The House Carpenter- Luther (NH) c. 1877 Flanders F
[From Ancient Ballads III, Flanders; 1963. The Flanders/Coffin notes follow. This one dates back a ways to circa 1877. Sidney Luther (born 1870, died Dec. 7, 1955 at the age of 85) was 72 in 1942 when the recordings were made but only 7 years old when he learned the ballad from his father, Alden. Flanders recorded seven discs containing 77 songs performed by Sidney Luther from Pittsburg, New Hampshire.
R. Matteson 2013]
James Harris, or the Daemon Lover
(Child 243)
Behind the sentimental Child A version of this song lies the legend of Jane Reynolds of Plymouth and a sailor, James Harris; who exchanged marriage vows. He was pressed into the service and after three years reported dead. Jane then married a ship carpenter. They lived happily for four years and had children. One night when the carpenter was out, Jane heard a rapping at the window. It was the ghost of Harris come to claim his love. She explained to him what had happened but was willing to follow him off when he promised her great wealth. On shipboard, she began to repent her infidelity, but too late. The ship sank, or at least she was never heard of again. Her bereaved husband later hanged himself.
In America, the supernatural element of the song and the names of the lead characters are not retained. Usually, though not always (see Flanders E1 and E2), the husband is a house, not a ship, carpenter. The action before the arrival of the lover and the suicide of the husband are invariably omitted. This form of the song, which is quite standard throughout the states, can no doubt be laid to the popularity of the song in print, perhaps to the broadside published by De Marsan (see Phillips Barry, British Ballads from Maine, 308-309) about 1860. Most of the texts follow De Marsan's song, which is similar to Child B, rather faithfully, but he probably took his version from established oral tradition. See JAF, XXXV, 347; Belden, 79-80; J. Harrington Cox, Folk Songs of the South (Cambridge, Mass., 1925), 139; and Arthur K. Davis, Traditional Ballads of Virginia (Cambridge, Mass., 1929), 439, tor discussion along this line.
The Flanders A-L texts are of a normal American sort, close to but not exactly like the De Marsan broadside. M, with its retention of the ghostly title, can be compared to Scottish Child D and F. The N1 and N2 "Banks of Claudy" versions represent an unusual line of development. They retain the name of the lover, as well as his ghostly nature, and with the one recorded in Greig and Keith, 196, represent two of the few surviving texts that are not of "The House Carpenter" sort. See Child A, B, C, and F for the miraculous gilded ship.
The song, once common, is now rare in Scotland. However, it survives in England, with a ship carpenter instead of a house carpenter, in a form much like the American. See Dean-Smith, 80, and Belden, 79-80, for references. There are no European analogues to the story, though the motif is not unusual. A Danish tale of a deceitful woman is somewhat like "James Harris." In America, it borrows heavily from many other ballads. See Flanders G; also note the references in Coffin, 140.
The eleven tunes for Child 243 consists of one large group of related tunes and three single, evidently unrelated ones: Wales, Price, and Sullivan. The large group can be subdivided into closely related subgroups as follows: 1) Moses, Richards; 2) Merrill, George; 3); Fish, Degreenia, Mancour; 4) Reynolds. The Wales tune may be related to the large group rather than being independent.
F. "The House Carpenter."- From Sidney Luther of Pittsburg, New Hampshire, "as learned from his father, Alden Luther (d. 1946), when he was seven years old (circa 1877)." Recorded on September 17, 1942
"Well met, well met, my own true love;
Well met, well met," said he,
"For I have crossed the salt sea wave,
And it's all for the sake of thee;
For I have crossed o'er the salt sea wave,
And it's all for the sake of thee."
"Oh I could have married a king's daughter fair,
And she would have married me,
'N I have crossed the salt sea wave,
And it's all for the sake of thee."
"If you could have married a king's daughter fair,
I'm sure you are much to blame,
For I am married to a house carpenter,
And I'm sure he's a fine young man;
For I am married to a house carpenter,
And I'm sure he's a fine young man."
"If you will forsake your house carpenter
And come along with me,
I will take you to a place where the grass grows green
On the banks of a sweet Willie:
I'll take you to a place where the grass grows green
On the banks of a sweet Willie."
And then she takes poor little babe
And sets it on her knee,
Saying, "Stay at home, my darling little babe;
Keep your father's company.
Oh, stay at home, my darling little babe;
Keep your father's company."
She had not been on board two weeks -
I am sure it was not three -
When this fair maid was seen to weep,
And she wept most bitterly;
When this fair maid was seen to weep,
And she wept most bitterly.
"Oh, is it for my gold that your mourn,
Or is it for my store,
Or is it for my house carpenter
That you never will see any more?
They had not been on board three weeks -
I'm sure it was not four -
When this proud ship she sprung a leak
And she sank to rise no more;
When this proud ship she sprung a leak
And she sank to rise no more.
A curse, a curse, to all seamen,
A curse, a curse for life,
For robbing of a house carpenter
And stealing away his wife;
For robbing of a house carpenter
And stealing away his wife.