There was a Lady in the West
There was a Lady in the West
This song was published in English County Songs, edited by J A Fuller Maitland and Lucy Broadwood, and published in 1893.
The words and tune were, in fact, taken from Miss Mason's Nursery Rhymes and Country Songs, which had been published in 1888, and showed the song to have been collected in Mitford, Northumberland. (Tune and text are provided in the link provided on the separate page for this book.)
The notes in English County Songs comment that "The words are apparently a late version of the well-known Riddle Myth found in all mythologies. A famous instance of its use in modern art is an episode in Act 1 of Wagner's Siegfried. Compare with (the song) "The Three Sisters", a Cornish version, given in Davies Gilbert's "Christmas Carols" (tune and words of a first verse to this are provided).
--Irene Shettle 22:37, 11 October 2007 (BST)