My Dear Little One- Thrush (Ohio) 1900 Newell B
From: Early American Ballads- II
by William Wells Newell
The Journal of American Folklore, Vol. 13, No. 49 (Apr. - Jun., 1900), pp. 105-122
LORD RANDAL
The song of this name (Child, No. I2), like the history of the Merrick youth, deals with a death caused by the venom of a serpent. In this case, however, the hero is destroyed by the agency of his "true love" or betrothed bride, who administers the poison. The ballad is of wide diffusion through Europe, and is connected with a class of similar histories, including the celebrated Italian ballad of "Bella Lombarda," which, with no very good reason, has been supposed to owe its origin to the story of the Lombard queen Rosemunda of the sixth century. This English ballad has become popular in a nursery song, very familiar in this country. A number of American variants are given by Child, to which may be added the following: -
B. MY DEAR LITTLE ONE (no title given) Related to Mrs. Bergen by Mrs. Amanda M. Thrush, now of Plymouth, Ohio, as heard in her girlhood in northern New York.
"O, where have you been, my dear little one?
0, where have you been, my dear little son?"
"To visit my grandma, mother, make my bed soon,
For I 'm sick to my heart, and I fain would lie down."
"What did you have for supper," etc.
"Speckled eels and fresh butter," etc.
"What will you will to your brother," etc.
"Coat, jacket, and trousers,"
"What will you will to your father?" etc.
"Horse, saddle, and bridle," etc.
"What will you will to your grandmother, my dear little one ?
What will you will to your grandmother, my dear little son ?"
"The torments eternal; mother, make my bed soon,
For I'm sick to my heart, and fain would lie down."