Was there ever a greater cry of anguish than the last stanza of "The Well Below the Valley"

For seven long years I'll be ringing the bell
But the Lord above may save my soul from porting in Hell!
At the well below the valley O

From a woman who had committed incest (most likely been forced to) with her uncle, brother and father and had killed or seen killed the babies resulting from these liaisons.

I found an almost identical verse in an American version of the Cruel Mother when the ghosts of her murdered babies tell her

For seven long years you'll be ringing the bell
In seven long years you'll be going to Hell

Puts an entirely different complexion on essentially the same verse yet equally powerful.

Burton Coggles: sorry for pinching your suggestion or is it a case of "great minds" [grin].