He Rode and He Rode- Pennington(AR) 1954 Parler
[My title. Fragment of Earl Brand from Ozark Folksong Collection; Reel 201, Item 1. Collected by Mary Celestia Parler; Transcribed by Neil Byer.
R. Matteson 2014]
Mary Celestia Parler married Vance Randolph in 1962 after working with him for over 12 years. She was born in South Carolina in 1904, the daughter of a country doctor and farmer, Marvin Lamar Parler, and a local historian, writer, and teacher, Josie Platt Parler. A Chaucer scholar she move to Arkansas in 1948 and launched the Arkansas Folklore Research Project through her Arkansas Folklore courses at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. From 1949-1965, Parler, her research assistants, who included Max Hunter and students made 3,640 audio folklore and folksong recordings.
[He Rode and He Rode]- John Pennington; Fayetteville, Ark. July, 1954
He rode and he rode and he rode a better road,[1]
And he rode by the light of the moon,
Until he came to her own father's hall,
And there he lighted down,
Until he came to her own father's hall,
And there he lighted down.
Don't strike me[2] no more, Knight Willie, she said,
Don't strike me no more, said she,
For you have killed my seven brothers
And my father I loved most dear,
For you have killed my seven brothers
And my father I loved most dear.
1. He rode and he rode and he better have rode,
2. Don't strike no more, Knight Willie, she said,