The House Carpenter- Williams (IN) 1935 Brewster G
[From Brewster: Ballads and Songs of Indiana; 1940. His notes follow,
R. Matteson 2013]
21. JAMES HARRIS (Child, No. 243)
Nine variants and two melodies of this ballad have been recovered, all nine of the variants being closely related to Child B, though with occasional touches of other versions. As usual, the lover has lost all traces of his demoniac character, and, too, many details of the original version have disappeared. The story as told in the Indiana texts is briefly this: A sailor returns to find his old sweetheart happily married to a house carpenter, and the mother of a child (or two) by him. By specious promises the former lover persuades the wife to desert husband and baby and go with him. She soon discovers her mistake, however, and begins to weep for the child left behind. The ship springs a leak and sinks to the bottom of the sea, bearing her with it. Some variants contain a stanza in which she voices a curse upon deceiving sailormen, or a warning to other wives. The "hills of heaven and hell" stanzas do not appear in Indiana versions.
For American texts, see Barry, No. 11; Barry, Eckstorm, and Smyth, p. 304; Belden, No. 11 (fragment); Brown, p. 9; Campbell and Sharp, No. 29; Cox, p. 139; Davis, p. 439; Hudson, No. 19; Hudson, Folksongs, p. 119; Journal, XIX, 295; XX, 257; XXV, 274; XXX, 325; XXXV, 346; XXXVI, 360; XLII, 275; XLIX, 209; Pound, Ballads, p. 34; Sandburg, p. 66; Scarborough, Song Catcher, p. 151; Shearin, p. 3; Shearin and Combs, p. 8; Smith, p. 151; Thomas, p. 172; Wyman and Brockway, Songs, p. 54; PTFLS, X, 159; Smith and Rufty, American Anthology, p. 46; Henry, Songs Sung in the Southern Appalachians, p. 59; Henry, Folk-Songs from the Southern Highlands, p. 113; Cox, Traditional Ballads, pp. 38, 41, 43, 45; BFSSNE, VII, 11; Randolph, Ozark Mountain Folks, p. 201.
G. "The House Carpenter." Contributed by Mrs. James Williams, of Oakland City, Indiana. Gibson County. September 17, 1935.
1. "If you will leave your house carpenter
And go along with me,
I'll take you where the moss grows green
On the banks of the sweet Reveleen."
2. She picked up her sweet little babe
And gave it kisses three,
Saying, "Stay at home, keep your father company
While I sail on the sea."
3. They hadn't sailed more than two weeks,
I'm sure it wasn't three,
Till this fair damsel began to weep;
She wept most bitterly.
4. "Is it for my gold you weep,
Or is it for my store?
Or is it for your house carpenter
That you left on Italy's shore?"
5. "It isn't for your gold that I weep,
Neither is it for your store;
It's all for the love of that sweet little babe
That I never shall see any more."
6. "Cheer up, cheer up, my own true love;
Cheer up, cheer up," said he;
"We'll soon be where the grass grows green
On the banks of the sweet Reveleen."
7 A curse to you and your jolly crew,
A curse to your ships that sail,
For robbing me of my house carpenter
And taking my life away!"
8. Three times around went the gallant ship;
Three times around went she;
Three times around went the gallant ship,
And she sank to the bottom of the sea.