Down in the Willow Garden

Roud 446

This one is a pretty straightforward murder ballad in first-person, where our narrator is confessing to killing his sweetheart by giving her poisoned red wine, then stabbing her, and then throwing her in the river. Our narrator gives no reason for this, and seems to be in love with her, even as he’s killing her. There are many other ballads like this where people kill their loves so no one else can have them, or just because they love them. In this song he seems to assume that his father's money will keep him out of jail, but this is not the case and he’s sentenced to be hung and sings that “the devil waits for me”.

The ballad:
Down in the Willow Garden (or Rose Connelly) is a ballad with origins in Ireland, but a deep established history in Appalachia. Seems like a combination of a few old Irish songs, unfortunately a relatable story for many.

This is one of the most widespread classic murder ballads and many people have performed and recorded it. Hard to pick, but these are to of my favorites.

Listen to:
Willow GardenNora Brown & Sarah Kate Morgan

Haunting and beautiful

Willow GardenLankum

Ballad Index