Henry's Songbook

Chorus:
At the well below the valley oh
Green grows the lily oh
Right among the bushes oh

A gentleman was passing by
He asked for a drink as he got dry

My cup is full up to the brim
If I were to stoop I might fall in

If your true lover was passing by
You'd fill him a drink as he got dry

She swore by grass, she swore by corn
That her true love had never been born

He said, Young maid you're swearing wrong
For six young children you had born

If you be a man of noble fame
You'll tell to me the father of them

There's two of them by your Uncle Dan
There's two of them by your Uncle Dan

Another two by your brother John
Another two by your brother John

Another two by your father dear
Another two by your father dear

If you be a man of noble 'steem
You'll tell me what did happen to them

There's two buried 'neath the stable door
There's two buried 'neath the stable door

Another two 'neath the kitchen door
Another two 'neath the kitchen door

Another two buried beneath the wall
Another two buried beneath the wall

If you be a man of noble fame
You'll tell me what will happen myself

You'll be seven years a-ringing the bell
You'll be seven years a-ringing the bell

You'll be seven more burning in hell
You'll be seven more burning in hell

I'll be seven years a-ringing the bell
But the lord above may save my soul
From burning in hell

(as sung by Planxty)

[1973:] This had never been collected from oral tradition in Britain or Ireland until Tom Munnelly heard John Reilly of Boyle, Co. Roscommon sing it. Other versions of the song appear in Child's collection (No. 21). From these it is apparent that the song is based on the story of Jesus at the Well. Tom Munnelly tells us that many older singers refuse to sing the song because of its sinister, incestuous overtones. (Notes Planxty, 'The Well Below the Valley')

[1979:] A gruesome story, belonging to the moral-carrying body of ballads and even fairy-tales of medieval days. These songs and stories, apart from being mere entertainment, also fulfilled an important role in moral, religious and social education. This song was collected in Boyle, Co Roscommon, as an example of a basically English song that survived here in Ireland, while it is no longer current in its country of origin. It is another version of The woman and the palmer, a popular account of the story of Jesus and the woman of Samaria (John IV). A similar type ballad is The cruel mother. (Loesberg II, 67)

[1980:] This is Child's Maid and the Palmer (his no. 21). In earlier versions the 'gentleman' of verse 1 is a palmer (pilgrim), or Jesus himself meeting the woman of Samaria. The painful theme of incest may account for the ballad's extreme rarity - in English at least though it is not uncommon in other European languages. Indeed, Child has only two versions in English, the most recent being a fragment recalled by Sir Walter Scott. Miraculously, however, it turned up, as ballads do, on the lips of an illiterate travelling man of County Roscommon, in 1969. (Palmer, Ballads 68)

[1984:] This is a travelling song based on a biblical story. The older travellers are very reluctant to sing it and I have known it to evoke strange sensations. (Christy Moore Songbook 33)