Bluegrass Messengers

THE ELFIN KNIGHT
The ballad to which this name has been given (Child, No. 2) recites, in the Scottish versions, how a maiden hears the magic horn of a fairy knight, and wishes to possess the horn and be embraced by its owner. The elf accordingly appears, and makes enigmatical demands, which are successfully evaded by the girl. In its original form the song no doubt described the fairy as claiming over the maid rights which her incautious wish had given him; her cleverness defeats this essay, for in the dealing of men and fiends it is a recognized principle that superior knowledge is an element of safety.

The ballad itself is European, while the theme has an ancient history. Games of riddle-guessing, from the time of Samson, furnished a means of amusement and opportunity of betting. Just as an ingenious guesser might back his talent by reckless wagers extending even to the risk of personal freedom, so spirits would be inclined to engage in such contests as a means of obtaining the souls and bodies of mortals. The ballad continues to be traditionally sung in America, without the introductory piece of fairy lore; the versions have every appearance of English, rather of Scottish descent, and may have been current from early colonial times. A variant still traditional in Boston has been printed in this Journal (VII. 228). [I'm reprinting the entire ballad here. Newell just gives the first stanza.]

 [As I Walked Out in Yonder Dell]



As I walked out in yonder dell,
Let ev'ry rose grow merry in time;
I met a fair damsel, her name it was Nell;
I said, "Will you be a true lover of mine?

I want you to make me a cambric shirt,
Let ev'ry rose grow merry in time;
Without any seam or needlework,
And then you shall be a true lover of mine.

"I want you to wash it on yonder hill,
Let ev'ry rose grow merry in time;
Where dew never was nor rain never fell,
And then you shall be a true lover of mine.

"I want you to dry it on yonder thorn,
Let ev'ry rose grow merry in time;
Where tree never blossomed since Adam was born,
And then you shall be a true lover of mine."

"And since you have asked three questions of me,
Let ev'ry rose grow merry in time;
And now I will ask as many of thee,
And then I will be a true lover of thine.

"I want you to buy me an acre of land,
Let ev'ry rose grow merry in time;
Between the salt sea and the sea sand,
And then I will be a true lover of thine.

"I want you to plough it with an ox's horn,
Let ev'ry rose grow merry in time;
And plant it all over with one kernel of corn,
And then I will be a true lover of thine.

"I want you to hoe it with a peacock's feather,
Let ev'ry rose grow merry in time;
And thrash it all out with the sting of an adder,
And then I will be a true lover of thine."

This version gives only the first half of the ballad; the following, still sung in Georgia, is more complete; the refrain shows the original form, curiously altered in the Boston variant:-

[As You Go Up To Yonders Town] Contributed by Mrs. E. M. Backus, as obtained from recitation in Columbia County, Ga.
 

"As you go up to yonders town,
Rosemary and thyme
Give my respects to that young girl,
And she shall be a true lover of mine.

Go tell her to make me a cambric shirt,
Rosemary and thyme
Without a seam of needlework,
And she shall be a true lover of mine.

Go tell her to wash it in yonders well,
Rosemary and thyme
Where water never flowed nor rain ever fell,
And she shall be a true lover of mine.

Go tell her to hang it on yonders thorn,
Rosemary and thyme
That never has budded since Adam was born,
And she shall be a true lover of mine."

"When you go back to yonders town,
Rosemary and thyme
Give my respects to that young man,
And he shall be a true lover of mine.

Go tell him to buy ten acres of land,
Rosemary and thyme
Betwixt the salt sea and the sand,
And he shall be a true lover of mine.

Go tell him to plant it with one grain of corn,
Rosemary and thyme
And plough it all in with a mooly-cow's horn,
And he shall be a true lover of mine.

Go tell him to mow it with sickle of leather,
Rosemary and thyme
And carry it all in on a peafowl's feather,
And he shall be a true lover of mine.

Go tell him to take it to yonders mill,
Rosemary and thyme
If every grain a barrel shall fill,
He shall be a true lover of mine.

Go tell him when all this work is done,
Rosemary and thyme
To come to me for his cambric shirt,
And he shall be a true lover of mine."