_The_Twa_Magicians_ A lady sits in her own front door As straight as a willow wand, And by there come a lusty smith With a hammer in his hand, and he said Bide, lady, bide, There's nowhere you can hide, For the lusty smith will be your love And he will lay your pride. "Well may stand you, lady fair All in your robe of red, But come tomorrow at this same time I'll have you in me bed," and he said Bide, lady, bide, There's nowhere you can hide, For the lusty smith will be your love And he will lay your pride. "Away, away, you coal-blacksmith, Would you do me this wrong? To think to have me maidenhead That I have kept so long! "I'd rather I was dead and cold And my body laid in my grave, Than a husky, dusky coal-blacksmith Me maidenhead should have!" So the lady she held up her hand, And she swore upon her soul, That she'd not be the blacksmith's love For all of a box of gold. But the blacksmith he held up his hand And he swore upon the Mass, Saying "I'll have you in me bed, young girl, For the half of that and less. Bide, lady, bide, There's nowhere you can hide, For the lusty smith will be your love And he will lay your pride. INSTRUMENTAL BRIDGE So the lady she turned into a dove And she flew up in the air, But he became an old cock-pigeon And they flew pair and pair, crying Bide, lady, bide, There's nowhere you can hide, For the lusty smith will be your love And he will lay your pride. So the lady she turned into a hare And she ran across the plain, But he became a greyhound dog And he ran her down again, crying Bide, lady, bide, There's nowhere you can hide, For the lusty smith will be your love And he will lay your pride. So she became a little mare As dark as the night was black, But he became a golden saddle And he clung on to her back, crying Bide, lady, bide, There's nowhere you can hide, For the lusty smith will be your love And he will lay your pride. So she became a hot griddle And he became a cake, And every move that poor girl made The blacksmith was her make. So she became a full-dress (?) ship And sailed upon the sea, But he became a bold captain And aboard of her went he, crying Bide, lady, bide, There's nowhere you can hide, For the lusty smith will be your love And he will lay your pride. So the lady she went into the bedroom And she changed into a bed, But he became a green coverlet And he gained her maidenhead. And watch ye how (?) he held her soul, And still he bad her bide, And the lusty smith became her love For all her mighty pride. Date: Wed, 22 Jun 88 11:48 EDT From: (David Durand) The Twa Magicians is Child # 44. It is not Irish but Scots. Child himself was not impressed with the ballad, calling it a "base-born cousin of a pretty ballad known over all Southern Europe and elsewhere." Child prefers the French versions but mentions other versions ranging from Catalan to Serbian. Child cites folk tales as the origin of the ballad. Although he mentions many such tales, my best estimate is that the song is derived from one of the shape-shifting contests in the Arabian Nights and may very well have been derived directly from the tale rather than from a translation of the French. Child has nothing to say on this point, nor does he try to date the ballad. I am inclined to think that the ballad, although not in its current form may be fairly old. Much of the magic dropped out of the surviving versions of ballads in England and Scotland, and in general the more magic, or magical connotations the older the version. The Arabian Nights came to England after the Crusades, and there is earlier shape-shifting in the Welsh material surrounding Talesein. This is all speculation on my part, based on a lot of reading in this area. There is an American version of the Twa Magicians. There is not sufficient evidence to date it. The song is quite similar. A stanza in the American version that does not occur in the Scots version is: She turned into a fly, A fly all in the air, And he turned into a spider bug, And he fetched her to his lair. The chorus is: Hello, hello, hello, hello, you coal black smith, You've done me no harm. You never shall have my maidenhead that I have kept so long, You fusty, dusty, lusty coal black smith, Maiden I shall die. However the chorus is changed after the last stanza to: Hello, hello, hello, hello you coal black smith, You've done me the harm. You have taen my maidenhead that I have kept so long, You fusty, dusty, lusty coal black smith, Do it once again.