The Two Brothers- Hart (VA) 1921 Davis C
[Title assigned by Stone. From Davis Traditional Ballads of Virginia; 1929. Davis's notes follow. Davis mentions Newell, who gave Child two US versions, the shorter, two stanza version dated 1850, is Child G b as found in Volume 2: Ballads 29-53; published June 1884 w/Additions and Corrections.
R. Matteson 2012, 2014]
TRADITIONAL BALLADS OF VIRGINIA
11. THE TWA BROTHERS (Child No. 49)
This is one of the very few ballads of which American texts were known to Child, included in the body of his work, and actually commented upon in his head-note. " It is interesting," he says, "to find the ballad still in the mouths of children in American cities, --in the mouths of the poorest, whose heritage these old things are. The American versions, though greatly damaged preserve the names John and William, which all the other copies have." And in a foot-note he quotes W. W. Newell, who obtained the American version[s] to this effect: "I have heard it sung at a picnic by a whole carful of little girls. The melody is pretty. These children were of the poorest class."
The Virginia singers seem to have no distinctive title for " The Two Brothers." The bulk of the Virginia versions differ from the bulk of the Child versions in that only two of the Virginia texts out of a total of eleven leave even the possibility that the fratricide was accidental. Of the other nine, some leave the stabbing as an outburst of passion, some indicate that the two brothers were in love with the same girl and that jealousy was therefore the motive. This essential point, and others, connect the bulk of the Virginia texts with Child B. The other two may be related to A in this respect, otherwise, especially verbally, to B.
In all of the Virginia texts the age of the "little boys" is incompatible with the rest of the story, the love affair in particular. Several variants, like Child B and C, conclude the ballad with several stanzas taken from "Sweet William's Ghost" (Child; No. 77), but none follows Child D, E, F, G, in supplementing the story with more or less of the ballad of "Edward" (Child, No. 13). As Child C differs in several essential points (accidental killing, the mother's parting anger at the younger son, etc.), we are led back to Child A and B, especially B, for our closest relationship.
The brothers, when not simply older and younger, are John and William, as in Child. The girl, when not merely a truelove or little sweetie, is Susie, not Margaret as in Child B.
C. "The Two Brothers." collected by Mr. John Stone. Sung by Mr. George Hart, of Konnarock, Va. Washington county. November 8, 1921.
1 There were two little brothers from school one day.
Little Willie says to John,
"It's will you throw a ball with me
Or will you pitch a stone?"
2 "It's neither will I throw a ball,
Nor either will I pitch a stone;
But if you will come under yon shady grove
I'll wrestle [1] you a fall."
3 It's when they come under yon shady grove
Johnny wrestled Willie a fall,
And in Willie's pocket there was a knife found
Which give Johnny a deathly wound.
4. "False brother, false brother, you have wounded me,
You have wounded me full sore.
There is not a man in this wide world
Can like my brother any more.
5. "Tear my shirt off my back,
And tear it from gore to gore,
And wrop it around those bleeding wounds,
That they may bleed no more."
6. He tore his shirt off of his back,
And tore it from gore to gore,
And wropped it around those bleeding wounds,
That they might bleed no more.
7. "If you see my father as you return home
And he inquire's for his son John,
You can tell him I am gone to the king's high gate
To learn to sing and pray.
8. "If you see my mother as you return home
And she inquires for her son John,
You can tell her I am gone to the far-off land
To bring my new book home.
9. "If you see my true love as you return home
And she inquires for her love John,
You can tell her I am buried in the old churchyard,
And it is for her sake I'm gone.
10. "Bury my prayer-book at my head,
My Bible at my feet,
My little hymn-book by my side,
The sounder I might sleep."
11. He buried his prayer-book at his head,
The Bible at his feet,
His little hymn-book by his side,
The sounder he might sleep.
1. Pronounced wrassel.