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

lyrics

Last May morning as I walked out
All down by the riverside,
There I spied a couple courting
That filled my own heart’s pride.

“Kind heaven, I’ll bless you my pretty little miss.
Will you sing me one more song?
Will you be my wife, will you be my bride?”
She answered, “I am too young.“

“Then the younger you are, my pretty little miss
The better you’ll be to me,
And I will vow and solemnly swear
That I’ll marry no other but thee.”

Now in the first part of that night,
Was all in sport and play,
But in the later part of that night,
All in his arms she lay.

The night passed off, the day coming on
All cold and bright and clear,
The young man rose, put on his clothes,
Said, “Fare you well, my dear.”

“Then was this the promise you made to me
Down by the riverside?
You promised that you’d marry me,
Make me your own sweet bride.”

“Then if I have promised I’d marry you,
That’s more than I can do,
For I can afford to hunt another girl
Just as easily coaxed as you.

“Now you go back to your father’s garden,
Set down and cry your fill,
And then if you think of what you’ve done,
Just blame your own good will.”

“But a farmer’s daughter now goes to market
And walks the streets all through;
But me, poor girl, who stays at home
And rocks a cradle for you.”

But a many a man who stayed at home
And sang this many sweet song,
But a many man rocks some other man’s babe,
Thinks he’s rocking his own.

credits

from Survey of Traditional Music, Vol. 1: From British Tradition, released August 7, 2023
Recorded by Mark Wilson and Annadeene Fraley, Ashland, KY, 3/73.

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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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