How Come That Blood? Mrs. Crockett Ward (VA) 1941 Lomax
[My title. From: Child Ballads Traditional In United States AAFS-L57; notes by Bronson follow.
R. Matteson 2014]
[HOW COME THAT BLOOD?] EDWARD (Child No. 13)
A2 [(a) Sung by Mrs. Crockett Ward at Galax, Virginia, 1941. Recorded by Alan Lomax.]
This famous ballad cannot be traced farther back than the copy transmitted to Percy by Sir David Dalrymple and published in the Reliques in 1765; but the unique artistry of that copy, in contrast to the later traditional forms wherever found, argues for an almost inspired rehandling of the traditional matter behind it. The dramatic suspense and final climactic disclosure of the mother's guilt are unmatched in the whole range of balladry. Cf. Archer Taylor's Edward and Sven i Rosengard; University of Chicago Press, 1931, and- B. R. Bronson's "Edward, Edward. A Scottish Ballad," 011 pages 1-13, with a footnote on pages 159-161 of the Southern Folklore Quarterly; vol. IV, 1940, for detailed analysis. Mrs. Ward's version is typical of the Appalachian tradition for this ballad, in the straightforward resolution of the narrative, once the central fact has been admitted. The peripbrastic expression for "never" in the last stanza is commonplace in the folk-idiom, yet here it is not trusted to convey its message uninterpreted. What the meaning of "galligary" or "gallogray" may be escapes this commentator but it is probably an innocent corruption of some familiar word or compound -such as "gallant gray." The singer obviously relies on its dependability as a word above challenge. The late Phillips Barry tried to rescue from triviality the cause of the fratricide by assuming a metaphysical reference to a girl, probably a sister; but this interpretation, while barely possible, is far from necessary. All but one or two of the known traditional tunes for this ballad are from American singers; all are of the present century.
1. How come that blood all over your coat,
My son, come tell unto me.
It is the blood that galligary[1] hawk
That flies across the field.
2. That galligary hawk's blood was never so red
My son, come tell unto me.
It is the blood that galligary hound,
That hunts the woods with me.
3. That galligary hound's blood was never so red,
My son, come tell unto me.
It is the blood that galligary mare,
I used to ride so gay.
4. That galligary mare's blood was never so red
My son, come tell unto me.
It is the blood my own dear brother,
That used to go with me.
5. What'd you and him fallout about,
My son, come tell unto me.
'Bout cutting down yon hazelnut tree
What caused it for to be.
6. What'll you do when your daddy comes home,
My son, come tell unto me.
I'll set my foot in yander ship
I'll sail across the sea.
7. What'll you do with your pretty little wife,
My son, come tell unto me.
She'll set her foot in yander ship
And sail along with me.
8. What'll you do with your children three,
My son, come tell unto me.
I'll leave them here along with you
To bear you company.
I'll leave them here along with you
To bear you company.
9. When ya comin' back,
My son, come tell unto me.
When the' sun and the moon sets in the north hills
I'm sure that'll never be.
When the sun and the moon sets in the north hills
I'm sure that'll never be.
1. I think this is derived from "good grey." Bronson suggests "gallant-gray" or "guinea-gray"-- which is the gray color of a guinea hen.