John Ellis My Son- Gainer (WV) no date given, estimated recording date- late c.1960s, version A
[From West Virginia University on-line, recorded in the 1960s by Gainer (Version A) as he was organizing ballads for his different publications. I'm not sure of the sources for Patrick Gainer's three versions (three on-line with version B appearing in Folk Songs from the West Virginia Hills) of Lord Randal from West Virginia. They are likely versions he learned locally. He did not provide a version for Boette's 1971 book, Singa Hypsy Doodle- and there are no Lord Randal versions in that book. Since no date is available I'm supplying a date of late 1960s which is about the time I believe they were recorded (this needs verification).
Because of Gainer's questionable versions and his assigning two or more informants to the same ballad text, it's hard to tell if there is a real source or if the ballad is recreated. This version appears to be real, the text is very standard.
R. Matteson 2011, 2014]
[Patrick Ward Gainer (1904-1981) partial bio:
Born in Parkersburg but reared in rural Gilmer County, Gainer grew up within a family bearing a rich singing tradition. He often credited his grandfather F.C. Gainer with providing his early musical education and his chief inspiration.
After attending the Glenville Normal School, Gainer enrolled at West Virginia University in the 1920s. At the time the university was recognized as a national hub of folk music scholarship. His instructors included John Harrington Cox, author of the first significant American folksong study - Folk Songs of the South (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1925) and Louis Watson Chappell whose landmark book John Henry: A Folklore Study (Jena: Frommanische Verlag, 1933) established a standard in ballad scholarship. It was under their tutelage that Gainer first caught the ballad hunting bug. Together with Chappell, and at other times with fellow student and Gilmer Countian Carey Woofter, Gainer made his initial forays into the countryside in search of surviving remnants of a fading musical tradition. From: WVC Digital Collections Home]
John Ellis, My Son- Sung by Gainer (WV) no date or informant named, c. late1960s
[more text upcoming]
1. "Where have you been John Ellis my son,
Where have you been, my dearest little one?"
"I've been out a courting, mother make my bed soon,
I've a pain in my heart, and I want to lay down."
2. "Have you been to your supper, John Ellis my son,
Have you been to your supper, my dearest little one?"
"Yes I've been to my supper, mother make my bed soon,
I've a pain in my heart, and I want to lay down."
3. "What did you have for your supper, John Ellis my son,
What did you have for your supper, my dearest little one?"
"Fried eels in butter mother make my bed soon,
I've a pain in my heart, and I want to lay down."
4. "What color were the eels, John Ellis my son,
What color were the eels, my dearest little one?"
"Yellow and black spotted, mother make my bed soon,
I've a pain in my heart, and I want to lay down."