The Jealous Brothers- Jean Lepley (WV) 1969 Bush A
[From: Michael E. Bush Folk Songs of Central West Virginia, Volume 3, 1975.
R. Matteson 2016]
The Jealous Brothers- Obtained from Jean Lepley of Huntington, WV; 1969.
1. They sat a-courtin' one fine evening,
Her brothers hearing what they did say,
"O, it's this courtship, it must be ended,
For the likes of this, it never will die."[1]
2. They rose up, early early next morning,
A game of hunting for to go,
And it's this young man they both did flatter,
For to go hunting along with them.
3. They rode all over the hills and valleys,
In places where that they were known[2]
Until they came to a lonesome valley,
That's where they killed him and left him alone.
4. And when the brothers had returned,
The sister asked where the servant was,
"O, it's we lost him in a game of hunting,
And it's him no more we could find."
5. She lay across her bedside weeping;
It came to her as in a dream
That they had carried him beyond the regions;
That's where they killed him and left him alone.
6. She rose up early, early next morning
She dressed herself in rich array,
"I'm going to find my lost true lover,
Or spend the balance of my days."
7. She rode all over the hills and valleys,
In places where that she were known[2]
Until they came to a lonesome valley,
That's where they killed him and left him alone.
8. His rosy-red cheeks they had been fading,
His lips they were like the marble were[3],
O, she kissed them o'er and o'er;
Saying, "You were that darling friend of mine."
9. And when the sister had returned,
The brothers asked where the servant was,
"O it's hold your tongues you deceitful villains
For you both shall be hung for the sake of one."
1. Not a normal last line- usually it resembles, "We will send him headlong to his grave."
2. usually it's "unknown" - typically "In places where they were unknown." The original meaning: She went to places that to (them) her were unknown.
3. "stone"? usually it's, "Her tears were as salt as any brine," which rhymes with mine. Clearly this line is forgotten. The only resemblance is "marred" as in "his lips were marred and were dried,"