Naomi Wise [Laws F31]

DESCRIPTION: (John Lewis) takes Naomi for a ride and throws her in the river. When her body is found, he is arrested but not convicted. He confesses to the murder only on his deathbed
AUTHOR: Carson J. Robison
EARLIEST DATE: 1925 (recording, Vernon Dalhart)
KEYWORDS: homicide river gallows-confession
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
1807 (some sources say 1808) - Drowning of Naomi Wise in North Carolina
FOUND IN: US(Ap,SE)
REFERENCES (8 citations):
Laws F31, "Naomi Wise"
Eddy-BalladsAndSongsFromOhio 94, "Poor Omie (Leoma Wise)" (1 text, 1 tune) (apparently; Laws does not list Eddy's text with either Naomi Wise ballad, but the pattern fits this one)
Brown/Belden/Hudson-FrankCBrownCollectionNCFolklore2 300, "Poor Naomi (Omie Wise)" (5 texts plus 1 excerpt and mention of 2 more; it appears that Laws places text "F" here, but "G" is also this song, with "A," "D," and "H" being "Poor Omie (John Lewis) (Little Omie Wise)" [Laws F4])
Joyner-FolkSongInSouthCarolina, pp. 57-58, "Naomi Wise" (1 text, 1 tune)
Morris-FolksongsOfFlorida, #38, "Naomi Wise" (2 texts, 1 tune, with the "A" text and tune, locally titled "Sweet William," being "Poor Omie (John Lewis) (Little Omie Wise)" [Laws F4], while the "B" text is "Naomi Wise" [Laws F31])
Boette-SingaHipsyDoodle, p. 129, "Naomi Wise" (1 fragment, 1 tune, so short that it's hard to tell if it's this song or Laws F4)
NorthCarolinaFolkloreJournal, (Ralph Steele Boggs, collector; Laura Bradshaw, informant), Vol. 1, No. 1 (Jun 1948), pp. 14-15, "Naomi Wise" (1 text)
DT 730, NAOMIWIS
Roud #981
RECORDINGS:
Vernon Dalhart & Co., "Naomi Wise" (Edison 51669, 1925) (Columbia 15053-D [as Al Craver], 1926; rec. 1925) (Silvertone 27351926)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Poor Omie (John Lewis) (Little Omie Wise)" [Laws F4] (plot)
NOTES [210 words]: Eleanor R. Long-Wilgus wrote an important monograph on this piece ,Naomi Wise: Creation, Re-Creation, and Continuity in an American Ballad Tradition. Chapel Hill: Chapel Hill Press, 2003. viii + 88 pp.
Dr. Long-Wilgus's monograph on Naomi Wise proceeds from the apparent original "True Account of Nayomy Wise" to show how both folksongs, "Poor Omie" (Laws F4) and "Naomi Wise" (Laws F32), grew out of this original under the influence of two broadsides (on other murders) from the 18th Century, both exemplifying the "murdered girl" narrative theme. The first printed version of "Poor Omie" was published by Braxton Craven in 1851, the second, "Naomi Wise," was recorded in 1925 by Carson Robison. But Long-Wilgus argues convincingly that the songs are older, modeled on the murdered girl theme (cf. Banks of the Ohio [Laws F5], the Wexford Girl [Laws P35], or Rose Conoley [Laws F6]), and while they show communalities with the eighteenth and nineteenth century broadsides, do not derive strictly from them, but rather increasingly fulfill the conventions of the "murdered girl theme" implied by that original "True Account." - DGE
For more background on the story of Naomi Wise, see the notes to "Poor Omie (John Lewis) (Little Omie Wise)" [Laws F4]. - RBW
Last updated in version 6.2
File: LF31

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