1
My father left me an acre of land
lvy, sing ivery
My father left me an acre of land
And a bunch of green holly and ivery.
I ploughed it with a ram's horn,
I sowed it with a thimble….
I harrowed it with a bramble bush,
I reaped it with a pen knife….
I sent is home in a walnut shell,
I threshed it with my needle and thread….
I winnowed is with my handkerchief;
I sent it to mill with a team of great rats,..
The carpenter brought a curly whip;
The whip did pop and the wagon did stop…
2
A farmer's son so sweet
Was keeping of his sheep
And careless fell asleep
While his lambs are playing.
A fair young lady gay
By chance she came that way
And found asleep he lay
Whom she loves so dear.
She kissed his lips so sweet
As he lay fast asleep;
"I fear my heart will break
For you, my dear."
She said, "Awake I pray,
The sun is on the hay,
Your flocks will go astray
From you, my dear.
For your sweet sake alone
I've wandered from my home,
My friends are dead and gone:
I am left alone."
His flock he laid aside,
Made her his gentle bride,
In wedlock she was tied
To the Farmer's Son.
3
Well met, well met, my own true love,
Long time I have been absent from thee,
I am lately come from the salt sea,
And 'tis all for the sake, my love, of thee.
I have three ships all on the salt sea,
And one of them has brought me to land,
I've four and twenty mariners on board,
You shall have music at your command.
The ship wherein my love shall sail
Is glorious for to behold,
The sails shall be of shining silk,
The mast shall be of the fine beaten gold.
I might have had a king's daughter,
And fain she would have married me,
But I forsook her crown of gold
And 'tis all for the sake, my love, of thee.
4
Fare you well, my dear, I muse be gone,
And leave you for a while;
If I roam away I'll come back again,
Though I roam ten thousand miles, my dear,
Though I roam ten thousand miles.
So fair thou art my bonny lass,
So deep in love am I;
But I never will prove false to the bonny lass I love,
Till the stars fall from the sky.
The sea will never run dry,
Nor the rocks melt with the sun,
But I never will prove false to the bonny lass I love,
Till all these things be done.
O yonder doth sit that little turtle dove,
He doth sit on yonder high tree,
A-making a moan for the loss of his love,
As I will do for thee.
5
As it fell on a holiday
And upon a holy tide-a,
John Dory bought him an ambling nag
To Paris for to ride-a.
And when John Dory to Paris was come,
A little before the gate-a,
John Dory was fitted, the porter was witted,
To let him in thereat-a.
The first man that John Dory did meet
Was good King John of France;
John Dory could well of his courtesie,
But fell down in a trance.
And pardon, a pardon, my liege and king,
For my merry men and me-a.
And all the churls in merry England,
I'll bring them bound to thee-a.
And Nichol was then a Cornish man,
A little beside Bohyde-a.
He manned a good black bark
With fifty good oars on a side-a.
He hoist their sails both top and top;
The mizzen and all was tried-a.
And every man stood to his lot,
Whatever should betide-a.
The making cannon then were plied,
And dub-a-dub went the drum-a.
The braying trumpets loud they cried
To courage all and some-a.
The grappling hooks were brought at length,
The brown bill and the sword-a,
John Dory at length, for all his strength,
Was clapt fast under board-a.
6
Alas my love, you do me wrong, to cast me off discourteously,
And I have loved you so long, delighting in your company.
Greensleeves was all my joy, Greensleeves was my delight,
Greensleeves was my heart of gold, and was but my Lady Greensleeves.
I have been ready at your hand to grant whatever you would crave,
I have both waged life and land, your love and good will for to have….
I bought thee petticoats of the best, the cloth so fine as it might be,
I gave thee jewels for the chest, and all this cost I spent on thee….
Well I will pray to God on high, that thou my constancy may'st see,
For I am still thy lover true; come once again and love me….
7
Come all you jolly plough boys and listen to me,
I'll sing in the praise of you all,
For if we don't labor how shall we get bread?
Come sing and be merry withal.
Here's April, here's May, here's June and July,
What pleasure to see the corn grow,
In August we moil it, we reap, sheath and tie,
And go down with our scythes for to mow.
Then when we have labored and reaped every sheaf,
And gleaned up every ear,
We'll make no more to-do, but to plough we will go,
To provide for the very next year.
8
Wassail, Wassail, all over the town,
Our bread it is white and our ale it is brown;
Our bowl it is made of the green maple tree;
In the Wassail bowl we'll drink unto thee.
Here's a health to the ox and to his right eye,
Pray God send our master a good Christmas pie,
A good Christmas pie as e'er I did see.
In the Wassail bowl we'll drink unto thee.
Here's a health to the ox and to his right horn,
Pray God send our master a good crop of corn,
A good crop of corn as e'er I did see.
In the Wassail bowl we'll drink unto thee.
Here's a health to the ox and to his long tail,
Pray God send our master a good cask of ale.
A good cask of ale as e'er I did see,
In the Wassail bowl we'll drink unto thee.
Come butler, come fill us a bowl of the best;
Then I pray that your soul in heaven may rest;
But if you do bring us a bowl of the small,
May the Devil take butler, bowl and all!
Then here's to the maid in the lily white smock
Who tripped to the door and slipped back the lock
Who tripped to the door and pulled back the pin
For to let these jolly Wassailers walk in.
9
'Tis down by the riverside
A fair maid I espied,
She was lamenting for her own true love,
She was lamenting, sighing crying for her own true love.
"What makes you sigh and cry,
My fair pretty maid," said I,
I'm lamenting for my own true love"….
Now she has got wed,
And all her sorrow fled,
She's a-living with her own true love,
She is laughing, dancing, singing with her own true love.
10
Through bushes and through briars,
Of lace I took my way;
All for to hear the small birds sing,
And the lambs to skip and play.
I overheard my own true love,
Her voice it was so clear,
"Long time I have been waiting for
The coming of my dear.
Sometimes I am uneasy,
And troubled in my mind,
Sometimes I think I'll go to my love
And tell to him my mind;
And if I should go to my love,
My love he will say nay;
If I show to him my boldness,
He'll never love me again."
11
One morning in the month of May
Down by some rolling river,
A jolly sailor, I did stray,
When I beheld my lover.
She carelessly along did stray,
A-picking of the daisies gay;
And sweetly sang her roundelay
Just as the tide was flowing.
O! Her dress it was so white as milk
And jewels did adorn her.
Her shoes were made of crimson silk
Just like some lady of honor.
Her cheeks were red, her eyes were brown,
Her hair in ringlets hanging down;
She'd a lovely brow without a frown,
Just as the tide was flowing.
I made a bow and said, "Fair maid,
How came you here so early;
My heart to you it is betray'd
For I do love you dearly.
I am a sailor come from sea,
If you will accept of my company,
To walk and view the fishes play,"
Just as the tide was flowing.
No more we said but on our way
We gang'd along together;
The small birds sang, and the lambs did play,
And pleasant was the weather.
When we were weary we did sit down,
Beneath a tree with branches round
For my true love at last
I'd found Just as the tide was flowing.
12
Ca' the yowes tae the knowes,
Ca' them whar the heather grows,
Ca' them whar the burnie rows,
My bonnie dearie.
Hark the mavis' e'enin' sang,
Sounding Cluden's woods amang;
Then a-fauldin' let us gang,
My bonnie dearie.
Fair and lovely as thou art,
Thou has stown my very heart;
I can die, but canna part,
My bonnie dearie.
Ca' the yowes…
While waters wimple to the sea,
While day blinks in the life sae hie,
Till clay-cauld death shall blin' my e'e
Ye shall be my dearie.
Ca' the yowes…
13
Where have you been all this day,
My boy Billy,
Where have you been all this day?
Courting with a lady gay,
But she is too young to be taken from her mammy,
Can she bake or can she brew?
My boy Billy,
Can she bake, or can she brew?
Pretty Billy, tell me.
She can brew and she can bake,
She can make a wedding cake,
But she is too young to be taken from her mammy.
Can she cook a plate of fish?
My boy Billy,
Can she cook a place of fish?
Pretty Billy, tell me.
She can cook a plate of fish,
Put her fingers in the dish,
But she is too young to be taken from her mammy.
Can she make a feather bed?
My boy Billy,
Can she make a feather bed?
Pretty Billy, tell me.
She can make a feather bed,
Fit for any lady's head,
But she is too young to be taken from her mammy.
How old might she be?
My boy Billy,
How old might she be?
Pretty Billy, tell me.
She's one, she's two,
Twice eleven are twenty-two,
But she is too young to be taken from her mammy.
14
As I walked out one morning,
In the springtime of the year,
I overheard a sailor boy,
Likewise a lady fait.
They sang a song, made the valleys for to ring,
While the birds on spray and the meadows gay
Proclaimed the lovely spring.
15
Come all you gallant seamen bold,
All you that march to drum,
Let's go and look for Captain Ward,
Far on the sea he roams.
He is the biggest robber
That ever you did hear,
There's not been such a robber
Found for above this hundred year.
A ship was sailing from the east
And going to the west,
Loaded with silks and satins,
And velvets of the best.
But meeting there with Captain Ward
It proved a bad meeting;
He robbed them of all their wealth
And bid them tell their king.
O then the king provided
A ship of noble fame,
She's called the "Royal Rainbow,"
If you would know her name.
She was as well provided for
As any ship could be,
Full thirteen hundred men on board,
To bear her company,
'Twas eight o'clock when they began,
When they began to fight;
And so they did continue
Till nine o'clock at night.
"Fight on, fight on," says Captain Ward,
"This sport well pleases me,
For if you fight this month or more,
Your master I will be."
O then the gallant "Rainbow,"
She fired, she fired in vain.
Till six and thirty of her men
All on the deck were slain.
"Go home, go home," says Captain Ward,
"And tell your king for me,
If he reigns king on all the land,
Ward will reign king on sea."
16
Come all you jolly ploughmen of courage stout and bold,
That labor all the winter in stormy winds and cold;
To clothe your fields in plenty, your farmyards to renew,
To crown them with contentment, behold the painful plough.
"Hold ploughman," says the gard'ner, "don't count your trade with ours,
But walk through the garden and view the early flowers,
Also the curious border and pleasant walks to view,
There's no such peace and plenty provided by the plough."
"Hold gard'ner," says the ploughman , "my calling don't despise,
Since each man for his living upon his trade relies,
Were it not for the ploughman both rich and poor would rue,
For we are all dependent upon the painful plough.
For Adam was a ploughman, when ploughing did begin,
The next that did succeed him was Cain, the eldest son;
Some of their generation this calling now pursue,
That bread may not be wanting, remains the painful plough."
Now Samson was a strong man and Solomon was wise,
Alexander, for to conquer, it was his daily pride;
King David was a valiant man and many thousands slew,
Yet none of these brave heroes could live without the plough.
Behold the wealthy merchant that trades in foreign seas,
To bring the gold and treasure for those who live at ease;
To bring fine silks and spices, to bring the fruits also.
They bring them from the Indies, by virtue of the plough.
And then the man that brings them will own to what is true,
We cannot sail the ocean without the painful plough;
For they must have bread, biscuit, rice-pudding, flour and peas,
To feed the jolly sailors as they sail o'er the seas.
I hope there's none offended with me for singing this,
For is was not intended for anything amiss;
If you consider rightly you'll find what I say is true:
All trades that I have mentioned depend upon the plough.
17
It was a comely young lady fair,
Was walking out for to take the air;
She met a sailor on her way,
So I paid attention to what they did say.
Said William, "Lady why walk alone?
The night is coming and the day near gone."
She said, while tears from her eyes did fall,
"It's a dark eyed sailor that's proving my downfall.
It's two long years since he left the land;
He took a gold ring from off my hand;
We broke the token, here's part with me,
And the other lies rolling ac the bottom of the sea."
Then half the ring did young William show,
She was distracted midst joy and woe.
"Welcome, William, I've lands and gold
For my dark eyed sailor, so manly, true and bold,"
Then in a village down by the sea,
They joined in wedlock and well agree.
So maids be true while your love's away,
For a cloudy morning brings forth a shining day.
18
O early, early in the spring
The cuckoo and the nightingale
So sweetly were singing, so sweetly were singing.
As I walked out one May morning,
O, there did I two lovers see,
They were taking of the air. O…
Then this young couple they walked along,
And this young man he sang a song,
Thinking to gain her favor….
"Since you have gained my heart," said she,
And stol'n away my liberty,
Pray grant to me your name, sir….
To church then this young couple went,
And married were in sweet content,
She and her own true lover….
19
By yon bonny banks and yon bonny braes,
Where the sun shines bright on Loch Lomond,
Where me and my true love were ever wont to gae,
On the bonny, bonny banks of Loch Lomond.
O you'll take the high road and I'll take the low road
And I'll be in Scotland afore ye,
But me and my true love will never meet again
On the bonny, bonny banks of Loch Lomond.
'Twas there chat we parted in yon shady glen,
On the steep, steep side of Loch Lomond,
Where deep in purple hue the Highland hills we view,
And the moon coming out in the gloaming….
The wee birdies sing and the wild flowers spring,
And in sunshine the waters are sleeping,
But the broken heart it kens nae second spring again
Tho' the woeful may cease from their greeting.
Ah, you'll take the high road….
20
Shall I come sweet love to thee
Now the ev'ning beams be set?
Shall I not refused be,
Will you find no feigned let?
Let me not for pity any more
Tell the long hours at your door.
21
Will ye buy a fine dog with a hole in his head
With a dildo, dildo…
Muffs, cuffs, rebatoes and fine sister's thread
With a dildo, dildo…
I stand not on points, pins, periwigs, combs, glasses
With a dildo, dildo…
Gloves, garters, girdles usks for the brisk lasses
With a dildo, dildo…
But I have other dainty tricks,
Slick stones and potting sticks
With a dildo, dildo…
And for a need, my pretty pods,
Amber, civet, and musk cods,
With a dildo, dildo…
22
Me, me and none but me, dart home O gentle Death,
And quickly, for I draw too long this idle breath.
O how I long till I may fly to heaven above
Unto my faithful and beloved turtle dove.
Like to the silver swan, before my death I sing;
And yet alive, my fatal knell I help to ring.
Still I desire from earth and earthly joys to fly.
He never happy lived, that cannot love to die.
23
Wilt thou unkind, thus reave me
Of my heart and so leave me?
Farewell! Farewell!
But yet or ere I part, O cruel!
Kiss me, kiss me sweet, my jewel!
Hope by disdain goes cheerless,
Fear doth love, love doth fear beauty peerless.
Farewell! Farewell!
But yet or ere I part, O cruel!
Kiss me, kiss me sweet, my jewel!
True love cannot be changed
Thou delight from desert be estranged.
Farewell! Farewell!
But yet or ere I part, O cruel!
Kiss me, kiss me sweet, my jewel!