This is part of the Multilateral Task Exchange, partnered with Lara Black's Tramp Bouquet completion.




The song that I prepared for this task was The Ballad of Barbara Allen. This ballad is significantly listed in Francis J. Child's 1857 collection of English/Scottish songs (in Vol II - #84), and has close to a hundred documented versions.

Though the task does not explicitly request that an original "traditional" ballad be written, I felt that simply repeating the traditional ballad wouldn't be in the correct spirit. For my part, I took a particular version of the ballad (taught to me, orally, by my friend Avery Burke), which uses a melody line significantly different from any you might find on iTunes, then went through it myself and altered/omitted pieces of the text to make the narrative cleaner and the language more understandable.


I then proceeded to build myself a rod marionette out of cardboard, duct tape and hot glue (with a muslin dress), which occupied me for the 24th and 25th of December - days that I traditionally hole up in my apartment and try not to make contact with the rest of the world.


The ballad, with the puppet, was performed on December 28th at the Heart of Gold in Chicago, IL, as the final song in a set of solo music and puppetry (other performers that night included Jeff Harms, Jason Webley, and CGØ's own Terpsichore). Two Flitworth-esque origami roses were hidden inside the puppet's head, and handed to two audience members at the close of the song.






In Charlotte Town where I was born
There was a young maid dwelling
Made every youth cry Well-a-Day
And her name was Barbara Allen

‘Twas in the merry month of May
When the green buds they were swelling
Sweet William on his deathbed lay
For the love of Barbara Allen

He sent his servant to the town
To the place where she was dwelling
Said master bids you come to him
If your name be Barbara Allen

Slowly slowly get she up
And slowly went she nigh him
And as she turned the curtains back
Said young man I think you’re a dyin’

Oh yes I’m sick, I’m very sick
And I never will be better
Until I have the love of one
The love of Barbara Allen

Slowly she went down the stairs
And tripped out into the morning
‘tis vain ‘tis vain my dear young man
to hold for Barbara Allen

He turned his pale face to the wall
For death was in him dwelling
Good bye kind friends and kinfolks all
Be kind to Barbara Allen

Once she passed the wooded field
She heard his deathbell knelling
And every stroke it spoke her name
Hard-hearted Barbara Allen

Her eyes looked east, her eyes looked west
She saw his pale corpse coming
Oh bearers, bearers lay him down
So that I may look upon him

The more she looked the more she grieved
Until she burst out crying
Oh bearers, bearers take him off
For now my heart is dying

Oh mother dear go make my bed
Go make it long and narrow
Sweet William died for love of me
And I will die for sorrow

Oh father dear go dig my grave
Go dig it long and narrow
Sweet William died for me today
I will die for him tomorrow

They buried her in the old church yard
Sweet william’s grave was nigh her
And from his heart grew a red red rose
And from her heart a briar

They grew upon the old church wall
Til they couldn’t get no higher
And there they tied a true lovers’ knot
The red rose round the briar