Johnny Randall- House (Oklahoma) 1902
[From: Another Version of the Ballad of Lord Randal by Louise Pound; Modern Language Notes, Vol. 17, No. 1 (Jan., 1902), pp. 6-7. Pound's notes follow.
R. Matteson 2011, 2014]
ANOTHER VERSION OF THE BALLAD OF Lord Randal.
THE following version of the familiar ballad known variously as "Lord Randal," "Lord Ronald," and so on, was discovered by Mr. H. C. House, of Kingfisher College, Oklahoma, sung in a railroad camp at Geary, Colorado. It should be added to the fifteen or so versions, some of them American, of which Prof. Child makes an exhaustive study, English and Scottish Popular Ballads, Vol. I, 151 ff. The identity of the ballad is unmistakable. All the conventional features, the poison, the legacy, the iteration, and the dialogue are present, modified to suit altered local conditions.
Johnny Randall- discovered by Mr. H. C. House, of Kingfisher College, Oklahoma, sung in a railroad camp at Geary, Colorado.
"Where was you last night, Johnny Randall, my son?
Where was you last night, my heart's loving one?"
"A-fishing, a-fowling; mother, make my bed soon,
For I'm sick at my heart, and I fain would lie down."
"What had you for breakfast, my own pretty boy?
What had you for breakfast, my heart's loving joy?"
"Fresh trout and slow poison; mother, make my bed soon,
For I'm sick at my heart, and I fain would lie down."
"What will you will your brother, my own pretty boy?
What will you will your brother, my heart's loving joy?"
"My horse and my saddle; mother make my bed soon,
For I'm sick at my heart, and I fain would lie down."
"What will you will your sister, my own pretty boy?
What will you will your sister, my heart's loving joy?"
"My watch and my fiddle; mother, make my bed soon,
For I'm sick at my heart, and I fain would lie down."
"What will you I will your mother, my own pretty boy?
What will you I will your mother, my heart's loving joy?"
"A twisted hemp rope, for to hang her up high;
Mother, make my bed easy till I lie down and die."
This is sung to a slow monotonous air, not identical with any of those noted by Prof. Child. Mr. House hopes later to collect further material. He thinks he could identify several other well-known ballads, sung in a modified form in western railroad and mining communities.
Louise POUND.
University of Nebraska.