The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #10062 Message #984911
Posted By: GUEST,Q
17-Jul-03 - 01:10 AM
Thread Name: Origins: Lord Randall
Subject: Lyr Add: LORD RANDALL (North Carolina version)
The Irish Sea is that polluted, eh? (a member of the Maddy Prior fan club.
Brown (North Carolina Folklore) has one where the son ate fried eels and fried onions. Add fried bread and--- My stomach is churning and I fain would lie down.
I like this short one from West Virginia: It's an "all in the family one."
LORD RANDALL
"Where have you been all day, Henry, my son? Where have you been all day, my loving one?" "Up sister's, up sister's; make my bed soon, For there's a pain in my side, and I must lie down and die."
"What did she give you there?" "Poison, poison."
"What color was the poison?" "Red, black, yellow, red, black, yellow."
"What will you leave for father?" "Watch and chain, watch and chain."
What will you leave for mother?" "Silk and satin, silk and satin."
What will you leave for brother?" "Toys, toys."
"What will you leave for baby?" "A kiss from Henry, a kiss from Henry."
"What will you leave for sister?" "Ropes to hang her, ropes to hang her."
I can imagine Maddy Prior doing that one too.
J. H. Cox, 1925 (1967), "Folk-Songs of the South," pp. 26-27, from Mr. W. H. S. White, Piedmont, West Virginia, 1916, obtained from Miss Gertrude Shapiro, who got it from her mother.
Cox mentions another, but doesn't give lyrics- "Fried seals in butter."
In another one, done in by his sweetheart, Johnnie Randal leaves her: "Hell's fire and brimstone, dear mother, to scorch her bones brown; She's the cause of this pain at my heart, and I want to lie down."