Recordings & Info 43. The Broomfield Hill
[I'm following Bronson and including the related ballad, The Maid on the Shore (The Fair Maid by the Sea Shore; The Sea Captain) as an appendix to Child No. 43.
The Child Collection combines The Maid on the Shore with Broomfield Hill.
R. Matteson 2011]
CONTENTS
1) Alternative Titles
2) Traditional Ballad Index
3) Folk Index
4) Child Collection Index
5) 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
6) Mainly Norfolk (lyrics -need proofing- and info)
ATTACHED PAGES: (see left hand column)
1) Roud No. 34: (191 Listings)
Alternative Titles
I'll Wager
The Broomfield Wager
Green Broom
The Merry Green Fields
Green Broom Field
The Young Squire
The Merry Broomfield
Traditional Ballad Index: Broomfield Hill, The [Child 43]
DESCRIPTION: A girl wagers with a boy that "a maid I will go to the Broomfield Hill and a maid I shall return." At home she regrets her error, but a witch tells her how to make her love sleep on the hill. She arrives on the hill, leaves a token, and wins her wager
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1769 (Herd)
KEYWORDS: magic wager sex trick witch
FOUND IN: Britain(England,Scotland) US(Ap,NE) Canada(Mar,Newf) Ireland
REFERENCES (19 citations):
Child 43, "The Broomfield Hill" (6 texts)
Bronson 43, "The Broomfield Hill" (30 versions -- but the last six are "The Maid on the Shore" -- plus 1 in addenda)
GreigDuncan2 322, "The Bonnie Broom-Fields" (2 texts)
Lyle-Crawfurd2 109, "The Bonny Brumefeils" (1 text)
Butterworth/Dawney, p. 29, "Merry Bloomfield" (1 text, 1 tune)
Williams-Thames, p. 75, "The Maid's Wager" (1 text) (also Wiltshire-WSRO Ox 210)
Reeves-Sharp 21, "The Broomfield Wager" (3 texts)
BarryEckstormSmyth pp. 438-442, "The Broomfield Hill" (1 songster version plus extensive notes)
Flanders-Ancient1, pp. 275-279, "The Broomfield Hill" (1 text, 1 tune)
Leach, pp. 150-152, "The Broomfield Hill" (1 text)
OBB 24, "The Broomfield Hill" (1 text)
Friedman, p. 148, "The Broomfield Hill" (1 text)
PBB 16, "The Broomfield Hill" (1 text)
Vaughan Williams/Lloyd, p. 26, "The Broomfield Hill" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #23}
Combs/Wilgus 11, pp. 113-114, "The Broomfield Hill" (1 text)
SHenry H135, p. 414, "The Broomfield Hill" (1 text, 1 tune)
MacSeegTrav 7, "The Broomfield Hill" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT 43, BROOMFLD* BROMFLD2* BROMFLD3
ADDITIONAL: Walter de la Mare, _Come Hither_, revised edition, 1928; #325, "The Broomfield Hill" (1 text)
Roud #34
RECORDINGS:
George Maynard, "A Wager, A Wager" (on Maynard1)
Walter Pardon, "Broomfield Hill" (on WPardon01, HiddenE)
Cyril Poacher, "Broomfield Hill (The Broomfield Wager)" (on FSB4, FSBBAL1) (on Poacher1)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Maid on the Shore (The Maid on the Sea Shore; The Sea Captain)" [Laws K27]
cf. "Martinmas Time"
cf. "Lovely Joan"
cf. "The Maid and the Horse"
cf. "The Sleepy Merchant" (plot)
cf. "Geaftai Bhaile Atha Bui (The Gates of Ballaghbuoy)" (plot)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
The Broomfield Wager
Green Broom
The Merry Green Fields
NOTES: For some inexplicable reason, the notes in Sam Henry claim that H133, "Bess of Ballymoney" (p. 461) is this song. I believe this is an accidental repetition of the notes on H135. - RBW
Reeves-Sharp is a composite of six texts including three fragments. - BS
Maid on the Shore, The (The Fair Maid by the Sea Shore; The Sea Captain) [Laws K27] [see Appendix]
DESCRIPTION: The captain sees a pretty girl on the shore, and vigorously entreats her to come aboard. At last she does, but then sings captain and sailors to sleep. She robs captain and sailors, then rows back to shore -- using the captain's sword for an oar!
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1828 (Lyle-Crawfurd2)
KEYWORDS: courting seduction trick escape robbery magic shore feminist
FOUND IN: US(MA,NE,NW,So,SW) Canada(Mar,Newf) Ireland
REFERENCES (17 citations):
Laws K27, "The Maid on the Shore (The Fair Maid by the Sea Shore; The Sea Captain)"
Bronson (43), "The Broomfield Hill" -- the appendix includes 6 versions (#25-#30) which are this song
Lyle-Crawfurd2 127, "The Maid on the Shore" (1 text)
Belden, pp. 107-109, "The Maid on the Shore" (1 text, 1 tune)
Leach, pp. 731-732, "The Fair Maid by the Sea Shore" (1 text)
Friedman, p. 403, "The Sea Captain" (1 text)
Greenleaf/Mansfield 28, "The Maiden who Dwelt by the Shore" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #29}
Peacock, pp. 296-297, "The Maid on the Shore O" (1 text, 1 tune)
Karpeles-Newfoundland 28, "The Sea Captain" (3 texts, 3 tunes) {Bronson's #27, #30}
Fowke/Johnston, pp. 158-159, "The Maid on the Shore (The Sea Captain)" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #29, perhaps slightly modified}
Creighton-Maritime, p. 41, "The Sea Captain" (1 text, 1 tune)
Creighton-SNewBrunswick 49, "The Sea Captain" (1 text, 1 tune)
Mackenzie 19, "The Sea Captain" (2 texts, 1 tune)
FSCatskills 75, "The Maid on the Shore" (2 texts, 2 tunes)
Huntington-Whalemen, pp. 136-137, "The Maid on the Shore" (1 text, 1 tune)
Lomax-FSNA 73, "The Maid on the Shore" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #29}
DT 322 (43?), MAIDSHOR* MAIDSHR2*
Roud #181
RECORDINGS:
Frankie Armstrong, "The Maid on the Shore" (on BirdBush2, Armstrong1)
Omar Blondahl, "The Maid on the Shore" (on NFOBlondahl04)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Broomfield Hill" [Child 43] (plot) and references there
cf. "Drimindown" (tune)
Folk Index: The Broomfield Hill [Ch 43]
Friedman, Albert B. (ed.) / Viking Book of Folk Ballads of the English-S, Viking, sof (1963/1957), p148 [1800ca]
Leach, MacEdward / The Ballad Book, Harper & Row, Bk (1955), p150
Barrett, Ruth; and Cyntia Smith. Early Years, Aeolus AM 006CD, CD (1999), trk# 19
Briffet, William. Reeves, James (ed.) / Idiom of the People, Norton, Sof (1958), p 93/# 21 [1907] (Broomfield Wager)
Carthy, Martin. Martin Carthy, Topic 12TS 340, LP (1977/1965), trk# A.06
Critics Group. Female Frolic, Argo ZDA 082, LP (1968), trk# B.07
Hubbard, Salley A.. Hubbard, Lester A. / Ballads and Songs from Utah, Univ. of Utah, Bk (1961), p 9/# 4B [1947/06/26]
Jenkins, Tim. Bonnie Sue Cleland; Tales of Love and Death, Jenkins, CD (2011), trk# 9
Jepson, James. Hubbard, Lester A. / Ballads and Songs from Utah, Univ. of Utah, Bk (1961), p 8/# 4A [1947/08/11] (Hardhearted Young Man)
MacColl, Ewan. English and Scottish Popular Ballads (The Child Ballads) Vol. 3, Washington WLP 717, LP (1961/1956), trk# A.01 Pardon, Walter. Hidden English. A Celebration of English Traditional Music, Topic TSCD 600, CD (200?), trk# 4 [1982]
Poacher, Cyril. Folk Songs of Britain, Vol 4. The Child Ballads, I, Caedmon TC 1145, LP (1961), trk# A.09 [1950s] (Broomfield Wager)
Powell, Mrs.. Williams, R. Vaughan; & A. L. Lloyd (eds.) / Penguin Book of English Fol, Penguin, Sof (1959), p 26 [1910]
Roberts, John; and Tony Barrand. Dark Ships in the Forest. Ballads of the Supernatural, Folk Legacy CD 065, CD (1977), trk# A.02 (Broomfield Wager)
Broomfield Wager [Ch 43] Us - Broomfield Hill
Child Ballad Collection 043: The Broomfield Hill
043 A Chorus of Two Broomfield Wager Not Particularly Harmful 2000 No
043 A.L. Lloyd The Maid on the Shore The Foggy Dew and Other Traditional English Love Songs 1959 No
043 A.L. Lloyd The Broomfield Hill England & Her Traditional Songs - A Selection from the Penguin Book of English Folk Songs 2003 2:42 Yes
043 Allison Gross Broomfield Hill Black Ballads 2003 6:12 Yes
043 Andrew Cronshaw The Broomfield Hill Ochre 2004 6:56 Yes
043 Anita Best & Pamela Morgan The Maid on the Shore The Colour of Amber 1991 4:23 Yes
043 Anne Roos Maid on the Shore Mermaids & Mariners 2004 2:51 Yes
043 Barbara Bellows Maid from the Shore At the Bee and Thistle Inn 1978 2:35 Yes
043 Bell Duncan The Broomfield Hill The James Madison Carpenter Collection 1927-1955 No
043 Bellowhead Broomfield Hill Hedonism 2010 5:28 Yes
043 Bill Morris Maid on the Shore Walkin' There 2010 No
043 Bob Coltman Sleepy Owlsey Son of Child 1976 3:27 Yes
043 Bob Fox Broomfield Wager The Blast 2006 5:32 Yes
043 Brian Dewhurst Broomfield Hill Follow That with Your Sea Lions 1977 No
043 Brian Kelly Maid on the Shore In Memoriam 2001 2:49 Yes
043 Brian Peters Green Broom Songs of Trial and Triumph 2008 4:22 Yes
043 Cauldron Maid on the Shore After the Mad King Dies 2000 4:44 Yes
043 Ceilí Moss The Maid on the Shore On the Shore 2006 3:50 Yes
043 Clam Chowder The Broomfield Hill Spindrift 2000 3:04 Yes
043 Cluan Maid on the Shore Night Out 2003 3:17 Yes
043 Connemara Stone Company Maid on the Shore Birds & Beasts 2004 4:41 Yes
043 Connemara Stone Company Maid on the Shore Live in Ringlokschuppen 2001 No
043 Cordelia's Dad May Blooming Field Comet 1995 2:50 Yes
043 Cordelia's Dad May Blooming Field Evolving Tradition 2 - A Fresh New Generation of Britfolk Performers 1996 2:51 Yes
043 Cordelia's Dad May Blooming Field Double Live 2011 No
043 Crannog Maid on the Shore No Band Is an Island 2006 3:11 Yes
043 Cucanandy Maid on the Shore Contented Minds 2001 4:04 Yes
043 Cyril Poacher Broomfield Hill (The Broomfield Wager) Classic Ballads of Britain & Ireland - Folk Songs of England, Ireland, Scotland & Wales, Vol 1 2000 5:02 Yes
043 Cyril Poacher Broomfield Hill (The Broomfield Wager) The Folk Songs of Britain, Vol 4: The Child Ballads 1 1961 3:41 Yes
043 Cyril Poacher Green Broom (The Broomfield Wager) Plenty of Thyme 1999 No
043 Cyril Poacher The Broomfield Wager The Singing Tradition of the People of Blaxhall 2003 No
043 Cyril Poacher The Broomfield Wager Down at Old Blaxhall Ship - "Sing-Song" in a Suffolk Pub 1975 No
043 Cyril Poacher The Broomfield Wager The Broomfield Wager - Traditional Songs from Suffolk 1974 3:05 Yes
043 Cyril Poacher The Wager The Elfin Knight - The Classic Ballads 1 1976 No
043 Cyril Tawney The Maid on the Shore Nautical Tawney - Songs of the Old Seafarers 2003 2:49 Yes
043 Dave & Toni Arthur Broomfield Hill Hearken to the Witches' Rune 1970 4:00 Yes
043 Dr Faustus Broomfield Wager Wager 2005 8:20 Yes
043 Eddie Clarke The Maid on the Shore Unheard - Traditional Irish Music Harmonica & Song 2009 2:57 Yes
043 Eliza Carthy Maid on the Shore Rough Music 2005 3:24 Yes
043 Eliza Carthy & The Ratcatchers Maid on the Shore Live at the Buxton Opera 2007 2007 3:09 Yes
043 Elizabeth Nicholson The Maid on the Shore A Rosebud in June 2009 No
043 Emily Weygang & Ben Harker Maid on the Shore Emily Weygang and Ben Harker 2003 No
043 Ewan MacColl The Broomfield Hill The English and Scottish Popular Ballads (The Child Ballads) - Vol. 2 1956 2:32 Yes
043 Ewan MacColl The Broomfield Hill The English and Scottish Popular Ballads (The Child Ballads) - Vol. 3 [Reissue] 196? No
043 Ewan MacColl The Broomfield Hill The English and Scottish Popular Ballads (Child Ballads) - Vol. 2 1964 3:17 Yes
043 Ewan MacColl The Broomfield Hill [Scots] The Long Harvest, Vol. 3 - Some Traditional Ballads in Their English, Scots and North American Variants 1966 3:35 Yes
043 Ewan MacColl The Broomfield Hill Ballads - Murder Intrigue Love Discord 2009 2:40 Yes
043 Folque Den Gode Grønne Skogen Kjempene På Dovrefjell (The Giants in the Dovre Mountains) 1975 3:48 Yes
043 Frankie Armstrong The Broomfield Hill 'Till the Grass O'ergrew the Corn - A Collection of Traditional Ballads 1996 4:21 Yes
043 Frankie Armstrong The Maid on the Shore The Bird in the Bush - Traditional Songs of Love and Lust: Erotic Folk Song 1996 4:09 Yes
043 Frankie Armstrong The Maid on the Shore Lovely on the Water - Traditional Songs and Ballads 2000 4:09 Yes
043 Frankie Armstrong Maid on the Shore Round Cape Horn - Traditional Songs of Sailors, Ships and the Sea 1998 No
043 Gallery Broomfield Wager The Wind That Shakes the Barley 1972 2:49 Yes
043 George Deacon & Marion Ross The Broomfield Hill Sweet William's Ghost 1973 3:50 Yes
043 George Dunn The Broomfield Hill Chainmaker 2002 No
043 George Dunn Broomfield Hill (1) Roy Palmer Collection 1971-1998 1:55 Yes
043 George Dunn Broomfield Hill (2) Roy Palmer Collection 1971-1998 4:44 Yes
043 George Dunn Broomfield Hill (3) Roy Palmer Collection 1971-1998 10:13 Yes
043 George Maynard A Wager, a Wager Ye Subjects of England - Traditional Songs from Sussex 1976 4:30 Yes
043 George Maynard A Wager, a Wager Reg Hall Archive 1953-1977 4:17 Yes
043 George Maynard The Broomfield Wager BBC Recordings No
043 Glengarry Bhoys The Maid on the Shore Mill Sessions 2006 4:20 Yes
043 Golden Eagle String Band Maid on the Shore On Eagle's Wings - 25th Anniversary Collection 2007 5:23 Yes
043 Gordon Hall Broomfield Hill When the May Is All in Bloom - Traditional Singing from the South East of England 2000 No
043 Gordon Hall Broomfield Hill (1) John Howson Collection 1970-1995 No
043 Gordon Hall Broomfield Hill (2) John Howson Collection 1970-1995 No
043 Gordon Hall Broomfield Hill (3) John Howson Collection 1970-1995 No
043 Graham & Eileen Pratt Broomfield Hill Borders of the Ocean 1997 4:04 Yes
043 Graham & Eileen Pratt The Broomfield Hill The Pilgrim Fathers 1975 No
043 Greenhouse The Maid on the Shore Dreams and High Hopes 2009 No
043 GreenMan Maid on the Shore In the Evening Sun 2005 4:22 Yes
043 Hadrian's Wall The Maid on the Shore Elbow Grease and Whiskey 2000 8:09 Yes
043 Hadrian's Wall The Maid on the Shore Collection 2006 No
043 Hedy West Maid on the Shore Live in Pforzheim, Germany 1968 4:29 Yes
043 Hedy West & Bill Clifton Maid on the Shore Getting Folk Out of the Country 1972 2:58 Yes
043 Hilary Spencer A Wager Afterimage 2001 5:49 Yes
043 Isambarde The Maid on the Shore + Dusty Windowsills + Trip to Cartmel/ + the Topcroft Reel Living History 2008 No
043 Isla Cameron The Maid on the Shore Still I Love Him - Traditional Love Songs 1958 3:08 Yes
043 Jacqui McShee's Pentangle Broomfield Hill Feoffees' Lands 2005 7:52 Yes
043 Jacqui McShee's Pentangle The Broomfield Wager Old Wine New Skins 2007 No
043 Janet Harbison The Maid on the Shore O'Neill's Harper 2003 No
043 Jason Rubenstein Maid on the Shore Image 1996 4:12 Yes
043 Jean Orchard A Wager, a Wager Holsworthy Fair - Songs, Tunes and Stepdances from a Devon Gypsy Family 2004 No
043 Jean Orchard Broomfield Hill John Howson Collection 1970-1995 No
043 Jed Grimes & Stewart Hardy Maid on the Shore The Rocky Shore 1997 3:40 Yes
043 Jennifer Clarke Skromeda Maid on the Shore Wild Mountain Thyme 1998 No
043 Jo Freya The Broomfield Wager Traditional Songs of England 1993 3:39 Yes
043 Joe Hickerson The Maid on the Shore A Place to Be - Fox Hollow Festival 10th Anniversary Album Vol. 1 1975 4:59 Yes
043 John Kirkpatrick The Fair Maid on the Shore One Man and His Box 1998 3:35 Yes
043 John Lyons The Maid on the Shore The May Morning Dew 1974 No
043 John Lyons The Maid on the Shore Irish Voices - The Best in Traditional Singing 1997 No
043 John Lyons The Maid on the Shore Celtic Reflections 1998 No
043 John Renbourn Group The Maid on the Shore The Enchanted Garden 1980 5:00 Yes
043 John Renbourn Group The Maid on the Shore John Barleycorn 1996 4:57 Yes
043 John Renbourn Group The Maid on the Shore Collected 1999 5:00 Yes
043 John Roberts & Tony Barrand The Broomfield Wager Dark Ships in the Forest - Ballads of the Supernatural 1977 4:12 Yes
043 John Roberts & Tony Barrand The Maid on the Shore Dark Ships in the Forest - Ballads of the Supernatural 1977 3:45 Yes
043 Jon Boden Maid on the Shore A Folk Song a Day - March 2011 4:22 Yes
043 Jon Boden The Broomfield Hill A Folk Song a Day - May 2011 4:11 Yes
043 June Tabor Broomfield Wager At the Wood's Heart 2005 4:21 Yes
043 Karen James The Fair Maid on the Shore Karen James 1961 3:08 Yes
043 Kate Rusby Merry Green Broom Little Lights 2001 3:25 Yes
043 Katherine Irwin Thomas Broomfield Hill Letting Go .. 2004 2:48 Yes
043 Kempion Broomfield Hill Kempion 1977 4:04 Yes
043 King Walther Treyz Maid on the Shore 3rd Dimension 2001 No
043 Lissa Schneckenburger The Fair Maid by the Sea Shore Song 2008 No
043 Malinky The Broomfield Hill Flower & Iron 2008 4:08 Yes
043 Martin Carthy Broomfield Hill Martin Carthy 1965 2:54 Yes
043 Martin Carthy The Broomfield Hill Landfall 1971 4:39 Yes
043 Martin Carthy The Broomfield Hill Essential 2011 4:33 Yes
043 Martin Carthy & Dave Swarbrick Fair Maid on the Shore Both Ears and the Tail 2000 4:27 Yes
043 Martin Carthy & Dave Swarbrick Fair Maid on the Shore Second Album 1966 3:45 Yes
043 Martin Carthy & Dave Swarbrick Fair Maid on the Shore Round Up 1970 No
043 Martin Carthy & Dave Swarbrick The Broomfield Hill Both Ears and the Tail 2000 3:31 Yes
043 Mary Humphreys & Anahata Broomfield Wager Through the Groves 2002 3:11 Yes
043 Mary Jane Maid on the Shore Tacit 2002 No
043 Mathews' Wilson Doonan Maid on the Shore Mathews' Wilson Doonan 1981 4:26 Yes
043 Megson Maid on the Shore On the Side 2005 2:58 Yes
043 Michael Raven & Joan Mills Maid on the Shore + Black Mountain + Gaunt Man The Reynardine Tapes 1995 No
043 Moira Cameron Maid on the Shore Sands of the Shore - Be Tricked or Betrayed 2007 No
043 Moira Cannon Fair Maid on the Shore The Singing Silkie 2011 No
043 Mrs. Carrie Grover The Maid on the Shore Cumberland Gap - Maud Karpeles' Appalachian Collection 2 1976 No
043 Mrs. Ellen M. Sullivan Merry Green Fields The Helen Hartness Flanders Collection No
043 NeidFyre Maid on the Shore Duck Feet Waddling 2006 4:05 Yes
043 New Celeste Broomfield Hill Live 1981 No
043 New Celeste Broomfield Hill High Sands and the Liquid Lake 1977 No
043 Niamh Parsons The Maid on the Shore Blackbirds & Thrushes 1999 3:42 Yes
043 Oak The Broomfield Wager Country Songs and Music 2003 No
043 Oak The Broomfield Wager Keith Summers Collection 1970-1977 3:48 Yes
043 Paisley Close Fair Maid on the Shore All on a Day 2005 4:25 Yes
043 Paul Clayton The Sea Captain Folk Ballads of the English-Speaking World 1956 2:23 Yes
043 Peggy Seeger Broomfield Hill Songs of Love and Politics 1992 2:55 Yes
043 Peggy Seeger Fair Maid on the Shore [American] The Long Harvest, Vol. 3 - Some Traditional Ballads in Their English, Scots and North American Variants 1966 2:41 Yes
043 Peggy Seeger The Broomfield Hill Blood and Roses - Vol. 4 1986 2:53 Yes
043 Peggy Seeger The Fair Maid by the Shore Classic Peggy Seeger - Songs in the American Tradition 1996 2:25 Yes
043 Peggy Seeger The Fair Maid By the Shore Eleven American Ballads and Songs 1957 No
043 Pete & Chris Coe Broomfield Wager/Direktors Waltz Game of All Fours 1979 4:09 Yes
043 Pop (George) Maynard A Wager, a Wager Pop's in the Pub - Recorded at "The Cherry Tree", Copthorne, Sussex 1956 No
043 Pop Maynard Broomfield Hill Down the Cherry Tree 2000 No
043 Rachael McShane Maid on the Shore No Man's Fool 2009 4:54 Yes
043 Rachael McShane The Broomfield Wager No Man's Fool 2009 4:03 Yes
043 Raymond Crooke The Broomfield Hills <website> 2007- 7:51 Yes
043 Robert Nicol The Broomfield Hill The James Madison Carpenter Collection 1927-1955 No
043 Robin Hendrix Green Broom The Lover's Curse -Traditional Art Songs of Ireland 2005 2:49 Yes
043 Ronnie Gilbert The Maid on the Shore Folksongs of the Catskills - A Celebration of Camp Woodland 2001 No
043 Roots Quartet + Louie Hooper Green Broom Somerset Sisters 2000 5:33 Yes
043 Roy Harris The Bonnie Green Woods The Bitter and the Sweet 1972 3:26 Yes
043 Roy Harris & Muckram Rakes The Bonny Green Woods English Garland - Topic Sampler No 8 1972 No
043 Ruth Barrett Broomfield Hill Songs of Witchcraft & Magic - Songs & Ballads Compiled By the Museum of Witchcraft 2007 No 043 Ruth Barrett & Cyntia Smith The Broomfield Hill Music of the Rolling World 1982 3:38 Yes
043 Ruth Barrett & Cyntia Smith The Broomfield Hill The Early Years 2007 3:45 Yes
043 Sandra Kerr The Broomfield Hill The Female Frolic 1968 2:49 Yes
043 Sandra & Nancy Kerr The Maid on the Shore Neat and Complete 1996 3:12 Yes
043 Sarah Phelps The Broomfield Hill The James Madison Carpenter Collection 1927-1955 No
043 Scafell Pike The Broomfield Hill The Month of Maying 1973 2:56 Yes
043 Seelie Court Maid on the Shore Scotland Rise Again 2003 No
043 Shanghaied on the Willamette Maid on the Shore Tasting the Salt Air 1999 No
043 Show of Hands Broomfield Hill No Song to Sing - The Collection 2001 3:00 Yes
043 Show of Hands Broomfield Hill Anglicana 2000 2:46 Yes
043 Show of Hands Broomfield Hill Folk Music [Show of Hands] 1998 2:58 Yes
043 Slide Maid on the Shore The Slippery Slope 2001 No
043 Solas The Maid on the Shore Celtic Tides - A Musical Odyssey 1998 4:30 Yes
043 Solas The Maid on the Shore Live 1998 4:32 Yes
043 Solas The Maid on the Shore Sunny Spells and Scattered Showers 1997 4:30 Yes
043 Stan Rogers Maid on the Shore Fogarty's Cove 1977 3:30 Yes
043 Sue Harris Fair Maid on the Shore Pastorela - Music of the Hammered Dulciner 2002 No
043 Tanteeka Broomfield Wager A New Tradition 1997 No
043 Taxi Mauve The Maid on the Shore Far Off Fields 1992 3:28 Yes
043 The Albion Band Broomfield Hill Stella Maris 1987 3:51 Yes
043 The Celtic Ensemble The Maid on the Shore Live @ Twiggs 2007 No
043 The Celtic Ensemble The Maid on the Shore Changing Moon 2007 4:26 Yes
043 The London Critics Group Broomfield Hill Living Folk 1970 2:20 Yes
043 The Once Maid on the Shore The Once 2009 3:31 Yes
043 The Porch Climbers Maid on the Shore Squeeze Me Beat Me Love Me 2000 3:29 Yes
043 The Pyrates Royale Maid on the Shore Hello, Sailor 1997 4:29 Yes
043 The Revels The Maid on the Shore Homeward Bound - Sea Songs, Ballads, Chanteys 2002 3:14 Yes
043 The Seadogs Maid on the Shore Omnes Amant Piratas Cantantes (Everyone Loves Singin' Pirates) 2006 3:50 Yes
043 Three Quarter Ale Maid on the Shore Intertwined 2006 4:52 Yes
043 Tich Freer Green Broom The Golden Bird 1969 No
043 Tim Hart & Maddy Prior A Wager a Wager Folk Songs of Olde England - Vol. 1 1968 2:41 Yes
043 Tim Hart & Maddy Prior A Wager a Wager Folk Heritage I 1991 2:36 Yes
043 Tim Hart & Maddy Prior A Wager a Wager Heydays 2003 No
043 Tom Kines & Jean Price The Maid on the Shore-O Canadian Folk Songs - Chansons Folkloriques du Canada [Canadian Folk Songs: a Centennial Collection] 1967 3:14 Yes
043 Traci Rae Letellier & The Passage Maid on the Shore Grey Shore 2000 4:06 Yes
043 Unknown Female Singer The Broomfield Hill The James Madison Carpenter Collection 1927-1955 No
043 Viv Legg The Broomfield Wager Romany Roots - Cornish Family Songs 2004 No
043 Walter Pardon Broomfield Hill Hidden English - A Celebration of English Traditional Music 1996 4:27 Yes
043 Walter Pardon Broomfield Hill (1) Jim Carroll & Pat Mackenzie Collection No
043 Walter Pardon Broomfield Hill (2) Jim Carroll & Pat Mackenzie Collection No
043 Walter Pardon Broomfield Hill (3) Jim Carroll & Pat Mackenzie Collection No
043 Walter Pardon Broomfield Hill A Country Life 1982 No
043 Walter Pardon Broomfield Hill Roy Palmer Collection 1971-1998 5:04 Yes
043 William Titchener Broomfield Hill The James Madison Carpenter Collection 1927-1955 No
043 Wind That Shakes the Barley Maid on the Shore Wind in the Sails 2002 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
43. THE BROOMFIELD HILL
Texts: Barry, Brit Bids Me, 438 (trace) / Child, I, 390, ftnte / Combs, F-S Etats-Unis, 127 /
Henry, F-S So Hghlds, 53 / JAFL, XXIV, 14.
Lokal Titles: Green-broom, Green Broom Field.
Story Types: A: Wagering that she can go to a tryst with a knight in the broomfield a maid and return a maid still, a girl sets out to meet her lover. In the field she finds him asleep beside his hawk. She scatters broom over his head and feet to insure his remaining asleep and hides to see what he will do upon waking. He soon rises and scolds his hawk for not letting him know
that his sweetheart was near, saying that had he known he would have had his will of her. He then starts to pursue the girl, but is told she has fled too swiftly to be caught.
Examples: Combs.
B: This type differs from Type A in that the bet is actually made by the girl and her lover in the ballad. The man tells his parrot to wake him should he be asleep in the field when his love arrives. When he learns that he has been duped he is willing that "all the birds in the broomfield feast on her heart's blood".
Examples: Henry.
Discussion: The story is not clear in the Type A version. In the Child British texts the girl has a rendezvous with a knight which she is afraid to keep for fear of being seduced and afraid to miss because of her lover's wrath. A witch offers a solution by pointing out that she will find her lover asleep, can prolong this state by spreading blossoms on him, and leave her ring as a token she has been there. In Child the deceived knight scolds his horse and his hawk, and they defend themselves.
The bet, made in the Type B version, also appears in the Child D F series, and the story is clear in this American text, but the lines are less lyric than the Combs song.
For a discussion of the means used by the girl to prolong her lover's sleep, as well as for a treatment of the use of drugs and runes in European stories, see Child, I, 391 ff.
MacKenzie, Bid Sea Sgs N Sc, 74 prints a song called The Sea Captain which is, as he states, rather closely related to The Broomfield Hill.
Mainly Norfolk: English Folk and Other Good Music
The Broomfield Hill / The Broomfield Wager / A Wager, a Wager
[Roud 34; Child 43; Ballad Index C043; trad.]
This song was collected by Ralph Vaughan Williams in 1910 from Mrs Powell, Weobley, Herefordshire, and published in The Penguin Book of English Folk Songs. A.L. Lloyd recorded it in 1960 for his EP England & Her Folk Songs. Like all tracks from this EP it was reissued in 2003 on the CD England & Her Traditional Songs. Lloyd wrote in the album's sleeve notes:
A young man lays long odds with a girl that if she comes to him among the gorse, she won't return a maid. She takes up the bet, tricks him while he sleeps, and wins the stake. English folk singers had special affection for this ancient ballad of the resourceful girl who (as early versions of the song make clear) had either bewitched or drugged the importunate fellow into his deep sleep. Many versions of the ballad have been noted all over the English countryside; Sharp alone found at least a dozen. Our version was found by Vaughan Williams in Herefordshire.
This darker strain that Lloyd only hinted at at the very end of his version is obviously in Cyril Poacher's version called The Broomfield Wager which he sang at the Ship Inn, Blaxhall, Suffolk, in a recording by Peter Kennedy. It was included on the anthology The Child Ballads Volume 1 (The Folksongs of Britain Volume 4; Caedmon 1961; Topic 1968). He also sang this ballad in his home at Grove Farm, Blaxhall in a recording made by Tony Engle and Keith Summers in 1974. This was the title track of his 1975 Topic album The Broomfield Wager: Traditional Songs from Suffolk. Alan Lomax wrote in the booklet accompanying the Caedmon record:
Cyril Poacher is the heart and soul, as well as the master of ceremonies, of the Saturday night sing-songs at the Ship Inn, in the marshy land along the Suffolk Coast. He wears a sporty cap pulled down over his eyes winks knowingly at his audience, and calls for order like the chairman of a committee. Despite all outward signs of modernity, however, Cyril and his audience are linked, in fantasy, with the past of Britain. One of their favorite ballads deals sympathetically with Napoleon's son, but equally popular is this story out of European pre-history, in which a girl is required to go forth and defend her maidenhead by magic against a savage horseman, out of the ancient Aryan past. Yet Cyril is in perfect rapport with his crowd as he sings.
The oldest Child versions tell a longer story. The maid wagers with the knight that she can come alone into the fields and return home a virgin. She consults a witch and is told about the magical powers of broom flowers. She ventures forth, finds her knight asleep, strews the magic plants round him and thus returns safe home. In one Kentucky version the knight wakes ans says,
If my hawk had wakened me while I slept,
Of her I would have had my will,
Or the buzzards that fly high over the sky
Of her flesh would have had their fill.
Thus a tale of pagan magic lived in the hills of the South. In this gentler English version the heroine hides in the bushes to watch her lover's reaction when he wakes, and the only trace of magic that remains is her nine-times challenging walk around her sleeping lover. See: Coffin 57; Grieg 56; Guide 31.
George ‘Pop’ Maynard's version called A Wager, a Wager is similar dark. It was recorded by Peter Kennedy for the BBC at Copthorne in 1956 and published in 1976 on Maynard's Topic album Ye Subjects of England: Traditional Songs from Sussex. The album sleeve notes commented:
Although mention is made of A Wager, a Wager (Child 43) in The Complaint of Scotland (1549) Pop's text is closer to that which the Birmingham printers Jackson & Son issued in the early 19th century.
Tim Hart & Maddy Prior's sang Maynard's version in 1968 on their first duo album Folk Songs of Old England Vol. 1. The record's sleeve notes commented:
From the singing of Pop Maynard comes this version of the well known Broomfield Hill or Broomfield Wager. Although less magical than most versions of the ballad the maid is clearly shown to be a witch, who by walking nine times around her suitor puts him into a deep sleep, thus winning the wager. The theme of a maid using artful or magical devices to maintain her virginity is recurrent throughout balladry.
Martin Carthy sang Broomfield Hill in 1965 on his eponymous first album, Martin Carthy. A live recording with Dave Swarbrick at the Folkus Folk Club in 1966 is available on Both Ears and the Tail. He recorded it again in 1971 for his album Landfall but with a number of small variations. Carthy commented in his first album's sleeve notes:
The use of broom in the old ballad Broomfield Hill to lull an over-enthusiastic suitor to sleep, is another example of the use of herbs. Broom collected on Twelfth Night was believed on the continent to be extremely potent against witches and spirits. The subject of the ballad is a wager between a knight and a maid, the stake being £500 against her virginity, but by use of the broom she outwits him and escapes. The song is widespread in England and Scotland and in some versions the knight eventually succeeds.
and in the Landfall sleeve notes:
The tunes for The Broomfield Hill and Brown Adam were written by myself, the former based on a Hebridean tune, which itself is a variant of the tune taken by Marjorie Kennedy Fraser to make the song known around the clubs as Kishmul's Gallery and the latter, as far as I know, not being based on any other tune, but for a song that I wanted to do for years.
Walter Pardon learned The Broomfield Hill from his uncle, Billy Gee (born 1863). He sang it in a recording made in his home in Knapton, Norfolk, by Mike Yates between 1975 and 1978. This was issued in 1982 on his Topic album A Country Life and in 1996 on the Topic anthology Hidden English: A Celebration of English Traditional Music. The first album's notes commented:
Tell me, broom wizard, tell me,
Teach me what to do,
To make my husband love me:
Tell me, broom wizard, do!
So begins an obscure 13th century English folk poem. The magical properties of the broom plant—its flowers were supposed to have a narcotic perfume—have been known throughout Europe for centuries; and Professor Child gives examples from as far apart as Norway and Italy, Iceland and Germany. In longer versions of the tale, following the wager, the maid consults a witch who imparts her knowledge of the broom flower, thus allowing the girl to win the tryst—an element that is missing in the few sets that have been collected recently.
Gordon Hall (1932-2000) sang a very long version of Broomfield Hill (with 26 verses!) in a recording made by John Howson in the singer's home in Pease Pottage, Sussex on February 8, 1995. This track was published in the same year on the Veteran CD When the May Is All in Bloom. It was also included in 2007 on the CD accompanying The Folk Handbook.
Frankie Armstrong sang The Broomfield Hill in 1997 on her CD Till the Grass O'ergrew the Corn. Brian Pearson commented in the album's booklet:
The Broomfield Hill has been most often collected in the south west of England, but has also cropped up in Scotland and North America. The story is an old one and the indefatigable Child traces it through European medieval literature from Iceland to Italy. Over the years, the magical elements have leaked away and the woman's grasp of grammarie is now barely hinted at in most versions. The loquacious and irreverent horse, hound and hawk have survived better, probably for the comedy value of their dialogue. Most texts have a kind of summery, light-hearted quality about them, but just underneath is the darker strain of rape and murder. Frankie has collated a couple of texts and set them to the tune obtained by Gavin Greig from Mrs Margaret Gillespie.
June Tabor sang The Broomfield Wager in 2005 on her CD At the Wood's Heart. Her booklet notes commented:
Child No. 43 The Broomfield Hill: words largely from Alfred Williams Folk-Songs of the Upper Thames (1923), tune collected by Ralph Vaughan Williams from Mrs Ellen Powell of Westhope, near Canon Pyon, Herefordshire, 1910.
One of the great landscape plants and, as it flowers in May and June, of major romantic and erotic significance in European poetry, broom has many virtues, amorous, magical, scenic, medicinal and practical. It was one of those plants used by witches and powerful against witches, liked by other-world beings and useful to keep them away.
(Geoffrey Grigson, The Englishman's Flora (1958)
Bob Fox sang Broomfield Wager in 2006 on his Topic CD The Blast.
Malinky recorded Broomfield Hill for their 2009 CD Flower & Iron. This video shows them at Immaculata University Malvern, PA, on May 14, 2010:
Rachael McShane sang The Broomfield Wager in 2009 on her CD No Man's Fool; and her band Bellowhead sang Broomfield Hill with an additional “Merry Month of May” chorus in 2010 on their CD Hedonism. This video shows Bellohead singing Broomfield Hill at Bristol Folk Festival 2011:
Jon Boden repeated it solo as the May 6, 2011 entry of his project A Folk Song a Day. He commented in the project's blog:
The story of the early morning tryst on top of a blossom-covered hill always seemed May morning-ish to me anyway, so when I found the “13 months” refrain in a fairly unremarkable Robin Hood ballad it seemed reasonable enough to marry the two together. The tune is Bogie's Bonnie Belle.
See also Jo Freya singing Broomfield Wager on Tanteeka's album A New Tradition, and John Roberts and Tony Barrand singing The Broomfield Wager on Dark Ships in the Forest.
Andy Turner sang A Wager as the January 13, 2012 entry of his project A Folk Song a Week. His version comes from George Maynard though he noted in his blog that he first got to know this song from Tim Hart and Maddy Prior's album.
Lyrics
A.L. Lloyd sings Broomfield Hill
“A wager, a wager with you, my pretty maid,
Here's five hundred pound to your ten;
That a maid you shall go to yon merry green broom,
But a maid you shall no more return.”
“A wager, a wager with you, kind sir,
With your five hundred pound to my ten;
That a maid I will go to yon merry green broom,
And a maid I will boldly return.”
Now when that she came to this merry green broom,
Found her true love was fast in a sleep,
With a fine finished rose, and a new suit of clothes,
And a bunch of green broom at his feet.
Then three time she went from the crown of his head,
And three times from the sole of his feet.
And three times she kissed his red rosy cheeks,
As he lay fast in a sleep.
Then she took a gold ring from off of her hand
And placed it on his right thumb;
And that was to let her true love know
That his lady had been there and gone.
As soon as he awoke from his drowsy, drowsy sleep,
And found his true love had been there and gone,
It was then he remembered upon the cost,
When he thought of the wager that he'd lost.
Then she took a gold ring from off of her hand,
And put that on his right thumb,
And that was to let her true love to know
That she had been there and was gone.
Three times he called for his horse and his man,
The horse he'd once bought so dear,
Saying, “Why didn't you wake me out of my sleep,
When my lady, my true love, was here?
“Three times did I call to you, master, me dear,
And three times did I blow with my horn,
But out of your sleep I couldn't you awake
Till your lady, your true love, was gone.
“Oh, had I been awake when my true love was here,
Of her I would have my will;
If not, the pretty birds in this merry green broom
With her blood they should have all had their fill.”
Walter Pardon sings Broomfield Hill
It's of a young squire who rode out one day,
By chance his lady love did meet.
Was down in the lane that led to Broomfield Hill
With these words his lady he did greet:
“A wager, a wager with you, pretty maid,
My one hundred pounds to your ten;
That a maid you shall go into yonder green broom
Bud a maid you shall never return.”
“A wager, a wager with you, kind sir,
Your one hundred pounds to my ten;
That a maid I shall go into yonder green broom
And a maid I shall boldly return.”
And when she arrived down in yonder green broom
She found her lover fast asleep,
Dressed in fine silken hose, with a new suit of clothes
And a bunch of green broom at his feet.
Then nine times did she go to the soles of his feet,
Nine times to the crown of his head;
And nine times she kissed his cherry red lips
As he lay on his green mossy bed.
And when he awoke from out of his sleep
'Twas then that he counted the cost,
For he knew that his true love had been there and gone
And he thought of the wager he had lost.
He called three times for his horse and his man,
The horse that he bought so dear,
Saying, “Why didn't you wake me out of my sleep
When my lady, my true love, was here?”
“Oh master, I called unto you three times
And three times I blew on my horn;
But I could not wake you from out of your sleep
Till your lady, your true love, has gone.”
Farewell and adieu to her loved one in gloom,
Farewell to the birds on Broomfield Hill.
A maid she did go into yonder green broom
And a maid she remains for ever still.
Cyril Poacher sings The Broomfield Wager
“O wager, o wager, o wager I'll lay you,
I'll lay you five thousands to your one,
That a maiden I'll go to that merry broomfield
And a maiden I'm sure I will return.”
And then did this young maid back on a bay hobby's back
All for to ride to that green broom,
And when she got there she found her own true love
Lying in that merry green broom fast asleep.
Nine times did she walk round the crown of his head,
Nine times round the sole of his feet,
Nine times did she say, “Awake, master,
For your own true love in standing nearby.”
And when she had done all she dare do,
She stepped behind that bunch of green broom
All for to hear what her own true love should say
When he awoke out of his domestic sleep.
He said, “If I had been awake instead of being asleep,
My will would I have done toward thee.
Your blood it would have been spilt for those small birds to drink,
And your flesh it would have been for their food.”
You hard-hearted young man, how could you say so?
Your heart it must be hard as any stone
For to murder the one that lov-ed you so well,
Far better than the ground that you stand on.
“Be cheerful, be cheerful and do not repine,
For naught is as clear as the sun.
The money, the money, the money it is mine,
The wager I fairly have won.”
Nine times of this bell did I ring, master,
Nine times of that whip did I snap;
Nine times did I say, “Awake, master,
For your own true love is standing nearby.”
“And pick the blossom from off the broom,
The blossom that smells so sweet.
And lay some down at the crown of his head,
And more at the sole of his feet.”
Maddy Prior sings A Wager, a Wager
“A wager, a wager, a wager I will lay,
I will lay you five hundred to one,
That you don't follow me unto yonder blooming tree
Or a maiden you never shall return.”
Then nine times she walked the place all around,
And nine times she walked it all round,
And nine times she kissed his red and rosy cheeks
As he lie fast asleep upon the ground.
Then a ring from her finger she earnestly drew
And placed it on her true love's right hand,
Saying, “This shall be a token for my true love when he wakes,
He will find that I have been but now I'm gone.”
“If I had been awake love, when I was fast asleep,
Of you I would have had my will,
Oh you I would have killed and your blood I would have spilled,
And the small birds should all have had their fill.”
“A wager, a wager,
Five hundred pound and ten
That you'll not go to the Broomfield Hill
And a maid return again.”
So they both jogged along unto yonder blooming tree,
The weather being very mild and warm.
And he became quite weary, he sat down for to rest,
Then he fell fast asleep upon the ground.
Martin Carthy sings Broomfield Hill
Oh it's of a lord in the north country,
He courted a lady gay.
As they were riding side by side,
A wager she did lay.
“Oh I'll wager you five hundred pound,
Five hundred pound to one,
That a maid I will go to the merry greenwood,
And a maid I will return.”
So there she sat in her mother's bower garden,
There she made her moan,
Saying, “Should I go to the Broomfield Hill,
Or should I stay at home?”
Then up and spake this witch woman,
As she sat on a log,
Saying, “You shall go to the Broomfield Hill,
And a maid you shall come home.”
So she's away to the Broomfield Hill
And she's found her love asleep.
With his hawk, his hound, and his silk and satin gown,
And his ribbons hanging down to his feet.
“Oh when you get to the Broomfield Hill,
You'll find your love asleep.
With his hawk, his hound, and his silk and satin gown,
And his ribbons hanging down to his feet.”
Bellowhead sing Broomfield Hill
And oh she cried and oh she sighed
And oh she made her moan,
Saying, “Shall I go to the Broomfield Hill
Or shall I stay at home?
“For if I go to the Broomfield Hill
My maidenhead is gone,
But if I chance to stay at home
Why then I am forsworn.”
Chorus (after each verse):
There's thirteen months all in one year
As I've heard people say,
But the finest month in all the year
Is the very merry month of May.
And up there spoke an old witch woman
As she sits all alone,
Saying, “You shall go to the Broomfield Hill
And a maid you shall return.
“For when you get to the Broomfield Hill
You will find your love asleep,
With his silken gown all under his head
And a broom-cow at his feet.
“You take the blossom from off of the broom,
The blossom that smells so sweet,
And you lay it down all under his head
And more at the soles of his feet.”
(Chorus)
And when she got to the Broomfield Hill
She found her love asleep,
With his hawk and his hound and his silk satin gown
And his ribbons all down to his feet.
And she's picked a blossom from off the broom,
The blossom that smells so sweet.
And she's laid some down at the crown of his head
And more at the sole of his feet.
She's taken the blossom from off of the broom,
The blossom that smells so sweet,
And the more she lay it round about
The sounder he did sleep.
And she's pulled off her diamond ring
And she's pressed it in his right hand,
For to let him know when he'd wakened from his sleep
That his love had been there at his command.
She's taken the ring from off of her finger
And laid it at his right hand
For to let him know when he awoke
That she'd been there at his command.
And when he woke out of his sleep,
And the birds began to sing,
Saying, “Awake, awake, awake master,
Your true love's been and gone.”
(Chorus)
“Oh where were you, me gay goshawk?
And where were you, me steed?
And where were you, me good greyhound?
Why did you not waken me?”
“Oh where were you, my good grey steed
That I have loved so dear?
Why did you not stamp and waken me
When there was a maiden here?“
“Oh I clapped with my wings, master,
And bold your bells I rang,
Crying, waken, waken, waken master,
Before this lady ran.”
“And I stamped with my foot, master,
And I shook me bridle till it rang.
But nothing at all would waken you
Till she had been and gone.”
“Oh I stamped with my feet, master,
And all my bells I rang,
But there was nothing could waken you
Till she had been and gone.”
“So haste ye, haste ye, me good white steed,
To come where she may be.
Or all the birds of the Broomfield Hill
Shall eat their fill of thee.”
“Oh haste, haste, my good grey steed
For to come where she may be,
Or all the birds of the Broomfield Hill
Will eat their fill of thee.”
“Oh you need not waste your good white steed
By racing to her home,
For no bird flies faster through the wood
Than she fled through the broom.”
“Oh you need not break your good grey steed
By racing to her home;
There's no bird flies faster through the wood
Than she flew through the broom.”
(Chorus)
Gordon Hall sings Broomfield Hill
“One wager, one wager, I will lay unto thee,
One hundred bright nobles to your ten,
That you will ne'er me follow to the bonny Broomfield Hill,
And a maiden you never shall return.”
“One wager, one wager, I will lay unto thee,
Your hundred bright nobles to my ten,
That I will go a maiden to the bonny Broomfield Hill,
And will come back a maiden once again.”
There was a knight and a lady so bright
Had a true tryst at the broom,
The one to go ride early on the May morning,
And the other in the afternoon.
The maiden sat at her mother's bower door,
And there she made her moan,
Saying, “Whether shall I go to the bonny Broomfield Hill,
Or shall I bide me at home?”
“For if I shall go to the bonny Broomfield Hill,
Then my maidenhead is gone,
But if I bide me at my mother's bower door,
Then my true love will call me forsworn.”
Then up then spake an old witch-woman,
All from her lofty room,
Saying, “Well you may go to the bonny Broomfield Hill,
And yet come a maiden home.
“For when you reach the bonny Broomfield Hill,
You will find your love asleep,
With a costly silver belt about his neck,
And its brother about his feet.
“Then take the blossom from off the green broom,
The blossom that smells so sweet,
And lay it down at his white collarbone,
There and place the twigs at his feet.
“Then take the ring from off your soft white hand
And place it on your true love's right thumb
That this will be of a token to your true love when he wakes
He will know that you have been at his command.”
“One wager, one wager, I will lay unto thee,
Your hundred bright nobles to my ten,
Then I will go a maiden to the bonny Broomfield Hill,
And will come back a maiden once again.”
The knight jogged on to the bonny Broomfield Hill,
The weather being very mild and warm,
As he became quite weary, why he sat him down to rest,
And he fell fast asleep on the green lawn.
Now when the maiden reached the bonny Broomfield Hill,
She found her love asleep,
With a costly silver belt about his neck,
And its brother about his feet.
Then took she the blossom from off the green bloom,
The blossom that smelled so sweet,
And laid it at his white collar bone,
Then placed the twigs at his feet.
Then three times she danced around the soles of his shoon,
And stroked down the hair of his head,
And three times she kissed his ruby ruby lips,
As he lay fast asleep on his green bed.
Then the ring from her finger she instanter withdrew,
And placed it on her true love's right thumb,
Saying, “This will be a token to my true love when he wakes,
He will know that I have been at his command.”
Now when the knight woke from out of his long sleep,
And espied the maiden's ring on his right thumb,
He knew that the fair maid had been at his command,
And the tryst wager she had won.
“Oh where were ye, my milk white steed,
That I have cost so dear,
That would not watch and waken me,
When there was a maiden here?”
“I stamped with my feet, master,
Which made my bright bridle ring.
But no kind of thing would waken ye
Till the maiden was past and gone.”
“And where were you, my gay goshawk,
That I have loved so dear,
That would not watch and waken me
When there was a maiden here?”
“I flapped with my wings, master,
Which made my bright bell to ring,
But nothing of this earth would waken ye,
Till the maiden was past and gone.”
“And where were ye, my addle-pated page,
As draws my meat and fee,
That would not watch and waken me,
Till the maiden skipped over the lea?”
“I prodded and shook, master,
Now have I this to say,
That if you lay still when laid abed at night,
Then you would not sleep through the day.”
“One wager, one wager, I did lay unto thee,
Your hundred bright nobles to my ten,
I did go a maiden to the bonny Broomfield Hill,
And did come back a maiden once again,”
“If I had been awake, when I was fast asleep,
Of you I would have had my will,
Or it's you I would have killed and your red blood would have spilled,
And the small birds would all have had their fill.”
“You hard-hearted young man, how can you say so?
Your heart must be hard as any stone,
For to think to murder one that has loved thee so long,
And has danced on the green and mossy lawn.
“One wager, one wager, I did lay unto thee,
Your one hundred bright nobles to my ten,
And I did go a maiden to the bonny Broomfield Hill,
And did come back a maiden once again,
Yes, I did go a maiden to the bonny Broomfield Hill
And did come back a maiden once again.”
Acknowledgements
Garry Gillard transcribed Martin Carthy's version of Broomfield Hill. Thanks to Kevin Sexton for sending me Gordon Hall's lyrics.