Barbara Allen (OT2003-3013-006)
Dublin Core
Title
Barbara Allen (OT2003-3013-006)
Alternative Title
Bonny Barbara Allan
The Ballet of Barbara Allen
Barbara Allen's Cruelty
Barbarous Ellen
Edelin
Hard Hearted Barbary Ellen
Sad Ballet Of Little Johnnie Green
Sir John Graham
Description
Song excerpted from audio recording OT2003-3013, part of VFC2003-0007 Margaret MacArthur Collection.
Source
Margaret MacArthur Collection -- VFC2003-0007. Vermont Folklife Center Archive, Vermont Folklife Center, Middlebury, Vermont, United States of America.
Date Created
1964-07-16
Contributor
Is Part Of
Language
en
Type
Identifier
VFC2003-0007 OT2003-3013-006
Rights Holder
Vermont Folklife Center
Song Item Type Metadata
Local Title
Barbara Allen
Standard Title
Barbara Allen
Standard Title Reference
Folk Music Index (http://www.ibiblio.org/folkindex)
Coffin, Tristam P. (1950). The British Traditional Ballad in North America. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: The American Folklore Society.
Transcription
Twas in the merry month of May
When all the fields were blooming
A young man on his death bed lay
For the love of Barbara Allen
He sent his little 'prentice boy
To the place where she was dwelling
Saying "Master says you must come home [Atwood stutters] here
If your name be Barbara Allen"
So slowly she put on her clothes
So slowly she went to him
And all she said when she came there
"Young man I think you're dying"
"For death is sprinkled on your face
And sorrow in your dwelling
But better off should I be there
If her name was Barbara Allen"
"Don't you remember the other day
Back at the last station
You drank your health to the maids all round
And slighted Barbara Allen"
He turned his face unto the wall
His back unto the maiden
"Adieu adieu to my friends all
And woe to Barbara Allen"
She had not gone three miles from town
She heard the church bell tolling
And every toll it seemed to roll
"O cruel Barbara Allen"
She looked east and she came west
And saw a funeral coming
Saying "Set thee down the cold corpse of clay
That I may look upon him"
"For cruel is my name" said she
"And cruel is my nature
I might have saved this young man's life
By doing my endeavor"
The fairest young man in all New York
Died for John Allen's daughter
The fairest young lady in this town
Will soon follow after
He dug [Atwood stutters] "Go dig my grave both long and deep
Go dig it straight and narrow
This young man died for me today
I'd die for him tomorrow
The young man was buried
And she was buried beside him
And out of his grave grew a bright red rose
And out of her grew a briar
They grew up to the mountaintop
Where they could grow no higher
They tied them in a true lover's knot
And withered away together
References:
When all the fields were blooming
A young man on his death bed lay
For the love of Barbara Allen
He sent his little 'prentice boy
To the place where she was dwelling
Saying "Master says you must come home [Atwood stutters] here
If your name be Barbara Allen"
So slowly she put on her clothes
So slowly she went to him
And all she said when she came there
"Young man I think you're dying"
"For death is sprinkled on your face
And sorrow in your dwelling
But better off should I be there
If her name was Barbara Allen"
"Don't you remember the other day
Back at the last station
You drank your health to the maids all round
And slighted Barbara Allen"
He turned his face unto the wall
His back unto the maiden
"Adieu adieu to my friends all
And woe to Barbara Allen"
She had not gone three miles from town
She heard the church bell tolling
And every toll it seemed to roll
"O cruel Barbara Allen"
She looked east and she came west
And saw a funeral coming
Saying "Set thee down the cold corpse of clay
That I may look upon him"
"For cruel is my name" said she
"And cruel is my nature
I might have saved this young man's life
By doing my endeavor"
The fairest young man in all New York
Died for John Allen's daughter
The fairest young lady in this town
Will soon follow after
He dug [Atwood stutters] "Go dig my grave both long and deep
Go dig it straight and narrow
This young man died for me today
I'd die for him tomorrow
The young man was buried
And she was buried beside him
And out of his grave grew a bright red rose
And out of her grew a briar
They grew up to the mountaintop
Where they could grow no higher
They tied them in a true lover's knot
And withered away together
References:
- "Barbara Allen," typewritten lyrics owned by Margaret MacArthur, archived at the Vermont Folklife Center.
Location
Duration
4:15
Files
Collection
Citation
“Barbara Allen (OT2003-3013-006),” Vermont Folklife Center Digital Collections, accessed December 26, 2024, https://vtfolklifearchive.org/collections/items/show/1144.
Position: 1226 (307 views)