Willie's Lady is
Child ballad number 6 and
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 ...
#220. The earliest known copy of the ballad is from a recitation transcribed in 1783.
A variant of this ballad was one of 25 traditional works included in ''Ballads Weird and Wonderful'' (1912) and illustrated by
Vernon Hill.
Synopsis
Willie has married against his mother's will. She, being a rank witch, has bewitched his wife so that she can not be delivered of her child. He attempts to bribe her with gold, and she tells him his wife will die and he will marry elsewhere. The household sprite
Billy Blind
Billy Blind (also known as Billy Blin, Billy Blynde, Billie Blin, or Belly Blin) is an English and Lowland Scottish household spirit, much like a brownie. He appears only in ballads, where he frequently advises the characters. It is possible tha ...
tells him to make up a wax dummy of a baby and invite his mother to the christening. The mother came to see and, on seeing the wax figure, burst into a rage, demanding to know who had undone each charm she had put. Willie hurried and undoes them himself, and his wife gives birth.
Commentary
This ballad is found in several Scandinavian variants (
TSB
Banking
A trustee savings bank is a type of financial institution.
* In the United Kingdom:
** Trustee Savings Bank, a bank in the United Kingdom that merged with Lloyds Bank in 1995 to form Lloyds TSB until 2013
** Lloyds TSB, the name used by ...
A 40), with various charms laid by the witch; sometimes she could not enchant one location in the house, and when the woman in labour is moved there, the baby is born. The woman may be kept in labour for years by the magic; frequently, she dies, and her sons are born eight years old and swearing to avenge her.
In Greek mythology, the birth of
Heracles
Heracles ( ; grc-gre, Ἡρακλῆς, , glory/fame of Hera), born Alcaeus (, ''Alkaios'') or Alcides (, ''Alkeidēs''), was a divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of Zeus and Alcmene, and the foster son of Amphitryon.By his adoptiv ...
was similarly delayed, by the goddess of childbirth keeping her hands folded.
Galanthis
In Greek mythology, Galanthis or Galinthias was the woman who interfered with Hera's plan to hinder the birth of Heracles in favor of Eurystheus, and was changed into a weasel or cat as punishment for being so insolent as to deceive the goddesse ...
,
Alcmene
In Greek mythology, Alcmene () or Alcmena (; Ancient Greek: Ἀλκμήνη or Doric Greek: Ἀλκμάνα, Latin: Alcumena means "strong in wrath") was the wife of Amphitryon by whom she bore two children, Iphicles and Laonome. She is best kn ...
's servant, told the goddess that Alcmene had given birth, and surprised her into unfolding her hands. This form of startling the mother-in-law into allowing the baby's birth is found in Italian fairy tales; usually it is done by announcing the birth, but in ''
The King of Love
The King of Love ( Sicilian: ''Lu Re d'Amuri'') is an Italian fairy tale from Sicily collected by Giuseppe Pitre and translated into English by Thomas Frederick Crane in ''Italian Popular Tales''.
It is Aarne-Thompson-Uther tale type 425B, "So ...
'', the baby's father feigns death, and his sisters mourn him, to the same effect.
Recordings
Following are some of the notable recordings of the ballad, including the artists, titles, albums, and years:
The melody used in most of these versions is that of
Son ar chistr, a Breton song composed in 1929.
See also
*
List of 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, ...
References
Child Ballads
Northumbrian folklore
Year of song unknown
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