Day 14: Fair Annie
Song Information
I talked about In The Roud in passing during Edmund In The Lowlands, and I'm incredibly grateful for the fact that Season 5 of the podcast came out as I was doing the research for this and therefore I can just point you towards Matt's hard work for episode 42.
In this case, Fair Annie is one of the ballads that James Francis Child published as “The English And Scottish Popular Ballads” (as Child 62). I highly recommend reading them, mainly because there's a point around ballad 90 where Child becomes incredibly sarcastic about the plot of the ballads themselves. The best of the Child Ballads (of which this is a prime example) are incredible pieces of story-telling, and for that reason alone I thought this should be included.
Bellamy apparently collated this from multiple different versions in Bronson (which is the tunes of the Child Ballads - most of what Child did was work with literary sources, whereas Bertrand Harris Bronson tried to find actual singers).
The first time I heard this it was sung by Martin Simpson as part of the Vagrant Stanzas album launch, where he talked about performing it at Beverly Folk Festival and having Martin Carthy come up to him afterwards and say “You know, there's another 3-4 verses for that...” which Martin's included ever since.
I agree with Piers Cawley, who noted in the Isolation Sessions #3 album that although there are extra verses, none of them really add anything (though I do like the variants on “I wish my sons were <X>, and I was <Something that eats X>”).
Listen to the Song
Lyrics
“Comb back your hair, Fair Annie,” he said,
“Comb it back into your crown.
For you must live a maiden’s life
When I bring my new bride home.”
“O how can I look maiden-like
When maiden I am none?
For six fair sons have I had by you
And a seventh coming on?”
“O you will bake my bread,” he said,
“And you will keep my home.
And you will welcome my lady gay
When I bring my bridal home.”
And on the door he’s hung a silken towel,
Pinned by a silver pin,
That Fair Annie she might wipe her eyes
As she went out and in.
Now, six months gone and nine comin’ on
She thought the time o’er-long.
So she’s taken a spyglass all in her hand
And up to the tower she has run.
She has look-ed east, she has look-ed west,
She has looked all under the sun,
And who should she see but Lord Thomas
All a-bringin’ of his bridal home.
So she has called for her seven sons
By one, by two, by three,
And she has said to her eldest son,
“O come tell me what you see.”
So he’s look-ed east, he has look-ed west,
He has looked all under the sun.
And who should he see but his father dear,
He was bringin’ of his new bride home.
So it’s, “Shall I dress in green?” she said,
“Or shall I dress in black?
Or shall I go down to the ragin’ main
And send my soul to wrack?”
“O you need not dress in green,” he said,
“Nor you need not dress in black.
But throw you wide the great hall door
And welcome my father back.”
So it’s, “Welcome home, Lord Thomas,” she said,
“And you’re welcome unto me.
And welcome, welcome, your merry men all
That you’ve brought across the sea.”
And she’s servèd them with the best of the wine,
Yes, she’s servèd them all ’round.
But she’s drunk water from the well
For to keep her spirits down.
And she’s wait-ed upon them all the livelong day,
And she thought the time o’er long.
Then she’s taken her flute all in her hand
And up to her bower she has run.
She has fluted east, she has fluted west,
She has fluted loud and shrill.
She wished that her sons were seven greyhounds
And her a wolf on the hill.
Then, “Come downstairs,” the new bride said,
“O come down the stairs to me.
And tell me the name of your father dear,
And I’ll tell mine to thee.”
“Well, King Douglas it was my father’s name
And Queen Chatten was my mother;
And Sweet Mary, she was my sister dear
And Prince Henry was my brother.”
“If King Douglas it is your father’s name
And Queen Chatten is your mother,
Then I’m sure that I’m your sister dear
As Prince Henry, he is your brother.”
“And I have seven ships out on the sea
They are loaded to the brim.
And six of them will I give to you
And one more to carry me home.
Yes, six of them will I give to you
When we’ve had Lord Thomas burned!”