This week at Murder Ballad Monday we do a bit of musing about a couple of Appalachian variants of Child 4.

Lady Isabel and the False Knight (Sheila Kay Adams) - Seduction, betrayal, and a reversal of fortune play key roles in Pat's fascinating introduction to Child 4. Along the way, we learn some surprising things about the paths of these songs through the generations, and find some lessons too important not to pass on.

False Sir John (Jean Ritchie) - In a provocative and profound second post on Child Ballad 4, Pat goes out on a limb to explore birds as symbols in these ancient songs. Today, with the help of Jean Ritchie, our heroine, May Colvin, asks, "What if all the world's a cage, and all the women merely parrots?".