The Winds of the Wild Moor
Robert Shifflett
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Twas upon a cold wintry night When the wind blew across the wild moor. Little Mary did come with a child in her arms Till she came to her old Father's door. Oh Father, dear Father, she cried Come down and open your door, For the child in my arms will perish tonight From the winds that blow 'cross the wild moor. But the old man was deaf to her cry Not a sound of her voice reached his floor For the watchdog did howl and the village bell did ring While the winds blew across the wild moor. How must the old man have felt When he come to his door the next morn? Little Mary was dead but the child was alive, Tightly clasped in his dead mother's arms. The old man soon pined away, And the child to its mother went soon, And no one they say has lived there to this day, And the castle to ruin has gone. |
Robert Shiflett is an educated and literate man, sophisticated beyond many of his neighbors. But despite his acquired tastes and knowledge he is still an inseparable part of his heritage and his homeplace. This song is a case in point. Mr. Robert talks freely and at great length about his preferences in songs and music and about how he seeks out and learns only the most complete and satisfying versions of those ballads and songs he hears. He knows and occasionally sings some truly remarkable versions of such ballads as "The House Carpenter," "The Gypsy Laddie" and "Jesse James." But when he speaks of songs he knows he always mentions right along with the others, "Little Mary of the Winds of the Wild Moor."
This song is consistently recalled by Mr. Robert as among the best songs he knows. This testifies that his conscious discrimination has made him an eloquent spokesman for his cultural community but has not separated him from his mountain neighbors.
©1993 George Foss
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