Tune Req: Stepmother's Cruelty

Subject: Stepmother's cruelty
From:
Date: 16 Feb 01 - 04:12 PM

Hello,

I am searching for a reference (band name, album name, .mp3, whatever) to a variant of the STEPMOTHER'S CRUELTY song (that is already on this site). I heard this song on a vinyl album many many years back (about 1982-3).

Can anyone identify the group or album?

Thank You in advance!! ================================================= lyric fragment: ...her meat it was all minced small, and forced by the fire, and cursed be her cruel stepmother for it was her desire

day dum durrum, day dum dan day dum durram, da-a-y dan

and he has caused the master cook in boilin' lead to stand and he has made the kitchie boy the heir to all his land...

Subject: RE: Tune Req: Stepmother's cruelty
From: Sorcha
Date: 17 Feb 01 - 05:44 PM

I haven't been able to find anything recorded with any phrase or the title. Do you have clues as to what kind of group they were, or perhaps where they may have performed? It almost sounds like a Child Ballad and they have lots of variants. Ewan McColl set out to record all of them but did not finish the project before he died.

Subject: RE: Tune Req: Stepmother's cruelty
From: Sorcha
Date: 17 Feb 01 - 06:33 PM

Whoo. I have searched Stepmother's Cruelty, Lady Isabella's Tragedy, and Fair Ellen (the victim) and come up with NO recordings at all. I give up. Somebody else want to try? Fair Ellen only gets the Child Thomas and Ellender, not the right one.

Subject: RE: Tune Req: Stepmother's cruelty
From: Malcolm Douglas
Date: 18 Feb 01 - 09:37 AM

I haven't found references to any recordings, either.  Child does mention it, but only in a footnote.   There are two broadside copies at  Bodleian Library Broadside Ballads

The lady Isabella's tragedy. Or, The stepmothers cruelty  Printed between 1664 and 1666 "for Eliz. Andrews over against the three Crowns in west Smithfield, London".  To the tune of: Fair Rosamond, or Chivy [sic] Chase.

Lady Isabella's tragedy; or, The step mother [sic] cruelty  Printed and sold at No. 4, Aldermary Church Yard, London.  Date unknown.

Sorry I couldn't be more helpful; I'm glad the question came up, though, as that's another DT file without music that we can now put a tune to.

Malcolm

Subject: RE: Tune Req: Stepmother's cruelty
From: Malcolm Douglas
Date: 18 Feb 01 - 12:43 PM

Due to the occasional vaguaries of the Bodleian's indexing system, I missed a further three copies:

Lady Isabella's tragedy; or, The step-mother's cruelty  Printed between 1663 and 1674 for Elizabeth Andrews of London: to the tune of "Fair Rosamond. Or, Chivy Chase".

Lady Isabella's tragedy; or, The step-mother's cruelty  Printed between 1711 and 1732 by T. Norris, at the Looking-glass on London-bridge: to the tune of "The Lady's Fall".

The lady Isabella's tragedy; or, The step-mother's cruelty  Printed between 1711 and 1769 by John White of Newcastle upon Tyne: to the tune of "The Lady's Fall".

Professor Child had this to say about the song, in a footnote to an unrelated song which also features a kitchen boy,  Lady Diamond (#269):

"Though perhaps absolutely the silliest ballad that ever was made, and very far from silly sooth, the broadside was traditionally propagated in Scotland without so much change as is usual in such cases."  He goes on to cite sources for three such, titled There livd a knight in Jesuitmont, The Knight in Jesuite and There was a knight in Jessamay.  He adds that the tragedy is said to have occurred at Radcliffe in Lancashire.

I found the following at Steve Lassey's  Lancashire Pages:

"Radcliffe is a 15th century ruin where according to F.H. Cheetham, Lancashire (1920):

The ruins stand in a farmyard about 200 yds S.W of the church.... James de Radcliffe in 1403 obtained a royal licence to rebuild his manor house erecting "a hall and two towers of stone".... Radcliffe Tower is the supposed scene of "The Lady Isabella's Tragedy" a gruesome ballad telling how Fair Ellen was killed and cooked in a pie by order of her wicked stepmother, the Lady Isabella.

F.A. Bruton, Lancashire (1921) continues:

..... nothing in the pedigree of the Radcliffes of Radcliffe to justify one of these statements..."

Malcolm

Subject: RE: Tune Req: SUCCESS!!
From:
Date: 23 Feb 01 - 11:52 AM

Hi!

thank you everyone! I got enough hints to track that song down! It was performed by Jaime McMenemy, with a group called Kornog. And it was called "Jesuitmont"

At last the haunting song in the back of my head can rest.... Now i'll have to do something about the voices.

-thank you again!

Subject: RE: Tune Req: Stepmother's cruelty
From: Wolfgang
Date: 23 Feb 01 - 12:01 PM

Jesuitmont by kornog?

We had these lyrics twice in the Forum.

The better readable version is here

Wolfgang