The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1920-01-19
VERMONT FOLK SONGS.
Songs of Some of the Rural Sections
Arranged by Miss Sturgis.

country are sun Dusy. MISS Lorraine wy |
man was the first to put, with the aid Of
mountains into shape available for con-
cert USE and she is inimitable in the sing
ing Of them. Then came other laborers in
the vineyard, as Mr. Cecil j. Sharp, an |
Englishman, who having collected and /
edited English folk songs, came to this |
country apparently for the purpose of prov
ing that the songs of the Southern
Appalachian are all of English origin In
cidentally he endeavored to persuade the |
''peasantry' of New England to indulge
themselves III morris dancing.
Vermont is associated in the minds OF
many with maple sugar, quarries and
beautiful scenery rather than with song,
yet Edith B. Sturgis collected the texts of
folk songs in this state, and Robert
Hughes collected the tunes, supplied ae-
compartments for the piano, and added
historical notes In gathering the ma
terial for these notes he was aided by
Prof. George L. Kittredge of Harvard
University Miss Sturgis in her preface,
agreeably worded, tells of James and Mary
Atwood, and their friend, Aunt jenny
Knapp, who, in a little village, far from
the railway, gave to her and Mr.. Hughes
| the songs now published in an attractive
| form by G.. Schirmer
| James sings the songs he heard in his
boyhood and makes up verses of his own
to suit every occasion. Although he is no
longer young, his voice is true; he never
quavers or hesitates, whether it be in the
strange old minor ballads in the ancient
modes or in early American songs-may
we not call them American folll-songs?-
which have been handed down from father
to son in this country He and his wife
| have a keen sense of humor Each OF the
characters in the songs has for them dis
tinct personality. When he sings about
Lord Thomas and Fair Eleanor he will
say at the end Il wonder now if he'd "a
ben happy if he'd a married Fair Eleanor
from the start as he thought he would
y on know | kinder think she wasn't all
she might ha' been, after all She. had
pretty sharp tongue. I'm thinkin''' SO in
terested are James and Mary in their
songs that they do not need moving
pictures or vaudeville to amuse them
Miss Sturgis felt it her duty to chasten
some of the older ballads I'm our gem
Grafton we do not deal quite so frankly
with all subjects as writer's formerly did.
and certainly we could not sing the original
versions Of some Of the ballads with the
unconscious simplicity Of James and
| Mary" James occasionally prepares the
hearer by saying: There amt nothin' bad
about this song SO fur ez | can see,
cepti' its crimmaity" 1t is pity that
Miss Sturgis felt herself obliged to eXpur-
gate. \ folksong should be published as
it was sung, or it should not be published
at all. except in some form for the more
hardened folk-lorists
Songs from the Hills Of Vermont are
thirteen in number, Mr.. Hughes has not
been able to find The Warranty Deed"
and The Half-IIitch' in print either in
Great Britain or in this country The
latter song DELIGHTFUL indeed, is too long
for quotation We must be content with
THE WARRANTY DEED
A lawyer there was [ will call Mr. Clay
He had but few clients and they didn't
pay.
| At length of starvation he grew afraid
| That he courted and married wealthy
cid maid
At the wedding the bridegroom made one
sad mistake;
| Twas not in emitting the cards nor the
| cake
! The ring was well chosen, the parson vel
deed.
|
That night in her chamber the bride she
arose
| And began to prepare to retire to repose.
| Her husband sat by admiring her charm:
| That gave him such pleasure 10 clasp II
his arms.
| Her husband he saw with amazcment ant
| gIief
| teeth;