The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #66440   Message #1102783
Posted By: Malcolm Douglas
27-Jan-04 - 03:43 PM
Thread Name: Lyr Add: 'Judas' (Child 23?) by John Jacob Niles
Subject: RE: Lyr Add: 'Judas' (Child 23?) by John Jacob Niles
We can't be sure that Child's Judas was ever actually sung, and I'd think it most likely that these are quite separate songs; it isn't immediately obvious that the second two above are even related to the first, though of course they tell the same well-known story. A few other collectors found versions of the second two quoted above, I think. On the other hand, I haven't read either of the two detailed studies of Child 23, and there may perhaps be a lot more to say that I don't know about. Bronson will have been aware of Niles' finds, but did not include, or refer to, them in his Traditional Tunes of the Child Ballads, which may be significant.

Perhaps you'd like to post the tunes?