were talking
The young brother chanced to o'erhear
The secrets to each other they were telling
Those secrets to lovers most dear.
He resolved that their love should be blighted,
This love-making nipped in the bud;
On the morrow they'd take him out hunting
And secretly have him removed.
Bright and early the following morning
On their errand they quickly set forth,
Induced the young man to go with them,
On the mountains to have a day's sport.
They hunted o'er hill and o'er mountain,
Through valleys before quite unknown,
Till they came to a dense bramble brier,
Into which his dead body was thrown.
On returning home to their sister,
She questioned them as to the man,
And asked them why they did whisper,
Pray, brother, tell me if you can.
We lost him while we were out hunting,
Searched for him, but nowhere could find,
But you need not in this wise confront me,
We were thus forced to leave him behind.
Late that night she lay restlessly tossing,
At her bedside a vision appeared,
His eyes full of tears to o'erflowing,
And his form all covered with blood.
He said, my dear, give over your weeping,
It is folly for you thus to grieve;
Your cruel brothers have sought to kill me,
And that die I may, I do believe.
Deep in a ditch from view quite hidden,
Thickly with briers and thorns overgrown,
There was the scene of the bloody encounter,
There sought to kill me, there I was thrown.
She roamed far over hills and high mountains,
Through lone valleys to her quite unknown,
Till she came to the dense bramble brier,
Where they killed him and there he was thrown.
His handsome cheeks were all marred and bloody
His manly form quite cold in death.
Fondly she kissed him, with ardour exclaiming
She would be true to him while she had breath.
When she returned and met her brothers,
They questioned her as to where she had been,
To all of which she made a quick answer,
She the young man's dead body had seen.
You have brutally murdered my own true love,
Committed a sin of deepest dye.
Just punishment you'll receive from above,
I feel that your end is nigh.
Soon after the brothers went forth to swim,
And were met by a mighty wave;
By it were engulfed in its surging foam,
And both found a watery grave.
--------------------
I. "The Jealous Brothers," sung by Mr. Doney Hammontree of Farmington, Arkansas; from Randolph, Ozark Folksongs dated 1890s.
There sets a fair couple courting,
Two brothers for to overhear,
They were determ'd all in their mind,
To put stop to their design,
They were determ'd all in their mind,
To put stop to their design
So they arose the very next morning
A game of hunting for to go,
The brothers saying they were both insisting
That this young man should go along,
The brothers saying they were both insisting,
That this young man should go along.
They traveled over hills and mountains
And many other places where they were unknown,
Until they came to the lonesome valley,
And there they killed him and left him alone
Until they came to the lonesome valley,
And there they killed him and left him alone.
And when the brothers were returning
The sister asked where her lover were,
We lost him in the game of hunting,
No more of him we ne'er could find,
We lost him in the game of hunting,
No more of him we ne'er could find.
That night the sister lay early dreaming,
Her true love appeared by her bedside,
Saying your brothers killed me both rash and cruel
And wallowed me in a gore of blood.
Your brothers killed me both rash and cruel,
And wallowed me in a gore of blood.
So she arose the very next morning,
And dressed as fine as she could be,
Says I'll go hunt for my own true lover,
He's a darling bosom friend to me,
Saying I'll go hunt for my own true lover,
He's a darling bosom friend to me.
She travelled over hills and mountains
And many other places where she were unknown,
Until she came to the lonesome valley
And there she found him all alone,
Until she came to the lonesome valley
And there she found him all alone.
His rosy cheeks they had all faded,
His lips were white as any snow,
She kissed them over and over crying,
You're a darling friend to me, I know.
She kissed them over and over crying,
You're a darling friend to me, I know.
And when the sister were returning,
The brothers asked where she had been,
Hush your tongues, hush your tongues, you deceitful villyans,
Not one alone, you both shall hang.
Hush your tongues, hush your tongues, you deceitful villyans,
Not one alone, you both shall hang.
So they arose the very next morning,
A trip across the raging sea,
It rained and it hailed and a storm o'ercame them,
Both a watery grave all in the sea,
It rained and it hailed and a storm o'ercame them,
Both a watery grave all in the sea.
-------------------
J. In Bruton Town" sung by Mrs. Overd in Somerset, England; collected in 1904 by Cecil Sharp. Published in the 1905 JFSS.
1. In Bruton town there lives a farmer
Who had two sons and one daughter dear,
By day and night they was a-contriving
To fill their parents' heart with fear.
2. He told his secrets to no other,
But unto her brother he told them to;
"I think our servant courts our sister,
I think they has a great mind to wed
I'll put an end to all their courtship,
I'll send him silent to his grave."
3. A day of hunting whilst prepared,
Thorny woods and valley where briars grow;
And there they did this young man a-murder,
And into the brake his fair body thrown.
4. Welcome home, my dear young brothers,
Pray tell me, where's that servant man?
"We've a-left him behind where we've been a-hunting,
We've a-left him behind where no man can find."
5. She went to bed crying and lamenting,
Lamenting for her heart's delight;
She slept, she dreamed, she saw him lay by her,
Covered all over in a gore of bled.
6. She rose early the very next morning,
Unto the garden brook she went;
There she found her own dear jewel
Covered all over in a gore of bled.
7. She took her handkerchief out of her pocket
For to wipe his eyes for he could not see;
"And since my brothers have been so cruel
To take your tender sweet life away,
One grave shall hold us both together,
And along, along with you to death I'll stay."
-----------------------
K. "A Famous Farmer" sung by George Digweed of Hants. Collected by H. E. Hammond in 1906.
A famous farmer, as you shall hear,
He had two sons, one daughter dear
By a servant man was much admired,
None in the world she loved so dear.
One of these brothers said to the other:
"We see how our sister means to wed.
Let all such courtship soon be ended:
We'll hoist him to some silent grave."
They asked of him to go a-hunting.
He went without any fear or strife.
These two jewels[1] proved so cruel:
They took away that young man's life.
It was near the creek where there was no water,
Nothing but bushes and briars grew.
All for to hide their cruel slaughter
Into the bushes his body threw.
When they returned from the field of hunting,
She inquired for the servant man:
"Come, brothers, tell me, because you whisper:
Come, brothers, tell me if you can."
"Why, sister, we are so much amazed,
To see you look so much at we.
We left him in the field of hunting
No more of him then did we see."
And she lay musing all on her pillow.
She dreamed she saw her true love stand,
By her bedside, he stood lamenting,
All covered with some bloody stream.
"Pray, Nancy dear, don't you weep for me,
Pray Nancy, dear, don't weep nor pine,
In that creek where there is no water,
Go there you may my body find."
Then she rose early the very next morning,
With many a sigh and bitter groan.
In that creek where her true love told her,
There she found his body thrown.
The blood all on his lips was drying,
His tears were salter than any brine.
Then she kissed him and then she cried:
"Here lies a bosom friend of mine."
Three nights and days she stayed lamenting
Till her poor heart was filled with woe.
Until sharp hunger came creeping on her,
Then homeward she was forced to go.
"Sister, we are so much amaz-ed
To see you look so pale and wan."
"Brothers, I know you knows the reason,
And for the same you shall be hung."
Then these two brothers both were taken,
And bound all down in some prison strong.
One was tried, found out as guilty,
And for the same they both was hung.
1.brothers
---------------------
L. "Lonesome Valley" was collected by Katherine Pettit in Kentucky from an unknown informant before 1907 when it was published in the JAF by Kittredge.
1. In yonder town there lived a merchant;
He had two sons and a daughter fair;
Away low down in a lone green meadow,
A raging sea there for to sail.
2. Six thousand pound was this lady's portion;
She was a fair and comely dame;
She loved a young man o'er the ocean,
Which caused her to look there so disdain[1].
3. They studied o'er this cruel matter;
Concluded a-hunting they would go;
And this young man they both did flatter,
Till a-hunting with them he did go.
4. They travelled over high hills and valleys,
And through strange places that were unknown;
At length they came to a lonesome valley,
And there they did him kill and throw[2].
5. All on that evening as they returned,
The sister asked for her servant man:
"What makes me ask, you seem to whisper[3]
Dear brothers, tell me if you can."
6. All on that night as she lay mourning,
Her true love stood by her bedside,
All covered over and the tears a-flowing,
All wallered over in the gores of blood.
7. All on next morning when she arose,
She dressed herself in silk so fine;
She travelled over high hills and valleys,
Her own true love for to find.
8. She travelled over high hills and valleys,
And through strange places that were unknown;
At length she came to a lonesome valley,
And there she found him killed and thrown.
9. His pretty cheeks with blood were dyed,
His lips were salt as any brine;
She kissed him o'er, and "Oh," she cried,
"You're the dearest bosom friend of mine."
10. Three days and nights she tarried with him,
Till she thought her heart would break with woe;
She felt sharp hunger approaching on her,
Which forced her back home to go.
11. All on that evening as she returned,
Her brothers asked her where she had been:
"You are too, hard-hearted, deceitful villains,
For him alone you both shall swing."
12. They studied o'er this bloody matter;
Concluded the ocean they would sail,
The wind did blow, and I think no wonder,
The sea did open and provide a grave.
1. compare to: She was resolved to bestow the same
2. usually "thrown" to rhyme.
3. The copy furnished has "You seem whisper." Broadwood's Hertfordshire text is clearer: "I ask, because I see you whisper"
---------------------
M. "The Brake o' Briars" sung by Sebbage in Sussex in 1911; collected by Gillington and published in her book, Songs of the Open Road, pp. 10.
Then the match was made to go a-hunting,
Down in those woods where briars grew;
And there they did the young man murder;
In the Brake of Briars there him they threw.
Then they rode home the same night after,
They rode home most speedily;
“You're welcome home, my own two brothers,
But pray tell me where's your servant man?"
We lost him as we rode a-hunting,
Down in the woods where briars grow;
Where we lost him we could not find him,
And what became of him we do not know.
Then she went to bed the same night after;
She went to bed immediately,
She dreamt to see her own true loved one;
He was covered all over in great drops of blood.
She rose early the next morning,
To search the woods where briars grow;
And as she dreamed so there she found him;
In the Brake of Briars he was killed and thrown.
Then she pulled a handkerchief from her bosom,
And wiped his eyes as he lay as blind;
She oft time weeped in sorrow, saying,
"There lies a dear bosom friend of mine."
Then she rode home the same night after,
She rode home most speedily;
She poisoned herself and her own two brothers:
All four of them in one grave do lie!
-----------------------
N. "The Apprentice Boy." Text of H. G. Shearin from "British Ballads in the Cumberland Mountains," The Sewanee Review, vol. 19, p. 321. July, 1911.
In yon post-town there lived a margent,
He had two sons and a daughter fair:
There lived a 'prentice boy about there,
Who was the daughter's dearest dear.
Ten thousand pounds was this gay lady's portion;
She was a fair and a camelite dame;
She loved this young man who crossed the ocean;
He told her how he would be so deslain.
One day they was in the room a-courting;
The oldest brother chanced to hear;
He went and told the other brother,
They would deprive her of her dear.
Her brothers studied on this cruel matter,
Concluded a-hunting they would go,
And with this young man they both would flatter;
A-hunting with them he had to go.
They traveled over high hills and mountains
And through strange places where it were unknown,
Till at length they came to some lonesome valley,
And then they killed him dead and thrown.
All on that evening when they returned,
She asked them where's her servant-man;
"What makes me ask you?" she seems to whisper,
"Dear brothers, tell me if you can."
"He is lost in the wild woods a-hunting;
His face you never more shall see."
"I'll tell you in plain, you're much affronted;
Oh, now will you explain to me."
All on that night while she lay sleeping,
He came and stood at her bed-feet,
All covered o'er in tears a-weeping,
All wallowed o'er in gores of blood.
He says, "My love it's but a folly;
For this is me that you may see—
Your brothers both being rash and cruel—
In such a valley you may find."
All on next morning when she arose,
She dressed herself in silk so fine;
She traveled o'er high hills and mountains
Her own true-lover for to find.
She traveled o'er high hills and mountains
And through strange places where it were unknown,
Till at length she came to some lonesome valley
Till at length she came to a patch of briars,
And there she found him killed and thrown.
His pretty cheeks with blood were dyed;
His lips were bloody as any butcher.
His lips (cheeks) were salty as any brine;
She kissed them over and over a-crying,
"You dearest bosom friend of mine!"
Three days and night she tarried with him,
Till she thought her heart would break with woe,
Until sharp hunger came cropping on her,
Which forced her back home to go.
All on that evening when she returned,
Her brothers asked her where she'd been—
"O ye hard-hearted deceitful devillions,
For him alone you both shall swing."
Her brothers studied on this bloody matter
Concluded the ocean they would sail;
"My friend, I tell you, it's on the morrow
The raging sea there for to sail."
The sea began to roar, I think no wonder
That they two villyons should be cast away;
And broadways they came tosling under;
The sea did open and provide their grave.
-------------------
O. "It's of a Farmer" was collected from an unknown informant in Herts in 1913 by Ralph V. Williams. It was later published in Palmer's, Everyman's Book of English Country Songs.
1. It's of a farmer lived near Bridgwater,
He had two sons and one daughter dear,
And they thought it fitting to plough the ocean
To plough the raging main so clear.
2. "Our servant man's going to wed our sister,
Our sister she has a man to wed,
But their courtship shall soon be ended,
I'll send him to his silent bed."
3. One hunting day it was appointed,
To take this young man's life away;
They did this young man overflatter[1]
To hunting unto go with them.
4. And through the woods as they were riding,
They saw a brake of briars grow;
They soon became and his blood they slaughtered,
And a brake of briars pulled him through.
5. "O welcome home," then said the sister,
"But where is our young servant man?
I only ask because you whispered,
Dear brothers tell me if you can."
6. "Now through the woods as we was riding,
There we lost him and never him found;
But I tell you we are affronted,
You do hard and examine we."
7. Three days and nights she lay lamenting,
she dreamed, she dreamed her love she saw,
By her bedside the tears lamenting,
All over and over with gore.
8. "Lay still, lay still, my patient jewel,
It's all in vain for to complain;
Her brothers killed me, now weren't they cruel,
In such a place that you may find."
9. Then through the woods as she was riding
She heard such fearful dismal groans;
"Surely that is my own true love
In a brake of briars killed and thrown."
10. She kissed his lips that were all dry-ed,
His tears as salt as any brine;
She kissed his lips and ofttimes sighed:[2]
"O here lays a bold young friend of mine."
1. MS has "over flake?" Seems right now.
2. I read MS as "ofttimes cry-ed"
-----------------------
P. "Lord Burling's Sister" was collected by Broadwood from Mrs. Joiner in Herts, 1914.
1. Lord[1] Burling told his eldest brother
"See how they did sport and play!"
He told his secaret[2] to none other,
To his eldest brother he did say[3].
2 They asked him [i.e. the servant-man] to go a-hunting,
Without any fear or strife,
These two bold and wicked villains
They took away this young man's life.
3 And in the ditch there was no water
Where only bush and briars grew
They could not hide the blood of slaughter
So in the ditch his body threw.
4 When they returned home from hunting
She asked for her servant-man:
"I ask you because I see you whisper,
So, brothers, tell me if you can."
5 "O sister, you offend me so
Because you do examine me;
We lost him in the fields of hunting,
No more of him we could not see."
6 As she lay dreaming on her pillow,
She thought she saw her true love stand
By her bed-side, as she lay weeping,
Was dressed all in his bloody coat.
7 "Don't weep for me, my dearest jewel,
Don't weep for me, nor care, nor pine,
For your two brothers killed me so cruel-
In such a place you may me find."
8 As she rose early the next morning,
With heavy sigh and bitter groan
The only love that she admired
She found that in the ditch was thrown.
9 But in the ditch there was no water,
Where only bush and briars grew,
They could not hide the blood of slaughter
So[4] in the ditch his body threw.
10 The blood that on his lips was drying,
His tears were salt as any brine,
She sometimes kissed him, sometimes crying
"Here lies the boldest[5] friend of mine! "
11 Three nights and days has she sat by him
When her poor heart was filled with woe,
Till faintness came a-creeping on her,
And home she was obliged to go.
12 When she returned to her brothers:
"Sister, what makes you look so thin?"
"Brother, don't you ask the reason,
And for his sake you shall be hung?"
1 Mrs. Joiner sang " Lord Burlington his eldest brother."
2. secret
3. Mrs. Joiner could not remember the beginning of the ballad.
4. has "though" see stanza 3
5 "bosom" in US versions
-------------------------
Q. "The Farmer's Daughter." Sung by Richard Gardner of Hardwick, Oxfordshire and collected by Alfred Williams. It was published, December 1915.
Verse 1
It's of a brisk and gay old farmer,
He had two sons and a daughter dear;
The servant man being much admired,
Not one in the world she loved so dear.
Verse 2
They asked him to go to a field of hunting,
He went without any fear nor strife,
And those two brothers they proved so cruel,
They took away this young man's life.
Verse 3
When they returned from the field of hunting,
The sister inquired for the servant man -
"Now brothers, tell me, because you whisper,
Now brothers tell me, if you can."
Verse 4
"Sister, sister, I much divine you,
To see you look so pale and wan;
We've left him in the field of hunting,
No more to be your servant man."
Verse 5
Then she rose early in the morning,
Early by the break of day;
She searched all round where there was no water,
And there she found his body lay.
Verse 6
And on his lips there was blood drying,
Tears more salt than any brine;
Three times she kissed him, loudly crying -
"Here lies the bosomest friend of mine."
Verse 7
Three nights and days she stood lamenting,
Till her poor heart was filled with woe;
Until sharp hunger came creeping on her,
And then off to home she was forced to go.
Verse 8
And those two brothers both were tried,
And were bound up in irons strong;
All for this murder they both were guilty,
All for this murder they both were hung.
-------------------
R. "In Seaport Town." Sung by Stella Shelton of Madison County, NC in 1916 (Sharp A).
1. In Seaport town there lived a merchant,
He had three sons and a daughter dear,
And among them all was the prettiest[1] boy,
He was the daughter's dearest dear.
2 One evening late they were in the room courting.
Her oldest brother perchance did hear;
He went and told his other brothers:
Let's deprive her of her dearest dear.
3 They rose up early the next morning,
A game of hunting for to go;
And upon this young man they both insisted
For him to go along with them.
4 They wandered over the hills and mountains
And through a many of a place unknown,
Till at last they came to a lonesome valley
And there they killed him dead alone.
5 When they return back the next evening,
Their sister ask for the servant man.
Saying: We lost him on a game of hunting;
No more of him it's could we find.
6 While she lie on her bedside slumbering,
The servant man did appear to her,
Saying: Your brother killed me rough and cruel
All wallowed in a score of blood.
7 She rose up early the next morning;
She dressed herself in a rich array,
Saying : I'll go and find my best beloved
All wallowed in a score of blood.
8 She wandered over the hills and mountains
And through a many of a place unknown,
Till at last she came to the lonesome valley,
And there she found him dead alone.
9 Saying: Your eyes look like some bloody butcher,
Your eyes look like some salt or brine.
She kissed his cold, cold lips and, crying,
Said: You are the darling bosom friend of mine.
10 Since my brothers been so cruel
As to force your sweet love away,
One grave shall preserve us both together,
As long as I have breath I will stay with you.
11 When she return back the next evening,
Her brothers ask her where she'd been.
O hold your tongue, you deceitful villains,
For one alone you both shall hang.
12 Her brothers then they came convicted
To jump in a boat and a-finally leave.
The wind did blow and the waves came o'er them;
They made their graves in the deep blue sea.
1 'prentice boy
-----------------------
S. "Near Bridgewater." Sung by Eliza Pace of Hyden, KY in 1917 (Sharp E).
1 Near Bridgewater a rich man lived,
He had two sons and a daughter dear.
Was like by death by arabian (sic)[1]
And filled his children's heart with fear.
2 These young men to the sea did venture
To bring whatever was for gain.
He was a prencess[2] bound and strong indebted,
They sent him factory[3] over the sea.
3 This youth was neat and comely,
Straight and complete in every limb.
Their sister placed her heart's affections
On this young man unbeknownst to them.
4 One day it chanced her youngest brother
For to see them court and play.
He told the secret to the other,
This to him then he did say:
5 O now he thinks he'll gain our sister,
Perhaps he thinks her for to have,
But their courtship will soon be ended,
We'll press him headlong to the grave.
6 Now for to end this cruel matter
And fill their sister's heart with woe,
This poor young man they did flatter
With them a-hunting for to go.
7 In the backwoods where no one used
The briers they were overgrown,
O there they made a bloody slaughter,
There they had him killed and thrown.
8 They returned home to their sister.
She asked where was the servant-man.
I ask because you seem to whisper.
Tell me, brothers, if you can.
9 We lost him at our game a-hunting,
We never more could him see.
I tell you plainly I'm afrighted.
What makes you examine me?
10 The next night as she lie sleeping
He came to her bed-side and stood,
All covered o'er in tears a-weeping,
All wallowed o'er in gores of blood.
11 The next morning she got up
With many a sigh and bitter groan.
To the place she then returned,
Where she found him killed and thrown.
12 She said: My love, I will stay with you
Until my heart doth burst with woe.
She felt sharp hunger creeping;
Homewards she was obliged to go.
13 She returned to her brothers.
They asked her what made her look so orn[4].
O by the loss you've acted treason[5]
In killing your poor servant man.
footnotes:
1. ? This stanza and version is similar to Stevens/Douglas MS which has:
Of life by death they were bereaved,
Which filled their children's heart with care.
2. 'prentice
3. factor
4. probably "wan"; maybe: forlorn
5. cf. George Vinton Graham's 1938 recording
-----------------------
T. "In Transport Town." Sung by Mrs. Mollie Broughton at Barbourville, Knox Co., Kentucky on May 8, 1917 (Sharp F, MS)
1. In Transport Town there lived merchant,
There were two sons and a daughter fair,
She courted [the] man who ploughed the ocean,
It was their mind to be strong[1] the same.
2. One evening as they sat silent[ly] courting,
Her brothers had a chance to overhear[2];
"Your courtship shall be shortly ended,
We'll send him headlong to his grave."
3. To begin this bloody murder,
The two young men must a-hunting go,
Along with with him they both did flatter,
Along with him they both did go.
4. They traveled over hills and mountains,
And to some valleys [that] was unknown,
Until they came to a patch of briars,
And there they killed him and had him thrown.
5. In the evening [when] they returned,
Their sister inquired for the servant man,
"We lost him in the woods a-hunting,
Never more will you find him."
6. One evening as she lay silently weeping,
Her true-love came to her bedside,
All wallowed over, ghastly looking,
All scored over [in] a gores of blood.
7. "What weeps you here, my little fair one?"
O that just a folly for you to find,
Your poor-hearted wicked brothers,
Which I please you may find me."
8. They[She] traveled over hills and mountains,
And to some valleys [that] was unknown,
Until they[she] came to the patch of briars,
Where they had killed him and had him thrown.
9. Three days and nights she did stay by him,
All bending on her bended knees.
She kissed him over [and] over crying:
"You are the dearest one to me."
10. "My love, I did not intend to stay by you,
Until my heart does break with woe,
I feel sharp hunger come creeping on me,
Will cause me back home to go.
11. In the evening she returned,
Her brothers asked where she had been.
You poor hard-hearted deceitful villains,
On the gallows you shall both hang.
12. To get shed of that bloody murder,
On the sea they both did go.
By a tall wave they were tossed under,
By the tall waves they both did go.
1. "bestow the same," this is probably close to the original: She was resolved to bestow the same.
2. over-chanced to hear
---------------------
U. "Brandberry Briars." Communicated by Frances Sanders (WV) 1924 (Cox C).
1. In Portrast Town there lived a merchant,
Who had two sons and a daughter fair;
And an apprentice, borned in a foreign country,
All for to cross that Atlantic shore.
2. Ten thousand pounds was the fair maid's portion,
She was a meek and comely dame;
On this young man who plowed the ocean,
She had a mind to bestow the same.
3. One night as they sat still a-courting,
Her brothers drawed for to overhear,
Saying, "We'll put an end to all their courtship,
And part her from her dearest friend."
4. Now to begin this cruel murder,
A-hunting these two villains go;
And on this young man who plowed the ocean,
They flattered him with them to go.
5. They hunted over hills and mountains;
And through the place where it was alone,
Until they came to some brand-berry briars,
That's where they did kill him and threw[1].
6. When they went home their sister asked them,
"What have you done with your servant man?"
"Ye lost him in the game of hunting,
And nothing more of him could we find."
7. That night as she lay still a-weeping,
Her true love came to her bedside and stood
All wallowed over in tears and weeping,
All covered over with gores of blood.
8. Leave off, leave off, it is folly
For you to weep for me and pine;
Your brothers were so hard hearted
They've killed me in such a place you may find."
9. Twas early, early the next morning
That she arose at the break of day.
She dressed herself in her rich attirement[2],
And to hunt for her true love she went straight-away.
10. She hunted over high hills and mountains,
And through the place where it was alone,
Until she came to those brand-berry briars,
That's where they had him killed and thrown.
11. His red cheeks had lost their blood,
His ruby lips were salt as brine;
she kissed then over and ten times over,
Saying, "This dear bosom friend of mine."
12. She laid herself down by the side of him,
Her tender heart filled with grief and woe,
Until she left sharp hunger creeping,
Which forced her back home to go.
13. When she went home her brothers asked her,
"What makes you look so pale and thin?"
"Oh, you cruel and hard-hearted villains,
For this alone you both shall hang."
14. Now to escape this cruel murder
A-sailing these two villains go;
Hark, my friend until tomorrow
How the raging wind did blow
15. The wind did blow, it was no wonder,
It sank the ship into the deep,
One wide wave that washed them under,
The raging sea proved to be their grave.
1. thrown
2."array" or even "attire"
-----------------------
V. "The Bridgewater." Sung by George Vinton Graham of California, learned in Iowa. Recorded in 1938 by Cowell for LOC.
Near a bridgewater a rich man liveth,
He had two sons and one daughter dear,
And through life to death, he was resolved then
To bring them up in the hearts of fear.
Unto the seas these two boys ventured,
For to bring home their father gain;
An apprentice bound by a firm indenture
For to cross o'er the raging main.
Now, this young man had a fair complexion,
He was neat and handsome in every limb,
And on him their sister placed her affection,
But unbeknownst to any of them;
Except unto the youngest brother
Who chanced to hear them sport and play.
And this he told unto no other,
But to his brother he did say,
"Now, perhaps he may be of some low family,
And would like our sister for to have,
But we'll soon end him of his wishes,
And quickly send him to his grave."
Near a bridgewater all went a-hunting
Where harmless birds do sport and play.
In a lonely wood not much frequented,
They did this young man's body slay.
When they came home, their sister asked them
What they had done with the servant man.
"We tell you plainly, we were offended,
And for your future a better plan.
"In a lonely wood near a bridgewater,
He'll soon forget our sister dear.
We lost him in a game of hunting,
And never more we could him hear."
That very night as she lay sleeping,
She dreamed her true love came and stood
By her bedside, and appearing
Covered o'er in a gore of blood.
Said he, "My sweet, my emris jewel,
'Tis a true folly for thee to pine,
Since your two brothers have been so cruel;
In such a place you may me find."
Then she rose most bright and early,
And traveled all alone, alone,
Until she came to the bridgewater.
There she found him killed and thrown.
The tears were dried up on his pale cheeks;
His eyes were salt as any brine.
She kissed him over and ten times over,
Saying, "Oh, this bosom friend of mine!"
Three days and nights she stayed a-weeping,
All alone, alone, alone,
Until she felt fierce hunger creeping,
Which forced her for to go home.
When she came home, her brothers asked her
What made her look so pale and wan.
She said, "The reason, you've acted treason
In killing of your servant man.
"And I suppose you think I'll conceal this murder,
But I'll do no, no such a thing.
But for his sake,
Both of you have got to swing."
Now they were both confined in prison,
And both of them condemned to die.
And she her true love is lamenting
And yielding up herself to die.
-----------------
W. "The Bridgwater Farmer." Sung by Caroline Hughes of Dorset, England. Recorded in 1962 MacColl/Seeger.
Spoken:
. . . near Bridgwater,
He had two sons and a daughter dear;
They feeled it fitting to plough the ocean
To plough the ocean that raged so clear.
Our servant man’s going to wed my sister,
My sister she have got mind to wed.
They have soon courtship and their blood they have ... (slaughter?)
And send her to a silent grave
Well now hunting three days and three nights she lately dreamed
She dreamed, she dreamed of her own true love;
By her bedside there was tears like fountains,
Covered over with gores of blood.
She rose in the morning and come to her brothers
“Dear brothers, you’re welcome home
And where’s our dear servant man?
My brothers you killed him and ain’t you cruel?”
She got hold of her horse, she saddled her horse;
Down through the copse as she was riding,
She heard a mournful, dreadful noise
She got off from her horse and she raised down on him
She pulled her pocket handkerchief and she wiped his eyes
With tears of salt like any bride.
My brothers have killed you and ain’t they cruel?
That’s just to send you to your silent grave.
Sings the tune. Then, sung:
Oh there was a farmer living near Bridgwater
Well he had two sons and one daughter dear;
Well she felt it fitting for to plough the ocean
Oh to plough the ocean, oh that raged so clear.
Surely, surely, they was deluded,
Which caused this poor farmer to live in fear.
Well, our servant man’s a-going to wed my sister,
Yes, my sister she have got mind to wed.
You will soon courtship and it won’t be longing
Surelye, surelye, that will drive me wild.
Well three days and three nights, oh she latelye mention,
Oh she dreamed, she dreamed of her own true love;
Oh by her bedside there was tears like fountains,
Covered over and over all by gores of blood.
She come dressed herself, she come down to her brothers,
A-crying tears like lumps of salt;
Dear brother, oh, tell, do tell me where he’s? [slain; lain]
You’ve killed my love, and you’ll tell me too [true]
Down through the woods oh that she went a-riding,
Oh, she heard a mournfully bitter cry;
Surelye, surelye, that’s my own dear true love,
In the brake of briars oh he’s throwed and killed.
Oh she got off’n her horse and she looked down on him,
Wiping the tears from her eyes oh like any brine;
My brothers have killed you and ain’t they cruel?
Surelye, surelye, that now would drive me mad.