The Suffolk Miracle
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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"a young man appears to his sweetheart, who has no knowledge that he had already died, and carries her on horseback for forty miles until the man complains he has a headache, which leads the maid to tie her handkerchief around his head. After they depart, the young maid returns home and is informed by her father that her lover had in fact died, whereupon he goes to the young man's grave and digs up the bones, finding that his daughter's handkerchief is tied around the skull." --The Suffolk Miracle |
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The Suffolk Miracle is a Child ballad 272 Roud 246.
Synopsis
A young maiden of noble birth comes to love a young commoner, so her father sends her away. Whilst in exile, the maid wakes one night to find her lover at her window mounted upon a fine horse. They go out riding together until the man complains he has a headache; the maid tends to him and ties her handkerchief around his head. She returns to her father, who gives her the news that her young lover has in fact died of grief, whereupon he goes to his grave and digs up the bones, finding that her handkerchief is tied round the skull.
Versions
- Jim Moray recorded a version of this song on his album Sweet England.
- Packie Manus Byrne recorded the song as "The Holland Handkerchief". It is issued on The Voice of the People Vol 3.
