Percy- Smiths (VA-NC) c.1851 Davis AA
[This is a ballad re-creation by the Smiths based on Child A. From Davis; More Traditional Ballads 1960. This version from the Smiths (Collected by R. E. Lee Smith, of Palmyra, Va. Sung by his brother, Thomas P. Smith, of Palmyra, Va., and himself). As we have see in other contributions by the Smiths- this is a ballad re-creation (for evidence see Twa Sisters where they sent another version directly copied from print to Abrams- Variant 5, then changed it and sent it to Davis, his AA) which laughably uses Percy (author of the Reliques- version B) as the central figure. Surely the Smiths could be more creative- but it didn't seem to matter- Davis bought into the versions they submitted- even though he knew that they were suspect- and since he included this version as authentic- he couldn't say anything in print about it.
Davis' notes follow.
R. Matteson 2014]
EDWARD
(Child, No. 13)
Despite the remarkable dramatic power of this ballad in which a mother pries from her son a confession that he has murdered
his father or brother, relatively few texts have been found in Britain and America. The versions in TBVa, and the present versions, with one exception, follow Child A in presenting the crime as fratricide rather than patricide; in BB Edward appears to have murdered his sweetheart.
It is likely that AA is the first uncorrupted American text to follow Child A and B in implicating the mother. Previously, only a garbled text from Vermont (Vt. Hist. Society, Proceedings, N. S., VII, 1939, 102), which was a combination of "The Twa Brothers" and "Edward," involved the mother in the crime [See George Edwards text "Edward Ballad" also a ballad recreation]. AA, however, is a fine text which is remarkably close to the language and detail of Child A--particularly in the concluding "fire of coals" speech. In spite of the possible ambiguity of this speech, it seems clear that the son would gladly see his mother burn in hell for her complicity. The title "Percy" and the address to "Son Percy, Son Percy" seem to be unique in this version.
BB is a fragmentary but distinctive text with a tune verifiable from the record. The text of CC from the same source appeared as TBVa B, but the tune is new and of interest. Child prints only two versions of this ballad, from Motherwell and Percy, respectively, plus an 1829 manuscript fragment of Alexander Laing. Continental counterparts seem to be limited to Northern Europe-Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Norway. These versions, plus the English, Scottish, and American, have been carefully studied by Professor Archer Taylor in Edward and Sven i Rosengaard (University of Chicago Press, 1931). No record of this ballad in recent British tradition appears either in Margaret Dean-Smith's Guide or in Greig and Keith's Last Leaves. American texts and tunes are fairly well known (Sharp-Karpeles print ten), but Coffin has shown the ballad to be less common than most in American tradition, and less varied in story types. TBVa printed only five out of an available six texts, with two tunes. FSVa lists only three items, with two tunes, all of which are presented here.
The poetic and dramatic excellence of this ballad has led some scholars and critics to question whether it may not be rather the product of conscious art than of folk tradition (see Bertrand H. Bronson, SFQ, IV I 1940], 1-13 and 159-61, and Arthur K. Moore, Comparative Literature, X [Winter, 1958], 16). The appearance of so many and varied American texts and tunes from authentic oral tradition-including the three that follow-should go far toward a solution of the problem, even without the authority of Child. But the voice of Child is also clear: " 'Edward' is not only unimpeachable, but has ever been regarded as one of the noblest and most sterling specimens of the popular ballad." Perhaps it is only Percy's version, with its antique spelling and dramatic climax, that is subject to some question.
Bronson (I, 237-47) prints a limited twenty-four tunes (with texts) of this ballad first given to the world by Percy. Motherwell fails to give a promised tune, so that "all the tunes that have been found for this ballad, save one or two, come from the Appalachians, and all have been recovered only in the present century." No recent Scottish version has been found, and only very recently a copy from Hampshire in England. Bronson distinguishes three groups: Group A, with six members, composed of Appalachian variants and their derivatives; Group B, with thirteen items, composed of variants with tunes (three) traditionally associated with other ballads ("Gypsy Laddie" or "Lady Isabel," "Boyne Water," or "The House Carpenter" ) ; and a somewhat arbitrary Group C, of five variants, developing from "The House Carpenter" and with other connections. Of the two tunes of TBVa, C is classified in Group B, D in Group C.
AA. "Percy." Collected by R. E. Lee Smith, of Palmyra, Va. Sung by his brother, Thomas P. Smith, of Palmyra, Ya., and himself. They learned it January 22, 1916, from the singing of "M. A. Yarber, of Mast, N. C., who had heard it sang now of sixty-five years by his father." Fluvanna County. Smith adds, "One person, Mrs. P. J. Roper [?], said it was called 'Edward.' "
1 "What blood is that on your coat lap,
My son Percy, my son Percy?
What blood is that on your coat lap,
And the truth please tell to me."
2. "It is the blood of my great falcon,
Mother Lady, Mother Lady,
It is the blood of my great falcon,
And the truth I have told ye."
3. "Falcon's blood was never that red,
Son Percy, Son Percy,
Falcon blood was never that red,
And the truth to me."
4. "It is the blood of my greyhound,
Mother Lady, Mother Lady,
It is the blood of my greyhound,
As he would not hunt for me."
5. "Dog's blood was never that red,
Son Percy, son Percy,
Dog's blood was never that red,
And the truth tell to me."
6. "It is the blood of my brother John,
Mother Lady, Mother Lady,
It is the blood of my brother John,
And the truth I have told ye."
7. "What plea have you to give,
Son Percy, son Percy ?"
"It began by cutting an elm tree,
That tree I did not want cut."
8. "What death do you wish to die,
Son Percy, son Percy ?
What death do you wish to die,
And the truth tell to me."
9. "I would like to sink in the sea,
Mother Lady, Mother Lady,
I will set my foot in a bottomless ship
And you will see any more of me."
10. "What will you leave your poor wife,
Son Percy, son Percy?"
"Grief and trouble all her life,
And she I will never see again."
11. "What will you leave to your old son,
Son Percy, son Percy ?"
"I will leave him the world to wander up and down,
And he will never get more from me."
12 "What will you leave to your mother dear,
Son Percy, son Percy?"
"A fire of coals to burn her hearty cheer,
And she will never get more from me."