City of Pineville- Mrs. Stevens (MO) 1927 Randolph
[My title. From: Randolph, Ozark Folksongs; 4 vols. 1946-50; reprinted Columbia, 1980, II, 92. Randolph notes follow.
Randolph attributes his versions to the local murder of Lula Noel in 1892 which, according to a report in History of McDonald County, Missouri (1897), is "One of the most appalling crimes ever committed in McDonald county was the murder of Mary Lula Noel daughter of W. H. and S. E. Noel on the 10 day of December, 1892." Lula Noel and William Simmons (the convicted murderer) are not mentioned in Randolph's versions and neither are the locations Lanagan and Joplin.
The attribution of Noel Girl is accurate and in some versions he acquired corresponding testimony (Version B, for example). This however does not mean the text of the ballad was changed in any way or should be titled Noel Girl since she is not part of the text. I've renamed his versions by creating local titles.
The last line of this version is the title used by The Carter Family for their version.
R. Matteson 2016]
150. The "Noel Girl"
Many people in McDonald County, Missouri, remember this song, and insist that it refers to the fate of Lula Noel, whose body was found in the Cowskin River near Lanagan, Missouri, 10 December, 1892. William Simmons of Joplin, Missouri, was convicted of the murder and sentenced to the penitentiary. The words of the "Noel Girl" song are almost identical with those of "The Wexford Girl", derived from "an old English piece" [i.e. "The Berkshire Tragedy"].
"City of Pineville"- sung by Mrs. Lee Stevens of White Rock MO, Aug. 10, 1927. Randolph A
'Twas in the city of Pineville,
I owned a floury mill,
'Twas in the city of Pineville
I used to live and dwell.
One day I saw a pretty fair maid,
On her I cast an eye,
I told' her I would marry her
And she believed a lie.
I went unto her sister's house
AI eight o'clock that night,
I ask her if she'd walk with me
A little ways away
So arm in arm we walked along
Till we came to a lonely place,
There I took a rail from off the fence
An' struck her in the face.
She fell down on her bended knees,
An' loud for mercy cried,
For heaven's sake don't murder me
For I'm not prepared to die.
I paid no attention to what she said,
But kept on strikin' her more,
Until I saw the innocent looks
That I never could restore.
I run my fingers through her coal black hair
To cover up sin,
I drug her to the river side
An' there I plunged her in.
When I returned unto my mill
I met my servant John,
He ask me why I looked so pale
An' yet so very warm.
An' what occasion so much blood
Upon my hands an' clothes?
The sad an' only answer was
A bleedin' from the nose.
I lit a candle an' went to bed
Expectin' to take some rest,
But it seemed to me the fires of hell
Was a-burnin' in my breast.
Come all young men an' warnin' take,
That to your lovers prove true,
An' never let the devil get
The upper hand of you.