The Two Brothers- Morris (VA) 1922 Davis F
[Title assigned by Davis. 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.
F. "The Two Brothers." Collected by Miss Martha M. Davis. Sung by Mrs. Rosie Morris, of Elkton, Va. Rockingham, county. August 30, 1922 with music.
1 There were two brothers, all in one school,
One evening coming home
The oldest said to the youngest one,
"Let's go out in the green grass and wrestle and fall."
2. First he threw, he threw on the lea (or he threw a Lee)r'
He threw him on the ground,
Cut of his pocket a pen-knife he drew
And gave him a deathly wound.
3. " Pull off, pull off my holland shirt
And tear it from gore to gore
And wrap it round my bleeding wounds,
So I won't bleed no more."
4 He pull-ed off his holland shirt
And tore it from gore to gore
And wrapped it round his bleeding wounds,
But still he bled the more.
5 "O pick me up upon your back,
And carry me to yonder graveyard,
And dig my grave both wide and deep
And lay me gently down."
6 "What must I tell your loving mother
When she asks for her son John ? "
"Tell her I've gone to Jersey School,
My books are all to send home."
7 "What must I tell your loving father
When he asks for his son John ? "
"Tell him I've gone to low green woods,
A-learning young hounds to run."
8 " What must I tell your loving Susie
When she asks for her dear John ? "
" Tell her I 'm dead and in my grave,
A good scholar never to return."
9 She took her flute all in her hand,
She blew it more and more,
She charmed the birds out of their nests
And the fish out of the sea.
10. . . .
. . . .
She charmed young Johnny out of his grave
Where he was lying asleep.
11. "What do you want, my loving Susie,
What do you want with me?"
"It's one sweet kiss from your clay lips,
That's all I want with thee."
1. "In stanza two, Mrs. Morris thought Lee was the name of the child who was stabbed" (Miss Davis).