Mudcat Café message #447832

The Mudcat Café ^TM
Thread #33569 Message #447832
Posted By: Sandy Paton
23-Apr-01 - 11:23 PM
Thread Name: Lyr Req: Twa Sisters / Lay Bent to the Bonny Broom
Subject: RE: 'twasisters' lay the bent to bonny broom

I think it was Evelyn Wells, in The Ballad Tree that conjectured that crossing a branch of bent with one of broom at the door to the croft was believed to ward off the devil. I'll have to look it up, though.

Ewan MacColl recorded the "Riddles Wisely Expounded" version that uses this refrain. The reference makes sense in that ballad, doesn't it? I can also check Ewan's source.

Sandy