Little Mathey Grones- Walker (NC) c.1940 Walker/Brown B
[From the Brown Collection of NC Folklore- Volume 2 Ballads, 1953; music from Volume 4. The Brown editors notes follow. The is the "Lord Lovel form" of the ballad (5 lines with the 4th line extended and repeated). Arnald [sic] should probably be changed to Arnold.
On the MS in the Abrams Collection it says, "I collected this from my grandmother and from my mother-- E.W."
R. Matteson 2012, 2015]
Brown Collection of NC Folklore- Volume 2 Ballads
OLDER BALLADS MOSTLY BRITISH
26. Little Musgrave and Lady Barnard (Child 81)
For the fortunes of this ballad in America (where it has lasted much better than in the country of its origin), see the admirable discussion by Barry (BBM 150-94) ; and for its geographical range, see BSM 57-8 — adding to the references there given Vermont (NGMS 135-9), Kentucky (BTFLS in 95, TKMS 62-71), North Carolina (FSRA 25-31), Missouri (OFS I 124-6), Ohio (BSO 48-51), and Michigan (BSSM 46-9). In addition to Barry's evidences for a distinctive and early American tradition for this ballad may be mentioned certain traits common to all or most of the American texts, both north and south, and rare or absent altogether in Child's British versions. One of these is the expression "cost me deep in purse" when the lord is telling of his two swords. The only approximation to this in the Child versions is in A, from a seventeenth-century print: "Full deere they cost my purse." But in America it appears in more than a score of texts ranging from Nova Scotia and Maine to North Carolina and to Missouri, sometimes in a corrupted form that shows the locution was heard but not understood, as in Cambiaire's reading "they cost me keep in purse" (ETWVMB 53). The expression sounds rather literary than dialectal, but it is a mark of the American texts. Another item peculiar to American texts is the form of punishment meted out to the lady by her injured husband". Nowhere in American texts do we find the savagery of Child A, "He cut her paps from off her breast"; but we do find, in texts ranging again from Nova Scotia to North Carolina and to Missouri, that he "split her head in twain," sometimes in a way to show that the locution was traditional but not understood: "cut her all up into twain" (TBV E), "split her head into twine" (SharpK B). The attempt of the lady by threats or bribery to prevent the page from carrying the news of her behavior to her husband, found in Child CDEFHIJKL, does not appear in American texts. That the bugle is blown as a warning by a friend of Musgrave's, a trait that appears in three of the texts in the present collection, is not exactly diagnostic; it is found in C J L of the Child versions and may perhaps be inferred in some of the others; and it appears sporadically in American texts both north and south, e.g., in BBM Fa Fb, TBV B, SCSM A, FSRA, SharpK I J K, FSSH A B, BSM, and BSSM
B. 'Little Mathey Grones.' [As sung by Edith Walker's grandmother and mother.] From the manuscript songbook of Miss Edith Walker of Boone, Watauga county. [Although no date is given, Edith Walker made another contribution to the Brown Collection on August 8, 1940.] Here we have the warning by Mathey's friend, the dialogue between Mathey and the lady in bed, and the head-splitting at the end. Stanzas 3 and 6 seem to be the result of telescoping two stanzas or parts of stanzas. Stanza 7 I have attempted to bring into order by some additions. "Grones" is quite possibly a misreading for "Groves." Stanzas 9 and 17 are imperfect metrically, and there is confusion in the assignment of speeches in stanza 11.
1 To my hi, to my hi, to my hi holy day.
To the very first day of the year,
When Lord Arnald went down to King Henry's
The Holy Word for to hear, hear,
The Holy Word for to hear.
2 The first come by was a gay ladee,
The next come by was a gal.
The next come by Lord Arnald's wife,
She's the fairest of them all, all,
She's the fairest of them all.
3. Oh, it's 'Come, Little Mathey, come,' says she
'And go home with me tonight.'
'Oh, no, I dare not for my life;
For I know by the gold rings on your finger
That you are Lord Arnald's wife, wife,
That you are Lord Arnald's wife.'
4. 'What if I am Lord Arnald's wife?
Lord Arnald himself ain't at home.
For he's gone down to King Henry's
The Holy Word for to hear, hear,
The Holy Word for to hear.'
5. Oh, a little foot-page was a-standing by,
And he took to his heels and he run;
He run to where the bridge was apart
And he pitched to his breast and he swum, swum,
And he pitched to his breast and swum.
6. He run unto King Henry's gate,
(And he rung both loud and shrill)
And tingled (so) loud at the gate,
And none was so ready as Lord Arnald his self
To rise and let him in, in,
To rise and let him in.
7 'What news, what news, O little foot page,
What news you have for me?'
'It's Little Mathey Grones is home
[In bed] with your gay ladee, [ladee],
[In bed] with your gay ladee.'
8 'If this be a lie you tell unto me,
A new rope shall be made;
If this be the truth you tell unto me,
My daughter shall be your bride, bride,
My daughter shall be your bride.'
9 Lord Arnald he gathered
His men all in a row,
And he charged them not one word for to say
Nor nary horn for to blow, blow,
Nor nary horn for to blow.
10 But one of the men in the crowd.
Who knew Little Mathey full well.
He clapped his bugle to his mouth
And blew both loud and shrill, shrill.
And blew both loud and shrill.
11 'Lie still, Little Mathey, lie still,' says she,
'And let me listen awhile;
For I think I hear Lord Arnald's bugle
Blow both loud and clear, clear,
Blow both loud and clear.
12 'Lie down, Little Mathey, lie down,' says she,
'And keep the cold from me;
For it's nothing but my daddy's[1] little shepherd boy
A-driving the sheep from field, field,
A-driving the sheep from field.'
13 To hug and kissing they did go,
And likewise fell asleep.
And in the morning when they wake
Lord Arnald stood at their bed feet, feet.
Lord Arnald stood at their bed feet.
14 It's 'How do you like my bed,' says he,
'And how do you like my sheet.
And how do you like my gay ladee
That lies in your arms and sleeps, sleeps.
That lies in your arms and sleeps?'
15 'Mighty well do I like your bed,' says he,
'Mighty well do I like your sheet;
Much better do I like your gay ladee
That lies in my arms and sleeps, sleeps,
That lies in my arms and sleeps.'
16 'Get up. Little Mathey, get up,' says he,
'And put your clothing on.
For it never shall be said when you're dead and gone
That I slain you a naked man, man,
That I slain you a naked man.'
17 'Oh no, oh no, I dare not for my life;
For you have two broad swords
And I have nary knife, knife,
And I have nary knife.'
18 'If I have two broad swords
And you have nary knife.
The best of them I'll give to thee
And the worst of them I'll keep, keep,
And the worst of them I'll keep.'
19 The very first lick Little Mathey struck
Lord Arnald was full sore.
The very first lick Lord Arnald struck
Little Mathey couldn't fight any more, more,
Little Mathey couldn't fight any more.
20 He took his gay ladee by the hand
And set her on his knee:
'Say, tell unto me which you love best,
Little Mathey Grones or me, me,
Little Mathey Grones or me.'
21 'It's mighty well do I like your rosy cheeks,
Mighty well do I like your chin.
But very much better do I like Little Mathey Grones
Than Lord Arnald and any of his kin, kin,
Than Lord Arnald and any of his kin.'
22 He took his gay ladee by the hand
And (he) led her to the lane;
He took his broad sword from his side
And split her head in twain, twain,
And split her head in twain.
1. Variant reading "papa's."
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B. 'Little Mathey Grones.' ms score from Miss Edith Walker, of Boone, Watauga county. No date. The first three measures, as mentioned above, are almost identical with those of 26A. The first two measures are identical with the well known song 'Old MacDonald Had a Farm,' and measures 3-4 and 7-8 remind one very much of 'Yankee Doodle.' For textual variants cf. BB 52-3.
For melodic relationship cf. **SharpK I 181, No. 23 L, N, measures 1-3; OFS I 126, No. 20C, the first four measures are rhythmically identical, melodic relationship is insignificant. Scale: Mode III, plagal. Tonal Center: f. Structure: aba1bc(2,2,2 2 2) = aa1b (4.4,2).