Alison and Willie ( Child 256,

Roud The Roud Folk Song Index is a database of around 250,000 references to nearly 25,000 songs collected from oral tradition in the English language from all over the world. It is compiled by Steve Roud (born 1949), a former librarian in the London ...

245) is a folk song, which is fragmentary in form.

Synopsis

Willie is in love with Alison. She asks him to her

wedding A wedding is a ceremony where two people are united in marriage. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnic groups, religions, countries, and social classes. Most wedding ceremonies involve an exchange of marriage vo ...

; he says only if he is the

bridegroom A bridegroom (often shortened to groom) is a man who is about to be married or who is newlywed. When marrying, the bridegroom's future spouse (if female) is usually referred to as the bride. A bridegroom is typically attended by a best man ...

; she declares that will never be and he will forget her. He rides on, thinking only of her, sees animals, where a

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

can not catch one, and realizes that he will never win her. His heart breaks. The

text Text may refer to: Written word * Text (literary theory), any object that can be read, including: **Religious text, a writing that a religious tradition considers to be sacred **Text, a verse or passage from scripture used in expository preachin ...

breaks off. Alison receives a letter, calls off the wedding, and dies.

External links

''Alison and Willie''
Child Ballads Songwriter unknown Year of song unknown {{Folk-song-stub