10_The English and Scottish popular ballads, volume 1 (of 5)

'Ye may seek me frae my sister Anne,

An dinna forget my brither John.'

He socht her frae her father, the king,

An he socht her frae her mither, the queen.

He socht her frae her sister Anne,

But he forgot her brither John.

Her mither she put on her goun,

An her sister Anne preened the ribbons doun.

Her father led her doon the close,

An her brither John set her on her horse.

* * * * * * *

Up an spak our foremost man:

'I think our bonnie bride's pale an wan.'

* * * * * * *

'What will ye leave to your father dear?'

'My ... an my ... chair.'

'What will ye leave to your mither dear?'

'My silken screen I was wont to wear.'

'What will ye leave to your sister Anne?'

'My silken snood an my golden fan.'

'What will you leave to your brither John?'

'The gallows tree to hang him on.'

Notes and Queries, 1st S., VI, 53, 2d S., V, 171. As sung

by a lady who was a native of County Kerry, Ireland.

There were three ladies playing at ball,

Farin-dan-dan and farin-dan-dee

There came a white knight, and he wooed them all.

With adieu, sweet honey, wherever you be

He courted the eldest with golden rings,

And the others with many fine things.

And adieu, etc.

Notes and Queries, 4th S., V, 105. From Forfarshire, W.F.

There were three sisters playin at the ba,

Wi a hech hey an a lillie gay

There cam a knicht an lookt ower the wa'.

An the primrose springs sae sweetly.

Sing Annet, an Marret, an fair Maisrie,

An the dew hangs i the wood, gay ladie.

Gilbert's Ancient Christmas Carols, 2d ed., p. 68, as

remembered by the editor. West of England.

There did three knights come from the west,

With the high and the lily oh

And these three knights courted one lady.

As the rose was so sweetly blown

The first knight came was all in white,

And asked of her, if she'd be his delight.

The next knight came was all in green,

And asked of her, if she'd be his queen.

The third knight came was all in red,

And asked of her, if she would wed.

'Then have you asked of my father dear,

Likewise of her who did me bear?

'And have you asked of my brother John?

And also of my sister Anne?'

'Yes, I have asked of your father dear,

Likewise of her who did you bear.

'And I have asked of your sister Anne,

But I've not asked of your brother John.'

Far on the road as they rode along,

There did they meet with her brother John.

She stooped low to kiss him sweet,

He to her heart did a dagger meet.

'Ride on, ride on,' cried the serving man,

'Methinks your bride she looks wondrous wan.'

'I wish I were on yonder stile,

For there I would sit and bleed awhile.

'I wish I were on yonder hill,

There I'd alight and make my will.'

'What would you give to your father dear?'

'The gallant steed which doth me bear.'

'What would you give to your mother dear?'

'My wedding shift which I do wear.

'But she must wash it very clean,

For my heart's blood sticks in evry seam.'

'What would you give to your sister Anne?'

'My gay gold ring and my feathered fan.'

'What would you give to your brother John?'

'A rope and gallows to hang him on.'

'What would you give to your brother John's wife?'

'A widow's weeds, and a quiet life.'

#a.# Herd's MSS, I, 41. #b.# Herd's Scottish Songs, 1776,

I, 88.

There was three ladys in a ha,

Fine flowers i the valley

There came three lords amang them a',

Wi the red, green, and the yellow

The first of them was clad in red:

'O lady fair, will you be my bride?'

The second of them was clad in green:

'O lady fair, will you be my queen?'

The third of them was clad in yellow:

'O lady fair, will you be my marrow?'

'You must ask my father dear,

Likewise the mother that did me bear.'

'You must ask my sister Ann,

And not forget my brother John,'

'I have askt thy father dear,

Likewise thy mother that did thee bear.

'I have askt thy sister Ann,

But I forgot thy brother John.'

Her father led her through the ha,

Her mother dancd before them a'.

Her sister Ann led her through the closs,

Her brother John put her on her horse.

'You are high and I am low;

Let me have a kiss before you go.'

She was louting down to kiss him sweet,

Wi his penknife he wounded her deep.

* * * * * * *

'O lead me over into yon stile,

That I may stop and breath a while.

'O lead me over to yon stair,

For there I'll ly and bleed ne mair.'

'O what will you leave your father dear?'

'That milk-white steed that brought me here.'

'O what will you leave your mother dear?'

'The silken gown that I did wear.'

'What will you leave your sister Ann?'

'My silken snood and golden fan.'

'What will you leave your brother John?'

'The highest gallows to hang him on.'

'What will you leave your brother John's wife?'

'Grief and sorrow to end her life.'

'What will ye leave your brother John's bairns?'

'The world wide for them to range.'

Herd's MSS, I, 44, II, 75; Scottish Songs, 1776, I, 90;

appended to #G#.

She louted down to gie a kiss,

With a hey and a lilly gay

He stuck his penknife in her hass.

And the rose it smells so sweetly

'Ride up, ride up,' cry'd the foremost man;

'I think our bride looks pale and wan.'

Kinloch's MSS, I, 27. From Mrs Bouchart, an old lady

native of Forfarshire.

There war three bonnie boys playing at the ba,

Hech hey and a lily gay

There cam three ladies to view them a'.

And the rose it smells sae sweetlie

The first ane was clad in red:

'O,' says he, 'ye maun be my bride.'

The next o them was clad in green:

'O,' says he, 'ye maun be my queen.'

The tither o them was clad in yellow:

'O,' says he, 'ye maun be my marrow.'

'Ye maun gang to my father's bouer,

To see gin your bride he'll let me be.'

Her father led her doun the stair,

Her mither at her back did bear.

Her sister Jess led her out the closs,

Her brother John set her on the horse.

She loutit doun to gie him a kiss;

He struck his penknife thro her breist.

'Ride on, ride on,' says the foremaist man;

'I think our bride looks pale and wan.'

'Ride on, ride on,' says the merry bridegroom;

'I think my bride's blude is rinnin doun.'

'O gin I war at yon bonnie hill,

I wad lie doun and bleed my fill!

'O gin I war at yon bonnie kirk-yard,

I wad mak my testament there!'

'What will ye leave to your father dear?'

'The milk-white steed that brocht me here.'

'What will ye leave to your mother dear?'

'The bluidy robes that I do wear.'

'What will ye leave to your sister Ann?'

'My silken snood and gowden fan.'

'What will ye leave to your sister Jess?'

'The bonnie lad that I loe best.'

'What will ye leave to your brother John?'

'The gallows pin to hang him on.'

'What will ye leave to your brother John's wife?'

'Sorrow and trouble a' her life.'

'What will ye leave to your brother's bairns?'

'The warld's wide, and let them beg.'

From Miss Margaret Reburn, as current in County Meath,

Ireland, about 1860.

There were three sisters playing ball,

With the high and the lily O

And there came three knights to court them all.

With the rosey sweet, heigh ho

The eldest of them was drest in green:

'I wish I had you to be my queen.'

The second of them was drest in red:

'I wish I had you to grace my bed.'

The youngest of them was drest in white:

'I wish I had you to be my wife.'

'Did ye ask my father brave?

Or did ye ask my mother fair?

'Or did ye ask my brother John?

For without his will I dare not move on.'

'I did ask your parents dear,

But I did not see your brother John.'

* * * * * * *

'Ride on, ride on,' said the first man,

'For I fear the bride comes slowly on.'

'Ride on, ride on,' said the next man,

'For lo! the bride she comes bleeding on.'

* * * * * * *

'What will you leave your mother dear?'

'My heart's best love for ever and aye.'

'What will ye leave your sister Anne?'

'This wedding garment that I have on.'

'What will ye leave your brother John's wife?'

'Grief and sorrow all the days of her life.'

'What will ye leave your brother John?'

'The highest gallows to hang him on.'

'What will ye leave your brother John's son?'

'The grace of God to make him a man.'

Notes and Queries, 4th S., IV, 517, as "sung in Cheshire

amongst the people" in the last century. T. W.

There were three ladies playing at ball,

Gilliver, Gentle, and Rosemary

There came three knights and looked over the wall.

Sing O the red rose and the white lilly

The first young knight, he was clothed in red,

And he said, 'Gentle lady, with me will you wed?'

The second young knight, he was clothed in blue,

And he said, 'To my love I shall ever be true.'

The third young knight, he was clothed in green,

And he said, 'Fairest maiden, will you be my queen?'

The lady thus spoke to the knight in red,

'With you, sir knight, I never can wed.'

The lady then spoke to the knight in blue,

And she said, 'Little faith I can have in you.'

The lady then spoke to the knight in green,

And she said, ''T is at court you must seek for a queen.'

The three young knights then rode away,

And the ladies they laughed, and went back to their play.

Singing, etc.

* * * * *

#A. b.#

6^2. oer young.

10^2. spear at.

17^2. the bonny.

19^1. said.

23^1. And what will ye.

25^1. This fair lady.

25^2. And a mass.

_Variations of Aytoun's copy, sts. 9-13, 16, 17, 20-24:

11^1 omits ~And~; 12^1, 13^1 omit ~dear~; 13^2 omits

~And~; 16^1, ~through half~ for ~half thro~; 17^2 omits

~For, bonny~; 21^2, ~pearlin~ for ~silken~; 22^1 omits

~And~; 22^2, ~My silken gown that stands its lane~; 23^2,

~shirt~ for ~cloaths~; 24^1, ~And what~; 24^2, ~The gates

o hell to let him in~._

#B.#

"I have seen a fragment of another copy in which [the

burden is]

The red rose and the lily

And the roses spring fu sweetly." _Kinloch_, p. 19.

#F.#

9^1. For on the road.

#G. a.#

1. _Burden^2. ~The red, green~, etc.: afterwards, ~Wi the

red~, etc._

2^2. _MS. also_, He askt of me if I'd be his bride.

3^2. _MS. also_, He askt of me if I'd be his queen.

4^2. _MS. also_, He askt me if I'd be his marrow.

15^2. _MS. also_, The gold and silver that I have here.

16^2. _MS. also_, The silken garment.

17^2. _MS. also_, My satine hat.

20^2, _MS. also_, The world wide, let them go beg.

#b.#

7^2. the mother.

#b.#

14^1. into yon stair.

_Variations of Aytoun's copy, sts. 1-8, 14, 15, 18, 19

from Herd, 1776_: 1^1, three sisters; 2^2, 3^2, 4^2 _omit_

fair; 5^1, O ye maun; 6^1, And ye; 7^1, O I have; 8^1, And

I have ask'd your sister; 8^2, your brother; 14^2, Give me

a kiss; 15^2, When wi his knife.

#H.#

"I have heard this song, to a very good tune not in any

collection, with the above variations--the chorus, of the

whole as in the above two verses." _Herd's note in his

MSS._

[143] Aytoun, 1-8==Herd, 1776, 1-8: 9-13==Jamieson, 11-15: 14, 15==Herd,

11, 12: 16, 17==Jamieson, 18, 19: 18, 19==Herd, 13, 14: 20-24==Jamieson,

21-25.

LORD RANDAL

#A.# From a manuscript copy, probably of the beginning of

this century.

#B.# 'Lord Donald,' Kinloch's Ancient Scottish Ballads, p.

110.

#C.# Motherwell's MS., p. 69.

#D.# Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border, 1803, III, 292.

#E.# Halliwell's Popular Rhymes and Nursery Tales, p. 261.

#F.# 'Lord Ronald, my Son,' Johnson's Museum, No 327, p.

337.

#G.# Illustrations of Northern Antiquities, p. 319.

#H.# From recitation, 1881.

#I.# 'Tiranti, my Son.' #a.# Communicated by a lady of

Boston, #b.# By an aunt of the same. #c.# By a lady of New

Bedford. #d.# By a lady of Cambridge. #e#, #f#, #g#. By

ladies of Boston.

#J.# 'The Bonnie Wee Croodlin Dow,' Motherwell's MS., p.

238.

#K. a.# 'The Croodlin Doo,' Chambers, Scottish Ballads, p.

324. #b.# 'The Wee Croodlen Doo,' Chambers, Popular

Rhymes, 1842, p. 53. #c.# Johnson's Museum, by Stenhouse

and Laing, IV, 364*.

#L.# 'Willie Doo,' Buchan's MSS, II, 322, and Ballads, II,

179.

#M.# 'The Croodin Doo,' Chambers, Popular Rhymes, 1870, p.

51.

#N.# Kinloch MSS, V, 347.

#O.# 'The Croodlin Doo.' From a manuscript belonging to

the Fraser-Tytler family.

The title 'Lord Randal' is selected for this ballad because that name

occurs in one of the better versions, and because it has become familiar

through Scott's Minstrelsy. Scott says that the hero was more generally

termed Lord Ronald: but in the versions that have come down to us this

is not so. None of these can be traced back further than a century. #F#

and #D# were the earliest published. Jamieson remarks with respect to

#G# (1814): "An English gentleman, who had never paid any attention to

ballads, nor ever read a collection of such things, told me that when a

child he learnt from a playmate of his own age, the daughter of a

clergyman in Suffolk, the following imperfect ditty." #I#, a version

current in eastern Massachusetts, may be carried as far back as any.

#a#, #b# derive from Elizabeth Foster, whose parents, both natives of

eastern Massachusetts, settled, after their marriage, in Maine, where

she was born in 1789. Elizabeth Foster's mother is remembered to have

sung the ballad, and I am informed that the daughter must have learned

it not long after 1789, since she was removed in her childhood from

Maine to Massachusetts, and continued there till her death. 'Tiranti'

['Taranti'] may not improbably be a corruption of Lord Randal.

The copy in Smith's Scottish Minstrel, III, 58, is Scott's altered. The

first four stanzas are from the Border Minstrelsy, except the last line

of the fourth, which is from Johnson's Museum. The last two stanzas are

a poor modern invention.

Three stanzas which are found in #A#. Cunningham's Scottish Songs, I,

286 f, may be given for what they are worth. 'The house of Marr,' in the

first, is not to be accepted on the simple ground of its appearance in

his pages. The second is inserted in his beautified edition of Scott's

ballad, and has its burden accordingly; but there is, besides this, no

internal evidence against the second, and none against the third.

'O where have you been, Lord Ronald, my son?

O where have you been, my handsome young man?'

'At the house of Marr, mother, so make my bed soon,

For I'm wearied with hunting, and fain would lie down.'

'O where did she find them, Lord Randal, my son?

O where did she catch them, my handsome young man?'

'Neath the bush of brown bracken, so make my bed soon,

For I'm wae and I'm weary, and fain would lie down.'

'O what got your bloodhounds, Lord Ronald, my son?

O what got your bloodhounds, my handsome young man?'

'They lapt the broo, mother, so make my bed soon,

I am wearied with hunting, and fain would lie down.'

A pot-pourri or quodlibet, reprinted in Wolff's Egeria, p. 53, from a

Veronese broadside of the date 1629, shows that this ballad was popular

in #Italy# more than 250 years ago; for the last but one of the

fragments which make up the medley happens to be the first three lines

of 'L'Avvelenato,' very nearly as they are sung at the present day, and

these are introduced by a summary of the story:

"Io vo' finire con questa _d'un amante

Tradito dall' amata._

Oh che l'è sì garbata

A cantarla in ischiera:

_'Dov' andastu iersera,

Figliuol mio ricco, savio e gentile?

Dov' andastu iersera'?_"[144]

The ballad was first recovered in 1865, by Dr G. B. Bolza, who took it

down from the singing of very young girls at Loveno. Since then good

copies have been found at Venice. #A#, 'L'Avvelenato,' Bolza, Canzoni

popolari comasche, No 49, Sitzungsberichte of the Vienna Academy

(philos. histor. class), LIII, 668, is of seventeen stanzas, of seven

short lines, all of which repeat but two: the 8th and 10th stanzas are

imperfect.[145] A mother inquires of her son where he has been. He has

been at his mistress's, where he has eaten part of an eel; the rest was

given to a dog, that died in the street. The mother declares that he has

been poisoned. He bids her send for the doctor to see him, for the

curate to shrive him, for the notary to make his will. He leaves his

mother his palace, his brothers his carriage and horses, his sisters a

dowry, his servants a free passage to mass ("la strada d'andà a messa" #

nothing), a hundred and fifty masses for his soul; for his mistress the

gallows to hang her. #B#, #C#, 'L'Avvelenato,' Bernoni, Nuovi Canti

popolari veneziani, 1874, No 1, p. 5, p. 3, have twelve and eighteen

four-line stanzas, the questions and answers in successive stanzas, and

the last three lines of the first pair repeated respectively

throughout.[146] #B#, which is given as a variant of #C#, agrees with

#A# as to the agent in the young man's death. It is his mistress in #B#,

but in #C# it is his mother. In both, as in #A#, he has eaten of an eel.

The head he gave to the dogs, the tail to the cats (#C#). He leaves to

his stewards (castaldi) his carriages and horses (#C#); to his herdsmen

his cows and fields; to the maids his chamber furnishings; to his sister

the bare privilege of going to mass (#C#, as in #A#); to his mother

[wife, #C#] the keys of his treasure. "La forca per picarla" is in #B#

as in #A# the bequest to his false love, instead of whom we have his

mother in #C#.

The corresponding #German# ballad has been known to the English for two

generations through Jamieson's translation. The several versions, all

from oral tradition of this century, show the same resemblances and

differences as the English.

#A#, #B#, 'Schlangenköchin,' eight stanzas of six lines, four of which

are burden, #A#, Liederhort, p. 6, No 2^a, from the neighborhood of

Wilsnack, Brandenburg, #B#, Peter, I, 187, No 6, from Weidenau, Austrian

Silesia, run thus: Henry tells his mother that he has been at his

sweetheart's (but not a-hunting); has had a speckled fish to eat, part

of which was given to the dog [cat, #B#], which burst. Henry wishes his

father and mother all blessings, and hell-pains to his love, #A# 6-8.

His mother, #B# 8, asks where she shall make his bed: he replies, In the

church-yard. #C#, 'Grossmutter Schlangenköchin,' first published in

1802, in Maria's (Clemens Brentano's) romance Godwi, II, 113, afterward

in the Wunderhorn, I, 19 (ed. 1819, I, 20, ed. 1857), has fourteen

two-line stanzas, or seven of four lines, one half burden. The copy in

Zuccalmaglio, p. 217, No 104, "from Hesse and North Germany," is the

same thing with another line of burden intercalated and two or three

slight changes. Maria has been at her grandmother's, who gave her a fish

to eat which she had caught in her kitchen garden; the dog ate the

leavings, and his belly burst. The conclusion agrees with #B#, neither

having the testament. #D#, 'Stiefmutter,' seven stanzas of four short

lines, two being burden, Uhland, No 120, p. 272; excepting one slight

variation, the same as Liederhort, p. 5, No 2, from the vicinity of

Bückeburg, Lippe-Schaumburg. A child has been at her mother's sister's

house, where she has had a well-peppered broth and a glass of red wine.

The dogs [and cats] had some broth too, and died on the spot. The child

wishes its father a seat in heaven, for its mother one in hell. #E#,

'Kind, wo bist du denn henne west?' Reiffenberg, p. 8, No 4, from

Bökendorf, Westphalia, four stanzas of six lines, combining question and

answer, two of the six burden. A child has been at its step-aunt's, and

has had a bit of a fish caught in the nettles along the wall. The child

gives all its goods to its brother, its clothes to its sister, but three

devils to its [step-]mother. #F#, 'Das vergiftete kind,' seven four-line

stanzas, two burden, Schuster, Siebenbürgisch-sächsische V. L., p. 62,

No 58, from Mühlbach. A child tells its father that its heart is

bursting; it has eaten of a fish, given it by its mother, which the

father declares to be an adder. The child wishes its father a seat in

heaven, its mother one in hell.

#A#, #B# are nearer to 'Lord Randal,' and have even the name Henry which

we find in English #C#. #C-F# are like #J-O#, 'The Croodlin Doo.'

#Dutch.# 'Isabelle,' Snellaert, p. 73, No 67, seven four-line stanzas,

the first and fourth lines repeated in each. Isabel has been sewing at

her aunt's, and has eaten of a fish with yellow stripes that had been

caught with tongs in the cellar. The broth, poured into the street,

caused the dogs to burst. She wishes her aunt a red-hot furnace, herself

a spade to bury her, her brother a wife like his mother.

#Swedish.# #A#, 'Den lillas Testamente,' ten five-line stanzas, three

lines burden, Afzelius, III, 13, No 68; ed. Bergström, I, 291, No 55. A

girl, interrogated by her step-mother, says she has been at her aunt's,

and has eaten two wee striped fishes. The bones she gave the dog; the

stanza which should describe the effect is wanting. She wishes heaven

for her father and mother, a ship for her brother, a jewel-box and

chests for her sister, and hell for her step-mother and her nurse. #B#,

Arwidsson, II, 90, No 88, nine five-line stanzas, two lines burden. In

the first stanza, evidently corrupt, the girl says she has been at her

brother's. She has had eels cooked with pepper, and the bones, given to

the dogs, made them burst. She gives her father good corn in his barns,

her brother and sister a ship, etc., hell to her step-mother and nurse.

#Danish.# Communicated by Prof. Grundtvig, as obtained for the first

time from tradition in 1877; five stanzas of five lines, three lines

repeating. Elselille, in answer to her mother, says she has been in the

meadow, where she got twelve small snakes. She wishes heavenly joy to

her father, a grave to her brother, hell torment to her sister.

#Magyar.# 'Der vergiftete Knabe,' Aigner, Ungarische Volksdichtungen,

2^e Auflage, p. 127, in nine six-line stanzas, four being a burden.

Johnnie, in answer to his mother, says he has been at his

sister-in-law's, and has eaten a speckled toad, served on her handsomest

plate, of which he is dying. He bequeaths to his father his best

carriage, to his brothers his finest horses, to his sister his house

furniture, to his sister-in-law everlasting damnation, to his mother

pain and sorrow.

#Wendish.# 'Der vergiftete Knabe,' Haupt u. Schmaler, I, 110, No 77,

twelve four-line stanzas, combining question and answer, the first and

last line repeating. Henry has been at the neighbor's, has eaten part of

a fish caught in the stable with a dung-fork; his dog ate the rest, and

burst. There is no testament. His mother asks him where she shall make

his bed; he replies, In the churchyard; turn my head westward, and cover

me with green turf.

The numerous forms of this story show a general agreement, with but

little difference except as to the persons who are the object and the

agent of the crime. These are, according to the Italian

tradition,--which is 250 years old, while no other goes back more than a

hundred years, and far the larger part have been obtained in recent

years,--a young man and his true-love; and in this account unite two of

the three modern Italian versions, English #A-G#, German #A#, #B#. Scott

suggests that the handsome young sportsman (whom we find in English #A#,

#C#, #D#, #E#, #F#, #H#) may have been exchanged for a little child

poisoned by a step-mother, to excite greater interest in the nursery.

This seems very reasonable. What girl with a lover, singing the ballad,

would not be tempted to put off the treacherous act on so popular,

though most unjustly popular, an object of aversion? A mother, again,

would scarcely allow "mother" to stand, as is the case in Italian #C#

and German #F#, and a singer who considered that all blood relations

should be treated as sacred would ascribe the wickedness to somebody

beyond that pale, say a neighbor, as the Wendish ballad does, and

Zuccalmaglio's reading of German #C#. The step-mother is expressly named

only in English #J#, #K c#, #L#, #M#, #N#, #O#, and in four of these,

#J#, #K c#, #M#, #O#, the child has a mammie,[147] which certainly

proves an _alibi_ for the step-mother, and confirms what Scott says.

There is a step-aunt in German #E# and Swedish #A#, and the aunt in

German #D# and the Dutch ballad, and the grandmother in English #I#, #K

a#, #b#, German #C#, are perhaps meant (as the brother in Swedish #B#

certainly is) to be step-relations and accommodating instruments.

The poisoning is shifted to a wife in English #H#, to an uncle in

English #I d#, and to a sister-in-law in the Magyar version.