Dr. Pat Gainer holding gun

Patrick Gainer and The Devil’s Questions

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Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

Native West Virginian Dr. Patrick W. Gainer dedicated the balance of his life to a personal crusade to revitalize folk traditions, and to elevate the image and self-esteem of the Appalachian people at a time when derogatory stereotypes flourished.

color photo of Gainer holding a dulcimer

His Appalachian folklore course at West Virginia University, where he taught in the English Department from the end of WWII till his retirement in 1972, “was perhaps the most popular class ever offered on campus,” according to a biography on the West Virginia History & Regional Collection website. He offered Extension courses and lectured statewide, and established the still flourishing West Virginia Folk Festival at Glenville in 1950.

The lyrics below, for ‘The Devil’s Questions,’ are from ‘Folk Songs from the West Virginia Hills’ (Seneca Books, 1975).  Dr. Gainer tracked down West Virginia versions of British folk songs cataloged by Francis James Child in ‘The English and Scottish Popular Ballads,’ published between 1882 and 1898.

“This ballad has not been reported previously from West Virginia tradition,” says Dr. Gainer in his introduction to this song. “It was sung by Blanche Kelley, Gilmer County. The devil asks the maid difficult questions, which she must answer satisfactorily or be carried off to hell. When she answers the questions wisely, the devil disappears.  The word ‘peart’ in the refrain is a dialect word meaning cheerful and becoming.”

The Devil’s Questions
(Child Ballad 1, “Riddles Wisely Expounded”)

If you can’t answer these questions to me,
O maid so peart and bonnie,
Then you’ll be mine and go with me,
and you so peart and bonnie.

O what is higher than the tree?
O maid so peart and bonnie,
And what is deeper than the sea?
And you so peart and bonnie.

O what is louder than the horn?
O maid so peart and bonnie,
And what is earlier than the morn?
and you so peart and bonnie.

O heaven is higher than the tree,
As I am peart and bonnie,
And hell is deeper than the sea,
And I am peart and bonnie.

O thunder is louder than the horn,
As I am peart and bonnie,
And sin is earlier than the morn,
And I am peart and bonnie.

Folk Songs from the West Virginia Hills (Seneca Books, 1975)

In addition ‘Folk Songs from the West Virginia Hills’ Patrick W. Gainer published ‘Witches, Ghosts, and Signs: Folklore of the Southern Appalachian Mountains (Seneca Books, 1975)’ and recorded two albums of ‘Folk Songs of the Allegheny Mountains’ (both on Folk Heritage Recordings, 1963).

More articles on WV ballads & folksongs:

Beyond the Grave, Ghost Stories & Ballads from the Mountains(Opens in a new browser tab)

True to my love, my love’s been true to me(Opens in a new browser tab)

John Henry was hammering(Opens in a new browser tab)

‘The Pricketty Bush’ and British origins(Opens in a new browser tab)

6 comments

  1. I sing this one, Dave, although a different version–of course. With all ballads it seems there are ninety-nine different versions! I know it as The Devil’s Nine Questions; the riddle of it is that the song itself only asks 8 questions so I ask the audience to answer the ninth.

  2. I stumbled on this site. Dr. Gainer taught me English at St. Louis University, and taught music at the Academy of the Sacred Heart (City House). Would be happy to contact his grandson or relatives. Good man.

  3. I am one of Dr Gainer’s many grandchildren. It is so wonderful to hear from a student of his. My OB/GYN was a WV grad and guess who was his favorite professor? It was a bit awkward for the first two minutes.:)

  4. I was in Dr. Gainer’s Victorian Poetry Class the summer of 1962 at West Virginia University. The class was overflowing with students. It was a real privilege to be in his class. His love of literature was most evident.

    He lives on through his song collections and stories of Appalachia in the hearts and minds of both adults and children.

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