> Norma Waterson > Songs > The Rose and the Lily
> Eliza Carthy > Songs > The Rose and the Lily

The Rose and the Lily / The Cruel Brother / The Three Knights

[ Roud 26 ; Child 11 ; Ballad Index C011 ; trad.]

Cyril Tawney sang The Three Knights in 1969 on his album The Outlandish Knight: Folks Songs from Devon and Cornwall. He commented in the sleeve notes:

Both [The Three Sisters and The Three Knights] are taken from the 1823 edition of Davies Gilbert's Some Ancient Christmas Carols where they appear as part of a secular “appendix”. Although Gilbert does not definitely state they are from Cornwall he gives them from his own recollection, and as he was a native of St. Erth we can assume they are Cornish versions of these two ancient ballads. […] Cecil Sharp found two versions with texts resembling this Cornish one in Hot Springs, North Carolina.

Eliza Carthy and Norma Waterson sang The Rose and the Lily in 2010 on their Topic CD Gift. They commented in the liner notes:

The idea that the two siblings represent the two flowers of the family: both beautiful, one deadly. What has passed between them we don't know, he could just be a selfish baddun. Or it could be an example of an old-style honour killing as the brother was not informed of her intended wedding. The bulk of this comes from The Traditional Tunes of the Child Ballads, by Bertrand Harris Bronson. We added to the tradition a little bit here and there.

Lyrics

Eliza Carthy and Norma Waterson sing The Rose and the Lily

There were three men come from over the way,
Oh the rose and the lily-o,
And these three men came after one lady
As the rose was so sweetly grown.

The first man came, he was all in white,
He asked her if she'd be his delight.
The next man came and he was all in green,
Asked her if she would be his queen.

Chorus (after every other verse):

Oh the rose and the lily
Oh the rose and the lily
As the rose is so sweetly grown
So the lily, so sweetly sown

The first man came, he was all in white
Asked her if she'd be his delight.
The last man came and he was dressed in red
Asked her nicely if she would wed.

“As I have asked your father dear
And also her that did you bear.
And I have asked your sister Anne
Though I never met your brother John.”

On the road as they rode alone
There they met her brother John;
Oh she stood low to give him kisses sweet,
Into her heart did a dagger meet.

“I wish I were on yonder stile,
There I'd sit and I'd bleed awhile.
I wish I were upon yonder hill
For there I'd sit and I'd make my will.”

“What would you give to your father dear?”
“This gallant horse that does me bear.”
“What would you give to your mother dear?”
“This wedding dress that I do wear.”

“What would you give your mother dear?”
“This wedding dress that I do wear;
Though she must wash it very, very clean
For my heart's blood sticks in every seam.”

“What would you give to your sister Anne?”
“My good gold ring and my feathered fan.”
“What would you give to your brother John?”
“A tall, tall tree to hang him on.”

“What would you give to your brother John?”
“A rope and gallows to hang him on.”
“What would you give to your brother's wife?”
“A widow's weeds and a peaceful life.”