US and Canadian Versions: Lady Isabel and the Elf Knight; Child No. 4
[Of the 213 US/Canada traditional versions of Child No. 4 in this collection, several are of questionable authenticity and one is a cover song but with altered text and a new melody (Hickerson- 1976).
This is the earliest extant US version listed by Ford (3399- from Collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society: 1639-1800 by Worthington Chauncey Ford, 1922.) as published in 1800 with these first two verses:
3399. The Western Tragedy. hc
O heard ye of a bloody knight
Liv'd in the west country,
According to Hyder Edward Rollins in A Pepysian Garland: Samuel Pepys (1922): "Professor Kittredge remarks that the Harvard College Library has an American edition of "The Western Tragedy" that was printed late in the eighteenth, or early in the nineteenth, century." This is the broadside listed as Ford 3399.
The first important collection published in the US was Phillips Barry's Folk-Songs of the North Atlantic States; 1908. At least eight versions (A-H) were published in that rare book (unavailable), of which several were reprinted in the JAFL by Barry. Five versions (A-E with one from Massachusetts which was retracted in the 1932 edition) were published by Cecil Sharp and Campbell in the 1917 English Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachians. In the 1920s Smith (South Carolina Ballads- 2), Cox (Folk Songs of the South-9), Davis (Traditional Ballads from Virginia- 28 with 9 not given only listed in Appendix); Mackenzie (Ballads and Sea Songs from Nova Scotia- 3). The number of traditional version numbers in the hundreds with many versions collected but not published. Davis does not publish 8 versions. The Moores (Ballads and Folk Songs of the Southwest) who report "twenty complete variants" give only two and one with a good text. Add to this a number of ballads that lie dormant at repositories and have not been made accessible. This collection has most of the accessible versions, the problem is finding the ones that aren't published.
The other problem is the titles given for this ballad; many adopting the familiar but totally artificial Child title. There are several standard solutions (besides the opening line) to replace the generic "Lady Isabel" title that should not appear in any of the US/Canada versions. First, use the name of the maid, usually it's "Pretty Polly" or "Pretty Colleen." If the man's name is given (usually it's William) both names could be used (William and Polly) or in some cases just his name. The second viable title uses the number of ladies he's murdered! The title is usually "Six King's Daughters" or sometimes the heroine is included and it would be "Seven King's Daughters" or "The Seventh King's Daughter."
The common title "Pretty Polly" should not be confused with another somewhat similar murder ballad also commonly titled, Pretty Polly, which is the Gosport Tragedy and usually begins, "Polly, Pretty Polly, yonder she stands."
The following should be noted:
1) The ballads variants are arranged in approximate chronological order. Sometimes the ballad is much older than the date. For example, the informant is 70 years old and the version was "learned from her father" but no date is given when she learned it from her father. Her father may have been dead for 30 years or she may have learned it when she was a child- sixty years ago.
2) Any titles with "Lady Isabel" or "Outlandish Knight" were assigned by collectors and are not local titles. The local titles Polly, Collee, Polly Ann, Colvin, Collean, Collenendee, Goldan, Goldin, are generic slang words for the Irish word, cailin, meaning "girl" "girlfriend" or "lover." (Barry 1909)
Barry's source was probably National Song of Ireland- June 1831; Fraser's Magazine, Volume 3 edited by James Anthony Froude, John Tulloch when they footnote the name colleen:
‘Alight, alight, my pretty colleen,[1]
Alight immediately;
For six knights’ daughters I drowned here,
And thou the seventh shall be.’
1- A girl, a name of fondness when applied to a woman. Colleen is written correctly Cailin, the diminutive of the Irish lee, a countrywoman, analogous to the Greek seke. The word is probably an Irish interpolation.
Another point is made about the meaning of the "mother's fee":
“Now steal me some of your father’s gold,
And some of your mother’s fee,[1]
1. Portion. It also means land, cattle, &c.—See Percy and Jamieson.
In the US several version have changed "fee" to "key."
R. Matteson Jr. 2011, 2014]
CONTENTS: (You may access individual texts by clicking on title or by scrolling down left hand column- arranged in approximate chronological order)
1) The Western Tragedy- (MA) 1800 Broadside; Ford-- From Collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society: 1639-1800 listed by Worthington Chauncey Ford, 1922. This is the earliest extant US version Ford (3399) as published in 1800. According to Hyder Edward Rollins in A Pepysian Garland: Samuel Pepys (1922): "Professor Kittredge remarks that the Harvard College Library has an American edition of 'The Western Tragedy'. . ."
2) Outlandish Knight- (NY) c1850 American Songster- Barry L (British Ballads from Maine- 1929); Not originally from US or Canada. From The American Songster; Cozzens publisher; New York City; no date given. This is a reprint of the broadside (which is Child E) probably from Dixon's 1846 Ancient Poems, Ballads, and Songs of the Peasantry of England, p. 74. Dixon got his version from Pitts who was printing it from 1802 (see corroborating excerpt, 'Veritable Dunghills': Professor Child and the Broadside, at bottom of this page).
3) Pretty Polly- Hurt (IN) c1860 Brewster B--From Brewster: Ballads and Songs of Indiana; 1936; This version was published in the JAFL in 1935. Sung by "Uncle Reuben" Hurt, eighty-four, of Oakland City, Indiana. Gibson County. March 10, 1935. Mr. Hurt says that he learned it from his mother when he was a small boy. The ballad is known to him as "Pretty Polly."
4) King's Daughter- Carter (NJ) c.1860 Barry JAFL--Bronson as No. 139 includes date and informants name- Jonathan Carter, but no text. Reprinted from Phillips Barry's 1908 book, Folk-Songs of the North Atlantic States- Version G. Also in Folk-Music in America by Phillips Barry; The Journal of American Folklore, Vol. 22, No. 83 (Jan. - Mar., 1909), pp. 72-81. I assume there is no text since it does not appear in Broson 139 and he surely examined the manuscript.
5) Young Jimmie- Rochester (SC) 1860s Smith B--From Reed Smith's South Carolina Ballads, 1928 version B; Communicated by Mrs. Fannie Brennecke, of Walhalla, S.C., Nov. 17, 1924. Mrs. Brennecke writes: "In a cabin on my father's plantation, back in the Sixties, lived an old, old woman, known to all as "Granny Rochester." It was one of my greatest pleasures to visit at her cabin, and have her sing to me this ludicrous song, entitled "Young Jimmie" which to my childish fancy was most wonderful - the quintessence of tragedy and pathos!
6) Seven Ladies Gay- Knowles (MI) c.1862 Gardner A--My title. Taken from: Ballads by Emelyn E. Gardner in The Journal of American Folklore, Vol. 27, No. 103 (Jan.- Mar., 1914), pp. 90-93. Obtained in November, 1912, from Miss Frances Payette, a student of mine in the State Normal College, Ypsilanti, Mich. Miss Payette learned it from her mother, who had heard it sung by an English uncle of hers, John Knowles by name, some time before 1862. Mr. Knowles lived near Bay City, Mich.
7) Tell-Tale Polly- Charley Fox (PA) 1863 Turner--From Charley Fox's Minstrel's Companion (Philadelphia, Turner & Fisher with music edited by Frank B. Converse) p. 52, "Tell-Tale Polly. Comic Ballad. (As sung by Charley Fox.)
8) King's Seven Daughters- Cooper (MO) 1865 Belden Ga-- From Ballads and Songs; Collected by the Missouri Folk-Lore Society; Belden 1940. Uses the "Lord Lovel" form. Contributed by Mrs. George H. Barnett of Columbia, (Version Ga) from Mrs. J. T. Cooper of Warrensburg, who learned it in 1865 or 1866.
9) King's Seven Daughters- Henry (MO) 1865 Belden Gb-- From Ballads and Songs; Collected by the Missouri Folk-Lore Society; Belden 1940. Uses the "Lord Lovel" form. Contributed by Mrs. George H. Barnett of Columbia, (Version Gb) from Mrs. Sarah Henry, who learned it in Saline County about 1865-70.
10) Pretty Polly- Peyton (WV) c1865 Cox C-- From Folk-Songs of the South; Cox, 1925; Communicated by Mrs. Anna Copley, Shoals, Wayne County, December 19, 1915; dictated by her cousin Mr. Burwell Luther, who learned it from his mother about fifty years ago. Mrs. Luther's name was Julia Stephenson. She learned it from her mother, whose maiden name was Peyton. The Peytons were English and the Stephensons were Highland Scotch. The Luthers and Stephensons have lived in Wayne County for over a century, the latter having come from Georgia.
Three Times Around- Williams (IO) c1865 Bronson
Six Kings' Daughters- Cunningham (WV) c1867 Cox B
The Ocean Wave- Ferguson (OH) c.1868 Eddy C
The Pretty Colin- Delorme (NY) c1869 Flanders G
Pretty Nancy- Young (ME) 1870 Barry B
Six Kings' Daughters- Clark (VA) c1871 Davis O
Pretty Polly- Lively (WV) c1875 Cox E
Pretty Polly- Old woman (TX) c1875 Scarborough
The False Lover- Devlin (PA) c1879 Lomax/Newman
The Errant Knight- Pease (NH) c.1880 Flanders J
Willie Come Over the Ocean- Kelley (MO) 1881
The King's Daughter Fair- Heed (UT) 1883 Hubbard
Wilson- nurse girl (VA) 1889 Babcock JAFL
Bold Outlandish Knight- Tanner (ME-WI) c.1889
My Pretty Golden- Riley ( MD) c1890 Mcmillan
My Pretty Colinn- Stork (OH) c1890 Eddy D
Six King’s Daughters- Dietz (WI-NY) c1891 REC
Seventh King's Daughter- Simpkins(NC) 1900 Brown C
Pretty Golden Queen- old lady (MO) 1903 Belden A
Pretty Polly- Hopkinson (MA) Barry 1904 JAFL
Pretty Polly- Osborn (NJ) 1907 Barry MS
Lady Isabel- Ravois (NJ) 1907 Barry MS
Lady Isabel & Elf-Knight- Berry(VA) 1908 Sharp MS
False Sir John- Carson (MA) 1908 Barry JAFL
Bonny Goldin- M. A. K. (MA) 1908 Barry JAFL
Pretty Polly- Lougee (NH) 1908 Flanders I; Barry
Pretty Polly- E. A. S. (MA) 1908 Barry JAFL
Pretty Colendee- M. J. P. (IL) 1908 Barry E JAFL
Pretty Polly- Bishop (KY) 1909 Sharp B
Pretty Polly- Langille (NS) 1909 Mackenzie JAFL
Pretty Polly- (WI) 1909 Hammond JAFL Beatty
Willie Came Over the Ocean- Rickman (MO) 1909
Six King's Daughters- Davis (MO) 1909 Belden C
Polly and William- Jenkins (MO) pre1909 Belden D
Pretty Polly- John Langille (NS) 1910 Mackenzie A
William- Moore (GA) 1910; Sharp C
Pretty Polly- David Rogers (NS) 1910 Mackenzie B
Pretty Polly- Levi Langille (NS) 1910 Mackenzie C
Six Pretty Maids- Husted (MO) 1911 Belden E
Six Pretty Maidens- Conners (NS) 1912 Barry MS
My Pretty Colin- mtn whites (NC) 1913 Perrow JAFL
The King's Daughter- Gowl (VA) 1913 Davis A
Pretty Goli- Yeater (MO) 1913 Belden F
Seventh Kings' Daughter- King (SC) 1913 Smith A
Seven Kings' Daughters- Maxie (VA) 1914 Davis Q
Pretty Gold Lee- Blankenship (VA) 1914 Davis J
Sweet William & Pretty Polly- (VA) 1914 Davis K
Six King's Daughters- Peck (VA) pre1914 Davis N
The Six Fair Maids- Icenham (NC) 1915 Brown F
Pretty Polly- Paugh (WV) 1915 Cox A
Six Kings' Daughters- Long (WV) pre1915 Cox I
Miss Mary's Parrot- Sprouse (VA) 1915 Davis H
Six Kings Daughters- (KY) 1916 Wyman/Brockway
False-Hearted Knight- Sands (NC) 1916 Sharp A
Milk-White Steed- Shelton (NC) 1916 Sharp D
Pretty Polly- Mack (WV) pre 1916 Cox D
False-Hearted Knight- Harrington (VA) 1916 Davis R
Sweet William- Perry (GA-NC?) c.1916 Brown E
The King's Daughter- Barker (WV) pre1916 Cox F
My Pretty Colleen- Coit (MA) 1916 Sharp A (1917 ed
The Salt-Water Sea- Gregg (WV) pre1916 Cox G
Pretty Polly- Hays (WV) pre1916 Cox H
Song Ballad of Pretty Polly- Wiley(VA) 1916 Dav. G
Pretty Polly- Vanhook (Ky) 1917; Sharp F
Steal Your Father's Gold- Wilson(KY) 1917 Sharp MS
Pretty Polly- Doyel (MO) 1917 Barbour, Belden H
The Outlandish Knight- Kilburn (KY) 1917 Sharp MS
Your Father's Gold- Ray (KY) 1917 Sharp I
Little Golden- Mace (OH) c. 1917 Eddy
Pretty Polly- Jackson (VA) 1917 Davis B
King's Seven Daughters- Clement (WV) 1917 Davis M
You Promised To Take Me- Sloan(KY) 1917 Sharp J
He Followed Her Up- Cannady (VA) 1918 Sharp G
Nine Kings' Daughters- Donald (VA) 1918 Sharp E
Your Father's Gold- Wheeler (VA) 1918 Sharp H
Six Fair Maids- McCormick (NC) 1918; Sharp MS
Nine Kings Daughters- Bowyer (VA) 1918 Sharp MS
My Pretty Golin- Hendrickson (IL) 1918 Mclntosh
Six King's Daughters- Boone (NC) 1918 Sharp MS
Six King’s Daughters- Cleverdon (NS) 1918 EG - C
Pretty Polly- old lady (VA) 1920 Bryson; Davis P
Six Pretty Fair Maids- (VA) 1920 Davis L
False-Hearted Youth- Payne (NL) 1920 Greenleaf
An Elf Knight Come- Walters (NL) 1920 Greenlief B
Pretty Polly- (NC) c.1921 Sutton; Brown A
Pretty Cold Rain- McNeill (NC) c1921 Brown 4D
Pretty Polly Anne- Hart (VA) 1921 Davis I
A Man in the Land- Reid/Leftwich(VA) 1921 Davis CC
Seven King's Daughters- (VA) 1922 Davis E
False-Hearted Knight- Lindenberg (MA) 1922 Barry C
Seven King's Daughters- Roop (VA) 1922 Davis F
My Father's Gold- Noel (VA) 1923 Davis S
Pretty Polly- Jones (MS) c.1923 Hudson A
Pretty Polly- Pritchard (NC) 1924 Chappell B
Come A Link- Stinnet (VA) 1924 Davis D
William and Poll- Hooker (NC) 1924 Chappell A
Pretty Polly- Pritt (VA) pre1924 Davis C
Six Kings' Daughters- Sanders (WV) 1924 Cox
Cage of Ivory and Gold- DeCoster (ME) 1925 Barry A
The False Sir John- Lingo (IN) 1925 Cox
Pretty Polly- Bruun (NE) pre1927 Cooper
Pretty Polly Ann- Grant (MO) 1927 Randolph A
Pretty Polly- Mobley (IL) 1927 Sandburg; Gordon
Pretty Polly- Harmon (TN) 1928 Henry A; JAFL
False-Hearted Knight- Hathaway (ME) 1928 Barry G
The Seven Sisters- Gordon (NC) 1928 Brown B
False-Hearted Knight- Brockway (ME) 1928 Barry D
Pretty Nancy- Black (ME) 1928 Barry E
The Pretty Collee- Higgins (MO) 1929 Randolph B
Pretty Polly- Aylward (NL) 1929 Karpeles
He Followed Me Up- Harrington(VT) 1930 Flanders F
Maid Undressed- Burditt (VT) c1930 Flanders R
Hard-Hearted Man- Adams (VT) 1931 Flanders S
Salt Water Sea- Gibson (VA) 1931 Davis AA
Pretty Polly- Oikle (NS) pre1931 Fauset
Pretty Polly- Marshall (TX) pre1932 Dobie A
Six King's Daughters- Ellis (TX) pre1932 Dobie B
My Pretty Polin- Sayre (PA) 1933 Bayard
He Followed Me Up- Daniels (VT) 1933 Flanders L
Lady Ishbel and her Parrot- Melton (NC) 1934
Go Steal To Me- George (VT) 1934 Flanders M
Six King's Daughters- Edwards (VT) 1934 Flanders P
Six Pretty Maidens- Shipman (MA) 1934 Flanders Q
Six Kings' Daughters- Bryant (IN) 1935; Brewster A
Six Kings' Daughters- Raley (IN) 1935 Brewster C
Royal Robes- Sheldon (MI) pre1935 Gardner B
Your Father's Gold- (VA) c1935 Wilkinson MS
Pretty Polly- Morris (VA) 1935 Wilkinson MS
King William's Son- (NC) 1936 Niles
Seventh King's Daughter- Church (NC) 1936 Brown 4G
Pretty Polly- Miller (NC) 1936 Brown 4A
Pretty Polly- Lewellen (MS) pre1936 Hudson B
Pretty Polly- Swetnam (KY-MS) pre1936 Hudson C
Pretty Polly- Callaway (MS) pre1936 Hudson D
Seventh Kings' Daughter- Clawson (NC) 1936 Scarb
Pretty Polly- Nelson (NS) pre1937 Creighton B
King's Seven Daughters- Long (MS) 1937 Halpert
Pretty Polly- Thornton (FL) pre1937 Morris B
Six Pretty Fair Maids- Sprague (NJ) 1937 Halpert
Six Pretty Fair Maids- Clevenger (NJ) 1937 Halpert
Six Pretty Maids- Sweet (NJ) 1937 REC Halpert
Dapple Grey- Clark (ON) pre1937 REC Fowke
Sweet William- Scotch lady (OK) 1938 Moore A
Sweet Nellie- Trail (AR) 1938 Randolph C
If I Take Off My Silken Stay- Borusky (WI) 1938
Pretty Polly- Gully (TN) pre1938 Henry B
Pretty Fair Maid- Haden (IN) 1938 Lomax REC
Six King's Daughters- Bryant (IN) 1938 Lomax REC
Pretty Polly- Stoggill (IN) 1938 Lomax REC
Her Father's Own Gold- Weeks (OH) 1939 Eddy A
Pretty Maid- Knapp (OH) pre1939 Eddy E
Six Pretty Maids- Bozarth (NJ) 1939 REC Halpert
Seventh King's Daughters- York (NC) 1940 Brown 4C
Pretty Cold Rain- Hicks (NC) c.1940 Brown D
The Castle by the Sea- Fish (NH) 1940 Warner
Pretty Pollee- Hayes (ME) pre1940 Flanders E
Six King's Daughters- Stokes (VT) 1940 Flanders K
Pretty Polly- Dryden (TX) pre1941 Owens B
Pretty Pollee- Richards (NH) pre1941 Flanders C
Seven King's Daughters- Drain(AR) 1942 Randolph D
Pretty Pollee- Moses (NH) pre1942 Flanders B
Six Pretty Maidens- Lane (ME) 1942 Flanders O
Daughter of Old England- Amey(NH) 1942 Flanders D
Pretty Mary- Russell (VT) pre1942 Flanders G
Seventh Pretty Maid- Smith (NS) 1943 Creighton A
Pretty Polly- Gough (NY) 1943 Cutting B
False-Hearted Knight- Burling (RI) 1944 Flanders A
Pretty Polly- Cutting (NY) 1944 Cutting A
Seventh King's Daughter- Frye (NC) 1945 Brown G
Milk White Nag- Keener (WV) 1946 Musick
Take Off These Clothes- Ezell (AL) 1947 Arnold B
Billy Came Over the Main White Ocean- (AL) 1947
Knight of the North Land- McIntire(CA) 1947 Hub B
The Willow Tree- Shiffrin (NY) c.1950 Davis
The King's Daughter- Johnson (TN) 1950 Boswell
False Young Man- Aikins (NS) 1950 Creighton C
Pretty Mary- Fleet (NS) pre1950 Creighton D
Milk-White Steed- Dow (NS) 1950 Creighton E
Six Pretty Maids- Sanford (NS) 1950 Ceighton F
The King's Daughter- Snodgrass (TN) 1950 Boswell
Purty Polly- Riley (FL) pre1950 Morris A
The King's Daughter- Heaney (NL) 1951 Peacock
Pretty Polly- Drake (TX) 1952 Owens A
Willie Come Over the Ocean- Briscoe (AR) 1953 Parler
So Long Before Twas Day- Weare (AR) 1953 Parler
False Sir John- Jean Ritchie (KY) 1954 REC
The Seventh Sister- Beck (NC) 1954 Buchanan
Pretty Polly & False William- Adams (VA) 1957 Paul Clayton REC
Six Kings' Daughters- Glasscock (WV) 1957
False-hearted Knight- (WV) pre1957 Musick
Pretty Fair Maid- Carter (WV) 1957 Musick D
He Mounted on His Milk-White Nag- Keener(WV) 1957
The King's Daughter- Enzor (KY) 1957 Roberts
Outlandish Lad- Jensen (UT) 1957
Little Billy- Bird (AR) 1958 Max Hunter
Lovin' Polly- Parker (AR) 1958 Max Hunter
Willie Came Over the Wide Ocean- High (AR) 1959
Pretty Polly- Cooper (AR) 1959 Max Hunter
Pretty Polly- Gray (OK) pre1959 Moore B
The Courting of Aramalee- Fugate(KY) pre1961 Niles
Pretty Golden Queen- Barnes (AR) 1961 Wolf A
The Gates of Ivory- Underhill (NB) 1962 Wilson
Pretty Polly Ann- Gilbert (AR) 1963 Wolf
The False-Hearted Knight- Shinn (WV) 1969 Bush
Six Kings' Daughters- Gainer (WV) c.1971 Gainer
Lady Isabel & the Elf Knight- Hickerson (OR) 1976
Her Father's Gold- Smith (NC) 1976 REC
______________________
LADY ISABEL AND THE ELF-KNIGHT (Child, No. 4)
For a list of American variants, see Tolman and Kittredge in JAFL29: 156-157. Cox prints a West Virginia version in the "West Virginia School Journal and Educator" (44: 269), and reports others (45: 159; JAFL 29: 400). B. L. Jones reports three variants from Michigan and prints one stanza ("Folk-Lore in Michigan," p. 5)- C. Alphonso Smith reports the ballad from Tennessee ("Summer School News," I : I, No. 12, July 31, 1914, Summer School of the South). See also Child MSS., xxi, 4, articles 4 and 6 (Harvard College Library); Reed Smith (JAFL 28 : 200-202); F. C. Brown, p. 9; Virginia Folk-Lore Society, Bulletin, No. 2, p. 3; No. 3, p. 2; No. 4, P. 4. Miss Loraine Wyman and Mr. Brockway have printed a version from Kentucky ("Six King's Daughters," with music) in "Lonesome Tunes," I: 82-87. Professor Belden has collected nine variants.[8]
------------------------
Excerpt from The British Traditional Ballad in North America
by Tristram Coffin 1950 from the section A Critical Biographical Study of the Traditional Ballads of North America.
4. LADY ISABEL AND THE ELF-KNIGHT
Texts: Adventure, 1130 '23, 191 / American Songster (Cozzens, N.Y.), 212 / American Speech III, 1 14 / Barbeau, F-S Fr Canada, 22 (in French) / Barbour, 6 Slds Mo Oz Mts, #4 / Barry, Brit Bids Me, 14 / Belden, Mo F-S, 5 / Brewster, Bids Sgs Ind, 31 / Brown Coll / BFSSNE, I, 3 / Bull TennFLS, VIII, #3, 65 / Bull U SC#i6z, #i / Chappell, F-S Rnkc 'Alb, 12 / Charley Fox's Minstrel's Companion. (Turner and Fisher, Philadelphia), 52 / Child, III, 496 / Child Mss., XXI, 4 / Cox, F-S South, 3 / Cox, Trd Bid W Va, i / Cox, W. Va. School Journal and Educator, XLIV, 269; XLV, 240 / Cutting, Adirondack County, 61 / Davis, Trd Bid Fa, 62 / Duncan, No Hamilton Cnty, 36 / Eddy, Bids Sgs Ohio, 6 / Fauset, F-L N Sc, 109 / Flanders, Vt F-S Bids, 190 / Focus, IV, 161, 212 / Folk Lore Journal, VII, 28 / Gardner and Chickering, Bids Sgs So Mich, 31 / Gordon, F-S Am, 68 / Greenleaf and Mansfield, Bids Sea Sgs Newf, 3 / Henry, F-S So Hghlds, 32 / Hudson, F-S Miss, 61 / Hudson, F-T Miss, 10 / Hudson, Spec Miss F-L,#i / Hummel, Oz F-S / Jones, F-L Mich, 5 / JAFL, XVIII, 132; XIX, 232; XXII, 65, 374; XXIII, 374; XXIV, 333, 344; XXVII, 90; XXVIII, 148; XXXV, 338, XXXVIII, 373 (prose); XLII, 2545 XLVIII, 305; XLIX, 213; LII, 20 / Journal of III. State Hist. Soc., XXXI, 301 / Macintosh, So III F-S, 4 / MacKenzie, Bids Sea Sgs N Sc, 3 / MacKenzie, Quest Bid, 93 / Morris, F-S Fla, 366 / Minish Mss. / Narragansett Times, 1222 '44 / N.T. Times Mgz, 10 9 '27 / Niles, Bids Lv Sgs Tgc Lgds, 4 / Perry, Carter Cnty, 198 / PTFLS, X, 138 / Randolph, Oz F-S, I, 41 / Randolph, Oz Mt Flk, 216 / Red, White and Blue Songster (N.Y., 1861), 212 / Sandburg, Am Sgbag, 60 / Scarborough, On Trail N F-S, 43 / Scarborough, Sgctchr So Mts, 126 / SharpC, Eng F-S So Aplchns, #z / SharpK, Eng F-S So Aplchns, I, 6 / Shearin and Combs, Ky Syllabus, 7 / Reed Smith, SC Bids, 97 / Summer
School News (Summer School of the South), 7 31 '14 / Va FLS Btdl 9 dfc& 24, 6 12 / Wyman and Brockway, Lnsme Tunes, 82. Korson, Pa Sgs Lgds, 30.
Local Titles: If I Take Off My Silken Stay, Lady Isabel and the Elfin Knight, Little Golden, Miss Mary's Parrot, My Pretty Colinn, Polly and William, Pretty Colendee, Pretty Collee, Pretty Nancy, Pretty Polly, Seven Sisters, Six Fair Maids, Six King's Daughters, Sweet Nellie, Sweet William, The Cage of Ivory and Gold, The False-Hearted Knight, The False Lover, The False Knight, The False Sir John, The King's Daughter, The Ocean Wave, The Outlandish Knight, The Pretty Gold Leaf (Lee), The Pretty Golden Queen, The" Salt Water Sea, The Seven (Six) King's Daughters, The Seventh King's Daughter, Willie Came
Over the Ocean, Wilson, Young Jimmie.
Story Types:
A: A knight, or other deceiver, convinces the seventh daughter to rob her family and elope with him. He leads her to the water where he has drowned her six sisters. When he requests her to remove her valuable robe (other objects may be added or substituted) before she dies, she makes him turn around that he may not see her naked. (Sometimes she
asks him to clear brambles or give her an opportunity to pray.) He complies, and she pushes him in the stream to drown. After she returns home and puts the money back, a parrot questions her concerning her activities. By the promise of an elaborate cage, she convinces him not to tell on her. Thus, when the king asks the parrot what the fuss is, he replies a cat has been
around his cage.
Examples: Barry (A), Belden (C), Davis (A), SharpK (F).
B: The same story as that of Type A is told, but the supernatural nature of the knight is still clear.
Examples: Greenleaf and Mansfield (B)
C: The usual story is told, but the parrot accuses the girl of the murder because of stanzas borrowed from Young Hunting (68).
Examples: JAFL, XLIX, 213.
D: The usual story is told, but the parrot fails to deceive the girl's father, and the old man reminds the daughter that he had said she would rue her going away. Examples: JAFL, XXII, 374.
E: The usual story is told, but after the girl removes her cloak, the suitor drags her into the water first up to her ankles, then her knees, waist, and eventually neck. She grabs the horse's tail and somehow (a stanza is forgotten) the lover drowns. She escapes and returns home, where her mother and the parrot have the usual conversation about the cat.
Examples: Scarborough, On Trail N F-S.
Discussion: The story seems to be part of a large body of European tales. Child (I, 54) sets forth the hypothesis . . . that an independent European tradition existed of a half-human, half-demonaic being, who possessed an irresistible power of decoying away young maids, and was wont to kill them after he got them into his hands, but who at last found one who was more than his match, and lost his own lif e through her craft and courage. A modification of this story is afforded by the large class of Bluebeard tales.
Although Child rejects the idea (I, 53), the ballad may also be an off-shoot from the Judith-Holofernes story.
The ballad is still known in all Europe, and in nineteenth century England there were many stall versions. Belden, Mo F S, 5, divides the song into three scenes, as they were presented in these stall prints: the seducer cajoling the girl, the waterside, the parrot. Parodies of the song are also not uncommon. Barry, Brit Bids Me, 33 reports one from Maine containing the May Collin or Colvin name found in Child C, H, etc. and included in the printed Charley Fox's Minstrels Companion, Philadelphia, 1861.
Barry argues (Brit Bids Me, 34) that the song must have been an early arrival in America. The versions are invariable closer to Child C G than to A B, with the exception of Type E which is nearest, but not exactly like. Child B, In America, certain characteristics can be noted:
1. The girl and the parrot often have the same names in the ballad (Polly), which tends to confuse the story. (Macintosh, III. State Hist. Journal, XXXI, 302, prints a text that has "my pretty golin colleen " and not a parrot bribed to silence. This is another and similar confusion, although the informant refused to admit a parrot has a thing to do with the song. See p. 300.)
2. The supernatural character of the lover has completely vanished. (Niles, Bids Lv Sgs Igc Lgds, 4 prints a version under the local title the Elfin Knight, although there is nothing in the text to indicate supernaturalism in the lover's character.) See also Cox, W. Va. School Journal and Educator, XLIV, 269. Wimberly, American Speech, III, H4ff., discusses this ballad with respect
to this point.
3. The girl is often a very vigorous person. She throws a rock at the drowning knight in SharpK, Eng F-S So Aplchns, B and threatens, rather than cajoles, the parrot in the Niles version just cited.
4. Substitutes for the "naked girl" excuse are often given in the form of "clearing the briars," "saying prayers", etc. These reveal a change for what may well have been, in certain early American cases, puritanical reasons. The JAFL,
XXIV, 334 version from Illinois-Missouri is notable in this respect, not only for the religious note in the request by the girl for a chance to pray, but also for her seeking the Lord's support in the murder she commits.
Zielonko, Some American Variants of Child Ballads, p. 3ff. can be consulted for a detailed comparison of selected American texts. Brewster, Bids Sgs I-nd, 31, discusses the Indiana versions in some detail. He suggests that the name William, used for the seducer in some texts, may Ibe derived from villain. The slightly corrupt Duncan, No Hamilton Cnty, text is also worth
study. Particularly unusual is the intrusion of the warning for the cock not to crow early (see Grey Cock, 248) which can be seen in the Minish Mss. This corruption was no doubt encouraged by the parrot stanzas. And the Flanders text, that appears in the Narragansett limes , 1222 '44, is notable because the incremental stanzas of Child C, D, and particularly E, in which the girl removes a series of garments, are retained. In this Rhode Island song, the maid takes off her gown, shoes, stockings, and smock at her lover's commands.
The story occurs as a prose tale, as well. Isabel Carter, J4FL, XXXVIII, 373, prints a mountain white version, "Old Notchy Road", from the southern Blue Ridge which employs the stripping and pushing motifs in relation to a pit and a habitual murderer. See also the folk songs The Jealous Lover and Pearl Bryan.
Note should be taken of the French-Canadian version (Barbeau, F-S French Canada, p. 22) which is different in story from the English-American versions. However, it derives from France and was brought over to Quebec by Frenchmen. Here Jeanneton kicks the man in the stream as he pulls off her stocking and cuts a limb off a tree to keep him under. He repents as he dies. This story has had no effect on American tradition to my knowledge.
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Pretty Polly (analogue to ballad)
Collected by Emory L. Hamilton
Wise, Virginia
Reprinted in AppLit with permission, from the James Taylor Adams Collection
University of Virginia's College at Wise/Blue Ridge Institute of Ferrum College
NOTE: This text was recopied directly from a typewritten copy in the archives of the Blue Ridge Institute. James Taylor Adams (1892-1954) kept typed copies of the oral folktales he and others collected during the last thirty years of his life, while he lived in Wise County, VA. One missing letter has been inserted in square brackets, but other irregularities in wording have been left as in the original. A different story of Pretty Polly who is murdered by the man who takes her away is told in the ballad "Pretty Polly." See also AppLit's notes on other variants of "Pretty Polly."
Hickerson, Joe. Drive Dull Care Away. Vol 2, Folk Legacy FSI 059, LP (1976), trk# 8
Here is an old folk tale tale that was told to me by Mrs. Polly Johnson, Wise, Va., and one that she believes is true. She learned it from her mother. June 12, 1939.
"Once there was a young woman named Pretty Polly who lived alone. She lived out away from any close neighbors and made her living by tending her garden and raising her own food."
"Once three young men came to her home. She didn't know them very well, but had seen them several times before. After their visit was ended they insisted that Pretty Polly come to visit them. "But, I don't know the way," Pretty Polly said. "Oh, but we can tell you the way." After telling her how to find the way Pretty Polly still didn't want to go. She didn't feel just exactly right about going to see these three young men who were practically strangers to her. "I don't believe I can find the way," she told them.
"Oh, you must come, we'll sprinkle ashes along the way and you can follow them and come to see us tomorrow," they said. So she decided to visit them the next day by following the ash trail.
"If we are not there," one said, "Just go in and make yourself at home. We won't be gone long and there's plenty food on the table for you to eat if you are hungry. It will be on the table and just lift the cloth and eat."
So next morning Pretty Polly followed the ash trail until she came to the home of the three young men. There was no one home. She was ver[y] hungry and tired from the long walk and entered the house as bidden. She found the table and lifted the cloth. There was plenty food and she took out a piece of meat. It tasted good, but she did'nt know what kind of meat it was. She started picking over it with her fork and found part of a woman's hand in it. She became scared for she knew that she had been persuaded there to be murdered. She began looking around for a way to escape. She started to look in a room when a parrot bird said, "Don't look in there Pretty Polly, you'll lose your heart's blood." "Don't look in there Pretty Polly you'll lose your heart's blood." She turned and looked in another room. There was queer bloody looking stains all over the room. "Don't look in there Pretty Polly, you'll lose your heart's blood," the parrot screeched. Then she heard someone coming, a woman moaning. She saw the three young men coming bearing a woman between them, who was moaning pitifully. She told the parrot to tell them that Pretty Polly hadn't been there and then ran behind a door.
Then the three young men came in and bore the woman into the blood stained room that Pretty Polly had just examined. While they were taking her through the door she placed her hand on the casing to resist and one of the men hacked the hand off. It flew across the room and Pretty Polly quickly picked it up and concealed it in her garments. She saw the face of the woman as the hand was severed and saw that it was her cousin. Then she heard them murdering her in the blood stained room.
Soon one of the men came out and asked the parrot if Pretty Polly had been there. The parrot said she hadn't. "Don't tell me a lie if she was here and run home," the said to the parrot. "If you do I'll kill you too."
After awhile the three men left the house and Pretty Polly slipped out and went home. Soon after that she had her cotton to pick and after she'd made a good picking she invited in a lot of people. All the people around her and asked the three young men to come too. The house had gathered full of people who were picking over the cotton, telling jokes and riddles and tales. Pretty Polly said she wanted to tell a dream she had. Then she told the dream which was the story of the three young men murdering her cousin that she had witnessed. When the dream was finished she took the hand from her clothes and slapped it down on the knee of one of the men. When he saw the hand he fainted. She told the people then that it was not a dream but a true story that she told and that the three men were the ones that murdered her cousin. They were then arrested and all put to death.
Missing versions:
The Lord From the West
Roud Folksong Index (S213610)
First Line
There was a lord lived in the west
Roud No
21 [Search for 21 in the current indexes]
Grover, Heritage of Songs pp.25-26
Grover, Mrs. Carrie
Place
USA : Maine
1) The Hicks Family: A Cumberland Singing Tradition; TFS-104 / LP and booklet; Bobby Fulcher- Dee Hicks (1906-1983) learned hundreds of songs from his father Daniel Hicks (1868-1948), a lifelong hunter and stockman on the open range of the Cumberland Plateau. Daniel’s oldest brother was Johnny Hicks (1843-1935), a veteran of Tinker Dave Beaty’s company of Independent Scouts, who fought as guerrillas for the Union during the Civil War. [LP available]
2) Ethel Welsh sang it for Ruby Duncan, Daisy TN
PRETTY POLLY
Source Duncan, Ballads & Folk Songs Collected in Northern Hamilton County (1939) pp.34-36
Performer Hughes, Mrs. Exona / Welch, Ethel
Place collected USA : Tennessee : Flat Top / Daisy
Collector Duncan, Ruby
3) Cora Bell Hatcher by Geneva Henderson c. 1933
LADY ISABEL AND THE ELF KNIGHT
Source Anderson: Tennessee Folklore Soc. Bulletin 8:3 (1942) p.65
Performer Hatcher, Cora Bell
Place collected USA : Tennessee
SWEET WILLIAM
Source Buford, Folk Songs of Florida and Texas (1941) pp.15-22
Performer Spann, Mrs. S.R.
Place collected USA : Florida / Texas
Collector Buford, Mary Elizabeth
LADY ISABEL AND THE ELF KNIGHT
Source Buford, Folk Songs of Florida and Texas (1941) pp.15-22
Performer
Place collected USA
Collector Scarbrough, Dorothy
LADY ISABEL AND THE ELF KING
Source Library of Congress recording 1415 B
Performer Harris, Mrs. A.M.
Place collected USA : Kentucky : Pine Mountain
Collector Lomax, Alan & Elizabeth
LADY ISABEL AND THE ELF KNIGHT
Source Library of Congress recording 845 A2
Performer Miller, Mrs. Myra Barnett
Place collected USA : N. Carolina : Tuckaseigee
Collector Lomax, John A.
LADY ISABEL AND THE ELF KNIGHT
Source Library of Congress recording 1735 A
Performer Bryant, Mrs. T.M.
Place collected USA : Indiana : Evansville
Collector Lomax, Alan & Elizabeth
LADY ISABEL AND THE ELF KNIGHT
Source Library of Congress recording 1746 A2
Performer Haden, Mrs.
Place collected USA : Indiana : Princeton
Collector Lomax, Alan & Elizabeth
LADY ISABEL AND THE ELF KNIGHT
Source Library of Congress recording 3064 A1
Performer Walker, Mrs. Carrie
Place collected USA : Mississippi : Magee
Collector Halpert, Herbert
Roud number 21 | Roud number search
SIX KINGS' DAUGHTERS, THE
Source Library of Congress recording 1495 B
Performer Hoskins, Mrs. Boyd
Place collected USA : Kentucky : Horse Creek
Collector Lomax, Alan & Elizabeth
OUTLANDISH KNIGHT
Source Helen Hartness Flanders Collection (Middlebury College, Vermont) T11 A 20
Performer LaDuke, Beatrice Shute
Place collected USA : Vermont : Hardwick
Collector Flanders, Helen Hartness
FALSE HEARTED WILLIAM
Source WPA Collection, Univ. of Virginia, Charlotteville, No.760 (version a)
Performer Greear, Mrs. Florence
Place collected USA : Virginia : Dungannon
Collector Hamilton, Emory L.
FALSE SIR JOHN, THE
Source WPA Collection, Univ. of Virginia, Charlotteville, No.760 (version b)
Performer Hensley, Mamie
Place collected USA : Virginia : Bridgetown
Collector Morton, Susan R.
FALSE WILLIAM
Source WPA Collection, Univ. of Virginia, Charlotteville, No.760 (version c)
Performer Wagoner, Mrs. Alice
Place collected USA : Virginia : Endicott
Collector Sloan, Raymond H.
KING'S DAUGHTER, THE
Source WPA Collection, Univ. of Virginia, Charlotteville, No.760 (version f)
Performer Ison, Mrs. Sarah
Place collected USA : Virginia : Norton
Collector Hamilton, Emory L.
KING'S SEVENTH DAUGHTER, THE
Source WPA Collection, Univ. of Virginia, Charlotteville, No.760 (version j)
Performer Wooding, Mrs. Nancy C.
Place collected USA : Virginia : Danville
Collector Scales, Bessie A.
MAY COLLINS
Source Combs, Folk-Songs of the Southern United States (1967) p.199 item 2(a)
Performer Gainer, F.C.
Place collected USA : W. Virginia : Tanner
Collector Combs, Josiah H. / Woofter, Carey
PRETTY POLLY
Source WPA Collection, Univ. of Virginia, Charlotteville, No.760 (version d)
Performer
Place collected USA : Virginia : Wise
Collector Hamilton, Emory L.
PRETTY POLLY
Source WPA Collection, Univ. of Virginia, Charlotteville, No.760 (version e)
Performer Hamilton, Mrs. Goldie
Place collected USA : Virginia : Esserville
Collector Hamilton, Emory L.
PRETTY POLLY
Source WPA Collection, Univ. of Virginia, Charlotteville, No.760 (version g)
Performer Fraley, Mrs. Molly
Place collected USA : Virginia : Wise
Collector Hamilton, Emory L.
PRETTY POLLY
Source WPA Collection, Univ. of Virginia, Charlotteville, No.760 (version h)
Performer Banks, Celia
Place collected USA : Virginia : Big Laurel
Collector Adams, John Taylor
Roud number 21 | Roud number search
PRETTY POLLY
Source Jones, Radio's Kentucky Mountain Boy (1980) p.93
Performer Kincaid, Bradley
Place collected USA : (Kentucky)
Collector
SIX KINGS DAUGHTERS
Source Combs, Folk-Songs of the Southern United States (1967) p.199 item 2(b)
Performer Chapman, Berlin B.
Place collected USA : W. Virginia : Webster County
Collector Combs, Josiah H.
SIX KINGS' DAUGHTERS
Source List, Singing About it (1991) pp.266-272 (version a)
Performer Bryant, Mary Vandora McNeely
Place collected USA : Indiana : Evansville
Collector Lomax, Alan
TURN YOUR BACK TO THE LEAVES OF THE TREES
Source WPA Collection, Univ. of Virginia, Charlotteville, No.760 (version i)
Performer Hubbard, Joe
Place collected USA : Virginia : Esserville
Collector Hamilton, Emory L.
LORD FROM THE WEST, THE
Source Grover, Heritage of Songs pp.25-26
Performer Grover, Mrs. Carrie
Place collected USA : Maine
Collector
PRETTY POLLY
Source Folkways P 1001 / FE 4001 ('Wolf River Songs')
Performer Tracy, Clara Hawks
Place collected USA : Wyoming : Sundance
Collector Cowell, Sidney Robertson
PRETTY POLLY (See: Sandburg)
Source Gordon, Folk-Songs of America (1938) pp.67-69
Performer
Place collected USA
Collector Gordon, Robert W.
KING'S DAUGHTER, THE
Source Jean Thomas Coll. (Dwight Anderson Music Lib, Univ. of Louisville, Louisville, Kentucky) Box 4A folder 200
Performer
Place collected USA : Kentucky?
Collector Thomas, Jean
SIX KING'S DAUGHTERS, THE
Source Edith Fowke Coll. (FO 66)
Performer Hutchinson, Stanley
Place collected Canada : Ontario : Bobcaygeon
Collector Fowke, Edith
SIX KING'S DAUGHTERS, THE
Source Edith Fowke Coll. (FO 67)
Performer Trayner, Mrs. Dave (Sarah Hutchinson)
Place collected Canada : Ontario : Buckthorn
Collector Fowke, Edith
ATM III ATL 570.I5. "Northern Sea Shore." Sung by Oliver Minney, Cookstown, New Jersey,
July I5, I937. Collected by Herbert Halpert.
ATM IV ATL 582.23. "The Outlandish Knight." Sung by Lily Joy, Magnolia, New Jersey,
August 7, I937. Collected by Herbert Halpert.
------------------------
Fletcher Collins Jr. Collection: American Folklife Center of the Library of Congress "Lady Isabel"
LADY ISABEL AND THE ELF KNIGHT
Source Library of Congress recording 3786 B3
Performer Newman, Mrs. J.U.
Place collected USA : N. Carolina : Elon College
Collector Collins, Fletcher
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Child Ballads in the West Indies: Familiar Fabulations, Creole Performances
by Roger D. Abrahams
Journal of Folklore Research, Vol. 24, No. 2 (May - Aug., 1987), pp. 107-134
In the past, one of the most popular of these captains was the one professional countryside musician on the island, the blind street-singer, Charles Walters.[18] Characteristic of West Indian songmakers such as the Trinidadian calypsonians, Walters would write songs about local scandals and catastrophes or compose praise songs for heroes (from Roosevelt and Churchill to more local boys). In addition to these compositions of his own, which he had printed and sold wherever he sang, Walters also knew a great number of traditional songs. A number of singers on the island attribute such ballads as "Barbry Alone" ("Bonnie Barbara Allen," Child 84), "The Butcher's Boy" (Laws P24; called "In American City" on Nevis)19 and "The Maid from North
Island" ("Lady Isabel and the Elf Knight," Child 4) to his singing.20
For texts of these last two songs attributed to Walters' singing, see Abrahams, "Charles Walters" pp. 91-92, 94-95.
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C. Alphonso Smith reports the ballad from Tennessee--"Summer School News," 1:1, No. 12, July 31, 1914, Summer School of the South.