The Maid Freed from the Gallows
Channel: Stephen Griffith
Date: 21/04/2020

Day 37 of the American Songbag Stay-at-Home Series  (folksongindex.com)

Carl Sandburg wrote, "One time long ago, it seems, the law came down on a young woman. And she was to be hanged.  And her father came, her mother, her brother, sister, aunt, uncle, cousins. Yet not one would help her with gold or fee. They all wanted her hanged.

Then came her true love and he freed her from  the gallows; he slacked the hangman's rope. So goes the story. We do not know just how many centuries it has been going.

The text and tune here are from the admirable Reed Smith Ballads  published by the University of South Carolina."

The song may have originated in continental Europe. Some 50 versions have been reported in Finland, where it is well known as "Lunastettava neito". It is titled "Den Bortsålda" in Sweden ( "Die Losgekaufte" in German). A Lithuanian version has the maid asking relatives to ransom her with their best animals or belongings (crown, house, crown, ring, sword, etc.). The maiden curses her relatives who refuse to give up their property and blesses her fiancé, who does ransom her.