The Greenwood Siding- Cunningham (WV) 1915
[Appears as Cox C, No. 5, in Cox's book Folk-Songs of the South- 1925; his notes follow.
R. Matteson Jr. 2014]
THE CRUEL MOTHER (Child, No. 20)
Three variants have been recovered in West Virginia under the titles, "Down by the Greenwood Side," and "The Greenwood Siding" (see Cox, XIV, 159). A is an excellent version, following Child E in most details. B is confused at the beginning and one verse of stanza 4 is missing. In the main it agrees clearly with Child C. The only thing in variant C that may be of help in determining its relationship is the last line: "You shall be keeper of hell's gates." Cf. Child, I, 15: "Seven years a porter in hell," and Child, K, 7: "And seven years a porter in hell."
For American texts see Mackenzie, Journal, xxv, 183 (Nova Scotia; also Quest, p. 104) ; McGill, p. 83 (Kentucky) ; Campbell and Sharp, No. 9 (North Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Virginia) ; Sharp, Folk-Songs of English Origin Collected in the Appalachian Mountains, 2d Series, p. 2 (Kentucky) ; Jones, p. 5 (South Carolina by way of Kentucky) ; Journal of the Folk-Song Society, 11, 109 (Kentucky). For other references see Journal, xxx, 293.
C. "The Greenwood Siding." Communicated by Professor Walter Barnes, Fairmont, Marion County, July, 1915; obtained from Mr. G. W. Cunningham, Elkins, Randolph County, who learned it from Ellen Howell of Dry Fork.
1 "O baby, O baby, if you were mine,
All along and alone-y;
I would dress you up in scarlet so fine,
All along by the greenwood siding."
2 "O mother, O mother, when I was yours,
You pierced me through my poor tender heart.
3 "O mother, mother, thou hast cut stakes,
You shall be keeper of hell's gates."