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Edward / My Son David / Henry

[ Roud 200 ; Child 13 ; Ballad Index C013 ; trad.]

Jeannie Robertson sang My Son David in a recording collected by Alan Lomax in 1951 on the Tradition Records LP Heather and Glen (1961), and in a recording collected by Peter Kennedy on the 1955 HMV LP Folk Song Today.

Ewan MacColl sang My Son David in 1956 on his and A.L. Lloyd's Riverside anthology The English and Scottish Popular Ballads (The Child Ballads) Volume II, and on his 2009 Topic anthology Ballads: Murder—Intrigue—Love—Discord.

The anthology The Child Ballads 1: The English and Scottish Popular Ballads Numbers 2-95 (The Folk Songs of Britain Volume 4; Caedmon 1961; Topic 1968) has a track of Edward / My Son David patched up of verses from Jeannie Robertson, Paddy Tunney, and Angela Brasil.

Norman Kennedy sang My Son David in 1965 on the Topic LP New Voices from Scotland.

Lizzie Higgins sang My Son David in a 1970 recording in Aberdeen made by Allie Munro. This was published on the 2006 Musical Traditions anthology In Memory of Lizzie Higgins. Rod Stradling commented in the album's booklet:

This old ballad is almost universally called Edward (or something similar), and the Son David title appears only in Scotland. (…) When Hamish Henderson “discovered” Jeannie Robertson in 1953 and demonstrated her repertoire to the world, this particular ballad caused a sensation amongst scholars, as it had been thought to have been completely lost from the oral traditions for well over a hundred years, and caused the rest of her repertoire to be examined with the greatest of interest. (…) Considering this very much her mother's song, requiring Jeannie's “big classical ballad” style, Lizzie nevertheless went on to perform it after her death.

Nic Jones, accompanying himself on fiddle, sang the grisly dialogue Edward in 1971 on his eponymous second album, Nic Jones. He commented in the album notes:

This is more or less a version of a large group of songs under the various titles of Edward, Lizzie Wan, Lucy Wan, What Blood is This?, etc. In this version the whole incident turns on the seemingly irrelevant statement:

It's all about a little holly bush
That might have made a tree.

The lines are possibly explained by a glance at some of the other versions, where the son has made love to his sister and subsequently killed her when she turns out to be pregnant. The holly bush could reasonably represent some kind of guarded reference to this incident; the incident itself having been excluded from the song.

John Wesley Harding also sang this song on his Nic Jones tribute album, Trad Arr Jones.

Steeleye Span recorded Edward with somewhat changed lyrics courtesy of Bob Johnson for their album Back in Line. A live recording from The Forum, London on September 2, 1995 was released on the CD The Journey.

Rubus sang My Son David in 2008 on their CD Nine Witch Knots. Emily Portman commented in their liner notes:

Perhaps the sequel to Rolling of the Stones, here a mother gradually uncovers the truth about the origin of the blood on her son’s sword. I imagine that this mother already knows what has happened, as mothers often do. The incomparable Louis Killen gave me this song, whose own source is Jeannie Robertson.

Fay Hield sang this ballad as Henry in 2012 on her CD with the Hurricane Party, Orfeo. She commented in her liner notes:

More commonly known as Edward, or in Scotland My Son David, this song is pretty unusual for being entirely developed through dialogue. It's not a song I've been attracted to before, perhaps because of the lack of direct action. However, I wrote this version to fit a tune I've been humming which I felt needed a repetitive lyric to complement it. The tune is Mandad ei Comigo, from the Codax manuscripts of 13th century Sopain. The longer I spent with the song, the deeper it began to affect me and what I could once switch off as tediously repetitive I now struggle to reach the end of without a catch in my throat. It's intensely powerful to take the role of the mother and discover, during the course of a conversation, that you have lost your daughter, your unborn grandchild, and that there is no other choice than for your son to leave for an unknown destiny. Then, consider the twisted feelings of anguish she must be feeling towards all of these people as a result of their activities. An incredible song, essentially delivered through just one line of text: “It's the blood of my sister dear, she would have my baby.”

Lyrics

Nic Jones sings Edward	Steeleye Span's Edward
“What's that blood all on your shirt? Son, come tell to me.” “Oh, that's the blood of my own grey hound, He wouldn't run with me, with me, He wouldn't run with me.”	“What's that blood upon your sword, Edward?” “'Tis the blood of my grey mare.” “Your grey mare's blood was never that red, Edward, You're telling lies, telling lies.”
“Oh it's too pale for your greyhound's blood, Son, come tell to me.” “It is the blood of my own grey mare, He wouldn't hunt with me, with me, He wouldn't hunt with me.”	“What's that blood upon your sword, Edward?” “'Tis the blood of my greyhound.” “Greyhound's blood was never that red, Edward, You're telling lies, telling lies.” “What's that blood upon your sword, Edward?” “'Tis the blood of my great hawk.” “Great hawk's blood was never that red, Edward, You're telling lies.” Chorus And the sun will never shine, Edward, And the moon has lost his light. And the sun will never shine, Edward, You're telling lies, telling lies.
“Oh it's too red for your grey mare's blood, Son, come tell to me.” “Well, it's the blood of me own dear brother, He wouldn't ride with me, with me, He wouldn't ride with me.”	“What's that blood upon your sword, Edward?” “It is the blood of my brother.” “Why did you kill your own brother, Edward? You're telling lies, telling lies.” Chorus
“And what were you all quarrelling about? Son, come tell to me.” “Oh it's all about a little holly bush And it might have made a tree, a tree, It might have made a tree.”
“And what will you do when your father comes to know? Son, come tell to me.” “Oh, I'll set sail in a little sailing boat, I'll sail across the sea, the sea, I'll sail across the sea.”	What will you do, where will you go, Edward? What will you do, how will you live?” “I'll sail away, I'll sail away, Mother, And you'll never see more of me.”
“And what will you do with your pretty little wife? Son, come tell to me.” “Oh she'll sail along in my little sailing boat, She'll sail along with me, with me, She'll sail along with me.”	“What of your wife, what of your son, Edward? And what will you leave to your mother dear?” “The curse of Hell to burn her with, Mother But telling lies, telling lies.” Chorus
“And what will you do with your eldest son? Son, come tell to me.” Oh I'll leave him here for you to raise, Rock all-upon your knee, your knee, To rock all-upon your knee.”
“And when will you come back again? Son, come tell to me.” When the sun and the moon there on yonder hill, I know that will never never be, never be, Know that will never never be.”
Fay Hield sings Henry
“Oh what is the blood on your shirt sleeve? Oh my son Henry, come tell unto me.” “It's the blood of my grey hound; He would not run for me.” “Oh that's not the blood of your greyhound, Oh my son Henry, don't lie unto me. It would be a far redder blood, This can never be. “Oh what is the blood on your shirt sleeve? Oh my son Henry, come tell unto me.” “It's the blood of my grey mare; She would not ride for me.” “Oh that's not the blood of your grey mare, Oh my son Henry, don't lie unto me. It'd be a far darker red, This can never be. “Oh what is the blood on your shirt sleeve? Oh my son Henry, come tell unto me.” “It's the blood of my goshawk; He would not hunt for me.” “Oh that's not the blood of your goshawk, Oh my son Henry, don't lie unto me. It'd be a far thicker blood, This can never be. “Oh what is the blood on your shirt sleeve? Oh my son Henry, come tell unto me.” “It's the blood of my sister dear; She would have my baby. “Oh set me a boat on the ocean, Set it to sail over all the seven seas. I must die for the love of My sister and me.”