Death in the Child Ballads

Subject: Death in the Child Ballads
From: Susan of DT
Date: 17 Oct 16 - 08:41 AM

Self promotion: My new book

CAMSCO Music/Loomis House Press has now released my book Body Count: Death in the Child Ballads. The Child ballads have the reputation of almost always including death. It turns out that only half of the ballads do include death.

I examined each of the Child ballads to determine which included at least one death. The death could be violent, natural, or accidental. For each ballad that includes a death, I discuss who died, who did the killing, who urged the killing, and how the death occurred, as relevant to the particular ballad. I then included the verses that illustrate this.

The 130 page softbound book (ISBN 978-1-935243-82-3) is available for US $12.50 plus $5 shipping from CAMSCO Music and Loomis House Press (UK £9.50 and CA$16.50). Amazon also carries the book (but we get to keep more of the money if you buy from us). The book is also printed in the United Kingdom and Australia, which keeps the shipping costs manageable. The book includes text, notes, appendices, and illustrations (mostly from Holbein's Dance of Death).

Susan O. Friedman (Susan of DT) [e-mail]
[e-mail] (800) 548-FOLK

Subject: RE: Death in the Child Ballads
From: Bill D
Date: 17 Oct 16 - 09:20 AM

... and a fine, fascinating book it is!

Subject: RE: Death in the Child Ballads
From: Jack Campin
Date: 17 Oct 16 - 09:26 AM

I work in a bookshop and once suggested that we should classify our crime books by method - Burnings, Poisonings, Knifings, Strangulations and so on. Then you have some rather small categories like Survivals After Disembowelment Followed By Multiple Heads Bashed In With A Paperweight.

With what you've got you could probably plan a whole evening of songs about people being buried alive.

Subject: RE: Death in the Child Ballads
From: GUEST,Ed
Date: 17 Oct 16 - 09:28 AM

It sound's really interesting. Just found it on the UK Amazon site, but found that that wasn't a 'Look Inside' option.

Is there anywhere to see a taster?

Thanks.

Subject: RE: Death in the Child Ballads
From: Bill D
Date: 17 Oct 16 - 09:51 AM

It is actually categorized by 'manner...or circumstances' of death... family, lovers, battles..nautical. etc....even death attempted but thwarted.
One can simply browse the index/indices by ballad #, listing the number of deaths in various sources..(Child, Bronson, the Digital Tradition)

Obviously, one could spend a lifetime filling several volumes with detailed analysis of the purported 'historical' and cultural events... but this is a great summary of the theme.

Subject: RE: Death in the Child Ballads
From: Steve Gardham
Date: 17 Oct 16 - 01:11 PM

Do we just go to the Loomis House website in the UK?

Has it been sent out for review? Folk Music Journal, English Dance & Song, Living Tradition, Musical Traditions website, etc?

Subject: RE: Death in the Child Ballads
From: Susan of DT
Date: 17 Oct 16 - 02:12 PM

Ed - since you are not a member here, I cannot PM you with a small sample. You may want to join mudcat. Bill mentioned the chapter headings.

Steve - the book has only been out a couple of weeks and I am just gearing up to ge tthe word out. I sent copies to a couple of US reviewers, but not yet to the UK. Loomis will be able to sell it. Their website was not up to date when I last checked it - missing a bunch of the CAMSCO/Loomis productions.

The latest word on shipping charges:
"It varies a bit depending on the exact location, but it's about £5.00 in the UK, $6.00AU for Australia, and $7.00 for Canada."

Subject: RE: Death in the Child Ballads
From: Jim Carroll
Date: 17 Oct 16 - 02:35 PM

Look forward to it, but I hope it doesn't give the impression that death is the only subject found in the ballads -
I'm sure it doesn't but I get a little tired of hearing them described as "long and depressing" - they can be both, but certainly not all.
Jim Carroll

Subject: RE: Death in the Child Ballads
From: Joe Offer
Date: 17 Oct 16 - 09:42 PM

Which ones are by disembowelment?

Subject: RE: Death in the Child Ballads
From: Bill D
Date: 17 Oct 16 - 10:17 PM

Well... I'm sure in Otterburn and Chevy Chase, there were some who were hacked apart in various ways, but there's not enough verses to be specific....

Subject: RE: Death in the Child Ballads
From: Susan of DT
Date: 17 Oct 16 - 10:36 PM

Joe - Is Childe Owlet gory enough being broken between horses so the the field was full of small pieces of him? Or Willie's Fatal Visit where the ghost left pieces of Willie on each pew in the church?
Robert said you wanted to order a copy, but I was not sure that I should consider that a definite order. Do you want it?

Jim - This book is about those ballads that do include death, which are about half of the total. Any interest in a followup book "They lived happily ever after in the Child Ballads"? There are a few, but that leads to what is happily ever after? Is the Shepherd's Daughter happy to be wedded to the Knight who raped her? Off the top of my head, False Lover Won Back, Jock of Hazeldine, and Willie of Winsbury for a start.

Subject: RE: Death in the Child Ballads
From: Brian Peters
Date: 18 Oct 16 - 05:13 AM

"They lived happily ever after in the Child Ballads"

'Hind Horn' is my token happy ending. The more romantic versions of #1 as well.

How do you calculate total body count when Turkish galleys or English ships get sent to the bottom?

And of course I agree with Jim's point.

Subject: RE: Death in the Child Ballads
From: Jim Carroll
Date: 18 Oct 16 - 05:21 AM

"Which ones are by disembowelment?"
Not so much death by disembowelment, but in "Six Dukes Wen't a-Fishing" (a ballad not included in Child), the corpse has his bowels removed as part of the preparation for burial.
In Lady Diamond, the Lover's heart is ripped out and served up to the lady in a goblet.
Child Owlet is ripped apart by horses - don't suppose that would have done his bowels any good!
Jim Carroll

Subject: RE: Death in the Child Ballads
From: Jack Campin
Date: 18 Oct 16 - 06:43 AM

I was talking about crime stories featuring disembowelment - the one I had in mind (with paperweights; largely set in Whitby and perhaps the only crime novel involving the forensic use of historical dialectology and Old English literature) was Peter Robinson's Caedmon's Song.