Murder Ballad Monday--The Twa Sisters

Welcome to part eleven of Murder Ballad Monday.

Today’s entry is an Americanised version of Child ballad 10 sung by Paul Clayton. He learned it from Mrs. Kit Williamson of Campbell County, Virginia. Paul Clayton was not a familiar name to me, but he was an American singer and folklorist in the 1960s who specialised in New England sea shanties, ballads, and Appalachian songs. Wikipedia also mentions that he was a dear friend and mentor to Bob Dylan early in his career.

 

Paul Clayton’s version shares a similarity with the Loreena McKennitt version in that three daughters are mentioned at the beginning, but the middle one is never mentioned again.

This version (and the next few versions) share a similar refrain. There is not an exact likeness found in Child ballad 10, but there are similarities. The refrain in today’s ballad is:

Bow down, bow down.
The boughs they bend to me,
Love will be true, true to my love,
Love will be true to me.                                                                                                                      

Child ballad 10 R says:

Bow down, bow down, bow down

I’ll be true to my love, and my love will be true to me
Child Ballad 10 S  says:
This story I'll vent to thee
I'll prove true to my love, if my love prove true to me

Child ballad 10 U says:

Bow down, bow down

The bow is bent to me

So you be true to your own love and I’ll be true to thee

This version (and the next few versions) are also unusual in that the supernatural element is completely removed. One sister may have pushed the other in, but it is the miller who actually lets her drown.

There is certainly an American drawl to this one. Paul Clayton’s voice is a bit like a cross between Pete Seeger and Johnny Cash. 

I have included the lyrics below if you would like to follow along. Listen to it here:

Here’s how it breaks down compared to other versions.

Name of ballad: The Twa Sisters

Performed by: Paul Clayton

Refrain:

 Bow down, bow down.
The boughs they bend to me,
Love will be true, true to my love,
Love will be true to me.                                                                                                                       Number of sisters: three

Where did they live:  the North Country

Appearance described as: n/a

Sweetheart: a young man

Excuse to go to the water: “to see the ships come sailing o’er”

Body of water: brook

Does it include the line “Sometimes she sank, sometimes she swam”: “down she sank and away she swam”

Miller and child: yes, a miller

Mistaken for: n/a

Described in death: n/a

Who finds her on the bank: n/a

Instrument she becomes: n/a

Body parts used: n/a

Would her song “melt a heart of stone”: n/a

Do the strings sing individually: n/a

What does the instrument sing:  n/a 

Is the sister punished: no, but the miller is hanged for killing the sister. It ends with the eerie line:

The miller was hung at his mill gate
For the drowning of my sister Kate.

Here are the lyrics if you would like to follow along. I have eliminated the refrain so that it won’t be so long.

There was an old man in the North Country,
Bow down, bow down.
There was an old man in the North Country,
The boughs they bend to me,
There was an old man in the North Country,
He had daughters, one, two, three.
Love will be true, true to my love,
Love will be true to you.

There was a young man came courting there,
He did choose the youngest fair.

He gave the youngest a gay gold ring,
And to the oldest not a single thing.

He gave to the youngest a beaver hat,
And the oldest she thought hard of that.

“Sister, O sister, let’s walk the sea shore,
To see the ships come sailing o’er.”

They were walking along on yonder sea-brim
When the oldest shoved the youngest in.

“O sister, O sister, hand me your hand,
And you may have my house and land.”

“O sister, O sister, hand me your glove,
And you may have my own true love.”

“I’ll neither hand you hand nor glove,
For all I want is your true love.”

So down she sank and away she swam
Until she reached the old mill dam.

The miller threw out his old grab-hook
And pulled the fair maiden out of the brook.

“O miller, O miller, here’s three gold rings,
If you’ll take me to my father’s again.”

He up with her fingers and off with her rings
And threw her back into the brook again.

The miller was hung at his mill gate
For the drowning of my sister Kate.

So, that’s it for version eleven of The Twa Sisters. Stay tuned next Monday for version twelve.