Dan-do: Richards (CT) 1949 Flanders J
[My title, replacing the generic, Wife Wrapped. Flanders' extensive notes are below. She refers to the "Dandee" refrain which is always "Dandoo" in the South, not "Dandee." In this case it's also Dan-doo but spelled Dan-do.
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.
THE WIFE WRAPPED IN WETHER'S SKIN
J. [Dan-do] Wife Wrapped in Wether's Skin. Furnished by Edward Richards of Warren, Connecticut, as he remembered the singing of his mother, a native of those parts. Published in Ballads Migrant in New England, 221. H. H. F., Collector August 31, 1949.
Structure: A B C D E F (2,2,2,2,1,3) ; Rhythm A; Contour: undulating; Scale: hexatonic; l.c. G. For mel. rel. see Sharp I, 271 A; DV,597 No.45 (D).
There was an old man lived in the West,
Dan-do, Dan-do, [1]
There was an old man lived in the West
Who had a wife; she was none of the best.
Dan-do.
Nickety rumpter klinety klunk-
Ter kling-go.
(Follow pattern for next stanzas.)
One morning the old man came in from plow,
Saying, "Wife, is breakfast ready now?"
"There's a crust of bread lies on the shelf;
If you want anything, go help yourseif."
The old man went out to his sheepfold;
He drawed an old wether up to the pole.
He drawed an old wether up to the pin,
And quickly he took off its skin.
He put the skin around his wife's back;
He took his whip and he made it crack.
"I'll tell my mother and then I'll see
How cruel you are whipping me."
"You can tell your mother and all your kin
That I'm only a-tanning this old sheepskin."
Footnote:
1. Usually written: Dan-doo