The Two Brothers- Cartwright (NC) 1936 Chappell
[Not a local title. From: Folk-Songs of the Roanoke and the Abermarle; Chappell, 1939.
R Matteson 2014]
The Two Brothers- Sung by S. H. Cartwright, Gum Neck, NC, 1936.
There was two little school boys,
Two litt1e brothers they were;
They often went off on Monday morning
To return on Saturday.
Billy said to Jimmie, Let's take a fall,
All under the willow tree.
O no, O no, dear brother, I am too young,
I pray you leave me alone.
He picked him up all in his arms
And threw him on a pit of stones;
He had a penknife in his hand,
He gave him his death wound.
O brother, pull off your white Holland shirt
And rend it from gore to gore;
His brother pulled off his white Holland shirt
And rent it from gore to gore,
But it only made the blood pour more and more.
O brother, when you go home on Saturday
My parents will inquire after me;
You tell them I am dead and buried
In the old churchyard with the jury over me.
O brother, when you go home on Saturday
My truelove will ask after me;
You tell her I am dead and buried
In the old churchyard
Where many a poor man has got to go.