This old form of a well-known folk song is a narrative poem in which two characters, Lord Randall and his mother, relate a story through conversation. It was written about 1550 by John Skelton. Randall is a young nobleman who does not want to marry because he wants to continue to have fun. His mother hopes he will change his mind but instead of changing her son decides to put him in prison where he will meet all kinds of people and learn different opinions. When he gets out of prison he meets a magician who can get him out of any trouble and a beautiful lady who turns out to be the ruler of the country. They all go to live together at the castle where Lord Randall used to work as a servant until he became rich enough to marry someone else. Then they all live happily ever after. Lord Randall is a character in a novel by John Skelton. He was born in 1460 into an aristocratic family. He loves to joke around and do things that would get him into trouble with his father. When he is 16 years old he escapes from his father's house with his friend Thomas Randall who is also a fugitive from home. They travel around Europe for a while having fun at other people's expense before returning home.