Willie Grahame

DESCRIPTION: Willy loves and murders his neighbor's/master's daughter. Following her dying advice he flees to sea. The ship won't sail. The captain says there must be a murderer on board. The lot falls on Willy. He confesses, is imprisoned and sentenced to die.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1907 (Greig/Duncan2)
KEYWORDS: love execution homicide prison sea ship ritual
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Greig-FolkSongInBuchan-FolkSongOfTheNorthEast #166, pp. 2-3, "Willie Graham"; #164, p. 2, "For My Offence" (1 text plus 1 fragment)
Greig/Duncan2 190, "Willie Grahame" (5 texts, 1 tune)
Roud #953
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Captain Glen/The New York Trader (The Guilty Sea Captain A/B) [Laws K22]" (Jonah theme) and references there
ALTERNATE TITLES:
Wullie Gray
NOTES [71 words]: The theme from Jonah 1:4-15: a man on board hiding guilt is the cause of "such a great tempest ... upon the sea that the ship was in danger of breaking up" [Jonah 1:4].
The confusion between this ballad and "Captain Glen"/"The New York Trader" (The Guilt Sea Captain A/B) [Laws K22] is illustrated not only by the Greig/Duncan2 notes but by Greig/Duncan2 191A of "Captain Glen" in which the captain's name is William Graham. - BS
Last updated in version 2.6
File: GrD2190

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