As You Go Up To Yonders Town- (GA) 1900 JAFL Backus
[From Early American Ballads II by William Wells Newell in The Journal of American Folklore, Vol. 13, No. 49 (Apr. - Jun., 1900), pp. 105-122.
Version 1 is a reprint from Boston (see 1894 JAFL article). The second version was contributed by Mrs. E. M. Backus, as obtained from recitation in Columbia County, Ga. This rare southern version should be compared to the other early version The Cambric Shirt" from Georgia circa 1870 from Mrs. G. A. Griffin who moved to Florida when she was around 15 years old. It begins:
Go tell her to make me a cambric shirt
Sage, rosemary and thyme
Without a needle or seamster's work,
And she shall be a true lover o' mine.
Go tell her to wash it all in a dry well
Sage, Rosemary and thyme.
Where water never sprung, no rain never fell
And she shall be a true lover o' mine.
Newell's notes follow.
R. Matteson Jr. 2014]
THE ELFIN KNIGHT
The ballad to which this name has been given (Child, No. 2) recites, in the Scottish versions, how a maiden hears the magic horn of a fairy knight, and wishes to possess the horn and be embraced by its owner. The elf accordingly appears, and makes enigmatical [sic] demands, which are successfully evaded by the girl. In its original form the song no doubt described the fairy as claiming over the maid rights which her incautious wish had given him; her cleverness defeats this essay, for in the dealing of men and fiends it is a recognized principle that superior knowledge is an element of safety.
The ballad itself is European, while the theme has an ancient history. Games of riddle-guessing, from the time of Samson, furnished a means of amusement and opportunity of betting. Just as an ingenious guesser might back his talent by reckless wagers extending even to the risk of personal freedom, so spirits would be inclined to engage in such contests as a means of obtaining the souls and bodies of mortals. The ballad continues to be traditionally sung in America, without the introductory piece of fairy lore; the versions have every appearance of English, rather of Scottish descent, and may have been current from early colonial times. A variant still traditional in Boston has been printed in this Journal (VII. 228).
[As You Go Up To Yonders Town] Contributed by Mrs. E. M. Backus, as obtained from recitation in Columbia County, Ga.
As you go up to yonders town,
Rosemary and thyme
Give my respects to that young girl,
And she shall be a true lover of mine.
Go tell her to make me a cambric shirt,
Rosemary and thyme
Without a seam of needlework,
And she shall be a true lover of mine.
Go tell her to wash it in yonders well,
Rosemary and thyme
Where water never flowed nor rain ever fell,
And she shall be a true lover of mine.
Go tell her to hang it on yonders thorn,
Rosemary and thyme
That never has budded since Adam was born,
And she shall be a true lover of mine."
"When you go back to yonders town,
Rosemary and thyme
Give my respects to that young man,
And he shall be a true lover of mine.
Go tell him to buy ten acres of land,
Rosemary and thyme
Betwixt the salt sea and the sand,
And he shall be a true lover of mine.
Go tell him to plant it with one grain of corn,
Rosemary and thyme
And plough it all in with a mooly-cow's horn,
And he shall be a true lover of mine.
Go tell him to mow it with sickle of leather,
Rosemary and thyme
And carry it all in on a peafowl's feather,
And he shall be a true lover of mine.
Go tell him to take it to yonders mill,
Rosemary and thyme
If every grain a barrel shall fill,
He shall be a true lover of mine.
Go tell him when all this work is done,
Rosemary and thyme
To come to me for his cambric shirt,
And he shall be a true lover of mine."