The Brown Girl- Bryant (Indiana) 1937 Brewster B
[From Brewster: Ballads and Songs of Indiana; 1940. His notes follow.
R. Matteson 2012, 2014]
10. LORD THOMAS AND FAIR ANNET (Child, No. 73)
Eight texts of this ballad have been recovered in Indiana under the following titles: "Lord Thomas," "The Brown Girl," "Fair Eleanor," "Lord Thomas's Wedding," and "Lord Thomas and Fair Eleanor." All belong to the D group of Child, and tell substantially the same story. The hero is in a quandary as to which he shall wed, Fair Eleanor or the brown girl, and takes the problem to his mother. As the brown girl has house and land and Fair Eleanor has none, the advice of the mother is for him to marry the former. He dresses himself in gorgeous attire and with his attendants rides to the home of Fair Eleanor, whom he invites to his wedding. After his departure she asks her mother's advice about attending. The mother advises her to stay at home where she will be among friends, but Fair Eleanor is determined to go. She dresses in fine array, takes her maids with her, and goes to Lord Thomas's hall. He himself admits her, leads her through the hall, and gives her the seat of honor. During the festivities she comments scornfully upon the brown complexion of the bride-to-be. The brown girl overhears her, and stabs Fair Eleanor with a penknife. After a time Lord Thomas notices the pallor of the latter, inquires as to the reason for it, and is told that he must be blind not to see the heart's blood trickling down her knee. When he realizes what has happened, he draws his sword and cuts off the brown girl's head, throws it against the wall, and then uses the sword to kill himself. Dying, he requests that Fair Eleanor be buried in his arms and the brown girl at his feet.
For American texts, see Barry, No. 2; Belden, No. 4 (fragment); Brown, p. 9; Campbell and Sharp, No. 16; Hudson, No. 10; Hudson, Folksongs, p. 78; Journal, XVIII, 128; XIX, 235; XX, 254; XXVII, 71 (melody only) ; XXVIII, 152; XXIX, 159; XXXIX, 94; XLII, 262; Cox, p. 45; Pound, Ballads, p. 27; Barry, Eckstorm, and Smyth, p. 139; Davis, p. 240 (fifteen variants, including fragments) and p. 573 (airs); Greenleaf and Mansfield, p. 18; Mackenzie, Ballads, p. 20; McGill, p. 28; Sandburg, p. 157; Shoemaker, p. 155; Scarborough, Song Catcher, p. 106; Shearin, p. 3; Shearin and Combs, p. 8; Thomas, p. 88; Wyman and Brockway, Songs, p. 14; Flanders and Brown, p. 209; Fuson, p. 49; Mackenzie, p. 97; Folk-Iaore Journal, VII, 33; Smith and Rufty, American Anthology of Old-World Ballads, p. 17; PTFLS, X, 144; Henry, Folk-Songs from the Southern Highlands, p. 60; Henry, Songs Sung in the Southern Appalachians, p. 41; Neely, Tales and Songs of Southern Illinois, pp. 136-37; Cambiaire, East Tennessee and Western Virginia Mountain Ballads, pp. 34-36, 115-16.
B. "The Brown Girl." Contributed by Mrs. Thomas M. Bryant, of Evansville, Indiana. Vanderburg County. Learned from the singing of her grandfather in Warrick County. November 16, 1937.
1. Lord Thomas he was a bold forester,
A tracer[1] of the king's deer;
Fair Eleanor was a fine young lady,
Lord Thomas he loved her dear.
2. "O Mother, dear Mother, come read my riddle,
And riddle it all in one,
Whether I shall marry fair Eleanor
Or bring the Brown Girl home?"
3. "The Brown Girl she has money a-plenty;
Fair Eleanor she has none;
Therefore I charge thee with my blessing
To bring the Brown Girl home."
4. He rode till he came to Fair Eleanor's bower,
And rattled at the ring;
And who was so ready as she
To arise and let him in?
5. "What news, what news, Lord Thomas," she said;
"What news have you brought unto me?"
"Sad news, for I've come to invite you
To my wedding dinner this day."
6. "O God forbid, Lord Thomas," she said,
"That any such thing could be;
For I had hoped on being the bride myself,
And thou the bridegroom might be."
7. "O Mother, dear Mother, come riddle my riddle,
And read it all in one,
Whether I shall go to Lord Thomas's wedding
Or whether I'll tarry at home."
8. "My daughter, we have many friends
And we have many foes;[2]
Therefore I charge thee with my blessing,
To Lord Thomas's wedding don't go."
9. "I know that we have many friends
And we have many foes;
But, death betide me, life betide me,
To Lord Thomas's wedding I'll go."
10. She dressed herself in scarlet red,
Put on the robes of green;
And every city that she passed through,
She was taken to be some queen.
11. She rode till she came to Lord Thomas's bower[3]
And rattled at the ring,
And none was there so ready as he
To arise and let her in.
12. He took her by the lily-white hand
And led her through the hall,
And seated her at the head of the table,
Among the ladies all.
13. "Is this your bride, Lord Thomas?" she said;
"Methinks she looks wonderous brown,
When you once could have married as fair a young lady
Ever the sun shone 'round."
14. The Brown Girl she had a little pen-knife,
The blade both keen and sharp;
Betwixt the long ribs and the short
She pierced Fair Eleanor's heart.
15. "O is thou blind, Lord Thomas?" she said,
"Or canst thou very well see?
For don't you see my own heart's blood
Go trickling down my knee?"
16. He took the Brown Girl by the hand
And led her through the hall;
He took his sword, cut off her head,
And flung it against the wall.
17. He put the shank against the ground,
The point against his breast,
Saying, "This is the end of three true lovers;
God, send their souls to rest!"
18. "Mother, O Mother, go dig my grave,
And dig it both wide and deep;
And place Fair Eleanor in my arms
And the Brown Girl at my feet."
Footnotes:
1 For chaser.
2. It will be noted that rhyme demands a. foe.
3. Hail would seem to he more appropriate.