The Cruel Brother- Williams (NC) 1917 Sharp B
[From English Folk Songs From the Southern Appalachian Mountains; Sharp Karpeles, version B, 1932, two stanzas only w/music. Sharp did not write down the stanzas for this version- refer to Sharp A for the text. Both versions were collected in Hot Springs, NC within a year of each other.
R. Matteson 2014]
THE CRUEL BROTHER- Mrs. Julie Williams; Hot Springs, NC; July 27, 1917 Sharp B
The first landlord was dressed in white,
I am the li-li-no,
He asked her would she be his wife,
And the roses smell so sweet I know.
* * * *
O what will you will to your mother dear?
I am the li-li-no,
This robe of gold that I have here,
And the roses smell so sweet I know.