Lord Randall

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Ballads

The Sensational

THREE DEAD SONS VISIT MOTHER FOR DINNER... SLIGHTED WOMAN SPURNS = LOVER=92S=20 DEATHBED REQUEST... MAIDEN HEADED FOR GALLOWS; FAMILY REFUSES HELP. = These aren=92t=20 the latest tabloid headlines or current soap opera summaries; they=92re = the plots=20 of medieval ballads. In the Middle Ages, just as today, certain forms of = popular=20 entertainment tended toward the sensational.

Since ballads were the poetry of the people, just as popular music is = today,=20 their subjects were predictably popular=97domestic tragedy, false love, = true love,=20 the absurdity of husband-wife relationships, and the supernatural. = Unlike=20 today=92s music, the ballads were not copyrighted by a singer, but were = passed=20 down orally from singer to singer. Using a strong beat and repetition, = the=20 ballads were a gift of story passed from performer to performer, from = generation=20 to generation.

Quickwrite

Suppose a historian from the future were to analyze today=92s popular = songs.=20 How would the historian describe the music you and your friends enjoy? = What=20 subjects dominate the songs? (Are popular songs sensational the way the = ballads=20 are?) What inferences would the historian draw about us and our culture = from the=20 analysis of the songs and the stories they tell? Record your thoughts on = these=20 pop-music questions.

Elements of=20 Literature

The Refrain

In concerts today a singer may invite the audience to =93join in on = the=20 chorus.=94 It=92s probable that a single singer sang the narrative = portions of a=20 ballad while the audience joined in on the refrain. The use of = the=20 refrain contributed to the song=92s rhythm and often reinforced its = theme, but=20 there was another practical reason for the refrain: It allowed the = singer, who=20 sang from memory and often improvised, time to think of the next = verse. =20

A refrain is a repeated word, phrase, = line, or=20 group of lines.

Background

The word ballad is originally derived from an Old French word = meaning=20 =93dancing song.=94 Although the English ballads=92 connection with = dance has been=20 lost, it is clear from their meter and their structure that the original = ballads=20 were composed to be sung to music.

The ballads as we know them today probably took their form in the = fifteenth=20 century, but they were not printed until three hundred years later when = Sir=20 Thomas Percy, Sir Walter Scott, and others traveled around the British = Isles and=20 collected them from the people who still sang them.

Ballads: Popular Poetry

Ballads come from an oral tradition, so there are no strict rules = dictating=20 their form. However, a number of characteristics have come to be = associated with=20 ballads, and every ballad reflects at least some of them: = supernatural=20 events; sensational, sordid, or tragic subject matter; a=20 refrain; and the omission of details. The ballad singers = also used=20 some of the following conventions:

=95 incremental repetition, to build up suspense. A phrase or = sentence=20 is repeated with a new element added each time, until the climax is=20 reached.

=95 a question-and-answer format, in which the facts of a = story are=20 gleaned little by little from the answers. Again, this device builds up=20 suspense.

=95 conventional phrases, understood by listeners to have = meaning beyond=20 their literal ones. =93Make my bed soon=94 in =93Lord Randall=94 is an = example. Whenever=20 a character in a ballad asks someone to make his bed, or to make her bed = narrow,=20 it means that the speaker is preparing for death.

=95 a strong, simple beat, with verse forms that are = relatively=20 uncomplicated. Ballads were sung for a general, rather than an elitist,=20 audience. Only later, in the era of so-called literary ballads (more=20 sophisticated poems that artfully evoked the atmosphere of the = originals), did=20 the rhyme scheme (abcb) and meter (a quatrain in which lines of = four=20 stresses alternate with lines of three stresses) of the ballad stanza = become=20 standard.

Literature and Pop=20 Music
Ballads

American Folk and Country and Western = Music

When English, Scottish, Welsh, and Irish people left their homes to = settle in=20 America, the old ballads were part of their baggage. Some ballads have = changed=20 little since then. When researchers traveled through the southern = Appalachian=20 Mountains in the early 1900s to record the songs of the mountain people, = they=20 found them singing =93John Randolph,=94 a ballad markedly similar to = =93Lord Randall.=94=20 On the other hand, =93Streets of Laredo,=94 which tells the story of a = cowboy dying=20 of a gunshot wound, retains the remnants of its British ancestry only in = the=20 line, =93Oh beat the drum slowly and play the fife lowly.=94 The fife = and drum refer=20 to a British military funeral. Even country and folk ballads written in = this=20 century tend to repeat the subjects and themes of the old medieval = ballads.=20 Consider:

=95 ballads with supernatural elements, such as the country = and western=20 song =93Phantom 309=94 about ghost truck drivers;

=95 ballads based on actual tragedies, such as the country and = western=20 song =93Ballad of the Green Berets=94 from the Vietnam War era and the = folk songs=20 =93Birmingham Sunday=94 from the civil rights struggle of the sixties = and =93The Wreck=20 of the Edmund Fitzgerald=94 about a twentieth-century sea = tragedy;

=95 ballads about domestic disasters, such as the country and = western=20 song =93The Grand Tour,=94 about a singer who tours his home after his = wife has left=20 him.

Lord = Randall

            = =93O where=20 hae ye been, Lord Randall, my=20 son?
          = ; =20 O where hae ye been, my handsome young=20 man?=94
         &n= bsp; =20 =93I hae been to the wild wood; mother, make my bed=20 soon,
         &nbs= p; =20 For I=92m weary wi=92 hunting, and fain wald lie=20 down.=94
5         = =93Where gat ye=20 your dinner, Lord Randall, my=20 son?
          = ; =20 Where gat ye your dinner, my handsome young=20 man?=94
         &n= bsp; =20 =93I din=92d wi=92 my true-love; mother, make my bed=20 soon,
         &nbs= p; =20 For I=92m weary wi=92 hunting, and fain wald lie=20 down.=94
         &= nbsp; =20 =93What gat ye to your dinner, Lord Randall, my=20 son?
10        What gat ye = to your=20 dinner, my handsome young=20 man?=94
         &n= bsp; =20 =93I gat eels boil=92d in broo; mother, make my bed=20 soon,
         &nbs= p; =20 For I=92m weary wi=92 hunting, and fain wald lie=20 down.=94
         &= nbsp; =20 =93What became of your bloodhounds, Lord Randall, my=20 son?
          = ; =20 What became of your bloodhounds, my handsome young=20 man?=94
15         =93O = they=20 swell=92d and they died; mother, make my bed=20 soon,
         &nbs= p; =20 For I=92m weary wi=92 hunting, and fain wald lie=20 down.=94
         &= nbsp; =20 =93O I fear ye are poison=92d, Lord Randall, my=20 son!
          = ; =20 O I fear ye are poison=92d, my handsome young=20 man!=94
         &n= bsp; =20 =93O yes! I am poison=92d; mother, make my bed=20 soon,
20         For = I=92m sick=20 at the heart, and I fain wald lie down.=94

Edward,=20 Edward &n= bsp;

            = =93Why does=20 your brand sae drop wi=92=20 blude,
          &nb= sp;=20 Edward,=20 Edward?
         &n= bsp; =20 Why does your brand sae drop wi=92=20 blude,
         &nb= sp; =20 And why sae sad gang ye,=20 O?=94=97
5         =93O = I hae kill=92d=20 my hawk sae=20 gude,
         &nbs= p; =20 Mither,=20 mither;
         &n= bsp; =20 O I hae kill=92d my hawk sae=20 gude,
         &nbs= p; =20 And I had nae mair but he,=20 O.=94
         &nbs= p; =20 =93Your hawk=92s blude was never sae=20 red,
10         Edward, = Edward;
         &n= bsp; =20 Your hawk=92s blude was never sae=20 red,
          = ; =20 My dear son, I tell thee,=20 O.=94=97
         &= nbsp; =20 =93O I hae kill=92d my red-roan=20 steed,
         &nb= sp; =20 Mither, = mither;
15         O I=20 hae kill=92d my red-roan=20 steed,
         &nb= sp; =20 That erst was sae fair and free,=20 O.=94
         &nbs= p; =20 =93Your steed was auld, and ye hae got=20 mair,
         &nbs= p; =20 Edward,=20 Edward;
         &n= bsp; =20 Your steed was auld, and ye hae got=20 mair;
20         Some = other=20 dule ye dree,=20 O.=94=97
         &= nbsp; =20 =93O I hae kill=92d my father=20 dear,
         &nbs= p; =20 Mither,=20 mither;
         &n= bsp; =20 O I hae kill=92d my father=20 dear,
         &nbs= p; =20 Alas, and wae is me,=20 O!=94
25         =93And = whatten=20 penance will ye dree for=20 that,
         &nbs= p; =20 Edward,=20 Edward?
         &n= bsp; =20 Whatten penance will ye dree for=20 that?
         &nbs= p; =20 My dear son, now tell me,=20 O.=94=97
         &= nbsp; =20 =93I=92ll set my feet in yonder=20 boat,
30         = Mither,=20 mither;
         &n= bsp; =20 I=92ll set my feet in yonder=20 boat,
         &nbs= p; =20 And I=92ll fare over the sea, O.=94

Get Up and Bar the = Door

            It = fell=20 about the Martinmas=20 time,
         &nbs= p; =20 And a gay time it was=20 then,
         &nbs= p; =20 When our goodwife got puddings to=20 make,
         &nbs= p; =20 And she=92s boild them in the=20 pan.
5         The wind = sae=20 cauld blew south and=20 north,
         &nb= sp; =20 And blew into the=20 floor;
         &nb= sp; =20 Quoth our goodman to our=20 goodwife,
         =   =20 =93Gae out and bar the=20 door.=94
         &= nbsp; =20 =93My hand is in my=20 hussyfskap,
10        = Goodman, as ye=20 may=20 see;
          = ; =20 An it should nae be barrd this hundred=20 year,
         &nbs= p; =20 It=92s no be barrd for=20 me.=94
         &nb= sp; =20 They made a paction tween them=20 twa,
          = ; =20 They made it firm and=20 sure,
15         That = the first=20 word whaeer should=20 speak,
         &nb= sp; =20 Should rise and bar the=20 door.
         &nbs= p; =20 Then by there came two=20 gentlemen,
         = ;  =20 At twelve o clock at=20 night,
         &nb= sp; =20 And they could neither see house nor=20 hall,
20         Nor = coal nor=20 candle-light.
        &n= bsp;  =20 =93Now whether is this a rich man=92s=20 house,
         &nb= sp; =20 Or whether it is a=20 poor?=94
         &= nbsp; =20 But neer a word ane o them=20 speak,
         &nb= sp; =20 For barring of the door. =
25        =20 And first they ate the white=20 puddings,
         =   =20 And then they ate the=20 black;
         &nb= sp; =20 Tho muckle thought the goodwife to=20 hersel,
         &n= bsp; =20 Yet neer a word she=20 spake.
         &nb= sp; =20 Then said the one unto the=20 other,
30         = =93Here, man,=20 tak ye my=20 knife;
         &nb= sp; =20 Do ye tak aff the auld man=92s=20 beard,
         &nb= sp; =20 And I=92ll kiss the=20 goodwife.=94
        &nb= sp;  =20 =93But there=92s nae water in the=20 house,
         &nb= sp; =20 And what shall we do=20 than?=94
35         = =93What ails ye=20 at the=20 pudding-broo,
        &n= bsp;  =20 That boils into the=20 pan?=94
         &n= bsp; =20 O up then started our=20 goodman,
         &= nbsp; =20 An angry man was=20 he:
          = =20 =93Will ye kiss my wife before my=20 een,
40         And = scad me wi=20 pudding-bree?=94
        = ;    =20 Then up and started our=20 goodwife,
         =   =20 Gied three skips on the=20 floor:
         &nb= sp; =20 =93Goodman, you=92ve spoken the foremost=20 word,
         &nbs= p; =20 Get up and bar the door.=94

Frankie and = Johnny
words by=20 Boyd Bunch

Frankie and Johnny were lovers
Oh, Lordy, how they could=20 love.
They swore to be true to each other,
True as the = stars=20 above.
He was her man, but he was doing her wrong.

Frankie she was a good woman
As everybody = knows.
Spent a=20 hundred dollars
Just to buy her man some clothes.
He = was her=20 man, but he was doing her wrong.

Frankie went down to the corner
Just for a bucket of=20 beer.
Said: =93Mr. Bartender,
Has my loving Johnny = been=20 here?
He was my man, but he=92s a-doing me wrong.=94

=93Now I don=92t want to tell you no stories,
And I don=92t = want to tell=20 you no lies.
I saw your man about an hour ago
With a = gal named=20 Nellie Bligh.
He was your man, but he=92s a-doing you = wrong.=94

Frankie she went down to the hotel,
Didn=92t go there for=20 fun.
Underneath her kimono
She carried a forty-four=20 gun.
He was her man, but he was doing her wrong.

Frankie looked over the transom
To see what she could=20 spy.
There sat Johnny on the sofa
Just loving up = Nellie=20 Bligh.
He was her man, but he was doing her wrong.

Frankie got down from that high stool,
She didn=92t want to = see no=20 more.
Rooty-toot-toot three times she shot
Right = through that=20 hardwood door.
He was her man, but he was doing her = wrong.

Now the first time that Frankie shot Johnny,
He let out an = awful=20 yell.
Second time she shot him
There was a new man=92s = face in=20 hell.
He was her man, but he was doing her wrong.

=93Oh, roll me over easy,
Roll me over slow.
Roll = me over on=20 the right side,
For the left side hurts me so.=94
He = was her=20 man, but he was doing her wrong.

Sixteen rubber-tired carriages
Sixteen rubber-tired=20 hacks
They take poor Johnny to the graveyard=97
They = ain=92t gonna=20 bring him back.
He was her man, but he was doing her = wrong.

Frankie looked out of the jailhouse
To see what she could=20 see.
All she could hear was a two-string bow
Crying, = =93Nearer=20 my God to thee.=94
He was her man, but he was doing her = wrong.

Frankie she said to the sheriff,
=93What do you reckon = they=92ll=20 do?=94
Sheriff he said, =93Frankie,
It=92s the = electric chair for=20 you.=94
He was her man, but he was doing her wrong.

This story has no moral.
This story has no = end.
This story=20 only goes to show
That there ain=92t no good in = men.
He was her=20 man, but he was doing her wrong.

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