Lord Randall

"Lord Randall"
Illustration by Arthur Rackham in Some British Ballads, ca. 1919
Song
Written17th century (earliest known)
GenreBorder ballad, folk song
Songwriter(s)Unknown

"Lord Randall", or "Lord Randal", (Roud 10, Child 12) is an Anglo-Scottish border ballad[1] consisting of dialogue between a young Lord and his mother.[2] Similar ballads can be found across Europe in many languages, including Danish, German, Magyar, Irish, Swedish, and Wendish.[3] [4] Italian variants are usually titled "L'avvelenato [it]" ("The Poisoned Man") or "Il testamento dell'avvelenato" ("The Poisoned Man's Will"), the earliest known version being a 1629 setting by Camillo il Bianchino, in Verona.[5] Under the title "Croodlin Doo" Robert Chambers published a version in his "Scottish Ballads" (1829) page 324.[6][7]

  1. ^ Border Ballads By William Beattie, Compiled by William Beattie, Published by Penguin Books, 1952, p. 17
  2. ^ Francis James Child, English and Scottish Popular Ballads, "Lord Randal"
  3. ^ Leonhardt, Luise (1968). "Spin Magazine article on Finding Folk Songs". Spin Magazine. 6 (4): 17.
  4. ^ Francis James Child, The English and Scottish Popular Ballads, v. 1, pp. 153–55, Dover Publications, New York 1965
  5. ^ Alessandro D'Ancona, La poesia popolare italiana Livorno, 1878, cf. L'avvelenato [it]
  6. ^ Vaugan Williams, Ralph. "Mr". Vaughan Williams Memorial Library. Cecil Sharp House. Retrieved 13 November 2022.
  7. ^ Matteson jnr, Richard. "Mr". Bluegrassmessengers. www.bluegrassmessengers. Retrieved 13 November 2022.