Lord Thomas- Gentry/Long (NC) 1916 Sharp E
[From English Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachians collected by Cecil J. Sharp and Olive Dame Campbell- Volume I; 1917 edition and 1932 edition edited by Maud Karpeles. The 1932 edition notes follow. Sharp published a single verse with music of Gentry's 1916 version. Maud Long sang her mother's version which was recorded in 1946 by Artus Moser. The additional verses come from Long.
Note that Sharp has possibly has the text wrong for the first verse (see music below), it probably should read, "Come will to me, . . . etc.
R. Matteson 2012, 2014]
No. 19. Lord Thomas and Fair Ellinor.
Texts without tunes:—Child's English and Scottish Popular Ballads, No. 73. Broadside by Catnach. C. S. Burners Shropshire Folk-Lore, p. 545. A. Williams's Folk Songs of the Upper Thames, p. 135. Journal of American Folk-Lore, xix. 235; xx. 254; xxviii. 152; xxxix. 94. Cox's Folk Songs of the South, p. 45 (see also further references).
Texts with tunes:—Kidson's Traditional Tunes, p. 40. English County Songs, p. 42. E. M. Leather's Folk-Lore of Herefordshire, p. 200. Sandys's Christmas Carols, tune 18. Journal of the Folk-Song Society, ii. 105; v. 130. Rimbault's Musical Illustrations of Percy's Reliques, p. 94. C. Sharp's English Folk Songs (Selected Edition), ii. 27 (also published in One Hundred English Folk Songs, No.28). Gavin Greig's Last Leaves, No. 28. Scots Musical Museum, vi, No. 535. Reed Smith's South Carolina Ballads, No. 6. Wyman and Brockway's Twenty Kentucky Songs, p. 14. Journal of American Folk-Lore, xviii. 128. British Ballads from Maine, p. 128, Davis's Traditional Ballads of Virginia, pp. 191 and 568. McGill's Folk Songs of the Kentucky Mountains, p. 28. Sandburg's American Songbag, p. 156.
E. Lord Thomas- Gentry/Long (NC) 1916 Sharp E
1. Come will to me, dear mother," he says,
"Come will me your design;[1]
Whether I shall marry fair Ellinor, dear,
Or bring you the brown girl home, home, home,
Or bring you the brown girl home?"
2. "The brown girl she has houses and lands,
Fair Ellinor, she has none.
A fore and blessing my own dear son,
To bring me the brown girl home, home, home,
To bring me the brown girl home."
3. He dressed his playmates [2] all in red,
Himself he dressed in blue,
They took him to be some lord or some king,
Every town that he rode through,
Every town that he rode through.
4. He rode and he rode to Fair Ellinor's gate,
He dangled at the ring,
And none were so ready as Fair Ellinor herself,
To arise and let him come in,
To arise and let him come in.
5. What news what news Lord Thomas? she said
What news have you brought to me?
No news, no news, no news at all,
Only, to ask you to my wedding,
Only, to ask you to my wedding.
6. Sad news, sad news Lord Thomas, she said,
Sad news you have brought to me,
For I expected to be the bride,
And you the bridegroom for to be,
And you the bridegroom for to be.
7. Come will to me dear mother she said,
Come will me your desire,
As to whether I go to Lord Thomas's wedding
Or dally at home with thee,
Or dally at home with thee.
8. Great many of your friends will be there,
And many more of your foes,
A fore and blessing, my own daughter dear,
To dally at home with me,
To dally at home with me.
9. Great many of your friends will be there,
And many more of your foes,
But be me dead, or be me alive,
To Lord Thomas's wedding I'll go,
To Lord Thomas's wedding I'll go.
10. She dressed his playmates [1] all in white,
Himself he dressed in green,
Every town that she rode through,
They took her to be some queen,
They took her to be some queen.
11. She rode and she rode to Lord Thomas's gate,
She dangled at the ring,
And none were so ready as Lord Thomas himself,
To arise and let her come in,
To arise and let her come in.
12. He took her by her lily-white hand,
And led her through chambers three,
He led her to his own fireside,
And there he sat down by she,
And there he sat down by she.
13. Is this your bride Lord Thomas she said,
Seems to me she looks wonderfully brown.
When you might have had as fair a lady,
As ever the sun shone on,
As ever the sun shone on.
14. Yes, this is my bride, Lord Thomas he said,
And indeed, she is wonderfully brown.
But I love the end of your little finger,
Bet-ter than her whole body,
Bet-ter than her whole body.
15. The Brown Girl had a little pen-knife,
It was sharp and keen
She took and stabbed fair Ellinor dear,
And gave her a deathly blow,
And gave her a deathly blow.
16. It's are you sick, Lord Thomas he said,
Seems to me you look wonderfully pale,
Before your cheeks were a red as a rose,
But since your color has failed,
But since your color has failed.
17. It's are you blind Lord Thomas, she said
Or can't you very well see,
Oh, don't you see my own heart's blood,
Come trickling down by thee,
Come trickling down by thee.
18. Lord Thomas he had a two edg-ed sword,
It was so keen and sharp,
He took and cut off the brown girl's head,
And stove it against a tree,
And stove it against a tree.
19. Go dig my grave, go dig my grave,
Go dig it both wide and deep,
And place Fair Ellinor in my arms,
And the brown girl at my feet,
And the brown girl at my feet.
1. This is clearly "desire." cf Nora Hicks; Alice Hicks
2. This is "merry maids"