[Seven Bretherens] Earl Brand; Collected by E.C. Perrow lent from E. N. Caldwell, from the singing of mountain whites; 1913; Brown A (Fair Ellender)
[My title, replacing the generic title. From the article: Songs and Rhymes from the South by E. C. Perrow; The Journal of American Folklore, Vol. 28, No. 108 (Apr. - Jun., 1915), pp. 129-190. The same version is Brown A titled, Fair Ellender.
Niles version from 1913, titled Brandywine, also has Quaker queen. See possible explanation below on Brown notes.
Some important notes regarding this version which is titled, Fair Ellender, are found in the Brown Collection, Version A:
'Fair Ellender.' Secured from Miss E. B. Fish of White Rock, Madison county, in 1913. The spelling "mound" for "mounted" in stanzas 3 and 10 appears also in Perrow's version, JAFL xxviii 152-3, and is perhaps phonetic. Indeed, upon close inspection this text is the same as Perrow's except that that has "steward's" instead of "Stewart's" in stanzas 1 and 2 and has "Fair Ellender she sat still" instead of "Fair Ellender she still sat still" as the first line of stanza 7. Perrow says that his text is from a manuscript "lent E. N. Caldwell 1913" from North Carolina. Inasmuch as Miss Fish was an independent collector and had a considerable store of ballad manuscript, it seems probable that the manuscript Perrow used was hers. I therefore do not print the version here. Presumably the two slight differences noted above are editorial corrections on Perrow's part.
R. Matteson 2011]
8. [SEVEN BRETHERENS] EARL BRAND (Child, 7)
(From North Carolina; mountain whites; MS. lent E. N. Caldwell; 1913.) Compare this Journal, vol. xix, p. 235; vol. xx, p. 254; vol. xxiv, p. 332.
"Rise up, you seven bretherens,
And bring your sister down;
It shall never be said that a steward's son
Had taken her out of town."
"I thank you kindly, sir," he says;
" I am no steward's[1] son,
My father is of a regis[2] king,
My mother's a quaker's queen."
He mound her on a milk-white steed,
He rode the dapple gray,
He swung a bugle horn all round about his neck,
And so went blowing away.
He had not got three mile of town
Till he looked back again,
And saw her father and seven bretherens
Come tripling over the plain.
"Sit you down, fair Ellender,", he said;
"And hold this steed by the rein,
Till I play awhile with your father
And your seven bretherens."
Fair Ellender she sat still;
It wasn't long till she saw
Her own dear seven bretherens
All wallowing in their blood.
Fair Ellender she sat still;
She never changed a note,
Till she saw her own dear father's head
Come tumbling by her foot.
Saying, "Love runs free in every vein
But father you have no more;
If you're not satisfied with this,
I wish you were in your mother's chamber
And me[2], in some house or room."
"If I was in my mother's chamber,
You'd be welcome there;
I'll wind you east, I'll wind you west,
I'll wind along with you."
He mound her on a milk-white steed,
He rode the dapple gray,
He swung a bugle all round about his neck,
And so went bleeding away.
As he rode up to his father's gate,
He tinkled at the ring,
Saying, "O dear father, asleep or awake,
Arise and let me in."
"O sister, sister! make my bed;
My wounds are very sore."
Saying, "O dear mother! oh, bind up my head,
For me you'll bind no more."
It was about three hours till day
The cocks began to crow;
From every wound that he received
His heart blood began to flow.
Sweet William he died like it might be to-day;
Fair Ellender to-morrow;
Sweet William died for the wounds he received;
Fair Ellen died for sorrow.
Fair Ellender was buried by the church door;
Sweet William was buried by her;
And out of her breast sprung a blood red rose,
And out of his a briar.
They growed, they growed to the top of the church,
Till they could grow no higher,
And there they tied a true lover's knot,
And the rose ran round the briar.
Footnotes:
1. Brown has "Stewart's" which could also be "Stuart's" a proper name.
2. "richest," usually. Sentence may need to be reworked a bit- "of the richest of kings," also could be "regions" or "regioners" (Brown B). See another possible explanation in Brown Notes (above, preceding text).
3. Perrow's footnote: Another accusative absolute.
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