The Fause Knight upon the Road- Mrs Storie (Mary MacQueen); Child A; 1827
[Child says, "This singular ballad is known only through Motherwell. The opening stanza of a second version is given by the editor of the music, Mr. Blaikie, in the Appendix to the Minstrelsy. The idea at the bottom of the piece is that the devil will carry off the wee boy if he can nonplus him."
Below is Child's text and at the bottom of the page is a brief description and same text as found in Motherwell's Minstrelsy in the notes to another riddling song, Captain Wedderburn's Courtship. The Crawfurd transcription is also included.
R. Matteson 2012-2018]
Child's A text follows after a brief description of the same text as found in Child's source Motherwell's Minstrelsy.
'The Fause Knight upon the Road'- Version A; Child 3, The Fause Knight upon the Road
Motherwell's Minstrelsy, Introduction, p. lxxiv. From Galloway.
1 'O WHARE are ye gaun?'
Quo the fause knicht upon the road:
'I'm gaun to the scule.'
Quo the wee boy, and still he stude.
2 'What is that upon your back?' quo etc.
'Atweel is my bukes,' quo etc.
3 'What's that ye've got in your arm?'
'Atweel it is my peit.'
4 'What's aucht they sheep?'
'They are mine and my mither's.'
5 'How monie o them are min?'
'A' they that hae blue tails.'
6 'I wiss ye were on yon tree:'
'And a gude ladder under me.'
7 'And the ladder for to break:'
'And you for to fa down.'
8 'I wiss ye were in yon sie:'
'And a gude bottom under me.'
9 'And the bottom for to break:'
'And ye to be drowned.'
No credit is give by Motherwell in 1827 or Child in 1882 to the informant of this "singular ballad"-- Mary Macqueen, who was perhaps better known as Mrs. Storie of Lochwinnoch. Mary supplied ballads for Andrew Crawfurd a disabled doctor who collected ballads and her brother Thomas, a poet who supplied ballad to both Crawfurd and Motherwell. E. B. Lyle who edited "Andrew Crawfurd's Collection of Ballads and Songs," published in 1975 explains[]:
Motherwell does not credit Mrs Storie (Mary MacQueen) with the text of The Fause Knight upon the Road that he printed in his introduction but the Crawfurd MSS indicate that it was derived from her. The ten detached verses linked with the music were also, it seems, from Mrs Storie. As three of these are the same as full texts, this gives seven additional items from this singer. The fourteen items from Mrs Storie which were included by Motherwell in his Minstrelsy and Ballad Book were available to Child who printed all of them apart from The Deil's Wowing (41 The Deil's Courtship in the present collection) which fell outside his compass.
Mary Ann Macqueen (also MacQueen, McQueen) was born in Kilbirnie (Aryshire) Scotland in 1803. Her Mother, Elizabeth (Copeland) Macqueen was from Kilbirnie but her father, Osbourne, son of James and Janet (Stevens) McQueen, was born about 1781 in County Down, Ireland. Since Mary learned her ballads at a relatively young age one of her sources was probably her parents. Could some of her presumably Scottish ballads be from Ireland? Miss Macqueen married Willie Storie in 1821 at the age of 18 and besides raising a family helped her brother Thomas with the ballad collecting. Crawfurd wrote[] "The same Mary Macqueen has a great number of auld ballads which I had fished out of her for Mr. William Motherwell" (Lyle 1975-1996/1: xxx).
Although she was an important informant for Crawfurd, Motherwell and also Child, Mary and her husband moved to a remote section of eastern Ontario, Canada in 1829. Thomas MacQueen later relocated to Ontario with his sister and became the founder and publisher of The Huron Signal newspaper until death in 1861[]. That area is now known as Renfrew County after the Macqueen's home county of Renfrewshire in Scotland. For a time Mary Macqueen Storie moved to Utah (US) with her daughter, Elizabeth. Mary died in Renfrew County, Ontario in 1877. What's curious is: no ballads have been reported from the Macqueen's family in Ontario or Utah-- their ballads were not known to have been disseminated in North America and their interest in balladry seems to have ended when they left Scotland. Here is Crawfurd's transcription of Mary's ballad:
The Fause Knicht Upon the Road- from Mary Macqueen (Mrs Storie) before 1927.
1 O whar are ye gaun quo the fause knicht upon the road
I'm gawn to the skeul quo the wee boy and still he stood
2 What is that upon your back quo the fause knicht upon the rade
Atweel it is my books quo the wee boy and still he stood
3 What's that ye hae gotten in your arm quo the fause knicht upon
Atweel it is my peat quo the wee boy and still he stood the road
4 Wha's aught they sheep quo the fause knicht upon the road
They are mine an my mother's quo the wee boy and still he stood
5 How money of them are mine quo the fause knicht upon the road
Aw them that hae blue tails quo the wee boy and still he stood
6 O I wish ye were on yon tree quo the fause knicht upon the road
And a guid ladder under me quo the wee boy and still he stood
7 And the ladder for to break quo the fause knicht upon the road
And you for to faw down quo the wee boy and still he stood
8 I wish ye were in yon sea quo the fause knicht upon the road
And a gude bottom under me quo the wee boy and still he stood
9 And the bottom for to break quo the fause knicht upon the road
And you for to be drowned quo the wee boy and still he stood
1 quo said
2 atweel certainly, sure
3 peat piece of peat (for use on the schoolroom fire)
4 wha's aught they sheep whose are these sheep
8 bottom ship
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From: Minstrelsy, ancient and modern: with an historical introd. and notes edited by William Motherwell
44. CAPTAIN WEDDERBURN'S COURTSHIP.
44. This is also inserted in Mr. Jamieson's "Popular Ballads and Songs." Few are more popular; it occurs in every assortment of stall literature. Winton is copious in his details of an attempt made by the Devil to puzzle, by curious questioning, that singularly holy and wise man, Saint Serf; but, as usual, the saint prevails in this combat of wit and learning. Of a similar nature is that recorded in a Gallwegian tale, named "The Fause Knight upon the road," wherein the fiend is baffled by the pertinent answers of a "wee boy," who must have been a very saint in miniature. As this ballad has never been printed, and is briefer than these compositions generally are, it is now given :
'O whare are ye gaun?'
Quo' the fause knicht upon the road:
'I'm gaun to the scule.'
Quo' the wee boy, and still he stude.
'What is that upon your back?'
Quo' the fause knicht upon the road:
'Atweel is my bukes,'
Quo' the wee boy, and still he stude.
'What's that ye've got in your arm?'
Quo' the fause knicht &c.
'Atweel it is my peit.'
Quo' the wee boy &c
'What's aucht they sheep?'
Quo' the fause knicht &c
'They are mine and my mither's.'
Quo' the wee boy &c
'How monie o them are min?'
Quo' the fause knicht &c
'A' they that hae blue tails.'
Quo' the wee boy &c
'I wiss ye were on yon tree:'
Quo' the fause knicht &c
'And a gude ladder under me.'
Quo' the wee boy &c
'And the ladder for to break:'
Quo' the fause knicht &c
'And you for to fa down.'
Quo' the wee boy &c
'I wiss ye were in yon sie:'
Quo' the fause knicht &c
'And a gude bottom under me.'
Quo' the wee boy &c
'And the bottom for to break:'
Quo' the fause knicht &c
'And ye to be drowned.'
Quo' the wee boy &c