One of the most popular of the popular ballads, Child #10, this song has spawned hundreds of variants, especially in the Norse speaking countries, Child himself points towards versions in Iceland, Norway, the Faroe Islands and Sweden.
Hell hath no fury like a jealous sister and when a suitor chooses her younger sister over her, the balance is tipped! This version is taken from Miss Louisa Chisholm in Virginia in one of Cecil Sharp's expeditions to the America and was published in the second of his 'Appalachian Folk Songs' series.
When interpreting this song, I made the choice to consider the fact that it is never explicitly stated that the young girl dies to bring the old maxim "Tragedy + Time = Comedy", the idea being that the young girl is looking back on this experience with humour because she stayed "true to her love". This brings us to the refrains of the song and particularly the final one; that will be true, true to my love, love and my love will be true to me. I discussed with Rob what it could possibly mean and why the second 'love' was in there. I decided that it made more sense to split the refrain into two voices, one saying "that will be true love and my love will be true to me" and the other voices joining in full chorus to support the statement that love wins the day!
This is a popular song in our sessions so you'll hear that everyone knows the words (or there abouts!)
Tim
There was an old lord by the Northern sea
Bow down
There was an old lord by the Northern sea
The boughs they bend to me
There was and old lord by the Northern sea
And he had daughters one, two, three
That will be true, true to my love, love and my love will be true to me
A young man he came a-courting there
And he made a choice of the youngest fair
Bought the youngest a beaver hat
The eldest she thought much of that
Bought the youngest a gay gold ring
Didn't get the eldest anything
"Sister oh sister shall we walk out
To see the tall ships sailing about?"
And as they walked down by the water's brim
The eldest pushed the youngest in
"Sister oh sister lend me your hand
And I'll give you my houses and land"
"I'll never give you my hand nor glove
And I will steal your own true love"
So down she sank and away she swam
Swam right into the miller's dam
The miller he pulled her out of the brook
pulled her on out with his long fishing hook
And off of her hand pulled her gay gold ring
And into the water he pushed her again!
The miller was hung by his own mill gate
And the sister was burned right at the stake
There was an old lord by the Northern sea
Bow down
There was an old lord by the Northern sea
The boughs they bend to me
There was and old lord by the Northern sea
And he had daughters one, two, three
That will be true, true to my love, love and my love will be true to me
A young man he came a-courting there
And he made a choice of the youngest fair
Bought the youngest a beaver hat
The eldest she thought much of that
Bought the youngest a gay gold ring
Didn't get the eldest anything
"Sister oh sister shall we walk out
To see the tall ships sailing about?"
And as they walked down by the water's brim
The eldest pushed the youngest in
"Sister oh sister lend me your hand
And I'll give you my houses and land"
"I'll never give you my hand nor glove
And I will steal your own true love"
So down she sank and away she swam
Swam right into the miller's dam
The miller he pulled her out of the brook
pulled her on out with his long fishing hook
And off of her hand pulled her gay gold ring
And into the water he pushed her again!
The miller was hung by his own mill gate
And the sister was burned right at the stake
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