- Lord Randall
"Lord Randall" (Roud [http://library.efdss.org/cgi-bin/query.cgi?cross=off&index_roud=on&query=10&field=20 10] , Child 12) is a traditional
ballad consisting of dialogue. [Francis James Child , "English and Scottish Popular Ballads", [http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/eng/child/ch012.htm "Lord Randall"] ] It is generally viewed as a British ballad, though versions and derivations of it exist across the continent of Europe. The different versions follow the same general lines, the primary character (in this case Randall, but varying by location) is poisoned, usually by his sweetheart; this is revealed through a conversation where he reports on the events and the poisoner. [Francis James Child, "The English and Scottish Popular Ballads", v 1, p 153, Dover Publications, New York 1965]Variants of this ballads are found in German, Swedish, Magyar, Danish, Wendish [Francis James Child, "The English and Scottish Popular Ballads", v 1, p 153-5, Dover Publications, New York 1965] .
There are also different Italian versions. They are usually titled " [http://it.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=L%27Avvelenato L'avvelenato] " ('The Poisoned Man') or "Il testamento dell'avvelenato" ('The Poisoned Man's Will'). One of them was published for the first time in
1629 by Camillo il Bianchino, in Verona. [Alessandro D'Ancona , "La poesia popolare italiana", Livorno, 1878, Cf. [http://it.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=L%27Avvelenato "L'avvelenato"] ]Cultural uses
The American fiction writer
Dorothy Sayers used a phrase from some variants for the title "Strong Poison ", a murder mystery about a man apparently murdered by his lover. In the early 1960'sBob Dylan borrowed its structure for "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall ".References
External links
* http://www.contemplator.com/child/rendal.html
* A painting of the poisoning of Jimmy Randall appears on Kentucky artist and ballad singer Daniel Dutton's web site, [http://www.dandutton.com/ballad_events.html "Ballads of the Barefoot Mind"]
* Italian version [http://it.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=L%27Avvelenato "L'avvelenato"]
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