Ballads & Songs of Southern Michigan-songbook

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Unhappy Love                           37
4 LORD THOMAS
(Lord Thomas and Fair Annet, Child, No. 73)
The Michigan texts are most closely related to group D of Child's texts. Child D was taken from Percy, who obtained it from the Pepys collection, in which it was described as a broadside In the Michigan texts, however, the brown girl does not put the knife "Betwixt the short ribs and the long," as in Child D. No lines similar to the fragmentary stanza seven of Michigan B, where the groom not only shows his preference for the blonde but adds insult to injury by seating her at his right, have been noted. For texts and references see Cox, pp. 45-64. See also Barry, Eckstorm, and Smyth, pp. 128-134; Davis, pp. 191— 220; Eddy, No. 7; Fuson, pp. 49-51; Henry, JAFL, XLII, 262--265; Mackenzie, pp. 20-24; Scarborough, pp. 105-114; Sharp, I, 115-131; Smith, pp. 109-120; Stout, pp. $-?; and Thomas, pp. 88-90.
Version A was sung, in 1936, by Mrs Joseph J. Beeman, Detroit, who learned the song from her mother, Mrs. Wm. Waldron, Amherstburg, Ontario. Mrs. Waldron's maiden name was Cornwall; she was born m Colchester, Ontario, of English and French parentage.
A
1    "Come riddle your rights, my mother dear, Come riddle your rights once more.
Shall I marry fair Ellen or no, Or bring the brown girl home?"
2    "The brown girl she has houses and lands; Fair Ellen she has none;
Therefore I charge you with my blessing Go bring the brown girl home."