US & Canadian Versions: 19. King Orfeo
There are no authentic US versions of this ballad. A song titled "Orpheo" or "King Orpheo" sung by R. E. Lee Smith and his brother Thomas P. Smith learned in Zionville, NC, 1912 was at one time considered to be a version of "King Orfeo." Although the name "King Orpheo" appears in the first verse of the text, the song is identified as "The Whummil Bore." (see text in US versions).
It should be noted that Thomas P Smith of Zionville, NC was a frequent contributor to the Brown Collection of NC Folklore and had some knowledge of folk songs and ballads. The Smith's contributions are questionable (See: The Fair Sister- Smith (VA) 1844 Davis AA) - a little knowledge is a dangerous thing!
R. Matteson 2012]
Here is the information as presented in the Digital Tradition:
The Virginia "King Orfeo" was reported as such in the 1930s, but the identification was retracted in "More Traditional Ballads," citing a 1957 article by Arthur Kyle Davis and Paul Clayton Worthington. Although the name "King Orpheo" appears in the first verse of the text, the song is identified as "The Whummil Bore" in the article and the book. Among its descendants in spirit are "The Keyhole in the Door" (I've heard two excellent versions of this by singers who refused to be recorded singing such material!) and the Allen Brothers' "Window Shade Blues."
KING ORPHEO
For eight long years I have served the great King Orpheo
La fol da lil lilum
O fa da la lil lilio
And I have seen his daughter Estelle only once
(chorus as before)
She was fairer than the sun that shines
And she wore gold and diamonds rare
From the bottom of her feet to the top of her head
I saw her through the key hole of the door
Five was combing her hear [sic] golden hair
And four was buckling on her shoes
And three was putting on her clothes
Contributed Nov. 15, 1934 by R E Lee Smith of Palmyra and Bumpass, VA, as sung by himself and brother Thomas P Smith; learned in Zionville, NC, 1912, from his grandmother and others. Smith calls the song "Orpheo" or "King Orpheo" in different communications and adds that two stanzas have been lost since he learned it. No melody seems to have been preserved.