Lord Bateman- Shiflett (VA) pre1936 Wilkinson A
[My title. From Bronson TTCB, No. 88, 89 p. 450; Wilkinson MS: 1935-36, pp. 41-43(A1). Wilkinson's two ballads (see also B) were taken in the Browns Cove region of Virginia known for ballad singing, from two of the two of the top ballad familes in that region (A= Shifflett (Shiflett) and B= Morris, also "collected" by Scarborough).
Wilkinson collected ballads in the early 1930s for Kyle Davis Jr. and the Virginia Folklore Society. His arrangements appear in More Traditional Ballads, 1960 by Davis.
R. Matteson 2014]
[Lord Bateman]- Sung by H. B. Shiflett, Dyke, Va., April 16, 1936.
1. I traveled East and I traveled West,
I traveled over Kentucky shore,
And there I was taken and put in prison,
And freedom I never expect no more.
The jailer had a beautiful daughter,
As ever any one did see.
She stole the key to her father's treasure,
And said, Lord Bateman she would set free.
They went into her father's closet[1],
And there they made bargains one, two, three.
That he was to marry no other lady,
Nor she was to marry no other man.
4. They went into her father's cellar,
And there they drank a very strong wine.
And every health that she drank with him,
She wished Lord Bateman, he was mine.
5. Oh seven long years he been gone on sea,
Oh seven long years he's been gone from me.
She picked up her gold and diamonds,
And said: Lord Bateman, I'll go see.
6. She rode till she came to Lord Bateman's castle,
And there she jingled on the ring.
And there was none so ready as Lord Bateman's waiter,
To rise and welcome her in.
7. Is Lord Bateman at his castle,
Or is he at his home?
He is setting at his wedding table,
He has just brought his new bride home.
8. Oh tell him to bring me a slice of bread,
And also a glass of his wine so strong.
Oh ask him if he has forgot the lady
That freed him from his prison bond.
9. He brought a slice of his bread,
And also a glass of his wine so strong.
I have not forgot the lady
That freed me from my prison bond.
10. Oh land lord take back your daughter,
For she is none the worse by me,
Farewell, farewell, to the land of the living,
Since my Susanna have crossed the sea.
1. This is the only extant rendition with this line.