Edward, Edward -- Anonymous

Guest poem sent in by Ira Cooper

(Poem #656) Edward, Edward 'Why does your brand sae drop wi' blude, Edward, Edward? Why does your brand sae drop wi' blude, And why sae sad gang ye, O?' 'O I hae kill'd my hawk sae gude, Mither, mither; O I hae kill'd my hawk sae gude, And I had nae mair but he, O.' 'Your hawk's blude was never sae red, Edward, Edward; Your hawk's blude was never sae red, My dear son, I tell thee, O.' 'O I hae kill'd my red-roan steed, Mither, mither; O I hae kill'd my red-roan steed, That erst was sae fair and free, O.' 'Your steed was auld, and ye hae got mair, Edward, Edward; Your steed was auld, and ye hae got mair; Some other dule ye dree, O.' 'O I hae kill'd my father dear, Mither, mither; O I hae kill'd my father dear, Alas, and wae is me, O!' 'And whatten penance will ye dree for that, Edward, Edward? Whatten penance will ye dree for that? My dear son, now tell me, O.' 'I'll set my feet in yonder boat, Mither, mither; I'll set my feet in yonder boat, And I'll fare over the sea, O.' 'And what will ye do wi' your tow'rs and your ha', Edward, Edward? And what will ye do wi' your tow'rs and your ha', That were sae fair to see, O?' 'I'll let them stand till they doun fa', Mither, mither; I'll let them stand till they doun fa', For here never mair maun I be, O.' 'And what will ye leave to your bairns and your wife, Edward, Edward? And what will ye leave to your bairns and your wife, When ye gang owre the sea, O?' 'The warld's room: let them beg through life, Mither, mither; The warld's room: let them beg through life; For them never mair will I see, O.' 'And what will ye leave to your ain mither dear, Edward, Edward? And what will ye leave to your ain mither dear, My dear son, now tell me, O?' 'The curse of hell frae me sall ye bear, Mither, mither; The curse of hell frae me sall ye bear: Sic counsels ye gave to me, O!' -- Anonymous

Glossary:
  brand: blade [of a sword]
  erst: before, at first [cf erstwhile]
  gang: go
  dree: do, perform, suffer [penance etc.]
  dule ye dree: grief you suffer.
  bairns: children

In keeping with a misogynist theme, the above has always been a favorite of
mine.  It apparently is considered anonymous, from the seventeenth century.
I seem to remember reading  a commentary that this ballad was based on an
actual historical incident.  I cannot remember what.  Anyway, this ballad is
frequently listed in anthologies of British literature as a prime example of
its type.  Supposedly they were very popular amongst the good people of the
time.  These days, we have video games and movies for our blood and gore!

-Ira

Links:

Brahms' 'Edward Ballade' is a musical interpretation of the ballad
http://www.qedinteractive.com.au/html/jbc/brahint.htm

Andrew Lang's Collection of Ballads is online at
[broken link] http://www.ulib.org/webRoot/Books/CMU_Classics/Browse_By_Title/C/A_Collection_of_Ballads/index.html

Some other old, traditional ballads we've run:
 poem #303
 poem #437
 poem #548

The 'misogynist theme' was with reference to yesterday's poem: poem #655