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16 Nov 03 - 02:14 PM (#1054800) Subject: Lyr Add: BARB'RY ELLEN (Tom Rush) From: GUEST,Roberto Please, somebody to check this transcription, and fill the gaps in stanzas 7 and 8. Thank you. Roberto BARB'RY ELLEN, Tom Rush, on The Prestige/Folklore Years volume one, All Kinds of Folks, Prestige/Folklore PRCD-9901-2; song originally recorded 1963, on Tom Rush, Blues, Songs, Ballads, Prestige PR 7374 In Scarlet Town where I did dwell There was a fair maid dwelling And many lads cried: Well-a-day! For love of Barb'ry Ellen And in the merry month of May When green buds they are swelling Sweet William on his death-bed lay For love of Barb'ry Ellen Now he sent his servant down to her And down where she was dwelling He said – You must come to my master dear If your name be Barb'ry Ellen Well, slowly, slowly rose she up And slowly drew she nigh him And the only words to him she said: Young man, I think you're dyin' Well, he turned his face unto the wall And death was with him dealing He said – Farewell, my comrades all Be kind to Barb'ry Ellen Now as she walked her long way home She heard the death-bell knelling And every stroke did seem to say: Hard-hearted Barb'ry Ellen! Now her younger sister, she came to her She said – Bonny Barb'ry, take him! O, ... time ... to tell me now (O, it's time enough to tell me now?) When his head-stone they are making And her older sister, she came to her She said – Bonny Barb'ry, take him! O, ... time ... to tell me now When his grave clothes they are making Now mother, mother, go make my bed And you make it soft and narrow Sweet William died for me today I'll die for him tomorrow Sweet William was buried in the old church-yard Now Barb'ry Ellen in the choir Out of his breast there grew a rose And out of hers a briar Well, they grew and they grew to the old church top Till they could grow no higher And there they twined in a true lover's knot For all true lovers to admire |
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16 Nov 03 - 03:11 PM (#1054849) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Tom Rush's Barb'ry Ellen From: Sorcha Roberto, put Barbara Allen in the handy white search box--at least 5 versions in the data base and many threads discussing it. |
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16 Nov 03 - 05:22 PM (#1054950) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Tom Rush's Barb'ry Ellen From: Stewie Roberto, sounds right to me except Rush sings 'Allen' not 'Ellen' and that is on the sleeve too. I think he intends to sing 'And many a lad cried' in line 3, but omits 'a'. He also drops final consonants to rhyme with 'Allen': 'dwellin'', 'swellin'', 'dealin'', 'knellin'' etc. Now her younger sister, she came to her She said – Bonny Barb'y, take him! O, it's time enough to tell me now When his head-stone they're a-makin' And her older sister, she came to her She said – Bonny Barb'y, take him! O, it's time enough to tell me now When his grave clothes they're a-makin' For some reason - possibly to suggest sibling familiarity - in these 2 stanzas only, he seems to drop the 'r' out of Barb'ry, to sound like 'Barb'y' He seems to put an 'a' in elsewhere too - for example, 'death bell a-knellin''. --Stewie. |
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17 Nov 03 - 04:37 AM (#1055237) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Tom Rush's Barb'ry Ellen From: GUEST,Roberto Thank you, Stewie. Roberto |
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17 Nov 03 - 01:55 PM (#1055628) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Tom Rush's Barb'ry Ellen From: GUEST,Boab I have heard the version referred to by Roberto only once live---Nic Jones, over forty years back in Hexham Northumberland. |
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26 Apr 05 - 02:35 AM (#1470885) Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Tom Rush's Barb'ry Ellen From: GUEST,suehicks997@hotmail.com ive been looking for this song for ages for a friend she said her father taped it years ago from the everly brothers only 2 verses she wrote them down and if your interested twas in the merry month of may,WHEN FLOWERS WERE A BLOOMING also sweet wllie not william anyway have wrote out lyrics shell be happy thankyou kindly |