Barre Toelken wrote:
>
> In the American west, it was very common to sing "Two Babes in the
> Woods" as a lullabye. This three-verse song, distilled from an 18th
> century broadside of some 30 or more wretched stanzas, depicts the death
> of two young children who are led into the woods and abandoned. Old
> timers have told me that they believe their mothers sang it both to
> express their own parental anxieties about children wandering away into
> the prairies or deep forests, and to instill fear in the kids themselves
> about the price of getting lost in a wilderness. Hearing the song today
> brings tears to the eyes of many older people who immediately relate the
> song to the concerns of their mothers.
>
> Lullabyes may seem trivial or "childish," but I think they carry a
> heavy load of important cultural nuance. Cheers of encouragement to
> anyone who studies them more fully!
>
> Barre Toelken
> Utah State University
Wretched you may think it, but the 16th century ballad (Oct.
1595) has been collected as a traditional song more than once in
the U.S. See Q 34 in G. M. Laws, Jr., 'American Balladry from
British Broadsides'. [It's ZN1966 in the broadside ballad index
on my website, www.erols.com/olsonw]
Bruce Olson
--
My website: www.erols.com/olsonw <A
href="http://www.erols.com/olsonw"> Click </a>
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