Billy Got A Wife- Hayward (VT) 1932 Flanders E
[My title replacing the generic- Wife Wrapped. The text is fatally flawed in the 4th stanza- see footnote below. The possibility exists that the "dew" was originally the British "doo" or "dove." The opening verse is commonly found in the related "Slattern Wife" songs- see Appendix to child 277. Flander's extensive notes from "Ancient Ballads" are below. She refers to the "Dandee" refrain which is almost always "Dandoo" in the South, not "Dandee." This version dates back to the when the informant was a boy (he was born c. 1857) -I've dated it 1870.
R. Matteson Jr. 2013]
The Wife Wrapped in Wether's Skin (Child 277)
This ballad derives from an old tale which Child, v, 104, cites under the title "The Wife Lapped in Morrel's Skin" and is related to a whole host of stories on similar themes. See Aarne-Thompson, Mt. 1370*.
The ballad is still popular in America, where the basic outline of the story remains constant, but where the minor details vary greatly. william H. Jansen has made a careful study (HFQ IV, #3,41) of the ballad and its developments in America [see article attached to Recordings & Info page], and from his remarks two groupings of the American texts emerge: songs with the "dandee, clish maclinge" refrains, popular in the South and Midwest; and songs with the "juniper, gentian, and rosemary" refrains, popular in the South and Northeast. The plant refrains of the latter group have caused some comment. Phillips Barry, British Ballads from Maine, 324-5, suggests, on the authority of Lucy Broadwood (JFSS, II, 12-15), that the wife originally was beaten to exorcise the evil spirits that infested her and that "juniper, gentian, and rosemary" were regarded as charms against the demons. Later the names of the plants were forgotten and confused with the names of girls, June, Jenny, and Rose Mary.
The Flanders texts are highly representative of the American forms of the ballad. A-I, with the plant refrain, relate to Child F (from Massachusetts) and are normal Northeastern versions. J-L illustrate the "dandee" refrain and the common "old man who lived in the West" opening.
M-N (see also Child C) are from the Scottish tradition. Text L, which concerns "Riddleson's daughter Dinah," is the only unusual version in the group. See Coffin, 146-8 (American); Belden, 92-94 (English); and Greig and Keith, 218-20 (Scottish) for bibliographical material and discussion.
All of the tunes for child 277 except the Richards tune are members of the same tune family. Within this group, the Prevost and Baldwin tunes are especially close, as are the Hayward and Hall tunes. The Monson tune is slightly outside the group.
E. [Billy Got A Wife] The Wife Wrapped in Wether's Skin- As sung by Mrs. George Hayward of Springfield, Vermont. Learned from her grandmother, Mrs. Kathryn Cushman, of Scottish descent. H. H. F., Collector; May, 1932
Structure: A B C D (2,2,2,2); Rhythm D; Contour: undulating; Scale: major; t.c. G.
Billy got a wife and he brought her home,
Jennie throw-a-gentle-a, ro-sama-ree.
He might had done better if he'd left her alone,
As the dew flies over the mulberry tree.
She would not into the kitchie go,
For 'fraid of soiling her white kid shoes.
She would not carve or she would not spin,
'Fraid of soiling her gay gold ring.
Billy went down to the old sheep's fold, [1]
Cut him a stick of willow so green.
"I have brothers, one, two, three;
If they were here, you wouldn't whip me!"
"What care I for your nine or ten brothers?
I'm able to tan my own sheepskin!"
She out with a tablecloth and spread it on the board.
Never a word yet said: "Yes" or "No."
Footnotes:
1. Here, the ballad is missing the line: And he got him a wether both fat and old. An additional line would need to be added to repair this version, to rhyme with, Cut him a stick of willow so green. Also additional stanzas need to be added, perhaps:
He hung it up upon a pin
And at two jerks he jerked off the skin.
He tacked the hide to his wife's back
And with the willow he made it crack.