Fair Elson- A.M. (NE) c.1813 JAF Barry C
[My title. First from: The Ballad of Lord Randal in New England by Phillips Barry; The Journal of American Folklore, Vol. 16, No. 63 (Oct. - Dec., 1903), pp. 258-264. This is Barry's first article, an important study of the Child ballad, Lord Randall. It's also one of the earliest ballad studies of one of Child's English ballads found in the US. Listed in connection with No. 5 Nelson, My Son. Barry writes:
In connection with the ballad "Fair Nelson, my son," mentioned by Mrs. Martin, the following version of the old song may be of interest. I am unable to trace its origin, as it was forwarded to me anonymously.
Apparently Barry figured it out since he attributed it to A.M. in 1905 when he reprinted it (unless A.M. is Anonymous Manuscript!!). Barry source was "Notes and Queries" in the Boston Transcript July 11, 1903. Why Barry didn't mention this is unknown.
Next from: Traditional Ballads in New England II by Phillips Barry; The Journal of American Folklore, Vol. 18, No. 70 (Jul. - Sep., 1905), pp. 191-214.
This is the second part of Barry's Traditional Ballads in New England, all three parts were published in 1905 in three consecutive editions of the JAF. I'm giving the date as if the mother learned the ballad when she was a child which is the way ballads were traditionally passed down.
R. Matteson 2014]
C. [Fair Elson] Communicated July 11, 1903, by A. M., with the following comment, "As sung by my mother, who would be more than one hundred years old, if living.
1. "Oh, where have you been, Fair Elson, my son?
Oh, where have you been, my own dearest one?"
"I have been out a-courting, mother make my bed soon,
For I'm poisoned to my heart, and I fain would lie down."
2 "Oh, what have you been eating, Fair Elson, my son?
Oh, what have you been eating, my own dearest one?"
"I've been eating eels, mother make my bed soon,
For I'm poisoned to my heart, and I fain would lie down."
3. "What color were those eels, Fair Elson, my son?
What color were those eels, my own dearest one?"
"They were black, white, and yellow, mother make my bed soon,
For I'm poisoned to my heart, and I fain would lie down."
4. "What you will to your father, Fair Elson, my son?
What you will to your father, my own dearest one?"
"A black suit of mourning, mother make my bed soon,
For I'm poisoned to my heart, and I fain would lie down."
5. "What you will to your brother, Fair Elson, my son?
What you will to your brother, my own dearest one?"
"A black yoke of oxen, mother make my bed soon,
For I'm poisoned to my heart, and I fain would lie down."