Fair Ellender and the Brown Girl- Bronley (WV) 1916 Cox B
[From Folk-Songs of the South- Cox, 1925; His extensive notes follow.
R. Matteson 2012, 2014]
10. LORD THOMAS AND FAIR ANNET (Child, No. 73)
Eleven variants have been recovered under the following titles: "The Brown Girl," "Fair Ellender and the Brown Girl" "Fair Ellender," "Fair Ellenger," "Lord Thomas," "Lord Thomas and Fair Eleanor," and "Lord Thomas and Fair Ellender" (cf. Cox, XIV, 120). All of these variants belong to the same version, and nine of them tell a complete story. D and H begin with a description of Lord Thomas. In the other variants the story begins by the hero's asking his mother to solve the riddle as to whether he shall marry Fair Eleanor or bring the brown girl home. Since the brown girl has house and lot (land) and Fair Eleanor has none, she advises him to marry the brown girl. Thereupon he dresses himself up in state, takes his merry men with him, rides to Fair Eleanor's hall, and invites her to his wedding on the morrow. She says that is very bad news to her for she expected to be his bride. Later she asks her mother to solve the riddle as to whether she shall go to Lord Thomas's wedding or stay at home. Her mother advises her to stay at home since she will have few friends at the wedding and many enemies, but she is determined to go. Thereupon she arrays herself in her finery, takes her merry maids with her, and rides to Lord Thomas's hall. In answer to her knocking, Lord Thomas himself lets her in, leads her into the hall, and chooses for her the highest seat. Fair Eleanor twits him with having married such a brown wife, whereupon the brown girl stabs her with a penknife between the short ribs and the long. Lord Thomas asks why she looks so pale and she suggests that he must be blind not to observe her heart's blood trickling down to her knee. With a little hand-sword Lord Thomas cuts off the head of the brown girl, kicks it against the wall, and then slays himself with the same sword. Before he dies, he requests that Fair Eleanor be buried in his arms and the brown girl at his feet.
The West Virginia variants are closely related to group D of Child, as is shown by many striking incidents in common, such as the meeting and quick parting of the lovers; Lord Henry loves the little finger of Fair Eleanor better than he does the whole body of the brown girl; Lord Thomas dressed in green and taken for a king; Lord Thomas dressed in black (the rhyme requires the word white) and taken for a knight ; Fair Eleanor taken for a queen; Fair Eleanor seated in the noblest chair, or chair of gold, or given the highest seat; the well in the yard of Fair Ellen's father.
For American texts see Child, in, 509 (Virginia; from Babcock, Folk-Lore Journal, VII, 33) Journal, XVIII 128 Barry: Vermont, Massachusetts by way of New Jersey) XIX 235, Belden; Missouri, Arkansas); xx, 254 (Pettit; Kentucky); XXVII, 71 (Barry; tune only); XXVIII 152 (Perrow; North Carolina); XXIX, 159 (Tolman; Pennsylvania by way of Kansas; texts reported from Virginia and Indiana); McGill, p. 26 (Kentucky); Focus, 111, 204, and IV, 162 (Virginia); Shoemaker, p. 138 (Pennsylvania); Campbell and Sharp, No. 16 (North Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Virginia, Massachusetts); Pound, No. 12 (Maryland by way of Nebraska); Mackenzie, p. 97 (Nova Scotia); Means, Outlook, September 9, 1899, LXIII, 120; Berea Quarterly, April, 1905, IX, No. 3, p. 10; October, 1910, XIV, No. 3, p. 27; October, 1915, XVIII, No. 4, p. 14; Child MSS., XXIII, article 73; Wyman MS., No. 9 (Kentucky); Minish MS. (North Carolina); The Forget-Me-Not Songster (New York, Nails & Cornish), p. 236. See also Belden, No. 4; Shearin and Combs, p. 8; Pound, p. n; F. C. Brown, p. 9; Bulletin, Nos. 2, 3, 5-10; Campbell, The Survey, New York, January 2, 1915, XXXIII, 374; Reed Smith, Journal, XXXVII, 62; XXIII, 200.
B. "Fair Ellender and the Brown Girl." Communicated by Miss Mabel Myers, Summersville, Nicholas County, August 2, 191 6; obtained from Miss Pearl Bronley, White's Creek, Wayne County, who received it from her uncle, William Bronley, Huntington, Cabell County.
1 "O mother, O mother, come riddle us all,
Come riddle us all in one :
And say shall I marry Fair Ellender,
Or bring the brown girl home."
2 "The brown girl has a house and lot,
Fair Ellender has none;
I think it would be the wisest choice
To bring the brown girl home."
3 He called together his merry men all
And dressed himself in black;
And every town that he rode through,
They took him to be some knight.
4 He rode till he came to Fair Ellender's house,
He knocked so loud on the door;
And none was so ready as Fair Ellender herself
To rise and let him in.
5 "What news, what news, Lord Thomas?" she said,
"What news have you brought unto me?"
"I have come to invite you to my wedding,
And that is sad news to thee."
6 "Sad news, sad news, Lord Thomas," she said,
"Sad news have you brought unto me;
For I was expecting to be the bride,
And you the bridegroom to be."
7 "O mother, O mother, come riddle us all,
Come riddle us all as one:
And say shall I go to Lord Thomas's wedding,
Or whether I tarry at home."
8 "O tarry at home, my daughter," cried she,
"Yes tarry at home with me."
"I'll go to Lord Thomas's wedding," said she,
"If death waits me at the door."
9 She called together her merry maids all
And dressed herself in green;
And every town that she rode through,
They took her to be some queen.
10 She rode till she came to Lord Thomas's home,
She knocked so loud on the door;
And none was so ready as Lord Thomas himself
To arise and let her in.
11 He took her by the lily-white hand
And led her across the hall;
And chose for her the highest seat
Among the merry maids all.
12 "Is that your bride, Lord Thomas?" she cried,
"I think she is mighty brown;
When you could have married the fairest girl
That e'er the sun shone on."
13 The brown girl having a pocket knife,
It being both long and sharp,
Between the long rib and the short
She pierced Fair Ellender's heart.
14 Lord Thomas having a sword by his side,
It being both keen and tall,
He cut the brown girl's head off
And kicked it against the wall.
15 He placed the handle against the wall,
The point against his heart:
Sing, "Ever when was it three lovers did meet, [1]
And ever so soon did part?"
1 Line should read, Saying, "Ever when" etc.