Barbara Ellen- Jones (NC) 1938 Abrams MS 15
[From a 2 page typed MS in the Abrams Collection, Barbara Ellen as "Collected by Lottie Dickson, November 1938 from Mrs. J.F. Jones, Grassy Creek, NC." A number 15 circled is written on the MS possibly indicating it as version 15.
William Amos “Doc” Abrams (1905-1991), originally from Pinetops in Edgecombe County, North Carolina, was chairman of the English Department at Appalachian State Teacher’s College (ASTC) from 1932 to 1946. The W. Amos Abrams Folksong Collection, presented online as part of the Documenting Appalachia digital initiative, consists of approximately 1,100 document pages that comprise some 400 individual song titles, most of which have multiple variants.
R. Matteson 2015]
Barbara Ellen. Collected by Lottie Dickson, November 1938 from Mrs. J.F. Jones, Grassy Creek, NC
In the late season of the year,
When the yellow leaves were falling,
Sweet Willie, he was taken sick,
For the love of Barbara Ellen.
He sent his message to the town,
To the town where she was dwelling,
Saying, "Rise you up, to your master's calling,
If your name be Barbra Ellen."
So slowly, slowly she got up,
And slowly went unto him,
She pulled the curtains round his bed,
"Young man I think you're dying."
"Oh yes, Oh yes, I'm low indeed,
And death is in my dwelling;
And never better will I be
Till I get Barbara Ellen."
"Oh yes, Oh yes, you're low indeed,
And death is in your dwelling,
Never better will you be
By getting Barbara Ellen.
"Oh, do you remember in yonder town,
The town where we were dwelling,
You courted the ladies all around,
And slighted Barbara Ellen?"
"Yes, I remember in yonder town,
The town where we were dwelling,
I treated the ladies all around,
I treated Barbara Ellen."
He turned his pale face to the wall,
His back he turned upon her;
Saying, "Adieu! Adieu! to the ladies around,
A friend to Barbara Ellen."
She had not got three miles from town,
When she heard a death bell ringing,
She thought she heard her own heart saying,
"Stop, stop, Barbara Ellen."
She looked to the east, she looked to the west,
She saw a corpse a-coming,
"Oh, do lay down this fair young man,
Till I do gaze upon him."
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