Bonnie Annie

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"Bonnie Annie" is Child ballad 24, existing in several variants.[1]

Synopsis

Annie, a merchant's daughter, falls in love with a sea captain and goes to sea with him, in some variants while pregnant. Something goes wrong, and they determine that Annie is the cause of it. She makes the captain throw her overboard. They escape, recover her body, and bury her.

Motifs

The motif of the lots and throwing a person from the ship may be derived from the tale of Jonah. Another ballad featuring these motifs is "Brown Robyn's Confession", Child ballad 57.[2]

References

  1. Francis James Child, English and Scottish Popular Ballads, "Bonnie Annie"
  2. Francis James Child, The English and Scottish Popular Ballads, v 1, p 245, Dover Publications, New York 1965