FOLK BALLADS
Folk ballads are American ballads that date as far back as the 1700's. There are two main roots of folk ballads:
1) illiterate white people
2)illiterate African American people
These ballads sometimes have a chorus/refrain and do not follow today's standard ballad form. The plot for these ballads are usually tragic. They are written by anonymous authors and were passed on through oral tradition. Due to the fact that these ballads were passed on by word of mouth they have probably lost some of their original wording through the years. The ballads were set to music and some can still be heard today. The main characters were not of upper class. An example of a folk ballad would be "Frankie and Johnny".
Frankie and Johnny
(author anonymous)
Frankie and Johnny were lovers,
Oh, Lordy, how they could love;
They swore to be true to each other,
Just as true as the stars above;
He was her man, but he done her wrong.
Frankie and Johnny went walking,
John in his brand new suit.
Then, "Oh, good Lord," says Frankie,
"Don't my Johnny look real cute!"
He was her man, but he done her wrong.
Frankie went down to the corner,
Just for a bucket of beer.
She said to the fat bartender,
"Has my lovin' man been here?"
He was her man, but he done her wrong.
"I don't want to cause you no trouble,
I don't want to tell you no lie;
But I saw your man an hour ago
With a gal named Nelly Bly;
And if he's your man, he's a-doin' you wrong."
Frankie looked over the transom
And found, to her great surprise,
That there on the bed sat Johnny,
A-lovin up Nelly Bly.
He was her man, but he done her wrong.
Frankie drew back her kimono;
She took out her little forty-four;
Root-a-toot-toot, that girl did shoot
Right through the hardwood door,
She shot her man, 'cause he done her wrong.
"Roll me over easy,
Roll me over slow,
Roll me on my right side,
'Cause the bullet hurts me so.
I was her man, but I done her wrong."
Oh bring on your rubber-tired hearses,
Bring on your rubber-tired hacks,
They're taking Johnny to the Burying-ground,
And they won't bring a bit of him back;
He was her man, but he done her wrong.
The judge said to the jury,
"It's as plain as plain can be;
This woman shot her lover,
It's murder in the second degree,
He was her man, though he done her wrong".
"Oh bring a thousand policemen,
Bring 'em round today,
Oh lock me in that dungeon,
And throw the keys away
I shot my man, 'cause he done me wrong."
-This ballad was written in free verse it has repetition and rhyme
-narrative
-she is portrayed as a loving girlfriend who adores her man
-he's a cheater
-use of more than one voice
-communally constructed
-love relationship that ends badly
-vigilantes justice, not condoned by the legal institution
-cultural expression and tragic romance
1) illiterate white people
2)illiterate African American people
These ballads sometimes have a chorus/refrain and do not follow today's standard ballad form. The plot for these ballads are usually tragic. They are written by anonymous authors and were passed on through oral tradition. Due to the fact that these ballads were passed on by word of mouth they have probably lost some of their original wording through the years. The ballads were set to music and some can still be heard today. The main characters were not of upper class. An example of a folk ballad would be "Frankie and Johnny".
Frankie and Johnny
(author anonymous)
Frankie and Johnny were lovers,
Oh, Lordy, how they could love;
They swore to be true to each other,
Just as true as the stars above;
He was her man, but he done her wrong.
Frankie and Johnny went walking,
John in his brand new suit.
Then, "Oh, good Lord," says Frankie,
"Don't my Johnny look real cute!"
He was her man, but he done her wrong.
Frankie went down to the corner,
Just for a bucket of beer.
She said to the fat bartender,
"Has my lovin' man been here?"
He was her man, but he done her wrong.
"I don't want to cause you no trouble,
I don't want to tell you no lie;
But I saw your man an hour ago
With a gal named Nelly Bly;
And if he's your man, he's a-doin' you wrong."
Frankie looked over the transom
And found, to her great surprise,
That there on the bed sat Johnny,
A-lovin up Nelly Bly.
He was her man, but he done her wrong.
Frankie drew back her kimono;
She took out her little forty-four;
Root-a-toot-toot, that girl did shoot
Right through the hardwood door,
She shot her man, 'cause he done her wrong.
"Roll me over easy,
Roll me over slow,
Roll me on my right side,
'Cause the bullet hurts me so.
I was her man, but I done her wrong."
Oh bring on your rubber-tired hearses,
Bring on your rubber-tired hacks,
They're taking Johnny to the Burying-ground,
And they won't bring a bit of him back;
He was her man, but he done her wrong.
The judge said to the jury,
"It's as plain as plain can be;
This woman shot her lover,
It's murder in the second degree,
He was her man, though he done her wrong".
"Oh bring a thousand policemen,
Bring 'em round today,
Oh lock me in that dungeon,
And throw the keys away
I shot my man, 'cause he done me wrong."
-This ballad was written in free verse it has repetition and rhyme
-narrative
-she is portrayed as a loving girlfriend who adores her man
-he's a cheater
-use of more than one voice
-communally constructed
-love relationship that ends badly
-vigilantes justice, not condoned by the legal institution
-cultural expression and tragic romance
posted by Chrissy G @ 5:43 PM
2 Comments:
At March 16, 2005 at 1:15 PM,
Unknown said…
I really liked this ballad that you posted. It kind of reminded me of a country song - kind of like Patsy Cline (I don't know if your'e familiary with her music).
I agree with you that there is a kind of 'chorus' characteristic to most of these stanzas as well. Especially the 'he was her man, but he done her wrong' lines being repeated throughout the ballad.
I think ballads are great because they tell stories in a more interesting way than usual and they create a kind of 'sing-song' rhythm (sometimes) that sounds rather nice. I have to agree with Anthony and his posting on your more recent ballad that I like this one a lot better than the one you posted it after - but this may just be a matter of preference.
At March 16, 2005 at 10:07 PM,
L said…
Ahhh...now this caught my attention. It reminds me of Ludacris, my favourite rap artist. On his newest album, there is a song called "The Potion" and it has a very different sound, but one part of the song goes into this kind of ballad that you posted; particularly, he repeats the phrase "Oh Lordy." Even when he sings it, it reminds me of image of the 1700's when the slaves were working out in the fields. I too like this ballad much better than the later one because it has a much more successful rhythm.
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