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The Living Tradition
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Elfin Knight (Child #2) Impossible tasks and impossible love - by Nick Caffrey Issue 47 March 2002 |
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The Elfin Knight is one of the few ballads to gain international popularity in recent years when Paul Simon adapted an arrangement of Scarborough Fair and added a lyrical counter melody in his pleasant variation of the ballad. This is a riddling song but in this ballad the riddle is more in the form of impossible tasks. Riddles and conundrums have long been a popular theme in folktales and songs throughout Europe and Northern America. The riddles in British folksongs and ballads usually take the form of a confrontation with the supernatural (or the Devil in some versions), or potential lovers. In the case of supernatural ballads the soul of the mortal may be the prize; with the lovers' marriage or seduction the prize. I intend to explore the tradition of riddles when I look at the ballad "Riddles Wisely Expounded" in a future article. Background The earliest noted versions of "The Elfin Knight" tell of a young maiden who magically summons the Elfin Knight into her bedroom, but he tells her she is too young and sets her impossible tasks to perform before he will become her lover and she counters this by setting him equally impossible tasks. When the Elfin Knight declares that he is already married with children, she quite rightly rejects him and so he disappears. It is important to establish this full story because many of the later versions retain only the tasks and these do not always make any obvious sense. As the song has passed through the community and down the ages the story frame has been lost leaving the tasks to stand by themselves this is especially true of English versions of the song. "Scarborough Fair" (aka Whittingham Fair or other variations) has a very simple frame that seems to reflect on a lost love: Are you going to
Scarborough Fair? By the time the song has reached the nursery even this pretence has gone: My Father has an
acre of land, The earliest recorded form of the ballad dates back to a broadside version printed in the 1670s and the earliest version collected from a traditional singer is from M Kinnear, a native of Mearnshire on 23 August 1826 and printed in Kinloch's "Ancient Scottish Ballads". Unfortunately when these early version were collected it was the words that attracted the attention and the tunes were ignored. In more recent times only the simplified tasks versions of the song have been found both in Britain and in North America. Refrains The early form of the ballad usually has the first refrain as 'Ba-ba-ba lily ba' and the second as 'The wind it blows my plaid awa.' I have read of several theories on the meaning of these refrains: on one hand they have sexual connotations and on the other that the first refrain is a corrupt form of some ancient protection spell. As I am not an expert on these things I leave the reader to make their own choice and research. The more recent herb motifs such as 'Parsley (or Savoury) Sage Rosemary and Thyme', and 'A Bunch of green Holly and Ivy' have also been subjected to some study. Lucy Broadwood in an article for the Journal of the Folk Song Society 1907 and Anne Gilchrist in a further article in Journal of the Folk Song Society 1930 tells us that traditionally each of the herbs was protection against evil or sorcery. Tunes With the second group Bronson is much more sure that they belong within the tradition; these are the Scarborough Fair group of songs. He tells us that all the variants of this group are in triple rhythm. Versions of this have been collected throughout the British Isles The third group appeared around the middle of the Nineteenth century and is the Sing Ivy versions of the song and is wholly English. One of the most rewarding aspects of this ballad is that which ever form or variation the singer may choose the song is always enjoyable to sing and offers deeper tones and themes the more often the singer performs it. The earliest known text of "The Elfin Knight" is in the Pepysian Library and dates from around 1670, probably from a black letter broadside. The words and format is typical of the other versions where the older text is used. My plaid awa my plaid
awa The elfin knight sits
on yon hill He blowes it east
he blows it west I wish that horn were
in my kist* *(chest) She had no sooner
these words said Thou art over young
a maid, quoth he I have a sister younger
than I For thou must shape
a sark* to me *(shirt) Thou must shape it
knife and sheerlesse *(sheers -less) If that piece of coutesie
I do thee I have an aiker*of
good ley-land *(acre) For thou must eare*
it with thy horn *(plough) And bigg* a cart of
stone and lyme *(build) Thou must barn it
in a mouse holl And thou must winnow
it in thy looff* *(palm of the hand) For thou must bring
it over the sea When thou hast gotten
thy turns done well I'l not quite my plaid
for my life My maidenheads I'l
then keep still Recommended reading:
Although many of the following are currently out of print (OP) they can sometimes be found in the local library or second hand bookshops. I quote the most recently know editions, as it is likely that these can be still be picked up. The English and
Scottish Popular Ballads The Traditional
Tunes of the Child Ballads Northumbrian Minstrelsy
The Greig - Duncan
Folk Song Collection. Journal of the
Folk Song Society 1907 & 1930. A Song For Every
Season
Nick Caffrey |
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