Lord Randall
Encyclopedia
"Lord Randall", or "Lord Randal", (Roud
10, Child 12) is an Anglo
-Scottish
border ballad, a traditional ballad
consisting of dialogue. The different versions follow the same general lines: the primary character (in this case Randall, but varying by location) is poisoned, usually by his sweetheart; this is revealed through a conversation where he reports on the events and the poisoner. Variants of this ballad are found in Danish
, German
, Magyar
, Swedish
and Wendish
. Similar ballads exist across Europe
. There are, for example different Italian
versions, usually titled "L'avvelenato" ("The Poisoned Man") or "Il testamento dell'avvelenato" ("The Poisoned Man's Will"). One of them was published for the first time in 1629 by Camillo il Bianchino, in Verona
.
fiction writer Dorothy L. Sayers
used a phrase from some variants for the title Strong Poison
, a murder mystery about a man apparently murdered by his lover. In the early 1960s Bob Dylan
uses the song's form as an allusion in "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall
". Dylan's ballad, however, utilizes the answer to spell out an apocalyptic
fall of hard rain.
The nursery rhyme "Billy Boy
" borrows the verse structure and the narrative format about a suitor visiting his lover, with a happier ending.
The poem is a repeated allusion in the novel The Catcher in the Rye
by J D Salinger.
In the novel Sweet Thursday
by John Steinbeck
, the character Mack quotes the recurring phrase of the poem while lying defeated in his bed.
Roud Folk Song Index
The Roud Folk Song Index is a database of 300,000 references to over 21,600 songs that have been collected from oral tradition in the English language from all over the world...
10, Child 12) is an Anglo
Anglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxon may refer to:* Anglo-Saxons, a group that invaded Britain** Old English, their language** Anglo-Saxon England, their history, one of various ships* White Anglo-Saxon Protestant, an ethnicity* Anglo-Saxon economy, modern macroeconomic term...
-Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
border ballad, a traditional ballad
Ballad
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of British and Irish popular poetry and song from the later medieval period until the 19th century and used extensively across Europe and later the Americas, Australia and North Africa. Many...
consisting of dialogue. The different versions follow the same general lines: the primary character (in this case Randall, but varying by location) is poisoned, usually by his sweetheart; this is revealed through a conversation where he reports on the events and the poisoner. Variants of this ballad are found in Danish
Danish language
Danish is a North Germanic language spoken by around six million people, principally in the country of Denmark. It is also spoken by 50,000 Germans of Danish ethnicity in the northern parts of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, where it holds the status of minority language...
, German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
, Magyar
Hungarian language
Hungarian is a Uralic language, part of the Ugric group. With some 14 million speakers, it is one of the most widely spoken non-Indo-European languages in Europe....
, Swedish
Swedish language
Swedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...
and Wendish
Wendish
Wendish may refer to:* the Sorbian languages used by the Slavs* the Wends, a Slav people of Northern Europe...
. Similar ballads exist across Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. There are, for example different Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
versions, usually titled "L'avvelenato" ("The Poisoned Man") or "Il testamento dell'avvelenato" ("The Poisoned Man's Will"). One of them was published for the first time in 1629 by Camillo il Bianchino, in Verona
Verona
Verona ; German Bern, Dietrichsbern or Welschbern) is a city in the Veneto, northern Italy, with approx. 265,000 inhabitants and one of the seven chef-lieus of the region. It is the second largest city municipality in the region and the third of North-Eastern Italy. The metropolitan area of Verona...
.
Cultural uses
The EnglishEnglish people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
fiction writer Dorothy L. Sayers
Dorothy L. Sayers
Dorothy Leigh Sayers was a renowned English crime writer, poet, playwright, essayist, translator and Christian humanist. She was also a student of classical and modern languages...
used a phrase from some variants for the title Strong Poison
Strong Poison
Strong Poison is a 1929 novel by Dorothy L. Sayers, her fifth featuring Lord Peter Wimsey.-Plot introduction:It is in Strong Poison that Lord Peter first meets Harriet Vane, an author of police fiction. The immediate problem is that she is on trial for her life, charged with murdering her former...
, a murder mystery about a man apparently murdered by his lover. In the early 1960s Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
uses the song's form as an allusion in "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall
A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall
"A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall" is a song written by Bob Dylan in the summer of 1962. It was first recorded in Columbia Records' Studio A on 6 December 1962 for his second album The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan. The lyric structure is based on the question and answer form of the traditional ballad "Lord...
". Dylan's ballad, however, utilizes the answer to spell out an apocalyptic
Apocalypse
An Apocalypse is a disclosure of something hidden from the majority of mankind in an era dominated by falsehood and misconception, i.e. the veil to be lifted. The Apocalypse of John is the Book of Revelation, the last book of the New Testament...
fall of hard rain.
The nursery rhyme "Billy Boy
Billy Boy
"Billy Boy" is a traditional folk song and nursery rhyme found in the United States. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 326.-Lyrics:One variant of the lyrics goes:Oh, where have you been,Billy Boy, Billy Boy?Oh, where have you been,Charming Billy?...
" borrows the verse structure and the narrative format about a suitor visiting his lover, with a happier ending.
The poem is a repeated allusion in the novel The Catcher in the Rye
The Catcher in the Rye
The Catcher in the Rye is a 1951 novel by J. D. Salinger. Originally published for adults, it has since become popular with adolescent readers for its themes of teenage confusion, angst, alienation, language, and rebellion. It has been translated into almost all of the world's major...
by J D Salinger.
In the novel Sweet Thursday
Sweet Thursday
Sweet Thursday is a 1954 novel by John Steinbeck. It is a sequel to Cannery Row and set in the years after the end of World War II. According to the author, "Sweet Thursday" is the day after Lousy Wednesday and the day before Waiting Friday....
by John Steinbeck
John Steinbeck
John Ernst Steinbeck, Jr. was an American writer. He is widely known for the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Grapes of Wrath and East of Eden and the novella Of Mice and Men...
, the character Mack quotes the recurring phrase of the poem while lying defeated in his bed.
Covers
- Cecil Sharp's arrangement of "Lord Rendal" was recorded by the Russian tenor Vladimir RosingVladimir RosingVladimir Sergeyevich Rosing , aka Val Rosing, was a Russian-born operatic tenor and stage director who spent most of his professional career in England and the United States...
in the mid-1920s on Vocalion (A0167). - The folk singer Buffy Sainte-MarieBuffy Sainte-MarieBuffy Sainte-Marie, OC is a Canadian Cree singer-songwriter, musician, composer, visual artist, educator, pacifist, and social activist. Throughout her career in all of these areas, her work has focused on issues of Indigenous peoples of the Americas. Her singing and writing repertoire includes...
included it on her 1967 album Fire & Fleet & CandlelightFire & Fleet & CandlelightFire & Fleet & Candlelight was the fourth album by Cree singer and songwriter Buffy Sainte-Marie.More than its predecessor Little Wheel Spin and Spin, it marked a significant departure from the simple folk songs of her first two albums...
. - A version by Harry BelafonteHarry BelafonteHarold George "Harry" Belafonte, Jr. is an American singer, songwriter, actor and social activist. He was dubbed the "King of Calypso" for popularizing the Caribbean musical style with an international audience in the 1950s...
appears on his album All Time Greatest Hits - Vol. 2. - New York jig-punk band The Prodigals covered it on their 2001 album Dreaming in Hell's Kitchen.
- There is also cover by russian folk rock band Melnitsa on their 1996 album "lunar day"
- Scottish folk-singer Emily SmithEmily Smith (singer)Emily Smith is a Scottish folk singer from Dumfries and Galloway. She went to school at Wallace Hall Academy and has a degree in Scottish music from The Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. She is married to New Zealand-born fiddle player Jamie McClennan.Dumfries & Galloway's EMILY SMITH is...
includes a version entitled "Lord Donald" in her album "Traiveller's Joy" (2011)
External links
- http://www.contemplator.com/child/rendal.html
- A painting of the poisoning of Jimmy Randall appears on Kentucky artist and ballad singer Daniel Dutton's web site: "Ballads of the Barefoot Mind"
- Italian version "L'avvelenato"