Lord Donald- (US Scotch Variant) 1900 Newell D
[From: Early American Ballads- II, by William Wells Newell; The Journal of American Folklore, Vol. 13, No. 49 (Apr. - Jun., 1900), pp. 105-122. Newell's notes follow.
R. Matteson 2014]
LORD RANDAL
The song of this name (Child, No. I2), like the history of the Merrick youth, deals with a death caused by the venom of a serpent. In this case, however, the hero is destroyed by the agency of his "true love" or betrothed bride, who administers the poison. The ballad is of wide diffusion through Europe, and is connected with a class of similar histories, including the celebrated Italian ballad of "Bella Lombarda," which, with no very good reason, has been supposed to owe its origin to the story of the Lombard queen Rosemunda of the sixth century. This English ballad has become popular in a nursery song, very familiar in this country. A number of American variants are given by Child, to which may be added the following: -
D. LORD DONALD- With these versions may be compared a Scotch variant, obtained in America, but the history of which I am not now able to explain:
"O, whar hae ye been a' day, Lord Donald, my son?
O whar hae ye been a' day, my jollie young man?"
"I 've been awa' courtin', mither, mak' my bed sune,
For I'm sick at the heart, and I fain wad lie down."
"What did ye get for your supper, Lord Donald, my son?
What did ye get for your supper, my jollie young man ?"
"A dish o' sma fishes, mither, mak' my bed sune,
For I 'm sick at the heart, and fain wad lie down."
"O, I fear ye are poisoned, Lord Donald, my son,
O, I fear ye are poisoned, my jollie young man."
"O yas, I am poisoned, mither, mak' my bed sune,
For I 'm sick at the heart, and I fain wad lie down."
"What will ye leave to your true-love, Lord Donald, my son?
What will ye leave to your true-love, my jollie young man?"
"A tow and the halter, for to hang on yon tree,
And lat her hang there for the poisoning o' me."
The many versions of the ballad offer an interesting example of variations in a song which must of necessity have had origin in the mind of a single English reciter, who doubtless gave it form as the translation of some version of the Continental ballad. The introduction of fishes instead of serpents. as the means of poisoning, goes back to the European ballad.