The House Carpenter
Robert Shifflett
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"Well met, well met my old true love Well met, well met," cried he, "I have just returned from the great salt sea To take thee away with me." "I once could have married a king's daughter fair She wanted to marry me But a crown of gold have I refused Because of my love for thee. If you could have married a king's daughter, sir, I'm sure you are to blame, For I am married to a house carpenter And he is a nice young man." "Will you forsake your house carpenter To sail away with me? I will take you where the grass grows green On the banks of the low country." "How can I leave my house carpenter Oh, how can I leave I say? How could I leave my three little babes To sail so far away?" "I have seven ships upon the sea All sailing for this land And a hundred and ten brave, jolly, bold men Shall be at your command." She picked up her three little babes She gave them kisses three Saying,"Stay here with your papa, my dear, To keep him company. She arrayed herself in rich attire Most glorious to behold And every hamlet they rode through She shown and glittered like gold. They had been on the sea about two weeks I'm sure it was not three When this fair maiden began to weep She wept most bitterly. "Is it for the gold you weep Or is it for the store? Or can it be for your house carpenter You never will see anymore?" "It is not for the gold that I weep And neither for the store But I am grieving for my three little babes I never shall see anymore." They had been on the sea about three weeks I'm sure it was not four When there sprang a leak in the bottom of the ship, And it sank to rise no more. "What is it that looms so black, As black as the feathers of a crow?" "That is the smoke from the fires of Hell Where you and I must go." "What is it that shines so bright As white as driven snow?" "That is the gate of Heaven itself Where we can never go." |
If I am allowed a personal favorite of the many wonderful old ballads sung in the Southern mountains, it is this one. It is called "The House Carpenter" commonly, but is also known to ballad scholars as "James Harris, the Demon Lover". The story is homiletic parable of the inescapable punishment that follows deep moral error. The supernatural element of a former love who 'returns' from the sea to tempt a young woman into fatal error gives a dimension to the ballad seldom found in moralistic tales. This ballad has its roots in the same ancient myth that inspired Richard Wagner's operatic masterpiece, "The Flying Dutchman" in which a young woman may sail endlessly with an other-worldly mariner until she shows remorse and breaks the magical spell.
In this version as sung by Robert Shifflett, we have a wonderfully complete text coupled with an appropriately austere tune set to a rare pentatonic scale.
©1993 George Foss
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