TWO LOVERS SET SPARKING
(THE JEALOUS BROTHERS; THE BRAMBLE BRIER)
Sung by: Fred High
Recorded in High, AR 8/26/59

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(Mr. High: "Now, then, I'll sing 'Two Set Sparking One Evening Late.' I learnt that when I was a boy.")

One evening late, as they set sparking,
Her brothers chance come over here.
Says, "Courtships, they will all soon be ended,
And we'll march him right along to his grave."

Next morning early, as they arose,
A game of hunting for to go,
And on this young man they insisted
That he might go along with them.

Oh, they rode over hills and over valleys,
And over land which was unknown,
And they rode 'til they come to the lonesome valley,
And there they killed him dead alone.

That evening late, as they were returning,
Their sister asked for the servant boy.
Said, "We lost him in our game of hunting,
And no more of him could we ever find."

That evening late, as she lie weeping,
He appeared to her bedside.
Says, "Your brothers have killed me with rush and cruel,
And here I lie in a gore of blood."

Next morning early as she arose
And dressed herself in richery,
Says, "I'll ride, I'll ride to the end of the mountain
Or seek the object of my love."

She rode over hills and over valleys,
And over land which was unknown,
And she rode 'til she come to the lonesome valley,
And there she found him dead alone.

His red, rosy cheeks, they had all faded,
And his lips were of a salty brine,
And she kissed him o'er and o'er, a-crying.
Says, "Darling, bosom friend of mine."

That evening late, as she were returning,
Her brothers asked where she had been.
"Oh, hold your tongue, you deceitful villains,
For dead alone you both shall hang."

Next morning early, as they arose,
And started over the ocean deep,
The waves, they did overcome them,
And now they're both moldering in the deep.

Also found in Randolph, Vol. I, #100, "The Jealous Brothers"; Brown, Vol. II, #62, "The Bramble Brier."

All Songs Recorded by John Quincy Wolf, Jr., unless otherwise noted

The John Quincy Wolf Folklore Collection
Lyon College, Batesville, Arkansas
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