Edward- Pierce (West Virginia) 1924 Woofter
[This is a ballad re-creation based mostly on Child B by Woofter and cannot be considered traditional. This text from the Josiah Combs collection was analyzed by D. K. Wilgus article The Oldest (?) Text of "Edward" published in Western Folklore, Vol. 25, No. 2 (Apr., 1966), pp. 77-92. [see the article attached to Recordings & Info]
The text was contributed to the Combs collection in 1924 by Carey Woofter with the following comment: "This version of the ballad was sent to me by Mrs. Rosa Pierce, of Annamoriah, Wirt County, West Virginia. She got the ballad from her mother, Mrs. Sarah Adams, who has been dead several years. Mrs. Adams was my aunt, and learned the ballad from my grandmother, who came to this country from Scotland in 1840, and settled in the Freeman's Creek settlement in Lewis County, Virginia. Aunt Sarah was her oldest child, and no doubt learned the ballad before grandma joined the church and decided that all ballads were the works of the devil."
See more of Wilgus' notes below. After becoming familiar with Woofter's "collected" ballads and his friend, Patrick Gainer's, there is little doubt that his is a ballad recreation by Woofter using Child A and B. What is interesting is the lengthy and detailed attribution which includes his aunt and grandmother.
R. Matteson 2012, 2014]
Edward
1. How came that blood on your coat lapel,
Edward, O Edward?
How came that blood on your coat lapel,
Edward, O Edward?
2. That is the blood of my gray falcon,
Mother, O mother;
That is the blood of my gray falcon,
Mother, O mother.
3. Falcon's blood was never so red,
Edward, O Edward;
Falcon's blood was never so red,
Edward, O Edward.
4. That is the blood of my beagle,
Mother, O mother;
That is the blood of my beagle,
Mother, O mother.
5. Beagle's blood was never so red,
Edward, O Edward;
Beagle's blood was never so red,
Edward, O Edward.
6. That is the blood of my brother,
Mother, O mother;
That is the blood of my brother,
Mother, O mother.
7. How did the quarrel begin,
Edward, O Edward?
How did the quarrel begin,
Edward, O Edward?
8. The quarrel was over an apple tree,
Mother, O mother;
The quarrel was over an apple tree,
Mother, O mother.
9. What death do you desire to die,
Edward, O Edward?
What death do you desire to die,
Edward, O Edward?
10. I'll paddle the boat over the old mill dam,
Mother, O mother;
I'll paddle the boat over the old mill dam,
Mother, O mother.
11. What will you leave to your poor wife,
Edward, O Edward?
What will you leave to your poor wife,
Edward, O Edward?
12. Grief and pain all the rest of her life,
Mother, O mother;
Grief and pain all the rest of her life,
Mother, O mother.
13. What will you leave to your young son,
Edward, O Edward?
What will you leave to your young son,
Edward, O Edward?
14. I'll leave him the world to wander up and down,
Mother, O mother;
I'll leave him the world to wander up and down,
Mother, O mother.
15. What will you leave to your mother dear,
Edward, O Edward?
What will you leave to your mother dear,
Edward, O Edward?
16. The curse of hell from me you shall have,
Mother, O mother;
The curse of hell from me shall you have,
Mother, O mother.
Wilgus 1966: "This is an interesting text on many counts. The name "Edward" is rare in the texts of Child 13, and this is the first text published since 1765, and indeed only the second published text, in which the name "Edward" occurs in the refrain of the ballad. Furthermore, it agrees at different points with the two earliest published texts in English, those of Percy (1765-Child B;
Taylor GE B) and Motherwell (1827-Child A; Taylor GE A). Indeed, the basic traits are those of the Motherwell text: (1) blood on the coat lapel; (2) the sequence of bird, hound, and brother; (3) the tragic quarrel over an apparently insignificant plant; (4) the implied suicide by embarkation in a boat, bottomless in one case and on a dangerous voyage in the other; (5) the bequests of grief and pain to the wife and a wandering life to the son; (6) the curse on the mother.
But the Woofter-Combs text agrees more precisely with the Percy text: (1) in the alternation of "Edward" and "Mother" in the refrain lines; (2) in the phraseology of the stanza cursing the mother; (3) in the consistent use of couplets alternating questions and answers."