Sir Henry & Lady Margaret- Witt (VA) 1919 Davis B
[From Traditional Ballads of Virginia; Davis, 1929, with music. His notes follow. Also found with the same text as sung by her husband J.S. Witt in Davis' More Traditional Ballads- 1960 as version DD titled "Sir Henry." He plays the same tune as a solo fiddle tune.
R. Matteson 2012, 2014]
YOUNG HUNTING
(Child, No. 68)
THE hero, who is usually Lord Henry, returning from the hunt, is courteously invited in for the night by his mistress, who is usually Lady Margaret. Lord Henry refuses the invitation rather brusquely, saying that another lady whom he loves more than he loves her is awaiting him. As he leans over to kiss her good-bye, Lady Margaret wounds him sorely with a little pen-knife, In the conversation that ensues, he indicates that he really loves Lady Margaret. He dies, and Lady Margaret, sometimes with the help of her maids whom she offers to reward for silence, throws his body into a deep well. Her parrot speaks accusingly to her, and she tries to cajole the bird with promises, then threatens it, but to no avail. The wily parrot is not to be deterred, and presumably betrays her guilt.
Here the Virginia texts end, as does Child F. They do not go ahead, like Child A and other fuller versions of the ballad, to the coming of the king's duckers, their finding of the body by candle light after a hint from the bird, the lady's protestations of innocence and her attempt to throw the guilt on one of her maids, the trial by fire, which leaves the maid unscathed but consumes the guilty lady.
The names and title of Virginia A, " Lord Barnet and Fair Eleonder," seem to be borrowed partly from "Little Musgrave and Lady Barnard (Barnett)" (Child No. 81) and partly from "Lord Thomas and Fair Ellinor" (Child, No. 73). "Proud Lady Margaret," "Lord Henry," sometimes "Love Henry," and "sir Henry and Lady Margaret," are the titles more properly its own.
A point of special interest in these Virginia variants is their obvious contamination with stanzas from "Lady Isabel and the Elf-Knight" (Child, No. 4). Note the stanzas about the bird in all texts, and also stanza 8 of Virginia E. E has also many interesting verbal expressions. A, B, C, D are all excellent ballads, well preserved. The four tunes are also good, especially the strangely wild hunting tune of B.
For American texts, see Barry, No. 18; Bulletin, Nos. 5-7, 10 Campbell and Sharp, No. 15 (North Carolina, Georgia, Virginia); Cox, No. 9, Hudson, No. 9 (Mississippi); Journal XVIII, 295 (Barry, Vermont, melody only); XX, 252 (Kittredge, Kentucky); XXX, 297 (Kittredge, Kentucky, text and melody, Missouri, Indiana); Reed Smith, No. 4 (text and melody); Reed Smith, Ballads, No.4; Sandburg, p.64 (North Carolina); Sharp, Songs, I, No. 3 (Kentucky); Shearin, p. 3; Shearin and Combs, p. 8. For additional references, see Cox, p. 42; Journal, XXXI 297.
B. "Sir Henry and Lady Margaret." Collected by Miss Alfreda M. Peel. Sung by Mrs. Witt, of Salem, Va. Roanoke County. February 9, 1919. With music.
1 Late last Friday night,
When Margaret was going to bed
She heard the sound of a bugle horn,
Which made her heart full glad.
2 She thought it was Sir Henry
Returning from his wild hunting,
With a sword and pistol by his side,
And a bugle horn 'round his neck.
3 "Get down, get down, Sir Henry,
And stay all night with me;
I'll give to you my silver and gold
To spend at your command."
4 "I won't get down, I won't get down,
Nor stay all night with thee;
There is a bonny lass in a merry green land
That's longing for my return."
5 Bending over his precious beast,
He give her kisses three;
And holding a knife in her right hand
She pierced him to his heart.
(Here two stanzas have been forgotten.)
6 Some took him by his feet and hands,
Some by his long yellow hair,
And throwed him in the wild waters
Which run both wide and deep.
7 "Lay there, lay there, Sir Henry,
Till the flesh rots off your bones.
And the bonny lass in the merry green land
Shall long for your return."
8 Then sitting over her head
Her parrot sang in a tree,
"How could you murder your own true love,
When you then I did see?"
9 "Come down, come down, my pretty parrot,
And sit in my right hand.
I'll give to you a cage of gold
To hang in a willow tree."
10 "I won't come down, I won't come down,
Nor sit in your right hand;
For if you would murder your own true love
The sooner you'd murder me."
11 "I wish I had my bow to bend,
My arrow and my string;
I would pierce you to your heart so deep
That you would no more sing."
12 "I wish you had your bow to bend,
Your arrow and your string;
I would fly from tree to tree,
You'd always hear me sing."