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The Ballad of Thomas Brown

Date October 1953
Track ID 25355
Part 1

Track Information

Original Track ID

SA1953.247.A2

Original Tape ID

SA1953.247

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

Collection

SoSS

Classification

R15 GD201 LP36

Source Type

Reel to reel

Audio Quality

Fair