There Were Three Sisters- W.F. (Forf) 1870 Child E
[Single stanza from Notes and Queries, 4th S., v, 105; 1870. The response to an earlier query is below. Miss Brooke never gave her Irish version in Reliques of Irish Poetry, rather it was sent to Walter Scott, who published on e stanza and used it as a composite with Mrs Brown's version.
R. Matteson 2014, 2018]
Version E; Child 11- The Cruel Brother
Notes and Queries, 4th S., V, 105. From Forfarshire, W.F.
1. There were three sisters playin at the ba,
Wi a hech hey an a lillie gay
There cam a knicht an lockt ower the wa'.
An the primrose springs sae sweetly.
Sing Annet, an Marret, an fair Maisrie,
An the dew hangs i the wood, gay ladie.
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Notes and Queries- Volume 41 Page 105, 1870
"Three Ladies Playing At Ball" (4th S. iv. 517; v. 23.) —Mr. C. W. Barkley's verse from recitation is the first of the common version of "The Cruel Brother."
Vix evidently confounds this ballad with that of "Binnorie" or "The Cruel Sister." He has quoted the Irish version of the latter, as given by Miss Brooke in her Reliques of Irish Poetry. (See Bell's Early Ballads, p. 206.)
I have heard the first verse of another version of "The Three Ladies" in Forfarshire: —
"There were three sisters playin' at the ba',
Wi' a hech hey an' a lillie gay;
There earn a knicht an' lookt ower the wa',
An' the primrose springs sae sweetly.
Sing Annct, an' Marret,* an' fair Maisrie,
An' the dew hangs i' the wood, gay ladie."
W. F.
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This is a related post from Notes and Queries, Dec. 11, 1869. Though clearly a version, it has a surprise ending- it lacks the murder!!:
THERE WERE THREE LADIES PLAYING AT BALL." Dec. 11, 1869
(1" S. vi. 53; 2»d S. v. 171; 4th S. iv. 300.) In Aytoun's Ballads of Scotland a version of this ballad is given under the name of "Fine Flowers i' the Valley." He says in the introduction, this is the most popular of all the Scottish ballads, being commonly recited and sung even at the present dav. Sometimes a different refrain is employed, as in the copy given by Mr. Jamieson under the name of " The Cruel Brother," which commences thus:—
"There was three ladies plav'd at the ba',
With a heigh-ho! and a lily gay;
There cam a knight and play'd o'er them a',
As the primrose spreads so sweetly."
It appears that a version of the same ballad is popular in some parts of England, where it is known as "The Three Knights." In it also the refrain differs; the first stanza, according to Mr. Bell, running as follows :—
"There did three knights come from the west, With the high and the lily, O! And these three knights courted one lady, As the rose was so sweetly blown." The ballad was first printed in Herd's collection, though in rather an imperfect form. The subjoined version is taken down from recitation:— "There were three sisters in a ha', Fine flowers i' the valley j There came three lords amang them a', The red, green, and the yellow." See Aytoun's Ballads of Scotland, vol. i. p. 224. I should be glad to see a copy of W. M. T.'s version. C. W. Barkley.
The following is a copy of the ballad, sung in Cheshire amongst the people in the last century: —
"There were three ladies playing at ball,
Gilliver[1], Gentle, and Rosemary:
There came three Knights and looked over the wall,
Sing, O the Red Rose and the White Lilly.
'The first young Knight he was clothed in Red,
Gilliver, Gentle, and Rosemary:
And he said,' Gentle ledy, with me will you wed?
Sing, O the Red Rose and the White Lilly.
' The second young Knight he was clothed in Blue,
Gilliver, Gentle, and Rosemary:
And he said,' To my love I shall ever be true,'
Sing, O the Red Rose and the White Lilly.
"The third young Knight he was clothed in Green,
Gilliver, Gentle, and Rosemary:
And he said,' Fairest maiden, will yon be my queen?'
Sing, O the Red Rose and the White Lilly.
"The Lady thus spoke to the Knight in Red,
Gilliver, Gentle, and Rosemary:
'With you, Sir Knight, I never can wed.'
Sing, O the Red Rose and the White Lilly.
"The Lady then spoke to the Knight in Blue,
Gilliver, Gentle, and Rosemary:
And she said, 'Little faith I can have in you.'
Sing, O the Bed Bose and the White Lilly.
"The La dy then spoke to the Knight in Green,
Gilliver, Gentle, and Rosemary:
And she said,' 'Tis at Court you must seek for a queen.'
Sing, O the Red Rose and the White Lilly.
"The three young Knights then rode away,
Gilliver, Gentle, and Rosemary:
And the ladies they laughed, and went back to their play—
Singing, 0 the Red Rose and the White Lilly."
1. Gilliflower (see Hicks/Harmon versions of Child 10)