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For an in-depth discussion of this track, see the album notes: tinyurl[dot]com/V1NATnotes.

lyrics

“Well met, well met,” said an old true love,
“Well met, well met,” said he.
“I once could have married a king’s daughter dear,
And she would-a married me.”

“I’m sure if you could have married a king’s daughter dear,
It was all your blame
For I have married a house carpenter,
And I think he’s a nice young man.”

“If you will leave your house carpenter
And go away with me,
I will take you where the grass grows green,
On the banks of sweet Marie.”

“If I should leave my house carpenter
And go away with thee,
Would you have anything to maintain me on,
For to keep me from slavery?”

“I have ten ships a-sailing on the sea,
A hundred and ten young men.
If you will go away with me,
You can have all of these at command.”

She picked up her sweet little babe,
And kisses give it three.
Says, “Stay at home, my sweet little babe,
Keep your papa company.”

We hadn’t been on board more than two weeks;
I’m sure it was not three,
‘Til she begin to weep and she begin to mourn,
And she wept most bitterly.

“Is it for my riches that you weep,
Or is it for the store?
Or is it for that house carpenter
That you never shall see no more?”

“It’s neither for your riches that I weep,
It’s neither for your store.
It’s all about my sweet little babe
That I never shall see no more.”

We hadn’t been on board more than three weeks;
I’m sure it was not four,
‘Til in that ship there sprang a leak,
And she sank to rise no more.

credits

from Survey of Traditional Music, Vol. 1: From British Tradition, released August 7, 2023
Recorded by Mark Wilson and Bill Nowlin, Bel Air, MD, 3/04/73. Previously unissued.

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Field Recorders' Collective

The Field Recorders’ Collective is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the preservation and distribution of noncommercial recordings of traditional American music, material that is unavailable to the general public.

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