LORD RANDAL

Reprinted in AppLit with permission, from the James Taylor Adams Collection
U of Virginia's College at Wise/Blue Ridge Institute of Ferrum College

Collected by James M. Hylton

Wise, Virginia 

NOTE: This text was recopied directly from a typewritten copy in the archives of the Blue Ridge Institute. James Taylor Adams (1892-1954) kept typewritten copies of the folklore he and others collected during the last thirty years of his life, while he lived in Wise County, VA. Typographical errors in the original have not been corrected, except for some obvious errors in spacing. Two of the punctuation marks in stanza VI are probably exclamation marks, as indicated below, but they are not clear on the typescript.

Richard Chase (who collected folklore with Hylton and Adams for the WPA in 1941-42) liked to talk about the song "Billy Boy" as a comic parody of "Lord Randall," commenting on the many different verses for "Billy Boy" that could be found in oral traditions. See notes on Chase's picture book Billy Boy in AppLit's Bibliography of Appalachian Folk Narratives in Picture Books.

Told to me by Mrs. J.W. Thompson, Big Stone Gap, Virginia, on October 21, 1941, after an all night visit at their home in that place. She gives me herewith a version which she had written down on paper belonging to her oldest daughter, Lucille, who is now married and living in Bristol, Va-Tenn., and who was educated at Big Stone Gap High School, Virginia Intermont College and Johnson City Business College. Like the members of her family before her she was interested in Folk Tales and Lore and in her spare time stowed away some old prints, clippings, original manuscripts etc. She wrote this version for a friend and after her Mother heard it read several times she also had a copy  stowed away for her own benefit. However it may be necessary to note that in this version of this Song the Randal is spelled with only one "L".

"Lord Randal" Oh where have you been Lord Randal, my son? And where have you been my handsome young man? I have been at the greenwood; mother, make my bed soon, For I am sick with huntin' and fain would lie down. II And what met you there Lord Randal, my son?" And what met you there, my handsome young man? Oh I met with my true-love; mother, make my bed soon. For I am sick with huntin' and fain would lie down. III And what did she give you, Lord Randal, my son? And what did she give you, my handsome young man? Eels fried in a pan; mother, make my bed soon, For I am sick with huntin' and fain would lie down. IV And what got your leavins, Lord Randal, my son? And what got your leavins, my handsome young man. My hawks and my hounds; mother, make my bed soon, For I am sick with huntin' and fain would lie down. V And what became of them, Lord Randal, my son? And what became of them, my handsome young man? They stretched their legs out and died; mother, make my bed soon, For I am sick with huntin' and fain would lie down. VI Oh I fear you are poisoned, Lord Randal, my son! Oh I fear you are poisoned, my handsome young man! Oh yes, I am poisoned; mother, make my bed soon, For I am sick at the heart and fain would lie down. VII What do you leave to your mother, Lord Randal, my son, What do you leave to your mother, my handsome young man? Four and twenty milk cows; mother, make my bed soon, For I am sick at the heart, and fain would lie down. VIII What did you leave to your sister, Lord Randal, my son? What did you leave to your sister, my handsome young man? My gold and my silver; mother, make my bed soon, For I am sick with at the heart and fain would lie down. IX What did you leave to your brother, Lord Randal, my son? What did you leave to your brother, my handsome young man. My house and my land; mother, make my bed soon, For I am sick with at the heart and fain would lie down. X What did you leave to your true-love, Lord Randal, my son? What did you leave to your true-love, my handsome young man? I leave her hell and fire; mother, make my bed soon, For I am sick with at the heart and fain would lie down.

[JTA-9506]

Replacement photocopy made by BRI, 9/1992

copyright 2007 U of Virginia's College at Wise/Blue Ridge Institute of Ferrum College
all rights reserved

AppLit Fiction and Poems Index
Complete list of AppLit pages on Folklore
Complete list of AppLit pages on Music
Links to other online texts

Home

Contact Tina L. Hanlon with questions or comments on this page.