Mary Hamilton- Burris (WV) 1924 Woofter/Combs
[From: Folk Songs from the Southern United States; Combs, 1925; collected by Carey Woofter c. 1924. Notes from the book and Wilgus follow. It's been pointed out by the Wilgus, editor of the 1969 edition, as well as Linfors that some of Woofter's contributions to the Combs collection are fraudulent (ballad recreations with a fictitious informant). I have pointed this out as well and have included his collecting buddy, Patrick Gainer, who continued recreating ballads and informants into the 1970s. Gainer, not to be outdone, "found" another version of Mary Hamilton in West Virginia-- Woofter and Gainer's versions the only two from the state!!!
This is certainly a ballad recreation of Child A. What is amusing are the details about the informant and his family that are surely fabricated as well.
R. Matteson 2015]
Mary Hamilton [32]
(Child No. 173)
This narrative is based on an incident at the court of Mary, Queen of Scots, in 1563; it concerns the murder of a child, for which the mother and father (the Queen's apothecary) were hanged. The king (Darnley) is the lover of Mary Hamilton in some versions such as the following, "the highest Stuart of all." Historians relate the curious fact that there were four Marys as maids of honor at the court of Queen Mary, and Child's A version alludes to the fact:
Last nicht there was four Maries,
The nicht there'll be but three;
There was Marie Seton, and Marie Beton,
And Marie Carmichael, and me.
The four Marys, according to the legend, accompanied the Queen to France when she was sent there at the age of five and returned with her to Scotland thirteen years later. Contributed by Carey Woofter, Gilmer Co., West Virginia [1924]. [Originally from George Burris, Grantsville. See Appendix.]
Mary Hamilton- Sung by George Burris, Grantsville, Calhoun Co., W.Va. "Brought to America by ancestors of the Burris family, who in Scotland were Davisson and took part in the rebellion of 1745 and fled for their lives. For safety, name changed to Burris"-- Woofter, 1924.
Word has gone to the kitchen,
And word has gone to the hall
That Mary Hamilton has borne a child
To the highest Stuart of all.
She's tied it in her apron,
And she's thrown it in the sea;
She says, "Sink you, swim you, bonnie babe,
You'll never get more from me."
Then down came the old queen?
Gold ribbons tied her hair:
"O Mary, where is the wee, wee babe
That I heard greet so long?"
"There was never a babe into my room,
There never designs to he [be?];
ft was but a pain in my sore side
Came over my fair body.
"I will not put on my robes of black,
Nor yet my robes of brown,
But I'll put on my robe of white,
To go through Edinbro town."
When she went up to the parliament stairs,
The heel came from her shoe;
And before she came down again,
She was condemned to die.
When she came down from Cannon Gate,
The Cannon Gate so fair,
Many a lady looked from her window
To weep for this lady.
"Make never a moan for me," she says,
"Make not a moan for me;
Seek never grace for a graceless face,
For that you will never see."
"Bring me a bottle of liquor," she says,
"The best that ever you have,
That I may drink to my well-wishers,
And they may drink with me."
"And here's to the jolly sailor lad
That sails upon the sea;
And let not my father nor my mother know
That I shall not come again.
"O little did my mother think,
The day she cradled me,
What lands I was to travel o'er,
What death I was to die."
"O little did my father think,
The day he held me up,
What lands I was to travel o'er,
What death I was to die'
"Last night I washed the queen's feet
And gently lay her down,
And all the thanks I've got this night
Is to be hanged in Edinbro town."