The Ballad of Thomas Brown
Contributors
Fieldworkers
Date
October 1953
Track ID
25355
Part 1
Track Information
Original Track ID
SA1953.247.A2
Original Tape ID
Summary
In this Irish song, a man kills his lover, Mary, and buries her body beneath a green tree.
Jeannie Robertson learned this song aged nine years old from an old woman in Aberdeen.
Item Notes
Four verses; all verses have four lines, except verse three which has only two mismatched lines. There are generally five verses in this song, with the last verse missing in this performance. A variant of 'Pretty Polly' or 'The Cruel Ship's Carpenter'. Also known as 'The Murder of Miss Mary Brown (in Dublin's fair town)', 'In Dublin's Fair City' or 'The Dublin Murder Ballad'.
Item Subject/Person
Brown, Thomas; Brown, Mary
Recording Location
County - Aberdeenshire
Parish - Aberdeen
Village/Place - Aberdeen
Language
English
Genre
Collection
Source Type
Reel to reel
Audio Quality
Fair