No. 79: The Wife of Usher's Well
[This ballad, not found in the British Isles during Child's time (1880s), was then popular in the Southern Appalachians and remained so from the early to mid-1900s and traditional versions of it were collected in the 1970s. Because of the similar subject matter (babies dying) and titles (Three Babes), the ballad has been confused with Child 20, The Cruel Mother and Fuson classified his Kentucky version as "The Cruel Mother." Virginia, the likely initial repository of the ballad in the United States of most of the early versions, is well represented as are North Carolina, West Virginia and southern states westward (KY, TN). Very few versions have been found in the New England and Canada.
Sharp collected over 40 versions in the Southern Appalachians from 1916-1918. Davis and the Virginia Folklore Society collected around 30 versions. The Brown Collection of North Carolina Folklore gathered around 20 more. Bronson gave 58 melodies mostly with text in TTCB, 1962 and all but a few are from the southern US.
Child gave one version from the US in Additions and Correction, Volume X, 1998. Kittredge has assigned it version D (see 1904 edition) so on his authority we now have Version D. This has been ignored by Belden, Davis and other collectors/authors who talk only of versions A-C. Both Child C and D are similar to the US version which are religious in nature. The three dead babes are brought back to life by God (King in Heaven) or Jesus in an answer to the mother's prayer and must return to Jesus the next morning before the chickens crow.
Child B is taken from the last six verses (beginning on Stanza 18) The Clerk's Twa Sons o' Owsenford, a Kinloch's Mss., in the handwriting of James Chambers, as it was sung to his maternal grandmother, Janet Grieve, seventy years before, by an old woman, a Miss Ann Gray, of the Neidpath Castle, Peeblesshire: January 1, 1829.
* * * *
In the US versions as reflected by Child D (below) her children are sent away to some "Northern country" to learn their "grammaree/grammarie" which in this case means "grammar or book learning."
She sent them away to some northern land,
For to learn their grammeree. (Child D, Backus NC 1886)
A discussion about the meaning of "grammarie" follows. The Middle English gramarie, was probably derived from Old French gramaire, grammar (school books; book of learning), and also it refers to "a book of magic." The Oxford English Dictionary says "gramarye" first meant grammar or learning in general. The secondary meaning of necromancy though known in the Middle Ages, apparently fell out of use and, according to Oxford, was consciously "revived" by Sir Walter Scott in 1805.
So "gramarye" in the song could mean either, but if the text originated in the 17th or 18th century (the usual case), the odds are that "grammar" is all that's intended - with an extra syllable for the meter and rhyme. (ref. Mudcat-Lighter).
Random House Dictionary of the English Language, (slightly translated from the dictionary-type abbreviations): Gramarye (n.) occult learning; magic. Also, gram'ary (From Middle English gramary, which was from Old French gramaire, literally grammar.)
Wiki: A grimoire is a textbook of magic. It is most commonly believed that the term grimoire originated from the Old French word grammaire, which had initially been used to refer to all books written in Latin. By the 18th century, the term had gained its now common usage in France and had begun to be used to refer purely to books of magic, which Owen Davies presumed was because "many of them continued to circulate in Latin manuscripts". However, the term grimoire also later developed into a figure of speech amongst the French indicating something that was hard to understand. It was only in the 19th century, with the increasing interest in occultism amongst the British following the publication of Francis Barrett's The Magus (1801), that the term entered the English language in reference to books of magic.
Only one version uses "magic" and it was supplied by an unreliable source, John Jacob Niles, who likely added it to a traditional version (see: Niles B) or a recreation.
* * * *
The babes die in Child D and US versions either because 1) death is sweeping oe'r the land or 2) sickness (as Child D) is sweeping o're the land or 3) a flood, "the water shed abroad all over the land" (Helms NC). However, there's a deeper biblical meaning in the US versions: the sin of "pride" is found in a number of versions. The use and meaning are clear in Davis A: "For it's nothing but the pride of life," but in other versions, it's not clear. Consider Davis E,
For pride has been the cause of your three little babes
Now lying in cold clay.
which make's "pride" the murderer. Now consider Belden B, from c. 1864:
It hain't been long since pride began,
Here stands my Savior word.
Now look at Davis I, from 1915:
5 "Rise you up, rise you up," said the oldest one,
"The chickens are crowing for day.
For woe unto ye in this wide, wicked world
Since pride has been in view.
and also Cambiaire :
"For woe unto this wide wicked world
Since pride has been with me." [Nichols; Tennessee 1934]
Here are some bible verses about pride:
In his pride the wicked does not seek Him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God. Psalm 10:4
Pride goes before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall. Proverbs 11:2
Clearly pride is viewed as a sin in the bible. Why pride is the contributor to the death of the three babes is unclear. Pride appears in over a dozen versions and it is the deeper reason for the babes death. The mother by praying brings the babes back to life. Is this miracle the pride of life?
In Child C and the US versions, Jesus (or the King in heaven) is called to bring back her dead children. During the time of Martinmas (Nov. 11, associated sometimes with Halloween) or in the US versions Christmas or Old Christmas (Jan. 6), the dead children come back to her.
She offers them cake and wine but they tell her they must return to Jesus and to Him they must resign. They sleep on a bed covered with a golden cloth and the eldest wakes the babes before the chickens crow so they may return to Jesus.
Because the US versions are so similar Belden and others thought they came from a print version- but none has been found.
R. Matteson 2015]
CONTENTS:
1. Child's Narrative
2. Footnotes [There are no footnotes for this ballad]
3. Brief (Kittredge)
4. Child's Ballad Texts A-B, (C and D were added in later editions. Kittredge mentions D the US version, in his later edition dated 1904, see below his Brief Description. It's not labeled D in Volume III (1886) of the The English and Scottish Popular Ballads written by Child where this Narrative first appears.)
5. Endnotes
6. From "Additions and Corrections"
ATTACHED PAGES (see left hand column):
1. Recordings & Info: The Wife of Usher's Well
A. Roud No. 196: The Unquiet Grave (250 Listings)
B. The Revenants in 'The Wife of Usher's Well'
C. Brown Collection The Wife of Usher's Well
2. Sheet Music: The Wife of Usher's Well (Bronson's music examples and texts)
3. US & Canadian Versions
4. English and Other Versions (Including Child versions A-D with additional notes)]
Child's Narrative
A. 'The Wife of Usher's Well,' Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border, II, 111, ed. 1802.
B. 'The Clerk's Twa Sons o Owsenford,' stanzas 18-23, Kinloch Manuscripts, V, 403.
[C. 'The Widow-Woman' Shropshire Folk-Lore, edited by Charlotte Sophia Burne, 1883-86, p. 541.
D. 'There Was a Lady Fair and Gay' Communicated, 1896, by Miss Emina M. Backus, of North Carolina, who notes that it has long been sung by the "poor whites" in the mountains of Polk County in that State.]
B forms the conclusion, as already said, to a beautiful copy of 'The Clerk's Twa Sons o Owsenford,' recited by the grandmother of Robert Chambers.
A motive for the return of the wife's three sons is not found in the fragments which remain to us. The mother had cursed the sea when she first heard they were lost, and can only go mad when she finds that after all she has not recovered them; nor will a little wee while, B 5, make any difference. There is no indication that the sons come back to forbid obstinate grief, as the dead often do. But supplying a motive would add nothing to the impressiveness of these verses. Nothing that we have is more profoundly affecting.
A is translated by Grundtvig, Engelske og skotske Folkeviser, No 14; by Freiligrath, Zwischen den Garben, II, 227, ed. Stuttgart, 1877; by Doenniges, p. 61; by Rosa Warrens, Schottische Volkslieder, No 9, with insertion of B 5, 6; and by Knortz, Lieder und Romanzen Alt-Englands, p. 227, after Allingham.
Brief Description by George Lyman Kittredge
A motive for the return of the Wife's three sons is not found in A and B. The mother had cursed the sea when she first heard they were lost, and can only go mad when she finds that after all she has not recovered them; nor will a little wee while make any difference. There is no indication that the sons come back to forbid obstinate grief, as the dead often do. C and D, however, say that they return in answer to prayer. But supplying a motive would add nothing to the impressiveness of the verses. Nothing that we have is more profoundly affecting.
Child's Ballad Texts A-D
'The Wife of Usher's Well'- Version A; Child 79 The Wife of Usher's Well
Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border, II, 111, 1802, from the recitation of an old woman residing near Kirkhill, in West Lothian.
1 There lived a wife at Usher's Well,
And a wealthy wife was she;
She had three stout and stalwart sons,
And sent them oer the sea.
2 They hadna been a week from her,
A week but barely ane,
Whan word came to the carline wife
That her three sons were gane.
3 They hadna been a week from her,
A week but barely three,
Whan word came to the carlin wife
That her sons she'd never see.
4 'I wish the wind may never cease,
Nor fashes in the flood,
Till my three sons come hame to me,
In earthly flesh and blood.'
5 It fell about the Martinmass,
When nights are lang and mirk,
The carlin wife's three sons came hame,
And their hats were o the birk.
6 It neither grew in syke nor ditch,
Nor yet in ony sheugh;
But at the gates o Paradise,
That birk grew fair eneugh.
* * * * *
7 'Blow up the fire, my maidens,
Bring water from the well;
For a' my house shall feast this night,
Since my three sons are well.'
8 And she has made to them a bed,
She's made it large and wide,
And she's taen her mantle her about,
Sat down at the bed-side.
* * * * *
9 Up then crew the red, red cock,
And up and crew the gray;
The eldest to the youngest said,
'Tis time we were away.
10 The cock he hadna crawd but once,
And clappd his wings at a',
When the youngest to the eldest said,
Brother, we must awa.
11 'The cock doth craw, the day doth daw,
The channerin worm doth chide;
Gin we be mist out o our place,
A sair pain we maun bide.
12 'Fare ye weel, my mother dear!
Fareweel to barn and byre!
And fare ye weel, the bonny lass
Fareweel to barn and byre!
And fare ye weel, the bonny lass
That kindles my mother's fire!'
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'The Clerk's Twa Sons o Owsenford'- Version B; Child 79 The Wife of Usher's Well
Kinloch Manuscripts, V, 403, stanzas 18-23. In the handwriting of James Chambers, as sung to his maternal grandmother, Janet Grieve, seventy years before, by an old woman, a Miss Ann Gray, of the Neidpath Castle, Peeblesshire: January 1, 1829.
1 The hallow day o Yule are come,
The nights are lang an dark,
An in an cam her ain twa sons,
Wi their hats made o the bark.
2 'O eat an drink, my merry men a',
The better shall ye fare,
For my twa sons the are come hame
To me for evermair.'
3 She has gaen an made their bed,
An she's made it saft an fine,
An she's happit them wi her gay mantel,
Because they were her ain.
4 O the young cock crew i the merry Linkeum,
An the wild fowl chirpd for day;
The aulder to the younger did say,
Dear brother, we maun away.
5 'Lie still, lie still a little wee while,
Lie still but if we may;
For gin my mother miss us away
She'll gae mad or it be day.'
6 O it's they've taen up their mother's mantel,
An they've hangd it on the pin:
'O lang may ye hing, my mother's mantel,
Or ye hap us again!'
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'The Widow-Woman'- Version C; Child 79 The Wife of Usher's Well
Shropshire Folk-Lore, edited by Charlotte Sophia Burne, 1883-86, p. 541; "taken down by Mr. Hubert Smith, 24th March, 1883, from the recitation of an elderly fisherman at Bridgworth, who could neither read nor write, and had learnt it some forty years before from his grandmother in Corve Dale."
1 There was a widow-woman lived in far Scotland,
And in far Scotland she did live,
And all her cry was upon sweet Jesus,
Sweet Jesus so meek and mild.
2 Then Jesus arose one morning quite soon,
And arose one morning betime,
And away he went to far Scotland,
And to see what the good woman want.
3 And when he came to far Scotland,
. . . . . . .
Crying, What, O what, does the good woman want,
That is calling so much on me?
4 'It's you go rise up my three sons,
Their names, Joe, Peter, and John,
And put breath in their breast,
And clothing on their backs,
And immediately send them to far Scotland,
That their mother may take some rest.'
5 Then he went and rose up her three sons,
Their names, Joe, Peter, and John,
And did immediately send them to far Scotland,
That their mother may take some rest.
6 Then she made up a supper so neat,
As small, as small, as a yew-tree leaf,
But never one bit they could eat.
7 Then she made up a bed so soft,
The softest that ever was seen,
And the widow-woman and her three sons
They went to bed to sleep.
8 There they lay; about the middle of the night,
Bespeaks the youngest son:
'The white cock he has crowed once,
The second has, so has the red.'
9 And then bespeaks the eldest son:
'I think, I think it is high time
For the wicked to part from their dead.'
10 Then they laid [ led] her along a green road,
The greenest that ever was seen,
Until they came to some far chaperine,
Which was builded of lime and sand;
Until they came to some far chaperine,
Which was builded with lime and stone.
11 And then he opened the door so big,
And the door so very wide;
Said he to her three sons, Walk in!
But told her to stay outside.
12 'Go back, go back!' sweet Jesus replied,
'Go back, go back!' says he;
'For thou hast nine days to repent
For the wickedness that thou hast done.'
13 Nine days then was past and gone,
And nine days then was spent,
Sweet Jesus called her once again,
And took her to heaven with him.
'There Was a Lady Fair and Gay'- Version D; Child 79 The Wife of Usher's Well
Communicated, 1896, by Miss Emina M. Backus, of North Carolina, who notes that it has long been sung by the "poor whites" in the mountains of Polk County in that State.
1 There was a lady fair and gay,
And children she had three:
She sent them away to some northern land,
For to learn their grammeree.
2 They hadn't been gone but a very short time,
About three months to a day,
When sickness came to that land
And swept those babes away.
3 There is a king in the heavens above
That wears a golden crown:
She prayed that he would send her babies home
To-night or in the morning soon.
4 It was about one Christmas time,
When the nights was long and cool,
She dreamed of her three little lonely babes
Come running in their mother's room.
5 The table was fixed and the cloth was spread,
And on it put bread and wine:
'Come sit you down, my three little babes,
And eat and drink of mine.'
6 'We will neither eat your bread, dear mother,
Nor we'll neither drink your wine;
For to our Saviour we must return
To-night or in the morning soon.'
7 The bed was fixed in the back room;
On it was some clean white sheet,
And on the top was a golden cloth,
To make those little babies sleep.
8 'Wake up! wake up!' says the oldest one,
'Wake up! it's almost day.
And to our Saviour we must return
To-night or in the morning soon.'
9 'Green grass grows at our head, dear mother,
Green moss grows at our feet;
The tears that you shed for us three babes
Won't wet our winding sheet.'
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End-Notes
A. 42. fishes. The correction is suggested in ed. 1833 of the Border Minstrelsy. Aytoun reads freshes.
Additions and Corrections
II, 238. C. 'The Widow-Woman,' Shropshire Folk-Lore, edited by Charlotte Sophia Burne, 1883-86, p. 541; "taken down by Mr. Hubert Smith, 24th March, 1883, from the recitation of an elderly fisherman at Bridgworth, who could neither read nor write, and had learnt it some forty years before from his grandmother in Corve Dale."
"The West and South Shropshire folk say far for fair."
1 There was a widow-woman lived in far Scotland,
And in far Scotland she did live,
And all her cry was upon sweet Jesus,
Sweet Jesus so meek and mild.
2 Then Jesus arose one morning quite soon,
And arose one morning betime,
And away he went to far Scotland,
And to see what the good woman want.
3 And when he came to far Scotland,
. . .
Crying, What, O what, does the good woman want,
That is calling so much on me?
4 'It's you go rise up my three sons,
Their names, Joe, Peter, and John,
And put breath in their breast,
And clothing on their backs,
And immediately send them to far Scotland,
That their mother may take some rest.'
5 Then he went and rose up her three sons,
Their names, Joe, Peter, and John,
And did immediately send them to far Scotland,
That their mother may take some rest.
6 Then she made up a supper so neat,
As small, as small, as a yew-tree leaf,
But never one bit they could eat.
7 Then she made up a bed so soft,
The softest that ever was seen,
And the widow-woman and her three sons
They went to bed to sleep.
8 There they lay; about the middle of the night,
Bespeaks the youngest son:
'The white cock he has crowed once,
The second has, so has the red.'
9 And then bespeaks the eldest son:
'I think, I think it is high time
For the wicked to part from their dead.'
10 Then they laid [= led] her along a green road)
The greenest that ever was seen,
Until they came to some far chaperine,
Which was builded of lime and sand;
Until they came to some far chaperine,
Which was builded with lime and stone.
11 And then he opened the door so big,
And the door so very wide;
Said he to her three sons, Walk in!
But told her to stay outside.
12 'Go back, go back!' sweet Jesus replied,
'Go back, go back! ' says he;
'For thou hast nine days to repent
For the wickedness that thou hast done.'
13 Nine days then was past and gone,
And nine days then was spent,
Sweet Jesus called her once again,
And took her to heaven with him.
To be Corrected in the Print.
239 a, B 31. Read O she.
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[P. 238, III, 513. [Version D.] Communicated, 1896, by Miss Emina M. Backus, of North Carolina, who notes that it has long been sung by the "poor whites" in the mountains of Polk County in that State. It has the mother's prayer for the return of her children, as in C, III, 513, but is in other respects much nearer to A. In the last stanza we should doubtless read "They wet our winding sheet," or the like. In 43 the Manuscript has louely or lonely, perhaps meant for lovely.
1 There was a lady fair and gay,
And children she had three:
She sent them away to some northern land,
For to learn their grammeree.
2 They hadn't been gone but a very short time,
About three months to a day,
When sickness came to that land
And swept those babes away.
3 There is a king in the heavens above
That wears a golden crown:
She prayed that he would send her babies home
To-night or in the morning soon.
4 It was about one Christmas time,
When the nights was long and cool,
She dreamed of her three little lonely babes
Come running in their mother's room.
5 The table was fixed and the cloth was spread,
And on it put bread and wine:
'Come sit you down, my three little babes,
And eat and drink of mine.'
6 'We will neither eat your bread, dear mother,
Nor we'll neither drink your wine;
For to our Saviour we must return
To-night or in the morning soon.'
7 The bed was fixed in the back room;
On it was some clean white sheet,
And on the top was a golden cloth,
To make those little babies sleep.
8 'Wake up! wake up!' says the oldest one,
'Wake up! it's almost day.
And to our Saviour we must return
To-night or in the morning soon.'
9 'Green grass grows at our head, dear mother,
Green moss grows at our feet;
The tears that you shed for us three babes
Won't wet our winding sheet.'