False-hearted Knight- (WV) pre1957 Musick (B)
[My title. From: Ballads and Folksongs from West Virginia by Ruth Ann Musick; The Journal of American Folklore, Vol. 70, No. 277 (Jul. - Sep., 1957), pp. 247-261.
I've included Cox F at the bottom of the page.
R. Matteson Jr. 2014]
1.2. [False-Hearted Knight.] Contributed by Mrs. Bertha Tichenor of Fairmont, who learned it from her mother; her niece reported the text, with some variations but no tune, to John Harrington Cox (see n. 2), who used it as his version F. Only the tune (Ex. 2) and the first ten verses known to Mrs. Tichenor are given.
(1) "Oh, come to me, my pretty, fair maid,
Oh, come, oh, come to me.
And I'll take you over into old Scotland,
And there I'll marry thee, thee, thee,
And there I'll marry thee."
(2) "Oh, you must steal your father's gold,
Likewise your mother's fee,
And two of the best horses in your father's stable,
Wherein stand thirty-three, three, three,
Wherein stand thirty-three."
(3) "Oh, I have stoled my father's gold,
Likewise my mother's fee,
And two of the best horses in my father's stable,
Wherein stood thirty-three, three, three,
Wherein stood thirty-three."
(4) She mounted on the milk-white steed,
And him upon the bay;
And they rode till they came to the salt, salt sea,
Four long hours before it was day, day, day,
Four long hours before it was day.
(5) "Light off, light off, my pretty fair maid,
Light off, light off," said he,
"For six king's daughters have I drownded here,
And you the seventh shall be, be, be,
And you the seventh shall be."
(6) "Sir, turn yourself three times around,
And look to yonder's tree."
And she gathered him up in her lilywhite arms,
And cast him into the sea, sea, sea,
And cast him into the sea.
(7) "Lie there, lie there, you false-hearted knight,
Lie there instead of me,
For you promised to take me into old Scotland,
And there you'd marry me, me, me,
And there you'd marry me."
(8) She mounted on the milk-white steed,
And home she led the bay;
She rode till she came to her own father's castle,
Three long hours before it was day, day, day,
Three long hours before it was day.
(9) Then the king cried out from his silken couch,
In the bower where he lay,
Saying, "What has disturbed my
pretty parrot
So long before it is day, day, day,
So long before it is day?"
(10) "Hush up, hush up, my pretty parrot,
And tell no tales on me,
And your cage shall be made of yellow, beaten gold,
And hung on yon willow tree, tree, tree,
And hung on yon willow tree."
---------------------------
[Cox F, mentioned by Musick above]
F. "The King's Daughter," or, "The False Lover." Communicated by Miss Mildred Joy Barker, Morgantown, Monongalia County, October 2, 1916; obtained from her mother, whose family came to Monongalia County before the Revolution. Its members have known the ballad for many years.
1 "O come with me, my fair, fair lad,
And we'll sail over the sea;
We'll sail to bonny Scotland,
And there you will marry me, me, me,
And there you will marry me.
2 "If you will steal your father's gold,
Likewise your mother's fee,
I'll take you over to old Scotland,
And there I'll marry thee, thee, thee,
And there I'll marry thee."
3 "O, I have stole my father's gold,
Likewise my mother's fee,
And two of the best horses in my father's stable,
Wherein stand thirty and three, three, three,
Wherein stand thirty and three."
4 She mounted on the milk-white steed,
And he upon the bay;
And they rode till they came to the salt, salt sea,
Three long hours before it was day, day, day,
Three long hours before it was day.
5 "Light off, light off, my pretty fair maid,
Light off, light off! " said he;
"For six king's daughters have I drowned here,
And you the seventh shall be, be, be,
And you the seventh shall be."
6 " O, turn yourself three times around,[1]
And look to yonder tree."
. . .
. . .
7 . . . .
. . . .
She gathered him up in her lily-white arms,
And cast him into the sea, sea, sea,
And cast him into the sea.
8 "Lie there, lie there, you false-hearted knight,
Lie there, lie there instead of me!
For you promised to take me to old Scotland,
And there you 'd marry me, me, me,
And there you'd marry me."
9 She mounted on her milk-white steed
And home she led the bay;
She rode till she came to her own father's stable,
One long hour before it was day, day, day.
One long hour before it was day.
10 The king cried out from his silken couch,
In the bower where he lay,
"O what has disturbed my pretty parrot
So long before it is day, day, day,
So long before it is day?"
11. "Hush up, hush up, my pretty parrot,
And tell no lies on me,
And your cage shall be made of yellow beaten gold,
And hung on yon willow tree, tree, tree,
And hung on yon willow tree."
1. Stanzas 6 and 7 should be combined as such:
6 "O, turn yourself three times around,
And look to yonder tree."
She gathered him up in her lily-white arms,
And cast him into the sea, sea, sea,
And cast him into the sea.