Pretty Polly- Bobby McMillon (NC) 2003 BK
[Text from: A Tree Accurst: Bobby McMillon and Stories of Frankie Silver by Daniel W. Patterson; 2003. I'm sure McMillon knows the whole ballad and different versions of it too. However these were the only two stanzas printed. An online bio follows from whitehorseblackmountain.com.
R. Matteson 2016]
Robert Lynn "Bobby" McMillon, was born in Lenoir, NC in 1951, and was heir to numerous strands of Appalachian culture. From his father's family in Cocke County, Tennessee, he learned Primitive Baptist hymns and traditional stories and ballads. From his mother's people in Yancy and Mitchell Counties, North Carolina, he heard "booger tales, haint tales," and legends about the murder of a relative named Charlie Silver.
In Caldwell County, he went to school with relatives of Tom Dula, learned their family stories, and heard ballads, gospel songs, and Carter family recordings. Bobby was always drawn to old songs and stories, but as a teenager he discovered the Frank C. Brown Collection of North Carolina Folklore in the Lenoir Public Library and got a glimpse of the historical background and significance of the things he knew. This inspired an enthusiasm for folklore documentation that has made him an invaluable resource to his community.
Pretty Polly- Text from Bobby McMillon of Lenoir, North Carolina.
When I was a young man all in yonder's town,
When I was a young man all in yonder's town,
I courted pretty Polly, the lady of the town.
O'er yonder's Pretty Polly, over yonder she stands,
O'er yonder's Pretty Polly, overyonder she stands,
With gold diamond rings on her lily-white hands.