Ella Lea

DESCRIPTION: "If you will listen to me I will sing you the song Of the unfortunate Ella Lea." The singer recalls loving Ella. He wishes she would be return to him; "life without thee is lonely." But "thou hast learned to love another."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1909 (Belden-BalladsSongsCollectedByMissourFolkloreSociety)
KEYWORDS: love betrayal
FOUND IN: US(So)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Belden-BalladsSongsCollectedByMissourFolkloreSociety, pp. 211-212, "Ella Lea" (1 text)
Roud #7949
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Thou Hast Learned to Love Another" (lyrics)
cf. "Anna Lee (The Finished Letter)"
cf. "Thou Hast Learned to Love Another" (floating lyrics)
NOTES [99 words]: This song, at least as recorded by Belden-BalladsSongsCollectedByMissourFolkloreSociety, seems badly confused. The first two lines, and the second verse, imply Ella Lea is the singer. But in the third line of the first verse, we read, "The girl that I love is handsome and fair, and I called her my sweet Ella Lea."
What's more, the verse are of the form 4 long lines, 6 long lines, 4 short lines, 4 short lines. It seems clear that it's a composite -- perhaps of "Thou Hast Learned to Love Another" and "Anna Lea." But it adds other material, too. The result is a mess I can't disentangle. RBW
File: Beld211B

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