Ballads and Songs of Southern Michigan-online book

A Collection of 200+ traditional songs & variations with commentaries including Lyrics & Sheet music

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54          Ballads and Songs of Michigan
10 THE HOUSE CARPENTER
(James Hams; The Daemon Lover, Child, No. 243)
The Michigan texts are most similar to Child B, although there are stanzas in the Child text which are replaced by others in the Michigan forms. (See Child, IV, 360-369.) For texts and references, with a discussion of the song, see Cox, pp. 139-149, and Davis, pp. 439-478. See also Barbour, JAFL, XLIX, 209-211; Barry, Eckstorm, and Smyth, pp. 304-310; Bulletin, VII, n; Eddy, No. 16; Greig, pp. 196-197; Hudson, pp. 19-21; Sandburg, pp. 66-67; Scarborough, pp. 150-159; Sharp, I, 244--258; Smith, pp. 151-155; Stout, pp. 11-13; and Thomas, pp. 172-173. None of these texts has lines similar to stanza 7 of Michigan C, with its premonition of disaster, which is perhaps a slight remnant of super­stition. Version A was sung in 1935 by Mrs. Allan McClellan, near Bad Axe.
i "We have met, we have met once more, my love, We have met once more," said he. "I have just returned from the salt, salt sea, And it's all for the sake of thee.
2 "All for your sake I've refused golden store, And houses of high degree. O the king's only daughter dear With me she did comply."
3 "If you could have married the king's daughter, Young man, I think you are to blame, For I'm married to the house carpenter, And I think him a fine young man."