The Two Brothers- Sprouse (VA) 1915 Davis G
[Title assigned by Fauntleroy/Davis. From Davis Traditional Ballads of Virginia; 1929. Davis's notes follow. Davis mentions Newell, who gave Child two US versions, the shorter, two stanza version dated 1850, is Child G b as found in Volume 2: Ballads 29-53; published June 1884 w/Additions and Corrections.
R. Matteson 2012, 2014]
TRADITIONAL BALLADS OF VIRGINIA
11. THE TWA BROTHERS (Child No. 49)
This is one of the very few ballads of which American texts were known to Child, included in the body of his work, and actually commented upon in his head-note. " It is interesting," he says, "to find the ballad still in the mouths of children in American cities, --in the mouths of the poorest, whose heritage these old things are. The American versions, though greatly damaged preserve the names John and William, which all the other copies have." And in a foot-note he quotes W. W. Newell, who obtained the American version[s] to this effect: "I have heard it sung at a picnic by a whole carful of little girls. The melody is pretty. These children were of the poorest class."
The Virginia singers seem to have no distinctive title for " The Two Brothers." The bulk of the Virginia versions differ from the bulk of the Child versions in that only two of the Virginia texts out of a total of eleven leave even the possibility that the fratricide was accidental. Of the other nine, some leave the stabbing as an outburst of passion, some indicate that the two brothers were in love with the same girl and that jealousy was therefore the motive. This essential point, and others, connect the bulk of the Virginia texts with Child B. The other two may be related to A in this respect, otherwise, especially verbally, to B.
In all of the Virginia texts the age of the "little boys" is incompatible with the rest of the story, the love affair in particular. Several variants, like Child B and C, conclude the ballad with several stanzas taken from "Sweet William's Ghost" (Child; No. 77), but none follows Child D, E, F, G, in supplementing the story with more or less of the ballad of "Edward" (Child, No. 13). As Child C differs in several essential points (accidental killing, the mother's parting anger at the younger son, etc.), we are led back to Child A and B, especially B, for our closest relationship.
The brothers, when not simply older and younger, are John and William, as in Child. The girl, when not merely a true love or little sweetie, is Susie, not Margaret as in Child B.
G. "The Two Brothers." Collected by Miss Juliet Fauntleroy. Sung by Mrs. James Sprouse (nee' Pribble) of Lawyers, Va. ; Campbell county, May 29, 1915. "Mrs. Sprouse's explanation of this ballad is that both brothers were in love with the same girl, 'Little Sweetie,' therefore jealousy was the cause or the tragedy. This ballad was also sung from me by Lilian Keesee, daughter of Mrs. Lilian Keesee. But I find less variation in the words and tune of this ballad tahn in most ballads. The tune has always been exactly the same" (Miss Fauntleroy).
1 Two brothers, dear brothers, walked out one day
To view the chestnut grove,
The youngest had a long, keen knife,
And stove it to the oldest one's heart.
2 "Oh brother, dear brother, take off thine shirt
And wrap my bleeding wound.
And bind them up so neat and strong
That they won't bleed any more.
3 "Oh brother, dear brother, go dig my grave,
Dig it wide and deep;
Place my Bible under my head,
My testament under my feet,
My sword and pistol by my side,
Just like I was sound asleep.
4 "Oh brother, dear brother, when you go home,
My mother will ask for me;
You may tell her I've gone with some little play-mates
To bear their company home.
5 "Oh brother, dear brother, when you go home,
My father will ask for me;
You may tell him I've gone to London town
To view the chestnut grove.
6 "Oh brother, dear brother, when you go home,
Little Sweetie will ask for me;
You can tell her that I'm buried in the cold, clay ground,
Whose face she will no more see."