“Dunbar the Murderer”

Description

"Awake, sad muse, awake and sing, And softly touch the mournful string...." "Oh brutal man... Two blooming children you have slain, A little paltry gold to gain." "The mother dear the lads did send To Dunbar's home some months to spend."

Notes

Burt notes an obvious similarity to "Babes in the Woods." Since her (printed) source evidently does not link the song to any actual historical event, it may well be a song composed in imitation of that piece. - RBW

Cross references

  • cf. "The Children in the Wood (The Babes in the Woods)" [Laws Q34] (plot)

References

  1. Burt, pp. 91-92, (no title) (1 excerpted text)
  2. BI, Burt092

About

Author: unknown
Earliest date: 1855 (Supplement to the Ulster County Almanac)
Keywords: homicide children money
Found in: US