Barbara Allen tells a timeless tale of love and loss through stark, poetic verses. The ballad’s haunting melody mirrors its themes of honor, remorse, and inevitable fate.
Nature’s metaphors, like wilting roses and bitter briar, capture love’s fleeting beauty and thorns of regret.
Sung in a minor key, its sad melody shows how two people drift apart because neither is willing to give in.
Passed orally for centuries, this folk gem delivers human weakness into a few piercing stanzas. Few songs so perfectly marry sorrow to songcraft.
Read Full Lyrics of Barbara Allen
In Scarlet town, where I was born,
There was a fair maid dwellin’,
Made every youth cry well-away!
Her name was Barbara Allen.
All in the merry month of May,
When green buds they were swellin’,
Young Jemmye Grove on his death-bed lay,
For love of Barbara Allen.
He sent his man unto her then,
To the town, where she was dwellin’;
“You must come to my master dear,
If your name be Barbara Allen.
“For death is printed on his face,
And ore his heart is stealin’:
Then haste away to comfort him,
O lovely Barbara Allen.”
“Though death be printed on his face,
And ore his heart is stealin’,
Yet little better shall he be,
For bonny Barbara Allen.”
So slowly, slowly, she came up,
And slowly she came nigh him;
And all she said, when there she came:
“Young man, I think you’re dyin’.”
He turned his face unto her straight,
With deadly sorrow sighin’;
“O lovely maid, come pity me,
I’m on my death-bed lyin’.”
“If on your death-bed you do lie,
What needs the tale you’re tellin’?
I cannot keep you from your death;
Farewell,” said Barbara Allen.
He turned his face unto the wall,
As deadly pangs he fell in:
“Adieu! adieu! adieu to you all,
Adieu to Barbara Allen.”
As she was walking o’er the fields,
She heard the bell a knellin’;
And every stroke did seem to say,
“Unworthy Barbara Allen.”
She turned her body round about,
And spied the corpse a comin’:
“Lay down, lay down the corpse,” she said,
“That I may look upon him.”
With scornful eye she lookèd down,
Her cheek with laughter swellin’;
That all her friends cried out amain,
“Unworthy Barbara Allen.”
When he was dead, and laid in grave,
Her heart was struck with sorrow,
“O mother, mother, make my bed,
For I shall die tomorrow.
“Hard-hearted creature, him to slight,
Who lovèd me so dearly;
O that I had been more kind to him,
When he was live and near me!”
She, on her death-bed as she lay,
Begged to be buried by him;
And sore repented of the day
That she did ere deny him.
“Farewell,” she said, “ye virgins all,
And shun the fault I fell in:
Henceforth take warning by the fall
Of cruel Barbara Allen.”
Similar Songs Like Barbara Allen
Haunting and heartfelt, these folk songs carry the same emotional weight and storytelling style found in Barbara Allen:
- Matty Groves : A traditional English ballad about love and betrayal, featuring powerful storytelling and sorrowful melodies.
- The Unquiet Grave: This mournful folk tune reflects on love beyond death, echoing Barbara Allen’s themes of loss and devotion.
- Lord Randall: Told through a dialogue format, this folk ballad captures themes of betrayal, family, and death with a somber tone.
- The House Carpenter: Tragic tale of lost love and consequences, this song blends eerie storytelling with simple, stirring instrumentation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it Based on a True Story?
Likely not it’s a classic murder ballad with fictional tragic romance themes.
Why are there so Many Versions?
As an Oral Tradition Folk Song, Lyrics Evolved Regionally (over 100+ Variants Exist).
Who Made the Song Famous?
Popularised by Folk Revivalists Like Joan Baez, but Earliest Printed Version Appeared in 1840.
