Recordings & Info 114. Johnie Cock
CONTENTS:
1) Alternative Titles
2) Traditional Ballad Index
3) Child Collection Index
4) Excerpt from The British Traditional Ballad in North America by Tristram Coffin 1950, from the section A Critical Biographical Study of the Traditional Ballads of North America
5) Wiki
ATTACHED PAGES: (see left hand column)
1) Roud No. 69: Johnie Cock (96 Listings)
Alternative Titles
Johnny Cock
Johnnie O Braidisley
Fair John and the Seven Foresters
Jock o' Brawdiesley
Johnnie o' Cocklesmuir
Johnnie Naughton
Traditional Ballad Index: Johnie Cock [Child 114]
DESCRIPTION: Johnie, despite his mother's advice, goes out to hunt the king's deer. He brings the deer down, but is betrayed by a passer-by. Seven foresters attack him; he kills all but one (and wounds that one), but is himself mortally wounded
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1780 (Percy)
KEYWORDS: hunting fight death
FOUND_IN: Britain(England(North),Scotland(Aber,Bord,High)) US(MA,SE) Ireland Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES: (18 citations)
Child 114, "Johnie Cock" (13 texts, 1 tune) {Bronson's #4}
Bronson 114, "Johnie Cock" (16 versions)
Dixon XVI, pp. 77-81, "Johnnie o' Cocklesmuir" (1 text)
Greig #33, p. 1, "Johnnie o' Braidiesley" (1 text)
GreigDuncan2 250, "Johnnie o' Braidisleys" (16 texts, 8 tunes) {A=Bronson's #9, B=#7, C=#8, D=#10, E (tune)=#11, F=#15, G=#6}
Ord, pp. 467-469, "Johnnie o' Cocklesmuir" (1 text)
Davis-Ballads 29, "Johnie Cock" (1 text)
Creighton/Senior, pp. 65-67, "Johnie Cock" (1 text)
Leach, pp. 324-332, "Johnie Cock" (4 texts)
Friedman, p. 233, "Johnie Cock" (2 texts)
OBB 136, "Johnnie of Cockerslee" (1 text)
PBB 174, "Johny Cock" (1 text)
Niles 41, "Johnie Cock" (1 text, 1 tune)
Gummere, pp. 123-126+328, "Johnie Cock" (1 text)
Hodgart, p. 108, "Johnie Cock" (1 text)
TBB 28, "Johnie Cock" (1 text)
Darling-NAS, pp. 83-86, "Johnie Cock" (1 text)
DT 114, BRAIDSLY
Roud #69
RECORDINGS:
John Strachan, "Johnie Cock" (on FSB5) {Bronson's #12}
ALTERNATE_TITLES:
Johnnie o' Braidesley
Fair John and the Seven Foresters
Jock o' Brawdiesley
Johnnie o' Cocklesmuir
Johnnie Naughton
NOTES: The motif of one man fighting and defeating seven adversaries is almost a commonplace (see "Earl Brand," Child #7, and "Erlinton," Child #8, as examples). But this one has an interesting parallel to the French Song of Roland (especially in Motherwell's long text, Child's F):
Like Roland, Johnie sets out freely, despite cautions; like Roland, he is defeated and mortally wounded but defeats his attackers, whose few survivors flee; like Roland, he sends a message of his need only when it is too late; like Roland, he is given great honor after his death.
I do not mean to imply literary dependence; I doubt there is any. The actual plots are extremely different. But there is that same feeling: Just as Roland, even when he does something really stupid, is so heroic about it that his enemies cannot touch him (Roland's actual cause of death was blowing his horn so hard that he bursts several blood vessels), so too Johnny -- the poatcher -- goes out against his mother's warning and fights off a vastly superior enemy, leaving all dead, wounded, or in flight. But he dies because he has fought too hard.
The flip side is, Johnny -- assuming he hunted in a royal forest, which is the obvious assumption here -- violates no fewer than three major provisions of the forest laws. (For this information, I am working from Charles R. Young, _The Royal Forests of Medieval England_, University of Pennsylvania Press, 1979):
1. He hunted the "dun deer." Forest law protected the red deer, fallow deer, roe deer, and boar (Young, p. 4).
2. He carried a bow in the forest, The use of bow and arrows was banned in the forest (Young, p. 28).
3. He hunted with dogs. Dogs were allowed in the forest only if they were "lawed" -- that is, had their foretoes clipped, which made it impossible for them to hunt deer (Young, p. 41).
Although Young does not cite an instance exactly parallel to this song, it is generally believable; according to Young, p. 81, "The routine work of protecting the forest and dealing with violators fell to these foresters, and the job could be dangerous when the violator of the forest law was an illegal hunter armed with bow and arrows for taking venison. Foresters were sometimes killed or wounded under these circumstances while attempting to make arrests."
What is more, after 1293 foresters were entitled to use deadly force against those put up armed resistance too them, and were not required to answer to royal justices for homicide (Young, p. 106). Thus the action of this song was legal, assuming Johnie resisted -- as it appears he did. On the other hand, it also sounds as if the foresters were not going to give him a chance to submit to arrest. And, with no witnesses, how could he protect himself except by fighting?
This might also explain the old man who betrays Johnny. One of the problems with the forest law was that a man who discovered a dead deer was often treated as its killer and punished. As Young points out on p. 107, this generated a "climate of fear." If the witness did not turn in Johnny, then he himself might become the victim. A difficult situation at best.
The number of foresters in this song seems high (Young, p. 84, notes that even in the large forest of Sherwood the local bailiwicks had at most "a riding forester, two foot foresters, and some boys"), but as Young notes on p. 83, "Some foresters found it profitable to burden their bailiwicks with an unnecessary number of subordinates who paid for the privilege and then attempted to collect additional money from their victims." Thus it may be that there is significant fault on both sides of this conflict: On the one hand, a poacher; on the other, a bunch of bounty hunters. - RBW
Child Collection Index: Child Ballad 114: Johnie Cock
Child #--- Artist--- Title--- Album--- Year-- Length--- Have Rec
114 Alastair McDonald Johnny O' Breadislea Tam Lin 197? 3:09 Yes
114 Alex Campbell Johnnie O Braidisley The James Madison Carpenter Collection 1927-1955 No
114 Alex Robb Johnnie O Braidisley The James Madison Carpenter Collection 1927-1955 No
114 Alexander Clark Johnnie O Braidisley The James Madison Carpenter Collection 1927-1955 No
114 Andrew Calhoun & Kat Eggleston Johnny O' Braidesley First Comes Love 1995 4:44 Yes
114 Annwn Johnny O' Braid's Lee Come Away to the Hills 1996 3:53 Yes
114 Bell Duncan Johnnie O Braidisley The James Madison Carpenter Collection 1927-1955 No
114 Brian Miller Johnnie O' Braidisleys Folk Songs of North East Scotland - Songs from the Greig Duncan Collection 1995 5:32 Yes
114 Campbell Road Johnny O' Braidislee Bare Bones 2002 No
114 Canterach Johnny O' Braidislea Canterach 2001 4:22 Yes
114 Crwydryn Fair John and the Seven Forresters The Wizard and the Elvenking 1991 3:29 Yes
114 Crwydryn Fair John and the Seven Foresters (new) Taliesin - The Emrys Atkinson Collection 2006 No
114 Crwydryn Fair John and the Seven Foresters (original) Taliesin - The Emrys Atkinson Collection 2006 No
114 Danny Spooner & Duncan Brown Johnny O' Breadislie The Fox, the Hare and the Poacher's Fate 2011 No
114 David Edwards Johnnie O Braidisley The James Madison Carpenter Collection 1927-1955 No
114 Duncan Williamson Johnny O Breadisley Jim Carroll & Pat Mackenzie Collection No
114 Duncan Williamson Johnny of Brady's Lea John Howson Collection 1970-1995 No
114 Ed Miller & Rich Brotherton Jock O' Braideslee Scottish Voice 1993 5:04 Yes
114 Elsie Miln Johnnie O Braidisley The James Madison Carpenter Collection 1927-1955 No
114 Ewan MacColl Johnnie O' Breadisley (Johnie Cock) The English and Scottish Popular Ballads (The Child Ballads) - Vol. 2 1956 4:02 Yes
114 Ewan MacColl Johnnie O' Breadisley (Johnie Cock) The English and Scottish Popular Ballads (Child Ballads) - Vol. 1 1961 4:11 Yes
114 Ewan MacColl Johnnie O' Breadisley (Johnie Cock) The English and Scottish Popular Ballads (The Child Ballads) - Vol. 3 [Reissue] 196? No
114 Ewan MacColl Johnny O' Breadiesley The Real MacColl 1993 4:12 Yes
114 Ewan MacColl Johnny O' Breadiesley Chorus from the Gallows 1999 4:12 Yes
114 Ewan MacColl Johnnie O' Breadisley (Johnie Cock) Ballads - Murder Intrigue Love Discord 2009 4:13 Yes
114 Hamish Imlach Jock O' Bredeslie More & Merrier 1995 5:13 Yes
114 Hamish Imlach Johnny O' Breadislee The Best of Scottish Folk 2002 No
114 Hamish Imlach Johnny O' Breadislee The Definitive Transatlantic Collection 1997 4:40 Yes
114 Hamish Imlach Johnny O' Breadislee Cod Liver Oil & Orange Juice - The Transatlantic Anthology 2006 4:41 Yes
114 Hamish Imlach Johnny O' Breadislee Hamish Imlach 1966 4:28 Yes
114 Hamish Imlach Johnny O' Breadislee The Great Scots Sampler, Vol. 1 1970 No
114 Hector Campbell Johnnie O Braidisley The James Madison Carpenter Collection 1927-1955 No
114 Henry Cheyne Johnnie O Braidisley The James Madison Carpenter Collection 1927-1955 No
114 Hilary James & Beryl Marriott Johnny O' Braidiesley Love, Lust and Loss - English, Scottish & Irish Folksongs 1996 4:56 Yes
114 Isla Johnny O' Braideslee Isla 1998 No
114 Jean Redpath Johnnie O' Braidiesley Frae My Ain Countrie 1973 4:30 Yes
114 Jeana Leslie & Siobhan Miller Johnnie O' Braidisley's Shadows Tall 2010 5:33 Yes
114 Jeannie Higgins (Robertson) Johnny the Brime (1) BBC Recordings No
114 Jeannie Higgins (Robertson) Johnny the Brime (2) BBC Recordings No
114 Jeannie Robertson Johnie Cock The Baffled Knight - The Classic Ballads 2 1976 No
114 Jeannie Robertson Johnny the Brine Scottish Ballads and Folk Songs - The World's Greatest Folksinger 1960 7:59 Yes
114 Jeannie Robertson Johnnie Cock (Johnnie O' Breadislee) The Voice of the People, Vol. 23: Good People, Take Warning - Ballads sung by British and Irish Traditional Singers 2012 No
114 Jock Duncan Johnnie O' Cocklesmeer Tae the Green Woods Gaen 2001 No
114 John David Vass Johnny Brody The James Madison Carpenter Collection 1927-1955 No
114 John Jacob Niles Fair John and the Seven Foresters The Ballads of John Jacob Niles 1960 2:42 Yes
114 John Riddoch Johnnie O Braidisley The James Madison Carpenter Collection 1927-1955 No
114 John Strachan Johnie Cock The Folk Songs of Britain, Vol 5: The Child Ballads 2 1961 1:33 Yes
114 John Strachan Johnnie Braideslea BBC Recordings No
114 John Strachan Johnnie O Braidislie 1951 Edinburgh People's Festival Ceilidh 2006 No
114 John Strachan Johnnie O Braidislie Songs from Aberdeenshire 2002 1:41 Yes
114 John Strachan Johnnie O Breadislie Glenlogie - The Classic Ballads 1975 No
114 John Strachan Johnny O' Braides-Lee Heather and Glen: Songs and Melodies of Highland and Lowland Scotland 1951 1:39 Yes
114 John Strachan Johnny O' Breadiesley Scottish Drinking and Pipe Songs 1984 1:39 Yes
114 John Strachan Johnnie O Braidisley The James Madison Carpenter Collection 1927-1955 No
114 JSD Band Johnny O' Braidislea JSD Band 1972 6:30 Yes
114 JSD Band Johnny O' Breadislea For the Record 1997 6:42 Yes
114 JSD Band Johnny O' Braidislea Live at the Paris Theatre, London, 1972 1972 7:03 Yes
114 June Tabor Johnny O' Bredislee No Good at Love - Germany 1998 1998 7:32 Yes
114 June Tabor Johnny O' Bredislee + Glory of the West Aleyn 1997 7:16 Yes
114 June Tabor Johnny O' Bredislee + Glory of the West Always 2005 7:03 Yes
114 Katherine Campbell Johnnie Brod The Songs of Amelia and Jane Harris - Scots Songs and Ballads from Perthshire Tradition 2004 4:27 Yes
114 Miss Walker Johnny O Braidisley The James Madison Carpenter Collection 1927-1955 No
114 Mrs Cameron Johnnie O Braidisley The James Madison Carpenter Collection 1927-1955 No
114 Mrs John David Vass Johnny O Braidisley The James Madison Carpenter Collection 1927-1955 No
114 Mrs Lyall Johnny O Braidislea (1) The James Madison Carpenter Collection 1927-1955 No
114 Mrs Lyall Johnny O Braidislea (2) The James Madison Carpenter Collection 1927-1955 No
114 Mrs William Duncan Johnny O Braidisley The James Madison Carpenter Collection 1927-1955 No
114 Oak, Ash & Thorn Johnny O' Braide's Lea Sowing Wild Oats & Out on a Limb 2003 No
114 Old Blind Dogs Johnny O' Braidislee Five 1997 4:45 Yes
114 Pete Shepheard Johnny O Graidie Hurrah Boys Hurrah - Old Songs & Bothy Ballads 2011 No
114 Planxty Johnny of Brady's Lea The Woman I Loved So Well 1980 6:32 Yes
114 Robert Taylor Johnnie O Braidisley The James Madison Carpenter Collection 1927-1955 No
114 Spay Side Singer Johnnie O' Braidisley The James Madison Carpenter Collection 1927-1955 No
114 Stanley Robertson Johnny O the Brine Travellers' Tales Vol 2 - Songs, Stories & Ballads from Scottish Travellers 2005 No
114 The Corrie Folk Trio & Paddie Bell Jock O' Braidislee The Corrie Folk Trio & Paddie Bell + The Promise of the Day 1965 3:35 Yes
114 The Corries Jock O' Braidislee The Silver Collection 1966-1991 1991 6:14 Yes
114 The Corries Jock O' Braidislee Barrett's Privateers 1987 6:13 Yes
114 The Corries Jock O' Braidislee The Ultimate Corries Collection 2012 No
114 The Hudson Swan Band Johnny O' Braidislea + Beyond the River Flyte of Fancy 1998 No
114 Unknown Female Singer Johnnie O Braidisley The James Madison Carpenter Collection 1927-1955 No
114 Unknown Female Singer Johnnie O' Braidisley The James Madison Carpenter Collection 1927-1955 No
114 Unknown Male Singer Johnnie O Braidisley The James Madison Carpenter Collection 1927-1955 No
114 Unknown Male Singer Johnny Brody The James Madison Carpenter Collection 1927-1955 No
114 Walker Johnny O Braidisley (1) The James Madison Carpenter Collection 1927-1955 No
114 Walker Johnny O Braidisley (2) The James Madison Carpenter Collection 1927-1955 No
114 William Duncan Johnny O Braidisley The James Madison Carpenter Collection 1927-1955 No
Excerpt from The British Traditional Ballad in North America
by Tristram Coffin 1950, from the section A Critical Biographical Study of the Traditional Ballads of North America
114. JOHNIE COCK
Texts: Davis, Trd Bid Fa, 385 / Fa FLS Bull, #8.
Local Titles: Johnny Cock.
Story Types: A: Johnny, against his mother's warnings, goes out to poach deer. He kills an animal and feasts himself and his dogs so freely that they all fall asleep. Foresters hear him blow his horn, and an old man directs them to the poacher. They attack Johnny. He kills six of them and throws the seventh, badly wounded, over a horse that he may carry the news of the
fight home. Johnny then sends a bird to Fair Eleanor asking that he be fetched back as he is wounded.
Examples: Davis.
Discussion: The American version is shorter than the Child texts, though similar to them. Minor American variations are the blast of the horn, Johnie's comments on the forester's attack, the manner in which the seventh forester is sent off, and the flight of the bird to Eleanor rather than to the mother. This text most resembles Child A or B with some traits of D and M, but it has a final stanza that seems to be the result of contact with Lord Thomas and Fair Annet. See Davis, Trd Bid Fa, 385 for a discussion of this and other points in connection with the song. He notes there that the text is incomplete and spotty, although the continuity has remained intact.
Johnie Cock: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Johnie Cock is Child ballad 114, existing in many variants. The Child Ballads were a collection of 305 ballads from England and Scotland, and their American variants, collected by Francis James Child in the late 19th century.
Synopsis
Johnie Cock is warned by his mother that he is in danger but nevertheless goes poaching and kills a deer. He feeds his dogs and sleeps in the woods. A man (sometimes a palmer, a medieval European pilgrim to the Holy Land) betrays him to foresters, who attack him while he sleeps. Johnie wakes. Either he or his nephew rebukes them for the attack, in most variants saying that even a wolf would not have attacked him like that. In most variants, he fights and kills all of his assailants but one, whom he wounds.
Usually, he dies of his wounds while still in the wood. In one variant, he is laid low, and the king sends him a pardon.
External links
Johnie Cock several variants