Lord Thomas- Miller (WV) 1916 Cox F
[From Folk-Songs of the South- Cox, 1925; His extensive notes follow.
R. Matteson 2012, 2014]
10. LORD THOMAS AND FAIR ANNET (Child, No. 73)
Eleven variants have been recovered under the following titles: "The Brown Girl," "Fair Ellender and the Brown Girl" "Fair Ellender," "Fair Ellenger," "Lord Thomas," "Lord Thomas and Fair Eleanor," and "Lord Thomas and Fair Ellender" (cf. Cox, XIV, 120). All of these variants belong to the same version, and nine of them tell a complete story. D and H begin with a description of Lord Thomas. In the other variants the story begins by the hero's asking his mother to solve the riddle as to whether he shall marry Fair Eleanor or bring the brown girl home. Since the brown girl has house and lot (land) and Fair Eleanor has none, she advises him to marry the brown girl. Thereupon he dresses himself up in state, takes his merry men with him, rides to Fair Eleanor's hall, and invites her to his wedding on the morrow. She says that is very bad news to her for she expected to be his bride. Later she asks her mother to solve the riddle as to whether she shall go to Lord Thomas's wedding or stay at home. Her mother advises her to stay at home since she will have few friends at the wedding and many enemies, but she is determined to go. Thereupon she arrays herself in her finery, takes her merry maids with her, and rides to Lord Thomas's hall. In answer to her knocking, Lord Thomas himself lets her in, leads her into the hall, and chooses for her the highest seat. Fair Eleanor twits him with having married such a brown wife, whereupon the brown girl stabs her with a penknife between the short ribs and the long. Lord Thomas asks why she looks so pale and she suggests that he must be blind not to observe her heart's blood trickling down to her knee. With a little hand-sword Lord Thomas cuts off the head of the brown girl, kicks it against the wall, and then slays himself with the same sword. Before he dies, he requests that Fair Eleanor be buried in his arms and the brown girl at his feet.
The West Virginia variants are closely related to group D of Child, as is shown by many striking incidents in common, such as the meeting and quick parting of the lovers; Lord Henry loves the little finger of Fair Eleanor better than he does the whole body of the brown girl; Lord Thomas dressed in green and taken for a king; Lord Thomas dressed in black (the rhyme requires the word white) and taken for a knight ; Fair Eleanor taken for a queen; Fair Eleanor seated in the noblest chair, or chair of gold, or given the highest seat; the well in the yard of Fair Ellen's father.
For American texts see Child, in, 509 (Virginia; from Babcock, Folk-Lore Journal, VII, 33) Journal, XVIII 128 Barry: Vermont, Massachusetts by way of New Jersey) XIX 235, Belden; Missouri, Arkansas); xx, 254 (Pettit; Kentucky); XXVII, 71 (Barry; tune only); XXVIII 152 (Perrow; North Carolina); XXIX, 159 (Tolman; Pennsylvania by way of Kansas; texts reported from Virginia and Indiana); McGill, p. 26 (Kentucky); Focus, 111, 204, and IV, 162 (Virginia); Shoemaker, p. 138 (Pennsylvania); Campbell and Sharp, No. 16 (North Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Virginia, Massachusetts); Pound, No. 12 (Maryland by way of Nebraska); Mackenzie, p. 97 (Nova Scotia); Means, Outlook, September 9, 1899, LXIII, 120; Berea Quarterly, April, 1905, IX, No. 3, p. 10; October, 1910, XIV, No. 3, p. 27; October, 1915, XVIII, No. 4, p. 14; Child MSS., XXIII, article 73; Wyman MS., No. 9 (Kentucky); Minish MS. (North Carolina); The Forget-Me-Not Songster (New York, Nails & Cornish), p. 236. See also Belden, No. 4; Shearin and Combs, p. 8; Pound, p. n; F. C. Brown, p. 9; Bulletin, Nos. 2, 3, 5-10; Campbell, The Survey, New York, January 2, 1915, XXXIII, 374; Reed Smith, Journal, XXVII, 62; XXIII, 200.
F. "Lord Thomas." Communicated by Mr. J. Harrison Miller, Wardensville, Hardy County, June 24, 1916; obtained from his mother, who learned it from her mother, Mrs. Lucinda Ellis, who learned it from her grandmother, Mrs. Strawnsnider. Mr. Miller thinks the ballad has been known in the family for about two hundred years.
1 "O mother, O mother, come tell unto me,
And tell the story true:
Whether I shall bring Fair Ellen dear home,
Or bring the brown girl home, home, home,
Or bring the brown girl home."
2. . . . . .
. . . . .
"I charge you with all my heart, my dear,
To bring the brown girl home, home, home,
To bring the brown girl home.
3. "The brown girl she has houses and land,
Fair Ellen dear has none;
I '11 charge you with all my heart, my dear,
To bring the brown girl home, home, home,
To bring the brown girl home."
4 Lord Thomas he mounted his milk-white steed
And went to invite Fair Ellen dear home,
Home on his wedding day, day, day,
Home on his wedding day.
5 He rode till he came to Fair Ellen's hall,
And then he rang the bell;
There were none so ready to let him in
As Fair Ellen dear was, was, was,
As Fair Ellen dear was.
6 "O what is the matter, my dear?"
"I've come to invite you home this day,
Home on my wedding day, day, day,
Home on my wedding day."
7 "O mother, O mother, come tell unto me,
And tell me the story true:
Whether I shall go to Lord Thomas's wedding,
Or stay at home with you, you, you,
Or stay at home with you."
8. . . . .
. . . . .
"I'll charge you with all my heart, my dear,
To Lord Thomas's wedding don't go, don't go,
To Lord Thomas's wedding don't go."
9 She dressed herself in scarlet red,
Her maidens all in green;
And every city that she passed through,
They took her to be some queen, queen, queen,
They took her to be some queen.
10 She rode till she came to Lord Thomas's hall,
And then she rang the bell,
There was none so ready to let her in
As Lord Thomas dear was, was, was,
As Lord Thomas dear was.
11 He took her by the lily-white hand
And led her through the hall.
And set her down at the head of the table
Among his nobles all, all, all,
Among his nobles all.
12 "Is this your bride, Lord Thomas?" she replied,
"I am sure she is wondrous brown;
You could once have married as fair a young lady
As ever the sun shone on, on, on,
As ever the sun shone on."
13 "O don't despise her for me,
For I think more of your little finger
Than I do of her whole bodie-ie-ie,
Than I do of her whole bodie."
14 The brown girl had a little penknife in her pocket,
It was both keen and sharp;
Between the short ribs and the lungs
She wounded Fair Ellen's dear heart, heart, heart,
She wounded Fair Ellen's dear heart.
15 "O what is the matter, my dear?"
"O don't you see my very heart's blood
Come trickling over my knee, knee, knee,
Come trickling over my knee? "
16 Lord Thomas he drew his two-edged sword
And cut off the brown girl's head,
And kicked it against the wall, wall, wall,
And kicked it against the wall,
17 Saying, "O bury Fair Ellen at my side,
And the brown girl at my feet, feet, feet,
And the brown girl at my feet."