Andrew My Son- Andrus (Schenectady, NY) 1844
[From: The Decennial Publications by University of Chicago, 1903, by Phillip Shuyler Allen- his notes follow. The stanzas are improperly arranged and should be four lines each:
Oh, where have you been, Andrew my son?
Oh, where have you been, my darling sweet one? —
I've been to Pretty Polly's, mother: Make my bed soon,
For I'm sick to my heart, and fain would lay down.
R. Matteson 2014]
[Andrew My Son], my title is taken from The Decennial Publications by University of Chicago, 1903. The text is accompanied by the following notes:
"The two ballads printed above are variants of "Lord Randal" and "Lord Thomas and Fair Anne" They are from the recitation of Mrs. Eliza Andrus, of Schenectady, N. Y., and were learned by her from an elderly serving-maid in the year 1844, when in Bloomingdale, at that time a suburb of New York city (Seventy-second street). Two facts bespeak the value of these versions: (1) Mrs. Andrus had never seen either of the ballads in print; (2) she was not taught them, but learned them as a child from hearing the maid sing them when at work about the house."
OLD BALLADS NEWLY EXPOUNDED
[Andrew My Son] Lord Randal
1. Oh, where have you been, Andrew my son?
Oh, where have you been, my darling sweet one? —
I've been to Pretty Polly's, mother:
Make my bed soon,
Refrain. — For I'm sick to my heart, and fain would lay down.
2. What had you for supper, Andrew my son?
What had you for supper, my darling sweet one? —
Fried eels, and bread and butter, mother:
Make my bed soon,—Ref.
3. What kind of eels were they, Andrew my son?
What kind of eels were they, my darling sweet one? —
Striped backs and speckled bellies, mother:
Make my bed soon,—Ref.
á. Oh, you have been poisoned, Andrew my son.
Oh, you have been poisoned, my darling sweet óne.—
With the fried eels, and bread and butter, mother:
Make my bed soon,—Ref.
5. What will to your father, Andrew my son?
What will to your father, my darling sweet one? —
My suit of new clothes, mother:
Make my bed soon,—Ref.
6. What will to your brother, Andrew my son?
What will to your brother, my darling sweet one? —
The pin in my bosom, mother:
Make my bed soon,—Ref.
7. What will to your sister, Andrew my son?
What will to your sister, my darling sweet one? —
The ring on my finger, mother:
Make my bed soon,—Ref.
8. What will to your sweetheart, Andrew my son?
What will to your sweetheart, my darling sweet one? —
Hell-fire and brimstone, mother:
Make my bed soon,—Ref.
9. What will to your mother, Andrew my son?
What will to your mother, my darling sweet one? —
The gates of heaven opened wide, mother:
Make my bed soon,—Ref.