Proud Lady Margaret- a woman (VA) 1917
[From Traditional Ballads of Virginia; Davis, 1929. His notes follow.
R. Matteson 2012, 2014]
YOUNG HUNTING
(Child, No. 68)
THE hero, who is usually Lord Henry, returning from the hunt, is courteously invited in for the night by his mistress, who is usually Lady Margaret. Lord Henry refuses the invitation rather brusquely, saying that another lady whom he loves more than he loves her is awaiting him. As he leans over to kiss her good-bye, Lady Margaret wounds him sorely with a little pen-knife, In the conversation that ensues, he indicates that he really loves Lady Margaret. He dies, and Lady Margaret, sometimes with the help of her maids whom she offers to reward for silence, throws his body into a deep well. Her parrot speaks accusingly to her, and she tries to cajole the bird with promises, then threatens it, but to no avail. The wily parrot is not to be deterred, and presumably betrays her guilt.
Here the Virginia texts end, as does Child F. They do not go ahead, like Child A and other fuller versions of the ballad, to the coming of the king's duckers, their finding of the body by candle light after a hint from the bird, the lady's protestations of innocence and her attempt to throw the guilt on one of her maids, the trial by fire, which leaves the maid unscathed but consumes the guilty lady.
The names and title of Virginia A, " Lord Barnet and Fair Eleonder," seem to be borrowed partly from "Little Musgrave and Lady Barnard (Barnett)" (Child No. 81) and partly from "Lord Thomas and Fair Ellinor" (Child, No. 73). "Proud Lady Margaret," "Lord Henry," sometimes "Love Henry," and "sir Henry and Lady Margaret," are the titles more properly its own.
A point of special interest in these Virginia variants is their obvious contamination with stanzas from "Lady Isabel and the Elf-Knight" (Child, No. 4). Note the stanzas about the bird in all texts, and also stanza 8 of Virginia E. E has also many interesting verbal expressions. A, B, C, D are all excellent ballads, well preserved. The four tunes are also good, especially the strangely wild hunting tune of B.
For American texts, see Barry, No. 18; Bulletin, Nos. 5-7, 10 Campbell and Sharp, No. 15 (North Carolina, Georgia, Virginia); Cox, No. 9, Hudson, No. 9 (Mississippi); Journal XVIII, 295 (Barry, Vermont, melody only); XX, 252 (Kittredge, Kentucky); XXX, 297 (Kittredge, Kentucky, text and melody, Missouri, Indiana); Reed Smith, No. 4 (text and melody); Reed Smith, Ballads, No.4; Sandburg, p.64 (North Carolina); Sharp, Songs, I, No. 3 (Kentucky); Shearin, p. 3; Shearin and Combs, p. 8. For additional references, see Cox, p. 42; Journal, XXXI 297.Davis C
C. "Proud Lady Margaret." Collected by Miss Roxie Martin and Mr. J. M. McManaway. Sung by a woman of Blackwell's Hollow, Va. Albemarle County. June 1, 1917.
1 As Lady Margaret was going to bed
She heard a musical horn,
It made her heart feel glad and sad
To think it was her brother John
Returning from his ring.
But who should it be but her true love Hannaree
Coming in from his wild hunting.[1]
2. "Oh light! oh light, love Hannaree,
And stay all night with me
And you shall have the cheers of a cheery cold girl,
The best I can give thee."
3. "Oh, I will not light, I shall not light
And stay all night with thee.
For there is a girl in the merry green lea
I love far better than thee."
4. As he stooped over her soft pillow
To give her a kiss so sweet,
With a pen-knife in her right hand
She wounded him awful deep.
5. "Woe be! woe be! Lady Margaret," he cried,
"Woe be, woe be to thee!
For don't you see my own heart's blood
Come trickling down my knee?"
6. She called unto a maid of hers,
" Keep a secret, keep a secret for me,
And all of these fine robes on my body
Shall always belong to thee."
7. One took him by his long yellow hair,
And the other by his feet;
They threw him into a well of water
Which was so cold and deep.
8. "Lie there, lie there, love Hannaree,
Till the flesh rots off your bones,
And that pretty girl in the merry green lea
Will think long of your coming home."
9. Up spoke, up spoke a pretty little parrot
A-sitting on a willow tree:
"There never was a girl in narry green lea
He loved half as well as thee."
10 "Come down, come down, my pretty parrot,
And sit upon my knee,
And your cage shall be made of pure, pure gold,
Instead of a willow tree."
11 "I won't come, nor shan't come
And sit upon your knee;
For you have murdered your true love Hannaree
And sooner you'd kill me."
12 "If I had my arrow in my hand,
My bow on tuneful string,
I'd shoot a dart within your heart
So you could no longer sing."
13 "If you had your arrow in your hand,
Your bow on tuneful string,
I'd take flight and fly, fly away,
And tune my voice to sing."
1. For the irregularity of stanza 1, compare the Sharp variant following, Virginia D.