Traditional & Folk Songs with lyrics & midi music www.traditionalmusic.co.uk 
The Well Below the Valley 
(alternate:) 
The Well Below the Valley A gentleman was passing by He asked for a drink as he got dry At the well below the valley-o Green grows the lily-o Right among the bushes-o 
"Me cup is full unto the brim If I were to stoop I might fall in" "If your true love was passing by 
You'd fill him a drink as he got dry" 
She swore by grass, she swore by corn That her true love had never been born He said "Young maid, you swear in wrong 
For six children you had born" "If you be a man of noble fame You'll tell to me the father of them" 
"There's two of them by your uncle Dan" "Another two by your brother John" "Another two by your father dear" "If you be a man of noble esteem 
You'll tell to me what did happen to them" "There's two buried 'neath the stable door" "Another two near the kitchen door" "Another two buried beneath the wall" "If you be a man of noble fame 
You'll tell to me what will happen to mysel' " "You'll be seven years a-ringing the bell" 
"You'll be seven more a-porting in hell" 
"I'll be seven years a-ringing the bell But the Lord above may save me soul from porting in hell. 
Child #21 
recorded by Planxty on "The Well Below The Valley" (1973) 
"(This song) had never been collected from oral tradition Ireland until Tom Munnelly heard John Reilly of Boyle, Co. it. Other versions of the song appear in Child's collectio From these it is apparent that the story is based on the at the Well. Tom Munnelly tells us that many older singers (avoid?) the song because of its sinister, incestuous overtones" -
The tune is basically a fast bodhran rhythm which allows to switch between two lines and one line per verse effortlessly. MJ