In Bruton Town there lived a farmer
Who had two sons and one daughter dear
By day and night they were contriving
To fill their parents' hearts with fear.
One told his secret to none other
But unto his brother this he said:
I think a servant courts our sister
I think they have a mind to wed.
If he our servant courts our sister
That maid from such a shame I'll save
I'll put an end to all their courtship
And send him silent to his grave.
A day of hunting was prepared
In thorny woods where briars grew
And there they did that young man a-murder
And in the brake his fair body threw.
Now welcome home my dear young brothers
Our servant man is he behind?
We've left him where we've been a-hunting
We've left him where no man can find.
She went to bed crying and lamenting
Lamenting for her own true love
She slept, she dream'd, she saw him by her
And cover'd o'er in a gore of blood.
You rise up early tomorrow morning
And straight-way to the brake you know
And then you'll find my body lying
All cover'd o'er in a gore of blood.
Then she rose early the very next morning
Unto the garden brake she went
And there she found her own dear jewel
All cover'd o'er in a gore of blood.
She took her kerchief from her pocket
And wiped his eyes though he was blind;
Because he was her own true lover,
My own true lover and friend of mine.
And since my brothers have been so cruel
To take your tender sweet life away,
One grave shall hold us both together
And along with you in death I'll stay.
abc | midi | pdf
Source: Sharp, C (ed),1916,One Hundred English Folksongs,Boston,Oliver Ditson Co
Notes:
Cecil Sharp wrote:
The tune, which is a very striking one, is in the Dorian mode. The singer varied the last phrase of the melody in four different ways (see English Folk Song: Some Conclusions, p. 23). For two other versions of this ballad, "Lord Burlington's Sister" and " In Strawberry Town," see the Journal of the Folk-Song Society (volume ii, P. 42; volume v, pp. 123-127), where the ballad has received a very searching analysis at the hands of Miss Lucy Broadwood. It will be seen that the story is the same as that of Boccaccio's " Isabella and the Pot of Basil " in the Decameron, and of Keats's poem of the same name. It is true that " Bruton Town " breaks off at the wiping of the dead lover's eyes, and omits the gruesome incident of the planting of the head in the flowerpot; yet up to that point the stories are nearly identical.The song was popular with the minstrels of the Middle Ages, and was made use of by Hans Sachs, who derived his version from "Cento Novelli", a translation of the Decameron by Stein-howel (1482). Hans Sachs named his heroine Lisabetha and retains the Italian tradition that Messini was the town where the rich merchant and his family dwelt. It is interesting to observe that this ballad is one of the very few that succeeded in eluding the notice of Professor Child.
The words of both the versions that I have collected were very corrupt, so that the lines given in the text have received some editing. For the original sets the student is referred to the Journal of the Folk-Song Society, quoted above.
This set was noted from the redoubtable Mrs. Overd at Langport, Somerset, on August 4th 1904. She sang it thus:
In Bruton Town there lives a farmer
Who had two sons and one daughter dear,
By day and night they was a-contriving
To fill their parents' heart with fear.
He told his secrets to no other,
But unto her brother he told them to;
"I think our servant courts our sister,
I think they has a great mind to wed;
I'll put an end to all their courtship,
I'll send him silent to his grave."
A day of hunting whilst prepared,
Thorny woods and valley where briars grow;
And there they did this young man a-murder
And into the brake his fair body thrown.
"Welcome home, my dear young brothers,
Pray tell me, where's that servant man?"
"We've a-left him behind where we've been a-hunting,
We've a-left him behind where no man can find."
She went to bed crying and lamenting,
Lamenting for her heart's delight;
She slept, she dreamed, she saw him lay by her,
Covered all over in a gore of bled.
She rose early the very next morning,
Unto the garden brook she went;
There she found her own dear jewel
Covered all over in a gore of bled.
She took her handkerchief out of her pocket
For to wipe his eyes for he could not see;
"And since my brothers have been so cruel
To take your tender sweet life away,
One grave shall hold us both together,
And along, along with you to death I'll stay."
Journal of the Folk Song Society, vol.II issue 6, 1905. Sharp gave three alternate endings for the tune, commenting
"In the second and seventh verses the last four bars of the melody are repeated. The penultimate bar was sung in four different ways, apparently with no settled plan, but at the discretion of the singer."
The additional material in Sharp's collation was drawn from another set noted by him as In Strawberry Town, this time from Mr. George Whitcombe at Westhay, Meare, Somerset in January 1906 and again in January 1907. This was printed in the Journal of the Folk Song Society, vol.V issue 19, 1915.
See the The Miracle Flower discussion thread for the complete story of 'Isabella and the Pot of Basil' mentioned above.
Roud: 18 (Search Roud index at VWML) Take Six
Laws: M32
Child:
Related Songs: The Miracle Flower (thematic)