Lamkin

"Lamkin" (Roud 6, Child 93) is an English ballad. It gives an account of the murder of a woman and her infant son by a man, in some versions, a disgruntled mason, in others, a devil, bogeyman or a motiveless villain. Versions of the ballad are found in Scotland, England, and the USA.

Contents

An unpaid mason

In the most common version, Lamkin, the stonemason, is hired by Lord Wearie to build him a castle. When it is complete, the Lord refuses to pay, saying he would have to sell his land to pay for the castle he had built on it. Wearie soon makes a trip across the sea, and Lamkin, with the aid of the Lord's nursemaid, takes his revenge on his family during his absence. He first attacks Lord Wearie's baby.

Then Lamkin a' tane a sharp knife,
That hang down by his gaire,
And he has gien the bonny babe
A deep wound and a sair.[1]

This gets the attention of Lady Wearie, who offers gold and riches to Lamkin if he will spare her life. No rationale is ever given for the extreme measures Lamkin takes, nor why he refuses money at this stage, if his grievances were merely financial. It is speculated that some verses may be missing, although there is some evidence that the nurse may have had a long-standing personal grudge, and played a more active role in the killings.

"O sall I kill her, nourice,
Or sall I lat her be?"
"O kill her, kill her, Lamkin,
For she neer was good to me."[1]

Lord Wearie returns months later to find his wife and son dead, and Lamkin gloating over the deed.

"And wha's blood is this' he says,
'That lies in my ha'?"
"It is your young son'd heart's blood;
'T is the clearest ava."[1]

Lamkin is hanged for his crimes, as he must have known he would be, again giving him no motive but the cruelest revenge. In some later version, the nurse is burned at the stake, the punishment for petty treason.

A bogeyman

Other versions follow the same basic story, but the antagonist has many different names, among them "Balankin", "Lambert Linkin", "Rankin", "Long Lankyn", and "Lammikin".[2] Later versions lose the opening of the story, which explains that Lamkin is a mason who has not been paid; in these, Lamkin becomes a sort of a bogeyman who dwells in the wild places; the lord, before leaving, warns against him:

Says milord to milady as he mounted his horse,
"Beware of Long Lankin that lives in the moss."
Says milord to milady as he went on his way,
"Beware of Long Lankin that lives in the hay."[3]

These versions add peculiar incidents that add to the grisliness of the crime. Lamkin and the nursemaid collect the baby's blood in a basin which, along with the idea that the name Lamkin or Lammikin indicates the murderer was pale skinned[2] and, therefore, perhaps a leper who sought to cure himself by bathing in the blood of an innocent collected in a silver bowl, a medieval cure.[4]

Performances

The song has been recorded as "Long Lankin" on "But Two Came By" (1968) by Martin Carthy. Steeleye Span recorded it as "Long Lankin" on Commoner's Crown (1975), and vocal trio The Devil's Interval also recorded it as Long Lankin on their debut album "Blood & Honey" (Wildgoose 2006). Dave Burland recorded "Lamkin" on his album You Can't Fool The Fat Man (1979) with Nic Jones. The Neofolk band Fire + Ice recorded "Long Lankin" on their album Gilded By The Sun (1992). Jim Moray recorded a version as "Long Lankin" on his album In Modern History (2010).

In literature

The song has also given its title to Long Lankin, a collection of short stories by John Banville. It is also the inspiration behind the young-adult novel Long Lankin, written by the author Lindsey Barraclough and due to be published in April 2011 by Random House.

References

  1. ^ a b c [1], Child Ballads 93 A-Y.
  2. ^ a b [2], More Blood on the Stairs: A 'New' Version of Lamkin - Mike Yates, 11/11/04.
  3. ^ [3], Long Lankin (folk song) - Martin Carthy.
  4. ^ [4], Lamkin: The Motivation of Horror - John DeWitt Niles, p.56.

External links