The Farmer's Curst Wife- Weathers (VA) 1917 Davis L
[I've kept the generic title given by Davis and his collectors. No informant unfamiliar with the ballad's provinence would title it- Farmer's Curst Wife- since it is not part of the text. The title should be taken in most cases from the first line.]
46. THE FARMER'S CURST WIFE- Traditional Ballads of Virginia
(Child, No. 278)
Davis' Notes: The ballad is represented by fifteen texts and six tunes in the Virginia archives, Of these, thirteen texts and all six tunes are here printed. Most of the Virginia texts show a likeness to the Child A version, but some exhibit features found only in Child B. It is clear that both versions are represented, with many interesting variations, not least in the philosophical stanza or stanzas at the end. The tripping tunes, some of them with a whistled burden, fit perfectly the comic story of the ballad, which is thus summarized by Child: "The devil comes for a farmer's wife and is made welcome to her by the husband. The woman proves to be no more controllable in hell than she had been at home; she kicks the imps about, and even brains a set of them with her pattens or a maul. For safety's sake, the devil is constrained to take her baik to her husband." The moral of the tale is often pointed. "The Old Man under the Hill" seems to be the only unusual Virginia title; it is not, of course, the usual song of that name, though the title of that song may have been appropriated.
The material here given more than doubles the American store of this ballad. Other American references are Barry, No. 28; Belden, No. 13 (fragment); Bulletin, Nos. 4-6, 8-10; Campbell and Sharp, No. 34 (North Carolina, Virginia); Cox, No. 30; Journal, XIX, 298 (Belden, Missouri);- XXIV, 348 (Barry, Massachusetts, fragment, Maine), XXVII, 68 (Barry, Massachusetts); XXX, 329 (Kittredge, Missouri, fragments); Mackenzie, Ballads, No. 15; Sharp, Songs, 11, No. 3 (Kentucky). For additional references, see Cox, p. 164; Journal, XXX, 329.
L. "The Farmer's Curst Wife." Collected by Mr. John Stone. Sung by Mrs. Weathers, of Rumford, Va. King William County. September 13, 1917. With music. "Mrs. Weathers heard Mr. Caperton Braxton sing this ballad when they were school children." (Mr. Stone).
1. There was an old farmer in Yorkshire dell, (whistle)
He had an old wife and he wished her in-- well. . .[1]
Sing fol-de-rol-rol,
Sing fol-de-roi-rol,
Sing fol-de-rol-rol- rol-ray.
2. So when he arrived at old hell's gate,
He pitched the old woman upon her pate. [2]
3. She saw two devils bound in chains,
She took up their fetters and beat out their brains.
4. Two little imps climbed upon the wall,
Crying, "Take her away or she'll kill us all."
5. So the devil he bundled her up in a sack,
And like an old fool came lugging her back.
6. This proves that women are worse than men,
She was carried to hell and brought back again.