Lord William- Crawford (Virginia) 1915; Davis D
[From Traditional Ballads of Virginia Davis, 1929. Davis' notes follow. About a dozen versions were collected by Sharp, Davis and Foss in the Shenandoah region. This version by Mrs. Crawford was recorded again in 1932 and appears as version DD in Davis's More Traditional Ballads, 1960. See that version at the bottom of the page. Noticeable differences appear in stanza 7, for example, but even in time she didn't get the rhyme.
R. Matteson 2011, 2014]
EARL BRAND (CHILD, NO.7)
INSTEAD of the title "Earl Brand" or "The Douglas Tragedy," this ballad is known in Virginia as "The Seven Brothers," "The Seven Sleepers," "The Seven King's Sons," or "Lord William." All the Virginia variants seem to follow Sir Walter Scott's version, "The Douglas Tragedy" (Child B), more closely than any other. But they all lack the last three stanzas of Child B, about the plants springing from the graves of the dead lovers and intertwining above as a symbol that love has transcended death. This "rose-and-briar" ending is reserved in Virginia for "Lord Thomas and Fair Annet," "Fair Margaret and Sweet William," "Lord Lovel," and" Barbara Allen." The mathematical restraint of the usual Virginia ending,
Eleven lives lost for one,
recalls the concluding stanza of Child A,
This has not been the death o' ane,
But it's been that of fair seventeen.
But otherwise the kinship with Child B is much closer, though several of its stanzas are not found in the Virginia variants. The longest Virginia text shows twelve stanzas; Child B has twenty, or seventeen without the rose-and-briar ending.
Not as a version, but as an appendix to the ballad, is given an interesting modern piece retelling the story of "Earl Brand." It, too, comes from oral tradition in the Virginia mountains. [See 7A. The Lady and the Dragoon better known as the "Bold Soldier"]
Sir Walter Scott is authority for attaching the events of this ballad to a definite place. "The ballad of the 'Douglas Tragedy,'" he says, "is one of the few to which popular tradition has ascribed complete locality. The farm of Blackhouse, in Selkirkshire, is said to have been the scene of this melancholy event. There are the remains of a very ancient tower, adjacent to the farm-house, in a wild and solitary glen, upon a torrent named Douglas burn, which joins the Yarrow after passing a craggy rock called the Douglas craig. . . . From this ancient tower Lady Margaret is said to have been carried by her lover. Seven large stones, erected upon the neighboring heights of Blackhouse, are shown, as marking the spot where the seven brethren were slain; and the Douglas burn is averred to have been the stream at which the lovers stopped to drink so minute is tradition in ascertaining the scene of a tragical style, whlch, considering the rude state of former times, had probably foundation in some real event. See Child, I, 99.
For American texts, see Brown, p. 9 (North Carolina); Bulletin, Nos. 2, 4-6, 10; Campbell and Sharp No. 3 (North Carolina, Georgia); Cox, No.2; Hudson, No. 2 (Mississippi; Journal, XXVIII, 152 (Perrow, North Carolina); Mackenzie, p. 60; Mackenzie, Ballads; No.2; Shearin, p. 4; Shearin and Combs, P: 7. For additional references, see Cox, p. 18.
LORD WILLIAM (or SEVEN BROTHERS). Collected by Miss Juliet Fauntleroy, sung by Mr. and Mrs. James B. Crawford, near Altavista, va. Campbeil County. May 2, 1915. With music. "Mr. Crawford was born in Orange County, Va., and Mrs. Crawford in Albemarle County. Mr. Crawford says his mother used to sing many old ballads." (Miss Fauntleroy, letter of May 29, 1915).
1. Lord William he rose at about four o'clock,
And kissed his mother goodbye.
He drew his pistol all down by his side,
And he went singing away.
(One or more stanzas missing here.[1])
2. He mounted her upon his milk-white steed,
And him upon an iron gray,
He drew his sword and pistol down by his side,
And away they went a-riding away.
3. They rode, they rode, and better they rode,
Along with his lady so dear;
Until they met her seven brothers so bold,
And her father she loved so dear.
3. "Get you down get you down, Lady Margaret," said he,
And hold my horse for awhile;
That I may fight your seven brothers bold,
And your father that walks so nigh."
4. She held, she held, she better have had held,
And she never shedded a tear;
Until she saw her seven brothers fall,
And her father she loved so dear.
5. "Hold your hand, hold your hand Lord William," said she,
"Hold your hand, hold your hand for a while;
For you have slain my seven brothers bold,
And my father I loved so dear."
7. "You can choose, you can choose, Lady Margaret," said he,
"You can choose to go or to stay." [2]
"Oh, yes, Lord William, you know I will go,
For you've left me without any guide."
8. He mounted her upon his milk-white steed,
And him upon an iron gray,
He drew his sword and pistol down by his side,
And he went bleeding away.
9. He rode, he rode, he better had a-rode,
Along with his lady so gay;
He drew his sword and pistol down by his side,
And he went bleeding away.
10 "Oh mother, mother, go make my bed,
Go make it soft and wide,
That I may lie down for to rest a-while,
With my new bride by my side."
11 Lord William died before four o'clock,
Lady Margaret died before day;
The old lady died for the loss of her son,
And there were eleven lives lost.
Footnotes:
1. one missing stanza could be:
"Get ye up, get ye up, ye seven brothers bold,
Put on your armor so brave;
For it never shall be said that a daughter of mine,
Could stay with Lord William all night."
2. The weakness of this line is the lack of rhyme so "You can choose to go or to abide," is a better solution (see Barry A).
------------------
DD. "The Seven Brothers" or "Lord William." Phonograph record (aluminum) made by A. K. Davis, Jr. Sung by Mrs. J. B. Crawford, of Altavista, Va. Campbell County. August, 1932. Text transcribed by P. C. Worthington. Tune noted by Winston Wilkinson. "Good tune', (E. C. Mead). A comparison of the 1915 text and tune from the same source with the 1932 recording will reveal what has happened to the ballad during the seventeen-year interval. The new and more elaborate notation is now
verifiable. Cf. TBVa, pp. 552 and 91-91.
1 Lord William he rose about four o'clock,
And kissed his mother goodbye.
He drew his sword and pistol down by his side,
And he went singing away.
2 He mounted her upon a milk-white steed,
And him upon a iron gray,
He drew his sword and pistol down by his side,
And they went a-riding away.
3 He rode, he rode, he better had a-rode,
Along with his lady so gay,
Until he met her seven brothers bold,
And her father she loved so dear.
4 "Get you down, get you down, Lady Margret," says he,
"And hold my horse for a while;
That I may fight your seven brothers bold,
And you father she loves, loves so d€ear."
5 She held, she held, she better had a-held,
And she never shedded a tear,
Until she saw her seven brothers fall,
And the father she loved so dear.
6 "Hold your hand, hold your hand, Lord William," says she,
"Hold your hand, hold your hand, for a while,
For you have slain my seven brothers bold,
And the father I loved so dear."
7 "You can choose, you can choose, Lady Margret," says he,
"You can choose to go or to stay."
"Oh yes, Lord William, you know I will go,
For you've left me without my kind."
8 He mounted her upon the milk-white steed,
And him upon a iron gray,
He drew his sword and pistol down by his side,
And they went a-riding away.
9 He rode, he rode, he better had a-rode,
Along with his lady so gay,
For when he reached his own mother's house,
It was just four hours 'fore the day.
10 "O Mother, Mother' go make my bed,
Go make it soft and wide,
That I may lay down for to rest a while,
With my bride by my side."
11 Lord William died before four o'clock,
Lady Margret died 'fore day,
The old lady died for the loss of her son,
And there was eleven lives lost.