The Devil Marriage- Young (NC-GA) pre1917 Parsons
[One of the earliest collected and published (1917) versions in the US is "The Devil Marriage" taken from Carter Young, which he heard in Macon, Georgia. Young was born circa 1847 in Guilford Co. NC. It was published in Tales from Guilford County, North Carolina by Elsie Clews Parsons; The Journal of American Folklore, Vol. 30, No. 116 (Apr. - Jun., 1917), pp. 168-200.
R. Matteson 2013]
En behol'! next mornin' what should we see but the Devil comin'. [1] He went up to de gate. He says,[2] -
"Enbody here?
Enbody here?
Name Ma'y Brown
Genral Cling town.[3]
Ol' witch [4] says, -
"Somebody here,
Somebody here.
Name Ma'y Brown
Genral Cling town.
"What is whiter,
What is whiter,
Than any sheep's down
In Genral Cling town?
"Snow is whiter,
Snow is whiter,
Than any sheep's down
In Genral Cling town.
"What is greener,
What is greener,
Than any wheat growed
In Genral Cling town?
"Grass is greener,
Grass is greener,
Than any wheat growed
In Genral Cling town.
"What is bluer,
What is bluer,
Than anything down
In Genral Cling town?
"The sky is bluer,
The sky is bluer,
Than anything down
In Genral Cling town.
"What is louder,
What is louder,
Than any horns down
In Genral Cling town?
"Thunder is louder,
Thunder is louder,
Than any horns down
In Genral Cling town." [5]
Ol' Bad Man (ol' Scratch) said he won her soul. Ol' witch taken sole off shoe en throw at him. He jumped at it en took it down. [6]
Footnotes:
1 Ol' Betty turned an' went back to his master. That man know that Betty turn up to dat lady's house an' car'ed her home. He gettin' in his cheriot an' come back as hard as he could.
2 Young chanted the following. Obviously he had originally heard it sung.
3 "That was hell."
4 Variant: The lady brother went an' got an ol' woman who could answer that ol' man's questions. If that ol' woman couldn't have answered one of them questions, she'd [he'd] have got that girl.
5. Compare JAFL 12 : 129, 130.
6. Variant: He said, "Skip er light, Betty, an' go 'long."