Marian Parker

Way out in California, a family bright and gay
Were planning for a Christmas not so very far away;
They had a little daughter, a sweet and pretty child,
And all the folks that knew her loved Marian Parker's smile.

She left her home one morning for school not far away,
And no one dreamed that danger would come to her that day;
And then a murd'rous villain, a fiend with heart of stone,
Took little Marian Parker away from friends and home.

And then they caught the coward, young Edmond was the man,
They brought him back to justice, his final trial to stand;
There is a grave commandment, it says thou shalt not kill,
And those who would not heed it, their cup of sorrow fill.

This song shall be a warning to parents far and near:
You cannot guard too closely the one we love so dear.

####.... Variant of Little Marian Parker by Carson J. Robison (1890-1957). Recorded in 1928 by Marion Try Slaughter aka Vernon Dalhart (1883-1948) of Jefferson, TX [Laws F33] Native American Balladry (G. Malcolm Laws, 1964/1950) ....####

Sung by Helen Dunphy (1937-2005) of Tors Cove, NL, and published in MacEdward Leach And The Songs Of Atlantic Canada © 2004 Memorial University of Newfoundland Folklore and Language Archive (MUNFLA).

Twelve-year-old Marian Parker (1915-1927) was kidnapped by nineteen-year-old William Edward Hickman, who demanded and received a $1500 ransom from Marian's father. After payment was made Hickman drove away, throwing part of Marian's body at the feet of her father. Hickman was caught several days later, tried, and found guilty of kidnapping and murder. In October of 1928 Hickman was executed in San Quentin.