Ballads and Songs of the Southern Highlands- Mellinger E. Henry
The Journal of American Folklore, Vol. 42, No. 165 (Jul. - Sep., 1929), pp. 254-300
[Music not completely added]
BALLADS AND SONGS OF THE SOUTHERN HIGHLANDS
COLLECTED BY MELLINGER E. HENRY
[Abbreviated references: Journal, Journal of American Folk-Lore; Cox, Folk Songs of the South; Campbell and Sharp, English Folk Songs of the Southern Appalachians; Wyman and Brockway, Lonesome Tunes; Pound, American Ballads and Songs; Reed Smith, The Traditional Ballad and its South Carolina Survivals; Scarborough, On the Trail of Negro Folk Songs; Sandburg, The American Songbag; Shoemaker, North Pennsylvania Minstrelsy.]
1. LADY ISABEL, AND THE ELF KNIGHT Child, No. 4.
"Pretty Polly." Sung by Mrs. Samuel Harmon, Cade's Cove, Blount County, Tennessee, August I, 1928. Recorded by Mrs. Mellinger E. Henry. Learned by Mrs. Harmon from grandfather Harmon who came from Watauga County, N. C. He obtained it by oral transmission from his father who learned it in England and emigrated to North Carolina. See Cox, No. I; Campbell and Sharp, No. 2; Scarborough, 43; Reed Smith, No. I; Sandburg, 60o; Journal VII, 228; Journal XXXV, 338; Wyman and Brockway, 82; R. W. Gordon, The New York Times Magazine, October 9, 1927; W. Roy Mackenzie, The Quest of the Ballad, 93, 174, 182. Cf. Cox's head-note for further American variants and references.
1. He followed me up,
And be followed me down,
When I had no tongue,
For to say, "Nay, Nay."
2. "You get part of your father's gold;
And likewise your mother's too,
And go to your father's stable
Where the horses stand thirty and three.
3. "And you get the very best two
Out of the thirty and three
And we go to the old salt sea
And married we will be."
4. She got part of her father's gold,
Likewise her mother's too,
And she went to her father's stable
Where there stood horses thirty and three.
5. And she mounted on the Turkish brown
And he on the dapper grey
And they rode till they come to the old salt sea -
Three long hours till day.
6. "You get down, my pretty Polly,
Get down, get down," says he,
"For I've drowned six kings' daughters
And you the seventh will be."
7. "You pull off them fine gold clothings,
And hang them on yonders tree;
For I say they are too rich and costly
For to rot in this old sea."
8. "You turn your face towards the green tree;
Your back you turn to me;
For I say a naked maid
Ain't fitten for a man to see."
9. He turned hisself all around and about -
His back he turned to me --
She picked him up in her arms so manful
And throwed him into the sea.
10. "Give me your hand, my pretty Polly,
Give me your hand," said he,
"And the very next time I make you a promise,
I'll double it with three."
II. "Lie there, lie there, you false lying villian,
Lie there instead of me;
For you have drowned six kings' daughters
And you the seventh shall be."
12. She mounted on the Turkish brown
And led the dapple grey;
She rode till she come to her father's home,
One long hour till day.
13. Up spoke her little parrot
A-setting in his cage:
"What is the matter, my pretty Polly?
What made you stay so long from me?"
14. "Hold your tongue, my pretty little parrot,
And tell no tale on me,
And your cage shall be lined with the yellow beaten gold,
And your door of ivory."
15. Up spoke her old father --
Oh, he spoke desperately -
"What's the matter, my pretty little parrot?
What makes you talk so long from day?"
16. "Nothing but an old stray cat
A-trying to catch me,
And I was calling to Pretty Polly
For to drive the cat away."
2. EARL, BRAND
Child, No. 7.
"Lord Loving." From the singing of Mrs. Samuel Harmon, Cade's Cove, Blount County, Tennessee, who learned it from Grandfather Harmon in Watauga County, North Carolina. Recorded by Mrs. Mellinger E. Henry. See Campbell and Sharp, No. 3, four variants; Cox, No. 2; Perrow, Journal XXVIII, 152; Reed Smith, Journal XXVIII, 200 Mackenzie, The Quest of the Ballad, 60.
1. "Hold my horse, little Marget," he said,
"Hold him with your hand,
Till I go and fight your seven brothers bold
In the meadow where they stand."
2. She stood and she stood
And she never shed a tear,
Till she seed her seven brothers bold fall
And her father who loved her so dear.
3. She pulled her handkerchief out of her pocket -
Was of the Holland so fine -
She tuk and wiped her brothers' bloody wounds
Until the blood run as red as the wine.
4. "Choose you now, little Marget," he says,
"Go long with me abide."
"I must go, Lord Loving," she said,
"Lord, you've left me nary a guide."
5. He mounted himself on a Turkish brown,
And she on the dapple grey;
And he blowed his bugle both loud and shrill,
And he bled as he rode away.
6. He rode by the light of the bright shining moon
Till he come to his mother's barried (barred) door:
"Open the door, dear mother," he says,
"Little Marget, she is won."
7. "Make me a bed, dear mother," he says,
"Make it wide and deep,
Lay little Marget in my arms
That the sounder I may sleep."
8. Lord Loving died before midnight
And she along 'fore day;
And if that be the way of all such true lovers,
Who run away together,
God send them more pleasure than they.
3. LORD RANDAL
Child, No. 12.
Sung by Miss Mary Riddle, Black Mountain, Buncombe County, North Carolina. She had it from her father who learned it in Madison County, North Carolina. This ballad came as a surprise to the editor because on a former visit to the home of Miss Riddle this young lady insisted that she had "sung all I know," but a later visit (1926) brought as reward the following variant of Lord Randal. Cox in his head-note to No. 4 states that twelve variants have been recovered in West Virginia under the titles of "Lord Randal", "Johnny Randolph", "Johnny Randal", "Johnny Ramsey", and "Johnny Reeler". Reed Smith (No. 2) quotes two from South Carolina. See also Campbell and Sharp, No. 6; Pound, No. I; Shoemaker, 123; Journal XXXIX, 81; New Jersey Journal of Education, December, 1927; Josephine McGill, Folk Sones of the Kentucky Mountains, 19. (In Shoemaker's second edition, 1923, the page is 139).
1. "Oh, where have you been, Lord Randal, my son ?
Oh, where have you been, my handsome young man ?"
"I have been to the greenwood. Mother, make my bed soon,
For I'm wearied with hunting and fain would lie down."
2. "And who met you there, Lord Randal, my son?
And who met you there, my handsome young man ?"
"Oh, I met with my true love. Mother, make my bed soon,
For I'm wearied with hunting and fain would lie down."
3. "And what did she give you, Lord Randal, my son?
And what did she give you, my handsome young man ?"
"Eels fried in a pan. Mother, make my bed soon,
For I'm wearied with hunting and fain would lie down."
4. "And what got your leavings, Lord Randal, my son?
And what got your leavings, my handsome young man ?"
"My hawks and my hounds. Mother, make my bed soon,
For I'm wearied with hunting and fain would lie down."
5. "And what became of them, Iord Randal, my son?
And what became of them, my handsome young man?"
"They stretched their legs out and died. Mother, make my bed soon,
For I'm wearied with hunting and fain would lie down."
6. "Oh, I fear you are poisoned, Lord Randal, my son!
Oh, I fear you are poisoned, my handsome young man!"
"Oh, yes, I am poisoned. Mother, make my bed soon,
For I'm sick at heart and fain would lie down."
7. "What do ye leave to your mother, Lord Randal, my son?
What do ye leave you your mother, my handsome young man ?"
"Four and twenty milk cows. Mother, make my bed soon,
For I'm sick at the heart and fain would lie down."
8. "What do ye leave to your sister, Lord Randal, my son?
What do ye leave to your sister, my handsome young man ?"
"My gold and my silver. Mother, make my bed soon,
For I'm sick at the heart and fain would lie down."
9. "What do ye leave to your brother, Lord Randal, my son?
What do ye leave to your brother, my handsome young man?"
"My houses and my lands. Mother, make my bed soon,
For I'm sick at the heart and fain would lie down."
io. "What do ye leave to your true love, Lord Randal, my son ?
What do ye leave to your true love, my handsome young man ?"
"I leave her hell and fire! Mother, make my bed soon,
For I'm sick at heart and fain would lie down."
4. YOUNG BEICHAN.
Child, No. 53.
"Young Behan." Obtained from Miss Laura Harmon, Cade's Cove, Blount County, Tennessee, August, 1928, who learned it from her father, Samuel Harmon. See Cox, No. 8; Campbell and Sharp, No. 12; Pound, No. 14; Mackenzie, The Quest of the Ballad, 115; Kittredge, Journal XXX, 294; Cf. also Raine, The Land of the Saddle Bags, og9; Reed Smith, South Carolina Ballads, 104.
1. Young Behan from Glasgow('s) gone,
All these fine Turkish for to view.
They bored a hole through his right shoulder,
And through and through they drew a key,
And plunged him in to the dungeon dark
Where the light of day he no more could see.
2. The gaoler had a beautiful daughter -
Oh, a beautiful daughter was she.
She now to the gaol window is gone
To call young Behan, to hear his voice.
3. "Have you any houses and lands?
Have you any buildings free ?
Or what would you give to a pretty girl,
To set you at your liberty ?"
4. "The Glasgow town, it is all mine,
Besides the castles two or three;
And them I'll give to a pretty girl,
That will set me at my liberty."
5. "Give to me your faith and troth
And your right hand you will marry me,
And pay down ninety thousand pounds
And I'll set you at your liberty."
6. She took him by his pale white hand
And led him up the marble walk
Where the sugar, bread, and wine so red
Was all to comfort his fair body.
7. They made a league between them both
For seven long years and one day.
"And if you don't come within that time,
The blame all on you I will lay."
8. The seven long years has just been gone
This lady a-thinking the time great long.
"I'll go search for my young Behan;
I know no where or within what land."
9. Her father built her a little ship
And set it on the raging sea;
And in that ship put gold enough
To bear her own sweet company.
10. She floated low, she floated high;
Some turf of (and) stone she chanced did spy,
As she went cracking her pretty white fingers
As the lords and knights went talking by.
11. She went to young Behan's gate
And dingled at the ring.
"Wait a while," the porter said,
"I'll quickly rise and let you in."
12. "Is this young Behan's hall,
Or is it his knight within ?"
13. On her fingers she wore rings,
And on her middle finger three.
She twisted a ring from a middle finger
And gave the porter for his fee.
14. "Here is a lady at your gate,
As fair as your two eyes ever did see."
"I'll lay my like," Lord Behan says,
"Miss Susie Price's come over the seas."
15. He kicked a table with his foot,
And drew it down on his knee,
And made cup, pans, and silver cans -
All into flinders they did fly.
16. "Have you wedded any other woman?
I am sure I've wedded no other man.
Come, pay me down ninety thousand pounds,
And I'll go home to my native land."
17. "No, love, don't talk so;
It's whether you marry, or let it be,
I'll wed you to my older brother
If with him content you'd be,"
18. "I wish you luck with your older brother,
But I don't want no such a man.
Come, pay me down my portion small
And I'll return to the Turkish land."
19. "No, love, don't talk so;
Whether you marry him, or let that be,
I'll marry you to my younger brother
If with him content you'd he."
20. "I wish you luck with your younger brother,
But I don't want no such a man.
Come pay me down ninety thousand pounds
And I'll go home to my native land."
21. "No, love, don't talk so;
It's whether you marry him or let that be.
I'll wed you to my own self,
If with me content you'd be."
22. Up spoke his new bride -
Oh, but she spoke desperately:
"You've married as fair a lady
As ever your two eyes did see."
23. "Yes, you are fair and very fair,
And fair as ever need to be.
If you were nine times fairer than ever you was
You wouldn't be as fair by one-tenth degree."
24. Up spoke his new bride's mother -
Oh, but she spoke angrily:
"Did you ever hear or know the like before -
To wed a damsel in the morning soon
And to wed to another just after noon."
25. "You may have your brown girl.
I am sure she is none the worse by me.
Before I'd hear of my darling complain
I'd like all this town in exchange."
26. He took her by her lily white hand
And led her up a marble stair.
He changed her name from Miss Susie Price
And called her the Queen of Glasgow Geen (Green).
5. LORD THOMAS AND FAIR ANNET.
Child, No. 73.
"Lord Thomas and Fair Ellender." Sung by "Uncle" Sam Harmon, Cade's Cove, Blount County, Tennessee, August, 1928. He learned it from his grandfather in Watauga County, North Carolina, who had learned it in England before emigrating to North Carolina. See Cox's head-note to No. Io for American texts. Add Raine, Land of the Saddle Bags, 112; Hudson, Journal XXXIX, 94; Reed Smith South Carolina Ballads, 109.
1. "Come tell to me, dear mother," he says,
"Come tell to me your desire:
It's whether I marry fair Ellender or no,
Or bring you the brown girl home,
Or bring you the brown girl home."
2. "The brown girl she has houses and lands,
Fair Ellender, she has none."
"For a blessing, my own dear son,
Go bring the brown girl home,
Go bring the brown girl home."
3. He dressed his pavage all in green;
Hisself he dressed in white;
And every town that he rode through,
They tuk him to be some knight,
They tuk him to be some knight.
4. He rode till he came to fair Ellender's gate.
He dingled low at the ring;
None is so ready as Ellender herself
To rise and welcome him in,
To rise and welcome him in.
5. "What news, what news," fair Ellender says,
"What news you brung to me ?"
"No news, no news," Lord Thomas, he says,
Only come to my wedding,
Only come to my wedding."
6. "Bad news, bad news," Fair Ellender says,
"Bad news, you brung to me.
For I thought to be the bride myself
And you the bridegroom to be,
And you the bridegroom to be."
7. "Come tell to me, dear mother," she says,
"Come tell to me your desire:
As to whether I go to Lord Thomas's wedding,
Or dine at home with thee,
Or dine at home with thee."
8. "Great many of your friends will be there;
And great many more of your foes:
And for a blessing, my own dear child,
Come dine at home with me,
Come dine at home with me."
9. "Great many of my friends will be there;
Great many more of my foes;
And let me be dead or alive,
To Lord Thomas's wedding I go,
To Lord Thomas's wedding I go."
10. She dressed her pavage all in white;
Herself she dressed in green;
And every town that she rode through,
They tuk her for to be some queen,
They tuk her for to be some queen.
11. She rode till she came to Lord Thomas's gate,
She dingled low at the ring;
And none is so ready as Thomas himself
To rise and welcome her in,
To rise and welcome her in.
12. "Is this your young bride?" fair Ellender says,
"She looks so wonderfulest brown;
For you might have had as fair a lady
As ever the sun shone on,
As ever the sun shone on."
13. "Hold your tongue," Lord Thomas, he says;
"Throw none of your flouts on me;
I love the end of your little finger
Better than the brown girl's whole body,
Better than the brown girl's whole body."
14. The brown girl had a little pen-knife -
Was brazed in metal so free.
She pierced fair Ellender to the heart;
She gave her a dead-lie blow,
She gave her a dead-lie blow.
15. He tuk her by her lily-white hand,
And led her through chambers three,
And led her to his own bedside,
And pulled her down on his knee,
And pulled her down on his knee.
16. "What's the matter, what's the matter?" Lord Thomas says,
"You look so wonderfulest pale.
You use to look as red as a rose;
But now your color doth fail,
But now your color doth fail."
17. "Are you blind, are you blind, Lord Thomas," she says,
"Or can't you very well see ?
Or don't you see my own heart's blood
Come trickerling down my knee,
Come trickerling down my knee."
18. "I am not blind," Lord Thomas, he says,
"And I can very well see.
And now I see your own heart's blood
Come trickerling down thy knee,
Come trickerling down thy knee."
19. Lord Thomas had a two-edged sword --
Was brazed in metal so free.
He tuk and cut off the brown girl's head
And stove it against a tree,
And stove it against a tree.
20. "Go dig a grave," Lord Thomas, he says,
"And dig it both wide and deep,
And lay fair Ellender in my arms,
And the brown girl at my feet,
And the brown girl at my feet."
21. He turned the point of thle sword against his heart,
The butt against the wall;
And these are the last words Lord Thomas did say
Before his dead body did fall,
Before his dead body did fall.
6. LITTLE MUSGRAVE AND LADY BARNARD Child, No. 81.
"Little Matty Groves." Also from the singing of "Uncle" Sam Harmon who learned it from the same source as No. 5. "Uncle" Sam gives the assurance that he "can sing all night and nary repeat." Eight variants of this ballad are given by Campbell and Sharp, No. 20. Version B bears some resemblance to the following text. The
former is reprinted by Pound, No. 15. See Reed Smith, No. 7; Cox, No. 15.; Kittredge, Journal XXX, 309; Mackenzie The Quest of the Ballad, 14.
1. First come down was a raving white;
Next come down was a pilot;
Next come down was 'igh Donald's wife,
And she was the fairest of all, all,
She was the fairest of all.
2. Little Matty Groves was standing by;
On him she cast her eye:
"You are the darling of my heart
And the beauty of my eye, eye,
And the beauty of my eye."
3. Little Matty Groves was standing by;
He caught her in his arms.
Little foot-spade was standing by
And he tuk to his heels and he run, run,
And he tuk to his heels and he run.
4. He run till he come to the broken-down bridge.
And he bent to his breast and he swum;
And he swum till he come to the high dry land;
And he buckled up h1is shoes and he run, run,
And he buckled up his shoes and he run.
5. And he run till he come to 'igh Donald's gate;
And he dingle at the ring and it rung.
"What news, what news," 'igh Donald, he says,
"What news you brung to me, me,
What news you brung to me?"
6. "No news, no news," little foot-spade said,
"Only little Matty Groves in the bed with you gaily dee."
"That's a lie," 'igh Donald said, "a lie, I take it to be.
And if there air green tree in all of these wood.
A hang man you will be, be,
A hang man you will be."
7. He placed his men all in a row --
Not a horn or a bugle for to blow.
There was one man all in that row
That knowed little Matty Groves well, well,
That knowed little Matty Groves well.
8. He wound his horn unto his mouth
And blowed both loud and shrill.
"What's that, what's that," little Matty Groves says,
"That blows so loud and shrill, shrill,
That blows so loud and shrill?"
9. "Lie down, lie down," 'igh Donald's wife says,
"And keep the cold from me.
It's nothing but my father's little shepherd boy
Driving his sheep from the fold, fold,
Driving his sheep from the fold."
10. "How do you like my curtains ?" he says,
"And how do you like my sheet?
And how do you like my gaily dee,
That's in your arms asleep, sleep,
That's in your arms asleep?"
11. "Very well I like your curtains," he says,
"And very well I like your sheet;
Much better do I like your gaily dee,
That's in my arms asleep, sleep,
That 's in my arms asleep."
12. "Rise up, rise up," 'igh Donald, he says,
"Some clothing to put on.
It never shall be said in old England
That I slew you, a naked man, man,
That I slew you, a naked man."
13. "How can I rise," little Matty Groves says,
"How can I rise for my life?
And you have two good swords
And I not as much as a knife, knife,
And I not as much as a knife."
14. "I know I have two good swords;
They cost me deep in the purse.
You may have the very best one
And I will take the worst, worst,
And I will take the worst."
15. "You may have the very first lick
And strike it like a man
And I will take the very next lick
And I'll kill you if I can, can,
And I'll kill you if I can."
16. The very first lick little Matty Groves struck,
He struck him on the head.
The very next lick 'igh Donald struck,
He killed little Matty Groves dead, dead,
He killed little Matty Groves dead.
17. He tuk his wife by the hand
And pulled her down on his knee.
"How do you like my ruby lips,
How do you like my chin, chin,
How do you like my chin?"
18. "Well do I like your ruby lips,
Well do I like your chin;
Much better do I like little Matty Groves
Than you and all your kin, kin,
Than you and all your kin."
7. BONNY BARBARA ALLAN.
Child, No. 84.
A. "Barbey Ellen." Obtained from Mrs. Hiram Proctor, Cade's Cove, Blount County, Tennessee, August, 1928. She learned it from her father who had it from his grandfather. This ballad was first printed in The Tea-Table Miscellany, 1740, and next in Percy's Reliques, 1765. Reed Smith, No. 8, states that ten texts have been discovered in South Carolina running from five to sixteen stanzas and says, "Of all the ballads in America Barbara Allan leads both in number of versions and number of tunes". He adds that it has appeared in ten song books and several broadsides. Cox, in his head-note, No. 16, says that twelve variants have been found in West Virginia. Campbell and Sharp, No. 21, give ten texts and ten tunes. C. Alphonso Smith quotes a Virginia version in "Ballads Surviving in the United States," Musical Quarterly, 2, No, I, p. 120. James Watt Raine gives a Kentucky version of nineteen stanzas with tune in The Land of the Saddle Bags. Pound, No. 3, gives two versions, one from Missouri and one from North Carolina. See also Wyman and Brockway, I; Hudson,
Journal XXXIX, 97; Adienture MagaZinc, March 10, 1925, "two rather odd and interesting versions;" ibid, March 10, 1926; New Jersey Journal of Education, February, 1927; Farm Life, March, 1927 (an uncommonly
scornful version); Scarborough, 59; R. W. Gordon, New York Times Magazine, October 9, 1927; Josephine McGill, Folk Song's of the Kentucky Mountains, 40; MacKenzie, The Quest of the Ballad, 100; Reed Smith
South Carolina Ballads (Harvard University Press, 1928), 129.
1. Way down South where I came from
Is where I got my learning.
I fell in love with a pretty little girl,
And her name is Barbey Ellen.
2. I courted her for seven years,
And I asked her if she would marry.
With a bowed down head and a sweet little smile,
She never made no answer.
3. Early along in the spring,
When the red roses were blooming,
A young man on his death bed lay
For the love of Barbey Ellen.
4. He sent his servant down to town
To a place where she was dwelling:
"My master is love-sick and sent for u,
If your name is Barbey Ellen."
5. She slightly talked and slowly walked
And slowly went unto him.
"Young man, young man, I heard you were sick,
For the love of me, your darling."
6. "Yes, I am sick, and very sick,
And with me death is dwelling;
And none the better will I be,
Till I get Barbey Ellen."
7. "Yes, you are sick, and very sick,
And with you death is dwelling;
But none the better will you be
While my name is Barbey Ellen."
8. "Don't you remember the other day
When we were all a-drinking,
You passed the glass to the ladies all around,
But you slighted me, your darling?"
9. "Yes, I remember the other day,
When we were all a-drinking:
I passed the glass to the ladies all around,
But all for you, my darling."
10. He turned his pale face to the wall,
His back he turned towards them;
"Adieu, adieu, to all this world,
But be kind to Barbey Ellen."
11. She had not rode five miles from town,
Till she heard the death bells ringing.
And every lick, it seemed to strike
"Hard hearted Barbey Ellen."
12. She looked east, she looked west,
Till she saw the pale corpse coming:
"Lay him down, lay him down,
And let me look upon him."
13. The more she looked, the worse she got.
Till she bursted out in crying:
"Young man, young man, you died for me.
I will die for you tomorrow."
14. They buried Sweet Willie in one church yard,
And Barbey in the other;
And out of Barbey's breast sprang a red, red rose,
And out of his a brier.
15. They grew and grew to such a length of height,
Till they could not grow no higher;
And there they tied in a true-lover's knot
And the rose run around the brier.
B. "Barbara Allen." Sung by Miss Mary Riddle, Black Mountain, Buncombe County, North Carolina, from whom the editor obtained it. This variant was published in the Journal XXXIX, 2II. It is reprinted here for the sake of the tune which has since been obtained and now accompanies it.
1. It was a pleasant morning in May
When all the green buds were swelling;
Sweet William on his death bed lay
For the love of Barbara Allen.
2. He sent a servant into the town
And unto Barbara's dwelling,
Saying, "Your master's sick and sent for you
If your name is Barbara Allen."
3. It's slowly, slowly she got up
And slowly she went to him,
But all she said when she got there:
"Young man, I think you're dying."
4. "Oh, yes I'm sick and very sick,
And sorrow within me dwelling;
And no better, no better I never will be,
If I don't get Barbara Allen."
5. "It's no better, no better you never will be,
For you can't get Barbara Allen."
He turned his face unto the wall;
He turned his back upon her.
6. "It's young man, young man, to remember when we
Were in yonder town a-drinking;
You drank a health to the ladies all around
And slighted Barbara Allenl"
7. "Oh yes, oh yes, I do remember when we
Were in yonder town a-drinking -
I drank a health to the ladies all around,
And my love to Barbara Allen."
8. And when she had got a mile away from town,
She heard his death bell tolling.
And every toll it seemed to say:
"Stop there, Barbara Allen."
9. She turned around to view the ground
She saw his corpse coming.
"Stop there, lay him down, down,
That I may look upon him,
Sweet William died for me today
I'll die for hinm tomorrow."
10. Sweet William was buried in the old church-yard
And Barbara was buried beside him;
And out of his grave sprang a deep red rose
And out of Barbara's a briar.
11. They grew to the old church top
And, of course, they could grow no higher.
They wrapped and tied in a true love-not,
The rose wrapped round the briar.
8. THE MAID FREED FROM THE GALLOWS
Child, No. 95.
A.
Communicated by Miss Mary Riddle, North Fork Road, Black Mountain, Buncombe County, North Carolina. Obtained from her father, C. W. Riddle, who learned it in Madison County, N. C. See New Jersey Journal of Education, March, 1926; Reed Smith, No. 10, With interesting note on the recovery of a West Virginia variant. Campbell and Sharp, No. 24, give four texts and four tunes. Cox, No. 18, gives seven texts. Cf. Sandburg, 72; Hudson, Journal XXXIX, 105, three variants; Wyman and Brockway, 44; Reed Smith, South Carolina Ballads, 80. For additional American references see Cox's head-note.
1. "Oh Hangman, hold a while,
For I think I hear my father come
Rumbling o'er the sea
To bring money to pay my fees.
2. "Father, have you brought money
To pay my fee ?"
"No, I have come to see you hung
On yon white oak tree."
B.
Obtained from Laura Ferrara, 95 Clifton Place, Jersey City, N. J., a senior in Dickinson High School, who after hearing various versions read, surprised her teacher by singing naively these stanzas which she had learned from Edith Williams, 307 East Fourth Street, Claremore, Oklahoma. See New Jersey Journal of Education, March, 1926.
1. "Hold up your ropes and wait a little longer,
For I think I see my father comin'
No further than a mile.
2. O father, have you brought me silver?
Or have you brought me gold?
Or have you come to see me hung
Beneath that willow tree?"
3. "I have not brought you silver,
And I have not brought you gold,
But I have come to see you hung,
Beneath that willow tree."
9. JOHNNY SCOT
Child, No. 99.
No title. Obtained from Miss Laura Harmon, Cade's Cove, Blount County, Tennessee, August, 1928, who learned it from her father, "Uncle" Sam Harmon. See Campbell and Sharp, No. 25.
1. Johnny Scot, a handsome right.....
Old England is so wide -
The fairest lady in old England
By Johnny Scot's with child.
2. King Ed'ard wrote young Johnny a letter
And sealed it with his hand.
He sent it away to young Johnny Scot
As fast as a letter could go.
3. The very first lines, young Johnny, he read,
It caused him for to smile.
And (the) very next line he read
The tears run down for a while -
4. Saying, "Away to old England I must go,
King Ed'ard has sent for me."
"Away to old England if you do go,
I doubt you coming back.
Five hundred of our best life-guards,
Shall bear you company."
5. He dressed his servants all in green;
His self he dressed in white.
And every town that he rode through,
They tuk him to be some knight.
6. He rode till he come to King Ed'ard's gate.
He dingled there at the ring, -
And no one was so ready as Ed'ard himself
To rise and let hint come in.
7. "Is this young Johnny Scot?" he said,
"Or old Johnny Scotling's son,
Or is it the young bastard-getter
From Scotland has come in?"
8. "It is not young Johnny Scot,
Nor old Johnny Scotling's son;
This is the very grand Scot Lord,
And Johnny Scot is my name."
9. This young lady come peeping down stairs.
"Come down, come down," said he.
"Oh, no, I have to wear the studdiest (sturdiest) steel
Instead of the beating gold."
10. "If it's mine," young Johnny he said,
"And mine I expect it to be,
I will make it the heir of all my land,
And you my gaily dee."
11. "No, no," King Ed'ard he said,
"Oh, no, that never can't be.
We have (an) Italian in our town,
That has killed more lords than three,
And before sunrise tomorrow morning,
A dead man you shall be."
12. The Italian flew over young Johnny's head
As swift as any bird.
He pierced the Italian through (the) heart
With the point of his broad sword.
And he whipped King Ed'ard and all of his men;
And the king, he like to a-hung.
13. "Hold your arm," King Ed'ard he said,
"And pray do spare me;
You can make it the heir of all your land
And she your gaily dee."
10. JAMES HARRIS (THE DAEMON LOVER)
Child. No. 243.
"The House Carpenter." Sung by Mrs. Hiram Proctor, Cade's Cove, Blount County, Tennessee, August, 1928, who learned it from her father. Campbell and Sharp, No. 29, give eleven variants and tunes. B most nearly resembles the present text. Cox, No. 25, states that twenty-one variants have been found in West Virginia. See Sandburg, 66; Pound, No. 17; Smith, No. II; Journal, XXX 325; XXXV, 346; Cox's A bears some resemblance to the following text.
I. "Well met, well met, my own true love;
Well met, well met," said he.
"I'm just returning from the old salt sea.
Returning for to marry thee."
2. "Have you wedded any other man?
I'm sure I've wedded no other woman."
"Yes, I'm wedded to a house carpenter,
And I think he's a very nice man."
3. "You better leave your house carpenter,
And come along with me.
We'll go till we come to the old salt sea
And married we will be."
4. She dressed her babies all in red
And laid them on the bed.
"Lay there, lay there, my sweet little babes,
To keep your papa company."
5. She dressed her pavage all in blue;
Herself she dressed in green;
And every town they rode through,
They tuk her to be a queen.
6. They had not been on the sea two weeks
I'm sure it was not three -
Till his true love began to weep;
She wept most bitterly.
7. "What are you weeping for, my love?
Are you weeping for my gold?
Are you weeping for some other man,
That you love more dear than me?"
8. "I'm not weeping for your gold,
Nor neither for your store;
I'm just weeping for my sweet little babes
That I never will see no more."
9. "If I had a thousand pounds of gold,
I'd give it all to thee,
If you'd take me to the land once more,
My poor little babies for to see."
10. "If you had a thousand pounds of gold
And would give it all to me,
I'd never take thee to the land no more,
Your poor little babies to see."
11. They had not been on the sea two months -
I'm sure it was not four -
Till they sprang a leak in her true love's ship
And it sank to rise no more.
12. "What hills, what hills, my own true love,
That look so bright above ?"
"That's hills of heaven, my own true love,
Where all God's people doth go."
13. "What hills, what hills, my own true love,
That look so dark below ?"
"That is hills of hell, my own true love,
Where you and I have started to go."
14. "A curse, a curse to all seamen,
A curse, a curse," said she,
"You've robbed me of my sweet little babes,
And stole my life away."
10. COME, PRETTY POLLY
"Pretty Polly." Obtained from Granville Gadsev, who sang it at Guerrant, Breathitt County, Kentucky, July, 1925. See Campbell and Sharp, No. 39; Kittredge, Journal XX, 261; Wyman and Brockway, 79; New Jersey Journal of Education, March, 1926. For full history of this song see Cox's head-note to No. 89.
1. I saw a girl in London,
Her name I could not tell.
I saw a girl in London,
I love her so well.
2. Oh, wonder where is pretty Polly!
Oh, yonder she stands,
Gold rings on her fingers,
Her lily-white hand.
3. "Come along, pretty Polly,
Go along with me,
Before we get married,
Some pleasure we'll see."
4. "0, Willie, O Willie,
I'm afraid of your ways,
I'm afraid you're leading
My body astray."
5. "Pretty Polly, pretty Polly,
You guess about right
For I dug on your grave
One part of last night."
6. She threw both arms around him
Begging for hearts and tears:
"How can you kill a poor girl
That loves you so well?"
7. He led her over the hollow,
The valley so deep.
The last of pretty Polly -
Begin to mourn and weep.
8. "Us go along a few steps farther
And see what we can spy -
A new dugging (grave)
And a spade lying by.
9. "No time for to study,
No time for to stand -
Gold rings on your fingers -
Your lily-white hand."
10. He drew a knife all out of his pocket,
All in his right hand.
He stabbed it to her heart, the blood
Began to float down.
11. In the new dugging grave
Pretty Polly did go.
He threw the dirt over her
And started for home.
12. (He) left nothing behind
But the wild birds to mourn.
13. He stepped on the ship with his "hark
And welcome tend";
The ship struck a rock
To the bottom it did go.
14. The *death of the devil Willie,
Have to pay
For killing pretty Polly
And running away.
15. Oh, wonder where is pretty Polly!
Oh, yonder she goes -
Rings on her fingers
And corns on her toes.
*debt
12. FLIRTING
A.
"Willie." Recorded by Mrs. Emory P. Morrow, Aliceville, Alabama, 1925. Mrs. Morrow writes how she obtained the song and tune from mountain boys:
"Some of the 'song-ballets' are so melodramatic and tragic and the tunes so doleful that it is hard to keep from laughing at them, but we finally succeeded in writing down the words to 'Willie' and 'My Little Mohea'. It was even more difficult to remember their tunes. About that time my two room-mates and I succeeded in getting enough money to have water put in the boys' dormitory, in which we roomed, and then I knew my problem was solved, because it is instinctive for boys to sing while bathing. I used to call to them to sing 'Willie' and 'My Little Mohea', while five or more of them were taking their shower bath - and they couldn't resist. In that way we learned many of the tunes."
See Hudson, Journal, XXXIX, 164.
I. They say it is sinful to flirt.
They say I've a heart made of stone.
They tell me to speak to him kindly,
Or else leave the poor boy alone.
2. They say he is only a kid.
I am sure he is much older than I,
And if they would leave us alone,
Much pleasure I'm sure we would have.
3. I remember one night when he said,
He loved me far dearer than life.
He called me his darling, his own,
And asked me to be his dear wife.
4. "Oh, Willie," I said with a smile,
"I'm sure I will have to say no."
He took the white rose from my hair,
And said, "Good-bye, I must go."
5. Next morning dear Willie was found
Down in the pond by the mill.
His blue eyes forever were closed
And damp were the locks of his hair.
6. Pressed close to his dear lips was the rose
That he took from my dark hair,
"Oh Willie, my darling, come back,
I'll ever be faithful and true.
Oh Willie, my darling, come back,
My heart beats only for you."
B.
"Sweet Willie." Obtained from Miss Mary Riddle, Black Mountain, Buncombe County, North Carolina, 1926.
I. Oh, they say that old sin is a slur,
And they tell me my heart is a stone.
And they tell me I must treat him kind,
Or else leave the poor boy alone.
2. I remember one night when he said
That he loved me more than his life.
He called me his darling, his pet,
And asked me if I'd be his wife.
3. "0, Willie," I said with a smile,
"I'm sure I will have to say no."
He took a white rose from my hair
And said "Good bye, I must go."
4. Next morning poor Willie was dead;
He was drowned in the pond by the mill;
The water so clear and so pure,
It flows from the brow of the hill.
5. "O, Willie, my sweetheart, come back,
I will always be faithful and true;
O Willie, my sweetheart, come back,
I will always be faithful to you."
13. PEARL BRYAN.
"Pearl Bryant." Obtained from Granville Gadsey, Guerrant, Breathitt County, Kentucky, 1925. Both Cox and Pound have pointed out that "Pearl Bryan" is an adaptation from one of the most widespread of American ballads variously entitled, "The Jealous Lover" (Pound, No. 43; Cox, No. 38), "Lorella", "Florella", "Florilla", "Flora Ella", "Blue Eyed Ella", "Poor Lurella", "Poor Lora", "Poor Lorla", "Nell", "Fair Florella", etc. It was made to
fit the murder of a girl named Pearl Bryan. For a full account of the murder see Cox's head-note. See also Kittredge, Journal XXX, 344; Shoemaker, North Pennsylvania Minstrelsy, 49; Philips Barry, American Speech, August, 1928, 441; Hudson, Journal XXXIX, 116. (In Shoemaker's second edition, 1923, the page is 201.)
1. In Greencastle lives a lady, who was known this wild world over,
Who was murdered by Scott Jackson, whom she really did adore.
Yes, she loved him dearly, for he was both young and gay;
In him she trusted firmly and by him was led astray.
2. She told him her brave story and he knew that if (it) were true;
Then, he grew very much discouraged for he knew not what to do.
He went to his friend, Wallen; they seek and said - - - - -
And there they held a consultation and the dating plot was laid.
3. In a cab one rainy evening just before the close of day
Up rode Wallen and Scott Jackson and with Pearl they rode away.
Yes, Pearl and all her beauty left the town with those two men,
Not thinking for one moment what would be her awful end.
4. They drove far from the city to a place so far from home, -
And there they found her body lying headless, bloodstain, and alone.
Yes, it surely was those two men killed her; all over this wide world
are known.
The murder of Pearl Bryant has been told in many a home.
Ballads and Songs of the Southern Highlands. 281
14. THE TEXAS RANGERS.
"Texas Ranger." Obtained from Miss Mary Riddle, Black Mountain,
Buncombe County, North Carolina, 1925, who learned it from her father.
See John A. Lomax, Cowboy Songs and Other Frontier Ballads, 44;
Pound No. 73; New Jersey Journal of Education, March, 1928.
I. Come, all you Texas Rangers, wherever you may be,
A story I will tell you which happened unto me:
My name - it's nothing extra - my name, I will not tell;
I am a Texas Ranger and shortly I must go.
2. At the age of sixteen years I joined the social band;
In marching from Cincinnati to the Rio Grande,
How our captain did inform us to what he thought was right!
"Before we reach yon station our boys will have to fight."
3. I saw those Indians coming, I heard them give command:
From "Arms, to arms," they shouted, "Pray, by your horses stand."
I saw the smoke arising; it seemed to reach the sky;
My feelings at the moment - now is my time to die.
4. I saw their glittering arrows all around me like hail did fall;
My heart it sunk within me, my courage almost fell;
They fought there nine long hours before the lines gave way;
The like was (of) dead and wounded, I never saw before.
5. There was six as nobler Rangers as ever trod the West,
Lies buried by their comrades with bullets in their breast.
I thought of my dear old mother when this she said to me:
"My son, my son, they are all strangers, with me you'd better stay."
6. I thought she was childish and this she did not know;
My mind was on Rangers and I was bound to go.
Perhaps you have a mother, perhaps a sister too;
My mother nor my sister is here on earth no more;
I have no wife nor sweetheart to weep and mourn for me.
15. POOR OMIE.
"Oma Wise." Obtained from Henry Clay Oliver, Cade's Cove, Blount
County, Tennessee, August, 1928. This ballad came to the editor by
chance. While engaged in writing in his mountain cabin, his sole companion,
a native boy of ten, left to himself, voluntarily broke into song
so mournful in tune as to be almost startling in effect, coming as it did
282 7ournal of American Folk-Lore.
in the voice of a child. Some coaxing brought a repetition of the song,
the words of which were at once taken down.
See Campbell and Sharp, No. 70; R. W. Gordon, New York Times
Magazine, January 9, 1927; Journal XX, 265--267; XXV, II; XXXIX,
142; Pound, No. 51, who in her note gives an interesting story of this
ballad by Prof. Belden.
I'll tell you a sto - ry of little O - ma Wise,
How she- got drown - ed by John Le - wis' lie.
I. I'll tell you a story of little Oma Wise,
How she got drowned by John Lewis' lie.
He told her to meet him at the Adams Springs,
Some money he would bring her and other fine things.
2. No money he brought her to flatter the case.
"We'll go and get married and there'll be no disgrace."
She hopped up behind him and away they did go,
Down toward the river where the deep waters flow.
3. "John Lewis, John Lewis, please tell me your mind.
Is your mind to marry me or leave me behind ?"
"Little Oma, Little Oma, I'll tell you my mind:
My mind is to drown you and leave you behind."
4. "John Lewis, John Lewis, I beg for my life.
I'll go around a-begging, and I won't be your wife."
He picked her up and kissed her and turned her around,
And threw her in the river where he knew she would drown.
16. THE PRETTY MOHEA.
A.
"Little Mohea." Obtained from Miss Mary Riddle, Black Mountain,
Buncombe County, North Carolina, 1925.
Cox, No. 116, quotes three variants that have been found in West
Virginia under the titles "Pretty Maumee", "The Little Maumee", and
"The Pretty Maumee". See Eckstorm and Smyth, Minstrelsy of Maine,
231; Pound, No. 91; Wyman and Brockway, 52; New Jersey Journal of
Ballads and Songs of the Southern Highlands. 283
Education, February, 1926; ibid, March, 1928; Hudson, Journal XXXIX,
132.
I. As I was roaming for pleasure one day,
Out in the sweet wild-wood to fly time away;
As I was amusing myself in the grass,
Well, who did I see but a fine Indian lass?
2. She sat down beside me and taking my hand
Said, "You must be a stranger and in some strange land,
But if you will follow, you are welcome to come
And dwell in the cottage that I call my home."
3. The sun was fast setting far o'er the blue sea
While I was a-wandering with my little Mohea;
Together we rambled, together we roamed,
Till we came to the cottage in the cocoanut grove.
4. And this kind expression she made unto me:
"I'll teach you the language of the little Mohea;
It's go no more roaming far o'er the blue sea
And dwell in the cottage with the little Mohea."
5. It was early one morning, a morning in May;
It grieved my heart sadly these words for to say:
"I'm going to leave you, my little Mohea,
I have a lover far o'er the blue sea
And I'll not forsake her, for I know she loves me;
Her heart is as true as the little Mohea."
6. The last time I saw her she stood on the sand
And as my ship passed her she waved me her hand,
Saying, "When you have landed on your native shore,
Think of the little Mohea in the cocoanut grove."
7. And when I had landed on my native shore
With friends and relations around me once more,
I gazed all around me but none could I see
That could compare with my little Mohea.
8. The girl I thought loved me proved untrue to me;
I turned my course backward far o'er the blue sea;
I turned my course backward far o'er the blue sea
To dwell in the cottage with my little Mohea.
20*
284 ournal of American Folk-Lore.
B.
"Little Mohea." Recorded by Mrs. Emory P. Morrow, Aliceville, Alabama,
1925.
I~~ - ,i 2
ILA PE.
0)m61
I. As I went out walking, for pleasure one day
In sweet recreation to while time away;
As I sat amusing myself on the grass,
Oh! who should I spy but a fair Indian lass.
2. She sat down beside
1me,
took holt of my hand,
Said, "You are a stranger and in a strange land.
But, if you will come, you're welcome to go
And dwell in the cottage that I call my home."
3. The sun was fast sinking far over the sea
As I wandered along with my pretty Mohea;
Together we wandered, together we roamed,
Till we came to the cottage in the cocoanut grove.
4. Then this kind expression she made unto me:
"If you will consent, sir, and stay here with me,
And go no more roaming far over the salt sea,
I'll teach you the language of an Indian Mohea."
5. "Oh! no, my dear maiden, that never can be,
For I have a true love in my own country.
And I'll not forsake her, for I know she loves me,
And I love her and her heart is as true as the pretty Mohea.'
6. It was early one morning, one morning in May
To a fair maiden these words I did say:
"I'm going to leave you, so farewell, my dear,
My ship sail's approaching and home I must stay."
7. And the last time I saw her she was standing on the sand.
As my ship sailed past her she waved me her hand,
Saying, "When you get landed with the girl that you love,
Think of the little Mohea in the cocoanut grove."
Ballads and Songs of the Southern Highlands. 285
8. And when I got landed on my own native shore,
My friends and relations gathered around me once more.
They gazed all about me; not one could I see
That was fit to compare with my little Mohea.
9. And the girl that I trusted proved untrue to me;
So I'll turn my course backward o'er the deep sea;
I will turn my course backward and far from this land
I'll flee and go live my pretty Mohea.
17. FRANKIE AND ALBERT.
A.
"Little Frankie." Sung by Granville Gadsey, Guerrant, Breathitt
County, Kentucky, 1925.
See Sandburg's head-note to his four versions of this song, 75;
R. W. Gordon, Adventure Magazine, August 20, 1923; ibid., May io,
1925; Spaeth, Read 'Em and Weep, 39; Scarborough, 79; New Jersey
Journal of Education, September, 1926; Cox, No. 46; Glen H. Mullin,
Adventures of a Scholar Tramp, 260; Odum, Journal XXIV, 366; Perrow,
Journal XXVIII, 178; R. W. Gordon, New Xork Times Magazine,
June 19, 1927. The latter, who has now one hundred and ten versions of
this song, writes "I know of no song in American today with so many
different texts," and adds further, "Your version of 'Little Frankie' is
a most interesting and valuable one." The true cause of the shooting is
rather hastily passed over, a mere mention being made in verse 3, which
does not quite correspond with the reason given in verse I. Verse II is
rather rare. Very few versions contain this reference to the children.
Verse 12 is, of course, out of place. It usually begins the song.
i. Frankie went down to the old hop-shop
To get her a thirty-eight.
She's going to kill little Albert
For coming through her gate.
2. Frankie went up to the big ball game;
She did not go for fun;
All under her white apron,
She carried a forty-one.
3. Frankie went down to the depot;
The door was open wide;
There sat little Albert with another woman by his side.
"Oh, Albert, you are my man, a gamble-man,
But you won't stay at home."
286 Journal of American Folk-Lore.
4. Albert started out the back door -
He started all in a run.
"If you don't stop there. Albert,
I'll shoot you with my gun."
5. She shot little Albert once;
She shot little Albert twice;
The third time she shot little Albert,
It took poor Albert's life.
6. Go and take little Albert to the hospital,
Go and turn him over slow,
For the ball of Frankie's gun
Is hurting his side so.
7. Go and gear up your horses
And hitch to the golden hack
To take little Albert to the grave-yard
And never bring him back.
8. Frankie went to the grave-yard
All dressed in scholar (?) black,
Saying she would give one thousand dollars
If she had little Albert back.
9. Frankie went to the grave-yard;
She kneeled down on her knees
Saying praises to the Lord -
Give her heart some ease.
Io. Frankie went to the court-house
To have her trial.
The jury said to the Judge,
"I believe little Frankie ought to be cleared."
II. Frankie had two children
One was a girl and (one a) boy.
She said, "If you ever see your papa's face,
It will be in another world."
12. Frankie was a good little woman,
So everybody knows.
She paid one hundred dollars
For Albert's suit of clothes.
Ballads and Songs of the Southern
Hzighlands. 2 8 7
B.
"Frankie." Obtained from Austin Harmon, Cade's Cove, Blount County,
Tennessee, August, 1928.
Frankie was a good girl As e - very- bo - dy
knows. She paid a hun - dred dol - lar bill
For a suit of little Albert's clothes, Just be - cause she loved him so.
I. Frankie was a good girl
As everybody knows.
She paid a hundred dollar bill
For a suit of Albert's clothes,
Just because she loved him.
2. Frankie went down to the bar-room;
She called for a bottle of beer;
She whispered to the bar tender:
"Has Albert he been here ?
He is my man and he won't come home."
3. "I am not a-going to tell you no story;
I am not a-going to tell you no lie;
He left here about an hour ago
With a girl called Alice Fry;
He is your man and he won't come home."
4. Frankie went to the house
As hard as she could run;
And under her apron
Concealed a smokeless gun;
"He is my man but he won't come home."
5. Frankie went to the pool-roo'm,
And knocked on the pool-room door,
And there she saw the man she loved
Standing in the middle of the floor;
"You are my man and you will come home."
28 8 J7ournal of A merican Folk-Lore.
6. Albert ran around the table
And fell down on his knees.
He hollowed out to Frankie:
"Don't kill me, if you please;
I'm your man and I have done you wrong."
7, Frankie stepped out in the back yard;
She heard a bull-dog bark;
"That must be the man I love slipping out in the dark.
If it is, I am a-going to lay him low;
He is my man, but he done me wrong."
8. Frankie went down to the river.
She looked from bank to bank:
"Do all you can for a gambling man,
But yet you will get no thanks;
For a gambling man won't treat you right."
9. Frankie reached down in her pocket,
And pulled that forty-four out,
And shot little Albert through that suit of clothes
People been a-talking about;
"He's my man but he won't be long."
IO. "Turn me over, Frankie,
Turn me over slow,
Turn me on my right side;
My heart will overflow;
I'm your man and I have done you wrong."
II. Frankie looked down on Broadway
As far as she could see -
Two little children just a-crying and singing
"Nearer, My God, to Thee" -
Seems so sad little Albert is dead.
12. They took little Frankie to the courthouse;
They sat her in a big arm chair;
She was listening for the judge to say:
"We will give her ninety-nine year -
She killed her man in the first degree."
13. But the judge, he said to the jury:
"Jury, I can't (can) see
Ballads and Songs of the Southern Highlands. 289
When (why) she shot the man she loved -
I think she ought to go free:
For a gambling man won't treat you right."
14. Frankie walked out on the scaffold
As brave as she could be:
"When I shot the man I loved,
I murdered in the first degree;
He is my man and I loved him so."
15. Now little Albert is burried
And Frankie is by his side -
Had it cut on the head and foot tomb-stones,
"The gambler and his bride,"
The gambling man and his bride.
C.
"Little Frankie." Obtained from Austin Tuohy, Jersey City, N. J.,
who had it from Miss Wilna Suggs, Chattanooga, Tennessee.
I. Frankie was a good woman, as everybody knows;
She saved up all her money, to buy her old man's clothes;
He was her man, but he done her wrong.
2. Frankie went to the bar-rkom, for to get a glass of beer;
She said, "Say, Mr. Bartender, did you see my old man here ?"
He was her man, but he done her wrong.
3. Bartender said, "I say, Miss Frankie, I cannot tell you a lie;
Old Albert was here about an hour ago with a girl named Sussie Sly;"
He was her man, but he done her wrong.
4. Frankie went home just as fast as he could run;
She reached down in the pocket-pulled out a forty-four gun;
He was her man, but he done her wrong.
5. Frankie shot him once - bang! Frankie shot him twice;
The third time Frankie shot him, she took her old man's life;
He was her man, but he done her wrong.
6. Rubber tire buggies, great high silk hats!
They took old Albert to the graveyard;
And she forgot to bring him back;
He was her man, but he done her wrong.
290 5ournal of American Folk-Lore.
Is. THE WEXFORD GIRL (THE CRUEL MILLER).
"The Lexington Girl." Obtained from Miss Mary Riddle, North Fork
Road, Black Mountain, North Carolina, 1925.
See Cox, No. 90 (A. "The Tragedy"; B. "Johnny McDowell"); Hudson,
Journal XXXIX, 125 (A. and B. "The Oxford Girl"; C. "The Expert
Girl"; D. "The Shreveport Girl"); Belden, Journal XXV. Ii.
I. My tender parents brought me up, - provided for me well.
It was in the city of Lexington, they placed me in a mill.
It's there I met a pretty fair maid; on her I cast my eye;
I promised her I'd marry her, and she believed a lie.
2. I went into her sister's house at nine o'clock at night;
But little did the creature think at her I had a spite.
I asked her to walk a little way, a little way away,
And we would have a little talk and name a wedding day.
3. We walked a long, a lonesome, road until we walked through a desert
plain.
I drew a stake out of the fence and hit her in the face.
She fell upon her bended knees; for mercy loud she cried
And said, "Oh, please don't murder me for I'm unprepared to die."
4. Little attention did I pay unto her dying prayer, but only hit her more
Until I saw the innocent blood which I could (not) restore,
I ran my fingers through her coal black hair; to cover up my sin
I took her to the river side and there I plunged her in.
5. On my returning home I met my servant, John.
He asked me why I was so pale and yet so onward worn.
I snatched the candle out of his hand and went to take my rest,
For I could feel the flames of hell a-burning in my breast.
6. Come all you people old and young
And listen to my story:
It's always prove to your lover true
And never let the devil get the upper hand of you.
19. YOUNG JOHNNY.
"East Tennessee Girl." Sung by Mrs. Samuel Harmon, Cade's Cove,
Blount County, Tennessee, August, 1928.
See Campbell and Sharp, No. 48; Cox, No. I24; Mackenzie The Quest
of the Ballad 70, 190-193; Journal XXV, 7; XXVIII, I56; XXXV, 373.
Ballads and Songs of the Southern Highlands. 29f
I. Johnny, he is home;
He is just home from sea;
He's been to Ireland,
Where he's been before.
2. "What luck had you, young Johnny?
What luck had you from sea?
It's quite a difference, Johnny,
From what you see on me."
3. "Call down your daughter, Polly,
And set her down by me.
We will drown melancholy --
Married we will be."
4. "My daughter, she is absent;
She's not been seen today,
And if she were here, John,
She'd turn thee away.
5. "My daughter's mighty rich, John,
And you're very poor.
You better seek your lodging
In some other store."
6. Johnny being sleepy,
He hung down his head.
And called for a candle
To light him to bed.
7. "My beds are full of strangers
And have been four weeks or more;
You better seek your lodging
In some other store."
8. Johnny raising up
From all against the wall;
He first begin to rake,
And then he did howl.
9. And out of his pockets
Come both hands full of gold.
Seeing the money made
The old woman rue -
292 j7ournal of American Folk-Lore.
Io. Saying, "Young Johnny,
My daughter will soon return to you."
Up stepped a little smiling miss
And threw her arms around him.
Ii. "Oh, you're welcome, young Johnny,
You're welcome here, my dear.
My father's beds are empty;
You can have your lodging here."
12. "Before I'd lie within your house,
I'd lie within the street,
For when I had no money,
My lodging was to seek.
13. "But now I've money plenty,
I'll make the tavern hurl (whirl)
With bottle of peach brandy
And East Tennessee girl."
14. "Come, all you jolly seamen
Who plow the raging main
And earn all your money, boys,
Through cold, snow, and rain.
15. "And when you have no money
Out of doors you'll be turned,
You and your daughter Polly,
Both deserve to burn."
20. SWEET WILLIE (SWEET LILLIE).
Sung by Henry Clay Oliver (Aged io), Cade's Cove, Blount County,
Tennessee, August, 1928.
See Cox's head-note to No. 146 for comparisons with many songs under
various titles. Cf. Perrow, Journal XXVIII, 177.
Cho: Wil - lie, sweet Wil - lie, O Wil - lie, fare you
i. My foot's in my stirrup, My rein's in my
well. I'm going a - way to leave you, I love you so well.
hand. I'm going a - way to leave you (To) Some far distant land.
Ballads and Songs of the Southern
Highlands. 293
I. Willie, sweet Willie,
Oh, Willie, fare you well.
I'm going away to leave you,
I love you so well.
2. My foot's in my stirrup,
My rein's in my hand;
I'm going away to leave you
(To) some far distant land.
Chorus:
Willie, sweet Willie,
Oh, Willie, fare you well.
I'm going away to leave you,
I love you so well.
3. Your parents don't like me;
They say I'm too poor;
They say I'm unworthy
To enter your door.
Chorus:
Willie, sweet Willie,
Oh, Willie, fare you well.
I'm going away to leave you,
I love you so well.
4. Some say I drink whiskey.
My money's my own,
And those who don't like it
Can leave me alone.
Chorus:
Willie, sweet Willie,
Oh, Willie, fare you well.
I'm going away to leave you,
I love you so well.
21. A PACKAGE OF OLD LETTERS.
A.
"A Little Rosewood Casket." Recorded by Mrs. Emory P. Morrow,
Aliceville. Alabama, 1925.
294 Yournal of American Folk-Lore.
See Perrow, Journal XXVIII, 172; Pound, Folk-Song of Nebraska and
the Central West: a Syllabus, 21.
.J '. w .. -- w. w
i. In a little rosewood casket,
Resting there about the stand,
Is a package of old letters,
Written by my true love's hand.
Chorus:
We have met and we have parted,
We have said our last farewell,
My poor heart is almost broken,
There is none but me can tell.
2. Go and get those letters, sister;
Read them gently o'er to me;
Many times I've tried to read them,
But for tears I could not see.
Chorus:
3. Now you've brought them, thank you, sister;
Come sit down upon my bed
And press closely to your bosom
This poor aching throbbing head.
Chorus.
4. Tell him when you meet him, sister,
That I never ceased to love,
And in dying I've prayed for him
In a better world above.
Chorus.
5. Tell him that I was supported;
Ne'er a word of censure spoke;
Still his silence and his absence,
This poor heart is almost broke.
Chorus.
Ballads and Songs of the Southern Highlands. 295
6. When I'm dead and in my coffin,
And my shroud around me wound,
And my narrow bed is ready
On some pleasant churchyard ground,
Chorus.
7. Go and get those letters, sister;
Press them closely to my heart
And that little ring he gave me
From my finger'll never part.
Chorus.
B.
"Rosewood Casket." Obtained from Mary Riddle, Black Mountain,
N. C., 1925.
i. In a little rosewood casket that is resting on the stand,
Is a package of old letters written by a perished hand.
Will you go and bring them, sister, and read them all tonight?
I have often tried but could not, for the tears would blind my sight.
2. Come up closer to me, sister, Let me lean upon thy breast,
For the tide of life is ebbing and I fain would be at rest.
Bring the letters he has written, he whose voice I've often heard,
Read them over, live, distinctly for I've cherished every word.
3. Tell him, sister, when you see him that I never ceased to love,
For I dying prayed to Him in a better world above.
Tell him that I was supported and ne'er a word of censure spoke,
But his silence and his absence, this poor heart has well nigh broke.
4. Tell him that I watched his coming when the noontide seen was high,
And when at eve the angels set their starlight in the sky,
But when I saw he came not, tell him that I did not chide -
But I spoke in love about him, and I blessed him when I died.
5. When in death's white garments you have wrapped my form around,
And have laid me down to slumber in the quiet churchyard ground.
Place the letters and the pictures close beside my pulseless heart,
We for years have been together and in death we will not part.
6. I am ready now, my sister, you may read the letters o'er,
I will listen to the words of him whom I shall see no more.
And e'er you shall have finished, should I calmly fall asleep,
Fall asleep to death and wake not; dearest sister, do not weep.
296 7ournal of American Folk-Lore.
22. A KENTUCKY FEUD SONG.
"The Hargis-Marcum Feud." ("The Hargis-Callihan Feud"). Obtained
from Miss Mabel Hall, Taft, Texas, who had it from Clay Hurst,
Heiner, Breathitt County, Kentucky.
With this "song-ballet" came the request not to print it for a few years.
Some years have now passed. Moreover another correspondent writes:
"The newspapers helped to make the Hargis-Callihan feud in bloody
Breathitt County widely known. It is interesting to know that, true to
nature, the people have sung the story of that terrible feud until now it
is one of their many 'song ballets'." It therefore appears to be current
enough in oral transmission. The story has been stated to be about as
follows:
"Marcum killed a Hargis, fled to the country, went to Texas. He
felt compelled to go back to settle some business. Upon his return war
was declared in Jackson. The governor sent troops to try to quiet things
but they could do nothing. Marcum, it seems, had succeeded in settling
all business and was leaving the court house expecting to take a train
for the West that night, but Hargis's man got him - Jett, you understand,
was hired by Hargis to do the killing. Jim Hargis once ruled
Breathitt County with an iron hand."
See variant published by Professor Josiah H. Combs in Folk-Songs du
Midi des Etats-Unis, Paris, 1925, p. 183. It has thirteen stanzas and a
chorus. Some of the stanzas are almost identical with those of the present
text. The chorus of the former is practically the same as the last two
lines of stanza 8 and the first three lines of stanza 9 of the song printed
here.
i It was on the fourth of May -
Half past eight o'clock that day;
J. B. Marcum was standing in the courthouse of his town,
Where Curt Jett was lurking 'round
Just to get a chance to lay him on the floor.
2. Thomas White, a friend of Jett's -
No worse man was ever met -
Then came walking boldly through the courthouse hall.
As he was passing by, he looked Marcum in the eye,
Knowing truly that poor Marcum soon must die.
3. Judge Jim Hargis and his man,
Sheriff Edward Callihan,
Were across the street in Hargis Bros'. store.
Some people know the plot and were listening for the shot
And see Jett's victim fall there in the door.
Ballads and Songs of the Southern Hi2?hlands. 297
4. Jett advances through the hall
With his pistol lead and ball,
And he killed poor Marcum on the spot.
B. J. Ewen, standing by, saw him fall and heard him cry :
"O Lord! O Lord! They have killed me now at last."
5. Ewen kept the secret well
For he was afraid to tell;
For her feared they would kill him there and then.
They arrested White and Jett; and the courts of Jackson met;
And the prosecution labored with its might.
6. Whit the courts of Breathitt over,
Judge Redwine could do no more,
And he left it with the jury for the right,
One man began to plead that he thought they should be freed,
And it is believed Jim Hargis paid that man a fee.
7. Then the courts at Harrison met
And condemned both White and Jett;
And sent them to the prison where they both will have to stay.
Their poor mothers grieve each day for their boys who have gone away
For there is nothing that can sever a mother's love.
8. She'll pray for them with each breath
And cling to them until death
And Hope to meet them in the courts above.
Marcum leaves a wife to mourn him all her life,
But his little children stand it well and brave.
9. But that little Curtis Jett,
Thomas White, and others yet,
Are the men who laid poor Marcum in his grave.
But they'll let these men go free and they'll pay their lawyer's fee
But they will get their judgment on that Judgment Day.1
23. THE FROG AND THE MOUSE.
A.
This is the only song of the present group that was not recovered
from the Southern Highlands. Obtained from Charles G. Osgood, Princeton,
New Jersey, who had it from his aunt in upper New York State.
1 This happened on May 4th, 1905. Both men have been pardoned for
several years. - Clay Hurst.
21
298 ournal of American Folk-Lore.
See Journal XXXV, 392; Wyman and Brockway, 25; Campbell and
Sharp, No. II9; Cox, No. 162; Hudson, Journal XXXIX, 166; Sandburg,
143; Scarborough, 46 ff:; R. W. Gordon, New York Times Magazine,
January 8, 1928.
There was a frog lived in a well, Rig-turn
6-F
putty mitty ky - - mo and Mrs. Mouse she kept the mill,
Rigtum putty mitty ky - mo Kymo kayro delto
kayro Kymo kayro ky- mo Strym Strawn pumma diddle
Ly u-pon a rigtum Rigtmn putty mitty Ky - mo.
There was a frog lived in a well,
Rigtum putty mitty kymo
And Mrs. Mouse she kept the mill,
Rigtum putty mitty kymo
Kymo kayro delto kayro
Kymo kayro kymo
Strym strawn pumma diddle
Ly upon a rigtum
Rigtum putty mitty kymo.
He took Miss Mouse upon his knee,
Rigtum putty mitty kymo
Kymo kayro delto kayro
Kymo kayro kymo
Strym strawn pumma diddle
Ly upon a rigtum
Rigtum putty mitty kymo.
Ballads and Songs of the Southern Highlands. 299
He said: "Miss Mouse, will you marry me ?"
Rigtum putty mitty kymo
Kymo kayro delto kayro
Kymo kayro kymo
Strym strawn pumma diddle
Ly upon a rigtum
Rigtum putty mitty kynio.
"I cannot answer as to that;
I'll have to ask old Uncle Rat."
B.
"Froggie". Obtained from Mrs. Mellinger E. Henry, who learned it
from her old colored mammy when she was a child in Atlanta, Georgia.
Froggie went a - courting, and he did ride - urn- hm -
hm! Froggie went a - courting, and he did ride
sword and pistol by his side - um - hm - hm!
I. Froggie went a-courting, and he did ride - um-hnl!
Froggie went a-courting, and he did ride. -
Sword and pistol by his side - um-hm!
2. He went into Miss Mousie's den - um-hm!
He went into Miss Mousie's den,
And said, "Miss Mousie, are you within ?" -- um-hm!
3. He set Miss Mousie on his knee-um-hm!
He set Miss Mousie on his knee,
And said, "Miss Mousie, will you marry me ?" - um-hm!
4. "Not without my pa's consent," - um-hm!
"Not without my pa's consent,
Would I marry the president." - um-hm!
210
300 7ournal of American Folk-Lore.
5. Mr. Rat laughed and he shook his fat sides - um-hin!
Mr. Rat laughed and he shook his fat sides,
To think of his daughter as being a bride - um-hm'
6. Where shall the wedding-supper be ? - um-hm!
Where shall the wedding-supper be ?
Way down yonder in the hollow tree - um-hm!
7. What shall we have for the wedding-supper ? - uni-hm!
What shall we have for the wedding-supper ?
Black-eyed peas all stewed in butter - um-hm!
8. First came in was Mr. Bee um-hm!
First came in was Mr. Bee
With a fiddle upon his knee, - um-hm!
9. Next came in was Mr. Snake, - um-hm!
Next came in was Mr. Snake
Passing around the wedding-cake - um-hm!
Io. Next came in was Mr. Bug - um-hm!
Next came in was Mr. Bug
Passing around the whiskey jug - um-hm!
II. This is the end of the wedding-day - um-hm!
This is the end of the wedding-day,
And I have no more to say -- um-hm!