My Pretty Golin- Lady Isabel and the Elf Knight- sung by Mrs. Lottie Hendrickson of Marion, Illinois; from Southern Illinois Folk Songs by David S. Mclntosh
[From: Southern Illinois Folk Songs by David S. Mclntosh; Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society (1908-1984), Vol. 31, No. 3 (Sep., 1938),pp. 297-322; Published by: Illinois State Historical Society.
My title, replacing the generic Child title. For some reason Mclntosh has hypens for the title text, My Pretty 'Golin'. This makes no sense since Golin is a fairly common name for the girl; i.e. Goli, Golden etc.
The date is at least twenty years older (pre1918) than the date collected (1938).
R. Matteson 2014]
LADY ISABEL AND THE ELF KNIGHT
"Lady Isabel and the Elf Knight," an old English ballad, was sung by Mrs. Lottie Hendrickson of Marion, Illinois. She was past eighty years of age at the time and was a very interesting and intelligent old lady. She had a wonderful memory and was able to sing eighteen songs for me, which I recorded. She was very patient, and was willing to repeat so that I could write the tunes accurately. She was unusual in that she rarely made any variation in the songs. She had a deep contralto voice and pitched the songs very low.
I asked her to explain the meaning of the last stanza, since it seemed to have no definite connection with the last of the song, but she was unable to do this. I suggested that the young lady might be addressing her parrot and was making promises of reward to the bird in return for its secrecy.
Mrs. Hendrickson said that the song about the parrot was another song and did not go with this song. [The suggestion of a parrot in this song is found in the following sources: English Folk Songs From the Southern Appalachians, collected by Olive D. Campbell and Cecil J. Sharp (New York, 1917), 3-6; Frances Barbour, Six Ballads of the Missouri Ozarks (Radcliffe College, 1929), no.4.] Unfortunately she was unable to recall this song.
Early one Saturday morning I drove to Marion after Mrs. Hendrickson and brought her to my home in Carbondale. We spent the entire day setting down songs. Late in the afternoon she told me that she could not recall any more. So we began looking through Campbell and Sharp's book, English Folk-Songs from the Southern Appalachians, and we came upon this song. As soon as I had read a few lines she said, "I know that song." Then she began to sing. After singing the entire song without hesitation, she said: "I haven't sung that song in twenty years." I asked her where she learned it, and she said, "Poppy and Mommy used to sing it to us kids."
[My Pretty Golin] LADY ISABEL AND THE ELF NIGHT (Sung by Mrs. Hendrickson)
I follered her up, and I follered her down
To the chamber where she lay.
She neither had the heart for to flee from me,
Nor the tongue for to tell me nay, nay,
Nor the tongue for to tell me nay.
"Git up, git up, my pretty 'golin',
Come go along with me.
Come go with me to old England,
And there I will marry thee,
And there I will marry thee."
"Go take the best part of your father's gold,
Likewise of your mother's fee.
Take two of the best steeds out of your father's stable,
Where-in there is thirty and three,
Where-in there is thirty and three."
He mounted her on the bonny brown,
He led the dappled gray.
And away they rode to the old seashore,
Just in the length of a long summer day,
Just in the length of a long summer day.
"Git down, git down, my pretty 'golin';
Git down, git down, by the sea.
For here I've drowned six kings' daughters,
And you the seventh shall be,
And you the seventh shall be."
Turn yourself all around and around,
With your face to the greenest tree.
For I never thought it right,
A naked woman a man for to see,
A naked woman a man for to see."
He turned himself all around and around,
With his face to the greenest tree.
She caught him around the middle so small,
And tripped him into the sea,
And tripped him into the sea.
"Lie there, lie there, you false William;
Lie there instead of me.
For you have stripped me as naked as ever I was born,
Not a thread have I taken from you,
Not a thread have I taken from you."
She mounted herself on the bonny brown;
She led the dappled gray.
And away she rode to her father's hall,
Just three hours before it was day,
Just three hours before it was day.
"Hush up, hush up, my pretty 'golin';
Don't tell no tales on me.
I will build you a house with the beating wings of gold,
And your door shall be silvery,
And your door shall be silvery."