Miss Mary's Parrot- Sprouse (VA) 1915 Davis H
[Title possibly supplied by Fauntleroy; from Davis, Traditional Ballads of Virginia; 1929. His notes follow. A second collection with a recording was made in 1932 and appears in More Traditional Ballads" also edited by Davis. This second version will appear at the end.
R. Matteson 2014]
LADY ISABEL AND THE ELF-KNIGHT
(CHILD, NO.4)
THIS ballad is one of the few most frequently found in Virginia, where variously known as "Pretty Polly," "The Seven King's Daughters," "King's Daughter," "The Pretty Gold Leaf," "The Salt Water Sea," "Miss Mary's Parrot," and under several other titles. Its polyonymity is almost equal to its ubiquity - twenty-eight variants under sixteen different titles. In Virginia it does not, however, when compared with" Barbara Allen," "The House Carpenter" and several others quite live up to its reputation of having obtained the widest circulation of all ballads. Child's remarkable introduction to this ballad discusses at some length its extraordinary currency in the southern as well as the northern nations of Europe. Space is also given to a consideration of the hypothesis that the ballad is a wild shoot from the story of Judith and Holofernes, with Holofernes the original of the Elf-Knight. Child concludes; "It is a supposition attended with less difficulty that an independent European tradition existed of a half-human, half-demonic being, who possessed an irresistible power of decoying away young maids, and was wont to kill them after he got them into his hands, but who at last found one who was more than his match, and lost his own life through her craft and courage. A modification of this story is afforded by the large class of Bluebeard tales."
All the Virginia texts correspond much more closely with the Child series C-G (and Sargent and Kittredge H) than to A and B. Warning might perhaps be given of the confusion of Pollies in most of the Virginia texts. The girl and the parrot have the same name and are not always immediately distinguishable.
For American findings of this ballad see Barry, No. 4; Belden, No. 1 (fragment); Brown, p. 9 (North Carolina); Bulletin, Nos. 2-4, 6-12; Campbell and Sharp, No. 2 (Massachusetts, North Carolina, Kentucky, Georgia); Child, III, 496 (Virginia, from The Folk-Lore Journal, VII, p. 28); Cox, No. I and p. 521 (fragment and melody); Hudson, No. I (Mississippi); Jones, p. 301 (fragment); Journal, XVIII, 132 (Barry, Massachusetts, text and melody); XIX, 232 (Belden, Missouri); XXII, 65 (Beatty, Wisconsin), 76 (Barry, New Jersey, melody only), 374 (Barry, Massachusetts, text and melody, Missouri), 344 (Barry, Massachusetts); XXVII, 90 (Gardner, Michigan); XXVIII, 148 (Perrow, North Carolina); XXXV, 338 (Tolman and Eddy, Ohio); Mackenzie, Ballads, No. I, and p. 391 (melody); Sandburg, P: 60 (R. W. Gordon Collection); Scarborough, p. 43 (Texas, text and melody); Shearin, p. 3; Shearin and Combs, p. 7; Reed Smith, No. I; Reed Smith, Ballads, No. I; Wyman and Brockway, p. 82. For additional references, see Cox, p. 3; Journal, XXIX.
H. "Miss Mary's Parrot." Sent in by Miss Juliet Fauntleroy. Sung by Mrs. James Sprouse (nee Pibble), of Lawyers, Va. Campbell County. March 20, 1915.
1 "Go bring me a portion of your father's gold
And some of your mother's fee,
And bring your father's choice horse
That stands on sixty-three."
2 So she brought him a portion of her father's gold
And some of her mother's fee,
And she brought him her father's choice horse
That stands on sixty-three.
3 So he mounted upon the milk-white steed,
And she on the iron gray;
And they arrived at the salt sea side,
'T was the length of a long summer day.
4 "I will light you down, Miss Mary dear,"
Was the words he said to me.
"I have drownded six of the King's daughters here,
And the seventh one you shall be.
5 "Take off your robe of silk, Miss Mary,
That's pinned with the golden pin;
It cost your father too much money
To drownd your body in."
6 "Turn your back to the broad sea side,
Your face to the leaves on the tree;
She picked him up in her lily-white arms,
And plunged him into the sea.
7 "Hand down your hand to me, Miss Mary,
Hand down it bitterly,
And the promise I made to you last night,
I'll double it over to thee."
8 "Is this what you promised me, my love,
Is this what you promised me?
You promised to carry me to old Scotland
And there you'd marry me.
9 "Now you lie there, you false-hearted wretch,
Lie there in the place of me.
'Twas never intended for no such vilyun
To drown such a lady as me."
10 "You know the promise you made me,
On yonder greenwood- side;
You promised you would marry me,
And make me a truthful bride."
11 "If ever I made sich a promise as that
It's more'n I intend to do;
For I'd hate to promise a man such a promise as that,
As easy found out as you."
12 So she mounted upon that milk-white steed,
And led the iron gray:
And she arrived at her father's gate,
One hour before 'twas day.
13 Out stepped Miss Mary's pretty little parrot,
Out of his cage of ivory;
"What makes you ride so soon, Miss Mary,
What makes you ride 'fore day."
14 "Shet your mouth, you pretty little parrot,
And tell no tales on me,
And I'll make your cage of the purest gold
Than those of ivory."
15. Out stepped Miss Mary's wretched old father,
Come walking out of his room;
"What's the matter with you my pretty little parrot,
What makes You talk so soon?"
16 "Those cats they are now at my window,
And wishing to weary me,
And I have called on Miss Mary,
For to drive those cats away."
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BB "Miss Mary's Parrot." Phonograph record (aluminum) made by A. K. Davis, Jr. sung by Mrs. Kit Williamson, of Yellow Branch, Va. Campbell County. August 4, 1932. Text transcribed by P. C. Worthington. Tune noted by Winston Wilkinson. This text is actualiy a later variant of TBVa H collected from Mrs. Williamson (then Mrs. Sprouse). The recorded text has disclosed a
refrain. The tune is very similar to that given for version D (TBVa, p. 550), but it is even closer to the Sharp and Karpeles series A, B, D, and G (I, 5-12). It is here transcribed from the record, with variants, and can be verified.
1 "Go bring me a portion of your father's gold,
And some of your mother's fee,
And bring me your father's choice horse,
That stands on sixty-three, my love,
That stands on sixty-three."
2 She brought him a portion of her father's gold,
And some of her mother's fee,
She brought him her father's choice horse,
That stands on sixty-three, my love,
That stands on sixty-three.
3 So he mounted upon the milk-white steed,
She on her iron gray,
And they arrived at the salt sea side,
At the length of a long summer's day, my love,
At the length of a long summer's day.
4 "I would like you down, Miss Mary, dear,"
Was the words he said to me,
"I've drownded six of the king's daughters here,
And the seventh one you shall be, my love,
And the seventh one You shall be.
5 "Take off your robe of silk, Miss Mary,
It's pinned with a golden pin,
It cost your father too much money,
For to drownd your body in, my love,
For to drownd your body in."
6 "So it's turn your back to the broad sea side,
Your face to the leaves on the trees,"
She picked him up in her lily-white arms,
And plunged him in the deep sea, my love,
And plunged him in the deep sea.
7 "Hand down your hand to me, Miss Mary,
Hand down it bitterly,
That promise I made to you last night,
I'll double it over," says he, "My love,
I'11 double it over," says he.
8 "Is this what you promised me, my love ?
Is this what you promised me?
You promised to carry me to Old Scotland,
And thar you'd marry me, my love,
And thar you'd marry me."
9 "Now lie there, you false-hearted wretch,
Lie there in the place of me,
'Twas never intended for no such a villian,
To drownd such a lady as me, my love,
To drownd such a lady as me.
10 "You know the Promise You made me,
On yonders greenwood side,
You promised that You'd marry me,
And make me a truthful bride, true love,
And make me a truthful bride."
11 "If ever I made such a promise as that,
It's more'n I intend to do,
I never promised man such a thing as that,
As easy found out as you, my love,
As easy found out as you."
12 So she mounted up on that milk-white steed,
And led the iron gray,
And she arrived at her father's gate,
One hour before it was day, my love,
One hour before it was day.[1]
13 Out stepped Miss Mary's pretty little parrot,
In his cage of ivory,
"What makes you ride so soon, Miss Mary?
What makes you ride 'fore day, my love?
What makes you ride 'fore day?"
14 "Oh hush your mouth you pretty little parrot,
Tell no tales on me,
I'll make you a cage of the purest gold,
And doors of ivory, my love,
And doors of ivory."
15 Out stepped Miss Mary's wretched old father,
Come walking out o' his room,
"What's the matter with you, my pretty little parrot,
What makes you talk so soon, my love?
What makes you talk so soon?"
16 "Those cats they are now at my window,
Wishing to weary[2] me,
And I have called on Miss Mary,
For to drive those cats away, my love,
For to drive those cats away."
1. On the recording the singer intrudes this stanza after stanza 8 and then repeats it here.
2. Cf. "worry" of AA 14.