The Two Sisters- Sung by Mrs. Jane Gentry at Hot Springs, N. C, Sept, 11, 1916 - Sharp Version A
[From English Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachians, Sharp/Campbell 1916; also Sharp/Karpeles 1932, version A. Sharp's notes follow. One of the few US versions that have an instrument (usually violin but in this case a harp) made by the dead girl's body parts.
This version was reprinted by Pound in 1922, see below. Gentry's version was well-known but her relative, Nora Hick's version from Mast Gap area in North Carolina has not been recognized. Gentry is part of the Hicks- Harmon clan descended from Samuel "Bid Sammie" Hicks. Big Sammy's daughter Sabra married Andrew Harmon and their son was Council Harmon (1807- 1896). Andrew's father was Cutliff Harmon who settled in Watauga Co. in 1789. Cutliff's father was German and this, supposedly, is the connection for the Jack Tales, thought to be of German origin.
Council "Old Counce" Harmon was a musician, dancer and storyteller and passed his folk knowledge on to his daughter Sarah and her husband A.J. Ward. The Ward children, Roby Munroe (1875-1944), Ben and Miles (1877-1956) acquired their father's repertoire. Miles son, Marshall (1906-1981), Roby and Ben were featured in Richard Chase's 1943 "Jack Tales" and his 1949 "Grandfather Tales."
Counce's grandson Rev. Lee Presnell (1876-1963) was featured on Sandy Patton's Folk Legacy recording, 'The Traditional Music of Beech Mountain, North Carolina."
Council's granddaughter Jane Gentry of Hot Springs, NC was Cecil Sharp's most prolific informant, contributing 64 songs and ballads. Fanny Hicks (1837–1914), who was Big Sammy's granddaughter, passed on her immense repertoire of songs to her granddaughter Nora Hicks.
Cf. Nora Hicks
R. Matteson 2011, 2014]
Notes from Sharp: No. 4. The Two Sisters
Texts without tunes:—Child, No. 10.
Texts with tunes:—Christie's Traditional Ballad Airs, i., pp. 40 and 42. Journal of the Folk-Song Society, i., 253, and ii., 282. English County Songs, p. 118. Northumbrian Minstrelsy, p. 61. Child, v., pp. 411 and 412 (three tunes). "Binnorie," arranged
by Dr. Arthur Somervell. American variants:—Journal of American Folk-Lore, xviii., 130 (with tune); xviii., 130 (without tune); xix., 233.
Sharps states: Compare the refrain in A, "Jury flower gent the rose-berry," with "Jennifer gentle and rosemaree," in "Riddles Wisely Expounded" (Child, No. 1, B).
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[In the article, A Note on the "Herb" and Other Refrains of Certain British Ballads, by A. G. Gilchrist, she writes:
The curious "Jury flower gent the rose berry" of one of Mr. Sharp's Appalachian songs, though at first sight a much decayed form, probably comes quite near the original in sound if not sense, for" gelofir gent " is a description, c. 1500, of the gilliflower. The line runs, in more intelligible versions, Gilliflower gentle and rosemary. The line "Gilliflower gentle or rosemary" occurs in a lyric by Sir Thomas Philipps (temp. Henry VIII) in company with " Marjoram gentle or lavender " and "Camomile, borage, or savory.
Gentry's version was reprinted in 1922 in Pound's book- her page/notes are included below. R. Matteson 2011]
The Two Sisters- Sharp EFFSA Version A
Pentatonic. Mode 3. Sung by Mrs. Jane Gentry at Hot Springs, N. C, Sept, 11, 1916 (A)
a) We'll take it and we'll make harp strings.
We'll take them and we'll make harp screws.
1. O sister, O sister, come and go with me,
Go with me down to the sea.
CHORUS: Jury flower gent the rose-berry,
The jury hangs over the rose-berry.
2 She picked her up all in her strong arms
And threwed her sister into the sea.
3 O sister, O sister, give me your glove,
And you may have my own true love.
4 O sister, O sister, I'll not give you my glove,
And I will have your own true love.
5 O sister, O sister, give me your hand,
And you may have my house and land.
6 O sister, O sister, I'll not give you my hand,
And I will have your house and land.
7 O the farmer's wife was sitting on a rock,
Tying and a-sewing of a black silk knot.
8 O farmer, O farmer, run here and see
What's this a-floating here by me.
9 It's no fish and it's no swan,
For the water's drowned a gay lady.
10 The farmer run with his great hook
And hooked this fair lady out of the sea.
11 O what will we do with her fingers so small?
We'll take them and we'll make harp screws.
12 O what will we do with her hair so long?
We'll take it and we'll make harp strings.
13 O the farmer was hung by the gallows so high,
And the sister was burned by the stake close by.
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Reprinted in Pound:
The Two Sisters- Jane Gentry (NC) 1916 EFSSA Reprinted Pound 1922
4. (A) The Two Sisters. Sung by Mrs. Jane Gentry of Hot Springs, North Carolina, in 1916. See Campbell and Sharp, English Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachians (1917), p. 16. Child, No. 10. This ballad is known to Miss Marjorie Buicham of Lincoln, Nebraska, as a eucalele [sic] song.
4. (A) THE TWO SISTERS
"O sister, O sister, come go with me,
Go with me down to the sea."
CHORUS: Jury flower gent the rose-berry,
The jury hangs over the rose-berry.
She picked her up all in her strong arms
And threwed her sister into the sea. CHORUS
"O sister, O sister, give me your glove,
And you may have my own true love.
"O sister, O sister, give me your hand,
And you may have my house and land."
"O sister, O sister, I'll not give you my hand,
And I will have your house and land."
O the farmer's wife was sitting on a rock.
Tying and a-sewing of a black silk knot.
"O farmer, O farmer, run here and see
What's this a-floating here by me."
"It's no fish and it's no swan,
For the water's drowned a gay lady."
The farmer run with his great hook
And hooked this fair lady out of the sea.
"O what will we do with her fingers so small?"
"We'll take them and we'll make harp screws."
"O what will we do with her hair so long?"
"We'll take it and we'll make harp strings."
O the farmer was hung by the gallows so high,
And the sister was burned at the stake close by.