Old Lady and the Devil by Bill and Belle Reed [Anthology Revisited - Song 5]
TL;DR -- Farmer's wife taken away by the Devil. Farmer celebrates. In Hell, farmer's wife wrecks the joint. Devil returns farmer's wife to farmer. Wife assails farmer. Performers prove elusive.
Welcome to the fifth installment of Anthology Revisited, our long, slow journey through Harry Smith’s iconic 1952 collection, The Anthology of American Folk Music. In this edition, we’ve got a husband and wife duo performing a Child Ballad about a wife who was so mean that the Devil himself wanted nothing to do with her.
In the four previous editions of Anthology Revisited, we’ve examined recordings of songs that were based on Child ballads. These songs (“Henry Lee” (Child 68), “Fatal Flower Garden” (Child 155), “The House Carpenter” (Child 243), and “Drunkard’s Special” (Child 274)) were sequenced in the Anthology in ascending order based on the Child reference number. This song “Old Lady and the Devil”, (a variant of Child 278, “The Farmer’s Curst Wife”) is the fifth and final Child ballad, and thus, the recording with the highest Child catalog number.
As always, let’s get things started by checking out the headline Harry Smith wrote for this recording.
MEDIEVAL WOMAN DEFEATS DEVIL DESPITE HUSBAND’S PRAYERS
Some of Harry’s headlines are so thoughtfully crafted and convey so much information in so few words that they stand within the Anthology as tiny works of art unto themselves. This is one such headline.
As with the first two headlines in the collection (“Henry Lee” and “Fatal Flower Garden”), Smith’s headline for “Old Lady and the Devil” provides information about the ballad that isn’t contained in the recording presented on the Anthology. By employing this tactic in the liner notes, Smith suggests that the story doesn’t end with the recording presented, and invites listeners/readers to dig deeper into the song. In this case, the reference in the headline that doesn’t appear in the song is the very first word… “MEDIEVAL”. Although the song seems oldish, the recording makes no suggestion that this tale occurred in the middle ages, but we’ll get into that in a bit.
The ballad’s tale goes like this… The devil came to visit a farmer. The Prince of Darkness informs the farmer he’s headed back to Hell and will be taking someone from the farmer’s family with him. Satan soon leaves the farm with the farmer’s wife strapped to his back and the farmer’s best wishes that the pair have a joyous future.
The devil and the farmer’s wife reach a fork in the road and Satan starts to complain about the weight of the load he bears. Once they enter the Gates of Hell, Satan asks his demonic minions to crank up the fires to receive the farmer’s wife and “scorch her well”.
One little devil, who’s just following orders, comes out with a chain, intent upon binding the farmer’s wife. The demon is promptly murdered by a hatchet in the hands of the farmer’s wife. Upon seeing one of their own killed in cold blood, the other demons start freaking out, begging Satan to send the woman back to wherever he found her.
Meanwhile, at the farm, the farmer is sick in bed, minding his own business, when he looks outside to see Satan coming to return his wife. The wife comes in, and paddles her husband with a butter stick (meaning the stick used in a butter churn, not a stick of butter). After assaulting her husband, the farmer’s wife departs once more, saying “The Devil won’t have me, and I don’t know who will.”. At this point, the song’s narrator, who has been relatively objective in his assessment thus far, offers two lines of editorial commentary “Now you see what a woman can do. She can outdo the Devil and the old man too.”
The song closes by repeating several of the later verses, ending with the narrator’s commentary being repeated.
Before we go digging into the backstory of the song, here’s the recording that appears on the Anthology.
Lyrics
There was an old man lived at the foot of the hill
If he ain't moved away, he's a-livin' there still
Singin' fa diddle-a, diddle-a, fa
Diddle-a, diddle-a dayHe hitched up his horse and went out to plough
How he got around, we never knew how
Singin' fa diddle-a, diddle-a, fa
Diddle-a, diddle-a dayOld devil come to him in the field one day
Sayin', “One of your family I'm gonna take away”
Singin' fa diddle-a, diddle-a, fa
Diddle-a, diddle-a day“Take her on, take her on, with the joy of my heart
I hope by golly you'll never part”
Singin' fa diddle-a, diddle-a, fa
Diddle-a, diddle-a dayOld devil got her all up on his back
He looked like a peddler with a hump on his back
Singin' fa diddle-a, diddle-a, fa
Diddle-a, diddle-a dayOld devil got to the forks of the road
He said, “Old lady, you're a hell of a load”
Singin' fa diddle-a, diddle-a, fa
Diddle-a, diddle-a dayOld devil got to the gates of hell
Said, “Punch the fire up, we'll scorch her well”
Singin' fa diddle-a, diddle-a, fa
Diddle-a, diddle-a dayOut come a little devil a-draggin' a chain
She picked up a hatchet and split out his brains
Singin' fa diddle-a, diddle-a, fa
Diddle-a, diddle-a dayOut come a little devil a-skatin' on a wall
Sayin, “Take her back, daddy, she's a-murderin' us all”
Singin' fa diddle-a, diddle-a, fa
Diddle-a, diddle-a dayLittle devil was a-peepin' out the crack
Sayin', “Take her home, daddy, don't you bring her back”
Singin' fa diddle-a, diddle-a, fa
Diddle-a, diddle-a dayThe old man was a-peepin' out the crack
He see'd they old devil come wagonin' her back
Singin' fa diddle-a, diddle-a, fa
Diddle-a, diddle-a dayThe old man lay sick in the bed
She upped with a butter stick and rattled his head
Singin' fa diddle-a, diddle-a, fa
Diddle-a, diddle-a dayThe old lady went whistlin' over the hill
Sayin', “The devil won't have me and I don't know who will”
Singin' fa diddle-a, diddle-a, fa
Diddle-a, diddle-a dayNow you see what a woman can do
She can outdo the devil and the old man too
Singin' fa diddle-a, diddle-a, fa
Diddle-a, diddle-a dayThe old lady went whistlin' over the hill
Sayin', “The devil won't have me and I don't know who will”
Singin' fa diddle-a, diddle-a, fa
Diddle-a, diddle-a dayThe old man was a-peepin' out the crack
He see'd they old devil come wagonin' her back
Singin' fa diddle-a, diddle-a, fa
Diddle-a, diddle-a dayThe old man lay sick in the bed
She upped with a butter stick and rattled his head
Singin' fa diddle-a, diddle-a, fa
Diddle-a, diddle-a dayNow you see what a woman can do
She can outdo the devil and the old man too
Singin' fa diddle-a, diddle-a, fa
Diddle-a, diddle-a day
The Song
“Old Lady and the Devil” was first published as a ballad under the title of “The Farmer’s Old Wife”, in the 1846 volume Ancient Poems, Ballads and Songs of the Peasantry of England, edited by Robert Bell. Later in the 19th century, the song was cataloged by Francis James Child as Child ballad 278 with the title “The Farmer’s Curst Wife”.
One of the first things you’ll notice once you get to the text of Child 278A is that the opening lines of the Child ballad differ from those sung by Bill Reed in 1928. Rather than adhering to the historical text, the opening lines of the Reeds’ recording echo the opening lines of the nursery rhyme “There Was an Old Woman who Lived Under the Hill”.
There was an old woman lived under the hill,
And if she's not gone she lives there still.
Baked apples she sold, and cranberry pies,
And she's the old woman that never told lies.
Since it was first collected as a folk ballad, “Old Lady and the Devil” (also known as “The Farmer’s Curst Wife”, “The Farmer Curst His Wife”, “The Ploughman and the Devil“, and “Sussex Whistling Song”, among other titles) has always contained either a nonsense refrain (like the one in this version) or whistling. The song was most certainly in existence long before it was collected and published. While it’s uncertain whether the whistling/nonsense refrain were always part of the song, it is assumed that they were.
An older version of the song’s text exists in the form of Scottish poet Robert Burns’ poem “Carle of Kellyburn Braes” from 1792 (which we’ll examine shortly).
Even farther back, in the late 1300’s, in the “Prologue to The Merchant’s Tale” in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, the Merchant states:
"I have a wyf, the worste that may be,
For thogh the feend to hire ycoupled were,
She wolde hym overmacche,
I dar wel swere" --
Which, translated into text more easily understood by modern eyes reads…
"I have the worst wife that may be,
For though the fiend to her coupled were,
She would him overmatch,
I dare well swear."
As we can see, the “wife who would prove too much for even the devil himself” is a longstanding character in songs and stories from the British Isles. The presence of such a mention in The Canterbury Tales could be one reason why Harry Smith’s headline started with the word “MEDIEVAL”.
Now that we’ve got the source of “Medieval” out of the way, let’s check out those source texts, shall we? I’m presenting them in reverse chronological order, starting with Child 278A (from the 1800’s), then going back to Burns’ poem from 1792.
278A: The Farmer’s Curst Wife
278A.1
THERE was an old farmer in Sussex did dwell,
(chorus of whistlers)
There was an old farmer in Sussex did dwell,
And he had a bad wife, as many knew well.
(chorus of whistlers)278A.2
Then Satan came to the old man at the plough:
‘One of your family I must have now.278A.3
‘It is not your eldest son that I crave,
But it is your old wife, and she I will have.’278A.4
‘O welcome, good Satan, with all my heart!
I hope you and she will never more part.’278A.5
Now Satan has got the old wife on his back,
And he lugged her along, like a pedlar’s pack.278A.6
He trudged away till they came to his hall-gate;
Says he, Here, take in an old Sussex chap’s mate.278A.7
O then she did kick the young imps about;
Says one to the other, Let’s try turn her out.278A.8
She spied thirteen imps all dancing in chains,
She up with her pattens and beat out their brains.278A.9
She knocked the old Satan against the wall!
‘Let’s turn her out, or she’ll murder us all.’278A.10
Now he’s bundled her up on his back amain,
And to her old husband he took her again.278A.11
‘I have been a tormentor the whole of my life,
But I neer was tormented so as with your wife.’
The whistling chorus in Child 278A is replaced with a nonsense refrain in the 1928 recording, but the tale remains basically the same, albeit with a few changes. We’ve already covered the difference between the opening lines of Child 278A and “Old Lady and the Devil”, so let’s see what else has changed.
In this version, as in the Reeds’ recording, Satan tells the farmer he’s got to take one of his family members “now”. The word “now” in this line has led some to surmise that the farmer and Satan had made a pact, and old Satan was coming around to collect what he was owed. In the dialogue on the farm, the only real difference is that in Child 278, Satan explicitly states that he doesn’t want the man’s son, but his wife. The farmer’s response, in both cases, is most enthusiastic.
The Devil and farmer’s wife make their way to the underworld and as they travel, the Devil again whines about the weight on his back. Once they enter Hell, things immediately go bad.
Unlike the farmer’s wife in the Reeds’ version of the song, the farmer’s wife in Child 278A walks in the door and promptly starts kicking imps around. The demons get concerned and beseech Satan to remove her from the premises. The Devil doesn’t listen, but once the farmer’s wife has murdered thirteen imps, the Devil changes his tune, decides that Hell ain’t the place for the likes of the Sussex farmer’s wife, and takes her back home.
It’s worth mentioning (at least to me), that the farmer’s wife from Sussex in Child 278A has a body count of thirteen, but her American counterpart only murdered one demon. This leads me to think that we have another case of a ballad that was sanitized once it crossed the Atlantic. It also makes me wonder how many demons the woman murdered in Burns’ poem. Let’s see, shall we?
Carle of Killyburn Braes - Robert Burns, 1792
1. There lived a carl in Kellyburn Braes,
Hey, and the rue grows bonie wi' thyme;
And he had a wife was the plague of his days,
And the thyme it is wither'd, and rue is in prime.2. Ae day as the carl gaed up the lang glen,
Hey, and the rue grows bonie wi' thyme;
He met with the Devil, says, "How do you fen?"
And the thyme it is wither'd, and rue is in prime.3. I've got a bad wife, sir, that's a' my complaint,
Hey, and the rue grows bonie wi' thyme;
"For, savin your presence, to her ye're a saint,"
And the thyme it is wither'd, and rue is in prime.4. It's neither your stot nor your staig I shall crave,
Hey, and the rue grows bonie wi' thyme;
"But gie me your wife, man, for her I must have,"
And the thyme it is wither'd, and rue is in prime.5. "O welcome most kindly!" the blythe carl said,
Hey, and the rue grows bonie wi' thyme;
"But if ye can match her ye're waur than ye're ca'd,"
And the thyme it is wither'd, and rue is in prime.6. The Devil has got the auld wife on his back,
Hey, and the rue grows bonie wi' thyme;
And, like a poor pedlar, he's carried his pack,
And the thyme it is wither'd, and rue is in prime.7. He's carried her hame to his ain hallan door,
Hey, and the rue grows bonie wi' thyme;
Syne bade her gae in, for a bitch, and a whore,
And the thyme it is wither'd, and rue is in prime.8. Then straight he makes fifty, the pick o' his band,
Hey, and the rue grows bonie wi' thyme:
Turn out on her guard in the clap o' a hand,
And the thyme it is wither'd, and rue is in prime.9. The carlin gaed thro' them like ony wud bear,
Hey, and the rue grows bonie wi' thyme;
Whae'er she gat hands on cam near her nae mair,
And the thyme it is wither'd, and rue is in prime.10. A reekit wee deevil looks over the wa',
Hey, and the rue grows bonie wi' thyme;
"O help, maister, help, or she'll ruin us a'!"
And the thyme it is wither'd, and rue is in prime.11. The Devil he swore by the edge o' his knife,
Hey, and the rue grows bonie wi' thyme;
He pitied the man that was tied to a wife,
And the thyme it is wither'd, and rue is in prime.12. The Devil he swore by the kirk and the bell,
Hey, and the rue grows bonie wi' thyme;
He was not in wedlock, thank Heav'n, but in hell,
And the thyme it is wither'd, and rue is in prime.13. Then Satan has travell'd again wi' his pack,
Hey, and the rue grows bonie wi' thyme;
And to her auld husband he's carried her back,
And the thyme it is wither'd, and rue is in prime.14. I hae been a Devil the feck o' my life,
Hey, and the rue grows bonie wi' thyme;
"But ne'er was in hell till I met wi' a wife,"
And the thyme it is wither'd, and rue is in prime.
SOURCE: https://www.musicanet.org/robokopp/scottish/kelyburn.htm
The text of Burns’ poem tells the same tale, even though it’s written in 18th century English (and was a bit difficult for this modern reader to decipher). The whistling/nonsense refrain that appears in Child 278A and the Reeds’ recording is not present in Burns’ poem.
Instead, the second line of each quatrain is
“Hey, and the rue grows bonie wi' thyme;”
While the fourth line of each quatrain is
“And the thyme it is wither'd, and rue is in prime.”
In Burns’ version of the tale, when Satan and the farmer’s wife arrived in Hell, Satan set fifty of his strongest demons upon her, and, true to form, the farmer’s wife took them all down, (making her the undisputed champion demon slayer in all versions of this tale I’ve encountered). The Devil takes the woman back to her husband, and ends our tale with this little zinger (that I slightly modified for modern readers),
“I’ve been a Devil all of my life,
but I never was in Hell til I met with a wife.”
Burns’ closing lines aren’t terribly different from those in Child 278A, but somehow pack a stronger linguistic punch.
Where are we at this point? Well, we started with a 20th century recording of a 19th century text that tells the same story as an 18th century poem which is believed to have been based upon an earlier version of the ballad, but we’ve reached the end of known versions of the song, even though we know the motif of the most difficult wife (in the English language) goes back to Geoffery Chaucer.
But is Chaucer the source of all this? Probably not, but finding a source gets a little muddy.
What about B.C. (Before Chaucer)?
I don’t have dates or citations to back me up here, but I’m gonna go out on a limb and say that tales of marital woes came into existence shortly after the institution of marriage was first established.
One can scour old texts in search of the first instance of this ballad or that tale, but there’s only so far one can go. In this case, I have no doubt that songs and stories of an ill-tempered wife who would be a match for the devil were shared long before Chaucer’s time, and predate written language by many generations.
I am by no means the first person to make these leaps or explore such rabbit holes. In fact, I’m just one in a long line of folks who’ve nerded out on this kind of thing, and that’s what this subsection is all about.
The Old Lady and the Devil and the Panchatantra
While researching this song, I found repeated suggestions that the song’s roots extend back in time to an ancient Hindu text called the Panchatantra, which is a collection of tales woven together within an overarching storyline that first appeared in India around the year 300 CE (That’s 300 AD, for the old heads like me.), although the stories are presumed to be much older. Despite my best efforts, I found no indication of which story in the Panchatantra it might be.
The claim of connection between “Old Lady and the Devil” and the Panchatantra originated from singer A.L. Lloyd, who released a version of “The Devil and The Ploughman” (another variant of Child 278) on the album A Selection From the Penguin Book of English Folk Songs.
In the album notes, Lloyd wrote the following:
The tale of the shrewish wife who terrifies even the demons is ancient and widespread. The Hindus have it in a sixth century fable collection, the Panchatantra. It seems to have travelled westward by Persia, and to have spread to almost every European country. In early versions, the farmer makes a pact with the Devil and hands over his wife in return for a pair of plough oxen. Vaughan Williams got the present ballad from the Horsham shoemaker and bell-ringer, Henry Burstow. Mr Burstow whistled the refrains that in our performance are played by the concertina. Whistling was a familiar way of calling up the Devil (hence the sailors’ dread that whistling may raise a storm).
https://mainlynorfolk.info/lloyd/songs/thefarmerscurstwife.html
I read through the Panchatantra, specifically searching for the story referenced by Lloyd, but I came up empty. I found no stories of a shrew who strikes fear into the hearts of demons, nor did I find tales of husbands giving wives to demonic forces, nor did I encounter any tales of people going to the underworld and being kicked out for bad behavior. Consequently, I’m a little confused by this reference and am still trying to get the skinny on this.
As I’ve indicated repeatedly, my research into the Anthology, its songs, and the performers is ongoing and I will update this article if I get any information. Meanwhile, if any readers have insight into which ancient Hindu tale A.L. Lloyd could be referencing, I’d be tremendously grateful if you could enlighten me.
The Performance
Recorded on October 17, 1928 in Johnson City, Tennessee, “Old Lady and the Devil” by Bill and Bell Reed is the earliest known recording of Child 278. The performance features Belle Reed playing a straight-ahead guitar part that is not unlike the “hit bass, strum chord” style Dick Justice used on “Henry Lee”. Bill Reed tackles the vocals and delivers the old folk ballad in an equally straight-ahead manner. While the song may have discussed themes of marital discord, the Reeds’ performance shows that they could work together as a team quite well.
This isn’t one of the Anthology’s legendary, groundbreaking, mind-blowing performances, but it doesn’t try to be. It’s simply a mostly unknown couple singing a song they know. I’ll discuss the Reeds in a moment, but since we’re talking about the performance, let’s discuss the recording session itself.
As future editions of Anthology Revisited will reveal, in the summer 1927, Ralph Peer of the Victor Talking Machine Company recorded 76 songs by 19 performers in a makeshift studio on the third floor of the Taylor-Christian Hat and Glove Company on State Street in Bristol, Tennessee for possible release on Victor. During these sessions, Peer hit the jackpot, and his visit to Bristol is considered the “Big Bang of Country Music”, for it was on this trip that he discovered the talents of the Carter Family and Jimmie Rodgers.
In 1928, Frank Buckley Walker, head of “hillbilly” recordings at Columbia Records decided to see if he could repeat Peer’s good forture and have his own legendary recording sessoin. Walker’s session were held in Johnson City, TN (part of the “Tri-Cities” area of Bristol, Kingston, and Johnson City) in a makeshift studio at the Brading-Marshall Lumber Company in Johnson City. Auditions were held on Saturday, October 13, 1928, and the Reeds’ recordings were made on October 17.
The Reeds are but the first of several performers whose Johnson City recordings appear on the Anthology of American Folk Music
The Performers
SIDEBAR: When doing research for these analyses, I always hope to reveal new information about the performers. Along with known resources (books and articles about the Anthology, the performers therein, and other contemporary recordings), I scour genealogy sites in the hopes of finding at least some hint of a clue about the performers. Two of the first four installments of Anthology Revisited included possible information about the artists that has not been published elsewhere. In the case of Nelstone’s Hawaiians (who performed song number two, “Fatal Flower Garden”), I located what I am reasonably confident to be the gravesites of both performers. In the previous article on Coley Jones’ “Drunkard's Special”, I found what might be a U.S. Census record from 1880 for someone who may have been Jones that was born in 1873 or 1874.
This time around? I got nothin’ new to share…
Here’s what we know for sure.
Bill and Belle Reed were from Somewhere, USA (some folks think maybe Virginia or Kentucky). The couple went to Johnson City, TN and recorded two songs “Old Lady and the Devil” and “Ye Shall Be Free”. The couple’s children joined their parents on the journey, and once in Johnson City, the Reed Children recorded two sides of their own “I'll Be All Smiles Tonight” and “I Once Did Have a Sweetheart”. Then, the entire Reed Family assembled to record two more sides “A Few More Years” and “Bright and Golden Light”, neither of which were ever released.
That’s it. That’s all the certainty I can provide.
It’s said that Bill and Belle were either from Kentucky or Virginia, but no one knows for sure. My genealogical searches yielded no hits for Bill and Belle Reed (or any spelling variations thereof) who hailed from Kentucky or Virginia and had children who could have made the two recordings attributed to the Reed Children in 1928. So, I’m gonna just have to keep on searching.
Won’t Somebody Please Think Of the Children?
Speaking of the Reed Children, here are the two recordings they made on October 17, 1928.
First, I’ll Be All Smiles Tonight
And here’s I Once Did Have a Sweetheart
I had never heard these recordings prior to working on this essay, and I must confess that my expectations of what I would hear were quite different from what I actually heard.
Prior to playing these tracks, I figured I’d hear the voices of young children, (like some old-timey version of the Sesame Street theme song), but that didn’t happen. Instead, we’ve got multiple children, none of whom sound that young.
The older male voice sounds like that of a young man who’s passed through the awkward early stages of puberty and landed on his “adult” voice. The female voice belongs to what I’m guessing would be a younger sister, possibly as old as her early teens, but don’t hold me to that. The second male voice sounds like it belongs to a younger brother who isn’t a small child, but rather, a boy who is nearing his teens.
Is there a second female voice in there? I’m not sure.
This is one of those situations where being mostly deaf makes it impossible for me to know exactly what I hear, and these partially informed guesses are all I have. At this time, until better information is available, my hunch is that the Reed Children who recorded these sides consisted of 2 boys and 1 girl, although I wouldn’t be surprised by the presence of a second girl.
The Lone Guitarist Theory
For all of my speculation about the Reeds, I am quite confident of one thing. Belle Reed was the lone guitar player on all of the Reeds’ Johnson City recordings. The guitar style on both Reed Children songs is remarkably similar to that on the two sides recorded by Bill and Belle. Plus, the Discography of American Historical Recordings (DAHR) entry for the Reed Children lists no guitarist. These two facts leave me quite convinced that the same person (Belle Reed) played guitar on all four tracks. I’d even wager that Belle Reed was the guitarist on the two unissued sides that are credited to the Reed Family, but we’ll never know on that one.
A Slight Wrinkle
When writing an essay on performers about whom very little is known, I like to include every drop of available information in my output. Sometimes, this means I will include information that contradicts the conclusions I reach. This is one such occasion.
“A Booklet of Essays, Appreciations, and Annotations Pertaining to the Anthology of American Folk Music” which was included in the 1997 reissue of the Anthology of American Folk Music indicates that both Bill and Belle Reed played guitar on the recording of “Old Lady and the Devil”.
There’s only one problem.
There is no second guitar on that track.
While I readily admit to having significant hearing loss, I’m not totally deaf. Besides, I’ve listened to these recordings for over 25 years and have never heard a second guitar in “Old Lady and the Devil”. During the research and composition phases of this article, I listened to both Bill and Belle Reed recordings repeatedly, specifically seeking some hint of this “second guitar” that I have yet to hear.
Also, Harry Smith’s notes made no mention of two guitars, and the Discography of American Historical Recordings (DAHR) entry for Old Lady and the Devil indicates that only one guitar was played on the recording, and that the guitarist was Belle Reed. I stand firmly with Team DAHR in this assessment.
There’s no technical virtuosity on display in the recording of “Old Lady and the Devil”. The instrumental accompaniment is a frills-free affair, and the suggestion that a second guitarist lurks somewhere in the grooves is one I can’t support.
So, there’s my theory. There is only one guitar player on the recording. Her name is Belle Reed.
I don’t mind being wrong
I’ll wrap up this section on the performers by asking to be proven wrong. If anyone among you has any information that could enlighten me even a tiny bit on what we’ve got here, I would surely appreciate your input.
My belief in the Lone Guitarist Theory stated above is pretty solid, but if you’ve got information to confirm or contradict this (or if you can hear a second guitarist in any of the Reeds’ recordings), hit me up in the comments. I wanna get to the bottom of this.
I also would like to know more about the Reeds in general. It troubles me that the only information we have about these folks is extrapolated from a single day of their lives. Surely there’s more to their story.
Genealogical searches have yielded nothing to confirm the current suggestion that the Reeds were from Virginia or Kentucky. Although, in all candor, I’m not aware of the source from which this notion was drawn, and have no way to measure its validity.
I only know the words “Probably from Virginia or Kentucky” appear in the 1997 reissue of the Anthology in reference to the pair, but I am not convinced that the only options here are Virginia or Kentucky. Geographically, Johnson City is in Tennessee, but the state’s borders with Virginia, Kentucky, and North Carolina are not far from Johnson City. Since no evidence proves the Reeds’ state of origin, this author believes that the Reeds could have very easily hailed from any of those four states, not just the two suggested.
As always, my search will continue, and if my labors yield fruit, I will update this article to reflect my findings.
Connections
At last! A section where I don’t have to rely on information that I can’t independently verify. (WHEW!)
If you’re new to my Anthology Revisited writings, you should know that I think the sequencing of songs on the Anthology of American Folk Music is a work of pure genius. The “Connections” section of these articles is where I make my case, and explore the ways in which this song is related to the songs that preceded it in the collection.
As I mentioned at the top of this article, the Child ballads included on the Anthology are presented in ascending numerical order, meaning that the Child catalog number for any Child ballad on the Anthology is greater than the Child catalog number of the Child ballad that preceded it. “Old Lady and the Devil” is the highest numbered Child ballad on the Anthology, and the last one to be covered in this series.
Like “Drunkard’s Special” which preceded it, “Old Lady and the Devil” is a humorous song that focuses on themes of marital discord. In our last song, the problematic spouse was the drunken husband, and this time around it’s the farmer’s ill-tempered wife.
There are no musical connections between the songs or (known) geographic connections between the artists this time around. This is the third song on the Anthology to include a murder committed by a woman. In this song, an imp loses its life to the farmer’s wife. The other two songs featuring such deeds by a woman are “Henry Lee” in which the titular character is slain, and “Fatal Flower Garden” wherein a child is killed.) Although there is a killing, I would not classify this as a murder ballad because the act of murder is such a small part of the tale. This is the first song to feature nonsense lyrics (and the fact that I made note of it means there will be more).
Another theme connecting the previous four songs is one of betrayal, and this one is no exception. Henry Lee was betrayed by a woman who stabbed him when he expected a kiss. The boy in “Fatal Flower Garden” was betrayed by the woman who lured him to his doom. “The House Carpenter” and his child are betrayed by the House Carpenter’s wife / the child’s mother. In “Drunkard’s Special”, the wife betrays her husband by having a lover in their bed on at least three occasions. In this song, the farmer’s wife is betrayed by her husband, when he just hands her over to the Devil. The Devil reneged on his deal with the farmer by bringing the wife back to the farm, and I guess that’s another betrayal of trust, although why one would trust the Devil to honor a deal is beyond me.
Other Interpretations
In this section, we explore other recordings of the song. The original liner notes to the Anthology contain a Discography, and whenever it’s possible, I like to share the recordings Smith referenced along with additional interpretations of the song that I find unique, interesting, or think may be of interest to readers.
Discography
Harry Smith provided three examples of other recordings of the song in the original liner notes to the Anthology. two of these recordings are below, and my eyes are peeled for the third.
Battle Axe and the Devil - Bill(y) Cox and Cliff Hobbs - So far, recordings of this performance have proved evasive. It seems that this recording has not been digitized, as no reference to the recording on CD or MP3 has been located.
Hell Ain’t But a Mile and a Quarter - “St. Louis Red” Mike Bailey - In the liner notes, Smith recommends this version as “a modern recasting of the theme”, and it’s definitely a different take. Here, the singer is looking to marry the Devil’s daughter.
The Farmer’s Curst Wife - Horton Barker - This performance is listed simply as “AAFS 1” in Harry’s original notes. AAFS is an acronym for Archive of American Folk Song, and it can be used in multiple ways, but in this case, Smith is referring to the multi-volume set of recordings released by the Library of Congress in 1942, and more specifically, to this a capella performance by Horton Baker.
Additional Interpretations
Old Woman and the Devil - Pete Seeger - Pete Seeger’s recording doesn’t differ very much from the previous versions shared, but it is worth noting that in this 1967 recording, Seeger uses different nonsense syllables than the other versions.
The Farmer’s Curst Wife - Spider John Koerner - From 1992, we’ve got the same song in a different style. This time, the accompaniment is entirely percussion, which is a bit surprising considering Spider John’s guitar skills, but it works.
The Old Woman and the Devil - John Jacob Niles - Here’s a version of the song from 1961 that sounds unlike any other recordings. If you’re familiar with John Jacob Niles, the differentness of this recording shouldn’t surprise you. If you’re not familiar with Niles, then you owe it to yourself to give this one a listen. John Jacob Niles was an absolute treasure, who always delivered unique interpretations of folk songs.
Conclusion
Well, this has been one helluva journey. Not only did we go to Hell and back with the farmer’s wife, we got literary with Burns and Chaucer, then got lost in the Reeds.
Having reached this point, I do believe we’ve dug into this just about as deeply as we possibly can dig. We’ve not uncovered any new gems of information on this song or these performers, but my labors are ongoing. Perhaps we’ll have some answers some day.
Next week, we venture out beyond Child ballads as we begin a two-week examination of the work of Buell Kazee when we go and sit down with his 1928 recording of “The Butcher’s Boy”, and for the first time since song three, we’ll have a few pictures of the artist.
As always, thanks for riding along on this adventure. I couldn’t have done any of this without the work of many other people over the years. The resources I consulted when writing this analysis are below. For those seeking more information, these resources are a great place to start.
If you have any corrections, suggestions, or additional information I didn’t cover, please share it in the comments. If you appreciate what I’m doing here, please subscribe. If you know folks who might dig the stuff I write about, please hook ‘em up with a link.
A programming note from Rodney.
You may notice that I’ve enabled paid subscriptions, and I want to briefly explain my plan here. All Anthology Revisited articles will be shared as public posts. If you’re subscribed to the free plan, you will receive those articles in their entirety as soon as they are published.
At some point, I will archive older articles in the series. At that point, folks who subscribe to the free plan will need to upgrade to a paid subscription to access older Anthology Revisited articles. But if you keep ‘em all in your email, then you’re good.
Sources
There Was an Old Woman Who Lived Under a Hill - Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/There_Was_an_Old_Woman_Who_Lived_Under_a_Hill
Farmer's Curst Wife, The [Child 278] - Ballad Index
https://balladindex.org/Ballads/C278.html
Bristol sessions - Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bristol_sessions
Johnson City sessions - Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnson_City_sessions
Bristol sessions - Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bristol_sessions
"Old Lady and the Devil" - Bill and Belle Reed | Where Dead Voices Gather - Life at 78 RPM
https://theanthologyofamericanfolkmusic.blogspot.com/2009/11/set-one-ballads-disc-one-track-five-old.html
5 “Old lady & the devil” by Bill & Belle Reed - My Old Weird America
https://oldweirdamerica.wordpress.com/2008/12/10/5-old-lady-the-devil-by-bill-belle-reed/
278A: The Farmer's Curst Wife - The Child Ballads (Sacred-Texts.com)
https://sacred-texts.com/neu/eng/child/ch278.htm
The Farmer's Curst Wife - Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Farmer%27s_Curst_Wife
Belle Reed - Discography of American Historical Recordings
https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/index.php/mastertalent/detail/208383/Reed_Belle
The Reed Children - Discography of American Historical Recordings
https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/index.php/mastertalent/detail/339510/Reed_Children_The
The Reed Family - Discography of American Historical Recordings
https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/index.php/mastertalent/detail/339511/Reed_Family_The
Sussex Whistling Song
https://www.musicanet.org/robokopp/english/farmowif.htm
Robert Burns “Carle of Killyburn Braes”
https://www.musicanet.org/robokopp/scottish/kelyburn.htm
Bluegrass Messengers
http://bluegrassmessengers.com/recordings--info-278-the-farmers-curst-wife.aspx
The Farmer’s Curst Wife / The Devil and the Farmer’s Wife / The Devil and the Ploughman / Kellyburn Braes / Lily Bulero (Roud 160; Child 278; G/D 2:320)
https://mainlynorfolk.info/lloyd/songs/thefarmerscurstwife.html
Ancient Poems, Ballads and Songs of the Peasantry of England
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/649/649-h/649-h.htm#page204