Young Beeham (Beham)- Hicks (NC) circa 1892; Rec. c.1940
[My date (Ref. Buna Hicks- Burton 1966). From: Her Bright Smile Haunts Me Still, The Warner Collection, Volume I. This is the Hicks/Harmon version. More complete texts of this family version have been taken from Samuel Harmon (Tennessee, 1928 Henry) and Aunt Betty Hicks of Rich Mountain, NC and her daughter Nora Hicks (Brown collection, REC, and text made by Walker c. 1939). A fuller version of Roby Monroe's ballad was collected from his wife Buna in 1966 (see her text which she learned from him).
Young Beeham, also spelled Beham, was learned "when he was a child" (Burton 1966) by Roby Monroe Hicks of Beech Mountain, NC who was born in 1882. He was the son of Samuel and Rebecca Hicks. The song was recorded by the Warners c. 1940s. Here's some info about Roby Monroe's son:
"Stanley Hicks was born on October 12, 1911, on Beech Mountain [North Carolina] in a very self-relying family and community surrounded by rich storytelling, music, craft and foodways traditions. Both of his parents, Roby Monroe Hicks and Buna Presnell Hicks were well-known singers and musicians. His father also made banjos, and he taught Stanley how. Stanley was a very humorous and entertaining character, and he eventually gained international fame for his hand-made instruments, dancing and playing, and the endless supply of stories. Stanley’s grandfather, Samuel Hicks and his father, Roby Monroe Hicks both made not only instruments, but all of the tools they needed as well. They used native woods – mostly walnut, maple, and cherry, and the banjo heads were usually made from groundhog or cat skins. Stanley began by helping his father make banjos."
R. Matteson 2012, 2014]
Young Beeham (Beham)- Roby Monroe Hicks, on Her Bright Smile Haunts Me Still, The Warner Collection, Volume I
[Listen: Roby Monroe Hicks- Young Beeham] [See Susan Price (Betty Hicks) and Young Behan (Sam Harmon) for better texts.]
Young Beeham from the Glasgow gone
The Turkish nation for to seek
The Turks took him as a prisoner
They bound him to a trusty tree
They bored a hole through his right shoulder
And through and through they put a key [1]
They throwed him into a dungeon deep
Where daylight he never could see
The jailor had a beautiful daughter
A beautiful daughter O was she
The prison door were throwed wide open
And in there stood she
Have you any house or land
Or have you any buildings free
That you would give to a pretty girl
That set you at your liberty?
I have house and I have land
And other buildings two or three
The Glasgow town is all mine
Besides other buildings two or three
That I would give to a pretty girl
That set me at my liberty.
Give to me your place and honour
Your right hand to marry me
And seven years ...
I'll give to you my place and honour
My right hand to marry you
And seven years ...
For seven years being rolling on
Your place in time be very long[2]
Father, father, build me a boat
And over the ocean I may float
[that's as far as I can get]
1. All three Hicks family versions have key, however it should be "tree."
2. unclear
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Young Beham: Sung by Buna Hicks, December 9, 1966; learned from her husband, Roby Monroe Hicks, who learned it as a child. [Clearly her recollections of this ballad are wanting (or her husband never learned it well) and the ballad has deteriorated somewhat. From Burton/Manning- Folksongs II where the quatrains are divided in half, making the rhyme scheme (lines 2 and 4) confusing. R. Matteson 2014]
Young Beham, from Glasgow town,
The Turkish nation for to see.
The Turks took him as a prisonee
And bound him to a trusty tree.
Through his right shoulder they bored a hole,
And through and through they got a key.
They throwed him in a dark dungeonee [dungeon deep]
Where daylight he never could see.
The jailer lad a beautiful daughter,
A beautiful daughter, oh, was she.
"Have you any house or land?
Have you any buildings free.
"That you would give to a pretty girl
That set you at your liberty
"The Glasgow town, it is all mine,
Besides other buildin's two or three;
"That I would give to a pretty girl
That'd set me at my liberty.
"Give to me your faith and honor,
Your right hand, you'll marry me. "
He give to her his faith and honor, [1]
In seven years he'd marry her.
She paid down ninety thousand pounds
And set him at his liberty.
Miss Suzie Price thought the time very long
When seven years come rollin' on.
Her old father built her a boat
And over the ocean she did float.
She went till she came to Young Beham's gate;
There she rung the silver bell.
No one was willing to rise and let her come in
As Young Beham was himself. [2]
"Here, old woman, take back your daughter;
I'm sure I'm none the wust [worst] of her."
"Such work, such work a-going on,
Such work, such work I never did see.
"Marry one in the mornin' soon,
And marry the other one in the afternoon. "
1. Changes to third person narrative- with poor result
2. After at this point the story becomes lost, as it's unclear that Beham has married another girl.