Lord Daniels- Church (NC) 1930 Brown E
[From the Brown Collection of NC Folklore- Volume 2 Ballads, 1953. Music from volume 4 is found at the bottom of this page. The Brown editors notes follow.
For some reason (to save space?) The Brown Collection does not give the text of this version only paraphrasing it in sections. This is the full text from the MS.
R. Matteson 2012, 2015]
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.
E. 'Lord Daniels.' From the collection of Mrs. Minnie Church of Heaton, Avery county, contributed in 1930. A somewhat vague text:
First came down was dressed in red,
Next came down in green,
Next came down was Lord Daniel's wife,[1]
Dressed fine as any queen, queen,
Dressed fine as any queen.
Then up stepped little Mathie Grove,
"Come go home with me tonight."
"Very well, I know[2] by the ring you wear,
That you're Lord Daniel's wife, wife,
That you're Lord Daniel's wife.
It makes no difference by the ring I wear,
Nor whose wife I am,
My husband he is not at home,
He's in some distant land.
Little Pate foot was standing by,
He[3] heard every word was said.
Says if I leave[4] before daybreak
Lord Daniel will know of this, this,
Lord Daniel will know of this.
He had about fifteen miles to go,
Ten of them he run,
He run till he came to a broken down bridge,
He fell on his breast and swum, swum,
He fell on his breast and swum.
He swum till he came to the green grassy grove,
He sprang to his feet and run,
He run till he came to Lord Daniel's gate,
He tingled his bells they rang, rang,
He tingled his bells they rang.
"Oh, is my castle burning down
Or what is going to be done?"
[Your] true love's in bed with another man,
Both their hearts are one, one,
Both their hearts are one.
"I must get up," little Mathie said,
"I must get up and go,
Your husband is coming home,
I heard his bugle blow, blow,
I heard his bugle blow."
"Lie down, lie down, my little man,
Lie down and go to sleep,
It's nothing but my father's shepherd,
Calling for his sheep, sheep,
Calling for his sheep.
They lay down went to hugging and kissing,
Soon was fast asleep,
When they woke 'twas broad daylight,
Lord Daniel's standing at their feet, feet,
Lord Daniel's standing at their feet.
"How do you like my pillow, sir,
How do you like my sheet?
How do you like my pretty fair miss,
That lies in your arms and sleeps, sleeps,
That lies in your arms and sleeps."
"Very well I do like your pillow, sir,
Very well I do like your sheet,
Much better do I like this pretty fair miss,
That lies in my arms and sleeps, sleeps,
That lies in my arms and sleeps."
"Get up from there, little Mathie Grove,
And put you on some clothes,
I never wished it to be said,
A naked man I slew, slew,
A naked man I slew.
Give me a chance, oh give me a chance,
Give me a chance for my life,
There you have two swords by your side,
And me not as much as a knife, knife,
And me not as much as a knife.
True, I have two swords at my side,
They cost me deep in my purse,
I will give you the best of them,
And I will take the worst, worst,
And I will take the worst.
You may take the very first lick,
Use it like a man,
I will take the very next lick,
I'll kill you if I can, can,
I'll kill you if I can.
Little Mathie struck the very firs lick,
It made him terrible sore,
Lord Daniel struck the very next lick,
He killed little Mathie on the floor, floor,
He killed little Mathie on the floor.
He took his lady by the hand,
He led her in the hall;
He snapped a pistol in her breast,
She fell by a special ball, ball.
She fell by a special ball.
'Go dig my grave on yonders hill,
Dig it wide and deep;
Bury Little Mathie Grove in my arms.
Lord Daniels at my feet.'
1. In MS: "a pretty fair miss"
2. This is confusing in the MS and reads "do you know" instead of "I know" it could also read "do you know by the ring you wear, That (I know) you're Lord Daniel's wife."
3. Originally "she"
4. originally "live"
E. 'Lord Daniel's Wife.' Sung by Mrs. J. Church. Recorded at Heaton, Avery county, July 30, 1939. [This is labeled stanza 2, but is the first stanza of the MS]
For melodic relationship cf. **SharpK i 164, No. 23C. Scale: Pentachordal, plagal. Tonal Center: f. Structure: abcdd1 (2,2,2,2,2).