Main/Irish version of Maid Freed From the Gallows
Jim Carroll

Maid Freed (Child From the Gallows A
The fullest version of this song came from the memory of Mrs. Ellen M. Sullivan in Springfield, Vermont. Mrs. Sulli¬van said she was seventy-five years old, and she remembered: his from her childhood in County Cork, Ireland.
H. H. F., Collector August 15,1932
Structure: A B1 B2 C (4,4,4,6); Rhythm C; Contour: arclike, with pendulum movement; Scale: hexatonic
Lord James
Tr. G. B-

“Oh, stop your hand, Lord James,
Oh, stop it for a while.
I think I see my mother
Coming along the stile.

“O mother, dearest mother,
Did you get my golden ball
Or my pardon from the Queen,
Or did you come to see me hung
Upon this willow tree?” 1

“I have not got your golden ball
Or your pardon from the Queen,
But I came to see you hung
Upon this willow tree.”

“Oh, stop your hand, Lord James,
Oh, stop it for a while;
I think I see my father
Coming along the stile.


“O father, dearest father,
Did you find my golden ball
Or my pardon from the Queen,
Or did you come to see me hung
Upon this willow tree?”

“I have not got your golden ball
Or your pardon from the Queen,
But I came to see you hung
Upon this willow tree.”

“Oh, stop your hand, Lord James,
Oh, stop it for a while.
I think I see my brother
Coming along the stile.

“O brother, dearest brother,
Have you got my golden ball
Or my pardon from the Queen,
Or did you come to see me hung
Upon this willow tree?”

“I have not got your golden ball
Or your pardon from the Queen,
But I came to see you hung
Upon this willow tree.”

“Oh, stop your hand, Lord James,
Oh, stop it for a while.
I think I see my sister
Coming along the stile.

“O sister, dearest sister,
Have you got my golden ball
Or my pardon from the Queen,
Or did you come to see me hung
Upon this willow tree?”

“I have not got your golden ball
Or your pardon from the Queen,
But I came to see you hung
Upon this willow tree.”

“Oh, stop your hand, Lord James,
Oh, stop it for a while.
I think I see my true love
Coming along the stile.

“O true love, dearest true love,
Have you got my golden ball
Or my pardon from the Queen,
Or did you come to see me hung
Upon this willow tree?”

“I . . . found your golden ball
And your pardon from the Queen,
And I did not come to see you hung
Upon this willow tree.”

i Mrs. Sullivan remarked that a willow tree in England grows immense and is the choice for gallows.