American Ballads and Folk Songs: page - 0260

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	American Ballads and Folk Songs
	her over a cliff and killed her. He was brought to trial, was acquitted and afterwards he married j but he was hated and persecuted wherever he went. "The murder caused a tremendous sensation in the southwestern counties of Pennsylvania, and everyone can still tell the story, though few remember the song. Several songs were composed—both of the folk type and of the literary type. I have another folk ballad about this tragedy, which is longer and more detailed, but not complete. In the course of years, many legends—some of them being of a decidedly superstitious turn—have grown up about the career of the murderer after his acquittal and marriage. "The victim's name was not Polly Williams} but for some reason, the composers of the songs chose this conventional name, and it is this name which is always used by those who tell the sad story."
	Come all ye good people, wherever you be, Come listen awhile to my sad tragedy. It is of a young lady that was worthy of praise— At the age of nineteen she ended her days. [ 160]