Murder Ballad Monday--Polly Vaughan by Tony Rose

Hello and welcome to Murder Ballad Monday. I am continuing to explore different versions of the Irish folk song Polly Vaughan classified as number 166 in the Roud Folk song index. This version is entitled Polly Vaughan and was sung by Tony Rose in 1976 on his album On Banks of Green Willow.

This version is unusual in that the hunter is named Willy as he is always referred to as Jimmy or Jimmy Randall or by no name in the other versions. This one is also unusual in that his father seems to be indicating he will bring money to the trial (a hundred bright guineas) to help his son go free. Is this a bribe? Or just settling fine? Who knows. Thankfully, Polly’s ghost appears to say it was an accident, so Willy’s dad can save his money.

You can listen to this version here:

One midsummer's evening, the sun being gone down,
Young Polly went walking by the side of a pond.
She sat under the shady trees, the showers for to shun,
With her apron wrapped around her, as white as a swan.

Young Willy went hunting with his dog and his gun,
Young Willy went hunting as the evening came on.
Down among those green rushes, as the evening came on,
He shot his own true love in the room of a swan.

And when he'd seen what he'd done away he did run
Crying, “Father, dear father, do you see what I've done?
Down among those green rushes, as the evening came on,
I shot my own true love in the room of a swan.”

“Stay at home, dear Willy, till your trial do come on,
That you may not be banished to some far land.
On the day of your trial your father will appear
With a hundred bright guineas if that will you clear.”

On the day of the trial young Polly did appear,
Crying, “People, oh people, let Willy go clear,
Down among those green rushes, as the evening came on,
He shot his own true love in the room of a swan.”

That’s all for this week’s Murder Ballad Monday. Stay tuned for another look at this ballad when I look at a bluegrass version by the Dillards.