The Cruel Brother- Williams (NC) 1917 Sharp B

The Cruel Brother- Williams (NC) 1917 Sharp B

 [From English Folk Songs From the Southern Appalachian Mountains; Sharp Karpeles, version B, 1932, two stanzas only w/music. Sharp did not write down the stanzas for this version- refer to Sharp A for the text. Both versions were collected in Hot Springs, NC within a year of each other.

R. Matteson 2014]

THE CRUEL BROTHER- Mrs. Julie Williams; Hot Springs, NC; July 27, 1917 Sharp B



The first landlord was dressed in white,
   I am the li-li-no,
He asked her would she be his wife,

   And the roses smell so sweet I know.

*  *  *  *
O what will you will to your mother dear?
   I am the li-li-no,
This robe of gold that I have here,

   And the roses smell so sweet I know.