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Lady Diamond

[ Roud 112 ; Child 269 ; Ballad Index C269 ; trad.]

Steeleye Span recorded this bloody ballad for their 1986 album Back in Line. It was also included in their 2 CD anthology Spanning the Years.

Frankie Armstrong commented on her version on her 1997 Fellside CD Till the Grass O'ergrew the Corn:

The story of Lady Diamond descends from Guiscardo and Chismonda's tale in Boccaccio's renaissance best-seller The Decameron. The tragedy of those ill-matched lovers was translated into English in 1566, giving rise to several poems and plays, and there is still a kind of Elizabethan quality to the quick and vivid emotions of the actors here. In typical ballad fashion, no one stops for a moment to consider their course of action, and this headlong rush to disaster somehow mobilises our compassion, not only for the unfortunate lovers, but also for the murderous king. Frankie has been singing this song for 25 years or so and still finds its power to move her undimmed. The words she sings are mostly those of Child's C text, collected from Mary Johnson, a dairy maid at Hoddan Castle. Not having a tune, Frankie made this one up while flying the Atlantic at 35,000 feet, so it can probably claim the world altitude record for a ballad melody.

Bryony Griffith sang Lady Diamond in 2011 as the title track of her and Will Hampson's CD Lady Diamond. They got their version from Bronson's Traditional Tunes of the Child Ballads, Volume IV, and finished it with the English session tune Iron Legs.

Lyrics

Steeleye Span sing Lady Diamond

There was a lord, a lord lived in the north country
Who was a man of wealth and fame.
He only had one child, a child but only one,
And Lady Diamond was her name.

She did not love a lord, she did not love a king,
She loved a kitchen boy and William was his name.
And though he brought her joy, he also brought her shame,
And he gave his heart to Lady Diamond.

Chorus:

“And his hair shines like gold,” says Lady Diamond,
“And his eyes like crystal balls,” says Lady Diamond,
“Bright as the silver moon,” she says, bright as the sun that shines,
“Bright as the silver moon,” she says, bright as the sun that shines
On Lady Diamond.

It was a winter night, the lord he got no rest,
To Lady Diamond's room he came.
And sat down on the bed just like a wandering ghost,
“Now Lady Diamond tell me plain,”

“Do you love a lord,” he said, “or do you love a king?”
“I love a kitchen boy and William is his name.
And better I love that boy than all your well-bred men,
I have his heart,” says Lady Diamond.

“Where are all my men,” he said, “that I pay meat and fee?”
Go fetch the kitchen boy and bring him here to me.”
They dragged him from the house and hung him on a tree
And they gave his heart to Lady Diamond.

Chorus

Bryony Griffith sings Lady Diamond

There lived a king, and a very great king,
A king of great renown;
And he had a lovely daughter fair,
Lady Diamond was her name, her name,
Lady Diamond was her name.

Now news goes up and news goes down
And news came to the king
That Lady Diamond's round about,
But to her maid do not care, not care,
But to her maid do not care.

As bells were rung and mess was sung
And all were bound for bed
The King's come to his daughter's bower
But he was not welcome there, not there,
But he was not welcome there.

“Rise up, rise up out of your bed,
Rise up, put on your gown,
Come tell to me, my Diamond dear
To whom you go so round, so round,
To whom you go so round.

“Is it a baron or a lord
Or a man of high degree?
Come tell to me, my Diamond dear
And I pray don't lie to me, to me,
And I pray don't lie to me.”

“Well it's not a baron nor a lord
Nor a man of high degree.
But it's my darling kitchen boy
Where but I lie to thee, to thee,
Where but I lie to thee.”

So the king called up his merry, merry men
By one and by two and by three,
And at last came Robin the kitchen boy
And he dashed him to a tree, a tree,
And he dashed him to a tree.

Then he's taken out his bonny, bonny heart
Placed in a cup of gold,
And they've taken it to Lady Diamond's bower
All because she was so bold, so bold,
All because she was so bold.

“Adieu, adieu my father dear
And to this world adieu,
My darling Robin's died for me
I will do the same also, also,
I will do the same also.”

So she's taken up his bonny, bonny heart
And placed it by her heart
And she's washed it with her falling tears
And by morning she was dead, was dead,
And by morning she was dead.

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Martin Underwood for lyrics corrections.