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The Daemon Lover
"The Daemon Lover" (Roud 14, Child 243) – also known as "James Harris", "A Warning for Married Women", "The Distressed Ship Carpenter", "James Herries", "The Carpenter’s Wife", "The Banks of Italy", or "The House-Carpenter" – is a popular ballad dating from the mid-seventeenth century, when the earliest known broadside version of the ballad was entered in the Stationers' Register on 21 February 1657.
There are a number of different versions of the ballad. In addition to the eight collected by Francis James Child in volume IV of his anthology The English and Scottish Popular Ballads (versions A to H), others can be found in Britain and in the United States, where it remained especially widespread, with hundreds of versions being collected throughout the years, around 250 of them in print. In comparison, only four new variants were recorded in the UK in the time between Child's death in 1896 and the second half of the 1960s, all of them before 1910.
The oldest version of the ballad – labeled 243 A in Child's anthology and originally signed with the initials L.P. – is generally attributed to Laurence Price, a prominent ballad writer of that time. The original, full title of the broadside was "A Warning for Married Women, by the example of Mrs. Jane Renalds, a West-Country woman born neer unto Plymouth, who having plighted her troth to a seaman, was afterwards married to a carpenter, and at last carried away by a spirit, the manner how shall be presently recited". The broadside does not seem to be a recasting of a pre-existing folk ballad in circulation, although it bears some similarities to other ballads, most notably a similarly named "A Warning for Maidens", also known by the title "Bateman's Tragedy" (Roud 22132).
"A Warning for Married Women" tells the story of Jane Reynolds and her lover James Harris, with whom she exchanged a promise of marriage. He is pressed as a sailor before the wedding takes place and Jane faithfully awaits his return for three years, but when she learns of his death at sea, she agrees to marry a local carpenter. Jane gives birth to three children and for four years the couple lives a happy life. One night, when the carpenter is away, the spirit of James Harris appears. He tries to convince Jane to keep her oath and run away with him. At first she is reluctant to do so, because of her husband and their children, but ultimately she succumbs to the ghost's pleas, letting herself be persuaded by his tales of rejecting the royal daughter's hand and assurance that he has the means to support her – namely, a fleet of seven ships. The pair then leaves England, never to be seen again, and the carpenter commits suicide upon learning that his wife is gone. The broadside ends with a mention that although the children were orphaned, the heavenly powers will provide for them.
Another known version of the ballad, labeled 243 B in Child's anthology and titled ‘The Distressed Ship Carpenter’, comes from the mid-eighteenth century and appears in A Collection of Diverting Songs, Epigrams, & c. and in a chapbook titled The Rambler’s Garland. It is notable for its opening, ‘Well met, well met, my own true love’, which is characteristic of many versions of the ballad, in particular those recorded in America. This variation differs from "A Warning for Married Women". The opening part of the ballad is lost, and so are the names of Jane and James; the text does not mention their former vows either. The former lover appears to be a mortal man, rather than a revenant. "The Distressed Ship Carpenter" ends with the eponymous craftsman lamenting and cursing seamen for ruining his life. With the disappearance of the supernatural elements, the story of the ballad became rationalized. These changes may have originated in an oral tradition or, as suggested by John Burrison, there was an intermediary broadside version of the ballad that served as a bridge between "A Warning’" and "The Distressed Ship Carpenter"; David Atkinson considers a possibility that the changes were made either to avoid any legal troubles with the intellectual property owners of "A Warning" or as a result of a change in broadside format to smaller sheets.
"The Distressed Ship Carpenter" is characterized by a number of common folk touches, possibly indicating that there was an intermediary folk version developed as a result of an oral tradition between this version of the ballad and the original broadside. The story begins in the third act, contains recurring words and phrases and is leaping and lingering, i.e. alternating between rapid and slow unfoldment of the events, at two crucial points: when relating the return of the former lover and the lovers’ confrontation after they board the ship. In doing so, the ballad preserves and focuses on its "emotional core".
"A Warning for Married Women" and "The Distressed Ship Carpenter" seem to have inspired the Scottish and American traditions of the ballad, respectively. The Scottish versions collected by Child (designated as versions C-G) share a number of elements with Child 243 A not present in Child 243 B – among them a direct reference to former vows and the name of the sailor – but what distinguishes them most is the character of a lover, who regains his supernatural nature. What is especially characteristic of these versions is the introduction of a daemonic presence; in "The Daemon Lover" (Child 243 E, F, G) James Harris is no longer a ghost or a mortal man, but instead is revealed to be a cloven-footed devil.
It is generally agreed that copies collected in America (usually titled "The House Carpenter") were derived from "The Distressed Ship Carpenter". There are a number of similarities between these versions – such as the absence of former vows and supernatural elements characteristic of "A Warning" and Scottish versions – and the story presented in them remains essentially the same. Some elements taken from the Scottish tradition are present in American variants, for example "hills of heaven, hills of hell" line from Child 243 E, but the influence of "The Distressed Ship Carpenter" is prevalent. The most notable differences when compared to the English and Scottish traditions are their setting (i.e. "the banks of Italy" become "the banks of old Tennessee") and more emphasis being put on the relationship between the mother and the child and their subsequent parting. The American history of the ballad in printed form dates back to the 1850s. Two verses that were printed in Philadelphia (1858; Child included them in his anthology), along with a broadside printed by Andrews of New York (ca. 1857; reissued by De Marsan in 1860) are the earliest known examples of the ballad in the United States, although the oral tradition had already existed there before they were published and it played a predominant role in the spread of the ballad in America.
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The Daemon Lover
"The Daemon Lover" (Roud 14, Child 243) – also known as "James Harris", "A Warning for Married Women", "The Distressed Ship Carpenter", "James Herries", "The Carpenter’s Wife", "The Banks of Italy", or "The House-Carpenter" – is a popular ballad dating from the mid-seventeenth century, when the earliest known broadside version of the ballad was entered in the Stationers' Register on 21 February 1657.
There are a number of different versions of the ballad. In addition to the eight collected by Francis James Child in volume IV of his anthology The English and Scottish Popular Ballads (versions A to H), others can be found in Britain and in the United States, where it remained especially widespread, with hundreds of versions being collected throughout the years, around 250 of them in print. In comparison, only four new variants were recorded in the UK in the time between Child's death in 1896 and the second half of the 1960s, all of them before 1910.
The oldest version of the ballad – labeled 243 A in Child's anthology and originally signed with the initials L.P. – is generally attributed to Laurence Price, a prominent ballad writer of that time. The original, full title of the broadside was "A Warning for Married Women, by the example of Mrs. Jane Renalds, a West-Country woman born neer unto Plymouth, who having plighted her troth to a seaman, was afterwards married to a carpenter, and at last carried away by a spirit, the manner how shall be presently recited". The broadside does not seem to be a recasting of a pre-existing folk ballad in circulation, although it bears some similarities to other ballads, most notably a similarly named "A Warning for Maidens", also known by the title "Bateman's Tragedy" (Roud 22132).
"A Warning for Married Women" tells the story of Jane Reynolds and her lover James Harris, with whom she exchanged a promise of marriage. He is pressed as a sailor before the wedding takes place and Jane faithfully awaits his return for three years, but when she learns of his death at sea, she agrees to marry a local carpenter. Jane gives birth to three children and for four years the couple lives a happy life. One night, when the carpenter is away, the spirit of James Harris appears. He tries to convince Jane to keep her oath and run away with him. At first she is reluctant to do so, because of her husband and their children, but ultimately she succumbs to the ghost's pleas, letting herself be persuaded by his tales of rejecting the royal daughter's hand and assurance that he has the means to support her – namely, a fleet of seven ships. The pair then leaves England, never to be seen again, and the carpenter commits suicide upon learning that his wife is gone. The broadside ends with a mention that although the children were orphaned, the heavenly powers will provide for them.
Another known version of the ballad, labeled 243 B in Child's anthology and titled ‘The Distressed Ship Carpenter’, comes from the mid-eighteenth century and appears in A Collection of Diverting Songs, Epigrams, & c. and in a chapbook titled The Rambler’s Garland. It is notable for its opening, ‘Well met, well met, my own true love’, which is characteristic of many versions of the ballad, in particular those recorded in America. This variation differs from "A Warning for Married Women". The opening part of the ballad is lost, and so are the names of Jane and James; the text does not mention their former vows either. The former lover appears to be a mortal man, rather than a revenant. "The Distressed Ship Carpenter" ends with the eponymous craftsman lamenting and cursing seamen for ruining his life. With the disappearance of the supernatural elements, the story of the ballad became rationalized. These changes may have originated in an oral tradition or, as suggested by John Burrison, there was an intermediary broadside version of the ballad that served as a bridge between "A Warning’" and "The Distressed Ship Carpenter"; David Atkinson considers a possibility that the changes were made either to avoid any legal troubles with the intellectual property owners of "A Warning" or as a result of a change in broadside format to smaller sheets.
"The Distressed Ship Carpenter" is characterized by a number of common folk touches, possibly indicating that there was an intermediary folk version developed as a result of an oral tradition between this version of the ballad and the original broadside. The story begins in the third act, contains recurring words and phrases and is leaping and lingering, i.e. alternating between rapid and slow unfoldment of the events, at two crucial points: when relating the return of the former lover and the lovers’ confrontation after they board the ship. In doing so, the ballad preserves and focuses on its "emotional core".
"A Warning for Married Women" and "The Distressed Ship Carpenter" seem to have inspired the Scottish and American traditions of the ballad, respectively. The Scottish versions collected by Child (designated as versions C-G) share a number of elements with Child 243 A not present in Child 243 B – among them a direct reference to former vows and the name of the sailor – but what distinguishes them most is the character of a lover, who regains his supernatural nature. What is especially characteristic of these versions is the introduction of a daemonic presence; in "The Daemon Lover" (Child 243 E, F, G) James Harris is no longer a ghost or a mortal man, but instead is revealed to be a cloven-footed devil.
It is generally agreed that copies collected in America (usually titled "The House Carpenter") were derived from "The Distressed Ship Carpenter". There are a number of similarities between these versions – such as the absence of former vows and supernatural elements characteristic of "A Warning" and Scottish versions – and the story presented in them remains essentially the same. Some elements taken from the Scottish tradition are present in American variants, for example "hills of heaven, hills of hell" line from Child 243 E, but the influence of "The Distressed Ship Carpenter" is prevalent. The most notable differences when compared to the English and Scottish traditions are their setting (i.e. "the banks of Italy" become "the banks of old Tennessee") and more emphasis being put on the relationship between the mother and the child and their subsequent parting. The American history of the ballad in printed form dates back to the 1850s. Two verses that were printed in Philadelphia (1858; Child included them in his anthology), along with a broadside printed by Andrews of New York (ca. 1857; reissued by De Marsan in 1860) are the earliest known examples of the ballad in the United States, although the oral tradition had already existed there before they were published and it played a predominant role in the spread of the ballad in America.