[Fair Andrew] Lord Randal- Mendall (Maine) 1924 (late 1800s)
[My title. From: The Ballad of Lord Randal; The Journal of American Folklore, Vol. 39, No. 151 (Jan. - Mar., 1926), pp. 81-82. Stanzas are sub-divided making 8 lines instead of 4.
R. Matteson 2011, 2014]
THE BALLAD OF LORD RANDAL. The version of Lord Randal (Child, No. 12) given below, which differs markedly from the usual New England form of the ballad (known as "Tiranti, my Son"), was collected at East Northport, Waldo County, Maine, in 1924, by Mr. Bartlett J. Whiting. The first two stanzas were recited by M. B. Whiting, and the entire ballad was sung by M. D. Mendall. Both heard it sung by Enos Benner, born in Waldoboro, Maine, of Dutch parentage, about 1826, died about 1900. This was apparently his only ballad, and the verses preserved are believed to be all he knew of it.
Where have you been a-walking,
Fair Andrew, my son,
Where have you been a-walking,
My own pretty one?
Down by the green meadow,
Mother make my bed soon,
For I'm poison-ed to the very heart,
And I fain would lie down.
What have you been a-eating,
Fair Andrew, my son,
What have you been a-eating,
My own pretty one?
Fried eels and eels' broth,
Mother make my bed soon,
For I'm poison-ed to the very heart,
And I fain would lie down.
What will you will your father,
Fair Andrew, my son,
What will you will your father,
My own pretty one?
My oxen and cart,
Mother make my bed soon,
For I'm poison-ed to the very heart,
And I fain would lie down.
What will you will your truelove,
Fair Andrew, my son,
What will you will your truelove,
My own pretty one?
Hell and damnation,
Mother make my bed soon,
For I'm poison-ed to the very heart,
And I fain would lie down.