The Farmer's Curst Wife

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The Farmer's Curst Wife is Child ballad number 278. It has been recorded by Pete Seeger, Jean Ritchie, Hannah James and Sam Sweeney, Patrick Sky, Bellowhead, and John Koerner.

Synopsis

A farmer had a bad woman for his wife, and one day the devil came for her. They reached Hell, and the gates were shut, so she struck him. She made life in hell so bad that the devil brought her back to her husband.^[1]

Performances

Patrick Sky, "A Harvest of Gentle Clang" (1966): "The Farmer's Curst Wife" appears as Track 3 on Side 2.

References

^ Würzbach, Natascha, and Simone M. Salz. 1995. Motif index of the Child corpus: the English and Scottish popular ballad. Berlin: W. de Gruyter. ISBN 3-11-014290-2. p. 235.

External links

[1]
mudcat
The Farmer's Curst Wife
An American variant with notes. (In most browsers, this site will play a MIDI file when you navigate to it).

v t e Francis James Child
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Sons o Owsenford The Crafty Farmer Crow and Pie The Cruel Brother The Cruel Mother The Daemon Lover The Death of Parcy Reed The Death of Queen Jane Dick o the Cow Dives and Lazarus The Dowie Dens o Yarrow Dugall Quin The Duke of Athole's Nurse The Duke of Gordon's Daughter Earl Brand Earl Crawford The Earl of Errol The Earl of Mar's Daughter Earl Rothes Edom o Gordon Edward The Elfin Knight Eppie Morrie Erlinton Fair Annie The Fair Flower of Northumberland Fair Janet Fair Margaret and Sweet William Fair Mary of Wallington The False Lover Won Back The Famous Flower of Serving-Men The Farmer's Curst Wife Fause Foodrage The Fause Knight Upon the Road The Friar in the Well The Gardener The Gay Goshawk Geordie The George Aloe and the Sweepstake A Gest of Robyn Hode Get Up and Bar the Door Gil Brenton Glasgerion Glasgow Peggie Glenlogie The Great Silkie of Sule Skerry The Grey Cock Gude Wallace The Raggle Taggle Gypsy Battle of Harlaw The Heir of Linne Hind Etin Hind Horn Hobie Noble Hughie 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Whummil Bore The Wife of Usher's Well The Wife Wrapt in Wether's Skin Will Stewart and John Willie and Earl Richard's Daughter Willie and Lady Maisry Willie o Douglas Dale Willie o Winsbury Willie's Fatal Visit Willie's Lady Willie's Lyke-Wake The Wylie Wife of the Hie Toun Hie Young Andrew Young Beichan Young Benjie The Young Earl of Essex's Victory over the Emperor of Germany Young Hunting Young Johnstone Young Peggy Young Ronald Young Waters
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Related	List of the Child Ballads Percy Folio "The Crabfish"

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