"Young Johnstone" is
Child ballad
The Child Ballads are 305 traditional ballads from England and Scotland, and their American variants, anthologized by Francis James Child during the second half of the 19th century. Their lyrics and Child's studies of them were published as '' ...
88, a
border ballad
Border ballads are a group of songs in the long tradition of balladry collected from the Anglo-Scottish border. Like all traditional ballads, they were traditionally sung unaccompanied. There may be a repeating motif, but there is no "chorus" as ...
that exists in several variants.
Francis James Child
Francis James Child (February 1, 1825 – September 11, 1896) was an American scholar, educator, and folklorist, best known today for his collection of English and Scottish ballads now known as the Child Ballads. Child was Boylston professor of r ...
, ''English and Scottish Popular Ballads''
"Young Johnstone"
The ballad tells the story of a woman killed either by her brother or lover, depending on the variant.
Synopsis
Several variants open with the heroine's brother and lover drinking together. One of them proposes that they each marry the other's sister. One of them kills the other: often, the brother's reason is that the other has refused to marry his sister but intends to keep her as his mistress.
In one variant, the love seeks refuge with his mother and his sister and is turned away.
In all variants, the surviving man seeks refuge with the heroine, confessing to having killed her brother or her love. She hides him. When his pursuers are gone, he stabs her. She remonstrates, and he promises to get her doctors if she lives out the hour, but she tells him the wound will be mortal before then.
See also
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List of the Child Ballads
The Child Ballads is the colloquial name given to a collection of 305 ballads collected in the 19th century by Francis James Child
Francis James Child (February 1, 1825 – September 11, 1896) was an American scholar, educator, and folklorist, ...
*
Scottish mythology
Scottish mythology is the collection of myths that have emerged throughout the history of Scotland, sometimes being elaborated upon by successive generations, and at other times being rejected and replaced by other explanatory narratives.
Natu ...
*
English folklore
English folklore consists of the myths and legends of England, including the English region's mythical creatures, traditional recipes, urban legends, proverbs, superstitions, and folktales. Its cultural history is rooted in Celtic, Christian, ...
References
Child Ballads
Border ballads
Northumbrian folklore
Anglo-Scottish border
Year of song unknown
Songwriter unknown
Murder ballads
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