Molly Bond- Rita Emerson (WV) 1969 Bush A
[From Michael E. Bush's Folksongs of Central West Virginia (Ripley, W. Va.: The Author, 1969).
This version was covered by Peggy Seeger on Bring Me Home, released January 22, 2008. Notes by Null on Seeger's version are found at the bottom of this page along with Seeger's text which is considerably different for Bush's.
R. Matteson 2016]
MOLLY BOND- as sung by Rita Emerson of Cox's Mill in Gilmer County, 1969.
If every girl in London City was placed in a row
Molly Bond she would glitter like a mountain of snow.
She was going to her uncle's when a shower came on,
She sat down under a green tree, the shower to shun.
Her lover was hunting, a-hunting for swan
In the forest near the green tree when the shower came on.
He went on a-hunting, a-hunting in the dark
He shot his true love O he missed not his mark.
Then he ran to his father and threw down his bow
Sayin', "Father, dear father, I have shot Molly Bond."
"With her apron drawn around her I took her for a swan.
But alas, O alas, O, it was my Molly Bond."
"I shot the sweet damsel, the joy of my life,
For I had intended to make her my life."
Then said Jimmy's father, his hair hangin' grey.
"Stay in this country, don't run away."
"Stay until the day of your trial come on
You shall not be punished for shooting Molly Bond."
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Molly Bond (Peggy Seeger's version)
NOTE BY ELISABETH HIGGINS NULL:
Peggy learned this ballad, in which a hunter shoots his sweetheart for a swan, or occasionally a deer, from Michael E. Bush's Folksongs of Central West Virginia (Ripley, W. Va.: The Author, 1969). Bush collected it from Rita Emerson of Cox's Mill in Gilmer County. It is found widely throughout North America. Ireland, and England, and infrequently in Scotland. In many of the versions, a ghost of "Molly Bawn" or "Polly Vaughan" appears at a trial and exonerates her lover. Some think the victim, in archaic versions of the ballad, may be one of those swan maidens found in Celtic, Scandinavian, or Russian mythology, but the ballad's first appearance in print is relatively late: Robert Jamieson's Popular Ballads and Songs (Edinburgh:1799).
Jennifer J O'Connor's article, The Irish Origins and Variations of the Ballad 'Molly Brown' " (Canadian Journal for Traditional Music, 1986), says the Irish folklorist Hugh Shields posited that a factual incident in a part of Ireland once known as Kilwarlin (north-west of County Down) may have given rise to the ballad. He based this assumption on an examination of area surnames and place names. On the other hand, O'Connor suggests the ballad originated in seventeenth century Ireland. In doing so, she looks at a few traditional legal ramifications of such a killing:
According to early Irish law, crimes were not committed against the state, but against the individual; therefore, the penalty always took the form of a fine to be paid to the family injured. Homicide or bodily injury was atoned for by a fine called "eric," which was determined by a "brehon" (judge). The criminal's family was responsible for the eric if he did not pay; moreover if they chose not to pay, they were required to hand him over to the victim's family who would then kill him, use him or sell him as a slave.
In Peggy's version the male lover's father assures his son that he will not be punished at the trial, suggesting that the family will assume responsibility for his accident. The exotic elements: "swan," "mountain of snow," add a trace of supernatural myth, but the haunting impact of Peggy's version comes primarily from an eerie tune.
MOLLY BOND- as sung by Peggy Seeger
If all the girls in London City was placed in a row
Molly Bond she would glitter like the moon[1] in the snow.
She was going to her uncle's when the shower come on.
She sat down under a green tree till the shower pass on.
Her lover was a hunting, a-hunting for swan
In the forest near the green tree when the shower come on.
He went on a-hunting, a-hunting in the dark
And he shot his own true love and he missed not his mark.
With her apron wrapped around her he took her for a swan.
But alas, for all sorrow, he shot Molly Bond.
Then he ran to his father and threw down his bow
Father, dear father, I've shot my dear girl.
With her apron wrapped [gathered] round her I took her for a swan
But alas, for all sorrow, I've shot Molly Bond.
Down came his father, his hair hangin' grey.
Jimmy, dear Jimmy, don't you run away.
Stay in this county till your trial come on
They never would hang you for shooting of a swan.
If all the girls in London City was placed in a row
Molly Bond she would glitter like the moon[1] in the snow.
1. like a mountain of snow.