Barbara Allen- Johnson (VT-NY) 1935 Flanders H1
[From Flanders; Ancient Ballads 1961, notes by Coffin follow. As pointed out in the New York Folklore Quarterly, 1945, Johnson was originally from Vermont: "The version of "Barbara Allen" which follows was sent to the Helen Hartness Flanders Collection in the Middlebury College Library by a Vermont singer now living in New York State, Mr. Adam Johnson of Mooer's Forks, New York."
I'm including H2 and H3 here becasue they stem from the same version.
R. Matteson 2015]
Barbara Allen
(Child 84)
In America, "Barbara Allen" has the widest geographical spread and overall currency of any ballad. It is not quite so popular in Britain, in spite of the well-known comments by Samuel Pepys and Oliver Goldsmith concerning its excellence. Nor are there Western or Northern European analogues, although a Spanish romance treats the same theme (certainly not a unique one) and a Serbian song (see WF VIII, 371); is strikingly similar. The ultimate source of the Anglo-American texts has never been located, nor has James Graeme, the hero of the Scottish tradition, been identified "Barbara Allen" has a tradition in print, on broadsheets in song books, on the stage, that is particularly vigorous across Britain and America. As a result, the plot of the spiteful girl and the unhappy lover is much the same wherever the song is found. Nevertheless, all sorts of minor variations have crept into the texts. The ballad may open in the spring or at Martinmas; the lover's name may be William, James, David, etc., etc.; he may give Barbara gift as he dies; he may curse her; she may curse him; she may blame her parents for the whole mess; and so forth. Frequently, at least in this country, the song ends with a cliche: the "rose and briar" Stanza, the "turtle-dove" Stanza or a warning to "ye virgins all." Detailed discussions of the local texts are given by most editors. The best are in Arthur K. Davis' Traditional Ballads of Virginia (Cambridge, Mass., 1929), 302-4; in C. A. Smith's treatment the song in Musical Quarterly, II, 109; and in W. Roy MacKenzie's Ballads and Sea-Songs from Nova Scotia (Cambridge, Mass., 1928), 35. Coffin, 89-90, also gives a list of interesting variations that have occurred in the American texts. From such discussions one can see that the "rose-briar" ending (Flanders E-G), nor found in child, and the references to the tavern toasts in which Barbara was slighted (most of the Flanders texts) are the characteristic New World traits.
Flanders A-C follow Child A in the Martinmas opening and the hero's name. undoubtedly such texts stem from the Scottish tradition represented in J. S. Locke's Forget-Me-Not Songster, printed in Boston and known all over the Northeast. Flanders D f. are of the child B, a seventeenth-century broadside, type. This is the most widespread form of the song. The basin of blood and the gifts offered by the dying man to Barbara (see Flanders D, F, and G, for example) are not in Child B, though common enough in the northern American regions. As the song has been frequently localized, it is likely that Flanders E, entitled "Mary Alling," recalls some nineteenth-century belle. In a similar way, Flanders O may reflect local events. Phillips Barry, British Ballads from Maine, 200, notes a tale told around Newburg, Vermont, about a certain Barbara Allen who was jilted by her lover in favor of a girl he described as an "angel without wings." The Flanders H 1-3 and K 1-2 series offer interesting comparisons for the study of ballad variations and transmission. Flanders J, where the lover points to the basin where he "threw up" his heart's blood, teeters on comedy. And L, mentioning the Christmas Day Kissing, is unique.
Any song as popular as "Barbara Allen" will have many uses. Benjamin A. Botkin, American Play-Party Song (Lincoln, Nebraska, 1837), 58, cites its development as a game song. Coffin, 87-88 (American); Dean-Smith, 51, and Belden, 60-61 (English); and Greig and Keith, 67-70 (Scottish) give one a start on an extensive bibliography of texts from oral tradition. See Kitredge's notes in JAF, XXIX, 160-61, and XXX, 3I7, for song book and broadside references. Phillips Barry, British Ballads from Maine, 195-200, includes it.
With the exception of the Smith tune, all of the tunes for Child 84 are related. They can be subdivided as follows: 1) Richards, Degreenia, Reynolds; 2) Barlow; 3) Sullivan, Wilson, Armstrong, Halvosa, Fairbanks (which is also related to the Richards group, see end of line 1); 4) Bush; 5) Merrill; and 6) Braid, which is also close to the Sullivan group, at the beginning. Of the great multitude of related tunes, only a selected few, rather closely related ones are given. Relations are found for groups I and 4 to a greater extent than for the others.
H. Barbara Allen- The words of this song were furnished by Adam Johnson of Mooer's Forks, New York. Thomas Armstrong of Springfield, Vermont, knew the tune. Mr. Johnson learned this ballad, when a child, from a lady in Mooer's Forks who was
born in Ireland. See H2 and H3. H. H. F., Collector; March 20, 1935
It was early, early in the month of May,
When the trees were ripe and mellow,
That a young man lay a-dying on his bed
For the love of Barbara Allen.
That a young man lay a-dying on his bed,
For the love of Barbara Allen.
Then quickly, quickly she came to him
At the place where he was dwelling
And said as she drew the curtains aside,
"Poor boy, I am sorry you are dying."
(Repeat last two lines for each verse)
"Not dying yet, not dying yet,
One kiss from You will save me."
"One kiss from me you never shall receive,
White on your death-bed lying.
"Do you remember last Saturday night,
When in the ale-house drinking,
You drank your health to all the pretty maids,
And you slighted me, Barbara Allen?"
"Yes, I remember last Saturday night
White in the ale-house drinking,
I drank my health to all the pretty maids
And I slighted you, Barbara Allen.
"Look down, look down at the foot of my bed,
There you'll see a basin setting,
And in it is poured my heart's pure blood,
Which I shed for you, Barbara Allen."
As she was going from the room,
She turned and said unto him,
"I cannot keep you from your doom;
Farewell," said Barbara Allen.
He turned his face unto the wall,
As deadly pangs he fell in;
"Adieu! Adieu! Adieu to you all,
Adieu to Barbara Allen."
As she was walking o'er the fields
She heard the bell a-knellin',
And every stroke did seem to say,
"Unworthy Barbara Allen."
She turned her body around about
And spied the corpse a-comin',
"Lay down, lay down the corpse," she said,
"That I may look upon him."
With scornful eye she looked down,
Her cheeks with laughter swellin'
Whilst all her friends cried our amain,
"Unworthy Barbara Allen."
When he was dead and laid in grave,
Her heart was struck with sorrow;
"O mother, mother, make my bed
For I shall die tomorrow.
"Hard-hearted creature, him to slight
Who loved me oh, so dearly,
Oh, had I been more kind to him
When he was alive and near me!"
She on her death-bed as she lay
Begged to be buried by him
And sore repented of the day
That she did e'er deny him.
"Farewell," she said, "ye virgins all,
And shun the fault I fell in;
Henceforth take warning by the fall
Of cruel Barbara Allen."
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H2. Barbara Allen - As sung by Mrs. Hattie Wilson of Springfield, Vermont, sister of Thomas Armstrong. Learned from Adam Johnson of Mooer's Forks,New York, whose version is H1. H. H. F., Collector; March 31, 1935.
Structure: A B C D (2,2,2,2); Scale: major Rhythm C; Contour: arc; t.c. F. For mel. rel. see Sharp I, 181(L).
Then quickly, quickly she did descend
To the house where he was dwelling
And as she pulled the curtains aside,
She said, "Young man, you are dying."
"Not dying yet, not dying yet,
One kiss from You will save me."
"One kiss from me you never will receive,
While on your death bed lying.
"Do you remember last Saturday night
When in the ale-house drinking
You drank your health to all the pretty maids
And you slighted me, Barbara Allen?"
"Yes, I remember last Saturday night
While in the ale-house drinking,
I drank my health to all the pretty maids
And I slighted You, Barbara Allen'"
"O mother, mother, make my bed,
Go make it long and narrow,
For my true love died for me today
And I'll die for him tomorrow."
_______________________________________
H3. Barb'ry Allen. As sung by Thomas E. Armstrong ol Mooer's Forks' New York, who at one time was a resident of Springfield, Vermont. Mr. Armstrong learned this ballad from Adam Johnson of Mooer's Forks, New York. See version H1. H. H. F., Collector; March 31, 1935
It was early, early in the month of May
When the trees were ripe and mellow
That a young man lay a-dying on his bed
For the love of Barb'ry Allen.
That a young man lay a-dying on his bed
For the love of Barb'ry Allen.