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Brewster: Ballads and Songs of Indiana 211
38 THE SILVER DAGGER
Four texts of this song have been recovered in Indiana, all of them under the title "The Silver Dagger." All four tell the same story.
For other American texts and references, see Campbell and Sharp, II, p. 229; Cox, p. 350; Journal, XX, 267; XXX, 362; XLVI, 45; XLIX, 211; Hudson, Folksongs, p. 188; Pound, Ballads, No. 52; Sturgis and Hughes, Songs from the Hills of Vermont, p. 30; Thomas, p. 110; Neely, Tales and Songs of Southern Illinois, p. 162.
A
"The Silver Dagger." Contributed by Mrs. Dora McAtee, of Oakland City, Indiana. Gibson County. March 20, 1935.
1. A young man courted his own dear darling,
And he loved her as he loved his life; He often thought that he would marry And make of her his own dear wife.
2. But when his parents came to know it,
They strove to part them both night and day, To part him from his own dear darling;
" 'T is true she is poor," they oft would say.
3. When this young lady came to hear it,
She soon resolved what she would do; She wandered forth and left the city, Her pleasant home no more to view.
4. She wandered down by the flowing river,
And there for death she did prepare; "Here I lay1 my youthful morning, For I am lost in sad despair/'
5. She then picked up a silver dagger
And pierced it through her snowy breast; At first she reeled and then she staggered, Saying, "O my love, I'm going to rest." |
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1 For leave ? |
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