To the king’s daughter o’ fair England,
To a prize that was won by a slain brother’s brand,
I’ the brave nights so early!’
THE JOVIAL HUNTER OF BROMSGROVE;
OR, THE OLD MAN AND HIS THREE SONS.
(TRADITIONAL.)
[The following ballad has long been popular in Worcestershire and some of the adjoining counties. It was printed for the first time by Mr. Allies of Worcester, under the title of The Jovial Hunter of Bromsgrove; but amongst the peasantry of that county, and the adjoining county of Warwick, it has always been called The Old Man and his Three Sons—the name given to a fragment of the ballad still used as a nursery song in the north of England, the chorus of which slightly varies from that of the ballad. See post, p. 250. The title of The Old Man and his Three Sons is derived from the usage of calling a ballad after the first line—a practice that has descended to the present day. In Shakspeare’s comedy of As You Like It there appears to be an allusion to this ballad. Le Beau says,—
There comes an old man and his three sons,
to which Celia replies,
I could match this beginning with an old tale.—i. 2.
Whether The Jovial Hunter belongs to either Worcestershire or Warwickshire is rather questionable. The probability is that it is a north country ballad connected with the family of Bolton, of Bolton, in Wensleydale. A tomb, said to be that of Sir Ryalas Bolton, the Jovial Hunter, is shown in Bromsgrove church, Worcestershire; but there is no evidence beyond tradition to connect it with the name or deeds of any ‘Bolton;’ indeed it is well known that the tomb belongs to a family of another name. In the following version are preserved some of the peculiarities of the Worcestershire dialect.]
Old Sir Robert Bolton had three sons,
Wind well thy horn, good hunter;
And one of them was Sir Ryalas,
For he was a jovial hunter.