The Maid Freed from the Gallows
"The Maid Freed From the Gallows", Child ballad number 95, is one of many titles of a centuries-old folk song about a condemned pleading for someone to buy their freedom from the executioner, which has been remade in a variety of formats. It was recorded in the 1920s as "Gallows Pole" by folk singer Leadbelly, but the most famous version was the 1970 Led Zeppelin cover of the Leadbelly version, also titled "Gallows Pole," on the album, Led Zeppelin III.
Synopsis
Although it exists in many forms, all versions recount a similar story.
A maid about to hanged (for unknown reasons) pleads with the hangman, or judge, to wait for the arrival of someone who may bribe him. The first person (or people) to arrive, who may include the father, mother, brother, and sister, have brought nothing and often have come to see her hanged. The last person to arrive, often her true love, has brought the gold to save her. She may curse all those who failed her.
The typical refrain would be:
- Hangman, hangman, hangman / slack your rope awhile
- I think I see my father / ridin’ many a mile
- Father did you bring any silver / father did you bring any gold
- Or did you come to see me / hangin' from the gallows pole
- No, I didn’t bring any silver / no I didn’t bring any gold
- I just come to see you / hangin’ from the gallows pole
The song is also known as "The Prickly Bush", a title derived from the oft-used refrain lamenting the maid's situation by likening it to being caught in briery bush, wherein the brier prickles her heart. In versions carrying this theme, the typical refrain may add:
- O the prickly bush, the prickly bush,
- It pricked my heart full sore;
- If ever I get out of the prickly bush,
- I'll never get in any more."
In "The Maid Freed from the Gallows", the first person (father, mother, brother) has come not to free the condemned, but to see her hanged, but the second person (lover) has brought the bribe with which to free her.[1] Although the traditional version does not resolve the fate of the condemned one way or the other, it may be presumed that the bribe would succeed. [2]
It has been suggested that the reference to "gold" may not mean actual gold for a bribe, but may instead stand for the symbolic restoration of the maid's honor, perhaps by proof of her innocence or fidelity.[3],[4] Such an interpretation would explain why a number of variations of the song have the maid (or a male condemned) asking whether their visitors had brought them gold or paid their fee. In at least one version, the reply comes that "I haven't brought you gold/ But I have paid your fee."[5]
Origin
The song likely originated in a language other than English. Some fifty versions have been reported in Finland,[6] where it is well known as Lunastettava neito. It is titled Den Bårtsalda in Sweden, and Die Losgekaufte in German. A Lithuanian version has the maid asking relatives to ransom her with their best animals or belongings (sword, house, crown, ring etc.). The maiden curses her relatives who refuse to give up their property, and blesses her fiancé, who does ransom her.[7]
It is reported that the author of the Child ballads, Francis James Child:
- considered the English versions to be "defective and distorted", in that, in most cases, the narrative rationale had been lost and only the ransoming sequence remained. Of the texts he prints, one (95F) had "degenerated" into a children's game, while others had survived as part of a Northern English cante-fable, The Golden Ball (or Key).[8]
Child describes additional examples from Färöe, Iceland, Russia, and Slovenia.[9]
Variants
In some versions, the protagonist is male. This appears to be more prevalant in the United States, where hanging of women was uncommon.[10] The crime for which the protaganist faces hanging is occasionally mentioned. The woman may be being held for ransom by pirates; or, she has stolen something from her employer. Other instances tell of her having lost a treasured golden ball, [11][12] or indicate that she is being hanged for fornication.
The most extensive version is not a song at all, but a children's story titled "The Golden Ball" that encompasses the theme of the song.[13] The story focuses more on the exploits of the fiance who must recover the golden ball in order to save his love from the noose.
In another variation, the hangman accepts the bribe but still executes the protagonist. The Led Zeppelin version features a male condemned, and has the friends of the condemned visit with nothing to bribe the hangman, followed by the brother of the condemned who brings silver and gold, followed by the sister of the condemned, who offers herself sexually to the hangman. Unlike the traditional version, the Led Zeppelin version concludes by reporting that none of these tactics have worked; the hangman accepts the bribes, but carries out the execution anyway.
The song has been recorded by numerous artists, including Almeda Riddle, Odetta and Uriah Heep. German folk metal band In Extremo has version of this song called "Der Galgen". Jasper Carrott performed a comedy version in which the narrator is hanged before he can finish the first verse. Bob Dylan's song "Seven Curses" is based on various forms of this ballad, and has also been covered by numerous artists. Judy Collins based the song "Anathea" on Dylan's song.
Names
In addition to "The Maid Freed From the Gallows", "The Prickly Bush" and the more recent "Gallows Pole", variations of the song have been recorded or reported under more than a dozen names.[14] These include: {{Top}} may refer to:
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- {{Discussion top}}
- {{Tfd top}}
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- Gallis Pole
- The Prickilie Bush
- Hangman
- Hangman, Slacken [15]
- Gallows
- Freed from the Gallows
- Maid Saved
- By a Lover Saved
- Down by the Green Willow Tree
- Girl to be Hanged for Stealing a Comb
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- Ropeman
- Ropeman's Ballad
- Prickle Holly Bush
- Derry Gaol
- Hold Your Hands, Old Man [16]
- Old Rabbit, the Voodoo
- The Briery Bush [17]
- The Golden Ball
Further reading
- "The Maid" and "The Hangman": Myth and Tradition in a Popular Ballad (University of California Press [Folklore Studies: 21], 1971, xiii+170 pp.).
- Long, Eleanor R. Child 95 "The maid freed from the gallows": a geographical-historical study. 1968
External links
Lyrics available at Wikisource:
