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The Cruel Mother

Date 08 September 1973
Track ID 67142
Part 1

Track Information

Original Track ID

SA1973.112.A2b

Original Tape ID

SA1973.112

Summary

In this ballad, a young woman kills her two babies immediately after their birth. She later sees two children playing ball and tells them she wishes they belonged to her. They reveal themselves to be the ghosts of the two murdered children; they are in Heaven, but she will be going to Hell.

Vic Smith likes this version as it looks at the anguish of the mother.

Item Notes

7 verses of 4 lines (couplets with interlinear refrain).

See:
Greig-Duncan vol. 2, pp. 31-35. no. 193
'Scotland Sings' (E. MacColl, 1953) p. 7
'Traveller's Joy' (M. Yates, 2006) pp. 58-59
'Scottish Ballads' (E. Lyle, 1994) pp. 248-249
'Bothy Songs & Ballads' (J. Ord, 1930) pp. 459-460
'Ballads of Scotland' vol. 2 (W. E. Aytoun, 1858) pp. 366-368
'Minstrelsy Ancient & Modern' (W. Motherwell, 1827) pp. 161-162
'Traditional Ballad Airs' vol. 1 (W. Christie, 1876) pp. 106-107
'Everyman's Book of British Ballads' (R. Palmer, 1980) pp. 54-55
'Ancient Scottish Ballads' (G. R. Kinloch, 1827) pp. 44-48, 272
'Ancient & Modern Scottish Songs' vol. 2 (D. Herd, 1869, 1973) pp. 237-238
'Last Leaves of Traditional Ballads' (A. Keith & G. Greig, 1925) pp. 21-23
'Ancient Ballads and Songs' vol. 2 (P. Buchan, 1828) pp. 207-209, 211-214
'The Scots Musical Museum' vol. 4 (J. Johnson & R. Burns, 1853) p. 331, no. 320
'Andrew Crawfurd's Collection of Ballads & Songs' (E. Lyle, 1975) vol. 1, pp. 36-38; vol. 2, pp. 92-94
'Traditional Tunes of the Child Ballads' vol. 1 (B. H. Bronson & F. J. Child, 1959) pp. 276-296

Recording Location

County - Kinross-shire

Parish - Kinross

Village/Place - Kinross

Language

Scots

Genre

Song Other

Collection

SoSS

Classification

R9 GD193 GD194 GD1910 C20

Source Type

Reel to reel

Audio Quality

Good