40. James Harris (The Daemon Lover)
(Child 243)
If the various traditional versions of this ballad all go back, as Child believed, to the long-winded, pedestrian seventeenth-century broadside of 'James Harris,' they constitute something of an argument for Barry's doctrine of communal re-creation. For its range as traditional song, see BSM 79, and add New Hampshire (NGMS 95-7), Tennessee (SFLQ xi 127-8), North Carolina (FSRA 38-40), Florida (SFLQ viii 160-1), the Ozarks (OFS I 166-76), Ohio (BSO 70-7), Indiana (BSI 136-48, JAFL lvii 14-15), Illinois (JAFL LX 131-2), Michigan (BSSM 54-8), and Wisconsin (JAFL LIT 46-7, originally from Kentucky). Few regional collections made in this country fail to record it ; [1] it is therefore surprising that Child knew, apparently, only one American text and that a fragment. It is almost always called in America 'The House Carpenter.' The notion that the lover from the sea is a rez'enant or a demon, present in the original broadside and less definitely in some of the other versions in Child, has faded from most American texts; with us it is a merely domestic tragedy. And perhaps for that very reason it is one of the favorites of American ballad singers. There are some fourteen texts in the North Carolina collection, most of them holding pretty closely to one version. A full text of this version is given first and most of the others described by reference to this.
Footnote for above:
1. There are traces of it in our K and M versions.
A. 'The House Carpenter.' Reported by Mrs. Sutton (or rather by Miss Maude Minish before her marriage) from the singing of Mr. R. T. Lewis of Roaring Creek, Ashe county — "a very wild, primitive location, and a most interesting family. The father was a bit politically inclined. He kept up with all events of the day and talked with much intelligence. His wife was a typical mountain drudge, superstitious to a degree. . . . For wild beauty and untouched grandeur the scenery around their home is not equaled in the mountains anywhere. Roaring Creek literally tumbles down a mountain side, seemingly coming from the very clouds." The "we'll meet" of the first two lines should of course be "well met."
1. 'We'll meet, we'll meet, my own true love,'
"We'll meet, we'll meet.' he replied;
'I'm just a-returnin' from the salt, salt sea,
And it's all for the love of thee.
2 'I could have married a king's daughter,
For she would 'a' married me;
But I forsaken the crown of gold,
And it's all for the love of thee.'
3 'If you could 'a' married a king's daughter
I'm sure you air to blame;
For I am married to a house carpenter,
And I think he's a nice young man.'
4 'If you will leave your house carpenter
And go along with me,
I'll take you where the grass grows so green
On the banks of Sweet Willie.'
5 'If I will leave my house carpenter
And go along with thee,
Have you anything to maintain me upon
And keep me from slavery?
6 'I have five ships on the ocean wide
A-sailin' for dry land,
A hundred and fifty bold seamen
For to be at your command.'
7 She picked up her sweet little babe
And kisses she gave it three,
Saying, 'Stay at home, my sweet little babe,
And keep your pappy company.'
8 She dressed herself in silk so fine,
Most glorious to behold;
As she walked out toward the wharf
She outshined the glittering gold.
9 She had not been on sea two months,
I'm sure it was not three,
Until she lamented in her true love's ship
And wept most bitterly.
10 'Are you a-weepin' for my silver or my gold,
Or either for my store?
Or are you a-weepin' for your house carpenter
That you will never see no more ?'
11 'I'm not a-weepin' for your silver or your gold
Or either for your store;
I'm just a-weepin' for my sweet little babe
That I never shall see no more.'
12 She had not been on the sea three months,
I'm sure it was not four,
Until there sprung a leak in her true love's ship
And sunk it to rise no more.
13 'A curse, a curse on all seamen,
A curse for evermore;
For you have robbed me of my house carpenter
That I never shall see any more.'
B. The House Carpenter.' This text was secured by Mrs. Sutton some years later than A, from the singing of Mrs. Rebecca Gordon of Cat's Head on Saluda Mountain, Henderson county. Here the last line of each stanza is repeated by way of refrain. The English is cruder — to the point of unintelligibility in the first line of stanza 4. The last stanza is borrowed from some of the forms of 'William Taylor' or of 'The Sailor Boy.'
1.'I oncet could 'a' married a king's daughter fair
And I wouldn't for the sake of thee.'
2 'I don't see how you could fault me.
For I am married to a house carpenter.
And I think he's a fine young man, man.
And I think he's a fine young man.'
3 'Won't you forsaken your house carpenter
And go along with me?
I will take you to where the grass grows so green
On the banks of the salt water sea, sea,
On the banks of the salt water sea.'
4 She stole herself in a neat little ravin,
She dressed in ivory;
She spreaded her veil all over her face ;
She outshined the glittering day, day.
She outshined the glittering day.
5 She called her three little babes to her
And kissed them one-two-three.
She said, 'Go back, my sweet little babes,
And keep your pappy's company, ny,
And keep your pappy's company.'
6 She hadn't been gone three months on the sea,
I am sure it was not four.
Till she was found a-weeping and a-moaning
And a-weeping most bitter-i-ly, i-ly.
And a-weeping most bitter-i-ly.
7 'Oh, what's the matter?' said the sea-faring man,
'Oh, what's the matter?' said he.
'Is it about your house carpenter?
Is it about your store, your store,
Is it about your store?'
8 'It's neither about my house carpenter
Nor is it about my store.
It's all about my sweet Httle babes
That I left when I came with thee, thee,
That I left when I came with thee.'
9 She hadn't been gone on the sea three months,
I'm sure it was not four,
Till she thrown herself all over board
And her soul has sung farewell, farewell.
And her soul has sung farewell.
C. 'The House Carpenter.' Sent by I. G. Greer of Boone, Watauga county, to C. Alphonso Smith in 1913 and later to the North Carolina collection. It is essentially the same as A, with some minor variations: seven ships, instead of six, and weeks for months in stanzas 9 and 12.
D. 'The House Carpenter's Wife.' Sent in by Thomas Smith of Zionville, Watauga county, in February 1915, as sung by Mrs. Rebecca Icenham, of Silverstone in the same county. "She heard a Mrs. Thompson sing it as well as other ballads between forty and fifty years ago at her old home near where she now lives." Twelve stanzas of the A version with minor verbal variations such as three ships instead of six, "a week or two" in stanza 9, etc.
E. 'The House Carpenter.' Another text secured by Thomas Smith, "sung by Clyde Corum of Zionville, March 22, 1915. Clyde Corum learned it, he says, from his mother and grandfather, who sang the song to him when he was a child." The text is the same as A with minor verbal variations, except that it lacks stanza 8 of A and has a different opening stanza (which appears also in other ballads):
'I will come in but I won't set down,
For I have not a moment of time;
For I heard you were engaged to another young man
And your heart is no longer mine.'
F. 'The House Carpenter.' Collected by D. W. Fletcher of Trinity College some ten miles east of Durham from A. H. Carpenter, who learned it from his father. The text is short (eight stanzas) and varies a good deal from the normal as exhibited in A. Note particularly the confusion of grammatical person in the first two stanzas. Because of this confusion quotation marks are not used until line 7.
1 I once could have married the Queen's daughter dear,
When she looked most beautiful, wise, and sweet ;
But she went away with a house carpenter
And there she stayed three weeks.
2 There came along a very rich man.
He was richer than tongue could tell.
'Will you forsake your house carpenter
And come with this young man?'
3 'I will forsake my house carpenter.
And I will forsake my land.
And I will forsake my pretty little babe
And come with this young man.'
4 They went along till they came to the old sea sound
Where she looked wonderful wide and deep.
There she wipeth up her water-weeping eyes
And then began to weep.
5 'What are you weeping for?' said he.
'Are you weeping for my gold?
Or are you weeping for your house carpenter
Which I know you never shall see?'
6 'I am neither weeping for your gold
Nor for my house carpenter.
I am weeping for my pretty little babe
Which I know I never shall see.'
7 They had not been gone more than three weeks.
I'm sure it was not four,
When there sprang a leak in the bottom of the ship
And they sank to rise no more.
8 I've often seen green grass trod under foot;
It would spring and grow again.
True love, true love, 'tis a killing pain.
Did you ever feel that pain?
G. 'I Have Forty Ships.' Secured by Miss Mamie Mansfield in 1922 from Estella Rhew at the Fowler School, Durham. Here the text has shrunk to five stanzas.
I 'I have forty ships on the ocean side
And they are all making for land.
If you'll come along and go with me
I'll make you a nice young man.'[1]
2 She picked up the poor little baby
And kissed him one, two, three ;
Said, 'You stay here with daddy
And keep him company for me.'
3 She had not been gone but about two weeks,
I am sure it was not three,
Before that little girl began to cry and moan
For someone she'd never more see.
4 'Are you weeping for your land?
Are you weeping for your store?'
She said, 'I'm weeping for my lonesome babe
I'll never see no more.'
5 She had not been gone but about three weeks,
I am sure it was not four,
Before that ship sprung a leak
And sunk to rise no more.
Footnote for this version:
1. Miss Mansfield's text exists in the collection in two copies. The other copy reads here "I'll make you nice and grand."
H. 'The House Carpenter.' Two fragmentary and corrupt texts secured by Julian P. Boyd at the Almance School, Pamlico county. In one of them "the banks of Sweet Willie" becomes "the banks of sweet Liberty"; and the other has for its third stanza:
Don't you see them seven sailing ship
Are sailing for dry land?
You can count 'em all at your command.
I. 'The House Carpenter.' Reported by L. W. Anderson from Nag's Head, Dare county: "Sung to me by Mrs. J. A. Best at whose home I board. Her mother sang this also, and they lived on an island called Collington twelve miles from Kitty Hawk." It is substantially the same as A with some differences in the final stanza:
'Here's a curse, here's a curse
To all seafaring men.
A-ruinin' of lives, robbing of house carpenters
And taking away of their wives.'
J. 'The House Carpenter.' Secured by Miss Jessie Hauser of Forsyth county from Mrs. James Thomas, of St. Jude. The text is substantially the same as A but lacks stanza 15 and combines stanzas 1 and 2 into
'We've met, we've met, my own true love;
We've met, we've met,' said he.
'It's I could have married the King's daughter fair,
And she would have married me.
But I have forsaken her crown of gold,
And it's all for the love of thee.'
K. 'The House Carpenter.' Secured by W. Amos Abrams in 1938 from Mrs. Jim Wilson of Zionville, Watauga county. It runs like A for the first seven stanzas but then shifts unexpectedly to the first person of the lover and even brings in the vision of heaven and hell of Child's versions E and F, not often found in American texts. The last six stanzas run:
8 We had not been on board three weeks,
I am sure it was not four,
When tears did come to my true love's eyes
And melted to rise no more.
9 'Are you weeping for your house carpenter?
Are you weeping for your store?
Are you weeping for your dear little babe
That you will never see any more?'
10 'I am neither weeping for my house carpenter,
Neither for my store.
I am just weeping for my sweet little babe
That I will never see any more.'
11 We had not been on board three months,
And I'm sure it was not four.
When tears began to come in my true love's eyes
And melted to rise no more.
12 'What banks are these we are passing by?
They shine like glittering gold.'
'It's the banks of heaven that we are passing by.
Where you and I can't go.'
13 'What banks are these we are landing on?
They are black as any crow.'
'They are the banks of torment we are landing on
Where you and I must go.'
L. 'House Carpenter.' Secured from James York, Olin, Iredell county, in 1939. Ten stanzas, fairly close to A but shifting in stanza 7 from the third person of the lover to the first person:
She dressed herself in her fine richery.
Most beauteous to behold,
And as she glided along with me
She outshined that glittering gold.
M. 'The House Carpenter.' From the manuscript of Mr. Obie Johnson, Crossnore, Avery county, July 1940. The manuscript has the notation "Words given by Phebe G. Basefield. Sung by Anne Johnson." The variations from the standard text are so pervading that it seems best to give the text entire. Note that like K it has the vision of heaven and hell.
1 'Well met, well met, my own true love,
Well met, well met,' said he;
'I'm just returning from the salt, salt sea
And all for the love of thee, thee, thee.
And all for the love of thee.
2 'I will come in, but I won't sit down.
For I haven't a moment's time.
I heard you were engaged to another young man
And your heart is no longer mine, mine, mine,
And your heart is no longer mine.'
3 'Yes, come in and sit down
And stay a while if you can.
I am married to a house carpenter,
And I think he's a nice young man, man, man,
And I think he's a nice young man.'
4 'If you will leave your house carpenter
And go along with me.
We will go where the grass grows green
On the banks of the deep blue sea, sea, sea,
In the land of the Sweet Willie.'
5 She dressed herself in silk so fine.
Most glorious to behold,
And as she marched up and down the street
She shone like glittering gold, gold, gold,
She shone like glittering gold.
6 She picked up her little babe.
Kisses she gave it one, two, three,
Saying, 'You stay at home with your poor old dad
And keep him company, ny, ny,
And keep him company.'
7 She hadn't been gone but about two weeks,
I'm sure it were not three,
Till she fell down a-weeping in her true lover's lap
And she wept most bitterly, ly, ly,
And she wept most bitterly.
8 'Darling, are you weeping for my silver or my gold.
Or weeping for my store,
Or a-weeping for your house carpenter
Whose face you'll see no more, more, more.
Whose face you'll see no more?'
9 'I'm neither weeping for your silver or gold,
Or weeping for your store ;
I'm just a- weeping for to see my little babe
That I'll never get to see any more, more, more.
That I'll never get to see any more.
10 'Oh what white banks are that I see?
They are white as any snow.'
'They are the banks of heaven, my dear,
Where your sweet little babe shall go, go, go,
Where your sweet little babe shall go.'
11 'Oh what black banks are that I see?
They are blacker than any crow.'
'Those are the banks of hell, my dear,
Where you and I must go, go, go.
Where you and I must go.'
12 She dressed herself up in silk so fine.
Put on her blue and green,
And marched right out in front of him ;
They took her to be some queen, queen, queen.
They took her to be some queen.
13 They hadn't been gone but about three weeks,
I'm sure it was not four,
Till her true lover's ship took a leak in it
And sank for to rise no more, more, more.
And sank for to rise no more.
14 'Well, my house carpenter is still at home,
And living very well,
While my poor body is drowning in the sea
And my soul is bound for hell, hell, hell.
And my soul is bound for hell.'
N. 'Said an Old True Love.' One of the songs collected by Professors W. Amos Abrams and Gratis D. Williams in 1945 from Pat Frye of East Bend, Yadkin county. See headnote to 'Lady Isabel and the Elf -Knight' G. Twelve stanzas. The time formula lacks the usual "I'm sure it was not," and has instead
They haden been sailing more weeks than two
And not exceeding three
They hadden been sailing more weeks than three
And not exceeding four.
No mention of sailing past the islands of heaven and hell. Ends, like
A and I, with a curse :
She cussed the sailor round and round
She cussed the boatman lad
For robbing her of her home and her house carpenter
And taking her life away.
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40 James Harris (The Daemon Lover) [Music from Volume IV]
(Child 243)
A. The Housecarpenter.' Sung by Mrs. Nora Hicks. Recorded at Mast's Gap, Watauga county, August 28, 1940. This, together with the Myra B. Miller and the Greer versions, shows a remarkable melodic relationship to the second half -of 'Cross of Christ,' No. 504 in Good Old Songs (Cayce). Measures 1 and 3 identical with those of 40H, and measures 2 and 3 are identical with those of 40C.
For melodic relationship cf. ***TBV 593, No. 40H and 594, No. 40V, measures 1-4; FSF 313, No. 168B; FSS 524, No. 25L, measures 3-4 only; **SharpK I 251, No. 35H, measures 1-4; xhid. J, measures 1-5; P, measures 1-4; FSSH
115, No. 23B; SCSM 400, A ('James Harris') ; *FSRA 38, No. 18.
Scale: Hexachordal, plagal. Tonal Center : b-flat. Structure : aa1bb1 (2,2,2,2)= ab (4,4). Circular Tune (V).
A(1) 'The House Carpenter.' Sung by Mrs. G. L. Bostic. Recorded at Mooresboro, Cleveland county, August 7, 1939; another title given is 'Banks of Citoree.'
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For melodic relationship cf. SharpK i 252, No. 35K, basic melodic outline only. Scale: Heptachordal, plagal. Tonal Center: g. Structure : aba1c (2,2,2,2) = aai (4,4).
A(2) 'The House Carpenter.' Sung by Myra Barnett Miller. Recorded probably at Lenoir, August 1939, 1940, or 1941. Another record is identical with this version, and it contains all the stanzas. Towards the end, however, the singer gradually rises in pitch, and finishes a whole tone above the level on which she started.
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For melodic relationship of. ***FSF 313, No. 168B, measures 3-4; **ibid. No. 168A, measure 7 with 6 in our version; SharpK i 245, No. 35B and 252, No. 35J; TBV 593, No. 40H and more so, 594, No. 40V, measures 1-4; SCSM 400, version A ('James Harris'), measures 3-4; FSS 524, No. 25L, measures 3-4; *FSSH 116, No. 23C, measures 1-2; SharpK i 209, No. 28B ('The Maid Freed from the Gallows'), measure 6; FSRA 38, No. 18.
Scale : Dorian, plagal. Tonal Center : 4,4). e. Structure: aa1bb1 (2,2,2,2) ab
B. 'The House Carpenter.' Sung by Aunt Becky Gordon. No date or place given. This tune, with but slight changes, is the same this singer uses for her version of 'The Seven Sisters' (2B). For her first stanza she uses the third and fourth lines of stanza 1 and the first and second lines of stanza 2 as given in H 173.
For melodic relationship of. **BSM 82, version D; FSF 311, No. 168A: *SharpK i 249, No. 35E, measures 3-5. Scale: Heptachordal, plagal. Tonal Center: g. Structure: abca1d (2,2,2,2,2) := abc (4,4,2), or ab (4,6) where b is internally incremented.
C. 'The House Carpenter.' Sung by Dr. I. G. Greer. Recorded as ms score at Boone, 1913. Except for a few deviations, which are shown in the variations below, this tune is the same as that used by Mrs. Rebecca Icenham, version D. For an interesting and subtle use of tonal material observe the combination of measures 5 and 2 in the last two measures.
For melodic relationship cf. ***SharpK i 251, No. 35H, measures 1-4 and 6-8, No. 35 J, L, measures 6-8, and P, measures 1-4; FSF 313, No. 168B, measures 3-4, same in FSSH 115, No. 23B and SCSM 400, version A ('James Hards') ; TBV 594, No. 40V, measures 1-4 (basic melodic line) ; *FSRA 38, No. 18; SharpK i 209, No. 28B, measure 6 ('Maid Freed from the Gallows').
Scale: Hexatonic (3) plagal. Tonal Center: f. Structure: aa^bc (2,2,2,2) = ab (4,4).
D. 'The House Carpenter's Wife.' Sung by Mrs. Rebecca Icenham. Recorded at Silverstone, Watauga county, in February 1915. See the note to the preceding version.
E. 'The House Carpenter.' Sung by Miss Chloe Michael. Recorded at Boone, Watauga county, July 29, 1939. For almost the identical stanza, textually, see n 425, No. 162, 'The One Forsaken.'
For melodic relationship cf. *SharpK i 244, No. 35 A, (B), H, J, L, P. Scale: Hexatonic (6), plagal. Tonal Center: d. Structure: aa1bc (2,2,2,2) = ab (4,4).
2 Where man, where man may I long to love,
Where may. . . . .
I just returned from the South, South Sea
All for the love of thee.
3 Were you. . . . house carpenter
And . . . . coming of me ?
I take you where the grass grows. . .
On the banks of the green . .
4 You find for . . . house carpenter
And . . . of thee.
What have you to maintain me on
And keep me from slavery?
5 I have three ships . . .
A-sailing . . . are on the sea,
. . . . . gentlemen
That will be at your command.
6 And (taking?) up her three little babes
. . . . . three,
They stay at home, my three little babes
And keep your papa company.
7 There hadn't been a soul . . . to reach,
I'm sure that it was . . . through (three?)
. . . about a week and then her true lover's arms
And she wept most bitterly.
8 Are you (weeping for my) silver or gold,
Or is it for my cargo. . . ?
Or are you aweakened for my three little babes
Whose face you have seen no more?
H. 'The House Carpenter.' Sung by C. K. Tillett. Recorded on Roanoke Island, December 29, 1922. Measures 1 and 3 are identical with those of 40A. There is some Negro influence noticeable in the flattening of the seventh degree.
For melodic relationship cf. ***FSS 524, No. 25L, measures 3-4; SharpK 1 251-6, No. 35H and J, measures i and 3; **ibid., No. 35? and somewhat less, version B; FSF 313, No. 168B, and FSSH 115, No. 23B, measures 3-4; TBV 593-4, No.'4oM and N, measures 1-4; *FSRA 38, No. 18.
Scale: Hexatonic (4), plagal. Tonal Center: e-flat. Structure: aa1bcfa1c1 (2,2,2,2,2,2) = abb (4,4,4) or, to use Alfred Lorenz' terminology, nmm1 = inverted barform.
J. 'The House Carpenter.' Sung by Miss Jessie Hauser. Recorded as ms score; no date or place given. Since this tune, excepting one measure, is identical with that of 40C, only that one (measure 6) is given here. The score, signed by Mrs. James Thomas, fits the A text of the first stanza (II 171) and not that of her garbled first stanza (II 176).
Scale: Hexatonic (3), plagal. Tonal Center: f. Structure: aa1bc (2,2,2,2) ab (4,4).
K. 'The House Carpenter.' Sung by Mrs. James York. Recorded at Olin, Iredell county, in 1939. The portamenti are primitive indeed; the Negro influence is quite evident in the flattened third and seventh.
Scale: Mixolydian, plagal. Tonal Center: f. Structure: abac (2,2,2,2) = aa1 (4.4).