Barb'ra Ellen- Hensley (NC) 1916 Sharp G
[Single stanza with music from English Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachians, 1917 Sharp/Campbell and 1932 Sharp/Karpeles. Notes from the 1932 edition follow. An excerpt from Sharp's diary is given.
This was derived from her maternal grandmother (Sharp MS).
R. Matteson 2015]
No. 24. Barbara Allen.
Texts without tunes -.—Child's English and Scottish Popular Ballads, No. 84. Gavin Greig's Folk-Song of the North-East, ii, arts. 165 and 166. Ashton's Century of Ballads, p. 173. Miss Burne's Shropshire Folk-Lore, p. 543. Garret's Merrie Book of Garlands, vol. ii. A. Williams's Folk Songs of the Upper Thames, pp. 204 and 206. D. Scarborough's On the Trail of Negro Folk Songs, p. 59. Journal of American Folk-Lore, xix. 285 ; xx. 250; xxii. 63 ; xxviii. 144; xxix. 161.
Texts with tunes :—Christie's Traditional Ballad Airs, I. 87 and 89. Journal of the Folk-Song Society, 111 and 265; ii. 15 and 80. Kidson's Traditional Tunes, P- 37- Journal of the Irish Folk-Song Society, i. 45. Chappel's Popular Music of the Olden Times, ii. 538. Kidston's Garland of English Folk Songs, p. 74. Joyce's Ancient Irish Music, p. 79. Rimbault's Musical Illustrations of Bishop Percy's Reliques, No. 53. Gavin Greig's Last Leaves, No. 32. Folk Songs from Somerset, No. 22 (also published in English Folk Songs, Selected Edition, i. 20, and One Hundred English Folk-Songs, p. 20). Thomson's Scottish Songs, iii. 29. Cox's Folk Songs of the South, pp. 96 and 523. Reed Smith's South Carolina Ballads, p. 129. W. R. Mackenzie's Ballads and Sea Songs of Nova Scotia, No. 9. Wyman and Brockway's Lonesome Tunes} p. 1. Journal of American Folk-Lore, vi. 132 ; xxii. 74 (tune only); xxxv. 343 ; xxxix. 97 and 211. Musical Quarterly, January 1916, p. 20 (tune only). British Ballads from Maine, p. 195. Davis's
Traditional Ballads of Virginia, pp. 302 and 577. McGill's Folk Songs of the Kentucky Mountains, p. 40. Sandburg's American Songbag, p. 57.
Sharp diary 1916 page 240. Tuesday 8 August 1916 - Alleghany
Slept well. Went up to the Hamiltons & got directions how to get to Carman whither at 10 a.m. Maud & I started to walk. A very wet & troublesome though pretty path. We could not find Hensley’s house but happened on Mrs Memory E. Shelton’s. She asked us in and sang a version of Outlandish Knight very sweetly. Then she directed us to Hensleys. Found Mrs H & her daughter Emma in — the latter very pretty, looked full grown but was only 13. Made great friends & get them both singing. Dined with them and after dinner Hensley turned up & played his fiddle. It rained heavily & we waited till it was over. I gave Mrs H 5 dollars to help Emma to go to school at Hot Springs this Sept[ember]. A wet walk home. Went to Mrs Chandley with laundry, dined at Hamiltons & wrote up my tunes & a letter to Charlie in the evening. Very tired.
G. [Barb'ra Ellen] Sung by Miss EMMA HENSLEY at Carmen, N. C, Aug. 8, 1916
Pentatonic. Mode 4.
All in the merry month of May,
When green buds they were swelling,
Young Jemmy Grove on his death-bed lay
For love of Barb'ra Ellen.