The Dreadful Wind and Rain- Dan Tate (NC) 1962
[Fletcher Collins first recorded Dan Tate's version back in November of 1941 for the Library of Congress. Tate learned the song from his sister. A similar version from the region is Kilby Snow's version recorded by Mike Seeger in 1966. Snow learned his version circa 1913. Another similar version was collected by Buchanan in West Virginia in 1931 from a Rev. Sims (Bronson No. 93). This is one of the handful of versions from the US/Canada that include making the instruments from the murdered girl's body parts.
George Foss recorded Tate in 1962 and his nearly identical text, with music, appears in Southern Folk Ballads, McNeill.
The following is from Daniel Wyatt Tate: Singer from Fancy Gap by Michael Yates published in Folk Music Journal, Vol. 4, No. 1 (1980), pp. 3-23.
R. Matteson 2011]
Liner notes: Far in the Mountains : Volumes 1 & 2 of Mike Yates' 1983:
Dan Tate was born in 1896 and must at one time have known a phenomenal number of songs and banjo tunes. Though frail and almost totally blind, his welcome to a complete stranger was as warm and genuine as could be. After recording many of his songs in 1979 and 1980 I called to see him again in 1983. "Did I sing you Lily Monroe?" he asked when I walked through his doorway. "It must be about England, 'cause they send for a 'London' doctor to heal up his wounds." He also recounted how one recent snowfall had almost ended his life. "I thought I was a gonner, Mike. I woke up and it was quiet, real quiet; and cold, real cold. The stove had gone out and I had no wood inside. I tried to open the door but it just wouldn't open. The house had just about disappeared in the snow. Well...I wrapped some blankets around me and sat in the chair, expecting to die. And do you know? It wasn't long before I heard my friends coming to dig me out!" Strength of character, tenacity and sensitivity are words that I'd use to describe Dan and his neighbours.
Dan had been recorded for the Library of Congress by Professor Fletcher Collins, of Elon College, NC. Library records date these recording to 1941, although Dan was adamant that they had been made in 1938. I had heard one or two of Dan's recordings prior to meeting him and found that he still just loved to sing. One morning he began to talk about 'the war'. I thought that he was talking about the Great War, until he began to describe the American Civil War Battle of Shiloh. As a young man he had known people who had fought in the Civil War. Never before had history seemed so real!
Mike Yeats from Daniel Wyatt Tate: Singer from Fancy Gap 1980: One purpose of my stay with Dan was to re-record songs that had previously been noted by George Foss in 1962 in order to consider any changes that may have occurred over a period of time. Possibly the most interestingte xtualc omparisonc an be seen in Dan's version of 'The Two Sisters' (Child 10), which he calls 'The Dreadful Wind and Rain'. Text A, recorded on July 10th, 1962, can be heard on the Blue Ridge Institute record listed at the end of this paper. Text B was recorded by me on August 6th, 1979 and a copy is held in the Vaughan W illiams Memorial Library at Cecil Sharp House.
The Dreadful Wind and Rain- Text A
1 Two loving sisters was a-walking side by side,
Oh, the wind and rain.
One pushed the other off in the waters, waters deep,
And she cried, 'A dreadful wind and rain'.
2 She swum down, down to the miller's pond,
Oh' the wind and rain.
She swum down, down to the miller's miller's pond,
And she cried, 'A dreadful wind and rain'.
3 Out run the miller with his long hook and line,
Oh, the wind and rain.
Out run the miller with his long hook and line,
And he cried, 'A dreadful wind and rain'.
4 He hooked her up by the tail of the gown,
Oh, the wind and rain.
He hooked her up by the tail of the gown,
And he cried, 'A dreadful wind and rain'.
5 They made fiddle strings of her long black hair,
Oh, the wind and rain.
They made fiddle strings of her long black hair,
and she cried, 'A dreadful wind and rain'.
6 They made fiddle screws of her long finger bones,
Oh, the wind and rain.
They made fiddle screws of her long finger bones,
And she cried,' A dreadful wind and rain'.
7 The only tune that my fiddle would play,
Was, Oh, the wind and rain.
The only tune that my fiddle would play,
And he cried, he cried, a dreadful wind and rain.
The Dreadful Wind and Rain- Text B
1 Two loving sisters was a-walking side by side,
Oh, the wind and rain.
One pushed the other off in the waters deep,
And she cried,' The dreadful wind and rain'.
2 She swam on down to the miller's pond,
Oh the wind and rain.
She swam on down to the miller's pond,
And she cried,' The dreadful wind and rain'.
3 Out ran the miller with his long hook and line,
Oh, the wind and rain.
He hooked her up by the tail of her gown,
And he cried,' The dreadful wind and rain'.
4 Well he made fiddle strings of her long black hair,
Oh, the wind and rain.
They made fiddle strings of her long black hair,
And he cried, 'The dreadful wind and rain'.
5 They made fiddle screws of her long finger bones,
Oh, the wind and rain.
They made fiddles crews of her long finger bones,
And he cried,' The dreadful wind and rain'.
6 Well the only tune that my fiddle would play,
Was, Oh, the wind and rain.
The only tune that my fiddle would play,
Was, he cried,' The dreadful wind and rain'.
----------------
[From LP: Virgina Traditions; Ballads from the British Tradition- recording BRI-002]
8. WIND AND RAIN [The Two Sisters, Child 10]- Dan Tate, vocal. Recorded in Fancy Gap [Carroll County], Virginia, July 10, 1962, by George Foss. 1:50.
"Wind and Rain," otherwise known as "The Two Sisters," "The Old Woman Down by the Seashore," or "Bow and Balance to Me," has wide currency throughout America. Dan's version, however, is fairly unique to American examples in a number of ways. Whereas most examples omit the surreal image of making music out of the dead girl's "long finger bones" and "long black hair," Dan's version actually pivots on that very point. His version does not, however, contain the part in which these gruesome instruments then name the murderer, a twist found in some older British versions. Also, Dan's "dreadful wind and rain" refrain is unusual; the more common idea is "Bow and balance to me" or "Bow down, bow down. " In keeping with general tendencies of the ballad's history, however, Dan's version omits much detail, especially as to why one sister (usually the eldest) pushed the other into the water (either the sea or the river), what the miller did with the girl, and what became of the miller. The tune, as sung by Dan, is given an unique twist by his almost random repetition of words in unlikely places. Although Kilby Snow, a neighbor of Dan's, sings the song to the same tune, he has been forced to regularize the melodic twists more than Dan because he accompanies his singing with an instrument, the autoharp. Perhaps for this reason, Dan has elected to sing the ballad
unaccompanied rather than to sing with the banjo as he does with most other songs.
Two loving sisters was a-walking side by side
Oh, the wind and rain.
One pushed the other off in the waters, waters deep
And she cried a dreadful wind and rain.
She swum down, down to the miller's pond
Oh. the wind and rain.
She swum down, down to the miller's, miller's pond.
And she cried a dreadful wind and rain.
Out run the miller with his long hook and line
Oh, the wind and rain.
Out run the miller with his long hook and line
And he cried a dreadful wind and rain.
He hooked her up by the tail of the gown
Oh. the wind and rain.
He hooked her up by the tail of the gown
And he cried a dreadful wind and rain.
They made fiddle strings of her long black hair
Oh. the wind and rain.
They made fiddle strings of her long black hair
And she cried a dreadful wind and rain.
They made fiddle screws of her long finger bones
Oh. the wind and rain.
They made fiddle screws of her long finger bones.
And she cried a dreadful wind and rain.
The only tune that my fiddle would play.
Was oh, the wind and rain.