Mary Hamilton

Painting of "Mary Hamilton" by Pavel Svedomsky

No one knows for certain the identity of the maidservant in the song, the woman who gives birth to the King's child, then aborts it.  There are a number of versions of the song.  In all of them, Mary is the servant of the Queen of Scots, but which Queen is not identified.

When the child is born, Mary Hamilton kills it.  She could have aborted it or killed the live child; we don't know.  But the consequences are severe, when the crime is seen, she is convicted and is executed for the crime.

In at least one version, by Joan Baez, the King comes out before the execution and vows to save Mary Hamilton's life, but she demurs and the execution is carried out.

Some music historians consider the song was written about one of the maidservants of the Queen of Scotland and that she was executed there.  Others believe Mary was the servant of the Queen of Russia.  Some also say the song fuses several events to come up with mix of details, allowing the listener to be unable to know which person(s) and events were actually involved.

The song tells Mary's story in the first person, as she recounts the events of her life, specifically the love affair with the King, the pregnancy and birth, and then ending with her knowledge that of the four Mary's in her region, there will be only three after the execution.

The traditional version of the song, Mary Hamilton is here: