Stolen Child, The (The Lindbergh Kidnapping)
DESCRIPTION: Catchall of Lindberg songs. Typical example: The singer will "tell you about the stolen baby." Lindbergh's infant is stolen from his home; the kidnapper demands money; after a great hue and cry, the baby is found, but is dead
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1939 (Thomas)
KEYWORDS: homicide mother father children abduction
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
Mar 1, 1932 - Kidnapping of Charles A. Lindbergh Jr. (19 months old at the time). The kidnapper demands and receives $150,000, but the child is not returned
May 12, 1932 - The boy's body is found
Apr 3, 1936 - Execution of Bruno Hauptman, linked to the crime primarily by possession of some of the ransom money
FOUND IN: US(Ap)
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Thomas-BalladMakingInMountainsOfKentucky, p. 147, (no title); pp. 148-150, "The Stolen Baby" (2 texts; the two are different metrically, but share enough phrases that I think it proper to lump them, since neither seems to have had real traditional vogue) (OakEd, pp. 153-156)
Burt-AmericanMurderBallads, p. 72, (no title) (1 text); p. 73, (no title) (1 text in elementary German, tune referenced)
Roud #14051
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Lindbergh's Baby" (subject)
NOTES [88 words]: The Lindburgh kidnapping, according to Burt-AmericanMurderBallads, inspired "several" songs, apart from Thomas's sundry items. Since none of them show any real evidence of traditional vogue (as opposed to, say, the equally-numerous Titanic songs), I'm lumping them here. (The case is different for "Lindbergh's Baby," which was taken from tradition; it has its own listing.)
William Butler Yeats wrote a song, "The Stolen Child." It is not related to any of the items filed here, and is filed as "The Stolen Child (III).". - RBW
Last updated in version 6.7
File: ThBa147
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