264. The False Knight on the Road (Child 3) - (Traditional)

[ShayLee0501]

I think I need this one explained to me. It sounded more like a guy impersonating a knight to impress people got a young pretty boy to stand still on top of a ladder while he did god knows what to him from underneath.... I don't get how the boy won or what happened O_o

[raymondcrooke]

@ShayLee0501 He won by answering the riddles. This was a very common type of competition in those days, and turns up in a lot of ancient stories.

[ShayLee0501]

@raymondcrooke ah. Thanks. The devil seems to be a bit stupid too in many of these old stories. I like the 9 (or was it 8) questions one. IE: What is higher than a tree? Um... clouds, the sky, the nest perched on the tree, a bird flying above the tree, stars, the milky way, I can think of more etc. ;-)

[coolanddark]

these Childrens ballads are among my very favorite.outstanding Raymond!wow!!

[raymondcrooke]

Thanks, Dan. But most of the Child ballads are definitely not suitable for children!

[ShayLee0501]

@coolanddark LOL Compiled by a man named Child, not Child's ballads as in for kids LOL

[andiecandie77]

well done laddie!]\

[SirCoughsalot]

Lots a people matched wits with the Devil back then, didn't they?

[empiremonkey]

Are your lyrics going beyond the Child's original? The whole bit about the teacher-- never heard it before! (As a teacher, I do appreciate it, tho'!)

[raymondcrooke]

Child collected several versions of this ballad (as he did with all his songs). That's why he used a number to group them together. This is an "original" if that's the right word here. Thanks for subscribing. Nice to hear from a fellow teacher.

[blandmangopatterson]

You r a wealth of folkimation, I have perused the texts of many of these songs (child ballads) but never heard them - do you do the twa sisters?

[raymondcrooke]

If you click playlists on my channel, you'll find one for all the Child ballads I've uploaded so far, in numerical order. "Two Sisters" is there - No. 10. That's the one Dylan used for "Percy's Song".

[blandmangopatterson]

yeah, but he did a version of the two sisters differently, with the (variant) actual words, on a bootleg it is, i like to sing percy's song except no one can pay attention for the entire song!

[raymondcrooke]

Found it. The one with the chorus - I'll be true to my love, If my love will be true to me. My recording is really bad quality - even for a bootleg - but it's a great version. I'll see if I can learn it.

[HaulAwayJoe]

I have this song by Steeleye Span and it's to the tune of the song Portlairge.

[coolanddark]

love it Raymond.never heard this one.i learn so much from your channel

[MarieLynn3]

Another great toe-tapper Raymond :)

[Ottawarocket]

Good stuff : )

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