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False Knight on the Road

[Trad. arr. Tim Hart & Maddy Prior / Trad. arr. Steeleye Span]

Child #3, Tony and Irene Saletan

Tim Hart and Maddy Prior recorded this song for their third duo album Summer Solstice and with Steeleye Span for their second album Please to See the King. The latter version with Martin Carthy's low, sneaky vocals, driving bass and percussion makes one nearly forget that this is a drummer-less band. Steeleye Span performed this song live on the BBC radio programme “Peel's Sunday Concert” on September 15, 1971. This programme was included as bonus CD on the 2006 reissue of Ten Man Mop or Mr Reservoir Butler Rides Again.

A live recording of this song can be found on Steeleye's album Live at Last!. Martin Carthy sings the first four verses, then there is a long coda with the tune Monck's March, and Maddy Prior finishes with the last three verses. This track was included in 2001 on the Martin Carthy anthology The Carthy Chronicles. The latter album's sleeve notes state:

Riddle-solving forms the base of this most ancient ballad. The child who wittily answers the false knight's questions is actually saving his soul from the devil (in disguise?). One wrong answer and you're whipped away to hell, which as a format is far more gripping than any TV show-quiz.

Tim Hart and Maddy Prior's version of the ballad comes quite indirectly from the singing of Maud Long, whose mother, Jane Gentry, was one of the singers from whom Cecil Sharp gathered songs in North Carolina in 1916. It is considerably modified from the version recorded for the Library of Congress in 1947 by Maud Long. Two other versions are available by Joe Hickerson and Betty Smith.

Chris & Siobhan Nelson learned False Knight on the Road from the singing of Tim Hart and Maddy Prior and recorded it for their 2006 album, Day Has Dawned.

Lyrics

Steeleye Span version

“Oh, where are you going?” says the false knight on the road.
“I'm going to me school,” says the wee boy and still he stood.
“What is on your back?” says the false knight on the road.
“Me bundles and me books,” says the wee boy and still he stood.

“I came a-walking by your door,” says the false knight on the road.
“That lay in your way,” says the wee boy and still he stood.
“Flung your dog a stone,” says the false knight on the road.
“I wish it was a bone,” says the wee boy and still he stood.

“Oh, what sheep and cattle's that?” says the false knight on the road.
“They're mine and me father's,” says the wee boy and still he stood.
“And how many shall be mine?” says the false knight on the road.
“The ones that have the blue tail,” says the wee boy and still he stood.

“Oh, can I get a share o' them?” says the false knight on the road.
“You cannot get a share of them,” says the wee boy and still he stood.
“And why the stick all in your hand?” says the false knight on the road.
“To keep me from all cold and harm,” says the wee boy and still he stood.

“Oh, I wish you were in yonder tree,” says the false knight on the road.
“A ladder under me,” says the wee boy and still he stood.
“The ladder it'll break,” says the false knight on the road.
“And you will surely fall,” says the wee boy and still he stood.

“I wish you were in yonder sea,” says the false knight on the road.
“A good boat under me,” says the wee boy and still he stood.
“The boat will surely sink,” says the false knight on the road.
“And you will surely drown,” says the wee boy and still he stood.

“Has your mother more than you?” says the false knight on the road.
“Oh, none of them for you,” says the wee boy and still he stood.
“I think I hear a bell,” says the false knight on the road.
“It's ringing you to hell,” says the wee boy and still he stood.

Tim Hart and Maddy Prior version

“Oh, what brings you here so late?” said the knight on the road.
“I go to meet my God,” said the child as he stood.
And he stood and he stood,
And it's well that he stood.
“I go to meet my God,” said the child as he stood.

“Oh, how will you go by land?” said the knight on the road.
“With a strong staff in my hand,” said the child as he stood.
And he stood and he stood,
And it's well that he stood.
“With a strong staff in my hand,” said the child as he stood.

“Oh, how will you go by sea?” said the knight on the road.
“With a good boat under me,” said the child as he stood.
And he stood and he stood,
And it's well that he stood.
“With a good boat under me,” said the child as he stood.

“Oh, me thinks I hear a bell.” said the knight on the road.
“It's ringing you to hell,” said the child as he stood.
And he stood and he stood,
And it's well that he stood.
“It's ringing you to hell,” said the child as he stood.

“Oh, what brings you here so late?” said the knight on the road.
“I go to meet my God,” said the child as he stood.
And he stood and he stood,
And it's well that he stood.
“I go to meet my God,” said the child as he stood.