stone (c)old bitty

On top of being a classic in and of itself, The Stone Angel is peppered with various songs and poems throughout. One little diddy is "The Prisoners' Song" by Vernon Dalhart which pops up on page 106. However Hagar Shipley, the protagonist, recites a version that is a little different from the original...

Hagar's version:

If I had the wings of an angel,

Or even the wings of a crow,

I would fly to the top of T. Eaton's,

And spit on the people below.

original:

Now, if I had the wings of an angel,
Over these prison walls I would fly.
And I'd fly to the arms of my darling,
And there I'd be willing to die.

Why is it important to compare the two? The Stone Angel is a journey through the last moments of Hagar Shipley's present life as well as a reflection of her past. The version that Hagar brings up in the novel is a verse that she remembers her children chanting when they were young. There is obviously a contrast in the tone of her children's version compared to the original lyrics. The version included in the book is more joking and childish while the original is more serious and melancholy. It is interesting because Hagar does not say anything about the original version even though it is more relevant to her situation. Hagar, being the stubborn and excessively proud old lady that she is, approaches her dying day with the sense of being trapped inside herself (her body is the prison) and at unease because she thinks she will die having never known love. If she could find someone that loved her and that she loved (her darling), she would be much more accepting of her fate and would be able to escape the constraints of being the stone cold old bitty that she is, on the wings of her newfound love.

Awwwww