Captain Wedderburn- Nelson (NB) 1929 Barry B2
[From British Ballads from Maine, 1929; Barry, Eckstorm, Smyth, Version B1. Barry's notes follow.
R. Matteson 2014]
New Brunswick traces. Mrs. Marston's (Version A) is the only copy of " Captain Wedderburn" found in Maine, but just across the border several traces of it were found.
B2. "Captain Wedderburn" Mr. T. Edward Nelson, Union Mills, New Brunswick, in 1929, recalled this fragment (melody recorded by Mr. George Herzog):
O, what is rounder than a ring?
What's higher than a tree?
What's worse than women all?
What's deeper than the sea?
What tree buds first ?
Where the dew first falls. . .
A globe is rounder than a ring,
A sky is higher than a tree,
The Devil is worse than women all,
Hell is deeper than the sea.