Little Mattie Groves
Track Information
Original Track ID
SA1962.26.B5
Original Tape ID
Summary
In this ballad, Lady Darnel seduces Mattie Groves while her husband is away. Lord Darnel is alerted to this by his page boy, and goes to intervene. Finding Mattie Groves in bed with his wife, Lord Darnel demands that he fight a duel, gallantly giving the best sword to his opponent and offering him the first strike in order to even the odds. Mattie Groves wounds the Lord badly, but is killed by the Lord's own strike. In defiance, Lady Darnel says that she would prefer her slain lover over her husband, and is killed by him. The lovers are buried side by side. A rose grows from his grave, a briar from hers; the two meet above the grave and intertwine in a lover's knot.
Item Notes
31 verses of 4 lines.
See:
'Scottish Ballads' (E. Lyle, 1994) pp. 100-105
'Minstrelsy Ancient & Modern' (W. Motherwell, 1827) p. 21
'Book of Scottish Ballads' (A. Whitelaw, 1845) pp. 230-231
'Everyman's Book of British Ballads' (R. Palmer, 1980) pp. 94-98
'Reliques of Ancient English Poetry' vol. 3 (T. Percy, 1886) pp. 68-74
'Andrew Crawfurd's Collection of Ballads & Songs' vol. 2 (E. Lyle, 1996) pp. 50-54
'Andrew Crawfurd's Collection of Ballads & Songs' vol. 1 (E. Lyle, 1975) pp. 178-181
Language
English
Genre
Collection
Source Type
Reel to reel
Audio Quality
Fair