The Maid and the Palmer (Child 21) is the song for February 24 in Jon Boden's A Folk Song a Day project.
Here's the Traditional Ballad Index entry for "Maid and the Palmer":
Maid and the Palmer, The [Child 21]
DESCRIPTION: A woman comes to a well, where she meets a man who asks of her a drink. She says she can offer him none because her leman/husband is away. The man tells her that she has no leman, and goes on to tell of her sins and assigns a punishment
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: c. 1818 (GlenbuchatBallads)
KEYWORDS: Jesus religious adultery
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber)) Ireland
REFERENCES (10 citations):
Child 21, "The Maid and the Palmer" (2 texts)
Bronson's (21 in addenda), "The Maid and the Palmer" (2 versions in addenda)
BronsonSinging 21, "The Maid and the Palmer" (2 versions: #1, #2)
GlenbuchatBallads, pp. 89-90, "The Maid of Coldingham" (1 text)
Leach, pp. 106-107, "The Maid and the Palmer" (1 text)
OBB 99, "The Maid and the Palmer" (1 text)
PBB 3, "The Maid and the Palmer" (1 text)
TBB 37, "The Maid and the Palmer" (1 text)
Niles 15, "The Maid and the Palmer" (1 text, which Niles identifies with Child 21, but the fragment is so short that it could equally be part of Child 20)
DT 21, MAIDPALM MAIDPAL2*
ST C021 (Full)
Roud #2335
RECORDINGS:
John Reilly, "The Well Below the Valley" (on Voice03)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Jesus Met the Woman at the Well" (subject)
cf. "See the Woman at the Well" (subject)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
The Samaritan Woman
The Well Below the Valley
Jesus Met the Woman at the Well (?)
Seven Years
NOTES [69 words]: For the story of Jesus and the Woman of Samaria, see John 4:5-26.
The second part of the song, in which the woman is given a penance in the form of a series of transformations, has no parallel in the Biblical story, although such transformations are attested elsewhere -- notably in "The Cruel Mother" [Child 20]. In fact, I wonder if the ending of this song in the Percy text might not be taken from Child 20. - RBW
Last updated in version 4.1
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Reinhard Zierke's page on Maid/Palmer is quite interesting.
-Joe-