Randal, My Son- (KY) pre1919 JAF Shearin
[From 'Lord Randal' in America by Hubert G. Shearin; The Modern Language Review, Vol. 14, No. 2 (Apr., 1919), pp. 211-214. An excerpt of his article follows. He gives the complete text to one of 4 versions.
This probably is the version refered to in Shearin and Combs; A Syllabus of Kentucky Folk Songs- 1911. The title is "The Rope and the Gallows."
Cf. "Randal My Son," McGill from the same area in KY in 1914.
R. Matteson 2014]
In close keeping with all this conservative and conserving spirit stands the Cumberland Mountain version of' Lord Randal.' Coming from Knott County, in the sequestered eastern portion of the State, it exemplifies well the power of a ballad to resist environment, to persist in its original form, unchanged by topical surroundings. It runs:
'Where have you been rambling?', it's Randal, my son; '
Where have you been rambling, my pretty and sweet one?'
'I've been a-courting; mother, fix my bed soon;
I am sick at my stomach and fain would lie down.'
'What did you eat for your supper?', it's Randal, my son;
'What did you eat for your supper, my pretty and sweet one?'
'Fried eels (eggs) and fresh butter; mother, fix my bed soon;
I am sick at my stomach and fain would lie down.'
'What do you will to your brother, Lord Randal, my son;
What do you will to your brother, my pretty and sweet one ?'
'A fine horse and saddle; mother, fix my bed soon;
I am sick at my stomach and fain would lie down.'
'What do you will to your sister, Lord Randal, my son;
What do you will to your sister, my pretty and sweet one?'
'A fine chest of money; mother, fix my bed soon;
I am sick at my stomach and fain would lie down.'
'What do you will to your mother, Lord Randal, my son;
What do you will to your mother, my pretty and sweet one?'
'My house and my land; mother, fix my bed soon;
I am sick at my stomach and fain would lie down.'
'What do you will to your father, Lord Randal, my son;
What do you will to your father, my pretty and sweet one?'
'A dead son to bury; mother, fix my bed soon;
I am sick at my stomach and fain would lie down.'
'What do you will to your sweetheart, Lord Randal, my son;
What do you will to your sweetheart, my pretty and sweet one?'
'A rope and a gallows; mother, fix my bed soon;
I am sick at my stomach and fain would lie down.