Recordings & Info 36. The Laily Worm and the Machrel of the Sea
[There are no known traditional US & Canadian texts. Reed Smith listed this ballad among the Child ballads surviving in America. Smith's text has not been found.]
CONTENTS
1) Alternative Titles
2) Traditional Ballad Index
3) Child Ballad Collection
4) Wiki
ATTACHED PAGES: (see left hand column)
1) Roud number 3968: (listings)
Alternative Titles
The Lailly Worm
Traditional Ballad Index: Laily Worm and the Machrel of the Sea, The [Child 36]
DESCRIPTION: The singer's mother died when he was seven, and his stepmother enchanted him into a "laily worm" and his sister into a "machrel." When their father learns the truth, he forces her to restore the children, then burns her
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1802/3 (Skene ms.)
KEYWORDS: family father children stepmother magic shape-changing rescue monster
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland)
REFERENCES (5 citations):
Child 36, "The Laily Worm and the Machrel of the Sea" (1 text)
OBB 14, "The Laily Worm and the Machrel of the Sea" (1 text)
PBB 20, "The Laily Worm and the Machrel of the Sea" (1 text)
DT 36, LAIDLEYW
ADDITIONAL: Bob Stewart, _Where Is Saint George? Pagan Imagery in English Folksong_, revised edition, Blandford, 1988, p. 127, "The Lailly Worm" (1 text)
Roud #3968
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Allison Gross" [Child 35] (theme)
NOTES: Child's text is badly and multiply defective, but the lack of materials makes restoration well-nigh impossible. Child's conjectures as to what is missing seem apt. - RBW
Child Ballad Collection- Child Ballad 036: The Laily Worm
Child --Artist --Title --Album --Year --Length --Have
036 Celtic Nots The Laidley Worm & the Mackerel of the Sea Not Music 1998 5:53 Yes
036 Craig, Morgan, Robson The Laily Worm Songs of Witchcraft & Magic - Songs & Ballads Compiled By the Museum of Witchcraft 2007 No
036 Craig, Morgan, Robson The Laily Worm Peppers & Tomatoes 2005 No
036 Det Syng! Mjukt Som I Gråt + Nattergalen Ballader På Vandring 1996 3:52 Yes
036 Folk & Rackare Näktergalen Rackbag 1985 4:08 Yes
036 Folk & Rackare Näktergalen Folk & Rackare 1976 - 1985 1996 4:08 Yes
036 Graham & Eileen Pratt Laily Worm Borders of the Ocean 1997 2:27 Yes
036 Helene Bøksle Nattergalen Elverhøy 2006 4:11 Yes
036 James Raynard The Loathsome Worm and the Mackerel of the Sea Strange Histories 2005 5:10 Yes
036 Jim & Lynette Eldon Laidly Worm Jim & Lynette Eldon 1997 5:34 Yes
036 Karen & Helene Nattergalen Solen 2004 4:16 Yes
036 Karen & Helene Nattergalen fRoots 24 2005 4:13 Yes
036 Mark Automaton The Laidley Worm The World, The Flesh & The Devil 2005 No
036 Roger Nicholson The Laily Worm and the Machrel of the Sea Nonesuch for Dulcimer 1972 2:28 Yes
036 Sofia Sandén Näktergalen Courage 2005 4:40 Yes
036 Spriguns Laily Worm Revel Weird and Wild 1976 3:23 Yes
036 Spriguns of Tolgus The Laily Worm & the Mackerel Rowdy Dowdy Day 1974 2:17 Yes
036 The Pratie Heads The Laily Worm We Did It! Songs About People Behaving Badly 2010 No