No. 64: Fair Janet
[There are no known traditional US or Canadian versions of this ballad.]
CONTENTS:
1. Child's Narrative
2. Footnotes (Moved to the end of Child's Narrative)
3. Brief (Kittredge)
4. Child's Ballad Texts A-G. (An additional text, 'Young Janet' is found in Additions and Corrections)
5. End-Notes
6. Additions and Corrections
ATTACHED PAGES (see left hand column):
1. Recordings & Info: Fair Janet
A. Roud Number 44: Fair Janet (22 Listings)
2. English and Other Versions (Including Child versions A-G with additional notes)]
3. Sheet Music: Fair Janet (Bronson's text and music)
Child's Narrative
A. 'Fair Janet,' Sharpe's Ballad Book, p. 1.
B. 'Fair Janet and Sweet William,' Motherwell's Manuscript, p. 357.
C. 'Willie and Annet,' Herd's Scots Songs, 1769, p. 303.
D. 'Lord William,' Motherwell's Manuscript, p. 271.
E. 'Willie and Janet,' Kinloch Manuscripts, V, 283, II, 41.
F. 'Sweet Willie and Fair Maisry,' Buchan's Ballads of the North of Scotland, I, 97; Motherwell's Manuscript, p. 606.
G. 'Sweet Willie,' Finlay's Scottish Ballads, II, 61.
G, as printed by Finlay, was made up from various fragments. Of his twenty-seven stanzas fourteen were taken from C, and these are now omitted. A 13, D 5, G 4, 5, C 19, are fonnd also in some copies of 'Fair Annie of Loch-royal;' C 19 also in 'Sweet Willie and Fair Annie.' The very inappropriate question in F 4, "O will ye gang to the cards, Meggie," occurs in Jamieson's 'Clerk Saunders,' I, 84, st. 5. The inquiry in G 1, "Will you burn for Sweet Willie?" may probably have been suggested by the ballad of 'Lady Maisry.' We have the oath by the thorn, G 13, in 'Glasgerion.' For the conclusion of A, E, see No 7, I, 96 ff.
Fair Janet, A, B, E [Annet, MaisryJ, loving Sweet Willie, and on the point of becoming a mother by him, is destined by her father to marry a French lord, A; a Southland lord, B, E, G. She implores Willie to fly with her over sea, B, C; to good green wood, F. They set sail, but her condition obliges her to return, B; her time comes before they can get away, C. She bears a child.[1] To avoid discovery, the babe is taken to Willie's mother, who very readily assumes charge of it. Scarcely has the child been born, when Janet's father comes with orders to busk the bride, A, B, C(?), E, F. She begs to be tenderly handled, as not being in good plight. They attire her gayly, and she selects Willie to lead her horse, or ride before her on her horse, to church, A, B, E. Her cheek is pale, her color goes and comes; it is suspected, and even suggested, that she has borne a bairn, or is near to doing so, A 22, C 14, D 10, E 11, F 25. She seeks to clear herself by an ambiguous oath, E 12, G 26, 27; Willie does this for her, G 11. After dinner, or supper, A, B, dancing is in order. Janet makes excuses to her brothers, her father, the bridegroom's man, and declines very decidedly the bridegroom's own invitation, with marked asperity in A, B. But with Willie she will dance though her heart shuuld break in three. She takes three turns, and falls down dead. Willie gives the key of his coffer to his man, and bids him tell his mother that his horse has slain him. He would not survive Janet in any pure and full form of the story, and does not in A, C, E.
'Sweet William,' Motherwell's Minstrelsy, p. 307, borrows some stanzas at the beginning from 'Fair Janet.'
There are points of resemblance between 'Fair Janet' and a ballad very popular in Scandinavia and in Germany, which demand notice, though they may not warrant the assumption of community of origin.
The Scandinavian ballad is: Danish, 'Kong Valdemar og hans Søster,' Grundtvig, No 126, III, 63 ff, 911 f, A-I; G from a sixteenth-century manuscript, A-F from seventeenth-century manuscripts or print, the two last from recent tradition. Icelandic, 'Soffíu kvæði,' Íslenzk Fornkvæði, No 52, II, 152, A-F, all of which, according to Grundtvig, must be put, at latest, in the seventeenth century, though some are first met with in the eighteenth. Färöe, a single copy, almost Danish, from the beginning of this century, printed by Grundtvig, III, 67 f. Norwegian, three copies from recent tradition, Grundtvig, III, 69, 913 f. Swedish, all from this century, 'Liten Kerstin och Fru Sofia,' Arwidsson, No 53, I, 335-51, A-E; F, G, in Cavallius and Stephens' collection, Grundtvig, III, 70; H, 'Liten Kerstin och drottning Sofia,' Wigström, Folkdiktning, I, 79.[2]
The German ballad is: A. 'Graf Hans von Holstein und seine Schwester Annchristine,' Müllenhoff, p. 492, No 48. B. 'Der grobe Bruder,' Wunderhorn, II, 272, 1808, Birlinger und Crecelius, II, 24. C. 'Der grausame Bruder,' Parisius, p. 38, No 12, A. D. 'Das Lied vom Pfalzgrafen,' Düntzer und Herder, Briefe Goethe's an Herder, I, 154. E. 'Der grausame Bruder,' Erk, Liederhort, p. 153, No 45. F. 'Christinchen,' Pröhle, p. 4, No 2. G. Wunderhorn, Birlinger und Crecelius, II, 247, No 4. H. Parisius, No 12, C. I. Reifferscheid, p. 107. J. 'Der böse Bruder,' Zuccalmaglio, p. 185, No 89. K. 'Der Pfalzgraf vom Rhein,' Wunderhorn, I, 259, 1806, Birlinger und Crecelius, II, 24. L. 'Der grausame Bruder,' Hoffmann und Richter, Schlesische Volkslieder, p. 49, No 27. M. Parisius, No 12, B. A version in broadside style, Erlach, II, 585, Doenniges, p. 217; compounded copies, Simrock, No 16, Scherer, Jungbrunnen, No 35, A.
According to the Scandinavian story, a king is informed by his queen, her inexorable enemy, that Kirstin, his sister, has just borne a child. The king sends for Kirstin, who is at some distance, to come to him immediately. She is obliged to make the journey on horseback. Upon her arrival the king puts her to a variety of tests, among these a long dance. Kirstin comes off so well that her brother says the queen has belied her. The queen then bares Kirstin's breast and makes milk flow from it. The king hereupon sends for heavy whips, and flogs his sister to the point of death. In the Icelandic and Färöe versions Kirstin dies of the dance, in her brother's arms. In the Swedish versions and in Danish I the king is Kirstin's father, not her brother. The Norwegian versions and Swedish F, H have a false conclusion: Kirstin survives, and is united to her lover. In Danish A the king had, before he learned the state of things, promised his sister to the son of the King of England, and in Danish F, H, I, Swedish F, and the Färöe ballad, Kirstin's lover is an English prince, who, in Danish H, comes to claim his mistress, and, finding her dead, kills the king. In Swedish A Kirstin dances with four, dances with five, dances with all the men of the court, and in Swedish C, H she tires out successively all the courtiers, the king, and the queen.
A, far the best preserved of the German versions, makes a hunter ask a count for his sister Annchristine. Being refused, as an unequal match, he tells the count that his sister, for all her nobility, has borne a child. The count maintains Annchristine to be a maid. The hunter says, Send for her, and see. The young lady is required to come on horseback. When her brother sees her approaching, with her long hair flowing, his confidence is strengthened. The hunter says, Make her dance. She dances seven hours, and her brother finds reason to continue of the same mind as before. The hunter says, Let us tighten her lacing, and, when that is done, milk springs from her breasts. Her brother gives her the choice between whipping and the sword. She chooses the former. He beats her till liver and lung; spring from her body. She then calls on him to stop; Prince Frederick of England is his brother-in-law. The count is much troubled, and promises everything if she will live. But Annchristine dies, and presently Prince Frederick appears. He has heard of what the count has done, cuts him to bits, and gives him to the crows.
In the other German versions the informant is generally of low rank, and sometimes professes to be father of the child. In B, C, G, H, K he is a kitchey-boy, a personage who plays no insignificant part in romantic story. The coming on horseback is wanting. The long dance is found in B-F. The father or the child is always the English King, who runs the brother through with his sword, B, D, E, G, K, L, or otherwise gives him his due.
The slight resemblance and the great difference of the Scottish story are apparent. Fair Janet has to go a certain distance on horseback, at a time when she is peculiarly ill fitted to do so, like the hapless Kirstin of the Scandinavian ballads and the German A, and she dies from dancing in her weak condition, as the lady does in the Icelandic and Färöe ballad. But both the ride and the dance are incidental to her forced marriage, and neither the ride nor the dance is employed as a test, as the dance always is in the other ballad, and as the ride is expressly devised to be in German A 6. The Scottish Janet is not constrained to dance, nor does she dance down all the men in the room. She declines every invitation except Willie's, and this, in some cases she (very naturally and touchingly) encourages or incites; and her vital powers give way after three turns. All the unspeakably ferocious features of the Norse and German ballads are wanting, and the bound which divides the pathetic from the horrible is never passed.
A Breton ballad, 'Ar C'homt Gwillou,' 'Prinses ar Gwillou,' 'Le Comte Guillou,' 'La Princesse Le Guillou,' Luzel, II, 6-15, in three versions, has the probation by dancing. A count or prince, returning to his mistress after a considerable absence, happens to hear a shepherdess singing a song, of which he himself is unfortunately the subject. The lady has had a child. Fearing to encounter her injured lover, she tries to pass off as a younger sister for herself, but, as may be imaginged, this desperate artifice does not succeed. She is told what is said of her, and hopes she may melt like butter if ever she had daughter or son. The count calls out, Play up musicians, that we may see how this damsel will step out. The young woman pleads that she is suffering from fever, and cannot dance just now, but the count strikes her on the breast so that milk spurts on her gown, A. He kills her.[3]
There is also a Magyar ballad, in which a jealous or offended lover makes his mistress dance till her boots are full of blood, as Kjersti's are in Norwegian A, B: 'Darvas Kis Clement,' Aigner, p. 110.
One or two correspodences with the Scandinavian-German ballad will require to be noted under 'Lady Maisry,' which immediately follows.
A is translated by Knorts, Schottische Balladen, No 7; F by Gerhard, p. 97; a combination of A, C and others by Grundtvig, No 39.
Footnotes:
1. She bids Willie leave her bower while she is in travail, C 7; in default of bower-woman, Willie offers to bandage his eyes and do a woman's part, E 3, after which a stanza is doubtless lost, in which man's aid would be rejected: cf. No 15, I, 182. F has a strange passage, 6-10 (belonging, perhaps, to 'Leesome Brand'), in which the lady, after asking that she may have the attendance of three women, selects the top of a tree for her labor, and informs Willie that he will have to drie every pain that she herself has, which experience duly follows.
2. Danish E is translated by Prior, II, 99.
3. La Fidanzata Infidele, Nigra, Rivista Contemporanea, XXXI, 21, and 'L'adultera,' Ferraro, Canti p. monferrini, p. 5, are the same ballad as the Breton, but the dance is not proposed in these.
Brief Description by George Lyman Kittredge
There are points of resemblance between 'Fair Janet' and a ballad very popular in Scandinavia, 'King Valdemar and his Sister' (Grundtvig, No. 126), and also in Germany (e. g., Müllenhoff, Sagen u.s.w. der Herzogthümer Schleswig-Holstein und Lauenburg, p. 492; Wunderhorn, 1808, II, 272). In both the Scandinavian and the German, however, the dancing is expressly devised as a test, and there are unspeakably ferocious features which are wanting in the Scottish ballad. A Breton ballad (Luzel, II, 6-15) likewise has the probation by dancing.
Child's Ballad Texts A-G
'Fair Janet'- Version A; Child 64 Fair Janet
Sharpe's Ballad Book, p. 1, as sung by an old woman in Perthshire.
1 'Ye maun gang to your father, Janet,
Ye maun gang to him soon;
Ye maun gang to your father, Janet,
In case that his days are dune.'
2 Janet's awa to her father,
As fast as she could hie:
'O what's your will wi me, father?
O what's your will wi me?'
3 'My will wi you, Fair Janet,' he said,
'It is both bed and board;
Some say that he loe Sweet Willie,
But ye maun wed a French lord.'
4 'A French lord maun I wed, father?
A French lord maun I wed?
Then, by my sooth,' quo Fair Janet,
'He's neer enter my bed.'
5 Janet's awa to her chamber,
As fast as she could go;
Wha's the first ane that tapped there,
But Sweet Willie her jo?
6 'O we maun part this love, Willie,
That has been lang between;
There's a French lord coming oer the sea,
To wed me wi a ring;
There's a French lord coming oer the sea,
To wed and tak me hame.'
7 'If we maun part this love, Janet,
It causeth mickle woe;
If we maun part this love, Janet,
It makes me into mourning go.'
8 'But ye maun gang to your three sisters,
Meg, Marion, and Jean;
Tell them to come to Fair Janet,
In case that her days are dune.'
9 Willie's awa to his three sisters,
Meg, Marion, and Jean:
'O haste, and gang to Fair Janet,
I fear that her days are dune.'
10 Some drew to them their silken hose,
Some drew to them their shoon,
Some drew to them their silk manteils,
Their covering to put on,
And they're awa to Fair Janet,
By the hie light o the moon.
* * * * *
11 'O I have born this babe, Willie,
Wi mickle toil and pain;
Take hame, take hame, your babe, Willie,
For nurse I dare be nane.'
12 He's tane his young son in his arms,
And kisst him cheek and chin,
And he's awa to his mother's bower,
By the hie light o the moon.
13 'O open, open, mother,' he says,
'O open, and let me in;
The rain rains on my yellow hair,
And the dew drops oer my chin,
And I hae my young son in my arms,
I fear that his days are dune.'
14 With her fingers lang and sma
She lifted up the pin,
And with her arms lang and sma
Received the baby in.
15 'Gae back, gae back now, Sweet Willie,
And comfort your fair lady;
For where ye had but ae nourice,
Your young son shall hae three.'
16 Willie he was scarce awa,
And the lady put to bed,
Whan in and came her father dear:
'Make haste, and busk the bride.'
17 'There's a sair pain in my head, father,
There's a sair pain in my side;
And ill, O ill, am I, father,
This day for to be a bride.'
18 'O ye maun busk this bonny bride,
And put a gay mantle on;
For she shall wed this auld French lord,
Gin she should die the morn.'
19 Some put on the gay green robes,
And some put on the brown;
But Janet put on the scarlet robes,
To shine foremost throw the town.
20 And some they mounted the black steed,
And some mounted the brown;
But Janet mounted the milk-white steed,
To ride foremost throw the town.
21 'O wha will guide your horse, Janet?
O wha will guide him best?'
'O wha but Willie, my true-love?
He kens I loe him best.'
22 And when they cam to Marie's kirk,
To tye the haly ban,
Fair Janet's cheek looked pale and wan,
And her colour gaed an cam.
23 When dinner it was past and done,
And dancing to begin,
'O we'll go take the bride's maidens,
And we'll go fill the ring.'
24 O ben than cam the auld French lord,
Saying, Bride, will ye dance with me?
'Awa, awa, ye auld French lord,
Your face I downa see.'
25 O ben than cam now Sweet Willie,
He cam with ane advance:
'O I'll go tak the bride's maidens,
And we'll go tak a dance.'
26 'I've seen ither days wi you, Willie,
And so has mony mae,
Ye would hae danced wi me mysel,
Let a' my maidens gae.'
27 O ben than cam now Sweet Willie,
Saying, Bride, will ye dance wi me?
'Aye, by my sooth, and that I will,
Gin my back should break in three.'
28 She had nae turned her throw the dance,
Throw the dance but thrice,
When she fell doun at Willie's feet,
And up did never rise.
29 Willie's taen the key of his coffer,
And gien it to his man:
'Gae hame, and tell my mother dear
My horse he has me slain;
Bid her be kind to my young son,
For father he has nane.'
30 The tane was buried in Marie's kirk,
And the tither in Marie's quire;
Out of the tane there grew a birk,
And the tither a bonny brier.
--------------
'Fair Janet and Sweet William'- Version B; Child 64 Fair Janet
Motherwell's Manuscript, p. 357, from the recitation of Agnes Lyle, Kilbarchan.
1 'If you do love me weel, Willie,
Ye'll shew to me truelie;
Ye'll build to me a bonnie ship,
And set her on the sea.'
2 He did love her very weel,
He shewed to her trulie;
He builded her a bonnie ship,
And set her on the sea.
3 They had not sailed one league, one league,
One league but only three,
Till sharp, sharp showers fair Janet took,
She grew sick and like to die.
4 'If you do love me weel, Willie,
Ye'll shew to me trulye;
Ye'll tak me to my mother's bower,
Whare I was wont to be.'
5 He did love her very weel,
He shewed to her trulye;
He took her to her mother's bower,
Whare she was wont to be.
6 'It's ye'll stand up at my richt side,
You will on tiptaes stand,
Until you hear your auld son weep,
But an you Janet mourn.
7 'Come take your auld son in your arms,
He is both large and lang;
Come take your auld son in your arms,
And for a nourice gang.'
8 He is to his mother's bowers,
An hour or it struck nine:
'I have a babe into my arms,
He'll die nor nouricing.'
9 'Goe home, go home, my son,' she says,
'And mak thy Jenny blythe;
If ae nurse winna sere her son,
It's I'll provide him five.'
10 Fair Janet was nae weel lichter,
Nor weel doun on her side,
Till ben and cam her father dear,
Saying, Wha will busk our bride?
11 Ben and cam her brethren dear,
Saying, Wha will busk our bride?
And wha will saddle our bride's horse?
Whom ahint will she ride?
12 'Hold your tongue, my brethren dear,
And let your folly be,
For I'm sae fair and full of hair
Sma busking will serve me.
13 'Hold your tongue, my brethren dear,
And let your folly be,
For I will ride behint William,
He will best wait on me.
14 'Willie, lay the saddle saft,
And lead the bridle soun,
And when we come to Mary's Kirk,
Ye'll set me hooly down.'
15 Supper scarslie was owre,
Nor musick weel fa'n to,
Till ben and cam the bride's brethren,
Saying, Bride, ye'll dance wi me:
'Awa, awa, my brethren dear,
For dancing's no for me.'
16 Ben and came her ain bridegroom,
Saying, Bride, ye'll dance wi me;
She says, Awa, awa, ye southland dog,
Your face I downa see.
17 Ben and cam then Sweet Willie,
Saying, Bride, ye'll dance wi me:
'Oh I will dance the floor once owre,
Tho my heart should break in three.'
18 'Oh no, oh no,' said Sweet William,
'Let no such things eer be;
But I will cut my glove in two,
And I'll dance for thee and me.'
19 She hadna danced the floor once owre,
I'm sure she hadna thrice,
Till she fell in a deadly swound,
And from it neer did rise.
20 Out and spak her ain bridegroom,
And an angry man was he:
'This day she has gien me the gecks,
Yet she must bear the scorn;
There's not a bell in merry Linkum
Shall ring for her the morn.'
21 Out and spoke then Sweet William,
And a sorry man was he:
'Altho she has gien you the gecks,
She will not bear the scorn;
There's not a bell in merry Linkum
But shall ring for her the morn.'
22 There was not a bell in merry Linkum
But they tinkled and they rang,
And a' the birds that flew above,
They changed their notes and sang.
--------------
'Willie and Annet'- Version C; Child 64 Fair Janet
Herd's Scottish Songs, 1769, p. 303: I, 162, ed. 1776,
1 Livd ance twa luvers in yon dale,
And they luvd ither weel;
Frae evning late to morning aire
Of luving luvd their fill.
2 'Now, Willie, gif you luve me weel,
As sae it seems to me,
Gar build, gar build a bonny schip,
Gar build it speedilie.
3 'An we willl sail the sea sae green,
Unto some far countrie,
Or we'll sail to some bonie isle,
Stands lanely midst the sea.'
4 But lang or ere the schip was built,
Or deckd, or rigged out,
Came sick a pain in Annet's back
That down she coud na lout.
5 'Now, Willie, gif ye luve me weel,
As sae it seems to me,
O haste, haste, bring me to my bowr,
And my bowr-maidens three.'
6 He's taen her in his arms twa,
And kissd her, cheik and chin;
He's brocht her to her ain sweet bowr,
But nae bowr-maid was in.
7 'Now leave my bower, Willie,' she said,
'Now leave me to my lane;
When she was travelling.'
8 He's stepped three steps down the stair,
Upon the marble stane;
Sae loud's he heard his young son's greet,
But and his lady's mane!
9 'Now come, now come, Willie,' she said,
'Tak your young son frae me,
And hie him to your mother's bower,
With speed and privacie.'
10 He's taen his young son in his arms,
He's kissd him, cheik and chin;
He's hied him to his mother's bower,
By th' ae light of the moon.
11 And with him came the bold barone,
And he spake up wi pride:
'Gar seek, gar seek the bower-maidens,
Gar busk, gar busk the bryde.'
12 'My maidens, easy with my back,
And easy with my side;
O set my saddle saft, Willie,
I am a tender bryde.'
13 When she came to the burrow-town,
They gied her a broch and ring,
And when she came to . . .,
They had a fair wedding.
14 O up then spake the norland lord,
And blinkit wi his ee:
'I trow this lady's born a bairn,'
Then laucht loud lauchters three.
15 And up then spake the brisk bridegroom,
And he spake up wi pryde:
'Gin I should pawn my wedding-gloves,
I will dance wi the bryde.'
16 'Now had your tongue, my lord,' she said,
'Wi dancing let me be;
I am sae thin in flesh and blude,
Sma dancing will serve me.'
17 But she's taen Willie be the hand,
The tear blinded her ee:
'But I wad dance wi my true-luve,
But bursts my heart in three.'
18 She's taen her bracelet frae her arm,
Her garter frae her knee:
'Gie that, gie that to my young son,
He'll neer his mother see.'
* * * * *
19 'Gar deal, gar deal the bread, mother,
Gar deal, gar deal the wyne;
This day hath seen my true-love's death,
This nicht shall witness myne.'
---------------
'Lord William'- Version D; Child 64 Fair Janet
Motherwell's Manuscript, p. 271, "from Margery Johnston, who had it of her grand-aunt, a very old woman."
1 'It never was my mother's fashion,
As little will't be mine,
For to hae gay lords within my room
When ladies are travailing.'
2 Lord William was scarsely down the stair,
A step but only ane,
Till he heard his auld son gie a cry,
And his lady a heavy maen.
3 'Turn back, turn back, Lord William,' she says,
'Take thy auld son in thy coat-neuk,
And see and reach thy mother's bowers
Twa hours before day comes.'
4 He's awa wi his auld son in his coat-neuk,
As fast as he can run,
And there he's reached his mother's bowers,
Twa hours before day came.
5 'O rise, O rise, my mother dear,
O rise and let me in,
For I've my auld son in my coat-neuk,
And he shivers at the chin.'
6 'Ye're welcome hame to me, Lord William,
And so is thy auld son;
It's where ye had but ae nourice,
Thy auld son he'll hae four.'
7 His lady was scarsely in her bed,
Nor well faln owre asleep,
When four and twenty knights and lords
Came for the bride at last.
8 They dressed her up, they dressed her down,
They dressed her wondrous fine,
And just before her ain bedside
She lost her colour clean.
9 'Be hooly wi my head, maidens,
Be hooly wi my hair,
For it was washen late last night,
And now it's very sair.'
10 Out then spoke a southern lord,
And oh but he spak bauld:
'She is the likest that bore a child
That eer my eyes did see.'
11 Up then spak her auld, auld father,
And oh he spoke in time:
'She neer bore a child since her birth
Except it was yestreen.'
12 Out then spoke a northern lord:
'It's bride, will ye dance wi me?'
'Oh no, oh no, you northland lord,
It's dancing's no for me.'
13 Out then spoke a southland lord:
'It's bride, will ye dance wi me?'
'Oh no, oh no, you southland lord,
I would as lief chuse to die.'
14 Out then spoke her ain bridegroom:
'O bride, will ye dance wi me?'
'Oh no, oh no, my ain bridegroom,
It's dancing's no for me.'
15 Out then spoke her ain Willy,
And oh he spoke fu fine:
'O bride, O bride, will ye dance wi me,'
. . . . .
16 'Oh yes, oh yes, Willie,' she said,
'It's I will dance with thee;
Oh yes, I'll dance, dear Willie,' she said,
'Tho my back it gaes in three.'
17 She leaned her head on Willie's breast,
And her back unto the wa:
'O there's the key of my coffer,
And pay weel the nouriss fee,
And aye when ye look on your auld son,
Ye may aye think on me.
----------
'Willie and Janet'- Version E; Child 64 Fair Janet
Kinloch Manuascripts, V, 283, 41, from Mary Barr, Clydesdale.
1 Willie and Fair Janet
Sat a' day on yon hill;
And Janet she took sair pains,
And O but she grew ill.
2 'Fetch a woman to me, Willie,
O fetch a woman to me,
For without the help of woman, Willie,
Surely I will dee.'
3 'O tie a napkin on my face,
That naething I may see,
And what can a woman do, Janet,
But I will do for thee?'
* * * * *
4 She was na scarcely brought to bed,
Nor yet laid on her side,
Till in and cam her father there,
Crying, Fy, gae busk the bride.
5 'A wearyed bride am I, father,
A wearyed bride am I;
Must I gae wed that southlan lord,
And let Sweet Willie abe?'
* * * * *
6 'Now chuse, now chuse now, Fair Janet,
What shall your cleeding be;
Now chuse, now chuse now, Fair Janet,
And I will gie it to thee.
7 'Whether will you hae it of the berry brown,
Or of the holland green;
Or will you hae it of the crimson red,
Most lovely to be seen?'
8 'I will not hae't of the berry brown,
Nor yet o the holly green;
But I will hae't of the crimson red,
Most lovely to be seen.'
9 'Now chuse, now chuse now, Fair Janet,
What man you'll ride behind:'
'O wha sae fitting as Sweet Willie?
He'll fit my saddle fine.'
10 O they rode on, and they rode on,
Till they cam to Merrytown green;
But Sweet Willie and Fair Janet
Cam aye hoolie ahin.
11 O whan they cam to Merrytown,
And lighted on the green,
Monie a bluidy aith was sworn
That our bride was wi bairn.
12 Out and spake the bonny bride,
And she swore by her fingers ten:
'If eer I was wi bairn in my life,
I was lighter sin yestreen.'
13 Up and raise he the bridegroom,
Says, Bride, will ye dance wi me?
'Dance on, dance on, bridegroom,' she says,
'For I'll dance nane wi thee.'
14 Up and raise her father then,
Says, Bride, will ye dance wi me?
'Dance on, my father,' she replied,
'I pray thee let me be.'
15 Then up and raise he Sweet Willie,
And he had meikle pride:
'I'll lay my gloves in the bride's han,
And I'll dance for the bride.'
16 'O no, O no, O Sweet Willie,
O no, that shall na be;
For I will dance wi thee, Willie,
Tho my back should fa in three.'
17 She had na run a reel, a reel,
A reel but barely three,
Till pale and wan grew Fair Janet,
And her head took Willie's knee.
18 Out and spake then the bridegroom,
And he spake wi great scorn:
'There's not a bell in Merrytown kirk
Shall ring for her the morn.'
19 Out and spak he Sweet Willie,
And his heart was almost gane:
''Tis a the bells in Merrytown kirk
Shall ring for her the morn.'
20 Willie was buried in Mary's kirk,
etc., etc., etc.
--------------
'Sweet Willie and Fair Maisry'- Version F; Child 64 Fair Janet
Buchan's Ballads of the North of Scotland, I, 97; Motherwell's Manuscript, p. 606.
1 Hey, love Willie, and how, love Willie,
And Willie my love shall be;
They're thinking to sinder our lang love, Willie;
It's mair than man can dee.
2 'Ye'll mount me quickly on a steed,
A milk-white steed or gray,
And carry me on to gude greenwood,
Before that it be day.'
3 He mounted her upon a steed,
He chose a steed o gray;
He had her on to gude greenwood,
Before that it was day.
4 'O will ye gang to the cards, Meggie?
Or will ye gang wi me?
Or will ye hae a bower-woman,
To stay ere it be day?'
5 'I winna gang to the cards,' she said,
'Nor will I gae wi thee,
Nor will I hae a bower-woman,
To spoil my modestie.
6 'Ye'll gie me a lady at my back,
An a lady me beforn,
An a midwife at my twa sides,
Till your young son be born.
7 'Ye'll do me up, and further up,
To the top o yon greenwood tree;
For every pain myself shall hae,
The same pain ye maun drie.'
8 The first pain that did strike Sweet Willie,
It was into the side;
Then sighing sair said Sweet Willie,
These pains are ill to bide!
9 The nextan pain that strake Sweet Willie,
It was into the back;
Then sighing sair said Sweet Willie,
These pains are women's wreck!
10 The nextan pain that strake Sweet Willie,
It was into the head;
Then sighing sair said Sweet Willie,
I fear my lady's dead!
11 Then he's gane on, and further on,
At the foot o yon greenwood tree;
There he got his lady lighter,
Wi his young son on her knee.
12 Then he's taen up his little young son,
And kissd him, cheek and chin,
And he is on to his mother,
As fast as he could gang.
13 'Ye will take in my son, mother,
Gie him to nurses nine;
Three to wauk, and three to sleep,
And three to fanf between.'
14 Then he has left his mother's house,
And frae her he has gane,
And he is back to his lady,
And safely brought her hame.
15 Then in it came her father dear,
Was belted in a brand:
'It's nae time for brides to lye in bed,
When the bridegroom's send's in town.
16 'There are four-and-twenty noble lords
A' lighted on the green;
The fairest knight amang them a',
He must be your bridegroom.'
17 'O wha will shoe my foot, my foot?
And wha will glove my hand?
And wha will prin my sma middle,
Wi the short prin and the lang?'
18 Now out it speaks him Sweet Willie,
Who knew her troubles best:
'It is my duty for to serve,
As I'm come here as guest.
19 'Now I will shoe your foot, Maisry,
And I will glove your hand,
And I will prin your sma middle,
Wi the sma prin and the lang.'
20 'Wha will saddle my steed,' she says,
'And gar my bridle ring?
And wha will hae me to gude church-door,
This day I'm ill abound?'
21 'I will saddle your steed, Maisry,
And gar your bridle ring,
And I'll hae you to gude church-door,
And safely set you down.'
22 'O healy, healy take me up,
And healy set me down,
And set my back until a wa,
My foot to yird-fast stane.'
23 He healy took her frae her horse,
And healy set her down,
And set her back until a wa,
Her foot to yird-fast stane.
24 When they had eaten and well drunken,
And a' had thornd fine,
The bride's father he took the cup,
For to serve out the wine.
25 Out it speaks the bridegroom's brother,
An ill death mat he die!
'I fear our bride she's born a bairn,
Or else has it a dee.'
26 She's taen out a Bible braid,
And deeply has she sworn;
'If I hae born a bairn,' she says,
'Sin yesterday at morn,
27 'Or if I've born a bairn,' she says,
'Sin yesterday at noon,
There's nae a lady amang you a'
That woud been here sae soon.'
28 Then out it spake the bridegroom's man,
Mischance come ower his heel!
'Win up, win up, now bride,' he says,
'And dance a shamefu reel.'
29 Then out it speaks the bride hersell,
And a sorry heart had she:
'Is there nae ane amang you a'
Will dance this dance for me?'
30 Then out it speaks him Sweet Willie,
And he spake aye thro pride:
'O draw my boots for me, bridegroom,
Or I dance for your bride.'
31 Then out it spake the bride hersell:
O na, this maunna be;
For I will dance this dance mysell,
Tho my back shoud gang in three.
32 She hadna well gane thro the reel,
Nor yet well on the green,
Till she fell down at Willie's feet
As cauld as ony stane.
33 He's taen her in his arms twa,
And haed her up the stair;
Then up it came her jolly bridegroom,
Says, What's your business there?
34 Then Willie lifted up his foot,
And dang him down the stair,
And brake three ribs o the bridegroom's side,
And a word he spake nae mair.
35 Nae meen was made for that lady,
When she was lying dead;
But a' was for him Sweet Willie,
On the fields for he ran mad.
---------------
'Sweet Willie'- Version G; Child 64 Fair Janet
Finlay's Scottish Ballads, II, 61.
1 'Will you marry the southland lord,
A queen of fair England to be?
Or will you burn for Sweet Willie,
The morn upon yon lea?'
2 'I will marry the southland lord,
Father, sen it is your will;
But I'd rather it were my burial-day,
For my grave I'm going till.
3 'O go, O go now, my bower-wife,
O go now hastilie,
O go now to Sweet Willie's bower,
And bid him cum speak to me.'
* * * * *
4 And he is to his mother's bower,
As fast as he could rin:
'Open, open, my mother dear,
Open, and let me in.
5 'For the rain rains on my yellow hair,
The dew stands on my chin,
And I have something in my lap,
And I wad fain be in.'
6 'O go, O go now, Sweet Willie,
And make your lady blithe,
For wherever you had ae nourice,
Your young son shall hae five.'
7 Out spak Annet's mother dear,
An she spak a word o' pride;
Says, Whare is a' our bride's maidens,
They're no busking the bride?
8 'O haud your tongue, my mother dear,
Your speaking let it be,
For I'm sae fair and full o flesh
Little busking will serve me.'
9 Out an spak the bride's maidens,
They spak a word o pride;
Says, Whare is a' the fine cleiding?
It's we maun busk the bride.
10 'Deal hooly wi my head, maidens,
Deal hooly wi my hair;
For it was washen late yestreen,
And it is wonder sair.'
* * * * *
11 And Willie swore a great, great oath,
And he swore by the thorn,
That she was as free o a child that night
As the night that she was born.
12 'Ye hae gien me the gowk, Annet,
But I'll gie you the scorn;
For there's no a bell in a' the town
Shall ring for you the morn.'
13 Out and spak then Sweet Willie:
Sae loud's I hear you lie!
There's no a bell in a' the town
But shall ring for Annet and me.
* * * * *
End-Notes
E. The copy in Kinloch Manuscripts, II, 41, has been revised by Mr. Kinloch. His more important changes are as follows:
11. Sweet Willie.
13. took in labor-pains.
21. Gae fetch.
23. For but.
24. It's surely.
33. And what a woman can do, Janet.
34. That I.
44. Says, Fy.
61,3. now chuse thee, Fair Janet.
72, 82. hollin.
102, 111, 183, 193. Marytoun.
104. Cam riding.
121, Then out.
144. ye let me abee.
181. the bridegroom then.
191. But out.
192. His heart.
20. Fair Janet was buried in Mary's kirk,
Sweet Willie in Mary's quier,
And out o the tane there sprang a rose,
Out o the tither a brier.
21. And aye they grew, and aye they threw,
Till thae twa they did meet,
That ilka ane might plainly see
They war twa lovers sweet.
G. 13. Var. mourn for.
11, in Finlay, follows 13.
Fourteen stanzas, taken from C, have been omitted.
Additions and Corrections
P. 103, note. 'La Fidanzata Infedele ' is now No 34 of Nigra's collection. See above the addition to No 5, 1, 65 b.
To be Corrected in the Print.
104 a, 191,2. Read pat.
The following are mostly trivial variations from the spelling of the text.
108 a, 24. Read die. b, 113. Read mony.
P. 101 b. Danish. 'Kong Valdemar og hans Søster,' Kristensen, Jyske Folkeminder, X, 75, 378, No 23.
102 b. Breton ballad. After Luzel, II, 6-15, add 558, the page of the third ballad.
Quellien, Chansons et Danses des Bretons, p. 73, is a fourth version. This ballad, says Quellien, is widely spread, and has various titles, one of which is 'Le Comte de Poitou.'
103 ff. "Scotch Ballads, Materials for Border Minstrelsy," Abbotsford, No 25. In the handwriting of William Laidlaw; "from Jean Scott."
1 Young Janet sits in her garden,
Makin a heavie maen,
Whan by cam her father dear,
Walkin himself alane.
2 'It's telld me in my bower, Janet,
It's telld me in my bed,
That ye 're in love wi Sweet Willie;
But a French lord ye maun wed.'
3 'In it be telld ye in yer bower, father,
In it be telld ye in your bed,
That me an Willie bears a love,
Yet a French lord I maun wed,
But here I mak a leel, leel vow
He's neer come in my bed.
4 'An for to please my father dear
A French lord I will wed;
But I hae sworn a solemn oth
He's neer come in my bed.'
5 Young Janet's away to her bower-door,
As fast as she can hie,
An Willie he has followd her,
He's followd speedilie.
6 An whan he cam to her bowr-door
He tirlt at the pin:
'O open, open, Janet love,
Open an let me in.'
7 'It was never my mother's custm, Willie,
It never sal be mine,
For a man to come the bower within
When a woman's travelin.
8 'Gae yer ways to my sisters' bower,
Crie, Meg, Marion an Jean,
Ye maun come to yer sister Janet,
For fear that she be gane.'
9 Sae he gaed to her sisters' bower,
Cry'd, Meg, Marion an Jean,
Ye maun come to yer sister Janet,
For fear that she be gane.
10 Some drew to their silk stokins,
An some drew to their shoon,
An some drew to their silk cleadin,
For fear she had been gane.
11 When they cam to her bower-door
They tirlt at the pin;
For as sick a woman as she was,
She raise an loot them in.
12 They had na the babie weel buskit,
Nor her laid in her bed,
Untill her cruel father cam,
Cried, Fye, gar busk the bride!
13 'There a sair pain in my back, father,
There a sair pain in my head,
An sair, sair is my sidies to;
This day I downa ride.'
14 'But I hae sorn a solemn oath,
Afore a companie,
That ye sal ride this day, Janet,
This day an ye soud die.
15 'Whae'll horse ye to the kirk, Janet?
An whae will horse ye best?'
'Whae but Willie, my true-love?
He kens my mister best.'
16 'Whae'll horse ye to the kirk, Janet?
An whae will horse ye there?'
'Whae but Willie, my true-love?
He neer will doo'd nae maer.
17 'Ye may saddle a steed, Willie,
An see that ye saddle 't soft;
Ye may saddle a steed. Willie.
For ye winna saddle 't oft.
18 'Ye may saddle a steed, Willie,
An see that ye saddle 't side;
Ye may saddle a steed, Willie;
But I thought to have been yer bride.'
19 When they war a' on horse-back set,
On horse-back set sae hie,
Then up spak the bold bridegroom,
An he spak boustresslie.
20 Up then spak the bold bridegroom,
An he spak loud an thrawn;
'I think the bride she be wi bairn,
She looks sae pale an wan.'
21 Then she took out her bible-book,
Swoor by her fingers five
That she was neither wi lad nor lass
To no man was alive.
22 Then she took out her bible-book,
Swoor by her fingers ten
An ever she had born a bairn in her days
She had born'd sin yestreen:
Then a' the ladies round about
Said, That's a loud leesin.
23 Atween the kitchin an the kirk
It was a weel-met mile;
It was a stra'd i the red roses,
But than the camomile.
24 When the war a' at dener set,
Drinkin at the wine,
Janet could neither eat nor drink
But the water that ran so fine.
25 Up spak the bride's father,
Said, Bride, will ye dance wi me?
' Away, away, my cruel father!
There nae dancin wi me.'
26 Up then spak the bride's mother,
Said, Bride, will ye dance wi me?
'Away, away, my mother dear!
There nae dancin wi me.'
27 Up then spak the bride's sisters,
Said, Bride, will ye dance wi me?
'Away, away, my mother dear!
There nae dancin wi me.'
28 Up then spak the bride's brother,
Said, Bride, will ye dance wi me?
'Away, away, my mother dear!
There nae dancin wi me.'
39 Then up spak the bold bridegroom,
Said, Bride, will ye dance wi me?
'Away, away, my mother dear!
There nae dancin wi me.'
30 Up then spak the Sweet Willie,
An he spak wi a vance;
'An ye'll draw of my boots, Janet,
I'll gie a' yer lassies a dance.'
31 'I seen 't other ways, Willie,
An sae has mae than me,
When ye wad hae danced wi my fair body,
An leten a' my maidens be.'
32 He took her by the milk-white hand,
An led her wi mickle care,
But she drapit down just at his feet,
And word spak little mair.
33 'Ye may gae hire a nurse, Willie,
An take yer young son hame;
Ye may gae hire a nurse, Willie,
For bairn's nurse I'll be nane.'
34 She's pu'd out the keys o her coffer,
Hung leugh down by her gair;
She said, Gie thae to my young son,
Thrae me he'll neer get mair.'
35 Up then spak the bold bridegroom,
An he spak bousterouslie;
'I've gien you the skaeth, Willie,
But ye've gien me the scorn;
Sae there's no a bell i St. Mary's kirk
Sail ring for her the morn.'
36 'Ye've gien me the skaeth, bridegroom,
But I'll gee you the scorn;
For there's no a bell i St. Marie's kirk
But sal ring for her the morn.
37 'Gar deal, gar deal at my love's burial
The wheat-bread an the wine,
For or the morn at ten o clock
Ye'll deal'd as fast at mine.'
38 Then he's drawn out a nut-brown sword,
Hang leugh down by his gair,
He's thrust it in just at his heart,
An word spak never mair.
39 The taen was buried i St. Mary's kirk,
The tother i St. Mary's queer,
An throw the taen there sprang a birk,
Throw the tother a bonnie brier.
40 Thae twae met, an thae twae plaet,
An ay they knitit near,
An ilka ane that cam thereby
Said, There lies twa lovers dear.
41 Till by there came an ill French lord,
An ill death may he die!
For he pu'd up the bonnie brier,
. . .
51. Away struck out, and on written over.
91. An at the beginning struck out.
101,2,3. drew to them their? Cf. A 10.
114. The fourth verse is written as the second (it for in), but struck out.
121. bukit.
133. Changed, by striking out, to An sair, sair my side.
An sair, sair is my side should probably be the second line.
Cf. A 17, C 12.
152. An whae I will.
164. He'll neer will.
184. But struck out.
234. But an?
301. he Sweet Willie?
342. Hang? Cf. 382.
392. Manuscript queer Choir.
404. twa struck out.
-----------
P. 102. (See III, 497 b, No 5.) Add: 'La Fiancée du Prince,' Revue des Traditions Populaires, VIII, 406-409, two versions.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
P. 102 f. (Breton ballad), III (497 b, No 5), 508 b, IV, 464 a, V, 222 a. Add to the French ballads a copy from Basse-Normandie obtained by M. Couraye du Parc, Études romanes dédiées a Gaston Paris, 1891, p. 49; 'L'infidele punie,' Beauquier, Chansons p. recueillies en Franche-Comté, p. 254. [On the similarity of the beginning of 'La Fidanzata Infedele' to that of the Danish ballad 'Hyrde og Ridderfrue,' see Olrik, Ridderviser, I, 181, No 349.]
P. 109. Something similar to what is narrated in F 7-10 is, I am assured by high authorities, familiar to practising physicians. An eminent professor in the Harvard Medical School informs me that in the case of two families under his care the husband has been regularly troubled with "morning sickness" during the first three or four months of the wife's pregnancy (the husband in neither case being of a nervous or hysterical disposition). Mr. E. E. Griffith, late of Harvard College, tells me that a respectable and intelligent man of his acquaintance in Indiana maintained that he always shared the pains of his wife during parturition, and that his labors were as intense in degree and as long in time as hers. A distinguished physician of Indiana, while testifying to the frequency of cases of the like sympathy, insists that such experiences occur only to husbands who have witnessed the pains in question, or who have learned about them by reading or conversation on the matter, and that "suggestion" affords an explanation of the phenomenon.
To be Corrected in the Print.
101 b, 5th line of last paragraph. Read II, 246.
101 b, last line but four. Read II, 245.
Trivial Corrections of Spelling.
464 a, 61. Read when.