If Menelaus had been able to quickly get at Paris and brush away all those tedious little details involving Hector, Achilles and that bunch, we might end up with this tight little story. On another nopte, the ballad nearly perfectly lends itself to a Gravesian interpretation - as an upside-down ritual murder of some year-and-a-day sun king with Musgrave serving as the older man's surrogate.   

Much like Menelaus, Lord Bernard seems compelled to pursue his actions. The regret that Bernard expresses is the most moving portion of the piece (for me).

Perhaps Musgrave becomes a self-selected victim by bringing his imperfect intentions into church on the first day of the year. His selection is sealed when she casts her eye on him "as bright as the summer sun". Moons are as likely to be dressed "in velvet red, and some in velvet pale" as are court women. Why does the footpage need to encounter the broken bridge? Does swimming thru the river purify him as a messanger? The hinge/passage images are abundant:

Buckle
Ford
Broken Bridge
Red Moon/Pale Moon
First day of the year

When I sing it, I have the foot page address Bernard: "Me Lord Bernard, Me Lord Bernard, You are a man of light."   (It doesn't really matter what I sing, as our late night versions here in Kentucky have little reach into the world at large.)

At any rate, the ballad works on several levels for me - in fact - you need only to pick up the paper here in Kentucky on just about any given Sunday morning to read of another chilling version of the story being brutally enacted in situations ranging from some Bourbon County ascendancy mansion to an isolated trailer up a hollar. I suppose that's part of what makes for a 'classic' tale.