Hi, Child No. 2, The Elfin Knight: James Madison Carpenter Collection, JMC/1/10/124, Cylinder 123, 14:59 From Bell Duncan, who Carpenter called "the greatest ballad singer of all time." She was eighty-two-year-old and lived in a shepherd's cottage at Lambhill in the parish of Insch, Aberdeenshire. Her repertoire goes back from the mid to late 1800s. Listen: https://www.vwml.org/search?q=RN12%20James%20Madison%20Carpenter&is=1 "The Elfin Knight," sung by Bell Duncan of Insch, Aberdeenshire about 1930. "Ye will mak a sark tee me, Ower the hills a' far awa', Wi' an' eeless needle wantin' a thread, For the wind blaws aye my plaid awa'. "Ye maun wash't in yon water wan Faur never man saw water rin. "An' ye maun dry on yon thorn Faur the sun never shone sin man was born. "It's O young man, I've a little bit o' land, Atween the saut seas an' the sand. "Ye maun ploo it wi' a horn An' saw it wi' a paper quirn. "An' ye maun cut it wi' your penknife An' stook it on the bleed o' yer life. "An' ye maun trash it wi' your nivs[1], An' winnie it wi' yer livs Syne an' ye maun sack it in yer green glivs. "An' when once ye've done a' this wark Come ye tee me an' ye'll get your sark." _________________ 1. Irregular stanza * * * * Richie
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