Stabbed, Poisoned, Drowned and Shot Down A Celebration of the American Murder Ballad Murder Ballads The word ba!ad is derived from the medieval French tradition of dancing songs. Murder ba!ads are not particularly good for dancing, but they do follow the tradition of being narratives. This story-driven structure originates from Scandinavian and Germanic traditions of storytelling in poetry and song. Murder ballads recount the details of real or imagined crimes: who the victim is, why the murderer decides to take their life, how the victim is lured to the murder site, the escape or capture of the murderer. Some tell the story from the point of view of the murderer, some attempt to portray the murderer in a sympathetic light. Others take the point of view of the victims. Others still, record the details of a crime and its punishment from afar. Sometimes supernatural revenge is wrought by the victim on the murderer, sometimes the murderer gets away clean. Lord Randall This 17th century song is an example of an Anglo- Scottish border ba!ad, meaning that it was first collected in that general area. These border ballads are usually sung without accompaniment. The song is a dialogue between a young Lord and his mother, through which it is eventually revealed that the Lord has been poisoned by his lover. Interesting side note: this song was later used as a model when Bob Dylan wrote “A Hard Rain’s a-Gonna Fa!.” Lord Randall Where have you been, Lord Randall my son? Where have you been, my handsome young one? I’ve been to the wild wood, mother make my bed soon For I’m weary with hunting and I fain would lie down Where did you get dinner, Lord Randall my son? Where did you get dinner, my handsome young one? I dined with my true love, mother make my bed soon For I’m weary with hunting and I fain would lie down What did you eat, Lord Randall my son? What did you eat, my handsome young one? I had eels bound in broth, mother make my bed soon For I’m weary with hunting and I fain would lie down What’s become of your blood-hounds, Lord Randall my son? What’s become of your blood-hounds, my handsome young one? They swelled and they died, mother make my bed soon For I’m weary with hunting and I fain would lie down Lord Randall I fear you were poisoned, Lord Randall my son? I fear you were poisoned, my handsome young one? Yes I was poisoned, mother make my bed soon For I’m sick in my heart and I fain would lie down What will you leave your father, Lord Randall my son? What will you leave your father, my handsome young one? My castle and lands, mother make my bed soon For I’m sick in my heart and I fain would lie down What will you leave your mother, Lord Randall my son? What will you leave your mother, my handsome young one? My gold and my silver, mother make my bed soon For I’m sick in my heart and I fain would lie down What will you leave your true love, Lord Randall my son? What will you leave your true love, my handsome young one? I’ll leave her hell-fire, mother make my bed soon For it’s now I am dying and I got to lie down Edward In this ballad, a mother questions her son about the blood on his sword. There are different versions of the song, as there are with all of these songs. In some he claims the blood is from his hawk, in others it is from his horse, cow, fox, dog. Eventually he reveals that the blood is from his father (sometimes brother, sometimes brother-in-law). The son declares that he is leaving and will never return. In some versions the son implicates his mother in the murder before leaving, in other versions the farm falls apart in his absence and the mother goes mad. Edward How came that blood on your shirt sleeve? How came that blood on your shirt sleeve? Oh, dear Lord tell me Oh, dear Lord tell me Well it is the blood of the old gray mare It is the blood of my brother-in-law That plowed the fields for me That went away with me That plowed the fields for me That went away with me It does look too pale for the old gray mare What will you do now, my love? That plowed the fields for thee Oh, dear Lord tell me That plowed the fields for thee I’ll set my foot on yonder ship And sail across the sea And sail across the sea How came that blood on your shirt sleeve? Oh, dear Lord tell me It is the blood of the old greyhound When will you be back, my love? That chased the fox for me Oh, dear Lord tell me That chased the fox for me When the moon sinks yonder in the sycamore tree And that will never be And that will never be It does look too pale for the old greyhound That chased the fox for thee That chased the fox for thee Two Sisters First appeared in 1656, this song has gone by many names: The Miller and the King’s Daughter, Minnorie, Binnorie, The Cruel Sister, The Wind and Rain, Dreadful Wind and Rain, The Bonnie Swans, Bonnie Bows of London, and more. The song accounts two sisters who travel down by the water. The older of the two pushes the younger into the water and watches her drown. The motive usually takes the form of jealousy, as the two sisters are either both in love with the same man or are being two-timed by the same man. In some versions, the younger sister eventually washes up and is made into a musical instrument that plays itself, singing of her own murder. In other variations, a third character is seen robbing the corpse and is tried and hanged for the murder. Two Sisters There was an old woman, lived by the seashore Sister, oh, sister let’s walk the seashore Bow, balance me Bow, balance me There was an old woman, lived by the seashore Sister, oh, sister let’s walk the seashore Numbered her daughters one, two, three, four And see the ships as they’re sailing in And I’ll be true to my love And I’ll be true to my love If my love will be true to me If my love will be true to me There was a young man come there to see them While these two sisters walked the seashore Bow, balance me Bow, balance me There was a young man come there to see them While these two sisters walked the seashore And the oldest one got stuck on him The oldest pushed the youngest o’er And I’ll be true to my love And I’ll be true to my love If my love will be true to me If my love will be true to me He bought the youngest a beaver hat Sister, oh, sister please lend me your hand Bow, balance me Bow, balance me He bought the youngest a beaver hat Sister, oh, sister please lend me your hand And the oldest one got mad at that And you will have Willy and all his land And I’ll be true to my love And I’ll be true to my love If my love will be true to me If my love will be true to me Two Sisters I’ll never, I’ll never lend you my hand Miller, oh, miller here’s five gold rings Bow, balance me Bow, balance me I’ll never, I’ll never lend you my hand Miller, oh, miller here’s five gold rings But I’ll have Willy and all his land To push that maiden in again And I’ll be true to my love And I’ll be true to my love If my love will be true to me If my love will be true to me Sometimes she sank, sometimes she swam The miller received those five gold rings Bow, balance me Bow, balance me Sometimes she sank, sometimes she swam The miller received those five gold rings Until she came to the old mill dam And pushed that maiden in again And I’ll be true to my love And I’ll be true to my love If my love will be true to me If my love will be true to me The miller, he got his fishhook The miller was hung by the old mill gate Bow, balance me Bow, balance me The miller, he got his fishhook The miller was hung by the old mill gate And fished the maiden out of the brook For drowning little sister Kate And I’ll be true to my love And I’ll be true to my love If my love will be true to me If my love will be true to me Tom Dooley This old North Carolina folk song is based on the murder of Laura Foster in Wilkes County, NC in 1866. It is an excellent example of the “Appalachian sweetheart murder ballad” tradition. Laura Foster had been stabbed to death with a large knife, in a particularly brutal fashion, which partly accounted for the widespread publicity of the trial that followed.