Brandywine- Jubie Gabbard (Kentucky) 1913 ; Niles C
[John Jacob Niles; Ballad Book, 1961. As with all of Niles' collection- caveat emptor! Perrow's NC version (1913) also has Quaker's Queen:
My father is of a regis king,
My mother's a quaker's queen."
which Niles says could be "quite a queen."
Below are Niles notes.
R. Matteson 2011, 2014]
Brandywine (Niles No. 5 C) Notes:
Jubie Gabbard had struck a railway conductor, and in the hot month of July 1913 he was jail-hampered in Breathitt County, Ky. There must have been more than a charge of "striking," but I never went into it. The railway conductor in question was not overly popular in Jackson, the county seat of Breathitt, and so in some quarters Jubie Gabbard was looked upon as a kind of
public benefactor. Gabbard was later released, because no one would testify except the railway conductor.
"Yes," Jubie said to me, "I've done a lot of sittin' in jails and courthouses, and I've decided that there be three kinds of folks in courtrooms. First, there's them as has just been elected to office. Then there be those who is cravin' to get theirselves elected - and there's a lot of back-slappin' and handshakin' among 'em. But the third kind of folks is the sorriest of all. They is the folks who want to get out of jail, and they is the backslappinest backslappers of 'em all. I'm one of 'em, friend, and I know'"
As a singer Jubie was noisy and inaccurate, but full of gusto. In spite of the tragic quality of his text, he managed to make the first verse definitely funny through his use of the word "ruin," which he pronounced "rune." The word itself is not unusual in the mountains, being employed to indicate that a young woman's reputation has been hopelessly damaged. The tune Gabbard used is exceptionally fine. Note that in the third verse the taboo against the use of the proper name is extended to the horse. And, in the- fifth verse, true to tradition. Brandywine asks his bride not to mention his name. The puzzling reference to "Quaker queen"
in verse 2 is probably a corruption of "quite a queen."
BRANDYWINE- Jubie Gabbard, Kentucky, 1913
[View Music]
1. "Oh Brandywine, my Brandywine,
Why did you steal my pearl?
Why did you ride the countryside,
And steal my youngest girl?
And steal my youngest girl?"
2. Oh they traveled far, and they traveled fast,
And never stopped in between,
Because his father was a king,
And his mother a quaker queen,
And his mother a quaker queen.
3. He spake unto his faithful horse,
And speaking, thus spake he:
"Pray carry us over this watery creek,
And your name unsaid shall be."
4. Oh, they crossed o'er the watery creek,
And once on t'other side,
Her father's men were a-waiting there
With their horses neatly tied.
5. "Oh come, my dear, and come you quick,
And hold the horse I ride,
And never name me by my name
If you would be my bride."
6. "Oh Brandywine, for love of me,
Hold your hand so sore,
For if my people all are dead,
I'll ne'er have people more."
7. He knocked on his mother's door,
He cried to be let in:
"Oh Mother, I am wounded more
Than ever man has been."
8. He died before the cocks did crow,
She died before the dawn,
And just as day was breaking,
His mother, too, was gone.
9. They buried them a-side by side,
And when the rose and briar
Had reached the top, they tied a knot
'Cause they couldn't go no higher.