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The Rolling of the Stones

[ Roud 38 ; Child 49 ; Ballad Index C049 ; trad.]

Heather Wood sang this fragment of The Two Brothers (Bronson: Child 49 variant 14) in 1968 on The Young Tradition's last LP, Galleries. She commented in the album's sleeve notes:

This is a fragment of a longer ballad, and was learned from the singing of Oscar Brand.

Rubus sang Rolling of the Stones in 2008 on their CD Nine Witch Knots. Emily Portman commented in their liner notes:

Not a heavy rock anthem but a ballad of sibling rivalry better known as The Two Brothers. It can be found in Bronson’s The Traditional Tunes of the Child Ballads, sung by Mrs. Mary E. Harmon of Cambridge, Mass. When collating my favourite parts of British and American variants, I came across a beautiful version from Scottish traveller Lizzie Higgins and decided to sing both Scottish and American tunes interchangeably. Remarkably I have found that these two melodies, from opposite sides of the Atlantic, harmonise with each other. In some versions Susie charms her true love out of his grave with her banjo, or even “small hoppers”, but tempting as it was, I found I couldn’t sing either of these with a straight face! Some versions end with Susie’s “charm”, but I wanted to find out what happened next. At this point the story transforms into another ballad: The Unquiet Grave. The song shows that it can be a risky business waking the dead after a year and a day have passed.

Lyrics

Heather Wood sings Rolling of the Stones

Will you go to the rolling of the stones
Or the dancing of the ball?
Or will you go and see pretty Susie
Dance among them all?

Will you drink of the blood,
The white wine and the red?
Or will you go and see pretty Susie
When that I am dead?

Susie charmed the birds from the sky,
The fish from out the bay
And there she lay in her true love's arms
And there was content to stay.