Lyr Req: Fine Flowers in the Valley / Cruel Mother

Subject: lyrics to'Fine flowers in the valley'
From: GUEST,laurence
Date: 12 Jul 01 - 11:23 AM

shantalla has recorded this piece,i'd love the lyrics to it thanks

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: lyrics to'Fine flowers in the valley
From: IanC
Date: 12 Jul 01 - 11:30 AM

You could look for "The Cruel Mother" in the DT/Forum Search. Here's some discussion of it though. There's also a version of "The Cruel Brother" with a similar refrain.

Cheers!
Ian

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: lyrics to'Fine flowers in the valley
From: Brian Hoskin
Date: 12 Jul 01 - 11:34 AM

You can listen to this track via Realaudio on their website, you could probably catch the lyrics from there:

shantalla

Brian

Subject: Lyr Add: FINE FLOWERS IN THE VALLEY (B Dickson)
From: radriano
Date: 12 Jul 01 - 11:36 AM

Laurence, here are the lyrics as sung by Barbara Dickson:

Fine Flowers in the Valley
Barbara Dickson


She sat down below a thorn
Fine flowers in the valley
And there she has her sweet babe borne
And the green leaves they grow rarely

Smile not so sweet, my bonnie babe
And you smile so sweet, you'll smile me dead

She's taken out her wee penknife
And twanged the sweet babe o' its life

She's dug a grave by the light of the moon
And there she's buried her sweet babe in

As she was going to the church
She saw a sweet babe in the porch

O, sweet babe, if you were mine
I would clothe ye in the silk so fine

O, mother dear, when I was thine
You did not prove to me so kind

Richard

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: lyrics to'Fine flowers in the valley
From: katlaughing
Date: 12 Jul 01 - 12:00 PM

There are a lot of verses, in dialect, with nice sequencing of the tune at CONTEMPLATOR

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: lyrics to'Fine flowers in the valley
From: Malcolm Douglas
Date: 12 Jul 01 - 03:03 PM

I hadn't come across Shantalla before; it's a rather nice arrangement of the song.  Thanks to Brian for the link.  For Laurence's benefit, I'll explain that Professor Child (English and Scottish Popular Ballads) gave the Cruel Mother group of songs his number #20; the version Shantalla has recorded is the one he published as Version B; it was originally printed, with music, in Johnson's Scots Musical Museum (1787-1803).  Kat's link above goes to a copy of that version.  The text Radriano has quoted above from Barbara Dickson is that version, too, though "twanged" should be "twinn'd" (i.e., "separated"), and Ms. Dickson has substituted "dug" for the original "howket", and "clothe" for "cleed".  There are a few additional, insignificant differences.  Shantalla stick very closely to the traditional text, though their singer sings "And there she's kissed her babe new-born" in the first verse.

I put a list of links to substantive material on various versions and relatives of this song here and at other sites, including Lesley Nelson's "Contemplator", in this previous thread:  The Cruel Mother

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: lyrics to'Fine flowers in the valley
From: katlaughing
Date: 12 Jul 01 - 03:15 PM

Sorry, Malcolm, I didn't realise you'd already linked to that one in a previous thread. I also couldn't remember Lesley Nelson's name, all I could think of was Barry Taylor. Thanks for clarification and information.

kat