7T. Bury Me Beneath The Willow (Weeping Willow Tree) Roud 410 ("Under the Weeping Willow Tree;" "O Bury Me Beneath the Willow;"
A. "Under the Willow Tree," from a 1909 MS ballad book assembled by Ada Belle Cowden of Boone Co., MO. Belden version A, p. 483, H. M. Belden, Ballads and Songs Collected by the Missouri Folk-Lore Society.
B. "Bury Me Beneath the Willow" from Julia Rickman of West Plains High School, MO. Belden version B, p. 483, H. M. Belden, Ballads and Songs Collected by the Missouri Folk-Lore Society.
C. "The Weeping Willow." Reported by Thomas Smith as set down for him by Mrs. Frank Horton of Vilas, Watauga county, in 1915. From Brown Collection of NC Folklore Vol. 3, 1952. Brown A.
D. "The Weeping Willow Tree." From Miss Pearl Webb of Pineola, Avery county, some time in 1921-22. From Brown Collection of NC Folklore Vol. 3, 1952. Brown B.
E. "Weeping Willow Tree" sung by Ernest Thompson, Blind Singer from North Carolina, on September 9, 1924 on Columbia 15001-D, NYC.
F. "Bury Me Under the Weeping Willow." sung by Carter Family on recording Victor 21074 on August 1, 1927.
Bury Me Beneath The Willow- a painting by R. Matteson C2007
["Bury Me Beneath The Willow" or "The Weeping Willow Tree" is a popular folk song found mainly in the South and Mid-West regions of the US that was popular in the early 1900s. The origin of Bury Me Beneath The Willow is currently unknown. It's presumably originated from an unknown print version made in the US in the early or mid 1800s that was fashioned after a variant of Died for Love, possibly of English origin[1]. This unknown parlor song that presumably dates back to print in the 1800s has been recorded by a number of early country artists including the Carter Family, who recorded it three times[2]. There are a number of possible antecedents but none are close enough to the popular US song to demonstrate a traceable lineage. What is known is that the ballad has the standard Died for Love theme with, in some variants, the Died for Love ending stanza. It is also distantly related with two other members of the Died for Love family: The "There is a Tavern/Adieu/Radoo" songs with the line, "I'll hang my harp on a weeping willow tree" and to the "My Blue Eyed Boy" songs which have similar floating lyrics. For these reasons I'm including "Bury Me Beneath The Willow (Weeping Willow Tree)" as Appendix 7T.
The basic story is the same as in all the various Died for Love songs: A maid has been abandoned by her false lover and has died for love. This is the plot of the song as told from the female perspective which may be the original theme: A maid's lover has abandoned her. Tomorrow was to be their wedding day, but now he is courting another girl. An angel softly whispers that he has been untrue and he no longer cares for her. The singer asks her friends to "Bury me beneath the willow. . . And when he knows that I am sleeping, maybe then he'll think of me." The song does not appear to be gender specific[3]. When the song has been sung by male singers usually the gender has changed and then appears: "When she hears that I am sleeping maybe then she'll weep for me."
The last stanza of the Carter Family's 1927 recording seems to summarize the same emotions of the Died for Love songs:
Oh, bury me under the violets blue
To prove my love to him,
Tell him that I would die to save him,
For his love I never could win.
The identifying stanza, which is sometimes used as a chorus or repeated, is a variation on the "Go dig my grave" ending so popular in Died for Love. One stanza which the Burnett-Rutherford version uses as the ending, but which is not found in the Carter's version is:
Upon my grave you'll plant a rosie,
Below my tomb a turtle dove,
To show the world I died to save him,
But I could not win in love.
Here's a standard text was printed in The American Songbag by Carl Sandburg in 1927. It was taken from Jake Zeitlin with additional verses from R. W. Gordon:
O BURY ME BENEATH THE WILLOW
1 O bury me beneath the willow,
Beneath the weeping willow tree,
And when he comes he'll find me sleeping
And perhaps he'll weep for me.
2 Tomorrow was our wedding day,
But God only knows where he is.
He's gone, he's gone to seek another
He no longer cares for me.
3 My heart's in sorrow, I'm in trouble,
Grieving for the one I love
For oh, I know I'll never see him
Till we meet in Heaven above.
4 They told me that he did not love me,
But how could I believe them true
Until an angel whispered softly,
" He will prove untrue to you."
5 Place on my grave a snow-white lily
For to prove my love was true;
To show the world I died to save him
But his love I could not win.
6 So bury me beneath the willow,
Beneath the weeping willow tree,
And when he comes he'll find me sleeping
And perhaps he'll think of me.
The weeping willow has long been a symbol of grief and sorrow. It is connected with death and dying and has long been found as a popular carving on a grave headstone[4]. The carving depicts a weeping willow hanging over the tomb of the deceased. This carving may literally be the "weeping willow tree" that the deceased is buried under rather than an actual tree. The snow-white dove or turtle dove is commonly found in the Died for Love along with a white lily. Sometimes the willow tree is incorporated at grave as found in the following ending of "Butcher Boy" as sung by LaRena Clark of Ontario about 1965:
10. "Go dig my grave dig it narrow and deep.
Place a marble stone at my head and feet.
And on my grave spread a turtle dove,
To show this world that I died of love."
11. In London city you may call and see,
Her grave's beneath a willow tree,
And o'er her breast there's a turtle dove,
To show this world she died for love." [LaRena Clark of Ontario]
Another Butcher Boy ending with a willow tree was given by Miss Charlotte F. Corder of Missouri in 1906 (see Belden C):
'Oh father dear, go dig my grave,
And dig it so both deep and long,
And at my head place a willow tree
To show the world I've died for thee;
And on my breast place a snow-white dove
To show the world I died for love.'
The willow appears in the UK variant of Blue-Eyed Boy titled "The Willow" although it's only vaguely associated by the willow tree symbol and has a different text. "Tavern in the Town" and it's antecedent "Radoo, Radoo, Radoo" have the "I'll hang my harp on a weeping willow tree" line (from Psalm 137: 2) which has nothing to do with this song. The uses of the willow in the ending of Butcher Boy is shows that the symbol of the willow at the burial is common in both songs but there's not enough evidence to suppose that the Butcher Boy ending is strongly connected to the burial in "Bury Me Beneath the Willow."
Several British broadsides with "Willow tree" or "Weeping Willow" were printed in London in the early 1800s that resemble the sentiment of the American versions:
THE WILLOW TREE- broadside printed by J. Catnach in London, c. 1820
1. Don't you remember the vows so tender,
You fondly pledged to me,
When the stars & moon so sweetly shone
'Twas under the willow tree.
You vow'd you'd ne'er deceive me,
And fondly I believed thee,
When the moon shone so sweetly,
Over the willow tree.
2. Why did you say my lips were red
And made the scarlet pale,
And why did I, poor silly maid,
Believe the flattering tale.
I thought you ne'er deceived me,
So fondly I believed thee,
When you vow'd so sweetly,
You'd love no other but me.
3. Did you but know the silent tear
I've fondly shed for thee,
I never close my languid eyes
Unless to dream of thee,
And of joys that are departed,
I think quite broken-hearted,
And your words when last we parted
I love no other but thee.
4. Would I could tear you from my heart,
But that will never be,
Till I lie in the silent grave
Under some willow tree.
Then should you this way wander
You'd heave a sigh and ponder,
In her cold grave lies yonder,
The girl that died for me.
This broadside printed by J. Catnach in London[5], as taken from the Bodleian Collection, is similar in sentiment and almost has the "died for love" ending. However, it's clearly not "the antecedent." A similar but different "willow" version was published in St. Louis in 1884:
BENEATH THE WILLOW TREE- Words by Thomas Dibdin. Music by Dr. J. B. Herbert, 1884
1. Oh! take me to your arms my love,
For keen the wind doth blow,
Oh! take me to your arms my love,
For bitter is my woe.
She hears me not, she cares not,
Nor will she list to me.
She hears me not, she cares not,
Nor will she list to me.
And here I lie in misery,
Beneath the willow, the willow tree.
2. I once had gold and silver,
I thought them without end,
I once had gold and silver,
I thought I had a friend;
My wealth is lost, my friend is false,
My love is stolen from me,
My wealth is lost, my friend is false,
My love is stolen from me,
And here I lie in misery,
Beneath the willow, the willow tree.
These similar older "willow" songs, both here an abroad, show the association with "the willow" symbol of grief and sorrow. Another similar song mentioned by Belden in his headnotes was written by Stephen Foster in 1860. The opening appears:
UNDER THE WILLOW
Under the willow she's laid with care,
Sang a lone mother while weeping,
Under the willow, with golden hair,
My little one's quietly sleeping.
Chorus: Fair, fair, and golden hair;
Sang a lone mother while weeping,
Fair, fair, and golden hair;
Under the willow she's sleeping.
This too only slightly resembles "Bury me." Until the antecedent is found, 7T. Bury Me Beneath The Willow (Weeping Willow Tree) is known only from collected versions and recordings from the the early 1900s. The first public offering of "Bury Me" with a vocal was a recording made in 1924 by Ernest Thompson, the Blind Singer from North Carolina. Any earlier version was cut in December 1923 but Henry Whitter’s "The Weeping Willow Tree" on OKeh 40187 was a harmonica solo[6].
Weeping Willow Tree- sung by Ernest Thompson- September 9, 1924 on Columbia 15001-D, NYC.
[harmonica solo]
1. Oh now my heart is sad and lonely,
For the one I love is gone,
She's gone she's gone to seek another
She no longer cares for me.
[Chorus] So bury me beneath the willow,
Beneath the weeping willow tree,
And when she knows I am sleeping
Then perhaps she'll think of me.
2. She told me that she dearly loved me,
And some day she'd be
She's gone she's gone to seek another
She no longer cares for me.
CHORUS
3. Tomorrow was our wedding day,
But now O God will it be?
She's gone, she's gone to seek another
She no longer cares for me.
CHORUS
4. She told me that she did not love me,
But I did not think it true,
Until some sweetheart's angel whispered,
"She has proved untrue to you."
CHORUS
5 For now my heart is aching,
For the one I love is gone
She's gone she's gone to seek another
She no longer cares for me.
CHORUS
Thompson's recording was one of 24 early country recordings made between 1923-1940. Other early country recordings include George Reneau (1925), Kelly Harrell (1926), Ernest Stoneman (1926), Burnett & Rutherford (1926) Holland Puckett (1927) and Carter Family (1927)[7]. Before "Weeping Willow Tree" was recorded by early country musicians, it was collected. Belden collected the first versions of “Bury Me,” both a woman’s and man’s version, in 1909. Henry Marvin Belden (1865-1954) was a native of Connecticut, he came to the University of in the fall of 1895 as an assistant professor of English. In January of 1903, a club was organized on campus, which marked the organizational beginning of the Missouri Folklore Society. Belden attended these meetings and was an active member. One of the activities of this club was to collect folksongs and ballads of Missouri, and these first efforts were published by Belden in his 1906 article, "Old country ballads in Missouri," in the Journal of American Folk-Lore, (July-September, 1906). The Missouri Folk-Lore Society was officially organized on December 15, 1906, "to encourage the collection, preservation and study of folklore in the widest sense, including customs, institutions, beliefs, signs, legends, language, literature, musical arts, and folk arts and crafts of all ethnic groups throughout the State of Missouri." Belden was the club's secretary and he actively promoted the Society while continuing his research, publication, and collecting of ballads. In 1910 and 1911 he was elected president of the American Folk-Lore Society. He finally published: Ballads and Songs Collected by the Missouri Folk-lore Society, edited by H. M. Belden. Columbia: The University of Missouri in 1940. A new edition of this work was published in 1955, with a reprinting in 1973.
UNDER THE WILLOW TREE (Belden A) -MS Ballad book of Ada Belle Cowden, Boone Co., Belden version A, p. 483, H. M. Belden, Ballads and Songs Collected by the Missouri Folk-Lore Society.
My heart is broken, I am in sorrow
For the only one I love.
I ne'er shall see his face again
Unless we meet in heaven above.
Chorus: Then bury me beneath the willow,
Beneath the weeping willow tree,
And when he knows that I am sleeping
Then perhaps he'll come and weep for me.
They told me that he did not love me;
But how could I believe them true
Until an angel came and whispered,
'He will prove untrue'?
Tomorrow was to be my wedding day;
But gone! oh, gone! oh, where is he?
He's gone to wed another bride
And all alone he has left me.
UNDER THE WILLOW TREE (Belden B) Secured in 1909 from Julia Rickman. Role of sexes reversed.Version B, H. M. Belden, Ballads and Songs Collected by the Missouri Folk-Lore Society, p. 483.
My heart is broken, I am sorry,
Over the one that I love.
I know that I shall never see her
Unless we meet in heaven above.
Chorus: Bury me beneath the willow,
Beneath the weeping willow tree,
And when she knows that I am sleeping
Perhaps she'll sometimes think of me.
Once she told me that she loved me;
How could I think her untrue
Until an angel whispered softly,
'Oh, she does not care for you'?
Tomorrow is our wedding day.
Where, oh, where is she?
She's gone to love another fellow.
Oh, she does not care for me.
Other folk collectors found early versions including Sandburg who published "Bury Me Beneath the Willow" (see above) in his 1927 "American Songbag," and Richardson (American Mountain Songs, 1927, p. 56) who found this love song in the Southern Appalachians. Other versions were collected by Brown (Brown Collection vol. 3, 1915) and Randolph (vol. IV, 1928)-- both collectors found several versions each. Folk versions were also recorded by Bascom Lamar Lunsford, Jean Ritchie, Almeda Riddle, The Weavers and Woody Guthrie.
"Weeping Willow Tree" was a favorite of the Monroe Brothers who first recorded the song on Bluebird B-7093 in 1937 and again in 1944 as "Bury Me Beneath the Weeping Willow." The song later became a bluegrass standard and inspired me to do a painting [see my painting here at top of page- from my series of Bluegrass paintings]. The setting is a lake in the Appalachian Mountains. A single weeping willow tree shrouds a grave. In my song it is the man that is forsaken and “died for love.” His untrue former love returns to his graveside to pay her respects. On the grave a turtledove watches as she kneels holding several white lilies. The lyrics appear on a gravestone in the left foreground. Above in the clouds an angel whispers to him that his love has been untrue. In the right upper corner the lovers meet again in Heaven.
The classic early recording was made by The Carter Family at the Bristol Sessions. It was the first song they recorded on August 1, 1927. Here's the Carters text:
"Bury Me Under the Weeping Willow." Carter Family, 1927
My heart is sad and I'm in sorrow
For the only one I love;
When shall I see him, oh no never,
Till I meet him in heaven above.
CHORUS: Oh bury me beneath the willow
Yes under the weeping willow tree
So he may know where I am sleeping
And perhaps he will weep for me.
He told me that he did not love me
I could not believe it was true
Until an angel softly whispered
He has proven untrue to you. CHORUS:
[Maybelle solo]
Tomorrow was our wedding day
But oh Lord, oh where is he?
He's gone to seek him another bride
And he cares no more for me. CHORUS:
[Maybelle solo] CHORUS
Oh, bury me under the violets blue
To prove my love to him,
Tell him that I would die to save him,
For his love I never could win.
CHORUS
During a 1970's interview[8], Charles K. Wolfe asked Mother Maybelle Carter about the song, "Bury Me Beneath The Willow." She replied, "That was a song we had sang all our lives. We first heard the song at a family get-together and decided to learn it. We did learn the words and sang it at all our family parties and get-togethers. The song became quite popular so when we recorded for RCA Victor in 1927--we recorded "Bury Me Beneath The Willow" on our first recording session in Bristol, Tennessee. The original version of the song was written by Bradley Kincaid."
Mother Maybelle's recollection that the song was written by Kincaid is amusing and shows the lack of understanding that most early performers had of their own repertoire. The Carter's songs were regional folk songs that were collected mostly by A.P. Carter and arranged by the trio. In 1927 Kincaid had not yet made a recording and had just started performing on WLS in Chicago. It's much more likely that Kincaid got the song from the Carters! Maybelle probably heard from someone that Kincaid wrote it.
"Bury Me" was one of The Carters most popular songs and they recorded it three times-- one version being the parody "Answer to Weeping Willow" which they wrote. A number of other versions were recorded by the later Carter clan and the song is often identified by the Carters.
The version I learned in Kentucky has this end stanza, one that is very close to the "Died for Love" endings[9]:
Place on my grave a snow-white lily,
And on my tomb a turtle dove,
So if she sometimes comes to see me,
She will know I died for love.
Although the association with Died for Love is clear, the mystery of the origin remains. William. A. Owens in "Texas Folk Songs" says, "This song, known in almost every Texas community, is often sung by soprano and alto harmonizing in thirds." He says it no doubt is an old song, but has not been able to trace its history. "Bury Me is known in Virginia and North Carolina and west into the Appalachian states of Tennessee and Kentucky. It's found in Illinois, Arkansas, Missouri, and Texas but not in the deep south (Florida, South Carolina, Louisiana) the upper mid-west (Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin) or the north (New England, Canada). Since it is quite similar in all collections, "Bury Me" must have come from a song book, sheet music, or widespread periodical[10].
John Harrington Cox did not find a version of "Bury Me" in West Virginia. However, one version of Early in the Spring (a different song) has the "Bury Me" chorus opening and the Died for Love ending[11];
11 "There is a river flows through this town,
And in it my body will be found;
Bury me beneath yon weeping willow tree,
To show the world I died for thee."
"Bury Me Beneath The Willow" or "The Weeping Willow Tree," a sentimental parlor song from the mid-1800s, is still a popular Bluegrass and Country song today.
R. Matteson 2017]
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Footnotes:
1. A number of possible English antecedents have been examined including two different broadsides titled "The Willow Tree." A variant of one broadside was reprinted with changes in the US in 1884 as "Beneath the Willow Tree." These print versions will be examined in more detail in the headnotes.
2. The Carter Family recorded two nearly identical versions "Bury Me Beneath the Willow," and "Bury Me Under the Weeping Willow." They also recorded a version based on the original song with new lyrics titled, "Answer to Weeping Willow."
3. In the earliest vocal recording by Ernest Thompson, he sings "she" throughout (see transcription above).
4. See: Death and Dying in Central Appalachia: Changing Attitudes and Practices by James K. Crissman
5. Willow Tree Harding B11 (3284), c. 1813-1838, J. Catnach, London, Bodleian Collection.
6. Henry Whitter obviously knew the song since he recorded it with a vocal in 1926.
7. See Guthrie Meade's "Country Music Sources" 2002.
8. I have not seen this interview in print and am unsure of its source. One version was posted by Kaleea of Mudcat Discussion Forum (July 2005).
9. Hear my instruction version on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tshjEAGnMWY
10. Rewritten from a 2005 post by Q (Frank Staplin) Mudcat Discussion Forum.
11. Folk-Songs of the South, 1925 as contributed by Mr. Decker Toney, Queens Ridge, Wayne County, January 20, 1916; learned from his mother, who had it from Hester Burton, who learned it from her mother, Delilah Horn.