The Devil's Nine Questions
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Transcription: by Darryl D. Bush
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Lyrics:
Now you must answer my questions nine
Sing ninety-nine and ninety,
Or you aren't God's you are one of mine
And who is the weaver's bonny?
What is whiter than milk?
Sing ninety-nine and ninety;
And what is softer than silk?
And who is the weaver's bonny?
Snow is whiter than milk,
Sing ninety-nine and ninety;
And down is softer than silk,
And I am the weaver's bonny.
What is louder than a horn?
Sing ninety-nine and ninety;
And what is sharper than a thorn?
And who is the weaver's bonny?
Thunder's louder than a horn,
Sing ninety-nine and ninety ;
And death is sharper than a thorn,
And I am the weaver's bonny.
What is higher than a tree?
Sing ninety-nine and ninety;
And what is deeper than the sea?
And who is the weaver's bonny?
Heaven is higher than a tree,
Sing ninety-nine and ninety;
And hell is deeper than the sea,
And I am the weaver's bonny.
What's more innocent than a lamb?
Sing ninety-nine and ninety;
What is meaner than woman kind?
And who is the weaver's bonny?
A babe's more innocent than a lamb,
Sing ninety-nine and ninety;
And the devil is meaner than woman kind,
And I am the weaver's bonny.
You have answered my questions nine,
Sing ninety-nine and ninety;
So you are God's, you are none of mine,
And you are the weaver's bonny.
"Riddles Wisely Expounded", also known as "The Devil's Nine<br> Questions" is a traditional English song, dating at least to 1450.<br> The first known tune was attached to it in 1719.<br> In the earliest surviving version of the song, "Inter diabolus et virgo",<br> "between the devil and the maiden" (mid-15th century), the "foul fiend"<br> proposes to abduct a maiden unless she can answer a series of riddles.<br> The woman prays to Jesus for wisdom, and answers the riddles correctly.<br> In later versions, a knight puts a woman to test before he marries her<br> (sometimes after seducing her), or a devil disguised as a knight tries<br> to carry her off. The woman knows the answers, and thus either wins the<br> marriage or is free of the devil. In the latter case, the last riddle is<br> often "what is worse than woman?" (The answer is the devil).<br> A simpler example of seemingly impossible riddles is "The Riddle Song"<br> in this section.<br> The motif of riddling in folklore is very ancient, the stories of<br> Oedipus and Samson giving two early examples.<br> The melody is from Bertrand Bronson's Traditional Tunes of the Child Ballads,<br> collected from Mrs. Rill Martin, Virginia, 1922.<br> It is #1 in F. J. Child's The English and Scottish Popular Ballads and<br> is #161 in Roud, and exists in several variants.<br> It was printed (with a different tune) in The Burl Ives Song Book.<br>
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