I'm working on a project which is collecting songs from all the different cultures and ethnic groups represented in the city of Derby, UK. As part of the project we have also been asked to find some "equivalent" English folk songs.

We have collected two songs -- one from Hungary and one from Zimbabwe -- which have very similar themes, and I was hoping to find an equivalent English folk song with the same sort of meaning.

The Hungarian one is:

1. The mother does not keep
    Her pretty daughter for herself.

2. She brings her up in her arms
    Then lets her go on her wings.

3. And then she watches from a distance
    As someone else scolds and beats her

And the Zimbabwean one is a wedding song:

The first part of the song is sung by the bride's family and says
something like: "If he beats you or or treats you badly, you can tell
your mother and you can come back home".

So, both songs are about marriage with a bit of beating in there!

I've searched high and low, but can't seem to find anything remotely in the same vein. Any ideas?