As The Dew Flies- Pease (NH) 1942 Flanders I
[My title replacing the generic- Wife Wrapped. This fragment, like Flanders A, has an alternating chorus with mulberry tree/ green valley (see below). The possibility exists that the "dew" was originally the British "doo" or "dove." Flander's extensive notes are below. She refers to the "Dandee" refrain which is almost always "Dandoo" in the South, not 'Dandee."
Here is another alternating chorus- Flanders A:
A. Me Old Wether's Skin- Sung by Mrs. Lena Bourne Fish of East Jaffrey, New Hampshire, as learned from her father.
I married a wife in the month of June,
Dainty fair Jennie Rose Marie;
I think I married a little too soon,
As the dew flies over the mulberry tree.
I think I married a little too soon,
As the derv flies over the green valley.
R. Matteson Jr. 2013]
The Wife Wrapped in Wether's Skin (Child 277)
This ballad derives from an old tale which Child, v, 104, cites under the title "The Wife Lapped in Morrel's Skin" and is related to a whole host of stories on similar themes. See Aarne-Thompson, Mt. 1370*.
The ballad is still popular in America, where the basic outline of the story remains constant, but where the minor details vary greatly. william H. Jansen has made a careful study (HFQ IV, #3,41) of the ballad and its developments in America [see article attached to Recordings & Info page], and from his remarks two groupings of the American texts emerge: songs with the "dandee, clish maclinge" refrains, popular in the South and Midwest; and songs with the "juniper, gentian, and rosemary" refrains, popular in the South and Northeast. The plant refrains of the latter group have caused some comment. Phillips Barry, British Ballads from Maine, 324-5, suggests, on the authority of Lucy Broadwood (JFSS, II, 12-15), that the wife originally was beaten to exorcise the evil spirits that infested her and that "juniper, gentian, and rosemary" were regarded as charms against the demons. Later the names of the plants were forgotten and confused with the names of girls, June, Jenny, and Rose Mary.
The Flanders texts are highly representative of the American forms of the ballad. A-I, with the plant refrain, relate to Child F (from Massachusetts) and are normal Northeastern versions. J-L illustrate the "dandee" refrain and the common "old man who lived in the West" opening.
M-N (see also Child C) are from the Scottish tradition. Text L, which concerns "Riddleson's daughter Dinah," is the only unusual version in the group. See Coffin, 146-8 (American); Belden, 92-94 (English); and Greig and Keith, 218-20 (Scottish) for bibliographical material and discussion.
All of the tunes for child 277 except the Richards tune are members of the same tune family. Within this group, the Prevost and Baldwin tunes are especially close, as are the Hayward and Hall tunes. The Monson tune is slightly outside the group.
I. [As The Dew Flies] As sung by Mrs. Maber Pease of Orford, New Hampshire. M. Olney, Collector November 19, 1942.
Structure: A B C D D (2, 2, 2, 2); Rhythm mostly A; Contour: arc; Scale: major; t.c. D.
She would not weave, she would not spin,
Gentle flo gentle more Rose-marie,
For fear of soiling her dress that was new,
As the dew flies over the green vallee,
As the dew flies over the mulberry tree.