No. 193: The Death of Parcy Reed
[There are no known US or Canadian versions of this ballad.]
CONTENTS:
1. Child's Narrative
2. Footnotes (There are no footnotes)
3. Brief (Kittredge)
4. Child's Ballad Text A-B (An additional text also lettered B [a mistake? I've lettered it B 2] was collected from Catherine Hall and is found in Additions and Corrections of the The English and Scottish Popular ballads, Part 8; 1892)
5. End-Notes
5. Additions and Corrections
ATTACHED PAGES (see left hand column):
1. Recordings & Info: 193. The Death of Parcy Reed
A. Roud No. 335: The Death of Parcy Reed (13 Listings)
2. Sheet Music: 193. The Death of Parcy Reed (including Bronson's music examples)
3. English and Other Versions (Including Child versions A-E with additional notes)]
Child's Narrative: 193. The Death of Parcy Reed
A. 'A song of Parcy Reed and the Three False Halls,' the late Robert White's papers.
B. 'The Death of Parcy Reed,' Richardson's Borderer's Table Book, 1846, VII, 361; J. H. Dixon, Ancient Poems, Ballads and Songs of the Peasantry of England, p. 99, Percy Society, vol. xvii, 1846.
B [2]. Letters addressed to Sir Walter Scott, XIII, No 73, Abbotsford. "Parcy Reed, exactly as it is sung by an old, woman of the name of Cathrine Hall, living at Fairloans, in the remotest corner of Oxnam parish:" James Telfer, Browndeanlaws, May 18, 1824.
Of B, which purports to have been taken down from an old woman's singing by James Telfer, Mr. Robert White, from whom I received A, said in a letter to Mr. J.H. Dixon: "Parcy Reed, as you suspect, is not genuine, for it bears marks of our friend's improvements. I have a copy of the original somewhere, but may not be able to find it." And again, Telfer himself, "in a letter to the late Robert Storey, the Northumbrian poet," wrote, "I will send Mr. Dixon the real verses, but it is but a droll of a ballad." (J. H. Dixon, in Notes and Queries, Fourth Series, J, 108, V, 520.)
Comparison will show that almost the whole of A is preserved in B, and in fairly good form. B has also some stanzas not found in A which may be accepted as traditional. Telfer may have added a dozen of his own, and has retouched others.
Mr. White, after remarking that there is no historical evidence to show when the event on which the ballad was founded occurred, informs us that almost every circumstance in the narrative has been transmitted to the present century by local tradition.
"Percival, or Parcy, Reed," in the words of Mr. White, "was proprietor of Troughend, an elevated tract of land lying on the west side and nearly in the centre of Redesdale, Northumberland. The remains of the old tower may still be seen, a little to the west of the present mansion, commanding a beautiful and most extensive view of nearly the whole valley. Here he resided, and being a keen hunter and brave soldier, he possessed much influence, and was appointed warden or keeper of the district. His office was to suppress and order the apprehension of thieves and other breakers of the law; in the execution of which he incurred the displeasure of a family of brothers of the name of Hall, who were owners of Girsonsfield, a farm about two miles east from Troughend. He also drew upon himself the hostility of a band of moss troopers, Crosier by name, some of whom he had been successful in bringing to justice. The former were, however, artful enough to conceal their resentment, and under the ap pearance of friendship calmly awaited an opportunity to be avenged. Some time after wards, they solicited his attendance on a hunt ing expedition to the head of Redesdale, and unfortunately he agreed to accompany them. His wife had some strange dreams anent his safety on the night before his departure, and at breakfast, on the following morning, the loaf of bread from which he was supplied chanced to be turned with the bottom up wards, an omen which is still accounted most unfavorable all over the north of England. Considering these presages undeserving of notice, Reed set out in company with the Halls, and, after enjoying a good day's sport, the party withdrew to a solitary hut in Batinghope, a lonely glen stretching westward from the Whitelee, whose little stream forms one of the chief sources of Reedwater. The whole of this arrangement had been previously planned by the Halls and Crosiers, and when the latter came down, late in the evening, to execute their purpose of vengeance, they found Parcy Reed altogether a defenceless man. His companions not only deserted him, but had previously driven his sword so firmly in its scabbard that it could not be drawn, and had also moistened the powder with which the very long gun he carried with him was charged, so as to render both useless when he came to rely upon them for protection. Accordingly the Crosiers instantly put him to death; and so far did they carry out their sanguinary measures, even against his lifeless body, that tradition says the fragments thereof had to be collected together and conveyed in pillow-slips home to Troughend. Public indignation was speedily aroused against the murderers; the very name of Crosier was abhorred throughout Redesdale, and the abettors were both driven from their residence and designated as the fause-hearted Ha's, an appel lation which yet remains in force against them." (Richardson's Borderer's Table Book, VII, 361.)
The farm of Girsonsfield, according to the ballad, A 3, 18, belonged to the Halls. But that place has been the property of others, says Mr. White, "ever since the reign of Elizabeth;" whence he concludes that the story is not to be dated later than the sixteenth century.
Parcy Reed is famed to have had a favorite dog named Keeldar, and, though a "peerless archer," to have killed him by an unlucky shot while hunting. Sir Walter Scott has celebrated this mishap and its consequence in 'The Death of Keeldar' (Table Book, as above, p. 240); and he alludes to the treacherous murder of Reed (with which he became acquainted through Robert Roxby's 'Lay of the Reedwater Minstrel,' 1809) in Rokeby, written in 1812, Canto I, xx.
Brief Description by George Lyman Kittredge
Mr. Robert White records a tradition in Redesdale, Northumberland, which accords in almost every particular with this ballad. He thinks that the story is not to be dated later than the sixteenth century (Richardson's Borderer's Table Book, vn, 361).
Child's Ballad Texts
'A song of Parcy Reed and the Three False Halls'- Version A; Child 193 The Death of Parcy Reed
The late Robert White's papers; "Woodburn, December 1, 1829, Thomas Hedley, Bridge End, Corsonside Parish."
1 The Liddesdale Crosiers hae ridden a race,
And they had far better staid at hame,
For they have lost a gallant gay,
Young Whinton Crosier it was his name.
2 For Parcy Reed he has him taen,
And he's delivered him to law,
But auld Crosier has made answer
That he'll gar the house of the Troughend fa.
3 So as it happened on a day
That Parcy Reed is a hunting gane,
And the three false Halls of Girsonsfield
They all along with him are gane.
4 They hunted up and they hunted down,
They hunted all Reedwater round,
Till weariness has on him siezed;
At the Batinghope he's fallen asleep.
5 O some they stole his powder-horn,
And some put water in his lang gun:
'O waken, waken, Parcy Reed!
For we do doubt thou sleeps too sound.
6 'O waken, O waken, Parcy Reed!
For we do doubt thou sleeps too long;
For yonder's the five Crosiers coming,
They're coming by the Hingin Stane.
7 'If they be five men, we are four,
If ye will all stand true to me;
Now every one of you may take one,
And two of them ye may leave to me.'
8 'We will not stay, nor we dare not stay,
O Parcy Reed, for to fight with thee;
For thou wilt find, O Parcy Reed,
That they will slay both us and thee.'
9 'O stay, O stay, O Tommy Hall,
O stay, O man, and fight with me!
If we see the Troughend again,
My good black mare I will give thee.'
10 'I will not stay, nor I dare not stay,
O Parcy Reed, to fight for thee;
For thou wilt find, O Parcy Reed,
That they will slay both me and thee.'
11 'O stay, O stay, O Johnnie Hall,
O stay, O man, and fight for me!
If I see the Troughend again,
Five yoke of oxen I will give thee.'
12 'I will not stay, nor I dare not stay,
O Parcy Reed, for to fight with thee;
For thou wilt find, O Parcy Reed,
That they will slay both me and thee.'
13 'O stay, O stay, O Willie Hall,
O stay, O man, and fight for me!
If we see the Troughend again,
The half of my land I will give thee.'
14 'I will not stay, nor I dare not stay,
O Parcy Reed, for to fight with thee;
For thou wilt find, O Parcy Reed,
That they will slay both me and thee.'
15 'Now foul fa ye, ye traitors all,
That ever ye should in England won!
You have left me in a fair field standin,
And in my hand an uncharged gun.
16 'O fare thee well, my wedded wife!
O fare you well, my children five!
And fare thee well, my daughter Jane,
That I love best that's born alive!
17 'O fare thee well, my brother Tom!
And fare you well his children five!
If you had been with me this day,
I surely had been man alive.
18 'Farewell all friends! as for my foes,
To distant lands may they be tane,
And the three false Halls of Girsonsfield,
They'll never be trusted nor trowed again.'
----------
'The Death of Parcy Reed'- Version B; Child 193 The Death of Parcy Reed
Richardsons' Borderers' Table Book, VII, 361, 1846; "taken down by James Telfer, of Saughtree, Liddesdale, from the chanting of an old woman named Kitty Hall, a native of Northumberland."
1 God send the land deliverance
Frae every reaving, riding Scot;
We'll sune hae neither cow nor ewe,
We'll sune hae neither staig nor stot.
2 The outlaws come fare Liddesdale,
They herry Redesdale far and near;
The rich man's gelding it maun gang,
They canna pass the puir man's mear.
3 Sure it were weel, had ilka thief
Around his neck a halter strang;
And curses heavy may they light
On traitors vile oursels amang.
4 Now Parcy Reed has Crosier taen,
He has delivered him to the law;
But Crosier says he'll do waur than that,
He'll make the tower o Troughend fa.
5 And Crosier says he will do waur,
He will do waur if waur can be;
He'll make the bairns a' fatherless,
And then, the land it may lie lee.
6 'To the hunting, ho!' cried Parcy Reed,
'The morning sun is on the dew;
The cauler breeze frae off the fells
Will lead the dogs to the quarry true.
7 'To the hunting, ho!' cried Parcy Reed,
And to the hunting he has gane;
And the three fause Ha's o Girsonsfield
Alang wi him he has them taen.
8 They hunted high, they hunted low,
By heathery hill and birken shaw;
They raised a buck on Rooken Edge,
And blew the mort at fair Ealylawe.
9 They hunted high, they hunted low,
They made the echoes ring amain;
With music sweet o horn and hound,
They merry made fair Redesdale glen.
10 They hunted high, they hunted low,
They hunted up, they hunted down,
Until the day was past the prime,
And it grew late in the afternoon.
11 They hunted high in Batinghope,
When as the sun was sinking low;
Says Parcy then, Ca off the dogs,
We'll bait our steeds and homeward go.
12 They lighted high in Batinghope,
Atween the brown and benty ground;
They had but rested a little while
Till Parcy Reed was sleeping sound.
13 There's nane may lean on a rotten staff,
But him that risks to get a fa;
There's nane may in a traitor trust,
And traitors black were every Ha.
14 They've stown the bridle off his steed,
And they've put water in his lang gun;
Theya've fixed his sword within the sheath
That out again it winna come.
15 'Awaken ye, waken ye, Parcy Reed,
Or by your enemies be taen;
For yonder are the five Crosiers
A-coming owre the Hingin-stane.'
16 'If they be five, and we be four,
Sae that ye stand alang wi me,
Then every man ye will take one,
And only leave but two to me:
We will them meet as brave men ought,
And make them either fight or flee.'
17 'We mayna stand, we canna stand,
We daurna stand alang wi thee;
The Crosiers haud thee at a feud,
And they wad kill baith thee and we.'
18 'O turn thee, turn thee, Johnie Ha,
O turn thee, man, and fight wi me;
When ye come to Troughend again,
My gude black naig I will gie thee;
He cost full twenty pound o gowd,
Atween my brother John and me.'
19 'I mayna turn, I canna turn,
I daurna turn and fight wi thee;
The Crosiers haud thee at a feud,
And they wad kill baith thee and me.'
20 'O turn thee, turn thee, Willie Ha,
O turn thee, man, and fight wi me;
When ye come to Troughend again,
A yoke o owsen I'll gie thee.'
21 'I mayna turn, I canna turn,
I daurna turn and fight wi thee;
The Crosiers haud thee at a feud,
And they wad kill baith thee and me.'
22 'O turn thee, turn thee, Tommy Ha,
O turn now, man, and fight wi me;
If ever we come to Troughend again,
My daughter Jean I'll gie to thee.'
23 'I mayna turn, I canna turn,
I daurna turn and fight wi thee;
The Crosiers haud thee at a feud,
And they wad kill baith thee and me.'
24 'O shame upon ye, traitors a'!
I wish your hames ye may never see;
Ye've stown the bridle off my naig,
And I can neither fight nor flee.
25 'Ye've stown the bridle off my naig,
And ye've put water i my lnag gun;
Ye've fixed my sword within the sheath
That out again it winna come.'
26 He had but time to cross himsel,
A prayer he hadna time to say,
Till round him came the Crosiers keen,
All riding graithed and in array.
27 'Weel met, weel met, now, Parcy Reed,
Thou art the very man we sought;
Owre lang hae we been in your debt,
Now will we pay you as we ought.
28 'We'll pay thee at the nearest tree,
Where we shall hang thee like a hound;'
Brave Parcy raisd his fankit sword,
And felld the foremost to the ground.
29 Alake, and wae for Parcy Reed,
Alake, he was an unarmed man;
Four weapons pierced him all at once,
As they assailed him there and than.
30 They fell upon him all at once,
They mangled him most cruellie;
The slightest wound might caused his deid,
And they hae gien him thirty-three;
They hacket off his hands and feet,
And left him lying on the lee.
31 'Now, Parcy Reed, we've paid our debt,
Ye canna weel dispute the tale,'
The Crosiers said, and off they rade;
They rade the airt o Liddesdale.
32 It was the hour o gloaming gray,
When herds come in frae fauld and pen;
A herd he saw a huntsman lie,
Says he, Can this be Laird Troughen?
33 'There's some will ca me Parcy Reed,
And some will ca me Laird Troughen;
It's little matter what they ca me,
My faes hae made me ill to ken.
34 'There's some will ca me Parcy Reed,
And speak my praise in tower and town;
It's little matter what they do now,
My life-blood rudds the heather brown.
35 'There's some will ca me Parcy Reed,
And a' my virtues say and sing;
I would much rather have just now
A draught o water frae the spring.'
36 The herd flung aff his clouted shoon
And to the nearest fountain ran;
He made his bonnet serve a cup,
And wan the blessing o the dying man.
37 'Now, honest herd, ye maun do mair,
Ye maun do mair, as I you tell;
Ye maun bear tidings to Troughend,
And bear likewise my last farewell.
38 'A farewell to my wedded wife,
A farewell to my brother John,
Wha sits into the Troughend tower
Wi heart as black as any stone.
39 'A farewell to my daughter Jean,
A farewell to my young sons five;
Had they been at their father's hand,
I had this night been man alive.
40 'A farewell to my followers a',
And a' my neighbours gude at need;
Bid them think how the treacherous Ha's
Betrayed the life o Parcy Reed.
41 'The laird o Clennel bears my bow,
The laird o Brandon bears my brand;
Wheneer they ride i the Border-side,
They'll mind the fate o the laird Troughend.'
--------
'The ballad of Parcy Reed'- Version B 2; Child 193 The Death of Parcy Reed
Letters addressed to Sir Walter Scott, XIII, No 73, Abbotsford. "Parcy Reed, exactly as it is sung by an old, woman of the name of Cathrine Hall, living at Fairloans, in the remotest corner of Oxnam parish:" James Telfer, Browndeanlaws, May 18, 1824.
1 O Parcy Reed has Crozer taen,
And has deliverd him to the law;
But Crozer says he'll do warse than that,
For he'll gar the tower of the Troughend fa.
2 And Crozer says he will do warse,
He will do warse, if warse can be;
For he'll make the bairns a' fatherless,
And then the land it may lie lea.
3 O Parcy Reed has ridden a raid,
But he had better have staid at hame;
For the three fause Ha's of Girsenfield
Alang with him he has them taen.
4 He's hunted up, and he's hunted down,
He's hunted a' the water of Reed,
Till wearydness has on him taen,
I the Baitinghope he's faen asleep.
5 . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
And the fause, fause Ha's o Girsenfield,
They'll never be trowed nor trusted again.
6 They've taen frae him his powther-bag,
And they've put water i his lang gun;
They've put the sword into the sheathe
That out again it'll never come.
7 'Awaken ye, awaken ye, Parcy Reed,
For I do fear ye've slept owre lang;
For yonder are the five Crozers,
A coming owre by the hinging-stane.'
8 'If they be five and we be four,
If that ye will stand true to me,
If every man ye will take one,
Ye surely will leave two to me.
9 'O turn, O turn, O Johny Ha,
O turn now, man, and fight wi me;
If ever ye come to Troughend again,
A good black nag I will gie to thee;
He cost me twenty pounds o gowd
Atween my brother John and me.'
10 'I winna turn, I canna turn;
I darena turn and fight wi thee;
For they will find out Parcy Reed,
And then they'll kill baith thee and me.'
11 'O turn, O turn now, Willie Ha,
O turn, O man, and fight wi me,
And if ever ye come to the Troughend again
A yoke of owsen I will gie thee.'
12 'I winna turn, I canna turn;
I darena turn and fight wi thee;
For they will find out Parcy Reed,
And they will kill baith thee and me.'
13 'O turn, O turn, O Thommy Ha,
O turn now, man, and fight wi me;
If ever ye come to the Troughend again,
My daughter Jean I'll gie to thee.;
14 'I winna turn, I darena turn;
I winna turn and fight with thee;
For they will find out Parcy Reed,
And then they'll kill baith thee and me.'
15 'O woe be to ye, traitors a'!
I wish England ye may never win;
Ye've left me in the field to stand,
And in my hand an uncharged gun.'
16 'Ye've taen frae me my powther-bag,
And ye've put water i my lang gun;
Ye've put the sword into the sheath
That out again it'll never come.
17 'O fare ye weel, my married wife!
And fare ye weel, my brother John!
That sits into the Troughend ha
With heart as black as any stone.
18 'O fare ye weel, my married wife!
And fare ye weel now, my sons five!
For hae ye been wi me this day
I surely had been man alive.
19 'O fare ye weel, my married wife!
And fare ye weel now, my sons five!
And fare ye weel, my daughter Jean!
I loved ye best ye were born alive.
20 'O some do ca me Parcy Reed,
And some do ca me Laird Troughend,
But it's nae matter what they ca me,
My faes have made me ill to ken.
21 'The laird o Clennel wears my bow,
The laird o Brandon wears my brand;
Whae ever rides i the Border side
Will mind the liard o the Troughend.'
End-Notes
A. 101, 121, 141, or for nor; cf. 81.
122. "O Parcy Reed, etc. (same as stanza 8, save at end, thee and me)." The same abridgment and remark at 103, 142, but the last words are there given as me and thee. Uniformity is to be expected.
161. fare thou: cf. 16, 171.
Additions and Corrections
P. 24 a. B. Telfer sent "the real verses" to Sir Walter Scott. It appears, as might be surmised, that one half of B is of his own making. 1-3 = B 4, 5, 7; 4, 5 = A 4, 18; 6 = B 14; 7 = B 15, A 6; 8 = A 7, B 16; 9-14 = B 18-23; 15 = A 15; 16 = B 25; 17-20 = B 38, 39, 33,41.
B. Letters addressed to Sir Walter Scott, XIII, No 73, Abbotsford. "Parcy Reed, exactly as it is sung by an old, woman of the name of Cathrine Hall, living at Fairloans, in the remotest corner of Oxnam parish:" James Telfer, Browndeanlaws, May 18, 1824.
1 O Parcy Reed has Crozer taen,
And has deliverd him to the law;
But Crozer says he'll do warse than that,
For he'll gar the tower of the Troughend fa.
2 And Crozer says he will do warse,
He will do warse, if warse can be;
For he'll make the bairns a' fatherless,
And then the land it may lie lea.
3 O Parcy Reed has ridden a raid,
But he had better have staid at hame;
For the three fause Ha's of Girsenfield
Alang with him he has them taen.
4 He's hunted up, and he's hunted down,
He's hunted a' the water of Reed,
Till wearydness has on him taen,
I the Baitinghope he's faen asleep.
5 . . .
. . .
And the fause, fause Ha's o Girsenfield,
They'll never be trowed nor trusted again.
6 They've taen frae him his powther-bag,
And they've put water i his lang gun;
They've put the sword into the sheathe
That out again it'll never come.
7 'Awaken ye, awaken ye, Farcy Reed,
For I do fear ye've slept owre lang;
For yonder are the five Crozers,
A coming owre by the hinging-stane.'
8 'If they be five and we be four,
If that ye will stand true to me,
If every man ye will take one,
Ye surely will leave two to me.
9 'O turn, O turn, O Johny Ha,
turn now, man, and fight wi me;
If ever ye come to Troughend again,
A good black nag I will gie to thee;
He cost me twenty pounds o gowd
Atween my brother John and me.'
10 'I winna turn, I canna turn;
I darena turn and fight wi thee;
For they will find out Parcy Reed,
And then they'll kill baith thee and me.'
11 'O turn, turn now, Willie Ha,
O turn, O man, and fight wi me,
And if ever ye come to the Troughend again
A yoke of owsen I will gie thee.'
12 'I winna turn, I canna turn;
I darena turn and fight wi thee;
For they will find out Parcy Reed,
And they will kill baith thee and me.'
13 O turn, O turn, Thommy Ha,
O turn now, man, and fight wi me;
If ever ye come to the Troughend again,
My daughter Jean I'll gie to thee.'
14 'I winna turn, I darena turn;
I winna turn and fight with thee;
For they will find out Parcy Reed,
And then they'll kill baith thee and me.'
15 'O woe be to ye, traitors a'!
I wish England ye may never win;
Ye've left me in the field to stand,
And in my hand an uncharged gun.
16 'Ye've taen frae me my powther-bag,
And ye've put water i my lang gun;
Ye've put the sword into the sheath
That out again it'll never come.
17 'O fare ye weel, my married wife!
And fare ye weel, my brother John!
That sits into the Troughend ha
With heart as black as any stone.
18 'O fare ye weel, my married wife!
And fare ye weel now, my sons five!
For had ye been wi me this day
I surely had been man ah've.
19 'O fare ye weel, my married wife!
And fare ye weel now, my sons five!
And fare ye weel, my daughter Jean!
I loved ye best ye were born alive.
20 'O some do ca me Parcy Reed,
And some do ca me Laird Troughend,
But it's nae matter what they ca me,
My faes have made me ill to ken.
21 'The laird o Clennel wears my bow,
The laird o Brandon wears my brand;
Whae ever rides i the Border side
Will mind the laird o the Troughend.'
92. wi me. along with in the margin.
133. ever I.
"There is," says Telfer in his letter, "a place in Reed water called Deadwood Haughs, where the country-people still point out a stone where the unshriven soul of Parcy used to frequent in the shape of a blue hawk, and it is only a few years since he disappeared... The ballad of Parcy Reed has a tune of its own... It is a very mournfull air."