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Molly Bond

from Bring Me Home by Peggy Seeger

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NOTE BY ELISABETH HIGGINS NULL:


Peggy learned this ballad, in which a hunter shoots his sweetheart for a swan, or occasionally a deer, from Michael E. Bush's Folksongs of Central West Virginia (Ripley, W. Va.: The Author, 1969). Bush collected it from Rita Emerson of Cox's Mill in Gilmer County. It is found widely throughout North America. Ireland, and England, and infrequently in Scotland. In many of the versions, a ghost of "Molly Bawn" or "Polly Vaughan" appears at a trial and exonerates her lover. Some think the victim, in archaic versions of the ballad, may be one of those swan maidens found in Celtic, Scandinavian, or Russian mythology, but the ballad's first appearance in print is relatively late: Robert Jamieson's Popular Ballads and Songs (Edinburgh:1799).

Jennifer J O'Connor's article, The Irish Origins and Variations of the Ballad 'Molly Brown' " (Canadian Journal for Traditional Music, 1986), says the Irish folklorist Hugh Shields posited that a factual incident in a part of Ireland once known as Kilwarlin (north-west of County Down) may have given rise to the ballad. He based this assumption on an examination of area surnames and place names. On the other hand, O'Connor suggests the ballad originated in seventeenth century Ireland. In doing so, she looks at a few traditional legal ramifications of such a killing:

According to early Irish law, crimes were not committed against the state, but against the individual; therefore, the penalty always took the form of a fine to be paid to the family injured. Homicide or bodily injury was atoned for by a fine called "eric," which was determined by a "brehon" (judge). The criminal's family was responsible for the eric if he did not pay; moreover if they chose not to pay, they were required to hand him over to the victim's family who would then kill him, use him or sell him as a slave.

In Peggy's version the male lover's father assures his son that he will not be punished at the trial, suggesting that the family will assume responsibility for his accident. The exotic elements: "swan," "mountain of snow," add a trace of supernatural myth, but the haunting impact of Peggy's version comes primarily from an eerie tune.

lyrics

MOLLY BOND

words, music: traditional USA

If all the girls in London City was placed in a row
Molly Bond she would glitter like the moon in the snow.

She was going to her uncle's when the shower come on.
She sat down under a green tree till the shower pass on.

Her lover was a hunting, a-hunting for swan
In the forest near the green tree when the shower come on.

He went on a-hunting, a-hunting in the dark
And he shot his own true love and he missed not his mark.

With her apron wrapped around her he took her for a swan.
But alas, for all sorrow, he shot Molly Bond.

Then he ran to his father and threw down his bow
Father, dear father, I've shot my dear girl.

With her apron wrapped round her I took her for a swan
But alas, for all sorrow, I've shot Molly Bond.

Down came his father, his hair hangin' grey.
Jimmy, dear Jimmy, don't you run away.

Stay in this county till your trial come on
They never would hang you for shooting of a swan.

If all the girls in London City was placed in a row
Molly Bond she would glitter like the moon in the snow.

credits

from Bring Me Home, released January 22, 2008

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Peggy Seeger Oxford, UK

Peggy is one of the most influential folk singers on either side of the Atlantic. She is Pete Seeger’s half-sister and Ruth Crawford Seeger’s daughter; her first life partner was the English songwriter Ewan MacColl, who wrote First Time Ever I Saw Your Face for her. She has made more than 22 solo recordings to date. Please check ewanmaccoll.bandcamp.com for other albums featuring Peggy. ... more

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