Farmer's Curst Wife- Williams (NC) c.1940-1943 Abrams REC
[My transcription. According to Abrams the first recording was made circa 1940- no exact date given. Williams is likely not the source for this version but the collector- according to an online bio about his documentary:
"Balladeer, linguist, cultural activist, storyteller, Cratis Williams was an eloquent defender of Appalachian Culture and one of the most important scholars of the post-war era. In this hour long documentary, Cratis visits his ancestral homeland on Caines Creek in Eastern Kentucky’s Big Sandy Valley."
The Southern Mountaineer in Fact and Fiction: "Cratis Williams has been for more than 40 years a teacher, folklorist, performer, and a recognized leading authority on Appalachian literature, folkways, and speech. He has served for more than 30 years at Appalachian State University- variously as Professor, Graduate Dean, and Chancellor. In 1973 he was awarded the O. Max Gardner Award for outstanding humanitarian service. The Southern Mountaineer in Fact and Fiction, Dr. Williams' 1961 dissertation for NYU, is being published in abridged form in four successive issues of AJ."
R. Matteson 2013]
Farmer's Curst Wife- Williams (NC) 1940-1943 Abrams REC- With multiple recordings, one from October 2, 1943, Dr. Cratis Williams performs "Farmer's Curst Wife."
http://contentdm.library.appstate.edu/docapp/abrams/field_recordings/farmers_wife.html
1. There was an old farmer lived under the hill,
La-- la-la-la-la,
If he ain't moved out he lives there still.
Sing tiro addle, sing fa dal diddle,
Sing tiro addle sing day.
2. The devil came to his house one day,
La-- la-la-la-la,
I've come to take one of your family away.
Sing tiro addle, sing fa dal diddle,
Sing tiro addle sing day.
[upcoming]