House Carpenter- Lam (VA) 1935 Wilkinson MS; Bronson 84.
[No title was given. Taken from Wilkinson MSS., 1935-36, p. 91 (D) by Bronson in his TTCB III, 1966, no. 84 This version has the "Lord Lovel" form.
Winston Wilkinson worked with Arthur Kyle Davis, Jr. collecting and transcribing ballads, fiddle tunes and songs in the 1930s. "In March of 1934 Davis was able to obtain some funding from the Civil Works Administration, one of the Depression-generated New Deal programs. With that assistance he hired John Stone to collect folksongs and Winston Wilkinson to transcribe music." Wilkinson also contributed his article “Virginia Dance Tunes” to Southern Folklore Quarterly in March 1942. Davis also published More Traditional Ballads of Virginia in 1960 with Winston Wilkinson's transcriptions. Wilkinson also illustrated "Virginia Fiddle Tunes."
R. Matteson 2013]
The Arthur Kyle Davis, Jr. Years: Meetings of the Society were held intermittently between 1924 and 1967, with both the purpose and organization of the Society becoming less clearly defined and apparent. There were periods of intensive collecting, recording and publishing, alternating with intervals of relative inactivity with regard to folklore.
In 1929, Arthur Kyle Davis, Jr. completed his initial work as editor and published 51 ballads collected under the auspices of the Society in Traditional Ballads in Virginia.
In March of 1934 Davis was able to obtain some funding from the Civil Works Administration, one of the Depression-generated New Deal programs. With that assistance he hired John Stone to collect folksongs and Winston Wilkinson to transcribe music. The project only lasted three weeks, but in that short time Stone managed to add another 89 songs to the Society's archive.
House Carpenter [The Daemon Lover]- Sung by Miss Tyra Lam, Elkron, Va., November 6, 1935.
1. Well met, well met, says an old true love,
Well met, well met says he,
I've come from far across the sea,
And it's all sake of thee, of thee,
And it's all for the sake of thee.
2. O hold your tongue of your former vows,
For they'll bring bitter strifes,
O hold your tongue of your former vows,
For I have become a wife, wife, wife,
For I have become a wife.
3. O I could have married a King's daughter dear,
And she would have married me.
But I have forsaken those crowns of gold,
And it's all the sake of thee, thee, thee,
And it's all for the sake of thee.
4. If you could have married a King's daughter dear,
I'm sure You are to blame,
For I have married a house carpenter,
And I think he's a nice young man, man, man,
And I think he's a nice Young man.
5. If you will leave your house carpenter,
And go along with me,
I'll take you where the grass grows green,
On the banks of sweet Italy-ly-ly,
On the banks of sweet Italy.
6. If I was to leave my house carpenter,
And go along with thee.
What have you got to maintain me on,
And keep me from slavery-ry-ry,
And keep me from slavery.
7. I've seven ships upon the sea,
Seven more upon dry land.
A hundred and twenty bold seamen,
You may have at your command, mand, mand,
You may have at your command.
8. She turned herself three times around,
And looked at her babies three.
Good bye, my sweet little babies,
Keep your father company, ny- ny,
Keep your father company.
9. They'd just been a-sailing about two weeks,
I'm sure it was not three.
Till this fair lady began to weep,
She wept most bitterly, ly- ly,
She wept most bitterly.
10. Now is it for your lands you weep?
Or is it for your store?
Or is it for your house carpenter,
That you will see no more, more, more,
That you will see no more.
11. It's neither for my lands I weep,
Nor is it for my store.
It's all for the love of my sweet little babes,
That I will see no more, more, more,
That I will see no more.
12. They sailed, they sailed, two weeks or three,
I'm sure it was not four.
Till the ship sprung a leak, and sank in the sea,
And sank to rise no more, more, more,
And sank to rise no more.
13. What hills, what hills, my false true love,
What hills so black and blue?
The hills you see are the hills of Hell,
Awaiting both me and you, you, you,
Awaiting both me and you.
14. What hills, what hills, my false true love,
What hills so white as snow?
The hills you see are the hills of Heaven,
Where you and I can't go, go, go,
Where you and I can't go.