The Traditional Ballad Index TABLE OF CONTENTS

"I went down 13 highway, Down in my baby's door Raining and storming, Scarcely see the road." "Clouds dark as night, If my baby don't fail me I'll make every thing all right" "Going 60 miles an hour..." "Don't the highway look lonesome..."

In Calumet, Michigan, striking copper miners and their children are having a Christmas celebration; strike-breakers outside bar the doors then raise a false fire alarm. In the ensuing stampede, seventy-three children are crushed or suffocated

Counting-out rhyme. "The people who live across the way, At 1918 East Broadway Every night They have a fight, And this is what they say:" The rest is from "Ickle Bickle Soda Cracker" or "My Mother and Your Mother (I)"

"2 Y's U R, 2 Y's U B, I C U R, 2 Y's 4 me." Supposedly a written acknowledgment that one person has been more clever than the other.

"Up to Kola Inlet, back to Scapa Flow... Why does it always seem to be Flotilla number Twenty-Three, Up in the Arctic Ocean, up in the Barents Sea." The singer describes the difficulties of being a convoy escort on the route to and from Russia

Coal miner tells of hard times in the Depression. Miners go to work hungry, ragged and shoeless and are cheated of their pay. The Supreme Court rules the National Recovery Act unconstitutional. The singer urges listeners to join the U.M.W.

"Four One Three, we're bound to be On a page of history... We're on Hirohito's trail now... Four One Three above the sea, Up defending liberty, Think of what it means to be Part of squadron Four One Three." The Japanese are warned

"We are a few Canadians here in Italy, Working with the RAF boys to win the victory." The Canadians of 417 squadron are "always in trouble" because they are sloppy; they're a "screwy outfit" and are clearly proud to be "ridicuous"

"We fly alone, When all the heavies are grounded and dining, 692 will be climbing -- We still press on, "It's every night... We still press on." "It's always the Reich, no matter how far, The crew they are twitching.... It's twelve degrees east"

Gaelic. A shepherdess meets a young man and asks if he has seen her sheep. First he says no. Then he says he has and has turned them back.

Gaelic. For herding the goats from the rock I would prefer the kilt. If I could have my choice I would prefer the kilt.

A Diller, A Dollar: (3 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #19753}

"A diller, a dollar, A (ten o'clock) scholar, What makes you come so soon? You us'd to come at ten o'clock, and now you come at noon."

A Is for Apple Pie: (8 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7539}

Alphabet song, beginning "A is/stands for apple pie, B baked/bit it" and perhaps ending "And don't you wish you had a piece of apple pie?"

French: The singer wanders by a clear fountain. He bathes, and hears a bird's song in the trees. He tells the nightingale that it has no cares. He, on the other hand, lost his love because he refused to give her the roses he had picked

Gaelic. A piper stops at a pub for a drink. Someone steals his pipes. "He grieves for his loss and curses the thief"

"A ram sam sam, a ram sam sam Goolie, goolie, goolie, goolie, goolie, ram sam sam A raja, a raja Goolie, goolie, goolie, goolie, goolie, ram sam sam.A ra-vi A ra-vi,goo-li goo-li goo-li goo-li goo-li ram sam sam."

"(Ah/Hey) Robin, (jolly/gentle) Robin, Tell me how thy (lady/leman) doth And thou shalt know of mine." "My lady is unkinde, perdie, Alack why is she so?" One singer says his lady is constant; the other says women change like the wind

"A rowdledy dowdledy, porridge and milk, A rowdledy dowdledy, stir them up thick, A rowdledy dowdledy, taste on the spoon, A rowdledy dowdledy, blow till they cool."

French: Three ships are at anchor at St. Malo. Three women come to buy grain. They ask the merchant what his prices are. He asks for more than they can pay. They say so; he says he will give the grain away if he can't sell it that day. The women approve

The singer to his/her love: You'll soon leave for a strange land "rich in its treasures"; "the lights of the city may blind you ... turn away from the throng and the bliss ... come back soon To the love that is always burning" and Erin's shore.

"A was an archer who shot at a frog, B was a butcher and had a great dog, C was a Captain, all covered with lace, D was a drunkard, and had a red face," and so on to the end of the alphabet

"A woonie coonie chau wow woonie (x2) Eye-yi-yi-ipy, eye-eye-ay-noos (x2). A-woo, a woonie keetchie!" Or "Ah wune kune cha o wuni. A yi yi yi-ki ay kae ayna." Alleged to be a "Belgian Congo Game."

"They say in the Air Force the landing's OK, If the pilot's still out and can still walk away," but no matter what the state of the crew, there is still the Form A-25 to fill out. Many flight problems are listed, none worse than the A-25

A-Begging I Will Go: (15 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #286}

"Of all the trades in England, The begging is the best, For when the beggar's tired, he can lay him down and rest...." The beggar describes the various pleasures of his profession, and declares that he will continue begging

A-Cruising We Will Go: (13 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #8825}

"Behold upon the swelling seas With streaming pennants gay, Our gallant ship invites the waves, While glory leads the way." "And a-cruising we will go." The singer asks the girls to be kind, recalls "Hardy's flag," and hopes for peace with America

The girl rebukes her father for marrying her to a much younger boy. He tells her the lad is growing. She sends him to school in a shirt that shows he's married, for he is a handsome lad. She soon bears his son. He dies young; she sadly buries him

A-Hunting We Will Go: (9 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #12972}

"A-hunting we will go (x2) We'll catch a fox and put it in a box." Possible chorus: "High-ho, the derry-o." Additional verses may hunt other animals, such as fish or bear -- e.g. "We'll catch a bear and cut his hair, And then we'll let him go."

A-Mumming We Will Go: (3 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #22576}

"A-mumming we will go, will go, O a-mumming... With bright cockades all in our hats, We'll make a gallant show." "Come all ye jolly mummers... Come join with us in chorus." "It's of St. George's valor, So let us loudly sing." Other tales of battle follow

Shanty. "Arabella set her main top-s'l (x3) ... a rollin' down the river." Verses list a full-rigged ship's sails: "The Arabella set her main gans'l/main royal/main skys'l, etc." Second chorus: "Oh, a pumpkin pudden an' a bulgine pie, aboard the Arabella"

In this cautionary tale, a sailor meets an Amsterdam maid, fondles portions of her body progressively, has sex with her, and catches the pox. She leaves him after he has spent all his money.

Pennsylvania German. "A, A, A, d'r Winder der is da, Berbacht un Sommer sin vergange." Counting through the vowels A E I O U, it was that winter is come and summer gone. Frost is settling Children are happy because Christmas is coming

Counting-out rhyme. "A, B, C, D, Tell your age to me." When the person pointed to answers, the person pointing counts out that age to determine who is it

"Its O, but aw ken well -- A, U, hinny burd, The bonny lass o' Benwell, A, U, A." "She's lang-legg's and mother-like... See, she's raking up the dyke." "The Quayside for sailors... The Castle Garth for tailors...." Additional places round out the song

"Been on the hummer since ninety-four, Last job I had was on the Lake Shore, Lost my job in the A.R.U. And I won't get it back till nineteen-two And I'm still on the hog train flagging my meals Ridin' the brake beams close to the wheels."

"As Jenny sat down wi' her wheel b the fire... She said to herself... "Oh! a'body's like to be married but me." She recalls the companions of her youth, perhaps interested then but no longer. She concludes they are worthless -- but still feels unhappy

"Oh, Aaron Burr, what have you done? You've shot great General Hamilton! You hid behind a Canada thistle And shot him with your old hoss-pistol!"

"It was in eighteen and eighty in the first part of that date... When little Aaron Hart so still he went away." "He seemed to be determined to follow Willie home," but is lost. Singer F. B. Harris and others hunt for him, but he dies in the woods

"In Carmel Bay the people say we feed the lazzaroni On caramels and cockle-shells and hunks of Abalone." The virtues of this mollusk are extolled: It cures pain, tastes better than the finest foods, and can be transmitted faster than electricity (?!)

Spanish: "The Abandoned." First line: "Me abanonastes, jujer, porque soy muy pobre." The singer's girl is leaving him because he is poor. He admits to character faults. He asks "What am I to do if I am the abandoned one?"

"A is fer Adam, who was the first man, B is fer Baalim, who mischief did plan, C is fer Cain, 'is brother did kill," and so forth through the letter Z, with most lines referring to Old Testament characters

ABC Song (II), The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7122}

"Uncle John he had an educated wife; she studied very hard all the days of her life." Proud of her learning, she tells others about it and tries to teach her husband. When there is a "spelling match" in town, he, not she, successfully spells "Ebenezer"

"A B C D, Isn't it easy to sing? A B C D, Let it go with a swing. The words are so awfully simple, You couldn't forget if you tried, So learn the words, The beautiful words, And get the air outside."

Abdul the Bulbul Emir (I): (17 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #4321}

The heroic Moslem Abdul and the gallant Russian Ivan Skavinsky Skevar chance to meet. It doesn't take them long to begin duelling, which inevitably results in the deaths of both. Their burials and the mourning for them are described

Abdul the Bulbul Emir (II): (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4321}

Abdul the Bulbul Emir and Ivan Stavinsky Stavar engage in a duel to see who can have intercourse with the greatest number of women. At the moment of triumph, Ivan bends over, with dreadful results.

"Abe Lincoln stood at the White House Gate... When along came Lady Lizzie Tod, Wishing her lover good speed." Lincoln tries several times to take Richmond, and is foiled each time

Aberdonians Fare Ye Weel: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #12949}

The Ninety-Second Highlanders They lie in Aberdeen," preparing to cross the sea. The singer says he was surprised to see "so many weel-faured girls, And the tears rolling down their eyes"

About a moonshiner and how he outwits a marshal. After the revenuer finds the still and starts to take it home, but Abe and "Hanner" (Hannah?) rescue it. Chorus: "Corn liquor [or other drink, e.g. peach brandy] can (get/pull/blow) (a man/you) down."

"Abilene, Abilene, prettiest town (you) ever seen, (folks) there don't treat you mean In Abilene, my Abilene." The singer complains about life in the big city, hears the trains, and wishes they were carrying (him) back to Abilene

Aboard the Henry Clay: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #9160}

Capstan shanty. Verses tell of a "lime-juice jay" that got drunk and went into a fit. The mate kicks him off the boat and he drowns. Later the mate is found with a knife in his back. Refrains repeat last lines of verses.

"Does John ever look to the state of his till, With eight little senates to run up the bill? Does John ever think that the work might be done By eight little senates rolled into one?" The local legislatures make the country lean and officials fat

"On the seventeenth day of September, you know, Took place in our city the great baby show; They shut up the factories and let out all the schools." A great parade goes through the town, with riders and abolitionists -- but Democrats will win anyway

"Aboot the bush, Willy, aboot the bee-hive, Aboot the bush, Willy, I'll meet thee belyve." "Then to my ten shillings Add you but a groat; I'll go to Newcastle And buy a new coat." The singer describes the prices of clothing

Czech translated to English: "Above a plain of gold and green, A young boy's head is plainly seen. A huya, huya, huyaya, swiftly flowing river (x2). But no, 'tis not his lifted head, 'Tis Ifca's castle spires instead. For our pleasure it was made,..."

Abraham Lincoln Is My Name: (2 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #25344}

"Abraham Lincoln is my name, From Illinois I did came, I entered the city in the night, And took my seat by candlelight." Or, "Alice Kane is my name, Ireland is my nation, Belfast is my dwelling place, And school's my occupation." Fill in other names

"Oh, kind folks listen to my song, It is no idle story, It's all about a volunteer Who's going to fight for glory!" The singer belongs to the "Fire Zou-Zous" (Zouaves), to fight for Columbia, "Abraham's Daughter." They will fight under McClellan

"Through the grove as I was a-wand'ring, On one summer's evening clear, Who should I spy but a fair young damsel Lamenting for her shepherd dear." He asks what is her trouble. She says her true love has left her and she does not know where he is

"I've wandered many a league, (Delia), Since last with you I met," and he will wander many more, but amid all the new things he sees, he misses his friends and her. After a long voyage, he looks forward to returning to them

The singer illustrates his absent-mindedness. A girl trips over clay and he leaves the girl for dead and takes the clay to a doctor ... He puts the kettle on a chair and sits on the fire. He puts his dog to bed and chains himself in the yard.

A train hits a buggy sitting on the tracks. The buggy's inhabitants are killed.

According to the Act: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #8341}

The song details shipboard life, and how conditions are kept tolerable, for "There's nothing done on a limejuice ship contrary to the Act." The most obvious example is the ration of limejuice, but other rules are also cited

German. "Ach, du lieber Augustine, Augustine, Augustine, Ach, du lieber Augustine, alles ist hin." "Geld ist weg, Madl ist weg, alles weg, alles wed, Ach du lieber Augustine alles ist hin!"

The prospector reports on the sad fate of the gold rush men: "For each man who got rich by mining... hundreds grew poor." He decides to abandon digging and head out to be a farmer near Puget Sound. This, too, proves hard, but he is too poor to move again

"As I went across a steeple, I met a heap of people. Some was black, some was blacker, Some was the color of an ole chew of tobacco."

Across the Blue Mountain: (2 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #25278}

A married man asks (Katie) to marry him and go "across the Blue Mountain to the Allegheny." Katie's mother tells her to let him stay with his own wife. Katie answers, "He's the man of my heart." (The confused ending may tell of her poverty or abandoment)

"Where the crimson sunset casts a ruddy glow across the plains... now he's trailed across the great divide. There'll never be another who'll be loved more than you, Although humble... You'll answer when they call Bill Rogers's name"

"Go straight across the hall To the opposite lady, Swing her by the right hand, Right hand round and back to the left, And balance to your partner."

"I've traded with the Maori, Brazilians and Chinese, I've courted half-caste beauties Beneath a Kauri tree," but he has to go back "Across the line... For that's the sailor's way." The singer lists many of the places he has gone

"Across the stillness of the lake We hear the call of (somewhere), Then all the silvery echoes wake To answer back (somewhere)." "O ye who bear the lofty torch Think thoughts of evil never Be mindful that each song ye sing Goes on and on forever."

Across the Western Ocean: (9 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #8234}

"Oh, the times are hard and the wages low, Amelia, where you bound to? The Rocky Mountains is my home Across the western ocean." The emigrants leave poverty behind to set out for better conditions in America. Unusual passengers may be described

"Mine is a wild, strange story, the strangest you ever hears"; the actor and his wife go to Australia to work. She becomes ill to death. He refuses to accept it and is confined. The ship takes fire and is abandoned; the heat revives his wife; they survive

Jamaican patois: The singer complains that he talks to Ada but she won't answer. Shame on her. At a dance he wheels her and makes her fall.

Trick question rhyme: "Adam and Eve and Pinch Me Went down to the sea to bathe, Adam and Eve were drowned; which of the three was saved?" When the hearer answers "Pinch me," the speaker gives the hearer a pinch

Adam and Eve Could Never Believe: (2 refs. 4K Notes) {Roud #1387}

"Adam and Eve could never believe That Peter the Miller was dead." Peter had been locked up for stealing flour. "They bored a hole in Oliver's nose and led him by a string "for murdering Charles our king."

"Adam and Eve Went up my sleeve And didn't come down To Hallow's Eve"

Three outlaws live in the forest. William visits his wife, is arrested, is rescued by the others. They seek pardon from the king, succeed by the queen's intervention, then show their archery prowess, including cleaving an apple on a child's head.

Adam Cameron, "second son to Boyndie," leaves his love Fanny to join the army. Letters arrive that his brother, the heir, and Fanny are to marry. He and his colonel ride to Boyndie. He proposes, Fanny accepts, and the colonel marries them.

"Adam catched Eve by the fur below (x2), And that's the oldest catch I know (x3), Oh ho! did he so, did he so, did he so, did he so, did he so, did he so?"

French. Song, in 23 verses, tells the entire story of Adam & Eve through the expulsion from the garden, and adds an angel announcing the Messiah to be born of the Virgin Mary to redeem humanity's anguish. Adam and Eve sadly bid farewell to Eden.

Adam alone wishes for someone to "part and share ... hug you to my bosom." Eve is created and "he began his trade For to hug her." She is content. Toast: "every lad may get the lass That he loves in his bosom"

After Eve broke "the great command" she kissed Adam "with his apron on." Everywhere now a pretty maid happily kisses her love with his apron on. At Mason Lodge meetings each appears after "five steps that he must take" with his jewels and apron on.

Adam in the Garden Pinning Leaves: (11 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #15647}

Chorus "Oh Eve, where's Adam? (x3) Adam in the garden pinning leaves." "I know my God is a God of war/He fought the battle at the Jericho wall"; "The first time God called/Adam refused to answer/And the next time God called/God hollered louder."

Adams and Liberty: (5 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #V22694}

Written for the John Adams campaign, but in praise of American freedom (it never mentions Adams): "Ye sons of Columbia, who bravely have fought For those rights which unstained from your sires have descended" (and so on, for nine weary stanzas)

A few of the characters on Adams's crew of lumberjacks are described.

First line: "Adeilta se llama la ingrata Le qu' era duena de todo mi placer." The soldier says that Adelita is the source of "all my pleasures" who "drives all men to distraction." Now he must go to war; if she deserts him, he will pursue her anywhere

Latin: "Adeste fideles, laeti triumphantes, venite, venite in Bethlehem." English: "O come, all ye faithful, Joyful and triumphant, O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem."

"Adieu dear love but not for ever You may change but I will never Though separation be our lot Adieu dear love forget-me-not"

French. To make a household you must work to get money to feed a wife and children. Father, you married me to a pig of a drunkard. Cherish and caress him, daughter, and in a short time he will change and you will have your household.

French. Forebitter shanty. "Adieu Madras, adieu foulards...." Farewell to Madras, and the clothes, and the girl the sailor found in India. The singer asks the governor to let him keep his sweetheart. But it's too late; the ship is ready to sail

"Adieu, my native land, adieu, The vessel spreads her swelling sails; Perhaps I never more may view Your fertile hills, your flowering dales." The singer bids farewell to all, and asks the wind "to find The peace which fate denies me here"

"Adieu sweet lovely Nancy, ten thousand times adieu." The sailor must go over the sea "to seek for something new." He promises (to write, and tells) Nancy that, "Let my body go where it will, my heart will love you still." He hopes for a safe return

Adieu to Bogie Side: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4593}

The singer calls on the muses to help him "sing sweet Huntly's praise. I leave a girl behind me Whose joy is all my pride, And bid farewell to Huntly And adieu to Bogie side." He bids farewell to friends and lands and hopes the girl will be safe

Adieu to Bon County: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #15553}

"It's a great separation my friends they have caused me." The singer says his friends will regret driving him away. He bids farewell to friends and love. He says he will ramble and seek pleasure. When money is short, he will "chop wood and get more"

"Oh when I breathed a last adieu To Erin's vales and mountains blue...." The singer loves Mary, but Mary "deplores" him; he responds by leaving the country. "Can I forget the fateful day... When nought was left me but to say Farewell my love farewell"

Adieu to Lovely Garrison: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #17892}

The singer is far away from home. He bids adieu to the places he spent his youth, describing their beauty. He would return to see them all.

Capstan shanty. "The boatmen shout, 'tis time to part, no longer can we stay, Twas then Maimuna taught my heart how much a glance can say." Four verses describing a tearful farewell, the last two lines of each repeated are as a chorus.

Adieu to Old England: (4 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #1703}

If the world had ended before he was born the singer's sorrows "would then have had bounds." He was born wealthy but spent it all. He has no fear of being robbed. He's satisfied now with a crust, clean water, and a dry straw bed. Things can't get worse.

The singer, admitting his "happiest moments are flown," prepares to depart Ireland and his home. He bids farewell to everything he can think of -- the countryside, relatives, pastor. He will dig gold in Australia, and hopes he can return home

"Adieu to the stone walls," the prisoner sighed, "I'm now going to leave you, I've made up my mind." The convict makes his way to a train, buys clothes in town, and gains his freedom by playing the role of a brakeman

"Adieu ye banks and braes of Clyde, Adieu to her who's young and fair, I grieve to leave my own dear bride" and his home, but "the wind blows fair, I must away." All nature rests as the sun sets in the west, but he cannot; the drums and pipes call

"Adieu, false heart, since we must part, May the joys of the world go with you." The singer says (he) thought (him)self too good for her. She proudly says that "You are very much mistaken" if he thinks she loves him and/or says she will go to her grave

Despite being badly outnumbered, Benbow prepares for battle (against the French), but captains Kirkby and Wade flee the contest. In the fight that follows, Benbow loses his legs, but orders his face to be turned toward the fight even as he dies

Admiral Benbow (II): (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3141}

"Oh, we sail'd to Virginia, And from thence to Fial." The fleet sees seven sails. They draw up in line and fight for four hours. Admiral Benbow is wounded by a chain shot and is carried below but says to keep fighting. He is remembered after his death

Admiral Byng is ordered "the French to disperse from New Home" in the Mediterranean Sea. He sends Admiral West to attack the French but he held his own ship back. The ballad implies he was bribed. He is condemned by the King to be shot.

Admiral Hosier's Ghost: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #22377}

"As near Porto-Bello lying, On the gently-swelling flood... Our triumphant navy rode" after Vernon had defeated the Spanish. "The shade of Hosier brave" appears. Hosier wishes he had fought instead of obeying orders to sit idly, bringing England to shame

"A bite with me, fast falls the prey to feast, The soup is Jackson, Lord, shall this not cease, No other soup served so consistently." The singer complains of the food; "When the guests come, they surely do agree, It is a job to eat A bite with me"

"The fish/duck, it never cackles 'bout its million eggs or so, The hen is quite a different bird; one egg, and hear her crow. The duck we spurn, but crown the hen, which leads me to surmise: Don't hide your light, but blow your horn; it pays to advertise"

"A fortnight ago, me, Mick and Patsy Sullivan... went for a spree down to Kelly's brand-new restaurant." They have a party and direct the bill to their boss Flaherty. Kelly refuses. There is a fight. Eventually Kelly writes it off as advertising

"Paddy ... join with your protestant brother." "Your foes have long prided to see you divided." If together, your foes won't oppose you. "Then your rights will be granted"; "keep asunder ... you shall live and die slaves"

"Oh, Sinner, you'd better take heed to the Savior's word today. You will follow the Christian round and still you will not pray." "Your body has to lie in the ground." "When Gabriel sounds his trumpet, you'll be lost." You get the idea

Ae Nicht We A' to Banff Did Gang: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #13014}

"Ae nicht we a' to Banff did gang, I believe we had sma' errant O. There was ither three as weel as me, We a' set oot a'steerin' [Greig/Duncan8: to cause a disturbance] O."

The singer, while courting Betsy, takes up with Jean. He meets both in the market: "they laughed and they jeered at me too." Each takes up with another man leaving him crying. "Be sure to be aff wi' the auld love, Afore ye be on wi' the new"

The wife complains her husband urinates on the floor rather than in the chamber pot. He replies that his first wife allowed him to defecate in the bed.

"Ninni nonni simungi, Ninni nonni simungi, Ninni nonno sidubi sabadute simungi. Ninni nonni simungi, Ninni nonni simungi, Ninni nonno sidubi sabadute simungi."

After Aughrim's Great Disaster: (1 ref. 3K Notes) {Roud #16907}

""After Aughrim's great disaster, When our foe in sooth was master," a few survivers escape and hope to continue the struggle. The survivors go their separate ways (perhaps into exile), wishing success to their king

"There was a man named Jimmy Frame Whose one desire was to hunt big game." He begins to hunt and trap. Angered by failure -- he has nothing but a "tiny deer mouse." he decides to try somewhere else. Maybe you'll find him there

A girl asks her uncle why he never married. He recalls the sweetheart he took to a ball. After leaving for a moment, he sees her kissing another man. He abandons her; years later, after she is dead, he learns that the other man was her brother

Sports parody of "After the Ball": "After the ball was centered, After the ball was through, Barron got up his temper, And away with the ball he flew... And Scott ran out of the goalpost, After the ball."

"After the ball was over," Sally removes her glass eye, false teeth, cork leg and false hair.

After the Battle Mother: (12 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4277}

The wounded singer is lying on the battle field among the dead and dying. When "the foemen turned and fled" his wound stopped him from following. He waits for morning. "Still I feel that I shall see you and the dear old home again"

"Angels are weeping o'er the foreign war... But still they are calling young men to war.... After the war is over, after the world's at peace, many a heart will be aching After the war has ceased. Many a home will be vacant, many a child left alone...."

After Verbs to Remember: (1 ref. 1K Notes) {Roud #25499}

Grammatical mnemonic: "After verbs to remember, to pity, forget, The genitive case must be properly set." "Add to these, Females, cities, countries, trees."

"An afternoon like this it was in tough old Cherokee An outlaw come a-hornin' in an' ask who I might be...." The singer boasts of Indians and outlaws in his background (e.g. Jesse James was his uncle), of learning to swear before learning to talk, etc.

Gaelic. "A mock epic on a bicycle accident suffered by a local brave. The event takes on international significance with messages of condolence from President de Valera, Mussolini, and Hitler, and from President Roosevelt of the United States."

Nancy sees the victim in the wave and rushes in to save him. "Then he grasped her; they sunk, in the wave"

Aged Indian, The (Uncle Tohido): (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6553}

A hunter, his wife, and his daughter live near Indians. One day, when the hunter is gone, an Indian comes and takes the child from the frantic mother. The child never returns, but teaches the Indian to love and revere the Bible

"In prime of years, when I was young, I took delight in youthful toys." "At seven years old I was a child." "At twice seven, I must needs go learn." "At three times seven, I waxed wild." The singer tells of life seven years at a time and prepares to ldie

Among the many bonny lasses in Edinburgh the singer loves "little Aggie Bell" He describes her features and recalls seeing her at a dance where "mony a lass that thocht nae little o' hersel'" but none outshone Aggie.

Agincourt Carol, The: (19 refs. 4K Notes) {Roud #V29347}

King Henry (V) travels to France "wyth grace and myght of chyvalry," captures Harfleur, and wins a great victory at Agincourt, "Wherfore Englonde may call and cry, 'Deo gracias (x2) anglia Rede pro victoria.'"

Agricultural Irish Girl, The: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #V12873}

Mary Ann Malone is a big, strong, agricultural Irish girl. At 17, she is not educated -- "doesn't speak Italian" -- but knows "all befits a lady." "She neither paints nor powders, and her figure is her own" She's aggressive. She will strike for her wages.

"'Tis very well done, says Johnny Brown, Is this the way to London town? I'll stand you thus, I'll stand you by, Until you hear the watchman cry: A roop doop doop doop doodle doodle do, A roop doop doop doop doodle doodle do!"

"Ah wonder who's a knockin On me door It is Johnny McKella and Tommy Anderson"

Javanese sea shanty. "Ah hoo-e, la-e, ah hoo-e, la-e, ah-e, hoo-e, ah hoo-e, la-e ung!" Used as a hauling and loading shanty, with the pull on the syllable "Ung."

Round. "Ah, poor bird, Take thy flight, High above the sorrows Of this dark night."

The singer recalls to his horse Smiler how they had been laughed at by "yon muckle tearers frae Pitgair" before the ploughing match. "When the wark was a' inspeckit" they were best of sixty ploughs. He makes Smiler's bed and feeds him.

French: The young woman wants a monk (the word also means a spinning top) to dance. She offers him a cap, a gown, etc., then a psalter; he apparently refuses each. She says she would offer him more, but he has taken a vow of poverty

Aiken Drum lives in the moon, plays with a ladle, dresses in food including breeches of haggis bags. Willy Wood lives in another town, plays on a razor, eats Aiken Drum's clothes but chokes on the haggis bags

"Ken ye how a Whig can fight?" The ballad gives examples that Whigs can't fight, that Sunderland, who had sworn to clear the land, cannot be found. The song imagines "the Dutchmen" drowned, Jacobite victory, and King James crowned.

Sunday, singer and his friends go to the horse market at Aikey Fair. He dresses for Sunday. He is surprised by all the cars on the road. He is disturbed by the goings on on the Sabbath where even a minister is drowned out by the activities.

Aimee McPherson, radio evangelist, vanishes after a camp meeting; later claiming she was kidnapped. A grand jury investigation uncovers a "love-nest" at Carmel-by-the-Sea. She's jailed and bailed out; her paramour vanishes.

"Ain't' God good to Iowa? Folks, a feller never knows Just how near he is to Eden, Till some time he up and goes." "Other spots may look as fair, But they lack that soothin' something' In the hawkeye sky and air." "Ain't God good to... AIn't he though?"

"Hypocrite, hypocrite, God despise, His tongue so sharp he will tell lies (x2), Ain't gwine grieve my God no more." "Let me tell you what the hypocrite will do." The singer describes the troubles of life and says that he will triumph over them and Satan

Chorus: "I ain't gonna grieve my Lord no more...." Verses give conditions for getting into heaven, e.g. "You can't get to Heaven on roller skates, You'll roll right by them pearly gates." Instructs the listener to help the singer get to heaven

Floating verses: "Oh don't you see that turtle dove." "Went up on the mountain." "Wish I had a big fat horse, Corn to feed him on." "Ain't gonna marry in the spring of the year, Gonna marry me in the fall." "I'm just a poor country boy, Money have I none"

Ain't Gonna Rain No More: (24 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7657}

Verses held together by the refrain, "It ain't gonna rain no more." (Either between lines or as a standalone chorus). Examples: "What did the blackbird say to the crow? It ain't gonna...." "We had a cat down on our farm; it ate a ball of yarn...."

"Ain't got no place to rest my head, Oh baby..." "Steamboat done put me out of doors..." "Steamboat done left me and gone." "Don't know what in this world I'm going to do." "Sweetheart's done quit me and he's gone." "Out on the cold frozen ground"

"AInt got to cry no more (x2), Blackberries growin' round mah cabin door; Ain't got to cy no more." "I ain't got to cry no more... Pickaninnies rollin' on mah cabin door (sic.)." "Ain't got to cry no more... Possum gittin' fat behin' my cabin door."

"Ain't gwin to work no more, Labor is tiresome shore, Best occupation am recreation, Life's mighty short, you know.... Peter won't know if you're rich or poor, So I ain't gwin to work no more." The singer asserts they need not worry about the future

Nonsense with chorus: "Boom, boom, ain't it great to be crazy (x2), (Silly and foolish) all day long, Boom, boom...." Example: Way down where the bananas grow, A flea stepped on an elephant's toe... Why don't you pick on someone your own size?"

Taunt song used while playing "tag": "AIn't no buggers/bugs out tonight, out tonight, Ain't no buggers out tonight, Daddy killed them all last night."

Ain't No Bugs on Me: (8 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #17569}

Nonsense and topical verses; "The night was dark and drizzly/The air was full of sleet/The old man joined the Ku Klux/And Ma she lost her sheet"; Chorus: "There ain't no bugs on me (x2)/There may be bugs on some of you mugs/But there ain't no bugs on me."

Singer has heard of a city with streets of gold. He has found a throne of grace. Jesus, on the cross, tells his disciples to take his mother home. Cho: "When the high trumpet sounds/I'll be getting up, walking around/Ain't no grave can hold my body down"

Ain't No More Cane on this Brazos: (11 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #10063}

The singer remarks, "There ain't no more cane on this Brazos, oh-oh-oh; They done ground it all down to molasses, oh-oh-oh." He describes the dreadful conditions faced by the prisoners and wishes he could escape such horrors

Ain't No Use Workin' So Hard: (7 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7876}

"Ain't no use of my workin' so hard, darlin' (x2), I got a gal in the (rich/white) folks' yard, She kill me a chicken, She bring me the wing, Ain't I livin' on an easy thing..." "She thinks I'm workin', I'm layin' in bed...."

The singer received a letter that says "Ain't nobody but you, babe." He goes to the ball (to meet her?)

"Ain’t she neat, ha ha, sweet, ha ha, Handsome and fair, She is a daisy the boys all declare She’s a high-rolling lassie as well Say, here comes (insert name), now don’t she look swell?"

"Eighteen hundred and ninety-one, Fore I workses, I'd rather be hung." "1892... Me and old worksy, we done been through." And so on, with complaints about work until 1899, concluding, "Because I never liked to work-a nohow."

Each verse has (the leader sing a line "Tell my father/Tell my children/Tell the world/Hey lord" a chorus replies "Ain't you got a right") (3x), and all sing "Ain't you got a right to the tree of life."

"Aina, mania, mana, mike, Bassalona, bona, strike, Hare, ware, frown, hock, Halico, balico, we two ivy whack."

Air Force Alphabet: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #21103}

"A is for those Air Force boys, with hearts so brave and true ... Z is for ... Of all the letters in my song the one that beats them all Is V for Victory, the letter that won't let the old flag fall"

The singer warns all bachelors against his mistake. He wanders into town and meets a sergeant, who asks him to enlist. At first he refuses, but the soldier wears him down; at last he accepts. He bids farewell to home, family, and girl

Slovak. "Aja lejber man, robim kazdi den." "I'm a labor man, I work every day." He tries to keep track of what he is saving. He buys drinks for everyone on payday. He gets a letter from his old home, and sends his wife a hundred dollars

"Oh, the boat's up the river And the tide's gone down; I believe to my soul She's (Alabama/water) bound." Lovers are reunited by boat and train, Alabama bound. The Arctic explorer Cook is also mentioned as being Alabama bound to escape the cold.

Alabama Bound (II): (16 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #10017}

"I'm Alabama bound, I'm Alabama bound/And if the train don't stop and turn around/I'm Alabama bound"; "Don't you leave me here... If you must go... leave me a dime for beer"; "Don't you be like me... You can drink... sherry wine and let the whiskey be."

Alabama Flood, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #21696}

A man on the levee warns that a flood is coming. A few are killed; those who have lost loved ones and homes mourn. The singer asks for a helping hand. Ch.: "Down in Alabama/In the water and the mud/Many poor souls are homeless from the Alabama flood"

Singer goes to Aulton college; at a wedding, he and Sally Allen go off into the broom. Her father demands his expulsion; the Regent grants it. The singer joins the navy, and bids farewell to Aulton, vowing that if he ever returns he will marry Sally

Claims that Nantucket skippers were able to tell where their ships are by tasting the sounding lead. A sailor plays a trick by running the lead through a box of parsnips; the skipper thinks that Nantucket has sunk and they're sailing over a garden.

Alas And Did My Savior Bleed: (3 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #15070}

"Alas and did my savior bleed, And did my Sovereign die, Would he devote that sacred head For such a worm as I? Was it for crimes that I had done He groaned upon the tree?" The singer lists the faults of humanity and says how great is his debt to Christ

"Oh, one gets arrested, The other goes bail, That's what you get At the Albany Jail. The coffee's like tobacco-juice, The bread is hard and stale; That's what you get At the Albany jail."

Alberta where you been so long": he's had no loving; and "where'd you stay last night": bright sun when she got home. He asks for "a little bit of loving." He met Alberta "way across the sea, Wouldn't write me no letter, she didn't care for me."

Alberta is asked to let her hair hang low, to say what's on her mind, and not to treat the singer unkind. AABA verses: "Alberta, let your hair hang low (x2), I'll give you more gold than your apron will hold, If you'll just let your hair hang low."

Shanty. "Albertina says the story, Albertina's all for glory, Albertina that was the schooner's name, Pump 'er dry." Verses describe loading the ship, sailing away, getting stranded and sinking. Last verse has a maiden weeping for her lost lover.

Alcohol don't kill me ... I'll never die" "I woke up this morning, alcohol was 'round my bed" "I drink so much of Jake ... give me the limber leg If I don't quit drinking it every morning, sure gonna kill me dead"

"The fishin' here is so well controlled All the big ones you must let go." If you hook a big one "take him slow Round the bend To an alder patch. Tuck him away till you can come back."

Alderman of the Ward: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #15471}

Singer says he used to be a street laborer, but he's come up in the world: he's now alderman of the ward and his daughter's well-dressed, to boot. He brags of the trappings of his improved situation and invites the listener to be his guest

Alderman's Lady, The: (8 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #2533}

An elderman promises a girl gifts in exchange for her love. She rejects him because he might reject her and their baby. He promises that he would take her to her mother and smother the baby. She refuses and he marries her.

Ale-Wife and Her Barrel, The: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6031}

Singer's wife is an ale-seller and drunkard. She goes to market with her barrel; all know that he can't keep her out among men. Chorus: "The ale-wife, the drunken wife/The ale-wife she deaves me/My wifie wi' her barrelie/She'll ruin and she'll leave me"

Arthur Nolan rides his horse Sulphide in the Sydney Steeplechase. The horse stumbles; Nolan is thrown off and trampled to death. Various people grieve and regret what happened.

"Oh, the hobby of Australian boys Is jockeying to be, To mount a horse and scale the course No danger do they see." The usual story: Robertson races, is thrown from his horse, bids farewell to all, and dies

"He murdered Bert Tucker in the west (x3), And knocked a widow out of rest." "So they carried Alex Whitley to Albemarle." "He stayed there three days and two nights, And they hung Alex Whitley to a red oak limb" on about the tenth of June

".. ye jolly bootleggers and you who handle brew: Beware of Howard Foley." Tignish was a town for fun but with Foley as policeman and Albert Knox as jail-keeper it's no place for a drinker. "I'll have to leave the village and go to some foreign land"

Alert completes its outward course. Homeward bound, on passing through Gibraltar they meet fog and storm. The crew pray on deck and shake hands; the ship sinks. Captain Butler and his crew are mourned by wives and orphans in Wexford town.

To the tune "Kelvingrove" ("The Shearin's Nae for You"), "Will ye come to Alford Vale, bonnie lassie O? Where tis sunny as thyself, Bonnie lassie O." The singer tries to lure the girl from the town with praises of the beautiful vale

Alfred D Snow is bound from San Francisco to Liverpool with a cargo of grain. The ship breaks up on the sand. Captain Willie signals hoping for help from Dunmore. The lifeguards and the Dauntless arrive too late. Only seven bodies are recovered.

French capstan shanty. "Ali alo pour Mascher! Ali, alo, alo... Il mang'la viande et nous donn les os. Ali, ali, ali, alo." Translation of the very short verses "He eats the meat and we get the bones," "He drinks the vine and we get the water," etc.

Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #20766}

"Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, Went to school with dirty knees, Said the teacher, 'Stand at ease.' Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves."

"Alice, where art thou going? Upstairs to take a bath. Alice with... a neck like a giraffe-raf raf raf raf raf raf raf Alice steps in the bathtub. Alice pulls out the plug...There goes Alice down the hole Alice, what does thou sayest? Blub blub blub."

A sailor may marry or not, but "there's sweethearts in every port": "Alice is over in Liverpool, Jenny is in New York, Selina lies over in Amsterdam while Bridget was born in Cork... There's Dollys and Mollys, Susanna and Pollys...."

"The birds sleeping gently, Sweet Lyra gleameth bright, Her rays tinge the forest, And all seems glad tonight." A year ago, Alice was with him. A year later, he has sought her everywhere, and "I'm looking heav'nward now"

Alison invites Willie to her wedding. He will not come except as the groom. She tells him that if he leaves, she will ignore him forever. He sets out slowly and sadly, sees an omen, and dies for love. A letter arrives, halting the wedding. Alison too dies

All Among the Barley: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1283}

"Now is come September, the hunter's moon begun," and young men and women meet in the fields: "All among the barley, Who would not be blythe, When the ripe and bearded barley Is smiling on the scythe." Barley is declared the king of all grains

"Who'd ever think that Utah would stir the world so much? Who'd ever think the Mormons were widely known as such?" The singer is happy that "the Mormons have a name." "We bees are nearly filling the hive of Deseret... For all are talking of Utah."

"All around de ring, Miss Julie, Julie, Julie! All around de ring, Miss Julie! All on a summer day. Oh, de moon shines bright, de stars give light; Look way over yonder! Hug her a little and kiss her too, And tell her how you love her!"

All Around Green Island's Shore: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6353}

A man brags to a woman about the virtues of his boat, his other possessions, and his willingness to beat his rival to win the girl. The girl replies comically in the negative.

All Around My Hat (I): (11 refs. 5K Notes) {Roud #567}

The singer's true love has been transported; (he) promises that "All around my hat I will wear the green willow... for a twelve month and a day... [for] my true love ... ten thousand miles away." He hopes they can reunite and marry

Counting-out rhyme. "All around the butter dish, One, two, three. If you want a pretty girl, Just pick me. Blow the bugles, beat the drums, Tell me when your birthday comes." The answer is the date in the month, which is used to continue the count

All Around the Maypole: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #18168}

A ring-skipping song. "All around the Maypole, And now Miss Sally, won't you shout for joy?" (Or, "Mis Sally, won't you bow? Miss Sally, won't you jump for joy, jump for joy, jump for joy.")

"There was an old man and he wasn't very rich, And when he died, he didn't leave much But a great big hat with a great big rim All bound 'round with a woolen string. A woolen string (x2), All bound round... A great big hat with a... All bound round...."

"First young lady all around in the corner, All around in the center (x2), First young lady all around on the corner." "And balance to your partner. "Swing to your partner and we'll all run away." "And all chaw hay on the corner."

"All day, all night, Merriam, Sitting by the roadside digging sand, All day, all night, Merriam, Sitting by the roadside catching man. Sound bay gal don't eat at all, they buy their crayfish, Sound bay gal don't eat good food...."

All for the Men: (13 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5040 and 2648}

"When I was a young girl... It was primp, primp, primp this way... All for the men." Typically the girl is courted, marries, (has a child), quarrels with her husband; he died, she weeps and/or laughs at his funeral; she lives happily/as a beggar/other

All God's Children Got Shoes: (29 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #11826}

"I got shoes, you got shoes, All got's children got shoes; When I get to heaven, gonna put on my shoes, Gonna (shout) all over God's heaven." Similarly with robes, crowns, wings, harps, etc.

"Gone are the days of the canvas jumper," "old time sealing skippers," "Petty Harbour whaleboats," "boats of Ferryland," "the old boat 'Ellen,'" ... "Gone are those days and the actors with them We ne'er shall see the same again"

All Hail the Brave Battalion: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #10817}

"All hail the brave battalion, this noble valiant band, We go to serve our country with willing heart and hand. Although we're called disloyal," they will serve well. They cross "barren desert." Their sons "are growing mighty" and they will succeed

"All hail the power of Jesus's name, Let angels prostrate fall, Bring for the royal diadem And crown him lord of all." The "chosen seed of Israel's race" and "sinners" are urged to "spread your trophies at his feet."

"All hail to thee, Moon, all hail to thee! I pray thee, good moon, reveal to me This night who my husband must be."

"Is it all hid?" "I'm gonna count just one more time, Then I'm going to rock in mind." "Willy Willy Wee look out for me Here I come like a bumble bee." "I went down to the Devil's town Devil knock my daddy down."

Singer describes hard times: People selling farms; automobiles repossessed; banks with no money to lend. Farmers should have stuck with mules, not tractors. Dandy young men now "plowin' and a-grubbin'." His partner has drunk up all the white lightning.

"All in a summer afternoon, I saw a little baby moon, And oh I loved its silver shine, It was a little friend of mine."

All In Down and Out Blues: (3 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #17520}

"Hippity-hop to the bucket shop...." Singer has lost all his money in the stock market. He says this "certainly exposes/Wall Street's proposition was not all roses." Cho: "It's hard times, ain't it poor boy...when you're down and out"

"All in together, girls, How is the weather, boys? Snow! Rain! Sunshine! Sleet! How many days will there be rain? (Counting). Is it true?" Used as a divination game with a "hot pepper" jumping game, or as a jump rope rhyme

A preacher goes to the sinful town of "Sinnemahone" and tries to preach them around. They attend the service -- until a deer runs by and they try to catch it. One old man stays -- and when the preacher says "all is vain," answers his god is in the hunt

"Oh, what is this that steals upon my frame? Is it death? is it death?... If this is death, I soon shall be From every pain and sorrow free... All is well, all is well." The singer bids his friends not to weep, and looks forward to salvation

Singer and fellow ploughmen finish their work; they will unyoke their horse and groom him, after which the (singer/master) promises them a jug of ale. At dawn they will begin again. Refrain: "You're all jolly fellows that follows (handles) the plough"

All My Sins Been Taken Away: (8 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4205}

"I don't care what this world may say, The're all taken away... All my sins are taken away, taken away." Much of the rest of the song floats, e.g. "The devil is mad and I am glad."

"If religion were a thing that money could buy, The rich would live and the poor would die. All my trials, Lord, soon be over. Too late, my brothers, too late but never mind." The weary singer looks forward to victory after death

All Night Long (I): (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6703}

"Paul and Silas bound in jail, All night long, One for to sing and the other for to pray... Do, Lord, deliver me." "Straight up to heaven... tain't but the one train on this track." "Never seen the like... People keep comin' and the train done gone"

Singer laments a sweetheart has gone away. Singer feels blue and thinks and dreams of the sweetheart constantly, and walks the floor. When the sweetheart returns, the singer will cease yearning. Chorus: "All night long, (baby) all night long.

"All night long, Mary, (x3), Poor Mary's gone away. Redbird motion, Shoodala, Or bluebird march, Shoodala, Swing your sweetheart, Shoodala, Shoodala today." "In the middle of the ring... help me swing... Around and around."

All Night, All Day: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #17677}

"All night, all day, Angels watching over me, my Lord, All night, all day Angels watching over me." "Day is dying in the west... Sleep, my child, and take your rest," "Now I lay me down to sleep...." "Children sleep, the moon is high...."

All Night, Jesus, All Night: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #15626}

Jesus is taken from Gethsemane, brought before Pilate, told, "Here is your cross," then crucified. Refrain: "All night, Jesus, all night"

"The corn is all ripe and the reapings begin, The fruits of the earth, O we gather them in." The foreman sends the reapers into the fields; they reap, bind, work hard, and go to the farmer's house for dinner when the work is done

"Yonder goes my true love, he's gone far away, He's gone for to leave me, many and many a day... For the sake of my true love I'm sure I must die." When he returns, she tells him she has been sick for him. They are married, and "travel all over Arkansas."

Jump-rope verse. "All over Italy, The kings are playing leap-frog. One, two, three and over...."

"All over the ridges we lay the pine low. They break in the fall for want of more snow. Said Murphy to Burk, You're the worst out of jail For hauling up timber...." The singer is "put to chain" for refusing to work with Fred Miller. He praises the food

"All my troubles soon be over with, soon be over with, soon be over with, All of my troubles soon be over with, All over this world." "All over this world (x4)." "All back sliding will soon be over with." Additional verses may be added as needed

Singer's lover Henry, while travelling "all over those hills" gets "deluded" from her at a tavern; the singer spies him beside another woman. Singer vows she'll go home and destroy it; rather than part from him, she'd as soon see him die in a workhouse

"All people that on earth do dwell, Grab your forks and eat like hell."

"All quiet along the Potomac tonight Except here and there a stray picket...." The picket dreams of his family as he stands guard. Suddenly a shot rings out; the guard falls wounded and bids farewell to his family; "The picket's off duty forever."

"Here I stand all ragged and dirty, If you don't come kiss me I'll run like a turkey." "Here I stand on two little chips, Pray, come kiss my sweet little lips." "Here I stand crooked like a horn, I ain't had no kiss since I've been born."

The last word in each couplet is the subject of the next couplet. For example, "All the girls in France Do the hula-hula dance; And the dance they do ...." The chains through dance, shoe, pill, chicken and duck, make no sense.

"All the good times are past and gone, All the good times are o'er... Darling, don't you weep no more." Verses may concern almost any depressing topic, but often involve a lost love, and often the verse "I wish to the Lord I'd never been born...."

All the Men in Our Town: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #12969}

"All the men in our town lead a happy life Except [boys-name] and he wants a wife." He picks [girls-name] "dandlin' on his knee" Sometimes she makes a pudding. Sometimes she might, or does, die, he would cry, and she would be buried.

"All the monkeys in the zoo Had their tails painted blue. One, two, three -- out goes you."

"All the nice girls love a candle, All the nice girls love a wick," because it "slips in easy"

"Hush-a-bye, don't you cry, Go to sleep you little baby. When you wake, you shall have All the pretty little horses." The horses are described. Another verse describes a baby (lamb) left in a meadow at the mercy of the birds

Each verse begins with a song phrase, such as "just trust him now," "keep on prayerin." "He'll be your father" ... followed by "only believe, only believe, all things are possible, if you only believe"

All Things Are Quite Silent: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2532}

The singer's lover is taken from their bed by a pressgang; she begs them to spare him but they refuse. She laments, remembering the joys of their life together, but says she will not be downcast, as someday he may return.

All Things Bright and Beautiful: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #25389}

"All things bright and beautiful, All creatures great and small... The Lord God made them all. "The purple-headed mountains, The river running by, The sunset and the morning That lightens up the sky."

"Sleep, my child, and peace attend thee, All through the night. Guardian angels God will send thee, All through the night." The singer watches over the child while the world sleeps. (The (dying?) child/lover is wished to heaven)

Alternate lines are a chorus, "Hay ay ay/blow my bully boy, blow my blow." The shantyman sings "Squall in the morning, squall in the evening." "Guinea Nigger to feed black nigger... blow your fibre [?] from Antigua." "Here she come with a cargo color."

"We’re all together again, we’re here, we’re here We’re all together again, we’re here, we’re here And who knows when, we’ll be all together again? Singing all together again, we’re here."

"Tho' Tyneside coal an' furnace reek Hes made wor rive black eneuf, It's raised a breed o' men that's worth... mair than plack eneuf." The singer praises the people of Shields, who are firm and brave and true friends

Singer warns "don't leave behind the lass you love for the sake of self or gold." He and his love "absconded" in '84 and he is sentenced for life to the prison of Deshure, Cork. His only consolation is his love; maybe she visits him.

"All you that are unto mirth inclined, Consider well and do bear in mind What our great God for us hath done In sending his beloved Son." The listeners are exhorted to praise God, live will, and imitate Jesus

"Deserted by the waning moon, When skies proclaim night's cheerless noon, On tower or fort or tented ground, The sentry walks his lonely round" and reports that "all's well." The sailor on watch also says "All's Well."

"Alla Balla [or Ella Bella, or Queenie, Queenie], who has got the ball? See, I haven't, See, I haven't, See, I haven't at all." The players each show one hand in turn; the player who is It (Alla Balla) has to guess who has the ball

Spanish: "Alla en el rancho grande, alla donda vivia, Habia una rancherita, que alegre me decia...." A rancherita on the singer's ranch tells him that she will make herself an outfit such as the ranchero wears

"Allalong, allalong, linkey loo (or "Linktum loo"), Merry goes, one, merry goes, two, Allalong, allalong, linkey loo, Merry goes... Allalong.... I'll lay a wager with any of you, That's all my marks, make thirty and two" (or "the mocassin shoe")

Allan's foster father finds him dying. He calls for help but Allan is attacked and bound. Nevertheless, Allan gets the best of everyone. The singer says that, although Allan leaves him moneyless, he should be honored.

No one can match Master Mault. He is challenged by the miller, hostess maid, smith, carpenter, shoe-maker, weaver, tinker, tailor, sailor, chapman, mason, bricklayer and labourer, butcher and porter(?). He defeats them all.

"Now Allan O Maut was ance ca'd (bear/Bear), And he was cadged frae Wa to Weer, He first grew green, and then grew white, And a man judg'd than Allan was ripe." Allan is brewed and carried into storage

"Allelu! Allelu! Everybody sing Allelu! For the Lord has risen, it is true. Everybody sing Allelu!" God gave the Son, who was born in Bethlehem, "walked the land" for thitry years, died on the cross, rose

"Alleluia, Amen Alleluia, Amen Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen."

Dutch. Forebitter shanty. "Allen die villen naar Iselandgaan, On kabeljauw te vangen." The singer tells of sailing to Iceland to find the cod. The sailors are happy when they get home and are paid. The singer describes the course to Iceland

Allen, Larkin and O'Brien: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #V47672}

Irishmen John Allen, Gould, and Larkin are hanged November 23, at Manchester Gaol, for attacking a police van and shooting Constable Sergeant Brett. Their final farewells are described. The Marchioness of Queensbury sends 300 pounds to the families.

"Of all the wonders of the day," Allen's Bear Fight "will stand upon the (rolls) of fame." In 1840, travelling for the census, he meets a bear. He pryas, "If you don't help me, don't help the bear." He grabs a branch and fends off the bear, then stabs it.

"They said we'd go to Allentown and get an ambulance, Then crank her up and let her go and start for sunny France," but even getting clothes proves slow. The war against the Germans would end much sooner if the Army were better organized

German. Forebitter shanty. "Ich bin der allerbeste cook." The cook boasts of being the very best. Hr makes coffee. He keeps the pots clean by washing them once a month. He keeps what he does not give the captain; he will sell the lard and bacon

"The farmers are gathering from near and from far, The Alliance is sounding the call for the war.. "Here we contend against monopolies' ring." "But one thing is certain, we cannot go wrong If we pull all together while marching along."

"Oh, give me rain, lots of rain, And an Alliford sky above, Don't ship me out.... Let me rot by myself in the muskeg bog... Keep me here forever, treat my like a dog... Gaze at the rain until I lose my senses, I can't stand guns and I don't like trenches"

Allison Gross [Child 35]: (10 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3212}

Allison Gross, a hideous witch, takes the singer prisoner and tries to induce him to love her. When he refuses, she turns him to a worm (with other sundry curses). He is at last freed by an elven queen

"Time to let the rain fall without the help of man, Time to let the trees grow tall, now if they only can, Time to let our children live in a land that's free." Time to let the world be at peace: "Ally ally oxen free"

"Take these stripes from, stripes from 'round my shoulder (huh!) Take these chains, chains from 'round my leg." The singer tells how a girl courted him then betrayed him. Now he is in jail with no one to go his bail

"Some seek the Lord and they don't seek him right, Pray all day and sleep all night. And I'll thank God, almost over...." "Sister, if your heart is warm, Snow and ice will do you no harm." "I been down and I been tried."

"Aloha means we welcome you, It means more than words can say. Aloha means good luck to you, Goodnight at the close of day. It’s just like a love song... Bringing you joy Bringing you pain Aloha means farewell to you Until we meet again"

Hawaiian: "Ha'aheo 'e ka ua i na pali." "Proudly the rain on the cliffs Creeps into the forest." "Farewell to you (x2),... One fond embrace and then I leave To meet again." The singer recalls "sweet memories" and tells the beauties of the place the met

"I'm alone and motherless ever since I was a child (x2), Goin' home to your mother, be here after a while." "Ever since my mother was livin', I had the whole round world to please." "Jesus, sometimes I wonder, did I treat my mother right?"

The singer married a sailor/soldier and now wanders disowned by her parents, "Alone on the Shamrock shore" with her baby. Called to fight, her husband has a disagreement with his superior and is hanged/whipped.

No plot; verses compare large and small ships, and sailing close and far from shore. Cho: "Now we sail along the lowlands, lowlands, lowlands. But soon we'll leave the peaceful shore and away from all the lowlands, we will roam the wondrous ocean o'er"

"Along the road the old man came, Worn and weary, footsore and lame, Stopped at the creek near the roadman's camp." He makes his tea and tells how, for weeks, he has been looking for work and finding none; he has been begging and sleeping outside

Along the Shores of Boularderie: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #2715}

Those living here are named and described. For example, "Murdock Stewart ... Owns the wooden horse of Troy; It's the king of all the beasts, Sunny slios a'bhronachain"

Alonzo the Brave and Fair Imogene: (10 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #4433}

Alonzo, leaving for the wars in Palestine, bids Imogene be faithful, but another wins her hand. At the wedding, Alonzo's spectre, a rotting skeleton in armor, appears and bears Imogene away. (Four) times a year, the couple will appear at a ball and dance

French. I have plucked the tail, a thigh, two thighs, a wing, two wings, the back, the belly, le ventre, the neck, the head and the beak" Chorus: "En en plumant les dents, l'alouette et tout du long"

French: "Alouette, gentille Alouette, Alouette, je t'y plumerai." Cumulative: "Je t'y plumerai la tet, le bec, le nez, les yeux, le cou, les ail's, le dos, les patt's, la queue," meaning, "Skylark, I will pluck your head, beak, nose, eyes, neck, etc."

Alphabet song with mostly New Testament references. At least two different choruses.

"'A' was an apple which growed on a tree ... And 'Z' was a zebra just come from the race" in rhyming couplets

"A stands for apple that grew on a tree B was the boat that would hold you and me ... Z the new Zealander with his fine figured face."

"Come all we little children Be singing while we smile, We want all folks to listen... Sing A B C D E F G.... Though it's but a beginning, We'll never it forget... It's duty to our land, And do our teachers' bidding And be wise and understand."

A song listing the letters of the alphabet. It may have a chorus, but the letters are simply listed, with no mnemonics. Some distinguish vowels and consonants.

"As I lay upon a night, Alone in my longing, I thought I saw a wondrous sight, A maiden (her) child rocking." The mother sings a lullaby; he asks her to tell her his story. She tells of Gabriel's visit. (He tells her his future). With a "lullay" chorus

"When to New Zealand first I cam', Poor and duddy, poor and duddy... It was a happy day, Sirs." At home, he was hungry and ill-clothed, and the landlord was after him. "But now it's altered days"; there is plenty to eat and he doesn't even have to work

Although My Love Be Black: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #13590}

"Although my love be black, she is none the worse o' that, For the black makes the white shine bonny."

Always on the Spree: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #6048}

"He's a fine man to me when he's sober And a better man to me could never be, But from Saturday nict till Monday mornin' He's always on the spree"

Am I Born to Die? (Idumea): (3 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #6678}

"And am I born to die, To lay this body down, And must my trembling spirit fly Into a world unknown?" "Waked by the trumpet sound, I from my grave shall rise, To see the Judge with glory crowned..." "I must from God be driv'n, Or with my Savior dwell...."

"Labor unions should all be united And prove to the world they are one, They could get living wages without trouble, Let us show that it can be done." Hearers are urged to treat all union members as their brothers. They should avoid divisions

Playparty: "Take your partner down the line, Amasee, Amasee, Take your partner down the line, Amasee, Amasee, Swing your partner, swing again, Amasee, Amasee...."

"Amazing grace, how sweet the sound That saved a wretch like me." The singer describes how Jesus's grace gives him/her the confidence to face all the dangers and troubles of life.

Amber Marg'et, don't you hear the drums rolling for the bele dance? Amber Marg'et, the queen of the bele dance, is coming.

"Far away in sunny meadows Where the merry sunbeams played... She was fairer than the fairest... And about her neck were hanging Amber tresses tied in blue." But "it was decreed that fate should part us"; now he sadly remembers her

A sailor receives a letter, telling him that his child has been born. He reports that it's "home I want to be" (to see the child and learn its gender), and intends to take ship there at the first opportunity

""In the lands away beyond the sea, where Khan and Sultan rule," they keep slaves. They don't call it that elsewhere, but life is just as hard. Mrs. MacFee acts pious and charitable, but what she did to her "employee" Amelia Jane shows it is not true

"Amen, Oh, Lawdy, Amen, have mercy, Amen, amen, amen, Sing it over." "See the little baby lying in a manger On Chrismas morning, Amen." "See him in the Temple." "See him at the garden." "See him on the cross." "Yes, he died to save us."

"Amen means 'so be it,' A half a loaf, a threepenny bit, Two men with four feet, Walking down O'Connell Steet, Calling out, 'Pigs' feet, One and four a pound."

"Amen, Brother Ben, Shot a rooster, Killed a hen. Hen died; rooster cried, Then committed suicide."

America (My Country 'Tis of Thee): (20 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #V16615}

A praise to the liberty and freedom offered in America. Throw in a brief description of the geography, a bit of praise for God, and a hint of ancestor worship, add the tune of "God Save the King," and you get America's other anthem

"America, America, Shall we tell you how we feel? You have given us your riches We love you so."

In praise of America, productive and fertile "from sea to shining sea." God is begged to care for and improve the nation.

"America! Arise! Awake! Humanity calls for thee to take The lead in fighting for her sake! The ruthless Kaiser claims the seas...." Americans fought the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, the Mexican War, the Civil War, etc.; time to fight again

"Come all you young Americans, Come here my children, I'll rehearse" how God made the American "wilderness" great. Columbus found it. The Pilgrims landed. The British blockaded and made Americans suffer. There were plagues. But God rescued them

American Aginora, The: (4 refs. 4K Notes) {Roud #7352}

A ship from Limerick to St John's is disabled. Two men drown. The food is lost. The captain has those without wives cast lots. The lot falls to O'Brien; the cook is forced to cut his throat. They drink O'Brien's blood. The next day they are rescued.

"American jump, American jump, One, two, three. Under the water, under the sea, Catching fishes for (your/my) tea. (Dead or alive?)"

American Volunteer, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #3696}

"Hark, hark, hear that yell, tis the war whoop's dread sound." Indians attack and set a cottage on fire. Our Hero pursues, finds an Indian whose weapon was broken, kills him (?), attacks the Indian band, and rides away to the thanks of the community

William is forced into the army by the parents of his sweetheart. In America he is murdered by Indians. His ghost appears to his sweetheart in Scotland, saying he will wander until she joins him. Within a week she too is dead

Gaelic. On entering seminary, singer is asked if he has a girlfriend. Lying, he denies it. As a priest, he still thinks about her, even when saying Mass.

Gaelic. Martin, a fuller from Bandon, owned a ship. The women "went wild all around him" but Molly and her mother kept after him until "they had poor Martin hooked." Now "he has his troubles; two women at his fireside and a cot in the corner"

Gaelic. A gander wanders onto a neighbor's land. "The neighbor set his dog on it and the dog killed the gander." The singer curses the dog.

Gaelic. Singer goes to the market, buys a calf, and ties it up to join the dancing and drinking. Afterwards he searches for but can't find the calf. To console himself for the loss he stops to drink at a pub.

Amnesty Meeting in Tipperary, The: (3 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #V1461}

"Tipperary to give you your merit Your meeting exceeded them all." At noon on October 24 the towns and trades march through the streets supporting amnesty for the Fenian exiles. Fathers Barry and O'Connell and a young man on a charger lead the legions

Sicilian. "Emuninnicu Maria! E amola e amola." "Let us go to work Along with Saint Giuseppi and the Virgin." The sailors will fill the ship with tunny, then take them to the Italian cities. "Hoist the net!"

The singer asks if there is anyone who does not thrill with memories of a childhood home. He declares, "Darling Tyrone, I will love you till death." He describes how he dreams of the old boreen. Even if he never returns, he will always think of Tyrone

"(Gynna) is her first name, first name, first name, (Glynna) is her first name, Among the little white daisies." Ritchie version gives the first and second names of husband and wife, then tells of their marriage, children, and perhaps death

Jump-rope rhyme with a fill-in name: "(Amy Johnson) flew in an aeroplane, Away to America and never came back again. She flew in an old tin lizzy, Enough to make you dizzy, Amy Johnson, away in an aeroplane."

Gaelic. When Spain and France come the English will be defeated and we won't have to listen to the "Croppy Lie Down." Bonaparte has promised to drive out the enemy; then the women can sing the "Croppy Lie Down"

Gaelic. At an Irish-speakers meeting many complain about English language infiltration in local use. One speaker denies that any English is spoken in his area.

Gaelic. "A satirical song, mocking Coley and his new britches."

Macaronic. The singer, out with gun and dogs, meets a fair maid gathering rushes. He asks for an embrace but she asks that she and her rushes be left alone. He persists but she thinks him "a schemer." He notes how handsome rushes grow "in their prime"

Gaelic. A wife throws her mother-in-law out of the house. Neighbors build her a hut where she stays until she dies.

Macaronic. A woman "would milk her cow in the tail of her gown And drink it out of a saucepan,""Monkey here and monkey there," and similar nonsense.

Gaelic. The singer rejects a friend's invitation to his home only because he fears "the sly assaults of Whiskey on the Way." He reviews the evils of alcohol ("it makes the veriest sage a fool") and admits sadly that his daughters can handle the stuff.

Irish Gaelic: Singer comes home with the airy girl "tired and weakened." He apologizes to her; woman of the house comes down in a fury and banishes the girl. He sings the girl's praises, and warns the girls of the neighborhood not to keep his company

Gaelic. "The poet sings the praises of his native place, with the usual stock descriptions of its natural beauty."

Gaelic. "A drinking-song, in which the exiled poet toasts his native land and regrets that all his fellow-countrymen who are abroad cannot be back in Ireland."

Gaelic. The singer says that if he were the cause of losing his true love he would drown himself in the river.

Gaelic. "A young man woos his love by telling her he has no interest in her 'little field of oats' or her wealth, her horse, cows or anything else, only the prospect of her kisses."

Gaelic. A priest, wanting the marriage fee, advises a woman to marry an old man. Against her better judgement she marries, expecting to be left a poor widow. She goes to buy things for the wake but finds him alive and roasting potatoes.

Gaelic. A farmer praises the friends who helped him at harvest time when he was sick.

'Ananias was a-laying in his bed (x3), When a knocking came at the door." Ananias asks who it is, "And he Lord he say, 'hit's me.'" The Lord asks the location of Ananias's religion, then tells Ananias to "lay down your rheumatism." He does

Anchor's Aweigh, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #9445}

"Oh, the anchor's aweigh, the anchor's aweigh, Fare you well, fare you well, my own true love. At last we parted on the shore, As the tears rolled gently from her eyes. 'Must you go leave me now,' she did say, 'That I face this all alone?'"

"I have an Ancient Auntie ... And when she goes out walking, I have to say 'Ha, ha.'" "She has swinging hat, and when she goes out walking, her hat is swinging so." Repeat for knees, hips, skirt, bag, mouth, feather, ....

"Adam God made out of dust, But thought it best to make me fust...." "My body God did make complete But without arms or legs or feet...." "Now when these lines you slowly read, Go search your Bible with all speed, For that my name's recorded there."

In New Deer you find strange merchants and bankers preaching and praying everywhere

"And must I be to judgment brought, And answer in that day For every idle deed and thought And every word I say?" "We are passing away (x3) To the great judgment day." "Yes, every secret of my heart Shall shortly be made known...."

And Sae Will We Yet: (13 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5611}

"Come sit down, me cronies, And gie us your crack, Let the win lift the cares o' this life from aff your back... For we've always been provided for, and sae will we yet." The singer and the nation have endured through troubles, "and sae will we yet."

And Teach Us How to Foil the Hun: (1 ref. 2K Notes) {Roud #25533}

"And teach us how to foil the Hun With paravane and six inch gun."

And Then Look Out For Squalls: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #25384}

"And then look out for squalls For when Baby comes, you'll see, It will take the both of you most of your time To look after Number Three."

"Here's a land where all are equal, Of high or lowly birth -- A land where men make millions, Dug from the dreary earth." The burros feed by the silver cliffs of Creede. "While the world is filled with sorrow... there is no night in Creede."

Andersonville Prison: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #4033}

"On western Georgia's sandy soil, Within a lonesome prison pen, Lay many a thousand shattered forms Who once was brave and loyal men." The hellish conditions are described. One man, dying, remembers his widowed mother and sweetheart

"Said Andra Carnegie to me ae day, I've got tired of my money for aince in a way... For I've made up my mind to gang on the spree," so they will tour the pubs of Dundee. "Now the outcome o' our big caroose, We drank the toon o' Dundee oot o' booze."

Andrew Coupar (Andrew Cowper): (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #18038}

"it's lang, lang to Lammas, Till I see my dear, I long to be with her When the evenings are clear." The singer curses Cluny, who has married the singer's Jeanie. He draws his sword on Cluny at a celebration, and one of them ends up dead

Andrew Jackson's Raid: (2 refs. 6K Notes) {Roud #7954}

"When forces were marched, four thousand brave men, On the fourteenth of March to Fort (Stratton) again...." Jackson reviews the men and has them attack Fort William. The singer toast congress and soldiers

Andrew Lammie [Child 233]: (12 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #98}

Lord Fyvie's trumpeter Andrew Lammie, the fairest man in the county, and Tifty's Annie, are in love. When Annie's father hears of this, he complains to Fyvie; he wants his daughter to marry better. She is adamant; her brother kills her for her effrontery

A shepherd has sex with a maid. After she leaves he changes his name and appearance (lame, blind in one eye). She returns in six months, pregnant, looking for the shepherd. She says, "If you werena half blind, I would swear it was you"

Captain Rogers of the Martha Jane has British sailor Andrew Rose whipped and tortured. "Then the captain trained his dog to bite him" and Rose dies. When he arrives at Liverpool Rogers is arrested, convicted, and sentenced to be hanged.

"Blythe, blythe and merry was she, Blythe was she but and ben, Weel she lo'ed a Hawick gill." "She took me in, she set me down," but his cash was done "before that I had quench'd my drouth... Young Andro wi' his cutty gun" -- the blythest lad he's seen

"(Andy McClure) is a funny wee man, He goes to church on Sunday; He prays to God to give him strength, To beat the kids on Monday."

Brother Andy writes home about his deeds with the relief expedition, leading charges for Wolseley and frightening the Mahdi. Newspapers and government despatches tell a different story, but "we won't believe a word against brave Andy McElroe."

"Our Andy's gone with cattle now, our hearts are out of order." Faced with a drought, Andy takes the herds away; the people left behind are lonely for the cheerful, clever drover. The singer hopes that it rains soon so that Andy may return

Norwegian halyard or capstan shanty. Brief storyline of sailors going ashore and finding that the proprietor of the inn they last visited has barred the door against them. Other verses describe hoisting sails, etc. Sung to the tune of "Blow the Man Down."

The singer's cows go astray on a may morning; she follows and finds a "burr stack to my apron." Now her apron rides high; "there's a braw lad below my apron." Father, mother, friends all ask what she has beneath her apron

Singer's life is nearly over; his trials are done, his triumph has begun. His spirit sings; he hears the noise of wings. Chorus: "Oh come, angel band, Come and around me stand, Bear me away on your snowy (snow-white) wings, To my eternal home"

"(There were three/an) angel(s) came from the north, And he brought cold and frost. An angel came from the south, And he brought heat and fire; The angel came from the north, In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.' "(Come out fire, go in frost.)"

Gabriel is sent to Mary to announce that she will bear God's son. Mary is surprised at these tidings, but is assured they are true. Things come true as forecast. Listeners are enjoined to behave well as a result

Angel's Whisper, The: (13 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2061}

"A baby was sleeping, its mother was weeping." Her husband, Dermot, is fishing in a storm. She prays that the angels always watching over her baby would now watch over her husband. He returns safely in the morning.

"Angelina, do go home, do go home, do go home, Angelina, do go home, and get your husband's supper." "Nothing there but bread and butter... and a cold cup of tea." "Fiddler's drunk and he can't play... so early in the morning."

Angelina Baker: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #18341 and 17854 and 7043}

"Angeline the baker lives in the village green, And the way that I love her beats all to be seen." "Angeline the baker, her age is 43." "Bought my love a brand new dress, Neither black nor brown." "Angeline is handsome... She broke her little ankle"

The singer loves Angelina Brown and goes off every day to walk with her, leaving his wife to mind the shop. The lovers are overtaken by the tide, rescued, and brought ashore where his wife awaits. He has had no peace since then. Married men are warned

Angels from the Realms of Glory: (4 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #8358}

"Angels, from the realms of glory, Wing your flight o'er all the earth... Come and worship... Christ the newborn King. Shepherds are told of good news, sages are told to rurn from their studies, saints see the coming of the Lord

"Angels of Queen Street, All dressed in white...."

"Angels proclaim the happy morn, Their echoes fill the skies (x2), To you a savior Christ is born. Glory to God (x2), Glory to God on high (x2)." "He left the shining worlds above And laid his glory by." "Good will to men and peace on earth."

Angels Roll Dem Stones Away: (2 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #11877}

"Sister Mary she come weepin', Just about de break o' day, Lookin' for my Lord, And he's not there, say!" "He's gone away to Galilee, Angels rolled dem stones away It was on one Sunday mornin', Angels rolled dem stones away."

"Angels singing (shouting, praying) round me bed, Me hear the angels singing (shouting, praying) (x3), All around me bed (x3), Me hear the angels singing (shouting, praying)"

Angels We Have Heard on High: (4 refs. 7K Notes) {Roud #23663}

"Angels we have heard on high Sweetly singing o'er the plains...." The shepherds are asked why they rejoice. They say to come to Bethlehem to find out

"I went to the animal fair, the birds and the beasts were there.... The monkey he got drunk and sat on the elephant's trunk; The elephant sneezed and fell on his knees And what became of the monk, the monk, the monk...."

"Alligator, hedgehog, anteater, bear, Rattlesnake, buffalo, anaconda, hare." Similar stanzas list additional animals, with absolutely no commentary; it just lists species, often quite improbable (South Guinea hen, dodo, ibex, glowworm, snail)

Jump-rope rhyme. "Ann is angry, Bob is bad, Helen is hateful, Sam is sad, I'm in love, And love is bliss, How many times Do I get a kiss? One, two, three...."

The singer says that the girls around him are no match for the beauty of Ann, pure, artless, shy, true, sweet, and otherwise sickeningly likeable. But he must go over the sea and bid her farewell; he sighs for Ireland and for Ann

"Anna Bannana, Play(ed) the piano, All she knew was 'The Star-Spangled Banner.' Banana, banana split."

Jump-rope rhyme, "Anna girlie, Anna girlie, come and take a swim, Yes, by golly, when the tide comes in." Also a taunt, "Yellow-belly, yellow-belly...."

"I have written him a letter Telling him that he is free"; she wrote it when she heard that he had been "out riding With that saucy Anna Lee." But the girl regrets her words; she concludes "I'll tell him I still love him If he'll court Miss Lee no more."

"On the wild Dakota prairie where the sun is ever bright, Lived a fair and youthful maiden." Anna lives with her father; her sweetheart is far away. On April 2, her father leaves home; in his absence, Anna is killed by a prairie fire

Jump-rope rhyme. "Anna, Anna, split the banana, Just like this."

Our hero is off to Annan Water; he must "cross the drumlie stream the night, or never mair I see my honey." But his horse grows tired, and the ferryman will not take him; at last he tries to swim Annan, and drowns

"In the town of London, large as life, The ghost of Anne Boleyn walks, I declare. Anne Boleyn was once King Henry's wife, Until he had the headman bob her hair." Now she walks "with her head tucked underneath her arm" and bothers Henry as best she can.

The singer grieves for the loss of Annie. "My friends and relations they do all they can For to part me and Annie, that's more than they can." Annie hears him and promises, since she loves him, to go with him to Lincolnham shores.

"Come all ye men of Arkansas, a tale to you I'll sing." Beautiful Annie Breen is courted by Texas Joe. But another man steals her away, then vanishes. She bears a child; she and the child die. When Joe hears, he pursues the father. Both die in the fight

Annie Dear I'm Called Away: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5700}

A soldier tells his darling, Annie or Maggie, that "his country needs his aid;... I'm called away." Dying, wounded in a "fearful conflict. Victory ... nobly won," he asks, "if you're spared to see my darling Tell her I was called away"

Annie Dear, Good-Bye: (2 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #5770}

A soldier dying on the Sudan battlefield sends a message to Annie. He recalls the battle led by General Steward and Barney Bey. He tells her to comfort his mother, blesses Annie, dies and is buried in "a soldier's grave in a foreign land"

Squire Melville seduces poor Annie Gray. When he hears she has a son he appoints the wedding day but fails to appear. Annie drowns herself and son in the Clyde. Her father dies after the burial and is buried with his daughter and grandson.

"Maxwelton's braes are bonnie Where early fa's the dew, And it's there that Annie Laurie Gied me her promise true." The singer describes all of Annie's beautiful and wondrous traits, concluding, "And for bonny Annie Laurie I wad lay me doon and dee."

"By there cam' a miller lad, Wi' a' his wheels sae knackie [free-running] O, He wan her up in wedlock's bands, I lost my Annie Mackie O"

The singer hears a young man, distracted, lamenting his slain Annie Moore. He tells how the Protestants were marching. Soldiers were dispatched and fired on the marchers. Annie was slain. The Protestants and her family lament and treat her as a hero

"I'm lonely and weary, Without thee I'm dreary, Sighing for thy sweet melting voice." The singer begs, "Come, come, come, love, come... Dear Anna, sweet Anna of the vale." He will go to be a soldier; if he dies, he hope to meet her in heaven

Annie Young and Man Alone are in a storm at night "bound on the Labrador" on August 24, 1935. Annie Young is last seen about 11. Five of the eight men lost are named.

The closing of Derry's gates, the seige and its relief are recounted with the names of the Protestant leaders who fought "till James was knocked up and their foemen were gone." They "gained for the nation ... a free constitution and Protestant laws"

"Announcements, announcements, announcements." Almost anything may follow (e.g. the Mickey Mouse theme), although it is likely to include something about "What a horrible way to die, what a horrible way to die" as people keep talking

Macaronic. "Over and hither and through the meadow, So, hag, you destroyed me! ... Hag, you annoyed me!"

"The weather had been sultry for a fortnight's time or more; The shearers had been driving might and main...." After so much work the shearers are tired and desperate for a break. At last the rain came, allowing them to relax and rest up

"There was a pretty lass and I'm grieved to say She climbed upon a 'bus on a windy day When a busy breeze blew an awful storm And another little drink wouldn't do us any harm." Drink helps when the curate goes to a sewing bee, and helps Mr. Asquith

"Another man done gone... from the county farm.... I didn't know his name.... He had a long chain on.... He killed another man.... I don't know where he's gone."

"What pen can well report the plight Of those that travel on the seas?" They spend stormy nights in winter. Winds blow them onto rocks and shoals. The singer hopes for a "happy end" to the voyage and hopes to live safely at home

"As I sit by the fireside a-thinking Of my brother who's far, far away...." Anson Best is offered a paper and threatened with death if he doesn't sign. It is a confession to the murder of Vera Snyder. He is sentenced to death. His family mourns

The singer describes the winter he spent in Anstruther, working under Archie Patterson, who "could see daylight coming almost any hour at night." The crews work very long hours and enjoy the food. The singer urges women to marry shanty boys

"She wrote him this letter all covered with tears, And this was her answer to 'Twenty-One Years.'" The girl says she has been sick for love of the convict. She begs the governor for help. She promises to wait the twenty-one years

Answer to Youghal Harbour: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2734}

Near Yougal Harbour the singer meets Mary of Cappoquin again. She tells him that she had his baby. He reminds her that her parents had rejected him. He leaves her again "in grief bewailing" to return to his girl "in sweet Rathangan, near to Kildare"

Jump-rope rhyme. With the rope moving slowly, spell "A-N-T-A-R-C-T-I-C," then speed up the rope and spell "E-Q-U-A-T-O-R"

Anti-Confederation Song (I): (6 refs. 8K Notes) {Roud #4518}

Newfoundland defiantly rejects union with the "Canadian Wolf." The promises made by the confederation are listed and rejected. "Would you barter the rights that your fathers have won... For a few thousand dollars of Canadian gold."

Anti-Confederation Song (II): (4 refs. 28K Notes) {Roud #24295}

After 1932 "a foreign gang came over here to rule and gather taxes." Joe Smallwood promotes confederation with Canada. The singer prefers we "man our vessel... with native crew to run her."

Anti-Fenian Song, An: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4519}

"In the morning by my side Sat the darling of my pride... When the news spread through the land That the Fenians were at hand...." The singer and his fellows -- "English, Irish, Scot, Canuck" -- "will drive the Fenians back"

"The Anti-Gallican's safe arrived, On board of her with speed we'll hie." They will "sail the ocean o'er"; "No ships from us shall run away," even though "The Spaniards... We'll take their ships and make them slaves." The men hasten to their duty

"Oh, now the rebellion's o'er, Let each true Briton sing: 'Long live the Queen in health and peace, And may each rebel swing." Sir Francis Head is blessed, as is Canada; it is hoped that "Mac" (Mackenzie) will be hanged

"Antis" of Plate Cove, The: (2 refs. 5K Notes) {Roud #4554}

A fight breaks out during an election to confederate Newfoundland with Canada. Details of the clash between "cons" and "antis" are told by the singer, who is against confederation.

"The ants go marching one by one, hurrah, hurrah (x2), The ants go marching one by one, The last one stops to clean his gun, And they all go marching in To get out of the rain." Similarly "By two... tie his shoe," etc.

The singer's Uncle Bill dies, leaving the singer his watch and chain. When he puts it on, children in the street cry out, "Any old iron?. "I wouldn't give you tuppence for your old watch-chain." He marries with his pants backwards and is teased again

"One day while walking down the street A fine young man I chanced to meet... And as he walked he swung his cane And our subject was just anything." The singer explains that she was asked to sing a song, and when she asked which, she was told "Anything"

A teamster meets Susan Jane. She asks his trade. He says "tonight I could drive anything." She invites him to "come hitch your horse to my machine." She says "I see your horse is good and keen, But look he's stuck on my machine."

Ape, Lion, Fox and Ass, An: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #1325}

"An ape, a lion, a fox, and an ass": stages of man's life: ape till 21, lion till 40, fox till 70, then ass. "A dove, a sparrow, a parrot, a crow": stages of woman's life: dove till 13, sparrow till 40, parrot till 60, then crow

"Mister Don's got good apples on his apple farm You can pick his apples in the daytime, work in his apple plant at night." His daughter gives the singer a snowmobile ride: "I would stay up North But it gets too snowy up yonder"

"Apple on a stick, (make me sick/five cents a lick), Make my heart go forty-six. Not because it's dirty, Not because it's clean, Not because the kissy boy behind the magazine."

"Apple pip, apple pip, Fly over my head, Bring me another apple Before I go to bed."

The singer is from Killarney and in tracing his pedigree each name has a Mac or O. St Patrick banished the frogs and toads from Ireland. No braver heroes can be found than those from "Ireland where the apple praties grow"

"Apple sauce and butter spread out on the floor, I am going to marry dat pretty yellow gal that came from Baltimore, For she is sweeter than 'lasses, she's sweet as any pie; I am going to marry that pretty yellow gal that is coming bye and bye."

Apple Tree Wassail (I): (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #209}

"Down in the lane there sits an old fox" licking its chops. The singers try to decide whether to catch him. They celebrate the night for wassailing. They will have porridge, cream, and cider. They celebrate that "we shall have apples and cider next year."

"Old apple tree, we'll wassail thee, And hoping thou wilt bear. The Lord does know where we shall be To be mery another year. To blow well and to bear well, And so merry let us be. Let ev'ry man drink up his cup, And health to the old apple tree."

"Here stands a jolly good old apple tree. Stand fast, root; bear well, top. Every little bough, bear an apple now... Whoop, whoop, holloa! Blow, blow the horns." Or "Stand fast, root, bear well, top, Pray, good God, send us a howling crop...."

"An orchard fair to please, and pleasure for your mind, sir. You'd have then plant of trees, The goodliest you can find, sir." The singer describes how to care for the trees, their yearly life cycle, and the cider one can make from their fruit

Originally Slovak. "Ho! Young rider, apple cheeked one, Whither riding? On your steed so black and prancing, Whither riding? What matters where I ride? Slovak mountains at my side, Dusha moya?" (="little sweetheart")

Counting-out rhyme. "Apple, peach, pear, plum, When does your birthday come?" The answer is presumably used to continue the count

Every year the Travellers are at the horse fair in Appleby Top. Some horses have "seen better days" and take knacker prices. A few sold "good stuff" and Dan Mannion "kept trotting horses which have brought him great fame" and his daughter "a posh car"

Jump-rope rhyme. "Apples are red, oranges are yellow, What's the initials of your fellow? A, B, C...."

"Apples, peaches, creamery butter, Tell be the name of your true lover. A, B, C, D...." (continue until a jumper misses, then name a boy and a girl, and start to ask questions such as "How many children are you going to have)

The apprentice loves a noble lady. When her parents learn, they send him away. But he prospers in a foreign land and returns to England to claim his bride. At first she rejects him, thinking him a nobleman, but he reveals his identity and the two are wed.

Pidgin French song about what will happen after the Great War: "Apres la guerre finie, Soldat Anglais parti, Mam'selle Fransay bokopleuray, Apres la guerre fini." The third line varies: "Mademoiselle in the family way." "Mademoiselle can go to hell."

Fullest version: "April Fool's Day is past, And you're the April Fool at last, Four farthings make a penny, And you're a bigger fool than any." This version is said after noon; before noon, it's "Fool, fool, April fool, You learn nought going to school"

Gaelic. Singer strolls by the Lee at evening. He sees and describes a beautiful woman. Apparently he dies.

Singer's intended lives with her rich parents by the Avonmore river. She would marry him "without riches or no earthly store." They meet in Glandore. He dreams of their marriage. They would sail away, if necessary. Until then he won't reveal her name.

Gaelic. Singer meets a beautiful woman. He asks if she is Helen of Troy or some other beauty of legend. She says she is the spirit of Ireland. He seduces her, then mocks and leaves her. Her father and friends pursue him.

Gaelic. "A young woman laments the Flight of the Earls from Ireland." She meets a young man who pleases her by singings praises of Napoleon. "They retire to a hostelry where they carouse and sing."

"Away on the wings of the wind she flies...." "'Tis an Araby maid who hath left her home To fly with her Christian knight." The song tells how she leaves her home and her faith for love, and notes "None can sever them now but the grave."

Aranmore Disaster, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #2956}

The boat carrying "lads ... coming from the Scottish harvest fields" lands at Burton Port. Passengers reembark "for the Island but they never reach the shore ... The little boat ... did sail but only one of the score survived to tell the tale"

"No rising column marks the spot Where many a victim lies." The blood shed there makes claims for justice. We will be satisfied with freedom without retribution. The ground is unconsecrated but the dead are consecrated by patriot tears.

"It was on one Thursday morning, March the twentieth day... The women and the children was screamin' and cryin'... when the Arcade Building burnt down." People jump from the windows. Clyde Davis is saved; Carl Melcher and his wife are separated

"When Archie went to Louisville (x3), Not thinking that he would be killed." "When Gordon made his first shot, O'er behind the bed Arch did drop." "Hush now Guv'nor, don't you cry, You know your son Arch has to die."

Archangel Open the Door: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #11987}

"I ax all them brothers round, Brother, why can't you pray for me, I ax... why can't you pray for me? I'm gwine to my heaven, I'm gwine hone. Archangel open de door." "Brother, take off your knapsack, I'm gwine home...."

Archie o Cawfield [Child 188]: (15 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #83}

Archie is in prison for raiding. His brothers wish they could rescue him, and at last set out with ten men. Archie laments to his brothers that he is to die. The brothers break down the doors and escape the pursuing forces

Arctic Ice and Flippers: (1 ref. 1K Notes) {Roud #V44815}

"There's a halo round the margin of the sea, And 'tis there, if I correctly guess, will be The Arctic Ice..." where the seals are found. "We'll get the flippers yet old-timers say." The singer looks confidently at the Terra Nova and expects a good haul

"I'm a shearer, yes I am, and I've shorn them sheep and lamb," but the singer gets in trouble on a station that is also a vineyard. As he shears, he sips the "pinkie" between sheep -- and eventually passes out while holding a sheep

Gaelic. "A bawdy verse, in which a young woman urges her man to do his business."

In 1880 the singer joins the Ardlaw crew. The crew are described by name, task, and characteristics. At term end it's "fare-ye-well to Ardlaw, Nae langer we maun stay, We will tak' our budgets on our back On the twenty-sixth o' May"

"Welcome, band of true toilers, By the thousands are found On the hundreds of railways." "With a clear shining light, Is your lamp burning bright... Are the signals all right?" The singer has red and green signals ready for the coming of Jesus

"Mirk an' rainy is the nicht"; the singer visits Maggie in a severe storm, and begs her to let him in, asking "Are ye sleepin'/wakin', Maggie." After perhaps several rounds of complains, the lets him in and he rejoices

"Are you a camel, a flip-floppy camel, And say, do you have a hump? Do you sit at the table as straight as you're able, Or do you sit and slump, slump, slump, slump." "Are you a flapper/flopper.... Go some where else and recline"

"I came to town the other day about a week or more," and is asked, "Are you a Hood-a-lum?" The singer is constantly harassed as a "Hood-a-lum." The girls reject him and he is barred from social gatherings. He thinks others are "Hood-a-lums."

Are You From Dixie?: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #10083}

"Hello there,, stranger, how do you do? There's something I'd like to say to you." Based on appearances, the singer thinks they are from the same place: "Are you from Dixie? I said from Dixie... 'Cause I'm from Dixie too." He wishes he were back south

Are You the Lad That Hit the Lad: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #38120}

"Are you the lad That hit the lad, The lad around the corner? Come back my lad And tell the lad That you're the lad, That hit the lad, The lad around the corner."

Are You There, Moriarity?: (4 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #V38725}

"I'm located at headquarters, a special officer, Cornelius Moriarity here at your service sir.... I'm a stalwart copper in the Broadway squad, A metropolitan MP, And the young girls cry as I pass by, Are you there Moriarity?" Girls like the handsome cop

"Come all ye jolly Sailors bold, Whose hearts are cast in honours mould." The frigate, with two hundred men, fights a French ship with 500 off the French coast. "We fought till not a stick would stand Of the gallant Arethusa" and force the French ashore

Christmas mumming song. "Arise and open your door (x3), For the dew is falling on us."

"Small birds and turtle doves In every bush a building." The singer is advised to go out and pick a flower. She will "but there's none so sweet a flower As the lad I adore"

"The Devil was given permission one day To select him a land in his own special way." After a long, difficult search, he settles on Arizona, and sets out to make some "improvements": cacti, skunks, heat. He then leaves, thinking that is beats Hell

"Come all of my fellow citizens, wherever you may be, I'll tell you of an accident that happened unto me...." The singer was charged with an unspecified crime and is now in prison. He intends to become a lawyer and lead an upstanding life.

A series of remarks between a traveller and an Arkansas farmer, interspersed with fiddle playing. The traveller will ask a question (e.g. "Say, farmer, where does this road lead?"), the farmer will answer unhelpfully ("to the end") and fiddle

"Arlie, barley, buck and doe, Which-a way do the fishermen go? Some go east, some go west... There's a little tiger boy... Catches his hens, puts them in pens, Some lay eggs, some don't. Go on to Old Jack's house."

"I've travelled this country both early and late, And among the lasses I've had mony a lang sit." The singer recalls his wild ways as a young ploughman. Having had various misadventures, he warns listeners to settle down and work rather than rambling

Armored Cruiser Squadron, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #10267}

"Away, away, with sword and drum, Here we come, full of rum, Looking for someone to put on the bum, the Armored cruiser squadron."

"You must appreciate a hound so great to the sport." Doyley's Armoured Car "never yet lost a hunt." In '21 "he sent a sworn declaration to the Harriers Association" that he would win. His victories are recounted. Black and Tans could not stop him

"In the army of the Union we are marching in the van, And will do the work before us, if the bravest soldiers can." Porter's division is "the best division of a half a million souls." "'Twill never fail to honour our great Army of the Free."

"A is for the Army that's not afraid to die ... C is for Christ ... Z is for ... A and stands for something, whatever it may be But the name of this peculiar song is the Army A B C"

"Ye soldiers of Maine, your bright weapons prepare: On your frontier's arising The clouds of grim war." "Your country's invaded!" "Then 'Hail the British!' Does anyone cry? 'Move not the old landmarks,' The settlers reply."

Around Her Neck She Wore a Yellow Ribbon: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #10642, etc.}

The girl wears a yellow ribbon around her neck "For her lover who was far, far away." In May and December she scatters yellow flowers on a grave "for her soldier who was far, far away." (In other versions she may be pregnant and face abandonment)

Around the Corner: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #22247}

"Around the corner behind the tree A sergeant Major said to me, 'Oh, how'd you like to (marry) me? I would like to know, For every time I look into your eyes, I feel I'd like to go Around the corner....'"

In the past the singer had thought the Saxon bands could be driven from his home, but now "these days are past." He is leaving home, parents, sister, and girls. He looks forward to the day when "home we'll all repair" to "the hills of Clare"

A game for children jumping around each other. "Around the one that stole the sheep, Around the one that ate the meat, Around the one that ground the bone, Around the one you call your own."

"All welcome to the northern fleet That just arrived today, Pounds filled up with prime harp seals." The accomplishments of Captain Kean, Captain Barbour of the Diana, Captain Knee of the Virginia Lake, and Captain Barbour of the Vanguard are listed

"The Grand Lake, boys, is coming in, With bunting grand, Manned by a crew of hardy lads Who belong to Newfoundland." The Grand Lake and the Virginia both return to port with large hauls of seal pelts and fat

"I took a trip this summer to the market, And I struck an eastern city where the sell you tubs of beers" and ends up in a polo game. He sees an old pony of his. He acquires the pony and upsets the game, though it costs $600. Don't say "polo" to the pony

"(Arseholes/small boys) are cheap today, Cheaper than yesterday, Small boys are half a crown, Standing up or lying down...." Listeners are advised to "Get them now before they're gone, Come now and try one."

French. Arthur, a poor boatman, loves a Black girl who lives in a castle. Her mother locks her in a tower far away. When a knight came to ask for her hand she sobs and takes out a handkerchief with Arthur's name. She makes her last sigh.

The singer tells the "praises of young Arthur Bond." He comes to Armagh for a race. Many horses stumble on the course, but Bond, riding Kate Kearney, succeeds easily. He drinks a toast to his mare

Singer, dying, confesses to his sister that he murdered and buried her former lover, Arthur Clyde, because he could not bear to see Clyde with her

"Arthur Curtis lost his horse; I'm sorry that they parted. But people say for the want of hay To the other world he started." A few of the men help Arthur get rid of the dead horse and he vows to "get another one just as good" and finish hauling wood.

"They are stoning Arthur Desmond, and, of course, it's understood... he isn't any good.... He is fighting pretty plucky with his back against the wall." He's condemned "For his awful crime in saying what so many people thought." God will be a better judge

The singer and his cousin Arthur McBride meet a recruiting party (on Christmas). The young men do not wish to join the army; they aren't interested in going overseas to be shot. The sergeant blusters; the Irish boys beat up the soldiers

"Arthur O'Bower has broken his band, And he comes roaring up the land, The King of Scots with all his power, Cannot stop Arthur of the bower."

Arthur O'Bradley's Wedding (I): (8 refs. 4K Notes) {Roud #365}

Arthur and Dolly go to marry. Wearing tattered finery, he gets on his broken-down horse, while she walks by his side to the church. They are married. The seedy dinner pleases the crowd. There is drinking, singing, piping and dancing till sun-up.

Arthur O'Bradley's Wedding (II): (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #365}

Arthur asks Winifred's mother for Winifred's hand. He proudly lists the junk inherited from his father. Mother agrees and, not to be outdone, lists the junk she will leave Winifred. There is a small wedding and party.

Arthur Bradley courted one-eyed humpbacked bandy-legged ... Draggletail Dorothy. The wedding attendees are only one character from each town. Arthur lists what he will leave Dorothy: "two old left handed mittens" "a good old mustard pot" and so on

Arthur O'Bradley's Wedding (IV): (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #365}

"Arthur had got him a Lass, a bonnier never was" and everyone goes to the wedding, the dance, and the feast. All are named. At sun set they see the couple to bed, call for the piper to play "Loth to Depart," and leave.

The singer is poor and forsaken. She fantasizes: "I will to some other land Till I see my love will on me rue" She wishes she had never been born or died young. She wishes her baby were born and she were dead. She waits for Death to end her weariness.

"A's the Artillery, the pride of the line, B's for battery, the battery sublime, C is for correction, which gives us the fuse, And D's for the drag-ropes we seldom use. Sing high, sing low, Wherever we go, Artillery gunners will never say no." And so on

"McCarty and Kelly sat beside the road... Discussing the chow of logging camps." Mac describes the camp of "Micky Dunroe an' Joe Pretto." The loggers in those days could only dream of decent food, but now the camps "are systematic"

Bell and Blow are in love and go walking in April. Simon courts Miss but "knew he'd acted wrong in Not having dared to steal a kiss"

As Broad as I was Walking: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #23793}

The singer sees a pretty maid "lamenting for her love." He courts her "in a rude and rakish way." She bids him stop, "crying out, Young man, for shame." Her lover is gone; she vows that if she can't enjoy him, "I will rejoice in a sweet and single life."

Macaronic carol with Latin second and fourth lines. "Jesus, almighty king of bliss, As Holy Church makes him mind, From heaven to earth to save mankind," Mary is told she will bear a son. Jesus is born. He was King of Kings; he was God, man, and king

"As I came over yonders hill, I spied an awful turkey, He flapped his wings and he spread his tail, And his feet looked awfully dirty, La la la, la la la...."

"As I climbed up the apple tree, All the apples fell on me. Someone shook them, and I knew, The who who did was Y-O-U."

In Aberdeen the singer throws a rock at a sleeping old lady's head and runs away. She chases him with a stick "and I wondered if she'd strick me" He runs away again and "now I hear that she is dead And buried ...."

"As I walk the hills my heart is light, and as I go I sing." Her brothers urge the singer to seek wealth; her mother warns her of dying an old maid. She says she will never wed -- but allows she might if a certain man comes courting

"As I lay upon a night, My thought was on a (maiden/bird so) bright, That men call Mary (full) of might, Redemptoris mater." Gabriel came to her, saying, "Hail, Mary, full of might!" Jesus is born of her. Jesus ascends to heaven.

The singer overhears a girl talking to her mother. The mother wants her daughter to marry a farmer, but the girl prefers a sailor. (The girl and the sailor are happily wed; she tries to persuade him to go to sea no more.)

As I Roved Out One Evening (I): (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2752}

A son, against his parents' wishes, plans to cross the sea "in search of gold." He is afraid, if he stays, King George will be defeated. His love has wed another leaving him under oath not to wed any girl in Ireland. He leaves for the East Indies

Two lovers discuss marriage. He won't marry and lose his freedom, but would attend her wedding. She invites her old sweetheart to her wedding. He comes and decides he would marry her now. She says "you're welcome to my wedding but not to my bedding"

"As I sit here alone in the old shearer's hut...I wonder, is it worth goin' on." The shearer describes the hard work, the injuries, the poor pay, the lack of respect for inferior workers. He concludes , "I KNOW it's not worth goin' on."

As singer staggers out, his wife (counting up his meager cash) tells him their life would be better if he quit drinking -- they'd soon be "rich as a Jew." He tells her that drink does him a world of good, and he intends to continue

A man promises to marry a maid he meets. He says he is poor and her "low degree" is no cause for concern. They kiss and fall asleep. When he wakes he finds her not a virgin and says they'll never marry.

"As I walked oot one Sabbath mornin' As I gaed oot by the break of day I spied a handsome and fair young damsel, She was walking like a lady gay"

A young man tells a girl, "Alas, I'm tormented, for love I must die." He begs her to come away with him. She tells him, "Were I to say yes, I would say 'gainst my mind." He curses her unkindness; he will marry a girl who loves him if he marries at all

"As I walked out one May morning, All by some shady green groves, And there I beheld a most charming pretty maid, And her cheeks were as red as the rose, the rose, And her cheeks...." He asks to walk with her. She agrees to marry even though he is poor

The singer sees "an auld wife she was clawing her hole." He asks why she is so itchy. She tells him to leave and "I will claw it my fill"

As I Was Going by Charing Cross: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #20564}

As I was going by Charing Cross, I saw a black man upon a black horse, They told me it was King Charles the First, Oh dear, my heart was ready to burst."

"As I was going over London bridge, I met a dead (rat/horse), I one it, you two it, you three it... you eight (ate) it." The one who "ate" it becomes "it" or it "out" Or "There's an old dead horse down in the meadow; I one it... I two it... I eight it."

As I Was Going to St. Ives: (7 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #19772}

"As I was going to St. Ives, I met a man with seven wives, Each wife had seven sacks, Each sack had seven cats, Each cat had seven kirs: Kits, cats, sacks, and wives, How many were going to St. Ives?"

Singer meets a girl. Seven years ago her parents forced her lover across the sea. She looked for him in America until she ran out of money. The singer says her lover is dead. She says she'll never marry. He reveals that he is her lost lover. They marry.

As I Was Walking Through the Wud: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #13064}

The singer builds a church in a wood, helped by all the animals: one with a horn dug stones, another brought them home, a hare rang the morning bell, a lark sang. "Hymen was the high priest, An' Choral was the clerk"

"As I went by the Luckenbooths I saw a lady fair... 'Oh, have you seen my lost love, With his braw Highland men?" "But when the minister came out Her mare began to prance, Then rode into the sunset Beyond the coast of France."

"As I went down to my grandfather's farm, A billy-goat chased me around the barn. It chased me up a sycamore tree, And this is what it said to me:" This is generally followed by a floating verse of some kind

As I Went Down to Newbern: (3 refs. 5K Notes) {Roud #6641}

"As I went down to Newbern, I went there on the tide, I just got there in time To be taken by Old Burnside." The singer complains of his treatment and bets that the Yankees will run every time they fight the Confederates

As I Went Down to Port Jervis: (2 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #1924}

The singer sees a mother with her two soldier sons who are bound for battle. She wishes they were not leaving, and tells how she tried to keep them out of the army. The son(s) tell of their hard service, but say not to worry until they are dead!

As I Went Out for a Ramble: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #4163}

"As I went out for a ramble, It's I stopped in a little town." He falls in love with a girl but finds her with another man. She says she loves him but his parents are agains me and he is a hobo. He leaves town but returns. He will be true if she is

"As I went over yonders pond, I spied a frog with a red shirt on, He leaped ten feet and jumped in the mud, And he big fairewell to the ladies all. So rise, let's go home; My darling, rise, let's go home." "A raiding froad and a heavy load...."

"As I went through a garden green, I found an arbor made full new," with doves singing in every tree. A woman there sings, "Verbum caro factum est." She bore "the prince that is without a peer." The shepherds and kings came to see God made flesh

As I Went Up Some Chinese Steps: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #38135}

"As I went up some Chinese steps, I met some Chinese people. This is the way they spoke to me: Issa bissa bonka, Issa bissa bonka, And out goes she."

"As I went up the silver lake, There I met a rattlesnake, He did eat so much cake That he had the tummy ache."

As Now We Are Sailing: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #1810}

"As now we are sailing out of Sheet Harbour Bay And ... Scaterie." When the singer leaves the Labrador factory "I pray ... I'll come back here no more" and have "a chance for a wife"

As Robin Was Driving: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1396}

"As Robin was driving his wagon along, The trees in full blossom..." Robin sees a "fair damsel" and offers her a ride. When she asks his name, he says, "But as for the other one, I dare not tell For fear this young damsel should chance for to swell."

"As shepherds watched their fleecy care, A heavenly angel did appear" announcing a new king born of a virgin in Bethlehem. The child is wrapped in swaddling clothes. The shepherds are urged to see him; he will "save us from eternal death"

"As slow our wagons rolled the track, Their teams the rough earth cleaving," the drivers look back to the land left behind. They are sad to depart. The singer asks "to turn our hearts, where'er we rove, From those we've left behind us."

Riddle: "As soft as silk, As white as milk, As bitter as gall; A thick wall, And a green coat covers me all." Accepted answer: a walnut (or a walnut on a tree)

"As sure as comes your wedding day, A broom to you I'll send; In sunshine use the brushy part, In storm the other end."

As Sylvie Was Walking: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #170}

Sylvie, walking by the river, weeps for her lover. A young man asks the matter; she tells him that she's been deserted. She says her love will weep for her (after she dies). Astonishingly, the young man is not the departed lover, and nothing else happens.

"It is the evening of the day" and the singer is watching children playing "As tears go by." Money can't buy everything -- it can't buy the children doing things the singer used to do. So he watches them learning

"As the black billy boils At the end of the whare, I remember the time When I lived in a hurry... And I was a very young new chum." "Now I've mended my ways, And I never have a worry, And it's thanks to the Kauri gum!"

Singer watches as a ship prepares to sail away. On the dock "friends are saying goodbye." One couple parts as the girl won't leave Ireland. Parents watch as their deserter son is taken by a sergeant before he can escape

"As Tom was a-walking one fine summer's morn... He met Cozen Mal, with the tub on her head." He asks to speak to her; she sends him to talk to Fanny Trembaa. After promising her a new fig, she agrees to marry him

"As we trek along together, As we trek along. Shall we sing a song together, Shall we sing a song? Love life, laughter and sorrow, Who knows what comes tomorrow, Who knows and who cares, As we trek along." Sing and be cheery even when tired

As Welcome as the Flowers in May: (12 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4347}

"Last night I dreamed a sweet, sweet dream, I thought I saw my home, sweet home." The singer dreams of seeing his parents and his sweetheart Bess, who tell him they've been waiting and that he's "as welcome as the flowers in May."

French. Halyard shanty. "As-tu connu le Per Lanc'lot, Goodbye, farewell, goodbye, farewell, Qui fuit la peche aux cachelots?" Did you know Father Lancelot, who fished for "cachelots," had daughters in three cities, and makes life hard for his crew

"The ASC to the war have gone, At the base at Havre you will find them." "Their only use, it seems to me, is to open the Tommy's jam tins." At least they bring rations -- though the soldier suspects they keep the best food

Welsh/English. The singer describes the beauty of the ash grove, which "alone is my home." The singer broods on dead friends, but rejoices to see them in the ash grove.

"Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, if (X) don't kill you then (Y) must." E.g. "Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, If whisky don't kill you then abstinence must." Or, "...dust, If God won't have you, the Devil must."

"I had a job; was well content And pleased in every way." "...The men, like me, I know, were satisfied with their own jobs, Then came the C.I.O." The singer describes the misery of the Ashland Strike, and hopes never again to hear of the C.I.O.

Three robbers break into the Gibbons house. Fanny Gibbons, a friend, and Bobby Gibbons are killed. The robbers (fail in an) attempt to burn the house. One is lynched, the others sentenced to hang. Three locals are killed by soldiers guarding the robbers

A loose account of the murder of three children (Fanny and Bobby Gibbons and Emma Carico) in the Gibbons home in Ashland. It describes the crime at some distance and with some inaccuracies and generalities

Ask the Watchman How Long: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #16415}

Alternate lines are a chorus, "How long Watchman, how long?" The hymn leader sings "Ask the Watchman, how long." "Ask my brother...." "Well ask...." "Brother Jenkins...." "Before the roll call...." "Just a few more risings...."

Asleep at the Switch: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7370}

Tom the switchman has to work though his boy is dying at home. In his grief he falls asleep at the switch. A disaster is barely averted when daughter Nell, bringing good news, throws the switch. Tom is found dead of grief, but Nell is rewarded

"Come all you sons of Newfoundland who oft-times life do save, While I'll relate in language great about a hero brave." John Aspell drowns trying to save young Carter from drowning in a lake near St John's

Thomas Gready's ass is auctioned to an Orangeman to pay the tithe. The ass is confined and starved. Orangeman's daughter tries to have him "relinquish Popery." The cross-marked ass refuses. She threatens to whip the ass. "A multitude of asses" frees him.

Ass's Complaint, The: (3 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #V20702}

Singer meets a Catholic ass with the mark of the cross on his back complaining about having been sold to a Brunswicker. His MP master has turned on the ass for supporting Repeal. The singer wishes the ass may soon be stabled in College Green

"Man, beware and wise indeed, And assay thy friend ere thou hast need." The singer hears a bird sing this refrain." He comes closer. The bird moves away but continues its refrain

A servant girl comes to consult an astrologer; he bids her come upstairs. She says she will not go upstairs with any man. He points out that she lay with her master not long before. (She flounces out -- but only after displaying the coin her master paid)

"Get yo' little sage hens ready, Trot 'em out upon the floor -- Line 'em up there, you cusses! Steady!" The caller coaxes and cajoles the cowboys through the motions of a square dance.

Concerning the odd events and strange animal behaviors seen at Barnum's circus. Chorus: "If you want to have some fun, I'll tell you where to go, Go see the lion stuffed with straw At P. T. Barnum's show."

A teasing song with the omitted or hinted word occurring only once every four lines, rather than the more usual two. This begins with an old gent at Brighton swimming around the government pier, suggesting an English origin.

"Last Thursday night with heart so light just as the clock struck nine" people meet for Paddy Mayock's wild Irish party. It'a so boisterous that several are injured; the coroner rules they "committed suicide in self-defense at Paddy Mayock's ball"

"On Penhill Crags he tore his rags, AtHunters Thorn he blew his horn, At Cappelbank Stee he brak' his knee, At Grassgill Beck he brak' his neck, At Wadhams End he couldn't fend, AtGrassgill End we'll mak' his end. Shout, lads, shout!"

"At Pittsburg Landing our troops fought hard, They killed General Johnston and defeated Beauregard, They way they slew the Rebels, they knew how it would be, With land, force, gun boats, and Union victory."

"I'll tell you, George, in meter, If you will attend the while, How we forced out Saint Peter At Sullivan's fair isle."

At the back of Benachie "where swiftly flies the swallow" the singer's sweetheart lived. She disdained him at first "but now she kindly smiles at me And likes to see me comin'" He's proud "for my love's a gentlewoman"

"At the Battle of Waterloo, This is what the soldiers do, Left, right, left, right, All the way to Timbuktu."

Spanish, "A la puerta del cielo venden zapatos." "At the gate of heaven little shoes they are selling For the little barefooted angels there dwelling." "God will bless those so peacefully sleeping And keep the mothers whose love they are keeping."

"At the halt on the left, form platoon! (x2) If the odd numbers don't mark time two places, How the hell can the rest form platoon?" "If he moves in the ranks, take his name (x2), You can hear the Seargent-Major calling, 'If he moves in the ranks...."

"The folk are going mad outright, the yellow fever's at its height, And nothing's heard both day and night but gold at the Mataura." The miners even leave the women behind in order to seek gold. They all heed "Sam's Call" to the (fake) goldfields

"Once upon a time I visited A hostess neat and slender, A golden apple was her sign, Hung by a twig so tender, Do did-dle de la, la la la la, Hung by a twig so tender...." When the singer asks for a bill, (s)he is told there is none

Atching Tan Song (I), The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #1732}

Travellers' cant. Travellers arrive at an illicit camp, but awake in the morning to find their old pony impounded by the farmer. They ransom it and move on, finding water for the children

Atching Tan Song (II), The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #1732}

Travellers arrive at a likely camping spot; a policeman arrives and tells them to move on. Although it's the middle of the night, they do

Athabaskan's Finish: (1 ref. 7K Notes) {Roud #29407}

The Athabaskan leaves Plymouth to attack the enemy in the English Channel, but there are E-boats lying in wait. Two torpedoes destroy the Athabaskan. Many, including the captain, are killed; some are rescued; many, including the author, are prisoners

"Wha will ride wi' gallant Murray, wha will ride for Geordie's sel'? He's the flower of Glenisla and the darling o' Dunkeld." "Every faithful Murray follows, first of heroes, best of men." Many other men join him to follow Prince Charlie

"Atisket, Atasket (or: I tisket, I tasket"), A green and yellow basket, I (wrote/sent) a letter to my love And on the way I dropped it." "A little puppy picked it up And put it in his pocket, It isn't you, it isn't you, But it is *you*."

"Come, listen all unto my song, It is no silly fable, 'Tis all about the mighty cord They call the Atlantic Cable." Cyrus Field, despite ridicule and doubt about his ability to do it, after two failures manages to run a telegraph cable across the Atlantic

"Attend all ye drivers, I sing of my team; They're the fleetest and strongest that ever was seen." The singer describes his animals, Dandy, Charlie, and Jimmie, which he claims can beat anyone on the canal and expects them to out-perform steam

French. "To the woods, my ladies...Who is strolling in woods so shady? 'Tis the shepherdess a-strolling...Now then, embrace her, speak words cajoling."

French. A man (Harlequin?) asks his friend Pierrot to lend him a pen and open the door, Pierrot suggests he ask the brunette next door. "Someone looked for a pen,... I don't know what was found / But I do know that those two shut the door behind them"

Au Revoir to Our Hardy Sealers: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #26072}

"Our gallant ships are going, where rude Boreas is blowing." "Oh, farewell, and may God bless you... May kind Heaven hover o'er you... Terra Nova's sons and daughters truly bid you au revoir." The singer hopes the sailors find success in the ice

Auchnairy Ball, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #6063}

"Jean Shearer she was there, And vow but she was nice, She had a tweedle in her tail [or "She had a feestle in her arse"] 'It wad 'a grun spice" [or "Wad grun Jamaica spice"]

"I left the city when just a lad, Times were hard and no work to be had, So I went to sea on the Flora Bell... a ship from hell." Having sailed "from Auckland to the bluff," the singer says, "that's enough." He tells of the bad voyage; he won't sail again

Orangemen from County Antrim march from Portadown to Lurgan celebrating the anniversary of the Battle of the Boyne. They are greeted like heroes "that soon made the rebels subdue." At Aughalee the brandy flows with toasts to the boys or King William.

August Gale (I), The: (1 ref. 2K Notes) {Roud #30700}

The captains and crews of four ships lost are cited: John Follett, Danny Cheeseman, John Lockin. Only the Annie is mentioned by name. The singer hopes God will protect the families of the dead

August Gale (II), The: (3 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #9431}

"Ye darling sons of Newfoundland, please hearken unto me, How forty brave and fearless men gave up their lives at sea. The "storm on Thursday" comes up suddenly and "all the boats were on the ground around Placentia Bay"

Aul' Eppie Ironside: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #13573}

"Auld Eppie Ironside, Perdaddlum, perdaddlum, And auld Louie Urquhart Perdaddlum, perdaddlum"

The singer recalls her husband's proposal: "an aul' man's dawtie ye will be, For twenty years I'm aulder." He has been "a faithfu' frien' and husband kin'" and it would break her heart to lose his love.

"Aul' Sanners an' I lay doon to sleep Wi' twa pint stoupies at our bed feet; An' lang ere the mornin' we drank them dry, An' fat dar ye think o' aul Sanners and I? ... There's time aneuch yet to be toddlin' hame"

Aul' Widow Greylocks: (2 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #6264}

The singer loves and planns to marry Dally Still. When his farm fails he asks rich Widow Graylocks for help. She agrees only if he will marry her. They marry but his life became miserable. He says he will desert the widow and cross the sea.

"Auld Daddy Aiken Stole a bit of bacon, Hid it in his overcoat, For fear it might be taken." (Or, "Put it up the chimney," or other hiding place)

Auld Den o' Mains, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6146}

The singer says "I meet my bonnie lassie in the Auld Den o' Mains" by the Dichty River. He prefers her to miser's treasure and merchant's gains. "Oor fathers met our mithers there ... and oor bairns they'll go coortin' there"

Auld Eddie Ochiltree: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5637}

Auld Eddie, a blue-gown beggar, comes to town and is greeted and cared for by the townsfolk. He foretells who is to be married next and makes other predictions. All are happy to see the cheerful wanderer

"Come bring to me my limber gad I've fished wi' mony a year, An' let me ha'e m weel-worn creel An' a' my fishing gear...." The singer goes fishing one more time, recalls sixty years of fishing on the Coquet, and bids a farewell.

The singer says, "Ae day I was pitten to Rakie's to work at a stem-mull," ordered to mind the work, forego the silly nonsense, "and blawin' aboot my auld fite naig [white pony], its risin' twenty twa"

Soldier Willie dreams his sweetheart is an old gardener's wife. She confirms that her wedding will be the next day. Willie convinces her to sleep with him. When she asks to go with him in the morning he takes her. He taunts the gardener on the way.

An old horse, "turned out to die," remembers "when I was a foalie ... brisk and jolly." He threw "young Mr Galloper" when he was abused, so he was sold to a dealer who wore his life away. He warns people to "lay something in store" for their own old age.

When the singer, forty-two, was young "lads cam' flockin'"; now she's "beginnin' sair to fear a man I'll never get." Yesterday old Johnny Grant asked her to marry. Though he is lame, "yet he may prove good and kin'"

Recognized by the first line "Should auld acquaintance be forgot" and the chorus "For auld lang syne." Two old friends meet and remember their times together, ending by taking "a cup o' kindness."

Auld Luckie of Brunties: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5577}

"It's a' ye rovin' young men, come listen unto me, And dinna gang to Brunties toon The lasses for to see; Auld Luckie she's a wily ane, And she does watch the toon," fining visitors for vice. She traps a young couple bundling. He wishes her in hell

Auld Maid's Lament, The: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6283}

The singer wonders why her cousin has her choice of men while she has none. She kissed Donald once and when they met again he turned his head. Fancy clothes do not help. Perhaps there's no lad "decreed for me"

The old man took a sword, the old woman a turd. The battle was bloody and she shit on the hay.

Auld Man's Mare's Dead, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5880}

"The auld man's mare's dead (x3), A mile aboon Dundee." "She had the fiercie and the fleuk... On ilka knee she had a breuk, What ailed the beast to dee?" The beast's decrepitude, and the old man's mourning, are described in repetitive detail

Auld Matrons [Child 249]: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3915}

Willie comes courting at Annie's door; she assures him that Matrons (an old woman by the fire) can do nothing. But Matrons summons the sheriff, who comes to take Willie -- only to have Willie escape by calling on his brother John, a fantastic fighter

An old merchant of Fife wants to marry a virgin. He meets a widow who claims falsely that her daughter is a virgin; she lists eight prior lovers. Her mother tells her to "look a wee shy" in bed to fool the merchant.

"Oh, weel I mind the joys we had, In youth's bright sunny days... But better far I mind the time... When daffin' wi' my Jessie On the auld quarry knowe." Now old, both he and his wife are past their prime, but still he recalls the happy days

Jamie leaves Jenny to earn enough to be married. Her family has bad luck. Robin Gray supports them and asks Jenny to marry. Jamie's ship is wrecked and Jennie assumes he is dead. She marries Robin. Jamie returns too late.

Auld Warrack's Plough Feast: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #6073}

The lads and lasses had fun at old Warrack's plough feast. The plough chain broke and everyone helped fix it to end the job. At supper Warrack confesses "I never had a lawfu' wife, Nor yet a lawfu' son But I fell foul o' Maggie Thows"

Auld Wife and Her Cattie, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #6112}

"There was an aul' wifie, she clippit her cattie For takin' a moosie on Christenmas day, And oh fat befell the silly auld bodie The half o' her cattie was clippit away"

An old widow with many daughters wants "snishing/spruncin" (sex). They say she is too old and toothless. They will let her seek sex if she can break a nut with her teeth. They give her a pistol bullet instead of a nut; she cannot break it and wastes away

Apparently unrelated verses: The old wife rang the bell so loud the singer thought the building would fall; it's a shame "servant lassies a' get lads" but gentle ladies don't; it's awful to allow a lad to have a lass working for a fee.

An old man tells the singer his story. When he first arrived he was well received. Then, sixty years ago, someone called him "Papist Knave." Then a more fashionable man arrived. He expects to see hard times until he dies. Then "Auld Yule he vanished"

Aunt Jemima's Plaster: (11 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #974}

Aunt Jemimah survives by selling sticking plaster. With it she might catch a thief, keep a wayward husband from straying, etc. Chorus: "Sheepskin and beeswax Makes an awful plaster, The harder you try to get it off, The more it sticks the faster."

"Old Aunt Maria (Jack-a-ma-rier) Jumped in the fire. Fire too hot, Jump in the pot. Pot so black, (S)he jumped in a crack. Crack so high, (S)he jumped in the sky. Sky so blue, (S)he jumped in a canoe. Canoe so shallow, (S)he jumped in the tallow." Etc.

"A gentleman came to our house, He would not tell his name." He comes to court, but acts ashamed. He sits silent next to the girl. Finally he gives up, saying courting isn't worth it. The girls laugh at the "ding-dang fool [that] don't know how to court."

French language. "Aupres de ma blonde, Qu'il fait bon, fait bon, fait bon... Qu'il fait bon rester. Au jardin de mon pere Les lauriers sont fleuris."

"When the blackbird in the spring On the willow tree Sat and rock'd, I heard him sing, Singing Aura Lee." In praise of a "maid of golden hair." The singer describes how even the bird praise her. He begs her hand in marriage

Creole French. "Aurore Pradere, belle 'ti fille (x3), C'est li mo 'oule, s'est le ma pren." The singer praises the beauty of Aurore, and says that she is what he wants and will have. He describes what others say of her, but as for him, he still wants her

Australia (Virginny): (5 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #1488}

"When I was a young man, my age seventeen, I ought ha' been serving Victoria our Queen, But those hard-hearted judges, how cruel they've been, To send us poor lads to Australia." To please his girlfriend, the singer turns outlaw, and winds up transported

"Here's off, here's off to the digging of gold, Australia's our home where wealth is untold." The singer does not fear the long voyage to Melbourne. No matter what hardships he is warned of, he intends to go to the diggings

"There are lots and lots of arguments Going on today As to whether dear old England Should be brought into the fray." "Rally round the banner of your country... Sing Long Live the King wherever you may be And to hell with Germany; Australia will be there"

Australia's on the Wallaby: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #24705}

"Our fathers came to search for gold, The claim it proved a duffer. The syndicates and bankers' bosses made us all to suffer.... Australia's on the wallaby, Listen to the cooee." Most of the song is devoted to the animals the settler sees

"Austria was Hungary, Took a bit of Turkey, Dipped it into Greece, And fried it in Japan." Or "Germany was Hungary...." Or, "Are you Hungary, Yes Siam, Russia to the table And I'll Fiji Some Turkey."

"Once an Austrian went (yodeling/climbing) On a mountain so high, When along came an avalanche, Interrupting his cry." Yodel and avalanche sounds follow. Repeat with other interruptions such as bear. The sounds are cumulative although the words are not

Narrative: surreal description of speaker's trip through Alabama in an talking Ford filled with "Loco-Pep" gasoline. They fight off biting insects and a rattlesnake; the car falls to pieces, then reassembles itself. Incorporates bearhunt tall-tale

"It was on an autumn twilight, I watched the seagulls glide, When the fairest of all maidens Stole softly by my side." He describes her beauty and how they met and embraced. He wishes he were still with her

"Got to New York this morning', just about half past nine (x2), Hollerin' one mornin' in Avalon, couldn't hardly keep from cryin'." "Avalon my hometown, always on my mind, Pretty mama's in Avalon...." "New York's a good town, but it's not for mine."

A French/Quebecois song of praise to the Virgin Mary (sung in Latin): "Ave, maris stella, Dei Mater alma, Atque semper virgo, Felix coeli porta (x2)" "Sumus illud Ave Gabrielis ora, Funda nes in pace, Mutans Hevae nomen."

A southern alphabet song: "A is the green apple with bites all around, B is the ball that is lost on the ground, C is the cigarette making him pale... Yell is the yell he emits all the day, Z is for zeal he shows in his play."

The rider, on the advice of the cowboys, bridles the horse "Lumberjack" with an "average rein." As a result, he is thrown. He determines thereafter to seek better advice

"Come, gentlemen all, and I'll sing you a song, It's about the mud-plumpers of Avington Pond." The men with their wheelbarrows work hard (to clear the pond?). THe singer is sure there are no better workers. They enjoy their beer.

Flames are seen outside the Avondale mines; the miners' families realize there is a fire below. The two men who enter the mine find all the miners suffocated. Over one hundred men die

A fire in the Avondale Mine kills 110 miners. Relatively few details of the disaster and rescue are given, with the focus being on the plight of the bereaved families.

"Awa whigs awa (x2), Ye're but a pack o' traitor louns, Ye'll do nae gude at a'." The [Scottish] thistle flourished until the Whigs arrived "like a frost in June." THe singer complains about the betrayal of the king. The singer expects vengeance

"They're starving noo in Scotland, in England and Ireland tae; I canna bide nae langer here, so now I must away." The singer is going to Cyprus "to open a public hoose." Gold lies at your feet. If he gets rich he may come home "wi' a Pasha to my name"

"Awake and join the cheerful choir, Upon this joyful morn (x2), And glad hosanna loudly sing, For joy a Savior's born." "Let all the choirs on earth below Their voices loudly raise." "The shining host in bright array... Proclaim a Savior's birth."

"Awake, awake, sweet England, sweet England now awake, And do your prayers obediently." Listeners are told to repent, reminded that worms will eventually eat their flesh, reminded that wealth is useless after death, and blessed

Awake, Awake (New Year's Carol): (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #701}

"Awake, awake, ye drowsy souls, And hear what I shall tell: Remember Christ, the lamb of God, redeemed our souls from hell." Jesus was crowned with thorns, crucified, met Thomas, empowered his disciples, and tells them to seek the wandering sheep

"There's a famous fabled country never seen by mortal eyes... And this famous fabled country is away down east." A man sets out to seek the place, and eventually is tricked into jumping off an east-facing cliff. His mother mourns

Away Down East, Away Down West: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #8248}

"Away down east, away down west, Away down in Alabam, The only girl that I love best, Her name is Susy Anna. I tooker to to a ball one night... The table fell and she fell too And stuck her nose in the butter." She has "Two black eyes and a jelly nose"

"O massa take that brand new coat And hang it on the wall, That darkie take that same old coat And wear 'em to the ball. Oh, don't you hear my true love singing, Oh, don't you hear 'em sigh, Away down in Sunbury I'm bound to live and die."

"Away in a manger, no crib for a bed, The little Lord Jesus lay down his sweet head." The baby never complains even amid the noise of the cattle. The singer asks that Jesus protect him/her and all children

Away Out On the Mountain: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #15887}

"I packed my grip for a farewell trip; I kissed Susan Jane goodbye at the fountain. 'I'm going,' says I, 'to the land of the sky, Away out on the mountain.'" The singer describes mountain life -- the wind, the animals; he will feast on meat and honey

"Away, you black devils (blackbirds, crows, ravens), away. Away, you black devils, away, You eat too much, you drink too much, You carry too much away, away."

Geordie Dunn says "A never met wi my equal yet, I was aye sae fu of fun." He meets a girl, takes her to a sweet shop, and proposes. They marry. "She has proved a scolding wife... But I just return the compliments, for A'm aye sae fu o fun"

Bell's parents made him pick pockets and "join a mob to murder and rob." At trial Bird and his mother cry. "For want of parent's proper care This boy's condemned to die"

Call-and answer: "Axe talkin'." "Nobody cuttin'." "All day long." "All day long."

Willie, are you awake [waukin]? "Annie's got new strings till her aul' apron" [is pregnant]. "Turn to yer bonnie lassie wi' her short apron.

"Spanish: !Ay! vienen los Yankees, !Ay! Los tienen ya!" The Yankees are coming. The singer urges listeners to put aside "formalidad"/formality. The girls are learning English as fast as they can. The Yankees say, "Kiss me!" The girls do

Aye She Likit The Ae Nicht: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #135}

The man gets into bed, knocks the bottom boards over the woman's head, gives her his "hairy peg." She likes it. (Refrain: "Lassie, let me in, O") When he comes down, the "auld wife" is standing there; she lifts her clothes and says "Laddie, put it in"

"I'm wet and weary!" I would "rise and rin" to meet her. "I lang for my true lover" in summer and at sleep. "Feather-beds are soft, Painted rooms are bonnie; But a kiss o' my dear love Is better far than ony." Friday night is long in coming.

"Fortune favours them wha work aye wi' a busy haun'." Help yourself; look before you leap; don't speak ill of others; "never say that ye're ill-used"; "never let your tongue wag up and down"; life is a fight "to the very grave"

Ayrshireman's Lilt, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #6962}

Where are you going, Highlandman? To steal a cow. You'll be hanged. I don't care as long as my stomach is full.

Baa Baa Black Sheep: (8 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #4439}

"Baa baa, black sheep, have you any wool?" The sheep replies that it does, and details what might be done with it

"Baa! go the goats, Ow! go the di-so-men [boatmen seeking fares], Dong! go the bells in the steeple, Bang! go the guns of destroyers during night attacks; The hooter at St Angelo goes Peep! Peep! Peep!"

Game: "Wha learned you to dance, Babbity Bowster, Babbity Bowster? Wha learned you to dance, Babbity Bowster, brawly." "My minie learned me to dance." "Wha gae you the keys to keep?" "My minne gae me the keys to keep."

A cante-fable: Old El, crippled and without resource, is sentenced to the poorhouse. His wife must go to another poorhouse. They are preparing to part for the last time. The song (to the tune of Loch Lomond) recalls their happy times together, now gone

"A babe is born all of a may, To bring salvation unto us, To him we sing both night and day, Veni creator spiritus." The babe was born in Bethlehem. The three kings came from the east; the shepherds visited; the angels sang

"A babe is born to bliss us bring, A heard a maid lullay and sing." She tells her baby that he is the King of Bliss. They discuss the crucifixion and what will happen to him in future. He asks again for comfort. Chorus may be English or Latin or mixed

Babe of Bethlehem, The: (3 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #11878}

A nativity hymn, generally following the Lukan story, and beginning: "Ye nations all, on you I call, Come, hear this declaration, And don't refuse the wond'rous news Of Jesus and salvation...."

Babes Can Count Up by Algebra: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #25495}

"Babes can count up by Algebra All the stripes upon a Zebra."

Babies on Our Block, The: (11 refs. 56K Notes) {Roud #9572}

"If you long for information or in need of merriment, Come over with me socially to Murphy's tenement." The singer catalogs all the myriad Irish babies living in the area, who join in singing "Little Sally Waters"

"I'm bringing home a baby bumble bee. Won't my mama be so proud of me. I'm bringing home a baby bumble bee. Ouch! It stung me! My bumbee bee."

"Baby Bye, here's a fly, Let us watch him, you and I." "There he goes, on his toes, Tickling baby's nose!" "I believe with those six legs You and I could walk on eggs." "See! he crawls on the walls Yet he never falls."

Jump-rope rhyme. "Baby in the high chair, Can't sit still. Ma! Pa! Whoops-a-la! Wrap her up in tissue paper, Send her down the elevator."

Baby It Must Be Love: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #17669}

Singer says: he's "groggy in his knees"; she "makes me think the world's all mine"; "they make you give up every thing"; "make King Edward give up his crown." "Baby, it must be love"

("My baby loves to boogie, I love to boogie too" (x2). "I'm gonna boogie this time, ain't gonna boogie no more") ("Don't the moon/sun look lonesome shining down through the trees"(2x) "Don't your house look lonesome when your baby pack up and leave")

Baby on the Shore, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #25401}

"The sun was setting, slowlysetting, Setting as it never set before... So we sat upon the baby on the shore." "The sun, the sun was shining brightly, Brightly as it never shone before. We were thinking of the old folks... we left the baby on the shore"

"Baby Owlet, Purple Owlet, Singing as Moon shines above." "Won't you lend me your swift pinion, That I may fly to my love." "Tetra coo, coo, coo (x3), Baby Owlet, Poor little owlet, He is tired from crying so."

The prisoner begs his girl not to abandon him: "Now your man done gone (x3) To the county farm." "Baby, please don't go (x3) back to Baltimore." ""Turn your lamp down low." ""You know I loves you so." "I beg you all night long."

Floating blues verses; "I'm going to the depot/Look up on the board"; "If I had listened/To what mama said," etc. Chorus is "All night long/Baby, all night long/Got the Richmond blues/Baby, all night long."

"Here's a ball for baby, Big and soft and round, Here is baby's hammer, Oh how she can pound." The song lists other things baby has: (toy) soldiers, music, trumpet, umbrella, cradle

"Baby's boat's a silver moon, sailing on the sky, Baby's wishing for a dream as the stars go by. Sail, Baby, sail, Out across the sea. Only don't forget to sail home again to me." "Baby's fishing for a dream, Fishing near and far,..."

"Baby's eyes are Irish, Baby's eyes are blue, Baby's eyes are Daddy's, He was Irish too. Daddy's gone heaven, Gone to paradise, Leaving his little baby With two lovely Irish eyes."

Babylon Is Fallen (I): (2 refs. 11K Notes) {Roud #13968}

Chorus: "Babylon is fallen, is fallen, is fallen! Babylon is fallen, to rise no more!" Verses: "Hail the day so long expected." Babylonians cry, trade and traffic die, all in one day. Saints, throngs, elders shout "hallelujah," "the loud and long amen"

Babylon Is Falling: (8 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7706}

"Way up in the cornfield where you hear the thunder, That is our old forty pounder gun, When the shells are missin' then we load with pumpkins, All the same we make the cowards run." The slave rejoices to triumph over the master

An outlaw accosts (three) sisters, demanding that one of them marry him on pain of death. As all refuse, he kills all but the youngest. She accidentally learns that he is their brother. The outlaw usually then kills himself in remorse.

Singer laments his bachelor life. He sends a letter to his girlfriend, proposing that she share his lot; she answers by telegram, refusing. He replies, "If you don't like my bait, you need not to bite my hook"

Bachelor's Hall (I): (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7031}

About the sad life of a bachelor: "Bachelor's Hall, what a queer looking place it is, Keep me from such all the days of my life." The singer describes the mess and squalor of the place, and the pitiful lives of its inhabitants.

Bachelor's Hall (II): (15 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #385}

"When young men go courting they'll dress up so fine," meet the girls, dress up -- and end up worn out, (broke), and claiming, "I believe it's the best to court none at all, And live by myself and keep bachelor's hall," where neither wife nor children nag

"Young ladies all, both short, fat, and tall, On me you will surely take pity, For a bachelor's hall is no place at all." The singer would rather be married: it's less expensive. He lists his household assets in hopes of attracting a wife.

Bachelor's Lament (I), The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5755}

The singer, forty-nine, wishes "some bonnie lassie wad tak' pity on me." His stockings "like mysel', they hiv seen better days" and his breeches are torn. His whiskers are grey and his head bald. He wants "a clean tidy body in perfect good health"

Bachelor's Lament (II), A: (7 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3771}

"As I was walking all alone, I heard an old bachelor making his moans: I wonder what the matter can be, Dog them pretty girls won't have me." The bachelor describes those he has courted, the offers he has made, the horses he has ruined -- to no avail

Bachelor's Lament (III), The: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #24294}

Singer retells the benefits of bachelorhood, but he tires of living alone. "I'll go searching through this wide world till a partner I will find." He plans his trip throughout Newfoundland and Labrador, but assumes no one will have him.

"Come gather, young fellers, my story's for you. I'm a man of experience." Don't just go for any woman, and don't hurry into marriage. Stay apart for a month. If he still loves her, then marry; the marriage will remain happy

"It's Mary, my darling, in her blue gingham dress. Of all the girls ever I love her the best." "Oh, Mary, of Mary, will you ever be true?... My darling, my darling, I'll be true to you." He hopes to marry, "...the answer to the bachelor's prayer."

"I'm a bachelor's son and I live in sin With another man's wife at the Cross." The singer expects to suffer in Hell -- but will have fun now. He has three ex-wives and offers many services -- sex, drugs, lesbianism, even a dead body for necrophiliacs

The singer describes "the murderous outrage that took place in Dublin Town." Armed Irish rebels came to Dublin, and disturbances followed. In the confusion, the King's Own Scottish regiment kills three people

The singer meets a girl "tripping and slipping down (Back Bay Hill)." They are married the next day. They have three children; during a disagreement about names, the father insists the child be named after the hill! He advises others to visit the place

"Way back in the hills as a boy I once wandered, There deep in the grave lies the girl that I love." She was a jewel on earth and now is one in heaven. When she was sixteen, she had promised to marry him, but now she is dead.

"It was on a Saturday evening, As I went to Dundee, I met wi' an old sweetheart," and one thing led to another. They share a glass, he departs, then writes a letter saying he will marry her only if she comes to him. She warns other girls of her sad fate

Table grace. As typically sung, "Back of the bread is the flour, And back of the flour is the mill; Back of the mill is the (wind/sun) and the rain And the Father’s will."

Reworked floating verses in white-blues form: "I'm going back to Jericho, sugar babe (x3)"; "Never seen the likes since I've been born...." "Old Aunt Jemima going through the sticks...." "What you gonna do when the meat gives out...." Etc.

The singer writes a letter to his (girl/wife); the (soldiering/cockie's) life is hard and lonely. He pleads, "Take me back to the Holbrook streets, And back where the beer-hogs are, Back to the sound of the barrel taps And back to Larkins' bar."

Backblock Shearer, The: (8 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #29042 and 24808}

"I'm only a backblock shearer, as easily can be seen... I've shorn in most of the famous sheds, I've seen big tallies done, But somehow or other, I don't know why, I never became a gun." The shearer describes his many attempts to make the century

Andrew Crystal lives in Backburn; praise him "for he grand whisky sells." "O mither dear, look doon the lum [chimney] Your face I lang to see"; the eagles build their nest in you and I would try their eggs.

"Backsides rule the Navy, Backsides rule the sea, If you want a bit of bum... Ye'll get no bum from me." The singer recalls "Catp'n Kitt" and Yeoman Sydney Grimes, who have uncomfortable adventures, and AB Long, "whose member wasn't like his name"

Backward, Turn Backward (I): (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #5092}

"Backward, turn backward, O Time, in your flight, Bring back my ability if just for tonight. Bring back that riding ability of mine, Don't let the bull buck my ass off this time."

"Well, it rained five days and the sky was dark (x2), There's trouble in the lowlands tonight. "I got up one morning, I couldn't even get out of my door." The storms and floods drive many poor people from their homes

Typical first line: "I first came to this country in (some year)." The singer, a wood-hauler, having gotten drunk, is convinced to go a ball. He spends a riotous night. He hopes that others will not exaggerate what happened.

"I have lived long enough to be rarely mistaken, And had my full share of life's changeable scenes, But my woes have been solaced by good greens and bacon." They consoled him when rejected in love. If he had three wishes, he'd want bacon and greens

"Go bring me a mug of your very best ale, Bad ale can drag a man down." "The lord of the castle a bold knight was he, He started to London the Queen for to see." "His cloak it was velvet for a grand lord was he, He rode a white charger...."

A parody of "The Strawberry Roan," in which the boss hires the cowman to ride a "big Brahma bull" in a rodeo. The rest follows the original: The rider winds up being thrown, and "high-tail[s] it back to that old Flying U."

The bad girl tells of how she reveled at the ale-house and the dance hall, then found herself in the poorhouse, and now is at death's door. She makes her final requests, and asks that young sailors carry her coffin

The singer goes out one night to "make his rounds." He meets his (girlfriend/wife), Little Sadie, and shoots her. He flees, but is overtaken and sentenced to (a long prison term/life)

Bad Luck Attend the Old Farmer: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #17894}

A warning to servant boys seeking employment by farmers at hiring fairs. You are badly fed and "cold as lead." The singer will not hire for another half year. "Don't hire with any farmer ... But sail off to Amerikay, To a land where you'll be free"

"Bad luck to the man Who invented the plan For he ruined us wagoners And every other man."

Bad Luck to This Marching: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #37296}

"Bad luck to this marching, pileclaying and starching, How neat one must be to be killed by the French! I'm sick of parading Through wet and cold wading...." The soldier's life is hard; food is bad or missing; they don't get paid. He wishes he were home

"In every home that you can find There are people who have bad mind. (x2) Certain bad mind that sit and lie, Sit and criticize people who go by." Other stanzas offer examples, e.g. "You kneel in your home to pray; They say a hypocrite you did play."

"I am passing through the valley here in peace (x2), O when I am dead and buried in the cold and silent tomb, I don't want you to grieve after me." "I am leaving all my friends here in peace... I don't want you to grieve after me."

Gaelic. The singer recalls that his son was killed when his herring boat was wrecked on a submerged rock. He names the men drowned and their mourning family members. He hopes that the bodies will be found.

A song of praise to logdrivers. It mentions the hardships of the job. It praises manager Bill Dorothy, and points out that drivers supply the pulpwood for paper. The drive on Badger is described. The singer hopes that the company will continue to succeed

Baffled Knight, The [Child 112]: (37 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #11}

A (knight/shepherd) sees a lady (bathing), and wishes to lie with her. She convinces him not to touch her until they reach her father's gate. She jumps in, locks him out, and scolds him for his base thoughts and/or his lack of assertiveness.

Harvey bids farewell to his father's estate, his tenants, and "my true United Men who bravely with me fought." If he is executed at Wexford he asks to be buried at his father's tomb. The estate will be returned when Ireland is free.

Baggage Coach Ahead, The: (24 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #3529}

The passengers on the train are awakened by a child's cries. They complain to the child's father. He tells them that the child's mother is dead "in the baggage coach ahead." Upon learning this, the passengers turn helpful

Singer wants to hear "that old Bahama lullaby Like my Bahama mama used to sing ... let ne live or let me die Where I heard that lullaby ... beneath the moonlit skies"

Gaelic. "This is a poem in praise of Ballyvourney (Co Cork), particularly its scenery and the richness of its Irish-language tradition."

A youth is in love with the Bailiff's daughter. He is apprenticed in London for seven years. At last she disguises herself to see if he is still true. They meet; he asks of his love. She says she is dead; he grieves; she reveals herself

"In Bainbridge town there dwelt of late A worthy youth who met his fate." Urial Church and girlfriend Louisa go strolling in the snow; he throws snow in her face. She playfully throws a scissors at him -- but wounds him; it festers and he dies. All grieve

Skipping game. "Bake a pudding, bake a pie, Did you ever tell a lie? Yes you did, I know you did, You broke your mother's teapot lid. O-U-T spells out, And out you must go, Right in the middle Of the deep blue sea."

Rope-skipping or swinging game. "Baker, baker, Bake your bread, Salt, vinegar, mustard, pepper."

French: Jose wishes to go to Boule's Ball; his mother makes him stay until his chores are done. At last he finishes and hurries off to the dance -- only to fall down and be thrown out. His Lisette proceeds to dance with another swain

Nursery song for the children of tin miners: "Balance-bob works up and down, Pumping the water from underground, Over the while the engine do lash, Scat the old man back in the shaft."

Balbriggen Landlord: (1 ref. 2K Notes) {Roud #V39513}

"Low-bred landlords" raise rents and drive starving tenants. "Viva la for Hampton landlords" who voted against Union and stood with Flood, Burke, Grattan and Parnell. "Viva la" for Parnell "driving foes and Landlord Reptiles from his native land"

"Well, I wish I was an old bald eagle, long time ago, I'd fly away down to Oklahoma." "Darkie said he'd hug my Sally." "Cocked my gun and pulled the trigger... Shot that darkie through the liver." "Oh, what's in the pot, my good granny?"

Bald Knobber Song, the: (8 refs. 45K Notes) {Roud #5486}

"Adieu to old Kirbyville, I can no longer stay. Hard Times and Bald Knobbers have driven me away." He does not wish to leave family and home, but the vigilante Bald Knobbers drove him away. He describes their various villainies

The singer warns men against marriage: It's fun at first, but wait till you're stuck "with a wife and (sixteen) half-starved kids." "So keep away from the girls... For when they are wed, they will bang you on the head With the bald-headed end of a broom"

"Come listen to my ditty... 'Tis about one Baldy Green... He was a way up six horse driver On Ben Holiday's stage line." Green is halted by robbers, but rather than yielding the gold, he restarts the team. Green is shot; the money is saved

"Baldy's teeth were long, Baldy's teeth were strong, It would be no disgrace To Baldy's face If Baldy's teeth were gone."

"There was a ball at Davidson's Just i' the mids o' Lent." There were farmers, thimble-riggers, itinerant dealers and lottery folk. The farmer couldn't sell cattle or grain but fish sellers and thimble-riggers did well.

Jamaican patois: Game begins and the ball goes around. Players take turns and show how the ball goes around. [The person in the middle must discover the holder.]

Ball of Kirriemuir, The: (8 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #4828}

A quatrain ballad, the scores of verses to this song describe the sexual feats at the "gathering of the clans."

The narrator asks a pretty little miss "to wind her ball of yarn." He contracts gonorrhea, then is arrested nine months later, and sentenced to the penitentiary, all for "winding up that little ball of yarn."

Ben Hall was "a peaceful, quiet man until he met Sir Fred." Then, with his homestead burnt and his cattle dead, he turned outlaw. The song describes the reward for Dunn, Gilbert, and Ben, and exhorts the listeners to toast their memories

Billy takes his girl to a rodeo where he is riding bulls. He assures her that all will be well -- but he is thrown as his girlfriend watches: "There wasn't a thing she could do But stand there and watch the boy die." She has nightmares of his last ride

"As I went walking one day down in Frisco... I spied a longshoreman all dressed in white linen.... and cold as the clay." The boss owned the unions. The workers fought back to regain their rights. 400 workers were killed or injured. He tells them to fight

After a prayer for England ("GOD:that shope both sea and Land"), the poem describes the armies of Richard III and Henry Tudor that fought at Bosworth Field. The Stanley Brothers are highly praised for their role in the battle that made Henry the new King

"It was the seventeenth, by break of day, the Yankees did surprise us." The British soldiers march. The song mentions officers Howe and Pigot. The artillery serves well until they run out of suitable ammunition. The singer curses rebels Hancock and Adams

"The soldiers from town to the foot of the hill... They pottered and dawdled and twaddled until We feared there would be no attack at all." The Colonials inflict heavy casualties on the British, but then "We used up our powder and had to go home!"

"Bob Bartlett, born in Brigus, of a bold sea-faring breed, Became a master-mariner as destiny decreed; He won renown... When Peary used his services to the Northern Pole." We are told of the hardships in the arctic, and of the sealing ships he captained

"His name was Dodge, Robert Dodge, And he was black as sin, But his heart was full of love and light." Dodge worked for a living, and loved Gospel singalongs. But he was on the Old 97 when it was wrecked. God remembers him

"I'll tell you a tale of Ioway... about a crime in Hardin Town...." Barowner Thorne has betrayed an Indian chief's daughter. The chief seeks him out in the bar, but is shot by an unknown assailant. The chief's son kills a bar patron and goes to prison

In 1814 Andrew Jackson recruits pirate Jean Lafitte to help his American backwoodsmen-soldiers defeat Pakenham's forces at New Orleans. They do, with many humorous tales (including an alligator converted to a cannon), then celebrate with the local girls

"Let's away to New Scotland, where Plenty sits queen O'er as happy a country as ever was seen." The abundant riches of Nova Scotia are praised, and the lack of duties and landlords is pointed out

"Come all ye hearty Newfoundlanders, join your voices now with me: Of our sealing ships and sealers let us sing." The speaker describes how the fleet leaves port, hunts the seals, survives problems; he urges listeners to pray for crew and captains

"It's sunny again in Georgia, No finer breathing place, Since the undertaker Threw dirt in Talmadge face." He cussed heavily, "Now he can't cuss no more." He had mistreated the Colored; they rejoice at his death and say, "Devil he take Talmadge."

The Braswell Boys have been sentenced to death for murder. They attempt to escape from prison, but are captured. At the scaffold, among prayers and sad relatives, they confess to the crime. They are executed and buried

"Jesus was a working man, A hero as you shall hear, He was born in the slums of Bethlehem...." From a young age, his arguments put older men to shame. He traveled and called workers to him. The Romans kill him. Now his dreams are coming true

"A truthful man was Deacon Slocum, Honest as the day was long." He has two oxen, one good, one bad. He sells them, claiming that one ox is good and he doesn't know any reason why the other isn't as good. The buyer complains; Slocum says he told the truth

Harry Dale, the drover, is heading home after many months away. He comes to a river in flood. He tries to cross, but is swept from his horse. His dog leaps in to save him, but is also washed away. Now "in the lonely homestead the girl shall wait in vain"

"On a grim and tragic morning In nineteen hundred three A little babe lay weeping... There in the shiv'ring morning." A rockslide buries the town; a few miners dig their way out of the mine to find the little girl -- and everything else ruined and dead

Ballad of the Kelly Gang: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #22593}

The singer tells of the large rewards offered for the Kelly Gang, but claims "if the sum were doubled, sure, the Kelly boys would live." The song goes on to describe in great detail the 1878 robbery at Euroa

'I could tell you a tale of a great whilte whale... But I'd rather tell how our Buckomate had a Pirates knife stuck in his middle." A female pirate kills most of those she finds -- but keeping the best-looking men. Men visit her monument and get babies

"Tea ships near to Boston lying, On the wharf a numerous crew, Sons of freedom, never dying, Then appeared in view." (The Sons of Freedom) attack the British vessel and dump the "cursed weed of China's coast."

"The Umpqua country was the best every (sic.) found For hills and rocks and fountains." The singers slog through the country looking for the good land they have been promised, but all they ever find is more disappontments.

Singer tells of Mike Corrigan, the best white-water man. Among his deeds: breaking up logjams at Sour-na-Hunk and Ambejejus Falls, flying like a bird, landing on his pike-pole and whizzing around so fast that his hair scorched the air and fried the wind

William Bloat's wife "got his goat" so he cuts her throat. "To finish the fun so well begun He resolved himself to kill." He hangs himself with a sheet. He dies but she survives: "for the razor blade was German made But the sheet was Belfast linen"

"O the bricks they will bleed and the rain it will weep, And the damp Lagan fog lull the city to sleep; It's to hell with the future and live on in the past: May the Lord in His mercy be kind to Belfast" and other political statements.

Ballan Doune Braes: (7 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6819}

"The laird o' the town" tells Betsy "that a father, a brother, and a husband he'd be." But "short was his courtship ... When he cam' to his own he wad own me nae mair" People mock her. Left forlorn with children she returns to die on Ballan Doune braes

Dutch. Ballast-throwing shanty. "Westzuidwest van Ameland (WSW of Ameland)" is a pool where one can catch fish but not girls. The sailor describes places he has been, e.g. Surinam. He talks of the work, and a cow that calved each month

The singer recalls the joys of living in (Balinderry) and spending time with "(Phelim), my (diamond/demon)." But now she is sad and lonely, as Phelim died (at sea)

The singer recalls the marriage. After the priest arrives, "with long rakes and pitchforks they welcomed the bride." The feast is fine. The bride is "small round the waist as a two year old mare." They seek the bride, who has "trotted off"

"When the balloon flew o'er 'Ampton Town, The wofflers they did staer, They thowt is was a coel boat A-flying through the aer. To trew it is unto the time, So trew it is I owun, Going to fetch a load of line To build a sun and meun."

"The balls of O'Leary are massive and hairy; They're shapely and stately like the dome of St. Paul's." People come to observe the sight

"Balls to Mister Banglestein, Banglestein, Banglestein, Balls to Mister Banglestein, Dirty old man. For he keeps us waiting While he's masturbating, So balls to Mister Banglestein, Dirty old man."

Ballstown (Great God, Attend): (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #15051}

"Great God, attend while Zion sings the joy that from thy presence springs. To spend one day with thee on earth Exceeds a thousand days of mirth."

The singer escapes the world to head for Ballymackleduff. The friends of his youth meet him. They have a wonderful time at places with improbable names. The factories are all shut, the bars open, with kissing and dancing. "Why did I stay away so long?"

The singer recalls Ballycastle, noting, "That place is ever dear to me, no matter when or where I be." He says that no soldier has found a place more hospitable, no land knows plants so fair. Those from far away sigh because they cannot find its like

The mother bids her child, "Rest tired eyes a while, sweet is thy baby smile, Angels are guarding and watch o'er thee." Birds sing, fairies dance, "for very love of thee." Mother loves the child, too, and bids him sleep and dream

"The garden of Eden has vanished, they say, But I know the lie of it still": Its image survives in Ballyjamesduff. Paddy Reilly tells that he was a quiet baby because he knew he was born there. Now grown, every breeze tells him to come back

The singer bids farewell to Ballymonan, land of green leaves and pretty girls. He recalls the pleasant nights there. He gives his name as John by counting through the alphabet. He bids success to Ballymonan

On the road to Ballynure the singer "heard a wee lad behind a wee ditch That to his wee lass was talking" He asks her to give him a kiss. She says "kisses are not for giving away But they are for the taking." Remember that when you go to kiss a girl

The singer stops at Ballyshannon Lane and thinks of "scenes of ninety-eight," recalling Scullabogue on the one hand and the death of rebels on the other. Many are named. The singer says "in Ireland's need I am here to bleed in Ballyshannon Lane"

"There is a balm in Gilead to make the wounded whole; There is a balm... to heal the sin-sick soul." "Sometimes I feel discouraged... But then the Holy Spirit Revives my soul again." "If you can preach like Peter... Go and tell your neighbour...."

Mary escapes from her father's prison to follow her sailor Thomas to fight the Russians in Sir Charles Napier's Baltic Fleet. When she is discovered and taken, with Thomas, to Napier, he sends them back to England where they marry.

Baltimore (Up She Goes): (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4690}

Shanty. "He kissed her on the cheek and the crew began to roar, Oh, oh, up she goes, we're bound for Baltimore." Verses continue with kissing on the neck, arms, legs, and other parts which the printed sources politely refrain from mentioning.

"It was on a silver falls by a narrow That I heard a cry I ever will remember... Fire, fire, I heard the cry From every breeze that passes by... While in ruin the fire was laying Fair Baltimore, the beautiful city." About the terrible fire in Baltimore

French. Daughterloves a bambocheur (wanderer). The mother says that she will instead marry a rich man on the morrow. The girl walks along the shore, bemoaning her slavery ("esclavage"), saying she will never stop loving "ce bambocheur"

"You take a stick of bamboo (x3), You throw it in the water." "River, she come down (x2)." You travel across the river to come home.

Work song about loading bananas; refrain: "Daylight come and me want go home" or "Day the light and me want go home." The workers ask the "tally man" to count the bananas so they can go home after loading all night.

"Ride a cock horse to Banbury cross To see a fine lady upon a white horse. Rings on her fingers and bells on her toes, And she shall have music wherever she goes."

Band o' Shearers, The: (7 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1524}

As shearing season approaches, the lad asks, "My bonnie lassie, will ye gang, And shear wi' me the whole day long, And love will cheer us as we gang And join the band of shearers." The two find they are happy together, and decide to wed

Band of Banshee Airmen, A: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #29408}

"A band of banshee airmen, way out in the sunny Sudan, Where all the erks are banshee, and so's the fucking old man." The singer recalls the extreme tidyness of the captain of the Somersetshire. "So roll on the Nelson, the Rodney...."

The singer hails his sister (brother, mourner): "Don't you want to go to heaven? How I long to see that day." There's a "band of Gideon (milk white horses, milk and honey, healing water, golden chariot) over in Jordan"

Band Played On, The: (11 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #9615}

Known by the chorus, "Casey would waltz with a strawberry blonde, and the band played on...." The verses concern the social club founded by Matt Casey, and the kissing, courting, and dancing which took place there

A quatrain ballad that celebrates Lulu's sexual exploits, her peccadillos, and the singer's affection for the lady in question. A typical chorus asks, "What will we do for banging When Lulu's dead and gone?"

Bang Away, Lulu (II): (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4835}

A teasing-song version of "Bang Away, Lulu I," i.e.: "Lulu's got a rooster. / Lulu's got a duck. / She put them in the bathtub / To see if they would --." Chorus: "Bang, bang Lulu," etc. (Note that the last line of each verse is left unfinished)

This is a compromise between Lulu I and II. Typical stanza: "Lulu gave a party, Lulu gave a tea, Then she left the table To see her chicken peck."

Shanty. "To Chile's coast we are bound away, To my hero Bangidero. To Chile's coast we are bound away, We'll drink and dance fandango..." Verses sing the praises of Spanish girls and various sexual exploits.

"Let craven hearts to tyranny Their coward homage render; The watchword of the brave and free Will still be "No Surrender!" "We kept our commemoration In honour of our Hero great Who freed the British nation" "We shall up and we shall on"

Bangor Boat's Away, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #19300}

"The Bangor boat's away, The Bangor boat's away, For we won't be home till morning, We won't be home till morning (x2), The Bangor boat's away." "The Bangor boat's away, We have no time to play." "The Bangor boat's away, We have no time to stay."

"It was on a Sunday afternoon, The sky was bright and clear, The people... felt no dread or fear." But a fire starts on Broad Street, and much of the town of Bangor burns. The song catalogs buildings destroyed. It praises mayor, firefighters, and God

Banished Defender, The: (7 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #13469}

"For the sake of my religion I was forced to leave my native home." "They swore I was a traitor and a leader of the Papist band, For which I'm in cold irons, a convict in Van Diemen's Land ... as a head leader of Father Murphy's Shelmaliers"

The singer wanders out and recalls the home from which (his parents) banished him. He recalls how the locals dislike strangers. He meets a "pretty fair maid who sore lamented." She says that her lover has been taken away. He reveals that he is her lover

Patrick Brady is "forced to banishment ... for being an upright Irishman that loved the shamrock green." At Carmanrock fair he and his comrades fought against those who swore to pull down the church. Brady is arrested but rescued and escapes to America.

"Come all you people that are here tonight... I've traveled this country over... But because I'm thin they call me slim, I'm a regular banjo tramp." The singer steals a man's trunk, is imprisoned, and vows to settle down but expects he'll ramble again

The Peerless from Gloucester set out six dories to fish on the banks. "Suddenly a storm did rise" and the dories with twelve fishermen are lost. "Our captain cruised about all day in hopes to take them up" but found no sign of the missing men.

A girl tells her mother that she loves Jack but will marry old Banker Brown for his money. Mother advises her to "wed the man you love." Daughter marries Banker Brown and, a year later, admits to her mother that it was a mistake.

Banks o' Deveron Water, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #3784}

The singer goes out to take the air by (Deveron) water, and chooses "a maid to be my love." He says her equal is not to be found elsewhere, describes her beauty, and says he would not trade her for great riches. He hopes they will someday wed

Banks o' Doon, The: (8 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #13889}

The singer asks how the banks of bonnie Doon can bloom "sae fresh and fair" when she is separated from her love. She pulled a rose, which her lover took while leaving her the thorn

Banks o' Loch Erie, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #12950}

Jamie/Willie would leave "Clyde's bonny banks" for America. He asks Jeannie to go with him to "the banks o' Loch Erie." "Poverty ne'er shall mak enjoyment grow weary." She will leave her father's hall and go with him to Lake Erie.

Banks o' Skene, The: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5613}

"When I was just a rantin' girl, About the age of sixteen, I fell in love wi' a heckler lad Upon the banks o' Skene." The girl cuts her hair, puts on men's clothes, offers to be his apprentice. He sees through the disguise and offers to make her his wife

Banks of Allan Water, The: (4 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #4260}

"By the banks of Allan Water When the sweet springtime did fall, There I saw the miller's lovely daughter, Fairest of them all." By autumn, the girl has been betrayed by her soldier love and grieves; by winter, she is dead

Banks of Banna, The: (7 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #2058}

"Shepherds have you seen my love, Have you seen my Anna? Pride of every shady grove Upon the banks of Banna." The singer left home and herd for Anna; he will not return to them until he finds her. In some versions he finds her and they are happy.

The singer (a sailor) meets a girl and asks her to forget her lover -- telling her first that her lover is probably untrue and then that he's already married to another. She faints; he reveals that he is the long-lost lover

Banks of Champlain, The: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2046}

Singer hears guns firing on Lake Champlain, but despite her patriotism laments the danger to her lover Sandy,without whom her life would not be worth living. The cannons cease, the British retreat; she waxes patriotic once more as other women celebrate

Banks of Claudy, The [Laws N40]: (48 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #266}

The singer meets a girl on the banks of Claudy. She is seeking her lover. He tells her Johnny is false, she rejects this. He tells her Johnny is shipwrecked; she is distressed. He tells her he is Johnny. She rejoices

Banks of Cloughwater, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #7961}

The singer loves Ellen, and cannot sleep for the love of her. But her parents oppose their match; now he is forced to "stand on guard this night to shun your company." He promises to make her his own; he has money and fears no one

Banks of Clyde (IV), The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6267}

The singer meets a girl walking along the Banks of Clyde. They talk and kiss. She sings "We'll Row Thee O'er the Clyde" perfectly. He sees her home when it begins to rain. They still walk together along the Clyde.

A rich girl, now living with her uncle, falls in love with Willie, a plowboy. Since her uncle wants her to marry a squire, he tries to have Willie pressed. The squire attempts to take Mary; she shoots him, then her uncle. Mary then is free to marry Willie

Banks of Dunmore, The: (4 refs. 8K Notes) {Roud #3109}

An Englishman falls in love with a poor farmer's daughter of Dunmore. She will not marry a non-Catholic. She convinces him, by reference to the Testament, of transubstantiation and the authority of Rome. He converts. They marry and settle in Dunmore.

"One day as I was walking... On the banks of Inverurie I spied a bonnie lass." He asks her to wed. She replies that she knows he is a rake. He says he has reformed, and calls his servants to demonstrate his honesty. He again appeals to her to marry.

The singer sees a beautiful girl (dressed in mourning?) by Kilrae. She explains that her parents are dead. He promises to care for her like a parent. She finally agrees to marry. He hopes to live happily, and prepares for an elaborate party

The singer hears a young man begging a girl to come over the sea with him. She says that it's too dangerous to cross the ocean, and her parents are old. He reminds her of promises made, but bids her farewell; they will not see each other again

Banks of Mullen Stream, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #9205}

Sandy Grattan sings about the camp "for the firm of Edward Sinclair On the banks of Mullen Stream." The crew and driving team are named. George Amos breaks a leg under a rolling log, showing that "In the woods you're facing danger As great as in the War"

The singer offers a warning to listeners: Don't sail the northern seas without stout clothes! (He and his friends had pawned their jackets in Liverpool.) The singer's Irish fiancee tears up her petticoat to make him mittens. At last they reach New York

The singer bids landsmen to "bless your happy lot," since they are safe from storms. His ship is wrecked off Newfoundland; when food runs short, they cast lots to see who will be eaten. The Captain's son is picked, but another ship rescues them in time

Spring is time for fishing on the Banks. "Seas do roll tremendously ... midst heavy fog and wind." At night we risk being run down by "some large greyhound of the deep." At summer's end we return "to see our sweethearts and our wives"

Banks of Newfoundland (V), The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #5088}

September 2, Irish seamen sail from Waterford for Newfoundland where "a dreadful storm is raging." Three men are lost and others are "washed from off the deck." At morning there was no help for the dead and dying; "Not a Christian here to bury the dead"

The singer bids, "Fare thee well, ye banks of Sicily. Fare thee well, ye valley and shaw." Members of the 51st division prepare to leave Messina, and Sicily, and the girls they met as they occupied the island

The singer meets "a damsel of queenly appearance" and proposes; if he were king she'd wear a crown. Her father's angry looks discourages him. He will rove alone until death "for the sake of my charming fair Helen That I met in the town of Macroom"

Banks of Sweet Loch Rae, The: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3821}

The singer meets a handsome soldier. He asks if she will come along with him. She says she cannot bear to leave (Loch Rae). He consents to have her stay if she will wait for him. She waits sadly for his return

Banks of Sweet Loughrea, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #3821}

A soldier quartered in Boyle meets a charming lass while in Loughrae. He proposes that they marry in Boyle. She says she "never intended a soldier's wife." Devastated, he says he will ask to be discharged as he is no longer fit for service.

Banks of Sweet Primroses, The: (18 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #586}

Speaker, while walking by banks of primroses, sees and courts a lovely woman. She spurns him and declares her intention to separate from men. (He tells listeners that even a cloudy, dark morning turns into a sunshiny day.)

"Prettiest little girl I ever saw, Lived on the banks of the Arkansas." "I started out with Maw and Paw, Down on the bank of the Arkansas, Plowed the crop with a mangy plug, Sold the corn in a gallon jug." Funny tales from the banks of the river

Delany recalls how, when he first came to (Ireland), he fell in love with a girl (on the banks of the Bann). Her parents disapproved of his poverty and sent him away, but she promised to prove true. (Now he is returned and promises to do well by her)

Banks of the Clyde (I), The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #3815}

A young man comes up to a pretty girl, who reports that her Willie has gone over the sea. He asks her to marry; she replies, "Though he prove unconstant, I'll always prove true." He reveals himself as Willie; they will marry shortly

Banks of the Dee (I), The: (10 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3847}

"'Twas summer, and softly the breezes were blowing, And sweetly the nightingales sang in the trees." The girl remembers her Jamie, now gone "to quell the proud rebels." She earnestly hopes for his speedy return to her and the banks of the Dee

Banks of the Dee (II), The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #3814}

The singer "heard a maid a-sighing... And, 'Johnny,' she was crying, 'oh how could you leave me?" He recalls leaving her on the spot, and how they promised to be true. He tells her her love was slain in battle, then reveals that he is her love

On the banks of the Dee the singer meets a 56 year old coal miner who "can't get employment, 'cause my hair it's turned grey." When young he worked hard in the pit but now he's had his notice. Young miners should save their wages, not "hew them away"

Banks of the Don, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3846}

Singer pays sarcastic tribute to the "boarding-house" by the Don: rent and taxes are paid, food is free. Inmates must turn out and work in the stoneyard; knives and forks are counted after meals. To obtain residence, listeners can get publicly drunk

A logging crew comes to work the Gaspereaux. The singer (who is one of the loggers) meets a girl (nicknamed "Robin Redbreast" after her dress); they fall in love, but neither will leave home for the other, and they part

Banks of the Inverness, The: (8 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3813}

The sailor sees a girl sighing on the banks of the (Inver)ness. He asks her if she is available. She says she is engaged to Willie. He declares that Willie is "in cold irons bound" and will not return. She says she will remain faithful. He reveals himself

Anglers cast flies for salmon and trout on the banks of the Lee.

The singer meets a schoolmarm who is seeking her lost lover Johnny. He tells her Johnny is drowned and buried far from home. The woman curses Wisconsin and Johnny's boss, and promises to give up teaching and any home near water

There is no river "like the rolling tide that flows 'longside The banks of the Murrymashee." The sportsmen gather to see it and the trout, salmon, and birds. The singer wouldn't trade it for gold, silver or royal robes.

Banks of the Mossen, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1646}

"As I was a walking down by some shady grove... Young lambs were a-playing on the banks of sweet Mossen... The lark in the morning... brings me joyful tidings of Nancy my dear." The singer asks for pen and ink to write to Nancy

"Far, far away on the banks of the Nile," "A brave Irish soldier, a gallant dragoon, Read his mother's letter by the light of the moon," telling of troubles in Ireland

(William) has been ordered to the banks of the Nile. Molly offers to cut her hair, dress like a man, and go with him. He will not permit her to; (the climate is too harsh or women are simply not permitted). (He promises to return and they are parted)

The singer takes his sweetheart walking, hoping to discuss marriage. She seemingly refuses him (because she is too young?). Rather than wait, he throws her into the river to drown. In most versions he is not caught, though in some texts she haunts him

"Too long have I travelled the land of the stranger...." The singer wishes to return to "the land of O'Cahan," whom he recalls with pride. But those free men are long dead; he is left, and in exile, but "How I long to return to the banks of the Roe"

Banks of the Roses, The: (13 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #603}

In full form, (Jeannie) meets (Johnny) on the banks of the Roses and bids him never leave her. (Her father opposes the relationship.) Johnny takes her to a (cave) containing her grave; he kills and buries her. Many versions leave out portions of this plot

"On the banks of the Schuylkill so pleasant and gay, There blessed with my true love I spent a short day." The girl describes her happy time with the man. But now he has been taken for a soldier. She hopes they will be happily reunited

Banks of the Spey, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6780}

The singer meets a girl on the banks of the Spey. He asks to see her home. She says she has only a mile to go and her true love is waiting there. He calls on her at home. She tells him she is to be married. He crosses the ocean.

Mary says that her Willie "plays on his flute" but he'd stop if he knew she were here. Willie meets her. She complains that she hasn't seen him recently. He proposes that they "straightway repair" "to the alter of Hymen" to "join hearts and hands"

"Hark the dogs are barking, My love I must away... 'Tis many a mile to go To meet my fellow bushmen On the banks of the Waikato." He tells Sally she cannot come with him. He will dream of her while he is away, and he will return when the work is done

The singer sees a pretty girl by the Bann. He offers her a comfortable life if she will marry him. She says she would rather be poor than beguiled. He promises that, if he becomes poor, he will split his last shilling with her. They are happily married

Bannocks o' Barley: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5653}

Highlanders are "the lads wi' the bannocks o' barley." They "drew the gude claymore for Charlie," "cowed the English lowns," "stood in ruin wi' bonny Prince Charlie" and suffered "'neath the Duke's bluidy paw"

Bannocks o' Barley Meal: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5653}

(Donald) tells of "when he was a soldier wi' Geordie the Third," and boasts of the skill of Scottish soldiers; "when put to their mettle they're ne'er kent to fail" when given "well-buttered bannocks o' barley meal." He illustrates his point from history

Bannow's Bright Blue Bay: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #20522}

The singer recalls "where Bannow's Buried City lies beneath that bright blue sky." He remembers "one midnight as the moon went down beneath Rathdonnel's hill" when "the stormy sea" broke over it and it never woke again.

Bannow's Lonely Shore: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #20526}

"As on my pillow I recline in a foreign land to rest, The love of Bannow's flowery banks still throbs within my breast." The singer remembers his youth, plus ships, birds, and "youthful joys."

"Oh who will plough the field now ... Since Johnny went a-thrashing the dirty King of Spain." Everyone, even the police, miss him. "His heavy loss we Bantry girls will never cease to mourn" if he dies "for Ireland's pride in the foreign land of Spain"

"Banua, Banua, banua, oh! Banua, Banua, baby, I don't know.Won't you come to me, baby? Won't you bring me my bail? For a drink and a fight on a Saturday night, they put down in the Banua jail." Brighton insulted his girl, so the singer fought

"There came to us a patron saint, His name was Mr. Gordon.... He saw that we were all astray, And he came here to guide us... To be dipped! To be dipped! In Ebenezer's mill pond." Their fathers may take the girls to his church, but they prefer young men

"The day was drawing to its close, The sea was calm.... The pleasure yachts they sought repose." "Bar Harbor, how I love thy hills." The poet describes the sea, the mountains above the town, and many people of the town

A young barber is admired in general and in particular by a maid named Matilda. A butcher is jealous and goes to the barber shop where they fight and the butcher is killed. Matilda commits suicide; the barber goes crazy and eventually poisons himself.

"Barber, barber, shave a pig, How many hairs to make a wif? Four and twenty, that's enough, Give the barber a pinch of snuff."

"Lather and shave (x3), Shampoo and shear."

Bard of Armagh, The: (14 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2654}

"O, list to the tale of a poor Irish harper... Remember those fingers could once move much sharper To waken the echoes of his dear native land." The bard recalls the days of his youth and vigor, then makes requests for his death and burial

Listeners are asked to weep for the "Sweet Bard of Culnady," Charles O'Neill. We are told that although he received little support or patronage, O'Neill was a much better musician than those in high favor.

Barefoot Boy with Boots On, The: (7 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6675 and 9616}

Tales of the odd life of the barefoot boy with boots on. Most of the song's lyrics are either paradoxical ("The night was dark and stormy and the moon kept shining bright") or tautological ("his pants were full of pockets and his boots were full of feet")

"Oh, Nellie had a pair of shoes, She could wear 'em if she choose. Hi, Barefoot Nellie! Ho, Barefoot Nellie!"

The worker is accosted by a widow, who asks him to "bargain with me." They agree on a wage, then negotiate where he will sleep. He turns down a place with the chap and the maid; she offers herself. Learning that her husband is dead, he agrees to marry

Bargeman's Alphabet, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #21100}

"A is for anchor we carry on the bow... So merrily, so merrily, so merrily are we, There's none so blithe as a bargeman at sea... Given an old barge a breeze and you cannot go wrong." Typical alphabet song, ending "And X Y and Z is the name on our stern"

"Barges, I would like to go with you, I would like to sail the ocean blue. Barges, have you treasure in your hold? Do you fight with pirates brave and bold?" "Out of my window looking in the night," the singer ses the barges and dreams of travel

"Come all you young Americans and listen to my ditty..." The singer tells of the New Bedford whaler Gay Head, whose "rules and regulations They are most awful queer." The singer describes the builders and officers

"Many and trim are the whalers that appear A-cruising the New Holland ground over," but none is like the Ocean Rover. She sails well and is faster than the Pamelia. They will soon be homeward bound

Old Robin goes to town to sell his wood but comes home drunk. His loving wife complains. He threatens to beat her and the children and burn the house. He falls off the chair and sleeps on the floor. Now "Robin's turned teetotaler" and she is happy.

Cumulative song toasting successive sizes of drinking vessels, and those who serve them: "The quart pot, pint pot, half-a-pint, gill pot, half-a-gill, quarter-gill, nipperkin, and the brown bowl/Here's good luck, good luck, good luck to the barley mow."

The singer spies a couple "have a jovial treat" at hay-making time. After 20 weeks, "this fair maid fell a-sighing"; after 40 weeks, she is crying. She writes to her love. He rejects her, saying, "I dearly like my freedom."

"I took my girl for a ramble, a ramble, Adown a shady lane, She caught her foot in a bramble, And arse over ballocks she came. Oh Barney, oh, Barney, oh, bring back my Barney to me (x2)... Oh, Sergeant, O bring back my (rations/stirrups) to me."

Barney comes to his love Katie's door on a bitter winter night. Katie says that she is alone at home, and if she let him in she would tarnish her virtue. Despite the cold, he goes home proud of her pure name

"My name is Barney Blake, I'm a tearing Irish rake." He considers himself as good as anyone. He is courting Biddy Donahue. He met her at Pat O'Hare's wedding. Hearers are warned not to fool with Barney Blake the sailor

"'Twas on a frosty night at two o'clock in the morning." Barney Brallaghan courts sleeping Judy Callaghan from under her window. He recounts her charms and his possessions. He leaves when the rain starts but promises to return until she marries him.

Young Mary and Jack go on a journey; Jack takes four grains of corn. They stop at a witch's house; she prepares to kill them. Jack throws out his grains of corn, one at a time; each turns into something which helps the children return home

"I am going far away, Nora darling... It will break my heart in two Which I fondly give to you, And no other is so loving, kind, and true." He is going away on a ship to seek his fortune; she stays to care for her mother. They do not expect to meet again

As Barney McShane is passing the widow's door it begins to pour down rain. She tells him to come in; she'll fix him some tea and they can cuddle. The song praises her beauty

"Now let me alone" says the singer to Barney O'Hea. He had "better look out for the stout Corney Creagh" and don't be impudent. Don't follow me to Brandon Fair where I'll be alone. They meet at the fair. She promises to marry "impudent Barney O'Hea"

The singer was to meet Barney at the gate by eight o'clock. She expects him to come to propose. But he has not appeared. She hopes he is not with another girl

Barns o' Beneuchies, The: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2176}

"My freens, ane an' a', I'll sing ye a sang... It's about a mannie Kempie... For he rages like the deevil in the mornin'." The crew that works the barns complains about Kempie and rejoices to leave; he too will be out of work soon

Singer recounts his troubles in trying to take care of his animals. His dog is missing, his bull is 'doing the barnyard tumble' with the cows, his hens and roosters have gone on strike, his horse is in the neighbor's barn and his milk cow kicks him.

Barnyards o' Delgaty, The: (10 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2136}

The young man comes to Turra Market to seek work. A wealthy farmer promises him good conditions at Delgaty. The promises prove false; the horses are poor and lazy, and the working conditions bad. The man boasts of his abilities and cheerfully departs

Baron o Leys, The [Child 241]: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #343}

The Baron of Leys leaves his home for another country, where he gets a girl pregnant. She confronts him, demanding that he marry her, pay her a fee, or lose his head. Since he is married, he perforce pays her what she asks (ten thousand pounds?)

Baron of Brackley, The [Child 203]: (14 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4017}

Inverey comes to Brackley's gate, calling for Brackley to come forth. The baron, with few men on hand, would stay within, but his wife shames him into going out (with 4 men against 400). Brackley is killed; Lady Brackley rejoices. (His son vows revenge)

Baron of Gartley, The: (2 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #5873}

Gartley returns from war. At his gate he is told that he has died on the battlefield and that his wife has a new husband. The Baron asks "the weird sisters" to curse his lady and her leman. At morning the castle seems burnt and none in it are alive.

"Brightly the morning sun lit the horizon o'er When the bark (Ohio/Roscius) sailed from the shore... Ohio, Ohio, success to thee." She is one of six whalers to set out that day; it will be three years before she is home. "Ohio, Ohio, welcome home."

"Over the northern pass he rode, Barr of the Western Chain"; he makes a long and difficult trip on horseback, "to bring her, his peerless bride, A bride for the Western Chain." But he drowns in a raging river before he reaches her home. She mourns

"You young men all attention pay and fair maids lend an ear"; the singer has been taken in "Cupid's trap" by a girl who lives on Barrack Hill. She prefers another. He is weak and devastated. The singer gives a riddle for her name

"On Wednesday morning, May the third, nineteen and forty-four, We left our homes seal hunting went." Their ship is jammed in the ice. The sealers try to set out for the barracks. The T-14 finds them the next day and takes them home

The Prince's Own sail from Cadiz to Gibraltar Bay and land at Algesir. Their Spanish allies at Tarifa Bay refuse to fight. General Graham leads the Britons and Irish to escape an ambush, defeat the French and capture an eagle standard.

"Barossa Jack, Barossa Jack, Get off your back, go into town, Don't let them down, Your oppos."

"Sunday the seventh of November Blackrock and Saint Finbarrs did play" St Finbarr's scored first but Blackrock led at half-time. "We pulled it right out of the fire ... The famous Blackrocks were defeated ... long life to the gallant old Blues"

"You can tell we're bright young fellows, We're the elegants from the south, You can tell we're educated By the expressions from our mouths." The team boasts of its success in contests and with the ladies, and claim they can free Ireland

After a dinner party the whisky-punch is brought out "and soon all 'neath the table lay" except Barry. He challenges all at each whisky shop with the same result. He comes sick, ignores doctor's warning to avoid drink, and lives many years.

Barrymore Tithe Victory, The: (1 ref. 1K Notes) {Roud #V40152}

"There was a poor man, and he had but one cow, The Parson had seized her." depriving the family of milk. At auction, guarded by "the Watergrass Hill boys," "no human being would Drimon dare buy." The cow is returned.

"Mum, Mum, Mum, Dad, Dad, Dad, If you give me a ha'penny I'll be glad. Jack, put your horse in the stable; Yes, sir, if I am able. Able or not, the work must be done, So strike up the fiddle and play the drum; Mum, Mum, Mum, Dad, Dad, Dad."

Gaelic. Singer finds a dying croppy. He seems transported to his mother's home. She tells him that his father has been killed. "Shall Eire never a tear bestow On the soldier who fought her fight?"

"Oh, it was in the year eighteen hundred and one When I left my poor Kate all sad and alone" to work three months on the Baskatong. The singer praises the foreman Kennedy as fair, describes the men and the food, and prepares to write home

"I'll follow my mother to market, To buy herself a basket, When she comes home, She'll break our bones, But follow my mother to market."

Two sailors offer to carry a girl's basket. She says it contains eggs. The sailors go to an ale-house. The landlord opens the basket and finds a baby. The sailors offer to pay any woman who will take the child. The girl takes the money and the child

The singer engages in various activities (e.g. playing the ghost in "Hamlet"), but always thinks of the girl: "Oh, she loves another and it's no use to try, When oh, she sings out 'Sound onions, who'll buy?'"

Basket-Maker's Child, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7379}

"Where the green willow swayed by the brook... In a little cottage nestled in a quiet nook Dwelt the basket-maker's child." One Saturday night they told the singer that she must die. She asks to be buried by the brook, and happily goes to the Savior

Bastard King of England, The: (7 refs. 5K Notes) {Roud #8388}

Philip of France is captured by a "thong on his prong"; when he is dragged to London, all the maids cheer him, for the Frenchman's pride has stretched a yard or more. The bastard king of En-ga-land is usurped.

"There was a maid of the mountain glen, Seduced herself with a fountain pen," which burst and causes her bastard baby to be blue-black. Another girl uses a beer bottle instead of a pen, and her child is nut-brown

"Yes, Troy City was crowded On Independence Day All listening to the verdict of Bat Shay." "Do not electrocute Bat Say, The weeping neighbors said; It would break his mother's heart And kill his poor old dad." (Shay is condemned even so.)

Bateman's Tragedy (Young Baithman): (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #22132}

A beautiful girl has many suitors but eventually settles on Baithman. But she changes her mind to marry a rich man she does not love. Baithman hangs himself. She regrets her decision. She lives until her child is born, then dies

Batson has worked for Mr. Earle for years without being properly paid. At last he murders Earle. He is arrested and sentenced to die. Much of the ballad is devoted to details of Batson's hanging and his conversations while in prison

Battle at Charleston Harbor, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #V31424}

"On the seventh day of April, in 1863, The South Atlantic Squadron, with colors waving free," attacks Charleston. Admiral Dupont urges them on, and the monitors fight hard, but the defenses are stout and the Keokuk is sunk

Battle Cry of Freedom, The: (19 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #V20863}

"Oh, we'll rally 'round the flag, boys, we'll rally once again, Shouting the battle cry of freedom... The Union forever, hurrah, boys, hurrah...." Sundry boasts about the might and patriotism of the Union army marching to overcome the rebels

Battle Hymn of the Republic, The: (25 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #V17636}

"Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord...." A hymn of praise to a martial God, who sounds forth a trumpet "that shall never call retreat," and to Christ who "died to make men holy." The listener is reminded, "Our God is marching on."

"It was in '82, in the early spring, The birds had barely begun to sing" when three lumberjacks from Manistee start a fight with those from Traverse. Fighting Ike and Billy Ellis were the stalwarts of the Traverse loggers; the Manistees are driven off

Battle of Alford, The: (2 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #3802}

Covenanters attacked Alford and were hunted "until three hundred o' our men lay gaspin in their lair." A shot in the back -- from his own men? -- killed Gordon. "Altho' he was our enemy We grieved for his wrack" Scotland had no match for him.

Battle of Alma (I), The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #1221}

"A jolly young soldier a letter did write To his own dearest jewel... To tell her of the dangers... At the Battle of Alma where thousands were slain." Lord Raglan commanded; the Russians were forced to retreat. He hopes the wars will end

Battle of Antietam Creek, The: (1 ref. 2K Notes) {Roud #15487}

At Antietam, singer hears a wounded comrade tell of leaving his home, disliking his master, and running off to New Orleans, where he is conscripted. After ten battles, he has been wounded. The singer realizes that the man is his own brother

Battle of Ballycohy, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #25270}

Billy Scully "turn'd from the Church." He gave notice to tenants who had paid their rent. Armoured, he was shot by "the boys of Ballycohy" and Gorman and a peeler Scully had for help were killed. "Here's success to brave Moore, says the Shan Van Voch"

Battle of Baltimore, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #13958}

"Old Ross, Cockburn, and Cochrane too, And many a bloody villain more" prepare to plunder Baltimore. Winder retreats to Virginia. VIrginians come to Maryland's aid. The British cannot defeat Fort McHenry. The Americans retreat; the Virginians boast

Battle of Barossa, The: (5 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #2182}

"On the second day of February, from Cadiz we set sail." They travel via Gibraltar and Algiers to "the Reef o' Bay." General Graham encourages the British army. The 92nd and 81st regiments fight valiantly. The soldiers anticipate seeing home and women

Battle of Boulogne, The: (7 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3175}

"On the second of August, eighteen hundred and one, We sailed with Lord Nelson to the port of Boulogne." The forces attack a strongly entrenched position, and suffer heavy casualties. Nelson and crews work for better times for the wounded

Battle of Bridgewater, The: (1 ref. 10K Notes) {Roud #4030}

"On the twenty-fifth of July, as you may hear them say, We had a short engagement on the plains of Chippewa." Although the British have 8000 men, and American generals Brown and Scott are wounded, the Americans win the day

[Irvin] McDowell leads a Union army to defeat at Bull Run (Manasses Junction). The valiant rebels are compared with the cowardly Unionists, who are so completely routed that many fine Washington ladies must flee with them.

Battle of Carrickshock, The: (1 ref. 3K Notes) {Roud #9772}

The Irish are liberated: "They'll pay no more the unjust taxation, Tithes are abolished on Sliav na Mon." The Catholics exult. The battle was bloody and Luther's candle now is fading. We'll banish the oppressors and traitors.

Battle of Corrichie, The: (4 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #6318}

Mourn, Highlands and Lowlands "for the bonnie burn o' Corrichie His run this day wi' bleid." Huntley's son loves Queen Mary and, with the Gordon clan, faces "fause Murray" whose "slee wiles spoilt a' the sport And reft him o' life and limb" Details follow

Battle of Corrymuckloch, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5843}

Gaugers and [six] Scottish Greys surround Donald the smuggler to seize his whisky. Donald and his men fight back with sticks and stones, knock a soldier from his horse until "the beardies quit the field [and] The gauger he was thumped"

A Union/Confederate soldier (Dan Martin) tells of how he fled from the rebels/federals at Elkhorn Tavern. The song exists in both Union and Confederate versions, which give very different details of what happened.

"Up and rin away', Hawley (x2), The philabegs are coming down." "Young Charlie" has given Hawley's army a thrashing. The song insults the Hannoverian troops and describes how the Jacobites won a very close battle

Battle of Fisher's Hill: (4 refs. 17K Notes) {Roud #7029}

"Old Early's Camp at Fisher's Hill Resolved some Yankee's blood to spill, He chose the time when Phil was gone." Early attacks the Union troops, but Sheridan hears the fight, rides back, and rallies his troops to brush Early aside

"Hark, don't you hear that rumbling sound? Fort Sumter's cannons roar... Whilst bomb shells on them pour." Men are killed. Someone (it's not clear who) should hang as high as Haman. The poet hopes tyrants will fall

The singer comes to see the battle near Strathdown between Huntly and Errol on one hand and Argyle on the other. Various participants and incidents of the battle are mentioned. The song concludes with estimates of the losses

Battle of Halifax, The: (1 ref. 3K Notes) {Roud #29409}

"Now gather 'round children and to you I will spill The tale of the raid upon Oland's old still." People rush through Halifax drinking and robbing. The authorities, instead of stopping it, join in. It's the armed forces' revenge on those who stayed home

Battle of Harlaw, The [Child 163]: (14 refs. 13K Notes) {Roud #2861}

A Highland army marches to Harlaw (to claim an earldom for their leader). The local forces oppose them on principle, and a local chief kills the Highland commander. The battle is long and bloody, but the defenders hold their ground

Battle of Kilcumney, The: (1 ref. 1K Notes) {Roud #23995}

The rebels are routed at the Battle of Kilcumney. Afterwards, nine British troops burn John Murphy's house. Four Wexford pikemen kill five of the nine. Teresa Malone escapes from the house to rebel lines after shooting one more of the attackers.

"Clavers and his Highlandmen Came down upon the raw, man." The song describes, rather vaguely, how "the English blades got broken heads. "The redcoats of "King Shames" perform worse than the Highlanders

"'Twas on a pleasant mountain, the Tory heathens lay, With a doughty major at their head, One Ferguson they say." Shelby attacks and defeats the Tory raiders and destroys them. The singer gives thanks and toasts the American soldiers

"Avast, honest Jack, now,before you get mellow" while the singer describes the "young commodore, and his fresh-water crew, Who keelhaul'd the Britons." The singer tells of the fight on Lake Erie, of Perry's transfer of flag, and the British ships taken

Battle of Lake Erie, The: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2826}

"Ye tars of Columbia, give ear to my story, Who fought with brave Perry, where cannons did roar." The Lawrence is badly damaged, but Perry transfers to the Niagara and wins the battle. The song concludes with a toast to Perry

A wounded soldier speaks fondly of his family and sweetheart. He wonders who will care for them. He recalls how soldiers looked so gallant when he was a little boy. He kisses the (Union) flag and dies.

American troops under Andrew Jackson easily repulse the British attempt to capture New Orleans. After three unsuccessful charges, the British are forced to retire.

As armies under Earls Douglas of Scotland and Percy (aka Hotspur) of Northumberland battle, the dying Douglas asks Montgomery to conceal his corpse under a bush. Percy refuses to surrender to the bush but does yield to Montgomery

Battle of Pea Ridge (II): (1 ref. 3K Notes) {Roud #3133}

"It was on March the seventh in the year of sixty-two" that the Confederates fought "Abe Lincoln's crew." Fighting under Van Dorn, they lose 10,000 men. Cap Price does not want to retreat. The carnage is severe

Battle of Pentland Hills, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #8186}

"The ganllant Grahams cam from the west, Wi' their horses black as ony craw." Forces gather to battle under General Dalyell at the Pentland Hill to contest the Covenant. The Whigs are decisively defeated

Sir David [Leslie] comes to Philiphaugh with 3000 Scots. They find a man to lead them to Montrose's army. The man, concerned by Leslie's small numbers, reveals why he hates Montrose and reveals how to defeat him. The defeat duly takes place

Battle of Point Pleasant, The: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4029}

"Let us mind the tenth day of October, Seventy-four, which caused woe." "Captain Lewis and some noble Captains" engage in battle with the Indians by the Ohio River; "seven score," including the officers, are casualties, but the battle is won

"Upon the heights of Queenston one dark October day, Invading foes were marshalled in battle's dread array." General Brock, intent on repelling the invaders, leads his troops up the hill and is killed. The soldiers mourn

"God prosper long our King and Queen, Our lives and safeties all, A sad misfortune once there did Schenectady befall." The French come from Canada to raid the town. Many are murdered in their beds. Cavalry attack the retreating French raiders

Battle of Sheriffmuir, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2867}

"There's some say that we wan, and some that they wan, And some say that nane wan at a' man!" The song catalogs the fighters at the Battle of Sheriffmuir, and notes how many fighters ran

A survivor of the Battle of Shiloh describes the difficult and bloody campaign, hoping that there will be no more such battles. The sufferings of the wounded men are alluded to, as are the prayers of the dying.

Battle of Shiloh, The [Laws A10]: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2199}

"All you southerners now draw near, Unto my story approach you here, Each loyal southerner's heart to cheer." A southerner tells of the southern "victory" at Shiloh and the Yankee "retreat"

Battle of Stone River, The: (2 refs. 7K Notes) {Roud #16820}

Confederate General Bragg tells his men to hold the line at Stone River. Union Gen. Johnson is prepared to cut and run, but Rosecrans and Van Cleve stand firm. Singer sees the ground red with blood; Sills is killed. They fight until the rebels retreat

Battle of Stonington: (1 ref. 2K Notes) {Roud #V42138}

"Four/Three/A gallant ship(s) from England came, Freighted deep with fire and flame... To have a dash at Stonington." The Ramilles opens the attack on the town. The Americans have few guns but fight hard and drive off the British ships

Battle of the Baltic, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #27999}

"Of Nelson and the North, Sing the glorious day's renown, When to battle fierce came forth All the might of Denmark's crown." The British are brave and defeat the enemy, who lie "Full many a fathom deep By thy wild and stormy steep, Elsinore!"

Battle began "upon a summer's morn, unclouded rose the sun." Williamites Schomberg, Walker, and Caillemotte are killed. James deserts his supporters who are "worthy of a better cause and of a bolder king." William would not pursue the fleeing Jacobites

"July the first, in Oldbridge town ...." "In vain they marched to slaughter; For oh! 'tis lost what William won That day at the Boyne Water." "Fear has lost what valour won." May "days return when men shall prize The deeds of the Boyne Water"

"We men of the North" defeated a brand-wielding "lawless band" in a deadly battle on Diamond Hill. For the singer, that battle is the model for future encounters. "We have bided our time -- it is well nigh come! It will find us stern and steady"

"One day at Port Stanley The lookout man did see Some smoke upon the horizon; 'I wonder if that's Graf von Spee?'" The admiral is shaving, but he has a score to settle. Graf Spee has "blundered Obeying orders from Kaiser Bill"

Battle of the Kegs, The: (7 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #V21421}

The singer tells of the battle between the British fleet and a flotilla of American barrels. As the barrels float downstream, the British fear they contain bombs or commandos, and blast the kegs to smithereens -- then boast of their victory

Battle of the Navvies, The: (2 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #V3578}

"We burnt the Bully Beggarman." Led by Mick Kenna "the Navvies left their work" firing pistols and throwing rocks through the windows of a school. When they saw us they fled. Challenged, we beat them again. Now we help "to crush those fearful Riots"

Nelson's fleet attacks the French near the Egyptian shore. Although the singer's ship Majestic suffers severely, the British are completely victorious, with 13 ships destroyed or taken and the rest fled

"South of the border, Down Montvideo way, That's where the pocket battleship Graf Spee came out one day." He thought he would find easy prey, but the Ajax, Achilles, and Exeter drive him away. The ship is scuttled. "The Nelson spirit will never die."

Battle of the Wilderness, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #V30296}

"Now boys just listen while I sing you a song sirs, About our veteran troops...." The rebel troops try to trap generals Grant and Meade, but the Union army continues on to Spotsylvania. The singer expects victory despite the death of General Sedgwick

Battle of the Windmill, The: (3 refs. 5K Notes) {Roud #4523}

"On Tuesday morning we marched out In command of Colonel Fraser... To let them know, that day, below, We're the Prescott Volunteers." The soldiers come to the Windmill Plains and, boldly led, drive off the invaders

"On Christmas day in seventy-six Our gallant troops with bayonets fixed For Trenton marched away." The Americans cross the Delaware River and attack and scatter the Hessian garrison. The soldiers toast the memory of that day

Battle of Vicksburg, The: (4 refs. 11K Notes) {Roud #4500}

"On Vicksburg's globes and bloody grounds A wounded soldier lay, His thoughts was on his happy home Some thousand miles away." The dying man recalls mother and sweetheart and prepares for the end

The English army of 20000 defeat 10000 Wexford pikemen in a fierce battle. The pikemen were brave and valiant; the English were stubborn and warlike. The singer comments on the pity that freeborn Englishmen "should strike fair freedom down"

Orangemen come to Tyrone to celebrate July 12, "but our loyal-hearted Catholics soon made them run away." "We'll still be faithful to George the Fourth, and loyal to his crown, But not afraid, nor yet dismay'd, to keep those Brunswickers down"

"I'm proud to say I'm from P. A. where the mining boys are loyal." They work hard in the mines and "love the flag of liberty." The singer recalled the work of John Mitchell, Hayes, and White. He cheers for Wilson, and says the boys are fighting in france.

"You are just a lonely battler and you're waiting for a rattler And you wish to heaven you were never born." The hobo watches the trains and prepares for a rough ride. But "There will surely come a day When you'll own a bloody railway of your own."

Battleship of Maine: (9 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #779}

Humorous song about a country boy caught up in the Spanish-American war, for which he has little sympathy. He describes bad conditions in the army, notes that the "Rough Riders" wear $5.50 shoes, while the poor farmers wear dollar-a-pair shoes.

The singer hushes a birdie she has in a bog, among a little moss. It runs away, she looks all day and finds it in a duck's nest. She bids it go home.

Bawdy Alphabet, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #21104}

A variation of the standard Alphabet songs (Logger's, Sailor's, etc.) with A to Z references to matters sexual or private parts

As the 22nd Maine struggles against Early at Fredericksburg, orders come that a battery must be taken. The regiment repeatedly tries and fails. The colonel is shot down. In the next attack, his riderless horse leads the charge and the battery is captured

A ship is wrecked at night in a storm in the Bay of Biscay. At daybreak "a sail in sight appears" and the crew is rescued.

The singer's ship and the Rameley set out from Spithead. The two ships are separated by a storm in the Bay of Biscay. The Rameley, arriving at Gibraltar, reports the other ship lost, but at last it comes in, having lost mast, captain, and ten crewmembers

Bay Road girls raise their skirts to tempt the Bay Road boys. The Bay Road boys should "take care wha you about"

Bayou Sara, The: (4 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #10010 and 4139}

The Bayou Sara (Bicera) is a fine boat, but catches fire and burns down, taking many people with her. The song may mention all the crew she lost, or the singer's own escape and watching for angels to come for him.

"There are lots of little swindles In all New Zealand towns... But of all the various dodges tried For taking people in The nest is a Fancy Bazaar" where one never leaves until "totally fleeced." A list of the tricks, and some of the victims, follows

Be Careful in Choosing a Wife: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4744}

Beware. Women are deceitful and unkind and the silliest will outwit any man. When a squaller is born you must work harder. Your wife won't wash shirts or make you breakfast or dinner. She'll beat you if you don't put the squaller to sleep at night.

The singer's has worked hard all his life, and occasionally goes to town for fun. But his mother regularly tells him, "Be home early tonight." Once, when she is sick, he goes out partying and returns to find her dead. He warns against ignoring mother

Be Kin' to Yer Nainsel, John: (2 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #2480}

His dying wife says to John: there are three spoons, three cows, three carts,.... Give one of each to the lassie, one to the laddie, and one to yourself. His wife dies. John "I maun hae anither, I've plenty for to keep her, An be kind tae my nainsel"

Be Kind to the Loved Ones at Home: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #21394}

"Be kind to thy father, for when thou wert young, Who loved thee so fondly as he?" But now he is passing away and deserves kindness. Similarly, be kind to mother, brother, sister

Be Kind to Your Web-Footed Friends: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #10248}

"Be kind to your web-footed friends, For a duck may be somebody's mother...." Listeners are urged to be kind to swamp animals and perhaps other ecologically unfortunate creatures

"Ne merry, be merry, I pray you everyone." "A principal point of charity, IIt is so merry for to be, In him that is but one, Be merry." "He that is but one in bliss, To us has sent his son." Jesus was born of a maid. Mary, save merry-makers. Give thanks

"Be prepared! That's the Boy Scouts' marching song." The scouts should be prepared to "hold your liquor pretty well," "Don't write naughty words if you can't spell, "Hide that pack of cigarettes," and otherwise hide their private lives

Be Present at Our Table, Lord: (7 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #37301}

"Be present at our table, Lord, Be here and ev'ry where adored, These mercies bless, and grant that we May feast in Paradise with Thee."

A squire meets a maid. He says "I've loved you long" and asks her for a kiss: "be quick, for I'm in haste." Hodge, for whom she has been waiting, comes with a ring. She and Hodge leave for church. She tells the squire, "You see sir, I'm in haste"

"Be very stll, my children dear." A mouse is near and we don't want her. In the pantry she drinks the cream, bites the cheese and "nibbles nearly all the cakes." The singer gets the cat. It will chase the mouse "and soon we'll all have jolly fun"

"Be you dark or be you fair, What is the color of your hair?" (color names follow, e.g. black, brown, yellow, red, then perhaps R-E-D, and you are IT)

"I've seen the lights of old gay Broadway," and much of the rest of the world, but the singer advises seeing Beale Street. But there is also a warning: "If Beale Street could talk, Married men would have to take their beds up and walk...."

A farmer's daughter loves a servant man. Her father has him sent to sea. He is killed in battle. His ghost visits the father. The daughter hears about it. She hangs herself. Father finds her hanging. Her note blames the father, who goes mad

The singer, born in 1894, has "seen many a panic," but the worst distress is in (1931). He is on a work crew, being fed a daily ration of "beans, bacon, and gravy," which "almost drive me crazy." He describes the hard times and hopes for better

Alternate lines are a chorus, "Bear away Yankee, bear away boy." The shantyman sings "Deep de water and shallow de shore .. Bear away to Noble Bay." "What me going tell John Gould today? ... Deep de water, shallow a shore."

Hunters and dogs go out to hunt the (bear/deer). Most of the song is about the activities of the dogs. Chorus: "Way, away, We're bound for the mountain (x3), Over the hills, The fields and the fountains, Away to the chase, Away!"

"Going on a bear hunt Wanna come along?" "Coming to the short grass, Can’t go around it, Can’t go under it, Gotta go through it." "Coming to the tall grass, Can't go around..." Eventually they find a bear in a cave -- and run

Bear Hunters of 1836, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #4154}

"'Twas in December's dreary month, The snow lay on the ground, When Wasgatt, traveling in the woods, A track of bears he found." Wasgatt and Co. gather their guns, go to the bears' den, and shoot the lot -- and are declared to be brave as Putnam

Bear in the Hill, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #15552}

"There's a bear in yon hill, and he is a brave fellow." The bear goes out to seek a wife. He meets and courts a possum. She will marry him if her uncle (the raccoon) agrees. The agreement is made and the couple married

"Good people, have you heard of late Of times in Bear Lake Valley? They're must'ring all the forces there... To put a fearful monster down At first they thought but sham." It moves incredibly quickly, lives in several states, and fills the sky with fish

Bear River Murder, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #3286}

"About a brutal murder I now say a word, I mean that Bear River murder No doubt of it you've heard." Detective Power discusses the murder and why he thinks Wheeler is the murderer and how it happened. Wheeler confesses and is to be hung September 8.

A bear is discovered and chased by men two days through the snow. Part of the story is told by the bear: "it's the shot makes me run" It dies. "It is rumored the bear's made a will" witnessed by Nicholas, leaving his fur for "caps for the boys"

"Bear the news, Mary (x3), I'm on my way to glory." "If you git there before I do, I'm a-hunting a home to go to, Just tell them all I'm a-coming too, I'm a-hunting a home to go to."

Bear Went Over the Mountain, The: (7 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3727}

"The bear went over the mountain (x3) To see what he could see." "He saw another mountain (x3), And what do you think he did?" "He climbed the other mountain...."

The singer meets a pretty girl who lives near Beardiville. He asks her to come with him to County Derry. She asks him to stay a while so she can be sure he is serious. Her father consents, and they are married

French. A girl's lover sails to the Indies and returns to find her in a convent. He cries at the door. If I stay, she says, it is your fault. He offers her a gold ring as a remembrance. When he puts the ring on her finger, he falls dead. She mourns.

French. A girl has won a sailor's/grenadier's heart. He takes her to his room and gives her a gold ring. Her other lover listens at the door. The jilted lover considers killing the girl but kills her new lover instead.

French. A young prisoner is conscripted. Without leave, he goes to see Nanette in her castle, where he is captured. He is sent as a deserter to the deepest darkest dungeon in Paris.

French. A gentleman takes off his white gloves and gives a woman all the money she wants. He says, time for love. She follows him backwards saying "Good evening. I am going down river." I will go with my money to a convent and live happily.

"Ain't it fierce to be so beautiful, beautiful." The beautiful girl has "no peace of mind"; everyone is kind, but waits outside her door, offering flowers, etc. The brainy girl replies with similar words, save that she receives good grades and handshakes

"Beautiful Bill was a 'dorable beau, Beautiful Bill did worry me so, Sweetest of Wills, my beautiful Bill, My beautiful, beautiful, (beautiful) Bill." Bill courts the lady (but already has a wife and child?)

Beautiful Brown Eyes: (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #17030}

Man (?) praises "beautiful brown eyes"; he'll never see blue eyes again. Woman says she loves Willie; they were to be married tomorrow, but liquor kept them apart. Man falls on the floor, vows not to drink any more. Woman, married, wishes she were single

The singer describes his home in Donegal. A factory, "where pretty girls do sew," stands in the middle of town. Around it there are plantations and a lake with a beautiful island. Other find towns are nearby. He hopes to live there with his love

"Beautiful dreamer, wake unto me, Starlight and dewdrops are waiting for thee." The singer tells how the "sounds of the rude world" have faded in the night, and hopes for an end to sorrow

"We need them [the priest's hands] in life's early morning, We need them again at its close." Singer mentions the clasp of friendship, and priest's hands at the altar, absolution, marriage, and "when death-dews on our eyes are falling."

"There's a beautiful home, far over the sea, That beautiful place, for you and for me... That the Savior for me has gone to prepare." The sun shines there, the singer will have a crown; hearers will meet with angels and friends

"Beautiful isle of the sea! Smile on the brow of the waters, Dear are your mem'ries to me, Sweet as the songs of your daughters, Over the mountains and vales, Down by each murmuring river." The singer praises this "Land of the True and the Old"

Beautiful Ruth falls in love with a handsome Henry from Dover. Her parents confine her. He sails to Spain and marries a rich woman. She escapes her parents, dresses as a sailor, and finds him. His wife dies. Henry and Ruth are married and live happily

"One morning in July alone as I strayed By the banks of the Shannon I met a fair maid." She is so beautiful that he must court her, but she bids him "forbear"; she loves a sailor. He reveals himself as her missing sailor; they marry

"As Beautiful Nancy was walking one day, She met a young sailor, all on the highway." She has not seen Jemmy for three years. He says he is rich and asks if she will fancy him. She says she will always be true to Jemmy. He reveals himself; they marry

"Oh, the snow, the beautiful snow, Filling the sky and the earth below." "It can do no wrong," but the singer, once "fair as the beautiful snow," "Fell like the snowflakes from heaven to hell." Now dying in the snow, she hopes God will have mercy

"Beautiful star, star, star, Bright morning star, Beautiful star, star, star, Star in the East, Although you see me go along so, Star in the East, I have my trials here below, Star in the East"

"Beautiful star in heav'n so bright, Softly falls thy silvr'y light, As thou movest from earth afar, Star of the evening, beautiful star. Beautiful star, Beautiful star, Star of the evening, beautiful star." The singer asks the star to watch over his love

Beautiful Susan [Laws M29]: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1022}

Susan's parents take advantage of her sweetheart William's absence to inform her that he is dead. They arrange a marriage to another man. William's letter announcing his return drives her to suicide. William sees her ghost and also kills himself

Singer must leave "Ireland the gem of the sea," which he wishes were free. No land can compare with it. "The ship is now anchored in the bay, But when I will return with my true-love It is then you may be sure I'll stay"

Beauty of Buchan, The: (2 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #5630}

"Sheep is rejected And they from their pastures are banished away." The mountains once "wi flocks all clad over ... But now they are lonely for want o' flocks only." "Woe to our gentry, they're ruined a' our country"

"Near the foot of the Blackhill there lives a fair dame, And fain would I court her, fair Annie by name." The singer praises her looks, her voice, her teeth. If he could, he would write her name in gold letters. But she fancies him not; he begs for pity

Beauty of the Braid, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #9477}

The singer has wandered far, but his "intellect is consummated By the charming beauty lives in the Braid." He asks how she came there; she was rescuing a lost lamb. He asks her name; she answers in riddles and bids him seek more education

"Beauty stands at the crossroads, Silver winds blowing free, Softly she's calling, She's calling to me. Take the hand of a comrade, Seek the pine where it stands, Follow on as she leads you In happy gay bands."

"I went to town the other day To buy myself a hat, sir, I picked upon this beaver cap, With bill so broad and flat, sir." The song may detail the exploits of the boy with the cap -- e.g. letting a hen roost in it, throwing the eggs at his mother, etc.

"I've worked like a dog and what have I got? No corn in the crib, no beans in the pot." Faced with such dire poverty, the singer sets up a still. He is caught and imprisoned. His wife hires a man and does well. The singer warns against making moonshine

Johnny Gallagher sets out across Lake Michigan despite a warning from his mother. On the way home, the boat is almost to Beaver Island when it sinks with all hands in a storm

"Come,boys, if you'll listen, I'll sing you a song"about Beaver River, "not far from Tupper, but closer to Hell." The singer left a good job at Saranac to join this camp. He lists the men who have come and gone from the jon.

Bebe Hung One On Us: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #31262}

"I am a jolly shanty boy, My age is 17, I am the biggest sucker, I'll bet you've ever seen." His brother Ed is in love with Bebe Sack, and they go to the woods to earn enough to marry her. But she dumps him for another, and has a baby with red hair

The singer remembers Georgia and the cotton farms. "I cannot help from thinking, no matter what my doom, Of the happy moments when I saw sweet Becky at the loom." He has left her far behind, but hopes above all else to return

"Bed is too small for my tiredness, Give me a hill topped with trees, Tuck a cloud up under my chin, Lord, blow the moon out, please." "Rock me to sleep in a cradle of dreams...."

The girl is sent into service "when I was young." Her master becomes enamored of her. The mistress catches him with her, and throws the girl out. At last she bears a son, and brings him back to the father, blaming it all on "the bed-making."

The singer, a tinker, meets Sally Anne and takes her into his Bedford Van. She proposes, they marry, and honeymoon in Glasgow. He is stopped for driving drunk. Sally "took sick" from overeating. When "a big dame" makes a pass at him Sally clouts her.

A maid in Bedlam laments the absence of Billy, driven away by cruel parents. She is sure he has died on the battlefield and imagines she sees him coming in the clouds surrounded by guardian angels. She collapses "on a bed of straw."

"Bee baw babbity," choose "a lassie or a wee laddie," or bounce a ball. "Kneel down, kiss the ground, Kiss a bonny wee lassie." "I widna hae a lassie-o, I'd rather hae a wee laddie"

Bee, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #V22674 and V11161}

"As Cupid in a garden strayed/midst the roses played)," he is stung by a bee and begins to cry. He runs to his mother and proclaims that he is dying. She responds that if a bee hurts him so much, think how much his dart hurts others

"Been all around the whole round world, oh babe (x3), Tryin' to find a brown-skinned Creole girl..." The singer complains about the killing work on the Joe Fowler, boasts of his ability to work, and admits being on the run for murder

Been Down Into the Sea: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7108}

Chorus: "Hallelujah (3x), I've been down to the sea." Verses include "Won't those mourners rise and tell The glories of Immanuel" and "I do believe without a doubt That a Christian has a right to shout"

Jump-rope rhyme: "Been in granddad's garden, Turned on the hose; How many times will he Punch me in the nose? One, two, three...."

"Been in the pen so long, Oh honey, I'll be long gone, Been in the pen, Lord, I got to go again...." The singer tells of lonesomeness. He mentions that "some folks crave for Memphis, Tennessee, But New Orleans [or another city] is good enough for me."

"I been in the storm so long...Oh Lord, give me more time to pray" "This is a needy time..." "I am a motherless child..." "Lord, I need you now..."

"Judge he give me six months, 'cause I wouldn't go to work (x2), From sunrise to sunset, I haven't got no time to shirk." The singer complains about his girl and the treatment he gets; he has the "chaingang blues," and would run if her weren't shackled

"Been riding since daylight, in shadows and sunlight And now in the twilight, we’re traveling slow.... We’ll keep on a-riding Down the trail... joggin’ along, to nowhere, jogging along all day." They will ride as long as the Big Boss allows

"Been to de Gypsy to get mah fortune tole, To de Gypsy done got my fortune tole, 'Cause I'se wile about mah Jelly Roll. Gypsy done tole me, "Don't you wear no black." Yas, she done tole me, "Don't you wear no black. Go to St. Louis, you can win him back."

"Roll out the barrel, We'll have a barrel of fun." The singer(s) have to "leave on the run," but "now it's time to roll out the barrel, for the gang's all here." The lyrics describe a dance which brings happy memories

"Beer is best! Beer is best! Makes you fit, makes you strong, Puts more muscles in the old 'Tom-Tom.' Beer makes hardy Britons... What did dear old Adam say to Eve? 'Beer is best!'"

"Beer, beer, I love thee, In thee I place my trust, I'd rather go to bed with hunger Than to go to bed with thirst."

"Bees, oh bees of Paradise, Does the work of Jesus Christ, Does the work which no man can. God made bees, and bees made honey, God made man, and man made money. God made great men to plow and to sow, God made little boys to tend the rocks and crows...."

The singer complains of his wife, who lives off his money and refuses to do any work. He gives graphic details of how dirty she is and how filthy she leaves their home. He prays "that God or the devil may whip her away Before the daylight in the morning."

"[I] Beg your pardon, (Grouchy Grace/I grant your grace), [I] Hope the (cat/cows) Wll spit in your face."

"Beg your pardon, Mrs. Arden, There's a (devil/nigger/other) in your garden."

The singer, a beggar girl, wanders over mountains and moor, "hungry and barefoot." Her father is dead; she begs food for her mother, herself, and two brothers at home. She asks that the listener think "how hard it would be to beg at a door" for bread

A merchant's son meets a beggar girl; they go to bed and, being drunk, sleep soundly. She awakens first, takes his clothes and gear, and leaves. He awakes to find only the girl's clothes, which he puts on, swearing never to sleep with a beggar again

Beggar-Laddie, The [Child 280]: (7 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #119}

A girl asks the shepherd what his trade is. He tells her, then declares that he loves her "as Jacob loved Rachel of old." She decides to go with him despite his poverty. He takes her home with him and reveals that he is actually well-to-do

On Monday morning the beggarman takes his meal, flail and staff and leaves his wife and daughter in Ballinderry. He stops at a farmer's home not welcoming to strangers. The mistress of the house makes him welcome to table and bed as long as he'll stay.

Beggars and Ballad Singers: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5977}

The singer proclaims the advantages of begging and singing. He describes how he begs disguised as a "sailor from the wars," scarred and with a missing leg, or as a blind man with a dog, or a man with a hump on his back and mashed nose.

"Begone dull care, I prithee be gone from me, Begone dull care, thou and I shall never agree; long time thou hast been tarrying here, and fain though wouldst me kill...." The singer warns of how excess care can age and weary its victims

Behave Yoursel' Before Folk: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6094}

The girl says "Behave yoursel' before folk." She would not be kissed in public though "it wadna gie me meikle pain, Gin we were seen and heard by nane." "I tak' it sair amiss To be teazed before folk." If you insist "get a license frae the priest"

Behind the Cold Iron Door: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #29055}

A poor man's sweetheart is locked in a cell by her father until she can marry a rich man. Poor man digs a tunnel to her cell and blows up the gate to rescue her. They will be married.

"We've got a sergeant-major Who's never seen a gun; He's mentioned in despatches For drinking privates' rum, And when he sees old Jerry You should see the bugger run Miles and miles and miles behind the lines!"

Behind These Stone Walls: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2808}

The singer, although "brought up by good parents," tells of being orphaned at ten. He soon went rambling to seek work; jobs were few, and he took to robbery. He was taken and tried, and sentenced to a long prison term. He warns others against his mistake

Behind These Walls of Gray: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #27699}

"He' locked up in prison for (???) crime, He's locked up in prison to serve out his time, He's somebody's baby, he's some daddy's son, Oh please don't mistreat him for what he has done."

"The Cavan Urban Council sent the Sheriff for to take possession of the engine house that stands by Behey Lake." Joe, who "had always pumped a good supply," is evicted. The man driving the engine declares Cavan will have water only if Joe is brought back

Scots Gaelic. (The singer, gathering sheep, looks out and sees) (McNeil's) galley head for Kismul. (Those aboard are listed). The ship (survives a rough passage to) arrive at the castle, where there is joy and feasting

Belfast Beauty, The: (2 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #V2003}

The singer met "the beauty of sweet Belfast Town' in Donegall Street. He describes her "angelic beauty" If he were rich "all earthly treasure I'd resign To wed with this damsel" He ends with a riddle that will spell her name.

Cockabendy, a Belfast street fiddler, meets a girl. They drink, he plays, and the girl lifts his watch and chain. While he sleeps, drunk, she pledges his last coins for brandy. He asks her to advance the price of a pint. Instead, she hits him in the nose.

The singer comes to Belfast and falls in love with "the charming Belfast lass." He claims wealth and proposes. She preferrs "the heart that's true" to riches. Confounded, he leaves for America, returns, proposes again and "she gave consent at last"

(The singer hears a girl lamenting). She is "confined in the bands of love" by a "sailor lad that did inconstant prove." She begs for relief. (She meets her false love and begs him to change his mind.) (She curses him bitterly)

Election day, going to vote, Malcolm McKay is murdered by "bloodthirsty Irishmen"; "the Irish ... Each one with his weapon [blessed by a priest] ... Our noble Scotch heroes made them all run away"; 27 Irishmen and no Scotchmen are killed.

Belfast Sailor, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #20545}

A Belfast lass asks her sailor lover to stay at home. The ship sails for Newfoundland "till taken slaves to end our days all in a Turkish galley." They are tortured. The sailor writes "the Turks they are so cruel ... so fare thee well, my jewel"

Mary is keeping sheep when Prince Dermott rides out hunting. He sees her and falls in love. When he asks her hand, she says she is too poor. He persists, and asks her mother of her ancestry. The girl proves to be Dermott's lost cousin

"You wait and wait in vain standing shiv'ring in the rain If you want to be late again take a Belfast Tram." Suggest the tram to "a friend you'd rather miss." To get someplace on time "use your 'Shanks'" or take a taxi or sidecar.

Apparently a list of market towns in County Antrim, Ireland: "Belfast! Lisburn! Ballymena! Carrickfergus! Larne and Antrim!"

Axe song with frequent interjection "Wo Lord" or "Hollerin' Wo Lord." The singer calls out to many: "Believe I'll call the Rider." "Call him with my diamond." "Let me call themajor." "Believe I'll call Mama." ""Believe I'll call Bertha." Many lines float

"Believe me if all those endearing young charms Which I gaze on so fondly today Were to change by tomorrow... Thou wouldst still be adores As this moment thou art." The singer says he loves her for herself; she didn't create her beauty anyway

"When the wind swells the canvas and the anchor's a-trip and the ensign's hauled down from the peak of the ship - Believe me dearest Susan, I will come back again!" Verses have same pattern "When (insert sailing procedure) -- Believe me dearest Susan ..."

Every alternate line is "Believer I know." The road to Heaven is narrow, "thorny an' ruggy." The road to Hell is broad. "Love everybody"

"I know member, know Lord, I know I yedde (heard the) bell da ring." "Want to go to meeting, bell da ring" (x2). Listeners are urged to go to church, and to listen for the bell; they are warned that heaven might be shut

Round. "The bell doth toll, its echoes roll, I know its sound full well, I love its ringing For it calls to singing WIth its merry merry bim bom bell."

Bell Goes A-Ringing for Sai-Rah: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #13656}

"If you please, you see I'm a domestic, Or what some would call a 'servant girl.'" She slaves for small wages, and so the bell is always ringing to call her, "from morning until night." It's hard life; she cannot be found talking; it's back to work

All the men in Fraserburgh are daft about Bell Hendry. "She thinks the lads they shouldna woo But leave that to the maids alane." "So mony a lad got a rebuff." She picks one she's "twined him roon her thoom ... She'll wear the breeks"

The singer, Bell Hendry, has cheated many young men of Fraserburgh. When she lived in her father's house she drank beer and lived "at a high rate." Now she's in the correction house. If she gets out she may be married yet "we the lad I daurna name"

Race-starting rhyme. "Bell horses, bell horses, Wht time of day? One o'clock, two o'clock, (Three/time) to away"

"Bell over yonder, ball-a la-vier." I plant corn, roseau comes up. I plant cane, okra comes up. I plant corn, pumpkin comes up.

"I danced with a girl with a hole in her stocking... All night by the light of the moon." He wants to take her to the woods, but she says it is accursed. They watch a wild party (witches' shabbat? orgy?). He perhaps keeps her from joining. They marry.

Bell-Bottom Trousers (II): (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #269}

"Now yer mother wuz a waitress in the Prince George Hotel," watched over by the owners. The 47th Fusiliers and Prince of Wales Hussars have no luck with her, but a sailor does. Now she sits by the shore waiting to entertain the Navy

In each verse a ship is put "on the dock" and painted black, but is white when it comes back.

When their parents left for a burial they charged Chris and John to stay near home, but the boys went out on the ice "in a flat" [to hunt seal]. The flat was found but they were never seen again. Ships and planes searched in vain.

French. "Mias si j'une belle ici, Belle." (Every line ends with the word "Belle.") The singer takes a train to Texas, spends three days, then hears his belle was sick. He sells his bronco so that he can afford the train fare home

"'Neath a tree by the margin of the woodland... There I saw the little beauty, Belle Brandon, And we met 'neath the old arbor tree." The singer tells of carving their names in a tree. Now she is dead, and "sleeps 'neath the old arbor tree."

French. A woman takes her baby and goes to find her lover. She asks the mother of angels for help. She is told her husband is nearby, drinking wine and playing cards. He wipes her tears away but says he will not stay. Then he changes his mind.

French. A soldier gives a girl a gold ring to wait for him. Her father marries her to an old man. One night her young lover returns and knocks at her door though knowing she is married. She dies in his arms. Her father mourns.

"Belle Gunness was a lady fair In Indiana State, She weighed about 300 pounds, And that is quite some weight." "Her favorite occupation Was a-butchering of men." "Now some say Belle killed only ten, And some say 42." At last she vanishes with the cash

Creole French. "Mo deja roule tout la cote Pancour ouar pareil belle Layotte." "Mo roule tout la cote, Mo toule tout la colonie." "Jean Babet, mon ami, Si cous couri par en haut." "Domestique la mison Ye toute fache avec mouin."

"Soon beyond the harbor bar, Shall my bark be sailing far, O'er the world I wander lone, Sweet Belle Mahone. O'er thy grave I weep goodbye." He misses her deeply, wishes her good rest, and says he will be with her when "eternal spring" comes

French. Nanon tells her lover that they cannot make love in the garden now. He must win over her father. He cannot. She says that they can kiss, and that love is certain, but that they cannot think of other things because her father stands in the way.

"I've been through Carolina, I've been to Tennessee, I've traveled Mississppi, For massa set me free." The singer has seen many women, but none match "The belle of Baltimore." She is dark, lovely, and sings well; he wants to give her his picture

French. The singer's unfaithful captain says he will marry her but then leaves. She follows him, dresses as a volunteer dragoon and rides a horse like a general. She kills him. The king gives her a gold pin and watch as a reward.

French. The singer left his mistress to work along the river. There he met another lover. When she cried he comforted her and said he would return after this trip. When it came to saying goodbye she cried.

A steamboat chant with the refrain "Oh, Belle! Oh, Belle!": "Belle-a-Lee's got no time, Oh, Belle! oh Belle! Robert E. Lee's got railroad time...." "Wish I was in Mobile Bay... Rollin' Cotton by the day...."

"Stay home with your mother, don't cause her to fret, And do not mix up with the downriver set." The girls of Renous look down at "a man dressed in homespun" and prefer "a dude from the city." The girls of Dungaren are the best at a ball.

"Kind friends give attention to what I relate, And ever remember those poor children's fate." A fire in the night kills almost thirty people, mostly children. The singer tells some of their stories; the firemen came too late

"(Eight) o'clock bells are ringing, Mother let me out; My sweetheart is waiting For to take me out." "He's going to give me apples, He's going to give me pears, He's going to give me sixpence, And kisses on the stairs."

"Bells in heaven just strike one My Lord's work has just begun. Oh, the old ark's moving...." Similarly, "Bells in heaven... two, Lord, what wilt Thou have me do?" through "...nine... turning the water into wine." "...ten, My Lord's saving sinful men."

Bells of Hell, The: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #10532}

"The bells of hell go ting-a-ling-a-ling For you but not for me; And the little devils how they sing-a-ling-a-ling For you but not for me. O Death, where is thy sting-a-ling-a-ling, O Grave, thy victory? The bells of hell go ting-a-ling-a-ling, For...."

"With deep affection and recollection I often think of those Shandon bells." Those bells are compared to those at the Vatican, Notre Dame, and Moscow, and the bells "in St Sophio the Turkman gets"

"To all you rustlin' miners Who for a job have hopes, Just hear this little story Of life in the Belmont Stopes." The gas is heavy. The work is hard. Death is common. The singer hopes never again to suffer as much as he did in the Belmont Stopes

A young man on deck says "Farewell my beloved land; I'll see thee no more." He thinks of his youth and fighting "the tyrant" but now he is "prescribed as an exile"

The singer overhears a woman lamenting her love, warning others not to love "until she know that she loved be." She lists the "gifts" she has gotten: a cap of lead, a mantle of sorrow, "a belt wi' colors three": shame, sorrow, and misery, etc.

"Ben Backstay was our boatswain, A very merry boy." The captain serves out double grog. Ben gets drunk and falls overboard. They throw ropes to him, but he can't return because a "shark had bit his head off." Ben's ghost warns against mixing liquor

"Oh! don't you remember sweet Alice, Ben Bolt, Sweet Alice, with hair so brown She wept with delight when you gave her a smile, And trembled with dear at your frown." But Alice now lies in the churchyard, and the mill where they courted is dried up

"Facts, hoorah for the truth I've told you; Blow your life fand beat your drum; Lock up your spoons and hide your devils; Clear it away, Ben Butler's come."

Ben Dewberry's Final Run: (8 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #14015}

Ben Dewberry tells his fireman never to fear, and that there are two more roads he wants to ride, and otherwise forecasts disaster. After passing over a trestle and switch, without warning the train derails and Dewberry is killed

"Ben Fisher had finished his day's hard work, And he sat at his cottage door; And his good wife Kate sat by his side, And the moonlight danced on the floor." They look back on their twelve years of marriage; they are not rich but are as happy as anyone

The singer condemns the murder of Ben Hall. Hall is made an "outcast from society" when his wife sells his land. He refuses to shed blood, but is finally ambushed and, abandoned by his comrades, is shot repeatedly

The singer, going through Benbraddon hill, hears the sheepbells and the foxhunt. Stopping, he sees the boys and girls courting. He praises the beauty of the place, and recalls the parties among the fields and flowers

Singer recalls the places of his childhood with nostalgia. "There's a bower of roses by Bendemeer's stream." Singer says he'll never forget it, asking "Is the nightingale singing there yet? Are the roses still bright by the calm Bendemeer?"

Beneath the Barber Pole: (2 refs. 10K Notes) {Roud #24979}

"It's away! Outward the swinging fo'c'sle's reel, From the smoking sea's white glare upon the strand." The singer tells of the work of the "merry men beneath the Barber Pole" as they "wallowed outward bound from Newfoundland"

"Big ships we never cared for, Destroyers they can keep There is only one place that we know, That is deep down deep." The singer talks of the hard work and discomfort of submarine surface: "Underneath the surface We dream our dreams away."

Enraptured with martial spirit as England goes to war, a tailor makes a horse from his shear board, bridle bits from his scissors, and a spear from his needle (with which he spears a flea) and a bell from his thimble (to ring the flea's funeral knell).

Benjamin Deane [Laws F32]: (8 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2271}

Benjamin Deane, the singer, is successful in business but wants more. He turns to criminal activities on the side. When his wife leaves him, he shoots her in a jealous rage. Now he is in prison, warning others against his sort of behavior

The exploits of Benny (Benjie) Havens at West Point. After some time as a cadet and soldier, he turns to selling whiskey to his comrades. Chorus: "Oh! Benny Havens's, oh! Oh! Benny Havens's, oh! We'll sing our reminiscences of Benny Havens's, oh!"

Willie makes a boat of his coat and a sail of his shirt to visit Annie overnight. When he leaves she warns that her three brothers lurk in the brown grass. They waylay him. He kills them. Her mother appeals to the king, who rules in favor of the lovers.

The singer fees [hires for the season] to Benton. "Benton's study ever was His servants for to grind." He puts up with Benton's tricks but wouldn't work the harvest with a rusty scythe. That settled, he wouldn't leave until he was fully paid.

Benton County, Arkansas: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7624}

The singer describes a life of surprises and mishaps since leaving (Benton County) at (18). The tavern offers a fine meal but a flea-infested bed. The listener is given advice on how to milk an old ewe. Etc. Uses the "Derry Down" tune

The Bentons from Heartshill go to feeing [hiring] "wi' a weel-trimmed hat and a braw topcoat. [Brother] John [for example]: "may the deevil get him ... he's ane o' the Benton crew"

French. The shepherdess makes cheese from the milk of her white sheep. In anger she kills her kitten. She confesses to her father and, for penance she will embrace men: not priests, but especially men of war with beards.

"Full many a sailor points with pride to cruises o'er the ocean wide, But he is naught compared to me, For I have cruised the Bering Sea." He has seen Alaska and knows the Arctic; not even Columbus or Noah or Nelson could say the same.

The rich Berkshire Lady falls in love with a young man. Disguised, she demands that he either fight her or marry her. He decides to risk it in hopes that the girl is rich. They are married and live happily ever after

"My name is Owen Riley, I have a son that sets me crazy; He come home every night singing blackguard songs." The boy goes out and fights, or comes home drunk and hits his sister, or pawns his father's pants. The father has no solution

Berryfields of Blair: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2154}

Singer describes migrant workers' descent on Blair in berry-picking time; there are city folks, miners, fisherfolk, and Travellers. Some are successful, some not; some work as a family, some alone. The singer praises all

"Bervie's bowers are bonnie." The singer loves "the flower o' Bervie's toon." Her father locks the door at night and keeps the keys but she lets her lover in. She has a baby. "Lang lang tarries the yellow-haired lad that gaed oot by the break o' day"

Berwick Freeman, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #5988}

"An old freeman of sixty odd years" mourns the fading glory of "Berwick that old Border town." Don't speak of England and Scotland as nations; talk instead of "Great Britain and Ireland and Berwick on Tweed." Drink to her trade and wish God speed.

German (Plattdeutsch). Forebitter shanty. "So mennich leve, lange Joorn." Sailors spend months and years at sea and do their duty well -- but their favorite time is when the captain cries, "Here's your rum!" They go around Cape Horn and get their rum

"Beside the Brewery at St. Mihiel one bleak November day, Beneath a busted D. H. 4 a brave young pilot lay." He knows he is dying, and says he is going to a land where there are no enemies, where the planes work, and where the rocks drip Johnnie Walker

"They marched with Arnold at their head, Our soldiers brave and true." They travel the Kennebec as the autumn leaves turn. Hunger strikes the troops, and one unnamed soldier dies of it. The family still remembers him and preserves his relics

The singer, a besom maker, out gathering broom, meets "a rakish squire," "Jack Sprat, the miller," and "a buxom farmer" and has [coded] sex with each. She has a baby and gives up besom making for nursing.

The singer calls on the muses to inspire him in praise of "the star of Ballymoney." He sees her, falls in love, and asks her to marry. She is young and not ready to leave home. He takes her to a tavern. She agrees to leave home and friends and marry him

Jean tells Bess that her boyfriend Jamie had been kissing Maggie and, between kisses, told Maggie "that Bess was but a gawkie [fool]." Bess tells Jamie she won't be just another of his many girls and leaves him "to rue That ever Maggie's face he knew"

"It was one beautiful night in May, Sweet Bessie was singing in glee, She did not know it was in Reuben's heart To take her sweet life away." "O, Bessie, my darling, come home; Bid Reuben alone adieu. His hands are stained with your own blood."

Bessie appears to her former lover as he lies sleeping, saying that she is dead and he has led her astray. He goes to her home and learns that she is indeed dead. He admits to the betrayal, says he intended to marry her, and stabs himself to death

"O Bessie Bell and Mary Gray, They war twa bonnie lasses; They biggit a bower on yon burn brae, And theekit it o'er wi' rashes." Despite these precautions, they die of the plague. They had hoped to be buried in Methven kirk yard, but this was not allowed

Bessy Bell and Mary Gray (II): (10 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #237}

The singer loved Bessy yesterday but couldn't get her; now Mary's sly glance has his fancy. Bessy's beauty enthralls him as does Mary's wit and grace. The law allows him to have only one so he'll draw lots "and be with ane contented"

The best bed's a feather bed but the best bed in our house is "clean pease straw." That's dirty and will make a gown dirty. "Never mind my bonny lass Just lay the cushion down"

"The workmen in the Rhondda are wonderful boys, They go to their work without any noise." The singer mentions the people found in the mines: Daniel the sawyer, "always so cross," "Old William, the Lampman," girls with holes in their stockings, etc.

Best of Friends Must Part, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #24894}

Chorus: "When you lose a loving friend Keep up a cheerful heart, The proverb says that in the end The best of friends must part." The sailor leaves his wife for years; the dying soldier leaves wife and children. Comfort those left behind.

"Great men" sitting in a club discuss "the best thing in life." A general says "it is boys fighting for home and the flag." A millionaire says it is gold. "An old fellow" says it is mother's/sweetheart's/babies' love.

"The aul' year's deen an' the new's begun, Besoothan, besoothan, An' noo the beggars they have come." The beggars ask "charity to the peer" and, "In meal an' money gin ye be scant, We'll kiss yer lasses or we want"

"Open the old cigar-box, get me a Cuba stout, For... Maggie and I are out." "Maggie, my wife at fifty -- grey and dour and old -- With never another Maggie to purchase...." "A woman is only a woman, but a good Cigar is a Smoke.

"There's a pretty little girl, she lives downtown, Her daddy is a butcher and his name is Brown." Having met pretty Betsey Brown in the street, the singer courts her, meets her parents, and plans to wed her (and enjoy her family's money....)

The singer "never knew what it was to sigh / till I saw Betsy Baker." He tries to court her, but she consistently rejects him. He becomes sick with love, barely recovers, tries again to win her, and is once again rejected

"Oh my name is Betsy Bell, in the Overgate I dwell, Nae doubt you're wondring fit I'm daein' here, Well, I'm lookin' for a man... and anything in breek will dae wi' me." Betsy describes lads she has pursued without success; she'll keep trying despite age

Betsy Brennan's Blue Hen: (7 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7289}

The singer bought "my beautiful little blue hen" from the widow McKenny for a penny. It was swiped by "some dirty crawler." The song is a set of curses on "the villain" who stole the hen, e.g. "And may he have bunions As big as small onions"

The singer picks up Betsy Brown in his cart. "Courting," he can't control the cart and gets into trouble with the police for breaking things. He sells the cart to pay the fine. Later he is hauled into court by Betsy for child support. They marry.

Betsy Gray goes to Ballynahinch battlefield. She finds her wounded fiance Willie and brother George. A Yeoman sword cuts off her hand as she pleas for her brother's life. Another Yeoman shoots her. The bodies are found and they are buried in one grave.

The son of the landowner is in love with Betsy, a servant. His mother, who opposes the match, has the girl transported to Virginia. The boy dies for love; (Betsy is drowned at sea)

"As I roved for recreation in the springtime of the year, I met a noble fisherman, the day was fine and clear." He asks the girl to go with him to sea. When a storm comes up, he and the crew abandon her. She is rescued by Frenchmen, and curses his home

"As I walked out one evening, I roamed for recreation" and provided us with classical allusions. He sees a girl fairer than Diana or Helen of Troy. He begs her come away. She says she must wait until her declining parents die, but after that they marry

The singer returns from the wars. He "from nymph to nymph resorted" but falls in love with Betsey. Her father discovers them and threatens him with transportation. When Betsey threatens to leave with the singer her father agrees to their marriage.

"I'm going up yonder to yonders town, Where the cannon balls flash round and round," there to spend "My weeks, my months, my wretched life." He will appeal to Betsy. He will love her until he dies, an bets her to come in

"Better be safe than sorry ... 'cause life's a funny thing." Stories of failed risk-takers: a flier's parachute fails, a non-swimming fisherman drowns, a hotel owner goes broke, and a man in a monkey suit attracts a female ape.

"Better git yo' ticket (x2), Train's a-comin', Lord-ee-ee, Lord-ee-ee! Um-um-um-um-um-um-um-um-um." "Hold your bonnet, Hold your shawl, Don't let go that waterfall, Shout, Sister Betty, Shout!"

Chorus: "Better live humble, Better live mild, Better live like some heavenly child." Unbelievers cried to be let onto Noah's ark. Green trees die as well as the parched. People with an elaborate grave die like those with a simple grave.

Jump-rope rhyme. "Betty Boop, isn't she cute? All she can eat is vegetable soup."

"Betty Botter bought some butter," only to find that it is bitter/bad. So if she puts it in her batter, it will make the batter bitter/bad. So she takes action to get some better butter

"Now, since he's gone, just let him go; I don't mean to cry. I'll let him know I can live without him if I try." She accuses him of slander. She despises "hateful Betty Brown," whom he is visiting. But at last she admits being wrong and wishes him back

Betty Mull's Squeel: (2 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #6105}

"She tauk's aboot Judas and said he was coorse, Bit a braw stock was Aul' Abraham; She thocht his graifstane was aye to be seen On a knap [knoll] up abeen Kaper-naum"

Jump-rope rhyme. "Betty, Betty stubbed her toe, On the way to Mexico, On the way she broke her back, Sliding on the railroad track."

"Between Stanehive and Laurencekirk Last term I did fee." The singer gets along well with the master, and better with the serving girl, whom he courts. The master catches them in the stable. He blames the daughter, who wanted his attentions herself

Between the Forks and Carleton: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #4514}

"Last Saturday night young William Tate Enrolled his scouts, he would not wait, But galloping up though he was late Between the Forks and Carleton." The soldiers report that "for the French we've made a shroud" and "Middeton had made them run"

Jinnie meets a tailor lad whose "needle's stoot an's thimble's clear." Her mother warns her against deceiving men but Jinnie will "hae anither heat" and reminds her mother that she kissed men on the muir when she was young.

"I've reached the land of corn and wine, And all its riches freely mine... Oh, Beulah Land, sweet Beulah Land... My heav'n, my home forevermore." The singer rejoices at being at home with the Savior

A tinker comes to sell a servant girl a pen. The gentleman being out, the tinker "got this maid behind the door and gently laid her on the floor." She gives him 20 guineas and invites him back. Soon his gold is gone and he has to do as he'd done before.

"There's a tale I'll tell to you, It's remarkable but true, Of Sir Paulet St. John and his noble steed... Back in 1873." Paulet jumps a hedge and he and his horse fall into a chalk pit, but survive. He names the horse, a famous racer, "Beware Chalk Pit"

"I've had misfortunes ane an' twa, They're no worthwhile tae mention," but if you go on a spree, "beware o' an Aberdonian." "As I gaed doon intae Dundee," the singer met a girl from Aberdeen, she eats an amazing amount; and takes his purse and watch

Beware of Larry Gorman: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #9422}

Larry Gorman tells of how people react to his coming: "And when they see me coming, Their eyes stick out like prongs, Sayin', 'Beware of Larry Gorman; He's the man that makes the songs." He describes teasing a housewife who fed him poorly

Beware, Oh Take Care: (9 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7619}

The young girls are warned about sporting men, who look handsome and speak well -- but have a deck of cards and a bottle hidden. "Beware, young ladies, they're fooling you; Trust them not, they're fooling you; Beware, young ladies... Beware, oh take care"

Bewick and Graham [Child 211]: (8 refs. 5K Notes) {Roud #849}

Two prideful old men, each claiming his son is the better man, demand their sons, who are sworn blood-brothers, fight a fight to the death. When Graham sees that Bewick is dying, he falls on his own sword so that both die

Love lyric in Scots Gaelic: "Sad am I without thee." The singer calls (her?) lover "the music of my heart," hearing (his) voice in the calling of the seals, and finds herself turning back to his home

Typical Alphabet song, with Biblical references: "A is for Adam who was the first man, B is for Bethlehem where Jesus was born," etc.

Bible Baseball Game, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #12784}

"Adam stole first, and Eve stole second, St. Peter umpired the game; Rebeah went to the well with the pitcher, Ruth in the field won fame... And Noah gave out the checks for -- You know he gave out the checks for the rain

"The Bible is a holy and visible law" (or, "By the old Levitical law" or "By the holy and religious law"), "I marry this (Indian) to this (squaw), By the point of my jack-knife, I pronounce you man and wife."

Humorous exploits based loosely on Bible stories. The creation and Noah's flood are described. A man in heaven rejoices; even though he drowned, he's free of his wife. Some versions of the song contain references to Freemasonry

The singer describes his love for Daisy Bell. His poverty being what it is, he cannot offer a fancy wedding or carriage, but proposes they ride a "bicycle built for two." In the original, she accepts

Singer bought a beautiful bicycle "I ran right in to an old, old woman, I nearly mangled a kid." A crowd destroyed his bicycle. The destruction is described, step by step. "I'm damned if I'll ride again"

"Biddy Rooney, you drive me looney ... where have you gone?" Anyone that finds her "may take her bag and baggage" It shouldn't be hard to find her: "As she goes walking ... she walks left handed with both feet"

The singer meets Biddy Small at a Donegal fair. The chorus says "if you'd only marry me sure I wouldn't care at all Should there never grow a potato in the town of Donegal." They marry happily, with a farm, animals and "lots of little children around"

"Biddy, Biddy, hold fast my gold ring, Hey, Mamma, hoo-ay, Never get-a London back again, John saw the island." "You drink coffee and I drink tea...."

Big Ben Strikes One: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #19549}

Jump-rope/counting rhyme: "Big Ben strikes one. Big Ben strikes two. Big Ben strikes three." And so on.... Or. "Big Ben strikes ten In the middle of London. One, two, three...."

Big Black Bull, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7612}

The big black bull comes down the mountain, spies a heifer, jumps the fence, jumps the heifer, then returns to the mountain.

Chorus: "O this union, this union band, this union. Big camp meeting in the promised land." Alternate lines in verses are "Big camp meeting in the promised land." Verse: "I ain't got time to stop and talk, The road is rough and it's hard to talk"

Singer describes the crew of "harvest stiffs" on the big combine (harvester) in Oregon, including Oscar (Nelson), an IWW member; the horse-puncher ("the things he tells the horses...I can't tell you") and the singer himself, who is head puncher.

"Here's an ugly brute from the cattle chute, Press along to the Big Corral, The big galoot's got a bottle in his boot, Press along...." "Press along, cowboy, press along...." Other verses are may be unrelated but are mostly about cows and cowboy life

"There was hoboes from Kerry, and hoboes from Cork, Some from New Jersey, and more from New York" who are hired by the Big Diamond Mine. The singer was hired May 1. He quits after four shifts, and mentions all the types of people who work the mine

Insults in rhyme to those who are fat. "Big fat hog, You look like a fish And stink like a dog." "Fatty in the teapot, Skinny in the spout, Fatty blew off And blew Skinny out." "Jenny fun, Jenny fat, Hit her in the tummy with a baseball bat." Etc.

"Lord, a big fat woman with the meat shakin' on her bones... Every time she wibble, a poor man's dollar gone." The singer has a sweet gal; he doesn't want a black woman to tempt -- or kill -- him. He speaks of the blues

Big Five-Gallon Jar, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #9412}

Jack Jennings, a boarding-master, and his wife Caroline are expert at finding sailors. Should the supply ever dry up, they haul out their "big five-gallon jars" of liquor and use that to round up sailors.

"The big gun toiled with his heart and soul Shearing sheep to make a roll, Out in the backblocks far away, Then off to Sydney for a holiday." Once there, he gets drunk and chases the girls -- and soon finds himself broke and having to scrape for a living

"Cold and chill is de winter wind, Big Jim's dead and gone." The singer regrets her man Jim, who is "good and kind to me," but is "a grinder." Jim is killed by another woman in a fight in a hop house; the singer hopes to join him soon

Big Jim in the Barroom: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #5011}

"My mama told me, Long time ago, Quit all my rowdy ways And drink no more." "Big Jim in the barroom, Little Jim in jail, Big Jim in the barroom, Drinking good ale." "Played cards in England...." "Don't dance her down, boys,,, Her man's in town."

Big Kilmarnock Bonnet: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5861}

Jock quits plowing, puts on his hat, and goes to Glasgow. As a joke, Sandy Lane tells him to look up Katie Bain. He meets a girl who takes him to Katie. The girls roll him and get him drunk. He gets 60 days in jail for jumping into the Clyde.

"We was boomin' down the old Miss'ip', One splugeous summer day, When the old man yells, 'Now let 'er rip! I see the Maquotekay!" The sailors wonder what Captain Jones drank: "What? Water? Yes, water. Dry up... you liar... Cause his innards was a-fire."

Big Rock Candy Mountain, The: (19 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #6696}

The hobo arrives and announces that he is heading for the Big Rock Candy Mountain. He describes its delights: Handouts growing on bushes, blind railroad bulls, jails made out of tin, barns full of hay, dogs with rubber teeth, "little streams of alcohol"

Big Sam starts a job at the plant cutting seal fat. Tiring of that he starts skinning pelts. He has enough of that and works emptying a long boat until he's had enough of that. He decides at the end that "I'll work here no more, the work is too fast"

Big Ship Sailing, A: (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4827}

"There's a big ship sailing on the illie-alley-oh...." "There's a big ship sailing, rocking on the sea...." "There's a big ship sailing, back again...."

"Big Stone Gap's gettin' mighty cold, honey, Big Stone Gap's getting mighty cold, babe, Big Stone Gap's gettin' mighty cold, Can't make a dollar to save my soul, honey." Police hauled the singer off the train. They can't bluff him. He doesn't need women.

"The rabbit is the kind of thing What travels in the dark, Never knows when danger's round...." "Big-eyed rabbit, Boo! Boo!" "The rabbit came to my house, Thought he'd come to see me, When I come to find him out, He'd 'suaded my wife to leave me."

"Now, some shearing I have done, and some prizes I have won, Through my knuckling down so close to the skin... For that's the only way to make some tin." The singer boasts of success with women and declares that his tally is never less than ninety-nine

Bigler's Crew, The [Laws D8]: (22 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #645}

The Bigler sets out for Buffalo from Milwaukee. A number of minor incidents are described, and the Bigler's lack of speed sarcastically remarked upon: "[We] MIGHT have passed the whole fleet there -- IF they'd hove to and wait"

Chorus: "Boil them cabbage down, Bake that hoecake brown, Only tune that I can play is Boil them cabbage down." Fiddle tune, with floating verses from anywhere, e.g. "Raccoon has a bushy tail, Possum's tail is bare" or "Raccoon up a 'simmon tree"

Bill (a B&O brakeman) and his woman have a fight; he storms out. She begs, "Won't you come home, Bill Bailey... I'll do the cooking, honey, I'll pay the rent; I know I've done you wrong." (At last Bill shows up in an automobile)

In 1769 Bill Brown is shot and killed while hunting hare with his friends and their dogs. At trial gold frees his killers. Though the law supports his killers, Brown's blood "for vengeance cries"

"My name's Bill Cutlass, bold and free, I came into the world by piracy, And while I can steer a craft at sea, I'll be a pirate rover." He takes gold "by steel and blood" and makes women slaves but protects shipwrecked sailors. He won't be taken alive

"Come all you sympathizers, I pray you lend an ear. It's of a drowning accident as you shall quicklie hear." Hotel manager Bill Dunbar, liked by all, attends a race. On his return, he and (Bob Cunningham) go through the ice and drown

Bill Grogan's Goat: (14 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #4574}

Bill Grogan has a goat; "He loved that goat just like a kid." One day the goat, "Ate three red shirts from off the line." Bill angrily ties the goat to the railroad track. The goat "coughed up those shirts (and) flagged down the train."

Bill Hopkin's Colt: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4156}

"'Twas over in Cambridge county In a barroom filled with smoke Where all the neighbors... Talk horse and crack a joke." Hopkins tells how his father planned to shoot an ugly colt, but Bill urged him to spare it -- and it has become a champion racer

"'Twas off the coast of Guinea Land, Full sixty leagues from the shore we lay." The sailors suffer horribly at the Captain's hands. Bill Jones calls for mutiny against the Captain. Bill is killed, but he curses the Captain, who is soon lost at sea

The song opens with chat about Bill Mason, then notes that he was called to "bring (down) the night express." His new wife, seeing vandals destroying the tracks, she brings out a lantern and saves him and his train

Bill Miller's Trip to the West: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6625}

"When I got there I looked around; No Christian man or church I found." Alleged to describe the adventures of Confederate captain Bill Miller of North Carolina, but the two lines quoted above are all the text known

Bill Morgan and His Gal: (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #11344}

Bill Morgan takes his girlfriend out to eat; she orders such a huge dinner that he remonstrates with her, saying, "My name is Morgan, but it ain't J. P." Other examples of her profligacy follow; at last Morgan gives up on her

"Bill Peters was a hustler From Independence town...." "Bill driv the stage from Independence... Thar warn't no feller on the route that driv with half the skill." Bill drives faster, stops less, and kills more than anyone, but at last he stops a bullet

Bill Scrimshaw and the Scotsman: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #1089}

Bill Scrimshaw is ordered by his landlord to quit wrestling. He relents when a Scotsman calls Bill a coward. Bill and the Scotsman wrestle. Bill wins easily, and he and the Scotsman spend the night drinking.

"Come all you bold heroes who wear jackets of blue" to hear of two twins, Bill and Warren Seymour, who court the same woman. Warren wins her; Bill vows revenge. They take ship and fight; lightning strikes; somebody dies

Bill the Bullocky: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #10221}

"As I came down through Conroy's Gap I heard a maiden cry, 'There goes old Bill the Bullocky, He's bound for Gundagai!'" Bill is said to be very honest, but has a difficult time doing his work

Bill/Paul hears that a band of Indians is coming, and rides to tell his love Bessie Lee and her fellow ranchers. Fatally wounded, he writes a warning in his own blood. The letter is carried by his horse, and the ranch is saved

"Oh Bill rode out one morning just at the break of day; He said he was sure of his bait-tub of squid up here in Hiscock Bay." The song ends "It's all about Bill Wiseman jiggin' his squid in Hiscock Bay."

Billboard Song, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #15715}

"As I was walking down the street" the singer sees a billboard damaged by weather, which now contains many odd ads: "Smoke Coca-Cola cigarettes, chew Wrigley's Spearmint beer," or try other unorthodox techniques

"Let's go a-huntin', said Risky Rob, Let's go a-huntin', said Robin to Bob, Let's go a-huntin', said Dan'l to Jo, Let's go a-huntin', said Billy Barlow." They hunt a (rat/possum), kill it, cook it, and divide it. All get sick except Billy, who feels fine.

William Barlow "come[s] before you with one boot and one shoe." He arouses the wonder of the girls, is given free entrance to the races, and is more unusual than any animal in the circus. He hopes some young lady will accept him as a beau

"Good evening, kind friends, how do you all do? 'Tis a very long time since I've been to see you." Billy has volunteered for the Union. He goes to Richmond, where Jeff Davis is jealous of him. He describes his hard times in the army

Billy Barlow in Australia: (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #8397}

"When I was at home I was down on my luck And I earned a poor living by driving a truck." Billy inherits a thousand pounds, but a merchant sells him a station and he is cheated of the whole inheritance. He returns to Sydney to beg a job

Ball-game played with multiple balls. "Billy Boland, Biscuit Baker, Ballybough Bridge."

"Billy, Billy Booster Had a little rooster; The rooster died and Billy cried, Poor little Billy, Billy Booster"

Asked where he has been, Billy says he has been courting, and has found a girl, "but she's a young thing and cannot leave her mother." In response to other questions, he describes her many virtues, always returning to his refrain

John Webb was imprisoned and well guarded, but "Billy broke locks and Billy broke bolts, And Billy broke all that he came nigh." Billy and John Webb escape on horseback, then relax by organizing a dance

Billy Byrne of Ballymanus: (4 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #2376}

In (17)99, United commander Billy Byrne is caught in Dublin and brought to Wicklow jail. Informers Dixon, Doyle, Davis, and Doolin swear he fought at Mount Pleasant, Carrigrue and Arklow. He is hanged. The devil has a warm corner for the informers

Billy Grimes the Rover: (30 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #468}

The girl comes to her mother and asks if she can marry Billy Grimes. Mother refuses her blessing; Billy is poor and dirty. The girl points out that Billy has just come into a large inheritance; the mother suddenly praises Billy and gives her blessing

Billy Hughes's Army: (2 refs. 4K Notes) {Roud #10587}

"Why don't you join (x3) Billy Hughes's army? Six bob a week and nothing to eat, Great big boots and blisters on your feet, Why don't you join...." Or ""Come on and join, come on and join... Lord Kitchener's army, Ten bob a week, Plenty grub to eat." "

Billy Johnson's Ball: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #2139}

On his first wedding anniversary Johnson throws a party to celebrate it (and the arrival of a baby six months earlier). Johnson dances with all the girls; Mrs. Johnson gets jealous; the singer can't tell how it ended; he woke next morning under the table

"Love is sweet and love is pleasant, Long as you keep it in your view." A man asks Missis Mary why she can't favor him. Her love is on the ocean. He says her Billy Ma Hone is dead. She screams. He reveals himself and shows her the ring she gave him

"Billy, my darling, Billy, my dear, When you think I don't love you it's a foolish idea -- Up in the tree-top high as the sky, I can see Billy, Billy pass by."

Billy sets out for Dublin and takes ship. Though a great storm blows up, Billy pays no attention. After he lands, a robber tries to hold him up, but Billy's shillelagh is quicker. Billy tells of his other adventures

"You may talk of your whisky or talk of your beer, I've something far better waiting for me." The singer describes the tasks he performs while waiting for the billy to boil. He even holds off on dinner until the tea is ready

Billy Pitt and the Union: (1 ref. 1K Notes) {Roud #V8767}

Billy Pitt convinced the British that Union with Ireland would solve their problems. Ireland would gain no more from union than the Sabines gained through union with Rome. "They may take our all from us and leave us the rest." Hibernia must reject union.

Billy Richardson's Last Ride: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #10440}

"Through the West Virginia mountains came the early mornin' mail Old Number Three was westbound...." Engineer Bill Richardson is "old and gray," but still wants to make good time. He dies when his head strikes a mail crane

Shanty. "Oh Billy Riley was a dancing master, O Billy Riley. Old Billy Riley, screw him up so cheer'ly, O Billy Riley O." Verses name members of Riley's family and/or their occupations. Refrain changes each time based on which Riley is named in the verse.

"Billy the barber Shaved his father With a rusty razor. The razor slipped And cut his lip. Three cheers for Billy the barber."

"I'll sing you a true song of Billy the Kid, I'll sing of the desperate deeds that he did." Billy "went bad" in Silver City as "a very young lad." He soon has 21 notches on his pistol, but wants Sheriff Pat Garrett for 22. But Garrett shoots Billy first

Billy the Kid (II): (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5098}

"Billy was a bad man And carried a big gun. He was always after greasers And kept them on the run." Billy shot a white man "every morning." But one day he met a worse man, "And now he's dead and we Ain't none the sadder."

"Bustin' down the canyon, Horses on the run, Posse just behind then, 'Twas June first, '71." Billy and Alias Joe ride and fight for their lives until they reach Tombstone. Finally a chance shot by Pat Garrett kills Billy

"Come all you blades both high and low And you shall hear of a dismal go." Billy Vite/White falls in love with Molly Green, but she denies him. The devil comes to him with arsenic; he poisons her; a sheep's head accuses him of murder and takes him to hell

A chant for lamplighters. "Billy with the lamp, Billy with the light, Billy with his sweetheart Out all night."

Game to see who can be silent longest (?). "Billy, Billy Burst, Who speaks first?"

The singer swears by all things and people -- O'Connell, King Saul, Zozymus Moran, Dido, the Shannon, Brian Boru, dirty dealers -- that "I ne'er had a hand in King Billy's downfall." Billy will be rebuilt but had better not "dress as before" on July 12.

"I had a fight with Satan last night, As I lay half awake, Ole Satan came to my bedside, And he began to shake." He offers Uncle Billy riches in return for his soul. "Poor Black Bill" defies Satan; the Devil vanishes, and Billy is rewarded in heaven

Bingen on the Rhine: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3517}

"A solider of the legion lay dying in Algiers, There was lack of woman's nursing, there was dearth of woman's tears." The soldier asks that messages be taken home, "For I was born at Bingen, at Bingen on the Rine." He recalls his history and died

"There was a farmer had a dog, And Bingo was his name, sir. B-I-N-G-O (x3), And Bingo was his name, sir." "That farmer's dog sat at our door, Begging for a bone, sir...." "The farmer's dog sat on the back fence...."

Ojibwe poem translated into English: HIgh in the sky I go, High above the way below, By my side a bird will go, Bird and I will sail the sky."

Bird in a Gilded Cage, A: (15 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #4863}

A couple sees a rich young woman. When the girl envies the fine lady's wealth, her companion replies that "she married for wealth, not for love." He pities her; "she's only a bird in a gilded cage... Her beauty was sold for an old man's gold."

"Twas winter down the icy gulf, The Gulf St Lawrence wide." The Bird Rocks lighthouse keeper, his son, and helper are swept away. His wife keeps the light burning until spring. Like her we should "in sorrow's darkest night ... show the world our light"

"Shoo all o' the birds" "Out of master's ground Into Tom Tucker's ground Out of Tom Tucker's ground Into ..." and so on.

Various birds talk about their attempts at courting, and the effects of their successes and failures. Example: "Said the hawk to the crow one day, Why do you in mourning stay, I was once in love and I didn't prove fact, And ever since I wear the black."

"Fly across the ocean, birdie, Fly across the deep blue sea, There you'll find an untrue lover...." The singer bids the bird to remind him of his promises to her and how he betrayed her.

"Birdie, birdie, in the tree, See them, Mama, vun, two, three, See they spread their little wings, Oh, what darling pretty things. Snow white darlings look around, See your breakfast on the ground." They do not move, for "Papa made them out of snow."

"(The) spring (dove/once) said to the nightingale, 'I mean to give you birds a ball. Pray, ma'am, ask the birdies all.... Tra-la-la-la-la." The birds come in their best clothes. Wren, cuckoo, raven all dance, then go home to their nests

Game with two characters, the "angel" and the "namer." The name names birds, red bird, blue bird, etc. Then the angel names a bird type, which runs away: "Who is that? It's me. What do you want? I want some birds. What color? (Blue). Run, (blue)."

Birds in the Spring, The: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #356}

Singer sits down to listen to the birds sing, and praises the pleasure of their notes. Chorus: "And when you grow old, you will have it to say/You'll never hear so sweet... as the birds in the spring" or "...as the nightingale sing"

Birds In Their Little Nests Agree: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #25519}

"Birds in their little nests agree; And 'tis a shameful sight When children of one family Fall out, and chide, and fight." Fragment of a song beginning "Whatever brawls disturb the street, There should be peace at home...."

"When but a lad of tender years my dear old dimpled dad This maxim would impress upon my mind:.... You'll find the lads sing sweeter, lad, at home." The singer has traveled far, and his father and mother are dead, but home is indeed sweeter

"Oh, lass, gin ye would think it right, To gang wi' me this very night, We'll cuddle till the mornin' licht...." The girl would like to meet him at the birken tree, but her parents watch closely. But she manages to sneak away; all ends happily

Birks of Aberfeldy: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5070}

The singer asks "Bonnie lassie, will ye go To the birks of Aberfeldy?" He describes the summer there, birds singing, cliffs "crown'd wi' flowres," and so on. He would wish for nothing more than to be "supremely blest wi' love and thee"

Birks of Abergeldy, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5070}

The singer asks his girl to go with him to the Birks of Abergeldy. She fears betrayal. He promises to marry if she becomes pregnant. She complains "Abergeldy is too near my friends ... their eyes are on me steady" but she would go with him to Edinburgh.

"(chatter)" Chanteyman: "Birmingham Road!" Fishermen: "LAWD, LAWD, BIRMINGHAM ROAD!"

"I've traveled east and west... But I've never seen a town like Birmingham. Oh, she has certainly won the prize, Prettiest little town in Alabam." The singer has been many places, but even the air is better in Birmingham (Alabama)

Birthday Cake, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #16808}

"It's a little round thing so nice and clean, Prettiest thin you've ever seen." "Get your hands off of it, 'cause it don't belong to you, And you'll never get a piece, I don't care what you do." "Make no mistake, This song here's about a birthday cake"

"We are waiting, brother, waiting, Though the night be dark and long. "They have herded us like cattle." The workers have been dragged from their homes, whether unionist or not. They are being separated from families and deported

"Say, pal, which way are you drifting? How's the cutting down the line?" The camps are working hard. The singer wonders about Bisbee. There is lots of work, but Bisbee's Queen and the bosses make false promises; they will collect your pay back for her

The singer is invited to a party at Flanagan's. He is invited to try the biscuits. They looked good, and were attractively presented, but the singer had never had "such nuggets of lead." To cut them, he advises the use of an axe and wedge

""I went to church the other day To hear the bishop preach and pray. They all got drunk but me alone, And I had to take the bishop home. Didn't I seem to like it? (x3) Well, I rather think I did."

Bishop's Song, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #10905}

"O she was young and beautiful, the fairest of the fair," and she and Young John pledge their love. The Bishop sends John to spread Mormonism in England. Her father forces her to marry the Bishop (and her father will marry the Bishop's daughter). She dies

"Biting spider going around biting everybody But he didn't bite me." Biting spider left darling Liza in Birmingham. The singer saw her leave the mountain and she didn't stop

Jesus is sent out by Mary to play. He is snubbed by a group of rich boys. He builds "a bridge with the beams of the sun," and the boys who follow him across fall into the river and drown. Mary beats her child with a withy branch

"Their sparkling style we've come to know, since far-off days of yore, When first they blazed the victory trail in Nineteen hundred and four." Names and attributes of past stars of Kilkenny hurling.

Black Ball Line, The: (8 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #2623}

"I served my time on the Black Ball line, To me way-ay-ay, Rio... Hurrah for the Black Ball line." "The Black Ball ships are good and true" and fast. They will lead you to a "gold mine." The listener is advised to travel to Liverpool and see the Yankees

"Oh Lawd, Black Betty, bam-ba-lam (x2), Black Betty had a baby, bam-ba-lam (x2)." "Oh, Lawd, Black Betty... It de cap'n's baby." "Oh, Lawd, Black Betty... but she didn't feed the baby. "Oh Lawd, Black Betty... Black Betty, where'd you come from?"

""Kick out your fire, boy, Roll up your pack, Don't forget your billy, boy, Billy burnt and black... Black billy tea, boy, That's the stuff for me." It's better than beer. It keeps miners alive. It helps a man in a bog. It even helps catch game

"One day as I passed through a tavern door, I was... determined to pass by I'm sure," but the singer spots a bottle of grog. They converse; it says it does good; the singer says it does harm. He drinks it anyway -- but says he won't drink again

"I brought a black cat home one night, And I brought some steak home too...." While the singer is out, the cat eats the steak. Cat and human fight, with the human generally coming off worse. Similar escapades follow

One of three sailors, a black cook, has an idea to "rise cash." They sell his body as a corpse to a doctor. When the doctor goes to dissect the corpse it stands. The doctor runs to his wife, who bars the door and asks him to "leave off dissecting"

"'Twas early in the spring when I decide to go For to work up in the woods in North Ontario." The unemployed singer joins a survey crew under Black Toby. He suffers from the flies, and is helped only by the cook. He vows never to work up north again

"That old black gall keeps on a-hollering, Bout a new pair of shoes, buddy, bout a new pair of shoes." The singer gives her money, she comes back drunk. He hits her. She leaves (crying murder?). He visits her and is turned away; he ends up in prison

"Old coons look alike to me, I get another beau, you see, He's just as good to me As any nigger dared be -- And I don't like you nohow!"

Black Hawk War Song, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #10910}

"In our leaky tents we sit, Listening to the drip, drip, drip, Of the rain and snow that chills us to the bone." The singers long for home, or at least clear skies, as they sit in Sanpete. They wonder when they will be able to go home.

Black Is the Color: (12 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3103}

"(Black, black,) black is the color of my true love's hair...." The singer describes the beautiful girl he is in love with. (He regretfully concedes that they will never be married)

Jump-rope rhyme. "The Black man said [or My mother said] That you are 'A'; If you do not want to play, You can sling your hook away."

Black Men Are the Bravest: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #13591}

The singer says "ye are black ... Bit I am white and bonny" and the colors complement each other. Black and white cocks crow but "the black cock crows the clearest" and "ladies say That black men are the bravest"

"It's O once I had a charming beau..." The singer describes his wealth and wooing. "And then there came a sour old maid, She's worth her weight in gold," whom the suitor prefers. She warns against "those stylish chaps that wear the black mustache"

"And then came black Phyllis, his charger astride, And took away Annie, his unwilling bride..." The singer sits in the storm and wishes his love Annie would be returned to him. Someone eventually kills Phyllis, but Annie is dead by then

Jump-rope rhyme, perhaps improvised: "Black pig, black pig went to the house, Up on the top he went and he fell, Single, single, Blackie Pig went, Father told him to get in the corner, Because he said, 'Shut up.'"

The singer is a beggar, but "if I got the best of broth with helpings of cold tripe, I would rather have an extra reek of my black pipe." The singer describes how tobacco is better than fame or fortune or power, and hopes to be buried with his pipe

Singer's black mare can win against any horse; "ain't a horse in Kentucky my horse can't beat." He gives her gold teeth, earrings, and streamlined shoes. He rode her for days and she never broke her pace. He would follow her to any land.

"When all our work is done, and all our sheep are shorn, Then home with our Captain to drink the ale that's strong, 'Tis a barrel then of hum-cup, which we calls the Black Ram." The singer bets the Black Ram will make the hearer stagger and fall

"I shipped aboard of a lumber-boat, Her name was Charles O'Rourke, The very first thing they rolled aboard Was a barrel of Black Rock pork." They have to eat salt pork at all meals. The boat sinks on a chunk of coal.

A father has three sons, one honest, two vile. The bad sons convince the father to evict the youngest. Then -- urged on perhaps by their wives -- they evict their father from the house. The third son, the "Black Sheep," comes forth and rescues the father

Singing game in which a "black snake" tries to seize children who come too close to taunt it. "Black snake, black snake, Where are you hiding? Black snake, black snake, Where are you hiding? Don't you bite me!"

"Black socks, they never get dirty. The longer you wear them, the stronger they get. Some times I think of the laundry, But something inside me says: Don't send them yet."

Black Stripper, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #9755}

"I have but one cow and she has but one tit, But she's better to me than one that has six, One drop of her milk would make the house ring." All his barley goes to feed her. He'll take her to town "and if I meet the gauger, I will knock him down"

"The restless shadows by me flit, And day will soon be o'er." The digger sees black swans fly by as he digs gum. He's fifty miles from a town, ten from the nearest pub. As the black swans mark the end of a dull day, they will in time bring the end of life

Black Tail Range, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #5762}

"I am a roving cowboy Off from the western plains." Vignettes about cowboy life: One cowboy is rejected by a girl because he is poor. Another recalls leaving his family. Others tell of the dangers of mining and suggests hunting instead

"Black them boots an' make 'em shine, Goodbye, goodbye, Black them boots and make 'em shine, Goodbye (Liza/lazy) Jane." "Oh how I love her, ain't that a shame...." "See that snail a-pullin' that rail?"

A hairy, toothless, "wee black thing" sits on a cushion. A piper and two little drummers come to play. The piper goes in and "when he came out he hang doon his head"

Black Velvet Band (I), The: (24 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #2146 and 3764}

The singer meets and courts a girl with fine hair tied up in a (black/blue) velvet band. As they are out (walking) one night, she steals a gentleman's (watch). The crime is discovered; she plants the evidence on the singer; he is convicted and punished

In a form clearly based on the transportation song "The Black Velvet Band," the singer -- who has chosen to emigrate to New Zealand -- bids farewell to his girl and sails away. He tells how he is saving up to be reunited with his girl in the velvet band.

Singer loves a girl who wears a blue (black) velvet band. He leaves her to find work. She appears to him by firelight; he returns home, to discover or learn from his captain that she has died. She is buried wearing his ring and the velvet band

Black Water Side, The [Laws O1]: (8 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #312}

A boy and girl have long been courting. He offers to marry her; she objects that she is too poor. He says that, though he loves only her, this is her only chance; he has another girl in reserve. She gains her mother's permission and they are married

Riddle: "Black within, red without, Four corners round-about." Answer: a chimney

"Come here Black woman...ah-hmm, sit on Black daddy's knee." Singer asks if her house is lonesome with her biscuit-roller gone. He's going to Texas "to hear the wild ox moan. He asks where she stayed last night and threatens to tell her daddy on her

"Send for the fiddle and send for the bow, Send for the black-eyed Daisy, Don't reach here by the middle of the week, It's almost drive me crazy...." "Who'se been here since I been gone? Send for the... Pretty little girl with a red dress on...."

Susan boards a ship to seek William. He hears her voice and greets her on the deck, promising to be true wherever he goes. Susan bids a sad farewell as the ship prepares to leave

Black-Eyed Susie (Green Corn): (24 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4954 and 3426}

Floating verses about courting and marriage: "All I want in this creation / Pretty little wife and a big plantation.... Two little boys to call me pappy, One named sup and the other named gravy. Hey, black-eyed Susie" (or "Green corn," or other chorus)

About the troubles suffered by American blacks, who must take poor jobs (if any are available) for poor pay. "If you're white, you're all right; If you're brown, stick around, But if you're black, O brother, git back, git back, git back."

The singer is eating blackberries when he spies a milkmaid. He asks to buy milk; she says the cow has kicked over the bucket. She hints that the loan of a shilling would be quickly repaid; he takes the hint, she takes the shillings, and he takes her

Blackbird (I), The (Jacobite): (25 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #2375}

A lady is mourning for her blackbird, who "once in fair England... did flourish." Now he has been driven far away "because he was the true son of the king." She resolves to seek him out, and wishes him well wherever he may be

Blackbird (VII), The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #10147}

"Once a boy who was no good Took a girl into the wood, Bye, bye, blackbird," and "Took her... To a place where he could love and grind her" -- then turns her over and continues. She then "Told her story to a court." He ends up in prison

Blackbird and Thrush, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2380}

The singer hears two birds rejoicing because they are "single and free." The girl goes to meet Johnny, but "the dearer I loved him, the saucier he grew." At last he rejects her, and she says she can do better elsewhere

Alternate lines are a chorus, "Ay-ah." The shantyman sings "White bird get up... she break/shake she tail... Black bird get up... she do the same" "Donna ... Emmalina girl .. come go with me"

A fair maid mourns "Oh, where is my Blackbird of sweet Avondale." The fowler caught him in Dublin and he is behind "the walls of Kilmainham." She says "God grant that my country will soon be a nation And bring back my Blackbird to sweet Avondale"

Blackbird of Mullaghmore, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3474}

For money the singer will "supply you with a good friend" and a glass. The "loyal blackbird" of Mullaghmore has been driven away to some fine still. "Her offspring are well proven in America, France and Spain" She will return "but not to the same place"

Young man meets young woman; she laments her Jimmy, who is off to the wars. She fears he will be killed, but when he returns, he finds her dead instead. He regrets having left.

"Ay, lad! Sec a murry-neet we've had at Bleckell." The well-dressed folk are there to dance as the fiddle plays. They eat, drink, smoke, sing. The singer wishes health to Johnny Dawtson the clogger and hopes they will meet again

"Mount! mount! and away o'er the greenwood so wide, The sword is our sceptre, the fleet steed our pride...." The Blackfoot rangers will raid and bushwhack the Federals, who cannot hope to defeat them; God will support them

"It's in the even' after dark, When the black-leg miner creeps to work." "They take their picks and down they go To hew the coal that lies below." The singer warns against mining. Women avoid miners. Hearers are urged to join the union

""Curiosity caused me one evening to ramble"; by the Shoofly he hears two old ladies. One curses the blacklegs who are depriving union men of work. The other says the blacklegs are just trying to support their families. But times are still hard

Singer dreams of a mystical trip. At different points on the desert trip he is given colored garments to wear. He encounters the burning bush, a toad, armed strangers, mountains, a pyramid and a fountain and cup for toasting all that don't bow to Baal.

Blacksmith (I), The: (10 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #816}

"A blacksmith courted me, Nine months or better. He fairly won my heart, Wrote me a letter.... And if I were with my love, I'd live forever." Sadly, her love has departed (for the wars? To be married?); she wishes she were with him wherever he goes

Blacksmith (III), The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #6249}

"When I was a blacksmith An working in my shop I did kiss a bonnie lass Behind the working block." He describes her hair, eyes, teeth and skin. He compares birds to women. The last lines are enigmatic: "I winna lie in your bed Neither at stock nor wa"

"I am a blacksmith by my trade, from London I came down." "There's Monday, Tuesday Wednesday these are the days we smith... welcome Saturday night, Then we receive our weekly wage and pay our alehouse score." With or without money, he works cheerily

"The rebels' hall of meeting was the forge of sweet Cloghroe" where they learned the soldier's drill. Sean Magee, the blacksmith there, is now buried in Kilmurry. "Ireland lost a gallant son in the blacksmith of Cloghroe"

A Lowland girl is induced to follow a Highland lad home "to pick blueberries" (and get married). The girl is worn out by the time they reach his home -- only to discover that his poverty is a sham and he is a great lord whom she knew in childhood

Blair Festival 1969: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #21432}

"The festival has come again; they say it is the last. If it is, we still have memories...." The singer, evidently Belle Stewart, recalls the happy times the family has had there, and thanks Maurice Fleming for helping them as performers

French. A lady is taken home by a captain. They eat before making love, but she falls dead during the meal. She is buried in her father's garden. When her father comes, she calls him to open her tomb: She has pretended to be dead to save her honor.

The British frigate Blanche encounters the French frigate Le Picque. Although their Captain Faulknor is killed they repel a boarding party and capture the French frigate.

Blancheflour, a pretty servant girl, finds a place sewing for a queen. The queen warns the girl away from her son Jellyflorice, but the two fall in love. The queen would kill the girl, but Jellyflorice rescues and marries her

"In came a little man with a white hat; If you want a pretty girl, pray take that; Take your choice of one, two, or three; If you want a pretty girl, please take she. Blank and ladder! Halloo if you're far off, whistle if you're nigh."

Blankets and Sheets: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #6233}

"O ladies be wary for when that you marry There's twenty things more in a day you've to do, There's blankets and sheets and preens are awanting And oh to be married if this be the way"

It would be "treason" to accuse Colonel Barber of "murder." Those shot "were lads of good behaviour" but "O'Brien and Lynch" betrayed them for gold. Offered a pardon and gold themselves, those condemned as "united" chose death, and were shot.

Blarismoor Tragedy, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #13386}

"Oh, Lord, grant me direction To sing this foul transaction... Late done at Blarismoor." Three Irishmen are accused, and offered pardon and promotion if they list their accomplices. They refuse and are executed

Blarney Stone, The: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4800}

Singer meets a pretty girl on the road to Bandon, who tells him she's lonely and asks "where I'd find that little Blarney stone." He shows her, to their mutual delight. The chorus points out there's a Blarney Stone in every town in Ireland

Swedish shanty. Sailor goes to sea at the age of 14. Sometime later meets a girl in Kalmar Harbour, convinces her to come along and marry him. Chorus after each verse line: "Det blaser kallt vader ifran sjon (The cold weather's blowin' in from the sea)"

Jump-rope verse. "Blaw, blaw, my kilt's awa, My kilt's awa, my kilt's awa, Blaw, blaw, my kilt's away, Bring me back my troosers." "Meg, Meg, I broke my leg, I broke... Sae bring me back my troosers."

Blawin' Willie Buck's Horn: (4 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #13062}

Seemingly unconnected couplets. "I've a cherry, I've a chess, I've a bonny blue glass." A hare, or dog, or nothing, is in the corn, "Blawin' Willie Buck's horn." Willy Buck may have a cow, or cat, jumping like a Covenanter.

The singer out late on a snowy night when he sees the girl. They meet again. He asks her dwelling. She says she is too young. He says he would treat her well if she would come away. He goes across the sea without her

"As I went out on a summer's evening," the singer meets a pretty girl in Kelvinhaugh. He asks what she is doing, then enquires if she will go with him. She refuses; she is waiting for her love, gone for seven years. He reveals himself as the missing lover

Bleaching Her Claes: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6766}

The singer meets a shepherdess herding her flock and bleaching her clothes. He says he loves her. She continues bleaching her clothes because her mother has warned her to have no faith in young men. He kisses her. She says, "Laddie be true"

Verses can be on any subject, though usually military and often obscene. Many units had their own versions. The conclusion, either "Bless 'em all" or "Fuck 'em all," is diagnostic

Bless Brigham Young: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #10843}

"'Bless Brigham Young,' we children pray; 'The chosen Twelve in what they say, The elders, priests, and teachers, too; Their labors bless in all they do." The children ask for the Spirit of God to rest on them and to understand the Lord's will

"Blessed be that maid Mary, Born he was of her body," "Eia, Iesus hodie Natus est de virgine." Jesus is born in a manger. Kings come from "diverse lands." "To that child we sing, Gloria tibi, Domine."

Chorus: "Blessed be the name (3x) of the Lord." Verses: "If you don't like your brother (preacher, elder), don't you carry the name abroad. Blessed be the name of the Lord, Just take him in your bosom and carry him home to God. Oh, blessed be...."

"I love to tell the story As I've often told before How we fought in glory At the blessed Zulu war." The singer tells how Jack Smith is wounded in a bloody battle, and sends messages to mother and sweetheart before dying

"When one's drunk, not a girl but looks pretty, The country's as gay as the city, And all that ones says is so witty. A blessing on brandy and beer!" The singer praises the effects of drink -- letting him defy his master, beat his wife, chase girls, etc.

"Blest be the tie that binds Our hearts in Christian love, The fellowship of kindred souls Is like to that above." Believers pray to God and "share each other's woes." They grieve to part "and hope to meet again"

"Wha hasna heard tell o' Blin' Hughie the singer? The last wandering minstrel o' Scottish sang-lore." The song describes his odd appearance and tells how he enlivened the marketplaces. Now he is dead; "Scotland will greet for her true-hearted wean"

Pretty Betsy, the blind beggar's daughter, seeks a husband. Many court her for her looks, but when she reveals that her father is a beggar, all but one change their minds. This one is surprised when her father proves able to give a large dowry

"Pardon, friends and neighbors, if I intrude upon your time, Please stop and read these verses and see that I am blind." Singer Edward Brodrick was a boiler-maker. He lost one eye, then the other; now he is a broommaker but needs money to start a shop

"They tell me, father, that tonight You'll wed another bride, That you will clasp her in your arms Where my dear mother died." The child asks about the new wife, and hopes she will be kind. The child dies, and goes to heaven where no one is blind

Blind Fiddler, The: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7833}

"I lost my sight in the blacksmith's shop in the year of 'Fifty-six." The singer, with no other trade available, has had to become a wandering fiddler. Not even Doctor Lane of San Francisco could help him. He hopes his family is safe and well

"Blind man stood in the way and cried (x2), Wo, Lord, show me the way...." "Preacherman stood on the way and cried...." "My mother stood on the way and cried...." "My deacon stood on the way and cried...."

"Blind man lay beside the way, He could not see the light of day, The Lord passed by and heard him say: 'O Lord, won't you help-a me?'" "A man he died, was crucified, They hung a thief on either side, One lifted up his voice and cried, 'O Lord...'"

Blind Man's Regret, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6365}

"Young people attention give And hear what I do say...." "hen I was young and in my prime I used to go so gay, For I did not think right of time But idled time away." The singer laments wasting time and going blind

"My friends, I cannot labor, I will try and get along... I will try to sell my song... May heaven above preserve you From ever being blind." The singer lists the things he cannot see, and says he wants to work but can't; he wishes he had sight again

"Just a box of old buttons tired and worn... It wis played by a dame, Blind Mattie's her name, As she sang around old Dundee town." Even as she grew old, she repeated her slogan, "Count your blessings." Now dead, her melodeon and picture are in a museum

An old woman, who must relieve herself, empties her bowels out a window. A passing night watchman (or cowboy) looks up, and is blinded by shit.

"O it wasna her daddy's lairdly kin, It wasna her siller -- the clinkin' o't... 'Twas er ain blue e'e, the blinkin' o't... My heart an' a' she's stown awa' Wi' the lythesome, blythesome blinkin' o't." The singer praises the girl but is rejected

The little girl begs mother not to visit the still; the sheriff is watching. Mother says she must; they need money and father never works. Mother goes to the still and is shot; the child laments when the body is returned

The singer is arrested for moonshining.The singer claims the charge is false. The still is disassembled. The law officers take their turns with the captured brew (?). The singer complains about the conditions in the prison

"The Milit'ry Service Board Sat in state the other day To refuse or give exemptions"; they exempt a man with a wooden leg, "But the bloke that puts the acid on" wants him. The "bloke" takes the aged, even the dead -- but has no need for a healthy rich man

Blondie and Dagwood: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #19212}

Jump-rope rhyme. "Blondie and Dagwood went downtown, Blondie bought an evening gown, Dagwood bought a pair of shoes, And Cookie bought the Daily News, And this is what it said, 'Close your eyes and count to ten.'" May have Ma/Dad for Blondie and Dagwood

A very simple hymn; consisting of little more than the title words: "Ain't you glad, ain't you glad, That the blood done sign(ed) my name." "In my hand, in my hand, Yes the blood done signed my name." "On the wall..." "In heaven..."

"O the blood, o the blood, the blood done signed my name (x3)." "Thank God the blood done signed my name") "Hallelujah, hallelujah,...." "Jesus told me, Jesus told me, ...."

Blood on the Saddle: (11 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #3685}

"There was blood on the saddle And blood all around, And a great big puddle Of blood on the ground. The cowboy lay in it All covered with gore, And he won't go riding no broncos no more.... For his bronco fell on him and mashed in his head."

Shanty. Characteristic lines: "Come/go down, you blood red/bunch of roses, Come down... Oh you pinks and posies, come down...." The verses generally refer to life at sea, with perhaps floating verses on other themes

"((In the wilderness) (x2) And the blood put a mark on me) (x3) O Lord, the blood put a mark on me." In that pattern, "On the forehead...." "In Canaan...." "In Galilee...." Also, "And the blood...signed my name... O Lord, the blood signed my name"

Blood-Stained Diary, The: (3 refs. 42K Notes) {Roud #22297}

"It's just a little blood-stained book, Which a bullet has town in two; It tells the fate of Nick and Nate...." The singer recounts the words of Nathan D. Champion's diary as he and his companion are attacked in the Johnson County War

"If you want to go to heaven, just over on the other shore, Keep out of the way of the blood-strained banders, O good shepherd, feed my sheep." Similarly, one should avoid "gun-shot devils" and "liars." Chorus: "Some for Paul, some for Silas...."

"Come all you folks and gather To hear the awful tale Of the bloody Breathitt farmer Taken from the county jail." Chet Fugate had murdered Clay Watkins (Christmas 1925?). Fugate is taken from prison by force and murdered, his body found by Jim Butler

A lord loves a shepherd's daughter. His mother pays the gardner to kill and bury the shepherdess. The mother confesses and reveals the body. The lord kills himself. The lovers are buried together and the gardener is hanged.

""This bloody town's a bloody cuss, No bloody trains no bloody bus, And no one cares for bloody us, In bloody Orkney." The weather is awful. The beer is bad and expensive. The music, the movies -- all are awful, and the women won't talk to the servicemen

"Who comes here? Bloody Tom. What do you want? My sheep. Take the worst, and leave the best, And never come back to trouble the rest." Alternately, Bloody Tom may be a fox seeking to catch a chicken

The singer comes upon a beautiful girl hard at work. Poor as she is, she vows to keep hard at work until her lover returns to her. The singer reveals himself as her lover; the two are married

The singier is a sailor. He courts blooming Mary Ann. Her father offers "a little money and a house and farm of land" if he'd stay on shore forever. They marry and are happy.

The singer prepares "to take farewell of famed Salthill"; he is crossing the sea to seek his fortune. He meets his darling. He fears she will prove untrue. She promises to be faithful. He sets sail; they watch each other as long as his ship stays in sight

About a heavenly wedding: "There's a wedding in an orchard, dear, I know it by the flowers, They're wreathed on ev'ry bough and branch, Or falling down in showers." "And though I saw... no groom nor gentle bride, I know that holy things were asked"

Blow Away ye Morning Breezes: (2 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #1025}

The singer curses her competitor: "thou shalt rue the very hour That e'er thou knewest the man." The singer will have the good (wheaten flour, crystal clear water, purple pall); her adversary the bad (bran, puddle foul, sorry clout).

Blow Below the Belt, The: (1 ref. 8K Notes) {Roud #30706}

In 1966 "the Government Plan was sent around" for resettlement from the outports. "When fifty percent... did sign The other fifty had no choice." Many found no one to buy their home. Many could not find work. Eventually, Premier Smallwood is voted out

For x=("Play", "Blow", "Root", "Dance"), "x boy, x boy, x fo' Ma Dogoma. Anansi oh! x fo' Ma Dogoma. See how them boys are. x fo' Ma Dogoma. Anansi oh! x fo' Ma Dogoma"

The leader tells the Archangel Gabriel to blow his trumpet and tell everybody "wherever they be On lan' and sea" ... "that they got to meet"

"Oh, when I was lost in the wilderness, King Jesus handed the candles down, And I hope that trumpet going to blow me home, To the new Jerusalem. Blow, Gabriel." Moses smote the waters. The Israelites crossed. Joshua stopped the sun. Jesus was there.

"Blow high blow low let tempests tear The mainmast by the board My heart with thoughts of thee my dear And love well stored Shall brave all danger scorn all fear...." As the sailor works and rests aboard ship, he remembers his love

"Blow on! blow on! we love the howling Of winds that waft us o'er the sea; As fearless as the wolf that's prowling Upon our native hills are we." "Flash on, flash on! We love the gleaming... The black flag still is proudly streaming...."

The singer comes to visit his love on a moonlit night. She lets him in. He points out that her parents are in bed in the next room; he suggests rolling into his arms and blowing out the candles. (Nine months later, when he is gone, she has a child)

Blow the Fire, Blacksmith: (2 refs.) {Roud #12869 and 2897}

The singer would rather have "a young man, With an apple in his hand, Than I would have an old man, With all his house and land." An old man complains of his weary life; a young man "comes jumping in" to kiss his wife.

A tale of a sailor's adventures. Perhaps he serves under a difficult captain; perhaps he meets a girl (and "[gives] her my flipper") who spends his money or sells him off to sea; perhaps his heroic exploits in port earn him a night (or more) in prison

"Blow the wind southerly, southerly, southerly, Blow the wind southerly, South or southwest." The girl hopes that her love will return to her quickly

Blow Ye Winds in the Morning: (18 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2012}

The call is going out for whalermen in New England. The song warns of the conditions the potential recruit will face: Boarding masters, hard times at sea, the dangers of taking the whale. Chorus: "Blow ye winds in the morning, Blow ye winds high-o...."

"Blow yo' whistle, freight train, take me down the line...." "That old freight train movin' along to Nashville, Holds a charm that is a charm for me, Makes me think of good old boomer days gone by." The singer wants to ramble but cannot

"Paul and Silas, bound in jail." "Blow your trumpet, Gabriel, Blow louder, louder,And I hope the trump might blow me home." "There is a tree in paradise."

Blow, Blow, Bully Boys Blow: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #319 and/or 703}

"A sailor is a flirtin' man, Blow, blow Bully boys, blow.... A-breakin' a lassie's heart if he can." Sailors drink. The singer won't treat "Burma Pete" to a drink. The girls don't stand a chance with sailors

Blow, Boys, Blow (I): (32 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #703}

Shanty. Characteristic line: "Blow, boys, blow... Blow, my bully bows, blow!" Often liberally sprinkled with floating verses, the basic version seems to be about a shining Yankee clipper on her way to China. It describes several members of the crew

"Blow, Gabriel, bow -- blow the righteous home! I belong to the band, Hallelujah! Hallelujah, hallelujah, I do belong to the band... Blow, Gabriel, blow....." "If my mother wants to go, Why don't you come along." "If my sister wants to go...."

Blowin' in the Wind: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #36094}

"How many roads must a man walk down Before you call him a man?" And other rhetorical questions, with the answer "blowin' in the wind"

Blue and the Gray (I), The: (2 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #4984}

"A mother's gift to her country's cause is a story yet untold, She had three sons...." All three boys died at war. Two died for the Confederacy in the Civil War; a third died for the Union in Santiago. The singer hopes mother and sons will meet in heaven.

"By the flowing of the inland river, Where the fleet of iron has fled... Asleep are the ranks of dead." In one grave, the Blue (Union) soldier, in the other, the Gray. Most mourners leave flowers for only one, but one day, flowers appear for both

The cowboy boasts of his skill, only to draw "that Blue Bell bull." He admits "I'm lucky I ain't dead." He tries to ride the bull, but ends up spending "Eight long weeks in traction, I ain't never been the same." He warns other cowboys against bragging

Blue Bells of Scotland, The: (13 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #13849}

"Oh where, please tell me where is your highland laddie gone? (x2) He's gone with the streaming banners where noble deeds are done...." He dwells in Scotland at the sign of the blue bell; he wears a plumed bonnet; if he dies, the pipes shall mourn him

"O friends, I have a sad story." The singer "married a man for his money, But he's worse than the devil himsel'. For when Mickey comes home I get battered." She vows to "get blue bleezin' blind drunk Just to give Mickey a warning" and hopes he reforms

"Many a banner spread, Flutters above your head" as the Jacobites enter England. "March! March! Ettrick and Teviotdale... March! March! Eskdale and Liddesdale! All the blue bonnets are over the border." England will long remember the fight

"Oh, boys keep away from the girls I say, And give them plenty of room... Oh the blue glass, oh the blue glass, 'Tis a great discovery sure"; the "blue glass cure" will help you when sick. "It can even make an old maid young."

"Wild roved an Indian girl, bright Alfarata, Where sweeps the water of the blue Juniata." She lives free in the forest, praising her gentle lover. But now "Fleeting years have borne away the voice of Alfarata; Still sweeps the river of blue Juniata."

"I went uptown last Saturday night, Intending to get one drink," "But it's always the same blue Monday, Blue Monday after pay, Your shots are bad...." The singer ways he won't have any more blue Mondays; he'll stop drinking and give his wife his pay

"My home it was in Texas, My past you must not know.... Blue Mountain, you're azure deep... Blue Mountain with a horsehead on your side, You've won my love to keep." Moments in the life of a cowboy: Drinking, wandering, wishing for mother

The singer recalls the "racket" on Blue Mountain Lake when Jim Lou and "lazy Jimmie Mitchell" fought. The song concludes with a joke about Nellie the camp cook, "the belle of Long Lake"

Blue Ridge Mountain Blues: (13 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #11758}

"When I was young and in my prime, I left my home in Caroline, Now all I do is sit and pine, For those folks I left behind. I've got the Blue Ridge Mountain blues." The singer longs for home, and dreams of the aged parents at home whom he will soon see

Blue Velvet Band (II): (2 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #3764}

Singer leaves home and his sweetheart, the girl in the blue velvet band. Five years later he still dreams of her every night. He returns home and "the old colored people" tell him she has died and been buried wearing his ring and the blue velvet band.

The Triton, fishing the Grand Banks, hears that the Cape Dolphin and Blue Wave are sinking in a storm. They join the search for Blue Wave but "no sign of their missing boat was anywhere to be found"

Fragments, mostly from Jimmie Rodgers Blue Yodels, with yodeling. See notes for examples.

(Willie/Jimmy) has gone ("He never died so suddenly before"). After undergoing horrendous medical treatments..."he sneezed and smiled and died/He blew his nose and smiled and died again". Singer vows to plant a bunch of whiskers on his grave

Blue-Tail Fly, The [Laws I19]: (27 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #1274}

A young slave is made into a household servant, with the particular task of keeping away the (stinging) blue-tail flies. One day the master goes out riding; a fly stings his pony; the master is thrown and dies.

Bluebells, Cockleshells: (9 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #19213 and 19426}

"Bluebells, Cockleshells, Evy ivy over, (You buy salt and I'll buy flour, And we'll bake a pudding). (Up the ladder And down the wall, A penny an hour Will serve us all.) Salt, mustard, vinegar, pepper"

Blueberry Ball, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #9945}

The Jubilee lands its freight at Daniel's Harbour and stays three days. The crew and sharemen dance all night, have a good "scuff" and leave to "prepare for a time in the bay"

"Here comes a [blue]bird through my window, Oh, Johnny, I'm tired! [or "Hey, diddle, hi dum, day"] ... Take a little dancer and hop through the garden ... Take a little partner, and pat him on the shoulder"

About Captain Moar's water-boat Bluebird. If you "come to Merrimashee, You will see the noble Bluebird, Through the waters she will fly, And the Captain says he'll run her Till the tank runs dry"

"I was born in Bluefield, a city you all know well.... My name is Walter Summers, the name I'll never deny, I'm now behind the prison walls to stay until I die." Summers admits to murdering Ethel Sullivan. He now loves the song "Convict and the Rose"

"I'm gonna build myself a raft An' float dat ribber down, I'll build myself a shack In some ol' Texas town... 'Cause de blues ain't nothin... But a good man feelin' bad." The singer will go to the levee and rock until her sweetheart comes -- if he does

"In eighteen hundred and forty one, They put their long red flannels on (x2), To work in the bluestone quarries." Stories of the Irish immigrants who became bluestone miners, and faced poverty, uncaring bosses, and cruel conditions

Bluey Brink, "a devil for work and a devil for drink," walks into Jimmy's bar and demands the closest available liquid -- the sulfuric acid used to clean the bar. Brink stomps out, and Jimmy fears for his life. But Brink returns next day asking for more

Bride Mary Bell blushes as she walks down the aisle: "Every boy in every pew/Knows how she can bill and coo/No wonder she's a blushing bride." Even the preacher remembers her in her younger days; so does the best man.

"Hold me to you, closely, darling, As you did in days of old." "Life is from me fastly fleeing... Place my head beneath a rose." "Take me back, for I am dying, I can love no one but you." "Lay me where sweet flowers mingle, Where the drowning lilies blow"

Blythe Mormond Braes: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4598 and 6152}

"O, wat ye wha's in yon wee hoose Beneath blythe Mormond Braes?" It is where pretty Nellie sits bleaching her clothes. The singer is poor. Her parents are opposed but the singer says he "will tak' her frae them a' And love her till I dee"

"Phemie was a bonier lass Than braes o' Yarrow ever saw." The singer describes her. "Phemie was the blythest lass That ever trod the dewy green." "Blythe [joyful], blythe and merry was she, Blythe was she but [outside] and ben [inside]"

"Blythe, blythe and merry was she Blythe was she butt and ben Blythe when she gaed to bed And blyther when she rose again."

Blythesome Bridal, The: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5889}

A call to a wedding: "Fy let us a' tae the bridal, For there will be lilting there, For Jock's tae be married tae Maggie, The lass wi' the gowden hair." The elaborate feast is described in extravagant and nauseating fullness, as are the guests

"On the thirteenth day of may, You could hear old Bo-Cat say, 'Get my deed and policy....'" His wife Catherine asks Bo-Cat what he has done. He murders his wife, is caught, and now awaits execution. "It's a shame how Bo-Cat done he wife."

A fragmentary ballad in which the old woman condemns the old man for "flashing," then has sex with him.

Boar's Head Carol, The: (19 refs. 5K Notes) {Roud #22229}

The singer brings in the boar's head, "bedecked with bays and rosemary," to help celebrate Christmas. Chorus: Caput apri defero, Redens laudes domino."

Johnny disports one after the other with "two boarding-school maidens, charming and bright."

Boardman River Song: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #8857}

Singer tells of his work, skills and history on the Boardman River (and many others), saying he will never waste his money on drink, but will save it for his old age.

To the tune of the "Sailor's Horrnpipe": "Hey there Jack, have you ever seen the Queen, Have you ever seen a Blue-Jack kissing a marine? If you go to Gibraltar take a flying trip to Malta, And we'll have another dance until the boat comes in"

Round: "A boat, a boat across the ferry, For we are going to be merry, To laugh and quaff and drink old sherry." Cf. "The Ferry" ("A boat, a boat to cross the ferry, We'll float and sing and all be merry, Sing, sing, sing and be merry")

"O weel may the boatie row, And muckle may she speed! And weel may the boatie row, That wins the bairns's bread." Short images of the boat as it goes out fishing. The singer wishes it good fortune in future

"Across the silver'd lake The moonlit ripples break, Their path a magic highway seems. We'll send our good canoe Along that highway, too, And follow where the moonlight beams. Ho, good fairies all, Hearken to our call, Come and frolic with us...."

"When I was young and about sixteen, none was more light and gay." The singer lives happily, "a merry boatman's boy." He saves his money to buy a pocket knife, which he learns to use

The boatsman's wife is being visited by the tailor when he comes home unexpectedly. The tailor hides in a chest. Knowing its contents, the husband deliberately takes the chest back to his ship. He tells the tailor he abducted him to keep him from his wife

Boatswain Call the Watch: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #27982}

Just past midnight the captain has the boatswain "call the watch, Sound your whistle shrill" to turn out the men. The mate objects that it's Sunday but the captain says it's just "another day." Before the dawn Jack turns out and curses the captain

"All hands on deck, the boatswain cried, His voice like thunder roaring... To heave your anchor to the bow. And we'll think of the girls when we're far away (x2)." The boatswain gives other orders for sailing; the crew leaves Mobile Bay

"Stout seamen, come away, never be daunted, For if at home you sray" then the fleet cannot be manned. "Lewis, that Christian Turk" (Louis XIV) is preparing to invade. If they succeed, they will earn promotion; at worst, the sea will be their final home

"Ho'way and aw'll sing thee a tune, mun, 'Bout huz seein' my lord at the toon, mun... Nyen them aw cut a dash like Bob Cranky." The singer sets out for a celebration in town, gets drunk and dirty, and tells of the exploits of Cranky

"Farewell, farewell, ma comely pet! Aw's forced three weeks to leave thee; Aw's doon for parm'nent duty set." The singer must obey the sergeant during the long parting -- but if the girl wishes to see him, they can always meet in the "yell-house"

Bob Ingersoll and the Devil: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #11736}

"Some dese days gwine hit 'im. Ingersoll sing anudder song When de debill git 'im. Debbil watch fo' sich as him." The singer describes with seeming relish how the Devil will gather Ingersoll and dance as the dead man suffers

Bob Vail is a butcher who would "rather fight than eat." He is bald on top and uses marrow to grease his hair. He courts Codfish Lize. When he asks her to marry "Her teeth fell out and she lost her wig"

"Well oh bob-a needle bob-a needle, And oh bob-a needle." "Bob-a needle is a running, Bob-a needle ain't a-running." "And oh bob-a needle, bob-a needle... You got bob-a"

Singer is horrified that "my Biddy darling ... had bobbed her hair." She says "'Tis all the fashion now.'" She says it was started by Black and Tans. He leaves her: "your neck is bare, like Paddy McGinty's drake." The asses, goats and swallows protest.

"Hurrah for Bobby Bumble, He never minds a tumble, But up he jumps and rubs his bumps and doesn't even grumble."

Bobby Campbell, though he weeps for the dead, hears the pipes "calling the clans to war," and remembers how his father told him not to dishonor the clan. He goes to war and is killed; his Mary grieves for him

"Bobby Shaftoe's gone to sea, Silver buckles on his knee, He'll come back and marry me, Bonnie Bobby Shaftoe." The singer praises Bobby's appearance. (In some versions she ends by noting that he is "getting a bairn")

Bodies o' the Lyne o' Skene, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #5996}

The singer says "better never hae I seen dwals into the Lyne o' Skene." He names places from which "I've drawn mony a shinnin' groat." "May health and peace their steps attend ... the open-handed, kindly-hearted bodies o' the Lyne o' Skene"

Boers Have Got My Daddy, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #38480}

"This morning in a busy street, A tiny lad I spied," who was saying, "The Boers have got my daddy, My soldier dad; I don't want to hear my mamma sigh.... I'm going on a big ship... I'm going to fight the Boers I am, And bring my daddy home again."

"Bonnie lassie, come my road and gangna through the Boggie O." The singer says her Boggie road down the river is scraggy and wet. His road is "up the waterside." He would have her go with him.

A group of cowboys is hired for an expedition away from home. Mistreated by their boss, they eventually rebel (and kill him)

The singer joins the Boghead harvest crew. The crew are described by name, task, and characteristics. The meals seem happy enough. "Noo, I mysel comes in the last My heart it is richt glaed To follow up the merry crew And wag the hinmost blades"

Sandy meets a girl by Boggie Banks and would not give her up "for a' the lands o' Alexander." He takes her to a parson's house and they marry. He takes her to his home and his father says "she'll be my daughter dear" Now she has many farm animals.

"I hae a housie oh my ain ... On the bonnie banks oh the Bogie" The singer lives there with grannie at her wheel, a cow, hen and duck and "a laddie leel an true" He knows every step and stone "frae Craig tae Huntly" He will soon sleep in the churchyard.

Bogie's Bonnie Belle: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2155}

Singer meets Bogie and goes to work for him; his daugher Isabel meets him by the river. She delivers a son, and Bogie sends for the singer, who promises to marry her. Bogie says the singer's not worthy of his daughter. Bogie's daughter marries a tinker

"By Bogie's streams that rin sae deep, Fu' aft wi' glee I've herded sheep... Wi' my dear lad on Bogie's braes.... But waes my heart the days are gane... While my dear lad maun face his faes." She laments all that she will do alone in his absence

Singer recalls a hunting accident "a-coursing on the bogs of Shanaheever": he killed and buried Victor, a fellow hunter, and fled to "the wilds of the prairie; I watch for the Red man, the panther and beaver" He hopes to return "when the time is right"

Old Grimes, "the good old man," was always dressed in a long black coat and was widely respected. He had two sons, (Tobias) and Bohunkus. "They has a suit of clothes... Tobias wore them through the week, Bohunkus on a Sunday."

French. Let's go to the woods together, marionette. We will gather apples and hazelnuts. Marie has a marionette; Marie has us both, we will sleep in the same little bed. Chorus: "Sipping is pleasant. Sipping is gentle. Swigging makes the spirit sick"

"Come hither now grandchildren And listen to me" to learn about when people talked "of nobody But dashing Abraham Munn." None could stand before him. He was a great fisherman. But now he's old. He hopes his grandchildren will still respect him

Bold Adventures of Captain Ross: (1 ref. 28K Notes) {Roud #V21104}

"Come listen a while with attention, You seamen and landsmen likewise," to the tale of Bold (John) Ross. They sail to the "Pacific Ocean." They haul in the Fury's stores. They will see the North Pole or die. They find where the "magnet does bend."

Admiral Cole/Captain Chilver sails for Spain on the Benjamin with five hundred men, to gain silver and gold; he returns with sixty-one men. On their return to Blackwall, mothers and widows lament the lost sailors.

"Says Lloyd George to MacPherson, I give you the sack To uphold law and order you haven't the knack." The English create the Black and Tan army, which commits atrocities, but the Irish vow they will defeat the English

Bold Daniels and the "Roving Lizzie" meet a pirate ship which calls for their surrender. Though outnumbered, Daniels and the "Lizzie" fight so effectively that they capture the pirate and take it to (Baltimore) as a prize

The singer loves a girl. "She first advised me for to list and afterwards desert" He is hiding, thinking of those he left behind, terrorized even by "the bird that flutters on each tree." He will return. If they "pardon me, I would desert no more"

Bold Dighton [Laws A21]: (8 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2209}

The French on Guadeloupe have imprisoned hundreds of seamen. Dighton offers 500 guineas to relieve their distress and is himself imprisoned. He manages to free all the prisoners and, fighting off a pursuing ship, escape to Antigua

Doherty loves drink and women. He fools his mother into giving him money. He passes two tinkers fighting over the effect of Doherty on his wife. Doherty goes home. His mother has locked him out. He doesn't mind "for I can get lodging with Nora McGlinn"

Bold Fenian Men (I), The: (5 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #V8282}

"See who comes over the red-blossomed heather, Their green banners kissing the pure mountain air...." Fenians come from all over Ireland, boasting of their victories (!) over the English. Refrain "Out and make way for the bold Fenian men!"

Bold Fisherman, The [Laws O24]: (23 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #291}

The fisherman comes to court the lady. Having tied up his boat, he takes her hand and removes his coat. This reveals three golden chains. Seeing that he is rich, the lady asks forgiveness for calling him a fisherman. The two go home and are married

"A bold fusilier came marching down through Rochester, Off to the wars in the north country, And he sang as he marched the dear old streets of Rochester, 'Wha'll be a sodger for Marlbro' and me?'"

Sir Edward Hawke takes Royal George out of Torbay December 18 and December 28 fights a French fleet of five ships. They sink Lily and burn Rising Sun and Glory.

The singer sadly recalls the death of Donahoe. He and his companions are overtaken by three policemen. Walmsley refuses to fight, and Donahoe is left alone. He is shot and killed

Bold Kidd, the Pirate: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #528}

The singer's ship is newly put to sea when she spots a pirate. The mate identifies the ship as Captain Kidd's. The captain turns about and flees. After a long chase, she escapes

Bold Larkin (Bull Yorkens): (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4420}

In 1855 the Elizabeth runs for land in a heavy sea. Andrew Shean/Sheehan, a sailor, falls into the sea. Captain Bull Yorkens reluctantly orders the rescue attempt abandoned. At St John's he consoles the parents and offers a prayer for Sheehan.

The young man wins shy May's heart with promises of an easy life and fine clothes. He takes her to his home across the sea. His promises prove false; a year later she is homesick and pregnant, with no fine clothes

Bold Manan the Pirate [Laws D15]: (11 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #673}

The pirate Bold (Manning/Manan) captures a merchant ship. To prevent the sailors from fighting over a young woman found on board, Manning kills her. But (the next day) Manning encounters a warship and the pirate ship is sunk

Bold McCarthy sails from Liverpool (as a stowaway) on the City of Baltimore. An argument with the mate turns into a fight, and the Irishman handily defeats the mate (and several others). The captain appoints McCarthy an officer

McDermott Roe heads the Roscommon Defenders but is taken, tried and convicted. He is taken to Dublin to hang in spite of his parents' wealth. "To back the poor against the rich with them did not agree, And so McDermott Roe must die in shame and misery"

"In County Kildare on Hibernia shore Lived a fam'ly of John McIntyres. There was Mike and Tim, the twins, as they stand upon their pins; We're the elegant bold McIntyres." The song continues through the rest of the family

"Bold Nelson's praise I'm going to sing, Not forgetting our glorious king, He always did good tidings bring." A song in praise of Lord Nelson and other English heroes. Details are sketchy.

The robber Nevison is found at an alehouse and taken by a constable. At trial he says "I've neither done murder nor kill'd But guilty I've been all my life." He always gave to the poor. "Peace I have made with my Maker... I'm ready to suffer the law."

A band of Indians, come to sell furs, find weapons aboard the "Lady of Washington"; they try to capture the ship. Eventually they are defeated, losing some sixty/seventy of their number. The Europeans raid the Indian village to reclaim their property

"Well, here I am from Paddy's land... I've broke the hearts of all the girls for miles round Keady town." The singer boasts of his ability to court, wishes his love were a rose so he could rain on her, and speaks of courting Queen Victoria's daughter

Robin Hood and Little John meet a pedlar. Neither Robin nor John can out-wrestle the pedlar. They exchange names, and the pedlar (Gamble Gold, a murderer) proves to be Robin's cousin. They celebrate the reunion in a tavern

A British ship is overhauled by pirates. Though outnumbered, the sailors beat off the pirates. A broadside prevents the pirate's escape. The pirate ship is hauled back to England, and the sailors are made rich by the spoils

"Still pirates bold, we'll be, boys, Upon the chainless sea, boys, We'll rove and plunder free, boys, Beneath our sky-blue flag. All dangers still we dare.. True to our guns we'll stand, boys, And ere they shall command, We'll sink with our sea-blue flag"

Bold Poachers, The: (7 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1686}

Three brothers go poaching one night in January. The sound of their guns brings the gamekeepers. One shoots a gamekeeper, then another. The brothers are taken prisoner; two are sentenced to be transported, the third is hanged

The Princess Royal is overtaken by an unknown ship which tries to come alongside. The captain realizes that the other is a pirate, and safely outruns the other.

Bold Privateer, The [Laws O32]: (23 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #1000}

(Johnny) tells (Polly) that he must go to sea. She begs him to stay safe at home. (He points out that her friends dislike him and her brothers threaten him. He offers to exchange rings with her), and promises to return and marry her if his life is spared

Johnny meets Sally at Culgreany chapel. He promises to marry her. They spend two nights and all her money together and he decides to leave. Johnny will confess to his clergy; if forgiven he will "go home to Longacre and live with my own lawful wife"

The huntsmen go out to seek the fox: "Come and hunt Bull (Ranger) (Reynard?) Among the hills and rocks." Along the way, they meet various people, who may tell them where the fox has gone

Bold Reynard ("A Good Many Gentlemen"): (9 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1868 and 190}

"A good many gentlemen take great delight in hunting bold Reynard, the fox, for he... lives upon fat geese and ducks." The hunters give chase, and catch and kill the fox. They go home and rejoice at having taken the rogue

"The first morning of March in the year '33" the King's County fox hunt finally takes Reynard. He asks for pen, ink and paper to write his will. He leaves his estate and money to the hunters and backs it up by giving them a check on the National Bank.

The "Phoebus[?] frigate Young Richard" cruises the French main with the Shannon. They encounter two merchants and "the finest frigate that did sail out of Brest." They sink all three, rescue their crews and land in Kingston where they enjoy drinks.

"The struggle is over, the boys are defeated, Old Ireland's surrounded with sadness and gloom... And I, Robert Emmet, awaiting my doom." Emmet, "the Darling of Ireland," recounts the failure of his rebellion and awaits execution

"You land-lubber rogues play a cowardly game, And skulk in false jackets, but we, Tho' we glory in plunder, we fight for bold fame, The brave roving thieves of the sea." They take orders from no captain or middie; no ship can catch them; they fear nothing

"O! There's not a trade that's going, Worth showing or knowing, Like that from glory growing For the bold sodger boy." The singer describes how the girls watch the marching soldiers, and urges the listeners to follow the soldier's trade

Bold Soldier, The [Laws M27]: (43 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #321}

A father threatens to kill his daughter because she loves a soldier. He settles for sending (seven) men to kill her lover. The soldier fights the brigands off. The frightened father is then negotiated into making the soldier his heir

Bold Tenant Farmer, The: (3 refs. 4K Notes) {Roud #5164}

Singer, drinking in Ballinascorthy, overhears a landlord's son and a tenant farmer's wife. He threatens eviction. She says the National Land League protects the tenants and they are members. She praises Father O'Leary, John Dillon, and Davitt. He leaves.

Girls "anxious for courting" should see Thady Quill. He is a champion in field events, a partisan for Ireland, and a star at hurling. At the Cork match a rich and sickly lady remarked that she would be cured by "one squeeze outa bold Thady Quill"

The singer is seduced by Trainor who is studying at Trinity for the priesthood. She asks him, in vain, not to become a priest. She would avoid the marriage her parents would arrange. "To the way of Religion myself I will incline"

Boll Weevil, The [Laws I17]: (44 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #3124}

The boll weevil, which is just "a-lookin' for a home," inevitably comes in conflict with the cotton farmer. The farmer tries many techniques to drive the weevil out; the weevil, far from being inconvenienced, is often represented as thanking the farmer

Bollochy Bill the Sailor: (24 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #4704}

A dialogue song in which Bill -- who "just got paid and wants to be laid" -- seeks to get the fair young maiden into bed.

A "goo-goo" "went down to bare ass to get a fuck on... got bit on the leg... he'd ought ta been boloed"

"There's a red light on the track for Bolsum Brown, for Bolsum Brown, for Bolsum Brown... And it'll be there when he comes back." "Hop along, sister Mary, hop along.... There's a red light on the track And it'll be there when he comes back."

"Bombed last night, bombed the night before, Gonna get bombed tonight." The singer curses the German bombers, and notes that there isn't enough shelter for four men. Similarly, "Gassed last night, gassed the night before...."

"Hey listen and I'll tell ye hoo The Jocks spent their New Year": they were in the trenches fighting the Kaiser. Now the Germans are "sorry they made that bombin raid," since they faced the men of Dundee. The Scots repel the German raid

French (often mangled by American soldiers, who are trying to hook up with women): "Bon soir, ma cherie, comment allez-vous? Bon soir, ma cherie, je vous aime beaucoup. Avez-vous un fiance, ca ne fait rien, Voulez-vouz couchez avec moi ce soir...."

French. We drink and a friend sings [the chorus] in my ear. Be careful of this beautiful woman. She had three captains, one in Bordeaux, one in La Rochelle and the other in Versailles. Chorus: "Good wine makes me dead, Love wakes me again."

"Come all you natives far and near Come listen to my story... Boni would not be content Until he was master of the whole world." He divorces his wife, fights the church, fights England, fails at Waterloo, and is exiled

Bonaparte's Farewell: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #V21130}

Bonaparte bids farewell to France which has abandoned him because of its weakness: "Decay'd in thy glory and sunk in thy worth!" "But when Liberty rallies Once more in thy regions, remember me then ... and call on the Chief of thy choice"

Bonavist Line, The: (5 refs. 11K Notes) {Roud #5206}

An old man tells of the workers' hardships imposed by the "red roaring devil" management while building the line. Outrageous amounts are charged for trivial services. Awful food: pork can drive you mad and flour is like lime. The old man will quit

"They started to make a harbour here quite early in the Spring; The people came from Canada with all kinds of machines ...." A list of people doing all the jobs but now that they've finished they'll surely have to come back and patch it every year.

Napoleon's story in the space of a shanty: "Boney was a warrior, Way up! A warrior and a tarrier, John Francois!" He fights the Russians, comes to Waterloo, is defeated, goes to Saint Helena, and dies

Boney's Lamentation: (2 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #2547}

"Attend, you songs of high renown, To these few lines which I pen down, I was born to wear a stately crown." Napolien beats Bealieu and Wurmser, he wins in Egypt, but his men are lost in Moscow. After Leipzig, he is forced to lament/abdicate

French. Willie goes hunting for partridges. He goes up in a tree to see his dogs running. The branch breaks; Willie falls and breaks his thigh. All the girls in the village hear his cries and run to bandage his leg.

French: "Bonhomm', Bonhomm', sais-tu jouer?" "My friend, my friend, can you play this? Can you play the violin... flute... drum... horn... jug."

"Bonjour, ma chèrie, And how the hell are you? Bonjour, ma chèrie, COmment vous portez-vous?"

Bonnet o' Blue, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #6225}

"I'm nae for a lass that rins hame to her mither Whenever it comes on a skelp o' ill weather, If she couldna gang bare leggit thro' the long heather She wadna dee weel wi' a bonnet o' blue"

Bonnets o' Blue, The: (2 refs. 6K Notes) {Roud #6006}

"I'll sing ye a sang in praise o that land Whaur the snaw never melts ..." Culloden is recalled: "nae traitors were there mang the bonnets o blue" The "brave Forty Twa" in Egypt, Waterloo, Lucknow and "avenging Cawnpore" is recalled.

Bonnie Annie [Child 24]: (16 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #172}

A ship's captain seduces (Annie) and takes her to sea with him. The ship they are sailing is caught in a storm which will not die down. (The crew) decides that Annie is the guilty party and throws her overboard. (The captain may order her rescue)

The singer seduces a maid on Ugie banks. She tells a church session he is the father. He is called to appear at church and is scolded and fined. He pays the fine and promises the parson that he won't do it again.

Bonnie Bell the Bravity: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #6163}

"The Davidsons and their heigh heids There wisna word o' lammer [amber] beads, There wisna word o' auld pleugh [plough] heids, Wi' bonnie Bell the Bravity [elegantly dressed], She's bonnie braw baith neat and sma' She's bonnie Bell the Bravity"

Lord Ross marries Belleen of Avonwood and takes her to gloomy Todecliff Tower. Ross marries again; a voice heard at the revelrie threatened Ross. Belleen is drowned by a water spirit. Her brothers kill Ross whose ghost "still howls by the Warlock Tree"

The singer dreams about Mary, far away in Scotland. "The gowd is gained, the gems are won" and he would give them to her for a smile. He asks her to write "To say ye mind on me." He wishes he were home.

"O, bonnie Bessie Logan Is dainty, young, and fair, The very wind that's blawin', It lingers in her hair... But bonnie Bessie Logan is owre young for me." All the lads pursue her; the singer wishes he could, too, but she is too young

Bonnie Blue Flag, The: (18 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #4769}

"We are a band of brothers, and native to the soil, Fighting for the property we gained by honest toil... Hurrah for the bonny blue flag that bears the single star." The states which joined the Confederacy are chronicled and praised

She says Bogie is cold and bare. He says it is not. She fears he will steal her heart and tempt her to follow far away to Bogie. He says he would keep her from care. She agrees to go. They marry and she's "ne'er had cause to dree"

The singer says "Once I loved a bonny boy ... the more that I loved him, the sacerer [saucier] he grew." He left her, but then sent a rose to win her back. She returned his rose: "her's to you and your love and hear's [sic] to me and mine"

Bonnie Breist-knots, The: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5888}

"Hey, the bonnie, ho, the bonnie, Hey, the bonnie breist-knots, Blythe and merry were they a' When they got on their bonnie breist-knots." "There was a bridal in the toun" to which many came; the song tells of their happy and wild adventures

Bonnie Brier Bush, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1506}

"There grows a bonnie brier bush in oor kailyaird, And sweet are the blossoms on't in oor kaildyaird. Beneath the... bush a lad and lass were scared... busy courtin'." The singer tells of the joys of courting in the kailyaird, as was first done by Adam

The singer asks, "Quhilk o' ye lasses will go to Buchairn (x3) And be the gudewife o' bonnie Buchairn?" He turns down the pretty girls, wanting "the lass wi' the shaif o' bank notes." He describes his plans for the wedding

"To the Lords of Convention 'twas Claverhouse spoke, Ere the King's crown go down there are crowns to be broke." The Jacobite army gathers and prepares to fight for James II and VII

"O whar gat ye that hauver-meal bannock? O, silly blind boyd, o, dinna ye seee?" It came from a soldier. She hopes the soldier will be well, but he is "Awa' frae his lassie and bonnie Dundee." She will dress her baby like his daddy

""Sweet is the vale where the Mohawk gently glides... But sweeter, yes, dearer far than these... is Blue-eyed, bonnie bonnie Eloise, The belle of the Mohawk Vale." He remembers home and love, but regrets the crumbling away of his old home

Bonnie Fisher Lass, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5881}

The singer meets and is captivated by "a bonny fisher lass" on her way "to get my lines in order" and get bait. Her father's "on the ocean wide, a toiling on his boat" and she worries "when a storm arises ... lest he should meet with a watery grave"

Bonnie George Campbell sets out on his horse. The horse comes home, but he does not: "High upon Hielands and low upon Tay, Bonnie George Campbell rade oot on a day; Saddled and bridled and gallant rade he; Hame cam his guid horse but never cam he"

Bonnie Glasgow Green: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6262}

"As I went out one morning fair On Glasgow green to tak the air, I spied a lass wi' yellow hair And twa bewitching e'en, O." The girl will not betray her mason. He asks if she can trust a mason. She decides to turn to the singer. He praises Glasgow Green

"Of all the seasons of the year, I like the autumn best, Ere winter comes with giant strength Or Flora gangs to rest, I am joyfu'." The breezes blow. There is a harvest moon. The reapers sing. The fields are golden

Bonnie Hind, The [Child 50]: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #205}

A sailor, new come from the sea, sees a girl and sleeps with her. After the deed is done, they exchange names, only to find they are brother and sister. The sister stabs herself; the brother buries her and goes home grieving

Argyle sets out to plunder the home of his enemy Airlie while the latter is away (with Bonnie Prince Charlie?). Argyle summons Lady Airlie, asking for a kiss and threatening ruin to the house if she will not. She refuses; they plunder the house

Bonnie Jean meets Robie, "the flower and pride of a' the glen." He courts her and asks her to "leave the mammie's cot And learn to tent the farms wi' me?" "At length she blush'd a sweet consent And love was aye between them twa"

"Oh, there was a farmer's daughter And she longed for a baby And she rolled up a big grey hen And she put it into the cradle ... she rocked the cradle, saying: If it wasn't for your big long neb I would gie ye a draw of the diddy, oh"

Bonnie Jean o' Foggieloan: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #7264}

"Bonnie Jean o' Foggieloan ... As sure as a gun, she'll get a son"

Bonnie Jeanie Cameron: (1 ref. 2K Notes) {Roud #13082}

"You'll a' hae heard tell o' bonnie Jeanie Cameron, how she fell sick... And a' that they could recommend her Was ae blythe blink o' the Young Pretender." She sends a letter to Prince Charlie, who arrives soon after and takes her in his arms.

"I'm far awa frae Scotland, Nae lovin' voice is near, I'm far frae my ain folk... I'll wander hame to Scotland An' my bonnie Jeaanie Shaw." The singer misses the sights, sounds, people of home, and repeatedly promises to go back

Bonnie Jeannie Deans: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6129}

The singer is far from Scotland but thinks of "Auld Reekie" [Edinburgh] "home of Scotland's bonniest lass, my bonnie Jeannie Deans." She wins a pardon for her sister from the Queen. "Sir Walter Scott's immortalized you"

Bonnie John Seton [Child 198]: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3908}

Forces from north and south prepare for battle at the Brig o' Dee. John Seton, with great foresight, makes his will. He is killed in the battle, and the highlanders routed by cannon. The leaders of the enemy forces despoil Seton's body

The singer complains that her parents have "ta'en frae me my dearest dear He's over the seas and far far awa'." They'll give her no money unless she gives him up. She will work for money and go to join him, and tell him what she has gone through.

Bonnie Lass Among the Heather: (1 ref. 1K Notes) {Roud #2894}

Singer meets a shepherdess and offers to buy her sheep if she would live with him: he has cattle and lives on "level ground," not in the cramped highlands among the heather. She tells him to keep his land and money; she is happy at home with her parents.

Bonnie Lass Come Owre the Burn: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #3359}

"O bonnie lass, come owre the burn, I'm the lad'll dae your turn." He tells the bonnie lass, he's the one to help her out. He asks why she is crying; he tells her he is the father of her child, she should come to him

Bonnie Lass o' Benachie, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6737}

William Graham was secretly married to Lady Jean. Her father has him sent to war. Her father intercepts his letter and tells her that William is slain. She goes to Germany to find his grave. She finds him alive. Her father accepts the marriage.

A troop of soldiers comes to town. The (captain) falls in love with (Peggy). He asks her to marry; she says she will never marry a soldier. When ordered to leave, he asks more time to persuade her. It is denied. He departs, and dies for love

The singer says: "bonnie lassie o'er the street" [is she a street-walker?], don't weep; I'm your baby's father. He asks what "sorra ails ye?"

A man meets a maid "gaun to the greenwoods for to milk kye." He says he would lay with her if the grass weren't wet. She says the sun will soon dry it. "He laid her doon ...." She becomes pregnant.

"Farewell to Glasgow city, likewise to Lanarkshire, Farewell, my dearest parents, I'll never see you more." Poverty forces the young man to sea. The girl wishes he would stay, or that she could come along, "the bonnie lassie's answer was aye no, no."

Bonnie Light Horseman, The: (17 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #1185}

The singer calls on listeners to hear of a "maid in distress" who wanders forlorn; "She relies upon George for the loss of her lover." She tells how he went to fight Napoleon and was slain. (She wishes she could join her lover at his grave, and die there)

The singer recalls "bonnie Lyndale, My dear and early home." He recalls the glens, peaceful homes, the robin's and milkmaid's songs. He thinks of the plowman: since leaving "I've plowed the sea. I've sailed with sailors ... Far from bonnie Lyndale"

Bonnie Mally Stewart: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5789}

"The cold winter is past and gone, And now comes on the spring, And I am one of the King's Life-Guards, And must go fight for my king, my dear, And must go fight...." She offers to go with him. When he leaves, she follows; (when they meet, he denies her)

Bonnie Mason Laddie (I), The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5540}

"Simmer's gaun awa'... And the bonnie mason laddies They'll be comin' home... And the bonnie mason laddie He will marry me." The singer describes all the men she will not have (sailor, ploughman, blacksmith, weaver), "But I will hae the mason."

Bonnie Moorhen, The: (2 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #2944}

"My bonny moorhen's gane over the main" and won't return before summer. Her feathers are red, white, green and gray, "but nane o' them blue" "Ronald and Donald are out on the fen, To break the wing o' my bonny moorhen"

"On the south side o Perth there lived a fair maid, She wandered late and ear' and never was afraid." A young man stops her and lays her down. Her father comes out and demands that the lad marry her. He agrees, and she becomes lady o' Kilty

"The breath of spring is gratefu', As mild it sweeps alang... Yet the bonnie Redesdale lassie Is sweeter still to me." The singer praises each season, but loves the girl best; he would not trade her for kingdoms

"Bonnie Sandy's red and white And he's a' my heart's delight." Sandy did "vow and swear" to make the singer "his dear" but "cruel fate" has interfered. She still hopes to "get him for my portion"

Bonnie Ship the Diamond, The: (8 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #2172}

"The Diamond is a ship my lads, For the Davis Straight she's bound." The ship goes whaling near Greenland, "Where the sun it never sets." The singer toasts various ships, and promises to return home. When the ship returns, sailors and girls go on sprees

"After long years of absence... In far distant countries" the singer is returning to Tyneside. He recalls his youth and friends no longer there to greet him. His lover has waited for him and they'll marry and build a new home.

"O Udny, bonnie Udny, you shine whaur you stand." The singer praises the land and its people; he recalls walking the land and going out to meet his beloved. "Wherever I wander, I'll still think on you"; he hopes to return to the place and its people

The singer goes "up to a neat little cottage" and is amazed at the beauty of the girl living here. When he courts her, she accuses him of flattery and deception, and says she is too young to marry. He wishes her happiness and hopes to change her mind

Piper MacFarlane will wed the daughter of a grocer in Gouroch. He's "popped her the question and bought her the ring." Everywhere the couple go she causes a stir among men. In "a first-class hotel" they show they are not city folk.

Singer invites a lass to drink with him; she accepts; she is the "bonnie wee lassie who never said no." She says to take the night's rent from her pocket, but he'll owe half a crown for laying her down. He reaches in, finds 5 pounds, and takes off with it

"Bonnie wee thing, cannie wee thing, Lovely wee thing, wert thou mine, I wad wear thee in my bosom, Lest my jewel I should tine." "Wistfully I look and languish In that bonny face of thime." She has such "wit and grace" that "To adore thee is my duty"

Bonnie Wee Tramping Lass, The: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5129}

The singer passed the carter's mill on a Saturday night and meets "a bonnie wee tramping lass", She explains her job "winding hanks of yarn." They discuss love and go home together. They marry happily and now have three children.

The singer and his Annie must part; he is a soldier and has been called away. His regiment goes into battle and he is wounded. He says he would recover better if Annie were there. He regrets leaving the collier's trade. (He thinks of deserting)

"Ye comrades and companions... To my sad lamentation I pray ye give an ear." The singer courted a beautiful girl, but at last she bid him depart. Now he prepares to leave home, still remembering her in Hatton and hoping that she will regret her decision

"The sheep's in the meadows, The kye's in the corn, Thou's ower lang in thy bed, Bonny at morn." "Canny at night, Bonny at morn, Thou's ower lang in...." The parents complain of the children's laziness: "The lad winnot work And the lass winnot lairn."

Bonny Baby Livingston [Child 222]: (13 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #100}

Glenlion carries Bonny Baby Livingston off to the Highlands. She refuses to show any favor unless she is returned. At Glenlion Castle, Glenlion's sister helps Baby get a letter away to her true love. He arrives with armed men, and carries Baby back home.

Bonny Barbara Allan [Child 84]: (174 refs. 9K Notes) {Roud #54}

A knight lies dying for love of Barbara Allan. His servant summons her, but she scorns him. As she returns home, she hears the death-bell, repents, and in turn dies. Buried close together, a briar grows from her grave, a rose from his; they entwine

The sailor fondly recalls his home, knowing that in a year he will be able to settle down with his love: "Of all the harbors east or west, There is one place that I love best, So whichever way the wind doth blow, I'll steer for the bonny Bay of Biscay-O"

Bonny Bee Hom [Child 92]: (4 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #3885}

The lady sits lamenting her absent love. She vows to wait seven years. Meanwhile, her love has received a talisman which will tell him if his love is dead or untrue. (After a year), the talisman turns dark. He sails for home, but his love is already dead

A bird tells a knight that his wife is unfaithful. The two speed to his home, to find his wife in the arms of another man. He slays the intruder.

Bonny Black Hare, The: (8 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1656}

A hunter goes out to shoot at the bonny black hare (hair), meets a willing maid, and beds her until his "ramrod is limber" and he cannot fire more.

Bonny Blue Handkerchief, The: (11 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #378}

The singer meets a girl with a blue kerchief under her chin. She says that it is a local fashion. Entranced by her beauty, he offers her marriage and wealth. In some versions, she accepts; in others, she refuses; the handkerchief is a token from her love

Leaving his native home, the singer will think of "my blooming girl, my bonny blue-eyed Jane." The girls from sunny Spain may win his friendship but not his love. If he gets rich he'll hurry back to marry Jane.

Bonny Blue-Eyed Lassie, The: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3870}

If the singer were at the top of the mountain with gold in his pocket and money for counting he would give it all to have his fancy and marry blue-eyed Nancy. Some say she's too low in station and will be his ruination but he would marry her.

Bonny Boy (I), The: (16 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #293}

The girl says, "I once had a boy, a bonny bonny boy, A boy that I thought was my own." But the boy has taken another girl. She adds, "Let him go... I never will mourn." The ending varies; she may unsuccessfully seek another or refuse to do so

"A bonny braw lad an' a swagg'rin' A bonny braw lad an' a swagg'rin' Gin ever I marry a man in my life, He maun be a braw lad a' a swagg'rin'"

The singer's brown hen is missing. He tells how it laid six eggs a week and never strayed. He gives the bird's pedigree. He offers a reward for the return of the hen

Bonny Bunch of Roses (II), The: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #12980}

"Father, mother, may I go?" The singer is allowed to go [to the ball? wall?] for "the bonny bunch of roses." She dresses, goes, and meets her lover on the way. They kiss, and, in some versions, part.

Young Napoleon promises his mother that he will capture "The Bonny Bunch of Roses" (Great Britain). She warns him of his father's disaster in Russia and of the strength of the British. They sorrowfully prepare for the lad's death.

He: Sit by "the bonny bush o broom" and don't be afraid of me. She: I'm afraid you would kiss me. He: "a desenter young fellow ye ne'er did see." She sits, he kisses her, and gives her three guineas.

"On a mossy bank Jenny was sitting She had on a gay gown sae new And busily she was a knitting A yarn of bonny sky blue" "Last night ... He fed me with gingerbread sweet, He called me his dear and his honey And everything else that was neat"

The Earl of Huntly slays the Earl of Murray (in his own bed?) as a result of the violent feud between them. The largest part of some versions is devoted to describing how noble Murray was

Bonny Flora Clark, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #13986}

"Six sporting youths" borrow Donald's Bonny Flora Clark "in the chilly months of autumn" and sail up Grand River Harbour. They go through ice to a party and drink and fight. As Donald dreams, Bonny Flora Clark is wrecked in the ice on the way home.

On March 1, 1845, the singer leaves his comrades in Garrydoo. He crosses the seas (? or to Ballydoo?). He joins (departs?) a Masonic lodge, where McCracken is the master; there are 31. He praises the Orangemen and their girls, "Orange flowers."

"There are three lads into this braes... They made an oath to take her frae us, I do mean Helen Symon." They want her not for money but for her beauty. They take her away on a horse. She eventually marries (one of them,) George

Hodge leaves his plow for a kiss from Dolly who is milking her cow. Dolly flirts but refuses. The impatient cow kicks over the stool and pail. Impatient Hodge says he'll go to Betsy. Dolly calls him back, they kiss, and go off to be married by a parson.

"His name I love to mention, in Ireland he was born." The girl recalls her Irish boy, now gone to America. She follows him, seeking him in New York and other cities. She dreams of him -- and finds him at her door. They marry and live free and happy

The singer overhears two lovers beside the canal in Kilwarren. He is leaving and he'll miss her sweet smile. He says birds must leave -- "gone to their nest" -- in their time. "Make few words excuse me for I must away"

A rich girl loves a working boy. Her parents try to prevent the marriage by locking up the girl and exiling the boy. Both manage to escape; they flee to (Belfast) and prepare to take ship for America

The singer waits for her lover to come to her this night. "Come he late or e'ar when there's ne'en to see He's welcome aye in the mark to me." She will spin at her wheel and think "wi mirth and glee" of his coming. He arrives and promises to marry her.

A group of lords is come to "dance and win" the crown away from the king (?!). The king, knowing he cannot prevail, summons the Bonny Lass of Anglesey, who easily out-dances all comers

"A bonny lass, a happy lass, On one rainy day, I took my true love by the hand And led her far astray." The girl offers to let him do it again, "But baldy he won't stand." Grandma said that a young girl's maidenhead "would bring the dead to life."

Bonny Lizie Baillie [Child 227]: (8 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #341}

Lizie goes to Gartartain to visit her sister, and there meets Duncan Grahame. She falls in love, and declares that she will have a Highlander rather than any lowland or English lord. Her family tries and fails to change her mind

"Bonny Mary Hay, I will lo'e thee yet, For thine ee is the slae and thy hair is the jet." After praising Mary's looks, the singer asks her to come away with him. He says it is a holiday for him when she is with him. He begs her not to refuse him

"I have heard the mavis singing His love song to the moon... But a sweeter song has cheer'd me At the evening's gentle close"; it is the voice of Bonny Mary of Argyle. She may lose her looks and her voice, but he loves her for more than that

Bonny Moor Hen, The: (2 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #2944}

Hard times and "almost starving" Wardhill miners, as in the past, hunt the moorhen. "The fat man of Oakland ... lays claim to the moors," preventing the miners from hunting. An army of gamekeepers is driven off by the miners in a battle at Stanhope.

The singer regrets "leaving of my sweetheart In Paisley behind." He wishes he were in Paisley where the weavers "are clever young blades" and lasses "despise all other trades." He'd build her a bower and be her weaver.

"The bonny pit laddie, the canny it laddie, The bonny pit laddie for me, O! He sits in his hole as black as a coal, And brings the white siller to me, O!" "He sits on his cracket, and hews in his jacket, And brings the white siller to me, O!"

The singer mourns the loss of Portmore's trees which have been cut down and floated away by "the long boats from Antrim" The birds weep saying "Where will we shelter or where will we sleep?"

Bonny Sailor Boy, The [Laws M22]: (10 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #843}

A rich girl and a poor sailor are in love. The girl's father hears them courting in the garden, bursts in, and threatens the boy with transportation. The girl swears to remain faithful

"Where have you been, My bonny Saint John? You've bidden sae lang (x2)." "Up on yon hill... And I couldna win hame." "Now, what will you give me Unto my supper?" "A clean dish for you And a clean spoon, For biding sae long."

The singer falls in love with a girl in Tavern Green. Her killing glances wounded his heart. "If I was Queen of England as Queen Ann was long ago ... she never would want money while I would rule as queen"

The singer goes out and meets a shy girl on the road. He cajoles her into talking to him; they talk of her work and of love. They are married and live happily ever after; he looks fondly on the road where he met her.

Bonny Wee Window, The [Laws O18]: (13 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #989}

Johnny comes to visit Nellie, whose window lacks a pane. The two talk until Nellie must go to bed, when Johnny sticks his head through the window for a kiss -- and finds himself stuck! Nellie's grandmother beats him till he pulls out frame and all

Singer enlists at Kells Barracks "to fight for my Queen" and leaves Nellie behind in Wood Green. He leaves in a troop ship from Larne Harbour. He is shot in Flanders and asks his comrades to take a message to Nellie in Ireland near Portaballintree.

The girl is sorely hurt when her Irish boy leaves her to cross the ocean. She follows him across the sea, only to learn that he has married another. She dies of a broken heart and asks to be buried in Ireland

The singer, or his love, recalls his beautiful home and situation. But now he has been taken by the press gang and serves aboard the Nightingale. He will depart soon, and expects once more to be pressed

Bony Lost it Fairly: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #5823}

"Lord Wellington long kept him down, And boldly did advance, He drew his armies out of Spain, And then invaded France. For all his quick and warlike tricks, They tossed him from his station, No more to rise and reign again The scourge of every nation"

The singer courts a girl unsuccessfully. He dresses his friend Boodie Bo in white one night. They meet his girl. She is frightened and goes to the singer's chamber "for fear of Boodie Bo." They have sex. When she rues her action he marries her.

The Booger Man talks with the children: "What are you doing down there?" "Eating grapes." "How big are they?" "Big as your head...." "What would you do if you saw the Booger Man coming?" "Run like a turkey."

Booker T. Washington: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #11342}

"Old Booker T. Washington, the big Black man, To the White House went one day. He wanted to see the President in a quiet sort of way." "Teddy" invites him in. "And you can't blame Booker for making those goo-goo eyes." The singer insults both

"Got to sleep, little baby, Before the bookerman catch you, Turkey in the next Can't get a rest, Can't get a rest for the baby."

"I (like/love) the mountains, I love the rolling hills, I love the flowers, I love the daffodils, I love the fireside, When all the lights are low, Boomdeada, Boomdeada....." (Repeat as needed, possibly with the text lines repeated over the "Boomdeada"s

"Boorowa was Boorowa when Young was a pup, And Boorowa will be Boorowa when Young is buggered up."

Booth Killed Lincoln: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #16990}

"Wiles Booth came to Washington, An actor great was he, He played at Ford's Theater And Lincoln went to see." Booth sneaks up on Lincoln and shoots him, then flees. The dying Lincoln says "'Of all the actors in this town, I loved Wilkes Booth the best'"

Lauding the clever fisherfolk of Boothbay. One-legged Skipper Jake sets out to catch a whale, even though it is too big for his boat. He jumps on the whale's back, sticks his peg in its blowhole, and causes it to blow out its brains as it tries to exhale

"Hee-haw, hee-haw, Blind Jack is my name, I romp, I paw, I snort, I snooze, For I am in the business of selling booze." But the police are after him; he hopes to escape, but apparently is punished -- and hopes to win a prize for his poetry about it

"I'm a howler from the prairies of the West! If you want to die with terror look at me!" The boozer boats of all the things he is: "I'm the snoozer from the upper trail! I'm the reveler in murderer in gore." "I can snatch a man bald-headed while he waits"

"Oh, We're boozers all, you can tell us by our nose; We're from the land where beer and whisky flows... We belong to the Salvation Army. Could you go? (x2) If a feller came up to you... Could you go a glass of beer? Yes, my word, could you go!"

The singer wanders by Bordon's Grove and hears a girl lamenting. He courts her; she says she is waiting for Johnny. He asks about Johnny, and (s)he says he was wounded in Flanders. She sees his love token, and declares they will never meet again

The singer goes boring for oil with his "auger," and in some versions contracts a venereal disease.

"Boris was a gentleman In the Tsar's regime... Boris had a lady fair... And ev'ry night she'd wake in fright, And this is what she'd scream: Boris, Boris, save me, save me." He sags in the middle and rides a horse. He dies and leaves his beard to the girl

"Born free, as free as the wind blows." The animal (or person) is urged to "live free" and "stay free"

Mike Cahooley, an Irish immigrant, goes to work on the railroad; he advances to boss of the section gang. When the company president comes around, he shakes Mike's hand; his workers fear him. He is going home to his wife, but hearers are welcome to visit

Boston Burglar, The [Laws L16]: (65 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #261}

The youth is brought up by honest parents, but turns wild. At last he is taken and, despite his parents' entreaties, sentenced to transportation (in American texts, prison). He dreams of release, plans to give up bad ways, and warns others to do the same

"From Boston Harbor we set sail, The wind was blowing the devil of a gale." The captain gives cruel orders, curses the sailors, demands drink, and goes to his cabin to avoid the storm. They hope he dies; (when he does, they threaten his son)

Boston Tea Party (I), The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #24153}

"As near beauteous Boston lying on the gently swelling flood" were "three ill-fated teaships." "This was Hampden, that was Sidney, with fair Liberty" and tools of vandalism. "Tell you masters they were dreamers when they thought to cheat the brave"

"I snum [declare] I am a Yankee lad, And I guess I'll sing a ditty." The singer describes all that his people would have done then had America been free (e.g. crossed a bridge that wasn't built yet). Failing that, they dumped the tea

Bosun's Story, The: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #9141}

Exaggerated story about a whaling voyage. The crew nails the ship to a whale's tail and thus sails to the North Pole and back. Each stanza ends with "'And that's the truth', said he."

The singer is paying for his life of crime by being transported to Botany Bay. He describes the miserable fate of the convicts on board the prison vessel, warns others against such crimes, and wishes he could return to his love at home

"Let us drink good health to our schemers above, Who at length have contrived from this land to remove Thieves, robbers...." who are sent to Botany Bay. The singer describes all the sorts of people who will be transported and hints at their life there

"Come all you young fellows Whoever that you be, Who delight in a song, Join chorus with me." The singer describes "some poor lads Who were sent to Botany Bay." One girl tries to buy a man release. But they are put on the coach to start their journey

"The Currency Lads may fill their glasses And drink to the health of the Currency Lasses, But the lass I adore... Is a lass in the Female Factory." Having met Molly (who was "tried by the name of Polly"), the two plan marriage

"Bows and flows of angel hair And ice-cream castles in the sky": the singer has seen clouds that way -- but having seen them from both sides, her view is different. Similarly with life and with love: one may win or lose

Bothwell Bridge [Child 206]: (7 refs. 4K Notes) {Roud #337}

Earlston bids farewell to his family and sets out for Bothwell Bridge (to join the Covenanters). Monmouth, who commands the enemy, welcomes him but orders him to disarm. The two sides cannot agree, and a bloody battle ensues

"Where yoy git dem bongee shoes? Git 'em from Mullally. Where Mullaly keep he store? Corner King and Bottle Alley." Similarly, one singer inquires of the other where he acquired that "mookum," "pongee shirt," "dog-bed suit," etc.

Jump-rope rhyme. "A bottle of pop, a big banana, We're from southern Louisiana, That's a lie, that's a fib, We're from Colorado."

"She may be old, ninety years, But she ain't too old to shift them gears. You got to bottle up and go... All you high-power women." The singer encourages women to have fun, and appreciates their existence

"Well, I'll tell you, boys, There is something gone wrong; From the way I feel, I won't be here long..... Don't drink nothing but that bottled in bond." The singer advises using a chair to drive off a quarreling woman; she'll come back when she's hungry

"At Boulavogue, as the sun was setting... A rebel hand set the heather blazing And brought the neighbors from far and near." Father Murphy's rebels for a time defeat the English, but at last are defeated and Murphy executed

French. Singer's mother wakes her at dawn and has her fetch water from the fountain. She talks with a cavalie. She asks, "What shall I say to mother?" "Just say to your mother / The fountain boiled today". Refrain: "Boum-ba-di-boum tra-la-la-la!"

"Bounce ball, bounce ball, One, two, three, Underneath my right leg And round about my knee. Bounce ball, bounce ball, Bird or bee, Flying fro the rosebud Up into the tree." SImilarly for the left let and around the toe, with a butterfly flying to the sky

The Irishman every night spends what he earns each day on Walker's "Bounce upon Bess." English porter and ale grow bad as they grow stale; this whisky improves with age. It's good in all weather. Give your sweetheart some and her heart will grow soft.

"Bounce, bounce, ball, ball, Twenty lassies on the wall, One boy among them all, Bounce, bounce, ball, ball."

Bouncing Girl in Fogo, The: (7 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #2800}

"There's a bouncing girl in Fogo that I am going to see... She is the sweetest colour of roses a soldier ever knew... You may talk about your Scotland girls, from Boston or the Strand, But you'll get no girl to suit you like the girls from Newfoundland"

Bound Away on the Twilight: (2 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #19839}

"She's an iron ore vesel, a vessel of fame, She sails from Oswego and the Twilight's her name." The singer tells of saiing west to Marquette, where the singer's hands get sore loading ore. He proceeds to describe the voyage back east

Young Captain Stafford Nelson of the Abilene falls sick. Unable to get up on deck, he cannot navigate the ship, and none of the other sailors know the coast. Unable to reach Halifax, they wind up in Arichat, where the captain dies

The singer is a "really saved" carter "wha loves the Lord and hates the drink." He used to whip and kick his horse. He was known by police "when drink set me aflame." "Withoot an oath I couldna speak." He's "bound for glory noo"

Bound for the Promised Land: (16 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #11897}

"On Jordan's stormy banks I stand And cast a wishful eye To Canaan's fair and happy land Where my possessions lie. I am bound for the promised land...." The rest of the song describes the wonders of the promised land.

"I'm gonna leave you honey, I ain't gonna ride no train. I'm walking out, crawling, calling your name." "You'll see my picture on the wall ... won't be your daddy at all." "Some day you'll miss me but I won't come home no more"

Bound to California: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #11253}

Shanty. "Good-bye my lads good-bye, no one can tell me why. I am bound to California, to reap the shinning gold. Good-bye, my lads, good-bye."

"I built my house upon the rock, O yes, Lord, No wind, no storm can blow it down, O yes, Lord. March on, member, bound to go; Been to the ferry, bound to go...." The singer builds a stout house, picks sweet berries, and gathers in brothers and sisters

"Drooping souls, no longer grieve; Heaven is propitious. If in Christ you can believe, you will find him precious." "From his hands, his feed, his side Flows the healing balsam." "Boundless mercy, how it flows; Now I hope I feel it."

"Friends and jolly citizens, I'll sing you a song... It's all about a jumper, Old Donald was his name." Captured at last, he prefers death to revealing where his money is hidden. The jumper is condemned, executed, and buried.

"From Portsmouth Harbour we did set sail, The glass was high and foretold a gale, For fair Tahiti we sailed away...." They stop at many places before they reach Tahiti. Bligh forces the men to leave. Fletcher Christian rebels against Bligh

"Bow low, Elder, Jesus lis-a-ning, Bow low, Elder, Jesus died." "When you see me on my knees, Raise me, Jesus, if-a you please." "When you see my coffin come, Then a-you know my soul's gone home."

Primarily as tune used for various broadsides and late folk songs, recognized monotonal measures followed by arpeggios on a pentatonic scale. Chorus something like "Bow wow wow, all the dog did say to them was, Bow wow wow."

Jump-rope rhyme. "Bow-legged Dutchman, walking down the street, Bow-legged Dutchman, have a (little sweet/seat)... drink a glass of wine... close your eyes and count to nine. One, two, three...."

"Bow-legged Ike on horseback was sent From some place, straight down on this broad continent." He's been riding all his life. A man bets Ike can't ride his sorrel. Ike rides it with ease while rolling a cigarette. He wishes for an "interesting" horse

A dance song: "Bow-legged rabbit, A box ankle Joe, Flea bite me so bad I can't dance no mo'."

"The Bowery... They say such things and they do strange things... I'll never go there any more." Misadventures of a "new coon in town" who doesn't understand the street talk. E.g. he tells a babbling barber to "cut it short" and has his head shaved.

"Let Carthage Queen be no more The subject of our mournful song."Roger Wrightson of Yorkshire courts Martha Railton. The parents oppose the lovers and keep them separate. After a year, he dies of love. She dies soon after. Parents are warned

"I'll sing you a ditty Of a fair maid so pretty Who lives from the city Some seventeen miles." The singer went to court "Mariar" in a briar. When he asked to wed, she smashed a bowl of green peas over his head. Now his friends are always offering him peas

"Wish I was in Bowling Green sittin' in a chair, One arm 'round my pretty little miss, the other 'round my dear." The singer offers to let her man go, wishes she were a bumblebee who could settle on her man, and sets out to ramble because she has no home

"Let's go bowling on bowling green, We can't go bowling on bowling green, Why can't we go bowling on bowling green? Because of the king. What king?"

A boy enters King Arthur's court wearing a rich mantle. He offers the mantle to whichever woman proves virtuous (the appearance of the mantle will show who is chaste and who is not). Only one woman in the court proves virtuous.

"A boy, he had an auger, It bored two holes at once; A boy, he had an auger, It bored two holes at once. And some were eating popcorn, And some were eating pickles (Spoken:) And the 'G' is silent as in 'fish.'"

Young Isaac Alcott, newly arrived in Hartford, goes riding. He goes to "cut some timber for a sled" and is hit by a falling branch. Found many hours later, it is too late to save his life. His funeral is described; the song ends with a moralizing stanza

"Boy meets girl, hold her hand, Visions of a promised land." They sleep together. They get married. They have children. The wife is cranky. The children are cranky. But he "can't forsake those sexy habits, Breeding kids like bloody rabbits."

Boy on the Land, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #520}

Little boy, working on the land, is given an old coat, "old stiff collar button'd to the throat." Second, he's given an old gun; "Sometimes she gave fire, sometimes she gave smoke, She gave my shoulder the devil's own poke"

"The boy stood on the burning deck." Various jokes follow, e.g. "...deck, His feet ere full of blisters. He burnt a hole in the seat of his pants And had to wear his sister's." Or "His father was in the public house And the beer ran down his whiskers"

The singer, born in Gallowa', has taken to rambling when he sees a beautiful girl. He courts her urgently until he must return home. He asks her to marry him before he takes to the road. After some hesitation, she agrees; they marry and live in Gallowa'

"My name is Floyd Eddings the son of old Dock, He truly disowned me but I am one of his flock." Eddings turns robber, is arrested, and is imprisoned. His father won't help. The jail catches fire; the jailor does not rescue him; the jail burns around him

"While plodding on our way, the toilsome road of life, How few the friends that daily there we meet" but "A boy's best friend is his mother," "So cherish her with care, and smooth her silvery hair." All will eventually learn this lesson.

Macaronic pseudo-latin chant about courting. "Boyibus kissibus Sweet/Priti Girliorum, Girlibus likabus, Wanty some moreum." Perhaps continues "Pater puellibus [i.e. her father] enter parlorum Kickabus boyibus exitus doorum."

"The year 1803 Our gentlemen did all agree To make a live road o'er the lea Out through the haughs o' Boyndlie." When nothing was being done Forbes made a plan and he and a few men fought "our esquires ... to make the roads thro' Boyndlie"

"Boyndlie's banks and braes are steep And decked wi' flo'ers o mony a hue...." "There does dwell my bonnie Nell... And I cam' ower frae Aberdour To lat her taste my fruits sae rare." He is young and poor, but they expect to keep company in the future

Boyne Water (I), The: (7 refs. 7K Notes) {Roud #795}

"July the First in Ouldbridge Town there was a grievous battle...." The song describes William's attack on the Irish positions at the Boyne. The listeners are reminded that the "Protestants of Drogheda have reason to be thankful"

Boyne Water (II), The: (10 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #795}

"July the First, of a morning clear, on thousand six hundred and ninety, King William did his men prepare...." The forces of James and William clash; Schomberg is killed; William's forces win the battle; Protestants are urged to plaise God

Boys and Girls Come Out to Play: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5452}

"Boys and girls come out to play, The moon doth shine as bright as day. Leave your supper and leave your sheep... Come with a good will or not at all... A halfpenny loaf will serve us all... And we'll have a pudding in half an hour."

Boys at Ninety-Five, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #9802}

Mike takes the Bonavista Branch to Deer Lake and is sent to lumbercamp 95 "with not a decent tree." The skipper, foreman, and cook are named with comments on drink and dawn-to-dark hard work

Boys Can Whistle, Girls Can Sing: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7012}

"Grandma (Gruff/Grunt) said a curious thing, Boys can whistle but girls must sing." Various people confirm this observation: "[Papa] said to me, 'It's the usual thing For boys to whistles and girls to sing.'" Whistling girls will reportedly meet a bad end

Boys from County Cork, The: (2 refs. 9K Notes) {Roud #9774}

"You've read in history's pages of heroes of great fame...." The singer notes that the heroes of Ireland's history are those who died in the 1916 rebellion. The singer lists heroes from old Ireland, noting that the Boys from Cork beat the Black and Tans

"Boys, O boys, I found a penny. Boys, O boys, I found a bap. Boys, O boys, I ate it up. Boys, O boys, it made me fat."

The singer invites listeners to drink to the boys of Coleraine. He recalls the exiles, and calls for another drink. He looks over the sea, and the thought saddens him. He once again toasts the boys of Coleraine

The boys of Fair Hill love the girls, hunting with the Harrier Club, drinking water at Fahy's well and porter at Quinlan's pub, and spending "a day with our Hurling Club." "Here's up 'em all say the boys of Fair Hill"

Boys of Kilkenny, The: (13 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1451}

"Oh the boys of Kilkenny are brave roaring blades." They kiss and coax every girl they meet. The singer remembers a "pretty dame" from Kilkenny. Now he's in exile; if he were in back there, he could get "sweethearts but here can get none"

When honouring "the martyrs who have long since died," remember the boys of Kilmichael who "conquered the red white and blue." The Tans left Macroom November 28 with two Crossley tenders and were wiped out by the Column. The Column returned to Glenure.

Boys of Mullabawn, The: (7 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2362}

"A vile deceiving stranger ... has ordered transportation for the boys of Mullabawn." The women lament and "without hesitation, we are charged with combination And sent for transportation from the hills of Mullabawn"

"Step forth, ye sons of freedom, Who strangers are to fear, Repair unto your quarters, And enter volunteers." The singer promises to obey his officers when fighting Indians and British, and cheers presidents and other officials

"Concerning that terrible battle, Where bloodshed and battery was seen, With the beef-eating bullies of England And the boys of old Erin the Green." The boys stop at an alehouse and head for the English in the market. The "cowardly English" are banished

Orangemen, remember King William who "ended Popish sway." Presbyterians, defend your rights "from Fenians and Papists vile." At Sandy Row we made the Papists "fly like chaff before the wind." Toast Johnston. Remember the Boyne and Derry Walls

A wagon train from Sanpete County, headed by Captain (William Stewart) Seeley, must cross the Green River. The wagons are safely ferried, but as the crew attempts to bring the cattle over, six of them are drowned

The singer, from Prince Edward Island, warns against life in the logging camps. Many Islanders have headed for the Maine woods, to be instantly spotted by the old hands. In an place of bad drink and hard work, he must suffer without recourse to the law

Boys of Virginia, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #1451}

"Oh the boys of Virginia are brave roaring blades, Deceiving young maidens is part of their trade...." "I'll build you a castle on Virginia's free ground... And if anyone asks you whatever's my name, My name is Joe Thorpe, from Virginia I came"

Boys of Wexford, The: (6 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #3015}

"In comes the captain's daughter, the captain of the yeos Saying 'Brave United Irishmen, we'll ne'er again be foes.'" They win at Ross and Wexford, lose at Vinegar Hill. "For bravery won each battle But drink lost evermore"

"The boys are very pretty, And sweet as they can be... But now you'd better watch them For they won't do to trust." The girl describes the tricks boys use, and the fine letters they write, but experience shows that none (at most one) can be trusted

Gullah dialect song: "Bra' Rabbit, wa' 'ere da do dere?" "I da pickin' oyscha' fa' young gal. Da oyscha' bite mah finger, Da young gal tek dat fa' laugh at."

"It was of a young ssea captain, on Cranberry Isles did dwell, He took the schooner Arnold" and drove her aground. Various people have adventures aboard. They make a living smuggling. Captain Bracey is warned to stop drinking and chasing girls

"It was our hard general's false treachery Which caused our destruction that great day." The singer tells how Braddock attacks his own men (?). Other generals take command, but it is too late; the forces across the river are slaughtered.

Braemar Poacher, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #373}

The singer is "a rovin' Highlander, a native of Braemar." He recalls poaching, his capture in Benabourd, and trial in Aberdeen. He wishes success to poachers: "May they always be at liberty, with money at command." Now he is bound for Van Dieman's land.

Braes o' Abernethy, The: (1 ref. 1K Notes) {Roud #3784}

The singer sees a lass behind her father's locked gates. If she were cold he would give her his "plaidie to rollabout her." If he were rich he'd give everything for one night with her. There's another girl he likes better but she's far away.

In winter Maria sang "Fareweel the braes o' Ballochmyle." While the birds, silent now, will sing again in spring, she won't be here to hear them.

The singer says "Let us go lassie, go To the braes o' Balquhither." "I will twine thee a bower" and cover it with flowers. In winter "we'll sing As the storm rattles o'er us" in our dwelling. "Summer us in prime ... Let us journey together"

Braes o' Birniebouzle, The: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3343}

"Will ye gang wi' me Lassie, To the braes of Birnibouzle?" The singer details all the things he will supply if the girl will wed, and promises that she will be content

Braes o' Broo, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5572}

"Get up, get up, ye lazy loons, Get up, and waur them a', man, For the braes o' Broo are ill to ploo." "But the plooman laddie's my delight." The plowman must work very hard on the poor land, but the girl loves him enough to support him even so

"Whare hae ye been saw braw, lad? Whare hae ye been sae brankie, O?" The hearer is asked if he has been by Killicrankie. He fought "the devil and Dundee On the braes o' Killicrkanie, O." Casualties are listed and King William evaluated

The singer meets a maiden lamenting that she has been deserted by "false deluding" Johnny the schoolmaster. His education made her think him a man of honor while she, a servant and poor shepherd's daughter, has "neither gold nor breeding"

Braes of Balquhidder (I), The: (7 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #541}

The singer asks a lass to "leave your father and your mither" and join him "on the braes o' Balquither" She refuses. He wins her over and she agrees to "leave acquaintance a' for thee"

Singer: "let us go, lassie, go To the braes of Balquhither." He'll make a bower covered with flowers. In winter they'll sing in the bower protected from storms. Now in summer flowers are blooming and "wild mountain thyme A' the moorlands perfuming"

The singer prepares to leave Carnabane for America, and will praise it as he leaves. He recalls the beauties of the land and the girls; it pains him to leave, but he has no choice. He blesses Carnabane

Braes of Killiecrankie, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3874}

A soldier asks a maid to go with him to the "Braes of Killiecrankie"; he'll buy her a silk gown and fine coat. She won't go because her mother would be angry and her father would follow them. The soldier sleeps alone with his pack.

Braes of Strathblane: (20 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1096}

Singer meets a girl. He wants to marry her; she says her parents would be displeased if she married a rover. He'll go court another. She begs him to come back; she's changed her mind. She regrets slighting him, fearing she'll never find another

The singer asks his listeners to hear him sing of Kilhoyle. He describes how all the boys and girls play there, admits that "Sometimes I work, more times I rest" there. He describes all the towns you can see, and says the locals are always friends in need

Braes of Yarrow (I), The: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5838}

A man tells his bride-to-be to forget Yarrow where he killed her lover. She had warned her lover against the fight. Now her brother Douglas wants her to marry. She thinks of the dead body and won't marry. The groom tells her: "dry thy useless sorrow"

The April sun is shining, the larks singing, when the singer sees Mary as he heads off to work. His heart is ensnared as he watches her braid her hair. Others report that he is never the same cheerful worker again; he is distracted by dreams of Mary

"(This is the one/boy/man that) brak (into) the barn, This is the man that stole the corn, This is the man that bent the saw, This is man that told all, This is the man that ran awa', And poor Willie Winkie had to pay for it all."

Brakeman on the Train: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #8587}

(O')Shaughnessy takes a job as brakeman. He doesn't know the signal to stop the train. The train is derailed though no one is killed. They tell him to throw a switch; the train goes in the ditch. He gets the blame. And it's a hard, cold, dirty job.

A girl wishes to marry a man her family disapproves of. Her brothers take the lad hunting and kill him. They claim to have lost him, but he appears to his lover in a dream and reveals the truth. Accused by their sister, the two brothers are forced to flee

"Thy fruit full well the schoolboy knows, Wild bramble of the brake, So put forth thy small white rose, I love thee for his sake." The singer tells how the tame flowers fade or are put aside; the wild bramble still blooms and lets the singer feel young

A fisherman meets Betsey and convinces her to sail with him to "that place called Branch up in St Mary's Bay." A gale blows them off course and they land who-knows-where. Betsey says, if the listener meets that fisherman then toss him overboard.

"But here it lies why blast my yes, You've often heard I'll pledge my word Of what they call Japan boys." A tale of hunting whale in the Pacific -- a whale is spotted, pursued, killed, all in tedious detail

Branded Lambs [Laws O9]: (10 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #1437}

A girl, seeking her branded lambs, sees Johnny asleep under a thorn and asks if he has seen the flock. He tells her to seek them in a distant meadow. She seeks them; Johnny follows. They are not there, but he takes the chance to woo her. They are married

"(See that ship Maria, branded on the forehead)(x3), Coming up (3x)." The half line changes in every verse. For example, "See my loving savior," "Yonder comes the liar," "John saw the number," "See Paul the apostle," "See my dear grandmother"

"Oh, brandy leave me alone (x3), Remember I must go home." "Oh, brandy, you broke my heart (x2); Oh, brandy, leave me alone; Remember I must go home."

Brannan Fair o' Banff: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #5913}

The people at the fair -- Cocker, Shusie, "Geordie Raeburn an' Willie Beer, But noo I see they're wantin there"

Brannigan's pup fought "seventeen hours of battle." The dog was ugly to begin with, and scarred, but it would attack anything -- clothes, other dogs, a young girl's leg -- until at last it attacked an organ grinder's monkey and choked on the tail

The singer meets a maid going to milk her "brannit [streaked brown] coo." They greet and she asks how far he's going; she's going a mile or two to milk her cow. He asks "what harm could I do love, to come along with you. And I will wait ..."

Brass-Mounted Army, The: (6 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #6693}

The soldier complains of the unfairness of Army life and the abuse he suffers at the hands of officers: "Oh, how do you like the army, The brass-mounted army, The high-falutin' army Where eagle buttons rule?"

Brave Engineer (I), The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #255}

"Georgie's mother came to him with a bucket on her arm." She warns him against trying to run his train too fast in order to make up time. He says he will heed her, but he drives too hard at Big Bend Tunnel and he crashes and is killed

A fireman, mortally injured while rescuing a child, makes his last request: "Break the news to mother gently, Tell her how her son had died, Tell her that he done his duty...." His family and colleagues grieve but honor his memory

Brave General Brock [Laws A22]: (4 refs. 7K Notes) {Roud #2210}

Brock leads his men on a forced march against the Americans. The surprised U.S. commander surrenders soon after the fighting begins.

"Little boy went out to shoot one day, He took his arrows and boy, For guns are dangerous things for play." A little bird (sparrow, cuckoo) declares he can't shoot it. The boy can't hit the bird, and cries; the little bird laughs

Brave Lafitte, The: (2 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #V28306}

"Each young land bird I'm sure has heard Of the ocean lamb and wolf," for Lafitte/Laffite is known by both titles. His piracy makes him rich, and he brings a girl to his island home. He is attacked near home, and his girl killed; he vows revenge

French. A brave sailor returns from war and stops at an inn. The hostess cries; she recognizes him as her husband. He asks why she has more children. She had reports that he had died and so remarried. He leaves silver and returns to his regiment.

The oak "ruled the greenwood long." "In the days of old" maidens "frolicked with lovesome swains" but they are dead and the tree remains. Now gold is king "but he never shall send our ancient friend To be tossed on the stormy sea"

"Belfast may boast ... of its far-famed ships." "May the name of Harland and Wolff still stand At the top of the ship-building trade" "The Island Boys are marvels .... With their 'White Star Liner.'" If a "Greyhound" is needed Belfast gets the contract.

"The waves dash high against the rocks with a mighty thund'ring roar." A ship is in distress. On shore, a man declares, "I must save them." He takes his boat out to the reef and rescues the sailors

Brave Volunteers, The: (5 refs. 8K Notes) {Roud #9784}

Henry leaves Margaret, his wife, and baby to volunteer "to fight 'neath a monarch of Portugal's banner." All 500 volunteers from Ireland and Scotland are lost with his ship on Galway's coast, outbound from Greenock, on Wednesday, November 28/29.

Brave Wolfe [Laws A1]: (31 refs. 22K Notes) {Roud #961}

Disappointed in love, Wolfe gives his beloved a ring and leaves her. He lands at Quebec to battle the French. Wolfe is mortally wounded, but when he learns that a British victory is assured, he says, "I die with pleasure."

"Bravo, Bravo, Bravo, Bravissimo, Bravo, Bravo, Jolly well done, Bravo, Bravissimo, Bravo, Bravissimo, Bravo, Bravissimo, Jolly well done." The last word may well be replaced by a set of nonsense sounds, or more "bravos" instead of "Jolly well done"

Braw Servant Lasses, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5597}

"Ye decent auld women, I'll sing you a song" to complain about the follies of the young. They dress up, go out "like a ship in full sail," visit the church but ignore what is said -- and end up pregnant. The singer admits being a 63-year-old bachelor

Rope-skipping rhyme/game. "Bread and butter, For my supper, That is all my mother's got."

Jump-rope rhyme. "Bread and butter, Sugar and spice, How many boys Think I'm nice? One, two, three...."

Bread and Cheese to Rorie: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #13571}

"Bread and cheese to Rorie, For doin o't, for doin o't And cheese and bread to Rorie, To do't again, to do't again again"

"As we come marching, marching, Through the beauty of the day... The people hear us singing, 'Bread and roses, bread and roses'." The working women demand not just better pay but respect and the chance to live a decent life

Break the News to Mother: (7 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4322}

"While shot and shell were screaming Across the battlefield, The boys in blue were fighting, Their noble flag to shield." The flag falls. A boy volunteers and rescues the flag; he dies asking that someone "break the news to mother"

"I am a bold undaunted youth from the county of Tyrone," now in prison because "a girl against me swore." Soon to be sentenced, the singer makes a plan to escape, and manges to flee. He goes over the sea to escape his punishment

The singer's parents lock her in a room but she goes out the window when they go to town. She meets her sweetheart who tells her "he was listed in Bredalbane's Grenadiers"

Brennan on the Moor [Laws L7]: (53 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #476}

Irishman Brennan, perhaps in revolt against the English, turns robber in the hills. After various escapades, he is captured, only to be freed by a blunderbuss smuggled in by his wife. At last, betrayed by a woman, he is taken and hanged

"In Perth there lives a bonnie lad... And he courted Peggy Roy." "He courted her for seven long years... When there came a lad from Edinborough town." The girl goes off with the stranger, but ends up deserted; the brewer rejects her when she returns

Brewer Without Any Barm, A: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #1357}

"A brewer without any barm, he makes the most pitiful beer (x2)." Other workers are also condemned if they done make the right products or use the right tools.

Brian O'Lynn (Tom Boleyn): (42 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #294}

Vignettes about Brian/Tom. Each describes a situation he finds himself in and ends with his comment, e.g., "Tom Bolyn found a hollow tree / And very contented seemed to be / The wind did blow and the rain beat in / 'Better than no house,' said Tom Bolyn."

"The beam of joy's in every eye" to see "a bonny bride To grace the Banks of Bogie." A toast to "'Huntly and his bonny Bride': 'They're welcome to Strathbogie.'"

A bride bids farewell to her mother, father, sister and brother. She has reservations about her groom: "he may deceive me... he may wound who should caress me."

"I stood on the bridge at midnight, As the clocks were striking the hour, And the moon rose o'er the city, Behind the dark church-tower." As the waters flood, the singer's eyes flood with tears. He wishes the flood would take him back home across the sea

"Sez I, me boys, don't you want to go fishing? I'll ship you off in the Bridget Ann." Captain and crew take many fish and salt them in the hold. They sail until the hold is full, despite bad weather, then head for home

The singer tells of the pretty town of Kelorgan, noting "what makes it interesting Is my Bridget Donahue." From America, he asks her in Ireland, "Just take the name of Patterson And I'll take Donahue."

The singer laments that Bridget has left him heartbroken. He describes her beauty most fulsomely, and says his Sundays are now lonely and full of another. (She is now married, but) he bids her meet him on the road to Drumsleve

Bridgwater Fair: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1571 and 17807}

"Come all you lads and lasses dear, That like to revel at the fair. The fiddle's merry on the green." Singer tells of the delights of Bridgwater Fair and the colorful characters to be found there. "Master John" is warned: don't kiss the girls

Bridle and Saddle, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3666}

"The bridle and saddle hang on the shelf, Fol an day chine day cheer an Cheerily an cherry (x2); If you want any more you can sing it yourself."

Brigade at Fontenoy, The: (4 refs. 5K Notes) {Roud #9758}

"The green flag is unfolded" before the battle. "There are stains to wash away." "Thrice blest the hour that witnesses The Briton turned to flee" from the French and Irish. God "grant us One day upon our own dear land Like that at Fontenoy!"

Brigantine Sirocco: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1814}

The Sirocco/Sorocco/Sinorca/Sirorca springs a leak and lays aground at Shelburne. The leak is found and fixed.

Singer goes to Brigg Fair expecting to meet his sweetheart; she arrives and he takes her hand, rejoicing, and hopes they will never part.

"Brigham the Prophet he is our head, He is our Seer since Joseph [Smith] is dead, The keys of the Kingdom of God he now holds... For the lion of the Lord Is Brigham, is Brigham, is Brigham Young." Young has rescued the Mormons from disaster

"Now Brigham Young (is/was) a Mormon bold" with "five and forty wives." He leads the Mormon citizens of "Great Salt Lake, Where they breed and swarm like hens on a farm." Most of the song describes how Young's wives have sapped his vigor

"I'd like to take a pleasure trip To have a little fun, Get on the Utah Southern And go see Brigham Young. Nice little family, Nineteen wives or more, A lot of good old mother-in-laws To cheer him up also." The singer declares, "I haven't long to stay"

Brigham Young (IV): (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #10902}

"Brigham Young saw the lights Of the Saints a-burning blue, And he sent for Brother Jeddie, Who was always firm and true, To stir up the watchmen... To find us a-noddin', anid, anid a-noddin', To find us a-noddin' To our mountain home."

"I'll sing ye a song that has often been sung About an ould Mormon they call Brigham Young; Of wives he had many, who were strong in the lungs. Several verses describe Young's problems with his wives; the last refers to his problems with Uncle Sam

"The opening seals announce the day By prophets long foretold, When all in one triumphant lay Will join to praise the Lord. Brigham Young is the lion of the Lord, the prophet and revealer of his word, The mouthpiece of God and to all mankind."

Brigham Young's Birthday: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #10844}

"God bless the chosen Seer, To the Saints of God most dear, We rejoice to see his 75th birthday... Oh God, bless thy servant Brigham, Prolong his life for many a year." "May he live to see... the Holy Priesthood reigning o'er the earth"

"I am a wandering minstrel man, and love my only theme. I've strayed beside the pleasant Bann, and eke the Shannon's stream," but nowhere has he seen anyone like Brighidin. He would not trade even "the high-born Saxon queen" for Brighigin

"There's a bright and shining city in the land beyond the sky, Where the good shall be happy and be free." "We drifting down the rugged streams of time." Sinners are warned. Judgment is coming. Jesus died on Calvary. The singer is drifting home

"Spend it in the winter or die in the cold, One a pecker, Tuapecka, bright fine gold." "Some are sons of fortune, And my man came to see" but found no gold. "I'm weary of Otago... Let my man strike it rich, And then we'll go. Bright fine gold...."

"I hear the Savior calling (x3) (For the) day is a-breaking in my soul." "How I long to meet him...." "The golden bells are ringing...." "I want to see my father...." "I want to meet my Jesus...." "Bright morning stars are rising...."

Marching song. The singer describes the celebrations on the twelfth of July. The marchers celebrate to the memory of William (of Orange). The singer praises Coleraine, and intends never to forget William's triumph

"Bright Phoebe was my true love's name, / Her beauty did my heart contain." The singer and his love agree to marry when he returns from sea. By the time he returns, she is dead. He promises to spend the rest of his life mourning

The convict recalls leaving Britain in chains, saying, "I'd left all my joys in those bright shades of blue." Once in Australia, he prospers, and at last returns to Britain -- to find that he misses Australia. He is old and alone far from his new home

The singer hopes the Lord "will be glad of me." At the tomb among summer flowers (and fireflies?) she thinks of her mother, and how she rocked her in the cradle; she hopes her mother in heaven will rejoice for her.

The singer loves Mary, a widow's daughter, and praises her as the bright star of Derry. She is beautiful, sweet, and gentle.

Brighter Days in Store: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #10842}

"I will sing of the Mormons, the people of the Lord, Since the time that Joseph prayed for light." "'Tis the song, the sigh of the Mormons, Hard times... have pressed us sore." But the more they suffer, the more the church grows

"Hail the blest morn when the great Mediator down from the regions of glory descends." The song describes the baby Jesus's humble birth and the feeble gifts they offer him. "Brightest and best of the sons of the morning, Dawn on our darkness...."

Brilliant Light, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #V30261}

Singer asks "a brother" to be "admitted." He passes a test and is taken to a door. He is admitted. He begins his ordeal. He meets Moses at the burning bush, casts his own rod as serpent, and is shown a great light. He swears not to reveal the secrets.

Fisherman's shanty for hauling the nets, refrain "Lampabbo! Lampa!" Verses revolve around drinking.

Bring Back My Johnny to Me: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1422}

"He's gone, I am now sad and lonely, He has left me to cross the salt sea, And I know that he thinks of me only, And will soon be returning to me." The singer misses (Johnny), and asks, "Blow gently, sweet winds of the ocean, And bring my Johnny to me."

Bring Him Back Dead or Alive: (1 ref. 1K Notes) {Roud #11205}

"Gannon killed a man in Texas in the year of forty-five, Bring him back dead or alive!" The sheriff follows. Gannon kills the sheriff, then realizes it is his brother he has killed. He gives up: "If you will hang me quick I'll escape my brother's voice!"

"I've got a mother who's gone to glory (x3), Bringing in that new Jerusalem." "It's all free grace and never-dying love (x3), Bringing in that new Jerusalem." Repeat with father, brother, sister

"Give me a rose in the wintertime When it's hard to find Give me a rose... I've got roses on my mind A rose is sweet Most any time, and yet... How easy we forget." Repeat with "Bring me a smile," "a friend," "a kiss," "love in my autumn years"

"Bring me little water, Sylvie, Bring me little water now, Bring me little water, Sylvie, Ev'ry little once in a while." The field worker, toiling in the hot sun, calls on Sylvie to bring him something to drink. (She points out that she is coming.)

Chorus: "Bring me my shotgun and shells...." Singer's lover has left or kicked him out.

Three hundred supporters cheer for the Newtown football team at Enniskillen. The critical plays and players are named as Newtown defeats Irvinestown. "We've conquered two great teams: Lisnaskea and Roslea and "brought the gold cup for the second time"

Bring Us Good Ale: (16 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #32821}

The singer, "for our blessed Lady's sake," demands that the server "Bring us in good ale." Other foods are rejected (e.g. "Bring us in no brown bread, for that is made of bran, And bring us in no white bread, for therein is no gain.")

"Come all you folks of the timberlands and listen to my song About a guy... so gallant, green, and strong. He said he'd battle any bear," so the loggers send him out to find one -- but unload his gun. He soon returns, claiming "I'm bringing him in alive"

Bringing in the Sheaves: (8 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #14041}

The farmers go out "sowing in the morning (evening, sunshine, shadows, etc.), sowing seeds of kindness." In the end, "We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves"

The singer bids farewell to the Brisbane Ladies, promising, "We'll rant and we'll roar like true Queensland natives...." He describes the trip he and the boys make from town "to the old cattle station. What joy and delight is the life in the bush!"

Cheerful description of the life of a farm girl. She wakes at dawn and milks the cows as the larks sing; at haying time they go dancing, At harvest they work, then celebrate; even in winter, all are happy; she declares herself content to be a country lass

Brisk Young Bachelor (I), The: (14 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1572}

Young man, recently married, laments the hard work his wife forces him to do and counsels other bachelors, before marrying, to reflect on his fate.

A (butcher) stays at an inn; he offers a serving girl money to lay with him. She does. Given his bill, he says he gave the girl the money and didn't get change. A year later, he comes back. She shows him her child and says it is his change

"There cam' a young man to my daddie's door... a-seeking me to woo." The singer feeds him while she bakes. He just sits there. At last she bids him depart. He trips over the "duck-dub"; they shout and laugh at him as he departs

"Come all you jolly ploughboys, come listen to my lays... I'll sing the ploughboy's praise." Early in the morning, he cares for his team, then sets out to plow. The farmer feeds them well for their work. The corn is growing and all celebrate

The singer enlists in the army, is sent to Scotland, and falls in love. He gives her a ring and "she gave me her right hand." He is sent to the Indies. At sea, "still I thought on yon weel-faured maid The bonnie lass I loved most dearly"

"In Chester town there lived a brisk young widow, For beauty and fine clothes none could excel her." "A lover soon there came, a brisk young farmer." She wants a "lively lad" who has money. But when a "sooty collier" courts her, she marries him

In Bristol City the singer hears Polly singing about her sailor, "so true to his love": sailors are honourable and courageous in war. The sailor praises Polly. He will build her a castle. "You shall be my shepherdess, and I'll be your dear swain"

A coachman is enticed home by a girl. Her husband catches him. The coachman proposes "if I have slept with your good wife, I'll let you sleep with mine." The husband demands forty or fifty pounds.

"Bristol Town, as I heard tell, A rich merchant there did dwell." His daughter loves a sailor. The father tells a servant to kill the sailor. The servant instead tells the sailor to hide. When the father dies, the girl and the sailor marry.

"A wet sheet and a flowing sea And a wind that follows fair... Away our good ship flies and leave (Columbia/Britannia) on our lee." The singer hopes for a good wind and rejoices in the life at sea

Britannia Sat Weeping: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #V7898}

Britannia weeps as pleasure is replaced by war and sailors fight for "country and king"; "John Bull has been ruin'd by pension and place." Rich and poor are brothers and we can never kindle war and still flourish with liberty in our happy home.

British Grenadiers, The: (11 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #11231?}

"Some talk of Alexander, and some of Hercules... And such great men as these..." but none can compare, "with a row- row-row, row-row-row To the British Grenadiers." The prowess of the Grenadiers is praised, and toasts are offered to them

British Man-of-War, The: (19 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #372 and 4616}

The singer hears a sailor telling his love that he must leave her; he must go into battle. She begs him not to go. He says that he might win glory. He has fought before; he will fight again. He tears his handkerchief in two and gives her half as a token

"The war was all ended, And the stars were shining bright" as a soldier lies dying. He sends messages home, telling mother he has kept her gift and promising to meet in heaven. He bids his sister not to weep. He recalls home and the old beech tree

Britons, Strike Home: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #1187}

"Our ship carried over 900 men, And out of 900, 500 were slain, For range the wild seas, where the wind blows so strong, While our rakish young heroes cry, 'Britons, strike home, my boys,' Cry, 'Britons, strike home.'"

The laird of "Broadlan'" hunts in the south where he falls in love with and has sex with a local girl. He would take her home. Her parents say "he's nae the laird o' Broadlan'" but she goes with him anyway. Now she's "the lady o' Broadlan' lan'"

John leaves Mary "to take a trip strange lands to explore." He promises to be true and leaves for Belfast. He sails. When he lands at Greendock [sic] he is told to return home. He does, and returns to Mary. They marry and settle at Brockagh Brae.

"'Twas a very cold night in December, ANd the winds were driving the snow," as a "warm-hearted young brakeman" is going off-duty after three days on the job. He dreams of his family, then is called back to work and killed

The broken bread of Auchentumb and the burnt scones of Braka displease the singer.

The girl asks her fiancee if he truly loves another rather than her. He says he does. She releases him from his promise, and says they will be strangers henceforth. She dies; (he realizes as he stands by her coffin that she was his true love)

"You may go and win another, Go and win her for your bride." The singer says he has "broke the trust you've plighted." She says not to think of her, though she is true. They will meet as strangers. She will return his letters, and wish they never met

"Dearest one, don't you remember The last time we did part? My feelings of[t]times have been tender While piercing pains roll through my heart." The singer recalls how they loved each other; she says troubles caused them to part. She still dreams of him

"The church bells they were ringing... Just two short years ago... Two hearts had been united, Fair (Lillian) and Joe." All was well until a former lover showed up and stole Ann away. Now Joe is left lamenting with a broken home and a child in the cradle

"Good Christians all, come and lend an ear... It's of Barney Gallagher so bold and thrue, Arrah that broke me shovel." Neddy Kearn asks why Gallagher did it. Gallagher says he will break the jaw of those who question him. He and McGlynn fight.

"It would have been better for us both to have never In this wicked world never met." The singer recalls how the other once loved (her?); when she is dead, she asks if he will come and shed a tear on her grave

Broken-Down Squatter, The: (9 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #8392}

"For the banks are all broken they say, And the merchants are all up a tree, When the bigwigs are brought to the bankruptcy court, what chance for a squatter like me?" Tales of a (bankrupt and now wandering) squatter's life in depression times

Broken-Hearted (Lost Rosabel): (5 refs.) {Roud #4332 and 13786}

"They have given you to another; They have broken every vow; They have given you to another." The singer complains that gold has caused her lover's mother to turn to another man. He wishes he had loved her as a brother; he loves her yet

Broken-Hearted Gardener, The: (1 ref. 3K Notes) {Roud #7966}

"I'm a broken-hearted gardener and don't know what to do, My love she is inconstant and a fickle jade too." The singer calls her his myrtle, geranium, and other flowers. He botanically describes his misery, but rejects suicide because she wants him dead

"In a rusty, worn-out cabin sat a broken-heated leaser, his singlejack was resting on his knee," and he tells it, "I still believe you'll strike it just the same." He's been at it for forty years without success, but he still dreams of striking it rich

"I'm a broken-hearted shearer and ashamed to show my face." Having earned a good cheque, he heads to Sydney and falls in love with a barmaid. He spends freely and ends up broke. She tells him she is married, so he is left with neither money nor girl

"I've been upon the prairie, I've been upon the train, I've never rid a steamboat" but he has ridden many treeless trails. Now he sees wire fences enclosing the land. Soon all will be gone and the "cowdogs" will be in hell

"I once knew a guy that thought he was swell... He tooted and spouted... He could ride any critter that ever wore hair." A group of cowboys bring a horse, Sue, to test him. He is thrown: "The evidence shows that he didn't make good."

"'Twas this time jest a year ago on this Thanksgivin' Day That me and' Bronco Jack stood up, an' pa gave me away." This though she had been warned that Jack was wild. They have twin children. He is a good husband but hopes there will be no more children

Jump-rope rhyme: "Bronco Lane had a pain, So they sent for Wagon Train." "Wagon Train was no good, So they sent for Robin Hood." And so on, through a potentially endless chain.

Brookfield Murder, The [Laws F8]: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2257}

Joseph Buzzell, who is being sued by Susan Hanson for breach of (marriage) contract, hires [Charles] Cook to kill her. The body is discovered by the family. Young ladies are warned against "reptiles" such as Buzzell

A large audience is in the Brooklyn Theatre (to watch a performance of "The Two Orphans"). The scenery catches fire and the crowd panics. The next day the theatre is a charred ruin packed with bodies. A mass funeral is planned

"There is a bark, a gallant bark, which lies in Boston Bay, Awaiting there her orders... She is bound for the coast of Cuba." She encounters a Spanish-speaking "private" (pirate?). The Brooklyn sinks her; the singer drinks success to her

"How blythe each more was I to see My lass come ower the hill, She tripped the burn and ran to me, I met her wi' good will." The singer is exiled for loving the girl (who is above his station?). "To wander by her side again Is a' I crave or care."

A gentleman sees a pretty (shepherdess), and lies with her (without her leave). She becomes pregnant. Some weeks or months later, the gentleman returns and claims her for his own

Broomfield Hill, The [Child 43]: (32 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #34}

A girl wagers with a boy that "a maid I will go to the Broomfield Hill and a maid I shall return." At home she regrets her error, but a witch tells her how to make her love sleep on the hill. She arrives on the hill, leaves a token, and wins her wager

"'Twas at the summer feeing time, When ploughmen lads they fee, That I engaged with Broomhill His foremost lad to be." The daughter of the place steals his heart; he tries to win her; she agrees, saying she loved him at first sight also

"Some lads are ne'er at rest Till wi' crowds o' lassies press'd... But pleasure mair I find... Wi' ae lassie true and kind, And her broon cloak on." Relatives warn the lad of falling in love too young or wrongly, but he still loves the brown-cloaked girl

The brown/blue cow broke its pen and ate the corn, "And oor gudeman's hitten me." The singer will leave in the morning to follow Hielan' Donal "ow're Urie, ow'r Gadie, .... An carry's powder-horn"

Brother alligator come out tonight, "te-la lallah bam." Plenty of guinea hen here tonight, "te-la lallah bam." Plenty of pigeons here tonight, "te-la lallah bam."

The dying singer asks Brother Green to write a letter to his wife, "For the southern foe has laid me low." He prays for his family, tells his wife not to grieve, and remembers his brothers who are fellow soldiers for the Union. He prays (and dies)

"If you got Jesus, hold him fast, Brother, I got Jesus. If you got Jesus, hold him fast, Brother, I got Jesus. I had a mighty struggle, but I got it at last. Brother, I got Jesus...."

The singer would give claret wine, good and fine, to Brother Jack. "Through the needle-ee, boys"

Brother Jim Got Shot: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #16643}

Singer and brother Jim start a fight in a restaurant; Jim is shot and killed. Jury says singer is innocent. Singer's wife gets scared one night, and a mouse runs down her throat. Later, she swallows a rat, cat, cheese. Jury still says singer is innocent.

Brother Jonah is called to duty, but is reluctant and goes to sea; the winds begin to blow, and the whale swallows him. The whale feels ill, and eventually throws Jonah up. Refrain: "Yessir, the whale he swallowed Brother Jon-oh. Oh! Brother! Jon-oh!"

Brother Moses Gone: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #12006}

"Brother Moses gone to the promised land, Hallelu, Hallelujah."

"Brother Noah, Brother Noah, May I come into the Ark of the Lord, For it's growing very dark and it's raining very hard." Noah says that the other cannot come aboard. The rejected man curses Noah and predicts light rain. Noah says it will rain like hell

Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?: (1 ref. 3K Notes) {Roud #23551}

"They used to tell me I was building a dream...." The singer worked to build a railroad, a tower. He was a soldier in the war. The listener used to cal him "Al" and be his pal. Now, it has all come crashing down; he begs, "Brother, can you spare a dime?"

"Brother, guide me home an' I am glad, Bright angels biddy me to come;" "What a happy time, children (x3), Bright angels biddy me to come." "Let's go to God, children, Bright angels biddy me to come."

The singer recalls the sentencing and execution. The informer watches. The verdict is guilty. "One day between the sentence and the scaffold." No sword is raised to save them. They are beheaded. The bodies in their coffins are "life-like to this day"

"We are Two Irish Maltese." "We're the twins, tinga linga ling (x2), We're the Brothers St. John and you know where we're from. When we're out, There's no doubt, We're so much alike in our figure and height." They often visit the seaside together

Broughty Wa's [Child 258]: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #108}

Burd Helen, heir of Broughty Walls, is being visited by her beloved when she is abducted by armed Highlanders. Her kidnappers try to console her, but she refuses comfort. At her first chance, she swims to escape, while one who pursues her drowns

Game in which a finger is typically placed on the brow, the eye, etc. "Brow bender, Eye Peeper... Knock at the door, ring the bell, Lift the latch, Walk in, Take a hair, Sit there, How d'you do this morning?"

The singer recalls watching the lambs play by sunset on Knocklayd. Now she (?) must leave friends and parens behind "to cross the ocean to some far-off foreign shore." The song ends with the moon rising over Knocklayd

"Brow-bender, Eye-winker, Nose-dropper, Mouth-eater, Chin-chopper, Tickle, tickle." Mother's rhyme used to teach babies about body parts. Also used as a tickling rhyme. Reportedly it has developed pub and rugby versions

Brown Adam is a smith, banished from his kin. He builds a bower where he lives with his love. He goes hunting, returns to overhear a knight attempting to woo his love, finally threatening her life. He rescues his love, defeating the knight.

The singer and his wife are walking when they meet the Brown and Yellow (Ale/Earl). He asks to take the wife aside. When she returns, he is so ashamed that he dies and is buried

"One evening when the sun was low, Brown Eyes whispered, 'I must go.' Not one moment would she wait. She kissed my cheek and left the gate." He meets her with another man. She dies; he says she will be waiting for him in heaven

Hard times on Fogo. All we get is brown flour from Russia that won't rise, makes you "merry" and smells like banana. Merchants say we owe them money. You trade work for government rations: "you must shovel snow, This will help 'em reduce the taxation."

Brown Girl (I), The [Child 295]: (7 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #180}

The Brown Girl's former lover tells her he cannot marry her because she is so brown. She cares not. He writes again, saying he is sick and asking her to release him from his promise. She comes slowly and releases him, but promises to dance on his grave

Brown Jug, The (Bounce Around): (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7644}

"I (took/sent) my brown jug down to town (x3) So early in the morning (or "Tra de al de ay," etc.)." "It came back with a bounce around (or "all flounced around")...." "Just us four to bounce around...."

The (king's) daughter loves lowly Brown Robyn, informs him so by song, sneaks him in to her bower, sneaks him out again by dressing him as one of her ladies. (His is shot by a suspicious porter who is hanged for it/They are allowed to marry.)

Brown Robyn and his men go to sea and meet a fierce storm. They cast lots to learn who is to blame, and Brown Robyn himself is thrown overboard. He sees the Virgin Mary, who offers to let him come to heaven or return to his men. He chooses heaven

"Kind friends, if you will listen, A story I will tell, About a final dust-up...." The singer courts Brown-Eyed Lee; her parents disapprove. He says he will win her anyway, but she proved untrue. He curses the day he met Lee but can't forget her

The singer bids farewell to country and to the brown-haired lass. He describes courting the girl, and their sad farewell. He says he will never be happy until he marries the girl. As the ship sets sail, he offers a toast to her

Brown-Skinned Woman, A: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #11639}

"A brown-skinned woman and she's choc'late to de bone, A brown-skinned woman and she smells like toilet soap...." The woman can make a train slide, or make a preacher "lay his Bible down"; "I married a woman, she was even tailor-made."

About a "hard-luck papa," etc.; "Hard-luck papa counting his toes... smell his feet wherever he goes"; "Hard-luck papa standing in the rain/If the world was corn, he couldn't buy grain"; "Refrain: "Lord, lord, got those Brown's Ferry blues."

Motion song. "I have something in my pocket, It belongs across my face, I keep it very close at hand, In a most convenient place. I'm sure you couldn't guess it... So I'll take it out and put it on It's a great big Brownie smile. Cheese!"

The singer told Annie that he was leaving for the Highlands to be a shepherd for a while. He said they should be true. "He had in the Highlands But a short time to be But ere he came back O married was she." He warns young men "never love a rose too much"

Scottish Gaelic. "Lying in a French prison... No order from England To send me home free...." The singer thinks of his lost love, "the maid of thick tresses ... In the braes of Glen Broom"

Two men from Brule go to St Peter's to bring back rum in winter. They become lost in a storm and drift until Captain Harvey and his crew save them. They are taken to Marystown and from there return home. Moral: wait till spring to go to St Peter's.

Brush Creek Wreck, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4137}

The singer tells of a wreck near Bevier. As the train, moving at high speed, crosses a bridge, the switch "flew backward And sent them through the bridge." The engineer finds several fatally injured; the people of Brookfield mourn their dead

Brush Ye Back My Curly Locks: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #7286}

"Oh, brush ye back my curly locks, An' lace my midle sma', And nan'll ken by my rosy cheeks That my maidenheid's away. " When she returns to Dundee, the singer will look bonnie, and who will question whether she's a maiden?

Brushy Mountain Freshet, The: (2 refs. 7K Notes) {Roud #6643}

"In the month of July, in the year 'sixteen, Came the awfullest storm that's ever been seen." The song describes the progress of the storm, and presumably details the various people killed or rendered homeless

"Voters come and hear my ditty, What was done at Kansas City, David Hill, the New York Lion, Nominated Billy Bryan." "Get out of the way, you Grand Old Party, You're so old, you're getting warty." Other details of the 1900 convention are summarized

"Most blackly looked the weather, The showers down did gush As Joe and I together Were tramping to the rush" on Bryant's Ranges. The trip is slow; Joe drinks too much; the sun is hot; the mining pays very little

Singer meets a crying maiden. She says she once loved a boy from Tralee and she would "give all the riches in North Germany" for one of his kisses. He reveals that he is that boy and asks her to marry. She agrees. They marry and go to Tralee.

Gaelic. Singer claims great wealth and would marry a girl without a dowry. He doesn't work but drinks and plays with women for a short time each. He warns not to marry an old man; a young man who lives only one year can give her a son or a daughter.

Buachaill Roe, The: (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5730}

The singer's lover, at twenty three, fought "for the cause of Ireland ... He never once retreated though his wounds were deep and sore." He was killed and his remains are at Inniskillen.

The singer describes her lover as being "like a war eagle fearless and free" of "the race of O'Connor"

Jump-rope rhyme. "Bubble gum, bubble gum, Chew and blow. Bubble gum, bubble gum, Scrape your toe. Bubble gum... tastes so sweet. Get that bubble gum off your feet." Alternately, for counting-out: "Bubble gum, in a dish... How many pieces do you wish?"

"Bubbo le' me 'lone." "Me no a-married yet." "When me married oh Bell go ring ... Shell go blow."

Buccaneer's Bride, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #25993}

"Away, away, o'er the boundless deep, On merrily (we/they) roam." A "gallant band" of sailors bring the sailor's love over the sea. He welcomes her to Hihgland home. "Thy brothers" will wait for the buccaneer "till the dew on the twilight falls"

Buccaneer's Song to His Love, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #13939}

"Do you ever think of me, love, Do you ever think of me? When I'm far away from thee, love, With my bark upon the sea." The sailor thinks of her often, and of home, and imagines her being with him, and hopes she does the same

The singer complains that she hung her pork by her fireside and a Buccoo Bay girl stole it.

McQueen, raised in Buchan, courts Nancy who won't have him unless he has a non-farming job. He joins the Aberdeen police. When he returns to marry Nancy he finds she'd wed a farmer. "There are better quines in Aiberdeen, Now she can go to...."

"In Buchan forrest as we hear A hunting day was set." The hunters are named. The "din dog that we did seek" led the hunters "thro Straiton and Carpshairn" but "the Buchan dog ... gripit him" and tore him limb from limb: he'll worry no more ewes or lambs.

Buchan Turnpike, The: (2 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #5961}

In 1808 "a road thro' Buchan was made straucht And mony a Hielan' lad o' maucht Cam' owre the Buchan border ... To put the road in order" Some of the workers are named. "This turnpike it will be a boon"

The singer loses a fight to a billy goat while digging potatoes. "Now Wilcox he thinks he's a boxer, Joe Louis he thinks he's just swell, But they'd all lose their bout in a hurry, If they had to fight that old bill"

"I wanted sugar very much, I went to Sugar Town, I climbed up in that sugar tree And shook that sugar down. Buck-eye rabbit, Shoo! Shoo!" "I went down to my sweetheart's house... She fed me out of an old hog trough And I don't go there no more"

"Way up yonder above the sky, A bluebird lived in a jaybird's eye. Buckeye Jim, you can't go, Go weave and spin, you can't go, Buckeye Jim." Vignettes of the lives of odd creatures in odd places

A girl is in love with a bronco buster who has promised to give up his trade for her. She warns others not to rely on such promises; most breakers will leave their women to head up the trail on their horses

"You barons bold, marke and behold The thing that I will write." The Duke of Buckingham "flourished" in the reign of Edward IV. Buckingham, scorning Richard III's usurpation, rebels, is defeated, and is betrayed by Banister; Banister goes un-rewarded

German. "Marjets wann ich uffschteh, Schau ich an de Wolke." When the singer gets up in the morning, he asks if the work is done. Everywhere he goes, the little hump-backed man is there doing the work or scolding or getting in the way

"Last night I met him on the train, A man with lovely eyes," who had "jet black eyes," a "grand mustache," and a "buckskin bag of gold." He makes a splash -- and eventually flees town once "Papa's bank Is robbed of ev'ry cent"

"'Twas a calm and peaceful evening in a camp called Arapahoe." There is music, drink, dancing. Hankey Dean, who hates losing at cards, grows enraged at a stranger. The stranger pins the 5 of spades to the wall and shoots out the spades. Dean shuts up

Bucktail Boys, The: (1 ref. 11K Notes) {Roud #15022}

"When first our country was beset By rebels strong and bold," Pennsylvanians enlisted to fight. The regiment is led by Kane, then Biddle. They fight in Western Virginia, then return to Pennsylvania, then to Virginia proper

"Francois de bully man, Way oh! Francois de bully man, Bud Francois!" He stole Mrs Clement's cock, hid in a cellar and hung himself on a mango tree, but John Thomas cut him down. The singer would bury him.

A tramp stops at the home of "a snug little farmer that earns his bread ... and some dinner requested." The farmer agrees to trade dinner for work. After a hard luck story about why he can't work the tramp agrees to turn a ram. The ram does not agree.

Singer tells of working as camp cook at Frank Young's lumber camp on Budd Lake plains. He is stuck with bad provisions. Eventually he's jailed for twelve days; on his release, he vows not to return

"You and me, we’re going to be partners You and me, we’re going to be pals You and me, we’re going to be partners Buddies and pals," Repeat, but with openings such as "From now on, we're going to be partners...." "Till the end, we're going to be..."

Buddy Won't You Roll Down the Line: (13 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #17485}

First verse describes leasing out of convicts to act as scabs in a miners' strike; rest of song describes bad conditions for the convicts.

On Saturday morning people (men and women?) gather "to finish the yarn... and then we'd go dancing to Boduran's Ball." There was dancing after dinner and drinking until morning. Of all the parties and picnics "I never saw better than Buduran's Ball"

"From the Rio Grande's waters to the icy lakes of Maine Let all exult for we have met the enemy again." Details of battle sung, regiments and commanders named, "our brave old General another battle won"

The girl asks the Buffalo Boy when they will wed. He suggests soon. (Assorted stanzas follow.) She asks who he will bring to the wedding. He suggests his children. She didn't know he had children. When assured he does, she calls off the wedding

As requested, the Buffalo [Bowery, etc.] girls promise to come out tonight, to dance or otherwise disport themselves by the light of the moon.

"Now list tot he song of the buffalo hunt, Which I, Pierre the rhymester, chant of the brave. We are Bois-Brules, Freemen of the plains." The scouts find the "herd"; the "hunters" silently attack. There is meat forall

"Come all you pretty fair maidens, these lines to you I write, We're going on the range in which we take delight...." The singer describes hunting buffalo and other animals in the west, then heads off for a drink

The singer declares "I wouldn't exchange the buffalo range For the world and all of its gold." It is where he makes his home, and where he'll "live and die." He describes the beautiful wildlife. He "thank[s] the Great Boss in the sky" for creating it

A promoter named (Crego) hires a group of men to skin buffalo. He consistently cheats and mistreats them. Eventually they kill him

Buffer, Don't You Cry for Me: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #V47334}

"What ups and downs and bobberies, what changes we do see"; life changes quickly. The singer is "doomed for seven years" because he "took a gemman's ticker." He bids farewell to many. He bids farewell to Hannah and says how much he loves her

"Bugger Burns has gone to rest, WIth a forty-four (caliber) in his breast." He is killed on the fourth of July. The bullet in his head proves his death. He is kicked out of heaven. The singer says if Burns were his brother, he'd kill him and do the time

Corn-husking song. "Goin' down the country, bugle, oh (x2), Red breast horses, bugle oh!, Red breast horses, Bugle, oh! Oh, bugle, oh!" "Comin' in a canter, meet my darlin'." The lovers court, marry, dance, have a baby

Bugs Go Wild, Simply Wild, Over Me: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #15687}

"Bugs go wild, simply wild, over me, I'm referring to bedbugs and the fleas." The singer refers to all the insects and arachnids that show up (in camp?): Daddy-long-legs in his clothes, ands, mosquitos, etc.

Build a Brick House: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #14050}

"I went down town to build a brick house, To get a pail of water, Threw one arm around the old man, The other around his daughter. Fare you well, my darling girl...." "I went down town to build a brick house... Every room... Was lined with punkin pie."

"My brother build a house in Paradise, Build it without a hammer and a nail."

"Come all you young fellows from near, far, and wide, And I'll tell you a story of buliding a slide." The singer describes the loggers on the crew, thinks they are nearly done with work, and joins them in drinking

A Masonic ballad referring to Solomon as a "freemason king"! The ballad details the building of the Jerusalem temple, including the vast crews which worked on it. The end of the ballad concerns modern Freemasonry

(Gaelic.) The singer laments to see the dead buinnean (bittern) upon the shore, and conjectures "Not want of food," but rather lack of liquor, killed the bird. He laments the bird. His wife wants him to drink less, but he cannot live without drink

"Down in Alabama, In the land of Jim Crow, There is a place where Lots of folks go. Birmingham jailhouse, Birmingham jail, Waiting for freedom in Bull Connor's jail." How three thousand peaceful protesters were harassed and imprisoned by Connor

Bull Dog Down in Tennessee: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7879}

Parody of "The Girl I Left in Sunny Tennessee." Singer goes to court his girl, but her father sics a bulldog on him. As the dog attacks him, he flees over the hills and hollers back to his home

Bull Fight on the San Pedro, The: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4048}

"Under command of Colonel Cooke, While passing down San Pedro's brook... While on the road to California," the soldiers camp and encounter a bull. They kill the first, but more follow. In the battle, many bulls and two of the soldiers' mules are killed

"Bull frog sitting on a river bank on a pallet leaf looking up in the sky.... Pallet leaf give way, Bull frog got water all in his ole eye, Hi, hi, hi, hi, hi... He can't see me any more But I see him, He's got water in his ole eye"

"Away down in Belden Green... The whole earth shook in a quiver; Every devil had done his best To outrun the rest To get back to Washington to shelter." After the Union defeat, Abe Lincoln laments the cost of the battle

"Oh, the bulldog on the bank, and the bullfrog in the pool (x3), The bulldog called the bullfrog a green old water fool." Animals interact, with unusual results: A snapper catches the bullfrog's paw; a monkey gives an owl ink to drink; etc.

"Bullfrog jumped in the middle of the spring, And I ain't a-gwine to weep no mo'. He tied his tail to a hick'ry limb...." "He kicked an' he rared an' he couldn't make a jump." Chorus expresses a wish to go to heaven

"The funniest sight I've ever seen Was a bullfrog sewing on a sewing machine, He sewed so fast and fine and wide, He sewed a polecat to a tomcat's hide."

Bullhead Boat, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6590}

Singer, a mule-driver, gets work steering a canal boat. One pilot is killed by a low bridge. The singer spies a low bridge, but fails to warn the (drunken) captain, as he's busy tumbling end over end. He warns listeners never to drive a bullhead boat.

The bullock drivers hear word that there is to be a ball. They descend in great numbers. The drink flows freely, and the girls are not shy. Soon a brawl breaks out, and many of the partygoers wind up covered with loose food and/or bruises

"I draw for Speckle's Mill, bullocky-o, bullocky-o, And it's many a log I drew, bullocky-o... I'm the king of bullock drivers, don't you know, bullocky-o." The singer describes all the other (less competent) workers he competes against

"Bill has took it in his noddle For to take a little toddle Up the river where some gold he might be earning. For he took his pick and shovel And he closed his little hovel, For B.S.B. is leaving in the morning." He'll hunt gold rather than bet on horses

A failure as a coal-yard worker fails as a Liverpool policeman also and finally "shipped as a mate with Bully Brown." The captain kicks him out of the cabin and the sailors do not allow him in the bunk, so he "steals a pound of bread"

Every year the sealer Ranger, commanded by Henry Dawe, joins the "heroes of the slaughter with 18,000 prime young harps." Food aboard will "make the stomach rattle": flipper stew and whitecoat's hearts. And "no napkins"

Bully in the Alley: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #8287}

Shanty. Refrain: "So help me bob, I'm bully in the alley, Way-ay bully in the alley. So help me bob, I'm bully in the alley, bully down in Shinbone Al." Verses involve courting, being rejected by, and/or leaving Sally.

"I am the bully of Lot Eleven, My name is Robert Ramsay." "Mr. Yeo, don't you know, Is sure of his election" to the Ottawa parliament. The singer declares that "When the battle it is won, Surely I'll get something"

Bully of the Town, The [Laws I14]: (26 refs. 7K Notes) {Roud #4182}

The bully has terrorized the entire town, including even the police. At last a hunter catches up with him and kills him. The people rejoice; all the women "come to town all dressed in red."

Alternate lines are a chorus, "Bully yea-ay-ay bully boys/Bully long time ago" The shantyman sings: We catch him. Must not let him go deep. Hell of a long time he's moving but we hold him.

"On the highways and the railroad tracks, You'll find bums everywhere." The singer enjoys living in their "shady jungle." When a farmer asks him to harvest his potatoes, he says the person who planted them should dig them. Finally he catches another train

"Bum, bum, bailey-o, Two to oe a (nailey/barbel)-o. Barbel-ee, barbel-o, Bum, bum, bailey-o."

Liza grabs the singer, demanding sexual gratification. The singer responds appropriately.

Jump-rope rhyme: "Bumblebee, bumblebee, stung Jack Fry. How many feet did it make him fly? One, two, three...."

"Listen all kind friends of mine, I want to move a motion, To make an El Dorado here... Bump me into Parliament... On next election day." The singer says he is clever; some can talk for an hour, but "I can talk forever." He offers other odd justifications

The watchman calls "4" but we have to finish one more bottle. Anyone who wants to leave: "out of the window at once with him." Our whisky is from a still. Let's toast the sun rising as we did when it set. Then we'll go out and "leather" the watchman.

Bumpers, Squire Jones: (2 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #6532}

If you like claret, or pine for female companionship, "don't pass the good House Moneyglass." Bumpers Squire Jones's claret will make you forget Cupid. Soldiers, clergy, lawyers, and foxhunters should forget their chores and dogs and stop for this claret.

Bunch of Bastards: (2 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #29395 and 29949}

"We're a bunch of bastards, bastards are we, We of the Air Force are assholes of the earth... 'Cause we're a bunch of bastards, Morphidites [?] are we, We'd sooner fuck than fight for victory." Or "We're a bunch of bastards... We're the dockyard cavalry"

"Little bunch of roses, Big bunch of roses, I'se Mist'iss' house gal, Wait on de table."

The day before he is to go to war his sweetheart gives a soldier a bunch of violets, vowing to be true. He is killed. A comrade returns the violets to his sweetheart on her wedding day. "An old man's gold had won her from her lover far away"

"Frae Clyde's bonnie hills, whaur the heather is blooming... I'm come, my dear lassie, to mak' the last offer.... " His father (and mother?) are dead, his house eerie; he loves none but her. She decides to leave her parents and "bundle and go" to his home

Bundle and Go (II): (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3330}

"The winter is gane, love; the sweet spring again, love, Bedecks the blue mountain." "For far to the west, to the land of bright freedom... I would conduct you." They will leave home for a better place; "then hey, bonnie lassie, will you bundle and go?"

Bundle of Truths, A: (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #19760}

"Barney Bodkin broke his nose" is followed by truths, more or less: "without feet we can't have toes," "crazy folks are always mad," "a taylor's goose will never fly, ... And now, good folks, my song is done, Nobody knows what 'twas about"

Singer praises his girlfriend, Kitty, and tells of a rowdy dance he takes her to where (Long Tom/Silver Jack) "bossed the whole shebang", Big Dan plays the fiddle, and Tom (Jack) eventually "cleans out" the joint. Chorus: "Bung yer eye! Bung yer eye!"

Parody of "Fifteen Men on the Dead Man's Chest": "Sixteen men in a pine-slab bunk/Waken with grunt and growl...Coffee and flapjacks, pork and beans/Are waitin' to fill your snoots". In other words, yet another account of life in a lumber camp.

How the cowboys have a dance: "It' the best grand high that there is within the law When seven jolly punchers tackle 'Turkey in the Straw.'" The dance lets the cowboys forget their troubles, their aches, and the women they pretend not to miss

Bunnit of Straw, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #3728}

"A buxom young damsel a stage-horse was approaching, Cried 'Help' from afar for her bunnit of straw, For the horse he reached forward, without any addressing, And he seized her straw bunnit in her hungery jaw!" The girl laments the ruined hat.

Burd Ellen is at her knitting, crying over her baby. Young Tamlane, apparently the father, bids her rock the child. Rock the child she will not, and he departs with her curse.

Patrick promises to marry Isabel if the child she bears is a son. He delays until his parents die, then delays again and plans to wed a noblewoman. (His wife) wishes to see his son; Isabell will not give him up, and curses Patrick. The curse takes effect

"We're the lads fae the tap o' the hill, We never worked, we never will, We're on the Bureau." SIngers from many places (Gelly Burn, Mid Craigie, etc.) say how they lost or could never find work, and their adventures with their unemployment pay

"The day is hot, we will leave the spot, And together we will roam, We'll find a spot in some cooler cot Within fair Buren's grove. Each morning fair to take the air I walked to Buren's Grove"

Rose Blanche men are sent by boat to Burgeo jail for sixty days. On the trip, "good food and good comfort, no passage to pay." In jail they did't work in the rain, had tobacco, and lights out at midnight. Burgeo jail is the place to rest in the fall.

"I'm glad that I am born to die, From grief and woe my soul shall fly, And we'll all shout together in that morning, In that morning, in that morning, And we'll all shout together in that morning."

"We buried him darkly at dead of night" without a funeral, in a narrow grave, without a coffin. "The foe was sullenly firing." "We carved not a line, we raised not a stone, But left him alone with his glory!"

Burial of Wild Bill, The: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #11542}

Singer describes how he and his comrades buried their friend Wild Bill, reminiscing about his good character and talents. Characteristic last line of each verse: "As we covered him with the sod"

Burke's Confession: (2 refs. 31K Notes) {Roud #5640}

Irishman Burke comes to Scotland looking for work. He and McDougall join Hare who kills poor lodgers and sells the bodies to doctors; "sixty men and women I willingly did kill." They are taken, Hare turns state's evidence and Burke is hanged.

Burke's Dream [Laws J16]: (6 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #1893}

[Thomas] Burke, the singer, dreams he has rejoined his comrades to fight the British. They win a great victory, and he returns home. The scream his mother makes when he returns to her wakens him, and he finds he is still in his cell

"Come all ye gents and ladies And listen to my rhyme... It's of the modern fashions That seem to have no end, And the latest one that's all the rage Is this stylsh Grecian Bend." Women used to be natural; now all are distorted by fashion from far away

"Burn, Fire, Burn, Stoke your inner fire, Let the coal inside you rise Blow that flame to life."

"A paradise for racketeers and they call it Burnfoot Town." Shops, stores, petrol pumps, and sign posts "springing up like mushrooms overnight ... one day will all come down, And when Ireland's free prosperity will leave the Burnfoot Town"

A stream turns a mill wheel and runs through the rocks. Flowers bloom on its banks. It joins a river and runs to the sea. "Nae vain repinin' at the hardness o' its lot"; good and ill "it took as micht be"

"Come all you rambling young men and listen unto me, While I relate a story that happened in seventy-tree...." The men in Robinson's logging operation see their camp, food, and clothes burn. But they are able to rebuild after three hard days

Burning of Rosslea, The: (1 ref. 1K Notes) {Roud #2937}

The rebels march to Rosslea and start burning houses of RIC B's in the center of town. In return B's "pillaged and looted and carried away, The stuff of poor Catholics" A month later the B's "three houses they burned for each one in Rosslea."

Workers in a Fall River factory are routinely locked into their workplace. The mill catches fire and the workers -- who could have been saved if conditions had been better -- die in agony

(Robert) Burns meets Mary on the banks of the Ayr. Mary is returning to the Highlands to visit friends, but promises to return quickly. Both promise to be true. Mary departs, but soon falls sick and dies. Burns "ne'er did... love so fondly again."

Robert Burns, dying, asks Jean to pray with him "that the widow's God may saften the road For my helpless bairns and thee." He dies. She wears a lock of his hair and will work for the family until she joins him. He is buried in St Michael's churchyard.

The singer arrives in the logging camp to find horrible conditions: "The floors were all dirty, all covered with mud; The bed quilts were lousy, and so was the grub." The very first night, a fight erupted, "And thus I was greeted at Burns's log camp."

In March, a ship stops at Burnt Islands, Channel, Port aux Basques, and Cape Ray; they go by sail. At each port the crew goes ashore and they stay a short time. We don't know their business, but they have a good time.

Irish Gaelic: Younger woman complains about her old husband; he sleeps too much, and sports with too many ladies. She sends him to town, then spots him with various women. If she could, she'd lock her old man up and keep company with young men.

Bury Me Beneath the Willow: (39 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #410}

The singer has been abandoned by (her) lover. Tomorrow was to be their wedding day, but now he is off with another girl. The singer asks her friends to "bury me beneath the willow... And when he knows that I am sleeping, maybe then he'll think of me."

"Bury me in the garden, mother, mother, Bury me in the garden, mother, mother, mother dear, Bury me in the garden." "O, the moonlight... shines so bright... way down in the garden 'neath the sycamore tree."

A cowboy is dying. He asks to be taken home and buried in his family home. His request is ignored; he is buried in a small and isolated prairie grave

"List, shipmates, list that solemn call Falls heavy on the ear. Tread lightly, ye that bear the pall; a noble heart rests here." The sailors knew the dead man only briefly. They wrap him in his hammock and cast him out to sea -- a fit grave for the sailor

A man offers a doctor extra payment for services. He explains that it is on behalf of his baby who nearly died unbaptized. His wife had tried to take the child to a church, but no water was available. Had not a doctor chanced by, the baby would have died

"Caught a fellow in my corn patch. He had a bushel; His wife had peck. The baby had a roasting ear Tied around his neck."

Rhyme for counting time or selecting a person: "Bushel of wheat, bushel of rye, All ain't ready, holler 'I." Bushel of wheat, bushel of clover, All ain't ready can't hide over."

"Through bushes and through briars I lately took my way." "Long time have I been waiting for the coming of my dear." "Sometimes I am uneasy... Sometimes I think I'll go... And tell to him my mind." But she fears being too bold

"When the merchant lies down, he can scarce go to sleep" because of worries about his trade. Soldiers worry about promotion, sailors about wind, but bushmen have no worries. "So him alone we'll envy not, who true bushmen are."

"Queensland, thou art a land of pests, From flies and fleas one never rests." The singer complains of the bugs, the illnesses, the reptiles, the birds, the bushrangers, the ill-timed rains, and anything else that comes to mind, finally likening it to hell

"Lift me down to the creek-bank, Jack, It must be cooler outside." The singer may not see another day; he wants to watch the sunset and waters. He recalls the time with his mate, in England and here. The singer bids farewell and dies

Bushranger Jack Power: (2 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #9116}

"On the eighth day of August In the year sixty-nine," Jack Power, "an aspirant for the gallows," comes to Beechworth and begins robbing Cobb and Co coaches. He holds up an armed trooper. He is declared to surpass even Ben Hall and his gang

Bushwhacker's Song: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #11751}

"I am a bushwhacker, The thicket's my home (x3)... And them that don't like me can leave me alone." "I'll tune up my fiddle And rosin my bow (x3)... And I shall find welcome Wherever I go." "My kinfolks don't like me, And that I well know."

Making paper is begun by cutting pine and spruce and sending it by truck, train, or river to the mill. There it is barked, chipped, digested, and cooked. It is ground to pulp, treated with sulphite and finally rolled into paper and shipped by A.N.D.

Busk, Busk, Bonnie Lassie: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #832}

Singer asks girl to go with him. He points to shepherds and soldiers marching, and the snowy hills, which parted many lovers and will part them. Refrain: "Busk, busk, bonnie lassie, and come alang wi me/I will tak' ye tae Glenisla near bonnie Glenshee"

"I am a busted cowboy And I work upon the range." The cowboys work in summer and get a check at Christmas. They spend the winter in town and end up broke. They spend their money fast. He won't have a good Christmas; "I'm a cowboy who is broke"

"Johnie cam to our toun, to our toon, to our toun... The body wi' thet ye. And O as he kittled me... But I forgot to cry." "He gaed thro' the fields wi' me... And doun amang the rye. Then O as he kittled me... But I forgot to cry."

"We worked through spring and winter, Through summer and through fall, But the mortgage worked the hardest." Conditions change; crops are good or bad, there are restful days, but the mortgage is always there. Eventually the farm wife dies of the mortgage

A tailor lives in London with his wife Mary Bell. She buys a joint from the butcher, and he asks a nightvisit as the price. She tells her husband to lay in wait. The butcher overcomes him. The tailor begs the butcher to spare him and take his wife.

Butcher Boy, The [Laws P24]: (69 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #409}

The butcher boy has "courted [the girl's] life away," but now has left her (for a richer girl?). She writes a letter expressing her grief, then hangs herself. Her father finds her body and the note asking that her grave show that she died for love

Butcher's Daughter, The: (5 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #5831}

A squire gives the butcher's daughter gifts to sleep with him; he says falsely he will marry her. She says it must be dark to save her reputation. She hires a black woman to replace her in bed. In the morning he admits he was outwitted. They marry.

Butcher's Shop, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #12979}

"Hop to the butcher shop" but don't stay or mother will say "I've been playing with the boys down yonder." "Grass is green" ["Red stockings, blue garters"] I have silver lined shoes, a rose on my breast and a gold ring.

"Don't you walk on down, I'll drive you in the timber If you dare to walk in the timber, I'm a butt-cut ruler." A very free form, probably allowing improvisation, about life for a prisoner cutting timber

Counting-out rhyme. "Butter, levi, boni, stry, Hair, brit, brof, nack; We, wo, wack. O, U, T, spells Out goes he."

Singer prides himself on his plain tastes. In summer the girls like to romp and roll with rustic lads in the hay. His ladyfriend, Mary, a dairymaid, makes fine dumplings; he plans to "ask her if she won't supply/A rustic chap like I am."

A poor boy tells his mother of his plan to get buttermilk, sell it to buy eggs, raise chickens, sell chickens, etc., and so get rich. Very early on, he spills the goods and his schemes come to naught. Listeners are warned against counting their chickens

Singing (or at least chanting) game: "Button, button, who's got the button?"

The singer says she comes "to dear happy England in summer's gay bloom" and asks "fair lady, and young pretty maiden" to "buy of the wandering Bavarian a Broom" Use them to brush away insects. In winter she will return home. Spoken epilog.

"I'm going to tell my mother, I'm going to tell my pa, I'm going to tell my brother and all my brothers-in-law, I'm going to tell my uncle and all my cousins' folk To buy, to buy, to buy a Charter Oak."

When children play at running a shop, they may announce it by singing, "Buy away, buy away, A new shop opens, Hams, jams, anything you want, ma'am."

The besom-seller calls his wares, then confesses, "I maun hae a wife, whaso'er she be." He will take anything, e.g., "If that she be bonnie, I shall think it right; If she should be ugly, what's the odds at night?"

"I came out here two years ago... And as I'd been successful, Thinks I, I'll purchase land." Many selections are offered, and many seek to buy. The singer ends up paying a high price for land based on its description -- only to find it a worthless swamp

"(Josie's) got the buzz and she's got it good, She got it all over the neighborhood, She go in, out, all about, She go in, out, all about, Turn to the one that loves you best."

"By a fireside bright and cheerful" (something happened), "So off we went on the Wallaby Track, And down to the Riverine. There's Jack with the fiddle And Tom with the flute and Paddy the concertine."

"By and by I am going to lay down my heavy heavy load." "Oh one of these mornings, sometimes I'm so sad, I am going to lay down my heavy heavy load." "I know my robe's going to fit me well... I tried it on at the gates of Hell." "Gonna take my wings"

The singer sets out and stops, seemingly at random, at a cottage by Kellswater. He introduces himself to the girl, and asks her to marry. She thanks him for the offer but refuses. He tells her of the birdsongs and other joys of his home. She gives in

"By Memory inspired And love of country fired, The deeds of Men I love to dwell upon... Here's a memory to the friends that are gone. O'Connell, William Orr, John Mitchel, McCann, John and Henry Sheares, Maguire, Emmet, and others are recalled

"I'm an old jack from the pine-wood track By the banks of the Manistee" who has logged with all sorts -- but the best loggers are those who came from Maine and Quebec. He tells tales from before the forests were logged out, and still dreams of that time

"By the blazing council fire's light, We have met in comradeship tonight. 'Round about the whispering trees, Guard our golden memories. And so before we close our eyes... Let us pledge each other that we'll keep Scouting friendships...Till we meet again."

"I can tell where cherries grow, By the dry Cardrona, Where I picked them long ago, On a day when I was sober." His mother died of sorrow, because "I was never sober." His love marries another man. He asks to be buried by the dry Cardrona, drunk or sober

The singer calls on his listeners not to go to America; "there is nothing here but war." Unable to make a living in Ireland, he emigrates, is shoved straight into the army, joins the Irish Brigade, loses a leg, and is left without his promised pension

The singer is on a journey from Gibraltar to England when a hurricane strikes. Sent aloft to reef the sails, he and four others are blinded when lightning strikes the mast. The storm washes several others overboard. (The singer marries but remains blind)

By This Wild and Stormy Weather: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #7282}

"By this wild and stormy weather I Join this rogue and w-- together; For years they've lived wi' ane anither, Lord this will surely change the weather"

"By'n by, by'n by, Stars shining, Number, number one, Number two, number three, Good Lord, by'n by, by'n by, Good Lord, by'n by."

"Bye and by you will forget me, When your face is far from me, And the day when I first met you Only lives in memory." She recalls that sad day, urges him to forget -- but if she dies, THEN she asks him to remember

Bye Baby Bunting: (12 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #11018}

"Bye, baby bunting, Daddy's gone a-hunting To get a little rabbit skin To wrap the baby bunting in." "Sister stayed at home To rock-a-bye-a-baby bunting. Mama stayed at home To bake a cake for baby bunting."

"Bye, bye, baby, baby, bye, My little baby, baby, bye."

"Once a boy was no good, Took a girl into a wood, Bye bye blackbird, Laid her down upon the grass" -- and had sex with her. She goes to law enforcement. He is convicted and sent to prison for eighteen months

"William Jennings Bryan, Sitting on the fence, Trying to make a dollar Our of fifty cents, Bye, old Grover, bye, oh, Bye, old Grover, bye. I saw the train go 'round the curve, Goodbye, old Grover, goodbye, All loaded down with Harrison's men, Goodbye..."

Dance tune with sketchy narrative; singer's wife sits up late drinking. Singer asks her to return home (bringing the beer). He also tells of working in Walker Pit and the poor wages for coal-cutters, singing ironically "Walker Pit's done well by me."

The singer claims that he "belongs" in Byrontown, where "young ladies gay I will betray, And give them all their due." The rest of the song is devoted to complaining about women, e.g. how they lure men on and spend their money

"In the Big Shady Valley of Kentucky, a division of the famous C & O," a train with Jay Thompson and Doc Compton aboard is wrecked in the Big Sandy Valley in a collision with three motor cars

C-H-I-C-K-E-N Spells Chicken: (9 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #21063}

"C, that's the way to begin; H, the next letter in...." The teacher in a country school calls on Ragtime Joe to show the class how to spell "chicken." When Parson Johnson's show in the church fails Joe saves the day by singing his song to spell "chicken."

Men are at work on the C & O bridge at Guyandotte, but a train is given permission to cross it. The bridge fails, taking the train, the engineer, and seven bridge workers with it. The ballad ends with the usual wish for the widow and orphans

French. The young girl the singer married was at least 80 years old: married Monday, buried Tuesday. But he didn't marry her; he married her money. If he marries again it will be with a girl 15 years old.

French: "C'est l'aviron, qui nous mene, qui nous mene, c'est l'aviron qui nous mene en haut." A young man goes riding, picks up a pretty girl, and takes her home to get a drink. Once home, "turning to me, she toasted her own lover"

French. "C'est la belle Francoise, hut-a-la-ma-le-lon-la", soon to be wed. Her lover finds her weeping. She has heard that he'll soon march away. "Arriving in the village, I hear the church-bells say ... 'Tis beautiful Francesca, whom now they lay away"

French. Lullaby. "The little pullet gray / In the church will lay" a little "coco" (egg) for the baby who will go "do, do, do" (sleep)

French. Three boys go on a voyage to distant islands, leaving loved ones. The youngest walks on the shore and cries. From far away he hears the voice of a swallow speaking to him about love. Beautiful swallow, fly to "la belle" and sit on her knee.

Ca' Hawkie Through the Water: (7 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3159 and 5945}

"Ca' Hawkie, ca' Hawkie, 'Ca Hawkie through the water, Hawkie is a sweir beast, And Hawkie winna wade the water." Hawkie is praised for her milk but blamed for her stubbornness; girls are advised to be brave and bold with men

The calves have sucked the cows dry but even if they all go dry "there's milk in the beddie where I lie"

"There's something neat in a cabbage-tree hat, When it fits the wearer's crown." All sorts of people wear them; they conceal social classes; even new chums learn about the headgear in order to blend in

"A sad and mournful history Of which I now will speak Concerning that awful storm That flooded Cabin Creek." Five hours of rain washes away the miners' homes. The government and neighboring towns send relief

"Oftentimes I find myself a-dreamin', Dreamn' of a mother's lullaby" that he heard in a southern cabin. He recalls the life there. "When my roamin's over I am goin'... To a little gray haired mother And my cabin in the valley of the pines."

"The lottery would hae been complete Had cadger [traveling dealer] Bruce gane there to see't Or Jamie Birse the lousy breet Had he been there in the mornin'." Many people -- smiths, ploughmen, ... -- did go and "the lottery it's raised muckle din"

"Among some cadgers o' Dundee An awfu' row began, Between brave Charlie Perrie and famous Honey Tam." An angry Tam takes a knife to murder Perrie. Charlie catches Tam and hits him between the eyes; Tam surrenders

Alternate lines are a chorus, "Caesar boy, Caesar." The shantyman sings "Caesar drummer want paper drum." "Caesar drummer want kettle drum." "You look on Caesar no look on me" "Caesar drummer go boom boom boom"

Alternate lines are a chorus, "Caesar oh Caesar/ Thomas sailor run 'way" The shantyman sings: "See what frien' have done to frien'." Thomas promised to marry in May but he left his wife and went to sea

""As was was sailing on the main, Well laded with great store of gain, We was in danger to be ta'en; FIve pirates' ships appeared." The crew of the "Caesar" resolve to fight, and succeed in beating off the pirates although one man is killed and seven hurt

Cahan's Shaden Glen: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #6882}

The singer goes rambling and sees beautiful "Eliza of Cahan's shaden glen." Hecourts her, but "She will not condescend; I have no gold in store." He wishes her well and departs, wishing he could have gained her favor

At Clontarf the singer meets a "charming cailin deas." He asks her name and father's dwelling place. She is Brian the Brave's daughter and loves to visits where her father "slew the Dane." The singer would give "all England's wealth" to see her again.

Gaelic. The singer thinks of how nice it would be to have an Irish girl by his side. One morning, herding his cows, he sees a vision of a woman. He will care for the herds well because young women marry when they see a well cared for herd.

Gaelic. The singer praises his beautiful red-headed girl even though she drained his purse by drinking his ale and spending in the market on fancy shoes and ribbons instead of food and even though she ran off with the shop-boy. He prefers her to wealth.

"Well, the Good Book says that Cain killed Abel, Yes, Abel, That he hit him in the head with the leg of a table." In the lion's den, Daniel tells the "cullud men" to get their white robes. "Oh, Lord, I'se ready, I'll be ready when the great day comes."

A shanty about cane-cutting (!). "I was a cane-cutter but now I'm at sea, Stoop it, and top it, and load it, my boys; Once Cain killed Abel, but it won't kill me." "I worked very hard until I went to sea/" ""This cutting of cane it isn't much fun."

Scots Gaelic. The singer calls to Cairistiona, "Will you answer my cry?" After courting her, he went across the sea for years, and returns to find her dead.

The singer rides out and hears a girl singing, "The Cairn-o'-Mount is bleak and bare, An' cauld is Clochnabane." The man offers her wealth and land if she will marry him. She promises to be true to her Donald. He reveals himself as Donald, and rich

"There's a place out West where the Union troops Take toll from Rebel ships and sloops... She must recognize a custom house at Cairo." The Southerners will have a hard time taking Cairo, the key to Mississippi navigation. Prentiss and Lane will stop them

"I would go to Cairo but the water's too high for me." "The girl I love got washed away ... swimming after me." "Cairo ... water running all over town."

"Over hill, over dale, as we hit the dusty trail, And the ciassons go rolling along...." "Then it's Hi! Hi! Hee! in the field artillery." The artillerymen are always available; they go into formation and fight

Gaelic. Irish nobles wander, banned, hoping for "the coming-to of Kathaleen Ny-Houlihan." She would be queen "were the king's son at home here." It is a disgrace that she is vassal to the Saxon. May he who led Israel through the waves save her

The singer calls "dry-land sailors" to hear of the (Calabar), sailing the (Strabane canal). The food runs out. They hit mud, and throw off the captain's wife to lighten ship. They fight off a "pirate" scow. The captain says he'll take the train next time.

"Now all you good people of every degree, Come listen one moment with attention to me." On June 15, [18]73, many people take a boat ride to their homes. The boat leaks, and five of the people aboard are killed

The narrative tells that the young man was present at the storming of Seringapatam (the capital of Tippoo Sahib, sultan of Mysore) which took place in 1798. He returns safe home but finds that his lass has died.

"Sair, sair was my heart, an' the tears stood in my een As I viewed my native hills an' I thought upon my Jean." Pressed by poverty (?), the two sadly part; he promises to be true, and wed no other, and someday to come back to marry her

Calendar Rhymes: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1599 and 1954}

Rhymes detailing the months of the year, e.g. "January brings the snow, Makes our feet and fingers glow"; "February brings the rain, Thaws the frozen lake again"; and so on to "Chill December brings the sleet, Blazing fire and Christmas treat"

Calico Printer's Clerk, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #13210}

In Manchester, the singer met Dorothy Drew at a ball in 1863. They danced and while "doing Varsoviana [he said] "I love you." While she visited "a near relation" he read that she had married -- "danced away with" -- "Jones, a calico printer's clerk"

"California, Klondike, Victoria, Tuapecka, Dunstan, Who wants to know? Where else to go? Where is the gold? Some place with snow! Where is the gold?"

"On Zion's land there shall be rest For all the Saints that's here oppress'd." "To California's land we'll go, Where, from the mountains, wine doth flow." "Zion's band" will leave their homes for a better place, for which they thank the Lord

"I've been to California and I haven't got a dime, I've lost my health, my strength, my hope, and I have lost my time." All he has left are spade and pick -- and a cold. The singer regrets all the things he left behind. Don't go to California.

"'Twould make out eastern people cave To see the great and small... all 'splurging' at a ball." "Wait for the music (x3) And we'll all have a dance!" The singer describes the dancers, babies, old maids, drunks -- but still people want another ball

Singer describes Miss Ella, an educated female gold-miner who has "taken two degrees" and wears bloomers to show her knees. He'll leave for the States soon. Cho: "Take your time, Miss Ella, do And I will rock the cradle Give the ore all to you"

California Blues (Blue Yodel #4): (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #11804}

"I'm going to California where they sleep out every night (x2), I'm leaving you, mama, You know you don't treat me right." The singer claims he has a home everywhere he goes. He refuses to worry, and will ride the blinds if he has no railroad fare.

"Well, mates, I don't like stories," so the singer tells his: of rescuing an orphan teenager when riding with Jim Bridger. She says she will love him, then her uncle takes her to his home. She is told Cowboy Jack is dead, but at last they are reunited

"I am a Forty-niner, come here long ago," working on the Yuba and making a fortune. His wife begs him to return home. But he had an accident, went insane, went to prison. All his family died before he could return home. Now he's mining again

Jump-rope rhyme. "California oranges, Tap me on the back." Or, "...fifty cents a pack."

California Stage Company, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #8060}

"They started as a thieving line." The shortcomings of the California Stage Company are described. Passengers are crowded into dirty, smoky cars; passengers must often help push or walk. The singer urges listeners to rise up against the Company.

A complaint about the troubles of the trail to Mexico: Bad food (e.g. antelope steak), having to cook with buffalo chips rather than wood, fires that burn cooking women, Indians, people who shirk guard duty, etc. The singer advises giving up

Jamaican patois: The singer has five miles to walk but back problems slow her down. She asks Dinah to go in her place to buy sugar, coconut oil, and fish. Dinah won't answer.

Call John the Boatman: (2 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #9433}

The singer orders, "Call John the Boatman." A storm is rising, and he is needed -- but he sleeps too soundly for even the tempest to rouse him: "Well, the louder that you call him, the faster he'll sleep." Sometimes sung as a round

The singer asks that mama be called to get him out of the plantation jail. Call his mama and his gal and tell them his good friends are not good friends any more: they don't do what good friends should do.

"Call my little dog. What shall I call him? Call him Ponto, Call him Carlo, Call him J-A-C-K."

"Across the foaming ocean... In a corner of old Ireland there's a spot that's dear to me." The singer recalls the cottage where he was born. The ocean has called him away, and now he lives in a great dirty city. He cannot go home, but wishes it well

Call of Quantrell, The: (1 ref. 1K Notes) {Roud #7771}

The singer calls his hearers to rise; Penick's Union forces are coming, "But the Quantrell they seek shall be far, far away." The singer promises that, when Penick flags, they will turn on him and regain their territory

"The call of the fire comes to us through the shadows That follows the close of the day, Its flames bring us peace and a calmness of spirit That drives all our troubles away.... May we go on believing in this love we're receiving...."

"Call the hogs to supper." One is fat, one is lean, and one is for the butcher.

"It being in the depth of winter," the Hilton under Callahan goes to catch halibut. The dories are out but the snow storm forces them to return empty handed. "The courage of Gloucester fishermen... I'm sure they are the best"

Rope-skipping rhyme/game. "Calling in, calling out, I call (Mary) in and our."

Gaelic, verses telling the blind to be happy because they cannot be dazzled by the beauty of the girl he loves, apparently in vain

"This house is haunted, this house is haunted, It fairly makes my blood run cold."

Pseudo-instrumental, with three or more groups imitating instrumental sounds: "Oom-pah-pah," "Um-sss-sss," "Up-peep-peep," "Um-tweedle-tweedle," with the chorus of "Bicycle Built for Two" perhaps sung over the instruments

"Had I the downey goney's wings That hover round our trackless way Not all the wealth that whaling brings Should tempt me longer here to stay." He would not be afraid of Pacific storms, since he could fly away. He longs for his family at home.

The singer describes how the doctor makes regular visits and with equal regularity prescribes Calomel. He comments, "I'm not so fond of Calomel," and asks, "How many patients have you lost? How many patients have you killed Or poisoned with your Calomel?"

Story of Jesus' crucifixion told from the point of view of one of his grieving followers. Jesus carries his cross to Calvary, where he is crucified, suffers, and dies without complaint. There is darkness over the earth, but Jesus is resurrected.

"Come all you aged people, come listen to me, While I sing you the praises of old Calvin C," who is so big and hairy he looks like a bear. His family is bear-like. The singer hopes that next year there will be "a bounty on bear" (so he can shoot Calvin)

Singer meets a pretty girl, asks her to sit by him (and proposes marriage; they make love); she refuses to marry a man who has led her astray, whereupon he pushes her into the river to drown (or she drowns herself, whereupon he is seized with remorse)

"Came a-riding on a day / Came a-riding on a day, Zum-ta-di-ya-di-ya." "Suitor jaunty, bold and gay, Zum-ta-di...." "Oft he asked in manner bold, how could I this wreathe withhold?" "This little heart I'll give to you, Could I be sure your own were true"

Came Ye O'er Frae France: (3 refs. 9K Notes) {Roud #5814}

Geordie [George I] is ridiculed. "Jocky's gane to France, And Montgomery's lady" to learn to dance. He'll return with "Sandy Don," "Cockolorum," "Bobbing John, And his Highland quorum" "How they'll skip and dance O'er the bum o' Geordie!"

"The Camel's hump is an ugly lump Which well you may see at the Zoo...." "We climb out of bed with a frouzly head, And a snarly-yarly voice. We shiver and scowl and we grunt and we growl." The cure for the hump is to go out and garden

"It's Tarvis parish that I cam frae... To the Fyvie lands in the mornin'." The singer works at Cameloun, where they make him rise too early and feed him dreadful food. He lists the people he works with. If any ask about him, he says to say he is gone

Cameron's Gotten's Wife Again: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #13130}

"Cam'ron's gotten's wife again Cam'ron's gotten's wife again ... Before he risk his life again"

Cameronian's Dream, The: (1 ref. 3K Notes) {Roud #15005}

"In a dream of the night I was wafted away, To the muirlands of mist, where the martyrs lay; Where Cameron's sword and his Bible are seen...." The speaker watches the skies open to carry Cameron to heaven

Camp 13 on the Manistee: (2 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #6519}

"As husky a bunch as ever was seen Was the lumberin' crew of Camp Thirteen," one of whom, Sam the blacksmith, intimidates them all and attacks the name of Christ. Jack the Trapper beats Sam in a fight. All celebrate the defeat of Sam and/or atheism

Spiritual. "Oh fathers are you ready? Ready? Oh, ready?... For I am going home... We're all making ready." "We'll camp a little while in the wilderness... And then I'm going home." "Zipper" song: for "fathers", later verses have "mothers," "children."

Camp at Hoover Lake, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #4373}

"The first day of September we were all at hand For to go to the shanty at Sheehan's command." The crew leaves families to work at Hoover Lake. They live in a shanty built "like a nest of mudhens." The workers in the camp are described

"Ike and Jerry, hiking down de main Southern (x2)." "Dead on time, Lawdy, Lawdy, Lawdy (x2)." "I don't want no corn bread,meat, and black molasses." "My old captain, he don't treat me like he used to." "Goin' back home, good Lawd."

"Through the progress of railroads our occupation's gone, So we will put ideas... into a song." The cowboy came west, but now is gone. The singer misses the old days. The angels say, "Oh, here they come to heave, the campfire has gone out."

"Worship God -- Seek beauty, give service, and nowledge pursue. Be trustworthy ever, in all that you do. Hold fast onto health, and work glorify, and you will be happy in the law of the Fire."

"There is preaching (singing, meeting) tonight on the old camp ground (2x), There is preaching (singing, meeting) tonight (2x), There is preaching (singing, meeting) tonight on the old camp ground"

Camp of Israel, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #10821}

"Altho' in woods and tents we dwell, Shout, shout O Camp of Israel!" "Though oppression's waves roll o'er us... We've a better day before us." Anything is better than "the cursed Gentile yoke." They hope to escape their persecutors

Camp on de Cheval Gris, De: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #8847}

French-Canadian dialect song. Singer visits his abandoned lumber camp and reminisces. He recalls his friend Johnnie reading a letter over and over, and discovers it's a love-letter. He tells Johnnie he's never revealed the letter's secret.

Camp on McNeal, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #1945}

Times and names of the crew that worked one winter for A and R Loggie. While times don't seem very hard "some of the boys ... brought with them the flu"

"It was early in October, fall of 1896, I found myself in Menominee and in an awful fix, We hired out to Arseneau." They need to cut two million feet of lumber before they can go home. The singer describes the hard work and toasts Arsenaeu and the loggers

Campaign for General Smith: (2 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #10814 and 10815}

"Kinderhoos, Kass, Kalhoun, or Klay, Kan surely never win the day" but "General" Smith can. Or "Come then, O Americans, rally to the standard of liberty"; trample the tyrant, "Then yon proud eagle to its height may soar, And peace,,, reign forevermore"

Campaign of 1856, The: (1 ref. 1K Notes) {Roud #7838}

"Old Benton had a daughter, Fair Jessie was her name, The Rocky Mountain ranger A-courting her he came." "Buck and Breck, neck and neck, A yoke of oxen true, Pulling to the Kansas log -- Gee, whoa, haw!"

The sailor complains about the conditions on the Campanero. "The skipper is a bulldozer... The mate he wants to fight." He finally concludes that getting married -- even getting married twice -- is better than serving on that ship

"The first day of April I'll never forget; (Three) English (lasses) together they met." They offer Campbell a spree in a pub, then leave him to pay the bill. He escapes by tricking the landlord and leaving him with his thumbs plugging a cask

The singer wanders out and sees a pretty girl. He goes up to her and courts her. She refuses to give her name, and asks why he is talking to her. He offers to marry her and take her away from the mill. She refuses; she has a love and is no match for him

Campbells Are Coming, The: (9 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5784}

"The Campbells are coming, o-ho, o-ho! (x2), The Campbells are coming from bonnie Loch Lomond...." Argyle leads the van; the pipes sound. The singer expects them to win honor and success

"Gather round the campfire, brethren, On these we here have met To rejoice... For the State of Deseret." Here amid the mountains they can practice their religion in safety. there "Modern Israel's glorious gospel banner To all men will be unfurled"

"For nights with stars: For paths, for paths to follow, And for the hills, the hills to climb; For love to cast Its glow in deeply shadowed places... for all these wonderfully glorious things, We thank thee, Lord, we thank thee, thank thee, Lord"

"Camphor balls, Four-a-penny, If you don't come quick, You won't get any."

"The old man went to the barn, To get some corn to fed some pigs." A pig is lying on the ground. The old man tries to revive it. The pig jumps on him. Sister Sal brings camphor to revive him. "He has never been to feed them hogs since."

"Go wash in Hoot James's mudhole (mudhole), Go wash in Hoot James's mudhole, Some soap and some sand and a cob in each hand, Go wash in Hoot James's mudhole."

"Now as the sun sinks slowly, And birds are going to nest, All of the Camp Fire maidens, too, Must take their rest. Then as the fire grows fainter, And we go into the night, Good Great Spirit guard us And guide our steps aright."

"De Camptown ladies sing dis song, Doo-da! Doo-da! De Camptown racetrack five miles long... Gwine to run all night! Gwine to run all day I'll bet my money on the bob-tail nag...." The singer describes the races and how he won a "pocket full of tin"

A smear on workers in naval dockyards. "Can a dockyard matey run? Yes, by Christ, I've seen it done. When the policeman rings the bell, He drops his tools and nips like hell"; when in danger, evidently, he can be made to work (but perhaps not otherwise)

"Can I forget the days of bliss, that I so often spent with thee, Can I forget the parting kiss, Thy pledge of love to me?" No, he cannot forget her, though the seas take him away; her voice will stay with him

Can I Sleep in Your Barn Tonight?: (28 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #768}

The tramp asks to be allowed to spend the night in the barn, adding that he had no tobacco or matches. He explains how he used to live a settled life, but then a stranger came to town and made off with his wife and son.

"When up the shrouds the sailor goes And ventures on the yard, The landsman who no better knows Believes his lot is hard." The sailor describes his hard life, but notes the comfort the sailors take in grog

Can of Spring Water, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5215}

Singer meets a lass on her way to a well. He asks her parents' name. She rejects his advance but he seduces her. Subsequently she marries someone else but has a baby to go with her to the well.

"Can we clean your windows, mum? We'll make 'em shine, Bloody fine; We'll make 'em shine, Bloody fine. Not today. Run away! 'All right,' says poor Jim, As he threw down his bucket, And he called out 'Drat it! Can we clean your windows, mum?'"

Can Ye Sew Cushions: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5527}

"O can ye sew cushions, And can ye sew sheets, Can you sing ba-loo-loo When the bairn greets?" "And hee and baw, birdie, and he and baw, lamb... My bonnie wee lamb." (The singer talks of the child's future life.)

"If you jump up on my barrow, I'll take you for a ride. And maybe in the springtime you can be my bride." Can you speak Romany, play the fiddle, eat prison food, cut the wood, break a horse, sleep with a girl and make someone not Romany?

"Can you walk a little way with it in, with it in, Can you walk a little way with it in, with it in, She answered with a smile, I can walk a (something) mile, With it in, with it in, with it in."

Work song/shout, with chorus, "Ho, boys, can'cha line em? (x3) See Eloise go linin' track." Many of verses are on religious themes ("If I could I surely would Stand on the rock where Moses stood"; "Mary, Marthy, Luke, and John, all... dead and gone")

Can't Cross Jordan: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #11879}

Can't cross Jordan and you can't go around," with chorus "They've taken my Lord away, away... Oh, tell me where they've laid him." Also floating verses: "What kind of shoes does a Christian wear?" "As I went down in the valley to pray." Etc.

5, 6 and 7 line verse. Most end "That's the day I began to cry, Lord I can't help crying sometimes." Singer's mother died. He promised to meet her "on Canaan's happy shore" "Just lay your trust on Jesus, That's all that you can do."

Can't Hide Sinner: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #16450}

"You may run to the rock... For a hidin' place... An' the rock cry out...." "You may run to the sea... For a hidin' place... An' the sea cry out...." "Oh, sinner man ... What you going to do... In the Judgment day...."

Shanty. "Young gals, good gals, bad gals, O! Cho: Young girls can't ye Hilo? I will take 'em all in tow, Cho: Young girls can't ye Hilo?" Other verses have rhymes about dancing and women in general.

The sailor meets a girl, who offers to take him home to her "family." He sits down to dinner, is drugged, and goes to bed with the girl. In the morning he awakens to find himself naked and without his money. He is forced to go to a boarding master

"When I get to Illinois, I'm gonna spread the word about the Florida boys. Shove it over! Hey, hey, can't you line it?...." The singer complains about hard times and high prices, and describes the conditions in which he works

Chorus: "Can't you live humble? Praise King Jesus Can't you live humble To the dying Lamb?" Verses: The singer asks Jesus to see him on his knees praying. "A man's been here from Galilee ... left me free."

"I'm on my way to Canada, that cold and dreary land, The dire effects of slavery I can no longer stand. So fare you well old master, Don't come after me, Just in sight of Canada..." yet the slave fears she will be caught before reaching it

When her love goes to sea, a lady dresses as a sailor and joins (his or another's) ship's crew. When she is discovered, (the crew/her lover) determine to drown her. The captain saves her; they marry

A group of lumbermen suffers a winter or cold and poor conditions. When winter ends, they joyfully return to their homes

Canadian Boat Song, A: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #13847}

"Faintly as tolls the evening chime, Our voices keep tune and our oars keep time.... Soon as the woods on shore look dim, We'll sing at St. Anne's our parting hymn." An encouragement to and prayer for good rowing when there is no wind

"I hired a shawny boat, a dollar forty-nine. If you don't work for this cap, you'll never get your time." The singer goes to get a drink of cider and sees even the bugs fighting. "When you wants to have a fight, then you needs the backing."

Canaller's Lament, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #19886}

"I shipped aboard a fat old tub, Two mules were on the tow, She hauled the length of the Erie Canal." "The name she bore was Prickly Heat, The captain's name was 'Scratch.'" The singer describes the crew of the canaller, often in racist terms

"Lay me on the horse-bridge, WIth my feet toward the bow; And let it be a Lockport Laker, Or a Tonawanda scow." The singer described the problems the mules have in towing the canal-boat, and perhaps asks to be buried by the canal

Candlelight Fisherman, The: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1852}

Singer, a fisherman, tells how his father taught him to test the wind at night by sticking a candle lantern outside: "Open the pane and pop out the flame/To see how the wind do blow". He tells how he does it, and advises listeners to do the same

Blues, often bawdy, about the exploits of the Candy Man. The candy man's candy almost certainly gets its possessors in trouble, but many still seek it.

"The boys have lived in peace upon the farm, A mother's care had shielded them from harm...." "So was their mother shot by cowardly hand.... Their youthful blood was on the hearthstone spilled." The (Mormon) singer blames the Christians

"How we suffered grief and pain Up in Queensland, cutting cane." The singer describes the hard working conditions and the bad boss. He is particularly upset with the food and the Chinese cook. He vows never again to cut cane in Queensland

"Canned heat ... killing me." "Think alcorub is tearing apart my soul." "Canned heat don't kill me ... I'll never die." "Woke up this morning canned heat was on my mind." "Run in here somebody Take these canned heat blues."

Cannibal King Medley, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #20036}

"A cannibal king with a big nose-ring" courts a maid and sings to her under a bamboo tree. "When we are married happy we will be ... under the bamboo tree." "If you'll be M-I-N-E mine ... I'll L-O-V-E love you all the T-I-M-E time." May use kissing sounds

Cannibal Maiden, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #9541}

"A cannibal maid and her Hottentot blade, They met in a rocky defile." But a Zulu appears to challenge the Hottentot over the girl. They both die in the quarrel, and she eats both of them

"Cannily, cannily, bonnie wee bairnikie, Don't you cry now, my little pet. Hush-a-bye, now, your daddy is sleeping; It's no time tae wauken him yet." Daddy needs his sleep, as soon he will go driving his engine. In time, the child will have its own engine

Floating verses; singer says he will catch the train called the Cannonball (from Buffalo to Washington), his girl left him, and he's leaving her. More or less.

Canny Miller and His Wife, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7152}

When the miller returns home his wife hides her lover. Claiming illness she sends the miller out to buy gin as a cure. He puts on the lover's trousers, discovers fifty pounds, confronts his wife and decides he could not have made as much money milling.

"'Bout Lunnon aw'd heard sec wonderful spokes, That the streets were a' covered wi' guineas." The singer describes the sights in London, mentions seeing King George, recalls being robbed, and declares he likes his home better

Shepherds are "all the same breed." On the mountains before dawn with his collie, he's "quick to swee a mawkit yin or a sheep that's strayed awa." He risks his life in snow for his sheep. He's generous with his hospitality and with drink among pals.

"A canoe may be drifting at sunset, When the skies are all purple and gold, And a campfire down by the water With songs that will never grow old." These things are everywhere -- but friendship makes this camp unique

The crew is finishing a quiet voyage when a gale blows up. The drunken captain decides to take advantage of the storm by getting up the best speed possible. The alarmed sailors at last mutiny to get things back in control

Cantie Carlie, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6055}

James, a widower, is tired of lying alone. He courts Bell Grant, young enough to be his granddaughter, and she agrees to marry. A storm delays the bride's trip from Aberdeen. Finally they reach the church and are married. "And ten months brings a son"

Italian. Forebitter shanty, about the timuni (helmsman). "A sciacca bucanura e bucareddi." The reasons why towns are famous are listed, e.g. Sciacca for its skewers, Trapani for pink coral, Marsala for its fish. Priests bless people. Grapes make wine

"When you're sitting around in a dirty old shack, You can't keep your mind from wanderin' back To the happy old days... When we hunted all day and gambled all night." The poet describes the life he used to lead, and the quarrels he used to have

"Have you heard the revelation Of this latter dispensation...." The poet tells how the Saints are persecuted in Illinois and Missouri, and describes how they will work "till we make Nauvoo as Eden"

Captain Paul and the seven men of the Big Mariner set out from Kennebunk(port) for the West Indies. The ship foundered in a gale; the six crewmen were drowned and only Captain Paul was saved

"Cap'n, I believe, Cap'n, I believe, Cap'n, I believe, believe, believe I'll die. (Spoken): Oh, no, you ain't gonna die. Come on with that motah."

Cape Breton Boy, A: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #25803}

A Cape Breton boy leaves home to make money. After jobs aboard ship he goes west to go lumbering. Injured there, he spends six months in the hospital. He warns: go west if you want, "But you'll find when you're sick boys there's no place like home"

In Cow Bay on December 8, 1874 "this young man was led like a sheep to slaughter ... He was wilfully murdered"

"Cape Cod Girls they have no combs, Heave away, heave away! They comb their hair with codfish bones...." "Heave away and don't you make a noise, For we're bound for Australia." Sundry lyrics on the oddities of Cape Cod girls

Parody of fo'c'sle song; describes miserable conditions on the "Walloping Window Blind," including descriptions of the officers. They are stranded for a time on the "Gulliby Isles"; they commandeer a Chinese junk and escape, leaving its crew on the island

Cappabwee Murder, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5302}

"Doubtless you must have heard of that life I took away." John Sullivan admits killing Jim Ring as Ring left a funeral. Ring identified Sullivan from his death bed. Sullivan waits trial expecting "transportation all my life or step the gallows tree"

Cappy, or The Pitman's Dog: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3145}

A pitman lives near Newcastle with his family and their dog, "Weel bred Cappy, famous au'd Cappy, Cappy's the dog, Tallio, tallio." Cappy and owner set out for town. A robber attacks Cappy. The owner returns home, and is amazed to find the dog alive

"Attention all, both great and small, A tale I have to tell Of Captain Frederick Harris And young Florizel." The singer lists various seal hunters, tells of the beginning of their voyage, and wishes them success

Captain Abram Kean: (2 refs. 27K Notes) {Roud #V44802}

"We should not forget the Commodore, The old king of the sailing fleet." "With unerring aim and judgment rare He would strike each sealing patch." "For fifty years he butted the ice." "So we should not forget... The late Captain Abram Kean"

"Come all you brave seamen that ploughs on the main, Give ear to my story" of the Lichfield that was wrecked "on the Barbary shore." 130 men die and 220 reach shore in the wreck. They are enslaved by the Moors and hope they will be ransomed

"Terry is a fine young man, But he has lots of 'chaw.'" As several ships, including Terry's Esquimaux, get stuck in the ice, Bill Ryan abandons Terry "To paddle his own canoe."

Captain Bob Bartlett: (2 refs. 53K Notes) {Roud #V45400}

"A rugged Newfoundlander as ever sailed the seas, He was born and raised in Brigus in the bay." Bartlett's career as a sealer, then as captain, is told, as is his work with Admiral Peary. "He's resting now at Brigus where his grave o'erlooks the bay."

"Where hae ye been, ma canny hinny, Where hae ye been, ma winsome man? I've been to the norrad, Cruising sair and lang; I've been to the norrad, cruising back and forrard, But daurna come ashore For Bover and his gang."

Captain Burke [Laws K5]: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #834}

The singer ships on Captain Burke's Caroline, carrying a cargo of slaves. Sent aloft to reef sail in a storm, he and three others are hit by lightning and lose their sight. The singer wishes he could return to sea

(Captain Carr) decides to take a castle, calling upon the lady who holds it to surrender and lie by his side. She refuses (despite the appeals of her children). Carr burns the castle and slaughters the inhabitants

The singer drunkenly signs aboard "a brig called the Mary belonging to Starr." He goes below and finds the mate has finished his brandy. The captain gives them "salt cod and religion" to eat. "To hell with Starr's Mary and Captain Conrod"

Captain Coulston's ship sails for America (carrying Irish emigrants?). She is overtaken by pirates. Following a desperate fight, Coulston and crew defeat the pirate; his wife shoots the pirate chief. They take the pirate ship to America as a prize

The English privateer Terrible is captured after a bloody battle by a French privateer and her Captain, named Death, and all but 16 of her crew of 200 are killed.

A composite song, in many ways more a religious musical than a performance. The singer writes to his mother asking for prayers. He asks his captain for pity. He laments a life term. One singer prays as another recites the Lord's Prayer

Captain Doorley and the Boyne: (4 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #V8384}

John Doorley, 18, son of a wealthy farmer, joined the United men against the Orange at Naas, Timahoe, Prosperous, and Kilcullen. The target of a Yeoman manhunt, he was wounded at the Boyne: "Four hours I lay bleeding and my Nancy at my side"

Ireland is ending the slavery binding it "Since Cromwell and his damned decree." Captain Dwyer's exploits against the cavalry and Captain Byrne are recounted: skirmishes at Hackettstown and Keadun bog avenging Stratford, Baltinglass and Dunlavin.

"Come all you young seamen with courage so bold, Will you venture with me? I'll glut you with gold." Henry (Every/Avery), (mutineer and) pirate, enlists sailors to the "Fancy." The singer declares he has done England no wrong

Orangeman Captain Dick Fowler arrives in hell. Fowler says that if a croppy brings him water he will "own to him I've done great wrong." Beelzebub explains that no croppy can help him: "it was for Freedom those boys fell And heaven is their station"

Captain Frazer's nose is so big you can see it a mile away. Its snores are louder than Niagara. If French invaders try to land, one sneeze would sink their ships. When he dies, Frazer's nose should be left to stand "like some big druid stane"

A ship sets out to sea; many of the crew become ill. The captain has a dream which causes him to reveal his dreadful crimes to the boatswain. In the face of a severe storm, the boatswain reveals the captain's sins. He is tossed overboard; the storm abates

Singer, an apprentice in Northamptonshire, takes to highway robbery and is imprisoned in Edinburgh. Escaping, he hides in a wood, but is betrayed by a woman and reimprisoned. He prays for mercy on his soul and for his wife and children.

"New York... Captain he heard it, he was troubled in his mind... Captain he go to him cabin, he drink wine and whiskey... You go to America? You as well go to heaven."

Captain Henry Thomey: (1 ref. 3K Notes) {Roud #V44634}

"Upon the past I'm thinking, To it my heart is linking, When fifteen thousand hardy men Trod the frozen floe. Oh, those days were merry And everyone felt cheery When men sailed 'long with Terry and Thomey long ago."

"The Captain holler hurry, Goin' to take my time... Say he makin' money, And I'm tryin' to make time. Say he can lose his job, But I can't lose mine. I ain't got time to tarry, Just stop by here. Boys if you got long You better move along."

(Captain James) has a servant who commits a "trifling offense." James ties him to the mast, abuses him, starves him, and leaves him to die of thirst, torture, and exposure. Brought to trial, James thinks money will save him, but he is hanged

Captain Jim Rees and the Katie: (1 ref. 1K Notes) {Roud #9997}

"Captain Jim Rees said when the Katie was made, Arkansas City goin' to be her trade." The remaining verses describe the life and plans of a river worker, perhaps on the Kate Adams

"I'm Captain Jinks of the Horse Marines, I feed my horse on corn and beans And court young ladies in their teens Though a Captain in the army." Jinks describes his money troubles, his fancy clothes, army training, and perhaps his life with the girls

Captain Jinks (playparty): (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4858}

Dance featuring the infamous Captain Jinks (of the Horse Marines): "Captain Jinks came home last night, Gentleman passes to the right, Swing your lady very polite, For that's the style in the army. All join hands and circle left...."

Captain Kidd [Laws K35]: (37 refs. 41K Notes) {Roud #1900}

Captain Kidd tells the tale of his wicked life. His early sins include the murder of William Moore and one of his ship's gunners. He repents for a time, but slides back into piracy. Finally captured, he has been sentenced to death

"The hardships that do attend at sea": One December Captain Larkins sails a stormy voyage from St John's through Gibraltar's strait. The men go hungry and complain, "but pinchin' slyly Captain Larkins sayin' we got our share"

"I'm Captain Jack of Kurber Creek, I wear good clothes and keep 'em sleek... I do work which I think to be Consistent with the dignity Of a captain among the cowboy." He works hard when it's corralling time. You don't want to see him on branding day

"My job is to clean a naval latrine, I'm the man with the plan for the pan that everyone uses.... I clean it by night, and I clean it by day... Terrifically clean is my latrine." He complains of those who are not careful in their use of his charge

The singer warns the sheriff not to bother "Captain Old Blue." The song describes the various outlaws who work in the Snake River area

"There was once a gay maiden, Her name was fair Kate. She traveled the Big Waters Both early and lave." Many court her; she loves only Captain Osborn. But he speaks in anger, and her love turns cold. He is married and has a daughter anyway

Captain Power's crew prepares to fish for cod. Before they go they caulk and repair the ship, build the wharves, and rush to be in time for the caplin surge to get cod bait. "Now the fight is over the codfish we have none

Captain Shepherd sails to St Pierre. In a storm he stops at Bonne Bay where he is turned in for smuggling liquor. The police find no evidence. Shepherd gets another schooner. The singer hopes this fall "dis brave, undaunted man will have a drop to sell"

"Here's a health to Captain Strachan" and his men. Three leagues from Aladdin Strachan sees the 36-gun frigate Moselle with 500 men out of Marseille. In the battle they board the Moselle, hoist the English colors and take the prize to Gibraltar.

The singer boards Captain Thompson's ship Fame to America. They escape stormy seas and "a mount of ice" off Newfoundland and land safely at Quebec. He thinks of Ireland and hopes to see his family again "and live together peacefully in love and liberty"

"Dear Pinckaninny, if half a guinny, To love will win ye, I lay it here down. We must be throfty, 'twill serve to shift ye." The woman will have none of it: "Ods I wonder You dare be so bold... Or dream too of taking My Fort with small gold."

Captain Ward asks the king to grant him a place to rest. The king will not grant a place to any pirate (though Ward claims never to have attacked an English ship), and commissions the (Rainbow) to deal with Ward. Ward defeats the Rainbow

"Captain Wasgatt in the John, He just got homr from Thomaston, He just got fitted out, they say, To go fishing in Frenchman's Bay." The crew is "Bill and Sam and Sally and Dan." Sal has trouble hauling a hake and hopes for a ginger cake at home

Webster wishes to marry a poor girl, but his parents tell him that he must marry a wealthy woman. The young man bids farewell to his sweetheart, then kills himself. Parents are warned against placing undue emphasis on money

(Captain Wedderburn) sees a fair lady, and wishes to sleep with her. She takes an instant dislike to him, and will consent only if he can answer her riddles. He answers them, and the two are wed.

"O, the captain went below, For to light the cabin lamp, But he couldn't light the lamp Because the wick was too damn' damp, Heave-ho, you sons of glory, The Golden Gates are passed."

"The fierce winds blow among the cliffs Of rugged Labrador." Jackman is on the beach in a snowstorm and hears cries from a wreck on a reef "some hundred fathoms from shore." He swims to the wreck 27 times and rescues all on board.

Captain's Apprentice (II), The: (9 refs. 13K Notes) {Roud #835}

The captain has an apprentice from a work house. The boy offends him. He is bound to the mast, then beaten to death. The crew lock the captain in his cabin and have him arrested in port. He is convicted and held in Newgate until he is hanged.

Captain's Lady (I), The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #9799}

Small boats land in Wild Bay among Blacks; the crews, including the captain's lady, are captured, stripped, and driven. Joseph, a Black slave crewman, saves them. He is freed, and the captain's lady returns safely to London.

Captains and Ships: (6 refs. 18K Notes) {Roud #7291}

"To Harvey's I'll start and to Bowring's I'll go, I'll name all the ships and the captains also." He names ships, captains, and companies, and wishes them all good luck.

"Come all you Union-loving men, wherever you may be." The singer will tell of the Union capture of New Orleans. The song details the maneuvers of the fleet as they pass the Mississippi River defenses. The _Brooklyn_ is a proud part of the fleet

"On the 26th of April, or so it does appear, The brave boys of Bristol fitted out a privateer, In command of Captain Tucker" to capture the "Bream." They find and capture the "Crown." The singer wishes good luck to the crew

"Blackfoot Indians left their settlements, Seven hundred miles or more... Minnesota to explore." They attack the family of William Woods, killing his mother and sisters. They cut off Woods's hand, but the chief's daughter begs them to spare him

"Loud roared the dreadful doomday And stormy was the night When the car ferry Bessemer 2nd Left the port called Canneaut. With two and twenty sailors...." "Let us all unite together... for the loved ones We will never see again." Captain and others die

In winter 1916 a 73-year old Labrador trapper goes out to see to his traps. He gets lost and spends the night camping away from home and has a fight with a wolverine. The next day a search gang finds him and takes him home to Lelette.

Billy squandered his parents' riches but is happier than ever. "Light heart & thin pair of Breeches, goes through the world merrely my boys." Riches and responsibilities bring problems. Poor now, "I am as full of content as ever I was since I was born"

A young girl's lament for having loved unwisely, worrying what her mother will say when the girl returns home, wearing her apron high (i. e. pregnant).

Carey's friends advise him that the best disguise would be to "dress as a lady and pass as Miss Grady." His wife shaves his every hair and glues on a wig. He dons a "chimese," etc. His wife wears his suit and moustache and smokes "a mild Havannah"

"I lift the cargo from out of hold (x3), It's ruddy heavy, but it ain't gold." "I lift the lamp-black from out the hold (x3), It's ruddy sooty, but it ain't coal." It's a dangerous job, but he'll work until he's old. He's a wharfie, and a wharfie's son

Carlie, Can Ye Hushle Ony?: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #7244}

Jenny, "nae regarded by naebody," invites John to cuddle, and then to "hushle." She has a baby but says she regrets it. He reminds her of her encouragement. At the naming the parson tells John it is not his. John promises to "put a trick upon her"

"George Carmack in Bonanza Creek went out to look for gold" despite being told that there would be no gold in the cold water. But he and his companions find gold and now are in position to celebrate

In 1793 the French planted "a symbol of great Liberty." In 1794 "they gave to Flanders liberty." June 1 the French convoy was saved from British attack. The Batavian line extends freedom to the Netherlands. Kings and drones will "tumble unlamented"

"When I was young and foolish still, Amerikay ran in my head, I from my native country strayed..." He recalls how friends took their parting from him. When he arrives in St. John's, he will drink and stop grieving, but still think of home and his girl

A carnal (crow) and a crane discuss various stories of Jesus, such as the roasted cock that crowed, the miraculous harvest of grain, and the adoration of the animals. (These accounts often became separated in tradition.)

The singer says that no place on earth as dear as his old home by Carntogher's Braes. He recalls life and friendship there. "But cruel fate has ordered it that I must sail the seas"; he expects to return home once he has made his fortune

The singer describes a trip through Ireland. He stays then days with Jon McNeil, surrounded by kind people, then visits Pat McGavrock on Stony Hill. He says that, come the next summer, he will visit Stony Hill again

"A newe song I wil behynne, Of kyng Edmund that was so fre, How he deyid [died] withoute synne, And bow[n]dyn his body was to a tree." He is shot with arrows, his hed cut off, but a wolf guards the head, and we should pray to him

Carol for the Wassail-Bowl, A: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #209}

"A jolly wassail-bowl, A wassail-bowl of good ale, Well fare the butlers soul, That setteth this to sale: Our jolly wassail." The singers are "maidens poor" who wish good luck to others and hope they will join in. They choose Twelfth Night king and queen

"Sweet master of this habitation, With my mistress be so kind As to grant an invitation If we may this favor find" to join the musical party and "contribute to the wasel bowl." May the master have a virtuous wife and may all have a fine meal

Creole French, in hopes of winning Caroline: "AIne, de, trois, Caroline, ca ca ye comme ca ma chere (x2), Papa di non, mamman di non, C'est le moule, c'est le ma pren...."

Wealthy Caroline loves a poor sailor. The sailor tries to discourage her, but she disguises herself and follows him to sea. She "proves true" even in a shipwreck. In time she returns home and gains her father's permission to marry her young man

Caroline's parents do not approve of her suitor Henry, so the two of them run off to London to be married. It is not long before her husband grows sick of her, abuses her, and goes off to sea. After some wandering, she drowns herself in the sea

"Caroline Pink Fell down the sink, She caught the Scarlet Fever, Her husband had to leave her." Or, "Old Mother Ink Fell down the sink. How many think She went..." Some number respond, say two: "T-W-O spells TWO, And out you must go If I say so."

"I wish I were in Carrickfergus, Only for nights in Ballygrand. I would swim over the deepest ocean... my love to find." "I wish to meet a handsome boatsman To ferry me over, my love to find." Since (she) is gone, the singer will drink, forget, (and die)

Carrickmannon Lake: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5177}

Singer meets the "Venus of the north" at Carrickmannon's lake. He says, "Give me my way or else I'll stray." She tells him to depart. He would leave Killinchey for her sake and go to North America. He warns other young men to shun the lake.

Response is "Hunh!" Leader lines include "Carrie Belle," "Don't weep," "Don't you ... Hang your head ... And cry," "Ain't going to hurt nobody," "I never... get drunk... no more," and floaters like "This old hammer... Kill John Henry"

Singer has no money to see the circus; he's told that he can get in free if he carries water for the elephant. He does (although he can't fill it up), gets his ticket and sees the animals in the menagerie, who make appropriate noises

Carrier Dove, The: (10 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2814}

Singer has been captured in war; "the chain of the tyrant is o'er me now." He sends a message by dove to his sweetheart explaining why she has not heard from him. He waits for the bird to return "a line from my lady love"

About the roads of Australia: "It's strange to know the once good tracks we can no longer trust, sir... Dust! Dust! Dust! Along the roads there's nothing there but dust, dust, dust." He calls for rain, and soon "nothing there but rain, rain, rain"

The singer hears a lad and lass talking. He is courting her; she tries to hold him back, pointing out that she is still young and that she has no dowry. She offers to introduce him to another. He says he wants none but her; they marry.

"For ages hold on record Kinalea with ecstacy ... defeating with the greatest bravery The goalers that were famed upon the banks of Onnabuoy" The crowd, predictions of the outcome and newspaper reports are described, but not the contest.

"A carrion crow (kangaroo) sat on an oak, To my inkum kiddy-cum kimeo, Watching a tailor mend a coat...." The tailor tries to shoot the crow, but misses and kills his old sow. The family mourns the dead animal

Carroll is sentenced and hung in Wexford. He had "fought the Saxon foemen by Slaney's glancing wave" and now "the silent churchyard blossom blooms softly over him."

"The other night I had a dream, I dreamt that I could fly." He meets St. Peter at the gate of heaven, but all they it is "Good old carrot greens, Corn bread and buttermilk and good old carrot greens." He has the same meal with Moroni

Pulling shanty. Internal chorus: "Walk him along, John, Carry him along... Carry him to the burying ground." Refrain: "Way-ay-ay you storm and blow (you Stormy)...." Some texts refer to General Taylor, others to Dan O'Connell or Old Stormy.

"Carry me back to green, green pastures, That's where I long to be, Carry me back to green pastures, That is the place for me. I want to see the fields of cotton" and other sights of home, "Down where the Jordan rolls"

Carry Me Back to Old Virginny: (17 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #15431}

"Carry me back to old Virginny, There's where the cotton and corn and tatoes grow." The former slave yearns to return to the old master and the old plantation, there to "wither and decay."

Singer "was a wild careless youngster, longing to roam" and "left my home in the mountains And broke my poor darling's heart." He gets a letter that she has died. Now "lonesome and weary," he wants to go back to his home in the mountains: "lay me to rest"

"I'm goin' up the river to carry them sacks (x3), I'll have your lap full of dollars when I get back." "I asked my sugar for a little kiss..." "You go back up the river and carry some sacks, (x3), You can get my kisses when the boat gets back"

"In the late month of November upon a low'ring day The schooner called Carter stood across the Georgian Bay." On the last trip of the season, a storm blows up; they go aground. The tug Erie Belle tries to help, but its boiler explodes; the crew is killed

"I once was a bold fellow and went with a team, And all my delight was in keeping them clean, In keeping them clean, boys, to show their bright color...." The singer rises early to care for the horses, and works hard. He describes the horses

Carter's Health, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #1384}

"Of all the horses in the merry greenwood The bobtailed mare bears the bells away .... Hey, Ree, Hoo, Gee, But the bobtailed mare bears the bells away"

Concerning a possum hunt and the pleasures of eating the animal. Recipes may be offered, as may details of the hunt. The listener is urged to "Carve that possum" and/or "Carve it to the heart."

Gaelic. Singer is drunk. He complains that he had come to this place "full of love and hope But the hag she forced me out with the twisting of the rope." "How many fine girls waste for taste of man in bed ... But the hag she drove me out ..."

Gaelic. The singer meets a beautiful woman herding her geese. He asks her to marry, promising wealth and affection. She agrees.

Casey Jones (I) [Laws G1]: (54 refs. 11K Notes) {Roud #3247}

Casey Jones's train is late with the mail. He is pushing the train as fast as he can when he sees another train ahead. There is no time to stop. Casey tells his fireman to jump; he himself dies in the wreck

In this bawdy parody of the familiar copyright song, Casey goes to a whorehouse and has sex with ninety-eight whores until his powers fail him. He takes a shot of whiskey, finishes the remaining two, and dies.

Casey Jones keeps working when the rest of the workers strike. (Someone puts railroad ties across the track, and) Casey is killed. St. Peter hires him, but "Angels' Union # 23" sends him to Hell, where the Devil puts him to shoveling sulfur

Casey's wife and child cry and ask him not to go but he has the fireman fire up and go. A flock of sheep on the track delays them. As they speed up to make up time a frightened passenger sings "Lord have mercy... Save me Jesus."

"Casey Jones, Standng on the fire-step, Casey Jones, with a pistol in his hand, Casey Jones, Standing on the fire-step, Firing Very lights into No Man's Land."

"Come all you muckers and gather here, If you want to hear the story of a miner dear." Casey makes his name on a Burleigh machine at the Liberty Bell mine. Casey is killed in a mine explosion. He had wished to try different drilling equipment

"Come all you muckers and gather here If you want to hear the story of a miner dear." "Casey Jones was a ten day miner" on a Burleigh machine. Eventually he gets sloppy and is mortally injured. He wishes he had tried an Ingersoll jackhammer

Casey and the singer get drunk and meet policeman Flannigan. They invite him to have a drink. Although "drinking's against the law." Flannigan doesn't notice the bottle is empty. He takes Casey in but lets the singer go as too much of a handful.

The singer is out walking when he sees a pretty girl. He tells her she has ensnared his heart. She says that that's his problem; men are always using lines like that. He promises to be faithful. She agrees to marry him

In 1878, landlord Campbell permits a race on Cashel Green. The race is won by the horse of McCloskey, "that youth of fifteen." The singer praises the horse and rider, describes the collection of bets, and wishes all well

A man criticizes a girl for ostentatiously wearing a cashmere shawl. She answers that she got it "by my hard earnings." Besides, he is dressed like a dandy himself. He says "with pride you are gone to the devil for wearing the cashmere shawl".

Travellers' cant. Singer asks a girl to come with him and takes his bagpipes out. After three or four years she has borne him four children; he brags of woman and children. She too brags; they can visit the public house and have money because of his pipes

"There's a track winding back To some broken-down old shacks Along the road to Cassino town, Where the olive trees are growing, And the purple death is flowing...." The noise of Hitler's weapons is often heard; the road leads only to broken-down shacks

Cassville Prisoner, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #5485}

"To old Cassville they did me take, But did not chain me to an iron stake, The faults they swore was more than one, To send me on to Jefferson. Jefferson didn't bother my mind, It was leavin' you behind, To run around with other boys...."

"There's a little village Just beyond the Sangro, Just a village on a hill, And though we're many weary miles Beyond the Sangro, That's where my thoughts Keep turning still. Oh, Castel Frentano... I'd rather be there Than in Milano, Castel Frentano."

"There was silence in the Castle, the 'cons' were fast asleep." The guards are on duty, but the prisoners manage to cut away their bars -- only to have to descend sixty feet to the ground. The singer's friend is recaptured, but will try again

The singer, "convicted and... forced to go," leaves Ireland for America. He yearns for Ireland "where the dear little shamrock grows." He would return for his sweetheart, but she dies (of grief?) and is buried by the singer's father

"So-and-so's at the castle gate, Open up the door and let her in." "She does a wiggle woggle, wiggle woggle, with her bum, Turn around and choose the one you love."

By Blackwater side the singer admires Castle Hyde's charming meadows, warbling thrushes, sporting lambkins, fine horses; foxes "play and hide," wild animals "skip and play," and trout and salmon rove. Whereever he rides he finds no equal to Castle Hyde.

"October winds lament around the Castle of Dromore, But peace is in her lofty halls...." The mother comforts her child: none cannot threaten them, and Mary is watching. She bids the child "take time to thrive" before moving on to adult tasks

"In my castle on the River Nile I'm gonna live in elegant style, Inlaid diamonds on the floor And a baboon butler at my door. I'm gonna marry that princess Anna Mazoo/Kalamazoo And my blood's gonna change from red to blue... In my castle on..."

Castlebar Boy, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #19486}

Pat says "I am a boy from ould Ireland ... the darlings they call me the Castlebar boy ... I will fight for the [forefather's] sod." He goes to England and none could beat him at reaping and mowing. The English should not take every Irishman for a fool

"Now Herechi told the council, Said much benefit they'd reap," offering to survey the town for a low price, though the surveyors say he will cost more. The song lists the various odd locals -- the excess barber, the incompetent drivers and fishermen

Castlepollard fair was peaceful "until the Peelers were brought out to raise a riot there ... their chief he bade them fire." The "murderers" were sent to jail but freed after "a sham trial"

Castlereagh River, The: (12 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #8399}

"I'm travelling down the Castlereigh, and I'm a stationhand...." The singer mentions all the stops he's made, and all his reasons for leaving (non-union Chinese workers, an arrogant boss, etc.). He advises, "So shift, boys, shift...."

The singer meets a girl on Lammas Day. He tells her that he has saved up enough to emigrate to Canada, and asks if she will go with him. She cannot leave; her parents are "on the decline." He departs but hopes he can return to her

Czech (Moravian), translated as "Toviska, Toviska, Castles in Toviska, Were there no lassies, I'd ne'er be a soldier." " Hoo-ya, hoo-ya-ya (x3), Ya-ya-ya. "Toviska, Toviska, I will sing Toviska, Sweetheart at home,I will never forget you."

"Far in the woods on Upper Tug, they wrap ol' Union in a rug"; amid Confederate sympathizers, the Castos rally around (and hide in) a cave, "the Casto Hole." Various people set out from the cave and eventually flee back

"C-a-s-t-o-r O-i-l spells castor oil, It's the only decent kind of medicine, Guy who made it must have been an Edison, C-a-s-t-o-r O-i-l you see. It's a lick on a spoon, guaranteed to kill you soon It's castor oil for me!"

The roan's owner, tired of it siring equally stubborn offspring, decides to put an end to the matter by gelding the beast. They rope it down, and a cowboy commences the operation. Before it can be completed, the roan bites off the owner's own equipment

"The cat and her kittens reclined in the sun, Mew! Mew! Mew! They're fond of their food and they're fond of their fun," and they sing "Mew!" together. Mother tells them that they will have their own homes; they should kill mice, not kill birds, avoid dogs

Cat Came Back, The: (12 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5063}

(Old Mister Johnson) makes many attempts to rid himself of his cat -- blowing it up, shipping it away, etc. But in every instance "The cat came back the very next day... They thought he was a goner, but the kitty came back...."

"Pussy can sit by the fire and sing, Pussy can climb a tree... To amuse herself, not me. But I like Blinky, my dog, because He knows how to behave. Blinky's the same as the First Friend was And I am the man in the cave"

"I was going up the hill, I met a girl on a bicycle, Run her into the garden wall, Smashed her tire and broke her fall," and more rhymes like that. The chorus likens Jim to a cat eating fish-bones, scratching, on the fence at night, a "cat's eye"

Floating verses; "Cat's got the measles and the dog's got whooping cough, doggone/Doggone a man let a woman be his boss, doggone my time" "I ain't good looking... but my main occupation's takin' women from their monkey men...."

Catalina Madalina: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #12800}

"Catalina Madalina Whoopastina Wilamina Oopsy Doopsy Woopsy was her name." "She had two eyes that were in her head One was yellow and the other was red." "She had two teeth in her mouth One pointed east and the other pointed south"

Jump-rope rhyme. "Catch a fish, Put it in a dish. Catch a mucket (?), Put it in a pocket. Catch a hen, Put it in a pen." And so forth, through as many rhymes as one can remember

A man -- sometimes a soldier -- seduces a pretty girl. She asks his name. He answers "Catch-me-if-you-can." He leaves, sometimes for service overseas. Her parents either catch him or he escapes overseas and the girl has a baby.

"Now we are facing a wonderful future, Gone are the winters we've always endured": unemployment insurance for fishermen. After 20 weeks of rated hauls, "sit back and do nothing for the rest of the year"

"If I were a catfish swimming deep down in the blue sea These gals setting out hooks for me." "I went down to the church house on my knees to pray, Not a word to say." "I'm going to write a letter to see See my baby hanging her little old thing for me"

Catfish, The (Banjo Sam): (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7010}

"Catfish, catfish, goin' up stream, Catfish, catfish, where you been? I grabbed that catfish by the snout, I pulled that catfish inside out, Yo-ho! Banjo Sam." Other verses also tall tales, usually involving animals, e.g. the terrapin and the toad

"It's midnight, and as by the hearth The fading embers glow, And visions they come to me... Of Europe and her mighty war." The singer notes in particular the suffering of Belgium, and the palace of Rheims. He begs God, "Bring peace to then once more."

Broadside account of a murder: "Muse breathe the Dirge o'er Delia's tomb...." "She from the man she once did love... received the fatal cup... And drunk the poison up." "O Bernard t'was a barbarous deed." The girl hopes others will mourn her

French. Catherine is the king's daughter. Her mother is a Christian but her father is not. Her father finds her praying. She says that she prays to God, but he does not. He kills her with his sabre. Catherine is in heaven, but her father is not.

"Ae day I wandered a' alane, Ma thochts contrived tae mak me greet, It wis on a wee bit skelp o grund That aince wis kent as Catherine Street." The area has been demolished as unfit to live in. The singer wishes he could be with the people who lived there

"The sun kissed the brow of lovely Ben Ledi And wrapt it in raiment of rainbowlike hue" as the singer strolls with Cathie. They enjoy the charms of nature, and he thanks the fates that brought them together

"Catholic dogs Jump like frogs (stink like dogs, etc.), Don't eat meat on Friday." Or "Catholic, Catholic, Ring the bell."

Stanzas on how various animals (people, military stuffed shirts, politicians) "revel in the joys of fornication"

A king's daughter is forced to leave home. She hides her rich clothes and dresses in the skins of donkeys/cats. She takes service with a lord, and when he holds a ball, appears in her fine clothes. He seeks her and learns she is Catskin. They marry.

The cat rode to Paisley on a harrow tine and lept home on the singer's mare. It was on a windy Wednesday, if the singer remembers rightly

"The cattie sat in the kiln-ring, Spinning, spinning, And by cam a little wee mousie, Running, running." Cat and mouse converse about their activities: The cat spinning a sark for its kit; the mouse cleaning and thieving. (The cat eats the mouse)

Shanty. Moderate 3/4 tempo. "Pull one and all. Hoy, hoy. Cherry men! On the cat fall! Hoy, hoy. Cherry men! Answer the call! Hoy, hoy! Cherry men! Hoy. Hau-lee. Hoy! Hoy! Oh cherry men!"

"In Cattistock parish in fair Dorsetshire Liv'd a pack of fox-dogs I'll vow and declare." They are fit for anything, but after a long hunt, the fox climbs a high roof and defies the dogs. The squire is impressed and lets the fox go free

The singer describes his life while "singing [his] cattle call": "When the new day is dawning I wake up a-yawning, Drinkin my coffee strong." "Each day I do ride o'er a range far and waide... I don't mind the weather, my heart's like a feather...."

"Now, O Lord, please lend Thine ear, The prayer of the cattleman to hear." He prays, "Won't you bless our cattle range," and asks for good weather, adequate forage, safety from fires, good prices, and many offspring for the cattle

It's winter and the singer has lost his home. He is in the cold. His wife wept after the loss and died

Cauld Kail in Aberdeen (I): (4 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #8502}

"Ilka lad has got his lass" but the singer would not trade his cask for all the girls in Bogie. Johnnie Smith's wife is stingy with his drink; the singer would duck her in a bog. He'll drink with anyone but would duck every snarling wife.

Cauld Kail in Aberdeen (II): (3 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #8502}

Cold cabbage of Aberdeen is "warming" but to no end. Aberdeen, why woo a lass to whom it means nothing, whatever it means to you. Women of Bogingicht love to dance and are not so shy they can't get better playthings than out-of-date old folks.

Cauld Kail in Aberdeen (III): (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #8502}

The singer prefers dancing with a lass to drinking all night. He describes different (national) dances. Every lad has a lass "save yon auld doited fogey." The dancers rest and drink, "And try ilk ither to surpass, wishing health to every lass"

Cauld Kail in Aberdeen (IV): (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #8502}

"There's cauld kail in Aberdeen ..." but naething drives awa' the spleen Sae weel's a social cogie" "Whene'er I'm fasht wi' worldly cares, I dron them in a cogie." Let's sing an old Scots song: that's never wrong "when o'er a social cogie"

Cauld Kail in Aberdeen (V): (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #8502}

Will married Mary but left her rocking a borrowed cradle to drink. Their money had been spent on drink. Reeling home one night he falls off the bridge over Bogie, prays to be saved and gives up drink. "Now Mary's heart is light again"

"As from Newcastle I did pass, I heard a blythe and bonny lass That in the Scottish army was, Say, 'Prithee let me gang with thee, man.'" She begs her Cavalier to let her come with him

Going to Lord Farnham's to join a July 12 Orange walk, Walker's buck has a fight with MacNamee's bulldog. The buck asks for mercy. He would even dress in green. The goat is let go but the dog follows and kills him. MacNamee wishes for more such dogs.

Cavehill Diamond (I), The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #3579}

"In Ireland's ancient days" when Belfast was small Mary herded sheep on Lagan side. Prince Dermoid hunted deer on Cave Hill. He loved Mary whose eyes were brighter than the Diamond. She asked that he bring her the diamond. Trying, he fell to his death.

Cavehill Diamond (II), The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #3579}

There was a feud between Magennis and O'Neill. Princess Ellen, Red Hugh O'Neill's daughter, loved Magennis. She disappeared when she was to wed old Earl James. After three years Magennis went to consult a holy hermit living on Cave Hill. It was Ellen.

"I'm bidding adieu to old Ireland." The singer recalls "childhood days that I spent Around dear old Cavenagh Hill," hunting fields, poteen and the football team from Scotshouse town. Years have passed. He has news that a huntsman, McCabe, has died.

Caviar Comes from Virgin Sturgeon: (8 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #10131}

This quatrain ballad extols the virtues of caviar as an aphrodisiac; reports that the singer's parents were a lighthouse keeper and a mermaid; and details the sex lives of various denizens of the deep

"'Caw, caw, caw,' says the old black crow. 'Haw hee haw,' sings the donkey down below. 'Chirp, chirp, chirp,' goes the sparrow on the wall, But divil the note has Hooligan's canary got at all."

A ship is preparing to depart when a lady hails the ship. She demands the release of (Henry Grady), one of the sailors. The Captain objects, but she offers his discharge. The two depart and live happily ever after

In 1933, young Cecil sails to Mastic Point; he vanishes. After eight days they search. Cecil's mother finds the boat but not him; singer says Cecil's been drowned, and the mother falls on the ground in agony, asking God to make peace with his soul

French. Cecilia's father sends her away; the bargeman asks her to embrace. She refuses; her father would beat her. He asks who would tell her father. "The forest birds," the girl replies. The bargeman regrets that the birds have been taught to talk.

Cedar Grove, The [Laws D18]: (7 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #1959}

The "Cedar Grove" sails from London to America. She runs aground off Canso because the helmsman cannot violate discipline. The captain, two crew members, and a passenger are lost, and the ship sinks

"Way low down in the cedar swamp, Waters deep and muddy, There I met a pretty little miss...." The singer builds a home for the girl, who is "a honey"; "Makes me work all through the week, And get stove-wood on Sunday."

Gaelic. The singer sees a vision of a beautiful woman, the spirit of Ireland.

"Have you been to the river, Certainly Lord" (x3) "Certainly, certainly certainly Lord." "Have you been baptised, Certainly Lord...." "Did you get good religion, Certainly Lord...." "I feel all right now, Certainly Lord...."

A street cry? "O-o-o-oh, lil' man, Go get yo' pan, Tell-a yo' mam Hyeh come de chahcoal man-n-n. Chahcoal!"

"If I had a-listened to what my mother said, I would have been home sleeping in my cold iron bed." But the singer refused to listen to mother. He says he will not live in sin if he ever gets free. He has no friends, and prays for help in his trouble

Chainmaker Lad, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #1126}

"The chaimaker lad he's a masher, He's always a-smoking his pipe, He's always a-whistling the wenches, Especially on Saturday night." He is always after the singer. She praises collier boys

Round. "Chairs to mend? Old chairs to mend? Rush or cane bottom; ...? New mackerel! ... Old rags? ... Any hare skins, or rabbit skins?"

"She was at a noble wedding" and sees a young lawyer. He ignored her. She sends him a letter challenging him to a duel. He is advised by a friend to attend the duel: "faint heart never won fair lady." At dawn "the young lady came, it seems" [end of text]

In the original text -- the song was updated to the first world war -- a Confederate agent asks the ladies of Montgomery, Alabama, to save their night water, so that saltpeter necessary for the manufacture of gunpowder might be extracted.

Champagne Charlie: (9 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #V17415}

"I've seen a deal of gaiety throughout my noisy life; With all my grand accomplishments I ne'er could get a wife... For Champagne Charlie is my name (x2), Good for any game at night my boys." The singer details his drunken life

Michael McCarthy bets that his twenty-pound bulldog Champion can beat all comers. He matches him with a black-and-tan terrier to fight in a ring in the bog. The terrier kills the bulldog. McCarthy kicks the terrier into the bog for revenge

Champion of Coute Hill, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7066 and 9209}

William White meets Kate and convinces her to "try our skill" on Coute Hill. Though "manys a time he said to me 'No one I love but thee'," he marries Belle Madel, leaving her "ruined right, by William White, the champion of Coute Hill"

Champion of Moose Hill, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4157}

"You people all, both great and small, I pray you lend an ear." The singer, Emery Mace, who likes to fight, recalls getting drunk on Moose Hill. He gets into a fight; Mrs. Giles lays him out. He will stop fighting and says that Helen is the new Champion

Young Chance McGear, against his parents' advice, becomes a logger. While he and his partner are loading logs, one swings around and strikes him in the head, killing him. The logging company sends his body back to his parents.

Chandler's Wife, The: (7 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #10256}

(The tailor's boy) goes to the chandler's shop; he hears a "knock, knock, knock" overhead. He surprises the chandler's wife with the apprentice boy. Men should either watch their wives or give them so much (knock, knock, knock) that they want no more

Change Islands Song: (3 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #6343}

Describes the work of the men from Change Islands as they move up north along the coast. Activities include fishing, hunting seals, and canning berries -- but there is a scarcity of everything this time. Only the fishing improves a little later.

Jump-rope rhyme. "Changing bedrooms number 1, Changing bedrooms number 2, Changing bedrooms number 3, Everybody out."

Fury sails for the Brewery at one o'clock. The mate is drunk so the frightened nipper has to steer. After nine hours they land, thankful to have avoided "the cowld Torrid Zone Or the deserts of Nova Zimbley." They jump to the bank and walk home

French. The singer, a soldier, deserts for love of a brunette; in the process of deserting, he kills his captain. He is captured by his comrades; before they shoot him, he confesses his love for the brunette, and asks them not to tell his mother

French. The governor asks the messenger what is the news. He reports a disaster, territory taken and people slain. The governor warns the people to prepare to flee

French: "Voulez-vous ecouter chanter Une chanson de verite?" Describes the Metis defense of their land against the English. Singer Pierre Falcon tells how the Metis defeated and pursued the English invaders

"C'est au champ de bataille, j'ai fait ecrir' douleurs. On couche sur la paille, ca fait fremir les coeurs." Riel's letter from prison describes his grief and pain and asks friends and family pray for him and the country he fought for

Canadian French: "De Macdougall, amis, chantons la gloire." "Friends, let us sing to... glory of the great McDougall." McDougall, the "Sovereign Ruler," sets out in luxury to announce his appointment, but opposition is strong and he ends up drunk

French. The fishermen of Baie Ste-Anne and Escuminac go out expecting to return but the sudden storm takes 35 lives. Hearers are told to be prepared to meet God suddenly. Life is like a large ocean and each day we go toward eternity as in a light boat.

"The Coal Quay market in my native town O! that's the dwelling where 'tis easy telling If your sense of smelling is not up to snuff." There are second-hand bookstands, organ monkeys, "animals in congregation," and other assorted riff-raff

"I'm a jolly good fellow, Pat Gregg is my name. I come from Chapeau, that village of fame." The singer and others hire out "to go up the Black River... for to cut the hay." Most of the song describes the trip to and from the farm

"Now coil up your nonsense 'bout England's great Navy, And take in your slack about oak-hearted Tars, For frigates as stout, and as gallant crews have we." The singer boasts of the successes of the War of 1812

"A charge to keep I have, a God to glorify, A never-dying soul to save, And fit it for the sky. Arm me with jealous care, As in thy sight to live, Thy servant, Lord, prepare, A strict account to give. To serve the present age, My calling to fulfill...."

The singer hears two people discussing "Wealthy people and their greed" and farmers with good crops "all applying for the charity seed." In good times, food is plentiful, but the bad brought "great distress"; now Gladstone will repair the matter

Anderson, the singer, is about to be hanged. He had had a good childhood, but went away to sea on the "Saladin." There he joined in a conspiracy with one Fielding; they murdered the ship's captain and others. Now he must pay the price

The pirate recalls his tender parents and his inheritance, but he paid no heed. "No pity have I ever shown, Lord, who would pity me, But here I lie and long to die." He tells of his adventures with his "bloody knife." He bids farewell to his family

Charles Guiteau [Laws E11]: (35 refs. 64K Notes) {Roud #444}

Charles Guiteau, having assassinated President Garfield, is unable to escape the law. His insanity defense is rejected, and he is sentenced to die.

"Twas on the quarter deck that I saw my love stand... He's the hero of bonny Carlo." Before they parted "he spoke a few... words which I could not understands" She watches his ship sail out of sight. She returns home and weeps all night

"It was a pleasant August evening, an the city was at rest, Peace and quiet reigned on every hand, When a dreadful crash was heard...." An earthquake hits the city. There is much damage; some residents are killed. The song begs for relief.

Floating verses: The terrapin and the toad, the overworked old horse whose owner will tan its hide if it dies, dancing with the girl with the hole in her stocking. Chorus: "Hibo, for Charleston gals, Charleston gals are the gals for me."

"Charley Barley, buck and rye, What's the way the Frenchmen fly? Some fly east, and some fly west, And some fly over the cuckoo' nest." "Charley Barley, butter and eggs, Sold his wife for three duck eggs, When the ducks began... Charley Barley flew away"

"If you ever go to lumbering woods, Please take my advice": don't work for Charley Bell. His spruce is rotten, his road is too crooked to be steered, his food squeals when bitten, and you get eaten alive by lice from Charley.

Nine miners are riding a car out of the mine when the chain breaks. The car falls back into the mine, and all nine are killed

Singing game, with a child in the center who tries to catch those who dance in a ring around him. "Charley over the water, Charley over the sea, Charlie catch a blackbird, Can't catch me."

The singer sets out "to gain the heart o' Charlie." She milks his cow, churns his cream, washes his clothes, shines his shoes and has sex. The midwife delivers little Charlie. Now she is bound for life as wife while her friends can all go to Fife.

Jump-rope rhyme. "Charlie Chaplin came to Duluth To have a dentist pull his tooth, First he hollered, then he screamed, Then he asked for a dish of ice cream."

Jump-rope rhyme. "Charlie Chaplin has big feet, He thinks he owns the whole darn street. If the street were made of glass, Charlie would fall and break his... Don't get excited, don't get alarmed, Charlie would fall and break his arm."

Counting-out rhyme. "Charlie Chaplin (Hitler, Bettie Grable) Sat on a pin. How many inches Did it go in? One, two, three...."

Jump-rope rhyme: "Charlie Chaplin washing up, Broke a saucer and a cup, How much did they cost?"

"Charlie Chaplin went to France, To teach the girls (the hula) dance, A heel, a toe, around we go. Salute to the captain, Bow to the queen, Touch the bottom of the submarine." Others (Betty Grable, Shirley Temple, Marco Polo) may replace Chaplin

Jump-rope rhyme: "Charlie Chaplin went to war, When he came back his pants were tore."

"Charlie, Charlie stole (some/the) barley, Out of the baker's shop. The baker came out, And gave him a clout, Which made poor Charlie hop." May be used as a jump-rope rhyme

Charlie Chuck Married a Duck: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #19303}

"Charlie Chuck Married a duck. The duck died And Charlie cried, Sitting by the fireside."

"(Charlie/Geordie" (had/was) a pigeon a pigeon a pigeon, Charlie had a pigeon a pigeon had he. It flew in the morning, it flew in the night, and when it came home it was covered in..."

"Foremost of all in the battle's red lightning with the boys from West Cork was this man from Barr Lia." While wounded and surrounded Hurley continued to fight. "Soon his cruel rivals were lying at his feet." He died the same day as the Crossbarry ambush.

Charlie Is My Darling: (13 refs. 6K Notes) {Roud #5510}

Charlie comes to town; he spies a lass. He runs up the stairs; she opens the door, and he sets her on his knee. The rest is left to imagination. Chorus: "Charlie he's my darling, my darling, my darling/Charlie he's my darling, the young Chevalier"

The singer, asleep in Philadelphia, dreams of Glen Ullin church. The McLaughlins are preaching, and Irish heroes such as the Parnells and Dan O'Connell are present. His wife shakes him awake, and he realizes he is far from the old home

"'Twas in the month of April when our youngest widow wed, And it was almost eight o'clock before they went to bed." "The boys" have a party and call on Charlie Knell for music, wine, a dance hall. The quieter people wish they'd stop ringing bells

"There was a farmer on Isladale, Possessions he had mony. He had an only daughter fair...." The girl Annie falls in love with her father's servant Charlie Mackie. The father dismisses Charlie. She grows sick, is sent to the sea, and finds Charlie

Charlie MacPherson [Child 234]: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3881}

MacPherson comes to (Kinaldie) to wed Helen. Arriving, he is told that she has gone to wed at Whitehouse. MacPherson sets out for Whitehouse, but finding her apparently truly married, he wishes her well.

"A long time ago... all they had to drink was nothing but cups of tea." Then came Charlie Mopps, who invented beer. This brought him great praise and even a ticket into heaven. "Lord bless Charlie Mopps, the man who invented beer!"

Charlie Napier Gordon: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #6795}

Charlie Napier Gordon gives a girl and her father a ride in his gig. He has the father get out and abducts the girl. She screams, the gig overturns and a weaver sees Charlie try to rape her. She gets away and Charlie bribes the weaver to keep quiet.

Charlie over the Ocean: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #729}

"Charlie over the ocean (x3), Charlie over the sea." "Charlie caught a (blackbird/blackfish) (x2), Can't catch me."

A story of Charlie Quantrell, the Kansas highwayman who raided Nebraska and Missouri (during the Civil War). He is held up as a noble robber who stole from the rich and gave to the poor. The plot follows "Brennan on the Moor," on which the song is based

"Another jolly cowboy has gone to meet his fate. We hope he'll find a resting place inside the Golden Gate." Charlie Rutledge is the third man to die on the XIT range. One of the cattle tries to escape, Charlie heads it off; in the confusion, Charlie dies

Jump-rope rhyme. "Charlie, Charlie, Chuck, Chuck, Chuck, Went to bed with two old ducks. One died, the other cried, Charlie, Charlie, Chuck, Chuck, Chuck"

Charlie, O Charlie (Pitgair): (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2584}

The farm owner prepares for a trip, instructing Charlie in how to run the farm in his absence, e.g. "To the loosin' ye'll put Shaw, Ye'll pit Sandison to ca'." He gives orders to the workers also, including Missy Pope, who will "sit in the parlor neuk."

Charlotte the Harlot (I): (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4839}

When a rattlesnake slips into the vagina of Charlotte the Harlot, "the pride of the prairie," her cowboy boyfriend draws his pistol, shoots at the snake, but kills Charlotte instead. Her funeral procession is forty miles long.

Not a ballad at all, this song is a paean to Charlotte's promiscuity.

Charlotte, or Lupe, is now the singer's "Mexican whore." The song celebrates her sexual career from cradle to grave.

In this formula song, Charlotte wears differently colored clothing in each stanza.

The singer recalls "Carolina, the cow-puncher's whore." One day he finds her using a stick rather than a man to fulfill her needs, so he takes over. His energy is such that he blows her into a swamp. She expresses great satisfaction but dies

"I'm Charlotte the Harlot, The queen of the whores, The pride of Picadilly, All covered with sores, Oh, you should smell me When I lift up my drawers, I'm Charlotte the Harlot, The queen of the whores."

"Charlotte the Harlot lay dying, A piss-pot supported her head." She declares, "I've been had by the army, the navy..." and many other things, although, until now, not maggots. She tries to repent, but her ghost haunts the town, repeating her refrain

"Ague, ague, I thee defy! Three days shiver, Three days shake; Make me well for Jesus's sake." Or "...I thee defy; Ague, ague, to this tree I thee tie." Magical rhymes to get rid of ague

The singer and a girl are in love. When her parents learn of it, they lock her away from him. At last he goes away and serves in the army for seven years, hoping to forget. When he returns home, he learns that she has died for love; he goes mad or nearly

"Passing down by York Street mill" the singer meets Mary Brown, "charming Belfast Lass." She agrees go with him "to yon rural plain." "Our talk of love was all sincere As on the flowery banks we lay." The next day they go to church and are married.

Charming Blue-eyed Mary: (7 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3230}

Jimmy meets Mary, "got the will of" her, and gives her a diamond ring as a token. He returns from sea after eight months as a captain. He proposes. She accepts.

"My name is (Ephraim Brown), a farmer, near Plymouth I reside." He hopes to marry a girl, but the two cows he has given her father are enough; the father wants another. Then he kisses her after she had eaten onions, and declares he wants her no more

Charming Little Girl (I): (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #11381}

"There's a charming little girl, Just the sweetest in the world, And I love her, for she's pretty and refined." "If I knew that she loved me, What a different man I'd be, I would kiss that little girl and call her mine." He isn't interested in other girls

"Charming Molly, fair, brisk, and gay, Like nightingales in May, All round her eyelids young Cupids play." The "swains" all admire her for her beauty. "Chaming Molly she is all divine."

The singer falls "head 'n heels in love with charming Sally Ann." He finds her "frying sausingers for Bob." When he asks her to return his jewelry she runs off with Bob. Eventually Bob and Sally Ann are taken prisoner. The singer gets his jewelry back

Singer mourns the loss of his sweetheart, whose name he can't reveal. He thinks of their days together, which she has forgotten. "It's now I am rejected, forsaken and forlorn, for the sake of that fair one I'm dying." "How I long for the girl that I love"

The singer meets a young widow with a baby on a train. They talk; she claims to see her husband's partner and flees the train, leaving him the baby. As the train pulls out, he finds she has stolen his watch and purse and left him a fake child

Chase of the O. L. C. Steer: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #12500}

"Did you ever hear of the O L C Steer With widely flaring horns He smashes the trees as he splits the breeze And the cowboy ropes he scorns." Cowboys Rap, Johnny, and Bob vow to catch the steer, but it escapes and they spend their lives making excuses

Chase the Buffalo (I): (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1026}

Lads and "girls of New England," let's seek "new pleasures ... on the banks of the pleasant Ohio." There's plenty of fish, grain in Kentucky, gold from the New Mexico. Girls spin, lads farm, and we'll range the wild woods and hunt the buffalo.

"Ev'rybody teeter up and down, Grab 'em by the waist an' a whirl them around, An' around an' around an' around." "Chase the squirrel, chase the squirrel, Chase the purty girl round the world...." "First to the center, then to the wall...."

Chase, Chase the Hairy Elephant: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #31511}

"Chase, chase, chase the hairy/baldy elephant That never told a lie on (someone); that was (someone else)."

"I chased old Satan through the door, Hit him in the head with a two-by-four, I'm gonna wear a starry crown over there." Humorous verses about the singer's religious progress.

Chastity Belt, The: (2 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #10125}

The singer asks, "Gentle maiden, may I be your lover." She cannot; she is married to Sir (Oswald), who is off to the wars with the key to her chastity belt. A locksmith cannot free her. Sir Oswald returns but has lost the key. But his page has a duplicate

Chatham Merchant, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #11037}

"In Chatham lived a merchant, a very wealthy man" who has a beautiful daughter. Rich men court her, but she loves a solder. She disguises herself and becomes his comrade. He is wounded. She helps him recover. They return home and greet her father

Chatsworth Wreck, The [Laws G30]: (9 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2198}

A train is bringing happy travelers to Niagara Falls when it crashes through a burned bridge and is wrecked. A hundred people are killed

French: "C'etait l'automn' dernier, J'etais travailer, Je m'en vas au Grand Tronc, c'etait pour m'engager." The penniless singer goes to the Grand Trunk (railway) to look for a job. He is made to shovel coal till he is exhausted. He warns of the work

Chorus: "Chaun fine my dear hunney." On Saturday night I go to town. I look behind the trees and bushes [for a girl?]. I wash my pot, boil it sweet, sweep the house, clean my knife, make my bed soft and....

"Oh, I haven't got pipe nor 'backer... I haven't got short, and my brad boots hurt, For I'm not a-wearin' socks. Oh, the wangan's all enchanted, boys... And I don't give a dam what's the price of ham, 'Way up on the Chebungo trail."

"My name is Joseph Pennman, I have a comrade, Jack. I'll tell you why I left the States...." "I caught the Klondike fever." "We boated down the Yukon."Having reached Dawson, the singer finds much misery and little gold. He returns home

"Cheer up, 'Sycamore,' They're known everywhere. They knocked down 'Liberty' And left them lying there. 'Liberty' cried... But mercy wasn't there.... It's a rare old team to play for... There's going to be a fight, And good old 'Sycamore' will be there"

Cheer Up, Cheer Up Ye Auld Horse: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #13526}

"Cheer up, cheer up, ye auld horse Ye'll never harrow here again"

Minstrel song. Former slave tells of his love for Sarah Bell. He offered all he had, but she left him for a white man with money. Cho: "Cheer up Sam, now don't let your spirits go down, for there's many a belle that we know is lookin for you in town."

"Cheer up, (Russell) Street, It's known everywhere...." "It's a rare old street to play for, It's a rare old street to know." The street has a sad history. The competing singers don't care about success or failure; they intend to go where there is a row

Cheer, Boys, Cheer (II): (5 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #13845}

"Cheer, boys, cheer! No more of idle sorrow, Courage, true hearts, shall bear us on our way." The sailors (soldiers? emigrants?) are urged to be happy as they leave England in search of fortune. They set out for a new land

"Cheer, boys, cheer, the polling day's before us, Head of the poll we'll have our hero brave... Cheer, boys, cheer, we'll crush the Wakefield faction... Cheer, boys, cheer, for gallant Featherston." "May God defend the right"

Cheer, Boys, Cheer (IV): (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #11621}

"There are many ups and downs as through this world we ramble," so the singer will be as happy as possible, despite being poor, while drinking and smoking. His wife is a great source of trouble, always complaining (and abusing him when he spills the milk)

"Cheer, boys, cheer! My mother has a mangle, Cheer, boys, cheer! She fills it with stones... She turns it with the handle, For she mangles all me clothes." Or, "My brother turns the handle... My sister gives out the clothes."

Shanty. "Oh, Nancy Dawson, hio! Cheer'ly, man! She's got a notion, hio! Cheer'ly, man! For our old bosun, hio! Cheer'ly, man, Oh! hauley, hio! Cheer'ly, man!" Various women are mentioned, perhaps linked to members of the crew, who are urged to pull hard

French. "Le chef de gare, il est coucou (x2), Qui est coucou? Le chef da gare, C'est que sa femme voulut -- voulut -- oh..ee...." The station chief is "cuckoo." Who is cuckoo? The station chief. It's because his wife is... uh-oh...."

"I have a father in the prog ni lo, And you have a father in the prog ni lo, We all have a father in the prog ni lo." "Nee I ravy, Nee-shi, nee-shi ni-go, Three I three-by an shee prog no lo." "I have a (brother/mother/sister) in the prog ni lo."

"Cherries are Ripe, cherries are ripe, (The robin sang one day)." Various endings: cherries are given to the baby, or the students greet their teacher. The origin might be a cherry-sellers cry: "Cherry ripe, cherry ripe, Some are black and some are white"

"We expect hard times, we expect hard fare." "Then ho, boys, ho, to Cherry Creek we'll go, There's plenty of gold in the west, we are told, in the new Eldorado." Many seek the Pikes Peak gold. Girls who are disappointed should wait a year.

Cherry Orchard, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #17055}

Singer remembers meeting Louise "down in the old cherry orchard." "She sang love songs to me." "She spoke those words that set my heart aflame." He told her love stories.

"You rivermen have surely heard About the appropriation That was made to clear our little ditch." Cherry Tree Joe McCreery is given the job. The workers praise and curse him; tall tales are told about him; now phantom raftsmen chase his ghost

"Oh, a cherry tree's a pretty tree When it is in full bloom; And so is a handsome young man When he a-courting goes." The young man claims to be well to do, and wins the girl; now she finds herself poor, with no land and no home

Cherry-Tree Carol, The [Child 54]: (48 refs. 19K Notes) {Roud #453}

Joseph and Mary are walking. Mary asks Joseph for some of the cherries they are passing by, since she is pregnant. Joseph tells her to let the baby's father get them. The unborn Jesus orders the tree to give Mary cherries. Joseph repents

The U.S.S. Chesapeake sails out of Boston Harbor, confident of victory, to engage H.M.S. Shannon. The well-trained British crew of Captain Broke quickly defeats the American ship and takes it as a prize

A sailor on H.M.S. Shannon narrates how, on the "fourth" (!) of June, his ship sailed out to meet the U.S.S. Chesapeake. After only ten minutes of fighting the British (who claim to have been outnumbered) board the American and strike her colours

Captain Broke of H.M.S. Shannon challenges Captain Lawrence of U.S.S. Chesapeake to battle. The Chesapeake comes out to meet the enemy; within minutes the two ships are locked together (and the British are boarding the American vessel)

"It was just against the Cheshire Gate, A story true I will relate, Of two neighbors and their wives, How they led their wanton lives, And went to bed with each other's...." While one drinks or travels, his spouse fools around with the neighbor

"A Cheshire man sailed into Spain To trade for merchandize." A Spaniard boasts "what fruit and spices fine Our land produces twice a year." The Cheshire man shows his Cheshire cheese "our land brings twice a day." They duel. "Never let the Spaniard boast"

"Let tyrants shake their iron rods... We fear them not, we trust in God, New England's God forever reigns." The generals who would conquer America are listed. The song glories in the victory of "beardless boys" over veterans. God is thanked

Jump-rope rhyme and school cheer (?). "Chew tobacco, chew tobacco, Spit on the wall. Who do we appreciate Most of all"

"I stood in a corner chewing gum, Along came (Jerry/a tramp) and said he wanted some, No, you dirty idler, No, you dirty bum, You ought to have a lickin'"

Jamaican patois: A company of birds: some holler, some call. A succession of birds flies over: each time, some holler and some call: blackbirds, night owls, long tails, "john crows" (vultures) ...

"Oh I have been east and I have been west, For in traveling a man may afar go Before he will find... A town to compare with Chicago." They won't let you life there unless you're a swindler, drunk, womanizer, gambler; clergy are banned; there are no morals

Jump-rope rhyme. "Chicken in the car and the car won't go,That's the way to spell Chicago."

The story of the factory and town of Chichester. When founded by Eli Chichester, the workers were treated fairly and liked the conditions. Hard times forced the factory into bankruptcy and a takeover, and the singer left. Now he wishes he had stayed

"Chick, chick, chick, chick, chicken, Lay a little egg for me! Chick, chick, chick, chick, chicken, I want one for my tea, I haven’t had an egg since Easter, And now it’s half past three, So, chick, chick, chick, chick, chicken, Lay a little egg for me!"

"Cap'n, go side-track you' train, Chicka-hanka, chicka-hanka, chicka-hanka! Cap'n, go side-track yo' train, Chicka-hanka, chicka-hanka, chicka-hanka! Number three in line, A-comin' in on time, Cap'n, go side-track yo' train! Chicka-hanka...."

Chickadee Song, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4382}

"The ground was all covered in snow one day, And two little sisters were busy at play, When a snowbird was sitting on a tree, And merrily singing his chick-a-dee-dee." The girls wish they could bring the chickadee inside to make it warm

"Chickee chickee ma craney crow, Went to the well to wash my big toe, When I got there one of my black-eyed chickens was gone, What time o' day is it, old witch?" The witch answers, and eventually is allowed to catch one of the chickens circling her

"Chicken, oh, you chicken, went up in a balloon, Chicken, oh, you chicken, roost behind the moon.... Tell it all to the bad boy, chicken don't roost so high... When they see me coming All round this old plantation, There can't be a chicken seen."

Singer tells chicken not to roost too high, but to come down out of his tree. Sometimes there are other verses about chasing a chicken to kill and eat, but mostly this is a fiddle tune with incidental verses

Chorus: "Can't dance, chicken foot, Can't dance nothing." Verses may float: "All them girls 'cross the river, Got my heart and part of my liver." "Old Mrs. Tally, I want your daughter, To cut my wood and tote my water." "I'm often drunk and seldom sober"

Chicken Pecking on a Tamborine: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #11370}

"As I went down to a 'tater patch, Tou-rink, dur-ink, fol-dink a-di-de-o... Up jumped an old chicken and she did scratch." "Went to the river and I couldn't get across." "Up jumped an old hen and told me of her dream... chckens a-pecking on a tambourine"

"Chicken run fast, chicken run slow, Chicken run past the Methodist preacher, Chicken never run no more." "Turkey run fast, turkey run slow, Turkey run past the Baptist preacher." "Water (?!) run fast... Water run past the Campbellite preacher."

Chickens They Are Crowing: (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3650 and 14005}

Playparty, apparently about a girl who has spent all night with her lover: "Chickens they are crowing, For it's almost daylight." "My father he will scold me...." "My mama will uphold me...." (Others may add other sentiments or warn about boys)

Jump-rope rhyme. "Chickety, chickety, chop, How many times before I stop?" Presumably followed by a count

"Come all of you good people And listen while I tell The story of Chief Aderholt, The man you all know well." Aderholt is shot in Union Ground. The police imprison and prepare to try labor leaders; the singer calls on hearers to join the union

Chieftain's Daughter, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6793}

Lord Ronald's daughter asks the boatman to "row me over the flowing tide ... Thou shalt have gold when I'm a bride." At first he refuses because of the "angry water" but he agrees when told who she is. The boatman gets his gold.

"Chiefy loves me, this I know, 'Cos the watchbill tells me so. I've the middle watch to keep While me mtes is fast asleep."

Creole French: "Il y a un petit chien chez nous, Que remue les pattes (x2)... Que remue les pattes tout comme vous." "There is a little dog at our house... who shakes his feet just like you."

"I'd like to wander back again To days of long ago, To sit within the circle there and watch the firelight glow." The singer wishes to be back at mother's knee, and remembers all the good times to be had there and then

Child in the Budget, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2993}

Tinkers, out drinking, exhaust their funds. One puts his baby in his tool bag and pawns the bag. When the baby cries the pawnbroker laughs at being outwitted, finds the tinker, and gives him a pound to take back the toolbag and contents.

"Honnd by honnd we schulle ous take, And joy and blisse schulle we make....." "A child is boren amoges man, And in that child was no wam [blemish], That child ys God, that child is man...." "Com to Crist, thy peys ys told."

Child Maurice [Child 83]: (19 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #53}

Child Maurice sends his page with love-tokens to "the very first woman that ever loved me." Her husband hears the page, finds Child Maurice, kills him, and brings the head to his wife. She reveals this was her son; he repents his murder. (They also die.)

Child of Elle (II), The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #23}

Emmeline's father chooses a knight to be her husband. She and Elle elope. The knight follows and Elle kills him. Her father and his men arrive. Elle calls on his own men. Standoff. Father agrees to their marriage, ending an old feud.

"If anybody asks you who I am... Tell him I'm a child of God." "Peace on earth, Mary rocks the cradle... The Christ child born in glory." The singer reports on the coming of the Christ child, and reports being on the way to glory

"Child of sorrow and of care, Would thou learn thy grief to bear, And an escape frome every snare? Trust in God. Human strength is weak, in vain... Humble ask and help obtain From thy God... He will never leave his own Till we reach the shiny throne."

"A little child on a sick-bed lay, And to death seemed very near." The child's father is a railroad engineer, and must go to work. He bids the mother show a red light if the child dies and a green if the news was good. As he drives by, she shows the green

Child Owlet [Child 291]: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3883}

Lady Erskine wants Child Owlet to sleep with her. Owlet will not; Lord Ronald (Erskine's husband) is Owlet's uncle. Erskine takes revenge by cutting herself and accusing Owlet of raping her. Owlet is torn to pieces between wild horses

Child Waters [Child 63]: (24 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #43}

Ellen tells Child Waters she bears his child. Offered two shires of land, she would prefer one kiss. He rides; she runs, swims; as his page, she brings a lady for his bed, gives birth in the stable. He hears her wish him well and herself dead; he relents

"Way out in western Texas not so many years ago, Where the ranchers hated settlers worse than rattlesnakes, you know," a rancher determines to burn out a settler house. But he hears a child inside praying for her father and quickly calls off the attack

"Child Ether and Lady Maisry Were born baith at ae birth." They love each other all their lives. Childe Ether goes to fight the Paynim to build his reputation but does not return. Lady Maisry seeks him out in Gorinand, pays his ransom, and brings him home

Childhood Days (I): (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #29672}

"Oh. we love to think of youthful and happy childhood days; They come like sweet music borne to me." The singer remembers the games and the other children. He wishes he could go back and visit those times

"O member, will you linger? See the children do linger here. I go to glory with you, Member, join." "O Jesus is our Captain... He lead us on to glory." "We'll meet at Zion gateway... We'll talk this story over." "He will bring you milk and honey"

Children Go Where I Send Thee: (13 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #133}

Cumulative song: "Children, go where I send thee. How shall I send thee? I'm gonna send thee one by one, One for the little bitty baby...." Add "Two by two, two for Paul and Silas" on up to "Twelve for the Twelve Apostles."

Two young orphaned children are left in the care of their uncle. He decides to murder them for their money. One of the hired killers has pity and spares them, but then abandons them. They die. The uncle meets countless disasters till his crime is revealed

"(I wonder where is (Moses/Master/Peter/Jonas) and he must be dead) (3x), Oh the children of the wilderness moan for bread."

Chorus: "Children we shall all be free (x3), When the Lord shall appear." Verses: We want "valiant hearted men ... not afraid to die." The pilgrim "with glory in his soul ... bids this world adieu." Christ will raise the dead and they will talk

"Good Valentine's Day morning. "Blow the oats against the wind. We are ragged and you are fine, So please to give us a Valentine." "Rags behind and rags before, Pray, old lady, remember the poor." "We're hard up, hard up, without food or fire."

"Will the waters be chilly, Oh chilly, be chilly? Will the waters be chilly When I am called to die?"

Characteristic line: "I'm going where the chilly winds don't blow." The others may complain about life, weather, or women: "I'm leaving in the spring, ain't coming back till fall." "Who'll be your daddy while I'm gone"

China Merchant, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #5865}

A chinaware merchant lodges with a baker's wife. She plots with her husband and servant to rob the merchant: the servant won't kiss the merchant until he shaves. They plan to pick his pocket while he is being shaved. The barber warns him. He escapes.

Dennis Clancy grew rich among the Chinese Tea growers. He died and left all to his nephew who takes the name Ling Chung Chang Awong, wears his hair "in one long plait" and plans to "found an Irish colony." He leaves Ireland for Hong Kong.

"Thre's a land that bears a well-known name, Though it's not a little spot"; it's the land of the Chinamen. The Chinese are trying to get free. He works hard to get ahead. The singer concludes that "There's many worse than a Chinaman."

Chinaman, Chinaman (Ching, Ching, Chinaman): (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #10348? 19308? 20094?}

"Chinaman, Chinaman, Walking down the street, Chinaman, Chinaman, Close your eyes and Jump on one foot to nine." "Ching Chong Chinaman, Bought a toy doll... Then it caught a cold.... Doctor couldn't come, Because he had a pimple On his tum, tum, tum"

Forebitter with a pidgin-English chorus. Story involves a sailor (Wing Chang Loo) of the Yangtze who falls in love with a girl who is herself in love with a pirate. Loo declares war on the pirate, a battle ensues that ends up blowing up both their ships.

Motion song. "My ship sailed from China with a cargo of tea, All laden with presents for you and for me. They brought me a fan -- Just imagine my bliss -- When I fan myself daily, Like this, like this, like this, like this."

"Chinee love a girl": white man's daughter or black man's daughter. The wind blows high (sometimes, with a big sea) and blows the girl away, or gives her a black eye.

"Me no likee English sailor When Yankee sailor come ashore. English sailor plenty money; Yankee sailor plenty more.... English sailor call me Chinese whore. Yankee sailor only shag for short time; English sailor shag forevermore."

"Once there was a little boy" who was "fair and brave"; his father equipped him as a hunter. But the boy's friend Chinkapin had no horse and no hunter's clothes, but the first boy, nicknamed "Captain Beau," finds ways for them to hunt together

"Chip, chip, cherry, All the men in (London)derry, Can't climb chip, chip, cherry." A riddle, supposed answer being smoke from a chimney

"From mountains covered deep with snow... Where once dwelt Ouray, the king of the land, With Chipeta his queen...." The Utes battle the whites, and disaster threatens. Ouray, striken with Bright's Disease, cannot lead; Chipeta bears his orders for peace

Chippewa Girl, The [Laws H10]: (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1938}

The singer sees a pretty Chippewa girl and proposes marriage. She refuses him, saying she is too young and her parents would not approve. The two part amicably, with the singer making a few general remarks about marriage

Chisholm Trail (I), The: (40 refs. 6K Notes) {Roud #3438}

Stories of the troubles of a cowboy watching the herds. Characterized by the chorus, "Come-a ti yi yippy, yippy yea, yippy yea, Come-a ti yi yippy, yippy yea, yippy yea." Dozens of verses, printable and unprintable, cover all parts of the cowboy life

Chisholm Trail (II), The: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3438}

This is a virtually endless sexual adventure of a cowboy punching the "goddam" herd. Versions of this ballad vary greatly, including laments for having contracted venereal disease from either the minister's or the Old Man's daughter.

"The most chivalrous fish of the ocean, To ladies forbearing and mild, Though his record be dark Is the man-eating shark Who will eat neither woman nor child." The song details instances of the shark eating men but rescuing women and the young

"A pack of foxhounds ... [is] hunting an old bitch fox." After six miles the fox climbs a three storey house and taunts her pursuers. One calls off the hounds to give her a chance. She wishes she were safe under ground, but toasts his good health.

Choice of a Wife, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #3695}

"I will tell you the way I have heard some say To choose you a lovely young creature, To choose you a wife you would love as your life...." The singer says her heart should "be her best part" -- but demands blue eyes, brown hair, slender waist and ankles

"Broke an' hungry, ragged an' dirty too (x2), Jes' want to know, baby, kin I go home wid you?" The singer describes how a hard life made him turn rambler, and promises her subtle rewards. He hopes to find a woman "an' roam no' mo.'"

"My mother gave me a penny to see Jack Benny; I did not see Jack Benny, I bought some chewing gum." "My mother gave me a nickel to buy a pickle...I bought some chewing gum." The singer chews so much gum that she cries gum rather than tears

"Oh, Lordy, just give me a long white robe" (x2). "In the heaven, choose you a seat and set down" (x4). "Oh Jesus, was my mother there?" "Oh Lordy, was my brother there?"

"Choose, choose, who'll ye tak, Who'll ye tak, who'll ye tak? Choose, choose, who'll ye tak, A lassie or a laddie?" "I widnae ha' a laddie-o, A laddie-o, a laddie-o... I'd rather hae a lassie."

"Through rocky arroyas so dark and so deep, Down the sides of the mountains so slippery and steep... You're a safety conveyance my little Chopo." The singer praises his horse Chopo and describes the excellent service the animal has done

"Choppin' Charlie, Great Godamighty, Oh Choppin' Charlie, Oh My Lord." "Well he chopped all day." "He don't a-eat no dinner." "He chopped through his supper." "Well he chopped with a hatchet." "Well he choppin' for the sergeant"

Choring Song, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2157 and 2506}

Travellers' cant. Singer (Drummond) lay last night in a granary; now he's in prison, with "mort" (woman) and "kinshins" (children) scattered. If he gets back to stealing, he'll "moolie the gahnies [kill the hens] in dozens" to leave none to tell

The singer overhears a young woman lamenting her lover "gone over Chowan River." Her father had hired a captain to take her love away. The captain murdered her lover. Her father told her to take comfort and wait, but she drowns herself

Mary Ann sends Chrissey to borrow Aunt Margaret's dick [rooster] and set among the hens. In the morning the dick is gone. Chrissey goes out and finds it. Mary Ann will raise some chicks so "we won't have to bother Aunt Margaret for her dick"

Christ Church Bells: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1237}

"Hark! the bonny Christ Church Bells." The first and second bell ring "every day at four and ten Crys ... come to prayers." The small bell rings at nine "to call the beerers home" but no man "will leave his can 'Till he hears the mighty Tom"

Christ in the Garden: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4682}

The singer, wandering in a garden, meets a sorely troubled man. It proves to be Jesus. The singer kneels and begs forgiveness; Jesus grants it, and the singer goes out to spread the word

"Christ made a trance one Sunday at noon, He made it with his hand." Alternate opening: "O God's in France all Sunday." The power of Christ, and the dangers of hell, are told; listeners are warned to keep the sabbath and to teach their children well

Christ Was a Weary Traveler: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #11882}

"Christ was a weary trav'ler, He went from door to door, His occupation in life Was a-minist'ring to the poor." Jesus warns the disciples that his work is almost done, tells them what to do after his resurrection, and thanks God

Christ Was Born in Bethlehem: (14 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #1122}

"Christ was born in Bethlehem (x3) and in a manger lay." In stanzas of eight lines (but only two distinct), the song lights on Jesus' birth, his ministry, his betrayal, death, the empty tomb, and Jesus's resurrection

Gaelic. A lullaby for the baby Jesus. The singer (presumably Mary) describes the child's beauty, admits her role in great events, and praises the "white sun of hope"

"Christian, fight on, your time ain't long (x2), I step in the water and the water was cold, It chilled my body but not my soul. Christian, fight on...." "I've been 'buked and I've been scored, I've been talked about sa sure as you're born."

"Every child of God is running for Jesus Just to drive that automobile." "Prayer is your driver, Faith is your steering wheel." Check your brakes (wicked ways), ... Start your automobile ... I'm not worried about my parking space ... See my Savior.

Christine Leroy [Laws H31]: (7 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2193}

The dying singer tells how happy her marriage was -- until beautiful Christine Leroy showed up and stole her husband. Now "you can tell then they murdered me, brother; God forgive him [her husband] and Christine Leroy"

"It was Christmas Day in the workhouse, That season of good cheer." The workhouse master wishes the inmates good cheer. They answer, "Balls." Offended, the master says he will cut off their pudding. One pauper tells him where to put the pudding

"Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat, Please put a penny in the old man's hat. If you haven't got a penny, a ha'penny will do. If you haven't got a ha'penny, then God bless you."

Christmas Letter, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5220}

Singer weeps and asks daughter Kate to reread letters from grandchildren in America. "One by one the lot of them Sailed out across the great big sea." The grandchildren are named and recalled. "Somehow it makes me better Ah, each time I hear the news"

"Christmas is now drawing near at hand, Pray, says the Lord, and be at his command." Hearers are reminded that man is made of clay. They are told to get on their knees in the garden. Hearers are warned about fine clothes and other idle display

Two underage boys are sentenced to fourteen days in jail for drinking Christmas rum. In jail they "worked from daylight until dark." Soon they'll be twenty-one and will be able to have "Christmas rum"

The singer remembers "Christmas time in Ireland far away" with feasting, fife and fiddle play, and dancing. There is sorrow for those in exile and hope "God might send them safely back some day"

Christopher Columbo: (16 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #4843}

Columbo, that navigating, masturbating son-of-a-bitch, sails the world round-o, master and crew engaging in a variety of sexual practices on land and sea.

Jump-rope rhyme. "Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean blue In fourteen hundred and ninety-two."

Jump-rope rhyme. "Christopher Columbus was a very brave man, He sailed the ocean in an old tin can/frying pan. But the waves grew higher and higher and over." Counting: Five, ten, fifteen, twenty....

Christopher Robin (Parody): (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #10240}

"Little boy kneels at the foot of the stairs" after castrating the cat. "Little boy kneels at the foot of the bed" where he is "shagging his nurse"; he "sits on a laboratory pan" to pleasure himself

Christopher White [Child 108]: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3974}

A lady, mourning Christopher White's banishment, is wooed by the singer. She warns "If I prove false to Christopher White, Merchant, I cannot be true to thee," -- but marries him. While he is away she sends for Christopher; they go off, taking much wealth

"It was chuck-time on the round-up, and we heard 'Old Doughy' shout, 'You had better come and get this or I'll throw the whole thing out.'" The cowboys scramble for food. They're proud of Doughy; "He's cooked for us for twenty years and never lost a man"

"Come gather round the wagon, we'll sing a little song Of the wagon racing, it will not take us long, There's thrills and spills and doctor bills...." A description of the life of a wagon racer, and of many of the people in the wagon camp

Church Across the Way, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #7438}

"On Easter Sunday morning when the sun was shinging clear," the congregation was having an intense service while the preacher's brother Ned lay dying across the way. The dying man wishes he had never gone astray

"The Church and State may gang tae Hell, And I'll gang to my dearie, O."

Some say Captain Kidd buried gold "galore" at Church Cove on the Southern Shore, which was guarded by "the ghost of a darkie." "A crew from Burin" found the gold but "got turned inside out from the fright." A witness's whiskers, once white, "turned foxy"

Church of God, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #15261}

Chorus: "The church of God that sounds so sweet, The church, the church of God (x2), that sounds so sweet." Verses: "Jesus told you once before Go in peace and sin no more" and other floating verses

"On Sunday afternoon, While the church was turning out," Vicar and Curate decide to compare how many members of the congregation they have slept, saying ding-dong or ping-pong. Thus it is revealed that the Curate has slept with the Vicar's wife

Church Without a Prophet, A: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #10865}

"A church without a prophet is not the church for me; It has no head to lead it, in it I would not be. But I've a church not built by man...." "The God that others worship is not the God for me." "A church without apostles is not the church...."

Church's One Foundation, The: (5 refs. 7K Notes) {Roud #5433}

"The Church's one foundation Is Jesus Christ her Lord, She is his new creation." The church draws people from everywhere. Jesus died for it. The singers hope to be taken to heaven

Spanish: "Ese lunar que tienes, cielito lindo." Chorus: "Ay ay ay ay, canta y no llores, Porque cantando se allegran, cielito lindo, los corazones." The singer tells the girl of his love and how Cupid's arrow struck his heart

In each verse, the singer goes someplace "the other day," drinks something alcoholic "behind the bar," and smokes a more-or-less expensive cigar.

"Cigarettes will spoil yer life, Ruin yer and kill yer baby, Poor little innocent child."

Skipping rhyme/game. "Cinderella at a ball, Cinderella had a fall, When she fell she lost her shoe, Cinderella, Y-O-U."

Cinderella Dressed in Yellow: (12 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #18410}

"Cinderella, dressed in yellow, Went downtown to see her fellow. How many kisses did the get?" "Made a mistake, And kissed a snake, How many doctors did it take?" "Dressed in red, Went downtown to buy some thread.... A fellow... shot her dead"

"You ought to see my Cindy, She lives 'way down south, She's so sweet the honeybees Swarm around her mouth. Get along, Cindy, Cindy...." Describes attempts to court Cindy, as well as her occasional extravagances. Many floating verses

Cantefable; "Railroad, a plank road, river and canoe/If it hadn't have been for Dr. Grey they wouldn't have killed old Jude." Old Jude was Dr. Grey's pregnant slave; Grey beat her to make her name the father, a white Gentleman; she died from the beating

"Circle four in London, And so I've heard then say, Right and left in London, And so I've heard them say." "Round the lady in London, And so..., Round the gent in London...." "Cut a figure eight in London...." "Twenty-five miles to sundown...."

"Yesterday a child came out to wander, Caught a dragonfly inside a jar," but as the "season they go 'round and 'round," the child becomes a teenager, then a young adult, and faces new dreams and new challenges

"Well, you know I have no permanent address, This rodeo cowboy's on the roam... The highway is a circuit rider's home." The rider mentions towns he has visited and horses he has ridden, and admits to whispering to the ladies before heading down the road

Irish Gaelic: Singer comes to bargain with his love's parents over her dowry. They cannot agree; they've heard he's married. He denies it; he only trifles with young women. He asks her to elope with him, or to marry in secret, or to emigrate with him

"Wellington City Countil, W. C. C., Wellington City Council, you're not he." (Or "Auckland City Council, A. C. C.," or "Christchurch City Council, see, see, see," or presumably any other town)

City of Boston (I): (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #18254}

Singer hears a woman mourning for her husband, lost on steamship City of Boston, bound to Liverpool from Halifax. He was "a gallant sailor ... A kind and loving husband" with six children. "Many now in Liverpool with aching hearts like me"

City of Boston (II): (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #V3333}

Father left "to cross the briny main, In the missing City of Boston." Child asks mother to stop crying: father "may arrive tomorrow." But he has dreamt he saw the City of Boston "sink beneath the briny wave And every soul... perish'd in watery grave"

"There is coming a time and it won't be long, You will attend to your business and let mine alone." "You better run." ("Run to the city of refuge.") "Paul and Silas bound in jail."

"You good folks don't scarcely know What we poor soldiers undergo... To defend our country from all harms." The singer described early drill, "lean and tough" beef, etc. The singer gives his name as A. T. Hyte, who wrote the song while on picket in winter

Clady River Water Bailiffs, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #13352}

The singer tells listeners where to go hunt salmon(-poachers). He praises the bailiffs who protect the streams, and describes how they watch the poachers. The bailiffs (?) will provide "dark and stormy weather" to any poachers on the water

French. The bugler, an old warrior, sounds the charge. The zouaves go to face the enemy. The bugler leads the charge on the bayonets, always sounding, sounding.

The speaker overhears Clancy praying, "May bad luck fall on one and all Who try to cut our wages." Clancy describes their misdeeds, accuses them of ruining New South Wales, and calls the devil down upon them.

Clap Hands, Clap Hands: (7 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #12963}

"Clap hands, clap hands, Till father/mammie comes home; For father's got money/Mammie will bring something But mother's got none/Daddy will bring none." Or, "...till Daddy comes home. Cake in his pocket For (someone) alone."

"(You/We) are all invited and the band is engaged, We are going to have some fun, For Clara (Nolan) gives a ball The day she's twenty-one, With borrowed knives and tablecloths... Be sure and bring your chair along"

"When, on Ramillies' bloody field, The baffled French were forced to yield, The victor Saxon backward reeled Before the charge of Clare's dragoons." The Irish soldiers proclaim their prowess and wish they were fighting for Ireland

"Clarence McFaden he wanted to waltz, But his feet was not gaited that way." His teacher charges high because "your right foot is lazy, your left foot is crazy." He puts a girl on crutches, and kicks the floorboards from his bed

"Clarksdale, Mississippi always going to be my home." "I can have a good time there and not have one lousy dime." "Every day in the week I go down to Midtown Drugs, Get me a bottle o' snuff, and a bottle of Alcorub."

Claude Allen [Laws E6]: (10 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2245}

Claude Allen is placed on trial and, due to the Governor's indifference, is handed over for execution, leaving his mother and sweetheart to mourn

Ethel is the singer. Poor Leon proposed to Ethel but she rejected him to marry wealthy Claude. Leon's mother cursed her. She has been married to Claude for 30 unhappy years. Leon dies on a battle field with Ethel's picture on his breast.

The singer walks out to hear the birds sing and see the fish swim when he is distracted by a girl. He asks her if she is Diana or Venus, and says he will serve for fourteen years, as Jacob did, to win her. She rejects him and leaves

"We went owre to Deavie' Clay Daubin, and faith, a rare caper we had." Various adventures: "For Jock the new laird was new wedded, His old sweetheart Jenny linked na'e, While some were all titter'n and flytin', The lads rubbed her down wi pease strae."

Clean Fireside, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #12997}

"He's a bonnie, bonnie lad But he's owre far fae me"

"There was a young sailor who looked through a glass, And spied a fair mermaid with scales on her... Island." The crew catches the mermaid, but she escapes, leaving them with a disease. "This song may be dull but it's certainly clean."

"Behold the lamb whose gracious blood Poured from his opening veins." "I do believe, I will believe, that Jesus died for me." "The dying thief beheld the lamb." "We, too, the cleansing power have known." "For him, then, let our songs ascend."

Clear Cauld Water, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6052}

"Farewell to whisky ... Now I wad leave ye a' for the clear cauld water." The singer bids farewell to ginshops, "a' drunken body," alewives, wine, porter, brandy, ruin, "filthy stews" and intemperance.

"Ho, the car Emancipation Rides majestic through the nation, Bearing on its train the story, Liberty! a nation's glory." Those who oppose freedom for the slaves are warned that the train is coming and will accomplish its end

"Clear the track For the maniac."

Cleedie's house stands like a mountain. The crows stop there as they go down to Mormond.

French. Conversation between parents and son. "Cher mom! On vient m' donner les clefs." The boy says that they are giving him the keys to the jail -- as in, they are going to hang him. He regrets knowing that he will die. His parents must fetch his body

The singer reports on the death of his beloved Clementine, the daughter of a (Forty-Niner). One day, leading her ducklings to water, she trips and falls in. The singer, "no swimmer," helplessly watches her drown

Clementine (Bawdy Version): (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #10257}

"There she stood beside the bar rail... I owe my darling, I owe my darling, I owe my darling Clementine" for her services. She gives amazing satisfaction. But now "that creeping poison ivy Laid its blight on Clementine"

Clerk Colvill [Child 42]: (10 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #147}

(Clerk Colvill) is warned (by his mother/lover) not to be too free with women. He refuses the advice; "Did I neer see a fair woman, But I wad sin with her body?" A woman gives him a fatal headache and turns into a mermaid to avoid being killed by him

Clerk in ta Offish, Ta: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #13099}

"Noo Rosie se'll be prood, and Rosie she'll be praw.. For ta praw, praw lad's come an' tookit her awa'; She's a praw lad, a clerk in an offish." The clerk's education, mathematical ability, and lack of ancestry are emphasized

Clerk Saunders [Child 69]: (13 refs. 5K Notes) {Roud #3855}

(Clerk Sanders) and his lady are determined to be wed despite the opposition of her seven brothers. Despite great pains to conceal their acts, they are found abed together. The brothers stab him to death and leave him in bed for his lady to find

The clerk's two sons go to (Paris/Blomsbury/Billsbury/Berwick) to study. They lay with the mayor's two daughters. The mayor condemns them to hang. The clerk comes to buy their freedom but the mayor refuses. He tells his wife they're at a higher school.

"'Twas early one bright morning in the merry month of May, We all went up to Warrenton to have a jolly play." The store owner goes to a funeral. In his absence, drunks call themselves store clerks and clean out the store at prices that bankrupt the owner

Click Go the Shears: (10 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #8398}

A description of shearing life: The race to shear the most sheep, the boss complaining of the quality, the constant clicking of the shears. The rules for shearing are briefly mentioned. Chorus: "Click, click, click, that's how the shears go...."

Cliffs of Baccalieu, The: (2 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #26209}

"We were homebound in October from the shores of Labrador) when a storm blows up, making visibility poor. The crew spots the deadly island of Baccalieu at the last moment and, with the ships lee rails going under, manages to turn to avoid the rocks

Clifton Tragedy, The: (1 ref. 2K Notes) {Roud #19835}

"A gray-haried mother knelt in prayer Before the holy light And the image of Christ was there...." She prays to "He, who... changed a raging tempest To a calm...." But the storm raged on, and the Clifton sank. The crew begged for mercy on their souls

"Steaming out of the Straits of Mackinac, She blew her last salute, Five whistles told her company's name...." The Clifton sails for Detroit with a cargo of stone. A storm blows up without warning. The ships sinks with all hands

Clifton's Crew, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #19837}

"We have heard of many happenings since last year first began, With crimes and troubles caused by war and earthquakes in Japan," but the wreck of the Clifton brought sorrow hom. The singer lists some of the dead, and hopes for their salvation

"Climb every mountain, ford every stream." A song of aspiration: the listener should not cease striving "until you find your dream"

"I am climbing high mountains, trying to get home" (2x), "I am climbing high mountains" (2x), "I am climbing high mountains trying to get home". "I am bearing my burdens...." "The road is rough and rocky...." "I will see my mother when I get home...."

Singer explains to Bridget why he is climbing the tree. "I'm not stealing apples, so I can explain. The wind blowed high and knocked 'em down. We're picking them up again!"

Advice for getting into heaven. The listener is warned against bribing Peter, and is told of the sights on the Golden Stairs. Chorus: "Then hear them bells a-ringing, 'Tis sweet I do declare, To hear the darkies singing, Climbing up the golden stairs."

Jump-rope rhyme. "Climbing up the ladder In a caravan, You only pay a sixpence To see a funny man. The funny man choked, Tied to a rope, Ukulele, ukulele, Hop, hop, hop."

"Oh, the fourth of march is coming, And the cannons will be bumming, Climbing up the White House Stairs. Cleveland will be there, to occupy the chair." The song lists various women "climbing up the white house stairs" to court the bachelor president

"If you don't mind, fathers, You'll be too late (x3), If you don't mind, fathers, You'll be too late, A-climbing up Zion's hills." "Heaven bells are ringing, I'm a-going home." "Bless the Lord, I'm almost there." Similarly for mothers, brothers, children

Clime Beneath Whose Genial Sun: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #V28705}

"Clime beneath whose genial sun Kings were quelled and freedom won, Where the dust of Washington Sleeps in glory's bed," farmers took up the sword to defend their rights. Judah, Greece, Rome have fallen low, but America is free; bow to (its) God

Jump-rope rhyme. "The clock stands still While the hands go around, One o'clock, two o'clock, three o'clock...."

At nine the clock said "quick, quick to bed" because "you'll never hae wealth, Gin ye dinna rise in the mornin'"

John Flanagan was murdered after cashing a cheque for fifty pounds. His body was discovered in Clones town eight months later. The suspect is in Armagh gaol. "He who killed John Flanagan With revengence must repay." "God comfort his poor parents"

Sprong, loaded with Indian ale, is caught in a heavy storm in the river Suir, grounds in Duckett Street, and floats in Church Lane. They dump ballast, including Kitty Conroy's pig. They anchor at Hearn's Hotel. The lifeboat crew bring whiskey and stout

"I done lost de closet key, In dem ladies' garden, I done lost de closet key In dem ladies' garden." "Help me find de closet key...." "I done found de closet key...."

"Like snow white sailing boats on a blue sea High in the heavens are clouds floating free. If I could fly to one,... Sailing and sailing what pleasure 'twould be. We should look down from our ship in the sky... Anchor our cloud to a mountain top high."

"...The worst tropical storm that ever was seen... struck with force on the mountainside." A little boy begs his parents to flee, but the house comes down around them. When neighbors seek the family, they learn that three of five children have died

Clouds they Look Black Love, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #15119}

"The clouds they look black love I'm afraid it will rain"

The singer is wandering toward Ballylig when he meets a "charming fair one." He asks leave to court her; she tells him she is not interested. He asks if he may walk along with her. She consents; the road is free. Now they are meeting regularly

The singer recalls coming to Philadelphia in May (18)56. He was received by friends, and is "happy and contented," but thinks often of Ireland. He remembers home, friends, family. He hopes to earn enough money to return to Erin

"Quoth John to Joan, wilt thou have me?" He promises cow, calf, house, rents, "Oh, say, Joan, will not that do? I cannot come every day to woo." He gives other reasons to accept him. Her answer is not recorded

"Cluck old hen, cluck and squall, you ain't laid an egg since way last fall." The exploits (?) of the hen are listed: "She laid eggs for the railroadmen." "The old hen cackled, cackled in the lot. Next time she cackled, she cackled in the pot"

Cluster of Nuts, The: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1261}

Jack and his mistress bet ten guineas on the number of nuts in a cluster. He says twelve; she says eleven. One nut has no kernel; who wins? They leave it to his master to decide; he decides in Jack's favor. She pays the ten guineas.

Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #22311}

"A couple have just paid the price For living in fool's paradise, Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker Have finally paid for their sins." Clyde, "a cheat," escapes from prison and teams up with Parker, whom he teaches to smoke. THey die in a shootout

Singer takes a job with young lady who needs a coachman to "drive her in style." He drives her "ten times round the room"; she asks for a look at his whip. He takes her riding, but on the first turn breaks a spring; her maid takes the next ride

The singer dreams of William Coaker's death, rejection at Heaven, and acceptance and advancement in Hell. Coaker's plan to replace the Devil as boss is foiled; he is condemned to the furnace. The dreamer wakes before Coaker is demolished.

Halyard shanty, Negro origin. "Oh, me Rosie, Coal Black Rose, Don't ye hear the banjo ping-a-pong-a-pong? Oh, me Rosie, Coal Black Rose." Verses mostly nonsense, with a fair amount of onomatopoeia, i.e. "ping-a-pong-a-pong," "dinging an' a dang," etc.

"My song is founded on the truth, In poverty we stand. How hard the millionaire will crush Upon the laboring man." The governor of Tennessee sends convicts to work the mines of Coal Creek. The miners oppose, but the legislature will not help

"Working in the mines, boys, Mighty hard to stand; Lordy, lordy, these old mines Has killed many a man." The singer described the hard work, the bad food, the poverty, the waiting for the whistle, the "Mine boss at the office, Cutting down our pay."

"A dialog I'll tell you as true as my life, Between a coal owner and a poor pitman's wife." The woman tells the owner she has come from Hell. They are turning out the poor to make room for "the rich wicked race." She tells him to treat his workers well

Singer buys an old flea-ridden chemise at Coal Quay. His wife won't have it. The lady that sold it to him won't take it back and beats him. "Pretty females": don't let a man interfere with your business; if you buy a chemise, buy a new one.

"A Life on the Ocean Wave, the fellow that wrote that song, I'd like to shit on his grave... 'Cause he's never been to sea On a Sunday afternoon, And he's never coaled ship with his watch below, Or he'd bloody well change his tune."

"Coaling, coaling, coaling, Always bloody well coaling." The sailors may be called upon to load coal at anu time on any day. "When the collier comes along, We'll sing this little song: Coaling, coaling, coalling... It's a good job we didn't join for ever"

"In the good old cruiser Kent, in the good old cruser Kent, Coaling ship three times a week, Till all our energy's spent. We never was our coaling rig, And very good reason why, We'd be coaling ship again Before we could get them dry."

Some men go a Mallore hill to find coal. "In a month's time we'll all be millionaires." They spend a hot day digging but the only thing black they find is a dead crow. They test burn some lumps but it's not coal. "Let the coal and the mine go to hell"

Coast of Peru, The [Laws D26]: (16 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1997}

(The captain promises the sailors that they will spot many whales off Peru.) A whaler spots a whale off the coast of Peru. The crew harpoons the whale and renders it. They look forward to seeing the girls at home

Doolan arrives in New York and sees two men boxing, sparring without hitting; when he fights it's with his "shillaly." Bullies taunt him expecting him to run but "in less than two minutes I cleared the whole green"

The singer meets a young lady. He invites her to Coatman's for ice cream. She orders a steak. She says "her husband had gone to war" but at the ferry her "husband" threatens to shoot him. "The story will be continued in the 'Guardian' next week"

"The girls in the city, they are happy, The boys in the country, they are jolly" and the singer courts Coaxing Polly. She demands furniture and china and refuses to work. He sets out to leave. She gives in and they marry

"For we'll sing a little song of Cobalt, If you don't live there it's your fault, Oh you Cobalt where the wintry breezes blow...." The singer describes various bad mining towns, concluding "It's hob-nail boots and a flannel shirt in Cobalt town for mine."

The singer, cobbler (Dick Hobson), comes from a questionable family and leads a questionable life. The song may end with an account of how he became free of his "lumpy" wife: I dipped her three times in the river / and carelessly bade her goodnight"

Cobbler (III), The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #15884}

"Walking up and down one day, I peeped in a window over the way. Pushing his needle through and through, There sat a cobbler making a shoe. Rap-a-tap-tap-tap, ticky-tacky-too, This is the way to make a shoe."

The singer is a poor uneducated shoemaker "mong the lowly ... scarcely owner of a groat." "Contented if I'm healthy ... If I keep the ravening wolf from my door". Don't long for what you don't have. Be satisfied while "around us be the everlasting arms"

Cobbler, Cobbler, Where's My Shoe: (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #12749}

"Cobbler, cobbler, mend my shoe, Yes, good master, that I'll do; Here's my awl and wax and thread, And now your shoe is quite mended." Or, "...mend my shoe. Have it done by half past two, If half past two is far too late, have it done by half past eight"

Cobbler's Bill, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #1327}

A cobbler shows his work -- "Here's cutting and contriving, Hammer, nails, and driving, Hemp, wax, and leather" -- and asks, "Madam, if you pleasee, To pay me your fees, It's fourpence ha'penny all together"

Coble o Cargill, The [Child 242]: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4021}

Davie Drummond o Cargill has a bed waiting for him in Balathy, another in Kercock. But one of the women "bored the coble (boat) in seven pairts," and it sinks as he tries to cross the Tay. He regrets his death; the song ends with repetitions of same

"I've got a gal in the white folks' yard...she brings me meal, she brings me lard." Refrain: "Here comes Sal with her nose all sore/Doctor said she can't smell no more...." The furniture man looks for the singer's wife, repossesses all of his belongings

Cocaine Bill and Morphine Sue: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4790}

"Cocaine Bill and Morphine Sue, Strolling down the avenue two by two," decide that a shot will do them no harm. They try to find cocaine, though it is no longer sold in the stores. Now they are dead and buried; no one knows where they went

"Yonder comes my baby all dressed in blue, Hey, baby, what you gonna do? Cocaine all around my brain." "Hey, baby, won't you come here quick, This old cocaine is makin' me sick." "Yonder comes my baby all dressed in white, Hey... gonna stay all night?"

Cocaine Lil "lived in Cocaine town on Cocaine Hill, She had a cocaine dog and a cocaine cat..." and other equally drug-afflicted possessions. One night, after a party, she "took another sniff and it knocked her dead"; her tombstone testifies to her habit

"Cock a doodle doo! My dame has lost her shoe, My master's lost his fiddlestick, And knows not what to do." Occasionally continues, "Cock a doodle doo, What is my dame to do? Till Master finds his fiddling stick She'll dance without her shoe." Etc.

"Oh,I thocht when I wore the kilt, I could dance from Tay to Forth, Tranchlin' up an' doon the street, Whistlin' the Cock o' the North. But a' the youngsters shouted, 'Awa,, man, wha' are you kiddin'? ... You're only the Cock o' the midden."

"When first my Jamie he came to the town, He had a blue bonnet, a hole in the crown, But now he has gotten a hat and a feather: Hey, Jamie lad, cock your beaver." Jamie now has"gold behind" and "gold afore," and is urged to show it proudly

Singer sees a man selling birds, he hands over his money and the seller hands him his cock; a young lady fears he will lose his cock; etc. "Cock-a-doodle-doo, It's nothing to do with you, It's a rare old cock and it's all I got

Description of a cock-fight, wherein the grey defeats the charcoal-black, to the delight of the singer.

"Cockabendy's lyin' sick Guess ye what'll mend him?" Twenty kisses. "Dinna gi'e the lasses drink, Dinna gi'e them brandy": give them cinammon sticks and lumps of sugar. Cockabendy had a wife who did strange things.

Cockies of Bungaree, The: (6 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #20415}

The unemployed worker takes a job clearing for a cocky at Bungaree. He finds that the working conditions are miserable, and the cocky expects him to be at work before dawn. (Within days the singer concludes that anything is better than this, and quits)

A cock on a dung hill sees a bull he wants to kill. He raises a navy and impresses ducks for a crew. He would lead the attack but his hen fears he'd be killed. His courage fails and he stays home but sends the ducks to fight John Bull.

"All around the kitchen, cocky doodle doodle doo" (x2). "Now stop right still, cocky...." "Put your hand on your hop... Let your right foot slip.... Then do like this...."

A fisherman remembers encountering a big barque and surviving the fight. Now the crowd meets them at Harwich pier to crack cod fish skulls. He concedes he may not have "got it complete 'Cause I've only been in the trade about a week"

A man brings home a "cod fish," and places it in the chamberpot for safekeeping. When his wife goes to relieve herself, the codfish jumps up her "you-know-what." Husband and wife chase the fish around the room, and kill it with a broom.

Singer complains of having married a sickly wife. After he introduces her to cod liver oil, she goes wild for it, demanding it all the time. He warns young men to avoid sickly women, or they'll "end up a-swimmin' in cod liver oil!"

"The pains of old Wyoming are wild and wooly still, I'mtellin' you that hearts are true in the lad of Buff'lo Bill." The singer celebrates the festivities in the first days of July. The singer celebrates the people of Cody -- especially the girls

"On Coe Creek three partners did dwell: Cool, Curtis, and Nye, we knew them right well." They own a swmill. The singer lists all the crew who work in the mill -- and complains, when you ask for pay, the bosses give "an order on the company store"

The singer just has to have that "loving spoonful." The singer on his way to bring back his woman, and the preacher in his pulpit, need that loving spoonful before they start. Whiskey and tea don't satisfy the singer like that loving spoonful.

Coffee Grows (Four in the Middle): (12 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #735}

Playparty in two or three parts: "Coffee grows on white oak tree, The river flows with brandy o'er, Go choose someone to roam with you...." "Four in the middle, you can't get around..." (may have more verses) "Railroad, steamboat, river, and canal..."

Response for every line is "The coffin to bind me down." Verse lines include "a silver spade to dig my grave," "a golden chain to let me down," "a folding sheet upon my lips"

"A cogie o' yill (ale), and a pickle ait meal, And a daintie wee drappie o' whiskey Was our forefathers' dose...." The singer praises the martial exploits of the Scots, and their diet, concluding, "Then hey for the whisky, and hey for the meal...."

"Now, you cohabs, still dodging around, You'd better keep on underground, For if with #2 you're found, They'll put you into limbo." The song details the fate awaiting men discovered living with two or more wives (i.e. "cohabs," or "cohabitators")

Gaelic. The singer's lover is like the vision in an aisling. He wonders if he should continue to pursue her or leave the country.

A young man (Corkery) goes to work on McCormick's drive on the Black River even though his family begs him to stay at home. In the course of his work, he jumps from a log into the stream and, because he cannot swim, drowns

Chorus: "Crying O Lord"(3x) "Death going to lay his cold icy hand on me" Verse: "Sinner, you better pray, ..., Or your soul be lost on judgement day...." "Sinner, be careful how you walk on the cross, ..., Your foot may slip and your soul be lost...."

"Cold mountains here are all around me, Cold waters gliding down the stream; Oft in my sleep I think I find her But when I wake it's all a dream." The singer seeks his love, who is gone or has rejected him or is left behind at home; he bids her farewell

"I asked a sweet robin one evening in May" what he sang about. "I am only a-singing the cold water song. Teetotal's the very first word of my lay ... All the birds to the cold water army belong"

Cole Younger [Laws E3]: (26 refs. 17K Notes) {Roud #2243}

Cole Younger tells of his career as a robber, first with his brother Bob and then as part of the James Gang. His career ends when the gang tries to rob the bank in Northfield, MN. Though the Jameses escape, the robbery fails and Cole is captured

The singer recalls the beauty of Coleraine and the girl who lives there and sings in its valleys. He regrets leaving them behind; he would live there if he could. But he has found work with the fishing fleet (?), and must stay where he is to live

The singer, and many others, set out for the races at Coleraine. The train ride witnesseswild partying. Before it's over, many are separated from those they traveled with. At the course, many things are for sale. The singer gets drunk and falls asleep

"Of Leinster, fam'd for maidens fair, Bright Lucy was the grace.... Till luckless love, and pining care, Impair'd her rosy hue." A bell rings, a raven crows in the night; it tells of Colin's marriage to another. She dies; he dies when he learns

Colleen from Coolbaun, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #9233}

Singer meets Mary Ann O'Donovan, "the colleen from Coolbaun." He proposes marriage to her father, listing his possessions. Her father rejects him as "a rover and a rake" but Mary Ann speaks in his behalf. Her father agrees but with a meager dowry.

"One morning being fair I rode to take the air" down by the river, where the singer sees "my sweet Colleen reu." He describes the features of "sweet Combeana" at length. Now he has lost her, and roves about seeking her night and day, high and low

Singer meets and praises Colleen Rue. She rejects his "dissimulation and invocation." He says if he were Hector, Paris, or Orpheus he'd "range through Asia, likewise Arabia, Pennsylvania" to see her face.

The singer tells her tale of grief: Her love, John (Sneddon), is a collier. She dreams a dream of his death. In the morning, she learns that he has died in a cave-in. They were soon to be married and to travel to America. But he will return no more

The singer (or someone) sees a bonnie lass, and steps up to court her. She rejects him; she loves a collier laddie. He goes to her father, offering land and wealth. She still says no. Years later, he turns up poor and begs at the door of girl and collier

Collier's Bonnie Lassie, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #8410}

"The collier has a daughter" of great beauty. "A laird he was that sought her, Rich baith in lands and money." (She declares that she is too young and black to love a laird, and that she will have a man "the colour o' my daddie")

Collier's Rant, The: (9 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1366}

As the singer and his marra/marrer (workmate) go to work, they meet the devil; the singer knocks off his horns and feet. The lights go out, the workmate goes the wrong way, and "Old Nick got me marra and I got the tram." He regrets the loss of his friend.

"A story, a sad one, I'll tell you just now, It's all about selling of Colly, my cow," which "will give no more milk to me now." Tom Tinker doesn't want her. The tanner bids three shillings and wins the cow.

"It was in 1861 on the twenty-fourth of May... It was there that Colonel Ellsworth came to his untimely grave. He raises a New York Regiment and leads them to Alexandria. He tears down a flag and is shot by the owner, Jackson; the soldiers kill Jackson

"He's a brave commander, Colonel Hay, An' I think it's him that we'll a' gang wi', He's enlistin' a body of fine young men, To fight the French." A good escape "if ye get a girl wi' child." He's a gentleman and has "plenty of everything you want"

A girl tells her lover that she was seduced by Colonel Sharp. Both are humiliated; they agree Sharp must die. They pursue the colonel; the man kills Sharp. He is taken and condemned to die. The two kill themselves

"Colonel Shelby, Colonel Shelby, I do not think it right For you to charge on Dardanelle At such a time of night. This old coat, I don't want it, I guess I'll have to run, I've not got sword or pistol Nor even a shotgun"

"The best of this colony is, The brides have no fine affectation." They don't faint from shock; they just drink brandy. So will their mothers. Girls don't consult their parents about whether to marry; they just want the ceremony to "be done quicker"

The singer, newly arrived in Sydney, sees sights unlike any he's seen before. He also experiences firsthand the heat and drought, and has to work very hard. The mosquitoes and ants are always pestering him. It's an uncomfortable, laborious life

"Oh give me the hills and the ring of the drills, And the rich silver ore in the ground." The singer asks to for the camp, his steed and guns, his wife, and the hills, where "We'll work and we'll play All the livelong day, Oh there let me live till I die"

Colorado Trail, The: (8 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6695}

"Eyes like the morning star, Cheeks like a rose, Laura was a pretty girl, God almighty knows. Weep, all ye little rains, Wail, winds, wail, All along, along, along The Colorado trail."

Colour of Amber (I), The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #1716}

"The colour of amber was my true love's hair." "Many a time [his lips] they've been pressed to mine. I'd fish and catch him "with a line and hook" and never part. It's in vain. I'll never be a maid again.

The singer was born in America. His "pack is all over American earth. My blood is as Irish as Irish can be." He is ashamed that the "tyrants" control "our poor plundered Ireland." He waits for the summons to return to Ireland with his rifle.

"Oh, (Columbia/Britania) the (gem/pride) of the ocean... Thy banners make tyranny tremble When borne by the red, white, and blue." The singer boasts of his nation's success in war and its liberty

Columbus Sailed the Ocean Blue: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #19309}

"Columbus sailed/crossed the ocean blue In fourteen hundred and ninety-two, Three ships came sailing in with him, too, Just so say the 'it' is you."

Columbus Stockade Blues: (13 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7480}

"Way down in Columbus, Georgia, I want to go back to Tennessee. Way down in Columbus stockade, my friends all turned their backs on me. So you can go and leave me if you want to...." The singer laments his imprisonment and the loss of his love

"Come, a rittam, chittum, chairum, Come, a ray, roe, raddy, O."

"... the news That's come frae Aberdeen. Hoo Tully's men ha'e gained the day, And Tully's lost it clean; Hoo stinkin' sowens [oatmeal husks] and buttermilk Ha'e forced his men awa"

"O come a' ye jolly ploomen lads That works amang the grun'." The singer tells of his happy life and work. He attends a hiring fair, works six months in a bothy, and shocks the minister by singing out when he weds Mary-Anne

Come Aff an' Ye'll Win On Again: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #13143}

"Come aff an' ye'll win on again Come aff an' ye'll win on again, An' I'll gie you a pint o' wine"

"Come all you bold Britons, wherever you may dwell, Come listen unto me while a story I will tell," of how hard times are for farmers in Britain. The politicians must lower taxes and rates. All are one flesh and should have rights. God speed the plow.

"Come all you that sail from Edgartown You very well do know When around Cape Horn that you are bound... You'll leave your heart's delight." The sailor sets out, thinking all the while of women, and hoping his beloved will be true while he is gone

"Come all ye bold countrymen A warning take by me"

Come All Ye False Lovers: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #4297}

"Come all ye false lovers That love all alike; Give love-ly attention, And my counsel take." The singer will wait for Johnny to return, however long it takes. He eventually arrives, and they are married.

Come All Ye Jolly Hunters: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #24299}

In 1958 Leonard Hynes and Walter Gale go hunting goose for Christmas. Dave Lomond, river guard, sees them and reports them. The Mounties come "to prosecute the murder of such a precious bird"

Come All Ye Jolly Ice-Hunters: (3 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #6345}

"Come all ye jolly ice-hunters and listen to my song; I hope I won't offend you; I don't mean to keep you long." The sealer Daniel O'Connell leaves Tilton Harbour March 14, 1833. Captain William Burke gets the badly damaged ship through a storm

"Come, all ye jolly Tinner boys, and listen to me... Consarning Boney Peartie, the schaames which he had maade To stop our tin and copper mines....." If he invades, he shall flee, or "Why forty thousand Cornish boys shall knawa the reason why"

Come All Ye Lonesome Cowboys: (10 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5482 and 11077}

"Come all you (lonesome/jolly) cowboys... Now I'm going to leave you, To never return again." He recalls the sad parting from his mother, and the girl who promised to marry him. After all his rambling, he is leaving the boys forever (dying? going home?)

The singer grieves "all for the sake of a lovely sailor" [who,apparently, is dead]

"My heart is as light as a feather, It's never been troubled with care"

Advice for "all ye young men that want a wife. Choose "a proper wench and handsome," not a red-head, "fingers long and her middle small," "a nice little girl And one of a good behaviour." If she and her friends consent "ye are sure to marry"

"Come all you bold fellows that follow the plough, Either hedging or ditching or milking the cow, The time has arrived and the Union flag waves." The singer calls the workers together; they will march and bless "our hero, the brave Joseph Arch"

Willie courts the narrator, asks her to go with him. She consents, but when they are far from home, he sends her back, saying it's his nature to ramble

A man complains to "fair maidens" that men are taken in by girls who "come dancing before you great favors to gain" until "you're not your own man... for selling your freedom to buy you a wife."

"Come all you friends and neighbours, For you know that you are born to die, Come view my situation As helpless here I lie." The singer, in a "weakened condition," asks "never let me seek in vain." He hopes to be where "consumption And fever is no more."

Come All You Handsome Jewels: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #7034}

"Come all you handsome jewels, come sit you don by me, If ever I prove false or cruel to the girl that would marry me," the moon will melt, fire will freeze. Now he'll die for one who won't love him, leaving "poor Sally lamenting all on her native shore"

Come All You Jack-Pine Savages: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #4064}

Singer describes a visit to "Dr. Jones" (probably not a real doctor). He has a toothache; "Dr. Jones" gives him six prescriptions, he eats sixteen potatoes and a couple of loaves of bread, and he's cured. He tells listeners to take ills to "Dr. Jones."

The cowboy leaves home, mother, and sweetheart "to roam the prairie plain... to never return again." His love for his promised bride "has never died"

Come All You Jolly Ploughboys: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #5958}

The singer praises the plowman's work he does. Masons, shoemakers, blacksmiths and millers are useful; the miller's needs "the sacks o' corn the plooboy does supply." If not for the soldier and plowman "what would our poor nation do"?

"Come all you jolly ploughboys, Come help me to sing." "There once was two brothers... One was a shepherd,,, The other a planter of corn." "Here's April, here's May... It's a pleasure to see the corn grow." The singer praises ploughboys and their life

The singer takes a prostitute to his room. He wakes to find her searching his room for money. He beats her, drives her away naked, and finds nine guineas and two five pound notes in the gown and coat she left behind.

"Come all you poor men of the north... There is easier ways of gaining wealth... Go and dig the gold that lies in California." The singer describes California's wondrous climate and asks why poor can't have gold as well as rich

Come All You Roman Catholics: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #9459}

Father McFadden is in Derry jail. Sub-inspector Martin had arrested him after Sunday Mass. "David ... by the Lord's command" killed Martin by sling shot "The people laughed and cheered" to see Martin taken away. "The Devil met him at the gates"

"Come all you tonguers and land-loving lubbers, Here's a job cutting in and boiling down blubbers." The singer declares, "Go hang the Agent!" because "I am paid in soap, and sugar, and rum" for all his hard word as the Agent and Company get rich

"Come all you valiant shepherds that's got a valiant heart, That goes out on a stormy night and never feels a smart." The singer tells of caring for his sheep on the hills in bad weather. He is happy to drink and relax, but will not forget his sheep

"Come all you (Virginia) girls and listen to my noise; Don't you court no West Virginia boys; If you do, your fortune will be Johnny cake and venison and sassafras tea." Concerning the dangers of courting and marrying boys from (somewhere)

Lay down your arms! Father Murphy will "cut down cruel Saxon persecution" He excels Caesar, Alexander and Arthur. His victories are listed until Enniscorthy. If the French had come we would have won. But we still have our pikes and guns.

The singer warns Christians to behave properly, remembering Job and Lazarus. First verse: "Come all you worthy Christian men That dwell upon this land, Don't spend your time in rioting, Remember you're but man...."

"Come all you young ladies and gentlemen... Once I was young like you, and then I was happy and single, Till my mother advised me to wed." His wife burns his boots, abuses his cat, sells his belongings, won't feed him; he wishes she were dead

Come All You Young Men: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #7684}

"Come all you young men and listen unto me, Never hang your shirt on a green briar tree, The leaves they will wither and the branches decay, And the graybacks will hatch out and pack your shirt away." A series of humorous warnings

Come All You Young of Wary Age: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7373 and 6640}

"Come all you young of wary (every) age, Give hearing to my song." A young man sets out to visit a friend, but falls from his horse and dies. He was alone, so no other details are known. His family and neighbours grieve; his mother says "his work is done"

Listeners are called to hear the story of two lovers. He comes to her door, but her parents turn him away. She mourns, and no doctor can cure her. At last the parents let him come, but she dies for love and is buried. He then dies also

Chorus: "Come along, come along, I am sorry for to leave you, On the road to heaven come, Friends will you go." Verse: "I was but young when I begin, But now my race is nearly run"

See notes. Verses include "My brother, it's no particular place [here] for you ... Come along brother, go with me ... Come go with me to the House of God." "Pray my bother, you'll soon be free ... Pray with the Spirit of God in your soul"

"Come along down buddy... Drive 'em down big boy." "That's the blow... makes him go...." "Sally got great long bangs... Hangs way down...." "Who gonna curl them bangs... After I'm gone...." "One more time... That's all right."

"Come along, (Moses/Aaron/judy), Don't get lost (x3) Come along, Moses, don't get lost. We are the (people/children) of God." "We have a just God to please our cause." "He sits in heaven and answers prayer." "Stretch out your rod and come across."

"Come and do a picket, boys, come and do a guard, 'Tisn't very easy, boys, 'tisn't very hard."

"(If you want to get to heaven just come and go with me) (x3), Hallelujah Amen." Other first lines include "Stop, listen, hear what Jesus says," "Jesus told the lame man 'Take up your bed and walk,'" "Jesus told the blind man, 'Open your eyes and see.'"

Come and Go with Me to That Land: (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #18072}

"Come and go with me to that land (x3)... where I'm bound." "There ain't no moanin' in that land." "There ain't no bowin' in that land." "There ain't no kneelin' in that land." "There ain't no Jim Crow in that land."

"There are churches in our land Run by wicked, worldly men; They will stand and tell you, brother, Come and jine!" In those churches, you can smoke, drink, chew, even preach and fight, as long as you pay the preacher and don't have a real religion

Come and Kiss Me, Robin: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #5521}

"Come and kiss me, Robin, Come and kiss me now, Oh he came and kissed me, And he came and kissed me With my hands milking the cow!"

Come Ashore Jackie Tar: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5812}

"Come ashore, Jackie Tar, an' yer trousers on." "Kiss a bonnie lass." "Hae a biscuit" "hae a dram." "Captain Charles" or "boats o' Boddam come ashore." "Hear cannons roar on the coasts of Labrador" or "the Bay of Baltimore."

"Come away from that old man! He will kill you if he can. Come away, o-oh!"

"Come back baby please don't go, Can't we talk it over one more time." "Don't break up my home, I'll miss you when you're gone, Can't we talk it over one more time." "This world wasn't built in one day, Can't we talk it over before you go away"

Come Back to Erin: (10 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #13846}

The singer's sweetheart has left Killarney for England. He seems surprised that "my heart sank when clouds came between us... Oh, may the angels, oh, waking and sleeping Watch o'er my bird in the land far away." Does she think of me?

Father and son argue. Son crosses the sea. Father sends a letter saying that mother is sad and asks that he return. He reads the letter every night. He eventually returns to England and is reconciled with his family.

"Come, brave with me the sea, love, The empire of the free, love! There shalt thou dwell with me, love, My blessing and my pride." "Though fir the earth may be, love, It is not like the sea, love, With me all dangers dare, love, And be a sailor's bride"

Round. "Who'll buy my roses, Who'll buy my posies, Who'll buy my lilies, ladies fair? Taste and try before you buy, Fine ripe pears. Clothes, clothes, any old clothes...."

'Someone's sick; Lord, come by here (x3), Oh, Lord, won't you come by here." "Someone's dying; Lord, come by here." "Someone's in trouble...."

Come Chise me Oot: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #13505}

"Come chise me oot, come chise me in, Come chise me for a rabbit skin; Come chise me east, come chise me west, And give me the very one that I love best"

"Come down to Tennessee (Ride er ole grey horse). Yaller gal's de gal for me (Ride er ole grey horse). Kiss her under de mulberry tree (Ride er ole grey horse). Oh my, nigger, don't you see, Better come to Tennessee?"

Come Down with the Killock: (2 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #V44634}

"Come down with the killock And out with the line; Of fish about here, boys, There is a good sign." The ship sails; it's "not like the fools Who are hunting for fat." The singer decides fishing is better than sealing: "Off to the ice Go fools in a rush."

"Come down (x3), sinner you're none too late (x2)." "Some seek the Lord but don't seek him right, Come down ..., Little at day and none at night, Come down...." Pray hard, bow low, shout hard, mourn hard, leave Satan behind, "go in peace and sin no more"

"Come follow, follow, follow, Follow, follow, follow me Whither shall I follow, follow, follow, Whither shall I follow, follow thee? To the greenwood, to the greenwood To the greenwood, greenwood tree." (Some versions have "redwood tree")

"Old Satan is a busy old man, He roll stones in my way; Mass' Jesus is my bosom friend, He roll 'em out of my way, O come-e go with me (x3), A-walking in the heaven I roam." "I did not come here myself, my Lord, It was my Lord who brought me here...."

Come Hame to Yer Lingles: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5892}

Wife tells her drunk husband to come home from his Monday morning drinking among his cronies. She and the children are in tatters. He tells her to leave him and his friends in peace. She will follow him from inn to inn. He concedes; he must quit.

"Come hither, Tom, and make up three, And sing this catch with me; Though the tune be old, I dare be bold, Tis good, if we all agree ... Keep time upon his [Jack's] back .... listen to the bass For he will us disgrace ...."

Jump-rope rhyme, apparently with no complete text known. "Come in my garden And give me your hand...."

"Come into me arms, Me bundle of charms, Get out of me site, You bundle of sh..." (sic. Presumably you can fill it in)

"Come into the lighter, Maude, The fuse has long been lit, Come into the lighter, Maude, And never mind your kit. The waves grow high, But what care I, I'd rather be seasick Than blown sky-high, So come into..., Or I'm off in the launch alone"

Come Join the Huckleberry PIcnic: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #7517}

"When Angel Gabriel blows his horn, You've got to go just as sure as you're born, And when you die you'll find a place...." "Come join the huckleberry picnic... I'm one of the committee and invite you." People are warned to "come get religion"

"Come list to a ranger, you kind-hearted stranger... Who fought the Comanches away from your ranches And followed them far o'er the Western frontier." He complains of the hard conditions he suffered, and warns the listener to keep watch for Comanches

The singer crossed the moor on the way home from the fair and saw an old woman sitting alone and milking her cow. She sang "the Marquis o' Doune" or some other song he doesn't remember.

"Come on my hearts of tempered steale (sic.) and leave your girls and farms... and hark away to arms." The recruiter (?) describes the soldiering life and declares that no foreigners will rule the Americas. They will live at ease when the war ends

Come On Up to Bright Glory: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #10977}

"You don't hear me prayin' here, you can't find me nowhere/Come on up to bright glory, I'll be waitin' up there." Other verses zip in "when I preach," "when I shout," etc.

Chorus: "Come on, boys, let's go to huntin', Dog in the Woods, and he done treed sump'n."

Floating-verse song, known mostly by the chorus: "Won't you come over and see me sometime (x2). Eat your breakfast 'fore you start, take your dinner in your hand, and leave before it's suppertime."

Early modern English or late Middle English: "Come over the burne, Besse, Thou lytyll prety Besse, Come over the the burne, (Besse), to me." "Come over the burn, Bess(ie), Thou little pretty Bessie, Come over the burne, Bessie, to me."

The singer has been mortally wounded in battle by his brother. The singer (apparently a Unionist) asks how his brother could oppose his father (also a Unionist). He asks his brother to bring the news to mother -- but not reveal who did the killing

"Come thou fount of every blessing, Tune my heart to sing thy praise. Streams of mercy, never ceasing, Call for songs of loudest praise." "Teach me some melodious sonnet, Sung by flaming tongues above." etc.

"Come to shuck dat corn tonight, Come to shuck with all your might, Come for to shuck all in sight, Come to shuck dat corn tonight." "Come to shuck dat golden grain, Where dere's enough dere ain't no pain...."

"Will you come to the bower I have shaded for you? I have decked it with roses all spangled with dew. Will you, will you, will you, will you come to my bower? (x2)." "The rose of my heart" can rest in the bower. They will promise never to part.

Come to the Bower (II): (2 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #3045}

Come to the land of the Irish heroes: O'Neill, O'Donnell, Lord Lucan, O'Connell, Brian and St Patrick. Visit Dublin and the battlefields. "Will you come and awake our lost land from its slumber and her fetters we will break ... come to the bower"

"Come to the cookhouse door, boys, Come to the cookhouse door. When you see the sergeant-cook smile, Come to the cookhouse door."

"The sun is a-shining to welcome the day" of the fair. The happy time is described. Listeners are encouraged: "Hey, ho, come to the fair."

"Come to the Spare Crew, make no delay, Come to the Spare Crew, two bob a day, Sitting on the messdeck, nothing else to do...." "Joyful, joyful, will the Spare Crew be When the boats have all pushed off to sea." The regular crew don't want them

Come Under My Plaidie: (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #8694}

Old Donald invites Marion in from the snow to sit with him. She says she is going to meet young Johnnie. Donald says Johnnie has nothing, but he can give her fine things. She goes with Donald. Johnnie overhears and heads home through the snow.

"Come up and see my garrittie, Come up and see it noo, Come up an' see my garritie, It's a' painted blue. A crecked cup and a saucer, A chair withoot a lag, A hupy-backit dresser, An' an aud bowdy bed."

Man offers gold and pearls; woman refuses, saying she'll never be at any young man's call. He tells her t he'll find another. He picks up his hat to leave, but she changes her mind. They are married the next day; "she'll prove his comfort day and night"

"Come ye that fear the Lord (x2), I have something for to say about the narrow way, For Christ the other day saved my soul (x2)." The singer recalls how Jesus came to free him, how others call him "undone," but how he looks forward to salvation

"Came you not from Newcastle, Came you not there away? Met yenot my trye love, Ricing on a bonny bay? Why should I not love my love?" The ginger has land at (Durham and Newcastle), and will use it to help the "gallant hound sedelee" (sic)

"Now to all ye young women, I do you advise": we are "as full of flattery as a cloud's full of rain ... much like a garden with weeds overgrown" and men grow tired of us as time passes. .".. be modest and wise" and if he leaves you've done your best.

"Come all ye toiling millions that labor for your life... Come, rally to your standard now in this gigantic strife Then we'll go marching to victory." "Join the Alliance." Neither Republicans nor Democrats do any good. Vote for someone who will

"Beautiful bird of spring has come, Seeking a place to build his home." The singer tells the bird, "Beautiful bird, come live with me," promising, "You shall be free." It will no longer need to roam. "You shall be all the world to me."

Come, Butter, Come: (8 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #18167}

"Come, butter, come! De King and de Queen Is er-standin' at de gate, Er-waitin' for some butter An' a cake. Oh, come, butter, come!" A different version: "Come, butter come (x2), Peter stands at the gate, Waiting for a butter cake, Come, butter, come"

"Come, come, ye saints, no toil nor labor fear; But with joy wend your way. Though hard to you this journey may appear, Grace shall be as your day." Don't worry about the difficulty of life; travel to the place where "All is well! All is well!"

Come, Gang Awa' With Me: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7415}

"Oh come, my love, the moon shines bright Across the rippling sea... Come gang awa' with me. 'Tis many a night since last we met... Then say ere yonder stars shall set You'll gang awa' with me. "...I pledge myself to thee... Forever thine I'll be"

Come, Life, Shaker Life: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6669}

"Come, life, Shaker life, come, life eternal, Shake, shake out of me all that is carnal. I'll take nimble steps, I'll be a David, I'll show Michael twice how he behaved."

"'Come, little leaves,' said the wind one day, 'Come o'er the meadows with me and play; Put on your dresses of red and gold, For summer is gone and the days grow cold.'" The leaves fly away, greeting the crickets and lambs, then go to rest under the snow

"Come, love, come, and go with me, I'll take you down about Tennessee. Open up the window, oh love do, Listen to the music I'm playing for you, Come, love, come, the boat lies low,...." The girl is urged to float "on the Old Ben Joe"

"Come my lads and let's be jolly, Drive away all melancholy." The singer prefers to follow Solomon in singing "praise and glory" over "evil-speaking and back-biting." There's no harm in eating, drinking, dancing, smoking, and keeping good company

"Come my love and go with me (x3), And I will take good care of you." "You are too young, you are not fit (x3), You cannot leave your mother yet." "You're old enough, you're just about right (x3), I'll ask your mother Saturday night"

The singer hopes, "Come, rain, come, rain, come... To keep back the Yankees Until our ranks are filled up by recruits." The hungry singer complains, "I'm alone in my shanty, And rations they are scanty." He hopes for more and better food

Friends, "foes to discord, care and strife," have "a glass of good strong beer" before death stops us from drinking more.

"Come ye sinners poor and needy, Weak and wounded, sick and sore, Jesus ready stands to save you, Full of pity, love and pow'r. He is able, he is willing, He is able, doubt no more."

"Comet! It makes your teeth turn green. Comet! It tastes like gasoline. Comet (it/will) make you vomit, So get some Comet and vomit today."

Chorus: "There's comfort in heaven and I feel it in my soul, O glory hallelujah, Glory in heaven and glory in my soul, O glory...." Verse: "Jerusalem is my happy home, Name ever dear to me, where shall my labors have an end? Thy joys when shall I see?"

"Come all you good people, I pray you draw near... A comical ditty you shortly shall hear." The song notes how the boys dress up to court the ladies, and the girls dress up to court the men, but neither can get married of their own power

"Comin owee the Tay Brig tae bonnie Dundee, Oh the braes of Balgay and Law Hill grand tae see." The singer has traveled far but is always happy to return to Dundee. He hopes that all others who travel far will eventually wish to come home also

"They are comin' back to Kansas, They are crossin' on the bridge, You can see their mover wagons...." Many people swore they would leave "this Kansas land infernal." But they had no luck elsewhere, either, so they are returning to Kansas

"Comin' frae Rora toon, There I met a bonnie lass And there I set her doon"

Comin' In on a Wing and a Prayer: (2 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #32497}

"Comin' in on a wing and a prayer (x2), Though there's one motor gone, we can still carry on, Comin' in on a wing and a prayer." There was a great raid. One plane is late, but it finally arrives, damaged but still flying and with all her crew

"Comin' thro, gaun thro', Comin thro' the Craigs o' Culter, Duncan met a bonny lass, And row'd his Hielan' plaid aboot her'

Comin' Thro' the Hay: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #7263}

Did you see "yellow coatie" coming through the hay, "drabbled" [smeared] all over?

"Now, miners, if you listen, I'll tell you quite a tale." The singer goes around Cape Horn to California, and describes the seasickness, bad food, long calms, and other poor conditions. Arriving in California, he finds his money was left in the States

"If a body meet a body coming down the flat, Should a body 'Joe' a body, for having on a hat? Some wear caps, some wise-awakes, but I prefer a hat, Yet everybody cries out 'Joe!' coming down the flat." About the types of hats Australians wear

"She'll be coming round the mountain, charming Betsey; She'll be coming round the mountain, Cora Lee; If I never see you any more, Pray God remember me." The song usually compares the homes, vehicles, etc. of the rich and poor

Coming Through the Rye: (13 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5512}

"Gin a body meet a body comin' through the rye, Gin a body kiss a body, need a body cry?" The singer remarks that no one knows her swain, but notes that all the lads smile at her in the rye. She observes that she has a love whom she keeps secret

"You ought to go to Rosyth And see them dock the Hood, Dockyard maties running round With bloody great lumps of wood." The officers are at their stations. The "Jaunty" (master-at-arms) has never seen a gun, "Rajah, Rajah of the UJC"

The singer says Bill "isn't charming," and is "altogether green." He courts her relentlessly, to her scorn. At last he says that he will kill himself if she does not wed him. Citing the Bible's injunction against killing, she consents

"I am a man before the mast, I plough the trackless sea.... Common sailors we are called. Pray tell me the reason why, This sneering adjective unto us which you so often apply." The singer says that they let Britain rule the waves; they deserve respect

"Don't you call us common men, We're as good as anybody that's on shore." We bring "silks and satins" for girls, cigars for "young gents," and no one appreciates us.

"The company cook had a greasy look, A nasty galoot was he, His only shirt was stiff with dirt...." The cook is "an autocrat," but "the stuff we got to put in the pot Was too often fit for swill." One day he dies and is buried; they expect he is in hell

Scottish Freemasons meet "the blessings of freedom and plenty to share, and walk by the rules of the compass and square." Kings and prophets have been Freemasons. "The Great Architect ... Instructed our sires in the great building scheme"

French. February 21, 1891: In Nova Scotia you will never forget the underground devastation in the Springhill mine. We are told that one hundred and thirty appeared before God.

"This life here is a mixture of its troubles and its joys, All the way to ripe old age from tiny girls and boys; With many complications...." The singer tells of courting girls, of music, of toys, farm animals, a bad marriage, life's other trials

"The Comstocker died in Virginia, We buried him high on the hill He watches over old C Street...." The singer is urged to join the (drinking) celebration for the dead Comstocker, and to Comstock itself

Nine men go to pull Charlie horse's drowned body from Angle Pond where he had fallen through the ice. The men braved hunger to do the job "with two stout dories and a couple of ropes" and "gave him a decent send-off." The crew are all named.

The singer -- and others from all over Newfoundland -- congregated in "Bonay" one summer for wood "rhind" and fishing. The singer pokes fun at the girls that went along and at the men dressing up to meet them.

"On the evidence of a notorious wretch Far worse than they have been, Those men they are condemned to die" "Counsels for the Crown ... have well succeeded in their plan ... For basely British gold" Carey is cursed as "the cause of all this woe"

Verses that ought to be floating if they aren't already: "Some folks say that a preacher won't steal/I caught three in my corn field"; "Make that feather bed... Old man Brown gonna stay all night." Chorus: "I'm on my way, I'm going back to Coney Isle."

"Yankee Doodle had a mind to whip the southern traitors Because they didn't choose to live on codfish and potatoes... And so to keep his courage up he took a drink of brandy." The song notes that even the brandy didn't help at Bull Run

"How many old-timers remember the day When attending the Conference with no place to stay, We slept in the hay in the tithing-yard barn...." The singer looks back to 1895 and the good and bad that came when the Mormons gathered for Conference

Who would marry Congo Justina? Her face is like a whale and she's just come from jail. The chorus is a dance instruction: "Leh go me hand / Leh me balance meself"

The singer rambles from Connaught to the big cities of Ulster. He has various confrontations with city slickers, assumes a pub will give him credit, and winds up in a fight. He lands in prison. Once released, he vows to roam no more

Maguire is slighted by a lady from Lough Erin. Her father banishes her and she goes to England to find Maguire. They meet. She buys him a commission as captain for 500 pounds. They marry. "He raised his name, likewise his fame, which is Captain Maguire"

"What land is that so nicely bound By Massachusetts and the Sound, Rhode Island and New York around.... Connecticut." The state fought King George. The people are beautiful and well-fed, they are religious, and they can trace their ancestry far

"I'm a peddler, I'm a peddler, I'm a peddler from Connecticut... And don't you want to buy?" He offers "many goods you never saw before," such as pins, "tracts upon popular sins," and many sorts of seeds.

In Irish Gaelic; dialog; woman asks, "Who's that down there tapping the window?", "...kindling the fire?", "...drawing the blanket off me?", "...breaking down fences?". In every case the reply is "'It's I, myself', says Connla"

Gaelic. Singer wishes he and his sweetheart were wed and on a ship sailing west. Everyone has other plans for her but he would oppose even the King of Spain. He sent her a letter to complain. "She promptly replied that her heart's love was truly mine"

(The company sets out for camp and) arrives at Waltham, where they stop to drink. The singer describes the several men in the crew.

Consolation Flowing Free: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #7934}

"Consolation flowing free., Come my love and go with me." "You are too young, you are not fit (x3), You cannot leave your mother yet." "You're old enough, you're just about right (x3), I'll ask your mother next Saturday night."

Constable of Dundee, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #8261}

"Now fortune was false and betrayed a man, He was Constable of Dundee." His daughter loves a sailor, whom the Constable will not let her marry, especially after he is wrecked. But when the Constable loses his money, the sailor has money to save him

"Oh! lovely Delia, virtuous, fair, Believe me now your only dear. I'd not exchange my happy state For all the wealth of all the great."

Her parents consent to let their daughter marry a farmer, but her brothers will not agree. The brothers take the farmer out and murder him, claiming he has fled with another girl. The daughter finds the body, has her brothers executed, and dies of grief

Constant Lover, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #5564}

"Although my parents me disdain, For loving of my own dear honey," the singer vows to be faithful. He lists all the things he would disdain were he allowed to woo the girl. He concludes that not even the honeycomb is as sweet as she

The sailor promises to marry the girl after he makes one more trip. His mother threatens to disinherit him for this, but he points out that she had been a serving girl herself until his father had raised her. He promises to be faithful to the girl

"Britannia's gallant streamers Float proudly o'er the tide; And fairly wave Columbia's stripes...." Dacres and his hip meet Hull's, and signals for battle. But "Vain were the cheers of Britons," The Americans, tried on the "Moorish shore," is victorious

Captain Dacres of the Guerriere expects to defeat the Americans as easily as Britain has defeated the French. Captain [Isaac] Hull's Constitution, however, easily defeats the British ship

"The devil and Goliath were playing seven up, All on account of half a dollar," but the Devil cheats. The Conestoga wagon will take riders to the other side of Jordan. Teamsters cuss but travel the road. The saints are on the other side of Jordan.

Contented Countryman, The: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1847}

"Who would like a jovial count-e-rie life? Happy am I with my home and wife." The singer describes how his life "just suits me": They call him poor, but he has the larks and the clear sky and a loving wife. He would not "change for a crown-ed king."

"Do ships have eyes when they go to sea? Are there springs on the ocean bed? Can a jolly tar spring from a tree? Can a river lose its head? Are fishes crazy when found in seine? Can an old hen sing her lay? Can you bring relief to a window pane?" etc.

Death approaches the young person who is "unprepared for eternity." (S)he tries to buy Death off. It doesn't work. Death describes how it takes everyone and snuffs out their lives. The soon-to-be-dead person bids farewell

An innocent prisoner will be executed in the morning. He thinks about his sweetheart, who sent him a rose. "When I go at daylight's dawning Against my heart they'll find this rose"

"You lads and lasses all attend to me While I relate my tale of misery; By hopeless love I was once betrayed, And now I am, alas, a convict maid." Her lover had her rob her master's store; now she is sentenced for seven years. She regrets her error

Convict of Clonmel, The: (7 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #6993}

A convict, sentenced to be hanged, thinks of his past, playing at hurley and dancing. "No boy of the village Was ever yet milder." Now his horse is loose, his hurley at home, his ball is played with and the girls are dancing. He will be forgotten.

A dying convict wonders if his family still thinks of him. He thinks of his brothers and sisters. He blames himself "for bad company have me done." He leaves a lock of his hair to be sent to his mother. Then he dies.

"The convict ship lay near the beach, The morn was drear and dark." One of the convicts is cradling an infant, his only child. The guards tear the baby from him. His wife wants to die but vows to live for the sake of the child

"It's just ten long years ago they dragged me from my wife...." Convicted of murder, the prisoner plans an escape, only to find his family and his strength gone. He is reprieved when his innocence is established; he happily goes home

Coo-Coo (Peacock Song): (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #29314}

"Coo-coo, coo-oo-oo, Coo-coo, coo-oo-oo. Coo-coo, coo-ah-li-ah."

"I'll tell you about my love, She's my darling turtle dove, Mary Lize is her name, But she gets there just the same. Oh, coochie, coochie, coochie coo... Cheeks so red and eyes so blue." "I met her at a ten cent show"; they wed; he dislikes mother-in-law

"By the wide Waimakariri, In the province of the plains... Lived the lady of this idyll," a very odd-looking station-cook. She has peculiar taste in food and a bad temper. "Murrumbidgee Bill" beats her in a shearing contest and so wins her hand

Cook and the Ladle, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #12990}

"As I was a-walking up the stair Who did I meet but the cook and the ladle? ... Tadle eedle ah lil dum dadie Tadle eedle ah lil dum dee"

Cook and the Teamster, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #4066}

"There was a jolly cook, His name was Telephone...." A teamster goes in to the cookroom and hits his knife on a nail (?). He accuses the cook. The teamster drives the cook away. Hearers are warned against "greasers" as cooks

"I'm cook of the mess [i.e. not the cook but the rating who takes food to his mess], I'm full of zest, And for the lads I do my best, Then up on deck I do the rest, I'm having a busy day" (because he cares for food and dishes on top of his other duties)

"Our cook is the king of the bully-beef Navy, He's cooked it with soup, he's cooked it with gravy... He's cooked it standing, he's cooked it lying, And if he had wings, he'd cook it flying... Our bloody cook is the king of all HM ships"

"There was a young maiden to cooking school went, Even the cookery maid." Her plum puddings serve as rat poison, her griddle cakes are doormats. Finally she tries to make a pie. A burglar breaks in, tries to eat it, and is found dead the next day

"Cookie, Cookie, Listen while we sing to you. Cookie, Cookie, You're a part of camp life too. Anyone can make a bed and anyone can sew, But it takes our cookies (to make camp go). So Cookie, Cookie, Listen while we sing to you."

Cooking the Cock of the North: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #3554}

"I went into into a raffle once And what do you think that I got? Well, a beautiful bird from off of McNat... But every minute he'd cry, Cock a doodle, cock a doodle, That's what he sang in the broth." Or "Cock a doodle... I'm the cock of the north"

Cooks of Torbay, The: (2 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #7575}

"Come all ye young fellows wherever ye be I'll sing ye a verse on the cooks of Torbay." The sealing ship Ellen goes up the Gulf. The captain gives the cook grief for only cooking two meals for the day. The insulted cook has his son make the meal

Alternate lines are a chorus, "Blow bully blow boy/blow bully boy blow." The shantyman sings "A coolie is nobody." "I never jumped your mommy ... They call me bully hangman ... I never hanged your mommy."

Coon from Tennessee (Till I Die): (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #12397}

"There's a coon from/in/down Tennessee, Just as cute as he can be; He never goes to church...." Told to reform, he replies, "I'm gonna live anyhow till I die." No matter what they do to him or say about him, he will enjoy life

"As I walked out last Saturday night... I saw an old coon wag his tail. "Said I, Old coon, how're you today? Said he, Hurray for Henry Clay." "But since I heard of Henry Clay, the Tyler grippe has passed away. "I'll cast my vote for Henry Clay."

Coon-Can Game, The [Laws I4]: (13 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3263}

The singer is so disturbed by his woman's unfaithfulness that he cannot even play cards. He takes a train, sees the woman, and shoots her. He is arrested, convicted, and left to lament his fate

Coonjine (Coonshine): (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #17469}

"Coonjine (or "coonshine"), ladies, coonjine, Coonjine on the floor. O, my papa don't 'low me to coonshine, And my me don't 'low me to try. Git up in the morning 'fore day, Coonjine on teh sly."

"It was on one Thursday morning, a while before noon, When John came in from work and said, 'You've met your doom.'" John kills his wife Flossie and her lover Cooper Milton. John is sentenced to 99 years in Nashville

"Ye coopers and hoopers attend to my ditty, I sing o' a coope wha dwelt in Dundee." "This young man was baith am'rous and witty"; all the women ask him to repair their barrells. His business is large. He "sprung" a woman's "end-hoopin" and is banished

Coortin' to Begin, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #6212}

One night, the singer met a girl "I wished she were my bride." She goes to bed with him in an inn. He describes her beauty. The next day he leaves "some way to win his bread." Lasses, court "some sturdy boy ... that'll learn you The courtin to begin"

A mother advises her son: "save just a copper each week." "Your copper my grow unto silver Your silver will grow unto gold"; "Don't never be bashful in taking a wife"; "Keep your head above water" for "when you have money your friends will come 'round"

"Once in old Seattle I went upon a stroll, I spied an advertisement upon an urban pole." The singer joins an Alaska company. It is the worst job he ever had. The labor is hard, the setting primitive, and the mosquitos dreadful

"On the twelfth of June we called a strike, Which filled the miners with delight." Several mines join in. The owners bring in 600 gunmen. But the workers will fight, declaring, "The rustling card [a sort of right to work] has gone to stay"

In April people come from mountain and glen to Copshawholm Fair. There are pedlars, jugglers, and exotic foods. Hiring negotiations are described. When hiring is over there's fiddling and dancing, drinking and fighting.

"You captains and commanders both by land and sea, Oh do not be hard-hearted...." "Jefferys the seaman... Was left upon a dismal rock by his captain." He is stranded and miserable for eight days before being rescued. Now he is back in England

Corbitt's Barkentine: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #4086}

On Aug. 30, 1883, the Corbitt begins her voyage. One of the crew moans about being assigned to such a vessel. The captain makes sure she sails with all possible speed. Passing many ships, she reaches the Indies, Boston, and Nova Scotia

"You merchant men of Billingsgate, I wonder how you can thrive, You bargain with men for six months, and pay them but for five." Having suffered in many voyages, the singer declares, "I'll no more to Greenland sail, no, no, no."

Corinna, Corinna: (29 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #10030}

"Corinna, Corinna, where you been so long? (x2) Ain't had no lovin' since you've been gone." "Corinna, Corinna, where'd you stay last night? Your shoes ain't buttoned...." "I love Corinna, tell the world I do, And I hope someday babe, you'll love me too."

"A tale I will tell, without any flam -- In Holland dwelt Mynheer von Clam." Clam, wealthy and self-indulgent, kicks a begger and breaks his leg. A surgeon amputates. Clam has a replacement made -- which has a mind of its own and will not stop running

"Of the gallant Cork men Mixed with New York men. I'm sure their equal can never be found." They "boldly enter" (Ireland?) with arms, and John Bull pursues them, but are not caught. Their deeds are to be celebrated

"For good-humoured faces, Cork once beat all places" but politics has soured them. With Olden's shaving soap "lathering chops, ill-blood stops" Peter of Russia smoothed his subjects' manners by having them shave. Even the devil was improved by a shave.

"They may rail at the city where first I was born, But it's there they've the whisky, and butter and pork.." Cork's localities and specialies are described: Fishamble's food, Blackpool's leather, groves of Blarney's groves, Glanmire's shops ....

Cork's Own Town (II): (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #V26513}

Cork excels London, Paris, Milan, and Constantinople. Cork's localities and specialies are described: Victoria Park's trees, Fishamble-lane's food, Paradise for "the saint and the sinner," .... We have "the Polis to keep us from drinkin' and fightin'"

"Corn pone, fat meat, All I ever gets to eat. Better, better than I ever gets at home." The prisoner describes clothes, ben, shackles -- all described as better than what he has at home. He tells his girl, "Chain gang good enough for me."

"It fell upon a Lammas night, When corn rigs are bonie, Beneath the moon's unclouded light I held awa to Annie." The singer declares he will never forget that night, and describes how the two embraced

"Cowboy on middle the island, ho, meleety, ho! (x2)" "Missus eat the green persimmon." "Mouth all drawed up in a pucker." "Stayed so till she went to supper."

"What did we do when we needed corn? we plowed and we sowed till the early morn (x2)." "What did we do when we needed a town? we hammered and we nailed...." "What will we do when there’s peace to be won? ... We’ll gather all our friends..."

"Oh, de fus news ye know de day'll be a-breakin', Heydo! Ho O! Up 'n down de banjo, And de fire be a-burnin' an de ash cake a-bakin'." The hen (?) will crow, the boss will call everyone to work; the negro is advised to get to work

"Come out here and shuck this corn, Oh! Oh! Oh!), Come out here and shuck this corn..." "Biggest Pile seen since I was born." "Massa's niggers am slick and fat, Shine just like a beaver had." "Jones's... am lean and poor...."

"Corn-stalk fiddle and (buckeye/pea-vine/shoe-string) bow, Did you ever see the Devil, Uncle Joe." Or "...I'll stick by her wherever I go." Or "...I'll come back and be your beau."

"Sometimes I think my woman, she too sweet to die. Den sometimes I think she ought to be buried alive."

Cornish Christmas Carol, A: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #15665}

"Come, let us go in a childish way WIth our voices praising Christ today. To him just born, in the manger lay, We will raise our thanks to him for aye. Priase and honor be to Thee, Thou God's child from heavn' above, Halleluia (x3) we sing of love."

"Come take a walk through Cornwall and there you will find The sweetest and the neatest girls, the best of womankind." They are pretty, decent, modest, slender-waisted. The singer wishes the Cornish girls success; none in England can match them

"The bonny month of June is crowned With the sweet scarlet rose." The singer sees "fair maids" playing on the green. He asks them to "freely yield your charms." "All on the pleasant dewy mead They shared each other's charms" by the light of the moon.

Everyone knows, Corntime Pain is made to play scare crow.

The singer was happy but uneasy at home until enlisted by Corporal Casey. He treated the singer roughly but was soon killed in battle. "Thinks I, you are quiet, and I shall be aisy, So eight years I fought without Corporal Casey."

"Oh, the General with his epaulets, A-leadin' the parade, The Colonel and the Adjutant... None of 'em look so fine As the newly-minted Corporal, A-comin' down the line." No dignitaries can compare with the corporal taking "The first rung on the ladder."

Corpus Christi Carol, The: (26 refs. 13K Notes) {Roud #1523}

We find ourselves looking into a bower in a high hall. In the bower lies a sorely wounded knight surrounded by odd symbols -- dogs licking the blood, a stone on which "Corpus Christi" is written, etc.

Spanish: "Por cast un siglo aqui en Bisbee trabandose." After almost a century of operation, the mines of Bisbee close in June of 1975. The singer recalls the work done by fathers and grandfathers in Bisbee. The future of the residents is grim

Spanish. "Yo no soy americano pero comprendo el ingles." The singer tells of being orphaned. His brother and his wife were killed. He left home to search for wealth. Falsely accused, he fights back against oppressors. He admits to being Joaqin Murieta

Spanish, but the original perhaps lost. In 1907, half the town of Bisbee catches fire. Most residents of the segregated town flee madly. The water fails, so there is no way to control the blaze. The singer sings the song over a glass of beer

Spanish: "Valientes nogalenses Hicieron su deber." The people of Nogales stand up to the invading gringos and fight. The singer accuses the American Blacks of attacking them. The singer praises the heroes of Nogales

"Corrosion has set in, Dahn below, The plates are getting thin, Dahn below, There's a leak in the fore peak, And how those bulkheads creak, I hope we'll last the week, Dahn below." About the ship's weary state and the carpenter's work to keep her afloat

"For thee I left a father's arms, and many a kindred smile, Gay scenes that had a thousand charms, for this lone sea-girt isle" because the singer is "a ruthless Corsair's bride." She didn't dream what she was getting into, and is left weeping

"Goodbye, my loe, goodbye! Our bark is in the bay, And we must gain Isle Idra, Before blush of day. Nay! Weep not though I go." The singer asks for one kiss before going. He promises, "My blood red flag ere long Shall meet thy gaze again."

"Do you weed for the woes of poor wandering Nellie? I love you for that, but I love now no more. All I had long ago lies entomb'd with my Billy, Whose grave rises green on Corunna's lone shore." She describes his battle death, wishing to see his ghost

Corydon (Colin) asks Phoebe (Phyllis) why she flees. She is afraid for her reputation. He says they're not alone; she says she will die a virgin. He replies that he'd come to ask for her hand in marriage, but will seek another. She accepts his hand

"Cosher Bailey had an engine, It was always wanting and mending." Tall tales of Bailey, the engine (bought second-hand, and capable of "four miles an hour"), his sister, brother, daughter, education, and death

Costly Crosshaul, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #18189}

"When a poet's fancy takes its flight Into naught but romance bold," loggers will pay tricks. Greenhorn Billy Dean is ordered into town to pick up a "crosshaul." He is kept in town for months seeking the fictitious equipment -- and billed for the time

"O Massa said from firs' to las', 'Way down in the cott'n-fiel', Eighteen inches an' a half, 'Way down in... Two stalks an' all de grass, 'Way down..." The work is hard. The singer gambles with Jim. There are possoms in the cotton pile

Cottage By the Sea, The: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1743}

The singer thinks about his "joyful days" as a child, gathering shells below the white waves. He recalls his mother's (unspecified) warning "as she took me on her knee." He hopes to return "when life's long day is closing"

An old farmer envies no one "while I have home-brewed, brown bread, and a cottage well-thatched with straw." His father built it with money he earned. The farmer turns no one away from his door before giving him brown bread and home-brewed beer.

The singer will soon return to his old home, "the cottage with the horse-shoe o'er the door." His father is dead and buried and his mother weeps there alone, but he thinks of the happy days of his youth.

Cotton Fields Back Home: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #11662}

"When I was a little bitty baby My mama would rock me in the cradle In them cotton fields back home." "Oh when them cotton bolls get rotten, you can't pick very much cotton." Tales of cotton-picking

"I'm a-gonna starve, ev'rybody will, You can't make a livin' in a cotton mill." The singer talks of the poor wages and hard conditions. He tells how people offer merchandise on easy terms, then repossess it when he can't pay. He works without ever resting

Cotton Mill Song, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #16945}

The singer takes his love for a walk. "She said she loved me dearly and to me she would prove true." "Well now we are to marry for she has named the day ... we'll bring the children up like us to work in the Cotton Mill" if her parents will have him.

Cotton Needs Pickin': (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #16391 and 17447}

"Cotton needs pickin' so bad (x3), I'm gonna pick all over this world." The field worker describes how he contracted with the boss to raise the cotton, but now the boss is finding excuses not to pay him

Cotton seems "a nice kid... Until he became a rolling stone at the age of seventeen." After a brief career as a thief, the sheriff "come got him and threw him in jail." Cotton escapes and vanishes; the singer advises against trying to catch him

"It's about a pie social. It should take the cake." Jim sells the pies but Tom could find none for him. He assumed the last was for him from his beau but found it filled with wool. "No pie to devour, no sweetheart had he."

"If it hadn't been for Cotton-eyed Joe, I'd have been married a long time ago." "Where did you come from, where did you go...." Stanzas describe country life, fiddle playing, and attempts to outshine Cotton-eyed Joe

Cotton's Patch (I): (3 refs. 8K Notes) {Roud #30316}

"Oh, quite early in March, I remember the date, I left for the ice the seals to locate." Finally the pilots find "the main patch" of seals. They return and bargain with Mr. Bowring. At last the merchants strike a deal

Cotton's Patch (II): (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #V44826}

"We got up steam the ninth of March" to seek Cotton's patch. "Oh, didn't we ramble, scramble, But the devil a sign of Cotton's patch we found." After many ships seek in vain, the singer says the only patch they saw "was the patch on Tapper's trousers"

"Ally, bally, ally bally bee, Sittin' on yer mammy's knee, Greetin' for anither bawbee, Tae buy mair Coulter's candy." The parents feed the slender boy on candy, say he will grow up to go to sea, or will later buy candy for them

Forecastle song. Verses quote John Paul Jones, Admiral Farragut, and Captain Lawrence (of the Chesapeake), citing their actions and bravery. Each verse concludes with "And that was the Navy of long, long ago." Sung to the tune of "Spanish Ladies."

Counties of Arkansas, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7541}

"There's Benton, Carroll, Marion, Boone in a line...." The song describes the various counties of Arkansas, with chorus exhorting the students to make Arkansas "The banner state for enterprise, good schools, and moral law" and praising Ouachita county

Floating verses; singer is in jail, possibly dying, lamenting his fate and hard living.

Country Courtship, The: (10 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #313}

Dialog: "When shall we get married"? "As soon as time comes." "What shall I wear to the wedding?" "Thee wold print frock an' thee yepron." "How shall we go to the wedding?" "Thee's got two fine legs to walk wi' I." And so on for many verses

"Sweet (Nelly/Nancy), my heart's delight, Be loving, and do not slight." The singer asks her to fancy him "Though I'm but a farmer's son." She rejects him. He reveals that he has wealth. She says he does not -- but still consents to court him

The "country girl" goes to the fair, and asks the merchant for a bonnet. Having no other money, she pays with her maidenhead. She goes home and tells her mother, who tells her to get it back. The merchant lays her down again and gives it back

"Come all you bloomng country lads and listen unto me." They are told, "Servant men stand up for your wages When to the hirings you do go." The farmers and their families live well while the hired servants endure poor conditions. It is time for change

The singer has left Donegal and is bound for America "where I'm told a man he's paid there for his labour." In Ireland he has seen people starving or "hurled by the landlord from their door." No matter where he goes he will always think of home.

"Although I am a country lass, A lofty mind bear I." Although not from the city, she dresses well and looks beautiful. She does not have city vices. The women of the country do useful work together. She refuses to feel inferior to the women of the city

The singer describes the joy of living and working in the country, reporting "I like to rise when the sun she rises, Early in the morning... And hurrah for the life of the country boy." He describes the work done on the farm in each season

Country Life (II), The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6297}

"Behold in me a farmer's son so jolly." The singer tells what he likes about farming: fields and flowers, birds singing, "milking the old dun cow," hearing the cock crow early, his Mary, ... "I do not like a city life." "A country life's the best"

"Here I am as you may see, I'm Yorkshire to backbone." The singer feeds the animals, plows, and declares "A country life for me." The farmer will ignore the scorn of those who don't know the life -- or fight them. He enjoys Martinmas with his chosen girl

"Almost heaven, West Virginia, Blue Ridge mountains, Shenandoah River." The singer asks the "Country roads" to take him back to West Virginia. Wherever he is, it calls to him

"The best o' human life ... we only find when assembled at a country rockin' .... at sangs we'll hae a hearty yokin' and we'll chat the lays o' Robbie Burns." On the way home "we steal a wee bit kiss Her hert tae move and tell oor love"

County Jail (I), The: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3673}

"As I was standing on a corner, Not doing any harm, Along came a policeman And took me by the arm." The singer ends in prison. He watches the bedbugs and cockroaches play ball. The food is terrible: "The coffee tastes like tobacco juice"

"I used to live a glorious life [until]... they piped into a railroad mail And carried me off to County Jail." The singer recounts the rules, initiation, awful food, beds; Jonah was better off in the whale; "glorious times in County Jail"

Twenty huntsmen and their hounds hunt a buck. He is killed in the hills after a four hour chase. "Nothing was wanting That poor hungry huntsman could wish ... For every man was a dish." There was drinking and dancing; many of the ladies are named.

"Mid the valleys and the hills, Mid the woodlands and the rills, In the land that pleasure fills Is the County of Saline." "Grand old County of Saline, Fertile spot of Egypt's plain." "Broad and fertile are thy fields." "And her people brave and true."

Desiring freedom from his parents, the singer sets out for (Newry/Dover). He meets a girl and, after assuring her of his character, convinces her to elope to Tyrone. They are pursued, but escape by ship. His parents welcome him home

"Our home is in Iowa toward the setting sun, Just between two mighty rivers where the flowing waters run... It has 99 counties, will you join and sing their names?" Educational song listing Iowa's counties, adding information about a few of them

"You get good things for nothing" for coupons now. Singer got his "good for nothing" wife, and is saving coupons for a divorce, a car, and a baby. His wife must have found out about his baby plan because she is making baby clothes.

Courage, Brother, Do Not Stumble: (1 ref. 1K Notes) {Roud #25351}

"Courage, brother! do not stumble, Though your path be dark as night; There's a star to guide the humble: Trust in God, and do the right." "Simple rule and safest guiding, Inward peace, and inward might... Trust in God, and do the right."

French. King of England asks courier why he is troubled. The courier tells of General Braddock's defeat. The king asks if he has lost his best men, and if the bombs and grenades were no help. All the mortars and cannon helped not a whit. The king laments.

Katey, a nobleman's daughter in the Court of Cahirass, is sought by many Dublin lords. She is beautiful and charitable to the sick and needy but has only frowns and coldness for the singer, who loves her. "How fatal the day when we first met each other"

The Cork court is above a meat-market. Some find happiness below "to purchase a beefsteak," others above in justice. "Thus, 'twixt the market-scales and those of law, A strong similitude exists"

(Canadian) French: A sailing crew has been seven years at sea, and is starving. They draw straws to decide which one of them they will kill and eat. The Captain is chosen, but asks a cabin boy to take his place. At the last moment, the boy spies land

Jock sets out to meet Kate by the gate of the farm where she works. She being late, and he being drunk, he mistakes a steer for his girl and sets out to kiss her. He thinks she has turned to a steer, but she arrives to correct him; eventually they wed

The singer loves a girl in Buchan and she accepts his ring. While he is in Edinburgh on business a rich suitor wins her hand. The singer returns and asks her why she abandoned him. Her reason is that he never kissed her. He won't make that mistake again.

Courting Case, The: (17 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #361}

Man comes courting a woman. She reminds him that she told him never to return. He offers her his "very fine house," his "very fine farm," his "very fine horse," etc.; (she rejects them all because he is a gambler/drunkard/whatever).

Courting Coat, The: (11 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #516}

The singer takes his girl to bed while still in his (pit boots/navvy boots/courting coat). She fears pregnancy ("the baby will come with his pit boots on"); he laughs it off -- but runs away, still wearing the boots. Women are warned to beware

The singer warns listeners against love, "The devil's own invention." He courts a serving girl in her master's kitchen. When her master returns unexpectedly, she claims that the singer was forcing himself upon her. He winds up in prison

The young swain creeps into his sweetheart's house, but the young couple cannot keep quiet. The girl's mother, a widow, creeps down -- and tries to get the young man for herself! He insults her, and she drives him off with a broom

Courtown Fishermen, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #20544}

On June 9 a crowd collects at Courtown Harbour: "I fear the Glenrose she is lost" with six on board, capsized on the fishing ground by a sudden squall. "How could you pass them by ... For pity they besought of you to snatch them from the waves."

Cousin Harry and Cousin Nellie sit under a tree. Nellie whispers, "Cousin Harry, what is love?" He answers it is "a passion, a passion to be felt." He demonstrates. As he "reached home with a shove," she declares, "This must be love."

"You ask me for a song, folks... Don't blame me if I do not suit, For nature has its call.... It's second nature to that class Of lads called 'Cousin Jacks.'" There are Jacks on the mountains and the plains and in mines. None can mine like the Cornish

"Many years ago our cherries Were the haws and huckleberries That were wild and free as air." The Indians are gone, replaced by cherry orchards. "We all extend a greeting To the people of this meeting For this is our holiday."

Cove that Sings, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6034}

The singer, hearing of "the luck of a 'cove wot writes," believes his own luck better as "a cove wot sings" the comic line. When performing he gets free drink. He gets free food from admirers, free rooms from landladies, and free port from landlords

A lullaby and a lament: the singer asks how to preserve her baby, for "Herod the king, in his raging, charged he hath this day His men of might in his own sight All children young to slay."

Cow Ate the Piper, The: (9 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #8147}

In the troubles of '98, piper Denny Byrne cannot find work. Needing shoes, he tries to take boots from an executed soldier -- but pulls down legs as well. He sleeps that night in a cowshed; in the morning the farmer assumes the cow has eaten the piper

Cow Camp on the Range: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #8043}

"Oh, the prairie dogs are screaming, And the birst are on the wing, See the heel fly chase the heifer, boys! 'Tis the first class sign of spring." The singer appreciates the food and the end of winter, and says there is no home like the range camp

The singer wakes up to find the girl he loves has gone. He considers drowning himself in the river. He goes to the barn and a cow hooks him with its horn. "She hurt my heart, you might have heard me cry"

Paddy Shinahan makes poteen. His cow drinks some, becomes drunk, and fights Paddy. She wakes with a broken horn and advises "all good cows" to shun drink. When her milk was brown, Una, the milkmaid, thinks it was the cow's blood. Paddy does not betray her

"Coward, coward, buttermilk soured, Ain't been churned in 24 hours."

"Cowardy cowardy custard, You ate your father's mustard." Or "Cowry cowry custard, Your mother's made of mustard," or "Dip your head in mustard"

"Cowaye cowaye Cut a roadie throw aye A peck for a firlot [35 pounds] A firlot for a bowaye [bowl]"

"A man there lives on the Western plain With a ton of fight and an ounce of brains." The song tells of the wild exploits of the cowboy: "He feels unwell unless in strife" "He snuffs out candles with pistol balls" "He fills with terror all he meets"

Cowboy Again for a Day: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5092}

The singer urges time (or film) to "turn backward." He wishes to replace airplanes and automobiles with "my sombrero and flaps." He recalls the old days. His wish is that someone "Make me a cowboy again for a day."

"You may call the cowboy horned and think him hard to tame.... But to know him is to like him, notwithstanding his hard name, For he will divide with you his beef and bread." He works hard in tough conditions "but his heart is warm and tender"

Cowboy Boasting Chants: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #15536}

Cowboy boasts of his exploits, talking about/to the horses he rides. Samples: "Born on the Colorado, Sired by an alligator, I'm a bold, bad man from Cripple Creek, Colorado." To the horse: "Git higher, git higher, The higher you git's too low for me."

The cowboy wanders into church in his work clothes, noting "on the plains we scarcely know a Sunday from a Monday." The crowd is upset, though the preacher too is dressed in "the trappings of his trade." He reflects on how people look down on cowboys

Having quarreled with his sweetheart, Jack joins a band of cowboys. He decides to return home and ask forgiveness after singing about a faithful girl. He arrives too late; his sweetheart has died with his name on her lips

Jump-rope rhyme. "Cowboy Joe, From Mexico, Hands up, stick 'em up, Cowboy Joe!" Or, "...stick 'em up, And out you go!"

"There's a blue sky way up yonder, There's a blue sky over my head. There's a blue sky way up yonder that's a cover for my head. And wherever I wander, and wherever I roam, There's a blue sky way up yonder that's a calling me home!"

"Tonight as I rode 'round my cattle, I thought of my once-cozy home, So full of the little one's prattle, And wondered how I came to roam." The singer lists all the parts of cowboy life that he will not miss, such as cold, wet, and long hours

"Though your backs they are weak An' your legs they ain't strong, Don't be skairt, little dogies, We'll get there 'fore long." The singer encourages the cattle; even though right now the trail is dry and ugly, there are better places ahead

Singer, a cowboy, comes to an Indian village; they welcome him. He meets a girl; they ride the trail together, courting as they go. A war party overtakes them, taking the girl and leaving him wounded. She returns; he asks her to bury him by the trail

"I want to be a cowboy And with the cowboys stand, With leather chaps upon my legs...." He'll have a fine saddle and gun. He hopes to be tough and "so very bad." "At punching cows I know I'll shine; I'm sure I'll take the cake."

"Down, down, hold me down, It takes more than one man to hold me down." Repeat with two men, three men, etc.

Cowboy's Dream, The: (38 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4453}

"One night as I lay on the prairie... I wondered if ever a cowboy Could drift to that sweet by and by.... Roll on, roll on, roll on, little dogies, roll on, roll on...." A cowboy's reflections on the afterlife, with the images cast in herding terms

Cowboy's Farewell, The: (3 refs.) {Roud #5095 and 12693}

"A cowboy lay out on the prairie... Oh, he had a quart of good liquor, And nearly a full quart of gin." He has been a cowboy all his life, avoiding farming and sheep ranches. He regretfully drinks to those who have taken over his cattle range

Cowboy's Life (I), The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #8062}

"The bawl of a steer To a cowboy's ear Is music of sweetest strain; And the yelping notes Of the gray coyotes To him are a glad refrain." The cowboy recalls home and girl, and concludes, "Saddle up, boys, For the work is play."

Cowboy's Life (II), The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #838}

"The cowboy's life is a dreary old life, All out in the sleet and snow, When the winter comes, he begins to think Where his summer wages go." He heads out looking for fun. He loses his money in a poker game and heads back to the ranch to seek work again

"A cowboy's life is a weary, dreary life, Some say it's free from care." The singer complains of long hours, rising too early in the day, howling wild animals, bad weather, and wealthy bosses

Cowboy's Meditation: (7 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4453}

"At midnight when cattle are sleeping," the cowboy looks at the stars and wonders. Are they inhabited worlds with cowboys and cattle ranges? Do cowboys there wonder about our sun? Will he meet mother in heaven? When dawn breaks, he gets back to work

Cowboy's Prayer (I), A: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #11201}

"Oh Lord, I've never lived where churches grow"; the speaker prefers the wilderness as God created it. He is thankful that he is "no slave of whistle, clock, or bell." He apologises for his failings, and asks for guidance in the future

"Guard me, Lord, while I'm a-riding 'cross the dusty range out there From the dangers that are hiding on the trail so bleak and bare." The cowboy asks for guidance and protection, and concludes "At last to heaven lead me, up in the home corral."

"Oh, for a ride o'er the prairies free, On a fiery untamed steed...." The singer describes guiding the horse on its travels, concluding "You can have your ride in the crowded town! Give me the prairies free... Oh, that's the ride for me."

Cowboy's Soliloquy (I), The: (10 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5102}

"All day (long) on the prairies I ride, Not even a dog to run by my side." The solitary cowboy describes his life on the prairie -- where, e.g., "My books are the brooks, my sermons the stones" (the latter teaching him "not to despise" small things).

"I am a cowpuncher From off the north side... My life is a hard one." The singer tells of a cowboy's life "Out on the Little Dry." They bring the cattle to food and water. It's dull. Nights are cold. No one will help him if he dies; they'll bury him there

"We all made the guess by the cut of his dress An' the tenderfoot style that he slung" that the visitor was some unacceptable alien. He says he can ride anything; they offer him the horse called "Satan." He rider tames Satan, for he is Bronco Bill Snyder

Cowboys' Christmas Ball, The: (7 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4634}

"Way out in western Texas where the Clear Forks waters flow... It was there that I attended the Cowboys' Christmas Ball." The location is described, as are all the people who show up. The singer expects to recall the excitement forever

Cowboys' New Years Dance, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #12501}

"We were sitting round the ranch house some twenty hands or more, Most of us Americans but a few from Arkansas...." "Twas with them I attended the Cowboys' New Years Ball." The extravagant dance is described in extravagant terms

The key members of Orange Lodge One-Six-Two are named. Then the singer puts himself at the Boyne. "When we ... had safely crossed I fell into a dream" of Joshua leading "us" across Jordan and around Jericho until "it came tumbling"

If you like "lang kail" [see notes] cull the nettle early. Cull it low and soon, in June, before it blooms. Cull it by the wall, where the sun doesn't fall, at dawn. Cull it with an old toothless sickle and old leather-palmed gloves.

"The cows are in the meadow, Laying down to rest, Around the king, around the queen, We all jump up together."

Creole French lullabye: "Fais dodo, mon fls, Crabe dans lalalou." "Go to sleep, my son, Crabs are in the pot." Father has gone to the river; mother is catching crabs.

"I went up the hill, I found a still, So gather round, boys, we will all keep mum. It's bad, it's sad, it's a shame." "Ed" is killed in a shootout (?), and those with the moonshine are chased by the sheriff. They end up in court before a dishonest judge

Crack Schooner Moonlight, The: (2 refs. 4K Notes) {Roud #19861}

"Oh, we towed out the Moonlight, dropped the tug in the gale With the old Law before us and the Porter on our tail." "Hurrah for a race down the Lakes!" The sailor describes the wind and how they "leave the Law, the Damforth, and others by the score."

Rope-skipping game. "Cracker, cracker, Penny a cracker, When you pull them, They go bang."

"Baloo, loo baby, now baloo, my dear, now baloo, loo lammie, your mammie is here." The singer consoles her baby through all the wind and storm, while lamenting that its father is out on the sea. She hopes the child's "wauk'nin' be blyther than mine."

The cradle has stopped rocking and "'twould need a man wi' tartan hose" to make it rock again.

Crafty Farmer, The [Child 283; Laws L1]: (47 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #2640 and 2637}

A farmer carrying money from/for a transaction is met by a robber. The robber demands his money; the farmer throws it on the grass. While the robber gathers it, the farmer makes off with the robber's horse and all the wealth in his saddlebags

"Three hearty young men in the country do dwell"; they go out poaching. "Sweet Lips and Reuben" go out to set up pheasant decoys to try to lure the poachers, but the poachers ignore them to take real game, leaving a few to breed more

Bony escapes, Louis flees Paris and Sandy and Donald lead highlanders and Scots Greys to meet Bony at Waterloo. "A favourite eagle was ta'en by a Grey." The French run. Bonaparte is sent to St Helena. "We'll chant ower this story to auld Scotia's glory"

The singer calls on the muses to help him express his farewell. He must leave home, parting from friends and Craiganee and a girl he will not name. He describes how she watches him from the shore, and hopes they will meet again

Singer overhears two lovers. She asks that he take her with him from Ireland. He is leaving to buy a plantation in America where she will join him. She says, before he dies, he would wish one sight of the Bann River. He bids farewell to Craigie Hill.

"Have you ever been down to the cranberry bogs? Some of the houses are hewn out of logs...." Asked to sing, the singer tells stories of the cranberry harvest. The fruit are gathered after most other crops are in, so all sorts of people happily take part

"Off we go, into the wild blue yonder... Crash!"

"God rest you, merry gentlemen, Be not moved at my strain"; the singer hopes hearers will laugh. "The ale it is a gallant thing." "'Twill make the parson forget his men." All are urged to drink and forget their cares: "Be frolicsome, every one."

"The craw killed the pussy-o (x2), The muckle cat Sat doon and grat Behind the wee bit housie, O!" "The craw killed the pussy-o (x2), And aye, aye, the kitten cried, 'Oh, who'll bring me mousie-o?"

"You get a line and I'll get a pole... And we'll go down to the crawdad hole, Honey, baby mine." "What you gonna do when the lake runs dry, honey...." Sundry verses about catching crawdads, rural life, and (presumably) sexual innuendo

The singer stops at a tavern for whiskey and hay for his mare. When the mare is startled by a train, he is thrown from the sleigh. The mare is gone: he thinks killed by the train. She is at the tavern. She says she left because he is nasty when drunk.

Henry deserts Jane, "and with him forever fled the wits of Crazy Jane." She tells the story to each frightened passerby and each "in pity cries: 'God help poor Crazy Jane!'" "When men flatter, sigh and languish, Think them false, I found them so"

Crazy Song to the Air of "Dixie": (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #29315}

"Way down south in the land of cotton, I wrote this song and wrote it rotten, I did, I didn't -- you don't believe me. The reason why I cannot sing I have no chestnuts for to spring...." Other nonsense of similar calibre follows

"Crazyhead, Michael, Crazyhead, Michael, If you go across the street, You ill be crying, crying, crying so hard."

Creeping and Crawling: (9 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #329}

The young man, creeping and crawling, seduces the maid, taking a knife to cut the tie on her drawers. He leaves her to lament nine months later.

Racehorse Creeping Jane is not well known, but wins a race despite a slow start -- and is still fresh, though the course exhausted the other animals. After Jane dies, plans are made to keep her body from the hounds

"Creepy, creepy, little mouse, All the way to X's house."

Creggan White Hare, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #9633}

Barney Conway hunts the famous Creggan White Hare. He finds the hare but she eludes his dogs. He calls in sportsmen "with pedigree greyhounds" who arrive "in a fine motor-car." She eludes the seven men and nine dogs. "Health to the Creggan White Hare"

Crepe On the Little Cabin Door: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #30115}

The singer left his home, breaking his mother's heart. He wastes time "on women, wine and song." He gets a letter from his mother asking that he come home to see her. When he finally returns home he finds crepe on the door. His mother is dead.

The Gin, with a crew from Boston Bay, is lost in the fog off Jefferey's. They drift until "I can smell the beans, we are drifted home" says the captain. They drop anchor, "and were guided by the sinful smell as we walked ashore on the fog"

"It's of a stately vessel, a vessel of great fame, And if you want to know her, the Clara Youell's her name.... She's the pride of Goderich harbor, and she's in the lumber line." The singer describes the captain, cook, and crew

"Cribisse! Cribisse! pas gain di tout "show" bebe!... Creyole trappe ye pou' fait gumbo bebe." Sung in English and in (Creole) French, this song mocks the propensity of the Creole to be found around crawfish and vice versa.

A girl picks a flower containing a cricket and a crab-louse. Both transfer to her body; the crab-louse takes up residence in her vagina. The next day, he escapes and tells the cricket of the horrors he experienced while she had sex

Arty Art, Dandrum Dart, and Brother-in-Three ask, in turn, "Where are ye going?"; Cricketty Wee answers, "To the fair." He will buy a pony, he will marry, will drink, will eat, will put food away, a cat will guard it; his children will work for death

"A widow and her children three at Parkridge, Illinois, Was happy and contented with two daughters and her boy." But "she would be wealthy If she'd only change her name." The family moves to Quiet Dell, where they are murdered as they try to escape

"Way out west in Oregon in 1923, The D'Autremont brothers wrecked the train as brutal as could be." Four of the train crew are killed. The brothers flee, are caught almost four years later, and "noe they are in prison for the lives they led."

Crimean War, The [Laws J9]: (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1924}

Johnny and his mother together tell of Johnny's part in the Crimean War. Having fought at Alma, Balaclava, and Sevastopol, he is now safely (and happily) home again

Creole French. Candio comes asking the young woman to "make merry" with him. He follows her everywhere and repeats his pestering. She repeats her refusal, and wishes the listeners had met him so they would know what pressure he put her under

Cripple Creek (I): (27 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3434}

Often found as a fiddle tune with words: "I got a gal at the head of the creek, Goin' up to see her 'bout the middle of the week...." "Goin' up to Cripple Creek, Goin' at a run, Goin' up to Cripple Creek to have a little fun." Most verses involve courting

"Buck Creek girl, don't you want to go to Cripple Creek? Cripple Creek girl, don't you want to go to town?" (x2). Alternately, "Buck Creek girls, don't you want to go to Somerset? Somerset girl, don't you want to go to town?"

A porter meets Cripple Kirsty and asks if she's thirsty. She offers to pay half and they stop at a tavern. When she asks for another round he refuses. She says the drink she had was good and tells him to call on her the next time he would share a round.

Cripple of Cornwall, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #12763}

"Of a stout cripple that kept the highway, And begged for his living all time of the day." Besides begging, the cripple also leads a band of robbers who work the highway. He intends to retire, but attacks Lord Courtney and is eventually captured and hung

A merchant wants to lay with a girl one night. She puts dishes on a chair near her bed. In the dark he breaks the dishes and chair and wakes her mother. She calls the police and he has to pay for the crockery ware and broken chair.

Cromie's Orange Buck, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #2889}

Coming from a Hibernian Ball Misses M'Nulty and O'Hare meet Cromie's ranting Buck. He says he had "full authority from all the Orange boys" to "rip you on the ground." They run for protection to Barney Greenan who saves them. Ladies: travel protected.

"Ye'll mount yer bit naiggie an' ride your wa'sdoun... There wons an auld blacksmith, we'Janet his wife, And a queerer auld cock ye ne'er met in your life." The singer describes the smith's odd haunt, then starts to describe the people of the town

"In Paradise I am again, There's objects here inspire my view, And if I your favor still retain, You'll find I'm still a sailor." The singer will not disgrace his sailor's clothing, and hopes the girls will like him. He will respect all, high and low

Crook and Plaid, The: (7 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5960}

"O, I'll no hae the laddie That drives the cart or ploo... But I will hae the laddie That has my heart betrayed, He's my bonny shepherd laddie And he wears the crook and plaid." She praises his beauty, his kindness, and his faithfulness

Women were created from man's crooked rib which explains "the crooked nature some women are" Like Eve, most women betray their husband. Men claim they can control their wife, but they can't. "From great guns and bad women's tongues, O Lord deliver me!"

Crooked Trail to Holbrook, The: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4037}

"Come all you hunky punchers that follow the bronco steer, I'll sing to you a verse or two your spirits for to cheer." The singer grumbles about a trip from Globe City (?) to Holbrook, marked by windstorms and stampedes; he's glad to be back home

"Oh! whar awa' got ye that auld crookit (penny/plaidie)?" He offers one of gold and "a mantle o' satin" to go with him to Glen Shee. She will only accept "the laddie that gave me the penny." If he is that man "whar's your crookit bawbee?"

Croppies Lie Down (I): (5 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #V17442}

"We soldiers of Erin, so proud of the name, Will raise upon Rebels and Frenchmen our fame... and make all the traitors and croppies lie down." The rebels murder parsons and women but run from soldiers. If the French land they'll lie with the croppies.

"In the County of Wexford these rebels did rise." The Orange-men made them retreat. The Vinegar Hill battle is recalled. Esmond, Kay, Harvey and Hay are turned over to General Moore and executed after courtmartial. "Derry down, down, Croppy lie down"

Croppy Boy (I), The [Laws J14]: (31 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #1030}

The singer, a young Irish patriot, is arrested. A girl (his sister?) gives evidence against him, and he is sentenced to die. As he is waiting to be hanged, his father denies him, naming him "The Croppy Boy"

The boy asks to speak to the priest. He will go to Wexford to fight as the last of his family. He asks the "priest" to bless him. The real priest had been captured; this "priest" is a yeoman captain in disguise. The boy hangs at Geneva Barracks

The Coal Creek mine blows up, killing 150 miners. The families grieve and the usual prayers are prayed for the dead

A child's affirmation of truthfulness: "Cross my heart and hope to die, Stick a needle in my eye." Other assertions may follow

Jump-rope rhyme for two jumpers: "Cross the river, cross the lake, I hope that (Sally) makes a bad mistake; Cross the river, cross the lake, I hope that (Mary) makes a bad mistake."

"Keep in right with Lady Luck, my dear, Find a good luck charm, and keep it near; Love will surely come to you On some lucky day." "Cross your fingers and make a wish, And maybe your wish will come true." Don't break mirrors, keep a horseshoe

"Good old neighbor's gone along/Crossed old Jordan's stream"; successive verses substitute "mother", "Christian." Chorus: "Thank God I got religion and I do believe/Crossed old Jordan's stream."

jump-rope rhyme, reportedly done with two players skipping in opposite directions. "Cross the bridge (x3) To London." Or, "Crossing the bridge To London town, One jumps up, And the other down, If you jump, Win ten peppers And run right through"

"Parson, I'm a maverick, just runnin' loose and grazin'." The singer "had no raisin'"; he has no church affiliation, but asks the parson to pray for him "when I cross the Big Divide." He says he has tried to be honest and follow the rules

"Come all you Californians, I pray ope wide your ears." The singer describes the overland passage to California. The travelers are told what to bring, and warned of troubles. The singer would have gone around the horn if he had known what he now knows

Crossing the Waters: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #22183}

Jump-rope rhyme. "Crossing the waters, one by one. Crossing the waters, two by two." Presumably continues through higher numbers.

Crosspatrick leaves "for New Zealand, with their families and their wives." Five days out the ship is wrecked by fire. The captain and his wife try to save others. "Out of four hundred passengers and forty of a crew, There were only four of them left."

Crow and Pie [Child 111]: (3 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #3975}

The singer woos a maid encountered in a forest. She spurns him, repeating with each refusal "the crowe shall byte yew". He takes her by force, then taunts "the pye hath peckyd yew." He refuses to marry, give money, or tell his name. All maids take warning

"The crow he peeped at the weasel (x3) AND The weasel he peeped at the crow."

Crow Song (I), The: (9 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #747?}

"Oh, said the blackbird to the crow, To yonder cornfield I must go, Picking up corn has been my trade, Ever since Adam and Eve was made." Regarding the life of the crow and other birds

"Says White Pine Tom to Arkansaw, 'There's one more drive I'd like to strike.' Says Arkansaw, 'What can it be?' "It's the Crow Wing River for the old Pine Tree." The loggers leave Bemidji for Brainerd, where they "make some noise."

Dance tune with floating verses: "Chicken crowed for midnight, chicken crowed for day/Along came an owl, and toted that chicken away." Chorus: "Crow black chicken, crow for day/Crow black chicken, fly away/I love chicken pie."

Crowd of Bold Sharemen, A: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6344}

"It was early in June, b'ys, When we sailed away" with a young skipper and crew, "And a crowd of bold sharemen." Skipper withholds oil until the sharemen threaten to destroy the catch. Skipper threatens to go home until the sharemen threaten to sue.

"I had a pious (father/mother/brother/sister) that I once loved dear, He's been gone for many a year, He has lain in his grave for many a day Till the power of God shall call him away. There's a crown for you, and a crown for me, Glory be to God...."

"Crown in the garden, pulling up corn (x2), Catch 'em, catch 'em, string 'em up and stretch 'em." The marauding crows are condemned; the gardeners who cannot stop them insulted. The world is said to be full of crows -- some of whom seek money, not corn

"The crows kept flyin' up, boys, The crows kept flyin' up. The dog he seen and whimpered, boys, Though he was but a pup. The lost was found, we brought in round, And took him from the place. While ants was swarmin' on the grass...."

"They nailed the Savior to a cross and left him there to die, 'Forgive them, Father, O forgive,' That was the Savior's cry. Crucified, crucified, And nailed upon a tree, Crucified, crucified, He suffered there for me."

Cruel Brother, The [Child 11]: (28 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #26}

A man and woman agree to wed, but fail to ask her brother's permission. As the woman prepares for the wedding, her brother stabs her. She does not name her murderer, but reveals the facts in the terms of her will.

"Though cruel fate should us part, As far as pole an' line." her memory should stay in his heart; though mountains and deserts separate them, the singer would still love "Jean."

Cruel Gamekeeper, The: (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1313}

A farmer's daughter, pregnant, asks the gamekeeper, her lover, to marry. He refuses, kills her and, after ripping her open, kills the baby. He is caught and condemned to be hanged.

Cruel Mother, The [Child 20]: (66 refs. 5K Notes) {Roud #9}

A woman is (preparing to be wed, but is) pregnant (by another man). When her child(ren) is/are born, she kills him/them. As she proceeds to the church to be wed, the child(ren) appear to her to condemn her for her act.

The carpenter gets the girl pregnant. They meet, allegedly to plan their wedding. He announces he spent the night digging her grave, then murders her. He flees to sea; her ghost follows to demand justice. His crime is revealed, and the man dies

"In 1861, By then the cruel war had begun, And the boys all hastened away, away, And the boys all hastened away." "In 1862, We wished the cruel war was through." In 1863, Lincoln freed the slaves; in 1864, they heard the war was over

Cruel Was the Press Gang: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #V1839}

"Oh! cruel was the press-gang That took my love from me; Oh! cruel was the little ship That took him out to sea; And cruel was the splinter-board That took away his leg; Now he is forced to fiddle-scrape And I am forced to beg."

"On the nineteenth of May, ninety-four... Was the loss of the schooner Shupe, which I am going to tell." The Shupe is sinnking near Port Huron. A tug, the Thompson, tries to help. The Shupe's crew is saved, but four from the tug die; Dan Lynn survives

"The boat has slipped her moorings, The mules have whisked their tails." The Bouncing Sally sails on the Schuylkill. "Chief" Bangs works with the mules. They see a "phantom vessel" "With a phantom crew to man her." The ghost boat drifts away

The whaling vessel fits out and sails. The singer names the owners and captain. They visit Peru and Japan. The sailors spot a whale and compete to catch it first. They return home. The singer prepares to make merry.

"The good schooner Lapwing from Jonesport bears away" to go winter fishing at Grand Manan. The singer describes the ship and the girls left behind. They see other ships. The Ocean Belle loses a race with the Mary O. Andrews

"Sailor mates, come here abaff, And listen to me a while, I'll sing to you of a fishing craft That hails from a sea-girt isle." The Nancy was a good boat. They meet storms. They arrive home with some damage. "And so, I-oh, it ended O."

Cruising Round Yarmouth: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2432}

Sailor on leave in Yarmouth tells a girl he's a fast-going clipper; he takes her in tow to her house, where he puts his jib boom into her cabin. He drinks a health to the girl, and to the doctor who "squared his main yards -- he's a-cruising again"

"Let the farmer praise his grounds, as the hunter does his hounds" and so on, but the singer prefers his full jug. He reviews the benefits and when death comes to take him he will have death wait while he has "another crooskeen lawn"

Pat O'Hurry tries to sell his old cow, but has no luck. She refuses to travel further; when he threatens to butcher her, she comes back to life. She costs him dearly in travel expenses. At last he manages to foist off the animal

"The cry is 'All up! Let us haste away!' And like hearty good fellows we'll row through the bay. Haul up, my young men, Pull away, my old blades, For the county gives bounty For the pilchard trades." Girls cause conflict between husbands and wives

Street cry. "'Charrd, pilcharrd, pilcharrd, pilcharrd!"

"Cry, baby, cry, (Stick/put) your finger [or "a needle"] in your eye, And tell your mother It wasn't I/eye."

Complaints about prison life. Refrain: "It's hard times in (Cryderville) jail, It's hard times, poor boy." Sample stanzas: "Durant jail beats no jail at all; If you want to catch hell, got to Wichita Falls." "Lice and the bedbugs have threatened my life."

Tom is courting Nancy; her parents worry. Old Kate fears that the lovers will have a child who will drown. She tells the young ones, and "They all went crying home, Tom, old man, wife and daughter. Each night the ghost doth come and cries upon the water"

Crystal Spring, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1391}

Captain courts his true love; promises to maintain her, mentions his loaded ship just arrived from Spain. She says men are fickle; he promises to be true

Gaelic. "Cuckoo, where will we spend the summer? Cuckoo, we'll spend it in the glens"

Spanish: "Cuatros palomitas blancas (x3), Sentadas en un alero (x2)." "Unas a las otras dicen, 'No hay amor como el primero.'" Four white doves perch and tell each other, "'There is no love like the first.'" They (or the singer) prefer kisses to food.

"Go, preachers, and tell it to the world (x3), Poor mourners found a home at last. Through free grace and a dying lamb (x3), Poor mourners found a home at last." Similarly, "Go, fathers...."; "Go, mothers...." etc.

"Cucanandy-nandy, cucanandy-o (x2), Throw him over, over, throw him over th sea, Throw him over, over, he'll be here today." "He didn't dance, dance, he didn't dance today... no, nor yesterday." "Throw him up... he'll be here by and by."

Recognized by the references in the chorus to "la cucaracha" (the cockroach). The verses may describe the girls in various towns, and the way to court them. The chorus translates, "The cockroach doesn't want to travel because she has no marijuana"

Macaronic. "He didn't dance today... he won't till after tea." "Throw him oversea... He'll be here for tea." "Throw him up high...he'll come down by-and-by"

Cuckold by Consent, A: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7283}

A miller intends to sleep with a customer and has his wife put her in the parlour bed for the night. The maid and wife trade places. In the morning the miller tells Jack to sleep with the woman in the parlour bed cuckolding himself "with my own consent"

"Oh, I went to (St. Petersburg), where the water's so good, And I heard there a cuckoo bird As he sang in the wood. Oh-lee-ah, oh-lee-ah, Coo-ke-ya, Oh-lee-ah." The singer will marry his "maiden fair" when the winter ends

"Cuckoo [or "cook a ball," or "keppy ball"], cherry-tree, catch a bird and give it to me [or "Come down the long lonning and tell to me"]" the form of the singer's future spouse: "Once a maiden, two a wife, Three a maiden, four a wife"

"Three times round the Cuckoo Waltz (x3), Lovely Susie Brown. Fare thee well, my charming girl, Fare thee well I'm gone, Fare the well, my charming girl, With golden slippers on." "Choose your pard as we go round, We'll all take Susie Brown...."

"The cuckoo is a pretty bird, she sings as she flies; she brings us glad tidings, and she tells us no lies." Many versions are women's complaints about men's false hearts (usually similar to "The Wagoner's Lad/Old Smokey")

Cuckoo's Nest (I), The: (8 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5407}

Singer meets a girl and tells her his inclination lies in her cuckoo's nest. She's shocked at first, but his words are convincing; she consents. (He leaves her with the makings of a young cuckoo.)

Cuckoo's Nest (II), The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1506}

Lyric song in praise of the female "cuckoo's nest." Behind a thorn bush a man and woman are busy "hairing at the cuckoo's nest," which " isn't easy found"

The singer tells Jock that idleness is the cause of poverty. Now well off, he began with only a cuddy [donkey] and a pack. Finally, he opened a shop, married and had children. "Freens tak my advice ... If a stout heart ye hae ye may climb a stiff brae"

Jamaican patois: Cudelia Brown, what makes your head so red? It's because you sit in the sunshine with nothing on your head. The singer meets Mister Ivan one night and he said he gave Neita "de drop, Jamaica flop an' de moonshine drop (hah! hah!)"

Gaelic. A lullaby. The baby's feet are being washed and the baby is given a drink.

In August the crew took its dried codfish to Monroe. There was no one at the plant to cull [grade] the fish. The new rules make grading more strict. "According to instructions and the outline in view, There's no 'number one' so [it] must go 'number two'"

"The heather bell blooms o'er the dead ... They mark the warrior's gory grave ... Where mouldering in the dust is laid The hero of the plume and plaid"

"Culloden moor, Long wilt thou be remembered ... On thee the clans of Scotland bled for their dear royal Charlie...." "Traitor knaves with bribery base Made death's darts fly fu' rarely, Ah! Scotland lang will min' the place She lost her royal Charlie"

"Cum , Geordy, haud the bairn, Aw's sure aw'll not stop lang." The woman goes out briefly, leaving the child because she is "not strang." When the child becomes upset, Geordy is unable to calm it, and talks of the weary work his wife must do

The singer is "a dacent policeman, the pride o the Glesca Force." When he meets friends he says "Cumarachandhu." When he passes the boys "in ma bonnie coat o' blue" "they cry as I pass by, 'There goes Cumarachandhu'"

Cumberland Crew, The [Laws A18]: (28 refs. 49K Notes) {Roud #707}

The crew of the Cumberland, attacked by the CSS Virginia/Merrimac, fight back as best they can, though their shot bounces off the Confederate's armored hull. The Cumberland fights until it is rammed and sunk

Stories of the settlement of Cumberland Gap. Texts may have a variety of verses, about exploration or the Civil War. The chorus is diagnostic: "Lay down boys and take a little nap; (Fourteen miles to the) Cumberland Gap."

"Dear wife I hope this you will find In health of body and of mind And my dear babes whom I adore I live in hopes to see once more." The singer, who has left home for Cumberland, advises his wife, asks guidance of God, and hopes for peace for Cumberland

Cumberland, The [Laws A26]: (13 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #630}

The singer praises the virtues of "a gintale (genteel) cup o' tay": "Och, prate about your wine, or poteen mighty fine, There's no such draught as mine." Whiskey makes the head sore, but tea brings good company. The singer thanks the Chinese for it

On a rainy night, the singer is awakened by a knocking at the door. It proves to be a winged boy with a bow (obviously Cupid). Once dry, he departs, saying, "My bow is not damaged / Nor yet is my dart / but you will have trouble / In bearing the smart"

The singer sees a youth breaking up the soil. She calls him "Cupid the plowboy," imagines his farm tools to be Cupid's arrows, and confesses that seeing "Cupid" has driven her current love from her mind. The plowboy hears her lament and offers marriage

The singer wanders down to (Cupid's/Covent) Garden and meets (lovely Nancy). He asks her if she will marry him. She says she will remain a virgin and/or she has another lover. He hopes to return and marry her

"Once did I love a bonny brave bird, And thought he had been all my own, But he lov'd another far better than me, And has taken his flight and is flown." The jilted lover in turn has turned to another, leaving the first lover lonely

Jump-rope rhyme. "Cups and saucers set for tea, How many are there? You and me." (Or, perhaps, one, two, three....)

"Cups and saucers, plates and dishes [or "china dishes"], There goes Sally [or "my old man"] in calico britches."

Dutch. Forbitter shanty. "Curacao, 'khebjouw zo menigmaal bekeken." The singer has been to Curacao many times; he dislikes the tricks they play, and the women and inns trying to take his money. He hopes to get back to the Netherlands and better women

"Cur-i-osity killed the cat, Information made him fat."

The singer at first rejoices in his head of hair, even though it has brought him unwanted attention from apes and bears. But now he has a scolding wife, who often twists his hair, and he resolves to go and have the hair cut

"Curly locks, curly locks, wilt thou be mine? Thou shalt not wash dishes nor yet feed the swine, But sit on a cushion and sew a fine seam, And feed upon strawberries, sugar, and cream."

Curragh of Kildare, The: (19 refs. 4K Notes) {Roud #583}

"Oh, the winter it has passed, And the summer's come at last, The small birds are singing in the trees." The birds are glad, but the singer is weary of being apart from his love and will set out for the Curragh of Kildare to learn of her.

The party began with gin for the men and wine for the women. "The grub it did fly ... all [had] some cake." A "tipsy" man asks after the raffle but the bride said "There's nothing raffled here tonight". They all danced. Guests sailed off in the morning

On a Christmas morning, a group of young people gather to carol and dance. A priest, who is saying mass, looks on in disapproval. The young people cannot stop dancing; they dance for a year, until many die or go mad or wander broken in body

"Oh, Curtis House is still as a mouse, There is no other place for me. I look away across the lake" hoping to see a place with better food. The singer also thinks of the hard times after a blizzard, when loggers face "two-foot ice and five-foot snow."

Cushnie Winter Sports, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #6071}

[After Jean Adam was hurt] Dauvid Ferries was "doctor till the doctor cam'." Effie Milne "swore she wad the laddie kill." If we affront Effie, "Willie Forbes'll gie's a dunt." Rachie would go no more "for fear o' getting her ... laid bare"

"I'm going to tell you something baby, Ain't gonna tell you no lies, I want some of that custard pie. You got to give me some of it (x3) Before you give it all away." The singer informs the woman that she has the best pie in the world, and requests part

Custer's Last Charge (I): (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #8598}

Custer leads his men into battle against the Sioux; a fierce scene is described, with bullets flying and dead falling on both sides. Three hundred US soldiers are killed and scalped by the Indians, who leave Custer with his dead

"Cut them on Monday, you cut them for health, Cut them on Tuesday, you cut them for wealth, Cut them on Wednesday, you cut them for news... Cut them on Saturday, see your true love tomorrow, Cut them on Sunday, ill luck will be with you all the week."

"Were I a 'ready writer,' I would sing the praises swell Of the cutter Water Lily, her mighty deeds to tell." The British (Canadians) and Americans fight over bait. They catch a Yankee at Campobello. They argue about whether the Americans are prisoners

Big Cuttie will get "a little wifie." He goes to the town pasture [drunk?], "fell oer the midden" and lost his shoe. He says "Monie ane's be at our weddin'." "Busk and go to Cuttie's weddin' Wha wad be the lass or lad That wadna gang an they were bidden?"

Milder asks Malder questions ("Oh where are you going? says Milder to Malder"). Festle replies to Fose with a refusal to answer. John the Red Nose answers the questions. Most of the answers are extravagant ways of hunting the wren

Cyclone of Rye Cove, The: (7 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7116}

A tornado strikes the town of Rye Cove, and the schoolhouse is destroyed. Parents search the rubble, finding the bodies of their children.

"Poor Tom Brown from Nottingham, Jack Williams and poor Joe," three poachers, are transported. From Van Dieman's Land they are transported again aboard the Cyprus. They mutiny, and William Swallow is chosen to lead them to freedom

(After an unrelated opening stanza), the song describes a flood which hit the canal in 1878. "The embankment broke" and "the damage was terrific"; the rest of the song details some of the damage done

D-Day Dodgers, The: (8 refs. 12K Notes) {Roud #10499}

"We're the D-Day Dodgers, out in Italy, Always on the vino, Always on the spree." The soldiers describe their allegedly safe and luxurious life: "Salerno, a holiday with pay," etc. They point out the nonsense of Lady Astor's remarks

Jump-rope rhyme. "D-I-S-H choice. D-I-S-H choice, D-I-S-H choice. H-O-P hop. One, two, three."

French: "'Where did you come from, shepherd girl?' 'I came from the stable... I saw a little child... Fairer than the moon... There his mother Mary did her babe enfold... Ox and ass before him... Then came three bright angels.'"

German. "Dr Guckgu i ein braver Mann, D'r vazzeh Weiwer annehre kann. Guckgu, Guckerdigu." The cuckoo is an able man Who maintains 14 wives." "The first wife carries wood into the house, the second builds a fire with it," and so forth through all 14.

D'ye Ken John Peel?: (9 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #1239}

"Do ye ken John Peel with his coat so gray? Do ye ken John Peel at the break of day?" The singer talks of Peel's frequent hunting expeditions, detailing even his hounds. The singer will "follow John Peel through fair and through foul"

Gaelic. "A woman asks jocosely which suitor she should marry, a tailor, [a blacksmith, or a fisherman], and gives reasons why each in turn would be unsuitable."

Gaelic. The singer wishes he had the shepherd's pet snowy lamb. He wishes he had a herd of cows "and Mollie from her mother." Chorus: he wishes he had his girl, her mother's pet.

Patting chant. "Da's all righ', honey (x2), Way up yonder, darlin', 'Bove the sun, sugar, Girls all call me honey." Odds and ends about courting. The singer warns that yonder girl will "git you too." He is going away someday

Dutch. Ballast-stowing shanty. "Daar was eens ein meisje loos, Hoera, my boy (x2)." A girl goes to see for seven years. She makes a mistake and is to be punished when she says she is the captain's love. She bears a child and says he will marry her

German. "Dadd driwwe, sagt'r, Uff em Barrick, sagt'r, Schteht en Hasch, sagt'r." "Over there, he says, On the hill... is a house... it's scandalous" because it lacks one wall. Also on the hill is a hunter with no powder and other scandalous things

"Daddy shot a bear, Daddy shot a bear, Shot him (in the stern/through the keyhole) And never touched a hair."

Daddy Wouldn't Buy Me a Bow-Wow: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #13973}

The child regularly brings her cat to school because, she explains, "Daddy wouldn't buy me a bow-wow." She intends to do as she "'likes'" when she gets old, and have a parrot and children.

"Daddy's gone to London where The streets are paved with gold. Daddy's gone to London where The poor are never cold, Where there's lots of toys... And as for Baby Jack, He shall have a Gee-Gee WHen our Dad comes back."

A girl who once loved a sailor is greeted by her lost lover (, now rich and powerful). He bids her come with him; she points out that she is married and has a child. He convinces her to come with him. Their ship sinks not far from land

Probably describing a daffodil: "Daffy-down-dilly is new come to town, With a yellow petticoat and a green gown."

"Being pursued by the dragoons," Davie is hidden in the bed of the daughter of Cherrytrees. He makes such efficient use of the time that the girl ends up pregnant; they eventually marry. She is happy with her Dainty Davie

"A lassie was milkin' her faither's kye When a gentleman on horseback he cam' riding by... He was the laird o' the Dainty Doonby." The laird seduces then abandons the girl. Months later, he comes to ask of her health. She is pregnant; he marries her

The singer recalls meeting Daisy Deane in a flowery meadow where the birds sang. He recalls that she outshone the flowers. But now both are faded; Daisy is dead

"Daisy, Daisy, what do you think of that? I upset the (table/cradle) And nearly killed the cat. The cat began to bubble, So I hit it with the shovel. It went to bed With a broken head And a face like a kangaroo."

"We've reached the land of desert sweet Where nothing grows for man to eat." "O Dakota land, sweet Dakota land, As on thy fiery soil I stand, I look across the plains And wonder why it never rains." Settlers stay only because "we are too poor to get away"

Jamaican patois: Dallas has gone to Cuba and left Francella. Francella faints and her mother sends for the doctor to restore her with camphor. Johnny stays around.

Will Aikenhead competes in a ploughing match "in the West Barns of Clyde" and is declared winner after a dispute about timing. The dispute continues after the decision. The old and young class winners are named.

"Noo, I'm a saft country chiel and my name's Geordie Weir, I suppose you'll a' wonder what I'm doin' here." Visiting Glasgow, he is robbed by a girl. If he can only get home, he will never return to Glasgow. He tells of the trouble he suffered while broke

Sawmill boss Bill Reed has set up a cofferdam which fails; the sawmill is saved by sandbags placed by Old George Shane. Reed tries to restart the mill too soon; his errors cause him to be replaced by Old George

"Firemains are red, my love, Fresh water's blue, Salt water's green, my love, But not as green as you. As green as you."

"One night as Dame Bruin she went to her bed, She had scarce retired to her pillow, When the masculine voice she heart close to her head Of Satan..." who has come to take her away. She asks for more time, then asks what she will do in Hell

"Dame Durden kept five servant maids To carry the milking pail, She also kept five lab'ring men To use the spade and flail." The sundry workers are listed, as well as their (amorous) adventures on Valentine's Day

"Dame, get up and bake your pies, Bake your pies, bake your pies, Dame, get up... On Christmas day in the morning." "Dame, what makes your maidens lie?" "Dame, what makes your ducks to die?" "Their wings are cut, they cannot fly."

"From the Halls of Montezuma To the shores of Tripoli, There's a buzz going round the harbour That the Yanks are off to sea. With a gallon of Coca Cola And a bloody great tub of ice cream, Oh, they're damn fine kids in harbour, But oh my Christ at sea!"

Damn the Filipinos: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #15578}

"In that land of dopey dreams, happy peaceful Philippines," the singer complains of the hardships suffered by American soldiers and of the lack of social grace of the natives. He calls for "civiliz[ing] them with a Krag" and curses them repeatedly

Damsel's Tragedy, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4663}

When her son falls in love with a girl she finds unsuitable, his mother first blusters, then murders the girl. The girl's ghost walks to tell her lover. The son accuses his mother, then kills himself. The mother completes the circle by committing suicide

"Dan, Dan, the sanitary man, Working underground all day, Sweeping out urinals, Picking out the finals, Whiling the happy hours away... Doing his little bit... And the only music that he hears Is poo-poo-poo-poo-poo all day."

May 18, singer hears Dan Curley's wife crying. Curley is being executed for the Phoenix Park murders on the word of the informer, James Carey. She wishes Carey be evicted, his wife be a widow, and his children wander homeless. She will join Curley soon.

The singer meets a woman "dressed in deep mournin' With a babe on her bosom" on the banks of the Effie. She says "Felix Parks murdered my husband, Dan Curry.... May his short life be wrecked and his wife die a widow." She hopes to meet Curry in heaven.

Shanty. "Oh my name is Dan Dan! Ho! Somebody drink me rum. Ho! Somebody wears me clothes, Ho!" Little more than a chant used for hauling, the pull coming on 'Ho!"

Tailor Dan McChree's mother had him take gruel to her maid, sick in bed with a headache. Dan told her to take it to "mak' your belly warm." "The lassie thocht her mistress Knew better than she" and took the "gruel." "She grew stoot aboot the waist"

The singer recalls what happened at the convoy. He lists the people who showed up. They start a dance, then interrupt it. There is a fine dinner, and much drink. Fights break out; there is much commotion; a fine time is had by all

"Dan Taylor is a rolllicking cuss, A frisky son of a gun, He loves to court the maidens" and used to be a cowboy. Now he runs a business and is looking for a wife. The author expects him to be a good husband and hopes he finds a good wife and friend

Dance All Night with a Bottle in Your Hand: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3657 and 10496}

"Dance all night with a bottle in (your/my) hand, bottle in your hand, bottle in your hand, Dance all night... (Just for a day, give the fiddler a dram/As we go marching on)." "Old Aunt Petty, won't you fill 'em up again?" "We'll hang Jeff Davis...."

Dance at Daniel's Harbour, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #25320}

The boys took their boat to the dance at Daniel's Harbour. The fiddler played; "we danced there that night till eleven o'clock And some of the couples went out for a walk." "We'll come back again if the weather prove fine"

"Chicken on the fence post, can't dance Josey (3x) Hello Susan Brown." "Choose your partner come dance Josey ... Chew my gum ... Shoestring's broke ... Hold my mule ... Crank my Ford ... Hair in the butter ... Brier in my heel ... Stumped my tope ..."

"I'm going up to that freedom land." The slave has fled his master, taking with him a pig and a hog which he has named "Jeff Davis" and "General Lee." The singer's sons are free. She enjoys thinking of his face when he finds that she and the pigs are gone

Dance to Your Daddy: (18 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #2439}

"Dance to your daddy, my little laddie, Dance to your daddy, my little man. You shall have a fish and you shall have a fin, You shall have a coddlin' when the boat comes in." The child is told that he will grow up, marry, and love the girl his whole life

A childrens's game for the fingers: "Dance, Thumbkin, dance, Dance, ye merry men, every one: But Thumbkin, he can dance alone, Thumbkin, he can dance alone." Similarly for the other four digits, Foreman, Longman, Ringman, Littleman

"It's fifty long springtime since she was a bride, But still you may see her at each Whitsuntide." With the men who did the local dances dead in World War I, the women are keeping the dances alive

Dancing Dolly Had No Sense: (4 refs.) {Roud #18997 and 19306}

Jump-rope rhyme. "Dancing Dolly has no sense, She bought some eggs/a fiddle for fourteen pence/59 cents, The eggs went bad, the dolly went mad, A, B, C, D, E...." Or, "The only tune that she could play, Was, Sally, get out of the donkey's way."

The singer, "growing old and weary," recalls the dancing of his youth in Glenroan; "my heart is filled with wonder Why we ever leave such pleasure for a world so cold and lone" He is comforted by the thought that youngsters are still dancing there.

"Dancing up the highway, Dancing down the low way, There I met a pretty maid, Dancing gaily back again. Fair maid, pretty maid, Will you marry me? And I'll take you back To my own country."

Dandy Jim from Caroline: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #13924}

"I've often heard it said of late Dat Souf Carolina was de state, Whar handsome Niggars bound to shine, Like 'Dandy Jim from Caroline.'" Jim is the best-looking black man in the county. He boasts of the successes his looks have brought

A dandy man ["fop"] bought a magpie and an owl and boiled them, "feathers, guts and all," to eat. Women, don't wed a dandy man; in bed "he never takes his breeches off He sleeps in women's stays"

"I'm the boy called Dandy Pat, Dandy Pat, I was born in the town of Balinafat, Dandy Pat-I-O." He courts Kitty Malloy. He is handsome, funny, well-dressed, and very Irish. Girls seek to win him

"Dandyman look oo day are break." "Cock are crow." "Neil are go home oh, What you do oh"

The drinking and sexual adventures of Daniel Cooper and others. When the Piper's wife lifts her smock he "claw'd her." He lies with a milk-maid who leaves happy but pregnant. Lady Cardle says he's a bonny loon. A widow dances naked for highland boys.

Daniel in the Lion's Den: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3614}

"Among the Jewish captives one Daniel there was found." Daniel's piety is renowned. His enemies cause the King to demand that all people worship only the King for 30 days. Daniel does not, is thrown to the lions -- and survives

Daniel O'Connell (I): (7 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #2313}

Singer overhears an old woman and a tinker; he says Daniel O'Connell is now making children in Dublin by steam; those made the old way are too few. She berates O'Connell for removing the people's best diversion; he salutes her

Daniel O'Connell (II): (1 ref. 2K Notes) {Roud #2771}

"In the year of our Lord eighteen hundred and four There was great rejoicing round Erin's green shore, When Daniel O'Connell he made this appeal: 'All I want is fair justice to gain my repeal.'"

Daniel prays to God three times a day. Cast in the lions' den, the lions' jaws are locked. Listeners should follow his example. Chorus: "Old Daniel served the living God/While here upon this earth he trod...Daniel prayed every morning, noon and night"

Daniel Saw the Stone: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #12210}

"Daniel saw the stone, hewn out of the mountain (x3), Tearing down the kingdom of this world." Verses: Daniel prays in the lion's den -- despite wicked men; he prays three times a day to defeat the devil. "Have you seen that stone?" "Jesus was the stone."

Daniel Sullivan [Laws E22]: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4728}

Daniel Sullivan offers himself as a warning against passion. As an infant, his mother dreamed of him hanging. Having gone abroad, he murders a man. Lonely and penitent, he is scheduled to die. He bids farewell to family and meets his fate

Danny Boy (The Londonderry Air): (6 refs. 6K Notes) {Roud #23565}

The singer laments that her Danny Boy is called away. She promises to be waiting when he returns to her. Even if she dies, she will await him

"The Brooklyn Bridge on Sunday is known as lover's lane, I steal there with my sweetheart, oh, time and time again." As she walks, she sees lovers, mothers with their babies, all sorts of people. "What joy to me such sights to see with Danny by my side."

"There was a drunken collier, they ca'd him Danny Sim." Danny, sent to buy feed for the sow, instead spends it drinking. His wife complains. He grabs a pick (pike?) and beats her. He offers a sow to the butcher, and sells his bruised wife

"Danny Winters went a-courtin', hi, hey an' ho, Choosed a sweetheart with a red head, bow, bow low, Wed a redhead, wished himself dead, Dan Danny-O. "Danny Winters lay a-moanin... Redhead was too wild a partner... Wife a flyin', Dan a-dyin'...."

French: A complaint about life in a lumber camp -- Hard work in cold snowy weather, a bed on the icy ground, coupled with slow and insufficient pay. Finally the logger goes home to a happy reunion. He vows never to return to the lumber camp

French. A man is prisoner in Nantes. The jailer's daughter cries because he is to die next day. She unties him so he escapes. She is pregnant. On another shore he drinks and boasts of his escape.

French: The song notes how boys and girls are often talking of marriage... then highlights all the troubles they will face. The woman must scrub, cook, sew, and obey her husband; the man will find that his wife nags and spends his money

"Captain, captain, wave your flag, Let's get on the road." "The Mardy Gras riders get together once a year, To ask for charity." The singer describes Mardy Gras in Mamou. The riders politely ask for hens, lard, etc.

Canadian French: "Allons, vite accourez Rats musques, Bois Brules." A "herald" announces that the Lord (Selkirk) is givng a ball. The dignitaries are invited to join the fun. Lord Selkirk tells the men to stop joking; they tell him to relax

"Sing we sea-men, now and then, Of Dansekar the Dutchman, Whose gallant mind hath won him great renown." His piracy has afflicted nations the world over. He and Captain Ward have caused much trouble. But they will be overthrown

Swedish shanty. Three girls discuss love; three sailors overhear and decide to pay a visit. The girls bar the door but the wind blows it open. They make a bed for the sailors who leave in the morning saying maidens will never regain their beauty.

"When I engaged to Darrahill, 'Twas low down in Buchan fair." The singer describes going to work for (Dara/Darra), whose horses are very poor and ill-fed. The workers aren't much better off. The singer looks forward to working for someone else

"Darby, darby, jig, jig, jig, I've been to bed with a big, big wig! I went to France to learn to dance -- Darby, darby, jig, jig, jig."

Grandfather Darby Kelly "beat a drum so neat" for Marlboro at Blenheim and Ramilie. His father drummed "when great Wolf died." The singer was with Wellington in Portugal and when "He made Nap prance right out of France"

The singer is hired by Darby O'Leary to work at his Galbally mountains farm. The supper is sour milk, the barn "covered with rats," terrible sleeping conditions: "such woeful starvation I never yet seen ... May he or his offspring never live long"

"Rolling and patrolling Outside the Dardanelles, Waiting for the Goeben So that we can test our shells. We went up to Chanak, But we very soon came back, Ain't it lovely rolling and patrolling?"

Dare to Be a Daniel: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #25352}

"Standing by a purpose true, Heeding God's command, Honor them, the faithful few! All hail to Daniel's Band!" "Dare to be a Daniel! Dare to stand alone! Dare to have a purpose firm! Dare to make it known!" Evil cannot stand against Daniel's Band

"On the eighteenth of December, The weather it was far, The Darius Cole and Mackinac were crossing Lake St. Clair." The Darius Cole boats of being able to beat the Mackinac's time. They have a race

Dark and Dreary Weather: (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6527}

"It's dark and dreary weather, Almost inclined to rain, My heart is almost broken, My lover has gone on the train!" The singer wonders why she loves him so much, and he loves her not at all. "Some say that love is a pleasure; What pleasure do I see?"

"Dark and thorny is the desert, Through which pilgrims make their way; But beyond this vale of sorrows Lie the fields of endless day." Difficulties on the way to heaven are described, but the pleasures of arrival are emphasized

"Come all you young fellows so young and so fine, And seek not your fortune in a dark dreary mine." The singer describes how a miner's life slowly kills a man, twisting his soul and turning his blood black. He hopes to turn to coal when he dies

Chorus: "Dark day, dark day, Sinner you're missing your way, Dark day." "Shout by and by when I get home." "'Round my Father, scattering thrones." "One of these days about twelve o'clock This old world gonna reel and rock."

Dark Girl Dressed in Blue, The: (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7022}

The singer meets a "dark girl dressed in blue" on a stagecoach. She fools him into paying her fare. They go to a bar. She hands him a banknote to pay their bill. She leaves; he is arrested for passing a bad bill. He is freed but forced to pay the bill

Dark Girl of the Valley, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #15016}

"Upon the mountain brow I herd a lowing cow," but as he works, he cries for the Dark Girl. He is poor. He might get a wife in Leinster or Munster. But the Dark Girl of the Valley exceeds them all; even the "moon does obeisance with love to her"

The knight courts "a lass all neat and fair" and takes her home, where she bears him six(?) sons and three daughters. He then kills the children. "She did not live another dawn," whereupon he seeks another bride

"My heart loves to dally With Dark Moll of the valley, No blame nor shame she had ever." Men from all over seek her. He would choose no other. He will call on her soon; "Far better than be here, Under grief, under fear, in Erin"

"Dark was the night and cold was the ground On which the Lord was laid; The sweat like drops of blood run down; In agony he prayed." Jesus asks to be released from his burden, but submits to God's will; listeners are advised to learn from him

The singer courts a girl, but she remains true to William, her sailor, gone these seven years. William at last identifies himself and produces his half of their broken ring. The two are married and settle down

The singer and a comrade go rambling on July 20, (18)39. They see a girl, whose beauty he praises extravagantly. He promises to be true to her. Though she is a servant and he is rich, "a pretty curl Will be all I want as dower from my dark-haired girl."

"If I'd a-known my captain was blind, darlin', darlin'... Wouldna gone to work till half past nine." The captain and the worker quarrel; the captain won't tell the time, and will throw him in jail if he argues. The singer wishes he had listened to mother

"... oh hello darling I still love you just the same ... you left me for another guy." "Why do you treat me so?"

Darling Black Head: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #15018}

"The women of this village are in madness and trouble, Pulling their hair and letting it go with the wind," unless they go to fight (for or against) the king. The singers asks "Black Head, darling, move over to me."

The singer says "love is the occasion of my down fall ... I have lost my love fighting for sweet liberty." She denies he left her pregnant: "he loves me too well for to serve me so." She wishes she could fly to him and will welcome him home with kisses

"In the old Carolina state, where the sweet magnolias bloom... There is one I long to see, She was ever true to me, And like mine I know her hair is turned to snow.... I'm going home to see my darling Clo/Cloe/Chloe."

"Wake up, wake up, darling Corey, what makes you sleep so sound? The revenue officers are coming, Gonna tear your still-house down." The singer describes Corey's wild career as a moonshiner, and (dreams of) her death and burial

"Oh darling Grace, I love your face, I love you in your nightie" -- because he is impressed with her anatomy

Singer says that if his lover leaves she will hurt him. But he will keep traveling until he finds someone else. When she sees how cruel the world can be she'll be sorry she left. By then "I'll have someone else on my mind."

"My Johnny signed on board the Dragon, Bound for some place I don't know, But true it is I have had no letter." His color as been changed in a water grave. She will seek him. She steals away from home; her parents will never know if she finds him

Darling Little Joe: (10 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3545}

The dying boy asks how life will be when he is dead, e.g. "Oh what will the birds do, mother, in the spring... Will they harp at the door... Asking why Joe wanders out no more?" The boy asks mother to care for his pets, and tells her he will be in heaven

"Joe was in love with sweet Mabel" andwrites a letter: "Darling Mabel, now I'm able To buy the happy home. Since they're raised my screw, love, I've enough for two, love. Will you marry?" He waits for an answer -- he forgot to send the letter. They marry

O'Shaughnessy's song in praise of Neddeen: whales flap their tail to raise a breeze for birds; girls' eyes are so bright no gas lamps are needed in cabins; geese run around ready roasted; cows give whisky; ganders give milk; girls never grow old.

Darling Nelly Gray: (31 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #4883}

The singer recalls the time he spent with Nelly. But now "the white man has bound her with his chain;" he laments "Oh my darling Nelly Gray, they have taken you away And I'll never see my darling any more." He hopes they will be reunited after death

Bull Morgan McCarthy inherits his brother's shillelah and fights with those he'd heard of as "informer" and "canary." Partly as result, partly as cause, he meets Kate. "I bought this gold ring, sir, And Kate to the priest I shall bring, sir"

"Darling, I have come to tell you, Though this message breaks my heart, That, before the night is over, We'll be many miles apart." The singer may leave a bunch of roses, or request that the other remember him, or complain that she has broken his heart

"Darling, soon I will be sleeping, In the church yard over there, Where the grass and vines are creeping...." The singer asks (her?) love to place flowers on her grave. He should not mourn; the flowers "will speak of me."

"Old Zeke (?) Perkins sold his hog the other day, And the gosh-darn fool throwed his money right away" on a Ford car. He tries to shut it off, "but the darn little Ford kept a chugging right ahead." Nothing he tries can make the car stop moving

Singer wonders why she can't get a man. She likes all men in uniform, even "short or thin," "from the U.S.A or Canada." She is "six feet four ... just the proper size." "I have buried four more of them and I'm only sixty-two"

"First when I engaged, it was to [corn-dealer] Darrahill, It was to be his foreman, and feed the thrashing mill." Instead, he is put in a bothy with grueling work. He will go back to see Darrahill's "servant girlie that I am often wi'," but not Darrahill

The Buckingham lad bets he could go through London singing but not speaking. Though thrown in jail he does not speak. The Lord Mayor's daughter begs her father to release him. He does on condition he pays the officers' wage. He wins the bet.

Floating-verse with chorus "Dat's all right (x2), Dat's all right, babe, dat's all right. I'll be with you right or wrong; When you see a good thing, shove it right along...." Verses about visiting honey and seeing her dead or working for the rich folks

"O rise, daughter Ellen, and stand on thy feet For to see thy dear mother lie dead in yon field." "Oh no..." Repeat for father, sister, brother. For true love: "Oh yes"

Daughter of Peggy-O, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #117}

Husband marries a wife who won't work; he beats her and threatens to yoke her to the plow. She submits.

"D-A-V-E-N-P-O-R-T spells davenport. That's the only decent kind of love seat, The man who made it must have been a heart beat.... It's a hug and a squeeze, And an 'Ooh, George, please!' Davenport for me!"

"Drums were beating, troops were marching." "Captured by the Federal minions, As a hated Rebel spy," Dodd is asked to name his informant. The boy answers that he is prepared to die. "In the grave in old Mount Holly Lie the bones of David Dodd."

David's Flowery Vale: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2943}

The singer sees the Armagh coach arrive; one of the passengers is a beautiful girl. He steps up to her, point out his family's wealth, and asks if she will come away with him. She says that she is not wealthy and is pledged to another

David's Lamentation: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #15055}

"David the king was grieved and moved, He went to his chamber, his chamber and wept. And as he went, he wept and said, 'Oh my son! Oh my son, would to God I had died, would to God I had died for thee, Oh Absalom, my son, my son."

Davie and His Kye Thegither: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5545}

Davie comes to his mother, "some good news to lat her ken." She warns against hasty marriage, but the wedding goes ahead. He and his wife fight; she breaks a pot over his head. The parson arrives, the wife hits him too, and he concedes Davie's misfortune

Dance tune; "Davy, Davy, where is Davy/Down in the henhouse eating up the gravy/Davy, Davy, where is Davy/Down in the chickenyard, sick on the gravy." (There may also be a "why can't a white man dance like a nigger" verse).

Davy and/or the singer engage in various improbable activities such as hunting coons without a gun. The singer and Davy have a fight and agree to a draw: "I was hard enough for him, and so was he for me."

"Born on a mountaintop in Tennessee, The ugliest creature you ever did see," three nurses and a doctor die (apparently in the process of bringing him into the world); he is "Wanted in New Orlean"

(A man courts a neighbour's daughter by disguising himself as) a tinker. The tinker follows the girl into bed and sleeps with her. (He departs, leaving her with a rich fee, giving his name as Davy Faa/Shaw. Her father seeks a husband for her)

"My name is Davy Lowston, I did seal, I did seal." Lowston and crew are left to hunt seal; the ship which is to retrieve them is wrecked. After much privation, the survivors are rescued by the Governor Bligh. Lowston advises against sealing

The singer meets a milk-maid at the dawn of day, seduces her despite her reluctance, and leaves her. Months later they meet again; she asks him to marry her, but he answers that he has married a rich girl. She warns against such rovers

Singer is told by Sheriff Glen Wallace that he's "a little too full." He is taken to jail. His friend Shorty objects but is arrested too; they work on the sheriff's chicken farm, and the food is bad. They swear they'll drink no more.

Jenny loves Johnny but "cannot, munnet marry yet! My peer auld mudder's unco bad." Johnny says he loves Jenny and would not wait. She would wait a year. Her mother says she'll die soon and sobs when Jenny is out of sight.

Day by Day the Little Daisy: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #25354}

"Day by day the little daisy Looks up with its yellow eye. Never murmurs, never wishes It were hanging up on high." "God hath given each his station; Some have riches and high place, Some have lowly homes and labour; All may have God's precious grace."

"I never shall forget the day Columbus landed here. Myself and forty Indians were standing on the pier.... 'Twas I who built the Rockies up and placed them where they are; Sold whiskey to the Indians behind my little bar"

Higgins loses his job at Fitzpatrick's grocery for being drunk. When he cannot find work his family turns him out. He escapes from an officer who takes him for a tramp. Murphy invites him for a drink but they get into a fight. There's no comfort since

Day I Went to Rothesay O, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #2142}

The singer and Maggie go to Rothesay and dance to a fiddle on the shore. Maggie changes into a blue gown to swim. She rides a donkey and breaks her dress hoops. That made her sad until "a kiss and a cuddle" made her feel better on their way home.

"Tell me why you are crying, my son, Are you frightened like most everyone?" The child has other fears and hopes, but "If you take my hand, my son, All will be well when the day is done"

"Day is dying in the west, Heaven is touching earth with rest; Wait and worship while the night Sets her resting lamps alight...." "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of Hosts... O Lord most high." The stars and heavens pass away; let eternal morning come

"The day is past and gone, The evening shades appear, Oh, may we all remember well The hour of death is near." The singer, preparing to sleep, things ahead to the sleep of death and asks to be taken to God when the time comes

"Darkies don't you see de light, De day ob liberty's comin', comin'...." The "darkies" sing; the Lord says "Now let my people go." The slaves had worried that the Union troops would never arrive, but they will come soon and free the slaves

Day of Judgment, The: (1 ref. 1K Notes) {Roud #12013}

"And the moon will turn to blood (x3), In that day. Oh you, my soul, And the moon will turn to blood in that day." "And you'll see the stars a-falling." "And you'll hear the saints a-singing." "And the Lord will say to the sheep ... go to him right hand."

"Revolving time has brought the day That beams with glory's brightest ray In history's page or pet's lay -- The day of Waterloo." The singer urges the British to rejoice in the humbling of France, and praises Wellington and his soldiers

Day That I Played Baseball, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4961}

"Oh, my name it is O'Houlihan, I'm a man that's influential." He normally lives a quiet life, but one day is convinced to play baseball. He strikes out, he hits fouls but runs the bases anyway; he ends up drunk and on a cattle train

The place mourned "the day the Co'nel leave and gone." The Colonel was born in Princess Town. The woodmen had to lower him down.

"Pull up a stump and lend and ear, A story I'll relate, About a sinful waste of beer I will elucidate." During a drought, the pub catches fire. There being no water, the fire brigade uses the beer to halt the fire. Residents seek revenge on the firemen

About the great difficulties a couple has "the day we packed the hamper for the coast." First the food is loaded in extravagant quantities. Then the wife tries to add cooking utensils; the husband proposes adding the cat. And so forth.

In words familiar from many songs, the girl says that she has been jilted through no real fault of her own. Her lover had bid her farewell. She will dress well and show no sorrow, and vows she will love him no more.

"Out in Boston City In the middle of July," 25 lumberjacks leave for the camps. They arrive in Suhomuck by the Penobscot. The work goes well for a week -- until it starts raining. The food is mostly beans. The singer ironically praises boss and cook

The singer, "Old Tom Moore from the Bummer's Shore," a relic of the California gold rush of 1849, recalls the various characters that he encountered "in the days of old when we dug up the gold"

"The days of hard luck (hard case) swagment/swaggies seem so long ago, When they roamed about the country, carrying their load. The places where they camped beneath the open sky, Are just forgotten places (or "hardly ever noticed"] by people passing by

"The days of '76, boys, We ever must revere, Our fathers took their muskets then To fight for freedom dear.... Oh 'tis a great delight to march and fight As a Yankee volunteer." Battles of the Revolutionary War are recalled, and potential enemies warned

"The harness hangs in the old log barn, The wagon rots in the shed...." "For we've caught up with the Joneses now, with a fine new car and a truck...." "Them were the days when We were young and able. We rode good broncs, and we had fast dogs...."

"I went to visit a friend one day ... she couldn't go out to play, Because it was her washing day, This is the way she washed away." Repeat with ironing, mending, baking, cleaning, until it is "her playing day"

The singer quits as day labourer for bad wages, takes his only fiver and goes to a hiring fair, but receives no bid. He spends the five on a maid pretending to hire him. Now he's back at the same wages as before, but without his fiver.

A minstrel song about a boatman's life, observing that there is no one like a boatman. "O dance, de boatman, dance all night 'till broad daylight, And go home wid de gals in de morning. Hi, ho, de boatman row, Floating down de ribber on de Ohio"

Spanish. "I am a soldier of Pancho Villa, Of his dorados I am but one." The singer says it does not matter if he is killed, because there are other soldiers. He will fight to the end. All Villa's followers will gladly die for him

Named for the chorus, "Ain't you goin' (x3) to de shuckin' ob de corn? Yes, I'se goin' (x3)... to de shuckin ob de corn." Verses are various: White children go to school to learn, negroes to fight; a beau offers his love gold; Satan tempts the singer

The singer favors the republic rather than Redmond's Home Rule. "At Ringsend in Boland's De Valera took his stand." "We'll carry arms openly as in the days of yore The defence of the realm won't be heard of anymore When De Valera's president of Ireland"

"De Valera had a canary, Up the leg of his drawers; It fell down and fell on the ground And whistled 'The Protestant Boys.'" "De Valera had a canary... He was sleeping and it was peeping Up the leg of his drawers."

De'il Stick the Minister: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #3153}

"Our wife she keeps baith beef and yell And tea to treat the Minister... While I the water-stand maun try, May the De'il stick the Minister." The minister can explain the Covenant and curse Papists, but he's otherwise grasping and useless

The deacon goes out to feed his calf; it kicks over the bucket and the deacon too. He reviles it; were it not for Christian love, he'd tear the calf's miserable soul apart. Ch.: "Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha, what makes the monkey laugh/To see the deacon feed his calf"

A young man is engaged to a "treacherous" deacon's daughter. Just before the wedding, in the middle of the night, the lady runs off with her blacksmith lover. The final stanzas tell how those left behind piously wring their hands

"Dead and gone, Lord, dead and gone, All the friends I have, dead and gone. "My poor mother died a-shouting, All the friends I have...." "Dead and gone, dead and gone...."

"Fifteen men on a dead man's chest, Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum, Drink and the devil had done for the rest." A combination of rebellion and civil war in a (pirate?) crew results in the death of captain, bosun, cook, and most of the rest of the crew.

It was in the spring of (?) Just a little before the war was o'er, That 'twas mine the mail bags to transport." The singer and Josh Murphy set out from Stevenson's Post; Murphy is killed by Indians. The path comes to be called Deadman's Journey

"Oh the deadly wars are past and blawn And gentle peace returning." The singer laments all the good people killed in the war. In the Burns text, he comes home and begs for lodging -- and meets the girl he loved long ago. She still loves him

An old man comes to an old woman and asks her is she will (mend his jacket). She says she cannot hear him. He asks about other mundane tasks. She still can't hear him. He asks her to marry. She says, "I hear you now quite clearly"

Jump-rope rhyme. "Deanna Durbin she wore a turban, Until she was two, four, six, eight...." "Deanna Durbin lost her turban In a pool of water."

"Dear Anne, dear Anne, You're only sixteen, Your father's a farmer And you are the queen. Put your hand on your hips, And a haw, haw, haw, haw (x2), Dear Anne, dear Anne, come dancing with me."

"My heart's most broken, And I have wondered why, I'm left without a token, Without one Annie's smile." "I know it was wrong to leave her, To leave against her will, But blame not me, dear Annie, I fondly love you still"

"I once did have a dear companion (or: "love with fond affection"); Indeed I thought his love my own Until a dark eyed girl betrayed me And now he cares no more for me." The girl, looking at her baby, recalls her unfaithful love and regrets her shame

The singer is far from Cork but recalls its hills, chimes, streets, restaurants in Coal-Quay, hurling and "Glen Rovers' Christy Ring"; "now for the finish we'll drink a pint... We can never forget ... the night we won the Free State Championship"

Dear Emerald Isle: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #30111}

"...an orphan will bless you If you'll help a poor boy from the dear emerald isle." His father died working the bad soil. The sheriff turned out the child and mother. Mother died and the boy left Ireland. He hopes to return when Ireland is free

The singer met Evalina "way down in the meadow." They courted for a time, but after three years he still has no money; though he cannot marry her, "Dear Evalina, Sweet Evalina, My love for thee shall never, never die."

A man writes to "dear Honey." "To follow after you It is my whole intent." He dreams of being with her but "when I wake and find myself A-lying all alone," the night seems long. If he dies before they meet he would have her "keep these few lines"

"When comes the day all hearts to weigh if they be staunch or vile, Shall we forget the sacred debt we owe our mother isle?" The singer recalls the wrongs of Ireland, and his family's long devotion

Dear Little Shamrock, The: (10 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #13278}

"There's a dear little plant that grows on our isle" brought by St Patrick "and he called it the dear little shamrock of Ireland." The shamrock still grows. "When its three little leaves are extended" they denote that "we together should toil."

"Dear Lord and Father of mankind, forgive our foolish ways; reclothe us in our rightful mind, in purer lives thy service find, in deeper reverence, praise." The speaker requests quietness and calm

The singer bids adieu to Mallow, "where all may live just as they please," and recalls its pleasures. Now he is leaving "for the city's dull uniform scene." He will miss women, companions, and freedom. He hopes to return next spring.

Dear Meal's Cheap Again, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #13129}

"The dear meal's cheap again, The dear meal's cheap again, The dear meal on Donside's at ten pence the peck again"

"I'm going away to leave you... Don't weep for me, dear mother, For I'll be back someday." The singer's girl has abandoned him; he will cross the sea to find another, then return to mother. But she dies and tells him to trust in God before he can return

"Deep in Canadian woods we've met, From one bright island flown, Great is the land we tread, but yet, Our hearts are with our own." Ireland is great despite her faults, but they will never see her again, so they cheer "Dear old Ireland, Good old Ireland!"

"Here's to New Zealand, so far away; That's where I'll ever be in memory each night and day, And now as I wander, my thoughts ever stray, Back to New Zealand...." He toasts his family, longs to return home; when he wakes, he can only think of home

Dear Old Newfoundland: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #30678}

When the singer arrived in Newfoundland a year ago, he was surrounded by other Irishmen. Wherever you go, "You'll always find a welcome, and you'll hear some Irish songs" When he returns to Ireland, "Newfoundland will soon be calling me"

"There's a dear old homestead on Nebraska's fertile plain, Where I toiled my manhood's strength away, All that labor now is lost to me, but it is Shylock's gain." The unsuccessful farmer tells how bankers and lawyers combined to destroy his home

The singer first sees the girl on a May morning, and is drawn by her beauty and "killing glances." Men of all occupations court her; he thinks them doomed to be disdained, but he too loves her always. He wishes he could marry and bless her

"Your letter I received, my dearest lassie O! My heart is much relieved, my bonnie lassie O!" He will hurry to Sydney to marry her. Many slander him, but he rejects their charges. He expects to own land and have a happy life with her

The singer describes his life as a slave and his love for Mae. When master gives him a holiday, he visits Mae and they court happily; he then returns home. Master dies; the singer is sold down the river; Mae dies of grief

"Oh dearest Mary, take pity on me, I'm doing all I can to gain my liberty." Only slavery can part them. The hounds follow as he flees. "The queen, she standed on the shore... Saying, 'Leave that land of slavery and come across the line.'"

Death and Doctor Hornbook: (2 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #25527}

"Some books are lies frae end tae end, And some great lies were never penn'd, Ev'n ministers they hae been kenn'd In holy rapture." A satire: The poet meets Death, who reports that he is being shoved aside by the deadly Doctor Hornbook

Death and the Lady: (16 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1031}

Young woman meets Death; offers him rich gifts if he will grant her more time in this world. (In some versions, she wishes to mend her ways after a life of wickedness.) He refuses. She dies.

The singer observes a young man dying as a result of a dissolute life. Both the youth and his friends are frightened by the prospect of hell. The singer concludes with a stock exhortation to repent

Singer gets a letter, telling him to come home, because the girl he loves is dead. He comes home, to find her on the "cooling board." He buries her, weeping, telling her he'll meet her on Judgement Day

"A good man has gone, he's drawn his last breath, Struck down in the midst of his pride. Poor Alec Robertson met his sad death On his favorite horse, Silvermine."

"The bishop Scrope that was so wise, Now he is dead and low he lies. To heaven's bliss yet may he rise. Through help of Mary that maid mild." He was mild and still for his execution. He forgave his killer, asking to be slain with five strokes

Ben Hall's cowardly murder is recalled, as well as his nobility: "He never robbed a needy man, The records sure will show. How staunch and loyal to his mates, how manly to the foe." The singer bids him farewell

"It was down in the level land A murder came to light, The death of Bernard Friley 'Twas on a Monday night." A boy discovers the body as the man's dog sits by his side. The crime is blamed on drink; his murderer is imprisoned; listeners are warned

Death of Birchie Potter: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #6637}

"In the state of North Carolina, In a place called Pottertown, Two cousins took to drinking; One shot the other down." Birchie Potter, the victim, is praised; the singer hopes Glen Brown, the murderer, will face justice. He warns against drink

Death of Brugh, The: (1 ref. 5K Notes) {Roud #12941}

In 1922, rebel leader Cathal Brugh(a) is trapped (in a Dublin hotel) along with his fighting comrades; attempting to escape through the back door, he is shot. The singer praises and laments him

Death of Captain Friend, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #4076}

"Come all kind friends and pray attend... Concerning Captain Elisha Friend, Whose voyage on earth did early end." His ship is wrecked. He and many crew are rescued, but his wife dies. He in turn dies eight months later

"Hark! Didst though hear that startling shriek, That agonizing yell? Which bathed in tears the widow's cheek, When murdered Cilley fell?" "O tell it not in Askelon... What deeds are done in Washington." "The duellist... Must stand condemned...."

Crafford leads a party out to slaughter the Indians outside Sandusky. Despite the valor of the white officers, they are forced back and Crafford is taken. The tribal council condemns him to be burnt. The survivors go home and cry for revenge

"Where the broad Savannah flows along to meet the mighty sea" was the former location of the town of Ellenton. The town has been taken over for a military test area and the inhabitants bought out. "Ellenton -- fair Ellenton -- is gone forevermore."

"On her death bed lay Fan McCoy, Her child standing near." She reminds her son, "The Hatfields got your pappy, Jed," and tells the history of the feud, bidding him carry it on. Judge and jury are urged not to treat him harshly because of his history

"Come all young men and gentle maids, Come listen to me now...." The singer tells how troopers surround Fred Lowry's home. He vows to fight while ammunition lasts, but is shot from ambush. He proclaims his honesty, bids farewell to his girl, and dies

George, loved by the ladies, and a scamp, is not helped at trial by fickle friends. Though "guiltlesse," he is condemned to be hanged for receiving stolen horses from a merchant. He would have preferred to have died fighting but dies well.

Harry Bradford, the foreman's son, cannot escape being crushed by falling logs. The father learns of his son's tragic death

Harry Simms is nineteen and "the bravest union man That I have ever seen." The singer worked with Simms; one day in 1932, after they separate, Simms is killed for his union activities. The singer says "The thugs... cannot kill our spirit"

"A fine young man," Herbert Rice, "is lost at sea" off Block Island in a storm. The family mourns. Listeners are advised to turn to God.

"Oh, they shot Huey Long in Louisiana As he walked in the Capitol stair." "Povery was his share back in childhood." The song describes Long's life in Louisiana, and how he rose to power; it laments his assassination

Jerry Damron and his crew are killed on the C & O railroad, apparently in a derailment. His friends mourn for him, and hope to meet him in heaven

Tifty's Annie lies buried in a Fyvie churchyard. The singer recalls the details of the story of Child 233 "Andrew Lammie" in different words from that ballad

Death of Morgan, The: (2 refs. 4K Notes) {Roud #8240}

"Oh, Morgan was the traveler's friend, the squatters all rejoice, That the outlaw's life is at an end, no more they'll hear his voice... But my curse attend a treacherous man who'd shed another man's blood." Outlaw Daniel Morgan is killed in an ambush.

Death of Mother Jones, The: (4 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #15157}

"The world is mourning today The death of Mother Jones; Grief and sorrow hover Around the miners' homes." The miners lament the death of the organizer who "was ready to help them; she never turned them down."

"What mournful sounds invade mine ear? What notes of anguish do I hear? ... Ah! yes sweet blooming Lydia dies...." Woodburn, young and beautiful, is mourned by her parents and siblings; her husband grieves. All hope she is in heaven

Death of Nelson, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3549}

"Come all you gallant seamen and give me a meeting." The song tells how an enemy shot mortally wounds Nelson. The doctor can do nothing. He had fought many battles, and lost an arm and an eye. England is told to mourn Nelson and bless Collingwood

Parcy Reed captures the raider Crosier. Crosier plans vengeance. When Reed goes hunting, the Halls find him asleep, disable his weapons, then awaken him but refuse to stand with him against the Crosiers. Reed is fatally injures. (He makes his farewells)

Queen Jane has hard labor. She begs her attendants to remove her baby surgically. They call King Henry; he will not permit the operation. Queen Jane falls unconscious; the baby is delivered but she dies. King, baby, and court mourn

"Little Roy was missing, Where was he found? A-hangin' by the roadside ...." He was hangin' on a whiteoak.... Where he could have saved himself If he had not been dead." His parents are accused of killing the boy then hanging the dead body

Death of Samuel Adams: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #4131}

"In the state of old Kentucky... A horrible crime was committed And later brought to light." "A man was cruelly murdered, Samuel Adams was his name." The buried body washes up in a flood, and Joe Schuster and gang sentenced to life imprisonment

"O'er 'Sly Grog's tomb' with drunken grief oppressed Grogsellers mourn their business now at rest." The singer tells how the police, after much effort, proved that there was illegal liquor sold. The seller is fined fifty pounds for not buying a license

"My frends allow my febel toungue, If I may speak my mind, This plainly shoes to old and young The frailty of mankind." A family in Manchester had five children. Two wander off, and one is killed by a falling branch

A widow tells of how, within weeks of her marriage, her husband went to sea. Neither ship nor sailor ever returned, leaving her trying to find strength in her faith

"In a graveyard at Toowong, where the river rolls along, Lies Willie Stone a trusted man and true." Well-beloved and handsome, he falls and is killed in a horserace. Listeners are told that "'Twas God's decree and he alone knows best."

"Come gather, my friends, For a short tale of woe... Oh, nothing is worse than the death of a child." Robert was the son of Lord William and Lady Anne. One night the boy cries out and dies while his father is away. He will never grow old in heaven

"A dirge for the miners, the brave Huntly miners, O'erwhelmed in the drive, where they labour'd for bread." The song laments those who were killed. "Work on, then, O millions, in darkness and sorrow."

"Death was a little thing, It goes from door to door, You take him in the silent grave, It's never to rise no more" "Pray brother ... sing sister ... Praise ye the Lord ... I'm going to serve the Lord"

Death, 'Tis a Melancholy Day: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #655}

"Death, 'tis a melancholy day For those who have no God, When the poor soul is forced away To seek her last abode." The girl is condemned to Hell; others are warned of it. The singer is glad to be rescued from it.

"Death, ain't you got no shame, shame...." "Left his pappy to moan, moan...." "Left his widder alone, lone...." "Left his mammy to weep, weep...."

Leader lines alternate with the response "I ain't going to pay any debt I owe." The leader's lines say which debt won't be paid ("Debt I owe in Brunswick store") or authority defied ("Mister Watchman don't watch me")

Deceitful Husband, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7002}

The singer says she was courted and married by a stranger. They had been married six weeks when a woman claims him as the father of her infant. The singer believes the story although her husband denies it. She drives him away to "where he ought to go"

The day before Old Yule comes with wind and snow. The maiden cleaning the lum [chimney] slipps on her bum. She bakes bread and cleans the house. We get bread buttered and hot but cups and dishes "cam' rowin frae the pantry"

Deck of the Willow Green: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #9974}

Edgar ships on the Willow Green. Being God-fearing, he refuses to join the crew and captain in drink. Edgar tells the captain that drink will lead him to Hell. In drunken gloom the captain kills himself. Edgar prays for the crew. They all swear off rum.

Listeners are urged to "Deck the halls with boughs of holly," wear "gay apparel," "troll the ancient yuletide carol," and welcome in the new year

French. Singer has waited by his love's door to speak with her, but she's refused. He pleads, "Why love not a lover who loves you more?" She says, "How could you wish that I love you / When I am forbidden my love to bestow?" In dreams she will love him.

"Deep and wide, Deep and wide, There’s a fountain flowing deep and wide." To be sung through once, then the words "deep," "wide," "fountain," and "flowing" are gradually to be replaced by gestures

Deep Blue Sea (I), The: (9 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4291}

The girl's lover set off to sea, promising to write to her. She never hears from him. She seeks out his captain, who tells her "he is drowned in the deep blue sea." She bids "farewell to friends and relations" and decides to drown herself

Deep Blue Sea (II): (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3119}

"Deep blue sea, baby, deep blue sea...It was Willie what got drownded in the deep blue sea"; "Dig his grave with a silver spade..."; "Lower him down with a golden chain..."

"A noble ship lay motionless Far on the deep blue sea; The winds were hushed, The waves were still in quiet harmony." But there is no laughter on the ship because one of the sailors is dead. He has been buried at sea

The listener is advised to be prepared when going to (Deep Elem): "If you go down to Deep Elem just to have a little fun, You'd better have your fifteen dollars when the policeman comes." The singer details his experiences with the women there

"Deep River, "(My home is over Jordan), I want to cross over (to the campground)." The singer hopes to cross (the Jordan) to heaven , there to meet family, friends, etc.

"Oh, the trawler wharf in Aberdeen, It's a bonnie place to be When a force eight gale is blawin'..." "Aye it's cauld, bloody cauld On... The north-east Scottish coast." A man is killed before anyone can come to his aid. It's an awful life

The singer is exiled from Ireland. He thinks about his old home, the fishing fleet, the fields, and "bonnie blue-eyed Mary in her shawl of Galway grey," Now he is old but hopes he can return and "sleep in that old churchyard" near his old home.

Thrashers prepare "not to leave a Protestant soul in Crossgar" on St Patrick's Day. A policeman encourages them and the peelers don't stop them. "Many a Thrasher that day was detained" by Orange shot. "We fought them and beat them an hundred to one"

The singer, "a Defender and a member of the Church of Rome," is banished from his home by "Luthers black and Calvin crew." He flees to the mountains. He recalls Christ's travails. He considers the despair of Calvinists: "their compass needle it is broke"

"Arise, ye sons of liberty, awake out of your slumber." United defenders must "plant the tree of liberty" in Ireland. Follow the examples of America and France. "The harp and shamrock will unite, when tyrants are no more"

"The dehorn's nose is deepest red, The one bright spot on his empty head, To get his booze he begs and steals." The "dehorn" is lazy and incapable of seeing what he should do -- which is to join the union and get his rights

"The dehorn's nose is deepest red, The one bright spot on his empty head"; he''ll do anything for more booze. The song tells him to get sober and join the Union. But the dehorn goes on behind exploited until he dies

The singer is going down the road "with a tired feeling and a heavy load" when the Sheriff apprehends him. The food in Delhi Jail is abominable, and the singer, once freed, proclaims, "I hope to the Lord I go there no more." Tune: "Turkey in the Straw"

Delia's Gone [Laws I5]: (11 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #3264}

Tony/Coonie shoots Delia (for breaking her promise to marry him). Delia's mother grieves. Coonie writes a letter from prison, where he has been sent for life, asking the governor for a pardon

Deluded Lover, The: (7 refs. 4K Notes) {Roud #3479 and 6289}

Singer greets his love; but she reproaches him for deluding her. He says he's free of obligation to her. She points out that he broke his vows to her. He says *he* was deluded, and that he still thinks of his true-love. He wishes all wars were over

"Dem bones, dem bones, dem jee-umpin' bones" (x3). "Bones, bones, won't you tell me the word of God?" "De toe bone connected to de foot bone," and so forth, until the entire body is connected

Demon of the Seas, The: (4 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #1962}

On board the pirate ship Demon of the Seas Captain Moore outrun ships of war until "two men of war were fitted out By Edward, England's King" to bring him in. The pirates destroy those ships but are destroyed by a third.

Dempsey's Lumber-Camp Song: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #8840}

Singer describes the characters at Dempsey's lumber camp

Den o' Aldbar, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5998}

The singer, out one May morning on the way to church (for a wedding?), admires the stream winding through the Den o' Aldbar, the trees, flowers, and birds. "Here's a health to the proprietor ... in wedlock, and to a family fine"

"I am a decent Irishman, I've a daughter Mary Ann... and you bet she is so fresh, she will never spoil." The girl is always going to balls and courting young men. At one, she is arrested, but promptly freed when the police learn who she is

Jump-rope rhyme. "Dennis the Menace had a squirt gun. He took it out and had some fun. He shot a man in the boot. How many squirts did he shoot?"

A young hunter accidentally kills a man. He is captured and faces the death penalty. A girl sets out to save him. She enters the courtroom and pleads on her knees for his life. The judge frees him; the man agrees to marry the girl

Departed Loved Ones: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #11818}

"Is it wrong to wish to meet them Who were dear to us in life?" "I've a mother up in heaven, And oh, tell me if you will, Will my mother know her children When to glory they will go?" The singer thinks of family and how they live in heaven

A logger dreams St. Peter won't accept the depot camp loggers but buys them off by sending material to make next year's drive heavenly: gold axes to use and gold fish to eat. In his dream the next year he can't find the camp. He wakes to his old camp.

"The meal is cheap sellin their farms high rentit And sma is their profit when sellin their grain." Bad weather destroys the crops. Cattle cannot be sold. The "cursed gentry ... card not nor spin... The laird and the factor will get an overthrow"

The singer travels to Derby and sees the amazing Derby Ram. Its size and power are described in expansive detail (with the details varying). Most versions end with the slaughter of the ram. "If you had been to Derby, you'd have seen it as well as I"

"Oh, Derby, Derby, won't you marry me? Derby, Derby, won't you say yes? Derby, Derby, won't you marry me? Show your legs to the Cockney girls"

The police shoot the innocent without penalty. It's murder when a policeman's shot. The informer Noctor is persuaded to say Dermody and Hines shot M'Goldrick. Nevertheless, the jury finds them not guilty. Must we continue to play at being fools?

"Oh! Dermot Astore! between waking and sleeping I heard thy dear voice, and I wept to its lay" She asks whether this is their last meeting. "I know we must part, but oh! say not for ever."

French. Behind our house is a tree. On the tree is a branch. On the branch is a nest. In the nest is an egg. In the egg is a small bird. In this bird you do not know what there is. The shanty version is sexual in nature

Reference entry for the "Derry Down tune," known by its chorus, "Derry down, down, down derry down" (often repeated). It is not certain what the original lyrics were, but it has been used for many parodies and derivatives; see the "Same Tune" field

The singer recalls when "Lord Antrim's men came down yon glen" While some opposed them "our 'Prentice Boys" closed the gates. The seige is recounted including Walker's and Murray's parts. "When we close our gates again We'll then all be True Blue"

200 years ago "James and all his rebel band" were forced to retreat from Derry's Walls. "Blood did flow ... For many a winter's night." "At last, with one broadside Kind heaven sent them aid" and broke the seige. Now "we'll guard old Derry's Walls"

"Oh! Derwentwater's a bonny lord, And golden is his hair." He travels the land calling for people to support "good King James." The lord of the castle he visits will have nothing to do with him, but the lady sighs for the handsome young man.

Derwentwater's Farewell: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2616}

"Farewell to pleasant Dilston Hall, my father's ancient seat, A stranger now must call thee his." The singer bids farewell to his friends, to Tyne, to his steed. He must die in London, but asks to be buried in Northumberland

The well is named after "no over-holy saint." Between a married couple, the first that drinks from the well "thereby the mastry gains"

A light retelling of the Biblical creation myth: God makes Adam, then Eve; Eve, tricked by the serpent, takes an "apron full" of fruit to Adam. God, spotting the peels, accuses Adam of stealing the fruit; Adam blames Eve; God throws them out of the garden

"Deseret, Deseret, 'tis the home of the free, And dearer than all other lands 'tis to me, Where the Saints are secure from oppression and strife." Deseret is the pride of the world, a pattern to all; the singer loves to be there among the Mormon leaders

Desert Route, The: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #10818}

"While here beneath the sultry sky Our famished mules and cattle die," leaving the men of the Mormon Battalion with few supplies. They are on short rations. But if they do not continue on, they will be left behind (to die)

Deserted Husband, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2130}

On the day of their wedding, the singer's young wife went on a spree and flirted with the man next door. Three months later, his wife and the other man went off in the train. He is tired of life; he has land and stock, but no one to take care of them.

"And still they gazed and still the wonder grew, How one small head could carry all he knew... Lands he could measure, terms and tides presage, And e'en the story ran that he could gauge." A story of how small farmers were being pushed aside by landlords

The singer, recruited while drunk, deserts. He is turned in in succession by a woman, a sergeant, and drummer. Each time but the last he is flogged and deserts, saying "the King's duty has been cruel to me." At last the king intervenes and releases him.

A deserter comes to join the harvesting. He talks too freely to a man in the tavern, who informs on him. He is arrested, taken to jail, then marched through the streets as he is returned to his regiment. The singer curses all informers.

Thinking about the past won't help so "let us be merry before we go" "Now hope all ending, And death befriending, His last ending, my cares are done ... My griefs are over -- my glass runs low"

"I'd rather be on the Grandfather Mountain A-taking the snow and rain Than to be in Castle Thunder A-wearin' the ball and chain."

"I will sing a little rhyme as I have a little time About the meanest ship afloat in all creation... and they fitted her out to go to Desolation." The food is poor and there isn't enough; Americans are treated like dogs; you're lucky if you get paid

"There was a desperado from the wild and woolly West, He came into Chicago just to give the West a rest." He visits Coney Island to see "the girls all dressed in tights"; he gets so excited that he shoots out the lights. He ends up in prison

"Desperate Dan, think's he's grand, But he can't do upsie." "Desperate Dan, thinks he's grand, But he can't do dropsie." He can't do "dizzie" or "pipsie" or "bouncie."

The police have the singer when we meet Marguerite. She dresses as a page boy and goes to jail to see her "master." They exchange clothes; he walks out. Sentenced to be hung, Margeurite reveals that she is a girl. Four other high class young ladies visit

"The boys out in the trenches have got a lot to say Of the hardships and the sorrows... But we destroyer sailors would like their company On a couple of trips...." The sailors describe life on their small, uncomfortable ships that never cease rolling

Swedish/German shanty. A sailor is signed by a man named Peter. The ship is a good one, but conditions are bad. Peter sleeps all the time except when threatening the crew. Ch: Hey ho fallerallera (2x) Just for all soka hyra (just to find myself a ship)"

Deuks Dang Owr My Daddie, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #8948}

The babies scream "the duck's knocked over daddie." His wife says, let him lie there; he's just a useless old man. He says there had been a day she'd butter his porridge, but not now. He threatens to beat her if she's not quiet. She creeps out of sight.

DeValera Election Song: (1 ref. 1K Notes) {Roud #18470}

The coming election is between "a Castle servant" and DeValera. DeValera "fought in the Rebellion ... so don't forget to pay the debt." His opponent would send your sons "to fight the gallant German"

"To Deveron Banks we will go, Dainty Dandy, my dear jo, Sweet wi' you the time will flow, My dainty bloomin dandy"

Devil and Bailiff McGlynn, The: (2 refs. 7K Notes) {Roud #5294}

A woman wishes the Devil take a piglet digging her potatoes and a boy stealing her piglet. He refuses because "it was only her lips that have said it." When she wishes the Devil take the bailiff , he does: "Twas straight from her heart that came surely"

Ben, a hackney coachman: "how he used to swear." One night the Devil hires him to drive to Hell: "he thought he'd taken poor Ben in." At the gates Ben backs in so he is outside. Ben escapes. "Now ... he never swears And so for the Devil he never cares"

Devil and the Lawyer, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #10922}

"The devil came up to the earth one day, And into a courthouse he wended is way" as a lawyer was making his case." When he is done, the other lawyer starts talking. The Devil concludes that he dares not allow lawyers in Hell; they would "ruin its morals"

"'Twas on one dusky evening When I was very poor, A story you may believe me, The Devil come to my door." The devil comes to claim "brother Mike," but sister Bets breaks his back with her wooden leg. Now the Devil is dead and the family can celebrate

Jump-rope rhyme. "The Devil flew from north to south, With Miss Hooker in his mouth, And when he found she was a fool, He dropped her on Cherrydale School."

"The Devil sends the evil winds To raise the skirts up high, But heaven's just and sends the dust That closes the bad man's eye."

Devil Winston [Laws I7]: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4176}

[George] "Devil" Winston (an unusually vile specimen even by murder ballad standards) sets out to confront his woman Vinie [Stubblefield]. He finds her, kills her after an argument, is taken, and is hanged

"One, two, three, the Devil's after me. Four, five, six, he's always throwing sticks. Seven, eight, nine, he misses every time. Hallelujah, hallelujah, Amen!"

A man visits his true love at night and plays "The Devil's in the Girl" on his pipes. Her mother wakes and beats the man. He returns a year later to find his lover with a son. She asks him to marry but he refuses, leaving her to "pay the piper"

Devilish Mary [Laws Q4]: (29 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1017}

The singer meets a "pretty little girl" named Mary; they get married within days. She then starts taking over his life, wearing his pants, and abuses and torments him. At last he leaves. He vows to court only tall/short girls who can't wear his breeches

Devonshire Cream and Cider: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #9083}

"I be nigh on ninety-seven, born and bred in dear old Devon." The singer mentions being alone, and suggests, "For if you be as lone as me, try Devonshire cream and cider."

"Dewdrops ar falling on me (x2), Dewdrops are falling on me at one, Say, darling, won't you love me once more." "I'll ask your papa for you... Say, darling, won't you love me once more?" "I'll buy the license for you."

"Dewy was the grass at the early break of day, Dewey was the admiral at Manila Bay, Dewy were her eyes as she bid her love "adieu," Do we love each other? I should say we do! Do we love each other? I should say we do! We do!"

German. Cumulative. "Ei was hawwich so scheene Shicklicher a Mit so scheene Bendlicher dra." "Oh, I wear such pretty little shoes, With such pretty little strongs.... I am such a lusty boy, I can dance so flashily." "I wear such pretty little socks...."

A tax-collector argues for his life against Death who has come for him. Afraid of final judgement, he concedes his past evil-doing and advises excisemen to shun the practice

Orange proposes union. Orange is the source of all woe. The English do no more harm than the purple marksmen. Orange ask for union only after Billy Pitt's failure. The singer is neither Croppy nor Orange: "when your county's in danger, united be seen"

Canadian French, "Aujourd'hui pour chanter nous sommes reunis." The people meet to hear from a farmer and a hunter. The farmer asks how the hunter is doing. The hunter tells of all the dangers faced by those in his job. The farmer is happy to be safer

Tobago patois: A woman tells Diamond Cook that he has been paid for his work or goods (renta), and it's time go; you are a man but not the only one

Singer tells of ranch-owner Diamond Joe, who mistreats his workers, talks too much, and lies. Singer has tried to quit three times, but Joe has talked him out of it. When he dies, "Give my blankets to my buddies And give the fleas to Diamond Joe"

Mostly floating verses with a hint of narrative; singer goes "up on the mountain, give my horn a blow...." "Ain't gonna work in the country, neither on (Parchman?) farm...." Chorus: "Diamond Joe, come-a get me, Diamond Joe"

"Diamond Joe was a rich old jay, With lots of cowboys in his pay." Chorus: "Roll on, boys, don't you roll so slow." The singer complains about working for Diamond Joe, wishes he were rich, wishes he could see his girl, thinks about death

"Oh her name is Diamond Lily, She's a whore in Piccadilly, And her brother has a brothel in the stand"; their work makes them the richest family in the land. Other sexual curiosities are described

Diamonds in the Rough: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #13153}

"While walking out one evening," the singer hears the "Bethlehem Mission Band" and gives "my heart to Jesus." He lists the perfectly reasonable things he's now too self-righteous to do, and hopes the other "diamonds in the rough'" will do the same

Diana and Her Sailor Bright: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2301}

Diana is a rich merchant's daughter. She falls in love with "a bright young sailor" on one of her father's ships. She sends for him to marry. "Twas in her father's garden they walked hand in hand." He said "Lovely Diana, take my heart in command"

"My name is Diana Dors And I'm a movie star." She describes her "cute face," "monkey guitar," lips, hips, "sexy le-egs"; "Boys got the muscles, Teacher's got the brains, We've got the sexy legs, And we've won the game"

Diana Kitty Annie Maria: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #13666}

The singer loves the pride of Glasgow Green, Diana Kitty Annie Maria. She is pretty and rich and dances wonderfully. He plans to marry in three weeks. They will have a boy named for him and three girls: Diana Kitty Annie [that is, "and"] Maria.

Counting-out rhyme. "Keep the pot a-boiling, Just for Margie, One, to, and dibble-dabble, Three."

"She walks along Fitzgibbon street with an independent air," but Dicey Riley is headed to the pawnshop to pay for her drinking: "Poor oul Dicey Reilly, she has taken to the sup, Poor oul Dicey Reilly, she will never give it up...."

Dick Derrick's Rear: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #8844}

The song lists the men who ran logs for foreman Dick Derrick. One, a "mossback" (farmer), shoves his girlfriend through a window; another falls in the creek.

Dick Mooney's Daughter: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2902}

Dick Mooney is dying and he wants to get a husband for his daughter. He lists his assets. Except for the house and farm, they are all defective and you can easily find better than his daughter. But don't forget the farm.

Dick o the Cow [Child 185]: (8 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4012}

Johnnie Armstrong decides on a raid, but has little luck. He is advised to steal the three kye of Dick o the Cow, a "fool." Dick seeks redress; when denied, he makes off with horses in exchange for his cattle, and finally gets a reward from his master

Dick, a joiner, falls in love with Nell, a country girl, but "could not gain her favour." He dresses as a woman, goes where Nell is a servant, and applies for a position. Being shy, he asks that they sleep together. In the morning he left her "mournin'"

Dick Turpin, upon meeting a lawyer, claims to be so afraid of meeting Turpin that he has hidden his money in his boot. The equally nervous lawyer admits to having hidden his money in his coat. Turpin gaily relieves him of the cash

"Dick Turpin bold! Dick, hie away," say his pals as Turpin escapes from three officers. Black Bess carries him to York and dies: "her heart she had burst, her rider to save, For Dick Turpin she lived and died"

"Up in a tree a Dickie Bird, Dim sol bim bam ball sol do sol dim, Up in a tree a Dickie Bird... sat." "Below it crawled a furry black... cat." " He said for dinner I shall have... you," "Then all at once the Dickie Bird... flew"

Dicky Dash takes Miss (Beal/Peel) to a dance but has to sell his shirt to raise admission. During the dance a shawl is stolen. Everyone is searched. When they search Dickie and find he has no shirt Miss Beal has nothing further to do with him.

Yeoman cobbler Dick McClane and his Orange wife live "at the end of Dirty Lane." He was with Beresford, at Castlepollard and Weavers' Hall upon the Coombe. Finally, "he shot an ass ... going to mass." But now he has to beg "Like all black-hearted Yeomen"

Dicky the Miller meets his sweetheart Joan dressed "in her holiday's clothes." Dazzled, he proposes, they have sex and she is overjoyed at "the pleasure of being a wife." At home her mother criticizes her for losing her virginity. Dickie marries her.

"Did Christ o'er sinners weep? And shall our cheeks be dry... He wept that we might weep... In heav'n alone no sin is found, and there's no weeping there"

"On fifteenth day of February, In the year of '98, That day records the Maine disaster, 'Twas the day that sealed her fate." Many will not return home. It's Spain's fault. Captain Sigsbee went where duty called; so did many of the sailors

Did Ye not Promise to Marry Me?: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #6731}

The singer complains that her lover, leaving her with her baby, had promised to marry her. Her mother, now dead, had warned her that "young men proved untrue." He takes her to London and they marry.

Did Ye See My Lad?: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2105}

"Did ye see my lad lookin' for me? He wears a blue bonnet wi' tassels upon it, A hump on his back and a patch on his e'e"

"Did you ever see a bear Walk a tightrope in the air? If you did, it was all a dream, So out you must go for saying so."

"Have you ever been a-fishin' on a bright sunny day? Have you ever seen a fish swimming in an' out the bay? with his hands in his pockets and his pockets in his pants? Have you ever seen a fishy do the hootchy-kootchy dance?" The hearer has never seen it

"Did you ever see a lassie, A lassie, a lassie, Did you ever see a lassie Go this way and that way? Did you ever see a lassie go this way and that?" Other verses, if any, equally silly; sustained by the tune "O Du Lieber Augustine"

The Devil dug "pritties" in the garden, swatting flies with his tail until "they dragged him back to prison." The Devil, overjoyed when the spuds were blighted and famine killed the people, was put in his place by Saint Patrick.

Did You Ever, Ever, Ever: (5 refs.) {Roud #4253 and 18989}

"Did you ever, ever, ever In your leaf, life, loaf, See the deevil, divil, dovol, Kiss his weef, wife, woaf? No I never, never, never In my leaf, life, loaf, Saw the deevil, divil, dovol, Kiss his weef, wife, woaf."

Did You Hear My Jesus?: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #15248}

Chorus: "Did you hear my Jesus when He called you (x3), For to try on your long white robe." Verses: "Heaven gates are open, come along, come along... hear my Jesus when He calls you." "My mother's in the kingdom...." "Going to meet her yonder...."

"In Union Street as I walked late I met a man I never knew When I askerd his name, said he "For shame Did you never hear of Donald Blue?"

Double entendre. Singer describes several awkward situations involving "Diddie Wa Diddie," lamenting "I wish somebody would tell me what Diddie Wa Diddie means." He gets thrown out of church "'Cause I talk about Diddie Wa Diddie too much."

"Diddle, diddle, dumpling, my son John, Went to bed with his trousers on, One shoe off, and one shoe on, Diddle, diddle, dumpling, my son John."

"Mother raised three grown sons... Buster was the black sheep of our little family... And didn't he ramble, ramble... He rambled till the butchers cut him down." Buster's rambling ways and debts are described; at last he hits bottom and the song ends

"Now didn't it rain, children...." Various events related to the flood: "It rained 40 days and 40 nights...God sent a raven to carry the news...." "God sent Noah the rainbow sign...." "They knocked at the window and they knocked at the door...."

Didn't My Lord Deliver Daniel: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #12348}

"Didn't my Lord deliver Daniel... Then why not every man? He delivered Daniel from the lion's den, Jonah from the belly of the whale." The singer forecasts the end of the world, expecting to be saved, and rejoices in salvation

"Didn't ol' John (huh!) cross the water on his knees? (huh!) (x2), Lut us all (huh!) bow down (huh!), good Lord, and face, face the rising sun (huh!)." Listeners are told to get on their knees and sing

"Didn't you hear my Lord when he called? Yes, I heard my Lord when he called.... My Lord callin' in my soul." Similarly, "Didn't you hear them turkle (sic) doves moan... ...hear the harp when it blowed ...hear that thunder roll ...hear the organ playin'"

"Die, die, little dog die, Die for the sake of Your grandmother's eye. With a high swing And a low swing And a swing To get you off of your Swing Swong Sway." Or "...eye, A penny to put in your purse, A penny to give to the nurse"

A song of a woman in pain. The woman says that the man loved her when her apron was low, but now it's high. She may wish she were a maid again, recall the alehouse where she drinks, or wish her parents had never met

The singer hears a girl sighing, "The lad I love is gone far away." "He's gone and left me now in grief and woe, And where to find him I do not know. I'll search these green fields and valleys low." She wishes she had wings to hunt Willie

Died for Love (V): (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #18828}

"A man returning home one night, He found his house without a light." He seeks his daughter; he finds her dead (perhaps of suicide, perhaps not). Her love was a sailor. She warned "Don't change the old love for the new." Clearly from "The Butcher Boy"

Died on the Ice Fields: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #V44601}

"The white, rugged ice-flow came gliding along" as Richard Parsons and his sons return home. The younger goes ahead. The elder complains he can't go on. Parsons tries to keep him warm. The younger dies on the way; the others are barely alive when found

Diego's Bold Shore: (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2006}

"Has a love of adventure, a promise of gold, or an ardent desire to roam Ever tempted you far o'er the watery world?" The singer describes the whaling life by asking if the listener has ever experienced this or that. He advises those at home to enjoy life

"On the fifth of November in '53, The big man at Dolphin he sent for me... We've booked you a berth in the water below... We've booked you a berth with the diesel ad shale." The sailor describes the smelly life on submarines; he finally gets another berth

Canadian French. "Peuple, ecoutez devotement, Un recit bien interessant." Listeners are asked to hear the tale of "A famous Doctor friend of ours," who, although "a great blockhead," goes into politics. Despite their loathing, he becomes an M.P.

"You can dig my grave with a silver spade (x3), 'Cause I ain't gonna stay here long." "There's a long white robe in heaven for me...." "There's a starry crown in heaven for me...." "There's a golden harp up in Heaven for me...."

"Just as you say, sire, I'm off once more, The Palmer River, that's my way." "Ten long years since I landed here... But who lacks hardship looking for gold." "'Success to the Palmer!' -- is that your toast? Mine's 'Here's to the land I leave behind!'"

Digging for Gould: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #V15467}

Boys know Darby Kelly only loves gold. Dan tells Darby he dreamt of a jar of gold. They dig and find a jar. He takes it home on his back; when they smash it, he is "like a black sugar stick on a hot summer-day," not smelling like gold. He is cured

"I've come back all skin and bone From the diggins-oh, And I wish I'd never gone, To the giggins-oh. Believe me, 'tis no fun...." He lost weight. The natives burned his home. His hut washed away. He finally comes home; he will not go digging again

"Dinah, Oh Dinah, if you were only mine, Set you in the corner, kiss you all the time, kiss you all the time, kiss you all the time." "It's raining and it's hailing... My true love goes back on me, I will surely die." "Durn her, let her go."

Dinah, Dinah Show Us a Leg: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7052}

"Dinah, Dinah, show us your leg ... above the knee" Rich girl wears brassiere, poor girl rags, or a string, Dinah wears nothing and lets her bosoms sag, or swing.

Chorus: "Ding dang me one, Ding dang, Ding dang me two ... Ding dang me four, Ding dang." Includes floating Black or "minstrel" verses (see Notes)

"Ding ding ding ding ding, Here comes my (wagon/trolley), my wagon, I hear the keeper calling me Ding ding ding ding ding, To take me back to the nutty factory, Like all the little nuts that fall, I'm just a little cracked, that's all...."

"Ding, dong, bell, Pussy's in the well." Johnny Green (or Tam Linn) put her in. Tommy Stout pulls her out. "What a naughty boy was that, To try to drown poor pussy cat, Who never did him any harm, And killed the mice in his father's barn"

Dingle Dingle Doosey: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #15524}

"Dingle, dingle, doosey, The cat's in the well; The dog's away to Bellingen, To buy the bairn a bell"

Dingle Puck Goat, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #8220}

Singer goes to Puck Fair in Dingle and buys a goat, jumps on its back, grabs its horns and has a fantastic ride. They cross the sea and are attacked by fish. They return through Kerry; "old Puck ... as far as I hear he's in New York or in Boston"

Singer mourns that his donkey is gone. The donkey bites off the hand of a Chinese man. Jealous people damn his donkey because he fights, but they want him for their own. "If you are not a good jockey you won't like to run"

"See the crowd in the evening Outside the Dining Hall door, I wonder what they're doing there, And what they're waiting for." When they've gotten what they can, "They'll be the same as the started, Hungry for bread, Bloody near dead, Side by side."

"Some folks say dat de worry blues ain' bad, It's de wors' ol' feelin' I ever had." The singer details (her) life: "If trouble was money, I'd be a millionaire." "I used to love you, but oh, God damn you now." "Take a worried man to sing de worried song."

Chorus: Fare thee well/Oh, honey, fare thee well." Floating verses: "If I had wings like Noah's dove/I'd fly 'cross the river to the man I love"; "When I wore my apron low..." "One of these days... You'll look for me, and I'll be gone"

A bloody soldier returned from France is berated by a lance corporal from headquarters for appearing in public in a disheveled uniform. The soldier is awarded a medal for kicking the corporal in the ass.

He says he's going but will "come again and see thee." She asks him to "stay this night wi' your love" He says he'll only be gone "a night and hauf a day." She insists he stay. He does, "and never leave[s] my dearie"

Jamaican patois: The preacher Bedwud is implored to "dip dem [people who need healing] in the healing stream ... to cure bad feelin." Maladies and people cured are named.

Dip Me in de Golden Sea: (2 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #V40163 and 20892}

"Oh, I long for to reach dat hebenly shore, To dip in de golden sea; To meet old Peter a standing in de door, To dip in de golden sea." "Den dip me, bathe me, sisters, you and me, Come get in de boat, for we all gwine float," and meet only Baptists

Tongue-twister. "Dirty Danny's digging deeper dugouts, Much deeper dugouts Dirty Danny dug to make a fug. One day he dug a topper, Nut the general came a cropper In that damn deeper dugout Danny dug." "Heavy-handed Hans flys Halberstadters...."

Parody of the calendar-counting rhyme: "Dirty days hath September, April, June, and November. All the rest have thirty-one, Without a bloomin' blink of sun." Were there a 32 day months, "They'd be just as wet and twice as dirty."

"A dollar's roun' goes from han' to han', Jes' de way dese women goes from man to man." The singer complains about women's ways, describes how his woman throws him out, contemplates suicide, warns other men that he could pursue their women

A wife keeps a dirty home, does not darn the holes in her husband's socks, leaves the "woollen duds and flannel" in the was tubs and does not clean the blankets until after eleven; "it's tryin' But I daurna say nae mair"

"Dis mornin' I get up and puts on my Sunday clothes, and down de street I goes. I meets old Brother Mose; He hits men on my nose, And dat's all I knows."

The singer asks the "young gal" what she is doing out in the yard "dis time o' de night." The white (overseer) will lose his job. White men can't marry a black woman and their children are neither white nor black.

Disappointed Lover (I), The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #293}

"Once I courted a pretty little Miss, I courted her for my own... She's taken flight and she's gone." "I walked up and down, just like a man in a haze." When she sees him, she gives a kind smile but no more. He warns her new man to treat her well

A drummer proposes to a Bristol lady of sixteen that she enlist in the regiment to follow him. She proposes instead that she buy his discharge and that they marry. He agrees "and now he's knocked off playing Among his comrades all"

"Come pity me, young maidens all... My love was pressed away to sea, And is on bord the Victory." When he left, he told her it was a safe ship and "Brave Balchen is a gallant man." But her love has not come back; she is still waiting

"As near to Portsmouth dock I stray'd," the singer hears a woman lament that her love has been transported to Botany Bay. He had fought for the king, but it didn't matter. The singer tries to speak to her, but she declares that she will follow her love

"The shades of Eve were falling o'er Atlantic's silent breast Around the 'Cabot Landfall' the wavelets lay at rest." The singer describes the Irish who explored Newfoundland. "Pat O'Dady" complains that Cabot got the credit for an Irish discovery

Singer overhears Cork chapel and Shandon Church arguing. Church blames chapel for convincing people to leave Ireland. Chapel blames Church for "tithes and taxes" and prophesizes "tithes and taxes will be defeated" and freedom will return after 500 years

When a girl's father cannot talk her out of marrying a sailor, the father has the boy pressed. The girl follows in disguise; they wind up in the same bunk. At length she reveals herself. They return home. The girl's father has died; they are married

"In 1884, upon the first of May, The schooner M. J. Cummings from Oswego sailed away." A day later, a storm blows up. She is feared lost. It turms out she has lost her masts, but the crew survives. The singer wishes success to the rebuilt ship

"I remember very well One dark and (dreary) day" when the singer set out for "A distant land to roam." He recalls mother bidding him goodbye and hoping to see him again in a year. But she dies before he returns; he says he will remember her words

"Says, Jack, 'There is very good news; there is peace both by land and sea" and the fleet will be disbanded. But the officers are unhappy. The purser is content with the money he has stolen. Others tell what they will do. Jack will turn highwayman

"District attorney sure is hard on a man. He will take a woman's man and leave her cold in hand." Verses all start by calling the D.A. "hard on a man." He exiles men to "some distant land." "He ain't no woman, but he sure will take a woman's man."

"Oh how well do I remember, when thoughts of bygone days...." "'Tis the song and the prayer of the people, Ditches, ditches, break again no more. Many times we have mended places in which you broke before." He remembers long old dresses on his mother

A weaver's apprentice falls in love with a girl he sees at a show. The next day he meets her employer. She takes him to her maid who refuses the weaver's advances because he is an apprentice. But she would marry him "when ye win free" He is delighted.

Dives and Lazarus [Child 56]: (20 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #477}

Poor Lazarus comes to the rich man's door. The rich man (Dives/Diveres/Diverus) refuses to offer charity. Lazarus dies and is rewarded after death; the rich man suffers eternal punishment

"There's a line that divides all the people on earth From a life of sin and a life of true worth...." Sinners are exhorted to turn to God and "cross that dividing line." They are warned that it will be too late if they wait for God's revelation

"Dixey Bull was a pirate bold, He swept our coast in search of gold." Jamestown is afraid of him. Daniel Curtis, however, challenges Bull to a singe combat. The poem describes the combat in detail; eventually Curtis kills Bull and "saved the town"

"I wish I was in the land of cotton...." A blackface-dialect song praising southern life and the conditions the slaves endured. Such plot as it has revolves around Old Missus, who married Will the Weaver, a "gay deceiver"

Dixie Brown [Laws D7]: (12 refs. 4K Notes) {Roud #644}

Arriving in (San Francisco), a sailor goes on a spree and ends up broke. He is taken in by [Dixie] Brown, who alleges he owes a score and uses that as a lever to force him back to sea. The sailor warns others to avoid the sea and this sort of trap

Do 'Round My Lindy: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #16278}

"Do 'round my Lindy, do 'round my Jane, Gonna run away with a pretty little girl....." "My Lindy, she's handsome..., Broke my new suspenders down and sat down on my ..." "Wish I was an alligator... Open up my mouth... and scoot little Lindy in."

The singer's step-mother told him as a child, "do as they do in France." Even now, when he needs shoes, or bread, she says "do as they do in France." A friend explains that means "do without." So he joins the navy. "Boys, do as Britons do"

Shanty. Choruses "Hoo-raw! me loo-loo boys, Do let me lone." Three line verses with the chorus following each. Verses run through different women's names (Susan, Flora, Rosy, etc)

"Do Lord, oh do Lord, oh do remember me, O Lord, Do Lord, oh do Lord, oh do remember me Do Lord, oh do Lord, oh do remember me, Look away beyond the blue." "I've got home in glory land, outshines the sun." "I took Jesus as my savior, you take him too"

"Do re me fa so la to do, What makes me fart? I do not know."

"Lots of folks back east, they say, Is leaving home every day Beating the hot old dusty way To the California line" -- but there are so many others they get no welcome unless they have the "Do Re Mi." If they don't, they should go home

"Old broom sweeps my floor, New broom scratches my floor." Repeat many times "Do remember" and "Do remember me"

Do They Miss Me at Home?: (7 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4366}

"Do they miss me at home, do they miss me?" The singer asks for assurance that he is remembered. He recounts various ways people might show how they miss them.

Do They Think of Me at Home?: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #13939}

"Do they think of me at home, Do they ever think of me? I who shared their ev'ry grief...." The singer asks if they remember her songs and harp. The singer remembers her lover being rejected. Happy with him now, she still wishes those at home cared

Gaelic. "A young man asks a woman's hand in marriage, but she has heard her mother disparaging him. He denies the mother's charges of excessive drinking and music-making in pubs, and promises to change his ways and settle down, but she is not persuaded."

"Do us a sub, Lend us a quid, Give us a rub Of your Burberry."

German. "Do war ich mol in Schtad Redding, Do war ich net bekannt." The singer, a stranger in the town, is approached by Bully Lyon in Reading. He asks what he has done. He is imprisoned for three years. His wife visits him, and Lyon calls her foolish.

"Do ye mind lang syne, When the simmer days were fine, When the sun it shone far brichter than it's ever done sin' syne?" The singer recalls the joys of the old days, and all the youths used to do. Now old, he hopes to awaken on an equally bright Sabbath

Jump-rope rhyme. "Do you now where the darkies live? zumba, zumba (x2), Yes I know where the darkies live, zumba, zumba (x2). The darkies live in Africa, zumba, zumba."

Jump-rope rhyme. "Do you like silver and gold, Do you like brass? Do you like looking through The looking glass? Yes, I like silver and gold, Yes, I like brass, Yes, I like looking through The looking glass."

"Do you live by prayer?" "Yes I live by prayer." "Remember me?" "Have you passed here before?" "Yes I have passed here before." "When I can read my title clear To mansions in the skies," then I'll bid farewell, wipe my tears, and smile at Satan's rage.

Do You Love an Apple?: (7 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #654}

The girl loves an uncaring man. She details her abuses ("When I was single, I wore a black shawl; now I'm married, it's overalls," etc.), always ending, "Still I love him, I'll forgive him (or "cannot deny him"), I'll go with him wherever he goes."

Encouragement to sexual activity: The listener is encouraged to "find a woman if you can. If you can't find a woman, find a clean old man." The remainder of the song is devoted to the characteristics of the listener's scrotum

Do Your Ears Hang Low?: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #15472}

"Do your ears hang low, do they wobble to and fro? Can you tie them in a knot, can you tie them is a bow? Can you throw them o're your shoulder like a continental soldier? Do your ears hang low?" Other verses may refer to other ear, or body, oddities

Song for learning the Ionian major scale, with lyrics for each note, do re mi fa sol la it do, e.g. "do(e), a deer, a female deer"

Do, Do, Pity My Case: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #11590}

"Do, do pity my case, In some lady's garden, My clothes to wash when I get home, In some lady's garden." Repeat with substitutions in the third line: "My clothes to iron when I get home," "My floors to scrub," "My bread to bake," etc.

"Dobie Bill, he came a-riding from the canyon, in the glow." Arriving in Santa Fe, he enters a bar and finds "Blake, the killer." In the fight that follows, Bill kills Blake, reports he has "made the scoundrel pay," and goes his way

"Come all you married seaman bold, a few lines to you I'll write, Just to let you know how the game do go when you are out of site." The "lads on shore go sporting with your wives." She and her "fancy man" collect his half-pay and spend it, and even more

"We are the dockyard mateys' sons Sitting on the dockyard wall, Watching our poor fathers Doing bugger all. When we grow older We'll be dockyard mateys too, Just like our fathers, With bugger all to do"

Jamaican patois: The cunning doctor bird is hard to kill: you beat him and he gets up; you shoot him and he flies away; when he wants a place to lie down he builds a nest on a low branch.

Dr Blair was a man of skill, He built his castle on a hill; He set four statues in the front, And every morning went to hunt. From his castle you may see Up and down along the Lee"

In London, Doctor Crippen poisoned his wife, "cut up her body and buried it deep." He and his disguised mistress are arrested "on board the Montrose." He is tried, convicted, "and Crippen was condemned on the gallows to die"

Doctor Fletcher (Dr. Pritchard): (7 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4805}

Dr. Pritchard poisons his wife and mother-in-law (Mrs. Taylor). The jury finds him guilty and he is sentenced to be hanged in Glasgow. His children come to the jail and blame him for murdering their mother. He warns against bad company.

Doctor Foster Went to Gloucester: (7 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #19712}

"Doctor Foster went to Gloucester In a shower of rain, He stepped in a puddle, Right up to his middle, And never went there again."

"Dr. Jones is a good man, a good man, a good man, Dr. Jones is a good man, he'll help whoever he can." "Ladies and gentlemen, sail around... and kiss just who you please." "Spider in the dumpling... Roll around and roll."

Jump-rope rhyme: "Doctor Kildare fell down the stair, In the month of January, February, March....."

A man asks Monroe to use any method ("bleed me to death," "grant me some poison") to cure him: "my lass has forsaken me." Monroe says the cure will cost 100, but a free lecture may be effective. The patient chooses the lecture and is cured immediately

A weaver's daughter loves Dr Stafford. He is called to her death bed and says they will marry if she survives. He stays with her eight weeks, but she dies. The neighbors say her ghost haunts him. He ends in Bedlam. Her spirit comes to save him.

Daniel Morris is the local doctor for 40 years. His house visits are described, including his work in the 1918 flu pandemic. He is still remembered after his death.

Comments on the less-than-honest nature of various professionals: "Oh the (candidate's) a dodger, yes, a well-known dodger, Yes, the (candidate's) a dodger and I'm a dodger too. For we're all dodging... Our way through the world"

Jump-rope rhyme. "Does he love me? Yes, no, yes, no, yes. Where will we get married? Church, synagogue, house, barn. How many children will we have? One, two, three, four...."

To the tune of "John Brown's Body": "Does the driver want a wee wee (x3), 'Cause we want a wee wee too" (or "If he doesn't, we do"). Other verses might be "Stop the bus, I want a wee wee... A wee wee cup of tea" or refer to other bodily functions

The singer is about to travel "far upon the seas" and asks, "now we're going to part ... Have I thy loving heart"

"Does your mother know you're out? (x2), How are you, Horace Greeley? Does your mother know you're out?" "Mother, is the battle over? What are the men about? How are you, Horace Greeley? Does your mother know you're out?"

Singer does not understand why everyone takes him for a naive fool. So, "My station is respectable There's nothing about me In the slightest way detectable Of the apeing wain cockney ... I dresses vell ... The cry is Ho my precious svell Does ...."

Naive singer comes to Liverpool, stops at a pub, is beaten by "three roaring fellows" and has his purse stolen by a girl. In the street a girl stops him; he beats her, assuming she is the one that stole his money, and is thrown in jail for six months.

"Does your pa drink stout? Does your mammy know you're out? Does your granny wheel the mangle Round the yard?"

Doffin' Mistress, The: (6 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #2133}

"Oh do you know here or do you not, This new doffin' mistress we hae got, [Something-or-other] is her name, And she helps her doffers at every frame." The weavers tell of her exploits. They contemptuously tell the boss they will work hard for her, not him

The hatter has to hide in the closet when the woman's husband comes home unexpectedly. The husband locks the closet and goes for witnesses. The wife releases the hatter and puts a dog in his place. The husband finds the dog and is embarrassed

The dog lay in the dunghill, saw the moon, "cockit his tail" and ran away. The cock crowed on the dunghill, ..., "flappit his wings" and flew away.

"Dog in the wood, Barking at the squirrel; My true love Is as good as the worl'." "Mr. Banks, he loves sugar and tea, Mr. Banks, he loves candy...." "Dog in the wood, Barking at the squirrel."

"Daddy eat dog shark Ma Lingay." "Take them one by one Ma Lingay. Take them two by two. Take them three by three Ma Lingay. Take them four by four."

"There is something so thrilling and gay As the team into harness we strop." The song is about driving a dog team. "The good man too performs his part; The hungry dogs are fed; And blizzards now may whirl and roar, The traveller has a bed."

Dog-Catcher's Child, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #9604}

"Oh the moon shines tnight on the river, But not on the dog-catcher's child, FOr he fed her some raw liver, And raw meat makes dog-people wild. Now he sits all alone in his mansion, The soup dribbles over his vest... she sleeps in the alley by request."

Dog's Convention, The: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5474}

At a convention of dogs from far and near, the animals' anuses are mixed up, and the canines go home with orifices not their own. This explains why dogs will drop a bone to smell the anus of a passing dog; they are looking for their own.

"In (Grays-Inn Lane) not long ago, An old maid lived a life of woe." She falls in love with a handsome Dog's-Meat Man. He says he will marry her if she gives him money for a shop. He vanishes; she finds him with a wife and "seven little dog's-meat men"

Grimsby fishermen spend all their money in Grimsby taverns and must go to work the fishing grounds. The disreputable looking crew is described. They "battle through every gale" and head home again for Mrs. Surgeon's beer.

Descriptions of various doings in Dogget's Gap. "Chestnut tree full of chestnut sap, Snow knee deep in Dogget's Gap."

"Doggie woggie woo woo (x2)."

"The cow-bosses are good-hearted chunks," very diverse, but "Still they sing the same old song": "Sift along, don't ride so slow, Haven't got much time but a long round to go." After gathering the herd, the crew is to "hit the shortest trail"

Michael Doherty lives in Kerry and has "a taste for the grog" He is "killed" in a fight. When the whiskey is passed at the wake Doherty lifts the coffin lid. He advises, at the next wake, "don't pass with the whiskey so close to his nose"

"Fresh I cum frae Sandgate Steet, Dol-li, dol-li, Maw best freends here to meet, Dol-li-a, Dol-li the dillen dol...." "The Black Cuffs is gawn away, An' that'll be a crying day." "Dolly Coxon's pawned her shirt...." "The Green Cuffs is cummin' in...."

When you go on the dole they take your report: name and "what you've got." Scratch through the seasons and do anything to stay off the dole. When the man with money dies and is buried "he'll have no better chance than the poor man on the dole"

We Labrador fishermen work hard "noon and night" while "those that profit" are warm and well fed. "Long coat chaps" do not help. Merchants rob us. Taxes take what we have. "The ruler in Newfoundland" does not allow us on the dole.

"I've traveled this wide world o'er and o'er And have lived in many a clime, But poverty seems to have hold of me now"; he must work for "a dollar a day without board." It is not enough for a man with a family. They should follow their Leader Mr. Kearney

"A dollar a day is a fisherman pay, Way you lazy Liza, A dollar a day for that I can't stay, Roll out your sails my Liza"

Dollar Down and a Dollar a Week: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #18540}

Singer describes all the things his friend has bought on credit, including clothes, car, marriage, and a child; finally the man's wife, saying "these weekly payments are killing me," divorces him, and the alimony is a dollar down, a dollar a week.

Jump-rope rhyme. "Dolly dear, Dolly dear, your sweetheart is dead.

"I have come to say goodbye, Dolly Grey; It's no use to ask me why, Dolly Grey; There's a murmur in the air... So it's time to do and dare, Dolly Grey." The singer bids Dolly a sad farewell and goes off to join the "boys in blue"

Dolly Varden Hats, The: (3 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #6081}

Girls: "Lovers you'll have plenty ... If you wear the Dolly Vardon hat, and do the Grecian bend." The comical adventures of women and their hats are related. Soldiers could wear them when drilling: "they'll do for umbrellas to save them from the rain"

"Oh, what a joy I have in the grazing field, When the sun goes own all aglow, For I love my Doll and the milk she yields WIth her croon ochone so low." The cow likes him, and is beautiful, and he always enjoys being with her

July 12, 1849. "Ten hundreds of our Orangemen together did combine" to celebrate the Battle of the Boyne at Dolly's Brae. Two priests can't turn the march to fight the gathered Catholics. "And the Orange cry, as we passed by, was 'Dolly's Brae no more'"

"Ribbon-knaves" attacked a July 12 Orange parade with "murderous volleys." The Orangemen "quenched the Popish brand which death-fires would have lighted." Afterwards Orangemen are attacked but "ten hundred Paypishes [are knocked] right over Dolly's Brae"

July 12, 1849: Lord Roden invites the Rathfriland Orangemen to march. Priests Mooney and Murphy encourage the "rebels." "The Ribbonmen advantage took and fired upon our rear" but no Orangemen were hit in the battle. The Orangemen claim "glorious victory"

July 12, [18]49 an Orange march is intercepted by Catholic Ribbonmen but "we did them greatly scar." The Orange "were the conquerors of Crossgar." For loyalty to the Pope the "false misguided heretics ... will be rewarded in the regions down below"

"All on one summer's morning, The fourteenth day of May, our Dolphin slipped her cable...." The song describes the ship's triumphant voyage

""Ye bold British tars, who to glory are free, Who dare venture your lives for your fortune at sea," will hear of the trip of the Dolphin and the Swallow to explore the Pacific. They are separated in Magellan's Straits. The Dolphin finally arrives home

The Dom Pedro sails from Boston to Shanghai. The crew reaches their destination, unload the ship, and rejoice at the thought of coming home

"There is a man that gives a hand To all that riff-raff band. At night you'll see Don pleasantly" travel through the city to gather up those who are drunk. He takes the men to a mining camp where rules are strictly enforced. In the end, they benefit

"Don' cher look at me, Ca'line, Don' cher look at me! You done busted up many a po' niggah's hat, But you ain't a-goin' to bust up mine! Oh, it's hahd to love, An' it's mighty hahd to leave, But it's hahder to make up yo' mind."

"Don't be a coward, Don't be afraid, And for Heaven's sake, Don't die an old maid."

"Don't be weary, traveler, come along home to Jesus (x2)." "My head got wet with the morning dew, Come along home... Angels bear me witness too." "Where to do I did not know, Ever since he freed my soul." "I look at the world and the world look new."

Don't Call the Roll: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #15254}

Chorus: "Don't call the roll (x4), "Till I get there." Verse: "Jacob's ladder slim and tall, Ain't got the faith surely you must fall." "Two white angels walking down, Long white robe and starry crown."

"Don't care was made to care, Don't care was hung, Don't care was put in a pot, And boiled till he was done." Reportedly used as a response when one child told another "Don't care."

Singer tells listeners all the reasons not to come to the Michigan lumber woods: snakes, bugs, dangerous sawmills, corduroy roads, quack doctors, and thieving merchants.

The singer warns against counting one's chickens before they are hatched. He cites as examples the banker who expected to be rich but had his house attached, the boy who expected to marry but had his girl stolen away, etc.

"My old man said follow the van, and don't dilly dally on the way. Off went the van wiv me 'ome packed in it... But I dillied, I dallied, I dallied and I dillied, lost me way and don't know where to roam....."

"Don't eat Kennedy's bread, I'll fill your belly full of lead. You'll fart like thinder, Your mother wouldn't wonder, Don't eat Kennedy's bread."

Lost love song recognized mostly by the title line. As one lover departs, the other notes that "you may meet with many changes... But remember, little darling, you are ever in my dreams." The singer says (she) will be true

Don't Get Trouble in Your Mind: (7 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #14067}

Singer tells of troubles with ex-sweetheart. She says he is the "meanest boy that ever lived or died." Later, she throws her arms around him "like grapevines round a gum." At his last visit, she had "Johnny's arms around her, and the baby on the floor."

Chorus: "Don't get weary, Angels brought the tidings down, Don't get weary, I'm hunting for a home." Verses are about judgment day: "world on fire" "elements melting" "moon bleeding" "stars falling"

"Massa had a yellow gal, He brought her from the south, Her hair it curled so very tight She couldn't shut her mouth." "He took her to a tailor" to repair her defect; "She swallowed up the tailor." Now he uses her nose "to hang his hat and coat."

Chorus: "Don't get weary (3x), We'll get home by and by." Verses: "O we'll break this bread (shout and talk, sing and shout) together (x2), On the other side of Jordan, We'll get home by and by"

"Don't give us a Make and Mend, sir, We might come over faint. There's not many 'Jimmies" like you, sir, It's a bloody good job there ain't."

"A lady once had a lovely daughter, The lady was an actress on the stage" who performed with lions. One day the daughter warns her mother not to perform, but the mother is attacked by a lion. A young man rescues the mother; he marries the daughter

The wife pleads: "Don't go out tonight, my darling, Do not leave me here alone... Though the wine-cup may be tempting And your friends are full of glee... Darling, won't you stay with me?" But he goes out, and is carried home (dead?)

"Don't do ridin' down that old Texas trail (x2), Oh my darling, stay at home, don't go out alone." "Oh the nights are gettin mighty long... And I'm singin' you this song." "Oh, my darling, you done me wrong... Don't do riding down that old Texas trail."

"You'll miss it, my boy, now mind what I say, Don't spend all your money and time in that way." The aged parents beg Tommy not to go out carousing. They tell him to work, and remind him that they cared for him. Refrain" Don't go there, Tommy, don't go."

Chorus: "You don't knock, you just walk in, The door to heaven's inn"; love joy and old friends are waiting; "don't knock ring push or hold." Verses are about the singer's certainty that, with Jesus as "my guide, ever by my side," entry to heaven is sure.

Chorus: "Don't leave me Lord (2x), Lord, don't leave me behind (2x)." Verses: "Jesus is my friend ... He will go with me to the end." "I don't want to stumble and I don't want to stop ... I don't want to be a stumbling block."

"Stick to your mother, Tom, And don't you leave her worry, lad." The singer, who lost his father at a young age, reminds Tom of how his mother cared for him. So Tom is advised to care for mother, even when her hair turns gray

Don't Let Your Deal Go Down: (21 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4854}

Floating verses: "Been all around this whole round world... Anyplace I hang my hat/Feels like home to me"; "Left my little girl a'crying"; "Where did you get your high-top shoes" Chorus: "Don't let your deal go down/Till your last (g)old dollar is gone"

"Don' let yo' watch run down, Cap'n, Don' let yo' watch run down. Workin' on de levee, dollar an' half a day, Workin' for my Lulu, gettin' mo' dan pay." "...Workin on' de railroad, mud up to my knees, Workin' for my Lulu, she's a hard ole gal to please."

"Mammy Logan, she had a daughter And she run a cookshop down in Florida. How I know? God knows I been there, An I bought four pork chops -- for a quarter. A-don't lie, buddy, don't lie." A collection of semi-tall tales with a bluesy, bawdy feel

"I don't like your family, They don't make a hit with me, I don't like to bother Lending money to your father, While your mother would live on me. I don't think your Uncle Joe Ever had a collar on." She is a lady, but the singer wants to marry an orphan

"Seven long year I've done been married, I wish to God I was an old maid...." The woman marries a man who made fine promises, but now he won't work or care for the children; he spends his nights in a bar. The woman warns girls against marrying drunkards

"To see the Pan American I went to Buffalo." "I'd sooner visit some department store." "I'd see more sights on a Sunday night on the beach at Coney Isle." And besides that he is cheated and over-charged at every turn.

"My father was born in Killarney, My mother was born in Cork; I've been taught to love old Ireland Ever since I could walk. So don't run down the Irish; If you do, you'll make me cry. For an Irishman I've always been, And an Irishman I'll die."

"Oh, my darling, don't say no, Onto the sofa you must go, Up with your petticoat, Down with your drawers, You tickle mine, And I'll tickle yours."

" Don't sell Daddy anymore whiskey, for I know it will take him away, We all are hungry and Mama is weeping, don't sell him no whiskey today." The child says father is kind when sober, but cruel when drunk, and begs the bartender to cut him off

The girl appeals to the liquor-seller, "Don't sell him any more rum; He's reeling already, you see. I know when he comes home tonight He'll beat poor mama and me." The girl asks why the seller can't sell something "that won't make people so sad."

"Give me time, lots of time, in the COF Command, Don't send me home. Let me stay, far away, from the country that I love, Don't send me home. Let me stay in this land, on a long vacation... No, MacKenzie, don't send me home. (Just kidding.)"

"Boys and girls take my advice Quit playing cards and shooting dice." "Don't drink no booze." "Don't be no thief, don't be no rogue." "Bad company you must shun." "Just keep right on and don't speak to me."

"There is one thing I hate to say If ever you come again, To see me in my evening hours, You don't stay after ten." Last time he stayed late, and now her parents are on watch for the young man. Another mistake and it's over....

"Don't strike out the top line, Rub out the other two, Don't be ruled by fanatics, To liberty be true. Don't let silly weaklings rule Who can't themselves control, Don't let go your precious rights." "Hold fast by liberty, The watchword of our race."

Don't Swat Your Mother, Boys: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #15690}

Two brothers come home to find that dinner is not ready. One is about to hit his mother because she is slow. The youngest child tells them, "Don't swat you mother, boys, just because she is old." They beg forgiveness

Singer is traveling for Jesus. His dying mother told him, If you see your brother in the fault, don't gossip; take it to God. People who owe you money will turn away. Refrain: "Don't mind what the people say/Lord, don't take everybody to be your friend"

"Don't take the shilling, lad, Don't, for heaven's sake! Don't take the shilling or Your mother's heart will break. You're the only son that's left to me, Don't let us part... You'll break your mother's heart."

"July the redbird (hah!), redbird, August the fly (hah!)...." "Now don't talk about it (huh!), Bout it, if you do I'll cry." The singer wakes up with shovel and hammer by his side. The food is cabbage, beans, corn bread.

"Don't you tell little Lulu what road you left me on, Though she be ridin' ridin', I'll be gone on home.... Look over here and wonder wonder, Lulu see me, fall fall from my shoulder from me knees on down, I am on a new cut road, Don't write me li'l Lulu"

Chorus: "Don't you feel the fire a-burning, Yyou feel the fire a-burning (x2, So precious to your soul. Rise and give to glory, Shout Hallelujah, So precious to your soul") Verse replaces the leading "don't" with "My brother (sister,...)"

Don't You Grieve After Me (I): (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6698}

The singer describes various adventures: Being found by the police with a wallet not his own, sleeping in a hotel and being declared a deadbeat. Chorus: When I'm gone, Don't you, don't you grieve (x3), An' I told him not to grieve after me."

"My sister's took her flight, And gone home, And the angel's waiting at the door." "Tell all-a-my Father's children, don't you grieve for me." "She has taken up her crown." Presumably can be repeated for other relatives

Don't You Hear Jerusalem Mourn?: (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4945}

Describes the foibles of various denominations of preachers; a Baptist has a bottle in his pocket, etc. Chorus: "Don't you hear Jerusalem Mourn?...Thank God for the heaven bells a-ringin' and my soul starts singin'"

Chain-gang work song, with chorus line, "Oh don't you hear my hammer ringing?" The song complains about present work conditions, describes the career of Noah, and talks about his hammer

"Don't you hear that jaybird call -- Don't you hear them dead sticks fall? He's a throwin' down firewood for we-all, All on a Friday morning."

"Don't you hurry worry with me (x3), I'm gonna pack your eyes with sand." "If you tell me that again...." "Mr. Munson he get broke...."

"Don't you know Billy Bryan will never get there? Don't you know? (x2) Billy McKinley will fill the chair.... Way over in Williamson, away over in the county where we grow...." "Don't you know Henry Jones will be our next clerk...."

Floating verses: "Don't you leave me here...If you must go...leave me a dime for beer." "I've never had one woman... I've always had six, seven, eight or nine." "The rooster crowed... Saying, 'If you want to taste my fricassee you got to run me down."

"Don't you like it (x2), Here my collar, come and shake it, You think you's big because you been on the boat, You passed me by like a she nanny goat."

"(Don't you mind what the (devil/Reverend/lawyer/deacon/hypocrit) does, Don't you mind) (x2) Don't you mind what the (...) does, He can't get to Heaven and he won't let you, Don't you mind."

Chorus: ("Let's go down to Jordan"(3x) "Hallellujah") (2x) Verse: "Brother (sister, sinner), don't you want to go"(3x) "Come let's go down to Jordan, Hallelujah"

Don't You Weep After Me: (7 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2286}

"When I'm dead and buried don't you weep after me (x3).... I don't want you to weep after me." Unrelated verses about death: "On the good ship of Zion"; "King Peter is my Captain"; "Bright angels are the sailors"; "When I do cross over"

"On a wagon bound for market There's a calf with a mournful eye. High above him there's a swallow Winging swiftly through the sky." The farmer tells the calf that, if it wants to fly, it should be a swallow. But those who treasure freedom has/must fly

Latin round: "Dona nobis pacem, pacem, Dona nobis pa...cem."

"On the eighth of November In the year of '68" there was a hare hunt on Donagh Hill "on Colonel Madden's estate." "Tally Ho, Hark away." The route is described, the dogs named. The hare tires. The hunters plan to let it go but Gaynor makes the kill.

"Now come all you young men that wish for to travel Through hedges, through mud, and through dirt and much gravel"; the singer will tell you about the wild party, Donahue's Spree. The singer tells the story of "a lad in the corner" and the work he's done

"Wha hasna heard o' Donal' Don, Wi' all his tanterwallops on; I trow, he was a lazy drone, And smuggled Hieland whisky, O." Donal, abandoned long ago by his love, lives a poor and isolated life, without a change of shirt, but all appreciate his whiskey

Donald and His Mither: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6250}

Donald invites a lass to marry and "sit beside young Donald's mither." If she deny him he'd sulk and "cuddle wi' my mither." She agrees "and I'll lie between you and your mither." Donald kicks his mother out of bed "and has fairly noo forgot his mither"

"Once I loved a fair young jockey; Donald Campbell was his name, Until it pleased God for to take him, Then a mourner I became." While racing the horse "Luna," Campbell is thrown and killed.

Donald Duck: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #19311 and 19283}

"Donald Duck is a one-legged, one-legged, one-legged duck" (sung while hopping on one foot). Then "...is a two.legged duck" (while hopping on two feet), then "three-legged" (add a hand), then four, concluding "Donald Duck is a duck"

Monroe leaves Ireland for America, leaving his boys in Scotland because he cannot pay their fare. Years later the boys join the British army and sail to America. There the boys are killed by rebels, one of them their father; there is a sorrowful parting

"Young Donald is the blythest lad That e'er made love to me; Whene'er he's by, my heart is glad; He seems so gay and free. Then on his pipes he plays so sweet...." She has been courted by Sandy, but loves only Donald, who has now offered to wed her

Donald, behind in his rent, organizes a cattle drive to an English fair where prices are good. He sells the cattle but is met on his way home by a robber who takes the money. By a trick Donald captures the robber, wins a reward, and pays off his lease.

Donald's Safe Come Back Again: (2 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #5791}

Donald returns to Meg from war with Abercrombie after losing a leg. He says "If her I can protect again, Claymore in hand I'll leave the north Though legless I come back again"

Donald's Visit to Glasgow: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #5858}

Donald and his wife go to Glasgow and see things they cannot understand: a poor man and horse unmoving in the street, a devil counting the hours, strange women's clothing, two men carrying a woman in a barrow...

Donall Og (Young Donald): (3 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #3379}

Gaelic or English: Singer tells her lover Donal to take her with him, that he'll be well taken care of. She reproaches him for breaking his promise; he says she has ignored him. She says that he is always in her mind, and has taken her past and her future

Second and fourth lines of each verse are "The Lord done sanctified me" and "He sanctified my soul." Typical verse: "Before I learned to pray... I'd trouble all the day... Brother behold the Lamb of God... He sanctified me, he'll sanctify you...."

Chorus: "(You've got to take the children out of Pharaoh's hand)(4x)." Verses' second and fourth line is "You've got to take ..." and the first and third are floating rhyming couplets like "Tallest tree in Paradise ... Christians call the tree of life"

The singer's Dublin watch is pilfered in Doneraile. He wishes fire and brimstone, the fate of Pompey, the death of its industry, and many other disasters on the town. "May Charon's boat triumphant sail, Completely manned, from Doneraile"

"A cowboy's life is a weary thing, Rope and brand and ride and sing.... Rain or shine, sleet or snow, Me and my Doney gal are bound to go." The cowboy describes the hard work he and his horse do as they herd the cattle

"I used to own a donkey, a bob-tailed stubborn mule" -- so stubborn that it could have been a congressman. He could kick you to "where Bob Ingersoll belonged." But now "Empty is the stable, Dave is gone.' The singer fondly recalls the havoc Dave caused.

The singer's donkey is smart but, best of all, he is fast. The singer races him in the Derby. "The signal it was given me boys and off the horses flew." His donkey is "the last one out but the first one in"

"Oh, Thomas Benton is his name, Yong huh, yong huh, That is well known to railroad fame.... Lease traitor to the railroads turned... We had our way When Tommy was on the board." The railroads recall the good times when they could cheat and steal grain

A tinker meets a woman: coming from the ball and he soldering against the wall; in the wood and his budget stood; in the bar to "have it again"; in the bed and says "We should be wed"; at the door and trips her on the floor. She should go with him.

Donnelly and Cooper: (11 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #2147}

Boxers Donnelly (Irish) and Cooper (English) meet. Odds are on Cooper. First Donnelly is knocked down, then Cooper, then Donnelly again; (referee) Kelly's pretty daughter exhorts Donnelly to get up and win. He does,and Miss Kelly congratulates him

Girls from all over Tobago are calling Donnie Willie. The singer says "member the pronise, Boy, you promise to married to me" and, later, "remember you a married man"

Jamie leaves Nellie to fight in Egypt and Spain with Wellington. He returns to find her gone. He searches and finds her about to be married. She chooses to marry Jamie. Her fiancee challenges Jamie to duel but yields when Jamie draws his broadsword.

Donside Wedding, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #6054}

"'Twas on the fifth of June, my boys, The truth I will make known, There stood a merry Marriage Upon the banks of Don"

Donzella and the Ceylon, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #4087}

The Donzella and the Ceylon set out from Lunenburg on February 1. After fourteen days, the Ceylon arrives in Puerto Rico, followed ten hours later by the Donzella. On the way back, the Ceylon runs into a storm and sinks

"Doodle, doodle, doodle dandy, Cornstalks, rum, and homemade brandy, Indian pudding and pumpkin pie, And that'll make the Yankees fly! Ev'ry Yankee shall have on his back A great big pumpkin in a sack, A little molasses and a piece of pork...."

"Kind-hearted Christians, I pray you give attention, It's of a young man, down in jail he doth lie, For the shooting of the boss, John P. Jones." Doyle and Kelly committed the murder. Kerrigan also took part. The lawyers slandered them; bad luck to them

The singer often meets Mary. Although "her proud parents began to upbraid her" she says she'll go with him in spite of their threats

Doos o' Dunbennan, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #13056}

Doves of Dunbennan, crows of Cairnie, rooks of Rathven, .... The list continues but the alliteration is dropped: "The creeshy shankers [Greig/Duncan8: stocking-knitters] o' Fyvie"

Drunken Pat lies down to rest on his way to Biddy's. A jackass lies down next to him. In his stupor, Pat caresses the beast -- only to be awakened by a horrid braying. He flees to Biddy's, to be told that it was only Doran's Ass

"For years I've been courting a lady, beautiful Dorothy Dean, But ... Since Mister Alberto McSpringer brought out his new flying machine, At Lover's Lane vainly I linger... Oh, Dorothy, Dorothy Dean!... She's suddenly flown to regions unknown...."

French. "Dors dors le p'tit bibi." Sleep little baby. Mama's beautiful little baby. If tomorrow is nice we will go to grandfather's.

Jump rope rhyme. "Double Dutch, Double Dutch, Who can jump rope so much? Faster, now, take a bow, Double Dutch, Double Dutch."

"Bright lights were in the hall, Everyone seemed happy and gay" at a dance when a drunk and angry Tom Roach strides in. His friend McCord tries to calm him; Roach shoots him. Frank Adams tries to shoot him, but kills Mrs. Walton instead

"I once was young and gallant and drove a span of grays...." The young man was rich, with property and servants. But he "lost a lot at Keno" and now he has nothing left; he spends most of his life thinking about what he has lost

"I heard this sad song O In the Orongorongo, 'No more double-bunking, double-bunking for me.'" The singer has slept with tramps, and has ended up sick and anxious and "washed-out like a dish-rag." He'll sleep anywhere, "But I'm going to sleep single."

"There's a story I could tell you, so listen unto me, 'Bout a big deck boarding house on Twelfth street number three." The singer complains about Irishman Doughery's crowded house and the poor food he offers, while listing the people and insects there

"Well I walked around the corner and I walked around the block And I walked right into a doughnut shop. And I picked up a doughnut And I handed the lady a five cent piece." The nickel has a hole and is worthless. “There’s a hole in my donut, too."

Douglas! Tender and True: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #25550}

"Could you come back to me, Douglas! Douglas! In the old likeness that I knew, I would be so faithful." The singer promises no harsh words. "I was not half worthy of you." "Stretch out your hand to me... I lay my heart on your dead heart, Douglas!"

Doun the Middle an' Up Again: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #13131}

"Doun the middle and up again, A-teedle um, a-teedle um, Doun the back and back again, A-teedle um a tum" "Set to Belly Christie An' syne to Jinsie Martin"

Many men feel that a woman (their sister?) should be separated from her lover/husband. They set out in a band to kill the lover. He manages to kill or wound most of them, but one of them kills him from behind. In many texts the lady dies of sorrow

"The city roar is in my ears, the glare is in my eyes, Yet in my heart I long to see those sunny Central skies" where the singer was a shearer and "raced to hold the ringer's place." But that's all behind him now, back "down a country road I know"

Down Among the Budded Roses: (11 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #6577}

Singer tells his sweetheart that she should not forget the promise she made to him among the roses. "Down among the budded roses/I am nothing but a stem." He asks her to be his in heaven, where their hearts will be united forever. Or something like that

Down Among the Coals: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #24459}

"My Jemima was in service once, At a house in Hoxton square, She never got out and so I used To go and court her there..." where "Jemima often had to hide me In amongst the coals." Once, thinking it is Jemimah, he kisses the mistress in the dark

"Here's a health to the king and a lasting peace, To faction an end, to wealth increase; Come, let's drink it while we have breath, For there's no drinking after death." The singer has no interest in those who will not enjoy themselves

Down at the Station: (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #10746}

"Down at the station, early in the morning, See the little pufferbellies all in a row. See the stationmaster pull the little handle. Puff, puff, toot, toot, off we go!"

"Down at the Wangan across the street From Gifford's Corner the fact'ry boys meet, Waiting for Johnny come down and pay, Down comes old Matthew, 'No pay today.' Stick to the fact'ry boys ...."

Down at WIdow Johnson's: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #17902}

"Down at Widow Johnson's the other night, Did a little courtin' out of sight. Down on my knees my love I was telling, My old girl on the outside yelling, 'You can't fool me Charlie (x2), You've tried ev'ry manner for to fool your little Hannah...."

Down By Blackwaterside: (14 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #564}

Girl lies with a man, who dresses and prepares to leave her. She reproaches him, saying "That's not the promise you gave to me." She tells him she's the most loyal girl in the world, but now she'll marry him only "when fishes fly and the seas run dry"

"That night on the desert was dark and serene, Our troops moving up in an endless stream, The barrage all set for ten p.m. Down by El Alamein." "The Afrika Corps will no longer dwell Down by El Alamein" and the "Kiwis" played a great part

Down by Jim Long's Stage: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7294}

"As I roved out one day in June 'twas down by Jim Long's stage, I met my true love's father" who has other plans for Eliza; singer threatens to take her away "to be me darlin' wife." Father reveals singer has passed the test and can "wed her in the fall"

Down By the Derwent Side: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1114}

The singer meets a girl going to tend her father's sheep "down by the Derwent side." She refuses to go with him. "In time my suit I fondly pressed to win her for my bride." She finally agrees

An old woman sings about the "bold Fenian men" she had seen "marching and drilling" 50 years earlier. They died in the glens and amid strangers. "Wise men have said that their cause was a failure, But they stood by old Ireland and never feared danger"

The singer meets a beautiful "ruined" and "ailing" woman who plans to leave Ireland for California. He flatters her and makes a play but she turns her back saying "tis vanity we're not leading one course."

Down By the Magdalen Green: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2893}

A sailor, whose ship anchored at Dundee, convinces a girl to walk "along by the Magdalen/Maudlin/Mellon Green." He returns to sea and dreams of the girl weeping with his baby son. He warns sailors against seducing and abandoning girls.

Jump-rope rhyme. "Down by the meadow, down by the sea, I kissed Johnny and he kissed me. One, two, three...."

Down by the Old Mill Stream: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #18684}

"My darling I am dreaming of the days gone by, When you and I were sweethearts beneath the summer sky... Down by the old mill stream where I first met you." Forty years later, the mill is gone, but he still loves her as he did when she was 16

"I'm gonna lay down my sword and shield Down by the riverside... And study war no more." The singer describes coming to heaven, and living in peace with Jesus.

Down By the Riverside (II): (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #25802}

The singer loves Annie, but his parents have him marry another girl for gold. "What is the use of gold to me when I haven't the girl I love." He murders his wife. "Tomorrow morning you must hang down by the riverside." Don't slight your first true love

Singer meets his sweetheart by the Sally Gardens; she bid him to "take love easy," but he is foolish and does not. He is now filled with remorse

Call and answer: "Down by the sea (Down by the sea) Where the watermelons grow (Where the...), Back to my house... I dare not go... For if I go... My wife will say... Have you ever seen a cow with a green eye-brow Down where the watermelons grow?"

Down by the Seaside: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #1712}

Singer meets young woman and asks her to walk with him. She declines; she's searching for her true love. Looking through an opera glass, she spies his ship; hearing that he has been shot, she despairs; if he died for honor, she will die for love

"Dig my grave and let me lie, love (x3), Down by the weeping willow tree." "Make it long and deep and wide, love." "Dig my grave with a golden spade, love." "Let me down with a golden chain, love." "Cover me over with the sod, love."

"Come all ye swains of Scotland, I pray you lend an ear." The singer met his love in Dundee; they walked by the Yeaman Shore. Later, she will not walk with him because of her parents. He wishes he had money, but having none, he will travel far away

Down By Yon Shady Harbor: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #3830}

"You tender-hearted lover, come listen to my grief, My darling's going to leave me in hopes of no relief." He is bound for America; she begs him to stay, but he is sent off. She sets out for America also, and finds him; they marry

"Down fell the old nag, dead between the shafts." The crew, rather than haul the cart home themselves, declare, "We'll harness up the old woman, and put her in the shafts, and make her pull the whole lot home"

"I'm Hampshire bred and Hampshire born, And proud of it am I, No softer, purer air I know, Beneath God's boundless sky." Hampshire is beautiful, and welcomes visitors. No matter where you travel, you will not find better cities than Southampton, etc.

A moneyless hobo steals a crock of beans from a Boston restaurant and escapes from a cop who chases him. He marries a girl with false teeth and hair and a wooden leg. She has a baby girl; he wants boys. He hopes to fool a blind man with a fake quarter

Down in a Licensed Saloon: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #7807}

"Where is my wandering boy tonight? Down in a licensed saloon. Down in a room all cozy and bright, Filled with the glare of many a light, Ruined and wrecked by the drink appetite..." The mother recalls the boy's youthful charms and regrets his downfall

"Way down south in Greenwich Village, that's the field for cultural tillage; there they have artistic ravings, tea and awful cravings." In Greenwich women bob their hair and look for men and look for "distillage" and otherwise act in shocking ways

Down in My Sally's Garden: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3819}

The thrush sings sweetly in Sally's garden. The singer recalls meeting her in the garden, and the time they fondly shared. In the end, "My heart became love-weary When I at last must go." "I left my Sally weeping Down by an ivied dell."

Down In Old Franklin County: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #14054}

"It was down in Franklin County, Where they never have the blues, Where the Captain kills the colonel, And the colonel kills the booze." Horses and women there are attractive, but it is a violent place. A daily walk can leave "buckshot in your pants."

The singer meets Fan dancing in the village after work. His parents and friends "laugh and joke and jeer me." When they've saved enough money they will marry and "Fan will dance and I will sing"

"You may sing of old Kentucky Or your Indiana home, You may boast of Missouri Or the many lands you roam," but the singer prefers Southern Illinois, even though it is called "Darkest Egypt." The singer dreams of hogs and cattle and plans to stay

Don't be a stick-up man or call a man a liar in Texas because every "pocket has a pistol"; "they never hang a man." "They put us in jail every night and every morning they turn us loose." Texas is the best state after all: "I can get my ashes hauled"

Odd snippets with the refrain "Down in the Arkan (x2) Down in the Arkansas. The sweetest girl I ever saw Was down in the Arkansas." Example: "I had a cow that slobbered bad... Asked (the doctor) what to do for it. He said to teach that cow to spit."

"They work in the heat, and the coal-black dust Sticks to the skin... We curse each day that the miner must Go down in the Brunner Mine." Even the air is dangerous. A cave-in brings "a hundred feet of rubble and coal," giving a day off; no one rejoices

Down in the Coal Mine: (10 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3502}

The miner sings, "I am a jovial collier lad, as blythe as blythe can be / And let the times be good or bad, it's all the same to me...." He describes his dark and dirty life and his lack of culture, but points out how all are dependent on him.

Jump-rope rhyme. "Down in the desert Where the purple grass dies There sat a witch with Yellowish-green eyes. Nobody comes to see her Because she always ate them. One by one, two by two...."

Singer, a sailor, sees amazing sights while down in the diving bell (including the Atlantic Cable used as a clothesline). He courts and marries a mermaid and they live happily, if wetly, ever after

"Down in the duckpond, Learning how to swim, First he does the overarm, Then he does the side, Now he's underwater, Swimming against the tide"

Jump-rope rhyme. "Down in the dungeons seven feed deep, Where old Hitler lies asleep, German boys they tickle his feet, Down in the dungeons seven feet deep."

"Down in the harbor of Havana, Have you heard the news, know what?" "Our battleship, the Maine, Was visiting the Spain." "Our crew was fast asleep." "About ten o'clock, There came an awful shock." "The Spaniards nevermore Shall ravish Cuba's shore."

"Down in the holler Where the pigs used to waller, Oh there's somebody wailing for me, Take the one, leave the other, Take the one, leave the other, Take the one, leave the other for me."

Down in the Jungle: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #18993}

"Down in the jungle Where nobody goes, Lives a big fat mama Who washes her clothes." Some rubbing and dubbing and "That's how she washes her clothes"

Singing game/skipping rhyme "Down in the (meadow/valley) where the green grass grows," a girl shines like a rose (or hangs out her clothes). She and a young man court (and marry)

Jump-rope rhyme. "Down in the meadow not far off, The blue jay (sat/died) with the whooping cough. He whooped so hard with the whooping cough, He whooped his head and his tail right off"

"Down in de place where I come from, Dey feed dose coons on hard-parched cawn, Dey swell up an' dey get so far Day dey couldn't get deir heads in a Number Ten hat."

An Irish soldier is dying in Bantry "shot by a Black-and-Tan gun" He asks his comrades to bury him "out on the mountain Where I can see where the battle was won" They bury him, return to Dublin "with our victories over and won."

"Oh, down in the tules, a-wranglin' around, I'd give a month's pay just to be in town." A cowboy complains about his hard work. He goes into town and parties, concluding "Saturday night's over, it's back to the hills;" partied out, he wants to go home

Down in the Valley: (36 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #943}

"Down in the valley, valley so low, Hang your head over, hear the wind blow." The singer tells of his deep, unrequited love for (his/her) sweetheart. (He) bids farewell: "If you don't love me, love whom you please." (He says to write to Birmingham Jail.)

"(Down in the valley on my praying knees) (x3) O Lord O Lord what shall I do." Other first lines: "Where were you when the evening sun went down," "Where were you when death came creeping in the room" to "take mother" and "steal father"

Down in the Valley to Pray: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4928}

"As I went down in the valley to pray, Studying about the good old way (or: My soul got happy and I stayed all day)." "Oh, (sinners/mothers/fathers/brothers/sisters, etc.), let's go down, you better go down, Down in the valley to pray."

"Down in the valley/river/woods/on Old Smoky where nobody goes, There was a maiden/girl/Annie Oakley without any clothes." A cowboy/Freddy/Gene/Roy Rogers comes by and opens his zipper/takes off his trousers or everything. Sometimes, she has a baby.

Down in Union County: (1 ref.) {Roud #7057 and 7471}

"Down in Union County (x3), For to see my Susie/Suzie Ann." "I know that she'll be waiting (x3), To see her loving man." "I know I'll get some loving (x3), When I see my Susie Ann." "I know that we'll get married." ""Cornbread in the oven."

"While the workmen stopped in Denver one fellow came to me, Said he, Are you from Utah, and why are you so free?" The two get into a fight. The singer gets in trouble with the law. Mormons always get questioned because of their faith

Floating verses: "Down on me, down on me..." "I wonder what Satan is growling about..." "Mind my mother how you walk on the cross..." "Satan's mad and I'm so glad..." Refrain: "...Seems like everybody in this whole wide world is down on me"

"Wand'ring above a sea of glass, In the soft April weather," the singer neither knows nor cares where he will sleep tonight; he has lost his job to a machine, and is broke. His woman has left him; he is "close to the end of my tether"

Down on Penny's Farm: (8 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6687}

"Hard times in the country, Down on Penny's farm." The renters are subjected to dreadful conditions: Bad land, houses with "no windows but the cracks in the wall," low income, high expenses -- and a threat of going on the chain gang for debt

Round. "Down by the banks of the Pasquotank/Hanky Tank/Hanky-Pank(y), Where the bullfrogs jump from bank to bank(y), With an eep- ap- op- up, He leaps off a lily with a kerplunk"

"Down on the corner of Dock and Holly, A woman comes and says to me, 'Will you come and work of Jesus?'" The singer asks how much Jesus pays. Since Jesus pays nothing, he prefers to work for Charley Lind

Susie Slick and Tommy lay on the grass, where she wiggles her ---, as in all such teasing songs.

"When a boy I used to dwell in a home I loved so well, Far away among the clover and the bees." The singer describes the happy life on the farm, the family among whom he worked -- and the changes since his "boyhood's happy days down on the farm."

"Down on the farm 'bout half past four, I slip on my pants and sneak out the door" to start the long, hard rounds of farm life. He notes that, despite great labors, he has "less cash now than I had last spring." Farm life proves the existence of hell

"I remember when a boy how my heart would leap with joy When someone would speak of home and farms so dear." The singer is not impressed with the hard life there; "I'd rather go to jail and no one to go my bail Than to go and spend one hour on the farm"

"The boss he took a trip to France, Down on the ol' Bar-G, He left his gal to run the ranch, Down on... She wouldn't let us chew nor cuss....." She takes over for the cook. The cowboys quit and go "What apron-strings the couldn't rope us"

"I got a gal named Dinah, The people cain't out-shine her, And I'll take a kiss if I find herDown on the Pichelo farm." "Her father's name was Moses, Her shoes was out at the toeses... Down on the Pichelo farm." "An a rig jag jig jag jig jag (x3)..."

Thomas Fitzgerald enters hell. He is accused: "While on earth your shortlived reign All your delights were torture's dreadful pain." Lucifer prepares him for sentence: "Down on your knees." He is sentenced to eternal pain

"Down the green fields we'll jig it... when you go mowing you'll get a young lass... under the stairs you'll get her."

"I got a new brown sports coat, I got a new pair of grey strides, I got a real Kiwi haircut," and the singer (as soon as he finishes his work) will get on his tractor and ride it to the Hall, to drink and dance and have a good time

Jump-rope game, used to "push" one jumper out and another in. "Down the Mississippi Where the boats go push." Also a ball-bouncing rhyme

Recognized by the chorus, "Down the river, down the river, Down the (river to the) Ohio." The full version tells of the river ("Oh the river is up and the channel is deep") and the crew of the boat working on it.

Floating verses, usually not terribly cohesive. Various choruses: "Down the road, down the road/I've got a sugar baby down the road"; "Bound to go, bound to go/Over the road I'm bound to go"

Singer races his pony Polly for 60 pounds and beats Jones's cob. Jones proposes a rematch and Polly wins again. Soon after this Polly dies and is buried after a sad funeral procession.

Down the Road (III): (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3426 and 11585}

"Way down yonder as far as I have been, All them women love rowdy men, Down the road, down the road, Can't get a letter from down the road." "Way down yonder far as I can see, Everybody looks like me." "The first I knowed, the sheriff had me."

"I went down to New Orleans, But I didn't go there to stay. I stuck my head in a feather bed, And couldn't get away. Fare ye well, my dearest dear, Fare ye well, my darling, Fare ye well, my dearest dear, With the golden slippers on."

Jump-rope rhyme. "Down to the baker's/butcher's shop, Hop, hop, hop! For my mother said, Buy a loaf of bread, Down to the baker's shop, Hop, hop, hop!"

Each of the ring-shouters in turn is addressed by name and told "you must come down to the mire." "Jesus been down to the mire." "Lower, lower, to the mire"

McGinty bet that McCann could not carry him up a wall. McGinty was right, and "Down went McGinty to the bottom of the wall And though he won the five, He was more dead than alive." McGinty's adventures lead to more falls, prison, death, etc.

Down Where the Watermelon Grows: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #27821}

"I've got a girl in Caroline, Down where the watermelons grow, Someday she will be mine... down where..., How I love her God only knows." But he finds her in the arms of another guy.

"Down-trodden, despised see brave Maryland lie, The noblest of all states, Up and to ransom her let each one try." "From her, her Old Line has departed." The singer hopes Maryland will be able to join the Confederacy and be free of oppression

The singer describes the conditions at the Oak Hill mine "that goes down, down, down." He was warned against the mine, but took a job anyway; now he complains of the wet, and the work, and the poor pay

Downey's Our Member: (2 refs. 6K Notes) {Roud #9812}

Chorus: "Now Downey's our member you all understand, So beware of the boar, the bull and the ram." The government does nothing. The worthless and crooked politicians are named.

Downfall of Heresy, The: (2 refs. 9K Notes) {Roud #V8272}

Gladstone, supported by the Queen, has undone Cromwell's proclaimed Church. Salvation comes only through the true Church and not "where every man could preach" following Luther. "The Parson now must emigrate And leave his handsome dwelling place"

Downfall of Trade, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #V8922}

In 1793 "weaving went well." When war broke out, "our Trade it grew low." Weavers and spinners "their loyalty show" by joining the marines. "If weaving and spinning should totally stop" banks and trades will fail and "the whole Nation will instantly drop"

The singer hopes for for a cottage by the sea, with a porch, a pony, cow, dog and barn, food to eat and friends to share "the downhill of life." He hopes not to linger "as this worn-out stuff ... may become everlasting to-morrow."

"Well, brother, the downward road is crowded... with unbelieving souls." The song lists various endangered sinners and their fated condemnation. "When I was a sinner, I loved my distance well, But when I come to find myself I was hangin' over Hell."

"Dr. Knickerbocker" "Got rhythm of the" hands, feet, shoulder, eyes, ooo-ooo.

"We took a trip to Somerset not very long ago.... Our health it was so poorly, We thought that we would try That doctor there at Somerset For he was all the cry." Doctor Till can cure cancer without a knife; his treatments are worth a "California mine."

"Good morning, Mr. Dramdrinker. How do you do? How have you been since I parted from you? How did you come by the bruise on your head...?" The singer had fanily, fortune, friends; all are now lost to drink

Tammie Lammie's wife likes ale. She asks him to share a dram. When she reproves him for his drink he packs her in a sack and dunks her by the turning mill wheel. She fears for her life. She lives happily afterwards but never asks for another drink.

"Draw a (bucket/pail) of water For my lady's daughter; My father's a king and my mother's a queen, My two little sisters are dress'd in green... Pray thee, fine lady, come under my bush."

Guessing game in which one player holds a hand behind his back, and another player touches it; the first player must guess who it was. "Draw a snake down your back, This is the way it went, North, south, east, west, Who tipped your finger?"

"Draw level, the angel is (coming down)(3x), Draw level, the angel is coming down To the ground." "Draw (members/deacon/preacher/sister/...), Draw around the altar, Draw (members/deacon/preacher/sister/...) Draw till the break of day."

"Upon the 21st day of July, Those fine young youths were compell'd to die, In Sixmilebridge, in the County Clare, To see the elections was what brought them there." An Orange troop attacked the crowd with musket and bayonet.

"Henry Welsh, a banker's foreman Courted Jane Cardonnell fair." Henry gambles, commits forgery, and is sentenced to transportation. She goes with him. He is washed away in a storm. She goes mad, murders a seaman, ends in Bedlam

Dreadnought, The [Laws D13]: (25 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #924}

A song describing a run on the "Dreadnaught" from Liverpool to New York. Other than a concluding wish for captain and crew, most of the song is a catalog of places the ship visits

Dream Lover, Where Are You?: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #19948}

Jump-rope rhyme. "Dream lover, where are you? Upstairs upon the toilet school. Whatcha doing up there? Washing out my underwear. How do you get them so clean? With a bottle of Listerine."

Dream of Dolly's Brae, A: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #6545}

The singer dreams of a July 12, 1849 ambush led by Priest Morgan against "all those heretics who dare to cross the Brae." Orangemen assemble, led by William Beers, and cheer the Queen and their leaders. On meeting gunfire, the Catholics retreat.

Dream of the Miner's Child, The: (14 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #2334}

"A miner was leaving his home for his work When he heard his little child scream." She had dreamt of his death in the mines, and begs him not to go to work that day. But he must go to work. (In some versions the song ends with a mining disaster)

Dreaming of a Little Cabin: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #V46935}

"In dreams of yesterday I wandered Back to my little cabin door." The singer sees familiar faces and places and hears familiar music. He is a homeless orphan "Since Mother left the old homestead."

"May all your dreams bloom like daisies in the sun. May you always have stars in your eyes.... May you always have blue skies." Your dreams belong to you; no one can steal them -- but you can share them

Dreary Black Hills, The: (20 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3604}

The singer arrives in the Black Hills to find "loafers and bummers" filling the streets of Cheyenne -- but there is no gold to be found. He misses his home, and warns others against going there; all they are doing is making the railroad speculators rich

Dredge from Presque Isle, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #19875}

"The night was fair, the sky was clear, No ripple on the sea, When King came into the shop...." The sailor is told that the [Alanson] Sumner will sail for Presque Isle. The singer describes the cook and the trip and says he won't sail that trip again

"Es ritten drei Reitter zum Tore hinaus, Ade! Fein's liebchen schaute zum Fenster heras, Ade!" Tune in 6/8. Translates roughly as "three riders from Tore" and seems to be an all purpose love song.

German. Quatrain ballad, with most verses about love. "Drei Wochen vor Oschrdren Do geht d'r Schnee weck." "Three weeks after Easter, the snow starts to melt." The singer has been jilted by his beloved. He has property but no girl. He likes to dance.

"Well I'm drifting and drifting just like a ship out to sea (x2), Well I ain't got nobody in this whole world who cares for me." "Nobody wants me, nobody seems to care." "Gonna pack my suitcase, gonna move on down the line."

The singer's brother "is gone to the wars now proud England united with France" and is killed on the battlefield. "The dark narrow grave is the only sad refuge for me Since I lost my heart's darling, my driharin o mo croi"

Drill Ye Heroes, Drill!: (2 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #4436}

Working on the northern railroad the, crew proceeds from Gambo in the east, westward to the Hall's Bay Line, to Codroy on the west coast of Newfoundland. The crew are named.

"Every morning after the Con's whistle blows, There are thousands of miners working underground," with the shifters ordering, "Drill, ye miners, drill." Life is hard. The bosses are hard. They lie and cheat. "So fight, ye workers, fight."

Drill, Ye Tarriers, Drill: (19 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #4401 and 4436}

Describing, in extravagant terms, the hard life of the (Irish) railroad workers -- subjected to long hours, blast, short pay (and that docked for any or no reason). And always the order comes again, "Drill, ye tarriers, drill!"

"Bad luck to ye Drimon and why did you die?" I'd sooner have lost my son and hut. When I found her "I rolled and I bawled and my neighbors I called." "I thought my poor Drimindoon never would fail."

Irish Gaelic. The singer complains of being "captivated" by a young man, whose disappearance has caused her to wander. She shelters under the blackthorn. She tells of her love, wishes she had a boat to follow him, and warns girls to marry when they can

Dan O'Reilly explains to the judge the benefits of drinking "twenty or thirty" poteen between morning, when it "is good for the sight," and night. "In winter or summer, in June or July, I'll be punching all day till I die"

"Here's success to Port, drink it down, drink it down (x2)... For it warms the heart for sport." "Here's success to sherry... makes the heart beat merry." And so forth, for whisky, cider, brandy, ale, punch, porter, water

Drink Old England Dry: (5 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #882}

Singer calls on his companions to drink, for the English are at war with the French (Germans, Russians). The singer vows to show the enemy "British play": "We'll fight until we die/Before that they shall come and drink old England dry."

"Drink that rot gut (x2), Drink that red eye, boys, It don't make a damn wherever we land, We hit her up for joy." A call for drink and a celebration of its effects. The cowboys have "lived in the saddle and ridden trail"; now they will enjoy themselves

Drink To Me Only With Thine Eyes: (13 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #V3830}

"Drink to me only with thine eyes And I will pledge with mine, Or leave a kiss within the cup And I'll not ask for wine." The singer prefers his lady's love to "Jove's nectar," and says that her breath makes even a dead wreathe grow

Jump-rope rhyme. "Drink your whiskey, Drink your cider, How many legs Is on a spider? One, two, three...." Or, Sugar, salt, pepper, cider, How many legs on a bow-legged spider"

Chorus: "Bad bad whiskey (3x) Made me lose my happy home." Whiskey and drinking women made him lose home, friends and money. "Never been to church... school... I was a booze drinking fool"

"Drinking and gambling gonna be my ruin (x3), Gonna be my ruin, gonna be my ruin. Drinking and gambing gonna be my ruin."

"A-drinking gin through all the day And then at night attend the play Will on a man infer a curse And find the bottom of his purse." Drinking leads to starving children and poor clothing; the singer is urged to set sail

Drinking of the Wine: (9 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7851}

"Drinking (of the) wine, wine, wine, Ought to been there for a thousand years, drinking wine." In its full form, apparently a spiritual on the Eucharist. A prison version ends with "If my (brother/sister/etc.) comes for me, Tell her I've gone to Galilee"

"Some like gin and some like brandy, Some are keen on beer or shandy, I'll drink any drink that's handy" as long as it's strong. Drinking rum and raspberry grows hair on the chest, makes you want to sing and fight, and results in fights

Singer "being tipsy from drinking strong whiskey ... straight to the raygions of dead men did go." He finds the souls in Hell weary and wonders "if souls who go up to heaven" ever stray among mortals; those in Hell would surely not be permitted that.

Jump-rope verse. "Drip drop, the robin's/sailor's in the sea, Please take the rope from me. Will you come, come to unto the fair? No, no, the fair's not there, With you, I must not miss a loop." Drip drop... Ask (X) to buy Lyons tea"

Drive Dull Care Away: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #13988}

"Oh why should we at our lot complain or grieve at our distress? ... while we're here with our friends so dear we'll drive dull care away." Be satisfied with your state, "have a contented mind," and "make the best of life"

A formula song in which the singer gives the lady inches one, two, three, etc., until she is content.

"'Twas in the month of April, the truth I'll let you know, I hired out in Greenville the drive all for to go." He hires with Joe Sheehan to go to Cooper Brook. He describes the cooks and the winds. Despite everything, he would go to Cooper Brook again

"All hail to the days that merit more praise Than all of the rest of the year...." The singer bids rejoicing come in for the Chritmas season. Various Christmas activities are detailed, each intended to "drive the cold winter away."

Singer describes a log drive and jam, and praises the "river rats" and "jack" who break up logjams with their peaveys.

"'Twas on the very first day of March, To the ice, boys, we were bound." A storm blows up, bringing them very close to the ice while they are blinded by snow; they finally anchor in Spaniard's Bay and head out on Match 17

Driver Boy, The [Laws G12]: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3253}

A teenage boy is too sick to drive his mule in the mines. His drunken father, thinking him lazy, beats him repeatedly. The boy dies of pneumonia; the father repents too late

"I've seen a sight I'll ne'er forget While memory holds its sway; 'Twas the drivers' camp on Crystal Brook." The singer watches dozens of drivers eat the lunches. The cook hands out the (typical) fare. Then the drivers go back to work

"If I could drive steel like John Henry, I'd go home, baby, I'd go home." Of the troubles of a steel driver: "This old hammer killed John Henry/Bill Dooley, Can't kill me...." "I'm goin' home and tell Little Annie, No mo' trials, baby, no mo' trials."

The speaker admires his darling as, on successive days of the week, she does various laundry-related tasks, all the while she is ironing, which action he apparently adores.

"O, April on the first day brought From farther down a helluva lot Of lousy ill-begotten men For driving logs on rainbow." Old Woodman, the boss, pays only a dollar a day. The Rainbow is a terrible stream for loggers

"John Ross from off the drive has fled, He has left the molasses and the bread, He's eaten bean-swagan till he's nearly dead, All on the banks of Schoodic." There is a bad storm; the Schoodic is a hard river to travel

A crew of loggers led by Miller have hard times, caused especially by the incompetent cook, "Old Black Joe." Despite logjams, the drive is successful until the river's water falls too low. The loggers head home gratefully

Driving Saw-Logs on the Plover: (7 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2797}

A mother bids farewell to her shanty-boy son on the banks of the Plover. She blesses him, but warns him that "Driving saw-logs on the Plover, You'll never get your pay." Eventually Johnny returns, having been driven from the camp without his pay

The singer has a sleeping problem. His wife -- "continually she's singing" -- tries vainly to wake him at "half past five" every morning. He wakes half an hour early but can never be ready before half past nine. Then he falls asleep standing at his work.

"Oh Maybelle, drop 'em down" (x2). "I call you, drop 'em down" (x2). "With my diamond, drop...." "I got a lifetime to drop 'em." "I'm gettin' worried." "Where's the sergeant?" "Won't you help me?" An axe song which shares many words with hammer songs

An axe song: "Drop 'em down together (x3), Whoa Lord, Make 'em sound much better (x3) When you drop 'em down together." The singer calls to his girl(s), asks for water, and talks about the act of cutting the trees

The singer describes the troubles of Australia during drought, and observes, "You curse this bloomin' country for she's only fit for black." The singer notes that, if you survive until it rains, then the flies and mosquitoes will torture you instead

Drouthy Souters, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #6044}

Two drunken shoemakers lived by the Clyde. "No man could them divide." "For wives and bairns they didna care." They only cared for drink.

The drover is on watch when he dozes off. He sees "a very strange procession" -- a clothed kangaroo and a dingo, dancing birds, a bandicoot playing the flute. He is awakened by a crash as the boss asks, "Where the !!! are all the sheep?"

At the end of St Patrick's day a young man fails to return home from a day with his friends. A search gang finds him frozen to death in a crack in the ice. They take him home and bury him.

"'Twas early in the springtime, all in the month of May, A young man in deep sorrow from his home he went away." In his sorrow he jumps in the river and drowned. His body is found at evening. He awaits the Judgment Day

Drownded Miner, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #25987}

"Come gentle muse assist my song, My feeble mind inspire." "This miner in his blooming years Was drowned in the deep." He has no "sartain grave"; his body is in the sea. His parents are left behind, but "He beats the air with eagle's wings" in heaven

"My heart stopped beating and my eyes were drowning in tears, I didn't look at nobody, I wished that you were here"

John Roberts tries to break up a logjam and is swept into the river. He comes to the surface three times, then disappears; his body is found three days later

Drowning of Patrick Martin, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #12464}

Apprentice blacksmith Patrick Martin, out swimming with a friend, drowns in Orwell Bay. His body is retrieved with difficulty and his family mourns.

Drowning of Young Robinson, The: (7 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #3600}

Robinson and (Wesley) go hunting by the Bann in winter. The ice is thin, and they fall through. Wesley can swim, and escapes; Robinson vanishes. Wesley summons help, but Robinson is drowned. Family and friends mourn

Drowsy Sleeper, The [Laws M4]: (61 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #22620 and 22621}

A young man comes to his love's window and bids her ask her parents' permission to marry him. They will refuse it; her father is prepared to kill him. Depending on the version, he leaves, or one or the other lover (or both) commits suicide or die of grief

Man and woman alternately brag and insult each other over their prowess at spinning.

A girl enlists "voluntarily in a regiment of foot" to follow her lover. A soldier sees her bathing; she is called before the officers. They call her lover and request that he pay the postage on a letter from his love. He pays the postage. They are married

"'Twas on a chill November night... I overheard a fair maid... 'My love is far frae Sinnahard And fair Drumallachie." The singer asks her of her trouble, tries to convince her to marry him, then reveals he is her long-lost lover

"Twas the Eve of St. Patrick's by the dawn of the day, The hills of Tirconnel looked sombre and grey When... Four Irish soldiers were led forth to die." They had come "to fight for the Gael," but were captured, imprisoned, and shot at Drumboe

Bothy work is described: rising early, working hard in bad weather (but with praiseworthy horses). At the end, the singer bids farewell to Drumdelgie: "Fare ye weel, Drumdelgie, I bid you all adieu, I leave ye as I got ye, A damned unceevil crew."

A confusing song, in which Johnston, and probably Mrs. Johnston, sail for America, and the singer (Johnston? someone else?) hopes to return to Ireland, and there live a life of hunting and enjoying the beautiful scenery

Drummer and the Cook, The: (8 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3136}

A drummer is in love with a cook. He sneaks in to see her one night, she gives him a meal and he chokes on a bone. She tries to knock it out of him and wakes the house. The master comes down, chases them, the drummer falls into his drum, both get fired.

"On Shiloh's dark and bloody ground The dead and wounded lay. Amid them was a drummer boy Who beat the drum that day." One of the many Federal casualties at Shiloh was a young drummer boy. He is mourned and buried by older survivors.

Young (Edwin) is leaving home to serve as a drummer boy at Waterloo. Though his mother is terrified for him, the lad knows no fear. But at Waterloo he is fatally wounded; he sends a dying message to his mother and is buried by moonlight on the battlefield

Drums Beat to Order, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #5788}

"The drums beat to order and the Queen she wants men And I'll go to the war, should I never return." Farewell Rhynie [Aberdeenshire]. The singer will think of the girl he left behind. When the war is over he'll return to her.

"Drunk last night, drunk the night before, Gonna get drunk tonight like I've never been drunk before. For when I'm drunk I'm as happy as can be, For I am a member of the Souse family." The singer calls for beer and is glad that there are few to drink it

A mason decides to see a drunk mason safely home at night. They see the light of a man stealing grain; the sober mason says it is Old Nick coming for the drunk who runs for safety to a tavern. He is refused, causes a commotion, and everyone else laughs.

"Please, Mr. Barkeeper, has father been here?" The bartender tells the girl her father is in jail. At the jail,she begs for his release. They tell her to go home. She refuses. Because she is so cold, they release her father. He stops drinking

"You might have lit a lamp upon The fiery nose of Drunkard John." He stays out so late that the fire goes out at home. His wife says she will lock him out if he does not reform. She fulfills her threat; he pretends to drown in the well; she relents

"When I was young I had a fortune... And spent it al in gambling One night when I was drunk." The singer goes to India, and gets drunk. He marries and loses a wife and gets drunk. He becomes ill; the doctor blames it on drink. He warns against drink

"Oh, father, do not ask me why the tears roll down my cheek... It breaks my heart to think that I must be a drunkard's child." The child recalls how much better things were when mother was alive and father was sober. (S)he asks father to turn to God

Drunkard's Doom (I), The: (20 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3113}

The singer sees a man at a bar or "grog shop door". His son begs him to come home; his wife is ill and his children starving. The drunkard instead takes another drink. A year later, the singer learns the drunkard is dead

Drunkard's Dream (I), The: (28 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #722}

The singer meets (Dermot) and expresses surprise at how healthy and prosperous he looks. Dermot explains that he had had a dream which showed him the consequences of his actions. Awakening in relief, Dermot has reformed his ways

"The drunkard dreamed of his old retreat, Of his cozy spot in the taproom seat." As he carouses, "Like a crash there came to the drunkard's side His angel child who that night had died." The drunkard sets down the glass; the host asks why he hesitates.

The singer, a drunkard, has a vision of the part of hell to which drinkers are sent. The vision is enough to scare him away from drink. He goes home to find his wife crying over their child's body. He says the child is in heaven, and that he will sober up

Fiddle tune, with words often assembled from other drinking songs. The singer describes his quest for a drink, a woman, a home, directions, or perhaps the ability to stand up straight. Typical chorus: "Hiccup! O Lordy, how queasy I feel (x2)"

"No sun shines bright, no smiling face, No loving words to cheer and bless, But only woe and deep distress, No peace, no joy or songs of love, To [???] above, But is there and woe and gloom, Within the wretched drunkard's home."

Drunkard's Horse, The: (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2799}

Conversation between a man and his horse. The man beats the horse; the horse tells the man to leave him alone, as the beast is just doing its job. (They continue on their round of taverns)

Drunkard's Legacy, The: (3 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #V3745}

A dying father has his drinking son make a deathbed promise that involves a trick: when the son has lost everything and is desperate enough to commit suicide, it will provide him the means to win back his land and convince him to stay sober.

Drunkard's Lone Child, The: (15 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #723}

"Out in the gloomy night sadly I roam, No one to love me, no friends and no home, Nobody cares for me, no one would cry Even if poor little Bessie should die." Bessie is alone: "Father's a drunkard and mother is dead." She hopes father will sober up

Drunkard's Ragged Wean, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3112}

"A wee bit ragged laddie gaes wandering through the street, Wading mong the snow Wi' his wee bit hacket feet... he's the drunkard's ragged wee ane. The poor child is poor, ill-clothed, ill-fed, and unable to play with other children. The singer urges pity

"I have traveled over these foreign countries, Into a broad and distant range, I give advice to you thoughtless husbands." A drunkard works, spends his wages on drink, beats his children; his wife and children flee into the cold and die

The singer started out a successful businessman, happily married. But then, despite his wife's pleadings, he took to drinking. In time this used up all his money, and his family wound up in the street. Now even saloon keepers scorn the man who cannot pay

The drunkard's widow warns young girls against marrying a drunk. Her marriage has turned her old. She describes the symptoms of a drunk, and tells how her husband killed their children, then himself, and left a drunkard son

"Don't go out tonight, my darling, Do not leave me here alone, Stay at home with me, my darling, For I'm lonely while you're gone." The wife's pleas fail; he sets out for the bar; later, "They have brought me back my darlin, Dead he lies upon the floor!"

Drunkard's Wife's Dream, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #10918}

"Oh, Mary, tell me how it is you always look so gay" despite having a drunkard for a husband. Mary reports that she wished her husband dead, then had a dream of him dying. This is so frightening that it causes her to act happy wharever her husband does

"In ancient days there came to pass Two men who drove a horse and ass, They came to mine, but alas, alas, The spread about Bonanza." Thereafter, the bummers and the topers come and have strange adventures

Drunken Captain (I), The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #12639}

"A fierce stporm raged and black winds blew, The captain said, 'I'll change the crew.'" The new "sailors" "had some booklore, But never had left their home shore." Veterans warn him to seek harbor. People jump overboard; the Captain says all are safe

Two little children are struck and killed by a drunken driver; he turns out to be their absent father. Listeners are warned not to drink and drive.

(Three/four drunken maidens) come to a tavern and go on a spree. After eating and drinking for hours/days, they run up a tally of (40 pounds). They are forced to give up clothes and riches (and maidenheads?)

Walkaway (stamp and go) shanty. The sailors ask, "What shall we do with the drunken sailor (x3), Early in the morning. Way, hey, and up she rises (x3), Early in the morning." Various suggestions are offered, few of them pleasant.

Drunken Tarlan' Crew, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #13566}

"O the drunken Tarlan' crew First they drink and then they spew"

Jamaican patois: "Dry weather houses are not worth a cent and yet we have to pay so much for rent." When it rains the roof is like a sieve. The rooms are infested by scorpions and cockroaches and are so small you have to go outside to turn around.

The singer goes to an inn and passes snuff around; "ilk ane quite forget himsel'" He leaves high without his hat. Passing Drygate Brig his wig is lost in the wind and his snuff is spilt. Now he prefers drink which has the same high but crashes quickly

"Our bishop's name is Chauncey West, Du dah! Du dah day! He goes ahead and does his best, Du day! du day day! I our Lord will serve today, And our prophet Brigham will be... We'll mind what Brigham say." "If you want to ride the Mormon car...."

Du Dah Mormon Song, The: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #10838}

Clearly to the tune of "Camptown Races": "Seven hundred wagons are on the way, Du dah! Their cattle are many, so they say, Du dah! Du dah day!" Uncle Same is sending a "Missouri ass" to govern Utah. The Mormons will defeat the invader Harney

German. "Du denkscht es dut mich reien Das du mei Schetzel warscht." "You think that I regret That you aren't my sweetheart any more." But the singer does not regret it. There are equally pretty girls everywhere

"In the cauld month o' December" there is a dance at Dubbienuck. The dancers included "gardners up frae Florth," "lads frae Catchiebrae" and "lassis frae Pitblae." Ploughman Jaumie Mackie "could scarcely dance a reel" with Betty Forbes

Pitt "the conjurer" is bringing the country to Dublin: turnips growing in the Royal Exchange, vermin in the Parliament House, .... "Give Pitt, and Dundas, and Jenky, a glass, Who'd ride on John Bull, and make Paddy an ass"

Dublin Bay (Roy Neal): (19 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #785}

"They sailed away on that gallant ship, Roy Neal and his fair young bride." Despite this happy situation, Roy spends most of his time kissing his wife's tears away. Finally the ship strikes a rock, and Roy and his wife are lost in Dublin Bay.

Dublin Jack of All Trades: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3017}

Roving Jack arrives in Dublin and becomes a porter, pastry cook, baker, coffin maker, preacher .... listing the Dublin sites for each of his many occupations. He can't keep a job but places his "chief delight in courting pretty maids"

"Dublin in the Liffey, Yorkshire on the ooze (Ouse), Belfast on the Lagan, and (McMordie) on the booze." Presumably any other name could be substituted for "McMordie"

"A duck and a drake, and a (nice barley cake/halfpenny cake/double pancake), And a penny to pay the old baker. A hop and a scotch (in/is) another notch, Slitherum, saltherum, take her."

"A duck in the pond, A fish in the pool, Whoever reads this Is a big April Fool."

"I'm going to sing to you About a girl I love so true, She's chief engineer with the White Star Line, And her name is Duck-foot Sue." He details her odd looks ("teeth like bits of pipe"), her proposal "if you don't marry me I'll bust," and her appetite.

Singing game, in which the leader calls out "Ducks fly!" "Geese fly." "Eagles fly." "Robins fly." The others are supposed to imitate a flying motion. When the leader says "Cats fly," the children must stop flying or lose the game

Ducks in the Millpond: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #11307}

"Ducks in the millpond, A-geese in the ocean, A-hug them pretty girls If I take a notion." Chorus: "Lord, Lord, gonna get on a rinktum" (x2). More verses about ducks in the millpond and other animals, many of which float

"Ducky Ducky do, It's half past two, Swimming on the water, With a wee black shoe."

"In the days of good Queen Bess... Coventry outdone the rest, Ya ha boys, O boys, the brave Dudley Boys." But now the boys of Dudley and Tipton have claimed their own. Soldiers had to interfere with a riot. Lord Dudley Ward arranged peace

Spanish. "Duermete, nino lindo, En los brazos del amor. Mien tres que duerme y des cansa, La pena de mi dolor." The holy baby is urged to sleep while his mother grives. But the baby need not fear King Herod; his mother will guard him

The singer advises those who want enjoyment to visit the hotel in Boiestown. He describes the wild parties, the fights, the mad rush to collar a diseased chicken, and the peculiar visitors. He concludes by setting out for home

"I am just a poor old shearer, I am stationed on the board... But I'm happy as a clam, in this land of ewes and lams, In my tick-bound, bug-bound dugout in the true." There is wool everywhere. The dugout is ill-made and windy. He wishes he had a girl

Dugall Quin comes to court Lissie. He asks her if she would love him if he were poor (she would). She asks if he would like her if she were rich (he would). Despite her parents' opposition (since they think him poor), she goes with him and is well-off.

Paddy Duggan, once a cattle slaughterer, opens a dancing school that exceeds the dancing halls of London and Paris. "When in this hall there is a ball they come from far and near.... in summertime it is a pretty sight" The singer wishes Duggan luck.

Duke of Argyle, The [Laws N1]: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1915}

A woman follows her lover Alexander to battle. He is slain on the banks of the Nile, but she continues to fight. Even though she remains in soldier's clothing, the Duke (of Argyle) comes to court her. She remains true to her slain Alexander

Duke of Argyle's Courtship, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #3797}

"Did you ever hear of a loyal Scot...." He courts a girl, begging her to marry. She refuses; she has no proof he can care for her. He persists; so does she. He reveals he is Duke of Argyle, and rejects her after she changes her mind

The Duke's (?) new leman bids his nurse (and former leman) bring her love a message. The nurse gathers her (seven) brothers to kill him instead. He asks the tavern's landlady to hide him; she disguises him as a baking maid. The brothers fail to kill him

Duke of Buckingham's Hounds, The: (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #584}

The (Duke of Buckingham) goes out to hunt fox with his good hounds. The names of the hounds are given. The fox cleverly crosses the water. One old hound at last catches the fox. All rejoice at its fate

Jean, the Duke's daughter, loves Captain Ogilvie. Gordon, to stop the match, convinces the King to demote Ogilvie. Jean marries Ogilvie. They go to Gordon in poverty; he is turned away. Ogilvie inherits Northumberland; he brings home his wife and children

Duke of Marlborough, The: (10 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #233}

Marlborough calls "generals and champions bold" to his deathbed. He fought in Flanders for Queen Anne and in France for Charles II. He recalls his last battle. He admonishes officers: "take no bribes, stand true to your men, and fight with courage bold"

Duke William goes disguised to "know what usage have poor sailors." A press gang takes him at an inn. On board, he tears his trousers and asks for a tailor. Stripping for flogging his disguise is blown. He promises reforms and leaves gold for the crew.

"Mony a day hae I followed Duke Willie ... [and] followed the drum ... Frae Cullen o' Buchan to Cullen Aboyne." The singer wishes his Kattie were in his arms and thinks of his wine toasts to her and the fine gown, cloak, and cap he bought her.

"One day as I was sitting still Upon the side of Dunwich Hill... By chance I saw de Ruyter's fleet" meet the fleet of Duke James [of York]. The British win even though the French fail to do their part. The singer curses Cromwell and praises the Stuarts

"Sluma [slumber], slumba, sleep by de rattle of de bones. Slumba till de mornin', I love my Dulcie Jones." "Go tell de parson, I got no time to pray, Got to make de money, To court mah gal today."

"As at noone Dulcina rested In a sweete and shady bower, Came a shepherd and requested In her lap to sleep an hour." The song obliquely describes what might have happened, but the singer admits ignorance of what actually happened

A husband's new wife is a perfect housekeeper but is mute. The man takes her to a doctor, who is able to cure her impediment -- only to have her talk all the time. The husband again appeals for help; the doctor says that nothing can silence her

Dumbarton's Bonnie Dell: (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7145}

The singer says "a winsome lassock lives hard by Dumbarton's bonnie dell." He'll never be happy until Dumbarton's belle is his wife.

"Dumbarton's drums, they sound so bonny When they remind me of my Johnny." The singer tells of how Johnnie, "Dumbarton's caddie," courts her. She expects that someday he will be a captain and she his lady.

Mostly nonsense: "Dummy rumma locy, dume doe doe, Dumma rumma locy, doe doe, Dumma rumma locy, doe doe doe, Never saw a new sweet 'though I sang a love song." The singer cannot see a babe/pretty girl without loving her

Dummer Sheener's Gang, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #874}

"I'll sing you a song of a sheener's gang, I've got 'em all taped up to a man, There's long and short and thin and fat, But every man knows just what he's at." Each man's work is listed, from Jimmy Bailey "who runs the concern" to the lowest corn-fetcher

Dummy Line (I), The: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #15359}

Concerning possibly the worst, slowest train in history, which comes "Across the prairie on a streak of rust." Passengers who complain are instructed to get out and walk, but point out that they are not expected until the train arrives

Dummy Line (II), The: (7 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #11776}

"Some folks say that the dummy won't run, Now, let me tell you what the dummy done, Left Saint Louis 'bout half past one, Rolled into Memphis at the seein' of the sun." Stories of riding on the Dummy Line, possibly without a fare

"'Tis certain, that the Dun cow's milk, Clothes the prebend's wives all in silk; But this indeed is plain to me, The Dun cow herself is a shame to see.... O'er northern mountain, marsh and moor... Seven years St. Cuthbert's corpse they bore."

"Awake, sad muse, awake and sing, And softly touch the mournful string...." "Oh brutal man... Two blooming children you have slain, A little paltry gold to gain." "The mother dear the lads did send To Dunbar's home some months to spend."

Duncan and Brady [Laws I9]: (13 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #4177}

Policeman Brady walks into Duncan's bar and attempts to arrest the latter. Duncan, unwilling to have his business ruined, shoots Brady. Neither Brady's family nor those around Duncan seem to care much; Brady's wife looks forward to getting his pension

Duncan Campbell, although he comes from Argyle in Scotland, is known as Erin-Go-Bragh. A policeman mistakes him for an Irishman and abuses him. Campbell returns the favor, then flees before anyone can stop him

"It was at a wedding near Tranent, When scores an' scores on fun were bent... 'Shame tak' the hindmost,' quo' Duncan M'Callipin." A typical story of a wild wedding, the associated broose race, and the behavior of the various guests

"Duncan MacCleary, an' Janet his wife, Duncan MacCleary, he played on the fife: Janet she danced until she cried wearie." They live a life of quiet happiness, though he is blind and hears little. When he dies, she soon follows after

Duncan Macintosh was a Highlander who played bagpipes for the king at Aberdeen, danced the Highland fling, and sang "It's a braw bricht meenlicht nicht ...." His whiskers were like heather. He ate potatoes, scones and pottage and enjoyed "a drap"

Duncan MacKallikin: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5983}

"Twas for a peck o' meal ... Duncan bet on his grey mare To rin 'gainst nine or ten." One horse falls. The other horses are named as they challenge and fall back. "Duncan aye kept gallopin'" and wins the bet

"'Oh, have you seen my Mary Ann?' was one time all the go, But now 'tis neither pot nor pan -- 'tis 'Dundee Jail You Know.'" The singer describes the hard times in Dundee Jail -- bad food, poor drink, etc. -- and hopes he never goes there

"I'm a Dundee lassie you can see, And ye'll a'ways find me cheerfu' nae matter whaur I be... I'm spinner intae Baxter's Mill." Her father was killed in France; her mother died young, so she cannot be a teacher. Her friend lost her ove in Spain

"In Dundee once more, It's the place that I adore, When we're in Lochee we're aye longin' tae be Back in Dundee once more." Similarly, "In the berryfields once more... When we're in Blairgowrie we're longing...." "On the whalers once more...."

"Oh, I'm a Dundee weaver and I come frae bonne Dundee, I met a Glesca feller and he came courtin' me... And there the dirty wee rascal stole my thingumyjig awa'." She will tie up her corsets and wear fine clothes; no one will know her thingumyjig is gone

"Come all ye brisk young whalers and listen tae me, You think that the life is saw bonnie and free," but the singer vows that, if he makes it back to Dundee, he'll never whale again. The singer describes his miserable voyage

"Dundee, it is a pretty place, Surrounded by a wall, Where brave Argyll did won the field With sword and cannon ball."

The German Dunderbeck invents a steam-powered machine to turn any sort of meat into sausages. Thus vanish all the rats and cats of the town. When Dunderbeck's machine breaks down, he tries to fix it; his wife accidentally starts it with him inside.

"The church of Dungannon is full to the door" with Volunteer warriors. In spite of "English oppression" the volunteers stood ready to protect England from a foreign fleet. At Dungannon the delegates swore "We've suffered too long, we'll suffer no more"

Dungarvon Whooper (I), The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #9198}

The cook in a Dungarvon River lumber camp dies. The crew suspect the skipper murdered him. That night "fearful whoops and yells the forest fill" and are heard around "the Whooper's grave" until "God's good man" prays that they stop.

Dungarvon Whooper (II), The: (1 ref. 1K Notes) {Roud #9199}

The night a group of fishermen "reached Dungarvon ... the Dungarvon Whooper was the terror of the night." All the beasts fled and the fishermen "felt very sure We could beat any Whooper ... And when he saw that he was beat He was forced to run away"

The boys of Dungiven challenge the team from Derry to a cricket match. Both teams turn out, and bring crowds of supporters. The contest, naturally, is hard-fought, but Dungiven wins. The singer lists the team members

Dungiveny Priory Church: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #13463}

The singer wanders out, enjoying nature, when he comes to "the old church not far from Dungiven." He praises the artistic quality of the site, and bids nature to love him. He notes that life is fleeting, and bids farewell to the spot

"A friend and I went walking Along the public way. But things had changed so strangely From that of former days." The singer compares present with past. The fish are gone from Dunlap Creek, and the mill torn down. The main sight is a railroad tunnel

"Sing to the Lord, ye heavenly hosts, And thou, O lord, adore, Let death and hell through all their coasts Stand trembling at his power." God's chariots are described, and his punishments; sinners are asked what they will do at judgment

At the time of the 1798 Rebellion, Captain Saunders betrays some of his own men to execution at Dunlavin Green. Some of the martyrs are named and mourned, and Saunders is cursed.

"There was four jolly anglers together did agree To fish for trout and salmon on the southwest Miramachi." Dunphy tries to get at a bear up a tree. Eventually the bear catches him; Dunphy tries wildly to escape; the others drink his health

Israeli." Ba bachur meh hadadeh, Be bachur ledunyale. Dunya Dunya Dunya nechmada. Dunya Dunya chaviva." The "adventures of a very forward young lady with romantic tendencies." She courts various men.

Dupree [Laws I11]: (17 refs. 29K Notes) {Roud #4179}

Betty asks Dupree for a diamond ring; he promises her one. He sets out for the jewelry store and steals a ring, but shoots a policeman as he escapes. Unwilling to leave Betty and/or unable to flee, he is captured, convicted, and hanged

Amish hymn in German.. "Durch Gnad so will ich singen, in Gottes Furcht heben an." "Through Grace I will sing, And raise my song in the fear of God. Love God above all things, and also your neighbor; that is the Law and the Prophets."

Durex Is a Girl's Best Friend: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #10261}

"A poke with a bloke may be quite incidental, Durex is a girl's best friend." A brief summary of all the advantages to a girl of having sex while protected

Durham Field [Child 159]: (7 refs. 16K Notes) {Roud #3998}

Edward III is at war in France, so the king of Scotland invades England. In battle, he fares badly and is taken prisoner to London. Edward has returned. The Scottish king admits an English yeoman is worth a Scottish knight.

"In our Durham County I am sorry for to say, That hunger and starvation is increasing every day." The mine is shut down; "the masters have behaved unkind." The miners face great hardship but hope to prevail if others will support them.

"The dusky night rides down the sky, And ushers in the morn; The hounds all rise in joyous cry" as they set out to hunt the fox. The wife begs her husband to stay, but "Away he goes," until the fox is exhausted. The hunters go home to celebrate

Chorus: "The Lord shall bear my spirit home (x2)."Verses: "Dust and ashes fly over my grave." Jesus is crucified. Joseph takes his body and lays it in the tomb. An angel rolls the stone away. The grave can not hold him and he rises from the dead.

Singer will leave ("dust my broom") in the morning; a friend can have his room. He won't have a woman who "wants every downtown man she meets." He'll write a letter, telephone every town, to find his "good girl."

"Hey the dusty miller [(x2)], Dusty was his coat, dusty was his colour, dusty was the kiss That I got frae the miller." "Hey the dusty miller, With his dusty coast, He will spend a shilling Ere he win a groat."

"Thar ware a time, a good old time, I ware in Dutchland far away." Hans wishes he could go back. Hailey refuses. He decides to drown himself. She calls him back. They will buy a farm and scare people away with the smell of "limbergar" cheese

"It vas in Ni Orleans city, I first heard der drimes und fif, Und I vas so full mit lager, Dot I care nix for my life," so the German volunteers for the Southern army. Part of Hood's army, he flees from battle and gives advice on how to survive

Jump-rope rhyme. "Dutch, dutch, double Dutch, How much do you know? I know this much: Ten, twenty, thirty...."

"Oh, shentlemens and ladies, chust in time, Swiddy widdy winky tum fum, Come listen now unto my rhyme" of an old "Dutchman" who drinks so much that the doctor warns he'll burst. He dies and is fit only for use as rat poison. The singer warns against drink

"Amongst the pines and hemlocks ... we gathered round the table" in the Dutchmens' bunk house to play poker.

"Far away the noise of strife upon my ear is falling, Then I know the sins of earth beset on every hand... None these shall move me from Beulah Land." The singer cites variations on the theme of God protecting the sinner from earthly troubles

"Way out on the plains of Kansas, Where the winds blow hot and dry" is the building "Where the Berry boys were shot." Dewey was the murderer of the two men and their father. There should be justice; "Is this the glorious country Our fathers died to save?"

Dying Aviator, The: (10 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3454}

The aviator has crashed and is surrounded by the refuse of the wreck. He advises his comrades to gather the sundry pieces which have pierced him; "there's a lot of good parts in this wreck." He is granted admission to heaven, since the Air Force is Hell

"On a summer day as the sun was setting... A young boy lay on a bed of fever.... I am dying, mother, I am surely dying, And Hell is my awful doom...." The young man heard God's voice, but chose to go sporting with his friends. Now he pays the price

Dying British Sergeant, The: (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2801}

The British soldier recalls sailing to America to suppress the rebels. Told to expect easy duty and a swift victory, the soldiers instead find an implacable enemy; "Freedom or death! was all their cry." The singer is mortally wounded and bids farewell

"I've knocked around the logging camps since early boyhood days." "Now my chopping days are over." "For my slasher is all rusty and my axe handle's broke." He was once a great cutter, but that is over. He hopes to be buried suitably

Dying Californian (I), The: (24 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2283}

The singer tells a comrade he is dying. He confesses to a firm belief in God. He sends messages to his father and mother. He wishes his wife to know that he thought of her while dying, and bids her care for his children

Dying Californian (II), The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2283}

"Comrades come gather round me for I am dying now." He has messages for father and mother. He sends his ring back to Mary but keeps "a token, she gave it me, from which I cannot part ... I must slumber here alone on San Francisco shore"

"Lying on a saddle blanket a dying cowboy lay." He says, "Cowboys don't forget your mothers, write a letter home." Tell her you'll wait to see her in Heaven. He dies and is buried.

The dying cowboy is "Riding away... Where the sun is sinking low." He bids goodbye to all parts of the cowboy's life -- the sounds, the sunrises, the girl he loves. He bids his comrades to remember him "when you're far from the rimrock."

Dying Cowgirl, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4775}

The singer goes west as a youth. Once there, he turns to a life of cattle rustling (perhaps chasing strays?). One night, in a storm, he finds a cowgirl helpless on the ground. She says she will meet the singer in heaven, and dies

Dying Crapshooter's Blues: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #17561}

Police shoot crapshooter Jessie. Friends gather at his bedside to hear his last words. He wants eight crapshooters for pall bearers and all the usual elaborate trappings. Place "a crooked card" on his hearse. Dig his grave with "the ace of spades"

"Oh, Mother, dear, go make my bed, And let me lie in darkness, Please rub my head when you have done." The mother asks what ails the girl. Her heart is broken. Mother says there are other men. The girl calls her mother "dearest" but wants to die

"What a terrible doom I have met. My teeth are now chattering, my eyes almost dead." "Oh, terrible, terrible doom of despair, My soul, you are landing I do not know where." At first, drinking was fun. Now the singer is dying; he warns others of drink

"An engineer one morning Had kissed his wife goodbye, The sunlight was adorning A bright and cloudless sky." He picks a flower before learning his train is late. The train derails; as he dies, the engineer asks that his wife to remember his last kiss

"When the battle was hot and raging Shot and shell around did fly... When I heard a piercing cry." The ship's fifer is mortally wounded. He sends dying messages to his mother and the rest of his family

"Companions draw nigh, They say I must die... Only a sigh, only a tear, Only if sister or mother was here Only a hope to comfort and cheer, Only a word from the Book so dear." The dying singer seeks some sort of Christian comfort before the end

Dying Girl's Message, The: (14 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3530}

"Raise the window, mother darling, For no air can harm me now." The dying girl remembers the man who falsely courted her. She bids her mother return the ring he gave her with her blessing. She sees Jesus, bids farewell (and dies)

Dying Hobo, The [Laws H3]: (23 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1937}

An old hobo lies dying as winter approaches. He speaks of the "better land... where handouts grow on bushes" that he is destined for, sends a message to his girlfriend, and dies. His partner "swiped his (coat and hat) and caught an eastbound train"

"A hogger on his deathbed lay, His life was oozing fast away...." He does not want a tombstone, merely memorials of his career. He asks to be buried in the shade of the watertank, "And put within my cold, still hand, A monkey-wrench and the old oil can."

Dying Hoopmaker, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #4072}

"A hooper lay dying 'Neath a sultry summer sky; In the green depths of a black ash swamp He had laid him down to die." A tree has fallen on him; the others cannot move it. He sends a message to his mother and dies

Dying Irish Boy, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #9988}

Burt is wounded in battle at Santiago Bay, Cuba, "while Victoria shall reign." He tells his friend, Bill O'Shea, to break the news of his death to his mother and to tell O'Shea's sister Mary that he still loves her.

The young mine train motorman is horrified to discover that, because he could not stop in time, he has run over his brakeman. The dying brakeman speaks to his sister and sends messages to his parents

The dying nun asks that the window be opened so that she can feel the cool air and see the sky. She remarks that it is hard to die. She thanks Sister Martha for her care. She cherishes the ring she received from Douglas, and says she will join him soon

Dying Outlaw, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #10957}

"Come gather around me, my comrades and friends, The sun it is setting on life's short day.... Oh bury me on the lone prairie Where the hooves of the horses shall fall." The singer, killed by a "red-coated foeman," asks that his pony be buried with him

Dying Ploughboy, The: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2514}

Singer, a ploughboy, feels a blood vessel burst in his chest; although his doctor tells him he'll be all right, he senses death is near. He bids farewell to his friends, his team of horses, and his plough

"The time is swiftly rolling on When I must faint and die, My body to the dust returned And there forgotten lie." The dying preacher bids farewell to his wife and remembers his family fondly. He bids his fellow preachers to do their work well

A Union soldier is a prisoner in a Confederate prison and dying. He wishes for bread or water, and to be exchanged, or to see his mother or have a letter from home. Finally he knows death is near. He is going home where there's "no rebel sentry"

"'Joseph, Joseph, Joseph, Joseph,' softly murmured Zion's chief, As life's pulses weakened, ebbing, in the midst of loving grief." The song recalls Brigham Young's career and death. Listeners should emulate him

A cowboy/soldier tells of his sister left alone at home. His comrades promise to treat her as their sister. The wounded man dies happy. (Other details occur in localized versions; the verses -- and the dying hero -- vary widely)

Singer finds a wounded man dying. He asks to be given last rites. He has been deceived by the French and betrayed by a friend. His wife and brother are dead, his children alone. Unwittingly, he caused his landlord's death at pikemen's hands. He dies

Dying Seal-Hunter, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #V44797}

"I can hear their sirens blowing As they steam to hunt the foe Where the young whitecoats are growing...." The dying man asks to watch as his ship sails away. He recalls the work of sealing, and bids farewell to the people and life he is leaving

A dying soldier asks a comrade to send a lock of his hair from India to his mother in Ireland. He sends his sister and brothers word of his death in the fight against the Sepoys. He dies and is buried.

"On the field of battle, mother, All the night alone I lay; Angels watching o'er me, mother, Till the breaking of the day." The soldier thinks of his mother, sends farewells to family, wishes he could repay mother, and bids farewell

Dying Soldier, (III) The: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4428}

"A youth lay on the battlefield of France's blood-stained soil ... The Red Cross nurse beside him ..." Nurse promises to send a letter, book and bible to his mother and his love to his sweetheart

"A starving young tramper lay dying, His rucksack supporting his head." He asks that his mates "Wrap me up in my sleeping bag cover, And bury me deep down below." He asks that they carve big boots and ice axe on his grave "to show there's a tramper below"

Dying Wisconsin Soldier, The: (2 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #628}

The sun sets on "a forest Where a dying soldier lay... Far away from his dear Wisconsin home." He recalls his life, and his beloved sister, and how he answered when his country called. He dies and is buried by the Potomac

About a "terrible storm" on the Erie Canal. "Oh, the E-ri-e was a-rising And the gin was a-getting low, And I scarcely think we'll get a little drink Till we get to Buffalo." Humorous anecdotes of a highly hazardous voyage

E. A. Horton, The [Laws D28]: (7 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1840}

The E. A. Horton is taken by Canadian authorities and her crew imprisoned. The captain leads his men on a daring escape; they recapture their ship and sail home

E. P. Walker's thresher gets caught and fails to work. Someone drops in a wrench; the engineer can't be found. Another farmer buys a different threshing machine. Cho: "E.P. Walker mounted to the separator/E.P. Walker, with his oilcan in his hand...."

"Each campfire lights anew The flame of friendship true. The joy we've had in knowing you Will last (our/the) whole (life/year) through. And as the embers die away, We wish that we might ever stay, But since we cannot... We'll meet again some other day"

Jump-rope rhyme. "Each, peach, pear, plum, Out goes my chum, My chum is no' very well, So I must go out mysel'." Or, "...plum, Who is your very best chum?" after which the child's name is spelled

"Go way, Eadie, you dirty dog, wo, Eadie, go away" (x2). "Go away, Eadie, quit worryin' me." "Told you once and I told you twice." "Next time I tell you goin' to take yur life."

"Millionaires grow in Chicago, in mansions of marble and price, Homes grow in Eagle Rock, and friendships, true and tried." "Plutocracy thrives in proud New York... Real brotherhood grows in Eagle Rock." "Give me that dear Idaho town."

Eagle With Her Gallant Crew, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #30149}

In May the Eagle sails to Greenland to "chase the bear and walrus and for capturing of the whales." "I hope in health with wealth and prosperity they will return once more To their parents, wives, and loved ones on the Terra Nova shore"

Gaelic. Ned of the Hill sings at Eileen's bower asking that they marry though he has no wealth. Although her castle is guarded she escapes from the tower and goes with him. He spends his life wandering Ireland seeking shelter from his outlawry

Earl Bothwell [Child 174]: (5 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #4004}

A tale of the woes of Scotland. David [Riccio], the Queen's servant, is murdered with twelve daggers. King and Queen quarrel over this. Bothwell takes the king and hangs him. This produces such anger that the Queen flees to England

Earl Brand [Child 7]: (57 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #23}

(Earl Brand) falls in love with a high lady against her father's will. They flee together, but are overtaken. Earl Brand slays almost all the pursuers, but is himself sorely wounded. They flee on, but at last Earl Brand must stop and dies.

Lady Crawford marries the Earl at a young age, and soon bears a son. She thinks Crawford loves the child more than he loves her. They quarrel and separate. Both wish to reconcile, both think the other has refused to do so, both die for love

Earl of Aboyne, The [Child 235]: (10 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #99}

The Earl goes to London, leaving his wife behind. She hears that he has been courting others. When he returns, she makes a fine show but disdains him. He prepares once again to depart, and says she may not go with him. She dies for love

Earl of Errol, The [Child 231]: (7 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #96}

The Earl of Errol weds Kate Carnegie, perhaps for the sake of her large dowry. Kate complains that "Errol is no' a man." Errol disproves the charge by having an illegitimate child. Kate wishes to abandon him; he will not give up her dowry

The earl's daughter brings home a dove, who at night turns into a man and begets seven sons by her. When a man woos the earl's daughter, the earl decides to kill the bird and have her marry. The bird returns with an avian army and reclaims his love

Following the failure of his revolt, Neville of Westmoreland flees to Scotland and is taken to Hume Castle. Neville at last sails for Seville, and is given office by the queen. He fights the heathen and is victorious, and receives various rewards

Lady Ann is enamored of Earl Rothes, though he is married. Her (parents?) promise to care for her well if she will forget him. She says she will stay with Earl Rothes until her child is born. Her young brother vows revenge. But she stays with the Earl

"Early in the morning, just about the break of day, You ought to see me grab my pillow Where my good gal used to lay." The singer is going up river; he complains about his girl, his life, his failure to listen to mother, the need to travel to escape jail

"I meet (little Rosa/my mother/brother Robert/etc.) earty in the morning, and I ask her, 'How you do my (daughter)? Oh, Jerusalem, early in the morning."

An axe song with unfixed lyrics. "Well, it's early in the morning, hear the dingdong ring." "Well, I'm don in the bottom, on a live oak log." "Partner can't hold me, hold me no longer." "Murder on Darrington, Godamighty my lord, Who was the rider?"

"Early in the morning when the cock begins to crow, Off you work you know your father has to go, With his little nosebag a-plodding through the rain, We shout 'Good morning, father," and we go to sleep again."

Skipping game and counting rhyme. "Early in the morning, about eight o'clock, Thought I heard the postman's knock. Up jumps Mary to open the door, See how many letters on the floor. One, two...."

"As I was loafing on Main Street one day A comrade came to me and thus he did say," that the singer has been chosen to go to [Utah] Dixie to raise cotton and wine. Failed crops, poverty, and a wishto die await him, but they manage to make things better

Early Monday Morning: (1 ref. 1K Notes) {Roud #2275}

"Early Monday morning the maid came at the door With her shoes and stockings in her hand and I don't know what before. I tied up her garter so neatly and so trim She threw her arms apart and I hugged her quietly in"

"Early one foggy morning when I knocked on your door, You had the nerve to tell poor me you didn't need me no more." Singer blames himself. "I'm getting darn tired of sleeping by myself." She's gone "and she sure won't write me"

Early One Morning: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #12682}

"Early one morning, just as the sun was rising, I heard a maid sing in the valley below, Oh don't deceive me, Oh never leave me; How could you use a poor maiden so?" She laments the young made who made promises and then betrayed her for a new girl

"Early one morning in the month of July We finished our crops and laid them all by." The singers depart from their girls. They exhort their patriots to fight hard: "We're bound to whip the Yankees, we'll do it or die." They praise Lee and insult Butler.

"Early this spring we'll leave Nauvoo, And on our journey we'll pursue, We'll go and bid the mob farewell, And let them go to heaven or hell." They will head to California and avoid persecution from the likes of Sharp, Williams, and Governor Ford

The singer is (pressed and) sent to sea. (He writes to his true love, but her father withholds the letters.) When he returns, her father tells him she has wed another. He accuses her of unfaithfulness and swears to spend the rest of his life at sea

"Good people, give ear to my story, I've called in to see you by chance; Five lads I have brought blythe and merry." The company welcomes in the new year. The gentlemen are introduced: The sons of Nelson, Elliot, etc. They prepare for the sword dance

East Neuk o' Fife, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #13097}

"Hey, the east neuk o' Fife! A weel-faur'd lass, and a canty wife." I'll look where there are plenty of girls: in Fife. It's long until Saturday night, and longer until Monday morning. If she doesn't fancy me I won't care, but I wont ask a Fife lass again

"East of the border, over Canterbury way, there on a neighboring block To boost my tally I did stray. Nearby rifle shots told me That I must not stay, East of the border, over Canterbury way."

"I was born in (east Virginia); North Carolina I did go. There I met a pretty woman, And her name I did not know." The singer grieves that her parents would marry her to another. "I'd rather be in some dark hollow... than see you be another man's darling"

Eastend Rocking, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #15106}

An Eastend party: "sic caperan and dancing ... was never seen" The partiers are named. Lots of dancing and laughing. Old Hugh's wife packed him off to bed. At parting time they all had a scone and soup and "skailit aw for hame"

The singer sees a beautiful girl and asks her to come home with him to "Easter Snow." He says she will see foxhunters and other exciting things. She tells him that she is pledged to another who lives far from Easter Snow

Eastern Light, The [Laws D11]: (10 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2235}

A sailor, having spent his money on a drunken spree, ships on board the "Eastern Light," fishing on the Grand Banks. The captain drives the crew hard until they are forced to return to Gloucester

"Easy rider, see what you have done... Made me love you, now your man done come." The singer expresses regret about the relationship between men and women, but hopes to do better in the future

ag line for foating verses is "Easy rider don't you know my name." Verses include "Come here mama look at sis Standing on the corner trying to do the twist," "Ain't but one thing on my mind All of these women ain't none of them mine"

"New rice and okra... Eat some and leave some Beat rice to bum-bum Eat some and leave some"

"The 'eathen in 'is blindness bows down to wood an' stone... An' then comes up the Regiment an' pokes the 'eathen out." "All along o' dirtiness, all along o' mess, All along o' doin' things rather-more-or-less," the recruit learns to be a soldier

The sailor recalls a dreadful voyage: "Ev'ry day was scrub and grease her." The first mate was "the dirtiest man you ever seen"; the second had left his former line when it "got too hot." The food was bread "as tough as any brass" and over-salted meat

Describes the building of a railroad through Echo Canyon; Mormons work hard and cheerfully. In the fall they will meet their women; in the future the locomotive will gather Saints from afar, bringing them to Zion (Utah) while the wicked are swept away

Echo Mocks the Corncrake, The: (8 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2736}

"The lass that I loved first of all was handsome, young, and fair." He recalls their happy life. He contrasts the complex, expensive demands of city life with the joys of rural citizenship. He waits for the corncrake to bring back the summer weather

At the dawn of day the echoing horn calls to the foxhunt; the fox breaks, the dogs chase, the horses leap fences and stiles. When the fox is killed, the hunters take his brush, then go home and drink while their wives give great delight

In June of the jubilee year the Eclipse kills a whale beginning a poor season. For the Erik and Hope the season was worse. At season end, the haul was meager and the bonus was low. The crew will not sail again for "one and three"

"Come stand around me young and old And see me welcome death so bold." The singer warns others of his misdeeds, says that he is arraigned for murder and sentenced to die; he prepares for the afterlife and declares, "I do not fear to meet the grave."

Recitation; the speaker and comrades try to break a logjam. The jam breaks but Ed McCoy is pinned under a small log. A big log knocks it loose. Asked what he was thinking, Ed answers, "My best girl I never thought of/I was afraid my lice would drown."

"Edelweiss, edelweiss, Every morning you greet me." The singer describes and praises the flower, and asks it to "bless my homeland forever."

Jump-rope rhyme: "Edinburgh, Leith, Portobello, Musselburg, And Dalkeith; Cock-a-leekie, Hennie-deekie, One, two three!"

"Mike Murphy owned a fine saloon, He never knew grief nor care," and has an Edison phonograph. An Irish crew calls for "The Wearing of the Green"; he accidentally plays "God Save the Queen." The Irishmen riot; Murphy ends up dead

Surrounded by "ruthless villains" as he slept, Edward wakes and stabs Swan but is seriously wounded by Ryan and Sirr. "Proclaim that Edward's blood is spill'd! By traitor's hand, by coward Sirr, Revenge! Revenge! for Edward's kill'd."

A mother questions her son about his recent deeds and the blood on his weapon. After many evasions, he reveals that he has killed his brother. He may then leave home, perhaps in a bottomless boat

Edward Boyle, helped by friends, leaves his lover, parents and Ireland for America. The singer recalls his flute playing. She curses Columbus: many lovers mourn his follower's return. If she had gold she would give it up for one glimpse of Edward Boyle.

Edward Hickman (Marian Parker IV): (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4106}

Hickman kidnaps Marian Parker, hoping to gain a ransom. After briefly treating her well, he kills her and flees. At last captured, he is tried and sentenced to be hanged. His mother laments his fate

"Oh, Edward Jorgen/Gayen is my name, and lately I to England came." Visiting friends in Manchester, he fights the police and is captured. Tried and apparently convicted, he asks his love if she will stand by him. She wishes she were his wife

"Oh, we heard a different signal All up and down the Clinchfield Line Since the hand of Edward Lewis Pulls no more old 99." The singer says that those along the line will miss Lewis, an engineer, and says that he has gone on to better things.

"Poor Edward Mathews, where is he? Sent headlong to eternity." "O! V. P. Coolidge, how could you So black a deed of murder do?" "The hay for cattle which he drove You swore within your heart to have." Coolidge murders Mathews and hopes for forgiveness

Edward Sinclair Song, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #9197}

"When first I saw Edward Sinclair He was a grown up boy." Sinclair's life is recounted as he starts his lumber mill: "when he was defeated He would always try again." His sons carry on the firm and some key employees are named.

Song(?) in Old English. In 978, King Edward is killed at Corfe. He is buried without honors. "Men murdered him, but God exalted him." He is now a saint, and people pray to him. The counsels of those who murdered him failed.

Edward has been transported for seven years. His lover, left alone on Lough Erne's shore, remembers their days together. Now she weeps all night: "my rose is fading and my hopes decay." She wishes she could go to him "like a moon o'er the ocean"

"Come hearken good friends to this story so true... Concerning the love of this bonny young prince, The King of his own countree." Although his family is opposed, he insists on marrying the woman he loves. Finally, in disgust, he "cast off his crown."

Edwin, now rich, returns to his sweetheart after years at sea. At her advice, he goes to her father's inn in disguise. Her father murders him for his money. The girl learns the truth and turns in her father, who is executed

"When the proud British foe was invading the soil, Oppressing the young men of freedom and toil, Edwin bid his fair Mary adieu." He sets out "to fight over the waves." After long absence, Mary laments him; he "rushed from his ambush" to comfort her

The 1851 whaling ships and their captains and bad characteristics are described ("By all decent people their company is shun") "Wake up Eelie [Oily] Rob, or you're sure to be [out]done, The Mazanthien's home with her two hundred tons"

Eence Upon a Time (Had I the Wyte): (2 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #7253 and 3361}

The singer asks "Had I the wyte?" [Was I to blame?] "She was cook aboot the hoose, And I was kitchie laddie, And aye she gae me bread and cheese To kiss 'er fan she bade me" [Hecht-Herd: "And when I could na do't again: Silly loon she ca'd me."]

"Eenie meenie minie mo, Catch a (nigger/tiger/robber) by the toe, If he hollers, let him go, Eenie meenie minie mo."

Eensy Weensy Spider, The: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #11586}

"The eensy weensy spider went up the water spout, Along came the rain and washed the spider out. Along came the sun and dried up all the rain So the eensy weensy spider climbed up the spout again."

Eentie Teentie Figgery Fell: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #19276}

"Eentie teentie figgery fell, Ell dell dromonell... You are out!" Or "Zeentie teentie halligolun, The cat went oot tae hae some fun, Hae some fun on Toddie's grun, Zeentie teentie halligolun." Or "A seentie teentie halligolum." Or something

Eerie Orie, Virgin Mary: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #13060}

"Eerie orie, Virgin Marie, A' the keetles in a tearie." I've been full seven weeks and shall be seven more until Marie and St John's weeks. Tailors have big feet but short toes. Put his tail to the plow; my tail's long enough.

Effects of Love, The: (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1493}

William [W.E.] courted and promised to marry Betsy Watson [B.W.], the singer. He deserted her and her baby. She sends him a letter saying "false man adieu I drown myself for love of you." She asks that eight maidens in white escort her to her grave.

"Come all you ringers, good and grave, Come listen to my peal, I'll tell you of five ringers brave That lived in Egloshayle." They are successful bell-ringers, Craddock, Ellery, Pollard, Cleave, and Goodfellow. The singer drinks to them

Latin round. "Ego sum pauper, nihil habeo, cor meum dabo."

"Eh, lor, Miss Molly, Take a walk with me, Down in yonder valley where those pretty lilies be, Sweet pretty, pretty roses, Strawberries on the vine, So rise up, go choose the one That's suitable to your mind."

Forebitter shanty. "Oh me husband's a saucy foretopman, Oh a chum of the cook, don't ye know!" "Eight bells, eight bells, Rouse out the watch from below." The husband was a successful sailor; now at home, he is happy but still recalls the whales in dreams

Eight Famous Fishermen, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #2718}

Eight famous fishermen are "descendents of Adam and offsprings of Cain." The eight are named and described. Then Helen Creighton is described "a-looking for tales And all that she found was six fish without scales"

The singer has sent the text: "Eight hearts in one you here behold And they unto each other fold ... And nothing from it you could take Unless that you a heart do break ... If you have any love at all Show it to me though it be small"

"Eight little cylinders sitting facing heaven, One blew its head off, then there were seven. Seven little cylinders used to playing tricks, One warped its inlet valve...." And so on, till the last cylinder "gave its efforts up And ascended up to heaven"

Roger reports being brought up by honest parents. He runs off with Jane Sharkey, abandons her, and is pursued by her father. He is captured several times, escapes several times, flees to England, is taken again, and will be hanged shortly

"Come all you bold Britons where'er you may be, I play give attention and listen to me. There once was good times but they're gone by complete. For a poor man lives now on eight shillings a week." Inflation makes the poor poorer. They ask twelve shillings

Eight-Pound Bass, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #9196}

Ice-fishing for bass on the Nor'West Miramichi river. "For I did fish in vain, I tried and tried again, I walked around the hole till I was lame, Away up on Whitney's Flats, Amongst the Nor'West brats, But that eight-pound bass I longed for never came"

"In a town by the sea by the Castle Duneen" Eileen loves "a young fisher laddie" lost in a storm the day before they were to be wed. She dies of a broken heart and is buried by the shore where they used to meet. Now his ghost is heard calling her there.

The singer compares Eileen to a gem and a flower but "dearest her constancy." If she were not true her lover would never love again. But while all else changes she, like truth alone, "is a fixed star"

"One night as I lay on my pillow, A vision came into my view, Of a ship sailin' out on the ocean." On deck is a beautiful girl "banished from Erin's green shore." She talks of her life as an exile. The singer wakes from his dream to see his mother's face

"I once loved a girl in Kilkenny and a beautiful creature was she, I loved her far better than any and I know this young damsel loved me. She's the beautiful flower of Kilkenny...." He left her, "sailed over seas," but still thinks of their sad parting.

Amish hymn in German.. "Einsmals spatziert ich hin und her, In meinen alten Tangen." "Once, as I went walking, In my old days I saw how close Death was to me... I thought... How not a day was left... And how many sins I had committed...."

Swedish shanty. "We must not grieve"... either because the various tasks they have to do have been made easier somehow, or because complaining will get them into trouble. Last line of each verse is repeated for chorus.

Short verses in pidgin English, i.e. "Sailorman no likee bosun's mate." Chorus: "Kay, kay, kay, kay! Eki Dumah!"

Spanish. "El amore que te tenia, me bien, En uno ramo quedo." "The love that I had for you, my dear, hanging from a branch remained." The singer's great love was blown away by a wind. He is going to San Diego. He advises that she not look for him

"With sorrow we remember, the middle of July, When those six noble miners were all destined to die." The song describes the slow death of the trapped miners, and describes the pathetic farewell message "Poor Dawkins" wrote

"The people are coming, Van Buren is down, Let a loud shout of triumph be heard in our town.... Let's resolve to be ruled by Van Buren no more." "The people are coming, Oh, Matty, beware." Other Van Buren allies are warned; "Old Honesty" is coming

Elegy on the Death of a Mad Dog: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #2088}

"In Ixlington there was a man Of whom the world might say That still he was a godly man...." The man befriends a stray dog. The dog goes mad and bites the man. All expect the man to die, but he recovers

Singer is in jail; he went on a spree after seeming to find his wife unfaithful. In jail he plays baseball, meets a man who is to be hung, and has other mildly humorous adventures

Eleven Slash Slash Eleven: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #3438}

A song of the cowboy's life: Finding himself in jail, but released by the sheriff (a former cowboy), going to town and "mak[ing] the tenderfoot dance"; playing cards with a crooked gambler. The conclusion: "You'll find every dirty cuss exactly the same."

"I will sing you 11." 11:gate of heaven, 10:Big Ben, 9:sunshine, 8:day-break, 7:key of heaven, 6:crucifix, 5:narrow eye, 4:narrow door, 3:eternity, 2:broad heresy, 1:upon the right eye, enter over t'other eye, who can sing and dance as well as me?

A sailor (?) rows his boat up to the Eleventh Street whores, has sex, laments contracting gonorrhea, and curses the Eleventh Street whores.

Elfin Knight, The [Child 2]: (78 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #12}

A man (sometimes an "Elfin" knight) and a woman exchange tasks. He offers to marry her if she performs his (impossible) tasks; she shows how she feels by making equally unperformable requests

"Unhappy man! I understand You are condemned to die. In a few days you must away To vast eternity." The murderer is lectured about the need to turn to God

The singer must cross the ocean and is afraid he won't see Eliza again. He is sure "the last throb that leaves my heart" will be a sigh for her.

"If you will listen to me I will sing you the song Of the unfortunate Ella Lea." The singer recalls loving Ella. He wishes she would be return to him; "life without thee is lonely." But "thou hast learned to love another."

Ella M Rudolph, The: (5 refs. 7K Notes) {Roud #2491}

Ella M Rudolph sails with a crew of eight, including Mary Jane Abbott. When the ship strikes a rock in a storm the only survivor "was hurled into the cliff." He reaches Levi Dalton's door. A rescue party finds Mary Jane's body washed ashore

Ella Speed goes out to "have a li'l fun." Her man, Bill Martin, finds out and shoots her because she has been unfaithful to him. He is sentenced to (hanging/life imprisonment).

"Gentle zephyrs, blow ye lightly o'er the place where sleeps the dead, Where the moonbeams shining brightly Hover 'round the narrow bed. And while love its vigil keeps, In the grave sweet Ella sleeps

The singer meets Ellen Brown down by Dublin. With her red cheeks, curly brown hair, and gown, "there's not a lady in the city could be compared with Ellen Brown." The singer is going to Donnybrook and he invites her to go with him in a cab. She agrees.

Ellen McGiggin was put to the jiggin" for lifting her leg and a pudding came flying. The second verse is about "the kilties ... Comin' through the Broomielaw"

"Young Henry was fair Ellen's love And Emma to her heart was dear." When Henry turns from Ellen to Emma, Ellen "o'ercome with grief she sought the steep Where Yarrow falls with sullen roar" and commits suicide.

Ellen O'Connor is leaving Ireland because the famine and eviction have reached Mayo. The singer hopes she will remember their good times and will return soon. He says "Him that sent the famine will make the cornfields smile." Better times are coming.

"My earthly pleasures now are fled, My joyful days are done, Since Ellen in her grave was laid...." Orphaned at 11, the girl grew sick at 17 before she could marry the singer. He sees to her burial, and now waits to join her in heaven

Ellen Smith [Laws F11]: (16 refs. 7K Notes) {Roud #448}

Peter Degraph claims that he has been falsely accused of murdering his sweetheart Ellen Smith. He describes his apprehension and sentence. He will be hanged, but says "My soul will be free when I stand at the bar"

The singer waltzed with Ellen Taylor one night. She's gone to Margate for the summer. He fantasizes that, once he finishes his apprenticeship in three years, they will marry, open a shop, and they'll drive out with the children on Sundays.

The narrator, a nobleman, sees and falls in love with Ellen, who is very beautiful although she is only a flower seller. He woos and wins her. The noble ladies all envy her beauty

Ellie Rhee (Ella Rhee, Ella Ree): (12 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #7428}

The singer recalls Ella Rhee, beautiful and kind, with whom he used to live (before the war). (He wonders why he ran away; he is free but is no longer with Ella.) He wishes he were by her (grave). He laments, "Carry me back to Tennessee...."

"'Twas in the merry month of May... To Ellon Fair I bent my way... With hopes to find amusement." The singer hires out to a "skrankie chiel," who seems to promise good conditions but demands much work without offering good food or pay.

e singer recalls how good the work was "when I was young." "But noo the warld's turned upside doon ... Some toons hae got a thrashin' mill ... the steam mill beats them a'." "When work gets less and money scarce, We winna gang sae braw."

"Down where our patriotic army, near Potomac's side, Guards the glorious cause of freedom, gallant Ellsworth died." The hearers are urged to "strike" and "speed on" to destroy the traitors who killed Ellsworth

Elsie M Hart heads "for a port down in White Bay." Caught in a storm of sleet and snow they hope to spend the night near Plate Cove. With foresail split they run aground. The captain and another man go to Plate Cove and the people there help the crew.

"Elsie Marley's grown so fine, She won't get up to serve the swine, But lies in bed till eight or nine." "Di' ye ken Elsie Marley, honey, The wife that sells the barley, honey?" Stanzas tell of how Elsie leads an elaborate lifestyle

"The trumpet had sounded the signal for battle"; the soldiers say farewell to Bristol. As the soldier lies wounded, he is found by "Lovely Elwina of famed Waterloo." He brings "that sweet flower" home from Waterloo

"Em pom pee para me Para moscas,..., Acca dairy, so fairy ... Poof poof!"

"I'm what you call a new chum, and you will understand, Through assisted immigration I'm here in Maoriland." He complains about the wages and conditions. But he will try to become a Cockey himself -- and then he'll do to his workers as was done to him

Emerald Isle, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #13396}

"Of all nations under the sun, Dear Erin does truly excel." The boys are hearty and the girls beautiful. St Patrick drove out the vermin and blessed the shamrock. We have had heroes since with Brian Boroimhe "leathered the Danes black and blue"

"At dawn of the morning the ship shall be sailing That takes me away from the land of my birth ... It's nought but oppression that tears us asunder." He bids farewell to the dances, colleens, and stories.

"A young aspiring Irishman ... leaving Queenstown quay in Cork" for the Yankee shore on the Teutonic in 1894; "we all gave many a wail, As we took ... one parting glimpse of lovely Inisfail." The ship safely passes icebergs and lands on Ellis Island.

"Dear Newfoundland have I got to leave you To seek employment in a foreign land? Forced by our nation by cruel taxation...." He thinks back to good times around St John's but now must emigrate to work. He hopes the younger generation may stay at home.

"I've just arrived across the plains, Oh didn't I have awful times, It makes the blood run greasy through my veins." He's been hungry. He's had many diseases. No one will give him anything. He wishes he were back in Pike

The singer bids farewell to Ireland; he will admire his home even though he will never return. He bids his sweetheart come with him. He notes how all the best folk of Ireland are going away. He mentions the gold and alcohol available in the New World

Emigrant's Farewell to Donegal, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #V40069}

It is 1846 and the singer is leaving Donegal. His father's five acres cannot support the family. He proposes to his sweetheart, she agrees, they marry and leave for America where "no rents or taxes we pay at all"

"When the wind blows from the East, it brings sweet voices, 'Tis the Siren call, you hear as plain as day That says 'come home" to every Newfoundlander." Those who left Newfoundland hear the call all over Canada.. Newfoundland life and places are recalled

"All you whose minds are bent on straying, Listen now... whilst I... relate the joys of emigration." Those who come to Australia must clear the land, fight off kangaroos, live in poverty, have little success, and "curse the place and leave disgusted"

"Emma been say she go wear crippon dress." "She go make up she mind To go weed the young canes."

Emma Hartsell [Laws F34]: (7 refs. 4K Notes) {Roud #2272}

Emma Hartsell is found with her throat cut. Two blacks, Tom [Johnson] and Joe [Kiser], are accused of the crime and hanged from a dogwood tree. Even Joe's last request for a drink of water is refused

The instructions to "Emma" are followed by the players -- "You turn around dig a hole in the ground" -- mixed with commentary "you're my darling," "you're the bad girl," "you're from the country." Alternate lines: "Oh Emma Oh"

"He dies to-day." The judge smiles because "a demon dwelt where his heart should be." The jailer has a tear in his eye because Emmet had "spoke in so kind a way." A girl "lacked the life to speak ... despair had drank up her last wild tear."

"Farewell, love, farewell, love, I now must leave you." Emmet declares he has never deceived her. "Oh, never in the moonlight we'll roam, love." He asks her to promise to "come to my grave when all others forsake me." He hears "the death token."

The singer dreams of the election disaster to come for "Old 'Pultepee" [Scott] as the Whigs self-destruct as Greeley's two-faced efforts fail. The singer favors Pierce and King

The singer has trouble finding work after writing the 'Five Boss Highway' song. He finds the manager digging in the mud. The manager says "I didn't think a poet would work in such a place." "Twas the bosses in the ditches that really made me smile."

French: "En roulant ma boule roulant...." Typical plot: Three ducks are paddling. A prince comes to hunt. Though he aims for a black duck, he hits the white one with its diamond eyes and its golden feathers. The owner is upset

Swedish. Capstan shanty. "En sjoman lskar havets veg, ja va gornas brus." The sailor loves the sound of the wave. He must leave his sweetheart. They embrace. She watches as he sets out to sea.

"Ena, mena, more, mi, Pisca, lara, bora, bi, Eggs, butter, cheese, bread, Stick, stack, stone, dead. O-U-T spells out!" Perhaps a counting-out rhyme

Enchanted Isle, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #13537}

The singers recalls traveling to Rathlin, where he hears the tale of the Enchanted Isle, which rises from the seas when a mermaid sings. Home to a beautiful city, many have tried to make it stay above the waves, but it always escapes

"The end of the earth isn't far from here, And it's getting much darker year by year." Gum is getting harder to find, and the digger will never again see a town, or women, or his homeland -- and if he did, he'd get in trouble for punching the foreman

"Living long lives in Sonora, nested 'mongst mountains high... Living by hunting and fishing, raising their Indian corn... 'twas there the Yaquis were born." But now the Europeans have come. The author hopes their God will someday come to care for them

French dialog between mother and spoiled child. "Enfant gâté veux-tu du pâté? Non ma mère il est trop salé! Veux-tu du rôti? Non ma mère il est drop cuit!" The mother asks if the child wants pie or meat; the child refuses; it tastes bad/is badly cooked

"'Twas on the evening of the twelfth; The hour was half past seven...." "The New York Express came up the track." A husband and wife "unconscious drove their steed." The horse and buggy are destroyed despite the engineer's efforts

Engine, Engine, Number Nine: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #19220}

"Engine, Engine, Number Nine, Going down Chicago line, If the train goes off the track, Do you want your money back? O-U-T spells OUT." Or, "Engine, engine, one the line, Wasting water all the time. How many gallons does it waste...."

Singer, an old engineer, tells his friend (and fireman?) Joe about the wreck on the Elgin branch, where two locomotives collided in a storm and his daughter was killed. He looks forward to the day when his own death will reunite him with his child

"England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, All tied up with donkeys' tails."

"Come loyal Britons all rejoice with joyful acclamations... To Admiral Vernon drink a health, likewise to each brave fellow Who... was at the taking of Porto Bello." The song details all the struggles involved in taking the port

A newly-arrived prospector sits and dreams of his home and his family left behind. "He was thinking of home, sweet home, far away o'er the restless foam...." (While he is so distracted, a native comes up and kills him)

English Orphan, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #11887}

"My home is in England, my home is not here, But why should I murmur when trials appear? The woman that took me, God has taken away." The child, left alone and friendless, still trusts in Jesus and asks for help to get to heaven

Jump-rope rhyme. "English, Irish, German, French, Little Annie Rooney with a ruffle in her pants."

A Galtee farmer sells a mare at Enniscorthy fair. The buyer clips and trims it like a racehorse. Fooled, the farmer buys it back for double his price. His wife recognizes the mare and calls him a fool for trimming it because it will get sick.

Enoch leaves his wife Annie to go to sea, but is shipwrecked for ten years. He returns home to find that Annie, who thinks him dead, has remarried happily. He does not reveal himself, but leaves them to live happily; he dies of loneliness and grief

"Now here's a good health to the bride of yon house, Grant her a solid good cheer." The singers raise a series of toasts to the bride, then the groom, and then to the happy couple. Chorus: "That/and may we be married next year."

Voyageur round. "Endendez vous sur l'or-meau, Chanter le petit ousea." "Did you hear the little bird Singing on the elm sapling?"

"Come all ye sons of Freedom, Come, listen unto me." American Enterprise and British Boxer fight. "Though the Enterprise is but small, soon made the Boxer tame." The Americans, upon boarding, see much British blood. The singer cheers for liberty

French. Christmas carol, lullaby. "Entre le boeuf et l'ane gris / dort, dort, dort le petit fils." Between the ox and the gentle ass the little son sleeps. A thousand cherubim, a thousand seraphim hover above

French. The king's son asks a shepherdess to sing. She would sing if not for her sorrow at losing her brother and husband in the war. He asks which she regrets more. She says she will find another husband but will never have a brother.

French. Sir Maurice and Sir Walter feud. New Ross council decides to build a wall. Each day, beginning Candlemas, a different group of merchants, priests,... work on the ditch. Sunday ladies lay up stones for the wall. The defence plans are described.

"Ephram, Epgram, whar you been? I ain't been dar in a long time. Oh, oh, Ephram, you know you goin' to die, Oh, oh, Ephram, don't tell me no lie."

Epigram on Rough Roads: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #25471}

"I'm now arrived -- thanks to the gods! Thro' pathways rough and muddy, A certain sign that makin roads Is no this people's study... I'm not wi' Scripture cram'd, I'm sure the Bible says That heedless sinners shall be damn'd, Unless they mend their ways"

"Here lies Peter Wilkie, a peer an harmless body He wouldna tramp upon a snail, nor yet a carle-doddie [Greig/Duncan8: stalk of ribwort]"

"Aneth this stane lies Wattie Cobban Wha sta' the horse fae Johnnie Lobban In Perth Penitentiary jyle He learned to gird in style"

Badly distorted Maori text. "Epo i tai tai e, oh! Epo i tai tai e, Epo i tai tai, Epo i tuki tuki, Epo i tuki tuki e!"

Eppie Morrie [Child 223]: (8 refs. 7K Notes) {Roud #2583}

Willie and his gang steal away Eppie Morrie to make her his bride. The minister refuses to marry them without her consent. Willie forces her to bed and attempts to rape her; she fends off his attempts. In the morning she demands the right to return home

A fine young man dresses and rides off to the Epsom Races. There he gambles away (ten thousand pounds). After a bad harvest, the landlord confiscates his property and his family mourns when he is confined to debtor's prison

Ere Around the Huge Oak: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1251}

The singer tells his landlord that his grandfather tilled the farm "I now hold on your honor's estate." That grandfather left his son a good name "which unsullied descended to me" and he intends it for his child, "unblemished with shame" [see notes]

"By a dear old mother's side Stood her eldest boy, her pride... As the lad began to tell Of the girl he loved so well... The dear old mother said, My boy, ere you are wed... You must have employment... Ere you ask a girl to leave her happy home."

Barney, "from Killarney's Isle," courts "an Indian maid queen of fairies." She won't marry him until "some great race might crown you big chief." "That's easy," says he; "all my family were great runners and first in every race"

"I've got a mule, her name is Sal, Fifteen miles on the Erie Canal." "Low bridge, everybody down, Low bridge, for we're going through a town...." About the long, slow trip along the Erie Canal -- and the mule the singer works with

"... Sons of green Erin, lament o'er the time, When religion was war, and our country a crime ...Drive the Demon of Bigotry home to his den, And where Britain made brutes now let Erin make men. Let my sons like the leaves of the shamrock unite"

The singer is forced by Peggy's father and brothers to leave Armathy for Canada on the day they were to be married. "It's for loving this fair one, and that was a small crime, That I am transported away for a time" but he will return to Erin a'green.

Erin Far Away (I) [Laws J6]: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1805}

An Irish soldier lies fatally wounded in India. He asks his brother to tell his parents that he died nobly. He asks his brother to mark has grave so that his love can plant a shamrock on it. He dies and is buried; the other soldiers return to Erin

"I'll tell you a story of a row in the town, When the green flag went up and the Crown rag went down." The Irish, though inexperienced, rebel against the English, and cause a captain to die of "lead poisoning." The leaders are hailed.

In "Jacobin" dialect the singer loves Irish whiskey and girls and meat "while Pat may go starve in his hovel."

"Oh, I have roamed in many lands And many friends I've met... But I'll confess I am content; No more I wish to roam; I'll steer my bark for the sea-girt isle, The sea-girt isle's my home." The singer recalls the happy times at home

The singer dreams that Napoleon has landed in Ireland, saying, "Rise up my friend." "He was the hero we longed for to see. The bells of the chapel resounded a ditty To welcome Napoleon to Erin the Green"

Erin the Green (II): (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6992}

Counterfeiter William Hill has been sentenced for life to Van Dieman's. He hopes for pardon. "I ardently loved all mankind." With notes forged on the Bank of Scotland "the naked I clothed." "My heart shall be true [to Erin] as the needle to the pole"

"Erin, my country, although thy harp slumbers," the singer loves her still. The singer describes the beauties of Ireland. "Cold, cold must the heart be and void of emotion That loves not the music of Erin-go-bragh"

"Erin! the tear and smile in thine eyes, Blend like the rainbow that hangs in thy skies! Shining through sorrow's stream. Saddening through pleasure's beam." The singer says her tears will never case "Till... thy various tints unite"

The singer chances to see a young couple talking. He is about to take ship for America. She repeatedly expresses her fear that he will forget her. He promises to be true. They kiss; he departs; the singer leaves

Erin's Green Linnet: (6 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #12903}

Singer asks why a maid weeps. "I once had a Linnet, the pride of this nation, By the fowler he was taken." The Linnet sung throughout Ireland and "upon Tara's old hill" and "famed Mullingar," championed Emancipation in 1829. Now he is lying in Glasnevin.

Erin's Green Shore [Laws Q27]: (44 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #280}

The singer dreams of meeting a beautiful girl in a green mantle. She tells him she (is a relative of Daniel O'Connell and) has come to awaken her countrymen who sleep on Erin's shore. The singer awakens and hopes the girl finds success

"I'm a boy from Erin's Isle just landed here today... Sure they told me England was the place Where everything was gay. Bedad, says I, if that's the case, Sure that's the spot for me." He gets seasick and swears if he gets home not to go again

Erin's King (Daniel Is No More): (6 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #9278}

A maid sings "Erin's King, brave Dan's no more." Daniel O'Connell's career is reviewed: elected for Clare but did not take the oath, brought Emancipation, defended Father Maguire, defended accused conspirators at Doneraile, led us at Tara and Mullaghmast.

The singer dreams of Richmond prison and Erin as a woman weeps for the loss "of her Green Linnet Davitt ashtore." She sings that he was trapped by the fowler, refused bail, and was caged nine years. The singer wakes to find the dream true.

The singer, a gentleman's servant, falls in love with his employer's daughter. They plan to flee abroad. But the girl's father stops them as they board the ship; he has the young man transported for seven years. The girl promises to wait for him

The singer warns residents of Ireland of the dangers of emigration. His father's land are too little for the whole family, so some have to leave home. Disease strikes their ship. His sister dies on the trip and is buried at sea

Singer leaves Queenstown for New York with the Fenian boys March 6, 1863. They are met by Yankees who ask about the Manchester three, Wolfe Tone's body, Captain Mackey and O'Dwyer. He thinks of going home "to float a Fenian boat down Erin's lovely Lee"

The singer is "an Irish exile girl." She thinks about the past at home. She dreams she returns to Ireland on an ocean liner and meets her grown sister; she cannot understand the talk because it is Gaelic. She wakes. She warns others to stay in Ireland.

Others praise wine. "For ever shall the theme be mine To chant old whisky's praise ... And let us sing The joys of Erin's whisky"

(Erlinton) has a daughter, whom he confines to protect her virtue. A young man nonetheless spirits the daughter away. The lady's guards pursue; the young man slays all but one, and they escape.

"Earth out of earth is worldlly/wondrously wrought, Earth has gotten on earth a dignity from nought...." Earth out of earth would be a king: Alexander, Hector, Arthur are examples. But at the end it returns to earth, leaving only a foul stench

Amish hymn in German.. "Es sind zween Weg in diset Zeit, Der ein ist schmall, der ander weitt." "There are two ways in these times. One [way] is narrow, the other wide. The one who follows the narrow road is despised by everyone."

German. "Es wolte ein Jaejerlein jaje, Drei Vaddel Schtund vor Daje...." "A young hunter went hunting...." Seeking a deer, he sees a pretty girl and asks if she will hunt with him. She will not, and delays him until day, when she says she remains a virgin

"ESB with 'lectricity is landed in Coolea For to give us light by day or night with bulbs that do not blow." Cullinane "climbs the poles ... watch the sputniks glow." There are jobs digging holes, pegging lines, driving trucks." Not like fifty years ago.

Escape of James Stephens, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #V8284}

Stephens escapes from Richmond. Foolish statements are attributed to the Queen, the Marquis, and Lord Wodehouse. The attempt to recapture him is ridiculed: "But one thing you'll not do, That is get from 'Parley-voo', The bird that thither flew"

Escape of Meagher, The: (4 refs. 7K Notes) {Roud #V41192}

"In the year '48 he was taken, you know, Next on board a ship he had for to go." Meagher escapes in Van Dieman's Land. The police chief refuses to track him "for you know we are Irishmen" He lands safe in New York, greeted by 16,000.

Escape of the Horton, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #4725 and 6563}

"Under the canopy of blue, Under the starlit sky, They crept... to cut her out or die." The "daring, manly crew" manages to take the Horton from "Scotia's Shore" to "Cape Ann's port." "No Dominion cliques Shall bar the Yankee's way."

"In the battered hulk that's anchored off the Waitemata shore, The Maoris used to while the time away." After escaping, they sing, "Kakino Georgy Grey, You have let us get away." They had enjoyed being fed and not working. Friendly natives helped them.

Escuminac Disaster (I), The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #9195}

June 19, 1959 "around Escuminac A sudden storm did appear. Oh, wicked waves! Oh, wailing wind!" The men that went out with their nets in the afternoon were in the wrecked fishing fleet in Miramichi Bay. Though 35 were lost, heroics saved some.

Escuminac Disaster (II), The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #9194}

This is the story of the Escuminac Bay disaster. Thirty-five were lost salmon-fishing in the storm but some were saved. "A drive for funds for the widows And for those who lost souls at sea Was organized in New Brunswick To help raise their families"

Text so distorted by English speakers that the original probably cannot be determined. Supposedly about an "Eskimo" hunt for a polar bear. Insofar as it has a defining characteristic, it is the melody

The text literally translates as, "Hello, my little girl, my little girl. / [We have received] a gift of a little lady. / She doesn't really know anything yet."

The singer calls his hearers to listen as he tells of "Dead-eye Dick and Mexican Pete," who encounter "a harlot called Eskimo Nell." The two go shooting up the place as they hunt sex, and hire forty whores -- but it is Nell who can, er., handle Dick

"Cha-yun-ga a-cin U-wan-ga a-cin Cha-yun-ga a-cin U-wan-ga na-lu-vit, Cha-yun-ga a-cin U-wan-ga a-cin." "Here I come again, Here I come again, Here I come again, Dost thou not know me...."

Shanty. "Essequibo River is the king o' rivers all. Buddy tan-na wa we are somebody O! (2x) Ch: Somebody O, John, somebody O! Buddy tan-na wa we are somebody O!" Verses are similar: Essequibo captain/boson/maidens is/are the king/queen of all.

"I am waiting in the wildwood, Essie, dear, Beside the streams that murmur sweet and low, In a nook we've known from childhood, Essie, dear, Where we often roamed in, many days ago." The singer recalls the beauty of the spot

Shanty. Consists of four verses and four different choruses. Verses have general sailing themes. Choruses borrow from "Homeward Bound" and "Blow the Man Down." Mostly in French, some choruses in English.

French. Capstan shanty. "Hardi! les gars virie au guindeau." The men are called to the capstan. It won't be so hot when they reach Cape Horm (on their way to Valparaiso). Not all will return, but those who do will have flags flying high. Farewell drudgery

"Oh who hasn't heard of Euabalong Ball, Where the lads of the Lachlan... Come bent on diversion from far and from near." Description of rowdy annual party among shearers and other sheep-station workers, all get drunk and have a grand time

Eumerella Shore, The: (11 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #679}

"There's a happy little valley by the Eumerella Shore Where I've lingered many happy hours away...." The singer rejoices to be free of the squatters, or even to be able to steal their cattle. He encourages his animals to enjoy their freedom

"Above the dark shadow of old Bukaroo, On the crest of the hill with the sun smiling through.... A dark veil of shadow has covered the hill, And the she-oaks lament...." The singer recalls old friends and mates; Saint Peter will lower the top-rails

"Evalina has a money accumulator between her legs." "I can get it any time I want it": "three times a day." She "shakes like jelly from her hips on down"

"Come all you bold detectives, a story I'll relate." Smith and Witty set out to capture Sontag and Evans. Witty is wounded and Smith flees. The outlaws flee. Many others are shot during the pursuit. Reporters are told to interview Mrs. Evans

"Eve was not put on earth to help the railroads, now on that point I know we'll all agree. She was not put on earth to help Wells Fargo, but just for Adam's express company." Her life was simple. She and Adam fought "In the shade of the old apple tree"

"O, Evelina, O Evelina, Poor gal, I ain't seen her. O, Evelina, O, Evelina. She am a debil in dis town."

"She lived at home up on the mountain side... For many miles and miles all people knew Fair Evelyn...." A mountaineer and a rich man court her. She chooses the rich man; she and her parents sneak to his home to avoid the mountaineer's vengeance

Danish. "Evening star up yonder, Teach me like you to wader Willing and obediently The path that God ordained for me." The singer asks the "gentle flowers," "mighty oceans," "shady lanes," and "evening sun" to teach as well

"The evening sun goes down the west, The birds sit nodding on the tree; All nature now prepares to rest, But there's no rest prepared for me" ... "Guid nicht and joy be wi' ye a' For this is my departing nicht"

The singer hears laughter at the train depot, but he himself is crying as they put the casket in the baggage coach. He and his child mourn the death of the child's mother

Words from a Mormon wife to her husband in prison (for polygamy?): "The dear ones now have all been scattered From the homes where once we dwelled." "Oh yes, my love, still ever constant To my vows and thee I'll be." Her heart will stay true

"Ever of thee I'm fondly dreaming, Thy gentle voice my spirit can cheer." "Still in thy heart thy form I cherish." "Ah, never till life and mem'ry perish, Can I forget how dear thou art to me, Morn, noon, and night... Fondly I'm dreaming ever of thee."

"Ever since I been a man... a man full grown, I been skippin' and a-dodgin' for old Farmer Jones." The singer complains of the mules, the work, the lack of justice. He misses his woman, and tells the captain to count his men

"In the prison cell we sit, Are we broken-hearted? Nyet. We're as happy and cheerful as can be." The singer tells workers to join togther until "some day you'll make the laws." The singer calls upon the 65% of the population that is working class to unite

"We are joyously voyaging over the main, Bound for the evergreen shore, Whose inhabitants... never see death any more."" Then let the hurricane roar, It will the sooner be o'er...." There is no need to fear with Jesus in comman

The singer finds an evergreen in Inishowen. "They are few and far between in dear old Donegal." The thrush and blackbird sing there, near the river; "nothing can be seen, Like the charming little valley that grows the evergreen"

"I have to leave you Mama God knows I sure hate to go (x2), Had the blues so long it made my poor heart so'." "The blues jumped the devil run the devil a solid mile (x2), Well the devil set down and he cried like a new-born chile."

"Every good ship has a" x, every x has y, "every young girl likes a young man"; the fourth line hides a rhyme with y. For example: x is "poop deck", y is "bits" and the fourth line is "to play with her"

"One cold freezing morning I lay this body down; I will pick up my cross and follow the Lord All round my Father's throne. Every hour in the day cry holy, Cry holy, my Lord! ... Oh show me the crime I've done." "Every hour in the night...."

Every Lady In This Land: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #20571}

"Every lady in this land, Has twenty nails upon each hand Five and twenty on hands and feet, And all this is true without deceit." De-riddled, this can be "Lady, lady in the land, Bear a tickle in your hand, If you laugh or if you smile...."

"Every mail day (x2) I gets a letter... O Son, come home, Lord, Lord, Son come home." "I couldn't read it... to keep from crying... to save my soul." "Oh Evaline, She got money 'cumulatin', Lord, Lord, I love that girl."

"And every man 'neath his vine and fig tree Shall live in peace and (unafraid/none afraid). And into plowshares turn their swords, Nations shall learn war no more."

Every Night When the Sun Goes In: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3611}

"Every night when the sun goes in (x3), I hang down my head and mournful cry." The singer says she is leaving, and wishes the train would come to take her home. When her apron was low, he would follow her everywhere; now it is high, he ignores her

"Every time I feel the Spirit Moving in my heart, I will pray." The singer sees God speaking with fire and smoke, asks to be part of it, and is confident in God's care

"Everybody Loves Saturday Night," repeated in various foreign languages

Every verse ends "Everybody, they ought to change sometime, because it's soon or late, we have to go down in that lonesome ground" See the notes for verses.

"Everybody wants to know, my Lord, How I died (3x), "Everybody wants to know how I died (x2)." "Carry my body (brother, ...) to the, graveyard (x3), Carry my body (brother, ...) to the graveyard. Everybody wants to know how I died"

Verse format: "(Every (body/liar/deacon) who is living's got to die, got to die)(x2)." ("The rich and the poor, the great and the small" or "The young and the old, the short and the tall") "Everybody who is living's got to die, got to die"

Everybody Works but Father: (8 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4782}

Singer describes his father's indolence and the rest of the family's industry. Eventually his father takes a job while everyone else relaxes. Chorus: "Everybody works but Father, he hangs around all day... Everyone works around our house but my old man."

Jump-rope rhyme, presumably to let a rope-turner pass the rope: "Everybody, everybody Come on in. The first one misses Gonna take my end."

"Everybody's gal is my gal. My partner's gal is my gal too. If you ain't might keerful, I'll take 'er right away from you." "If you got a good gal, You better pin 'er to your side, 'Cause if she flags my train, I'm gonna let 'er ride."

"Now, it's everybody's got to be tried (x3), You got to go to judgment, you got to be tried." "Every sinner's got to be tried." "Now you take, every drunkard's got to be tried." "Every liar's got to be tried...."

"Jesus loves the little children" whatever their skin color, because "Everything is beautiful in its own way." Do not judge by appearances. The world will find a way to a solution

"Everywhere I go, Everywhere I go my Lord... Somebody's talkin' 'bout Jesus. Well my knees been acquainted with the hillside clay... And my head's been wet with the midnight dew"

Call-and-repeat song: "Everywhere we go oh (repeat), People always ask us (repeat), Who we are... Any where we come from... So we tell them... We're from (somewhere), The mighty mighty (somewhere), And if they can't hear us, We speak a little louder."

"Well, I woke up this morning, I was feeling mighty bad, My baby said 'Good morning," Hell, it made me so mad, Because I'm evil, well, evil-hearted me." He abuses the woman, not caring if she leaves, "'Cause I got forty-leven others If it comes to that."

Ewie Wi' the Crookit Horn: (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2140}

In praise of the ewie -- "a' wha kent her could hae sworn Sic a ewie ne'er was born, Hereabouts or far awa'." All who knew the ewie (i.e. a still) loved her products -- but now she is missing or dead, (taken by revenuers)

The singer, Ewing Brooks, departs England and assumes the name [Walter] Maxwell in America. He murders a man out of petty jealousy, then flees west, ending in New Zealand. Extradited to the U.S., he is condemned to die despite his family's plea

"Being on a Sunday morning when the wind did roar and rage There was twenty-two of the Excel crew met with a watery grave; There was men, women and children stood on her quarter deck, When a heavy sea broke over her and swept them from the wreck"

Exciseman in a Coal Pit, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #5854}

An exciseman gets drunk on smugglers' liquor. He falls into a coal pit and colliers lower him underground. He wakes and meets a collier he thinks is the Devil. He promises to reform if returned from Hell, and for a guinea is returned above-ground.

A broadside with both text about the execution and a poem: "Is there not one spark of pity, For five poor unhappy men, Doomed, alas! in London City...." They showed no pity. Now they pay the price for their piracy on the "Flowery Land"

"You tender mothers pray give attention To these few lines I will now relate, From a dreary cell to you I mention" how Frederick Baker met his fate. He lured Fanny Adams away and killed her. He is condemned to die; the writer wonders what he was thinking

Execution of Michael Fagan, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #V16940}

Joe Brady and Dan Curley have been executed. Michael Fagan is to be executed at Kilmainham Jail. "That vile informer Carey ... In high renown in some foreign town" will be followed by the widow's curse. Fagan bids friends adieu and prays God for mercy

"Not a bark was heard, not a warning note, As we o'er to the calaboose hurried." The vigilantes break into the prison, take the prisoner, hang him, and "left him alone with the devil"

Exile of Erin (I), The: (12 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4355}

"There came to the beach a poor exile of Erin." He looks across the ocean toward Erin, mourns for his lost country and remembers "friends who can meet me no more." He thinks of his family. "Erin, an exile, bequeaths thee his blessing"

"Adieu! my own dear Erin, Receive my fond, my last adieu!" The singer recalls the "fields where heroes bounded," but "the Minstrels mournful story... Now drops a tear at Erin's name." The singer sends his blessing and hopes for better times

Exiled Crofter's Lament, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #4597}

"We're awa, we're awa frae the auld country, To a far awa land, far o'er the sea." "In the wee crofter's garden... nae crofters' families appear on the scene... They are chased ower the ocean that sportsmen may reign." The singer wishes he were home

"Green were the fields where my forefathers dwelt," but the lease expires and the singer is forced to leave. His home burns though he obeys the law. "I supported old Ireland... We have numbers, and numbers do constitute pow'r -- Let us will to be free"

"We're off to bright Australia, Far o'er the singing waves. Why should men live in Maoriland, To be forever Slaves?" New Zealand is beautiful, but why live in a land of gold "if there is naught for me?" Pirates rule the nation, so the singer is leaving

"I've taken my jolts as I got 'em, I've strong-armed and prowled in my time," eventually earning hard labor, "And I learned about likker from that." He "met an old con from Chicago... And I learned about shootin' from him." And so on through other lessons

An old man enters the express office and enquires after his boy. Told that this is not the train depot, the man points out "He's coming in a casket, sir, He's coming to us dead." His mother had expected just that result "when he joined the boys in blue."

Rhyme for counting time or selecting a person: "Eye-ball, eeball, Baldheaded, skeeball, All hid--?"

"The eyes of Texas are upon you All the live-long day. The eyes of Texas are upon you, You cannot get away. Do not think you can escape them From night till early in the morn. The eyes of Texas are upon you Till Gabriel blows his horn."

Singer says his lover is so pretty and fine, and the way she walks ... When she "starts loving" she "brings eyesight to the blind," "the deaf and dumb begin to talk," "man in the next room dying, stopped dying and held up his head"

"Three Eynsham/Southrop chaps went out one day" to hunt hare and pheasant. They meet other poachers and their "spaniel put up a hare." They are chased by a keeper and escape swimming over Cassington/Hathrerop Brook.

Each verse has (the leader sing a line "Ezekiel in the valley/Ezekiel, Ezekiel/Ezekiel, won't you answer/These bones going to rise again;" a chorus moans in reply) (3x), and all sing "Time draws near"

Ezekiel Saw the Wheel: (18 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #12241}

"Ezekiel saw the wheel, Way up in the middle of the air... And the big wheel (run/turn) by faith, and the little wheel (run/turn) by the grace of God. (There's) a wheel in a wheel, Way in the middle of the air."

Counting-out rhyme? "F for Finis, I for Inis, N for Nocklebone, I for Isaac, S for Silas -- Silverspoon."

Face on the Barroom Floor, The: (7 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #9123}

A drunk enters a bar; he tells his story in exchange for drink. He was a painter, but his girlfriend saw a portrait he was painting, and took up with the fellow, then died. The singer turned to drink; he offers to draw her face on the floor, and dies

Factor's Garland, The [Laws Q37]: (12 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #572}

The factor shows his kindness by paying for a dead man's burial and paying the fee of a girl who would otherwise be hanged. It is eventually revealed that the girl is a king's daughter. After many complex adventures, he marries the girl; they have a son

Factory Girl (I), The: (17 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #1659 and 30120}

The singer sees a beautiful girl, an orphan who works in a factory (linen mill). He courts her, but she must leave to go to work. He offers to marry her. She again rejects him. She eventually marries well -- perhaps to the singer, perhaps to a squire

Faded Coat of Blue: (11 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4293}

"My brave boy sleeps in his faded coat of blue, In a lonely grave unknown lies that heart that beat so true." Dying, he bids farewell to mother. The singer is confident they will meet in heaven "Where a robe of white is given for a faded coat of blue."

"I've been gathering wild flowers on the hillside To wreathe upon your brow. But so long you've kept me waiting They ate dead and faded now." When he loved her, she turned him loose; now she wants him back, but he loves another. She will remain true

The singer sees young men busy courting: putting hair powder on their hair to court the "fadgel hizzy." Stir her up, keep her busy, hold her gown "for she's a fine fadgel hizzie"

Faggot Cutter, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2321}

The faggot cutter works but "quits whene'er he please." He prefers the single life: no debts, troubles or babies, and no man to court his wife when he is away. Marrying leads to trouble whether the girl is good-looking, homely, big or small.

Gaelic. Praise of Kinneigh in Cork and its scenic marvels. "In the local church the infirm are healed and the lame miraculously cured."

"While some on rights and some on wrongs Prefer their own reflections The people's rights demand our song The right of free elections." In praise of democracy and its good effects. Listeners are urged to "stand by the ballot box"

Fair and Tender Ladies: (48 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #451}

Lyric song, in which the narrator, a woman, laments the falseness of men. She sadly remarks, "Oh if I were some little sparrow / And had I wings so I could fly / I'd fly away to my own true lover / And when he courted, I'd deny."

Fair Annie [Child 62]: (33 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #42}

(Annie's) lover is going off to fetch a bride. On his return, he orders Annie to serve his new bride. She does, but that night weeps for her lost lover. The new bride hears and visits her; they find they are sisters. The bride leaves her husband to Annie

The poet wanders into town on the day of the Batestown Fair. He signs up for the bronc-riding contest, drinking a bit while he waits. The poet drawn "an old brown mule," and gets thrown. Abused by the crown, gets "a job a-herdin' sheep"

Fair at Turloughmore, The: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3042}

"Come tell me, dearest mother, What makes my father stay, Or what can be the reason he's been so long away?" She tells how the father went to Turloughmore and was killed in an attack by the Peelers. She hopes "their souls are happy"

Bluesy verses about a poor man's life: "Fair brown, O fair brown, What makes you hold your head so high?" The "Norfolk women" are planning to get money from the "poor workin' man"; they play sick; they drink. The singer says he will not marry

Fair Captive, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #15491}

An infant white girl is abducted and raised by Indians. She considers herself fully Indian, albeit with skin paled by moonlight. When the Indians and whites make peace, she's returned to her parents; betrothed to a white, she runs off on her wedding day.

A man courts a poor girl and "gained her heart." He marries a rich old widow but goes back to his old love. "All though I am marryed I will visit you still." She tells him to "go home to your old wife" and "he cursed the hour that he marry for gold"

Rosslare's Fair Do's crew leave her at Pier Head where the competition "moulded her model and measured her mast, And said, 'tween themselves, 'Let us build one as fast.'" Nevertheless, Fair Do beats Pier's Spitfire by four minutes and takes the cup.

Johnny meets Eleanor "in the middle of the night" to go "and married we will be." In the woods he tells her to strip and he "will be your butcher." She begs for mercy but he stabs her to death. He is imprisoned "in Castlebury jail" until he dies.

Fanny marries poor Henry rather than wealthy (Randall). When Henry is away, Randall appears and demands her life (or her love). (When she refuses,) he stabs her. Randall is hanged; Henry wanders distracted until he dies

A Scots soldier is captured and imprisoned. He captivates the gaoler's daughter, promising to marry her if she will free him. As soon as he is over the Scots border, he abandons her, saying he is already married. Her mother comforts her

(Janet/Annet/Maisry) loves Sweet Willie, but is told by her father she must marry a French lord. She bears Willie's child and has him take it to his mother. At her wedding she hasn't strength to dance, but dances with Willie and dies. (Willie dies.)

A 'fair maiden" is notable for herding cattle, drinking liquor, and using a six shooter. She is killed by Indians while working with her husband. The cowboys ride to seek revenge.

In Moorfields a maid in Bedlam laments the absence of her lover. Her father's apprentice was sent to sea by her parents. He returns, wealthy, and hears her as he passes Bedlam. He bribes the porter and frees her. They are married in spite of her parents.

The singer meets a beautiful girl in a village in Aghadowey. He courts her, but she eventually rejects him for a wealthy suitor. He departs, "Intending never to meet again," but he cannot forget her. He curses wealth and the one who has it

Fair Maid of Glasgow Town: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #5546}

The singer meets a pretty girl and asks if she will marry him. She points out that he is a stranger, and adds that she has a fiancee. He starts to leave. She calls him back and says she will marry him. He says he's not interested.

The maid Dermuid loves is "plump as a sassage" and "mild as a kitten" He describes other attributes (red lips, black eyes and hair, sweet breath, moves "like a goddess") Because of her cruelty he "must die, Like a pig in a sty, Or the snuff of a candle"

Margaret learns that her lover is to be wed. After the wedding, she (or her ghost) visits the wedding chamber and asks the husband if he is happy with his wife. He says that he would prefer her. But when he calls at Margaret's home, she is dead

Fair Margaret O' Craignaritie: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5628}

A woman dreams she has a deaf, blind daughter stolen by a raven. A wise woman warns that the raven signifies a false man. She has a daughter, Margaret, who runs off to sea with an outlaw. In a storm she regrets her choice too late. The boat sinks.

Of seven sisters, five have died in childbirth. The sixth would prefer not to marry, but is made to wed. She expects to die in childbirth, and does, with the child cut out of her after three days labor. The seventh sister can expect the same fate.

Singer meets a shepherdess and offers to marry her. She is happy at home with her parents. He asks for a parting kiss. They "kissed and kissed again" She approves and he will ask her father (or "she's his lassie" or they marry with "bairnies").

Fair of Rosslea, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #12935}

Monday, November 8 Frank Hynes meets Dolan at the fair of Rosslea. They agreed to match their dogs in a hunt the next Friday at Annerlaw. The hunt is described as some number of hare are killed, and the dogs are named.

""'I have a sister,' young Clifford said, 'A sister no man knows...." "...I would not for ten thousand worlds Have King Henery know her name." But Henry overhears, and writes a letter to her. The ending appears confused

John lives in Greenock and is called with the "Eighteenth Royal" to fight in India. Jane asks him not to leave. He is killed by a French sword. His last words are "Greenock and sweet Bannockburn," as are hers when she heard the news of his death.

The singer's thoughts turn back to Tyrone. He describes the various places in the area, and recalls the flowers' beauty and the birds' songs. His fondest memories are of Tyrone

"Fairest Lord Jesus, ruler of all (nature/nations), O thou of God and man the son, Thee will I cheris." "Fair are the meadows, fairer still the woodlands.... Jesus is fairer, Jesus is purer, Who makes the woeful heart to sing."

"Up the airy mountain, Down the rushy glen, We daren’t go a-hunting For fear of little men; Wee folk, good folk, Trooping all together...." "They stole little Bridget For seven long years, When she came back, Her friends were all gone...."

Queen Anne saw Fairlop's famous oak and moved her court there. The oak "spreads an acre of ground." The fair was started by Daniel Day who made his friends merry with drink. We dance around the tree and booze care away on the first Friday in July

"A mother came when stars were paling," crying, calling on the fairy king to return her son. She has no answer and concedes that "In this world I have lost my joy; But in the next we ne'er shall sever, There will I find my fairy boy"

"Come in the stillness, Come in the night; Come soon, And bring delight. Beckoning, beckoning, Left-handed and right; Come now, Ah, come tonight!" A song said to call fairies, in moonlight at a certain time of year

Irish Gaelic: Singer laments: it's a year since she was taken from her husband and brought to the fairy hill. She gives instructions for spells to release her; if she is not rescued in time, she will become queen of the fairies. She croons to her baby

"We're going south tomorrow, dear, But oh, what times and fun, We'll have en route to Portsmouth, 'Tis a grand and glorious run." The boat is "A little fairy palace." The song lists all the spots along the canal boat route they will visit

Creole French: "Faies do do, Colas, mon petit frere, Fais do do, t'auras du gateau, Papa e aura, Et moi j'un aurai, Tout un plein panier." The little brother is urged to go to sleep, perhaps with the promise of a reward.

Creole French: "Faies do do, Minette, Chere pitit cochon du laite. Fais do do, mo chere pitit, Jusqu' a trappe l'age quinze ans." Minette is urged to go to sleep for fifteen years, when she will have "the martine" for a husband

Faith of Our Fathers, Living Still: (5 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #V11132}

"Faith of our fathers, living still, in spite of dungeon, fire, and sword. Oh, how our hearts beat high with joy, whene'er we hear that glorious word. Faith of our fathers, holy faith, we will be true to you till death." Martyrs and believers are recalled

"I am a young man delights in sport; To a strange country I mean to steer, And leave my home... Also the girl that I love dear." The girl promises to be true, but says that he will forget her. He says he will be faithful, and wishes her good fortune

A sailor and his true love bid a tearful farewell on the deck of the ship as it is about to sail. He dies on the voyage; his shipmates deliver the girl a letter in which he says they will meet in heaven

"Oh dear! what can the matter be Bony's so long coming here. He promised to bring us a budget of freedom" but he did not come from Calais to Dover, he deserted us "just as the crisis drew near." The loyalists laugh while he "minds his own interest"

"One day a faithless husband Unto a maiden said, You know, Bess, though I'm married, I hate the one I've wed." He begs the girl to marry him; she replies "If you love me, leave me But don't be untrue." She says she will wait; he should not leave his wife

Ben's wife promises that, if he dies, she will not marry a man or entertain one in his house. Ben dies. A courter comes to the house. The widow gives him Ben's drawers. Ben's ghost complains -- in song -- and the visitor leaves to "never come back"

A dog loyal to her dead husband keeps a widow's courters away. She throws the dog in the river but it swims back. She burns the dog to ashes but the ashes attack the men. Finally she throws the ashes in the river and marries the next man at her door.

The Falcon sets out with 35 passengers. The ship is near home when the wind blows up. The engine fails and the ship runs aground. The singer recalls the dead and pities the widows and orphans

"Fall in for pay, boys, Fall in for pay. You've blood well earned, boys, Your shilling a day." Or, "Swinging the lead, boys, swinging the lead. Always remember To work your head."

"Fall in the sea, fall from the deck, Fall downstairs and break your neck, Fall from the starry heavens above, But never never fall in love."

"Oh have you heard the glorious news, Is the cry from every mouth, Charleston is taken and the rebels put to rout." "The South Carolina chivalry" and General Beauregard are routed. The Union flag is brought back to Fort Sumter

"What will they say in England When the story it is told When the story it is told Of Rangiriri's bloody fight And the deeds of the brave and the bold?" The Maoris fight hard against the British before two hundred are forced to give in

A convict's tree-cutting song. "You better watch it, better watch it, Better watch-a my timber.... Warn you, don told you, If I hit you, don't you holler.... Timber gettin' limber. Watch-a my timber. Fall, tree.... Won't you fall, tree."

"The crown has Boney abdicated ... And Louis is again reinstated." When he was Consul he was successful but, crowned, became a "lawless tyrant." He replaced Josephine with Louisa. "He might been happy still in France Had he but rul'd with moderation"

A convict's tree-cutting song: "A-well my hammer keep a-hangin', cause it's falling down (x2). "A-well, my timber getting limber, cause it's falling down." "I done a-warned you...." "My diamond striking fire...." "So soon in the morning...."

Jump-rope rhyme and autograph album verse: "You can fall from a steeple, You can fall from above, But for heaven's sake, Don't fall in love."

Falling Leaf (so named because she was born in autumn) is the beautiful daughter of a chief. One day she meets a "worn and weary" hunter, and falls in love with him. But he vanishes; "his fate was never known" and she spends her life alone and mourning

Falling of the Pine: (10 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4560}

Speaker tells of working in lumber camps: "When daylight is a-breakin'/From our slumbers we awaken/When our breakfast we have taken/Our axes we will grind...And the woods we'll make to ring/By the falling of the pine"

The singer reports that the woman he once loved is going to be wed to another. He mopes around in various ways -- e.g. looking for flowers out of season. His friends fail to lift his spirits. He declares his intent to die in hopes of forgetting her

When the singer "met Henry Twas the saddest night of all." "Take my baby dearest mother And you'll train it up in life." She warns "they'll leave you broken hearted A poor mother, but no wife." She is leaving or, more likely, committing suicide.

False Lover (I), The: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1075}

"When I was young, I was well beloved By all young men... When I was blooming... This false young man he decieved me." The girl tells how the false lover abandoned her, hopes for better fortune, and wants God to bring him to trial for his falsehood

A man saddles his horse to leave his lover (and her unborn child). She follows him from place to place, begging him to return. At each stop he buys her a gift and tells her to go home. At last he repents and buys her a wedding ring

"Oh, did ye hear how Mall was courted... By a young sailor brisk and bold?" Jamie goes to war, and Mallie breaks her vow and marries another. When he returns and finds her false, he goes mad, and ends up in Bedlam cursing her name and her deeds

The lover invites (her) old true love in; it has been most of a year since she saw him. He will not come; he has another love. She recalls how he could make her believe "the sun rose up in the west." She stays at home (with the cradle) (and curses him)

The young man greets the girl after a long separation and asks her to sit down with him. She will not; "You've given your heart to another one...." She remembers his strange oaths, and says young men will prove true when fish fly like birds.

False-Hearted Lover, A: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #6574}

A complaint toward a false love: "There is more than one, there is more than two, There is more pretty boys than you." ""You slighted me for another girl." "The loss of one is the gain of two [sweethearts]" "I wish to the Lord you had never been born."

The singer laments that her love is false, ans says "I'm afraid that you're ne'er mair mine." She compares her fate to climbing a tree too high, or rowing against a stream. She says she will yet climb a still taller tree and come down to a true love

"I do not growl as others do or wish that I was younger," for the singer had a hard childhood in a family with too many children. Sent out to make his own way, he joins the army, being offered "fun." He ends up losing a leg and warns against "glory"

The singer, now in the United States, recalls his youth in Killabane. He "roamed the wild mountain crest," danced "from midnight till dawn" and hunted "the wild hare." He hopes for the vindication of "long-vanquished Erin."

The famous Duke of York "marched his men to war." They didn't reach the battlefield "because it was too far"

Famous Fight at Malago, The: (7 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #296}

Five English frigates anchor at Malaga, destroy churches and other buildings, and destroy shipping, intending to leave "many a widow." The Spanish Armada had done no harm but five English frigates made the Spaniards taste Englishmen's valor.

Fair (Elise) has lost father, then husband. She disguises herself as a man and seeks service at the king's court, becoming chamberlain. When only an old man is about, she reveals herself in song. The old man tells the king she is female; he marries her.

Famous Light Brigade, The: (5 refs. 17K Notes) {Roud #1443 and 9419}

"Six hundred stalwart warriors, of England's pride the best" fight the Russians at Balaclava. "It was a famous story, proclaim it far and wide... When old Cardigan, the fearless, his name immortal made" -- and lost four hundred of his troops

"The ship was rocking in the offing, Jack could with Fan no longer stay," but he thinks of her as he sails the Bay of Biscay. When drunk, Jack almost falls prey to temptation, but is reminded of Fan. He is happy when they are reunited

She says "fan mi" soldier. She takes gifts from soldiers and coolies. The singer asks what's the use of fancy shawls and lace. He asks why she is so fast and sassy? Her baby's father has gone to the army and everybody says her character is gone

"At Baldyvin far they began for to ca' up the Don man Wi their provisions they brought back an' brunt wi' Gordon John. Fan the lads o' Tough they ging to fish they sidna ging to Don They may begin at Nether Mill, ca' up to Buchan John"

"Fan-a-winnow daisy, Fan-a-winnow e-i-oh She's away with Barney the band tier." "A for apple, P for pear, D for dolling on the stairs All the world will never know The love I had for my lady-O" "B for Barney, C for Cross, O but I love Barney Ross"

"If you ever go across the sea to Darwin, Then maybe at the closing of the day, You will see the local harlots at their business." The singer advises, "what will cost you twenty quid in Lower Crown Steet Will cost you half a zac in Fanny Bay"

Eleven-year old Fanny Blair falsely accuses a young man of molesting her. He is tried and sentenced to death, although the community doubts his guilt. He begs to be buried at home rather than in the prison yard, and hopes God will pardon the child.

Fanny's Harbour Bawn: (7 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #4418}

The singer spies his love in the arms of another and loses the ensuing fight. He claims that "baymen," like his opponent, look harmless enough but they are good fighters. The singer refrains from courting and encourages others to do the same.

"Far above Cayuga's waters, with its waves of blue, Stands out noble Alma Mater, glorious to view." In praise of Cornell University: "Hail to thee our Alma Mater, Hail! all hail! Cornell!"

To the theme of the Cornell anthem ("Far Above Cayuga's Waters/Alma Mater"), any of a series of parodies: "High Above a Theta's Garter," "Far above Cayuga's waters Rises such a smell," etc.

"Star of peace to wanderers weary! Bright the beams that smile on me! Cheer the pilot's vision dreary, Far, far at sea." The singer calls on the "star of hope," the "star of faith," and the "star divine" to guard the sailor from danger and temptation

The singer thinks of "the lad that I like best o' a' Is oure the sea and far awa." Before he left he gave her a pair of gloves that she wears "for his sake." She hopes he will return and they'll be married.

"Where now is that merry party I remember long ago... They have all dispersed and wandered, Far away, far away." Many are married, moved, wandering, dead. The singer points out that "nothing in this world can last... What is coming, who can say?"

"It's the far northland that's a callin' me away, as take I with my packsack to the road. It's the call on me of the forest in the north, as step I with the sunlight for my load." The singer will canoe in the north. The song may list places to visit

“Far over the Forth, I look to the North," then the singer looks to the West where her lover is. His parents were against them, but they wedded on the cairn of the mountain. Now the singer dreams happily of her love, that's dear to both her and her child.

"'Twas night, when the bell had struck twelve, And poor Susan was laid on her pillow, In her ear whispered... 'Your love now lies toss'd on a billo, Far, far at sea." Awakening in a fright, she finds no reason to believe, but still she fears it true

"Far, far from Ypres I long to be, Where German snipers can't snipe at me. Damp is my dugout, Cold are my feet, Waiting for whizz-bangs To send me to sleep."

Fare Thee Well, Babe: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #15576}

"Fare thee well, O Babe, fare thee well (x2), I done all I could do try'n to git along with you." The singer declares he loves the woman, but "Fo' I'll be mistreated I'll kill myself an' you." He maintains he treated her well but she didn't want him

Billy's leaves his fiancee for months or years for Nancy, but changes his mind and returns. She agrees again to marry, and they are married at last.

"I've seen those London lights a-burning ... but I'll go home to those that love me." The singer and her baby has been deserted by her lover and hopes to return to her family: "Altho' you've turned me from your bosom, Do not turn me from your door"

The singer bids farewell to his love, telling her he must go to sea to obtain riches. She replies that life without him is miserable, so she dresses as a man and accompanies him. A day out of London the ship sinks. She is drowned; he survives to mourn.

The singer tells his true love he's "going over the mountain." She cries; "people said she should die If I went over the mountain." Apparently he stays with her. Now he is "poverty struck," "down upon my luck," and asks for help to get over the mountain.

"Oh, fare you well, my brother, Fare you well by the grace of God, For I'm gwinen home; I'm gwinen home, my Lord, I'm gwinen home. Massa Jesus give me a little broom, For to sweep my heart clean; Sweep 'em clean by de grace of God, An' glory in my soul."

The soldier is leaving his beautiful Enniskillen. He grieves to leave home and his fair darling, but when war arises, he has no choice. (He rejoices following his safe arrival home, and hopes never to leave again)

Willie tells Maggie he is going to sea and they agree to be true. In some seaport he writes "a girl named Flora bore down on me Fare you well, Maggie darling, across the blue sea.... on me don't depend." She writes "Fare you well, Willie darling...."

Fare You Well, My Darling: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3582}

Fare you well, my darling, Oh fare you well my dear, Don't grieve for my long absence While I'm a volunteer." The singer urges the girl not to grieve, though he is traveling far away (to Pensacola). She says she will wait for his return

The true lover bids farewell, promising to be true. He asks, "Who will shoe your pretty little foot?" Various floating verses follow, in which the traveller may or may not return and the young woman may or may not grieve at her fate

"Fare you well, sister Phoebe, fare you well, For I hate to leave you, I love you so well. Oak grows tall, pine grows slim, Buy you a true love, true love... and bring it home to him." "Fare you well, brother longnose, fare you well...."

"Home of our love -- oor father's home... The sail is flapping on the foam That bears us far from thee." The singer is crossing the western ocean "to return no more." The singer recounts the beauties of Teviotdale and declares he will not forget them.

"The assizes they are over now, the judge is gone away, But many aching hearts are left within the town today." Many who are condemned to transportation turned criminal only to survive. The singer says crime would dwindle if only workers had work

"Oh, meeting is a pleasure between my love and I; I'll go down to yon low valley to meet her by and by...." The young (man) watches his love turn away from him. He laments her infidelity. (He departs from the town and goes to America)

A letter from a deserted girl to her lover accuses him of going back on his promise "to mak me yer ain." If she is married he will be invited to the wedding. If she dies first she thinks he will come to the burial. Now, "I've got another to think upon"

Farewell He: (16 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #803 plus 3729, 1034}

The singer bids "Fare thee well, cold winter, and fare thee well cold frost. Nothing have I gained, but a lover I have lost...." After seeing him with another girl, she swears off of him, "He's no lad for windy weather; let him go then; farewell he"

"Oh fare thee well Logie, I bid you adieu, And sorry am I at the pairtin' wi' you; At the pairtin' wi' you, and it gives me great pain, For I may and may never return back again"

Farewell My Dear Brethren: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #16539}

"Farewell my dear brethren, the time is now at hand That we must be parted from this social band. Our sev'ral engagements now call us away. Our parting is needed and we must obey." The singer bids farewell to the "soldiers" going away

"Farewell, my friends, I'm bound for Canaan, I'm trav'ling through the wilderness. Your company has been delightful... I go away behind to leave you, Perhaps never to meet again, But if we (n)ever have the pleasure, I hope we'll meet on Canaan's (shore)"

"Farewell, Tamintoul! for the hour's come at last When I can only think of thy joys in the past. For destiny bears me away from the glen." The singer departs, and hopes someday to return to the place where he found hospitality and friendship

The singer bids farewell to Alvah, "The place of my nativity." He recalls the happy times on Deveron's banks. But 'My ship it lies in readiness, My loving friends I'll bid goodbye." He will be buried where there is none to shed a tear -- but leaves anyway

Farewell to Auld Scotland: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #12957}

The singer bids farewell to Scotland and Limerick, Kinghorn and his parents. He is being sent to Van Diemen's Land "but the time will be coming when I will get free, To get back to old Scotland my Nancy to see"

Farewell to Bonny Galaway: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #3694}

"Ae night as I lay on my bed, The thought of love came into my head." He travels "To see the bonnie lassie lived in Galaway." Her father objects; her mother said she will "have her married to a lord's son." The girl makes him welcome; they flee Galaway

Farewell to Fintray: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #12956}

"Pox upon poverty and all for want of cash Causes me and mony a bonny lad gang wintin his lass." The singer will leave tomorrow. He bids farewell to his sweetheart, family, friends, and Fintray's "beauties rare." His sweetheart chooses not to go with him.

Farewell to Fiunary: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2317}

"The wind is fair, the day is fine, And swiftly, swiftly runs the time... That wafts me off from (Fiunary). Eirich agus tiugainn, O!" The singer recalls all the ancient places he has visited, and bids farewell to friends and family

"Oh I can love Sally, and I can love long, I can love an old sweetheart till a new one comes along." "Sometimes I drink whiskey, sometimes I drink rum.' The singer courted a girl who rejects him "because I got tight." (He thinks about further adventures)

"Farewell, my home in Greta, my sister Kate farewell...." Ned Kelly, with a price on his head, plans an attack on his foes. His sister points out the number of his foes, and urges him instead to take to the woods with his gang

"Come, messmates, pass the bottle 'round, Our time is short, remember, For our grog must stop, our spirits drop." On September 1, drink will not longer be available on shipboard. The singer splices the main brace (drinks) and bids alcohol farewell

Farewell to Kingsbridge: (3 refs. 4K Notes) {Roud #596}

Troops land in New York in November "to meet our foes at King's Bridge." "Like lambs... they cruelly slaughtered were." Soldier's wives and babies cry for their dead husbands and fathers. "God bless our gracious King... [and] our British soldiers"

"Now Willie's awa frae the field o' contention, Frae the land o' misrule and the friends o' dissension: He's gane owre the wave as an agent befittin' Our claims to support in the councils o' Britain." The people send their leader off with good hopes

Singer recalls his "bright and pleasant youth ... in Clare" He names the places he walked and danced and people he met. Church bells ring and men pray. "If e'er I find this act devout beyond the ocean foam" he'll be reminded of his last day home.

Farewell to Nova Scotia: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #384}

Even on a calm and beautiful night, the singer cannot rest. The wars force him to return to sea. He bids "Farewell to Nova Scotia, the sea-bound coast... When I am far away on the briny ocean tossed, will you ever heave a sigh and a wish for me?"

Farewell to Old Bedford: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #16399}

"Farewell to old Bedford, I'm bound for to leave you. Likewise those pretty girls I nevermore shall see." The singer has been forced away by his parents, and intends to "drown away sorrows in a bottle of wine" and ignore his troubles

"Farewell to Rhynie, Keith, and Glass, Where sheep and oxen stray, For leavin' you my heart is loath, But oh, I cannot stay"

Farewell to Slieve Gallen: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2888}

The singer writes to warn Irishmen against emigrating to America. He arrived in the U.S. strong and ready to work, but no work was to be had. Forced into the army, he was disabled and wishes he were back in Ireland

The singer bids farewell to the beauties of his childhood home in Glenravel. He admits childhood cannot linger; now "I cross the deep blue ocean to toil with busy men." He hopes to be able to return

Sailor bids farewell to Tarwathie, his girl and his friends as he sets off for the Greenland whaling grounds. He describes the harsh conditions in Greenland, saying they'll not tarry there, but head for home as soon as possible

The singer, dying, recalls the "land where the shamrock grows green" and "Mary with snowy white bosom." He lists all the things he enjoyed in Ireland which he cannot do in his new home. He bids farewell to all these lost joys

"Land of rocks and rabbits too, Rotten squatter, cockatoo, Squatter heaven, swagger hell, Land of rabbits, fare the well." Or other descriptions of bad land which the singer will leave, e.g. "Land of lags and kangaroos," "Land of rocks and rivers deep"

Ojibwe (Cheppewa): "Um be, A ni ma djag. Wa su gi di ja min, Ya wi a." "Come, It is time for you to depart. We are going on a long journey. Ya wi a." Reportedly sung as a war party started out.

The wife goes to the ale-house her husband so often frequents. She reminds him of his poor home and the children starving and lonely. He comes out of his stupor, recognizes his wife, and declares he will never return to the ale-house

The singer bids farewell to Ballycastle; "From friends... I go to the land of a stranger." He promises to think of Ireland in his exile, and admits, "How often I'll sigh for the dear ones behind me, To whom, with my loves one, I now bid farewell."

The sailor bids his sweetheart farewell. She does not wish to part, and offers to go with him. He tells her that she simply is not strong enough for life at sea. They part sadly. Some texts warn girls against trusting sailors

Rosanna's parents send her lover away and cause her to marry a squire. Her lover is lost at sea with all his shipmates save one, who tells Rosanna the sad news. She kills herself with a silver dagger.

"How can I bear to leave thee, One parting kiss I givee thee, And then whate'er befalls me, I go where honor calls me. Farewell, farewell, my own true love (x2)." He may never again see her, but he will whisper her name if he dies

The leader sings "Goodbye members," "This is the last," "We had a good time," "I hate to leave you," "I hope to see you," "This is the last," "Goodbye members." The response to each line is "Farewell, Last going, farewell."

The soldier intends to survive: "Just before the battle, mother... when I saw the rebels marching, To the rear I quickly flew." "Farewell, mother! for you'll never See my name among the slain. For if I only can skedaddle... I'll come home again."

"Farewell, my dear mother (x3), Mother, mother, mother, mother." "For now I must leave you... Leave you, leave you, leave you, leave you." "I'll meet you in heaven.... Heaven, heaven, heaven, heaven"

The singer points out to Mary that her parents disapprove of him and that he is "ruined forever / By the loving of you." He enters the army; when he returns, his love is lost. He drowns his sorrows in drink

"Farewell, sweetheart, so fare you well, You've slighted me, but I wish you well... I wouldn't serve you as you've serve well." The singer claims "You are my love till I am dead," and says "I still love you, God knows I do." He prepares to die for love

Farm Servant, The (Rap-Tap-Tap): (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #792}

The farm servant, is told to mind the business "as servants always do." He minds the business of his master's wife, who says he manages his equipment far better than the master. The master rewards the servant for minding the business so well

The singer overhears a girl singing the praise of her farmer boy. A farmer needs no clock to awake him. He brings home money to his wife. Kings have cares, but farmers are free. Nobles are dependent on farmers, who are always generous to strangers

Two girls compare their fiancees. The farmer's sweetheart praises her love because he is always at home. The other girl points out that the shanty boy always comes home with his pay, while bad crops can ruin a farmer. The farmer's girl concedes the point

Farmer Candidate, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #5845}

"Your cow she's calved in the byre her lane, And your mare she's taen the mortichin', And it's time that ye were thro' Aberdeen, And awa' frae the poll in the mornin'."

Farmer in the Dell, The: (20 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #6306}

"The farmer in the dell (x2), Hi ho the merry-o, the farmer in the dell." "The farmer takes a wife...." And so forth through a variety of creatures and things, typically ending with "The cheese stands alone."

Farmer Is the Man, The: (16 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5062}

A description of the life of the farmer, "the man who feeds them all." He comes to town "with his wagon broken down" and "lives on credit till the fall." At last he comes to town with his crop -- and loses the profit to the bank

"Farmer John was a happy man A happy man was he He rose each morning with the lark And he sang right merrily. Tra la-lal la, tra la-la Tra la lal la la."

"I'm old Farmer McGee, and I'm seeing the town, And I'm spending my money so free." He buys "the old lady a sparkling new gown." He has two pretty daughters. He buys a donkey. His family makes products to sell; do you want them?

"A farmer went trotting upon his grey mare, Bumpety, bumpety, bump, With his daughter behind him so rosy and fair, Lumpety, lumpety, lump." A raven croaks, causing them to fall. The raven intends to do it again

"Come all ye honest farmers And help to right the wrong, Come join the Farmers Union And push the cause along." The singer accuses politicians and trusts with forming a monopoly. Fifteen million farmers must unite to fight back

Farmer's Boy, The [Laws Q30]: (41 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #408}

A lost boy comes seeking a home, or at least shelter for a night, saying that he can perform all farm tasks. The farmer's wife and daughter convince the farmer to take him in. He serves so well that he marries the farmer's daughter and becomes his heir

The Devil comes to claim a farmer's wife. She causes great trouble in Hell, attacking the imps with all the vigor she had once used on her family. For safety's sake, the Devil is forced to return her to her family (not necessarily to their joy)

Rosetta and her father's ploughboy fall in love. Her father confines her on bread and water in the cellar for fifteen months. Her father dies. Rosetta is the only heir. William and Rosetta marry

Farmer's Ingle, The: (2 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #6019}

"Let Turks triumph and the poets live single But my delight's at the farmer's ingle [fireplace]." Merchants have trade, seamen have ships, the miser has money "but my delight's in the farmer's ingle." "Here's a bumper to the farmer's ingle"

Farmer's Life For Me, A: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4968}

"A farmer's, a farmer's, a farmer's life for me. If ever I get married, a farmer's girl I'll/'twill be. The cows in the meadow, they go moo, moo, moo, The dogs in the backyard, they go bow, bow, woo... He won the heart of his sweet Mary Jane As he played"

Farmer's Wife I'll Be, A: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #16233}

The singer has just turned sixteen and declares she'll not have a city man. She loves farming and the sound of the farmer's boy whistling at the plough. If she marries it will be to a farmer

"The farmers saw denty, sae weel brag o' plenty, Their weel packiet purses they're grown unco sma'." The singer contrasts their former wealth with their current poverty, brought about by declines in farm prices

"We're the farmers of Montana and we heard the call one day, Banding us together in the F.E.C.U. way." "It's a grand word, Cooperation, it's a lode star for us all... For the Union is sure to triumph if we all stay true." The singer urges united action

Farmington Canal Song, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3730}

"Oh! Captain Dick's a gay old bird, Yes he is, upon my word! But that ain't no excuse For his whiskers to be filled with terbacker juice!" The crew of the ship and their voyage are described

Farmyard Song (I), The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #887}

"When I was a farmer, a farmer's boy, I looked after my master's farm." The song cumulatively covers the animals: "A gee-back here and a whoa-back there. "Here's a baa, there's a baa baa baa baa.. baying everywhere," and so on

"Tempted and tried, we're oft made to wonder Why it should be thus all the day long." "Farther along we'll know all about it; Farther along we'll understand why." The singer wonders about the troubles of life, but is sure it will make sense in the end

Scandinavian shanty. Sailor saying farewell to his sweetheart. Several sentimental verses about pressing her hand, tender whispers and kisses, etc. Translation of chorus: "Farewell, farewell, fascinating maid, we shall soon return again."

"I like to go tramping around Dawson Falls, The climate's superb and the scenery enthrals... When it's cold and you freeze, You can always keep warm with a fast pair of skis." King David, Lot, a dead man newly given wings -- all do better with skis

"Fat'll I dee [do] an my dearie dee [dies]?" "I'll put on the kettle and mak' a sup tea, And comfort my hert an my dearie dee"

What makes a bonnie lassie "blythe ang glad? A lang winter's nicht an' her ain dearest lad." What makes her pale and wan? "A weel made bed and a braw young man." What makes her weary soon? A long winter night and an ill spinning wheel.

Fatal Glass of Beer, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #9546}

"There was a young man and he came to New York To find himself a lucrative position befitting his talents." He finds a job, but breaks his promise to his mother to abstain from drink. He breaks a Salvation Army tambourine and dies when its owner kicks him

"'Tis a mournful story I relate, Of three young men who met their fate." The logging team takes their raft downriver and stops for the night. The captain says the site is bad. Come morning, an oak crashes and kills the three loggers.

The 90-gun Ramilies, with a crew of 720, is "dashed against a rock" in a storm. "Jews, Turks & Christians would sadly lament" to hear the cries of the crew. Do a good deed "in relieving the widow and the children fatherless. O the fatal Ramilies"

Fatal Rose of Red: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7425 and 13940}

A girl bids her uncle to wear a red rose. He will not; a red rose once shattered his life. He had a fight with his sweetheart. He bid her to wear a white rose if she forgave him; otherwise a red. A rival switched notes; he learned the truth years later

"Frankie's mother came to him, with his dinner under her arm." She warns her boy of all the crews killed making up for lost time. The lad says he has to take his dead father's place as an engineer. He dies on Dead Man's Curve, and the mother mourns again

The singer, out in a severe snowstorm, sees a woman with a baby. She laments the cruelty of her parents and of the child's father, who left her for money. She warns against such deceivers, kisses the frozen child's lips, and dies herself

Fatal Wedding Morn, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #7410}

The girl receives a letter from her fiancee, saying he will be back the next day (after a year's absence) to be married. All is made ready, but he never comes; instead, a message announces he is dead. The bride dies of grief

Fatal Wedding, The: (22 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3273}

A woman comes to the church doors as a wedding begins. She is refused admittance, but at last she is granted entrance to save her freezing child. She objects to the wedding; her baby's father is the bridegroom. The baby dies; the father kills himself

Fate of Harry Young, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #5488}

Harry Young murders the city marshal of Randolph, Missouri and escapes. Cornered, he kills six policemen and flees to Texas. Taken at last, he is returned to Springfield, Missouri for trial

Fate of John Burgoyne, The: (4 refs. 12K Notes) {Roud #V49765}

"When Jack, the King's commander bold, Was going to his duty, He smiled and bowed... At every blooming beauty." He led his forces from Canada toward Ticonderoga and western New York, but was cut off and forced to surrender

Fate of Lee Bible, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4144}

"I have traveled through life and I have seen many sights That filled me with sorrow and pain, But the saddest of all is a good man to fall...." Lee Bible races at Daytona Beach, with his wife looking on. Bible crashes as a cameraman photographed the race

Fate of Talmadge Osborne, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #12188}

Talmadge Osborn does not get out of the way of a backing train in time, has his hands cut off, and dies. The company is not liable according to the "Johnson Law." Singer warns listeners to walk carefully, lest they be killed by a train

"Hush-a-bye, Long Horn, your pards are all sleepin'; Stop your durn millin' and tossin' your head." Maybe it knows it is going to slaughter. It's a strange path it takes. All will be "made into goods but the holler," although some are used in strange ways

Fate of the Nancy Bell, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #V18364}

An old sailor recounts the aftermath of a shipwreck. 10 survivors wash up on an island and after a month, proceed to draw lots as to who will be eaten by the rest. At the end the narrator is rescued as he is finishing off the last of the others.

"Here's the story of two brave Americans, Will Rogers and Wiley Post, They were both loved by their countrymen." They leave Fairbanks by plane. But the craft develops technical problems. After a first landing, they take off again, crash, and die

Fragment: "My partners they come after me/To go on a night's spree/Ten times I did refuse them/They wouldn't let me be/Ten times I did refuse them/To the sorrow of my heart/This caused a loving husband and darling wife to part"

Motion song. "Father Abraham had (many) sons, And many sons had Father Abraham. I am one of them, and so are you, So let's all praise the Lord! Right am!" Repeat, adding motions for left arm, right foot, etc.

"When lured by dreams of salmon streams, And sylvan beauties rare, The tackle stowed you take the road That leads to Salmonier." The travelers all stop to drink at Father Duffy's well. The poet tells how Duffy found the well. It should be kept pristine

"Father get ready when he calls you (x3) To sit on the throne with Jesus. Away up in Heaven (x2), Father get ready... To sit on the throne...." "Mother get ready when he calls you" "This world is a trouble and sorrow" "We'll all be happy in the morning"

Father Grumble [Laws Q1]: (46 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #281}

Grumble says he can do more work in a day than his wife can do in three. She offers to exchange tasks for a day; he agrees. She gives him a long list of household chores and sets out to plow. He fails in most of his tasks and admits his wife's superiority

"Father is a butcher, Mother cuts the meat, (Baby's in the) cradle, Fast asleep. How many hours does she sleep?" Or, "...cuts the meat, I'm a little hot dog running down the street. How many hot dogs did I sell?"

"I've been wandering all day in the cold and the rain To see my poor father again. He's been gone since last night.... She sent me to find him and bring him to her... God... help the poor child Whose father is drinking again"

Father Murphy defeats the Camolin cavalry and the Cork militia. At Tubberneering he turns the army back to Dublin "but our ranks were tattered and sorely scattered." Outnumbered by English, Scots, and Hessians, he would have won with French reinforcement.

Remember '98 when we lost Father Murphy. The victories are listed until Kilkenny. "Father Murphy was taken ... The blessed priest they burned him sore." The time is coming. "We'll be commanded by some pious teacher Like Father Murphy and his Shelmaliers."

Of all the priests, "Father O'Flynn [is] the flower of them all ... Powerfulest preacher, and Tinderest teacher, and Kindliest creature in ould Donegal." When the Bishop "looked grave" at a joke he answered "Cannot the clergy be Irishmen too?"

"Salvator mundi, Domine, Father of heaven, blessed be thee, Thou greetest a maid with one Ave, Alleluya, Alleluya." The Lord sent the Son, Jesus, who became man. Great and small, all should be merry. They give blessings.

"Our father took a light and gone to heaven, Father took a light and gone to heaven (x2), Bright angels waiting at the door." "Some bright day we shall go and see him." "The let us all try to meet and rejoice with him." Similarly mother, brother, etc.

"'Twas in a Pennsylvania town not very long ago, Men struck against reduction of their pay." The mill owner intends to starve the union into submission; in the process, "Father was killed by the Pinkerton men." The singer appeals to politicians to help

Each hour the child comes into the tavern, saying, "Father, dear father, come home with me now." Each hour brings worse news: Brother Benny is sick, Benny is calling for you, Benny is dead.

"My old feyther used to seh ta me, Here's a piece o' good advice I'd like to give to thee." The foolish child will be in trouble when the father dies, unless he takes the advice to "tak all" and "gie nowt" and "look after number one"

"We have a dear old daddy For whom we daily pray, He's got a set of whiskers, They're always in the way." The whiskers are so extensive that they are put to a variety of absurd uses: Straining gas, feeding cattle, serving as camouflage in war

In praise of drink, perhaps linked with a complaint about one's wife or a reminiscence of one's dead father. Each verse ends with the cry, "Bring (me/in) the punch ladle, (and) (I'll/we'll) fathom the bowl."

"Fatty, fatty, two by four, Can't get through the kitchen/bathroom door. When the door began to shake, Fatty had a tummy ache." "Poor Fatty."

The singer describes the beauty of the streams and plants of Faughan. "But still I had the notion Of going to Amerikay." He bids farewell to friends, admits he will miss home -- and miss his girl ten times more. He hopes to return and wed her

The singer thinks of Faughanvale as he rambles. He asks the listener to show him a spot equal to it. He praises the people and fields and festivals. He tells where he has rambled, claiming none can compare. He wishes he were a poet to praise it better

When harvest time approaces the farmer must find "shearers" from among tailors, barnmen, and ploughmen. They complain of the hard and painful work. When the corn is in "they drink and rant" happily and return to their usual work until next harvest

In every verse "Jonah cried out, "O Lord, The fault's in me." Jonah is sent because "The people in the church They didn't do right." Jonah went to sea, was cast overboard, and swallowed by a whale that spewed him out on Ninevah shore.

Fause Foodrage [Child 89]: (10 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #57}

A lady courted by three kings weds one who is then slain (by one of the rivals/a rebel). Her not-yet-born child will be spared if female. She bears a boy, switches him with a baby girl. When grown the boy is told his heritage and avenges his father.

A grown man (knight, churl, demon) meets a schoolboy on the road. The schoolboy matches wits with the man, finding a defense or matching insult for each thrust, and so survives

Fayette Brown, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4623}

When sailors go on strike, the owner of the lake schooner Fayette Brown hires a crew of non-union Blacks; their failings are described. The singer drinks a health to owners and captains, but "bad luck attend any dirty scut that sails the Fayette Brown"

Faythe Fishing Craft, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #7345}

In a sudden night-time storm "each coast-boat to shore quickly flew. Not so with us Wexfordmen," One of two skiffs was sunk "by a huge mountain wave" killing five men. The other skiff was driven on shore near Curracloe. The five lost are named.

Singer has a "fine gyang featherin' out and out and ae/Featinerin' oot and addie." Men buy her fine things because of it, and they want her to go to bed for it. Her mother is an 'auld bitch'; so is her granny, but both do well because they also have it

The singer hears Johnny knock on the door. Her mother overhears and drives Johnny away. Now Johnny turns away in fear every time he sees the singer. She refuses to lament; a young man "scared of an auld woman's tongue" does not deserve her

Joseph Fee's gallows-confession from Armagh County Jail. He murdered John Flanagan "for the greed of money." After nine months the murder was discovered, Fee was arrested, tried and condemned. "The bolt was drew, and Fee soon flew on to Eternity"

Feeing Time (I), The: (9 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2516}

"A frien' and I struck frae Mulguy" for Glasgow; they meet a girl on her way to feeing day. The singer lures her into a pub, and they drink the day away. She says she has lost her fee; he promises to wed her, and she is "glad she lost the feeing time."

Feeing Time (II), The: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2516}

Singer goes to Glasgow seeking a job, and is hired by a farmer. He describes the bad working conditions: the servant-maids give food to the dog instead of to the workers; the horses won't work. He'll bundle up his "auld bit rags and gang the road I cam"

Felix reports, "They took away my brogues... And a soldier of me made...." "But the Injuns they were sly, and the Frenchies they were coy, so they shot off the left leg of this poor Irish boy." Back home, his family grieves but Felix is glad to be safe

The singer is stopped and made to pay a bill he never incurred, then beaten up for wronging a girl he does not know, and finally arrested and convicted for a crime he didn't commit. Only when the police find "the fellow that looks like me" is he freed

Ralph of Rokeby is unable to contend with the "Felon Sewe" (sow) and turns it over to Richmond ABbey. A priest fails to exorcise it; it ignores his Latin. Other priests try to deal with the animal, but it has much the better of the contest

Pipe tune, with assorted incidental lyrics: "The kye's come hame but aw see not ma hinny, The key's come hame but aw see not ma bairn." Or "There's three fames horses frae Felton Lonnin.'" Or "The swine cam jumpin' down Pelton Lonnin'."

(Sylvie) decides to test her love's faithfulness. Dressed as a (male) robber, she stops him on the road. He gives her his watch and gold, but refuses to hand over his diamond ring. She lets him go, satisfied of his faithfulness, and later reveals herself

Female Rambling Sailor: (5 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #17784}

"Come all you people far and near And listen to my ditty" of a girl who disguises herself and goes to sea after her impressed lover is drowned. She proves a brave sailor, but at last is killed and her sex discovered. The singer wishes her well in death

Female Robber, The: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1315}

A young woman dresses as a man and goes "upon the pad." Her exploits as a highwayman are listed. Finally she holds up one or more padders. He/each draws a rapier, chase and catch her, discover she is a woman, rape her but let her keep her money.

Female Sailor Bold [Laws N3]: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1699}

(Jane Thornton) dresses as a sailor to seek her lover, a captain. When she reaches New York, she learns that he is dead. She serves at sea for several years before returning to London. There her sex, and eventually her story, are revealed

Female Smuggler, The: (14 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1200}

The smuggler's daughter dresses in men's clothes to serve her father. She fights off a raider, but eventually is taken by "the blockade." During her trial, she reveals her sex. Her bravery commends her to a gentleman, who gains her pardon and marries her

Female Transport, The: (9 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #V1284}

"Come all young girls, both far and near." Sarah Collins tells her sad story. She lost her mother when she was young. She is transported to Van Dieman's Land for fourteen years. She tells of her hard labors, and of being chained and beaten

A girl boards ship to learn the sailor's craft. After some years in service, her ship encounters a pirate/raider. The captain is quickly slain, and the girl assumes command. She overcomes the enemy. In some texts she goes to London to be rewarded

"The Queen's Own Regiment was their name, From fair Toronto town they came, To put thie Irish all to shame, The Queen and Colonel Booker." But the loyalist forces are routed: "See how they run from their Irish foe, The Queen's and Colonel Booker!"

Fenian Song (II), The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #3285}

If you happen to walk out Someone in your ears are humming, And they'll ask if you know When the Fenians are a coming.... They dare not 'vade our soil, Nor try to work us wrongful"

The Catalpa, an American whaler, wanders by Perth on regatta day. (Six) Fenians, having spent years in chains, flee for the ship. Although the Georgette tries to interfere with the escape, the Irishmen get aboard and are taken to America

Fergus O'Connor and Independence: (1 ref. 4K Notes) {Roud #V39070}

Remember O'Connell's victory over Vesey in '29. Don't vote now for "those tithe-eating gentry." "Be advised by the clergy our Lord sent to guide you, And vote for brave Fergus and Sheela na Guira." Send Fergus to London. Repeal the Union.

"Oh, our schooner and our sloop in (Ferryland/the Pool) they do lie, They are already rigged to be bound for the ice...." The singer describes the provisioning of the ship, the path she follows, the work of sealing. He rejoices as they return home

Festive Lumber-jack: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #8894}

"I've been around the world a bit, an' seen beasts great an' small... He leaves the woods with his bristles raised... He's known by men of science as the festive lumberjack." The lumberjack's exploits end when his drink money runs out

Fethard Life-Boat Crew (I), The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #20557}

The Mexico, from America to Liverpool, is "dashed to pieces along the beach of Burrow's lonely shore." The Fethard Lifeboat crew "launched their boat at Fethard Quay ... to save the shipwrecked sailors." The lifeboat itself is wrecked.

Fethard Life-Boat Crew (II), The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #20556}

Schooner Mexico strikes Keeragh Rock. Nine of the life-boat crew are lost but Kelly reaches Mexico and gets a line to those that reach the rocks. Mexico crew is hauled to shore. One dies "from cold and exposure" before they are rescued three days later.

Fethard Life-Boat Crew (III), The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #20558}

Mexico and its rescuers in the Fethard life-boat are wrecked in a storm on Keeragh Rock on the Wexford coast. "The crew of the gallant Mexico, though terror-stricken, too, They rendered all assistance to the drowning life-boat crew"; 9 rescuers drown

"Well, I pitched my tent on this campground, Few days, few days, And I give old Satan another round, And I am going home. I can't stay in these diggings, few days, few days, I can't stay in these diggings And I am going home."

Chorus: "O'er time's rapid river, Soon we'll rest forever, No more marchings weary, when we gather home." Verses: In a short while "with Christ we'll wear a crown ... And then away to Canaan's land"

"A few more months, a few more years, A few more prayers, a few more tears. It won't be long; a few more years will hush my song... When they shall lay me in the valley." "A little pain, a little joy... Some mingling yet with earth's alloy."

Song of longing with a Gaelic chorus. The singer asks where is her lover, the boatman. When will she see him? Her friends/other boatmen say he is unfaithful. She waits long, and looks far for word of her lover, fearing she has been forgotten

"There was once a fiddler, he played for the dance The most wonderful melodies, The village called him Fiddelfranz." All the locals loved him. When he dies, they bury him with his fiddle in his arms and surrounded by flowers

In this cante-fable, a captain wagers his ship against a fiddler's violin, betting that he can bed the fiddler's virtuous wife. The captain wins.

"As I roved by the dockside one evening so rare... I heard an old fisherman singing this song, Oh, take me away, boys, my time is not long... And I'll see you someday in Fiddler's Green." The singer describes the joys the sailor will find there

"Field Call" is a term for a musical segment sung by field workers. Many had lyrics, and some sort of communicative purpose. Others were wordless laments, and are listed here

Field of Monterey, The: (3 refs. 8K Notes) {Roud #7366}

"A bugle horn is chanting now, A chorus far and free, And ev'rything rejoices For the glorious victory." The Americans have won a signal victory, but the singer grieves because her love has been slain in the bloody battle

Fierce Alpena Blow, The: (1 ref. 3K Notes) {Roud #19872}

"In eighteen hundred eighty, in October, the sixteenth day, The Alpena met her doom." The great ship is lost while crossing Lake Michigan in an unexpected storm. The lifeboats cannot be lowered because of the weather; all are lost

"O Dick, what's kept ye a' this time?... O hinny, Dolly, sit thee doon.... The Newcassel folks hes catch'd a moon An' myed it a bonny clock-fyece." The singer tells of the lighted clock a St. Nicolas's church, and how people were amazed

A great storm strikes Georges' Banks in February, 1862. Fifteen ships from Gloucester are caught in the storm; all ships are lost and most if not all of the crews. The sad fate of the families of the lost is mentioned

I'm thinking of the place Tom, where oft we used to roam, The little cot beneath the trees we called our forest home." The schoolhouse is gone, the mill wheel quiet. The people we knew are in the graveyard, and we will follow soon.

"Within Thy tabernacle, Lord, Who shall abide with thee? And in Thy high and holy hill, Who shall a dweller be?" Each verse is slightly modified in order to rhyme.

"Please to remember The fifth of November, Gunpowder treason and plot. I know no reason Why gunpowder treason Should ever be forgot."

"Slow down, you move too fast, You got to make the morning last... Looking for fun and feeling groovy." The singer quietly travels, with no plans, just "feeling groovy"

"Fifty thousand lumberjacks, Fifty thousand packs, Fifty thousand dirty rolls of blankets on their backs" are determined to win their rights as workers. They want better conditions. Their families stand with them.

"Fifty thousand lumberjacks, Goin' out to work, Fifty thousand men That never loaf or shirk... Get nothin' but a cussin' From the pushes and the brains." The singer complains of the food and smells and sounds of the camps and vows not to accept it

"Figgerty Gutter, come home to supper, Some lean, some fat, Some comes under the butcher's hat" (or) "That's fat, that's lean, That's yellow, that's lean, That's good for the butcher's end."

"I'm on my way and I ain't got long to tarry, Old folks love to fight and scratch, Young folks love to tarry."

Fightin' Booze Fighter, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #11214}

The singer reports, "I'm a howler from the prairies of the west; If you want to die with terror, look at me..." and goes on to describe how terrible he is. The chorus replies "He's a killer and a hater! He's the great annihilator!" and so forth

"I've swum the Colorado where she runs down close to hell" and otherwise been involved in dangerous, ugly situations "But I never lost my temper till right now." "I never was... really downright fightin' mad Till you ups and hands me that damn ginger ale"

"Have you heard, have yo heard, Of the fighting 43rd? As our limbers go rolling along." "Hi-yi-ye, the Field Artillery, Shout out your number loud and clear, 43rd!" "Over hill, over dale, Till we hit that dusty trail, As our limbers go rolling along."

Recitation. On a spree, Jim McCloud tells his foreman to cut off his leg, as it's loose. The foreman offers to cut Jim's head (his "weakest part") off instead. Jim answers that a foreman doesn't need to use his head, but a filer does, so he'll keep it

"There was once a Filipino hombre Who ate rice pescado y legumbre. His trousers were wide, and his shirt hung outside, And this, I may say, was costumbre." In mixed English and pidgin Spanish, the singer demeaningly describes the Filipino's family

Fill a Glass of Sherry: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #1344}

"Follow me, my jovial boys, let us now be merry, Run a pace and do not stay until that thou be weary, And cry, "Ho, boys! fill a glass of sherry."

Fill a Pot, Fill a Pan: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #13070}

Fill a pot, fill a pan, fill a blind man's han'; them that hinna canna gie; stane blin' may they be" [or "will hae a cripple family"]

A servant outwits a king, beds the queen, and marries the princess in this cante-fable. When the king orders the servant to fill a bowl with song, the servant cleverly retells the story of his triumph, until the king relents.

French. A soldier's mistress dresses as a boy to follow him without losing her honor. At an inn, the hostess said "I can tell... that you are a camp follower." When she claims to be a boy the hostess challenges "him" to make love with her.

French. A girl dresses as a boy and joins her lover's regiment. She asks him why he is crying. He has a letter from his mom that his mistress left home seven years ago. She reveals that she is his mistress. They marry with great regimental ceremony.

French. Forebitter shanty. "Sont les filles de la Rochelle." The ships are "the daughters of La Rochelle." They are made of ivory, diamond, lace, gold, silver, redwood. The crew is 15-year-old girls. A girl aloft cries because she has lost her white rose

"The fillan o' the punch bowl, That wearies me; The fillan o't up, an' the drinkan' o't doon, An' the kissan o' a bonnie lass, That cheeries me."

"London city it is fine ... winna that be fine, When we gang up to London?" "The ladies in London say, How do you do? Quite well I thank you; how are you?" "And when dinner it is o'er The carriage is drawn to the door ... to drive us on thro' London"

"It's three long years since we made her pay"; with fishing poor and subsidies low, the fishermen can't make a living. The ship is making her last trawl. The owner will beach her on a skerry rather than let her be broken up.

"Of sturdy pioneers one hears so much," but not all are honest. A farmer one morning finds his best horse missing. He goes to Black Earth to find another. He sees a very similar horse, but without a stripe. He buys it, then finds the stripe growing back

"In Agypt's land, contaygious to the Nile, Old Pharo's daughter ... saw a smiling babby in a wad of straw ...'Tare-an-ages, girls, which o' yees owns the child?'"

After singing the besom-selling chorus, the singer recalls wandering far from the home where "my mother's spinnin', Barney at the loom." She dreams of her youth when she danced with Barney. "Now the summer's over... I am tired at last."

"I'll sing a little ditty, which I trust you'll not think flat, Of a fine fat saucy Chinaman Who lives on Ballarat." He digs in ground others say has no gold, and finds enough to live. Others complain. He must pay a tax for being Chinese. He needs a wife

"Come, lads, and listen to my song, a song of honest toil, It's of the English labourer, the tiller of the soil." Having long been abused, the worker is standing up for his rights and better pay. The Union makes him immune to threats of being fired

Fine Ould Irish Gentleman, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #23518}

"I'll sing you a fine ould song made by a fine old Paddy's pate." He lives in a "mighty curious," not especially fancy home. He goes on a spree, and gets so drunk that they think he is dead. But he smells the whiskey at the wake and comes to life

Fine Times in Camp Number Three: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #4361}

The singer calls his listener to hear two verses about lumberjacks (and then sings ten verses!). He levels some snide comments at dishonest workers, then lists all the workers on the crew (without naming names)

"An old castle tower o'er the billow That thunders by Cleena's green land, And there dwelt as gallant a rover As ever grasped hilt by the hand. "Then, ho! for Fineen the Rover!" The English harried him, but he never gives in until he is killed

"The finest waitress I ever did see Is the handsome girl that waits on me... Polite she is to young and old, I'm sure she has a heart of gold." He praises her work, and concludes "May unseen angels ever be Near the fair blonde girl who waits on me."

Fingers and Thumbs: (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1249}

Motion song. "One finger, one thumb keep moving (3x), We’ll all be merry and bright." An introduction may have "characters" stand or sit together. "Two thumbs keep moving" "Two thumbs, four fingers keep moving" "Two thumbs, four fingers, one head ...."

Finikin Lass (Finnigan Lasses): (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2382}

The singer marries a boarding school bred lady who does nothing but read novels. One day he catches her in the cellar "paying the rent." "I'd rather marry the devil than wed with a boarding school lass." "So beware of the Finnegan lasses"

The singer wanders out and hears his true love call him to Finn waterside. Her(?) parents are sending/exiling her(?) to America. She says she loves only him. He (or she) bids farewell to the local beauties

Finnegan's Wake [Laws Q17]: (23 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1009}

Tim Finnegan, never entirely sober, falls from a ladder and cracks his head. Taken home unconscious, his wife holds a wake that soon gets out of control. Splashed with whiskey, Tim awakens and resents being thought dead

Finvola, the Gem of the Roe: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #2291}

"In the land of O'Cahan... Deep sunk in a valley a wild flower did grow, And her name was Finvola, the gem of the Roe." A young man in tartan comes and falls in love with her. Now she is dead (?); the locals grieve

Jump-rope rhyme. "Fire, fire, false/fire alarm, John fell into Mary's arms. First comes love, then comes marriage, Then John with a baby carriage."

"There is fire in the lower hold, There's fire down below, Fire in the main well, The captain didn't know." All places where fire has arisen (or might arise), from mast to keel, are listed. It perhaps started in the galley, and "The cook he didn't know"

Brothers Lord John and Rothiemay are enticed by Lady Frendraught to stay at Castle Frendraught to end their feud. Their room is set afire by night. Lord John's servant offers to catch him out the window, but it is too late. Lord John's wife is heartbroken

Singing game (or fiddle tune), with text "Fire on the mountain, run, run, run." Occasional local verses: "Two little Indians sittin' on a log, Looking at a hog in Arkansas." "Oh my little Indian, don't drink whiskey"

In naval euphemisms, a sailor meets a whore, takes her in tow, and empties his shot locker. She steals his money and clothes, and he discovers she has given him "fire down below."

Jump-rope rhyme. "'Fire, fire,' says Mr. McGuire. 'Where, where?' Says Mr. O'Dare. 'At the barn," said Mr. O'Darn (or 'At the fair,' said Mr./Mrs. Blair) And it burns hotter, hotter, hotter...."

Shanty. "Lift him up and carry him along, Fire maringo, fire away. Put him down where he belongs, Fire maringo, fire away"

MacNamara talks to his pistols on the morning of a battle. He tells how he will kill foes. He fought at Vinegar Hill. Steel, not words, will "drive foreign foes from the land" "One eloquent blow ... Would gain you more glory than ages of speech"

A woman is crossing Firelock Stile, she catches her clothes on a nail. A man is dazzled by the sight; she says if he'd like to play, the price is 20 guineas. Six weeks later "she gave him some fire to keep him from cold." He curses her and warns others.

"My brother Bill is a fireman bold, because he puts our tires." Bill goes to a fire which lights some dynamite "Which blew poor Bill right out of sight, But where he's going he'll be all right, Bcause he puts out fires"

Jump-rope rhyme. "Engine, engine, number eight, Struck his head against a gate, The gate flew in, the gate flew out, And that's the way the fire went out."

"The first arrival from the ice Has just come in today; The good old ship Aurora And her colors waving gay." The ship arrives full of seals on Saint Patrick's Day. Captain Kean is celebrated. The Walrus is the next to arrive

"The first arrival from the front Is just come in today; The little ship Fogota WIth her colors waving gay." The Fogota had set out early and taken a fine load of seal. Now they return to cheers. The singer wishes captain and crew well

"Rejoice, the promised Savior's come, And shall the blind behold; The deaf shall hear and the dumb his wondrous works be told. His wondrous works be told, His wondrous works be told."

"Make we mirth For Christ's birth." "The first day of Yule have we in mind How God was man, born of our kind." "The second day we sing of Stephen." "The third day (be)longeth to Saint John." And so on through the church year.

First Families of Fall River: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #3732}

"Old Roger Corey, old Doctor Turner, old Frank Brayton, old Hannah Leighton, old Mary Carter, old Squire Brightman, Buck Ben Durfee, and old Oliver Read! ... Long Gesh, short Gesh, corner Gesh, and Gesham's Gesh...."

Counting-out rhyme? "The first lieutenant was so neat, He stopped the battle to wash his feet."

First Night's Courtship, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #3706}

"When I was a big boy, wi' the thoughts o' the joy," the youth meets Maggie at the fair. After some persuasion, they return to her barn. Her father comes out raging, but they have locked the barn. They flee when he seeks another entrance

"The first Noel the angels did say Was to certain poor shepherds in fields as they lay." The shepherds and the Wise Men see signs and come to see and pay homage to the King (Jesus)

First of May, The (Garland Day): (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #305}

"The first of May is Garland Day, so please remember the Garland, We only come but once a year, So please remember the garland."

The singer is leaving England for Australia. He describes how the voyage began, and the difficult passage itself. Now settled in Australia, and prosperous, he prepares to go back to England in far better style than he left

Square dance text. "Circle eight till you all get straight, Ladies in the lead and gents follow up.... Swing the complete circe, Meet your partner and promenade, Take her out to an easy chair, Where you take her I don't care."

First Thing They Asked For, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #350}

"The first thing they asked for, they asked for some beer, Gallons and gallons of beautiful beer, And if we have one beer, may we also have ten? ... said the airmen, 'Amen.'" They ask for girls, pay, planes, and curse officers

"The first time I met her, she was all dressed in white, All in white (x2), She gave me such a fright, Down in the (valley/dark alley) where nobody goes." Each time we see her, she is in a different color, telling stages of her baby's birth and death

The first time the singer saw his love was in a storm. The next time she smiled and passed him by. They marry but despite her efforts they have no sex. She prepares to leave. They have sex. She says, "I've seen a misty morning Turn out a bonnie day"

German (Pomeranian). Forebitter shanty. "Ein armer Fischer bin ich zwar." The singer is a poor fisherman living a dangerous life, but he is encouraged to work because of his love for his sweetheart. When May comes and the fishing is over, he will see her

In summer we fish and jig squid. In spring we log and "make just enough to have fish and brewis. If the cutting is bad then we'll go in the hole, there's no other redemption but live on the dole"

A fresh-water crew sets out "on a four-wheeled craft ... with a cargo of fried fish" The ship hits a Christmas tree. The wind blows off the skipper's wooden leg. The crew gets drunk on engine oil. The ship sinks but the crew escapes and saves the cargo.

John and Mary stop at Rabiotti's for fish and chips. They walk down George's Street. Mary plays Rule Britannia on her melodeon, then "The Soldier's Song." Sunday they plan to marry "with the whole afternoon for our honeymoon Down by the Liffey's side"

"My love he was a fisher lad and when he came on shore," he always comes to see her. He proposed to her while in his boat. The pressgang took him that day. Her family tries to console her, but she fears he'll never return and wishes she were dead with him

"Old Jim Jones the fisher, the trapper, the trawler, ... the fish-killin' banker ... died in his bed." Song tells about his trawling, trapping, catching cod, salting, tobacco chewing, sailing, "his fishing days ended...."

Fisherman at Glen Cove, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #18208}

A fishing boat leaves Renews for Cape Allerd Banks and is caught in an October "violent gale." They head for safety at Glen Cove. Foreshipman Tom Dorsey would guide them through breakers but they are wrecked. "Glen Cove saved our lives"

"There was a ship came on the coast, And a' the crew o' her was lost, Except the monkey climbed the mast, She ran ashore sae funky O ... The fishermen hanged the monkey O."

Fisherman of Wexford, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #20527}

The rule that none fish Wexford Bay St Martin's Eve was broken once: "upon that holy day Came a wondrous shoal of herring." Against women's cries the men went out to "sweep the Bay"; only two boats are saved when "a human shape" waves them back to shore.

"Fisherman Peter on the sea, Peter cache your net boy and follow me." "Some come crippled some come lame some come calling on in Jesus name, Peter cache your net boy and follow me."

Fisherman Yankee Brown, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #19859}

"My boys, if you will listen, I'll sing you a little song... He is a well-known fisherman... He's a very noted lawyer, and his name is Yankee Brown." From New York, he came to Beaver Island in [18]79. His exploits catchin huge fish and being a preacher

Jump-rope rhyme. "Fisherman, fisherman, you got me crazy, Up the river, down the river, One, two, three, You're the bigger fool than me."

Fisherman's Alphabet, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #21108}

"'A' for abundance, this we all need ..." boats, caplin, dawn... zephyr. Chorus: "So merry... are we No mortals on earth are like fishers at sea; Blow high or blow low we're jogging along. Give us a fair cull and there's nothing goes wrong."

A poor boy, cast adrift, wanders alone, crying that his mother died and his father was lost at sea. At last a kind woman takes him in and has her father find him work. The boy serves well until he grows up

Fisherman's Daughter (I), The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #7417}

"I've been caught in a net by a dear little pet... She's a fisherman's daughter, lives over the water, She's going to be married next Sunday to me." He describes her beauty, her cheeriness, her singing. He looks forward to the wedding

A poor girl is crying out in the street. She has lost parents and friends, and is left alone. As she passes a fine house, the owner calls her in. It proves to be her brother, and she is allowed to live happily there

"The fisherman's son to the ice has gone, On the quarter deck you'll find him; His belt and sheathe he has girded on...." The singer tells of finding and taking the seals, then returning to "Fair Terra Nova's daughters"

"O blithely shines the bonnie sun Upon the Isle of May, And blithely rolls the morning tide Into St. Andrew's Bay." "When haddocks leave the Firth of Forth, And mussels leave the shore, When oysters climb up Berwick Law, We'll go to sea no more."

Singer describes pleasures of fishing, boasting, "I'm going fishing, you're going fishing. You can bet your life, your (lovely/ugly/loving) wife I'll catch more fish than you...."

Fishing on the Labrador: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #30712}

The A&J Humby lands two fishermen at Goose Cove and heads for Labrador to hunt seals and trap cod. The crew are all named. They had a good summer. "We're a crowd of bold sharemen."

"Fishy, fishy in the brook, Daddy catch him on a hook, Mommy fry him in a pan, Johnny eat him like a man."

Fit's Come Owre Me Noo, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #441}

Daughter and mother discuss the pros and cons of marriage and spinsterhood. Daughter has been courted by many and finally Willie comes and marries her.

"Oh, come and listen to my story Concerning that fierce, bloody fight Between the Fitch and Austin families." The Austins set out, armed, to repair a telephone pole; the Fitches, unarmed, resist. Several are killed. The singer warns against feuding.

"A chest which is neither too large nor too small Is the first thing to which your attention I'll call." The sailor is told what to take to sea: blanket, clothes, tarpaulins, writing materials, items to repair clothes/shoes, Bible, razor, medical supplies

"I've been a few miles, I've crossed a few stiles, I've been round the world, there and back." He recalls is the place where the sanctimonious timekeeper "stung me for five and a zack." He expects to go to hell, with his complaint written on his tombstone

The singer complains of MacRose, "a little podgy," who lowered the daily rate for threshers from five bob to four. The singer curses him: "I hope his cows the measles take, his hens refuse to lay...."

Five Boss Highway: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #24292}

Hard times in the fall making local roads. The job is run by five incompetent bosses who considered themselves gentlemen, above involvement in the job, even when workers are injured. "No bloomin' wonder our government's broke"

"There were five, five, constipated men, In the Bible, in the Bible, There were five... in the five books of Moses": "Cain... who wasn't Abel"; Balaam, who couldn't "move his ass," Moses, who took two tablets, Samson, who brought the house down, etc.

Five London men with various disabilities, so well fitted that it appears their limbs are perfect, stop at a rural inn. They run up a huge tab. They remove their prostheses, are taken to be devils and persuaded to leave without paying the tab.

A recurring line is "Won't get my hundred [pounds] all day." "Way down in the bottom the cotton boll's rotten," "before I get beaten or cheated I'll leave five fingers in the boll," "black man beat me -- white man cheat me"

"Two at the foot, Two at the head, And one in the middle Makes five in the bed."

Singer says if you've been mistreated you understand his story. For five years he worked in a steel mill, gave his pay to his wife, and "she had the nerve to turn me out" Next woman he marries, "she's got to work and bring me the dough"

"Five to my five is twenty-five, Six to my five is thirty, Seven to my five's thirty-five, Eight to m' five is forty." "Nine to my five is forty-five, Ten to my five is fifty, Eleven to my five is fifty-five, Twelve to my five is sixty."

"Five-and-twenty masons went to build a house." They built windows but no door. When they reached the ceiling they stopped [no roof?]

Jump-rope rhyme/game. "Five, ten, fifteen, twenty, Nobody leaves the rope empty, If they do, they shall suffer, Take and end and be a duffer."

Alternate lines are a chorus, "Fix me so I can stand." The hymn leader sings "Fix me Jesus fix me right." "Fix me so I can stand." "My tongue tired and I can't speak plain." "Fix my feet on solid rock." "Fix my family... right." "Fix my neighbor... right"

"I'm looking funny in my eyes, and I b'lieve I'm fixin' to die, b'lieve I'm fixin' to die." The singer is "born to die, but I hate to leave m children crying." He bids goodbye to the children's mother and looks to "the buryin' ground."

"Kind freens I'm here again, I've just come out afore ye... THe sang I'm gaun to sing to you is Fizzy Gow's Tea Party." At the drunken party, "Fizzy's cuddy" is killed; several wind up in prison as a result of the altercation.

Flag of Newfoundland, The: (2 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #26392}

"The pink rose of England shows, The green St. Patrick's emblem bright, While in between the spotless sheen of Andrew's cross displays the white." The singer hopes the pink, green, and white flag will long wave over Newfoundland

"Could we desert you now, Flag of the free, When we a solemn vow, Flag of the free, You from all harm to save, Made when we crossed the wave, And you a welcome gave...." The Irish immigrants promise to support the American flag against tyrants

French. A father puts his daughter in a tower to keep her from her lover. She lights a torch to signal him to come to her. He tries but drowns in a storm. She finds his body. She cuts her vein to mix their blood and bring him back to life. She dies.

Flanders Shore, The: (3 refs. 9K Notes) {Roud #2636}

A plowman loves his employer's daughter. He tells the farmer who "lock'd her up in a room so high." The plowman sails to Flanders, always thinking of her. He returns. Her father says, "My daughter is dead ... all for sake of loving thee"

"Since I've been in this colony I've written many a song" about the characters who inhabit it. Now it's time to sing of the barman. He is a Yankee who dresses up and thinks highly of himself. The "shine" has come off him, but he hopes to regain it

Flash Cows of the City: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #2}

"One night, very late, through the Dockyard I wandered, When I met me a messmate all staggering and drunk." He dies the next day; they bury the "matelot cut down in his primw"; on his grave he states "Flash cows of the city brought me to my grave"

Flash Frigate, The (La Pique): (5 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #2563}

"I sing of a frigate, (a frigate of fame/La Pique was her name/do not mention her name), And in the West Indies she bore a great name," but she is a horrible place to serve; the crew is worked hard and punished severely. Listeners are urged to avoid her

Flash Jack from Gundagai: (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #24704}

The singer describes all the places he has sheared -- and some of the problems he's faced. He declares, "They know me round the country as Flash Jack from Gundagai." When possible, he prefers "Shearing for old Tom Patterson on the One Tree Plain."

Apparently derived from "The Dreadnought," and describing a Great Lakes ship. "We're in a flash packet, a packet of fame, She hails from Oswego, and the Worts is her name." Apparently the voyage is up-Lakes, since they pass through the Welland Canal

"I'm a stockman by me trade, And me name is Ugly Dave, I'm old and grey and I've only got one eye...." The stockman boasts of his amazing skill at his trade -- so great that "You can cut me fair in two, For I'm much too bloody good to be in one."

"You've heard of the flash Sydney shearers, They're the flashest of men out of town." The singer tells of how they boast and fail to perfom: "He'll whip anything in creation, And ends up whipping the cat." Returning to town, they go on the dole

Singer recalls his youth in (Bowrings) and around St. John's (Flat Rock, Windgap, Big River). Newfoundland sons and daughters leave but their hearts are left behind. He regrets leaving and hopes to return.

May the French flag never be seen in Britain. "The only flag that freedom rears Her emblem on the sea [is the British flag] that's braved a thousand years The battle and the breeze"

""Flee/Flea," then Flee fly," is chanted and echoed. "Flee fly flo" is chanted and echoed. "Vesta"/"Vista' is chanted and echoed. Then the process seems to fall into random gibberish. The "Flea/Flee" part may be omitted so it starts with "Kumala Vista"

Two "fine young men" of Torbay are cast adrift for six days. They are unconscious by the time they are rescued by the coal ship "Jessie Maurice." Cared for by the captain, they are taken to Quebec

"The flicker of the campfire, the wind in the pines, The stars in the heavens, the moon that shines, A place where people gather to meet friends... So give me the light of a campfire... Just you and me and the campfire and songs we love to hear"

Flies Are On the Tummits, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1376}

Singer has been farming all his life but "the only thing that flourishes is the damnation weeds." Flies are on his turnips... his live stock "eat me up and never turn out right." "No matters what I sell is cheap, but what I buy is dear"

"I am longing so sadly... For the flowers that have blossomed and fled, For the hopes that about me were thronging, That at last area all withered and dead.... Flitting, flitting away, All that we cherish most dear." Everything is rapidly passing away

"Two young girls are going around... in this town" flirting. When the fellas they re going with are gone they "go flirt with some other that comes their way." Miss Flossie Whittle and Miss Aggie Penney are flirts, and other girls as well.

"Huzza huzza for a floating home, A good ship tight and free, There is naught like being waterborne On this the home for me." "There's music in the freshening gale." "Land, land, in sight my native land... Home of the brave and free."

Flodden Field [Child 168]: (10 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #2862}

King James vows to fight his way to London. Queen Margaret tries to prevent him, and Lord Thomas Howard supports her. James vows to punish them when he returns -- but he never returns; the English slay him and twelve thousand men at Flodden

Chorus: "(Do my Lord)(3x) (Don't she rain) (x3)." When the flood comes to Noah's door God tells Noah to take the children and go. The children came tapping on the telegraph wire. Singer has a sister in the Promised Land.

Flora MacDonald's Lament: (3 refs. 6K Notes) {Roud #5776}

"Over hill and lofty mountains Where the valleys were covered with snow... There poor Flora sat lamenting... Crying, 'Charlie, constant Charlie, My kind, constant Charlie, dear.'" She hopes to meet him again, and repeats her refrain

Flora's Lament for her Charlie: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #V12024}

Flora and Charlie go "out for to gaze, On the bonny, bonny banks of Benlomond." Both are leaving and they will never meet again. She describes him. "My true love was taken by the arrows of death, And now Flora does lament for her Charlie"

The singer calls hearers to learn of the Florence C. McGee. The ship sets out from Tampa in 1894, heading up the Atlantic coast, when a storm strikes. She runs aground and is wrecked. The owners come to observe their loss

Chorus: "The people cried mercy in the storm (x2), The colored and the white stay'd awake all night, Crying Lord have mercy in the storm." September 18, 1926 "crying was in vain," "they lost all they had," "many buildings down," Doctors and Red Cross come

"Flour of England, fruit of Spain, Met together in a shower of rain, Put in a bag and tied with a string, If you tell me this riddle, I'll give you a ring."

Flow Gently Sweet Afton: (12 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #24637}

"Flow gently, sweet Afton, among thy green braes, Flow gently, I'll sing thee a song in thy praise. My Mary's asleep by thy murmuring stream." The singer praises the river, and bids it not to disturb Mary's sleep

"Spring has now unwrapped the flowers, Day is fast reviving, Light in all her growing powers Towards the light is striving." Hearers are urged to praise God, who brings flowers to life in the spring -- and also resurrects humanity

Flower of Benbrada, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #9476}

"One evening fair, to take the air, By Curraghlane I chanced to stray." He sees a beautiful woman, comparing her to goddesses. "This lovely fair beyond compare, She now intends to go away." He will not tell her name, but hopes he has praised her truly

Flower of Breakshill, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #6158}

"Some sing o' the maidens sa blythsom and free" but the singer praises "the flower of Breakshill." He praises her modesty and virtue, "her sweet smiling face Where roses and lilies are rivalled in grace"

Flower of Corby Mill, The: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2928}

The singer sets out to praise the Flower of Corby Mill. He describes meeting her on his was to Butler's Fair. At the fair, he and his friends drink deep and toast the girl. He refuses to name her lest her parents be angry, but she is a mill worker.

"Bright red is the sun on the waves of Lough Sheelin, A cool gentle breeze from the mountain is stealing," but the Flower of Finae is fairer than any of them. Ferfus O'Farrell, who courts her, is fleeter than deer. He dies at Ramilles; she becomes a nun

"As I was on my rambles, I came from Dover to Carlisle..." The singer goes to "The Grapes" to lodge. One of the serving girls is very pretty -- "the flower of France and England,O"; they are much attracted to each other and before long are married

"Oh, Crossgar's sunny hills are bespangled with flowers," but the singer yearns for Mary, the flower of Glenleary. He describes her beauty, and asks, "Fair maid of my dreams, did we meet here to sever?" He prays that she will be his

Flower of Gortade, The: (2 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #2740}

The singer calls upon the muses to describe the Flower of Gortade. He compares her to many classical queens and beauties. The girl, Margaret O'Kane, must leave for America, and hopes Ireland will someday welcome her back

Flower of Magherally, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3009}

"'Twas on a summer's morning, The flowers were a-blooming-0, Nature all adoning... I met my love near Banbridge town, My charming blue-eyed Sally-o." The singer describes her beauty, wishes he could offer her wealth, and hopes to marry her even without it

The singer says he dwells in Ireland, and describes the beautiful scenes from the hill of Dunmull. From there he can see the ship to take him away. He could survive leaving it all, but how can he part from Nancy? He hopes someday to return

Singer supposes her true love is "far from sweet Erin the green." He "vowed to be constant and true." She denied him and now blames herself for their separation. She warns maids "never your true love despise." She sees no peace but "yon dark silent grave"

Flower of Sweet Strabane, The: (11 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2745}

(The singer recalls meeting "Martha, the Flower of Sweet Strabane.") If he were King of Ireland, he would wish nothing better than her hand; she is the fairest girl he has seen. But she rejects him; he sails to America to start a new life

Flowering Trade, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #22781}

"Oh, I hear that the flowering has become a good trade, The girls in this country their fortune is made, When they rise in the morning their spirits are low, And the very first race to the tay-pot they go." Fortified by Tay, they look forward to marriage

"Flowers bloomin' in the wildwood Bring back memories of childhood, And the happy, happy days of yore. Roses often remind me Of the ones I left behind me." Someday the singer will go to where a voice is calling him home

Flowers o' the Forest, The: (7 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3812}

Based on a pipe tune lamenting the battle of Flodden: "I've heard them lilting, At the yowes milking, Lasses a-lilting... Noo they are moanin On ilka green loaning. The flowers o' the forest are a' wede away." The song grieves for the men lost

Flowers of Edinburgh (I), The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #8480}

The singer mourns the loss of her bonny lad, driven away by her parents and "rival foes." She will board a ship "to that distant shore, To meet my lovely darling swain." "The bells shall ring and sweet birds sing, To grace and crown our nuptial day"

Flowers of Edinburgh (II), The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6248}

"In by Clatt" Colin meets Felex singing "Flowers o' Edinburgh." He falls in love, takes her in his arms, but is rejected. She says "it's liberty I crave." He says "nought but her favour can yield my heart delight" She relents. They marry.

"It was on the bonnie banks o' Spey To muse I sat me down." The singer sees a beautiful girl, the flower of Fochabers. He asks her to take pity on him. She turns him down. He declares that, when he dies, it will be for Petty Clapperton

Fragment. A widow's daughter has nine brave boy children. "Three of them were seamen so brave... Three of them were soldiers so bold...."

At seventy one, Flowery Nolan, "a terror to all men," decides to marry. He marries the only acceptable candidate. When he tells his wife they would not sleep together -- "you are only but my serving maid" -- she goes home to her father's house.

Floyd Collins [Laws G22]: (17 refs. 31K Notes) {Roud #1940}

Floyd Collins is trapped in a cave from which a rescue party cannot free him. He tells his parents that he had dreamt this would happen. At last, still trapped, he dies

Floyd Frazier kills Ellen Flannery and hides her body. A search is started after her orphaned children are found crying. Her body is discovered, and Floyd is arrested. He confesses to the crime; the singer hopes he will be hanged

Flunky Jim (Gopher Tails): (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #4555}

Jim, the son and "flunky" of the farm, has shabby clothes, but intends to get a new ones with money from gopher tails. His father says his clothes are too small, but he has almost enough tails to buy new clothes, after which he will hand down his old ones

"Flummerly la lup, flu flu, Flu lup, flu lup, flu lup, Flummery la lup, flu flu, Flu lup, flu"

"Fiddle-dee-dee, fiddle-dee-dee, The fly has married the bumblebee, Says the fly, says he, 'Will you marry me, and live with me, sweet Bumblebee?'" The fly promises not to sting the larger insect. Parson Beetle marries the two. All ends happily

Fly Around, My Pretty Little Miss: (23 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5720 and 3648}

Dance tune: "Fly around my pretty little miss/Fly around my daisy/Fly around my pretty little miss/You almost drive me crazy." Floating verses: "The higher up the cherry tree/The riper grow the cherries..." "Going to get some weevily wheat..."

Fly Away You Bumble Bee (Sambo): (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #10236 and 29946}

"Sambo was a lazy coon Who used to sleep in the afternoon." He becomes angry when a bumblebee lands on his nose and warns it that it will get no bum from him. This even though backsides/arseholes rule the navy

"Fly not yet, 'tis just the hour, When pleasure, like the midnight flow'r, That scorns the eye of vulgar light, Begins to bloom for sons of night." The singer begs the night to stay, wondering why he must "find such beaming eyes awake"

Flying Cloud, The [Laws K28]: (46 refs. 4K Notes) {Roud #1802}

Singer Edward (Hollohan) abandons the cooper's trade to be a sailor. At length he falls in with Captain Moore, a brutal slaver. Moore later turns pirate. When his ship is finally taken, the remaining sailors are sentenced to death

Flying Colonel, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #10401}

"With a shit-eating grin on his face," the terrified pilot of a stricken bomber brings his plane home while other crew members bail out.

The crew has just escaped a harsh wind on a dark night when the Flying Dutchman appears. The fearful captain orders the crew to take in the sail. The Dutchman fails, as always, in its attempt to enter Table Bay. The sailors pity doomed Vanderdecken

"The Yanks were flying Fortresses at 20,000 feet, (x3) With bags of ammunition and a tweensy-weensy bomb." "The RAF were flying Lancasters at zero-zero feet, With fuck-all ammunition and a bloody great bomb."

"Sixteen years a-courting and twenty more to come; I am o nearer married than when I first begun. Goodbye, little one, flying squirrel (x3), Almost fly away."

Flying Trapeze, The: (15 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5286}

"Once I was happy, but now I'm forlorn, Like an old coat that is tatter'd and torn." The singer's young girlfriend has left him for a trapeze artist. This man, who "flies through the air with the greatest of ease," induced her to run away and join his act

"As I went down to the mowin' field Hu-ri tu-ri fod-a-link-a-di-do, As I went down... Fod! As I went down... A big black snake got me by the heel." The injured singer sits down and watches a woodchuck fight a skunk (and complains about the smell)

Fog-bound Vessel, The: (4 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #15.3}

On payday Molly meets her boyfriend Villiam. He leads her away, kills her, and sails away. Her ghost wakes him and brings a fog that stopps his ship. The captain thinks Vill is the cause. Avenged, Molly disappears. Moral: girls, leave your money home

"There lived in bonny Scotland a man named MacAleer ... he had the queerest notions ... don't you know what I mean?" He asks the blacksmith's help to buy Lauchlan Ban's mare. The blacksmith tricks MacAleer so that he marries Ban's daughter Mary instead.

The singer courts the girl and takes her to bed "to keep her from the foggy dew." In the morning they go their separate ways. In due time the girl bears a son. The further course of the song varies; in some texts he marries her, in some she dies

Foggy Dew (II), The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #973}

The singer goes out one morning and spies a beautiful girl. He asks her to marry. At first she hints of another lover, but when he approaches her again, she agrees to marry "if I know that you'll be true."

Foggy Dew (III), The: (4 refs. 5K Notes) {Roud #973}

"As down the glen one Easter morn" the singer is passed by a silent army who raise the green flag over Dublin. The Irishmen who died fighting for others had better died fighting for Ireland. "But the bravest fell ... who died at Eastertide"

The singer, a shepherd, asks Jenny if he can carry her milking pail. She says he should not pity her. He proposes, she agrees, "and straight to church we went" and are happily married.

"Out on the foggy foggy banks, We pitch and toss about, And blow our frozen fingers When we hear our skipper shout." The singer ran away from home and school to find work on a trawler. He declares there is no "plain sailing"

Foggy Mountain Top: (11 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #11735}

Floating fragments: "If I was on some foggy mountain top/I'd sail away to the west...." "If I'd listened to what my mama said/I would not have been here today/Lying around this old jail cell/Just a-weeping my poor life away"

Folkestone Murder, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #897}

(Switzerland John) asks Caroline to walk with him. Her mother tells her she should take her sister Maria along. He stabs both girls and cuts their names into the turf. The murderer is taken and sentenced to death; in the last verse he bids farewell

"The folks on t'other side the wave Have beef as well as you, sirs." The listener (clearly England) is reminded that the Americans are much like them, but will resist attacks on them -- and can hold off the English simply by running away

"Oh it's of a noted brown-red cock in Follom he did walk." Tom Kelly takes his cock to Lurgan to fight. It wins. The owners and trainers are named.

"Come, follow, follow, follow, follow, Follow, follow me. Whither shall I follow, follow, Follow, follow thee? To the greenwood, greenwood, greenwood; To the greenwood tree."

"It's by far the hardest thing I've ever done, To be so in love with you and so alone," so the singer asks the lover to "Follow me where I go." If they share their lives they can follow each other

""Oh follow me down, to the waters I'm bound, Believing in Jesus, what I friend I have found. Singing haalelujah (x4)." "Christ Jesus by name from Galilee came, Be baptizd in Jordan and he was not ashamed." "Then John grew a man, baptizing began"

"Lift, Mac Cahir Oge, your face... Curse and swear, Lord Kildare! Feagh will do what Feagh will dare -- Now, FitzWilliam, have a care...." The singer hails the Irish rebels and their victory over FitzWilliam

Follow the Drinking Gourd: (9 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #15532}

A guide to slaves fleeing to freedom. Various landmarks are described, and the listeners are reminded, "For the old man is a-waiting for to carry you to freedom." Above all, they are reminded to "follow the drinking gourd."

"To the knights in the days of old, Keeping watch on the mountain height. Came a vision of Holy Grail, And a voice through... singing Follow, follow the gleam, banners unfurled o’er all the world." We should also follow the gleam of The King

"Follow he trail to the open air, Alone with the hills and sky; A pack on your back but never a care, Letting the days slip by." The singer smells the pines, sees the fire's glow and the starlight, and should be "one with the hills and sky"

"Clean hands and clean faces and neatly combed hair ,And garments made decent and plain, Are better than all the fine things they/we (can) wear, That make us look vulgar and vain"

Fond of Chewing Gum: (10 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3714}

The singer "fell in love with a pretty little girl" who was "fond of chewing gum." He describes their courting, always recalling the gum. When they are to be wed, she cannot say "I do" because her mouth was full of gum. Now he avoids gum-chewers

Foolish and young, the singer "courted for sport and married for fun." His wife nags and beats him. He won't cry if she dies and won't marry again. Women made fools of Samson, Solomon, Adam and Jacob. Beat her before you marry and she may be a good wife

Crowds head for California and the gold fields. En route they suffer poverty, hunger, and disaster -- and few find gold. "Then they thought of what they had been told, When they started after gold: That they never, in this world, would make their pile."

"A fool's name, A monkey, s face, Always seen in public places." Or, "Fool's names, like their faces, Always seen in public places."

""There's a Juter and a Battener Sailing up the Tay, And a' the wives in Foondry Lane Are singing blithe the ay, There'll be pennies for the bairnies, A pint for Jock and Tam." The singer tells how they will celebrate

Foot and Mouth Disease, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #3069}

An Englishman plunders a girl's father's land, leaving only the sheep he thinks have "foot and mouth" disease. If the singer marries her they can "save the herds and my father's life." The diseases "from England Were the cloven hoof and the dirty tongue"

Jimmy woos Polly with a promise to work hard. He offers her crops, horses, and servants. She says he spends too much time and money at the inn. He observes that the money is his and he will do with it as he will. He leaves her; she regrets her words

"On foot I gaily take my way, Tra la la la la la, O’er mountain bare and meadow gay, Tra... And he who is not of my mind Another traveling mate must find, He cannot walk with me, he cannot walk with me." The singer wants a partner who is happy to walk

The singer has a (brother), (Paul), who is "Football crazy, he's football mad, The football it has taken away The little bit of sense he had." Cleaning his clothing is almost impossible. The teams have almost no equipment -- but they still play

Football Match, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #1291}

Six "rippling lads" in hats and ribbons play football on Salisbury Plain. William sticks Jackson in the thigh with a penknife. William misses kicking the ball "and right through the goal he went." They win the prize.

A father learns his daughter loves a servant. He dismisses the servant, plants a ring on him, and has him arrested for robbery and hanged. The daughter climbs onto the gallows with him, stabs herself, and asks that they be buried in the same grave.

Footprints in the Snow: (13 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #2660}

Singer goes to visit his girlfriend, but she's gone out for a walk. He follows her footprints in the snow, finds her, and proposes. She accepts, and he says he'll never "forget the day/When Mary (Lily) lost her way/I found her footprints in the snow"

Footprints on the Dashboard: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #27847}

A father asks if the singer was the one who did the pushin', and left footprints on the dashboard upside down. The singer replies it was he, and now he has trouble passing water, "so I guess we're even all around."

For A' That and A' That (I): (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #5536}

"Be gude to me as lang's I'm here, I'll maybe win away' yet, He's bonnie coming o'er the hills That will tak' me frae ye a' yet, For a' that and a' that, And thrice as muckle's a' that...." She describes her love, and hopes he will make her well-to-do

"I'll walk in the rain by your side, I'll cling to the warmth of your (tiny) hand. I'll do anything to help you understand, I'll love you more than anybody can." The singer details all he will do to care for her, and how she changes (his) world

"For he'll plough the furrows deep And he'll ramble up and doon Wi' his tearin' scythin' order For to mow yer meadows down"

"For he's a jolly good fellow (x3), Which nobody can deny." (Other verses, if any, come from the other versions of this song)

A table grace. "For health and strength and daily bread We praise your/thy name, O Lord."

For I'm Nae Awa' to Bide Awa': (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #13959}

The singer says he's not going to stay away. "Your laddie with the tartan plaid He'll come again to see you"

For Me and My Gal: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #25594}

"Ding dong... Do you hear the bells go ding dong... The bells are ringing For me and my gal, The birds are singing For me and my gal... The parson's waiting for me and my gal... And someday we'll build a little house For two or three or four or more"

"I'm working on a building (x3), I'm working for my Lord, Just as soon as I finish up working on this building, Going home to Jesus, Get my reward." "I'm praying on a building ..., Just as soon as I finish up working on this building ...."

"First when we came to London town, We dream'd of gowd in gowpings here," but as the South Sea Bubble burst, the singers grow increasingly desperate. Now "The lave will fare the war in truth, For our lang biding here."

"For seven long years I've been married, I wish I had lived an old maid... My husband won't work at his trade." She complains about how hard her life is; her husband has broken his promises and wasted her wealth on drink

"For the beauty of the earth ...of each hour ... the joy of ear and eye ... of human love ... thy church ... thy self ... Lord of all to thee we raise this our hymn of grateful praise"

"For the dear old flag I die, said the wounded drummer boy, Mother, press your lips to mine, O, they bring me peace and joy, 'Tis the last time on earth." After that maudlin opening, the boy tells his mother not to grieve because he died in a good cause.

Summer is near. "For the fish we must prepare." Fix traps, trawls, lines, clothes, yoke goats and fix fences so goats don't eat the catch, spay hens, catch and freeze bait, get government seed for the garden.

"I was into a cat with laquer And I didna min on you Or I never wad forsake you For the orange and blue ... She's changed the green and yellow For the orange and blue"

For Want of a Nail: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #19527}

"For want of a nail the shoe was lost, For want of a shoe the horse was lost, For want of a horse the rider was lost, For want of a rider the battle was lost, For want of a battle the kingdom was lost, And all for the want of a horseshoe nail."

"For what we are about to eat, We bless and thank the British fleet."

"For your diversion I'll sing a sang, For my diversion it'll no be lang For your diversion my song's begun And for my diversion my song is done"

"I have a F-O-R-D-, Ford, Made out of C-A-R-D-board. And I will T-A-K-E-, take you For a R-I-D-E, ride, Into the P-A-R-K, park...." Eventually they will "K-I-S-S-, kiss... All the T-I-M-E, time."

"Little Indian, Sioux, or Crow, Little frosty Eskimo, Little Turk or Japanee, Oh! don't you wish that you were me?" The singer describes "normal" life and thinks those others would be happier to live his life

"I've been a foreign lander full seven long years and more...." The singer has "conquered all my enemies," but is defeated by his love's beauty. He offers illustrations of how faithful he is, and would give anything to marry her

Newfoundland lumbermen are called "to cross the briny ocean to crush the German foe." They come from all over the Avalon Peninsula "on a liner bound for England" with "a sharp lookout for German ships." Their six month tour is to cut firs in Scotland

The singer grows up in Forfar, where he is rather a cut-up. After many adventures, he joins the army. He loses a leg in the Peninsular War, but it does not bother him; "Snug in Forfar now I sit, And thrive upon a pension."

"Oh, ome en ride the Western range along with blue en me, Forget your cares and worries -- jest play you're young en free." Those who come see many beautiful places and historic sites. "Forget set rules and schedules with a good horse between your knees"

"Forget thee -- no! how could I ever? Forget the one my heart admires? No by my soul I'll swear I'll never Forget thee until life expires"

Forget You I Never May: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #460}

"Fare thee well, for once I loved you Even more than tongue can tell, Little did I think you'd leave me, Now I bid you all farewell." The singer tells how (s)he loved him, asks why he is unkind, and ends, "I'll forgive you, But forget you I never may."

The singer comes across young lovers who are preparing to part. The man wishes he did not have to go, but he has no choice. He praises her in many lyric ways, some not obviously complimentary: "Your love is like the moon That wanders up and down."

A woman tries to wake the lover who has forgotten her. She sings about her ordeals (following him, acting as servant, washing bloody shirts, climbing a glassy hill) or that they were married and had three babies. She names him and says "turn to me"

The singer's lover went away and is now "blest with a partner whom you love" but cannot love him more than the singer. "May she prosper in your arms." "I hope my dear you'll try and shun The road that leads to hell" but God's judgement is coming soon.

Forsaken Folk Maun Live: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #6806}

In the chorus the singer says "forsaken folk" may live in woe and pain and she is "one of them." She refuses the gardner's choice of flowers. But the future may be better.

Forsaken Lover (II), A: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #6813}

A letter to a lover who proved untrue after going away: "Another maid has filled your arms The place that once was mine." "But I'll not try to buy your love... Since all is false you've said to me It is best for us to part."

"Fortune my foe, why dost thou frown on me? And will thy favour never better be?" The singer laments the sad fortune that has stolen his love away, and hopes for ease. Notable primarily for the tune, often cited under the title "Aim Not Too High"

Singer strolls down to Bowrings wharf in St. John's harbour and thinks about John, whom he has known these forty years past. He recalls their sailing adventures and stormy times on Florizel, Marguerite, and Rainbow. But, "we can't always be young"

My baby heard the 44 whistle blow like it won't blow no more. I walked all night with my 44 and found my baby with another man. I wore my 44 so long my shoulder was sore. My cabin address is 44 and the wolf is at my door every day.

My baby heard the 44 whistle blow like it won't blow no more. Don't think you're better than the lover I had before. Before long you'll look for me and I'll be gone. I'm going to get my lover to drive my blues away.

"Forward Joe Soap's army, Marching without fear, With our old commander Safely in the rear. He boasts and skites from morn till night And thinks he's very brave, But the men who really did the job Are dead and in their grave"

"The system of fossicker Michael O'Flynn Got very much out of repair," so he travels to town to see a doctor. The doctor tells him to stop drinking and eat "nothing but animal food." When O'Flynn returns, he has lost even more weight; he cannot eat grass

"I used to think if I sought for gold I'd have a life of fun." "The life in fact appeared to be a never-ending grind." After much hard work, he finds only three ounces of gold, which barely paid his expenses. It's only fun AFTER you strike it rich

"Found a peanut, found a peanut, found a peanut on the ground" (x2). "Cracked it open, cracked it open, cracked it open, just now." "It was rotten." "Ate it anyway." The singer may then call the doctor, die, go to heaven, get thrown out, start over....

"You stranger, who comes to my tent, I hope you'll ride away content, Eat all you want; my only wishes Are, when you're through, you'll wash the dishes." The cook has done his work; now he asks that those who eat his food clean up their messes

"In the valley of Ontario you started, With heroic purpose crossing ranges far, You pioneers of Canada... You founders of the famous C. P. R." "Oh, remember... What the C. P. R. had done for you." The singer tells of history and landmarks by the railroad

"Four and four are twenty-four, Kick the teacher out the door, If she squeals, bring her in, Hang her on a safety pin"

Four and Twenty Fiddlers: (4 refs. 6K Notes) {Roud #20211}

"Four and twenty fiddlers all in a row ... [nonsense]. It is my lady's holiday therefore let us be merry." Four and twenty drummers, trumpeters, coblers, ... Quakers: "Abraham begat Isaac and Isaac begat Jacob ... [nonsense] It is my lady's holiday ...."

Chorus: "Four and twenty lawyers All in a line (x2)." The leader calls dance instructions such as "turn that lady," "turn her loose," "up and down"; the response to each line is "lawyer's suit."

Four and Twenty Tailors: (10 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #1036}

Four-and-twenty tailors chase a snail (ending in defeat); depending on the version, four-and-twenty others (blind men, young maids, auld wives) have equally unlikely adventures

"Four brave commanders, Brave as Alexander, Lost all the battles that they fought last year, So rise upon your feet, And greet the first you meet, For there are many roaming 'round your chair."

"Four diddle-diddle-danders, Two stiff-stiff-standers, Two lookers, and a switch-about, An old cow and you're It!"

"There was a young fellow who first drove a team" of four horses, which he kept well. He drove them to a fair, paid his bills. He and his team had a good reputation. He drove them home and left them to rest, thinking "Straight way is the best"

"I know a place where the sun is like gold, And the cherry blooms burst with snow, And down underneath is the loveliest nook, Where the four-leaf clovers grow." The leaves are for faith, love, hope -- plus a leaf for luck, which you can find if you look

Jump-rope verse. "Four little chickens all in white, Saw some bread and began to fight."

"Hurrah for the Lachlan, come join me in my cheer, For that's the place to make a cheque At the end of every year." When not working as a shearer, the singer enjoys "Camping in the bend" with the cakes he has cooked and the books and such he has "shook"

Four Nights Drunk [Child 274]: (106 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #114}

Our goodman comes home drunk for several nights. Each night he observes an oddity -- another man's horse, boots, sword, etc. Each time his wife says it is something else. Finally he sees a man's head; she explains that, too -- but the head has a beard

"Baby, I can't sleep, and neither can I eat; Round your bedside I'm gwine to creep. Four o'clock, baby, four o'clock, I'll make it in about four o'clock."

It's four o'clock in the morning, just before day, and the singer is going to go upstairs and lie in bed.

Two, three, or four whores, sometimes from Baltimore, Winnipeg, or Mexico, compare the size of their vaginas with extravagant boasts.

"The ore is waiting in the tubs, the snow's upon the fell." The washer lads must be at work early in the day. The singer's poor parents could not send him to school, so he must work for four pence a day. He hopes his boss will develop a conscience

Four Seasons of the Year, The: (5 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #1180}

"The spring is the quarter, the first that I'll mention, The fields and the meadows are covered with green." The singer catalogs the seasons: Spring (and Valentine's day), the busy summer, the hunting season of autumn, the chill winter, and repeat

Riddle: "Four stiff-standers, Four dilly-danders, Two lookers/look-abouts, Two crookers/crook-abouts, (One switch-about, Four down-hangres), (And a wig-wag)." Answer: a cow

"Four strong winds that blow lonely, Seven seas that run high." The singer's "good times are all gone." He will go to Alberta. Perhaps she could join him. But it probably will not help, and it would be winter

Four-Leaved Shamrock, The: (8 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #V5560}

"I'll seek a four-leaved shamrock In all the fairy dells" and use its magic to cure the world of tears and aching hearts, mend estrangement between friends and see that "vanished dreams of love" return.

Four-Loom Weaver, The: (10 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #937}

Singer, a weaver, laments hard times -- his clothes are worn out, his furniture repossessed, his family starved and keeping alive by eating boiled nettles. His wife states that if she had clothes to wear she would go to London and confront the wealthy

"On the Fourth of July at a coutry fair, A man went up in a balloon." The balloon leaks; as he comes down hard, he says, "Any old place that I hang my hat Will be home sweet home to me." A condemned man declares that any limb they hang him on is home

"Foweles in e frith e fisses in te flod, And I mon ware wod Mulch sorwe I walke with for beste of bon and blod." "Fowl in the forest, The fish in the flood, And I must wax mad (or "on tree"?). Much sorrow I walk with For the best of bone and blood"

The singer laments, "Six wives I've had and they're all dead," noting "Oh, the fox and the hare, the badger and the bear And the birds in the greenwood tree And the pretty little rabbits engaging in their habits Have all got a mate but me."

Fox and the Grapes, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3713}

"A hungry fox one day did spy Some rich ripe grapes that hung so high And to him they seemed to say, 'If you can get us down, you may.'" After an hour of trying, the fox admits failure, "Then he went away, and he swore that the grapes were sour."

"The fox and the lawyer was different in kind... The lawyer loved done meat because it was easy to chaw, The fox... would take his blood raw." The fox goes out to take a hen. Pursued to his den, he says the fight is not fair; the hunter doesn't care

""I hollered, 'Whooo, Take me to his hole, lightning hound.'" A fox comes to take chickens. They chase it with dogs. The song describes the hunt and the dogs' antics. The fox escapes to its hole and taunts the dogs. Partly sung, partly recited

"The fox is about, come, shut the door, My darling little geese." But one goose declares, "I'm sure there's nothing to fear," so when all the others are asleep, it wanders out; the fox "hunted and gobbled the dear little goose, Who never came home to die"

"The fox loves the valley, the deer loves the hill, The boys love the girls And I guess they always will."

The singer (and men of many nations) work in George Allan's camp without earning any money. He decides to get another job

Fox goes hunting on a (chilly) night. It goes to the farmer's yard and takes a goose. The farmer and wife are aroused; the farmer sets out after the fox. Fox escapes home with its kill; the fox family celebrates with a fine dinner

Apparent dialog: Davy: I first met Kitty McHugh going for water. Kitty: Foxy Davy won't you marry me? Davy: I won't. She fixes a meal of milk and cold potatoes. Kitty: "Won't you marry me and carry me home?"

Frae the Martimas Term: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #5908}

"Frae the Martimas term in the year ...twa Till Whitsunday's wind blew a half year awa."

"Frank and Ruby bide in Banff And Kelbie is their name"; the Stewarts stay with them when traveling. They buy a car; Sheila drives it (without having a license). They drink and have fun. They will return on Hogmanay

Frank Dupree [Laws E24]: (10 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2253}

Frank Dupree, the singer, gets in trouble when he steals a diamond from an Atlanta jewelry store. As he leaves, he shoots a policeman and drives off. He is arrested and sentenced to death when he returns to his sweetheart Betty

"I am a lad that's seen trouble and sorrow, Many accidents occurred; I will sing you the latest." Frank Farrow leaves his home in May and goes to a lumber camp. He and his brother are cutting a tree when it falls on Frank. He is buried near the camp

Frank Fidd was as gallant a tar As ever took reef in a sail ... One night off the Cape of Good Hope" a rope catches Frank by the heels and his head is bashed. His dying words are "Safe moored in Felicity Bay I'll ride by the Cape of Delight"

"Frank Gardiner he is caught at last; he lies in Sydney jail...." The song details the deeds of this daring bushranger, then tells how he was taken after the death of fellow bushrangers Ben Hall and Gilbert

Frankie and Albert [Laws I3]: (78 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #254}

Frankie discovers her husband (Albert/Johnnie) involved with another woman. She shoots him. Depending on the version, she may be imprisoned or allowed to go free

"Frankie and Johnnie were lovers, They were both making the way." He is an aviator, he works for the Red Cross, and they don't trust each other. A Colonel proposes to Frankie; Johnnie shoots the Colonel. He is imprisoned; she finds another pilot

"Frankie and Johnnie were bombers, Oh, my God, how they could bomb"; both had won medals. But they flew a bad plane. The Heines attack; first a bullet kills Johnnie, then Frankie dies. Frankie and Johnnie are in "the boneyard And they ain't comin' back."

Frankie Silvers [Laws E13]: (16 refs. 22K Notes) {Roud #783}

The singer, Frankie Silvers, has been condemned to die for murdering her husband. She describes the deed and its consequences with horror: "This dreadful, dark, and dismal day Has swept all my glories away." "But oh! that dreadful judge I fear...."

"Franklin Roosevelt took his seat About one year ago; He cannot please the world, That we all well know." "I esteem our worthy President." "He has given work to laboring men." "We're on the verge of better times." The singer encourages unions, religion

"Just hand me my old Martin, for soon I will be startin... Since Roosevelt's been re-elected, we'll not be neglected." Singer praises Roosevelt's re-election, celebrates legal liquor and the end of moonshine, and returning prosperity.

Fraserburgh Meal Riot, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5844}

Charlie is warned to run because the fisher wives are shouting. It will be a bloody morning. Charlie runs away from town across the dyke. We have to fight so "the meal will be doon in the mornin'"

Fray of Suport, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #8190}

"Sleep'ry Sim of the Lamb-hill, And snoring Jock of Suport-mill, Ye are baith right het and fou'." They led a raid on this singer, whose gear's a' gane" because they came when the house was nearly empty. The song lists those who might raid in return

Fred Karno's Army: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #10533}

"We are Fred Karno's army [or air force, etc.], Fred Karno's infantry, We cannot fight, we cannot shoot, So what damn good re we? But what damn good are we?" But it will all work out when they get to Berlin. The song has many stories of army inefficiency

Fred Sargent's Shanty Song: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #8895}

"In eighteen hundred and seventy-one, To swamp for a go-devil I begun, 'Twas on the banks of the Eau Claire, We landed there when the ground was bare. Tra-la-la-la...." The loggers get up, get dressed, go to work; the singer toasts the boss

Freddy Watson, on the dole, leaves St Mary's for St John's. There he meets "Billy Walsh the member," gets some clothing and underwear for himself, a blanket for a sail for Pete, and a dress for Stell. He gets a ride home from Ryan. He plans to go again

"The seat of science, Athens, And earth's proud mistress Rome, Where now are all their glories?" The writer advises Americans to "guard their rights" and fight back against European tyranny.

The singer, "a simple country clown," is unconcerned by what others think of him, whether kings, puppies, or fools, or whether the ladies are civil or saucy. "Still I'd be free and easy."

Free and Easy (II): (7 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1084}

The singer thinks that "troubles are but bubbles." He doesn't yearn for wealth or greatness: "the great have cares... merit's seldom made a show of." "Why waste your time in fretting?"

The singer rambles in Ireland and Scotland, always "free and easy to jog along." He meets a girl and takes her to an inn, where she asks if he would "pledge heart and hand." He says no because a married man is no longer "free and easy to jog along"

"Free at last! Free at last! Thank God a'mighty, I'm free at last!" "One of these mornings bright and fair, I'm gonna put on my wings and try the air." "Old Satan's mad because we're glad...." "I wonder what old Satan's grumblin' bout...."

"Old Adam was the gardener ... A fig-leaved apron he sewed and put on ... who would na wish a free gardener to be?" Eve asked to be a gardener. He said "no woman on earth my secrets should gain." "She made him leave the garden a ploughboy to be"

Free Go Lily (Three Gold Lilies): (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #16095}

"Free, go lily, sometime, Come skippin' through the window, sometime, Gonna h'ist my window, sometime, Come skippin' through the window, sometime."

"I'm as free little bird as I can be (x2), I'm as free at my age as a bird in a cage, I'm as free little bird...." "Take me home, little birdie, take me home...." "Oh, I won't build my nest on the ground...."

"Come all ye free masons ... And wear a badge of innocence." Noah's ark, the binding of Isaac, Moses on Mt Zion are recounted. St Peter keeps heaven's door "and there's no one to enter in exceptin' they are pure"

The expulsion from Eden is briefly told: "Man at his first creation / In Eden God did place... But by the subtle serpent / Beguiled he was and fell / And by his disobedience / Was doomed to death and Hell." The rest of the song tells of Jesus's passion

"Ye sons of industry, to you I belong, And to you I would dedicate a verse or a song, Rejoicing over the victory John Robertson has won, Now the Land Bill has passed...." The singer rejoices that he will be able to settle down and work rather than travel

"Laboring men please all attend While I relate my history, Money it is very scarce...." "The farmer is the cornerstone, though he is cruelly treated. Bryan is the poor man's friend...." "We'll arise, defend free silver's cause...."

"I stand as a free man beside the northern banks Of old Erie, the freshwater sea, And it cheers my very soul to behold the billows roll And to think, like the waves, I am free." The slave recalls the abuse he suffered, but he is safe under British laws

"I am plagued with my friends and neighbors to boot, To know what religion my conscience would fit... I'll love mankind better and take a good drink." The singer lists the religions suggested for him. He studies all, wishes all well... and keeps drinking

Chorus: "Free, free my Lord (3x), To march the heaven's highway." The singer cries for pardon; "the Lord did give me ease." His mother turned his soul from hell, "King Jesus set me free." The Father redeemed his soul, the Son set him free.

"How merry is the life of the Freebooter bold, His pouch is filled with the glittering gold; His hear gay and light is devoted to love and his own lady bright, His drink is red wine.... With... their gla(i)ves and their gold, How merry is the life of...."

The singer says freedom has come. He gives his "bill ... hoe" to King George and says he is going. He asks "who been are say dat freedom no are come"

"They say that freedom is a constant struggle (x3) Oh Lord, we've struggled so long, We must be free, we must be free." Similarly, "They say that freedom is a constant crying..." "constant sorrow..." "constant moaning..." "constant dying..."

The singer sees freedom in the Australian outback, and recalls how Australia was settled by freedom-loving British citizens. Having built homes, they find the government trying to control them. He calls on citizens to rebel

When the Bastille fell French soldiers joined in the battle for freedom. "From France now see LIBERTY's TREE Its branches wide extending" and the "swine ... unite, and swear they'll bite Their unrelenting drivers"

The singer reports that he is now a "broken-down old squatter, my cash it is all gone." He once had a fine holding, a mansion, and a good wife -- but he turned to speculation, and now "I've lost that little freehold on the plain."

Freemason's Song (I), The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #17746}

"In the year of eighteen hundred and three I took a notion a Freemason to be." For his initiation he has to ride a goat, sit on a chair and "they threw me a sign from the nose to the chin saying This is our sign since Freemasons begin."

Freemason's Song (II): (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #1179}

Freemasonry began in the garden where Adam's fig leaf was his mason's apron. King David and Noah were freemasons. "Now come over the mountain you maidens all, bring a square and rule along" because a freemason "will secure you on a cold winter's night"

Freemasons meet in a Lodge. "Our secrets to none but ourselves shall be known." The singer praises buildings: they "will always proclaim What honour is due to a Freemason's name." Others deride us; "let every true brother these vermin despise"

"Freight train, freight train, run so fast/Please don't tell what train I'm on/So they won't know where I've gone." Rest of song gives singer's wishes for her burial "at the foot of old Chestnut Street."

"I hate to hear that engine blow, boo-hoo (x2), Every time I hear it blowin' I feel like ridin' too." The singer wants to travel to forget her man. She asks to ride the blinds; the brakeman says no. She compares how men and women get the blues

"I was born in Dixie in a boomer's shack, Just a little shanty by the railroad track...." "I got the freight train blues... When the whistle blows, I got to go...." The singer tells of how the rails have always ruled his life; he cannot outgrow them

Freighting from Wilcox to Globe: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #8016}

"Come all you jolly freighters who travel upon the rooad That ever hauled a load of coke from Wilcox to Globe!" A tale of a bad trip, with everything overpriced, and having a mule stolen. The singer hopes to go into business and treat them as they did him

Three part Round. "Orleans, Beaugency, Notre Dame de Cléry, Vendôme, Vendôme."

French Privateer, The: (3 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #690}

The Irish ship goes to sea, and after four days overtakes a Spanish ship, which they defeat. They prepare to pursue the defeated ship, but a French privateer come in sight. They sink the French ship, but the Spaniard escapes

"Ole John LaRoche was a boss woods cook, n' she mix up de dough on mos' every brook." She was six feet tall and weight 200 pounds. She finds unusual ways to cook for large groups, with odd results such as a bullfrog in the pea soup

The singer says the French and General Humbert were "too late again" at Killala Bay. He fights at Castlebar, where 700 Frenchmen help chase Lord Roden's cavalry, and when Cornwallis drives the French out, leaving Tone and Teeling to be martyred.

French: "Frere Jacques (x2), Dormez-vous (x2), Sonnez les matines (x2), Din din don (x2)." English: "Are you sleeping (x2), Brother John? (x2), Morning bells are ringing (x2), Ding ding dong (x2)."

Extended street cry: "Fresh peanuts! Is the best of all, They's raised in the summer and dug in the fall. I got fresh peanuts! The singer boasts of their quality, his work in preparing them, and his prices.

A friar solicits a girl; she is afraid of hell. The friar points out that he can pray her out. That promise, plus cash in advance, wins her consent, but she -- claiming her father is coming -- causes him to fall into a well, dampening his ardor

"Fried ham, fried ham, cheese and baloney, After macaroni, you add mustard, pickles and ketchup, Then you add some more fried ham, fried ham, fried ham.Next verse, same as the first, (name of an accent or such), whole lot worse."

"He wasn't very clever, and he wasn't very good... But I hailed him as a brother, for -- he came from Maoriland." The speaker didn't really like other fellow,a shearer sailing away. But he drinks the other's health "for the sake of... dear old Maoriland"

The singer reports, "Friends and neighbors, I am now going to leave you..." He says that, despite what people think, it is not for any wrongdoing. He simply wants to go home to "the handsome young girl I left behind" among Virginia's alders

"Friends of temperance, lift your banners, Wave them in the air, Sing ye now your glad hosannahs, Sing them loud and clear. Lo, the hour of victory cometh, See the dawning day. Rouse ye, drunkards, break your bondage, Dash your cups away!"

"Friendship is a shining thing, A steady beam of light, A lantern on a lonely street, A song far in the night... And oh, the happy little child, Bringing home a daffodil." ""Friendship is a binding tie." "Friendship feels so warm inside."

"Just seeing you, Bill, in the bar-room, hedged in by companions, tonight, All dressed in persnickety fashion." The singer actually wondered if it was the same Bill he knew in the logging camp on Indian Run. He recalls the men they worked with

A mock boast in which the singer(s), "the heroes of the night," brag they are ever eager for beer and women.

"I've cooked you in he strongest gypsum water, I've boiled you up in water made of sow"; the singer owes his life to frijole beans. Yes, they cause digestive problems, but people eat them anyway. He will finish his portion and hit the pike

German shanty. Sentimental song about a ship facing a storm. Describes efforts to make the ship fast, sounds and images of the storm, thoughts of loved ones, and how hard the sailor's lot is compared to those on shore. Ch: "Holla-hi, holla-he, holla-ho!"

"Over the divide a great cowboy did go, To ride broncs in heaven at the big rodeo. I've watched him ride since I was fifteen, Up till the day he became a marine." Truan's skill is remembered; the poet "bet[s] Fritz got a hundred before they got him."

Frog and the Crow, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #7520}

"A (funny/jolly) fat frog lived in the river," and a crow suggests it come ashore. The frog says it will bite him. The crow replies that there is sweet music and a dance. The frog leaves the river and, just before it is eaten, asks where the dance is.

Frog in the Middle: (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #14047 and 21632}

Children's game: "Frog in the middle And can't get out. Take a stick And punch him out." (Or "Frog in the meadow/millpond, Can't get him out; Take a little stick And stir him about.")

Frog Went A-Courting: (109 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #16}

Frog rides to ask Miss Mouse to marry him. She is willing but must ask permission of Uncle Rat. Rat's permission received, the two work out details of the wedding. (Some versions end with a cat or other creature devouring the participants)

Singing game in which a duck chases all the frogs (other children). "Come, neighbors, the moon is up, It's pleasant here out on the bank.... And let us, before we sup, go kough, kough, kough." "Hush, yonder is the waddling duck... I don't mean to stay."

Swagman Paddy, out of food, decides to catch a fish. The only possible bait is a frog -- but a snake swallows the frog before Paddy can catch it. Paddy gets the snake drunk and retrieves the frog. The snake, wanting another drink, brings another frog

Frolicksome Farmer, The: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4738}

The farmer pays his dairy maid to wait up for him on market days. One night his wife sends Betsey to her room and waits in the dark kitchen for her husband. The husband gives her money for sex. The wife dismisses Betsey and kicks her husband out.

"From Hillsborough town the first of May Marched those murdering traitors. They went to oppose the honest men That were called Regulators." Hamilton leads the regulators to raid the town

The song, in its entirety: "I'm a ramblin' wreck of poverty/From Ogemaw I came/My poverty compels me/To split wood in the rain/But in all kinds of weather/Be it wet or dry/I'm bound to gain an honest living/Or lay me down and die"

Round, adapted from a Dutch original. "From out the battered elm tree The owl cries out I’m here, And from the distant forest The cuckoo answers clear,Cuckoo, cuckoo, cuckoo, cuckoo, cuckoo, Cuckoo, cuckoo, cuckoo, cuckoo, cuckoo"

The singer asks to be saved "from rocks and sands and barren lands" and "big guns and women's tongues"

Javanese sea shanty. "Sum go coolie ah-e-ah ang, sor Sourabaya, Hoo-e la-e-la-e-la." Used as a capstan shanty, Harlow-ChantyingAboardAmericanShips says he took it down from the coolies singing and can't vouch for the correctness of the words.

The singer returns to the old, now deserted, house he grew up in. He recalls the gate he "could run to, returning from school", the casement that "marks the spot where I slumbered in infancy's rest." "But silent forever the lips that blessed me!"

"I'm fresh from the mountains, just from Ver Mount, My visit to Boston I new recount, Some notions of trade were my intention," so he goes to "the great convention" -- only to find everyone staring "Just because I was from Ver Mount"

Jump-rope verse. "Front door, back door, Sally, Jim, and Joe, On the count of sixteen, Jump in slow."

"Oh I am a young farmer hard set by the frost ... like to ruin us a'." Maybe that hardship was intended "for to humble oor pride" If the singer marries he won't be able to pay the laird but "If I should hae naething else I will aye hae a wife"

Frowns That She Gave Me, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #4296}

"When first to this country a stranger I came, I placed my affection on a beautiful dame." ""Oh Susan... Won't you leave your old parents?" "Oh William, that never would do." "Take warning by me, Never place your affections on a green growing tree"

"One cold frosty morning As her father lay sleeping I tapped at the window Where Mary did lay." He begs her to let him in; "My limbs are all frozen." She says she finds him quite warm. He must leave, but she hopes he will return so she can thaw him again

The singer meets a waitress. She recognizes him as a logger, and tells him the sad tale of her amazing logger lover. One night he forgot his Mackinaw, and at last, "at a thousand degrees below zero, it froze my logger love."

Fucking Machine, The: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #10237}

A sailor/airman/engineer marries a sexually insatiable woman, and builds a machine to service her. He cannot stop the machine, which continues to function until the woman is killed and the machine destroys itself.

Singer longs for home, sweetheart, family. He is a fugitive because he committed a murder. Distinguished by the chorus: "I'm riding along out on the lone prairie/The rangers are searching for me/I'm riding away from my home in Texas/A fugitive ever to be"

Full Loads to the Sealers: (3 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #V44582}

"And here's grand success to the sealers, The pride of our city and town, Who face the doghood on the ocean, And with bat like heroes knock down." The singer bids success to the sealers and hopes they have happy reunions at home

Parody on Gray's famous "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard": "Full many a gem of purest Razorene The dark unfathomed caves of ocean bear."

"Full merrily sings the cuckoo, Upon the beechen tree, Your wives you well should look to, If you take advice of me." Nine of ten men can expect to be cuckolded. The singer lists times and places where it might happen. He tells men to hide their horns

Fuller and Warren [Laws F16]: (22 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #694}

[Amasa] Fuller has become engaged to a woman, who however chooses to abandon him for [Paul] Warren. Fuller accuses Warren of saying that he (Fuller) was already married, and shoots him. He is sentenced to hang

"Oh, carry me away to the graveyard After a long time suffering, Where every day will be Sunday, by and by, By and by, by and by, Where every day will be Sunday, by and by." "So fare you well, dear (father/mother/brothers/etc.), I am going home to glory."

"The funeral train is coming, I know it's going to slack, For the passengers are all crying and the train is creped in black." "You belong on that funeral train... Oh, sinner, why don't you pray." The singer looks forward to taking the train to heaven

Italian: "Jammo, jammo 'ncoppa jammo jà (x2), Funiculì, funiculà (x2), 'Ncoppa jammo jà, Funiculì, funiculà." English versions say, "Let's go, let's go, To the top we'll go" using the "funicular up, funicular down." Other English versions exist

"I thought I heard somebody say, funky butt, funky butt, take it away, I don't like it no how." Girls in red and blue dresses "got the funky butt ... I don't like it no how."

Funniest is the Frog: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3444 and 17268}

"Funniest is the frog (x2), Funniest thing that goes about, Funniest is the frog." "Sitting on a log... before he gets half way down, Then he goes ka-chug." "Funniest is... Sploshin' through the rain and mud, But he loves the sun the best."

The singer advises her lover how to hunt pheasant in her furze field (loaded gun), fish in her fishpond (rod, hooks, and angles "down to the bottom") and rabbits in her warren (ferret ... down to the bottom).

Noah sets out to build the ark, despite the scorn of his neighbors. "Ham... couldn't stand the racket... soon he had a banjo made, the first that was invented." He took the hair of the possum's tail to string it; the possum remains bare-tailed to this day

"I know a little doner, I'm about to own 'er, She's a-goin' to marry me." "Be Missis 'Awkins, Missis 'En'ry 'Awkins." "If you die an old maid you'll 'ave only yerself to blame." The singer recalls first meeting Liza, and tells how she agreed to marry

"When I grow up, I think I'll be A G-Man brave and bold, Or maybe a fearful pirate, And bury lots of gold." The singer lists other job possibilities: sailor, diver, jockey, doctor, apple-cart-pusher. Finally he says, "I just think I'll wait and see."

Fuzzy Wuzzy Was a Bear: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #25473}

"Fuzzy Wuzzy was a bear, Fuzzy Wuzzy had no hair. Fuzzy wuzzy wasn't fuzzy, was he?"

"Fy, fy, Margaret, Woman, are ye in? I nae sooner heard it, than fast did I rin, Doon the gte to tell ye (x3) We'll no be left our skin." The French and Spanish are coming. The singer must tell others. Margaret replies that they will deal with it

Jamaican patois: Singer says Nancy built her house on sand and the wind blew it down, built her house out of wood and the fire burnt it down.

The singer saw "a bonny lass coortin' wi' the minister." The minister, says the singer, will kiss any lass he meets as fine as any man. But when the singer's married he can ignore the minister and "kiss an' coort as lang's we like"

"Fylemore you're the place for merry sport and singing and the chief amongst them all is the charming beagle hunting" The singer describes the draghunt route and its "swift horses and fine riders." The riders are named. At hunt end all retire to the pubs.

The singer tells about a fox-hunt on February 14 1811 in Fylingdale parish.

The singer, not a ploughman, sings the ploughmen's praise. They whistle and sing in all weather. They should not cheat "the bonnie lassie." They are poor but if farmers don't pay them well enough "there is emigration to tak' them o'er the sea"

"She wears a G for generosity. She wears an I for interest, too. She wears an R for real sportsmanship. She wears and L for loyalty. She wears an S for her sincereity.... She wears an O-U-T for outdoor life, outdoor life. And that Girl Scout is Me!"

"Gabby blaby [blabby?] fabbly, Gabby blaby fabbly."

A beggar comes to a lady's door and begs lodging. That night, he lures her daughter away with him. Later he returns to the lady's door and again begs lodging. The lady says she will never lodge a beggar again. He reveals her daughter, rich and happy

Gabriel of High Degree: (10 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #815}

"Gabriel of high degree, He came down from the Trinity, From Nazareth to Galilee, ut nova." "He met a maiden in a place"; "he said, 'Hail, Mary, full of grace.'" She will bear a child. In six months, her cousin Elizabeth will bear.

"Gabriel, that angel bright, Brighter than the sun is light," comes to Mary in Nazareth and tells her to rejoice. Mary is afraid. She is told to rejoice ("Regina celi, letare"). The Holy Ghost will come upon her to save those who were lost

"Baptist, Baptist is my name, I hope to live and die the same, Oh Baptist numbered in God." "Gabriel's trumpet is the voice of God, to wake up the members in the old Church Yard." The singer regrets his (sister's) death and looks forward to the afterlife

A wife comes in after moving the cow. Her husband insists she move it. She says "it is already done." He tells her again and "obedience is the woman's part." She complains that he is sour and sulky. He insists "obedience by nicht and day": move the cow!

"Ho! Why dost thou shiver and shake, Gaffer Gray? And why does thy nose look so blue?" Gray's clothes are old, he is old, and the weather is bad. The priest, the lawyer, the squire will not help. But other poor men will share what little they have

Gairdner and the Plooman, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #339}

A gardner has long courted the girl, "But the blythe blink o the plooman lad Has stown my hairt frae me, me, Has stown my hairt frae me." The singer first saw her love singing "under a bush o' rue." She finally turns to the plooman

Jamaican patois: The singer marries a nice girl, but she can't cook. Send her back to her mother. Instructions on making soup: boil akee, add anotta. It's easy to poison someone. He asks, sometimes laughing, do you want to kill me?

Gale of August '27, The: (1 ref. 4K Notes) {Roud #9431}

87 fishermen set out in April for the Sable Island fishing grounds. When a storm blows up, their vessels sink and all are lost. A memorial service in Lunenburg draws 5000. The singer hopes they will meet again in Heaven

A sailor and a girl meet. She gives him her address, saying her husband would be glad to meet them. He mentions his wife and newborn son. They go off to her farm hand in hand; sailor, woman, and husband spend dinner and a pleasant afternoon together

Michael Hayes claims he shot the land agent when he went to pay his rent and he has been running since. He describes the manhunt across Ireland and on ships at port. They go to America: "The paper said they had him caught" but he was not.

Gallant Forty-Twa, The: (4 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #1877}

Weaver Willie Brown enlists. The first sergeant fears he'll "make an awfu' mess o' the gallant forty-twa." Willie is always "first man at the table." When he goes home on furlough he'll teach his comrades to handle a gun and show them he's a corporal.

Gallant Grahams, The: (3 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #5618}

"As I was crossing ower Boyne Water... For the killin' o' an English lord My gude braid sword they've ta'en frae me." The singer complains of being abandoned by the Grahams. He escapes and flees from his home in Carrickfergus

The beautiful damsel waits at her father's gate for the hussars to pass by. At last she sees her lover. She reports that her parents kept her confined for a whole year, but she is all the more determined to follow and marry him

Gallant Ninety-Twa, The: (1 ref. 2K Notes) {Roud #3776}

"Brave Ninety-Twa, I've read your story, A valour tale of fadeless glory." "Reared 'mong these glens 'mid which I stand, The brave, heroic Gordons grand." The singer lists places visited by the Ninety-Second, and hopes it will retain its fame

Gallant Shearers, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #5593}

As autumn brings on the shearing, the singer asks, "Bonnie lassie, will ye gang... To join yon band of shearers?" He promises to work hard for her -- e.g. if it is dry, he will still love her; if it is hot, he will still work, and she will remain his

Gallant Shoemaker, The: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3950}

A girl is courted by a wealthy farmer, but loves a shoemaker. Her father confines her to make her change her mind. She sends a letter to her love. He rides by and carries her away. They live happily, "For she had gotten her shoemaker."

Gallant Sixty-Ninth, The: (3 refs. 5K Notes) {Roud #V41521}

"We are privates in the Sixty-Ninth, We follow the fife and drum; We can't forget our comrades, And their glory at Bull Run... Our boys helped gain the day." "We march behind the band, true sons of Paddy's land." They remember Ireland, fight for the Union

A soldier, passing through Ayr, asks a girl to leave home and he'd give her towers, castles and gold. She agrees. In Dundee he buys her a gown. At Inverness he meets a prettier girl. The first asks for her towers, etc. He has none and gives her no gold.

(Peggy) comes out and sees the soldiers marching by. She falls in love with one and offers to marry him. He warns her of the problems of travel and separation. She offers to come with him; she has money to care for herself. He agrees to marry her

"Come all you Beaver Island boys, I hope you will draw near To hear my lamentation." The singer tells of Tommy Boyle, drowned in Lake Michigan.His father mourns him. The priest praises him. He was proper and tall. All wish him rest in "that blessed land"

"When I was in the army I was a cavalryman you know, And whenever I went on parade A magnificent picture I made." "Bumpety, bumpety... All the girls declare that I'm a gay old stager Hey, hey, clear the way here comes the galloping major."

"I will tak my plaidie, contented to be, A wee bit kiltie abune my knee...." "For the Gallowa Hills are covered wi' broom... And we'll gang oot ower ths hills tae Gallowa." The girl will leave/sell all (distaff, reel, spinning wheel) to join her lad

Gallows [Laws L11]: (12 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #896}

A young man is to be hanged. His family and a clergyman contrive a few minutes delay by each asking for a last word. Just before the boy is to be hanged, his true love arrives with a royal pardon and he is saved

Gals O' Dublin Town, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7989}

Capstan shanty (also listed as a forebitter) Chorus: "Hurrah, hurrah, for the gals o' Dublintown. Hurrah for the bonnie green flag and the harp without the crown."

The singer left his Galveston Rose out of misplaced jealousy. Years later, now lonely, he writes to her. His letter is answered with a letter saying she has died; enclosed is her curl and note that she is waiting for him in heaven.

"The sun was brightly shining down In good old Texas state... The children played upon the streets Without a single care" when the skies grow dark. The storm hits, and many are left grieving. "In Galveston alone, 6000 felt the hand of death"

"If you ever go across the sea to Ireland," then perhaps you can see Galway Bay. It's a land of beautiful women and children in the fields. They still speak a language the English don't know. The singer hopes to return there after death

"Every person in the nation Or of great or humble station Holds in highest estimation Piping Tim of Galway." He plays for all occasions. Even the birds are impressed by his playing

On August 17 "half a million" gather at Galway for the horse races.The multitudes and occupations are described in great variety. "There was yet no animosity, no matter what persuasion"

The singer walks out in May and sees a beautiful girl in a Galway shawl. He comes to her home and meets her parents. She sings beautifully to his musical accompaniment. He leaves the next morning, but cannot stop thinking of her.

"My moments are lonesome, no pleasure I find, My true love is a gambler, It troubles my mind." Her love is gone. Gambling has put him in prison; it made him threaten to shoot her. She warns other girls of those who love cards more than wives

"Good morning, Mister Railroad Man, What time do your trains roll by? At nine-sixteen and two-forty-four And twenty-five minutes till five." The gambler watches trains, wanders, and thinks about the woman who left him.

Gambler's Sweetheart, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #7426}

"Forever remember your dark-eyed girl Whose love was ever true, Who has waited for your coming...." She accuses him of gambling while leaving her alone at home. She warns him that some day he'll find her dead.

A young man murders his comrade and is condemned to die. His family's pleas for him are in vain; despite repenting, he is hanged. His downfall is blamed on his habit of gambling on the sabbath day

Game of Cards (I), The: (11 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #232}

A young man meets a girl by the highway. They walk together; she would play a game. He wants her to learn "the game of all fours." When the "cards" are "dealt," she takes his "jack." If he will return, she offers to "play the game over and over again."

Game of Cards (II), The: (5 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #V4231}

Cahill, Napoleon, D'Esterre and O'Connell, Castlereagh and Pitt are presented as players of all-fours or twenty-five representing Erin, France and John Bull. In 1798, "'Twas easy to beat drunken men." Now we're sober. "Nearly ready to finish the game"

The game warden catches the singers netting salmon. He takes the nets but agrees, for a ride, not to turn them in. But he sends a letter to the magistrate. They are met by the judge with a summons. The warden gets half the $10 fine.

Gamekeepers Lie Sleeping: (10 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #363}

"I keep my dogs and my ferrets too, O I have them in my keepin' To catch good hares all in the night While the gamekeeper lies sleeping." The singer goes out one night and poaches a female rabbit. Her cries bring the keepers, but he escapes and sells her

Norwegian. Pumping shanty. "Udi Parmerenti Hollan, der laa en gammal brigg." There is an old, ill-equipped brig in Parmerent, Holland. She goes to sea anyway. Her keel is bent. Fortunately the crew realizes it soon enough to make it back to land

"Gan to the kye wi' me, my love, Gan to the kye wi' me; Over the moor and thro' the grove, I'll sing ditties to thee." The girl's cattle were stolen after he was killed in battle, but the singer hopes the kine are enough to support them

Ganging Through the Howe, Geordie: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #13585}

Geordie goes to be with the girls spinning. He's no longer welcome there. He once "had Susan at your will" but thinks he has lost her also. The singer advises him to call on her again before his term ends "an ye'll get a kiss And maybe something mair"

Dutch. Capstan shanty. "Ons stuurmanheeft er een vrounttje getrouwd.... Fal-de-ral-de-ri, Fal-de-ral-de-ra, Houra, houra, houra!" The mate has taken a wife, and regrets it; she can't sew or cook. The men ask him to give them a drink from his bottle.

The singer describes the hard life in prison, abused by the guards, granted only the poorest food, and forced to work the treadmill and engage in other backbreaking labour. The singer, once free, vows to leave all such things behind

Garb of Old Gaul, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #V12814}

"In the garb of old Gaul, with the fire of old Rome, From the heath-covered mountains of Scotia we come." The people of the HIghland have always been fiercely independent; and now they will defy the French wherever they are

Mary and William have planned a secret meeting. She arrives at the garden gate at eight; William is not there. Nine comes; she searches, then vows to forsake him. He finally arrives at ten; he had been shopping for a ring. She forgives him

"The Lord into his garden comes, the flowers yield a rich perfume." The hymn describes how God's presence brings life to the garden. Jesus will "conquer all his foes And make his people one."

""Have you ever been in love, me boys, Oh! have you felt the pain? I'd rather be in jail, I would, than be in love again.... I'd have you all to know That I met her in the garden where the praties grow." The two marry and live happily ever after

Gardener, The [Child 219]: (13 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #339}

A "gardener" comes to a lady, offering many flowers if she will marry him. She is not interested.

Gardener's Delight, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #7186}

"The gardener delights in his jolly flowers ... But my delight's in a bonny young lass." Adam, "lord and king o' the nation," needed "a young lass to lie near him" to complete his bliss. The singer is poor but "the rich and grand" have no more than he.

Gardner and the Ploughman, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6845}

The singer is courted by a gardner, tailor, and sailor but prefers her ploughman [his breath is sweetest] but he has "misshapen" her gown He overhears her, proposes and says she can fix the gown. She accepts. They marry.

"Oh, Garfield, Killed a man, killed a man, killed a man, Little Garfield." "Big Garfield" smoked a $200 cigar, "Little Garfield" a $50 smoke, Little Garfield shoots Big Garfield. One says, "Don't let my loving wife know."

Garland of Love, The: (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1247}

The singer says she'll weave her love a garland of lilies and roses, though they're not as sweet as he. She recalls his charms and easing his sighs. She hopes to marry him but "if he proves false ... For me to seek pleasure it would be in vain"

Of a girl who has lost her thyme and her love. She uses other symbols to describe her sad state: With her thyme gone, her life is "spread all over with rue"; a woman is a "branching tree"; a man, a wind blowing through the branches and taking what he can

The singer recalls "the days of my youth [when] I roamed down to the seashore, With my golden-haired Kathleen to Garnish white strand" In all his travels since none can compare with her. He wishes he might return. He knows she is waiting.

"I sing of Garrawilla, a station of the glen...." Though the singer says, "A shearer's life is jolly," he also complains of the bad conditions and the demands for fast and accurate work. But he concludes, "Heaven's sheep are shorn by Garrawilla men"

"Garryowen's gone to rack, We'll win her olden glories back." Sarsfield "tramp'd the English banner down ... And we will take our father's place And scowl into the Saxon face" "Draw your swords for Garryowen and swear upon the Treaty stone"

"Let Bacchus's sons be not dismayed"; "booze and sing" ;"take delight in smashing the Limerick lamps" and fighting in the streets. Doctors can fix our bruises. Break windows and doors. Beat bailiffs. "Where'er we go they dread the name Of Garryowen"

Fragment: "She was accompanied by two vessels more, When to her misfortune on the Patch she bore. There was calico, check and some velveteen ...The likes of this vessel you never had known: The American trader called the Garryowen"

The singer meets the "star of Garvagh town." She refuses his advances because he is a Roman Catholic. She remarks favorably on the "twenty-two religions held up in Garvagh town." They share a drink, discuss their differences further, shake hands and part

"Belfast and the new fashioned gas ... can from all darkness deliver." Business men, "jolly commanders," are named. People "from Scotland and England from Holland and Flanders" meet. Tradesmen are busy. Saturday nights are lively, well lit and safe.

King James and all his Host" attack Derry "but vain were all their Popish arts, The Gates were shut by gallant hearts ...The 'Prentice Boys" "Red war, with fiery breath Cast pestilence and death" until "the gallant ship Mountjoy" broke the seige.

A boastful youth meets a girl at a dance, takes her to her mother's bedside and seduces her.

"Gather in, gather in, For a big, big ring. If you don't come quick, You won't get in."

"Gather ye Rose-buds while ye may Old Time is still a-flying: And this same flower that smiles to day, To morrow will be dying." Women are told to marry before it is too late

Gathering Mushrooms: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #7001}

The singer meets a maid in the fields and asked what she is doing out so early. She is gathering mushrooms to make her mommy catsup. "Her panting breast on mine she pressed ... And her lips on mine did gently join And we both sat down together"

Gathering Nuts in May: (16 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6308}

"Here we go gathering nuts in May, nuts in May, nuts in May, Here we go gathering... On a bright and pretty day." "Who will you have for your nuts in May?" "We'll have (a boy) for the nuts in May." A girl will "pull him across." Repeat for each player

Gathering Rushes: (12 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #831 and 3380}

The singer meets a maid with rushes she'd been gathering. She goes with him to a shady grove. See asks him not to tease her nor break her rushes. They have sex. She says her mother will chide her and, if she has a baby, the world will "scoff and frown"

Girl gathers rushes and bears a child, wrapping it in her apron. The baby cries; her father asks who the father was and where it was conceived, vowing to burn the place. The father was a sailor; she conceived "by yonder spring, where the small birds sing"

Gatton Tragedy, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #22592}

"The night was dark and the moon in clouds; the stars they studded the sky, And gazing down on this fatal earth to see three innocents die" near Gatton. A mother waits for her children. At last word comes that they are dead; she faints

"There was a captain of the fleet, A bonnie lassie he did entreat (x2) For to wed wi' him a sailor." She says her mother will not approve, and advises him to dress as a gauger. He fails to find any gin in the house, and says he will take the lass instead

Gay Caballero, The: (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #10095}

The gay caballero meets a gay senorita who gives him "exceedingly painful clapito" that results in a doctor cutting off the end of his "latraballee" and one of his "latraballeros." (In another version, her husband arrives, with predictable results)

Gay Girl Marie [Laws M23]: (9 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #1020}

The singer sends a love letter to his "gay girl Marie." The courier, however, delivers it to her father, who is outraged, and sends her into exile. The singer searches at great length, and is almost in despair when he hears a girl weeping and it is Marie

Gay Goshawk, The [Child 96]: (14 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #61}

An English lass is forbidden to marry the Scot she loves. He sends a message by his goshawk. She asks to be buried in Scotland should she die. This granted, she feigns death. Her coffin is taken to where her lover waits; they are reunited

"I am a gay muttonbirder, Come from old Colac and further, I went o'er the sea in the S. S. Wetere...." "We catch all our birds in the torching," then they slaughter in the night. When the season end, they drink and feast until they're broke

At a house on our street "the red-haired one is mine ... she's a gay old hag." We sat on the bed and with the last kiss I drove her crazy. I have money "from the Newross girl" but I'll not forsake my my "darlin' little wife ... she's a gay old hag"

A rich farmer's daughter meets and falls in love with her father's ploughboy. He warns that her father will oppose them. She gives him twelve hundred pounds and they elope from Belfast for North America.

The girl bids her lover farewell as he prepares to sail. A storm sinks the ship soon after it starts on its way; the entire crew is killed except her lover, who clings to a plank. She hears that the ship is lost and dies before her lover reaches her

Gaelic. Singer leads Mary astray but falls asleep, leaving her a virgin. His heart "is coal-black ... And for nine days I've wrestled with very death itself." Advice: "women are all guile; ... sleep the more soundly without them"

"As I was a-driving my watton one day, I met a young damsel, tight, buxom, and gay"; the wagoner greets her and bows to her; chorus: "Gee ho, dobbin, hi ho, dobbin, Gee ho, dobbin, gee up and gee ho."

Gee, But I Want to Go Home: (9 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #10053 and 11686}

A soldier complains about the coffee ("It's good for cuts and bruises And it tastes like iodine), food, clothes, work, and girls at the service club. Chorus: "I don't want no more of army life. Gee, but I want to go home"

"Gee, hallo, hallo, blackie cap, Let us lie down and take a nap. Suppose our master chance to come? You must fly and I must run. Gee hallo, hallo hallo! Gee hallo, hallo, hallo!"

"Geese in the millpond, Pickin' out moss, Devil on the hillside, Runnin' like a hoss."

German. "Gelobet sei, Gelobet sei Der Herr mein Gott. Gelobet sei Der Herr mein Gott. Gelobet, gelobet, Gelobet sei Der Herr mein Gott. "Praised be the Lord my God."

Amish hymn in German.. "Gelobt sey Gott in hochsten Thron, Der uns hat auserkohrsen, Hat uns enin schonen Rock anthon, Dass wir wey neu gebohren." "Praes be God in the highest throne, He who has chosen us... So that we are born again."

The singer bids farewell to his old home, detailing all the historic and beautiful places nearby, "For I must go far from the Roe, my fortune to pursue." He promises to remember, and hopes that he will meet old friends again

"Come all you sons of liberty that to the seas belong"; the singer will describe the fight made by the privateer General Armstrong against John Bull. Captain Champlin fights hard but at last the ship is so damaged that it cannot continue

Canadian French. "C'est a la RIvier Rouge, Nouvelles sone arrivees." News comes to the Red River of a "general" recruiting Metis to help him take over Mexico. "General" Dickson promises them honor in Mexico, but they all "desert" him

French: "Oh General Florido! C'est vrai ye pas capab' pren moin!" "Oh, General Florido, It is true, you can't capture me." "There is a ship on the ocean, It is true, you can't capture me."

General Fox Chase, The: (6 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #5226}

"I am a bold undaunted fox" who has always paid his rent and taxes. The land agent evicts him. "I stole away his ducks and geese, and murdered all his drakes." The "fox" becomes the target of a manhunt across Ireland and escapes to "the land of liberty"

General Guinness "is a soldier strong and 'stout,' Found on every 'bottle-front'" "He always finds a corkscrew far more handy than a sword." He "kept our spirits up in the midst of all the wars." "All over Bonnie Scotland too the General is seen"

"My Maryland, my Maryland, I bring thee presents fine, A dazzling sword with jewelled hilt...." (The Confederates "woo" the border state, but the end is bloody): "My Maryland, my Maryland, alas the ruthless day... Proud gentlemen... whose bones lie stark"

A memorial to Michael Collins. His part in the Easter rising is recalled as well as other activities before the Treaty. "De Valera and his Die-hards they forced Civil War And Mick Collins was ambushed ... brother on brother they never should turn"

At Ballynahinch Monro and his men fight until night. Monro pays a woman not to tell where he is hiding. She calls the army. They takes him home to Lisburn. He is hanged, beheaded and his head put on a spear. Monro's sister swears to avenge his death.

Battle-weary Owen Roe finds a place to sleep. He pays a woman not to tell where he is hiding. She calls the cavalry. They capture him. He leaves his land to his family and his bridle and saddle to his son. His sister swears to avenge his death.

"We fought them at Manasses, We fought them at their will, The next time, boys, we fight them, It will be on Richmond Hill." "Show me the man That whipped General Patterson." The singer is a Yankee prisoner but expects Confederate victory

General Rawlinson, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #26430}

General Rawlinson leaves Marystown and docks at New Harbour. In a gale "the vessel struck the rocks" and sinks but the crew get to shore. They spend three weeks on meager rations waiting to be taken home.

General Scott and the Veteran: (3 refs. 5K Notes) {Roud #9583}

"An old and crippled veteran to the War Department came" to volunteer his services in the Civil War: "I'm not so weak but I can strike, and I've got a good old gun...." "We will plant our sacred banner in each rebellious town...."

General Summary, A: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #25360}

As found in tradition, just a few lines: "As it was in the beginning Is today, official sinning, And shall be forevermore."

"Oh, General Wolfe to his men did say, 'Come, come my boys, To yon blue mountain that stands so high...." "The very first volley the French fired at us, They wounded our general on his left breast." The dying Wolfe recalls his exploits

"General wonder in our land ... As General Hoche appeared; General woe fled through our land ... General gale our fears dispersed ... General joy each heart has swelled, As General Hoche has fled... General of the skies That sent us general gale"

A farmer stops a lame soldier. He invites him in for food and beer. The soldier eats, drinks, and tells how his comrades were lost in battle. The farmer says, "This brave fellow shall ne'er want a morsel of bread For he's one that has guarded our land"

The singer reports that it is harvest time, and soon he will be traveling on. He bids farewell to "gentle Annie," the daughter of the farm. He offers her various warnings

"As I roved out one evening As I sat down to rest, I saw a boy scarce four years old Sleep on his mother's breast." They tell about his father who sailed away and was lost in a hurricane. "They cast their eyes to heaven and son and mother died."

"A virgin goes a maying" gathering flowers "growing in my lady's garden." A misstep and "Gentle John will make you cry" or "Give you a kiss" [counting in a player who selects a mate] The mate "is none of ours," is in the player's power: make a wedding.

A girl and a captain fall in love and vow to be true. After he sails away, though, she turns to another man. When the captain returns, she scorns him. He dies on the day of her wedding. That night he appears as a ghost and carries her away with him

Soldier brings woman into his sentry-box. They have sex; he prepares to leave. She asks him to marry her; he says he can't, as he's already married -- and "two wives are allowed in the army, but one's too many for me!" Nine months later she has a child.

Gently Does the Trick: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #8870}

"Come all and hear me sing A song both good and wise" warning of various absurd conditions. Haste can be dangerous, "Gently does the trick," e.g. when dismounting an unbroken bronco or stealing a woman's jewelry

"Gently down the stream of time Floats our bark toward the sea." "Friends have gone, and ties are broken." A reflection on time and death: "We shall come to them at last... When the day of life is past, And our weary work is done."

"Gently lead me lest I stray, O my savior, day by day, Sadely lead till life is past, Till I reach the fold at last." "Lead me, O my savior, Lead and guide me, Lead me gently on...." The singer hopes to hear Jesus's call at the end of life

Gently, Johnny, My Jingalo: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5586}

The speaker successively places his hands on various portions of his love's anatomy, all of them respectable. She tells him, "Come to me, quietly, do not do me injury/Gently, Johnny, my jingalo". They marry.

Geordie is taken (for killing a man or the king's deer). When word comes to his lady, she sets out to do all possible to save his life. In most accounts she raises his ransom, though in others Geordie is executed

Geordie Cunningham: (3 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #15528}

Geordie would have sex with his sister. She rejects him "for there's a day o judgement." He says "there is nae heaven abune us Nor ony hell beneath." He is stricken down by God immediately. There's nothing ahead "but death I plainlie see"

The singer and Geordie, who follows the plough, are in love. He has a farm, horses, cattle, "a house in guid order and everything fine." He has promised to marry in the summer and she will bid farewell to her other sweethearts.

"Hae ye heard o' a widow in rich attire... She's followed a tinker frae Dee-side, His name was Geordie Downie." She rejoices to follow tinker Geordie rather than her former husband. But he gets drunk, kills her, and falls off his horse and dies

"Of aw the lads I see or ken, There's yen I like abuin the rest; He's neycer in his warday duds Than others donn'd in aw their best." The singer recalls all the held she has had from Geordie. She admits that her heart is in his keeping

The singer says that lassies that "wishes to keep a guid name" stay way from Schoolhill when "stockin' merchant." Geordie is home. Now "my bonnie hosein' laddie" is in Holland and "I win'er gin he minds on me"

Geordie Sits In Charlie's Chair: (2 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #3808}

"Geordie sits in Charlie's chair ... Charlie yet shall mount the throne." "Weary fa' the Lawland loon, Whae took frae him the British crown" whom the clans fought at Prestonpans. Cumberland's adventures in hell are recounted.

At Aikey Fair the singer hires to Geordie Williamson. The cattleman, mistress, Ned the gardner, Jean the cook, and Jim the bailie [cattleman] are described. The food is bread and cheese. The cook is ugly but "she thocht she wis an awful swell"

"A maid of vain glory, with grandeur and pride Was asked by a ploughman for to be his bride." She rejects him, saying she would prefer to be hanged. He lists his assets. She still scorns him. He concludes, "I swear you shall never get me for a man."

"Geordie's frank and Geordie's free The lasses like Geordie but Geordie likes me; What would the lasses o' Buchan gie For the favour o' my bonnie Geordie?"

Geordie's Lost His Penker: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #8244}

Geordie has lost his penker (largest marble) in a cundy (drain-grate). The singer rams a clothes prop up the cundy, but can't retrieve the penker. He ties on a terrier, but fails; finally he blows up the drain -- as Geordie finds the penker in his pocket

"I wad sing a sang to you, Gin ye waur not a whig" about Geordie's burnt wig. "Fan he saw the wig was sung" he "flang't to the fire"

George Alfred Beckett: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #26431}

Beckett leaves Perlican for the coal fields of Cape Breton. At Glace Bay, he beats a taximan to death with an iron bar, intending to rob him. He escapes back to Newfoundland but is caught and returned to stand trial in Cape Breton

George Barnwell is seduced by prostitute Sarah Millwood. He steals from his master and, robs and kills his wealthy uncle. When the money is exhausted Sarah would turn him in. He runs but writes a letter resulting in her hanging. He hangs as well.

George Barnwell (II): (6 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #546}

"Vicked woman of the town", Mary Millwood seduces George Barnwell, apprentice to a London merchant. She convinces him to kill his uncle but he finds no money to rob. Millwood "peach'd him" He is hanged. Many, including the merchant's daughter, lament

George Bunker goes fishing but sees Nellie on the shore. He takes her for a "walk" and promises to marry her. He is already married. He sails away for fish intending to return to Nellie.

George Jones [Laws D20]: (9 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1817}

George Jones, of County Clare, tells the account of the Saladin mutiny. The mutineers kill the Captain and others of the crew, then are shipwrecked. Jones bids farewell and awaits execution

Kelly and his crew prepare a logging camp for the rest of the men. He then hires "the cheapest you'll find." He sends the cook away. He "lost his whole crew" when they find the cook is gone. "Farewell to George Kelly, we'll ne'er see him more."

Charles Mann recalls his quiet youth. He describes murdering John Whatmaugh along with Gustave Ohr (blaming the deed on Ohr). They fly but are captured. He grieves for his father, come to see him die. He warns young men against his crime

Lady Gray asks the judge to spare George's life but George is condemned to be hanged. A rake that had taken ladies' rings and jewels, he apparently is condemned for stealing and selling the king's steeds. He is hung "in silken string"

George Ridler's Oven: (5 refs. 5K Notes) {Roud #1319}

Bald George Ridler built an oven; his three sons sing. "My Dog and I" verses that don't mention George or his sons. The singer's mother warns him that strong beer will prove his overthrow. The singer complains that he is only welcome when he has money.

"George Washington never told a lie, He went 'round and stole a cherry pie. How many Cherries was in that pie? One, to three...."

George's Bank (II): (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #16964}

A captain's wife and three babes wait for the ship sunk on George's Bank. "Now many's brave fishermen sacrificed yearly Out on the ocean where danger do rise But God is father and lover of these children. Help and pity us poor fisherman's wives"

Johnny Doyle sails for China leaving Mary pregnant. Years later Mary's son grows up. She dresses as a sailor and ships aboard a pirate to find Johnny. Their ships meet. Johnny is a captain. They return home, marry and she becomes pregnant again.

"Oh, my name is Georgia Buck, and I never had much luck." Various verses about Georgia's troubles and his wife, typically ending "Georgia Buck is dead, the last thing he said Was, 'Don't ever let a woman have her way" (or "Dig me a hole in the ground.")

"Georgia's creek where I forsake, To the red stone hills I came; I fell in love with a pretty little girl...." The two ride together to Charleston, but pray to escape the town. They look forward to returning to the hills where she will keep bees

"My gal don't wear button-up shoes, Her feet too big for gaiters, All she's fit for [is] a dip of snuff...." "My dog died of whooping cough." The singer talks of his work. At the end, the singer requests to be taken back to Georgia Land

"De little stars am blinkin', Cuase dey wants to go to sleep, Bye, oh mah baby, hush-a-bye." The stars need to watch, but baby can sleep. Mother is the sheep, baby is the lamb, and the mother loves the baby

Rhymes about George Best rhyming with "superstar." For example, "How many knickers have you wore so far?"

"Georgie Porgie [or Rowley Poley], pudding and pie, Kissed the girls and made them cry, When the boys came out to play, Georgie Porgie ran away."

"On the seventeenth of March, my boys, good people you all may know" Georgina leaves Liverpool "all bound for Pernambuco in South America" [fragment; first verse only]

The shantyman sings "Georgy, me neck-a-broke" or "... I got no neck-a-broke." The chorus is "Hold 'em George, I damn near neck a broke ... I damn near are too broke ... I got no neck-a-broke."

"German boys (they are/they act/are not) so funny, This is the way they count their money." Players count from one penny up to (a shilling), with actions for each total

A German (clockwinder/musician) comes to town, offering to "(mend/wind) (clocks/pianos)" by day or night. A lady takes his offer. Her husband finds them at work. He beats the German, who vows never again "to wind up the clock of another man's wife."

"I once fell deep in love, sir, In a true colonial way, WIth a German girl who played and sung in the 'Union' Bar all day." New to Australia, he is beguiled and wastes much money in the bar. She changes workplaces; he follows her until his cash runs out

456 stanzas about Robin Hood, his men, his travels, his robberies, his courtesy, his victims, his relations with the king, his piety, his betrayal and death, etc. Much of the ballad deals with Little John, the Sheriff, and their relations with Robin

"Get a bit of pork, And stick it on a fork, And give it to The Jew boy, Jew."

Get Along, Little Dogies: (48 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #827}

Characterized by the chorus, "Whoopee ti yi yo, get along, little dogies, It's your misfortune and none of my own. Whoopee ti yi yo, get along, little dogies,You know Wyoming will be your new home." Tells of herding cattle down the trail for slaughter

"Little Miss Muffet sat on a tuffet... There came a spider, sat down beside her, Whipped his old bazooka out," and begs, "Get hold of this... When there isn't a girl you feel so lonely..." Various tales of how men satisfy themselves without women

Get Me Down My Petticoat: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2565}

"Get me down my petticoat, get me down my shawl, Get me down my buttoned boots, for I'm off to Linen Hall." The singer goes to seek her love, who may have enlisted to fight the Boers. She asks the British to hold the Dubliners back

Get On Board, Little Children: (29 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #13948}

"The gospel train is coming, I hear it just at hand... Get on board, little children (x3), There's room for many a more." The train will carry all who wish to board, and "the fare is cheap."

"Just a boy and a girl in a little canoe And the moon was shining all around." They talk as it grows dark; he tells her, "You'd better kiss me or get out and swim!" "So you know what to do in a little canoe... GET OUT AND SWIM!"

World War I lyric set to the tune of the infantry reveille: "Get out of bed! Get out of bed! You lay bastards. I feel sorry for you I do."

"The Yellowskins here in these hills Now know how it appears To have their gold by others stole As we have suffered for years. Get out, Yellowskins, get out (x2), We'll do it again if you don't go. Get out, Yellowskins, get out!"

"Get that boat! my lucky little driver, Get that boat, get that boat, I say." The singer orders the crew to overtake the boat ahead of them, even if it means skinning them alive, or crashing into the other vessel if it won't get out of the way

"Love is but a song we sing, Fear's the way we die." "Come on, people now... Everybody get together, Try to love one another right now." We are not here long, so love those around you

Old man and old wife must bar the door; neither wants to. They agree that whoever speaks first shall bar the door. Thieves enter the house, and play tricks on the couple. At last the old (man) cries out; the (wife) orders him orders him to bar the door

"Get up early in the morning, Go and bait your trawl, You scarce had time to light your pipe, When over your dories go. And make three runs a day, No matter how hard she blows, And the devil is in the merchant, boys, He just keeps us alive."

"Here comes in a guid new year" The singers come to the back of the house. "Rise up, goodwife and shake your feathers .. gie us oor hogmanay. ... Up stocks, doun steils, Dinna think that we're feils" We're cold. "Gie's a piece an' lat's rin"

Get Up, Jack! John, Sit Down!: (11 refs. 4K Notes) {Roud #2807}

A song of the eternal tasks of the sailor, repeated from generation to generation. The sailors all enjoy their rum, find girls in the towns, get drunk, spend their money, and have to return to sea, as their fathers did before him.

Singing game. "Here stands a loving couple, Join heart and hand, One wants a wife, And the other wants a man." They hope to agree to marry and have hog and harmony. Once married, the man goes to war. After the war, he joyfully returns home.

"First young gent with the right hand round, Back to the left and swing clear around, Swing her to the center and we'll all join hands, Such I getting upstairs I never did see, Such a getting upstairs, it don't suit me." Continues with more dance steps

Ghaist o' Fernden, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5872}

A farmer's wife needs a midwife but the men won't fetch one for fear of meeting "the ghaist o' Fern-den." The ghost himself fetches the midwife and, leaving her at the farmer's door, reveals his identity and promises to take her home at midnight.

"Just below the Manchurian border, Korea is the spot, We're due to spend time here In the land that God forgot." The soldiers endure bad weather and nasty creatures, have no comforts, and are forgotten and ignored by those safe at home

Game. "Mother, I see a ghost." The mother responds, "IT was only your father's coat hanging up." The ghost appears and catches someone who becomes the next ghost.

"When I was but a tiny boy, And sailed on board a privateer, Three dreadful ghosts did me annoy": a woman and her two children, betrayed by the ship's Captain Rock. He tells her where to find the captain. The captain meets them but concludes he is drunk

Ghost of the Peanut Stand, The: (3 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #2762}

Biddie Magee owns a Jersey City peanut stand. She loves Connie O'Ryan who joins the army. Biddy takes to bed and dies, "the peanut-stand went up the spout," Connie is drummed out. Her house is haunted by the ghosts of Biddy, Connie, and the peanut stand

John Gordon comes to court Mary, saying her lover, his brother, is long dead. She agrees to marry him. She hears the dead brother speak, saying John stole his land, wife, and life. When John Gordon awakes, Mary is gone, her bones by the brother's grave

Ghostly Crew, The [Laws D16]: (17 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #1822}

A sailor has endured much without fear -- until the night twelve ghosts board his ship and take stations "as if [they] had a right." They disappear as the ship passes a lighthouse. The singer is sure they are sailors drowned in a collision with his ship

Teasing game. "Giddy giddy gout, You're shirt's hanging out. Five miles in, And ten miles out." Or "Little Devil Doubt, If you don't give me money, I'll sweep you all out...."

Giein' the Nowte Their Fother: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3934}

"As I rode in by yon bonnie waterside... there I spied a weel-faur'd maid, She was gien the nowte their fodder." He asks her to fancy him; she replies that she has no dowry. Next summer, he returns and asks again, and makes her a rich lady

"So sunbaked, barren, bleak, and full of tears The country seemed; so stretched the endless years." Her husband brings her a "small floral gift." There is "no lovelier diadem" than the Sego lily. She blesses the man who brought her to "Dixie"

The schooner Gigantic, with a crew of six, leaves Newfoundland for Portugal and has a difficult crossing from October 22 until November 13. They land their cargo of fish and take on salt for the trip home.

Gil Brenton [Child 5]: (11 refs. 6K Notes) {Roud #22}

A lord is preparing to wed. His bride seeks to conceal the fact that she is not a virgin, but the truth -- that she had once slept with a lord in a wood -- comes out. It is then revealed that the man she slept with was her husband-to-be.

Gila Monster Route, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #9924}

A hobo is left behind by the train. The poem recalls his history: He and his pal, given a handout, used it for wine rather than food, got drunk, and were arrested. Set free, the hobo wanders until he catches another train

"Gilderoy was as bonny a boy as e'er cam tae the glen." The singer describes his charms and how lovingly he once cared for her. He taken as an outlaw. He is convicted (falsely, in her mind) and hanged because the laws were so strict

"Come all New England men And hearken unto me And I will tell what did befalle Upon the Gallows tree." "In Salem village was the place." "This Goody Corey was a witch." Wife and husband are accused; he is pressed to death and she is hung

"Giles Scroggins courted Molly Brown... If you love me as I love you, No knife can cut our love in two." "But scissors cut as well as knives... For just as they were going to wed, Fate's scissors cut poor Giles's thread." She refuses his ghost in a dream

"Gilhooly gave a party to his friends a week ago, There were guests from County Sligo and Galway and Mayo." The many sorts of food are described. People eat in strange and messy ways. Eventually Gilhooly charges the diners ten dollars each

"What a mischief whisky's done ... Brings muckle grief at hame." Jake gets drunk and sets out "owre the ragin' main." Soldier Tam draws his pay but he and Soldier John drink it all. A husband buys meal at the mill but sells the sack to buy whisky.

Shanty. Characteristic line: "Dance, gal, gimme de banjo!" The singer "was sent to school fer to be a scholar," but had no success and left his books to others. (Now he is at sea picking the banjo)

"Gimme oil in my lamp, keep shinin' and look down. Gimme oil in my lamp; I will pray every day. Gimme oil in my lamp, keep shinin' and look down, Until the break of day." "Sing hosanna (x3) to the king of kings." "Give me (joy/love/faith) in my heart."

The singer, from the West Indies, now in U.S., complains that he has "lost my strength and my energy" because he cannot get gin and coconut water in America. He goes to a doctor who says, "Take this advice fom me ... go back to the West Indies"

Gin gang, goolie goolie goolie goolie watcha, Gin gang goo, Gin gang goo, Heyla, heyla sheyla, Heyla sheyla, Heyla, ho!... Shallywally, shallywally! Shallywally, shallywally! Oompah-oompah! Oompah-oompah!"

"Gin ye see my lad kiss him and clap him, And tell him that I was bookit [registered as betrothed in the session records] the streen."

Gin Ye Wed a Bonnie Wife: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #15120}

"Gin ye wed a bonnie wife Little sleep will sair [Greig/Duncan8: serve] ye"

Walky, talky, Ginger Blue, White man run, but the nigger he flew." "Wakin' talkin' Ginger Blue, I can tell you might true, I'm just from the Tennessee mountains. Take a drink of beer as sweet as water That flows from the Tennessee fountains."

Taunt against those with red hair. "Ginger, you're balmy/barmy, So is our Mammy."

Ginny's Gone to Ohio: (2 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #481}

"Ginny's gone to Ohio, Ginny's gone away, Ginny's gone to Ohio, Ginny's gone away." "Ginny's a pretty gal, don't you know," "Ginny's gone, an' I'm goin' too, " Ginny's dressed in strings and rags"

Chorus: "You can't read my mind. When you think I'm loving you I'm quitting you all the time." Singer has a girl in Georgia, one in Dixie, his home's in Carolina but he's got two children in Georgia.

"A merry, merry life we gipsies lead" in the forest. We pitch our tents by day, listen to song birds, sit under a tree and drink ale. We pitch our tents by night and drink a tankard.

The singer says he is the Gipsy King but he has no crown, courtiers, or ministers. His subjects are his equal and they share their table and drink. "They don't grudge me the largest glass, Nor ... the prettiest lass ... Ne'er a king do I envy"

"It's hard to make a living now, in country or in town, The rich man's great ambition is to pull the poor man down." The squatters bring in guards "to protect the long Giraffe" from shearers who demand better conditions. The shearers eventually succeed

Girl from Clahandine: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #18474}

Before the singer leaves for America he bids his friends adieu and tearfully leaves his girl. He finds no one in America as true or kind as the girl he left behind. When he has enough gold he'll return to marry her and settle in a cottage in Clahandine.

"Ye bards may sing your sweetest lays In praise of beauty's grace...." The singer went to Ballycastle fair, where he sees a beautiful girl. They meet again at a dance, and during a pause, he asks her name. He learns she is married. He laments

Girl I Left Behind (I), The [Laws P1A/B]: (75 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #262 and 23929}

Two lovers promise to be faithful. He then sets out on a voyage. Before they can be reunited, one or the other proves unfaithful. (In Laws's "A" texts, the man marries a Scottish girl and his love dies of a broken heart; in "B" texts, the girl is untrue)

Girl I Left Behind Me (II), The (lyric): (34 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #4497 and 7680 and 23929}

The singer recalls the girl he left behind, and now plans to return to her, even if it involves losing his job. He reminisces: "Oh, that girl, that sweet little girl, The girl I left behind me, With rosy cheeks and curly hair, The girl I left behind me."

The singer is bound for Baltimore but still thinks about "the girl I left behind me. My friends they sent me off for fear I'd wed a steam-loom weaver ... Sweet Helen, dear, tho' far from thee,Our hearts will ne'er be parted." He returns to Glasgow.

The war with France is over and, after ten years, the sailors "now return to embrace The partners of their bosoms." The singer plans to "spend my life to live and love The Girl I left behind me." When their lives are over they'll be together in heaven.

Singer bids farewell to his beloved and departs for the war. He shares "the glory of that fight." He swears that if he does not return, "Dishonor's breath shall never stain/The name I leave behind me." The girl may tell how she will miss him if he dies

The singer is happily returning home to see the girl he left behind. He recalls the joyful times in Tennessee. Finally the train pulls into his hometown, and he sees his relatives but not Mary. His mother tells him that Mary is dead and in her grave

Girl in Portland Street, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #9162}

Sailor meets a girl and they go about courting/seducing each other. Refrain of "Fal-de-lol-day" throughout. This has some of the anatomical progression verses of "Yo Ho, Yo Ho." Harlow's version ends with the sailor discovering the girl has a cork leg.

Girl of Constant Sorrow: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #499}

Singer tells of leaving her mother (now dead) and her home in Kentucky so that her children could be fed. She then describes the coal miners' poor food, homes and clothing; she is sure "if there's a heaven/That the miners will be there"

The singer was once such a "smart chap" that "the Prince of Wales he wanted me to go and join the army." Now he is "old an' frail like a dog without a tail" For that he blames his wife, Jane McLean the lass from Killie Kranky." She assails him

Girl on the Greenbriar Shore, The: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #17338}

Singer leaves his home, despite his brokenhearted mother's warnings, for the girl on the greenbriar shore. The girl leaves him, and he remembers his mother's words -- "Never trust a girl on the greenbriar shore."

"Girl scouts together that is our song, Winding the old trails, rocky and long, Learning our motto, living our creed, Girl scouts together in every good deed. Girl scouts together happy are we.... Known as true Girl Scouts wherever we roam."

The singer sees a pretty girl who "wore a waterfall." Eventually he walks her home, where he encounters her husband. The singer is beaten black and blue and relieved of watch and money. He says he will no longer approach girls with waterfalls!

(Johnny) has been ordered off to war. His sweetheart begs to go with him. He refuses her; military service would fade her beauty. She offers to buy his release; this too fails. (In some versions Johnny relents and allows her to come.)

What mournful news that we did hear." A girl is drowned in an icy stream. After a three day search her body is found. Her true love and parents mourn.

"My heart went pitty pitty patty As she passed me by so beautiful and fair. Oh, she winked at me with her soft blue eye, The girl with the flowing hair."

"One rainy day I'll ne'er forget, The prettiest girl I ever met, When she raised her skirts to the wet, I saw she had striped stockings on." He sees her often, with her stockings showing. They walk together. She steals his watch and chain

Girleen Don't Be Idle: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #16244}

Macaronic. "Girleen don't be idle, gather your ducks and mind 'em"

"My love is like a little bird that flies From tree unto tree, And when you are with a fairer maid Do you ever think of me? Must I go bound and you go free? Must I love a man that won't love me, And would I act a childish part, Marry a man that would...."

Girls o' Aiberdeen, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6003}

"I'll sing the flowers o' Don and Dee, The charming girls o' Aiberdeen." The Scottish lasses are better than the fair girls of England, but the girls of Aiberdeen are "far aboon them a'." "I loe the lasses ane and a'," but Aiberdeen girls best of all.

Girls of Coleraine, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #13460}

The singer talks of "a sweet little spot in the county of Derry." He says there is no such town in all Ireland. He warns against girls of the city, or places like Killarney. But girls and boys of Coleraine never change. He blesses the town

Girls of Newfoundland, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #9804}

The singer sailed from "a hot and sunny clime" for Harbour Grace thinking about "those girls from Newfoundland." Now the crew are home and "drink a health to all seamen bold" and enjoy the girls.

Girls of the King's Navy: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #350}

"The first thing we'll ask for, we'll ask for some men, And may we have one more for every good WREN." Or maybe ten men. The women also want more pay. And more dates. The XO offers them what they want -- and much more

"It being in the spring when the small birds sing And the lambs do sport and play, I entered as a passenger To New South Wales sailed o'er...." Sentenced to transportation for fourteen years, the singer bids farewell to the girls of the Shamrock Shore

Girls of Ulan, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #22663}

"The girls from Ulan need no schoolin' For blucher boots are all the go. And how their hobnail boots they rattle On that hard and slippery floor, Like a mob of Queensland cattle On the rush at four...."

A warning for those who try to reclaim gifts: "Give a thing, take it back, Dance upon the devil's back." Or, "...take it back, God will ask you Where is that. If you say that you don't know, God will send you down below."

"Give me a Blighty girl, a Blighty girl for me. I've been across the sea, I know what's good for me. French girls are very nice For Frenchmen I can see, But when I get back to Blighty, a Blighty girl for me."

"Oh, give me a hut in my own native land... I don't care how far in the bush it may be, If there's one faithful heart that will share it with me." The singer praises Australia and the life there, and hopes that someone will be willing to share said life

Gie's a preen [pin] to stick i' my thoom, To carry my lady to London toon. Oh London toon's a bonnie braw place; It's a' covered over wi' gold an' lace

Chorus: "Gimme Him gimme Him Aw sho Gimme Him Gimme Him until I die (x2)." Verses: Jesus died a happy death for sin that was not his own. "He died on the Roman cross That we might live"

"Oh, when I come to die (x3), Give me Jesus (x3), You may have all this world, Give me Jesus." "I heard my mother say (x3), Give me Jesus." "Dark midnight was my cry...." "In the morning when I rse...." "I heard the mourner say...."

Give Me the Roses While I Live: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #17339}

"Wonderful things of men are said, When they have passed away, Roses adorn the narrow bed, Over the sleeping clay. Give me the roses while I live... Useless are flowers that you give After the soul is gone." Encouraging companionship while still alive

"I have a little sweetheart, And you can't guess his name, Or the town he lives in; He lives there just the same. He won't let me kiss him, But I can call him dear." She asks him, "Give me your heart, and let it be true." He is willing to agree

"Stand back, boys, and give the Dutch room." The singer describes how the Dutch fight hard in the campaign which culminates in the capture of Fort Smith.

"Are you giving to the world a smile, sunny smile, Helping lessen someone's dreary mile, dreary mile? ... Give the world a bright smile each day, Helping someone on life's dreary way." The singer can make the world better with joy, smiles, a song

Counting-out rhyme. "Give three cheers For the red, white, and blue, One, two, three, And out goes YOU."

"The sun give a light in the heaven all round (x3), Why don't you give up the world?" "My brother, don't you give up the world? (x3) We must leave the world behind."

"Give up the world and come on, Sun going down (x4)"

"Oh, Fremont he told them when the war it first begun How to save the Union and the way it should be done, But... Old Abe he had his fears Till ev'ry hope was lost but the colored volunteers." The war went badly until Black troops were used

"'Give us a song,' the soldier cried, the outer trenches guarding." On the eve of an attack against the Russian forts the soldiers sing 'Annie Laurie' and think about Irish Norah or English Mary. The soldier is killed by mortar fire.

"Glad tidings good people, we are here for to tell, This morning in Bethlehem lies a baby just born." It is Jesus. Think about his life. "Sympathize with Mary, his mother so mild." Spread the news; "we found our savior on this Christmas day"

"Little Gladys Kincaid" is talking with a friend. Her brother finds her body, and instantly concludes that Brodus Miller killed her. A reward is offered. The community is outraged that a "Negro beast" could do such a thing causes him to be hunted down

Gladys Kincaid (II): (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #4114}

Gladys is on her way gome from work in the hosiery mill when "the negro... did this awful deed Too horrible to tell" (i.e. rape and murder). Miller, the alleged perpetrator, is hunted down and shot; his body is displayed

Jump-rope rhyme. "Gladys, Gladys, come out tonight, The moon is shining bright."

Glasgerion [Child 67]: (14 refs. 4K Notes) {Roud #145}

The king's daughter declares her love for Glasgerion and invites him to her bed. He tells his servant of the tryst. The boy sneaks in in his stead. When the lady learns this, she kills herself. Glasgerion kills the lad, (then himself)

Glasgow Barber, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2908}

Pat from Belfast stops at a Glasgow barbershop for a Mayo haircut but is given a Scottish haircut instead. When Pat refuses to pay the barber calls two bobbies. Pat takes down bobbies and barbers with his stick. Enough of Scottish barbers and haircuts.

Glasgow Doctor, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7166}

A short Glasgow doctor married a tall woman who did "scratch and tear his eyes." When she caught cold he "gave her such a dose" she died. At the feast "in honour o' her death" he choked on too much gin and was buried with his wife in one coffin.

The singer, from Ireland, meets a girl in Glasgow. She says it was well known that he was to be married in Ireland. He seduces her anyway. When she recalls his promise to marry, "I promised to meet her there again, But I forgot and cross'd the Clyde."

Glasgow Lassie, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7144}

The singer meets his Glasgow lassie at a fair. She rejectts his offer to go to Edinburgh because she is already engaged. He offers barns, etc. She says her love was poor but he'd work. She goes with the singer to the tavern for drink and is seduced.

Glasgow Merchant, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #7274}

"There was a wealthy merchant In Glasgow town did dwell; He had a lovely shopboy And his mistress loved him well"

Glasgow Peggy [Child 228]: (10 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #95}

A Highland man comes to Glasgow and falls in love with Peggy. Her parents declare themselves against his suit; they will guard her more than all their other property. But she chooses to go with him, and he reveals that he is a rich nobleman

"Glasgow ships come sailing in On a fine summer morning." If "she" steps on board John/George will kiss her. Send butter and bread to the Captain's daughter. Her lover's dead. She turns her back, washes her face, wears a ring

Jump-rope rhyme. "Glasgow waves go rolling over, Rolling over, rolling over, Glasgow waves go rolling over, Early in the morning."

John Williams is banished from Coot-hill. "They tore me from the arms of my charming Sally Greer." His friends take him to Liverpool and pay his passage to New York on Glasgow. The mate lets the ship run aground. Twenty-five men are lost.

The singer describes the mountain stream and thinks of happier days. Wherever he travels he will think about this stream. "Thy course and mine alike have been Both restless, rocky, seldom green"

"There's been mony a feein' [hiring] market On this side o' the Dee But the like o' the last Glass Market I never chanced to see."

Murrough O'Monaghan, home from the wars minus a leg, begs along a road. He wishes he had been a marine that had retired with a full pay pension. Good whisky gives him strength to face illness and weather. He wishes Merry Christmas and whisky for all.

A young glead is abandoned but rescued and well raised by a man. In his greed he ignores the tenth commandment, drives poor women from their farms, and tries to buy the town of Mains. The singer wishes "muckle toil and pains For a' your gread and pains"

Gaelic. The singer bids farewell, across the waves, to the Glen of Araglin. He recalls the wine and beer, baying hounds, magic music, plough-teams, horses, cattle, birds, deer, "and the beautiful fair-breasted maiden"

"Keen blaws the wind roond the nooks o the shielin, His auld mallin promise are covered wi sna. Hoo changed fae the times since we went up Glen Isla." THe singer recalls the hard times on the journey away from Blair. She misses her mother

The exile recalls leaving Donegal. He tells of leaving his friends. He mentions all the things he can no longer do: Play the fiddle at balls, dance the jig with the girls, etc. From ten thousand miles away, he wishes peace and contentment to his old home

The singer praises his home in Glenariffe, saying, "The beauty of our lovely glen is straight from God's own hand." He describes the local waterfall, the heights, the hallowed ground at Kilmore. He blesses his home

The singer sees a pretty girl along Glenarm Bay. He asks what she is doing. She answers, in effect, "Looking for boys. What else would I be doing up so early." He asks her if she will marry. Being assured he is serious and will be faithful, she consents

"O potent ally Glendronach, Thou Prince of the barley bree."

The singer complains, "I can't stay here 'cause they work too hard; I'm bound to leave this town; I'll take my duds and tote 'em on my back when the Glendy Burk comes down." He describes the "funny" boat and promises to take his girl to Louisiana

"There is no other spot in the land of the Gael Where my young heart the full strains of pleasure could feel." The singer recalls his poor but happy home, his friends, his dreams. He prays that he may return to Glenelly before he dies

Jean o Bethelnie is enraptured with handsome Glenlogie; he wants someone richer. Jean takes to her bed; her father's chaplain appeals to Glenlogie. Glenlogie changes his mind and marries Jean

Tom Warren is captain of Glenora out of Burgeo. This day Warren stays on shore and Glenora runs into a gale which the crew rides out. After the wind dies Warren came out in a motor boat and gives loud and obvious orders before going to sleep.

"When spring spread her green velvet claes on the common, When summer wi' flow'rs decks the heather braes," even then, there is nothing "more inviting, to me more delighting" than the Glenorchy maid. The singer expects to live with her in bliss

The singer recalls wandering along the Glenshesk water, but now he must sadly depart. He wishes he were still there, "But fate proposes I must go, in foreign lands abide." He describes all the things he won't see again

"There's a braw fine regiment as ilka mon should ken, They are deevis at the fechtin', they hae clured a sicht o' men." The singer boasts of the deeds of Scots going back to MacAdam, the very first man, who dwelt in Glen Eden, up to today's drinkers

The singer asks her husband to sit by her on their fiftieth wedding anniversary. She recalls their life together. Their children now are grown, except one "oor Father didna spare ... Thank God the others hae been right." She hopes they'll die together.

Gloamin' Star at E'en, The: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5569}

The singer tells of his hard work all day, but is happy when it's through: "But I maun haste awa' Where the tryst was set yestreen To meet my bonnie lassie Neath the gloamin' star at e'en." He blesses the star, and cares not for riches when he has her.

"I won't sing of sherbet and water, For sherbet with beer will not rhyme... I look to that great institution... Beer, beer, glorious beer, Fill yourselves right up to here; Drink a great deal of it, Make a good meal of it." It beats other "lubricants"

"Gallia burst her vile shackles on this glorious day, And we dare to applaud the great deed." "Columbia ... was cleared ... Chains disappeared." "'Mong our neighbors, now, Liberty dwells ... On the rock of Man's Rights she a fortress has planned."

Glorious Meeting of Dublin, The: (1 ref. 1K Notes) {Roud #V8269}

October 10, 1869 many thousands gather, without disturbance, "to use all legal means to set these brave men free." Butt and Moor speak. "Five hundred thousand did stand" across Ireland in support. "No separation do we want we only seek our rights"

Dan and Steele at the Tara meeting say they won't yield without repeal of the Union. "God bless our Queen ... But in spite of all the tory clan We will repeal the Union." "In spite of Wellington and Peel We'll gain our liberation"

"Glorious thing of thee are spoken, Zion, city of our God. He whose word cannot be broken, Formed thee for his own abode." Hearers are reminded that God is an unshakable foundation. the source of living water, seen in cloud and fire

Glorious Wedding, A: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #5158}

"I will sing you a song of a comical style... It's all about a wedding, a glorious affair; As I was the bridegroom, I happened to be there." The singer reports all the wild events at the wedding, and all the peculiar guests who were present

"Glorious! Victorious! (Half) a (case of beer/bottle of gin) between the four of us. Thank the Lord there are no more of us." (Cause we could drink it all alone.) "Oh they had to carry ... to the ferry... 'cause the couldn't carry any more."

"Glory and love to the men of old, Their sons may copy their virtues bold, Courage at heart and a sword at hand, Ready to fight and die for the Fatherland."

Chorus: "Glory to his name (2x), There to my heart was the blood applied, Glory to His name." Verses: At the cross the singer was cleansed from sin by Jesus's blood. The singer is glad to have entered "the fountain that saves from sin"

Glory Trail, The (High Chin Bob): (10 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #12499}

'Way high up the Mogollons... A lion cleaned a yearlin's bones." High-Chin Bob, who wants to ride the "glory trail," ropes the lion. But the lion is healthy, and keeps fighting. Even today, Bob's ghost(?) and the lion continue their struggle

Gloucestershire Wassailers' Song: (10 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #209}

"Wassail! wassail! all over the town, Our (pledge/toast) it is white, our ale it is brown." Health to the master's (animal's) body parts that he be sent a good present. Butler, "bring us a bowl of the best" else "down fall butler, and bowl and all"

Obnoxious little piece beginning, in English, "Glow little glow-worm, glimmer, glimmer." The rest is equally pointless.

"Glub, glub, glub your boat, Underneath the stream, Ha, ha, fooled you; I'm a submarine!"

"Anchors away, my boys, Anchors away... glug, glug, glug"

Woodchopping song: "Go 'way from mah window, Go 'way from mah door, Go 'way from mah bedside, Don't you tease me no mo'." "Go 'way in de springtime, Come back in de fall, Bring you back mo' money Dan we bofe can haul."

A man goes sparking but the girls are "mad and their heads not combed"; they can't make bread; he has to saw the meat they cook. Their father comes gunning for him. At church they wear an old lint sack and "leather bonnet with a hole in the crown"

Go And Dig My Grave: (8 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #15633}

"Go and dig my grave both long and narrow, Make my coffin neat and strong... Two, two to my head, two, two to my feet, Two to carry me, Lord,when I die." "My soul's gonna shine lie a star... I'm bound for heaven when I die."

Go Away From Me, Willie: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #417}

"Go away from me, Willie, and leave me alone, For I'm a poor stranger...." "The boys they won't have me, as I understand; They want a freeholder...." "The leaves they will wither...." ""I'll build me a castle on the mountain so high...."

Go Away Sister Nancy: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #8811}

"Go 'way! Sister Nancy, go 'way! I don't want you to hold me. Got sugar and 'lasses in my soul, And I want brother Honeycutt to hold me!"

"Go down Emanuel Road, go for broke rock stone," "knock out" or "broke them" or "rock them" or "out come" or "count down" one by one ... eight by eight or "mash your finger" "finger mash no cry" "'member to play with a play"

"Go down Moses, Hold the key, Don't let the wind blow on the righteous." "Come a fish by the name of whale, Swallowed brother Jonah by the head and tail" "Want to go to Heaven when you die, Just stop your tongue from telling lies"

Moses is commissioned to free the Israelites: "Go down, Moses, Way down in Egypt's land. Tell old Pharaoh to let my people go." The firstborn of Egypt are specifically threatened; the rest is more general

Go Down, Old Hannah: (13 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6710}

"Go down, old Hannah, well, well, well! Don't you rise no mo'. If you rise in the mornin', Bring Judgment Day." The singer describes the dreadful conditions in the Brazos River prisons, and hopes for release in any form

"Uh... go down, you little red, redder than rouge rising sun, And don't you never... uh... bring day...." The singer wishes the judge who sentenced him was dead. He proclaims that he has never committed murder, robbed, or done any other crime

Percy dates Mabel Fitch, who thought "he was rich and didn't have to work." He begs her "If you can't go easy, Mabel, go as easy as you can." They marry; she becomes pregnant. When he learns she expects four children, he again begs for restraing

Go From My Window (I): (10 refs. 6K Notes) {Roud #966}

Characterized by the line "Go (away) from my window, my love, (go/do)." Rain or other difficulties may trouble the swain, but he usually gains admittance in the end: "Come up to my window, love... The wind nor rain shall not trouble thee again...."

"Peepin' through the knot-hole Of grandpa's wooden leg, Who'll wind the clock when I am gone? Go get the ax, There's a fly in Lizzie's ear, For a boy's best friend is his mother." The remainder of the song is equally farfetched

"Go hearty, fearty, hally go lum, (An old man/fox) went out to have some fun, He got some fun and (hurt/tore) his (skin/shin), Ho hearty, fearty, hally go in."

Go In and Out the Window: (32 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4320}

"Go in and out the window (x3) As we have done before (or: "For we have gained the day")." "Go round and round the levee..." "Go forth and face your lover..." "I kneel because I love you..." "One kiss before I leave you..."

Go in the Wilderness: (10 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #11846}

"If you want to go to heaven/go in the wilderness (3x)/...and wait upon the Lord." "If you want to see Jesus..." "Lord, my feet looked new when I come out the wilderness..." [secular playparty version:] "First little lady go in the wilderness..."

"Go in, you big bumblebee, You couldn't catch a flea."

Chorus: "Go Mary and toll the bell, Come John and call the roll, I thank God." Verses: "Who is that coming dressed in white (red, blue, black), They must be the children of the Israelite (Moses led, coming through), mourners turning back), I thank God."

"Go on, deacon, and get your crown (x3), The house of the Lord I'm bound for. My soul is bound for glory, yes, Lord, glory (x2), That's what Satan is a-grumbling about."

"Go over to Ireland, and there you may see, How all dirty and ragged the Irish they be. A two-legged stool, and a table to match, And a string on the door, to lift the latch." The singer describes the dirt and vermin that infest the typical Irish home

A woman tells her lover to "personate some noble lord." He plays cards with the father and the daughter tips her lover to her father's cards. The father loses everything and the lover offers to trade his winnings for the daughter. The lord smiles.

Go Preach My Gospel: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #10962}

"Go preach my gospel, saith the Lord, Bid the whole world my grace receive, Ye shall be saved to trust my way and ye condemn who won't believe, Teach all the nations my commands, I'm with you till the world shall end."

Go Round the Mountain: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #21191}

"Go round this mountain, two by two (x3), Rise up, sugar, rise."

"Go slow, boys, don't make no noise, For old Massa's sleepin'. Go down to the barnyard an' wake up the boys, An' let's have a little banjo pickin'. For oh, it's almost mornin', Don't you hear the old cock crowin'?" The slaves (?) sneak off to a dance

Go Tell Aunt Rhody: (34 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #3346}

"Go tell Aunt (Rhody) (x3) The old gray goose is dead. The one she'd been saving (x3) to make a feather bed." The cause of death varies; "a pain in the head"; "somebody... knocked it on the head"; "from standing on its head"

"Go tell it on the mountain, Over the hills and everywhere, Go tell it on the mountain That Jesus Christ is born." The singer describes the revelation of Jesus's birth to the shepherds and notes how God "made me a watchman"

"Go tell it on the mountain, Over the hills and everywhere, Go tell it on the mountain To let my people go." The singer describes the people, clothed in various colors, coming out of bondage

Go to Berwick, Johnny: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #8693}

"Go, go, go, Go to Berwick, Johnny, You shall have the horse, I shall have the pony."

Go to Helen Hunt for It: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #7641}

"Miss Helen Hunt knows all the spooks, And calls them out of dusty nooks." In case of uncertainty or loss, one is advised to turn to Miss Hunt. The song concludes when "Spain wanted money very bad." Spain had to "go to hell and hunt for it."

The singer orders that news be carried to "Saint Pether" (i.e. the Papacy) of the troubles facing the Catholic cause. The Pope is distressed to hear that his armies are defeated. Mary of Hungary calls for "liquor to temper me pain."

Go to Sleep, My Little Pickaninny: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #18978}

The "little Alabama coon" is told, "Go to sleep, my little pickaninny, Brother Fox will catch you if you don't...." Fuller forms may describe the child's life and ambitions for when he grows up

Go Wash in That Beautiful Pool: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7875}

"Go wash in that beautiful pool (x2). The rivers of life flow freely for all. Go wash in that beautiful pool." "My father passed over the river, Is now in the kingdom above. He's safe where the angels all dwell, Go wash...." "My mother passed over...."

Go Wash in the Beautiful Stream: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7875}

"Go wash in the beautiful stream, Go wash in the beautiful stream, Oh, Naaman, oh, Naaman, Go down and wash, Go wash in the beautiful stream."

"You gonna need somebody on your bond (x2), When your room gets darn and death comes creepin' down, You gonna need somebody...." ""Well, I got somebody on my bond (x2), When your room gets dark...."

"Go-d'ling, go'dling ... link-i-bum .... Link-i-bum and a merry go too ... There are no more than thirty-two"

"They had a cattle show On Goat Hill, on Goat Hill, They had a cattle show And I did like to go, For nodding but girls dey show." The singer complains that the girls are fat but still says he kissed Fanny Reed, Katie Tweed, and all the others

"Concerning a battle.. Between Larry's black goat and brave Mary McCloy." The goat, tethered outside its proper territory, will die to make amends. It makes its will (e.g. giving its teeth to a man who has none), curses McCloy, and bids farewell

The singer invites "all you brave sportsmen ... for a day of hunting ... In Goatland parish." Some huntsmen are named.

"Till we meet (x3) At Jesus' feet, Till we meet." "Till we meet (x2), God be with you till we meet again."

God Be With You Davy: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #16245}

Singer says "God be with you Davy. I had you for Christmas and I had you for Easter. And now I haven't your ould breeches thrown up in the tayster."

God Bless America: (4 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #V44297}

"God bless America, land that I love, Stand beside her and guide her." You know the rest

"God bless my soul, Would you buy a wooden bowl, And suck [=sup?] coul' porridge In the morning'?"

"God bless the master of this house with a gold chain round his neck, O where his body sleeps or wakes, Lord send his soul to rest." The listener is reminded of Christ's crucifixion, death, and redeeming blood. (A New Year's blessing is given.)

God Dawg My Lousy Soul: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #10002}

"God dawg my lousy soul (x2), I'm goin' down the river And I couldn't git cross, God dawg..." Bluesy song; only the third and fourth lines change, e.g. "She put me in the bed And she covered up my head," "I'm goin' to Missouri To git me another dame"

A warning against drink: "Well, God don't like it, no, no!... It's a-scandalous and a shame!" "Some people stay in the churches... They drinkin' beer and whisky, And they say that they don't care."

God Got Plenty o' Room: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #12062}

"God got plenty o' room, got plenty o' room. 'Way in the kingdom, God got plenty o' room my Jesus say." "So many weeks and days have passed, Since we met together last." "Daniel's wisdom I may know." "We soon shall lay our school-books by."

"God has created a new day, Silver and green and gold. Live that the sunset may find us, Worthy his gifts to hold. God has created a new night, Silver and dark and still, Live that the morning may find us, Ready to do his will."

"Uncle Sammy, he's got the artillery, He's got the cavalry, He'd got the infantry., But when, by God, we all get to Germany, God help Kaiser Bill." Rest of song is variations on these lines

God Is Always Near Me: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #25517}

"God is always near me, hearing what I say, knowing all my thoughts and deeds, all my work and play...." "God is always near me, though so young and small; not a look or word or thought, but God knows it all."

"God is at de pulpit, God is at de do', GOd is always over me, While He is in de middle of de flo'. God is a God, GOd don't neber change, 'Cause He always will be king."

"God moves in a mysterious way, His wonders to perform, He plants his footsteps on the sea (x2), And rides upon the storm (x3)." "Ye fearful saints fresh courage take. "Judge not the Lord by feeble sense." "Blind unbelief is sure to err."

God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen: (12 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #394}

"God rest you merry, gentlemen, Let nothing you dismay, Remember Christ our savior Was born on Christmas day... Oh tidings of comfort and joy." The birth of Jesus is recounted and listeners urged to sing praise and rejoice in the new year

"High upon the gallows tree swung the noble-hearted three, By the vengeful tyrants stricken in their bloom." The three declare, "God Save Ireland" as they prepare to die, and say that their deaths don't matter. Listeners are encouraged to remember

"God save our Gracious King! Hit him in the belly with a gravy ring, God save our King."

Good wishes for the King of England: "God save (our Lord, or any monarch's name) the King, Long live our noble king, God save the King. Send him victorious, Happy and glorious, Long to reign over us, God save the King." Other verses equally insipid

"Here's a health to the farmer and God speed the plough, Send him in his fields a good crop for to grow." "For the farmer indeed is a capital man." They fill the barn with food for the nation. All rejoice, for the "farmer enjoys his life more than a king"

"God who touches earth with beauty, Make my heart anew. With your Spirit recreate me Pure and strong and true." The singer asks to share the virtues of nature, e.g. "Like the arching of the heavens, lift my thoughts above....."

"God's a-gwine ter move all de troubles away (x3), See 'm no more till de comi' day." "Genesis, you understand, Methuselah was the olde's man." "Dere was a man of de Pharisee, His name was Nicodemus and he wouldn't believe."

"Give me, give me God's own country (from a spieler's point of view)." The singer lists all the beautiful places of New Zealand -- and how wonderful they are IF you have cash. The country has been leased out to absentees

"One day Nebuchadnezzar constructed an image of gold" and ordered all to worship it, but the Hebrew Children refused, "For they had a connection with heaven on God's wonderful radiophone." The examples of Daniel, Elijah, and Jonah are also cited

"Mama and papa, O lawdy, Mama and papa, O my Lord, Done told me a lie...." "Done told me they'd pardon me... by next July." "July and August... done come and gone." "Left me here rolling... On this ole farm." "Gonna write to the Governor...."

Goin' Cross the Mountain: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #4624}

"Goin' 'cross the mountain, Oh, fare thee well, Goin' 'cross the mountain, Hear my banjo tell." The singer has his kit ready, and is going to join the Union army "to give Jeff's men a little taste of my rifle ball." He promises to return at the war's end

Goin' from the Cotton Fields: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #16311}

"I'm goin' from the cotton fields, I'm goin' from the cane, I'm goin' from the old log hut That stands in the lane." Hard times force the singer to move north even though Dinah fears the cold. He regrets home and the old master's grave, but must go

Sung to the swinging of a pick. "Ev'rywhere I look (hanh!), Where I look this mornin'... Look like rain." The singer describes his prowess wit the pick, tells how his girl wants him home, and hopes he can win a pardon from the governor

The singer goes to talk with the police chief, apparently with regard to his "good girl" who has been avoiding him. He looks for her on boats and trains, hopes she will come to love him, and wishes she were not in trouble

Going Across the Sea: (11 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #11516}

Floating lyrics, bound by the chorus, "Going (across the sea/to Italy) before long (x3) To see that gal of mine." Sample verses: "Yonder comes a pretty little girl, How do you reckon I know..."; "Finger ring, finger ring, shines like glittering gold..."

"I'm going across the ocean (friends of mine/baby mine) (x3) If I don't change my notion." "I'm going across the sea... Say you'll love no one but me." "I'm going around the world... (with/I'm) a banjo-pickin' girl." Verses usually about courting

"Going back to Weldon, Get a job in the Weldon yard." "Captain's got a Luger, Mate's got a forty-five." "If you fire me You got to fire all my buddies too" "I don't want no woman Got hair like a horse's mane" "The house is on fire And all goes burning..."

"Going down the railroad, Do do do. Oh, Sally, won't you marry? Do do do. Ole Miss Kiser goin' to turn all around (x2), Do do do."

Floating verses: "Hey, little girl, if you don't give me dinner/I'll buy me a boat and sail down the river" "Coon Creek's up, Coon Creek's muddy/I'm so drunk I can't stand steady" "Goodbye wife, goodbye baby/Goodbye biscuits sopped in gravy"

Going Down This Road Feeling Bad: (49 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4958}

A series of complaints, all ending "And I ain't gonna be treated this a-way." Examples: "I'm going down this road feeling bad." "I'm going where the climate suits my clothes." "I'm tired of lying in this jail." "They feed me on cornbread and beans."

Going for a Pardon: (13 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7390}

The pretty little girl on the train has no ticket. Her father is in prison and going blind; she is going for a pardon. The conductor lets her stay on the train. She meets the governor and is granted a pardon for her father

Chorus: "The heavenly land (2x), Just going over in the heavenly land." Verse, for example: "Sinner joins the church and he runs pretty well, Just going..., Before six weeks he's on his road to hell, Just going...."

Playparty: "Goodbye girls, I'm going to Boston, (x3) Early in the morning." "Rights and lefts and play the better." "Won't you look pretty in the ballroom." The verses may describe the girls following the boys, or may just be about dancing

Going to Chelsea to Buy a Bun: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #946}

The singer meets a girl and introduces himself as Harmless James. When she asks to be left alone and refuses his invitation to the Bun House he follows her through the fields until she yields. They marry the next day and she has a fine son.

Going to Clonakilty the Other Day: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #16694}

The singer "was going to Clonakilty" and met "Dan and Miley ... and Gerry Connors and his hair." They step into a pub: "we'll fix it here." At the end the singer still has a fiver and claims someone should not brag, having been "born in the wagon"

Chorus: "I'm going to German', I'll be back some old day (x3)." "Tell me, mama, what more can I do? I been around the world, can't get along with you." The singer says he has paid the girl's fine, but they still didn't get along. He now has a new girl

We're going to Kentucky" or "the tatty" ... "going to the fair, To see the senorita" or "Cinderella" "with flowers in her hair." Instructions to twist, or shimmy, or turn around.

"I'm going to leave old Texas now, They've got no use for the longhorn cow...." The singer departs to "make his home on the wide wide range." When he dies, he will "take [his] chance on the holy one."

Going to Live Humble to the Lord: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #11952}

Chorus: "Humble, humble, humble yourselves, Going to live humble to the Lord"(2x). Verse: The singer, who has "my trials," was "walking along... elements opened... love came down." If you aim for the sky, don't lie.

Verse format: First line ending "when I'm dead" is repeated, followed by "In the morning O Lord, My soul's so happy now, O Lord when I'm dead." First lines include "I'm going to rest from all my labor," "Going to rally with the angel Gabriel"

Chorus: "Swing low, Going to ride the chariot in the morning, Elijah, going to ride the chariot in the morning." Verses: "Swing low chariot in the East (West, North, South), Let God's people have some peace (some rest, a talk, a shout)"

"My Jesus, Going to ride on the cross (3x), In heaven forever more." "Jesus, says he's better than gold (3x), In heaven forever more"

"The days are long and lonesome, The nights are gettin' cold, I'm goin' to see my true love 'Fore I get too old. O get around, Jenny, get around, O get around I say... long summer's day." Mostly floating verses, mostly about courting

"Daddy's taking us to the zoo tomorrow... and we can stay all day." "We're going to the zoo, zoo, zoo, You can come too, too, too." They will see various animals -- elephant, monkey, bear, seal. At the end, they go home tired

Chorus: "I'm going up, going up, Going all the way, Lord, Going up, going up, To see the heavenly land" (x2). Verses: The singer will keep climbing to see the angels, and likes best the shouting Methodists who drive the devil away.

Going Up (Golden Slippers II): (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #11835}

"What kind of shoes are you going to wear? Golden slippers (x2) Golden slippers, I'm a-going away... To live with the Lord. Goin' up (x13) to live with the Lord." "What kind of robes are you going to wear? Long white robes." Etc.

"Going up Camborne Hill, coming down (x2), The horses stood still, the wheels turned around, Going up Camborne Hill, coming down." "White stockings she wore (x6), Going up Camborne Hill, coming down."

"I'm going out west before long (x2), I'm going out west where times are best." "My boy, he's gone west... and he'll never come back." "Little girlie, don't cry when I tell you goodbye." "You promised you'd marry me." "Lay your hand in mine...."

Gol-Darned Wheel, The: (9 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #4043}

The cowboy boasts of his skill with horses. But a tenderfoot brings in a "gol-darned wheel" (bicycle). The cowboys get the singer to ride it, but it won't stop when he pulls on the handles. He crashes, but is glad that the "wheel" is even more damaged

"When the gold fever ranged I was doing well," but nonetheless the singer sets out (for California). He meets hard times, and misses his wife and family. He imagines himself at home, but wakes to find it was a dream. He returns to his miserable mining

"Goin' to march away in the gold band, in the army, bye and bye (x2) Sinner, what you gonna on that day (x2), When the fire's a-rolling behind you, In the army, bye and bye." "Sister Mary's goin' to hand down the robe... the robe and the gold band"

"I am going far away from my creditors just now, I ain't got the tin to pay 'em, and they're kicking up a row." He is fleeing because all the talk about gold was false. He doesn't know where he would go. If he were President, there would be no debts

"Ain't that a pity, oh Lord (x3), Ain't that a pity 'bout the Gold Dust men. Some got scalded, some got drowned, Some got burnt up in the Gold Dust fire"

"Gold is the great friend of the masses, The mainstay of the classes, The great aim of the lasses, And the ruin of the asses."

"In a cabin made of logs, By the river side, There the Honest Farmer lives, Free from sloth and pride." This contrasts to the "Tinsell'd finery" of Martin (van Buren). "THe farmer" eats crackers, cheese, cider. Martin's lackeys block the farmer's way

"There's gold in the hills, gold in the streams, I'm goin' down to Dahlonega, honey lamb, The great gold rush is on." The first gold was found by Benjamin Parks in 1828. People are still panning for gold. Local industries stamp out the gold

A sailor sees a girl and asks her to sleep with him. After an initial show of reluctance, she agrees to a fee of five guineas. They go to supper and then to bed. When he awakens, the girl is gone -- as are his money and his gold watch

Singer tells girl that he would pawn his gold watch and chain, his ring, and his heart if she would love him again. He demands that she give back the gifts he's given her, including a lock of hair and a picture, and laments her unfaithfulness

A con man allows a farmer to embarass him into making a foolish bet: that his fancy gold watch chain is not attached to a watch. Other farmers take part of the bet. The con man wins by revealing a hidden watch.

"Gold's a wonderful thing, what a change it can make, 'Tis the great civiliser... It peoples the country; wherever it's found, There's certain to be a great rush to the ground." The song lists some who grew rich, and the gold-seekers and girls who follow

"Join that happy band." "Crawled to the chicken coup on my knees, Thought I heard a chicken sneeze...." "Hawk's a-setting on the railroad tack Picking his teeth with a carpet tack... hit him on the head with the golden axe."

"A new Golden Bible was lately discovered, Which for six thousand years could not be found." The singer describes "The new Golden Bible, the new-fangled Bible... that lay under the ground," and all the great figures, like Moses, who never saw it

"Now is Christemas y-come, Father and Son together in one, Holy Ghost us be on...." The song announces Christmas, then tells the story of the "three kings" who came, visited Herod, saw Jesus, offered their gifts, and went home another way

"Now the golden chain is broken, And you are forever free, I have not one tie or token That I've kept (to?) remember thee." "Take them as a vow I send you: You to me (are) forever dead." "You have wrecked a heart that loved you." And you'll be sorry, too

"Fellow countrymen, four hundred million strong," the Chinese are often skilled. They want to come to America, "but are barred." The singer wishes for wings to fly past the barbarians

A lady is to be married, but finds she prefers the farmer who is to give her away. She pleads illness and calls off the wedding. She claims she has lost a glove (which she placed on the farmer's land) and will marry whoever finds it. The rest is obvious

"Then roll the swag and blanket up, and let us haste away To the Golden Palmer, boys, where everyone they say Can get his ounce of gold, or it may be more, a day...." A cheerful call to set out for the gold fields of the Palmer River

Jim Harding ships on board the Golden Hind bound for Bahia. On the return trip with a cargo from Barbados the Golden Hind runs into a snow storm off Cape Race. Harding dies in the storm as the Golden Hind makes St John's.

"Golden ring around (the/my) Susan Girl (x3), All the way around the Susan girl." "Take a little girl and give her a whirl...." "Round and around, Susan girl...." "Do-si-do left, Susan Girl...." "All run away with the Susan girl...."

Golden Slippers (I): (33 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #13941}

"Oh. my golden slippers am laid away, Kase I don't 'spect to wear 'em till my weddin' day... O 'dem golden slippers... Golden slippers Ise gwine to wear To walk de golden street." The singer reflects on things he cannot have now but will have in heaven

Golden Vanity, The [Child 286]: (137 refs. 4K Notes) {Roud #122}

A ship is threatened by a foreign galley. The ship's cabin boy, promised gold and the captain's daughter as wife, sinks the galley. He comes back to his ship; the captain will not take him from the water. (The ending is variable)

"Listen awhile and I here will unfold What seemeth to promise promotion." A treasure had been lost at sea for 43 years. The "James and Mary" goes to the sight; working in harsh conditions far from shore for six weeks, they bring up the gold

"Many a miner searching for riches, Many a man gone to his last long rest, Surely virgin gold bewitches, Out under the sky of the golden west."

"Where are the friends that to me were so dear? Gone long ago... Hopes that I cherished are fled from me now, I am degraded for rum was my foe, Gone long ago, long ago." The singer looks back on what drink has cost him: His wife, his youth, his virtue

"Gonna buy me a horse and buggy For to ride my gal about. Let her take the fresh morning air. Feed her on bananas, And she'll never get the gout. Tie a yaller ribbon in her hair."

Gonna Tie My Pecker to My Leg: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3438}

Usually short fragments of "The Chisholm Trail" distinguished by the unique chorus which gives this variant its title.

"Goo'bye me lover, goo'bye me dear oh." "Charles a-go down ah he new courtin-gal oh." "Bo Riley oh Boom-a-lay."

"Sitting by the roadside, on a summer's day... Lying in the shadows underneath the trees, Goodness how delicious, Eating goober peas." The southern soldier complains about army life, the battles, and the poor equipment; goober peas are his chief comfort

"Oh, good ale, thou art my darling, Thou art my joy both night and morning." Drink encourages the singer to work, to dream, to enjoy. But also "It is you that makes my friends my foes, It is you that makes me (wear old/pawn my) clothes...."

"Good ale gars me sell my hose ... and pawn my sheen." The singer had six oxen in a plough but sold them all for "good ale." His children are ragged and might have been hanged but he has had them jailed instead.

"I have led a good life, full of peace and quiet. I shall have an old age, full of rum and riot. I have been a good boy, wed to work and study. I shall be an old man, ribald, coarse, and bloody." The once-good boy describes what he will now do

Good bye Mursheen Durkin: (3 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #9753}

Molly Durkin marries Tim O'Shea. Cooney, "to keep my heart from breakin', I sailed to Americay." He finds no work in New York. He goes to San Francisco, finds gold and heads back to Ireland where "I'll marry Miss O'Kelly, Molly Durkin for to spite"

"When I sit by myself," the singer cannot see into the future "but I feel I'm in very good company." Similarly, when he sits with a friend "to fight some great battle of wisdom or mirth," or considers "the meanings and mysteries" of love with his darling

"When I was a little 'un my father did say, 'Whenever the sun shines that's time to make hay," and when it's haying time, it's time for good ale. The singer pities those who don't drink. He wants drink and good food. He jokes of M.P.s who sleep on the job

"They are good for a rush or a rally, But they have no bottom to stay, But when I go out for a tally, I shear two hundred a day."

Good King Wenceslas: (8 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #24754}

On St. Stephen's Day, Wenceslas sees a poor man gathering wood, and decides to help the peasant. Wenceslas and his servant go out in the bad weather. Returning home, the servant suffers from the cold but Wenceslas miraculously keeps him warm

Chorus: "Good Lord, shall I ever be the one (3x), To get over in the Promised Land." Verses: "About the cool of day ... (God) call for old Adam" who tried to run away (in one verse) and said "hear me" (in another)

"Good Lord, when I die (x3), shout one, Good Lord, when I die." I want to go to heaven when I die (x3)., Good Lord, when I die" "I want to see my Jesus, when I die (x3), Good Lord, when I die."

Good Mornin', Blues: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #11687}

"I woke up this morning' with the blues all around my bed... Went to eat my breakfast, had the blues all in my bread." The singer describes how the loss of his girl has left him lonely, in pain, and otherwise miserable

The singer thought Carrie was his girl but she will marry someone else. "Had a mighty good cry"

Good Morning, Ladies All (I): (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #8284}

Capstan shanty. Title from second chorus: "Ah-ha, me yaller gals, Good mornin', ladies all." A packet heads out "bound to hell," the crew is mostly wiped out by "Yaller Jack" (yellow fever) and take on some monkeys as a crew.

Pump or halyard shanty. "We are outward bound for Mobile Town, with a heave-o, haul! An' we'll heave the ol' wheel round an' round, Good mornin' ladies all!" Rest of verses on going home, spending money, women, and general good times themes.

"Good morning, merry sunshine, How did you wake so soon? You frightened all the stars away And shined away the moon." "I do not go to sleep, dear child, I just go round to see The little children of the east Who rise and watch for me."

"'Good morning, Mick.' 'Good morning, Pat.'" A conversation follows in each verse, e.g. "How's your taties? Very fat. Did you eat them all?" Or, "Have you been to market? I have that...."

"Good news, chariot's coming (x3), And I don't want to be left behind." "There's a long white robe in Heaven I know." The song catalogs all the things to be found in heaven; the singer hopes to achieve all

"I thought I heard my mother say, Good news coming from Canaan. I want to hear my children pray, Good news coming from Canaan."

"Good news in the kingdom and I won't die no more, my leader, Good news in the kingdom, Lord, and I won't die no more." Verses include "A Roman soldier pierced my Lord ... They pierced him to his tender side" and floaters

"Good news, member, good news, member, Don't you mind what Satan say. Good news, member, good news, And I heard from heaven today." "My brother have a seal and I so glad." "Mr. Hawley have a home in paradise." "Archangel bring baptizing down."

Chorus: "Good news the chariot's coming (x3), I don't want it to leave me behind." Verses: "Going to get up in the chariot." "There's a long white robe (golden crown, golden harp, silver slippers) in heaven I know"

Good Night and Good Morning: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #23016}

"A fair little girl sat under a tree, Sewing as long as her eyes could see"; when it is too dark, she says, "Dear work, goodnight, goodnight." As rooks fly to their night perches, she says, "Little black things, goodnight, goodnight"

The singer, outside Molly's window, standing in the snow, sees her light is on and leaves a message. When she looks out of her window she'll see his footprints. He wraps himself in his cloak and goes home.

Round. "Good night to you all, and sweet by thy sleep, May angels around you their silent watch keep (or "May silence surround you, your slumber be deep"), Good night, good night, good night, good night." Or "Sweet rest, sweet rest descend to all"

"This night we part forever, You are nothing more to me... Not a tear would I shed for thee." "Good night, bye, bye, forever." "Take back the ring you gave me." "Go break the heart of another." The singer blesses the man and hopes he won't harm another

Good Night, Sleep Tight: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #19322}

"Good night, sleep tight, Don't let the bedbugs bite." Perhaps continues, "If they do, don't squall; Take a spoon and eat them all," or "And if they bight, Hold them tight, They'll not come back Another night"

"Things keep breaking every day at some place on the farm... But some one makes the loss all right and pulls us from the mire By mending things almost at sight by using bailing wire." Bailing wire repairs all things. Perhaps it holds the universe together

"Tom Moore has sung of '49 And the pioneers who came" in 1849; the current singer will tell of those who turned up in 1850-1852. There were robbers like Joaquin; there were miners who came to get rich and ended poor. They opened the Golden Gate for you

"I sing, I sing of days grown older... Sing high, sing ho, I grieve, I grieve For the good old days of Adam and Eve." In the good old days, the town was smaller, the people bolder, etc.

Good Old Dollar Bill, the: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #30389}

"They are telling of old Glory Now in pictures songs and stories.... Sing the praises of Old Glory, But I've been through the mill And a real star spangled banner Is a good old dollar bill." The singer tells how money produces popularity

"Did you go to the henhouse? Yes, ma'am! Did you get any eggs? Yes, ma'am. Did you put them in the bread...." And so forth, as the bread is baked. Similarly, and more bitterly, for going to a lynching, or for going to a wedding

"There's a time in each year when the boys do feel queer With the good old keg of wine.... They all get boozy woozy on the good old keg of wine." They drink when it's hot or cold. It makes them sick. They end up in the pig pen and don't even care.

Good Old Mountain Dew: (11 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #938}

"Beside a hill there is a still Where the smoke runs up to the sky." The smell reveals that "the liquor boys are nigh." The making of the dew is described, and it is said to have been praised by scholars. The singer calls for more dew.

"I'm a good old Rebel soldier, and that's just what I am, And for this Yankee nation I do not give a damn!" The rebel tells of his history in the Confederate army. He scorns the Reconstruction governments, and proclaims, "I won't be reconstructed!"

Good Old State of Maine, The: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1955}

The singer tells how lumbering woods are "different from the good old State of Maine." The woods have "alieners and foreigners" and low wages, deep snow, harsh regulations and bad food. "I'll mend my ways and spend my days in the good old State of Maine."

"The good old way, the good old way, I am travelling in the good old way, And no matter where I be nor what people thinks of me...." "The Baptists in their glee may turn their back on me...." The singer condemns sinners and vows to stick with God

Good Old Way (II), The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #12041}

"As I went down in the valley to pray, Studying about that good old way When you shall wear the starry crown, Good Lord, show me the way. Oh (mourner/sister/member), let's go down, let's go down, let's go down... down in the valley to play."

"Yankee Doodle is the name some Yankee chap invented To sing on Independence Day to make us feel contented." The Mormons find it "convenient" to sing the song on Independence Day. Mormons are spreading. Some want to change the Constitution to stop them

Format is ((phrase, "I got good religion") (3x) "My feet been taken out the miry clay"). Phrases include "I'm so glad," "In my heart," "Day was Monday/Tuesday/..." May be other four line verses.

"Wi' the day's work done," these things make the singer happy to come home: "a good roarin' fire," "your childer lep an' run," a "wife is kind an' happy," "a clean-swep' stone."

"When running down for Cleveland On the good scow Alice Strong, The Captain's eyes grew weary." He orders the mate to take charge. "The mate was but a farmer Who'd seen service with a plow": He steers the ship on a straight course -- into another boat!

Good Ship Kangaroo, The: (10 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #925}

The singer goes to sea on the Kangaroo. His sweetheart gives him a token to remember her by. On his return home, he learns the she has run off with another man. He vows to go to a foreign shore and "throw [him]self away" on a foreign girl

Good Ship Venus, The: (7 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4836 and 8350}

A quatrain ballad, this song describes the interminable sexual misadventures of the crew of the Good Ship Venus, whose mast is a rampant penis.

"Good shot, never miss, When you've got a girl to kiss."

"Dere ain't no good times in Georgia, Like I used to have. Dere ain't no good times in Georgea, Like I used to have. I'm going back to Alabama and git my good gal back."

"Goodbye, my brother, goodbye, Hallelujah! Goodbye, sister Sally, goodbye, Hallelujah! Going home, Hallelujah! Jesus call me, Hallelujah! Linger no longer, Hallelujah! Tarry no longer, Hallelujah"

"Good-bye everybody, Good-bye, sing Hallelujah." The singer is leaving. Jesus is at the Sacrement Table, "handing bread and wine to the members." Good-bye "all you deacons (preachers, false pretenders)"

Good-bye, My Honey, I'm Gone: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #20911}

Singer had a girl, Isabella, who ran off with another fella. He has bad luck with girls, and often "hollered for a copper But he said he couldn't stop her." Cho: "Good-bye my honey I'm gone (x2)," last two lines of verse, then "Good-bye my honey I'm gone"

Good-Looking Widow, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #7199}

The singer, a good-looking widow, has had three husbands and is looking for a fourth. Her husbands were a tailor who was a swell, a baker who was a loafer, and another who "was some fond o' me, but mair fond o' a dram"

Goodbye Eliza Jane: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #12403}

"Lookey here 'Liza, listen to me, you ain't the girl you promised to be." Disappointed that Liza "went riding with Mr. Brown," the singer declares, "Goodbye, Miss Liza, I'm going to leave you." He demands his gifts back; Mr. Brown can replace them

"Goodbye I am going."

"Their soldiers reconnoiter like the mischief, Jeff, And appropriate our cattle and our corn." The Union soldiers have taken half the slaves and will free the rest. The war is failing. The Confederate concludes, "I think we'd better give it up and run."

"Sandy felt as swanky as the Duke of Killiecrankie" now that he is a soldier, "But Jenny by his side her sorrow could not hide." He tells her, "Goodbye Jenny, I must gang awa', Because my king is needin' laddies Big and braw." He'll scare the Germans

"Twas on a Friday morning I bid London Town adieu." "Goodbye, John, Don't stay long, But come back home to your own chickiebiddie, My heart bears so to see you go, Don't forget your darling"

"Our horse fell down the well around behind the stable (x2), Well he didn't fall clear down but he fell, fell... As far as he was able. Oh, it's goodbye Liza Jane." Similarly "My gal crossed a bridge... but the bridge it wasn't built yet." Etc.

"Goodbye mama, goodbye dada, Goodbye to all the rest, Goodbye mama, goodbye dada, For I love dolly best." "Past 8 o'clock and it's bedtime for dolly, Past 8 o'clock and it's bedtime for me. Dolly must sleep... Dolly and I are quite sure to agree."

Jump-rope rhyme. "Goodbye Mary/May, While you're away, Send a letter home, Say you're better, love, Don't forget your dear old (Nell)"

Goodbye to My Stepstone: (11 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7453}

The singer has stayed at home among loved ones for a long time, but now is leaving: "Goodbye to my stepstone, goodbye to my home, God bless the ones that I leave with a sigh; I'll cherish dear memory while I am away; Goodbye, dear old stepstone, goodbye."

"farewell to my old pick and shovel... The bulldozer now has took over To tear down the mountains of stone." The 'dozer mechanic has skills the old road-builder doesn't, but couldn't survive the life the old man once led. The world is changed, not better

"Goodbye-ee, Don't sigh-11! Wipe the tear, baby dear, From your eye-ee. Though it's hard to part I know, (Still) I'll be tickled to death to go. Don't sigh-ee! Don't cry-ee! There's a silver lining in the sky-ee.... Napoo! TOodle-oo! Goodbye-ee!"

"Goodbye, brother (x2), If I don't see you more; Now God bless you (x2), If I don't see you more." "We part in the body, but we meet in the spirit, If I don't see you more; We'll meet in the heaven, in the blessed kingdom, If I don't see you more."

"Fare you well, Julianna, you know, Hoo row, row, row, my boys, To the westward we roll and we now coming home, Goodbye, fare you well, goodbye, fare you well." The sailors bid farewell to the whales and look forward to arriving home

Goodbye, Little Girl, Goodbye: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #15745}

"The sound of the bugle is calling, Fare thee well, fare thee well." The soldier boy sets out: "Goodbye, little girl, goodbye... In my (Virginia/blue) uniform, I'll return to you." In the din of battle, he sends a (dying?) message to the girl

"Goodbye, Mother, goodbye, Your voice I shall hear it no mo', Death done flamished yo' body...." The singer hears mother calling from the grave, wishes she were still alive, and hopes to go to heaven where there is no trouble

Goodbye, My Blue Bell: (7 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #11331}

"Goodbye, my Blue Bell, Farewell to you. One last fond look into your eyes so blue. 'Mid campfires gleaming, Through shot and shell, I will be dreaming Of my sweet Blue Bell." "Blue Bell, my heart is breaking... Blue bell, my tears have started."

Goodbye, My Love, Goodbye: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4709}

Hauling shanty, probably Negro in origin. "I'm bound away to leave you, Goodbye, my love, goodbye. I never will deceive you, Goodbye, my love, goodbye." Given verses are all variations on the 'goodbye, farewell, we're bound away' theme.

Goodbye, My Lover, Goodbye: (15 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #15381}

A riverman, departing for New Orleans, bids his sweetheart farewell: "I'm going away to New Orleans, Goodbye, my lover, goodbye...." "She's on her way to New Orleans... She's bound to pass the Robert E. Lee...." "I'll make this trip and make no more...."

Goodbye, Old Paint: (24 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #915}

"Goodbye, old Paint, I'm a-leavin' Cheyenne." The impatient cowboy is off for Montana. He bids farewell to the girl and starts his horses on their way

Goodbye, Pretty Mama: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #15522}

"I'm gonna take those shoes I bought you, Put yo' feet on de groun' (x2)." "I'm gonna leave you jes' like I foun' you, All out an' down (x2)." "I ain' gonna buy you nothin' else, When I go to town (x2)."

Goodbye, Susan Jane: (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2328}

Susan Jane tells the singer that she is in love with Rufus Andrew Jackson Payne. He asks "give me back my love again." She says "I cannot love [you] again." She is "so deceiving" he "threatened twice to leave her" and now he must. Now he thinks her ugly.

"The bright stars fade, the morn is breaking, The dewdrops pearl each bud and leaf." The singer must leave, and bids, "Goodbye, sweetheart, goodbye." "The sun is up, the lark is soaring," but despite saying goodbye, he cannot bring himself to leave

The singer threatens to retaliate for thin or lumpy porridge by making the oxen run or leave the land unploughed. "Wine wine wine awa', Halkie's [cow] ane and humlie's [hornless cow] twa, Wine wine wine awa"

The singer describes how he courted Irene. Now he and his wife are parted. "And if Irene turns her back on me, gonna take morphine and die." Chorus: "Irene, goodnight, Irene, goodnight; Goodnight, Irene, goodnight, Irene, I'll (get/see) you in my dreams."

"Goodnight ladies (x3), We're going to leave you now." "Merrily we roll along, Roll along, roll along, Merrily we roll along Over the deep blue sea." "Farewell ladies, (x3), We're going to leave you now." "Sweet dreams, ladies, We're going to leave...."

Taunt rhyme, also occasionally used as a jump-rope rhyme. "Goody Goody Gout/Gouch, Your shirt-tail's out." "Goody, goody, gin, Put it back again."

"I've been many years a shearer, and fancied I could shear... But, oh my! I never saw before The way we had to knuckle down at Goorianawa." The shearer describes the many places he has worked, then complains how Goorianawa broke his spirits

Goose and the Gander, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1094}

"Goose and gander walked over the green." Goose walked barefoot afraid of being seen. "I had a black hen" with a white foot and she laid an egg in a willow tree root.

Goose Hangs High, The: (2 refs. 4K Notes) {Roud #7763}

"Im June of '63, I suppose you all know, General Lee he had a plan into Washington to go." Stuart loses a battle, but Lee invades Pennsylvania; Meade replaces Hooker; the Union wins: "You cannot whip the Yankee boys while the goose hangs high"

"The gooseberry grows on an angry Tree ... Others are merry as well as we ... Some are sad and some are glad, Thorns flourish not on every Tree ... About ye merry maids all"

Goosey, Goosey, Gander: (6 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #6488}

"Goosey, goosey, gander, Whither shall I wander, Upstairs and downstairs And in my lady's chamber." The ending varies; possibly "There I met an old man Who wouldn't say his prayers, I took him by the right leg And threw him down the stairs."

Gordon o' Newton's Marriage: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #6056}

The singer describes "this night our Gordon has brought home a young and bloomming bride." The house and tenants "wi' harmless mirth welcome our lady home" and drink her health. "Wi' Gordon's plaid the Forbes maid does now herself adorn"

Fragment: "I found the track of the wind in the trees...but never a trace of baby o." Similarly "...mist on the hill..." and "swan on the lake."

Gospel Cannonball: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #18559}

"On the great and holy Bibble, on the pages I do find, How God came down from heaven to redeem this soul of mine." The singer notes the popularity of the Bible and urges listeners to heed so they too can go to God on the Gospel Cannonball

"The Gospel news is sounding to nations far and near; Good people, pay attention, and to its truth give ear." Give glory to God. Repent. Be baptized. The wicked will be destroyed and the New Jerusalem will come. There will be a Temple in Zion

"Brother, how did you feel that day, When you lost your guilt and burden? I felt like the Lord God freed my soul, And the healing waters move." The healed man says that he could run (or his hands looked new), and "the green trees bowed."

Gospel Ship (I), The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2838}

"The Gospel Ship is sailing by, The Ark of Safety now is nigh; On sinners, unto Jesus fly... Oh, there'll be glory... when we the Lord embrace." Fathers and brothers are invited to come along; the end of the world is described

Gospel Train (II), The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #11820}

"Select de proper train (x3), When de bridegroom comes." "Git on board de train (x3) When de bridegroom comes." "Gwine to travel wid my Savior." "Gwine to travel home to glory."

"Oh, don't you hear that whistle blowin' (x3), Get on board, get on board." "Oh, it ain't no harm to trust in Jesus (x3), Get on board, get on board." "Jesus is the conductor." ""Oh! have you got your ticket ready?"

"De gospel train am leaving For my father's mansions, De gospel train am leaving, And we all be left behind." "Oh, run, Mary, run, De gospel train am leaving, Oh, run, Mary, run, I want to get to heaben today."

"The gospel train is coming, don't you want to go (x3), Yes, I want to go." "Jesus is the engineer, don't you want to go? (x3). Yes, I want to go." "Can't you hear the bell ring...." "Can't you hear the wheel hum...." "She's comin' round the curve...."

"I sing not of Naples, of Venice, of Rome... But will sing of a seaport, and Gosport's the town." They don't know what mops are at the inns; there are no more than 10,000 "lasses of pleasure"; justice is drowned in beer. The singer bids the town farewell

"On Gosport beach I landed, that place of noted fame." The sailor meets a beautiful whose merchant parents threw her out. He offers to marry her, breaks a ring, and goes on his voyage. Three months later, he returns and marries her

"Gosport Nancy she's my fancy, She's the girl to make good sport, How she'll greet you when she meets you When your ship gets into port." The singer tells how Gosport women are good to sailors -- but Nancy's establishment is best of all

Gossip Joan (Neighbor Jones): (8 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1039}

"Good morrow, Gossip Joan, Where have you been a-walking? I have for you, for you for you, for you for you... a budget full of wonders." The wonders are listed: A cow with a calf that cannot eat hay, a duck which died from eating a snail

"I shall you tell of a full good sport, How gossips gather them on a sort." Seven or more gather to drink and talk. Men who strike their women will feel wrath in return. A harper plays. Once a week they will gather and drink, and then go home

"Got dem blues, but I'm too mean, lordy, I'm too damned mean to cry. I got dem blues, Got dem blues, but I'm too damned mean to cry. Yes, I got dem dirty blues, But I'm too damned mean to cry, Yes! mean to cry, Sweet daddy! Uh-huh! Turn me down! Uh-huh!

Singer's "got the blues and can't be satisfied," but someday he'll catch a train and ride. Meanwhile, he wants a quart because whiskey will keep the blues away. He buys his girl a diamond ring, finds her with another man, whom he kills.

Got the Farm Land Blues: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #17630}

Farmer laments that thieves have gotten his chickens, corn, beans and the tires from his car, while the boll weevils have eaten his cotton and a storm has torn down his corn. He plans to sell his farm and move to town.

Got the Jake Leg Too: (2 refs. 12K Notes) {Roud #17562}

Singer wakes up in the middle of the night with "jake leg"; he can't get out of bed and feels nearly dead. His Aunt Dinah has it; a preacher drinks and gets it too. Singer warns against drinking "Jamaica ginger"; he will pray for his fellow jake-leggers

Singer says he's "Done laid around, done stayed around/This old town too long" and he wants to travel on. He says the police are after him, but "There's a lonesome freight at 6:08" and he'll be on it.

There is a green island in lone Gougane Barra." What better place for a bard? The singer thinks about past bards there, "far from the Saxon's dark bondage and slaughter." When Ireland is free some minstrel will come here a lay a wreath on his grave

"Cal in the White House preparing for his rest, Al and his buddies are doing their best, He'll win, Al will win." Hoover will be "hard to beat," but with booze "hard to drink," Smith will win because he opposes Prohibition

Gowans are Gay, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #4295}

The singer walks out in May and meets a "proper lass." He asks what she is doing; she replies, "Gathering the dew; what need you ask?" He asks her to marry; she says it is not her task to give him her maidenhead. He returns home wondering who she was

Gown of Green (I), The: (5 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #1085}

Polly agrees "to wear the gown of green" The singer leaves "to fight our relations in North America." Many are killed. Some men foolishly buy their sweethearts toys, rings and posies; "give her the gown of green to wear, and she will follow you"

Gown of Green (II), The: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1085}

Harry meets a woman and baby. He claims to know her. He reminds her of the day "you wore the gown of green." He has returned from Portugal and Spain with gold and a pension, though he has lost a limb "saving my commander's life." He proposes.

The singer hears a woman wishing her lover were here. Her lover passes. The singer remarks on her beauty "like a sheet of white paper her neck and breast." He or she promises to prove true to his or her own love.

Gaelic. The singer meets a beautiful woman. OCroinin/Cronin-TheSongsOfElizabethCronin appears to have verses missing. The last verse implies that the singer "was obliged to run for his life from the girl's father."

"Last night I had a happy dream ... I thought again brave Irishmen Had set old Ireland free." Some modern heroes are named and Father Murphy and the Wexford men of ninety-eight. "It's Gra-mo-chroi, I'd like to see old Ireland free once more"

"Thou art great and Thou art good, And we thank Thee for this food; By Thy hand we must be fed, Give us, Lord, our daily bread. Amen"

Gillette is awaiting execution for drowning his sweetheart on a boating excursion. The singer mentions the grief of the mothers

"Twas on the Longstone lighthouse there dwelt an Irish maid," Grace Darling. At dawn she saw "a storm tossed crew ... to the rocks were clinging." With her father's reluctant help, she launched a boat, rowed out, and "boldly saved that crew."

Grace Darling (II): (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #V3152}

Grace tells her father to launch the lifeboat in the storm to rescue "the shipwreck'd wanderers from the grave." He answers "'twere worse than madness." At daybreak she calls on him again to launch the boat. They launch the boat and save the crew.

Grace Darling (III) : (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3811}

At night in a heavy sea the "Forfarshire" steamer strikes a rock on Longstone Island. "To pieces she flew." Grace Horsley Darling hears the cries and asks her father to go to the rescue. They launch a boat and save nine of sixty.

Skipping/counting game. "Grace, grace, dressed in lace, Went upstairs to powder her face. How many boxes did she use? One, two three...." (Or "five, ten, twenty....")

Gracie Parker leaves Alberton for Saint Pierre "heavily lumber-laden." In a heavy gale "she struck a sunken rock ... And all on board were drowned." Two bodies wash up on the beach. The drowned crew are named

Grafted into the Army: (10 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6596}

"Our Jimmy has gone for to live in a tent, They have grafted him into the army... I told them the child was too young, alas! At the Captain's forequarters they said he would pass...." The mother talks of her little boy in the army; she hopes he comes back

The singer hears the birds singing and courting as he wanders by the banks of Banna. He thinks longingly of Molly, who once said she loved him but now hates him. He says that he will be true for as long as he lives

Grampound Wassail. The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #209}

"Wassail, wassail, wassail, wassail And joy come to our jolly wassail. Now here at this house we first will be seen, To drink the king's health such a custom has been." The singers salute the house and ask gifts; they offer good wishes

Heroes discuss Nelson and his victories at Copenhagen and the Nile. He is wounded and dies in the victory at Trafalgar and is returned to be buried in England. A memorial statue is erected in renamed Trafalgar Square at Charing Cross.

Consider Napoleon's imprisonment on St Helena. Better to have died at Waterloo than be condemned by England to this "the dreary spot." His defeat at Moscow and betrayal at Waterloo are recounted. We will speak again of him when again we face the foe.

Dan O'Connell is dead. His career is reviewed: MP for 18 years, supported the Reform Bill, "left our church and clergy free," opposed slavery, killed Lestaire in a duel. He would have supported Irish unity when the British were fighting in the Crimea.

The British defeat the Russians at Alma, Balaclava, Inkerman and Sebastopol. British generals and units are named. Incidentally, there was some help by "6,000 sons of France"

The British and French join Omar Pasha "to seize upon Sebastopol and set poor Turkey free." They defeat the Russians at Alma when Lord Raglan leads the battle with "legions of France by the side of old Britain" and Colin Campbell leads the Highlanders.

Mars and Minerva sit under the rose, considering the rusting implements of war. British peace has followed the war of independence in the States and the defeat of Napoleon in France. "Come stir up the wars, and our trade will be flourishing"

French shanty. Verses tell of the Corsair, which sets out from L'Orient to hunt the English. She runs into bad weather, bad Englishmen, bad food. Finally sinks and the crew save themselves by floating on various unfloatable objects (guns, anchors, etc)

Grand Dissolving Views (I), The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #V41824}

Singer, by a fireside, sees "a Grand Dissolving View" of poverty on one hand and of famous business men, authors, and monarchs. He hopes in the future rich may see the poor as brothers, and workhouses and prisons will be few.

Grand Dissolving Views (II), The: (2 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #V41824}

Singer, by a fireside, sees "a Grand Dissolving View" of past events as -- a poor worker and his starving family, a swindler going free while a starving orphan goes to jail -- and Irish heroes who "died for love of country; it was an honourable crime"

Grand Falls Tragedy, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #30701}

At 3 A.M. a flat-car, loaded with rocks, falls down an incline and crushes three workmen below. The dead workmen are named and their home told.

"There's a place in Vancouver the loggers know well, It's a place where they keep rotgut whiskey to sell. They also keep boarders and keep them like hell, And the name of that place is the Grand Hotel."

"Kind providence our lot may case, And yet we have to choose at last, If you're inquiring where to go, Come down to southern Idaho." The trees yield abundantly. The rains come constantly. Workers are urged to supply brawn; they will be welcome

The singer dreams of his initiation into the Orange Institution. He must answer that Joshua took the Israelites unto the Promised Land. His conductor knocks in code on a door. The path through the door is dangerous and he passes other tests.

French. A Scottish sailor is at heaven's door. St Peter refuses him: sailors belong in Hell with the rest of the demons. If I let you in you will ruin paradise. The sailor says a Scottish sailor would wipe out the devils in Hell. St Peter lets him in.

Grand Templars will be led by Moses's staff and Aaron's rod "to the promised land of God." Moses saw the Burning Bush and became a pilgrim. Noah loved the Free Masons and built the first ship. The singer sees lights and the serpent and finds "the Secret"

Grandawill is doing a chore (churning butter/washing the floor). A man (sailor/soldier) makes a pass. He takes her by the middle and lays her on the floor/grass. Something noteworthy happens (e.g., the wind of her arse blows open the door)

Grandfather Bryan: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #17696}

Grandfather Bryan dies on St Patrick's day. The singer lists the worthless items he inherits: cloth-leather britches, broomstick with the head of a rake, blanket of cloth patches, a key with no lock .... "I'm fixed in grand style for the winter."

Grandfather's Clock: (23 refs. 6K Notes) {Roud #4326}

A description of the relations between grandfather and clock. The clock ran for the entire length of the old man's life, celebrating happy occasions and never complaining. "But it stopp'd -- short -- never to go again When the old man died."

Grandfather's Story: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #9059}

When children ask for a story, grandfather tells the sad tale of James Tenny and Nancy Foes, who grow up and fall in love in the woods. He goes out hunting, and is long delayed. She goes out to seek him, and dies in the snow. He finds her on his return

The girl is cautioned by her grandmother to be cautious of boys. "They will flatter you and cunningly deceive." But the girl, courted by Johnny Green and Ellis Grove, thinks "If the girls... had been afraid / Grandma herself would have been an old maid"

"Grandmother Gray (Granny Grey, etc.), Let's go out to play, I won't go near the water To hunt the ducks away. I let the baby fall Over the garden wall. My mother came out And gave me a clout...."

Grandmother's Chair: (21 refs. 4K Notes) {Roud #1195}

After the singer's grandmother died, her will was found to grant large sums to several siblings, but to the singer, only granny's old armchair. He is far from content, but takes the chair home -- and eventually discovers a fortune hidden inside

"Grandy Needles, Grandy Needles, set, bump set! Through the long lobby we go, we go." Thread grandmother's needle. Open the gates for King George and his lady. It is too dark to see how to thread grandmother's needle.

Granemore Hare, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2883}

The boys from Maydown hunt a hare. The hare sings about the the strategy of the chase and how she has been trapped by the dogs. Dying, she blames McMahon for bringing Coyle and his dogs, changing the way the hunt had been carried out all these years.

"Granfa' Grig Had a pit In a field of clover; Pittie died, Granfa' cried, And all the fun was over."

"I wish I was a granger, and with the granger band, With a haystack on my shoulder And a pitchfork in my hand." Chorus is dance instructions. Similarly, "I wish I was a cowboy." "I want to be a preacher." "I want to be a farmer." "I want to be a rich man"

"May God, the great Creator With wisdom me provide, Guide and direct my pencil, These few lines to inscribe." The singer tells the tragic scenes of the fire, such as workers leaping to their deaths. He tells others to plan their work better

"Lang lang syne I lo'ed a lassie, Lo'ed a lassie young and fair; Then her name was Jeannie Cassie, Noo she's kent as Grannie Gair"

"As I/Granny in the kitchen, Doing a bit of stitching, In came a bogey man, And I walked out. I saw a lark Shining in the dark."

"Chicken in the bread tray, Scratching out the dough, (Granny/Auntie) will your dog bite? No, chile, no." Other verses may also be about chickens or involve questions: "Auntie, will your oven bake?"

Granua sings "My Blackbird's banished to a foreign isle ... John Mitchel brave is my Blackbird's name," tried with Reilly and Meagher and sentenced by Baron Lefroy to be transported for 14 years. O'Connell died in '47. Mitchel was transported in '48

"Poor Old Granuaile," bound in chains, in deep distress, mourns the loss of the old heroes and avengers. Dan O'Connell says "I have got the bill to fulfil your wishes.... Her voice so clear fell on my ear"

Granuale "the distress of Erin she sorely lamented." Irish men had fought for old England but England, in turn, "oppressed poor old Granuale." She hopes for help in "some strange nation" but mourns the loss of the green Linnet banished to St Helena

"Come, people of the Eastern towns, It's little that you know About the Western prairies" where beef is grown and horses run wild "on the grass of Uncle Sam." The singer describes cowboy life, both when on the range and when in town

Grasshopper and a Fly, A: (3 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #1326}

A grasshopper and a fly argue about priority. The fly claims a royal father. Grasshopper responds, "But your mother was a Turd." "Rebel Jemmy Scot, That did to Empire soar, His Father might be the Lord knows what But his mother we knew was a whore"

Round. "Grasshoppers three a-fiddling went Hey! Ho! Never be still, They paid no money toward their rent But all day long with elbow bent, They fiddled a tune called rillaby, rillaby Fiddled a tune called rillaby rill."

"I'm gwine away to leave you, O-o-o-o-o! I'm gwine away to the grassy islands, O-o-o-o-o!"

"There was a weaver o' the north, And O but he was cruel; The very first nicht that he was wed, He sat and grat for gruel." The wife explains that gruel cannot be had; he will have it if she must cook it in the wash-pot and he must eat it with a trowel

"They laid him away on the brow of the hill, Outside of the right-of-way." The section hand's many years of service are recalled. His grave will guard the track. The place of the burial is briefly described.

Grave of Wolfe Tone, The: (7 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #9313}

"In Bodenstown churchyard there is a green grave ... Once I lay on that sod -- it lies over Wolfe Tone." He wakes to the sound of students and peasants who come to the grave to raise a simple monument "fit for the simple and true"

"(It was sad when the grave was sinking down)(x2) That awful time, People keep awake all night, It was sad when the grave was sinking down"

"Who gwine to lay this body, Member, O shout glory, And who gwine to lay this body, O ring Jerusalem." "O call all the members to the graveyard." "O graveyard, ought to know me." "O, grass grow in the graveyard."

About life on a Tennessee farm. All the singer wants is a "baby in the cradle and a pretty girl to rock it," plus meat in the sack, sugar in the gourd, a tub of lard. Ch: "Big cat spit in the little kitten's eye/Little cat, little cat, don't you cry...."

The miller gains Kate's love and is offered a large dowry. He also demands her father's gray mare. The father turns him out of the house for asking too much. When he later meets Kate, she tells him she wants no part of the man who preferred a mare to her

"Gray squirrel, gray squirrel Swish your bushy tail, Gray squirrel, gray squirrel Swish your bushy tail Wrinkle up your little nose Hold a nut between your toes Gray squirrel, gray squirrel Swish your bushy tail"

"Oh, ye toilers of this nation, I hope you will draw near... My pen I take to hand To try to describe a grazier tribe That now infests this land." The singer laments the British controls on Irish production and the corruption of the system

A squire secretly weds a servant maid. She becomes pregnant. His parents threaten them with ruin; he leaves her and marries another. His first wife dies of grief. Her ghost finds him in bed with his bride, kills him, and writes of the story on the corpse

"You kin brag of city caffeys and their trout from streams and lake... But the grub at Greaser Joe's is the finest ever dealt. Come, hombre, and just tuck a bowl of chili 'neath your belt." Further extravagant praise of Joe's food follows

The singer keeps company with a cook. One day she is about to send him off with cheese and butter when the master comes in. He hides in the chimney; the fire melts cheese and butter and sets them afire. The master douses him; he flees to a chorus of jeers

"Great (big) gobs of greasy, grimy gopher guts...." The singer lists a variety of available non-delicacies, and laments, "And me without a spoon."

Jump-rope rhyme. "Greasy rails and timber bridges, Up the hills and down the ridges. Hard to stop and easy to start; What's the initial of my sweetheart? A, B, C, D....

"Great A, little A, Bouncing B, The cat's in the cupboard And she can't see me."

"Come all you jolly jokers if you want to have some fun And listen while I relate the tale of a great American bum." The singer rejoices getting maximum results from minimum work: "I am a bum, a jolly old bum, and I live like a royal Turk...."

"A terrible disaster Has come upon our land, Down where the Mississippi flows On her way so grand." People are enjoying life along the Mississippi when a great storm and floods come to bring ruin

"Great big dog come a-runnin' down de river, Shook his tail an' jarred de meadow. Go 'way, ole dog, go 'way, ole dog, You shan't have my baby. Mother loves you, Father loves you, Ev'ybody loves Baby. Mother loves you...."

"A great big sea hove in Long Beach... And Granny Snooks she lost her speech." "Me boot is broke, me frock is tore... But George Snooks I do adore." "Oh, fish is low and flour is high... So Georgie Snooks he can't have I."

Great Big Taters in Sandy Land: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7909}

"Big yam taters in de sandy lan', Sandy bottom, sandy lan'." "Sift your meal an' save de bran, Mighty good livin' in de sandy lan'." The singer describes farming and courting in "de sandy lan'," and describes some of the local characters

This great booby fails at his ABC's and at plowing, and is a country clown in town. He falls out of a boat. "To go and see the circus [playhouse] sir to me is most inviting." He may become an entertainer

"Great day! Great day, the righteous marching, Great day! God's going to build up Zion's walls." "Chariot rode on the mountain top... My God spoke and the chariot did stop." "This is the day of jubilee." "We want no cowards in our band."

"It's a great day since I was born." "Things I used to do Will do them no more." "Places I used to go I don't go there now." "The people I used to see I don't see 'em now"

Mick courts Nancy Keays, "a rich farmer's daughter." Her father will not agree to the marriage. With her 500 pounds they elope. Her father searches through Ireland without success and posts a reward for their arrest, but they are safe in America.

Sayers's fights, from his first, with Aby Crooch in 1842, to his most recent, with Tommy Burns, are listed. Then he fights Brettle who yields after being injured by a fall. Sayers is "the champion of proud England, and the conqueror of all."

Great God A'mighty: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #15571}

A chopping song with story. "He's a-choppin de new ground (x3), Great God a'mighty." The singer describes his axe blade, boasts of his ability, and discusses arguments with the captain

"Great God, I'm feelin' bad, I ain't got the man I thought I had."

"Great grand-dad when the West was young, Barred his door with a wagon tongue." He raised 21 boys without any trouble -- but now there's a great-grandson, and of course youth being what it is, *that* one gives trouble

"I dreamt that the great judgment morning Had dawned and the trumpet had blown...." The singer describes the scene before God's throne "as the lost was told of their fate" and the poor, widows, and orphans rewarded. The rich man's money does not save him

"My love he is a teamster, a handsome man is he... With his little team of bullocks on the Great Northern Line." The singer describes her handsome, hard-driving, hard-swearing, flirting, madly inventive teamster love

"Titanic was a ship... Oh, it was a pleasure trip." "Titanic was her name, Atlantic was her fame, she sank about five hundred miles from shore, 1600 were at sea... went down an angry wave to rise no more." 1600 die in the "angry wave."

A lady mourns that she knows not her son's father. He appears at her bedside, revealing that he is a silkie. He prophesies that she shall marry a "gunner," who will shoot both him and her son.

Great Speckled Bird, The: (11 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #7444}

"What a beautiful thought I am thinking Concerning the great speckled bird." The bird, though attacked by other birds, "is one with the great church of God." The bird's success is promised when God comes on the bird's wings

Great Storm Pass Over, A: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #15622}

A hurricane passes over Andros Island; for three days the sun is blotted out. The singer fixes his heart on Jesus; while many are crippled, wounded, or killed, he is spared. He tells sinners that the time of judgement is coming; they had better pray

"It blew in the valley and it blew on the hill, And it blew till the sun and the moon stood still... It's the great, high wind that blew the low post down." It's so strong it blows "the whiskers off the rye," "buttons off the sky," and stirs chicken soup

"I'm the wretchedest man that e'er was seen, For badly swindled I have been." He meets a girl with a Grecian Bend. She is very pretty, and he ends up paying her (expensive) rent. Then she goes off with another man. He warns against such girls

Greedy Gled o' Mains, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #5903}

"There lives a farmer in this place" known for his greed. In all weather he greedily drives his crew. He is too smart for "poor silly folk" round about. "Grab a' ye can is aye the plan Wi' the greedy gled o' Mains."

"Down in Greedy Harbour we went one time; We shipped on board with old man Ryme; The skipper and I could not combine, With him I spent a very short time." The singer buys and loses a punt, dresses a cow in silks, and drinks turpentine thinking it wine

"'Pudding and pie,' Said Jane, 'Oh, my!' 'Which would you rather?' said her father. 'Both!' said Jane, Quite bold and plain."

Green Above the Red, The: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #V417}

When the English red has been above the Irish green our fathers rose to set the green above the red. Heroes are named. Irish green is banned now but "we vow our blood to shed, Once and forever more to raise the green above the red"

Green Banks of Banna, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #3818}

"By the green banks of Banna I wander alone Where the river runs softly by sweet Portglenone." The singer recalls the day her lover said he must leave her. She laments his long absence. She will be happy once he returns

Green Brier Shore (II), The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #549}

"Oh, then I can court little and I can court long, and I'll court an old sweetheart till the new one comes along. I'll kiss them and court them...." Nancy and Willie declare their love and lamenting her rich parents' disapproval of Willie.

Old broom-cutter tells his lazy son to get to work cutting broom. The boy does, then takes it to market to sell. A lady hears him, and has him brought in, where she proposes marriage to him. They wed, as the lady sings his praises.

Green Bushes, The [Laws P2]: (42 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #1040}

The singer courts a girl he meets by chance, offering her fine clothes if she will marry him. Although clothes do not interest her, she is willing to marry, even though she is already pledged. Her former love arrives and comments bitterly on her falseness

"On the green carpet here we stand, Take your true love by the hand, Take the one whom you profess To be the one whom you love best." "Oh what a beautiful choice you've made... Give her a kiss, and send her away, And tell her she can no longer stay."

Green Cockade (II), The: (2 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #V37861}

In 1782 the Volunteers "won for Ireland full free trade" in return for Irish aid. In 1789 the Volunteers surrounded King William's statue "proclaiming Ireland should be free." But "the Irish divided, the English gained And Ireland once again was chained"

The singer recalls happy times in Erin with Norah and their child. Years later he has returned. "But dark is my home and wild wild its trees wave For my wife and my baby are dust in the grave"

"Green eyes, greedy eyes, Brown eyes, pick the pies, Blue eyes tell lies."

Green Fields of America (I), The: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2290}

The singer bids farewell to Ireland. His parents weep to leave but he wants a trouble-free life in America with no taxes or tithes. We must follow "our manufacturies" across the Atlantic. "The landlords and bailiffs" have driven us from home.

Gaelic. "The poet asks for bread and soup and lots of it."

"I curse the day that I sailed away From my dear little Isle so green." The singer recalls his youth and some friends he'll see no more. "The lust for gold it soon grows cold." "I'll turn my face from this awful place" and go home to stay.

Green Flag of Erin: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #18469}

An song favoring "De Valera" over Colonel Lynch and his supporters, who "our country have sold" for the East Clare MP seat. The rest of the song is about "the banner of freedom, The Green White and Gold," the flag of the "republic we'll have"

"Hibernia's sons, the patriot band" are united, patriotic, and hope the time will come to punish the English "landlords, absentees, and knaves" "Hibernia then will raise her head, The green flag wide extending ... Justice then begins her reign"

Anna Lee wonders whether "God forgot in his creating hours" to create flowers "with petals tinged of green." She finds one. The singer has never seen another.

"A dis, a dis, a green grass, A dis, a dis, a dis, Come all you pretty fair maids, And dance along with us." The singer goes a-roving, takes a girl by the hand, and promises her a prince. If the prince dies, she shall have another. All clap hands.

"Green grass, green grass, Growing up so high, For you are the one that I love best, And (Susie) come up to me." If she says no, "You naughty girl, you sassy girl, You ought to be ashamed, For you are the one that I live best, And Susie come up again"

Green Grassy Slopes, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #37298}

"I'm going to speak ... of the deeds that were done by King William, On the green grassy slopes of the Boyne." "Praise God for sending us King William." "If ever our service is needed" we "will join, And fight, like valiant King William"

"Green gravel, green gravel, Your (bank/grass) is so green; The fairest young damsel I ever have seen." Usually a short lyric of praise for a girl, then a report that the girl's love is dead

Green Grow the Leaves: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #2121}

"O green grow the leaves on the (hawthorn) tree, Some grow high and some grow low; With this wrangling and this jangling We never shall agree, And the tenor of our song goes merrily."

Green Grow the Rashes, O: (12 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #2772}

"There's naught but care on ev'ry han' In ev'ry hour that passes, O." In praise of women and love: "Green grow the rashes, O... The sweetest hours that e'er are spent Are spent amang the lasses, O." Other texts may be more explicitly bawdy

"I'll sing you one-oh, Green grow the rushes, oh. What is your one-oh.... Number one is the old C.O. And ever more shall be so." Similarly for Two, the second in command, on up no nine, the boys in the firing line and ten for the C.O.'s rover

Cumulative song with religious themes e.g., "I'll sing you three-o/Green grow the rushes-o/What is your three-o/Three for the Hebrew children/Two, two, the lily-white babes/clothed all in green-o/One is one and all alone and evermore shall be so."

"Green grow the rushes, oh! (x2), Kiss her quick and let her go, Never mind the weather if the wind don't blow." "Though she wears a checkered gown, He and she must both kneel down...." "Give her a kiss and send her away."

The singer laments, "I once had a sweetheart but now I have none." (S)he wrote him a letter; the reply says to stop writing. (His/her) very looks are full of venom. (S)he wonders why men and women love each other

"Green grows the willow-tree (x3), Up steps a lady with a rose in her hand." "Bargain, bargain, you young man; You promised to marry me a long time ago. You promised to marry me -- you sha'n't say no."

"Oh, dark was the day when I sailed from Cushleake And crossed the wild ocean, my fortune to seek." The singer's new land has beautiful birds and high mountains, but he misses home and Mary Machree "where the green hills of Antrim sweep down to the sea"

Green Hills of Islay, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #24801 and 30128}

"The green hills of Islay (or New Bay), they're far far away" The singer thinks of the glens and hills of home. His mother prays for him and longs for his return. A sweetheart may change an old love for new but the love of a mother is always the same.

Jump-rope rhyme. "Green is Irish, Shamrock, too, I saw Irish, How about you?"

"On to the next and circle four, Green leaf so green, Right hand crossed, The left hand back, You know very well what I mean. Swing her by the left, Swing her by the right, Green leaf... Balance all and swing her about, You know very well what I mean."

"Green leaves, green leaves, that grow on a vine, Go choose your partner as I've chosen mine, Honey in the gum so sweet, so sweet, (Joy/Love) is bound to be." Or, "...So choose a partner, the prettiest you can find."

"Curiosity bore a young native of Erin To view the gay banks of the Rhine" where he sees a "young empress" looking for her "green linnet." She recounts his exploits and says she will search until she finds him

The young man, driven by "curiosity," roams the world. In Ireland he falls in love with a girl at first sight. He gains her father's approval by saying that he is rich. The two are married, and the American lad settles down on the banks of the Lea

"Come all of you assembled here, Just listen for a while... you can see with half an eye That I'm a green new chum." The singer went mining, had many troubles and little luck -- and now, with experience, looks and laughs at the next green new chum

"Green [hot] peas and barley O On a Sunday [Christmas] morning." "This is the way the teacher [gentleman] stands, Fold your arms and clap your hands"

Green Peas, Mutton Pies: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #13204}

"Green peas, mutton pies, Tell me where my Jeannie lies, And I'll be with her ere she rise, And cudle her to my bosom." "I love Jeannie over and over, I love Jeannie among the clover; I love Jeannie and Jeannie loves me; That's the lass that I'll go wi."

Lord Lennox's Edinburgh regiment marches through Dumfries. One man would roll a lass in his green plaid. He says they have orders "each man to have a wife." She says her mamma would not approve. They leave for Minorca. She wishes she had gone with them.

Green Shores of Fogo, The: (4 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #6335}

"Our barque leaves this harbour tomorrow." The singer is leaving Fogo and Katie "my fortune I'm after seeking In a far distant land o'er the sea"

"Green trees around us, blue skies above, Friends all around us, in a world filled with love Taps sounding softly, hearts beating true As we all say, goodnight to you." Now usually sung in a medley with "Taps"

"Green trees bending, green trees bending, green trees bending, Hold to the side and swing to the back; If you catch a pretty boy, back right back."

Green Upon the Cape: (10 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #5773}

"I'm a lad that's forced an exile From my own native land... I'm a poor distressed croppy For the green upon my cape." The boy goes to Belfast, bids farewell to his parents, and sets out by ship for Paris. He hopes to return to a free Ireland

Phoebe accuses William. "She said he had deceived her" Usual "All Around My Hat" complaints. She fears dying a maiden. William claims his deception "was only to try if you were true" They marry and live happily as an example for young lovers.

"The bonniest lass in a' the countryside Has fa'en in love wi' the plooman laddie But little did she think her heart was betrayed At the fit o' the green woods o' Airlie." After some laments over him, he comes back to her and they are married

"Green, green, it's green , they say On the far side of the hill Green, green, I'm going away To where the grass is greener still." No one -- not a mother, not a lover -- will keep the singer from seeking greener places

"Green, green, You're the best ever seen. Red, red, You don't go to bed. Yellow, yellow, You dirty fellow. Black and white, You dirty skite."

Green, White, and Yellow: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #38156}

"Green, white, and yellow, My mother got a fellow, The fellow died, My mother cried, Green, white, and yellow."

"If I had a scoldin' wife, I tell you what I'd do... Ho yo that greenback, greenback, hi yo today, Hi yo that greenback, they're done courting me." Other verses from floating themes: Someone steals the singer's overcoat; he warns others away from his wife

Categorized by a lost love theme ("Don't forget me, little darling") and the line(s) "I don't want your greenback dollar; I don't want your watch and chain." Many versions say that the couple cannot marry because of parental opposition

"Some people say I'm a no-'count, Others say I'm no good, But I'm just a natural-born traveling man." "And I don't give a damn about a greenback dollar; Spend it fast as I can." No one cares about him as he travels except brandy and song

"How tedious and tasteless the hours When Jesus no longer I see; Sweet prospects, sweet birds, and sweet flowers Have all lost their sweetness to me. The midsummer sun shines but dim, The fields strive in vain to look gay...."

"Me vorking fer Prospect, me gotta gut job," but the singer doesn't like the work and quits. He can't find anyone to hire him until Paddy Burke takes him on. But Burke can't pay. A judge writes a note that gets him what he wants

Recitation; a greenhorn arrives in the lumber camp and makes friends with everyone except Joe Bonreau, the camp bully. The greenhorn doesn't respond until Joe talks about the greenhorn's girlfriend, after which he proceeds to wipe the floor with Joe

"Again for Greenland we are bound To leave you all behind." The singer describes the trip to the Greenland whaling grounds -- and the return, where they "see our sweethearts and our wives All waiting on the pier." The singer will return next year

Greenland Disaster (I), The: (5 refs. 12K Notes) {Roud #4080}

A sealing expedition leaves St. John's for the ice fields and all is well. When the men reached the ice, a storm comes up and freezes them. There are 25 dead and 23 missing. The singer concludes by hoping his audience will pray with him.

"Sad comes the news from over the sea...." The Greenland sails for the ice in March, and soon finds seals. At the end of March, a blinding snowstorm begins. The men on the ice freeze, and many are never found.

Catchall entry, for all poems about the Greenland Tragedy not covered by the other pieces on the subject. The Greenland goes to the ice, and 48 men are frozen or lost as a heavy storm traps them away from the ship

"On board the noble Ann, 27th of March, from Shields to Greenland we set sail." They fall in with a French privateer. Poorly armed, their ship is taken and they suffer until ransomed. Back home, an attempt is made to press them to sea. They hope for peace

""Why stay we at home now the season is come? Jolly lads, let us liquor our throats." The singer urges others to prepare the ship for the voyage. The spot a whale; the singer cheers as they kill it, and congratulated them on their work

The singer and his companions (are forced by poverty to) sign on a whaler. They spot a whale. The whale is harpooned, but sinks the boat and escapes. Five crewmen are killed. The captain regrets the loss of whale and/or crew. At last they leave Greenland

The singer sees a beautiful girl, "Greenmount smiling Ann." He sees a young man in green approach her. They go off together; the birds sing and the swans glide along with them. He is assured they are "joined in Hymen's ban."

Greenock Railway, The: (7 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5833}

Paddy pays a fare on the Greenock Railway to Glasgow. He enters a box and fights an upper-class man who says he is in the wrong fare class. He fights and escapes to work the harvest and return to Ireland, or is taken by a peeler and serves three months.

"Greens, greens, good old (collard/culluhed) greens, I eats 'em in the mornin', I eats 'em in the night, I eats 'em all the time; They make me feel just right."

The singer, with "a wee drap spirits," pays a night visit to his love who had left the window ajar and the door bar greased. "Wi' hasty feet and lovin' arms I catched my lovey in the dark." He is ecstatic. She was "blithe to bid me come again"

"'Tis Greenside wakes, we've come to the town, To show you some sport of great renown." The singer calls for a spinning contest: "Tread the wheel (x2), dan don dell O." The singer boasts, and hopes to entertain again next year

A song of a man rejected by "Lady Greensleeves," whom he describes as "all my joy" and "my delight." He offers various gifts and honors if she will return to him and complains about what he has already spent upon her.

Greenwich Pensioner, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #17509}

"'Twas in the good ship Rover I sail'd the world around, And for three years and over, I ne'er touched British ground." The singer survives a storm off Portugal, but loses a limb in a battle. Now he is in Greenwich. He blesses the King but cannot sail

Greenwood Laddie, The: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2123}

Singer describes the beauty of her greenwood laddie. Her parents oppose the match because he has no riches, but she says "the more that they slight you, the more I'll invite you". She would still cherish him if she had the gold of the Indies or of Africa.

Johnny intends to spend the night with Nancy but her cronies beat him and take his money. Next day his mother and neighbors comment on his appearance. He denies being beaten. Fellows, beware of Nancy.

"You've got a kind face, you old bastard, You ought to be bloody well shot: You ought to be tied to a gun-wheel, And there to bloody well rot."

Spanish. "In the country of the Carmen... The sheriff mayor died." An investigation points to Gregorio Cortez. When he is found, he pleads self-defense. Authorities pursue him. Eventually he gives up. The singer clearly sympathizes with Cortez

242 miners and three rescuers died in the Gresford mine explosion. The management is accused of destroying the fireman's records to cover criminal negligence. "Down there in the dark they are lying; they died for nine shillings a day"

"The grey cat's kittled in Charlie's wig (x2), There's one of them living and two of them dead, The grey cat's kittled in Charlie's wig"

Man bids his love to let him in. After some hours of lovemaking, he tells her he must depart when the cock crows (or before). She hopes the cock will not crow soon, but it crows early. She learns that her lover is a ghost, and may never return

"Last Monday morning, Lord, Lord, Lord... My daddy went a-hunting... for de grey goose." The goose is found and killed; it takes six weeks to fall, and six weeks to pluck, and six weeks to cook... It cannot be cut, and comes back to life and flies away

"And oh, we peppered them hot, sir, And yelled aloud with glee, Till the enemy staggered back to port In the grey North Sea."

Willie leaves Mary for another girl. Mary goes to her deathbed and sends for Willie who promises to take care of their baby. The baby dies too and is buried with Mary.

Grigor loves his rich cousin Katie. Her father arranges for Grigor's impressment. He is killed near Fort Niagara; the finger with her ring is cut off. His ghost appears to Katie without the finger. She dies. The father is left "bereft of all joys."

"Here's to the Grimsby lads out at the trawling," working all night on the sea. "They sail in the cold and the grey of the morning," heading to the cold waters of the North Sea, where they work eighteen hours a day. In ten days they will return

Jump-rope rhyme. "Grind the coffee, grind the coffee, Choo, choo choo, Grind the coffee, grind the coffee, out with you."

"During the winter '26, In the woods at Grindstone, Maine, There worked a hearty lumber crew...." The singer lists those involved: cook Alphonse Harvery, foreman Johnny White, "25 bold teamsters," and many more. A typical moniker song

Grizzly Bear (Grizzely Bear): (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #16673}

"Oh that grizzely, grizzely, grizzely bear, Tell me who was that grizzely bear. Oh Jack o' Diamonds was that grizzely bear." The singer describes the grizzely bear (and how his family tries to avoid and/or hunt it)

"Oh, there's a road to Seattle As plain as can be, And if you want to see a wreck, Just take a look at me." The police are afraid to deal with the singer, "Grizzly Hogan," when he gets drunk. He kissed his girl and broke her jaw. No one can match him

"The grog tent we got tipsy in, in old Bendigo, Was certainly the queerest place it's been my lot to know." The text is small and primitive but the landlady was pretty; all the miners went there. But with the landlady having married, it's all gone now

Chorus: "Hurrah! my jolly boys, grog time o' day." "The captain's gone ashore, but the mate is aboard." "Captain locked the door and took away the key." I assume they get grog anyway.

"Yes, I know Bill was grouchy, I know he was sometimes tough, Still... He had p'ints what was good enough." When the crew is called to break a logjam on the Brule, a young man is caught out on the river. Bill sets out to rescue him; both die

At day's end, the singer (a shepherd) makes his way home, where he sits content. He praises the cottage, though he has "nothing but ground for my floor." He sleeps well, rising cheerfully to his work and playing his pipe; he has no high ambitions

Ground for the Floor (II): (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1269}

The singer has "a neat little cottage with ground for the floor" surrounded by brambles and thorns. He is happy with his dog and gun, a three-legged stool, a fire on the ground, bed of straw, and one guinea in the pocket of his only suit.

A family goes ground hog hunting, catches one, cooks and eats it with great enjoyment. Almost anything can happen in the process as verses float in and out.

Cabot Strait leaves Sydney for Port aux Basques and runs aground off Cape Ray. Local people "row out in their dories through the bitter wind and snow" and rescue the passengers and crew. The Cabot Strait is "out" and awaiting repairs.

"Oh, the Army and the Aviation section Is all shot to Hell, so they say." The soldier complains of his officers, and notes that they do the same, "'Cause they think the only thing we do is grouse." But at least they fight; generals stay safe in the rear

"Now de war, dearest Nancy, is ended." The Cork City Militia return home to a grand reception and local brew. Their band plays "Boyne Water" and "Croppies Lie Down." It's good to be back among the tanners and glue-boilers "in de Groves of de Pool"

"The groves of Blarney they are so charming." The flowers, "grand walks," "the stone" and statues are described. No commander can compare with Lady Jeffers. If the singer were a poet like Homer "in every feature that I'd make it shine"

The singer "come to this country a stranger" and, in his travels, has found "none to equal Glanmire." He lists the fine groves, the Bride Valley, the salmon fishing, hare hunting, "the finest of oak, lime and larch" and working mills.

The singer goes out to take the air, and sees a beautiful girl who lives near Gruig Hill. He describes her beauty at length. They go to her home; her family greets him kindly. He sets out for his home, hoping to marry her

German: "Grün, grün, grün sind alle meine kleider." Green, green, green is the color of my clothing, Green green green is everything I wear. I wear green... because my love's a hunter." Similarly for other colors, clothes, and occupations

"My name is Gruver Meadows, my name I'll never deny, I've done a cruel murder and in prison I must die." Meadows has murdered his wife and Standon Dean. A claim of insanity is no help. He kisses his children and prepares to die

Gude Wallace [Child 157]: (10 refs. 16K Notes) {Roud #75}

Wallace meets a woman washing at a well. She says 15 Englishmen who seek him are at the inn. He says he'd go there if he had any money; she gives him some. He goes, disguised, vanquishes the 15, calls for food, is set upon by 15 more and defeats them too.

Gudeman, Ye're a Drunken Carle: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #13496}

Dialog in which the husband and wife continue a twenty year fight about his drinking. She concedes she'll take a drink for a cure. They agree to end the fight and share the pitcher from now on.

"Nobody (likes/loves) me, Everybody hates me, Going to the garden To eat worms." The rest of the song may describe the means by which one consumes the invertebrates or list the reasons why the singer is disliked (assuming it isn't obvious)

The singer's wife buys him a good coat against the winter. "Nae mair will I dread the cauld blasts o' Ben Ledi." He ridicules those who, in pride, prefer new fashions to such a coat. "We fret over taxes ... but daft silly pride is the warst tax o' ony"

"To hae a wife, and rule a wife, Taks a wise wise man." The singer lists the penalties and injuries a man with a bad wife will suffer, and the benefits to a man with a good wife. A man with a good wife "gets gear eneuch"; a bad wife brings "care eneuch"

Guid Nicht an' Joy Be Wi' You A': (4 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #3936}

As the singer prepares to leave the gathering, he declares, "Guid nicht, an' joy be wi' you a', Since it is sae that I maun gang." He praises those with whom he has been drinking, has a last drink of his own, and starts on the long voyage home

Guide Me, Oh Thou Great Jehovah: (5 refs. 7K Notes) {Roud #7103}

"Guide me, O Thou great Jehovah, Pilgrim though this barren land; I am weak, but Thou art mighty.... Bread of heaven, feed me till I want no more." The singer asks to be guided by the pillar of fire and to be taken safely to Canaan

A (new year's) revel song, in which the singers demand pork-chine, or else the daughter of the house. Guillannee is mistletoe. In English this becomes "La Gui-Annee"; the singers declare "We've come to ask for mistletoe on this last day of the old year."

"We were rushing along In Gillymong; We could hear the Boches a-singing. They seemed to say, 'You have stolen our trench, But don't go away, And we'll pepper you with tear shells All the day." How soldiers capture and lose much-fought-over trenches

Guinea Negro Song: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #11800}

A slave's complaint of his capture: (lines from various versions): "The Englie man he [s]teal me, And carry me to Birgimy [Virginee]. The American man he [s]teal me, And give me pretty red coatee, And make me fence rail toatee."

Guise o' Tough, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3800}

"I gaed up to Alford for to get a fee, I fell in wi' Jamie Broon and wi' him I did agree." He eats till all are amazed. He works, finds his plow bad, replaces it, damages the replacement. He lists the other characters in the bothy

Guise of Tyrie, The: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6106}

"O wat ye how the guise [happening] began ... at Tyrie." Lady Tyrie and the laird o' Glack plotted to instal "bobbing Andrew [Cant]." The "muirland wives" give Lady Tyrie "ill tauk," saying she and her husband will go to hell; they tear her veil.

If you commit to fishing Gull Cove and "if the codfish fades away as it often done before, We could lose our year in Gull Cove, where the stormy winds do blow." The song describes a bad year and all the boats that lose the year.

The singer reports, "I take no books, nor I read no papers, I have no money to spend or lose." He reads other people's newspapers, sets his dogs on orphans, and has no company but the gulls he whistles to, hence the name "the Gull Decoy."

Singer cites real and fictitious accomplishments of tinkers with gum shellac: making Pharaoh's coffins; building Birmingham; fighting the Romans, Spanish, Danes, Black and Tans, and Cromwell; making cannons in Hungary; teaching Nero to play.

Gum Tree Canoe, The: (20 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #759}

"On Tom Big Bee river so bright I was born In a hut made of husks of the tall yellow corn, And there I first met with my Julia so true And I rowed her about in my gum tree canoe." The singer describes his work -- and the happy times courting in the canoe

Taunt against children whose front teeth are out: "Gummy, gummy, goo, Half past two, Put him in the letter box And see what he'll do. I'm telling the nun You stole a bun, You put it in your pocket And you gave me none."

The canecutter is struggling to survive, and "there's no joy for me, I got to cook my own tea, So I think I will marry a slutter." He needs her to help him with his work, so he hopes she'll "look into me eyes, she'll fall for me lies..."

Gunner and Boatswain, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #2852}

Boatswain and gunner meet. They agree that the next man they meet will decide which is most evil. It is the devil; he weighs them in his balance and says "I think you are... both for me"

Gunner's Lament, The: (1 ref. 3K Notes) {Roud #29400}

"We're poor little lambs who have lost our way, Ba, Ba, Ba, We're former artillery now infantry, Ba, Ba, Ba." The former artillerymen lament being forced to fight as foot soldiers, and suggest they "drown our sorrows with many beers."

"Johnny Bull and many more, Soon they say are coming o'er And as soon as they're on shore, They must have tea. So Polly, put the kettle on...." "They'll want it strong... Sweetened well with sugar of lead." Their hides we will completely tan...."

Gustave Ohr recalls his quiet youth and how he fell in with (George) Mann's evil company. Eventually they attacked a man in a sugar camp. Ohr was taken and condemned to die. He concludes by thanking various legal officers for their kindness

"I'm off down the road ev're morning 'bout eight, Going down to the job, and it's a job I hate. Hackin', cuttin' mutton gut on a contract basis." The sheep guts never stop coming; it's hot and smelly and he's splashed with acid, with the "gutboard blues"

"I'll tell a doleful tragedy; Guy Fawkes, the prince of sinisters, Who once blew up the House of Lords... That is, he would have blown them up... If only they had let him." Fawkes is betrayed, captured, and executed, and now they repeat it every year

"Was ever knight, for lady's sake, So todd's in love as I, sir Guy?" Guy is enamored of Phyllis. He fights the infidels. He travels to many distant lands. He returns home, then leaves as a pilgrim. He fights giants. Etc. Now he's finally ready to die

Guy Reed [Laws C9]: (9 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1968}

Guy Reed is trying to break up a log jam when he is drowned. His funeral is given a full description; he is buried in his family plot

The singer loses his parents and sister. He is treated badly by an uncle. He loses a captain's job at Canso: he drinks the freight and drowns 2 boys. On his other ship only 4 of 13 survive. He breaks his good knee in the Indies and decides to retire.

A call and response song: "My dog treed a rabbit, My dog treed a rabbit. Now watch that critter sittin' on that log, Now watch that critter how he do that dog."

Gwine 'Round Dis Mountain: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #16311}

"Gwin 'round dis mountain, To geirgia I'm a gwine. Setting by that pretty little gal Broke dis heart o' mine. Car'lina gal can't you remember me... Someday you'll remember me." "Gonna hew dis mountain down, my love... 'Fore the sun goes down."

"Titty (i.e. Sister) Mary, you know I gwine follow, I gwine follow, gwine follow. Brother William, you know I gwine follow, For to do my Father('s) will. 'Tis well and good I am coming here tonight (x3) For to do my Father('s) will."

Gwine Tell-a My Lord, Daniel: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #5059}

"Gwine tell-a my Lord, Daniel, How y'all talk about me, Daniel. I love-a coffee; you love-a tea; You go 'round town and talk about me. Gwine tell-a my Lord, Daniel, How y'all talk about me, Daniel."

"Baby, baby, you don't know; De way you treat me I bound to go. Gwineter harness in de morning soon...." Descriptions of the life of a mule driver, primarily about a difficult job and an equally difficult team

Gypsy Laddie, The [Child 200]: (134 refs. 7K Notes) {Roud #1}

A lord comes home to find his lady "gone with the gypsy laddie." He saddles his fastest horse to follow her. He finds her and bids her come home; she will not return, preferring the cold ground and the gypsy's company to her lord's wealth and fine bed

The gypsy girl, left to fend for herself, meets a young lawyer who asks her to tell his fortune. She tells him that he has courted many fine ladies, but he is to marry a gypsy. He takes her to his home and marries her

Gypsy Warned Me, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #25548}

"The Gypsy warned me, the Gypsy warned me, 'Oh,' she said to me, 'my child, He's a bad lad, a very bad lad,' but I only blushed and smiled." The man "took me to the country once" because she disobeyed the Gypsy's warning. They have other adventures

Jump-rope rhyme. "Gypsy, Gypsy, Rosemary (or, "Please tell me" or "Do not tarry"), [Tell me] What my husband's name will be (or "Tell me when we shall marry"), A, B, C...."

"Gypsy, gypsy in her tent, Couldn't afford to pay the rent. Policeman came and took all her money, Left her nothing but bread and honey."

Jump-rope and counting-out rhyme. "Gypsy, gypsy, lived in a tent, Gypsy, (gypsy), couldn't pay (the) rent. She borrowed one, she borrowed to, And handed the rope to you."

Gypsy's Warning, The: (23 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1764 and 3761 and 6421}

"Trust him not, oh gentle lady, Though his voice is low and sweet." "Listen to the Gypsy's warning, Gentle lady, trust him not." The Gypsy tells of a girl betrayed; the lady scorns (her). (The sequel may give the man's self-defense and the lady's answer)

"Aw warn'd ye heven't seen me lass -- her nyem aw winnet menshun." He met her "When aw strampt upon her good, an' the gethors com away," but that did not prevent them courting. He tells of his delight that she will continue to spend time with him

"Now 'tis of a young maiden this story I tell, and of her young lover...." Her love, a ship's captain, sails away and is presumed lost. H'Emmer Jane goes crazy and drowns herself. He finally returns; shown the grave of his beloved, he dies himself.

Cornish. "Ha mi ow-mos en gun las." A riddle: The singer went on the sea and heard the fishes. He found one fish with "nine tails." but none in St Ives or Marazion could capture it. The answer is apparently an octopus

Refrain: "Ha, Ha, Ha! Don't you hear me now?/The Black horse calverns are coming...." Verse: "When the war is ended the boys will see their fun/They'll march through the South with their ladies... And I'll raise me some little Union babies"

Haben Aboo an' a Banner: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7275}

The singer's family members are disreputable (father hanged for sheep stealing, mother burnt as a witch) and the singer himself fucks all comers in various positions for various reasons.

Cumulative, call and response song: "L'habitant d'Saint-Barb' s'en va t'a Montreal" after six verses, building to "Le bout d'la queue du chien d'l'enfant d'la femm' d'l'habitant de Saint-Barbe..."

Hackler from Grouse Hall, The: (1 ref. 3K Notes) {Roud #3035}

Paddy Jack, the Hackler, has fallen on hard times since the Sergeant was assigned Grouse Hall. He jails people on false charges, including drinking, for which he jails the Hackler. But soon Home Rule will sack "Old Balfour's pack"

""Had a fine sash, As fine as silk, Any man that walks with me Calls me white as milk." "I had a little dog, His name was Blue, Put him on the track, He fairly flew." "I had a little pig, I fed him on cheese, I fed him so much His tail fell off."

If the singer had Bacchus's wine cask he'd drink all day at no cost. And to avoid drinking alone he'd bring a friend. But since he does not have it, "let's drink like honest men." Let Bacchus have his wine; whisky is more divine.

The singer asks the free men and women going home to Africa to greet those at home for them. Don't cry on your trip home. Tell your mother we are free.

Old Susie spins in the corner and asks for her tollies. We have to eat them dry because the cream turned. Hags have a connection with milk and butter. That old crone "some day at a witch stake will burn." "If only old Ireland was free!"

The singer wanders on a "pleasant evening"; as the sun illuminates the landscape, he sees a beautiful girl crying for "young Mulvanny Who lost his life on the Kipawa stream." She tells how he and the two Haggerty brothers died in a rafting accident

Haggis o' Dunbar, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6477}

"The haggis o' Dunbar": many better, few worse. To make it nice, they put in a peck of lice. To add fat, they put in a scabby cat. Chopped cheese, chickweed, sow's snouts and mugwort: you may get a bit if you're civil.

Marian hymn with Latin final lines of verses. "Hail be thou, Mary mother of Christ, Hail be thou blessed, that bore a child... Ave, regina celorum." Each verse hails Mary, "Comforter of care," fairest of women, "Granter of grace," "Virgin of virgins"

Chant for trying to get out of being chosen to be "it" in a children's game: "Hail Mary full of grace, Put me in a lucky place."

"The Irish oak ... the kingly forest tree ... sickens where the slave, To power despotic, homage gives ... Its branching green head long defend The Shamrock, Thistle and the Rose. Hail to the oak, the Irish tree, And British hearts ..."

"Hail! Hail! Scouting Spirit! Best in the Land; Hail! Hail! Scouting Spirit! Loyal we stand. Onward and upward we're treading, Always alert to make Scouting ready, We are prepared. Hail! Hail! Scouting Spirit! Hail, Hail, Hail!"

Hail, Hail, The Gang's All Here: (7 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #9639}

"Hail, hail, the gang's all here, So what the hell do we care, What the hell do we care? Hail, hail, the gang's all here, So what the hell do we care now?"

Hail, Smiling Morn!: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1346}

"Hail! smiling morn! that tips the hills with gold, Whose rosy fingers ope the gates of day; Who the gay face of nature doth unfold, At whose bright presence darkness flies away."

Chorus: "Hail! (x3), I'm going to join the saints above, Hail! (x3), I'm on my journey home." Verses: floaters such as "If you get there before I do, Look out for me, I'm coming too." "Look up yonder what I see, Bright angels coming after me"

"Hail! King of the Jews, Hail! Star of the East, I'm coming to worship thee." "Jesus my Lord, He's has been down here, He went up again, Jesus my Lord, He went up again and He comes no more, Jesus my Lord"

The singer prefers a drink from Haining's Well to "liquor or wine or usquebaugh [whisky]." He describes the stream. The quarrymen picnic there. "Beasties" stop there. Wanderers recall it. Let's "hae a fling" to a fiddle there and then sing its praises.

A quatrain ballad, this describes in graphic detail the pubic hairs of the maid of the mountain, and her sexual adventures.

Hairst o' Rettie, The: (3 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #3512}

"I hae seen the hairst o' Rettie... I've heard for sax and seven weeks The hairsters girn and groan... But a covie Willie Rae... Maks a' the jolly hairster lads Gae singing down the brae." The singer praises Rae's efficient, comfortable organization

"I see the reapers in the field, for hairst is come." The singer praises "The bonnie yellow waving grain, our precious staff o' bread." He hopes Victoria may long reign over the people, and rejoices, for "The hairst is here again."

Have you seen "hairy capie" [hairy cap] coming through the yard? He'll be here. He won't let his horse and mare rest. He's a "keerious cankert carlie" [strange, ill-natured churl]. A "Jenny Nettles" verse is included as well.

Spring ritual song; "Robin Hood and Little John they both are gone to fair-O"'; other verses similar. Cho.: "Hal-an-tow/Jolly rumble-O/For we are up as soon as any day-O/For to fetch the summer home, the summer and the May-O...."

Swedish hauling or capstan shanty. "En sjoman segla jordan runt." No story line to verses, choruses: "Viktoria, Viktoria! Karre-verre-vitt-bom! Hurra sa! Viktoria, Viktoria! Karre-verre-vitt-bom!"

Jump-rope rhyme. "Half a pint of porter, Penny on the can. Hop tere and back again, If you can."

"Half ahead together, Take her up to thirty feet, Raise the after periscope While the captain has a peep, There's a Jerry cruiser Right on the starboard bow, Let's go up and sink the cow."

De Valera will give a half crown to every newborn. Singer marries a widow and does his "best for the blooming half crown." His wife says he's not trying hard enough but then admits she's 63. "Check your wife's age before going to bed"

The singer finds a home with "a sweet colleen" behind an open half-door. She invites him to come in. They dance. He proposes but she tells him to come back when she is older"

"Half of the castle is built, built, built, Half of the castle is built, My fair lady." "All of the castle is built, built, built, All of the castle is built, My fair lady."

Half-Hitch, The [Laws N23]: (10 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1887}

A girl pretends to refuse her fiance. Finally he gives up, promising to marry the first girl he sees. She disguises herself as the ugliest woman possible and makes sure he sees her. He asks her to marry; she consents. She reveals herself after they wed

The singer courted "wifie Jean," but her parents always locked the door at half past ten. Eventually she sees to it that the clock stops so she has more time with the young men. Finally her parents agree to the marriage; all live happily thereafter

Halifax Explosion, The [Laws G28]: (4 refs. 42K Notes) {Roud #2724}

In Halifax harbor, a ship loaded with explosives is rammed by another vessel. The explosion and fire which follow cause terrible damage to the city and its population -- 1200 killed and 2000 wounded

Hall's Lumber Crew: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #8841}

The singer is hired for Hall's lumber crew; the various characters on the crew are described

"Oh the books of Revelation Are a sure foundation, And we'll cross over Jordan, halle lu, And we'll cross over Jordan, halle lu, halle lu, And we'll cross over Jordan, halle lu." "If you want a double blessing, You must sleep without undressing...."

"Oh, one day as another, Hallelu, hallelu, When the ship is out a-sailing, Hallelujah." "Member walk and never tire... Member walk Jordan long road." "Member walk tribulation... You go home to Wappoo (?)" "...You want to die like Jesus"

"The election now is over, Now, men, you all know well, The Democrats done the best they could But the Republicans gave them -- Hallelujah (chorus)." Each verse leads you to expect a word, then zips in the chorus instead

Hallelujah Christian, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #13917}

"I'm a hallelujah Christian, From the wilderness I came, I'm saved and washed in Jesus's blood, Hallelujah to his name!" The singer visits the Jordan and Jericho, meets giants, dwells in Beulah, and awaits the Bridegroom (i.e. Jesus)

Hallelujah, I'm a Bum (I): (19 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #7992}

The bum explains that he cannot work when there are no jobs available, but then reveals his pleasure in a rambling life. He describes riding the rails, meeting women, begging, and -- sometimes -- troubles with the law.

Hallelujah, I'm a Bum (II): (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #7992}

A quatrain ballad, this tells the bawdy adventures of a bum who begs food from housewives.

"Ham and eggs, ham and eggs, Some like theirs all golden brown, Some like theirs turned upside-down, Ham and eggs, ham and eggs, Flip 'em, flop 'em, flip 'em, flop 'em, Ham and eggs"

"Ham bones and a bully big lump of fat -- My gosh, boys, what do you think of that?"

"Hambone hambone where've you been... Round the world and back again." "Hambone hambone where'd you stay... Met a pretty girl couldn't get away." "Mother bought me a billy goat... If that billy goat don't butt... Momma's going to beat my rusty butt."

German shanty. Sailor meets a girl who initially resists his advances, then takes his two dollars and tells him to wait while she runs up to her room. When he follows her up, he finds four men who beat and rob him. Choruses of "Oh, du mein ja, mein je!"

"Hame, hame, hame, hame, fain wad I be ... to my ain countrie" "The green leaf o' loyalty's begun for to fa', The bonny white rose it is withering and a'; But I'll water't wi' the blood of usurping tyrannie" The sun will shine yet.

The ham fat man falls in love with Sara Ann, a girl in the market who sells him "polony sausages." But every day she wants a new dress, and after he goes broke she goes off to Bathhurst. The moral: "Never trust a girl that lives in Sydney town."

"I went down on the river on a live oak log, log, log, Well the way I was haming, partner, like a lowdown dog, like a lowdown dog." The singer confuses a gator for a log and has to fight it. He complains about his sentence and the work his captain demands

"See the women and children going on the train, Fare-you-well, my husband, if I never see you again." The train runs late, and collides with a local (?). The rest of the song amplifies the repeated line, "So many have lost their lives"

Hammer song without real words, merely repeating "Hamma-tamma (hah!) damma-ramma (hah), etc.)

"Drivin' steel, drivin' steel, Drivin' steel, boys, Is hard work, I know...." "Treat me right... I am bound to stay all day; Treat me wrong, I am bound to run away." "Boss man... See the boss man comin' down the line."

"Oh, my hammer, hammer ring (x2), Ringin' on de buildin, hammer ring (x2)." Doncha hear dat hammer... She ringin' like jedgment." "Oh, Lawd, dat hammer." There may be references to Black Betty, or mentions of Noah/Norah

Call and response. Each line is answered by "Hammering." Lines include "What the hammer say." "I nailed him down." "Mary wept." "Martha mourned." "They buried him" "And on the third day" "He ascended high" "To his Father's house"

"There is six good days all in the week, All for the labouring man, But the seventh is the Sabbath...." The singer urges hearers to go to Church and to bring up their children well. Read the Bible. Failure is likely to bring punishment.

Danish. "Han/Hun skal leve (x3), højt hurra. Hurra hurra hurra hurra hurra, Han skal leve (x3), højt hurra" English, "Live for long (x3) hu-hurrah!" Used for birthdays or parties, with the sense of "Live well, live long, hurrah!"

"The (Hancock) boys, they think they're men; They go a-courting when they kin," using any trick they can "To cheat some pretty girl." They work to buy courting clothes and try to put on a show. The singer says they fail and is happy they are upset at him

"Come all you cotton weavers, Your looms you must pull down, You must get employed in factories...." The power looms are displacing the old weavers. They must work for a hard overseer. They will have little leisure and low pay

Hand Me Down My Walkin' Cane: (23 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #11733}

Known mostly by the first verse: "Hand me down my walkin' cane (x3), I'm gonna catch the midnight train, All my sins been taken away, taken away." Remaining verses involve traveling, prison, food, where the singer wants to be buried, etc.

"Hand, Hand, Hand o'er hand, Divil run away with a west country man." Other verses, if any, probably float.

Handcart Song (I), The: (6 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #4748}

"Ye saints who dwell on Britain's/British/Europe's shore, prepare yourselves for many more." "For some must push and some must pull" as the Mormons head west with their handcarts. The song praises how the Saints work together to make the migration.

Handcart Song (II): (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #10893}

"Obedient to the Gospel call We serve our God the all in all, We hie away to Zion. We do not wait to ride all day, But pull our handcarts all the way, And Israel's God rely on." They will travel many lands to reach Zion where Grand Temples will rise

Handcart Song (Missionary), The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #10828}

"No purse, no scrip they bear with then, But cheerfully they start, And cross the plains a thousand miles, And draw with them a cart." "Israel must be gathered soon." The missionaries set out on their appointed task traveling with their handcart

"Oh, our faith goes with our handcarts, They have our hearts' best love; They're a novel way of traveling, Devised by God above, so sing Hurrah for the camp of Israel! Hurrah for the handcart scheme! Hurrah! hurrah! It's better far Than wagon or ox team."

"I must leave this dear old place where my childhood days were spent," but to preserve his memories, the singer will take "a handful of earth from mother's grave." It will guide him wherever he goes

The singer tells Bill that she is too young to marry. Her sisters have not yet left school so she is still needed at home. She has already turned Ned, her cousin, down twice. And she will never marry a drinker: "join the temperance army and claim me"

A disguised girl signs aboard ship as a cabin boy. The ship's captain discovers her secret and, even though his wife is aboard, gets her pregnant. One night the "boy's" cries awaken the crew, who learn she is in labor. All are thoroughly astonished

"Away, hey, Oh, haul him high-O! Way, hey! Oh, haul him high-O! Way, hey! Oh, haul him high-O! High-O! Raise him and haul him high-O!"

"Handsome Harry Thomas He was sued for breach of promise." Mary told her family, they told the preacher, and he toll'd the wedding bell. If you ever take a girl take one named Daisy, "because Daisies don't tell"

"A lady lived near Portland square, She keep a waiting maid so fair Who loved the footman as her life Expecting for to be his wife." The lady loves the footman and beats the maid. The maid runs away and the lady marries handsome John

The singer sings the praises of handsome Molly, noting that "Sailing round the ocean, sailing round the sea, I'll think of handsome Molly wherever she may be." She proves less than faithful, but he loves her still

A young man loves Sally, a servant, whose mistress also wants the lad. The mistress has Sally drowned

Handwriting on the Wall, The: (1 ref. 2K Notes) {Roud #7123}

"At the feast of Belshazzar and a thousand of the lords, While they drank from golden vessels," "the hand of God" wrote "on the wall." Daniel explains the situation to Belshazzar. The hand may write about you, too

"Handy dandy, Sugary candy, Which will you have, (High or low/Top or bottom)." Or, "Andy pandy, sugary candy, French almond nuts," or "Amos and Andy and all stock candy, When you lick it, you are dandy."

Man about to be hanged laments his life. Says, "Hang me, oh hang me, and I'll be dead and gone/It's not the hangin' that I mind, it's layin' in the grave [or jail] so long." In some versions he describes his life as a gambler.

"The scene is in a jailhouse; if the curfew rings tonight The guy in number 13 cell will go out like a light." To prevent the bell from ringing, the convict's daughter Nellie ties herself to the bell, and keeps it silent until a pardon arrives

Shanty. Characteristic line: "Away, away... Hang, boys, hang!" The singer reports, "They call me Hanging Johnny... Oh they say I hang for money. They say I hung my daddy... We'll... hang together... And we'll hang for better weather."

Charlie Birger is feared throughout the Midwest; after the shooting of Joe Adams, Birger's henchman Thomasson turns state's evidence and Birger is sentenced to hang. Despite appeals and an unsuccessful suicide attempt, he is hanged on April 19, 1928.

"Down in Arizona was just the other day The first time that a woman the death price had to pay, Yes, Mrs. Eva Dugan... Stepped up to the gallows." She leaves a note, "Bring me joy, oh, bring me sorrow, WIth the comin' of the morrow, I won't beg...."

"Ye people who delight in sin, I'll tell you what has lately been, Come sympathize... For this young man who died in Shoals." "It is so hard for us to say, He was executed here today." He murdered Bunch, and -- like all his bad family -- must suffer

"Hangtown girls are plump and rosy, Hair in ringlets, mighty cozy... Touch them and they'll sting like hornets. "Hangtown girls are lovely creatures, Think they'll marry Mormon preachers." They are often seen grinning and exposing their linens

Hannah from Butte, Montana: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #9538}

"I've got a girl named Hannah, From Butte Montana, The reason I don't love her, She's dead, gol darn her! She lived on the Untrodden hills of Butte. None cared to love her And none dared to shoot."

Hannah Healy, the Pride of Howth: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #9773}

The singer is love sick for Hannah. Each morning courters swarm around her but none "dare entreat her or supplicate her." The singer is giving up; he'll "raise my mind from all female kind so Adieu, sweet Hannah, the pride of Howth!"

The singer bids farewell to Ireland and Magilligan, wondering how he can leave such a beautiful, friendly place. Even more painful is parting with Hannah McKay. He will think of her all the way through his voyage.

Hannamaria used to live in singer's town; she weighed 590 pounds. After supper a bunch of fellows get drunk and fight; singer is knocked ten feet into the air, but, "I fell down 'cause Hannamaria." Singer is going home with her; he warns others not to

"There was once a moke named Hannibal Hope with a circus, understand"; he played the calliope and rum. When the circus comes to his home in Nashville, his girlfriend Mandy Green attends and praises his musical skills

"There was a rich Dutchman, in New York did dwell." His daughter Katrina is ordered to court a rich young man, but she loves Hans. She prepares to leave home, and chokes on a sausage as she gets ready. Her lover discovers her body and the sausage

Wexford barque Hantoon is off the coast of Portugal "when this cruel British monster on us came bearing down." Captain Neill tried "to save his ship and crew, But those cursed, heartless tyrants had cut our barque in two." Four of eleven are lost.

"Hap and row, hap and row, Hap and row the feetie o't; I never knew I had a bairn Until I heard the greetie o't." Life with the baby is described: A cinder from the cooking fire burns its feet; Sandy's mother wraps them in her cap

"Happiness is two kinds of ice cream" or other simple pleasures such as learning to whistle or tie a shoe -- or being friends

The singer sees a "little pebble upon the sand" and thinks about how time passes. "Happiness runs in a circular motion, Thought is like a little boat upon the sea. Everybody is a part of everything anyway, You can have everything if you let yourself be."

"You parents who have children dear, To what I shall relate give ear, In Barnet lived a happy pair." The husband dies leaving a wife and daughter. The daughter tries to convert non-Christian children. The Devil appears. The girl goes to heaven.

"I've seen in my time some mighty funny things, But the funniest of all I know Is a colored individual." The "very queer old coon" never speaks, is knock-kneed and pigeon-toed, but whistles all the time -- even when his wife dies or he is hit with a brick

Happy Days of Youth, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6018}

"The happy days of youth they are fast fleeting by Old age is coming on with a dark stormy sky." The singer recalls meeting his love "among the broom" and wishes he could have such a day again. "Farewell to happy youth likewise to mirth and glee"

Round. "Happy days to (all) those that we love! Happy days to all those that love us! Happy days to all those that love them that love those that love them that love those that love us."

"I will sing you a song of a settler bold, Who lived at Botany Bay" and marries a tranportee wife, "The Pride of Botany Bay"; "The first of her virtues was beauty... and the 102nd was chastity." She "has friends" dearer than her husband. It's his folly

The singer and friends are together for a drink. "Freenship maks us aa mair happy... Freenship consecrates the drappie." Friendship is more satisfying than riches.

The singer asks the muses to help him praise Duneane. It is the land of his fathers. But now he must leave; he bids farewell to friends and says there is nothing like living among them. He hopes someday to return.

Jump-rope rhyme: "Happy Hooligan number nine, Hung his britches on the line; When the line began to swing, Happy Hooligan began to sing."

"I want some peas and I want some rice, Oh Happy Land, I want some pretty girl to be my wife, Oh Happy Land."

Happy Land of Canaan, The: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7705}

"Down in Harper's Ferry Section there was an insurrection, John Brown thought the niggers would sustain him. But old Governor Wise put his specs upon his eyes For to send him to the happy land of Canaan." The rebels defy the abolitionist northerners

"How blest has my life been, what joys have I known, since wedlock's soft bondage made Jessie my own." The singer looks fondly back on life and children. Though his wife is growing old, he finds happiness at home and tells others they should do the same.

"Weep no more, Marta/Martha. Weep no more, Mary. Jesus rise from the dead, Happy morning. Glorious morning, glorious morning, My Savior rise from the dead, Happy morning." "Doubt no more, Thomas...."

Happy or Lonesome: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #11518}

"Come back to me in my dreaming, come back to me once more.... When the spring roses are blooming, I'll come back to you." "Absence makes my heart fonder, Is it the same for you? Are you still happy, I wonder, or are you lonesome too?"

The miser spends his time "watchin' ower [his riches] wi' cautious e'e." On the other hand, "the sons of social pleasure Spend the nicht in harmony." Friendship brings us together "happy roon' the ingle [fireplace]"

Happy Wanderer, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #25580}

"I love to go a-wandering along the mountain track, And as I go, I love to sing, my knapsack on my back." The singer extols the joys of hiking and hopes to continue to do so

Happy We Are All Together: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #3004}

"Happy we are all together, Happy we are e'en now." "Here around the ingle blazing, We're so happy and free... Friendship warms both you and me." Isn't friendship better than the miser's gold? He will be judged someday

Assorted nonsense about Jim's family and neighbors: "I'm my daddy's only son, Gay and lively, full of fun, Brother's twice as old as me, So we're twins, you plainly see." Jim's girl, whose "mouth is like a big bull calf," also figures prominently

"Harbour Grace is a very nice place And so is the Bay of Islands, So we give three cheers for Carbonear When the boys comes home from swilin'." Disconnected verses about George and Lizer, going to town and sea, and Mackety Bay

"On the fourteenth day of August, being a great deal of talke, The day it was appointed, the Orange had to walk." 98 Irish Catholics meet 700 Protestants. Pat Callaghan is shot. The Irish counter-attack. The Orangemen flee. The singer praises Irishmen

"As I rowed ashore from my schooner close by, A girl on the beach I chanced to espy" who lives in Harbour Le Cou. The sailor courts and wins girl until they meet his "old comrade" who sends "regards to your missus and wee kiddies two"

"It happened in December, in 1941," shortly after Christmas, when the Harco Mine explodes. Mr. Dietz comes out to call for help. Rescuers try to pump in air. The bodies of eight men are eventually found

"The sun was setting in the West, One evening late in May." Hard Rock Dann and his companion are dying of thirst. In time, a note is found asking that his body be taken back to Comstock for burial

Chorus: "Hard Time in Old Virginnie." Verses: "Summer comin' again." "Comin' in the rainbow." "Comin' in the cloud." "My old missus promise me" "When she die she set me free." "She love so long" "Till her head got bald."

"Old Ailey Bill came home from court" and stops at a bar (?) "to have some sport. And it's hard times and poor old Bill." Will McNealey hides under a bed, sees what happens, steals a frying pan, sells it, and beats his wife

Hard Times Come Again No More: (16 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #2659}

"Let us pause in life's pleasures and count its many tears While we all sup sorrow with the poor." The singer describes sad people suffering from poverty, and begs, "Hard times, come again no more."

"Hear the mournful music swell, It's hard times in Dixie. Hear Rebellion's fun'ral knell...." Rations are short in the Confederacy; the South is gloomy. Grant, Lincoln, Butler are making the Confederacy crumble. The singer hopes traitors will suffer

Response is "Hard time in old Virginia." Leader lines include "Old Virginia," "My old missus was a rich old lady," "Seven children around her table." Also verses like "my old missus promise me ... When she died she'd set me free"

Complaints of life in the mills (e.g. "Worked in a cotton mill all my life, Ain't got nothin' but a barlow knife"). The wages are poor, the bosses hard, and the conditions brutal. Chorus: "Hard times in (this old mill), Hard times (everywhere)."

About bad conditions in the mills (e.g. "Ev'ry morning at half past five, You got to get up dead or alive"). The food is poor, money tight, "the boss is cussin' and the spinners cryin'." Chorus: "Hard times in the mill, my love, hard times in the mill."

Hard Times of Old England, The: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1206}

Singer tells that the trade has gone; if you go to a shop without money, you can't buy. If you ask for a job, there is none; tradesmen walk the street looking for work; soldiers and sailors have come home to starve. He hopes the hard times will not last.

"Well, it makes no difference How you make out your time. White man sho' to bring a Nigger out behind. Ain't it hard (x3) to be a nigger?" "Nigger makes do cotton, White folks get de money." The singer complains about unequal pay and unequal justice

Chorus: "Satan comes like a busy old man, Haly, haly, hallelu, He gets you down at the foot of the hill, Hard to rise again." Verses warn that the devil is a conjurer who'll conjure you; Satan's a snake in the grass who'll get you at last.

"I been doin' some hard travelin', I thought you knowed." The singer describes the hard times he's met on his travels: "Workin' in a hard rock tunnel," "Workin' that Pittsburgh steel," facing the lonely task of following Highway 66

"The foxes have holes in the ground... And everything has a hiding place, but we poor sinners have none. Now ain't them hard trials?..." Unrelated verses, often floating, about religious life, fidelity to denominations, the Devil, justice, death

Hard Up and Broken Down: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #7446}

"Once I had money plenty and friends too, by the score... But now I'm poor and lonely... No one seems to know me now because I'm broken down." He has wasted his fortune, and now his old friends ignore him

"I'm a hard-working man, you can see by my hands, Although I am friendly and free, A dollar a day is very small pay For a man with a large family." The singer describes his hard work in the mines and looks forward to seeing his family

"I'm from Ohio, dear old Ohio, Oh, there's nothing quite so fine As that Buckeye state of mine." "It's the land of Grant and Sherman... And you'll hear from President Harding before this year is through." The only man who can stop it might be Jimmie Cox

Fragment: "Come all you good people the truth I'll relate/Concerning of Harding's most cruel defeat/Concerning bad conduct was used, they say/That caused us to be defeated on that very day"

"Don't talk about your hardships, Don't talk of them to me"; he has voyaged to the Pacific, where "you have to go it On a hardtack and a half." Sailors work hard and face danger; the singer warns that the job is not worth the poor food and bad pay

Hardy Sons of Dan, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #17895}

"For to score a goal there was none so bold, As the hardy Sons of Dan," named for Dan O'Connell. They won the Belturbet Tournament in 1889 and their second team won another tournament at Derrylin.

"Stately stepp'd he east the wall, And stately stepp'd he west." The hero had thirteen sons; nine are dead. The Norse king comes to invade. Hardyknute is called upon to fight. Others also serve at the Battle of Largs, and the Norse are defeated

Hare of Kilgrain, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #2883}

The hunter goes out in pursuit of sport. The hare tells its story of how the dogs pursued it. It leads them on a long chase, and proclaims that it did humans no harm, but at last the hounds catch and kill their innocent prey

"On the twenty-seventh of January," the hare is awakened from its dream as the hounds come hunting. The trapped hare complains that the hunters let the fox go free while taking the hare; "All the harm e'er I done was crop the heads o' green kale."

An old hare, hiding from poachers and sent by "Queen" Mother Mouse, asks old Pat Bashon for shelter. They recall old times when he chased and fooled the poachers. He goes to the poachers' court and informs for twenty pounds. Happy ending for "haries"

Hares on the Mountain: (17 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #329}

The singer avers that if young women ran like hares on the mountain, if he was a young man he'd go hunting. Likewise if they sang like birds in the bushes he'd beat the bushes, etc. ad (possible) nauseum

Hark from the Tomb: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7563}

"Hark from the tomb a doleful sound, My ears attend the cry, Ye living man, come view the ground Where you must shortly lie." "Grant us the power of quickening grace To fit our souls to fly, Then when we drop this dying flesh We'll rise above the sky"

"Hark the herald angels sing, Beecham's Pills are just the thing. Safe in use, in action mild, Two for man and one for child." Or, "Hark the Herald Angels Sing, Mrs. Simpson stole our king."

"Hark the robbers coming through, coming through, coming through, Hark the robbers... My fair lady." "What have the robbers done to you?" "You have stole my watch and chain." "Off to prison you must go." "Here's a prisoner we have got"

"Hark to the chimes! Come bow your head! We thank Thee, Lord, For this good bread "

Hark, Hark, the Dogs Do Bark: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #19689}

"Hark, hark, the dogs do bark, The beggars are coming to town, Some in rags, and some in jags, And one in a velvet gown."

"Hark, sweet maid, the trumpet's sound, And honor calls to war, Now Love I leave, perhaps for wounds...." The writer asks the girl not to sigh; he has devoted his life first to fame, and he must fight for American liberty

Hark! Listen to the Trumpeters: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #15230}

Chorus: "They look like men (x3) of war; Armed and dressed in uniform, They look like men of war." Verses: "Trumpeters... call for volunteers" Officers enlist men to march to Canaan. The singer will enlist. "We need no cowards." Jesus is the general

Hark! The Herald Angels Sing: (11 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #8337}

"Hark! The herald angels sing, Glory (be) to the new-born King." In praise of the baby Jesus, the "incarnate deity, pleased as man with man to dwell." The song offers both praise and thanks for the coming of Jesus

Jump-rope rhyme: "Harley, Marley, peas straw, Gin pinches is the law, Pinch him now, pinch him then, Pinch him till he counts to ten."

Jim says to a girl, "My name it is harmless Young Jim" and offers to "take you to the bakery and buy you a bun." She resists. He persists. They marry and have a son. "I'm sure I'd been better to leave her alone"

Harness up Yo' Hosses: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #11748}

"Harness up yo' hosses, Hey, o hey! Harness up yo' hosses, We'll teach you how ter drive 'em, Hey, oh hey! We'll fight fur Uncle Sam."

"The Harp of Old Erin will be heard once again, And will twine with the Shamrock in every green glen, And the round tower and wolfdog in sunshine will be With Home Rule for Ireland and Ireland free"

Harp on the Willow, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #7576}

"Come brethren and sisters, and hear me relate, And I will inform you of my present state." The singer trusted Jesus, but now feels rejected, "My harp on the willow seems to be hung." The singer begs to be restored to the former state of grace

The singer sees in the news that Irishmen "despise their country's story, All they love is England's glory, Ha-ha-ha!" Shame on O Neill, Emmet, Tone and Ninety-eight. We should replace "our old green banner" with "the mangy British lion! Ha-ha-hah!"

"The harp that once through Tara's halls The soul of music shed Now hangs as mute on Tara's walls As tho' that soul were fled." Tara's glory is fled, and the only sign that freedom still exists "Is when some heart, indignant, breaks."

"Who is the man who will spend or will even lend? Harrigan, that's me! ... For I'm just as proud of my name, you see." "H, A, double-R, I, G, A, N spells Harrigan Proud of all the Irish blood that's in me Divvil a man can say a word agin me."

Harrison Campaign Song: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #7840}

"A farmer there was, who lived at North Bend"; he regretfully leaves his log cabin to go to Washington. Coming to the White House, he sets everyone astir. When they prove unable to dislodge them, he warns them to get hard cider by March fourth

The singer (warns against bad company which led him to break the law). He now has been captured and faces prison. He hopes that his horse, which served him so well, will be well cared for. (He promises to live a reformed life with his girl when released)

A bothy ballad describing spring harrowing. "Cauld winter it is now awa', And spring has come again."

The orphan Harry Bahel is at work in a sawmill when he is dragged onto the saw. He dies the next day and is buried as his siblings grieve

Harry Dunn has gone to work in the woods of Michigan despite his mother's advice. One day he dreams that there is trouble at home. On that very day he is killed by a falling branch. His parents are shocked to death when his body arrives

Harry Flood's Election Song: (1 ref. 1K Notes) {Roud #9770}

"Ye lovers of trade and every handicraft" strike up the band for Harry Flood. "Our freedom's declared, we'll chase dull sorrows, All cares we'll banish to feast and banquet." Listeners are urged to toast Harry Flood

Harry Hayward Song, The: (4 refs. 25K Notes) {Roud #22300}

"Minneapolis was excited, And for many miles around, For a terrible crime committed." "Kit" goes riding, and is found shot and beaten to death. The rest of the song thunders at the criminal

Harry Lumsdale's Courtship: (4 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #6186}

"First when Harry cam' to Clatt," he asks bonnie Jean, "wilt thou go Up to Auchindoir we' me?" Jean and her mother hesitate. Harry decides to turn to Betty Brown. After he leaves, Jeannie says, "O for him back again!"

"On a cold and dark stormy evening Just before the close of day, There came Harry Lyle and Dillard, And with Anderson they rode away." They travel far, then the train goes off the rail into the river. Harry suffers a fatal head wound. Listeners are warned

"Harry Orchard is in prison, The reason you all know; He killed Frank Steunenberg...." "He set his bomb out carefully." "Harry blamed the Wobblies." "The chiefs were brought to Denver... Bill Haywood and George Pettybone Were brought to Idyho."

Harry seeks a wife. He tickles Dolly, the dairymaid. She shoves him into the well. The farmer hauls him out. He accused the farmer of knocking him in; the farmer throws buttermilk at him. He tells his mother "If this is your courtin', the devil take all"

"Harry courted modest Mary... Harry was country neat as could be, But his words were rough, and his duds were muddy." She asks about what he has in the way of pottery. She demands an easy life. He declares he will court Margery instead

Hartford Wreck, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4136}

A train is wrecked on near Hartford, Vermont. Passenger Joseph Maigret is fatally injured and discusses his fate with his son.

As the train pulls into a village, a girl gets on and openly sits next to the "tall and stout and swell" (Harvard student). He gets "soot" in his eye; she offers to remove it. They enter a tunnel, and after kissing sounds her earring is found in his beard

"Manitoba, Manitoba, Fair thy fields of harvest stand, Mellow light of early autumn Stealing down across the land." It is a land of homesteads where once the buffalo roamed. The people should raise a song of harvest

Harvest Home (III), The: (3 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #1294}

"Let us see how your liquors be." Each lad and lass try the brown ale and strong beer "and welcome the harvest home" Everyone dances to a fiddler's tune. The brown beer drives care away.

Harvest Home Song (I): (9 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #310}

Singer toasts the master of the house, his health and prosperity, and the mistress; listeners are urged to drink up. Cho: "So drink, boys, drink! And see that you do not spill/For if you do, you shall drink two, for that is our master's will"

"Our oats they are hoed and our barley's reaped, Our hay is mowed and our hovels heaped. Harvest home! Harvest home! We'll merrily roar out our harvest home!" "We cheated the parson; we'll cheat him again." ""We'll drink off our liquor while we can stand"

"Come, ye jolly lads and lasses, Ranting round in pleasure's ring... Blythe and merry we hae been, Blythe and merry let us be." The workers are not gathered to gain "warldly gear" but to celebrate now that the harvest is over

"The harvest drive is on again, John Farmer needs a lot of men To work beneath the Kansas heat" -- but they won't take the low wages he pays. They don't trust him. The big farmers are found throughout the west, but "I will not be here again"

"Farewell, love, for I maun leave you" "Don't you hear the colonel crying, Run brave boys, keep colours flying." "No more we'll go to the harvest shearin'" or hear the blackbird. Farewell father, mother, sister, comrades and dearie.

"When we arise all in the morn for to sound our harvest horn" we'll sing and drink. Our master has us work until Phoebus sets in the west Our master is kind so we will follow his orders Our mistress is as good.

"We are coming home, John Farmer; we are coming back to stay; For nigh on fifty years or more, we've gathered up your hay." In response he has called them "tramps and hoboes, and pesky go-abouts." Now, though, they are organized

"Harvey Duff, keep the step, Oh, what's up with you." This could perhaps become a jump-rope rhyme, "Harvey Duff, Harvey Duff, Pay the rent and that's enough."

Harvey Logan [Laws E21]: (7 refs. 16K Notes) {Roud #2250}

Harvey Logan, pool player, gambler, and brawler, comes to the attention of the police after a gaming fight. Arrested following a gun battle, be escapes from Knoxville by taking the jailer hostage and riding off on the sheriff's horse

Jump-rope rhyme. "Harvey, jarvey, jig, jig, jig, Went to buy a pig, pig, pig, Went to France to learn to dance, Harvey, jarvey, jig, jig, jig."

"Don't send away the Dido, Don't send her out to see, If you send away the Dido, Then down comes Parkestone Quay."

A girl on the way to market meets a rakish young man, who proceeds to tie up her garter, which costs her her maidenhead. In many versions, she asks his name, and he refuses to answer.

Bothy ballad. Humorous description of characters working on a farm. Singer says if you want to find him, he'll be on a herring boat

Hat McGinnis Wore, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #22613}

""Good evening to you one and all, Good luck to what I say... I'm going to introduce to you bright memories of your, The relics of old days and scenes, The hat McGinnis wore." McGinnis was killed by the Shannon. Respect his hat lest his ghost haunt you

"Good evening to you one and all, Good luck to you I say... I've brought with me a relic Of past happy days of yore." The singer tried to wear it in the Navy, and was not allowed, but he kept it as a good luck piece. Others should not touch it

Hat My Father Wore, The: (9 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #4796}

Paddy Miles comes from Ireland to America. On St Patrick's day he wears the hat "wore for more than ninety years ... From my father's great ancestors." He plans to return to Ballymore with "the hat my father wore"

Hat Ned Kelly Wore, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #22612}

"Good evening to youse one and all, Good luck to what I say... I've brought to you the relics boys, of the good old days of yore, You'll curse the day you trampled on the hat Ned Kelly wore." The singer has searched far but has never found the like

A confused piece, with hints of stage origin. The singer waits for her love, who is much delayed. She fears bad weather has caused him to stop "with that hateful Mary Ann" "And it's all for the chilly, driving rain. At last he arrives (to her reproaches?)

He asks that she accept him, a shepherd who would "row ye in his tartan plaid," and Highland soldier with a house and meadow and wealth to share with her. She rejects him and "winna gang wi' you" He says he'11 leave. She stops him. They agree to marry.

Haud Awa' Frae Me Donald (I): (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6133}

Donald offers Eppie a plaid, ring and kiss, praises his own thigh and claymore, offers a silver brooch and coracle, cheese and butter, no work or spinning. She rejects each offer: "Ye are nae a match for me." In that case, he says, he'd never marry her.

Donald asks Jenny to "come awa' wi' me." He asks why she no longer favours him. She says "some fickle mistress you may find will jilt as fast as thee." He claims the report of his infidelity is false and that he spread it. She tells him to prove it.

Haughies o' Indego, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #6058}

On Halloween the Farquharsons, Frasers and Gordons gallop through the lea. Some dance under the moon. "Catherine Gordon was a bride, The laird o' Skene lay by her side." Some go to Skye, some by "Brig o' Dye" and "the laird he had to France to fly"

"As I gaed up the haughs o' Newe And through Strathdon upon my pony," the singer meets a maid so pretty that she makes him lightheaded. She turns him down; he cannot dance and speaks no Gaelic. He wishes he could do more to impress her

Haughs o' Cromdale, The: (13 refs. 4K Notes) {Roud #5147}

"As I came in by Auchindoun, a little wee bit frae the toon... To view the Haughs o' Cromdale," the singer hears that the Highland army has been defeated. But Montrose refuses to accept defeat, and in a second battle heavily defeats the English

Haughs o' Gartly, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #6070}

"Lang Lowrie o Bucharn He wis there wi's tree o' arn [alder stick] He said he wid them a' govern Upon the Haughs o' Gairtly"

Shanty, with internal chorus "Haul 'er/'em away... Haul 'er away... Haul 'er away With a haul-ey-hi-o, Haul 'er away." Verses are about the "little" girls ashore ("Little Sally Racket," "Little Daisy Dawson" etc.) and their (sexual) exploits

Call and response. Mother has gone to the mountain to bring home yellow plantain. "Haul am day," is the response.

Shanty. "Oh, Haul away an' let's get goin', boys. Haul away, boys, haul away! Oh, Haul away for merchant's money, boys. Haul away, boys, haul away!" No particular story line, but several verses have references to Cuba and sugar.

Shanty, characterized by, "Away, haul away, haul away, Joe" (or "...haul away, pull"). Some versions tell a story: the sailor has trouble with his Irish girl and goes to sea, or suffers grief from a Yankee girl, or otherwise suffers at women's hands

Halyard shanty. French verses with English choruses "Haul away, old fellow, away." Sailor tells of meeting and falling in love with a girl, but she's too fine for him; sailors only get the trollops. He's sick of it all and is going to ship out far away.

Haul on the Bowline: (28 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #652}

Shanty. Characteristic line: "Haul on the bowline, the bowline haul!" The lyrics may relate to the singer's friendship with Kitty in Liverpool (or elsewhere), or perhaps complain about a sailor's life.

"Haul, haul, haul, boys, haul and be lively, Haul, oh haul, boys, haul. She will come, she must come; haul, boys, haul. (x2) Well, it seems to me like the time ain't long; Haul and be lively, haul, boys, haul."

To the "Derry Down" tune, the singer tells of setting out for the Maniwaki -- a difficult trip. Once the loggers arrive in camp, the song settles in to a routine of describing the members of the crew

Singer gets up at five to haul wood to Bangor; he arrives and gets drunk. His father comes to find him. A fiddler plays "The Bells of Old Ireland" and the men dance. To the old women: "Perhaps you done as bad yourself And perhaps a damn sight worse"

Singer, walking toward camp, is joined by a snowshoed figure who leaves no tracks. The singer falls in a snowdrift, to be found with hair bleached white. The other trappers recognize the signs of an encounter with the haunted hunter; all leave the area.

A white man builds a home near "Haunted Falls." One day when he is away, Indians cast his wife to die on the rocks and burn his home with his children inside. "Now the old man wanders lonely... And the people... Call this place Haunted Wood."

Modern Hebrew: "Hava nagila (x3) venis mecha. Hava neranena (x3), venis mecha. Uru, uru achim, Uru achim belev sameach." Hearers are urged to be merry

Hebrew round: "Hava nashira hi yatchil et hasher (x3)." English version: "Come, let’s be singing who’ll, then, begin the song?"

Jump-rope rhyme. "Have a cherry, have a plum, Have a piece of chewing gum, Along with red hot pepper!"

Have a Piece of Barley-O: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #38141}

"Have a piece of barley-o, Barley-o, barley-o, Have a piece of barley-o, Fresh sugary candy."

Have Courage My Boy to Say No: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5263}

Singer exhorts his son, leaving home, to take a righteous path, despite temptation: he should shun "bright ruby wine," for "poison it stings like a viper," as well as "vile gambling dens," rather trusting in God. Refrain: "Have courage, my boy, to say no"

"Have fun! Our motto is, Have fun! Or you will miss A life of happiness While you’re young Remember, have fun Remember, have fun!" "Have friends, believe in them...." "Have faith In God above." "Have love, It's all that's good." But always "have fun"

"(Here we) have two prisoners in jail (x3), Turn about, ladies, turn, turn, turn, Turn about, ladies, turn." "Stole a farner's pretty little girl." "What will it take to set them free." "Yankee dime (or "Hug and a kiss") will set them free."

"Have you any bread and wine, My fairy and my forey, Have you any.... Within the golden story?" More and more wine is requested, until the questioner is told to go away. The two sides declare allegiance to their lords, then prepare for a fight

"Have you ever watched the campfire, When the wood has fallen low, And the ashes start to whiten Round the embers' crimson glow.... Tell me, were you ever nearer To the land of heart's desire Than when you sat there thinking...?"

"Oh, have you heard Geography sung? For if you've not 'tis on my tongue. Oceans and seas and gulfs and these All covered over with little green islands."

"Have you not heard of our dear Savior's love? And how he suffered like a harmless dove?" The singer is reminded that friends are hard to find when one is sentenced to death. Hearers are warned to go to church and to avoid drunkenness and other sins

"Somebody tell me have they seen my baby I want to know which way did the girl go." She left last night and didn't come back. Now I'm up working hard ... down to the barnyard ... trying to make a living for the cold hard winter time"

"Have you seen the ghost of Tom (John, etc.) Long white bones with the (skin/rest) all gone? Oo-oo-oo... Wouldn’t it be chilly with no skin on?"

Haven of Rest, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4727}

"My soul in sad exile was out on the (sea/deep), So burdened with sin and distress(ed), When I heard a sweet voice saying, 'Make me your choice,' And I entered the haven of rest." The song describes how faith in Jesus brings rest and calm

Hawaaian. "E Hawai'i, e ku'u one hanau e." "Oh Hawaii, O sands of my birth, my native home." The singer urges listeners to rejoice in Hawaii. He hopes for God's blessing on the island and describes its beautiful features

Jim Hawco drops his load of wood on the railroad track believing that the train has already passed by. Suddenly, the train comes and he risks his own life to take the wood off. He is arrested for his mistake but found in court to be a hero instead.

"Shove that hog foot further under the bed, Juliann, don't you hear me? Wish to God that hog was dead! Juliann, don't you hear me." "Here comes Josh, now set him a cheer." ""Howdy, Josh, have you got any news?" They try to hide the hog from Josh

"Hawkie is a schemin' bird, He schemes all round the sky, He schemes into my chicken house And makes my chickens fly." Remaining verses and chorus seem to float.

"Now shut your mouths, you loafers all; You vex me with your twaddle"; the singer advises that they get some "damaged rags" and hawk (peddle) them. Other occupations have their burdens, but hawking doesn't require skills, land, or anything else

Hawthorn Green, The: (8 refs. 4K Notes) {Roud #1072}

The ballad explains that while a hawthorn's freshness returns even when cut almost to the root a maiden's beauty, once lost, is not refreshed.

German game song. "Es rejjert un schneejet, 'Sis kalt schtaermich Wedder...." "It rains and it snows, The weather is cold and stormy, The farmer comes home And gets some cider. Who will rake the oats?" The singer misses his lost sweetheart

"My name Hay Sing, come from China, Me keep a washee shop way down the street." He courts an Irish girl. He and the girl have a fight; the police lock him up. A Mexican steals the girl

"Hay-o-my-Lucy-o, bonnie, bonnie Lucy-o, I'd give this world and all I know, To change and swing my Lucy-o. Here we go topsy-turvy, Round the room we go, hay-o-Lucy-o, Change and swing my Lucy-o."

"Old Sam, you haven't got a man (x3) That wouldn't follow old Hayes's band. Better pay your taxes early in the morning, Better pay your taxes early in the day, Better pay your taxes early in the morning, And follow old Hayes's band."

The hayseed finishes his work and decides to go on a spree. He goes to town and takes an expensive ("five dollars a minit"!) room in a hotel. Before going to bed, he blows out the gas -- and dies of the fumes

Hayseed Like Me, A: (9 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #12497}

"I once was a tool of oppression And as green as a sucker could be, And monopolies bundled together To beat a poor bum like me." The newly energized singer promises to strike back: "The ticket we vote next November Will be made up of hayseeds like me."

"'Is everybody happy?' cried the Sergeant looking up. "Our hero feebly answered 'Yes,' and then they hooked him up. Various problems prevent his parachute from opening, "and he ain't gonna jump no more." "Glory, glory, what a hell of a way to die."

Story of the crucifixion, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. He tells his disciples to meet him in Galilee; he is crucified; Mary comes running to see him, the angels roll away the stone, and he arises from the dead

"Oh, he brought me from de rocking of my cradle, he brought me from a long long way (x2)." "Oh, he shoed my feed for a journey, And he brought me from...." "Oh, he clothed me when I was nacked." "He brought me from the rocking of my cradle."

"He came from the North and his words were few, But his voice was kind and his heart was true... So I married the man of the North Countrie." No one is happier with her love than she is with him. She wishes others knew of him

He Hey, Why Do We Pay?: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #27883}

"When I was a youngster my father said, Boy, you're the kind of a fellow the girls will annoy. He hey, why do we pay for something we can't carry away?" Three hundred barmaids weep for the singer. Many people lock their daughters away from him

He Is King of Kings: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #11961}

Chorus: "King of kings, Lord of lords, Jesus Christ, first and last, No man works like him." Verses: "He built a platform in the air, He meets the saints from everywhere." "He pitched a tent on Canaan's ground, And broke the Roman kingdom down."

"He knows, he knows, my blessed Savior, he knows (x2)." "He knows when I'm up and he knows when I' down." "He knows when I'm weak and he knows when I'm strong." "He knows when I'm sick and he knows when I'm well. "He knows when I'm right...."

A man emigrates to America, leaving wife and children back in Europe. When he sends for them, they arrive to find only his grave; he has been killed in the steel mill. She cries out to him; his voice tells her not to wait, for he lies in the American land

A man looks at a woman's face. She smiles. He thinks "I'll maybe you beguile." She blushes. He knew then "that her hert was a' my ain"

Hawaaian. "He u-i, he ninau, E u-i aku anu au ie oe." "A query, a queston, I put to you: Where is the Water of Kane?" The Water of Kane is to the eat, it is on the mountains, it is on the sea. The singer asks the Water of Kane to give life

Stories of people who "never came back." The first is a soldier lost at Bull Run. The rest are humorous: A waiter who never returned with a patron's steak, a swain who never returned with a ring for an old maid, a mother-in-law set loose in a balloon

Maori, "E noho ani i toku kainga i Nii Tireni." "I am living in my home in New Zealand." The singer suggests that the "mad drunkards set off to Europe" and declares that "The King [of the Maoris] shall encircle the whole island."

"He plays comic music across the Broadgate But some of the notes are rather difficult to get He's got an ammunition for watering flowers." He makes ladies' shoes and charges six shillings and sixpence.

Chorus: "He set me free, He set me free, He broke the bonds of prison for me, I'm glory bound my Jesus to see. Glory to God He set me free." Jesus freed the singer from sorrow and "listened to me" Now I'm working daily and praying: "homeward bound"

He Swore by the Toenails of Moses: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #13563}

"And he swore by the toe nails o' Moses That he'd like all who dared to oppose us"

He That Will Not Merry, Merry Be: (7 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #615}

"He that will not merry, merry be": "May he in Bridewell be shut up ... May he be plagued with a scolding wife ... May he be obliged to drink small beer ... May he be buried in the church-yard And me put in his stead [with his mistress]."

Perhaps the remains of a play-party song: "He took her by the lily white hand and lifted her over the gutter, With a kiss for you and a kiss for me and a kiss for the governor's daughter."

Jump-rope rhyme. "He took her in the garden And set her on his knee, And said, 'Baby, please, Won't you marry me?' Yes, no, maybe so (x2)"

"He was a friend of mine (x2), Never had no money to pay his fine..." "He died on the road, Never had no money to pay for his board." "He never done no wrong, He was just a poor boy a long way from home." "I stole away and cried...."

"He was boasting of his shearing Up in Jimmy Homlan's Bar...." This strange little fellow "tried to murder Hogan" for doubting his exploits. At last the quarrelling is silenced by the free availability of beer

He Was Only a Commoner Soldier: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #23017}

"He was only a commoner soldier, One of the royal recruits, And he fought for the honor of Hollywood, All for an old pair of boots... He got hit with a hard barmbrack, But he nobly fell, 'neath the shot and shell, Wrapped up in a Union Jack."

He Wears a Bonnet for a Hat: (3 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #6210}

The singer warns "there's nane o' you been gude to me" but it would pay to treat her well. When her wealthy lover comes in bonnet, napkin, and jacket to install her in the hall in fancy clothes she might be able to help her listeners with a peck of meal.

"I think I heard Brother Johnson say He'd be there." Repeat until someone comes up with a new name, e.g. "I think I heard Sister May say, He'd be there." And keep it up ad tedium

He'll Never Fly Home Again: (1 ref. 3K Notes) {Roud #29399}

"I was flying flipping Albacores at forty flipping feet, I was flying through the flipping snow... And I made my flipping landfall on the Firth of Flipping Forth. Gory, gory, what a hell of a way to die." A pilot crash landed: "He'll never fly home again"

"For I will dress you in tartans And ribbons sae braw, 'Cause your daddie he's a soldier In the bold Forty-Twa. He's a bonnie, blue-eyed laddie, He's the flooer o' them a', An' he jined yon gallant regiment Ca'd the bold Forty-Twa."

"He's a dark man, he's a black man He's nae match for me He'd scarcely be linin' To the lad that likes me"

"He's a fine man, Johnnie Gollacher, He's a fine man to me; He's a fine man, Johnnie Gollacher, Gin he wad come for me"

"He's a ragtime soldier, Ragtime soldier, Early on parade every morning, Standing to attention with his rifle in his hand. He's a ragtime soldier, As happy as the flowers in May (I don't think!), Fighting for his King and his Country... a shilling a day"

"Yonder comes my Lord (x2), He's comin' this away (x2), Yonder comes my Lord (x2), He's comin' this away (x2)." "A Bible in his hand...." "He's come to judge the world, Livin' an' the dead...." "Yonder comes that train...." "My mother's on that train...."

"Come all my brethren, let us take a rest... Old master has died, and lying in his grave... For he's gone where the slaveholders go." "Hang up the shovel and the hoe, Take down the fiddle and the bow, Old master has gone to the slaveholder's rest"

He's Got the Money Too: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7827}

The singer describes being engaged to someone who is a fine person -- and rich, too: "Oh don't I love my honey, And won't I spend his money? I'm as happy as a flower that sips the morning dew, For I've got a little (feller) and he's got the money too!"

"He's got the whole world (right) in his hand (x3); He's got the whole world in his hand." The number of additional verses probably approximates the number of English speakers on earth; most are spiritual, but you can probably imagine some that aren't

Jesus is my rock, sword, shield, lily of the valley and bright morning star. "Makes no difference what you say I'm going on my knees and pray, I'm going to stay right here until my Jesus comes." Other verswes end with "I'm going to wait..."

He's Nae Very Bonnie: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #13587}

"He's nae very bonnie, but he's awfu' guid, And that's the chap that a girl should wed; Beauty's like flowers, it soon doth fade, They bloom to-day, and to-morrow dead"

The singer thinks about Johnny and their time together. "He's far awa, but he's nae forgettin' He has my he'rt, an' I winna che't him ... he may coort, but he daurna mairry.

He's the Lily of the Valley: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #12146}

Chorus: "He's the lily of the valley, Oh, my Lord (x2), King Jesus in his chariot rides, Oh, my Lord, With four white horses side by side, Oh my Lord." Verses: The singer wears "gospel shoes" and "you can wear them if you choose"

Singer plans to go to the mining areas, marry a rich senorita, wear fine clothes, and live without working. If necessary, he will divorce her and, although morally opposed to it, live by stealing

"He's up with a smile on his face in the morning And off for a bucket of water he goes," for he scorns laziness. "Oh God, help the workman wherever he goes." He treats his wife kindly. He is an honest and pleasant miner

Rope-skipping game. "Head, shoulder, baby, one two three, (x3), Knee and ankle, baby, one two three (x3)." And similarly with other body parts.

Heads, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #36105}

"Heads, shoulders, knees, and toes, knees and toes (x2) And eyes and ears and mouth and nose And heads, shoulders, knees and toes."

"Healin' waters done move (x2), What's de matter now?" "Healing waters done move (x2), Come to Jesus!" "... Soul gittin' happy now!" "...Hallelujah!"

Singer, preparing to emigrate, gives a toast: "Come all my old comrades, Come now let us join, Come blend your sweet voices in chorus with mine.... So here's a health to the company, and one to my lass... For we may and might never all meet here again."

"All day I works in de cotton an' de corn... Waiting for Gabriel to blow his horn, So I won't have to work any more." "Hear dem bells -- oh, don't you hear dem bells? Dey's ringing out de glory of de dawn." "I sings and shouts wid all my might."

"(Hear/I heard) that (rumbling/lumbering) (up/down) in the (ground/sky)." With many variants and floating material, the listener is told to reform, asked to pray for the singer, admonished to wait for Jesus, etc.

"Sing all the way (x3), Hear the angels singing." Verses: We're marching to heaven with Jesus but those Christians are "idling on the battle line." The singer will is sure of going to heaven and loves to shout and sing. "Jesus died for you and me"

Hear the Lambs a-Crying: (2 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #12257}

Chorus: "Hear the lambs a-crying (x3), O Shepherd, feed my sheep." Verses: Jesus asks Peter "'feed my sheep.'" Jesus is crucified and "hangs three hours in dreadful pain." The singer wants to leave "this vain world" and follows Jesus's road.

Round, with motions: "Hear the lively song of the Frogs in yonder pond, Krik, krik . . . krik, krik, krik Brrr-r-r-r—rum!" Or, " Hear the lively song Of the frog in yonder pond Crick, crick, crickety crick Burrrrrrr-rum"

A man and woman court seven years. His mother threatens to disown him "if you marry one that's below your station." The woman says "children ought to obey their parents" He marries her anyway, adores his wife and "never minds what his mother told him"

Hearse Song (II), The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #15546}

"Did you ever think as the hearse roll by That the next trip they take they'll lay you by, With your boots a-swinging from the back of a roan...." The soldier will inevitably end in the hands of the grave-diggers; the soldier's body will rot in the ground

Pop song. "Heart and soul, I fell in love with you...." If you don't know the words, you know the tune

"By Pacific's wave I'm sighing for my homeland, I long to breathe her healthful airs again." "The sunset floods the golden gate with glory... Yet the heart within me cries for my home'neath northern skies... Take me back... To the hils... of Newfoundland"

In praise of the British Navy that can drive off any foe: "Heart of oak are our ships, Jolly tars are our men: We are always ready. Steady, boys, steady, We'll fight and we'll conquer again and again."

Heart that Forms for Love, A: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #7367}

The young man reports that he is tired of the single life. He has seen his love in dreams, but does not know where she is. He describes her looks. He declares he will seek her everywhere: "I'll mount old Barney... And find my Delsenia as soon as I can."

"Hearts like doors will open with ease To very little keys, And they are these: 'I thank you sir' and "If you please.'"

The sailor compares sea life with that on land. The landlubbers work at the plow, go home at night, and sleep with their wives; the sailors work all hours and face storms. The sailor declares his life is better, and tells the girls to appreciate it

"Hearts of oak who wish to try Your fortunes on the sea, And Briton's enemies defy...." Sailors are offered two months' pay as a bounty. They are offered a good ship and captain -- plus prize money. "Can British Tars wish more?"

"Heat the poker hot, hot, hot, And bore a wee hole in the baby."

Heathen Chinese, The: (2 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #15777}

"I've a very sad pitiful story to tell you, Although it's a common one too... But alas! there is no work for a white man to do; They're hiring the Heathen Chinese." The singer tells of his poor family; he will join the Knights of Labor to stop the Chinese

The singer wanders "down the moor" and meets a beautiful girl. He courts her "the live-long day," and she stays with him even as her flocks wander. At the end, she leaves him. He wishes he could find her again and make her his "queen among the heather"

"Heather Jock's noo awa' (x2), The muircock noo may crousely craw, Since Heather Jock's noo away'." Jock can hide anywhere, and steal anything; bad from his youth, he also plays music on the sabbath. Now he is caught and on his way to Botany Bay

Heathery Hills, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #5295}

"I mind it well, and I see it yet" The singer recalls past days meeting Rory on the Heathery Hill. She misses her mother and her father's fields. "The city holds no pleasure" and she would give it up for a summer eve with Rory on the Heathery Hill.

Capstan shanty. "Come all ye jolly sailors bold. Heave and go, my Nancy O! Listen till my tale is told. Heave and go, my Nancy O!" English version of a Danish shanty. No particular story line to the verses, but some make reference to Danish place names.

"Heave him up, O he yo, Butter and cheesefor breakfast, O he yo, The steward he's a making swankey.""Heave away... Duff for dinner, duff for dinner, Now I see it... Hurrah for the Cape Cod girs." "Now I don't... Round the corner Sally, Up she comes..."

Heave Away Cheerily: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #932}

Chorus: Sing me lads cheerily, Heave me lads cheerily, Heave away cheerily o-ho! For the gold that we prize an' for sunnier skies, away to the south'ard we go!"

Shanty. "Heave away, heave away, for the merchant's money, Ch: Heave away boys, heave away!" Verses mostly about money, "Heave away for the buckra's silver," etc...

Shanty. "Oh I love the sailor an' the sailor loves me. Heave away, boys, heave away! He comes to my window ev'ry mornin' at three. Heave away, boys, heave away."

Heave Away, Me Johnnies: (12 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #616}

Shanty. Characteristic line: "Heave away, me johnnies/jollies, heave away, ay!" The sailor lists some of the ports the ship has been sent to, but now rejoices to be returning to (Liverpool) and its girls.

"The St. Clair River is thirty miles long, Heave 'er up, lads, Heave 'er high, An' we'll set our canvas to this merry song, Heave 'er up and bust her." The sailors head for Lake Huron, talking about the tasks of sailing the lakes

"Once I was a schoolboy and learned my ABCs; No I am a smacksman and I plough the raging seas... Let's heave on the trawl, When we get our fish on board we'll have another haul." A description of the tasks of working on a fishing smack

Shanty. "Walk 'er round for we're rollin homeward. Heave me boys together! The bully ol' ship is a-lyin windward, Heave me boys away!" Verses have simple rhymes on sailing themes. Full ch: "Heave 'er an' we'll break 'er, For the old ship's a-rollin home"

"My Lord, my Lord, what shall I do? And a heaven bell ring and praise God." "What shall I do for a hiding place?" "I run to the sea, but the sea run dry." God's promises to the faithful are briefly summarized; listeners are advised to listen

Heaven Bells Are Ringing (I): (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #22634}

"Heaven bells are ringing and I'm (my mother is, my Jesus is) going home" (3x) "Climbing up Zion's hill." "Heaven bells are ringing and the sinner has lost a home"(3x). "Climbing up Zion's Hill"

Chorus: "The heaven bells are ringing, Archangels are singing, Heaven bells are ringing, In the morning." Verses: "Oh come my dearest sister (mother, father, ...), And don't you want to go, And sit along side of Jesus, And don't you want to go?"

Repeated alternate line: "Heaven bells are ringing in my soul." Chorus: "Heaven bells are ringing. Sing-sol-singing.... Going away to see my Jesus. Going away to see my Lord...." Verse: The singer is going to see heaven; you can't get there without grace

"O Mother, I believe (x3) That Christ was crucified." "Oh, don't you hear the heaven bells a-ringing over me? A-ringing over me? Oh, don't you hear the heaven bells a-ringing over me? It sounds like judgment day."

Heaven is a Beautiful Place (I): (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #11830}

"Heaven is a beautiful place, I know (x2), If you want to go to heaven on time, Sure got to plumb the line." "Ain't no sorrow in heaven I know...." "Ain't no (murders/gamblers/etc.) in heaven...." ""Loving union in heaven I know...."

Heaven is a Beautiful Place (II): (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #11830}

"Elisha has done and seen the beautiful place. Heaven is a lovely place I know, I know." "Elisha done seen the sight, And said he didn't need any light. He has gone on to Heaven to rest. Heaven is a beautiful place, I know."

Heaven Is Shining, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #15223}

Chorus: "The heaven is shining, shining, The heaven is shining full of love." Verses: the singer bids friends farewell: "going to leave you all." Death says, "this very day, you must go." If he had it to do over, he would avoid the road to sin.

"This world is all so dark and cold, That' I've been a long time mourning, But the streets of heaven are paved with gold, Its light is upon me dawning. But heaven's a long way off (x3) And I've been a long time mourning." The singer warns of the grave

"Come all ye dear children and help me to sing, I'm going to Jesus, he's Heaven's great king. He died to atone for the sings of the world; His banner is flying, his sails are unfurled. Heaven's my home (x2), I'm going to Jesus, for Heaven's my home."

"One of these days about twelve o'clock... The sinner's going to tremble and cry with pain And the Lord will come in his aeroplane." Jesus will take the saved on a very smooth, easy passage to heaven in the aeroplane.

A hymn praising Jesus who allows us to "Walk... in sunlight all of my journey" and who will never forsake us. Chorus: "Heavenly sunlight (x2) / Flooding my soul with glory divine / Hallelujah, I am rejoicing / Singing his praises, Jesus is mine"

Heavy-Hipped Woman (Black Gal II): (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6714}

"Quit yo' long-time talkin' bout yo' heavy-hipped woman, she done gone, she done gone." "My woman, she keeps on grumblin', Bout a new pair of shoes." Verses about poverty, work, prison, courting, a runaway woman, almost anything else.

Heavy, Heavy Hangs Over Your Head: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #19434}

"Heavy, heavy hangs over your head, What are you going to do with it?"

"Hecketty Pecketty needles and pins" Sorrow begins when a woman marries. Man's love is all "my eye" [nonsense]. You wash and brew and mend his socks while he's out drinking. The singer prefers to remain an old maid.

Hecklin' Kame, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #13079}

"I'm come to borrow yer hecklin' kame [Greig/Duncan8: comb for dressing flax]," Answer: "I'll heckle my hemp and gie ye't again"

Hector joins the army and defeats Afghans in Kandahar. At Omdurman "in his great roll of glory It added the crown to his wide-world fame." "Now the great soldier's brave soul has departed ... he died broken hearted"

"Hector Protector was dressed all in green; Hector Protector was sent to the Queen. The Queen did not like him, No more did the King, So Hector Protector was sent back again."

Descriptions of how to dance the polka and other dances: "First the heel And then the toe And that's the way the polka goes." Or, "Heel and toe, we always go," etc. Similarly, "First the toe and then the heel, That's the way to dance a reel."

"Contestants galore and fans by the score Set roostin' the gates of Saint Pete...." The various rodeo riders who have died are recalled. Finally we see "amongst them all, on old Fireball, There set ol' Heelin' Bill."

Heenan and Sayers [Laws H20]: (17 refs. 5K Notes) {Roud #2148}

Heenan travels from America to fight the British boxers. Sayers draws first blood, but Heenan is ahead after thirty-seven rounds, and the British stop the fight

The heifer, a fabulous creature "with horns upon her heels," does incredible damage till the owner determines to sell her. She begs that she not be killed; she is the spirit of Lord Leitrim. The company determines to blow up the heifer

Chorus: Heigh me know, bombye [overseer?] me takey. Jenny goes to the market to buy the singer "varrow prantin" [?]. The neighbors know Jenny's been "a bad gal"

The British and French land outside Alma. They attack and rout the Russians (most versions give the primary credit to the British, and especially the Scots), forcing them back to Sevastopol. Both sides suffer heavy casualties

The Heir wastes his money in gambling and wild living, (sells his lands,) and falls into poverty. He remembers a (letter/key) to be used only when he is in need. It tells him where to find a treasure; the Heir is once again rich -- and now wiser

Heir of Linne (II), The: (4 refs. 9K Notes) {Roud #111}

The heir's father has his drinking son make a deathbed promise that involves a trick: when the son has lost everything and is desperate enough to commit suicide, it will provide him the means to win back his land and convince him to stay sober.

Helen is jilted by Edwin for a richer girl. Helen dies of a broken heart after asking that her corpse be brought to the wedding. At the wedding Edwin dies of shame. Warning to young men: "remember Edwin's awsum fate An' fear tae meet him there"

Helen of Kirconnell: (10 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #8191}

The singer laments, "I wish I were where Helen lies." The two had been together when Helen was shot and died. The singer pursues and kills her slayer, then promises to be true forever. The rest of the song is a wish to join his love in death

"We'll all go up to Heligoland, To get the Kaiser's goat. In our little pogie boat, Up Kiel canal we'll float. And when we meet the German fleet, We'll make them understand, That we'll knock the Hell-igo Out of Helligo, into Heligoland."

"I been 'buked and I been scorned, Childrens... I been talked 'bout sure as you're born." The singer tells how to drive Satan away with the gospel, how he will ride to heaven with Jesus, and declares that he will enjoy himself there

"Ain't no hell in Georgie (x4)." "Little Indian goes Georgie (x4)." "Ride old buck to water (x4)/"

The Devil, bored with Hell, decides it's time to expand the franchise. The sandiest place available is Texas; the Devil acquires a lease from God after negotiating the water rights. The Devil adds tarantulas, cacti, etc. and opens for business

Hell-Bound Train, The: (17 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5103}

The drunk passes out and dreams of the hell-bound train. The Devil is the engineer. When he announces that Hell is the next stop, the riders beg for mercy; the Devil replies with a list of tortures they face. The drunkard awakens and reforms

The singer says hello to his "sugar," his "old-time gal," and asks "why don't you write me?" She says hello to her "sugar," her "old-time boy," but she wouldn't marry him, "even for a fardin'"

"Hello, stranger, put your loving hand in mine." Floating verses describing singer's grief because her sweetheart is in prison.

Hello, Central, Give Me Heaven: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4336}

"Papa, I'm so sad and lonely... Since dear Mama's gone to heaven." The child says that Papa has never smiled, and decides to call Heaven to talk to Mama. A voice at the other end says to kiss Mama through the telephone

"Hello, hello, sir! Meet me at the grocer. No, sir! Why, sir? Because I have a cold, sir. Where did you get the cold,.... At the north Pole.... What were you doing there... Catching polar bears. How many did you catch? One, two... ten. Old Dutch cleanser

"Jeremiah Jones a lady's man was he.... Till he found a wife..." -- but on their honeymoon, a voice says, "Hello! Hello! Who's your lady friend? Who's the little girlie by your side? I've seen you with a girl or two." Everywhere, he gets the same question

Shanty. Characteristic line: "Hello, somebody, hello!" "There's somebody knocking at the garden gate...." "Somebody wants to know my name...."

Round. "Hello, hello, hello, hello We are glad to meet you We are glad to greet you Hello, hello, hello, hello," Or, "Hello! Hello! Well, well, here we come singing Our voices are ringing with Hello! Hello!"

Hammering song. "Help me drive 'er, Uh! Help me drive 'er, Uh! Help me drive 'er, Uh! ah, home. Uh!" "Little Mary... ah, home!" "To de mountain... ah, home!"

Help Me to Raise Them: (6 refs. 9K Notes) {Roud #17300}

Response lines: "wo o honey" twice, "See you when the sun goes down." Verse call lines are repeated (see notes): "Won't you help me to raise them"; "The weight's on the mate's boat / captain's boat / donkey now." Some verses float (see notes)

"Hemp-seed I set, hemp-seed I sow, The young man that I love, Come after me and mow, I sow, I sow, then, my own dear, come hoe, come hoe, then mow and mow." A girl sows hemp in a churchyard (on Halloween?) to find someone to marry her soon

"The hen to herself said one beautiful day, Cluck, cluck, The day is so fine we'll step over the way And call on my neighbor and friend Madam Duck." The hen warns her chicks not to join the ducklings in the water -- but the chicks don't listen and drown

Characterized by the structure, "The old hen cackled... The next time she cackled...," E.g. "The old hen cackled, she cackled in the lot, The next time she cackled, she cackled in the pot." Material floats freely.

"Tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick-a-lairy ... And the aul' hen cries out, 'Tick-a-lairy'"

Floating verses: "Down in the henhouse, down on my knees/I thought I heard a chicken sneeze" "Hen... told the rooster, I love you best... you're a pop-eyed liar...." Ch.: "Who broke the lock? I don't know/Who broke the lock on the henhouse door..."

Hennessy Murder, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4128}

"Kind friends, if you will list to me, A sad story I'll relate, 'Tis of brave Chief Hennessy And how he met his fate." The song mentions the time of his death, and opines that his killers were working with Satan

Henpecked Man, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #13148}

"I'm the most henpecked man in town, I used to have lots of fun..." until his wife discovers him having an affair when he forgets to have receipts for the errands he allegedly was running. She makes sure he can't do it again. He warns against lies

Mary Ann bids Henry to stay with her. He refuses, and also refuses her offer to come with him. He goes to sea, where he performs valiantly and saves the Captain's life. When he comes home, the Captain gives him fifty pounds; the couple get married

Henry courts Nancy. Her parents lock her in their castle. Nancy writes Henry a letter. He dreams of her and wakes to find her letter. He goes to the castle, kills her, and kills himself. Her parents blame themselves. Nancy's ghost blames her mother.

Broadside. Henry and Servilla are in love, but her mind changes; "perhaps it was a better match Within the mother's eye." Henry is bidden not to return. Henry intercepts her on her way to school, and shoots her then himself

Henry Clay Beattie (I): (2 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #13147}

Beattie is convicted of murdering a girl, but denies his guilt. His family tries to get him to confess, lest he "go to [his] doom with a lie." At last he confesses. On a Friday morning he is executed in the electric chair

Henry Clay Beattie (II): (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #13147}

"Come on, honey, let's go for a spin. You won't need a wrap, just jump right in. No, don't take the baby, we won't go far..." because Beattie soon pulls off the road and shoots his wife. The singer points out that Beattie is bound for the electric chair

Tunes in favor of "The Statesman, the Patriot, Clay" during his presidential campaigns. Sung to popular tunes such as "Rosin the Beau," they include "The Mill-Boy of the Slashes" and "Old Hal of the West"

Dejected Henry tells his story. A serving man, he fell in love with his master's daughter. The girl's mother aids the match, but the father is opposed. When the two plan to flee to Scotland, the father plants evidence against Henry and has him transported

"Many an Orange villain fell Beneath the hand of Downs" "The trembling tyrants did propose A partial amnesty" which took "unsuspecting clowns" out of the battle. Downs continued to fight. In Dublin he was taken by Sirr, tried, condemned, and hanged.

Henry Green threatens suicide if Mary Wyatt will not marry him (she is unsure about the idea because he is rich and she is poor). Soon after the marriage, he poisons her. She forgives him before she dies, but he is sentenced to death

The singer from Ulster tells how he left his wife and children to follow Henry Joy McCracken. They are defeated at Antrim. Henry Joy is taken to Belfast by the redcoats and hanged in the barrack square.

Henry Joy McCracken (I): (4 refs. 4K Notes) {Roud #3008}

"It was on the Belfast mountains I heard a maid complain... Saying, 'Woe is me... Since Henry Joy McCracken died on the gallows tree." Henry fought against the English, but was taken; now only his ghost comes got her. She dies and is buried

McCracken is betrayed for 50 pounds by Niblock. Why is there no song from 1798 to mark his hanging on High Street, Belfast? He is buried in Clifton Street cemetery with his sister Mary.

Henry K. Sawyer [Laws G5]: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3249}

Henry K. Sawyer is fatally burned when he is trapped under a derailed train. He is taken from the wreck, but all he can do is bid farewell to his wife before he dies

Henry Martyn [Child 250]: (46 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #104}

Henry Martin (Martyn), the youngest of three brothers, is chosen by lot to turn pirate "to maintain his brothers and he." Martin overhauls a merchant ship; he either sinks her or is himself mortally wounded

At Ballynahinch General Nugent attacks the rebels under Clokey and Munroe. Having exhausted ammunition, Munroe escapes. Betrayed by a woman, he is taken and executed. "His head was put up" but retrieved by rebels. Young Teeling is also killed at Killala.

"Our gallant captain to us did say, 'We had better give ourselves up to pray ...' We had scarce lost sight of the Scottish shore When the sea most furiously began to roar." Only Captain Henery Stewart and one man more live to land ashore.

Henry worries night and day about women. His baby "worries me on every hand... because she can"; "she mistreats me both night and day... to pass the time away." He bid her goodbye, prayed for and "got another woman now tie my troubles away"

"It's a long time ago I remember it well, All alone in the poorhouse a maiden did dwell.... Her age it was red and her hair was 19." Her lover asks her to fly away by starlight. Her father shoots him with "a horse pistol raised from a colt."

Her Bonny Blue E'e: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #13336}

The singer describes the beautiful girl "doon by the burn brae," and admits to thinking of her bonny blue eyes when he should be saying his prayers. But he is going across the sea; he must leave her for another to wed. He wishes her happiness

"It's been a year since last we met, We may never meet again. I have struggled to forget, But the struggle was in vain. For her voice lives in the breeze...." The sailor lives, dreams, and ornately alludes to the memory the sweetheart he left behind

Jump-rope rhyme. "Her first name is --, Catch her if you can, 'Cause she's in love with --, And that's her only man."

"Her hair was like the raven's wing, And her neck was like the swan"

Her Hair Was o' a Darkish Brown: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #6797}

"Her hair was o' a darkish brown, Her eyes o' a bonnie blue, Her cheeks were like the roses red, And the curls hung roun' her broo"

Her Mansion Is Higher Than Mine: (1 ref. 1K Notes) {Roud #V44986}

"There are mansions high, there are mansions wide, 'Way up in gloryland, There are mansions built in jasper, O wondrous beauty grand." The singer expects a mansion, but is sure "my mother's mansion Is higher than mine." Jesus has places for all

Her Mighty Sails the Breezes Swell: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #27803}

"Her mighty sails the breezes swell, And fast she leaves the lessening land." Many wave the ship goodbye, but it is never seen again. Many mothers grieve for their lost children. No one knows the fate of the ship

Shepherds and sheep are not what they used to be. Sheep now have more hair and less wool. In winter now both sheep and shepherds wear fancy plastics to keep from the wet and cold. "Yon auld herd and his plaidie you will ne'er see again."

Herd Laddie, The (The Herdie): (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5594}

"Oh for the innocent days I hae see, When a' my young thoughts they were happy and keen." In those days he herded the cattle and swam with "wee Jenny," then used their clothes for beds. He recalls other details of his early life

"A wee laddie sat wi' the tear in his e'e," and complains of his life: His feet are sore, wrapped in unrepairable shoes; he has no money for a new pair. His clothes are just as bad, he is hungry and worked too hard. He wishes for a better master

"Herdie Derdie, blaw your horn, A' your nowt's [cattle] among the corn; First ane, and syne twa, Herdie Derdie beats them a'"

"Here are the lady's knives and forks, Here is the lady's table, Here is the lady's looking-glass, And here is the baby's cradle."

At the communion table, "Thy body is the bread we eat, Thy precious blood the wine." Christ's "bitter torments" are recounted. "Well thou mayest claim that heart of me, Which owes so much to thine"

A baron's daughter says that she "would have no man that for her love sought her." Many try and fail, but a "juggler" creates the illusion of wealth and beauty and beds her. She awakes to see him as he is, and rejects him; he enchants her again

Traditional fee-collecting song for a Christmas play: "Here come I John Funny, I'm the man who collects the money. It's money we want and money we'll have; If you don't give us money we'll sweep you all out."

Here Come I, Beelzebub: (1 ref. 4K Notes) {Roud #12747}

"Here come I, Beelzebub, And over my shoulder I carry my club, And in my hand my frying pan, And please to get all the money I can."

Singing game. "Here come two true-lovers, Joined heart and hand, He wants a wife, And she wants a man. Now if they are kind-hearted," they will wed. Now he must go to war, and she cries "If he does leave me I surely will die"

"Herecomes a lusty wooer, My a Dildin my A Daldin, Here comes a lusty wooer, Lilly bright and shine, A." "Pray who do you woo for?" "For your fairest daughter." "Then there she is for you."

Here Comes a Queen from Dover: (2 refs.) {Roud #7897 and 7038}

"Here comes a Queen from Dover, This very night came (D)over, Shall she be attended or no? No be Queen be not offended... For you shall be attended, By all the respects that we owe.... Oh, is your bottle out.... So come down and choose your lassie."

"Here comes so-and-so Riding on a pretty [royal] pony Standing by [looking for] the house of glory" on so-and-so's wedding [washing] day. The singer would take Lily by the hand and give three cheers for so-and-so's daughter.

"Here comes Susie, Strutting like a floozie, Here comes Susie, All day long." "Here comes another one, Just like the other one, Here comes another one, All day long." "This way Valerie (x3), All day long."

Parodies of the Wedding March, perhaps not all related. "Here comes the bride, Big, fat, and wide, See how she wobbles From side to side." Or, "Here comes the bride, All dressed in white, Here comes the fellow, All dressed in yellow."

"Here comes the teacher with a (great big/hickory) stick, Now it's time for arithmetic. One and one are two, two and two are four. Now it's time for spelling. R-a-t spells rat.... Charlie Chaplin went to France To teach the girlies how to dance."

"Here comes Uncle Jesse, walking down the street, With his horse and buggy And buckles on his feet. Now if you want a fellow, I'll tell you what to do, Just get some salt and pepper, And put it in your shoe, All gone girl, shake that stuff...."

"Here I am amongst you and I'm here because I'm here, And only twelve months older than I was this time last year." Unusual life advice: "Never throw a brick at a drowning man." Men don't always want more, e.g. a man with a black eye doesn't want anoger

"Here I brew and here I bake, And here I make my wedding-cake, ANd here I must break through." (Or: "Here I bake and here I brew, And here I lay my wedding-shoe, And here I must and shall break through.")

Here Is a Letter, Fair Susannah: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #6830}

Susannah receives a letter from the merchant that courts her. She says she will remain true to her sailor William: "he ploughs the sea Though he be married I will die a maiden"

Here Is the Church: (8 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #16226}

"Here is the church, and here is the steeple. Open the doors and here are the people. Here is the parson going upstairs And here he is a-saying his prayers."

"Here is to sweet Ireland, the land of my birth, The land of the Shamrock, the best land on earth. The Irish were Irish when England wasn't much, And still will be Ireland, when England turns Dutch." By next summer, the Germans will have beaten England

"Here lies de body uv po' little Ben. We ain't gwyne to see 'im in I dunno when. 'Twas hard to part, but it could 'a' been wuss, 'Case Ben mou'ter been a no-'count cuss." Other verses may float

"Here sits the Queen of England in her chair, She has lost the love that she had last year; So rise upon your feet, and kiss the first you meet, For there's many around your chair."

Kissing game: "Here stands an old maid forsaken, She's of a contented mind, She's lost her own true lover And wants another as kind; She wants another a kind, sir, I'll have you all to know, She's very well provided for With 45 strings to her bow (x2)."

"Here they come, here they come, Silly great buggers every one, Half-a-crown a week to pay For putting a girl in the family way." "Here they come... Second of Foot but second to none." Covered in bullshit, they are off to Salisbury Plaim

"Here we are, all together, as we sing our song joyfully, Here we are, all together, as we pray we will always be, Join we now as friends and celebrate." "Glorify the Lord with all our voices." "Let us make the world an alleluia"

"Here we are, here we are, Here we are again, There's Pat and Mac and Tommy and Jack and Joe. Where there's trouble brewing, when there's something doing, Are we down-hearted? No, let 'em come... Never mind the weather, Now then, all together, Here..."

"Here we come." "Where from?" "(Jamestown Virginia/New York/etc.)." "What's your trade?" "(Sweet) Lemonade." "Give me some." The leader then sets out a pair of initials of another player, and indicates an action with the same initials

Here We Come A-Wassailing: (12 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #209}

"Here we come a-wassailing Among the leaves so green." Chorus: "Love and joy come to you And to you your wassail too, And God bless you and send you a happy new year." The singers remind the listeners that they are not beggars, and bless them

"Here we come wi' a dan, dan, dan! It's neither for my cause nor thy cause I ride this stang, but for (name) his wife he did bang."

"Here we go in mourning, In mourning is my cry, I have gone and lost my true love, And surely I must die." "It's yonder he comes, And it's How do you do? And it's how have you been since I parted from you?" "Come now and let's go and get married."

Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush: (16 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7882}

"Here we go round the mulberry bush, the mulberry bush, the mulberry bush, Here we go round... So early in the morning." "This is the way we wash our clothes." "This is the way we bake the bread." And so forth, through many household tasks

Here We Go Up (Hey My Kitty): (8 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3748}

"Here we go up, up, up, up, up, Here we go down, down, downy; Here we go over and over and over, And here we go round, round, roundy." "O, my kitty, my kitty, my kitty, O my kitty my dearie, Never was such a kitty as this, Never so far nor neary."

"Here we go zootie-o [or "zoodiac"], zootie-o, zootie-o, Here we go zootie-o, All night long." "Step back Sally, Sally, Sally, Step back Sally, All night long." "(Going down/Walking through) the alley, alley, alley, Going through... All night long"

"Here we sit like birds in the wilderness, birds in the wilderness, birds in the wilderness, Here we sit like birds in the wilderness,waiting for you to come." Or, "...waiting for our food," or "waiting for our bread." Or it may be flies in the sugar bowl

Here We Suffer Grief and Pain: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #25524}

"Here we suffer grief and pain, Here we meet to part again; In heaven we part no more." "O that will be joyful, Joyful, joyful, joyful! O that will be joyful, When we meet to part no more." "Holy children will be there, Who have sought the Lord by prayer"

Used for cornhusking, but perhaps a hunting song: "Jola was a coon dog, Here, Jola, here." "Jola was a possum dog, Here, Jola, here." "Jola was a rabbit dog, Here, Jola, here." "Jola was a bird dog, Here, Jola, here."

"Here's a chorus; -- Irish slaves -- End your quarrels." Remember Emmet and Tone. "Union makes the nations great, End your quarrels." Remember the graves of 1798. "Steel is true and God is just, Chains or laurels"

"Here's a health to all good lasses, Pledge it merrily, fill your glasses, Let a bumper toast go round, May they live a life of pleasure, Without mixture, without measure, For with them true joys are found"

"You drink to your friends and I'll drink to mine." "Health to King George ... Success to his arms ... down with the pride of France and of Spain ... Let each man drink a bumper ... Success to old England and God bless the King"

An old woman drinks "a health to [ne'er do well] Lord Ronald McDonald That wears the huden [homespun] grey coat And another to [ruined] aul Leddy Jannet [who eloped with him]. That spins the yarn o'ot." (The bracketted comments are a spoken commentary)

The singer gives a "health to my Molly where ever she be She is worthy of company better than me." If he were a sailor and she a fleeing fish he'd net her. "Of all the pretty maidens lovely Molly's for me"

The singer toasts sailors and soldiers and to "yon bonnie lad" that has left her alone to rock her baby in Caledonia [Scotland].

"Here's a thing, A very pretty thing. What's to be done With this very pretty thing?"

"Here's adieu to all judges and juries, Justice and Old Bailey too; Seven years you've transported my true love, Seven years he's transported you know." The singer wishes he had wings of an eagle to return to Polly. He vows to be rich if he ever returns

The singer is leaving parents and sisters and "London city where I took great delight" to join the convoys; "with our twenty-six pounders we will fight blow for blow" and "never will yield"

The huntsman calls out the hounds. He names the hounds as they hunt. He would call back the hounds to increase the sport but the footmen call them on. The joy is in the hunt, not in shooting, snaring, or the death of the quarry.

Here's First to Those Farmers: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #876}

The singer lists rogues: farmers selling corn, the "thief in a mill", bakers, butchers, landlords who serve bad beer, and shoemakers. We would be happy to see them all hanged.

"Here's Sulky Sue, What shall we do? Turn her face to the wall Till she comes to."

The singer toasts "him that's won my hert But winna tak my han' ... Deep in love but daurna marry." He was a stable boy but now he's "in a foreign land" If he were here "I wadna smile tae you ava"

"Here's the tender coming, Pressing all the men, Oh! dear, hinny, What shall we do then? Here's the tender coming, Off at Shields Bar...." Despite attempts to avoid the pressgang, "They tyuek maw bonny laddie, Best iv all the crew."

"Here's to a long life and a merry one, A quick death and a painless one, A pretty wife and a loving one, A long cold drink... and perhaps another one."

"Oh, boys, have you heard of the battle, The allies brave had on the shore... The total defeat of the Russians was echoed with joy everywhere." "Then here's to the army and navy, In Russia they're on the advance." The allies gloriously win at the Alma

Here's to the Black Watch: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5798}

The Black Watch fought in Japan, India, and Waterloo. "Let foreign countries think of us, and if they want to war, They will soon be taught a lesson by the gallant Forty-twa." "Here's to the Black Watch"

The singer describes his "nobby, nobby" coat, breeches, etc. All are decrepit, but will not be replaced, for "It's all gone for grog, Jolly, jolly grog... I've spent all my tin with the lassies drinking gin, And across the western ocean I must wander."

"Here's to the lassie that aye proves sae true Here's tae the lad that's aye fill'd in beer ... I'll toss o'er this glass and I'll drink it with cheer For a health tae ye a' and a Happy New Year"

"Here's to you as good as you are, Here's to me as bad as I am, But as bad as I am and as good as you are, I'm as good as you are and as bad as I am."

"A farmer came to camp one day, With milk and eggs to sell, Upon a mule that would often stray." The animal disappears, and "ev'ryone he met in camp [said] 'Mister, here's your mule.'" Various tricks are used to prolong his search

"Hand me down my walking cane this morning, Oh, hand me down my walking cane so soon... See if I can't catch old Herlong's Train, this morning, this morning so soon." "I got me a wife and a sweetheart too... My wife don't love me but my sweetheart do."

On Killarney's bank the singer sees a hermit who says "Adieu, adieu, thou faithless world, thou wert not made for me!" The hermit's pitiful condition is recounted. He criticizes the world's pomp, state, and ambition and laments his own credulity. He dies

Hermit of St. Kilda, The: (1 ref. 2K Notes) {Roud #12994}

"And is the Percy yet so loved By all his friends and thee? 'Then bless me, Father,' said the youth, For I thy guest am he."

"A hermit who dwelt in the Solitudes crossed me" and stops the singer, saying, "No rest but the grave for a Pilgrim of Love." He urges the singer to rest until after the "burning noon passes." The ending is apparently lost

The bloody history of the castle is recalled, the "river runs as broon" as blood. Once "the willing slave of love A queen cam riding doon... From Jedburgh to Hermitage That bright October day." Now "a ghostly band" repeats the ride.

"Now you've heard of old Ned Kelly And other outlaws of fame, But now we have a new one, Stan Graham is his name." He shoots four policemen and heads for the bush. The army is called out to hunt him. It's too bad he can't fight the Japanese

"We sing of these soldiers and sailors, The deeds they have done on the foam, But what of the lads that work in the mine? Little of these do we know. They are heroes, British heroes." They face danger and death with no warning, and often die without hope

Herring Gibbers, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #667}

"It's all about the herring gibbers and how they get along." The packers and gibbers wake and cannot find their pants or socks. Some others laugh at the joke. The song names the captain, second hand, cook and one leaving Newfoundland.

"I hae laid a herring in saut Lass, gin ye lo'e me, tell me now." The singer gives reasons for her to "tell me now": "I hae brew'd a forpit o' maut," "a calf that will soon be a cow," "a house upon yon moor," ... but "I canna come ilka day to woo"

"The herring loves the moonlight, The mackerel loves the wind; But the oyster loves the dredging song, For she comes of a gentle kind." The oysters are called, and hearers are urged to buy them.

Hesitation Blues: (18 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #11765}

"Well, standing on the corner with a dollar in my hand, Lookin' for a woman who's lookin' for a man, Tell me, how long do I have to wait...?" The women want to see the money before they become friendly. The singer grumbles about sex

Stories about the outcast Hesley family. Mrs. Hesley throws a man's boots in the street for refusing to board with her. She steals sheep. Her daughter cannot not find a husband even when she goes to Newark. And so forth

"The Major," Jemmy at his side, takes Hevey's mare so that he need not chase traitors on foot. Sirr's need was sufficient to name Hevey criminal. But Hevey complains in court. "Adieu to all our seizures ... Loyalty now has few pleasures"

Counting-out rhyme: ""Hewery, hiery, hackey, heaven [or other nonsense words], Hack a bone, crack a bone, ten or eleven, Baked, stewed, fried in the sun, Twiddlelem, twiddlelelm, twenty-one."

Hexhamshire Lass, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3182}

"Hey for the buff and the blue, Hey for the cap and the feather, Hey for the bonny lass true That lives in Hexhamshire." The singer wishes he could have the girl; he cannot sleep without her, and says his heart will break

Hey Arise and Come Along: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #2317}

The singer, in California, thinks about his girl in Canada. It's a fine sailing day and the boat is taking him far from Canada. Tell his girl that if he returns he will "drive her in great style" He arrives in Quebec [?] and drinks a health to Canada.

"You told me you'd marry." The singer wants to go to the courthouse and get the license read. "Right away baby, right away, Hey, honey right away."

"Hey Betty Martin, tip-toe, tip-toe, Hey Betty Martin, tip-toe fine." Other verses, if there are any, are usually equally simple and may relate to dancing

Hey Bonnie Laddie, Mount and Go: (6 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #3860}

A lady asks a sailor/robber to take her with him. He had loved her before but her parents married her to an old man. He takes her on a ship. The old man sends sailors to bring her back but they are driven off. Now she is rich and the old man grieves.

A lover is offered to a boy/girl. She/he is rejected ("I'll set him on yon thorn tree," for example): "He's fit for anither but he's nae fit for me." This is repeated until an acceptable lover is offered: "I'll tak' him in my arms twa"

"Hey diddle diddle, the cat and the fiddle, The cow jumped over the moon; The little dog laughed to see such sport, And the dish ran away with the spoon."

Hey Donal, How Donal: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #6258}

Donald meets "a bonnie wee lass" who says "when you think that no-one sees Donal come and kiss me." "I kissed her till her gums were sair" and she complained about his whiskers. He proposed; she accepted, as her mother had accepted her father's proposal.

Rope-skipping game: "Hey everybody, Gather round Madison town. Like two up, Two back, False turn, Birdland twice, Kick that bird, Then spit that bird."

"Hey for the birds o Benothie, An' hou for the Bissats o Ferald."

Hey How Johnny Lad: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7148}

"Hey how, my Johnny Lad, ye're no sae kind's ye sud hae been." The singer complains that Johnny had the opportunity to meet her as her parents were away, but he never arrives. She concludes she needs a more ardent lover.

Hey Little Lassie: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #13503}

"Hey, little lassie, will you have me?" He has leather gloves and wooden shoes -- though leather shoes are best. He's from the east, she's

The singer is waiting in the snow and cold for Lizzie to let him in. He says he'd be quiet and "wadna waken up ane o' your kin." Then, "I hear your fit on the floor" and his "fanciful fears" leave.

"Hey neevuh look-a dey." "Dey da clean." "Dey da clean look-a dey."

"Early in the morning whan the cat crew day, Hey the mantle! how the mantle! Our gudeman saddl'd the bake-bread and fast rade away...." As he travels, he sees many marvels

"Landlady, count the lawin, The day is near the dawin; Ye're a' blind drunk, boys, And I'm but jolly fou. Hey tutti taiti, How tutti taiti, Hey... wha's fou now?" "Weel may we a' be, Ill may we never see, God bless the king And the companie. Hey tutti..."

"Hey you copycat, You dirty rat."

"When maize stands more than ten feet high, And bursting cobs a yard or more," the harvesters head out to the field. Others hunt, but the singer will farm and keep livestock. The singer wishes good health for George [IV] and the governor

"When maize stands more than ten feet high, And bursting cobs a yard or more... why, then, 'tis, 'Hey, Boys! up go we!" When it is wheat harvesting time, kangaroo hunting time, peach season, or time to toast King George, the chorus is repeated

Alternate lines are a chorus, "Hey boy." The shantyman sings: "Walk down sal' pond" "Hey, Bully Monday... He go walk sal' pond." "We go out down sal' pond."

Hey, Ho, Nobody Home: (9 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #37118}

"Hey, ho, nobody home, Meat nor drink nor money have I none, Yet will I be merry...." Often sung as a round.

"Heg-beg" [old version] -- or "ma cuddy" [recent version] -- is on this side of the dyke and on the other side. If you touch it it will bite you or make you "very uneasy" [Chambers].

"Hey Rufus, hey boy, Where in the world you been so long? Hey buddy, hey boy, Well, I been in the jungle, ain't goin' there no more."

"Know this, my brethren, Heaven is clear, and all the clouds are gone: The righteous man shall flourish now, good days are coming on. Then comes my brethren and be glad, and eke rejoice with me... And hey then up go we"

"There was a rich man and he lived in Jerusalem, Glory hallelujah hi ro je-rum." The rich man rejects a request for help from a "human wreckium." The poor "wreckium" dies and goes to "Heavium"; the rich man ends up in "Hellium"

Hi Ho! Skippety Toe: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #11498}

Jump-rope rhyme, "Hi ho! Skippety toe, Turn the ship and away we go. Judy and Jack dressed in black, Silver buttons down her back."

"No more hoein' corn, No mo' diggin' taters, No mo' blackin' boots, No mo' darkey waters. Jingle, lingle, gingle jee, hi yo dinkum darkey (x2)."

Hebrew. "Hi-ney-mah tov-u-mah nah-yim, She-vet-ah chim gam ya-chad." "How good is it for brothers to live together."

Travellers' cant. "Hi, bara manishee, will ye bing wi' me?" Translated: "Hi, bonnie lassie, will you go with me?/Hi, bonnie laddie, I didn't know your face/Will you come, will you hurry... to the camp?/If you don't get food, you'll get some drink"

"Then come with me in my little canoe, Where the (sea/river) is calm and the sky is blue." The singer urges against delay lest something go wrong. He promises to hunt what she needs to live a good life

"Hibberty bibberty I salliberty, Pompalary jig, Every man who has no hair Ought to/Is bound to wear a wig."

The singer returns to Ireland from fighting in Spain, where he meets Hibernia's Lovely Jane. He says that her beauty exceeds that of goddesses or legendary beauties. But her parents will not let her marry a soldier. The singer despairs

The sheriff goes to arrest Hicarmichael on a Sunday; as the sheriff reads the warrant, Hicarmichael shoots him dead. Hicarmichael is arrested and taken to Knoxville. The singer warns listeners not to live a "wrecked" life

Guessing game. A player holds up a number of fingers and says "Hickety hickety horny cup, How many fingers do I hold up?" or "Buck, buck, how many horns do I hold up?" Another player guesses. Game may repeat, with punishments, until the number is guessed

"Oh Hickman boys, I'll say to you, Our fate is awful, but it's true." "On the banks of the Cumberland Lay the bodies of a thousand men." "We fought them up till Saturday night, At length the North did rain a shower." The singer hopes to live in peace

"Hickory, dickory, dare, The pig flew up in the air, (A man in/Farmer) Brown (Brought/Shot) him down, Hickory, dickory, dare."

Hickory Dickory Dock: (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6489}

"Hickory Dickory Dock, A mouse ran up the clock, The clock struck one, The mouse fell down...." Other time-related verses may be added. Perhaps sometimes used to determine who is "it" for a game

Hicks the Pirate: (4 refs. 19K Notes) {Roud #V28365}

"A mournful tale heart rending To you kind friends I will relate" of an oyster sloop which had a pirate aboard. Hicks killed the captain and two boys, and took their money, then fled to shore. Taken and brought to trial, Hicks is hung "on Bedloe's Island"

"Hiddle diddle dirdie, When I was a herdie." Apparently the cattle ran to the corn, the herder ran home and got a bannock. The laird took his plaid, leaving him out in the cold.

"Hide and go seek, The man in the beak (or "Your mother's a leek," etc.), Who will be on it For hide and go seek?" "Going, going, Ready or not...." "I spy (someone) behind the red car, 1, 2, 3, come out."

Hide Away (Jonah and the Whale): (7 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7786}

Bible tales with warnings for sinners who don't heed: "Get your baggage on the deck and don't forget to take your check For you can't steal on board, hide away." Verses concern Jonah and the whale, Moses and Pharoah, (Daniel, Noah, etc.)

"Hidi, quili, lodi, quili, Hidi, quili, quackeo, If you'd a-been as I'd a-been, You would a-been so pretty, o!" (Someone) maakes a song, "heels in the path and toes in the grass, Don't take nothing but a dollar and half."

A poor shepherd says "Hey, bonnie lassie, blink o'er the burn." He tells all he would do when "we'll be married and lie in ae bed": turn her sheep for her, give her his dog, knife, and half-year's fee and sell one of his two lambs to buy her a head-piece

Hielan' Donal kisses Katie Ronal' while she picks camomile. She says she wouldn't have him. He asks her to go to the hills with him where he had a big house and livestock. She declines. When he turns to leave she changes her mind and goes with him.

"Hielan' Donald kiss't Kitty, Comin through the Narrow Wyn'" or among the camomile. She wore a striped coat and woolen gown; he kissed her when everyone was sleeping.

"The Hielan' hills are high high The Hielan' miles are long But Hielan' whisky is the thing To mak a body strong." "She'll tak a glass" or five or six "what business that tae you." A whisky "is the thing To paint it [her nose] like the rose"

Used by sailors as they stowed cotton or lumber. "Were you ever in Quebec? Bonnie Laddie, Hieland Laddie, Stowing timber on the deck, Bonnie Hieland Laddie"

This song is about the wedding of Hieland Rory and Mary Morrison. The songs sung and played are listed. "The piper he got drunk" so a fiddler was brought in for the dancing.

Higgledy Piggledy, My Black Hen: (8 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #13043}

"Higgledy piggledy, my black hen, She lays eggs for gentlemen, Gentlemen come every day To see what my black hen doth lay, Sometimes nine and sometimes ten, Higgledy piggledy, my black hen."

(Two) ships meet a pirate man-o-war. In the ensuing battle, the pirate is sunk, disabled, or taken.

The singer tells of meeting a young girl mourning her lover, John Murphy. Murphy, only 21, was killed in the mines of High Blantyre in a great explosion. She transplants the daisies they walked among to his grave and waters them with her tears

"Alone we are born And die alone, Yet see the red cold cirrus over snow mountains shine. Upon the upland road ride east, stranger; Surrender to the sky your heart of anger."

Young man, conscripted into the war in Germany, bids his sweetheart come with him. She demurs, saying she is not fit for war. He offers to buy her a horse, and also to marry her by and by. She laments the war (and/or her pregnancy)

A soldier has been called up and must leave his pregnant sweetheart. She would follow him "through France, Spain and even Ireland." He warns of the hardships and that her parents will be angry. She insists. He agrees to take her and will marry her first.

High in the Highlands: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #6830}

Highlanders clip sheep, Lowlanders feed cattle. The singer says a local lad "has a fancy for me" but she prefers someone farther away. She wants paper, pen, and ink "and I'll write a letter to my dear Willie"

"Indians are high minded. Bless my soul they’re double jointed. They climb hills and don’t mind it. All day long." "Camp fire girls are high minded...." A sniff, as of inhaling drugs, may precede the words "high minded"

"In come another one, High O! A mighty pretty little one, High O! Then get about, go! High O! Then get go about! High O!"

Shanty. "One man to strike the bell, High-O, come roll me over." Verses continue with "Two men to man the wheel", "Three men to'gallant braces," "Four men to heave the lead<" and so forth, to Ten men to dip the ensign" and perhaps beyond

The singer tells about the men building the road and bridges from Sally's Cove to St Paul. "Such needed employment it is a God-send To provide for these families those hard-working men." He is among the workers down with the flu and "nothing to do"

High Rocks o' Pennan, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3944}

"Cauld blaws the wind o'er the high rocks o' Pennan" as the singer laments the absence of Jamie, gone to America. She discusses their parting, at which he complained that the laws are too strict. He promises to fetch her once he has the money

High Society Girl, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #11340}

"Granny, get your hair cut, paint your face and shine, Granny get your hair cut short like mine... Granny, get your dress cut short like mine." The girl urges granny to adopt modern ways, such as going to movies and swimming alongside the boys

"It's of Martin Hurley, you bet he's not slack, He gets the two Daltons to work his cod trap." They meet rough water but get a good haul. The song continues with episodes showing "high times in our ship."

High Times in the Store: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #9976}

Low on bread, the singers stop at the store at Lance au Loop hoping for help. The shopkeepers complain that they are expected to give bread away. "These are two sturdy old fellows, gives nothing away"

High Water Everywhere: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #21695}

Flood drives Charley from town to town: Sumner, Greenville, Leland, Tallahatchie... "the whole round country ... river has overflowed ... levee broke" "I'm going back to the hill country, won't be worried any more"

Jump-rope rhyme: "The (Alabama) River goes higher, higher, higher...." or "When it rains, the Mississippi/river gets higher, higher, higher...." The jumper must keep jumping higher until he or she fails

"There is a wood at the top of the hill, If it's not shifted it's standing there still." There is a farm nearby, but don't go there by day; there are snipers watching, "For the wood down by Waterlot Farm Is a bloody high wood."

"Now you can't expect a cowboy to agitate his shanks In the etiquettish fashion of aristocratic ranks." The singer is out of his depth at a dance in Denver. Still, the ladies enjoy the chance "To see an old-time puncher at a high-tone dance."

"Down in the sunny Southern clime, the curious ones may find, A ripping tearing gentleman of an uncommon kind." He drinks heavily, wears fancy clothes, plays euchre, goes into debt. Verses often break into extended non-metrical speeches

Shape note hymn: "Through every age, eternal God, thou art our rest, our safe abode; High was thy throne ere heav'n was made Or earth thy humble footstool laid." "Death, like an overflowing stream, Sweeps us away; Our life's a dream, an empty tale..."

"The higher that the mountain is, The lower grows the grass, The bonnier that the lassie is, She needs the tocher less." "The aulder that the crab tree grows, The sourer grow the plumbs...." Reportedly a pslam warmup/practice tune

Jump-rope game ending in "hot peppers" (a fast rope): "Highest is the leader, Lowest must take the end."

"Way out in the State of Nevada, In a mining camp far out of the way," a hobo appears with "a look on his face That said... 'Nearer, my God, to Thee.'" He preaches for a hundred days and leaves. The singer marvels at his heavy burden

"Hwe, balou, my sweet young Donald, picture o' the great Clanranald, Brawlie kens our wanton chief, Wha got my young Highland thief." The mother hopes the babe will go forth and steal a "naigie" and a "Carlisle coo" and return home

Highland Harry's banished and the singer mourns she'll "never see him back again!" She wishes some "villains [were] hangit high" so he could return. He had "rush'd his injur'd prince to join; But, Oh! he ne'er came back again!"

"The heather's queen o' mountain flowers." The singer compares the heather to the red and white rose, the lily, daisy and forget-me-not. "Search roon the world -- she beats them a'."

The singer overhears another cry, "I have lost my bonny bride, My bonny blooming hielan' Jane." He describes her beauty. She was taken away soon after marriage. He hopes that death will soon take him as well

A couple argue. He is bound to fight for Charles. She is unhappy that he would leave her so freely. He assures he he will be true and finally convinces her that he should go. She sends him off to fight for Charles, "procure renown" and return to her.

he singer says "I'll follow up my Highland lad." "I've been in Inverness Commend me to the Highland lad He wears the Highland dress." She describes his uniform: scarlet coat, green philabeg [kilt], sky-blue ribbons

"Princely is my lover's weed, Fu' his veins o' princely blude." "Brows wad better fa' a crown" "a hand the sceptre bruiks," "a hand the broad sword draws." "He'll wake the snorers round the throne, Till frae his daddie's chair he blaw"

"I canna get my mare ta'en, Master had she never nane, Take a rip an' wile her hame, Nought like heffing by the wame"

Highland Maid, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2183}

"Again the laverock seeks the sky And warbles dimly seen... Nae mair can cheer this heart forlorn, Or charm the Highland Maid." "My true love fell by Charlie's side." Her home is lonesome, her sleep troubled; the girl hopes to join him in the grave

"Ye banks, and braes, and streams around The castle o' Montgomery, Green be your woods... For there I took the last fareweel O' my sweet Highland Mary." The singer recalls their love and their parting and laments her death

"Little wat ye wha's coming" (x4). "Duncan's coming, Donald's coming, Colin's coming, Ronald's coming, Dougal's coming, Lauchlan's coming." All the Jacobite supporters are listed. They will be victorious: "At ilka stroke they'll fell a Whig"

The Highlanders fight "where the Gaul and the Briton their legions unite To tread on the neck of the Czar." Their war cries "give wings to the slaves of the Czar." "And the tyrants shall tremble to hear That 'Cry' in the battle again"

Highlands! The Highlands, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #6004}

"Though bleak be your clime and though scanty your fare My heart's in the Highlands, oh! gin I waur there!" The singer thinks about his mother in her cottage "croonin', 'Haste ye back, Donald, to leave us na mair."

A highwayman stops a merchant's daughter. When she dismounts, her horse runs home with her money. He abuses her and strips her, then has her hold his horse as he bundles up his gains. She jumps on the horse and rides home, still naked but with his money

"Hikin' down the main line, Gasoline burner don't stop here, don't stop here."

"Tramp! Tramp! Tramp! Tramp!.... I'm happy when I'm hiking, Pack upon my back; I'm happy when I'm hiking, Off the beaten track, Out in the open country." The singer likes tramping with a friend, even 20, 30, 40, 50 mile a day, and is "happy to be alive"

Jamaican patois: chorus "hill an' gully ride-a, hill an' gully" (2x). Each verse line is followed by "hill an' gully." Roughly: bend down low/ hill and gully/ low down best you be down/ hill and gully/ better mind or you tumble down/ hill and gully.

Hill o' Callivar, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #5992}

The singer advises to "Ask her for to be your wife and tak' her at her will And tak' her for a ramble on the Callivar Hill." The site "wad mak' your heart contented." He's old now but he'd "drink the health o' Scotland yet and Forbes Arms Hotel."

Hills Above Drumquin: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #9320}

"Drumquin, you're not a city, but you're all the world to me." The singer has seen the Scottish Highlands and Lowlands but "always toiled content" because at the end of the day his heart goes back to Drumquin.

Hills and Glens, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #2726}

The singer was born "on North River's sloping bank" and lived 40 years among "the hills and glens around St Ann's. He taught, opened a store, and loses two sons and a cousin in the army "killed in France ... while fighting the Germans"

The singer recounts the pleasures of life in Ballyboley: The birds, the flowers, the friends. He says that no such flowers grow elsewhere. Even now, grown old, he remembers the beauties of the place

The singer and his lassie "softly slid the hours awa' Till dawnin'" If he were with her "amang the hills o' Gallowa'" he would blythely steer through life in spite of the world's gloom. "Oh bury me ... amang the hills o' Gallowa'"

Hills o' Trummach, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #6010}

"The hills o' Trummach pe ill to clim' Pe ill to clim' pe ill to clim', The hills o' Trummach pe ill to clim', Tre hoey an' tre hoey."

Moonshiners are told, "Gather up the pots... Run like the devil from the excise man." The excise men come to the still, but they come to drink "all night, Drinkin' up the tae till the broad daylight"

Hills of Cumberland: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #12458}

The singer meets "the Rose of Cumberland" who invites him to sit and talk; she babbles. He explains that he is from a nearby village "where there are maidens just as handsome" and advises her to let her beauty speak for her rather than her mouth.

"The world is not one garden spot Or pleasure ground for man; Few are the spots that intervene Such as the Hills of Dan." The singer recalls the weather and the friends now buried; though he departs, he hopes in the end to "rest Amid the Hills of Dan"

"Oh, Donegal, the pride of all, My heart still turns to thee...." The singer describes how he left Donegal, looking back the while, and sailed away via Lough Foyle. He wishes he could return to his old home

Hills of Glensuili, The: (5 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #5087}

An exile curses "those tyrannical laws that bind our native land" and thinks about the birds, fields, and dances of Glensuili. He has left his harp there to remind those left behind of him. He hopes "the time soon come around when I'll return"

"Far away on the hills of old New Hampshire Many years ago we parted Ruth and I." Now she sleeps in the village churchyard "on the hills of my old New Hampshire home." "Now my heart lies buried with her"

"The hills of Ohio, how sweetly they rise, In beauty of nature to blend with the skies, With fair azure outline and tall ancient trees... I love thee for these." The homes are beautiful. May God shield Ohio. "Take thou to thy bosom my ashes at last"

Hills of Tandragee (I), The: (1 ref. 1K Notes) {Roud #2884}

The singer says to those who see him leave Tandragee that he hopes the Orange flag will soon fly over its hills. He thinks about the birds and fields of Tandragee. He hopes for peace in Ulster and that "the time soon come around when I return"

"How we jolly boys did play In the month of merry May As gathered flowers flowing by the stream... When we played among the hills of Tennessee." Those days are long gone, but the singer still recalls his boyhood and how happy he was

The singer recalls watching the sun rise this morning in Tyrone. He is already far away, ready to sail away. He reports that his heart is breaking at leaving home, friends, girl. He says he will always regard it as the fairest place on earch

"The hills in their glorious height Surround us by day and night. Sing praise to the hills."

Hawaiian. "'Auhea wale 'oe e ka 'ala tuberose." "Heed, O fragrance of tuberose." The sweet smell sings to the heart. The singer tells of the beauties of Hilo. He greets the Pu'ulena wind. He says, "Wait until the princess comes."

Halyard shanty. "The blackbird sang unto the crow, Ch: Hi-lo boys Hi-lo! I'll soon be takin' you in tow, Ch: Oh! Hilo somebody below." Other verses have the birds talking to each other or to the crew.

Hind Etin [Child 41]: (14 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #33}

Lady Margaret is lured by a sound to Elmond's Wood, where (Akin/Etin) keeps her while she bears 7 sons. The eldest seeks to know why his mother is sad, then accomplishes (a reunion with her family, a pardon for his father, and) a churching for all.

Hind Horn [Child 17]: (43 refs. 16K Notes) {Roud #28}

Jean gives Hind Horn a ring that will tell him if her love remains true. When the ring fades, he sets out for court disguised as a beggar. He shows her the ring, and her love returns. "The bridegroom has wedded the bride but... Hind Horn took her to bed"

Hebrew round: "Hineh ma tovumah nayim Shevet achim gam yachad." "How goodly it is and how pleasant For brethren to dwell together."

The singer, forty-four, has spent her life "hinging on the nail." She thinks she's not too bad looking though "the shadow o' my former sel'." She doesn't care about looks or brains "if only he would act his part, and ease me aff the nail"

Hippety Hop to the Barber Shop: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #19279}

Jumprope rhyme. "Hippety hop to the (bakers/barber) shop To buy a stick of candy, One for you and one for me And one for sister Annie." Or perhaps "Hop, hop, to the baker shop, And see how long it takes you.... Your mother will be there."

Hiram Hubbert [Laws A20]: (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2208}

Hiram Hubbard is captured and brought to trial. Although he is not guilty of anything, he is tried and convicted on the evidence of his captors. He makes a will and is summarily shot. (He is reported to have been ninety miles from the crime scene.)

Hireman Chiel, The: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5624}

A baron's son disguised as a laborer wins the heart of a young lady. Her parents do not approve, but they escape together and at last the young man reveals his station.

At the Hamiltonsbawn hiring fair the singer hires for six winter months to Tom McCann. After one good meal, the food "no human eye could stand," the work is hard, the fleas unbearable at night. "My trousers got too wide ... my hair got like a wig"

On the way to Strabane, or Antrim, singer meets a maid on the way to the hiring fair. He offers his umbrella to keep her from the rain. They stop for drinks and miss the fair. They spend the night, marry next day, and have been happy since.

Hiring Fairs of Ulster, The: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6533}

In May there are hiring fairs for servants in Ulster. Plough boys, dairy maids, cowboys and shoe boys, labouring boys and kitchen maids are interviewed by farmers. "The servants' wages now should rise" to offset rising prices

"The time of the hiring is coming." Working conditions on Irish farms are hard and "not like the day of the good old time." Farmers are warned that Ireland's youth are going to England for better wages; "You must double their wages or give up your land"

The singer would visit a lass at night. She says her modesty won't permit that. He convinces her she has nothing to fear. She leaves the door open for him so he can come at any hour. They go to bed. "I stole her virgin bloom, And then I left her alone"

His Lordship discharges coachman John. John claims to be the finest coachman alive. To demonstrate, "I'll drive you all around Belfast town, And I won't go through a street." His Lordship agrees John can keep his job if he succeeds. John keeps his job.

"Oh, Lord, I just come from the fountain (x3) His name so sweet." "Poor sinner, do you love Jesus, Yes, yes, I do love my Jesus, Poor sinner, do... His name so sweet." "Class leader, do you love Jesus?" "'Sidin' elder, do you love Jesus?" "Brother, do..."

The singer tells of the "dismal fate" of the Island. He complains that the rich folk of Canada have "made us slaves and sold Prince Edward Isle." He tells of a time of troubles and of many leaving their homes. At last he too must depart

"Way out upon the Platte, near Pikes Peak, we were told, There by a little digging, we could get a pile of gold." It is a hard life. Many -- surveyors, doctors, preachers -- exploit the miners, who in the end must "root, hog, or die"

"Hit him. Hit him -- my man John -- hit him. A slap with a pan. Hit him -- blackbird. Hit him -- bluebird. All hands lay on't." Chant used to manage punishment on convict ships.

"If you've got an ear for music then just gather near, Tell me, can't you hear it buzzin' in your ear?... It's your ever-lovin' honey calling baby dear." "It's the cutest little thing, Got the cutest little swing, Hitchy-koo, hitchy-koo, hitchy-koo."

Hitler Has Only Got One Ball: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #10493}

To the tune of the Colonel Bogey march: "Hitler has only got one ball, Goering has two, but they are small. Himmler has something sim'lar, But poor Goebbels has no balls at all."

"This is the year of forty-one." Hitler "made a Poland that we could not understand"; we hope he comes to Newfoundland. "He thought he was going to rule us" "I suppose he will be over ... And he'll go back to Germany with his yellow planes in bits"

Jump-rope rhyme. "Hitler, Hitler looks like this, Mussolii bows like this, Sonya Henie skates like this, Betty Grable misses like this."

Jump-rope rhyme. "Hitler, Hitler, I've been thinking, What in the world have you been drinking. Smells like beer, tastes like wine, O, my gosh, it's turpentine. How many bottles did you drink? One, two, three...."

Overnight Old Nick grows a mustache on Hitler. Convinced that this miracle assures him "we'll conquer the world" he starts the war "like a wild maniac." He and his friends are doomed: "when we get through The pieces we leave will be too small to mend"

"Air-i-el, Shades of Hell, What a place to live in. Rain all round, Weather bound, Gone to ground and never be found For years and years, Confirms our fears That we're forgotten numbers. Here are we till eternity...."

"When the Exeter went on patrol, We all put our woolies on, But south of the border is more in our line, Or the land of the Rising Sun.... But a certain marine down the fore magazine Said, 'Buet mon droit, bless 'em all."

The "plot" of the song varies widely, according to its use by pioneers, sailors, or gold-diggers. The chorus is fixed: "(Then) Ho! (boys), Ho! To California go! There's plenty of gold in the world, we're told, on the banks of the Sacramento"

"Ho! for a rover's life, Battle and stormy strife! Fearless he braves Wild wind and waves." The pirate courts "the dark-eyed maid" with his guitar. He sets out to attack a ship; the enemy is a warship, and hi is killed crying "Stand to your guns!"

Welsh shanty often sung mixing English verses and the Welsh chorus. The translation of the Welsh version has a chorus something like "Jane, sweet Jane, full of charm, the birds are singing merrily."

On the night of October 27, a hurricane blows in. The next day, the singer sees the wrecks of the Minnie and Lilly & Jim. The singer's own Mayflower has been towed to St Pierre and looted; they pay the fee to the French, clear customs, and head home.

In praise of hobbies, "for each has a hobby from cobbler to king." Some have unfortunate hobbies (e.g. "The hobbies of scolds are their husbands to tease,") some have the hobbies of courting; "The Americans'... hobby is Madison, peace, and free trade."

"Hobbleton and Jinnikie Be kind to Peter Din." "Ye needna ca' me b.a. [Greig/Duncan8: black arse], Ye never saw my skin"

Hobie Noble [Child 189]: (7 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4014}

The singer tells how Hobie, an Englishman exiled to Scotland, was convinced by the traitor Sim of the Mains to raid England. Warned of Noble's coming, the land-sergeant (whose brother Noble had killed) takes him. Noble is hanged at Carlisle

"Riding on an eastbound freight train, speeding through the night, Hobo Bill, a railroad bum, was fighting for his life." Bill dies alone and is found with a smile on his face, but none mourn; "he was just a railroad bum who died out in the cold."

Hobo from the T & P Line, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #17631}

Singer, a hobo, gets a job in (Wellford). He courts the boss's daughter; the boss calls him "a bummer, all dressed up." Bidding farewell to the daughter, he sets off down the road with tears in his eyes, vowing to return

Singer comes upon a hobo's grave. The wolves howl over it; the box cars roll on, but the hobo, his father's only son, his mother's pride, lies at rest. There's no stone to mark the spot, no one to watch over it, "none to direct the money or the checque"

Hobo's Last Ride (I), The: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #9847}

A hobo lifts his dying partner Jack into a boxcar, then reminisces about their past. He is keeping his promise to take Jack back home to be buried. He sighs for the old days and "for his pal so cold/Who was taking his last long ride"

"Go to sleep you weary hobo, Let the town drift slowly by. Listen to the steel rails humming, That's the hobo's lullabye." The hobo is urged not to think about tomorrow, to ignore the police (who will not be found in heaven), and to remember mother's love

Hoboes Grand Convention, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5445}

"If you give me your attention, A few facts I will mention Concerning a convention That was held last fall." The hoboes gather in Montreal, and have a quiet convention, "For every bum was loaded To the neck with alcohol."

Hoboes of Maine, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #32546}

"All brother Hoboes, I pray come along, I hope you will listen and join in my song." There were many young men traveling the state. They live lousy lives. The Police oppress them. They have "great hope That in some future day they will have further scope"

"'Twas on a Saturday evening that the fire bells rang out, The North German Docks are burning! most every one did shout." It is "a picture no artist could paint" as three German ships burn at the docks. Listeners are urged to help the victims

"You've heard of big conventions... Now get this straight, there's none so great, As when we hobos met." They gather in Portland, Oregon from all over the country. The singer tells of some of the other hobos, then catches a train

Hugill lists this as a German version of "Long Time Ago." Translated text tells of a captain making a deal with the devil to get him to port on time. The Devil complies but then the Captain gets the best of him by splicing his tail to the anchor.

"Hog an tarry, baloo bonny, Hog an tarry, hishy ba; Hog an tarry, baloo bonny, Hog an tarry, hishy ba"

Playparty. "Hog drovers (x3) we air, A-courtin' your daughter so handsome and fair. Kin we get a largin' here?" The father turns them down. Others (gold miners, cowboys, etc.) ask for her hand. Most are rejected; one (a farmer?) may be acceptable

"Oh, concerning of some gentlemen who lived down below, They followed hog stealing wherever they did go." The set out to catch an old spotted sow -- then steal several sheep. The locals are upset by the crime

Hog-Eye Man (I), The: (12 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #331}

The Hog-Eye Man [read: "The Vagina-hungry Man"] meets Sally or Jenny or Molly who is lying in the grass or the sand and who does good service with him.

Hog-Thorny Bear, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4155}

"I call the attention of each merry blade, Be still as a mouse and let nothing be said." Two men meet with a "bear." Laking guns, they beset it with axes and chase it up a tree. They chop down the tree and the dog catches the "bear" -- really a porcupine

Singer is invited home by his "pretty young lass." She pushes him in the hog-tub and, had not a friend come by to save him, he would have drowned. He takes his love to a dance. He defends kissing: if bad it would not have approval of parsons and ladies.

A man is deceived that his wife is unfaithful. He sends a servant to kill her and bring back her heart but he brings a hog's heart instead. When the original deception is proven man and lady are reunited

"Come all you brisk young fellows that assemble here tonight, Assist my bold endeavors while these few lines I write...." The singer tells of the exploits of the logging gang Bill and Tom Hogan led to Hogan's Lake

"Hogs in the garden, catch 'em, Towser; Cows in the corn-field, run, boys, run! Cats in the cream-pot, run, girls, run; Fire on the mountain, run, boys, run!"

We kneel on the carpet, then stand to choose a lover. The baby sits on its mother's knee crying for "hokey-pokey": a penny a lump, "that's the stuff to make you jump" and fall.

"You put your right arm in, You put your right arm out, In, out, in, out, Shake it all about; You do the hokey pokey And you turn yourself around, And that's what it's all about"

Counting-out rhyme? "Hoky, poky, winky, wum, How so you like your taters done? Snip, snap, snorum, High populorum. Kate go scratch it. You are OUT."

Jamaican patois: The singer says that it's a long time since he has seen his girl and asks [chorus] that she let him hold her hand. "Peel-head John Crow" sits on a tree top peeling blossoms. Let's wheel and turn until we fall down.

Joe: hold my donkey; it wants water and candy; it's dandy. Singer works and people call him "copperhead"; resting on the beach people call him "sponger man." They say his donkey is bad; it's from Trinidad; he says it's good; it's brave like Robin Hood

"Hold my hand, Lord Jesus, hold my hand (x2), There's a race that must be run, And a vict'ry to be won. Every hour, give me power, to go through." The devotion of the singer to Jesus is emphasized

"We're going down to Dixie, to Dixie, to Dixie... To fight for the dear old flag.... Hold on, Abraham... Uncle Sam's boys are coming right along." The song catalogs soldiers and generals who are fighting to recover the South for the Union

Hold Out to the End: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #12016}

"All them Mount Zion member, they have many ups and downs, But cross come or no come, for to hold out to the end. Hold out to the end, hold out to the end, It is my 'termination for to hold out to the end."

Leader: "Hold the baby." "Rock the baby." "What's the matter?" "He needs some water." "He's got a fever." "He needs some medicine." "He needs the doctor." "Oh mamma's baby" Responders: "Hold 'im"

"Ho, my comrades, see the signal, Waving in the sky; Reinforcements now appearing, Victory is nigh. 'Hold the Fort, for I am coming,' Jesus signals still...." The "great Commander" will defeat Satan's "mighty host."

Rewrite of traditional hymn: "Hold the fort, for we are coming/Union men be strong/Side by side we battle onward/Victory will come"

"Hold the fort for Balfour's coming, See he comes and saves. Keep the Union Banner flying, Britannia rules the waves."

"Hold the wind (x3), Don't let it blow." "You may talk about me just as much as you please... I'm gonna talk about you on the bendin' of my knees." The singer assures us that (s)he, at least, has been redeemed, and plans to enjoy Heaven

Hold the Woodpile Down: (6 refs. 6K Notes) {Roud #4443}

Original and floating verses: "Saw my love the other night/Hold the woodpile down/Everything wrong and nothing was right...." Chorus: "But I was a-travelling, travelling/As long as the world goes round/For the backyard shine on the Georgia line/Hold...."

Hold to God's Unchanging Hand: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #16987}

Chorus: "Hold to God's unchanging hand (2x), Build your hopes on things eternal, Hold to God's unchanging hand." Verses: Nothing on earth is permanent. If friends desert you "seek to gain heavenly treasures. They will never pass away"

"What make ole Satan da follow me so? Satan hain't nothin' all all for to do with me. (Run Seeker.) Hold your light (Sister Mary), Hold your light (Seeker turn back), Hold your light on Canaan's shore."

"Faith in me cuttle and stick in me buttle," the singer goes off to Dublin to look for work. A robber stops him and sticks a gun in his mouth. The singer steps back and knocks down the robber with his "shallallah," and goes on his way

Japanese. "Hawaii, Hawaii, Kite mirya Jigoku." "Hawaii, Hawaii... When I came what I saw was hell. The boss was Satan." The singer says that a letter from home in Japan made the work slightly less hard

"My ambition's to go on the stage, From this you can see that I've got 'em... I'm the hole in the elephant's bottom." From this viewpoint, the singer looks out at the girls, and blows out beer fumes; he can fire through the hole at enemies if they come

Hole In The Wall, The: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4416}

"On a Saturday night the crowd were invited to be there on Sunday to open the ball ... I'll title the harbour 'The Hole In The Wall.'" The singer, a stranger on this shore, "saw at a glance that the girls they were plenty ... We danced the whole night."

German, "Horch was kommt von draussen 'rein, Holla hi, Holla ho, Wird wohl mein Feinsliebechen sein." The singer thinks he sees his girlfriend, but she passes by. He will love whom he pleases. When she marries someone else, he will mourn

"Alone in the greenwood I must roam, Hollin, green hollin, A shade of green leaves is my home, Birk and green hollin." "Where nought is seen but boundless green." "A weary head a pillow finds." "Enough for me... To live at large with liberty."

"Come buy my nice fresh ivy And my holly boughs so green, I have the fairest branches That ever yet were seen. Come buy from me good Christians And let me home I pray...." She, and God, will bless them if they buy her branches

Holly and the Ivy, The: (32 refs. 10K Notes) {Roud #514}

"The holly and the ivy, when they are both full grown, Of all the trees that are in the wood, The holly bears the crown." The holly's attributes are detailed; each ties to a reason Mary bore Jesus

Holly Bears a Berry, The: (11 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #514}

"The holly she bears a berry as white as the milk/And Mary bore Jesus who was wrapped up in silk"; similarly "... berry red as the blood/...to do sinners good", "green as the grass/...who died on the cross."

"In Altibrine there lives a maid, a maid of beauty rare, The violet or primrose with her never could compare." He praises her beauty, and offers to take her away. The girl (?) says that her dowry is too small. He says that the holly will never fade

The singer finds that his new wife is a scold and a nag. He recounts his misery day by day. After a few days he goes to the woods and cuts a (holly twig), (whipping her so hard her soul is sent to hell). (A devil/her father comes to take her back).

"It was early last April when the logging was done I went to Fort Francis to join in the fun. My intentions were good -- one drink and no more...." But he (and others) get drunk; he hits on a girl, is rejected, has a headache, vows not to get drunk again

Holy Church of Rome, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #26524}

"As I roved out one morning being in the month of May," the singer "spied my heart's delight, the pride of Dunern Town." He asks her to marry, but he is Protestant and she is Catholic. They argue; she will only marry if he joins "the Holy Church of Rome"

"It was in the Queensland drought"; there is no water or grass. Bullock drivers watch their animals die. Most curse, but Holy Dan refuses to blaspheme as animal after animal dies. Finally, with one bull left, he swears -- and is drowned by a burst of rain

Holy Is the Lamb of God: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #16939}

"O holy Lord, holy my Lord, holy Lord, Holy is the lamb of God. I was in the dark and I could not see... Till Jesus brought this light to me." "If you talk about shouting here below... Just wait till you get upon the other shore."

"Brothers, we have met together, And adore the Lord our God." The singer exhorts hearers to evangelize; "All is vain unless the spirit Of the Holy One comes down"; if it does, manna will be showered with it. Will the hearers ignore the needs of sinners?

"Holy Mary, Mother of God, Send us down a couple of bob!"

Children's fishing rhyme: "Holy Moses, what a job! Catching conners by the gob."

Willie's parents vow that he shall not marry Annie. Told of this, Annie vows to become a nun and never kiss a man again. After seven years, Willie can bear no more; he dresses as a woman and goes to see Annie in the nunnery. She will not break her vow

Mary sends Jesus out to play. He meets a group of noble children, who scorn him as poor. Jesus bitterly runs home to Mary. She urges him to curse/damn them. Jesus, as the worlds's savior, realizes he cannot do so

"Home again, home again, From a foreign shore, O it fills my heart with joy To be with friends once more." The sailor wept to leave home, but he rejoices to return. He sees friends and enjoys the music. He seeks no palace, just home

"Well, I've never been drunk but about one time, And it think it was on home brew; If you ever drink any brew yourself, You know just what it'll do.... Ick-poo, home brew, We know what we'll do." The singer proposes a little drink to test the brew

The singer "makes the whiskey That some people calls home brew." He is arrested and taken for trial to Newcastle. Condemned by a woman's testimony, he is sentenced to $200 or 6 months. He chooses bug-ridden prison because "they feed on bread and tea"

"Come Nanny, come Polly, come Danny, come Bobby, keep house like good bairns while I go to the fair." The children may be rewarded if they avoid trouble. They have an accident with granny's tea. Mother gives them gifts anyway

"An Irish boy he sat alone by Susquehanna shore" thinking sadly of "the home he left behind." He recalls summer, dances, and a girl in Ireland. He and his widowed mother were driven from home "when landlord, bailiffs and police broke in our cottage door"

Home in that Rock: (16 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #12209}

"I've got a home in(-a) that rock, don't you see, don't you see? Up between earth and sky, Thought I heard my savior cry, 'You've got a home....'" The fates of Dives and Lazarus are alluded to, or David, or Judas, or the happy fate of Noah

"Let home manufactures engage our attention, For foreign products must suffer declension" (sic.). The singer praises the mineral and natural wealth of Utah, and lists the many sorts of people among the Mormons, which will enable them to build an economy

Home on the Mountain Wave, A: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #9152}

Chorus: "Ha ha my boys, these are the joys of the noble and the brave, who love the life in the tempest's strife and a home on the mountain wave." Several verses basically describing the thrills of sailing, especially in stormy weather.

"Oh give me a home where the buffalo roam...." The singer praises the land of the west, "Where the sky is not cloudy all day." Details vary from version to version, and besides, you all know the song anyway....

Home Rule for Ireland: (6 refs. 6K Notes) {Roud #V4329}

Hearers are urged to join the Home Rule Movement. Mr Butt and other leaders are named. Gladstone thought that the church bill would suffice, "but Paddy wants to rule himself." America and France support Home Rule. Butt leads "his little band" of MPs

"Home to dinner ... There's the bell ... Bacon and potatoes . . . Ding dong dell"

Home, Green Erin, O: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #23057}

"Oh, come all you true born Irish men, I hope you will attend, I hope you'll pay attention to these few lines I've penned." The singer is forced to leave "green Erin, O." He must leave home, family, and the girl he loves for "Columbia."

"From towns great and small, and from country we come, From all sorts of 'places' we thus hasten home." The captain makes sure they stay there. They're abused and fed poorly while within the walls. In spite of all this, "there's no place like home"

Home, Sweet Home (Parody): (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4896 and 11351}

"When you're having heaps of fun and getting full of beer, There's no place like home. When your feet get tangled up and you walk on your ear, There's no place like home." It's a place to fall down drunk, to suffer when others visit, to regret your wife

Home! Sweet Home!: (40 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #13449}

"'Mid pleasures and palaces though we may roam, Be it ever so humble there's no place like home." The singer yearns to return to that "lowly thatched cottage" which brings peace of mind

Homespun Dress, The: (12 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4504}

"Yes, I am a southern girl, and glory in the same, And boast it with far greater pride than glit'ring wealth or fame...." The girl proudly boasts that, though her dress is homespun and her clothing poor, it is all southern and better than northern finery

Homestead Strike, The: (9 refs. 4K Notes) {Roud #7744}

"We are asking one another as we pass the time of day Why men must have recourse to arms to get their proper pay." The union workers go on strike; the company hires Pinkertons to break it. The result is bloodshed

"On a distant lonely prairie, In a little lonely shack, New life the homesteader faces; On the world he's turned his back." He lives fifteen miles from a neighbor, and a hundred miles from a town. But he has freedom and is building up Canada

Homeward Bound (I): (33 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1104 and 927}

Shanty. Characteristic line: "Goodbye, fare you well, goodbye, fare you well... Hurrah, my boys, we're homeward bound." While the rest of the shanty usually tells a story about sailors' return, the stanzas are often compiled from floating verses

"Loose every sail to the breeze, The course of my vessel improve... Ye sailors I'm bound to my love." The sailor rejoices to be going home to his faithful Emma. He toasts the ship and the wind which carries her home

"I saw an honest farmer, his back was bending low, Picking out his cotton... until the merchant come.... That he might pay them some." "Goodbye boll weevil, for you know you've ruint my home." Weary, and poor, his wife advises him to trust in the Savior

"I went to church like an honest girl should, And the boys come too, Like other boys would." I come home like an honest girl should, And the boys came too.... She ends up pregnant and has a baby, "And the boys denied it, just like boys would."

Honest Irish Lad, The: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4522}

"My name is Tim McNare, I'm from the County Clare In that lovely little isle across the sea." The singer loved Ireland, but his farm could not support his family. Now in America, he can find no work. He still hopes to bring his family to join him

"When first I went to mining, I was uncommon green," and has very little luck. So the singer learns of ways that an "honest miner" can succeed, e.g. by "finding" a pig in a bag. The thefts are blamed on "Joaquin"

An old ploughman complains that he, his wife, father and mother worked hard; now wives wear "dandy veils" and daughters and sons don't milk or plough. He can no longer work and gets no respect; if on relief he will go to the "Whig Bastile."

Honest Working Man, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4535}

"Way down in East Cape Breton, where they knit the sock and mitten, Cezzetcook is represented by the husky black and tan. May they never be rejected, and home rule be protected, and always be connected with the honest working man."

"If I could lay my head on your sweet breast, Honey baby, I could find rest, sweet rest, I could find sweet rest, Honey babe, I could find sweet rest." "If could could set down in your lap, Baby mind, I could have a nap, Good nap, sweet nap, Honey...."

Honey in the Rock: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #16119}

Chorus: "Honey in the rock, got to feed God children, Honey in the rock (2x), Honey in the rock, got to feed God children, Feed every child of God." Floating verses like "Satan mad and I so glad He missed the soul that he thought he had"

"Honey pots, honey pots, All in a row, Honey pots, honey pots, all in a row."

"By west of late as I did walk," the singer hears two newlyweds. She declares she will not work for him. He says that if she will not work, "I shall the(e) dryve." They fall to fighting. She lands more blows than he. He singer hopes for peace

"I hang out in bars and bother the dollies, I peak when I'm not spoken to." The singer describes his performance in bars, and tells how he gets thrown out of the place as "bad for business.'

Honour of Bristol, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #V29012}

"Attend you and give ear a while, and you shall understand Of a battle fought upon the seas by a ship of brave command." The "Angel Gabriel" fights three Spanish ships. They battle for seven hours, but the "Angel Gabriel" is victorious

"Gimme the hook and gimme the line; Gimme the girl you call Caroline." Possibly part of the same song: "Set my hook and give it a flip; Caught old (name) by the lip."

"Oh me Mary she's a sailor's lass. Ch: To me Hooker John, me Hoo-john! Oh we courted all day on the grass (Ch) "Full Ch: Way Suzanna Oh way, hay, high, high, ya! Johnny's on the foreyard, Yonder way up yonder!"

"Hooks and eyes, Joined together, You're a book, And I'm a feather."

Hooly and Fairly (I): (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5654}

"Doun in yon meadow a couple did tarry": the wife drank and the husband complained that she drank his liquor also. Not only did she sell all her clothes for drink, but all his as well. When drunk she insulted him and their children.

Hooly and Fairly (II): (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5654}

Singer wonders why he married; his wife drinks and calls him cheap. She dines out and dresses well while he must wear rags. She overdresses, fails to keep house, and sleeps too much. He wishes he were single, and that she would live "hooly and fairly"

"Hooray, hooray, my father's gonna be hung, Hooray, hooray, that dirty, drunken bum, For he was very mean to me When I was very young." Similarly Mother, "that dirty drunken sot," and uncle, "that nasty pervert," and brother will suffer

"Kukuku'u ningosa, Kukuku'u nngosa, ningosa. Kukuku'u ningosa." Ojibwe song about being afraid ("ningosa) of various owls.

"Hoot says the owl, and I wish 'twas night, Fly away to my heart's delight, Only pleasure I can see, Is to court all night and sleep next day." "You are my true love, you for me, Keep right up here by the side of me, Kiss her quick and let her go...."

"There's a place in France/Where the women wear no pants" and similar bawdy verses. Cho: "Do what your mama says and do what your papa says/But don't split your pants, doin' the hootchy-kootchy dance"

Hop Along Sister Mary (I): (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #17848}

"You'll have to be the lover of an undertaker's daughter If you want to get a coffin when you die. Hop along, sister (Mary/Molly), hop along. Hop along, hop along, Hop along, sister Mary, hop along"

Hop Along Sister Mary (II): (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #11365}

"There was a man named Rosenthal, Who bought a goat some time next fall. He did not buy it for his kid, But bought it for himself instead. Hop along, Sister Mary, hop along..." Bill Johnson's wife leaves him for inadequacy. Married life is long and hard

"Around a hop layout three dope fiends lay." One dreams of millions of herds, ships, coins, wives. One thinks he owns a gold mine. One thinks he is king of the "Isle of Poppies." They end up in prison, the army, or elsewhere

Hop High Ladies (Uncle Joe): (22 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6677}

Floating verses ("Did you ever go to meeting, Uncle Joe?" "Every time you turn around you jump Jim Crow"). Characterized by the refrain "Hop high ladies, (the cake's all dough/Three in a row), Don't mind the weather when the wind don't blow"

"I went to the hop-joint And thought I'd have some fun, In walked Bill Bailey With his forty-one! (Oh, baby darlin', why don't you come home?)" Bailey, or somebody, shoots the singer in the side: "Don't catch me playin' bull In the hop-joint any more!"

Hop-Pickers' Tragedy, The: (2 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #1729}

A group of hop-pickers on their way from work approaches (Larklake) Bridge in a horse-drawn vehicle. The horses shy; the vehicle plunges over the bridge into the River Medway with great loss of life

"Hop, skip, and jump, Hop, skip, and jump. If you cannot do this, You are punk."

Nonsense song. "Old mother Hubbard and her dog were Dutch/A bow-legged rooster and he hobbled on a crutch/Hen chawed tobacco and the duck drank wine/The goose played the fiddle on the pumpkin vine" and similar verses.

Hopping Down in Kent: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1715}

"Some say hopping's lousy. I don't believe it's true," but then the singer describes the hoppers' hard life, poor wages, and bad food. And when the money's spent "don't I wish I'd never went A-hopping down in Kent"

Steeleye Span and "his man" John Bowlin' live on Horkstow Grange. They have an argument on a market day and Bowlin' beats Steeleye, reversing their previous experiences.

"As I was a-walking one morning in spring," the singer meets a girl on a horse going to Horn Fair. He asks to ride her horse. She would not be fit to be seen when she arrives. He says he is going there anyway. They aren't the only couple at the fair

Horn of the Hiram Q, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #9155}

Singer describes a whaling trip -- he was the best man aboard, and the "worst of them was you." Cho: "With a yo ho and there she blows; Steer for her tail and you'll fetch her nose, with a la-de-da, and a how d'ye do, and hark for the horn of the Hiram Q"

The singer meets a maid riding to Horncastle Fair. She rejects his offer to ride with her: she'll have nothing to do with a rogue. He claims to be an honest man and would not harm her if she allows him to ride with her. They marry

Hornet and the Peacock, The: (2 refs. 4K Notes) {Roud #5339}

"King George says [to the Peacock] 'To America go / The Hornet, the Wasp is the British king's foe.'" However, the Hornet defeats the Peacock: "The Peacock now mortally under her wing / Did feel the full force of the Hornet's sharp sting/"

"Aurora's (morning's) blush the East adorns, now quit, my friends, the genial bed" to hunt a "beast" "with horns." "Tally-ho, my boys, the horns forever." Hear the bugle; see the hung; follow the "beast"

"Did the soldier dream of plenty on the Richmond prison floor? Did he dream that he was marching with his own brave army corps?" The singer describes the starvation and wretched conditions in southern prisons and hopes for release

"Did you ever see a horse fly, a horse fly, a horse fly, Did you ever see a horse fly, a horse fly, fly, fly." Similarly "Did you ever see a board walk?" "Did you ever see a show lace?" Similarly hair pin, tooth pick, eye drop, neck tie, sun set, etc.

Horse Named Bill, A: (6 refs. 5K Notes) {Roud #6674}

"I had a horse, his name was Bill And when he ran, he couldn't stand still. He ran away one day And also I ran with him." Nonsense verses about the singer, his girlfriend, her cat, birds, balloons, and all else that comes to mind

"It is of three north noble country dukes from the Newmarket came." They visit "Lord Framplin's halls" to see his horses. The "poorest duke" wagers 30,000 pounds. The riders taunt each other. Lord Framplin's horse wins the race

"A pilot of great reknown" attempts intercourse with a young woman, and fails in successive tries. The name derives from the refrain.

Brady, a horse teamster driving for Cooley, comes to the skidway and asks for a tow. The teamster protests that his horses are stiff and lame, but Brady insists. The horses balk despite all his whipping; eventually he's hauled out by another team

Horse Trader's Song, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5728}

"It's do you know those horse traders, It's do you know their plan? (x2) Their plan it is for to snide you And git whatever they can; I've been all around the world." About the tricks and travels of horse traders

A young fellow decides to try cowpunching. The foreman assures his that it is an easy job, but the young man soon finds reason to disagree. Hurt by a fall, he gives up the job or is fired

"Come brother gelding, lend an ear And listen to my story... And it's for me you'll feel sorry." The horse has had three masters, each worse than the last. He's had hard times and has "good reason to complain, sir"

"The horses run around, their feet are on the ground. Oh! Who will wind the clock while I'm away?" "While looking through the knot hole in Grampa's wooden leg, I slipped and sprained my eyebrow on the pavement." And other nonsense

"Ride a little horsey, downtown, Watch out, horsey, don't fall down." "Old horsey, keep your tail up (x2) ANd let the sun shine in."

"Horsey, horsey, on your way (or, "Don't you stop"), We’ve been together for many a day, So let your tail go swish as the wheels go ‘round — Giddy-up! We’re homeward bound." " I like to hear old Dobbin’s clip-clop I like to feel the wheels go ‘round"

Jarvis and James go to the pub and treat all the local low-lifes to drink, in the hope of buying their votes for Jarvis in the Parliamentary election. The rogues drink and smoke with the voters all night; the singer remonstrates with his fellow citizens

Horton's In, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4725 and 6563}

"The day retired serene and fair" as the Horton [which had slipped out of Canadian custody] returned home. The locals cheer that "The Horton's in!" The congratulate themselves on their cleverness in escaping

Jamaican patois: The singer says he built a home on sandy ground and the rain soaked it, the sun burnt it, the river flooded it and the breeze blew it down. Must be obeah at fault. But then he builds on rocky ground and it survives.

"Oh messmates the Maine is a wonderful sight When she steams out of Alex. with lamps on at night. We know where we're bound for and where we will go.... We chased the Eighth Army on Africa's shore," then head back to port and rest

"A hoss and a flea an' a little mice, Settin' in the corner shootin' dice; Hoss foot slipped and he sot on the flea, Flea sang out, 'That's a hoss on me.""

Hostler Joe and pretty Annie wed and have a child. After four years, though, a stranger lures Annie away from her home with promises of fame and fortune. Her beauty wins her fame, but both fade in time. Joe arrives as she is dying

Singer McGuire leaves the farm for the asphalt crew. A peeler insults the men, and the singer knocks him into the boiler. They pull him out but the tar won't come off; now he hangs in the National Museum, "an example of the dire effects of hot ash-pelt"

Jump-rope rhyme, "Hot boiled beans and melted butter; Ladies and gentlemen, come to supper"

"A little old woman her living she got By selling hot codlings hot, hot, hot." But she feels cold, so she seeks "a quartern of RI tol iddy iddy iddy...." She drinks a whole bottle, and boys steal her codlings while she is drunk. She warns of drunkenness

Stanzas about drink, courting, drink, slavery, drink (you get the idea). Recognized by the themes of the chorus: Corn, a demijohn, evening meetings: "Hot corn, cold corn, bring along a demijohn (x3), I'll meet you in the (morning/evening), Yes, sir."

"Hot cross buns! Hot cross buns! One a penny, two a penny, Hot cross buns! If your daughters do not like them, give them to your sons...." Else, "eat them yourselves"

"I'm a prize for a captain to fall on, My name it is seafaring Kate." "My bottom was strongly well planked, My deck could a tempest endure, But ne'er was a poor dog... So tossed as was the Monsieur." "Then Monsieur got off and was grieved...."

To a chorus beginning "Hot nuts. Hot nuts. Get 'em from the peanut man," we hear descriptions of various men's nuts, and various girls' reaction to same. All verses end with the exclamation "Nuts!"

"Oh stop the horses or I'm ruined, Knock 'em up against the fence, Shoot Mulvolio [a racehorse] at Strathmore, Or I'll ose my eighteen pence.... Holy Diamons, Grey Gown has it, Or Jesus, she'll have lost."

Hound Dog Song, The: (13 refs. 5K Notes) {Roud #6690}

"Ev'ry time I come to town, The boys keep kickin' my dog around, Makes no diff'rence if he is a hound, They gotta quit kickin' my dog around." The details of the tussle between dog and people is described, ending when the dog's owners counterattack

"Hound dog, bay at the moon, Lay back your long ears, sing a sad tune, Lift u p your long head... Hound dog, bay at the moon." The singer describes the hard times he is experiencing and wishes God would forgive and/or make it rain

Shanty. Sailor is gathering strawberries and feeding them to a girl. Her mother arrives; he says he's using the berries to fix her teeth. The mother wants her share too, but the sailor says they're only for girls of 15. The old ones are for the captain.

Jamaican patois: A poor girl says she has no man because "house an' lan' a buy fambly."

House of Mr Flinn, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #7142}

Flinn is tall and thin, his wife short and fat. She eats the beef leaving him the bone. She lashes him with tongue and fists. He tries to control her but she beats him down and takes to drinking gin. Don't let a woman have her way.

House of the Rising Sun, The: (24 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6393}

The singer laments, "There is a house in New Orleans / They call the Rising Sun / It's been the ruin of many a poor girl / And me, O God, I'm one." She tells of her troubled childhood, laments that she cannot escape her life, and warns others against it

House That Jack Built, The: (7 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #12921}

Jack built his house." "This is the malt that lay in the house that Jack built" "This is the sack that held the malt that lay in the house that Jack built" ....

Sometimes a jump-rope rhyme. "House to let, apply within, People turned out for drinking gin, Smoking pipes is a terrible sin, So (Annie/Jennie) go out and Mary (run/jump) in." Or "Rooms for rent, Inquire within, When I move out, Let (X) move in."

A mother sets out from home to get some mullen oil, but -- despite her child's encouragement to hurry -- stays to talk. Before she returns, her house catches fire and her children die in each other's arms. The mother is told they are at rest

Housewife's Lament, The: (8 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5472}

The housewife complains of her never-ending war against dirt: "Oh life is a toil and love is a trouble, Beauties will fade and riches will flee, Pleasures they dwindle and prices they double...." At last she dies "and was buried in dirt."

"Hi, ho, (Silver/Roy Rogers/Tony Curtis/Davy Crockett), How about a date? Meet you at the corner about half past eight. I can rumba, I can do the splits, I can wear my dress high above my hips"

How Are You, Conscript?: (3 refs. 5K Notes) {Roud #15674}

"How are you, conscript? Oh, how are you today? The provost marshal's got you In a very tight spot, they say, Unless you've got three hundred greenbacks To pony up and pay." (In the original, most of the song tells the conscript about drill)

"A famous rebel once was caught With saber bright i hand Upon a mule he never bought But pressed in Abra'm's land." John Hunt Morgan is put in prison, "but prison fare he did not like," so he escapes with much property to further plague the Union

Upon joining the service or meeting a member of the opposite sex, the soldier recalls "How ashamed I was." The singer describes military life, or seduction, or both, concluding, Oh, gor blimey, how ashamed I am/was."

Times are hard; goods used to be cheap, but they're now exorbitant. Schools are bad, but all children are sent nonetheless. Prohibition, although good, is inappropriately enforced. Preachers and doctors are corrupt.

How Can I Be Merry Now?: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #6801}

"As I went up thro' Union Street, I spied an apple as green as a look, The outside was fair, but the inside was rotten, And fin love's oot o' sight it'll soon be forgotten ... how can I be merry now? My poor heart's heavy since my love's gone"

"My life flows on in endless song Above earth's lamentation... It sounds an echo in my soul, How can I keep from singing." The singer notes all the troubles swirling around, but refuses to be influences by such things

"The maiden was wealthy, the lover was poor." She rejects him because "wealth came between them." He says the difference means nothing to him. She leaves. Two years later "she'd lost all her riches," and asks his forgiveness. He takes her back.

"How could I (live / walk / talk) If it wasn't for the Lord?" "Once I was alone In this world of sin Jesus lifted me up."

"How do you do, ev'rybody? How do you do? How do you do, ev'rybody? How are you? When the skies are kinda grey And you're feeling just that way, Ain't it great to hear folks say, 'How do you do?'" Various people or groups may be greeted

"How dry I am/How dry I am/Nobody knows/How dry I am"

A tradesman asks his wife how his wages are spent. She lists to the halfpenny: rent, meat, bread ... his fish, drinking, tobacco and shaving... and her drop of gin

"How goo goo goo, Bunty doodle ido, Don't you feel like Standing on your head? When you're single, You wish that you were married, And when you're married, You wish that you were dead."

"How happy is the man that is free from all care." He can drink, smoke, and sing with friends. "How happy this isle" which has plenty of meat and drink, "free from control," bold soldiers, valiant sailors. Let's drink and sing "till we hail the new day"

The miller is happy because his life depends only on his own mill wheel and "not on fortune's wheel." If his wife is a scold his mill "drowns all the discord" with its "clack, clack, clack" He prevails over wife and daughter by physical abuse and rape

The singer complains of having no horse to ride, nor saddle, nor spurs. His mother tells him not to be idle but to ride the old bull and use rags and nails. "So I took the old bull and he cocked up his tail, And away went I in a storm of hail."

"Who so full of fun and glee? Happy as a cat can be, Polished sides so nice and fat, How I love the old black cat! Yes I do." The boys try to sick dogs on the cat, but the girl (?) rescues it. She prefers it to other pets

"How I love them pretty yaller gals, One named Becky and the other named Sal. Soon there'll be a wedding in the cottage over yonder, And I'll be happy evermore. Soon there'll be great times dancing In the kitchen on the floor."

"How is your old one? Game ball. [i.e. doing well.] Out in the back yard, Playing ball."

The singer tells his mother he has been a bachelor for (48 years), and Meg will not have him no matter how often he asks. Mother tells him to go back and ask again. He declares that Meg must marry him. She refuses; he wails; mother says to stop crying

"Come and go with me (x3)." "How long the train been gone? (x3) Come and go with me." "Got my mother and gone (x3), Come and...." "It been very long gone." "Got my father and gone." "Dark cloud risin' in the east." "I'm gonna rise in that Judgment Day."

"How long, how long Has that evening train been gone, How long, Baby, how long, how long?... How long will it be Before you learn to quit mistreating me?" The singer complains about his lost woman and the travelling he has done.

"Thanks for the memory Of biplanes in the sky, Of pilots who could fly, Of four hour trips, attacking ships, returning with a sigh, How lovely it was." The singer recalls shore leave, equipment repair, WRENs, wartime heartbreak, and service life

How Many Biscuits Can You Eat?: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7876}

"How many biscuits can you eat, this mornin', this mornin'? (x2) Forty-nine, and a ham of meat, this mornin'." Discussion of food, work, etc., with many floating verses ("Ain't no use me workin' so hard," "If you get there before I do").

Jump-rope rhyme for telling fortunes: "How many children will you have? 1, 2, 3, 4...."

"How many horses has your father got in his stables? Three. What color are they? Red, white, and gray. Then turn about and tist about and catch them when you may." A rhyme for Blind Man's Buff or "Blinc buck-a-Davy."

Jump-rope rhyme. "How many messages can you carry? One, two, three...."

How Many Miles to Babylon?: (17 refs. 5K Notes) {Roud #8148}

Singing game: "How Many Miles to (Babylon)? (Three) score and ten. Can I get there by candlelight? Yes, and back again." The rest of the song may refer to the pleasures of "Babyland" (Henry text), or to courting, or traveling -- or something else

Jump-rope rhyme. "Apple, peach, pumpkin pie, How many years before I die? One, two, three...."

Tongue-twister. "How much would would a woodchuck chuck If a woodchuck could chuck wood?" Rest is not fixed, e.g. "He would chuck, he would, as much as he could," or "As much wood as a woodchuck would chuck...."

Jump-rope rhyme for telling fortunes: "How old will you be when you marry? 11, 12, 13, 14, 15...."

Paddy and Mick rob a church. They need rope to bind the loot. Paddy climbs the bell rope to the top, cuts the rope above himself and falls. Mick climbs up, cuts the rope beneath himself and can't get down. The boys are caught and thrown in jail

The singer protests that Irishmen are presented unfairly: Punch "depicts us... with crooked limbs and villainous face." On the stage we have "not a word of common sense." "Do me justice... I won't be laughed at anywhere but fairly represented"

"Behold in me a married man whose life is full of gloom, How sad, oh, how sad. My eyes have lost their brightness...." He has to take care of the baby in the middle of the night while his wife sleeps and snores; he does the housework as she talks suffrage

"How stands the glass around? For shame, ye take no care, my boys.... Let mirth and wine abound, The trumpets sound." As the soldiers set out, the singer asks, "Why, soldiers, why Should we be melancholy?" Live or die, they should drink and be happy

"When first I ken'd young Sandy's face, He sung and look'd with such a grace, He stole my heart but did not care"; he loves another girl. But that girl rejects him, so Sandy instead turns to Jenny, who declares, "How sweet's the love that meets return"

How Sweet the Rose Blaws: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #13166}

"How sweet the rose blaws, it fades and it fa's; Red is the rose and bonnie, O! It brings to my mind what my dear laddie was; So bloomed -- so cut off was my Johnnie, O!" Peace is come, but the singer's love is dead. She will meet him soon (in death)

"Fair, every heights are gleaming Beneath the sun God gave, Great waves of life are swaying Along the wheel-worn wave." A very detailed description of the race, listing many of the horses as well as the rider who was thrown and killed

"How they giggled, how they laughed, How the sailors of the Grand Fleet chaffed When they heard their Admiral declare 'You can land your bally German fleet right there.'"

"How to dodge the hard times is the hardest of tasks, For whatever becomes of us? Ev'ryone will ask." Raising food is not enough to survive or support the colony. Make cloth and clothes as well, work at trades, build a future

"Come all you lads that would like to hear How we got up to the woods last year." The singer and colleagues gather (to go logging). They hire a coach and feel grand. They perhaps get drunk. They arrive.

"For the sky it will be darkened, And the thunder will be rolling, And the lightning will be flashing In that day. O fathers, It's how will you stand, It's how will you stand in that day?" "For the earth will be shaken." "For the stars will be falling."

Jump-rope rhyme. "How would you like to be me? Up in an apple tree? A lump of jelly in my belly. How would you like to be me?"

"Reuben, Reuben, I've been thinking, said his wifey dear," that the boys would soon return to the farm. But, "How you gonna keep 'em down on the farm After they've seen Paree?" Or keep them at work when they've seen Broadway?

Howard Carey [Laws E23]: (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #9191}

The singer, Howard Carey, recalls his happy youth. But he left home and parents and, despite his mother's warnings, turns to a dissolute life. Blaming his fate on whiskey and bad women, he kills himself

The singer describes the horses he saw at Howden Fair: all colors, ages, and conditions. "They bring their worst, they bring their best... Let's have room to show them all."

"Howdy howdy brother (sister, father, preacher, mourner), Howdy howdy do M-m-m-m-m, And I do mighty well And I thank God too M-m-m-m-m"

"Howdy, Bill, git down a minute, Come right in from the sea." The singer will describe how he found his wife. They grew up together and fell in love, but he was afraid to say anything. Finally, sitting at far ends of a bench, they move closer (then marry)

"Comin' thro' the Howe o' Fife, I met a lass, she was sae blythe, She smiled on me sae couthily, My he'rt gaed pit-a-patter"

Howes o' Glenorchy, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #7273}

"In the howes o' Glenarchy there is a bit ground, The more that you toil it, more pleasure is found"

"Though lovely the land where in childhood I wandered," the singer looks back on a different, more gloomy world. He recalls happy days of the past; now, "O, changed are the Howes o' King-Edward to me!"

German shanty. Translation: "Oh the bosun's great big fid boys, Hu, hu, hu, hu, hu! Is as long as a tops'l yard boys. Hu... Ch: Yaw, yaw, yaw we'll sing boys, an' we'll heave away (x2)."

Shanty. Characteristic line: "To me, Hilo, me Ranzo boy!" Boys and girls went huckleberry hunting, with the boys naturally chasing the girls. In the end a boy proposes to a girl (perhaps after seeing her garter)

"My father and mother Are sick in bed, And I must learn how To make hucklejee bread. Then up with your feet... And that is the way to make hucklejee bread."

"Hudson River steamboat, sailing up and down, New York to Albany or any river town, Choo choo to go ahead, Choo choo to slack her...." Sketches of places one would pass and things one might see from the steamboat

"Huey began to holla, Huey began to squall. "It was too bad Huey had to go, For he'd taken from the rich And he'd given to the poor." The people gather around the hospital where Huey is dying. His wife bids farewell and wishes she could do his work

Hugh Hill, the Ramoan Smuggler: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #13372}

The singer, a member of Hill's smuggling crew, recalls how Dixon betrayed them. A cutter captures Hill's ship, but when the crew is brought to trial, no proof is available; Hill and crew go free and will smuggle more

"Come all you true-born Irishmen wherever you may be": Don't go to jail or you will rue the day you came to America. McKenna and Kerrigan have brought ruin on many, including Hugh McGeehan, who declares he never knew Kerrigan

Hugh Spencer is sent to the king of France to know whether there be peace or war; answer: War. The French queen challenges him to joust with her knight. French horses and spears are inferior but he wins, then fights others until the king sues for peace.

Hughie Grame [Child 191]: (22 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #84}

Hugh the Graeme is taken for horse thieving. Many pray for his life, but the Bishop (of Carlisle) is bitterly opposed and has his way. (Hugh is executed.) The reason is that the Bishop has seduced Hugh's wife, and the horse stealing was in retaliation

Hughie Wricht was Groosie Norie's son. His uncle, also Hughie Wricht, told the singer the story [apparently about Hughie's drinking, adventures, and, finally, taking the "teetotal pledge"].

"Ye true sons of freedom give ear to my song While the praise of brave Hull I attempt to prolong." The fight with the Guerrriere is described. The sailors are going home. They expect to sail again, and to be victorious, and cheer "our brave Captain"

Shanty. Characteristic line: "Hullabaloo belay, Hullabaloo bela belay." The singer's mother keeps a boarding house. With the boarders at sea, Shallo Brown courts the mother. She runs off with Shallo (but returns the next day). The father pines away

Guessing game. "Hully gull." "Handful." "How many?" (Second player makes a guess.) A player takes nuts from a collection, places them in his hand, shakes them; a second player must guess the number. Winner takes nuts from the other.

"Riding on a hump-back mule (x2) Walkin', pawin' every(), The only song that I can sing is 'Ride that hump-back mule." "Rode him down town, four o'clock, Tied him up to (), Riding on a hump-backed mule"

Humble Beggar, The: (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5511}

"In Scotland lived a humble beggar ... weel liket by ilka bodie." At his wake were "lads and lasses o' high degree." When they go to bury him he knocks on the coffin and jumps out. They all run, but he runs fastest "and he helpit to drink his ain dirgie"

"I saw a humble farmer, His back was bending low, A-pickin' out the cotton, Along the cotton row." The ragged farmer meets the merchant, who demand, "Pay me all you owe." The farmer cannot pay it all; he hopes for an extension until next fall

Maid going milking rejects advances of rich suitor "for Edmund he's the lad I love He won my heart,she said, And he has promised for to wed his humble village maid"

Chorus: "Live humble Humble your soul (little children, little soul, I say), The bell done ring." Verses tell how Jonah is tossed off the ship to Tarshish as he tries to escape the Lord's command to save Ninevah.

Humbug Steamship Companies: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #V32673}

"The greatest imposition that the public ever saw Are the California steamships that run to Panama"; the "Golden Gate" and "Yankee Blade" promise to take people to San Francisco in comfort, but the trips is terrible

An omnibus of disparate stanzas, bawdy and scatological, set to Dvorak's familiar piano composition. Examples: "Gentlemen should please refrain From flushing toilets while the train...."

"To Donnybrook steer, all you sons of Parnassus, Poor painters, poor ... To see what the fun is": pig hunts, fights, horse races, tradesmen of all kinds, tinkers, singers, dancing dogs, pickpockets, barbers, whisky. "There's naught more uproarious"

Dermot O'Nolan M'Figg, "that could properly handle a twig" goes to Donnybrook Fair intent on dancing. At each tent he "took a small drop." He sees his Kate dancing and clubs her partner, who, she explained, is her cousin. They are reconciled.

Humours of Glasgow Fair, The: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6260}

At dawn Willock wakes Tam to go to the fair with Jenny and Maggy. There was "funning and sporting," drinking, music and shows. They spend the night at Luckie Gunn's. "Ne'er saw ye sic din and guffawing -- Sic hooching and dancing was there"

"Oh General Humphrey Marshall Who weighs all of three hundred pound, To fetch here safe your message, On that purpose I am bound." "Humphrey Marshall he's our boss, Brave as hell and big as a hoss."

"Humping old bluey it is a stale game... You're battling with poverty, hunger, sharp thorn -- Things are just going middling with me." The shearer complains about the life after the shearing is over

"Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. Threescore men and threescore more Cannot place Humpty Dumpty as he was before." (Or, ... All the kings horses And all the king's men Couldn't put Humpty together again.)

"For a hundred and fifty-one days a lock-out! The kids and mum get a knock-out! The union funds' pay then run out!" "A thousand pay but the company locks out... they'll get the cops out." "They lock us out, then call it a strike."

Shanty or windlass song, "A hundred years is a very long time, Oh, aye, oh, A hundred years on the Eastern Shore, A hundred years ago." "Ol' Bully John from Baltimore, Oh, aye, oh, I knew him well, that son-of-a-whore, A hundred years ago."

"Hung my bucket on de white folks' fence, Hain't seen my bucket sense. Oh Lawd! Oh Lawd! Old Aunt Dinah, well she bounce around, Leave her wooden leg on de ground, Save her meat skin, lay dem away, To grease her wooden leg every day."

"Ah me last night got plenty fun, At beeg, beeg ball for vidow woman." Everyone gets drunk on moonshine and starts fighting. There is much fighting. The women get upset at the chaos

"On Chewsday [Tuesday] last week as I laid on the sofa, Me backbone was sore" when a Hungarian comes and asks the singer to "stand for me child" -- the first time an Irishman has done so. But he won't eat their food; he and his wife have to flee

Round. "Sweet the evening air of May Soft my cheek caressing, Sweet the unseen lilac spray With its scented blessing, White and ghostly in the gloom Shine the apple trees in bloom Apple trees in bloom Sweet the evening air of May Soft my cheek caressing"

Hungry Army (I), The: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #19105}

Having fought with his sweetheart, the Irishman enlists in the army. He quarrels with his NCOs, then is sent off to (China?) in a boat too small and ill-equipped for the soldiers. Sent into battle, he is injured and discharged

Hungry Army (II), The: (3 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #1746}

The singer enlists and is sent to Ballarat. The men are so thin a strong wind "blew the lot away"; the singer gets a medal for surviving. He eats cabbage broth. Utensils are only used to cut hair. Sent to drill still strong recruits, he is beaten.

Hungry Confederate Song, A: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #4498}

"The streets are all lonely and drear, love, And all because you are not here, love, if you were here, you would shed a sad tear And open your cupboard to me." The singer describes his woeful condition and wishes that he had stew or cornbread or something

Hungry Hash House: (20 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #11719 and 10173 and 7635}

"I'm a boarder and I dwell in that second-rate hotel. If I stay here long, I think I'll go insane...." "Well, she promised she would meet me when the clock struck seventeen...." "She's my darling, she's my daisy. She's hump-backed and she's crazy...."

"My song is of a nice young girl, She is my hunky punky... Her ears are long...`` and her feet are like an elbow." She is a circus member and cares for the animals, cleaning the hippopotamus and shaving the elephant's trunk and engaging in other nonsense

"Hunt the squirrel through the wood, I lost him, I found him; I have a little dog at home, He won't bite you, He won't bite you, And he *will* bite you."

"Let's go to the wood, said Robin-the-Bobbin, Let's go to the wood, said Richard to Robin. Let's go to... said John Tullane, Let's go to... said everyone." They hunt, kill, and eat the wren, and argue over disposing of the body

The hunters of Kentucky are praised and offered as a specimen based on their performance at the Battle of New Orleans

"The hunter winds his bugle horn. To horse, to horse, hello, hello, The fiery coursers snuff the morn, And thronging serfs the mark pursue." The dogs search the field. A white deer flees and is pursued

"Ain't no use in foolin' around, Too many cops in this old town." The singer advises going to the country for corn liquor and women, more common there than in town. "Just fill up your belly and roll in the leaves, Sing and whistle and do as you please."

"When I left old New York, to hunt after gold, Chunks bigger than my head I could pick up, I was told." The singer says he has been drunk since he arrived, and lists all the other drunks he has seen. He hasn't found any gold, though

"As I walked by a forest side," a forester tells the singer to bide. They wait for a hart. The singer looses his hounds and sounds his horn, declaring, "We shall have sport and game enough: With hey! go bet! Hey! go bet! how!"

"Come on, ye hunters, if ye want to hear, That famous story of hunting deer, A deer in the woods and not a deer in the bag." The hunter wasted his ammo and bagged nothing. He warns against not to "skin your deer before you kill it" and lists other hunters

"I am hunting for a city, to stay a while (x3), O, believer got a home at last."

"Hunt till you find him, Hallelujah, And a-hunting for the Lord. till you find him, And a-hunting for the Lord."

Percy, Earl of Northumberland, goes deer hunting into Earl Douglas' land of (Cheviot/Chevy Chase), in defiance of a warning from Douglas. In battle they earn each other's respect, but both die, along with many of their men.

The singer will tell of the priest "with constitution strong," who regularly goes out "to 'Tally ho, the hounds, sir.'" He will interrupt anything -- a sermon, a wedding -- when he hears the sound of the hunt.

"With knife and fork, with kettle and pan, With spoon and mug, and glasses.... For we are swoilers fearless, bold, As we copy from pan to pan, sir." The singer describes hunting seals, facing polar bears, and enticing girls with furs

The singer tells about hare-hunting dogs. When Timer hunts the hare, "she knows that her life's nearly run." When the formal hunt is over too soon, Gay-Lad "will go by himself on the mountain and will hunt by the light of the moon"

"It was early one bright winter's morning, Mister Streeter a-hunting would go." Hounds Dido, Ruler, Bonny Lass, and Julius run merrily to hunt the "puss" (hare). The course of the hunt is described; finally they catch the puss

Hunting the Hare (I): (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #1041}

The hunter and his hounds chase the hare into the hay, barley, wheat, rye, and oats where, finally, "the hounds tore out the poor puss's guts"

The singer narrates preparations for a fishing journey to Huntingdon Shore. Conditions aboard and the itinerary are described. They meet girls on Round Island, Labrador but the singer insists that the place can't compare with the Huntingdon Shore.

Huntsman's Horn, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #12920}

"The sturdy boys from Newton and the boys from College Land" hunt hare in Kilnacran. The hounds are named as well as the landmarks passed. At least two hare are killed. A health to Ned Crudden and Comely who "did bring the cup to old Loughgar"

"Hurly burly trumpet trace/tray, The cow shat in the market (place), Some go far and some go near, Where does this poor Frenchman steer?"

The Christmas story in Indian terms: "'Twas in the moon of wintertime when all the birds had fled That mighty Gitchi Manitou sent angel choirs instead. Before their light the stars grew dim, and wand'ring hunters heard the hymn...."

Hurrah for Baffin's Bay: (4 refs. 41K Notes) {Roud #9157}

Nonsense song. Ch: "Avast belay, Hurrah for Baffin's Bay! We couldn't find the pole, because the barber moved away. The boat was cold we thought we'd get the grip so the painter put three coats, upon the ship! Hip, hip! Hip, hip! Hurrah for Baffin's Bay!"

"Tra la la la, I'm father of a family, Three small girls and four small boys, Jack, John, Jim, Joe, Mary, Jane and Emily -- Hurrah for matrimonial joys."

German shanty. Sailors arrive in David street in Hamburg where they can buy girls for five pennies. Song enumerates various girls and their attributes. The sailors spend all the money and go back to sea.

Shanty. "We're bound away to Callyo, Hurrah sing fare ye well. Oh fare ye well, me Liverpool gal, Hurrah sing fare ye well." Verses have vague courting, whoring, and sailing themes.

"My seed is sown now, my field is plowed; My flesh is bone now, my back is bowed. So hurry, sundown, be on your way, And hurry me a sun-up from this beat-up sundown day." The singer hopes the next day will be better

"Come, my dear friends, and mourn with me In my afflicted state. I am bereaved, as you may see, Of my dear loving mate." He tells his grief, notes how the children miss their mother, and says it is God's will

Husband's Departure, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #7761}

The husband prepares to go to war against the south. His wife tries to dissuade him. He says she would not respect him if he were a coward. He finally convinced her and departs

A husbandman and a servingman meet and discuss their occupations. The servant describes all the rich people he associates with; the husbandman details the pleasure of a good season in the fields. The servingman wishes he had chosen the other occupation

"I sit up all night with the fire burning bright, While rocking my baby to sleep, Singing, 'Hush a-le la lee, hush a-lo lee, Your daddy will come by and by, So close your eyes and go to sleep, Your dear mother she is tired, Singing hush alee..."

Hush and Baloo, Babie: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #13514}

"Hush and baloo, babie, Hush and baloo; A' the lave's in their beds -- I'm hushin' you"

"Hush you, hush you, Little pet you, Hush you, hush you, Dinna fret you, The Black Douglas Shall not get you."

Hush-a-Ba Baby, Dinna Mak' a Din: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #13510}

"Hush-a-ba baby, dinna mak' a din": "ye'll get a fishie when the boats come in" or "ye'll get a piece when the baker comes in"

Hush-a-Ba Baby, Lie Doon: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #13515}

"Hush-a-ba baby, lie doon, Your mammy's awa to the toon And when she comes back ye'll get a wee drap -- Hush-a-ba baby lie doon"

"Sheep/kye's are gane to the silver wood," "the coos are gane to the broom." It's good to milk cows while the birds sing, bells ring, and deer gallop by. Goats/sheep are in the mountains and won't be back till noon

The singer is forty-five with a young wife who "loves to go out on a spree" leaving him to watch the baby. One night he goes out for a stroll while the baby is sleeping and "my dear wife I spied hugging a soldier sixteen"

The singer meets a woman with her three children on a sleeting night. She say her husband, a farmer, was killed in town by a gang. She spent all she had to bury him and was put on the road when she could not pay rent. She and the babies die of the cold.

"Hush, be still as any mouse, There's a baby in the house. Not a dolly, not a toy, Nothing but a baby boy."

"Hush little baby, don't say a word, Papa's gonna buy you a mockingbird. And if that mockingbird won't sing. Papa's gonna buy you...." And so forth, through many objects, ending "And if that () won't (), you'll still be the prettiest little baby in town."

"Hush, my (dear/babe), lie still and slumber; Holy angels guard thy bed." "Soft and easy is thy cradle, Coarse and hard thy Savior lay, When his birthplace was a stable And his softest bed was hay." The singer grows angry about the treatment of Jesus

Hush! Here Comes a Whizz-Bang: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #10527}

"Hush! here comes a whizz-bang (x2)! Now, you soldiers, get down those stairs, Down in your dugouts and say your prayers. Hush! here comes a whizz-bang, And it's making straight for you" and the listener will end up in No Man's Land if it hits

"Hushaby, my little crumb, The sheep are far from home. The cows are to the far, far field, And won't be home till noon."

Lullaby. The singer complains "tho' I'm nae your daddy, my wife she's your mammy, Oh wae's me she's gotten too much of her will"

The singer has travelled many places, but now is "anchored hard and fast in the hut that's upside down." He describes the wild behaviors there -- gambling, frantic shearing, and watching the cook beat a brownie or dance a highland fling

"Glory to thee, (Father, Logos, Charis, Spirit, etc)." "I would be saved and would save." "I would be loosed and would loose." "I am a way to thee, a wayfarer. Amen." The singer hymns to spirits in mostly heretical language

Hypocrite and the Concubine, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #12029}

"Hypocrite and the concubine, Living among the swine, They run to God with the lips and tongue, And leave all the heart behind. Aunty, did you hear when Jesus rose? (x3), He rose and 'scend on high."

"I ain't a-gonna work a no mo'! (x2), Done an' work-ed till my hands got sore. I ain't a-gonna work a no mo!"

The singer says that nobody visited him on his death bed but they are all with him going to the graveyard. He wants someone to lower his pillow, "for I ain't going to die no more."

I Ain't Got Weary Yet: (1 ref.) {Roud #11850 parody}

"Oh, I'se been wounded in this fight, Shot at sunrise, gassed at night, Outside o' that I feel all right, And I ain't got weary yet." Trench life is like "Using your head for a battering ram." With half the squad dead, "Being alive seems mighty damn odd."

I Am a Bonnie Wee Lassie: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #15114}

The singer says she's a nice plump girl who wants a man to cover her back who would kiss and caress her and call her his darling and let her sleep in his bosom

"I am a brisk and sprightly lad, But just come home from sea, sir... A sailor's life for me, sir." "Yeo, yeo, yeo, Whilst the bosun pipes all hands With a yeo, yeo, yeo!" The sailor loves foreign ports, and promises to fight for the nation when attacked

A sailor for fourteen years falls in love with Nancy, a young chambermaid. If he were ten years younger he "would make myself more bolder and speak my mind more free." Abandoning hope he says he'll sail away forever. But maybe "my mind may alter"

A coachman kisses, courts and lies with the women; "when I am tired I get up and ride." A blacksmith's delight "is in stopping of holes." A fisherman fished "for a boy but I did get a wench"

"I am a done-up (hic) man, You'll agree with me ev'ry one (hic), Tis true I've seen the bright side of (hic) life (hic), But now I'm a poor old bum (hic)." The drunkard believes that, when he dies, Heaven turn him out, and Satan will reject him too

I Am a Friar of Orders Grey: (10 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #13782}

"I am a friar of orders grey, And down the valley I take my way, I pull not blackberry.... Good store of venison fills my scrip. My long bead-roll I merrily chant, Wherever I go no money I want." The friar lives a better life than baron or knight

"I am a Girl Guide dressed in blue, These are the actions I can do. Stand at ease, bend my knees, Salute to the King, bow to the Queen, Never turn my back on the Union Jack, Under the archway, One, two, three..."

Dialog, between a "lock" and a "key": the follower is to repeat everything the leader says, but with "key" for "lock." "I am a gold lock." "I am a gold key." "I am a silver lock." "I am a silver key." "I am a monk lock." "I am a monkey."

"I am a great complainer, that bears the name of Christ... I feel my faith declining...." The singer calls on Christ to repair (his) wavering faith and help (him) in (his) stumbling in a fast-moving world: "I am so full of folly, and have no time to pray"

"I am a jolly huntman, My voice is shrill and clear, Well known to drive the stag." The singer rises to go hunting. The stag's weapons are no defense; the singer exults at his success, "o'erpaid for all our toil"

Jump-rope rhyme. "I am a little girl just so high. I can make doughnuts, I can make pie. I broke a platter right in two. Mama came to whip me, boo hoo hoo."

"I am a little orphan girl, My mother she is dead, My father is a drunkard, And won't give me no bread." She looks out to hear the organ and bless her mother's memory. "Her coffin shall be black, Six white angels at her back."

I Am a Newfoundlander: (1 ref. 4K Notes) {Roud #26538}

"I am a Newfoundlander, I go out to the ice. I'm always in the best of ships.... The man I wish to sail with is Captain Harry Dawe." The Adventure sets out in 1906 and takes 20,000 seal. The singer tells of the voyage, the crew, and an injured Irishman

"I am a pilgrim and a stranger Traveling through this wearisome land, I have a home in yonder city, And it's not made, not made by hand." The singer's family has gone before; the singer hopes to be made whole

I Am a Pretty Little Dutch Girl: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #12986}

"I am a pretty little Dutch girl, As pretty as can be, All the boys [on the team/block] Go crazy/are stuck over me." "My boy friend's name is _, He comes from _(rhymes") He is described comically, and a story may be told.

"I am a pretty wench, And I come a great way hence, And sweethearts I can get none: But every dirty sow Can get sweethearts enow, And I, pretty wench, can get never a one."

"A winter's day In a deep and dark December, I am alone, I am a rock I am an island." The singer has guarded himself against feelings and relationships, because "And a rock feels no pain And an island never cries"

"See the clouds rolling on the way, See the stars shining so gay... And you'll know exactly why I'm free. I am a rover rolling along... I am a rover till the day I day." The singer has few friends -- but has found a friend that is true

I Am a Roving Peddler: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #24297}

The roving pedlar drives from town to town selling vegetables to women. He is "afraid they'll beat me down" haggling over the price. He "never had a failure, I always sold my crop." He loses his license and must be driven: "now I ride in style."

I Am a Union Woman: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #16050}

The singer proclaims, "I am a union woman, Just as brave as I can be... And the bosses don't like me." She tells all to "join the C.I.O./N.M.U." She is called a Red and shot at for her activities; her husband denied work; but she still supports the union

I am a warrior I'm in da field I can sing and I can shout I can tell it all abroad That Jesus died for me When ah get over yonder in da happy Paradise When ah get over yonder in da field"

The singer complains "how false was that young man that I loved so dear." He swore to be true. Now that Spring has returned "I'll go down to the green woods where the small birds do sing ... Where no one shall see me till I cry my fill"

The Irish convict, trained as a sailor, flees the farm where he has been sent. He turns outlaw, but never robs the poor or kills without cause. Trapped by the police, he kills five and escapes. Only when he is dying does he let the police be tipped off

The singer says "in the choice o' a sweetheart I displeased a' my friens." All her sweethearts have left her "but the young blackamore"

The girl has been courted by a sailor, but now is deserted. She wishes she were a blackbird so she could follow her love. She tells of how her parents' dislike caused her to love him the more. He promised to buy her ribbons, but now has left her

I Am an Ancient Mariner: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #1835}

"I am an ancient mariner, I've sailed o'er many a sea, I'm skipper of a little smack, She's called the Nancy Lee." They set sail. The captain's wife is open to the fact that he might never return. There is a storm. A dog rebels. A mermaid grabs him.

"I am an old bachelor both ragged and lame, I just from County Cumberland came." He marries an old maid and at once faces trouble. She dresses well; he dresses poorly. He has to do the housework. He wishes he were dead

I Am Gaun to the Garret: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #818}

"My mither has three butter platies. Platies? Ay, platies... And she's nae ither dochters but me. But I maun gang tae the garret... Since there's nae bonnie laddie for me." After lamenting her fate, she at last reports that she is to marry a miller

I Am Going to Heaven: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #11873}

"I am going to Heaven (x3), (To see/I and) the bleeding lamb." "Come, my loving father, And don't you want to go? Come go with me to glory To see the bleeding lamb." Similarly with mother, brother(s), sister(s)

Chorus: "I am going to join in this army of my Lord, I am going to join in this army." Verses: "Takes a humble soul to join." "All Christians can join." "Preacher, help us to join."

"I am going where the blood flows stronger (x2), Way over in the promised land." "I wonder where is my dear old mother?" "Who will rise and go to my father?" "I know those angels are having a good time, Eating of honey and drinking of wine."

The old man laments, "I am growing old and gray ev'ry year," and laments his loss of sexual power, as well as the ability to hold liquor. The women "ask for much more" every year, but he can no longer supply it

"I am lame and cannot dance (x2), A water turtle bit me, bit me, bit me, A water turtle bit me and I can't dance!"

Singer promises to serve the Lord "till I die." "I was just like you." "I heard a voice ... saying Christ has work for you." The singer left "friends and kindred" to roam crying "sinner come back home" Christ will "appoint my soul a place" by his throne.

"O! When shall we poor souls be free? When shall these slavery chains be broken? I am sold and going to Georgia, Will go go along with me." The singer has lost his wife and child. He bids farewell, and says, "Go sound the jubilee."

I Am Standing in the Shoes of John: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #11837}

"I am standing in the shoes of John (x2), I am standing, I am standing, I am standing in the shoes of John." "If they fit me, I will wear them on...."

I am the Master (Dusty Bluebells): (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #13206}

Singing game: "In and out those dusty bluebells (x3), I am the master. Tip a little apple on my shoulder (x3), I am the master." "Tippety, tappety, on your shoulder (x3), I am the master" (Or, "A love my Master.")

I Am the True Vine: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #12222}

"I am the true vine (x3), My father is the husbandman." "I am in him and he's in me, My father is the husbandman, Every day he comforts me." "I know my Lord has set me free." "Look over yonder in the harvest field." "I know my Lord is kind and true."

I Am Waiting on the Levee: (1 ref. 1K Notes) {Roud #10019}

"I am waitin' on the levee, Waitin' for the steamboat to come down, I hope she's loaded pretty heavy, I hope she's loaded to the ground. I think I hear her whistle blowin'... It must be the Natchez or the Robert Lee."

"I and Satan had a race, hallelu, hallelu" (x2). "Win de race agin de course." "Satan tell me to my face." "He will break my kingdom down." "Jesus whisper in my heart." "Satan mount the iron gray." "Jesus mount the milk-white horse."

When the singer asks her to give him some, she tells him to wait until the 'taters are done. He can't wait, and forces himself on her, only to lament "the 'taters got burnt an' so did I."

"I asked that girl to marry me, She said, "O, no! I'd rather be free." "I asked that girl to be my wife, She cut at me with an old case knife." "I asked... bride, She sat right down and cried and cried." "Till I thought to my soul my heart would melt."

"I been a bad, bad girl, wouldn't treat nobody right (x2), They want to give me 35 years, some one wanted to take my life." She begs the judge not to execute her, and promises to reform. She is sorry and says she will listen to everyone

"I believe for every drop of rain that falls, a flower grows. I believe that somewhere in the darkest night, a candle glows." This and other things are why the singer believes

Sundry Bible stories told briefly and linked by the refrain, "I believe this dear old Bible from beginning to the end." Sample: "I believe that Father Adam was the first created man."

"I never saw the like since I been born, People keep coming and the train done gone." "I belong to that band, Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, I belong to that band, Hallelujah." "Some come crippled and some come lame." "Clouds look heavy...."

Funeral hymn/spiritual, recognized by the chorus line, "And I bid you goodnight, goodnight, goodnight." The hymn form describes a farewell and the afterlife. Other versions encourage repentance or sound almost like a lullaby

Travellers' cant. Singer meets two men in a North Scotland lodging house. They get drunk and start a fight; he hits one, then flees. He buys an accordion with the money he has begged and goes to Ireland. He meets two Tinkers who ask why he left Scotland

"I blamed my mither and never anither" (x3) "For garin' me marry the carlin' [old woman]"

Fragment: "I bless the Lord, I'm born to die; Keep me from sinkin' down; I'm gwine to jedgment bye an' bye, Keep me from sinkin' down."

I bought my wife a bowl of malt, "Hey, how, the girdin' o't," and asked her to make good ale of it.

Jump-rope rhyme. "I call in my very best friend, And she is (x). (Here she comes, Knocking at the door), (One, two, three, four... or (One o'clock, two o'clock....)"

"I called my dogs through the rye To get to see them run and try. Ho oggie, ho doggie, harpin, tarpin rusty gills... call all your dogs home." The singer calls the dogs through various types of ground to see how they will perform

I Can Drink an' No Be Drunk: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #13197}

"I can drink and no be drunk An I can fight and no be slain I can kiss a bony lass [Greig/Duncan8: anither man's wife], And ay be welcome back again [Greig/Duncan8: to my ain]"

"Sweetheart, farewell; at last we part. I leave you with an aching heart." The singer tells how (her?) lover scorned her. She says she loves him yet; "I can forgive but not forget." She thinks his false friends may prove untrue, and he will remember her.

"Red, and yellow, and pink and green Purple, and orange, and blue I can sing a rainbow, Sing a rainbow, Sing a rainbow, too." Hearers are told to "Listen with your eyes" and sing what they see

I Can Smoke a Pipe: (4 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #15093}

The singer loves the church, temple, bonnie lass, or can chew tobacco on a winter night, or is fit to serve the king. Then he can crack a biscuit, smoke a pipe and kiss a girl at night.

"I can tell you're a Mormon by the clothes you wear, I can tell you're a Mormon by the color of your hair. You left your own country to marry a squaw. You're a Mormon, you're a Mormon, go back to Utah."

I Can Whip the Scoundrel: (2 refs. 28K Notes) {Roud #5019}

"The Yankees came to Baldwin, They came up in the rear, They thought they'd find old Abner, But Abner wasn't there." The singer declares he can "whip the scoundrel That stole old Abner's shoes." He is a prisoner but hopes to fight again

"One day I got a present from my old and faithful dad" -- a gold piece which proves bad He tries to be rid of it, but he can't get (ex)change it. His wife turns out to have a wooden leg; he can't change her. She has four daughters; he can't change them

The singer describes the life of a rambler, commenting "I can't help but wonder where I'm bound." He sees worried people everywhere, he misses his former girlfriend and his buddy; he advises people who have homes to stay there

"I can't stand the fire (dear sister), I can't stand the fire (O Lord), I can't stand the fire, While the Jordan roll so swift."

"I can't say behind, my Lord, I can't say behind." "There's room enough (x3) in the heaven, My Lord,.. I can't stay behind." "I been all around." "I've searched every room." "The angels singing, all around the throne." "My father call...."

Chorus: "Can't stay away (3x), Lord, I can't stay in Egypt land." Verses include "Tomorrow morning, baptism day,""My gospel's going from shore to shore," and "I looked at my feet, my feet looked new ... I swear by God I was running too"

Lizzie will not leave her mother "For nane can lo'e her like mysel'." Her lover asks her to go with him and herd sheep together. They would take her mother and "We baith will tend her fading years Amang the heathery hills o' Dee"

I Cannot Be Your Sweetheart: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4964}

Singer asks his beloved to marry him. She refuses; she loves him, but is pledged to another. Ch.: "I cannot be your sweeheart, I cannot stay by your side, Another is patiently waiting, waiting to call me his bride, My heart it is almost broken,,,,"

"The marriage rite is over," and the children have seen their father take a new wife. Their mother's picture is replaced by the pretty new girl's. The child "could not call her mother." She calls herself an orphan; "God gave us but one mother."

"How can I stay here baby, when you treat me the way you do?" "... some other woman will care for me." "I don't want to marry, just want to be your man."

"I sail over the ocean blue, I catch-a da plenty of feesh; The rain come down like hell, And the wind blow through my wheesk. Oh, Marian, my good compan, O Viva le Garibaldi! Viva, viva, viva l'Italiane!"

Jump-rope rhyme. "I come from Chinka China, My home is 'cross the sea. I do my daily laundry For fifty cents a week. Oh, Mary, Mary, Mary, you ought to be ashamed, To marry, marry, marry, A boy without a name."

I Could'n Live Bedout de Flowers: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #11781}

About southern living habits. "I could'n live bedout de flowers Ur fdat sweet magnolia tree. I could'n sleep where de mockin' bird Could'n sing he song to me." The singer claims he would "pine an' die on Boston beans, 'Caze possum is what we eat."

I Couldn't Hear Nobody Pray: (13 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #11949}

"Couldn't hear nobody pray, I couldn't hear nobody pray, Well, way down yonder by myself I couldn't hear nobody pray." "In the valley... On my knees... Callin' Jesus... So lonesome... In the mornin'... In the evenin'...."

"The leading question of today is argued everywhere, About who'll be the lucky jay to fill the White House Chair." President Coolidge doesn't want to run for re-election: "I do not choose to run." Maybe not, but if he meets a hodag, then he'll surely run

"I do wonder is my mother on that train (x2). Train is a-comin' roun' de curve, an' she's strainin' ever' nerve, I do wonder...." Sinners are told of the arrival of the train in heaven and told they should behave better.

Two nearly-identical minstrel songs about imagined wealth

"I don't care if it rains or freezes, I am safe in the arms of Jesus, I am Jesus's little lamb, Yes, by Jesus Christ, I am."

"I don't feel weary and noways tired, O glory hallelujah. Just let me in the kingdom While the world is all on fire, O glory hallelujah." "Going to live with God forever." "And keep the ark a-moving."

"I don't have to worry about where I spend eternity." "Jesus died in blood you see I'm so glad he included me." Jesus "claims the ocean," "master of every sea," "captain of every ship."

"Lord, you know then, I don't know, you king, church, I don't know just how we made it over, Lord, thank you, Jesus, I don't know, you know it, Must have been the grace of God." The singer may be discouraged, but the Holy Spirit brings grace

The singer says even prayerful activities can't be done without the Lord's support. When the way is dim the Savior will make the path light. See notes for other examples.

"I don't know when old death's gwine ter call me, He's ridin' every day. He don' let nobody stay. My heart is full of sorrow, my eyes is full of tears, Old death is gwine ter call me 'fore many more years."

"I don't know why I look so shy Ev'ry time I look into my honey's eye. He's quite polite, and he treats me right.... I've been told that he thinks me cold." So she has to say, "I'll like a little loving now and then"! He asks her to marry; she agrees

"Little fish swim in the river, Big fish swim in the sea, But there ain't no use for the girls worrying me. Never was arrested, never paid a fine, Cause I don't let the girls worry my mind... I don't drink your wins, Cause I don't let the girls...."

I Don't Like a Nigger: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #11866}

"I don't like a nigger, I'll be dinged if I do. Feet's so big Till he can't wear a shoe. Head like a hay-stack, Mouth like a frog's; Eats more bread than Forty Bull-dogs. Got de glory and honor! Praise de Jesus, to my dyin' land!...."

I Don't Like No Railroad Man: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #11802 and 11865}

"I don't like no railroad man, Railroad man he'll kill you if he can, I don't like no railroad man." "I don't like no railroad boss, Railroad boss got a head like a hoss...." "I don't like no railroad fool, Railroad fool got a head like a mule...."

I Don't Love Nobody: (12 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7414}

"I love a nobody, nobody loves me, Ain't gonna get married, Live single and free, They're after my money, ain't after me, I love a nobody, nobody love me."

"I don't love old Satan, Old Satan don't love me, And under the circumstances, Me and old Satan don't agree." "I'se gwine to Mount de Zion, My beautiful home." "I stepped in de water, And the water was cold; Got a free body, And I want a free soul."

The singer says "no lass can compare" with his "for innocence and native grace" but he won't tell her name. "The Lord and Squire" hope to win her but she loves the singer, and he won't tell her name.

Various reminiscences about courting, all ending with something like, "Bedad, then, says I, I don't mind if I do." The singer comes courting, enters the house, takes a drink, kisses the girl, learns she has a dowry, and marries her

"I don't sing like I used to sing, Jesus done changed, changed, changed Dis heart o' mine (x4). Jesus done changed this heart of mine." Similarly, "I don't pray like I used to pray," and also shout, talk, walk, moan, etc.

I Don't Think Much of You: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1602}

An entertainer sings embarassing or suggestive remarks about people in the room, each ending "I don't think much of you." He criticizes appearance or assumes the target to be simple-minded. The final verse usually claims "it's all in jest"

"I don't want (nobody / that liar / that gambler / that peace broker) stumbling over me, stumbling over me, stumbling over me. I don't want (nobody / ...) stumbling over me, That is why I pray so hard"

"Oh, I don't want to be a gambler, An' I'll tell you the reason why, My Lord, sittin' in his Kingdom, Got his eyes on me, God got his eyes on me...." "Oh, I don't want to be a lawyer, An' I'll tell you the reason why" "Oh, I don't want to be a drunkard"

"I don't want to be a soldier, I don't want to go to war, I'd rather stay at home, Around the streets to roam." Rather than join the army, the singer prefers to hang around Picadilly, "living off the earnings of a highborn ly-dee."

I Don't Want to Play in Your Yard: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #16802}

Two girls were neighbors and close friends until "one day a quarrel came." The one tells the other "You can't play in our yard;" the other replies, "I don't want to play in your yard"; she will be sorry for all the fun she misses. Then they make up

Chorus: "Swing low, sweet chariot, Pray let me enter in, I don't want to stay here any longer." Verses: ""I had a little book and I read it through, I got my Jesus as well as you...."

Chorus: "I'm coming Lord"(3x), "And I don't want you to go on and leave me." The singer says he was lost in the wilderness, but the Lord called him, and Jesus saved his soul. He heard the mourner's cry and saved the soul sure to die

"I don't want your millions, mister; I don't want your diamond ring; All I want is the right to work, Mister; Give me back my job again." The worker describes his toils that made the owner rich. But he doesn't need riches -- just food for his children

"I don't work for a living, I get along all right without, I don't toil all day, I suppose it's because I'm not built that way." The singer describes all the things he can accomplish if someone else does the work, and describes his relaxed way of living

A riddle: "I drank a drink, 'twas since the streen, I drank it from an earthen wall, Where never earthen it did fall, And through the red gold it did run, And in a garden this was done"

I Drank My Tay at Scatlan Brae: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #13553}

"I drank my tay at Scatlan brae, I shoe't my horse at Biffey, I pu'd a wand in Benwal's yard, And ca'd him hyne [fee servant] to Bruxie"

I Dreamed As I Lay On My Bed: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #10888}

"I dreamed as I lay on my bed of sweet slumber" that many came to the gate of heaven and were denied entrance by Peter. But a "Dixie Pilgrim" named Rastus Snow shows up in tattered clothes and doesn't even need to argue for admission; he clearly belongs

I Dreamed I Met Mother and Daddy: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #V10143}

"It seemed I had traveled for ages Through the valleys of shadow and night" when the singer comes to a bright place labeled "God's City of Light." He dreams he meets his mother and father. He will work hard to earn the right to meet them there

"Last night while I was fast asleep, Such fun it was for me, I dreamed that I was grandpa, And grandpa he was me." He walks down the street "too fast for him." He puts grandpa to bed with a candle.

"It was a dream, dream I had last night, I dream I went to the U.N. and set the whole nation right." The dreamer resolves the missile crisis. The President asks for his help, but the dreamer prefers to add black singers to help him run the Senate.

Jump-rope rhyme: "I dreamed that my horse had wings And could fly, I jumped onto my horse And rode into the sky. The man in the moon was out that night, He laughed loud and long when I pranced into sight"

"I dropped the baby in the dirt, I asked the baby if it hurt, But all the little thing could say was, 'Waa, waa, waa.'"

"I eat my peas with honey, I've done it all my life. It makes my peas taste funny, But it keeps them on the knife."

"Oh, de hearse keep a-rollin' somebody to de graveyard (x3), O Lord, I feel like my time ain't long." "Oh, my mother outrun me, an' she gone on to glory." "Lord, I know I'll see that resurrection morning." Similar verses about death and going to heaven

"I feel so good I'm gonna boogie." "I feel all right." "Old folks boogie ... No one can boogie like me and you."

"Dutch dialect" song, describing how a German immigrant came to the United States and worked, apparently with little success, at various occupations. Now he has given it up; "Dey dress me up in soldier clothes To go und fight mit Sigel"

"I found a horseshoe, I found a horseshoe, I picked it up and nailed it to a door. And it was rusty and full of nail holes, Good luck 'twill bring you forevermore." "The man who owned the horse he lives in New York." "The horse... his name was Mike"

"I gave her cakes; I gave her ale, I gave her sack and sherry; I kist her once, I kist her twice, And we were wondrous merry." "I gave her beads and bracelets fine...." "Merry my heard, merry my cocks... Merry my hey down derry... we were wondrous merry."

I Gave McCann Me Can: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #25513 and 22993}

"I gave McCann me can To fetch a pint of stout." McCann returns saying the can is leaking. "McCann knew me can was new, I'd only had it a day or two, I'll put a hole in McCann For putting a hole in me can."

I Gave My Love a Cherry: (59 refs. 4K Notes) {Roud #330 and 36}

The singer gave his love "a cherry without a stone... a chicken without a bone," etc. He is asked how these things are possible. The reply: "A cherry when it's blooming, it has no stone," etc.

"I give thee all -- I can no more -- Though poor the off'ring be; My heart and lute are all the store That I can bring to thee." "Though love and song may fail, alas! To keep life's clouds away, At least will let them lighter pass."

Jump-rope rhyme. "I go to school, I sit upon a school, It is the rule, To learn my A, B, C...."

I Got a Bonnet Trimmed with Blue: (9 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #8212}

"I got a bonnet trimmed with blue Which I like to wear and so I do, Oh I do wear it when I can Oh when I go out with my man." The rest is all "chin music"

I Got a Gal in Baltimore: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7601}

"I got a gal in Baltimore, Street-car runs right by her door, Crazy baby a-settin' on the floor, Get your hair cut pompadour!" Play-party version, "She's the belle of Baltimore, She's got her name wrote on her door, And a 40 dollar carpet on the floor."

"I got a girl, she lives in town. She wrote me a letter, she's a comin' down." "Down the road and across the creek, I ain't had a letter since away last week." "I do red she ain't no fool, Tryin' to put a saddle on a hump-backed mule."

"Preacher, I got de key of de kingdom, De world can't do me no harm... Watch your secret keeper, Always bringin' you news, Tell a lie upon you And keep you all confuse'." The singer warns of false friends but doesn't think they matter

"I got a letter from Jesus, Ahah, ahah, I got a letter, I got a letter, I got a letter from Jesus, Mm--, mm--."

The singer gets into all sorts of scrapes, getting out in some manner while maintaining "I got mine." Example: The police raid a craps game in which the singer is involved. He grabs the pot and successfully makes off.

"'Well I got my questionnairy, and it leads me to the war (x2), Well, I'm leavin', pretty baby, Child, can't do anything at all." "Uncle Sam ain't no woman, but he sure can take your man (x2), Boys, they got them in the service...."

"Ham and eggs, pork and beans, I woulda et more, but the cook wasn't clean." "I got to roll, roll in a hurry, Make it on the side of the road." "If I'd-a known my Captain was blind... If I'd known my Captain was bad... If I'd known my Captain was mean..."

Jump-rope rhyme. "I had a (black) man, he was double-jointed, I kissed him, and made him/me disappointed. All right, (Hilda), I'll tell your mother, Kissing the black man round the corner, How many kisses did he give you? One, two, three...."

Jump-rope rhyme. "I had a bloke down Hopping, I had a bloke down Kent, I had a bloke down Pimlico, And this is what he sent: O Shillali-tee-i-o."

"I had a box of chocolates, I left them on the shelf. Would you believe? Would you believe? It walked away itself. It might have been a fairy, It might have been a queen, It might have been a little girl All dressed in green."

"I had a heart that doted once In passion's boundless pain, An' though the tyrant I abjured, I could not break his chain."

Jump-rope rhyme. "I had a little brother and his name was Johnny. He played in the meadow where the frogs croaked clear. He ran through the meadows with a song on his tongue, And he picked a few flowers for his mother. How many flowers did he gather?"

Jump-rope rhyme. "I had a little car [or, A little bubble car], (in 1958/1968)/(license/number 38/48), Went around the cornerrrrr And slammed on the brake/into the gate/etc.)

"I had a little dolly, And I loved her well. She had rosy cheeks, And I called her Rosy Bell." The singer teaches it to curtsey, go to bed, etc. But then the doll is lost, leaving the singer crying. At last she finds it, but "she was tattered and torn"

"I had a little horse whose name was Jack, Put him in the stable and he jumped through the crack."

I Had a Little Lairdie: (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #12962}

The singer had a little manikin/husband/lairdie. She dressed him, and sent him riding to town on her thumb (or he's no bigger than her thumb). She sent him to the garden for sage but found him kissing Madge in the kitchen.

Jump-rope rhyme. "I had a little monkey, I sent him to the country, I fed him on gingerbread. He jumped out the winder (window), and broke his little finger, And now my monkey's dead."

I Had a Little Nut Tree: (6 refs. 6K Notes) {Roud #3749}

"I had a little nutmeg, nothing would it bear But a silver nutmeg and a golden pear. The King of Spain's daughter came to visit me And all for the sake of my little nut tree." "Her dress was all of crimson.... She asked me for my nutmeg...."

"I had a little pony, His name was Dapple Grey, I lent him to a lady To ride a mile away. She whipped him, she slashed him, She rode him through the mire, I would not lend my pony now For all the lady's hire."

"I had a little pony, I rode him down town. And ev'ry time I turned him round, Turn him on an acre ground! Boots and show-line come down, Lady show-line come down; Boots and show-line come down, Lady show-line come down."

I Had a Little Pony (II): (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #16341}

"I had a little (pony/mule), His name was Jack; I rid his tail To save his back." "The lightning roll, the thunder flash, And split my coat-tail clear to smash."

Riddle-song, with a description of something (cat, dog, etc.) that actually describes something else. E.g., 'I had a little puppy, it had a stubby tail... you buy it at a butcher's shop" (describing a hot dog). Another version involves Pork Chops

The singer enjoys the company of various animals, e.g. "I had a little rooster by the barnyard gate, And that little rooster was my playmate, And that little rooster went Cock-a-doodle-doo...." And so forth, cumulatively, for various animals

"I had a little shoe and it was blue, It died last night at a quarter past two, I put it in a coffin, It fell through the bottom, My little shoe, dressed in blue"

Jump-rope rhyme. "I had a sausage, A dear little sausage, I put it in the oven for my tea-tea-tea. I went out to play, And I heard the sausage say, 'Come in, little lassie, for your tea-tea-tea."

Singer describes how he got rid of his wife by chopping off her head. Without evidence, the killing is ruled an "act of providence." Listeners are advised to follow the singer's example

I Had But Fifty Cents: (14 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2798}

The singer takes a girl to the ball. He thinks, since she is so delicate, that it is safe to take her to a restaurant, even though he has but fifty cents. But she orders a huge meal. The singer, unable to pay, is beaten up by the restaurant staff

"I had the scarlet fever, I had it very bad." The singer is taken to the hospital and wants to be taken home. Doctor Glannister slides down the bannister and rips his pants, or Doctor Brown asks silly questions all around.

"I hae ae bit son, my gallant young Donald, Although I had ten, they'd a' follow Glengarry." She toasts the men who follow Prince Charlie. (S)he will go to Lochiel and the other leaders, "For these are the men that would die for their Charlie."

The singer went to a wedding and danced with and kissed "a bonnie young lassie An' I hae ne'er been well sinsyne" If she would fancy him he would marry her.

A young man steps up to a girl and says, "If you'll love me, love me now." He says he has a home and lands and pays (two penny) rent. He can come courting only occasionally. He gives other monotonous details. The outcome of the courtship is not told

"I hate that train that they all call the M and O (x2), It took my baby away, and he ain't comin' back to me no more." Her man sticks his head out the window and says "I'm going away, baby." She wishes the train had not parted them

"I have a baby brother, He's only two months old, He's such a little darling, He's worth his weight in gold, He smiles all day at nothing, He's a dimple on his cheek, I'm sure he'd say he loved me If only he could speak."

"I have a dog, I call him Pen; He's just as smart as lots of men. He goes with me to feed the cow...." "He will bound around, bark and yelp." ""He makes the cats walk the chalk, And it does seem he tries to talk... He can already say 'bow-wow-wow.'"

"I have a father gone to glory, I am alone in this world. I have a father gone to glory, I am alone.... Take me home, bless the Savior, take me home." Repeat with mother, sister, etc. with a conclusion that there is room in heaven for all.

"I have a father in my native land, Oh, he's looking for me tonight, night, night, Oh, he's looking for me tonight." "He may look, he may look with his withering watery eyes, And it's oh, he may look to the bottom of the sea, sea, sea...."

"If I was a young man and had no home like you, I'd marry me a wife if she was the plague of my life, And have a little home to go to." "How can a young man stay at home when the girls all look so well?" The singer looks forward to settling down

I Have a Loving Sister: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #18157}

"I have a loving sister to be bap-per-tized (x3), Who loves a dying lamb." "Move along, move along, God give you wings to move along." Presumably repeated with brother, etc.

"I have a sister, the flower o' Manchester, I have a sister in the low counterie; I have gold and I have silver, Well rewarded will you be"

Jump-rope rhyme. "I have a toothache, A gumboil, a tummy-ache, A pain on my left side, a pimple on my bum/tongue." May have a continuation about the Queen of May.

I Have Another Building: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #11959}

"I know I have another building, I know it's not made with hands." "I haven't been to heaven, But I've been told, Not made with hands, That the streets are pearl and the gates are gold. 'Some of these mornings bright and fair, Going to meet my Jesus...."

"I have been a foster (forester), long and many a day," but now he is laying down his bow. He will leave it on the greenwood bough, for he cannot shoot as he once did. Venus has left him behind; he can only watch as others find pleasure

"I have been redeemed, I know I have been redeemed, O hallelujah, I know I have been redeemed, O sinner, you better obey." "This world is not my home.... Oh, sinner, you better obey." "O, heaven is my home...."

"I have long since been leaned Dat de trumpets will be sounding... in dat day. Oh, sinner, where will you stand in dat day?" "He can able de blind to see... Jesus is knocking at de door." The singer describes heaven and resurrection.

"Oh, see my father layin' there (x3), I cannot stay here by myself." "Lord, I cannot stay here by myself (x2), When de wind blows east and de wind blows west, Lord I cannot...." "Oh, see my mother layin' there...." "Oh, see my brother layin' there...."

"I have no pain, dear mother, now, But oh! I am so dry. Connect me to a brewery And leave me there to die."

Singer describes all the things he's done while working as a logger, including both work and recreation: logged, driven, danced, fought, sung and slept on the floor.

"Hurry on, my weary soul, and I heard from heaven today" (x2). "My sin is forgiven and my soul set free, And I heard from....." "A baby born in Bethlehem." :"The trumpet sound in the other bright land." "My name is called and I must go."

Jump-rope rhyme for revealing a birthday: "I hear the teacher tapping on the window, January, February... [birth month]. One, two, three.... [Birth day of month]. Monday, Tuesday... [Day of birth], One, two... [current age]."

"One morning soon (x3), I heard the angels singing. I believe, I believe, I do believe, I heard the angels singing. My soul King Jesus will revive." "Down on my knees (x3), I heard...." "I couldn't keep from crying" "One morning soon."

Chorus: "I heard the preaching of the elder, Preaching the Word (x2), I heard the preaching of the elder Preaching the Word of God" Verses are about the length of Noah's flood, Jonah's stay with "the whale," and the singer's time praying

"Well, I heard the reports of a pistol, whoa man, down the right-a-way.... Must a been my partner... tryin' a make a getaway. Whoe, they killed my partner...." A man serving a life term, he wishes he could escape, but warns others against trying

I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say: (6 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #22461}

"I heard the voice of Jesus say, 'Come unto me and rest' Lay down, thou weary one....'" The singer comes to Jesus weary and worn, and finds Jesus a resting place. Jesus freely gives living water and is the light of "this dark world."

Sundry verses about the pleasures of heaven ("Goin' to see my Jesus," "Meet our fathers there," "Lookin' over Jordan," etc.). Usual internal refrain is "Soon in the morning"; final chorus, "And I hope I'll join the band."

"I hopped up to the gangway and I hailed the picket boat" to head for Voller Street. He meets a girl -- but then her "fancy bloke" arrives. He is caught and put on trial; he is sent off to jail and suffers other penalties. He warns his hearers

I Just Arrived From Dublin: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #30130}

Pat Murphy arrived from Dublin and attended a wedding. Lots of fine clothes, fine food food, drink, dancing and fighting. "They had cakes and wine and Irish spuds and ginger duds, Ham and jam and ginger beer and tea"

"Lord, I just got over (x3). (I) Just got over in the heavenly land." Old Satan mad and I am glad, Just got over.... He missed the soul he thought he had." "Mind, my sister, how you cross, Your foot might slip and your soul be lost."

I Ken Something I'll No Tell: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #15526}

The singer has a secret. All the lads/lasses are hiding but one. If he: he will have so-and-so and they will be married. If she: she has a baby in a dish-cloth; her lover goes to her father and is beaten.

"I ken whaur I'm goin', But you're no comin' wi' me; I've a lad o' my ain, But ye daurnae tak' him frae me. He wears a tartan kilt, He wears it in the fashin; An' every time he turns aroon', You'l burst your sides wi' laughin'."

I Knew It Was the Blood: (2 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #10068}

Verse format is [phrase] (x3) "One day as I was lost / He died upon the cross / I know it was the blood for me") [Phrase] includes "They led him to the judgment hall" "They whipped him with a purple cord" "They speared him in the side"

I Know a Boarding-House: (10 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #7636}

"I know a boarding-house Not far away Where they have ham and eggs Three times a day." "Lord, how those boarders shout..." "Lord, how those boarders yell When they hear that dinner-bell!"

Jump-rope rhyme. "I know a doctor, he knows me, What do you think he brought for tea?"

"I know a little girl, And she isn't very nice, Haw, haw, haw, haw, haw."

Jump-rope rhyme. "I know a little lady, (but) her name is Miss/Sis. She went around the corner to buy some fish, She met a little fellow and she gave him a kiss. I know a little lady...."

Jump-rope rhyme. "I know a man, His name is Mister; He knows a lady nd her name is Miss!"

"I know a place where no one goes. There’s peace and quiet, beauty and repose. It’s hidden in a valley, beside a mountain stream,... Now I know that God made this place for me." It is a heaven to the singer, so "Now I know God made this world for me"

Jumprope rhyme. "I know/love a Scout, He/who took me out, He gve me chips, To grease my lips... He takes me to the P-I-C-T-U-R-E-S."

Jump-rope rhyme. "I know a washerwoman, she knows me, She invited me to tea, Guess what we had for supper -- Stinking fish and bread and butter."

"I know a woman And her name is Miss, And every Sunday morning She goes like this" or "...She does the splits"

Jump-rope rhyme derived from "The Cruel Mother" (!): "I know a woman. she live in the woods, [or, Three little children lived in the woods] Weela, weela, wila, I know a woman, she is no good, Down by the river Sida."

"I know it was the blood (x3), I know it was the blood for me. One day when I was lost, Jesus died upon the cross. I know it was the blood for me." "It was my savior's blood." "The blood came streaming down." "He suffered, bled, and died."

"I know moonlight, I know starlight, I lay this body down." "I walk in the moonlight, I walk in the starlight, I lay...." "I walk in the graveyard, I lay in my grave, I lay...." "I go to the judgment, In the evening of the day, When I lay this body down."

"I know my love by his way of walking," his speech, his clothes. She laments, "If my love leaves me, what will I do?" She knows he is courting strange girls in Maradyke. He rejects her because of her lack of money

Counting-out rhyme. "I know something I won't tell: Three little rabbits in a peanut shell. One can sing and one can dance, One can make a pair of pants. O, U, T spells OUT goes she."

(("Yes he will, yes he will") (4x), "I know the Lord will make a way, Yes he will," rhyming couplet, "I know the Lord will make a way, Yes he will"). A couplet example: "I may not have a friend But he will go with me right to the end"

Chorus: "I know the Lord (x3) has laid his hands on me (x2)." Verses: The singer has "been new born by the dying Lamb" and now walks "the narrow way." "I never felt such love before, Saying 'Go in peace and sin no more'"

"Old Satan told me to my face, O yes, Lord, The God I seek I never find, O yes Lord. True believer, I know when I gwine home, True believer, I know when I gwine home, True believe, I know when I gwine home, I been afraid to die."

"I know you rider, gonna miss me when I'm gone (x2), Gonna miss your li'l mama from rollin' in your arms." The singer sets out to find a man who will give her some "decent care." If she can't be her man's love, she won't be his dog. Many verses float

Alternate lines are a chorus, "Lay down a little while." The hymn leader sings "I know you tired." "Come from a distance." "Tedious was my journey." "Rocky was my road." "Ain't you got somebody gone." "Body, ain't you weary."

Perhaps a composite song: The singer complains of life in jail and of working in the coal mines. There follows a brief item about a raid or a race from "Manthus" to Cairo in which John C. Britton suffers a grave loss of men

I Learned about Horses from Her: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #39236}

"You can gen'rally tell when they kick you And you know by the scar when they bite." The singer was bitten by his horse Agnes when he clinched her too tight; a horse threw him when he spurred her. Etc. "I learned about horses from her."

The singer describes the horses (and others) he has met in his life. Every incident ends with the rueful comment, "I learned about horses from him." There is a "horse," Conscience, he hasn't ridden; he expects hereafter to learn about that horse from Him

I Left Inverquhomery: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #5917}

The singer "left Inverquhomery and gaed to New Deer To plunge in the bogs wi' a bull and a steer." The plough breaks in two and the oxen carry half away home.

I Like Mountain Music: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #25743}

A hula girl, or someone, travels to the Appalachians and finds (s)he likes what she hears: "I like mountain music, Good old mountain music, Played by a real hillbilly band."

"I like to be there when the engine starts early in the morning; I like to sit me down at breakfast time, Just when the engine's roaring.... Then hurrah for the life of the factory While we're waiting for the judgment day."

"I like to catch brass rings on the merry-go-round, The merry-go-round, that's me. Some like to play croquet, embroider or crochet, But I like participating my own way!": riding the merry-go-round. Really, riding the merry-go-round. Repeat the last line

"Come one and all, both great and small... And let us sing, 'Bless Billy the King, Who bated the tax upon beer." The singer praises his beer and is thankful for lower taxes. He praises those -- Queen Victoria, the Farmer's Board -- who help productiion

I Live Not Where I Love: (9 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #593}

The girl laments that "I live not where I love." In flowery phrases she describes her fidelity. She hopes that she and her lover may be reunited/never part.

In the chorus the singer loves lasses "short or tall," "dark or fair," "bless them all." One verse about grannie, "wrinkles on her brow But once she was a bonnie bonnie lass"

Verses are four lines: a non-rhyming couplet repeated. For example, "(I looked down the road and the road so lonesome, Lord I've got to walk down that lonesome road)(x2)." See notes for other examples.

"I lost my lad in the cairnie" or "an' I care-nae" "I'll get anither canary" or the lad is described with red cheeks: "I met him in the dance hall" or "in the shake-hand" The chorus line may be nonsense ("A ramshy-dasmshy-doo") or "Y-O-U"

The singer complains that he lost his snuff box and snuff while courting "a saucy quine." He can do without the girl [whore?] or snuff but wishes he had his snuff box again.

Jump-rope rhyme. "I love a girl, I hate a boy, I hate a girl, I love a boy, What's the (boy's) name I love/hate? A, B, C...."

Jump-rope rhyme. "I love Bill, I love Larry, I love Tom and Dick and Harry. I love boys, now, let me see, Which one will my boyfriend be? 1, 2, 3, 4...." (or A, B, C... ?).

Jump-rope rhyme. "I love Bobby, I love Bill, Who do I love better still? A, B, C...."

"I am in love and that is true I love but one and that is you"

"I love Him better every day." "Close by his side I will abide"

I Love Little Pussy: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #12824}

"I love little pussy, Her coat is so warm, And if I don't hurt her She'll do me no harm. So I'll not pull her tail, Nor drive her away, But pussy and I Very gently will play."

I Love Little Willie: (15 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3538}

"I love Little Willie, I do, mama, I love Little Willie, But don't you tell Pa! For he wouldn't like it, you know, mama." Similarly: "He wrote me a letter," "He gave me a ring," "And now we are married," "We fuss and we scratch."

"I love myself, I love me so, I took myself to the picture show, I put my arms around myself, And hugged myself to death, by heck."

The singer meets a pretty girl, asks who her father is, asks where she lives, asks if she would marry. She is not overly enthusiastic. He bids farewell and hopes she will be kinder when he returns. In the chorus, he admits "But I love her yet...."

I Love my Love (II): (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #3612}

"All my friends fell out with me/Because I kept my love's company." The singer must leave to go over the mountain because his fortune is low. "When I have gold she has her part/And when I have none she has my heart... And upon my honor I love her still."

I Love My Love with an A: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #20987}

"I love my love with an A, because he's A(greeable), I hate him because he's A---, He took me to the sign of the A---, And treated me with A---, His name is A---, and he lives in A---." Similarly through the rest of the letters of the alphabet.

I Love My Sailor Boy: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #9603}

The singer overhears a girl declare, "Let my friends say what they will, I love my sailor boy." She praises his appearance and virtues. Her mother calls her foolish and bids her wed a "steady farmer's son." The girl disdains such a lover

I Love My Sweetheart the Best: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #13150}

"The sun was sinking slowly, Sinking in the west; I love all those pretty boys, But I love my sweetheart the best." The girl regrets ignoring mother's advice; boys have led her astray. She points out that mother is wise and a friend; men are deceivers

"I love nae apples, I love nae plums, I love nae young men that carry guns; But I love the cherry drops from the tree, And I love my ain love where'er he be."

I Love Old Ireland Still: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #V4332}

The singer wants to see "old Ireland once more free." Ireland would prosper if allowed "the wealth that lies beneath her soil." "Let friends all turn against me, let foes say what they will, My heart is with my country, I love old Ireland still."

"I love sixpence," spend a penny, lend a penny, and take fourpence home to the wife. The singer repeats the process with fourpence and twopence. With nothing left he says "I have nothing, I spend nothing, I love nothing better than my wife"

I Love the Blue Mountains: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #9147}

Halyard shanty: "I love the blue mountains of Tennessee, that's the place for you and me." Singer is a former slave who was set free (in 1863), he's going back to Tennessee to get his wife and child (pickanniny) and then will quit sailing.

"I love the Lord, he heard my cries And pitied every groan, Long as I live, when troubles rise, I'll hasten to his throne." "I love the Lord, he bowed his ear, And chased my grief away..." "The Lord beheld me sore distressed, He bade my pains remove."

"I love to go a-wandering Down by the chapel door, An as I go I love to sing 'The Sash My Father Wore.'"

I Love to Tell the Story: (2 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #17488}

"I love to tell the story Of unseen things above, Of Jesus and his glory, Of Jesus and his love.... I love to tell the story, 'Twill be my theme in glory." The singer says repeatedly how it is "pleasant to repeat" the inspiration supplied by Jesus

I Love You And I Can't Help It: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #6691}

"I love you and I can't help it, fol dol day, fol dol day (x2)" "Oh my love you're too hard-hearted." "Oh my love I will call you honey." "If you do I will call you beeswax."

The singer says she loves Jamie better than he loves her. She was foolish to fall in love with an Irish boy who "spoke braw Scotch, when he courted me." He said only death would part them and showed her "the hoose that we will dwell"

"I love-ed a lass, She prove-ed unkind, I'll sing you as arkard as ever I can, and I'll sing you as arkard as ever I can." "Her beautiful looks so enravished my mind, I'll sing you as arkard...." The rest is mostly nonsense verses about animal behavior

"Our hands are clasped at last forever, Perhaps we'll never meet again, I loved you as I could no other, This parting fills my heart with pain." The singer rehearses all that she will suffer, demonstrating the theme "I loved you better than you knew."

"I made you look, I made you stare, I made the barber Cut your hair, He cut it long, He cut it short, He cut it with A knife and fork."

"I married a wife of late, To my unhappy fate, I took her for love, as fortune did prove, And not for the nearby estate." The singer opines, "all women are thus inclined... to a sad and dreary tongue" toward husbands. A quiet wife is better than a beauty

"I maun hae my goon made ... like ony ligger [camp-follower, per Greig/Duncan8], Side and wide about the tail An' jimp [close-fitting] for my body"

"I mean to go to heaven anyhow... Jesus died, oh, he died on the cross, To set every sinner free." "You told mother when she was living... You would treat her chilluns good... But... you've driven us from your door."

I Met a Handsome Lady: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #12644}

Singer meets a lady who invites him into her parlor and says nice things; he says she can send for the preacher, he'll be ready and have his shoes greased. The preacher says she is too young; all sit down to a supper of chicken and underdone turkey

"I met a possum in the road, 'Bre'r Possum, whar you gwine?' 'I bless my soul and thank my stars To sunt some muscadine.'" "I met a possum in the road, and 'shamed he looked to be. He stuck his tail between his legs And gave the road to me."

Mother and daughter are talking. The daughter says, "I must and will get married; I'm in the notion now" (or "...the fit comes on me now"). Mother asks who she will marry; she names the (miller Sam). If he won't agree, she'll find another

"As I was a-walking one morning by chance, I heard a maiden making her moan... Alas! I must live all alone, alone...." Asked why she is out, she says her home is a burden. At eleven, she had sweethearts; now she has none. She hopes her sailor returns

I Never Drink Behind the Bar: (4 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #38172}

"I once owned a fine saloon with mirrors on the wall... 'Good morning, Pete, they say to me... Oh, will you join?' "I must decline, For I'm behind the bar. I never drink behind the bar....'" Pete describes all the things he will do, but he won't drink

"I never go nothin' from nobody no time. I never gave nothin' to nobody no time. Until I get somethin' from somebody some time. I'll never give nothin' to nobody no time."

Chorus: "Look at death (x2), She's traveling through the land (x2), For I never saw a man speak like this man." Verses include "I heard such rambling in the sky ... I thought my Lord was passing by"

Jump-rope rhyme. "I never went to college, I never went to school, But when it comes to boogie, I'm an educated fool. Hands up, toy, toy."

I Never Will Marry [Laws K17]: (14 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #466}

The singer meets a fair woman by the seashore. She (is reading a letter which) reveals that her lover is dead. The singer asks her to marry him. She vows she never will marry, and ensures it by drowning herself

I Never Will Turn Back Any More: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #11739}

"When I was a boy I had a little mule That I always rode to Sunday School. Lord, I never will turn back any more." Humorous stanzas of religious life: The mule "got in an awful way"; the singer meets Satan in a meadow or runs into a hornet's nest

Singer, a California miner, often thinks of writing to his family, but seldom does; he's half a mind to tell them he's coming home. "For it keeps a man a-hunting round to keep up with the times And pen and ink is very scarce for people in the mines...."

"I once had a granny And songs she had many And there ne'er will be any Shall sing them so well." She sang as she baked "of lovers who parted ... Of soldiers and sailors Of tinkers and tailors ...." Before she died she bade the singer not to cry.

I Once Had a Sweetheart: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #11332}

"I once had a sweetheart but now I've none. He's gone to old Kentucky to never return." "I once was a snowbird but now I'm a lark"; she dreams of her sweetheart smiling at her, but it is not true. They will lock their love up and throw away the key.

Singer bids adieu to Molly whose parents slight him for his "want of gear" He dreams she comes to him and says "it will not be long love, till our wedding day" Floating lines. But she is not here. "I'll think of you Molly when I am alone"

Singer, unjustly jealous of his sweetheart, tells her "her love was untrue." He goes to her home to make up and propose, but finds she has died. He blames himself, and hopes for forgiveness and to see her again "in that bright happy land"

"'Twas once in the saddle I used to go dashing... But ain't it a pity, I came to Butte City To work for Jim Brennan and now to my grave." He lists those he has worked with, praises Ireland, and will see it in his dreams. He curses the mines

"I onct was young but now I'm old, Am blind, but yet I have a soul, That soul to save... Or else sink down to endless woe." "My threescore years is at an end." "I have three sons before me gone... By faith through prayer we'll win the day."

"My coat was getting shabby, my pants were just as bad," so the singer visits the tailor O'Grady -- and fails to pay: "I owe ten dollars to O'Grady, and you'd think he had a mortgage on my life." The singer beats O'Grady when the tailor arrives to collect

I Picked My Banjo Too: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #11904}

"Come all you sons of freedom, Come listen unto me...." "I used to be a rebel, I wandered from the Lord...." "The conflict between two parties, the gray coats and the blue, I volunteered for freedom, And picked my banjo too." But he then turns to Jesus

Chorus: "I promised the Lord that I would hold out (x3) If he meet me in Galilee." Verses: Singer would meet Jesus in the air and asks for new wings if the old pair fails. Singer finds a resting place in Jesus

"I ride an old paint, I lead an old Dan/dam... Ride around, little dogies, ride around 'em slow...." Verses on various topics: The cowboy's travels, the strayed children of Old Bill Jones, the cowboy's hopes for his funeral

"I rock from Selma, ting tang, I'm a Georgia ruler, ting tang, I'm a Mobile gentelman, Susie-annah, Loan me de goar to drink water!" "Den all back-shuffle and clap yo' hands." "Come shuffle up, ladies, ting tang, Oh Miss Williams, ting tang."

"I saw a sight all in a dream, There's things before I never saw;" the singer sees people following the Redeemer's path. A mother prays that her children be taken care of. Her life is a warning; "she is paid the debt we all must pay"

"'Twas just about a year ago... I found a lass, but now, alas! I find that I have lost her." The singer repeatedly encounters her with her country cousin Esau. Chorus: "I saw Esau, he saw me, And she saw I saw Esau."

"I saw from the beach, when the morning was shining, A bark o'er the waters came gloriously on." In the evening, "The bark was still there, but the waters were gone." So it is with life: spring passes and we are left "on the bleak shore alone."

I Saw the Beam in My Sister's Eye: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #11842}

"I saw the beam in my sister's eye, Can't see the beam in mine. You'd better lef' your sister door; Go keep your own door clean." "And I had a mighty battle like Jacob of old." "I didn't intend to lef' 'em go Till Jesus bless my soul."

"I wandered so aimless, my life filled with sin That I would not let my dear Savior in." The singer had wandered "aimless" and "Like a blind man" until Jesus came to him. Then, "I saw the light, no more darkness, no more night."

"Enoch lived to be Three hundred and sixty-five And the Lord came down And took him up to heaven alive. I saw, I saw, I saw the light from heaven come shining all around." Other assorted Bible stories, such as the dry bones in the valley

"I am a little orphan, My mother she is dead, My father is a drunkard and won't give me no bread." "I saw the pale moon shining on mother's white tombstone, The roses round it twining it's just like me." The child, with "no mother now," tells of her grief

(While sitting on a sunny bank,) the singer sees three ships arrive on Christmas. In the ship are (pretty girls) or Mary, (Joseph), and/or (Jesus). (They/all) (sing/whistle/rejoice) as they sail on to Bethlehem

I Scream You Scream: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #19370}

"I scream, you scream, We all scream for ice cream." Sometimes a jump-rope rhyme; sometimes a tongue-twister -- but probably most often a sales pitch

I See Paris, I See France: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #38148}

"I see Paris (London, New York), I see France, I see someone's underpants." Or, "I see a hole In someone's/the Lord Mayor's pants"

"I see the moon, the moon sees me, God bless the (moon/sailors) and God bless me." May continue, "Grace in the garden, grace in the hall, And the grace of God be on us all," which is also used as a table grace

"I see, said the blind man. You're a fool, said the dummy. I'll kick you, said the man with no legs."

I Shall Not Be Moved: (23 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #9134}

"I shall not, I shall not be moved/Just like a tree that's planted by the water/I shall not be moved". Other verses substitute "I'm sanctified and holy, I shall not be moved..." "I'm on my way to heaven..." etc..

The boys on the football team love a girl. They ask how her father/boyfriend is. He died last night from eating raw fish. A player demonstrates how he died [Opie/Opie-TheSingingGame:"one girl falls into the other girl's arms"]

"On top of (something), All covered with (something), I shot my poor teacher With a (big) rubber band. I shot her with glory, I shot her with pride. I hardly could miss her; she's forty feet wide." The student describes harassing, killing, burying teacher

Jump-rope rhyme. "I should worry, I should care, I should marry a millionaire.He should die, I should cry, Then I'd marry a richer guy."

"I sing of a maiden that is matchless/mateless, King of all kings To her son she chose." Jesus arrives as still as dew in April to his mother's bower. "Mother and mayden Was never none but she. Well may such a lady God's mother be."

The singer courts his landlord's daughter: "being a stranger I fell in danger." "I sowed some seed, all in some grove ... [where] grows no green." The landlord's daughter must "reap the seed that I have sown." She has a son.

"I struck for better wages and they said I was a fool, And the crafty 'hagitator' merely used me as a tool." His children starve; they say it serves him right, because it hurts the economy -- except at election time, when the politicians pander

"I tend the leers for seven years, And now I am the boss, I am the boss, I am the boss, I am the boss, you see." A song to tease a worker promoted to foreman. (Leers were annealing chambers in glassworks.)

"I think I'll get wed When the roses is red, And the weather is lovely and dry. Hand in hand we will stand, At the altar we'll stand, At the altar united to be."

The singer complains that some girls have one or even two lads, but none will have him. He says he would make a good and loving match but even black Maggie "bade me be gone, for an aul' stoopid soo"

Chorus: "It fit him very well (x2), He put on a starry crown, And it fit him very well." Verses: "I thought I saw my brother When he entered the bright kingdom." "Swing me chariot swing me All my trials with me."

The singer recalls a voyage "with the skipper Of a god-damned Yankee clipper" in which "I thought to the bottom we would go." Leaving port with a large cargo of supplies and a few passengers (half of them whores), the crew narrowly averts disaster

"I'm living in the city, but I like the country life." The singer recalls his happy past: "I'd tickle Nancy, and Nancy'd tickle me, Before we get married, some pleasure we'd see."

I Told Them That I Saw You: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #9599}

The singer and girl of "Just Tell Them That You Saw Me" meet again. He tells her that her family "wants her to come home. Their hearts are breaking for you while far away to roam." She breaks down as she thinks of her aged mother and her childhood

Jump-rope rhyme. "I took a trip around the world, And this is where I went: From (America) to (New Orleans); (New Orleans) to (Chicago), (Chicago) to...."

Floating verses; "I wish to the lord I'd never been born," "Who's going to shoe your foot," "I'll never listen to what no other woman says...." Chorus: "I truly understand that you love another man/And your heart shall no longer be mine."

"I tuck me some corn to the county seat, Three bushel of corn, three bushel of wheat. The miller tuck fur his millin'-turn, Three bushel of corn, three bushel of wheat."

Jump-rope rhyme. "I ula-used to li-li-live in Yalla-larkie, Shalla-larkie, Yalla-lankie, Shalla-lankie, low. I ula-used to live... Shalla-lankie, go."

"I used to have a father who sat and talked to me, But now I have no father -- what pleasure do I see? I looked out of the window to hear the organ play And there I saw my father as in his grave he lay."

I Used to Work in Chicago: (8 refs. 4K Notes) {Roud #4837}

The singer works in a succession of stores, asking female customers their desires, mistakenly fulfilling them and getting fired.

I Walk the Road Again: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #4602}

The singer is "a poor unlucky chap" and "very fond of rum." He has rambled far and wide, taking odd jobs here and there. Whenever things go bad, "I got up and hoisted my turkey and I walked the road again." (Now he hopes to find a job and settle down.)

I Wandered by the Brookside: (10 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2418}

Walking by the mill at night the only sound the singer hears is her heart beating. She waits to hear one footstep or word. Finally "a touch came from behind ... the beating of our own two hearts Was all the sound I heard"

The singer tells us of his preferred profession, noting that "carnal copulation is here to stay."

"When I was a boy my mother often said to me, Get married boy and see, how happy you will be, I have looked all over, but no girlie can I find" who is what he wants, because "I want a girl, just like the girl that married dear old Dad."

I Want a Nice Little Fellow: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #13154}

The singer hopes for a rich, pleasant husband so she won't spend her whole life working. Johnny promises her wealth, but mother notes that her husband made the same promise and broke it. The girl promises to return if Johnny breaks his promise

Call and response. Call is the singer saying he wants a pretty woman who can sell what he has grown. Response is a list of goods to be sold such as cane and corn.

"I want a sled load of some poles To build my chimney higher, For when the fearful rains come on It drowns out all my fire." Similarly, the singer wants poles to fence his garden to keep his neighbor's hogs out

Skipping rhyme/game. "I want a teddy bear, With blue eyes and curly hair, Up among the Eskimos, Having a game of dominoes."

"I want Jesus to walk with me (x2), All along my pilgrim journey, I want Jesus to walk with my." "In my trials, Lord, walk with me (x2), When the shades of life are falling, Lord, I want Jesus to walk with me." "In my sorrows, Lord..." "In my troubles,"

"I want more religion, Lord, I want more religion, Lord, I want more religion To help me unto God. Religion makes me happy And then I want to go To leave this world of sorrow and trouble here below. Fathers, aren't you happy, And don't you want to go...."

"I want to be a cowboy and with the cowboys stand, Big spurs on my bootheels and a lasso in my hand." The singer desires life on the range, hopes to get drunk in Cheyenne, and expects to "rope the slant old heathen and yank them straight to hell."

I Want to Be a Mormon: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #10898}

"I want to be a Mormon And live the Mormon shine (sic.) In the shade of a big cactus And drink sweet Dixie wine. The Mormons they are happy And contented all their lives, with a little patch of carrots And their houses full of wives."

I Want to Be an Angel: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #18156}

"I want to be an angel And with the angels stand, A crown upon my forehead, A harp in my hand. Outshine the sun (x3), And that's Beulah land."

Verse pattern is: (floating line), "I want to die a-shouting, I want to feel my Savior near, When soul and body's parting," (floating line) "I want to die a-shouting," (floating line) "I want to die a-shouting"

Chorus: "I want to die easy when I die, When I die When I die (x2), I want to die easy when I die Shout salvation as I fly, I want to die easy when I die, When I die" Verses, in the same pattern: "I want to see my mother (Jesus) when I die..."

The leader starts "I want to die like weepin' Mary," and the response to that and all other lines is "'side my Jesus." The leader continues "side by side," "any way," "sit 'side"

I Want to Die Like-a Lazarus Die: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #12055}

"I want to die like-a Lazarus die, Die like-a Lazarus die, I want to die like-a Lazarus die, like-a Lazarus die, like-a Lazarus die." "Titty Rita die like-a Lazarus die...."

Chorus: "I want to go back to Georgia, And I want to go back to Georgia." Verses float: "The 'coon he hates a ringy tail." "The higher you'll climb the cherry tree." "I won't have you to save my life... But I can get a-plenty more, For 18 cents a dozen."

I Want to Go to Baltimore: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #7902}

"I want to go to Baltimore, I want to go to France, I want to go to Baltimore To see the ladies dance."

"Give away Jordan (3x), I want to go to heaven to see my Lord." Verses include "Just let me put on my long white robe ... I'll march Jerusalem 'round and 'round"

I Want to Go to Morrow: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #9554}

Singer sets out for the town of Morrow. He tries to buy a ticket to Morrow "and return tomorrow night." The agent says he should have gone to Morrow yesterday and back today, for "the train that goes to Morrow is a mile upon its way."

Chorus: "I Want to go where Jesus is," "To play upon the golden harp"(3x) Verse: "Jesus, my all, to heaven has gone, To play upon the golden harp, He whom I fix my hopes upon, To play upon the golden harp"

"It was an old miner, pick upon his shoulder... 'I want to make the riffle, and I think I'll make it here.'" The miner describes twenty years of hunting, and all he hoped to do once he "made the riffle." He still hasn't, but he keeps drinking and trying

"I want to see Jesus in the morning -- Bathe in the river. I want to go to heaven -- Bathe in the river. Oh, chillun, get on board, Oh, chillun, get on board; Oh, Jesus is aboard, Oh, chillun, get aboard; Oh, preacher get on board."

The worker (on the rail line?) expresses his loneliness and frustration: "I want to see my wife and children, Bim!... Captain Walker, where in the world did you come from?... Captain, send me a cool drink of water...."

I Want You All to Be There: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #911}

"When I get on the mountain top, I want you all to be there, And hear my wings go flippety-flop, I want you all to be there."

I Wanta Go Home: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #9613 and 10547}

"I wanta go home, I wanta go home, The bullets they whistle, the cannons they roar. I don't wanta go to the trenches no more. Ship me over the sea, Where the Allemand can't get at me: O, ny! I'm too young to die, I wanta go home!"

"I was born about ten thousand years ago, And there's nothing in this world that I don't know." The singer boasts of his past accomplishments, e.g. watching Adam and Eve eat the apple (and eating the core); teaching Solomon to read....

Jump-rope rhyme. "I was born in a frying pan, Can you guess how old I am? One, two three...."

I Was Born on the River: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #10007}

"I was born on the river, and the river is my home, As long as I can carry a chain, I won't leave the river alone." The singer asks the Captain for money, describes how the Captain bosses the gang, and advises against gambling

I Was Chasing One-Elevens: (1 ref. 3K Notes) {Roud #29397}

"I was chasing One-Elevens up at Angels 23 (x3) With my canopy so frosted that I couldn't bloody see. Glory, glory, what a hell of a way to die...." This and other tales of how an aircraft can be in grave danger while in flight

I Was Drunk Last Night: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7681}

"I was drunk last night, my darlin', And drunk the night before, But if ever I get sober, I'll never get drunk any more. Beautiful light o'er the sea...." "An' now I'll gather the roses To twine in my long braided hair...."

"I was just sixteen when I first started roving" the sinful world. He meets and leaves a pretty girl. They agreed to be true but she thinks "on the vows she broke." She commits suicide. At her funeral a letter arrives; "Willie fell from the yardarm"

I Was Once a Sailor: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #2021}

"Yes, I was once a sailor boy, I plowed the restless sea. I saw the sky look fair and glad And I felt proud and free." The sailor recalls his travels, but notes he made little profit. He now has a small farm and thinks his life is sweet

"I was once in a dark and lonesome valley, And Satan led with trouble on de way. But de devil tryin' hard to stop me, And dey laugh at me whatever dey hears me say." "Here's a light, chillun (x2), Here's a light where de angels led before us."

"I was only seventeen When first I went to sea. I was shipwrecked off the coast of France" and is rescued by a woman -- who then starts taking off her clothes, and proves to be tattooed with a world map. Before he can investigate, "her old man came along"

I Was the Boy for Bewitching Them: (6 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #V17647}

Mothers warn their daughters to beware of the singer, irresistable Teddy. He had few rivals and, when Pat Mooney just met his Shelah, Teddy "twigged" him. "Beauties no matter how cruel ... Melted like mud in a frost"

"I was traveling down the Bogan Where the scrub was thick and dence, With a thousand head of Tyson's From Queensland's 'Border fence'... With a score of barbed wire fences -- What a bloody spread (?) of iron bars"

"I was walking through the Dockyard in a panic, When I met a matelot old and grey... And this is what I heard him say, I wonder, yes I wonder, Has the Jaunty made a blunder?" "It's a shame to send me off to sea." The man wants to stay on shore duty

I Wear My Pink Pajamas: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #10311}

"I wear my pink pajamas in the summer when it's hot, I wear my woolen nightie in the winter when it's not, And sometimes in the springtime, and sometimes in the fall, I slip between the covers with nothing on at all. Glory, glory, what's it to ya?..."

Jump-rope rhyme. "I went down the lane to buy a penny whistle. A copper came by and pinched my penny whistle. I ask him for it back, he says he hasn't got it, Hi, hi, Curlywig, you've got it in your pocket."

"I went down to my girl's house last night, She met me at the door. She knocked me in the head with a rolling pin And I ain't been back no more."

"I went down to my grandpa's farm, I chased that billy goat around the barn. I love coffee, I love tea, How many kicks did he give me?"

Discovered in bed with the daughter of the landlord and landlady, the rover has sex with the mother too, and violates the father with a brace of pistols.

"I went down to the low ground To see about my farm; I ran upon a black snake With an ash cake under his arm. How come that snake don't die? How come that snake don't die?"

Jump-rope rhyme. "I went down to the sea (river), I went down to the lake, I saw a fellow throw and break a plate. How many whip(pings) do you think he got?"

"I went downtown To meet Miss Brown. She gave me a nickel, I bought me a pickle. The pickle was sour; I bought me a flower. The flower was red, I bought some thread." And so on, though various swaps, perhaps with a special act to be done at the end

Jump-rope rhyme. "I went downtown to the alligator farm. I sat on the fence and the fence broke down The alligator bit me by the seat of the pants And made me do the hoochie-koochie dance."

"I went into my father's/grandmother's garden/While going through the garden, I found a rusty/Irish farthing. I gave it to my mother To buy a baby brother" who may go to sea, or whom the singer may throw over the wall. Bbrother may catch 1, 2, 3, 4 fishes

"I went on board the Ida, I did not go to stay, I put my hand on the Yalla gal dress And the captain fainted away." "Champion Charles is my name"

"I went to a Chinese restaurant, To buy a loaf of bread ... they wrapped it in a five pound note." The note said "My name is Alli, alli, Chickerlye chickerlye ... Chinese chopsticks, Indian chief says 'How!'"

Jump-rope rhyme. "I went to Arkansas To buy myself a saw. I never saw so many saws As I saw in Arkansas."

"I went to Atlanta, Never been there befo'; White folks eat de apple, Nigger wait fo' co'." The singer finds similar unfairness when visiting Charleston, Raleigh, etc. Chorus: "Cath dat Suth'n, Grab dat train, Won't come back no mo'."

Jump-rope rhyme. "I went to Fulton Ferry and I couldn't get across. I paid a half-dollar for an old blind horse. The horse wouldn't pull, I sold it for a bull. The bull wouldn't holler, so I sold it for a dollar." And so on, through more failed trades

Stanzas of the form "I went to my sweetheart's house, I never was thar before, They sot me in the corner as still as a mouse, An' I ain't gwine thar no mo', mo', mo, An' I ain't gwine that no mo', my love, An' I ain't gwine that no mo'." Verses float

"I went to the fair at Bellaghy, I bought a wee swad of a pig, I got it up in my arms And danced 'The Swaggering Jig." In all contexts, man, pig, poorhouse inmates, passersby, flowers, whistle and/or dance the jig.

Jump-rope rhyme. "I went to the show; saw Marilyn Monroe. What was she wearing?" (Presumably has some sort of list of clothes or a way to spell them out.)

I Went to the Woods: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #4563}

"Shure I went to the woods where I heard a big drum. 'By the holy Saint Patrick,' says I, 'that's a drum.'" The Irishman complains about the land where he lives: Cold weather, girls always chewing gum, the dreadful smell of fermented cabbage

Jump-rope rhyme. "I went upstairs to pick up a pin. I asked Mrs. (X) if (Y) was in. He may be in, he may be out, Tomorrow the wedding bells will shout! X, O, X, O...."

"I whipped my horse till I cut the blood (x3) And then I made him tread the mud." "I fed my horse in a poplar trough (x3) And there he caught the whooping cough." "Now my old horse is dead and gone (x3) But he left his jaw-bones ploughing the corn."

"I will bow and be simple, I will bow and be free, I will bow and be humble, Yea, bow like the willow tree." "I will bow, this is the token, I will wear the easy yoke, I will bow and will be broke, Yea, I'll fall upon that rock."

I Will Put My Ship In Order: (6 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #402}

The singer puts his ship in order to sail to his true love. He arrives wet and tired, knocks at her window, and asks her to let him in. She delays (perhaps her parents are watching), and he leaves before she comes. She laments his departure

I Will Rock You Wi' My Foot, Love: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #13507}

"I will rock you wi' my foot, love, I will bind you wi' my hand; I'll gie you three locks o' my coal-black hair To be to you a cradle band"

I Will Sail the Salt Seas Over: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #2776}

"I will sail the salt seas over And the Shannon after me, For your equal in Loch Ray love Is rare to be seen. I would rather than a horse And a bridle for to steer That I ne'er mentioned the name of Loch Ray la she sheer"

"I will tell you of my troubles, my ups and downs through life...." The singer complains about the life of a cowboy. Life is hard and lonely, and there is too much to do; the cows wander off even during the monotonous meals

"My mother, you follow Jesus, My sister, you follow Jesus, My brother, you follow Jesus, To fight until I die. U wish I been there yonder, To climb Jacob's ladder, I wish I been there yonder, To wear the starry crown."

"I wish I could pray like Mary Magdalene (x2), I wish I could pray (x2), I wish I could pray, Lord, like Mary Magdalene." "Teach me the way like Mary Magdalene." "Anybody here like Mary Magdalene." "Cast out seven devils like Mary Magdalene."

"I wish I had someone to call my own; I wish I had someone to take my care." The singer lists all that he's tired of: coffee, tea, living, eating, sleeping, plus, "I"m so tired of livin' I don't know what to do; You're tired of me, an' I'm tired of you."

"(I'm a/I wish I was a) (Hynocereous), a (Rhippopotamus), ha ha ha ha. But I'm not and I never can hope to be a H...,, a R... I'm a June Bug, I'm a beetle, I buzz and hit my head against a tree, ha ha ha ha." Repeat with tangled words

"I wish I was a little bird, I'd fly up in a tree, I'd sit and sing my little sad song (spoken:) But I can't stay here by myself." "I wish I was a little fish, I'd swim way down in the sea, I'd sit and sing my little sad song, But I can't stay here..."

The singer wishes she could swim like a fish, like David Johnson. Johnson tried some long swim. "He swam just like a duck," he "got pluck," but "when everything were over I thought it were a failure"

"I wish I (was/were) a mole in the ground (x2), If I was a mole in the ground, I'd root that mountain down...." The singer complains of Kempy's expensive tastes and his troubles with drink and/or the law. He may wish to be other things.

"I wish I was a Mormonite and lived in Utah State, In the shadow of the Temple close beside its 'holy gate.'" He might see the Prophet. He might have fifty wives, though "I'd like to see the man Who'd bring another woman home to my wife, Sarah Ann"

"I'm marchin' down to Washington With a heavy load an' a rusty gun, An' I wish I was at home (x2). They carried me down to the navy yard, An' round me they placed a mounted guard, An' I wish I was at home (x2)."

"I wish I were a furry worm, And had a furry tummy, I'd walk across a lollypop And make my tummy gummy" (yummy?).

I Wish I Were a Single Girl Again: (34 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #436}

"When I was single, marriage I did crave. Now I am married, it's trouble to my grave. Lord, I wish I was a single girl again!" The wife complains of hard work in the kitchen, of poverty, of poor clothes, hungry children, and a husband who steals her money

I Wish I Were a....: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #15704 and 37844}

"Oh, I wish I were a little bar of soap, bar of soap (x2). I would slippey and I’d slidey Over everybody’s hiney. I wish I were..." Similarly with other objects, e.g. a "little hunk of mud" that is "gooey" under a "shoey'; a little bit of orange, etc.

The singer recalls the happy days when he was single. He recalls marrying a wife, "the plague of my life." She died and was buried, so he went and married again, to find that he "wished for the old one again"

The wife complains of the troubles of matrimony. When first her husband courted her, all was kindness, but now it's nothing but work and care for the children and try to stay out of trouble. She says, "I hope I shall be hanged if I ever love again."

"I wish't I was a little rock, A-settin' on a hill, An' doin' nothin' all day long But just a-setting still." The rock could rest for a million years. Or the singer may wish to be an orange squirting on shirts, or a fish that gets to swim without a suit

"1 wish my captain would go blind. Wouldn't go to work till half past nine."

I Wish My Granny Saw Ye: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5614}

Country lad Johnny Raw comes to town, where the girls giggle, "I wish my granny saw ye." He buys a girl a wedding dress; she laughs at him. A girl asks him to carry her baby; he consents. She disappears, and he is left to care for the child

Singer wishes his love were various objects: a cherry, a beeskep, an ewe, etc., so that he might make love to her. After some lovely metaphors, in the last verse he wishes she was a warm turd, and he was a "shitten flea," that he might light upon her

I Wish My Love Was In a Ditch: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #6572}

"I wish my love was in a ditch, Without no clothing to her, With nettles up and down her back Because she was not truer." She had been involved with the singer and another; he claims her child was fathered by the other, and will not sleep with her

I Wish That Girl Was Mine: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #16859}

"When I was a little boy, Just eighteen inches high, How I'd hug and kiss those girls To see their mammas cry." "Oh, I wish that girl was mine (x2), The only tune that I can play Is 'I wish that girl was mine.'" Of courting, banjos, and last regrets(?)

"There's six eggs in the pan, goodman (x2), there's one for you and twa for me, And three for (our John Hielandman)." The woman complains, and concludes, "I wish ye were dead, wi' a stone at your head, and I'd run awa wi' John Hielandman"

The singer meets Polly milking her cow singing "I wish that the wars were all over." She is afraid her Billy will be killed in America. She rejects the singer's advances and says she'll dress as a sailor and fight "till the wars are all over"

The singer says "I only steal my belly to fill." Prison work is hard and makes him ill. He saw a girl with twins in a perambulator. He kissed one baby while he stole a potato from the other. "I wish there were no prisons. I do. Don't you?"

I Wish They'd Do It Now: (11 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #1401}

The singer recalls how, when he was a child, the girls would run to kiss him, cuddle him, bathe him, etc. Unfortunately, he is grown and their attentions have ceased; he remarks, "I've got itches in my britches and I wish they'd do it now."

An aged, lame miser marries a twenty-one year old "silly young maid." He can't please her in speech, bed, or trying to help around the house. She scorns or beats him. He would be happy "if she should sicken and happen to die"

"Now is it not a pity such a pretty girl as I Should be sent to a nunnery to pine away and die? But I won't be a nun... I'm so fond of pleasure that I cannot be a nun!" The girl is too fond of partying/men.The nuns couldn't handle a novice like her

I Won't Be My Father's Jack: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #19706}

"I won't be my father's jack, I won't be my (mother's/father's) (Jill/Gill), I will be the fiddler's wife And have music when I will. T'other little tune, T'other little tune, Prithee, love, play me T'other little tune."

"I won't/don't go to school/Granny's/Macy's any more, more, more, There's a big fat teacher/copper/policeman at the door, door, door" who takes me by the hair/collar and sits me in a chair/makes me pay a dollar...."

I Wonder As I Wander: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #15015}

"I wonder as I wander out under the sky How Jesus our savior did come for to die." Jesus comes for "poor ornery/ordinary people," is born to Mary in a "cow's stall," is celebrated in the skies; we are assured he could have had anything he wanted

"I looked down the road and I wondered... I wonder if I'll ever reach home." The singer buckles on his shoes and travels for a long time, wondering if he'll ever see King Jesus.

"A' kinds o' lads an' men I see, The youngest an' the auldest... I wonder wha'll be my man." The singer wonders about his work, where he is, how she will recognize him. She fears there might be none, and accuses him of keeping her waiting

Woman sings, "I wonder what is keeping my true love tonight?" He sings that he hasn't got anyone else, but he no longer loves her; he can't truly love a woman with two sweethearts. She warns other girls to beware false young men

I Wonder When I Shall Be Married: (12 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #818}

"I wonder when I shall be married... For my beauty's beginning to (fail/fade)." The girl's parents would be happy to see her married; they offer a good dowry ("forty good shillings" and household furnishings) but there are as yet no takers

The gambler spends all night at cards. In pain, he has to be helped home by friends. He is put to bed, and his mother asks the Lord to forgive him. The gambler says it is too late to pray. The chorus ends, "I wonder where he's gone" (i.e. Heaven or Hell)

"I wondered and I wondered All the days of my life, Where you're goin', Mr. Mooney, To get yourself a wife, Where you're goin', where you're goin' To get yourself a wife."

"I wore a tunic, dirty khaki tunic, And you wore civilian clothes, We fought and bled at Loos When you were on the booze, The booze that no one here knows. Oh, you were with the wenches While we were in the trenches...."

I Wore My Pappy's Pants: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #25403}

Parody of the hymn "Jerusalem": "I wore my Pappy's pants To the Easter Monday Ball, They were too long, So I rolled them up, And I heard the people call, 'He's a-losin' 'em! He's a-losin' 'em! He's a-losin' his Pappy's pants!"

"I would be true, for there are those who trust me; I would be pure, for there are those who care; I would be strong, for there is much to suffer; I would be brave, for there is much to dare (x2)." "I would be friend of all, the foe, the friendless"

Chorus: "I would" "like to read (x3) a sweet story of old" (4x). Verses: "Come on brother help me tell ... The story of King 'Manuel." "I just want to get up on the mountain top ... I'll praise my God and never stop."

I Would Not Live Always: (2 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #7558}

The singer offers various reasons why "I would not live always:" "Since Jesus was laid there [in the tomb], I'll not fear its gloom." "Who would live always Away from his God?" The singer looks forward to the bliss of heaven

"I would that I were where I wish, Out on the sea in a tombey dish, When the dish begins to fill, I wish I was on Mousehole Hill. When the hills begin to crack, I wish I was on daddy's back. When Daddy's' back begins to break... a-eating current cake."

"Goin' to the bathin' house, Goin' to the kitchen, My foot slip an' I fell down, I wouldn' go there no mo'"

I Wouldn't Have an Old Man: (19 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3719}

The singer refuses to have any part of an old man. She contrasts old and young men: The old are "slobbery," bony, have too many cows to milk, and hog the covers; young men are well-dressed and can keep a girl warm

"I wouldn't marry an old maid, Tell you the reason why...." Various reasons are offered, e.g. "Her neck is so long and stringy, I fear she'll never die."

The singer prefers a young to an old man for explicit sexual reasons.

"I wouldn't mind dying, got to go by myself (x3), I wouldn't mind dying if dying was all." In the same pattern," Bye and bye we're going to see the King," "After death we're going to stand the test," "Ezekiel saw a wheel, a wheel in a wheel."

"I wuv a wabbit, a cwazy cwazy wabbit Hop, hop, bunny, bunny (x2), Hop, hop, ho, ho, hop hop. " "He wuvs his cawwots, his cwazy cwazy cawwots Chew, chew, bunny, bunny..." "When I go to sweep at night, I kiss he, and he kiss I..."

"Fathers, bear your cross, for it will only make you richer, For to enter into that bright kingdom, by and by. I yield, I yield, oh, how I love to yield, For to enter into that bright kingdom, by and by." Similarly with mothers, brothers, etc.

I-Yi-Yi-Yi (Limericks): (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #10247}

Marked by verses in the form of limericks, always bawdy. Most deal with sexual machinery, either human or mechanical. Some may have a chorus such as "Sing us another one, Just like the other one."

I.W.A. Strike, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #25324}

The singer is happy with Premier Joey Smallwood and life in Newfoundland in the 10 years since Confederation. The Americans and I.W.A. strikers cause trouble but Joey opposes them. The strike ends. The singer hopes the Liberals prevail.

"I'd be a violet, born in a bower, Roses and lilies by my side, Tra-la-la-la! Tra-la-la-la! And with my love would there abide."

"In a lobby of a big hotel in New York town one day," a crow gathers to talk of the places where they have visited. One gray-haired man says, "I'd like to be in Texas when they round up in the spring"; he recalls the life of the cattlemen

"I'd like to find the Sergeant who forgot to hook me up (x3), And I ain't gonna jump no more." The paratrooper catalogs all the people whose sloppiness left his parachute non-functional. "Glory, glory, what a hell of a way to die."

"I'd like to build the world a home And furnish it with love." "I'd like to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony." "I'd like to buy the world coke." Originally a coca-cola jingle, re-arranged to become a plea for peace and cooperation

I'd Love To Be a Sailor: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #18212}

"I love to be a sailor Sailing on the good ship Kangaroo." The singer thinks of a pretty girl he has courted forty years. It's not true that a sailor has a wife on every port, but "every sailor's wife has got a man on every ship"

I'd Rather Be Dead: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #11780}

"I rather be dead an' laid in de dirt Than to see my gal with her feelin's hurt." "I rather be dead an' laid in de sand Than to see my gal with another man." "I rather be dead an' laid in de ground Than to see my gal in anoder weddin' gown."

"Oh I'd rather suck on a lemon drop Than to try my luck with a lollipop, 'Cause I always drop my lollipop And it gets all over icky. Oh it makes me sick how the way it smears... I've tried and tried, but never could find A lollipop that's halfway refined"

"A pretty little girl came courting me, Her name was Sarah Broome." When she asks the young man to marry, he says he will ask his mother and let her know. When she gives up on him, she asks for her tokens back, but always he asks his mother

"Noo, I'll no bide with ma granny nae mair (x2), She skelps me face an' she pu's ma hair, An' I'll no bide...." "I'll away hame tae ma mother I will... She keeps a wee shop... An' she sells a wee drappie...." (S)he will sing and rejoice on her way home

"I'll awa hame to my mither I will." Mother warns the singer against "the ways o young men" and "to shun ilk appearance o' ill" and so on. But "I'll meet ye next Friday at Mungo's maut mill" and "Be discreet be sincere an ye're welcome back still"

I'll Be a Good Boy: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4274}

The singer has spent his life sporting, robbing and drinking. He spends a year in jail until his rich uncle pays "my score" and, released, promises he will go home to his wife and get a job. As for his bad ways, "I'll be a good boy And do so no more"

"I'll be a little 'Mormon, And seek to know the ways Which God has taught his people In these, the latter days. By sacred revelation... He tells us how to follow The sacred road to Heaven" which was revealed to Joseph Smith and Brigham Young

"I'll be a sergeant, an orderly sergeant, I'll be a sergeant, on that just bet your life." The singer will make the other soldiers hate him, but the girls will love them all. He won't take orders from a girl. The singer then thinks about being a colonel

"I'll be all right, I'll be all right, I'll be all right someday/Deep in my heart, I do believe, I'll be all right some day". Similarly, "I'll be like Him...", "I'll overcome"

The singer is carefully dressing and bedecking herself with flowers for a wedding -- the wedding of her false true love to another girl. She intends to put on a fine face: "Though my heart will break tomorrow, I'll be all smiles tonight."

Chorus: "I'll be rested when the roll is called"(2x), "I'll be rested and I'll head toward heaven, I'll be rested...." Verse: "No more shouting when the roll is called...." "Meet my mother when the roll is called...." "Meet my elder when the roll...."

Chorus: "I'll be there" (3x), "When the last trumpet shall sound I'll be there." Verse: "If the mourners would believe When... The gift of life they would receive When..." "I never can forget the day When Jesus washed my sins away"

I'll Be There, Mary Dear: (4 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #12394}

A soldier bids farewell to his sweetheart, giving her a golden leaf to remember him by. He loses an arm in battle, but friends tell him him one arm is enough to hold her. When he returns home, however, he finds her dead and buried; he is heartbroken

I'll Be Waiting Up There: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #18152}

"If you miss me from singing, And can't find me nowhere, Just come on up to sweet heaven, I'll be singing up there. "You can find me up there (x2), Just come on up to sweet heaven." "If you miss me from praying...." "If you miss me from shouting...."

The soldier must leave his sweetheart; as she pins a rose on his breast, he promises, "I'll be with you when the roses bloom again." He is killed in battle; and can only ask that the captain inform his sweetheart

I'll Build Me a Boat: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #10054}

"I'll make me a boat and I'll down the river float... I'll see Mona, fair Mona, pretty Mona I'll see." Using his shirt for a sail, he arrives at Mona's -- but her four brothers break in, kill him, and throw him in the sea. She throws herself in after him

"As I was a-walking ae May morning... There I saw my faithless lover...." "Well, since he's gane, joy gang wi' him.... I'll never lay a' my love upon ane." She laments her lost love, who prefers a rich girl, but will not let the grief ruin her life

"I'll do anything, dear, that you tell me to. I won't do much for Mary, for Sarah, Sal, or Sue,But I'll do anything that you tell me to." "I'll do anything, dear, that ou tell me to. I won't do much for Nancy, Mary Jane, or Sue, But I'll do anything..."

"I'll drink one, if you'll drink two, And here's a lad that'll drink with you, And if you do as I have done, You'll be a good companion." Each verse adds a drink ("I'll drink two if you'll drink three, And here's a lad that will drink with thee," etc.)

"My baby's gone and she throwed me down I'm just a nuisance all over town But it don't matter what they say, I'll find my way." "She left me... wishing that I were dead." "Look like each moment will be my last." "A gypsy told me to make a change"

"I'll fire dis trip an' I'll fire no mo', fire down below! (x2)" "Miss Nancy Bell, I wish you well, fire down below! (x2)" "De bullies' boy is Uncle Gable, fire down below! Bring on day wood while you be's able! Fire down below."

"Some glad morning, when this life is over, I'll fly away/To a home on God's celestial shore, I'll fly away" Cho: "I'll fly away, oh glory, I'll fly away/When I die, halleluiah bye and bye..." "Just a few more weary days and then...."

A wife tells how she'd control her husband: threaten to sell the ladle unless he'd buy her a side saddle; threaten to sulk again unless he gives her twelve gold rings; threaten again to die unless he hires valets for her. She sneers at other women

I'll Give You One More As You Go: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3755}

The singer describes how his sweetheart sent him off, offering a final kiss: "I'll give you one more as you go." Her parents are less tolerant; they set the dog on him. As he departs, the father orders "Sic him, Towse, And give him one more as he goes."

"When me and my partner we left town this morning, A beautiful nag did run. We got to the foot of the Meriton dugway, A friend unexpectedly did come." They ride together to Slappie's for win. Then they ride on. The singer says he will return to St. George

"I'll hang my harp on a willow tree, I'm off to the wars again." The singer's love is to be wed to one of higher degree. For her sake he gave up soldiering and became a minstrel, but after her wedding he will resume soldiering, hoping to die in battle

"(On/In) the resurrection morning, When the dead and Christ shall rise, I'll have a new body...." The singer gives thanks for a new home, a new life, and a body "raised in power, Ready to live in paradise."

"You may bury me in the east, You may bury me in the west, But I'll hear the trumpet sound In that morning." "Father Gabriel in that day, He'll take wings and fly away." Christians, preachers, and the singer will take wings at Judgment Day

"I'll kiss ye yet, and I'll clap ye yet, An' I lie at your bonny back an' hap ye yet; An' fan ye lie doon, I'll draw the curtains roon, An' I'll bless the bonny day I gat ye, yet"

I'll Lay Ye Doon, Love: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3355}

"I'll lay ye doon, love, I'll treat ye decent... For surely he is an honest man." The singer walks out to hear two lovers talking. One, who has traveled far, must travel on, "But when I come back, love, I'll lay ye doon."

I'll Let You Know the Reason: (2 refs. 4K Notes) {Roud #6247}

The singer tells a girl he has come to gain her love. He has left another for her. She should not think about riches, which she has and he wants and is the reason she slights him. He hopes she will not slight him the next time and that they'll marry.

Jean, at sixteen, sits by a dyke complaining that she'll soon be old and gray and would not lie alone. Her mother says she's too young. She names boy friends who were not serious. Robin overhears her, proposes, they marry and no more lie alone.

"The army and the navy need attention..." but, says the singer, "I've an army and a navy of my own." "On Sunday I walk out with a soldier, On Monday I'm taken by a tar... if you'll only take the shilling, I'll make a man of every one of you"

"I'm bothered, yes, I'm bothered, completely perplexed, I'm the father of a little boy, I'm not happy but I'm vexed." Everyone in his immense family wants to give the child a different name. He puts his foot down for the name Dennis.

"When I go out on Sunday, what pleasure do I see? For the girl I loved so dearly Has gone square back on me." "I'll never get drunk any more, any more... I'll lay my head on the barroom floor." The singer laments how drink has ruined him

The singer "got frisky Over some poteen whisky," fell, cracked his skull and had his pocket picked. The landlady won't give a drunk credit. "A man that's fond of boozing, His cash goes daily oozing" He swears off drink and warns others to do the same.

Singer, a former slave, returns to Dixie and his beloved Dinah again, after having spent time living in Kansas. He says the weather there is enough to freeze him, and he misses his home, so he'll never leave old Dixie Land again

The singer will never marry a blacksmith because he works at the smitty and his clothes are dirty. She'll never marry a weaver because he complains and cries for his bobbins. She'll marry the Carpenter who works with planks and she'll get the shavings.

I'll Not Marry at All: (20 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2774}

The single woman proudly proclaims her intent to die an old maid. She reels off the defects of all sorts of men -- rich, poor, fat, lean, farmer, e.g. "I'll not marry a man that's rich, He'll get drunk and fall in the ditch, I'll not marry at all...."

The singer says she'll follow her love over Bogie, or anywhere. For example, "As I came by Strathbogie yetts Strathboggie's trees were green There I heard the drums to beat I'll owre Boggie wi' him"

"A mother was saying good-bye to her boy, Who was ready to start for the war." She asks if they are parting forever. He promises to return "When the roses of springtime are blooming." Eventually the boy returns and says he will never more part from her

Disjointed, some floating verses: "Going up yonder gonna put on my robes, gonna put on my golden shoes." "Where the duck chews tobacco and the goose drinks wine" Chorus: "I'll rise when the rooster crows... down where the sugar cane grows"

I'll Sing You a Song: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #15095}

"I'll sing you a song (that's not very long/the days are long) About a woodcock (or cuckoo) and a sparrow." A dog either burns its tail or bites the singer's ear and is to be hanged tomorrow.

I'll Stick to Auld Style: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #13017}

"I biggit a hoosie wi' divots and stanes, For to keep me sheltered frae the cauld wind and rains, But twa daft idle laddies, wha thocht it fine fun, Fell foul o't and ca'd it a' flat wi' the grun'"

"I'll take this glass into my hands, and drink to all that's here; I cannot tell where we may be before another year. Some may wed, some may be dead, some may be lying low; Some may be lying on a foreign shore, and not know where to go."

I'll Take You Home Again, Kathleen: (10 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #12907}

The singer promises to take Kathleen home across the ocean. He says that -- even though she has lost her looks and her voice is sad -- he still loves her as she loves him. Once home (in Ireland?), they will visit their old haunts

"I'll taste no more the poisonous cup That brought on me destruction... But [by?] my vice sleeps one in a grave so fair, My lovely lovely Mary." They had lived happily, but "demon rum" overtook him; now she is dead and he hopes to join her

I'll Tell My Ma (I): (7 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2649}

"I'll tell my my when I go home, The boys won't leave the girls alone; Pulling their hair and breaking their combs...." In some texts, the story ends there; in others, the girl says, "But that's all right till I go home"; we are told of her true love

I'll Tell Ye a Talie: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #13067}

A tale about the colt and fillie? The singer goes to Ireland and sees a maiden chasing a cock that had stolen her comb. She [?] asks "Blue-breekies" whether he had seen her husband. Yes: he burnt a hole in his breeches, and what's that to you?

Neilus buys Thady's donkey for an old donkey and two quid. Thady will buy a motor (car?) with the money. Neilus tries to cancel the deal: his new donkey has smashed the stall door. They brawl. The singer is knocked out and so can't say how it all ends

"I'll tell you a story About (Jack a Nory/Johnny Magory), Will I begin it? Yes! That's all that's in it." Or "...Nory, And now my story's begun, I'll tell you another, Of Jack and his brother, ANd now my story is done."

I'll Tell Your Daddy: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #3595}

"John, John, John, I'll tell your daddy (x3), So early in the morning." "The blue-eyed girl is dead and gone (x3) So early in the morning."

"A lad was one day reading While the tears ran down his cheeks" as he reads a letter containing "violets from the dell." It asks him to wear them; he says he will do so though they will meet as strangers and/or are parted forever

I'll Weave My Love a Garland: (1 ref. 1K Notes) {Roud #578}

"I'll weave my love a garland, He shall be dressed so fine, I'll set it round with roses... For I love my love, and I love my love Because my love loves me." The singer wishes she were an arrow, a fish, a reaper, that she might more easily find him

The singer meets a girl and asks how old she is. She says, "I'm a day too young to be your bride ... to lay by your side." They have sex. "I found she was not a day too young" She asks when they will marry: never; "carry your big belly home to your mam"

The "decent boy" has been forced to roam. Brought up by good parents, he urges, "Be kind to your parents when their locks are turning gray... You'll never know their value till they lay beneath the soil."

Jump-rope rhyme, perhaps derived from "I Am a Girl Guide." "I'm a girl dressed in green. My mother didn't want me, So she sent me to the Queen. The Queen she didn't want me, So she sent me to the King. The King said, Shut your eyes And count sixteen."

"I'm a little acorn brown, Lying on the cold, cold ground, Everybody steps on me, That is why I'm cracked you see. I'm a nut (click, click)." "I can sing and I can dance, I wear ruffles on my... sorry, boys, guess again: I wear ruffles on my dress."

Jump-rope rhyme. "I'm a little brownie dressed in brown, See my stocking fallin' down. Pick them up, pull them down, I'm a little brownie dressed in brown."

I'm a Little Dutch Girl: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #13205}

"I'm a little Dutch girl, from over the sea." "I'm a little Dutch boy, from over the sea." "I hate you." "Why?" "You stole my necklace." "Here is." "We're getting married ... having babies ... getting older ... in our coffins ... up in heaven ... angels"

"I'm a little Dutch girl all so fat; I'm going to get married and what do you think of that? I'm not going to marry a butcher, with blood on his toes." Similarly baker, king, etc.; "I'm going to marry a Dutch boy who'll buy me a diamond ring"

"I'm a little Dutchman, I drink beer. It makes my stomach stick way out here. How many barrels can I drink?"

I'm a Little Tea Pot: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #20416}

"I'm a little teapot, short and stout, Here is my handle, here is my spout." The pot will "shout" when the tea is ready, at which time the tea can be poured out

"I'm a man that's seen trouble and sorrow, Oh I once was light-hearted and gay, Not a dime in this world can I borrow Since my own I have squandered away." The singer tells how he wronged his parents. Now they despise him, and he must beg for shelter

"I'm a minder [i.e. miner], I'm a minder, In de col' ground, Lawd, Lawd, Lawd, Lawd."

I'm a Poor Old Chimney Sweeper: (8 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #7023}

"I am a poor old chimney sweeper, I have but one daughter and now I can't keep her. So since she has resolved to marry, Go choose you one and do not tarry." Once the girl has chosen her love, the couple is told to join hands, step over a broom, and be wed

"I'm a roaring son of the Comstock, And I work in the Chollar Mine." The singer works hard, never has money, and even when dead, "I'll still be a son of the Comstock, And the devil knows it well!"

I'm a Rover and Seldom Sober: (2 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #3135}

The singer is seldom sober but on a starless night he can find his way to his lover. He goes to her window. He is "drenched to the skin." She lets him in and they lie together until cock crow. Then he gets up because he must be early at the plow.

"I'm a-running for my life (x2), If anybody ask you What's the matter with me, Just tellum I say-a, I'm a-running for my life." "I'm a-moaning for my life." "I'm a-praying for my life."

I'm a Saginaw Valley Man: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6505}

"My name is Solomon (Harmless/Levi), From this world both wide and wild, I'm a regular mule in harness, I'm a wildcard when I'm riled." "I'm a Buffalo Bill, by jingo! ... I'm not much on the lingo; I'm a Saginaw Valley man."

"I'm a soldier forward go, Let the dying sinner know, Jesus blood avail, Can never fail."

Singer calls "all who love the Saviour" to "to arms": "Twas the Saviour's loving kindness" induced him to stay "in the fight," not "run away." "Here I raise my 'Ebenezer'" and at death's river "I mean to shout 'Salvation!' and go singing 'Glory' home"

Alternate responsive lines are "In the army of the Lord" and "In the army." Verses and chorus are a single call line repeated: "I'm a soldier," "I'll die in the army," "I'm fighting for my rights," "I don't mind dying," "I want a clean man"

I'm a Stranger Here: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #15589}

"Ain't it hard to stumble When you got no place to fall? (x2) In this whole wide world I got no place at all. I'm a stranger here... I would go home, but... I'm a stranger here." The singer takes his mule -- all this baby left -- and seek a fair shake.

Singer, a "darger loon" from a distant land, meets a "Scottish lass" in an alehouse. They drink. He takes her to his lodgings and they spend the night together. Next morning he leaves on the train as she cries on the station. At home he drinks her health

"Tight Little Irishman" Larry O'Broom does well enough on his father's inheritance until he marries a wife, who abuses him and apparently bankrupts him

I'm a Workin' Chap: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5591}

"I'm a workin' chap, as you may see, You'll find an honest man in me." The singer is thrifty and industrious, for poor folks are "working life out to keep life in." The singer describes various poor people, and hopes listeners will not despise them

I'm a Young Man from the Country: (7 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1510}

"I'm a young man from the country... I'm a free and easy fellow, I need not tell my name. Oh, wouldn't you like to know me?" Town people try to trick him, but he knows his cab fares and all the tricks, and avoids the traps

"Purtiest girl I ever saw since I come fro the west... I was loving her the best." "I'm a-longing for to go this road (x3), Down the courthouse road." She cries to see him coming, and faints and dies when he leaves. He laughs ever time she opens her mouth

Chorus: "I'm rolling (x3) through an unfriendly world (x2)."Verses: "O brothers (sisters, preachers) won't you help me (x3) in the service of the Lord")

"I am a-trouble in the mind (x2), I ask my Lord what I do, I am a-trouble in the mind (x2), What you doubt for? I'm a trouble in de mind."

The singer says "First when I cam' to this toon, I was red an' white an' bonnie" but now she's "done for likin' Johnnie" She writes him a letter. [lost text] She would have her baby tell Johnnie he's the father.

"I'm afloat, I'm afloat, on he firce rolling tide, The ocean is my home and the barque is my bride." "I fear not the monarch I heed not the law." "Our flag of defiance still waves o'er the sea, Hurrah, boys, hurrah, boys, the rover is free."

"Honey-y-y, I'm all out an' down, Honey-y-y, I'm broke, babe, an' I ain't got a dime, Ev'ry good man gets in ha'd luck sometime, Don't they, baby?" Blues complaining of poverty, the noise made by women and hungry animals, work in the mud, etc.

"I have no father (mother, sister, brother, sweetheart) in this world...Take me home, dear Saviour, take me home" Cho: "I'm alone all alone in this world...Take me home, dear Saviour take me home"

"I'm being swallowed by a boa constrictor (x3) And I don't like it very much." To various mild curses, the snake swallows various parts of the singer until, perhaps, the head is reached and the song ends

The singer, a poor farmer from Tralee, must emigrate. "They say there's luck in a foreign land, there's health and wealth galore." "We'll toil both night and day" He will return "of course" and dance "on the good old barn floor"

Shanty. "For the sake of you, my lassie, I'm bound away, my lassie. For the sake of you, my lassie, I'm bound away." Only this one verse given by Hugill

"I'm boun' to cross the Jordan(x5), Hallelujah!" "Oh, brothers, won't you join me? Sisters, won't you join me? Sinners, won't you join me? For I'm bound to cross the Jordan, Hallelujah!" "Oh, my brother's over Jordan, My sister's...."

"I'm bound to follow the longhorn cows until I git too old. It's well I work for wages, boys, I git my pay in gold." The singer boasts of his skills as a cowboy. He describes the difficulties of stampedes. He hopes to save up money to be married

I'm But a Peer and Misguided Man: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #13557}

"I'm but a peer and misguided man, Wi' a reeky [made dark by smoke] hoose, and a rinnin' oot [overflowing] pan [commode?], A girnin' [snarling] geet [brat], and a wife to ban [curse]"

"I'm crossing Jordan river, Lord I want my crown (x2)." "Oh when I'm crossing Jordan River, I want my crown." "Jordan river chilly and cold, The love of Jesus is in my soul." "Jordan river deep and wide, None can cross but the sanctified." And similarly

"I'm deep in love, my mind is troubled, I know not where to wander to." The girl tells him he must stop drinking; he declares he will abandon women first. Many verses float: "I'll lay my head on a cask of brandy." "The oceans are wide, I cannot wade them"

I'm Despised for Being Poor: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7944}

"Farewell, false girl(s), I leave you In sorrow and in pain, My absence cannot grieve you, Soon you'll bear a stranger's name." He recalls courting the girl; though it grieves her, she has abandoned him for a rich stranger. He will enlist as a soldier

I'm Dying for Someone to Love Me: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7620}

The girl reports "I am dying for someone to love me." Flirting and friendship are not enough; she wants the real thing. None of the local young men are up to the task. Mother calls her crazy, but the girl recalls that she was once much the same

"I'm full, absolutely full, But I know the country I was born in. My name is Jock McGraw And I dinna care a straw, For I've a wee bit drappie In the bottle for the mornin'."

I'm Gaein in the Train: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #18663}

"I'm going in a train, And you're not coming with me; I've got a lad of my own, and his name is Kilty Jimmy." "Jimmy wears a kilt, He wears it in a fashion, And every time he twirls it around, You cannot keep from laughing!"

Dialog between "bonny keen Nancy" and "silly coordy Willsie": Nancy: tomorrow is market day. Willsie: Maybe I have no silver. Nancy: Maybe I can lend you some. Willsie: Maybe I won't repay it. Nancy: Maybe I won't care.

"I'm glad I live in Wyoming, The glorious state of Wyoming, Oh! I'm glad I live in Wyoming, The best of all the states."

"I'm goin' away to Texas, Oh dear me...." "Just go on an' just keep a-goin'." "When I get there I'll write you a letter." "I don't want you nor none of your letters." "You'll be sorry for all this." "If I am, you never will know it." Etc.

"I"m goin' back to good old Birmingham." "I went to the depot, I looked up on the bo'd (x3), It's good times here but it was better way up the road." "Asked the depot agent, What train must I ride?" "I'm goin' back to Florida where it's warm...."

"I'm goin' to beat this rice, Goin' to beat 'em so, Goin' to beat 'em till the husks come off, Ah hanh hanh!" "Goin' to cook this rice when I get through." "Goin' to eat my belly full."

The singer watches his wife hoe the garden and cook while the lazy hound sits. He picks the banjo. The preacher tells him he'll never get to heaven; he repeats his refrain: "I'm goin' to pick my banjo... pick it while I can... right to the Promised Land."

"What a wonder in the moon (x3), I'm going to see my Jesus soon." "If you don't b'liev I've been redeemed... Then follow me down to Jordan's stream." "Jordan's stream so chilly and cold, I got Jesus in my soul." "Two big horses side by side."

Dialog: She is "... going back home where I know I get better care." He begs her not to go but she will not change her mind. He says "Day you leave me that's the day you'll die, Oh honey baby mama please don't go."

"I'm going down the Mobile line (x2), I'm going down the line to see that girl of mine, I'm going down the mobile line."

I'm Going Down the River: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #10004, etc.}

"I'm going down the river before long, Ba-baby..." "I know you're going to miss me when I'm gone." "Miss me from rollin' in your arms." "I think I heard the Joe Fowler blow." "She blowed like she ain't going to blow no more." And so forth

"Well, no matter where I wandered I know I'll always Find a welcome at the end of every journey." "California could not hold me" despite its beauty. Neither could any other place. People call him a drifter, but he hopes someday to find his home

"I sought my Lord In the wilderness (x3), I sought my Lord in the wilderness, For I'm a-going home. For I'm going home (x2), I'm just getting ready, For I'm going home." "I found free grace in the wilderness." "My father preaches in the wilderness."

"Two long years have I been a-drivin'.... I'll hang my hammer upon the wall. I'm a-goin' home, I'm a-goin' home, I'm a-goin' home, Lord, I'm gonna leave these hills."

Singer's wife is ill so he cooks and watches the children: is mother. He cooks bacon, spills milk, the frying pan catches fire. The water boils over, he bumps his head and gets a black eye. He tells his wife "you can !!!!ing well do the cooking yourself"

"Well, I'm goin' to buy me a little railroad of my own, Ain't goin' to let nobody ride it but the chocolate to the bone."

The tag line to each verse is "I'm going to cross that ocean by myself." Singer must go "when my Lord calls me." In the lonesome valley by myself I'll weep like a willow and mourn like a dove. Mary should stop weeping and Thomas should stop doubting

I'm Going To Cross the Sea: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7674}

"I'm going to cross the sea, my love, Oh how I hate to start, I'll shake your hand in a long farewell, And then we have to part." "Sift your meal and save your bran, There's gonna be a wedding down in Alabam." "Slice your bread and butter fine...."

"I'm going to do all I can for my Lord (x2), I'm going to do alll I can, Till I can't do no more, I'm going to do all I can for my Lord." Similarly, "I'm going to pray all I can for my Lord," "I'm going to sing/mourn/love all I can for my Lord"

"I'm goin' to ride in Pharaoh's chariot (x2), One of these days God knows that, I'm going to ride in Pharaoh's chariot One of these days." Similarly, "I'm goin' to cross the river of Jordan," "...walk the golden streets," "talk with Paul and Silas," etc.

I'm Going to Sing: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #12353}

Chorus: "I'm going to sing, Going to sing (x3), all along the way (x2)." Verses are about battle, like "We want no cowards in our band that from their colors fly, We call for valiant hearted men Who're not afraid to die"

"I'se gwine to stan' I my back do', An' I'se gwine ter hab -- Let de Debbil blab! -- Dat gal wid de blue dress on. Oh, swing dat gal wid de blue dress on, Swing, you niggers, swing!"

I'm Going to Tell It: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #18173}

"I'm going to tell it everywhere I go (x3), How Jesus bless' my soul." "One morning I was walking along, Jesus bless my soul, I heard a voice and saw no one, Jesus, bless...." "I went in the alley, didn't go to stay... My soul got happy I stayed all day"

I'm Going to the West: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #5113}

"You say you will not go with me and turn your eyes away, You say that we can ne'er agree, no matter what I say, I'm going to the west." The singer will leave her in the land she loves; after three years together he will leave the mountains for the plains

Typical verse: "I'm going to walk with Jesus by myself, by myself" (2x), "I'm going walk with Jesus" (2x), "I'm going to walk with Jesus by myself." Other verses: "I'm going to talk with Jesus (see King Jesus, live with Jesus) by myself..."

"I'm gonna dig myself a hole, Move my baby way down underground, And when we come out Won't be no war around." Planes. Bombs. Russians in Afghanistan. "When war break out It's gonna be hell to pay

I'm Gwine Away to Georgia: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #413}

"I'm gwine away to Georgia, U'm gwine away to roam, U'm gwine away to Georgia, chile, Fer to make it my home." "The turkle dove is a hollerin' 'Cause he hears my sad cry, U'm gwine away to Georgia now Fer to live till I die."

"I'm gwine to Alabamy, Oh, For to see my mammy, Ah!" "She went from Old Virginny And I'm her pickaninny." "She lives on the Tombigbee, I wish I had her with me." "Now I'm a good big nigger, I reckon I won't get bigger." "But I'd like to see my mammy..."

I'm Henery the Eighth I Am: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #30028}

"You don't know who you're lookin' at, now have a look at me I'm a bit of a nob I am, belong to royaltee." His wife has had eight husbands, all named Henry, so "I'm Henery the Eighth I am." He has various adventures as a pseudo-monarch

"I'm in love with a big blue frog, A big blue frog loves me." Most of the song consists of explanations of why a relationship with a frog isn't as bad as you think

I'm In Love with a Tipperary Miss: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #9065}

"I'm in love with a flip/slip of a tip-tip-typical Tipperary Miss... From the tip of her toes to the tip-tip-top of her nose I love her so. I'd like to just take her and squeeze her... But she's many miles away." He left Ireland, and is madly misses her

Improvised cross-cutting song: "In the bottom, Oh Lordy now, wo, I'm in the bottom, Wo Lord." "I'm shovellin' dirt." "I'm gettin' tired." The singer complains about the captain, wishes for water, a doctor, rest; he begs for help from home

"I'm in trouble, Lord, I'm in trouble, I'm in trouble, Lord, about my grave. Sometimes I weep, sometimes I mourn, I'm in trouble about my grave, Sometimes I can't do neither one, I'm in trouble about my grave."

I'm In Want of a Substitute: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #15676}

"I'm in want of a substitute, Oh, show me the man who will Buckle up his armor and fight for Uncle Sam. I'm in want of a hero, with a heart so brave and true, Who will fight for his country and the red, white, and blue."

"I'm just a common lumberhick, and I've made a pile ofjack." The singer complains about the job. He remembers his first boss, Bush LaPorte, then working for "Old Kelly" and for the "Oval Dish" and others -- and says to shoot any many who wants to log

"I am just from the fountain, I'm just from the fountain, Lord, I'm just from the fountain that never runs dry, Oh fathers, I love Jesus, I love him, yes I do, Oh fathers, I love Jesus, and you must love him too." "Oh mothers, I love Jesus," etc.

I'm Just Going Down to the Gate: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6407}

Though the singer's sweetheart's parents think she is too young to marry, she's allowed to wander as far as the garden gate, where the two lovers meet regularly. Someday they will slip off to the parson's.

The singer is going to Sandy's: he'll be a "dandy" when he visits Agnes "with the bloom on her cheeks like the roses" The singer is frightened away when Agnes gets consumption, but he returns to her when "the bloom had returned to the rose"

Singer asks his lover "where you stayed last night ... hair all wrinkled and your clothes ain't fitting you right." He "could not keep from crying ... my rider, she done put me down." His mother said, "These women and whiskey done carried my child astray"

I'm Leaving Tipperary: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3313}

The singer is about to sail "across the broad Atlantic" on the "Dan O'Leary," "bound for New York City, boys, three thousand miles away." His portmanteau is packed with food. He bids all farewell. He will bring Mollie Burke when he is settled.

Mother dies and father remarries. My stepmother "beat me and she turned me out When I speaks of my mother dear." "If I could only call her back, Once more to sit down by her side, I would like her better than before; I'm lonesome since my mother died."

Taunt or game: "I'm looking at you, Your eyes are blue, Your face is like a Kangaroo"

I'm Looking Over My Dead Dog Rover: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #15720}

Concerning the death of Rover, usually caused (inadvertently, one hopes) by the singer (e.g. by hitting Rover with a power mower). The text varies extremely, as does the cause of death; the only constant element seems to be the title line.

I'm My Own Grandpa: (4 refs. 4K Notes) {Roud #10444}

Singer marries a pretty widow; his father marries her red-haired daughter. By tortuous logic, the singer explains that this makes him his own grandfather. Chorus: "I'm my own grandpa...It seems funny, I know/But it really is so/I'm my own grandpa"

"I'm ninety-five, I'm ninety-five, And to keep single I'll contrive." Men have tried to win the spinster's love, but she wants no children, nor deceitful-tongued men, nor flattering husbands. She warns against men who wink at you

"O a nice wee lass, a bonnie wee lass Is bonnie wee Jeannie McKay," but when she and the singer are to go out, her says "My mother's ta'en my claes tae the pawn... And I'm no comin' oot the new." In any situation, the singer pleads poverty and stays in

I'm Not Myself At All: (8 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #V8651}

"Oh, I'm not myself at all, Molly dear, Molly dear." At confession the singer asked Father Taff for half a blessing because his other half belongs to Molly Brierly. The singer wants her to marry him before he disappears entirely.

The singer had a new suit, fancy tie and watch chain, and swaggered. He describes his oiled moustache, but mourns his "half-Buchan English." The girls reject him because he is not well read. He gives up vanity: "I'll try and put wisdom into my heid"

"Now, darkies gather round -- I got a thing to tell." "Oh, Jerusha! whose gwine to go? I'm gwine to California, so fotch along de hoe!" Letters from California are heavy with gold. The singer prepares to set out for the west

I'm Often Drunk and Seldom Sober: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3135}

Singer is seldom sober and "a rover in every degree," He says his lover is "as clever a woman as ever trod upon London ground." He wishes he were in Dublin or across the sea beyond lawyers' reach. She says her love is clever. They both love drink.

I'm Old But I'm Awfully Tough: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #15460}

Singer describes himself as a happy old gentleman whom the girls adore. Chorus consists mostly of laughing

"I'm on my way, and I won't turn back! I'm on my way, great God, I'm on my way." "I'm on my way to Canaan's land." "I ask my sister to go with me." "If she says no, I'll go alone." "I ask my boss to let me go." "If he says no, I'll go anyhow."

I'm Ower Young to Marry Yet: (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6142}

The singer says "I'm owre young to marry" and "lads, ... ye for me maun tarry." It would "be a sin" to take "me frae my mammy." She has had her own way: "None daur to contradict me yet." and "in truth I darena venture yet," Soon she will have to obey.

"I'm proud to be me But I also see You're just as proud to be you." People see things differently. Live and let live, even though many hate those around them.

I'm Sad and I'm Lonely: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #414}

"I'm sad and I'm lonely, My heart it will break. My sweetheart loves another; Lord I wish I were dead." The singer warns against the lies that young men tell, which are more numerous than "cross-ties on the railroad or stars in the skies."

The singer says she's "satisfied, tickled too" and "old enough to marry you." She says she's a "total shaker from navel down" and she'll "give my total" to whom she please. She's satisfied that that will bring him back.

"Once I was single and in my prime, Now I am married and have to walk a line, I'm satisfied, I'm satisfied!" She has two children, chores to do,not much food, a poor home; it's too much work, but still she sys, "I'm satisfied! I'm Satisfied."

"I'm seventy-two today, my boys; They say I'm growing old. I feel as young as I used to be; My heart is strong and bold." The old man says he can and will ride and court as well as ever (if perhaps a bit faster), and expects to enjoy the process

"I'm Shirley Temple, the girl with curly hair, I've got two dimples, and wear me skirts up there; I'm not able to do the Betty Grable ... leg like nobody's business ... figure like Marilyn Monroe ... hair like Ginger Rogers... You should see Salome ..."

"I'm sighing, I'm sighing, I'm sighing to catch a nice beau, And if I don't catch the fight fellow, My heart will be sad I know. I'm sighing ... And if I get the wrong fellow, My heart will be sad I know."

"Oh I'm sitting on the stile, Mary, where we sat side by side." He thinks of their life together and the graveyard where he buried her "with your babe all on your breast." He promises not to forget her "in that land I'm going to"

"I'm so glad my time have come, Around Sheman no more will I bum, The last bummin' I did I remember it still, With six long months I stayed in the cell." "Oh judge, oh judge, I liked to forget." Chorus: "I've tidied I rule, I've a rudulideer" (x2)

Chorus: "I'm so glad trouble don't last always (x3), O my Lord, O my Lord, What shall I do?" Verses: "Christ told the blind man to go to the pool and bathe." "Christ told Nicodemus he must be born again."

I'm Standing on a Solid Rock: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #18163}

"I'm standin' on a solid Rock, and it won't give way (x3), Lord, I need you everywhere I go." "My mother says it's a solid Rock, and it won't give way." "My pastor says it's a solid Rock." "My deacon says it's solid rock."

I'm Sticking to the Murphys: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #7811}

"I'm sticking to the Murphys, I'll fight 'em till I die; I can't help spitting cotton Because I am so dry. You'll bust your lips with laughter; Stick to the pledge I must, But the more I drink cold water The more I'm belching dust."

"I am the Man that Wrote Ta-ra-ra Boom-de-ay, Promise me you won't give it away...." The singer was a poor showman until he produced the famous song. Now the police seek him, people throw brickbats, and not even Shakespeare can equal his claim

Jump-rope rhyme. "I'm the monster of Loch Ness, My name you'll never guess. I can wave like a snake And do the hippy shake, I'm the monster of Loch Ness!"

"I'm thine in my gladness, I'm thine in my tears. My love it can change not with absence of years "(x2). Even a dungeon would be the singer's home were she with her lover. "But life has no beauty since of thee I'm bereft... I'm thine over the left."

"I'm tired, so tired, My soul need resting" (3x). "I'm going to find myself a resting place"

I'm Tired of Living Alone: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #15744}

"I'm tired of living alone. I went to the river, and I saw a pretty rose, I plucked it and called it my own. A rose will fade, and so will a maid; I'm tired of living alone."

I'm To Be Marrit in May: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #5559}

"The win' at the window is rattlin', The sheep huddle close on the brae... But what care I for the weather, I'm happy's a queen a' the day... And I'm to be marrit in May." The girl praises her love Johnny and describes the joy she feels

"I'se trabling back to Georgia, Dat good ole land to see, De place I left to wander, De day dat I was free." The ex-slave, now "getting old and weary," wants to go back to Georgia; to "live and die in Georgia, Dat's good enough for me."

I'm Travelling to the Grave: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #15242}

Chorus: "I'm travelling to the grave (x3) For to lay this body down." Verses: "My massa (missis, brother, sister) died a-shouting, The last words he (she) said to me, Was about Jerusalem"

"I'm very very well I'm glad to tell, I fear no judge nor jailer... so list to the lees (lies?) of a sailor." "Ah, what a delight on a stormy night To sit beside a burning log, A-swapping tales of wondrous whales And drink a glass of grog."

"Oh Nellie, dear Nellie, I'm waiting for you, With the stars glimmering faintly away in the blue." Out on the sea, the sailor years for his love. He thinks he hears her coming. He hopes she will be true

"The bees are humming in the wild wods, love, The flowers their tiny heads bow low.... I'm wearing my heart away for you. It cries, 'My love will be true.'" The singer wonders where his love is, and whether she prefers another man.

"I'm wild about horns on automobiles that go wah ah ah ah ah ah ah ooga ooga! (x2), I used to own a funny little car that I got from a guy named Fred, And every-time I honked that horn, this is what it said..."

If "the boat keep steppin'" and his back doesn't give out, the singer will get back to his woman in Memphis. "All that I crave fo' many a long day Is yo' lovin' when I git back." He urges the fireman to make speed, and describes the route the boat follows

Chorus: "I'm working on a building (x3), For my lord (x2)." "It's a Holy Ghost building (x3), For my lord (x2)."Verses: If the singer were a liar (drunkard, preacher) he'd quit lying (quit drinking, keep preaching) and work on a building too

"Went to sleep, babe, last night in a snow-white feather bed, I woke up... with the blues all around my bed. I'm worried now...." The singer has no home and lives in a crooked world. He wishes his girl would not treat him like a dog. He will go to Waco

The only intelligible words are the opening lyrics "I's a-runnin," and much of the melody is on a single tone; one suspects this is not really a song but rather a sort of working drone.

Singer, having left Dixie, pines for the usual things: home, food, etc. He swore that if he left, he'd never return, but now "time has changed the old man, his head is bending low." "I'm going back to Dixie...I'm going where the orange blossoms grow...."

"I've a bike, a fairy bike, I only got it last Saturday night, I went up the hill, Down the hill, Under the arch and a rainbow."

The singer claims to have a lad in Edinburgh, Sta'bogie, Musselburgh, Ardlogie, and more. "I'm in love wi' twenty, I could adore as many more ... Variety is charming"

"I've a laddie in America, I've a laddie in Dundee-i-ee-i-ee, I've a laddie in Australia, And he's coming back to marry me-i-ee-i-ee." He takes her to each, then leaves her "Wi' three bonnie bairnies on my knee-i-ee-i-ee." They need their father

"I've a letter from my Father in my hand, I have read it and I know that it is grand, 'Twas writ across the sea and 'twas sent right here to me, And it tells me all the news that's in this land"

I've a Long Time Heard: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5026}

"I've a long time heard the sun will be bleeding, The sun will be bleeding, the sun... I've a long... SInnere, where will you stand in that day?" "I've a long time heard the angels will be singing..." "Devils will be howling." "Sinners would be crying."

"'I've a pain in my belly,' says Doctor Kelly. 'Rub it with oil,' says Doctor Doyle. 'It's a very good cure,' says Doctor Moore. 'It is in my hat,' says Doctor Wyatt." Presumably this could continue indefinitely.

The singer says, My dog barks at the moon. Every bark gets him a pair of shoes (thrown?). Give him bread and cheese or he'll bark till you're done.

Chorus: "I've been born again (been born again)"(2x) "hey, hey", Indeed I know (born again)," "born again (born again)" Verse: see Notes) ( "I believe (I've been born, ah)" "I've been born again (Born again)")

"Why did you turn from me, darling? Why all this coldness today?" The (girl) declares "I have been faithful to you," and asks why the other is false. Later he finds her body, holding tight to a note that reads "Love, I've been faithful to you."

The singer has been "where the meadow dew is sweet," "O'er the rose and lilly fair," "Where the honey suckle creeps," "over hill, and over plain" and is returning with "pearls upon my feet," "With blossoms in my hair," ... "to my bower back again"

The singer warns, "So now my friends, take my advice, and never think to go Or you will rue the day you went to Australia-oh." While there, his wife, money, and clothes were stolen. Facing with high prices, he has to do manual labour. He hopes to go home

A week long party celebrates Donovan's and Kitty Maine's jubilee anniversary. "There must have been a thousand" from all over Ireland. Some are named. Piper's music, potatoes, and lots to drink from the sugar bowl.

"I've been to (Plymouth/France/Holland/etc.) and I've been to (Dover); I have been rambling, boys, all the world over... Drink up your liquor and turn your (cup) over, Over and over and over and over"

Chorus: "I've been toiling at the hill so long (x3), And about to get to heaven at last." Verse: "O mother (father, sister, brother) ain't you glad (x3), And about to get to heaven at last"

I've Been Working on the Railroad: (22 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #12606?}

The singer describes working on the railroad "all the live-long day" and waiting for Dinah to blow the horn. He describes someone being "in the kitchen with Dinah, strumming on the old banjo."

"I've bin to the 'Bama and I just got back. I didn't bring no money but I brought the sack."

"Oh I buried three husbands already ... And now I am mostly all ready For another young son to come on." "Wherever there's a goose there's a gander." "The older the bow and the fiddle, The sweeter the tune it can play"

"I've busted broncos off an' on since first I struck their trail." He knows them very well. But there is one on Powder River -- only one -- that he can't bust. The animal was worthless, but it bucked so hard he could not ride it

"I've discovered a glorious wrinkle, Never wake for twenty years, Glorious glorious Rip Van Winkle, Never woke up for twenty years."

"I've got a brother in the snow-white fields, Praying all night long. I want to go to Heaven when I die, Oh my Lawd (x2), I want to go to...." "I want to go to Heaven and I want to go right... dressed in white." "I want to go to heaven at my own expense."

"I've got a chorus I want you all to sing. It's a beautiful refrain, Let it go with might and main... And if you know what it's all about -- You know a lot more than me."

I've Got a Daughter: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #18313}

"I've got a daughter, lives in the ocean" or "My girl's a corker, She's a New Yorker." The singer would "do anything to keep her alive" or "in style." "That's where all my money goes"

"I've got a feeling ev'rything's gonna be all right, O (x3), Be all right, be all right, be all right." "Jesus already told me, ev'rything's gonna be all right. "The Holy Ghost has confirmed it, ev'rything's gonna be all right."

"Oh, I've got a master and I am his man, Galloping steadily on, Oh, I've got a master and I am his man, I'll marry me a wife as soon as I can, With a higglety pigglety, gambling gay, Higglety pigglety, gambling gay, Galloping steadily on."

"I've got a motto always merry and bright; Look around you and you will find Every cloud is silver-lined, The sun shines bright.... I've often said to myself, I've said, 'Cheer up, Coffee, you'll soon be dead.' It's a short life but a day one."

"I've got a wheelbarrow and the front wheel goes round." Repeat until exhausted

I've Got No Use for the Women: (17 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4104}

"I've got no use for the women; A true one can never be found. They use a man for his money...." The singer tells how his partner killed a man who insulted his sweetheart's picture, and was himself killed and buried on the prairie.

"I've got that (Girl Scout/Scouting/Camp Fire) Spirit Up in my head, up in my head, up in my head. I've got that Girl Scout Spirit, Up in my head, up in my head to stay." "I've got that...Spirit Deep in my heart..." "...Down in my toes." "...All over me"

"I've just come from Sydney across the range of mountains Where the nanny goats and the billy goats and the moo cows do dwell." He looks for his girl. Informed she has run off, he says he will wander by the sea and lay himself down and -- get up!

"I've just got in across the plains, I'm poorer than a snail, My mules all died but poor old Chip." The singer tells of his terrible troubles on the way to California, and warns those who would follow that gold is hard to find

"I've lived in service seven long years, A fancy I took to a maid, sir." He would be happy to marry her -- but he sees their master take her to bed. Offered money to marry her, he takes the down payment and flees, leaving the girl behind

The singer says she has lost her love and "keena weel fu" [doesn't know how], but it would be childish to complain. Men are "as fickle as winter in sunshine an' shower." "The lossing o ane's the gainin o twa." He dares not return.

"I've lost my rifle and bayonet, I've lost my pull-through too, I've lost my disc and my puttees, I've lost my four-by-two. I've lost my housewife and hold-all, I've lost my button-stick too, I've lost my rations and greatcoat, Sergeant, what shall I do?"

"Oh, I have lost my underwear, I don't care, I'll go bare, bye, bye blackbird.They were very close to me, tickly, Yee hee hee, bye bye blackbird. If you should ever come across them, would you please tell them that I lost them,,..."

"I've nine bairns and that's nae mony And if I get anither ane I'm gaun tae ca him Johnnie"

"Lasts night I was out rather late. It was only an innocent spree! My wife for my coming did wait, When sleeping I thought she would be." He stumbles but declares he isn't drunk. She is in a rage and threatens to leave him. He promises her (a new dress)

Blues; singer says he's ridden the Southern & L&N railroads, has been treated badly, is a rambling man, and has found his "two blue eyes" at last. He has had to offer her his watch, his chain, and all he had before she would agree to marry him

"I've sairt wi' men that eased me well Wi' men that tried to skin." The singer names the places he has worked but "the like o' the Aucheddly My fit was never in"

"I've traveled this country both early and late; Hard has been my fortune and sad has been my fate." He comes to his love's home and sees her with another man. He gets drunk and/or questions her and wishes he were a fisherman and could catch her

"I am a fair maiden forsaken, but I have a contented mind." Her love has forsaken him, but she does not intend to mourn; she has other options. She warns girls against men, and says she will "care no more for him than he cares for me."

"Little Tommy Hooligan He came home quite full again." He asks to be let in the locked door; Bridget will not let him in because "I've worked eight hours this day" and will not work more. A barber stops in the midst of a shave; he has worked eight hours

I'ze the B'y that Builds the Boat: (11 refs. 4K Notes) {Roud #4432}

"I'ze the b'y that builds the boat, And I'ze the b'y that sails her; I'ze the b'y that catches the fish And takes 'em home to Liza." Stories of a Newfoundland life and diet -- and of the odd things that can happen at a Newfoundland party

Jump-rope or counting-out rhyme. "Ibbity, bibbity, sibbity, sab,Ibbity, bibbity, canal boat, Dictionary (goes) down the ferry, Out goes you." Or, ...up the river, down the river, Out goes you."

Counting-out rhyme? "Ibbity, bibbity, shindo, My mother was washing the window, The window it/got broke, My mother got soake(d), Ibbity, bibbity, shindo, My mother told me To take this one."

"Some old Robin Down they call me/But I'm a weaver by my trade/In this fair berth, in which I'm dwelling/And Ibby Damsel my heart betrayed." Two succeeding verses praise Ibby Damsel's beauty, and note that "from her chamber I can't get free"

Ice Bound Hunting Seals: (1 ref. 2K Notes) {Roud #V44841}

"The wind was still from the nor'east As we sat down to out humble feast" as the sealers talk of days gone by. They recall happier voyages; finally old "Garge" "Cried out, 'it's the "infarnal" steal -- that's what done it.'"

The Eagle sails for the ice and sends out sealing parties. The crews find many animals. After several successful expeditions, the singer and colleagues are unable to find the ship. Some eventually find their way back, but 60 die

"Icham of Irlaunde, Ant of the hole lond Of Irlaunde. Gode sire, prey ich (you), For of saynte charite, Come and daunce wyt me In Irlaunde." "I am of Ireland, And of the holy land of Ireland. Good sir... Come and dance with me In Ireland."

Counting-out rhyme. "Ickie Bbickie soda cracker, Ickie bickie boo, Ickie bickie soda cracker, Out goes you." (Or "Itsy bitsy soda cracker," or "Icker bicker soda cracker," etc.)

Ickle Ockle Black Bottle: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #20650}

"Ickle ockle black bottle, Ickle ockle out, If you come into my house, I will kick you out." Or "...bottle, Fishes in the sea, If you want a pretty maid, Please choose me." Or "...bottle, Ickle ockle out, O-U-T spells out, And out you must go."

Jump-rope rhyme. "Icklety-picklety, isia-lickerty, Boom ta-ra jib. Every man man in Chinatown ought to wear a wig. One, two, three, Out pops she, Icklety-picklety, isia-lickerty, Boom ta-ra-ra jig"

"Icky acky chew the baccy/tobaccy, Icky acky out."

"For her I'd leave Virginia, I'd leave my Mary Land, I'd part with Mrs. Sippi, That widow, fair and bland. I'd leave Louisa Anna, and other Annas, too." "I'd give them all the go-by And stick to Ida Ho." "I like her breezy manners And her honest ways."

"Ida Red, Ida Red, I'm in love with Ida Red." Verses often concern Ida, but are frequently silly and exaggerated: "Ida Red, she ain't a fool, Bigger'n an elephant, stronger'n a mule."

"I went down one day in a lope, Fool around till I stole a coat." In love with Ida Red, the singer turns criminal (against Ida's wishes). He winds up in prison, and she cannot raise his bail. He regrets his mistake, and looks forward to seeing Ida again

"Unprintable" song about Ida's exploits, with chorus something like "Ida Rad and Ida Blue, And I love Ida same as you."

Fragment: "She was laden with slates and heavy crates And was bound for New Orleans"

"When Rome, by dividing, had conquered the world," Ireland, united, escaped. Eventually "our domestic dissensions let foreigners in.... our freedom was lost.... Let us firmly unite, and our covenant be, Together to fall, or together be free"

"If a gumboil could boil oil, How much oil would a gumboil boil, If a gumboil could boil oil."

If a' were wrocht that's ta'en in hand, And a' were peyed that's promised me, I'd gang again the gate I cam', And a better laddie I wad be"

"If all the raindrops were lemon drops and gum drop Oh what a rain it would be, I’d stand outside, with my mouth open wide Going “AA Aa-aa aa aa-aa aa aa-aa aa." Similarly if snowflakes were candy bars, if sunbeams were jellybeans, etc.

If All the Seas Were One Sea: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #19775}

"If all the seas were one sea, What a great sea that would be! If all the trees were one tree.... And if all the men... And if the great man took an axe, And cut down the great tree, And let it fall into the great sea, What a splish-splash that would be!"

If All the World Were Paper: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #19693}

"If all the world were paper, And all the sea were ink, If all the trees were bread and cheese, What should we have to drink?"

If But One Heart Be True: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #6096}

"There's mony a freen wea' may meet in bright and prosperous days Who when adversity draws near their confidence betrays Yet hopefully and cheerfully our courage we'll renew If but one heart be true to us, if but one heart be true"

If Ever I Cease to Love: (2 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #V6278}

Singer's true love is perfect: "a modern Taglioni and Sims Reeves rolled into one." If he stops loving her, may these things happen: "little dogs wag their tails in front," "cows lay eggs and fowls yield milk," "we never have to pay Income Tax..."

If Ever You Go to Kilkenny: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #16989}

"If ever you'll go to Kilkenny Enquire for the Hole-in-the-Wall" for free or inexpensive food: the governor comes around with it in the morning. The singer was drunk there last Friday and the governor insisted he strip before entering.

"If he'd be a buckaroo by his trade, I'd have him a hondo ready-made... He can scratch my hondo every night, WIth his ring ting tinny...." Similarly for other occupations: "If he'd be a preacher/sheepherder/sailor by his trade...."

When singer calls his lover she won't call back. She brags about her looks ("brick house") and she "hauls" (ashes) for "two high yellows." He asked her for "whisky" got "gasoline." He's going home to New Orleans.

"If my heart beats better times it's all on account of you." "If I can't have you I don't want nobody else." "When I feel bad I'll tell you what I'll do. I won't stay long. I just want to have a little talk with you."

"If I could only hear my mother pray again, If I could only hear her tender voice within, 'Twould mean so much to me, How happy I would be, If I could hear...."

"They took John Henry to the steep hillside, He looked to the heaven above, He said, 'Take my hammer and wrap it in gold And give it to the girl I love." "If I die a railroad man, go bury me under the tie So I can hear old Number 4 As she goes rolling by"

"If I die in Arkansas (x2), Ship my body to my mother-in-law." "If my mother refuses me, ship it to my paw." "If my paw refuses me, ship it to my girl." "If my girl refuses me, shove it in the sea, Where the fishes... make a fuss over me."

"Lord, if I got my ticket, can I ride? (x3) Ride away to heaven that morning." The singer says Judgment Day is coming and asks the Lord to tell him if he lacks anything. "Jehovah" will send his angels to clean the world. The gospel train will be on time

If I Had a Donkey: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #19735}

"If I had a donkey that wouldn't go, Do you think I'd wallop him? No, no, no.... I'd put him in the barn and give him some corn, The best little donkey that ever was born." Some versions tell of cruelty to animals and Bill Burns getting in trouble for it

"If I had a hammer, I'd hammer in the morning," to bring a warning and to create love between "all of my brothers." Similarly with bell and a song. And the singer has hammer, bell, and song: The hammer of justice, etc.

If I Had But a Thousand a Year: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #23101}

Robin Ruff tells Gaffer Green, "If I had but a thousand a year... What a man I would be, And what sights I would see." Green tells him to be calm and determine what he would do. Green reminds him that everyone must die, and he should plan for it

"I went right down to my old friend Joe," (to ask for money?), but Joe has none to spare. "If I had it, you could get it, But I am very sorry I haven't got it. For I am all in and down and out." The singer says he will hold his money if he ever gets more

"If I had the gov'ner Where the gov'ner has me, Before daylight I'd set the gov'ner free. I begs you' gov'ner, Upon my soul: If you won't gimme a pardon, Won't you gimme a parole?"

"If I had the wings of a turtle dove (turtle dove) Back to (place name) I’d fly (I’d fly). There I would stay with the other girls (...). There I would stay till I die. Oo la la..." "If I had the wings of a caterpillar... I would stay till I drop dead"

"If I had wings no one would ask me should I fly, The bird sings, no one asks why." Someday the singer will fly free. Others can't pretend to understand the singer. Don't ask if (s)he's happy

"If I lie to grow old... Let this be my fate in a fair country town." "May I govern my passions with absolute sway, And grow wiser and better as my strength wears away." He hopes for a good home, health, a good view, good books, good food, a good death

Floating verses; singer is clearly a rambler, but the song has no cohesion. "I can't walk/Neither can I talk/Just getting back from the state of old New York/One morning, just before day." Chorus: "If I lose, let me lose/I don't care how much I lose."

"If I was a fair maid... I'd marry a tailor before I'd marry any,... He'd sew, and I'd sew 'n' we'd all sew together." "I'd marry a sailor... we'd all sail...." "I'd marry a shoe-maker... we'd all sew." "I'd marry a carpenter... we'd all chip...."

"If I went up to a hill-top I will go down to Barbaree, Den madame, madame, come an' hol' dat dog I am gwine down to Barbaree." "If you fight me a golden sword I will fight you a silver one, Den madame ...."

If I Were a Cassowary: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #25350}

"If I were a cassowary Living out in Timbuctoo, I would eat a missionary Coat and had and hymnbook too."

If I Were a Fisher: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6873}

Composite of floating material: The singer goes to the garden to pick flowers. He wishes he were a fisher, to catch Molly, a salmon; he wishes he were a scholar. He would build Molly a castle. But he lost her by courting too slow

If I Were a Merry Maid: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #29427}

"If I were a merry maid, Which thank the Lord I'm not, sir, The kind of man I would wed Would be a Number One, sir." The woman describes what she would do were she married to each individual member of an artillery crew

The singer is now (84/92); his black hair has turned gray, and youngsters call him "Uncle Joe." But he still feels young, and promises "If any girl here is in love with me, She'll find me as young as I used to be."

"If I were back 'ome in 'Ampshire, Where they birds do flock round I, I'd clap my 'hands an' laugh like buggery, An' all they birds would fly away." "I wonder where that blackbird be... 'E see I an' I see 'e an' I be after 'e...."

"If I'd as much money as I could spend, I never would cry, 'Old chairs to mend.'"

"If it keep on a-rainin' Can't make no time. If it keep on a-rainin' I'm goin' to Birmingham."

"If man him bi octe, Inderlike and ofte, Wu arde is te fore From bedde te flore, Wu reufel is te flitte, from flore te pitte... I ene non sinne, Sulde his herte inne." If one thought oft of the fall from bed to floor, from floor to pit, he would not sin

"If the sergeant steals your rum, never mind (x2), Though he's just a blood sot, Just let him take the lot, If the sergeant steals your rum...." "If old Jerry shells the trench, never mind.... Though the blessed sandbags fly, You have only once to die"

"If this book should chance to roam, Box its ears and send it home."

"Beware, squire, yeoman, and page, For service is no heritage." "If thou serve a lord of price, Be not too boisterous in thine service, Damn not thy soul in no wise." Weather and women and fortune change, so serve God and take heaven as heritage

"If we have earned the right to eat this bread, Happy indeed are we, But if unmerited thou gives to us, May we more thankful be."

"If you can love me, why not love me, While you have so many in Tennessee! By this you may be led, To think of me when I am dead."

"If you don't believe I'm sinking, just look what a hole I'm in. If you don't believe I love you, just look what a fool I've been. You made me love you and now your man have come, I'll see you later when I've got my gun."

"If you don't want me, baby, Got to have me anyhow." The singer asks his woman what she has in mind and tells her "you can't quit me"

"If you gently touch the nettle It will sting you for your pains. Grasp it like a man of mettle And it soft as silk remains."

If You Get There Before I Do: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #11821}

"If you get there before I do, all right, all right, Jesus will make it all right. Just tell them that I am coming too, all right, all right. If you get there before I do, all right, Just scratch a hole and pull me through, all right, all right."

If You Have the Toothache: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #1496?}

"If you have the toothache, And greetin' with the pain," the answer is not sweets, which cannot help. Instead, take a mouthful of water and castor oil "And put your arse upon the fire, Till it begins to boil."

Chorus: "If you love God, serve Him, Hallelujah! (Praise ye the Lord/Love and serve the Lord)" (2x). "Come, go to glory with me (Praise .../Love ...)"(2x). Verses: The singer was a sinner "on the road to hell" but the Father and Son redeemed his soul.

"If you love me like I love you, No knife can cut our love in two."

"If you love me, pop and fly, If you hate me, lie and die." (Or "If he hates me...., etc.) Said to be used as a form of divination when a chestnut is placed in a fire.

If You Meet a Woman in the Morning: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #11792}

"If you meet a woman in the morning, Bow yo' head, buddy, bow yo' head." "When you hear that turkle-dove a-hollerin', Sign it's gwi' rain, buddy, sign it's gwi' rain." Other bird calls indicate other times: Whip-poor-will planting, screech owls cold

If You See My Mother: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #18889}

"If you see my mother, partner, tell her pray for me, I got life on the river...." "They 'cuse me o' murder, Never harmed a man." The singer bemoans the hard work on the prison, and asks a dead man to lighten his burden

"(If you) sneeze on Monday, (you) sneeze for danger, Sneeze on Tuesday, kiss a stranger, Sneeze on Wednesday, sneeze for a letter... Sneeze on a Sunday, your safety seek, Or the devil will take you for the rest of the week."

If You Want a Bargain Handy: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #13053}

Honest Sandy is the man to see for a bargain.

"If you were the only Boche in the trench, And I had the only bomb, Nothing else would matter in the world today, I would blow you to eternity." The singer considers what a one-to-one combat would be like

"If you were the only girl in the world, And I was the only boy, Nothing else would matter in the world today, We would go on loving the same old way, A Garden of Eden made just for two With nothing to mar our joy... If you were the only...."

"If you weren't so Ballymena, And you had some Ballymoney, You could buy a Ballycastle To be your Ballyhome."

The singer reminds her husband that he promised when they married "that you would leave liquor alone." Nevertheless, he breaks his vows "to your kind wife and baby at home."

"If you're going back to Blighty, If you're going back to Town, If Traflgar Square, green the lions there, Shout, 'Hallo, hallo, London.' Give the man in blue a fiver, Kiss the girls, don't be afraid. Tell every Western Pet That she's not forgotten yet."

"If you're happy and you know it clap your hands (x2), If you're happy and you know it, Then your face will really show it, If you're happy and you know it, clap your hand975" Similarly, "If you're happy and you know it, stamp your feet," etc.

"Ef yore gal gits mad an' tries to bully you (x2), Jes' take your automatic an' shoot her through an' through! (x2)"

"When a bunch of foaming mustangs Are a-chargin' 'round the corral... Don't you step into the saddle, Till you know she's good and tight." If you must face various dangers, the results are likely to be bad unless the saddle is tight

"If-ika you-ika can-ika swim-ika Li-ika my-ika son-ika John-ika, I-ika will-ika give-ika you-ika Bob-ika" (or, perhaps, "give-ika you-ika a shilling")

Dutch. Capstan shanty. "In Hellevoetsluis daar staat een huis." There is a house in Hellevoetsluis where one can find Mr. Baggerman's daughters, whom he abuses. One escapes to church; the singer tells of the responses. The ship sails for America

Capstan shanty. Dutch. "Ik kwam lest over een berg gegangen." The singer would like to... would like to... would like to drink" (the key word is given only in the final repetition). He drinks, is stripped, beds the landlord's daughter, gets paid off

"There is a few songsters, Their like could not be found, Who have been making a song Upon old Isaac C. Brown." The singer tells "how I tended my crops." He leaves home to "dredge the big canal." He describes other canal workers

Nonsense counting-out rhyme. "Ikkamy, dukkamy, alligar mole, Dick slew alligar slum, Hukka pukka, Peter's gum -- Francis!"

French. "We must go to war / Drink, then we'll go.". Soldier, leaving for war, visits his sweetheart. He finds her weeping; he asks why she is weeping, and she tells him it's because he's leaving. He tells her it's true. "We must drink, and then go."

French. A reaper says "Quelle chaleur!" The singer thinks it said "Here is the robber." He runs. A mill says "Tri que traque." He thinks it said "Catch him." He runs. A priest says "Dominus vobiscum." The singer thinks he said "Here he is." He runs

"What is't that gars ye hang your heid and quit the cheery sun?" The depressed listener is urged to cheer up; troubles are certain but can be overcome, and there is a place for everything: "Ilka blade o' grass keps its ain drap o' dew."

Ill Fares the Family: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1343}

"A Woman's Rule should ... Only ... guide her household ... So long as ... Husband lasts or Reason. Ill fares the hapless family that shows A Cock that's silent, and a Hen that crows." What's worse: "Obedient Husbands, or commanding Wives"?

Ill-Fated Vernon, The: (1 ref. 2K Notes) {Roud #19833}

"All you true-feeling Christians, I hope you will draw near, And hear my doleful story...." The Vernon, with six men aboard, sailed on October 25. A storm blew up (on Lake Michigan). The Vernon sank with 25 passengers. Other ships refused to help out

"Now Jordan's land of promise is the burden of my song, Perhaps you've heard him lecture and blow about it strong." But the singer warns that it is a land of bad food, hard work, vermin, and thirst. He warns people not to come

"Come all ye sons of labor who wish to change your lot, Who've spunk enough to travel beyond your native cot." Listeners are urged to leave the cities and head for Kansas, where soil is good: "Come with us and settle in peerless Lane County."

Immortal Washington: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #5465}

"Columbia's greatest glory Was her loved chief, fair Freedom's friend." Listeners are urged to respect and praise the (recently deceased?) Washington, and God is asked to "Receive into thy bosom Our virtuous hero -- Washington"

"The Imperial throne when Theodosius held In Palestine a holy hermit dwelled, Whose shining virtues and extensive fame The world astonished -- Zozimus was his name." (Possibly goes on to tell the tale of Mary of Egypt being found by Zozimus)

In his youth the singer would defiantly say "Imph-m,": "ower dour to say Aye!" Later, he stole a kiss from Jean when she shook her head "no" but said "imph-m." Now his children taunt him the same way "sae I've gi'en ower the 'Imph-m', it's no a nice word"

"To dream the impossible dream, To fight the unbeatable foe." The singer strives always to do what is best, "no matter how hopeless." Even if he fails, "The world will be better for this": that he strove "to reach the unreachable stars"

"In eighteen-hundred-sixty-four, We started out to meet the poor; We left our families and our friends To help gather Israel in." 53 teams head for Mormon Country. They have trouble crossing the Platte; the locals oppose them. But they finally arrive

"I'm the man that rode the boxcar around the world, boys, it's a pleasure to me." The singer tells of travelling around the world a dozen times by train. He asks, when he dies, to be left aboard the train and allowed to "ride forevermore."

"In a fine castle Have you seen x?" "We are the prettiest." "We want one of you." "Which one do you want?" "We want y." "[Now] we want one of you." "We'll give you z." "He's too ugly." "We'll give you so-and-so" "That will do." "Bye bye"

"In a handy four-master I once took a trip, Hooray boys, heave 'er down, An' I though that I was aboard a good ship, Way down, laddies down." The sailor finds she is a "workhouse." Sailors are worked hard and the food is bad. He will not sail her again

"In the dear old village churchyard, I can see a mossy mound, Where my mother she is sleeping, In the cold and silent ground." He recalls the sad night his mother died, and her last words. He has no one to love him now that mother lies beneath the willow

"In Arthur's court Tom Thumb did live, a man of mickle might"; born when his father asked help of Merlin. His small size causes him many adventures. He sickens, and is too small for the doctor to treat. Arthur and his knights mourn him

"In Bethlehem, in that fair city, A child was born of our Lady, Lord and prince that he should be." Many children were slain by Herod. Jesus shone even in Mary's body. "To bli God bring us all and some, Christe redemptor omnium."

"In Bohemia Hall, in Bohemia Hall, Where ev'ry man is king, In Bohemia Hall, in Bohemia Hall, We'll laugh, we'll drink, we'll sing, WIth a big stein on the table, we'll drink while we are able, And we don't give a damn for any old man In Bohemia Hall"

The singer's father was responsible for cleaning up horse refuse in the streets of (Bohunkus). In the process, he once found "diamond(s) in the dung," which allowed the singer to pledge to the Beta (Theta Pi) fraternity

In Bright Mansions Above: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #12074}

Chorus: "In bright mansions above (x2), Lord I want to live up yonder, In bright mansions above." Verse: "My mother's (father's, sister's, Saviour's) gone to glory, I want to go there too, Lord, I want to live up yonder, In bright mansions above."

William seduces Polly. She becomes pregnant and asks that he marry her. He sends her home to her parents. "I'll not go home to my parents For to bring them to disgrace But I will go and drown myself Down in some secret place." He says he'll die with her.

In Came That Rooster: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #27633}

"We had some chickens, no eggs would they lay (x2), My wife said, 'honey, we're losin' money..." One day a rooster flew into the yard... They're laying eggs now, just like they used to,." The rooster catches other things off guard and makes them grow

"Come all you young fellows, and hear what I say... Eight years in the camps of the Henrys I've been, But the likes of this winter I've never yet seen." He goes from camp to camp. The life is hard. The cook, Old Martin, makes bad food and has a poor wife

"In Carrickmacross and Crossmaglen There are more rogues than honest men."

"Build high, build wide your prison wall, That there may be room enough for all Who hold you in contempt." The song asks how the wardens can imprison people for their consciences, and says they can never lock up all who dissent

In Cortachy Cottage: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #18047}

"In Cortachy cottage there lives a young lassie, A lassie that I like wondrous fine"; she is beautiful and the singer wishes she were his. The singer first saw her by the Esk as the birds sang.

Fishing, the singer meets a maid. She asks if he is a stranger "brought up in Cupid's court ... an angler ... Or was it Cupid sent you here Young virgins to ensnare?" He asks her to marry, she agrees. "Instead of catching salmon He caught a prudent wife"

In Days When We Went Gypsying: (7 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1245}

"In days when we went gypsing A long time ago, The lads and lasses in their best Were dressed from head to toe." The singer looks back on the gay times of his early life. (He wishes he were back under the old oak tree.)

"In de vinter, in de vinter-time, Ven de vin' blows on de vindow-pane, An' de vimmen, in de vaud'vil, Ride de veloc'pede in de vestibule,Ah, vimmins! Ah, mens!"

"There's a lot of whisky bloats polluting our fair land, And they're here to see their country's laws enforced. Their pious hearts are filled with grief to see the Mormons sin"; they'll do what it takes to end polygamy, including separating men and women

"The snaw has been fa'in in the hale day lang." The singer doubts her lover will come tonight. Her father, mother and sister say he won't come. The collie hears him at the door. "I micht weel hae kent he wad be here the nicht"

The singer courts an ugly woman on Duckworth Street. One night "I found her faithless she Fryin' sausages fer he." When he tells her "we must part ... With a fryin' pan she broke my head."

"In eighteen hundred and sixty I used to go to see A pretty little gal in Georgy, How dearly she loved me, She wanted me to marry, Soon as the war was over, She said we'd live together Like chickens in the clover, Tr la la la la la...."

In Eighteen-Forty-Nine: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #417}

"When I came to this country in 1849, I saw many a true love, but I never saw mine... I am a poor soldier and a long way from home." Floating verses of longing: "Farewell to my old father" "If... I could write a fine hand" "I wish I were a lark"

German. "In einem kiehlen Grunde, Do schteht ein Miehlenrad. "A mill stands in the valley, where the singer's love lived. She gave him a ring; now her vow and the ring are broken. He wishes he were a minstrel, to sing his sorrows, or a knight, to fight

Now we drink swipes instead of good ale. Farmer's daughters used to spin but now "their fingers they're afraid to soil"; they play the piano instead of mop or broom. Farmer's used to ride a horse to the market or fair, but now it's to fox-hunting.

Pulling shanty. "In Frisco Bay there lay three ships, To my way-ay-ay-o. And one of those ships was Noah's Old Ark, A long time ago." Up to 30 verses describing the ship, the animals and the conditions on the ark.

In Good Old Colony Times: (37 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #130}

Three rogues (king's sons? miller, weaver, and tailor?) "fell into mishaps / because they could not sing." Eventually they turn to robbery. "The miller drowned in his dam / the weaver was hung in his yarn, and the devil clapped his claws on the tailor..."

"In January last, On Munnonday at morn, As I along the fields did pass," the singer meets a pretty girl. He asks to walk with her. She hopes he has "more breeding" than to go too far. He will not bother her if she is "contracted"; she says women are kind

A quatrain ballad, this describes the unseemly, unsanitary, unhealthy conditions and people in that state, at Yale, in Mobile, in Zamboanga or any other place disliked by the singer.

The singer thinks back to his "boyhood in Kerry long ago." He thinks about dances, and his girl friend Mary, nights listening to fairy stories and holding colleens "for to save them from the fairies."

A girl goes to serve a lady whose son is a sea captain. They fall in love; when he must go to sea, he pledges to be true. She dresses as a man and enlists on his ship. He says she reminds him of his love. She reveals her identity and they are married

In Lonely Belvedere: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2725}

"My love he was a fine young man ... he lies within his grave in lonely Belvedere. 'My curse upon you Major Grant,' in anger she did say. 'My curse upon you Bennett ... Was you that caused my sorrow In lonely Belvedere'"

"As I sailed past Jura's isle, Among the waters lone, I heard a voice, a sweet low voice Atween a sigh and moan" as a girl with babes on her knee laments her husband fighting in Germany. Her brothers and her love have all been called away

Riddle: "In marble halls as white as milk, Lined with a skin as soft as silk, Within a fountain crystal-clear, a golden apple doth appear. No doors there are to this stronghold, Yet thieves break in and steal the gold." Answer: an egg.

A song for rowing, listed as a round: "Then you'll see our oars with feathered spray, As they sparkle in the beam of day, In our little bark we glide, Swiftly o'er the silent tide... The warrior his heritage to restore... Oh, in measure time we'll row."

"Sad comes the news from o'er the sea, To fill our hearts with dread, To tell us that the ones we loved Are numbered with the dead." The poem briefly mentions their home lives, and hopes that God will make things well

The supply boat has to stand by and watch Ocean Ranger sink. ODECO collects its eighty million from Lloyd's acknowledging no blame. The singer hopes the inquiry and "days when lives are sacrificed to corporate greed" end soon.

"There ain't no liars there in my Father's house (x3), Oh, there's peace, peace everywhere." "There ain't no crapshooters there...." "There ain't no cardplayers there...."

The singer laments the loss of her thyme. She had spent her life making herself fair, only to find her thyme stolen by a sailor. Now "I gaze on the willow tree," and "I would I were clasped in my lover's arms fast, for 'tis he who has stolen my thyme"

The singer complains that her sailor with light brown hair has forsaken her. When she goes to bed she can't sleep "for thinking on my true love ... But he seldom minds on me." She wishes for a half-hour in his company.

"Wine sparkles in our glasses, We have no debts to pay, We spend our time in pleasure In North America."

"Have you heard about Paul Bunyan's camps, Where they used moon and stars for lamps?" There are ten thousand men. Paul's pants are made of wood. His daughter leaves the camp and is surprised to see a farmer and team. She brings them back in her apron

In Old Pod-Auger Times: (3 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #3739}

"I'll sing to you of the good old times When people were honest and true, Before their brains were rattled and crazed By everything strange and new." The singer grumbles about modern ways, and longs for "old pod-auger times"

"A song now to please all my kind friends before me... I'm going to sing of our grandfather's days. In our grandfathers' days men were judged by merit...." Now money settles things. Clothes weren't so fancy, people gambled less, politicians were good men

German. "In Poland schteht en Haus (x3), Joe Keiser piepa Polischen Haus." "in Poland there stands a house... Joe Kaiser's ??? house." "Who lives in the house?" ""A landlord lives in the house," helping a girl bring up a child who writes on the walls

In Praise of John Magee: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2899}

John Magee finds no peace with his wife "So he says, 'I can auction you according to the law.'" The bidding is active and she goes to a farmer from Killarney for twenty-five shillings. "May the devil follow after her, the auctioneer did say"

"Who seeks the way to win renown, Or flies with wings of his desire... Let him his native soil eschew, Let him go range and seek a new." "I must abroad to try my lot." Hard work at home has no value. The singer recalls Jason and the Greeks going to Troy

"Ye may strain your muscles to brag of Brussels" or any other great city "But they're all far inferior" to Mullingar. The singer describes many scenes, the Royal Canal, the courthouse and workhouse, railway station, and finally "the beauteous females"

The singer, a poacher, escapes from Rockley Firs but is caught at the tavern and taken to Marlborough jail. He stands trial. He apparently does time "in a dark cell" but "I am got free, I am not transported, you all may see"

"'Neath the Southern skies there stands a humble cottage, 'Neath its roof sits a mother old and gray." The singer wishes to return to Savannah, embrace his mother, and care for her in her "declining years."

"We've got a rope that's a Berlin Wall, A Berlin Wall, (x2), Well, we've got a rope that's a... In Selma, Alabama." "Hate is a thing that's a Berlin Wall." "Ol' George Wallace helped to build that wall." "Love is the thing that will make it fall."

Singer comes into the country in 1795; considers himself lucky just to be alive. He knocks at a girl's door; she lets him in and says not to ramble any more. They marry and live happily, "And the stars sang a banjo tune/When she said that she'd be mine"

"They tell us in Soho on Saturday night, Most ev'ry person you meet they are tight." The singer sees a woman fall into a sewer -- and get up to admit the dangers of drink. Various drunken Pittsburgers are listed

"In some lady's fine brick house, In some lady's garden, You walk so high you can't get out, So fare you well, my darling." "Oh, swing a lady ump-tum, Swing a lady round, Swing a lady ump-tum, Promenade round."

"Oh, somebody come and let me out of here, I'se in some lady's garden. I'll roll like a log if you let me out of here, I'se in...." "Oh, somebody come... I'll pant like a lizard if you let me out...." "I'll run like a rabbit." "I'll kick like a donkey."

Chorus: "I hear a mighty moaning (x3), In some lonesome graveyard." Verses: "Mother (father, preacher) don't let your daughter (son, member) condemn you (x3), In some lonesome graveyard"

Jump-rope rhyme, presumably for changing players: "In spin, Let (Judy) come in, Out, spout, Let (Judy) go out."

"In Tarland toon, near by Aboyne Bill Morrice doth abide"

Chorus: "Oh, I will be there, (x2) With palms of victory, crowns of glory you shall wear In that beautiful world on high." Verses: "I hope my mother (sister, brother) will be there That used to join with me in prayer"

The singer says nobody had anything to say to him when he was in the world, but now, in the House of God everybody talks to him. "Carry me and bring me in that eternal day"

Chorus: "Why are you running sinner," "I'm running from the fire"(2x). "In that great day." "O Israel"(3x). "In that great day." Verses have the same pattern as "O Israel...." See notes.

"In that great gettin' up morning, Fare thee well, fare thee well...." Call and answer about the deeds of Gabriel (the Annunciation to Mary and the Last Trumpet). The refrain "Fare thee well" occurs throughout

Spiritual: "In that morning, what a beautiful morning that shall be... Everybody got to rise for your Master Jesus in that morning...." Chorus: "...rise for your Master Jesus in that morning"

Singer boasts of his abilities as a coal miner, saying he can hew more coal than anyone in the region, and if anyone doubts him, they should check out his abilities -- "and haven't I often proved it in the bar-room (public bar)"

Jump-rope rhyme. "In the dark, dark world, There's a dark dark country, In the dark dark country, There's a dark dark wood. In the dark dark wood, There's a dark dark house. In the dark dark house There is... a man drying to mend a fuse!"

"In the days of old Rameses, are you on, are you on, They told the same thing... In the days of old Ramesis, that story had paresis...." The story sarcastically mentioned was told by Adam in Eden, by Joshua at Jericho, etc., and now is old and tired

The singer recalls how difficult life was when he faced poverty. He was scorned by family, and forced to all sorts of tricks to keep alive. He barely overcame the temptation to steal. His consolation was that he wore his ragged clothes honestly.

The singer is lost and alone in the woods in a storm. He laments, "The cold wet ground must be my bed... The tempest howls, the rain descends. Oh Jesus, must my life here end?" After breathing his final prayers, he dies

"In de ebening by de moonlight when de darkies work was over... Dat's de only time we had to spare.... Uncle Gabe would take de fiddle down...." "All dem happy times we used to hab, will ne'er return again... In de ebe'ning...."

"When you're coming from the firing line (x2), You can hear them huffling along; You can hear the Sergeant-Major calling, "Come along, boys! Get into some sort of line, Fill up the last blank file,"In the evening, by the moonlight, When you're coming...

"I come to the garden alone, While the dew is still on the roses, And the voice I hear, Falling on my ear, The Son of God discloses. And he walks with me...." The singer would stay and listen to the voices forever, "But he bids me go."

In the Good Old Summertime: (9 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #17274}

"There's a time in each year that we always hold dear, Good old summertime." The singer recalls the happy days, "In the good old summertime (x2), Strolling through the shady lanes with that baby mine." He describes life as a child in summer

"In the good old summertime, In the good old summertime, Strolling round the Opera House, Up to your knees in slime."

The singer notes weeping in the Highlands because the young men have been sent "where the maidens daurna go." She looks forward to her Donal's return and his kisses "unless some brighter beauty blinks blithe in his e'e."

In the Hills of Roane County: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3387}

Singer courts and marries; his wife's brother Tom stabs him. Three months later, he kills Tom. He's sentenced to life in prison. His family mourns; he tells prison friends that when they write home, "put one of my songs in your letter for me"

"When the Saints first reached the mountains From off the desert plains... They swell'd their joyful strains." "Here we thrive in the hive, In the hive of Deseret." The land was barren when they arrived; now it is productive and the Mormons an example

In the Jailhouse Now: (14 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #18801}

Bill Campbell disregards warnings and keeps gambling; he's in the jailhouse now. Bill Austin tries to vote twice; he's in the jailhouse now. Singer meets a girl; after a spree, he finds her hand in his pocket. She's in the graveyard, he's in the jailhouse

Chorus: "In the kingdom (7x), In the kingdom today." Verse: "My mother (father, sister) has gone to journey away (x3), In the kingdom today"

In the Mansions Above: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #12019}

"Good lord, in the mansions above, (x2), My Lord, I hope to meet my Jesus in the mansions above." "If you get there before I do..." "My lord, I've had many crosses and trials here below..." "Fight on, my brother, for the mansions above."

"She does all her endeavor ...": if she finds the women in the men's apartment "she'll beat their backs wi her twa fists And tear their very hair"

In the Merry Month of June, Love: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #6209}

The singer complains that "times are nae wi' me love, as they hae been." He describes his love and says "surely ye've been very unconstant To change yer old love for any new." She says "you will have pleasure I would rather my old love than twenty new"

"Oh dear, I"m sad, I've got the blues, I've lately heard some dreadful news, I really tremble in my shoes, It's all about the Mormons." They are "the queerest set... They live in... Deseret." They obey Brigham Young in everything. They have many wives

"In the Mormon beds out West, There the concubines do rest While husbands visit Emily and Jane! Oh! how the babies do abound By the thousands all around While the husband now slips in to see Elaine."

"We're a 65-ton hooker, and we're jammed up in the Bight." Sailing her is hard; she may well sink. "And for two-pound-ten a month we have to go where duty calls. We can't be much worse off... whatever luck befalls In Kingdom-blanky-Glory in the morning."

In the Morning (I): (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #15271}

Chorus: "Ride on (x3), King Emanuel, Don't you want to go to heaven in the morning." Verses: "Some of these mornings bright and fair, Take my flight right through the air." "You say your aiming for the skies, Why don't you stop telling lies."

Chorus: "In the morning (x2) When the dark clouds roll away (x2) I'll be praying with my mother, When...." "No more sorrow / crying / praying, When...." "I'll be happy in the morning, When...."

"I'se gwine away by the light of the moon, Want all the children to follow me, I hope I'll meet you darkies soon, Oh, hally, hally hallelujah!..." Chorus: "In the morning, morning by the bright light Hear Gabriel blow his trumpet in the morning."

Usually about a man whose girl has left him (on a train) (to meet another) ("in the pines, in the pines, where the sun never shines, And I shivered the whole night through"). The girl, who rides the "longest train I ever saw," may die in a wreck

In the Pit from Sin Set Free: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #7467}

"In the pit from sin set free, Sudden death would glory be, That is why I sing with glee, Jesus saves." The miner, even as he struggles to bring up the coal, is thankful to Jesus.

"In the shade I lie and ponder While the suns rays beat up yonder, My one wish is that I might wander this world till I die." " I shall seek valleys enchanted. With my close friends here beside me, and my God above to guide me"

"The oriole was sweetly singing" over the lovers. Chorus: "In the shade of the old apple tree, Where the love in your eyes I could see... With a heart that is true, I'll be waiting for you, In the shade...." The girl dies and is buried under the tree

A girl shows the singer her anatomy "in the shade of the old apple tree," and he makes the appropriate reply

"In the summer of sixty as you very well know The excitements at Pike's Peak was then all the go." The singer buys a ranch, but a miner jumps his claim. He gets into a crooked card game, loses all his money, and flees the area

"In the vale of Abraham, Christ himself he made Adam." Adam is shown "the bliss of paradise" and the Tree of Knowledge. The fiend lures him to eat. He sees that he is naked, and is driven into the desert

"I was in Judah's(?) land by God's (immortal) hand That Jesus Christ was born in the vally, In the valley, in the valley, That Jesus Christ was born in the valley." The early life of Jesus is recounted, and listeners advised to heed and rejoice

"When I was a young man in the year of '39," the singer served on the "famous ship" Cassoline. They go searching for other ships and encounter one much better armed, but fight her off even though only 18 of their own crew can still fight

In This Ring You Stand So Fair: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #7894}

"In this ring you stand so far, You look so sad and lonesome, Choose the one that you love best, And choose the one that's handsome." "Now you think you've done quite well, Go prove yourself, get married... And tell her that you love her."

"In this time Christ hath us sent, His own son to be present, To dwell with us in verament, God, that is our savior." He was born in an ox's stall. The shepherds came. The star shone. So "Man, be glad in hall and bower"

"Whee-oop! Whoop-ee! Does anyone find any flies on me?" The cowboy arrives in town with his check, having worked for six months on the trail. He can't find a girl who really wants him, so he intends to spend his money on drink.

The singer says London's, or "the Union's," "great increase in crime" results from the rich hoarding gold while the poor are underpaid and hungry, and the police arrest the poor while letting the real criminal thrive.

"Oh, say did you ever in years long gone by, When you bachelor's hall were so lonesomely keeping, To sweep with an old lopsided broom try?" For 24 years there has been no new broom (political party). "The broom Independent" will sweep the state

India's Burning Shores: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #550}

"I stood beneath the lofty palms on India's burning shores" where the singer meets an old man who declares he is a native of Ireland. He was exiled in the aftermath of 1848. His wife and daughter were killed. The singer promises to take him home to die

"Pitch my tent on the camp ground And a-hu'em, and a hu'um! For to give the devil anotehr round, And a-hu'um, and a-hu'um! Yes, glory be to God, my soul's high; Leap for joy and let us fly, And a-hu'um, and a-hu'um!"

Fragment: "My curse upon the timber with the wood in which it grew, That built the Indian Chief to drown Tom Cannon and his crew"

"Once upon this very ground, Indian children played around, Overhead the sky was blue, Underfoot the green grass grew." The children heard the birds, lived in huts, dressed in blankets. The singer wishes they were here so they could learn how to play

Counting-out rhyme? "Een, teen, tether, fether, fip, Sather, lather, gother, dather, dix; Een-dix, teen-dix, tether-dix, fether-dix, bumpit, Een-bumpit, teen-bumpit, tether-bumpit, fether-bumpit, gig-it."

"The Red Skins left their Agency, the Soldiers left their Post, All on the strength of an Indan tale about Messiah's ghost." The Indians think their Messiah can protect them from guns; it is not true. The soldiers defeat the Indians

Indian Hunter (I), The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #2843}

"Oh come with me in my light canoe While the sea is calm and the sky is blue, Come with me for I long to go To the isle where mango apples grow. Then come with me and give my love...." The hunter describes how he will care for the girl

Indian Hunter (III), The: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2843}

"Why does the white man follow my path?" The white man has taken enough but wants more. "... [t]he white man wrongs the one Who never did harm to him"

Alone in the wood the singer looks to heaven; God looks down and says "Poor Indian never fear, I'm with you night and day." When he dies he'll go "above the sky" with no need of blanket or wigwam, "the better habitation share With Jesus good and kind"

At a foreign ale house the singer meets "a young Indian lass [from] a place near Orleans." She invites him home, offers him a drink and they spend the night. She begs him not to leave but he sails away and offers "a health to the young Indian lass!"

Indian Song: Ah, Pore Sinner: (3 refs.) {Roud #11907 and 16312}

"Ah, pore sinner, under the rock, Till the moon goes down in blood, You can hide yo'self on the mountain top, To hide your face from God. Um, ah, ta-alk about Jesus! Halle, halle, lu, there's glory in my soul."

Indian Student, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2844}

"O Give me back my bended bow ... You took me from my native wild." The singer has studied the White's "ancient pages" but now "I long to see my native home." "I hate the antiquated halls; I hate the Grecian poet's song."

Jump-rope rhyme: "Indian, Indian, lived in a tent. Indian, Indian, never paid rent. She borrowed one, she borrowed two, And passed the rope over to YOU."

The Indian tells his captors "Begin, ye tormentors, your threats are in vain, For the son of Alknomook shall never complain." He tells how his valor hurt the white men. Death will free him of pain and take him "to the land where my father is gone."

"When shall we all meet again? (x2) Oft shall glowing hope expire, Oft our wearied love retire, Oft shall death and sorrow reign, Ere we all shall meet again." Though the company is parted, and will in time grow old, they will meet again hereafter

"Kind freens if ye listen a while tae me, I'll sing tae ye of a chap in Dundee.... The king ower the bairns was Indygo Blue." He is teased by children, harassed by adults. He breaks a lamp and is imprisoned for ten days, where they wash the blue off him

"The infantry, the infantry with dirt behind their ears, They can whip their weight in wild cats and drink their weigh tin beers. The cavalry, the artillery, the lousy engineers, They couldn't lick the infantry in a hundred thousand years."

"Ingle angle, silver bangle, Ingle angle out -- If you ha'e been where I ha'e been, You wouldn't ha'e been out."

"'Twas an Inglewood cocky of whom I've been told, Who died, it is said, on account of the cold." He divides his estate, in the form of assorted animals, among his children, and tells them to raise their children on "pumpkin and beer"

"Go fay, go fay! Ingo-ango fay! Circle this house in a hoo-sal lay, In a ingo-ango fay. Go fay, go fay! Ingo-ango fay! Will hew my 'ligion away, Mimbi, kiki, joki lo, In a ingo-ango-fay!"

"Welcome, brother, to our band; Welcome, brother, heart and hand; True, together we will stand, Or together fall. By brave Schomberg's martyr fame, By great William's glorious name, We are brethren still the same, Brethren one and all"

"Injy rubber overcoat, hip-te-doo-den-doo (x3), Injy rubber overcoat, molasses candy shoe. Oh what's the matter Susan, Oh what's the matter, my dear? Oh what's the matter Susan? I'm goin' away to leave you."

Counting-out rhyme. "Ink, stink, bottle stopper, All out but popper, O-U-T spells out he goes"

Inky Pinky (I Think, I Think): (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #19226}

"Ink pink, I smell a big stink, And it comes from Y-O-U." Or, "Inky pinky penny wink, Out goes she." Possibly related: "Inky pinky ponky, You're a dirty donkey."

Jump-rope rhyme. "Inkie-pinkie skinny-ma-linkie, Andy-pandy-pandy... Over-drover, drover rover...." Or "Inkie-pinkie Sugarallie inke, One two three, Ice cream and jelly, A punch in the belly, One, two three."

The singer, a resident of Magilligan, crosses Greencastle Ferry to live in Innishowen "where the purty girls go neat and trim in every degree." He describes the girl he loves. Assured of his character, she agrees to marry him

Sportsmen and hounds hunt the hare; after searching, the game is found. She takes off running; the huntsman blows his horn; the hare is killed. The singer declares she has led them a noble run, drinks success to all sportsment and to the "innocent hare"

"On a bright starry night sat two lovers." They discuss their plans for marriage, and part for the night. He does not return the next day; he is falsely arrested for stealing money from his work. When at last he is released, she is still waiting

A tale of the birth of Jesus. In the time of Octavian and Herod, Isaiah's prophesy comes true and the King of the Jews is born. Brutal Herod orders the children of Bethlehem slain. Jesus escapes, but there is great mourning in Bethlehem

Gaelic. "The poet laments his single status and wishes for female company."

Chorus: "Inside the pearly gates A mansion for me waits Will you my neighbor be Across the mystic sea Inside the pearly gates." The second and fourth line of each verse is "Inside the pearly gates." Friends have gone where we shall "live eternally"

"John Thomas was a servant tall," who kept warm "inside those red plush breeches." He is interested in Mary, who has an illegitimate child and is angry with John Thomas; she "laid for him a trap" and left him with clap "inside those red plush breeches"

"The Rowan County teachers Convened the other day... I thought I would attend... And watch our modern teachers." He describes the meeting in the courthouse, praises the teachers' abilities, and hopes they will continue to spread learning

German; widely tramslated harmonic piece consisting of verses describing each instrument, sung over each other, e.g. "Die Geige, sie singt, sie jubelt und klingt" ="The violins they sing it, they sob it and swing it." With verses for much of the orchestra

Communist anthem, translated into most major languages. English: "Arise, you pris'ners of starvation, Arise you wretched of the earth...." The workers are urged to rise up, throw off their chains and their overlords, and work toward a united human race

"The interval was welcome too -- We at ice cream and Irish stew... At the foot-i-ball match Last Saturday." The ladies admire the game -- and the players

Intery Mintery Cutery Corn: (9 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #19636 and 22840}

Counting-out rhyme: "Intery, mintery, cutery, corn, Apple seed and briar thorn, Wire, briar, (or "wild briar") limber lock, FIve geese in a flock, SIt and sing by a spring, O-U-T and in again. Over yonder steep hill... Black finger, out of the game."

Intoxicated Rat, The: (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #11257}

Singer spills rum on the floor; rat licks it up, gets drunk and carries on. The cat comes out; the rat sobers up and runs back to his hole (or gets caught)

Nonsense counting-out rhyme. "Inty, minty/ninty, Tibblety, FIg, Deema, dima, doma, nig, Howchy, powchy, domi, nowchy, Hom, tom, tout, Olligo, bolligo, boo, Out goes YOU."

'Sad and dismal is the tale I now relate to you, 'Tis all about the cattlemen, Them and their murderous crew." Nate and Nick are "murdered by Frank Canton and his crew" as they defend the town of Buffalo. The singer tells how cattle raiders were repelled

"O as I came in by Inverness-shire, It was to view the brave Loch Ness, It was there I met wi' a fair young maiden...." The singer tries to induce her to marry. She says she had her chance years ago, and refused. He urges her to change her mind.

The contestants appear before the match: Andrew Penny from Shannas, William Morris from Yokieshill, Alex Cheyne from Middletown. After an ellipsis "a social evening we had through, And parted all a happy crew"

In Scots Gaelic; "The milkmaid went to the seashore/And she did a thing that others would not do there/She gathered shell-fish at high tide there/And she broke her leg and cut her hand there." Chorus: "Row lightly, ho ro"

Scots Gaelic. The singer laments being far from the sea, "For in the glen I am a stranger." She recalls her brother on the ocean, and asks where is the ship to carry her home. No joy can reach her far from the sea

Jump-rope rhyme. "Ipsey, Pipsey, tell me true, Who shall I be married to? A, B, C...."

"I've often heard my daddy peak of Ireland's lakes and dells. The place must be like heaven if it's half like what he tells." As proof he offers the fact that his mother was an angel, and she came from Ireland

In 1776 "we were lazy and slavish," "Our woman were sluts and their husbands all slovens" and "The King was a god." But "Our peasants grew smart," "We could look at a King without much admiration" and "From a nation of slaves we've emerg'd into glory"

A tree has been planted in Ireland ... 'Tis called 'Ireland's Liberty-Tree!'" Protect the tree. Emmet, Fitzgerald and Grattan died in its defence. Sheil and O'Connell forsee freedom. "Heaven will surely protect those Who guard Ireland's Liberty-Tree!"

A son of Catholic father and Protestant mother prefers Protestantism. Father takes him to confession. The priest explains that all Catholics pay their confessor except the Pope who prays directly to God at no charge. The boy decides to do the same.

Irish Colleen, The: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6459}

A party of four girls, from England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland each toasts her own land and national flower. "Though the flowers all resemble there's a vast gulf between The rose, leek, and thistle, and the Irish colleen"

Irish Emigrant's Lament (I), The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2747}

"I never will forget the sorrows of that day," when the singer sailed from home. He knows he will miss the land, the friends, "the trusty heart [of the girl] I once could call my own." He will eat strangers' bread, and feel their scorn, and wish for home

Singer describes his family: "Me father had a horse/And me mother she'd a mare... So we'd a ride from father's horse/And a gallop from mother's mare." Cho: "So the more we have to drink/And the merrier we shall be/For we all do belong/To an Irish family"

"I went to see David, to London to David, and what did he do? He gave me a Free State, a nice little Free State, A Free State that's bound up with Red, White, and Blue." The singer rejects any British influence and demands freedom from the crown

(The singer meets a girl by the river, lamenting her love gone to America). (She describes the pain of love.) (She) wishes she were far away with her love, or were a butterfly or a nightingale or a rose to be with her lover

"An Irish girl, and proud of it, a word I'd like to say... Paddy fights for England.... Then give to him old Ireland." No longer are Irishmen hung for wearing of the green, thanks to Dan O'Connell.

Irish Harvestmen's Triumph, The: (4 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #13468}

Irishmen that "reap the English harvest" should be prepared to fight "with John Bull and his crew." Irish harvestmen beat some Englishmen and go to look for work. At a railway line they fight navvies and beat them with bricks, stones, scythes, and hooks.

Irish Jaunting Car, The: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5497}

"Oh, my name is Larry Doolin, I'm a native of the soil." The singer offers a day's diversion in his red-and-green jaunting car. He claims the Queen enjoyed his car, and the Lord Lieutenant recommended it. Others have enjoyed it a well

Irish Jubilee, The: (9 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2916}

"A short while ago An Irishman named Doherty Was elected to the Senate By a very large majority." This is cause for a tremendous party, described in loving and silly detail, e.g. those invited included "Old men, young men, Girls who were not men at all."

Singer is an Irish laborer, willing to work but told "No Irish wanted here". He retains his pride, praising the Irish for their generosity and their willingness to fight for America. He asks Americans to welcome the Irish.

The Irish youth turns bad despite his father's warnings. To support his wild habits, he turns to crime and is at last convicted of mail robbery. He is sentenced to transportation for nine years, forcing him to leave his father and sweetheart

The Irish mother nurses her child and laments for her dead husband, "Won't you come back to your fond wife's arms? Have you no care for your sweet babe's charms?" She says she has no friends and no hope; "Cushla mavourneen, why did you die?"

An Irishman says the Irish always supported the English in battle: "The Irishman was never behind With his bayonet by his side Pat have often turned the tide And helped build the honour of old England." Yet "with England somehow we never can agree"

Irish Patriot, The: (4 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #12486}

"On Africa's burning shore" an old Irishman says an English lord killed his wife and baby because he would not join the rebels. In the army in Africa, he kills the lord and hides. The singer takes the old man home; he is buried near his wife and baby

Irish Peasant Girl, The: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5687}

Singer thinks about widow Brown's daughter. She crosses the Atlantic to send money home. Her dying wish is that a letter be written to her mother and brother at home. Singer in Ireland thinks of "the lily of the mountain furze that withers far away"

Irish Rebel Spy, The: (2 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #9178}

"In the city of Mialco, near the county of Leone There lived a comely maiden ... And the proper name she goes by is the Irish Rebel Spy." Her brother and true love die as Fenians. She outwits detectives, steals a horse, and warns the Fenians.

Leaving Ireland. "We have fought for England's queen ... why should we be so oppressed?" I'm going to America "for there is bread." "If ever again I see this land I hope it will be with a Fenian band, So God be with old Ireland, poor Pat must emigrate!"

"In the year of our Lord eighteen hundred and six We set sail from the coal quay of Cork." The ship, with too many masts, too strange a crew, and too unusual a cargo, sinks on its own improbabilities; only the singer is left to tell the tall tale

"'My parents raised me tenderly, I being their only joy, When my first stroll I took to roam,' Cried the Irish sailor b'y" The captain and eleven of a crew of twenty four survive a ship wreck and land in St Peter's, Newfoundland

The Irish Schoolmaster teaches children how to behave, and information both true and false: "Come here, my boy, Hold up your head and look like a gentleman, sir. Now tell me who Napoleon was...." "Napoleon was king of France before the revolution"

The singer wasted his youth on gambling and fast women. In London he spent his money on women and went to China. Now he is going home. "My rambling's oer, I'll hae a wife.... by pious works of sweet contemplation I'll end my days on the Highland shore"

Irish Sixty-Ninth, The: (4 refs. 27K Notes) {Roud #7455}

A song telling the story of the 69th regiment, "The Irish Sixty-Ninth." The training of the regiment is described, then its long career in the Peninsula, at Antietam, Fair Oaks, Glendale, and perhaps Gettysburg

Irish Soldier Boy, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #22061}

"At a cottage door one winter night as the snow lay on the ground," a soldier and his mother bid a tearful farewell as he prepares to leave. He dies in battle, and sends a last message bidding farewell to his mother and to Ireland

"Water! Water! Holy Water! Sprinkle the Catholics one by one. We'll bring them to battle, Their communes to rattle, And make them lie under the Protestant drum. Bible, Bible, Holy Bible, We'll read to the Catholics.... Three cheers for King William...."

Irish Song (The Gay Wedding): (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #23383}

"It's of a gay weeding, As you soon shall hear, Got up in good style, And it ain't far from here." "Three hundred gay fellows That day marched along, All with their great cudgels." "You'd think them the locusts From the Egyptian plains...."

The boys and girls go to Patsy Murphy's restaurant. A fight starts followed by a fire. A policeman has his head split. Soldiers are called, 16 are dead: warrants are issued for murder and robbery. "I set sail for Australia in the morning"

Irish Stranger, The: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1629}

"I ne'er shall return to Hibernia's bowers.... It grieves me to ponder On the wrongs of thy injured isle... America might yield me some shelter from pain, I'm only lamenting whilst here I remain For the joys that I'll never see more"

"In the county of Limerick, near the town of Ramshorn," the singer was born, but "I could not behave," so he is transported. He would think himself free despite his chains were his Polly with him. When his sentence is over, he will return to her

""Hands all round in the Irish trot (x3), A long time ago." "Promenade in the Irish trot." "Rights and lefts in the Irish trot." "Trot, trot, trot, that pretty little trot." "Had an old Negro and his name was Sam." (In one text, Sam steals a ham.)

Irish Wake, The [Laws Q18]: (13 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1008}

Pat Malone, being "pressed for ready cash," decides to fake death to collect his life insurance. All goes well until the wake and funeral; he thinks they cost too much. At last, shortly before he is buried, realizing the consequences, he gives up the sham

"Sure won't you hear what roaring cheer was spread at Paddy's wedding, O?" All the boys and girls are named, there is music, food, dancing and drink. No fights! "Decadorous we'll have, says Father Quipes." A grand time is had by all.

The singer, a new emigrant wandering in New Jersey, comes across "an oasis" -- the home of an old Irishman. They stop and talk; the old man asks about all the places he left behind long ago

"The savage loves his native shore," so the Irish love Erin. Who a friend or foe can meet So generous as an Irishman?" He is warm-hearted, honest, forgiving, generous, open, honorable and fearless. "If the field of fame be lost It won't be by an Irishman"

An Irishman arrives in America and sees many new things. He thinks a ship's anchor is an axe for a giant. A parrot singing "God Save the Queen" makes him think it a person; he would kill it were it not wearing green. He tries to hatch a pumpkin. Etc.

The parson mistakenly christened the singer with whisky: "it made me a sot." At his marriage he pulls out whisky instead of the ring. Were he dead in the ground where "no whisky is found" would he "call out from his grave to be christened again?"

Farewell, dear Erin's native shore, For here I cannot stay." The singer is leaving for America. "As our ship she lies at anchor, boys, Now ready for to sail." He bids farewell to friends, parents, grandfather.

An Irishman comes to Australia and to look for gold. He innocently trusts to a man who points to a "gold" patch. The Irish boy sets to digging as the ants swarm out onto his skin -- and start biting. He concludes that gold *is* the root of evil

Irishman's Shanty: (10 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4838}

"Did you ever hear of an Irishman's shanty Where water was scarce and whiskey was plenty? A two-legged stool and a table to match A stick in the door instead of a latch?"

"Sure it's just about ten years ago, as near as I can tell" when the singer set out for Australia. On arrival, he gets drunk and spends most of his money -- but finds a job and is quickly promoted; he's married and happy -- and recalls his warm welcome

'Don't call me weak-minded. Perchance I should sing Of the dearest old spot upon earth." The singer recalls all the places of home: the cabin, the church, the school. The old folk are gone, but "Here's to the land of the shamrock so green"

"Townsmen and countrymen we're Irishmen all." "Faithful to Erin we answer her call ... True-hearted Irishmen Irishmen all." "Ready are we as our fathers before us To strike for our glory we're Irishmen all"

"On the first day of April, I'll never forget, / The Irishtown boys at Ratigan's met. / They filled up their glasses and swore solemnly / That that very day they'd go out on a spree!" The rest of the song is devoted to the participants and their antics

Iron Door, The [Laws M15]: (21 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #539}

When the rich girl falls in love with a poor boy, her father locks her in a iron-doored prison. Her lover breaks in and sneaks her out (in men's clothing), but they meet her father. The boy prepares to die, but the father gives in

Iron Horse (I), The: (7 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5834}

"Come Hielandman, come Lowlandman... I'll tell you how I got atween Dundee and Perth, man, I gaed upon an iron road -- a rail they did it ca'...." The singer tells of his ride, the conductor, the demand for a fare. He says he will use his feet hereafter

Iron Horse (II -- Utah version): (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #8597}

"Th' iron horse draweth nigh, With his smoke nostril high, Eating fire as if grazing." It takes much work to build its trail. In Salt Lake City they rejoice as it approaches. "May the iron horse and Mormons Always right every wrong."

The Merrimac starts from Norfolk to "make an end of Yankee Doodle Dandy-O." After sinking the Cumberland, the Merrimac confronts the Monitor.

Iron Mountain Baby, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4162}

"I have a song I would like to sing, It's awful, and it's true, About a babe thrown from a train By a mother, I know not who." The injured child is found by Bill Helm, and cared for. The singer warns people to beware of judgment

"Come, ladies and gentlemen, listen to me, I'll sing you a song of our north Counteree... Bound north to Ungava for rich iron ore In July, nineteen fifty-four." The building of a railroad into Labrador, and the four years of work involved, are described

Iroquois: "Ho, ho, Watanay (x3), Ki-yo-ki-na, ki-yo-ki-na." SIngable translation: "Sleep, sleep, little one (x3), Now go to sleep, now go to sleep" -- but it is also said that the text is just meaningless vocables

Fragment: "The curse upon Crossgadden, likewise his robbing crew; They robbed the Irrawaddy and the John R Skiddy, too"

"The Batsman is my shepherd, I shall not crash. He maketh me to land on flat runways. He bringeth me in off rough waters, He restoreth my confidence.... He attacheth my hook to the wire. My deck space runneth over."

Irthing Water Hounds, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5692}

October 11, 1873, hounds from Irthing Water are on a fox hunt. Finally "the celebrated Mowdie" finds a fox in a hole. A terrier flushes Reynard and his trail flushes a vixen. Both foxes are killed. "Drink success to the Irthing lads"

"Seagull, gentle seagull, Soaring in the blue, Stop and tell me really, Is the story true?" Did the seagulls save the Mormons from a plague of crickets? Yes, it is true, the gulls were sent by heaven to save their crops -- and the Mormons themselves

Is There Anybody Here: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #10435}

Chorus: "Is there anybody here that loves my Jesus? Anybody here that loves my Lord, I want to know if you love my Jesus, I want to know if you love my Lord." Other verses float.

Is Your Lamps Gone Out: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #10025}

"Is your lamps gone out? (x2), Oh, what you going to do in Egypt When your lamps gone out?" "If you get there before I do, O what you going to do... When your lamps gone out?" "The tallest tree in paradise..." "The Christians call it the tree of life..."

French: Isabel goes walking by the sea side. She meets a sailor who sings sweetly to her. She joins him on his boat, but then grieves because she has lost her gold ring. He dives three times to try to find it; the third/hundredth time he does not come up.

"Last night when we parted I left you broken hearted ... I saw your young man Isabella." "Who will you have?" "You" "Come to church" "Kneel down" "Say your prayers" "Stand up" "Sing a hymn" "Come back" "Kiss" "Shake hands" "Say good-bye" "Farewell"

Counting-out rhyme. "Ish tish, tash tish, What color do you wish?" The child pointed to names a color; the letters in the color name are used to finish counting out

Counting-out rhyme. "Ish, fish, codfish, How many fish are in your golden dish?" (Presumably someone names a number, which is then used to finish the counting-out)

"Oh island of my desire, in memory you live for me. You shine like a beacon fire in a far off western sea." The singer remembers the sights, and " I think of the days gone by... I think of the starry nights that may never come again."

Island Unknown, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #17557}

Singer has led a reckless life; leaving home, he joins the US Navy. His ship is wrecked in a storm. The lone survivor, he makes his way to a desert island. Resigned to death, he writes his life story, hopes his body will be found, and bids farewell

"Until that I return again To walk on Islaside"

Isle de France, The: (6 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #1575}

"Oh, the sun went down, and the moon advanced When the convict came to the Isle de France." The Irish convict was on his way home when a storm cast him ashore on the Isle. A letter from the queen sets the convict free

"Shades of ev'ning close not o'er us, Leave our lonely bark a while, Morn, alas, will not restore us, Yonder dim and distant isle." The singer thinks of the places at home as he paces the deck; absence will make the heart grow fonder

The singer is leaving Isle of Doagh "to taste the cup of freedom in Americay." He thinks about the island and the school "where my childhood days I spent." "It will break my heart full sore to part with my comrades one and all."

The singer is leaving Isle of Doagh for a foreign land. He recalls when he first arrived and how surprised he was to find it so lovely. He is sad to leave it now.

"Then I'm bound for the Isle of Fugi; Fugi, Fugi; Then I'm bound for the Isle of Fugi; And from there to Tennessee."

The singer and her family set out for Liverpool. A storm strikes; the passengers abandon the ship. The boats are swamped; Willie sees his wife (the singer) ashore, but is lost trying to save his father. The singer and her children must turn to begging

Israelites Shouting: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #16362}

"Oh, I wonder where's my sister, She's gone away to stay, Got hidden behind God's altar, She'll be gone till judgment day. Goodbye, the Israelites shoutin' in the heaven...." Remaining verses describe the departure of other family members

It Came Upon a Midnight Clear: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #24746}

"It came upon a midnight clear, That glorious song of old": Angels bring the word of "Peace on the earth, goo will to men." People are told to rest and listen to the angels. Someday the whole world will join the song

"Now folks never say that I am the best.... You can't hit a ball with the bat of an eye, Don't try it, 'cause it can't be done. You can't take a goose and make gooseberry pie, Don't try it, 'cause it can't be done." Other impossibilities are listed

"It is not the cold wind that makes me tremble" but the singer's love for a false man who left her for a new sweetheart. "But after evening there comes a morning, And after morning a sunny day, And after false love there comes a true love"

"It is not the white swan that floats on the lake"

"It makes a long-time man feel bad... When he can't-a get a letter... from home." There's a wreck out on the road somewhere...." "Captain George, don't you drive me all the time...." "Hattie Belle, don't you cry about a dime...."

"It snows and it blows, and it cuts off my nose, So play, little girl, let me in; I'll light my pipe, and warm my toes, And then I'll be gone again."

"It was a lover and his lass With a hey and a ho and a hey nonnie no." "In spring time (x3), the only pretty ring time, When the birds do sing... Sweet lovers ove the spring." The song alludes to courting in the rye, but there is little real plot.

"It was a maid of brenten arse, She rode to mill upon a horse, Yet was she mayden never the worse." She asks the miller not to hurt her back as she lays upon a sack. The maid returns often to the mill -- and the miller's two millstones

It Was A' For Our Rightful' King: (5 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #5789}

"It was a' for our rightfu' king We left fair Scotland's strand; It was a' for our rightfu' king We e'er saw Irish land...." "Now a' is done that men can do, And a' is done in vain." The defeated soldier must leave his love and go into exile

It Was at the Town of Caylen: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #2775}

"It was at the town of Caylen this gelding we sold" then we stole a gallon of wine from Thomas Grant. "I and two more were condemned to the rope. But I led a scheme and the prison we broke."

Singer sees a woman "with an infant baby in her arms all through the frost and snow." She blames her father and mother for turning their back on her, and the girl that stole her lover. She prays and "they both lay down and died"

The singer met a man with land, diamond ring, and "noble name" at a dance. She loved him and he promised to marry. He will marry "some smiling dame Of lineage like tae thine" She wishes he had passed her by.

These days we have only stumbling horses that falter in the bog but our cows can do that work. These days our farmers "are grown sae big Wi' thrashin' mills and a', It wasna sae in my young days When the ploomen thresh the straw"

It's a Cold Frosty Morning: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #7889}

On a cold frosty morning a farmer, drinking cider, complains that he lost his lover: "where shall I find her?" "She's standing by your side," looking like a bride. He should hug and kiss her and call her his own. "Then she'll marry you"

"It's a good time to get acquainted, It's a good time to know, Who is sitting close to you, And to smile and say Hello. Goodbye, lonesome feeling, Farewell glassy stare, Here's my hand, my name is (something), So put your hand right there."

"It's a long road to freedom, a-winding steep and high, But when you walk in love,,, the miles fly by." The singer walks by the sea, or at dawn, or with a friend, and there is hope, but even so, "every moment held its sting"

"Bill Brown came a thousand miles to work on Frisco Fair, All the papers said a million men were wanted there." But he couldn't find a job, and concludes, "It's a long way down to the soup line." If the Fair moves, then the sharks singing this chorus

It's a Long Way to Ballywalter: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #37300}

"It's a long way to Ballywalter, It's a long way to go, It's a long way to Ballywalter, Sweetest place I know. Goodbye, rotten Belfast, Farewell, Shaftsbury Square, It's a long, long way to Ballywalter, But my heart's right there."

"It's a long long way to capture Villa It's a long way to go, It's a long way across the border Where the dirty greasers grow; So it's goodbye to dear old Broadway, Hello Mexico. It's a long, long way to capture Villa, But that's where we'll go."

It's a Long, Long Way to Tipperary: (11 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #11235}

Of an Irishman who comes to London then is called back home by his sweetheart. Know mostly for the chorus: "It's a long way to Tipperary, It's a long way to go, It's a long way to Tipperary, to the sweetest girl I know. Goodbye, Piccadilly...."

"It's a shame to whip your wife on Sunday/When you've got Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday...." Subsequent verses "It's a shame to play cards on Sunday...." "It's a shame to get drunk on Sunday."

Song written for an amusement park ride, insisting that "there's so much that we share" that we should be aware that "it's a small, small world" even though it is a world of both laugher and tears

It's After Six O'Clock: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #6207}

"It's after six o'clock After seven and weary After eight o'clock And then I'll see my dearie"

"Of all the animals in this world, I'd rather be a squirrel, I'd climb up on a telephone pole And peep all over the world. It's all night long. It's all night long."

"Chickens crow for midnight and it's almost day (x2)" ""Christmas is a-coming and it's almost day." "Santa Claus is coming...." "Turkey's in the oven...." "I thought I heard my mother say...."

"There cam a letter late yestreen, Our ship maun sail in the morn." The girl gives back his ring, declaring, "Tak that, my bonnie lad, For I hae changed my mind." The song is largely comparisons: "It's braw sailing on the sea, It's better drinkin' wine."

The singer, long past her twenties, cannot stop thinking about marriage "wi a'thing I need but -- a man." She makes a case that she would be a good catch and she will never give up.

It's Down in Old Ireland: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #490}

The singer was born in Limerick. In spite of his mother's pleading he "carried on with my wicked career." He marries and takes up highway robbery to care for her, is convicted and transported for seven years. Women are deceitful but he'd have no other

The singer says, "when first I fell in love ... I felt as though I'd tumbled into honey And somebody had left me all their money." She rejects him, then accepts his advance and her father gives his permission to wed. "I long to hear the wedding bells"

It's Getting Late in the Evening: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #10967}

"Lord, it's gettin' late over in the evenin'... The sun most down." The singer asks that John not seal his book until the singer's name is entered. The Spirit seals the book. The singer warns sinners against their ways and prepares to depart

"It’s going to be a long winter, And what will the birdie do then? The poor thing? He’ll fly to the barn, to keep himself warm And tuck his head under his wing. The poor thing." The bird will stay dry in spring, swim in summer, etc.

"It's good fuh hab some patience, patience, patience, It's good fuh hab some patience, Fuh ter wait upon de Lawd." "My brudder, won't you rise en' go wid me (x3), Fuh ter wait upon de Lawd." "My sister...." "My fader...." "My mudder...."

It's Hard on We Po' Farmers: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #6709}

"Work all week and don't make enough Pay my board and buy my snuff, It's hard (x3) on we po' farmers." The farmer works all week for fifteen cents. All he has in the pot is peas and an old jawbone.

"Well, he's all over me and he keeps me alive (x3), Well, it's Jesus that keeps me alive." Cho: "Well, it's Jesus, it's Jesus that keeps me alive (x4)." "And he feeds me when I'm hungry and he keeps me alive." "And he clothes me." "He's all in my heart"

"If ever I follow the ships again, To gather my spuds and cakes, I'll not be working a deep-sea hack,, It's me for the inland Lakes." The singer says that sailors on lakers live in better conditions, make short runs, and get better pay

The singer thinks of ending a courtship. If s/he "had wings like a dove ... I would go and see my love Which makes one dull this evening"

It's No Business of Mine: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #7616}

The singer, while proclaiming "Of course it's no business of mine," criticises the girls who are "after the fellow that's got the cash," the "temperate" men who "wouldn't touch whisky" but have red noses "caused by the cold," etc.

"It's not 'oppin over 'edges that 'urts the 'orse's 'ooves, It's the 'ammer, 'ammer, 'ammer on the 'ard 'igh road, from 'Armstead 'Eath to 'Ighgate."

A boy tells a poor girl "you can't play with us because you're so poor" and "you don't live in a mansion like us." She says love, not the house, makes a home. He grows up and sails the seas to find a home with "love that lives inside"

It's Oh That My Christening Robe: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #6815}

"It's oh that my christening robe my winding sheet had been That ever I was born to sae muckle grief and woe Sae fare ye weel my bonnie lad for I must go"

"It's raining here, storming on the deep blue sea (x2) Ain't no black-headed mama Can make a fool out of me." "Now I can see a train coming...." "Talk about trouble, that's all I've ever known." The singer, despite poverty, will not sing the blues

It's Raining, It's Pouring: (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #16814}

"It's raining, it's pouring, The old man is snoring. (He) bumped his head and he went to bed And he couldn't get up in the morning."

Willie the sailor is gone seven years with no letter to Nancy. She regrets "it was my trembling hand deceived you, Caused my youthful tongue to lie." She dreams "Willie was landed safe on shore" but wakes to reality, "stark despair to reign supreme"

"When a poor man asks for bread, or a place to lay his head, He will get a kick instead. That's the fashion. But a poodle dog they keep...." Most want to be in fashion, but the singer hopes to "stay clear of that fashion" -- until heavenly robes are in

"'Ave you 'eard of SallyCarter, Who should 'ave been Joe Johnsing's wife? First 'e gets 'er into trou-bell, Then he ups and tikes a knife." She says she will marry him; he kills her. "An' now 'e's... Passing laws in England's name" while the poor suffer

It's Time I Was a Bride: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #7711}

"I'd like mighty well to change my name And share another's home." The woman is of marriageable age, and tired of being alone. "But he must be a soldier, A veteran of the wars, One who has fought for southern rights Beneath the Stars and Bars."

It's Very Kind of Teacher: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #25488}

"It's very kind o Teacher To take such pains with me. I'll show her how attentive And obedient I can be. And I won't be a Dunce, No, I won't be a Dunce; I am so fond of learning That I cannot be a dunce."

"It's your auld wife and my auld wife Gaed oot to gaither snaw; Says your auld wife to my auld wife Wid ye gie my [...] a claw"

Nonsense counting-out rhyme. "Itsa, bits, tootsa, la, Falla-melinka, linka, la, Falla-malu, falla-mila, Falla-melinka, linka, la."

Curt Jett shoots J. B. Markham dead in the courthouse. Judge Jim Harkis allegedly tries to prevent a conviction by fixing the jury; this fails when the case is transferred to another county. Jett and accomplice Thomas White end up in prison

"Listen, people, if you want to hear A story about a brave engineer, J. C. Holmes was the rider's name...." Floating verses about Holmes, the people who want to ride his trains, the freight he wants to carry, the rails he'd like to ride

"'Twas on a gloomy Sunday night, When Johnson thought he was all right, A hundred hearts of an angry mob Did disobey the laws of God." A mob opens his cell and takes him out to hang him. He bids farewell and wonders what will happen to his soul

French. Dance. Singer says he has so many young women to marry, he doesn't know how to manage. He implores one woman to dance, and gives instructions on how to do it. In the dance, a gentleman in the center of the circle chooses one woman to embrace/kiss

French. Singer has ripped the sole from her shoe dancing. A shepherd lad pays for the repair. The shepherd says they should marry in a month. She would rather wait a year. ch.: "Dansons, ma berger', joliment! / Quelle plancher en rompe!"

French. Singer meets a girl of 15 and falls in love. He asks her to love him; he'll wait until she's old enough. She says he won't have to wait long, and that her parents wish her never to wed. She, or he, regrets that a girl might never meet a lover

"I had a very old grandmother, jig-a-don-dain', jig-a-don-de." The grandmother weeps all the time; asked why, she replies that she's weeping for her husband, who has been eaten by wolves

Shanty, aimed at sailors whose native language is not English. The chorus runs, "Ja, Ja, Ja!"; the rest may be deliberate gibberish or slurs on those who say "Ja" for "Yes" or talk of the usual sailor-ashore themes of drinking and chasing women

"Jack and Jill went up the hill To fetch a pail of water. Jack fell down and broke his crown, And Jill came tumbling after." "Up Jack got, and home did trot, As fast as he could caper, He went to bed to mend his head, With vinegar and brown paper."

Jack and Jill (II): (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #10266}

"Jack and Jill went up the hill To fetch a pail of water, Jill came down with half a crown, But not for fetching water."

Jack and Joe set sail to seek their fortunes. Jack is quickly successful. As he prepares to go home, Joe ask him to "Give my love to Nellie, Jack, Kiss her once for me." When Joe at last heads home, he finds that Jack has married Nellie

"I'm a North-countrie man, in Redesdale born... And two such lads to my house never com' As them two lads called Jack and Tom." The two decide to set out to sea. They visit various inns along the way. But both die overseas

Commodore Barry in Alliance meets the British Sibyl. "We fought them till our cannon brought the British ensign down." Alliance captures Sibyl and returns with their prize to Philadelphia.

"Jack be nimble, Jack be quick, Jack jump over The candlestick."

"As I passed by where Jack Combs was murdered, As I passed by there so early one day, I spied a cold corpse wrapped up in fine linen." The victim (?) discusses his burial and says "For I have been murdered and you know they've done wrong"

Jack Donahue [Laws L22]: (28 refs. 7K Notes) {Roud #611}

Irish highwayman Jack Donahue, transported for life, soon escapes prison and returns to his trade. After a hair-raising career, he is confronted by a gang of police and shot after inflicting several casualties upon the constables

"If Ireland lies groaning, a hand at her through, Which foreigners have from the recreants bought, Forget not the lessons our fathers have taught... Be brave and true." The singer, exiled, will still fight for Ireland. He reveals he is (Jack?) Donahue

Jack Gardner is the lumber camp's "champion boy of the day." When in town, the loggers (?) find themselves in a barroom fight. Thanks to Gardner, the loggers are victorious. Gardner moves on to still greater fighting triumphs

Jack Haggerty has reformed his behavior to be a fit husband for the blacksmith's daughter. Following his long absence at work, she jilts him. He blames her mother, but gives up on women in general

Jack Hinks is described by the singer as a sailor with heroic qualities who is never short of money or fun and is successful with women. The singer finds himself and others wrecked on the rocks but Jack manages to save himself.

Jack Is Every Inch a Sailor: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4541}

"Jack is every inch a sailor; He'd see a pretty girl and hail 'er. He'd vow his love will never fail 'er, Then go sailing with his heart still free." All the girls come running when Jack is in town, all hoping to win his heart, but he will not settle down

"Farewell, sweet America, dear Mary, adieu, Can the gales be auspicious that bears me from you?" He will love her however far away. All parts of the ship remind him of her. He hopes for a speedy return during the watches of the night.

A rich girl loves a soldier/sailor; her father does not, and has the boy pressed to Germany. She disguises herself and enlists under the name (Jackie Monroe). When her lover is wounded, she nurses him. She reveals her identity; they are married

"Jack o' diamonds, jack o' diamonds, Jack o' diamonds is a hard card to find." "Say, whenever I gets in jail, Jack o' diamonds goes my bail." The singer vows to get even for being worked too hard. He admits to losing his money to Jack o' diamonds

"Here I am, poor Jack, Come home a long voyage from sea... Many droll sights I have seen, But I wish the wars was over." The singer describes some of the hard struggles he has faced. He repeats his wish for peace, but will continue to fight if needed

Robinson lands in Portsmouth with "prize money." He recognizes the alehouse landlady to be Polly. He shows her the handkerchief she had given him. She says she married when someone told her he had died. "He was off before you could say Jack Robinson"

"Well there's a little to used to strike, you see, Made by elves in a hollow tree... But if you're a scab you're made a big mistake." The "jack rock" of the unions is "more dangerous than a loaded gun." The singer says to respect the union

"Come all you tender Christians, I hope you will lend ear... For the murder of Mr. Swanton I am condemned to die." "My name it is Jack Rogers, my name I'll never deny." Drunk, he assaults Swanton in the street, flees, is captured, and is condemned to die

Jack Sell Your Fiddle: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #19623}

"'Jack, sell your fiddle and buy your wife a gown.' 'I wouldn't sell my fiddle for all the wives in town.'"

Jack Sheppard [Laws L6]: (3 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #1903}

Jack Sheppard, the apprentice of carpenter William Woods, is scorned by his master's daughter. After marrying two (!) women, he seeks to rob Woods, is captured, but is freed by an accomplice. Imprisoned, he escapes again, but is at last taken and hanged

Jack Simpson and his captain both have beautiful young wives. When the Captain sees Jack's wife, he promises to pay her and promote Jack. She agrees. When Jack finds out, he tricks his way into the Captain's clothes and bed. He then fines the captain

"Jack Sprat could eat no fat, His wife could eat no lean, And so between the two of them They licked the platter clean."

Jack newly paid off from sea, enters an inn and calls for a party. All goes well until his money is spent, whereupon the landlady bids him to leave. Jack starts a brawl, but the watch at last persuades him to return to sea

"Come brave hones Jack Tar, once more will you venture? Press warrants they are out...." The captain promises good treatment. The sailor says that he beat back the press gang, and will not submit to all the abuse of naval service

"Come all you sailor boys That delights in sailors' noise." Jack comes ashore with money and goes to an inn. The landlord's daughter serves him drink. When his money is used up, he's told to leave and takes ship to the Indies or somewhere

"When the anchor's weigh'd and the ship's unmoored, And the landmen lag behind, sir, The sailor... prays for a wind, sir!" The singer compares sailors, who brave every danger, with landsmen who get sick, go below, and despair at sea

Jack overhears a girl tell her lover that she will lower a string from her window to let him find her. Jack comes to her window early and enjoys the girl's charms until morning when she realizes the truth. Having had his romp, he returns gaily to his ship

"At the mouth of Portsmouth Harbour, where the old chain ferry plied, Some say a spirit hangs in chains...." Jack the Painter set Portsmouth Yard ablaze, was taken and executed, and sailors put his bones in a sack, "but the dockyard's working yet"

"So late it was one Saturday night, on the quayside I was walking, There I beheld a pretty maid, to her father she was talking." When he asks her to marry, her fathers says no. He demonstrates that he is wealthy; the father relents

Before Jack goes whaling, a friend asks that he repay a debt. Jack says, "When my ship comes in... you'll get your tin." The ship is lost in a gale. When Jack returns he is asked for the money. Jack says, "When my ship comes in... you'll get your tin."

Jack Was Every Inch a Sailor: (10 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4541}

"Jack was every inch a sailor... He was born upon the bright blue sea." Having been brought up as a whaler, one day Jack is swept overboard and swallowed by a whale. He escapes by pulling the whale inside out

Jack Williams, a boatman, meets a fine young girl. He turns to robbery to support her. He is captured and sent to prison; she scorns him, saying "I hate thievish company." He is sentenced (to transportation/execution) (but escapes and vows to avoid women)

"Jack needle, Jack needle, I work with my needle And when I get married 'tis apples I'll buy" or "how happy I'll be." The singer will sit in a garden and whistle to a girl to come. "Last night when we parted, I was nigh broken hearted"

Counting-out rhyme. "Jack, Jack, sat on a tack, And went to bed with a sore back. O-U-T, and out goes he."

The girl sees a (soldier/sailor) marching past and falls in love. She meets him and offers to buy his discharge; he replies that he already has a girl at home. She asks for a portrait to console her; this at least is granted

Jackets Green, The: (8 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #9520}

"When I was a maiden young and fair on the pleasant banks of the Lee," the girl loved young Donal in his jacket green. Donal serves under Sarsfield in the fight against the English and is slain. The singer urges Irish women to love only Irish patriots

Jack and his master compare endowments; Jack is much better equipped. The "old woman," hearing of this, declares that a mouse has run up her "belly-gut" and that she needs help. Jack "lays her on the ground." She releases a mouse from her sleeve

"Jackie Jackie was a smart young fellow... Yet he sat by the river of his people Underneath a great gum tree." Jackie's ancestral life is described. It is pointed out that the whites took this away, substituting liquor and gambling

Jane is Hugh Jackson's grey mare. She is challenged to win the steeplechase cup at Cootehill a third time. The odds were ten to four against her. Half way around the jockey tells her that her opponents "are not yet in view." Jane wins easily.

"Oh Jackson, our County, we greet thee, And sing with sweet Freedom's refrain, While the echoes o'er valley and hillside Resound with our county's high fame." It's by the Father of Waters , and named for General (Andrew) Jackson

Jackson's Victory: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #V29199}

"Come, all you brave Americans, don't let us disagree." The singer says that the "free sons of America" are never afraid. They came to New Orleans with Jackson and defeat the British. "We'll show the British Grenadiers that Uncle Sam is free."

"As we started out from Nariel one early morn in spring," the group stops at "Jacksons on the road to Omeo." They have a wild spree, spend their money, and have to head home. The singer declares that he will not return to Jacksons

Progressive rhymed chant: "Oh, Jacky me lad, he loved his dad, He put him in a peer flad [sic]; The peer flad it was so thick They put him in the bacon click; The bacon click it was so fat, They put him in old grand-dad's hat...."

Jacky Tar With His Trousers On: (7 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5603}

After Jack sets out for sea, his love mourns. Even after peace is proclaimed, he is slow to return. At last he returns "with his trousers on." She greets him with joy. He tells of his far voyages. He promises he will travel no more

"Jacky-Jacky was a smart young fellow, Full of fun and energy." Jacky hunts in the wild till the white men come and fence the land. The white give government handouts until money runs short, then try to give the land back to Jacky instead

"Jacob dreamt he seed a ladder, Climbing up the sky, Angels going up and down it, Climb up, children, climb." "Climb up, ye little children, Climb up, ye older people, Climb up to the sky. Go up in six and sevens, Climb up, children, climb."

Jacob's Ladder (I): (21 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2286}

"I am (we are) climbing Jacob's ladder... And I won't be troubled any more. As soon as my feet strikes Zion's walls, I won't be troubled any more." "Goin' to see my father/mother/sister/brother in the kingdom...." Alternate end: "Soldiers of the cross."

"I want to climb up Jacob's ladder, Jacob's ladder, O Jacob's ladder, I want to climb up Jacob's ladder, But I can't climb it till I make my peace with the Lord." "O praise ye the Lord, I'll praise him till I die... And sing Jerusalem."

Norwegian or Swedish pumping shanty. Translation: "A hunter went out a-hunting (2x) out in the woods so green. Chorus: Hali, halo, hali, halo, We sail and we pull (2x). Further verses were supposedly too obscene to print.

Call and response. The singer tells about "de jail down Careira Where dey try me fo' murder" and what he wants to happen in his absence ("A want a Chinese mama To drive me Lincoln Zephyr"). The response is "De jail, de jail, de jail down Careira"

Jake and Roanie spot (a) steer and give chase; it lures them into a gulley and they are thrown by their horses. Forced to flee the steer, Roanie climbs a tree while Jake heads for a cave. Jake keeps popping out; there is a bear in the cave

Travellers' cant. Singer tells her girl to walk along; they hope to find a good house to beg food or cash from in exchange for matches. They've drunk up all their money in champagne

Young Monroe and his crew do not wish to work on Sunday, but when a log jam forms, they turn out. The jam breaks and all are cast into the water, with foreman Monroe being drowned. In some accounts, his sweetheart dies for love and is buried with him

"Down away where the nights are gay and the sun shines daily on the mountaintop, I took a trip on a sailing ship, and when I reached Jamaica I made a stop." He is sad to leave because he has to "leave a little girl in Kingston town"

French, supposedly between a soldier trying to learn to swear in French and a French woman who speaks "clean" French: "Ou peut dire 'vache sepagnole?' Jamais de la vie [Not on their life]. On peut dire 'tu sal chemeu?' Jamais...."

"James and A, it cannot be, Although you know so well," he cannot kiss her now; Grandma says it's wrong. He should not be sad. They will be married soon, and he can kiss her then. Or perhaps he can kiss her now after all....

Flora asks James to leave sailing. He won't. She breaks a ring and gives half to him. She dresses as a sailor and follows him until he is discharged. She tells the captain the story. The captain gives them gold to get married.

James Bird [Laws A5]: (34 refs. 12K Notes) {Roud #2204}

James Bird leaves his family to join Perry's fleet on Lake Erie. In the battle, he fights valiantly, continuing to serve even after being wounded. Later, however, he tells his parents that he is to be executed for desertion.

"Where O where is our James Connolly? Where O where is that galland man? He's gone to organize the Union." Conolly's Union and a citizen army fight for freedom, but he is wounded, imprisoned, and killed; Ireland buries and mourns him

James Ervin [Laws J15]: (17 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #982}

The singer enlists in the British Army, but deserts because he is worked too hard. Helped by his sweetheart, he escapes, fights off his pursuers, and takes up shoemaking. Discovered and taken, he again escapes, proud of his ability to outfight the English

James Grant [Child 197]: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #3918}

James Grant is besieged; he tells his attackers, the folk of Ballindalloch, that he has no quarrel with them. Despite this, he is forced to the hills

James Hatley [Child 244]: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4022}

(Hatley) is accused of stealing the king's jewels, though (Fenwick) is in fact the thief. One of the king's children convinces the king to let Hatley fight for his honor; (Hatley/the prince) kills Fenwick. Hatley is made a high official

James Kennedy goes to visit his sweetheart; he comes to the Moyola and, unable to swim, is swept away. None is brave enough to rescue him. His parents wonder why he was visiting Moyola on the Sabbath. His fiancee is told they will meet at his grave

James MacDonald [Laws P38]: (16 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #1412}

James promises his pregnant sweetheart Annie that he will marry her, and bids her meet him secretly. When he has her alone he attacks her and flees. She is found the next day and lives just long enough to tell what happened. James is sentenced to death

James Magee (McKee): (4 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #2492}

The singer, sentenced to New South Wales, gives his name as James Magee. An orphan brought up by his grandmother, his aunt brings charges against him to gain his inheritance. He laments for his wife and children, and curses the aunt

James Munks's Confession: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4100}

Munks tells the story of how he turned from his parents' good ways. He killed Reuben Guile, took his horse and money, hid his body, and fled. Captured and taken, he has been sentenced to die. He now reveals details of the murder

James Stephens is born in Marble City, wounded at 16 fighting in Killenaule, wounded at Ballingarry, subject of a mock funeral as he sails, in disguise, to Paris, imprisoned on testimony of "Nagle the informer," escapes and is not caught again, and dies

James Whalen [Laws C7]: (18 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #638}

Jim Whalen is told by his foreman to help clear a logjam. When the jam breaks, he is thrown into the rapids and drowned.

Jamestown Homeward Bound, The: (3 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #4700}

Forecastle song. Verses describe voyages to the Mediterranean and wishes for home. Chorus ends "So fill out sails with the favoring gales and with shipmates all around. We'll give three cheers for our Starry flag and the Jamestown homeward bound."

Jeanie asks why Jamie looks so sad. He replies that she danced with three other men at the ball. She asserts it means nothing; when he remains doubtful, she gives back his ring. He offers it again, and they reconcile

Jamie and Nancy meet; she reports that her parents "had proved severe." He tells her that she is always welcome to him. She dreams Jamie is slain, and sets out to find him. When she does, they agree to marry

Jeems Broon goes to the hiring fair at Turra Toon to work at the Hilton farm. Six were hired but "five o' them did leave Jeems Broon"

Jamie Douglas [Child 204]: (12 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #87}

The singer laments that her happy marriage to Lord James Douglas has been ruined by accusations made by (Blackwood). She tries to convince her husband that she is true. He will not be convinced, and sends her away

During the Peninsular War, volunteers from Wellington's army led by militiaman Foyers storm Blucher's castle in Spain. Foyers is wounded. He asks a comrade to tell his father of his death, recalls his home life, then dies. All mourn him as he is buried.

"I canno' like ye, gentle sir, although a laird ye be...." "I'se gang wi Jamie frae Dundee, To cheer the lanesome way." "The laverock mounts to hail the morn, The lint-white swell her throat, But neither are sae sweet, sae clear, As Jamie's tuneful note."

Jamie Raeburn (Caledonia): (20 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #600}

"My name is (Jamie Raeburn), in Glasgow I was born." Convicted (of a crime he did not commit), he has been sentenced to transportation. He bids farewell to family, sweetheart, and his beloved home in Caledonia. He hopes to return when free

The Captain of Bewcastle raids the Fair Dodhead. Jamie Telfer, the victim, races about the countryside in search of assistance. Some refuse, but he gathers enough friends to fight the raiders. The avengers suffer casualties, but Bewcastle is defeated

Jamie's always kind. Willie's sour and sullen. Liking Jamie and mocking Willie "brings muckle sorrow to oor toon for noo and ever mair"

The singer's son Jamie volunteered; "it wasna for fechtin' but jist for the claes." He struts in his uniform. Grannie thinks his obsession "it's a' far past jokin'" If the French blades would cut his buttocks he would not be so proud of his clothes.

Jamie's on the Stormy Sea: (9 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #2067}

"Ere the twilight bat was flitting, in the sunset at her knitting, Sang a lonely maiden... Fitful rose the tender chorus, 'Jamie's on the stormy sea.'" The singer listens to the girl praying -- and at last steps out and reveals himself as Jamie

"Jane and Louisa will soon come home, darling... Out of the beautiful garden." "Then I will like you to pick a rose, darling... Out of..." "Then I will like you to waltz with me, darling... Into...."

"It was in brilliant autumn time When the army of the north... and its riflemen came forth." General Burgoyne finds the Americans waiting at Bennington and elsewhere. In the fights that follow, "hapless Jane McCrea" falls an innocent victim

Jane Shore, "that was beloved of a king," laments her fate. She had come to the attention of Edward IV, who loved her long but died young. Now she is at the mercy of his successor Richard III, who harries her relentlessly

"Hey, hey, Jane, Jane, My Lordy, Lord, Jane, Jane, I'm gonna buy, Jane, Jane, Three mocking birds, Jane, Jane, One a-for to whistle...." "I'm gonna buy... Three hunting dogs... Three muley cows... Three little blue birds...."

"Jane, Jane, your singing's productive of pain, It jars like the brake of a train, It rattles like hailstones and rain. Your vocal vagaries have killed the canaries, Oh, Jane, Jane, Jane!" "O Wind from the South Blow some mud in the mouth of Jane..."

Listeners are warned of the sad fate of Janet Jamieson. A rich hunter sees the beautiful girl and begs her to come with him. At last he convinces her -- but a week later casts her out. She wanders alone, then dies. He is killed in Hindustan

Janet She Cam' Doon the Gait: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #13574}

"Janet she cam' doon the gait To borrow elaeven eggs fae Pate Her muckle tappit hen to set The cock was but a gawpie [Greig/Duncan8: fool]"

"Janey Mac, My shirt is black, What'll I do for Sunday? Go to bed, And cover your head, And don't get up Till Monday."

Janie of the Moor [Laws N34]: (20 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #581}

The singer meets Janie and proposes marriage. She says that she has promised to remain true to her love Dennis Ryan/Riley. He pulls out Dennis's ring and says he has died in battle. She faints; she revives when he reveals that he is Dennis

Janie Sharp Ballet, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #4115}

After leaving "sin's way" at 16, Janie Sharp made friends with all she met, but at 18 "by criminal beast her journey ceased." The singer theorizes about her last hours, thinking she warned the murderer, was killed, and taken to heaven

"January, February, March, Stiffen your whiskers with starch"

Jarvis the Coachman: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1312}

Jarvis the coachman is hired at night by some men to go to a gibbet where a man is hanging. They hoist Jarvis up the gibbet to release, they say, the hanging man, but steal Jarvis's horses and coach and leave him hanging. Finally Jarvis is rescued

Jawbone Song, The: (16 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7728 and 3657}

""Dance all night with a bottle in my hand/Just 'fore day give the fiddler a dram." "Jawbone walk and jawbone talk/Jawbone eat with a knife and fork" "My old Miss is mad at me, Cause I wouldn't live in Tennessee" 'I laid that jawbone on the fence...."

"Come all you true brave river boys... We've lost one of our river boys, And the one we love so well." His wife shoots Jay on a Friday night. His boy asks his mother why she did it. She says it was an accident. She is imprisoned even so

"Jaybird died with the whoopingcough, Sparrow died with the colic, On came a frog with a fiddle on his back, Inquiring the way to the frolic." Other verses tell other stories about the lives of other birds, or perhaps predators or other animals

""A jaybird sitting on a hickory limb, All around over to Jordan, I upped with a rock and hit him on the shin, Oh, Jerusalem!" "Shine on, shine on, All across over to Jordan, Shine on, shine on, Oh, Jerusalem!"

Songs about the exploits about the jaybird and how it cheekily survives, e.g. "The jaybird a-setting of a swinging limb, He winked at me and I winked at him, He laugh at me when my gun 'crack.' It kick me on the flat o' my back."

"I've been to the east, I've been to the west, I've been to the jaybird's altar, But the prettiest girl I ever seen Was Temmie Slinkard's daughter."

"Jaybirds gave a concert free, Up in the boughs of a maple tree, Ha ha ha." If there is any more, it has been lost.

French. "J'ai fait une belle trois jours (x3), mais c'est pas longtemps." The singer found his love three days ago, and will visit her Monday. If she turns into a trout, nightingale, etc., he will become a fisherman, etc. to pursue her

When Mary "dressed herself in men's attire" to meet Jimmie, he mistakes her for his brother whom, he assumed, had been "to enjoy my dear." He shoots Mary. When he realizes Mary is dying he shoots himself, saying "be ye ware of jealousy"

A (hosier) from Leicester has "a handsome witty wife," but he does not trust her, and threatens to set her aside. She disguises herself as the devil, and with the help of two boys, frightens him so much that he never dares mistreat her again

The jealous lover lures (Florella/Pearl Bryan) into the woods with the promise that they will discuss wedding plans. Once there, he stabs her. When captured, he is imprisoned for life

Jealous Lover (II), The: (25 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #500}

The jealous lover takes his girlfriend down to the woods. (She grows weary, and asks to return home.) He (tells her she will never return home, and) stabs her. With her dying breath she forgives him

Jean and Her Sailor Lad: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #5811}

Jean loves a sailor but he leaves for sea without marrying. When he returns she shuns him, saying she's being courted by a tailor, a ploughman, and a farmer. The sailor ridicules those professions and said he'd go to sea again. She calls him back.

Jean Chivas lives at Blackton, "And a' the ill deen here aboot Jean Chivas gets the blame" "She's into a coach wi' her ain true love, And awa' to Porter Fair"

"Miss Jean Dalgarno she was there A maid sae primp an' slim And fa think ye gaed hame wi' her But Arnot's shoudin sin"

Jean's husband died leaving her with a son Jock who was always in trouble. At 17 he grew responsible but was thrown in jail ten days for mischief making. He joins the Life Guards, fights bravely at Waterloo, is promoted, and supports Jean handsomely.

"But if ever I return again, As I do hope I will, I'll marry thee my dearest dear, Dear Jean o' Bannermill"

Jockie: Let me go; I'll be back before long to you and Lona. Jeannie: You may meet some other maid who will make you stop loving me. Jockie: "O but Jeannie wha will then Lead me doon the flowery glen"

"The first place that I saw my love was Ballymoney town... " He describes "lovely Jean's" beauty, and says that all the young men love her. He wishes he had riches to share with her. He says he will do his best to win her

The singer says it's not many days that he asked his mother "if she saw I was growin' a man." His legs and arms are too long for his breeches and coat. He stands "over sixty nine inches in hicht, And my wecht was a creelfu' o' stanes"

"Jean was fair And Jean was fat, She wore her hair below her had. Now what do you think of that? Fal-de-didle-dide."

Jump-rope rhyme. "Jean, Jean made/had a machine, Joe, Joe, made it go, Frank, Frank, turned the crank, Out came his mother and gave him a spank, Turned him over the river bank."

Jeanette and Jeannot: (7 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #391}

"You are going far away from your poor Jeanette. There is no one left to love me now and you too may soon forget." The singer laments her lover's departure to be a soldier. She wishes she had the power to end war

Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair: (7 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #38034}

"I dream of Jeanie with the light brown hair, Borne, like a vapor, on a summer's air." The singer praises her voice, her "day-dawn smile," etc., but sadly concludes, that he is "never more to find her where the bright waters flow."

Dialog between Davie and Jeannie. Davie: what were you thinking when you moved to my bed: "was ye tired lyin' yer lane?" Jeannie: "'Twas a' for love o' you, But I see my folly noo, It's caused me sair to rue"

"There's a nice little girl lives down yonder lane." The singer would have Jane/Jeannie Johnston go with him.

Jeannie o' Planteenie: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5829}

Dialog. Jean, dressed as a man, asks Jamie, the shepherd, about his plans to marry. He has promised to marry someone. She encourages him to play the field. He is shocked. She reveals herself. They kiss, marry, and have "peace and plenty"

"Your plack and my plack (x3), And Je(a)nnie's bawbee." "We'll put them in the pint stoup, Pint stoup, pint stoup, We'll put them in the pint stoup, And join all three." "And that was all my Jenny had... was a bawbee."

"Jeff Davis Rode a White Horse, Lincoln rode a mule, Jeff Davis was a gentleman, Lincoln was a fool." May be attached to floating sorts of lyrics about courting, traveling, food, etc.

"Far down in the South there lived Jeff Davis, He swindled his friends till they haven't a pound" and chooses secession to cure his ills. Lee invadea the north and is repulsed. Many surrender rather than have to "leave their cards at Jeff Davis's ball."

Jeff in Petticoats: (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #V16142}

Jefferson Davis realizes he is in danger of capture by Union troops, and decides to dress in women's clothes to escape. The Union troops scorn him, saying, "Oh! Jeffy D. You 'flow'r of chivalree... Your empire's but a tinclad skirt...."

Jefferson and Liberty: (10 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #4668}

Campaign song for Thomas Jefferson, to the tune of a reel: "The gloomy night before us flies, The reign of terror now is o'er; Its gags, inquisitors and spies, Its hordes of harpies are no more. Rejoice, Columbia's sons... For Jefferson and liberty"

Jehovah, Hallelujah: (1 ref. 1K Notes) {Roud #11861}

"Jehovah, Hallelujah, the Lord will provide (x2)." "The foxes have a hole, and the birdies have a nest, The Son of Man he dunno where to lay the weary head."

"When Jekkel walls fell down, It's no difference whar I stand... Dere's someone always ready To point de finger of scorn at me." The singer says he will "soon end at home." The singer wants others to celebrate as he celebrates in heaven

Jellon Grame [Child 90]: (11 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #58}

(Jellon Grame) murders the woman he claims to love (because she carries his child and he fears discovery/because she loves another whose child she carries). (He/her sister) raises the boy. He later reveals the murder to the boy, who kills him.

Jump-rope rhyme. "Jelly on the plate (in the dish, in the bowl), Jelly on the plate, Wiggle waggle, wiggle waggle, Jelly on the plate." Other verses may refer to sausage in the pan, money on the floor, robbers in the house

"As I was walking near the lake/garden gate, I met a little rattlesnake; He ate so much of jelly-cake He made his little belly ache."

The singer loves to rove in summer with "bonnie Jem o' Aberdeen." "Wi' joy I leave my father's cot Wi' ilka sport of glen or green ... to share the jumble lot" with Jem

Jemima lives in Port aux Basques but roams about raiding cabbage patches. When she raids Jim Bruiser's garden, Jim sends the bill to Mr. Britten for damages. Jemima asks Britten to hide her, else Bruiser will have her put in jail.

Jemmy Joneson's Whurry: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #3061}

"Whei cowers biv the chimley reek, Begox! it's all a horney, For thro' the world aw wisht to keek... Aw thowt aw'd myek a voyage to Shiels Iv Jemmy Joneson's whurry." The singer tells of the various sights along the trip

Jemmy O'Brien destroyed patriots. "With his dagger ... would he slaughter The husband, the wife, and the daughter." "The braggart he is now pulled down And all the great lawyers of the Crown Could not save poor Jemmy O'Brien!"

"De night before Jemmy was stretch'd" "de corps of informers and spies" commiserates with him and wonder that the Major can't save such a loyalist. The hangman finds him imagining the ghosts of his victims and their wives and orphans. He is hanged.

"My name is Jenkin Jenkins, I'm a fireboss of renown, At three o'clock each morning I make my usual round." He searches the mine for gas hazards. He warns the mine bosses of problems in their areas, and tells the miners to work

The singer "shipped in Tonawanda Some timber for to bring, From Toledo at a dollar a day On the barque the Jennie P. King." The singer describes the very mixed crew, Americans and Italians and Canadians and others. The voyage ends in Buffalo

Jennie, the Flower of Kildare: (3 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #5767}

"I am dreaming of Erin tonight and the little white cot by the sea, Where Jennie, my darling, now dwells...." The singer misses her, and is sure she is waiting for him; he hopes soon to return to Ireland to see her

"I had a little mule, her name was Jenny, When I bought that mule she cost me plenty. But I sold that mule for one little penny, And now I have neither the penny nor Jenny."

Jenny Dang the Weaver: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2595}

"At Willie's wedding on the green ... At ilka country dance or reel," Jock the weaver insists on dancing with Jenny. Between dances he "cackled like a clockin hen," so she hits him. He proposes. She tells the fool not to annoy her and hits him (again?)

The young man/men try to invite Jenny to the dance by asking her what color she will wear: "Will you wear the (red), O ne'er, o ne'er, o, Will you wear the red, Jenny Jenkins?" She objects to most colors, but at last may agree to one of them

Jenny Jones (Jennie Jo): (20 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1047}

"We've come to see (Miss) (Jenny/Ginnie/Jennia) (Jones/Jan), Miss Jenny Jones, Miss Jenny Jones, We've come to see... And how is she today?" Mother answers she is busy/sick/dead. The discuss what color she shall wear

"When going along the Nethergate, There's naught can be so handy o As drapping in to get a stick of Jenny Marshall's candy, O." The candy is not expensive. Men and women both come to buy it

Have you seen Jenny Nettles coming from the market, baggage on her back, wages in her lap, and baby under her arm? The singer meets her singing to her baby, Robin Rattle's bastard. To flee the grief and mocking, she seeks Robin to put it under his arm.

Insults in rhyme to those who are skinny. "Jenny penny, Stick, stenny, Cry old bobtail, Skinny old Jenny."

Francis Kenny ships on Jenny Saviour "to fish the banks of Newfoundland." Near Sable Island he is swept overboard in a gale. The crew see him drown: "it was too rough to lower a boat for his young life to save"

"I've just come away from the wedding... I'll never forget the relations I met When I married by Jenny Wren bride." The family gives the bride gifts liberated from the dockyards where they work. Some in the pews hint at too-close relations with the bride

Jeremiah of Bartibogue: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #9190}

Jeremiah from Bartibogue gets a job at Billy Muirhead's saw-mill in Chatham. He dresses "to the tip of fashion" He takes up politics, unsuccessfully. He is "forced to leave Chatham" and falls "to this low station, Cooking for Casey on Sprigman's Hill"

"Now all you young men who go chopping, ... I was working With that foreman, well known Jerry Ryan." Work is scarce, so the boys go logging in Bishop's Falls. The price is low for scrub spruce; the charge exorbitant for saw, board, and doctor fees.

Larry Sullivan has spent forty years maintaining the railroads; he is proud of the state of the tracks and of never having had a wreck. As he lies dying, he asks to be buried by the tracks. His last words are, "Jerry, go and ile that car."

"Did y'ever go to a 'Junket,' A thing very common of late.... Then the boys and the girls meet together...." The poem describes the music and the games they play, and describes how very late it runs as the young people court

"Jersey Boy, 'tis you I call, Invitation free to all, The road is wide, the pathway clear, Jersey Boy, come volunteer. Apple cider, ginger beer, Christmas comes but once a year. The road is wide, the pathway clear, Jersey boy, come volunteer."

Jersey-Blue Handkerchief: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #V7830}

Isabella, the "Maid of Cooper's Creek ... was courted by a Jerseyman -- she longed to be his bride." He leaves her for one "far prettier" She is left broken hearted at Billy Cooper's "vith a Jersey-blue handkerchief tied under her chin"

Chorus: "Jerusalem morning (x2) by the light, Don't you hear Gabriel's trumpet in that morning." Verses: a member took his/her seat, Wants all the members to follow." "Sweet turtle dove sings so sweet, Muddy the water, so deep."

"Jerusalem, my happy home, When shall I come to thee?" (Or "Oh how I long for thee.") The glories of the heavenly city are described, and the people to be found there listed

"It was a bleak November morning With a convoy underway, When they sighted a German raider From the tops of the Jervis Bay." The little Jervis Bay goes into action against the German. "On her decks lay dead and dying," but the convoy is saved

Fragment: "To one and all both great and small, the story I'll unfold/It makes me sad to think about the doom of Jesse Cole"

Jesse James (I) [Laws E1]: (57 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #2240}

Jesse James's career is briefly described, with praise given to his (alleged) acts of charity. The story of James's murder is then told, focusing on the treachery of Robert Ford, "the dirty little coward that shot 'Mister Howard.'"

Jesse James (II) [Laws E2]: (15 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #2241}

The song starts with an account of James's robbery of the Pittsfield bank. The account of the murder is circumstantial and unflattering. James is planning a robbery; he knocks down his wife's picture; Robert Ford shoots him in the back

Jesse's home life is described: "His mother she was elderly; his father was a preacher." Bob Ford, described as an inept train robber, is shown in consultation with the governor. Ford kills James, but is shot by a drunken cowboy

"You've heard of heroes brave in all their glory...." These heroes are contrasted with James, who "joined the bad guerrillas," robbed banks, "invented robbing trains," avoided the Pinkertons -- and finally was shot by Robert Ford

Jesse James song recognized by the chorus, "Oh I wonder where my poor old Jesse's gone... I will meet him in that land where I've never been before." Jesse is killed by Robert Ford; his life is recalled

Jesse and Frank James come to town with ponies for sale. While there, they attend a ball, and have great success with the girls. The local men try to attack them, but Jesse and Frank out-fight them and escape to Mexico

"Jesse James was a man who wore a hat with a little band, There lays Jesse James in his grave. Poor old Jesse, ain't you sorry? (x3)." "Jesse James was a spy, and they shot him on the sly. How they killed Jesse James was a shame. Poor old Jesse..."

Johnny is entranced by Jessie and asks her too marry, offering her houses and land. She says that his holdings are poor and he unattractive. Johnny returns to Betty, less attractive but more faithful

The singer returns from the war to the banks of the Tay. He courts Jessie but her father discovers them "beneath the shade." She declares she would leave Dundee with the singer. Her father takes them to be married "this night"

Jessie of Old Rayne: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #21189}

The singer is "on the main An' sailin wi' a heart deprived O' Jessie o' Old Rayne." He will miss the places "where I hae spent my youthfu' days" and Newton's woods where he used to meet Jessie. They parted "in hopes to meet again"

Jessie the Flower of Dunblane: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #15024}

"The sun has gone down on lofty Ben Lomond, And left the red clouds to preside o'er the scene" as the singer "muses" on "sweet Jessie the flower of Dunblane." The singer praises her beauty and modesty; he would love her even if he had high station

Jessie, the Belle at the Bar: (8 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3265}

The singer sees Jessie working at the railroad bar. He courts her. Though warned that she is fickle, he offers to wed; she accepts -- then runs off with the costly wedding dress and marries a newspaper publisher

"Jesus was born in Bethlehem (of) Jude(a), All of a maiden, thus findeth we." The steward bids Herod to come and see. The magi come. Herod orders the children of Israel slain. Jesus flees to Egypt. Herod dies and goes to hell

Jesus At Thy Command: (1 ref. 1K Notes) {Roud #12925}

"Jesus at Thy command I launch into the deep And leave my native land Where sin lulls all asleep." Singer trusts Christ to save him and asks for a heavenly wind to take him to a heavenly port.

"Jesus been here, been here, bless my soul, and gone, Jesus been here, been here, Oh the Lord pass by"

My Jesus has been here, Jesus blessed my soul and gone. Sister, where were you When the Lord was passing by.

"Jesus Christ I want to find; Pray tell me where he is, 'Cause him alone can ease my mind And give my conscience peace." "Tell me which way my redeemer's gone." The singer describes how to recognize Jesus, and is thanked for his lecture

"Hush, little baby, and don't you cry; Yo' mudder an' fader is bo'n to die! Jesus done taken my driftin' han'. Good Lord, Lord, Lord! Over de hills bright shinin' lan'." "Mind out, Sister, how you step on de cross...."

"When you hear dat I'se a-dyin', I don' want nobody to mo'n... Well, well, well, tone de bell easy, Jesus gonna make up my dyin' bed. The singer recounts Jesus's death, prays that Jesus be with him, and remembers the faith of his dead mother

Jesus healed the sick, blind, and crippled. He rolled the stone from his grave. He gave Lazarus and Peter, "commishun to fly"

"Jesus is a rock in a wearied land, In a wearied land, in a wearied land... A shelter in a time of storm, in a time of storms." "He is whom I fix my hopes upon, A narrow way till in my view...."

Jesus Is the Light: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #18154}

"Jesus is the light, the light of the world (x2), He shines all round us, both night and day, Jesus is the light of the world." "Har ye, say the angels, Jesus is the light of the world."

Chorus: "He ain't coming here to die no more (x2)." Verses: "Virgin Mary had one son, The cruel Jews had him hung." "Hallelujah to the Lamb Jesus died for every man."

Jesus Lover of My Soul: (9 refs. 7K Notes) {Roud #5432}

Original hymn: "Jesus, lover of my soul, Let me to thy bosom fly." Parody: "Jesus, lover of my soul, Set me on top of telegraph pole. When the pole begins to break, Take me down for Jesus's sake."

"I am so glad that my father's in heaven, Wonderful words in the book he has given. Oh, wonderful things in the Bible I see, But this is the greatest, that Jesus loves me." "I am so glad that Jesus loves me." Even if the singer "wanders away," he is loved

Jesus Met the Woman at the Well: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #21781}

Jesus meets a (Samaritan) woman as she comes to draw water, and tells her "everything [she] has ever done." She proclaims him a prophet, and announces the news in the town

"Oh, Jesus never come in the morning, Neither in the heat of the day, But come in the cool of the evening And wash my sins away." The singer warns against riches, looks forward to the end of the war, and is willing to die for God

"Heaven bell a-ring, I know the road (x3), Jesus sitting on the water-side." "Do come along, do let us go (x3), Jesus sitting on the water-side."

Singer is told that if he wants to be converted he should pray. He does, until his heart melts, then "my hands was tied, my feet was bound...." Cho: "Jesus says go -- I'll go with you/Preach the gospel and I'll preach with you...."

Jesus says, "You goes and I goes wid you; Preach de gospel and I'll preach wid you." The singer asks Jesus to tell him what to say. After some back-and-forth, the singer reports, "De elements opened and de Lawd come down."

"Let's go and tell it on the mountains (x3), Jesus setta me free." "It's come on everybody in the marvelous light, Jesus setta me free, Where the yoke is easy and the burden is light, Jesus setta me free." "Let's go and tell it on the mountains...."

"Jesus, hear our prayer, For thy children care, When we sleep, protect and bless us, With thy pardon now refresh us, Leave thy peace divine with us, We are thine."

"You ride dat horse, You call him Macaroni; Jesus, won't you come b'm-by? You ride him in de mornin' And you ride him in de evenin'; Jesus, won't you come b'm-by? De Lord knows de world's gwine to end up...."

French. A girl says she must have a lover. Mother says wait; go to the convent. The girl wants to go to a lover. Mother says here's money to get to the convent; the girl says with that money I will buy myself a man. You will be sorry, says the mother.

French. A girl says she must have a lover. Her mother sends her to a convent. At the convent a Brother consoles her. A Sister says that the Father would marry them. The girl says that her lover is not here but is a slave among the barbarians.

French. After years in the army a soldier stops at an inn. The hostess cries; she recognizes him as her husband. He asks why she has more children. She had reports that he had died and so remarried. He asks about her husband. She gives him gold to leave

"In sorrow and sadness I'm destined to roam, Distracted and forsaken I wander alone." The singer hears the birds and feels the breezes but cannot see nature or people. He prays God to take him to heaven "where the blind may all see."

"I am going to tell you people, Perhaps you do not know, We all should work together And protect the C.I.O." The singer urges men to "stick together And defend the union plan." He points out that laborers do all the work

"It was all in the month of winter, I arrived by wagon to this place; I chanced to meet with a youthful lady...." He courts the girl and asks her to come away; her mother refuses and he is forced to depart; he hopes to meet the listeners in heaven

"In an early day folks crossed the sea To explore the Indians' land." The Indians befriend the Whites; "Little did the Indian think They would spoil his hunting ground." "The white man done the Indian wrong"; they go to war -- but lose for lack of guns

Originally a blackface minstrel piece, now often reduced to odd lyrics held together by the refrain, "Hey jim-along, jim-along Josie; Hey jim-along, jim along Jo." Sample verse: "Any pretty girl that wants a beau, Just fall in the arms of Jim Along Joe"

Singer says that he and his old friend Jim used to be sinners, smokers and drinkers, but that God has saved them, and their money is now spent on their families. "What our God has done for us/He's done for Jim and me"

"'Jim Blake, your wife is dying,' came over the wires tonight." Railroad engineer Blake wires back that he is coming. But his train is wrecked, "derailed by an open switch." Blake's last message to his wife says they'll meet in heaven

Jim Bludso(e) was foul-mouthed, keeping more than one girl (wife?), and often found near a fight. But he is a good man underneath. When the Prairie Belle catches fire, he keeps the engine running long enough that every passenger lives although he dies

Jim Bobo's Fatal Ride: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #11024}

"Jim Bobo rode a safety wheel, He rode with all his might." "The wheel was built for only one... But he had often made the run With two or sometimes three." When riding with Little Willie, he crashes. The child survives but Bobo is killed

"What became of Jim Brooks, did you ask me?" The singer doesn't know, but thinks he is in a land without logs or snow. When the child of a logger wants to see the trees being cut, a log falls toward him. Jim saves the boy but dies himself

"To Bangor City last year I came" and went to work in the Water Works along with "my friend Jim Clancy." He goes to Brewer, is offered a (drugged?) drink, loses his "stamps," is arrested and sentenced to making bricks. He warns against "lay-down punch"

Jim Fisk [Laws F18]: (16 refs. 6K Notes) {Roud #2215}

Jim Fisk, though a rich and fine man, still remembers the poor and gives aid to many at the time of the Chicago fire. Fisk is shot by Edward Stokes (his rival for a girl); the singer is afraid that Stokes's wealth will allow him to win his freedom

"Jim Green was supposed to be The bravest man in Tennessee." When the circus comes to town, offering $100 to someone who leads the lion, Jim turns it down, Greene declares that he doesn't need eduction to determine, "I ain't gonne lead no lions around."

Jim Haggerty's Story: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #15550}

The speaker and his companion go down to town, where the companion will confront a man hired to kill him. They enter the bar. The hired gun's girlfriend begs him not to shoot; the other is her father. But both men draw and fire and are killed

Famous captain Jim Harris, in Ronald P out of St Kyran's, runs down the Irene anchored in Paradise Sound. "It's all right when the wheel goes up, till it turns for to come down And you might make that same mistake as Jim Harris in Paradise Sound."

"You're sending me for life, judge, For killing Bill McCoy, But maybe you don't know, Judge, that I'm Jim Hatfield's boy." The singer, unnamed, describes the history of the Hatfield/McCoy feud and his need for revenge

Jim Jones at Botany Bay: (10 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5478}

The singer, Jim Jones, is taken, tried, and sentenced to transportation. En route, his ship is attacked by pirates, but the crew holds them off. Arriving in Australia, Jones vows to escape, join the bushrangers, and get revenge

Jim Larkin fought the Peelers in 1913 and "was treated to the batons by the Forces of the Crown." "The worker is a freeman now by his persevering fight." "R.I.P"

Jim O'Lynn "does everything bad" and has to consider whether to change this thing or that. He is drunk and must decide on a double: that "will do." He quarrels with Charles over swapping shirts: that "won't do." Challenge the Devil? That "will do"

Jim Ross Song, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #12459}

Ross, "an elderly gent" courts Mary Ann, "the pride of Dundas," offering "houses and lands" because he has little money. She agrees to marry but does not appear for the wedding. She explains why she changed her mind [the song breaks here].

Jim Strainer tells Lula that if he catches her with Willie he'll kill her. Singer follows Lula to the burying ground. Jim Strainer has killed her, on the ballroom [barroom?] floor. Willie is sentenced to 15 years; Jim Strainer gets 99, and cries

"The dug him a grave at the set of the sun, His riding was over, his roping was done." The cowboys bury Jim, and return to "their cabins, deserted and lorn." "No sound save the Yellowstone dashing a-foam." Jim's ghost is seen be the rive

The carter/driver reports on his happy life: "Crack, crack, goes my whip, I whistle and I sing, I sit upon my wagon, I'm as happy as a king." He ignores bad weather, recalls being trained by his father, and tells of courting his sweetheart in the cart

Jimmie Brown the Newsboy: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4996}

Singer, Jimmie Brown, the newsboy of the town, wears no hat or shoes, and is cold and hungry. [He wanders from place to place.] He tells of his drunkard father, who has abandoned the family. His mother says he will "sell the gospel news" in heaven

Jimmie tries to break a logjam and is drowned. His badly cut up body is recovered the next day. He is mourned by sweetheart, family, and fellow workers

Jimmy and Annie are out walking one fine day just before he sets sail. She bids him farewell and gives him a diamond ring as a token of her love. He promises to return to her

Jimmy and Nancy (III): (3 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #660}

A sailor tells his true love "It is all for your sweet sake I am bound to cross the ocean." Her mother and father are against them but she will not turn against him. He promises to be true. They kiss and part; she wishes him well.

"Jimmy Bell's in town, Lordy, walkin' round, He got greenbacks enough, sweet babe, to make a man a suit." Bell preaches a sermon, warning of the dangers of hell; "All them sisters sittin' in the back corner Cryin' Jimmy Bell my man."

Bruisse builds a sty for his new pig. One night the pig escapes. When no one can find the pig Bruisse reports it stolen to the rangers. The pig is found by a brook. If Bruisse hears the song he may send the rangers after the singer.

"I saw the undertakers leavin' With a casket in the hearse... The remains of Jimmy Burse." Burse goes out to transport a convict in his car, but is shot by the prisoner York. Burse is buried; the singer hopes he will find justice

"Good morning, dear daughter and sister... father, I learn you've been courted by Jimmy Caldwell, Dear daughter, dear daughter, we love you very dearly."

Jimmy Hughes's Feastio: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #12484}

"Come, let us all to Georgetown go .. At Jimmy Hughes's feastio"; 100 are expected but only 30 show up. "The Senator arose with pride ...My son shall run the countrio. They turned him down, my darling boy, They did not know his worthio"

"You know I am that squealer that they talk so much about... So please in kindness listen to Jimmy Kerrigan." He fought for the Union in the Civil War. He was talked into committing murder. He turned informant. He bids hearers not to drink, and departs

The singer misses Jimmy, who "travels the wide world o'er" on a quest for wealth. Her parents "never do give me ease." They want her to marry someone rich. She would go to the woods where no one will tease her and stay there until Jimmy returns

"On the banks of Kilkenny... Is Joe Jimmy Murphy Who is lost and forsaken." "Tomorrow he will ride... through the city." "Tomorrow he will hang; But it's not for sheep-stealing But for courting a pretty girl By the name of Moll Figen"

"Jimmy-my-Riley was a grand old rascal, Jimmy-my-Riley ho (x2)." "Pick it up and shuck it up and throw it over yonder." "The cows in the old field hornin' Jimmy Riley." "The mules in the old field kickin' Jimmy Riley."

"Jimmy Rose he went to town (x3) To 'commodate the ladies." "Fare ye well, ye ladies all (x3), God Almighty bless you."

Jimmy Sago, Jackeroo: (6 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #8394}

"If you want a situation and you'd like to know the plan To get on a station... Pack up the old portmanteau and label it Paroo, with a name that's aristocratic -- Jimmy Sago, Jackeroo." The song details how the "aristocratic" name can bring benefits

"On Sunday mornin' I seek my Lord, Jine 'em, jine 'em oh! Oh jine 'em, believer, jine 'em so, Jine 'em, jine 'em oh." "Join, brethren, join us O... In Jesus's name we sing and pray"

Jingle at the Window (Tideo): (9 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3597}

Playparty. "Jingle at the window, (tideo/dideo)....' "Pass one window, tideo...." Pass two windows, tideo...." "You swing heads... I swing feet... Ain't dat nice... walkin' on de ice."

In praise of sleighing in the snow. Taking his "one horse open sleigh," the singer courts Miss Fanny Bright. Even a brief detour into a snowbank does not deter his ardor. The singer urges others to get a horse and sleigh and go courting

"Buck-skin moccasin tow-headed Bill, Once went a-courtin' up on the hill, The first one he courted was a pretty gal to see, Set right down to Jingleberry tea."

"Here we go around the ring; Choose you one while we do sing; Choose the one that you love best, And she will come at your request." "Now you've got her, and I wish you much joy, You are my son and childish joy... Kiss her quick, and that will do."

"Oh, ken ye my love Johnnie, he lives doon on yonder lea, and he's lookin', and he's joukin', and he's aye watchin' me." The singer describes her deep fondness for (Johnnie/Jockie), and looks forward to a happy life despite his poverty

Jinny Get Your Hoecake Done: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #16825}

Fiddler's mnemonic for a moderately well-known tune: "Jinny, get your hoecake done, my love, Jinny, get your hoecake done; Jinny, get your hoecake done, my love, Jinny, get your hoecake done."

Jinny Go Round and Around: (8 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #836 (etc.)}

"Where did you get your whisky? Where did you get your dram?.... Down in Rockingham. Cho: Jinny go round an' around (x3) Way down in Rockingham." The remaining verses may give reasons why the singer will not marry or describe river life

"Jinny go up, Jinny go down, Jinny go all around the town."

"'This dance it will no further go.' 'I pray you, (Sir), Why say you so?' 'Because (Joan Sanderson) will not come too.' 'She must come too, and she shall come too... whether she will or no.' 'Welcome, Joan Sanderson.' Prankum, Prankum is a fine dance."

"Oh Job, Job, good Lord, Tell me how you feel, good Lord." Sundry Biblical incidents are narrated: Pilate's wife and her dream of Jesus, Joshua stopping the sun, etc. Verses are very long, with variable numbers of lines

Jock's mother warned him to "Come hame sober" but Jock "as usual soon forgot." Arriving home he falls in a dung hill where a sow, liking the smell, licks his mouth. Jock wakes, "spat for near an hour," has the pig killed, and has not had whisky since.

Duke Hamilton bet five hundred guineas he can go through London singing but not speaking. Though thrown in jail he does not speak. The bailiff's daughter tries but only gets a gold ring. He wins the bet and the bailiff's daughter by singing.

"One night I into Glesga went To spend my penny fee, Twas then a girl gave consent To bear me company." They go to a tavern. A crowd of sailors comes in -- then are called away. Jock is left to pay the entire bill. He warns others of the trick

Jock o the Side [Child 187]: (16 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #82}

Jock o the Side has been taken prisoner in a raid. His neighbors hope to ransom him, but (Hobie Noble/The Laird's Jock) will free him with five men. They make their way to Jock's prison, break down the doors and perform other feats, and bring Jock away

"I've been abroad, I've been at hame... But noo I've come to Huntley." The singer escapes his parents and sets out to earn his fee. His parents offer no support. After working with Mr. Stephen and Jock o' Huntley, he vows to be "mair wiser."

"My mailison's [curse is] on ye, Jock Robb"; you built your house next to mine and taught my children "to bob." "My blessing gae wi' ye, Jock Robb"; when you come you make us happy and "gar our blithe bottoms play bob!"

Jock recalls the first time he saw Mary, whose beauty ensnared him. He takes a job with her father, and wins her heart. They plan to flee. Her father follows and drags her away. When they try again, he is accused of forgery. He hopes to win free

A lady asks a knight not to lie with her "for spoilin' o' my goun." She asks that he take her to her father's castle first. Once there she shuts the door in his face. Disguised as a lady in labor the knight lures her out and rapes her.

(Jock Stewart) invites the company to enjoy his generosity. "So be easy and free when you're drinking with me; I'm a man you don't meet every day" The singer may talk of his well-built hut, his hunting trips, or whatever people discuss in pubs

Jock Stewart the Factor: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #7271}

"Jock Stewart the factor, Sae weel he did thrive, Afore he'd kiss his ain wife He'd kiss ither five"

On his wedding night Jock comes home drunk, goes to his tripe can in the dark, and eats one of the caps his mother had washed and put in the can. He gets sick and, to everyone's amazement, vomits a clean cap instead of tripe.

A "merry merchant" comes to a tavern and finds himself in a series of contests with (a disguised) Jock the Leg. They set out together, and Jock demands the merchant's pack. The merchant fights him off, then six of his men as well; they declare friendship

"Oh, Jockey courted Jenny in the height of spring... Oh, Jocky would give anything that Jenny's heart could win." He asks a relative for advice and is told that single life is best; married life is costly. It is not clear if they marry

Jockey Hat and Feather: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7586}

"As I was walking out one day A-thinking of the weather I saw a pair of roguish eyes 'Neath a hat and feather." The girl asks how the singer likes her hat. He likes it (or her?) very much. She leaves; he misses her, and dreams of the hat

Jockey to the Fair: (11 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3344}

Jocky puts on his Sunday suit and goes to Jenny's house, wakes her by tapping at the window. Jenny says, "Everyone's asleep or out: are you going to hold to your vows?" He says yes. They run off to the Fair and get married. Returning, they bless the day

"Where got thou the haver-meal bannock? Blind Bubby, canst thou not see?" Singer Jock has gotten the minister's daughter of Dundee pregnant; the minister demands he marry her. Jock is not interested in marriage; he asks Sandy to help him escape

Jocky and his Owsen: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #5946}

"Twa afore ane, Three afore five [the order in which oxen are yoked] ... An' Jocky at the last; Jenny and her five kye Fullin' in fast"

Jocky Said to Jeanie: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1792}

"Jocky said to Jeanie, wilt thou do't? Ne'er a fit, quo' Jeannie, for my tocher good." She says her dowry is too good for such as him. He says he has gold, gear, and land. She consents: "Ye're welcomer to tak me than to let me be."

"Come all you young people, A story I will tell, About a fair young maiden." Mary goes on a morning walk and meets Joe, who asks to walk her home -- then grabs her and beats her to death. He then jumps into the river and kills himself

Joe Bowers [Laws B14]: (42 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2806}

Joe Bowers leaves for California to raise money to marry Sally. Returning home, he is irritated to find that she has married another, a red-haired man, and has a red-haired baby

Singer and friends meet hunt-master Joe Bowman at dawn; they go out in search of game, and flush a fox. He runs swiftly and cleverly, but is killed in the end. All gather around the fire and drink.

"I am a bold undaunted youth and Joe Brady is my name." Two policemen stop him as a "Fenian Blade." James Carey has betrayed him for the Phoenix Park murders. Bystanders cry out on his behalf. Many are proud of Carey's victims

The singer claims that Joe Brady and Daniel Curley are innocent of Burke's murder but that the informer Carey, a confessed killer is free: "Carey is more guilty than any of the rest ... the daggers which had done the deed he broke them into bits"

The singer leaves Grey Rapids in October 1924 and takes the train for Deersdale to go logging with Coughlan on Joe Brook. The crew has men from every country. Key men in the crew are named.

The singer "dreamed I saw Joe Hill last night, Alive as you and me." He points out that Hill is dead. Hill replies, "I never died." The singer describes the details of Hill's death; Hill answers, "What they forgot to kill Went on to organize."

Joe Hill's Last Will: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #30773}

"My will is easy to decide, For there is nothing to divide; My kin don't need to weep and moan...." "My body? Oh! if I could choose, I would to ashes it reduce...." ""This is my last and final will, Good luck to all of you, Joe Hill."

"On January Tenth, 1914, Two men fixed some masks of red handkerchiefs" and when to rob the "Temple and South Street Store." Two Morrisons die; one of the robbers is shot. Joe Hill, who has a bullet wound, is arrested and executed for the murder

Joe Livermore captains Columbia from Eastport. "When we got to Eastport it was on the lucky day, Each man took his chest and no longer would stay, If we can't do no better boys, we'll stay on the shore And we'll never go to sea with old Joe Livermore"

"I'll tell you about a steel man, Joe Magarac, that's the man." "He was sired in the mountains by red iron ore... Raised in a furnace...." His shoulders are huge, he can lift a half a ton, he can stir steel with his hands. Listeners are urged to see him

Joe Stiner (Joe Slinsworth): (3 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #3592}

The singer, (Joe Stiner), has apparently recently arrived in the West when he is induced to join the army. After various adventures under General Lyon, the army he is with is defeated and he flees back to Saint Louis, vowing not to fight again

"They tell me Joe Turner he done come (or "done come and gone") (x2), Got my man and gone." "He come with forty links of chain (x2), Got my man and gone."

"My name it is Joe Williams, my age is 21, I came out to this country a ramblin' son-of-a-gun...." "I went to town.... On Fifth Avenue I met a pretty lass, I introduced her to my elick, and I shoved it up her ass." His reward is a venereal disease

Jump-rope rhyme. "Joe, Joe, broke his toe, Riding on a buffalo. When he came back, he broke his back, Riding on a jumping jack."

"(Joe's/Papa's/I've/X) got a head like a ping-pong ball (x3), Ping-pong ping-pong ball. Joe's got a head like a ping-pong ping-pong ping-pong ping-pong ping-pong ball (x2)." The rest, if there is any, may talk about William Tell and or Rossini

"Freed from gaol Joe Pawelka came, Riding a wagon, the longest goods train." He hides beneath the wagon tarp. Bells warn of his presence. Barefoot, he jumps off the train. "Standing, he's tall, after all, hard the fall, bounce a ball, Off the wall O!"

"Come all young lovers far and near, A dismal story you shall hear, A young man did in Alsted dwell," but Joel Baker's beloved prefers another man and scorns him. Baker shoots himself. The girl marries her love.

"The truth, it's in my song so clear Without a word of gammon: The swagmen travel all the year Waiting for the lambin'." The shearers work when they must, drink when they can, and scratch along until the next shearing season begins

"In the Emerald Isle so far from here across the deep blue sea, There live a maid that I love dear...." He praises Johanna's beauty and fidelity. The birds' song remind him of her. He hopes she will soon become Mrs. O'Day

A stranger urges a girl to forget her lover; she will not. He tells her that Riley had been aboard his ship, and that Riley had been killed in battle with the French. She is distressed; he reveals that he is Riley and will never again leave her

A stranger urges a girl to marry him; she replies that, having lost her chance to marry Riley, she intends to live single. He tries again, asking her to come to (Pennsylvania); she refuses. At last he reveals that he is Riley, and offers to marry her

John Anderson, My Jo (I): (17 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #16967}

Singer tells how, when she first saw John, he was young, handsome, and her first love; now his hair is white, but she loves him still. They've climbed the hill together and must now totter down, but they'll go hand in hand and "sleep together at the foot"

Singer upbraids her lover for rising so early and coming to bed so late, tells him he's aging and risking being cuckolded. She describes his attributes fairly explicitly, and her own, saying "'Tis all for your conveniency/John Anderson, my jo"

John Appleby drinks with the women in the alehouse; his wife Joan drinks with the men in the tavern. At home John throws a mutton shoulder at Joan; she throws a plate. To end the quarrel they open a barrel of home-brew and invite all the neighbors.

"Poor drunkards, poor drunkards, take warning by me, The fruits of transgression behold now I see." John Atkins, when drunk, slew his "dear companion." His family and friends are left weeping. He regrets his acts and warns against drink

John B. Sails, The: (8 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #15634}

A description of a horrible journey on the "sloop John B." Refrain: "Let me go home! I want to go home; I feel so break-up, I want to go home." Among the problems on the voyage: A drunken first mate who is arrested for robbery and a cook who won't

John Barleycorn (I): (41 refs. 10K Notes) {Roud #164}

John Barleycorn is proclaimed dead but springs to life when the rain/dew falls on him. At midsummer he grows a beard; then men with scythes cut him, bind him to a cart, wheel him to a barn, and brew him into beer. The last verse praises his merits

Barleycorn is the greatest of alchemists and the best medicine. It drives away fear and grief. It works wonders. "Theres life in it... Take your liquor and doe not spare.... let no man takt in scorne, That I the vertues do proclaime."

John Barleycorn fights and defeats two nobles. For revenge they bury him. When he is reborn the following year they cut him down, torture him, and drink his blood. His relative pays back his killers leaving them unconscious in the mire.

The singer addresses John Barleycorn. "You rob me of my money John which ought to pay my bills." You go disguised "as Mr Porter." I take my first drink in the morning "before that I get up" Preachers preach against him: "on you we'll turn our backs"

John Barleycorn's a Hero Bold: (5 refs. 4K Notes) {Roud #2141}

Singer praises Barleycorn; his robes are rich and green, his head speared with prickly beard; when stricken down, he uses his blood for England's good. Chorus: "Hey John Barleycorn/Ho John Barleycorn/Old and young thy praise has sung/John Barleycorn"

In stirring cadences, the story of anti-slavery zealot John Brown's death is told: "John Brown's body lies a-mould'ring in his grave (x3); his soul goes marching on." "He captured Harper's Ferry with his nineteen men so true...."

"John Brown's Flivver/Ford/Chevy had a puncture in its tire (x3), And he patched it up with chewing gum." "Then he pumped it full of air (x3), When he patched it up with chewing gum"

John Bruce o the Forenit: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3937}

"At Martinmas term I gaed to the fair... I feed wi' a mannie to ca' his third pair, They ca' him John Bruse o' the (Fornit/Corner)." The song starts with a recitation of the poor conditions, then lists the folk found there -- including the pretty daughter

"Dear John, my plough is come to hand" begins a letter to the blacksmith praising his work. "Her every joint is so exact ..." It makes the ox-team so fast "neighbors swear they are grown fat." Love to your family and "kind wishes to my Will"

John Bull Lives In England: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #13694}

Shanty. "John Bull lives in England, Taffy lives in Wales. Sandy lives in Scotland where there is all the girls. Paddy lives in Ireland as ev'rebody knows. There never was a coward where the little shamrock grows."

"Bad luck attend you Percy wherever you may be. You would not assist my Johnny for he's drownded ... in the flurry off Kerry Bay." His true love comes to the funeral "dressed in her rich robes" and they bid "adieu to Johnny as we all marched away"

On the Caroline, bound from Queenstown (Cobh, Ireland?) to Boston, first mate John Cutter murders four, including captain John Dwyer. Cutter, subdued by the crew and "mad raving," dies from his wounds. "May the Lord have mercy... for their poor souls"

Shanty. Refrain: "Alabama John Cherokee, Way-aye-yah! Alabama John Cherokee." Slave who keeps running away is caught and put on board a ship, from which he escapes again. He's put in chains, and finally starves to death in the hold.

"John Chinaman, John Chinaman, But five short years ago, I welcomed you from Canton, John -- But I wish I hadn't though." The singer complains that the Chinaman is dishonest and a thief who wants nothing but gold

John Chinaman, My Jo: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #V42592}

"John Chinaman, my jo, John, You're coming precious fast." More and more Chinese come with each ship. The miners drive the Chinese away. They have changed their diet. The singer tells the Chinese "Don't abuse the freedom you enjoy"

John Chinaman's Appeal: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #V57981}

"American, now mind my song, If you would hear me sing, And I will tell you of the wrong" that happened to the Chinese immigrant. He nearly starved on the way. He was punished for eating a dog. He has been attacked. America is dangerous. He is leaving

"Good people all, give ear, I pray... I'm giving you, in a song, The married life of poor Ching Chong." Having mined enough gold, he seeks a wife. He finally marries "Cock-eyed Fan" from Hangtown. But she does not like his life and soon abandons him

John Cook Had a Little Grey Mare: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5418}

"John Cook had a little grey mare, Hee, haw, hum, Her back stood up and her bones were bare, Hee, haw, hum." He rides up Shooter's Bank and Shooter's Hill, as the mare suffers, falls down, and makes her will

Shanty, with chorus, "John come down the backstay... John Dameray." The singer's mother urges him to come home; he decides to do so, for he has "no money and no clothes." He vows, "From sea I will keep clear, and live by selling beer"

Fiddler's mnemonic. "John Dolan he dreamt that Jon Durgan was dead, And John Durgan he dreamt that John Dolan was dead." (repeat). "Ti iddle di iddle de umpty do" (x4)

John Done Saw that Number: (4 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #11843}

"John done saw that number, Way in the middle of the air." John the Baptist's preaching is summarized, and his baptism of Jesus described. The descent of the spirit on Jesus concludes the song.

John Dory [Child 284]: (10 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #249}

John Dory gets a horse and sets out for Paris. There he meets King John. He offers to bring King John "all the churles in merie England" in return for a pardon. Dory is overtaken by one Nicholl of Cornwall, who takes him prisoner after a sharp battle

"There once was a man In Howland did dwell; His name was John Fergusson...." His lumber camp is small. The food is so bad the loggers claimed the butter moved. Tthe cooks are no good. Several men are lost. The camp is known by "the pork rind on the door"

John Fox is caught stealing a hen. Expecting death, he makes his confession: his father was a thief; he steals to support his wife's appetite; he stole lambs before being caught. If you marry such a wife "train her wi' the rod. Use her to nae delicacies"

Young, handsome John Funston robs and murders William Cartmell. Although an innocent man is first held, Funston spends money too freely; he is captured and condemned to die. His family claims his body from two doctors who want it

John Garner's Cattle Herd: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4036}

"Come, all you old-timers, and listen to my song... When we with old Joe Garner drove a beef herd up the trail." They had 2000 cattle and good cowboys, but the cows stampede and they are told they must bear the loss. The singer calls Garner a cattle thief

"John Gilbert was a bushranger of terrible renown, For sticking lots of people up and shooting others down." He concludes he should be trying for bigger things, and holds up the town of Canowindra. Little is done to stop his depradations

John Gilbert is de Boat: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #10012}

"John Gilbert is de boat, di-de-o... Runnin' in the Cincinnati trade." Description of the boat's travels, her cargo, the crew. "You see dat boat a-comin', she's comin' round de bend, An' when she gits in, She'll be loaded down again"

John Gun, the singer, says his men have robbed many a purse of gold. They stole merchant goods in a market near Inverurie. He names those who gave him trouble and have been or will be repaid. He has been set free from jail and "must go abroad"

John Hardy [Laws I2]: (42 refs. 4K Notes) {Roud #3262}

John Hardy, a "desperate boy... who carried a (gun) every day," threatens to kill any man who wins his money. Finally he does lose his money and shoots the other. Hardy flees, but before he can leave the state he is taken, tried, and hanged

John He Baptized Jesus: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #11914}

"John he baptized Jesus; 'Twas all through his command. The Holy Bible tells us That John was a righteous man. Little children, our lodging's here tonight (x3), I know you by your little garments. Our lodging's here tonight."

John Henry [Laws I1]: (90 refs. 7K Notes) {Roud #790}

The boss of a railroad crew has brought in a steam drill. John Henry, the best driver in the gang, vows he will never be outclassed by the machine. In a contest between the two, Henry is victorious (in most versions), but dies of the exertion

"A jolly shoemaker, John Hobbs, John Hobbs... He married Jane Carter... But he caught a Tartar." "He tied a rope to her... To Smithfield he brought her... But nobody bought her." All the men are trying to sell their wives, so he hangs himself on the rope

John J. Curtis, a coal miner, is trapped in an avalanche of coal after setting a dynamite explosion. When he succeeds in lighting a match, he discovers he is blind. He asks his listeners for kindness

"John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt His name is my name too. Wherever we go out, The people always shout, John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt. Da da da da da da da."

John James O'Hara: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #19472}

John James O'Hara from Tara and Mickey McNamara from Mayo "are famous Irishmen no matter where they go." Now "we're returning back to dear old Erin's Isle"

"John Jasper was a man, as you all do understand, And he preach-ed to de people with a vengeance... And he preache'ed to de people dat de sun do move." Concerning the power of the preaching of Jasper

Shanty. Characteristic line: "John Kanaka-naka, too-li-ay." The sailors describe how they will "work tomorrow but no work today!" Some details of their trip around the horn on a Yankee ship are given

John Ladner leaves PEI to find work in Saint John. Failing that, he goes to Maine and works six years in Madison. Thanksgiving morning he is crushed by logs he is rolling to a stream to be floated to the mill. Doctors cannot save him. He dies at 23.

A man loves his maid servant. His mother is opposed. She becomes pregnant. He poisons her. Her mother asks for an examination and the doctors find arsenic. The man is tried but guilt was not proven. "We'll leave him to Heaven's just judgement at last"

The singer sees MacAnanty courting a pretty girl, promising to make her his queen. She says she is too poor, and her parents and friends would be angry. He says they can sail around the world and return in a night, and that he has found no other like her

"I'm going with Captain Murphy ... There's nothing to be had by us in this neglected Isle ... The Irishman that stays at home must wear the Union brand ... I'm sailing for Columbia's shore; may God send fair the wind ... pray for John Malone"

"We're glad to see you, John Marshall, my boy, So fresh from the chisel of Rogers. Go take your stand on the monument there Along with the other old codgers." The singer tells Marshall of all that has gone wrong since his death.

"Come all ye jolly fishermen a-going to the ice, Beware of the John Martin and don't go in her twice." Skipper Nick Ash is cruel; he throws the singer's teapot overboard and makes the crew work ever harder. They still gather many seal.

"It was on Lake Erie's broad expanse one bright midsummer's day" that the Ocean Queen catches fire. The captain orders her to make for the nearest shore. Helmsman John Maynard holds her on course even though he dies in the flames

"In far-off Africa to-day the English fly dismayed Before the flag of green and gold born by McBride's Brigade." The Irish Brigade fights with Kruger against the English in Transvaal. "Remember '98". The flag will fly with McBride on Ireland's soil.

John McGoldrick loves a Quaker's daughter. Her father opposes McGoldrick and frames him to hang as a radical. The girl gets the jailer and turnkey drunk. The couple escape and are captured. They are freed on the friendly testimony and marry

John McKeown and Margaret Deans: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #9447}

"John McKeown and Margaret Deans, they were a matchless pair." As they sneak out, shortly before their wedding, she asks him to pick flowers. He trips and nearly falls off a cliff. She comes to his aid, falls over herself, and dies

"I am a true-born Irishman, John Mitchell is my name... I laboured hard both day and night to free my native land." He is taken, claiming he committed no crime except loving Ireland. He is transported to Bermuda, but hopes a free Ireland will remember him

"The Baptists think they're a mighty big bug, But behind the door you'll find a jug. John Morgan! Till I die, I'll feed my niggers on chicken pie!"

"Says I, 'John Morgan, where you been?' (x2) 'Down on the Ohio a-tryin' to swim.' Says I, 'John Morgan, where's your hoss?' Says he, 'I lost it swimmin' across.'"

John o' Arnha's Adventures: (2 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #13522}

John, the singer, compares his honest self to Robin Hood and Rob Roy, who pilfered and destroyed. He describes his daring feats since leaving "the botching trade." "Not only men, but monsters too ... scampered off when I cried 'Boo! I'm John o' Arnha'!"

John o' Badenyon (II): (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #13169}

"Where now the trees are budding green and flowers bloom on the lea" the singer used to meet her false lover and later met John o' Badenyon. John taught her to sing "to soothe my heart" and play the pipe he gave her before he died. She often returns.

John o' Badenyon (III): (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #2592}

"... frae an honest canty sang by canty honest John We've named this handsome residence the town o' Badenyon." Here, "nane are better served than he wha serves himsel'." For example, the best gown is one you spin yourself.

April 15, 1904, John O'Neil and John Butler "left their homes a-shooting for to go." They don't return and there is a search. Their dogs and guns are found. "The dreadful truth was known they're in the ocean drowned" "God's ways they are mysterious"

John of Badenyon (I): (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2592}

"When first I came to be a man, of twenty years or so, I thought myself a handsome youth, and fain the world would know." The young man wanders, meeting girls and getting in trouble; after each disappointment, he "tuned my pipe to John o' Badenyon"

John of Hazelgreen [Child 293]: (27 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #250}

A lady is weeping for John of Hazelgreen, whom she is not permitted to marry. She is offered marriage to another; this is little to her liking. By some means or other she meets Hazelgreen, and they are married

"John on the island, I hear him groan." John says, "Eli, I can't stand. Eli ee ee ay Lord." "John went to heaven and I am glad"

"Do ye ken John Peel With his (??) of steel, And his (??) of brass, and his celluloid ass, Do ye ken John Peel, With his (??) of steel, And it all comes out in the morning."

John Prott and his man go to the market. John buys and sells until he comes to his last coin. "If ye be an honest man, Stan' to that"

John Prott and His Man (II): (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #13065}

"John Prott and his man Streve aboot the parritch pan; Ere the parritch pan was gotten Johnnie Callum's heid was broken"

"John Prott, your wedders is fat, And we hae you to thank for that; For their heads and their horns Ye'll get them doon amo' the thorns; And for the 'oo that wis on their skin, We gae't oor wives to spin"

"John Reilly's always dry." His mother warned him that "all the other Reilly boys Had died of whisky drouth" so now he spends his money on Bass's ale "by the pail" and Dublin stout, whisky, gin and wine. As soon as he wakes "he slips out for a bucket."

When Joe comes to the camp to seek work to help his sick mother, John Robertson trains the boy to be a talented lumberjack. But one day Joe chops a tree with a bad core; Robertson is mortally hurt saving Joe.

"Oh, the night that I was married, oh... Up rose John Ross and Cyrus Hewes And stood at my bedstead," demanding that he go logging with them. He misses his Mary but goes. He hopes to go back to Katahdin, to his wife, and to everyone there

John Saw the Holy Number: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #11843}

"John saw the holy number, Sitting on the golden altar." "Fishman Peter, fish no more, fish no more, fish no more, Fishman Peter, fish no more, Sitting on the golden altar." "Weeping Mary, weep no more...."

"John says to John, 'How much are your geese?' John says to John, 'Twenty cents apiece.' John says to John, 'That's too dear.' John says to John, 'Get out of here!'"

John Singleton [Laws C15]: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2223}

Singleton, chief sawyer in a lumber mill, is killed by the sawmill's machinery. His body is sent home to be buried.

"When the southern gale is blowing hard, And the watch are all on the topsail yard, When five come down where six went up," John Smith is missing, "drowned in latitude fifty-three." "They steal his rags and his bags and bed" as they try to reach home

"John Smith, fellow fine, Can you shoe this horse of mine? Ay, sir, and that I can, As well as ony man. There's a nail upon the tae, To make the pony climb the brae; There's a nail upon the heel... There's a horsie well shod."

John and Susan are popping corn. At last "said she, 'John Styles, it's three o'clock, I'm dying of digestion; Instead of always popping that old corn, Why don't you pop the question?'"

Sullivan kills a widow and her son, takes her cash, and sets the house afire. A daughter survives and blames Sullivan. He flees to Calais, is caught, brought back, tried, convicted and condemned to hang on Friday, March 12.

John T. Scopes Trial, The: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7126}

"All the folks in Tennessee are faithful as can be, And they know the Bible teaches what is right," and they gloat over Mr. Scopes, "who found only grief." The conclusion: "The old religion's better after all."

"Come all you jolly soldiers, I'll sing to you a song... Concerning my troubles... And how I got around them." "With a bottle of good whiskey I put the guard to sleep." The escaped rebel flees south, apparently making it back to Confederate lines

One night John Tamson "had an amour wi' Boatie Jamie's servant lass which raised an unco clamour." "Johnnie's deeds are ill, he likes but little licht"; that's why he courts at night.

John the Revelator: (10 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #6701}

"My Lord called John while he was a-writing... Oh, John, John" "Who's that writing? John the Revelator." The song describes what and how John wrote: The book of "Revelations," "The book of Seven Seals," etc.

John Thomson is fighting the Turks when his wife appears. She then sets off and willingly joins the household of Violentrie. When Thomson learns she is missing, he finds her in the Turk's home. He attacks the Turk, burns his castle, and hangs his wife

John Whipple's Mill: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3675}

The singer, goes to work in (John Whipple's) mill and finds himself in a race. He vows to "keep up if I did myself kill." After work, he goes out, fills his pipe, and relaxes. The men are made to work hard but the singer intends to stay

"... a hero brave from St. Mary's Bay, John Yetman was his name" who spent many years fishing alone in his dory. A Yankee captain shoots Yetman but is taken by Newfoundlanders, tried, convicted and sentenced to 15 years at hard labor.

John, Come Kiss Me Now: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5521}

"John, come kiss me now (x3) And make no more ado." Alternate form: "John, come kis me now, now, now, O John come kiss me now! John come kiss me by and bye, And make nae mair ado."

"John, get up and light the fire, Turn the gas a wee bit higher, Go and tell your Aunt Maria, Baby's got a tooth(ache)."

Chorus: "Talk about John but you will see John, Aye John (x2)." Verses: "When I get to Heaven going to walk around, Angel in Heaven can't order me down." "When I get to Heaven going to sit and tell Argue with the Father and chatter with the Son"

Shanty. "Every Sunday mornin', John, John Crow. When I go a-courtin', John, John Crow." Rhyming verses on courting, working, and eating. Written in dialect.

Chorus: "John, John, de water man, The fire man below, boy" repeated. The shantyman sings "I went down to Gila Point To hear master Sheila blow." "Break oar, break oar, Me master can' buy more."

Johnie Armstrong [Child 169]: (19 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #76}

Johnie Armstrong "had nither lands nor rents," but "kept eight score men in his hall" by raiding. The king summons Armstrong to court. Armstrong comes; the king orders his execution. Armstrong instead dies fighting. His young son vows revenge

Johnie Cock [Child 114]: (28 refs. 4K Notes) {Roud #69}

Johnie, despite his mother's advice, goes out to hunt the king's deer. He brings the deer down, but is betrayed by a passer-by. Seven foresters attack him; he kills all but one (and wounds that one), but is himself mortally wounded

Johnie Miller of Glenlee: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #3866}

The singer, Johnnie Miller, says his belly is his god. He can eat rams as if they were rabbits. His belly's so big he can't kiss girls and he is "unfit for the pleasure of Venous" When he dies they'll say he died a glutton and drunkard, which he is.

Johnie Scot [Child 99]: (19 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #63}

Johnny, serving at the English court, gets the king's daughter with child. He goes back to Scotland and sends for her; she sends word she is imprisoned. He comes with 500 men, fights the king's champion, and gains his lady.

John Cooper comes home to find his wife's lover, a brewer, hidden as a pig. When John threatens to slaughter and eat the "pig" the brewer emerges and offers John enough gold and silver to retire if he were spared. He wishes his wife and her lover well.

"Cope sent a letter frae Dunbar, Said, 'Charlie, meet me, an ye daur, And I'll learn ye the art o' war." Prince Charles accepts the challenge; Cope makes sure his horse is ready to fly. Quickly defeated, Cope is the first to escape to (Dunbar/Berwick)

"Johnnie/Tommy had a gun, And the gun was loaded. Johnny pulled the trigger And the gun exploded."

Jump-rope rhyme. "Johnnie made a touchdown, Johnnie made a basketball, Johnnie made an OUT."

A harvest song about binding sheaves and Johnnie Sangster the bandster. The first part of the song is apparently sung by Johnnie or one of his companions; the end is sung by a girl who wants to marry Johnnie.

Johnnie Shears a Hairst: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #7227}

The singer says she and Johhny cut the harvest together. "Johnnie hisna a wife An' I'll win hame to guide him"

Johnnie's Gray Breeks: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7141}

When the singer was 17 she loved handsome Johnny and made him fine grey breeches. Now she would make him breeches of patches "for a' the ill he's done me." Though he's left her with a baby she hopes he'll come back.

"Johnny and Jane had a falling out; Johnny run Jane right outta sight." She promises to come; he beats and runs her naked around town. She's sentenced to Moundsville (VA) jail. She escapes. Refrain: "Johnny don't allow no lowdown hanging around."

"Down the burn and thro' the mead, His golden locks wav'd o'er his brow, Johnnie, liltin', tuned his reed, And Mary wiped her bonnie mou'." The poor but handsome couple find happiness and treasure in each other's company

Johnny invites Molly to go to a grove for "serious talk" and "a sweet commodious walk." She won't be seduced. He says he had no such idea and asks her to marry: he'll plow and she'll milk the cows

Johnny Appleseed Grace: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #26661}

The speaker declares that "the Lord is good to me" for supplying "the sun and the rain and the apple seed."

"I love to plant a little seed Whose fruit I never see; Some hungry strange it will feed, When it becomes a tree." "I love to sing a little song... And round me see the children throng." "So I can never lonely be." "The tree will tell my deed"

Shanty. Characteristic line: " Do, my Johnny Boker (Booker/Poker), do!" Often with lyrics about the sailor's girl (Sally) or about the abuse inflicted by the Captain.

Johnny Booker (Mister Booger): (13 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3441}

About the troubles experienced by a teamster/sailor along the way: A broken yoke, a stalled cart, etc. Chorus something like "Do, Johnny Booker, oh do, do me do, Do, Johnny Booker, oh do" or "So walk a Johnny Booger to help that nigger...."

Johnny Bull, My Jo, John: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #V35010}

"Oh, Johnny Bull, my jo John, I wonder what you mean, Are you on foreign conquest bent, or what ambitious scheme?" The Americans warn their "brother" (England) that their invasions have failed. John is advised to "remain on your fast-anchored isle."

Johnny Carroll's Camp: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6516}

Singer describes details of life in a lumber camp.

Alternate lines are "Johnny come a long time." Verse lines are "Run along my Lulu," "Run home my Lulu," and "Johnny is your master"

"Here comes old Johnny Cuckoo ... What did you come for ... I come for be a soldier ... You look too black and dirty ... I'm just as clean as you are On a dark and stormy night."

Johnny Doyle [Laws M2]: (37 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #455}

Johnny and his sweetheart plan to elope, but the girl's servant reveals the plan. The girl is taken and forced to wed another. She becomes sick to death. The mother relents and offers to send for Johnny, but it is too late; the girl bids farewell and dies

Johnny Dunlay meets the singer "by the side of Aymer's haunted hall." They part and he rides to battle. The "fair Saxon soldiers" ambush him. He kills the Saxon leader. She curses the traitor who shot Johnny by Aymer's hall. He dies in her arms.

Johnny Fell Down in the Bucket: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #7631}

"Johnny fell down the bucket, The bucket fell down the well, His wife cut the rope... And Johnny fell down into -- (nonsense chorus)." "Johnny was walking in Hades, As meek and calm as a lamb, She stepped on a red-hot poker, And said, Well, I'll be --"

"In Eighteen Hundred and Sixty One, Hurrah, Hurrah (or "Skiball" or "Football" or some such)... The great rebellion is begun, and we'll all drink stone blind, Johnny, fill up the bowl." A catalog of the events of the Civil War

Johnny Gallagher (Pat Reilly): (13 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #920}

Johnny takes the bounty to join the army and a shilling to buy ribbons for his sweetheart or cockade. He complains of his cruel stepmother, his uncle "the ruin and downfall of me," and his father -- or recruiting sergeant -- who never "learnt me a trade"

A sailor meets a girl who tells him she is sad because of her lover's long absence. When he hears that Johnny is her lover, he tells her Johnny died months before. She takes to her bed; he reveals himself as Johnny

Johnny Get Your Gun (I): (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #V7520}

"One evenin' in de month of May, Johnny get your gun, get your gun, I met old Peter on the way... Moses wept and Abram cried... Satan's coming don't you hide." Johnny is advised to get his gun and fight Satan "to get to Heaven in de good ole way"

Floating verses, mostly to do with guns and animals: "Johnny got his gun, the gun was loaded/Johnny pulled the trigger and the gun exploded." Chorus: "Johnny get your gun, get your gun, get your gun/Johnny get your gun, I say."

A bailiff and soldiers arrive at Johnny's door, announcing, 'Johnny, the court has a warrant for you." He is to be transported, but takes up his gun and fights. Johnny is killed, but he slays bailiff and captain first. Listeners are urged to fight also

A rich farmer's daughter falls in love with Harte, a poor soldier. Her parents complain to his colonel, who threatens to send Harte away. He answers boldly. The colonel is impressed and offers him promotion. The parents consent to the marriage

"Come all you jolly lumbermen, Wherever you may be.... It's of a jolly barber Which I am going to tell." The barber has worked for many lumber camps. The man somehow becomes rich enough to build two houses. The singer describes his looks and bad behavior

"Johnny is mad and I am glad, And I know what will please him, A (bottle of wine to make him shine/bottle of ink to make him stink/drink), and (Mary Jones) to squeeze him."

"Johnny is my darling, my darling, my darling, Johnny is my darling, the Union Volunteer." The girl extols the virtues of Johnny, who marched through town to save the Union. She hopes he will return as "Cupid's volunteer." Tune: "Charlie Is My Darling."

Beer is sold out; the singer tries cider. Never again. Falling-down drunk after a quart, he fights a policeman. A man on crutches dances and a friend goes to the mad house after cider. A corpse at a wake asks to take a quart for admission to Heaven.

Aunt Bell doted on Jock Macfarlan -- only she could call him Johnny -- and comforted him when, as a boy, a gander stole his bannock and, later, when Biddy Cameron rejected his proposal. She wisely told him his proposal would be accepted eventually.

Sundry verses about Johnny, biblical themes, King Arthur, and Scottish politics, with refrain "And wi you, and wi you, And wi you, Johnny lad, I'd drink the buckles o my sheen Wi you, Johnny lad."

"Of a' the lads in Tinwald toun... There never was sae droll a loon As bonnie Johnnie Lowrie." The singer describes the ways she visits Johnnie (e.g. "I took the flax unto the mill, My jewel follow'd after still"). They marry and are happy though poor

"The days are short and the nights are long And the wind is nipping cold," but Johnny Macree is never down. "It will all come right by tomorrow night." If he doesn't have shoes, he still has his feet; he never stops whistling

Jump-rope rhyme or taunt. "Johnny Maloney, Stick stick stony, High balla, O dalla, Johnny Maloney." Or "Annie cum banny, Tee alligo kanny, Tee-legged, tie-legged, bow-legged Annie"

McEldoo and friends are on a drinking spree. They stop at Swann's for food and McEldoo eats everything in sight. McEldoo thinks the bill too high and starts a fight. The police arrive and march the boys away. The boys pay the bill and go home

"O Johnny my honey he's gotten some money." The singer says "he's bonnie and braw he's the flow'r o them a" She's been in France, Spain, England, and Ireland "but there's nae ane sae bonnie." Besides, "his hair has a nat'ral curl an a"

Johnny goes to plow and falls off the horse. He tells his wife he will sell the horse. She would give the horse another chance. They go fishing, the wagon turns over and horse and fish are lost. "Next time I ride you I'll ride the gray mare"

Singing game. "Johnny on the ocean, Johnny on the sea, Johnny broke a milk bottle, And blamed it on me, I told Ma, Ma told Pa, Johnny got a whipping, Ha, ha, ha, How many whippings d he get?"

Johnny Sands [Laws Q3]: (32 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #184}

Johnny says he is tired of life and asks his wife to help him drown. She is to tie his hands and push him into the river. As she comes running down the slope, he steps aside and falls in. When she calls for help, he points out that she has tied his hands

German. A musician tells Johnny Schmoker about all the instruments he can play: "Johnny Schmoker, Johnny Schmoker, Ich kann spielen... Ich kann spiel mein kline Drummel, Rub a dub a dub, dis ist mein Drummel." Similarly for other instruments

"Oh, Johnny Shaw's a decent chap, an' he wants tae marry me, An' tho' he's only a cairter chiel, he's fourteen bob you see." Mother warns, "Ye'll never be a lady aff his fourteen bob." Still, the girl expects to be happy "when he's in a steady job"

Johnny comes from sea and asks the innkeeper for a bed and the chance to see her daughter (Molly). Neither is granted. He reveals that his last trip made him rich; the innkeeper offers him all he asked. He ignores the offer; he will go where he is wanted

Johnny Todd ships out, leaving his sweetheart in Liverpool. She meets another sailor, who offers to marry her. She accepts; Todd returns to find his love married. The moral: "Do not leave your love like Johnny/Marry her before you go"

Irishman Troy, a convicted robber, is sent to Australia. He and his fellow convicts escape as they are being taken ashore. Troy turns robber, but steals only from the rich, giving to the poor and transportees. At last he is taken and hanged

Johnny Walk Along to Hilo: (15 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #650}

Shanty, with chorus, "Johnny walk along to Hilo, Oh, poor old man, Oh, wake her, oh, shake, her, Oh, wake that gal with the blue dress on!" The verses usually consist of a scattering of lines from assorted Black and minstrel songs

"Johnny was a Baptist, O yes, Johnny was a Baptist, O yes, Johnny was a Baptist, Baptist, Baptist, Johnny was a Baptist, O yes." "He baptized Jesus, O yes." "Crying, Lord have mercy, O yes." "Sign J on your ticket, O yes."

"In the dirty end of Dirty Lane There lived a cobbler, Dick McClane, He wore a coat of the old king's reign (or "His wife was in the old king's reign"), And so did Johnny Wetbread." The cobbler serves in the yeomen; his wife is an orangewoman

"Johnny will you marry me and take me out a danger?" "I won't marry you because you are a stranger." "Why didn't you tell me that before you told O'Farrell?"

"Oh Johnny, Johnny, John, come a-long, come a-long (2X)" Nonsensical verses, with Johnny playing with his gun and playing hide n' seek with the ladies. Long chorus begins: "Down by the sea where the watermelons grow, back to my home I shall not go."

Johnny, I Hardly Knew Ye: (14 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3137}

The girl meets her Johnny returned from the wars. She can barely recognize him; he has lost arms, legs, and eyes. She tells him "With your drums and guns and guns and drum, the enemy nearly slew ye... O, Johnny, I hardly knew ye."

Jump-rope or counting-out rhyme. "Johnny, Johnny, what's the price of geese? Johnny, Johnny, fifty cents apiece, Johnny, Johnny, that's too dear, Johnny, Johnny, get out of here."

Annie complains that Johnny had promised to marry her when they courted in her father's garden in County Tyrone. Johnny says "it was all but a jest ... I never intended for to make you my wife." She says she will kiss him if he ever returns

Johnny, Oh Johnny: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5715 and 11382}

"Johnny, oh Johnny, you are my darling, Like a rose that grows in the garden...." The girl's father offers her wealth to marry another; he mother scorns her for wanting Johnny. She intends to follow Johnny anyway, and bids her family farewell

"Well, I went down to Helltown To see the Devil chain down. Johnny, won't you ramble, Hoe, hoe, hoe!" The singer tells how the masters plan to make the slaves work harder. The slave offers money to avoid a whipping; master would "rather hear you holler"

"It was on the banks of the Humbolt That old Johny fell... Oh, we gathered round old Johny, Old John Wethered, And we buried old Johny, 'Cause he was DEAD." He left a family to hunt gold. He suffered many ills. But, mostly, he was DEAD

Johnny's Gone to Hilo: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #481}

Shanty. "If I should die and be buried at sea, A mermaid's sweetheart I would be. Johnny's gone to Hilo! Heelo! Hilo! My Johnny's gone, what shall I do? Johnny's gone to Hilo."

"(X) is it, And caught/got a fit, And don't know how To get out of/over it."

"I hear the Johnson boys a-coming, Singing and a-hollering and shooting off their guns." A list of exploits of the minimally civilized Johnson Boys, who shoot, court, wash, farm, and fiddle in extravagant ways (but don't know how to court)

Description of the Johnson boys, who were boys of honor and DID know how to court; song describes their heroic service to the Confederacy as scouts: "When the Yankees saw them coming, They throw down their guns and hide."

Johnson's Motor Car: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4833}

The singer meets another Irish rebel, with orders to go to Dunbar. They decide to requisition the car driven by Doctor Johnson. They send a message urgently calling for his services, then ambush him. They promise to return the car when Ireland is free

Johnsons Had a Baby, The: (14 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #13502 and 4835}

"Johnsons had a baby, They called him Tiny Tim, They put him in a bath tub To see if he could swim." He eats a bar of soap. A doctor and nurse are called and a lady with an alligator purse or a big black hearse.

Johnston Mooney and O'Brien: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #19250}

"Johnston Mooney and O'Brien Bought a horse for one and nine. When the horse began to kick, Johnson Mooney bought a stick. When the stick began to wear, Johnston Mooney began to swear...." Eventually he ends up in hell

Singer describes conditions at "Johnston's Hotel," which smells like corn-flakes; one is sent there by the magistrate Langley. Policemen who scout for boarders are described; all boarders are required to clean up the park and do other odd jobs all day

A distraught father tells a stranger about his share of the Johnstown tragedy. He, his wife, and his children had sought shelter from the flood in the upper part of the house, but the waters tore them from his grasp. He was rescued, but his family died

"On a balmy day in May, When nature held full sway." "Now the cry of distress rings from east to west." "Like Paul Revere of old Came a rider brave and bold," but the hearers ignored him. Many drowned, and many bodies were burned in the resulting fire

"If you look up the road you see father Mosey, join the angel band" (x2). "Do, father Mosey, gader your army." "O do mo' soul gader together." "O do join 'em, join 'em for Jesus." "Sister Mary, stan' up for Jesus." "Daddy Peter set out for Jesus"

Joke and Henry are asleep on the railroad track when Joke gets hit by a brickbat. Joke says he'll henceforth sleep with a pistol, and with one eye open, and threatens the man who hit him; he thinks he may have seen the perpetrator going over a fence

Cajun French. "Jolie Blonde, 'gardez donc, quoi t'as fait...." The singer accuses his "pretty blonde" of running off with someone else, and asks what future he can have. He declares that he will find another pretty blonde -- then asks her to come back

French. Singer's father's golden keys have fallen into the sea; she'll marry whoever retrieves them. A "galant" dives in, but the keys begin to ring out; on his second dive, he drowns. Someone (her father?) curses all young women, for the galant is dead.

"I am a jolly baker, and I bake my bread brown...I've got the biggest rolling pin of any man in the town." A girl asks him to buy her a gown. She arrives with her "chemise up before." The baker lays her in many places, then boasts of other conquests

Jolly Barber Lad, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #2515}

A lady sends for a barber to come and curl her hair. He comes to the door; the lady says to send him up, for "My husband he's a yeoman, and I might as well have no man." She pays the barber; now he goes to shave her, but never takes his razor

Jolly Beggar, The [Child 279]: (23 refs. 4K Notes) {Roud #118}

A beggar asks lodging. He is admitted to the house, but wants more than his beggar's fare. Receiving much of what he asks, he at last receives the daughter of the house into his cloak. He then reveals that he is a nobleman; (perhaps he marries the girl)

Jolly Cowboy (I), The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4482}

"My lover, he is a cowboy, he's brave and kind and true"; when he comes home, the two meet joyfully and the boy talks about his life on the trail. She says they will marry when he returns; he is quoted as promising to quit herding when he marries

"In olden times before the war, There came a jolly drover," who visits the Black Horse Tavern and asks the "Bound-out girl" who attends him if she will marry him. He has lands and wealth, but she loves him in any case. They wed. That was long ago

The farmer sings about the joys of farming, even as a renter, and drinking with friends. "Here I am king so I'll dance, drink and sing, Let no man appear as a stranger, But show me the ass That refuses his glass And I'll order him hay in a manger"

"Jolly fine song, jolly well sung, Jolly fine company, every one. If you think you can beat it, You're welcome to try, But always remember The singer is dry."

Jolly Fisherman (I): (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #1827}

With a storm coming up, Captain Williams of Veronia sends a dory after halibut. Oars are lost and a buoy line parts. To save the dory, they cast halibut oil on the water and bale with their sou'westers until they are picked up next morning by Veronia.

Jolly Fisherman (II), The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #13361}

The singer says he is a fisherman, and "Fish just like men I've often caught -- crabs, gudgeon, poor John Codfish." He compares various sorts of people to various fish --- e.g. "false friends to eels" and the lawyer like a pike striking

"There come two (or three) jolly fishermen, Who've just come from the sea." "They cast their nets into the sea, And a jolly old fish caught they."

With chorus, "Back and sides go bare, go bare, Both hand and feet go cold...." The singer laments his sad state: "I cannot eat but little meat, My stomach is not good." He discusses his lack of clothing. But he, and his wife, revive for ale.

"A jolly good song and jolly well sung, And jolly good company everyone; And if you can beat it you're welcome to try, But always remember the singer is dry." "Give the old bounder some beer." "O half a pint of Burton, Wouldn't hurt 'un, I'm certain."

"There was a jolly grinder Once lived by the river Don. He worked and sang from morn till night, And sometimes he worked none." The grinder rails against teetotalers, informing them, "Attend to your work if you've ought to do And don't interfere with me."

"It's of a jolly highwayman, likewise a noted rover, I drove my parents almost wild when first I went a-roving." The first man he robs yields two hundred guineas. But when he robs his second man, in Covent Garden, he is captured and will soon be hanged

Jolly Irishman, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #5046}

"O Mother, O Mother, I'll tell you if I can, I rambled this world over with my jolly Irishman. I rambled and I jangled, and I rambled over town, No one could I find but my jolly Irishman." "He hugged her and he kissed her" and tells her to tell her mother

"It's Jolly Jack the sailor on board of a man-o'war" returns after seven years and takes the train to Lincolnshire to see his sweetheart. "Won't she jump for joy when she hears the news Jack has come home from sea" "We will set the bells a-ringing"

"I am Jolly Joe the poor collier's son, Near Chester town I dwell." Joe courted several girls but loves Rachel. He sees Rachel with Jack. He fights Jack and is winning when Rachel begs him to stop and says she will marry him -- but he finds no happiness

Jolly Miller (I), The: (11 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #503}

Singer, a miller, says "I care for nobody, no not I, and nobody cares for me." His back is bent with work; his mill has strange new machinery, but he's content with a drop of whisky. He has engaged with Dr. Ramsey, the landlord, and does his bidding

"A man who has some good peanuts, And giveth his neighbor none" will in turn be given no peanuts when his own run out. "Oh, won't it be joyful... when his good peanuts are gone." Similarly, he will have no joy when he is out of soda crackers or shortcake

"Jolly (old hawk/goshawk) and his wings were grey." Cumulative song: The singer asks who will win his love, and recites the animals he gave as gifts: One hawk, two birds, three cocks (or a three-thistle cock), four pigs (or a four-hoofed pig), etc.

"No man is no neater and trim Like a prince at the wheel Wit a heart full o' steel Tis the driver they call Uncle Jim." Jolly Jim is 75 and from Trepassey. "All the friends of the crowd they all feel proud He'll ne'er make his journey alone"

"Oh there never was yet a boy or man Who better could mend a kettle or pan, A bucket, a dipper, a skillet or can, Than jolly old Roger the tinker man." Roger lives in New Amsterdam; the song describes the funny old man

"Jolly old Saint Nicholas, lend your ear this way." The child says Christmas is close and wants to know what Santa will bring. Her will be the shortest stocking. She talks of what others want, but "My little brain isn't very bright," so "Choose for me"

A pedlar meers a beggar wife and asks if she had a man. She suggests he get a job, or try "lasses on Cheapside." He says he had fine tools which she might try. She does. If you meet him "your maidenhead will go"

"Oh, I am a jolly pilote, I land like a galloping goose, My motor barks like a Ki-yo-te," Soldiiers in the trenches face dange, but "the jolly pilote has to die." The Fokkers will kill him. He wishes he were a Kiwi (ground officer). Mama warned him

"Robin Hood, Scarlet, and John" trespass on the fields guarded by the Jolly Pinder. The Pinder challenges them; they fight. The Pinder holds off all three. Robin offers the Pinder a place in his band. The Pinder agrees to come once his present job is done

"I (am/was) a jolly ploughboy and I plowed the fields all day," but one day the singer has had enough and sets out to join the (British Army/IRA/other). He will not miss the farm. He will miss his girl but hopes to marry her. The army will conquer or die

"The jolly jolly ploughman lad goes whistling o'er the lea." He "whistles a' the day ... And he trysts his bonnie lassie Jean." They marry. He still whistles and "bairnies play at hide and seek." When old they live happily among their grown children

A plowboy and a rich girl fall in love. When the girl's father finds out, he sends a press gang for the boy. The girl dresses in men's clothes and rows out to her lover's ship. She bribes the captain to return her lover

"They want to stop our puddling, as many of you know, Contractors say that of our slush there is an overflow," but this would cause trouble in Bendigo. The singers claim that digging in the stream banks is all that keeps the local economy going

Jolly Raftsman O, The: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2318}

"I am sixteen, I do confess, I'm sure I am no older O, I place my mind, it never shall move, It's on a jolly raftsman, O." She praises his work and calls him "brave as Alexander," though someone (her mother?) wants her to marry a freeholder

"I am a jovial/jolly ranger, I fear no kind of danger, To sorrow I'm a stranger, And so let mirth abound." The singer recalls leaving home and going to London, where he was treated as a bumpkin. He visited other towns. Now he is home and intends to stay

Jolly Roving Tar [Laws O27]: (8 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #913}

Susan fondly recalls her sailor love. She sets out to ensure that her father's ships are well equipped for his sake. Finally she bids farewell to the local ladies and sets out to follow her "jolly roving tar."

"A lady born of birth and fame, To Greenwich town for pleasure came," where she sees a handsome sailor. She asks him why he remains single. He is too poor to marry. She says she will provide for him. He agrees to marry her; they settle in Kent

"When first on board of a man of war We go, whether by press or enter," the new sailors are teased by the ship's old hands. The singer details life on the ship, describes going to sea, waxes sarcastic about some aboard, and toasts his friends

"Give me service to the young man That lives in the town below"; the girl promises to go with Jamie whether her mother agrees of not. Her mother says that he might die in the wars. When the mother sees the girl is determined, she gives her 500 pounds

Jolly Sailors (I): (8 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #12441}

"I am a jolly rover [or sailor boy(s)], Just lately come on shore. I spent my time in jubilee [or money on a moonlight night] as I have done before" "... march all round ... Until I come to a pretty, pretty girl, And I'll kiss her kneeling down"

Jolly Sailors Bold (I): (3 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #3289 and 1664}

The singer ridicules farmers on land and compares their easy life with the dangers faced by sailors. But "we'll sail into all parts of the world ... And we'll bring home all prizes ... We spend our money freely, And go to sea for more"

Jolly Shanty Boy, The: (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4351}

Singer boasts of being a jolly (and jauntily dressed, if ragged) shanty boy, to whom women are always attracted. He sings, "For I don't care for rich or poor/I'm not for strife and grief/I'm ragged, fat and lousy, and/As tough as Spanish beef."

A girl seduced by a sportsman names her baby Maidenhead. She puts the baby and some cherries in a hamper. She meets another sportsman who offers to buy her hamper and her maidenhead. She refuses to return his money when all he gets is the hamper.

The rich man asks the poor man how he can support such a large family with so many young children. The poor man answers, "I make my living by the sweat of my brow." In some texts the rich man gives him some sort of reward for all his hard work

The tinker comes to town to mend the pots. He observes that "A tinker never marries, has a girl in every town...." "I've never stored much gold, but I have a lot to spend." "My life is wild and free, and I do not seek renown. I'm just a jolly tinker..."

A London lady tells a tinker she has kettles to mend. He asks if there are holes that need blocking; they fall to work. She bangs a pan "to let the servants know that he was hard at work." Refrain: "And I'll be bound she had (he could, they did, etc.)"

Jolly Union Boys, The: (1 ref. 3K Notes) {Roud #3598}

"Come all you jolly Union boys. To you the truth I'll tell, Concerning Governor Jackson Who I know very well." A curious and compressed account of events in Missouri from the beginning of the Civil War to the Battle of Pea Ridge

"The jolly vaquero is up with the sun And quick in the saddle is he" who easily handles a steer. He is good at riding and roping in all weather. "Oh, who wouldn't envy a life like this, Of the cowboy, wild and free!" "A cowboy's life for me."

Jolly Wagoner, The: (8 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1088}

"When first I went a-wagonin', a-wagonin' I did go, I filled my parents' hearts full of sorrow, grief and woe." The singer recalls being rained on, seeing birds in summer, driving hard roads in the winter. He rejoices to reach home and wife

Jolly Wat, a shepherd, sits on a hill and plays his pipes. He is awakened by an angel announcing the birth of Jesus. He finds the baby and offers him all he has. Mary and Joseph send him back to his flocks with their blessing

"The jolly young ploughman lad Goes whistlin' o'er the lea; There's nane in a' the country roon Has a heart sae blythe and free." He loves "bonnie lassie Jean" and "Jeanie lo'es the winsome laddie That ca's the cairt and ploo"

A rich girl has turned down many suitors, but becomes entranced when a (sailor) wanders by. She urges him to stay (ashore) and marry a rich girl. He doesn't want to give up his rambling ways, but finally consents when she offers him her hand and wealth

"In the Bible we are told of a prophet who was called To a city that was steeped in awful sin." Jonah is swallowed by the fish. Chorus: "Over there, over there, In that land so bright and fair, Oh, he'll tell me all about it over there."

The story of Jonah in song, recognized by the chorus, "Living humble, humble, humble, Living humble all your days" or "Humble, humble, humble my soul." Unlike most Jonah songs, this appears to be "straight"

"Cheer up, cheer up, my lively lads, Don't let your spirits fall; For Jonah's down in Sampson pond A-fishin' for a whale." "And when he ain't a-whaling, He's at some other fun, Down in the swamp a-cuttin' reeds To string his whales upon."

"Three hundred years ago, so runs the ancient tale," lived Jonathan Smith. He fought many enemies, spurned luxury, had his encounter with Pocahontas, and showed that "it pays to be handsome as well as brave."

"A merry tale I will rehears As ever you did hear." Father gives Jonathan a suit, Mother gives him advice, and they send him off to court Sary. Her parents leave them alone. He courts her uncomfortably. She throws water on him. He heads home without her

"Says Jone to his wife, on a hot summer's day, I'm resolved i' Greenfield no longer to stay." He intends to go to "Owdham" and be a soldier and fight the French. Husband and wife and others discuss their poverty; he bids farewell

Jones Boys (I), The: (4 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #4528}

"Oh the Jones Boys! They built a mill on the side of a hill, And they worked all night and they worked all say But they couldn't make that gosh-darn sawmill pay."

The two Jones Boys each "owned a mill in the side of a hill.... They worked all night and they worked all day But they couldn't make the gosh-darned saw-mill pay." The song goes through the seasons. The singer hopes to work for them again in the spring.

Singer's friend Jones "took my woman and left this town." If Jones doesn't bring her back he will kill Jones. He will get a gattling gun, ambulance and undertaker, and he has a doctor who wants to buy the body. Other women -- Sue, Minnie, May -- won't do.

"Come list ye doctors all to me, For Jones's ghost I truly be.... I am that slaughtered, mangled man." Murderer Jones accuses Doctors Thorp and French of violating their promises to care for his body and threatens them with punishment after death

Singer leaves Lula for Jonestown where the "browns did make me frown." He decides that Jonestown is "too small a burg for me." He goes to Memphis, where he got "good whisky" and "my good girl laid me down."

Jordan Am a Hard Road to Travel: (9 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2103}

About the difficulties of getting to heaven. Chorus: "(So) take off your overcoats and roll up your sleeves; Jordan am a hard road to travel (x2) I believe." The original contains assorted political references to the 1850s.

Uncle Dave Macon gives his opinions about automobiles, evangelists, Henry Ford, and other matters. Chorus is "Haul [take] off your overcoat, roll up your sleeves/Jordan is a hard road to travel I believe"

"Jordan's (Jerdan's) mills a-grinding, Jordan's a-hay; Jordan's mills a-griding, Jordan's a-hay." "Built without nail or hammer." "Runs without water or wind."

"Joseph being an aged man truly, He married a virgin fair and free," who is told by the Angel Gabriel that she will bear a child. When Joseph finds out, he asks what is going on. He learns the truth in a dream. Eventually Jesus is born.

Joseph Looney, dying, tells his family not to grieve, for God has called him and he is prepared to go. He tells them to trust in and follow Jesus, so that they will meet him in heaven

Engineer Joseph Mikel is determined to remain on schedule. As a result, he runs too fast to avoid a collision with another train. The result was disastrous: "Some were crippled and some were lame, But the six-wheel driver had to bear the blame"

Joseph Tuck, a tailor's son, a rover for 25 years, has decided to settle down. "I'm barber, blacksmith, parish clerk, man-midwife to the ladies" and many other occupations. Besides, he sells everything and hopes you "purchase at my shop"

At Christmas Joseph Watt shoots and wounds a moor hen; she becomes pregnant. At the poacher's court in a church he defends himself for only shooting one hen. The chick is born and killed. He pays fifteen shillings for the funeral.

"You have wandered away from your Josh, John... And the spot where you stand And your home in the flowery land, The waves of an ocean dash." John has cut off his pigtail. He has no wife. He's left his "national god." He is worse off than at home

Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho: (17 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #10074}

Joshua comes to Jericho, orders the horns to blow, and sacks it after the walls fall down. Chorus: "Joshua (fit/fought) the battle of Jericho... And the walls came a-tumbling down"

"From Squawky Hill two Indians came, To Bennett's Creek to hunt for game...." "Come, solemn muse, assist my song... To sing of Stephens, lately fell...." "The Indian shot him in the side." After his body is found, wife, children, neighbors mourn

"The time of winter now is o'er, There's verdure on the plains," so the Mormons will continue their journey to Zion. The "go to choice and goodly lands" which "Will yield us wine and oil," and will be safe from Gentiles "who thirst to shed our blood"

Jovial Monk Am I, A: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #25405}

"A jovial monk am I, Contented with my lot, The world without my gates I flout, Nor care for it one jot.... A contended mind is a blessing kind." Even as a monk, he can enjoy jokes and laughter, so he advises making the best of life

"Jowl, jowl and listen, lad, And hear that coal face working, There's many a marra missing, lad, Because he wadn't listen, lad." "Me fayther always used to say, Pit wark's mair than' hewing, Ye've got to coax the coal alang...."

"A soldier/sailor walked in the field" and seduces a maid he finds raking hay. She has a son and "curst the hour" she went with him. When he hears about that "they married were and she blessed the day she went with him and left the hay"

"I saw raindrops on my window, Joy is like the rain. Laughter runs across my pain, Slips away and comes again, Joy is like...." "I saw clouds upon a mountain...." "I saw Christ in wind and thunder... Christ asleep within my boat, Whipped by wind"

"Joy to the world, the Lord is come; Let earth receive her king...." The world is told to hymn to God to rejoice in the arrival of Jesus, who brings love, joy, wonder

Ju Tang Ju (Utang): (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7665}

"Ring up four , ju tang ju (or "Jew string jew," etc.), Ring up four in a ju tang ju." "Right and left...." "Do se do...." "Once and a half...." "Swing that gal...." "Back to your partner..." "Circle four...."

"Juanita, I must leave you, I have come to say farewell." She says that, if he loves her, he will never leave her. He claims he didn't think she would get so involved. The next morning, he is found dead with her dagger in his heart

"Soft o'er the fountain, Ling'ring falls the southern moon, Far o'er the muntain Breaks the day too soon." THe singer begs, "Nita! Juanita! Ask my soul if we should part!" "Leg me linger by thy side! Nita! Juanita! Be my own fair bride!"

A dance and patting song: "Juba, Juba, Juba up 'n' Juba down, Juba all aroun' the town." "Juba jump, Juba sing, Juba cut that pigeon wing. Juba kick off this old shoe, Juba dance that Jubilo." Variations, as one might expect, are extreme

The singing of the birds reminds the singer of the days (s)he spent listening to the birds in Juberlane. She wishes she were home, "But miles and miles divide me, and duty here hath tied me/" She wishes she had wings to fly home

"Jubilate Deo, Jubilate Deo, (H)allelujah."

"It's all out on the old railroad, All out on the sea... Swing and turn, jubilee, Live and learn, Jubilee." Unrelated stanzas about courting: "Hardest work I ever done was working on a farm, Easiest work I ever done was in my true love's arms." Etc.

Jubilee Guild, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #9947}

Canadian McLellan and two other "girls from St John's ... go out to Burnt Islands and start our Jubilee Guild." They have elections, find a place "old felt hats, house slippers we will make."

The leader calls on everyone to shout because "My God brought you liberty." It doesn't matter what you call me -- Sunday Christian, Monday devil -- "so long as Jesus love me." Shout "Jubilee" in the morning and evening.

"Hit wes upon a Scere orsday at vre Louerd aros." Judas is sent on an errand to Jerusalem by Jesus. As he goes out, he is cheated (by his sister!) of thirty pieces of silver. He therefore betrays Jesus to get his money back.

"Judas 'trayed Jesus, and Jesus hung the cross, Yes, Judas 'trayed Jesus, what a loss, what a loss!" On the night of the last supper, Jesus tells Judas he will betray him for money; Peter will betray him, but not for money

Judas betrays "a most innocent man" for thirty pieces of silver. He hangs himself

"Judgment day is comin', Time is drawin' near. Don't you hear God callin' you?" God calls with thunder and lightning. The singer is on his way to heaven.

"Got a good old mother in the heaven, my Lord, how I long to go there too (x2)." "King Jesus a-settin' in the heaven, my Lord." "Big camp meetin' in the heaven, my Lord." Chorus: "Judgment, judgment, judgment day is rollin' around... How I long to go."

Judgment, The (Invitation Song): (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #17091}

Dialog: "Come. think on death and judgment; Your time is almost spent; You've been a sinner; 'Tis time that you repent." The other answers that he'll repent when he's old. The first singer points out that death might come tonight

Judie My Whiskey Tickler: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #7857}

"Judie, my whiskey tickler, Judie, you debbil, you bother me so. Woe! Woe! Woe! Like a red-hot potato you are all aglow." "By faith, you are elegant in form and face, You walk with such stately magnificent grace...."

Jamaican patois: Everyone says Judy drowned but she's [been rescued and is] safe in bed. Her mother asks about cocoas found under the bed; Judy intended them for her lover, who did not come.

The singer goes to Fishamble Lane in search of sausages when he is stopped by the sight of "a fair one ... Judy MacCarthy ... "one eye was a swivel, Her nose it was smutty, her hands not too clean." She is broiling a devil which he detests. He leaves.

The singer meets Judy McCarty at Donnybrook fair , asks her to dance, falls in love and she agrees to marry. They go to a party that night, sleep together, marry next day; 12 months later have "a pair of twins as like their dad As ever soup's like broth"

Jug of Punch, The: (12 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1808}

The singer (hears a thrush singing "A jug of punch"; he too) describes the pleasures of drink: "What more pleasure could a boy desire Than to sit him down by a roaring fire, And on his knee a tidy wench And in his hand a jug of punch."

The singer tells her father and mother that her juggler "is an angel" and she goes with him. They ride on his "gold steed" made of stone. In the morning she sees her lover he has one eye. She decides to go home and take his magic horse but finds it gone.

A story of all the people who drank: "And ever since then all manner of men... Will drink the juice of the forbidden fruit." Henry Ward Beecher is among those accused of tippling, and the drinking habits of many notorious figures are outlined

Norwegian shanty. Chorus: "Julia! Julia! hop-ra-sa!" Hugill gives only one verse, which translates "A sailor's greatest pleasure, is Julia! Julia! Beloved of girls so dear..."

"As I was goin' to the mill one day, I met Miss Julia on the way, She 'spressed a wish that she might ride.... Sit down there, Miss Julia Grover, Play on your banjo, I'm your lover....." She gets in; the oxen start; the cart tips; she attacks him

Julian, an Indian slave who ran away and killed John Rogers when Rogers tried to stop him, makes his confession: "The prisoner owns his bloody act, And saith the sentence... Was passed on him impartially." He narrates his sins

"Juliana ... You say you never been there." "You say you been for water. You bring a little daughter." "Ah goin' to tell you mother."

"Julie, hear me whan I call you, Julie won't hear me." "B'lieve I'll go to Dallas, Got to see my Julie, Oh my Lordy." " Raise 'em up together." "Better get the sergeant." "My feet is gettin' itchy." "Child's gettin' hungry." "Rattler can't hold me."

Julie Ann Johnson: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #11604}

"O Julie Ann Johnson, oho! (x2)." "Gwineter catch dat train, boys, oho! (x2)" "Gwineter fin' Julie, oho! (x2)" "She gone to Dallas, oho! (x2)" "Gwineter hug my Julie, oho! (x2)"

"Now white folks, your attention, and I'll sing you a song About Julius Hannig's wedding... He's been a-getting married now for six or seven years But he couldn't get the girl's consent...." When she agrees, he has a wild party despite the laws

"Shout loud the praise of Newfoundland our gallant volunteers... lost their lives to save the flag." "Their regiment full 800 strong were foremost in the fight ... They marched up to the German lines." "In that drive they lost their lives"

"July, July, I long to see the twentieth of July, And if I live to see July, I'll go home to come no more."

"Here comes Jumbo through the window, through the window, Here comes Jumbo through the window, Hail, Columbia, ho!" "You kin tell who 'tis by the rattle o' the window...."

"Mama sent me to the spring, Told me not to stay. I fell in love with a pretty little boy And stayed till Christmas day."

Jumbo Said to Alice: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #25381}

"Jumbo said to Alice, 'I love you.' Alice said to Jumbo, 'I don’t believe you do. For if you truly love as you say you do, You wouldn’t go to America and leave me in the zoo.'"

"Oh have you seen the elephant? is all the people's cry, The great and mighty elephant who stands so broad and high." The song describes its daily diet (a ton of hay, plus lemonade, plus rye). The people are amazed at the creature

Dance directions: "Jump in the line... When you jump in the line Rock your body on time... rock your body... from regular to the tempo In case you feel the sensation Jump in the air and come down with my motion."

Disconnected verses about a rambler's exploits, held together by the chorus "I wheel about I twist about I do just so, Every time I turn about I jump Jim Crow."

Game related to one called "Buck Buck," in which children ride others' childrens backs and try to avoid being thrown off. "Jump, little nag tail, one, two, three (x3), Off! Off! Off!"

Jump Over the Garden Wall: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #32571}

"Just jump over the garden wall, Dear little girlie to me. I've been lonely a long long time And the wall's not hard to climb, You just jump up and you just jump down; I'll not let you fall"; if she comes, they will marry

Jump-rope rhyme. "Jump over the ocean, Jump under the sea, Jump in the sea and down, Jump over the sea."

Complicated jump-rope test: "Jump once and run out, Jump twice and run out," and so up to five, then "High waters six times, Low waters seven times," then hop, then close one eye, then both, then cross feet 11 and 12 times

"Jump, Isabel, slide water, Ho, my aunty, ho; Jump, Isabel, slide water, Ho, my aunty, ho." "'Where's you gwine?' I says to her... She answers back, 'I's gwine to church.'" "I wash my shirts, I neber rench 'um," "We jump in de boat, an' away we go."

"Jumpin Judy, Jumpin Judy (x3) Was a mighty fine gal (or: All over this world)" The singer describes prison life, and the hope for escape. He hopes the guards will stop abusing him.

The singer tells a single woman, "June come you' no married. If August come an' you no' married You no' go married again"

June is a hard month. What are you going to do? Pull off your coat and go to work. Each line ends "Jerusalem Jerusalem" or "O Zion O Zion," depending on the singer.

"Ah yah, tair um bam, boo wah, Kee lay zee day, Nic o lay, mah lun dee. Nic o lay ah poot a way, Nic o lay ah wah mee-- Ah yah, tair um bam, boo wah, Kee lay zee day, Nic o lay, mah lun dee."

"Up in/into the air, junior birdmen, Into the air, upside down; Into the air, junior birdmen... And when you see all those birdmen With their shiny wings of tin, Then you will know the junior birdmen Have sent their boxtops in!"

Juniper Tree, The: (11 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4507}

"Oh sister Phoebe, how merry we were The night we sat under the juniper tree...." "So put this hat on, it will keep your head warm, And take a sweet kiss, it will do you no harm." Phoebe and/or the boy are encouraged to get married

A boy is murdered by his stepmother. She feeds the body to his father and (half-)sister. The boy comes back to life as a bird, and gains revenge on his stepmother (giving gifts to his family in the process). He is restored to humanity

"Just a closer walk with thee, Grant it, Jesus, if you please." The singer prays to be closer to Jesus, to be strengthened in the face of work and trouble, and to be taken home upon dying

"Just a little tack in the shingle of your roof (x3), To hold your house together." "Come on bak and stay with me... Make your little house what it ought to be." "Just a little nail in the plank of your wall, To hold your house together...."

Just a Poor Lumberjack: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #8846}

Recitation. A youth pushes a drunken lumberjack into the gutter. Another lumberjack saves a child from a fire, but dies in the process. A third dies in the woods. All are mourned with the chorus, "'Twas only a poor old lumberjack"

Just a Wee Doch-an-Dorris: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #9638}

"Just a wee doch-and-dorris, Just a wee drap that's a', Just a wee doch-an-dorris Before we gang awa'. There's a wee wifie waitin' With a wee bairn or two: For if you can say It's a braw brecht, Moonlecht necht: er' a' recht, that's a'."

Just as the Sun Went Down: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4873}

"After the din of a battle roar, Just at the close of day," two soldiers lay dying. Each olds a lock of hair, one gray, one brown -- one is from mother, the other a lover. Both breathe final prayers and die "Just as the sun went down."

A sailor and girl stop "Beneath the shade and branches round, What they done there will never be known So long as the tides are flowing." She gives him gold. He goes to the alehouse and drinks "to the girl that never said no" or spent it on other girls.

Just as well to get ready, you got to die" (2x) "May be today or tomorrow, You can't tell the minute or the hour, Just as well...." "Sinner get ready...." "Just as well to love your enemies...."

Just Before the Battle, Mother: (32 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #4263}

"Just before the battle, Mother, I am thinking most of you.... Farewell, mother, you may never Press me to your heart again But O, you'll not forget me, Mother, If I'm numbered with the slain." The singer will be true to the cause despite missing Mother

"Just before the drawing sweetheart, I am waiting for a claim, Way out here in Dewey County, Way out here upon the plain." He talks of his homestead. The drawing for land comes soon; if he wins a plot, he will bring her there in a prairie schooner

"A Dawson City miner lay dying in the ice." The miner tells his comrade to send him back to "Deadwood in the hills" (of South Dakota), where there is as much gold (i.e. not much) and it is warmer. He dies and freezes solid; they send his body home

Just Kick the Dust over my Coffin: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7861}

"Just kick the dust over my coffin, Say, 'There lies a jovial young lad'; Pile the earth upon my carcass, Then carve on the stone at my head, Oh ain't it a wonderful story That love will kill a man dead." Singer says not to bawl; tell his love he is dead

"I went up one pair of stairs. Just like me. There was a monkey. Just like me. I one'd it. I two'd it. I three'd it...." And so on, to "I ate [eight, eighted] it." Or "I went into the house, Just like me, I went upstairs, just..." ending with the monkey

An old garden wall is covered in ivy. An old man talks to a young woman. He says, "Some day you'll be forgetting me." She says, "When you grow older I'll be constant and true Just like the ivy [clinging to the wall], I'll cling to you."

"Sanctify me (x5), Just now (x3), Sanctify me." "Good religion...." "Come to Jesus...." Presumably any reigious sentiment that is four syllables long can be used.

"I'm in love with a sweet little girlie, only one, only one...." "Just one girl (x2), There are others, I know, but they're not my Pearl... I'll be happy forever with just one girl." He says that, though poor, they are of age to marry and will be happy

"To a mansion in the city came a couple old and gray To meet their son who left them long ago." The son, now rich, greets them coldly; the father says, "We're just plain folks, your mother and me." They leave him to his life; they are too ordinary for him

Just Remember Pearl Harbor: (1 ref. 1K Notes) {Roud #6624}

"Wasn't that an awful time at Pearl Harbor? What a time, what a time... When the Japs came passing by, Three thousand lost their lives." The bombings of the ships are mentioned, and the singer says, like Moses, the Americans won't give up

Just Tell Them That You Saw Me: (7 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3528}

"While strolling down the street one even, alone on pleasure bent," the singer sees a girl he knew at home. He offers to take a message home. She begs him to merely "tell them that you saw me"; she hopes to improve her pitiful condition before going home

Just Tread on the Tail of Me Coat: (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4879}

The singer went to school to learn reading, writing -- and fighting. "I've licked all the Murphys an' Finnegans, And all the McCarthys afloat, If you're wanting a fight and a fraction, Just tread on the tail of me coat." He uses his fist to regain love

Jut Gannon is told to drive a mule team, so he does. The rest of the song consists of descriptions of other lumber-woods characters and short anecdotes about them

"Oh, dear me, the mill's gaen fast, And we pure shifters cannae get nae rest." The millers work hard for their "ten and nine" -- their small pay. The singer complains that "the world is ill divided -- them that work the hardest are the least provisded."

Song fragment, with two floating verses: "I thought I heard that K.C. when she blowed/She blowed like my woman's on board" and "When I get back on that K.C. road/Gonna love my baby like I never loved before"

"K26 is a bloody fine boat, Her casing's painted white, She works her crew through the day And half the bleeding night."

Kafoozalem is the daughter of a Turk "who did the Prophet's holy work." A westerner, Sam, loves her and tries to steal her away. The father discovers the plot and has them strangled

We get cold kail [cabbage], then hot kail, then kail with kail, then "we got kail after that again"

Greek. "Pheugo, glukeia, (x3), manoula mou." "I depart, sweet one (x3), mother of mine." The singer hopes that neither his nor his mother's heart will break. He is going to America to earn money, but wonders what good it will do given his mother's sorrow

Kaiser and the Hindenberger: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #3397}

"Well the Kaiser said to the Hindenberger, Let's go to the fighting line." They want to conquer Europe. They order submarine warfare. The Kaiser promises Wilson to repay the losses, but the Americans go to war. The Kaiser gets heart disease

Kaiser Bill Went Up the Hill: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #10798}

Jump-rope rhyme. "Kaiser Bill went up the hill, To see if the war was over; General French got out of his trench And kicked him into Dover. He say if the bone man come, Stick your bayonet up his bum."

Kaiser's Dream, The: (2 refs.) {Roud #25336 and 26678}

Kaiser dreams "nations great and small all bowing down to him." So he plans a war against Belgium, France, Russia, England and Americay. But the nations fight back. "They've driven us from Paris." "I've made a grand mistake"

Kansas City Blues: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #15481}

"River is deep and the river is wide, Gal I love is on the other side. I'm gonna move to Kansas City... Move, honey babe, where they don't 'low you." Miscellaneous verses about women, prostitution (?), drugs, loneliness, the girl the singer loves....

Singer used to own a ranch but he's now working as a cowboy; a "twisting cyclone" (tornado) has destroyed his farm and killed his family and herd. He's now punching cows to pay off the mortgage and "payin' for the cattle that the cyclone blew away"

"We crossed the prairies as of old The pilgrims crossed the sea, To make the West as they the East The Homestead of the free." The singers will make the Bible "our van," and will plant and subdue the prairie

"Come, listen to a granger, you soft-headed stranger.... I left a good farm, and, meaning no harm, I emigrated my family to this Kansas frontier." Now he is in poverty. He vows to leave and head for Boston

"We have the land to raise the wheat, And everything that's good to eat." "Oh, Kansas fool (x2), The banker makes of you a tool.... But twelve cent corn gives me alarm And makes me want to sell my farm." The singer complains of hard times and bankers

"I'm a Jayhawker girl from a Jayhawker state, I wear Jayhawker flowers with Jayhawker grace." "For the Jayhawker girls and the Jayhawker boys All find a warm heart in the old home tonight." The Jayhawkers love their home despite its bad weather

"I've reached the land of corn and wheat... I bought my land from Uncle Sam, And now I'm happy as I clam." The singer has animals of good ancestry. He has been in Kansas for a long time, but now increased population is squeezing him out

Floating-verse song, with chorus "Oh, hear my true love weeping, Oh, hear my true love sigh, I was gwinging down to Karo town, Down there to live and die." Verses about Old Master's habits, the possum up the 'simmon tree, and courting Miss Sallie

"Katahdin is a pretty place" full of pretty girls; "You'd think it was some nightingale When they begin to sing." There are fish and skipping lambs. The singer hopes John Ross's lumber company comes. The singer and friends will drink and toast Katahdin

Kate's intended husband suddenly jilts her for a rich girl. Kate obtains a cow's hide and horns, and meets her lover disguised as the devil. This "devil" threatens him if he does not return to Kate. He does; she reveals the truth as their child is born

Kate Dalrymple is an old maid. Her "gruesome and grim" face defend her from wooers. When she inherits a friend's estate she has many wooers but marries Willie Speedyspool the weaver, whom she had always favored.

Kate from Branch, The: (4 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #18218}

Kate out of Branch, at anchor five miles out, is run down at night by Royalist, "an English man-o'-war that's bound for St John's town" The crew is lost and one body is found drifting, and the news and body taken to his parents at Salmonier

Kate Kearney lives on the banks of Killarney. "Fatal's the glance of Kate Kearney; For that eye is so modestly beaming... Beware of her smile... And who dares inhale her sigh's spicy gale, must die by the breath of Kate Kearney"

The singer is in love with Kate Murray, "a warm lively girl with the love in her eye." He describes her as beautiful with a heart "as pure as the heart of a saint; Oh, you'll not find a colyeen so lovely as she From Ballinacargy to Donaghadee"

Kate's father threatens to kill the singer rather than have him marry Kate. Kate recommends he enlist to escape; besides, "I'd like to be a brave young soldier's bride." He joins the Ninety-Eights and gets a letter that she has married a farmer's son.

"The maidens of France may be graceful and merry, And stately and loving the damsels of Spain, But match me, in either, the daughters of Derry," especially Kate of Coleraine. The singer praises her looks at length, and hopes no unworthy man will court her

"By the banks of the Barrow residing Are girls of dark raven hair," but the queen of them all is Kate of Glenkeen. The singer describes her purity, her beauty, her fleetness of foot. He will meet her by the light of the starts

Saturday night "Kate stopped up to iron her clothes" and "Tom stopped up for company." He asks "Kate does that big shirt belong to you?" It does. They strip and climb in the shirt together, but can't get out when they try. (They end up happily married.)

"'Twas on the year Eleventy-nine, And March the fortieth day, That Katey of Lochgoil, my boys, To sea she'll bore away." The singer vows he will not sail again after strange voyage with "Tonald More an' Tugald More, Shon Tamson an' Shon Roy."

Katharine Jaffray [Child 221]: (33 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #93}

Squire courts farmer's daughter; father forbids her to see him. She is to be wed to another. He invades the wedding. The bride's brother challenges him; he says he comes in friendship and asks to kiss the bride. He takes her away from the hall

"There was a lord in Ireland, A lord of high degree," whose second wife abuses his daughter Kathleen and exiles her. A page promises to bring Kathleen back. He finds the beautiful girl, brings her home, and marries her

Kathleen Casey is buried in county Clare. Her lover had promised to be true but did not go to the wedding. No one knows where he went. She died before six months passed.

Kathleen Mavourneen: (12 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #13858}

"Kathleen Mavourneen! The gray dawn is breaking, The horn of the hunter is heard on the hill." The singer bids Kathleen to awake, as they must soon part. "It may be for years and it may be forever" before he can return to her and Ireland

"My love, still I think that I see her once more, But alas! she has left me her loss to deplore... My Kathleen O'Moore." He describes her beauty, and how even a vicious cow loved her. She died of a chill. Now the robin watches her grave from its nest

Kathusalem (Kafoozelum) (II): (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #10135}

Kathusalem, the harlot of Jerusalem, has anal sex with a priest, and expels him in explosive fashion.

"On April the eighth, the year forty-nine, Death claimed a little child so pure and so kind." Kathy Fiscus falls down a dry well. Workers try to dig her out, but she is dead when found. The singer "know[s] Kathy is happy up there with God now."

Katie and the Jim Lee Had a Race: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #9996}

"Katie and the Jim Lee had a little race, Katie throwed water in the Jim Lee's face, (Oh babe)." The singer describes boats on the river and wishes he had a better life (or income, or woman, or whatever else seems worth complaining about)

"Katie Bairdie had a coo, Black and white about the mou, Wasna that a dainty coo, Dance, Katie Bairdie." "Katie Bairdie had a hen, cackled but and cakled ben...." "Katie Bairdie had a cock...." "Katie Bairdie had a grice...."

"When first I came to the town, They called me the roving jewel; Now they've changed my name; They call me Katie Cruel." The ending varies; the girl sets her heart on someone, but she may or may not get him and he may or may not rule over her

Katie Lee and Willie Gray: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5255}

"Two brown heads with glossy curls... Little boy and girl were they, Katie Lee and Willie Gray." The pretty boy and girl are described. As they grew up, they fell/stayed in love and married; now she rocks a cradle where once she carried a basket

"Ho, ho, ho, Charming Katie Monie; Ho, ho, ho, For charming Katie Monie"

Katie Morey [Laws N24]: (17 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #674}

The singer tries to seduce Katie. He lures her into the woods and threatens to kill her if she will not submit. She seems to consent, but warns the youth to climb a tree until her father passes. She then insults him and runs away, leaving him far behind

Katie, I'm Bound for the Sea: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #30137}

A sailor leaves his sweetheart and promises "When I'm sleeping in my watch down below I'll wander back to Katie in my dreams." Finally, "we have reached our distant port." Sailors "drink a health to the girl they adore"

"Last night I was weeping along, mother...." "Then Willie came down to the gate." "So out in the moonlight we wandered." Willie "called me his darling, his bride." Now she rejoices, gathering sweet roses and wondering "if ever Any were so happy as we."

"Oh, who has not seen (Katy Cline/Kitty Clyde)? She lives at the foot of the hill In a shy little nook by the babbling brook That carries her father's old mill." He wishes he were a fish to be caught on her hook, a bee who could take honey from her, etc.

"Tell me, pretty little elven/elf, in your cottage green, Have you seen my Katy pass this way since yestere'en? Sid she have a stranger with her...?" "Yes, she did, Katy did, Katy did, she did, she didn't, Katy did, Katy didn't, Katy did, she did."

"Och girls, did you ever hear, I wrote my love a letter, And although he cannot read, I thought 'twas all the better." The words don't matter; he knows she loves him faithfully. She hasn't received an answer, but he knows he loves her faithfully

"Kauri scow, kauri scow, with your breaker-bustin' prow, Rollin' into Hokianga from the Tasman now." The singer asks what the scow carries. The business she does supplie "Money for my mortgage, money for my tax! For my tax!"

Jump-rope rhyme. "Ke clop, ke clop, ke clop, ke clop, A hundred times before we stop, And if we trip (as trip we may), We'll try again some other day. One, two, three...."

A clerk and a girl wish to keep company, but she cannot escape her parents' home. He plans to to meet her by going down the chimney in a creel The suspicious mother enters the room and is pulled up in the creel, then dropped by the startled rope-puller

The singer alludes to poets who have praised other places; he will praise Kearney's Glen. He urges visitors to come in spring, to see the flowers, hear the birds, watch the young people. There is also a holy old altar. The singer asks God's blessing

"Whoever comes to this curst place, Starvation waits him here. This is not fit for man or beast, Or birds of prey, I swear."

"As I came through Sandgate, through Sandgate, through Sandgate, As I came through Sandgate... I heard a lassie sing, 'Weel may the keel row... That my laddi'es in.'" The singer wishes good luck to the boat and success to handsome Johnnie aboard it

"Keep a-inchin' along... Jesus will come by 'n by." "'Twas inch by inch I saved my soul." The singer makes plans for heaven, and for the festivities that will attend the arrival. "Ever since my Lord set me free, This old world's been a hell to me."

Keep in de Middle Ob de Road: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #9413}

"I hear the angels calling .... the road is rough and it's hard to walk.... Keep in de middle ob de road, den, chil'ren.... Don't you look to de right, Don't you look to de left, But keep in de middle ob de road"

"I am gwine to tell you some very queer news, But keep it dark, keep it dark." The singer describes various things which happened secretly: A fight between him and his wife, a fight with the Indians, the illumination supplied by the electric light

"I don't want the multinationals, I don't want them here at all"; the singer would rather New Zealand were "green and fertile" and would avoid large investments; "keep it small." The singer hopes to continue to work in a small industry

Chorus: "Oh Lord, Oh my Lord, Oh, my good Lord, Keep me from sinking down." Verse: "I tell you what I mean to do, Keep me from sinking down, I mean to go to heaven to, Keep me from sinking down"

"Keep on knockin' and you can't come in." "Door bell ringin' and you can't come in." "Come on baby won't you let me in." "Told you man and you can't come in." "Just before day and the rooster crow"

Non-ballad, in which the singer displays his interest in food and drink and his lack of interest in work. Verses vary widely; the song is recognized primarily by the line "(Gonna) keep my skillet (good and) greasy all the time."

"Ain't gonna let nobody, Lordy, Turn me 'round (x3)... Keep on a-walking, Keep on a-talking, Marchin' on to freedom land." Similarly "Ain't gonna let no jailhouse... Turn me round," etc. Versions may refer to local events

Keep on the Sunny Side: (5 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #10082}

"There's a dark and a troubled side of life, There's a bright and a sunny side too"; even when one faces trouble, one should "Keep on the sunny side of life... It will help us every day." Troubles will eventually pass if one remains hopeful

"Now, fathers, if you're willing, We'll keep the ark a-moving, And we'll pass over Jurdan by and by" (x3). "Where the streets is paved with gold, And the gates is set with pearl, And we'll pass...." "Now, mothers/brothers/etc., if you're willing...."

"Keep the campfire burning While our thoughts are turning To the stories, songs, and yells, the long day's fun. Warm red embers gleaming, Stars o'erhead are beaming, Plan tomorrow's big new joys Till the day is done."

Keep the Home Fires Burning: (7 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #25763}

"They were summoned from the hillside, They were called in from the glen, And the country found them ready At the stirring call for men." The new volunteers ask, "Keep the home fires burning... Though the boys are far away... Till the boys come home."

Keep the Kettle Boiling: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #19427}

Jump-rope rhyme. "Keep the kettle boiling, (be on time/don't be late, pour it out/On the glimmer), (If you don't, you won't get your dinner), (Cadbury's chocolates are the best), (one, two, three, four.....)" The lyrics vary extremely

Chorus: "Hold on member/my dear sister, hold on, Keep your eyes on that prize, Hold on." Verse: "Sometime I up, sometime I down, Keep your eyes on that prize, hold on"

Keep Your Hand on the Plow: (11 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #10075}

Various events from scripture intended to encourage the troubled: Paul and Silas in jail, Jesus washing the disciples feet, Mary's chain. Chorus: "Hold on, hold on, Keep your hand on the plow, hold on."

"Oh, you better run (x3), 'for the train done gone, Oh, keep your hand upon the chariot And your eyes upon the prize." "For the preacher's comin' an' he preach so bold, For her preach salvation from out of his soul, Oh, keep your hand upon the chariot"

"Keep your head down, Allemand (x2), Last night, in the pale moonlight, We saw you, we saw you, You were mending broken wire, When we opened rapid fire, If you want to see your father in that Fatherland, keep your head down, Allemand."

"Keep your lamp trimmed and burning (x3) For this world is almost gone" "Brother, don't you get (a-)worried (x3) For this world is almost gone." "Sister, don't stop prayin'..." "Preacher, don't stop preachin'..."

The singer advises the mustang rider, "Don't step into that saddle Till you know that it's good and tight." He also notes, "Of all the crazy critters... A woman is the worst one." He therefore gives the same advice about women....

Keeper of the Eddystone Light, The: (5 refs. 19K Notes) {Roud #22257}

The singer's father, the keeper of the Eddystone Light, had three children by a mermaid. Now he is gone (deserted? eaten by cannibals?). The boy meets his mother, who asks of her children; they live the troubled lives of half-humans

"The Keeper would a-hunting go." Keeper goes hunting for a doe. In some versions he chases several unsuccessfully.

Keepers and Poachers: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #851}

Singer and others are poaching when 12 keepers are seen. They decide to fight; in the course of battle, young William Taylor is taken. In court, he's told his life will be spared if he names his companions; he refuses, vowing to "die for them all."

Kelley's Irish Brigade: (2 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #7768}

"Come all you that hold communion With southern Confederates bold." The singer tells how Union soldiers came to Missouri, but were routed by Kelley's brigade. He recalls their troubles in Ireland, and hopes for states rights

Kelligrews Soiree, The: (13 refs. 8K Notes) {Roud #4430}

"You may talk of... anything you choose, But it couldn't hold a snuff-box to the spree at Kelligrews." A thoroughly exaggerated account: "There was birch rine, tar twine, cherry wine, and turpentine," and so forth, ad nauseum.

"Oh, the Kelly gang were strong, And bent on doing wrong, In spite of Captain Standish and his men... And when they cross the border, They'll find bobbies all in order To beat them at the same old game."

"Come, all young men with feeling! With regret I must unfold, I have a tale to tell of men Whose hearts are stout and bold." The song praises the Kelly gang for their stand against odds of fifty to one. Kate Kelly is praised for warning the gang

Fragment of a ballad about the Kelly gang: "Farewell Dan and Edward Kelly, Farewell Hart and Steve Byrne too, With the poor your memory liveth; Those who blame you are but few."

Kelly the Pirate (I) [Laws K31]: (12 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #529}

(Captain Cooper's ship Stag) meets Kelly's pirate ship. Kelly reminds the pirates that defeat means hanging, but this is not enough. The British ship sinks the pirate

Kelly the Pirate (II) [Laws K32]: (8 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1625}

A British warship is commanded to guard merchant vessels. The warship meets Bold Kelly, who refuses to surrender. The pirate ship is taken and Kelly sent to prison

The singer tells of the "famous outlaw band that roamed this country round. Ned Kelly was their captain...." Ordered arrested by the governor of Victoria, Kelly took to the bush. After long eluding the police, he was betrayed by Aaron Sherritt and taken

Kelly, the Boy from Killane: (4 refs. 4K Notes) {Roud #16908}

"What's the news? What's the news? O my bold Shelmalier...." The singer is told how the rebels of Wexford, led by Kelly and others, at first triumphed over the British -- but at last were defeated and Wexford "stript naked, hung high on a cross."

Kelly quarrels with his parents and leaves home. On his way to a hiring fair, he meets a sergeant, who buys his drinks and tells him he has enlisted. His parents cannot buy his freedom. Kelly deserts and returns home, but soon takes sick and dies

"The summer time being in tis prime, The weather calm and clear, I left that town called Portadown." The singer travels to Glasgow, telling Kelvin's stream of his troubles. He promises never to "forget the girl I love Who lives near Lurgan Braes."

Non-ballad. Some texts have brief stories (e.g. about "darkies" ten feet tall and too big for their beds), but the basic characteristic is the nonsense refrain pattern: sing song kitty kitchie kimeo / kemo kimo, Delaware, me hi me ho and in comes Sally...

Kemp Owyne [Child 34]: (13 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #3912}

When her mother dies, Isabel's father marries a vile woman who abuses and enchants her till Kemp Owyne shall rescue her. Owyne comes and sees a hideous beast. Despite her appearance, despite threats, he kisses her three times and restores her

Kemp, Kemp My Johnnie Soutar: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #18046}

"Kemp, kemp my Johnnie Soutar, An' ye sall get my shoon, There wattit wi ried on ilka side, An' giltit wi goud aboon."

A hideous maiden is courted by a deformed suitor. The grotesqueness of each is described in Rabelaisian detail. They exchange disgusting gifts, and the match is made.

Ken Ye Na Our Lass Bess: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #15110}

Do you know Bess? Between her thighs/big toes she has a magpie's/crow's nest. Do you know Tam? He's on a three-footed stool, climbing up to the nest. He broke all the eggs "an' the white's ran down her thie"

"The northernmost part of bonnie Queensland Is held in possession by stout heard and hand; 'Twas settled by us... known... as the Kennedy Men." Dalrymple explored the area. They fought off their "foes." They hope all will be well now in Bowen

Reading and McRae are breaking a logjam when their boat washes away and they are left on the logs. Kenneth Cameron volunteers to go to their assistance. After strenuous efforts, all drown

Shepherd's liquor smuggling is uncovered by Bonne Bay customs. He sails his schooner away, though it had been under guard. The police find and arrest him at home in Brig Bay. He is sentenced to nine months, "paid a few dollars and only spent three"

"The great master has called From heaven above To take Kenny Madland, A cowboy we all loved." The poet recalls Madland's "fun-loving ways and quick little smiles," expects him to ride well in Heaven, and regards his death as "Heaven's own gain"

Kenny Wagner [Laws E7]: (7 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #978}

Kenny Wagner kills a sheriff in Mississippi and heads for Tennessee, where he is captured. He escapes, but is again taken (this time by a female sheriff). He is imprisoned for life, and is offered as an example to potential lawbreakers

Kenny Wagner has killed three men, including a Mississippi sheriff. Captured in Tennessee, he escapes but is retaken and sentenced to life

"Oh! the days of the Kerry dancing, oh! the ring of the piper's tune." The singer recalls the days of his youth, the summer night dances in the glen, old friends and Peggy, left behind. If he returns and "she has not resigned me" he'll stay with Peggy.

O'Connell is the Kerry Eagle. His career is reviewed: elected MP for Clare, united Ireland for Emancipation, pursued Repeal until his death, killed D'Esterre, and died far from home. His heart remains in Rome but his body is buried in Glasnevin.

Old McMahon in Kerry can't pay the rent and the agent, with soldiers and police, comes to evict him. To no avail, he asks that the children not be turned out in the snow and that he be given a week or two to pay. McMahon, evicted, dies in the snow.

Kerry Recruit, The [Laws J8]: (18 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #520}

A Kerry lad enlists in the army and is introduced to the wonders of coats, guns, and horses. In some accounts he spends a quiet term in the service; in others, he loses a leg in the Crimea and returns home to live off his pension

Eighteen-year-old Kevin Barry is hung, "another martyr for old Ireland, another murder for the crown." Despite torture, he will not betray his comrades. (Family and friends bid farewell.) (Barry asks to be shot as a soldier, but is hanged as a rebel)

Keyhole in the Door, The: (14 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2099}

Through a keyhole, the narrator spies upon a woman preparing for bed until the light is extinguished and "I knew the show was over." He tells "men of science" that "A telescope is nothing to a keyhole in the door."

Keys of Canterbury, The: (78 refs. 4K Notes) {Roud #573}

The young man comes to the girl and offers her his love or other gifts if she will marry him. She scornfully refuses. After several similar exchanges, he typically offers his MONEY. She accepts. He withdraws the offer: "You love my money but... not me"

"Oh we don't have to fight like the infantry, Shoot like artillery, Ride like the cavalry, Oh we don't have to fly over Germany, We are the Ki-wi-wi."

"Oh, here's to the kicker whose liver is wrong, Whose bile has leaked into his veins...." The "kicker's" myriad ailments are described, but we are assured that he could be "in good health, who takes care of himself By using St. Joseph's Liver Regulator"

Recitation. Big Ed, a teamster, adopts a boy from town. A chain breaks Ed's spine; the boy drives him back; he dies on the way. The boy pushes on; he is killed by being thrown from the sledge. The narrator learns he's telling the story to the boy's father

"Us two was pals, the Kid and me"; they were the same size, and practiced boxing together. Different managers sign them. Both take performing names. They are surprised when they meet in the ring. The singer, without wanting to, kills his friend

"he boys aboard the transport were busy talking 'fight'" and talking of what they would do when one interrupts "I'm Kidd from Timaru." He performs valiantly at Gaba Tepe and is wounded saving the captain. He (and Timaru) will be heard from again

Singer meets Kidder Cole at a dance, wants to dance but she dances with Charlie Wright. He goes to another dance; she still won't dance (because he's drunk). He visits her; she cold-shoulders him; he vows he'll dance with her yet, and praises her beauty

Description of field trials at Kielder; owners and dogs are listed, and the dogs run a fox to earth. The singer drinks a toast to the "gallant sportsmen a'." Chorus: "Hark away! Hark away! O'er the bonnie hills of Kielder/Hark away"

Kiethen Hairst, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5394}

The harvest crew are described by name, task, and characteristics. "The truth I mean to tell We always got the best of meat And plenty of hame brewed ale." "Although the weather it was wet We all got on with glee"

At Monaghan the Kildallan bird defeated a Piley from Leitrim that had previously won at Drumreilly. The Piley "brought our Kildallan bird down" first. When the Kildallan recovered he killed the Piley and "shocked the whole County Leitrim"

"There once were two cats of Kilkenny, Each thought there was one cat too many, So they fought and they fit And they scratched and they bit, Till, excepting their nails, and the tips of their tails, Instead of two cats, there weren't any."

Kilkenny Louse House: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #9228}

Singer goes to Carrick-on-Suir looking for a place to sleep. He is taken to Buck St John's place on Cook Lane. When the lights were out he has to fight the bugs. The slaughter is described. The band plays The Dead March. Beware Buck St John's place.

Verses about the dancing, cars, women from all over, and the night life "in Miami on old Sixth Avenue." The tag line is "kill it kid, Kill it kid."

The singer, "a roving Irish boy," marries Kitty O'Shaughnessy. She gets sick. He makes a bargain with the doctor: "kill or cure for twenty pounds." She dies. The doctor wants his money but he didn't cure her, won't admit he killed her, and doesn't collect

Killafole Boasters: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #12922}

The huntsmen around Newtown have a hunt for hare. The hounds are named as well as the landmarks passed. The local hunters succeed. The Killafole Boasters only follow false trails and "may go home with shame, And never come back for to hunt us again"

"Now I happened to be born just the time they cut the corn" near Killaloe when a "Frenchy m'sieu" came "To instruct us in the game of Parlez-vous." "You may talk about Descary, Napoleou Bonaparty"; the singer learned about it in Killaloe

"By Killarney's lakes and fells" the singer describes "that Eden of the West; Beauty's home, Killarney": "Innisfallen's ruined shrine... Castle Lough and Glenna Bay, Mountains Tore and Eagle's Nest." Sights that "charm the eye," "each sound a harmony"

"Gilly, Gilly, Gilly, Gilly, Wash, Wash, Wash, Wash, Kiya! Kiya! Kiya! Kiya!" Repeat as desired. "Hail to our wigwam, Oh, hail to our wigwam."

The singer, out one evening on Killiebank Braes, meets Nancy who was "seeking the kye." She rejects his offer to accompany her, so he "grasped her and kissed her, and squeezed and caressed her." She tells him to leave and "whuppit me lugs weel."

"It was on a Sunday night and the moon was shining bright, Stevie Allen held his baby in his lap." The child is sick (?); Allen says he will ride to the doctor despite his enemies. The baby dies; Allen's horse returns riderless

"Killy Krankie is my song, Sing and dance it all day long, From my elbow to my wrist, Then we do the double twist." "Broke my arm, I broke my arm, a-swinging pretty Nancy." The dancers are encouraged into other difficult positions

Blythe and happy was I" meeting Mary "among the flowers of Killy's Den." The singer meets her walking by the mill and "gently led her up the glen." "At ilka kiss she dropped a tear, We parted soon to meet again"

The singer deliberately spies on a couple courting under the moon. The boy says he is sailing to America. The girl fears the local women will cause him to forget her. He promises never to forget her

The singer left Ireland for America for "love of money." After twelve years travelling from Alabama to the Rockies "black misfortune followed me" "Age has overtaken me and youth has long forsaken me." He will always fondly remember Kilnamartyra.

April 13, 1844: thirteen "matchless youths" -- all named -- leave Wexford's Quay "bound for Buenos Aires, the land of liberty." "Foul British laws are the whole cause of our going far away ... with one for Dan O'Connell they boldly sailed away."

An early December morning the hunters, horses, and dogs "rode from Kilruddery, to try for a fox." The huntsmen and dogs are named. Reynard is "unkennelled" and the route is traced. The fox is killed after a five hour chase. The hunters party until night.

Kilties in the Crimea, The: (1 ref. 3K Notes) {Roud #13083}

"The Kilties are the lads for me, They're aye the foremost on a spree." The singer praises the Highland soldiers, and recounts their exploits in the Crimea, mentioning Alma, Sir Colin Campbell, and several Highland regiments

Swedish/English pidgin. Hauling shanty. "Fran Canton till Macao, Fran Hong King o Luliao, The sodgers and sailors de sjungit hennes lore." "I no like you-hu, You no like me-hee, You all belong to sodgers, You no belong to me."

A drummer proposes marriage to a maiden. She rejects him because her father "is a captain of honour and fame" and she would not "bind myself down to slav'ry." He threatens suicide. She relents. They elope. Her outraged father gives them an annual income

Kind, King and Gentle Is She: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #25362}

"Kind, kind and gentle is she, Kind is my Mary, The tender blossom on the tree Could not compare with (my) Mary." She is both beautiful and kind. Do not fall for a "haughty lass."

"My name is Dinah From South Carolina And I'm selling kindling wood to get along." "If you don't believe me, come down to see me, For I'm selling kindling wood to get along." "And won't you buy some, Oh won't you buy some."

"There was an old chap in the west country" abused by a lawyer. He seeks the king to find justice. He gives the king a shilling for services. The king gives him ten pounds. The old man wouldn't have paid so much had he known the king was so well-off.

King Arthur, disguised, goes to King Cornwall's castle, where Cornwall boasts how he is better than Arthur.

"On Trinity Monday in the morn, This sore batteyle was doomed to be." Arthur and Mordred meet in battle, with both hosts effectively destroyed. Mordred is killed, Arthur mortally wounded, Excalibur is tossed back into the lake, all that Malory stuff

"King-seenie, one, to, three, You're the very man for me. Keep him quiet, Hold him down, Pat him thrice upon the crown, Blackball, blackball, One, two three, (Joseph Jackson), You are he."

"King David was (good lord) that shepherd boy, Didn't he kill Goliath (good lord) and he shout for joy. Well the tallest tree in Paradise them Christians called it their tree of life, Little David play on your harp...." And other floating verses

A soldier asks for a kiss. The girl refuses; her mother has told her to avoid soldiers. He replies with the story of David, who began as a shepherd but ended as a king and the killer of Goliath. The girl decides to kiss him after all

The King goes out a-riding and meets the Tanner. The Tanner gives abrupt answers to the King's questions. The King tries to exchange horses; again the Tanner wants no part of the deal. Finally the King gives the Tanner a gift/pension

"There never was a king so great, but love cause him to abdicate. Ch: Love, love alone, cause King Edwards to leave the t'rone (repeat)." Verses sung in first person as Edward explains reasons for abdicating and marrying Wallace Simpson.

"O my king Emanuel, my Emanuel above, Sing the glory to my King Emanuel. If you want to walk the golden street, and you join the golden band, Sing glory be to my King Emanuel." The singer tells of the joys of heaven

King Emanuel (II): (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #12075}

Chorus: "King Emanuel is a mighty Emanuel, I call my Jesus King Emanuel." Verses: "Steady a little while, I will tell you what my Lord done for me" "He plucked my feet out of the miry clay, He set them on the firm Rock of Age"

King Estmere [Child 60]: (7 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #3970}

King Estmere, aided by his brother Adler Younge, seeks to wed the daughter of King Adland. He wins her troth; at threat of losing her to rival (heathen) king of Spain, he attends the wedding in guise of a harper, kills his rival, and wins the bride.

The singer's friend Pate has come to say King George has come to visit Holyrood. They think of going to see him but decide not to risk the crowd and cold but rather to stay at home, drink some more, and toast the king from home.

King Henry [Child 32]: (8 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3967}

King Henry goes hunting and encounters a hideous woman. For courtesy he salutes her, only to find her making incredible demands -- first the flesh of his animals, and finally that he sleep with her. He does, to find her transformed into a beautiful woman

The English king sends to the French king a reminder of tribute due. The French king says our king is too young to be a threat and sends tennis balls instead. Our king takes an army, excluding married men and widows' sons, and succeeds against the French

King James and Brown [Child 180]: (6 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #4009}

Douglas comes to attack the King. The ruler is saved by Brown. Brown convinces the king to pardon Douglas; Douglas reacts by attacking Edinborough. Brown once again defeats the renegade Earl; for this and other services, King James makes him an earl

Jesus listens all night (day) to hear some sinner pray. I've been converted, my soul is anchored in Jesus and the Devil can do me no harm. Gospel train is coming, rumbling through the land: get ready. John the Baptist was a preacher.

King Jesus Will Be Mine: (3 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #19206}

"When the moon (sun) went down in the purple stream, purple stream, When the stars refused to shine, When every star that disappeared, King Jesus will be mine, King Jesus will be mine"

King John tells the (bishop of Canterbury) he must answer the King's questions or die. The bishop, unable to answer, turns to a shepherd (his brother?). The answers are so clever the king rewards the shepherd and pardons both (makes the shepherd bishop)

King Malcolm and Sir Colvin: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #479}

Sir Colvin falls ill for love of the king's daughter Jean; she attends him but won't have him unless he vanquishes an elvish knight defending Elrick's hill. He defeats the knight, bringing its hand and rings as proof. Colvin and Jean marry.

Skipping rhyme: "The King of England went to France, To teach the children how to dance, This is how he taught them Heel, toe, over you go, Bow to the Queen, Salute to the King, Turn your back to the Kaiser."

"Will you surrender, Will you surrender, To the King of the Barbarees?" "We won't surrender... To the King of the Barbarees." "I'll go and complain..." "We'll break down the tower...."

King of the Cannibal Islands, The: (6 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #15695}

Sometimes a ballad about castaways marrying the daughter of the King of the Cannibal Islands, but often degenerates into a quatrain-ballad about the odd events on the islands. The use of the title phrase is characteristic.

King of the Castle: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #19815}

"I, William of the Wastle, Am now in my castle, And a' the dogs in the town Winna gae me gang down." Or, more simply, "I'm king of the castle, you're the little rascal."

"A wee, wee man came to our toon en', Fiddledum, faddledum, fee, fee, fee," singing the men from their work despite his huge feet and mouth, odd clothes, very long arms, etc. He holds a dance, then frightens them; he becomes king of the fairies

Chorus: "King O King Died for me, Heaven was made for the first and last, No man looks like me." Second and fourth line of each verse is "No man looks like me." First and third lines are a rhyming couplet; see Notes for examples.

King Orfeo [Child 19]: (34 refs. 32K Notes) {Roud #136}

The wife of (King) Orfeo, perhaps in a fit of madness, flees from him and his court. Orfeo sets out to find her. Encountering her under guard in a high hall, he plays his pipes so well that his wife is returned to him.

"'Twas but t'other night after dark'ning, we sat o'er a blazing turf fire." Little Roger wishes he were a king. The singer asks what he would do as king. He wants good food, victory over France, an end to work -- and forgets it when he burns his finger

The singer claims he can forsee the future as well as Booker: "all things will be well When the king shall enjoy his own again"; else "the times will never mend, ... the wars will never cease, ... rejoice will never I again"

King Takes the Queen, The: (8 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #884}

"The King will take the Queen, But the Queen will take the knave, And since we're in good company, More liquor let us have. Here's to you, Tom Brown, and to you me jolly soul." As cards take cards, so each reminds the singer of a happy life

King William and King James: (1 ref. 2K Notes) {Roud #795}

James vows to take London. William is sorry so many of James's army will be slain. James's general goes down. Don't be dismayed, he says, at losing a commander; his son will lead. William offers friendship to the defeated Scots: end this awful slaughter.

King William and the Keeper: (1 ref. 1K Notes) {Roud #853}

King William disguises himself as a poacher. He's caught by the keepers, who tell him no one may hunt this ground without leave of King William. He attempts to bribe the keepers, but they refuse (and beat him). He reveals himself and praises their loyalty

King William was King James's Son: (31 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #4203}

"King William was King James's Son, Upon the royal race he run, Upon his breast he wore a star, (That points the way to the ocean far)." "Now this couple are married together... You must be kind, you must be good, And help your wife in kindling wood."

"Open the gates as high as the sky" or "as wide as wide"; let "Victoria's," "victorious" or "King William's" troops, or "King George's horses" by, or "let King George go through with his bride." It's too dark to see how to thread the tailor's needle.

King Richard, impressed by Robin's reputation, seeks him. Disguised as an abbot who is the king's messenger, he hears Robin's declarations of loyalty to king and of spite to clergy. Well treated for the king's sake, he reveals himself and pardons Robin.

The king's daughter goes to the wood, where a man meets her and rapes her. After he is through, they exchange names. He is her brother came back from the sea! She stabs herself. She is carried home and dies. When he sees her body, he dies in her arms

"The King's horses, the King's men, They've all gone ashore and they're bagging off again." The dress up for leave, "Every time they get their pay Slap another pusher in the family way"; they're "About as handy as a matelot with a can of paint."

"I'm on the King's land, The King's not at home! The King's gone to Boston, To buy his wife a comb."

"We don't want to march with the infantry, Ride with the cavalry, shoot with the artillery, We don't want to fly over Germany, We're in the King's Navy." Or, "We don't have to march with the infantry, ride with the cavalry... We're in the Swiss Navy."

"Say, darkeys, hab you seen de massa, Wid de muff-stash on his face, Go long the road some time dis mornin' Like he gwine to leab de place?" The slaves exult that the coming of Union soldiers is chasing Master away, leaving them free (and free to rejoice)

Soldiers take a pedlar through Kinghorn Ferry streets. He says he would be forced to be a soldier in Flanders. The women plead unsuccessfully for his release. They disarm, beat and drive the soldiers to sea and save the pedlar. Sailors laugh.

"James S. Richardon and George E. Clark, a company so they say, They own a mill in Skunksville; they run it night and day." It is a steam mill in Kingman. Most of the verses describe the mill's employees

Jump-rope rhyme. "Kings and Queens and partners two All dressed up in royal blue. One, two, How do you do? I do very well, With a house to mysel', A door and a bell and a coconut shell, One, two, three...."

"A nicht short syne some buirdly [stalwart] chiels [young men] fu' pawky [crafty] o' their braws Forgaithered owre a mutchkin stoup [1/4-pint cask] to straught [straighten] some ancient thraws [twists]"

The singer tells us that the "place I like the best" is "the sand hills, O the sand hills, The place Kinkaiders make their home." He praises the corn, melons, cows, etc., and gives thanks "for the homestead law he made, This noble Moses P. Kinkaid."

Kinmont Willie [Child 186]: (12 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #4013}

Kinmont Willie, a notorious raider, comes to the border under a truce, with few men at his back, and is treacherously taken by a large force under Lord Scroop and others. He is imprisoned as a raider, but finally rescued

The singer's answer to Paddy. "What could bewitch you, to sing ... the praise of Kinsale?" The only commerce of Kinsale is fish. The spa at Mallow beats that at Kinsale. No king would ever have sight of the Kinsale hotel. "I'll stay here in Mallow"

Tales of Old Abey Kelder's bar. The clientele is reported to have "kintey coyed and raised the devil; I bet they thought their heads was level." The behavior of various bar patrons is briefly described

"Like the violets in spring, like the lark on the wing... so sweet is she." The singer uses similar imagery to illustrate that "so fair is she," "so kind is she," "so dear is she."

"I am a roving shantyboy -- the pinewoods is my home, Like every other fellow, from camp to camp I roam." The singer recalls his years of work on the rivers, noting "My muscle is my fortune." He wishes he could have revenge on the Indians

"Robbie Burns, altho' he be dead ... could handle the ploo"; he enjoyed himself at the harvest celebration. "Some drink to ladies, and some drink to lairds, But here is to the farmers wi' their big corn yards"

Kiss in the Morning Early, A: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #3807}

A maid goes to her cobbler "for her kiss in the morning early." They plan to marry. He gives her a fancy pair of shoes. She goes home and tells her father "I've got me a man." He wonders who but guesses it is only the cobbler when he sees the shoes.

"Private Jones came home one night, full of beer and very tight," embraces his seargeant, and begs, "Kiss me good-night, Sergeant-Major, Tuck me in my little wooden bed. We all love you, Sergeant-Major, when we hear you bawling, 'Show a leg!'"

To save her reputation, Sally tells sailor William she will only kiss him in the dark. The captain hears and goes in William's place. William and Sally marry three months later. She has a baby six months after that. The captain is godfather. Sally smiles

"The other night as I was sparking sweet Tarlina Spray," the two talk and cuddle at length until her parents hear. She urges him, "Kiss me quick and go." They regularly meet; he is repeatedly driven off; even when he asks to wed, she say, "Kiss me quick"

"One morning rather dark as I strolled through the park, I met with a blushing young maid." They find their way beneath the trees, where she proclaims, "Kiss me, oh, I like it, Kiss me again, it's nice.... You are a dear, and no one is near....."

The singer asks how she can be happy when "the bonny young lad I love so dearly He is banished quite out of my company." Kissing is foolish and brings "poor lovers into sin." Nevertheless, she wishes she were in his arms.

"For lang I courted Jeannie... And whan she cam to see me, I wad kiss her in the dark." One night when she is away, he sneaks in and accidentally kisses her mother. This causes the mother to give consent to their marriage, and her money when she dies

"I know a little girl and I want her for my wife. She's pretty and sweet, neat little feet, and never been kissed in her life." When he kisses her, she says, "kissing is a crime.I'll not kiss you any more -- until next time." Somehow they keep kissing

The loving young man "hangs all around the cabin door," kissing the girl "for (his/her) mother and her sister and her brother Till her Daddy comes...." Daddy threatens to shoot him; the girl objects. They continue courting much to the old folks' delight

"I gave her kisses one, kisses one (x2), I gave her kisses one, And she said 'twas well begun, So we kept kissing on, kissing on." Similarly, "Kisses two... She said that would not do...." and so on, up to perhaps "ten... begin again"

Kissing's No Sin (I): (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2579}

"Some say kissing's a sin, but I think it's nane ava, For kissing has been in the world When there was but only twa." The singer points to all those who have engaged in kissing, noting that it must be lawful if lawyers do it, etc.

"One night ... Some rambling thoughts came in my mind And caused me for to roam." The singer leaves his girl, takes the train from Kitardine to the lumber camp, and takes a job as a cook. At season's end he signs on to help take the lumber to Bangor.

Kitchie-Boy, The [Child 252]: (9 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #105}

A lady reveals her love to a kitchen boy. He begs her not to make it known; her father would kill him. She sends him over the sea; he rebuffs a lady's advances. He returns home in disguise and convinces the father to let him marry his daughter

Kite Abandoned in White Bay, The: (1 ref. 5K Notes) {Roud #V44650}

"Come all ye rambling sailor boys And hearken please to me And hear what fishermen endure...." The Kite sets out with the sealing fleet, but her slow speed causes her to be left behind. 22 crew leave her to go home and seek better work

Jump-rope rhyme. "Kitsy Katsy had a canoe, It was yellow, black, and blue, Open the gates and let it rhough, Dance Kitsy Katsy."

"Kit hath lost her key, her key...." "Kit she wept; I asked by so, That se made all thys moan... My key is lost and gone." She seeks it at St. Sithe. "In bower she was With some that were not kind." The singer says goodbye and will pray she finds her key

"A sab-cat and a Wobbly band, A rebel song or two, And we'll show the parasite Just what a cat can do." The Wobblies work and say "All for one and one for all." They warn against throwing the Wobblies into prison

"The kitten is under the sod, the sod, The kitten is under the sod."

The singer recalls Kitty Brewster's tavern where you could have her good ale and argue politics at the fireplace in winter. Now she has died and the tavern is gone and so are "the chaps wha ance at Kitty's shrine Pour'd their libations votive"

"Oh, 'twas over on Hof Hogan one day, down by the riverside," the singer sees Kitty Grause arrive on a steamship. Although she is watching for a lover, he tries to talk to her. She threatens to punch him out. Her lover arrives and takes her away

The singer sees a girl and courts her "For she looked like an angel although she was poor." Her widowed mother consents to the marriage "as by flattery and deception I won Kitty Gray." But when she realizes his deception, she and the baby die

Kitty of Coleraine: (9 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6534}

"As beautiful Kitty one morning was tripping" she sees the singer, stumbles, breaks her pitcher and spills its milk. He comforts her. "She vowed for such pleasure she'd break it again." Soon after not an unbroken pitcher could be found in Coleraine

The singer comes to the girl, describing all he has to offer if she will marry. He concludes "Your silence I'll take for consent... Now all that I have is your own. This week you may be Kitty Tyrrell; Next week you'll be Mistress Malone."

"You ask what makes this darky weep." The singer weeps to remember Kitty Wells. The two were planning their wedding when she died

"God bless you all, I just came out to have a little chat, I am Irish sure, but that's no sin, I'm a rollicking merry Pat." The singer claims great success with girls, but wants only Kitty. He describes the happy process of courting her

Klondike Gold Rush, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #4527}

"Oh come to the place where they strike it rich, Come where the treasure lies hid, Where your hat full of mud is a five pound note.... Klondike, Klondike, Label your luggage for Klondike." The singer tells the poor folks about easy wealth in Klondike

"From the field of gold I come, Sweet Marie, Will you kiss me welcome home, Love, to thee?" The singer comes home starved, sick, and poor. He says that she will recognize him once he has been fed up and regained his strength

"Kneebone hear God call you." "Kneebone, what's the matter?" "Kneebone in the wilderness." "kneebone in the valley." "Kneebone bend to save my soul."

"Knees up Mary Muffet ... Mary Brown ... Mary Macaroni, Take your partner's hand." Swing her ...

Knees Up, Mother Brown: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #24984}

"Oh, knees up, Mother Brown, Knees up, Mother Brown, Come along, dearie, let it go, Ee-I-Ee-I-Ee-I-O, It's your bloomin' birthday, Let's wake up all the town, So, knees up, knees up, Don't get the breeze up, Knees up, Mother Brown."

Knickerbocker Line, The: (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2149}

The earliest versions seem to involve a man who became involved with a seamstress who later stole his watch. In the U.S. this plot seems to have disappeared, replaced by sundry nonsense. The references to the Knickerbocker Line seems diagnostic

"In Southampton's former days, When grandma was a maid... Every other Friday came a man... It was Pedlar Jack, the knife-and-scissors man." He travels over great distances. His work sharpening knives amuses children and helps their elders

A knight, drunk, lies with a shepherd's daughter. She goes to the king's castle and calls for justice. With the king's help, she finds the culprit. The king orders the knight to marry her; he laments his fate. (She reveals that she is richer than he.)

Knight in Green, The: (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #303}

A knight pledges a fortune to win a beautiful girl. To raise this money he must borrow from a Jew, offering his own flesh as collateral. When the bill comes, he cannot pay, and flees. And on it goes, till they all live happily ever after

Only one stanza extant: "The Countesse of Douglas out of her boure she came, And loudly there did she call: 'It is for the Lord of Liddesdale That I let all these tears downe fall.'"

Knight Templar's Dream, The: (3 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #21138}

Singer dreams of the burning bush. He picks up the fiery serpent and it becomes a rod which he takes to Jerusalem. He sees the knights of Malta. He is enlisted "to fight for Christian Liberty." He travels to Ararat and Enoch's temple before he wakes.

Knight's Ghost, The [Child 265]: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3889}

The lady comes to the seashore to meet her lord from sea; the sailors tell her he is slain. She gets them drunk and locks them away. Asleep in her room, the knight comes to her and tells her to release the sailors, then tells parts of her future

"Oh, his name was (K)nobby Hall, Knobby Hall (x2), Oh, his name was Knobby Hall, and he only had one ball." Hall stabbed his wife. The rest of his career is modeled on "Sam Hall," but with names and places vulgarized

"Knock the cymbals, do oh do (x3), Oh law, Susie gal." "Balance to the first." "Left ban crosses." "Right hand back." "All promenade."

"I'll sing of a mountain, the pride of the north...." The singer describes the great summit of Knocklayde. It would take a surveyor to measure it. It is made of limestone, and supports good grass. The singer will stay there and enjoy its beauties

Knot of Blue and Gray, A: (1 ref. 1K Notes) {Roud #31898}

Singer tells why she wears upon her breast both blue and gray. She says that she had two brothers; one fought and died for the north, the other for the south -- "But the same sun shines on both their graves"

"Young lassie" marries "Auld Daddy." "Bedding-time cam' hither." She asks, "are we to lie thegither." She gets undressed, gets into bed, and tells him to sleep "yon" and "gie room"

The singer (Sam Knox) now must leave the land where he long wandered; he will seek his fortune overseas. He bids his parents not to grieve, bids farewell to the land and his friends, and asks that he be remembered

German shanty. Verses made up of short phrases, the cook describing himself, his habits, the meals he prepares. No chorus, but a pull on "seggt he" (says he) after each phrase. "Yellow peas, sez he. Cook for me, sez he. Keep them stirred, sez he," etc.

"Now gather round, you stroppy Jacks who serve the peacetime Andrew... While I tell you a tale of the Kola run, a yarn of the Russian convoys." He served on a destroyer he called the "Horrible" in 1942. With great struggle, they bring the convoy to Russia

Swedish hauling song. Chorus: "Viktoria, Viktoria! Kirre-verre-vipp-bom! Hurra sa!" Printed verses have rhymes about drinking, Hugill says there were 18 verses he couldn't print.

"Kookaburra sits in an old gum tree, Merry merry king of the bush is he, Laugh, kookaburra, laugh, kookaburra, Gay your life must be."

Kriegie Ballad, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #10516}

"Yes, this is the place that we took, sir, And landed right into the bag, Right outside the town of Tobruk, sir." The soldiers fought in North Africa all the way to Brindisi. Taken captive by the Italians, he is suffering from poor clothes and food

"Kuaotunu's all the go, Kuaotunu! Kuaotunu! We'll step it out both heel and tow, For golden Kuaotunu!" People come to visit the gold fields and have sundry adventures, often arguing over claims. The song concludes with three cheers for Kuaotunu

You know the drill: "Kum by yah, my Lord, kum by yah (x3), Oh, Lord, Kum by yah." "Someone's crying, Lord..." "Someone's singing, Lord..." "Someone's praying, Lord...."

"Now all you larrikin volunteers, Just listen a while to me, But don't you get frightened If the Russians cross the sea." Having beaten them at Crimean, we can beat them again "If they come up the Taramakau." Volunteer militia are urged to drill

French. The singer returned from war and knocked at his mistress's door. Her father and mother are in their bed, and they have barred the door and have the keys. She opens the window to her bedroom.

La La La Chick A La Le-O: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #12592}

Nonsense chorus opens "O La la la chick a la le-o, Ta la la la chick...." Verse: "I am going to marry just who I please, La la la chick... I know I will marry if he'll marry me, La la la chick...." She wants Johnny Green; he's off to war, but is returning

The singer watches La Roi Victor go away and come back with a big foot woman.

"La, la, my baby, your cradle I'll rock, I've undressed you all, except one little sock. La, la, my baby, now close your blue eyes, La, la, my baby, oh how the time flies"

A nobleman dreams of a beautiful girl. After seven years' searching he finds her, a poor laboring-man's daughter. He tells her he has seen her only in a dream, but is confident she will not deny him. He takes out a ring and proposes. (They happily marry)

The singer dreams he is at the "Labour Borue." Everyone is polite; they offer a seat, brandy, a smoke, money for the asking, and a taxi home; his wife welcomes him. His wife wakes him. He screams. She asks if his worthless self had had a nightmare.

"You Englishmen of each degree, One moment listen unto me, From day to day you all may see, The poor are frown on by degrees." England cannot succeed without the labouring man. They fought off Napoleon. But now they face poor wages and starvation

The crew on the schooner Carey catch bait in Conception Bay and cash in at Holyrood. They hear fishing is exceptional on the Labrador. They fight bad weather to get there, are poorly equipped, and fare badly.

Singer walks out in summer and sees "a wild rose growing there on the mountain." "There's nothing around to compare with her beauty." "Labrador Rose... For the rest of my life I will stay here beside you."

"Nineteen long lines hanging over my door, The faster I work I will shorten my score... For after tomorrow comes my wedding day... Six pretty maidens so neat and clean Shall dance at my wedding...." Stream of consciousness lyrics used while making lace

German. "Lachen, lachen, lachen, lachen Kommt der Sommer über das Feld, über das Feld kommt der Sommer, ha ha ha! Lachen über das Feld!" "Laughing comes the summer over the field."

The shearers wait eagerly for the shift to begin: "At his gate each shearer stood as the whistle loudly blew...." The expert shearers set out to be the fastest, while the boss tries to make sure they shear the sheep completely.

The singer hears Dan complain to Kate's father: Kate forsook him for a farmer in Lackagh Bawn. The father and Kate just laugh. Singer proposes he and Dan fight the farmer, or consider other girls. Dan agrees: "they won't be laughing, I'll let them see"

Lad at the Laird's o' Drum, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #6176}

"Haud awa ye ill-faur'd carle, And coort nae mair at me, For I've a lad at the Laird's o' Drum, And a bonnie lad is he."

Geordie and Jean meet on the banks of the Clyde. She tries to dissuade him from "going to fight for his queen." She gives him a lock of her hair. In the battle a bullet "buried that dear lock of hair in his heart." Jean and his mother comfort each other.

Lad o' Paton's Mill, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #6187}

The singer says, in the chorus, "I'll awa wi' my doggie ... Through the frost and snow." She says "Maybe I'll be married yet To the lad o' Paton's Mill." "Paton's Mill's a bonny mill"

Lad o' Shuttlehowe, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #6194}

Joseph would visit his girl at night. She is asleep when he arrives but her baby wakes her father. Joseph wishes the father a good evening and asks if he would take snuff. The father would accept "in decent hours." Joseph wishes "guid morning" and leaves

Molly, pregnant, mourns that she "quite undone will be, Gin I dinna get the bonny lad that I was last wi'." He overhears her and says he loves her. They marry and are happy. Advice: maids, bide your time and "you'll enjoy your true love"

Lad that Never Kissed a Lass, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #13004}

"The lad that never kissed a lass is nae the lad for me ... For my bonnie laddie's kissed twa-three"

Lad That's Far Awa, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5812}

The singer's sweetheart is a sailor "banished by the law To go owre the seas and far awa." Her mother wants her "to marry a man of high degree." She imagines him returned and will not forsake him for "rings, jewels and 'a." In one version he does return

"There's some wha like a country life while others prefer the toon," but "there's nae a blyther lad" than the ploughboy. He whistles in all weather with few holidays "but he's aye happy wi' his lot." He can work and talk with a girl at the same time

The singer praises the plowmen and farmers who provide others with food. He lists other occupations, and notes how much they are needed -- but none of them could survive "Gin it werena for the bonnie laddie that handles the ploo."

Laddie Wi' the Tarry Trews, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #5809}

The singer is a woman, probably a mill worker, who wants to be taken from the mill by a sailor. She describes him, "a sailor wi' a rolling eye," rowing on the ocean and sailing across the sea. He says he would take her from the mill.

Matthew Orr goes to Glasgow to see Lady Beltrees. She hides from him "ahint the bed." Her friends/servants(?) say "she wasna in." Doesn't she remember when "I kissed thee in thy bed" and she said she liked him better than Johnny Blair or Ned Davidson?

Lady Calee, up the shore, down the quay, one foot in and one foot out, "Linkum learie round about"

Ladies and Gentlemen (I): (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #19961}

Jump-rope rhyme. "Ladies and Gentlemen, Children too, There's a little white girl Going looking for you... Two years old, going on three, Wear my dresses up to my knee. Sister has a boyfriend... Walks in the parlor And turns out the lights"

Jump-rope rhyme. "Ladies and gentlemen, To tell you the facts, I lost my britches On the railroad tracks. They flew so high Into the sky They didn't come back Till the Fourth of July."

Ladies in the Dining Room: (5 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #15656}

"Ladies in the dining room, Sitting by the fire, Lost her slipper and she fell down, Raise your foot up higher." "(All the way the ring goes round)/(Choose the one the ring goes round), Choose the one with money, Choose the one they call X...."

Ladies o' Cheapside, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #7272}

"He tauld me to keep up my heart and modify my pride ... And I might try the Justice Port, the ladies o' Cheapside"

"Ladies to the center and a ding dong ding, Gents to the center and form a ring, Mile and a quarter round this ring, Meet your partner, balance and swing."

"The Orange cause is booming strong, Since ladies joined the Order." "They crowd round William's banner." Throughout England they "lilt their Orange ditties" and "work against those who love the night, And hate the British Empire."

The Johnstones raid the stable of the Crichtons. William, nicknamed Galliard, the Johnstone leader, by mistake rides off on a blind horse. He is captured and hanged. His nephew gathers a gang which drives the Crichtons from their land

Girls: the best men are "the lads that was reared in the heather"; the best dances are in the barn, not the hall, with the lads ...; the best ship builders, the best soldiers and the best poets are the lads....

Lady Alice [Child 85]: (55 refs. 4K Notes) {Roud #147}

Lady Alice sees a beautiful corpse being carried by and learns it is her lover. She bids the bearers leave it; she will herself be dead by the next evening. They are buried apart but roses from his grave grow to reach her breast until severed by a priest.

"A lady loved a laddie" but is married to an old man who "told her love was wicked And she'd love her God instead." She feeds him a potion to make him blind and brings in her man in clerical dress. He "Gave the lady absolution On a bench along the wall."

"A squatter who lived Bathurst way, And owned a magnificent station" visits Sydney and meets a girl. When married, and take a ride with a bullock driver. The squatter demands the driver use good language. They get stuck because he can't curse his team

Lady and the Crocodile: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #4579}

"She sailed away on a sunny summer day on the back of a crocodile." She says it is tame and takes him down the Nile, but "At the end of the ride, the lady was inside and the smile was on the crocodile."

A wealthy lady wants a youth to marry her, but he is pledged to one of the lady's servants. The lady brings her maid on a boat trip and throws her into the sea. She winds up in prison; the young man goes mad

Lady Anne bids false Sir William farewell as he goes to war. One day she sees three boys playing ball and is asked to choose one. She would clothe the naked boy who has been with them one year. The boy reveals he is her son murdered and buried by a nurse

Lady Anne Bothwell's Lament: (13 refs. 11K Notes) {Roud #2864}

The singer sings a lullaby to her baby son. She recalls how his father seduced and left her. She fantasizes about his death on the battlefield. She mourns for herself and the baby "Born to sustain thy mother's shame ... a bastard's name"

Rebellion begins May 18, 1798. Lord Carhampton "burned our holy altars, and Dunboyne town also." Lady Connolly, "may her soul rest in glory, while Lord Carhampton's sent to hell." We'll keep Carhampton agitated until the French come, then we'll skin him

Lady Diamond [Child 269]: (10 refs. 4K Notes) {Roud #112}

The king's daughter Lady (Daisy) is with child by a kitchen boy. The king has the boy killed and a token (his heart) sent to Lady Daisy. She dies for love (prompting the king's deep regret)

"I little thought that waefu' day I bade farewel to thee," that they were their last words, "an' we sud never meet again." He had told her not to mourn, telling her that his heart was given to king, country, and her. But he earned "a hero's death"

Lady Elspat and Sweet William plan a tryst, but Elspat's brother's page reports to her mother. The mother takes the boy to court on a charge of robbery. The judge concludes that his only crime is being relatively poor, and frees William to wed Elspat

A sailor has a dream (. He hears Lady Franklin) telling of the loss of her husband, who disappeared in Baffin's Bay as he sought the Northwest Passage. He never returned, and is presumed dead, but Lady Franklin would give a great fortune to be certain

Jump-rope rhyme: "A lady in the boat With a red petticoat And her name is... MISS!"

Lady in the Tight Skirt: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #20152}

Jump-rope rhyme. "Lady in the tight skirt Can't do this, Lady in the tight skirt, Can't do this," and repeat indefinitely

Lady Isabel [Child 261]: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3884}

Isabel's stepmother accuses Isabel of being "her father's whore," and tries to have her drink (poisoned) wine. At church; her mother advises her to take the poison. She bids farewell to her servants, drinks the poison, and dies. The stepmother goes mad

A knight woos a lady. He will marry her if she runs away with him. He leads her to the seashore and threatens to drown/kill her as he has killed others before. She makes him turn his back and kills him instead. She bribes her parrot to keep her secret

Lady Isabella's Tragedy: (10 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #3853}

Isabella's envious step-mother bargains with the cook to kill Isabella. He does and bakes her into a mince pie. The scullion-boy, a witness, tells her father. Step-mother is burned at the stake. Cook is boiled in lead. Scullion-boy becomes heir.

Jean's parents arrange her wedding to Lord Dacre. Jean sends for Umphreville, her lover, to rescue her. Dacre is greeted by Jean's parents. The priest prepares for the ceremony. Dacre finds Jean has eloped with Umphreville. Her parents rage and mourn.

Lady Leroy, The [Laws N5]: (19 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1889}

A girl and her lover want to escape her father. She disguises herself and buys the Lady Leroy from her father. The father sends a ship to intercept them, but the girl captures her father's ship and sends it home. She and her lover continue on their way

Lady Maisry [Child 65]: (25 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #45}

The Scottish heroine loves an English lord above all Scots. Her family, learning of her love and (in most versions) her pregnancy, prepare to burn her. She sends tokens to her love, but she has been burnt before he can arrive. (He takes bitter vengeance)

Willie rapes Lady Margaret. He asks her to marry. She warns him not to press the issue. He persists and tells of his riches, including his ships. She curses his riches and would have him drown on his ship. Her curses are realized and he drowns.

Lady Mary (The Sad Song): (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6358}

"He came from his palace grand And he came to my cottage door... But I was nothing to him, Though he was the world to me." She desperately loved him; now he is dead, but she has no excuse for mourning. She wonders if, in heaven, he will still ignore her

"Lady Moon, Lady Moon, Sailing up so high, Drop down to Baby From out yonder sky, Babykin, Babykin, far down below, I hear you calling, I hear you calling, I hear you calling, But I cannot go"

"Lady Moon, Lady Moon, where are you roving? Over the sea. Lady Moon, Lady Moon, who are you loving? All that love me."

Lady of Arngosk, The [Child 224]: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #4019}

Fragment: "The Highlandmen has a' come down... They've stowen away the bonny lass, The Lady of Arngosk." They dress her in her silken gown, and the Highland leader draws his sword and bids her come. They tie her hands, but she scorns them

Lady of Carlisle, The [Laws O25]: (45 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #396}

Two brothers court a lady. Unable to choose between them, she decides to find out who is braver. She throws her fan into a den of lions and says she will marry whoever recovers it. The sea captain does so; she offers herself as the prize

A harper comes to a castle. His playing wakes the lady. She orders him thrown into the sea. Afterwards, she can no longer sleep, and dies in terror, seeing always his eyes and foam-flecked beard.

The singer walks up to a girl and asks her why she is weeping. She says that the Lady of the Lake, carrying her true love, was wrecked off Newfoundland. He tells her that Willie is dead, and gives her his last message, but then reveals that he is Willie

"Here comes a poor (woman/widow) from (Babylon/baby-land/Sandy Land), WIth three small children in her hand. One can brew, the other can bake, The other can make a pretty round cake.... Pray, ma'am, will you take one in?"

Lady on the Mountain (I): (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2603}

Game or jump rope rhyme. "On the mountain top stands a lady, Who she is I do not know. All she wants is gold and silver, All she wants is a brand new beau. O, come in, my Sally dear, And out I shall go."

Lady Washington has travelled near the front looking for George. He is at the van "where the battle path began" looking after his men. She asks the gods to bring him safely home

"When Columbia's brave sons sought my hero to lead them... I rejoiced at his honors." The singer recalls Washington's war service and his political successes. Now he "Has forsaken us." She laments his passing

Lady, Lady, at the Gate: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #19295}

Jump-rope rhyme. "Lady, lady, at the gate, Eating cherries from a plate, How many cherries did she eat...." The player jumping counts the jumps

Lady, Lady, Drop Your Purse: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #19238}

Jump-rope rhyme. "Lady, lady, dropyour purse/baby/handkerchief. Lady, lady, pick it up."

The singer warns listeners against sex before marriage. A lady becomes pregnant by her love, who deserts her. Once the babe is born, she dies, only to have her lover kill himself with sadness

A beautiful girl falls in love with her father's servant-man who waits on table. She faints and when she recovers asks "in the kitchen carry me." When he brings her "dainties" she kisses him and professes her love. He is happy to wait on her.

Ladybug, Ladybug, Fly Away Home: (12 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #16215}

"Ladybug/Ladybird, Ladybug/Ladybird, Fly away home, Your house is on fire, Your children do roam." The extended version may instruct the insect to go to Flanders or elsewhere, and fly to the singer's love

When the king returns from traveling, his daughter welcomes him. A lord calls her very fair; her stepmother turns her to a worm. Child Wynd arrives and, with difficulty, transforms her back. He turns the queen into a toad

The singer's mother died when he was seven, and his stepmother enchanted him into a "laily worm" and his sister into a "machrel." When their father learns the truth, he forces her to restore the children, then burns her

Laird o Cockpen, The: (6 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #2859}

"The Laird o Cockpen, he's proud and he's great... He wanted a wife his braw hoose tae keep...." He comes to court the noble but poor Jean, who at first turns him down (but is sometimes expanded so that she thinks of his wealth and chooses to wed him)

Laird o Drum, The [Child 236]: (14 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #247}

The Laird o Drum, instead of wooing a noble lady, chooses to court a poor working girl. All his relatives oppose this, but he notes that the girl is willing to work; instead of costing him money (as his previous wife did), she will help him earn it

Laird o Logie, The [Child 182]: (12 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #81}

(Logie) is in prison awaiting death; Margaret would save him. She petitions the King; he will not free Logie for all the gold in Scotland. (The queen/Margaret) (steals tokens from the King) and orders that Logie be freed.

Laird o' Grant, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #5853}

Laird of Grant goes to a home, disguised as a haughty beggar, intending to win a daughter of the house. Her parents would have the beggar dismissed but the girl would feed him. They would have her stay home. She would go with Laird of Grant.

"One night, they parting, lingered long together in the dell." The Lord of Lauderdale finds his son with a girl and shuts him away. She contrives his escape through a ball hidden in a bannock. They are married. The father relents

Laird o' Musselburgh Toon, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #13036}

The drunken laird gave the bellman a crown to offer "a hundred marks Scots" to anyone who would let him "gae thro' this vault to Edinburgh toon"

Dialog between father and daughter. The father laments, "Dool and wae's me, Jenny (x2), That e'er I lived to see that we Dalziel's leman should be." The daughter protests that he swept her off her feet, and points to her son

Wariston (accuses his wife of adultery and) strikes her. She avenges herself by killing him with the help of a servant. Lady Wariston is arrested and condemned. (She begs the King to lessen her sentence to beheading. He wishes she did not have to die.)

When Lady Woodhouslie calls on a minstrel to praise Salton, Lord Woodhouslie becomes jealous. The lady, in fear, conspires with her nurse to poison him. The murder is detected and she is condemned to die

"I left old Lake Chemo a long way behind me, With many a tear back to Oldtown I came" -- but he would like to go back; fish and drink were there in abundance, and he had a good time with friends and girls. He will head back as soon as he can

Willie Leonard and a friend visit Lake Cool Finn. Willie dives in first, and swims to an island, but warns his friend not to follow, warning of "deep and false water...." When Willie tries to swim back, he vanishes (to fairyland?). He is mourned by many

A young man (Union soldier?), lost in the south, is taken in by a Creole girl. He asks her to marry; she cannot, for she is promised to another who is far away (at sea?). He promises to remember her always

Lake of the Caogama, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4534}

"Oh, now we're leaving home, me boys, to Ottawa we're goin', Expectin' yo be hired, and yet we do not know." The singer hires with Tom Patterson, and spends his time in a comfortless shanty eating bad food. He misses the girls and looks forward to leaving

Lake of the Dismal Swamp: (3 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #24154}

A man plans to meet his dead love at the Lake of the Dismal Swamp where she paddles her canoe all night long. He doesn't return but the two of them are often seen at midnight paddling their white canoe.

"A laky/leaky hip with her anchor down, her anchor down, her anchor down, A laky ship with her anchor down, Hurrah, my boys, hurrah!" "We're loaded with sugar and rum, my boys, and rum, my boys...." For the launching of the seine fleet

Lamachree and Megrum: (2 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #2873}

Each verse describes a farm hand experience. For example, "I there got buttered bread and cheese An oil to keep my shoon in grease." or "Betty Barbour was fu' keen, She had twa bonnie blinkin' e'en"

Jump-rope rhyme. "Lamashayda hi-a-lee-oh, Lamashayda lee-a-low. See the farmer swing On the apron string, Do re mi, Fa sol la, Do re, do ti, do re."

Expect the worst for some lambs at lambing time -- some will drown, some won't nurse, and foxes will take some -- but it all evens out in the long run. Besides, "it's aught that ye can dae"

Young Lambton catches a fish of an unknown kind. Wanting to know what it is, he puts it down a well, then sets off for the Crusades. The fish grows into a serpent that leaves the well and does great damage. The lord comes home and kills the creature

"Life is full of disappointments, Dull and empty as a tomb, Father's got a strictured penis, Mother has a fallen womb." Uncle Ted was punished for homosexuality, Sister Sue has many abortions, other family members and servants have similar problems

"Flanagan got up on a Saturday morning... He didn't remember the doctor's warning, 'Your heart's too big, Mr. Flanagan." He dies. Many miss the tavern owner; there are elaborate ceremonies around his death; even the Governor-General attends

The singer, growing old "in a foreign land, in a lonesome city" thinks "not a single hope have I seen fulfilled For the blood we spilled." He thinks of his home land. "My heart still lingers on its native strand And American land holds naught for me"

Lamentation of a Bad Market, The: (3 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #V29533}

On January 10 a carpenter starts a fire that burns a bridge over the Thames. A lord and the King, looking at the thin ice, bet whether a man's weight could be held. The king loses when three children fall through and drown. John is beheaded.

Hugh Reynolds loves Catherine McCabe who, by perjury, has him condemned to be hanged. "With irons I'm surrounded, in grief I lie confounded, by perjury unbounded; she's the dear maid to me"

July 12 in Stewartstown the Catholics defend their church, leaving 22 Orangemen "a-bleeding on the ground." O'Sullivan is jailed, tried, convicted, "and sentenced for to end his life upon a gallows tree." He refuses freedom and reward to turn informer.

"It's melancholy to relate Of three young men who met their fate, Cut off just in the bloom of day, For robbing on the king's highway." One of the robbers describes attacking Mr. Greenway at Nuneaton. They are taken, tried, and swiftly condemned to death

"By the Rivers of Watertown we sat down & wept, we wept... when we remember'd thee, O Boston...." The singer asks God to protect Boston. "A voice was heard in Roxbury" weeping due to the threat. The singer promises not to forget the danger

(Lamkin) rebuilt a lord's castle, but was never paid. As the lord sets out on a journey, he warns his wife to beware of Lamkin. The precautions are in vain; Lamkin (helped by a false nurse) steals in and kills the lord's child (and wife) (and is hanged)

The singer rambles until he chances on the Cargan fair, which he says exceeds all others. He describes the people, the food, the vendors, the police, the brawling -- and admits to coming home bruised and beaten

"Morris dance is a very pretty tune And I will dance in my new shoon. My new shoon are not so good, But I would dance it if I could"

"Cheer up your hearts, you tenant farmers, the land you nobly till, Pay no rent, and keep the harvest" is the advice of Parnell, Brennan, Thomas Woods and Michael Davitt. Thumb your nose at the landlord. Reject the champion spud

Land o' America, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6013}

"You native Scots, and relations all, A ploughman's wages is but small." Come to America. "There is plenty o' tobacco te smoke and te chaw" but beware the Indians. He says "nor yet will I forsake my dear, but I'll won gold and buckle braw"

Land o' the Leal, The: (6 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #8999}

"I am wearing awa', John, Like snaw when it's thaw, Jean; I'm wearing awa' tae the land o' the leal...." The (old man) recalls the hard times they have been through, and looks forward to a happier life

Land of Fish and Seals, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #V44606}

"Let Sunny India her wealth proclaim... We envy not her gaudy show." The singer contrasts "the land of fish and seals" with foreign nations: though "No great immortal names are ours," they can boast of freedom and "our living brave."

"In the land of Oden/Odin There stands a mountain Ten thousand miles in the air...." Every (thousand) years a little bird sharpens its beak there. "And when that mountain Has worn away This to eternity will be, But one single day."

Land of Potatoes, Oh!, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #V22446}

"Oh, had I in the clear five hundred a year" the singer would build a cottage and garden in Ireland, not roam to other countries. Those from other lands would stay here if they came once. An Irish wife, "so nice and complete," would make him even happier.

Land of the Silver Birch: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4550}

A pseudo-Indian ode to northern lands: "Land of the silver birch, home of the beaver, Where still the mighty moose wanders at will, Blue lake and rocky shore, I will return once more." The singer ends by promising to build a wigwam in the north

Land of the West, The: (9 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5990}

The singer urges his love to "come to the west... I'll make thee my own. I'll guard thee, I'll tend thee...." North and south have their delights, but the west is warm and fair. He again calls her to come to his own land

"There is an Island that's famed in her glory, Sweet poets have sung in her praise." Some prefer England or Scotland, but the singer gives his love to Ireland. He hopes that she may soon be more friendly to England

Landed in Botany Bay: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #V9223}

"My dear girl I am landed in Botany Bay, Nevermore to thy arms to return, Tho' I like a negro do labour each day, Tis for thee I am mostly concerned." He is weary, his tears stain the page; he wishes he could die rather than be separated from her

Landfall of Cabot, The: (1 ref. 5K Notes) {Roud #7300}

"There's an argument unfinished Twixt his lordship and the Judge, And the doctor takes a hand in For to settle an old grudge." All disagree on where John Cabot first discovered Newfoundland. Many claim to have special information from Cabot's family

"A landlady of France loved an officer, 'tis said, And this officer he dearly loved her brandy-o." As he prepares to go off to battle, they encourage encourage each other (primarily to drink more), "For love is like the colic, cured with brandy-o."

Landlord, Fill the Flowing Bowl: (19 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1234}

"Landlord, fill the flowing bowl until it doth run over (x2), For tonight we'll merry merry be (x3); Tomorrow we'll be sober." The singer describes those who drink water, ale, whiskey and/or court freely -- noting that those who drink deep are happier

"On a bonnie green knowe, by the side of the sea, Sat a sailor's wife and her bairnies three," singing, "Oh, it's braw to sit and see the ships comin' in." It's pretty to see ships leave, but better when they return. Her sailor returns to her

Don't love a rose that blossoms in July, fades in August, and will prick you when the roses fall.

Lang Johnny More [Child 251]: (8 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3100}

John More, on a visit to London, falls in love with the King's daughter. The King declares he will kill John, and takes him prisoner by drugging him. John sends a message begging help. Two giants come to rescue him, browbeating the King into surrender

"As I down Raby Park did pass, I heard a fair maid weep and wail, The chiefest of her song it was, Farewell the sweets of Langley Dale." She is forced to leave, and laments what she leaves behind. "Our foes have spoil'd the sweetest bower."

Lanigan's Ball (I): (13 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #3011}

Jimmy Lanigan had "batter'd away till he hadn't a pound"; coming into money from his father, he determines to have a party. A fight ends the ball when "Old Shamus the piper" was tangled in "pipes, bellows, chanters" and "the girls in their ribbons"

Lanigan's Ball (II): (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #3011}

Singer's wife died -- "nice and handy I got rid of her When she died I closed the lid of her" -- and he goes to Dublin or Magilligan to learn to the steps -- and comes back in time -- for Lanigan's Ball.

"The lanky Lucy Lister, Oi-yo, di-o, di-o, I never even kissed her, Oi-yo, di-o, di-o, Lanky Lucy Lister, I never even kissed her, But I seduced her sister."

Lantern's Gleam, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #9064}

"The lanterns gleam while yellow flames leap and play, And wild and vibrant music pours out, And the rafters ring as supple dancers gay Moving swiftly, circle about."

"Slippery Lanty Leary" and Rosie Carey are in love. Her father is opposed. He follows her anyway. Her father dies leaving her "house, land, and cash." He agrees to follow her again. Deathly sick, she asks him to follow her. "I'll not, says Lanty Leary"

"Miss Jones was walking down the street When a young fellow she chanced to meet" who is displaying oversize testicles. He is arrested for his behavior. He shows off before the jury as well. He is fined a barrel of beer

Chorus: "Largy kargy/weeny kreeny, haul away oh" We're bound for the West Indies. We'll have good food -- no more biscuits and molasses -- and dance and gamble. When we find the pirate gold we'll retire in comfort; no more bunking with cockroaches.

Shoemaker George McCaughey, having seen many women, is ready to abandon them for "Miss Baxter." He met her while teaching the "Tully band," and walked home together. Her family has consented to the marriage. He blesses the founder of the band

Lark in the Morning, The: (24 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #151}

(Singer) meets young girl who praises plowboys. The singer meets a plowboy. He takes her "to the fair." The rest of their relationship is couched in equally allegorical terms.

About Angus Munn, his size 14 larrigans, and the daily life in the winter lumber camps: sleep on spruce boughs, up three hours before sun-up, lunch, axes and saws at work, songs at night.

Larry Magee's Wedding: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #V1213}

Larry "dwelt in a fashionable part of the city An illigant fine mansion." The dancers, drinkers and eaters "at the grand wedding" are named. All the old songs are sung. The wedding ends with a grand fight.

Larry coaxes "Missus Brady, who was reared up a lady" to marry. There was a huge wedding party with dancing, drink and food. Larry gets drunk, confuses his donkey for his wife, gets into a fight "in defense of his darling" and is laid out "with a clout"

"Oh, Larry McHale, he had little to fear, And never could want when the crops didn't fail"; for he had property and 800 pounds a year. He has arms, too, and lives a good life. "Ould Erin would be a fine country to live in" if there were more like him

Larry's father leaves when he is a baby in Ireland. He recounts his rambles to England as a hod carrying, bog trotting, soldiering at Waterloo, and retiring "with a wife to spend my life, sport and play, night and day" to Ireland.

Jamaican patois: "Have you heard what I've heard?" "No sir." "The boiler burst, kill more than ninety." "Have you heard what I've heard?" "No sir." "Little boy, old man, Miss Matty, all lost, and cannot be found."

"Come on, all you cow-punchers, To the round-up in July, Where the Busters get together En the old broncs go sky-high." Cowboys and cowgirls gather from all over. "So whip up yer horse en rope along To the Cowboys' Re-un-ion!"

"I want free life and I want fresh air; And I sigh for the canter after the cattle/" The cowboy loved fiery Lasca "in Texas, down by the Rio Grande." Deep in love, they ignore the cattle -- and they are forced to flee a stampede. She is thrown and dies

"Beautiful dreamer, lash up and stow, 'Cooks to the galley' went ages ago."

"In storms when clouds obscure the sky, And thunders roll, and lightnings fly, In midst of all these dire alarms, I think, my Sally, on thy charms...." If the storm passes, he hopes to be home soon; in any case, "I'll think on thee, my love"

"As I strolled into an oyster place, I saw a bonny smiling face" who serves the oyster stew. She cuts her finder with an oyster knife; he hopes she won't be scarred. He must go home to Scotland but will never forget

A fine lass married a Dutchman. She had an affair with the baker. Local gossips tell the Dutchman. He gets drunk in the local pub and "came rolling home tight." He stabs his wife to death. In a frenzy of despair he accidentally kills himself.

Lass o Glencoe (I), The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #3923}

Singer reminisces about the lass he has left in Glencoe. He meets her in the heather and asks her to marry; she refuses. He promises to keep a lock of her hair. Last line of most verses: "I still like my lassie fae bonnie Glencoe"

Lass o Gowrie, The: (10 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3871}

The singer meets and proposes to Katie, "the finest flower That ever bloom'd in Gowrie." He says he has loved her since he first saw her in school and cares for nothing else in Gowrie. She agrees to marry, the old folks consent, and now she's Lady Gowrie.

Lass o' Ballochmyle, The: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6168}

One evening the singer sees and falls in love with "the Lass o' Ballochmyle." "Had she been a country maid" he would bypass fame, honours or gold if he could have "the cot below the pine To tend the flocks or till the soil" to spend every day with her.

Lass o' Bennochie, The: (5 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #406}

"Twas at the back o' Bennochie... There I fell in love wi' a bonnie lass." Her wealthy father, despising the lad, forces him into the army. He returns to claim the girl. Father and uncle pursue, but the soldier beats them off. They live happily

Lass o' Everton, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #7216}

"Mony a nicht she's gien consent To rise an'at me in, An' a' wish gae wi' yon bonnie lassie That dwells at Everton"

"There's toons wi' lasses roon That think themsels fu' braw" but the singer adores Jean, the "lass o' Gonar Ha'" He lists towns where "ye winna find her peer." He challenges anyone to "spot a bonnier" he can compare to the "lass whom I adore"

Lass o' Killiecrankie, The: (4 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #5680}

When the singer was young he followed the Prince of Wales's call to join the army. Now Jane McPhail, the lass o' Killiecrankie, has him "turning old and frail." He met her, lent her a hankie, accepted her invitation to sit but sat on a thistle.

Lass o' the Lecht, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5841}

A servant girl becomes lost in a storm on Earnan's banks. Her master organizes a search. The towns that participate are named. Searchers and bloodhounds fail to find her in the snow. Her body is found in May and buried in Corgarff churchyard.

Lass of Glenshee, The [Laws O6]: (28 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #292}

The singer woos the a Scottish shepherdess. He offers to marry and provide wealth and servants. She agrees, even though she is content with her life and herd. The singer looks back on years of happy marriage

Lass of Richmond Hill, The: (7 refs. 4K Notes) {Roud #1246}

The singer, a shepherd, praises the "sweet lass of Richmond Hill": he'd "crowns resign to call her mine" "I'd die for her, How happy will the shepherd be" who wins her; "may her choice be fixed on me"

(Anne) misses her love (Lord Gregory). She sets out to meet him. When she comes to his castle, Gregory's mother turns her (and her son) away. When Gregory arrives/awakens to meet his love, he find Anne dead (drowned) and gone

A maid tells a man she is waiting for Willie, a sailor who left eight years ago. She would know him by a scar. He says Willie was killed in battle and told him to look after her. She only wants Willie. Then she sees his scar. They marry.

Lass on Ythanside, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #13552}

It is spring and the singer thinks of his Lass on Ythanside. He remembers their summer trysting tree under the stars. He thinks of "where first we met -- and parted last Ah! ne'er to meet again." "Tho' worlds us baith divide" he dreams and thinks of her.

The singer overhears a young man, just come into an inheritance, propose to a maiden. She says she loves a sailor and hopes to be his wife. "No sooner had these words been spoken" than the weather changes, blows her sailor home, and they kiss.

"The moon on the ocean was dimm'd by a ripple, Affording a chequer'd delight," On a Saturday night, the sailors toast their loves, or the king, or whatnot, "But the standing toast that pleased the most" is to the ship "And the lass that loves a sailor."

The singer is on the road one January night and "to my good luck a lass I met." She invites him to her chamber and makes his bed. He seduces her. Next morning she says "Alas! ye've ruin'd me." He says "ye ay shall mak the bed to me." Presumably they marry

Lass, Gin Ye Wad Lo'e Me: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6119}

Dialog. He says he is a kind goodman and would make her lady of his land. She acknowledges his wealth but doubts marriage would make an old man young. He says she may not get such an offer again. She says he can leave "and mind me i' your latter-will"

Lass's Wardrobe, The: (8 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #895}

A young lady was vain about her clothes (her ragged garments are listed) and no lad would take her. The miller wouldn't after she lost her silver. "An' noo she lives 'erlane in a garret Wi' nae and but a cat an' a parrot." "Be nae big aboot your claes"

Lasses o' Foveran, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #13057}

Lasses of Foveran are "foul fisher jauds," of Meldrum "lie wi' the lads," of Skene are "black at the bane," but the flower of Kinellar would dazzle your eyes.

Jump-rope rhyme: "Lassie come home, Lassie come home, Lassie come H-O-M-E." (Pobably you can repeat even more than that. Or say "Lassie, go away.")

Lassie Gathering Nuts, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5131}

The lassie gathers nuts in the woods as they hang and then falls asleep. Three strong, "lusty" lads come by; the first kisses her, the second undoes her belt, what the third did is not to be put in the song. She awakens and thinks she's "slept too long."

"The lassie kens she's far better noo Wi' a hundred sheep and a sackfu' o' woo. [Greig/Duncan8: wool]"

"Lang hae we parted been, Lassie my dearie, Now we are met again, Lassie lie near me. Near me, near me, Lassie lie near me. Lang hast thou lien thy lane, Lassie lie near me." "A' that I hae endured... Here in thy arms is cured, Lassie, lie near me."

"A lassie lives by yonder burn, That jinks about the seggins, And aft she gies her sheep a turn, To feed amang the bracken." The singer promises that he would "row her in my plaidie" if she would "woo wi' me." He must leave but hopes to return to her

Lassie of the Glen, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #13604}

"Beneath a hill 'mang birken bushes, By a burnie's [stream's] dimplit linn [torrent]," the singer says, he and "the lassie o' the glen" confessed their love and would "fondly stray" Now, "unhappy" and far away he recalls those times.

Lassie wi' the Yellow Coatie: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2582}

"Lassie wi' the yellow coatie, Will ye wed a muirlan' Jockie? Lassie wi' the yellow coatie, Will ye busk an' gang wi' me?" The singer admits to poverty, but promises to work hard and be true. He warns: "Time is precious, dinna lose it."

He: "Lassie, will ye tak' a [wealthy] man"? She: "De'il take the cash!" He: "I'll buy you claise ... a riding pony ..." She: Joy is what you make of life. He: "Gie's your hand ye'll be my wife ... in love an siller rife Till death wind up the lave o't"

Lassies in the Cougate, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #8158}

"The lassies in the Cougate Kaim doun their yalla hair, The lassies in the Cougate They sing for evermair" -- but woe to the roving boys and the sailor lads who fill their lassies "full."

"I got on board a tote team, at the town of Taylors Falls" to set out for a logging camp in 1874. The team arrives after a long, tedious trip. One of the loggers misbehaves with the local women, resulting in a fight between the loggers

"So at last you have come back Since time at last has set you free...." The singer recalls his old love for the other -- but concludes that it is all over now: "No, no, you must not take my hand; God never gives us back our youth...."

Two soldiers, boy and man, are about to ride into battle (at Fredericksburg?). Each asks the other to write to his home should he die. Both are killed; no letter is sent to mother or sweetheart

Last Great Round-Up, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4453}

"When I think of the last great roundup On the eve of eternity's dawn, I think of the past of the cowboys.... And I wonder if any will greet me On the sands of the evergreen shore." The singer warns of the trail to perdition and says to follow Jesus

Two themes: singer's father is bound for "the German war" and tells what to do if he is killed; singer's mother is concerned about her rambling daughter's wildness. See notes for details.

"Dear love here's a letter It's the last one I'll send For my love's correspondings will soon be at end." He dies with the letter unfinished. She dies from grief when she gets the letter. Now "they dwells each together in a bright home above"

"Oh, they put me in the army and they handed me a pack" and sent him on a 20 mile hike. "I didn't mind the first 19 but the last one made me sore." "It's not the pack you carry on your back... That wipes away your smile... But the last long mile"

Last Longhorn, The: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #8015}

"An aged longhorn bovine lay dying on the river...." As the bull says it does not wish to live alone, the cowboy watches the passing of their era. The bull dies. The cowboy rides off; "His horse stepped in a dog hole and fell and broke his spine"

"Last night I had the strangest dream, I never dreamed before. I dreamed the world had all agreed To put an end to war." All the people saw the agreements signed, and rejoiced as weapons and uniforms are tossed away as the people rejoice

"Last night, our virgin, Mary mild, was safe delivered, safe delivered of a child." "Then God's angel" did appear to a frightened shepherd: "Prepare and go to Bethlehem" where Jesus can be found. "Then it was in the beginning... World without end, amen."

Last of the Wooden Walls: (1 ref. 3K Notes) {Roud #V44654}

"Here Atlantic's foam-wreaths float In aqua-floral tribute to a ship submerged." The unnamed ship's activities are recalled, the men aboard mentioned; we are told of the tears shed when her journeys ended

"Come near to me, Jean, come close to my side... That the widow's God may soften the road For my helpless bairns and thee, O." Burns bids farewell. After he dies, she kisses his cold lips and takes a lock of his hair. Burns is buried and widely mourned

Last Rose of Summer, The: (12 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #13861}

"'Tis the last rose of summer, left blooming alone, All her lovely companions are faded and gone." The singer promises not to leave this flower even when other flowers are "scentless and dead": "Oh! Who would inhabit this bleak world alone!"

"I am under your window tonight, love, Giving you my last serenade." The singer says he must leave the girl. "But in the days that are to come we may then be joined in heart.... Serenade, serenade, I am giving you my last serenade."

On Halloween the singer rides by the old church and overhears a meeting of testifying spirits. The church testifies about its history, including forced conversion "to Presbetrie." He hopes the new church will "strive to end as I began ... Pure Orthodox"

"It's a lesson to late for the learning, Made of sand, made of sand." "Are you going away with no word of farewell.... Well, I could have loved you better, didn't mean to be unkind, You know that was the last thing on my mind." Of lost love and regret

"Come press to your heart this last token, Though 'tis neither silver nor gold, 'Twill remind you of words you have spoken Too fondly to ever be told. When I'm far away a-sleeping... Your first love you'll never forget."

"At Nick Hert's mine near Trenton, where we put on eighty tons... we kept right on a-moving... And landed safe in Cleveland, Where we laid up for the fall." The singer tells of cold weather on the Ohio-Erie canal in fall, but will stay with the work

The captain and ten crewmen "perished in the ocean." A tug was sent out to salvage the Veteran "but the wind it blew so heavy and caused the sea to roar And caused the poor sailors to roll on a lee shore"

Last Winter Was a Hard One: (4 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #4607}

Two Irish women lament the hard times. Neither woman's husband could find a job, and both families suffered. They curse the Italians who have arrived to take Irish jobs. They look forward to better times when their husbands find work

Last Words of Copernicus, The: (2 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #15087}

"Ye golden lamps of heaven, farewell, With all your feeble light. Farewell thou ever changing moon, Pale empress of the light. And thou refulgent orb of day, In brighter flames arrayed...." The singer looks forward to leaving earth for heaven

Late Battle in the West: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #7764}

Another account of the conquest of Vicksburg by Union troops. The focus is mostly on General Grant: "Oh bully for our chief... Old Jeff is getting scared, Grant's getting bolder... Three cheers for Grant, and the Union forever!"

"Late last night when Willie came home Heard a mighty rapping on the door... Willie don't you rap no more." The song then veers to floating verses. Chorus: "Oh me, oh my, what's gonna become of me I's downtown, fooling around No one to stand for me"

Latin Is a Dead Tongue: (2 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #20758}

"Latin is a dead tongue/language, Dead as it can be, First it killed the Romans And now it's killing me."

Lauchie comes from the Highlands looking for work and enlists. "She always wore her ruffled shirt and clean was shaved" and made a fine impression on the Major. She becomes a drill sergeant. She leaves the army when the war ends.

"I'm Lauchie Wilson, the weaver's son, And I came from Rutherglen toon," He is fond of Geordie Wilson -- and his daughters, one of whom ran away. He will drown himself if no woman will have him. He tells of his work.

Circular rhyme. "Laugh, I thought I'd die, Die a funeral; Funeral, flowers; Flowers, money; Money, work -- Work? Me work? Laugh, I thought I'd die."

Round. "Laugh, ha ha, Hear the merry jest, But if you will laugh last You will laugh best!"

"As I was coming 'round the corner, I heard some people say, Here comes a dandy darky; here he comes this way. His heel is like a snowplow, And his mouth is like a trap, And when he open it gently you will see a fearful gap." Chorus is mostly laughing

"Laughter runs by in silver sandals shining, Stops in at ever wide-flung friendly door, Warm be the gypsy fire that we keep burning, That laughter may stay ever more."

Launch Thy Bark, Mariner!: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #27507}

"Launch thy bark, mariner, Christian God speed thee, Let loose the rudder bands, Good angels lead thee. Set thy sails warily; tempests will come... Set our course home." There is bad weather in the night. The gold is not worth keeping. Steer for heaven

"I used to work in the kitchen And wash the pans and crocks, But now I work in the laundry And wash the stinking socks." Brought up well, the singer falls in with a bad crowd, and stands guard during a robbery. The others escape; he ends in prison

The singer recalls sailing from Ireland to fight Napoleon with Wellington. He fights in Spain and all the way to Waterloo. At last her returns to find his love bewailing his death. He reveals himself to her; they settle down. He praises Wellington

"Lavender's blue, dilly, dilly..." Singer tells his lady that she must love him because he loves her. He tells of a vale where young man and maid have lain together, and suggests that they might do the same, and that she might love him (and also his dog)

Lavender Cowboy, The: (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #11213}

"He was only a lavender cowboy, The hairs on his chest were two." Troubled by dreams, the boy tries all sorts of worthless hair nostrums. At last he "battled for Red Nellie's honor... He died with his six-guns a-blazing And only two hairs on his chest."

"When the sun climbs over the hills And the skylark sings so merrily, Then I my little basket fill And trudge away to the village cheerily." The girl sells lavender to "keep my mother, myself, and my brother"; she cries, "Come and buy my lavender."

Get up with the lark (laverock) and get your line, hook, rod and reel. With your fishing a a bit of luck, you'll have plenty of fish to bake.

"The laws of Jersey state are such You dare not kill a snail; To Camden jail they'll send you off Without a cent of bail. They'll seize upon your gun For climbing on a fence And give you twenty years to boot... There's nothing like it, boys, you know...."

Charlie Lawson goes mad on a Christmas evening and shoots first his wife and then, despite their pleas, his six children. He prepares them for burial, bids goodbye, and kills himself also. The family is buried in a common grave

Lawyer and Nell, The: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #555}

A lawyer seduces his housekeeper. She has him wish the Devil would take him if he does not marry her. He deserts her for a lady. She conspires with a chimney-sweep to play the Devil and threaten to take him. They marry. She reveals the plot. He is happy

A squire's son loves a lawyer's daughter. He disguises himself to ask the lawyer's advice on how to get married against a father's wishes. The lawyer gives detailed advice, which the children follow. Presented with a fait accompli, he blesses the union

Response: "lay down, body" Leader: "I know you're tired," "you been toiling ... I know you're tired." "Soul need resting," "my God call you," "He will wake you," "tombstone moving," "grave is bursting," "soul is rising."

Senator and doctor Oliver St John Gogarty is asked at home by a lady in a Rolls-Royce to make a house call for a sick man. In the car he is abducted by rebel "masked ruffians" but escapes to the safety of the Civic Guard

Lay of the Ancient Valley: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #6612}

"My tale is of a battle, God give it worthy rime, That fell out in this valley...." "John" Rogers brings his small force to Lake Champlain and ambushes the Indians. He kills ten chiefs and many others; the dead still lie there

"Road and bridges and schools and churches Were among the original terms of purchase... But bridges and schools and churches and roads Are sought for in vain near the settlers' abodes...." The settlers of Dunedin are disappointed with their treatment

"Staples and Co. were brewers, And they plied a roaring trade," forcing those who rented their rooms to sell their beer. They make a large gift to churches, but the town still votes for prohibition. They win in court, but it will be a minor victory

Lay That Luger Down: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #24981}

"Sluggin' Jerry left and right, Havin' lots of fun, Till one night we caught him right, Now he's on the run. Oh, lay that Luger down, kid, lay that Luger down, Luger-luggin' Ludwig, lay...." The singer says why the German should surrender

Jump-rope rhyme. "Lay the cloth, knife and fork, Bring me up a leg of pork, If it's lean, bring it in, If it's fat, take it back, Tell the old woman I don't want that." Or, "... don't forget the salt, mustard, vinegar, pepper...."

"Lay your love lightly on a young man. For he will deceive you, then he will grieve you"

"'Tis twelve at night, and there upon the camp A foot policemen silent watch is keeping." The singer visits various businesses and drinks or buys, and "lays an information." "Next morning, the delinquents are seen" in court, and have to pay out 50 pounds

"There was a man in ancient times" who dressed and ate well "And spent his day in sinning." Lazarus comes to his door to beg, but is turned away. Lazarus dies and is taken to heaven; the rich man dies, goes to Hell, begs mercy, and is lectured

Lazarus and the Rich Man: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #7582}

The singer urges all people to listen as he relates how Lazarus suffered and the rich man ignored him. Indeed, the rich man enjoyed Lazarus's sufferings. Now the rich man is in torment; the listeners are urged to turn to God

The singer complains about his lethargic family: "My wife is such a lazy Turk, she will not do a bit of work." "My eldest daughter's just as bad; I really think she's lazy-mad." And so on, through son, servant, even dog -- leaving him to pay their debts

The workers set out for Sydney, but upon reaching Lazy Harry's, stop for a drink. And "the girl who served the poison, she winked at Bill and I, So we camped at Lazy Harry's on the road to Gundagai." The men revel until their money is used up.

The mother calls the girl, but she "won't get up, she won't get up, she won't get up today." The mother makes various offers to entice the girl; she refuses each one. Finally a young man is offered, and the girl rises.

"When o'er the hill the eastern star Tells bughtin-time is near, my jo... I'll meet thee on the lea-rig, My ain kind Dearie O." The singer will never be unhappy if he is traveling to see the girl. He loves the "hour o' gloamin grey" when he meets her

"Lead her up and down, Rosa Betsy Lina (x3) And I want you to be my darling." "Wheel and turn the old brass lantern..." "Swing corners all, Rosa Betsy Lina..." "All promenade...."

"Won't you lead me to the rock, (Higher and Higher/Higher than I) (x3), Shelter in the time of storm." "My mother is a rock...." "King Jesus is a rock...." "My God is a rock...."

Lead, Kindly Light: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #25816}

"Lead, kindly light, amid th'encircling gloom, Lead me on; The night is dark, and I am ar from home." "I do not ask to see the distant scene; One step enough for me." The singer was not always so humble, but now realizes to whom he must turn

"Oh Lord, when I am in the chains, Stop me from knocking out my brains, Send me an oilskin when it rains, And a smart relief. For sad and weary is my lot." When the singer gets to go off-watch and out of the weather, "I'll show them all."

Lean on the Lord's Side: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #12058}

"Wai', poor Daniel, He lean on the Lord's side. Say, Daniel rock the lion's joy (=jaw). Lean on the Lord's side. (Say) the golden chain to ease him down...." "The silver spade to dig his grave."

Leaning on the Everlasting Arms: (4 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #17383}

Gospel song, with chorus "Leaning on the everlasting arms." The rest is a combination of confidence in Jesus, comfort at being in fellowship with Jesus, and simple anticipation

"A poor little man living under the hill, And his name is Leap frog John, Old man is so joyous and easy to please...." "He's out at the elbow, and lame in the knees." But he is happy as he plays the fields as the cows come home

A rich father's son never had to work. His father loses all his money and advises his son to "learn to use your hands." A farmer gives him a job; he learns to use his hands farming. He marries the farmer's daughter: "well they used their hands"

Leather Bottel, The: (12 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #1307}

The stoppered leather bottle is better than any open container. It is better than a silver flagon, which is likely to be stolen. The leather bottle is preferred by many. When old it can be used to patch shoes or to hold odds and ends.

"I went down town And I wore my leather breeches. I couldn't see the people For looking at the peaches." "I went down town And I got a pound of butter; I come home drunk And I throwed it in the gutter." Or "Leather breeches, finger stitches, Mammy sewed"

"I'm a stockman and my work is droving cattle, WIth my whip and dog I set them at a rattle... Jog along (x3), Leatherman, In the wind and in the rain, Droving cattle for the can." The singer sleeps under trees, then sets out with his dog to herd cattle

Leave Her, Johnny, Leave Her: (23 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #354}

Shanty. Characteristic line: "Leave her, Johnny, leave her... And it's time for us to leave her." Tells of the troubles on the voyage and of what Johnny can hope for as the ship arrives in port. Some versions have a chorus

I hev a roustabout for my man-- Livin' with a white man for a sham, Oh, leave me alone, Leave me alone, I'd like you much better if you'd leave me alone."

Jump-rope rhyme. "Leave the rope, Stop the rope, please take end." Presumably a rhyme to change who is involved in the jump-rope game.

"((I'm/Brother Charlie's/Sister Mary's/Sunday morning) going to leave you in the hand) (x3) Of a kind Savior"

"I was in Leavenworth, boys, and my baby sent me there (x2), Just because I didn't want away, in most all day." "That's one no-good place." "Someone stole my gal, while I was in jail." "Blues remain all night in the Leavenworth walls."

Leaves are green, nuts are brown, "they hang so high they won't come down." In frosty weather "they'll all come down together"

The singer, who "never loved to tread" populated areas, asks that his body, when he dies, be taken "to some green lonely spot, Where none with careless steps shall tread." He recalls the flowers and birds, and can rest most easily among them

"Leavin' here, don't know where I'm goin', Lord, leavin' here...." "Went to the depot, looked up on the bo'd." "The water here tastes like turpentine, I'm goin' where the water tastes like cherry wine." "People around here treat me like a dirty dog...."

"Farewell Erin, I now must leave you for to cross the raging main." The singer is leaving Ireland for America even though his parents have lived in Ireland since Brian Boru. He misses his family's graves, and hopes the Irish will come home for vengeance

Leaving of Liverpool: (5 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #9435}

The singer is preparing to sail from Liverpool. He bids farewell to the city and most especially to his sweetheart. He describes the difficult conditions he will face aboard the Davy Crockett under Captain Burgess

Leaving of Merasheen, The: (1 ref. 1K Notes) {Roud #26627}

The singer remembers life on the "little isle of Merasheen down in Placentia Bay" and mourns having to leave it. "Those days are gone forever now and so is Merasheen."

The singer is sadly leaving England, and asks for his mother's blessing as he departs. He regrets leaving home, but poverty forces him away. He comments on England's social system that is so hard on the poor.

"All my bags are packed, I'm ready to go," hating to leave and not wanting to say goodbye, but the singer is "Leaving on a jet plane" and is uncertain when he'll return. He hopes a time will come when he doesn't have to say he is leaving.

"The Lebanon band is very green, And this you very well know, sir, For they sat up and sand their songs About their bags of tow, sir." With nonsense chorus, "Ri-oot the toot, ri-oot, the toot, Ri-oot the toot the daddy...."

Amish hymn in German.. "Lebt friedsam, sprach Christus der Herr, Zu seinen Ausserkohrnen." "Live peacefully, said Christ, to his chosen people." The hearers are urged to accept doctrine and listen; they are promised rewards if they do

The singer tells how Jak, the "haly-watur clerk," came and prayed in her face as she danced in June. He asks for privacy. "Wan Jak had donn," he rings the bell but has her stay. The girl's mother asks where she has been. Now her "wombe wax out"

Monday morning when I wake up We have our whale, 'e gon 'a Bequia." Little girl has "big, big botty" and "big big belly." Big big girl has "little botty" and "little bell." Chorus is variation on "Lee-lee-o Lee-lee/Lee-lee-o gon 'a Bequia"

"Come all you roving cowboys, bound on these western plains... We'll go back home again... We'll cross over Lee's Ferry, oh, and go back home this year." The cowhands agree that they will go home, but they grow old without ever returning

A soldier visits "Miss Lee" in Seoul, and contracts a venereal disease. He advises it is better to avoid Lee's hoochie than to have "Old Smoky," his penis, blue.

"A brave young raftsmen dwelt among the Potty County pines" in a poor home, but he is sure he can beat Jeff (Davis) in the (Civil) war. He leaves his Sal and sets out for war. She offers a leek hook as a token. He does so well that he kills six generals

Leesome Brand [Child 15]: (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3301}

Leesome Brand impregnates his love. When her time comes she has him take her riding, then go hunt, sparing the white hind. He returns to find her and his son dead. He laments his knife and sheath. His mother gives him St. Paul's blood to revive them.

Circular song: "Right from the country where I come from, Hay foot, straw foot, skip by jingo, Left, left, Left my wife at home in the kitchen, The old gray mare and the peanut stand. Did I do right? Right!"

"Left, left, I had a good job [or home] and I left. I had a good job At fifty bob, And I left, left, I had a good job and I left."

"A leg of mutton went over to France ... The ladies did sing and the gentlemen dance." Anyway, a man dies, a doctor looks in his head and finds a spring in which 39 salmon are learning to sing, with a pool for young salmon to go to school.

"When in death I shall calm recline O bear my heart my mistress dear, Bid her not shed one tear of sorrow To sully a heart so brilliant and light; But balmy drops of the red grape borrow To bathe the relict from morn till night."

Legend of Pot Sunk Ann, The: (2 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #5871}

Baron Keith and Ann Crawford marry and have a son. King Edward of England, pursuing the Scottish crown, visits them. He falls in love with Ann. Ann dreams of trouble. Her gipsy advisor tells her to flee. In a storm she tries to cross a stream but drowns.

"Up the republic, they raise their battle cry, Pearse and McDermott will pray for you on high, Eager and ready, for the love of you they die." The soldiers for the Republic die proud, bloody deaths to accomplish an unstated goal

Lehigh Valley, The: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #9389}

A stranger explains he is hunting the city slicker who stole his girlfriend Nelly "if it takes till Judgment Day."

"As I was a-walking one fine summer's morning," the singer hears the birds. "Arise, my dear... Arise, and get your humble posies." He will pick flowers for his love (Lemeney). He declares her beauty, and regrets that her parents have taken her away

Singer "cried all night and not a policeman was in sight." He hits Melda when she is ready to go to bed. "Lemme go Melda Marcy You bitin' me finger." The more he cries the more she bites. "This teach you not to hit a lady." She has bitten off his finger

"When I was just a lad of ten, my father said to me, Come here and take a lesson from the lovely lemon tree." Love is like the lemon tree: "Lemon tree, very pretty.... But the fruit of the poor lemon is impossible to eat." The warning is true

"Lemonade, Made in the shade, Stirred with a spade By an old maid."

"Oh, I left to make a fortune, in the glowing West, Then I returned at least to marry the one that I loved best, I had made a half a million in a mine of gold...." "Lenora, darling, I think of you only... Lenora, love me as I love you."

Fickle Nellie leads both farmer Lenshie and Gordie Ross to think she would marry. After "bemoaning our his muckle fate," Lenshie decides to court Melly Gray who has some money and waste no more time on Nellie

The singer sees a leprechaun and laughs anticipating a purse of gold. He grabs the leprechaun to claim the purse but is tricked into releasing the leprechaun. The singer laughs to think how he had been fooled.

The singer mourns for Les Darcy. He recalls "how he beats, Simply eats them, Every Saturday night." "(The Yanks) called him a skiter, but he proved himself a fighter, (so they killed him, down in Memphis), Tennessee."

Les Reeder's mother begs him not to work on Sundays. He tells her he won't any more after this one last time. Needless to say, he's killed on the skidway by a log.

Pretty Peggie is advised to prepare the cot, "For the fair-haired laddie will be here." "He winna lie in the kitchen... But he'll lie in your bed, Peggie, And you in his airms twa." With the harvest done, Sandy Fraser is coming to take her away

Leslie Allen comes to Black Brook from Moncton. He wanders from town one day and a search team of "three hundred men and two bloodhounds" follow his tracks "but the search was unavailing" He is never found.

"Leslie was a gambler, And dead up to the times, 'Twas him that killed Parson Nelson And didn't pay no fine. Oh, my baby, Why don't you come home? Told you once, told you twice, Told you if I told you the third time I'd be bound to take your life."

"Let Erin remember the days of old, Ere her faithless sons betrayed her; When Malachi wore the collar of gold, Which he won from the proud invader." The singer recalls various Irish triumphs and urges that we recall "the long faded glory"

"Let go the peak halyards, Let go the peak halyards, My knuckles are caught in the falls. LET GO!" (last line shouted)

The ship sails out the channel as the sailor cries out, "Let go the reef tay-ckle, Let go the reef tay-ckle, Let go the reef tay-ckle, My sheets they are jammed."

"Come down, angel, and trouble the water (x3), And let God's saints come in." "Canaan land is the land for me, And let God's saints come in." The story of the Exodus, and of Moses's role, is briefly told.

"Let me call you 'sweetheart'...." The singer professes his lover in the usual sorts of empty phrases

"Let me call you sweetheart, I'm in love with your machine, Let me hear you whisper That you'll pay for the gasoline. Keep your headlights burning And you hands on the wheel, Let me call you sweetheart, I'm in love with your automobile."

"Way down yonder in the middle of the field, Angel workin' at the chariot wheel... Now let me fly (x2), Let me fly to Mount Zion, Lord, Lord." The singer hopes to meet mother in Heaven, and advises avoiding hypocrites

"I have a mother in the promis'd land, I'm not so particular 'bout shakin' her hand, But I heard an angel singing, Oh, let her fly, let her fly. Lord, Lord, let her fly, Let her fly to Mount Zion and sit down." "I have a father in the promis'd land...."

"Let me go home, whiskey, Let me go out that door... Well, I'm feelin' so fine, But I just can't take it no more."

Let Me In This Ae Nicht: (7 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #135}

The (Laird o' Windy Wa's) comes to the girl's window (in bad weather) and begs her, "Let me in this ae nicht." The girl protests. He convinces her to let him in discreetly. She does, and he takes her maidenhead (waking her mother)) and steals away

"Well, I'm a soldier, let me ride (x3); Low down your chariot and let me ride!" "I've been converted, let me ride..." "I've got my ticket..." "I'm bound for Heaven..." "In the Kingdom..." "Troubles over...."

Let Mr. McGuire Sit Down: (7 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4249}

When Mick McGuire calls to court Kitty Donahue, her mother makes sure that he, a farm owner, had the seat by the fire. (Once married, Mick spends her father's legacy, or he proves poorer than expected.) Now her mother won't have him sit by the fire

The bartender is closing up, and demands that the "old lady in red" depart. As she starts crying, someone explains, "Her mother never told her The things a young girl should know... So do not treat her harshly Because she went too far...."

"Rouse! Orangemen, rouse! in God be your hope, For England is now allied with the Pope." "The Papists are plotting our Church to pull down." "For wearing a ribbon of Orange and Blue, The prisons were filled with the loyal and true" but we remain loyal

Let That Liar Alone: (14 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5120}

On the theme of the wickedness a liar can do. "Come to your house, stay all day...." "Tell you such a lie it'll surprise your mind...." Sometimes the liar is Satan. Cho: "If you don't want... to get in trouble...You'd better let that liar alone."

Let the Back and Sides Go Bare: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1573}

Beggar sings of the pleasures of his life -- drinking, starving, sleeping in filth, etc.

"Let the deal go down, boys, Let the deal go down." (Sound effects indicate cards being dealt.) "If your cards ain't lucky, Y' oughta be in a rollin' game." "I want to win for my sweet mama, She needs a new pair of shoes." Verses about (problem) gambling

"(Oh,) Noah, hoist the window (x3), Hoist the window, let the dove come in." Describes how Noah's neighbors scorned him for his work, but he had the last laugh.

"Let the eastern sages rise At a signal in the skies, Brighter than the brightest gem, 'Tis the star of Bethlehem." "Balaam's mystic words appear, Full of light, divinely clear." "Now the holy wise men meet At the royal infant's feet."

Let the Heaven Light Shine On Me: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #15282}

Chorus: "Let the heaven light shine on me (x2), For low is the way to the upper bright world, Let the heaven light shine on me." Verse: Brother (sister, preacher, elder, deacon) you must bow so low, For low is the way to the upper bright world, Let...."

Let the Lower Lights Be Burning: (5 refs. 4K Notes) {Roud #16709}

"Brightly beams our Father's mercy, from his lighthouse evermore." "Let the lower lights be burning, Send a beam across the wave, Some poor fainting, struggling seaman, You may rescue, you may save." In a dark night of sin, many are seeking light

The singer can't stay, but has no steamship fare. He doesn't like work, his wife controls his home, his sweetheart has left him and crossed the sea. When he dies, don't bother with an undertaker; dump him in the sea with the mermaids.

Let the Music Sprightly Play: (3 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #1341}

A series of toasts for a marriage: "Let the music sprightly play, This is Hymen's holiday." Toasts to "roseate" Hymen, "dimpled Innocence," "captivating Modesty, "country, friend and king"

"Here's to the maiden of bashful fifteen, Now to the widow of fifty, Here's to the flaunting establishment quean, And here's to the housewife that's thrifty. Let the toast pass, Drink to the lass...." The singer toasts all women, whatever their station

"I live in a town away down south, By the name of Buffalo, And worked in a town with the rest of the trash." The singer works in the factory, but the merchant takes the little he makes. The owners wear fine watches, but they will lose them at the judgment

"Let there be peace on earth And let it begin with me. Let there be peace on earth, The peace that was meant to be." All are brothers. All can live in harmony. Let this be the moment it starts

Let Us Break Bread Together: (2 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #16667}

"Let us break bread together on our knees (x2), When I fall on my knees with my face to the rising sun, O Lord have mercy on me." "Let us drink win together on our knees...." "Let us praise God together on our knees."

Chorus: "Let us cheer the weary traveller (3x), Along the heavenly way." Verses: the singer will, with Jesus's help, blow "my gospel trumpet .. wherever I go." "If you meet with crosses and trials ... trust in Jesus And don't forget to pray"

Let Us Now Praise Famous Men: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #25492}

"Let us now praise famous men, Ancients of the college, For they taught us common sense -- Tried to teach us common sense— Truth and God’s Own Common Sense Which is more than knowledge!" They beat the students with rods; bless their good work

Chorus: "Let us praise Him (x2), "Glory, Hallelujah, Let us praise Him, Oh praise"(x2), Glory Hallelujah." Verses: "I once was lost but now am found (x2)." "I never shall forget that day, When Jesus washed my sins away"

Translated Czech song. "Let us sing together, Let us sing together, One and all a joyous song Let us sing together, One and all a joyous song." "Let us sing again and again... One and all a joyous song."

Let's All Go Down the Strand!: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #V31313}

"One night a half 'a dozen tourists Spent the night together in Trafalgar Square"; they were planning to go to Germany, but are advised against it, so they all go down to the Strand to see what they can find

Someone is drunk or ill. The doctor is called and recommends rhythm of the head (ding dong), the feet (stamp, stamp), hands (clap, clap), hot dog (pant, pant). Put it all together: ding, dong, stamp, stamp, clap, clap, pant, pant.

Let's Go Back to the Bible: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #18220}

Chorus: "Let's go back to the Bible." Love brightens the darkest night. There's hope and strength in the bible. Verses: when you're weary and tired and things go wrong, or you're lonely, alone, and strayed from the path, Jesus will guide your way.

"Let's go down to the water (x3), To be baptized." "Oh the prettiest work that ever I done... Was to seek the Lord when I was young, Religion's so sweet." "I've gone to the water... been baptized." "Satan is mad and I am glad." "Let's go down to Jordan"

"We're gonna tear down the bar in this town. Booo! We're gonna build a new bar. Hurray!" The reciter alternates "bad" news ("The barmaids will wear long dresses") with "good" news (the dresses are "made of celliphane"). The men get much alcohol and women

"Oh, come along boys, let's march around the wall, I don't want to stumble, great God, I don't want to fall." "My leader, my tenor, my barione, God, forever stand." Similarly with sisters, brothers, deacons, etc. Other verses may float

The singer cheerfully greets the postman, only to be handed a letter edged in black. The letter is from his father, informing him that his mother is dead.

"There's a letter in the candle, It points direct to me, How the little spark is shining, From whoever can it be." The singer describes the "writer From far across the sea." Her last letter in a candle meant her sailor was coming home....

Letter that Never Came, The: (8 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4860}

Day after day, a man asks the mail carrier if there is a letter for him. Day after day, he is disappointed. The chorus asks from whom the letter might come. But come it never does; the man dies, and asks that the letter, if it comes, be buried with him

"Letters from Lousy Lou, Letters from Lousy Lou, Letters for you And letters for me, And letters from Lousy Lou."

"We git up in de mornin' so dog-gone soon, Cain'[t] see nothin' but de stars and moon. Um...." An enumeration of typical travails in a hard day behind a team of mules.

"I'm goin' whe' nobody knows mah name, Lawd, Lawd, Lawd, Lawd, I'm goin whe' nobody knows mah name." (x2) "I'm goin' whe' dey don't shovel no snow...." "I'm goin' whe' de chilly wind don't blow...." "Oh, baby, whe' you been so long...."

Lewie Gordon (Lewis Gordon): (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5777}

"O send Lewie Gordon hame, And the lad I darena name" The singer describes her true love. "O to see this princely one Seated on his father's throne!" "Weel wad I my true love ken Amang ten thousand Highlandmen"

"The lang leys[leas] o' Lessendrum, And the parks abeen Pittodrie, And I canna win where my lovie is For the weary leys o' Logie"

"I've got a gal who loves me so, L'il Liza Jane, Way down south in Baltimore... Oh, Eliza, L'il Liza Jane." The singer loves Liza at first sight, and so "Now I've got me a mother-in-law," plus a house and children in Baltimore, and a home which he loves

Irish Gaelic: The singer and her Liam (Willie) are married on the island where they live, but as he rows the priest back to the mainland after the ceremony, the boat sinks and both are drowned. She is left a widow on her wedding night

The singer goes to Coolea "on a dancing expedition." After the dance and drinks his famous hat is missing. It had been worn by Brian Boru, Alfred the Great,... He searches all Ireland but, finally, a witch tells him it is in the Lake.

"Liar, liar, Pants on fire (or "Your pants are on fire"), Your nose is as long as a telephone wire."

"We love our dear new land so bright, We sing of justice and of right." "We're marching on to victory... We're going to win the day." The pro-oligarchy politicians put the country into debt and gave away the land, but Samuel Vaile brings reform

"One day I was walking down a lonely road" and meets a man with a burden who says, "Won't someone help me... I want to be free... Oh where is liberty?" A poor man and a frightened boy also seek liberty. Why must so many die without it?

"Come aid the poor slave's liberation ... Democrats come to the rescue ... Whigs forsake slavery's minions ... roll on the liberty ball"

"The Bellman's called it round the town, And far and near the news has flown; Each wife seeks out her last new gown, There's liberty for the sailors." The revels are told as "every lass will get her lad And every bairn will see its dad."

"Columbus, a man of great genius, Came from the European shore [to America where] Great God himself has created A place for the Liberty Tree." Great Britain jealously tried to clamp down on the Americas, but they remain a beacon of liberty

German. Cumulative. "Ei du scheene (x3) Lichputscher, Di Lichputscher...." "Oh you pretty (x3) candle snuffer, The candle snuffer. Is this not a back and forth.... Back and forth, and the candle snuffer." "Is this not a short and long?" "A pair of tongs?"

"(Lie down (Daniel/judges/accusers/mourners), take your rest) (x3) O the lion in the den cannot harm." Daniel "locked the lion's jaw," "lay down on the lion all night," "sweetest rest he ever had," "New grave every day," "Hearse keeps rolling every day"

Lieutenant Lang and Storie Bauld: (1 ref. 1K Notes) {Roud #15111}

John Arinthrow was a coward: "as soon's the shot began to crack He in the ground the colour stack ... And syne he run awa"/"he turned his back And on the ground he tumbled doun and fyled his Bum"

"The life boat is comin', by the eye of faith I see, As she sweeps through the water to rescue you and me." The singer rejoices that the life boat will take him/her (and his/her companions) away from worldly sorrows and into heaven

The singer points out the difficulties of "life in a prairie shack." The tenderfoot can't handle the cold and rain, is thrown from his horse, and hits his toe with an axe. His conclusion: "This bloomin' country's a fraud, And I want to go home to my ma."

Singer leaves his family in Maine to seek California gold; he loses his money at cards and catches the "fever-n-ager." He asks for food, drink, lodging. Cho: "I'm a used-up man, a perfect used-up man/And if ever I get home again, I'll stay there if I can"

"Life is but a game of cards, which each one has t learn: Each shuffles, cuts, and deals a pack... Some hold a card quite full of trumps, while others none can show." Some succeed in love when hearts are trumps; others succeed or fail in other ways

Life Let Us Cherish: (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1320}

Let's cherish life while we can. Life is over too soon so, "ere we quit this shore, Contentment seek." "Away with every toil and care" Meet conflicts "with manful hearts ... Till death sounds the retreat"

"Oh the life of a high-country shepherd Is worse than the life of a dog; In summer you frizzle in sunshine And in winter you freeze like a log." The singer's only companions are the dogs and sheep -- and the pay is lousy. He hopes for a government job

"Life of a voyager, that of a sojourner, Travels around and round.... My heart has but one home, From which I'll never roam Land of true happiness Canadian wilderness." The voyageur hears loons and coyotes and prefers the life in the wild

"In the year of '80 I was born, In the town of Mount Desert, That lieth in the State of Maine Of which it makes a part." In tedious detail and feeble stanzas (130 of them!), Thomas tells his life story; he ends with a farewell and a thanks to his friends

Life of the Bold Buccaneer: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #V36066}

"The life of the bold Buccaneer Is ever joyous and new, Upon the wave to steer With a jolly and daring crew." They fly over the sea, and make peace with no one -- except when, in war, they are privateers "'neath the starry flag of the free"

Life on the Ocean Wave, A: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2033}

"A life on the ocean wave, a home on the rolling deep, Where the scattered waters roll And the winds their revels keep." The sailor thrills to the sea life, so much that he welcomes even the storms

Life Presents a Dismal Picture: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #10130}

The physical and psychological woes of a family detailed. (The problems are usually sexual in nature, and the family may be very extended.)

"Within a dark and dismal cell In anguish I do lie, Methinks I hear the solemn knell, Says 'Tawell, you must die.'" He seduced Sarah Hart. He was transported and came home. Then he committed murder; now he must die

"Life is like a mountain railroad With an engineer that's brave; We must make the run successful." The listeners are warned, in railroad terms, of the difficulties in life, and promised that if they do well, they will be praised by God the superintendent

"We're floating down the streams of time, We have not long to stay, The stormy clouds of darkness Is turned to brightest day. Oh let us all take courage... The lifeboat soon is coming To gather his jewels home." The joys of life with Jesus are outlined

Jesus meets a woman at Jacob's well; she wonders at his being a Jew, but when she sees it is Jesus she runs to town: "Come and see a man who told me all that I have done." He asks her for water; she tries to hide her sins, speaking of "race pride."

Light of the Moon, The: (3 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #21234}

In the first and last verses the singer complains of being true but deserted by his lover because he is poor. The other verses describe a night visit -- they sport and play -- ended too early by a wakeful cock.

Light on Cape May, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #9438}

As the ship sails on a pleasant sea, the lookout spots a light. The crew is given the good news that it is the Cape May light.

Jump-rope rhyme. "Light sky, dark sky, Peaches and cream, What are the initials of your dream? A, B, C...."

Jump-rope rhyme. "Light the fire, blacksmith, show the pretty light. In comes (Nellie) dressed in white, Pretty shoes and stockings, pretty curly hair, Pretty beads around her neck, but no chemise to wear."

"For this is the law of the Western range When a stranger hails in sight -- 'Jest tie up your hoss in the old corral, en 'light, stranger, 'light!" The range is hospitable at all times. They don't ask questions. You can stay as long as you wish

"Lights in the quarters burnin' mighty dim, partner... Must be killin' poor Shanty Joe. Please don't kill poor Shanty.... Captain, can't you see this four o'clock risin's 'bout to kill poor me."

"Fire lighted; on the table a meal for sleepy men; A lantern in th stable; a jingle now and then...." Cobb & Co men travel dusty roads and half-ruined towns to bring the mail and the news; "A hundred miles shall see tonight the lights of Cobb & Co."

"When you're weary, Feeling small... I'm on your side when times get roughAnd friends just can't be found. Like a bridge over troubled water, I will lay me down." The woman's dreams will shine, and he will go with her

"Farewell, farewell to my only child, Like a rough and rolling sea (x2)." "The lightnings flashed and thunders rolled...." "The storms beat high and the winds blew fierce...."

"Like an owl in the desert I weep, mourn and cry; If love should overtake me I surely would die." "I can love like a lawyer... I can love an old sweetheart Till a new one comes along." "I can love him and kiss him... And turn my back on him ...."

"Oh I'm in love with a brown-eyed boy And he's in love with me But he's in love with a whiskey jug...." Singer laments that her young man "likes likker better than me." She says she thinks of marrying him, but life's hard as a whiskey-drinker's wife.

The housemaid "wears her hair oot owre the croon To scare the lads awa" "... toothless Annie Her vera face wad fleg [scare] the rats ..."

"Lil, lill, Over the hill, Wash my lady's dishes, Hang them on the bushes." Rhyme for a tag-like game.

Soldier speaks fondly of his sweetheart, "My Lili of the lamplight," Lili Marlene. She has waited for him "Underneath the lantern by the barrack gate." The soldiers are shipping out, and the singer remembers and dreams of Lili.

"While the sun in his sinking beauty Was shining brightly in the West, A fair fortune maiden was thinking How soon she would meet her death." Lillian Brown, a Virginian boarding near West Durham Mill, takes poison and dies.

Two Irish Catholics congratulate one another on victory over the Protestants, and make nasty remarks about what they intend to do to them. The song was written by a Protestant Englishman, in a burlesque of Irish dialect

The singer describes the crowd gathered to see his execution "for the murder of Lillie Shaw, Who I so cruelly murdered And her body shamefully (?) burned." He recalls the crime, sees his parents in the crowd, and hopes for forgiveness

"'Twas a calm still night and the moon's pale light Shone soft o'er hill and dale, When friends mute with grief" gather around Lilly Dale's deathbed. She asks to be buried near home, by a chestnut tree and stream.

"Liltin oo, ooral oo, Liltin ooral ay."

(Nathan Gray) sets out across the sea to gain the money to marry (Lily/Lilla) Lee. One night he dreams that Lily is dead. He returns home in fear, to find that she has indeed died

Lily of Lake Champlain, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #25982}

"Tis of as fair a landscape as ever you did see"; the singer loves Lake Champlain -- and Mary who lives by it. They agree to marry; he goes to sea. He meets Catherine and decides he prefers "the lovely rose of New York town not the lily of Lake Champlain"

Singer describes the beauties of Lake Champlain, then the beauty of fair Mary, who glides on its waters. He sits down by her, proposes to her; she accepts with a blinding smile -- "She is the lovely Mary, the Lily of the Lake."

Lily of the West, The [Laws P29]: (31 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #957}

The singer courts (Mary/Flora), only to see her courting another man. He stabs the other man to death. He is taken and sentenced, all the while saying that he loves the Lily of the West despite her betrayal

A long collocation of (often) floating verses, with recurrent themes of gambling, women, comparisons between black and white, "rebels," all in no apparent order, with a variable refrain including the words "Limber Jim" and the chorus response "Shiloh!"

"Many thousands I've spent on Rachel and Ruth... Bridget and Pegs." A rich uncle gets the singer out of limbo prison; he'd "put you once more on your legs" if he'd settle down. He shows the girls his money. They try to get it from him; he turns them away.

"Lime stone water and cedar wood, A kiss from you would do me good."

Limejuice Tub, The: (9 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #22605}

A sarcastic song about the ignorance of new chums just arrived in Australia. Recognized primarily by the chorus, "With a rowdem rowdem a rub a dub dub, We'll send you back (or "drive them back") to the limejuice tub."

The city of "Limerick is beautiful ... The girl I love ... lives in Garryowen, And is called the Colleen Bawn." If I were "Emperor of Russia ... Or Julius Caesar, or the Lord Lieutenant" I'd give up everything to have her be my bride.

The singer, "a simple Irish lad," goes to Limerick to see the races. He hitches a ride on a coach and four but is thrown off for not paying. He tries to bet, selecting whatever horse finishes first. He enjoys a play when they sing "Paddy Carey"

Singer brags of being a rake; his fancy is young women. Rich men die "among nettles and stones"; he wants to be like wise Solomon with 1000 wives who will cry at his wake. when he goes to the tavern, he's welcomed "where Bacchus is sportin' with Venus."

Shanty or forebitter. Verses are in the form of limericks, and any limerick will do. Chorus: "Oh, the elephants walked around, and the band begins to play. And all the girls in Bombay town, were dressed in the rig of the day."

"For they came over the bounding main To fight their battles here.... They came the crown to stay, to save... but wimmen it was that ruint them all.... But there's no reason we should die for the want of a little liquor."

The singer has a hard-hearted jade. She hit him with a stool and a poker. He threatens to hang her. She goes to bed frightened and died. Her friends mourn but he has no tears and "wished them a joyful meetin'." He'll remain a widower.

Lincoln and Liberty: (11 refs. 69K Notes) {Roud #6602}

From Lincoln's 1860 presidential campaign, to the tune of Rosin the Beau: "Hurrah for the choice of the nation! Our chieftain so brave and so true, We'll go for the great reformation, For Lincoln and Liberty too."

Lincoln Hoss and Stephen A.: (1 ref. 8K Notes) {Roud #V6618}

"There's an old plow 'hoss' whose name is 'Dug,' Doo-dah, doo-dah, He's short and thick, a regular plug... We're bound to work all night... I'll bet my money on the 'Lincoln Hoss,' Who bets on Stephen A.?" Douglas's political problems are parodied

The singer meets a "fair maid," courts her twelve months, and she agrees to marry. He is "called away" [to war?]. When he returns she breaks her vows "for her parents sake." He will "roam this world" and hopes to find and marry some other pretty girl.

Lincolnshire Poacher, The: (16 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #299}

The singer served as apprentice for seven years, then took to poaching, "For tis my delight of a shining night in a season of the year." The poachers go out hunting, but are spotted by a gamekeeper; they subdue him and continue to make merry

Lincolnshire Wrestler, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1089}

There is heavy betting on a wrestling match between Bill Scrimshaw from Claypole Town and the Derbyshire Don. "He soon tripp'd up the Derbyshire Don" and challenges the Derbyshire bettors to put up a better wrestler.

Lincolshire Shepherd, A: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #1469}

"Yan, tan, tethera, tethera, peth'ra, pimp, Yon owd yowe's far-welted and thos yowe's got a limp." "There's more to being a shepherd than being on watch, There's swedes to chop and lambing time...." The singer telsl of the shepherding life

Charles Lindbergh's baby disappeared from his home last night. The kidnappers "seek a large ransom." His mother wishes her baby would return but he is with the angels. The kidnappers will answer for this crime on judgement day.

"Come smilin' Lindy Lowe, de pootiest gal I know, On de finest boat dat ever float, in de Ohio, de Mississippi or de Ohio." Verses have no story at all and only the second line ever changes, "Come smilin' Lindy Lowe, by de Gulf ob Mexico.." etc.

"What mournful news invades our ears? How the sad tidings spread." The subject of the poem (never named in the text) is gone, and many mourn. He was a good man, a patriot -- but it is all God's will

"Come friends and neighbors, lend an ear, A mournful story you shall hear, Concerning of a brisk young man...." He took his boat out; it capsizes, and he drowns. Listeners are warned that God comes for everyone

"Historic muse whose ponderous book Contains the facts of ages past.... How vast the sphere of thy command." The people of the area seek the two girls; Elmira is found before they find Lucretia's body. The writer asks God to let them reunite

"Lingle, lingle, lang tang, Our cat's dead! What did she die with? With a sore head! All you that kent her, When she was alive, Come to her burial, Atween four and five."

"Ladies give me money for (lingo / dancing), Ladies give me money for all, Lingo, lingo, lingo, lingo"

"All along, all along, All along, all along, All along, all along, Linktem blue." "Linktem blue is a very fine song, All along, all along, All along, all along, All along, all along, Linktem blue." Reportedly used to count knots while weaving yarn

"He promised to meet me at Linstead Market, take me out to a show." The girl waits long, but there is no sign of Joe. At last a letter arrives, saying that he "just got married today." He promises to meet her the next day, though, and take her to the show

The singer recalls his early days as a lint puller. He is kind to the girls he works with, and makes sure they do well. One day, Mary Jane chooses to work with him; they prove the best. They go home together, and now will work together at marriage

"I tint my heart ae morn in May When birdies sang on ilka tree... O, Linton Lowrie, Linton Lowrie, Aye sae fond ye trowed to be, I never wist sae bright a morn Sae dark a night would bring tae me." After wishing him back, she sets out to find him

A woman coming from Linton Race describes the affair: the pipers and drummers raised a noise; the horses and their colours were a sight in the fast run to the finish, but Lord Louden's rider won the silver cup.

Lion and the Unicorn, The: (5 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #20170}

"The lion and the unicorn, Fighting for the crown, The lion beat the unicorn All around the town." Details of the battle, and of the beasts' reception, may follow

When the young man comes to the girl's door, she confesses that she had once hastened to answer his call. But now he shows the signs of liquor; she warns him that "Lips that touch liquor shall never touch mine." If he sobers up, she will reconsider

"Lipto, lipto, jine de ring, Lipto, lipto, dance an' sing; Dance an' sing an' laugh an' play, Fur dis is now a holiday. Turn aroun' an' roun' and roun'...." "Er holdin' uv dis golden crown, An' I choose my (gal/man) fur ter dance me down."

Singer has 3 weeks vacation coming after 3 years working. On line for 3 weeks to get liquor he finds he needs a "book." He gets it, not saying how, "bought myself a bottle of screech and drank the whole damn lot" and dreams "queer old things" while out

"Lisa Mary Murphy, Lisa Mary Anne, Lisa Mary Murphy, And grab your partner's hand." Or, "Oosha (sic.) Mary Murphy," etc.

Henry loves a Lisburn Lass. Her parents' disapproval forces him to enlist for India. She offers to go with him. He says "All by my foes I am here cut down For loving a maiden in Lisburn town." He leaves her but promises to steal her if he returns.

The Ulster Protestants march to commemorate the anniversary of the Battle of the Boyne and meet an ambush at a fort at Lisnagade. There is shooting. The Catholic flag was inscribed "Hail Mary" but "my Lady Mary fell asleep, and so they ran away"

Listen to the Lambs: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #12260}

Chorus: "Listen to the lambs (x3), crying, I want to go to Heaven when I die." Verses: "Come on, sister, with your ups and downs, Angels waiting to give you a crown." "Come on sister and don't be ashamed, Angels waiting for to write your name"

Listen to the Mockingbird: (21 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #8079}

The singer recalls his beloved Hallie, who is "Sleeping in the valley, And the mockingbird is singing where she lies." Now the song of the mockingbird makes him "Feel like one forsaken... Since my Hallie is no longer with me now."

Little Adobe Casa: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #11082}

"Just one year ago today, I left my eastern home, Hunting for a fortune and for fame. Little did I think that now I'd be in Mexico In this little adobe casa on the plains." Life is awful. He wishes a local girl would be his wife, at least until he escapes

"Little Ah Sid was a Chinese kid, A neat little cuss, I declare...." One day, as Ah Sid is out playing, he spots a bee and, taking it for a butterfly, knocks it down and puts it in his pocket. It stings him; he remarks "Um bullifly velly dam hot!"

"Come all you young parents, I'll sing to you a song Concerning Alice Summers Who was lost so long." Little Alice, not yet two, disappears in the cold. For long hours she is missing, and her family almost despairs. But her tracks are found

Little Annie Rooney: (10 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4822}

"A winning way, a pleasant smile, Dressed so neat but quite in style... Has little Annie Rooney... She's my sweetheart, I'm her beau; Soon we'll marry, never to part, Little Annie Rooney is my sweetheart." The singer looks forward to life with Annie

"Johnny McConny bought an automobile, He took his girlie for a ride on Sunday." All goes well until the car breaks down. "He had to get under, get out and get under." When he can drive again, she wants to start cuddling, but the car breaks down again.

Jump-rope rhyme. "Little baby blue, Sitting on the table, Fooling with HOT PEPPERS."

"I have a little finger, I have a little toe; When I get a little bigger, I'll have a little beau."

Little Beggar Boy, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6355}

The beggar boy's mother is gone and his father is a drunkard who beats him. He misses his mother and wishes to be buried by her. Last verse: "My coffin shall be black/Six white angels at the back/Two to watch, two to pray/Two to carry my soul away"

"I am a little beggarman, a-begging I have been, For three score years and more in this little isle of Green...." (Johnny Dhu) briefly narrates his life, including nights in barns and a "flaxy-haired girl's" attempt to court him. He sets out on his way

Round. "The little bells of Westminster go Ding dong, ding dong, dong, The little bells of Westminster go Ding dong ding."

Little Benton: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #5580 and 5906}

"To little Benton I did fee, In Rhynie feein' fair," but it proves an unhappy agreement; he and Benton soon quarrel. The farmer tries to drive off the singer, who is determined to stay and earn every farthing. The singer warns others of Benton

The little girl tells her mother that she is ill (with what sounds like heart disease). She reports that a voice called her, saying, "Come, be my child." The girl bids her mother not to grieve, then dies

"Where are you going, little bird, little bird, Where are you going, little bird? I am going to the woods, sweet child, sweet child." What is in the woods? A tree. In the tree is a nest, in the nest, eggs, in the eggs, baby birds to sing "Praise the Lord"

"Little birdie, little birdie, Come and sing me your song. I've a short time for to be here And a long time to be gone." Often consists of floating verses, but concerns adultery: "Pretty woman... you made me love you, Now your husband has come."

Little Birdie in the Tree: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5259}

"Little birdie in the tree, Singing a song to me, Singing about the roses, Singing about the tree; Little birdie in the tree, Singing a song for me."

"Early in the morning, When I'm fast asleep. I heard a little chirping, I heard a little peep. It's from a little birdy, With the funny name" (which is designed to twist the tongue). The singer may feed the bird to silence it; the window may fall on it

"Leddle bit-a Niggeh an' a great big toe, Meenie miny mo. Leddle bit-a Niggeh wid a great big fis', Jes' de size fo' his mammy to kiss. Leddle bit-a Niggeh wid big black eyes, Bright as de sun up in de skies...."

Little Bit of Heaven, A: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5495}

"Did you ever hear the story of how Ireland got its name?" A small piece of Heaven broke off and fell to earth; when an angel finds it, he proposes to leave it there because it fits so well. They proceed to make improvements such as adding shamrocks

"Little bitty man, Lord, Lord (x4)." "Pickin' up san, Lord, Lord (x4)." "Grain by grain, Lord, Lord (x4)."

Little Black Doctor: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #19115}

"Little black doctor, How is your wife? Very well thank you, She's all right. She won't eat licorice, Sticky old licorice, O-U-T spells Out."

Little Black Train Is A-Comin': (13 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #11594}

Chorus: "Little black train is a-comin', Get all your business right... For the train may be here tonight." King Hezekiah is offered as an example. A young man lives a sinful life; when death comes, he is surprised and vainly begs for mercy

Lonely little (Blossom/Phoebe), left alone by her mother, sets out to find her father. She finds him in the saloon; when she interrupts him, he grabs a chair and attacks her with it. He comes to his senses, but the child is already dead

Shepherdess Bo-peep can't find her sheep. When she finds them they are without their tails. One day she finds the tails hung on a tree to dry. She "tried what she could, as a shepherdess should, To tack again each to its lambkin"

The boys play cards at Kate Day's with "Gullivan's little black pig" as the prize. An accusation of cheating starts a fight. "Such a battered up crowd sure the boys never seen"

"Little boxes on the hillside... And they're all made out of ticky tacky and they all look just the same." How people go to school and go into business and get put into "little boxes (houses) all the same" (except for minor differences in color)

English & French versions. Three Bristol men steal a ship and go to sea. Starving, Jack & Jimmy plot to eat Billee, but he asks to say his catechism first. Before he finishes, he sights the British fleet. Jack and Jimmy are hanged, Billee made an admiral

Little Boy Blue (I): (7 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #19703}

"Little boy blue, come blow your horn, The sheep's in the meadow, the cow's in the corn. Where is the boy who looks after the sheep? Under a haystack, fast asleep. Will you wake him? No, not I, For if I do, he will surely cry."

"The little toy dog was covered with dust, But sturdy and staunch he stands. And the little toy soldier is red with rust." Little Boy Blue "dreamt of the pretty toys," but an angel takes him away. Still the toys stand faithful

Alternate lines are a chorus: some variation of "Little boy Lonzo," "Lonzo, Lonzo," while the shantyman sings some variation of "Here come Lonzo," "Oh me Lonzo," "Little bitty Lonzo."

Little Brigid Flynn: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #39674}

"I've a nice slated house and a cow or two at grass"; a bachelor's life is "easy and he's free" -- but no one is looking after him. His father says he should find a girl. He wishes "Little Brigid Flynn" would "come and have an eye to me"

Bold McCluskey believes his steer can out-pull anything on the river, and backs his belief by betting that they can out-pull Gordon's little brown bulls. Despite McClusky's confidence, the bulls are victorious

"There's a church in the valley by the wildwood, No lovelier spot in the dale; No place is so dear to my childhood...." "Come to the church in the wildwood, Oh, come to the church in the dale." The singer recalls the joys of church as both child and adult

"When I was a little boy As fat as I could go, They set me there upon the fence...." The boy fights and defeats a giant, induces his hen to hatch out a hare, acquires a dog with legs ten feet long, and otherwise does the impossible

"They drive the cows home from the pasture Down through the long shady lane." "They know where the apples are reddest." These hard-working children shall one day be great. Many other secrets "are held in the little brown hand."

Little Brown Jug, The: (36 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #725}

The singer praises drink and the little brown jug it comes in: "Ha, ha, ha, you and me, 'Little brown jug' don't I love thee." Drink has turned his friends into enemies, left him poor and sick, and ruined his prospects -- but still he wants another drop

Little Brown Mouse: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #18503}

"Oh the liquor was spilled on the barroom floor, And the place was closed for the night. When out of the dark came a little brown mouse, To sit in the pale moonlight." The mouse drinks so much that it declares, "Bring on that gosh-darned cat! "

Little Bunch of Roses, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6238}

"I am waiting here to meet my darling," "My little bunch of roses." They kissed last night and he anticipates the same tonight. He fell in love with her when they met as children. Now she is eighteen. He recalls his proposal and her acceptance.

"Little (bunny/rabbit) (Foo Foo/FuFu/Froo Froo), Running through the forest, Sneaking up on fieldmice and Batting them over the head." Repeatedly warned by a fairy godmother to stop, Foo Foo refuses and is turned into "a goon"

A fair lady falls in love with Billy, a cabin boy. She tries to convince his captain to release him, but the captain will not. She bids him farewell, goes into a garden, and dies for love. Billy's ship is lost in a storm with all hands

Little Cabin in the Woods: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #36116}

"Little cabin in the woods Little man by the window stood, Saw a rabbit hopping by, Frightened as can be. 'Help me, help me, help,' he said, 'Or the hunter will shoot me dead.' 'Little rabbit, come inside, Safely to abide.' Repeat with variants

Little Carpenter (I), The: (4 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #1594}

Singer is courted successively by an old man, a blacksmith (who gives her a handkerchief and a finger ring) and a handsome young man (from Scarlet town!); she rejects all, preferring the little carpenter who, "hews with his broadaxe all day and sits by me

"This night there is a child born, That sprang out of Jesse's thorn." "Jesus is that child's name, And Mary mild is his dame, All our sorrow shall turn to game." "Three kings came with their presence." "Now kneel we down upon our knee."

"Little children, then won't you be glad (x2), That you have been to heav'n, And you're going to go again, For to try on the long white robe..." "King Jesus, he was so strong That he jarred down the gates of hell." "Don't you remember what you promise..."

Little Chimney Sweep, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #1549}

A chimney sweep steals the child while his mother spins. After three years, the child is not found. The sweep returns and is hired by the woman; when his boy appears, she recognizes him. Women are warned to keep their children close at hand

"When the tempest was raging And the seas running high The little Clara May came scudding down by." The ship strikes a rock. The captain says Dailey will come in his lifeboat, but he never does. The sailors are finally rescued by the Mary Louise

Little Cobbler, The: (7 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #174}

The butcher goes to London; his wife takes the cobbler to her bed. When a policeman shows up, she invites him into bed while the cobbler hides beneath. The butcher then arrives with the cobbler still hidden. The butcher finds and punishes the cobbler

Little Cock Sparrow, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3368}

"A little cock sparrow sat on a green tree" A "naughty boy" with bow and arrow says he will shoot the sparrow to make a stew and pie. The sparrow says otherwise and flies away.

"I met a little cottage girl, She was eight years old, she said." Asked how many siblings she has, the pretty child says, "We are seven." Two are dead alongside their mother, two at sea. He says that the dead do not count; she insists, "We are seven."

"Daddy came from Brownsville En Maw from San Antone; We come here in a wagon" with stock and horses. The whole family was "raised with cattle." Dad plays the fiddle and they dance. She has "A young cow-puncher roped." It's a good life

"Here we go in a little crooked ring, Boys for to whistle and girls for to sing." Choose the one that you love best, And I am sure it'll please the rest." "Irish potatoes, tops and all." "Kiss her quick and let her go, Yonder comes her mommy-o."

"My little darling, how much I love you, How I love you none can tell... Little darling, pal of mine." In words often reminiscent of the "Dear Companion" family, the singer recalls dreaming of his pal and wishes to be dead without her

Little David, Play on Your Harp: (23 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #11831}

Recognized by the chorus, "Little David, play on your harp, Hallelu, hallelu." The rest can describe David's exploits, or almost anything else vaguely related to Biblical subjects

Little Dicky Wigburn: (9 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1321}

Dicky's wife sends him far off to get her a cure. He meets a friend on the road who realizes the mission is a ruse to get Dicky out of the house while the wife and local clergyman make love. The friend schemes successfully to reveal the wife's deception

"Little drop of dew, Like a gem you are; I believe that you Must have been a star. When the day is bright, On the grass you lie; Tell me then, at night, Are you in the sky?"

"Little drops of water, Little grains of sand, Make the mighty ocean And (the pleasant/a beautiful) land."

"My uncle died and left me forty quid." The singer bets it all on Little Dun Dee in a match race. As the race progresses Little Dunny falls behind and the price rises. The pony falls behind the bay but just wins at the end and carts the money away.

Little Family, The [Laws H7]: (21 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #656}

Sisters Mary and Martha are deeply grieved when their brother Lazarus falls sick and dies. Jesus is informed that his friend Lazarus is sick, and hurries to Bethany. Finding the sisters weeping, he too weeps and raises Lazarus from the dead

Little Fight in Mexico: (7 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #736}

"They had a little fight in Mexico, It wasn't for the boys but the gals, you may know, Sing fa la la, sing fa la la, sing fa la la la day." Boys and girls "came to the place where the blood was shed," where (girls/boys) turned back but the dance continues

The "Little Fighting Chance" encounters a French warship. The battle is long, and the British take twenty casualties, but in the end they defeat the French vessel and take it home as a prize

Singer hears screams of his daughter, who's been attacked by "an awful, dreadful snake." He runs through the woods to rescue her, but arrives too late; she is dead

Little Girl and the Robin, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7545}

"There came to my window one morning in spring A sweet little robin that started to sing" "As soon as he had finished his... song A cruel young man with a gun came along. He killed... my sweet bird... No more will he sing at the break of the day"

A sailor bids his mother, "a lone, weeping widow," farewell. He promises to return. She gives him a ring, saying, "Wear it for your mother's sake." He does well at sea, but then his mother's letters stop. He comes home to learn that she is dead

"MmmEhh (or some other impolite sound) went the little green frog (x3) And his eyes went MmmEhh." This is the wrong sound; all frogs songs make some other sound. Eventually, a blue bus/red truck runs over the frog, and it doesn't say "MmmEhh" and longer

Little Harbour Bargain Store, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #25329}

Great men in great cities have had "great ventures" but the Little Harbour bargain store is "the very best of all" You can find food, clothing, ... , lunch. "They're coming from Joe Batt's ... rushing to the Little Harbour store"

"Well, our time is swiftly rolling on, When I know I must die." The singer therefore determines to turn to God. He asks to be buried on the "little hillside." He asks others to sing his songs. He says not to weep for him

Little Indian Maid, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #4807}

The singer grew up in American Indian culture: her father hunted and her mother worked in the wigwam. She helped her mother, but could not read, sew, or pray until the white man "taught poor Indians Jesus's name." She asks the Saviour to bless whites

Little Jack Horner: (10 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #13027}

"Little Jack Horner Sat in a corner Eating of Christmas pie. He put in his thumb And pulled out a plum, And said, What a good boy am I."

"As little Jenny Wren Was sitting by the shed, She waggled with her tail, And nodded with her head."

"The night was dark and stormy, The wind was howling wild. A patient mother watched beside The deathbed of her child." The mother prays for Little Jim. He he has no pain. He asks that she tell his coaler father goodbye, then dies; angels take him

Little Joe the Wrangler [Laws B5]: (20 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1930}

"Little Joe" runs away from home because of a parental remarriage. He is taken in by cowboys and learns how to herd cattle. When a storm starts blowing, he stops a stampede but is killed in the process

The girl rides up to the cowboy's fire. She is looking for her brother Joe. The cowboys, reluctant to tell her that her brother is dead, listen to her sad story of a cruel stepmother. At last, seeing the brands on the cattle, she realizes the truth

Little John a Begging [Child 142]: (10 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3988}

Little John (goes/is assigned by Robin to go) a-begging. He meets up with beggars feigning disabilities who do not want his company and they fall to blows. Little John overcomes them and is much enriched by their stores which he takes to Sherwood.

"It was early one mornin' And it looked like rain, Way roun' that curve, Lord, I spied a gravel train. O my little John Henry, Godamighty knows." "Now where'd you get your learnin'? Please tell it to me. On the Gulf and Colorado And the Santa Fe."

"Little Johnny England he went a wandering He went a wandering all day long, He went a wandering with his little panniken, He went a wandering all day long." "You are the butchers. You are the bakers. You are the candlestick makers... the broker's men."

"Little Julie, little Julie, I love you (x3), Swing open your window for me now." "I'll pick my guitar at your window (x3). Swing open...." "Brick walls are built all around me." "Six months on the ocean I'll grieve me." "Six months on dry bread....."

Little Log Cabin by the Sea: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #15142}

Yet another song derived from "Little Old Log Cabin in the Lane", but in this one the singer reminisces about the precious Bible his/her mother left behind in the log cabin by the sea

"There's a little logwood cabin way down in Tennessee, Where the morning glories creep around the door. There's a little yeller girlie, she's waiting there for me." They have played together since they were "little pickaninies." Now he hopes to marry her

Little Lost Child, The: (5 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #4651}

"A passing policeman found a little child... Says to her kindly, you must not cry; I'll find your mother by and by." At the station he realizes she is his daughter Jennie, with whose mother he had quarreled. When the mother arrives, they are reconciled

Jump-rope rhyme. "Little Lulu, Dressed in blulu, Down doing the hula hula."

Singer laments Maggie's drinking and straying ("Over yonder stands little Maggie... She's a drinking away her troubles and a-courting some other man"). He praises her beauty extravagantly, saying she was made to be his, but plans to leave town.

"The spring has come, the flowers in bloom, The birds sing out their lay... How I love her none can tell, My little Maggie May." Time has passed, and he is far away, but he still remembers the running brook and hopes that he "may call her mine"

Little Marlin's Race: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #15002}

"There were three knights, three very golly knights, Came from the north country, To run their horses at Newmarket." At Frampton Hall, they declare none can beat Little Marlin. They place their bets; Little Marlin wins; many are upset

Jump-rope rhyme. "Little Mary Anne who lives upstairs With high-legged boots and a feather in her had, That's the way she meets her chap...." The rest is lost

"Little Mary in her tent, And nobody comes to see her, But a little mouse. Rise, Mary, Close your eyes! Point to the east, Point to the west, Point to the little girl That you like best."

As the singer sleeps on some lumber, a policeman awakes and arrests him. He says he has lost his pocketbook and money, his crops are damaged, and he doesn't have a cent to his name. Chorus: "Little Maud, little Maud/She's the dearest darling of all"

Little Miss Muffet: (5 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #20605}

"Little Miss Muffet Sat on a tuffet Eating her curds and whey. Along came a spider And sat down beside her And frightened Miss Muffet away."

"It's little Miss Nancy, she's just in her teens, She loves and she says, I know what it means, The other day to her mother she said with a frown, Indeed I must have a large flounce to my gown, Singing, ... [chorus]"

Jump-rope rhyme: "Little Miss Pinky [Miss Blue/Green, perhaps based on the color of her clothes] (Dressed in pink/blue) Jump-ropes like a top, Oops, oops, she missed, Just like that." Or, "...dressed in blue, Died last night, at quarter to two."

Little Mohee, The [Laws H8]: (67 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #275}

A (foreign soldier) is greeted by a pretty Mohee. She offers to take him into her tribe if he will stay with her. He will not stay; he has a sweetheart at home. Returning home, he find his girl has left him, and wishes himself back with the Mohee

Little More Cider Too, A: (7 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7866}

The singer loves drink and Miss (Snowflake/Dinah). He wishes they were apples rubbing against each other in the tree, and for more drink. Chorus: "A little more cider, cider, cider, a little more cider too, A little more cider for Miss Dinah...."

"Mothers, don't you think it best, A little more faith in Jesus? Carry the witness in your breast, A little more faith in Jesus. All I want, all I need, All I want is a little more faith in Jesus." Similarly with fathers, children, etc.

The story of Moses in brief: Set adrift in a small boat in Egypt, he is found and raised by the daughter of Pharaoh. When grown, he leads his people across the Red Sea to safety while Pharaoh's host is destroyed

(Lady Barnard), left alone at home by her lord, convinces (Little Musgrave) to sleep with her. Her husband returns unlooked-for, and finds Musgrave in bed with his wife. Lord Barnard slays Musgrave in a duel, and then kills his wife

Little Nancy Etticoat: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #20055}

Riddle: "Little Nancy Etticoat (Nanny Goat, Hetty Cote), With a white petticoat, And a red nose; She has no hands or feet; The longer she stands, The shorter she grows." Probable answer: A lighted candle

New Yorkers: "takin a trip to see little Nassau ... bring all your friends ... drink you some booze ... champagne and whisky and lots of beer ... smokin a big-time cigar ... want your cocktail mix you come right here and get it fixed"

Little Nell of Narragansett Bay: (13 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3274}

"Full well do I remember My boyhood's happy hours... The bright and sparkling water O'er which we used to sail." The singer and Nell were never afraid at sea. But one day her body is found by the shore. Ten years later, he still weeps for the girl

Little Nellie In Her Tent: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #19596}

"Little Nellie in her tent, She can't afford to pay her rent. The landlord came and put her out, Put her out (x3). It's not because she's dirty, It's not because she's clean, But because she has the whooping cough And the measles in between"

If not for Walter Raleigh "I wouldn't be smoking my old dudeen." The singer smokes to keep peace when his wife grumbles. At his wake there'll be poteen but "into me gob, so help me bob, you'll find me old dudeen"

The singer recalls the happy time when he and the old folks partied with the fiddle and banjo. Now death has taken his (Rose/Rosalie) "From the little old log cabin by the stream." She was killed by "swamp fever"; and others are likely to be taken also

Singer, a former slave, is getting old and can't work; his master and mistress and fellow slaves are gone; only his old dog remains. His home is falling apart. He recalls the dances they used to have. He hopes the angels will watch over him.

"A little old man (or My old man) and I fell out, How shall we bring this matter about? Bring it about as well as you can, Get you gone, you little old man." Or, "...fell out, And what do you think it was about? He had money and I had none...."

The singer recalls how his father sold the livestock to send him across the sea, "For in Paddy's land but poverty you'll find." The singer misses home, mother, the local music; he wishes he were still there

"You may sing about the little old log cabin in the lane, Or of the little German home across the sea," but the singer prefers his prairie claim. They live on game. There are no towns except the ones made by prairie dogs. But now the area is being settled

The singer admits, "I'm looking rather seedy while holding down my claim." His little sod shanty is made of poor materials and is infested by mice. He recalls the easier life out east, and wishes a girl would join him

Jump-rope rhyme. "Little Orphan Annie Sitting in the sun, Had a piece of bologny And wouldn't give me none. Take a bite, take a bite, It's good for your appetite."

Little Pack of Tailors, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3053}

"I went to Dublin and met a little tailor, I stuck him in my pocket for fear the ducks would eat him, The dogs began to bark at him and I began to beat him, And I threw him in the water for fear the ducks would eat him."

"Little Peter Rabbit had a fly upon his nose (x3), So he flipped it and he flopped it And the fly flew away." "Powder puffs and curly whiskers (x3), So he flipped it and he flopped it And the fly flew away."

Little Piece of Whang, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #8384}

When the Lord sewed up Adam and Eve, He measured wrong, leaving Adam with a little piece of whang, and Eve with a gap. Ever since then, men have sought to lend women a bit of the whang to fill the gap.

"I've got a little old pile of tin, Nobody knows what shape it’s in. Got four wheels and a runningboard -- It’s a Ford, oh it’s a Ford! Honk honk, rattle rattle rattle, crash! Beep! Beep! (x3), Honk, honk!"

"My pretty little Pink, I once did think, That you and I would marry." The singer complains that the girl has taken too long to make up her mind. In some versions he is a soldier who sets out to see the sights and fight in the Mexican War

Little Polly Flinders: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #19767}

"Little Polly Flinders, Sat among the cinders, Warming her pretty little toes. Her mother came and caught her, And whipped her little daughter For spoiling her nice new clothes."

"Hop! Hop! Hop! Nimble as a top! Where 'tis smooth and where 'tis stony, Trudge along my little pony. Hop, hop, hop...." "Whoa, whoa, whoa, How like fun you go, Stop, you jade!... If you don't I'll surely sell you." "Here!... Sure enough we're there"

Children's game: "Little poppa-rich you draw your long lannet/Sit by the fire and spin/The hen's in the window a-combing her hair/The cat in the corner a-frying his fish... Cocka-pen dungle a-blowing his horn/The wind was high and it blowed him away"

In this maudlin ballad, a young conductor is taking his bride to the city for their honeymoon. The train collides with the express, and the bride is killed. Now the old white-haired conductor "rides all alone In that little red caboose behind the train."

"Now I am a jolly railroad man and braking is my trade." He tells of the enjoyable life throwing switches and making up trains, and mentions the "jolly crew" resting in the little red caboose. He wishes luck and the attention of angels for the crew

Singer, a railroader, says he's getting old and feeble, and the only friend he has is the caboose (or his watch). He reminisces about working as a brakeman on the L&N and Southern railroads, and ironically wishes his young successors well

"Bill Jackson was a brakeman on number 51." Engineer Dad Mendenhall loses his brakes on Crooked Hill. The crew scrambles to set the brakes by hand in icy weather. Bill is thrown from the train and dies; his body is brought home in the caboose

"I will sing you a little song, won't entertain you long, 'Bout the hoboes that promenade the streets." The hobos travel about, suffering in the cold, wishing they could be in the caboose.

"Little red caboose, chug chug chug (x2), Little red caboose behind the train, train, train, train Smoke stacks on his back, back, back, back Comin’ ‘round the track, track, track, track, Little red caboose behind the train. Whoo-whoo."

"The little red fox is a raider sly" taking ducks, cocks, and geese for "a family young and growing." He is a "family man," a "hero bold" and a "gallant knight." He is finally "taken 'mongst the rocks, For the love of two bright eyes dying"

A house by the sea always had a light in the window. The fisherman comes home one night "his fish being unsold" and turns off the light to have peace. He learns that a barque, following the light, sank and many lives were lost when the light vanished

"Said the big red rooster to the little red hen, You ain't laid an egg since the Lord knows when," to which she answered, "Then why don't you act the way you used to?" They meet in the barn, "And they did what they used to do till the Lord knows when"

Little Red Train, The: (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #9859}

A quatrain ballad, this describes the sexual activities and practices of the train crew and passengers. Recognized by the internal chorus, "(She/It) blew, (She/it) blew" and the final line "How (she/it) blew."

Little Robin Redbreast: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #20613}

"Little Robin Redbreast Sat upon a rail, Niddle noddle went his head Wiggle waggle went his tail."

"Little Robin Redbreast sat upon a tree, Up went Pussy Cat and down went he." Pussy follows Robin; Robin says "Catch me if you can." Pussy leaps and almost falls. Pussy meows; robin flies away

Little Rosewood Casket: (40 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #426}

The singer, dying for love, asks her sister to bring her love's letters, kept in the rosewood casket. Having heard them read, she prepares to die and asks that the letters, (ring), and other tokens be buried with her

Little Sally Walker: (37 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4509}

"Little Sally Walker, sitting in (a saucer), Cryin' (for the old man to come for the dollar), (Ride, Sally, Ride). (Fly) to the east, (fly) to the west, (Fly) to the one that you love best."

Little Seaside Village, The: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7422}

"To a little seaside village came a youth one summer day." He wooed a girl, but then left a letter, "Goodbye, I'm going home." A year later he decides he loves her; her father shows him her grave; her message to him was "Goodbye, I'm going home."

Little Ship Was on the Sea, A: (8 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #13517}

A ship is overtaken by storm "And all but One were sore afraid Of sinking in the deep." "He to the storm said, 'Peace, be still!' The raging billows cease" "It was the Lord, The Saviour and the Friend"

"They're the little ships that Winston Churchill forgot, And he didn't know when one of them got lost. He'd not forget the Rodney, the Nelson or the Hood," but they do the hard work of escorting convoys, and suffer greatly, and are ignored

"When all the little ships come sailing home Across the sea, Their weary journey ended, Their way wended, Home, where they would be. They sail across the bar. Where no storms are, All dangers past. And two by two together Come sailing home at last."

"I'm Daniel O'Connor, an orphan I am, My father and mother both lately did die, But, 'I clean your boots, Shall I shine your boots!' It's all day long I cry. Just give me one try and I'm sure you'll come back, Please to encourage this little shoe black."

"Little Sir Echo, how do you do? Hello (Hello) Hello (Hello), Little Sir Echo, will answer you Hello (Hello) Hello (Hello).... Won’t you come over and play? You’re a nice little fellow... But you’re always so far away." Other verses may ask why Echo hides

"Oh, bow and bow, put your arms around me; Say, little Sissy, won't you marry me? Oh, how and bow, put your arms around me, All those sassy words you say, Oh, bow and bow, put your arms around me; say, Little Sissy, won't you marry me?"

"A little streak o' lean, an' a little streak o' fat, Ole Massa grumble ef you eat much o' dat!"

Little Sweetheart in the Spring: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1755}

"On a lovely summer's evening, when all the world was still," two lovers meet. He must leave, but "You'll be happy little sweethearts in the spring, Those wedding bells for you will surely ring." But he is killed in battle; the bells never ring

Little Swiler, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #V44662}

"He was such a very little chap, Blue eyes and sunny smile"; when the boy's father becomes ill, the youth sneaks off (with a knife but no gaff) to take a seal. A band of sealers finds him, feeds him, takes him home, for he "was really only ten"

Little Talk with Jesus, A: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #20886}

Chorus: ("A little talk with Jesus makes it right, all right"(2x) "Troubles of every kind, Thank God I'll always find, I little talk with Jesus makes it right all right.") See Notes for comments on verses

Little Thatched Cabin, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #8121}

The singer recalls the "little thatched cabin Where first shone the light of my life's early morn." He describes learning from and working for his parents. Now he is old, "and kind fortune smiles on me," but he would trade the fortune to be a boy again

Little Tirpitz Has Lost His Ships: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #25464}

"Little Tirpitz has lost his ships And doesn't know where to find them, They're bottled up safe in the Kiel Canal With a British fleet behind them."

"Little Tommy Pinkerton, the fat by, Went to see his uncle Brown" who gave him half a crown. Tommy uses it to buy "six lemonades and a dozen ginger beer" -- and explodes. Now they need a tombstone for "Tommy's fragments."

Little Tommy Tinker: (8 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #19618}

Round. "Little Tommy Tinker sat on a clinker And he began to cry, MA! MA! Poor little innocent guy/boy."

Little Tommy Tucker: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #19618}

"Little Tom(my) Tucker sings for his supper. What shall he eat? (White/Brown) bread and butter. How will he cut it without any knife? How will he marry without a wife?"

Little Town in the Old County Down: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #13214}

"If I had the wings of a swallow" I would go across the sea, back to "the dear little town in the old County Down." Singer thinks of his sweetheart, left behind. "Like the black sheep of old I'll come back to the fold"

The little white cat finds her kitten "dead in the hay of a manger." The sad mother brings the dead body home. The pretty kitten had never broken anything and had no enemies except mice.

Come on fathers and let's go home, I'm a-going where my troubles will be over, will be over, will be over I'm a-going where... There's a little white robe a-waiting for me, I'm a-going where..." Repeat for mothers, brothers, etc.

"He gave me a rose, a pretty white rose, And asked me to wear it for him." She recalls their happy days together. Later, he is found dead, having thrown himself into the stream with a rose in his mouth.

"Little Willie went to heaven On a bright an' starry night, When I last viewed him in his coffin In his little Sunday suit." The singer describes the possessions the boy left behind. His sister hopes to meet him soon. Jesus will care for him.

"A birdie with a yellow bill Hopped upon my window sill, Cocked his shining eye and said: 'Ain't you 'shamed, you sleepy-head!'"

The singer bids farewell to his mother as his ship sails away from Liverpool Dock. He hopes to return to his home, but there will be no one to meet him

"When Liverpool John was just sixteen he went away to sea." "And he tries to settle down, he tries to stay on shore, But every time he gets itchy feet and he's off to sea once more." The song describes his absurd attempts to make a living on land

The young sailor sets out from England to America. But a wild, drunken life lands him at the boarding-master's. Back at sea, he suffers cruelly at the hands of the mate (whom he curses to hell). (At last he arrives back in port)

"'Twas in the' cold month of December... I shipped in the clipper ship 'Defender....'" The singer complains of sailing along with a lot of foreigners who "didn't know a word of English But answered to the name o' 'Month's advance.'"

Alternate lines are "Living humble, living humble" The mourner must believe "Christ is waiting to receive" Only the righteous will get to "King Jesus camp" The singer prays "to my God until I come through" Converted, the singer has tried to live humble

"When you get married and living on a hill, I will send you a kiss by a whippoorwill."

Living on the Hallelujah Side: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #12646}

Singer, once a sinner perishing with cold, is rescued by Jesus, and would not leave "this precious place." Chorus: "Glory be to Jesus, let the hallelujahs roll/Help me to ring the Saviour's praises far and wide... And I'm a-living on the hallelujah side"

The singer offers herself to earn money to pay the fine for her man, serving on the chain gang.

Liza Jane: (30 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #825 and 4210}

"Goin' up on the mountain To plant a patch of cane, Make a jug of 'lasses To sweeten Liza Jane. O po' Liza, po' gal, O po' Liza Jane, O po' Liza, po' gal, She died on the train." About moonshine, courting Liza Jane, (and dodging work if possible)

Lizie Lindsay [Child 226]: (14 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #94}

A young man comes to court Lizie Lindsay, asking her to come to the Highlands with him. Neither she nor her relatives are interested. He then reveals that he is a rich lord (the Lord of the Isles?); she changes her mind

Lizie Wan [Child 51]: (16 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #234}

(Geordy) finds his sister (Lizie Wan) crying. When he asks why, he is told that she is pregnant by him. He kills her to hide his crime. He is revealed by the blood on his sword, and is forced away from home

Sundry comments on the Fall River murders, e.g. "Lizzie Borden took an axe, and gave her mother forty whacks"; "There's no evidence of guilt, Lizzie Borden, That should make your spirit wilt." The poems/songs are not all derived from a single source

The singer, who has moved to Bee's Hotel to sleep with Lizzie Brown, extols the lady's lack of virtues.

Lizzie Laing Began the Play: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #13564}

"Lizzie Laing began the play Baubie Dick beet [bet] to hae Sara Dunn pat up a limmer [scoundrel] Cause she gat a sup in simmer"

"Miss Lizzie Watson is my name, I brought myself to grief and shame, By loving one that neer loved me." The time when they were to be marred has passed; he avoids her. She intends to drown herself. Dig her grave both wide and deep

Spanish (Mexican). "La pena y la que no es pena, ay llorona, Todo es pena para mi." The Weeping (Woman), La Llorona, is a ghost who seeks her children, whom she killed or who died in a plague.

Lloyd George won the great war but he'd still "better keep clear from the boys of Fair Hill"; the Germans had intended to capture Ireland. The bishops say only Freestaters get to heaven but there is a spot reserved for the boys of Fair Hill.

"Lloyd George knew my father, my father knew Lloyd George." Repeat until exhausted

"Lloyd George, no doubt, when his life pegs out Will ride in a fiery chariot... Twixt Satan and Judas Iscariot. Ananias that day to the Devil will say... Move me up one higher, away from the fire, And make room for the liar from Wales"

Lloyd George's Beer: (2 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #V53407}

"We shall win the war. We shall win the war. As I said before, we shall win the war," because they have the beer -- "Lloyd George's Beer (x2). At the brewery, there's nothing doing All the water works are brewing." It's the worst thing in the war

"Lo, a Temple long expected In St. George shall stand By God's faithful Saints erected Here in Dixie land." It is a pleasure to have a proper home of their religion. The singer hopes for future success

The young man comes to Ballymoney to sell his kail plants. He does his business with various buyers, then sets out to seek a wife. He finds a girl, offers her tea, kisses her, asks her name, and presumably asks if she wishes to marry

"I'll tell you how we load the pulp." The loading crew is named we are told how "they like to dine at Mrs Clay." "It is a very dangerous job." Pulp is poor at low price in 1953 and 1954 but "but the wages isn't bad"

"'Tis the last greenback dollar left crumpled alone, All the fives, tens, and twenties are gambled and gone." The singer laments his current poverty: "When greenbacks have vanished and specie has flown, Oh who would inhabit this hard world alone?"

Amish song, the second one used in some of their services. "O Gott, Vater, wir loben dich, Dich, und deine Gute preisen." "O God, Father, we love you, You, and your goodness."The song gives thanks for God's presence

"As I was walking with my lover, Down a glen that was so fair, There I heard a piper playing...." The singer sits in the heather with his love as the piper plays "Loch Duich." "There I won and wooed my lassie." He hopes friends will be together again

Singer laments parting from his/her love by Loch Lomond, noting "the broken heart it kens nae second spring." Chorus: "You'll take the high road and I'll take the low road And I'll be in Scotland before ye But me and my true love will never meet again..."

Loch na Garr (Lachin Y Gair): (7 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2436}

The singer is in England, a land of "a million luxuries," but longs for Caledonia. He remembers his childhood, his plaid and "traditional story ... on cheiftains long perished." As "one who has rambled o'er countries afar" he prefers "dark Lough Na Garr"

"At nicht i' my fun, when late I was rovin'" in May, the singer sees a beautiful Portnay girl talking with a rover. Then her long-time swain shows up, and is shocked to find her showing affection for another man. The singer warns against trusting women

The singer calls all people to hear his song about "sweet Lochaber Shore." He lists the local residents, and describes the weather during the past two years, cold winters, and a summer storm which carried of several sailors. He hopes for better times

Lochaber, Lochaber: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #13077}

Lochaber, Lochaber, lack aday ... them that's away, Our lands are all barren, our gardens also....

"By dark Lochee's lanes and lochs, Sheepskin burns and waterin trochs... Walkin up an' doon the giddy village street, Baillie Perrie's kingdom is sweet, Here's my respects tae Lochee." The singer describes the people and places around Lochee

A (blind) harper sets out to work in England. He rides his mare, which has just given birth to a foal. In England, he contrives to tie his horse to King Henry's. Next morning, mare and horse are gone; King Henry pays the harper for his work and his mare

"Lock the door, Larriston, Lion of Liddesdale; Lock the door, Larriston, Lowther comes on; The Armstrongs are flying...." English attackers are coming; the singer calls on Elliot of Lariston to defend them. The singer cheers his success

Locked in the Walls of Prison: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #5484}

"Locked in the walls of prison, Down in a narrow cell, Locked in the walls... No one to go my bail. If I was worth ten thousand, I'd bury it in my trunk, Or else I'd surely gamble Besides I might get drunk... Take me back... To wear the ball and chain

Locks and Bolts [Laws M13]: (27 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #406}

The singer misses his love. Her parents, learning she loved a poor man, locked her away (in her uncle's house). The young man breaks the locks and rescues her (possibly fighting a battle along the way). The two are married

The French barque Cavavaille under Captain Ormsby strikes Blackwater sand-bank on December 18. Though freed once from the sand, they are cast up on Blackwater beach, "to pieces split," and 27 are lost. The rich cargo from exotic lands is summarized.

Verses 1-2: A shepherdess mourns that her lover, now in the wars, no longer sees her at church or convoys her home. Verses 3-6: A soldier hears her complaint, reveals that he is her lover "free of war's alarms" and they marry.

The singer has been a criminal (robber and pickpocket) from his youth. Eventually he lands in prison, facing an extended sentence. A typical opening has the singer dreaming of younger days, only to wake up in (Logan/Dallas/Ramsey/Anywhere) County Jail

"There's a mound in the midst of our city That is lovely and grand to behold. It was placed there by God for a purpose More precious than silver or gold." "A beautiful Temple of God, It will help us gain our salvation." It was built for living and dead

On Logan's banks the singer "helpit a bonnie lassie on wi' her claes" but then she deceived him. If he had known he would have "bang'd her belly fou... And hae shew'd her the way to Logan-kirk."

The singer describes the happy lives of various creatures, then turns to his own unhappy lot. His wife, children, and people have been destroyed by the white man. He vows to "dig up my hatchet and bend my oak bow...."

Logger's Alphabet, The: (32 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #21101}

A song by which lumbermen remember the alphabet and tell of their "merry" lives: "A is for axes as all of you know / And B is for boys who can use them also.... So merry, so merry, so merry are we / No mortals on earth are as happy as we"

"Oh, yes, my dear, I'm a logger, And I am lonesome too, For I recently lost my true love; She much resembled you." They talk about their fiery lievs in the cold climate, mostly boasting of impossibilities. The two have an exaggerated married life

Loggers' Plight, The: (2 refs. 8K Notes) {Roud #9801}

Landon Ladd comes to Newfoundland, forms a logger union, and calls a loggers' strike; some are thrown in jail. Premier Smallwood insists Ladd leave and that a new union be formed with Maxwell Lane to lead the way and come to terms with A.N.D.

Logging on Bear Fork: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #7053}

"In 1845, I thought myself quite lucky to find myself alive," so the singer goes out skidding logs. He soon gets drunk and heads off to a dance. Eventually he and a friend sleep it off. The singer asks, "Don't tell no tales on me and Miss Heckert"

The singer complains that "they have taken away Jemy the delight of the yard." She has been offered the hand of wealthy Sandy, but prefers to wait for her beloved Jemy. Before he left, he gave her half of his only sixpence

Daughter comes to mother, asking to be married. Mother, after pointing out she's young, asks who she will marry. Daughter says, "Handsome Dan" -- or any of forty more if he's not available. (The daughter marries, and mother looks for a husband herself)

"L-O- double L- Y-P-O-P spells lollipop... That’s the only kind of candy... The guy who made it was a dandy. L-O- double L- I-P-O-P you’ll see... It’s a lick upon a stick guaranteed to get you sick." Other words, or a camp name, may also be spelled

Creole French, in praise of Lolotte. "Pauve piti Lolotte a mouin (x3), Li gaignin doulair." "Calalou porte madrasse, le porte jipun garni" (x2). "Pauve piti Lolotte a mouin... Li gaignin doulair, doulair, doulair... dans cour a li."

Driving home his father's cows the singer meets a girl going to meet "friends" in Dumferline. His brother William is against the match but he proposes, she accepts, they marry and live happily "for he's been constant and she's been true"

London Bridge Is Falling Down: (27 refs. 4K Notes) {Roud #502}

Upon learning that "London Bridge is (falling/broken) down," the singers must decide what to do, e.g. "Shall we build it up again?" "Mud and clay will wash away" "Iron and stone will stand alone"

An heiress loves a farmer's son. Her father has him sent to the battle front. He is severely wounded. She is Captain's waiting maid in the hospital. She buys his discharge. They return to Ireland. She tells her father she will live with her lover.

"To London once my steps I bend," and visited many people and watched many activities. But the Kentish plowman, come to seek justice, cannot enjoy the food or take part in many of the pleasures, because "for lack of money I might not speed."

London Lawyer's Son, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2813}

A lawyer's son leaves his fiance for two months, returns to find her married to rich squire, and dies of broken heart. His ghost haunts her until she dies, admitting she must "answer for great offence"

"Come all you young chaps who iive both far and near" as the 'prentice tells how his girlfriend urges him to kill her master, and threatens him if he doesn't. He gives in an does it. At his trial, she turns on him; he is transported to Van Dieman's Land

The singer rides his horse from London "to get myself a dame ... lasses I saw plenty ... I told them I'd be marry'd But I never told them when." He courted a maid and a rich widow promising to marry but never told them when. He rides back to London

A London squire in Aberdeen meets weaver's daughter Nancy. He claims that in his travels to France, Flanders and Ireland "the like o' thee I never saw before." She counts herself as good as those ladies. "That night they wedded and then they bedded"

"London's burning, London's burning, Fetch the engines, fetch the engines. Fire! Fire! Fire! Fire! Pour on water, pour on water."

Londonderry Love Song: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #6898}

The singer goes out wandering and sees boys and girls at play. He might be with them had his girl proved true. But her father told her she must cross the seas, and with much lamenting, she consented. She sails away

Lone Graveyard, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #11027}

"Oh, the time will come, and it won't be long, Till we leave this world for a land of song." "In the lone graveyard I will soon be laid; It will not be long until my grave is made." The singer will work on earth while alive, but looks forward to heaven

"'So, alas," said an Indian, "I once had a home in the far off shade where the wild deer did roam... And the steal/steals of the white man can't drive us away." He recalls father, sister, beloved, all now dead. Alone, "the last of my race," he'll die soon

Lone Indian (II), The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #11708}

"There came a lone Indian once more to stray O'er the earth where the bands of his ancestors lay... To see where his father in battle was slain." He remembers his people's history, and how they were abused. He cries for the fate of his people

An exile thinks about "the murdered ... in coffinless graves" at Shanakyle and mourns for "Eireann" where "the foul Saxon's laws brought ... sorrow and shame." He is ready to return and fight: "my rifle is ready my sabre is bright"

"O the lone starry flower, give me love, When still is the beautiful night.... Wake when I touch my guitar. When the rosy dawn comes, "I will wait for a welcome from thee." "And of if that pleasure be mine, live, We will wander together afar."

"I'm heartsick and tired of struggle and strife, As my thoughts drift back to the twilight of life." "It's the music that haunts me wherever I go." The singer recalls the pleasures (?!) of his time as a gold miner

"Oh the herdin' man he's a lonely one, For he always has to roam, He spends his nights out with his flock." "Wind and rain and cold and snow, He always has to go." He has no regular bed or friends. Nothing can remove his bad smell, as his wife points out

Lonely Waterloo [Laws N31]: (14 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #622}

The singer sees a girl grieving for her love. She describes Willie, and the singer tells her Willie has died at Waterloo. The girl suffers terribly from grief; (in some texts he reveals himself as Willie and prepares to marry her)

The singer insists that a girl tell him whether she will marry him or not. She will not; she has another lover. He berates her love of wealth and threatens to go away as a soldier/sailor. (In some texts she changes her mind, but the man has a new girl.)

"As I set in that lonesome grove, Set o'er my head a little dove, For its lost mate began to coo...." The singer recalls his lost wife and daughter, killed by consumption. But he thanks God who has taken them away, and hopes to see them in heaven

Singer laments a lost love: "You've broken all your promises, Just marry whom you please." "The blackest crow that ever flew It surely will turn white." "Oh don't you see yon little dove?"

"Lonesome place don't seem like home to me." Blues "felt so heavy it caused my heart to moan." "I'm going back home, gonna fall on my knee, Tell the one I'm lovin', baby, sad I treat you mean."

"Look down (x2) that lonesome road, Hang down your head and sigh. The best of friends must part some day, And why not you and I? (x2)." "I wish to God that I had died... Before I had seen your smilin' face." Singer may be in prison, having ignored mother

Lonesome Roving Wolves, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #10819}

"The battalion encamped, by the side of the grove," while the battalion's hunters seek wild bulls. Around them the wolves howl. A teamster dies as they howl. They bury him deeply and light a fire over the grave to keep the wolves away

"When you look way 'cross dat lonesome stream (x2), Way to Zion, Lawd, Lawd." "When you look way down that lonesome road." "I got a mother dead and gone." "She lef' me here to weep an' moan." "Dark cloud risin' i de east'."

Lonesome Valley (I): (33 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7098}

"You've got to walk that lonesome valley, you've got to walk it by yourself; There's no one here can go there with you [or: walk it for you]; You've got to go there by yourself." Various floating verses about the difficult path to heaven

Lonesome Valley (II), The: (1 ref. 1K Notes) {Roud #11858}

""My brother, want to get religion? Go down in the lonesome valley (x4), To meet my Jesus there." "Oh, feed on milk and honey." "Oh, John he write the letter." "And Mary and Martha read 'em."

The sight of an outward bound ship "wi' her white sails set to the breezes free" is fine "but to gladden the heart I am sure there's nane Like the sight of a long awa' ship coming hame"

Biddy Trigg meets Long Barney at an Easter fair and falls in love with him. Darby O'Brian interrupts their drinking and kissing. He and Barney fight. Barney wins. Giddy from whisky and fight, he asks Biddy to marry. She accepted. They are happily married

The singer climbs a tree, apparently to spy on lovers. His voyeurism is rewarded when a young couple appear under the tree. The man begs the girl to sleep with him. At some point, the spy lets out a whoop, and the lovers take flight

Long John (Long Gone): (35 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #11520}

"It's-a Long John, He's long gone, Like a turkey through the corn, With his long clothes on, He's gone, gone." Long John escapes from prison, and uses sundry tricks to avoid capture. He intends to keep moving

"Big Long John was a Chineeman, He came from the land of tea." He lives in a hash house, sells cigarettes, and has long hair down to his heels. He sleeps outdoors. An Indian cuts off his scalp and queue. He dies of the shock of losing his hair

"My sweet little one, with your winsome ways... Dearer to me, none ever can be, And nearer, there'll never be none, For in your sparkling eyes I see That favor that tells of a long lost love." The singer tells of the dead man buried in a grave in the snow

Running game. "Long or short, Long or short, Which would you rather have, Long or short?" The chosen player must choose one or the other, then run a race against the chooser, one course long, one short, the winner to be the new chooser

Long Peggin' Awl, The: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2126}

A girl is berated by her mother for running away with a shoemaker. The girl retorts that the older woman did the same thing: "You followed old dad for his long peggin' awl"

"Long Preston Peg to proud Preston went, To see the Scotch rebels it was her intent, A noble Scotch lord, as he passed by, On this Yorkshire damsel did soon cast an eye." He sends his servant to the girl "that sings with a voice so soft and so sweel."

"Come all you collier colliers, wherever you may be...." "In eighteen hundred and seventy-five, our masters did conspire" to leave the workers of without "food or fire." The strike is two months old, but it will continue

"Long summer day make a white man lazy, long summer day" (x2). "Well, a long summer day make a nigger run away." "He run away to see miss Mary." He declares he is sick. The boss orders him back into the field.

Chantey/worksong: "The day is so long and the wages so small..." "Captain you gae launch this boat today..." "Take it now easy boys, cause the crawfish they're come now" Refrain: "Long summer day"

The singer has "come to town to see you all... And sing a song not very long About my long tail blue." He is proud of having two coats, a jacket for everyday and the blue for Sunday. He advises others to acquire a similar coat and keep it well

"Long, tall, thin, and yella, My word, what a fella."

"We're marching round two pretty little pinks (x3), Long the days of sorrow." "Choose two in as we go round." "We've come in to marry you." "Tomorrow is the wedding night." "God Almighty bless them good old souls." "You rascal you, you told me a lie."

"Once there was a little kitty, White as the snow, She went out to hunt a mousie, Long time ago." The cat's appearance is described: Her black eyes spied the mouse, her paws caught it, her teeth bit it -- but the mouse escaped

Shanty. Characteristic line: "[To me] way, hey, hey, yah... A long time ago." Texts vary; many have to do with the troubles of seagoing life; one complains about serving an a boat so old it "must have been the ark that Noah built..."

"One morning, one morning, one morning in spring," the singer meets a girl who says, "I'm a poor lost girl and a long ways from home." She left father and mother weeping to follow her girl. She will build a on a mountain. She warns against men

"'Twas of an old man who lived in the city, He had a wife who was wonderful pretty She had a good notion of writing a letter, Her husband loved well but another one better. Fol lol-de-lol lay."

Chorus: "Can't you hand down that long white robe (x4)." Verses: "Old Satan thought he had me fast, Can't you hand... But I broke his chain and I come at last, Can't you...." "If I ever reach that mountain top... I pray to my Lord I may never stop."

"Yes, I really do believe (x3), I shall wear a long white robe up yonder." "Fathers, will you meet me there? (x3), To wear a long white robe up yonder." "Mothers, will you meet me there...." Similarly sisters, brothers, ad distant-cousin-ia

"Long-legged Italy Kicked poor Sicily Into the middle Of the Mediterranean Sea. When Germany got Hungary, She eat/ate a bit of Turkey, Dipped it in Greece And served it on China/Japan."

Long-Legged Lula's Back in Town: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #16273}

"Oh Lula (x4), You know, long-legged Lula thought she's back in town." "Oh, Lula had a fallin' out, It was all about another man's wife." "Please tell me Lula, where you stayed last night." "She could shake it eas', shake it wes'."

"I'm a long-line skinner And my home's out west. Lookin' for the woman... that'll love me best." The doctor says whiskey will kill him "but he don't say when." When it gets cold, he will go home; "I ain't skinning mules in the wintertime"

"Tell me the tales that to me were so dear, Long long ago, long ago; Sing me the songs I delighted to hear... Now you are come my grief is removed...." The singer welcomes back (his?) long-lost love; he doubted her fidelity, but he rejoices to see her

"From the green and fiertile valley where the broad Willamette flows" the singer sees mountains and fields and beautiful sights, and earns a living logging, but all things remind him of home; "And oh, I'm longing, longing for the bays of Michigan"

"The hills are very bare and cold and lonely; I wonder what the future months will bring. The strike is on...." The singer expresses anger at the scabs and the police, wishes he could shoot them, and longs for easier weather

"I am a simple lab'ring man / And I work along the shores / For to keep the hungry wolves away / From the poor longshoreman's door." The singer demands fair pay for his work. He complains that foreigners get the jobs while local people starve

"Here we go Looby Lou, Here we go Looby Lou, Here we go Looby Lou, Lou, Lou, All on a Saturday night." "I put my right hand in, I put my right hand out, I give my right hand shakey-shake-shake And I turn myself about."

Chorus: "O look at death, It stole my mother away" (x2). Each verse is a pair of floater couplets (see notes), each line answered by "it stole my mother away"

"Look at the sun, See how he run -- God Almighty'll catch you With your work undone."

Look How They Done My Lord: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #10983}

Describes crucifixion of Jesus; he is whipped up to Calvary, where he "never [says] a mumbling word"; a thorny crown is placed on his brow and squashed down, and the blood comes streaming down. Refrain: "Good Lord I can't hold out no longer"

A young man goes to Australia to escape poverty at home. He goes to work in the mines, and in time grows rich. He returns home and marries, but finds that he misses Australia. Back he goes, to resume the miner's life

"Look there's a moon, it shines tonight, Kowhiti, kowhiti, whitireia, Now your mama will hold you tight... She'll sing you, orirori, She'll bring you, kawe mau, to sweet sleep." Mother will guard baby, so baby should close (his) eyes

Look Up, Look Down: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #20706}

"Look up, Look down, You owe me Half a crown."

Jump-rope rhyme. "Look upon the mante-piece, There you'll find a ball of grease, Shining like a threepenny piece, Out goes she!"

Floating-verse blues about trains and lost love: "Look where de train done gone (x3), Oh babe, Gone never to return." "I certainly been a friend to you." "If I'd a-listened to what Mama said." "Tomorrow's my trial day." "If I'd a-died when I was young."

"Look who's coming down the street, (X) on her feet. She was married twice before, Now she's knocking on (X's) door. (X, X), will you marry me? Yes, love, yes, love, at half past three."

"When you think you're looking wide, Look wider still. Behold the world that lies outside your window sill: All creation from the start becomes a wonderland, for all who learn to lend a heart before they lend a hand." Seek friendship and a better world

"Well, ah looked down de railroad fuh as I could see, Looked down dat railroad fuh as I could see, Saw mah gal a-wavin' back at me (x2)."

Looking at the Comet: (1 ref. 1K Notes) {Roud #7169}

She asks what he is doing: "Tell me this very moment." He says he "was gazing at the comet"

"I went down dock the other day, Went for a ship, didn't you hear me say? Couldn't get a ship, couldn't get a sub, So I went down dock on the old lug. Singing, I'm going to look." The singer complains that the sailors work but the captain makes the money

An old man meets a girl and asks where she is going. She says she is looking for poppies; he says it's the wrong place. She would hear the nightingale; the time is wrong. At last her young man shows up; the old man warns against such bird songs

"Hey boys, look around, but you won't find Johnny... He's gone to Gabriel's Gully to look for gold." "Johnny's gone, he's looking for the yeller, He's got that fatal fever in his head.... So have a drink for Johnny, 'cause he might as well be dead."

Singer's twin brother John always causes trouble for which the singer is blamed, beaten, and jailed. John dies. On the way to the burial John's body, unseen, falls out of the casket. Singer is told to behave while he is nailed in the casket and buried.

"Loved ones are waiting, Looking this way, Fair as the morning, bright as the day, Dear ones in glory." Departed relatives and Jesus look towards the singer, waiting for him to come home, "safe with the angels."

"A loose goat do know how the tied goat feel." If you're "free and gay Take my advice and stay that way." If you marry you will be like the tied goat.

"In Loppington town there does dwell, A cobbler that is known full well." One day the cobbler goes out and sees a great bear. He flees to the town. The townfolk set out to kill the bear -- until the blacksmith discovers that the bear is "a chump of wood"

""Come all you fair and pretty damsels And listen while I now relate... And learn of Lora Williams fate." Lora sets out with a bucket for the spring, but, knowing she must swear against her lover, drowns herself instead

"In the year of '81, In Yorktown we capitulated ... We fought them four to one as long as we could stand." The captives are confined "like thieves in a dungeon" and hope for the war to end "to see ourselves at liberty"

Lord Cornwallis's Surrender: (3 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #V50597}

"Come all you brave Americans, The truth to you I'll tell, 'Tis of a sad misfortune To Britain late befell." Cornwallis and his British troops, cut off by Washington on land and de Grasse by sea, are forced to surrender

Lord Delamere [Child 207]: (3 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #88}

The king wants a new tax. Delamere asks for charge of all the poor, to hang them; better they hang than starve. A French lord says he deserves death, but Devonshire, fighting for Delamere, kills the lord and finds he is wearing the king's hidden armor

Lord Derwentwater [Child 208]: (8 refs. 4K Notes) {Roud #89}

The king sends (Derwentwater) a summons to London. His wife bids him make his will before going. As he goes along his way, ill portents greet him. Arriving in London, he is condemned to death. (He gives gifts to the poor and is executed)

"Lord do something for me... when I'm down at the altar on bended knee... I need the Holy Ghost... I'm your child... Crying, Lord please do something for me"

The singer praises Lord Fife: "every acre he does possess It's called the happy land." When tenants see hard times "Go home, he says, possess your place, I'll pay the rent mysel'." He toasts Lord Fife and "those who does not say Amen, Ashamed let them be"

Adam and Eve's clothes were fig leaves; in autumn bashful Adam turned to the wall when "those leaves would certainly fall" Mary had a cat that swallowed yarn; her kits "all had sweaters on" Mary slept with a sheep; it was a ram; she had a little lamb

See notes for format. Verse lines include "I feel all right," "I'm groaning," "I'm satisfied," "I'm crying," and "I done died."

"Lord I'm sad, I'm lost and lonely, And I'm trying to find my ease, So I'm asking thee, dear Savior, Dear Savior, help me please." He has tried pleasures; they leave an "aching void." He hopes to be accepted and to meet friends who have gone before

Lord Ingram and Chiel Wyet are (brothers/uncle and nephew). Lady Maisry loves and is pregnant by Chiel Wyet but Ingram woos her family and she is made to wed him. On the wedding night Chiel Wyet and Lord Ingram kill each other; Maisry goes mad.

Lord Is My Shepherd, The (Psalm 23): (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #12306 and 22035 and 22039 and 32565}

Psalm 23, made metrical: "The Lord’s my shepherd; I’ll not want. He makes me down to lie In pastures green He leadeth me by the (still/quiet) waters." Etc.

Livingston and Seaton both desire the favors of a lady. The lady weds Livingston for her own reasons. Seaton demands a duel. The lady offers to fight him, but Livingston claims it is his right. He is killed. The lady dies of sorrow after seven years

Lord Lovel [Child 75]: (95 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #48}

(Lord Lovel) is setting out on a voyage. (Lady Nancy) begs him not to go, but he is determined. Soon after he reaches his destination, he misses Nancy and turns for home. He finds that she has died for love of him. He proceeds to do the same

Lord Maxwell, having had his revenge on the Johnstones and soon to be executed for it, bids farewell to the places and people he has known

The Lord of Lorn, having done well in school, is sent to France to study. His steward abuses him, takes his possessions, and sets him to begging. Eventually the truth is revealed; the Lord regains his property and the Steward is executed

"As in quarters we lay, which you shall quickly hear, Lord Paget came to us, and bid us to prepare." The 15th Hussars ride for Sahagun. Although the French are warned, the English and Spanish are victorious. They drink a health to Lord Paget

Lord Randal [Child 12]: (94 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #10}

(Lord Randall) comes home; his mother questions him about his day. He answers each question accurately but incompletely, concluding with a request to rest. At last he reveals that his sweetheart has poisoned him.

Jeanie Gordon loves (Auch)anachie, but her father would have her wed Lord Saltoun, who is old but wealthy. The wedding is carried out despite her wishes. She faints and dies. Auchanachie arrives the next day, learns of her death, and dies himself.

(Lord Thomas) asks his mother to help him decide between (Fair Annet) and the "Brown Girl." The mother prefers the wealthy Brown Girl. Thomas consents, inviting Annet to the wedding, where the jealous brown girl stabs her; (Thomas kills her and himself)

Thomas, goes hunting and is pursued by (Margaret), whom he cast aside. He orders that she be chased far from him. She takes refuge with and marries (someone). Later, Thomas arrives at her door as a beggar. She poisons him

Lord Thomas Stuart [Child 259]: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4024}

Thomas Stuart gives his lady wide lands as a gift. She desires to see them. They ride out, but Thomas is stricken with pain. He bids her ride on; he himself returns home and dies. She dreams a dreadful dream, returns home, and realizes he is dead

Lord Ullin's Daughter: (4 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #3138}

"A chieftain to the Highlands bound, Cries, 'Boatman, do not tarry!'" He and lord Ullin's Daughter are fleeing her father. The boatman fears the storm but takes them for the girl's sake. Lord Ullin finds his daughter dead in her lover's arms. He laments

Lord Wathe'ford is dead. "The tyrant" choked wells and evicted farmers. He'll not be with common sinners in Hell but will share a private grate with his father. In Hell he meets Queen Bess, and his bailiff, and the Devil himself who is happy to see him.

Lord Will Make a Way Somehow, The: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #17359}

Eight line verses ending "I say to my soul (don't worry take courage), The Lord will make a way somehow." The singer is "Like a ship thast's tossed and driven, Battered by an angry sea" and finds "my race so hard" and "good fortune's always passed me by"

(Lord William) and the bailiff's daughter fall in love (while studying abroad). Her father calls her home to marry a nobleman. She sends a message by bird to Willie. Willie arrives at the wedding, forcing the groom aside and marrying the girl himself

"The fifteenth day of July... A famous fight in Flanders was foughten in the field... But the bravest man in battel Was brave Lord Willoughby." In a fierce contest with the Spanish, Willoughby's bravery encourages the English to victory

Lord, a Little Band, and Lowly: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #25516}

"Lord, a little band, and lowly, We are come to sing to Thee...." "Far away, in the realms of beauty, Farther on, to the golden shore... We shall meet to part no more. " For we know the Lord of glory Always sees what children do...."

"Lord have mercy (x3), Save me now." "Save me Jesus." "Save poor sinner." "Lord I'm troubled." "Lord I'm sinking." "When I'm dying." In Dett's verses, every line is sung three times, followed by "Save me now."

"Some o' dese days about twelve o'clock, Dis old worl's a gwi' reel and rock. Lawd, I neber will come back here no more. No mo' my Lawd (x2), I neber come back here no mo'." "Way down about Arkansas, De niggers ain't a-arguin' a thing but wa'."

Lord, I Want to Be a Christian: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #11966}

"Lord, I want to be a Christian (more loving, more holy, like Jesus) in my heart (x2)" (repeat), "Lord, I want to be a Christian (more loving, more holy, like Jesus) in my heart"

"Lord I wish I could pray like Daniel prayed (x2), Lord I wish (x2), Lord I wish I could pray like Daniel prayed." "Go Gabriel go sound the trumpet now." "Lord, I wish I was in Heaven today." "Lord, I wish I had wings like an angel's wing."

"Lord, I've starred for the kingdom (x3), And I won't turn back (x2)." "If my father he won't go with me (x3), I won't turn back, Lord, I won't turn back." Similarly for mother and brother; the singer concludes, "Take this world and give me Jesus."

Lord, Make Me More Patient: (1 ref.) {Roud #12012 and 12277}

"Lord, make me more patient (x3), Until we meet again. Patient, patient, patient, Until we meet again." Repeat with other virtues: "Lord, make me more holy...." "Make me more righteous." "More peaceful."

Lord, Remember Me (I): (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #11849}

"Oh, Deat' he is a little man, And he goes from do' to do', He killed some souls and he wounded some...." "Do, Lord, remember me (x2), I cry to the Lord as the year roll around...." "I want to die like-a Jesus die, And he die with a free good will...."

Chorus: "O sinner you better pray, Do, Lord, remember me (3x)." Edwards's verses include floating couplets like "Jacob's ladder mus' be long, De angels shout from heavin down" and "Mi he'd get wet wid di midnight dew, De mahnin stah was a witniss too"

Chorus: "Until I reach my home (x2), I never expect to give the journey over Until I reach my home." Verses: Satan follows the singer, interfering -- "with all his tempting charms" -- when he goes to pray. "At hell's dark door" Jesus saves him.

Chorus: "The Lord's been good (x3), Well he's sure been good to me." Verses: The preacher keeps preaching till he gets it right. You keep running to the rock until the rocks cry out

"Nowell, nowell, nowell, nowell, This said the angel Gabriel." "Lords and ladies all bedebe (=together), For your goodness and honour, I will sing all of queen." About the Annunciation. "Therefore be merr and let us sing, For this new Lord of Crhistmas"

Lords of Creation, The: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7837}

"Ye lords of creation, me you are called, You think to rule the whole... Now did not Adam, the very first man, The very first woman obey?" Though men are stronger, women control them with smiles and tears, and always shall

"Lordy Edgcumbe, god and great, Open wide the Ha'penny Gate, While the soldiers go through free, Sailors pay a 'ha'penny. Lord Mount Edgcumbe, lord divine, All the hakey fish are thine, All the fishes in the sea... belong to thee."

"The years creep slowly by, Lorena; The snow is on the grass again." The singer recalls his early years with Lorena, and remembers how much he loved her. He tells her that he still loves her as truly

Lorena's Answer (Paul Vane): (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4246}

"The years are creeping slowly by, dear Paul." Lorena answers Paul that, though the years have passed and the winter come, "There's no snow upon the heart." She expects to meet him in heaven.

Lorene is leaving for the city "where loved ones you're seeking to find" and the singer asks her not to go: "give me your answer Lorene today; say you'll be mine."

Concerning the death of seven priests, who are "drowned all in Nazen Lake." The seven relax by going fishing. A storm blows up. Although certain of the boat's crew survive, the priests -- three French and four Irish -- die

Loss of the "Ellen Munn," The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4372}

On Christmas Day the Ellen Munn is on its way to Goose Bay for repairs when it sinks in the weak ice. The children are carried to dry ground. A salvage operation follows and the song ends with a warning about weak ice and sailing on Christmas Day.

Loss of the Albion, The [Laws D2]: (12 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #2228}

The Albion [sailing from New York to Liverpool] is caught in a storm which washes captain and many hands overboard. The ship is finally wrecked upon the [Irish] rocks; only one man survives

The Amphitrite leaves port, bound for Australia. Two days out she runs aground and sinks, killing all the passengers and most of the crew. The singer and two others survive by clinging to a spar (though one of them dies later)

"Gently o'er the swelling deep The noble vessel rolls... Within her bosom safely sleep 500 living souls." In the fog, the ship goes aground. The ship quickly goes aground. Those who reach "the cold, salt shore... send up their prayer of thanks"

Loss of the Antelope, The: (2 refs. 7K Notes) {Roud #3840}

The Antelope sails from Chicago; on the second day out a gale arises. The cook, in the fore-rigging, freezes to death; the ship springs a leak and is wrecked. The captain tries to save his brother, but drowns; all but the singer are lost

Loss of the Atlantic (I), The: (4 refs. 15K Notes) {Roud #3822}

"The loss of the Atlantic upon the ocean wave Where fully seven hundred souls met with a watery grave." Bound for New York, the captain "changed his course for Halifax which proved our overthrow.... she ran upon a rock"

Loss of the Atlantic (II), The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3822}

"Of the gallant ship Atlantic Wrecked on Nova Scotia's shore." "The captain... heeded not that rocky coast That he was drawing near"

Loss of the Atlantic (III), The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #3822}

Atlantic sails from Liverpool for Halifax with a crew of 60 and 900 passengers. It strikes a rock at night. The captain is faulted: "he cared not for our safety as you may plainly see He went to bed and left the ship to prove our destiny." All are lost

Loss of the Atlantic (IV), The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #3822}

Atlantic stops at Queenstown "to bring Erin's sons and daughters to wild Amerikay." One night "and they all in bed, When our gallant ship she struck a rock at a place called The Major's Head ... seven hundred souls were buried in the main"

"In the spring of fifty-one" Walter Bond commands the "Barbara Ann Ronney from Petites in Newfoundland." Sailing home near Christmas they are caught and sank with a crew of five sharemen when "on the eighteenth of December the winter hurricane blew"

Loss of the Bruce, The: (2 refs. 7K Notes) {Roud #9937}

"The Bruce was bound for Louisburg, the night being dark and drear ... Captain Drake stood on the bridge ... the Bruce with mail and passengers she ran upon a reef." All except "young Pike" are saved.

Loss of the Caribou, The: (5 refs. 27K Notes) {Roud #18200}

The steamship Caribou is torpedoed and sunk and passengers are lost. "Here at Channel ... widows and sweethearts and orphans cry and fret" Most of the men "belonged to" Port-aux-Basques. "The funeral was the largest ever known here"

Loss of the City of Green Bay: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #19883}

"Since you ask Caruso for it, Friends and brothers, lend an ear." A schooner is wrecks almost within reach of shore. The sailors cry for help, and try to man the lifeboats, but they are too far away to reach in the storm

Loss of the City of Quebec, The: (2 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #9936}

"On the first day of April eighteen hundred and seventy two The City of Quebec leaved London with a choice of British crew." Seventeen are drowned in Newfoundland waters.

"Come all you tender Christians that hear my tale of woe" as the singer tells of those transported for "petty crimes." They left Ireland in May. The ship is wrecked. The majority of the crew survives, but only 20 of 346 convicts survive

Loss of the Danny Goodwin, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4419}

Captain LaFosse takes the schooner Danny Goodwin out from New Harbour. On December 6 the crew of six fisherman is lost in a storm.

Loss of the Druid, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #4082}

The Druid is "a schooner of fame" -- for the wrong reasons; "Jimmy Jackson, her owner, a miser was he, Too greedy to fit out his vessel for sea." A storm blows up, the mainmast is lost, the pumps don't work, and "the water she made was dreadful to see"

The crew of the Eliza are cheerfully approaching home (?) when a sudden storm blows up. Driven before the storm, the ship is blown to pieces. The people ashore, including the sister of two of the sailors, await word, but the ship is never found

"It's mournful to tell you a story so sad, It's about a new trawler and the equipment it had." "Six gallant fishermen" were "In this beautiful trawler, the Evelyn Marie." After a year in service, they radio for rescue, but she sinks before help arrives

The Guernsey sails from Trepassey "wit' fish and oil on borad of her" and is overtaken by wind and snow. The wreckage is found the next morning. The song speculates about how the wreck happened, lists the crew and calls for prayers for those lost

Loss of the Gilbert Mollison, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #19871}

"Another proud and gallant ship, Another noble crew, Have sunk beneath the angry waves...." No more will the vessel take to the waters. Some of the many sailors who have served on her are now dead. People at home wait and mourn

Loss of the Gilcher, The: (1 ref. 4K Notes) {Roud #19884}

"On October 28, Oh how the wind did scream! The last time that the Gilcher and crew were ever seen." The ship vanishes on the way to Milkwaukee. The reason is unknown. A note claims she was caught in a storm off Manitou. All aboard are lost

The Industry is grounded off Spurn Point in a heavy sea. The captain refuses help: "we shall get off at high water." A later rescue attempt is launched too late to save the crew.

Loss of the Jewel, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #9935}

The Jewel sails from Tilt Cove on October 28 and runs into "a heavy gale." The crew is rescued by the Albatross bound to Philadelphia from Greenland.

Loss of the John Harvey, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #3843}

The John Harvey sails from Gloucester for St Pierre in a hurricane and runs aground. Captain Kerley believes they will die. John Keeping ties a line around his waist and swims to shore; six of the crew are rescued. Keeping and one other died.

Loss of the Jubal Cain, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #9930}

"Twas of the schooner Jubal Cain Of which no doubt you've heard.... lost on Nova Scotia's shore, She had eight men on board." The cargo vessel leaves Halifax January 10 and after 16 days the owner gets a wire that the ship and all hands are lost at sea.

In 1833 the Lady of the Lake sails from Belfast for Newfoundland. After three weeks on a pleasant sea "the ice came down like mountains" The Captain and some sailors escape in a long boat. The singer os rescued by the Lima and returns to Liverpool.

The life-boat goes out on a stormy night to try to rescue a Norwegian crew. "Early on next morning the sorrowful news went round." Wives and children find "husbands and fathers lying dead" on the Fethard shore.

Loss of the London (I), The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1787}

The London, bound for Australia with 239 on board, is caught in a storm in the Bay of Biscay. Captain Martin remains on board when a boat is lowered with nineteen men. The nineteen are rescued by a passing ship and taken to Plymouth Bay.

Loss of the London (II), The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #V6049}

The "London" "pressed, through storm and rain ... with two hundred souls and more. The 'London' sank near a foreign shore" "The Captain said all hope was gone" Brooke "worked until all hope was gone, Then calmly paced the deck alone"

"O, Thou who reignest enthroned on high," the singer reports losing the one she "valued far the rest above." They had been married just four years. He is lost at sea; none of his crew survived. She recalls their time in Europe, and asks God's help

Loss of the Philosophy: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #1829}

Philosophy has a bad trip from St John to Havana. They make repairs at Havana. Nevertheless, they are cast away nearing home. Only five of seven make shore and two more die of cold. The survivors are rescued and return to Pope's Harbour.

A heavy storm dooms the Ramillies. The boatswain orders the crew to the lifeboats. Hundreds drown in the wreck; only three or four survive

Loss of the Regulus (I), The: (4 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #6471}

"While I'll explain ... How the Regalus she got lost in Petty Harbour bay." Regulus leaves Belle Isle [sic] and is disabled in a heavy breeze near Cape Race. The tug John Green attempts the rescue but the tow line parts. Captain Taylor and his crew drown.

Loss of the Regulus (II), The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #6471}

The Regulus is lost "near Bay Bulls that awful night the sea was raging high, The fog was thick the rain fell fast." The singer prays for consolation for mothers, wives and children of those lost.

Loss of the Riseover, The: (3 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #4408}

"The Riseover left Northern Bay, with lumber she did sail" for St John's. They are forced to leave the ship by raft in a heavy storm. Nearing shore, the raft breaks in half and John Pomeroy and Sparks are lost.

Loss of the Royal Charter, The: (2 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #9040}

The singer tells of a shipwreck near Ireland. 400 passengers sail from Melbourne and are approaching home (and have already dropped off some passengers) when a storm hits. The singer describes the storm, the wreck, and the deaths

Loss of the S. S. Algerine: (1 ref. 3K Notes) {Roud #V44585}

"Attention all ye sailor boys And hark to what I say And hear about the Algerine Was lost in Hudson Bay." The old sealing boat, loaded with Americans but with a Newfoundland crew, is destroyed by ice. The Neptune rescues the remaining crew

Sailor's Home leaves Fortune Bay and picks up a load of coal in Sydney on Christmas Day. She sinks in a storm; three of the crew make land on the French island of Miquelon, find help, and recover.

Loss of the Sarah, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #4077}

"Ye landsmen all, now pray draw near, A lamentation ye shall her" of how the "Sarah" was lost at sea. Captain Pierce mistakes the lighthouse he is seeing. The ship breaks her anchors and is wrecked. 16 are killed; 16 survive

Two days out a storm drives Savinto against a rock. "The ship breaks up And all the crew... Look for a watery grave." Gormley gets to shore and brings help. The rescue ordeal is described in great detail. Eleven of twenty one are saved.

The Arabelle, being "light in ballast" in "a heavy gale" "capsized no distance from the land." The wreck is found drifting three weeks later with one corpse on board.

Loss of the Shamrock, The: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #9816}

James Murray's mother asks him to delay sailing but he won't wait. He sails on Friday, September 18. The ship is seen on Saturday, then lost. Thomas Ridgeley might have saved two of those lost but he did not and is scorned for it.

Loss of the Snorre, The: (1 ref. 4K Notes) {Roud #4407}

September 18 a storm in Bonavista Bay wrecks Harold F, Olive Branch, Planet, and Reliance. The Norwegian sloop Snorre bursts her chains and is swept away with two boys on board. Four men from Bonavista are named as saving four of the crew.

Loss of the Souvenir, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #19865}

"Gone was summer with its sunshire, with its mild and favoring gales." Even in the harsh weather of autumn, sailors take to the Lakes. A storm blows up and the Souvenir is wrecked. One man is seen on the deck, but cannot be rescued; in all, seven die

"The beauty of the White Star Line, the Titanic, sailed the seas." Off Cape Race "she struck what's called a growler." "Captain Smith and his brave crew, they never left the deck But saved the helpless passengers and went down with the wreck."

"Good people all, pray give attention. "When we first from Spithead sailed convoy to Lisbon bound," the ship is the best in the navy. But she is left behind in a storm off Scilly. Eventually wreckage is found with the name Victory. There is much mourning.

A child wanders away from its mother (or is sent to take its father his dinner) and is lost. Men of the community (or Egypt and foreign lands) search; the child is dead, and buzzards are picking out its eyes. The mother cries, "Lord, have mercy"

Various birds (crow, robin) lay "but ae egg, she brought out ae bird, The bird it came out an' it flew awa', and she gaed a' day." The mothers look for their offspring and beg them come home

Lost Boys of East Bay, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4083}

"There's a story so sad I'm about to relate, Of a ship that was left here and gone to her fate." Sailors set out in October 1894 from East Bay. A great storm sweeps over Sand Island. Sixteen men are killed. Families are left to mourn

Lost Child (III), The: (1 ref. 1K Notes) {Roud #15027}

A little girl lives in a cabin in a "dismal forest" where many dangerous animals live. One day she disappears. A great search party is organized, and eventually finds her. Later the local men volunteer for their country and fight under Kane

The singer meets a girl who confesses to being lost and far from home. She has left her family to escape from the boys. She warns maidens against men

A passerby hears a girl wailing for her lost Jimmie Whalen. He comes from the grave, and she begs him to stay. He cannot; death keeps them apart.

"Oh, I wonder where my lost Johnny's gone (x3), Oh, he's gone to that new railroad, (x2)" "Go make me a pallet on your floor, Believe I will eat morphine and die." "I'll go if I have to ride the rail To the road where my Johnny is."

Lost Lady Found, The [Laws Q31]: (14 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #901}

A young lady is carried off by gypsies. Her uncle, who is her guardian, is convicted of murdering her. Her lover follows her to Dublin and tells her of her uncle's plight. They return to England, and the uncle's life is saved

"Six miners went into the mountains To hunt for precious gold; It was the middle of winter, The weather was dreadful cold. Six miners went into the mountains, They had nor food nor shack -- Six miners went into the mountains But only one came back."

"Come all brother sailors, I hop you'll draw nigh, For to hear of your shipmates, it will cause you to cry." John Gallagher sails to Traverse City despite his mother's dream warning and fiancee's fears. He heads home in a storm, but the boat Lookout sinks

Lost on the Lady Elgin: (11 refs. 8K Notes) {Roud #3688}

"Up from the poor man's cottage, forth from the mansion's door ... Cometh a voice of mourning, a sad and solemn wail, Lost on the Lady Elgin... Numbered in that three hundred Who failed to reach the shore." The many mourners are briefly mentioned

Singer says sinners at judgment will hear their fate and say, "I'm paying now the penalty/That the unredeemed must ever pay... For alas I'm doomed." The sinner will say that if he could go back, he'd fight for his Saviour's cause, but he can't

Lothian Hairst, The: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2165}

"On August twelfth from Aberdeen We sailed upon the Prince... Our harvest to commence." The crew works in Lothian for William Mathieson and his foreman Logan. They find no chance for sport under Logan, and happily depart when the harvest is done

"Oh, there's lots of fish in Bonavist' Harbour, lots of fish right in around here. Boys and girls are fishing together...." The folk of the town are described: Uncle George, who tore out his britches; Sally, who has a baby without a father; etc.

Claverse prepares for battle at Loudon Hill. His cornet would avoid battle; the enemy are too mighty to attack. Claverse calls him a coward and leads the attack himself, but his forces are defeated and chased from the field

Singer meets "a wonderful dame" on Lough Erne shore. As she is leaving he asks to go home with her. She says she will not "yield to men's pleasure." He says "I'll make you a lady of honor, if with me this night you'll come home"

Murray was a friend "'til our great Irish nation" and the aged, poor, and sick. He and his friend McManus sail their pleasure boat on Lough Ooney in spite of threat of a storm. The boat sinks. Both swin towards shore but are drowned by high waves.

Cruel John Loughrey's bull attacks him for evicting tenants. He promises he will never evict anyone again. The bull kills him anyway, saying "if I was a landlord I'd treat the tenants fair." Nobody mourns the loss. Tenants should feed that bull well.

Louie Sands and Jim McGee: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6521}

Shanty: "Who feeds us beans? Who feeds us tea?/Louie Sands and Jim McGee/Who thinks that meat's a luxury?/Louie... We make the big trees fall ker-splash... Offers more examples of Sands & McGee's penury, usually with beans as the motif.

Ms. Collins weeps to see son Louis leave home; he is shot to death in a gunfight. All the young women put on red clothing in mourning; he is buried in the new graveyard. Chorus: "Angels laid him away/Laid him six feet under the clay/Angels laid him away"

Louisiana Earthquake, The: (2 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #18656}

On a Sunday night, God sets the earth shaking. Singer stands expecting "louder clouds of thunder." In the morning "the elements were darkened"; six month pass, but the earth continues to shake; Christians fear, while "sinners' hearts were aching"

Pompey Snow has "a good stiff glass of rum. So they buried him in the lowlands ...." "The fire bells are ringing boys, ... The steamer she is left behind ... so they ...." "This little boy had an augu-er that bored two holes at once ... so they ...."

"Dreamland opens here, Sweep the dream path clear Listen, child, now listen well What the tortoise may have to tell." "Listen, child, dear little child To the song of the crocodile." "Listen child, now close yo’ eyes In the canebrake the wildcat cries."

"Greasy wops and Yankey boys, they all lay own to rest, They flop their tails on lousy straw and the cooties begin the quest. They'll bite you, boys, they'll bite you." The soldiers hunt lice on trains to the front. The lice won't stop while they live

"It's four long years since I reached this land In search of gold among the rocks and sand, And yet I'm poor, when the truth is told... I'm a lousy miner In search of shining gold." Tells how the miner lives hard while his girlfriend forgets him

"I once knew a cot, It was humble as could be" around which birds sang and where Lovana lived. The singer describes her beauty as she bathes in the stream. He wishes he were a fish by her boat, or the wind in her hair, or otherwise near her

"There is true love and false love," and so on, "but I always like to hear of love that ends in matrimony." If you love a lady offer her your hand.

"As I cam ower Strathmartine Mains, O wha dae ye think I seen, But a braw young piper laddie...." His music makes her love him even though he is poor, "But we'll hae love and freedom, Gin ye'll follow me ma dear." "So I chose love and freedom...."

"Love and whisky both, Rejoice an honest fellow." If love leaves a jealous pang or whisky a headache "take another sup" as cure. "May the smiles of love Cheer our lads so clever; And, with whisky, boys, We'll drink King George for ever"

"I went to Ed Haley's, the day it was bright, I met with a woman I loved at first sight." The singer and his love discuss their histories; they agree to marry and live a happy life; she is very good at housework

Bess and Jock were to be married. A barber seduces Bess. Jock tries unsuccessfully to commit suicide by jumping off the brig of Don. Bess, deserted by the barber and alone, has a baby born with "the brig o' Don arch ... mark'd on o' his forehead"

Chorus: "Love love love brought the Savior down, Love love love For me." Verses include "Take a little peep over Jeffrey's wall... See the sinners rise and fall." "Satan fired a ball at me... His ball missed and dropped in hell"

"Oh, brother, you oughtta been there (x3), When the love come (twinking/trickling) down." "Seek, seek, seek and you shall find, Knock... and the door shall be opened, Ask, and it shall be given, When the love...." Repeat with father, mother, etc.

"Love grow under the wild oak tree, Sugar melts like candy, Top of the mountain shines like gold And you keep your little fella kinda handy." "Dreams dreams sweet dreams, Under the wild oak tree.... One for you and me! So,,, Love grows under...."

The singer hears a girl telling of the grief her false love has left her. She seeks a flower in the meadow to ease her mind; none meet her needs. She makes a bed of flowers, asks for a marble stone on her grave and a turtle dove at her breast, and dies

A vintner needs the consent of his sweetheart's rich father to obtain a dowry. The girl hides in one of her father's wine casks, and the vintner offers to buy its contents. The merchant agrees -- only to have his daughter revealed. He blesses the marriage

"Oh, love is teasing and love is pleasing, And love is a pleasure when first it's new, But as it grows older, it grows the colder...." Lyric piece about the dangers of love: The singer gave up family and home, (and now has a baby without a father)

Love It Is a Dizziness: (3 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #6744}

Singer complains that love "winna lat a puir body gang about their business." "I drill the land that I should plow" and other foolish things. Love makes him more drunk than whiskey. "I first grew dizzy then gid daft and noo I'll dee for Peggy"

"Love it is a folly That dwells within my breast It makes me melancholy So I can take no rest... I darst not keep her company." He wishes he were a swallow, or turtle [dove] to fly and be with her but he "must not keep her company"

"Elder, you say you love King Jesus; Elder, you say you love the Lord." "Oh, come and let us know, How you love King Jesus, Come and let us know... love the Lord." "Sister, you say you love King Jesus." "Sing and tell us how you love King Jesus"

The singer arrives after a long journey, and appeals to the girl: "It rains, it blows, it hails, it snows ... love let me in." At first she turns him away because she is home alone. She changes her mind, takes him to bed and he marries her the next day.

"Love lifted me (x2), When nothing else would help, Love lifted me."

"If you are ever going to love me, Love me now that I may know All the sweet and tender feelings Which from real affection flow. Love me now while I am living...." Would she deny water to the thirsty, or food to the hungry? If he dies, he won't need love

"[I] will sing you a song, the best in my heart, For you know very well I have a sweetheart... But if he won't love me, kind sir, won't you?" If one lad proves false, she'll happily turn to another; "I don't care a straw whether you love me or no."

"Little gal, I'm not a singer; if I were I'd sing to you A tale of love that sure would be a wonder." He can't play the guitar, either, but he is a good worker. "So, Chiquita, if you'll let me... Come, we'll hit life's trail and follow it -- together!"

"Love somebody, yes I do (x3), Love somebody, but I won't tell who. Love somebody, yes I do (x3), And I hope somebody loves me too." "...Love somebody, yes I do, 'Tween sixteen and twenty-two."

Love Will Find Out the Way: (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #13167}

"Over the mountains and under the waves, Over the fountains and under the graves... Love will find the way." A catalog of the paths love follows, and a praise of its overwhelming power

"Whate'er befall I'll still recall That sunlit mountainside Where skies are blue and hearts are true And love's the only guide.... Love holds the key to set me free And love will find the way."

Paddy asks the barber for a shave on credit. The barber is prepared; he has a razor just for such people. The injured Paddy flees the shop. Some time later, he hears a jackass bray near the shop and assumes someone else asked for a love-of-God shave

"John and Mary making posies" when the Colonel calls "March, my lads." "Some for France, and some for Holland" with powdered hair and firelock shouldered. Mary's mother says, if he takes her daughter, "after death my ghost shall haunt thee"

"The e'e o' the dawn, Eliza, Blinks over the dark, green sea... Yet still my dowie heart lingers To catch one sweet throb mair." The singer says they have been blessed, but he must go (for no explained reason); he promises to remember and return

The man says "Now the Tyrant hath stolen my dearest away" but he will remain faithful to Celia. Celia acknowledges his exile and pain. She will overcome all obstacles to return to him.

"They used to get married for love but now they get married for gold... what we called love in those old days it's not what it used to be." Once men were boss. Now wives divorce and go home to mother. Old maids can't find love "like it used to be"

Love's Old Sweet Song: (10 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #18217}

In our youth at dusk love's song "wove itself into our dream." Now, "still to us at twilight comes love's old song." "Till the end, when life's dim shadows fall" love is found "the sweetest song of all"

Love's Young Dream: (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #V9128}

"Oh! the days are gone ... When my dream of life, from morn till night, Was love." First love "'twas light, that ne'er can shine again On life's dull stream!"

There was a rich young girl courted by an Irish lad who "has left her and gone far away" Her beauty has faded; "see what it comes to [to] be loved by a man." If he returns "she'll crown him with joy." She is "bound in love-chains and can never be free"

Loved You in the Days of Joy: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #11334}

"I loved you in the days of joy, When you was but a slender boy." She recalls him as he was. "But times have changed... The stamp of manhood is on our brow." Now she lays down her pen, but her love remains even though he has abandoned her

The singer's friends take him to Belfast to sail to America on the Union and leave Ann behind. The ship hits a rock off Rathlin in a storm. All passengers reach shore in boats. He decides to stay home with Ann rather than try to sail to America again.

Annie promisedsto be true but while the singer is in "the North Highlands to work by the day" she marries someone else. He would have preferred transportation. His "mind turns to madness since Annie's away" His master threatens to send him to Bedlam.

The singer is preparing to leave Armoy. He recalls all the pleasures and beauties of home. He describes his sad farewell from the girl he loves. Now in Belfast, he can write no more, as he must board the ship

The singer is courted by Jimmie, who wins his way into her heart and her bed but then abandons her. She hears that he is married to a rich lady in London. She must remain in Dublin, far from her love and her home by the Boyne

Lovely Banks of Mourne, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #9454}

A farmer's son sees a girl bathing by the banks of the Mourne. He hides behind a bush to watch. At last she sees him and flees. He pursues, and offers her his hand and produce. She consents to marry. The singer will not reveal her name

Lovely Banna Strand: (3 refs. 5K Notes) {Roud #5234}

A German ship is bringing 20,000 rifles for the Irish rebels, but the car which was to meet the Germans crashes. The rifles are not delivered, and Sir Roger Casement, who planned the affair, is hanged

The singer courts Emily but she remains true to William, her sailor, gone ten years. William shows a token identifying her dead lover. After satisfying himself of Emily's fidelity, William identifies himself. The two marry.

"Cruel misfortune" forces the singer to leave Derry and Mary for the sea. Her letter asks him to return and marry. He will return "when I make a fortune ... I will build her a mansion"

Lovely Glenshesk (I): (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #13476}

The singer has been "forced to my pen To write down the praises of the top of the glen." He tells of the birds and the hills of his home in Glenshesk, which he must leave tomorrow. His family has been there for generations; he grieves to depart

Lovely Glenshesk (II): (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5281}

"This evening I take my departure from the lovely town where I was bred"; he is bidding farewell to friends and relatives. Having come of age, he must go to "a far foreign land." He describes the temptations faced by humanity, and hopes to avoid them

Lovely Irish Maid, The: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6319}

Two lovers talk on Blackwater-side. He says "when I'm in Americay I'll be true to my Irish maid." She says "in Americay some pretty girls you will see." She says many who have crossed the Atlantic are drowned so "stay on shore." We assume he leaves.

Brothers Jamie and Darby sell their peat and drink away the proceeds. They enlist in the army and are sent to the Crimea. At Sevastopol, Jamie loses his legs. The rest of the song wonders how the family will survive with him crippled

Lovely Jane from Enniskea: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2901}

Willy Bell meets Jane McCann. Neither recognizes the other. He asks her to marry but she is still waiting for Willy after ten years. He shows her the ring she had given him before he left for America. She welcomes him home. They marry.

Young man, out riding, comes upon Joan. He offers her a ring/purse of gold in return for a roll in the hay; she says the ring is more use to her than 20 maidenheads. She takes the ring, then hops on his horse and rides off to her true love's gate.

Lovely Katie of Liskehaun: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3048}

The singer loves "lovely Katie of Liskehaun" from afar; she is "far superior in wealth." If Paris had seen her he would have chosen her over Helen. He leaves at summer end but he'll be back to "make application to my sweet young Katie"

"'Twas early in the moth of May I said to my love Lou" that he will go to sea; he asks if she will be true. She says she will, So he says, "Goodbye, lovely Lou." He promises to bring exotic gifts -- but she leaves him. So he says, "Goodbye, lovely Lou."

Lovely Lowland Maid, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #307}

Mary Ann sends her sailor away "because he looked so poor." She invites him in when he shows her "a purse of gold" Now he rejects her. She and another suitor kill the sailor for his gold. There is a witness. Both are condemned to die.

"O lovely Mary Donnelly, my joy, my only best, If fifty girls were round you, I'd love you still the best." He describes her face and hair. He falls in love with her at a dance. She has many sweethearts. He is poor and has no hope of winning her.

The singer meets a girl and asks her what she is doing so far from home. She says she is seeking her love, gone these three years. He takes out his half of their broken ring and agrees to marry her and stay at home

In this confused song, the singer courts a girl, who accuses him of not loving her. He claims he courted her only in jest. As he leaves her, she "hopes you and I will be judged on one day." If he survives his voyage, he hopes to return and ease her pain

The singer courts Nancy. She and her mother reject me. Nancy marries "a boasty captain." He meet her walking in the fields; she bows her head and turns away. She knows she would have been happier with him. Young girls don't "throw your first love away"

"You may sing of maids of many lands," but none beats the Newfoundlander. Her form is perfect, she is sweet, lovely, can row a boat, catch a fish, garden, "her brain is sharp as needles," she knows when and when not to talk, can sing and dance, etc.

"Lovely night! O lovely night, spreading over hill and meadow, Soft and slow thy hazy shadow, Soon our weary eyelids close...." "Holy night, O holy night, placing brighter worlds before us." The singer wishes to never return "to this weary earth"

The listeners are urged to emigrate to Ohio. The delights of the country are described: fish in the river, good cropland, sugar cane, no Indians. Both men and women are encouraged to come

"As I walked out one morning in the springtime of the year," the singer hears a sailor and his girl singing together. He must go; "it's lovely on the water to hear the music play." She asks to come; he refuses; she faints; they part; many sailors are lost

The singer recalls school days in Downrye by the river. He "fished for perch and trawled for pike." "Now I'm getting old and grey" and soon his bones will lie in Connon's church graveyard.

Lovely Sally (You Broken-Hearted Heroes): (3 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #9046 and 2784}

Jamie, a militiaman, is being sent overseas. Sally comes with him to Belfast, and cries at their parting. She left her parents for him; how can she go back? Jamie's father promises to care for her. The song concludes with a wish for all militiamen

""A story most lovely I'll tell, Of Jesus the wondrous surprise, He suffered to save us from Hell...." Jesus had pity on, and bled for, the "lost race." Judas hailed him with a kiss. He was tried before Pilate and crucified. Paradise awaits his followers

Lovely Willie [Laws M35]: (18 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1913}

A girl with many rich suitors is in love with Willie. The speaks of running away with him. Her father overhears and stabs Willie to death. At Willie's burial the girl openly rejects her father, vowing to spend the rest of her life in exile or die for love

The singer loves wonderful James McKee. "I'm now despised, that once was prized, by him that I still adore." They had planned their wedding. "Him for to blame 'twould be a shame, 'twas these false maids led him astray." Warning: "tell your minds to none"

Lover and Darling, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #9291}

The singer overhears "a young pair." He asks that she call him "your darling." She smiles that he asks that so soon. He promises her riches. She refuses "for such." He promises her "love, contentment and ease." She says, "you're my darling"

Lover's Curse, The (Kellswater): (6 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #916}

The girl tells how she will curse any woman who courts Willie. Her father gives her two choices: Send Willie away or see him die. When she scorns the choices, he imprisons her. Willie promises he will not leave Ireland without her. The father relents

"Come sit here beside me and tell me your thoughts, dear, Do you think the sun can rise in the west?" He asks who she loves. She won't say lest he reject her. "Oh when we are married I'll know his intentions, No weddin'... till the sun rises in the west"

Lover's Resolution: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #V29751}

Singer's lover slights her "because I have not riches to disguise his poverty" If she were queen of England she'd resign the crown for him. She would travel with him "from seaport town to town," but he has left.

Lover's Return (III), The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #16411}

Mostly floating verses: "If I had listened to mother, I would not a-been here today." "Let him go, let him go, God bless him, He's mine where ever he may be." "I have a ship out on the ocean." At the end, "My own sweet Robert" arrives from over the sea

A listener hears a man and woman talking about marriage. She rejects him because she loves another who is "far away on the foaming ocean." He leaves and the listener reveals himself as her long lost lover.

To the tune of "The Ship That Never Returned": Two lovers quarrel as he prepares to seek his fortune. Both regret the quarrel, but they are never reunited. Listeners are warned against quarreling

The girl laments that her love came and bade her farewell, then went to war in the Low Country. He fought, and none knew where he fell. Now "he may sleep in an open grave, But I will wake on my pallet of grief...."

Lovewell's Fight (I): (3 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #4026}

Captain Lovewell and his men set out to attack the Indians. They find and kill one, only to find their baggage plundered and the Indians planning an ambush. Lovewell is killed, and many others, but at last the Europeans reach their destination

Lovewell and fifty men set out from Dunstable. Other members of the party include Farwell, Harwood, Wyman, and Chaplain Frye. They kill an Indian, then are ambushed by 80 others. The deaths of several are described. Old men remember the fight sadly.

"Adieu, my lovin' girl, adieu, It wounds my heart to part with you, The time has come for me to go, Therefore your mind I wish to know." He recalls that "you loved me first," but she has lost interest; he wishes her well and sadly departs

"Have you seen my lovin' Henery. Oh, have you seen dat darlin' man? I'm jes' crazy 'bout my Henery, He's de sweetes' man in town.... I thought I heard a knocking'. "Is day you, Henry... Oh, dare's my lovin' Henery now."

Low Back Car, The: (13 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6954}

"When first I saw sweet Peggy... A low-backed car she drove." "The man at the turnpike bar" was too stunned by her appearance to collect the toll. Men are knocked down by her glance. The singer imagines driving in the low-backed car to be married.

Low Down in the Broom: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1644}

"My daddy is a canker'd carle, He'll ne'er twine wi' his gear," the girl admits as she wishes to be with her lad. She details all the ways her family reigns her in. But she meets her love beneath the broom, and at last they escape and live happily

"Oh my brother, you must bow so low, so low (x2), For low is the way to that upper bright world. Let the heavenly light shine on me." Similarly for sister, preacher, etc.

Low-Backed Car, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #17751}

"It's onward we travel through life's weary journey Our thoughts oft returns to the bright days of yore, To the scenes of our childhood" in and around St John's. Some day good times will return and we will go back to "be happy by the old low-backed car"

"Well, I tell all you workin' men, please take this advice from me, Save yo' money... let these crooked women go." Women will "drink up yo' last dime" and leave you behind. The singer has friends when he has money, none when he has none

"A wet sheet and a flowing sea.... Come, raise the sparkling can, Sound the toast, each bold mess through, Huzza for our low black craft, my boys, and her noble pirate crew." "We make each trader ay toll, For pirates bold are we"

Halyard shanty. "There's only one thing grieves me. Ch: Oh, lower the boat down! It's my poor wife and baby, Ch: Oh, lower the boat down."

Lowlands (My Lowlands Away): (21 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #681}

Sometimes a ballad: The singer is at sea when his love comes to him in a dream. She is dressed in white, and he realizes that his love is dead. Other times a lyric, in which the sailor talks about his travels, his ship, low pay, and/or a bad captain

Lowlands Low (III): (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #8286}

Halyard shanty. "Our packet is the Island Lass, Low-lands, low-lands, low-lands, low! There's a nigger howlin' at the main top mast, Low-lands, low-lands, low-lands, low!" Verses mostly complaints and rhymes about sailing.

Lowlands of Holland, The: (44 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #484}

A young couple are parted (when the young man is taken away to sea). While in service, he is drowned. The girl vows she will not dress in fine clothes nor seek another man until the day she dies

Dubliner Lowrie enlists in ignorance. Sentenced to be whipped on his bare skin he puts a bear skin on his back. He drinks his kit empty and stuffs a young cat in his knapsack. The captain recognizes a hopeless case and makes Lowrie his personal servant.

Two lovers court in secret for two years. When her parents learn it they and some of her friends on him "laid a' the blame." He feels he must leave: "love winna lat me stay." He claims he will be true. "Long courting is as bad a thing, as any man can do"

"I'm an Irishman born in loyal Belfast." Ireland "would be ruined for ever if Home Rule was passed." Gladstone "has got no idea of the blood it would spill ... don't let old Gladstone get you in a snare ... It's time long ago he was upon the shelf"

"Returning homeward o'er the plain Upon a market day, A sudden storm of wind and rain O'ertook me on the way." The singer shelters in Lubin's rural cot, where he entertains her delightfully. He offers marriage; she happily accepts

"Lucindy, won't you marry me, Won't you marry me in the mornin'? If you'll marry me your mother'll Cook a shine-eyed-hen."

Lucky Elopement, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2559}

The singer drinks. He courts a girl whose mother calls him a drunkard. He elopes with the daughter to London where they are found and sent to Carrick Jail. At his trial for theft the daughter attests to his virtues, he is acquitted and they marry.

The singer, born a plowman, meets a "Carfindo" who convinces him to go to sea. After a dreadful time aboard ship, he goes home and is told that his family has met disaster. When he declares that he will roam no more, he is told that all is well at home

"Jim was my friend, till one unhappy day The usual cause -- a pretty girl -- came in our way." Both court her, but "one day she married him." After three years, Jim dies. The singer marries her -- and regrets it so much that he thinks Jim lucky to be dead

"Come jolly sailors join with me (x2), To fight with Anson for renown, That we the French pride may pull down." Anson's fleet, with the Centurion in he lead, is first to attack the French fleet; it is the second time Anson has taken a great prize

"Lucy Locket lost her pocket, Kitty Fisher found it; Not a penny was there in it, Only ribbon round it."

"If I had a scolding wife, As sure as you are born, I'd take her down to New Orleans And trade her off for corn."

"One night when the moon was beaming, I strayed with my Lucy Long." The singer describes the beauties of their evening walk. He asks her to marry; she blushes, hesitates, and consents.

Shanty. Characteristic line: ""Why don't you try for to ring Miss Lucy Long?" Verses involve meeting Miss Lucy, making various attempts at seduction, and being rejected. A frequent first line is "Was you ever on the Brumalow/Brumielaw?"

Lucy's term was over and she "left her auld master and neebours sae dear." "I'm jist like the lammie that loses its mither." She and Jamie love each other but he only gives her a ribbon when they part. They won't meet again.

Ludlow Massacre, The: (5 refs. 36K Notes) {Roud #17650}

Faced with a strike, the mine owners drive the workers from their (company-owned) homes. The National Guard moves in and kills thirteen children by fires and guns. Since President and Governor cannot not stop the guard, fighting continues

Gaelic: Luir a chodla, cuir a chodla, cuir a chodla, an sean-cluine, luira chodle, nigh a chosa agus bog deoch do'r tsean duine. English: Put to sleep (x2) put to sleep the old man. Put him to sleep, wash his feet, and draw a drink for the old man

Sam Mullen goes looking for Luke; Luke says he doesn't want trouble, but Mullen picks a fight until Luke shoots him. Cho: "Wake up, Sam Mullen, put on your shoes/Get ready to catch ol' Luke before he leave this town/For Luke done laid Mullen body down"

A song describing Lukey and his boat. The boat is "painted green... the finest boat you've ever seen," etc. Lukey observes that his wife is dead, but "I don't care; I'll get another in the fall of the year."

Lula Viers [Laws F10]: (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1933}

John Coyer weighs his fiancee Lula Viers down with metal and throws her into the river. The body is not discovered for several months. Coyer is arrested, but is handed over to the army before going on trial

"There is a little cabin as humble as can be, And it stands upon the banks of Susquehanna." His beloved, Luliana, lives there. If he were a fish, he would swim by her; if he were anyone but himself, he would dream of her and try to win her

"Roar, roar, thunder of the sea, Wild waves breaking on the sandy bar, And my true love is sailing, sailing far For his rosy little boy and Shena." The singer bids the child sleep, and wishes a blessing on her sailor far away

Composite of verses about Lulu and mountain life, e.g. "Lulu, get your hair cut Just like mine." "I went a fishin' an' fished for shad, First I caught was my old dad." "I'll give you a nickel, An' I'll give you a dime To see little Lulu Cut her shine"

The singer describes "that aggravating beauty, Lulu Walls." She has stolen his heart and left him in "sad misery." He plans to offer to wed, but knows she will turn him down. If she were his, he would surround her with walls so no one else would see her

Lumber Camp Song, The: (22 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #667}

A song describing life in the lumber camp. The shanty boys are men of all places and occupations. Most of the song is devoted to details of meals, smoking in the evening, and sleep. Details of the song vary widely

"Some women have their troubles, The men have theirs likewise, Compare the two with agony." A mlliner's daughter loves a shanty-boy. "The shanty boy... measures Susie's waist" but dislikes her makeup. He declares he has learned to cook for himself

"How many of those pioneers, I wonder, are alive, Who used to lumber on the Cass in 1865? Over forty years ago, how swift the time it flies...." The singer recalls the troubles of bringing in supplies, lists some of the loggers, and recalls a fire in 1871

Lumberjack Song, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #30154}

A call to Newfoundland lumberjacks: "On the banks of Red Indian Lake" we'll cut down the pines in the day and sing around our shanty fires at night. "We'll range the wild woods o'er as a-lumbering we'll go"

Recitation; the speaker praises the character of lumberjacks, despite their rough-hewn ways.

"When the wild goose quits the northland... At a leisurely, though very rapid rate... It is time for us to emigrate." As winter comes, the loggers pack up to go to the camps. The singer describes shanty life and wishes long life to the loggers

"Blue Monday, bitter Tuesday, Long Wednesday, everlasting Thursday, Friday, will you ever go? Sweet silver Saturday in the afternoon. Sunday, may you last forever. Amen. Two nights in the straw And three meals ahead."

"When the lumberman comes down, Ev'ry pocket bears a crown, And he wanders, some pretty girl to find." He stays at a fine inn till his money is gone, whereupon he regretfully returns to the woods. (When he is old, he marries a young girl who mocks him)

"'Tis when we do go into the woods, Drink round, brave boys! (x2)... 'Tis when we go... Jolly brave boys are we. 'Tis when we go... We look for timber, and that which is good." The woodsmen chop, the haulers haul -- and the merchants sell to the loggers

"Winter it has come again, And to the woods we go." "It is work and work, from three till none." The singer lists some of the men in the camp: The tricky teamster Huey Mallinix, the McFarley Boys, the cook, the boss who carries the fire-poker

Stick game with nonsense words probably based on Maori: "Ah ko way, ko wee ah kin, way, ko wee ah kin." Or " Ma Koo Ay, Ko Tay O, Ay Koo e Tah no." Or something

An apprentice boy left Portadown for Woodside on the Kelvin River. He thought of the girl he left behind near Lurgan Braes. He swore he would remain true to her. If he returns he will call on her: "if she is dead, or if she is wed, I'm at my Liberty"

The singer steps up to a girl and tries to court her. She says she is pledged to Jamie. He says Jamie died in China, and shows the (broken) ring he gave her. She laments, and curses her parents who exiled him. He reveals that he is Jamie; they get married

Catholic Inspector Hancock has changed Lurgan. You'd be jailed two days for singing an Orange song. He keeps the Fenian meetings safe. The police come to our dance and dance the girls to Garryowen. He breaks up an Orange demonstration on July 12.

The singer arrives in the country and sees a beautiful woman by the (Lurgy) stream. He asks her to marry him and come across the seas. She turns him down. He promises to be true, and tries again. She rejects him again. He mopes and leaves home

Lusitania sails from New York for Ireland. "Three thousand souls she had on board ... Until those cruel German dogs, for her they lay unseen, And shattered her to fragments with their cursed submarine" Vanderbilt gives his life-belt to a mother.

"Lustily, lustily, lustily, let us sail forth, The wind trim doth serve us, It blow at the north." The ship is well furnished. The mariners fear no enemies. The master "excelleth in skill." Their cans will be filled with wine, ale, beer

A memorial to a dead little girl: her "cradle standing empty and her clothes are laid away... In the corner lies her play things... We must prepare to meet her... On the streets thats pure and holy We will join our Lyda May"

A sarcastic piece about the arbitrary rule of law in Lydford, the terrible jail conditions -- dogs are fed better than prisoners -- and open town knavery. "By God's grace I'll come there no more"

As found in tradition, a bawdy and scatological testimonial in multiple stanzas for the restorative powers of Mrs. Pinkham's patent medicine for women, although there are clean Lydia Pinkham versions

"Lydia Sherman is plagued with rats, Lydia has no faith in cats, So Lydia buys some arsenic, And then her husband he gets sick, And then her husband, he does die...." Her children follow, and eventually Lydia ends up in prison.

Lyke-Wake Dirge, The: (4 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #8194}

A warning to those not yet dead. Those who gave to the poor shall receive as they have given; those who have not will pay the penalty. "This ae nicht, this ae nicht, ilka nicht and alle -- Fire and sleet and candlelicht, and Christ receive thy soule"

Usually a comic song about a farmer's troubles with wife, horse, merchants, prices, machinery, and anything else that comes along. Chorus: "I'm going down to town, I'm going down to town, I'm going down to Lynchburg town, toting my tobaccer down."

M. and I. Goo-goo Eyes, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #8892}

Recitation about logging life, with musical chorus, "Just because that jack makes goo-goo eyes, They piled them logs clear up into the skies." The singer discusses what happens when the train comes to collect the logs

"Let me tell you of the story of a man named Charlie on a tragic and fateful day." He rides the MTA rail. Because he did not bring change, he cannot get off. "Did he ever return? No, he never returned.... He may ride forever 'neath the streets of Boston"

"Hi diddle de dee! An M.P.'s life for me! You get the run of Bellamy's...." "You got to learn to lie." "You get a car that calls at four, With petrol coupons by the score." "And if the people don't obey, In gaol you lock them all away."

A young man on the Limeric city quay is bound for America. "For want of wages and employment, home and country I must flee." He thinks of his parents and sweetheart left behind. He hopes "fortune [will] smile upon me" so he can return.

M'Ginty's Meal-an-Ale: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2518}

A pig escapes and wreaks havoc. Chorus: "They war howlin' in the kitchen like a caravan o' tinkies, An' some wis playin' ping-pong... Up the howe or doon the howe there never wis sic jinkies As M'Ginty's meal-an-ale far the pig gaed there tae see."

"It fell upon a Lammas nicht now I went oot for a stroll"' the singer sees a beautiful girl and asks to walk with her. The talk. He walks her home. Now they are married "an' happy as we can be" with three children. He is happy they met

French. Singer tells of his love for the dark-haired girl. He tells her that if she ever doubts his love, "Ask the echoes ... Ask brooks and rivers and the rocks". He asks the birds to join him in singing of his great love.

French. The singer say, Little Marguerite, I am leaving to sail on the waves around the world but I will love you until I die. She says she will cry a thousand tears waiting for his return; all is useless; she would prefer them both lost at the same time.

"Ma, let's go, To see the Rodeo, The Rodeo is not far, It's just (beside the Penny Bazaar/behind the horse and car), The (Penny Bazaar) is not far, Ma, let's go."

The singer recalls walking in the garden to gather roses to "braid in [Mabel's] golden/shiny hair." But now he gathers with others to bid her farewell, as she has died

"Mabel, Mabel, Set the table, Don't forget your Salt, vinegar, mustard, pepper." (or "salt and pepper," or "red hot pepper," etc.)

Miko Mac and Shanahan are tracked to Newtown by bloodhounds and taken by Black and Tans. They refused to give their comrades' names. They are executed by shooting "in the Ennis Road." The pride of West Clare, they are buried in Doonbeg.

Mac's and the O's, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4812}

"When Ireland was founded by the Mac's and the O's, I never could learn..." but the singer lists all the various great family names of Ireland. Some specific names are mentioned, but most are simply references to clans

"Round Coolin's peak the mist is sailing." The mists stream, the banshee wails, the beasts and brooks mourn, the singer's eyes stream for MacCrimmon, who never shall return. "No more forever Shall love or gold bring back MacCrimmon."

MacDonald of the Isles: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #95}

MacDonald courts Peggy, a lowland lady. He tells her that if she'd go with him he'd marry her. She agrees. As they ride "there was nothing there fittin for a lady." She becomes pregnant. At home he has a coach prepared to "go ... and see your daddy"

"One evening last fall when we felt well inclined, We hired with D. A. MacDonald to work at the pine." MacDonald pushes so hard that "He brought bread seven miles and he got it there hot." The loggers are described, and Caldwell called "no use at all."

The singer tries to woo a woman of Glencoe, but she says she is loyal to MacDonald, gone to war these ten years. He suggests that MacDonald may have forgotten her; she says she will remain single even so. He then reveals himself as MacDonald

The singer courts Susy but their fathers cannot agree. He sends Macfarlan' as a middleman to negotiate for him. Macfarlan' is an ugly stupid oaf but Susy's father tells him to speak for himself. Susy and Macfarlan' marry. Moral: Never trust a middleman

"Machine-guns they rattle, Jack Johnsons they roar, I don't want to fight With these Fritz any more. Take me over the sea, Where the Germans they can't get at me, Oh, my, I don't want to die, I want to go home"

"Say, I told the Captain, he don't worry me, Got a hundred and twenty-nine summers, partner, never will go free." The singer complains of hard work and getting up so early, calls for water, works with mules, wishes for mercy, and tells of prison life

"Draw up your chair and I'll pour out a beer, While I sing you a song of a Scots mountaineer." "He had a fine sheepdog... he learned to find sheep that no one had lost!" While "Mac" is in a bar, the sheep steals sheep; Mac is captured and the dog shot

"To learn the way of Five Points folk, If you take and give a joke, Go on Scott Street for a mope, And stop at Mackin's Store." People of all nationalities gather "like chickens in a pen" despite the smell of gas. The poet describes the workers

"My name is Macnamara, I'm the leader of the band, My wife is Betty Grable, she's the fairest in the land"; she can sing, dance, "show a leg" ... everything but "make my ham and eggs"

MacPherson the Drover: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6185}

Peggy's father would have her follow McPherson the drover. she agrees but thinks about all the men "for me hae gane stark" she might have had. But if Harry Mitchell, "my love just now," proves true she'll "look owre my nose at the drover"

MacPherson's Lament: (17 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #2160}

MacPherson tells how a woman betrayed him to the Laird o' Grant. He challenges all to a duel in defense of his honor. He breaks his fiddle, "the only friend I hae," rather than see it in bad hands. A rider is coming to reprieve him, so he is hanged early

"I've spent my time in rioting, Debauch'd my health and strength... But now, alas! at length, I'm brought to punishment direct." MacPherson laments that he is to be hanged, blames the Laird of Grant and Peter Brown, and tells people to live well

The Mounties learn that a trapper has gone mad; he shoots one and flees. During the manhunt, he kills another Mountie, then a third, but is surrounded and shot dead. Credit is given to the Mounties: "They always get their man"

Jamaican patois: They know I am Cantinny. Did you reveal that?

Madam, Madam, You Came Courting: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #542}

When the girl comes courting the boy agrees to "entertain you If you will not call me names." She spurns his wealth: "All I want is a fancy man." He says she can look to the trees to keep her warm "when nights are cold and frosty"

"Done made my vow to the Lord, And I never will turn back, I will go, I shall go, To see what the end shall be." "My strength, good Lord, is almost gone, I will go, I shall go...." "Sometimes I'm helpless on the ground, I will go...."

French (Belgian). Capstan shanty. "En revenant d'Beaumont, La digue, digue, daine." The singer dreams of Beaumont, where he meets a girl. Her name is Madeleaine. He lifts her petticoat. You can guess the rest

Mademoiselle from Armentières: (27 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #4703}

The mademoiselle "hasn't been kissed [or other appropriate verb] for forty years." The soldiers complain about her or cajole her to do their laundry; they complain about their superiors (and their relations with the lady?) and grouse about army life

Ball-bouncing game. "Mademoiselle, She went to the well, She never forgets her soap or towel. he washes her hands, She dries and dries, She combs her hair, She jumps up high And touches the sky Then twirls around Until she drops."

"Dites-moi donc mademoiselle, dou venez-vous donc?" The singer asks the woman a series of questions: Is she from Sorel or Saint-Adele? Is her petticoat is cotton or flannel? She answers with questions of her own. They end with insults

Magdalene's Lament, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #8153}

"As I cam in by Tanzie's wood... Four-and-twenty o' Geordie's men Kiss'd me against my will." The girl recalls flirting happily in a tavern, "But now I'm in the correction-house And whipped to my turn." She hopes to be released and marry

German shanty. Original was a capstan (gangspill) shanty. The Magelhan/Magellan is the name of the ship. The verses (or at least the translation) are mostly good natured complaints about work and the captain.

"The land of my home is flitting, Flitting from my view; A gale in the sails is sitting; Toils the merry crew." The sailor wishes this were his home, with Maggie sitting by his side. Not even the storm can threaten him when she is there

Maggie C is "built by George E Saville a man of high degree." Nevertheless, she is unstable. Everyone laughs at the effort to get to the dock. The owner says "It's that blooming Saville's fault" but Saville claims "No better boat's afloat"

"Fause Maggie Gordon she's made my life a burden." The singer has been jilted and wishes he'd never been born, has no heart to live, but is unwilling to die.

Michael Lee tells of courting Maggie Howie of Napanee; she wore his ring, but refused to marry him; her parents disapprove. He kills her with an axe, flees to the woods, is captured and jailed. He states his guilt and his readiness to be tried and hanged

The Maggie Hunter leaves Oswego bound for Toronto, but runs into a gale. Various crew members do their best, but the ship is lost, with only bits recovered. Six months later, the cook's body is found. Listeners are told to remember whenever a storm blows

"Miss Maggie Jones was a homely maiden, And she owned a homely apple tree." She begs the singer to climb it and throw apples down to her; a branch breaks and he falls on her. His parents fight under the tree and get stung by bees

Maggie meets a piper, Rab the Ranter, and encourages him to strike up a tune while she dances. He does, and she praises his work; he says, "It's worth my while to play indeed When I hae sic a dancer." She encourages him to ask for her if he comes again

The singer falls in love with Maggie Mackay at a fair. They go drinking but, when drinking is finished, she says she must go home with her mother. Later that night he sees her drinking with Davie McLean. He won't take girls drinking again.

The sailor returns home and soon falls in with Maggie May. She takes him to her room, gets him drunk, and walks off with his money (and clothes). Maggie is arrested and transported to Australia

Maggie Murphy's Home: (6 refs. 10K Notes) {Roud #5208}

"Behind a grammar schoolhouse In a double tenement, I live with my old mother, And always pay the rent.... You're welcome every evening at Maggie Murphy's home." Maggie enjoys the area, and hopes all will remain happy at home

The singer praises Coleraine; it is the home of beautiful Maggie. He recalls meeting her by the Bann, and the various places he courted her. He hopes he will soon be able to meet her again

"(Maggie/Minne) Picken(s) on the shore, Gathering winkles off Culmore, he lifted her leg and gave a roar, What the devil ails he?" "Maggie Pickens on the shore, she had daughters three or four, Wishing she had many more...." And other short stories

Maggie, Maggie, Where Is Jiggs?: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #19938}

Jump-rope rhyme "Maggie, Maggie, where is Jiggs? Down in the cellar, eating pigs. How many pigs will he eat? One, two, three...."

"Oh! many a time I am sad at heart." Boys come to court Maggie "but I tell them they needn't come wooing to me." Her secret is that she loves a sailor: "my heart is over the sea." His mother guesses her secret and approves.

The singer courts Maggie. She would say "gae bide awa" but her smile said "come back again." He withstands her jeering words and finally wins her smile and heart.

"I went one night with a high-priced thirst to loaf in a booze bazaar." The singer, glancing at himself in the mirror, sees a "cringing bum" -- then looks again and it's gone. The bartender says that the "Magic Glass" lets men see what they might become

"Love is something if you give it away Give it away, give it away... You end up having more." "It's just like a magic penny Hold it tight and you won't have anyLend it, spend it and you'll have so many They'll roll all over the floor."

The singer praises Mary and their beautiful home country of Magilligan. He recalls carving their names in a bench, and drinking together. They watch a ship sail away, but again agree never to leave Magilligan

"In a snug little field in a neighboring park, On a beautiful morning in spring, A sly magpie jack saw a pert little lark." The magpie offers to teach the lark to sing. The lark refuses; "it would most likely fail" and they would be confused about colors

"I lingered near a cottage door, And a magpie said, 'Come in, come in,' And a magpie said, 'Come in.'" He meets a girl; the magpie says to sit down, and then encourages him to court her. Her father and brother chase him out; the magpie says "Good-bye."

Magpie's Nest, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2127}

Singer praises his love, saying if he was a king he would make her queen and set her down in the "magpie's nest" -- a cottage alongside the River Shannon. He says he's never seen anyone more lovely than "the little Irish fairy in the magpie's nest."

"When Tom and Elizabeth took the farm, The bracken made their bed (x3) And quardle oodle ardle wardle doodle The magpies said." They work hard, but finally she dies and he grows senile. The farm is still there -- because the bankers can't give it away

"Have you ever stood on the Carn street.. And viewed those hills with their limpid rills..." The singer has traveled widely, but never seen a place so fair. "Though here today in the U. S.A. I toil on a foreign strand," he wishes he were still at home

"Steal up, young ladies, mah mammy stoled a cow (x2)." "Stole dat cow in Baltimo', mah Mammy stoled a cow (x2).: "Steal up and take you' turn." "Steal up an' make a bow." "Steal all 'roun', don' slight no one."

The cabin boy, Tom Bones, is washed overboard of the steamer New Orleans, bound for New York. Newfoundlander Bill Maloney "dressed out in oilskins" "made a leap and saved the boy." "Five brave British sailor boys" rescued them both.

Maid and the Horse, The: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1624}

A maid walking in the cold meets three men riding. She tells one that she craves the thing that "sits between your two legs" to make her warm. He gets off his horse. She gets on his horse and rides off. He goes after her until she threatens to shoot him.

Maid and the Magpie, The: (3 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #1532}

The sailor goes to sea, leaving his girl and the magpie. The girl spends time with the parson, and tells the bird she prefers him. The lonely sailor hurries home; the bird reveals the truth. Neither sailor nor parson want the girl thereafter

A woman comes to a well, where she meets a man who asks of her a drink. She says she can offer him none because her leman/husband is away. The man tells her that she has no leman, and goes on to tell of her sins and assigns a punishment

A dialog between a maid and a young squire. He proposes, She ridicules him. In leaving he asks that she remember him "if ever ye in love be wounded." She replies, "If ever I in love be wounded Remember sir, I'll send you word"

A (woman) is about to be hanged. If she could pay her fee, she would be freed. One by one, father, brother, (and other family members) come to see her hanged, refusing to ransom her. Then her sweetheart arrives to rescue her

Maid from the Carn Brae, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #9478}

The singer recalls the other girls described in songs -- the girl in the Galway shawl, the girl from the County, Down, etc. -- but "she was queen alone, The maid from the Carn Brae." No amount of searching will reveal another such girl

Far from the city live Michael Murphy and his beautiful daughter. The singer praises her beauty at great length, and desires to wed her though she is only a farmer's daughter. If she agrees to marry, he will cease rambling and live in the country with her

Maid from Tidehead, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #9187}

The singer hears a young lumberjack tell how "I long once again for the Maid from Tidehead." He describes their parting and decides to return to Restigouche: "No more will I roam from the Maid of Tidehead"

Maid Gaed to the Mill, The: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2575}

"The maid's gaed to the mill by night, sae wanton... That she should hae her corn ground, mill and multure free." The miller's man obliges her. When she has a child "Her mother baid her cast it oot." "Her faither baid her keep it in," and she does.

A girl dresses as a sailor and goes to sea to seek her true love. The captain finds her attractive and wishes she were a girl. She puts him off, pointing out that there are handsome girls ashore. Only as she is leaving the ship does she reveal her sex

Maid of Aghadowey, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #7958}

The singer recalls his time by the Banks of the Ban, where he met a beautiful girl. Her parents are "dead against me," but he begs her to be true to him, and says that he would give her all his riches if he had any

"I met her on the brow of Altaveedon Hill, The lambs were calling after her to stay there." He describes the hills and her, saying "There's a head of gold far lovelier than yon hill." Her beauty has enraptured the singer; he will wander no more

"Maid of Athens, ere we part, Give oh give [me] back my heart, Or, since that has left my breast, Keep it now and take the rest." "Then hear my vows before I go, My life, my soul, I love you."

Maid of Ballydoo, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #3477}

The singer meets a maid. He asks if she were Helen, or Aurora, or "Flo the queen of May." He takes her to Hilltown and gets her drunk so that "she soon forgot the vows she made." He recalls now "when I first composed these verses" sitting at his loom.

Maid of Ballyhaunis, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7960}

The singer courts Mary, saying that her beauty has ensnared him. He begs her to love him, but notes that his father has told him they may not marry. He asks her to come away with him "to the land of ships," where they will be happy

Maid of Ballymore, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #2991}

Markie Bawn loves the heiress "maid of Ballymore." If he wants to marry, she says, he must have her parents' consent. He puts on his shoes, has her mother's consent, and they marry. "A happier couple were never saw before"

Maid of Belfast Town, The: (4 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #V2930}

"In Belfast town of high renown, There lives a comely maid." The singer approaches her and asks her to come away with him. She rejects him because of a vow made seven years before. Now, "each night I dream, rave and complain" because she refused him.

The singer wants nothing better "than to herd the fine cattle on bonnie Strathyre" with "Mary, the pride of Strathyre." He dances with Mary, and Flora with Colin. Others can go to the lowlands, or soldier far away, but he'll stay home with Mary

Maid of Burndennet, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #7982}

"Oh, fair (are the) vales of (my) own native soil," particularly Burndennet, where a beautiful girl lives. The singer praises her beauty and describes their courting. Though their rivals sneer, their love will emerge victorious

When the singer left Ireland to fight in the wars he had loved his "Maid of Castle Craigh" but thought she did not love him. Somehow, in the three years passed, he learned "that I had won thy gentle heart." The war is over and he has returned to her.

Maid of Craigienorn, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #6880}

The singer praises the Maid of Craigienorn, whom he sees as he rambles. He begs her to come away. She refuses; she has another love and will not leave her parents. He says her love has abandoned her. The ending is confused

Maid of Croaghmore, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #6878}

The well-born young man falls in love with the maid of Croaghmore. He describes her beauty, says he would make her queen if he were king, and promises to serve for her hand as Jacob served Laban. Her parents say she is too young

The singer praises the harbour and women of Culmore. He recalls the girl he loved, who cried bu "sailed down Lough Foyle and away from Culmore." He wishes a storm would bring her back. He will follow her and seek her in America

Maid of Dunmore, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #9177 and 3668}

The singer meets a maid whose sweetheart is fighting the French with Nelson. He asks her to leave Dunmore and live with him in Ireland. She refuses. He "picked up my alls and left for Ireland, And left that fair maid in Dunmore"

The singer praises Dunyshiel, "the place where my true love does dwell." He recalls meeting her at Rasharkin Fair. He must leave for Nova Scotia, but as long as he is away, "my heart shall be with the Maid of Dunyshiel."

"My thoughts delight to wander Upon a distant shore, Where lovely, fair, and tender Is she whom I adore... The lovely maid of Erin, Who sweetly sang to me." If he were a monarch, she would be his queen. The seas separate them; he hope to see her in heaven

"Oh, the sun does set down in the west when his daily journey's o'er.... With ruby wine I'll fill my glass... And I'll drink a health to my sweetheart, she's the maid of Erin's isle." He praises Mary's beauty, and vows to love her as long as he lives

"There was a maid of (Fainey/Marlborough/etc.), of youth and beauty bright, Who had scores of sweethearts to court her day and night...." She loves her father's servant. They break a ring, then he flees. Her father threatens him. The end is confused

The singer meets a beautiful girl near Faughan Vale. He asks her about the road, and then admits to being besotted with her. She tells him she is engaged to another, and they will soon sail for America. He laments his fate

Maid of Lismore, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #9284}

Singer meets Kathy from Lismore, going to sell turkeys at Dungarvan. She pays for drinks. He claims to be rich. They sleep until the market closed. The price for turkeys falls. Now he claims poverty. She is ruined and would have him "hung or transported"

Maid of Magheracloon, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2486}

The singer complains that the man who courted her on the hills of Magheraclon, "behind yon hawthorn tree," no longer courts her. "Oh he's not to blame, the fault's my own ... I gave my love to another young man." Now she is broken-hearted.

A senorita comforts the fallen Americans on the field of Monterrey. "Although she loved her nation And prayed that it might live Yet for a dying foeman She had a prayer to give"

The singer ask is he will ever again see the region of Mourne. He goes to his sweetheart, and begs her to love him lest he go over the sea. She says she loves a sailor and will remain true to him. The singer sadly prepares to emigrate

Maid of Mourne Shore (II): (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5282}

The singer meets a young girl on the Mourne strand. She says she is too young to marry, but he seduces her. She asks if he will marry her but he says he is too young to marry now, but if he returns to the Mourne strand he'll marry her.

Maid of Newfoundland, The: (10 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4412}

The beauties of the maid are compared with the flowers, jewels, women of other lands, etc. The singer tells us that he met her in Labrador and will go far away if he cannot have her.

Maid of Prairie Du Chien, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7947}

The singer bids farewell, noting "There's nothing doth my footsteps detain But the beautiful maid of Prairie du Chien." He offers marriage; she rejects him. He hopes she will turn to him "when lovers get scarce." He wishes he were a soldier far away

The singer steps up to a beautiful girl and says that she entices him. She answers that she is only seventeen, and knows nothing of courting. He offers her a lesson in the subject. She says he should not visit her; she will return in a week

Maid of Sweet Gurteen, The: (13 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3025}

The singer tells the praises of the beautiful Maid of Gorteen. His father opposes the match; she is only a serving girl. The father locks her up; when the singer still professes his love, he has the girl sent away. The ending is confused

Maid of Tardree, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #6872}

In this confused song, the singer falls in love with a girl, who also says she loves him. But then he falls in love with another girl. But his "first expectations were blighted." He prepares to emigrate

Maid of the Mill, The: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1276}

Will has "kist and ... prattled with fifty fair maids" but prefers the maid of the mill to Phebe. Phebe says, "Young Harry's the lad for me." They describe their heartthrobs: "Her cheeks like the blossoms in May ..." "His cheeks are as red as a rose ..."

The captain sees a pretty girl on the shore, and vigorously entreats her to come aboard. At last she does, but then sings captain and sailors to sleep. She robs captain and sailors, then rows back to shore -- using the captain's sword for an oar!

The singer sees a beautiful maiden, "brighter than Venus." He courts her; at last they set a wedding day. But she breaks off the engagement; she has "another more kinder." He laments; he or she or both set out for another country

A girl finds her maidenhead "a burden" and would marry. Mother says she's too young and threatens to send daughter to the fields. "Young batchellors will tempt me, and I perhaps may yield" Mother concedes. Daughter will happily marry Frank the Farmer.

"I can bake and I can brew, I can cook an Irish stew, Wash a shirt and iron it too, But I must go out on Sunday." Six days she works to maintain a good home, "But I must go out on Sunday." She hopes someday to settle down with her young man

Gaelic. The singer has a vision of a woman, the spirit of Ireland, who wishes "to be free of English rule."

Gaelic. The singer seduces a beautiful young woman. "It is not altogether clear whether he abandons [her] or his previous companion."

Derry is the Maiden City, threatened in 1688. Her defenders shouted "No Surrender" and vowed Derry "should be a Maiden still." She rejected "a Kingly wooer" and her defenders won a terrible battle. "The Maiden on her throne boys, Shall be a Maiden still"

"Maiden in the mor [moor] lay, In the more lay, Seuenyst [seven nights] fulle (x2)," "Welle was hire mete. Wat was hire mete?... The primerole ant the violet." "Welle was hire dryng [drink]. Wat was hire dryng? The chelde water of the welle-spring." Etc.

"Busy baking for her bridal, Durno's maiden lilts wi' glee." A stranger taunts her for baking too slowly. She wagers she can finish baking before he can build a road. He, the devil in disguise, wins the wager. She flees and turns to stone to escape him

A maiden starving in Derry tells "her 'Prentice Boy lover" not to weep for her: live free or die "not like a popish slave." The message is repeated in Derry by a young wife and mother to her husband, and by a widowed mother to her son.

"What is that crucifix gleaming so whitely, Here in the desert standing so brave? Let us go softly, let us go lightly, To read its inscription, 'The Maiden's Grave.'" No one, save the cross that marks the grave, knows who she was or how she died

The girl laments that her parents have denied her poor lover's proposal of marriage. She bids farewell to parents, friends and foes. "Come all you fair maids like me a-dying, It's now I'm taking my last farewell." She believes her death is near.

"Maidens of England, sair may ye mourn, For tyned ye have your lemans at Bannockburn, With heavalow. What wende [thought] the King of England to have gotten Scotland? With rumbalow."

Maidens of Locharmuick, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #6175}

The singer walks out one morning to the farm at Locharmuick. He is greeted with kisses by a girl in the garden. The "aul wife" brings out a whisky bottle and he drinks a toast to the five "maidens of Locharmuick," those over them and men who are away.

"When I was a girl of eighteen years old... I was taught to expect wit, wisdom, gold, and nothing less would do for me." She rejected a youth as too poor, a duke as too old, etc. By her forties, the suitors were fewer; at (63), she begs for anyone

The Devil, to seal a deal with a jealous suitor, wins a bet with a betrothed maiden. She flees and her silent prayer to evade the Devil is answered: she is turned into a stone pillar that reminds maidens to "guard the vows that love has made"

Gaelic. The speaker laments that while Leinster and Ulster rose in rebellion, Munster did not.

The singer recalls wandering by Magilligan strand to Downhill. He describes the shore, the old castle, the fields, the girls. He complains that the famous poets never mentioned Downhill. He would rather be here than anywhere else in the world

Maids of Simcoe (Ontario): (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3289}

The singer urges the girls to remember the loggers while waiting at home with the farmers. He remarks sarcastically on the dangers farmers face. The boys head for (Quebec) to party, then for home. (In some texts a girl at an inn falls in love with him)

Examples of why young women should not marry old men. A girl married at sixteen, and has lived an unsatisfactory life. Details are given of the old man's various performance problems. The girl notes that she eventually found solace with a young man

Gaelic. The singer's wife was stolen and replaced by a fairy woman without his knowledge. In Dublin he meets his real wife whom he eventually recognizes. He joins his real wife.

Mail Boat Leinster, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7344}

On October 10, 1918, "the Dublin Mail Boat Leinster was sunk in the Irish Sea" by a German submarine. "The passengers, their life-belts on, unto the boats repair, While cries for help do rend the skies in sad and wild despair."

The singer lists all her suitors: "the farmer's cauld son," a soldier she refused, a sailor, ... and she waits for the lad and farm waiting for her. Now she has "found a far better and a far better place"

"Old Ironsides at anchor lay, In the harbor of Mahon," where the captain's son climbs the mast and cannot get down. The captain takes a gun and orders the boy to jump or he'll shoot. The boy jumps into the sea and survives

"Come, sogers! take your muskets up; And grasp your faithful rifles; We're gwoin to lick the red coat men, Who call us Yankees, 'trifles.'" Loggers and soldiers will drive off the inept British invaders. They will decide the border by battle

"We are marching on to Madawask, To fight the trespassers; We'll teach the British how to walk -- and come off conquerors." The British will not be allowed to log. People from all occupations are called to join the forces which will drive out the British

Maine-ite in Pennsylvania, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7739}

"I landed safe in Williamsport in a lumberman's rendezvous, 'Twas there I hired with Jacob Brown as one of winter's crew." The singer serves six months in the wild country, talking of the waters and the great variety of animals

"If ye want to learn high farmin'" come to Mains of Boyndie: it takes 14 pair and some odd-jobmen to work it. The foreman for the day is the first to start. The scythe there slashes more in a day than you'd cut with a sickle in a week.

"I hear ye're gyaun to Mains o' Culsh." The singer will not work there again. You are expected to be in the yoke by half past six. Loanie wouldn't rehire him anyway: "I learned his bairns to curse and sweer" though Loanie swears worse himself.

"'Twad be a crime, shame, and disgrace, To hear the people say, That the folk o' Little Elrick Works upon the Sabbath day."

Mains O' Fogieloan, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #5148}

Singer hires on in May at Turra as the lowest labourer at a Fogieloan farm. The foreman and second, kitchen maid and other labourers are named. Times in town are described with drink, fiddlers, and street dealers. He'll be back next May at a hiring day.

The sailor, broke, goes to a boarding-master and signs up to serve on the "Oxford." He comes aboard to find "sailors... from every nation"; "There wasn't one man that could understand another." At last he jumps ship or is paid off (with the entire crew!)

Mairi Laghach (Winsome Mary): (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7219}

Gaelic: The chorus says the mountains, fountains, dewy dells, and snowy blossoms are sweet but "sweeter is young Mary of Glensmole to me." The singer fantasizes about roving with Mary through the woods. He would scorn wealth rather than give her up.

Mairin Ni Ghiobhalain: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7269}

Tradesmen, with their tools, come to fix "a new foundation In Maureen from Gippursland" to stop her leak: a blacksmith, saddler, baker, tailor, ploughman and timberman. Each fails. Finally, a big tinkerman, with a soldering iron, fixes her.

"Now Mairins being old, and scarcely fit to walk aboot She hired a little girlie to sell her liquor oot, To sell her liquor oot and to serve her with the tea And she sold it to the customers for Mairins McCrie"

Nonsense rhyme based on distortions of meaningful words: "Mairzy doats and dozy doats and liddle lamzy divey," equating to "mares eat oats and does eat oats and little lambs eat ivy."

The weaver comes home suddenly, forcing the major (who is visiting his wife) to hide under the bed. The weaver goes out wearing the major's breeches, containing money and a watch. He claims the same right to the breeches as the major has to his wife

Major Andre's Capture [Laws A2]: (8 refs. 15K Notes) {Roud #798}

The young gentleman, John Paulding, escapes from a British prison and helps capture Major André. American general Benedict Arnold escapes and leaves Andre to be executed. "And every one wished André clear, and Arnold in his stead."

"Oh you come down on this Ramsey, partner, 'specially Ramsey Two, Hmmm, fix it in your mind, buddy, you got your time to do." The Major knows the river too well for convicts to escape. The singer recalls many years in the prison

Dublin 1798: "The Major" supported Orange "hangman hacks," "told informers what to swear," tried to prevent his Jemmy's execution and finally converted to Methodism. All "who have their catechism well" agree "whene'er he dies [he] will go to hell"

The singer sighs for "my militia man That sleeps on Majuba Hill" She met her man on Clifton Street on Sunday night and "I let him have his will" He sailed away. She heard a Banshee cry and dog moan one November night and at dawn had news he was dead.

"Mama, mama, make me a garment, And make it long, white, and narrow." "Mama.... look on my pillow and you will find some money." "Come along, boys... come pay my fine." The singer's love is dead; the singer will die also

Possibly about life in the south (Atlanta?) and the singer's desire to return or a meeting between the singer's lover and girl. Chorus: "Make me a pallet on your floor (x2), Make it soft, make it low, so my good gal won't know Make me..."

Round: "Make new friends but keep the old, One is silver and the other gold." Other words from other sources: "A circle's round, it has no end; That's how long I want to be your friend." "New made friends like new made wine Age will mellow and refine."

"Make we mery bothe more and lasse, For now is the time of Christimas." All who come to the feast are enjoined to bring some entertainment: A song, a sport, etc. "If he say he can nought do... But to the stokkes then let him go."

A gold-hunting miner alternates between cheer and gloom as he considers his prospects. He starts out doleful, "My spirits now are low, and I feel quite down-hearted... And I very often doubt I'll make my pile." Then he has hope, the it's back to gloom

The singer, who is dying, leaves his entire estate to his wife. The estate is detailed in exquisitely rhymed, exquisitely monotonous detail

Malahide Fishermen, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #9780}

On a calm November 18 "four brave seamen ... took their nets and line." Neptune, Boreas, and Death conspire to "rise an awful squall" and they "were lost here in Fingal" The four are named.

French language: "Malbrouck s'en va-t-en dguere-re/Marlborough he's gone to war." Marlborough is slow in returning home; he is dead and in his tomb. Details of his funeral are given

"Up with the black signal, and brace for the battle, A United States cruiser plows upon our lee.' "Prime well your lee guns and stand by with your matches To sink or to die for Malek Adhel." Damaged, the cry is to "strike the black flag of Malek Adehl."

"I have et, and what have I et, I have et the toe of a mallard." And so forth, through foot, heel, leg, etc., culminating in the entire bird. "And," we are assured, "good-a meat was the mallard."

An extravagant description of Mally's beauty and its effect on men. Men turn aside to see her; a countess "pines" for her; nobles "each one thocht his Kate or Moll a drab to Mally Leigh." Even royalty is not immune (but she is true to the man she loves)

Pat claims Mick Malone borrowed half-a-crown and "never brough it back." He won't lend him more because Malone "well knows how to borrow But he don't know how to pay." If Pat catches Malone he'll "stop his dirty tricks ... I'll give him cause to moan"

Maltman and the Highwayman, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #1309}

A maltman is robbed by a highwayman and left bleeding. A miller finds his neighbor maltman, hears his story, borrows his horse, chases down and kills the highwayman. The maltman testifies for the miller and clears him of the murder charge.

"Mama bought me a pincushion, pinuchion, pincushion, Mama bought... one, two, three." "What did Mama pay for it?" "Paid with Papa's feather bed." "What will Papa sleep on?" "Sleep on the washtub." And so forth

"Mama don't 'low no banjo playin 'round here... Well, I don't care what mama don't 'low, Gonna play my banjo anyhow...." Mama forbids all sorts of things, from jazz playing to motorcycle riding, but the singer is not discouraged

"Mama lama kuma lama kumala beesta O no no no no na beesta" "Otchy potchy kuma loma"

"Mama pass the corn bread, Papa pass the coon, Baby's little belly growls About a(n) empty spoon."

"Well, it's Mama, Mama, O Lord, you don't know" (x2). "Well, it's trouble I've been havin', Mamma, ain't gonna have no mo'." If hearers see his Mama, he asks that she write to the governor for clemency. He regrets the bullies in the prison

Lullaby: "Mama's goin' to buy him a little lap dog/Put him in his lap when she goes off...Go to sleep and don't you cry/Mamma's goin' to buy you some apple pie" Cho: "Come up horsie, hey hey (2x)"

Mamma's Gone to the Mail Boat: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #6373}

"Bye-o, baby, bye (x2), Mama's gone to the mail boat." "Go to sleepy, baby, bye, Papa's gone...."

Creole French. "Maman donne moin un pitit mari. Bon Dieu, quel un homme comme li pitit! Mo mette le couche dans mo lite, Bon Dieu, comme li si t'on pitit!" Mama gave me a little husband. My god, he's tiny! ... The cat mistakes him for a mouse."

"Let never another young man marry mammie's pet." Her mother teaches her needlework, dancing, and playing the piano instead of baking, brewing, and washing. And the promised dowry? "When the day of payment came, they did them all deny"

Mammy in the Kitchen: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #11764}

"Mammy in the kitchen cookin' pink beans; Daddie on the ocean dodgin' submarines."

"De day is past and gone en what is done is done, Ef you ain' done you' bes' you'll be de suffrin' one. Ole Time jes goes along en never kin turn back." "Mammy Moon, Mammy Moon, Time jes never kin turn back."

"Mammy, I'm on the shelf, What are you doin', ye divil ye? Mammy, I'm breaking the delft. Tear away, ye devil ye."

"Who all de time a-hidin' In de cotton an' de corn? Mammy's little boy, Mammy's little boy, Who all de time a-blowin' Ol' Massa's dinner horn?" The little boy runs, steals away to the kitchen, fusses; Mammy keeps careful watch

"Yes, a man ain't nothin' but a stupid fool To think he got a woman all by himself... Well, I say, as soon as his back is turned, You know she cuttin' out with somebody else... Yes, man ain't nothing but a crazy fool To give one woman all his pay"

A defense of "the man that walks behind the plough." He is glad for his sons to be in school, learning to read and write and sporting round at night, but his strength is failing and he needs them to raise food on the farm.

Man Behind, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7358 and 12812}

The singer's father warns, "Don't ever be too forward, lad, but act with modesyt; In battle it's the man in fromt that's always shot... But the general gets the credit, for he's the man behind." Other examples show that it's best to be "the man behind"

Man from Conner's Crew, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4063}

The singer, a novice "river hog" in the pinewoods, chances the "Hulling Machine" rapids rather than portage his canoe. Caught, he prepares to die, gamely shouting "Halloo" to Conner's crew as he passes them. One of them rescues him.

A mysterious stranger joined the men around the fire at Andy Lemon's Inn and rode on into the snow. "Two winters more, then the Trouble Year": the French are defeated. Some time after that the singer sees the stranger hanged at Downpatrick gaol

"The man in the moon Came down too soon, And asked his way to Norwich; He went by the south, And burnt his mouth With supping cold plum porridge."

"Why vainly do we waste our time, Repeating our oppression? ... See Gallia's bright example; The glorious scene before our eyes, Let's every tyrant trample.... future ages prove this truth, That man is free by nature"

"Come, all you old cow-punches, a story I will tell.... Back in the days when I was young, I knew a man named Hods" who was good for nothing. Indians attack and leave him to die, but he lives to open a gambling house. He goes to New York

A man of (Burningham) goes to sea; his wife spends her time carousing. He returns to see her out on the town; he sneaks home and sends the maid to announce his arrival. She proclaims her delight, but he beats her with a rope. She promises to reform.

Man of Constant Sorrow: (12 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #499}

"I am a man of constant sorrow, I have been troubled all my days, I'll bid farewell to old Kentucky, The place where I was born and raised." Singer describes his hard, rambling life, and bids farewell to his lover, country, and friends.

"[I am???] A man of honor and from Virginia came, I courted a fair damsel and Polly was her name." Her brother opposes the match because he is poor. The two discuss whether to marry. The outcome is confused

"By profession and birth I'm a man of the earth; I burrow in it like a mole." The singer tells of the life of a miner -- often poor, often overworked, often blamed for problems not of his making. He recalls the price paid in blood for "socialised coal"

Man of the North Countrie, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6548}

"He came from the North, so his words were few." The singer is happy she married him and moved to Limerick. "I wish that in Munster they only knew The kind kind neighbors I came unto" so that there would be no hatred between South and North.

The singer catches a lugger for home from the Boer War. Landing at Dundalk he is picked up by peelers for having "no means of support" and is thrown in jail among the fleas. In the morning a J.P. releases him; he swears he won't leave Struicin again.

Man That Knows It All, The: (2 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #10950}

"There's shiploads of Mormonites coming o'er, Coming o'er, bound for Utah; Oh, each has five wives and they shout for more... Oh, that's an old wrinkle in Solomon's time: Not in mine." The singer thinks one is enough; "I'm the man that knows it all"

"The man that lives must learn to die, Christ will no longer stay...." Listeners are reminded that their bodies will be food for worms; their lives are grass. They are in danger of hell, and one who ends there, "no physic shall him cure."

"I am the man, the very fat man, that waters the worker's beer." The man waters the beer to make more profit (he admits to having "a car, a yacht, and an aeroplane") and to keep the workers in subjection. To this end he even uses poison

A man says he is sick to death for love of a girl. She sleeps with him. He says he never loved her, but loves another girl. She says he should leave: she does not value his love. If she has a baby she'll nurse it but send her seducer to the gallows.

A man had been gambling. "The man was burning on the log... that man was burning for blaspheming the name of God." People get a saw in order to free him from the log but "as the sawdust fell It commenced a-dripping blood"

The singer rejoices in the happiness he experienced since he "broke the bank at Monte Carlo." The girls follow him, and he leads a carefree life. He sets out to marry "a madamoiselle [who] with twenty tongues swears she will be true."

Alternate lines are a chorus, "Man-o-war sailor, ho-heave-ho." The shantyman sings "Man-o-war sailor, you better le' me go." "... I'm trying to go home" "... I'm going home" "... I'm rowing home" "... the current going home"

"I have kept my true love company For better than three year; He promised that he'd marry me" but he's left on a man-of-war. If he's slain "in heaven I hope his soul will shine through all eternity"

"Come all ye valiant seamen And each jolly tar, And let us try our fortune On board a man-of-war." The Americans "broke our peace... in Virginia." French, Spanish, others join against Britain, but King George's sailors will be victorious

Man's a Man for A' That, A: (6 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #30953}

"Is there for honest poverty That hangs his head and a' that... For a' that and a' that, Our toils obscure and a' that, The rank is but the guinea stamp, The man's the gowd for a' that." Praising equality, with a final prediction that all will be brothers

Spanish: Title means "Early morning." The singer wishes for sun, moon, and stars to help him court, or separate from Marianita. Chorus: "Ya viene a maeciendo Ya la lus del dia nos vio, Ys dispierta amiga mia, Mira que ya amanecio."

Manchester Angel, The: (8 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2741}

The singer meets a girl in Manchester and promises to marry her. She sleeps with him; his regiment prepares to march. She begs to go with him; he refuses. She offers to buy his discharge; he refuses. She vows to enter a nunnery until he returns.

Manchester Martyrs (I), The: (1 ref. 1K Notes) {Roud #3029}

Colonel Kelly and another man come to Manchester "to free old Ireland from her tyrant's chain." They are jailed. Allen, Larkin and O'Brien stage a rescue. They are taken, found guilty, and hanged.

"By the old Moulmein Pagoda, lookin' eastward to the sea, There's a Burma girl a-settin', and I know she thinks of me." The soldier, in London, seeing the dirt and the squalor, thinks with longing of the green land and the girl on the road to Mandalay

"There's a little old cabin on the Swanee shore far away, That's where my heart is longing night and day... Pretty little maiden waiting there for me by the shore. Mandelin, Mandelin, moon is shining on the fields of sugar cane... I love you"

Mandi Went to Poove the Grys: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #852}

Travellers' cant. Singer goes to put horses out to graze; a policeman is after the family. The farmer tries to impound the horses; the aunt chases them around the haystacks and steals some hay. Finally the policeman tells them to move on

Mandy Was a Little Bahama Girl: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #26772}

"Mandy was a little Bahama girl (x2), Mandy, oh my Mandy, Mandy mine." She "Said she'd love no one but me." "Mandy had a little baby." "Baby make my Mandy cry, Cry so hard she sure to die." "Lord he take my Mandy from me"; she is buried

"You have heard about he battle over in Manila Bay, How the Yankees met the Spaniards, fought them on the first of May. Our commander's name was Dewey...." Dewey is praised and Spanish boasting ridiculed

"I'm a rippin', roarin' lumberjack From up on the Manistee... And the drinks are all on me." The lumberjack boasts of where he has worked and all he has done. He invites his companions to drink until he uses up his pay, then he'll go back to earn more

"Manitoba, here we rise to greet you, Manitoba, our home. You're the bond that binds our great Dominion...." "For we all love our Manitoba, Manitoba, our home so der, And we raise the strain Of the waving grain." Manitoba is free and great and lawful

"Here I stand in the jail house door, Here I'll stand no more. Goodbye to my mother And friends forevermore. My mother she did warn me, She warned me when I 'as young, 'I'll raise you up for the gallows; My son, you will be hung.'"

"It's on the Tomahawk river, a stream you all know well, It's of a crew of shanty boys, a story I would tell." He describes many members of the crew. He ends by wishing good luck to George Manson and others and prepares to leave for Wausau

Mantle So Green, The [Laws N38]: (38 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #714}

The well-dressed girl refuses the singer's offer of marriage; she is pledged to Willie O'Reilly, whose name is embroidered on her fine mantle. He tells her O'Reilly died at Waterloo; seeing how she grieves, he reveals that he is O'Reilly in disguise

Many Brave Boys Must Fall: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #15680}

"Heavily falls the rain, wild are the breezes tonight... Gathered around the fireside.... We sit and talk of brothers abroad... And yet, and yet, we must not forget That many brave boys must fall." The singer promises to fight before the horrors of war

"Many say I am too noisy, But I know the reason why, If they only felt the glory They would shout as loud as I." "Hallelujah, bound for glory... I have crossed the River Jordan, Now I'm safe in Beulah Land." "...In his ranks I still remain."

Many Thousand Gone (Auction Block): (18 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3348}

The freed slave rejoices to be done with abuse: "No more auction block for me... Nor more pint of salt for me... No more peck of corn for me... No more driver's lash for me..." (etc.)

Many, Many Stars Are in the Sky: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #14006}

"Many, many stars are in the sky/skies, Some as old as Adam [or, "And each as old as Adam"], Down upon your knees and kiss who you please, Your humble servant, Madam." Described as a kissing game

Mixed Maori/English. "Kuni atu, kuni mai, plenty piri ring, Turituri, all you folk, While I make you sing.... Time I go to Parliament... Tenei te korero tangata pai, Ingoa Maori Joe." Tales of what happens when Joe goes to parliament

Maori chief Rerenga comes to Wellington "And told the Chief Financial Fiend the tribe had wool to sell." The dishonest bank manager makes an low offer. The chief accepts and brings the wool. The banker pays -- and finds the boxes weighted with sgones

"In days of yore, from Britain's shore, Wolfe, the dauntless hero came.... The Maple Leaf, our emblem dead, The Maple Leaf forever, God save our Queen, and heaven bless The Maple Leaf forever." In praise of the heroes and people of Canada

"Then here's to the lads of the Maple Leaf Squadron, At hunting the U-Boat it's seldom they fail." "We'll zig and we'll zag all over the ocean, Ride herd on our convoys by night and by day." They sail between Newfoundland and Derry

Maple on the Hill: (14 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4333}

The singer recalls the maple on the hill "Where I sat with my Geneva long ago." Now, as he is dying, he bids her, "Don't forget me, little darling, when they lay me down to die"; he must "leave you and that maple on the hill."

The people at Marafray are described in unflattering terms: "Bell Lowe she rises in the mornin Wi' a nose sae neat and fine She jabbers and curses ...." "The [end of] term time is comin'" when we'll be paid and have a parting glass.

"Let schoolmasters bother their brain In their dry and their musty vocation; But what can the rest of us gain By meddling with such botheration?" Examples of people that work very well without esoteric knowledge: must the tailor know Conic Sections?

March of the Cameron Men, The: (10 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #24300}

The Cameron men swear to follow their chief "or die by his side." "Each Cameron knows he may tread o'er the heather no more." The chief says, "whatever men dare they can do."

March of the Men of Garvagh: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #13540}

"We're marching, marching thro' Garvagh town, We're ready to fight for queen and crown, If any man won't we'll knock him down." The singer sees the marchers come by, led by "fighting Phil," and her (?) heart beats loud

"Rouse, ye noble sons of Labor, And protect your country's honor, Who with bone, and brain, and fibre, Make the nation's wealth." Workers of all sorts are urged to unite. Many occupations are listed

"March on and you shall gain the victory, March on and you shall gain the victory." "We want no cowards in our day, You shall gain the victory, We call for the valiant-hearted men...." "This is the year of Jubilee... The Lord has set his people free."

French. "One day I go to the market to buy a cock. My cock goes coquelicou, cou, cou." Cumulative for: "My chipmunk, my horse, my cow, my pig, my ewe, my goose, my hen." Chorus: "Jamais je n'en serais jaloux"

"The army is gath'ring from near and from far, The trumpet is sounding the call for the war, McClellan's our leader, he's gallant and strong." The Union army will face the enemy in battle array. The singer has good wishes for the families and the dead

Marching Down to Old Quebec: (12 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #735}

"We're marching down to (old Quebec/New Orleans), Where the drum is loudly beating, The 'Merican boys have won the day And the (British) are retreating." The soldier describes marching, and his plans to go home/to New Orleans/to visit a girl

"The farmers of Nebraska now are in a fearful plight, For years they have been worse than slaves... But now they are marching for freedom.... Hurrah for Powers, a farmer true and grand." Banks, speculators, railroads cannot defeat the farmers

"Old Abe's in the White House, taking a snooze, Gen'ral Grant is a-busting his gut with his booze... but let's keep marching on." Complaints about life in the Union army: Lincoln freed the Blacks but not the soldiers, the rebels keep coming back, etc.

"Here Comes Mary, Covered all over with Marching Order! Marching Order! Marmelade and jam."

"Marching round the gum stump, The gum stump, the gum stump, Marching round the gum stump, Rolly roly oh!" "If you want a sweetheart, A sweetheart, a sweetheart, If you want a sweetheart, Choose one and play."

"Oh, we're the bully soldiers of the 'First of Arkansas,' We're fighting for the Union, we are fighting for the law, We can hit a Rebel further than a white man ever saw..." The soldiers tell how they will show their prowess by defeating the Rebels

Marching Through Georgia: (22 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #9596}

Sundry boasts, mostly too optimistic, about Sherman's march to the sea: "How the darkeys shouted when they heard the joyful sound.... Yes, and there were Union men who wept with joyful tears... While we were marching through Georgia."

"We're going down to Cuba, boys, to battle for the right, We're going to show the Spaniards that we Yankee boys can fight... While we are marching to Cuba." The victories at Manila Bay and Santiago are briefly mentioned

"Some six or seven years ago this country looked forlorn, A God-forsaken country as sure as you are born," but the Mormons have taken St. George and made it into a good homw "As they came marching to Dixie" [Utah's Dixie region]

As commonly sung, about people sharing activities as they march to Pretoria. Traditional versions are more specific. Shanty Chorus: "We are marchin' to Pretoria, oh gloria, Victoria. We are marchin' to Pretoria, Victoria rules the waves!"

Jump-rope rhyme. "Marco Polo off he ran, To the court of Kubla Khan, In the city of Cathay."

"The old clerk in the parish you know very well"; he tolls the bell then goes to the alehouse." A mare and a foal they ran in great speed" and begin to read the Bible. They observe that millers, bakers, tailors, butchers, publicans are all dishonest.

Margaret Gray and her baby bid farewell to Robert Gray as he goes to work in the field. They agree to meet at a neighbor's house. She becomes lost in the woods. Her baby dies. Long after, she finally finds her way home.

"(Margie/Polly) (ate/drank) some (marmalade/lemonade), Margie drank some pop, Margie drank some other thing That made her stomach flop. Whoops/Oops went the marmalade... that made her stomach flop."

"Oh the smartest clipper you can find, Oh hey, oh ho, are you 'most done? Is the (Margot Evans) of the (Blue Cross) line, So clear the track, let the bullgine run!" The singer describes the fast passage of the ship, and hopes Liza Lee will marry him

French shanty. Chorus: "Oh hisse! et ho! Tire larigot, Hourra pour la Margot!" "With a heave an'a ho! Blow the flute boys, O! Hurrah for La Margot!"

French. The singer's father marries her to a ninety year old man. When she complains, her father said that her husband is rich. She would rather have a man that satisfies her

"I wonder where Maria's gone (x3). Ear-lye in the morning." "Guess she's gone and I can't go (x3), Ear-lye in the morning." "Yonder she comes and howdy-do (x3), Ear-lye in the morning."

William seduces Maria. After her baby is born William scorns her until he sees her dancing with another. Jealous, he gives her poison in a glass of wine. He also takes the poison and they die. She says, "It's all for your sweet sake I died."

"'Tis not for me to speak aloud On lofty themes. I tell As one among the lowly crowd How young Maria fell." "Swift as a flash a glittering blade Across his throat she drew. 'By you,' she shrieked, 'I've been betrayed." She apparently avoids conviction

Fifteen year old Maria's stepfather comes to her bed one night and asks to sleep with her. She begs him not to; he persists. Finally his desire is too strong; he lies in wait for her and kills her

Maria tells her mother she is going to meet William at the red barn. They are to be married next day in Islip. Maria is never seen alive again. After eleven months her mother dreams the body will be found buried in the red barn. The body is found there.

"Come all you Wiscasset sailors, I pray you lend an ear, I'll sing to you a ditty You never did hear. It's of the Maria T. Wiley. Under Captain Charles Coffin, she heads to Savannah with bricks and hay. The crew hates her but hopes for good wages

Marian Parker (I) [Laws F33]: (8 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #781}

Pretty schoolgirl Marian Parker and her family are preparing for Christmas when the girl is kidnapped from school. "Young Hickman" is arrested and tried after the body is found

Marian Parker (II): (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4126}

Marian Parker, "a sweet little darling," is "lured away from school" so that the kidnapper (unnamed) can demand a ransom. Her father finds her mangled body. The ballad concludes with moralizing stanzas

Marian Parker (III): (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4127}

Marian and her sister set out for school. Edward Hickman tells her her father had an accident, and kidnaps her. He demands a $1500 ransom. Her father brings the money, but finds her dead body. The song blames Hickman but does not tell his fate

"Little Tuscan maid so gay and blythe, Lovely as the land that gave her life; Through the vineyard and the olive trees, Rings her laughter on the breeze." "Marianina, tra la la (x2)... No wild red rose was ever half so fair." She sings as she travels

French. Marianne rides her donkey to the mill to have her grain ground. A wolf eats her donkey as she waits. The miller pays to buy another. Her father asks what happened to the donkey. She says it is St. Michael's day, when donkeys change their coats

French. A knight calls on Marianson and steals her husband's rings. The husband, coming home from war, is tricked by the knight into thinking she is unfaitful. He kills the child and drags her behind his horse. She proves her innocence, but is dying.

French: The singer is her father's only daughter, and he sent her to sea in her little dress of gray. A sailor courts her and asks to kiss her. She is afraid of what her papa would do. He points out that her father is far away

Jump-rope rhyme. "Marilyn Monroe Fell in the snow; Her skirts blew up And the boys cried 'Oh!'"

"Oh, a corp'ral and a private of Marines, Licked the Germans and all their bloody damn marines" while their superiors toast General Le Jeune. The singer boasts of all their success against the Germans, who are the toughest soldiers they have faced

Mariner's Grave, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #13865}

"I remember the night was stormy and wet And dismally dashed the dark wave... On the mariner's new dug grave." The singer recalls the burial "near to a dreary cave." The grave is left to the wildflowers, the willows, the moonbeams

"A mariner's life is the life for me, Floating along on the changeful sea." When it is stormy, the ship moves fast; when it is calm, it is easy to rest. The sailors always pray for those at home. They will give thanks and die happy when they return home

"From the Halls of Montezuma To the shores of Tripoli We fight our country's battles On the land and on the sea." The singers are "proud to claim the title of United States Marines." They fight well and toast the success of the Marines wherever they go

"A story now I'll tell you Of a fearful massacree Which happened down in Dixie On the borders of the sea." Five textile workers are shot in Marion, North Carolina. The workers needed more money; the owners brought in police.

"Marionene, when you said to me That your love would never fade away, Maidens sometimes break their vows, they say. Did you know what love might do?" The singer promises to be true, and asks, "hear my prayer, Heart and soul are only thine"

The steamer Mariposa, loaded with general cargo and sheep, runs on shore at Grassy Point, Labrador. "A portion of her cargo is gone up and down the shore, Honestly and hardly earned by the people of Labrador"

"Tis often I dream of the old Wexford fleet," "golden memories" of the end of the nineteenth century. "Ah! those were the days of the sailing ship, days of a rare old sport, When the Devereux flag was carried on the ships that sailed from our port"

"Shame shame shame Marjie Murdock, What a burning shame." "When the wedding come Marjie Murdock, You gie dem ginger-beer." "Me ask you fo' rum Marjie Murdock, Me ask you fo' rum." "When the wedding reach Marjie Murdock You run under bed!"

Mark Murphy from Avondale "could fight and farm and swing his arm and drive this world along, But the only thing he left undone was to try and hold his tongue." He bragged once too often about his boxing and was shown up by a boxer he said he could beat

"I ain't gonna walk on Market Street no mo', 'Cause market Street made my feet so so'." "Went to the gypsy to get my fortune tol', That low-down gyspy stole my jelly roll." "Sittin' here worried, a bucket won' hold my tears (x2)"

In '45 the singer fell in love with a maid who wore the Orange and Blue. He inquired of her home: "her index it came from above." Other questions were answered in Masonic code. Bring your sweethearts and "see if yours tells you what my love told me"

"Come all you good people of every degree": people in the town of Marlboro are told to tremble when the see the coffins of five men who drowned when a storm struck a vessel at anchor on the Hudson. Only two survived. So stop sinning.

Marriage Causes Trouble: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6313}

He says he will never marry, "my sorrow for to double," because you need a house, pots, pans, cradle .... She says she has a house and the other things. He says they'd need two maids for the house and children. She says she'll do everything. See notes.

Arthur must fight a huge knight or come back later and say what women most desire. An ugly woman will give the answer if Arthur marries her to one of his knights. Gawain agrees, leaves it up to her to be beautiful by day or night, and lifts the spell

Singer warns young people of the perils of marriage, tells them to wait until age 21, and be sure of their sweethearts. "When a man's married he ain't his own man... But when a man's single he can live at his ease..."

The singer warns young men "there is falsehood in the fairest ... a single life's the dearest." But, if you happen to get a wife who is modest, and so on, and let's a man "sit and sing In triumph like a king ... married life's the dearest"

"Married man going to keep your secret, Hi-li-li-lee-o" (x2). "Single boy will talk about you."

The singer looks back fondly on seven years of marriage: His wife cares for him (even when he drinks too much), and never questions or scolds. He advises girls to keep this in mind" So, girls, mind you this when you marry."

Singer is ready to leave his wife and boy after he "gave ten years." His wife "just hollers all the time." "I'm going out west and I'm never coming back So you'll never see me any more."

Married to a Mermaid: (2 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #9143}

Farmer loves a knight's daughter, the knight has him pressed. At sea the farmer falls overboard. As his comrades look for him he pops up and tells them how he found and then married a mermaid. The sailors wish him well. Choruses of "Rule Britannia."

"Look out, boys, better watch your hands, Joe's got the itch... That marrowbone itch is a-killing me." "That marrowbone itch... You have to scratch it day and night." It makes the hands crack; many people have caught it

Marrowbones [Laws Q2]: (69 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #183}

An old wife goes to the doctor for a potion to blind her husband. The doctor suggests (eggs and) marrowbones. He says he wishes to die and asks her to push him off a cliff. As she runs to do so, he steps aside. She drowns; he says he cannot see to help

"Well now, brave boys, we're off to the main, Roar, Agamemnon, roar, To load our ships with the dollars of Spain, Mars forevermore!" Thirty French and Spanish ships are at sea, but they will have reason to remember [18]05. The British will defeat them

French language: "Allons, enfants de la Patrie! Le jour gloire est arrive!" The listeners are urged to fight for France and freedom, and drive foreigners off French soil

Young Martha Dexter and her niece set out to visit the niece's mother. When they come to the river, the water is high and Martha's excitable horse throws her. She drowns. When her body is found at last, the family mourns

"Marthy had a baby, and she said 'twas mine." "It must have been the walker's [walking boss's], 'cause it had blue eyes." "The walker couldn't stand to hear the baby cry." "Me an' my buddy stared lopin' down the road."

"Marthy wept and Mary moaned, A-weeoing on a willow tree -- tree -- tree, Don't you know? A-weeping...." "What did you do with my Lord? I left him on the other shore." "What did you do with that sinful man...."

Martin Said To His Man: (21 refs. 4K Notes) {Roud #473}

The singer says s/he saw various animals performing various activities, some of which are impossible or unlikely (E.g. "Saw a crow flying low"; "Saw a mule teachin' school"). In some versions, the narrator(s) are drunk, competing to tell the tallest tale.

Martin, Tim, and Dan: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #3698}

"Come all ye hustling chanty boys, a lesson take from me; Work steady in the lumber woods and don't go on a spree." The singer advises saving to buy a farm; he recalls learning to work as a logger. Chorus: "Martin, Tim, and Dan, Barney, Pat, and Sam...."

A troop of soldiers forces farmer's daughter to promise she will come to their quarters that night. She arrives in disguise, but the quartermaster sends her away. She leaves her garters and ribbons tied to the gates to prove she'd been there.

"When I was just a wee little lad full of health and joy My father homeward came one night and gave to me a toy" which went "zip when it moved and bop when it stopped." He has given it to his son; "Neither one of us knows just what it is, but he loves it"

The father of a girl secretly sees her giving a ring to her sweetheart. He confines the girl and arrests the singer for robbery. The girl pleads for her lover and, rather than being transported, he is freed. The two marry and settle down

Mary disguises herself to join her lover's regiment. When he is slain, she becomes an officer. She leads her men bravely, but is at last captured when her supply officer betrays her. Threatened with death by the enemy, she reveals her sex and is spared

"Mary and Martha just gone along (x3), To ring them charming bells." "Crying, free grace and dying love, To ring them...." "Oh! way over Jordan...." "The preacher and the elder just gone along...." "My father and mother's just gone along...."

"Mary Ann Magee, At half past three, She locked the door, And turned her key." A twisting game, in which turning the key causes the players holding hands to trade places

"Mary Ann McCarty she went out to dig some clams (x3), But she didn't get a single solitary clam. All that Mary got was oysters (x3), But she didn't get a single solitary clam" She digs and digs without success, except in getting trench mouth

"Oh fare thee well, my own true love, Oh fare thee well my dear, For the ship is waiting and the wind blows free, And I am bound away to the sea, Mary Ann." The singer compares his pain at parting to that of a mourning dove or a lobster in a pot

Mary Anne McGuigan: if your "pritties" are good you must spray them again with bluestone. John James leads the dance with her and buys her a blouse of silk. Who will help her fix her house and thresh her oats? She is "swiggin'" her porter.

"Mary Anne Sat in the pan, Forty years ago."

Mary Arnold, for reasons unknown, decides to blind her baby by covering its eyes with beetles held in walnut shells. Her deed is discovered, and she is sentenced to transportation

"I wish I were in Ireland, And sitting in my chair, And in my hand a glass of wine, And by my side my dear." "Oh, then, farewell, poor Mary Blain, Oh, do take care of yourself, my dear..." The singer promises to come back, and praises her great beauty

"The Mary Celeste she runned ashore, She _did_, she _did_, She'll never run the block no more, No more, no more!"

"Mary, for the love of thee, Blythe and glad may we be, And I shall sing...." "The first joy was sent to thee, When Gabriel greeted thee." And so through the five Joys of Mary. Chorus: "Ay, Ay, Ay, Ay, Gaude celi domina"

The singer is leaving Donegal and Mary from Dungloe for America. "It was your cruel father" that drove him from her but he plans to return. "I wished I was in sweet Dungloe and seated on the grass And by my side a bottle of wine and on my knee a lass"

"Marie Glennie she was there Dressed up like ony doo And aye as she gaed thro' the reel, Says Sandy I'm for you"

"Mary had a baby, oh Lord... People keep a-coming and the train done gone." "What did she name him?" "She named him Jesus." "Where was he born?" "Born in a stable." "Where did they lay him?" "Laid him in a manger"

Mary Had a Little Lamb: (12 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #7622}

"Mary had a little lamb whose fleece was white as snow." Surely you know the rest....

Mary Had a Little Watch: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #7622}

"Mary (Patty, etc.) had a little watch, She swallowed it one day, So now she's taking castor oil To pass the time away. But as the time went on and on, The watch refused to pass, So if you want to know the time, Just look up Mary's ass."

"Mary had a William goat, William goat, William goat, Mary had a William goat, Its stomach lined with zinc." "One day it ate an oyster can... And a clothesline full of shirts." "The shirts can do no harm inside... But the oyster can."

Jump-rope rhyme. "Mary had bread and jam, Marmalade and treacle, A bit for me and a bit for you, And a bit for all the people."

Mary Hamilton [Child 173]: (46 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #79}

Mary Hamilton, servant to the queen, is pregnant (by the queen's husband). She tries to hide her guilt by casting the boy out to sea, but is seen and convicted. She is condemned to die

"I loved you Mary Jamieson ... You ken I loved you Mary dear ye needna look sae high The time may come yet Mary when I may pass you by." The singer loved Mary "as a bridegroom loves his bride" -- but apparently unsuccessfully

Gus courts Mary Kate White when her sweetheart Ned is laid up with an injury. Gus takes her to a card game, an acceptable public courting site, but "it was labour in vain." Ned recovers "so now he and Kate play cards" with Gus as imaginary prize.

Jump-rope rhyme, probably composite. "Mary Kelly had a lamb, Peever, peever, Sister Kelly stole that lamb, Peever, peever, O." L stands for London. Harry Brown will marry her. She washes during the days of the week. Harry Beery kisses Shirley Temple

Mary L. Mackay, The: (4 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #1831}

About a voyage by the Mackay from Portland to Yarmouth. Driven by a gale, and handled by uninhibited officers, she ran 220 miles in 18 hours. The singer challenges others to best the mark, but admits the voyage was made on the power of Portland rum

"As I strayed o'er the common on Cork's rugged border" the singer meets Mary Le More, distracted. She tells that her brother and friend Connor have been murdered by soldiers and she has no one to avenge them. When troops appear she screams and runs away.

"The flower of the valley was Mary Machree," whose beauty is described at length. Her soldier love goes away for many years, leaving her pining on the shore. At last, in the winter, he returns to her

Mary Mack (I): (24 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #11498 and 10999}

"Oh Mary Mack, Mack, Mack, All dressed in black, black, black...." The singer speaks of love, and engages in a series of unprofitable transactions. Much of the song consists of floating verses, e.g. "I went to the river... And I couldn't get across."

Mary Mahoney is a servant maid in Indiantown. She rejects Archie, a "brisk young mutineer." The landlady resolves to help him and sends him to Newcastle to get jewelry. Mary rejects him again when the "gold" rings prove fake.

The singer recalls being young and handsome and having all the girls follow him. He loved only Mary McVeagh. Now he is old and fat and tired, but has grown rich. He returns to find Mary -- and finds a girl who looks just like her. Her grandmother was Mary

Mary Neal [Laws M17]: (13 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #142}

The singer is on trial for kidnapping Mary Neal. She pleads for him and he is released. She steals some of her father's wealth; they marry and set off overseas. After a near-disaster on the ship, they reject her father's offer of land if they return

Mary falls asleep thinking of Sandy. His ghost appears to her, bidding her to stop weeping; his body lies at the bottom of the sea and he is at rest. He warns her that they will soon meet. The cock crows and the ghost vanishes

The singer meets Mary. He asks why she frowns. Her lover has "gone over the main And I hear he is married." The singer reveals that he is her lover returned after seven years. They marry next morning and settle, with his riches, in Belfast.

Mary of the Wild Moor [Laws P21]: (57 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #155}

Abandoned Mary comes with her child to her father's door on a bitter winter night. Her father fails to hear or ignores her cries, leaving her all night on the doorstep. In the morning he finds her body. He dies of grief and the child of neglect

Mary on the Banks of the Lee: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6857}

Before the singer leaves Mary to go on the ocean he warns her her not to stay out late on the moors. He writes her a letter but recieves no reply. He returns and brings roses to place on her grave.

Mary Phagan [Laws F20]: (20 refs. 90K Notes) {Roud #696}

Mary Phagan works in a pencil factory. While there she is beaten to death by Leo Frank. An innocent bystander (who happens to be black) is arrested, but then Frank's guilt is established and he is sentenced to death

"Mary rolled the stone away Early on a Easter Sunday morning ... Angel came from heaven Mary rolled the stone away" My brother brings the news from Heaven.

"Ye maids of Columbia... I beg your attention and now pity me"; he has been wounded by love. He spells out Mary Smith's name to describe her beauty and virtues. He wishes he were Adam and she Eve. He will wander forever if he can't gain her love

"In Manchester in Lancashire A damsel she did dwell, In service a long time she lived, Till this to her befell"

Mary runs way from home. Her father thinks her dead. When a woman's body is found it is thought to be Mary. Conley is arrested for the murder. A jealous woman swears she saw him do it. He is sentenced to life. Mary returns and clears Conley.

Mary, a bad girl, says "I won't." A good girl, the singer says "I will." In school she says "I write." Leaving,she says "Hooray." Courting, she says "a boy." She gets engaged, marries, has a baby who dies (boo, hoo). Her husband dies (hooray). She dies.

Lullabye. "Mary wore her red dress, red dress, red dress, Mary wore her red dress, All day long." "Mary wore her red ha." "Mary wore her red shoes." Additional verses ask where she got her shoes, groceries, etc. Song concludes, "Mary was a red bird...."

"Mary was a three-badge Wren, Her hair was fair and curly, She joined the Wrens in 1910, just 30 years too early." "As a glamour girl she wished to pass." She tries to snag a sailor (or more), but ends up with someone undesirable; other Wrens are warned

Mary With Her Young Son: (2 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #453}

"Then Mary took her young son, And set him on her knee, Saying, 'My dear son, tell me, Tell me how this world shall be.'" Jesus responds by foretelling his death and resurrection

"Listen to my story that to you I'll now relate. Of how a Philadelphia maiden met her melancholy fate." Mary Wood loves a poor man; her father, who wants her to marry wealth, stabs her -- then repents. She forgives him, sends love to her beloved, and dies

Mary Wore Three Links of Chain: (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5027}

Floating religious verses with the chorus, "All my sins been taken away, taken away." Sample verses: "Mary wore three links of chain (x3), Ev'ry link bearing Jesus's name." "I don't know but I've been told (x3) Streets of heaven are paved with gold."

"Mary, Mary, Brummagem Mary, how does your allotment grow? You've 'ad some shy knock through workin' at Kynoch's, Althouh you don't mind we all know. You've never seen Arizona and Texas is not your abode, You're just Mary... what lives up Pairsher street"

Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary: (8 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #19626}

"Mary, Mary, quite contrary, How does your garden grow? With silver bells and cockle shells And pretty maids all in a row."

Jump-rope rhyme. "Mary, Mary, with a curl, Will you jump as my best girl? Slow at first, now that's the way,On we go to the break of day."

"Mary, she did dream a dream, As she was floating down the stream. When she woke, she gave a sigh, The grey cat kicked out the black cat's eye."

Mary, the Maid of the Don: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6265}

"Nae mavis nor larkie sang blither than I" but Mary has left the singer and "caused me to roam." "Nae mair I'll herd sheep upon yon hills sae steep But I'll die for my Mary, the maid o' the Don."

Mary, the Pride of Killowen: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #13340}

The singer describes the fine summer night when he emigrated from Coleraine and Mary. He recalls courting her, and says he will never forget the place or the girl He blesses the spot they met.

Henry returns and finds Mary with a squire. The squire is her true love now since her previous sweetheart "is no more." Henry kills the squire in a duel. Mary kills Henry and recognizes him by a private token. She is sentenced to life in jail.

The singer mentions Mary, "a beautiful lass, And the song I will sing is about Mary's ass." She rode the beast, a gift from her uncle, regularly. At last it falls, knocking Mary off, and dies. It is buried, and the bad smell from the Ass Hole described

"If you stop to find out what your wages will be And how they will clothe and feed you, Willie, my son, don't you go on the Sea, For the Sea will never need you." Don't question orders, and don't expect to much, for land and earth don't need you

The singer describes all the places where he has been digging. At Fitzroy River the boss calls him a loafer, so he burns his office and left. He tells further tall tales, ending "I'm a Maryborough miner, and I'm one of the good old time."

"Hark! the trumpet calls to duty, See, our glorious flag unfurled...." "So let the Southerns do as they will, We are for the Union still." The singer declares the southerners "traitors" and "rebels" and calls Marylanders to defend the flag

"They bore them to a gloomy cell And barred them from the light Because they boldly dared to tell The people what was right." The singer urges all to support the cause of "Freedom," and calls their Unionist captors "despots"

"Sweet Maryland, thy groves are green, And sparkling are thy rills... Though far away I plow the seas... My heart with fondness clings to thee, Sweet Maryland, my home!" The singer looks forward to seeing his home once again

Maryland! My Maryland: (16 refs. 4K Notes) {Roud #V19764}

"The despot's heel is on thy shore, Maryland, my Maryland." The state's heroic history is recalled; the singer wants and expects her to join the Confederacy: "Huzza! She spurns the northern scum! She breathes! She burns! She'll come!"

Mashering a Doo a Day: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #13529}

Mashering a doo a day Mashering a doo a daddie, O, Mashering a doo a day"

A maid puts off a young man by saying she'll meet him that night in the woods. She makes a "maid" from a masking rung, branches, and an old widow's clothes. This "maid" smiles but does not speak. When he lifts her skirt he sees he has been fooled.

"Leaning oer a window ...I spied a mason laddie who gave my heart a wound." She compares masons to ministers, millers, ploughmen, cobblers, weavers, and smiths, and prefers "my bonnie mason laddie" to each.

"The mason's bonny daughter, The mason's lassie braw, Hey the mason's bonny daughter, She's stown me heart awa'"

Isabel refuses to marry her steward. He drugs and seduces her. She tries to kill her baby in a well. He rescues it. When Isabel admires the baby the steward reveales that it is hers. She murders the baby. The steward cries when she was arrested.

The singer sees a bridge where masons are working. She praises their work and would give up her fortune to wed a mason. She admires smiths but "if it had not been for oor mason lads ye would all died of cold." She admires soldiers, printers and tailors.

"Round de meadows am a ringing, De darkeys’ mournful song,... Down in de cornfield Hear dat mournful sound: All de darkeys am a weeping, Massa’s in de cold, cold ground." The "darkeys" loved him because he was so kind; the singer cries and plays banjo

Massacre at Butcher's Hall, The: (1 ref. 8K Notes) {Roud #14079}

"Come hearken to a bloody tale of how the soldiery Did murder men in Boston, as you full soon shall see." The 29th Regiment attacks the Americans. Several are killed

Massacre of Glencoe, The: (4 refs. 23K Notes) {Roud #5783}

Glencoe is wakened by cannon. "Naked mothers were shot with their babes as they ran, For the English had risen to murder the clan." Five hundred McDonalds are killed including Flora's Donald. She dies of grief. "The pride of Glencoe" are buried together.

Massacre of ta Phairshon, Ta: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #13100}

"Phairshon (MacPherson) swore a feud Against the Clan MacTavish And marched into their land...." His small force quickly disperses to chase cattle. He encounters his rival; they exchange insults, and Phairshon is killed

"You landsmen and you seamen bold, Attention give to me, While I a tragedy unfold Upon the briney sea." Sailors on the "Sea Horse," from Australia, drug and murder the passengers and crew in order to take the gold, but another ship captures them

"In the heat of the day When the sun shines so freely, There I met Master Kilby" and asks where Kilby is bound. He is going west to Nancy, "the fairest of girls" He would give anything he could gain for her

The great Irish greyhound wins the Waterloo Cup, beating Rose, "the pride of all England." (The two dogs discuss their respective countries. The owners bet large sums. The Irish celebrate the fact that their dog was better than an English dog.)

Cho.: "The Master guards the sheepfold bin/Comes and calls, is my sheep brung in?/And he's calling...for them all to be gathering in." The Master calls the sheep; the shepherd says some are lost, but the rest will come. The Master goes out and gathers

While men are preparing for the seal hunt, an old man reminisces in a long nostalgic monologue about the days when he used to go sealing. He dies at the end of his recital.

"Masters in this hall, hear ye news today." The singer announces the good news "brought from oversea" of the birth of Jesus. The shepherds go to visit the child.

"Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray my soul the Lord shall keep, And grant no other sailor take My shoes and socks... But if some poor soul should... try to take these things away, I'll punch his bleeding head in!"

"Matilda, she tke me money and run Venezuela." The singer had saved up his money to buy house and land, hiding it in his bed, but she locates it, sells his cart and horse, and leaves the country. The singer warns against trusting women

French. A young soldier is being sent away for six years; he comes to his beloved's chateau to tell her. She despairs; he says other young men of the village will entertain her in his absence. She says they will never take his place in her heart

A lord's daughter loves Matt. "But when her parents came to know, They swore they'd drive him from this island." The girl bids Matt flee before he is transported. Eventually her father relents, and she bids him come home to marry her

Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John (I): (8 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1704}

A child's prayer, asking the apostles for a blessing: "Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John / Bless the bed that I lie on / Four bright angels at my bed / Two at the bottom and two at the head / Two to hear me as I pray / And two to bear my soul away"

"Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, Hold the (horse/cuddie/X) till I get on. Hold him fast, hold him steady.... Matthew, Mark.. (Hold/loose) the (horse), I'm on. I'm on, the (horse) gone." Or, "When I got on I could not ride, I fell off and broke myhide"

Jamaican patois: Matty, running to meet her lover, drinks rum, laughs, gets up, and runs some more. The singer doesn't want Matty's left overs.

Song with recitation. Tam's wife says they could afford a pig. He goes to buy Matty's sow. Old lovers, they fall to joking; he leaves lightheaded. The sow does not want to follow; when he trips over a stone, it escapes him; he says he likes fish anyway

German song which can be about any band. "In (Matztown) meet un Cornet Band." In Matztown meets a Cornet band" which plays in the schoolhouse. The members of the band, and their instruments, are listed, with tales or jokes about their lives

"One day as I was traveling, I happened to think, My pockets were empty..." so he agrees to work for Captain Swift to go "live-oaking." Cutting live oak is hard work, the mosquitoes are fierce, and Charles Douglas wins all the singer's money at "Bluff"

Green hand Crotty understands nothing about sealing. When the Dan reach the seals Crotty boxes with a big one until he is rescued. Crotty is thankful the seal's breath smelled of whisky, else he might have been beaten to death

Maurice Hogan's Song: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #28975}

The singer, now sixty-four, compares the happy "dark depression days" of his youth to the go-go girl, T.V., mini-skirt-changed times he sees now. "O how I long for those bright days"

"Maurice Kelly one night when about three parts loaded" is beaten by a ghost. "Twas Kelly's wife dressed up in white to keep him from drinking... he got such a fright he won't stir after night But right after supper goes ... straight off to bed."

The mautman arrives to demand his pay, "or maut ye'll ne'er get mair." He says it is very good maut, but she complains of the"unruly crew" that "pierc'd my dochter's barrel." (The answer is that kissing is no sin, else so many would not do it.)

"Where hes te been, maw canny hinny? An where hes te been, maw bonny bairn?" The singer tells of all the places she(?) has looked for him, and the people she has talked to. He describes what he has been doing

The singer (May) would not be a husband bought by a codger (December). He wants "a young damsel so brisk as a bee." He is "nimble and active" and "not so old as you take me to be." "Come to my wedding" and we'll fill the glasses and push them about.

The singer has been wandering and will return with a branch of may. It is to celebrate the Lord's handiwork (in bringing forth the plants in spring). The singer wishes the listeners well: "God bless you all both great and small And send you a joyful May."

"May God above send down a dove With wings as sharp as razors To cut the throats of those old bloats Who cut the poor man's wages." Or "May God above send down his love,... To cut the throats of gentlefolks, Who grudge poor men their victuals"

May God Guard and Prosper England: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #26347}

A mother and son are on the deck of "Florizel." He is leaving to "tread the fields of battle" in World War I. She recounts his growing up. He asks that she and his father, weeping at home, pray for him. She gives him "freely to our king"

A bull frog "with nothin else to do" falls, jumps around, and falls in a well. The preacher warns that the Devil is looking for folks with "nothin else to do" If you want your wings, stay home with your family instead of going to other frogs' farms

Winter is pleasant but summer is coming with memories of old times when "we tripped through the heather" The old house has fallen, garden overgrown, and all the neighbors "like the red rose they are faded from the May Morning Dew"

A toast "to the lass wi' the lang pedigree": "to the poor and the lowly she's aye been a friend"

"Our Queen up the river And we'll keep her there forever with your yah-yah-yah ... Your Queen down the river ... Our Queen can tumble a pole ... birl her leg ... smoke a fag ... ate a hard bap ... The darkie says he'll marry her Because she is a Queen"

Maybe It's Because I'm a Londoner: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #32458}

"Maybe it's because I'm a Londoner, That I love London so, Well, maybe it's because I'm a Londoner, That I think of her wherever I go, I get a funny feeling inside of me, While walking up and down, Well, maybe it's because...That I love London town..."

Yiddish: The father comes home to his little boy, whom he sees "only while he sleeps." The mother tells him that he is a fine boy but he misses his father. But father can only be there while the child sleeps; he must work all day

Mayogall Asses, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #13350}

The singer describes a "cavalcade of donkeys" taken to Mayogall. The animals, in all sorts of conditions, are set to carry a load of cabbages to market. The driver convinces the animals to come, where he sells cabbages and animals both

The letter is addressed to the Archbishop of Dublin. It makes the argument for the legitimacy of Henry's claim and ridicules the claim of Lambert, now in the Tower of London. It critisizes the archbishop's silence and asks for reconciliation.

Ball-bouncing rhyme. "Maypole butter, maypole tea, M-A-Y-P-O-L-E."

"Come, lads and lasses, take leave of your dads, And away to the maypole hie, For every he has got him a she, And the minstrel's standing by." "Begin," says Hall; "Aye, aye," says Mall. The youths call for dances and exchange remarks

"Now I am a bullock driver and I work for Mazlim's Mill, And pulling timber from Vine Creek I've nearly had my fill." The singer complains about the rain and advises listeners that it's better to "turn your bullock out" than work at the mill

McAfee's Confession [Laws F13]: (19 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #449}

McAfee, the singer, is raised by an uncle after being orphaned. As a youth he runs away and turns wild. Married to a good woman, he has an affair with Hettie Stout and murders his wife by giving her poison instead of medicine. He is condemned to die

McAllum, a poacher, bids farewell to the woods and the game he hunted. He had been trapped by police and shot one man dead. He curses the lairds and laws and warns poachers to "lay aside your guns while you're able and free"

McCaffery (McCassery): (5 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #1148}

A young man enlists in the 42nd Regiment; mistreated by his captain and confined to barracks for a trivial offense, he decides to kill the captain. He accidentally shoots his colonel instead, and is tried (at Liverpool Assizes) and hanged.

St. Patrick's night, John McCarthy and William Toole go to play cards and drink. At the dance hall they have a fight with Dickie Costello. Costello sues McCarthy over the fight. McCarthy wins. Everyone "pitied poor Dickie for being such a fool"

McCarthy's Mare (The Runaway Mare): (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #14083}

"We started for the fair, With spirits light and hearty, Behind McCarhy's mare...." It is a wild cart ride; the seats are hard. The singer's coat is torn and his had lost. Finally all are thrown from the cart

McCarthy stops in Pope's Harbour for a bottle at Brian's tavern. He treats all hands and he sleeps it off on the floor. Next morning the landlord wants his money. He staggers to Mrs. Haws who nursed his wounds at no charge. He swears not to return again.

"It's just a year ago today I took to me a wife, And ever since she's proved to be the burden of my life." The woman licked McCarty to death, but now that he is married to her, the singer vows she won't beat him. He hopes to beat her until she behaves

The singer praises the beauty of McClenahan's Jean. When her father learns that they are courting, he vows "that in merriage we ne'er should be buckled thegither." He wants her to wed a rich old man. The singer casts scorn on her potential husband

McClure sails for Naples with cargo of fish. They are boarded by sailors from a submarine who sink McClure with bombs. The crew are allowed to leave and are rescued by an Italian destroyer who take the Captain and crew of six to Cadiz

The singer encounters McCracken's ghost at midnight. He recounts the deaths of Irish heroes of the rebellion. He advises: take by force the Reform the English would not yield. You will free "the Green Isle and receive the world's thanks"

McDonald Family, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4142}

"Sons of freedom, only ponder, On McDonald's awful doom." The five members of the family die in the great fire (of 1871). The singer imagines them dying. He particularly remembers "poor Jeanette," beautiful and a teacher, and believes she is in heaven

McDonald of Salmonier: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #18225}

Captain Mike McDonald's fog-bound fishing schooner "struck at Johnson's Point up in Trepassey Bay." McDonald's sons make it to land but the captain, "the last to leave," drowns. His body is found three days later and is returned to Salmonier.

"McDonalds is your kind of place, Hamburgers in your face, (French fries) up your nose, (Catsup) between your toes. The last time I was there, They stole my underwear, McDonalds (is the place for me/is your kind of place)."

The singer is "a kind of overseer in a famous hotel" in Glasgow: "a 'Model' lodging house where working men do stay.... All the fighting men in Glasgow's in MacGinty's model Lodge." He describes the fights over imagined offenses.

McKenna's Dream, The: (10 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #2377}

McKenna dreams of Ireland's heroes: Brian Boru, Sarsfield, St Ruth, Billy Byrne from Ballymanus, Reilly "on the hill of Screen," Father Murphy, the pikemen, Napoleon. "I looked around, but could not see One foeman on the plain... So ends McKenna's dream"

"John McKenzie stood in the Mataura store, And looked at the yokes and chains," and sets out to haul cargo. He discovers a large plot of good land -- but he also makes off with a thousand sheep. Still, they name the region for McKenzie and his collie

The singer describes the poor conditions in the McKinley Brook logging camp: The buildings leak ("for comfort, as you plainly see"); there is a risk of flood ("for they deserve it well, it's true") and the gambling and bawdy singing rarely stops

On April 18 Daniel McLennan is shot accidentally by Tim who claims he was playing carelessly with a gun he did not know was loaded.

Sergeant John McCafferty marches you "forty hours a day ... in the regular army." "I went down to McNab's Island" to fight Indians but "we got bald-headed And never lost a hair." "I got blisters... bunions...."

McNally's Row of Flats: (3 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #32438}

"Down in Bottle Alley lived Timothy McNally, A wealthy politician and a gentleman at that," owner of flats occupied by tenants from "Ireland and Italy, Jerusalem and Germany"; not even "the Tower of Babylonium" could match it

"My name is Macnamara, I'm the leader of a band, And though we're small in number, We're the best in all the land." Even General Grand said, "I've never seen the likes of Macnamara's Band." Members of the band may be described

The logger's camp, owned by McNulty, is "all populated by McNulty's family... some from every place you'll find upon a map": Irish, French, and Yankee loggers. The crew are all named. "It's pleasant in the evening when your day's work is done"

"Mrs. McSorley had fine bouncing twins, Two fat little devils they were." The parents determine on a grand christening; many come to join the party. As guests get drunk, fights break out; at last "they smothered the two little twins."

"Oh, McTavish is dead and his brother doesn't know it, His brother is dead and McTavish doesn't know it. They're both of them dead and they're lying in bed And neither one knows that the other is dead."

Floating verse song (even the chorus changes): "Me 'n' my baby 'n' my baby's friend Can pick mo' cotton dan a cotton gin." "I got a baby and a honey too." "Boat's up de ribber and she won't come down." Etc.

"Me and my sister/wife/lover (we) fell out, I'll tell you what it was all about. She liked coffee And I liked tea, And that's the reason We couldn't agree."

Chorus: Leader: "O Lord, aye." Response: "Me done done what you told me to do." Verse: "You told me to pray And I done that too"

Me Johnny Mitchell Man: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4757}

A miner's song in "Slavic" dialect, telling how the immigrant has been working in the mines, in bad conditions, for many years. When "Me Johnny Mitchell man" calls a strike, the singer will welcome it

Michael Chaser was born "with me hands in the pockets of me old ragadoo." At forty he meets Suzy Lagan but claims he won't shame her by taking her to the altar in his old ragadoo. She is fine with that and bids him adieu. He marries someone else.

Singer complains that he was walking alone on a road and "jumbie come an' knock me down." The same happens when he worked his ground, built his shack, planted his corn....

Jamaican patois: Answer-back worksong with the response always "no mah." Mother wants her daughter back: daughter's husband mistreats daughter on account of trivial disagreements ("piece of bread") and other women. "Give me back my daughter." "No mah."

Meagher's Children [Laws G25]: (8 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1834}

Two girls, four and six years old, lose their way in the woods and die. It takes a hundred men a week to find their bodies.

Charlie warns "fan ye mairry tae manage yer wife." When she nagged him and he took a stick to beat her she took it and beat him. She scratches him when he drinks. Though she reads the Scriptures she is the devil that breaks "hen-ridden" Charlie's bones.

"It seems mighty hard when you're sleeping all by yourself And the one you love she's loving someone else." "I feel so lonesome sad and blue today I had a darn good woman but my kindnesses drove her away."

Medicine Jack, "a jolly old quack," hopes to sell his pills, powders to be taken in vodka, and "very cheap" plasters for pains. "I am the man" for pulling teeth. "Since you will not buy my goods I'll go and sell elsewhere"

"The girls today are different from those I used to know, They never seem contented unless they're on the go." He complains about makeup, short hair, etc.; "Womenly characteristics we loved and prized are few." He wants a "good old-fashioned girl."

The Meeks Family (husband, wife, and three children) are lured from home by the Taylors. The parents and two children are killed, but wounded Nellie escapes to report the crime (the song details Nellie's story, and ends before the villains are captured)

The Meeks Family (husband, wife, and three children) are lured from home by the Taylors. The parents and two children are killed, but wounded Nellie escapes to report the crime. The Taylors are captured and sentenced to die

Nellie Meeks recounts her fate. Her family (father, mother, and three children) are lured from home by the Taylors. The parents and two children are killed, but wounded Nellie escapes to report the crime and tell of being an orphan

Meeks Family Murder (IV), The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #2269}

George Meeks is in prison, but is offered a pardon to testify against the Taylors. The Taylors offer him a job and money to come with him, but then kill him and his family. Nellie escapes and laments being an orphan

The singer laments, "Once I had a mamma, likewise a papa too." She recalls a beautiful, sunny day; the next thing she can remember is a pain in her head and the bodies of her family. Having told her tale, she regrets her fate

"O who will smoke my meerschaum pipe (x3), When I am gone away? Allis Bazan, Patsey Moran, Mary McCann, Cann, Cann." Similarly, the singer asks who will use his umbrella and boots, and who will kiss his girl

""Meet half way to your best like-'em/likeness (x3), You're the one my darling." (Or, "Won't you be my partner?") "Right hand round your best like-'em." "Five dollars if you touch her." "Trip her up and down as long as you love her."

The leader sings a line such as "Tell me Mary." "One morning soon." "Just roll the stone away." "Tell my disciples"; the congregation sings "Ay, Lord." Leader: "If you want to see me"; Congregation: "Meet me in Galilee."

Meet Me in St. Louis, Louis: (6 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #7597}

Louis returns from work to find Flossie not at home. Her note says that life is too slow, and tells him to "Meet me in St. Louis, Louis, Meet me at the fair; Don't tell me the lights are shining Any place but there." A despondent Louis prepares to move

"Meet me in the bottoms with my boots and shoes, Whoo Lordy mamma, Great God A'mighty...." The singer "got to leave this town now." He notes that he sees both the woman he loves and the woman he hates every day

"A little child was dying, And called her father near, And on his arm reclining, She whispered in his year, 'I'm going home to glory, A golden crown to wear, O meet me... Meet me over there." The sinful father, after she dies, turns to Jesus

Meet Me Tonight in the Moonlight: (15 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #767}

The singer calls on his sweetheart to "Meet me tonight in the moonlight." He bids her come alone and hear his sad story. He is being sent to sea, and they must part. He expresses his hope to return in metaphors of a fine ship, angels' wings, etc.

"Meet, O Lord, on the milk-white horse, An' de nineteen wile in his hand. Drop on, drop on the crown on my head, And rolly in my Jesus's arms. In that morning all day (x3), When Jesus the Christ been born." "Moon went into the poplar tree...."

"Meeting at the building Soon be over (with) (x3), Meeting at the building soon be over (with), All over this world." "Preaching at the building...." Continue with shouting, praying, etc.

Meeting of Tara, The: (6 refs. 4K Notes) {Roud #40558}

Thousands attend to support O'Connell and Repeal. The counties are represented. Dan appears: 3 cheers for Victoria, 9000 for Repeal. Wellington and Peel would face more men at Tara than at Waterloo. "Come rouse my brave Repealers be obedient to the law"

Meeting of the Waters, The: (10 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #30116}

"There is not in the wide world a valley so sweet As the vale in whose bosom the bright waters meet" The magic of the spot "'twas that friends, the beloved of my bosom, were near"

Meg Steg had Bill John's baby; Bill and Jamie Jess "Bor't a hole in Meg's arse." Jock "kissed the cow ahint the tail"; the cow shit; crazy Jock licked the butter. Dirty arse went out to shear gorse and came home with the sickle in his arse.

"Far distant friends will drop a tear When of this accident they hear." A group of girls visits Betsy Green's school. With bad weather coming, parents gather six girls -- but the horses fall on a slope; Mira is killed instantly; Eliza succumbs weeks later

"Farewell, dear friends and comrades all"; the singer, who is being transported, wishes those he leaves behind well. They strike a rock near the mouth of the Derwent in Tasmania. The guards keep them on the ship. 134 are killed in the wreck

Hawaaian: "A Koolau wau, ike i ka ua." The singer encounters rain in Koolau. It accompanies dust storms and produces mud. The song is full of strange analogies

"The melven vine grows around the tree" (x2). "Go write her name and send it to me." "Morris Jones his name shall be." "So rise you up and she will sit down."

Memory of the Dead, The: (12 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #V5143}

"Who fears to speak of Ninety-Eight? Who blushes at the name?" The listeners are urged to recall the soldiers of the Irish rebellion, and to cherish their values

In 1929 people in Memphis are dying from influenza. Doctors say they will control the flu soon, but God shows his power by making them sick too. Influenza, "puts a pain in every bone/a few days you are gone/to a place in the ground called the grave."

"Men are like ships upon the main, Exposed to every gale, Each passion is a fatal blast That tears away a sail." "Each pleasure is a latent rock And life a stormy sea." "Yet oft... our pilot sleeps Or leaves his place to pride... the vessel drives ashore"

The men will be tried for murder on the evidence of the double-dyed informer Carey. He duped them and "pointed out the victims, the men that were to be stabbed"; "let us hope further fair play won't be denied." Carey should be given justice

Men of County Clare, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #5237}

Toast "The men of County Clare!" Brian Boru's call to defeat of the Danes, and de Valera's call "to strike for native land" were answered by "the mighty men of Clare". Toast "'Our land a nation free again From Cork to Antrim's shore!'"

Welsh, with various translations, the most typical beginning "Men of Harlech in the hollow, do you hear like rushing billow Wave on wave that surging fellow battle's distant sound. 'Tis the tramp of Saxon foemen," so fight

Men of Merry England, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #13658}

"Oh the men of merry, merry England, Search ye the wild world round, And take ye the best From the East to the West, Where are such to be found?" The name is "a passport to al that is free." The singer raises a glass to the people of England

"Forget not the boys of the heather Who rallied their bravest and best When Ireland was broken in Wexford And looked for revenge to the West." The brief success and final failure of the western rising are recounted.

""Come all you fo'c'sle lawyers that always take delight By brooding o'er your troubles to set all matters right." The singer complains about the Merchant Shipping Act. Sailors must endure the bad food, the work, the bad officers, because of the Act

A merchant's daughter loves a "gallant youth." Her parents ship him overseas. She takes ship to follow him to Padua. The parents follow her. She finds him condemned to die for religion. She prepares to die with him, but the authorities relent

A young man's parents send him to America to keep him from marrying a poor girl. He reaches land despite his ship's wreck. He meets a rich girl who offers marriage, but he remains true to the girl at home. The rich girl gives him money to return to her

Merchant's Song, The: (1 ref. 3K Notes) {Roud #26131}

"You are put under... by the merchants and the government right here in Newfoundland." The season is over. Fishermen go on the dole in winter. Merchants sell cheap necessities at high prices. Government won't help but say "go home and sell your cattle"

Merchants of Fogo, The: (1 ref. 3K Notes) {Roud #17749}

"Come all ye toil-warn fishermen ... lend an ear; Beware of those cursed merchants, in their dealings they're not fair; For fish they'll give half value." All local merchants are thieves except the Hodge brothers; "they've showed justice to each man"

Merchants of the Bay: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #12478}

The merchants of the village of St Peter's Bay are named and characterized: good and bad. "Oh those were spirit stirring times, some twenty years ago" Times have changed for the worse; some remaining moderns are named.

"It's all about the cruel rogues of merchants No pity or love do they show." They live a life of ease and luxury and sell poor goods and show no charity. But death found rich and poor on Florizel and Titanic and will find the merchants too.

"Merie sungen the munches binnen Ely, Tha Cnut ching reu therby; Roweth, cni(c)tes, noer the land, And here we thes moneches saeng." "Merry sang the monks of Ely, When King Cnut rowed there by, Row, knights, near the land, And hear we the monks sing."

"To yon fause stream that, near the sea, Hides mony an elf and plum... A witless knight did come." A mermaid comes up to lure him into the water. She convinced him; he holds out his hand, and she laughs as he is sucked into the water, never to rise

The singer day dreams at the wheel of the Pretty Peggy, bound for Dundee. A mermaid jumps on board. She wants him to go with her but he "cannot breathe the brine." If she joins him on land they could get rich with her on display. She slaps him. He wakes

Mermaid, The [Child 289]: (77 refs. 8K Notes) {Roud #124}

A group of sailors see a mermaid (meaning that they can expect a shipwreck). Various crew members lament the families they are leaving behind. The ship sinks.

The crew is waiting for a breeze to carry them south when a merman appears with a shout. The ship's anchor has stopped his front door! The merman reveals that he is a sailor who was washed overboard. Having married a mermaid, he grew a tail

In November Billy Merner came to Darlingtown and moved in with the Sargents. At Christmas he got drunk, "raked poor Bessie," and left. No one whose "Head is good and sound ... let Will Merner come back to Darlingtown."

"The Merrimac she went out; The Yankees wa'n't a-thinking. The fust thing the Yankees knew, the Cumberland was a-sinking... Holler, boys, oh, holler! ... You ought to seen her go down." The Merrimac sinks the Congress also

"What peace and joy pervade my soul, And sweet sensations through me roll... Since I became a Mormon. Aye the merry, aye the merry, I'm a merry Mormon. I never knew what joy it was Till I became a Mormon." He will marry none but Mormons

"A merry Christmas to the Master (x3), And a merry Christmas to you all." "A merry Christmas to the Mistress." "A merry Christmas to the children." "Master, mistress, and children, A merry Christmas, a merry Christmas... A merry Christmas to you all"

In (May), the creatures cavort in the fine weather. Assorted men and women join together to cut the hay and frolic. Several are introduced as they arrive. In addition to cutting the fields, they may find other ways of making hay....

"Mery hyt ys in May mornyng, Mery wayys for to gone." "And by a chapell as Y came, Mett Y wythe Jhesu to chyrcheward gone." Peter, Paul, Thomas, John, St. George, and Collas (Nicholas?) attend. All take part in the chapel service

"It's laugh, ha, ha, and shout hurrah, We are bound for the coast of Maine.' The ship is well supplied and sails well. In the morning they spot a school of fish, catch a great haul, and head for home

The singer drinks whisky with friends from morning till night. He hates men too miserly to spend their money on drink. He wants no crying or paid keeners at his wake: everyone should toast his journey. All should sing when carrying his body to the grave.

Merry May the Maid Be: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5656}

"Merry may the maid be that marrys the miller." Jamie wooed the singer; she was impressed by his home, animals, and food. Her mother advised her to marry. Now her mother is happy with them. "Who'd be a king a petty thing when a miller lives sae happy"

Merry Shanty Boys, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #8898}

"We are a band of shanty boys, as merry as can be, No matter where we go, my boys, We're always gay and free." The men go out in the morning to cut the trees, sharpen their axes and relax in the evening, bring the logs to market, and celebrate

"When first I was a little boy my mammy did begin, She sent me early in the morning to fetch her cargo i. So I drink some you must know, must know." The singer tells how he and his mammy tried various drinks; now he doesn't care; he'll drink it all

"Though I say not what I may not let you hear, Still the swaying dance is saying, 'Tell me, dear,' Every touch of fingers seems to let you know -- Says to you, ''Tis true, 'tis true, I love you so.'"

Merry, Merry Mormons, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #10878}

"We will put down the spirit glass, Of water we'll take a draft, And drink to the health of the merry, merry Mormons. We will drink to the health of the merry, merry Mormons."

Messenger Song, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4166}

The horse, a descendent of Messenger, reports on its frisky behavior with its handlers. They respond by beating the animal. It breaks down the door and flees; it boasts of its new freedom and its abilities

"Met Mister Rabbit one night, All dressed in his plug hat, He turned his nose up in the air, Said, 'I'se gwine to Julia's ball, So good night, possums all."

French. The male magician is trying to seduce the female. She will be game in a pond and he will hunt her.... She will die and go to heaven and he will be St Peter to open the door. She says, Since you are inevitable, you may as well have me as another.

The singer attends a camp meeting and reports on the goings-on. (S)he enjoys food and music greatly. (S)he maintains, "Oh, little children, I believe (x3); I'm a Methodist till I die...."

Methody Beat Them All: (1 ref.) {Roud #25374 and 25378}

School chant: "Methody [or "Academy," or any other name for a school that values competition over civilization] beat them all, Methody beat them all, They/We won two to one, Methody on the ball."

Canadian French: "Je suis metisse et je suis orgueilleuse." "I am a girl of the small Metis nation" who is proud of her heritage. She hopes to marry one of the soldiers who fight for Metis freedom. Schultz is captures; McDougall is forced back

French. Forebitter shant: "Mettons la chaloupe a l'eau (x2), Matelot tomba dans l'eau, Mentendez vous?" A sailor falls overboard. His arm is hurt. He will not have it amputated. When they reach port, the singer wants pipe and tobacco

Mexico is wrecked on Keeragh rocks when the captain "lost his bearings." Fourteen Fethard men set out to rescue the crew "but their boat was smashed upon the rocks": Nine are drowned; the remaining five get the crew to an island and 12 are rescued.

Irish Gaelic. Blond Mary Chinidh, whose mother is a mermaid, swims Lake Erne forever. She loves blond sailor Patrick.

"God A'mighty moved on the water, And the peoples in Miami run. And the lady left Miami; She left in lightning speed. Every time the lightnin' flash She thinks about her dirty deeds." Various people's troubles in the Miami hurricane are told

Boylan, a United man, is taken prisoner to Drogheda June 3. Dan Kelly swears falsely that Boylan had 10,000 at his command "to assist the French invaders as soon as they would land ... and the jury cried out, Boylan you must die by martial laws"

"Oh, the Lords and and the Commons, Bill Gladstone and Bright" passed Coercion "and arrests and evictions are going on still." Davitt, Dillon, Parnell, "Kettle and Brennan, and two hundred more" are arrested. "[T]he land it is ours and we mean to be free"

"At length brave Michael Dwyer and his undaunted men Were scented o'er the mountains and tracked into the glen." Dwyer and three men are trapped by the British in a house afire. One, wounded, tries to delay the police, but only Dwyer escapes

"Have you heard of Michael Dwyer and his mountain men?' Dwyer fought when "our flag went down And the nation's hope was banished." Ireland won't have Liberty again "till we strike like Michael Dwyer and his mountain men"

"To Wicklow's Glens he'd started, from Father Murphy parted." Michael Dwyer continues the fight from the mountains. Some 1798 battles and United Men are listed: "Their Cause it could have gained, then, a Liberty for all!"

Michael Finnegan: (10 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #10541}

Of the exploits of Michael Finnegan, constantly urged to "begin again" after a variety of escapades such as the wind blowing his whiskers back into his chin, or growing fat and then growing thin

"Mount Laffee, oh my happy home! Of thee I love to sing." He recalls going home there after finishing work each day. But then "a crowd of men" arrested him. Some charge them them. Doyle is in prison, unable to go out or see those he would like to see

"I'm as happy as can be, Faith, there is merriment in me," because the singer, when he came home, found he was the father of a boy. He had waited ten years for his first child. He will name the boy Michael James, and boasts of how he will care for it

"Come all you girls ... A man like me with property free -- how can you pass him by?" He lists his assets. But "the girls won't keep my company, they say my breath is bad ... So I'll take a stroll for the good of my soul and see my neighbor's wife"

"On my road to Dungarvan" Michael Power finds a pistol, holds up a postboy and a dragoon, kills four yeomen on the road, twelve more in Carrick and Carey the hangman. He goes to Fulham barracks where he is convicted and sentenced to be hanged.

"In (London/Brooklyn) city there lived a maid, And she was known to fame." Her name is Mary Jane. The charcoal man, McCloskey, loves her, but when she is thrown through a window, he stabs the donkey responsible and goes to Salt Lake City

Michael, Row the Boat Ashore: (13 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #11975}

"Michael, row the boat ashore, (h)allelujah" (x2). Remaining verses tend to be about the difficulty of crossing (Jordan) to heaven: "Jordan's river is chilly and cold, (h)allelujah; Chills the body but not the soul...."

Creole French: "Michie Preval li donne youn bai..." Preval hosts a ball, charging three dollars for admission. The festivities reach the stable, where the horses are "astonished." The prison warden likes it so much that he is tempted to stage his own ball

Playparty: "Up to the head and you I call, The invitation is to all, The way is broad, the road is clear, Michigan girls, come volunteer! Volunteer, volunteer! Michigan girls, come volunteer!"

"Come all ye Yankee farmers who would like to change your lot." The singer lists the problems with life in various parts of the country (from cold Vermont to "the land of Blue Laws" to tax-heavy Massachusetts) and urges listeners to come to "Michigania"

Magee is a dealer in tobacco and tea who does not bother with licenses. Accidentally taking his wares to a police station, he is pursued by the force. He lends his bag to a beggar and lets himself be trapped. Since he has nothing illegal, he is released

"'Twas in the summer season in the year of seventy-six" the singer fished one summer on Ocean Lark, whose owner is a cobbler in winter. The song claims this cobbler is a cheat and robber and will be so until "he'll find himself in Hell's eternal flames"

The singer's wife takes in Mickey Burke as a boarder. She and Burke blow the singer's wages on liquor. One night she hits the singer and when he "raised a fist to strike her" they beat him. The singer plans to shoot Burke and put his wife in jail

"I'm from the town of Banjor, down in the state of Maine, A native American Irishman That spakes the English plain." The singer arrives in Stilliwater and works in many logging camps (in Wisconsin). He considers taking up farming in Bashaw.

Jump-rope rhyme. "Mickey Muse and Minnie Mouse Went down to the power house, To see how high the water would flow. One foot, two feet, three feet...."

Jump-rope rhyme. "Mickey Mouse bought a house, Couldn't pey the rent And got kicked out."

Jump-rope rhyme. "Mickey Mouse built a house Under an apple tree, Mickey Mouse called the house Number twenty-tree."

"There came to this country a short time ago A poor Irish widow from the county Mayo, She had but one son, his age it was eight, And the boss gave him work picking slate." He works hard, but falls down an hole and dies; his mother laments

Micky Jim MacNeil was "the tightest of the Scotchmen." Out on the ice, he falls in and is rescued. The rescuers tease him that he has drowned his [only?] bosom friends [that is, his lice]: "the ones he hadn't lost all had a better appetite"

"Don't whistle so loud, You naden't be so proud, Many a boy is a father today, And there might have been two of them, Micky O'Dowd"

Middlesex Flora, The: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3810}

Bound from London in a storm, "the proud waves did beat her to staves, her name was The Middlesex Flora, and they did sweep our men to the deep." Strangers on the coast pick up the rich cargo. Captain James Bell and the lost crew of thirteen are named.

The singer, a miller, is invited to "a meal and ale" at Middletack farm. "When we got the lasses out we did commence to dance." He names some of the "pretty charming maids" and some of the men. The party ended peacefully after three o'clock.

"Under this sod lies a great bucking horse. There never lived a cowboy he couldn't toss. His name was Midnight, his coat black as coal, If there's a hoss heaven, please, God, rest his soul."

Midnight Messenger, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #V2951}

Death: "the time is come that thou shalt be no more." Rich man: "sure it cannot be; Depart therefore, you are not sent for me." Convinced, rich man says "serve ye the Lord, obey his holy will"

Midnight on the Stormy Deep: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #18034}

"Twas midnight on the stormy deep, My solitary watch I'd keep, And think of her I'd left behind, And ask if she'd be true and kind." He is forced away by war. She asks him not to leave; "The deep deep sea may us divide." One or the other betrays the other

"The voices of the night, love, (Are singing/have hushed) their lullaby, The little stars are bright." "Awake to the notes of my guitar And listen to your lover true." The girl is the man's dream and blessing. He apologizes for waking her

Midnight Special, The: (27 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #6364}

"Let the Midnight Special shine its light on me; Let the Midnight Special shine its ever-loving light on me." The prisoner describes how he was arrested, the difficult conditions in prison, and a visit from his girlfriend

"The midnight train and the fo' day train run all night long (x2) They run till the break of day." "'Twas the same train carried yo' mother 'way, run all night long (x2) It run until the break of day."

First verse/chorus: "(It was) a mighty bright light that was shining down." "Oh, tell me who was that light that was shining down?" "King Jesus was the light that was shining down." "My mother saw the light that was shining down...."

Refrain: "Wasn't that a mighty day"(4x). Verse: The book of Revelations is opened. The singer is invited "to see the mystery." He sees the red and black horses and the pale horse takes his father. Satan is chained and burned. The dead rise and are judged.

The story of the Galveston tidal wave. Despite evacuation efforts, many die on land and at sea. Chorus something like, "Wasn't that a mighty day/storm, when the storm winds struck/swept the town."

Originally in German; now English: A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing." God is a help in the world's troubles, and can rescue those who cannot save themselves. God endures forever

Mighty Mississippi: (5 refs. 20K Notes) {Roud #21713}

"Way out in the Mississippi valley, Just along the plain so grand, Rose the flooded Mississippi River, Destroying the works of man." The Mississippi River flood of 1927 is described, and the plight of those flooded out detailed

"We listened to you rumble, we listened to your roar, We watched the smoke roll fro, your top like we'd never seen before" as "Mighty Mount Saint Helens" prepares to erupt. They "never understood your rage" but now share her wrath.

Mighty Rocky Road: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #12078}

Chorus: I'm bound to carry my soul to Jesus, Carry my soul to the Lord" (2x). Verse: "It's a mighty rocky road and I'm most done travelling"(3x). "Christian's (mourner's, sinner's) on the road and he's most done travelling...."

"Section men a-workin' there all side by side." One of them, Mike, boasts of his work on the railroad. He works and fights hard. One day he works in the jimson, picks up a crosstie, is attacked by a snake, and flees

"Mike and Jerry going down the main line" (spokten: "Southern"). "Oh, they saw it come by (here) never got no coal never got no (water). Must've been a gasoline (burner), For he never stopped by here."

The captain hires Mike Bolin, a fisherman who could do everything. Nevertheless, they catch nothing but sculpin and dogfish, and they run short of gas when jigging and so must row to shore

Creole French. "Militraisse courri dans bal, Cocodrie po'te fanal, Trouloulou! C'est pas zaffaire a tou (x2), Trouloulou!" The mixed-blood woman goes to the dance; a full-blood black "holds the lantern"; the musician is asked what difference it makes

Jock has come home in his soldier clothes. He's a fine looking lad and his father was too, so it must run in the blood.

"You rural goddesses, That woods and fields possess, Assist me with your skill" to praise "them who choose this trade to use... To carry the milking-pail." They are gay and free from care, they are not idle, they are healthy, they do good work

"My hour is come, my day is spent, The jailer's at the door; I've been a noted highwayman." The singer recalls his robberies. At a fair, he races with the sheriff and is spotted. He would have escaped, except that his horse was killed. Now he will die too

Milking Pails (China Doll): (11 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #3515}

The child begs, "Mama, buy me a china doll." The mother asks where the money will come from. The child proposes selling Papa's bed. Mama asks where Papa will sleep. The child keeps proposing ideas, each more impractical. Finally Mama ends the discussion

"Pbroo, pbroo! my bonnie cow! ... Ye ken the hand that's kind to you; Sae let the drappie go, hawkie." The calf is sleeping in the pen, but will come soon. The milk makes visitors glad.

Annie overhears Johnny comforting a lost lamb while complaining of Annie's scorn. Annie reveals herself and offers to marry Johnnie. They share "a moment's leisure," for which she would not exchange being Scotland's queen, and marry the following Sunday.

"Clip, clap goes the mill by the swift running brook, clip, clap, By day and by night is the miller at work, clip clap! He grindeth the corn to make bread for the year, And with plenty of this we have nothing to fear; Clip clap...."

"Beside of clump o' needlewood we anchor down the mill." The singer describes building the mill. It isn't fancy; "no wealth of Yankee gear" or clerks or large crew; there are just nine or ten of them. The trees are going down; soon "we'll be all cut out"

"We leave our homes in the morning, We kiss our children goodbye, While we slave for the bosses, Our children scream and cry." They have no money for clothing and little for food. "Let's stand together, workers, and have a union here."

"We a' agreed at Martinmas On Mill o' Lour to dwell, They said it was a very fine place, But it turned out not so well." The singer describes how hard it is to work the mill, and the people and teams involved.

"In darkest shades the mill wheel Still sings its busy lay, My darling once did dwell there, But now he's far away"

Mill Wheel (II), The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #7924}

"Turn, turn, turn the big wheel, Round, round, round the big wheel, Whirr, whirr, hear the big wheel, What a pleasant sound." "Who is come on a visit to me? Put on the kettle and pour out tea. Welcome, dear neighbor... Please say 'Good day.'"

"Beneath a green shade I found a fair maid, Was sleeping sound and still." The singer has his way with her, then departs to fight in Flanders. Ten years later, he returns to find that she has a child and knows not the father. He marries her

Millbank Rocking, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #15107}

A Millbank party: "Ranten Lads and Lasses Gaed West a bit ... neer did a mair motely Squad As this eer lea the Toun" The partiers are named. Lots of dancing and drinking. When the fiddler thought it time to quit they all left after "A Roun o Mountain dew"

A maid takes her corn to be ground. The miller says he can't grind right now "my stones is high and my water low." She stays with him until "the mill would grind." "She swore she'd been ground by a score or more But never been ground so well before"

Miller Boy, The (Jolly is the Miller I): (26 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #733 and 4348}

Playparty: "Happy is the miller boy who lives by the mill, The mill turns around with its own free will, Hand on the hopper and the other on the sack, Lady keeps a-going, gents turn back." Other verses about courting, milling, weather

A miller grinds a maid's corn. She praises him to her mother. Mother has her corn ground. When the old man goes he is beaten. When he understands the game he beats mother and daughter until they promise not to return to Drone. They return anyway.

The jolly miller "worked and sang from morn till night, no lark more blythe than he." He is happy because "the bread I eat my hands have earned... in debt to none I be." Listeners are urged to follow his example

The singer reports, "I am a miller tae my trade... And mony a bag of meal I've made, And mony a lassie I hae laid." He describes one night on which a girl came to his mill and sought his services. (They end up being married)

Counting-out rhyme. "Miller, miller, dusty pole, How many sacks have you stole? Twenty-five and a peck, Hang up the miller by his neck."

The youth and the miller's daughter find themselves on the hill; she starts to seduce him. He flees to the miller, saying, ""O, I have served you seven long years and never sought a fee, And I will serve you seven more if you'll keep your lass from me."

Miller's Daughter (II), The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #15105}

The man says he'd give half year's fee to lie with the miller's daughter. "She said she'd gie him wark enough." She wears him out and he dies.

A miller could not pay the rent on his mill. The landlord offered the mill and arrears for the miller's wife. For appearances' sake they contract that the miller lend the landlord his she-ass in return for the mill. The miller enforces the contract.

"The miller's wife o' Blaydon (x2), Sair she bang'd her ain gudeman For kissing o' the maiden." "Yet aye the miller sings and swears... For one kiss o' that bonny mouth He'd freely give up twenty."

The dying miller, to decide which of his three sons will inherit, asks each boy how much he would charge. The first son would take an honest toll; the second, half; the last, all and swear to the sack. The miller joyfully gives the mill to the last son

Millman and Tuplin Song, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #9179}

June 18 at Margate, Mary "went to meet her young lover, who a few nights before Said he'd make all things right when they'd meet on that shore." He shoots her and "sunk her body deep down" in the river. He is convicted in 1898.

Mary "Cuplon" is pregnant by Millman. The father, rather than admit the deed or marry the girl, murders her and throws her in the river. Her body is found, and Millman is sentenced to death. The singer reminds parents to watch their children

The first lines of each verse are "Milly Molly Mandy Sweet as sugar candy." Each verse has a third line: "I'm in love with you," or "Your pretty little eyes are blue."

Milwaukee Fire, The [Laws G15]: (8 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3255}

The "oft-condemned" Newhall House catches fire; passers-by watch in horror as the residents die in the flames. In particular, a servant girl leaps to her death, and a mother watches her son trapped in the fire

Jump-rope rhyme. "Mima, Mima, Black Jemima, Lost her child and couldn't find her, Brother found her in the dell, Now she treats her very well."

Swedish shanty. Cautionary song, children ask "where is father? He's resting in the grave." Warns girls not to wed a sailor or they'll end up a widow with children. Source doesn't give a chorus, verses may have been repeated as refrains.

"Mind your own business And don't mind mine. Kiss your own sweetheart And don't kiss mine."

"They say I may marry the laird if I will, The laird of high degree, With jewels so rare to wear in my hair, A lady I'll surely be." "But where, o where, will my heart be?" "Oh, I will marry mine ain love... For true of heart am I."

Mine at Baie Verte, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #25327}

George McNaughton finds asbestos. "The mineral was taken and shipped for higher test And when they got their answer it was the best." "Baie Verte will be mining in nineteen sixty-three"

"Mine eyes have seen the glory of the burning of the school, We have tortured every teacher, we have broken every rule." The students describe (with many variations) how they overthrew the scholastic regime

"Come, boys, if you'll listen, I'll sing you a song... It's up here at Cutting's, at Camp Number One, The boys call the firm here Cutting and Son." The singer lists various specialists in the came, complains of the work, and says he won't be back

The miner goes to work "With his calico cap and his old flannel shirt, his pants with the strap round the knee, His boots watertight and his candle alight His crib and his billy of tea." He works to support his family, and hopes to have money for tobacco

"The miners in the mines of Butte Are in rebellion fairly, The gathering clouds of discontent Are gathering fast and surely." The singer describes a miner's hard life. He declares that "the mighty system trembles. The revolution's coming fast."

"The miners in the mines of Butte Are in rebellion fairly"; they deserve your respect. He works hard, and gets sick from the conditions. They live an unnatrual life. It's this that has made them rebels. The tyrants will vanish

Miner's Doom, The [Laws Q36]: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1015}

Although a miner's life may be happy, the risks are great. This miner is riding back to the surface when the elevator rope breaks. His death causes his wife to die of grief, leaving their three children orphans

Miner's Dream of Home, The: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1749}

The singer, away from home for ten years, dreams of "the old homesteads and faces I loved" and thinks of hearing the New Year's bells as a boy. In his dream he promises his parents that he'd not roam again.

"I am a poor old miner, my race is nearly run, Like many of my comrades, my mining days are done." He had to start working when young when his father ied. He worked up to be a miner, but now that he is old, he has to go back to easier work that pays less

A union song with religious overtones. The miner is advised to "Keep your hand upon the dollar and your eyes upon the scales."

"I keep listening for the whistles in the morning, But the mines are still; no noise is in the air." The miner's children are crying with hunger and cold, but with no work, there is no food. All he asks is that the rich city folk give him work

"Oh, the farmers go around and fill their legs tied up with straw, The miners they go underground and never miss a blaw. Oh, a-mining we will go, my boys...." They work where they must. They go broke with the girls. They pay for their beer -- eventually

"At just three o'clock in the morning As the whistles gave the death sound," a cave-in five hundred feet below the ground traps the Pittston miners. There can be no rescue; not even the bodies can be brought out. The families grieve

"When miners get into a row about their mining ground, A miners' meeting then is called, and miners flock around." Both sides call witnesses; the crowd gets drunk. "Old Bob" wins the vote because he "has raised the largest crowd of liars"

"On the banks of the Mississippi my parents reared me well, There was nothing for to hinder me along with them to dwell," but he was restless and went to the mines of Carribou. He warns of a hard trip and nine years spent unsuccessfully seeking gold

Mines of Locust Dale, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #4140}

"Oh, come all you tender Christians, I pray you will draw near, It is of a sad disaster I mean to let you hear." In 1875, a powder explosion kills four. A rescue attempt finds only their mangled bodies. The singer asks for prayers for them

Minister o' Birse, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #6200}

"Ye sanna need to lie ther'oot And me ther'in, and me ther'in"

Minister's Farewell: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #5058}

"Dear friends farewell, how do you tell, Since you and I must part? I am going away and here you stay, But still we are joined in heart. Your love to me has been most free, Your conversation sweet. How can I bear to journey where With you I cannot meet?"

"The minister's wife has learned a sang And she cares not how grit it be if it be lang"

"On the banks of the Minnehaha, my love... We'll buy a little farm, and we'll live together there." But "death came knocking at the door" and took "my poor Nella." She is buried on the banks of the Minnehaha

Minnehaha, Laughing Water: (2 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #29014}

"Minnehaha, Laughing Water, Cease your laughing notes for aye," because "savage hands are red with slaughter Of the innocents today." The singer's home is on fire. His wife and children are dead. He wishes he were dead also

Jump-rope rhyme. "Minny and a Minny and a ha, ha, ha, Kissed her fellow on a Broadway trolley car. You tell Ma and I'll tell Pa. Minny and a Minny and a ha, ha, ha!

Slandered by a young man, sixteen-year-old (Minnie) finds that her parents have turned against her and wish her dead. She drowns herself in Lake Huron

Minstrel Boy, The: (17 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #13867}

"The minstrel boy to the war is gone, In the ranks of death you'll find him. His father's sword he has girded on And his wild hard slung behind him." The minstrel falls in battle, destroying his harp so that "no chains shall sully thee."

French cumulative song, in which the singer describes each of the items given by Mione: "If I had the beautiful shoes/stockings/hat/etc. which Mione gave to me...."

"You may talk of equine heroes from Ajax to Grand-van-Ur.... But there's one more worthy of song... [is] Johnson's Mirabeau." The horse is far behind at the three quarters mark, but comes on to win

Miracle Flower, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #3345}

A man murders and buries a girl. A flower grows from her grave and blooms the year round. If anybody plucks the blossom, it blooms again right away. The killer comes to see it. The flower it turns to blood in his hands and reveals his guilt

Miramichi Fire, The [Laws G24]: (9 refs. 4K Notes) {Roud #2721}

A great fire covers an area 42 by 100 miles. In less than a day it burns forest, houses, and towns, killing or wounding vast numbers. There is little for the survivors to do but bury the dead

Early Middle English: "Mirie it is whil somer ylast, With fughles song." Merry it is while summer lasts, With fowls' song, But now neigh winter's blast, And weather strong. Ei! Ei! What, this night is long, And I, from much wrong, sorrow, mourn, and fast

Bridget Adair is a forty year old spinster. One morning a man comes to her door and said "Miss Bridget, I die for you." She likes his demeanour. Then he gives her silks she had sent him to dye "a beautiful mazarine blue." She cries with disappointment.

"It was on an Easter Monday which happened of late, Young Marg'ret got ready and set on her way." Her boat blows out to sea and she is drowned. Her body is never found. Her father says he warned her against sailing on Logh Foyle

"I wish I was an apple, Miss Dinah was another. And O! what a happy pair we'd make On the tree together." "Oh, I love Miss Dinah so." One day a wind blows them together, then into the water. "Miss Dinah she was raked ashore, But I was never founded"

"Farewell ye fields an' meadows green, The blest retreat of peace and love." The singer tells of the beauties of home, and admits, "I'm loath to leave the scene again." The singer bids farewell, hoping all the while to return

Miss Gordon of Gight: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #3891}

"O, whare are ye gaun, bonnie Miss Gordon... Ye're gauin wi' Johnny Byron To squander the lands o' Gight awa." "Your Johnny's a man frae England just come, The Scots dinna like his extraction ava... he'll spend a' your rent."

Miss Green courted Sean O'Farrell. He left "for the love of old Ireland" and was greeted in New York by a band; he toasted the Yankees. Tomorrow she will follow him and they will marry. She hopes to return

"Under my uncle's kind and friendly roof... Then to my so distressful life I took unto myself a wife." But then Miss Hattie beguiled him and caused him to kill his wife with poison disguised as medicine, then strangled her. His wife had been good to him

"Oh come, oh come, Miss Julie, Oh come and go with me, There's lots I can buy and cabins I can build On the banks of the Ohio." She will only marry him once "everybody else was dead." She cries when he hangs around; she tells him not to come again

"Oh, Miss Liza, oh, mah darlin'! -- hoo ah hoo! Gwine away to leave you... Gwin away tomorrow... Ain't you mighty sorry?" "Oh, miss Liza... Comin' back to you... Won't you be my honey?" "Don't you know I lub you?... Don't you want to marry?"

"I went to see Miss Lucy; I'd never been there before. Last time I saw Miss Lucy, She was rolling on the floor."

Shanty. "Bend yer backs take in the slack, roll me over, Lucy. To me way, hay, hay, ho, hu! Bend yer backs take in the slack, roll me over, Lucy. We're rollin down to Trinidad to see Miss Lucy Loo" No story line, verses one line each repeated w/choruses.

"Ridin' in the buggy, Miss Mary Jane... Long way from home. Who moan for me...." "Sally got a house in Baltimore... And it's three stories high. "Sally got a house in Baltimore, filled with chicken pie."

"Young Miss Milly was sweet and fair" but let herself be seduced by an old letcher. When she becomes pregnant, she seeks his help, but he has disappeared. Thrown out by her family, she dies in the snow. Hearers are told to use birth control pills

"Took Miss Molly out to tea, And on the way back, She tried to squeeze it out of me."

"Old Miss Sally tell me do, Is Big John true to you? If he ain't I'd take his hide, And take you now for a sorrow ride."

"Miss Sue, Miss Sue; Somebody's in your cellar, Mis Sue, Miss Sue, Somebody's in your cellar, Miss Susie Anna Jane." "Did you ever see a monkey make a motion, Miss Sue...."

Jump-rope rhyme, typically ended deliberately, e.g. by stepping on the rope: "Miss, Miss, Little Miss, Miss, When she misses, she misses... like this"

Jamaican patois. Mr Ramgoat, the barber has come. Please lend me your razor to shave off my long beard.

Misses Limerick, Kerry and Clare: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5223}

Three girls civilly compare their county's heroes. "The Limerick people, they were never beaten." Kerry and Clare both claim O'Connell, "that great Lib'rator." Limerick also claims O'Connell: "we have his staue as well as ye" and Parnell besides.

The workers at the Mission "get the milk skimmed and de relations de cream." The poor get only rags while the Manager is off spending the proceeds in places like Carboneer or Boston.

Missionary's Farewell, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #7565}

"Yes, my native land I love thee, All thy scenes I love them well... Can I leave thee, can I leave thee, Far in heathen lands to dwell?" The singer rehearses all that (he) would be leaving, but concludes that preaching the gospel is worth it

("Wish I was a babe in my mama's arms"(3x) Wouldn't a been here working on the county farm.") Floating blues verses include "And I hate to hear that big bell dong ... Poor boy, poor boy, you're going on."

"Another great disaster has come upon our land, Down where the Mississippi flows on her way so grand." A great flood comes. The levee breaks. Many are killed. The singer has no explanation but believes the dead will have crowns in heaven

Singer tells of destructive power of Mississippi River floods of 1927; his woman and his home have both been washed away. Refrain: "That's why I'm cryin', Mississippi heavy water blues."

Singer, in jail, sleeps "with my back turned to the wall." His woman brings coffee and tea -- everything but the jailhouse key. His parents say he has too many women; he looks at his mother, hangs his head, cries; if his woman kills him he's ready to die

Fiddle tune, with no words listed, but very well known.

Jump-rope rhyme. "Mississippi. M-i-s-s-i-s-s-i-p-p-i." (With various actions for each letter.)

"Missus in the big house, Mammy in the yard. Missus holdin' her white hands, Mammy workin' hard." "Old Marse ridin' all the time, Niggers workin' round. Marse sleepin' day time, Niggers diggin' in the ground."

"Mister Cyarter, Mister Cyarter, Won't you be (i.e. buy?) my dawg? He won't bite a sheep But 'e will bite a hog."

Lorn Costler has the mail contract for outports. When he and his engineer, Billy Warren, work, "the day must be fine, the sea must be calm." He "gives out the mail at a terrible rate" in order to leave quickly even with no danger from ice or wind.

"I've a very noisy neighbor, Mister Dooley is his name, He's fond of ructions, likewise of raising game; With his turkeys and his chickens... For it's all day long they're marching, WIth their quack, quack...." The singer is always fighting Dooley's birds

Song-story about the assassination of President Garfield. Garfield, shot, tells doctor he's badly wounded. He gives dying advice, and hopes to go to heaven. Sheriff arrests Charles Guiteau for the murder; he says "I'll hang on the 6th day of June."

"McKinley hollered, McKinley squalled; The doc says, 'McKinley, I can't find the ball.'" Describing McKinley's assassination by Zolgotz, his poor medical treatment, and his funeral. MacKinley is usually said to be "bound to die."

"Oh, Mister Moon, Moon, silvery moon, kindly come out and shine, Do Mister Moon, Moon, come out soon. My home I wants to find." In he original, Parson Jones is coming home and is frightened by intruders who set off a gun; camps just have a man with a gun

"'Mister Rabbit, Mister Rabbit, your tail's mighty white.' 'Yes, bless God, been gettin' out of sight...." Mister rabbit similarly explains its coat, ears, and other physical features

"One day Mr. Squirrel went up a tree to bed. A great big hickory nut fell upon his head. 'Although I am fond of nuts,' Mr. Squirrel then did say, 'I'd very much rather that they wouldn't come this way.'"

"Mister, please give me a penny, For I ain't got any Pa, Mister, please give me a penny, I want to buy some bread for Ma."

Mistletoe Bough, The: (16 refs. 4K Notes) {Roud #2336}

In the castle, beneath the mistletoe bough, the lord's daughter prepares to wed young Lovell. The girl, tired of dancing, decides to hide and have Lovell find her. He never does. Years later, her body is found "in a living tomb," trapped in a chest

Mistress Paxton's Shop: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #21745}

The singer tells about everything he finds in the shop: "bacca, saip and carpet shoon, screw nails and bakin soda,... split peas an fiddle rosit... whings, biscuits...."

"Oh (Miatress/Mrs.) Shady she was a lady, She had a daughter whom I adored. I used to court her --I mean her daughter -- Every" Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, etc.

"Here's a health unto the mistress, the fairest of twenty ... We'll drink him out so deep, and we'll sing ourselves to sleep"

Mistress's Health (II), The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #21096}

"Our mistress's health we now begin, In spite of the Pope and the Spanish king" She has gold and silver and can get more. Let's smoke and drink. "Let the mistress's health go round"

Mither, I Maun Hae a Man: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5554}

"Noo mither, I maun tell ye, I'm gaun to be a wife; For I'm sure it's nae pleasure To live a single life." The girl complains of the burdens her mother puts on her, and offers Biblical arguments for marriage, and concludes, "I mean to tak' a man."

Mitherless Bairn, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #24038}

"When a' ither bairnies are hushed to their hame... Wha stan's last an' lanely, an' naebody carin'? 'T is the puir doited loonie -- the mitherless bairn." His bed is lonely, his clothes few; he dreams of someone to comb his hair. Don't treat him harshly

"Mmm (or "Ooo," or just a hum) I want to linger, Mmm a little longer, Mmm a little longer here with you. Mmm it's such a perfect night, Mmm it doesn't seem quite right, Mmm that it should be my last with you.... Mmm this is goodnight and not goodbye."

"I'd like to be a (friend) of yours, mmm, and a little bit more. (x2), I'd like to be a little flower, Blooming round your door... mmm, and a little bit more." Or "I'd like to be a college man, Umm, and a little bit more." Or "I want a little red canoe."

The harper says his true love is "bound and bleeding 'neath the oppressor." Her riches and beauty gone, she is deserted by many "crouching now like cravens" "Arouse to vengeance, men of brav'ry"

Gaelic. Our house by the ferry is surrounded with flowers and birds, protected by the hill from snow. My wife is "the star o' my hame ... the bairnies are singin'" We don't need riches.

Gaelic. "The poet takes his newly-churned butter for sale at the market, but the 'Taster' declares it impure. The song lament's the poet's misfortune."

Gaelic. The singer "laments his absence from his loved one... she is already betrothed to Lord Keane." She outshines all his other suitors.

Singer's fiancee, coming to church, is murdered by ruffians. The wine saved for their wedding is instead drunk at her funeral. The singer wishes he could find those who killed his beloved; he has a sword, and will test the strength of his arm with it.

Creole French. "Mo-te a-pe promene sur la Rue Commune, Quand Mo-te a-pe boire un bon berre la bierre. Voila m'o culotte craquet et fais moin assi par terre." A man has a drink of beer and meets and forces the singer to the ground

"A stands for Amassy, in Moab he does dwell, B stands for Bartlett, the judge you all know well; C stands for Chalrley, a young man on the flat," and so forth through the residents of Moab, Utah, omitting F, Q, U, V, X, and Y

Leader (preacher): "De trumpet sounds in my soul" (congregation echoes). "I ain't got long to stay here."

Shanty. "From Liverpool Town we sailed away - CH: John come tell us as we haul away. Outward bound at the break of day - CH. Aye, aye, haul aye - CH." Several verses refer to Mobile Bay and to women. Probably started as a Negro cotton stowing song.

A verse is two couplets followed by "mama, daddy got that mobile blues." Verses are about car wrecks and driving 'mobiles. Then, you won't find "your loving daddy" till you "drop on down in Florida"

Shanty. Explains that the black pig is dying, and that now they'll have to do without bacon. Chorus laments the passing of the pig, "Oh, our hearts are very sore...." Based on a Welsh folk song.

"In my dreams I see a trail a-winding, Through a valley once so dear to me." The singer longs to be back in Mocking Bird Valley. He recalls the old church, and his mother. He wishes life were a book so he could turn back the pages.

"Young men when that they do arrive Between a score and twenty-five... [are inclined] To gang away a-wooing, a woo woo wooing." The singer tells of asking advice on how to court, but the old men's advice is bad. He has better luck asking an old woman

"Well, wife, I found a model church, And worshipped there today. It made me think of good old times." Because he is hard of hearing, they let him sit in front. The singing made him think he could hear. The music makes him feel happy that he won't sin more

The old molecatcher learns that his wife is carrying on with a young farmer. He catches them in the act, and demands ten pounds of the farmer for "tilling my ground." The farmer says that's a fair price, "For that won't amount t'above tuppence a time."

When Mollie (?) refuses to marry Willie (?), he sets off to be a soldier. She dresses in soldier's clothes and follows him. He tells his fellow "soldier" of his love for Mollie. She starts to cry, and her identity is revealed

"Won't you tell me, Mollie darling, That you love none else but me? For I love you, Mollie darling; You are all the world to me." He asks that her answer be a kiss. When he says goodbye, he asks her to dream of him

The singer is vexed that the Irish are "forced from their nation." He meets Molly Agnew, a poor servant girl. Her rich father had been slain in 1799, and his family driven "to beg, starve or die." She agrees to marry the singer and go to old Scotia.

Molly and Tenbrooks [Laws H27]: (9 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #2190}

In the race between (Molly) and (Ten Broeck), Molly at first takes the lead. Ten Broeck tells his jockey to let him run free, and proceeds to overtake the mare.

"There's a patient little woman here below, And a little kid that ought to have a show, Now I'll give the whiskey up and I'll take a coffee cup With Molly and the baby don't you know." The singer vows to give up drinking for the sake of his family

The singer remembers happier days with beautiful Mary Bawn: "Her smiles she had for everyone, her kisses all for me." "She pledged herself to be my bride" but "an angel" took her. His hair is now silver but "her comely form still haunts my mind"

Jimmy goes out hunting and shoots his true love (Molly, mistaking her for a swan). He is afraid of the law, but is told that the law will forgive him. At his trial Molly's ghost appears and explains the situation; the young man is freed

"Molly Brooks has gone to the isle (x3), And I hope she'll never return (x3), Molly Brooks has gone to the isle, And I hope she'll never return."

"Late at night, there I sped A barefoot maid trip o'er the street, Oh! the ground shone around...." The singer praises her beauty and comes to her window to court her. She turns him away. He still cannot resist her, and follows her; he spells her name

A song "in praise of Molly's sons." "They can root out all Defenders and plant the Laurel Tree." Seeing them in St Patrick's day finery "while the Ribbon Bands did play" the singer prays "That the Lord may enable Molly's sons to tear down tyranny."

Singer tells of meeting sweet Molly Malone in Dublin, where she sold shellfish from a barrow; her parents were also fishmongers. She dies of a fever; now her ghost wheels the barrow. Chorus: "Singing 'Cockles and mussels, alive, alive-o"

He marries Molly McGlocklin. She prefers Finnigan who "his gizzard he broke." Molly mourns; the singer hits her and fights the Finnigans. After the burial she attacks him; he throws her in the grave. He's single now and will dance but won't marry again

"(Molly/Polly/Kitty) put the kettle on, Sally blow the dinner horn... We'll all take tea." Often a fiddle tune with the usual sorts of verses for a fiddle tune

Molly, Lovely Molly: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #9456}

Molly hears a voice at her window; it is her old love returned. She bids him leave; he has courted other women. He replies that it was his master's orders which took him away. His ship leaves tomorrow; will she come with him? She agrees to do so

When harvest is over the men's "hearts filled wi' love and their pockets wi' money" and they ask the girls to go with them. Dermot asks Molly to go north with him. She prefers him to Thady "wi' his blarney" and "love songs of the Lake o' Killarney"

French. Singer tells the charms of her beloved shepherd and tells him (via a passing turtledove) to be true forever

French. Shepherdess sings about the merits of her shepherd. He's somewhere else, she knows not where, but if she knew she'd tell him she loves him. If he comes home, she swears she'll marry him tonight.

French. The singer's good friend comes to see his, undresses and sleeps in his bed. Near midnight she says Hello. The singer says thanks for the hello, but had hoped for more. To lead quail to corn, you have to know how to serve it.

French. My neighbor sent me to find a worn out old horse. Let's drink, sharpen our knives and skin it. He soothes the horse: no more demands will be made, no more pulling a master and his luggage.

Monday Is My Washing Day: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #12986}

"Monday is my washing day, Tuesday I'm alone"; her fellow is supposed to come on Wednesday, but has been missing for several days. He gives her apples and pears; the stair broke under him "And all the ducks in Finglas Went quack, quack, quack"

On Monday morning the singer's woman left him crying. Now he's been in jail six weeks. At trial he's sentenced: "get a pick and shovel, let's go down in the mine." His "tears come rolling down." He asks for change of a dollar to get a lucky dime.

"Monday night, Band of Hope, Tuesday night, pull the rope, Wednesday night a visitor [or, put on your coat]." Then, lines like "I love so-and-so" or "take her to the river ... Give her a kiss and send her back"

"Monday's child is fair of face, Tuesday's child is full of grace, Wednesday's child is full of woe, Thursday's child has far to go, Friday's child is loving and giving, Saturday's child works hard for his living." Other lines regard Sunday or Christmas

Mone, Member, Mone: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #15562}

"Tell-a me who had a rod, Mone, member, mone! Hit was Moses, child of God, Mone, member, mone!" A call-and-answer sermon describing the crossing of the Red Sea, listing the order of those who will go to heaven, and calling for repentance

"Oh, money is the meat in the coconut, O money is the milk in the jug; When you've got lots of money You feel very funny, You're as happy as a bug in a rug."

Money Makes the Mare to Go (I): (2 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #1332}

"Will you lend me your mare to go a mile?" "No; no she is lame, leaping over a stile." "But if you will her to me spare You shall have money for your mare." "Oh, ho! say you so? Money will make the mare to go."

"Long time ago I had a beau, He came a-courting me, Because he thought that I had wealth...." The girl tests him by informing him she has no money. He drops her at once. She warns others, "Let them find you're minus of gold And you'll be minus of beaux."

Moneygran Pig Hunt, The: (1 ref. 1K Notes) {Roud #13345}

"There was racing and chasing in old Moneygran," as pigs bid humans catch them and say they are "Home Rulers and Fenians and Orange pigs too." The "warhawks" pursue, but "the pigs are the winners in old Moneygran."

Monie Kings, Monie Queins: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #15099}

The singer hears a killing in a wood and meets a dog that bites his finger off... yoke the plow... the shepherd takes the witch [?] home, shears her and puts her in the pot... Maggie bribed a boy "to tell the deed that she had done"

Monitor and Merrimac: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #V20552}

"I'm going to sing a song, I won't detain you long.... The Monitor went smack up to the Merrimac, And upon her sides played Yankee Doodle Dandy, O." The singer taunts Jeff Davis with the success of the Monitor, which he offers as evidence of Yankee skill

In (18)40, the singer prepares to sail for America on the Provincial. The ship being becalmed, he has time to see, and mourn, the land he is leaving behind. He praises the captain and crew of the ship

A monk has sex with one or more women until his fellows abruptly put a halt to his misadventures.

"The monkey and the baboon playing seven-up The monkey won the money And was scared to pick it up." "The monkey and the baboon Running a race. The monkey fell down And skint his face." "The monkey... climbed a tree... threw a cocoanut..."

Monkey and the Elephant, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #7330}

"The monkey and the elephant were riding on a rail, The elephant said, 'Oh, monkey, you look so doggone frail.'" Other animals also fight. So do the singer's Mom and Dad. The singer discusses his history of courting. Many verses float

"A monkey came into my shop one day And asked for a bottle of beer. Where is your money? In my pocket. Where is your pocket? I left it at home. Well, please walk out."

Jamaican patois: Singer goes to a pond hears a bull frog, asks the watchman what it said. Chorus: monkey jaw bone [or monkey draw bow] is so sweet. He hears an alarm in Linstead when "Sweetie tumble off a chair."

"I act monkey motions, too-re-loo, I act monkey motions, so I do; I act 'em well an' dat's a fact -- I act just like de monkeys act." "I act gen'man motions...." "I act lady motions...." Similarly for children's motions, preachers' motions, etc.

"Monkey settin' on de end uf a rail, Pickin' his teeth wid de end uf his tail, Mulberry leaves un' calico sleeves, All school teachers is so hard to please." Rest floats: The redbird shaking 'simmons down, the singer is tired of sleeping alone

"Everything I do the monkey wanna do ... rapping ... going out ... drinking ... eating ... going home ... sleeping ... nothing in the world the monkey won't do"

Pat enters the barber's and asks for a shave. A monkey in clothes winks and sets to work. Pat screams with pain; the monkey disappears. The barber enters. Pat accuses his "father" of having cut him. Finally the truth comes out

"Monkey, Monkey, draw the beer (or "...bottle of beer"), How many monkeys are there here? Two, four, six, eight, Out goes my best mate." (Or "O-U-T spells out," or "One, two, three, you are he," or the like)

"Monkey, monkey, sitting on a fence, Trying to make a dollar out of fifteen center. One, two, three, Out goes he."

Monkey's Wedding, The: (14 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3123}

"The monkey married the baboon's sister, Gave her a ring and then he kissed her, He kissed so hard he raised a blister, She set up a yell." Verses, often nonsensical, about the proceedings at the wedding

"I wasn't but a growing boy when first I came to arms Behind the Duke of Monmouth," but the troops they fought at Sedgemoor were "the best, the very best." He flees the country, and takes a pardon, but is frightened by what Jeffries did to Lady Lisle

"She was born in an old Monessen alley, And her maw and her paw, they called her Sal." One day, by the river, a boat pilot name Moat Hanley takes her aboard. He shoves her overboard. She hunts him, kills him, and is acquitted. The dirty river is mentioned

Monquhitter's Lonely Hill: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #5994}

"I love Monquhitter's lonely hills." The singer was born there and knows "ilka neuk." He describes the heather bells, bonnie "woods and waters o' Auchry," a lovely spot by a mill, "the birdies' evening sang" and trout swimming in the brook.

"The Montague packet left Wexford at ten, With a fine stock of cattle and a fine crew of men, Hee Ho, Heave away, ho." Montague gets stuck in the sand and the cargo is lost: two cows, six sheep, a goat, and a sow.

"As she walked along the Bois de Bolougne... She had lost her maidenhead... She's the girl that lowered the price at Monte Carlo." The girls recall dealing with "the man who broke the bank at Monte Carlo."

"When I was young and runnin' wild I talked with Montezuma," who tells him to go to sea and attack his enemies. He ships in an "Indian Man," carrying cargo from India. Along the way, "I loved full many a woman, Many a woman loved I."

Man and woman compare each other, privately, to a diamond or pearl, a rose, and so on. She is afraid "another will enjoy him." He overhears her and proposes. "I'll lock the door with marriage So that none durst enter in"

"January is the first month, the sun goes very low... We shall see an alteration, before the year comes round." The song catalogs the months, describing how farmers spend the time

"Well, if you've got a wing-o, Take me up to ring-o, Where the waxies sing-o, all the day." Various people in Dublin set out to accomplish some end or other, fail, and console themselves by asking, "Take me up to Monto."

Monymusk Lads, The: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5568}

"As I cam' in by Monymusk And doun by Alford's dale," the singer goes "to see my Maggie dear." He visits at night, but the auld wife detects him and sounds an alarm. The auld man forces him out; he vows to return when the old man snores

Moody to the Rescue: (1 ref. 2K Notes) {Roud #17698}

"Word came down to Derby town in the spring of '59: McGowan's men had smashed the pen & left for the Hill's Bar Mine." Col. Moody finds the miners do not wish to fight on Sunday. Moody says "Things look all right, so where's the fight?" and heads home.

"The moon shall be in darkness, and the stars shall give no light, If ever I prove false to my own heart's delight; In the middle of the ocean there shall grow a myrtle tree, If ever I prove false to the girl that loves me."

As the Moon shines, the singer finds no rest, thinking of the boy she left behind. When an old rich man wants to marry her, she ignores her parents' advice; she would rather live in poverty but with her love. She is bound to follow him to another country.

"The moon shine bright on Charlie Chaplin, His boots are cracking For want of blacking And his (baggy/khaki) trousers They want mending Before we send him To the Dardanelles."

"The moon shines bright And the stars give a light." Listeners are told to awake that they may hear the life of Jesus and of the passion: "We ne'er shall do for Jesus Christ as he hath done for us." Listeners are reminded that life is short

Laddies will come by with "pistols, guns and rappers [rapiers]"; there's a maid who has drunk "moonlicht waters." Chorus: She wears stays "that disna need nae lacin'"

Moonlight and Skies: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4096}

"Oh, come hear my story of heartaches and sighs, I'm a prisoner who's lonely for my moonlight and skies." The singer leaves his girl (daughter?) and sets out on a robbery. His partner is killed and he is taken. He wishes he were free and with the girl

"Moonlighting heroes of late made a raid Down in Castlefarm in John Curtin's place" and shot Curtin and his son. "May those boys that's in jail be home before long." "Not forgetting Thady Sullivan," an assailant shot and killed in the raid.

"Moonlight/ sunlight/starlight in glory" (3x). "Jesus, he's risen from the dead" "Death where is your stinger" (3x). "Jesus, he's risen from the dead"

"Moonlight, starlight, Bogey won't come out tonight."

"Come all you booze fighters, if you want to hear, 'Bout the kind of liquor that they sell around here...." The great power of the product is described: "One drop'll make a rabbit lick a hound dog." The large number of 'shiners and revenuers is mentioned

Informers report Pat's whiskey still to the Mounties. He is called to court. His still is dumped in the bay. At a neighbor's house a health is drunk to all but the informers

Moonshine Informer, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #28973}

John Snow "informed on those people for making moonshine" around Bonavista Bay and is driven from town by the women of Southern Bay.

Two cowboys come across a still whose owner, thinking they are sheriffs, has fled. They get well and truly drunk, and see a steer with two heads, 12 legs, and 14 tails. At last they manage to give it a drink, and it disappears -- flying, according to them

"I've been a moonshiner for sev'nteen long years, I've spent all my money for whiskey and beer, I'll go to some holler, I'll put up my still...." "I'll eat when I'm hungry and drink when I'm dry; If moonshine don't kill me I'll live till I die...."

Moonshiner's Dream: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #11729}

"Las night as I lay sleeping I dreamed one pleasant dream...." "Making blockade whiskey And selling at retail; But I woke up sad, broken-hearted In the Fulton County Jail." He laments the conditions, dreams of better, and warns others

"While I relate my story you oystermen give year, Jacoby's fading glory you presently shall hear... the Eloisa Moore can beat the Samuel Jacoby." The Jacoby can barely crawl along as the Moore has to take in sail. The reactions of townfolk are described

Singer owns sheep, cattle, and ships at sea. He offers each to Moorlough Maggie if she will go with him. She rejects each offer: "Tae gie consent, love, I darna gie Tae herd your sheep high in yon heathery hills"

The singer recalls meeting Mary in Strabane, and being stricken. He describes how lovely it is to see her. He wishes he had education so he could wed and entertain her. Having no hope of wedding her, he departs Moorlough's banks forever

German: The prisoners, trapped in a concentration camp, carry their spades to work in the moors and bogs. There is no escape; they can only keep working. But the winter (of despair) will eventually end, and they can reclaim their corrupted homeland

"It was one chilly morn in March, I started for a ramble" and tracks a moose over great distances.Kkilling it, the meat is of little use, it is so tough; they use some of it as shingles. For all that, ignoring time spent, the hunter makes half a dollar

Izzie Walters sees a moose. The boys kill it. An informer sees them divide the meat. The magistrate says "Five dollars ... or fourteen days in jail." Next time I'll "pay the squealer b'y to keep his big mouth closed."

"In eighteen hundred and ninety-two, Bant Breau and George Elliot they started a crew." Life in the camp, and the various characters there, are described. The singer talks about the combative men and the long hours

"While beauty and youth are in their full prime, And folly and fashion affect our whole time, O let not the phantom our wishes engage; Let us live so in youth that we blush not in age." The singer vows to avoid youthful passion and be happy when he's dead

More Pretty Girls Than One: (28 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #11505 and 762?}

Singer is a rambler who likes women; his mother told him to settle down, but he won't. He cries, thinking of pretty girls, and hopes he'll never die; he leaves us this lonesome song: "Every town I ramble around/There's more pretty girls than one."

"The more we get together, The merrier we shall be; For our friends are my friends, And my friends are your friends, The more we are together, The merrier we shall be." May repeat with verbs like "The more we play together" or "The more we drink together"

The singer meets a prisoner. The prisoner, an Irish transportee, describes the various prisons he has been in, ending with Moreton Bay, which had no equal for harshness. He rejoices at the death of the sadistic commander, Captain Logan

"When Uncle Sam he did send out his army to destroy us, He thought, 'The Mormons we will rout, so they cannot annoy us.'" But the Mormons defeat the American forces. They would have taken "Brigham Young and Heber... but were afraid of Echo Canyon"

Mormon Battalion Song (I): (2 refs. 12K Notes) {Roud #10816}

"When Mormon trains were journeying through To winter quarters in Nauvoo, Five hundred men were called to go" to fight in the Mexican War. Colonel Allen leads them well; they hate Lieutenant Smith; they suffer privation; the enemy flees

"In '46 we bid adieu To loving friends and kindred too, For one year's service, one and all... In these hard times." They march for Fort Leavenworth. The colonel dies. They march on. They hope God will bring them home to friends "And have good times"

"I am a Mormon biship, and I will tell you what I know, I joined the confraternity some forty years ago." He met Brigham Young and learned Mormon ways. The Mormons killed many. Brigham is dead. Most of his sixteen wives are too. Mormons will go to hell

"The Mormon car is moving and has been in motion long, At first her pow'r was feeble, but now it's getting strong." The train crew has her moving well. There have been a few problems, but "We'll all unite, with one consent, and pull her quickly through"

"Young Abraham left home one day." A friend receives his note: "I'm out in Utah in the Mormon land, I'm going to stay because I'm living grand... Now every day I get a band new wife." He can spare six or seven wives, "For I am a Mormon coon."

Singer, a Mormon cowboy, is invited to a grand ball. He meets all the girls and enjoys the music. After dancing a few sets, he steps out for rest; later, a fight starts, with gunplay, but is quickly quashed. The cowboy rides off, vowing nevermore to roam

The singer sings "Concerning Archie Barber and his unhappy state." At 22, he marries, but he has "no tool at all" and can't satisfy the girl. Her mother tells her to try him before a female jury. The marriage is annulled; the girl marries a Mormon cowboy

"The Mormon Creed I'll now explain, Which you may quickly learn, 'Tis 'Mind your own business.'" The Mormons sometimes forget it themselves, but they learned it from "The prophet of the Lord." It will bring them eternal life

"O hark, kind friends, while I do sing About Brigham Young, the Mormon King, Who swears that he'll do everything Out in Salt Lake City." But he can't intimidate Yankees. They will show him "that we've got laws."

"O Susan, wilt though come with me In sweet community to live." He promises "all the love that swells in my breast" and a sixteenth of his wealth. He has "only" 15 other wives, compared to Brigham Young's 44. He also offers a sixteenth of a kiss

Mormon Question,The: (2 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #10840}

"When Uncle Sam first set out His army to destroy us, Says he, 'Those Mormons we'll rout...." "There's a great commotion in the east About the Mormon question." But the expedition encounters much trouble and concludes "These Mormons beat the devil."

"The Saints a tabernacle reared Where naught but sagebrush had appeared Without a nail or bolt or screw Or anything to nail it to." The singer describes the building and its organ -- plus its construction and fine acoustics

A (lass/lad) laments a lost sweetheart, (who promised to marry but proved fickle). At last (she) says she will find another sweetheart elsewhere. "So fare ye weel, ye Mormond braes, Where after I've been cheerie... Sin I hae lost my dearie."

"Many people in the nations Are very much afraid Of the Mormons in the mountains Who, they fear, will make a raid." But it is the Mormons who have suffered. If the nations try it again, like a snake "When he gulped the horny-toad."

"Some folks talk about the Mormons, and I think it is very sad...." Most people try to make the Mormons look bad for having many wives, but the singer thinks "they have lots of fun, Do the Mormons!" He described the loose Mormon customs

"Sometimes, old scout, in the morning, when the dawn looks cold and gray," the singer ponders life's troubles and wonders 'Is it really worth the while?" He lists various problems. Then he gets serious about the day, for "tomorrow you may die."

"A gilded mirror, a polished bar, A million glasses, straws in a jar... Are my recollections of last night." The singer a long, dirty road to his home. His hangover makes him sick. Will he quit? No, "I got soused again."

Morning Comes Early: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #36123}

"Morning comes early and bright with dew Under your window I sing to you, Up, then, my comrade, up, then, my comrade Let us be greeting the morn so blue." "Why do you linger so long in bed, Open your window and show your head... the sun comes red"

"The pink, the lily, and the blooming rose Grow in the garden where my true love goes. The little birds they do rejoice When they think they hear my love Jimmy's voice. O James Machree, I do love you well; I love you better than tongue can tell...."

"Morning has broken, like the first morning.... Praise for the springing fresh from the Word." "Sweet the rain's new fall sunlit from heaven." "Mine is the sunlight, mine is the morning." Praise for God giving us the day

Frank Gardner leads his gang against a coach at the Eugowra Rocks. The outlaws scatter the escort and take the rich prize. Chorus: "You can sing of Johnny Gilbert, Dan Morgan, and Ben Hall, But the bold and reckless Gardiner he's the boy to beat them all"

"Father we thank thee for the night And for the blessed morning light For rest and food and loving care And all that makes the world so fair. Amen"

"Morning star begin to rise Just before the break of day Children of God awake... I'm goin down by da morning train ... For da evenin' train shall be too late"

"O when shall I see Jesus, And dwell with him above, And drink the flowing fountains Of everlasting love. When shall I be delivered, From this vain world of sin?" "But now I am a soldier, My Captain's gone before.... And tells me not to fear."

The hunters rise early to follow the stag or hare. In some versions the hare is killed. In another, at day's end hunters are warned "to govern their passions ... and see heaven at last when he sees no more hounds"

"My name is Morzie Ellsworth, the truth I'll tell to you." He has left home and parents. His ship goes to Miramichi; he joins a logging crew. He sees many creatures such as the "savage owl" and "celebrated rabbit" and "wicked robins." It's a hard life

"We'll see Morris, Banks, and others, Joseph, Hyrum with the Martyrs, On Mount Zion in great glory With the savior and his army." "Slain by Burton, cruel Mormon," the song tells of the coming joys for the believers

Morrissey and the Benicia Boy: (3 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #9781}

The Benicia Boy -- Heenan -- challenges Morrissey saying "no man from Ireland before him could stand." They agree to fight for $5200 in North America. Morrissey wins in the eleventh round and takes the championship belt.

Morrissey agrees to fight "Ned the black of Mulberry town" for a stake of ten thousand pounds. By the fourteenth round Morrissey is unconscious or nearly, but he is revived and knocks out his opponent in the twenty-fifth round

A Russian sailor in Tierra del Fuego challenges Morrissey to a duel. Morrissey takes on the challenge to uphold the honor of Ireland. The fight, for a large stake, takes 38 rounds, and each knocks the other down, before Morrissey is victorious

Morro Castle Disaster: (2 refs. 39K Notes) {Roud #22305}

"As the fire filled the air maddening scenes were everywhere, The flame-swept decks were far beyond control." Hundreds take a trip on the Morro Casle. The captain is dead. Many die. Investigations won't help. God will judge those involved.

"I's a-weary of my troubles and I'se tired of my woes... I tried my best to please you, but it really seems no use." "Good-by, you good-for-nothing Andy, Good-bye, you're gonna lose your Mandy." The girl consults a fortune-teller who tells her to get ou

"The news from Rome ... our Pope he was in danger." April 29, 1869 Irish volunteers leave Dublin on the Avatuskey. They are rammed in a gale on May 10 and sink, deserted by the crew. Moses Donohue of Killincooley is among those drowned.

"It was a dark and stormy night, The snow was falling fast, I stood on Thorpbridge Junction Where the reckless Moses passed." Although there is no description of a wreck, the song ends with the dying words of Moses

"My kindred Indians, pray attend and hear... This day I warn you of that cursed sin That poor despised Indians wallow in." The preacher warns Indians against drink, which led Moses Paul to murder; he bids them turn to Christ

Moses Ritoora-li-ay: (2 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #5197}

A policeman sees a man peddling in the street and hauls him in. A trial ensues in which the court tries to find out if Moses Ri-too-ral-i-ay is Irish. He turns out to be a Jew related to the judge. Moses is released, and the unhappy policeman fired

Tongue-twiser verse. "Moses supposes his toeses are roses, But Moses supposes erroneously. For he knowses his toeses aren't roses (or "For nobody's toeses are posies of roses") As Moses supposes his toeses to be."

Description of a rowdy gathering of Travellers at the market of Burreldale. A piper's bag bursts, and he's launched into the air; another man plans to fight but his Annie knocks him over, etc. (Some versions describe the participants and their trades)

Moss of Balloch Fair: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #5144}

The singer meets Mary Ann at the fair. He takes her to see the show and buys candy. He takes her home that night; "the auld folks" consent. The next day they marry at the fair. In twelve months they have twins and plan to open a baby show at the fair.

Mossie and His Mare: (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6104}

"Oh, Mossie was a cunning man, A little mare did buy; For winking and for jinking There was few could come her nigh." After telling how Mossie captures her, various folks are warned against bad behavior; they will be punished "as Mossie catch'd his mare."

"People and Friends of every name, Attend to what I write." A peddlar asks lodging with a farmer. The hosts search his pack; the wife kills him so they can sell his effects. Her daughter talks about her new clothes; the mother burns the child

Moth and the Flame, The: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7433}

Two old sweethearts meet. He says he still loves her; she says she is to be married to another. He tells the fable of the Moth and the Flame to reveal her lover is already married. At the wedding, the fiance kills his wife. The girl turns to her old love

Bessie's daughter would marry Andrew Carr. Mother objects. Maggie Spreul married Roger because she was pregnant; Andrew has had daughter's maidenhead. Daughter says, mother had done the same when she was young. Mother must agree and the couple marry.

Capstan shanty. "The brave west wind it filled our top-s'ls and bore us out-ward bound... for Frisco Town.... Sheet it home- that big main top-s'l, sheet it home- boys, good and true, For we're bound to Mother Carey's, where she feeds her chicks at sea."

"I'll not be long with you, mother, I soon must say goodbye, But, mother, we shall meet again, In God's bright home on high." The singer rejoices that she(?) will join sister in heaven, and taste the joys there; she promises to pray for mother

"Late last night, when we were all in bed., Mrs. O'Leary put a Lantern in the shed and when the cow Kicked it over, She blinked her Eyes and said "It'll be a hot time in the old town tonight. Fire Fire Fire, Pour on Water... Save my Children.... Jump..."

The singer ridicules men out courting who are afraid to go into the house. He swaggered in, kissed Mother Malone, hugged the old man, gave one brother a dollar and shook the other's hand; "then I'd walk out with me girl Mary Ann." Now they are married

Jump-rope rhyme. "Mother sent me to the store, She told me not to stay. I fell in love with a blue-eyed boy And I couldn't get away. How many kisses did I get? Ten, twenty...."

Jump-rope rhyme. "Mother sent me to the store, This is what she sent me for, (To get some) coffee, tea, and pepper" (or "salt, vinegar, mustard and pepper," etc.)

Mother Shipton's Prophecy: (1 ref. 3K Notes) {Roud #9077}

"Carriages without horses shall go, And accidents fill the world with woe, Men in the air shall be seen In blue and black and white and green.... Under the water men shall walk... The world to an end shall come In eighteen hundred eighty-one."

"Mother, can I pick a rose? Yes, my dearest daughter, if you don't tear your clothes... I picked a rose. I tore my clothes. Come home! I don't hear you. I'll send your (father/brother/sister) after you. I don't hear you." Etc., until the child is caught

"I'd like to go back home again, To Mother, Dad, and Joe, And simply loaf around a while 'Mid scenes of long ago." Life is too busy now; the singer wishes he were with his family, old Rover, and the rag doll Joe. There, he could sleep peacefully

"Oh, well I can remember now, When but a little boy, The fond caresses I received, I was my mother's joy," but he turned criminal, and "I am transported now, But, mother, don't you cry." Finally he received news of liberty

Mother, He's Going Away: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #V8731}

Mother: Don't cry for that liar Barney; remember "how he served poor Kate Kearney." Nelly: He's going away; I dreamed of his ghost. Mother: All the better; remember you protested when he courted Jinny M'Cray last week. Nelly: He's going away ...

A child asks mother whether master will sell him/her "down in Georgia." She says yes. The child tells mother "don't grieve after me ... I'll meet you in heaven"

Mother, Is the Battle Over?: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5462}

The boy asks, "Mother, is the battle over? Ten thousand have been slain, they say. Is my father coming? Tell me, Have the rebels gained the day?" The boy sees his mother crying, and assumes his father is dead. At last mother admits the truth

"Mother, may I go out? All the boys are waiting, Just to take me out. Some will give me candy, Some will give me cake, Some will give me kisses, Behind the garden gate. I don't want any candy... But I wand (X) to kiss me Behind the garden gate."

Mother, May I Go to Swim (I): (9 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #3303}

"Mother, may I go out to swim? Yes, my darling daughter. Hang your clothes on a hickory limb But don't go near the water."

Mother, May I Go to Swim (II): (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #3303}

"Mother, may I go to swim, Yes, my darling daughter; Mind the boys don't see your (wee) legs, Keep them under the water."

Mother, Mother, Make My Bed: (6 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #45}

A young woman, dying, sends for her true love. He hastens home, but finds her already dead. He kisses her, and dies the next day. They are buried side by side, and a rose and briar twine over their grave.

Mother, Mother, Pin a Rose On Me: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #11765}

"Mother, mother, mother, pin a rose on me, Two little boys are after me. One is blind and the other can't see. Mother, mother, mother, pin a rose on me."

Jump-rope rhyme. "Mother, mother, what is that, Hanging down that lady's back? Hush your mouth, you naughty thing, That's the lady's corset string"

Jump-rope rhyme. ""Mother, mother, where's the key?" 'Go ask father.' 'Father, father, where's the key?' 'Have you washed the dishes?' 'Yes.' 'Have you swept the floor?' 'Yes.' 'Turn the key in the lock and run out to play.'"

The singer recalls leaving home and mother and taking up gambling. One day, "I had bet all my money... I needed one card to beat them and that card was a queen." The card shows his mother; she reminds him of what is right and he gives up gambling

Mother's Love Is a Blessing, A: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4914}

An Irish boy about to cross the Atlantic says farewell to his mother. He will teach his children that a mother's love is a blessing. Love her when she's old and grey. "You'll never miss a mother's love till she's buried beneath the clay"

Willie wishes to visit his lover. His mother bids him stay, and curses him to drown in Clyde if he goes. Willie, trusting in his horse, goes anyway, but his lover's mother bids him away. Returning, he drowns in Clyde; his lover drowns as she seeks him

"Sometimes I feel like a motherless child (I'd never been born, I'm a long ways from home, a homeless child)" (3x). "I get down on my knees and pray"(2x). "I wonder where my mother (baby, sister, preacher) has gone"(3x). "I get down on my knees...."(2x)

"As I walk from door to door, And I have no where to go, And I hear my neighbors cry, That's a motherless child." "Everybody turn me down, Motherless child." "As I walk through the streets, Yes, my knee bones, they seem weak, For I am hungry...."

Motherless Children: (14 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #16113}

"Nobody treat you like mother will when mother is dead." (Various surrogate parents are suggested, but the children "have no place to go." "Motherless children have a hard time when mother is gone.")

"Motor boat, motor boat, Go so slow, Motor boat, motor boat, Go so fast. Motor boat, motor boat, Step on the gas."

Motto for Every Man, A: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #9079}

The singer warns about "Some people you've met in your life, Who never look happy or gay." But he has an answer: "'Put your shoulder to the wheel' is a motto for every man." "The weak must go to the wall," but hard work and a good home life bring success

"There's a wealth of pure affection, There's a rose red speck of joy" in the memory of mother and home, where the singer remembers "mottos that were framed upon the wall." Things like "God bless our home" and "What is home without mother."

Mouldering Vine, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #13950}

"Hail! ye sighing sons of sorrow, Come learn with me your certain doom; Learn with me what's your fate tomorrow, Dead and perhaps laid in the tomb." Life should bring "to our mind the mouldering vine." People are dying; trees are dying; you are next

The singer "must roam far away from my home And sail o'er the wide raging sea" but hopes to return to the place he grew up, to his friends "and that colleen that dearly loves me"

"The gentle breeze blew soft o'er Mount Vernon's quiet homes; The Sunday schools had closed for the day, when all at once there burst that awful, dread cyclone." First the tornado hits, then fire springs out; five hundred homes are destroyed

A wagon train is attacked by (Mormons disguised as) Indians. They surrender, but are slaughtered the moment they lay down their weapons. The assault is blamed on Brigham Young

The singer is one of Dwyer's mountain men. The Yeos can't trap us, he says. "The people all bless us, for many a cabin's left safe and secure" We are few but we control the mountains and, while we have strength, "we'll keep the old cause living still"

Mountains of Mourne, The: (6 refs. 4K Notes) {Roud #18229}

The Irishman in London writes home to Mary to tell her of the city. He describes how the local women dress (or, rather, don't dress). He watches the King of England. He wishes he were home with Mary "where the Mountains of Mourse sweep down to the see"

A maid meets "her gallant Reynardine, on the mountains of Pomeroy." He is an outlaw "but keeps the flag of freedom safe." She is afraid for him. Her kinsmen would kill him. She leaves "her cruel kin and home" to go to him but drowns in a storm

"Mountblairy thy woods and walks are green ... Thy pleasant scenes in after years I'll lovingly review ... when I am far from you." The singer says Mountblairy's "trees can tell a tale ... but keep thee ever silent ... And I will ever love you."

The singer praises the "soft sylvan splendour" of Mountsandel. Wandering the land reminds him of childhood. He says that friendships grow in the central town of Coleraine

A complex family, with no clear dividing line, known by the key chorus line "You shall be free When the good lord sets you free" (or "calls you home"). Verses can be serious or silly ("Oh! there was a moanish lady Lived in a moanish land...")

"Young men who in this city live or in the Pine Tree state" should beware. Seven men went sailing in Portland. A gale blew up and six were drowned; one survived by swimming. It will be our turn to die soon

"Ah, poor souls, why cast you down, And why art thou so sad?" The sinner confesses being bound down by his body and his sins; his soul confesses "its ruined state," it prays to Jesus, and is set free

"A mouse found a beautiful piece of plum cake." It "held the cake fast," not telling the other mise. "He kept gulping it down till he made himself ill." The doctor makes him tell of his greed. Children are warned to share or they too might become ill

Directions to Daniel: "Move, Daniel," "Go the other way, Daniel" -- including obfuscation -- "Sinner in my way" and "Do the eagle wing"

Move, Members, Move: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #10958}

"Move members move Daniel (x4)! Move till I get (there/home), Daniel (x4) Got on my little John shoes, Got on my little John shoes Daniel (x3), Shoes gonna rocka me home Daniel... Who want to buy this land Daniel...."

Jump-rope rhyme or a game called "Stars," with the lines made up of movie star names, e.g. "Roy Rogers, Betty Grable, Rita Hayworth, Clark Gable."

Moving On (The Bug-Out Ballad): (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #10360}

"Hear the patter of running feet / It's the old First Cav in full retreat. / They're moving on; they'll soon be gone." The singer describes the unpleasant conditions in which he is fighting, and the many enemies approaching. He intends to head out

"Born in the middle of the afternoon In a horse-drawn wagon on the old A5." Wherever travelers stop, they are ordered away -- they lower the price of property, they have no work. "You'd better get born in someplace else, so move along, get along, SHIFT!"

Singer meets a young woman; she has a small meadow needing mowing, it has never been mowed before. He mows all afternoon, but the grass remains standing; she tells him to sharpen his scythe, for the work's not finished

The cowboy "used to go dashing," "But that was before they invented wire fences And started the cowboys to shoveling hay." He looks back to the good old days, curses the man who invented barbed wire, and requests a "mowing machine" for his tombstone

"Come all ye jovial mowing lads Who have been up aloft To see that famous mowing match 'At were mown at Brimmy Croft." Curly and Tom compete to see who is the better mower. The ill-planned contest goes undecided, to Curly's great displeasure

Mowing the Barley (Cold and Raw): (21 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #922}

A lawyer asks a pretty woman where she's going: "To my father a-mowing the barley." He propositions her; she scorns him, (telling him to keep his money for his wife at home). (He presses his case; she yields and marries "into a station above her")

Singer goes to Dublin to hire to mow hay. He is hired by a farmer for one thousand a year. He apparently meets a girl and gets consent of "daddy and mammy." They marry and "Whilst the money it will hold out, We'll make the old-tap-room shake"

To a tune by Mozart, "Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia."

An MP says he's a good Protestant but does not speak out or vote on critical issues. He won't insist on letting the Bible into school. "He hates the name of 'Orangeman,' 'They go it far too strong; They hit too hard at Popery, And that is very wrong!'"

"Mr. Flynn Broke his chin Sliding on A banana skin."

Game in which players approach "Mr. Fox" until he turns and catches them: "Mr. Fox, what time is it? One o'clock." "Mr. Fox, what time is it?" "Half past one." And so forth, until, "Mr. Fox, what time is it?" "Time for my dinner!"

"Mr. Low/Long/Foster/Faustus is a very good man, Who tries to teach us all he can, Singing, spelling, arithmetic, He never forgets to give us the stick." "...He goes to church on Sunday, He prays to God to make us good, And gives us the cuts on Monday."

"On the twenty-fifth of September, I always it shall remember." Mr. Pierce, of Cambridge, is driving cars when his horse goes wild. The cars crush his legs, which have to be amputated. He warns of and moralizes about his fate

Children's game song in three sections about a postman, about a pussy giving directions, and an unrelated conclusion.

"Mr. Pussyfoot, bow wow. Mr. Pussyfoot, miaou miaou. Fancy coming from America to try To make Old England dry. Mr. Pussyfoot, bow wow."

Old Mr. Wright married Mrs. Wrong, a gin drinker. One night she came home drunk and "flew into the riverside with suicide intent." He jumped in to save her and they were never heard of again. The chorus says "Wrong married right and Wright married wrong"

Mrs McLeod of Raasay: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #13196}

"Up wi't Meggie Dickie, doun wi't a'"

"I am a scrap of a widow" from the Coombe in Dublin. She has had a room and stall, selling fruit, sweets and second-hand clothes, for (35) years. "And where would you see a nate widow like me, Mrs Mulligan, the Pride of the Coombe?"

Mrs O'Grady, or Mistress Shady, or Mrs Brady "was a lady, She had a daughter whom I adore." The singer courted her each day -- Monday, Tuesday,... -- "afternoon at half past four." Her hair color changes on each telling.

"Oh, what (shall we have/have you got) for dinner, (Mrs.) Bond? There's beef in the larder and ducks in the pond." Mrs. Bond offers good meat to her customers, and sends the ostler to kill the ducks. They flee him. She at last goes out herself

Mrs. Brown Went to Town (I): (8 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #12982}

"Mrs Brown went to town, Riding on a pony, When she came back, she took off her hat And gave it to [or they called her] Miss Malonie." Or "...town, To buy a pair of britches, When she came home, she tried them on, And bang! went the stitches."

A "hot hands"/clapping game. "Mrs. D -- Mrs. I, Mrs. F -- F-- F, Mrs. C -- Mrs. U, Mrs. L -- T -- Y." DIFFICULTY

Jump-rope rhyme. "Mrs. Day made a cake. The cake was soggy, She fed it to her doggy. The doggy ate the cake; He got the stomach-ache. How many days did he have it? One, two, three...."

"Mrs. Dunne made her bun In the middle of a nun, Saw a ghost eating toast Half-way up a lamppost."

Mrs. Greig of Sandlaw: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5161}

"Twas at a certain firm toon... A braw goodwife ca'd Mrs. Greig Her servant girlies kept in order." After Greig foils many attempts to sneak in a man, the girls create a straw man, which Grieg "slays" with a cudgel. They hope she has learned her lesson

"Mrs. Martin fell down barking, Got up blinking, Ran away thinking."

A sergeant urges Mrs. McGrath to make her boy a soldier. He sails away in fine style. For seven years she waits for him, hoping for word. At last he returns with both legs gone. (She curses the wars.)

Mrs. McLaughlin's Party: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #18228}

Everyone prepares for weeks, buying new clothes and patching the old, for Mrs McLaughlin's party. They dance and drink all night until the fiddler falls drunk and they carry him home, and fight on the way.

"Mrs. James Mullowney gave A party Tuesday night... They say the table fairly groaned...." Mrs. Mullowney "couldn't eat no more... She swooned off on the floor." After recovering, "just mention fippper stew" if you want to be attacked

"Mem'ries of the golden west and friends I used to know Take me back to that boarding house Where I lived long ago." On Fridays the residents waited for Mrs. Murphy's chowder, which "made you yodel louder," and included things from benzene to ice cream

Jump-rope rhyme. "Mrs. Red went to bed, In the morning she was dead." "Mrs. Brown went to town, To buy herself a (wedding gown?)." (Or, "with one leg up and the other down")

Mrs. Sippy Lives by the Shore: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #18999}

Jump-rope rhyme. "Mrs. Sippy (Mississippi, Mrs. Simpson) lived by the shore; She had children more and more; The oldest one was twenty-four. She shall marry...."

Mucking o' Geordie's Byre, The: (7 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2137}

The singer describes the filthy habits of Geordie and his family, and the strange and immense task of cleaning out Geordie's byre. The family's ineptitude and the poorly trained animals result in improbable accidents

"I am a sturdy beggar loon, weel kent the country through." The rambler describes his life and all work. At last he trades in his pack for "a cuddy an' a cart;" he admits a carrier is "a gentleman compared to the owner o' a pock."

The singer accepts the King's shilling to enlist in Muddley Minor regiment. At Muddley Barracks "they cut my hair so close to my head I could hardly wink my eye." Between marching drills, discipline, and meager food he wishes he were back behind the plow.

The singer calls on the muses to pay attention as he asks their aid in praising the Mudion River. He admits the virtues of other Irish rivers, but none can compare with the Mudion. Had he money to spare, he would spent it living by the Mudion

Muff Lawler, a member of the Molly Maguires, is accused (of murder). Rather than face the consequences, he offers to turn informant if he can be protected from the remaining Mollies. The deal is struck when the lawyers offer to send him to another county

"Do you know the muffin man Who lives in Drury Lane?" "Yes I know...."

Gaelic. The black mill is moving around and we expect to go dancing. There are many things you wouldn't expect at the black mill

The singer bends his bow to fire at the muir hen, but cannot fire. She complains that the young men "do want the pouder." The young man later arrives with "pouder," and twenty weeks later her back grows sore. He still fears a misfire

Muir of Culloden, The: (3 refs. 68K Notes) {Roud #3777}

"I'll sing of my country, its deep glens and fountains... I'll sing of its battles renowned in story." "On the sixteenth of April, I'll ever remember." The Jacobite leaders disagree and attack half-heartedly; "Cauld lies the lads on the Muir of Culloden."

The singer's lover has left him: "she got this young swain from Bonane." He admits he drank too much, even with her father. "'Tis many an evening I rambled" So "she packed up her boxes quite hasty." "I hope this good dame will succeed."

Muirland Farmer, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5949}

"I am a gweed fairmer has acres o lan'," servants, a "mansion hoose," "A dainty we wifie," and two children. He describes the farm, the lake with wild ducks, the snug house, his church clothes, and his good luck at selling his barley crop.

A storm-tossed ship is blown near Mulberry. The crew abandon ship. One of the boats overturns, drowning five of its seven passengers. The rest of the piece is devoted to mourning for the lost sailors

Mulcahy's Gone Away: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #9570}

"The hero of my humble song was once a mighty man, A shining light in his neighborhood, the chief of all his clan." Mulcahey, a politician, loses his office and disappears. His family laments as they seek for him

"I come with news tonight, me boys, just listen for a while." The singer tells of his amazement that Mulcahy has returned home. The famous Mulcahy has had enough of politics and has decided to return to his roots

Mulcahy's Sister Kate: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #9565}

"You have heard me sing of a hero bold, Mulcahy was his name, And, faith, he had a sister, too, that was noted for her fame." Kate Mulcahy is tall, red-haired, and apparently unmarried at 28; she cooks at a boarding house

Muldoon, the Solid Man: (5 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #3355}

"I am a man of great influence... I came when small from Donegal, in the Daniel Webster I crossed the sea." Hard work has brought the singer success. He promises the listeners he will "use you decent... I'm a solid man." He tells of his social sucess.

"The mule he is the funniest sight; he's made of ears and dynamite." "Some folks don't treat mules with respect; they say he has no intellect." "The mule attends to his own biz; He don't look loaded, but he is."

The singer or captain has a mule on the mountain called Jerry. Who will ride him? I will. Jerry is hiking down the Southern main line; didn't stop for water and made it on time.

Mule Skinner Blues: (11 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3437}

"Good morning, Captain, Good morning, shine... Do you need another mule skinner out on your new road line?" About the hard life on the road work gang, waiting for water, and dealing with a mule

"Oh, I drove three mules for George McVane, And I drove them three miles on a chain. Nigh one Jude and the middle one Jane, And the one on the stick she didn't have no name."

"No matter what you teach a mule, He'll always have his bray; He'll always have his floppy ears and his god-damned mulish way." "Hee-haw, hee-haw is the only thing he knows." "In the middle of a straff he'll land a caisson in a ditch...."

"In readin' the story of early days, it's a cause of much personal pain" that writers ignore "us in charge of the wagon train." They work and endure harsh conditions just like cowboys, "So why in the name of all that's fair can't we figger in history?"

"A story come down from old Mathuslam... You'll make a great mistake... If you bother around the hind parts of a mule. So never tickle a mule when he's reposing; If you disturb his peaceful slumbers, you're a fool...." Thus the practical advice continues

"The mules ran off and I fell down, I really thought I'd croak," but despite troublesome mules, "I love my old canal." All the river critters make their noise as "Old Fear" looks on and grins. It rains hard, but then it clears up and the birds sing

"The mules that walked our fo'c'sle deck, They were two mules of fame; They sailed the Lakes for many a year." The singer describes the mules, the tasks they did, how they adapted to sailing, the messes they made, and says one of them should be mate

Gaelic. "A local song, about a rick of turf that went up in flames. A mock match-making is discussed and local personalities gently lampooned."

The singer recalls how "Hugh Fulton, once my comrade dear, Pursuing fortune, left his home"; Hugh is now in Nova Scotia. The singer is lonely at home now that Hugh is far away. When he left, Hugh asked that they play Auld Lang Syne for Mullaghdoo

Mulligan Guard, The: (8 refs. 7K Notes) {Roud #V7922}

"We crave your condescension, We'll tell you what we know, Of marching in the Mulligan Guard...." The members of the target company "shouldered guns, And marched and marched away From Baxter Street we marched to Avenue A." At home, they drink

The singer sees two lovers saying goodbye. He is going to America; she fears he will forget her. At last she can stand it no longer; she buys passage to America. At first she cannot find him, but meets him eventually; they are married

Mullnabeeny (Mill of Boyndie): (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5576}

"When I was young and in my prime, Guid-fegs, like me there wisna mony." The singer recalls his success at a young age: A good fee, fine clothes, and the attention of the ladies. He wishes he were back in the days when his old hat was new

The singer thinks about the hills of home, where he spent his happy childhood. "I'll soon be coming back to the place, To the sweetheart that I met so many years ago" at Mulroy Bay.

"Multipilication is a vexation, Division's twice as bad, The Rule of Three perplexes me And practice drives me mad."

Multiplication Table Song: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #16811}

"Five times five is 25, And five times six is 30, Five times seven is 25, and five times eight is 40. Five times nine is 45, Five times ten is 50. Five times eleven is 55, And five times twelve is 60." With variations for other numbers

Jump-rope rhyme. "Mummy, Daddy, tell me true, Who shall I get married to? Paul, John, Ringo, George?"

Betsy asks Miss Clark for shelter. Miss Clark asks for details. Betsy says her husband "call me a liar an I stab 'im" "I ain't killed nobody but me husband Didn't mean to kill him but him stone dead."

"Murder in the shoe-box, fire in the spence [cabinet], I had a little donkey and I haven't seen 'n sense. Give 'n a little oats, give 'n a little straw, Gee up, donkey! ans awa she go."

Murder of Alan Beyne, The: (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2974}

A young man is to be hanged for the murder of Alan Beyne. He repeatedly protests his innocence, but judge and jury condemned him. Just before the sentence is carried out, a rider rides up, and proves to be Beyne. The singer is saved

Murder of Alfreda Pike, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #9810}

Out walking, Alfreda Pike, sixteen, is overtaken and her throat is cut. If the murderer is found he'll be lynched. Alfreda is buried at Harbour Grace.

Murder of Charles Stacey, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #4119}

Charles Stacey goes out on a Sunday morning and meets three drunks -- one of whom had lost his girlfriend to Stacey. The three ruffians wait till Stacey and the girl return from church, then shoot him. Stacey shoots back at one, then dies and is buried

J. R. Birchell is condemned to die for murdering F. C. Benwell. He had tried to pretend innocence in the trial; the attempt failed. His wife bids him farewell, and he is hanged

"What sad and awful scenes are these Presented to your View." The crimes of Mark and Phillis, slaves who murdered their master, "appear as black as hell." The two are condemned for "poys'ning" their master, and are condemned to die

Murder of John Dugar, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #4681}

John Dugar and Charles Robisher quarrel. Dugar murders Captain Charles. Dugar reaches Liverpool and tries to take ship, but is overtaken by a detective. He is tried and condemned.

Broadside. "Again the murderer's ruthless hand Has stained with blood our happy land!" "Three brothers bent on crimes and blood... Have murdered Love, their nearest friend." "The gallows now must end our days, And we must walk in unknown ways."

Laura Foster's fiance and his new sweetheart kill her and bury her. Her parents find the body, and it is agreed that she has been murdered. In the Brown texts, at least, the fate of the murderer is not mentioned

Murder of Lottie Yates, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4123}

"Come listen, friends, while I relate Of a crime committed in Kentucky state." Lottie, a young mother living with her parents, is stabbed to death. The murderer (her estranged husband) is found and admits to the crime. He is executed; listeners are warned

Murder of Maria Marten, The: (7 refs. 6K Notes) {Roud #215}

William Corder has Maria Marten meet him at the red barn before they go to Ipswich to be married. He murders her and buries the body in the red barn. Her body is discovered by following her mother's dream. Corder is tried and sentenced to be hanged.

Murder of Mary Tuplin, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #12463}

June 1887. Mary leaves home "her lover for to see Down by the river Margaret." Her jealous lover shoots her "through her brain," ties a rope with a stone around her waist "and dashed her in the tide." Her body being found, Willy Millman is hanged.

McBriars, "master of an Orange Lodge," stops for whisky at a tavern and proclaims his Orange loyalty too loudly. He is killed "by Papish schemes" and "three villains" "He was an old and feeble man not able to resist" Thousands attend the funeral.

Murder of Patsy Beasly, The: (2 refs. 4K Notes) {Roud #11569}

Listeners are invited to hear the tale of a "harmless woman." "Patsy Beasly was her name, In Anson County where she was slain, Her little child alone was left, To live with others or starve to death."

The Setters take on the Peal Bryan story: "A horrible crime was committed Soon was brought to light; For parents to look on their headless girl, What a sad and terrible sight." Jackson's insanity plea fails; he is to be executed; Walling's trial awaits

John Monroe, a married man with two children, seduces Sarah Vail, who bears him a child. He takes woman and child on a trip, murders them, and hides their bodies. When his crime is discovered, he is hanged

"Come friends and relations, I b id you adieu, The grace is now open to welcome me through." The singer admits, "I killed Susan Newham as you have heard tell," bids his friends not to mourn, and looks forward to seeing her in heaven

"Kilmainham's blood is avenged" by the murder of James Carey on board the Melrose. "So traitors all beware I say, And innocent blood don't take away, For vengeful hands shall you repay"

"It's a sad and cruel tragedy I am going to relate, Happened near Willow City in North Dakota state." Harmless old Thomas Walsh is found dead. Sheriff Billy Pitts arrests William Ross, who is convicted and bids a sad farewell

Murder of William Funston, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #2935}

William Funston is murdered near Trillick. The Catholic Maguires are arrested for the crime. "Two purged Orangemen named Smith and Armstrong" are paid to swear against them. McGrory implicates Armstrong. The singer hopes they will be acquitted.

Murder of Young Somers: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #17750}

"When the news it did come in, Sebastopol was taken, (there was rejoicing in the city, and drinking, and young Somers was murdered.)" Somers is knifed to death by accident; "(the man who stabbed Somers ... was after another man)"

A rich lady asks poor Willie to marry. She gives him 15000 pounds for their passage to a country where he can be a gentleman. He throws her in the deep. A wave reveals the corpse. Good Friday her ghost testifies against him and he is sentenced to die

A brother takes his sister sailing. He denounces her adulterous liaison and announces that he will be avenged. He has already drowned her lover; now he drowns her and sails back alone

"Vouchsafe thine aid, ye wondrous nine... A tragic scene transpired of late, The truth of which I will relate." "A Jewish pedlar was shot down, Ah, by a wretch called Warren Wood." "Hiram Williams was the peddlar's name." Wood is sentenced to hang

"Come young and old attention give and lend a listening ear" as the singer tells of "a gay and sprightly youth who lived in Berlin Town." Henry Green becomes enamored of beautiful singer Mary Ann Wyatt, marries her, then murders her, and confesses

The singer is in jail, imagines finding a jailer with a key, and hopes to be a free man some day. "Sent me to the chain gang, back to the murderers' home, I'd a been in better shape if I'd left that reckless woman alone."

"Murderers Rock stands on the track And watches all that passes" by the Dunstan, where there is a gold rush. Four men murder Mathieu and other miners. Burgess, the leader, and two others will be hanged "on the evidence of an informer"

The singer, Mureau "the devil," is so bad that his mother made his father disown him. Be careful or his fighting stick will come down on your head and that fighting stick will be used to measure your coffin.

"As down the lone valley with cedars o'erspread, From war's dread confusion I pensively strayed." "Perfumes of Eden slowed sweetly along; A voice as of angels enchantingly sung; Columbia, Columbia, to glory arise...."

"Murphy Delany so funny and frisky Reeled into a shebeen to get his skin full." He falls into a coal barge, thinking it his bed. He is hauled out by people who think him deed, then comes to life. He is forced to fight the doctor and flee the coroner

The singer loves Molly McClare. He finds her kitchen door open and hides in a cupboard. She returns kissing Murphy. When Murphy also has to hide in the cupboard he reveals he is Molly's husband. The singer locks Murphy in and leaves with the key.

"There's another of this nobby band That I've not mentioned yet; There is Dickson with his pettyfogging hell, Who rules, 'The law is not enough To punish Mormon crime." Mormon persecutors Ireson, Zane, and Dickson, are bound for hell for opposing polygamy

"Come, all you jolly natives, and I'll relate to you Some of my observations -- adventures, too, a few." The singer tells of the stations he has visited to ask for work. Denied employment, he has stolen and even burned the place. He ends up in prison

Poor Bermingham is evicted from his farm for failure to pay rent. Murty Hines takes the farm but is persuaded by the Land League to give it up. The people celebrate. "Give three cheers for the Land League and nine for Murty Hines"

German: "Himmel und Erde mussen verghen, Aber die musici (x3) Bleiben bestehn." English: "All things shall perish from under the sky, Music alone shall live (x3), Never to die."

"How great is the pleasure How sweet the delight, When soft love and music together unite. How sweet sweet how sweet the delight When harmony sweet harmony and love do unite."

The singer wants nothing but to "sing of my pleasure in music and wine." He says nothing can compare with them but then thinks of days past "joined hand in hand with my true love" kissing and listening to birds sing.

Creole French. "Yoyez ce mulet la, Musieu Bainjo, Comme il est insolent. Chapeau sur cote, Musieu Bainjo. La canne a la main, Musieu Bainjo. Botte qui fait crin, crin, Musieu Bainjo."

German: "Ich bin ein Musikanter und komm aus Schwabenland" (respose: "Wir sind" or "Du bist ein Muskantter und..." "Ich kann spielen Auf mein viola! Vio, vio, viola." Similarly for many instruments: piano, plank, plank, plank; Trumpet, rat, tat, tat, etc.

Musselburgh Field [Child 172]: (4 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #4003}

"Two goodly hosts" meet on Musselburgh Field. The Scots enter the battle confident, but are defeated heavily. The English narrator describes the contingents defeated

"When the summer winds blow And the buttercups grow... Where the wild curlew flies, Jimmy's favorite lies, An honest and trustworthy horse." Describes the beloved horse Musselman, how it raced and how people greeted it, and its grave

Mussels in the Corner: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #26307}

"Indeed I's in love with you, Up all night in the foggy dew, 'Deed I's in love with you, Mussels in the corner." "Ask a bayman for a smoke, He will say his pipe is broke, Ask a bayman for a chew, He will bite it off of you." Other verses are similar

The singer laments, "Must I go bound and you go free." (S)he hears someone sing "that marriage was a pleasant thing," but "My marriage day soon turned to woe." The singer's spouse has scorned/abused the singer; the singer hopes for revenge

"Must I go to Mississippi? Must I go or must I stay? Must I go all broken hearted? Oh, my heart shall break in two." "Who will shoe your foot...."

Chorus: "My heart's been fixed, My mind's made up, In Thou I live for him." Verse: "Must Jesus bear the cross alone And all the world go free, No there's a cross for every one And there's a cross for me"

"There was a brave old Texan, his name was Mustang Gray." When the Mexicans invaded Texas, he was taken prisoner. "He wore the yoke of bondage through the streets of Monteray. A senorita loved him...." and turned him loose

"Master came to the old hut door And said has he had often said before, "Tomorrow will be mustering day.'" An old poley cow flees the mob; Master's horse throws him and he dies. The singer sees master's ghost as he goes to gather the body

Mustering Song, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #27771}

The station owner gathers the crew for mustering day. The workers head out to gather the herd when the old man is thrown into a tree and dies. The next day, the singer sees the man's ghost in his usual place, smoking his usual clay (pipe)

Fragment: "Our good ship she heeled over and sank upon her side, And left her chains and anchors all in the Eddy-tide Outside the sunken Cooneys, where the Mutlah went aground, All with her general cargo, she for Halifax was bound"

Muttonburn Stream, The: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2896}

"Muttonburn Stream, It's not marked on this world's map... A wee river in Ulster." It has wondrous qualities: "a wee dunt" in it makes washing clean, "it cures all diseases" including fatness or lean, a good place to fall after a drinking party.

The singer's late Aunty Jean was a big woman who had seen better days and begged for her living. She'd been wed once or twice. She was "brimfu' o' fun," read fortunes and was "a modest blackmailer." "Let us hope 'mang the blest is my ain Aunty Jean"

The singer remembers Nelly Brown and their youthful days together. "Ance mair then Nelly Brown I hae sung o' love and thee Tho' oceans wide between us row you're aye the same to me"

The singer says it is time to go home to a wife he's afraid to face, but a drink and a song will sooth her and they'll go to bed "and I'll cuddle her in my airms ... and crack aboot the joys o' oor ain fireside." Here's to every man that will do the same.

The singer/reciter is a linen draper clerk told by Kate she'll not leave him. He buys her a watch and chain. A policeman "put Her Majesty's braces upon her." He goes to her ninth trial for stealing her mistress's clothes. She is transported for life.

The singer returns wet and weary from gathering seaweed. She says "my ain kind dearie O, Ye row me up, ye row me doon, ye row me owre fu' cheerie O"

"I wadna gie my ain wife for ony wife I see." She is cheery, never shows anger, is good with the neighbors and loves the baby. "Tho' beauty be a fading flower, ... She ance was ca'd a bonnie lass, she's bonnie aye to me"

My Alabama Sweetheart Far Away: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #28838}

Singer thinks back to his days "upon the snowy fields of cotton" with his "Alabama sweetheart far away." He could never tell her he loved her before he left. He has received a letter "that some other has been with her"

"Come see my little dugout, upon the hill it stands, Where I can get a lovely view of ANZAC's golden sands" as artillery shells fall. There are fleas and ants and orphaned mice. His back is sore. If he ever gets home, he might miss the place. Or might not

""My brother, tik keer (take care?) Satan, my army cross over" (x2). "Satan very busy, my army cross over." "Wash his face in ashes." "Put on the leather apron." "Jordan river rolling." "We'll cross the danger water."

Dialog between a wife and her second husband. He says her first husband left her nothing, whereas now she has things: "tell me nae mair o' yer aul' gudeman." She compares her first husband in bed to her current feeble husband. "Alack, my aul' gudeman"

Action song; each line accompanied by a motion. "Oh my Aunt came back from Tokyo Japan and she brought with her a waving fan." (wave hand). "My Aunt came back From old Hong Kong... ping pong." "Timbucktoo... nuts like you" (points at audience)

"My Aunt Jane she took me in" and gave me tea from her shop. "She's awful smart" and bakes rings in an apple tart. She "has a bell on the door A white stone step and a clean swept floor, Candy apples, hard green pears, Conversation lozenges"

An Ojibway (Chippewa) song. The singer reports, "Through the night I keep awake, Upon the river I keep awake."

A young lady goes out in her muff, which is "my own, and I'll wear it, So don't you come near it, You'll spoil it, you'll tear it, My beautiful muff." A young man greets her and plies her with wine. She sleeps. Her muff is ruined. Young ladies are warned

My Beauty of Limerick: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #9752}

"I sing of my loved one, an idol to me." Patrick is across the sea but thinks of his "beauty of Limerick" waiting at home. He promises "to go back to old Ireland when money I'd save." He sleeps with her ribbon under his pillow.

"My Bible leads to glory (x3), Ye followers of the Lamb." "Sing on, pray on, ye followers of Immanuel! (x2)." "Religion make me happy (x3)...." ""I'm on my way to glory...." "King Jesus is my captain...." "There we shall live forever...."

Jump-rope rhyme. "My big red ball Went over the wall, (Hold/told) my mum, She skelpt/slapped my bum, B-U-M."

My Blue-Eyed Boy: (19 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4308 and 18831}

Floating verses on the subject of lost love, usually borrowed from "The Butcher Boy" and/or a "Pretty Little Foot" variant. The wide and deep grave carved with a turtle dove may also be present. Identified by the line "Bring me back my blue-eyed boy"

"Wai', my brother, true believe, better true be... Oh, my body rock 'long fever, O! with a pain in 'e head, I wish I been to the kingdom, to sit alongside o' my Lord." "By the help of the Lord we rise up again... An' we'll get to heaven at last."

The singer says her bonnie laddie's "a writer o' letters And aye as he writes them he sends them to me"

My Bonnie Lies over the Ocean: (16 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #1422}

The singer laments that his bonnie is across the waves, and implores that someone "bring back my bonnie to me." He asks the winds specifically to carry her. (He dreams she is dead.) (He rejoices that the winds have blown his bonnie to him.)

My Bonnie Love Johnny: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #6755}

"My love he's bonny ... He's handsome, charming, sweet and young, An' his cheeks are like a cherry. O"

The singer asks Meg to sit down by him. Meg tells him to drop her hand and tells him he has ruffled her gown. He asks why she's in such a rush to run away "as ye war chased". He says he has told her mother every thing "that passed between us twa"

The singer had a fine hen; it laid two eggs a day. But it went out to seek food and was killed. The owner will punish the killers; "I wasna half so sorry the night my husband died." She invites others to the funeral

Dick Turpin gives a detailed account of Black Bess's speed and beauty and the good use to which he put them. He once robbed a horseman and sped to town, arriving so quickly that he appeared to have an alibi when the horseman at last arrived in town

Dick Turpin bids farewell to the horse that served his so well, making his exploits possible and finally carrying him from London to York in a single day. Now the hounds are on his trail and he cannot escape; he shoots Bess and waits to die himself

"She was born 'mong the wild flowers that bloom in our valley, and like those same flowers she grew lovely and fair." The singer praises the beauty and grace of the girl, and prays that the powers may guard her

My Bonny Brown Jane: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7000}

The singer recalls courting a girl with a "false flattering tongue." He courts Jane, but another earns her love. He enlists in the army "to fight for my queen in a far country." Lonely at night, he prays "for her welfare; what can I do more?"

"My bonny cuckoo, I tell you true" that they will roam the groves together until spring, when the cuckoo will sing. The singer asks that the bird stay "and make the season last all year."

"Ha' you seen owt of my bonny lad?... He's gone along wi' a stick in his hand/He's gone to row the keel-o" "Yes, I ha' seen your bonny lad; 'twas on the sea I spied him/His grave was green, but not wi' grass/And you'll never lay beside him"

The singer is "a warkman wi' a wife an' twa laddies," six chairs and a pendulum clock. Everything they do turns out so well since he's given up drink. He and his wife are so happy.

My Boyfriend Gave Me An Apple: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #12986}

"And five o'clock is striking, Mother may I go out My true love is waiting for me without." He brings apples, pears, and six-pence that she "kiss him on the stairs." She rejects apples and pears and gives back sixpence after he kisses her on the stairs.

My Brother Sylveste: (2 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #10682}

"Have you heard about the big strong man Who lives in a caravan?" The singer's "brother" Sylveste has medals on his chest, has fought Indians, has swum the Atlantic Ocean, beaten boxing champions, can overcome anything

"My brother, I wish you well (x2), When my Lord calls, I trust I shall Be mentioned in the promised land." "My sister, I wish you well...." "My father, I wish you well...." Similarly mother, neighbors, pastor, young converts, poor sinners

My Cabin Home Among the Hills: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #17214}

Singer tells of his cabin in the Virginia hills, where his "mammy" used to sing to him. His mother tells him she's going away "to another home way down in Tennessee." She promises to write, and to someday come home. She never does

"Oh! please just one peep At my cabin in the hills Where the pine trees sway And the hound dogs bay To the notes of the whippoorwill." The singer wants to see Ma knitting Pa's socks and Pa tending his gun, and recalls the sounds of home

Hammer song. "My cap'n paid ne (hah!) Forty-one dollars and a quarter (hah!), To get a pair of shoes (hah!), Oh, partner (hah!), To get a pair of shoes (hah!)" "I got a woman... She's got legs Big as anybody." "She got a ring... Shine-a like gold."

The singer sees a beautiful girl by the banks of the Bann. He asks her to come away with him. The sit by the river and talk. They set a wedding day and are married

My Charming Kate O'Neill: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #6886}

"The first place that I saw my love, 'twas on a summer's day, She was going to her father's as I passed Red Bay." The singer, a young sea captain, praises her beauty but must go away, for "there's another young man, she intends his bride to be."

"The daughters of Erin are famed the world over, For wit and for beauty and charms of their own," but the singer loves one girl from Mayo above all others. He praises her beauty extravagantly

"My children are seven in number, We have to sleep four in a bed, I'm striking with my fellow workers, To get them more clothes and more bread." The singer describes his hard life, tells how Barney Graham was shot, and urges support for the union

My Clinch Mountain Home: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #17254}

"Far away on a hill to sunny mountain side, Many years ago we parted, my little Ruth and I, From the sunny mountain side." She begs him not to go. He promises to return and marry her. Far away, he wants to go to "old Vifginia" and "my old mountain home"

The singer loves "my darling baby, my Creole Belle." He loves her "more than anyone can tell." He'll call her his when the stars shine.

Singer is on trial for murder, soon to be sentenced, but pleads his innocence. He calls for his lover to come for his trial, so that when he is condemned she can wipe his tears away. The jury finds him guilty; the judge sentences him to the electric chair

My Dad's Dinner Pail: (7 refs. 5K Notes) {Roud #5257}

"Preserve that old kettle so blackened and worn, It belonged to me Father before I was born." The singer recalls carrying the pail, and seeing his father; he is sure Father shared with those in need

"My dame had a lame tame crane. My dame had a crane that was lame. Pary, Mistress Jane, man my dame's lame tame crane Fly and re-turn again?"

"Tomorrow shall be my dancing day, I would my true love did so chance To see the legend of my play To call my true love to my dance." The story of the life of Jesus is repeated, with each stage being a reason why the true love should come to the dance

"My darlin' Mabel Swallowed the table And lost the leg of her trousers."

My Darling Sleeps in England: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #9729}

"My darling sleeps in England across the Irish Sea, While I who love him dearly shall mourn him bitterly." The times were hard, so Danny went to work in Birmingham during the war, and was killed by bombs. His wife and growing children mourn

My Dear Highland Laddie: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6841}

The singer's lover fee'd with her father "when he row'd me in his plaidie And vow'd to be mine." Now he's left with the laird as a soldier. "The blae-berry banks Are now lonesome and dreary." She would leave everything for her Highland laddie.

"My Connor, his cheeks are as ruddy as morning...." The girl describes her love. But "The wars are all over, and lonely I've waited, I fear that some envious plot has been laid." Though hope is almost lost, she wanders to look for her "dear Irish boy"

"My dear old comrade soldier of this our native shore, I'm glad to have the honor of greeting you once more." The singer recalls the difficult careers of soldiers, hopes for pensions, and prays that God inspire current leaders

My Dear, I'm Bound for Canady: (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4411}

"My dear I'm bound for Canady; Love Sally we must part." Sally asks Willie to stay; "you'll find employment here" but he leaves St John's; he will marry her within three years. But the song ends "every honest decent young man Don't leave his girl behind"

"My dearest dear, the times draws near When I and you must part, And no one knows the inner grief Of my poor aching heart." The (girl) wishes that they could stay together; (s)he promises to love (him) till (s)he dies, and begs that he write to her

"How beautiful along thy shore, Delaware, my Delaware, Shall Freedom's word ring out once more?" "We want the earth, we want it all, We want the whole terrestrial ball." In support of the "single tax" land reform movement.

The singer and his dog are inseparable. He loves no woman who doesn't love his dog. They conspire to seduce maidens and pimp whores. They consult on politics and go to war together. When he dies they will be buried beneath the tap, "cheek by jowl"

The singer mourns that, when he and his dog went to the well, his dog fell in and drowned. What will become of him? He can still spin a spangle thread "but bowf bow-ow my doggie's deid"

My Emmet's No More: (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #V1056}

"Despair in her wild eye, a daughter of Erin" played the harp and "sang Erin's woes and her Emmet no more." She accuses "tyrants and traitors" and the "proud titled villains" who cowered before him before they murdered him.

Humorous song about lining out hymns. The preacher speaks a line (i.e. "My eyes are dim; I cannot see; I left my specs at home") and singers repeat it. He says "I did not mean for you to sing." They sing the line back. Finally he says, "Doxology...."

My Faith Looks Up to Thee: (4 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #14038}

"My faith looks up to thee, Thou lamb of Calvary." "Oh let me from this day Be wholly thine." The singer asks for strength and guidance, and asks, "O bear me safe above."

My Far Down Cailin Ban: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #5231}

Sean meets a lass who invites him "'longside the Cailin Ban" in her cart. She invites him in to meet her father and have tea. Her father falls asleep. He slips his arm around her waist. He has travelled over Erin's Isle and has never seen such a beauty

Counting-out rhyme. "My father built a little red schoolhouse. How many nails did he put in it?" (The end of the rhyme might be when the speaker says "It," or the person pointed to might name a number and the count goes on using that number)

"My father died a month ago And left me all his riches." The "riches" are listed: feather bed, wooden leg, leather breeches, teapot without a spout, cup with no handle, tobacco pipe with no lid.

My Father Gaed Me Milk and Bread: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #12984}

"Ma faither gies me milk an breid [or meat], Ma mither gies me claes, Tae sit aboot the fireside [or be someplace else] An knap fowk's taes"

"My father gave me when he was able A bowl, a bottle, a dish and a ladle, A bowl sir my father gave me" up to "... Twelve bowls, twelve bottles, twelve dishes, twelve ladles, eleven bowls ...."

"My father dear, so far from here, has given me good advice, He told me to quit my rambling ways And settle down for life." The rest of the family gives equally good advice. Father gives a lump of gold, but it cannot save the son from hell. Etc.

My Father Had an Acre of Land: (17 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #21093}

"My father had an acre of land, Hey ho, sing ivy, My father had an acre of land, With a bunch of green holly and ivy." He farmed it in impossible ways: "plowed it with a team of rats," "rolled it with a rolling pin," "thrashed it with a hazel twig"

Jump-rope or counting-out rhyme. "My father has a horse to shoe, How many nails do you think will do? One, two, three...." (Or the players may race to pick numbers less than the number of players; the last to choose a number is it.)

"My father sent me here with a staff, To speak to you, and not to lay. Methinks you smile. Methinks I don't. I smooth my face with ease and grace, And set my staff in its proper place."

My Father Was a Dutchman: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #9085}

"My father was a Dutchman, Das sprechen verstehst du? My father was a Dutchman, Verstehst du? Yah! Yah!" "Ich spoke ein funny lingo." The singer was a sailor who got in trouble. Or he climbed steeples, or otherwise made mischief

Father born in Germany, mother in Italy, sister in USA "and my baby followed me." Father likes to smoke a pipe, mother to read her book, sister to show her legs "and my baby follows me." Father died in Germany, ..., baby followed me"

Father went to war in 1974, brought back a gun "and shot me in the tum, tum, tum"

"My father, how long\ (x3) Poor sinner suffer here?" "And it won't be long (x3) Poor sinner suffer here." "We'll soon be free (x3), The Lord will call us home." "We'll walk the miry road." "We'll walk the golden streets." "We'll fight for liberty."

"My father's a hedger and ditcher, my mother does nothing but spin, They say I'm a pretty young girl But the money comes slowly in." The girl laments, with variations on a theme, that "there's nobody coming to marry me, Nobody coming to woo."

"My father's gone to view that land, To view that land, to view that land, My father's gone to view that land, To sing that cheering song." "It takes a saint to view that land." "My (mother/brother/sister/children/neighbor)'s gone to view that land."

My Father's Old Sou'wester: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4422}

"My father's old sou'wester He wore in days gone by ... Those happy days of old." "When I was but a lad" my father wore his old hat wherever he went. When he died he said "Go take that old sou'wester hat And wear it for my sake"

My Father's Servant Boy [Laws M11]: (11 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1910}

The girl's father plans to have her marry a gentleman. She chooses instead to flee with her sweetheart. They find a captain who will bring them to America, and are supported by an Irishman till the boy can find a job. Despite poverty, the girl is happy

The singer tells Molly he is going to find a new girlfriend (in rather more coarse language), promising he will do his "plowing in some cleaner, greener land."

"My friends and relations they live in the nations,They know not where their cowboy has gone." The poor cowboy "might have lived long in this world... If my cruel friends could have left me alone." But now he wanders the world

"The Germans are a noble race, and of that race I'll sing, They love their pas, they love their mas, they idolize their king." The singer knows many languages, but "the tongue of the Fatherland Almost dislocates my jaw." He insults German wine and music

False Jimmy deceives an innocent young woman into yielding to him; she says, "My generous lover, you're welcome to me", but the generosity is all hers. She leaves her home; he leaves the country, telling her not to allow any other to love her; she regrets

My Gentle Colleen Bawn: (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4391}

The singer courts Colleen Bawn for 16 months. He is rich and "her friends all kindly welcomed me" He loses his money and is told "They'd forced my own colleen to wed An old man for his gold" He asks why "in our own dear land ... They wed for money"

"My gentle harp, once more I waken The sweetness of thy slumb'ring strain. In tears our last farewell was taken, And now in tears we meet again." The wreathes in which he dresses her are "half flowers, half chains."

The singer is setting out for America. He tells those around him of his parting from beautiful Aileen Oge, with whom none can compare. He wishes he could stay, but no money is to be had. When he becomes rich, he will marry Aileen

Various stanzas about how the singer's girl, whose college or fraternity is usually identified, satisfies the singer. Example: "My girl's from USC, She fights for chastity, Fights ev'ryone but me, I love her so."

My God, How the Money Rolls In: (9 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #10143}

A quatrain ballad, "My God" describes the various illegal or dubious occupations of family members, e.g. "My sister she works in a (cathouse/laundry), My father makes synthetic gin, My mother she takes in washing, My God, how the money rolls in"

Wife asks husband where he is going. He says, grumpily,"Out" (or the like). She asks about supper. He: Eggs. She: How many? He: A bushel. She: They'll kill you. He: Then I'll haunt you. She: You can't haunt a haunt

My Good-Looking Man: (12 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3340}

The singer warns other girls against good-looking men. When young, she saw a good-looking man and set about to marry him. Now she sees him with another woman. When he claims to have been in church, she beats him until he flees

My Grandfather Married a Quaker: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #6214}

When Judy "sung like a peacock or starling" the singer introduces himself and offers himself as a husband "so hearty" she's not likely to find such again. "Your coldness puts me in a flame I'll marry you if you have money In spite of my family name"

An ode to Grandfather's amazing sexual equipment.

Chorus: ("My grave's going to be decorated on that day And I know when my Jesus comes" (2x). "There won't be no more trouble in my way I know I'm going to shake my master's hand I know when my Jesus comes") Verses: liar/gambler, where you going to run?

Barney thinks of his childhood in Ireland and how blessed him when he left. He imagines her sorrow: "Your old Irish mother is waiting for you And when friends and companions will turn and desert you There's a place Barney darling at the old home for you"

"My gypsy lady, Won't you be my baby? I know I love you, I know I do, For in the springtime, The pretty ringtine, I know I love you, You know I do."

"With my hands on my head what have we here? This is my brain thinker my (mother/teacher) dear, Brain thinker, brain thinker nicky nacky nocky nu, That's what they taught me when I went to school." Additional (cumulative?) verses involve other body parts

My Handsome Sailor Boy: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #9795}

"As I roved out one evening down Water street I took my way." Mary Jane hopes to meet MacDonald, her true love, but is told he's gone to Halifax "for money." Her mother and father tell her to forget MacDonald but she will go to Halifax to be his bride.

"'Tis a pretty little cottage where the grass is ever green... Come and see me, neighbors, come today... 'Tis the finest country found, I will show you all around In my happy little home in Arkansas." Praises of the farming conditions in Arkansas

"Not so many years ago I left old Buffalo, The place that I have always loved the best.... I'm yearning today For my Harding County home out in the west. The singer recalls the beauties of home; "As I wander down Broadway," he hears a coyote call him home

My Hat It Has Three Corners: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #12783}

"My hat it has three corners, three corners has my hat. And if it has not three corners, it would not be my hat." Also sung in German. Sole verse may repeat with words left out, e.g. "My ---, it has three corners, three corners has my ---..."

"My head is sair, my back's in twa, Gar him come, gar him come, My head is sair, my back's in twa, Gar Johnnie come and see me"

"Now I've sailed the sea, I've seen gay Paree, I've seen the sights of old London, Though I'm far away, I never stray" from Pendleton. The singer declares that he will go back for the September roundup; "That's the place for me."

The singer says her "heart is as licht as a feather." She will not "lat doon my heart" for any mud-splashing lad. "I'll never lie dead for them That winna lie sick for me."

"When that my sweet son was thirty winter old, Then the traitor Judas waxed very bold." He betrays Jesus on Maundy Thursday with a kiss. The Jews demand crucifixion. Longeus spears his body

My Heart It Never Was Afraid: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #15123}

"My heart it never was afraid To go and meet my foe"

"My heart leaps up when I behold A rainbow in the sky, So was it when my life began, So is it now I am a man, So be it when I shall grow old, Or let me die. The child is the father to the man, And I could wish my days to be Bound each to each in... piety"

""My bark on the billow dashed gloriously on, And glad were the noted of the sailor-boy's song," but the singer is sad, "For my heart's in old Ireland wherever I go." He recalls its beauties, and vows never to leave leave if he ever returns to his cottage

My Heart's in the Highlands: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5878}

The singer bids farewell to the highlands mountains, valleys, forests, and rivers, and recalls "chasing the wild deer and following the roe My heart's in the highlands where ever I go"

A rancher's daughter and her lover must part; the girl's father is sending her to England in hopes that she will marry a nobleman. Eventually an earl proposes to her, but she will marry none but her Texas Jack

The singer will not leave his Highland home, where his parents are buried. He is not tempted to leave by promises of "wealth and ease... gold and fame... a glorious name...." "Flowers may bloom fer ayont the sea But oh, my Hielan hame for me."

"Oh for a sprig o' my ain Hielant heather." The singer recalls parting from his "faither and mither wha near broken hearted." "Sair was my thochts when I crossed the wide ocean For I had nae friend to welcome me there" He dreams of the old folks at home.

"One day I took with me upon the subway My high silk hat, my high silk hat, I placed it down upon the seat beside me, A big, fat lady came and sat upon it, My hat she broke and that's no joke... Christopher Columbo, what do you think of that?"

"I set me down wi' right guid will, To sing my Highland lassie." He prefers her to "gentle dames;" "their titles a' are empty show" If he were rich the world would know his love, but he is poor and will go to India to make his fortune. He will be true.

The singer recalls "those bright golden hours I spent long ago in my home in Fermoy" "far away o'er the wide spreading ocean": school, the Blackwater, Castlehyde, and the Angelus bells. He hopes to return but knows that many he left behind have died.

Singer travels to South Africa, Hindustan, Java, and Palestine, thinking all the time "the fairest was Glenlea." After an earthquake in San Francisco, he writes home for money. He returned, is met by a great crowd, marriess and lives happily in Glenlea.

The singer expresses a hope and a prayer to be reunited with mother: "I want to see my mother, O can't you call her here? / It wouldn't seem so hard to die to have my mother near...."

"I'm going back to North Carolina (x3), I never expect to see you any more." Repeat with "I'm going to leave here Monday morning," "How can I ever keep from crying," "I'm going across the Blue Ridge Mountains."

"My home's in Montana, I wear a bandana, My spurs are of silver, my pony is gray. While riding the ranges my luck never changes, With my foot in the stirrup I gallop for aye." The cowboy sketches the life of a horseman following cattle in the wilderness

"My home's in old Virginny Amongst the lovely hills; The 'membrance of my birthplace Lies in my bosom still." But the singer wanted to ramble. He courted a girl. When drunk, he attacked a man. Now he is to be hanged. He says not to forget the song

"My house is built by an old sheep corral, And I've lived there so long I've got used to the smell, But I live there so merrily, so merrily alone, In the valley of Juab, though Springfield's my home."

My Husband's a Mason: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #10268}

The singer tells how her (husband/father/boyfriend/old man) works all day at his trade and then comes home and plies his trade upon her, e.g. "My husband's a mason... All day he lays bricks... At night he comes home and lays me."

(Two women meet); one laments, "(My) husband's got no courage in him." She describes all she has done to encourage his "courage," but all attempts have failed. (Even now she still has her maidenhead.) (She hopes he dies so she can find another)

"I'm Larry McHugh, a boy so true, I belong to the Emerald Isle." He tells how the girls "Think it a trate to take a seat and be drove in my jaunting car." He offers rides to all, and guidance on the best places to buy

The singer, (a Scotsman,) is in love with Molly. Her parents oppose the match (because he is not Catholic). Unable to win his love, he is ready to die (and makes preparations for burial). (Common versions often lose the plot, and simply speak of courting)

"My Jesus led me to the rock; Oh my! Oh my! I heard such a ramblin' in the sky, I tho't 'twas my Lord comin' down"

Basically a lament for Johnny, who apparently died and was buried at sea. "We're homeward bound today ... We'll drink and play (etc) but always think of Johnny" Chorus: "In the middle of the sea, my boy is floating free, so far away from me, my love."

My Johnny Was a Shoemaker: (15 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1388}

"My Johnny was a shoemaker But now he's gone to sea." He will be a captain "Of a bold and galliant crew And then across the sea he'll roam All for to marry me ... And when I am a captain's wife I'll sing the whole day long"

The singer overhears a girl praising her shantyboy and lamenting that her parents dislike him. She is advised to marry a drygoods clerk rather than "throw herself away." But "If I had my will I'd love him still, my jolly shantyboy."

My Jolly Waggoner, Drive On!: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #1302}

The singer won't have a carpenter, blacksmith, cowman, shepherd, reaper, thresher or miller. She'd "rather have a waggoner", "to whip me ..." "with his whips", "on the back", "a good deal", "instead", though he be poor or "stupid as a block"

"Sailors they are fickle, And the gardeners they're nae true, But my jolly-hearted ploughboy, I'll go along wi' you." It's fine on the sea but she wishes she were in her lover's arms. He gives her "the napkin frae his neck Which cost him guineas three"

"As I stand here in the woods I wonder why I ever left, I wonder if I ever did leave." The singer recalls how it was when she was a girl. She wonders about those she knew. She and her old dog head home, slowly, because they are old; the memories linger

"My lad's a sailor ... he's going to marry me." In twenty-five days "I'll trim my hat wi' velvet, and gie my lad a dram"

"My lad's a terry" and a toff. "He says he loves me I know it's true"

"My laddie sits ower late up, My hinny sits ower late up.... Betwixt the pint pot and the cup." The singer calls Johnny home to his bairn, lamenting the money he wastes: "When I cry out, 'Laddie, cum hame,' He calls oot again for mair beer."

"My heart of gold as true as steel." "My lady went to Canterbury, The saint to be her bothe." Nonsense verses, ending, "Terlery lorpyn, the laverock sant, So merrily pipes the sparrow. The cow broke lose, the rope ran home; Sir, God give you good morrow."

"Where Lagan stream sings lullaby, There blows a lily fair." The singer admits the girl "has my heart in thrall. No life I own, nor liberty, For love is lord of all." The singer recalls the girl's life in the bogs and her sweet songs

The convict bitterly prepares to leave Stirling for Van Dieman's Land. He laments the pheasants he will not disturb, the rabbits he cannot hunt. He bids farewell to his (Jeannie), and hopes she will find another love

My Last Gold Dollar: (8 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4310}

"My last (gold/ole) dollar is gone (x2), My whiskey bill is due an' my board bill too...." "Oh darling, I'm crazy about you... and another girl too..." "Oh darling, won't you go my bail?..." "Oh darling, six months ain't too long...."

"His mammy's a burro, his daddy's a horse, Of course you'll all think it's a mighty queer cuss," but it's "as smart as a cricket, my little brown mule." Always in trouble, it knows every horse and is "wise as a parson." The singer will never sell it

"How I love to think about the days so full of joy and glee, But they never will come back again to me." The singer recalls home and family in Germany, but now mother and father are dead and he cannot return home. He wishes he could

"Ev're night I'm greaming of that little home Down among the hills of Tennessee." It's "just a little shack," but the birds sing there, and mother lived there until she died. But another man won the singer's beloved, so he wanders broken-hearted

"'Tis in Connacht and in Munster, you may travel far and wide... But you'll never find the likes of her... my little Kerry cow." The King of Spain, the men of Ulster, the Cardinals' College would all seek her, but she is grazing on his "good green grass"

"In a hillside that slopes toward the setting of the sun Stands a little old house all alone." It was where the singer grew up. He remembers his mother working there, and "old dad, so unselfish and fine." Even in bad weather, he was happy

"In the dell where the brook's gently flowing, On the bench by the old willow tree... My little one's waiting for me." The singer describes how he happily goes home from work (or wherever) to home and the "little one"

"They called her 'Rambling Rose' because she loved to stray... because she always had her way.... He sweetheart wrote a note:" "Someday you''ll ramble back to me, my little Rambling Rose." It takes a long time, but she finally comes home

"My little sister dressed in pink, She washed the dishes in the sink. How many dishes did she break? One, two, three...."

My Little Soul's Going to Shine: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #11955}

"I'm going to join the great association (x3), Then my little soul's going to shine, shine, Then my little soul's going to shine along." Other verses are shared with "Welcome Table." See notes

"I've a little wet hole in a trench, Where rainstorms continually drench, There are star shells that shine, Each night just at nine, And a lot of things you civvies miss" such as various types of shells and of vermin and of smells

"My little yaller coon Done got back here so soon, Dat I ain't yet got De big fat coon For de 'tater an' de pone, To eat in de light of de moon."

My Lone Rock by the Sea: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7447}

"Oh tell me not the woods are fair Now spring is on the way." The singer admits the beauty of the land, "But ask me, woo me not to leave My lone rock by the sea." He describes the beauties of life by the shore

"The jailor for trial had brought up a thief" as lawyers look for work and gawkers look for sensation -- when the notice the body of Lord 'Size. Witnesses are sought and questioned. The jury is trying to reach a verdict when the body comes to life

"My Lord knows the way through the wilderness -- all I have to do is follow (x2). Strength for today is mine all the way, and all I need for tomorrow; My Lord knows...."

My Lord's Riding All the Time: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #15244}

Chorus: "He sees all you do and He hears all you say, My Lord's a-riding all the time (x2)." Verses: "When I was down in Egypt, I heard a mighty talking about the promised land." "Come down come down my Lord come down, And take me up to wear the crown"

"My love, why art thou straying From my heart so warm and true?" The singer wonders why her love has gone to sea. Her love is not fading during his years away. She wishes she could sail with him

Jump-rope or autograph album rhyme. "My love for you will never fail As long as a monkey has a fail, And if that tail is cut in two, That won't stop me loving you."

"My love he is a sailor lad He's on the ocean blue." The singer says her sailor's heart is "the compass true" that points to her. She turns her head aside when landsmen smile at her and wishes for a safe breeze to bring him home.

The singer thinks of when her love stood "in yon stable door ... combing down his yellow hair." He's "across the sea ... forsaken a lover true And followed the one that ye never knew" She wonders if he thinks of her.

"In many lands I've wandered, In many climes I've roved... But since I crossed the water, A new light on me shine In the beauties of a daughter Of this enchanted Isle." The singer declares, "I'll toast both now and ever The Belle of Newfoundland"

My Love Is Like a Red, Red Rose: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #12946}

"My love is like a red, red rose that's newly sprung in June, My love is like a melody that's sweetly sprung in June." The singer promises to love "Till all the seas gang dry" and return to his love though his voyage takes him "ten thousand mile"

The singer waxes lyrical in his love's praise -- telling how she turns everyone's heads with her straight, slender figure, "mouth always twittering," and "cheeks like cauliflower." He joyfully prepares for his wedding.

The singer recalls telling tales by the fire. She says she would comfort her love if he appeared. But "My love's laying so cold beneath my feet." She says that he promised to marry her and no other, "but don't my love lay so cold beneath my feet"

"My love, she's but a lassie yet (x2), We'll let her stand a year or twa, She'll no be half sae saucy yet!" Singer tells of a hard courtship, calls for more drink, and concludes, "The minister kisst the fiddler's wife, He couldna preach for thinkin' o't."

The singer loves beutiful Jean, fears her scorn, and says "I'll love thee ... till life's last close" If he were rich he'd give "a monarch's ransom for thy hand"

My Love's a Plooman: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5957}

"My love is a ploughman and follows the plough." The singer has promised the ploughman that she will love him. She says she will be true and never rue her promise.

"My love's gien me a gay gold ring," says the singer, "but I've gien him a better thing." In the garden there is a straw bee-hive "full o' honey The lad that loes his lassie weel Will never want for money."

The singer recalls leaving Mary, his "lovely Irish Rose," and sailing to America. "The strangers' land is fair to see, the strangers too are kind," but he'd rather be home. Nothing compares with Mary and "those many happy days spent with my Irish Rose"

The singer says his love is little, with "handsome foot" and "weel-made middle." He wishes she would fancy him. If she were ale the sight of her would warm him on the coldest night. He would buy her new shoes.

"My lovin' father, When the world's on fire, Don't you want God's bosom For to be your pillow? Hide me, oh thou, in the rock of ages, Rock of ages, cleft for me." (Similarly with mother and perhaps other relatives)

"My lovyer is a sailor boy so galland and bold, He's tall as a flagstaff, only 19 years old." She wishes he were with her. He was bound as a carpenter but prefers the sea. She fears he will find a girl somewhere else

Lucky and the singer went to the mill. Lucky fell in and drowned herself. He pulled her out by her hair but she was dead.

"On the banks of the noble Cumberland I spent many happy hours Wandering there with my Lula Lou, Kentucky's sweetest flower." "She buckled on my sabre there." "The fatal shot has done its work"; now he waits for her to join him

"My Lulu hugged and kissed me, She wrung my hand and cried, She said I was the sweetest thing That ever lived or died." The singer praises Lulu and threatens any who court her. (He will follow her anywhere, but she deserts him)

My Ma Was Born in Texas: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #4808}

"My ma was born in Texas, my pa in Tennessee," and the singer was born as they moved to California. He left home to become a cowboy. He married a girl; she proved to have seven children. He caught her with another man and shot him; he is sentenced to life

Farmer Gordie Duff met Maggie at Porter Fair and he hired her as "dairy maid and gave her right good pa.y" "My Maggie she can wash ... shew ... patch a coat ... like new ... darn ... keep a hoose and ... fireside ... she's aye my joy and pride"

"My mammy don't love me, She won't by me no shoes, Won't give me no corn-licker, Won't tell me no news." The man asks what he has done: "killed nobody, I've done no hanging crime." She(?) says that a man who mistreats her will treat others the same

"Steal up, young ladies, My mammy stoled a cow. Steal up, my darlin' chile, My mammy stoled a cow." "Stoled that cow im Baltimo', My mammy stoled a cow." "Steal all around, don't slight no one, My mammy stoled a cow."

"My mammy told me long years ago, 'Son, don't you marry no girl you know. Spend all your money, sell all your clothes, Then what'll become of you the Lord only knows."

My Man's a Millionaire: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #19022}

"My man's/maw's/da's a millionaire, (Blue eyes/big feet) and curly hair, See him walking down the street With his big banana feet, My man's a millionaire!" Or, "...feet, Works among the Eskimos, Playing a game of dominoes, My man's..."

"My man's gone now. He had to go. He couldn't find no work around this town. Not for ages; used his wages. Got up this morning, and he was gone." He takes to the railroad on a rainy Monday to seek work. She wonders how John is doing as he travels.

"My Mary of the curling hair, The laughing teeth and bashful air, Our bridal morn is dawning fair." They have been close since infancy. Even so, "My cheek is pale and wan for you," but now all is ending happily

"Says the master to me, Is it true that I'm told, Your name on the books of the Union's enrolled?" The master says that he can't keep working with a disturber of the peace, and can't pay higher wages. The worker says there is no need to quarrel

"My master sent me to you, sir. For what, sir? To do with one as I do, sir."

"I'm a 'prentice boy, my name is Bob... They bound me to a dirty 'snob.'" Resenting his master, he takes the master's gun and enlists in the Spanish army. There, he claims, he proves such a fine fighter that they label him the British Bonaparte

The singer is in the local pub telling "my great deeds And ither great things o' the nation" when his brother Jim tells him to go home "for your Meg she is gettin' a bairn." It's good to have a good wife "your joys and your sorrows to be sharin'."

"My Minnehasin come from hina, Me lika Els 'cause she lika me." The singer wishes to marry Els, mote back to China, and eat rats and mice. He lives in Bottle Alley. He gets married; his wife gets drunk. The story is told in a strong fake accent.

My Mither Built a Wee, Wee House: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #13128}

The singer says "How can I keep my maidenhead Amang sae many men?" "My mither built a tiny house To keep me frae the men." The walls fell. "The Captain had a guinea for't, The Colonel he bad ten." No silver: "I'll give it to a bonnie lad" as mother did.

My Mither Is Turnin' Auld: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #7266}

The singer's mother is getting old and would have her child behave but if she were young again she'd behave just like the rest.

The singer complains that her ill-natured mother would not let her court Harry, who has left her. "I hae nane but Jocky only." She wishes "Jockie wad but steal me"

"I know a dear old lady, whose voice is soft and low, Her face is like some picture, a dream of long ago." "She is not great or famous." "Her life's a living sermon." "Her presence is a garden of ever-blooming flowers... Which time can never wither."

My Mother and Your Mother (I): (8 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #19058}

"My mother and your mother Were hanging out clothes; My mother came to your mother And snipped off her nose" (or "punched her in the nose," which may draw the response, "Did it hurt?" or "What color was her blood?")

"My mother died a-shouting, I hope she's gone to glory. The last words I heard her say Was about Jesualem... I'm traveling to the grave, Lord, To lay this body down."

Mother gives a necklace, father a dime, sister a lover-boy "who kissed me all the time." Mother takes the necklace, father the dime, sister the lover-boy "and gave me Frankenstein." He makes her work so she kicks him out.

"My mother is a baker, she bakes like this, Yummy, yummy." "My father is a butcher, he smells like this, Yummy, yummy, Pooey, pooey" Then, modeller sister, cowboy brother, flasher grandpa, hairdresser grannie. The last line of each verse is cumulative.

Jump-rope rhyme. "My mother made a chocolate cake, How many eggs did she take? One, two, three, four...."

"My mother said that I never should Play with the gypsies in the wood. The wood was dark; the grass was green; In came Sally with a tamborine." "I went to the sea -- no ship to get across... Sally tell my mother I shall never come back."

"My mother said that I must go To fetch my father's dinner, o. Chappit tatties, beef and steak, Two red herrings, and a bawbee bake/hapnie cake."

Jump-rope rhyme. "My mother said that the rope must go Over my head."

My Mother Was a Lady: (17 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #2982}

Two (drummers) come to a hotel for dinner, and harass the waitress. Eventually she bursts out, "My mother was a lady... I came to this great city To find a brother dear...." One drummer knows her brother, and offers to marry her

Dialect song. The singer grumbles "My life is all troubles... I'd rather be sent off to jail or to Congress Dan live all my life mit my mother-in-law." He complains of her ugliness. He claims she beats him. He says he married his wife, not her family

"My mother, my mother, She married a Black, She went to the wedding And never came back. When she got back She'd a hump on her back. My mother, my mother, She married a Black."

Jump-rope rhyme. "My mother's going to have a baby. It's going to be twins, triplets, boys or girls?"

Charlie "left my dear old homestead and went away to sea" after his parents tell him "let no false pride make you forget the loving ones at home," When he returns his parents have died. "My gold it had no joy for me for all its joys was fled"

"Well," (("my mother/sister/father)'s on that train, Going around the mountain" (2x).) "The bells go ding, dong, The whistle go wah"

"The other day I had some cash, And then I thought I'd cut a dash," so the singer bought a mule. The mule throws him, dirties his clothes, injures him. The singer hits the mule; it runs and kicks and throws him. It's easier to get on a mule than off.

"My Mommy told me" she would buy a rubber dolly if I was good. "Don't you tell her," or someone/Auntie told her "I kissed a soldier"; she won't buy me a rubber dolly.

"My name is Ben Hall, from Murrurundi I came; The cause of my turn-out you all know the same... I was forced to the bush my sorrows to drown." Hall recalls his skill as a robber, and toasts his imprisoned companions

"My name is Dick Bradley, A boy as loves pleasure, In courtin' and kissin' I spends all my leisure, For Toping and Fuddling, I am always so ready, And I never will give over, While my name is Dick Bradley." The singer talks of his toping

"My name is Edward Broderick, I was born in Illinois." "A boiler maker I'm by trade." One day "A hot iron chip struck me in my right eye." After he recovers, another chip costs him the sight in the other eye. He hopes somehow to survive by running a shop

Edward Gallovan from Wexford courts Mary Riley. He tells her they will sail to America with 20 pounds she has saved. He kills her intending to use her money to escape. The body is found. He is convicted and executed.

My Name is Edward Kelly: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #22599}

The early adventures of Ned Kelly, told in the first person. He turned to robbing when his sister was harassed by police. He has escaped all attempts to catch him. He hopes to die in battle like Donahue rather than be treated like a government slave

A song of a volunteer who served in the First World War. He describes how troops were assembled and trained, with many local young men leaving their homes and work. His friend Martin Borders is killed. He says he will not forget

My Name is McNamara: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #9082}

"My name in McNamara And I come from County Clare...." "Our little farm was small, It would not support us all," so he emigrates via Castle Gardens. He finds it hard to find work because he is Irish, but hopes to bring his family across the sea

Jump-rope rhyme. "My name is Santa Claus, I bring you lots of toys, For little girls and boys, whose names begin with A, B, C...."

"My name is Solomon Levi, At my store on Salem street, That's where you'll buy your coats and vests, and everything that's neat." "All the boys" trade with him at #149.. He will fight off those who do not deal honestly

"My name is Yon Yonson, I come from Visconsin, I work in the lumber mills there, Ven I valk down the street, all the people I meet, say, 'Hello, vot's your name?' and I say...." and repeat until someone rebels

"How'd you know your name been written down? (x2) On the wall, oh, it's been written down. (x2) Oh, the angel told me, been written down. (x2) Well, the Lord told me, been written down. (x2) Ain't you glad your name been written down. (x2)" Etc.

The singer hears Sandy moaning about Nannie. The young men envy him. His father recommends he marry a laird's daughter. Sandy says, "I would marry the laird's dochter I would die for my Nannie" He'd rather have Nannie "than Jenny wi' ten thousand mark"

"Far far frae thee my native hame across the mountains high." The singer misses "the heather hills and glens." He would like to return where there are "no black coal pits ... but air aye pure and clear ... where the Ythan water rins"

My Native Highland Home: (13 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #13215}

Scotland's winters are harsh but "colder far's the Scotsmans heart" not warmed by the words "My native Highland home." The singer asks his sweetheart to go with him to live in Scotland; he describes the pleasures of Scotland's summer.

"My neighbors dear I pray draw near, In mourning our sad fate." "We to the forest did repair... Began the cutting down a tree Which on our father fell." "Then watch and pray... At such an hour as we think not, The Son of Man will come."

"My Nelly's a whore! My Nelly's a whore! She's got such wonderful eyes of blue. She uses such wonderful language too, Her favorite expression is, 'Ballocks to you!' My Nelly's a whore."

My Number Will Be Changed: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #16264}

"Don't you know my number will be changed, will be changed... Soon as my feet strike Zion, I'm gonna lay down my heavy burden, I'm gonna put on my robe in glory... I heard the voice of Jesus say, 'Come unto me and rest. Lay down, you weary traveller...."

"I am thinking tonight of my old cottage home It stands on the brow of the hill" where the singer used to roam. Now it is quiet; all the people who used to live there have left or died. "But I shall meet them round Heaven's bright throne"

Singer tells of disasters: horse dies, mule goes lame, storm blows house away, earthquake swallows wreckage, land is repossessed. He dies, but wife & kids are comforted, because he was insured with Banker's Life [Insurance Co.]

"I'm the bloke that broke the bank at Monte Carlo, I'm the hero of a dozen dirty nights. I went out in a submarine to give the Kaiser one"; he meets the Kaiser and is given an Iron Cross. Iron crosses are tossed around for various other trivial feats

My Old Kentucky Home: (24 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #9564}

"The sun shines bright on my old Kentucky home; 'Tis summer, the darkies are gay...." The song lists the troubles of the poor tired slave (soon to die? far from home?), "Weep no more, my lady... We will sing one song for the old Kentucky home far away..."

"My old man's a dustman, He fought at the Battle of Mons. He killed ten thousand Germans With only a couple of bombs." The song describes the horrid casualties, concluding, Flies are bad, bugs are worse, If you sing any more I'll start to curse"

"My old man's a s'ilor on a carley float, Wiv 'is gorblimey collar and 'is gorblimey coat, Ties his blledin' muffler round is' bleedin' froat, Oh, My old man's a s'ilor on a carley float."

Pennsylvania Dutch adaption of Foster's "My Old Kentucky Home," relocated to Pennsylvania. "Die suun schiendt hell in em alt Pennsylfawnisch heim, Sis suumer die schartze sin fro...."

The singer declares "I'm headin' once more for the prairie;" he longs for and recalls the joys of cowboy life. But his pinto pal is old; he decides to set the tired horse free, for it is "dearer to me than a gal," and "not once have I known you to fail"

My Old Wife's a Good Old Cratur: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1263}

"Every morning for my breakfast She gives me good toast and roll ... at night when work is over She brings me bacon and my beer." When times are hard she kisses me and if I get beery she has no harsh word Some folks live better but none is happier.

My Ole Mistus Promised Me: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #11723}

"My ole mistus promised me When she died she'd set me free." "Good mornin', John. Howdy." "She lived so long her head got bald...." Rest involves her mistreatment: "My old mistus killed a duck, Didn't give me nuffin' but de bone to suck." Etc.

"I've said goodbye to my old bunk, I'll give away my chaps.... I'll go, but no one knows just how I'll miss my little roan." The retiring cowboy recalls breaking the "Scout," He is prepared to head to the city; leaving his horse is his one great regret

My Only Jo and Dearie, O: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #13588}

"Thy cheek is o' the rose's hue." The singer describes his sweetheart. He recalls "when we were bairnies on yon brae" and he would chase her and pull flowers for her. He wishes that they would always be together "till life's warm stream forgat to play"

"I once knew a beautiful greaser... Who played in the street for a living." He follows "And worshipped her sweet mandolin." The singer asks to marry, and offers many gifts, but is ignored. He says he will die. At last someone tells him the woman is deaf

"My only Woodbine, my double Woodbine, Don't give me Players or Craven A" or other cigarettes, but "Please don't take my Woodbine away" even though they make the singer's throat sore. Eventually, "I cannot smoke the Woodbines any more"

My Own Dark Maiden: (2 refs. 4K Notes) {Roud #15017}

"Not a youth from Dublin town Unto Galway of renown,. but is laden... with love-gifts to thee... My own dark maiden." He could find a girl elsewhere, "But could I have my choice, How much I wold rejoice To wed thee, my dark maiden of all yet."

The singer thinks in turn of his childhood home, his longing for home when among strangers, his current happy home, and his home after death.

"One evening very lately" the singer meets handsome Bill. They want to marry. She tells him to speak to her father. "Say you are a farmer and that you want a wife and that you dearly love me." Don't dress in Sunday best. Talk about farming and ploughing.

Singer recalls his mother sitting in "that little cabin home" "in those Ozark Hills far away." Mother is dead and buried in a "little mound of clay" and the cabin is gone. He's "going back and build a shack...."

The singer tells how his parents brought him up and sent him to school. He works for a time, but -- influenced by drink -- enlists in the army. He learns the drill, but also finds he will have to serve at least twenty years. He hopes eventually to return

"I hae a wee wifie, an' I am her man, My Peggy an' I." They have a daughter: "I am sure she is hers, and I think she is mine," and "when we have siller, we dee best's we can"

In each verse the singer asks to borrow a bird or pony "that will keep family that's mine"; his own bird or pony has "gone wild in the bush" or "gone wild on his trap" or "gone swimmin in the pool" and is usually "in the neighbor's yard"

"One morning bright and early, so early, so early, My shining boots my pride, Out near Miss Anna's cottage... where she could see me ride." Hoping to impress Anna, the singer spurs his pony, which throws him in the dirt. Anna laughs at him

My Pretty Quadroon: (15 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4965}

Singer, a slave, mourns for his lost Cora, "my pretty quadroon." His master had been kind, but coveted Cora, and when the slave grieves, the master sells the singer down the river. He contemplates suicide until he hears the trumpets of the Union army

The singer recalls the "ramblin' boy" with whom he traveled, who stuck with him in all conditions. On a cold night in a hobo jungle, the ramblin' boy dies. The singer speculates that he will still be rambling in the afterlife

My Rattlin' Oul' Grey Mare: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1400}

"I am a jolly carter and a jolly good soul am I. I whistle and sing from morn till noon, all troubles I defy." The singer described how "my rattlin' mare and I" work together. He does not overburden the horse, and she does her work well

"My boy he is a sailor, A sailor boy in blue, I know he has my heart, And I hope he will prove true.... And soon he will return again To his own dear Mary Jane." She describes the gifts her has promised to bring her

My Seventy-Six Geared Wheel: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #12477}

"O how I long for solid roads In the merry month of June ... How jolly I will feel A-spinning down to Rustico On my seventy-six geared wheel." The singer lists his favorite stops on the way to Mary's "big front door" at Rustico.

"My siller's scarce." The singer lists his current hardships. As for anything substantial, he says, although "I love you well And very dear But you'd better wait Another year"

"My sister don't love me; She will not take me in Just because I'm teachin' She must live above sin; What need I to fear when Thou art near? Thou carest, Lord, for me." Similarly with mother, brother, and presumably other ungrateful relatives

My Sister's Got a Boyfriend: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #19962}

Jump-rope rhyme. "My sister's got a boyfriend Who comes every night. They go into a corner And turn out the light. I peek through the keyhole And this is what I hear, 'Johnny, Johnny, take your arms away.'"

"My size is small, My heart is large, God bless the girls, I love them all."

"My son John was tall and slim, And he had a leg for ev'ry limb, But now he's got no legs at all, For he ran a race with a cannon ball." He is asked how he came to lose his legs, and he says he was not at sea nor deaf or blind

Response line is "My soul be at rest." Leader lines include "One of these mornings and it won't be long," "Be at rest, going to be at rest," "Be at rest till Judgment Day," "Hitch on my wings and try the air," "You'll ask for me and I'll be gone"

Chorus: "'N Jubilee (x2), A-a-a-h my Lord, 'N Jubilee (x2), My soul rock on Jubilee." Verses: "Long time talki' 'bout Jubilee." "My mother done gone to Jubilee." "I come to tell you 'bout Jubilee." "That Jud! That Jud! [sic] That Jubilee."

Chorus: "My soul wants something that's new, that's new, My soul wants some thing that's new (x2)." Verses are "Dark was the night and cold the ground..." and "Was it for crimes that I had done ..." See notes.

"My soul's full of glory, inspiring my tongue, Could I meet with angels, I'd sing them a song." The angels wish to hear more songs about Jesus. The singer longs for heaven. The singer asks for protectin, and declares, "I'm going (x3), I'm gone."

A man accosts the singer while she sits spinning at her wheel. He flatters her and finally convinces her to leave her spinning-wheel and go with him to a hay-cock. She says, "The pleasure I cannot reveal, It far surpast the Spinning-Wheel"

"Oh, the station's gonna be changed after 'while (x2), When the Lord himself shall come And shall say 'Your work is done.'" "The Gospel train is coming, It's coming around the curve, Stopping at every station... For your station's gonna be changed...."

The singer praises his hat: "Stained with alkali, sand, and mud, Smeared with grease and crimson blood, Battered and bent from constant use, Still you have stood the darned abuse." "You've been a good pal... You dirty old gray Stetson hat."

"My straw bamer, one, two, three, Nobody has one, only me."

My Sweet Farm Girl: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #21326}

"My sweet farm girl, she's my joy and pride (x2)." Double-entendre song; singer describes his girlfriend and her abilities to do chores around the farm while the singer "keeps her garden free from bugs and weeds."

"Now we're in the Air Force WD, Brass buttons and flat heels are all that you see. No glamour, no charm, with our closely cropped hair, But our little blue suits are doing their share." Despite the un-glamorous clothing, the women are proud of their work

"She's charming neat and handsome, Her middle ye could span, The only one that entices me Is my sweet Mary Anne"

"Once I had a sweetheart, noble, brave, and true... Out on the high seas he sailed... Anchored at Havana... Down went the Maine.... Rouse ye, my countrymen, rouse... Strike down the cowardly fiends Who slaughtered the crew of the Maine."

"My sweetheart's a mule in the mines, I drive her without any lines, On the (bumpers/dasher) I sit and tobacco I spit All over my sweetheart's behind."

My Sweetheart's Dying Words: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #6581}

The dying girl says, "Dear Charlie dear, don't grieve for me... For when I'm dead and leave this world, I'll pray for you and the other girl." Recalling his love, she dies. "Twas then I realized she'd been true." He says he will never marry the other girl

Jump-rope rhyme. "My teacher is crazy, She joined the navy, When she was one, two, three...." Or, "My teacher is balmy, She wears a taumy (sic.) She joined the army, At the age of one, two, three...."

In this formula song, the singer successively feels the girl's heel, calf, knee, thigh, etc., has sex, and is told in the last line "Boy, I'm a whore, and you've got the C-L-A-P."

The singer describes his lover ("...a simple Irish lass... born near the walls of Garryowen And they call her Cailin Deas"). He compares her to others and says she loved to hear about the Irish who fought "the Saxon foeman" in 1798.

My True Love's Gone A-Sailing: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #3820}

"My true love's gone a-sailing right o'er yon western main"; she promises to remain a maid till he returns, even though his absence leaves her uneasy. An old man comes courting her, but she stays true. She wishes she could see her love

"My true love be flirting, But I know I've treated her kind, What can I do or say, darling, That'll change her mind." He cannot change her mind; her trunk is packed. He goes to see her, but he won't go see her again

"My Tuesdays are Meatless, My Wednesdays are Wheatless, I'm getting more Eatless every day. My home it is Heatless, My bed it is Sheetless, They're all sent to the YMCA." And on through the troubles of the War, ending "Oh boy! How I do hate the Kaiser"

"My tunic is out at the elbows, My trousers are out at the knee, My puttees are ragged and frazzled, but QM does nothing for me." "My tummy knocks hard on my backbone... Still all we get handed at mealtimes Is bully and Maconochie"

On Valentine's day "came a pretty damsel to my bedside" They meet again. She is pregnant and says he is the father; if he won't marry he'll go to jail. He agrees but sails off instead. Sometimes he returns rich and she welcomes him back after seven years

"My warfare will soon be ended, My trouble is almost done, My warfare is almost ended, And then I am going home." "God bless the holy people, The Presyterian two (?) Those shouting Methodists (?) And the praying Baptists too."

My Way Seems So Hard: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #11897}

Tag line: "My ways do seem so hard." Verses: "My way my way my way"(2x). "Two white horses side by side One of these horses I'm bound to ride." "I got a mother in the Promised land Never expect to see her till I shake her hand."

Chorus: "O brethren, my way, my way's cloudy, my way, O send one angel down (x2)." Verses: "There's fire in the east and fire in the west, And fire among the Methodist." "This is the year of Jubilee, The Lord has come to set us free."

The singer is sitting at her spinning wheel, watching birds gather nesting material and thinking of "wool and linen I've stored away For Sunday morning's my wedding day." She thinks about her lover and the house, like a nest, where they will live.

"Oh, tomorrow is my wedding day, I'm as happy as I can be. It's the day that I've been living for...." She reamed of this as a girl. She asks the birds to sing. She will have daisies in her hair. The feast is being prepared. It will be a new start

My Wheelie Goes Round: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5882}

"My wheelie goes round (x2), And my wheelie casts the band, It's not that my wheelie has the wit, It's my uncanny hand."

My Wife Died on Saturday Night: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3619}

"My wife died on Saturday night, Sunday she was buried, Monday was my courting day, and Tuesday I got married." "Round and round, up and down, everywhere I wander, Round and round, up and down, looking for my honey." That's all, folks.

My Wife Went Away and Left Me: (6 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #3686}

Abandoned by his wife, the singer appeals to her to come back. She replies that she will come back "When the grocery man puts sand in the sugar, The milkman makes milk out of chalk, Boys stay home with their mothers...."

The singer complained that his wife "winna be guided by me." She had affairs before they married and he is sure she'll do that again. She sold her coat to buy drink. Finally he beat her and she's been "a braw guide bairn" since.

The singer complains that his wife won't die. Rather, "she'll live an' anger me"

My Wild Irish Rose: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5256}

"If you listen I'll sing you a sweet little song Of a flower that's now drooped and dead Yet dearer to me, yes, than all of its mates" because it came from his beloved, his "wild Irish rose." He hopes he will win her someday

Opening recitation describes the singer's hard life in prison. The song begins with the lament, "Lord, my worry sure carryin' me down... Sometimes I feel like, baby, committin' suicide." The singer is failing, "goin' down slow, somethin; wrong with me."

"Oh, my daddy was a fool about a yallow gal." "God knows I'm a fool about a yallow gal." The singer describes the various things (walking, talking, having sex), but the consistent result is "I didn' get nothin' from my yallow gal"

"My youthful days I freely wasted In drinking brandy and such pastime, And other joys which I have tasted Have made me sail to a foreign clime"

Manx Gaelic. Mylecharane had found and hidden gold years before. He's a poorly dressed miser with a daughter. She asks him for gold so she can have a wedding dress and marry. He retrieves the gold and, curse him, starts the custom of a daughter's dowry.

"The eleventh, month of August, in the year of 1912, The kidnapping of the Dunbars' child" at Lake Swayze causes a wide search. No body is found. Months later, a child is found in the presence of Walters. He is convicted of kidnapping but later freed

"Ghost-dance 'round the mystic ring, Faces in the starlight glow, Maids of Wohelo. Praises to Wokanda sing, While with music soft and low, Rubbing sticks grind slow." The singers ask for guidance as they sit by "The flame of Wohelo."

Gaelic. "The song curses the people who gave false witness against the Connery brothers, indicted and condemned to exile in New South Wales.

Gaelic. "...[verses] sung extempore by guests at a wedding, each in praise of his own locality."

Birds fly into a poor man's corn. His daughter follows. A fisherman's son follows her. They kiss. The poor old man finds them: "If that's the way ye're minding the corn I'll mind it myself in the morn"

"When silent time, wi' lightly feet, Had trod on thirty years, I sought again my native land Wi' mony hopes and fears." The singer finds a new generation in the land; all is changed. He misses the old, asking the forgiveness of his old friends' children

There is no money this year "but we'll drink all we earn, and we'll pay what we owe." "The gentry who fed upon pheasants and wine" will be reduced to eating what we eat. If the markets improve "every stout farmer will draw the long bow"

"My name it is (Jean) and my age is (fifteen)... Yet there's nae bonnie laddie tae tak me awa." The girl describes her clothes and her good dowry, but confesses to having no luck in seeking a man

"Oh, this world is like a bag of nails and some are very queer ones...." The singer describes the world in terms of nails: "The doctor nails you with a bill"; "the undertaker wishes you as dead as any doornail...."

The singer wanders by Nairn River banks, where he sees a pretty girl herding her flock and lamenting her soldier. A boy brings her a letter from him, saying he is fighting the French in Spain with Wellington, but hopes to come back to her soon

The singer offers Nancy his love while confessing his lack of wealth. She is not interested. By the time she changes her mind he has found another love. Nancy warns others against her mistake

Nancy rejects the singer's offer of marriage. He expresses the wish that her marriage be troubled. His wish comes true; her husband ignores her. Years later, having grown rich, he rubs it in by giving the now-poor girl money. She regrets her error

"Nancy Ann took it out of the pail And she wrapped it up in her petticoat tail, And she rolled it in and she rolled it out, And if I'd a-been cheating I would have been out." Apparently a rhyme about cheating at jackstones

Recitation; the speaker, tired of lumber camps, signs on as cook of the lumber ship "Nancy B." They anchor in the bay. After only one lighter load, however, a storm comes up. The storm last 16 days; it's cold and hard to cook, but no one complains.

"There lived a lass in yonder glen, Wham auld and young did brawly ken." Nancy Dawson's parents would wed her to "the laird o Mucklegear," ancient Bauldy Lawson. She loves a young man; the wedding is set, but she flees with her love

"Of all the wives as e'er you know. Yeo ho! Lads, ho! ... There's one like Nancy Lee, I know..." Chorus: " The sailor's wife the sailor's star shall be, Yeo ho! We go across the sea." Composed song in which a sailor sings the praises of his wife.

Nancy's father does not want her to marry Jimmy. He is persuaded to allow them to marry AFTER Jimmy completes a voyage. On his way he breaks a lady's heart and is murdered by a man hired by Nancy's father. His ghost reveals the truth, and Nancy dies

"Down in the cane brake close by the mill" lives pretty Nancy Till. The singer goes to serenade her, asking her to come along; "I'll row the boat while the boat rows me." When they part, he bids her to be ready the next time he arrives in the boat

"Between Lochiel and Gowrie, I met a fair maid by the way; I steppid up unto her, and unto her this word did say." "She's my darling Nancy Varlin, She's my darling goes to and fro"

The weaver sets out to sample the pleasures of drink and a roving life. After extensive drinking, he finds himself broke and despised. He vows to return to weaving, and warns others of the evil of drink

Nancy, the Pride of the West: (2 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #7977}

"We have dark lovely looks on the shores where the Spanish From their gay ships came gallantly forth...." The singer praises Nancy's beauty, her sighs, her laugh, her everything, and says that she holds a thousand in thrall

Nancy's Complaint in Bedlam: (15 refs. 5K Notes) {Roud #578}

In Moorfields Nancy in Bedlam rattles her chains and mourns the absence of her lover, forced to sea by her unkind friends. He returns, learns she is in Bedlam, and goes to rescue her. He convinces her of his identity, rescues her, and marries her.

Nanny That Lives Next Door: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #6137}

The singer takes Nan next door to "a wild beast show" where she is almost killed by a bear: it gets only the false bun of her hair. He proposes. She would prefer a man to a lad. He says he'd be her lad first and then her man. He's been happy with her.

"Hush, the waves are rolling in, White with foam, white with foam, Father toils amid the din, While baby sleeps at home." "Hush, the ship rides in the gale... Father seeks the roving whale...." "... Mother now the watch will keep..."

"Uncle Josiah and old Uncle Sam, they built them a sloop in the shape of a clam." The sloop is finished and launched but they find that they can't sail her. After much trouble they get the boat moored and swear they won't build any more.

Naomi Wise [Laws F31]: (9 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #981}

(John Lewis) takes Naomi for a ride and throws her in the river. When her body is found, he is arrested but not convicted. He confesses to the murder only on his deathbed

Twenty-five shantymen watch a fight between Robert Sweezey and Frank Russell. After an hour "a poke in the stomach" makes Russell give in. Sweezy "conquered the champion from old Point Carr. He's the true Napan hero."

"I had a horse and his name was Napoleon, All on account of his bony part." The horse is thin and travels in/with a milk wagon; it stops when the owner shouts "milk." He loses a race when the other rider rider shouts "milk" just before he wins

Napoleon Bonaparte (III): (2 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #1943 and 3084}

"The deeds of famed Napoleon I mean for to relate ... led astray ... Grouchy led the French astray And the great battle of Waterloo was bought with English gold." Having been betrayed by Grouchy Napoleon is banished to St Helena and Louisa laments.

Hard times now but "money was plenty as paving stones In the days of General Bonaparte." He far exceeded past great warriors. He returned from Elba but was murdered on St Helena. "But his nephew's on the throne of France"; maybe he will make England pay.

Napoleon the Brave: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #V1173}

"Napoleon is no more, the French did him adore." His victories are listed: "The Austrians he beat." "The Poles he made to flee, and he conquered Italy." "The Hollanders he slew, he Caesar did outdo" ... "There were 14 Kings at war with Napoleon the Brave"

"Come all you pretty English girls, I must bid you adieu"; the singer is going to Alexandria to fight Napoleon. They enter houses in the fight and find girls crying for mercy. Now the wars are over and they intend to return to their girls and spend freely

Napoleon's Farewell to Paris: (13 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1626}

"Farewell ye splendid citadel, metropolis called Paris...." "My name is Napoleon Bonaparte, the conqueror of nations... But now I am transported to Saint Helena's isle." Bonaparte recalls his greatness and laments his fall

Napoleon says "I was born to wear a stately crown." He recounts his victories until, after Moscow, "my men were lost through cold and frost." Defeats follow. He bids fare well to his "royal spouse, and offspring great"

"Napper come to my house, I thought he come to see me, When I come to find him out He 'suade my wife to leave me." And similar verses about (Napper's) eccentricities: "Napper went a-huntin', He thought he'd catch a coon... He treed a mushy-room."

"Nobody knows old Naptown, baby, like I do, do (x2), If you will stop and listen, I will tell you a thing or two, two." Naptown (Indianapolis) is a place for fun; the blues don't last long there. The singer declares that he is returning to Naptown

"Circle four in the narrow lane (x3), Way down below." "Do-si-do in the narrow lane." "Circle six in the narrow lane." "Cut a figure eight in the narrow lane."

Nat Goodwin [Laws F15]: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3670}

A young mother, sick abed, is denied a last look at her dead baby. Her husband turns her out of the house. He falls in love with another woman and kills his wife. He is executed when his new flame testifies against him

Spanish. "Hoy commemoramos el dia de Washington." "Today we commemorate Washington's birthday." "Long live the nation." "The first president... Was a very brave man called Washington." The people gather to celebrate Wasington's birthday

"The breezes went steadily through the tall pines, A-saying o hush...." as Nathan Hale attempts to return to his command. But the British capture him, try him, insult his cause, and hang him

Nathan Killed a Belled Cow: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #3644}

"Nathan killed a belled cow and fed the dogs the liver, And now we're out of meat, and we'll hang the dogs forever." "Oh, the hawks shoot the buzzards and the buzzards shoot the crows." "Oh, the maggots and the skippers they do grow so very bold."

Nation Once Again, A: (6 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #V2194}

"When boyhood's fire was in my blood, I read of ancient freemen... And then I prayed I yet might see... Ireland, long a province, be A nation once again." The youth describes the glories of freedom, and hopes it can be regained

Russian hauling shanty. Translation: "Let us pull away together, boys, all together it goes - it goes, Pull away, away, together."

"We've bent too long to braggart wrong, While force our prayers derided; We've fought too long, ourselves among..." The singer briefly recounts the story of Irish rebellion, concluding, "But now, thank God, our native sod Has native swords to guard it."

"De white man say de times is hahd, Nigger never worries, 'case he trust in de Lawd. No matter how hahd de times may be, Chicken never roost too high foh me." He recalls "Freeze," who died in a fight and now cuts no ice. He is a "nachel-bawn reacher."

"I sing of a captain who's well known to fame" named Bill Jinks. He sails on the Murray River. One night, it is too dark to see, and the crew are all afraid, but the ship goes on. At last they are wrecked -- so the crew walks ashore

"Come roll up, my lads, and you shall have a prize, In all parts of the nation, Where all young lads and swaggering blades that work(s) on the navigation."

The navvy boy goes roaming, finding work and shelter with a ganger. The ganger's only daughter wishes marry and travel with him. The girl's mother questions this; the daughter says that her father was a navvy.The old man dies and leaves them 500 pounds

"I'm a nipper, I'm a ripper, I'm a navvy on the line... All the ladies love the navvies, And the navvies love the fun, There'll be plenty little babies When the railway's done." Independent verses generally about the sexual exploits/desires of the navvies

The gaffer gives his girl an expensive ring and warns "beware of the navvy." The navvy gives her a cheap ring and gown to lie with him. She has a baby and goes to find her navvy who's "on the spree." They marry.

"Eternal father, strong to save, Whose arm does bind the restless wave... O hear us when we cry to thee, For those in peril of the sea." The singer prays to Father, Savior, Holy Spirit, and "Trinity of love and pow'r" for protection, and will praise God

Chorus: "In the Cross, in the Cross, be my glory ever / Till my raptured soul shall find rest beyond the river." Verses center on being "near the Cross" and reaching "the golden strand Just beyond the river."

Near the Shannon Side: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #4821}

"Near the Shannon side there dwelt a lass, a made both chaste and pure." Despite being poor, her beauty caused many men to court her. One finally wins her. They set out to cross the river, and are almost killed, but he saves her

"Near the town of Taunton Dean, Upon a pleasant green, There lives the miller's daughter fair, Her age is sweet sixteen." The singer praises her beauty and hopes to win her

Near to the Isle of Portland: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #17748}

A ship "outward bound to the Indies" sinks in a storm. "We were near to the Island of Portland Where our gallant ship went down; There were never a better commander Sailed out of Plymouth town."

Nearer My God To Thee: (12 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #28881}

"Nearer, my God, to thee, nearer to thee, E'en though it be a cross that raiseth me, Still all my song shall be Nearer my God to thee." Whatever tribulations come, the singer hopes they will cause him/her to come closer to God

"'Neath the crust of the old apple pie, There is something for you, me, O my! It may be a pin that the cook has dropped in, Or it may be a poor little fly... But whatever it be, it's for you and for me, 'Neath the crust of the old apple pie"

"'Neath these tall green trees we stand Asking blessings from Thy hand Thanks we give to Thee above For Thy health and strength and love."

"I like you, baby, baby, I like you true (x2), But I'm headin' for Nebraska, there's nothin' up there you can do." The singer will leave the snows of Chicago; her baby is holding her back. She has a "daddy" in Nebrasks to whom she will turn

Nebuchadnezzar's Wife: (5 refs. 5K Notes) {Roud #19250}

"Nebuchadnezzar/Holy Moses/Thomas a Didymus/Pontius Pilate, the King of the Jews Sold his wife for a pair of shoes. When the shoes began to wear, Nebuchadnezzar began to swear... good lack, Nebuchadnezzar wanted her back."

"When you attend a party and gyrate with the girls... oh, that painful feeling when suddenly you find The naked truth revealing: your necktie's up behind." When sparking with a girl, or otherwise compromised, you will often find your necktie up behind

"A jolly comrade in the port, A fearless mate at sea." The singer hopes that, if he ever forgets his comrade, he will lose the ability to fight. Ned Bolton was a fine man aboard the privateer Black Snake. His ship ran aground and ship and crew lost

"I'm a fine old Irish laborer, from Ireland I came, To try me luck on Columbia's shore, and Ned McCabe's my name." His fortune has been hard, but he bears it with a smile. He has gone far to the west to log. He can drink twenty jiggers without stumbling

"The needle's eye that doth supply The thread that runs so true, Oh many a beau have I let go Because I wanted you." The remaining verses describe how the singer(s) have courted and passed others by; the needle may have "caught" the (girl)

Singer, a peddler, is poor and hungry, and offers to sell the listener needlecases. He was once well-off, but is now homeless and friendless; once a farmer, now in rags. Since the listener won't buy, he's off, but asks listener to buy some if he returns.

Composite fragment of cotton-picking items: "Way down in de bottom, when de cotton's all rotten, Can't pick a hundred a day. Aught for aught, and figger for figger, All for de white man an' none for de nigger."

"Laws-a-massey, what have you done? You've married the old man instead of his son! His legs are all crooked and wrong put on, They're all laughing at your old man. Now you're married you must obey... Kiss him twice and hug him too."

"Let's sing, What you gonna do.... Tie around a string. Sing, sing, what you gon'er sing? Doodle bug, doodle bug, tied on a string"

"I love my wife and baby, Each morning so soon. I love my wife and baby." In the Brown text, every other word, starting with "love," is yodelled.

German counting song. "Nein un neinzich, acht un neinzich, siwwe un.... Ja, ja, ich fiehle dass du mich liebe...." "Nine and ninety, eight and ninety, seven and ninety.... Yes, I've a feeling you love me...." "Nine and eighty, Eight and eighty...."

One night Nell's former lover Jim (Wilcox) calls on her. She disappears for three months, then her mother sees her body on the river. Her lover winds up in prison

"Oh, swift flowing river, A secret you hold, Way down in the depths Of the water so cold." The singer begs the river to tell its secret. A "fair girl" is missing, "stolen away in the night." "The secret, Oh River, You surely must know."

Nell Flaherty's Drake: (17 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #3005}

"Oh, my name it is Neil, quite candid I tell, And I lived in Clonmell, which I'll never deny, I had a large drake..." which she describes in loving terms. One day a thief steals (and kills) the drake. The rest of the song is an extended curse of the thief

"I first met Nellie 'Awkins down the Old Kent Road"; he hires her for a "tanner... 'Cos she was a low down whore." He goes to the doctor, who tells him, "The pimple on your winkle Will be bigger than a red, red rose."

The singer complains about Nellie's choice of the lily over the rose. Mountain verses: blueberries grow, a castle light-house on top, at its foot the ocean where green-flagged gunships sail to Newry where his "unkind" sweetheart is.

"Come, listen to me, a story I'll tell... I once loved and courted a dear little girl." But her parents are opposed, and she marries rich Mr. Brown. He is a drunkard and ignores her. She dies. The singer wants to die for love of her

"It's O and alas, and O wae's me," cries Nellie as she prepares to depart friends and employment. Young Abram bids her cease; she has his heart. She says she cannot wed him; he is above her station. He marries her anyway, and makes her a lady

"This is my natal day Have you thought of home with sorrow, Of Nellie far away"

"In a low green valley where the birds so sweetly sing... Of a summer eve we' launch our little boat. The singer recalls happy days with Nellie, but "Oh, I miss you, Nellie Moore, and my hapiness is o'er... For you've gone from the little cottage home."

"Down on the Mississippi floating, Long time I travel on the way." The singer mourns his love: "Nellie was a lady," but "Last night while Nellie was a-sleeping, Death came a-knocking at the door." He will leave Virginia because he mourns so deeply

"Nelly Bly! Nelly Bly! Bring de broom along, We'll sweep de kitchen clean, my dear, and hab a little song." The singer tells how Nelly makes him happy -- she has the voice of a turtle dove, her step is music, and they have corn and pumpkins in the barn

"Nell was a mountain maid Who always was afraid" of losing her virginity, so she uses sand to seal her nether regions, with uncomfortable results. A trapper tries to change her mind, but as she tries to clean herself up, she cuts off his manhood

Nelly of the Top-Knots: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #11706}

"Dear God, were I a fisher and back in Binedar, And Nelly a fish..." he would try to net her. He begs her not to flee him. He promises faithfulness. If he could find her, he would "coax her so well, I would tell he my story, And talk till I won her"

Jump-rope rhyme. "Nelly the elephant packed her trunk And said goodbye to the circus, Off she went with a trumpety-trump, Trump, trump, trump"

Nelly the Milkmaid: (9 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1606}

Nelly, coming home from the wake (a country dance, not a funeral), is seduced, her ravisher, sometimes named Roger, assuring her he was merely "shooting at the cat." In some versions she gives birth to a son whom she names Shoot the Cat.

"Ye sons of Britain in chorus join and sing, Great and joyful news is come to our royal king." On October 21, Nelson ordered his ships into battle. The French and Spanish are defeated, but Nelson is killed. The singer hopes for peace

Nelson's 27 ships, led by Victory, faced 33 ships of the combined Franch and Spanish fleet. Individual British victories are described. Finally, the Leviathan and Conqueror "came to our timely aid" and the British take 19 in tow "to show we won the day"

"Britons long expected great news from our fleet, Commanded by Lord Nelson, the French to defeat." Word comes: The French have been beaten at Trafalgar, but Nelson is dead. Nelson was beyond compare

Nelson leads his English fleet to battle with the French and Spanish navies off Cadiz. "He broke their line of battle, and struck the fatal blow," but in the melee is shot. He dies knowing he has won and that Napoleon's threat to Britain is ended

"Ho ye ho messmates we'll sing The glories of Neptune the ocean king, He reigns o'er the waters, the wide seas his home." The landsmen know nothing of a sailor's life. "Oh, give me the ocean, naught but the salt sea"

Neptune, Ruler of the Sea: (2 refs. 6K Notes) {Roud #9979}

"The Neptune, ruler of the sea, she rides in court today, Filled up with white-coats to the hatch and her colors flying gay.... While bats did rattle on their heads, the murder then began. " Captain Kane's ship returns home with 30,000 harp seals.

Nervous Family, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #12988}

The singer's family: "if left in the dark, are all frighten'd at each other"; the dog is afraid of visitors; the cat is afraid of a mouse. Doctors, lawyers, watchmen, pills, cordials don't help. Suddenly, the singer feels better and may not go home.

"Here is a merry song; if that you please to buy it, 'Twill show how you may money get...." Hearers are told of the high qualities of "Virginny": those who go there will be wealthy and happy. The husband of a scolding wife sends her there

"The cookmaid and the cowboy, Like wise his gallant grieve, He has brough them owre the Cairnamount For aught that we believe. Cabbage kail and spruce beer, Was all our daily fare And marching on from field to field Was all our toil and care"

The singer hires to Swaggers to be second man plowing. But first he is sent to the mill. They eat at seven, clean horses at eight, plow all day through leisure hour: "there is na time to spare." Beware of hiring to Swaggers at Netherhill.

"As I gaed up through Lammas fair Ance on a day to fee Mony a grey-faced fairmer That day did look at me"

"For when we landed in Belgium, the girls all danced for joy, Says one unto the other, 'Here comes an Irish boy.'" The singer reports that the Irish won Neuve Chappelle. The Kaiser and Von Kluck lament that the Irish have arrived

"Oh, when I go down to Bimini, Never get a lickin' till I go down to Bimini, Bimini gal as a rock in the harbor, Never get...."

Never Go Back on the Poor: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #9594}

"In this world of sorrow, of toil and regret, There are scenes I would gladly pass o'er." A great ship sinks as it carries emigrants forced from home by poverty. Divers go to examine the wreck, but make little effort to recover the steerage passengers

Singer repeatedly gets in trouble trying to make peace between arguing husbands and wives: both sides attack him. "No matter who is wrong or who is right/ O just show your sympathy"

"John Henry's dead, And de las' words he said, 'Never let your honey Have her way." "'Way back, 'Way back, Way back in Alabama, 'Way back." "If you let her have her way, She'll lead you off astray." "De chickens in my sack, Bloodhounds on my track."

"If the Antrim strikes a mine, never mind, If we're always left behind, never mind. The skipper's name is Lunn, He's as cracked as old Ben Gunn...."

Never Said a Mumbling Word: (8 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #10068}

"Oh they whupped him up the hill, up the hill... and he never said a mumbalin' word..... They crowned him with a thorny crown.... They nailed him to the cross.... They pierced him in the side.... Then he hung down his head and he died."

Singer, an Irishman, admonishes listeners to always keep a horseshoe over the door, and lists misfortunes that befell him when he failed to do so, including his wife's "bringing in a horde of her relations."

"Lord Lovell he sat in St. Charles Hotel... A-cutting as big a rebel swell... As you'd ever wish to see." His thirty thousand soldiers dwindle away to a bare handful, and "gallant old Ben sailed in with his men And captured their great citee..."

Chorus: "Hallelujah hallelujah! Newborn again Been a long time talking About starting on the way." Verse: "Free grace! free grace! free grace! brother (sister, mourner)"

Singer meets a lady by the Danube saying "I have lost my Bunch of Loughero" She recalls Napoleon's victories and defeat at Waterloo. Her son says he will raise an army to rescue him. She says "I'll live like chaste Penelope, Still hoping for my Loughero"

The singer meets a weaver. He tells her "I am a good joiner by trade." "My shuttle ran well in her lathe" until, after one success, "My strength now began for to fail me." She asks him to try again but he says it will have to wait until he returns.

Irishman Pat McCann, newly arrived in Australia and unable to find work, sees the Chinese working (even if at horrible jobs). He decides to turn himself into "Ah Pat," Chinese immigrant. He describes the steps he will use to take on the part

"I'm a new chum in the country, from Somerset I came." Soon after arriving in Australia, he runs out of money -- but finds various dodges to survive. He often has to shut down before the police catch him. At last he opens a lodging-house without success

"New chums start off for the diggings, But some of them never get there," and others despair on arrival. New chums miss their comfort, and arrive with many un-helpful items. Often they lose them (sometimes with help)

New Electric Light, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #7585}

The singer's wife is desperate for electric lights. She wanders the streets seeking them. One night the singer finds a strange man in the house; it proves to be her cousin, who installs lights. She reportedly amuses herself with the light while he's gone

"New England's annoyances you that would know them, Pray ponder these verses that briefly doth show them; The place where we live is a wilderness wood." The poet speaks of hard work in the fields and of poverty, but suggests keeping "a contended mind."

"Come all you blades of England I prithee draw near, And of the noted Barrington now quickly you shall hear." Barrington committed many daring robberies, and is sentenced to transportation; he's lucky the prosecutor did not charge him with a capital crime

The singer meets Mary "pulling flowers" and asks to hold her hand. She refuses: "if I thought you in earnest I'd think myself blest." He complains that she has broken his heart. She relents and promises to go away with him to be married.

The clergy order "not to sell whisky upon a Sunday." Mike Leyden and Tim Long go from place to place in New Ireland looking for rum but only find tea. It being very cold, the boys finally give up and go to bed.

"Come, kind friends, all draw near, The song that I'm about to sing, you every one should hear... I'll sing you a new song about New Jers-A." The singer tells of all that goes wrong there -- ships sunk, people killed. He proposes hanging the residents

"Now we left our own homes, for the woods we were bent...." The singer describes hiring out to the New Limit Line. They reach the line with great difficulty, but work hard and are happy at the camp. Many of the other workers there are listed

"To horse, brave boys, to New Market to horse, You'll lose the match by longer delaying." The gamblers set out for the races. The singer swears by Brown Bay, and describes the faults of the other horses -- but "now we're undone, and our guineas are lost."

New Market Wreck (I), The: (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4904}

"The Southern Railway had a wreck at ten o'clock one morn, Near Hodge's and New Market ground...." A conductor misreads his orders, and two trains collide. The singer hopes the other conductor is in heaven, and adds other details

"One autumn morn in Tennessee, An awful wreck was heard, East of Knoxville and near New Market Was where the crash occurred." Two trains collide; seventy are killed and many more hurt. The song briefly tells of several tragic deaths.

"New moon, true moon, Tell me who shall marry me; Tell me the color of his hair, The garments he shall wear." Perhaps to be recited if one sees the new moon over one's right shoulder.

"My country, 'tis of thee, Land where things used to be So cheap we croak. Land of the mavericks, Land of the puncher's tricks...." The punchers have poor food and not enough. They threaten to leave if things don't improve

The singer complains about the new organ and choir being installed in the church. She's served the church for 35 years with money and time, "but now their old new-fangled ways Are coming all about And I right in my latter days Am fairly crowded out"

New Plantation, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6014}

"Our bonnie laddies are a' gaun awa' To plenish the new Plantation." After crossing the ocean they are welcomed with food and a girl. But the girls are yellow and "a piece of gold ... Was all they had for a napkin." The singer wishes he had never come.

New Policeman, The: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #13133}

Michael Karney arrives fom Dublin and joins the police. He climbs into yards and garden and steals what he finds. He steals from anyone he finds sleeping. He's "in with every servant maid For mutton and love." "That's the life of a new Policeman"

New Prisoner's Song: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #11730}

Singer has seven more years to serve, for knocking a man down and taking his watch. He recalls home and family. Chorus: "Sitting alone, sad all alone/Sitting in my cell all alone/A-thinking of those good times gone by me/A-knowing that I once had a home"

The singer is forced to leave his sweetheart (possibly due to manipulation by her parents). She begs that he return. When he does, he is ambushed by a band of men hired by her father. He wins the battle and goes on to claim the girl

"(Honey Babe/Darling), you can't love one (x2), You can't love one and still have any fun, Honey Babe, you can't..." Similarly, "You can't love two and still be true..." "You can't love three and still have me..." Etc.

"For fifty years I've known a woodland Of patriarchal trees, Their roots grown deep in good land, Boughs swaying in the breeze." The singer recalls how farmers came and made the land their own. But now their fields and homes are being separate by roads.

"Our boatswain calls out for his bold British heroes, Come listen a while to what I do sing." The girls on shore call to their men as they arrive at the dock. Then the ship is re-rigged and goes back to sea to fight the French and Spanish

"The 30th August, 'twas on that very day, Our captain came alongside; our orders was away." The Olive Branch sets out into a storm, which she survives. After a lot of wind and deck cleaning and repairs, they reach, then leave, Cape Ann

"Ye seamen who's a mind to go In pursuit of new adventures, Repair on board the Blandford With Captain Stonehouse...." The singer praises the ship, which sail from Bristol, and urges the hearers to come join the fun

"Come all you valiant heroes and listen unto me" about the fight "Between brave Admiral Nelson and the proud Monsieur." Nelson follows the French from Toulon to the Nile and defeats them there; only four French ships escape

"'Twas in the reign of George the third, Our public peace was much disturbed." The Americans are much provoked by regulations about smuggling. When the Gaspee goes aground while chasing the Hannah, they burn it. No one will reveal the attackers

New Year's Sermon, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #7830}

"Hello, Mr. Jones! We wish you a happy new year -- to you and your wife and your sons... And if our wishes find you good, 'Tis better than the year before the flood." Listeners are warned of times to come, including battles -- and then muskets are let off

"Knife and a fork and a bottle and a cork, That's the way to spell New York"

Ship leaves New York Sunday, December 2 and runs into a heavy sea. "The companion and the wheel-house were swept right clean away." At Queenstown the captain reports to "an aged father ... 'Your son fell from our main royal yard, a victim to the sea.'"

"'Twas in the days of seventy-six, When Freemen young and old, All fought for independence then." "Tis my delight to march and fight Like a New York Volunteer." The City Regiments will defend Washington. The conflict in Baltimore is recalled

A young drover relates the events of his first drive, which has turned out to be harder work than he expected.

"Good people all, I pray attend, And listen to my story, How the farmers used to live In our native country." Farmers used to wear long coats and ride old horses, but now they ride fine geldings. In many other ways they have become fancy and "up-to-date."

The singer walks out "one May morning" and spies "a pretty sweet maid All on the new-mown hay." She convinces him not to ravish her at once; "You'll spoil my maiden gown." She eludes him; he advises men not to worry about spoiling gowns

A man sees a girl sleeping under a hedge. He tells her of a dead man in her father's garden. His description makes her think it is her love. She wonders who will care for her. The man offers to do so. She refuses him till he reveals himself as her lover.

The singer is arrested while in a bar. Held without trial for some time, he moves back and forth among prisons. At last he makes his escape (despite the shooting of the guards). He intends to keep moving and not be taken again

Newburgh Salmon Dinner Song, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6000}

The men of Ythan are the best at their work. They win the best prizes at the Aberdeen cattle show and their marksmen always win good prizes. To see them at their best "come down whan they're met her first salmon to prie [taste] An mussels and toddy"

Newcastle Is My Native Place: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #3180}

"Newcassel is my native place, Where my mother sighed for me... Where in early youth I sported... But, alas! those days are gone and past." The singer tells of growing up, taking his first job, getting married -- and regrets the woe of the latter

Newfoundland and Sebastopol: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #17747}

"Success to France and England! Hurray my boys hurray! Sebastopol is taken And we've nobly gained the day" on September 8, 1855. The battles are recounted. "Here's to the memory of our soldiers ... of that dreadful battle Of September, fifty-five"

Newfoundland Disaster (I), The: (4 refs. 58K Notes) {Roud #9932}

Captain Randall, commander of the Bill, abandons his voyage and rescues twenty-five survivors of the Newfoundland from the ice. Seventy-seven are lost.

"Come all ye sons of Newfoundland And shed a tear or two While I relate the hardships great Befell this steamship's crew." The Newfoundland is trapped by a gale, and "nearly 80" men are killed. Listeners are asked to mourn the heroes

"Dear Newfoundland have I got to leave you To seek a living on some foreign strand." The singer recalls hills, meadows, playing with other children, and watching the sealers go to sea. But the fishery is failing, and many are forced away

Newfoundland Sealing Song: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #2719}

The Greenland and Travan arrive at Harbour Grace "Chock up to every hatch" with fur seals pelts. On March 10 Greenland heads north again for hooded seals and "when the day was done Twice seven thousand pelts was flagged." "So now we're home for Easter"

Newfoundland's Maud Muller: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #7303}

"Maud Muller on that summer day Spread the fish instead of hay" and waits for the government culler. When he arrives, she feeds him liquor until he passes most of the fish. But the trick doesn't work; when it comes to market, it is re-culled

"It was to Newmill, ayont the hills, Last term I did fee." The master is a miser who feeds and rewards his workers badly: "I chased the barley roun' the plate, And a' I got was three." The master tries to cheat him for his work; he departs happily

Jump-rope rhyme, perhaps from a taunt. "News time, one cent, Help your mother pay the rent, Your father's in jail, For stealing a pail, Nwws time, one cent."

"It was a long, long time ago, When I from pain was free, A happy boy was I at school...." The singer worked as a newsboy on the train, but "fell beneath the train"; now he is a cripple on crutches

"When I was a lad, I had a bad dad... Every dollar and cent for liquor was spent, Till poverty opened our door." The boy is forced to go out looking for work. When he returns, his mother is dead. He is forced to sell news in the streets

Woman going to the market meets a man. He gives her three guineas to pay for the yarn, that he might play her a new tune.She goes home with the tune in her head. She will seek him "by land or by sea/Till he larns me that tune called the next market day"

Next Monday Morning: (24 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #579}

The singer meets a young girl who says she will be married next Sunday (or other day). He asks her age; she is (12/16/other). He tells her she's too young to marry. She replies that she will be married that day and describes the festivities. End of story.

"The next song on the programme will be a dance Sang by a female gentleman Sitting on a corner of a round table, Picking carrots out of a sultana pie. Nancy Carter, she's the Tartar And I'm a tomato"

Gaelic. "The poet deplores the idea of staying in a rut," either by staying "with old ways" or -- for a man -- by "tying himself down with his first love"

"Don't you hear the water rolling?/Ho, ho, ho.../That we're riding off in trouble/Ho, ho, ho...)" Later verses take the form, "Don't you go and tell our father (mother, sister)/.../That we're riding off in trouble..."

The singer meets and falls in love with Jenny. He declares his love. She says she is "never inclined to disdain or to tease" but she already has a lover and he has a large dog and gun. The singer bows out. "For ever I'll mourn for beauteous Jane Curran"

Nice Piece of Irish Pig's Head, A: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #12932}

Irish pig's head is a better meal than Christmas goose, spring lamb, beef, mutton, turkey, or ham. It has been used to pay the rent. Frenchmen eat frog, Englishmen eat beef but give Pat pig's head cabbage and spuds, even as a spread for a wedding.

"I'm just gettin back fae a wee social crack" at the pub when Jim runs in to tell the singer he should have been home, "For yer Maggie she's hae'in her bairn." He runs about, drunk and having accidents, before finally locating the midwife

"O hallelu, hallelu, Throw a nickel on the drum, Just to save a (dirty bum), Throw a nickel on the drum and be saved. Testimony time:" (recitation follows), then repeat chorus

Singer works as a plowman, always wearing his nicky tams. He courts "bonnie Annie," who admires his nicky tams. A wasp flies up his pants in church; he won't go again without them. He thinks about other jobs, but he'll never forget wearing his nicky tams

French. I hold this nest of baby warblers. They cannot escape. Their father and mother try to rescue them and I return them. Teach them to fly here and, next year, to sleep in the oak and they will compose songs of youth.

"Nievie nievie nick nack, Whit hand will ye tak? Tak the right or tak the wrong, And I'll beguile ye if I can." Or "Guessing game. "Nievie nievie nick nack, Which hand will you take? The right or the wrong, Or the old blind man?"

"He ca-su-ied wid me, most ruinous, Till ma haid jest popped de ceilin'." "Oh, dere an't no horse what can't be rode, Dat's what de white foks say! En dere ain't a man what can't be throwed...." The Black man suffers while riding a restive horse

"Did you ever hear tellof the nigger and the bee?... How the bee stung the nigger and then he stung me." The Black(face) man tells the bee there are other places in the garden to visit. But the bee apparently keeps singing

"Nigger, Nigger, never die, Big flat nose and a shiny eye, Mouth as big...."

"Go tell Aunt Jane, go tell ever'body, Go tell aunt Jane the niggers am 'risin'." "Run get your shotgun, run get your rifle, Run tell the white folks the niggers am a'risin'." "Hitch up the team, load up the wagon, Run tell the sheriff the...."

"The night before Larry was stretched (hanged), the boys all paid him a visit." They come to commiserate with Larry, the most gallant, sporting -- and rebellious -- of the lot. He dies gallantly, "grow[s] white" at the name of King William, and is buried

"One day I met a little girl beyond the railroad bridge" and asks her about her life and what she is doing there. Her father is an engineer on the train. He asks if she worries about her father. The girl says that God will protect him

The singer wants to know why "night food" is so expensive. One night a lady on her veranda invites him in for "warmth and food inside." They get into bed. She offers to "scratch your head." He is puzzled and says he wants to eat now. She drives him away.

As cowboys relax around the fire, the night guard sings to the cattle and thinks of his sweetheart. At dawn, one of the steers attacks the guard's horse, which throws him; he is killed by the steer. The girl grieves and seems to grow old prematurely

"The night her blackest sables wore, All gloomy were the skies.... When at her father's gate I knocked, where I had often been... The fair one let me in." She gets pregnant, but he "wedded and conceal'd the crime"

The tired cowboy advises the herd, "O slow up, dogies, quit your roving around, You've wandered and trampled all over the ground." He tells how, whatever method he uses, he can never keep the cattle still. He again urges the cattle to relax

Singer steals a jug of gin from Sammy (Sandy) Morgan, drinks it all, and hallucinates -- seven bears, an owl taking tickets, an ape in britches -- before passing out. When he awakes, "someone had stole my head/And left an elephant's there instead"

A man rides to the gate with a letter from the ploughman singer's student son. He is proud "I've a scholar i' my kin" but thinks the letter may mock him, or maybe not. In the end it doesn't matter.

The ragmen and women have a ball with fights, music, food and drink, and more fights. Many are named. "Black eyes they were in great demand, not to mention split heads at all, So anyone wants to commit suicide let them come to the Ragman's Ball"

The night of the wake people marched in the road for prayer. Buller pulled a razor. The people scattered: some pulled daggers and others ran. The singer says "I was going down de road And Buller bar me on the road ... Buller is a stabber"

Young man comes visiting his love's window, bidding her admit him. She does, and a good time is had by all until daybreak, when they part at the crowing of the cock

Jump-rope rhyme. "The night was dark, the war was over, The battlefield was soaked in blood, And there I saw a wounded soldier, A-lying, dying, as he said, God bless my life and dear old Scotland... God bless the men... holding up the Union Jack"

"In my sweet little night-gown of blue, On the first night that I slept with you, I was both shy and scared... And you played peekaboo with my ribbons of blue... You said you adored it, but... you tore it, My sweet little night-gown of blue"

Phoebus, after a tiring ride, unhitches his horses for the night and asks Thetis for something worthwhile to drink. She gives him a cruiskeen of poteen and he goes to sleep happily ignoring the dampness of his bed.

"As I walked out one May morning my fortune for to seek, It's who should I find but a fair pretty maid." The singer describes her beauty and asks to walk with her. He plays her a tune. She asks when they will be married. He rejoices in his quick courtship

Nightingale in the East, The: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2655}

"On a dark lonely night on the Crimea's dark shore, There had been bloodshed and strife on the morning before." "Miss Nightingale" comforts the wounded and dying. "One of heaven's best gifts is Miss Nightingale."

A rich girl's parents force her poorer lover to sea aboard the Nightingale. When the ship sinks in a gale, the boy's ghost appears to the girl and accuses her parents of leaving his body to rot in the Bay of Biscay

Gaelic. The singer is convinced by clergy to give up drink. He relapses and "finishes with a blast against the clergy."

Gaelic. The singer is prompted to stop drinking, get dressed and go home, or not. He tells all the farming tasks he is avoiding by drinking. Getting dressed would be no easy task since "his socks are in the ale-house and his shoes in the pub."

Nimrod's Song, The: (2 refs. 10K Notes) {Roud #V44825}

"Come all ye friends of Newfoundland Who have a mind to roam O'er the wild and stormy ocean...." The crew sails from Newfoundland to the ice. They have great trouble and sorrow. The crew are listed. The singer hopes Captain Barbour will find a better ship

Nine Bonnie Laddies: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6222}

"My jolly auld mither rejoices tae see Nine bonnie laddies a-courtin at me There's tailors and sailors and sodgers a' three But it's the bonny mason laddie that I'm gaun wi'"

Nine Hundred Miles: (16 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4959}

"I'm a walking down the track, I've got tears in my eyes, Trying to read a letter from my home. If that train runs me right I'll be home tomorrow night." The singer will pawn anything or do whatever is needed to get home (to his sweetheart)

The singer tells of his time as a bullock driver. His worst experience happened nine miles from Gundagai, in a cold storm, with the team bogged, the fire out, (the crew fighting). As a final insult, the dog sat (or "shat") in the tuckerbox

"The troops from Rhode Island were posted along On the road from Anapolis Station." The 71st Regiment, hungry and tired, passes them and is told it is nine miles to the junction. After six hours, they reach their destination; they will march on if needed

Nine Times a Night: (3 refs. 7K Notes) {Roud #18411}

A handsome sailor named "Nine Times a Night" arrives in London after a voyage and is seen by a "handsome rich widow." She entices him to marry her. He "trimmed her sails" five times; she wonders why he can't manage the nine times of his name

"A famous oldtime racing crew... rowed the old 'Blue Peter' in the time of nine-thirteen." They set a record in the Regatta Day race on Quidi Vidi Lake. The singer wishes "those men of nine-thirteen," who are listed, will "ferry souls where Jordan rolls"

Jump-rope rhyme. "Nineteen hundred forty-two, Truman lost a shoe, Went to France, Lost his pants, now he's in a zoo"

Ninety and Nine, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #13145}

"There were ninety and nine that safely lay In the shelter of a fold, But one went out on the hills astray." It is asked, are not 99 enough? "But the shepherd made answer...I go to the desert to find my sheep." He faces great trials in finding the sheep

"Ho! cease our mourning." The victories and defeats of 1798 are recalled. "Let the strife renew ... No longer dally, wake up and rally... What if defeated? Death comes -- then greet it -- Why all must meet it, aye, soon or late."

Ninety-Nine Bottles of Beer: (8 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7603}

Need I really tell you? "Ninety-nine bottles of beer on the wall, Ninety-nine bottles of beer, Take one down and pass it around, Ninety-eight bottles of beer...." And so on, ad nauseum, drunkenness, or exhaustion

Ninety-Nine Years (I): (8 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #15842}

Singer, while gambling, thinks about how the woman he loves ran away with another man. He kills him (or her), is arrested and imprisoned. He has served forty years, but "still has ninety-nine." When the train rolls by with the woman he loves, he cries

Nix My Dolly Pals Fake Away: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #12735}

"In a box of the stone jug I was born, Of a hempen widow the kid forlorn, Fake away... Nix my Dolly Pals fake away." The youth grew up poor but was a successful robber until his "nuttiest lady" betrayed him. He has escaped and continues "merry and free"

A young maiden weds a man with no balls at all. Her mother advises her to seek comfort from a young man. She does, and a "bouncing young baby was born in the fall to the wife of the man who had no balls at all."

"Down in the land of the Antipodites, Round the campfires that burn on a cold winter's night," bushmen report that ghosts walk "with no boots at all." A young man goes climbing without boots. He falls. Neither heaven nor hell will take him without boots

No Depression in Heaven: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #17321}

Singer describes the Great Depression in apocalyptic terms, predicting the end of the world. He says he is going to heaven where there's no Depression.

No Dominies For Me, Laddie: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6244}

A young minister proposes to the singer. She rejects him because he is poor. He said he would "fleece the flock" to become rich. She fears he might die young, leaving her and the children poor. Then she meets and happily marries "a gentleman dragoon"

No Hiding Place (I): (12 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #3408}

"There's no hiding place down there (x2), I ran to the rock to hide my face, The rock cried out, 'no hiding place.'" "The rock cried out, 'I'm burning too... I want to go to heaven the same as you." "Sinner man he stumbled and fell...."

Chorus: "No hiding place, No hiding place, Almost to the Judgment Bar, No hiding place." Verse: "Fox got a hole in the ground, Bird got a nest in the air, There's nare one thing got a hiding place But these sinners got none"

No Irish Need Apply: (9 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #1137}

"I'm a decent boy just landed From the town of Ballyfad; I want a situation, yes, And want it very bad." He applies for various jobs, but is told time and again, "No Irish need apply." (At last he attacks one of the bosses and gains a job)

"At Mars Hill College on a moonlight night, Old Shep Deaver he took a flight." Chorus: "There ain't no Ku Klux out tonight" (x2). Shep Deaver and Rube Manning flee, Manning in response to a rebel yell. Others in the area are briefly mentioned

Singer hasn't received an answer to his love-letter. He has written that he was wrong and to blame, and that he loves her truly. He walks down the road, saying if he doesn't get a letter in the mail, he'll "bid this world goodbye"

No Man Can Hinder Me: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #11853}

"Walk in, kind savior, no man can hinder me" (x2). "O, no man, no man, no man can hinder me" (x2). "See what wonder Jesus done." "Jesus make de dumb to speak." "Jesus do most anything." "King Jesus ride a milk-white horse."

"No man is an island, No man stands alone, Each man's joy is joy to me, Each man's grief is my own." "We need each other," so the singer will stand by all others, and will sing together with them.

"There was a little man... He went to the Saloon on a Sunday afternoon And you ought to heard the bartender holler, No more booze... No more booze on Sunday... Got to get your can filled on Monday. She's the only girl I love.... O fireman, save my child."

A composite lament of a man serving a life term. He laments his time on the Brazos, tells a girl not to wait, thinks about the time ahead of him, wishes he had a buddy or could escape, and says he will be hard to find if he does escape

No More Pencils, No More Books: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #19384}

"No more pencils, no more books, No more teachers' dirty looks." Possible additional couplets: "School's out, school's out, Teacher let the news out." "Kick the table, kick the chairs, Kick the teacher down the stairs."

No More Rain Fall for Wet You: (1 ref.) {Roud #12002 and 12003}

"No more rain fall for wet you, Hallelu, hallelu, No more rain fall for wet you, Hallelujah." "No more sun shine for burn you." "No more parting in the kingdom." "No more backbiting in the kingdom." "Every day shall be Sunday."

"When I set out for Lowell, some factory for to find, I left my native country And all my friends behind." The worker lives a life driven by the factory bell. She plans to leave the factory and go home. She will soon be married and live a freer life

"No more spelling, no more books, No more teacher's dirty looks." Or variations: "No more spelling, no more French, No more sitting on a hard board bench." "Two more weeks and we shall be Out of the gates of misery."

The singer says if he forgets his lover the shamrock will not seem green and the morning will not be wet with dew. He tells her to keep his heart and not break it. When they die "the sweet recollection of you" will remain.

"No more, my Lord (x2), Lord, I'll never turn back no more." "I found in him a resting place And he has made me glad." "Jesus is the man I am looking for, Can you tell me where he's gone?" "Go down, go down in the floweryard And... you may find him...."

"I heard the voice of the Savior, Telling me still to fight on, He promised never to leave me, Never to leave me alone"

"No one can come out of Hell, For out of Hell there's no redemption. When you get there you get your pension. Tuppence a week (for working hard/and nothing more), For chasing the Devil around the floor."

"I used to weigh, two hundred, two hundred, now I'm skin and bone." "Well I asked the captain... Did the payroll come? What the hell you care, partner, I don't own you none." The singer complains about the conditions in his prison

"No rain gonna wet me When the roll is called (x2), No rain gonna wet me when I get up in the heaven. No rain gonna wet me when the roll is called." "No sun gonna burn me...." "Gonna shout Hallelujah...."

No Room at the Hotel: (2 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #13974}

"There was no room, no room, they had no room, There was no room, no room at the hotel." At the time Jesus was to be born, the hotel was full. The Virgin Mary was wandering in the night. The people were wicked. The hotel staff may be forgiven

"When Caesar Augustus had raised a taxation, He assessed all the people that dwelt in the nation." Mary and Joseph go to Bethlehem, but cannot find a place at the inn. They eventually find a stable, where Jesus is born

No Sign of a Marriage [Laws P3]: (12 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #582}

The girl says she has been waiting long enough for marriage. Her sweetheart, who thinks marriage too "confining," suggests she find someone else. She does, and invites him to her wedding. He tries to talk her out of the marriage, but it is too late

The song is about the breaking of the seige of Derry. "Walker's zeal, and Murray's steel Came in their need to cheer them, And sallies from open gate, Soon taught their foe to fear them" The Defenders held the city until relieved by "Browning's vessel"

No Surrender (II): (2 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #V31389}

"Behold the crimson banner float" recalling "when Derry's sons ... sung out, 'No Surrender!'" and "her 'Prentice hearts the gate who barred" "Long may that crimson banner wave ... while Derry's sons alike defy Pope, Traitor, or Pretender"

"'Now I cannot wait on babies,' the smiling merchant said," as the child says that (s)he be allowed to call mother on the telephone. But there is no way to call her; there are "no telephones in Heaven." The child tells of the hard times (s)he faces

No to be Married Ava: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7161}

"Our Girzie was noo thirty-six, Though some rather more did her ca', And ane quite sae auld to get married Has little or nae chance ava." The old maid finds herself teased, and desperately offers to wed any man, whatever his faults, rather than stay unwed

This song is part of a cante-fable in which the wife warns her lover that the husband is at home by singing a song.

The man asks the girl if she will marry. She informs him that her father has told her to answer all men's questions "No." After several exchanges, he asks something like "Do you refuse to marry me? Do you want me to leave?" She, of course, answers "No."

"Mamma, mamma, may I go down to the corner to meet my beau?" Mother says she may not. She asks her father; he also says no. The girl goes to her grandfather; he tells her to remind mother and father that they went out courting when young

"They sat by the fireside, his fair daughters three, They talked of their father who sailed on the sea." Each list the gift she will give if he never again goes to sea. But he dies in a storm. Each verse ends with the phrase, "No, never, no."

"Jesus knows all about our struggles / He will guide till the day is done / There's no friend like the lowly Jesus / No not one! No not one!"

No. 5. Squadron Song: (1 ref. 5K Notes) {Roud #29414}

"You can talk about the Army And about their victories, You can brag about the Navy, but for baggin' subs, Our Cansos rule the seas." The singer describes the hunt for "Herr Hitler's submarines," and tells of the work of the various unit members

Chorus "He cried 'Noah Noah'; God's gonna ride 'n the rain and tide." God called Noah: "build an ark ... I want it to stand that rain and tide." Noah built it, "called in the animals two by two" and his sons. God "declared that this time would be no more"

"Noah built his ark and he built it on the ground, the Lord sent a flood and turned it around. The door flew open and the beasts walked in." The story of the Flood, with chorus, "And I cannot stay away, my Lord, And I cannot stay away."

Floating spiritual verses, most of which refer to inequities between the rich and the poor and the inevitability of death. Refrain refers to Noah and the ark but most of the verses don't mention it at all

Noble Duke O'Gordon, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5807}

Betsy, a servant to Duke of Gordon, is seduced and made pregnant by Captain Glen. Lady Gordon suspects the Duke. Betsy names Captain Glen. When Glen returnd from sea he sends for a priest and marries Betsy. Betsy "is as happy as the duchess of Gordon."

Noble Duke of York, The: (20 refs. 9K Notes) {Roud #742}

"Oh, the Noble Duke of York, He had (ten) thousand men, He marched them up to the top of the hill And he marched them down again. And when they were up, they were up, And when they were down they were down...."

A girl's lover has been pressed to sea. She carefully disguises herself as a duke -- with such success that the ship's crew is afraid of her. She accuses her lover of robbery. He denies it. She reveals herself, and there is a happy reunion

"When our fleet left Abrohlos rocks," they set out to find Graf von Spee. They arrive in the Falklands to avenge the Monmouth and Good Hope. The Germans are surprised when they arrive. The British ships sink most of the Germans

Robin goes to sea as a fisherman. He is scoffed at as a lubber, but when the fishing vessel is approached by a French ship of war his prowess with the bow permits the fishermen to take it and its cargo of gold.

Noble Fleet of Sealers, A: (5 refs. 9K Notes) {Roud #4530}

"There's a noble band of sealers being fitted for the ice, They'll take a chance again this year though fat's gone down in price...." The ships set out to take the seal. When they get back to St. John's, the sailors hope for good luck and good food

"Noble Huntly great in fame And great in warlike story" has called for volunteers to prepare to repel a Bonaparte invasion. "What needs we o' our fleets to voust [boast]? Should he invade our British coast We'll show him soldiers to his cost"

Noble Lads of Canada: (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2827}

"Come all ye British heroes, I pray you lend your ears." The singer urges his comrades to defeat the Americans. They make for Plattsburg. The American fleet defeats the British. The British retreat and celebrate arriving home safely.

Noble Ribbon Boys, The: (1 ref. 1K Notes) {Roud #V33209}

"It was on the first of May, my boys, in the year of thirty-one," 63 Ribbonmen went to the commons to fight Billies. On June 5 300 marched unchallenged to the commons. A health is drunk to those in jail and the "Manual and Platoon ... secrecy" is cited.

"A story came one morning From a far and distant land, That savages had massacred A small but gallant band. 'Gainst 20,000 foreign foes... 500 valiant English fought, And nobly fighting fell." Hearers should honor the 24th and "avenge your countrymen."

A man disguises himself to attend the wedding of the girl he loved before he went away. He sings a song that reminds her of her unfaithfulness and promises to return her love token. She swoons and returns to her mother's home. She dies before morning

The singer complains of being misunderstood: "Nobody knows how heavy my load, Nobody knows how thorny my road, Nobody knows cares if I'm troubled in the way, How dark the night, how dark the day." Only Jesus, who understands, will help

"Nobody knows how tired we are, Tired we are, Tired we are, Nobody knows how tired we are, And nobody seems to care." Or "Nobody knows how dry we are...." Reportedly sung at the end of a march

Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen: (33 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5438}

"Nobody knows the trouble I've seen, Nobody knows but Jesus." "Sometimes I'm up, sometimes I'm down, Oh, yes, Lord, Sometimes I'm almost to the ground...." The rest of the song describes the singer's life, usually in spiritual terms

Singer recalls once living high, but is now broke; friends no longer come around. " If I ever get my hands on a dollar again/Gonna hold onto it till that eagle grins." " If I ever get back on my feet again/Everybody wants to be my long lost friend"

"If you join submarines and you've got any pride, You won't use Persil and you won't use Tide" or make any attempt to clean up; "Nobody washes in a submarine." When three men "die of the stink," they aren't buried at sea lest they get clean

Nobody's Business: (25 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #17344}

Singer confesses to all sorts of infractions -- rambling, drinking, gambling -- but says it's "nobody's business if I do." He says he might even kill somebody; his girlfriend "runs a weenie stand..." and drives a Cadillac, but it's all nobody's business

The singer passes an orphan home to watch the children play. He asks one boy why he is not playing. The boy cries and says "People come for children and take them for their own But they all seem to pass me by and I am left alone"

Nobody's Darling on Earth: (13 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #4338}

"I'm out in this bleak world alone, Walking about in the streets... Begging for something to eat." The orphan lost mother at a very young age. Now "I'm nobody's darling on earth; Heaven have mercy on me, For I'm nobody's darling, Nobody cares for me."

"Italiano lingue non capisch"; the soldiers still have memories of Egypt, but Arabic is no help in Italy. "Sunny Italy" is no such thing; he wishes for sand rather than snow. Cassino has fallen; Rome is next; "Tiny" (Gen. Freyberg) likes them to fight

"Nothin' but the Righteous shall get in the gate (wear the crown)." "Teach me the way (Give me the faith) to get in the gate" "Give me the hands for to shout that day" "Slip an' slide those golden streets"

"The turban'd Turk, who scorns the world, May strut about with his whiskers curled" and have a thousand wives, but he can't love like an Irishman. Neither can the French, the Dutch, the English....

"We're going to preach the Gospel To all who want to hear, A message of salvation Unto the meek we'll bear... For none can preach the Gospel Like the Mormons do." The song outlines what the Mormons will teach

"I hate to be teased by the nonsense of men," so the girl accepts her mother's advice to always say "No" to men. But young piper Donnelly wins her heart; after many requests, "I mistook and said Yes!" She lives happily and advises others to say "Yes."

Nonsense rhymes showing how to pronounce "Arkansas": "I love a girl from Arkansaw, Who can saw more wood than her Maw can saw." "I sing a saw Of maid I saw In Arkansaw." "Her maw can saw, Her paw can saw, And she can saw In Arkansaw."

The singer "would like to get marriet as sune as I can; I hae a' the perfections a man's heart could wish." She has oiled her hair, put her glasses away and bought a new gown. "Folk'll try mony a plan Fan they hae ony hope o' ensnarin' a man"

"Noo Jock, my man, sit doun by me, and harken to your mither!" She is old, and wants to see him married before she dies. She says to marry for money, to stay out of trouble, to shave his beard, "For it's nae joke, it's nae joke, the takin' o' the wife"

The singer reviews her assets and skills: "I think a bit laddie could hardly de better Than tak me and mak' me his wife." She would marry a soldier, sailor, butcher, baker, sweep, mason,.... Nobody here wants her: "it's needless to stan ony langer"

"Noonday on the river, Fishing with a hook and line, Catfish in the river, Cain't kotch me this time. Nigger fall in the river, Lay on his back and he wink, Floating like a bubble on the water, 'Cause a tub of grease cain't sink."

"Nor will I sin by drinking gin And cider, too, will never do Nor brewer's beer my heart shall cheer Nor sparkling ale my face to pale. To quench my thirst I'll... bring Clean water from the well or spring... I pledge... hate To all that can intoxicate"

"Nora Creina, see the flowers, The lovely flowers that all seem'd perish'd" "Nora Creina, see the birds We thought forever flown away, love." "Nora Creina! Nora dear! Thus my love is thine forever... And still more fondly for the parting..."

Singer meets Nora Daly driving a donkey-cart on the way to the fair near Miltown Malbay. They part for fear of her father. "After years abroad sojourning" he returns to County Clare and they marry happily.

"Nora Nora don't wake me foreday morning." Darling let me sleep past dawn. My boat is in the harbour. There is plantain to burn.

"I'm lonely tonight, love without you... I love you dear Norah O'Neal." The singer's love he can never conceal. The nightingale's song reminds him of her. He says he will see her tomorrow; they will kiss. "I'll never be lonely again"

The singer must leave Norah "but I leave my heart with thee." He tells her not to forget him or to believe another suitor's "flattering wiles," "tale of love" or "treacherous whispers."

"Oh Norah, dear Norah, I can't live without you... Come back to old Ireland, the land of our childhood...." The singer laments the absence of Norah, gone over the sea, and hopes she will return someday to Ireland.

Norah reads a letter from Terry who's better at fighting than reading and writing. She herself cannot read but can spell D, E, A, R and can guess "for he calls me dear Norah Magee" Terry says "he'd my name soon be turning To another than Norah Magee"

The singer recalls leaving (Ballymoney), and admits to being "as wretched can be" in the new land. He misses buttermilk, the old mud house, peat fires, and of course Norah McShane. Even with no money, it was a better life than this

Nordfeld and the Raleigh, The: (3 refs. 13K Notes) {Roud #6346}

The "Nordfeld" and the "Raleigh" are two ships wrecked close together in the Strait of Belle Isle. The singer tells of the scavenging of both ships and remarks that had he or his listeners been there, they would have partaken in the spoils.

"Our topsails reef'd and filled away, All snug aloft we know... Here's a health to all the Norfolk girls, And Portsmouth maidens too." The singer talks of the labors and dangers of a life at sea, always recalling the Norfolk girls and Portsmouth maidens

Norlan' Laddie, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #6226}

"A Norlan' Johnnie" woos "a Southlan' Jenny." He is so bashful he can hardly speak "till blinks o' her beauty and hopes o' her siller" force him to speak. She agrees to go with him. It's not clear whether or not he backs down (see NOTES)

North American Rebels: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #596}

Troops prepare to sail to fight in North America. Women ask to be taken as well; the Captain says the ship is overloaded. They (the women?) are not afraid to go. After a bloody fight the soldier's wives and babies mourn their dead

North Atlantic Squadron, The: (3 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #10267}

"Away, away, with fife and drum, Here we come, full of rum Looking for women to pat on the bum, In the North Atlantic Squadron." The singer tells of the hardship of the convoy routes, describes the battles, and complains about the available women in port

"Come unto me, ye heroes, Whose hearts are true and bold. Who value more your honor Than others do their gold." (John) Burgoyne invades New York from Canada. Gates and his men defeat him. The singer toasts the American officiers

"Oh, the North Carolina Hills, How majestic and how grand, With their summits bathed in glory Like our Prince Immanuel's land." The singer repeatedly praises their beauty and their peoples; he must depart, but hopes to return

"At the head of Wear Water about twelve at noon, I heard a maid a-talking...." She describes her handsome young collier who "sails the salt sea." She will build him a "castle." She may be a sheep-girl, but she can enjoy her husband just as a queen does

North Country Maid, A: (10 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1367}

"A north country maid to London had strayed Although with her nature it did not agree." She laments the home she has left behind, its trees, its fields, its people. She hopes soon to be able to return home

"Down in yon meadow, I chanced for to spy A bonnie young lassie that pleased my eye.... Bonnie lassie, come to the North Hielands wi' me." He offers lands and wealth; she says her parents would object. He turns to go; she consents to go with him

North Star sails from Ireland for America. On December 8, "close to the wild Welsh shore the North Star struck, that very night, upon that fatal rock ... Out of near five hundred passengers, but twenty-one were saved"

North Wind Doth Blow, The: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #19525}

"The north wind doth blow, And we shall have snow, And what will poor robin do then? Poor thing! He'll hide in a barn, To keep himself warm, And hide his head under his wing. Poor thing!"

June 18, 1906 "one hundred sailors of fishing craft to Cape St Mary's go." They are caught in a gale and the men out in dories, which had been out to haul the trawlers, are lost. Survivors return to Golden Bay and mourn the loss.

Northern Bonnie Blue Flag, The: (3 refs. 5K Notes) {Roud #7760}

Northern answer to "The Bonnie Blue Flag": "We're fighting for our Union, We're fighting for our trust.... Hurrah, hurrah, For equal rights, hurrah! Hurrah! for the good old flag That bears the stripes and stars."

"An old sour-dough prospector lay dying on the trail," with no women or young people around. He asks that a message be sent to his wife. He asks to be buried in the ice. The thermometer at the time "registered just seventy-two below."

Northessie Crew, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5933}

"As I gaed up to Aikey Fair, 'Twas for to get a fee; A farmer frae St Fergus Came steppin 'owre to me." The singer hires on for the season, "as I hae deen afore." A few of the crew are named and described.

"A shepherd sat him under a thorn, He pulled out his pipes and began for to play, It was on a midsummer's day in the morn." A girl comes by, hears him piping, and declares, "Iy thou wilt pipe, lad, I'll dance to thee."

Northumberland flees to Scotland and is taken into custody. Despite his protestations of virtue, he is passed from hand to hand, ending in the custody of Douglas. Percy sets sail, believing he will be freed, but ends up under the control of Lord Hunsden

"I'm a bum and addicted to rum." His father drove the singer from home because "I loved a fair lass far beneath my own class." They married; his wife and child died in a fire in Norway. "To drown sorrow I plunged into rum... And now I am only a bum"

Fragment: "In the early hours of morning in the foggy atmosphere Our ship was swiftly ploughing through the foam, When a big Norwegian collier, sailing from Quebec, Ran straight into our liner, bound for home,..."

"Oh, it's the nose that grows on my old man And it's wonderful to see -- It will live for years in my garden of misery. For it's the one red nose that the boozer knows.... Amid the drink and curse there can be no worse Than the nose on my old man!"

Not a Word of "No Surrender": (1 ref. 2K Notes) {Roud #6987}

The singer hears two Orangemen complain "we're ruined by Emancipation; ['Popish Daniel'] O'Connell brave and all his men They're a terror to the nation." About this, he hears not a word of "No Surrender"

"Joseph Baxer is my name, My friends all call me Joe. I'm up, you know, to every game, And everything I know. Ah, I was green as green could be, I suffered for it though; Now, if they try it on with me, I tell them not for Joe."

"Not last night but the night before, Twenty-four robbers knocking at my door." Continuations vary: "As I awoke I found this note... Spanish dancer, give a high kick...." or "I ran upstairs to wash my dishes, And by mistake I washed by britches"

You may think your honors and balance in the bank makes you special but there are others just as fine: "you're not the only turtle in the tank." "The world will move without you and you never will be missed"

"Not the swan on the lake or the foam on the shore Can compare with the charms of the maid I adore." The singer praises the girl and her beauty, comparing her to Venus (the planet!), and says he "feast[s]... on the smiles of my love."

"Oh, me no weary yet (x2), I have a witness in my heart, Me no weary yet." "Since I been in the field to fight." "I have a heaven to maintain." "The band of faith are on my soul." "Ole Satan toss a ball at me." "He think the ball would hit my soul."

The singer goes with his daddy to court Kate. He and she are too shy to speak at meeting, or proposal, or answering the parson at the wedding. The problem disappears within a week of the wedding and they offer their assurance to other young folks.

Nothing Else to Do (I): (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1265}

On a nice day the singer skips work and "went to see my sweetheart, As I'd nothing else to do." They go for a walk, he kisses her -- having nothing else to do -- and proposes. She says, "perhaps I may my dear, When I've nothing else to do."

"In a neat little village not far from the sea Still leaves my old uncle, aged eighty-three." No one else makes cider like the uncle. The singer urges hearers to drink up. He praises the apple and asks to be buried under one when he died

Nothing To Do With Me: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5315}

The singer will not denigrate others or interfere in business that has nothing to do with him. The rest of the song is gossip about his neighbors. A policeman, he hints, takes bribes. A girl married to an old man has a baby, he hints, not her husband's.

Nothing's Too Good for the Irish: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7468}

The singer recalls his grandmother's last words. She describes, with the full force of prejudice, the roles reserved for each people (e.g. "Negroes to whitewash, Jews for cash"), then turns to her own people, concluding, "Nothing's too good for the Irish"

Nottamun Town (Nottingham Fair): (17 refs. 8K Notes) {Roud #1044}

The narrator goes to Nottamun Town, meets odd and mad people, and sees impossible and paradoxical sights: "In Nottamun town, not a soul would look up, not a soul would look up, not a soul would look down to show me the way to fair Nottamun town."

Nottinghamshire Poacher, The : (17 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #222}

The poacher goes out with his dogs to hunt. (One of his dogs is wounded, but) he catches a deer and takes it to a butcher to skin. When he attempts to sell the meat, he is arrested and tried, but finally set free. He vows to continue poaching

Nova Scotia Sealing Song: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #2720}

In 1894 Director goes sealing, "bound for Yokahama." Before rounding Cape Horn they stop for seals at Staten Island where "for eighteen days we were hove to." They make Cape Flattery in sixty days. Now they are in Victoria waiting to finish the voyage.

November Keady Fair: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #5311}

The singer takes his nanny goat to the November fair at Keady. He sells her for half-a-crown. "She was nineteen times at Jim's auld buck." Now that she's gone he'll miss her wagging tail, her nipping kale in the garden, and their rows at the fireside.

"Now all you lads that go a-courting, Mind which way you choose a wife, For if you marry my wife's sister, You'll be a beggar for the rest of your life. Twenty, eighteen, sixteen, fourteen...."

"A dude into the country went to meet his cousin Pat, And there he saw an animal that he supposed a cat." But it is a skunk, and it did what skunks do, "And now he's sorry that he spoke." Similarly, a man lights a stick of dynamite -- and regrets it

Now I Am a Big Boy (I): (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7623}

"When I was a little boy My mother kept me in, But now I am a big boy, Fit to serve the king." "I can fire a musket, I can smoke a pipe, I can kiss a big girl At ten o'clock at night."

"Now I lay me down to sleep, Where the lice and bedbugs creep, If I should die before I wake, Who in hell will blow my stake?"

"When I was a lad, I went to war As an air mechanic in the Flying Corps," and kept the plains well. Promoted Sergeant Major, he made himself seen on parade. And so on up the ranks, until "now I'm a general at the Ministry."

"Now let us sing, Sing till the power of the Lord comes down. Now let us sing, Sing till the power of the Lord comes down. Lift up your voice, Lift up your voice, be not afraid. be not afraid. Now let us Sing till the power of the Lord comes down!"

"As I (walked/wandered) here by west, (far/fast) under a forest side, I saw a wight, went him to rest, Under a bow he (be)gan [to] (a)bide." The man reports and laments all his sins, begging, "Now mercy, Lord, and gramercy"

"Now our camp fire fadeth, Now the flame burns low. Now all Camp Fire maidens to slumber land must go. May the peace of the lapping water, the peace of the still starlight... the peace of our fire-lit faces be with us through the night."

"Fathers, now our meeting is over; Fathers, we must part. And if I never see you any more, I'll love you in my heart. And we'll land on shore, Yes, we'll land on shore, We will land on shore, And be saved forevermore." Repeat with mothers, brothers, etc.

Now Robin, Lend to Me Thy Bow: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1373}

Wilkin: "Now Robin lend to me thy bow For I must now a hunting with my lady goe" to Uppingham. Robin: Take my hawk and hound also; your hunting doesn't please me; "beware thy babling hounds." Lady: let's agree that hunting is no sin

"Now run along home and jump into bed, Say your prayers and cover your head. The very same thing I say unto you, You dream of me, and I'll dream of you."

"Let us merry be, over a pint or a pot of strong beer." The singer says "after I'm dead not a tear shall be shed, Nor one letter of grief on my tomb. But to my coffin some inscription put on, And to say that my singing's all done."

"Now springs the spray. All for love I am so sick That sleepen I nay may." The singer is riding and hears a maid singing "the clot him cling" (seemingly a curse). He has changed. She hopes that he will rue the day

"Now the day commences. Let us make a prayer, Thanking God for all his gifts so rare. Thank him for the flowers, Singing birds, and trees. And his wondrous light that shines o'er land and seas. Amen. Amen."

The text: "Now the war is over, Mussolini's dead, He wants to go to heaven with a crown upon his head, The Lord says no, he's got to stay below, All dressed up and no where to go."

"Now the winter is over and the summer is come, Our fields look pleasant and gay." "Here is the little ploughboy so fresh as a rose... And the fairy maid sat milking her cow." She rejects his request to go with him, but they end up at church to marry

"Now we take this feeble body And we carry it to the tomb, And we all leave it there, Hallelujah." "And a hallelujah, and a hallelujah, And we leave it there, hallelujah." "Now we take our dear old father...." Presumably can be repeated for others

"Now Whitsuntide is come, You well do know, Come, serve the Lord we must before we go Come, serve him truly with all your mind and heart, And then from Heaven your soul shall part." "Now we have brought you this royal branch of oak... merry Whitsuntide"

"Now winter has diminished, Our shanty life is finished, From the woods we are banished." "At near approach of summer. We will select our timer... and make... rafts of pine." They will travel the river to market, where the lumbermen will drink and party

"Now you are married I wish you joy." You will have a girl and a boy. In seven years a son and daughter.

"Now Moses, what makes you so strange and forgetful? How is it you heed what I tell you no more?" Moses's wife is angry at Moses's unruliness and smoking and pie-stealing. She warns him, "Now Moses, you'll catch it! Now Moses, don't touch it!"

"Number me one"(x3), I'm going to the Judgment Bar." Verses: "Send for my leader (preacher) here (x3), I'm going to the Judgment Bar."

"Number Twelve train took my baby, I could not keep from cryin'. (x2)" The singer's woman left him; he grieves so much he thinks he is dying. He vows that his next girl "will have to do what poppa say."

"Listen! I shall tell you Of the nuptils of Mondmin, On the beautiful river Oheyu (Ohio?)." Two voices seek "Where the tasseled corn is growing." Finally, "the two shall dwell together." More a play than a song, and not traditional

Nurse Pinched the Baby, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #5337}

When the nurse pinches the baby, "Mother [goes] down to the beer saloon to pray." When she catches "the rage from Doctor Dye-O," the same thing happens

The man claims that women, given the chance, are never true. The woman cites the case of the Nut-brown Maid. They play through the story. The woman will follow her man, even to the greenwood, and will fight for him, etc. The ballad ends by praising women

A young girl goes out to gather nuts. A farmer stops plowing and begins to sing. The girl hears his sweet voice, and "what nuts she had got, poor girl, she threw them all away." They lie together, then go their ways. The song warns girls against dallying

Manx Gaelic. Nicholas Raby's 2000 sheep are covered by mountain snow drifts. Shepherds are called out with their poles and dog to find the breathing holes and save the sheep. The lambs are saved but some old sheep are lost.

Gaelic. The singer meets Donald while traversing the moors. They flirt, "he threatened to tear my chemise to shreds.... That was not what you promised me ... a ceremony of marriage."

Dialog, in which Eve convinces Adam to eat the tree of knowledge. God orders them out of the garden. They lament, and hope to work their way back to Heaven

"O alla tinka, to do the Rumba ... I paula-tay paula-taska ...."

"Right hand up, O Belinda, Won't you be my darling?" Or "Bow, bow, bow, Belinda (x3), You're the one I love." ""Right hand round, Belinda." "Left hand round, Belinda." "Back to back, Belind." Left hand up, both hands up, back to back

"O blessed Lord, in the way thou hast gone, Lead him straight to that land above. Give him cheer everywhere to the sad and the low. Fill my way every day with love...." The singer prays for love, help, hope, and guidance

"O bonnie Annie, gin ye had been cannie, Ye micht 'a been lady o' Lessendrum, But O bonnie Annie, ye never was cannie, Ye've gotten but Lesley's second son"

Sandy's term day is near. His girl would follow him but it would ruin her name. He says another man will be hired and she'll find another man. She says she would follow Sandy instead -- "he's a handsome fellow" -- but she doesn't like his drinking

"O Brothers, don't get weary (x3), We're waiting for the Lord. We'll land on Canaan's shore (x2), When we land on Canaan's shore, We'll meet forevermore."

"I don't like no farmer's rule, says, 'Get up in the morning With the dog-goned mule.' Oh Bud, Bud, Bud, Bud, O Bud." "I'm going up the maple, Coming down the pine, Looking for a woman Got a rambling mind."

"Ye're wan [pale], lassie, lying in a stange bed or with a strange man." "A juggie and a wee pap spoon, Ye see what's got by man"

"O Canada! Terres de nos aieux...." "O Canada! Our home and native land." Both French and English versions praise the beauties and freedoms enjoyed by Canada, the "true North."

"O Chester, did you 'ear about Harry? He chest got back from the army"-. I 'ear he knows how to war a rose, Hip hip. hooray for he army."

"O come, come away, from labor now reposing, Let busy care awhile forbear, O come, come away. Come, come, our social joys renew, And there let trust and friendship grow." As day ends, hearers are called upon to join in prayers

"You call yourself church member, You hold your head so high, You praise God with your glitt'ring tongue, But you leave all your heart behind. O my Lord delivered Daniel, O Daniel... O why not deliver me?"

"O David, yes, yes, My little David, yes, yes, And he killed Goliath...." "My little David... Was a shepherd's boy...." "He killed Goliath... And he shouted for joy...." "O David... Play on, David...."

O Dinna Cross the Burn: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #6770}

Willie's sweetheart asks him to stay with her -- "your folks a' ken ye're here the nicht, And sair they wad me blame -- instead of crossing the stream and going home in a storm. He leaves and is drowned. She goes crazy with grief.

Swedish shanty. Verses are of contented sailors sailing out with fond farewells to their sweethearts, and of the faith they have in their ship to bring them home again. Each stanza is repeated as a chorus.

"O Erin, my country, though strangers may roam, The hills and the valleys I once called my own, still, "Erin! Erin! My heart beats for thee." He has been long away, but he would not forget if he lived to a thousand. He will treasure the memory

"O Fathers, it's high time you all are ready, When this world is at an end.... Oh, we do believe in bein' ready (x2), when this world is at an end." Similarly with mothers, brothers, sisters, children

Recognized by its praise of freedom and the lines "And before I'd be a slave, I'd be buried in my grave, And go home to my Lord and be free." Most versions simply praise freedom; one speaks of the slave's dead mother

"O bring me a 'gator O gal when you come off the island A ring tailed 'gator O gal ... A Darien 'gator O gal...."

The singer has a humble but happy cottage with no cares and "yon sweet lass the mistress o't"

O Gin That I Were Mairrit: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #3786}

"I'm now a lass of thirty-three, As clever a hizzie as ye'll see, And feint a ane a'er courtit me...." "(O gin that I were mairrit, mairrit, mairrit... I raley would do weel, O." The old maid lists her property and describes her skills

Round. "Oh, give thanks, oh, give thanks, oh, give thanks Unto the Lord, For he is gracious, and his mercy endureth, Endureth forever."

"O God of Bethel, by whose hand Thy people still are fed, Who through this weary pilgrimage Hast all our fathers led; "Through each perplexing path of life Our wandering footsteps guide; Give us each day our daily bread, and raiment fit provide."

O God, Our Help in Ages Past: (3 refs. 8K Notes) {Roud #17837}

"O God, our help in ages past, Our hope for years to come, Our shelter from the stormy blast And our eternal home!" The singer hopes for help and protection from God, who has existed since before the world came to be

Amish hymn in German.. "O Gott Vater in Himmels Throne, Der du uns hast bereit ein' Krone." "O God, Father, in Heaven's throne, You have have prepared a crown for us, As we... Suffer with him the cross and anguish..."

The man with no beast, or place to house it, is free of responsibilities.

"O holy night, the stars are brightly shining, It is the night of the dear Savior's birth." The world has been trapped in sin, but now that will change. Hearers are told to fall on their kneeds and listen to the angels. "Behold your king."

"O, I hae seen the roses blaw, The heather bloom, the broom and a'... Yet Mary's sweeter on the green...." The singer praises the girl, wishes he could win her, says he would love anywhere she is, and declares he will wander till she loves him

O I Shall Have Wings: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #16938}

"O I shall have wings, beautiful wings, I shall have wings some day, Bright wings of love from God above, Carry my soul away." "O hallelujah to the lamb, I shall have wings someday, Jesus made me what I am...." The singer looks forward to heaven

"In Mt. Pleasant I once did live and had a happy home"; he was "O happy Johnny P. Contented Johnny P. O if I was at home again, How happy I would be." But the talk of gold caused him to leave home and business and is wretched and poor in the goldfields

"If you get a wife like mine You'll rue it till you dee." The singer's wife nags when he would drink and breaks teapots on his head. He warns Jamie against considering beauty: "look ye for ane that's mild an' meek"

The singer asks that Janet bring his fine clothes, boots, "cutty pipe," and "snuffy boxes" for his appearance at the House of Lords, "the father o' the taxes." She says "Ye'll be lookin' like mortality Come out amon' the grave stanes"

"O (Jeannie) my dear would you marry me, O Jeannie my dear would you go... Whether you're willint or no." "I've a pottie for bilin' my porridge, An' a skillit for bilin' my whey, I've a set o' new cups and saucers, Aye, an' a kettle for bilin' my tay."

O Katy Connor, I Dote Upon Her: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #37299}

"O Katy Connor, I dote upon her, Her big feet take up the street And stop the tramway cars. If she should take the notion to die into the ocean I'd never marry Katy Till there's whiskers on cigars."

"O Kings, you've heard the sequel Of what we now describe; It isn't just and equal To tax this wealthy tribe."

"O Lady Moon, your horns point to the East, Shine, be increased. O Lady Moon, your horns point to the West, Wane, be at rest."

"O Lawd, I went up on the mountain, looked at the risin' sun... I says, 'You can't do to me, oh, like Lorena done.'" He complains of being robbed, she travels, she complains, he is in Cummins (prison? graveyard?); he still loves her

O Little Town of Bethlehem: (10 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #24752}

The quiet little town of Bethlehem is described, with the note that "the everlasting light" shines in its streets. The song describes the reactions of those who know of the event, and prays for the help of the holy child

The singer says he has loved and been true to Lizzie. He asks her to go with him "amang the heathery hills o' Dee. I'll row thee in my tartan plaid And keep the winter's cauld frae thee"

Chorus: "(O Lord)(x4) O Lord, O Lord, What harm I've done." Verse couplets include "I went to the window to look out, The ramhorn did blow and the children did shout." "I went to the mountain, Jehovah spoke, And out of the mountain came fire and smoke"

"Oh, Mary, mother, come and see, Thy son is nailed on a tree." John brings word to Mary of the crucifixion. She cannot rest, but hurries to the execution site. She and Jesus discuss his fate. He prays and prepares to die

O Mary, Come Down!: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #9165}

Shanty, though just barely, really more of a call-out. "Oh Mary, come down with your bunch of roses, come down when I call, oh Mary. Oh Mary come down!"

O Mither! Ony Body: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5973}

A girl would "rather lie through life my lane Than cuddle wi' a weaver." But a weaver is her only offer though she tries everything "that some ane might come to her aid." Failing at all she takes the weaver: "Sma' fish are better far than nane"

Devil take the thieves that steal our strays. Take them immediately to Hell for they might find the exit gate from purgatory. The singer offers the Devil "guid whisky" to "take the villains frae our sight" whoever they are (Donald Boutcher?)

"O my ain Wullie, an' sae dearly's I love ye." The singer loves none better and "Over the salt seas I wad venture" to please him.

"O my honey, take me back, O my dahlin', I'll be true. I am moanin' all day long; O my honey, I love you." "I have loved you in joy and pain, In de sunshine and de rain, O my honey, heah me do, O my dahlin', I love you."

"O neeborman will ye come doon" to join me in a meal. We'll eat and drink "helter welter on the table." The piper will play and we will twist to the Reel o' Bogie.

"O noble England, fall down upon thy knee, And praise thy God with thankful heart which still maintaineth thee." The pope blesses the [Spanish] armada. In Plymouth, they set out to defeat it. Several enemy ships and actions are briefly described.

"O pardon my innocent laugh -- Ha, ha. Do you know the notes of the staff? -- Ha, ha."

"We've reached the land of pleasant dreams, Of level plains and deep ravines, Where flowers abound on every hand, In this, our lovely prairie land." There are many flowers but few settlers. There is much wildlife -- including mosquitoes

Donald asks "Lowland lassie wilt thou go" to the snow-covered hills where "the hardy shepherd tends his sheep?" He describes how they will spend the seasons. While "Lowland lads may dress mair fine" he boasts "an honest heart" She agrees to marry him.

Donald says, "O saw ye the lass wi' the bonnie blue een? Her smile is the sweetest that ever was seen." He describes her home in the valley. He will meet her "when night overshadows her cot in the glen"

O Shepherd, O Shepherd: (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1055}

Shepherd's wife offers a breakfast of bacon and beans if he will come home; he refuses, he must tend his sheep. She offers a dinner of pudding and beef, then a supper of bread and cheese. Finally she offers clean sheets and a pretty lass. He accepts.

"O shout (2), O shout away, And don't you mind, And glory, glory, glory in my soul. And when 'twas night I thought 'twas day, I thought I'd play my soul away...." "O Satan told me not to play,..." "And everywhere I went to pray,.. something was in my way"

"I saw my boy friend walking down the street, O Susie Anna!" A box was in his arms, a dress in the box, a pocket in the dress, a note in the pocket, "Will you marry me" in the note. She replies, "Yes I will" They marry and have "four to five children"

O Sweetly Sings the Burnie: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #6122}

"O sweetly sings the burnie As it wimples doon the glen Where I meet my bonnie lassie When her minnie disna ken"

German Christmas song, known in English as "Oh Christmas Tree." In praise of the evergreen's ability to keep its needles all year long: "O tannenbaum, o tannenbaum, Wie treu sind deine blatter...."

O Tell Me Will Ye Go: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6254}

"O tell me will ye go bonnie lassie O Where the Ugie waters flow?" The singer tells Jean "nae langer we'll be twa" and you will forever be "Ugie's peerless queen"

O That Lang Term Whitsunday: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #12996}

"O that lang term Whitsunday will soon part's a', Then wha'll be my darling when Johnnie's awa'"

"O, the bonny fisher lad That brings the fishes frae the sea; O, the bonny fisher lad, The fisher lad gat haud o' me." The youth lives in Bamboroughshire; the singer met him while gathering cockles. She vows she will have the fisher lad

"I'll sing you a song it shall not be too long, If you go for your rights, you will not think it wrong." Our fathers owned the land and fought off their foes. But now the rich have taken the land and left workers with nothing. Workers should unionize

"O this door locked and the other one too, my mammy she'll kill me (x2), Come on here, No ma'am, O this door locked." "I'll hoist them windows and I will come out, my mammy she'll kill me...."

The singer would be in bed, "lockit in my lovie's arms" with the "household sleepin sound," the door locked, the key turned "and the night to be seven years long"

O Ugie Tho Nae Classic Stream: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #6001}

The singer praises Ugie "tho nae a classic stream" and "hast nane to gar thee glide Amang the rivers sung wi' pride"

Jump-rope rhyme. "Oh, (Wattie Manson), I am ashamed of you, For leaving (someone) cross the ocean blue. Her heart is nearly broken, she's dying for a kiss, O (Wattie Manson), I am ashamed of this."

Jamie Glen has come sixteen miles to take Jeannie away. "There is mirth on the green an the ha There's fiddling an flinging an dancing an singin Bit the bride's father's gravest ava" because "she'll aye be awa." It seems the wedding will go on.

"O what a parish, a terrible parish, O what a parish is that o' Dunkeld, They hangit their minister...." After rebelling against the organized church, the people turn the site into a meeting place; the singer wishes that all parishes saw such fellowship

O What Is That Upon Thy Head?: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #3308}

"O what is that upon thy head, so dazzling and so bright? O what is that upon thy breast, Which shines so clear and bright? Upon my head there's glorious hope, upon my breast my shield, And with my sword I mean to fight Until I've gained the field."

"Oh where Oh where is my little dog gone, Oh where Oh where can he be?..." The singer describes the dog, then his tastes... lager beer, the dog, and of course sausage -- but "Dey makes um mit dog und dey makes em mit horse, I guess dey makes em mit he."

O Where Will Ye Be?: (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #12344}

"O where will ye be when the first trumpet sounds? O where will ye be when it sounds so loud? When it sounds so loud as to wake up the dead?" The singer will be "among the holy," "among the angels," wearing "a royal diadem," etc.

"O, you nasty black-a-tops (blackbirds), Get off my master's radish tops, For he's a-comin' with his long gun, And you must fly and I must run. Hello-o-o, Hello-o-o."

"O-o-oh, sistren an' bredren, Don't you think it is a sin For to go to peel potatoes An' to cas' away de skin? De skin feeds de pigs, An de pigs feeds you, O-o-oh, sistren an' bredren, Is not dat true?"

The singer recalls Derry in the springtime. He remembers the sights, swimming in the Moyle, wandering among the bogs. Even in London, he smells the peat and the sea; he wishes he were home

O, Foo Will I Get Hame: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #3135}

Jeannie Deans borrows money to buy a coat for her son but spends it on brandy. She sells her own clothes and the meal at home -- blaming rats and mice -- for drink. She has been shamed at church. She is afraid of falling into the river. "Will I win hame?"

"O, Jeanie dear, the flow'rs, the flow'rs are springing... the lark is winging... And to my ravished ear his wondrous singing Is all of love... and you." The singer details how nature rejoices in Jeanie -- and he rejoices even more

"Oh, Lula, oh Lord, gal, I want to see you so bad. Gonna see my long-haired baby (x2), Well, I'm goin' 'cross the country To see my long-haired gal." The singer tells how Mr. Treadmill had Mr. Goff pay the boys off; now he is home and happy with his girl

"Oh, pretty girls, won't you list and come (x3), And follow the music of the fife and drum?" "The drum shall beat and the fife shall play (x3), And merrily on we'll march away." "Over the hill and a great way off (x3), O Don't you hear that Indian cough?"

Wheat-cutting song: "Watch me whet my cradle, O! Alle! O!" "I'll make it beat de beater, O! Alle! O!" "Watch me throw my cradle... I'se been all over Georgia... The storm clouds arising..."

Freemason Cromwell mounts a battering ram, grape shot, and bullets against Blarney castle. The Irish have bows and arrows. Cromwell "made a dark signal" freezing the defenders. He and his soldiers walk across the lake. He gives Jeffreys the Castle

The girl looks out her window as the soldiers march by. Her eye seizes upon the captain, though she conceals this from her parents. Later they meet at the ball. Though the soldiers later depart, the girl hopes that they will soon return with her captain

"Why should old age so much wound us?" The singer is happy with his "auld wife sitting by" surrounded by children and grandchildren. They are not wealthy and never had schemes to be wealthy. He hopes their simple home will last the rest of their lives.

"O ye mountains high, where the clear blue sky Arches over the vales of the free, Where the pure breezes blow and the clear streamlets flow, How I’ve longed to your bosom to flee!" The singer is looking to Zion, "home of the free"

"My name is O'Brien from Harlem, I am an Irishman as you may see." As he travels around New York, people observe him and cry out, "There is O'Brien with his high-water pants." He does not seem to notice that he is being teased

"Proudly the note of the trumpet is sounding, Loudly the war-cries arise on the gale... On for old Erin -- O'Donnell Aboo!" Tirconnell, and all Ireland, are urged to join O'Donnell in his fight against the English

Phoenix Park defendants are convicted by informer Carey's testimony. O'Donnell kills Carey on the ship Melrose Castle bound for Africa. O'Donnell is tried for the murder, convicted and executed. "As a martyr for his native land quite bravely he did die"

O'Dooley's First Five O'Clock Tea: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #12778}

"O'Dooley got rich on an aqueduct job And he made a considerable pile." O'Dooley celebrates with a series of parties. Someone spikes the tea at one such event, and mayhem (or at least silliness) follows. O'Dooley vows revenge

"Bending knees a-aching, Body wracked with pain, I wish I was a child of God, I'd get home by and by. Keep praying, I do believe, We're a long time waging of the crossing." The singer's mother has been long climbing. Thunder and lightning give warning

O'er the Hills and Far Away (I): (10 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #8460}

(Jocky) the piper "learned to play when he was young," but "the a' tunes that he could play Was o'er the hills and far away." Rejected by Jenny, he laments his fate, declares "I'll never trust a woman more," and intends to spend his life playing the pipes

O'er the Hills of Sicily: (1 ref. 5K Notes) {Roud #24980}

"O'er the hills of Sicily, up the toe of Italy, Came the Loyal Edmontons from over the sea, And they sang as the stuffed the bully in their haversacks, 'Who'll come a-marching to Berlin with me?'" About the Italian campaign in World War II

O'Halloran Road, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #13993}

The singer thinks half a century back to "a cold Saint Patrick's Day, With my father and my mother then And children we just numbered ten." He thought they were lost until "I heard my father say, 'Here's the O'Halloran Road! This is the way [home]'"

"One day while walking down the street, I met O'Houlihan." O'Houlihan offers to place a bet on the races for the singer; the horse wins, but O'Houlihan never produces the cash. O'Houlihan finds other ways to bilk the singer. The singer promises revenge

The several O'Kelly brothers all get into scrapes -- one umpires a baseball game, one fights over drinks, one gambles. But, in each case, "The doctor thinks O'Kelly will recover, Though he may be laid up for a month or more...."

O'Reilly from the County Leitrim: (9 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #4720}

The singer sees a pretty girl and asks her to marry; she says she prefers to live single. He calls her beautiful, and wishes he had her somewhere else. She turns him down again; he is foolish to ask. He says his heart will break, and leaves

O'Reilly's Daughter: (10 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #1161}

"As I was sittin' by the fire... I was taken by desire To go and shag O'Reilly's daughter." The narrator "shags" landlord or bartender O'Reilly's daughter, then assaults father, mother or both. O'Reilly is typically described as one-eyed.

O'Ryan (Orion, The Poacher): (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #13364}

"O'Ryan was a man of might when Ireland was a nation." A poacher, he gives a meal to St. Patrick and is promised a place in heaven in return. Told there is good hunting there, he accepts. Now the other constellations fear his shillelagh

O'Slattery's Light Dragoons: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #9620}

"You have heard of Julius Caesar and of Great Napoleon too, And how the Cork militia beat the Turks at Waterloo," but none can compare with "O'Slattery's mounted foot." "Four-and-twenty" men have hilarious adventures mostly while drunk

O'Sullivan's Frolics: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #16258}

Macaronic. Singer meets a 12-year-old girl who is going alone for a year to Cork. She would not have him without her parents' consent but he seduces her.

Weather-forecasting rhyme: "The oak before the ash, Then we'll have a splash; The ash before the oak, Then we'll have a soak."

"The oak grows big, The pine grows tall; You are my choice Among them all."

"It was in November an' aw nivor will forget, The polisses an' the candymen at Oakey's Hooses met." Johnny the Bellman and the candymen set out to evict striking colliers. Their won't do much work, but the singer would still hang them

Playparty. "Oats, (peas/and), beans, and barley grow... Do you or I or anyone know... How oats and beans and barley grow." The farmer plants the seed and waits for harvest; young couples marry and must obey each other.

The dying sailor speaks of his loved ones and pleads with his shipmates not to be buried at sea. They do it anyway

Ocean is Wide, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7669}

"The ocean is wide an' you cain't step over it, I love you true, an' you cain't help it." "Sure as the grass grows round the stump, You're my darlin' sugar lump." "The ocean is wide, an' you cain't jump it, If your folks don't like it, they can lump it."

Ocean Queen is lost in rough weather in winter on George's Banks. The crew are all drowned. The captain's wife is left alone; "there's fathers, sons, and brothers that drowned in the deep."

The Irish exile misses home and his "native bay." He recalls the races and games at Christmas. The new home is "lonely and drear"; there is no call of the corncrake. He wishes he had a boat to row back home

"Ochenee, The poor banshee, Many's a shift It's made for me."

"Ochenee, when I was wee, I used to sit on granny's kee. Her apron tore; I fell on the floor. Ochenee, when I was wee."

"A song for the early times in Pennsy, our green old forest home, A song for that gladsome life whose pleasant memories freshly yet (sic)." The singer remembers the old days in the untamed land "In the days when we were pioneers, fifty years ago"

McKenna gives Dolan a ticket to a dance in Oddfellow's hall. McKenna upsets Dolan by dancing with Bridget. They fight and "clean up" the hall. Justice Duffy gives them ten dollars or ten days. They haven't the money so "we spent ten days on their island"

"Last night as I lay on my pillow, Last night as I lay on my bed, I dreamt our old corp'ral was dying, I dreamt the old bugger was dead. Send him, send him, Oh, send our old corporal to He-e-ell, Oh keep him... Oh, keep the old buffer in hell"

"Houses furnished with pusser's stores, The Hoe, littered with Plymouth 'hoers'" -- all these lazy, thieving people typify "Guzz" (Devonport). "Dockyard mateys, loafing bastards, Scrounging ticklers off their masters, This lot just about sums up Guzz"

Ode to Newfoundland: (7 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #7304}

Known by the last verse, "As loved our fathers, so we love, Where once they stood we stand, Their prayer we raise to heav'n above, God guard thee, Newfoundland"

"Of a rose, a lovely rose, And of a rose I sing a song." Listeners are told to hearken "How a rose began to spring." It had (five/six) branches. The branches reach throughout the world and heaven and hell. We, Mary, Jesus, all are blessed by the nativity

Of A' the Airts the Wind Can Blaw: (7 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #36213}

"Of a' the airts the wind can blaw, I dearly like the west, For there the bonnie lassies live, The lassie I lo'e best." His thoughts are "ever with my Jean." The flowers, the birds' songs, the fountains remind the singer of Jean

"Of all the birds that ever I see, the owle is the fairest in her degree, For all the day she sits in a tree... Te-whit, te-whow, to whom drinks thou... Nose, nose, nose, nose, And who gave thee thy jolly red nose? Cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves."

Off For Philadelphia: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #18232}

Paddy Leary is leaving Tipperary for Philadelphia "before the break of morning... without warning." He had hoped to marry Kate Malone but now "they told me I must leave the place... the tears will surely blind me." He'll return some day.

Will is going, as an officer, to Flanders to fight against the French with King William. He would have Jack join him. Jack chooses to stay at home, reaping and mowing, with his wife rather than "to go a-fighting, What I never took delight in"

"Some who at a spade would kick Or turn their nose up at a pick... They're off noo to the diggin's." Deacons, debtors, creditors, women, the mayor all go seeking gold. The singer advises all these new miners to listen to the old hands

"Officers' wives get puddings and pies, A sergeant's wife gets skilly, But a private's wife gets nothing at all To fill her empty belly."

"Oft in the stilly night, Ere slumber's chain has bound me, Fond memory brings to light Of other days around me." The singer remembers the old days, the friends he had. The singer feels like the last one in an empty banquet hall

"We left the Nueces River in April '81, With 3000 long-horned cattle, and all they knowed was run, oh." They travel from San Antonio past the Red River to "Dodge City on the Arkansaw," then to Smoky Hill. The boss calls it "the damndest country" he's seen

I song that appears to have been written by drunks for drunks: "Where be going to Jagger? I be going to Looe. Gor! Buggre Jagger! I be going there too." They will all go to Oggie Land, where they can't tell sugar from tissue paper from jam

Oh As I Was a Walking: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1056}

The singer hears "a beautiful fair one ... Crying, How happy ... should I be if my true love was near" Henry, "her true love," passes by. They kiss. "Now this young couple they are joined to the yoke," happily.

Singer says that one old woman in the town is lying about her, and wishes the old woman would die. "Been all around this whole round world/I just got back today.... Oh, babe, it ain't no lie (x3), (Know) this life I'm living is very (hard/high)."

Oh Bonnie Laddie Be Mine: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #13600}

"My dearest Abdebter I send you this letter To fix your affection on mine You may get a richer but never a better So oh bonnie laddie be mine"

The singer, a servant lass of 28 years, quits to marry whomever will marry her. "I'm bound to say he'll bless the day." But he would have to give up rambling and send her his earnings on term day, and if he lifts a hand or foot to her he'll rue the day.

"Oh, but I'm weary, weary waitin'... Oh, mither, gie me a man Will tak this weariness away." The mother suggests a plowman, mason, miller, etc.; the daughter rejects each (e.g. a plowman's wife works too hard); she wants a man who lives "by the pen."

"I come from Salem City with my washbowl on my knee. I'm going to California The gold dust for to see." A parody of "Oh! Susanna," telling of the sea voyage to San Francisco. The singer of course expects to get rich

"Oh cruel were my parents that stole [imprest?] my love fae me," but he has returned safely. They go to Almeldrum, a poor town of little water, tasteless food, a frail bridge, and a council so down on sin they might let one baby cross but not twins.

"Oh dear doctor, can you tell, What will make poor so-and-so well? She is sick and like to die And that will make poor so-and-so cry." Sometimes, the text continues that the boy has "the prettiest girl of Mrs so-and-so's daughters."

"What a cold I've got." The singer asks the doctor whether s/he will die. The answer may be yes [eventually] or no; in any case, to cure this cold "take your medicine twice a day"

"I am a damsel so booming and gay, Who along with the females must mingle." She is "compell'd to live single," but, "Oh dear, how I long to get married," for "I am tired of lying alone." Queen Victoria was able to marry, but the singer can't find anyone

Known mostly by the chorus, "(Oh death/Lord), Spare me over till another year." Despite the worries about dying, the singer praises the afterlife; God or Jesus or someone will has "made for me a home in heaven," etc.

"Oh dinna quarrel the bairnies, try till agree; Be kind to ane anither, be advised by me. Ye'll a 'gree thegither yet in far less room"

"Oh, fudge, Tell the judge, Mother's got a baby. Oh, joy, It's a boy, Father's nearly crazy." "Wrap it up in tissue paper, Send it down the elevator." "First floor, second floor... send it out the back door."

Oh Gin My Love War a Red Rose: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #6751}

The singer says that if his love were a rose and he a drop of dew he would fall on her; if she were frozen ale her kiss would keep him warm; if she were locked up in a coffer and he had the key he would open the coffer twenty times a night.

Oh Hae Ye Seen My Jamie?: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #12998}

Have you seen my Jamie? He's gone on a spree.

"Oh hallelujah Oh lah di dah (x2). Well I been baptised in the water Oh hallelujah Oh lah di dah."

Oh How Can I Leave You: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #6155}

The singer loves Liza and "long[s] for the day I can call you my own" He remembers a May meeting "when with you I sported among the new hay" and "a lone winter's evening" when "your smiles made me cheery"

"Oh! how wonderful, oh, ho nice It is to go to school, There you learn many things That make you nice and pious, Oh, how wonderful, oh, how nice, It is to go to school."

Oh It's a Lovely War: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #9624}

"Up to your waist in water, Up to your eyes in slush, Using the kind of language That makes the sergeants blush." "Oh, oh, oh, it's a lovely war. Who wouldn't be a soldier, eh?" The soldier complains of food and poor pay while pretending to praise them

"O! My lassie, our joy to complete again, Meet me again in the gloamin, my dearie" to their "bed in the greenwood." The singer names things that might be frightening (bats, bogle, and brownie) but says there's nothing to fear: "Love be thy sure defence"

"Oh Jo, set me on the po, I'm not as young as I used to be Forty years ago."

"Oh, Judy [Judas], oh Judy, hit's time that I go, I know you will 'tray me though I love you so." Jesus tells Judas to buy food for the poor, but Judas sells Jesus. Jesus condemns Judas for his betrayal

Oh Lily, Dear Lily: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7583}

"My foot is in the stirrup, My bridle's in my hand, I'll go court another And marry if I can. Oh Lily, oh Lily, my Lily fare you well. I'm sorry to leave you, For I love you so well." "So fare you well, (Molly), I'll bid you adieu, I'm ruined forever..."

Singer says, Johnny "wear my clothes ... eat my food ... smoke my pipe ... take my wife." "Johnny was hiding under my bed." Singer shoots Johnny. "The people are sorry to see The grave for Johnny and the gallows for me."

Oh Lovely Appearance of Death: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #15645}

"Oh lovely appearance of death, What sight upon earth is so fair? Not all the gay pageants that I breath Can with a dead body compare." Its pain is over. The singer longs to be free of the burdens of life

"Oh, Molly, I can't say that you're honest, You've stolen my heart from my breast." "I know that you father is stingy... 'Tis mighty small change that you'll bring me Exceptin' the change of your name." He throws a rock at her window to say he was there

Oh Mother, Take the Wheel Away: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7430}

"Oh (mother/father), take the (wheel/cow) away And put it out of sight, For I am heavy-hearted And I cannot (spin/milk) tonight." A year ago, the singer thought "he" would marry. But then Mabel arrived, and now the girl's lover has married Mabel instead

"Oh Mr. Fraser, won't you take us home? We've had enough, we want no more to roam. We've had all the sand, the sweat, the blood"; the New Zealanders want relief from the Italian front. They predict the troubles to follow if they aren't relieved

"Oh my finger, Oh my thumb, Oh my belly And my rum-a-tum-tum"

"Oh my little boy, who made your britches? (x3), Mammy cut them out and Daddy sewed the stitches.)

"Oh my little darling, don't you weep and cry/Some sweet day a-coming, marry you and I" "Oh my little darling, don't you weep and moan/Some sweet day a-coming, take my baby home" "Up and down the railroad, 'cross the county line..."

"Oh, my liver and my lungs, my lights and my legs, They're paining me." Heart and head also hurt. The singer is burdened by endless work and the misery of life

"Down in sunny Mexico there lived an Indian maid." "Oh my pretty monkey, come and play with me." "Oh, my pretty monkey maid, I simply think you're grand." They will live together happily in "monkey land." When they cannot marry, he drowns himself

The singer "really thought my bride I would make her" until he found out that she lived with "a dashin' flashin' Irish navigator"

The old man complains that his silly young wife won't let him sleep: "when she comes to bed to me she winna lie still." What does she want? He wishes he had died before he married, or that she "would but sicken and die"

A sailor, bound for the sea, asks a girl to leave her milk pails and go with him. She refuses. He sends her a letter that "he was going to serve the queen." She rejects him again. He says "Fare ye well ye saucy girl, It's better to go free"

"Oh, the Savior standing at the door (x2), Wilt thou enter in, He will cleanse thy sin, Oh, the Savior standing at the door. Art thour thirsty, Cooling water pure and free, Pure and free from the stream of life.... Trav'ler, drink and drink again"

"Through Erin's isle, To sport awhile, As Love and Valour wander'd, With Wit the sprite, Whose quiver bright A thousand arrows squander'd....O the shamrock! The green immortal shamrock! Chosen leaf of bard and chief -- Old Erin's native shamrock!

"Oh the thunder and the lightning and the hail and the snow And the rain and the wind and the baby falling down the stairs"

"O they tossed me in the air and they rolled me in the mud, And then they tried to stop the circulation of my blood"; the singer vows never again to be "the referee at a football match"

"Oh think of the home over there, By the side of the river of light, Where the saints all immortal and fair Are robed in their garments of light." The singer's friends are there; the Savior is there; he will soon be there also

Charlie is cold and wet and waiting at Tibbie's door. If she's not sleeping he would have her come down and speak a minute. He says he won't see her so often now but will think about her as he passes her door.

"Oh Timpanogas, mighty Timpanogas, Timpanogas, mountain that I love, Mountain with your glacier (x2), Glacier, Glacier, Oh Timpanogas, mighty...." "Mountain with your waterfall..." "...emerald lake..." "...flowers rare..." Other verses could be improvised

"There's a bright golden haze on the meadow (x2), The corn is as high as an elephant's eye." The singer declares "Oh what a beautiful mornin'... I've got a beautiful feeling Everything's going my way."

"I'll sing you a song of my Uncle Pete" who did outlandish things. "He polished his boots with pumpkin squash." He kept tame butterflies that he fed on "ticktacks, cinders and lard." He himself ate in "a common dinner pail"

"O what care I for your weel-made beds, Or gold rings to adore me? Weel micht I been a maiden the streen Gin Lord Huntly had never seen me"

In the street, "a girl was weeping bitterly, her lover stood close by." She asks why he is deserting her and their baby. He hits her. She falls and is run over by a carriage. She forgives her lover, prays that heaven will protect her baby, and dies

"Now Katryn, my darling, come sig by my side... I's goin' to ask you, 'Won't you be my frau.'" "Oh, shame yourself Scharlie, don't speak out like that... I love you mit all the lova what I got." The two celebrate their love and discuss their life plans

"Oh ye young, ye gay, ye proud, You must die and wear a shroud, Death will rob you of your bloom, He will drag you to the tomb, Then you'll cry I want to be Happy in eternity."

Oh You Who Are Able....: (1 ref. 18K Notes) {Roud #7716}

"Oh you who are able go out to the stable And throw down your horses some corn If you don't do it the sergeant will know it And report you to General Van Dorn."

Oh-ho, There Goes Pa: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #10903}

"Oh-ho, there goes pa Back to Washington, But he won't take ma! Oh-ho, here comes pa, Back from Washington! Too much ma."

"A burly coon you know Who took his clothes an' go, Come back las' night. But his wife said, 'Honey, I'se done wid coon, I'se gwine to pass for white.'" He promises to reform, to be satisfied with little, even to do the cooking. She does not relent

"We are soldiers in this blessed war, For Jesus we are marching on, With a shout and song." "We are sweeping on to claim the blessed promise... Oh, be ready when the train comes in." Harlots, idolaters, loafers, jokers will not be allowed aboard

"Oh, (children/fathers/etc.), won't you come and go along with me, For heaven is my home. Jesus is gone, but he's coming back again, To take his children home." "He will raise up the crippled, gather the blind... And take them home to their God."

Oh, Dear, What Can the Matter Be?: (23 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1279}

"Oh dear, what can the matter be? (x3), Johnny's so long at the fair." Johnny had promised to bring the singer various gifts, such as "blue ribbons... to tie up my bonny brown hair," but he is long in coming

"Oh give me the hills and the ring of the drills, And the rich silver ore in the groun." "Oh give me the camp where the prospectors tramp." The singer intends to live and die among "the hils and the roaring stamp mills."

Oh, Give Way, Jordan: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #15258}

Chorus: "Give way Jordan (x3), I want to go across to see my Lord." Verses: "Stand back Satan let me go by, I'm going to serve my Jesus till I die." "...my time was nigh... must be my Jesus in the cloud, never heard him speak so loud."

Oh, He Raised Poor Lazarus: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #15280}

Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, healed the sick, gave sight to the blind and enabled the cripple to walk. "Jesus been here one time ... He's coming again, Get ready and let us go home"

Congregational song. "Our brother is dead, he rests from he labor, And he sleeps (he sleeps, oh he sleeps) Wey de tall pines grow, On the banks of a river." "He trouble is gone." "Out of life's storm." He is with God and safe from trouble

"Oh, honey, where you been so long? Oh, honey, where you been so long? 'I been round the bend and I come back again, Oh, honey, where you been so long?" "Oh, honey, where you been so long? (x2) And it's when I return with a ten dollar bill, it's Honey..."

An "old villain" sits by a girl and smokes his cigar. She plays her guitar. "He told her he loved her but oh how he lied." They agree to marry, "but she up and died." She goes to heaven, he to hell ("sizzle, he fried"), listeners are warned against lies

"The other day I chanced to meet, A soldier friend of mine"; he looks fit and healthy after his training, but when asked about his life, the soldier says, "Oh, how I hate to get up in the morning." He hates and envies the bugler who arouses him

Round. "Oh, how lovely is the evening, is the evening, When the bells are sweetly ringing, sweetly ringing! Ding, dong, ding, dong, ding, dong."

"Oh, I am as happy, as happy can be, There's o one so happy as my Fritz and me, For when the War's over to Old England we'll run, Oh, God bless Old England, the Home of the Hun."

Oh, I Used to Drink Beer: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #11920}

"Oh, I used to drink beer, But I throwed it all away (x3), Oh I used to drink beer, But I throwed it all away, And now I'm free at last." "Oh, I used to chew tobacco." "Oh, I used to love sin." "Oh, I gave hell a shake When I came out de wilderness."

Singer's friend Riley, just paid, invites him on a spree; they wind up in a fight. Riley punches a policeman; the singer ends up jail. Riley gets killed: "Oh, he thought the wire was dead/But it was full of life instead." Singer won't go with Riley again

"Oh-Oh-Oh-Oh In the moonlight, I wanna hold somebody's hand., Oh-Oh-Oh-Oh In the moonlight,I think you'll understand. All the little birdies, All the little beesies, Always go in twosies, Never go in threesies." Other critters may also be mentioned

"THe Admirals of Paris, the Crillon Gen'rals and such Are always telling others how to lick the bloody Dutch" -- but they can't possibly fight. The singer tells soldiers who want safety to drive the general's car, because they're safe and live a high life

"Oh, Jenny Brown she baked my bread, And you bet she baked it well. She baked it hard as anything, She baked it hard as... Hallelujah! Keep your seats for I'm not swearing... Hallelujah! And the truth I always tell"

Chorus: "Oh, Jerusalem, Oh my Lord, I'm walking the road, Oh Jerusalem, walking the road, Oh, my Lord (x2)."Verses: The Lord comes steps down on a sea of glass mingled with fire -- "Good bye my brother I'm going on higher"

A conversation between two former lovers, comprised mostly of floating lyrics. The singer tells Johnny that she loves him; he was the first boy she ever loved. He tells her that she betrayed him, and he now has a new sweetheart. He regrets her infidelity

"Oh, leave not your Kathleen to cross the dark sea, For she will be lonely, she cares but for thee. The scenes that were bright will fade from her view." In time both wlll forget: "When you part from your Kathleen we're parted forever."

Oh, Lord, How Long: (11 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7546}

"Before this time another year, I may be (dead and) gone, Down in some lonesome graveyard, Oh Lord, how long!" "Just as the tree falls, just so it lies; Just as the sinner lives, just so he dies." "My mother broke the ice and gone...."

"Oh, Lord, I'se steppin' higher; Doan' let de ladder break. Saint Peter, open up de do' An' gib mah han' a shake!"

"Oh Lord, send us a blessing, And oh Lord, send us a blessing, And oh Lord, send us a blessing, And send it down today."

Oh, Lovely, Come This Way: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #8372}

"I had an old shoe, it had no heel (x3), I looked like a preacher with a mouthful of meal." "Oh, lovely, come this way (x3), Never let the wheels of the church roll away." Other verses often extravagant and floating, e.g. "Whip old Satan round the stump"

Oh, Mary, Don't You Weep: (21 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #11823}

"If I could I surely would Stand on the rock where Moses stood, Pharaoh's army got drowned, Oh Mary don't you weep." Verses describing the Exodus and how God cares for humanity, with the "Pharaoh's army..." chorus

Skipping rhyme. "Oh! Mary, My bonny, bonny Mary, All the boys and all the girls, They love Mary"

"Oh, Mr. Revel! Did you ever see the devil With wooden spade and shovel A-digging up the gravel With his long toe-nail?" (or "with his tail cocked up," etc.). The devil, or his wife, or his children, may dig potatoes, or tin (in Cornwall), or shoot birds

Alternate lines are a chorus, "Mr Cobeau want to kill out a we picking." The shantyman sings: The dog comes and sniffs the dead whale and the shark comes to eat it. It's so rotten that both get a headache, but Cobeau takes it anyway. "Please bring back"

A "Newfoundland sailor" and a noble lady meet. He asks her to marry; she say, "Oh, no, not I"; his birth is too low. When she bears a child nine months later, she writes to ask him to come back; he tells her, "Oh, no, not I," and bids her go begging

Oh, Once I Had a Fortune: (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7792, 1993, 22611}

The singer describes how drink has cost him money and sweetheart: "Oh, once I had a fortune, All locked up in a trunk. I lost it all in a gambling hall One night when I got drunk. I'll never get drunk any more...."

"Oh, poor Cooner Johns, Farm, farm, my lady, Give poor Cooner one more cent, Farm, farm, my lady."

"Oh, rocks don't fall on me (x3). Rocks and mountains don't fall on me." "Look over yonder on Jericho's walls, Rocks and mountains don't fall on me, See those sinners tremble and fall...." "In that great, great judgment day... Sinner will run...."

Jump-rope rhyme. "Oh, say, kid, What do you think I did? I upset the cradle And out fell the kid. The kid began to holler; I took him by the collar. Collar broke lose, And I got the deuce." Or may begin, "Virginia, Virginia, what do you think I did?"

"Oh Sir Jasper do not touch me (x3) As she slipped between the sheets with nothing on at all." "Oh Sir Jasper do not touch (x3), As she...." "Oh, Sir Jasper, do not..." "Oh, Sir Jasper, do..." "Oh, Sir Jasper...."

Donald and Maggie McCraw "claw'd ane anither an' a'." When Maggie got a flea on her rump it made a lot of work "for he claw'd and she claw'd She claw'd and he claw'd"

Oh, Stand the Storm: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #12232}

Chorus: "Oh, stand the storm, it won't be long, We'll anchor by and by (x2)."Verses: "My ship is on the ocean," "She's making for the kingdom", "I've a mother in the kingdom," "We're crossing over Jordan," "King Jesus is our captain"

Shanty. Swedish version has a sailor leaving his true love and (for a change) actually returning after she has pined for a while. Another (English) fragment has two verses referring to "the Sovereign of the seas." Both use the familiar Foster tune.

"Oh, the heavens shut the gates on me, Oh, the due time, shut the gates on me, Sometimes I weep, sometimes I mourn, Sometimes I do nary one. Oh, the heavens shut the gates on me, Oh, the due time, shut the gates on me."

Oh, They Put John on the Island: (2 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #11824}

"Oh, they put John on the island When the Bridegroom comes, They put John on the island when he comes." "They put him there to starve him." "But you can't starve a Christian." "They fed him on milk and honey." "Oh, look down Jordan river."

"An old man was seated one evening In an easy chair close by the fire" with a little child,."Please tell me, dear Grandpa, of mother, Her sweet face I never shall see.... Oh what I would give for a mother." Her father disappeared; her mother died of grief

"Oh, where is my sweetheart? Can anyone tell? (x3) Can anyone, anyone tell?" "He is flirting with another, I know very well." "He told me he loved me, he told me a lie." "I've found me another I love just as well." "...I love him, I wish he was mine."

"Oh, wretched man that I am (x3), Who will deliver poor me?" "I'm bound down with a burden of woe." "My heart's filled with sadness and pain."

"As I cam' in by yon bonnie waterside... There I spied my ain dear love, And I left my heart wi' him." Finding him false, the singer curses the church where he will marry, hopes his wife buries five sons, and wishes mortal wounds to she who "sinnert" them

Chorus: "Oh, wait till I put on my robe." Verses: The singer looks forward to landing "on the other shore" and receiving a gold waist band and slippers and "palms of victory," a white robe and gospel shoes to "walk about heaven and carry the news"

"I've traveled north, I've traveled south... And every place I've set my foot I've met the same old pest." "It's Wobblies, Wobblies, everywhere, It's Wobblies night and day." They've organized workers all over. Even "The angels... Have joined the O.B.U."

"Oh! an Irishman's heart is as stout as shillelah." Invaders beware, "but the battle once over, no rage fills his breast." "Give poor Pat but fair freedom, his sweetheart and whisky, And he'll die for old Ireland, his king, and his friend"

Oh! Blame Not the Bard: (7 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #V3131}

Don't blame the bard for his songs of love rather than glory. Don't blame him if he "should try to forget what he never can heal." "But though glory be gone, and though hope fade away, Thy name, loved Erin! shall live in his songs"

Oh! Breathe Not His Name: (5 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #V972}

Someone who must not be named has been buried "in the shade Where cold and un-honoured has relics are laid! ... And the tear that we shed, though in secret it rolls, Shall long keep his memory green in our souls"

"Oh, I had a good woman (x2), And the fool laid down and died."

"Come here, dearest Peggy, you're my whole heart's delight... So fain I wad bide, love, but away I must go." He says he would guard her if they were together. She goes into frenzies of grief; he stops her, saying he will not leave

Oh! Steer My Bark to Erin's Isle: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #10364}

"Oh, I have roamed o'er many lands ... In Erin's isle I'd pass my time." If the singer's home were England or Scotland, he'd love that home; "pleasant days in both I've past," But he'll "steer my bark to Erin's isle, For Erin is my home."

Nonsense song about a man going to see his beloved Susanna. The singer tells his love, "Oh Susanna, Oh! don't you cry for me, I've come from Alabama, wid my banjo on my knee." The song describes the impossible means he took to reach her

Oh! The Horse Broke Down: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #38130}

"Oh! The horse broke down at Puchardstown And the horseman lost his whiskers, The horse took shy, And lost his eye, And had to get the loan of his sister's."

Chorus: "We all got religion, In that day (3x), We all got religion in that day. Wait on, the trump shall sound." Verses repeat a line 3x with a tag "When my Lord was there" (see notes). Final chorus replaces "we all got" by "the genuine"

The singer remembers the dead at Stones River. He recalls finding a dying youth. The soldier sends greetings to his family, then dies

"Up the Cuyahoga, far as Akron," the river passes "locks a-plenty." The singer tells hearers to float the boats through the locks as they head for "the valley." THey will keep the boats going "if we pump Lake Erie dry."

"You are wanted for one hundred days, Be ready in one minute, So General Cowen's order says... Ho, lads, untackle from the plow... To join the Union forces." The singer bids goodbye to family, kisses Mary, and heads off to save the nation

"Locked in the cells of a prison, A prison much too small, Convicts jammed and crowded Within that cold grey wall." When fire strikes, the guards react slowly. Many die. The singer laments, "God doesn't want even convicts To die like rats in a hole."

"Ohio River, she's so deep and wide, Lord, I can't see my poor gal from the other side." "I'm going to river, take my seat and sit down, If the blues overtake me, I'll jump into the river and drown." "I've got the blues... I ain't got the heart to cry"

"Just as soon as we get married, to Texas we will go. Settle on the banks of the Ohio, Where there's bear and buffalo, And all sorts of game Creeping through the cane on the Ohio. Come along here, my love... For I will take good care of thee."

Hawaaian: "Ka wai opuamakani o Wailua." "The wind-beaten stream of Wailua Is tossed into waves from the sea." A messenger warns of a coming storm. She despairs of support from the man, and laments, "I am wrong."

"Oh, the mistletoe grows in the tree tops, And the birds sing their sweet melody, Oklahoma, the state of them Indians, And we'll praise her wherever we go." It is a land of "beautiful highways." Singers will never forget the state's "good people."

"The outlaw stands with blindfold eyes, His feet set wide apart"; the puncher prepares to ride him. They take off the blindfold, and Old Dynamite starts to buck. Rider Buck manages to stay on, tips his hat to the crowd, and disappears

The master (?) tells the slaves that Bragg is defeating the Yankees, and warns them to behave. But then the southern troops appear to be running. Master runs off to the swamps, "while Dinah, Pomp, an' Pete dey look As if dey mighty pleas'."

"Ol hag, you see Mammy? No, no (x2), Mammy carry bubby goin' to ilant, Pappy goin' to seasho', Row boat for catfish, row boat."

A young woman (Amanda) has been taken captive by Indians. She is about to be subjected to torture or death when one of the tribe (the chief, young Albion?) rescues her and brings her home, (asking no reward but his food)

"Old Abe is sick (x2), Old Abe is sick in bed. He's a lying dog, a dying dog, With meanness in his head." "He wants our cotton... He shall have it, he will have it, Some tar and feathers too." "Down with Old Abe... And all his Yankee crew"

"Old Abe Lincoln came out of the wilderness, Out of the wilderness, Out of the wilderness, Old Abe Lincoln came out of the wilderness, Down in Illinois." Possibly related: "Aren't you glad you joined the Republicans... Down in Illinois."

"Old Abe's elected so they say Along with Darkey Hamlin, The Yankees think they'll gain the day By nigger votes and gamblin'." (To the tune of Yankee Doodle)

"I'm very sorry for old Adam, Just as sorry as can be, For he never had no mammy For to hold him on her knee." "And I've always had the feeling He'd a-let that apple be If he'd only had a mammy For to hold him on her knee."

"The praise of dear women I'll sing." Adam had food, a garden, horses and foxes to hunt. His happiness was not complete until his wife was taken from his side to be his equal and partner. A man without a wife is a beggar; a beggar with a wife is blessed

"Old Alec Brown has brought me here, Lie in jail all my days." "True love, true love, my darling child, What have I done to you?" The singer asks the girl to be true to him; she has caused him to weep and has turned her back on him. Many lyrics float

"'Tis thee and not the roses, dear, That I have learned to love, Though now thine eyes are bright and clear... Yet should thine eyes grow dime with age I'll love thee all the way, For 'tis the head and not the heart That shall grow old and gray."

"When you walk along the street, how often do you meet Some poor old man who's getting old and gray?" Poor old men find that their children do not care for him, and rich old men have heirs waiting impatiently. The singer complains about the young

"An old song made by an aged old pate, Of an old worshipful gentleman, who had a great estate." The story tells of the proper behavior of this old courtier. It compares him to a young courtier whose newfangled behavior is much less proper

Old Ann "was a wife, biggest old stup I saw in my life" She has a hump like a camel and a stupid son. "She tried to sleep but it was no use, For her legs hung out for the chickens to roost" "... want any more you must help yourself"

Old Arboe (Ardboe): (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2984}

The singer asks the powers to help him praise Ar(d)boe. He praises the land, the waters, the wildlife, the winds. He talks of the holy days they celebrate. The singer has traveled the world, but has seen no better place

"Oh, it's old Arizona again, It's old Aricona again, It's a place where we all have been." The singer recalls "greasers and bad, bad men," "bears and rocky ground And the rattlers running round." "And if you get away, They will bring you back to stay."

Old Ark's A-Moverin', The: (15 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #11948}

"O the old ark's a-moverin... an' I thank God." Sundry verses on the flood, salvation, and those who are too proud, e.g. "How many days did the water fall? Forty days and nights and all." "See that sister dressed so fine? She ain't got Jesus on her mind"

Old Arm Chair (I), The: (10 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #13966}

"I love it, I love it, and who shall dare To chide me from loving that old arm chair?" The singer calls it "sacred"; his mother sat in it -- and eventually died in it. "I love it, I love it, and cannot tear My soul from a mother's old arm chair"

"Old Aunt Dinah, ho pee, ho pee... Gwine away to leave yer..." "Old Aunt Dinah -- sick in bed... Send for the doctor... You ain't sick... All you need... is a hickory stick." Alternately, Dinah may have four daughters and wants one to marry the singer

"Ole Aunt Kate she bake de cake, She bake hit 'hine de garden gate; She sift de meal, she gimme de dust, She bake de bread, she gimme de crust, She eat de meat, she gimme de skin, An' dat's de way she tuck me in."

"Old Aunt Katy was a good old soul, Patched my breeches right full of holes." "Up the ridge and down the ridge And run old Katy home." "Old Aunt Katy was a good old soul, Crossed the bridge and paid her toll." "Old Aunt Katy dressed mighty fine...."

Singer, an old bachelor ignorant of women, marries a 16-year-old, primarily to keep him warm at night. She wants more from him, which baffles him until her mother tells him the facts of life. He obliges; a fine son results, to his surprise and delight

Old Bachelor (V), The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #7249}

The singer would not court a rich girl, and beautiful ones reject him. He would marry a well mannered farmer's daughter. He has a pleasant home with plenty of food and goods. "I wish that I may, get a prudent, chaste, and a virtuous wife"

An old bachelor resolves to find a wife so perfect as "scarce walks upon the ground." He meets a woman that won't tell him her name, nor whether she is still a virgin, nor whether she would marry. "He that courts a bonnie lass Is sure to get the slip"

"(Old/Big) bald eagle sailing 'round, day I's gone (x2)." "Lead her up and lead her down, day I's gone (x2)." "Backward and forward across the floor." "Sailing round Maggie, sailing found." "Just keep swinging till you get done."

"If you want to find the privates, I know where they are (x3) -- They're up to their knees in mud (or: "Hanging on the old barbed wire"). I saw them...." Meanwhile, the captains, colonels, and generals enjoy themselves and stay away from the fighting

"On November first in eighty-nine from Port Huron we set sail." The barge Cromwell is hauled by the Lowell. They struggle with weather near Bay City and with snow near Tawas bay. They have to pump in the storm. The singer warns against lumber barges

The singer, whose name varies, relates, "I once was well to do, but now I am stumped up, And I'm forced to go on rations in an old bark hut." There follows a list of the ways the singer makes do or tolerates the poor conditions

"Come all good people from far and near... I will sing you the loss of the old Bay State that sailed in the Crawford Line." On the morning of November 2, she sets out and is never seen again. "It's hard to think so many lives down with her had to go."

"Old Beau Bill was a fine old man, A-rigging and a-ragging in the world so long, But now his days have cone to pass, And we're bound to break up Beau Bill's class. So sit still ladies and don't take a chill, While the captain... ties Beau Bill"

Old Bee Makes the Honey Comb: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5029}

"Old bee (makes the honey comb/sucks the blossom), Young bee makes the honey. (Poor man/Colored folks) plant the cotton and corn, (Rich man/White folks) make the money."

Humorous description of a cow that's difficult to milk: "Went down to the cornfield to pick a mess of beans, Along come the bell cow a-pecking at the greens." "Some of these days when I learn how, I'm gonna milk that old bell cow."

"Hop around, skip around, old Betty Larkin (x3), and also my dear darlin.'" "Steal, steal, old Betty Larkin...." ""You take mine, and I'll take another...." "Needles in a haystack, old Betty Larkin."

"Old Billy Dugger he looks mighty cross; He shot at a man and killed Jack's hoss."

"Now old Billy Kirk was a twenty-minute egg, With his flowing white beard and his one wooden leg." He is tiny. He travels New Zealand on horseback -- a great racer. He plays for dances. He lives to 105. The singer looks forward to seeing him after death

Old Binnie is urged to come see the Irishman work with his penis

"Old Black (Alice/Sally) are my name, Wellshot are my station. It's no disgrace, the old black face, it's the colour of my nation." The singer tells how she can dance, points out that God made her as well as whites, and notes the several men who like her

Old Black Bull, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #10554}

"The old black bull came down from the mountain, Euston, Dan Euston, The old black bull... A long time ago." "There were six fine heifers in the pasture grazing." The bull gets all worked up, but (he fails?) and goes back to the mountain, head hung low

"A boy to school was tramping, singing merrily," when a crow lands on a branch and begins to sing "caw, caw, caw." The boy does not like the song, so he throws a stone at the crow. It misses, and he falls in the mud, is late for school, and whipped

"Master had an old black hen, Black as any bear, Laid and set in an acorn shell, Eighteen inches square."

"I was walking one day Along a crowded way, A-strollin' with the girl of my heart," whose father owned a donkey cart. He sees the old, tired, one-eyes black horse. He drives the carriage when the singer marries the girl. The horse throws him. It dies

"Gone are the days when my heart was young and gay, Gone are my friends from the cotton fields away, Gone from the earth to a better land I know, I hear their gentle voices calling 'Old Black Joe.'" The singer, having outlived so much, says "I'm coming"

Jump-rope rhyme. "Old Black Joe from Mexico, Hands up, stick 'em up, Don't forget to pick 'em up, Old Black Joe."

"Some people ramble to lands far away... But the place I love best and am longing to see... And there I forever could stop... In the old village blacksmith's shop." The singer recalls visiting and playing with the blacksmith, but now the man is long dead

Old Blind Horse, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #2703}

Old man's will leaves everything to Uncle Bill and an old blind horse. When the horse finally dies "we took his skin for to make some shoes" and give the rest to the crows who "crawed" as they flew by "old horse you had to die"

"I had a dog and his name was Blue...." The singer tells how Blue aided him in 'possum hunting, then goes on to describe Blue's death and burial.

"When I was young we crossed the mountains, Crossed so many I quit a-countin', Hobo diddle de ho, An' a hobo diddle de ho." "We seen the buffalo a-comin', Seen so damn' many I couldn't count 'em...." "(Ho/oh), (old) Bob (Ridley/Bridely)"

"There's a quiet little room at the back of the saloon... Where men from tenements hold lengthy arguments On everything besides the liquor bills." Then the "leader" comes,; they say, "Old Boss Barry, how d'ye do? Is there anything that we can do for you?"

Playparty: "Circle to the left, Old Brass Wagon, You're the one, my darling." "Swing oh swing, Old Brass Wagon...." "Promenade home...." "Shottische up and down...." "Break and swing...." "We'll all run away with the old brass wagon...."

Shanty. Verses relate various problems with the ship, an inept and/or drunk bosun, captain and/or cook, bad food. The usual sailor complaints, some of them probably justified. Hugill had four different language texts for this, all basically the same song.

"...Come listen while I sing about The old brown coat and me." Having worked long on his father's farm, the singer at last gets his own property. The girl he loves favored another, but he proved guilty of theft. She turns to the singer; they live happily

Brown in the pub is talking about the war and drawing the lines on the table with beer. "Five minutes" is called. Not enough time, complains Brown. "'For another half pint and we'd been in Berlin. Do you want us to lose the war?"

Old Brown's Daughter: (5 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #1426}

"There lives an ancient party At the other end of town, He keeps a llittle chandler's shop, His ancient name is Brown." The singer admires his daughter and wishes he were Brown's son-in-law. Brown demands a lord. He hopes to run for parliament to win her

Old Bullock Dray, The: (12 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #22603}

The bullock driver is preparing for a good life in the bush. He seeks a wife, and prepares to head out to find land. He urges others along: "So it's roll up your blankets, and let's make a push; I'll take you upcountry and show you the bush...."

"I am going far, far away to leave you now, To the Mississippi River I am going"; he will take his banjo and sing "'Way down in my old cabin home." He will go to the graves of his sister and brother. He will leave "with all this darky band."

"Long ago, when but a boy, at old camp meeting time, How my heart would leap with joy...." "I like the old time preachin', prayin', shoutin', singin'...." The singer remembers his father celebrating

"There's a little silver ribbon runs across the Buckeye State, 'Tis the dearest place of all this earth to me." "Cleveland is the northern end and Portsmouth is the south." The singer describes the places along his "pal," the Ohio-Erie canal

Sean McNamara from County Down looks for a wife in Carathee. First, Red Danny shows him his selection. He picks Julia, a hawker. The first month they are happy. The second they argue. The third she beats him. You can find such a wife in Carathee.

"For six long months we heard the crash As pine trees met their doom. At night we sang the songs we learned When driving to the boom." In spring, they put the logs on the river, filling the banks. Every year, the river "claimed A driver for her toll."

"'They've changed some, I guess?' The tote roads der yer mean?" The singer explains how the old road has been cleared and improved. The singer describes the old days and how one now travels in an automobile along the rebuilt road

Old Church Yard, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3386}

"Oh come, come with me to the old church yard, I well know the path through the soft green sward, Our friends slumber there we were wont to regard." The singer recalls the dead, gone from their troubles, and points out that they will rise again

In winter, the old wife urges the old man to go out and bring the cow in from the cold. He protests; his cloak is too old and thin. She reminds him of their history, and of the dangers of pride. At last he, to end the strife, goes out to care for the cow

"The raccoon is a cunning thing, He travels after dark, He never takes to a tree, But I hear old Ranger bark.... When I bust this punkin head, One, two, by three." "Somebody stole my own coon dog..." "Somebody stole my bunny pullet." Other verses float

Old Country Party, The: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #V27349}

"Say, did ye iver go till an ould country party." The singer describes his first. He describes the food and punch, music and dancing until "the bottle was dry." Now he's away from home and "the tears rushes into me eyes" when he thinks of those days.

Old Cow Died of Whooping Cough: (1 ref. 2K Notes) {Roud #11368}

"Old cow died of whooping cough, Baby cow died of measles, Father died with a spoon in his mouth An carried it off to Jesus."

Old Cow Died, The (Little Girl): (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #11598}

Game song, solo question, group answer: "Annie/Little girl, little girl,' 'Yes, ma'am," "Did you go over the river?" "The old cow died, sail around." "Did you give her hot water? Yes, ma'am." "Did you send for the doctor?" "Did she die of the cholera?"

The singer recalls the hardships of his life as a cowboy "I've drunk water from the cow tracks, boys, when you bet it tasted good"; "I've starved and ate of the prickly pear"; "Been tortured by the Apaches." But now new cowboys are replacing him.

""When the sap comes up through the cottonwood roots, And the first birds light 'mongst the quaking asp shoots," the singer becomes restless to meet his mates. He wants to be out on the range "Till the boss of all herders sings, 'Peace, be still.'"

Vignettes: Old Dan Tucker arrives to court the girls, sell his produce, and/or get drunk. Example: "Old Dan went down to the mill / To get some meal to put in the swill. / The miller swore by the point of his knife / He never seen such a man in his life."

Singer, a mule-driver, describes driving his team at a fast pace when Old Darling (the boss) reproaches him for breaking the rules. The singer offers to break Mr. Darling; then tells listeners not to tow to Slocum, because the food is rotten.

"The bairns will miss you when you're dead, They'll mark the place where rests your head. And down their cheeks the crystal bead Will sure distill." "You've had your time and you must go." "But dogs and men must yield to fate."

Singer describes working in a lumber camp for David Ward, including a thieving foreman, an unpleasant employer, and a crooked scaler. The singer vows to leave and not return.

Old Doctor Collins (Celie): (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #11421}

"Old Doctor Collins, He's a merry man (x3), Old Doctor Collins, He's a merry man, What makes you treat me so?" "Young ladies all, see that... Come in my ladies' garden." "Sam Jones is bound, Come into...." "Swing your sweetheard, see that, Come into..."

"The morning of life is past, And evening comes at last, It brings me dreams of a once happy day... Sporting with my old dog Tray." The singer notes that people come and go, but dogs stay faithful. He concludes he will never have a better friend

Pat travels alone at night on his way home to Donoughmore. He stops to sleep on the ground. He dreams of playing games and frightens a weasel back to its lair. Then a pony kicks him and brings him back to reality.

(Old Dumpty/Darby) rides his mare everywhere, until it grows too (old/stubborn) to ride. The mare goes down into the swamp and dies. The neighbours cook it, and "From the top of her head to the end of her tail Old Dumpty ate his way!"

The singer describes the home of Dolly, "the girl I would like to make my spouse." He is bemused by the sight of her "milking her old dun cow." He hopes to win her love; "I'll get married very soon, tomorrow afternoon, for I feel in the humour now."

The singer recalls old elm tree by the mill where he courted Laura. They become engaged, he goes to sea. In his absence, others convince her he was untrue. She dies for love and is buried beneath the old elm tree

Old England Forty Years Ago: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2824}

England never accepted our independence forty years ago. Now Madison leads us against England again. Fighters and battles of the new war are named. "We've checked the rage of British pride"

Old English Gentleman, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #23518}

"I'll sing you a good old song That was made by a good old pate, Of a fine old English gentleman Who had an old estate." He lived comfortably, and he fed the poor in winter. But he died, and now there are no gentlemen, young or old

The singer is a dabster at stealing. He steals Enoch and Bill's pork and John Wood's wheat, and sheep, and a beehive. He feeds his friends who'd never believe he's a thief "for I'm called a nice man"

Song with sound effects: "Old Efp Grizzard (Fft!), Dead and gone (Fft!), Gone to the evil, Just as sho' as you' born! (Fft!) Eph! (Fft!) (x2), Gimme piece of beef! (Fft!), GImme piece of liver! (Fft!). Hung old Eph on the Cumberland River...."

"Old Erin, my country, I love the green bowers. No music to me like the murmuring rill. And the shamrock to me is the fairest of flowers... Oh, but where is the nation that could rival old Erin, Oh where is the country such heroes can boast?"

Old Farm Gate, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7452}

"The old farm gate hangs sagging down"; it is old, rusty, and almost useless. Once children played on it, lovers courted by it, funerals passed through it. But all this was long ago, and "Time passes so quickly away"

"I hace been travelling (twenty) long years, I have rambled about in the world." "There's none can compare with the fellow that follows the plow." Farmers, millers, soldiers, parsons, excisemen all depend on the work of ploughmen

"Old farmer John expects a son Some time in this November"

An old farmer keeps his seven servants "on rotten tup mutton and sour small beer." He has a maggoty mutton pie made "on the sly" of "an old yowe dead a week yesterday." Servants and horses are "all skin and bone." The servants complain but work anyway.

"(Here I come/In come I), old Father Christmas, Perhaps welcome, perhaps not; I hope old Father Christmas Will never be forgot." A verse found in many mummers' plays.

"Old Father Christmas, guess what he did, Upset the cradle, Out fell the kid. The kid began to bubble, So he hit him with shovel, O-U-T spells out, And out you much go for saying so."

"You've all heard of old Father Gray, Traveled over land and traveled over sea. (Chorus:) Wheel around and drive the Yankees back And make them know their places." The Yankees are driven back, and the girls encouraged to give their seats to gentlemen

"(Old) Father time is a crafty man And he’s set in his ways, And we know that we never can Make him bring back past days. So (campers), while we are here, Let’s be friends firm and true. We’ll have a gay time... For we all love to play with you."

Old Fish Song, The: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7522}

Humorous retelling of the Jonah myth. Jonah is ordered by God to preach repentance to Nineveh. Not wanting the job, he goes to sea. God raises a storm; the sailors throw Jonah overboard. He is swallowed by a whale. Children are warned to obey

Old Folks at Home (Swanee River): (39 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #13880}

The "darky" remembers the "old folks at home" on "de Swanee ribber." Now forced to wander, he still longs "for de old plantation." He recalls growing up on the plantation, playing with his brother, and listening to the banjo. He hopes to go home.

"Old folks better up and get to bed Before the young folks get the devil in their heads."

"I want to go further down the road." "I want to see my little baby so bad." "When Old Forty blows ran and close your door." "Some old rainy day my luck is bound to change." "Down the road sweet baby down the road"

The singer recalls growing up in his grandfather's house and playing on the four-posted bedstead. He remembers his grandmother being sick and visited by the doctor and vicar/parson before she died in the bed.

Old French Trench, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #10549}

"Oh what a life, living in a trench, Under Johnny French in the old French trench, We haven't got a wife or a nice little wench, But we're still alive in the old French trench." Soldiering is hard, and there is no reward, which is unfair

"Old Gallipoli's a wonderful place, Where the boys in the trenches the foe have to face, But they never grumble, they smile through it all, Very soon they expect Achi Baba to fall." They don't expect success "Where old Gallipoli sweeps down to the sea"

"Here sits a young lady all down to mourn, She's mourning the loss of her own true love, It has been said that he was slain In the service of old General Lane (or "was shot A-fighting for old General Scott") Oh no.... He'll come back and be my beau"

"Old General Price is a mighty fine man, From women an' children he steals all he can, It's damn any man that will follow his trade... These hard times." Perhaps also a playparty: "General Price he made a raid... And lost many a soldier...."

"I'll write you a poem of an old mountaineer, Who spent his life hunting for raccoon and deer." Girder Bill goes hunting and sees a buck and doe; he shoots the buck and goes home, "A buck on his shoulder, a doe left for seed."

"There was an old girl who lived in Cairo town, And I wish to the Lord that she was dead. She puts so many notions into my girl's head That we can't get along...." The singer spent all he had on the girl, but she doesn't love him

"Say, have you heard the joyful news of Burnside's expedition...?" "The other day at Roanoke... The boys, to play a Union joke, ran up the flag of glory." The singer praises the Union soldiers, taunts the Confederates, and calls for their hanging

"Way down yonder in Grandma's lot, The old goose laid and the gander sot [sat]. Gosling died, The old goose laughed [sighed? cried?] And the gander cried."

"I have good news to bring and that is why I sing... I'm gonna take a trip on that old gospel ship And go sailin' through the air." The singer advises others not to be ashamed of him/her, and admits to an inability to wait

In praise of Grandma, who raised 21 kids right and lived the good life. "Old Grandma when ... infants came and times got bad, She stuck right on to old Grand-dad." "But young girls now are the other way: They're up all night and sleep all day"

The Liza leaves Sydney for Halifax and "Missus Hone's." Grandpa Hones tells tales. The girls welcome the sailors home. Grandma goes to bed and "leaves us all night with her daughters to sport"

Old Granite State, The: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #V36573}

"We have come from the mountains (x3) From the Old Granite State; With a band of music (x3) We are passing 'round the world." The song introduces the singers, their state of New Hampshire, and their progressive ideas

"Old Granny she rose in the morning so soon,.. Saying, 'They're wronging my children that's over the sea." She meets Lord Cornwall, Lord Bute, Lord North, Lord Granville, and complains about the Tea Act. They argue; she wishes her children success

Concerning a man's dead wife, whose return he fears: "On Saturday night my good wife died, On Sunday she was buried, But Monday was my courting day, And Tuesday I got married. Now, lookit here, and lookit there, and look way over yonder..."

Concerning an old gray mare (old gray horse, little black bull) that came out of the wilderness (down the meadow, etc.) in Alabam/Arkansas/A long time ago/On to Galilee. Other animals may also be involved. May be used as a playparty

"Mr. Thomas had an old gray mule, And he drove him to a cart, And he loved that mule and the mule loved him." The song describes how Thomas mistreats the mule (currying it with a rake, feeding it on boot tops). The mule kicks and eventually dies

"In '76, or thereabouts, when the Black Hills made the strike," large ox trains brought in supplies -- and suffered in the drought along the way. The diggers couldn't have done without them. The singer asks three cheers for them and "for Old Grazin' Ben"

"The old grey duck she stole her nest and laid up in the fields, And when the young ones they came forth they had no tails or heels." Many eggs don't hatch; the other ducklings die. They will tie up the old grey duck in the barn so it doesn't happen again

Old Grey Mare (II), The: (9 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3442}

"Once I had an old grey mare (x3), Saddled her and rode her there." "When I got there she got tired, She laid down in an old courtyard." The singers in the yard scare her, and she flees; she singer finds her "in a mud hole flat on her back."

Old Grey Mare (III), The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3039}

.".. of traitors now beware There's none but men would glory win can ride my old Grey Mare. In Erin's Isle in ancient times She was rode by Brian Boru" and other heroes and others "not long ago" and "Brave Bonaparte" as well.

"We would roll our swags on Friday, Leaving shanties near and far," to "gather round the barrel In the old gumdiggers' bar." That was long ago, and the shanties are gone, but the singer still recalls singing -- and drinking -- at the old bar

"Driftin' along the rim-rock, old Camp-Robber and I," the poet thinks of the boss who is now rich -- and has had a religious conversion and is married. The boss still likes the poet even though "I haven't changed my damn religion"

"So early in the morning, Old Harrison he goes out, You'll always see a drop or two a-hangin' to his snout, His snout both long and crooked, a little Roman, too." "The Whigs' throats are all sore, their noses are all blue From shouting for hard cider"

"It's of the Eau Claire River, a stream I'm sure you know, It's of a crew of shanty boys who worked through the snow, And as to old Hazeltine, he's a lousy son-of-a-bitch... For the cheating... and the stabbing of his crew, I think he's an old screw."

"We work for Hay and Company; we try to do what's right. We start at six in the morning and quit at six at night." The three workers, "old Holly, Crab, and me," work hard, then relax in the evening

"Old honest Abe, you are a babe In military glory. An iron fool, a party tool, A traitor, and a Tory." The singer challenges Lincoln to "whup us if you're able." Scott and Wool cannot win his battles; Scott can never defeat his mother

The singer goes out and has "good luck," having sex with 14 women. He has less fortune at home, having only animals available. Other verses may involve other exploits of his "old horny kebri-o." Chorus: "Shaggin', shaggin', shaggin' away...."

"De old hoss kick And a hippy-doodle. De old hoss kick And a hippy-doodle. The old hoss kick hard in the stable, And he couldn't git his foot out Because he wasn't able!"

Old House at Home, The: (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #13881}

"Oh, the old house at home where my forefathers dwelt, When a child at the feet of my mother I knelt," where his mother taught him to behave, and the flowers bloom. "Now the old house is no dwelling for me," but the singer still dreams of it

"When age has rendered some old hulk Unfit for merchant use, She's sold at auction, bought in bulk, Just for a whaling cruise." The singer described the dreadful conditions on a whaling ship, and laments that after all the toil he is still poor

"All people that on earth do dwell, Sing to the Lord with cheerful voice." Alternately, "Make ye a joyful sounding noise, Unto Jehovah, all the earth." The listener is reminded that Jehovah is God, and is advised to enter "his courts with thankfulness."

"Mr. Cargill in the Council Made such a funny speech... That it devolved on each... To preserve... The Old Identity." Will Cargill demand that the old Scottish immigrants go back to kilts and porridge? Satirizes immigration controls and identity politics

"An old Indian sat in his little canoe, / A-floating along o'er the water so blue. / He sang of the days when these lands were his own, / Before the palefaces among them were known." A lament for the loss of the Indians' land and culture

The singer says there is no place in the country to match Inishowen's beauty. He lists the places nearby: Tyrconnell, the castle of Cahir. He laments that O'Donnell (of Tyrconnell) and O'Doherty (of Inishowen) are dead. He blesses his home

"In the northwest of Europe there lies a green isle" land of majestic hills and fertile fields. The singer came from Columbia to view Ireland, and now praises Saint Patrick for a land without snakes. The singer bids farewell but says his heart will stay

"Oh, Erin's Isle, my heart's delight, I long to see thee free." O'Connell fought to make Ireland free. "If you were free as once we were How happy would we be! No foreign landlord then would dare To lord it over thee"

Charles thinks his horse Old Jack should win a silver cup. Old Jack is a bag of bones, always hungry to eat anything. Nevertheless, he wins a trotting match race.

"One cold and frosty mornin' Just as the sun did rise, The possum roared, the raccoon howled, 'Cause he'd begun to freeze... Old Jesse was a gentleman among the olden times." Remaining verses are floating stanzas about a Black's learning and life

"Old Jimmy Johnson rolled a jug around the hill, I got a bottle and I want to get it filled." "Old Jimmy Johnson rolled a jug around the hill, I got an interest in a two dollar bill."

Bill took the gun, Bill went a-huntin'/Bang went the gun, down went the mutton, baa!" and similar verses about an inept farmer. Cho: "Can't dance that, can't dance nothin'/I wouldn't give a blank for the old Jimmy Sutton, baa!"

"There was a wealthy Irishman On Cranberry Isles did dwell, He had a handsome daughter, Old Joe he loved her well." Because Joe is rich, all agree Sarah Ann should marry him. But she misses her old boyfriend and wonders at Joe's behavior

"Old Joe Camp when he came to town, He enlisted under Captain Brown, Brown swore him on the very first slap, And sent him off to Manassas Gap." Brown rides Joe, who vows to desert, is captured (?), and is "fired back" to Brown

Old Joe Clark, a "fine old man" and a "preacher's son," lives an improbable life of courting, gambling, drinking, and sundry accidents. Versions range from the thoroughly clean (often involving animals) to the significantly bawdy

"Old Joe Shuffle, he walked with a limp, Old man Shuffle he walked with a stick... For he limped, and he kicked at a wheel." He was a potter, and "loved his corn likker" that he put in his own jug. He died at a wheel, seeing snakes, killing his own drakes

"Old John Booker, call that gone!" (repeated frequently, usually in groups of three). "I'm goin' down to telephone!" "Old John Booker, he feel like this!" "I'm goin' down -- on the farm!"

John Brown had an old mare. He wasn't bid one farthing for her at Caister fair. He had a cow that gave only enough milk for his sow. His hens got in his corn; he shot at them but killed his mare. He killed another mare running her head into a tree

Johnny Booger takes a wife. Doctor tells Johnny to rub her bad leg with gin. He thinks that a sin so he drinks the gin and rubs her leg with the bottle. Johnny falls in the river and there is no one to pull him out. He dies but can't get in heaven.

"Old Johnny Walker's dead and gone, dead and gone, dead and gone... He never died before." He had a wife who died, then he killed her, then she rose and had three more children. He children go sliding on thin ice; they all fall in or run away

"Old Johnston thought it rather hard To ride over Beauregard; Old Johnston proved the deuce of a battle, And it's clear beyond a doubt That he didn't like the rout, And the second time he thought he'd try another." The Great Galena is also mentioned

"Old Judas was a traitor and the worst of his kind. He had a bag of money that he carried all the time." The singer details Judas's betrayal of Jesus, and his death, wonders why Jesus chose such a disciple, and warns others against love of money.

Judge Duffy "knew nothing about rules of the law," but "of judges he was one of the best." When the town's only blacksmith is clearly guilty of murder, Duffy orders a Chinese laborer hanged instead, because the blacksmith is needed

"My name is old Jack Palmer, I'm a man of olden day, And so I wish to sing a song To you of olden praise. To tell of merry friends of old...." The singer describes his mates who gathered around "the old keg of rum," their work and their drinking

"You may go east, you may go west And sighs so grand you'll see. But after all, Kentucky is The place you'll wish to be." The singer describes the scenery, the "women always fair," the hospitality, the farming, etc. and hopes to be buried in Kentucky

"Old King Buzzard floating high, 'Sho do wish old cow would die.' Old cow died, old calf cried, 'Oh mourner, you shall be free.'"

Cumulative: "Old King Cole was a merry old soul, and a merry old soul was he. He called for his pipe and he called for his bowl and he called for his --- three." Sundry (soldiers/courtiers) are called in, make suitable remarks, and wait for the next rank

Old King Cole (II): (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1164}

"Old King Cole was a jolly old soul And this you may tell by his larnin', He eat corn bread till his head turn red And his old yellow cap needs darnin" Other verses are floaters: "My pretty little pink," "Coffee grows," "I'll take my knapsack on my back"

Jump-rope rhyme. "Old King Cole Was a merry old soul, He tried to get to heaven on a telephone pole."

Cumulative. Old King Cole was a merry old soul... He called for his pipe and he called for his bowl and he called for his Privates three. Beer! Beer! Beer! Said the Privates. What merry men are we! But none so fair that we can compare to the (somebody)."

The singer describes the conditions in Kingston Jail. The inmates talk of their desire to leave. Most of the song is devoted to the varied characters found in the prison

Singer, a restless logger, leaves "Kitarden" (Katahdin), Maine. Arriving in Michigan, he is set to cooking instead of logging; he reminisces; when he and his friends arrive in Saginaw they will "make the taverns roar" with toasts to Kitarden and the girls

"Old lady came from Booster, She had two hens and a rooster, The rooster died, toe old lady cried, She couldn't get eggs like she used to." "Ranky tanky, button my shoe." "Pain in my head, ranky tanky; Pain in my shoulder... Pain all over me, ranky tanky"

"There was an old lady of Amsterdam, She was a fine old lass, And every time she turned around, She showed her great big... ankle bones." And similar verses about her son, her daughter, and her travels to town

Old Lady of Botany Bay, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #5105}

"There came an old woman/man from Botany/Poverty Bay, And what have you got to give me today? And you mustn't say Yes, o or nay, black, white, or gray."

"Old Lady Sally wants to jumpty-jump, Jumpty-jump, jumpty-jump... And Old Lady Sally wants to bow." The singer says to throw in a hook to catch a girl, notes there are "many fishes in the brook," and describes a preacher trying to preach his way to heaven

A ring-skipping song. "Choose the one the ring go round, Choose the one the morning, Choose the one with the coal black hair, And kiss and call her honey."

Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly: (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #9375}

Singer says he knows an old lady who swallowed a fly; "I don't know why she swallowed that fly/Perhaps she'll die." She swallows a succession of animals, each to catch the last. At the end, "I know an old lady who swallowed a horse/She's dead, of course."

"Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, Killed Old Lead and home he run, Old Lead was eat, and John was beat, And Mary ran bawling down the street." How a drifter named John killed a tree dog named "Old Lead" and was punished for it

Old Leather Breeches, The: (13 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #923}

"At the sign of the bell, on the road to Clonmel, Paddy Hegarty kept a night shaybeen." When a party arrives demanding food and drink, Paddy supplies liquor, but for food can only cut up his leather breeches. When the trick is discovered, a riot ensues

Old Log Cabin for Sale, An: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #25819}

"While strolling alone in the country... I found an old log cabin, So beautiful there to behold." Someone there says "There's no place like home." The singer sees a time when the cabin and the "old oaken bucket and well" are sold because no one wants them

Old MacDonald Had a Farm: (17 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #745}

(Old MacDonald's) farm features a wide variety of livestock, described cumulatively, e.g. with the pig making an oink here and an oink there, the cow a moo-moo here and there, etc. until the entire farm is sounding off

The old maid prepares for bed by removing her teeth, wig, and glass eye. She then discovers the burglar hiding under her bed. She threatens to shoot him if he will not marry her. He answers, "Woman, for the Lord's sake, shoot!"

Old Maid's Song (I), The: (27 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #802}

An old maid laments her state, noting that her (two) sister(s were) popular, but she's been ignored all her life. She says she'd accept almost any man, and lists the good things she'd do for him

"Oh, Father, I'm sixteen years of age; I'm weary of my life.... I think it's almost time for me to be made a wife." Her father calls men liars; she points out that her mother married younger and her sister also. She says, "Don't let me die a maid"

"All you that are single and wild in your ways, Come sow your wild oats in your youthful days, And you shall live happy, You shall live happy when you grow old. The day is far spend and the night's coming on So give us your arm and go jogging along...."

Old Man at the Mill, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #733}

"Same old man, sitting at the mill/Mill turns around of its own free will...ladies go forward and the gents fall back." This is followed by floating verses, many taken from "The Birds' Courting Song (Leatherwing Bat)"

The singer's mother tells her to open the door to an old man. He is come to court her; she will not have him; he is too old. The girl's mother makes her to offer him various attentions; she does, and the old man spoils each. (At last he is sent home)

"Old man Daisy, what makes you so (lazy/crazy)? Up the ladder, down the ladder, One, two three, Bee-bee-bumble bee, Cedar Cider, Mustard pepper, One, two three."

An old man courts a young woman, whose mother advises her what to do when they are married -- all to no sexual avail.

The singer and Bill Chippen are out of food when they spot a kangaroo. Chippen attacks the beast, which seizes him. The singer shoves his tucker-bag over the 'roo, then cuts off its tail. The animal drops dead; the two feed on its tail

"Old man thought he knew a thing or two Because he knew a thing or two he thought he knew. Old man thought he knew a thing or two. He made them all play ball."

"Old man, old man, can I have your daughter? Yes sir, yes sir, take her if you want her." "Get her old duds and put her up behind"; whip her if she misbehaves. The singer hopes she will "bake my bread and carry my water." Animals go walking together.

"My grandfather worked when he was very young, And his parents grieved that he should." He worked hard for very little reward all his life. He joined the union, and stayed true all his life. His last words instruct his family to stick with the union also

"When I was young and in my prime, I could get a hard on any time," but now he is old and is almost non-functional. The singer tells of all the things he used to be able to do, and warns listeners, "The time soon will ome when you'll be the same as I."

"There was an old (wo)man had three sons, (Jerry) and James and John. Jerry was hung, and James was drowned, John was lost and never found, And there was the end of (her) three sons, Jerry and James and John."

Old mare is stuck in a bog "and they couldn't get her out." Finally they get her out but she makes her will and dies. The sheep dog will have her bones and the old mistress shall "have my skin to wrap herself"

An old married couple think back to their marriage day "but now they're aged and feeble." When she dies he buries her and sits by the fireside remembering. "You gave me your love You took my name For forty years of married life"

Lyrics about a slave promised freedom by his mistress -- but the freedom does not arrive as scheduled. Many floating verses about southern life. Chorus: "O mourner, you shall be free... When the good Lord sets you free."

Mayflower runs ashore with its cargo of dry fish and ale. After the cargo is stolen we take the pail, jars, kettle, and, finally, the wood. "And that was the end of the old Mayflower"

"I'm getting old and feeble and I cannot work no more, I've laid my rusty mining tools away, For forty years and over I have toiled about the mines." He recalls buying a lamp at age 11, became a driver, a miner -- but now he must go to the almshouse

"Old Miss Ruckett she done kicked the bucket And gone to heaven above, Sitting up there on the topmost bough Singing like a turtle dove."

Singer lands in America in 1844 and works in the pinewoods. An Irish girl offers him whiskey and looks him over. He describes the teamsters with whom he works. Song may have many floating verses and a nonsense chorus.

Fiddle tune with words, often of the form, "Old Molly Hare, What('r) you doin' there?" followed by a reply, e.g. "Sitting in the briarpatch, combing out my hair."

Old Mont Line, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #19849}

"Come gather 'round me lads... Oh, maybe you don't believe me, lads... But ship in this starvation tow and you'll see the same as I." "There one Mont, two Monts, three Monts in a row." The sailors take a dull trip up the Lakes and grumble about the owner

"Old Moses smote the waters, Hallelujah! Old Moses smote the waters, huh!..." "The waters they divided...." "The children passed over...." "Old Pharaoh's host got drownded...." "I see that ship a-coming...." "She'll take us on to glory...."

At Plymouth Mother Crawley welcomes a ship and offers goods to sailors. The next day she asks for her pay and complains that sailors pay their girls first. "Our ship she's got orders for Botany Bay, The girls and the bumboats must all lose their pay"

"Old Mother Goose, When she wanted to wander, Would ride through the air, On a very fine gander."

"Old Mother Gray, Can we go out to play? We won't get near the water To shoo the ducks away." "Chldren, where have you been? To Grandmother's house... What did she give you? Strawberries and cream. Where's my share? Up in the air."

Adventures of staff and guests at Mother Head's. "Nobody knows what the sailors eat; Cast no remarks about your meat; But eat your pie, and close your mouth, In the hungry starving boarding house"

Old Mother Hubbard: (7 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #19334}

"Old Mother Hubbard Went to the cupboard To get her poor dog a bone, But when she got there The cupboard was bare And so the poor dog had none." Additional verses tell of Mother Hubbard's efforts for the dog and how almost all fail

"Old Mother Mason broke her basin, Traveling down to the railway station, How much do you think it cost? Penny, twopence...." Or, "Mrs. Mason broke her basin, Mrs. Frost asked how much it cost. Mrs. Brown said half a crown, Mrs. Flory said, What a story"

"Old Mother Riley had a little kid, Poor little blighter, he wasn't very big. He wasn't very big, and he wasn't very small. Poor lightly blighter, He only had one ball."

"I give you so much work to do, Use thimble, thread, and needle too, If you don't get it done before I come back, I'll give you a slap across your back. Old mother (Tipsy-toe/Tippety-toe)... I'll follow my mother wherever she go."

Riddle song(?). "Old Mother Twitchett had bout one eye, And a very long tail which she let fly, Every time she went through the gap, She left a piece of her tail in the trap." Answer: a needle/a needle and thread

Jump-rope rhyme. "Old Mother Whittlehouse Had a big fit, First she did the merry-go-round, And then she did the split."

The praises of mountain dew are sung. "Oh, they call it that good old mountain dew, And those who refuse it are few...." Doctor, preacher, conductor, lawyer (and, in some versions, Uncle Nort, Aunt June, Brother Bill) derive various benefits from it.

Jump-rope rhyme. "Old Mr. Kelly had a pimple on his belly, His wife cut it off and made it into jelly."

"Old Mrs. McQuade's dead." "How did she die?" The player may give any answer (perhaps ending with "like I"), e.g. "She died with her finger up like I."

Description of a whaling voyage. Crew faces months of cold and storms. Upon spotting a whale they give chase, harpoon and fight with the whale, trying to avoid being swamped or crushed. Gives detailed descriptions and is written in future tense.

The singer is in California remembering "friends I loved and youthful memories." "Take me back ... [to] the dear old hills of Newfoundland."

"Old Noah built himself an ark, The good old Christian soul," with all the animals below. The animals do their business, and "in due tie old Noah knew each couple would be three." He is relieved to reach land. Hearers are told not to ship mated animals

"Good old Noah built an ark, To save the soul of man; A vessel built of gopher wood, By God, the father, planned. Noah preached for years and years To change their awful ways." The flood comes; Noah is saved; listeners are advised to turn to Jesus

"When the Mormons drifted southward, He was one of the ten-span team, The biggest ox" the locals had seen. When the rest of the team and the Mormon escorts die, Old North alone brings the wagon through. He is set free for what he did

Old Oak Tree, The [Laws P37]: (21 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #569}

(Betsy) sets out from home to meet her love and never returns. Her widowed mother, after a long search, dies of grief. The girl's body is found during a hunt with the murderer's knife still there. He confesses the crime and (dies/kills himself)

"How dear to my heart are the scenes of the whaleship, When fond recollections bring them all back to me... The old oaken bucket, the tar-covered bucket, The ironbound bucket we all knew so well." Scenes from a whaling voyage

Old Oaken Bucket, The: (27 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #27512}

"How dear to this heart are the scenes of my childhood, When fond recollection presents them to view...: The old oaken bucket, the iron-bound bucket, The moss-covered bucket That hung in the well." The singer recalls being refreshed by its water

"Beautiful miss, fair little maid, Maiden with soft golden hair...." "Down by the lane and over stiles, Under the old oaken tree... There's somebody waiting for me." "Each evening she meets me... Sirs, listen, I'll tell you where."

Old Orange Flute, The: (7 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3013}

A Protestant man marries a Catholic woman, but his flute refuses to convert, and continues to play Orange songs. Ultimately it is burnt at the stake as a heretic.

Old Orange Tree, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #13425}

King William brought the Orange tree and planted it near London "and frighten'd Popery." He took the plant with him to the Boyne where it frightened King James and his men. Winter cropped the tree but in spring it will flourish, and bloom on July 12.

"Every time I see an old paint horse, I think of you, Old paint horse of mine that used to be." "Old horse, you never failed to bring me home." He recalls their adventures. Now the horse is buried, but the singer still thinks of their adventures

"The wind is fair and free, my boys... The steamer's course is north, my boys, And the Palmer we will see." The singer encourages his listeners to come with him to the gold fields; by working together, they can prosper

French-Canadian dialect song. Pete Bateese is chased by wolves. He climbs a tree. The wolves fetch beavers to gnaw it down. Pete pours out some "hooch"; the beavers get drunk and chew up the wolves instead. Pete comes down and cries for the wasted hooch

The singer sees "an old petticoat hanging high" and hangs his trousers near to "keep that old petticoat warm" He says "'Old trousers, I hope you're on form!'" "The night of the wedding ... the father he's dead; he was shot with a gun"

"Old Phoeba Ice was strong as an ox, Quick as a wink and sly as a fox." The chorus tells us of her illnesses, but "She's a darn good gal for the shape she's in." She stays up late to play fiddle at dances, so now that she's gone, they name a tune for her

""I once knew a man by the name of Pike, B'longed to the family of Riggins." Buying a mule, he heads to California to seek gold. He loses his mule trying to cross the Platte, and his supplies are lost. He turns around and goes home

Old Pod Auger Days, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #3739}

"Come and listen to my story Till I talk to you a while"; the poet will speak "Of the famous men and women Of the Old Pod Auger Days." People were more honest and capable. Animals were better. There were no automobiles. Shakespeare lived then

"There's a noble fleet of whalers a-sailing from Dundee... There's not another whaler that sails the Arctic Sea Can beat the old Polina, you need not try, my sons." The singer describes all the various ships which failed to outrace the Polina

Old Port Rockwell: (2 refs. 27K Notes) {Roud #10880}

"Old Port Rockwell has work to do, So he saddles his sorrel and rides away... the waiting wife... shrinks in terror as down the night Comes the wailing of Port's dread war cry, 'Wheat!'" Rockwell's cry means that a wife and children will be orphaned

"Gather round me, people, While I speak this last one word, I am on the gallows And I'll ne'er again be heard." The singer and Hard Rock Jim are miners; the singer finds a claim, tricks Hard Rock Jim into a fight with a bear, kills him, and is executed

"Straight over to Andy's the dog he did go, I asked them his name but they said, 'We don't know.'" The dog always stays until given a bone. Eventually they trap it. The singer advises against letting a dog roam free

"Thus drifting to sea on a hick of white pine, For the grub and the wages we've paid... true to our course, though the weather be thick, We set our broad sail as before And stand by the tiller that governs the hick Nor care we how we look from the shore"

Perhaps the remnants of a ragman's cry: "O ray, buttah, ray!" (x3), i..e. "Old rags, bottles, rags!"

Chorus: "Here, Rattler, Here." Rattler is a great tracking dog. When (Old Riley) escapes from prison, Rattler is put on his trail, and finds the man despite many distractions and even (the Brazos River) in the way

Recruiter(s) from the Black Watch tell a ploughboy the advantages of enlisting. Leave your rotten food and work. "If you chance to get a bairn" or would leave "Three little weans and a wife" "we'll soon rid your hand of that"

"Did you ever hear the story of the old Redskin? She's on the Whale Back with her side stove in, Her captain's gone and her whole darn crew, and her hold's full of fish and I don't know what to do." The singer mentions some of the boat's crew

Old River Driver, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #6514}

"I hired out at Saginaw, To work with Avery's men, 'Twas on the north branch of the Cass." The men make several stops on the long trip to the camp. They drink at each hotel, and pour whiskey on their feet to ease the pain.

"The romance has gone from the river towns, The rafts they come now more." In the old days, when the rivers turned brown, the logs came with them -- but those days are over, and the old loggers sit around and remember the "Golden Age"

Old Robin's young wife arranges with her lover Sir Gyles for 24 men to kill Robin. Warned by a page, he kills Gyles, then cuts off his wife's breasts and ears. He makes the page his heir, burns a cross into his shoulder and goes to the holy land.

(Old Bumpy) is dead and buried. An apple tree grows from his grave. An old woman comes to gather apples. Bumpy arises from his grave and kicks the woman for her temerity

Old Rub Alcohol Blues: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #12160}

Singer's "darling threw me down." His pockets are empty; he won't work and is walking the railroad ties. "Peace on earth I cannot find." "... one more plan ... Soak up the old rub alcohol Ease all troubles off my mind."

"On a hill far away Stood an old rugged cross, The emblem of shuffling and shame." The singer loves the cross, "Where the dearest and best For a world of lost sinners were slain." The singer will someday trade a cross for a crown

"I'm thinking tonight of the old rustic bridge... 'Twas there, Maggie dear, with our hearts full of cheer, We strayed 'neath the moon's gentle gleam." The singer recalls their happy meeting by the bridge, and all the joys they had there

No tune given, basically a poem recounting the various travails of sailors. Nine stanzas; begins "Come listen unto me a while and I will tell you then, the hardships and the misery of life on a merchantman..."

"Come all of you, my brother scouts, And join me in a song." The singer notes that "but few" old scouts are left alive. But the elk and buffalo are gone, and the Indians driven away: "We won great homes for gentle ones, And now, our West, goodbye."

A rich farmer's daughter courts a beggar wearing an old settoo. Her father tries unsuccessfully to dissuade her. She joins the beggar begging. They get married. "The cold of winter she never knew, For every night I rolled her in my old set-too"

Old Sheep Done Know the Road, The: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #12415}

"The old sheep done know the road (3x), The young lambs must find the way." Verse: "Shout my sister for you are free ... For Christ has bought your liberty" "Sooner in the morning when I rise ... With crosses and trials on every side"

"Old sheep went to sleep And left the lambs a-feeding, Little mouse jumped over the house And set his nose a-bleeding." Other verses also tell of off moments in animal life: A mare kicks a bear, a goat jumps into a boat, a goose breaks loose

Old Ship of Zion (I), The: (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4204}

Following the form of "She'll Be Coming 'Round the Mountain": "The old ship of Zion, when she comes, when she comes." "She rocks so steady any level when she comes." "Have your lamps trimmed and burning." "Have oil in your vessels."

Simeon made cans of ale. His journeyman, Jenkin, drank from every can. Simeon asks Jenkin, "to whom drink you?" Jenkin replies, "to you." Simeon says, "I spy a knave [that is, Jenkin] in drinking, Come trole [pass] the bole [bowl] to me"

Old Simon courts a young girl. She rejects him. He says he is rich. She says he is "not fit to wed with a young maid." He says he'll love her, be at her command and with riches she'll be like a queen. She agrees to "be married to your gold, you old man"

Old Sir Simon the King: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #19776}

"Old Sir Simon the king, And young Sir Simon the squire, And old Mrs. Hickabout Kicked Mrs. Kickabout Round about our coal fire."

"I'm an old canal-boat skipper with black snake in hand, So fare you well darling, my mules will not stand." The singer loves working on the tow-path. He has been on many waters, but this is the best. He will not rove. He lists his cargoes

Old Soap-Gourd, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #7387}

"Here we go round the old soap-gourd, theold soap-gourd, the old soap-gourd, Here we go round the old soap-gourd, Earlye in the morning." "The old soap-gourd likes sugar in his tea" as he finds a girl: "Rise and give me your lily-white hands."

Old Soldiers Never Die (I): (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #10521}

"There is an old cookhouse not far away Where we get sweet damn all three times a day. Ham and eggs we never see, damn all sugar in our tea, As we are gradually fading away. Old soldiers never die... They just fade away."

"Old soldiers never die, Never die, never die, Old soldiers never die, They just fade away." "Old soldiers never die, Never die, never die, Old soldiers never die -- Young ones wish they would." Perhaps add "This rain will never stop...."

"And the old sow went to the barn to pig, (whistling) barn to pig, And the old sow went to the barn to pig, But never cry di dry do cry da. For old Susanna is a pretty woman." The sow and piglets may try to escape, but are stopped by the wall.

Old Spencer Rifle,The: (1 ref. 1K Notes) {Roud #11499}

The singer tells of Johnny's visit, and his "shooting" her with his gun, no less than seven times. John does the mother too and goes off with his gun-barrel bent.

"It is pretty hard times for the farmer, Who lives by the sweat of his brow." He has to sell his cow to pay taxes, and can't pay the store But "The railroad bummers have lots of cash To spend at the Old State Mill." Times are hard many others as well

"Outside Casey's cabin there is an old stone wall." The singer recalls the sights the wall has seen: Friends meeting, youths singing, pipers playing, lovers meeting. He wishes he could live on the wall; not even a throne would be better

"Come along, boys, and let's go to meeting (x3), And wear our old straw bonnets." "Come along girls, and let's go with them...." "Mama, o Mama, I won't go to meeting." "No, no, Johnny, you can't go to meeting." "Never mind, Johnny, I'll tell your papa"

Leo B MacCormack and his brother Archie agree to dig Uncle Stones's well in exchange for "skin and bones" nag Stumper. When title is questioned Stumper asks "did you get a clear receipt?" At the trial title is settled in MacCormack's favor.

"T. I. [Thursday Island?] my beautiful home, T. I. my home sweet home, Darling won't you take me Where the sun is sinking farewell." "The sun and the moon that shine Make me long for home." "I'll be there forever, Where the sun is sinking, farewell."

Response lines alternate between "O-eee" and "Lord, Lord, the old Tar River." Leader lines include "Tar river runs black and dirty," "Tar river's going to run tomorrow," "Old Tar river is a healing water," "Old Tar river runs free and easy"

"The story of two and they loved each other, More than anyone ever know; The girl, she took the old consumption." They go to the mountain to try to cure her. Both of them die. They are buried together.

"In Genesis the world was made, In Exodus the march is told, Leviticus contains the law, In Numbers are the tribes enrolled." And so on to "...And Malachi of John his sign, The Prophets number seventeen And all the books are thirty-nine."

Race between Timbrook & Molly; Timbrook races "like a bullet from a gun", while Molly creeps along "like a criminal to be hung." Singer addresses jockey Johnny Walker. Timbrook beats Molly "to the hole in the wall." Singer says old mistress lost her "mon"

"Come all you melancholy folks wherever you may be, I'll sing about the cowboy whose life is light and free." We are told "his heart is gay," "they're a little bit rough... but if you do not hunt a quarrel you can live with them in peace," etc.

"We'll sound the hardy sealers praise, a wild and cheerful strain...." The singer notes that merchant vessels stop travelling in winter, but sealers work through all the dark. stormy months. At last they can come home from the ice

Old Time Sealers, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #V44869}

"The bells they are ringing, the sirens are screaming... The sealing fleet's ready to leave port once more." As snow blows in, the fleet sails. The singer tells of the hunt; he says sealers face dangers greater than mountain climbers or big game hunters

"Some folks say there's no such thing as good or evil luck; Success depends on labor, backed by energy and pluck" -- but the singer has worked hard for fifty years and gotten nowhere. His friend never lives well but never works. Of course it's luck

"I've trampled around the country some, Twixt Mexico and Maine.... But 'Old Tioga County,' boys, She's good enough for me." Her scenery is better than the River Shannon's, her fruit is the sweetest, her daughters prettier than those of Paris

"The times are bad and want curing, They're getting past all enduring, Let us turn out old Martin Van Buren, And put in old Tippicanoe." A political song, this piece points out the depressed economic conditions and Tippicanoe's humble origins.

"There was an old (soldier) and he had a wooden leg. He had no tobacco; no tobacco could he beg." He asks a comrade for tobacco, and is refused. He is told to save; then he will have tobacco. He gets even by stabbing the other with a splinter from his leg

Old Tom Bolen (Tom Boleyn II): (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #7632}

"Old Tom Bolen, his horse Beaver, Forked Deer and Hatchee River, My wife's dead and I'm a widower, And I'll go back to Rollin' River."

"An old lady sat by the fire, An she thought no one was nigh her... And she pulled up her petticoat higher." "The old tom cat saw something naked, an for a rat or a mouse did take it," and attacks, with raucous results

"Bright Chanticleer proclaims the dawn" and dogs and huntsmen gather. "This day a stag must die." They drink, joke, and start the hunt. "Fleet Towler leads the cry." The stag is killed. "The huntsman's pleasure is no more. His joys were in the chase"

"Morn's breakin' over de ole Ranch before de moon's gone way," meaning frost is coming. In artificial black dialect, the speaker describes all the signs in nature which reveal that "dere's gwine to be some trouble mighty soon"

"All hands up and circle left; All the way round. Half way 'n back. Dance, Tucker, Dance. Swing your partner on a corner.... Dance, Old Tucker, While you're young, When you get old, you can't dance none... Gents choose a partner"; the one left is Tucker's

Old Turkey Hen, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #21018}

"Seven years a-boiling, Ho-ma-hala-way, Seven years a-baking, Ho-ma-hala-way." "They blowed the horn for dinner... The people could not eat her." "They carried her to the old field... The buzzards could not eat her...."

"Old (Tyler/Napper) was a good old dog, We thought he'd treed a coon, But when we come to find it out Old Tyler was barking at the moon...." The song tells of Tyler's eccentricities and how Allegheny finally shot the animal

Old Uncle Noah: (11 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #5355 and 21054}

"Old Uncle Noah built him an ark / He built it out of hemlock bark... The animals went in two by two / The elephant and the kangaroo... Mrs. Noah she got drunk / She kicked old Noah out of his bunk..."

Old Virginia Low Lands Low, The: (3 refs. 40K Notes) {Roud #V6777}

"Ye Tars of Columbia, and listen to my song; It's of a Union battery, I won't detain you long: She was built by Ericcson, a famous man is he"; she fought the Merrimac after the latter beat the Cumberland and Congress "in the old Virginia lowlands, low"

Old Virginny Never Tire: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #751}

Floating verses: "There is a gal in our town... The hollow of her foot makes a hole in the ground." "As I was walking... I met a terrapin and a toad." Chorus: "Old folks, young folks, clear the kitchen (x2), Old Virginny never tire."

"Now all you children stay at home, And be good girls while I am gone; Let no one in... Especially you, my daughter Sue, Or else I'll beat you black and blue." A witch tries to lure the children away from the mother

A woman is bringing a pig home where her servant-boy waits. The pig won't cross a bridge. She tries to get a dog to scare it; the dog won't bark. A stick won't beat the dog. At last she finds enough tricks to get the pig across the bridge and go home

Old Woman Clothed in Grey: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1694}

"An old woman clothed in grey, Whose daughter was charming and one, Chanc'd to be once led astray By Roger's false flattering tongue." The daughter gets pregnant. The mother demands Roger marry her, and gives him houses and lands in exchange

"If you marry a wife she'll have her own way, For she has such a habit of drinking her tea." They spend all your money on tea and leave the housework to you. "Bang the tea kettle and crockery ware, Break all the tea tackle that you can come near"

"There was a little woman, as I've heard tell, Fol loll, diddle diddle dol, She went to market her eggs for to sell." She falls asleep along the road. A peddlar cuts off her skirts at the knee. Panic ensues when she awakens

"It hangs in the bunkhouse right over the door, A relic of cow-punchin' trail days of yore... That old yellow slicker I wore on the range." The singer never went on the trail without it. It protected him from cold and rain. Now it brings back memories

"Allen says, 'Ma, bring here a pry, I think Old Yellow's a-going to die.' Louis says, 'What'll I eat with bread, For they tell me that Old Yellow is dead.'" The crew sets out to skin the animal; Allen blisters his hands tanning it; they haul the hide away

"Ole Zip Coon he is a larned scholar (x3), Sings possum up a gum tree an coony in a holler." Chorus: "O Zip a duden duden duden zip a duden day (x4)." The remaining verses are quatrains about the people and animals of the south

"White man in his cotton field, doin' pretty well; Nigger in his melon patch, givin' his melons -- Hallelujah, Old Zip Coon, keep singin'...." "Lord made Adam and Eve, An' they done pretty well, Soon as he turned his back on Eve, she gave them apples --"

"'Twas in the year of 1940, the day was calm and still When an old-time Kauri bushman wandered up a northern hill" to a kauri tree above his farm -- one of the last such trees. He plans to cut it down to build a home. He and the tree die at the same time

"We sit around the camp at night when the daily work is o'er And listen to the lumberacks who logged in days of yore." The old lumberjacks claim that everything was bigger in the old days. The singer doubts it, but expects to tell his own tales in time

Verses end "all of you old time rounders You'd better lie down." Captain wakes us at four "can't see nothin' but stars and moon." Same old food. "If I'd known my captain was mean" I would have stayed in Florida; I'm going back "won't have to plow no mule"

Old-Time Sealing Fleet, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #V44748}

"Newfoundland has many stories that can make a heart beat fast." The singer recalls how the sealing fleet excited him as a boy. He tells how seeing seals inspired them, and of past disasters. He says that Newfoundlanders can still dream of heroic deeds

Kate is married in "1602." There's a dance followed by drink, partying, and a friendly fight.

The singer recalls "thrilling stories of the past." "Round the cairns where great ones lie, Their bold requiem, 'No Surrender' lives while soulless slanderers die" Past heroic deeds are like seedlets that may flower in the present.

Jump-rope rhyme. "Oldsmobile, Chevrolet, Studebaker, Ford, Now I jump my shining cord."

Dialect song in which Ole describes coming to the north woods and gives a few details of how he works driving logs down the river. "Ay yus come down from Minnesota/Ay been in this part 'bout three year" but protests that Ole is not his name.

"Ole Granny Rattletrap, Settin' on a log, Finger on the trigger, And eye on a hawg."

Ole Massa's Going Away: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #21033}

"Ole Massa's goin' away, boys, He's goin' to see his brother. We'll wait till he gets out of sight, Then we'll throw down the hoe and shovel."

"Ole Mister Rabbit, You're in a mighty habit, Gwine in mah garden, Cuttin' down mah cabbage. Um-hum -- um-hum." "Ole Mister Rabbit, Your hair look brown, You'se gwine so fas', You'se hittin' de groun'." The singer tries to get back at the rabbit

"Ole Tommy Finlayson Is a bit of rusty tin, So stick him in the rubbish bin, And there'll be no more of him."

The singer sings the praises of "Ole, Oleanna," where "land is free," the crops grow themselves, the livestock cooks itself, and "the poorest wretch... becomes a king in a year or so."

"And I lay ten dollars down, Will count them one by one, If any man will show me the man That struck Pete, Old Tom Morey's son."

Oliver Cromwell Lost His Shoe: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #20511}

"Oliver Cromwell lost his shoe (or "Queen Elizabeth lost her shoe") In the battle of Waterloo. It happened on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday...."

Jump-rope rhyme. "Oliver jump, Oliver jump, Oliver jump jump jump. Oliver kick, Oliver kick, Oliver kick kick kick. Oliver Twist, Oliver Twist, Oliver Twist Twist Twist."

Oliver Twist You Can't Do This: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #19229}

Jump-rope rhyme. "Oliver Twist, he can't do this, So what's the use of trying?" "Number one, touch your tongue." "Number two, touch your shoe," etc., ending "Goodbye Oliver Twist."

Oliver's Advice (Barossa): (8 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #2182}

As storm, night, and the enemy approach, the soldiers are advised, "Put your trust in God, my boys, and keep your powder dry." The soldiers are reminded of all God did for the Israelites. They should trust in God also

The singer "caroused and gambled" many places but his "heart was achin' for Omagh Town!" Even wined and dined in London and New York City he longs for Omagh Town. "When life is over ... I'll never grumble If Heaven's as charmin' as Omagh Town!"

"Wakonda dhedhu Wapadin atonhe (x2)." Or "Wakantanka, Wakantanka, Dé Doo, Aton-Hé, Wapatain, Aton-Hé. The singer prays to "the Father" (God? The Great Spirit?) that he is "needy" and stands before the Father

"It was on a cold December night, 'Twas the eve were Christmas morn," a wife and child wait in a hut with broken windows for their drunkard husband. After just ten years of marriage, their home is broken. The freezing boy declares he feels warmer and dies

"On a cold frosty morning a nigger feels good; He shouldered up his axe and went off to the wood." He all but freezes in the cold. (Various other observations about his life. The song may complain about white men's privilege)

"On a cold winter's eve when the snow was fast falling, In a small humble cottage a poor mother lay, Although wracked with pain, she lay there well-contented, WIth Christ as her friend...." She bids farewell and says her family will meet again

On a Dark and Doleful Night: (1 ref. 1K Notes) {Roud #11927}

"'Twas on a dark and doleful night, When power of hell and earth arose... And friends betrayed him to his foes." "Before the mournful scheme began, He took the bread...." "This is my body broke[n] for sin." "[He] took the cup...."

"In this wonderful isle Everyone is wearing a smile Come on enjoy yourself. Don't stay up there in the shelf ... native guitars ... take a buggy ride and watch the moon ... with your lover by your side"

The singer overhears "a maid complain for the losing of her dear," gone to sea aboard a man-of-war. She dresses as a sailor to follow him. After seven years they come home and live happily ever after

On Board of a Ninety-eight: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1461}

The singer was a rake at sixteen when his parents, afraid he would waste all their money, ship him on a man-of-war. When battle begins, he wishes he could run away but at Trafalgar he fights well. Now "I'm too old to sail, for I'm almost ninety-eight"

On Board of the Victory: (11 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2278}

"I am a young girl whose fortune is great." Her father has her lover, "below my degree," impressed. After a fight with the press-gang he is shipped aboard the Victory. She dreams of being with him on board and prays for his return.

Singer joins the Bugaboo at the James's Street canal. They "plow the raging surf ... to get a full load of turf." In a storm the captain, smoking in bed, starts a fire. The helmsman, asleep, lets the fire burn. The ship sinks with 1000 sods and 60000 men

Sam or Tom have "gone away On board da Magalena." The singer "wish ah was ah sailor On board de Magalena." "Ah wish ah was a cleaner On board de Magalena Would a-clean up every corner ... Would sail to every harbour"

"For on a thistle I sat doun, I nearly jumpit tae the moon (x2), For the lass that stole my hankie." Jean MacNeil is fair, fat, wears her hair open, has big feet and a flat face. When she cursed her bloomers fell and she stuck her arse out of the window.

"On Buena Vista's battlefield A dying soldier lay, His thoughts was on his mountain home Some thousand miles away." The wounded soldier bids farewell to (family and) sweetheart and prepares for the end

On Christmas Day It Happened So: (3 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #1078}

A farmer goes out to plow on Christmas day. Jesus meets him there and asks him what he is doing. The farmer nervously says that he needs to work. Obviously this is not acceptable; the farmer is swallowed up by the ground and his family dies

"On Christmas night all Christians sing To hear what news the angles bring (x2), News of great joy and of great mirth, News of our sweet redeemer's birth. "Then why should men on earth be so sad?" "Then out of darkness we see light."

On Eli's Sunny Hill: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #4874}

"On Eli's Sunny Hill I stand, And cast a wicked eye, Down toward Bill McFarland's - don't let that hat pass by; Drop in a nickel, brother Burnett, 'Tis the river of Delight"

"On Friday last at half past two, two love stricken chaps... met for satisfaction raps; One of them Gus Healey was, the other Dooley Din... Miss 'Blank' green heart to win. The police intercede, and Din "got well oild off behind John Casey's barn"

"On Gibraltar's slopes so firm and steep, A lovely maid lay down to sleep, And as she lay in sweet repose, A gust of wind blew up her clothes" -- but a sailor who chances by, "to his despair, He was the red flag flying there."

"I was a handsome nice young man... And all day long I'd sport and play... Till I was sent to Gravelly Bay To work upon a dredge." He meets a girl. Her mother dislikes him. He concludes that the girl flirts to get gifts from many men

On Ilkla Moor Bah T'at: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2143}

On the dangers of visiting the moor without a hat: One singer tells the other he has been (courting) on the moor without a hat. He is told he'll die of cold. They will bury him, and worms will eat him; ducks will eat them, people eat ducks, and so it goes

On Johnny Mitchell's Train: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7725}

"I'm an honest union laboring man, And I'll have you understand.... It was Baer and Morgan done it." Having nothing else to do, the singer will ride on "Johnny Mitchell's train." He mentions his troubles with (J. P.) Morgan and Schwab. He bids farewell

"On leome is in this world ilist, Therof is muchel pris; Arisen is God and that is rist, From deth to lif." Christ suffered and rose for our redemption. Mary watched the crucifixion. We should be thankful.

On Longside Road (Auld Lang Syne): (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5583}

"On Longside Road I've often trod... 'Twas there I spied another maid In the arms of my dear." The singer hisses her anger: "You think I that I could love you still?" She is resolved "to shun your company." But she would take old lovers into her home

French-Canadian dialect song. Singer reports work in the Michigan lumber camps, but it's exhausting, the pay is irregular, there are diseases and snakes. Chorus: "Come all you great beeg Canada man/Who want fin' work on Meesh-e-gan...."

On Mules We Find Two Legs Behind: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #15362}

"On mules we find two legs behind And two we find before, We stand behind before we find What the two behind be for." Or listeners may be warned to "beware the two behind"

Song of religious ecstasy. "On my journey now, Mount Zion/Well I wouldn't take nothing, Mount Zion/For my journey now." Singer is walking along, the "elements opened and the love come down"; he goes to the valley; "my soul got happy/And I stayed all day."

On My Journey Home (I): (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #6679}

Chorus: "I feel like, I feel like I'm on my journey home." Verses are floating: "When I can read my titles clear...." "Should earth against my soul engage...." "Let cares like a wild deluge come...."

"Well I woke up early this mornin', I was a-feelin' mighty wrong... that black gal, she had done gone." "She's gone to her mama." 'I knocked on Mama's door." "She said, 'Get away you mistreater.'" "On my way to Mexico" "I got arrested."

Collection of floaters including "On my way to New Orleans, Black cat sitting on the sewing machine, Sewing machine ran so fast, Made ninety-nine stitches in the poor cat's...." For other floaters see notes.

On Patrick's Day in the Morning: (1 ref. 6K Notes) {Roud #2895}

The singer, 20, meets a spinster, 70. He says he's wealthy. She proposes, having money of her own. On the way to a dentist to fix her only tooth they stop for a drink, jump into the river, "and I lost her forever, On Patrick's day in the morning"

"In a neat little cot on the banks of the Murray Lived a wife of a family with children so poor." One lad is sent to the Dardanelles and fatally wounded. He makes his will and dies; his little daughter and the entire family grieve

On the Banks of the Old Mohawk: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #15667}

"It's all about my sweetiest Julia, And she looked just as natural as she lie. They buried her deep... On the banks of the old Mohawk." The singer recalls the time they spent by the river. She was sewing when she became sick and died.

"I will sing you a song of sweet Julia... I never shall forget the first time we met On the banks of the old Omaha...." One day she heard a knocking at the door, and died that night. The singer's heart is still by her grave in that far-off valley

On the Banks of the Old Tennessee: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7374}

If the singer were a bird, he would fly to his love; if a fish, he would take her hook. But now she is dead and buried, and he is no longer willing to stay "on the banks of the old Tennessee."

The singer sees an Indian girl sitting alone but unafraid. She explains that her family is dead and her lover has abandoned her. He offers to take her "to a better land, to a pale-face countree." She will not come; she has vowed to stay there

"'Round my Indiana homestead wave the cornfields... But one thing there is missing from the picture, Without her face it seems so incomplete." The singer misses his mother and his sweetheart Mary, left in the graveyards of his home on the Wabash

"Come all you tender college folk, if you should have some fun, Come out among the cowboys, they'll show you how it's done." They dance with girls at balls. Their language is rough. They gamble heavily but are always generous

On the Benches in the Park: (1 ref. 1K Notes) {Roud #25349}

"If I were a night policeman, You may bet I'd have a lark, Watching all the spooning couples On the benches in the park."

On the Bluff (Alligator Song): (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #7493}

"'Twas on the bluff In the state of Indiana, Dat's where I useter lib." The singer is a good fisherman, but partial to drink; he fights with an alligator, only to find it is a log. He hides from a white man by playing a mile-post. At last he buries master

"Oh the coxswain of the launch he didn't stand a chance, On the booms, on the booms." Similarly for the coxswains of other boats, e.g. the coxswain of the "pinnace... didn't finish"; "...whaler was up another sailor," etc.

"When we were out in the ice and snow, It hailed and stormed, how the wind did blow... It was so cold we almost died." But they finally find safety in a lonely but fertile place, although religion is scarce. "Wish me safe to the Cumberland land"

"Well, old horse, you've brought me 'cross the line, There's a sheriff's posse ridin' close behind" but it will stop at the Rio Grande. The singer is always in trouble. He sees a horse he used to own, repossesses it, and flees, but no one believes him

The Boer War begins 11 October 1899 "when Ireland was deprived of some brave Irishmen. Married or single to the war they must go To die upon the field or to conquer the foe." The Boers are coming and the slaughter is greater than any since Bonaparte

"On the first of November last, My love and I was parted." He goes to fight the French. Even as she begs to come with him, he is killed. "Then she took up his armour bright." She kills the man who slew her lover, and leads the English troops to victory

"Good people of old England, come listen unto me, All you who live at home at ease and from all dangers flee." The British fleet comes to Charles Town and the Bristol runs aground. They fight the "blacks and Indians" and shatter the town

Singer comes home, finds the window propped, the door locked, and another man in his bed. He fires a shotgun; the man runs off. Another man arrives. Chorus: "(S)he's on the road again (just as sure as you're born)/Nat'chl born easeman on the road again"

On the Road to Bethlehem: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #9052}

A "merry company" comes to Bethlehem to obey the decree of "the governor." Mary and Joseph seek the inn, but there is no room. They go to a stable, where the baby Jesus is born. Eastern kings and shepherds come to visit

On the Road to California: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #8594}

"The Mormons, led by Colonel Cooke, while passing down St. Pedro's brook" are "On the road to California, on that hard and tedious journey." As they try to make their mules pull, bulls attack. When the battle is over, four mules and twelve bulls are dead

"We wallowed Lake Superior through, And then we reached Marquette, Where Billy Clark, our singing friend, By Charlie Turpin was shot." With Clark in the hospital and two other sailors ashore, the captain has to use the cook as a sailor and hire a woman

"On the eighth day of November In the year of ninety-one, The schooler Hercules set sail For the port of Parry Sound." The ship leaves Sarnia. The song describes the voyage and a storm. He names the sailors and bids good luck to captain Glass and crew

"Beware of George Farrin his schooner John Joe." Breakfast and dinner is fish soup. Supper is "thin hard bread." The singer had to fight George to get a decent meal from the cook. But, when he gets home it's back to "hard bread."

On the Shores of Havana: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4615}

"Many hearts were filled with sorrow and with sadness, Many hearts were torn with anguish and pain... for the heroes of our battleship, the 'Maine.'" A brief account of the destruction of the Maine, with comments about the lives of the sailors killed

"Come, my dear brother, let's comfort each other; There's whisky and gin, and brandy within; There's ale and good cider, that's fit for a king."

On the Sixteenth o' October: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5920}

A day of work: plowing in the morning, bundling straw, eating, then cleaning the horses and plowing again in the rain. "Noo my day's wark is finisht, and I'll hae a smoke, An' I'm boun' for my bed, for it's past nine o'clock"

Mrs. Brown locks the doors and keeps the keys to keep the boys away from Maggie. Drunk Johnny comes down the chimney but gets stuck on the bar that holds the chain and pothook. He takes the chimney apart to escape. Beware of that bar.

"The songs that we sang were about old Jack Lang On the steps of the Dole Office door. He closed up the banks, it was one of his pranks, And he sent us to the Dole Office door. We molested the police till they gave us relief..."

"His body doubled under the pack that sprawls untidily on his old back, the cold wet deadbeat plods up the track." The cook curses upon seeing him. The cook is urged to bring him in -- "for this is Christ"

"On the wings of a snow white dove He sends His pure sweet love." Noah was not forgotten. "When trouble surrounds us when evils come... He does not forget us"

"Oh come my brethren and sisters too, We're going to join the heavenly crew, To Christ our savior let us sing And make our loud hosannas ring. O, hallelujah...." "Oh, there's (Bill Thomas), I know him well...." (The singer lists sinners and their sins)

"On to the morgue, that's the only place for me (x2). Take it from the head one, he sure is a dead one. On to the morgue...." "Where will we all be one hundred years from now? (x2) Pushing up the daisies (x2), That's where we'll all be...."

On Top of Old Smokey: (52 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #414}

"On top of old Smokey, All covered with snow, I lost my true lover, From courting too slow." The singer laments (her) lover's infidelity, saying that a "false-hearted lover is worse than a thief." (She) claims one cannot trust one in a thousand

"On top of spaghetti, all covered with cheese, I lost my last meatball When somebody sneezed." It lands on the floor, or in the street, and goes rolling and has various adventures

A worried hare sits "o'er her lodgings." A huntsman sets his dogs on the hare. She escapes from the best dog. "Merrily as she trips the plain, And may she live to run again."

Once a Possum Hung A-swinging: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #14093}

"Once a possum hung a-swinging with his tail around a limb, Ad a jaybird stopped his singing just to take a look at him," leading a buzzard to sing, "Carolina, Carolina, with the corn and cane, I'se a-coming"; the singer talks of life there

"Once an apple met an apple; Said the apple to the apple, 'Why the apple don't the apple Get the apple out of here?'"

"Once I had a box of colours, What colour do you think it was?"

Once I Had a Daughter: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #2778}

Father has a daughter who leaves for Germany and returns and says "I have my sweetheart here." Father replies "I have no time to chat And I have no time to talk And I do not like the vagabond Who by your side does walk."

Once I Had a Sweetheart (I): (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4477}

"Once I had a sweetheart, A sweetheart brave and true, His hair was dark and curly, His cunning eyes were blue." But her sweetheart wanted to roam; he gave her a ring and departed (to become a soldier). He is killed far from home

"Once I had the (measles/scarlet fever), I had them very long, My mother wrapped me in a blanket And threw me in the pram." They go to the hospital. The singer is there for a week or two, then bids farewell to the doctors and nurses

"Once I had two hands full of gold, Beside a plentiful store, But I didn't have a shoe to my foot, Nor a hat upon my head (x2)."

"Once I led a happy life way out on the plains, Far away from city strife, with its grief and pain." The singer is "goin' back again, where I long to be. Goin' home, goin' home, Where the coyote howl and the cattle roam." He will not leave the range again

Once I Lived in Cottonwood: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #8014}

"Once I lived in Cottonwood and owned a little farm, When I was called to Dixie it did me much alarm." On his way to "Utah Dixie" his wagon breaks down and everyone is exhausted. The land will not grow cotton. Life is miserable in the new place

The singer and her lover vowed to marry but "all vows and protestations between us he broke." He's on the ocean and, though some say he'll not prosper, she wishes him "safe sailing and a fair wind to blow." Meeting is pleasure, parting grief, and so on.

"Once I saw a little bird Come hop, hop, hop, And I cried, 'Little bird, Will you stop, stop stop?" I was going to the window To say, 'How do you do?' But it shook its little tail And it flew away." (Or, "And away it flew, flew, flew," with gestures)

"Once I was single, boo hoo hoo hoo... I had nothing but peace and pleasure." "Now I've got married, boo hoo... Now I see nothing but a pack of trouble." When he said he loved her, it was only a story. He offers to go away; she tells him to keep going

The singer says when she was young she "hadna muckle wit." Now, older, she "hinna muckle yet." She promises to get worse as she gets older "until I get some bonnie laddie tae lie langside o' me"

"Once I went in swimming, Where there were no women, Down by the deep blue sea, Seeing no-one there, I hung my underwear Upon a willow tree. Someone saw me there, And stole my underwear, And left me with a smile."

"Once in a manger lowly, hundreds of years ago, A little babe so holy came to this world below. Near was... Bethlehem dark and cold." "Angels sang out the sweet story." No one takes in Joseph and Mary. The Magi visit the "gift from the world above."

Once More A-Lumbering Go: (16 refs.) {Roud #591 and 7088}

The singer calls on "all you sons of freedom" to "range the wild woods over and once more a-lumbering go." He briefly describes the work of cutting the trees, the sleighing and hunting, and the joyful return to their families

A sea captain sails before he can marry. He returns and finds the girl has left her father's house for a nunnery. There he finds she has gone to an asylum. At the asylum he finds she died the previous night. At her side he kills himself with his sword.

"Once there was a Chinaman, his name was Chicka Chalucha Pan. His teeth were short and his nails were long, and this is the way he went along: Chicka Chalu.... When this poor old man did die, in his coffin he did lie. They shipped his coffin to Japan...."

"Once there were greenfields, kissed by the sun, Once there were valleys, where river used to run... Once they were part of an everlasting love." But now the fields are gone, and so is his love; the singer hopes she will someday come back to the fields

"Once there were three fishermen (x2), Fisher fisher men men men (x3) Once there were three fishermen." The three fishermen are named, and their voyages described

Once They Said My Lips Were Red: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1331}

"Once they said my lips were red, Now they're scarlet pale, When I, like a silly girl, Beleiv'd his flattering tale. But he vow'd he'd never deceive me, And so fondly I believ'd he, While the stars and the moon So sweetly shone Over the willow tree"

"I've beat my way wherever any winds have blown, I've bummed along from Portland down to San Antone... For once you get the habit, why, you can't keep still." The singer describes both good places to visit and bad, but he always moves on

"My father was a farmer gay, With beef and corn in plenty, I hoed, I mowed, I held the plow, And I longed for one and twenty." Of age at last, the singer enlists. Army life makes him wish for home. He loses a leg, is captured, and goes home crippled

Jump-rope rhyme. "One and two and how are you? I do very well, And I live by myself; My name is Mrs. Bell."

"Assist me, ye lads... To sing the praise of old Ireland's isle." England taunts our simplicity but we would share our last bottle. At Candy's six Irishmen had four bottles each, a fight brought a fifth and a resolve to have 12 bottles more the next night

"One bottle (of) pop (or beer), Two bottles (of) pop, Three bottles (of) pop...." "Don't throw your junk (dust) in my back yard (dustbin)... my back yard's full." "Fish and chips and vinegar...." Composite children's round.

"One bright day in the middle of the night, Two dead men stood up to fight, Three blind men to see fair play, Forty mutes to shout hooray... Drew their swords and shot each other"

"One bumber at parting! -- though many Have circled the board since we met." "As onward we journey, how pleasant To pause and inhabit a while The few sunny spots like the present." So drink; there won't be that many more chances

"It's one cent for coffee, Two cents for bread, Three for mince pie, And five for a bed. There's eighty-three boarders All packed at my door, And they paid their five cents For to sleep on the floor"

One Cold Winter's Morning: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #3626}

Singer laments having to leave his love, perhaps never to return. (Friends try to persuade him to stay.) "When I lie down at night all for to take my rest/Trouble and sorrow still rolls across my breast." "O she is the only girl all in this world so wide"

Counting-out rhyme. "One color, two color, Three color, four; Five color, six color, Seven color, more. What color is YOURS?" The player who is pointed at by YOURS names a color, and the leader spells it out to choose who is "It."

Jump-rope rhyme and joke. "One day A-E and Jimmy were going to a movie. Jimmy found that he had no money. A-E said, 'I will borrow (sic.) you 25 cents. When the movie was over, Jimmy said, 'A-E, I-O-U 25 cents."

One Day I Chanced to Rove: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6767}

The singer falls in love with a rich girl. Her friends slight him because he is poor. He says he is not interested in her gold. If she would agree "we'll live at our end aye each other please"

Philosophical; for every silver lining there's a dark cloud. "For one faithful friend there are dozens who sneer/For one happy laugh there is always a tear...For one gentle dog there are dozens that bite...For one day of turkey there's six days of hash."

"I'm broke an' I ain't got a dime (x3) Ev'rybody gets in hard luck sometime." "You want your friend to be bad like Jesse James (x3) Git two six shooters, highway some passenger train." "One dime was all I had (x3) that was the meal before last."

"One evening fair for to take the air" the singer strays by Dublin's Bay and sees "a female form... more brighter far than the evening star, and they call her the Cailin Deas"

"One morning so clear, In the meadows did pass, Her eye full of tear, A most beautiful lass." She asks, "O WIlliam... Why were you unkind? O why did you seek ANother than me?" She falls down in the grass and dies of love

Floating verse song: "One fine day I went to mill, I got stuck on Badger's Hill; I hawed my horses... But to save my soul I couldn't get a start." "There was a frog lived in the spring." "The black cat spit in the white cat's eye." Etc.

Jump-rope rhyme. "One fine day in the middle of the night, Two dead boys got up to fight, Back to back they faced each other, drew their swords and shot each other, Two deaf policemen heard the noise... Ask the blind man, he saw it too."

"One fine summer's evening as I walked along," the singer hears a girl singing. Her true loer meets and embraces her. They walk to a shady green. One of them promises be true; only when the sun darkens, the stars fall, the earth moves will (s)he be untrue

A single man (who perhaps has abandoned his wife?) wanders into a restaurant, but finds he has only money for one (meat/fish) ball. Waiters and company abuse him, and he is told, "You get no bread with one fish ball"

"One for sorrow, two for joy, Three for (a girl), four for (a boy), five for (silver), six for (gold)," and so on up to seven or ten or twelve. For telling fortunes by counting birds (mapies or crows).

One for the Blackbird: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #21651}

Folk wisdom: "One for the blackbird, Two for the crow, Three for the cutworm, An' the rest for to grow."

One for the Money: (8 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #16216}

"One for the money, Two for the show, Three to get ready, And four to go" Perhaps used to start a race; possibly a jump rope rhyme.

One I Love, Two I Love: (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #19522}

Counting rhyme, usually for counting seeds or flower petals: "One I love, two I love, Three I love, I say. Four I love with all my heart, Five I cast away." And so forth, with different actions up to twelve or higher

Jump-rope rhyme/catch. "One I see, Two I see, Three I see... Nine I see, Tennessee."

"It is better to light just one little candle, Than to stumble in the dark!" If we all prayed the world would be free, then it would happen; if all would light a candle, the world would be well-lit

"One elephant went out to play Upon a spider's web one day. He had such tremendous/enormous fun That he sent/called for another elephant to come." Repeat for two elephants, three elephants, ....

"One little frog a-settin' on a log, Waitin' for its brother, Its eyes were red from the tears it had shed, And it jumped right into the water." Repeat indefinitely: "Another little frog a-settin' on a log...." Etc.

One Man Shall Mow My Meadow: (14 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #143}

Singer states that various numbers of men shall mow her meadow and gather it together, as well as shear her sheep. The song is cumulative, hypnotic, and loaded with symbolism.

"One man's hands can't break a prison down, Two men's hands can't tear a prison down, But if two and two and fifty make a million, we'll see that day come 'round." Similarly, "One man's voice can't shout to make them hear," etc., with topical references

One Misty, Moisty Morning: (8 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #20075}

Daniel courts Dolly, a milk maid. Before she will marry he must have her father and mother's consent. "Her parents being willing, all Parties was agreed, Her Portion thirtie shilling, they marry'd were with Speed" and have a public celebration.

"Late last night, When the moon shone bright," the singer visits his honey. She declares she has gone to bed. He points out that he paid her rent, begs for one more chance, offers to take her to a ball. He then pulls out a ten dollar bill, and is admitted

Shanty: "One more day, me johnnies, One more day, Come rock and row me over, Johnny, one more day." The voyage has been hard, the captain cruel, but the sailors are almost home and soon will be able to visit their girls

One More Kiss Before I Go: (12 refs. 28K Notes) {Roud #6375}

"Such a happy girl am I, And I'll tell you the reason why": She has a love who is always courting her and asking for "One more kiss before I go." They will marry soon. She tells boys that girls expect "a loving kiss And a word or two like this..."

One More River to Cross: (16 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4458 and 12088}

Counting up the contents of Noah's Ark: "The animals went in one by one... two by two... three by three...," often with odd groups listed. Chorus: "One more river, and that is the river Jordan, One more river (for) to cross." Or "Wasn't that a wide river"

A (soldier) and a pretty girl meet; they chat and he plays on the fiddle for her. When she asks him to play more, he says it is time to leave. She asks him to marry; he already has a wife and children

One Night As I Lay On My Bed: (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #672}

Singer dreams of his love; the dreams torment him so much that he goes out and calls at her window, bidding her to let him in. She demurs, saying her parents will punish her. He says they're asleep and won't hear; she lets him in.

"One night in Cleveland we had a dance On the weight-lock platform we did prance." Even the mules and chickens try to join the festivities. Old men think they are young again. The singer, despite being "up in years," will stick with canalling

"One night sad and languid I went to my bed... When a vision surprising came into my head... I beheld that rude rock... O'er the grave of the once-famed Napoleon." The singer recalls the deeds of Napoleon and how he was "sold... by treachery."

One O'Clock the Gun Went Off: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #21731}

Jump-rope rhyme? "One o'clock the gun went off, I dare not stay no longer, If I do my mother will say Playing with the boys up yonder." "Stockings red, garters blue... and a gold ring on my finger.... The only one I love best Is my bonny, bonny Johnnie-O"

"I'm one of the has-beens, a shearer I mean. I once was a ringer and I used to shear clean... But you may not believe me, for I can't do it now." The shearer recalls the greats he used to shear with, and remains determined to shear as long as he can

Chorus: "Soon shall be done with the crosses (Trouble of the world, crosses) When the Lord calls me home." Verse: "Sister (Brother) x, one of these days, my sister (brother) one of these days (x2), When the Lord calls me home"

"One of tonight! We will all pray togeyther Like de one of tonight." "Moan, oh, moan, We will all moan together... Ninety and nine and de ninety-ninth...." "Shout, oh, shout." "Bow... Like de Israelites bow." "Pray... Like de Israelites." "Cry...."

One Potato Two Potato: (13 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #19230}

"One potato, two potato, three potato, four, Five potato, six potato, seven potato, more." Other verses, if any, may refer to all good children going to heaven, or Nellie giving cherries to the poor. ("Tater" may be used for "potato")

"Now, Maggy dear, it's I do hear you have been on the spree." Johnny asks his wife for an accounting of how she spends his salary of one pound two. She lists it all: meal, potatoes, sugar.... Nothing is wasted or unaccounted. He is satisfied.

One Ship Drives East: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #15670}

Round. "One ship drives east and one ship drives west, By the south-same winds that blow, Yet the set of the sails and not the gale (x20 Determines the way-i-aye-i-aye, That determines the way she goes."

"One sort, two sort, three sort, sand, Bob tail Dominie little taw tan, Virgin Mary, halem, caelem, siglam, zaglam, BUCK!"

"One Sunday fter mass As Dermot and his lass Through the greenwood did pass, All alone and all alone." He asks for a "póg." She hits him. She asks why she is coy; she calls him rude. "He bribed her with nuts" till she gives him a kiss

Singer's mother tells him, at 21, to choose a wife; he's always thinking on "the one thing or the other." He courts a girl and marries her; she gets pregnant. It's twins; he complains of the squalling of the one thing and the other

One Thursday Evening: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #6800}

The singer goes to his lover's house but she is not home. He accepts her sister's offer to take him to see her and his rival. He spies on them and leaves when he hears how he is mentioned. He leaves, drinks whisky and leaves Scotland? Courts the sister?

"One to make ready, And two to prepare, Good luck to the rider, And away goes the mare." (The New Zealand version adds, "Salt, mustard, vinegar, pepper.")

"One two three four five six seven, All good children go to heaven." "When they get there, God will say, Where's the diamond you stole that day? If you say you do not know, He will send you down below." "Penny on the water, tuppence on the sea"

"One, two, three, four, Mary at the cottage door, Five, six, seven, eight, Eating cherries off a plate." Continuations vary: O-U-T spells out." "Fish, fish, in the dish, how many fishes do you wish?" "Out goes the rat, out goes the cat...."

Counting rhyme: "One zahl, two zahl, a-zig, a-zag, a-zang. Bob-tail guinea nigger, tic-a-ram-a-tang, Hail 'em, scale 'em, budge 'em, Mary, A-sink 'em, a-sank 'em, buck!"

"... one-cent herring ... two cent grits ... child like that, Can't do like this, Oh ray back Sam, Oh go on gal."

One-ery, Two-ery, Ickery, Ann: (14 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #13059}

"One-ery, two-ery, ikery on, Fillisy, follisy, Nicholas John, Query, quavey, Irish Mary, Stinkilum, stankilum, jolly-co, buck"

One-ery, Two-ery, Tickery, Seven: (7 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #19296}

"One-ery, two-ery, tickery, seven, Hallibo, crackibo, ten and eleven, Spin, span, muskidan, Twiddle-um, twaddle-um, twenty-one." Or, "...eleven, Pin, pan, muskyan, Tweedle-un, twoddle-um, twenty-one, lerie, Ourie, owrie, you are, OUT!"

One-Hung Lo: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #10126 and 21471}

Prostitute Hoo Flung Shit is masturbating when One-Hung Lo crawls in and insultingly asks her for sex. She tells him to "go fuck your hat"; he tries to have sex with his hat and mashes it; he falls on the floor; she urinates down his throat

"One, two, buckle my shoe; Three, four, (open/shut) the door; Five, six, pick up sticks; Seven, eight, lay them straight...." And so forth, to ten or twenty or even beyond; there is naturally increasing variation as the numbers grow larger

One, Two, Sky Blue: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #19294}

"One, two, sky blue, All (in/out) (but/except) you." Or "One, two, sky is blue, Out goes you!"

The singer teaches his girl to dance. "'Twas easy just as easy as A B C, She'd done it when I taught her like one two and three." In demand by the ladies at a ball he realizes that "without her for a partner I would never dance again"

"One, two, three, a bumblebee Stung a man upon his knee, Stung a pig upon his snout, I'll be blamed if you ain't out."

Jump-rope rhyme. "One, two, three, Cats in the well, Four, five, six, Pick up sticks, Seven, eight, nine, Cut the clothesline, Nine, ten, eleven, Cat's gone to heaven"

"One, two, three, four, five, Once I caught a (fish/hare/mouse) alive, Six, seven, eight, nine, ten, Then I let it go again. Why did you let it go? Because it big my finger so. Which finger did it bite? The little finger on the right."

"One, two, three, four, I bumped my nose against the door. The door fell in, And I fell out. O-U-T spells out."

Jump-rope rhyme. "One, two, three, four, I spy Pearl White Sitting on a black horse, Knitting for the Red Cross."

Jump-rope rhyme. "One, two, three, four, Jump the circle, shut the door, One, two, three, four, Eat the apple, drop the core." Probably other verses were added or improvised.

"One, two, three, four, Mother washed the floor, Floor dried, Mother cried, One, two, three, four."

Jump-rope rhyme. "One, two, three, four, Skip and skip till you can't no more, Five, six, seven, eight, Skip, skip or you'll be too late. Nine, ten, start again."

"One, two, three, Get out of my father's apple tree Or you're IT."

"One, two, three, Mother caught a flea, Flea died, mother cried, Out goes she." Or "(Mother/Ronny/etc.) caught a flea, Put it in a teapot And made a cup of tea."

Ball-bouncing game. "One, two, three, o'leary (x3), One, o'leary postman." Or "One, two, three, O'Leary, Throw the ball to sister Mary, Way down in Canterbury, Eating mandarines." Or, "...don't you think that I look cute In my papa's bathing suit"

Jump-rope rhyme. "One, two, three, one, two, three, If you are able to jump, You can jump, But this is the number you have to jump. One, two, three, four, five, six...."

"One, two, three, The bumblebee, The rooster crows, Out goes she."

Jump-rope rhyme. "One, two, three, Tommy hurt his knee, He couldn't slide, and so he cried, Out goes he."

"Far out in Texas... This boy fell a victim.... Only a brakeman, gone on before, Only a brakeman, we'll never see more." The accident that cost him his life is alluded to; his grieving family is mentioned

"Way out in old Texas, that great Lone Star State... on the old NA range, That the boy fell a victim on the old staked plains." "He was only a cowboy that's gone on before." The crew mourns when he is killed. He leaves a wife and children

The singer, an old man dozing by the fire, thinks of a sweetheart of long ago: "a face in the firelight asking why we should part"

A miner is trapped under a falling boulder; no one can help him. Most of the world doesn't care; he's "only a miner," though he leaves a wife and children

"Ofttimes I fancy at the close of the day That she is waiting for me far away. Still in my mem'ry her sweet face I see, Smiling as when she gave this rose to me. Only a rosebud that she wore in her hair... Sweet faded flower that she left in my care."

The singer lives with her father and works to support him, "for I am his only daughter." Ladies offer her work but she won't leave her father. Jockey asks her to marry; "should he ask me to go I could not say no ... But still I'm his only daughter"

Only Nineteen Years Old: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4792}

Singer fell in love with, and married, "a virgin only nineteen years old." Next morning she took off her paint and revealed her hump, wig, false leg and fingers. Before marrying, he says, examine your intended: she may be ninety.

"Up and away like the dews of the morning, Soaring from earth to its home in the sun, Thus would I pass from the earth and its toiling, Only remembered for what I have done." An exhortation to good works, with a promise of reward for those who do them

"Onward Christian sailors, Scrub and wash your clothes. Where the dirties come from, Lord almighty known. I've got fourteen pieces And one hammock to scrub. But I cannot do it; Someone's got the tub... someone's pinched my soap"

Onward Christian Soldiers: (12 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #V26738}

"Onward, Christian Soldier, Marching as to war, With the cross of Jesus Going on before." The Christian "army" is urged forward, bypassing temporary earthly structures for the eternal kingdom of God

"When differences divide our way, Onward we go, When we can't find the words to pray, Onward... Faith that's like a mustard seed Grows as high as any tree." Continue through life with tolerance and hope, willing to learn

"Onward, Yankee soldiers, Onward as to war, You would not be conscripts Had you come before."

The Onward and her crew from Troon to Larne was bound"; she tries to reach Lamlash for shelter in a storm. "Between Dromore and the Ailsa Craig The Onward she went down... unseen all from the shore; no rescue life could save."

"We will debauch into the valley f the Po, We will strike the Hun a mighty blow... And this we know, for Corps says so, Onwards to Bologna, onwards to the Po." The song describes the troops around them and the horrid life of the Italian campaign

"Whirry, whirra, the cat she's deid, And whirry, whirra, there's a sod on her heid, And in a wee hole we'll bury them a', And for wee puss we'll sing for a'."

"Oor dochter Jean cam hame yestreen, Wi' rosy cheeks an' lauchin' e'en." Asked where she has been, she replies, "Wi' Fermer Joe o Auchinglen." There is a ring on her finger. Fermer Joe arrives to ask her hand; all happily agree

The singer describes the goings on "at oor fairm toon." The fee'd help are strange but the kitchie lass is a beauty. Work starts early and food is meager. There's a new "thrashin' mull." "We'll shortly hae the plooin' deen"

Jock comes home distracted but says he'll be better. He says that on the way home he met his Peggie. Then he put sugar in his egg, salt in his tea, used knife and fork to eat his brose, and cleared his nose with a spoon.

The singer and Willie have been married fourteen years. "We were rich in ane anither though richt scant in warld's gear." "Wid ye like tae see our treasures" -- she names and describes their children -- which God will "guide and shield forever"

"You've been tamped full of shit about cowboys; they are known as a romantic breed...." The reciter proceeds to dispel these myths, talking about cowboys' sexual exploits, their local peculiarities, and their folly

"O, open the door, some pity to show, Oh, open the door to me oh! Though thou has been false, I'll ever prove true." The girl is colder than the frost. He says he will leave forever. She opens the door "and sunk down by his side O never to rise again O"

Ball-bouncing game with a floating verse found in other games: "Open the gate and let me through, sir (x3), Early in the mornig."

"Open your mouth and shut your eyes, And you will get a big surprise." Or "...eyes, And I'll give you something to make you wise."

"On the Opeongo Line I drove a span of bays One summer once upon a time For Hoolihan and Hayes. Now that the bays are dead and gone And grim old age is mine... Ay, dreaming, dreaming, I go teaming On the Opeongo Line."

Singer asks the operator "how long the train been gone," "It's been so long I can't hear the engine moan." See the notes for floating verses.

"Ophelia letter blow away He blow 'way in Arima." "Ophelia where you' letter? He blow 'way in Arima."" "Ophelia where you' lover gone? He blow 'way in Arima."

Ops in a Wimpey: (2 refs. 5K Notes) {Roud #10390 and 29392}

To the tune of "Waltzing Matilda," the airmen describe the dangers of flying a Wellington over Germany. The song may ask whether an airman is willing to fly the "Wimpy," or describe the dangers encountered in bombing operations

Norwegian shanty. "Hurrah for Jonas Aston Hjelm, He was for Norway, helmet and spear, till at last he celebrated peace." Other versions are general sailing rhymes with a choruses of "Sing salio!" or "Sing sailor-O!" or "Singsalli-joh!"

Slovak. "Moja zena v starim kraju a ja tu hledam sebe v Americe robo tu." "While my life is in the old country, I am in America seeking work." The singer finds a job in the mines of Wilkes-Barre. He describes the awful work. He hopes he can go home

Gaelic. Now I live in the mountains but I am singing about "the land of the glens": birds, cows, thoughts of winter "the time for weddings and milling frolics" and people I knew in my youth who have died.

Scottish Gaelic. My wife is dour, sour, and the devil's own. I must have been bewitched to be drawn to her. She's so ugly. I have to drink to stand it.

"When Brethren are met in orders so grand, What a beautiful sight for to view." Singer describes his induction, in code. But, "what a shameful disgrace on a lodge it doth bring To see Brethren each other subdue." Join "in defence of the Orange and Blue"

"The night was falling dreary in merry Bandon town...." To an Orangeman's door comes a Green, pursued by an angry crowd. The Orangeman shelters him -- then learns he has killed his son. He still does not retaliate Years later, they meet in peace

"Orange balls, here we are again." the last one to sit is out, or "Orange boys, let the bells ring ... who's the only king" or "... God save the King"

The lark "is true Orange bird" who cheered William on July first and "sang him an Orange hymn." The nightingale sings sweetly but the lark's song comes "from the soldier's drum." The eagle is too aristocratic; the lark's "is the song of the free"

Did you go to the flower show? The prize is won by the Orange Lily. "The Viceroy there was so debonair ... And Lady Clarke" approached Ireland's Orange Lily.

Orange Maid of Sligo, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2910}

A tiny boat is driven by wind onto the shore of the Bay of Sligo. "At the bow there sat a girl... the 'Orange Maid of Sligo.'" An Orange youth sees an orange lily on the water and gives it to her. They marry.

Orange Riots in Belfast, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #V2931}

"Emancipation first tortured them [Orangemen] sore But O'Connell's procession it grieved them far more," so they took it as an excuse to burn Dan's effigy and "to murder and tear Saint Malachy's Chapel." They should consider their own July 12 parading.

Orange Yeomanry of '98, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #V43602}

The singer's father fought with the Orange Yeomanry in 1798. The Orange peasant and artisan imitate "the gallant Orange Yeomanry." The Orangeman "relies upon his Bible and his gun." Preferring peace, the Orangeman would fight if necessary

"I am a loyal Orangeman, in this I take delight, Though long before I firmly swore to those who did unite." Green being out of date, the singer calls the Pope a hog and swears what he's told. "For it's my rule, and I'm no fool, who's miller, I'll be dog"

Orangeman's Dream, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #V26004}

"Oh, the day being gone and the night coming on... When an Orangeman have departed his life." He arrives before St. Peter. He admits to being an Orangeman. St. Peter sends him to eternal damnation with "'Lizbeth" and "Harry" and "King William"

Orangemen of Cadiz, The: (1 ref. 2K Notes) {Roud #25328}

An annual July 12 Orange lodge parade celebrates William's 1690 victory at the Boyne and ends in a fight with Irish Catholics. A politician who opposes Home Rule for Ireland is praised. The Protestant battle cry at the 1688 seige of Derry is recalled.

""Some of my weary moments, I prone to solitude (sic.), I meditate on bygone days." A stranger asks why he is gazing at a rainbow. The singer had been a traveler, but his way was barred. He was shown Old Testament sights. Love should be like the rainbow

Oranges and Lemons: (10 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #13190}

"Oranges and lemons, Say the bells of St. Clement's. You owe me five farthings.... When will you pay me? Say the bells of Old Bailey...." "I'm sure I don't know, Says the great bell of Bow." A threat (to chop off a head) may follow

"Order in the court, The judge is gonna spit, If you can't swim, You shore (sure) better git." Or, "Order in the court, The judge is eating beans. His wife is in the bathtub Counting submaries."

"Orders came for sailing, flash up number one, Go and chase up Chiefy, the panic has begun. Tiffies are rushing here and there, It's hot down here, but the pigs don't care, We're flashing up regardless, We've got to go to sea."

"Mary Steavens she had disappeared, And nobody knew where." When her body is found, shoe marks matching the shoes of Alvin Heaton are found. Despite limited evidence, Heaton confesses to getting her pregnant and murdering her. He is imprisoned

"Come, blooming youth in the midst of day And see how soon some pass away." Just before their shift ended, two miners, Sherley and Smith, die in a rockfall. The singer quotes the New Testament and says that it is all God's plan

"Hark! Freedom's eatly loudly calls, His cry rings through our hill s and halls...." "March away, 'tis freedom beck us, On for Oregon and Texas." The singer condemns Mexico, recalls San Jacinto, and urges a fight for Texas and Oregon

"Good evening folks -- it's old Dan Rice, Just come to give you good advice, And tell the Senate to be sure Like Polk, to go for fifty-four." Listeners are urged to take an aggressive line with Britain on the Oregon boundary

"Way down yander in the Wahee Mountains, Where folks don't know about books nor countin's, Here lived a Zeke, an old galoor," who shoots a "city feller" for courting his girl. The girl gets pregnant; the stork travels so far with the baby that it dies

The singer in successive stanzas has sex with his girl friend in various places, each more outlandish than the last.

Origin of Ireland, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6653}

"I crave your attention, Before I shall mention Of Erin so dear, WIthout hesitation, [...], The cream of creation [...] the Queen." Ireland is famous for "beauty and murder and whisky and love."

"'Tis believed that this Harp, which I wake now or thee, Was a Siren of old, who sung under the sea," who fell in love with a man on shore; she grieved so much that she was turned to a harp. But still she is beautiful

Orkney Style of Courtship, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #3087}

Recitation: Speaker says that the Orkney style of courship looks odd from outside, but "let them court the way they choose." Others may sit around to court; he prefers to court by jumping in bed with the girl; it saves time after a long day at work.

Cherokee. "I hesr Jesus's sorrowful voice" speaking to those who are orphaned. THe singer hopes Jesus will take them. There will be room for them in heaven.

Orphan Girl (III), The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #20517}

The ship Orphan Girl, out of London for Liverpool "with her cargo of cement," is "stranded on a place called Sea-field shore...; four of her crew were saved." A heroic boy is lost, the captain is cowardly, "but we may blame the Coast-guards."

Orphan Girl, The (The Orphan Child): (40 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #457 and 4193}

The orphan girl at the rich man's door cries, "No home." Ragged, hungry, and cold, she begs for help, but the rich man turns her away. In the night she freezes to death, "but her soul has gone to a home above where there's room and bread for the poor"

"Will you hear my mournful story? All my friends are dead and gone. Father is no more, nor mother; I'm an orphan left alone." The singer recalls mother's death, and her dying injunction to obey the Bible. She visits the graveyard, and hopes to join mother

"Two little children, a boy and a girl, Sat by the old church door." The ragged, dirty children tell of their poverty: "Papa was lost out on sea long ago... Mama's in heaven, angels took her away." They are too young to work. They die before morning

"Oh come with me and be my love For thee, the deepest depths, I vow, Oh come with me for I long to go." "Oh, I'll chase the antelope over the plain, And the tiger's cub I'll bind with a chain." The singer urges haste lest their love decay

Yiddish: The immigrant singer tells of the hard work and long hours in a sweatshop: "From dawn till dusk he sews away." "Hunger and pain are all he knows." He thanks the union for better conditions

Russian: The listeners across the land are called upon to take up rifles to defend their homeland. They are urged to fight "for country and for freedom." They are warned to be ready for danger and sorrow, and are asked to fight to the end.

Other Bright Shore, The: (15 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #4213}

"I have a mother gone to glory (or: ...mother over yonder) (x3), On (that) other (bright) shore." Similarly with father, sister, etc. "Some bright day we'll go and meet them...." "Won't that be a happy meeting..." etc.

Other Day I Met a Bear, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #37851}

Lead-and-response song: "The other day (the other day) I met a bear (I met a bear), Up in the woods Away up there." The bear looks, sees the speaker has no gun, and starts to chase him. The singer jumps, catches a branch, hopes he won't see the bear again

Otto Wood the Bandit: (5 refs. 7K Notes) {Roud #11543}

Otto Wood has a quarrel with and kills a pawnshop clerk. Sheriff arrests him; he's imprisoned. He breaks out but is recaptured (and shot). In another break, he's shot dead. Chorus: "Otto Wood why didn't you run/When the sheriff pulled out that 44 gun?"

Creole French. "Ou Som Souroucou, qui ca ou gagnien, gagnien pou' bpi' do l'eau?" Ou Som Souroucou, asked why he drinks so much water, replies that he has eaten corn and has to drink.

"Oughta come on the river Long time ago, I don't know partner, Say, you oughta know, You'd catch plenty trouble Everywhere you go." The Captain threatens the members of the gang. The singer dreams of freedom

The singer reports being sick of the city, and wishes he were back in Dunloy. The city is loud and strange, and the people look unhealthy. He misses his neighbors, who made life a joy. The corncrake cries, "Come back, come back to Dunloy."

"O, the pigs are in the mire and the cow is at the grass And a man without a woman is no better than an ass." The singer courts Judy; she calls him a rake; he says he will be reform and hopes for as many children as there are "days in Lent." She consents

"I once knew a dodger, whose name was Father Dan ... to purgatory he's gone long ago." "The Repealers of their cash were shorn And Repeal with Dan sent below." "There is no more rent for ould Father Dan, He is gone where the rest all will go"

The singer, McShaw, is "a decent shoemaker ... but I've lately took on to the booze," as his friends comment at every chance. He was once well-to-do but now his wagon wheel is broken, his horses sold, and his wife has taken his watch and chain.

Ould Ireland, You're My Darlin': (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #V4326}

"Ould Ireland, you're my jewel sure." The singer blesses "each manly son... But hang the knave and dastard slave So base as to deny thee." He pledges "a love that ne'er can perish."

Ould Lammas Fair, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7971}

"At the Ould Lammas Fair in Ballycastle long ago, I met a little colleen who set my heart aglow." He recalls the girl even while looking at the lasses of Flanders. Now he is glad to be at home with her, playing the fiddle and recalling the fair

An old Irish piper, who played before Moses, can only play one tune. He dies and goes to Hell The devil puts him in the frying pan; "This is another ould piper I've found/Put him down with the rest for to play." (For a chorus, the singer imitates pipes.)

Ould Plaid Shawl, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #6351}

"Not far from old Kinvara in the merry month of May ... came ... a little Irish cailin in an ould plaid shawl" A man "enchanted with her beauty" greets her. She "shyly passed me by" He can't forget her. "I'll seek her all through Galway and ... Clare"

Our Ain Mountain Hame: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #10827}

"Come all ye feeling faithful Saints who've crossed the prairie drear," get ready, those who are in Zion must prepare for those who are coming, the young and old and widows. They and others "Will come to see her glory in our ain mountain hame"

"Cheeks of rose, tiny toes, Has our little baby, Eyes of blue, fingers too, Cunning all as may be." "Mouth so fair, skin so clear." "Thee I love, sweetest dove." "Crow and play, all the day, Happy little baby, May your life... Pure as 'tis today be."

Our baby committed suicide or died of spinal meningitis... to spite us... no one sent flowers because he was not ours.

Our boots/shoes are leather, stockings/socks are silk Our pinafores are white as milk, or I wash myself in milk. We go around until we touch the ground.

Our Brave Scotch Lads: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5827}

"Scotch soldiers true, wi' bonnets blue ... They made the Russians rue, man, The bold attack which they did make On Balaklava's plain." Many died in the Crimea "the Sultan for to save." "They made the heart o' Menschikoff To sink on Alma's heights"

"Our Captain called all hands and away tomorrow, Leaving those girls behind." She says "What makes you go abroad fighting for strangers?" Stay here "free from all danger." He leaves. In grief "she fell like one a-dying."

"High up, high on the mountains, we've founded Our Chalet (x2), Its sloping roof and wide shall shelter us without a care, And each Girl Scout and Guide shall find a welcome there." They live simple lives where all are welcome

Our Cheerful Voices (Separation): (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #13951}

"Our cheerful voices let us raise, And sing a parting song, Although, dear friends, I'm with you now. I can't be with you long." The singer hopes to meet friends again, wishes the Lord would come, and hopes to be taken away by the last Trump

An allegory. The fine cherries [of true religion] are guarded from birds and infidels by a finely woven net. Some would propose to loosen the net. The result would be that birds, Methodists, and Baptists would get the fruit -- an unacceptable result

"Our fathers, our fathers they'll be there, Yes, our fathers they'll be there, When we all meet around God's bright throne. What a meeting, what a meeting that will be... When we all meet...." Similarly with mothers, brothers, sisters

"My feet's cauld, my shoon's thin; Gie's my cakes and let me rin!"

"Mr. Knight is our foreman's name, A good old soul is he. He works us from morning till night On potatoes, salt, and tea. But that's all right, It's Mr. Knight." If they're wet enough, he sends them inside among bedbugs and mice. The loggers won't forget

"Our Guest, may he again come soon, come soon, To us, to the lake and to the loon. From hill, or lake, or vale, The welcome will not fail. Our Guest, may he come again soon."

"Then here's to ... Prince Edward Island, Sweet garden of sunshine, ... our beautiful Isle in the sea." The singer has "roamed far and wide over mountains and prairies" but prefers the people, the land and the beauty of "our Island"

Spring. Snow melts. Frantic activities start now "our island is covered with fog": trouting, gunning, chopping; people and animals are rushing around

Jack, (after many years at sea), is coming home (in some versions, "blind drunk"). Everyone rejoices at the sailor's return. His sweetheart, it is reported, "ne'er despaired, Though all hope within her died," but now the two will be married

An apparition in the church of Knock in County Mayo: Saint Joseph, Mary, and Saint John appear to a few. Now "hundreds come from far and near Our Lady's help to seek ... deaf and dumb ... born blind" and are cured. The three are asked to intercede

"In our leaky tents we sit, thinking of the good old times That in Springville City we spent so gay." But now they have "Snow, hail, rain, and windy weather Pelting our weather-beaten forms." But they remain in their tents so they can fight the Indians

"Our Maggie's blue drawers (x2), There's a hole in the middle For Maggie to piddle, Our [of?] Maggie's blue drawers."

The singer overhears two Orangemen. One would rather die than surrender. He fears emancipation since "popish Dan ... Again has won the Clare election" and Peel and Wellington have joined O'Connell. Their Orange flags and drums must be put away.

"Our paddle's keen and bright, flashing like silver Swift as the wild goose flies, dip, dip, and swing Dip, dip, and swing them back, flashing like silver Swift as the wild goose flies....." To be repeated with voices getting louder and softer

"Our (wee) queen can birl her leg, Birl her leg, birl her leg, Our (wee) queen can birl her leg, Birl her leg." "Our (wee) queen can tumble her pole...."

"Our Queen won the Medal [or just "Our Queen won, Our Queen won"]. Heigh-ho! Bravo! Our Queen won."

"Our queen's up the river, with a fa-la-la (x2), Our queen's up the river And we'll keep her there forever, With a fa-la-la-la."

Our Sheepshearing's Done: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #1379}

"Our sheepshearing done, to our master we come, Who enjoins us to sport as we please." The shepherdesses, beer, cider, wine, wool, and, most of all, cheese, are praised. "Join hands, ... drink 'May our Squire Live long, and enjoy his own cheese!'"

Our Ship Sails Ready to Bear Away: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2995}

The singer's ship prepares to sail. He bids Nora farewell and hopes to meet again. He thinks of all the places in Ireland he will miss: Dublin's hills, Killiney's mount, Wicklow, Avoca's Vale, Delgany, Bray,... and knows he'll remember Ireland.

Our Ship She Is Lying in Harbour: (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1011}

The impressed singer, his ship ready to sail, hopes his girl will be safe. The girl laments the departed youth; the father is glad her is gone. Her love returns after seven years. The father offers her money not to marry him, but they are married anyway

In abysmal verse, the singer points out, "Let moderns preach, 'We need more street' With themes and schemes -- ah! scorner." The singer would rather praise "Our street car! Ours to honor." The singer describes its virtues and mourns its passing

"Our [wee] school (the best wee school/a very good school), It's made of sticks and plaster/bricks and mortar. The only thing that's wrong with it Is the baldy-headed master."

Verse on a boy's stool: "Our wee Whiteford is no fool, He puts his pennies in his stool."

"Out in the forest a light is gleaming, A band of gypsies, shouting and singing, Boom ti airy airy (x3), Boom zip zip. What ho, my gypsies, where are you going? to spread camp spirit o’er all the wide world."

The young man bids the girl goodbye in the moonlight, promising, "I will love you always... Through life and death I'm faithful to thee." Returning home (a year) later, he finds her married to another. He leaves a note and shoots himself

"Out of the blossom sprang a thorn, When God himself would be born." A spring (Jesus?) comes from a well (Mary?). Three kings come to visit, bearing their gifts. Refrain: "Deo patri sit gloria" or "That was born of Marie"/"And his mother Marie"

Out on the Lone Star Cow Trail: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #633}

Singer, a cowboy, meets a comrade and kills him although "he was dear to me." The judge sends him to prison. He asks listener to tell mother and sweetheart that he's in the "dark city jail"; his sweeheart should bail him out. Chorus: "Hoo-hoo-hooo-oo-oo"

Out to Dark Harbour: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #2785}

"Now boys I'll tell you it's a wonderful time Out to Dark Harbour in the old summer time." The singer picks dulse and sells it at Eastport.

Outharbour Planter, The: (4 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #6354}

The narrator lights his pipe and extols the virtues of the "outharbour planter." This apparently dead breed of men was not well refined but had many virtues of industry and honesty.

The cook's rattling arouses Dunny, and he and the rest of the herd take off. By the time the poet catches them, breakfast is cold. The boss then orders the poet to ride Dunny. He makes the attempt, but naturally is thrown. He quits on the spot

Outlaw Murray, The [Child 305]: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3296}

The King of Scotland demands that the outlaw pay him homage for his holdings in Ettrick Forest. Murray refuses; he won the land by his own valor. The King calls up his forces to attack Murray. A compromise is reached; Murray becomes sheriff of Ettrick

The outlaw lives in the wood. "All the wealth that I sought, one fair kind glance from my love." His lover lives down by the lake. He remembers when his lover swam Loch Lene to find him. He imagines them alone, "far off on the deep"

Outward and Homeward Bound: (11 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #927 and 18905}

Shanty. Verses enumerate the ports to be visited and the girls being left behind. The singer says the purser will supply their needs, and looks forward to returning home after (three) years. Chorus: "We're outward bound, Hurrah, we're outward bound."

Ouzel sails from Dublin for Tripoli. "Somewhere down by Algiers, on the coast of Barbary, The Ringsend sailors fought and failed against black piracy." Years later they escape, take over Ouzel again, and return to Ireland with pirate gold.

Over Hills and Mountains: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #12959}

"Mony's the hill and valley that's atween my love and me Likewise the Sea in full flowing tide." The singer thinks and dreams about being with his "sweet bride." If he were emperor he'd "throw down the crown and go and beg with thee"

Over In the Glory Land: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3402}

"Just over in the glory land" the singer will join "the happy angels' band" and stand "with the mighty host." He's on his way "to those mansions fair" "where the saints abide" where he'll be with Jesus forever.

Over in the Meadow: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #12681}

Counting song. "Over in the meadow, in the sand, in the sun, Lived an old mother toad and her little toadie one. 'Wink,' said the mother. 'I wink," said the one. So she winked and she blinked...." Repeat with other animals in higher numbers.

The young couple court "over the garden wall": "Over the garden wall, The sweetest girl of all, I'll never forget those eyes of jet, You may bet I'll never forget, Over the garden wall."

"Over the garden wall, I let the baby fall, My mother came out, And gave me a clout, Over the garden wall."

"Over the hills and lofty mountains, Where the fields are buried in snow, By the rumbling tumbling waters Where the crystal waters flow, Come, highlanders, now let's be marching." All should choose a love. A girl begs Johnnie to kiss her before he goes

Over the Hills at the Poorhouse: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #5496}

"Over the hills at the poorhouse In the twilight so dim and so gray, A woman is quiely lying, Breathing her life away." She "blesses" her children while whining that they never listen; when she is buried, the children find excuses not to attend

"Possum ran from under the barn, Fiddle bow under his arm, The only tune that be could play Was Over the hills so far away." (x3) "The old cow died in the forks of the branch, Over the hills so far away; Possum had a regular dance, Over the hills...."

Over the Hills to the Poor-House: (4 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #5496}

"Oh, yes, it is true they have driven Their father so helpless and old; Oh, God! may their crime be forgiven For driving him out in the cold." The father, "helpless and feeble," recalls his love for wife and children, and sadly sets out for the poorhouse

"I'm always light-hearted and easy, Not a care in this world have I." The singer is joyful because he is so close to his love, even though she is over the (mountain/ocean). He is preparing for a reunion

"Over the river and through the woods To Grandmother's house we go." The family travels (by horse) to Grandmother's (for Thanksgiving)

Over the Water to Charlie: (10 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #729}

"Come boat me o'er, come row me o'er, Come boat me o'er to Charlie." "We'll o'er the water, we'll o'er the sea, We'll o'er the water to Charlie." The singer tells her love for Charlie, laments his exile, says she would bear her sons again to die for him

Over There (George M. Cohan Song): (7 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #25459}

"Johnny, get your gun, get your gun, get your gun, Take it on the run...." "Over there, over there, Send the word, send the word over there That the Yanks are coming, the Yanks are coming... And we won't come back till its over, over there."

"Oh, the praties they grow small, Over there... Oh the praties they grow small, But we eat them tops and all...." Stories of the Irish potato famine. Localized versions preserve the theme of poverty but apply it to local conditions and places

Verses are: (line, "Where the sun will never shine")(2x). Lines include "I am going over yonder," "I'll be shouting/walking over yonder" and "Meet my mother over yonder"

"One day as I was walking along the railroad track, I met a man in Wheatland with his blankets on his back... I knew he was a Wobbly by the button that he wore." He tells stories of workers' troubles. They must help the imprisoned Ford and Suhr

Singer meets a lass at the Overgate; she eats as much as an elephant, then invites him to her bed. A policeman pushes him downstairs. He complains that he's lost his valuables; she retorts that she's lost her maidenhead "and that's a damn sight worse."

"I sing to everybody, in the country and the town... But plead for the cause of sticking to the box seat of a coach." The singer enjoys seeing the plains and the mountains; the weather doesn't bother him; he is proud to carry the mail

"They don't drive the Overland Stage no more Like they used to when I was young." The drivers take the stage out and talk of how they would face an outlaw. They pick up a young woman. She shocks them by holding them up. He blames it on women's suffrage

"'Well, Uncle Sam,' says Jefferson D., Lilliburlero, old Uncle Sam, You'll have to join my Confed'racy...." The Confederates make demands for money, recognition, slavery, absolute power, and rewritten histories. Uncle Sam rejects the terms

The singer's heart returns constantly to "Altmover's Fairy Glen and the cot where I was born." He recalls all the sights near Oville. Though others would differ, he will prefer visiting the Doo-an Rocks and other sites near home.

Rooney of Innismore, Fermanagh near Lough Erne, joins a fight and stands with the Catholics. Six of the opponents fall. Rooney is taken prisoner, tried and convicted; "my wife and children it grieved ... To see me transported at the age of fifty-three"

Owen Trainor and two friends hire a boat that capsizes in a gale. Trainor dies after telling his friends to tell his sweetheart and comrades his dying thoughts. An Indian in a canoe rescues his friends.

The singer, wandering by Owenreagh, recalls all the "comrades long absent from home." He admits that the land is barren and money hard to come by. He wishes them back; he stayed, and the land is beautiful, and money is fleeting. Perhaps they will return

The singer, bound for America, bids farewell to Glenrannel, his friends, and his sweetheart most of all. His one true fear is leaving her, and having "the ties of love... rend in twain." He bids his friends drink, and promises to remain affectionate

Owl and the Mice, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #7339}

"The owl and the mice lived up in the barn, A dinky dinky doo dum dow; The owl eat(s) mice and the mice eat corn." The song of the owl causes the mice to come out and listen; the owl swoops down and eats them

The singer is sad that the wind has blown his plaid away. It was his sheet that protected him from wind and wet. "It's nae the plaid that I lament, But ochone, alas, my love was in't"

Owslebury Lads, The: (4 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #17212}

30 November 1830 a mob of Owslebury lads wreck machinery. Sent for trial to Winchester, "many was transported for life and some was case to die." Conditions in the jail are hard. "For all the poor in Hampshire for rising of their wages"

The singer tells of the hardships of ox-driving in the winter -- an occupation he intends to quit. "It would make any tender-hearted person weep To see my oxen pull and slip." "When I get home I'll have my revenge, I'll land my family among my friends."

"Into the West when dawns, When dawned that fateful day, The Mormon host moved slowly... Toward our greatest goal." In the "barren sagebrush prairies" they will find a home for those "Who prayerfully kept plodding Along the Mormon trail"

The singer settles under a tree to watch the girls bathe. One catches his eye -- and he hers. She calls him to rescue her from sinking. (He then "entered the bush of Australia.") Nine months later she bears a son whose dad "nowhere could be found"

"Prithee, lend your jocund voices for to listen we're agreed; Come sing of songs the choicest of the life we ploughboys lead." Ploughboys hear the birds as they work; they rest when it is hot; they go home to the girls and fires at evening; all need them

"Come all you bold ox teamsters, Wherever you may be...." "It's of a bold ox teamster, His name I'll tell to you, His name was Johnny Carpenter, He pulled the oxen through." Despite his prowess, the oxen wear out and the trips go slowly

""O, come and listen to my song... About the folks... Along the Oxford Railway." "Don't you wonder how it's done? Carriages without horses run...." Various people watch the train, celebrate it, ride it; "you can visit all your friends"

Jump-rope rhyme. "Oxford boys are very nice (boys), Cambridge boys are better...." The rest is perhaps censored.

A servant asks a lady to wed; she put him off on the grounds that they are too young. When he sees her dancing with someone else, he poisons her wine. Feeling ill, she asks him to take her home. He reveals that both have drunk poison; they die together

The singer meets an oyster girl and proposes that they take a room at the inn to discuss the sale. When they arrive, she picks his pocket and jumps out the window. He is left with a kettle of oysters and a bill to pay

The singer describes the "queer fashion" of the (bonnet and) chignon. He tells how all the women are trying them out. Some even buy two; others get them made from odd materials. He clearly thinks the old ways (sunbonnets, etc.) were better

"A man happened to an accident upon a railroad train" and has his leg amputated; he sends a message to his mother, "Just tell them that you saw me... Her darling boy has one foot in the grave." An oyster sends a message, "Just tell... I was in the soup"

Jump-rope rhyme. "P.K. chewing gum, penny a packet/racket, First you chew it, then you crack it, Then you stick it in your jacket, P.K. chewing gum...." (Or, "Then your mother kick(s) up a racket."

"Home came old Pa Rattin," drunk. He kills Ma, Grandpa, brother and baby Rattin.

Pace-Egging Song, The: (8 refs. 4K Notes) {Roud #614}

We have come pace-egging; give us eggs and beer and we'll not come till next year. A British tar who served with Nelson has returned to England pace-egging. A lady has run from her country and is here to collect eggs in a basket and drink neat gin.

"One night as I sat by my fireside so weary..... When all of a sudden I found my eyes resting On something that brought many scenes to my mind, 'Twas an old pack of cards." The singer tells talesof a gambler slowly dies from gambling and poverty

"Welton Brown ran a pack train From his farm at the top of the hill, Brining supplies to the bush men who fell'd the trees." He carries food, mail, news in the rain. "It's been a hard slog with horses and dog, But where else would I rather be?"

"Pack up your troubles in your old kit bag And smile, smile, smile! While you've a Lucifer to light your fag, Smile, boys, that's the style; What's the use of worrying, It never was worthwhile; So pack up your troubles in your old kit bag...."

"Bounty was a packet ship, Pump ship, packet ship, Sailing on a cruising trip, In the south Pacific!" "Billy Bligh(t), that silly man... was the master in command." The men mutiny and put Billy Blight off in a boat. The Bounty disappears

"When I came and took up my claim, Well, Bill Muggins was my name" but he's stuck rocking the cradle. He has hunted for gold and suffered through cold winters. But in "shanties where you spin away all your... tin" Nancy ensnared him

"Packing up, getting ready, Going to see King Jesus, I'm packing up, getting ready, Packing up, getting ready to go."

Dance tune, with no real lyrics of its own, but used as a platform for a great variety of broadsides.

The ballad tells the story of an itinerant pedlar as he rises through hard work to wealth and honor. His sons become professionals. His daughter marries well. The Packman still works as hard as he ever did.

A rambler invites a girl to marry him and join him on the road. The girl is not thrilled; winter is coming and her father has another husband in mind. The rambler declares that her fiance is worthless; the two set out happily on their rambles

Paddle Your Own Canoe: (8 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6093}

"I've traveled about a bit in my time And of troubles I've seen a few, But I found it better in every clime To paddle my own canoe." The singer advises loving one's neighbor, not being downhearted, and remaining as independent as possible

Paddy and the Whale: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6342}

"Paddy O'Brien left Ireland in glee He had a strong notion old England to see." A whale attacks the ship, swallows him, and vomits him six months later. "The next time he wishes old England to see It will be when the railroad runs over the sea"

Singer rides to market on a cow, which dirties his clothes and shoes. He looks up the magistrate, asking if he knows the place; when he arrives, he sees nothing but a thousand potatoes growing on a pear tree. Chorus: "Sing down, all you paddies, lay down"

Recruiting Sergeant Snapp meets Paddy Carey, a great favorite with the women. He enlists Paddy for a shilling "while Pat was coaxing duck-legged Mary." At that ugly widow Leary gives Paddy money for a ring. He outfits himself as a captain and leaves.

"Paddy Darry lived in Clary, Had a girl in Biddy Town, Her tongue was slit with the sierel larry, But she sang to Paddy a golden rune. Hey eye for the sierel-larry... Oh what's the use of going fast? He's sure to meet me on the way."

Shanty. Characteristic line: "We'll pay Paddy Doyle for his boots." The boots may be referred to as stolen, or Paddy's boarding house may be described

Paddy Duffy's Cart: (6 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #V1588}

"The many happy evenings I spent when but a lad On Paddy Duffy's lumber cart, quite safe away from dad," The singer recalls all the people, "Tommy Dobson, now a senator," "Henry Gleason, now a millionaire," and others less noteworthy

"Paddy from home has never been, A railway train he's never seen, He longs to see the great machine, That travels along the railway." Or, "Paddy McQuark/from Cork was never seen, never seen, never seen... Travelling around the railroad."

"Come all you gallus sporting men and boys that fall the pine, I hope you'll pay attention and just listen to this rhyme" iabout Paddy Hart, whose ancestry was noble. He loves fighting, drink, women. Left to freeze by a widow, he reforms and goes west

Pat lands in New York and finds a pub. The cost of Irish whisky is so high he accuses the landlord of trying to rob him, as the landlords did at home. They fight. Pat knocks the landlord down. 50 Yankees join the battle, but 50 Irishmen chase them away

An Englishman, Scotchman, and Irishman meet and pool their resources to buy a loaf. The loaf will go to the one who has the grandest dream. The Englishman and Scotchman have grand dreams but the Irishman dreamt he was hungry, woke and ate the loaf.

"Oh! My name is Paddy Malone, or 'twas so in Tipperary," but he chose to emigrate to Australia and now regrets it: He lost his master's sheep, was kicked by his bullock team; he will now head to town to try something safer

Paddy McGinty's Goat: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #18235}

Paddy McGinty buys a nanny goat for the milk but finds it is a billy. The goat eats folks' valuables and causes the Kaiser problems. The goat swallows gasoline, dynamite and a spark: if you see someone in heaven with whiskers it may be this goat.

Paddy Miles the Fisherman: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #15679}

"Paddy Miles was a fisherman, young and light-hearted," who found that "all kinds of fish... came into his net." But he wants a wife. He meets a mermaid and tries to make out with her -- but finds her fishy hindquarters unsuited to his desires

Paddy O'Rafferty, marries Judy O'Doherty, a scold. "With pleasure I'd pay for a neat wooden suit for her." They go to dig turf. She falls in a hole; "Says I, there's an Irish divorce for you." He would dance on her grave but the mossy ground is too soft.

Paddy on the Railway (I): (10 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #13611}

"Paddy on the railway, Picking up stones; Along came an engine And broke Paddy's bones." "O, said Paddy, That's not fair. O, said the engineman, You shouldna have been there."

Floating verses about Paddy's difficulties as he travels: "I'm just Paddy on the turnpike, I'll just be on my way, I'll just paddle down the turnpike To pass the time away." He describes his travels, admits he has no wife, and laments growing old

"Way up in old Calgary over the line There came an old cowboy, his name was Pat Ryan. He looked at the cowboys a-workin' the chutes, 'Boys, watch these spurs on the heels of my boots.'" "Old Thief Duncan looks up and he squalls, 'Watch this boy....'"

""From round seventy-eight to eighty-six, Left room for to believe No Englishman could ever stand The weight of Paddy's sleeve." After a long boxing match, "Joe" is unable to come out to fight "Paddy," who wins the bout

The singer stops at Paddy West's (boarding)-house. Paddy offers him a (bad) meal and induces him to go to sea. Paddy assures the recruit is qualified by sending him three times "around the horn" of a cow and having him furl the royal of the window blind

Paddy Whack boasts of his Irish ancestry, his schooling (especially in fisticuffs), and his skill in war

Paddy Works on the Railway: (26 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #208}

Paddy describes the working conditions on the railway: "In (1841), I put me corderoy britches on... to work upon the (railway)." He recalls the hard work, courting and losing a wife, and the drink he uses to relieve his burdens

Shanty, with long chorus, "Paddy, get back, Take in the slack, Heave away your capstan," etc. The song details how the poor boy has to go to sea to earn money, then suffers at the hands of weather, mate, and a long voyage

Paddy, the Cockney and the Ass: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #3078}

Pat Molloy meets a cockney and his ass in London. Forced to speak to the ass, Pat puts a pebble in its ear. Enraged, it upsets the cockney's cart. Taken in, Pat says he told the ass that the Irish had rid themselves of the landlords. Charges dismissed

The young girl meets Paddy, and soon she declares, "Paddy, you're a villain, Paddy, you're a rogue. There's nothing o' ye Irish Except your name and brogue. You're killing me by inches, You're making me your slove." She hopes to dance on his grave

Paddy is advised "let men of all creeds and professions agree ... How easy old Erin we'd free." If you stand alone, the preachers will fleece you, you must pay landlords just to dig your land. "The system must fall ... if ye stick to each other"

Paddy's Curiosity Shop: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #15372}

"Did you hear tell of Paddy's Museum?" It is filled with antiquities. Barnum's cannot compare. It has Adam's "mattock and spade," "King David's ould breeches,"... "I'll give you the second edition Some night when you drop in again."

The singer tells of setting sail from (Londonderry), bound for America. He looks long on the beloved Irish coast he is leaving. A hard voyage brings him to America, where he and his friends say farewell. (He hopes to return home and marry his girl)

The singer travels from Ireland to Scotland. He sees and falls in love with a beautiful girl. She asks him if he is Scottish. He tells her no, and asks if she will go to Ireland with him. She apparently refuses, for he returns to Ireland alone

The singer is asked by a damsel "for a verse or two in praise of Paddy's land." He sings about pure air, pretty girls. The Irish are noble people driven from home by the failure of trade. Trade has now returned. He toasts Wellington, Duncan, and Jervis.

Paddy's Land (III): (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #12987}

"Come, all you songs of Paddy's land, who are inclined to roam To reap the English harvest so far away from home.... You'll have to fight both day and night 'gainst John Bull and his crew." They sail to New York, where they find many Irish already there

Poteen is "the best thing in nature For sinking your sorrows and raising your joys." It cures cramp, colic and spleen, calms a baby when mixed in milk, sooths a mind at school, makes the dumb talk, the lame walk, and helped Brunel dig the Thames tunnel.

Paddy's Pastoral Rhapsody: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #V2084}

Pat asks Molly to marry. She says he is too young and too poor. He says "wealth is an invitation The wise should never mintion." Sparrows, bees and roses, he says, get by without wealth. He drinks to her "for when I'm drunk I think I'm rich"

Paddy's Ramble to London: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #V7641}

Paddy has too much money and so can't pay his debts and goes to London to pass for a Lord. He has strange, often paradoxical adventures. Finally he decides to marry a Blackamoor Lady, the "fairest of creatures" and buy her a silver cup of horn.

Paddy's Voyage to Glasgow: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5859}

Paddy goes to Scotland for the harvest. He takes the steamboat from Belfast to Glasgow and does not understand paying fare. He is confused by the town and a public show, cannot sleep for the drunk telling the hour, and is happy to leave for the Lothians

Padstow May Day Song: (7 refs. 13K Notes) {Roud #305}

Ritual song, for a hobby-horse, in English or Cornish: "Unite and unite, and let us all unite"..."Rise up, Mrs. __ and gold be your ring/And give to us a cup of ale the merrier we shall sing"..."Where are these young men that now here should dance..."

Page from the Scrap-Book of Life: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #4341}

"I stood in the glare of the city, And gazed on the passing throng... there in the crowd came a woman... I could trace upon her sad face, A tale of a happier day." "'Tis a page from the scrapbook of life." She was lured from home; her child grieves

Anti-rebel forces range through Meath. Young Currogha smith Paid O'Donoghue forges rebel pike-heads. He is betrayed, taken and forced, before execution, to shoe the yeoman captain's horse. He kills the captain with his hammer and escapes on the horse

Painful Plough, The: (13 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #355}

"Come all you jolly plowmen, of courage stout and bold... To crown them with contentment, behold the painful plow." The gardener and plowman discuss the antiquity of their profession. The plowman wins the argument because the plow makes all else possible

"Pains in my fingers, Pains in my toes; I sent for Doctor Brody To know what to do." Cho: "Sick him, Bobby, hoo-hoo, Sick him, Bobby, hoo! Oh, pore Mary Jane, He'll never come here no more." Other verses float

The singer is wounded by love and tortured "like to a salamander." He will wander aimlessly until "the maid whom I adore ... grants me my designing"

"You take the paint pot And I'll paint the brush, And we'll paint the ship's side together. When 'Jimmy' comes along We'll sing this little song. Thank the Lord we didn't join forever."

"Just grey paint, just grey paint, We know where the paint comes from, Underneath the old pom-pom. Just grey paint, Makes things look like what they ain't. 'Jimmy' goes sick when he looks at the chit For just grey paint."

Henry, an officer from Paisley, meets and falls in love with Mary. His regiment having been called to India, (they are married and) she dresses as a soldier to accompany him. He is fatally injured; she is killed caring for him

"Oh, my fair Paisteen is my heart's delight, Her gay heart laughs in her blue eye bright." If he were in town with her on his knee, he would drink to her. He waited for her for nine nights; he will never abandon her "Till I lie in the coffin stretched."

"Come, Packingham, and have a cup, Perhaps the last you will ever sup." The singer taunts the British soldiers coming to the battle of New Orleans

The singer leaves Eldring and goes to war. The war ends and he had "escaped from the slaughter" but he returns home to find she had died of grief.

"I saw a wayward traveller in tattered garments clad... His back was heavy laden, his strength was almost gone, He shouted as he journeyed, 'Deliverance will come!" Whatever the trouble, the traveller's refrain is the same.

The Pandora "went down in Youghal Bay." On November 18 she sailed from Nova Scotia and, after seven days of heavy seas, sank after striking a rock. Captain Hardcastle "ordered out the longboat in hopes to reach the land" but many "perished in the deep"

Singer says the country is falling apart; no one can get work; landlords are raising rents; women are selling fruit, booze, or "everything they can." I things don't change "there'll be some stealin' done." Cho: "Doggone...I mean the panic is on."

Singer is lonesome since his lover left. He writes her a letter about the "cook" and a hen, who wouldn't lay eggs. If she doesn't lay "the cook's 'bout to get mad." "That cook has a great big axe." "Sweet mama, papa's 'bout to get mad."

Yiddish: Daylight is silver, the sea is blue, and the singer's new love is bright. He hopes she will stay with him forever. None is as fair as she. He is tormented by love; all he wants is to be with her. If he is, any hut is a palace

French. Behind my father's house is an apple tree, Under it sleep the prince's three daughters. Their lovers are in battle; "If they win, they'll have our love so sweet...if they win or lose, they'll have our love forever"

"I am the gentleman whose name is known throughout the land." "I'm par excellence the creature of the day." He has to keep a book of the ladies he has conquered. "I've never earned a penny yet," but the ladies help him with "voluntary contributions"

Singer is hailed by a lady who asks him to hold her parcel while she finds her sister. He holds the parcel until his arms grow tired. He sets it down; it emits a squall; he finds a baby. He advises young men never to take a parcel from a lady

"Judge give me life this morning down on Parchman Farm (x2), I wouldn't hate it so bad, but I left my wife this morn." "Oh, goodbye, wife, all you had done gone." The singer warns hearers to avoid Parchman, and wishes for better times

Pardon Came Too Late, The: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7375}

"A fair-haired boy in a foreign land at sunrise was to die." The solder is captured while trying to desert. The pardon does not arrive in time to save him. After his death, his comrades learn that he had been trying to return to his dying mother

Pardon of Sydna Allen, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3117}

"In the state of old Virginny, In the year 1912, Was the famous Allen gangsters we all remember well." The judge is shot while Claude and Sydna are in court. Sydna is convicted and sentenced to 14 years, but the governor pardons him

On St Patrick's day the Teagues assembled at Downpatrick fair: "Protestant traitors with papists united Unfurled their green banners at Ballynahinch" and were confronted by the members of Four Hundred and Thirty, "the True Blues of the Parish of Inch"

Park in Portadown, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #2892}

The singer meets a woman who knows him by name. He asks her to walk with him in the park in Portadown. She refuses; she is waiting for her cousin James McKeown. He receives a letter from his "dear" as Mrs James McKeown. Beware of girls willing to spark.

Despite her mother's warnings a Perthshire maid walks in Keltie's parks. The Laird of Keltie rapes her. Her father sees the rape and threatens to "forfeit" the parks if not paid "her portion." The laird marries her.

Parody on Jock o' Hazeldean: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #6722}

Wealthy Episcopalian Geordie would marry a Presbyterian lady who weeps to think of leaving Manse o' Deer. "The day was fixed the feast was spread ... But the bride she wisna seen Wi' a drunken pedlar she's awa To the jile at Aiberdeen"

Parson and the Clerk, The: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1154}

Parson preaches against sin; clerk wants to do it. Parson denounces coveting gold, saying it's his fate to be well-paid. Clerk says, "Give it to me." Parson deplores boys kissing hussies; clerk says "I've done it myself and they're fond of it too." Etc.

Parson and the Sucking Pig, The: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #574}

A parson insists that a farmer's tithe be a plump sucking pig which he will feed some guests that night. He rejects the first offer and insists on making the choice himself. The old sow throws him in the mud and he runs away, swearing off "sucking pig"

Parson Brown's Sheep: (8 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #2498}

A boy sings truly that his father killed the minister's wether. The minister hears the song and offers a reward to sing the song in church. The boy sings that he saw the minister in bed with his mother. The minister runs away. The family eats the wether.

Jump-rope rhyme. "The parson in the pulpit Couldn't say his prayers, He gabbled and he gabbles Till he tumbled down the stairs. The stairs gave a crack, And he broke his old back, And all the congregation Gave a quack, quack, quack."

A wooden-legged parson promises to try to resolve differences between a couple he has married. The husband finds the parson and his wife together and kicks him out but his wife delivers a baby with a wooden leg.

"The time has come, dear Papa, when I must say goodbye; I feel the shadows thickening...." "I'll meet you at the portals, where the angels come and go." The singer bids farewell to mother and father and looks forward to heaven

Parting Glass, The: (10 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #3004}

The singer has done some ills and foolish things, but never with ill purpose and only to himself. He misses his girl. He would spend money on good company if he had it. Conclusion: "So fill to me the parting glass, Goodnight and joy be with you all."

"My Christian friends ... we must take the parting hand." "Your company's sweet." "How sweet the hours have pass'd away." "How would it would cheer my mind to stay but... we must take the parting hand"

"The lily that bends to the breeze of the morning And yields its perfume to the trembling gale May join with the wild briar rose in adorning the moss-cover'd cottage that stands in the vale. But flowers fade. They will kiss and part

"When the parting words were spoken And I told him he was free... I am free, oh, free again...." She has seen him with another; accuses him of falsehood, says she will be true; he wipes away a tear, murmuring, "Life is nothing more to me."

Yiddish: The guerrilla is advised to use (her) weapon well. A girl is going on her first raid. She kills an enemy soldier, and his vehicle crashes. She rejoices in her success in "a struggle all must share"

"It was on a Sunday evening in the month of July We went out to Jack Williams's ourselves for to enjoy" Late arrivals -- "a sporting bunch belonging to Kilbride" -- took the floor, and when they left the locals danced the night away

"Pass around the bottle and we'll all take a drink (x2) As we go marching home." "Pull out the stopper and fill it up again." "Hang John Brown on a sour apple tree." "Grasshopper sitting on a sweet potato vine." Etc.

"Hear's a health unto our majesty, and long may she reign, Queen of all the seven seas and the pride of the Spanish main." "Here's a health to his Majesty, With a fa la la la la...." "So pass around the grog, my boy"

"It only takes a spark To get a fire going, And soon all those around Can warm up to its glowing." The original explains, "That's how it is with God's love," and offers examples. Camp song versions may replace this with scouting references

Chorus: "Saviour, Saviour / Hear my humble cry / And while others Thou art calling / Do not pass me by." Verses ask, "help my unbelief" and "whom have I ... but Thee."

The singer variously sees "a young bride in her beauty and pride," a "young mother in tenderness band," and parents falling victim to "idolatrous love," but a Healer came to rescue them, saying "I love thee, I love thee, pass under the rod."

French capstan song. Singer is passing through Paris, when he's told that someone is courting his girl. He says he doesn't care, anyone can have her, and goes on to list all the other good things that he has/had.

"'Russ Gibb must go.' The Commission willed it so, And the glory of Waimea is departed." "But you thirty true loves Shall never drink again In our beloved pub, the Helvetia." The locals lament the closed Helvetia hotel

Jump-rope rhyme. "Pass(ing) the doctor, one, two, three, Pass(ing) the doctor, Out goes she."

"I saw Adam leave that garden with an apple in his hand"; the singer asks what he'll do now. Adam replies that he is just "Passing through... Tell the people that you saw me passing through." Jesus, FDR, Joseph Smith, Brigham Young are all passing through

"'Twas ten o'clock one moonlit night" when the singer's love comes tapping at the window. Her parents are awake; she dares not answer. Finally the parents fall asleep; she goes with her beau and they marry at ten o'clock the next morning

"What sorrowful sounds do I hear Move slowly along in the gale?... Sweet Coroden's notes are all o'er, How lonely he sleeps in the clay." Caroline describes the flowers by his grave and plans to haunt the woods "Since Coroden hears me no more"

Spanish. "Ys se van los pastores a la Estremadura (x2), Ya se queda la Sierra triste y oscura (x2)." "Ye se van mardhando. Yas las pobres zagales se quedan llorando." The shephers leave Estremadura, leaving the Sierras sad. The girls weep

Pastures of Plenty: (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #16377}

"It's a mighty hard road that my poor hands has hoed." The singer describes the hard work in the fields and the life of the (migrant) field worker. The singer promises to fight if need be, "'Cause my Pastures of Plenty must always be free."

Street cry. "Hot pasty, pasty, Hot potato mutton pasty, Hot pasty."

Pat and the Gauger: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2765}

Paddy lands with a 6-gallon whisky keg. A gauger asks to see his permit. Says Pat, "It's unconvenient to show it." The gauger takes the "smuggled" keg and sweats lugging it toward Customs House. At his own house Pat shows the permit and takes the keg

Pat Brady's father is taken prisoner and hanged without any crime. Pat vows revenge. He takes part in the rebellion at Gorey, Wicklow, New Ross, and Vinegar Hill, is taken in Rathangan, and condemned to hang for high treason.

Pat Malloy [Laws Q24]: (12 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #8809}

Pat, the singer, reports that his mother (burdened with thirteen children) at last had to send him out to fend for himself. He visits England and America, sending his earnings home. Finally he prepares to return to Ireland and his sweetheart Molly

Mike Malony marries Molly Higgins. "She'd as many relations as fishes in the sea, They ate me out of house and home." The family, including the "seventeen hundred babies... grandmothers and mothers-in-law" are numbered and named.

"There's Pat Mullaly who never kept tally, He would work a mule's work to get two men's pay"; the other workers write a letter to try to make him stop. "We'll combine, the union join, And work eight hours a day... and then they'll raise our pay"

Pat Murphy of the Irish Brigade: (7 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #11630}

"Said Pat to his mother, "It looks strange to see, Brothers fighting in such a queer manner." But Pat joins the Union army. He goes to battle still singing, but is shot and dies "far from the land of shillelagh."

Pat O'Brien [Laws P39]: (9 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1919}

Pat asks Nancy to meet him. Having decided not to marry her, he stabs her. Her ghost tells her mother of the crime. Her body is found and Pat arrested. The ghost keeps appearing to him, finally inducing him to confess. He is hanged

Pat O'Donnell, "a deathly foe to traitors," sails from Ireland for Capetown on the Melrose. The informer James Kerry is also on board. Pat kills Kerry in a gunfight and is convicted of murder, though he claims self defence.

"I am an Irish boy, and my heart is full of joy... I'm the rattling, rowling, teasing Pat O'Hara." The girls are always chasing Pat. He loves Ireland "tho' the times have changed this while in dear ould Erin's isle, And many have had to wander"

Pat O'Reilly intends to go to America, make a fortune, and return to Tyrone. Pat promises to marry Ann McCormick when he returns. She has him arrested and lies at the trial. He is condemned to "die on the gallows tree"

"They may talk of Flying Childers" and other fast horses but none compares to the filly that drags Pat Mulingar's jaunting car. She won cups but "lost an eye at Limerick and an ear at Waterloo... She's gentle as the dove sirs, her speed you can't deny"

"Pat-a-cake, pat-a-cake, baker's man! So I will, master, as fast as I can: Pat it, and prick it, and mark it with T [or B], Put in the oven for Tommy [baby] and me"

"O come in, man, and let's hear your cracks; I heard ye was o'er at the wedding O aye, man, indeed I was that, And I lent them a hand at the bedding." The singer describes Pat, "a comical body"; Rob, "the greedy hash"; etc.

"Of all the years since I began To mix in politics, The one that tries my inner man Is Eighteen Ninety Six... And count them all from hip to heel, The patches on my pants." He first put them on in 1888, when he voted for Harrison; now he regrets it

"The fatal cry of fire it was carried through the air, And crowds of people they came rushing round. All Paterson is burning...." People "madly" try to save themselves. The fire causes great damage and disturbance

"So farewell to you Geraldine I am already down the track... Down the path of a walking man Treads a song for a working plan, If it ends in the way it began, It's the path of a walking man." The singer lists the places he will go before returning home

Patie's Wadding (Petie's Wedding): (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5514}

Petie comes to Meg to ask if she will marry. She consents but directs him to her father. Petie asks her father, pointing out that he has relatively little. The father consents to the wedding, and to pay for the feast

Patie's Wedding (II): (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2620}

The singer tells of attending Patie's wedding. There was lots of food but the singer sat next to a glutton. They had to give the fiddler a toddy so he could play. Everyone danced until "they'd a' got their fill," then "repaired to the beddin'"

"A noble marquess, As he did ride a hunting," meets Grissell. The story follows that in Chaucer and the Italien ancestors: He marries her or gets her pregnant, abuses her, casts her aside, and finally reunites with her when she stays faithful

Collier Patient Jo is mocked for his acceptance of any misfortune. Jo's life is saved and his taunter's life is lost when a dog steals Jo's lunch.

Patrick goes to visit a cousin, and -- being mistaken for a sailor in disguise -- is taken by a press gang. Aboard ship, he proves utterly inept and meets many surprises. His ship defeats a Frenchman in battle. With peace, Patrick gets to go home

Patrick Power robs his father for a girl he is courting. She advises him to kill his father, which he does. Patrick is arrested, tried, convicted, and condemned. He repents, says farewell to his mother and warns against "Satan's cursed art."

Patrick Sheehan [Laws J11]: (17 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #983}

Patrick and his family are forced from their home by the landlord. His mother dies in the poorhouse. Patrick has little choice but to join the British army. He is blinded at Sevastopol, and ends as a wandering beggar

Singer cries because Jimmy left her and crossed the ocean on Saint Patrick's day. They had met on Saint Patrick's day. Her friends warned her to "banish him out of my mind" but she ignored the warning. She'll never forget his vows and promises.

"Saint Patrick was a gentleman, his name we celebrate, And on the 17th of March the Irish congregate." They'll "face the divil, friend or foe In the Patrick's Day parade." They cheer both America and their Irish heritage, and all who are in the parade

Patriot Game, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #18464}

"Come all you young rebels and list' while I sing, For the love of one's land is a terrible thing." 16-year-old O'Hanlon wanted to fight England and "free" Ulster. Now he lies with his body "all holes." He wishes he had accomplished more

"'Come tell us the name of the rebelly crew Who lifted the pike on the Curragh with you.'" The captured rebel's mother tells the young man that she would rather see him dead than turn traitor. He holds fast and is hanged

Singer meets a beautiful woman who identifies herself as Ireland. "The bigoted tyrant I'll humble" "I have noble fine brave men ... Preparing to fight for my name; I have noble O'Connell my leader, And millions of heroes at home"

"I left my home in Ireland, 'twas many years ago... where the pigs and praties grow." "Hello, Patsy Fagan, you'll hear the girls all cry... You're a decent lad from Ireland." He hopes someone will marry him and accept him as a "decent boy"

Rangers at a frontier post are hard-pressed by Indians. The commander sends the singer to get help. His swift horse Pattonia carries him through to safety, even though an arrow has pinned his foot to the stirrup

The singer meets Pat Murphy the piper: "the sweet music he blew 'Twould have melted the heart of a stone." The singer followed Murphy for five years. Drunk, the piper "fell from a bridge ... dead as a nail in a door" The singer now plays Murphy's pipes.

"Paul let his chickens run down from the hillside"; he realizes from their actions that Reyard (the fox) is out. The fox has taken a chicken before Paul chases it off. Ashamed, he grinds some corn to earn enough that he can go home to his mother

Recitation. Singer works Paul Bunyan's camp, where everything is done on a grand scale (e.g. the pancakes are turned with a sidehill plow). Bunyan, needing a river to run his logs, has his huge ox plow the Big Manistee. Bunyan retires when the ox dies.

Paul Bunyan's Big Ox: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4069}

Recitation aboutPaul Bunyan's giant blue ox ("...every day for dinner/He would eat a ton of hay"; "This big blue ox weighed fourteen tons/And every time he'd bawl/The earth would shake... timber it would fall." The ox dies by breaking its neck

Paul Bunyan's Manistee: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6522}

"Paul Bunyan, the lumberman, came from St. Paul. he owned a big ox that was eleven feet tall." The singer, from Bay City, is out of work and joins Bunyan's crew. He greases Bunyan's huge griddle with ham strapped to his ankles and does other absurd jobs

John Paul Jones's American ship outruns a British man-of-war. Most of the ballad is devoted to describing the way the ship sails.

Paul Jones's Victory [Laws A4]: (30 refs. 9K Notes) {Roud #967}

John Paul Jones's [Bonhomme] Richard encounters two British ships. Despite being outgunned, Jones manages to capture the larger of the British ships.

"I've been readin' Rudyard Kipling... 'Pears like Rud was stuck on Gunga Din... But when compared to our Paul King, We can beat him to a frazzle." King has worked everywhere, done everything; he could beat Jack Dempsey. Paul King is great, "sure t'ing"

Paulie told the singer that she loved only him but she has been courted by the fluter of the band. The singer is unhappy: "when she says she loves me / Then she tells a fib"

"Pauline, Pauline, I don't love nobody but you." "Lord, I'm going to my shanty, I'm gonna lie down." "Lord, I'm going back home to Pauline." He has walked and cried all night long. "I'm gonna write one more letter, gonna write no more."

"Say, RIchards, have you seen the paupers With a mortgage on their lands, Going to congress with their cowhides." "Schemers" steal their crops; "Money-changers" will not yield, but "Thus must be the hayseed jubilo And the pauper's kingdom come."

Playparty, with lyrics such as "Where oh where is pretty little (Susie/Liza/Nellie) (x3)? Way down yonder in the paw-paw patch." "Pickin' up paw-paws, puttin' 'em in her pockets." "Come along, boys, and let's go see her...."

"Pawkie Adam Glen, piper o' the clachan When he stoited ben, sairly was he pechin'." Old Adam goes out seeking a wife, settling on "auntie Madie." After a cheerful dance, "Madge is hect to Adam Glen, And sune we'll hae a weddin'."

"As I gae'd up Hawick Loan... 'Twas there I heard an auld yaud Gie mony a heavy grane... 'I'm Pawkie Patterson's auld yaud, See how they're guidin' mie.'" The aged horse describes its hard and bitter life, and leaves its body parts to various people

"Pay boy mango." "Papa say no go there." "Take you bare han cut timber"

Pay Day at Coal Creek: (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6685}

"Pay day, O pay day, O pay day, Pay day at Coal Creek tomorrow." "Bye bye, good woman, I'm gone." "You gonna miss me when I'm gone" "She's a rider, but she'll leave that rail sometime." "Pay day won't come no more."

"Pay me, O pay me, Pay me my money down... Pay me or go to jail. Pay me, mister stevedore.... You pay me, you owe me...." Almost anything may be included, but all on the theme that the boss has hired the worker and should pay him for his labor

"Peace I ask of thee, oh river, Peace, peace, peace, When I learn to live serenely Cares will cease. From the hills I gather courage, Visions of the days to be, Strength to lead and faith to follow All are given unto me."

Rope-skipping or counting game. ""Peaches in the parlor, Apples on the shelf, [name's] getting tired Of sleeping by herself. How many times did she sleep by herself? One, two...."

"The peanut sat on the railway track, Its heart was all a-flutter. The train came roaring round the bend, Toot, toot... Peanut butter."

"You kin do jes'-a' what you please, I's gwine to pick off-a Massa's peas (x2), An' den I's gwine home." "I kin fill dis basket if I choose, Nen I's gwine home." Master gives him shoes and clothes. The singer hopes to catch a possum.

"Twa lads" go out one day, see a pear tree, and climb it. Lad and lass start to undress in the tree as the pears fall. The young man loses his coat. The singer calls into the tree about the coat; the couple in the tree do not answer. So he takes the coat

Pearl Bryan (I) [Laws F2]: (12 refs. 9K Notes) {Roud #2212}

Pearl Bryan runs away to meet her lover Jackson, who, helped by Walling, takes her to Kentucky and decapitates her. Her body is discovered the next day. (The fate of the murderers may then be described)

Pearl Bryan (III) [Laws F3]: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2213}

Pearl Bryan appeals to Jackson for help; he is not interested and, with (Alonzo) Walling, cuts off her head and abandons the body

A girl of Greencastle, Indiana loves a young man. (She becomes pregnant?, and) begs him to make good the wrong he has done her. He refuses and plans to depart. She follows him. He kills her. Young girls are warned by the example of Pearl Bryan

Pearl Bryan (V): (3 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #500 and 2212}

Jackson and Walling agree to take Pearl Bryan for a ride. Pearl asks what she has done that Jackson would want to kill her. They murder Pearl; her head cannot be found. The two are hung despite Walling's mother's plea for her son

The song relates the murder of Pearl Bryan in Kentucky. "Poor Pearl! Poor girl, she thought she was doing right. She had no dream of murder...." Scott Jackson bears much blame. Young girls should take warning

"Pearly mists, high above, Songs and campfire flames rising And the campers pledge of love Floods the fragrant evening air.... Voices fill the deep night Songs of hope and good cheer, Let us then murmur low Comrades all good rest, good rest"

People cruising to Nassau "get drunk... hear those natives singin'. Mandy don't want no peas no rice no cocoanut oil Just a bottle of brandy handy." People came for a race but got "whisky and champagne." "Mama got drunk but she wouldn't get drunk no more"

"Peas and the rice... new rice and okra, eat some and left some... peas and the rice done done done"

"I was a simple country girl." She loves Thady: "with hook or scythe, with plow or spade, He'd beat ten men together" They marry and many nobles "would gladly give a crown of gold To be like me and Thady."

"Pease porridge hot, Pease porridge cold, Pease porridge in the pot, Nine days old. Some like it hot, Some like it cold, Some like it in the pot, Nine days old." A clapping game, sometimes used to keep the hands warm

Peaslee's Lumber Crew: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #8842}

The various characters on Peaslee's lumber crew are described.

Gaelic. "I wish I had the shepherd's lamb... And Katie coming after." "I wish I had the yellow cow And welcome from my darling."

Pecos Punchers, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #8047}

The singer describes his appearance ("I wear the high heels, also the white hat"), talks of the work of a cowboy, and lists the outfits he worked for. He decides to "go east like Wild Bill and there play the tough" -- but keep his saddle for use hereafter

"Where the Pecos river winds and turns its journey to the sea... Dwells fair young Patty Moorhead the Pecos River Queen." Patty's amazing skills are described. At last she "rode her horse... a lover's heart to test." "But the puncher wouldn't follow...."

"Where the old Fort Sumber Barracks look down on the Pecos wide," the speaker and Pecos Tom are telling tales when the speaker notices Tom has a fancy gun. It cost $15,000. The seller didn't think he could afford it -- don't judge cowboys by their clothes

An old peddler and his wife are riding in their wagon on a fine day when they are ambushed, robbed, and murdered

"The pedlar ca'd in by the house o' Glenneuk" and begins bargaining -- for his goods and the hosts' daughters. Although the parents discourage it, one daughter is interested. She departs with him; they are married; he proves very successful in business

Russian. "Down the road my whole day long With my pack of goods for dame or maid... Oh, the weight on my aching shoulders, But to live a man must trade." A lady cannot afford his lace; he gives it to her

"Peel a banana upside down, Peel an orange round and round, If you count to twenty-one, You hall have another turn. Not last night but the night before, Three little gents came knocking at my door." They sang, "Lady, lady, lady, turn around...."

Peeler and the Goat, The: (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1458}

The Peelers meet a goat and plan to jail him for being on the road. The goat says that he is honorable if houseless and that the road is his home. He expects to be acquitted. He says the peelers are drunk and could be bought for more poteen.

Peelhead owns the saw mill. "All the kind o' logs they got Was small rough saplin' pine." Hope for better times: "not like it was last summer When you said they'd be good times, And some o' your men you owe six months, And more you do owe nine"

Singing game: "Peep squirrel, yang-dan-diddle-um (or other nonsense, e.g. Hop squirrel, eedle-dum-dum)" (x2 or x4). Similarly, "Run, squirrel...." "Catch the old squirrel...." "I give you fifty cents...."

"Peerless," with a Nova Scotia crew, load their bait at Bay of Islands and reach the banks. Their dories are lowered but lost in a storm. The captain looks for the twelve lost fishermen but is forced to sail for Newfoundland.

"In the days of eighteen and one, Peg an' awl... Peggin' shoes was all I done, Hand me down my pegs, my pegs, my pegs, my awl." The singer describes his work(/play?), then tells how "They've invented a new machine.... Makes a hundred pairs to my one."

Peggy leaves her husband and child to go with a soldier who offers her gold and a high life. The two soon quarrel; the soldier beats her and sends her back to her husband. She arrives home and begs her husband to take her back; he rejects her

An Irishman stops at a Scots farmer's house and courts daughter Jane. The farmer offers his daughter in marriage, money, and land. The singer thinks of Peggy and excuses himself: he must be off on the king's business. He will always be true to Peggy

"Oh Peggy Gordon, you are my darling, Come sit you down upon my knee, And tell to me the very reason Why I am slighted so by thee." Spurned, the singer wishes he were far away, or drinking, or doing something to ease the pain of separation

Howatt, a barkeep, is shot and killed by "a brave engineer." When St. Peter declines to admit Howatt, the late bartender replies with obscenity and scorn.

Peggy in the Morning: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5541}

"Noo, mither, confess, a' the lasses ye saw... And wasna my Peggy the flooer o' them a'?" The mother says the girl is lazy and sleeps late. The lad says her father has promised a fine dowry. The mother admits, "Your Peggy's better noo."

"I am a bold, undaunted youth, George Hewitt is my name... And there I had a sweetheart... My Peggy o' Greenlaw." But bad company pulls him away; he falls in love with another, marries her in haste, quickly becomes disillusioned, and regrets losing Peggy

"Come all you sporting young men and listen unto me, Come all you loyal lovers that live in unity...." The singer was one of many fascinated by Peggy of the Moor. A bold shoemaker will be successful with her. The singer wishes success to lovers

The singer is enthralled by "Peggy on the banks o' Spey" bleaching her clothes. He thinks "she fain wad be my dearie." He imagines some night that he would "wed her frae her daddy O I'll kiss her ower and ower again And row her in my plaidie O"

The singer wanders by Peistie Glen and "imbibes meditation" urging him to "write measured words eulogizing" the place. He recalls the history of the place. Now the ship calls him away; he bids farewell to his home

"I have just arrived from Australia, Where I have been for a change of air." He described the "jolly living" there "Where they feed you, and they clothe you Better than a working man or soldier." He tells his history and how he was transported

"There's a railroad they call the Peninsula Pike -- Go get me the Bible and read it." The singer describes the "two streaks of rust" that mark the ill-maintained railroad, which he claims was built immediately after the flood

The Penny Fair drifts from the wharf. The crew are wakened and scramble to tie her up. Jack Lushman, on the ferry, not only sleeps through the hubbub but sleeps while the ferry runs aground. Everyone has a good laugh.

A traveller with one penny in his pocket stakes his purse in a pub wager. He wins; when he asks the landlord's wife what he owes, she tells him to give her a kiss and go. (He rejoices that he has won the wager; otherwise he'd have had to sell his horse)

Pensioner's Complaint, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #1663}

"You neighbours all listen, a story I'll tell." The Waterloo veteran has a pension of 18 pounds a year, and his wife takes too much of it. She drinks, she gossips, she does no work, leaving him cold and tired from his tasks. He wishes she were taken away

People Are A-Coming, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #V39414}

""I hearkened in the east and I hearkened in the west, And I heard a fifing and a drumming, and my heart bobbed up... For I knew that the people were a-coming" to support Lincoln. New York political establishments and the South are worried

"We may get through the world, but 'twill be very slow, If we listen to all that is said as we go"; people shouldn't get bogged down in worries and warnings even though people talk. So "the best way for you is to do as you please"

Pep (The Peppiest Camp): (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #37849}

"The peppiest (girls/camp) I ever saw, It never was a-pokin', If I were to tell you of the pep they've got, You'd think I was a-jokin'." "It's not the pep in the pepper-pot... It's good old-fashioned P-E-P" from somewhere or other

Jump-rope rhyme. "Pepsi Cola hits the spot, Turn the rope and give her hot [i.e. Hot Peppers?]. H-O-T spells hot."

Pera Lee's gone to the "worldly fair." She "ain't coming back no more"

Pere Marquette 18, The: (1 ref. 4K Notes) {Roud #19834}

"Out through the piers at Ludington one dark September day, The Pere Marquette 18 steamed proudly on her way. Her captain, Peter Kilty, looked on his ship with pride," but the mate announces the ship is sinking. They call for help, but 28 drown

"Perfect posture! Perfect posture! Do not slump, do not slump, You must grow up handsome, You must grow up handsome, Hide that hump! hide that hump!"

Lawyer Walter Perigoo visits Whalen's Inn and puts his horse in the stable. Local boys (led by Whalen's son?) cut off the horse's tail and paint it red, white, and blue. Perigoo eventually finds the disguised animal and threatens retribution

"Merry little man with a twinkle in your eye, Indeed you hold my envy, and I will tell you why. I envy you the golden days that you have seen." The poet goes on to describe all the places Perry Allen has seen and the people he has men

Persian's Crew, The [Laws D4]: (14 refs. 5K Notes) {Roud #2230}

The Persian sets out [from Chicago] and disappears on Lake Huron. Since nothing is known of the wreck, the singer can only wonder at and lament the fate of the lost crew. The mate, Daniel Sullivan, may be specially praised

"It's easy to see she's not my mother, 'Cause my mother's 49. It's easy to see she's not my sister... It's easy to see she's not my sweetie, 'Cause my sweetie's too refined... She's just a personal friend of mine" who does not tell what they do together

"I was born under a kind star In a green world withouten any War My eyes opened on great fields and hills Orchards and garden, primrose, daffodils...." The singer is thankful for being able to sing the song of a kind land

"Pete and Repeat sitting on the fence, Pete fell off and who was left? Repeat." And repeat ad nauseum.

"Pete Knight was a rider of horses, The best that I ever did see, But often a life in the saddle Is not what it's cracked up to be." "Ten thousand fans saw him carried Away from the field and the horse."

"List a while to my story 'Bout a lad from the wide open plain Who has won a great name the world over, Pete Knight of rodeo fame." Knight's success as a rider is detailed; the song ends with his marriage

The singer reports "My whole life's full of heartaches and sighs... For I've just lost a pal, like a brother to me...." Expert rider Pete Knight falls and dies; the singer hopes to meet him "on that heavenly range"

"I'll tell all you skinners from John Day to Bend That the road south o' Shaniko ain't got no bend." Pete Orman "never had time to get over the spree" but is sent out on the road. The drunken truckers (?) try to make a fast run.

Peter Amberley [Laws C27]: (35 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #668}

Peter Amberly leaves Prince Edward Island to go lumbering in New Brunswick. Fatally injured in a logging accident, he bids farewell to the father whose unkindness sent him away, to his mother, sweetheart, and home

"Peter and I went down the lane, down the lane (x2), Peter and I went down the lane, And sister came behind." Both sisters love Peter. "Sister was bending over the well When splash, splash in she fell." The survivor marries Peter; he abandons her

Peter Davidson is a poor miller. He and Lizzie are in love. Lizzie is to be married to a rich man. Peter dresses neatly and attends the wedding with ten men. The bridegroom had thirty, or fifty, but Lizzie leaves with Peter.

"One summer day it came to pass That Peter and Paul upon an ass" go up to "Jerusalem the Golden" to drink. They see a pretty barmaid, and hope to pursue an acquaintance (ahem) when a monastery bell rings; they hurry home to army camp

Peter Clarke and Jimmy Clarke are stopped by a robber. Peter refuses to be robbed; rather than give up his valuables, he attacks the outlaw barehanded. The robber shoots Clarke, but Clarke has a hand on his throat. Clarke dies, but the robber is taken

Peter Coutt's Canis: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #13570}

"Peter Coutts had seven bairns Nether sheet nor plaid upo' them, Ilka ane took up a neuk An' hauled on the canis o' them, Haul on, trail on, Peter Coutts's canis"

Peter catches a fish, which urges, "Take me home, Peter (x3), oh mah ding." Peter takes it hom; the fish says, "Kill me now." Then, "Clean me now," "Salt me now," "Cook me now," "Eat me now," "I got you now!" (and Peter vanishes)

Peter Go Ring Them Bells: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #12081}

Chorus: "Peter go ring them bells (x3), I heard from Heaven today (x3), Thank God, and I thank you to, I heard from heaven today." Verses: "I wonder where sister Mary (brother Moses, ...) has gone"(x3) "I heard from heaven today"

Peter Gray, of Pennsylvania, loves Lucy Annie Pearl. Her father sends her west; he considers suicide, but instead goes west himself and is scalped by Indians. She takes to her bed and dies. Chorus: "Blow ye winds of morning, blow ye winds heigh-o."

"Peter Jones was a Schenectay lad, and a lad both brave and bold," who "shipped before the mast on the Erie Canal." A "pirate," Bill Smith, lives by the canal; his daughter loves Peter. Smith breaks Peter's head then drowns in the canal

This teasing song involves Murphy giving his girl friend a dog that wants to poke its nose into the woman's privates.

"Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers, A peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked. If Peter Piper picked a peck of picked peppers, How many pickled peppers did Peter pick?" (Or: "Where's the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked?")

Peter Pullin' Blues: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #10110}

"Papa caught me in the loft, I'd just finished jackin' off." The father orders the boy to cease. He takes the boy, whose only other sexual experience is with a cow, to a whorehouse, where he proves highly interested but unable to perform

"Peter Rabbit, ha! ha! Stole my cabbage, ha! ha! Caught him in the garden, ha! ha! Sop that gravy, ha! ha! Ain't he pretty, ha! ha!" "Peter Rabbit, ha! ha! Stole my cabbage, ha! ha! Caught him in the garden, ha! ha! Suck his bones, ha! ha! Ain't he...."

Peter was a fisherman who preached and shouted on Pentecost. "The lily of the valley ... the lily stand in the valley ... green and fair."

Peter Wheeler comes to "this foreign shore, He lived close by little Annie's door" in Nova Scotia. He asks Anne to marry and she refuses again. He clubs her and cuts her throat. He is convicted, gives us good advice and bids us "a last good-night"

Peter, Peter, Pumpkin Eater: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #13497}

Peter, a neeper [neighbor], pumpkin-eater, chimney sweeper, ... 'Had a wife and couldn't keep her." He put her away [in a wall, pumpkin shell] and mice eat her, or he treats her well. Or, didn't love her until he taught her to read and write.

William Strickland and Goddard take the Lily out on Peter's Banks on May 21. They are lost in wind and fog for six days without food or water and Goddard dies. A fishing skiff from Ramea rescues Strickland.

Peterborough May Song: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #305}

"Good morrow, lords and ladies, It is the first of May. We hope you'll view our garlands." "To the greenwoods we will go." "This bunch of May... is but a sprout but it's well spread out By the work of our Lord's hand." Singers celebrate spring, ask alms

"A busy town was Peterhead ... In the days of long ago": lasses worked at looms, whaling ships sailed to Greenland, "fishermen went out to sea," "drifters were unknown." "Peterhead will flourish still As in the days of long ago"

French. A dressmaker goes to an inn; there are two lovely women there. He makes love with the smaller one; the larger offers the dressmaker 100 sovereigns to sleep with her. He declines, for honor's sake. She throws him out of the inn.

French. "Mon pere m'a donne-t-un petit mari." The girl complains that her father wed her to a tiny husband, "a manikin, not a man." She complains about all the problems this causes -- e.g. the cat confuses him with a rat

French. The little monk finds a dairy-maid crying because she has trouble milking her cows. She offers a kiss if he does the job. The cow kicks over the pail, then kicks the monk into a ditch. The monk vows he'll never again help anyone milk a cow

Canadian French: The trapper, wandering in the forest, fears for his family's safety. He returns home, and arranges for his family's flight from marauding Indians. He remains and is mortally wounded. He prays for comfort in death

"How strange! Why, old Fishkill is all in a blaze, And the people -- why, they the Old Nick will soon raise!" All "are prospecting for Petroleum Oil." Oil is everywhere -- even in the water and the whiskey. But at least they're getting rich

Petticoat Lane (II): (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #V20294}

A man from the country comes to town. His friend shows him the sights of Petticoat Lane. He is beaten at every turn and his pockets picked clean. The police charge him with killing a policeman. His policeman brother Darby gets him off. He goes home

Petty Harbour Bait Skiff: (10 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4410}

A bait skiff sails from Petty Harbour to Conception Bay in the spring and encounters a storm on their return in the summer. A rescue party is dispatched, but only a young fisherman named Menshon is saved.

The tailor, apparently needing money, enlists with Hugh Fraser. The captain warned him that he could not be a soldier if he is not sober. Someone tells the tailor's mother and his sister buys off the tailor.

"Phadrig Crohour was a broth of a boy, and he stood six foot eight" with strong arms; "...with one blow he stretched bold O'Hanlan for ever."

Chorus: "Pharaoh's host got lost, lost, lost, Pharaoh's host got lost In that Red Sea." The leader would have Moses "lay your rod" that the children cross. When the host was lost there was shouting and weeping.

"Have you heard of Phil the Fluther, of the town of Ballymuch? The times were going hard with him, in fact the man was broke." So he holds a party, passing the hat, promising that the more he takes in, the better the music will be

"Philadelphia is a handsome town And so is Cincinnati; The streets are lined with dollar bills And the pretty girls they are plenty."

Philadelphia Lawyer, The: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #500}

"Way out in Reno, Nevada," the Philadelphia lawyer courts a "Hollywood maid." He tries to convince her to come back to Philadelphia with him. But her husband Bill, discovering them, kills the lawyer

"Oh, in Philadelphia folks say how De Darkies kick up all de rows," but in the 1844 riots, "I guess it wasn't de niggas dis time." The "natives" (nativists) opposie the immigrant Irish, resulting in riots. The singer gleefully points out his lack of fault

"Come, Philander, let us be a-marching, From the ranks there's no deserting, Choose your own, your own true lover, See that you don't choose any other. Now farewell, dear love, farewell, We're all a-marching, so farewell."

"Phoebe in her petticoat, Phoebe in her gown, Phoebe in her petticoat, Going down to town."

Phoenix of the Hall, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #16259}

The singer meets and falls in love with "the Phoenix of the Hall." He proposes. "Drop such speculation," she says, but he begs. She changes her mind. They marry and he now has money and land: "to her am obligated." "My foes I've exculpated."

Phoenix Park Tragedy, The : (1 ref. 6K Notes) {Roud #V8799}

Burke and Cavendish are murdered in Dublin's Phoenix Park. The Lord Mayor and Irish MPs -- Davitt, Parnell, Dillon, Sexton -- condemn the assassins. "[L]et us hope and pray to the Lord each night and day, That no Irishman for this crime will be blamed"

Phyllis hides in the woods. Her mother finds her asleep. The daughter drowsily says, "Damon, dear, how long you take." The mother, enraged, tells Phyllis she must go to a convent; Phyllis demurs: "And if love is wrong, said she/Tell me how I came to be."

A shepherd looking for a lost lamb falls in love with Phyllis, who he finds apparently sleeping in the shade with her flock. She reveals that she was not asleep and had been watching him. "He wooed her and won her, I can't tell you how" and they marry.

Minstrel song, with chorus "Picayune Butler, Picayune Butler, Is she coming to town?" In traditional forms, the lyrics float, e.g. the terrapin and the toad, "My ole missus promised me When she died she'd set me free."

"Piccolomini, piccolomini; Piccolomini, piccole! Lomini piccolo; Mini piccolomini piccolomini pi! Colomini piccolomini piccolo; Mini piccolomini." Alternately, just keep repeating "Piccolomini."

"Pick 'em up, pick 'em up, Hot potatoes, hot potatoes, hot potatoes, Pick 'em up, pick 'em up, Hot potatoes, hot potatoes, oh!"

Pick a Bale of Cotton: (17 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #10061}

"You got to jump down, turn around, Pick a bale of cotton...." A list of various people who can, alone or in combination, pick a bale of cotton a day. (In the more serious versions, the singer disclaims any ability to do such a thing.)

"The pick and shovel are all that I know, I'm workin' the day-shift away down below, A mile underground I keep pickin' all day." "From Cornwall we have come to explore." The miners have been working since age six. He is grateful for his wife

"Oh, dis pickaxe am too heavy, Dis pickaxe am too heavy, Dis pickaxe am too heavy To heavy for my strength."

"Com all my friends if you want to know And I'll tell you about the C.I.O.... I'll tell you about the Ashland Strike." The workers picket, and some are arrested; the singer says he will not be discouraged, even though "I've got them picket line blues"

"Hello, my little girl, which away, which away... Mammy sent me pickin' out cotton." The girl and the singer converse about the state of the cotton and where she is going; the girl (?) concludes by asking for a chew of tobacco

Pickle My Bones in Alcohol: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #727}

A dying request, with the verse, "When I die don't bury me at all... Just pickle my bones in alcohol" (or, sometimes, corn pone). The rest of the song varies widely, usually with other requests for the burial; it may also have blues floating verses

Pickled Jew, The: (7 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #15684 and 15912}

"Two middle-age brothers in New York once dwelt"; the two were Jewish merchants. One dies and leaves his property to his brother if he will bury him in England. The brother ships it to England as salt pork. The crew, in distress, unknowingly eats it

Picnic at Groshaut, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #12483}

The ladies prepare the picnic "upon the teagrounds at Gros Haut" but it rains until noon. "If it wasn't a success, 'twas a frolic nonetheless" The picnic is rescheduled for the next day with cider-drinking, dancing, and "scuffles" meanwhile.

An August picnic in poor weather has some folks say they had other plans. Those who go row to the spot. Meal being over, they sweeten bad tea with four-cent syrup bought on credit. It being rainy they all get wet, put on dry clothes and go to a dance.

"What's any better than a picnic? The victuals all on the ground, Flies in the buttermilk, bugs in the butter, And the skeeters humming around. Goin' down, children, Goin' down, I say, Goin' down, children, to have a holiday."

Picture from Life's Other Side, A: (26 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3527}

"In the world's mighty gallery of pictures Hang scenes that are faded from life...." The song describes the pictures from life's other side: A gambler staking his mother's ring, a thief killing his brother for gold, a starving woman leaping off a bridge

"A quaint New England homestead Where a gray-haired couple dwell, Their heads are bowed with sorrow For the one they loved so well." Their daughter ran away from home after an argument. Her brother left to seek her. Neither has yet returned

Picture on the Wall, The: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #11538}

"There's an old and faded picture on the wall, It's been hanging there for many, many years, 'Tis the picture of my mother, And I know there is no other." The singer is grown and has a family, but misses his mother, but will "meet my mother after all"

"Far beyond the glamour of the city and its strife There's a quiet little homestead by the sea." But a family daughter ran away, and "There's a name that's never spoken, and a mother's heart is broken... And a picture that is turned toward the wall."

Game, usually played on a sandy beach. "Pie, pie, come out, I owe you half a clout."

Pig and a Posset o' Whey, A: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #13525}

The singer, it seems, would poison her husband, Arthur o' Broadley, with a witch's brew. She wants to be a widow. She likes "the yellow haired lad." Expensive meal will be cheap again and she won't mind if "farmers a' may hang themselves"

Floaters: "When she saw me coming, she hung her head and cried/Yonder comes the meanest boy that ever lived or died." "Next time said darling, pick a bed with me...." Cho: "Got that pig at home in the pen, corn to feed him on/All I want..."

The singer, drunk, walks down the street "in tipsy pride" and falls down in the gutter. A pig lies down beside him. A high-toned lady remarks that "you can tell a man who boozes By the company he chooses," and "the pig got up and slowly walked away"

"My ma and pa was Irish (x3), And I am Irish too," "Your right hand to your partner/neighbor... And we'll all promenade." "We got a new pig in the parlor... and he is Irish too." "We kept the cat in the cream-jug... And it was Irish too." Etc.

"Pig snout, Walk out" (or "You are out")

Pig Went Into a Public House, A: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #19394}

"A pig went to a public house To get a pint of porter. 'Where's your money?' 'In my pocket.' 'Where's your pocket?' 'I forgot it.' 'Please walk straight out."

A woman asks where her lover is and why he hadn't returned. She sends a letter by pigeon. The pigeon flys through a storm; it "disdain'd To seek shelter ... It flew all around Till Colin he found." and dies from exhaustion while Colin reads the letter.

"I once did love a girl named Sal, Each day and night I'd court her." He is about to propose when the pigs start squealing; the other animals add to the din. She feeds them; they squeal when he kisses her. He drops her rather than hear the squealing

"Men may leve all gamys, That saylen to seynt James," because the sea voyage brings trouble. The work of the sailors is described. The passengers are unable to eat -- and the food is bad anyway. And the smell of the pump is awful

"A pin or a bull or a button, To see a rary rary show, show, show"

"A pinch and a punch, For the end of the month." Supposedly used to justify the "associated behaviors" at the end of a month.

"I am pining day and daily this twelve months and above, I am pining day and daily, and all about my love My beauty it is fading... And I wish I was with my true love...." The singer's love has been unfaithful, but her words encourage him to return

The singer apparently struck it rich in Australia and returned to join the high society in Britain. But he hates it: "Now I am stranded on my own native shore, I'll go back to Australia to the goldfields again." No one understands him; he wants to go home

"If I had the strength of a pioneer (Pioneer) Up to the hilltops I’d climb (I‘d climb), There to remain a pioneer (Pioneer) Until the day that I’d die (I’d die), Chorus! Ooo la la Ooo la la Ooo la la Again! Ooo la la... Repeat! ... Ooo la la... The End!"

"Dear friends, I pray just lend an ear Whilst I relate a song, I do not mean disloyalty Or anything that's wrong... Uncle Sam has been unkind In denying us a state. The singer tells of all the troubles the Saints faced at the hands of the United States

"As we were on the ice and snow, It rained, it hailed, and the wind did blow... We were so cold we almost died." "But thank the Lord, relief was found...." The singer will preach in Tennessee/Cumberland, where "Religion's scarce"

"I'm going to tell a story, and I'll tell it in my song... It's about one of the old boys, so gallas (sic.) and so fine, He used to carry mails on the pioneer line." Four horsemen rob him of the Wells Fargo cash box. The singer sympathizes

The pioneers, the engineers, the cannoneers are very hardy, and very sexual.

"See the pious little men So faithful to their duty, Marching to a batter land In robes of shining beauty." "Lowly, lowly, lowly, low, I love to be a Shaker." (x2) "Be kind and be good... If you join the Shaker band You will be good forever."

Piper MacNeil loves whisky. One night he staggers home falling-down drunk. His mother opens the door, sees his dirty clothes and curses whisky. He says she should not be angry because "as long as I live I aye will be, That I'll take a drap whisky-o"

"Saw ye Rory Murphy, Rory Murphy, Rory Murphy, Saw ye Rory Murphy, Comin' through Dumbarton?" Rory, "a piper guid," plays for his living and travels Scotland, but at last falls "doun a brae" while drunk

"The piper cam' tae oor toon, Tae oor toon (x2), The piper cam' tae oor toon, And he played bonnily." He plays inspiring Jacobite tunes, and many leaders gather to support the Stuarts. "And wasna he a roguey, The piper o' Dundee?"

Piper Flor Begley volunteers to fight but his captain prefers that "Today you'll stride between our lines and martial music play." Tom Barry's fighters defeat 2000 British. "The Piper of Crossbarry, boys, had piped old Ireland free"

Piper's Tunes, The: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3030}

The singer goes to town "to view the pretty lasses" and sees a famous Captain and Joe Blake. Blake the piper plays the favorite tunes and variations, all named. "Get up and shake your heels, 'tis better sport than any"

French. Rowing shanty. "Pour retrou ver ma douce amie." The whaler goes out to strike the whale, "for to find my love again." He sails many seas to find the whale, and will find the whale, his love, even if she is drowned

"O'er the wide world of waters we roam ever free: Sea-kings and rovers, bold pirates are we... We love the black storm as we rode o'er the billows... Hurrah! the black banner is nailed to the mast." "Dauntless and daring the deeds that they do."

"Thou art gone from thy lover thou lord of the sea, The illusion is over that bound me to thee." The singer cannot forget her love -- but his "black vessel" is at sea. She thought him brave, and will not upbraid him, but as a pirate, he must die

Pirate of the Isles, The: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2024}

"I command a steady band Of pirates so bold and free." The pirate rejoices at being ruler of his ship and men. He tells of his joy in the sea. At last, however, he is overtaken by a warship. Hit by a cannonball, he is dying. His crew surrenders

Smith scoured the seas "with a noble crew of cutthroats." "He said that grabbing booty was a Briton's pleasing duty." He'd hang foreign foemen from his lanyards. At 37 he is killed by a Spanish bullet and goes to heaven "to rest in Nelson's bosom"

Pirate's Bark, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #V13258}

"Lightly thou art bounding, My bark upon the sea, Like an eagle on the mountain, Thou'rt rapid and as free." "Hurrah, hurrah, my rover, We're fleeting past the wind. The fancied danger's over, Thou'st left them far behind."

"There's a prize upon the deep, boys, There's gold in the gathering gale, Then to your posts quick leap, boys... Awake, awake, bold pirates." The target is heavily-laden. A broadside causes her to give in. "The ocean shall be their shroud."

"Ever by happy and light as thou art, Pride of the Pirate's heart! Long be thy reign o'er land and main, By the glaive, by the chart, Queen of the Pirate's heart." The rest of the song mostly rearranges these words

"Far o'er the sea the bark is gone, with her blood red flag above; And I am left to weep along." The singer fears that her pirate lover will not return. In words so flowery as to approach incomprehensibility, she admits to sorrow

Pirate's Serenade, The: (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2698}

"My boat's by the tower, my bark's in the bay, And both must be gone ere the dawn of the day." The pirate waits for his bride. He asks that his roughness be excused. She shall "rule as Queen." He sees her signal that she is coming

"Come pass round the bowl and the festive board hail, We will drink deep tonight, for tomorrow we sail... We seek for an equal game, conquer or die." "The eagle aloft on Icarian flight Feels no more at home than we in the fight." They fight man and sea

"O Lady, come to the Indies with me, And reign and rule on the sunny sea." The singer tells of a gallant ship and hopes for "the foe on our lee." Neither French nor Americans frighten him. She will be "queen of the fathomless brine."

"Pirates, bold and brave, are we, Who sail on the snowy crested sea"; the ship waits in ambush, then plunders "the foe." The singer loves the sailing, spending the gold, and the free life of a pirate

While a girl was kissing Jockey she stole his candy. When at a ball, he kissed Polly Procter; she ran off with an ugly soldier. At a market he swapped his nag, blind in one eye, for a Balaklava charger that was blind in both.

Pit the Lassie Till Her Beddie: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #7268}

Put the lassie to bed. Her head and back are sore. "She'll need cock bree"

Pitcaithly's Wells: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5549}

"It fell aboot the Lammas time A fine time o' the year..." that the singer goes out and sees the girls "drink the waters clear." His eye lights on one in particular. He asks if she will marry; she refuses at first, but after a time of courting, consents

Jump-rope rhyme. "Pitch, patch, patch my britches. How many stitches?"

"You've been roped and saddled, bridled and straddled, I've spurred and quirted you too." Despite the trouble the animal has caused, the singer says, "I'll ride you, ole hoss, till you drop." Half friendly, half exasperated, he says, "pitch, you piebally"

"Quite soft blew the wind from the west, The sun faintly shone in the sky, When Lukey and Bessie sat courting, As walking I chanced to espy." He reminds her that they have been together since childhood, and promises business and a fine wedding

Pitman's Happy Times, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #3172}

"When aw wes yung, maw collier lads, Ne man cud happier be; For wages was like sma' coals then, An' cheps cud raise a spree." The singer recalls all afford in his youth, and notes in sad amazement all the changes since -- e.g. that all children can read

Pittenweem Fisher-Wife's Song, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #13136}

The fisher-wife wakes her husband and three sons. The sun shines like gold in their boat and it is time, while they still live, to row out -- "were I a man I'd off to sea" -- and, when they return at night, she'll hear their "songs and tales"

"Pittsburg is a great old town, Pittsburg (x2), Pittsburg is a great old town, Solid steel from McKeesport down." "Pittsburg is a smoky old town... Coal piled high in great big mounds." Pittsburg is a river town, a hilly town....

Game played while patting a baby's feet: "Pitty patty poke, Shoe the wild colt, Here a nail, there a nail, Pitty patty poke"

A maiden in Bedlam blames her ruin on the press-master that took her Billy. She dreams that her work in Bedlam would allow her to fit out a man of war and go to him. She gets a letter from Billy saying he hopes to return and free her.

"You sons of old England, now listen... Concerning poor lab'rers we all must allow Who work all day at the tail of the plow. Oh, pity poor lab'rers, oh, pity them all, For five or six shillings they work the whole week." The complaints of poor workers

"O think on the mariner tossed on the billow Far from the home of his childhood and youth." He is in a "prison [that] floats at the sport of the wind." The singer hopes that heaven will "pour on his pathway... The radiant light of the gospel of peace."

"I pity the robbers, I pity the crooks, I pit the person Who studies this book."

The singer recalls a spot -- a spot he no longer visits: "The place where the old horse died." He recalls that final ride, where the horse, for no evident reason, stumbled. Rider soon arose, but the faithful horse never moved again

Plain Golden Band, The [Laws H17]: (8 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1963}

The singer recalls his parting from his former sweetheart and why she gave back her engagement ring. A young man comes to her and tells her stories of the singer's falsehood. She briefly dallies with him. Having stained the ring, she must return it

Plains of Baltimore, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7457}

As the singer prepares to leave (Ireland?), his rich sweetheart promises to go with him and takes some of her father's money with her. They leave Ireland for America and settle down happily. Her father promises a reward when their first son is born

The singer "roamed Eastwards to view navigations of the pleasin' grand scene" and other wonders "for this far famed dwelling station Whose proper appelation her name is Drisbane ... For grandeur it has taken the sway from them all"

The Irish prisoner sadly recalls his home in Erin. The singer, though he claims he never received "a base-earned coin," has been transported for life. He fondly recalls his mother and his Nora. He says, "The tie is unbroken on the plains of Emu."

The singer urges "all you good old farmers that on your plow depend" to "come travel west and settle on the plains of Illinois." It is alleged that Adam would compare Illinois to the Garden of Eden. The state and its residents are glowingly described

"Oh I ofttimes have heard of the plains of Monaro And I've longed in my heart for to spend my days there."

The singer, a soldier, sees Sally lamenting for her Willie -- the wars are over but Willie has not returned. He tells her that Willie died at Waterloo after bidding her farewell, but then shows his half of a broken token and reveals himself as Willie

The singer tells of all the places he has fought, ending with his part at Waterloo (from which he is grateful to have emerged alive). He tells of Napoleon's success on the first two days of the battle and of Wellington's victory on the final day

A boast of the bloody victory at Waterloo, telling of Mooney, who rides a milk-white steed as he rides his troops, and of General Hill, one of thousands of casualties

Plains of Waterloo (IV), The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1106}

A very confused song. The singer goes to fight the French at Waterloo. He thinks of the mountains of Britain, and his parting from his girl. He receives a letter. Now the girl recalls her lover's departure and curses the man who killed him

"The ancient sons of glory" were great but fame will proclaim those who fought at Waterloo. The English commanders, killed and wounded, are named. Napoleon runs to Paris to have his son crowned

Plains of Waterloo (V), The: (8 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #1106}

"On the sixteenth day of June, my boys, in Flanders where we lay," the troops are ordered to meet Napoleon at Waterloo. Napoleon urges on his men; Wellington just fights. When the British emerge victorious, they drink to King George

Plains of Waterloo (VI), The: (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2853}

The singer tells of her love, a soldier. She describes his beauty. He fights in the peninsular war. He dies at Salamanca and Waterloo. She describes his last messages, then says she will remain faithful until her own death

Singer tells about her lover who "fought in Spain and Portugal and was slain at Waterloo." When Ireland fell he joined Bonaparte, promising to return and marry. "When Bathurst was taken" he went to Waterloo. She'll have no other man.

Plains of Waterloo (VIII), The: (4 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #5824}

"On the eighteenth day of June, my boys, Napoleon did advance." "The fight did last from ten o'clock until the close of day." The Belgians desert the Britons on the field but "the Prussians with the English join'd so nobly drubb'd their foe"

French. A wind blows the ship off course. The captain climbs the mainmast and finds the way home but is thrown into the sea. He is sorry to leave his family. At his burial he wants the crew to sing that he died on the deadly sea.

"Plainy, clappy, rolley, to-backy, Hippy, tippy...." Or "Plainy marmalade (x2), One of the nurses Lost her purses, Plainy marmalade." Or "Plainy packet of Rinso, Over packet of Rinso, Downy packet of Rinso, Dashy packet..., Right leg packet...."

Once the crop is gathered in, the illegal workers who harvested them can be sent back to Mexico. They are taken and separated and put on a plane across the border. The plane catches fire and crashes over Los Gatos; the Mexicans are killed

Freedom's sun is rising for Ireland. "Despotic sway from France is chas'd, And church delusion's vanish'd"; Ireland needs the same. "Plant ... fair Freedom's Tree." The French will help. "Erin Go Bragh" will replace "God Save the King." Wars will end

"There's a play on the hill tonight (x3), Don't let the Yankees know it. The Rebels are my delight (x3). Don't let the Yankees know it."

"Since I've been in London, it's easy to see, There's no other johnny looks smarter than me.... I'm playing the game in the west, leading the life's that's thrilling, Out of a two-bob piece, all I've got left is a shilling." He has other costly adventures

"A plea for one world Is heard in many different lands. This is the plea of a world That is hungry for peace. Let all men come together, Let all men live together, Striving to make the world better, Pledging their lives for peace."

Pleasant and Delightful: (9 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #660}

On a "pleasant and delightful" midsummer's morn, a sailor bids farewell to his true love. She gives him a token, and begs to come along with him. He forbids it, but promises that they will be wed "if ever I return again."

"The pleasant month of May is now a-coming on, The trees are in full bloom, So ye maidens and ye swains," so maidens and swains should go out to pay. "Now that I am single, And I can take no rest," she will seek her lover's arms. She enjoys married life

"When rambling o'er these mountains And rocks, where ivies grow... great storms of snow, cold winds that blow... Says I, my boys, we'll leave this place For the pleasant Ohio." The singer is sad to leave friends behind, but looks forward to Ohio life

"When you go through Pleasant Valley, You take a sudden sally... If you got a big load, You better take the ridge road." The singer gives other advice about how to make the trip. There is no water; all in all, an unpleasant trip

"Well I went to the Captain, with my hat in my hand, Said, 'A-Lordy, have mercy, on a longtime man.... He spit on the ground." The singer recalls the poor food, says that his parents lied about earning him a pardon, and complains of prison life

"Please keep off the grass, sir, To let the ladies pass, sir, Ladies before gents, sir, So please keep off the grass, sir."

Chorus: "Please Lord, don't leave me (alone) (x3), Guide me on my way." Verses are floaters about Noah's ark, "... two by two, ... kangaroo," the raven and dove, and "rainbow sign, It wouldn't be water but fire next time"

The singer pleads for his/her outhouse, chronicling the family's woes, and promises to pay [tax?]. Alternately, lists all the venereal diseases in the family, or says that there will be no choice left for sanitary functions except the yard

Please, Mister Barkeeper: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #4926 and 15678}

"Please, Mr. Barkeeper, has father been here?" The barkeeper directs the hoy to the policeman, and the policeman to the jailer; the man has been arrested (for drink?). The boy waits all day outside the prison. Finally someone promises to drink no more

The conductor demands a boy's ticket. He has none. He went to work in the city to pay for his mother's care, but now she is dying. He has no fare, but is going to be with her; he begs the conductor to let him stay. The passengers chip in to pay his fare.

Plee, Plee Blackie: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #29380}

Jump-rope rhyme(?). "Plee, Plee Blackie went to his garden, When he went to his garden the robber Was hiding behind the garage. Their mother came got Plee... He found Plee... was gone. The robber and Plee, Plee Blackie went to jail."

Plooin' Match, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5581}

The ploughmen meet at (Hilton) to have a contest. The various ploughmen are listed, along with the way they competed. The song concludes, "The judges cam frae far an' near... But some wad say their sicht was puir That day among the ploomen."

Plooman Laddie (I), The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3447}

"My love's a plooman and follows the ploo, I promised to him and I'll keep it true.... What's better than a plooman?" The singer rejects many (e.g. "I micht hae gotten the miller... But the smell o' the dust wad had done me ill") and rejoices to be wed

Ploughboy (I), The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1446}

In this confused composite of floating verses, the ploughboy courts Molly, but then departs to become a soldier. He will build Molly a castle and take her away. She nonetheless rejects him

Ploughboy's Dream, The: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1545}

The singer, a ploughboy, recalls a dream: he tries unsuccessfully to plow hard ground and curses and beats his horses; an angel stops him warning "there's One that knows your crimes and sins." He warns other ploughboy lads to "let kindness your motto be"

Ploughing Match at Bucharn, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #13568}

"John Geggie's man he cocked his hat When he began to smele thereat That he was foremost of the lot And judged to be the rarest."

Ploughman (I), The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5582}

"The ploughman, he's a bonnie lad, And does his wark at leisure... Then up wi't noo, my ploughman lad, And hey my merry ploughman." The singer describes her ploughman's work, and the work she does to keep him well, and scorns those who scorn him

Ploughman (II), The: (3 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #2538}

Singer, a ploughman, praises his fellows, his profession and his recreations.

"The ploughman chiel and the ploughman laddie, Are you afraid of the ploughman laddie? Are you afraid that he'll do you wrong, Na nae a bit for he'll do me none"

"Where first I saw my Jockie, Was at (Huntly) feeing fair." She praises his beauty, declaring, "So a ploughman lad for me." She cares not what her parents think, and is willing to work hard alongside him; his love is worth more than riches

Creole French: "La pluie tombe, Crapeau chante, Oin, oin! oin, oin! oin, oin! M'a pale baigner moine, La pluie tombe, Marin-gouin crie...." As the rain falls, the frog an the mosquito call the singer into the water (and drown)

"Plum and apple, Apple and plum, Plum and apple There is always some. The A.S.C. get strawberry jam And lashings of rum, But we poor blokes We only get Apple and plum."

Plumb and Level, The: (2 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #5968}

"When Adam ruled the world" he and Eve "formed a bower to shade them from the weather's evil." "They lived in social harmony till madam longed for fruit ... And the bit she went out one morning for to meet the deevil"

"Well, I'm so glad I can plumb the line (x3), It takes a number one (driver/tamper) to plumb the line." "Won't you come on, buddy, we can plumb the line." The singer describes his exploits, or asks for help in his work

"The heir apparent's been and gone and the frenzied welcome's dead" but stories about the visit are still being published. The "piffle press" goes on about that, but won't tell of the sufferings of the lower classes

"My mammy's in the cold cold ground, My daddy went away... now I've gone astray. I sit here in the prison, I do the best I can, But I get to thinkin' of the woman I love; She ran away with another man." The singer tried to rob a mail train, but was caught

"Work all week, don't make enough To pay my board and buy my snuff... It's a-hard on we po' farmers, it's a-hard." The farmer describes the long day's work -- only to come home to "peas in the pot and an old jaw-bone" and fifteen cents weekly pay

"I'll tell you somep'n that bothers my mind: Po' li'l Ella laid down an' died." "I wouldn't a-minded little Ella dyin', But she left three chillum." "Judge, you dome me wrong, Ninety-nine years is sho' too long!"

"Go long, po' Liza Jane (x2), I turned my head to the ole grey horse, Go long po' Liza Jane." "I ast her would she marry me; She ast me wasn't I shamed." "I went up to the new-cut road, And she went down the lane."

"You can't do me like you done po' Shine, Paid off everybody and you didn't pay Shine." About the hard times on a work crew. Shine departs seeking better work, and finally the workers are paid. Some elements float

(Six) young men go out hunting. They are met by a gamekeeper, who vows to shoot one of them to end their depredations. The keeper fatally wounds "the bravest lad."

"Sweet poetry, my bosom fire, My mental and my muse inspire." Indian John declares that "Then me would kill all white men dead." He manages to shoot Ezekiel Crane, but is captured. Even the Indians are glad that he is to be executed

The singer's father was a farmer, but he must leave his home, his work, and his girl. As he makes his way to the port, he thinks of drowned sailors and his lost sweetheart. He hopes to return, though he would not care if the girl were with him

Lumbermen encounter the Pokegama bear. Morris O'Hearne tells the men to run; (they have humorous accidents). Mike McAlpin kills the bear with an axe; the grease is divided up among the men, and the meat cooked and eaten.

French-Canadian dialect song. Singer describes working in a lumber camp. Paul Desjardins falls into rapids; oars do not reach him. Napoleon Dore dives in. Both drown in a whirlpool. Their bodies are found in each other's arms. They are buried together.

Policeman, Policeman, Do Your Duty: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #19234 (and 19335)}

Jump-rope rhyme. "Policeman, policeman, do your duty, There's a girl in town, She's an American beauty. She can wibble, she can wobble, She can do the twist, But I bet ten dollars She can't do this."

Jump-rope rhyme. "Policeman, policeman, don't catch/blame/take me, (Blame) that boy behind the tree, He stole sugar, he stole tea, Policeman, policeman, don't catch me."

"Policeman, policeman, don't take me, I have a wife and a family, How many children have you got? Twenty-four, and that's a lot."

"Didja ever drink dat moo'shi' Lotsa people make? Better you drink de rop on rats"; the illegal drink makes you very quickly drunk. The undertake laughs. The doctor gives warnings about it.

"Ain't nobody knows Polk County like I do; I walked Polk county through and through." "Woke up this morning feeling bad; Thinking about good time I used to have." Other verses float

"Big Poll the Grogseller gets up every day... She's turning in plenty of tin people say," for "Polly's good looking, and Polly is young, And Polly's possessed of a smooth oily tongue." When magistrates come in seeking illegal boose, she easily fools them

Polly Brannigan (Molly Brannigan): (7 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #13375}

The singer confesses that Polly Brannigan "stole me heart and I'll never be a man again." Now she has left him; he wishes that "when she got another heart she might send mine back home again." (Considering suicice, he hopes she will grieve when he dies)

Polly loves a sea captain; her parents do not. She dresses as a man and follows her love. Still in disguise, she meets him at an inn. The captain wishes to sleep with her; she refuses, but appears the next day in her own clothes. The two are wed

The sailor warns others about bad company. While out roaming, he is pressed to sea. Soon his ship meets a (French) vessel; he is mortally injured. He recalls his beloved Polly on shore, says he is dying for her, and hopes the sailors will be remembered

Polly Perkins of Paddington Green: (13 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #430}

The singer describes beautiful Polly, whom he vainly loved. She teases and flirts, but declares, "The man that has me must have silver and gold." He gives up his courtship -- but later learns that she did not marry a lord but a "bow-legged conductor."

"Sweet Polly Primrose, a girl of nineteen summers-o, Sure, I love my Polly better than all the wealth I own." Now she is at the bottom of the sea; she fell off a ship in rough waters. The singer wishes he were a fish, so he might see her as a mermaid

"Polly sat down and I sat by her, These few words were just for to try her": he tells her it would be folly to marry him. Polly "smiles like a Venus" and says that, although he has little, she will have enough. He says he will go see Sallie; she grieves

"Polly wants a cracker, Polly wants a ball, Polly wants you to be First of all." Repeat, ending "...wants you to be Second of all," etc.

The singer calls the listeners to hear Polly's tragedy. Her lover grows tired of her, and takes her off to the mountains to murder her. A great manhunt finds him. The singer expects him to be condemned, and warns young women against false lovers

"Oh, I went down south for to see my Sal, Sing polly wolly doodle all day...." Sal is described in nonsense terms ("curly eyes and laughing hair"). Floating verses may describe the difficult journey

Pom, Pom, Pompadour: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #19934}

"Pom, pom, pompadour Richard, Calling (first player) to my door. (Second player) is the one who is having all the fun, So we don't need (first player) any more."

The singer warns against moving to Australia. He was well-off when he went, but his ship is nearly wrecked. He is robbed by an outlaw. There is no good land available. After further misadventures, he finds himself breaking rocks and wishing for home

Pomona leaves Liverpool "bound for the land of plenty" and is wrecked "on Blackwater's shoals" in Wexford Bay by "fictitious reckoning." The crew of thirty-five and four hundred passengers are lost.

Singer and crew strike Blackwater sandbank. "We launched our jovial long boat and headed for the strand. We ran her down before the wind into sweet Wexford Bay, And wasn't that a dreadful sight, all on St Patrick's Day" Two of 12 escape.

"Let the pony go fast as e'er it will ... What a merry ride ... snugly side by side and joining in a song. Jinkle bells, jinkle bells, jinkle all the way, Oh the funny ride we had down by Enniskea."

Round. "A poor and carefree stranger Was weary from his wand’ring, his wand’ring Was weary from his wand’ring." "He had a flute and lost it, 'Twas from his hiking sack." "Don't worry, I have found it, Now play your music sweet."

On a stormy night Bill Brown, his friends, and their dogs go hunting hare. Bill and his dog are shot. He asks the singer to "revenge my death." The next night the singer shoots Tom Green

"Very first day on the Brazos line, poor boy, on the Brazos line, Number One was a-buckin." The singer complains of the heat and hard work and wishes desperately for rest. He wishes he had listened to his parents

Poor Boy a Long Way From Home: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #17701}

The singer leaves Louisiana for Texas: "I got to work or leave." He decides "my home ain't Texas," gets on a boat and now "my home's on the water and I sure don't like land." "Poor boy, poor boy, poor boy a long way from home"

Poor Chronic Man, The: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3341}

The "poor chronic man" from Athlone goes to visit a cousin in Belfast. Along the way he meets a girl, who wines him, beds him -- then puts him to sleep and steals his clothes and money. He is taken into custody, and wishes he had never left home

"On the green banks of Shannon, when Sheelah was nigh, No blythe Irish lad was as happy as I," with harp and dog Tray. Sheelah bids him care for the dog when they part. The dog comforts him when he is old. The dog is dead and he can't go home

Poor Ellen Smith (I): (20 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #448}

"Poor Ellen Smith, how was she found? Shot through the heart lying cold on the ground." The singer briefly outlines the facts of the murder, then claims his innocence though he expects to be convicted. (He says he would put flowers on her grave.)

"I'm just a poor ex-soldier, a-broken down in doom; I fought all in the great World for the old red, white and blue." The singer saw his buddy killed, but found no help at home. He declares "I'm a poor forgotten soldier boy who fought to save our land."

Poor Girl on the Town, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #10101}

"I had a dear old father once, who gave me this advice," telling his son to find a wife and stay away from harlots. The son points out that his sisters might be "poor girls on the town" who become harlots. The son is then advised to patronize harlots

Goins runs into bandits but escapes. He meets Ely Boggs, who promises to help him escape but instead turns him over to the robbers. A bandit clubs Goins to death when the latter's horse bolts

Dialog between "kind hearted Nancy" and "cowardly Willsie": She is going to the wood. He asks if he can follow; nothing's to stop you. What if I lay you down? I can rise again. Where'll I tie my horse? To my/your big toe. If he runs away? Devil take him.

Poor Hard-Working Man, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #3284}

"I have to work so very hard To keep my family. There's eleven children and my wife... And my wife she often told me I am the daddy of them all." The grown boys work shining shoes, singing, and dancing, and the girls "dance and play and sing all day"

"Poor Howard's dead and gone, Left me here to sing this song." "Who's been here since I've been gone? Pretty little girl with a red dress on." "Who's been here... Great big man with a derby on" And so forth, through as many visitors as desired

"Go patter to lubbers and swabs, d'ye see, About danger and fear and the like." The singer will still go to sea, "For they say there's a Providence sits up aloft, To keep watch for the life of Poor Jack." He describes how he learns and tells of his safety

"Shrove Tuesday, when Jack went to plough" his mother made pancakes for him but "she did not know how." "She put so much pepper she poisoned poor Jack"

Poor Jock frae the Country: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #5860}

"Ae nicht I bein' half fou and better, That nicht I bein' bent for a spree, I daundered awa' to the city In hopes for some fun I micht see"

Poor Johnny's Dead: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1334}

"Poor Johnny's dead, I hear his knell, Bim, bim, bome bell! The bell doth toll, O may his soul, In Heacen for ever dwell!"

Poor Kitty Popcorn: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #20051}

The story of a "loyal cat...." She spends much of the war following her soldier boy. (After) the war her master dies and we see "Poor Kitty Popcorn, buried in a snowdrift now; Nevermore we'll hear the music of her charming song, Me-owww."

Lazarus breaks into the commissary and flees. The sheriff orders that he be taken dead or alive. Deputies shoot Lazarus and bring him back. He asks for a drink of water and dies. Lazarus's sister tells his mother, who recalls how troublesome he was

Lil, a beauty, lives in a house of ill repute. Her health declines and she loses her looks; a house physician recommends Scott's Emulsion, to no avail. She loses her clientele and dies.

16-year-old Angeline is spotted by a local squire, whose one desire is to have his way with her. The local blacksmith, who also wants her, breaks out of prison when he sees what is happening. He rescues her, and his, er, prowess leaves her content

Counting-out rhyme. "A poor little bou without any shoe, One, two, three, and out goes you."

"I'm only a poor little Ewing." The singer complains about JR and claims the other characters are drunk, punk, "and Bobby lives under the sea"

"I'll sing you a song of a plaguey pest, It goes by the name of the Great North-West. I cannot get a beau at all. They all skip out there in the fall." The girl describes all the men she courted who have now headed west. She declares she will follow them

"It was poor little Jesus, yes, yes, He was born on Christmas... And laid in a manger...." Describes Jesus's humble birth, the song goes on to relate his death and resurrection. Stanzas end with "Wasn't that a pity and a shame?"

The singer is in New York (or London) when he meets a (newsboy) -- "Although he was singing, he wanted for bread; Although he was smiling, he wished himself dead." The poor newsboy is ignored by the well-to-do, and is at last found dead in the street

The cotton is rotten, so Johnny "won't get his hunderd" (pounds) today.

Fiddle tune with lyrics: "Pore little Kitty Puss, Pore little feller, Pore little Kitty Puss, Died in the cellar." "Pore little Fido, Pore little Fidie, Pore little Fidie Died last Friday." Possible chorus: "Don't you hear them wolves a-howling..."

Floating stanzas of two songs which mention Laura Lee. The first seems to be a song of parting as Laura's lover goes to the wars (?), but with an "I won't marry" ending; the other perhaps involves a shotgun wedding.

Poor Little Sweep, The: (11 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2672}

"On a cold winter's morn as the snow was falling, When a child of misfortune so loudly was bawling," the "poor little sweep" begs for "compassion" and weeps when he finds none. A "kind hearted damsel" finally sees him; she takes him to her home

The "poor lonely widow" reports that "Three husbands I've had but they're all dead and buried." The first choked to death in bed, the second drank too much (?), the third hit her and she hit him back. She wonders "if anyone will marry me now."

"I'm a poor lonesome cowboy (x3) And a long way from home." "I ain't got no father To buy the clothes I wear." "I ain't got no mother To mend the clothes I wear." "I ain't got no sweetheart To sit and talk with me." (And so on for other missing persons)

Shanty, Negro origin. "Oh the mounten's so high, an' de ribber's so wide, Poor Lucy Anna! De mounten's so high and de ribber's so wide, Ise just gwine ober de mountains." Sung in a slow 3/4 tempo.

"I worked all the winter time, I worked through the spring, I planted my corn and taters, Then it wouldn't rain. There ain't nothing for a poor man in this world." The singer catalogs his troubles: Drought, flood, poverty, and work every day

"I never had a barrel of money... I'm gonna die and go to heaven, There I'll set and sing. Lord, this song ain't nothin'... But a poor man singin' the blues." The singer misses his girl. He will go home to East Virginia to stay. Other verses float

Poor Married Man (I): (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #16861}

"You may talk about the joys of the sweet honeymoon... But almost every case they're gone too soon." The troubles and burdens of the married man are listed; "You can tell by his clothes wherever he goes That he is a poor married man."

"Come listen to the doleful ditty of a poor married man, And when you've heard it you will pity a poor married man." His bills are overdue. His wife beats him. His six children don't resemble him. His daughter will make another fellow a poor married man.

"Poor Mary sits a-weeping, A-weeping, a-weeping, Poor Mary sits a-weeping All on a summer's day." "I'm weeping for a sweetheart." "Pray, Mary, choose a sweetheart." "I'll chose (X) for a sweetheart."

"It was Hankey the squire, as I have heard say," who rides out hunting. He finds nothing "but a poor murdered woman, laid on the cold ground." People gather to seek the murderer, but the crime remains unsolved

Poor Old Couple, The: (7 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #491}

"There was an old couple, and they were poor." The wife is afraid to stay alone; when the man goes away, she locks the doors and goes to bed. When he returns, she complains of his absence and asks for an (apple). He falls off the ladder. She insults him

"Poor old Ernie's dead, He died last night in bed. They put him in a coffin, He fell through the bottom, Poor old Ernie's dead."

Granuaile appears in a dream. She supports those jailed "in O'Connell's time in '29 ... 'we'll Home Rule get.'" She plays the patriotic tunes. She says "we'll have freedom yet." The dreamer wakes in jail.

Poor Old Horse (III): (11 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #513}

"My clothing once was linsey-woolsey fine, My hair unlinkt, and my coat it did shine; But now in open fields I'm forced for to go... Crying, 'Poor old horse, O poor old horse.'" The horse recalls the old days, and bequeathes its body to the huntsmen

"Poor ol' Lazarus, poor as I, Don't you see? When he had a home on high, Don't you see?" ""Rich man, rich man lived so well, When he died he had a home in hell, Don't you see, don't you see?"

"We're a lonely dismal crew, Poor old maid!/We're a lonely dismal crew/All dressed in yellow, pink and blue/Nursing the cats is all we do...." "Three scores and ten of us/And not a penny in the purse/So something must be done for us...."

The poor old man warns the Connors's from Kerry that they will rue stopping in Ross Town. He barricades his door [in "real life" that apparently led to a disaster for him].

Shanty. Characteristic line: "For they say so and they know so... Oh, poor old (horse/man)." The sailor meets an old man with an old horse; they exchange comments about the horse's (and humanity's) fate. Alternate chorus: "And I say so/And we hope so"

Poor Old Robinson Crusoe: (12 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5805}

"When I was a lad, my fortune was bad, My grandfather I did lose." As in the book, he, Robinson Crusoe, is shipwrecked, lands on an island with gun and sword. He builds a hut, lives there with Friday, until he is rescued by a passing ship.

Poor Old Sailor, The: (8 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6764}

An old sailor begging tells his story: his death, falsely reported, caused his wife to die of a broken heart and his daughter to wander "I know not where." A woman listening reveals herself as his daughter and she takes him home until he dies.

Poor Old Slave, The: (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #10049}

"The poor old slave is dead and gone, We know that he is free. Disturb him not, but let him rest, Away down in Tennessee." "The poor old slave is gone to rest, No master does he fear, Disturb him not...."

John Lewis, to free himself of his pregnant sweetheart, offers to marry her but instead plans to drown her. She begs for her life, promising to go begging, but he throws her in the river. The body is found and Lewis imprisoned. (He escapes into the army.)

The singer laments, "Ye gods above, protect us widows!" She recalls her husband [Richard] Parker, "hanged for mutiny." She recalls how she was not allowed to his execution, and how she and friends dug up his grave and gave him a decent burial

"Pretty little pussy kitten, Frisky, full of fun and frolic, Mortal on the mice and rats; How I love the old black cat! Yes, I do! Ah, poor pussy! Poor old pussy! sitting so easy Under the stove." Boys attack the cat, sending her running back to her home

Poor Rail Road Boys: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #16845}

"Poor rail road boys ain't got no home, He's here today, tomorrow gone." "I looked at the sun, and the sun was low, I said to the boss man, 'I must go.'" "...give me my time. He clapped his hands and gave me a dime." "One of these... my name'll be called"

"Poor Rosy, poor gal, Rosy broke my poor heart, Heaven shall be my home. Before I stay in Hell one day, Heaven shall be my home." The singer has "hard troubles," and "trials"; (he bids farewell to Brother Robert and Sister Lucy and turns to Heaven)

A "dutch" song. Corporal Schnapps, who is perhaps not overly bright, patriotically enlists in the army. Having faced battle, horrid food, and the scorn (and spit) of southern women, he now faces the indignity of having his girl run off with another man

"Good people all draw near, you quickly shall hear Of a copy of verses composed." Due to floods, the shepherds have no place to go. There are many tasks they must try. THeir eighteen pence a day is not enough to maintain a family

"Hark, sinner, hark, while I relate, What happened in Kentucky state. A poor young woman lately died; She dropped from all her wealth and pride." Led astray by a young man, she turned ungodly. Dying, she bids farewell; her mother says she will go to hell

Singer meets a boy who is mourning his father. The father was a smuggler; caught in a storm, their ship was wrecked and his father drowned. The boy has clung to a plank and been swept ashore. A rich lady hears his complaint and adopts him

"All out in the snow they are tonight, Far away from kin and home. God help the ones who fight for the right, And them who are done gone on. Poor soldier, hungry and cold (x2)." The girl recalls her soldier's departure and prays he is safe wherever he is

"Willy, O Willy, for your sake alone, I left my own country, and likewise my home... I am a poor strange girl, and far from my home." Floating lost love lyrics: He made her a promise. She will leave Kentucky. "Go build me a castle on yon mountain high"

The singer wanders out alone and meets a girl, also alone. Each asks why the other is there. Both have had trouble with lovers at home and so ran away. They settle down to a happy life together

"A maid all alone in a poor house did dwell.... Her hair was red and her age was nineteen -- Poor thing!" Her swain asks, "Will you fly by the light of yon star? For I am the i of the you that I are." Her father chases the man, who "flew up the flue."

Poor Peg knocks at the door and wants a shroud for poor Tom. "What shall us do?" "We'll take this cup and drink him up ... Poor Tom is dead and gone Boom (drink) Boom (drink) Boom (drink)"

Jockie Clarke sells newspapers and goes ragged; his father is a drinker and a tyrant. Jockie asks his mother to make him a jacket from his father's old coat. Jockie tells his mother that he looks uncommon neat since she has made him up the jacket

Singing game: "Here's a poor widow, she (lives/lies) her lone... She wants a man and cannae get none." The widow or her daughter go seek a husband, "She may go round and choose her own"; the courting may or may not be successful

Poor Working Girl, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4271}

"The poor working girl, may heaven protect her, She has such an awf'ly hard time, The rich man's daughter goes haughtily by, My God! Do you wonder at crime?" ("Her man drives his new model T And drinks rotten hooch till he's blind.")

"Don't think by my dress that I come here to beg, Though the sharp pains of hunger I feel; The cup of misfortune I've drained to the dregs, Though poor, I'm a gentleman still." The singer describes how he became poor, pointing out that he is still honest

Pop Goes the Weasel: (26 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #5249}

Words can be anything, as long as they have the phrase "Pop goes the weasel." The 1853 text talks of a weasel in a henhouse, temperance issues, and relations between Uncle Sam and John Bull

Popeye the Sailor Man: (4 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #13511}

"I'm Popeye the sailor man, full stop, I live in a caravan, ..." He opens a door and falls through the floor, or when he goes swimmin' he kisses the women, or slept with Queen Mary, or with his granny and tickled 'er fanny, or came from the Isle of Man...

Jump-rope rhyme. "Popeye went down to the cellar To drink some spinach juice. How many gallons did he drink? One, two, three...."

"I was born in Jersey City In Texas way down south And that is just the reason why My voice is in my mouth." Assorted verses of contradiction, exaggeration, tautology, and nonsense, e.g. "There was people dying lately Who had never died before."

Popular Wobbly, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #9822}

"I'm as mild-mannered man as can be, And I've never done no harm that I can see..." but the singer ends up in jail, where "they go wild, simply wilder over me." They "go wild" because he is a union man; he suffers much in prison

Pork in the Cupboard: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #9956}

"Oh there's pork in the cupboard, there's beef on the shelf If no one don't eat it I'll eat it myself." The rest is all "chin music."

Pork, Beans and Hard Tack: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #4516}

"Our volunteers are soldiers bold, so say the people all... They leave their homes on starving pay to take the nitchies' (Indians') life." Fed poor rations, they are sent all around Canada by train, boat, and foot

"Have you heard of Porter Rockwell? He's the Mormon Trigger-right. They say he hunts for horse thieves When then the moon is shining bright. So if you steal a Mormon cow... Get the drop on Porter Rockwell Before he gets the drop on you."

"The portions of the female That appeal to men's depravity Are fashioned with considerable care." Experts have come up with intricate Latin names for many of them, but an ordinary word "seems to fit the subject it describes"

Irish Gaelic: The singer stops in Waterford for drinks and at "the full house of women there." He is visited by four women and will take a girl with him to Carrick in the morning.

"I'm a stranger to your city, My name is Paddy Flynn. I got drunk the other night; The coppers pulled me in. Had no one to... go my bail. They locked me up for ninety days In the Portland County Jail." The song describes the hard cases in prison

"The lang woods o' Derry are ill to gae through." "My heart's in the Highlands wherever I go." He thinks of the valiant in Portmore: "O bonny Portmore, ye shine where you charm ... When I look from you, my heart it is sore."

Porto Rico [Puerto Rico]: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #3659}

Fragment: "Must I go to Porto Rico/Must I sail the dark blue sea?/Must I fight for you, my darling/Until death shall set me free?"

The singer recalls going to sea in fine weather. As the ship sails home, a storm blows up. The singer asks that the sailors' names not be named, buds farewell to home, and tells his friends they will meet on "yonder shore"

The singer calls listeners to hear of four sailors who died at Portrush. The singer names the four. He notes that they died despite their skill; the wind was too strong. The singer hopes that the dead and their families will meet in heaven

Closed ports ruined trade. Out of work tradesmen were wrecking steam looms, and could not pay high food prices. A royal "proclamation ... [will] admit foreign grain to our markets." "Farmers quite distracted they'll go" but tradesmen will find jobs.

"De possim sits on 'simmon tree And feeds himself quite fat, Put Manly on de stump for me, I'm dog he'll soon leave dat." "I now must go an' pick my toof, It akes so very bad, but since Reid's our Governor forsooth, I feels my pain so bad."

"There's a tribe down in Cutler called Possum by name, And God only knows from what nation they came." They hunt birds at sea; if one is killed, the whole family descends upon it. Otherwise, they live half-starved and ill-clothed

Possum Up a Gum Stump: (12 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7782}

"Possum up a gum stump, Cooney in a holler, Little gal at our house, Fat as she can waller." The first two lines are characteristic (though the animals can vary); the last two lines can seemingly be anything.

"Put 'em up solid, they won't come down! Hey, ma laddie, they won't come down!"

Jump-rope rhyme. "The postman's bell goes ting-a-ling-a-ling, The milkman's horse goes clippety clop, The horse's shoes go klack klock."

The camp cook tells cowboys he spent years riding the range but "now I'm a-wrassling the pots for a change." He can make sourdough and sort the big rocks out of the beans, and doesn't wipe the frying-pan on his jeans. He's old now and prefers this life

"It was August the tenth, nineteen fifty-five, The men gathered together like bees in the hive" to harvest the "pot'eads" (whales) in Trinity Bay. Their techniques are described, and the whalers themselves, including author Woodman, short and with a hump

"It's just past ten years ... Since we heard of that plague of a fly." Every morning "I'll shake every stalk" and the bugs fall into his pan. As quickly as he catches them "they'll be over the sides" and escape. He should "carry a pan of hot coals"

"We have a loyal little friend, the potato," brought by Sir Walter Raleigh. Though there are varieties with fancy names, all are good. The singer hopes "our planters will plant more ... They are a vital food today in which we all must share"

There's no watch or clock needed at Potterton: "It was porridge time, and sowen time, And -- Come, lads, yoke." "Wi' cauld kail and tatties Ye feed us like a pig; While ye drink tay and toddy, And hurl [drive] in yer gig"

Poulduff Fishermen, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #20529}

On July 11 "a maid divine in tears approached me." Three sons had been drowned when their boat struck the wrecked Perseverance and sank. Some were rescued by "James Fitzsimmons and ... his worthy crew." The drowned men are named.

Poulshone Fishermen, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #20547}

A maid reports the disaster: April 3, 1863, at Courtown Harbour, four Poulshone boys drown "when a sudden squall capsized their yawl." Redmond and Kelly are rescued by "young Clancy and his crew" but Earle and Leary are lost.

"A single man is free from strife." Before he and his wife married she "could do all kinds of country work" including spinning a pound of tow every night. Now she won't spin and spends on fashion instead and pawns his clothes to support her pride.

"Now I pray you be still and I'll hush your noise While I sing about Carter and the pounder and boys." The rock-pounding is very loud. The singer describes how it was done. The singer wishes success to those who did the work

"Pounds, shillings, and pence, The monkey jumped the fence. He went so high, he reached the sky, Pounds, shillings, and pence." Or, "I asked my mother for 15 cents, To see the elephant jump the fence... He didn't come back till the fourth of July"

Describing life at the lumber camp of Tom Poupore "on the twenty-eighth of October in 1884." The crew builds a shanty. They celebrate the cook. The leaders of the team, and some of the members, are named. The singer concludes with a toast to the crew

"Poverty, poverty knock! Me loom is a-sayin' all day... Gaffer's too skinny to pay." "Up ev'ry morning at five, I wonder that we keep alive." The weavers are poorly paid and in pain. They get no help when injured. His daughter Lizzie is being courted

Jump-rope rhyme. "Powder box, powder box, powder your nose, How many petals are in a rose?"

Jim was powder monkey killed on board Victory. In '98 "we chased the foe right into Bourky Bay" and destroyed their flag ship Orient. Jim was killed by musket "as the fight was just on won." He asks the crew "Give a kiss to dear old mother."

Powder River (I - Lazy River): (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #11076}

"Last time on that lazy old river... I met a girl who was more like heaven And her smile will last forevermore." He courts her and plans to take her away from the river, but a "spirit of the water" struck back; he mourns her amid the ruins of the flood

A description of Powder River Jack Lee, the cowboy singer, and his wife Kitty Lee. Jack was "not a boozer, and he never cared for cards," and he "loved his pretty Kitty" -- but "the old Sky Boss was needin' One more top hand," and Jack is killed

Powder River, Let 'Er Buck: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #11524}

"Powder river, let 'er buck, A surgin' mass of cattle, Roundup wagons full of chuck, Horns and hooves a-rattle...." A description of the cows, horses, and cowboys to be met during a cattle drive.

"Out in the West you have often heard said The only good paint horse is one that is dead." The singer sets out to disprove the rule, describing the purchase of a cutting horse, Miss Aledo, that does a spectacular job

"It was a cold December morn, The hour was about six o'clock, There came a vast explosion," throwing the Powellton labor train engine into the air. Many are killed and injured; listeners are told that their train too might explode someday

"There's nothing like whisky Makes Irishmen frisky" and girls also, even if sick. If a maid rejects you "drink enough, you'll find charms in a dozen beside ... you'll think you're in love with each girl that you meet." Whisky can subdue any grief.

"Come ye gallant sons of I-o-way, come listen to my song... About the gallant charge at Prairie Grove, An' we an' Southern rebels on equal numbers strove." The singer describes a federal victory, the burial of the southern dead, and their widows' mourning

"The music springs under the galloping hoofs Out on the plains." Oh where are the traces of yesterday's ride?" "Oh, rest not my pony, there's youth in my heart... And there's room here to live and to love and to dare, Out on the plains"

"In praise o a dairy I purpose to sing, But all things in order, first, God save the King." Eve was the first dairy-maid. Milk and honey existed before there was money. Milk is important in many excellent foods

The singer is "a poor fisherman" praising "his own native town of Kinsale." There's "a Royal Hotel," races, dances, billiards, and cards. There are cold baths for fitness, hot baths for cures, "or if you're in health, just come here for a frolic"

Praise of Ploughmen, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5579}

"Ye lads and lasses a' draw near, I'm sure it will delight your ear... To sing the praise o' ploughmen." Workers at other occupations may regard themselves as better, but the ploughman feeds them. The girl choruses, "Happy is the ploughman's jo."

"As I lay musing in my bed, Full warm and well at ease, I thought upon the lodging hard Poor sailors have at see." They face hunger, cold, and storm, although captain and boatswain and pilot fight hard against the seas. The singer wishes them well

"Waterford, thow loyall cytie" has been honored by Henry II, chartered by John, affirmed by Henry III, and so forth, through Henry VIII. "Quia to semper intacta manes" ends each verse echoing the Waterford motto.

"Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition (x3), And we'll all stay free." The singer describes the mission he and his fellow soldiers are on and the dangers they face, but clearly expects to succeed

"Praise, member, praise God, I praise my Lord until I die. Praise, member, praise God, And reach the heavenly home." "Jordan's bank is a good old bank." "O soldier's fight is a good old fight." "I look to the east and I look to the west."

Limerick "for true generosity, honour, fidelity ... one of us is worth ten of you [from nearby towns]." Our shopkeepers "charge us extravagant" but never "more than his conscience should bear." Our proper wives are "so dressy, so flirtish, so talkative"

"Pray all the member, O Lord, Pray all the member, Yes my Lord." "Pray a little longer." "Jericho da worry me." "Jericho, Jericho." "I been to Jerusalem." "Patrol all around me." "Thank God he no catch me." "Jump along Jericho."

"Pray for us, thou prynce of pes, Amici Christi Johannes." "To the now, Crystys der derling." John slept on Jesus's breast. He did not forsake Jesus when Jesus was before Pilate. Jesus was put into his care. So the song appeals to him

"Pray on, pray on, Pray on them light over us, Pray on, pray on, The Union break of day. My sister, you come to see baptize In the Union break of day; My loved sister, you come to see baptize, In the Union break of day."

Chorus: "Pray on brothers, O hally hallelujah, Pray on brothers, It ain't too late." Verse: "I washed my head in the midnight dew, The morning stars a witness too." Many verses float

"Pray, pretty Miss, will you come out to help us in our dancing?" She says "no" They say she is naughty and ask another girl. She says "yes" and they are happy with "a good miss"/"Jolly old lass" for dancing.

"God keep these cheery mariners And temper all the gales That sweep against the rocky coast To their storm-shattered sails, And men on shore will bless the ship That could so guided be Safe in the hollow of his hand To brave the mighty sea."

Prayer Is the Key To Heaven: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #15234}

Chorus: "Prayer is the key to heaven (x3), Faith unlocks the door (x2)."Verses: The singer recalls when "Jesus freed this soul of mine," "My head got wet with midnight dew, The morning star was witness too"

The singer's sweetheart borrows his pretty prayerbook that had made him the target of every maid at Mass. She never returned it because her father parted them. Now, without his prayerbook, he waits for some kind maid to cure his heart and marry him.

Preacher and the Bear, The: (17 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #4967}

(Black) preacher goes hunting; he meets a grizzly bear. He climbs a tree and pleads with God (who delivered Daniel, Jonah, etc.) "if you can't help me/for goodness sakes don't help that bear" The limb breaks; he gets his razor out and fights

Preacher and the Slave, The: (18 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #9612}

The preacher comes and tells the hungry, downtrodden workers, "You will eat, by and bye, In that glorious land above the sky. Work and pray; live on hay. You'll get pie in the sky when you die." The song calls on workers to overthrow the system

"I heard about this outlaw, They called Preacher Dunn, And everybody knowed him claimed he was the devil's son...." The singer goes to where Preacher Dunn is kept and offers to ride him. He fails -- but the boss pays him $50 for the entertainment value

"The preacher in the dockyard church One Sunday morning said" that one of the congregants had befouled himself. A sailor defiantly admits it. The preacher also insults a Wren and perhaps others

"Preacher in the pulpit, Bible in his hand (x3), Devil in the meal-sack, shaking out bran." "Oh, Lordy, come this way (x3), Never let the (devil carry?) you away."

"Preacher's in de pulpit, Preachin' mighty bold, Preachin' for de money To save de sinner's soul." "I'm gwine de land on de shore (x3) And rest forevermo'." "When I gits in Heben, Want you to be there too; When I say, Thank God, I want you to say so too."

Preacher's Legacy, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #6560}

"Oh, if poor sinners did but know How much for them I undergo, they would not treat me with contempt...." The preacher sets out to work in other areas, knowing that it will bring challenges. He hopes to go to heaven in the end

Preaching for Bacon: (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1317}

Tinker George, Methodist parson, often visited a farmer's wife to preach and get a piece of bacon. Her husband, "no Methodist he," sees his store of bacon shrink. He catches them at prayer, notices bacon in George's pocket and chases George away.

"A jewel on earth and a jewel in heaven/She'll brighten the kingdom around God's great throne." Singer mourns the girl who promised to marry him. "The angels called her to heaven one night." Earth has troubles and treasures, but is missing one jewel

"Precious Lord, take my hand, Lead me on, let me stand, I am tired, I am weak, I am lost...." The sing prays that the Lord guide and protect him or her, and "lead me (home/on)" (to heaven)

The singer looks back on events of the past: "Precious memories, how they linger, How they ever flood my soul." The singer gives thanks for the reminders

"Take the name of Jesus with you, Child of sorrow and of woe, It will joy and comfort give you, Take it then where're you go. Precious name, O how sweet." It is hope, it is a shield from temptation; all should fall at his feet and crown him

Boy meets girl on the way to Brewe. He begins to lift her apron and kiss her mouth. She rejects him. He would leave. She says, if he's kind, maybe she'll lift her apron. They have sex but he leaves her at the fair. Moral: don't let men lift your apron.

"There was an auld Seceder's cat, Gaed hunting for a prey, And ben the house she catched a mouse Upon the Sabbath day." The cat, returning home, is condemned by her owner for violating the Sabbath, read a lesson -- and executed

Broadside. "Ye people all assembled here To see me suffer death, Draw near the guilty wretch and hear...." The singer denies insanity, tells how he lured his victim into the fields, describes his murder, and bids farewell

Present Time is Oors, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #6026}

"Come, let us a' be hearty boys, the moments we are here" because we may have only a few years, "maybe only hoors" Don't bother accumulating wealth. "Let ministers say what they will" but drink, as they do, "laugh and sing, The present time is oors"

"I may be wrong, but I presume... There are very few here in this room now Who've had an audience with the Queen." The singer hasn't, but describes it anyway, including the fancy clothes and ceremony -- and the twenty shilling fine for the drunk

"Come out Virginia's noble son, We know that you are true, The people of our grand old land They have their hope in you... We'll cast our vote again." "A modest unassuming man." "And we shall win, our cause is just.... it's Wilson's name we hear."

"John brown died on a scaffold for a slave... Now God avenges the life he gladly gave... Freedom reigns today." "John Brown lives -- we are gaining on our foes." "John Brown's soul not a higher joy can crave -- Freedom reigns today."

To the tune of "Yankee Doodle": "George Washington, first President, by Adams was succeeded, And Thomas Jefferson was next, For the people's cause he pleaded...." And so on, through as many presidents as the teacher can think up rhymes for

The singer meets a press gang in London who ask if he'd join the fleet. He agrees after they tell "shocking lies" to him about life on board. Once on board he is flogged. He had run away from his wife but now would be happy not to go to sea again.

"Pretend you're red watch when you're blue, It isn't very hard to do. Your oppo's station card will do, my friend, If only you'll pretend."

"Prettiest little girl in the county-o, Papa and mama both said so. All dressed up in calico, I'm gonna take her to the party-o. "I can get her if I want her."

"When the pretty little birds are singing In the evening by the pale moonlight... It speaks to me in accents free Of one that's ever far and yet so near... The sweetest song I ever heard is one of home and mother."

Pretty Betsey [Laws M18]: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1911}

Betsey loves William; her father so despises him that he brutally abuses Betsey. With Betsey's mother's help, William is able to pay a last visit, only to have Betsey die in his arms

The squire sees Pretty Betsy, and offers to marry her. She begs him not to tease a poor girl. He gives her half of a broken ring as a token. He tries to seduce her, then rape her, but she fends him off. He gives in and marries her

"Come gather 'round me children, a story I will tell, About Pretty Boy Floyd, the outlaw; Oklahoma knew him well." The singer tells how Floyd turned outlaw when a deputy attacked his wife, and describes Floyd's many charities

A sailor tells Caroline that her parents had "pressed me on board of a man-o-war from pretty Caroline." He has returned rich. She asks that he show the gold ring and lock of hair that would identify him. He does. They marry.

A girl refuses to be courted by a stranger, saying she will wait for her love. The stranger counters that he may be slain, drowned, or unfaithful; she says she will be faithful anyway. He pulls out his locket, revealing him as her lost, and now rich, love

Pretty widow Lillie Shaw goes out one day but does not return. A search party fails to find her, but finally traces of blood are found, and then her body. "They searched the Preston house" and find her clothes; E.B. Preston is tried and hanged

(The cowboy?) "is born to ramble And to leave the range he's rode so long." The singer will got to Coulter Canyon and cross Clark's Ferry. He'll meet the cowboys and miss the girl he left behind. He gives her a ring and hopes she'll think of him

Pretty Girl Milking Her Cow, The: (17 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #3139}

"O 'twas on a bright mornin' in summer When I first heard her voice singin' low As he said to a colleen beside him, 'Who's the pretty girl milkin' the cow?'"

Pretty Girls of Liverpool: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #V3382}

Sailors are at sea while landlubbers stay at home with their girls. In danger the captain says "don't be faint hearted, You shall see your girls again In spite of Bonaparte." We'll go home to our girls; when our money is gone we "plough the seas for more"

"Pretty little Bluebird, why do you go? Come back, come back to me: I go, sang the bird, as he flew on high, To see if my color matches the sky."

Pretty Little Dear: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7146}

The singer decides it's time to wed. He meets a girl in London who has him spend a fortune for food and drink. He is beaten and sentenced to prison when a man says his girl is a thief. Now out of jail, he warns others against pretty ladies.

Quack quack cried the pretty little duck Chick chick cried the swan oh But the old crock crows, -- Everybody noos That we'll all get a egg in the morning"

"One day as I was walking my boyfriend was a-talking With the pretty little girl with the strawberry curls, And this is what he said to her, 'I L-O-V-E love you, I K-I-S-S kiss you." She says, "I have a boyfriend Sambo... from Alabambo...E-I-E-I-O Sambo"

"Oh, come along, my pretty little miss, Oh, come along, my honey, Oh, come along,my pretty little miss, I'll marry you next Sunday." "Oh, come along... I won't be home till Monday." "How old are you... I'll marry you next Sunday."`

Pretty Little Miss [Laws P18]: (10 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #564}

The singer courts a young girl, eventually talking his way into her bed. In the middle of the night he prepares to leave. She reminds him of his promise to marry her. He tells her that sleeping with him was her choice. She bewails her fate, or is murdered

The singer writes to tell his love of the hardships endured by sailors. He describes a horrible storm he recently endured; "a sailor must yield to whatever may come." He assures Nancy he is remembering her as best he can

"Fourteen days, without lie. I spent on the mountain's side, Ever crying my cry." They say he has had his heart broken by the "Maid of O'Hanly's blood." He wishes he were a duck or a king or a winged mare, but he has lost his way

A married man comes courting Polly. While she is attracted, she cannot wed a married man. He offers to kill his wife; she begs him not to, promising to wait seven years for him. His wife conveniently dies just before the deadline; the two are married

Willie urges Polly to go riding with him "some pleasure [to] see" before they get married. Although she is "afraid of [his] ways," she comes, only to find her new-dug grave awaiting her. Willie kills and buries her and heads home (or out to sea)

Polly will not marry the singer; his poverty would grieve her parents. He replies, "Some say I am rakey... But I'll prove... that I'm guilty of nothing but innocent love." He sets out for New Orleans to marry another, but decides he loves Polly too much

"Come all ye fair gallants, fair gallants attend." Polly promises to marry a sea captain, but he then goes to sea. Soon a minister courts here, and she turns to him instead. When the captain returns, he declares her false and will court her no more

Pretty Sally's Answer: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #V2828}

Sally loves Johnny. His master beats him when he stops work to be with her. At midsummer his time will be out and they will marry "in spite of all our alley"

The singer loves Pretty Saro, but she shows no interest in him: "She wants a freeholder and I have no land." Nor can he write her a letter "in a fine hand" as he would wish to. In despair he vows to "wander by the river" (or kill himself?)

A sailor tries to win Susie's love; she rejects him because he is poor. Instead she gives her love to a rich man. The sailor goes back to sea but never finds another woman as beautiful as Susie

"The night is dark about me, I hear the midnight bell, Before another midnight, It will ring my funeral knell." The singer's children are afraid, but the singer says, "Weep not above my ashes." "We to buy the toiler's freedom will pay the price and die."

Pride of Glenelly, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #13339}

In flowery verse and classical allusions, the singer praises the beauty of Glenelly and the woman who lives there. He describes her appearance. He claims that all the ancient beauties made their reputations with jewelry; the woman of Glenelly is real

Pride of Kilkee, The: (2 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #5217}

Singer meets a maid going to Kilkee. He offers her a seat and asks her home. She rejects him as a seducer. He claims to be honorable. She agrees only to marry him. "Oh, her name I won't mention at all But I'll style her the Pride of Kilkee"

Pride of Logy Bay, The: (12 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #4421}

The singer is in love. His love's father comes to him and threatens to send his daughter away if the two continue to see each other. Her father arranges for her exile, but -- after many years of seeking -- the two find each other and are married.

Pride of Newry Town, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4390}

Orphans William and Mary promise to wed, but poverty forces William to sea. He is long away, and Mary (thinking him dead) weds another. He returns; Mary drops dead when he arrives. Old and new suitors do battle; William kills his rival and returns to sea

Kitty Quinn comes to town "And made of every other lass about the place a foe Because she took their sweethearts." The men can't work, the drinkers give up drink, and the teetotalers take up alcohol. Soon there'll be 10000 victims of the Pride of Pimlico.

"On the wild and woolly prairie, Not far from old Pueblo town, Lived a little girl named Mary, Eyes of blue and tresses of brown." A cowboy comes up and asks her to marry him. They agree, and ride off stealing kisses

Priest and the Nuns, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #9146}

Pumping Shanty. A priest goes to France and finds seven nuns lying sick in the convent yard. He claims to be a doctor with a cane/stick that will cure them. He treats all the nuns and says he'll call again. choruses of "Ho, ho ho" and "Hal-ler-al-le-re."

Priest and the Parson, The: (1 ref. 1K Notes) {Roud #26999}

"Ye sons and daughters of each profession [denomination], Give ear and listen to what I'll say, It is of a dialogue" between Catholic and Lutheran clergy. Scripture shows that there is one Church and Jesus died for all. Therefore Catholics are right

"The priest of the parish has lost his considering cap, Some say this and some say that, But I say number (X)." The child who is called must respond: "What, I, sir?" "Yes, you, sir." "No, not I, sir." "Who then, sir?" The new player then calls the number

Prince Edward Island Murder: (4 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #1837}

William Millman was "his mother's hope and joy" He "led [Mary Tuplin] astray," then murders her and sinks her body in the river with a heavy stone. The body is discovered and Millman executed on the gallows.

Prince Heathen takes a girl against her will. He rapes her and offers her extreme cruelty, all to break her will. She never yields. At last her babe is born. After further abuse, bringing her close to death, her spirit fails; at last he acts human

"Sing, sing, Prince Henry's side, The Jimmy looks on her with pride," because the ship is extremely clean. The officers are proud of the fact that "She's a tiddley ship," "For when she's in motion, She's the pride of the ocean."

A rich lady is in love with a sailor. Her father promises his daughter 12,000 pounds if she will leave her sailor. The sailor disguises himself as the Prince of Morocco to fool her father. They are married. The girl collects. The sailor reveals himself

Prince Robert [Child 87]: (10 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #55}

Prince Robert asks his mother's blessing on his marriage; instead she poisons him. He sends for his wife. Arriving after the burial, she desires only a ring, but the mother will give nothing. She dies. From the graves grow a birch and brier which entwine.

Prison of Newfoundland: (8 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4409}

"... listen to my sad tale, While I relate the hardship attending St. John's jail." Doyle lands at "Harvey's Wharf a cargo for to land." A witness lies; Doyle is sentenced to six months. From a cell he watches "the lads and lassies" and dreams of Ireland

"The judge was there, the jury too, And people from afar, A fair young lad of tender youth Was a prisoner at the bar." The young man's sweetheart argues the case; she simply asks judge and jury to remember their youthful love. The prisoner is freed

"Farewell (to) green fields and (green) meadows, adieu; Your rocks and your mountains I now part from you." The singer, condemned to (life in) prison, laments all the various things -- nature, friends, whatever springs to mind -- he will be separated from

Prisoner of Chillon, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #25370}

"My hair is grey, but not with years, Nor grew it white In a single night, As men's have grown from sudden fears." The poem goes on for almost 400 lines to describe prison life, but this was all Alice Kane remembered

Prisoner's Song (I), The: (26 refs. 4K Notes) {Roud #11730}

The singer laments his time in prison, and thinks of all that he would do if free. He recalls his crime. He misses his family and his sweetheart. He describes his hopes for freedom in complex metaphors: a ship on the sea, an eagle's wings, etc.

Prisoner's Song (II), The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #16638}

The singer envies a sparrow its liberty. He describes the hard lot of the prisoners, "reduced to skin and bone," bound to ball and chain. He warns others not to keep bad company, or they'll be like him, serving 27 years in the penitentiary

Prisoner's Song (V), The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #7325}

"Within this prison cell so dreary, I mourn away my weary heart." The singer must forever part from "my only darling." His love sends him a rose, and thinks him innocent, though he has "no hope of pardon." He will wear the rose as he is executed

Private Michael Cassidy: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #25547}

"Assidy, assidy, Sergeant/Private Michael Cassidy, He's the boy, a wonderful sagacity, Sergeant Michael Cassidy."

A guager believes a private (illegal) still can be found near Dublin. He asks Pat's aid, offering fifty pounds. Pat promises to lead him there. After a long trip, they see Pat's soldier brother: "They won't make him a corporal, so he's a private still"

"Proddy woddy on the wall, a half a loaf would feed you all, A ha'penny candle would show you light, To read your Bible in the night."

Prodigal son, starving, decides to return home. His father embraces him, saying, "Kill the fatted calf." The elder son is jealous, but the father reassures him that he will inherit. Chorus: "I believe I'll go back home/And acknowledge I've done wrong"

"Here is a lesson for you prohibitioners; Some wisdom it will teach; That the prohibition boys ought To practice what they preach." The song details various prohibitionists trying covertly to acquire liquor

"If you want to see your brother Fettered with a drunkard's chain, Vote for Kennedy Macdonald, Vote for Vogel an McLean. If you want to save your sister From disgrace and ruin and hell, Vote against the Liquor interest, Vote for Fraser, Stout, and Bell."

"It's been ten years ago or more, If I've been rightly told, There was stealing done in Arapohoe Of whiskey old and new." A prohibitionist steals gin and passes it to his equally thirsty and dishonest friends. Brewers are warned about prohibitionists

Chorus: "(I will meet you in the Promised Land) (x2) (I will meet you) (x3) Meet you, Meet you, I will meet you in the Promised Land." Singer has a "mansion up on high Not made by hand" and a "(sister/brother) in the new graveyard That outshines the sun"

"I have a father in the promised land (x2), My father calls me, I must go, To meet him in the promised land." I have a Savior in the promised land." "I have a own in the promised land... When Jesus calls me, I must go." "I hope to meet you..."

Round, based on "Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening": "But I have promises to keep And miles to go before I sleep"

"An Orangeman lied and on his bed died And went to St. Peter for to let him in." He is denied entry because he was "cursed from... birth." A Freemason and Henry VIII have no better luck as the "rattled away on the Prooshian drum."

"Who is the prop and support of the land? Is it the rich or the poor I should ask?" "The prop of the land is the hard working man." He should have a fair day's pay for his work. Death calls all or the rich man would buy life while the poor would die.

"'Who is the support of our country today, The rich or the poor?' you may ask. No, it is the man with the toil-hardened hand Who forever you'll find at his task." The song describes the various accomplishments of the worker, from farming to construction

The singer dreams a dream of a miner's hard life. His long-tom falls in the river. His supplies are scattered. His girl is far away. His strike comes to nothing. He goes to town, gets drunk, is beaten, loses his equipment, and winds up a thief

"Twelve years have I lived in this desolate place, Far from all habitation -- not even a face Have I seen...." He has seen "visions of gold in those canyons unmapped." Even though he knows the visions are foolish, he will stay in "the land of illusions"

Protestant Boys (I), The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6531}

The Protestant Boys, "Orange and Blue," assemble to support the King. Appeal to William's spirit as model: "from Paypish or Frenchman ne'er to retire." "We hate [Catholics] as masters and love them as men," "God bless the people and God save the King!"

"The Protestant Boys are loyal and true." They fought bravely at Derry, the Boyne and Aughrim against James who "with masses and Frenchmen the land would enslave." "Traitors shall tremble, Whene'er we assemble, For Protestant Boys shall carry the day"

"Protesteant dogs Jump like frogs (stink like dogs, etc.), Do eat meat on Friday." Or "Proddy dog, proddy dog, Go to hell."

A Protestant maid marries a Catholic who has a priest help convince her to convert. The priest plans a transubstantiation demonstration. She adds arsenic to the cake and he balks at eating it. Her husband is convinced to convert to Protestantism.

November 8, 1802, the Proud Flora is freighted and leaves Jamaica. In a storm they "throw out some of the lumber ... then the pipes of good wine and rich brandy we were forced to throw into the sea." They land safely the next morning.

Knight comes to court Margaret; he will have her or die. She says better men than he have died for her. She asks riddles; he answers and asks more. She agrees to wed, and lists her wealth. He calls her a liar; he is her dead brother come to humble her

A pedlar offers his pack of gold to sleep with a lady. She accepts. He asks her to return his pack. She refuses. He tells her husband he had borrowed her mortar to grind spice with his pestle and she kept his Pack. The husband has her return it.

"A Connaught man Gets all that he can ... bully and batter ...." "A Munster man Is civil by plan ... to cheat you." "An Ulster man Ever means to trepan ... insolence ...." "A Leinster man Is with all cup and can ... calls t'other provinces knaves"

"No matter how hard a prune may try, he's always getting wrinkles, Ah baby prunes just like his dad, 'cept he ain't wrinkled half so bad, Wrinkles we get... Prunes they get them every place, No matter how hard a prune may try, he's always getting stewed"

"Tell me not in mournful numbers Life is but an empty dream, Chickens in their fitful slumbers, Are by no means what they seem." "Egg thou art and egg remainest." "Trust no hawk however pleasant." They leave "Hen tracks in the sand of time."

Puff the magic dragon "lived by the sea" and played with a boy named little Jackie Paper. They travel the world and have improbable adventures. But one day Jackie Paper stops visiting and Puff is depressed

Alternate lines are a chorus, "Pull away me boy." The shantyman sings "And you hear me say." "And you do wha' me tell you." "And you go where me go."

"If ye live in the Whitfield hoosin' estate, If he live in Mid Craigie or doon the Seagate... Ye'll ken it's no' bonnie in Bonnie Dundee." Urban renewal has taken away most of the old town. Don't sit still or they'll pull YOU down and plant grass over you

"Light in the darkness, sailor, day is at hand!" The sailor, clinging to the old boat (presumably meaning his sinful life) is urged to "cling to self no more" and "Leave the poor old stranded wreck, and pull for the shore."

Pulling Hard Against the Stream: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1958}

"In the world I've gained my knowledge, And for it have had to pay... Do your best for one another... Help a worn and weary brother Pulling hard against the stream." The singer advises helping those in need

"Near the town of Chicago, where riot holds full sway, The workingmen of Pullman are battling for fair play." The White House has declared them lawbreakers. Troops are called in, even though the workers merely want "fair pay."

"Pump, suck, blow, Here we go, Diving is a hazard, Look at him Catch the trim, He's a silly bastard Flood from aft, Check main vents... Jimmy's got a bastard on And we don't give a toss"

Norwegian pumping shanty, with chorus in English. "Blow, blow, blow, blow! Land is coming in a-lee." Verses have no story, just general sailing rhymes. Verses are repeated twice before the chorus is sung.

"Punch and Judy fought for a pie; Punch gave Judy a knock in the eye. Says Punch to Judy, Will you have any more? Says Judy to Punch, My eye is sore."

"Punch and Judy ran a race, Judy stopped to tie her lace. Who won? Punch." (After which the one who says "Punch" gets punched.)

The cook points out to the cowboys that "While you're punchin' cattle I'm punchin' the dough." His life is much like theirs, except that he fights with food where they fight with animals. He intends to be "boss of this end of the show."

"What shall we do, Punchinello, ...?" "We'll do the same, Punchinello ...."

The singer is not like "fidgety folks ... famous for being too soon." "Punctuality's all very proper"; he is always "exactly ten minutes too late." He misses trains, arrives to propose after his rival, and at death's door will take his medicine too late.

Irish and English. The borrowed pup was so badly treated, poorly fed, homesick, and unhappy that it broke its chain and ran home, crossing "those bleak and barren ranges of Claodach"

A girl asks her "Purple Boy" the secrets given man from "King Solomon's high Temple Throne." He cannot reveal them. "Those Ribbon rascals I would defy." She wishes she were a man "that I could join in your Orange band." Girls should choose a Purple boy.

Push About the Pitcher: (3 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #1253}

"The silver moon, that shines so bright" shows "we've time to drink another pitcher." He'd rather drink and have fun than "work all day, and sleep at night, to grow much richer" He'd love a man "who loves a lass .. and boldly calls for t'other pitcher"

Push Along, Keep Moving: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #5469}

The singer attempts various enterprises, all ending in failure (e.g. when he opens a "whiskey shop," his wife demands all the drink for herself); after each failure, he sets out on a new adventure. Moral/refrain: "Push along, keep moving"

"I'm working on a push boat from Catlettsburg to Pike... for old man Jeffies' Ike." The hard work and low pay of poling on the Big Sandy River are described. Much of the song is devoted to the relations between the singer and his girl, (Cynthie Jane).

Push the Business On: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #12981}

"Hire a horse," "steal a gig," "all the world shall have a jig." We do what we can to "pass the music on" or "push the business on"

Pussiker, Pussiker: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #13521}

"Poussikie, poussikie, wow! Where'll we get banes to chow? We'll up the bog, And worry a hogg, And then we'll get bones enow"

"Pussy cat, pussy cat, where have you been? I've been to London to look at the queen. Pussy cat, pussy cat, what did you there? I frightened a little mouse under her chair"

A cat and her kittens have "a nice party to tea" one evening. "Then, in the midst of the fun, There came a loud knock on the door." They run away and don't come back.

"Put a watermelon rind upon my grave and let the juice run through, Put a watermelon rind upon my grave, that's all I ask of you. When my mama bake a chicken then(?) she bake it very fine, But nothing can compare with a watermelon rind. Put a...."

Put John on the Island: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #11824}

Chorus: "Hail Hail, Put John on the island, Hail hail, Weep low Judgement's coming" Verses: "You've got Jesus hold him fast, The grace of God you shall receive" "Didn't know Christ was in the field, Till I heard the rumbling of the chariot wheel"

Put Me In My Little Bed: (7 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4339}

"Oh birdie, I am tired now, I do not care to hear you sing." The child asks the bird to go to sleeps, and requests, "come put me in my little bed." The singer recalls her mother telling her "never, never go astray"

"Put me upon an island where the girls are few, Put me among the fiercest lions in the zoo, Put me upon a desert and I will not fret, But for any sake don't put me near a Suffragette!"

Put My Little Shoes Away: (24 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4340}

"Mother dear, come bathe my forehead For I'm growing very weak...." The dying child bids farewell to friends and family, and asks mother to "Put my little shoes away." They were brought by Santa, and can eventually be given to the baby

Every other line is "Put on the silver slippers." Verses include floater "my old mistress promised me ... when she died she'd set me free ...."

Put on Your Bustle: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #10229}

"Put on your bustle And get out and hustle, For tomorrow the rent man is due." The woman is urged to do what it takes to attract men. The second half of the song describes various lustful creatures

Put On Your Old Gray Bonnet: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5491}

"On the old farmhouse veranda there sat Silas and Miranda, Thinking of days gone by." They realize they have been married for fifty years. They leap up, forgetting the years, and go to town to celebrate all the happy times

"Here comes Jones with his face so cross"; drink has left him destitute. "Here comes Squire Brown," rich from selling liquor. The singer calls for an end to the liquor trade: "Put it down, put it down, put the unholy traffic down!"

Shanty. Formula verses about bringing a girl presents until she apparently allows herself to be seduced. Verse lines are repeated in choruses. Full chorus: "Put yer shoulder next to mine and pump away, pump away." (x2)

"Put your finger in the Corbie's hole [or "in Tabby's house," or "in Foxy's hole"], Corbie's not at home. Corbie's at the back door, Picking at a bone." The game, if the victim does not escape soon enough, ends with the victim's finger being pinched

""Put your hand in the hand of the man who stilled the water, Put your hand in the hand of the man who calmed the sea." The singer was brought up to pray, and knows he is not the man he hopes to be,

"Put your little foot (x2) Put your little foot right there... Take a step to the right, Take a step to the left, But forever stay near." Further invitations to move closer follow: "Put... your arm around my waist... We will dance through the night."

"No use talking (x2), The truth itself declares, If you act like the folks of fashion do, You're bound to put on airs." The singer doesn't want to mix in others' affairs, but he observes how both boys and girls dress up and put on airs

Putting On the Style: (14 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #3767}

A series of comments on the folly of those who put on false faces. Example: "Young man in a carriage driving like he's mad... He cracks his whip so lively just to see his lady smile, But she knows he's only puttin' on the style."

French. "Je m'endors, (x2), et j'ai soif et j'ai faim." The singer is tired and hungry; the sun is down and his blonde is gone. He asks what is wrong. He dislikes the town of Crowley. He wants the blonde and ignores the brunette

Quack, Quack, Quack: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7848}

"Six little ducks That I once knew, Fat ones, skinny ones Fair ones, too, But the one little duck With the feather on his back He led the others With a quack, quack, quack." The one little duck leads them to the river, then leads them back

"Verily high! Verily oh! Vivity vob like the shaker. All this wealth is awfully wrong And it terribly puzzles the quaker."

The Quaker is a ship with five hundred and fifty seamen. "By those blooming French dogs, we'll never be controlled." We fought them "till they could no longer stay." The war is over. A health to true girls and Lord Nelson "the best of all our crew"

Game which goes around a circle until all are nodding. "Neighbor, neighbor, how art thee? Very well, I thank thee. How is neighbor next to thee? I don't know but I will see."

"Quaker, Quaker, how is thee? Very well, I thank thee. How's thy neighbor, next to thee? I don't know, but I'll go see."

Quaker's Courtship, The: (26 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #716}

The Quaker comes to court the girl. He offers her a ring and money; she tells him she wants a man to call her honey. He tells her she is pretty; she calls him a flatterer. He gives up; she tells him to "Find a Quaker girl to marry"

"The (Quaker's/Baker's) wife sat doon to bake, With all her bairns about her, She baked them every one a cake...." "And then the miller sat doon to play A tune upon the spinnet." "Merrily danced the Quaker's wife, And merrily danced the Quaker."

French. When I was a girl all the boys came to my house to laugh and go to the ball and dance. No longer. I have a household to maintain and children to look after. Chorus: "When I was a girl, Oh! What delightful joy to be a girl fifteen."

Bastardized (literally) French: "Quand la guerre est finis, Les Americans parti, Laisez les pauvres Francaises Un souvenir Bebe." Verses tell the same story in different words: When the war ends, the American soldiers will leave French girls with babies

French shanty. No particular story, each verse line is repeated as a refrain. Full Chorus: "Ah! ma doue, quel trésor d'avoir épouse (2x), Un coeur tout en or!" "Oh, my dear, what treasure to have married, to have wed (2x) a heart of gold!"

"Come all you bold robbers and open your ears, Of QuantrelI the lion-heart you quickly will hear." Quantrell raids and burns Lawrence, Kansas, but allegedly he supports to the poor, and "a brave man or woman he'll never annoy."

Sailor Jack meets a girl, who offers to sell him "old bungo rye." Jack thinks it a whiskey, and buys her basket. In it he finds a child. Jack declares the child to be "quare bungo rye," and has the child christened with that name

"Hand me down the quart bottle... Here's four quarts of whiskey... As sure as that midnight train goes out I'm gonna get drunk again... when I get the fighting blues I'll sometimes think of you"

"Oh, it's beer, beer, beer that makes you feel so queer, In the corps, in the corps." "My eyes are dim, I cannot see, I have not brought my specs with me." Similarly, "...cheese... brings you to your knees," and so forth with other army items

Dialect: "Vat de matter lady," he says, do something for me; my heart's breaking for Quasebe. Look at his face. He looks like an overseer. He takes what he wants. Beat him well.

Spanish language; Puerto Rican patriotic song: "What a beautiful flag, it is the flag of Puerto Rico"

Queen Among the Heather: (14 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #375}

Young man, hunting, spies a girl herding sheep among the heather. He is smitten; she is "the bonniest lassie that e'er I saw." He asks her to go with him; she demurs, saying he's a squire and she but a shepherd's daughter. He perseveres and succeeds.

"Queen Anne, Queen Anne, you sit in the sun, As fair as a lily, as white as a wand, I send you three letters, and pray read one, You must read one, if you can't read all, So pray, Miss or Master, throw up the ball."

About the death of someone (Queen Anne, Mrs. McKenzie, etc.). "'Queen Anne's dead.' 'How did she die?' 'With her right eye, Le kai, le kai."" Or "...die? One finger up." Used with various games

"Queen, queen, Caroline, Dipped her hair in turpentine, Turpentine made it shine, Queen, queen Caroline"

Queen Eleanor, dying, calls for two friars. King Henry decides to substitute himself and Earl Marshal. Eleanor confesses to many sins against Henry, often with the Earl. Henry reveals himself and wishes that he could tell the world what Eleanor said

Queen Mary (Auld Maid's Lament): (12 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6281}

The girl (perhaps "Queen Mary") is of an age to be courting but has no suitors. She dresses well, and goes out when she can, but finds no takers. Her mother laments the girl's fate, as does the girl herself

"This is good New Year's Even-night, We are all Queen Mary's men, And we've come here to claim our right, And that's before Our Lady." The singers travel the town asking for gifts of food. The offer good wishes for the residents

"Oh, she was a cripple with only one nipple," so her child was disadvantaged; "he'll never play rugger Or grow up big and strong." He's grown older, but little has changed: "Twenty-one, never been done, Queen of all the fairies."

The Queen of Elfland awakens to hear her child's (wet)-nurse weeping. The Queen of Elfland asks the reason; the nurse says that she is crying for her own son. The Queen of Elfland sets the nurse on the right road home (and on to heaven).

"To the Queen of Hearts goes the Ace of sorrow... Young men are plenty but sweethearts few; If my love leaves me, what shall I do?" The singer talks of her wealth and family, "But I'll leave them all to go with you."

"The Queen of Hearts, she made some tarts, All on a summer's day. The Knave of Hearts, he stole the tarts, And took them right away. The King of Hears called for the hearts, And beat the knave full sore. The knave... vowed he'd steal no more."

The Queen tries to seduce Troy Muir; he denies her. To punish him, she has him lift up a certain stone under which a serpent waits. A passing girl draws off the snake by cutting off her breast. Troy Muir marries her. Her breast regrows to suckle their son

"She was a two-gun woman, Belle Shirley was her name." Belle marries Jim Reed who was killed by "Morris." She then marries Mr. Starr and "moved to Younger's Bend." Her six other husbands and her dominance over them are briefly described.

Singer meets a young woman. She says she has come to gather may. He asks to go with her; she refuses, for fear of being led astray. He kisses her; they wander through the meadows as he picks may. Next morning he marries her to preserve her reputation.

"Ye hills and ye mountains surrounding Balmoral, ye groves and ye valleys, ye surely can tell." "The eighth of September will ne'er be forgotten... We ran and we jumpit... to welcome the Queen." Victoria and Albert's visit are toasted

Jump-rope rhyme. "Queen, Queen, Where did you get your chicken, Queen, Queen, where did you get your duck? Queen, Queen, where did you get your goat? I got my chicken out of the yard... my duck out of the pool... goat out of the garden

Queensland Overlanders: (9 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #9107 and 24817}

The singer reminds the listeners of the well-known life of the Queensland drover. He describes the various men who engage in the profession, and their visits to town. The chorus is a toast: "Tonight we drink the health of every overlander."

The singer tells of his courtship to a fine young girl, stressing his unworthiness and poverty. They are wed even so, but the wife dies suddenly. The ballad stresses its moralistic conclusion that life is short

"I thocht unto mysel' ae day I'd like to see a Race... Sae up I gat, an wash'd mysel', put on my Sunday braws, An' ... started for the Shaws!" He likes the races, but in his ignorance ends up in trouble with the law, and vows not to return again

"The cronach stills the dowie heart, The jurram stills the bairnie, But the music for a hungry wame's The grinding o' the quernie." Though people rejoice in other things, the grain from the quern keeps many fed

French. Game song; "Those who wish to eat some hare / Need only for it run." Players portray hare and hunter. Ch.: "La belle, en vous amant / Perdrai-je mes peines?" "Since you don't love me, why am I wasting my time on you?"

The singer tells about a "false, fickle maid" he loved in Tilting. But he is hopeful. "My bright hopes though shattered, they might yet revive, And kind fortune bring me a faithful young bride"

Quigley and Picco: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #30677}

"Come all good people, please pay attention Unto the lines which I write in grief; It's about a hero who is worse than Nero," John Picco. Quigly, far from home, sees Picco's light -- but is refused shelter because he's an Irish Catholic. He curses Picco

Quilty Burning, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #18471}

"Oh the burning of Quilty, you all know it well; When the barracks took fire Where the peelers did dwell." Everyone scurries to save what can be saved. "This old barracks is no harm to be gone, For many a poor fellow was shoved in there wrong"

The French ship Leon strikes a rock off County Clare. "Eighteen men in six canoes," fishermen from Quilty, "cross the wild and stormy sea," "three miles," and "saved the captain and twelve men from the sinking ship"

Call and response cornfield holler. "Oh oh oh oh, I won't be here long. Oh oh oh oh, Dark don't catch me here." That's about it.

Quo' the Haddock to the Skate: (3 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #13058}

Disconnected couplets, lines, halflines, names and places. One coherent example: the eel, haddock and skate comment that London is far away so the haddock advises the eel to "crook your tail weel"

"Come all you poor distressed people And lend a willing ear to me; Your suffering will soon be ended For now we have the R.F.C." The government is helping the poor and homeless and hungry

"Rab, Rab, Lead off, head! Come by, ladies, come by! Hit him in the head with a pone of bread... Pretty little girl to go with me... I'm gonne leave old Tennessee!... Rabbit soup's not good to eat... Rabbit soup'll rot your teeth."

Rab Rorison's Bonnet: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #13037}

Rab Robison's bonnet covered his and his wife's head from the rain, was under his knees at church, was waved in the air when he swore, or as a bellows for fire, .... "It wasna the bonnet but the bean that was in it Made the hale parish talk"

"You are a Rabbi's daughter, And as such you must obey Your father without question...." "If a Christian you should marry, Your father's heart would break... You must leave him for my sake."

Jump-rope rhyme. "Rabbie Burns was born in Ayr. Now he's in Trafalgar Square. If you want to see him there, Jump on a bus and skip the fare."

Humorous cante-fable description of chasing a rabbit. Part of the humor is that, unlike "fox chase" songs, not much happens: The old wife wants a rabbit (though she hardly knows what one is); the old man and dog blunder around preparing to catch it

Patting Chant: "Oh rabbit, rabbit, rabbit, Rabbit a-hash An' polecat smash; Rabbit, rabbit, rabbit a-hash. Rabbit skip an'-a rabbit hop, An' a-rabbit eat my turnip top. Oh, rabbit, rabbit, rabbit a-hash! Oh, rabbit a-hash."

"Rabbit in the log And I ain't got no dog." The singer, apparently poor and a rambler, perhaps a poacher, imagines how to catch the rabbit and describes how he will cook and enjoy it. He will sleep in a farmer's shed, etc.

""Rabbit in the rail pile, search him out quick, Gather, twist around him with a long pronged stick, Catch him on the north side, catch him on the eye, There you chase 'em to eye, eye, eye."

"Rabbit stole de greens (x2), Break down, Molly, hoo, hoo (x2)." "Big pot o' punkins, Little pot o' peas; De ole har smile To see de pot bile. Break down, Molly, hoo, hoo. (x2)"

"Raccoon has a bushy tail, Possum's tail is bare. Rabbit has no tail at all, 'cept a little bunch of hair." Verses about love, animals, anything at all: "Love it is a killing thing, Beauty is a blossom, If you want your finger bit, Poke it at a possum"

Race Between a Ford and Chevrolet: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #15876}

Various string band musicians from the North Georgia region, such as Clayton McMichen and Riley Puckett, wager a jug of liquor on the outcome of the race between a Ford and a Chevrolet. The race is a tie, so the onlookers split the contents of the jug.

The terrapin challenges the deer to a race. The deer agrees; the terrapin asks terrapins to hide by the path. When the deer calls out, "And where are you, terrapin?" the nearest terrapin answers, causing the deer to run faster till it is exhausted

Recitation. Deerfoot John brags that he's the champion foot-racer; Windigo challenges him to a 500-yard race. Deerfoot, running stark naked and with a 40-foot starting lead, runs well, but loses. Deerfoot swears that next time he'll run with his pants on.

Rachel Dear/The Maine Water Side: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #9451}

The singer recalls the sad day Rachel fell into the river Maine and drowned. She is found by her cousin. Her family, friends, and sweetheart mourn. The song closes with a description of her beauty

Singer meets a young fellow, and asks whether he'd like to have a game on her rackyman doo. He asks what it is; she explains that it's soft, with hairs all round and split in two. She takes him to her father's cellar, gives him drink, and asks again

Parody of a stump speech: "My name is Barney Rafferty, that is my cognomen, Though some folks call me Barny, they're of the lower sort." Rafferty's only enemy is Mikey Cafferty; he urges voters to support Rafferty, not Cafferty

The singer attends a dance, with a raffle to follow. When two bidders tie they fight -- "they smashed up lamps and crockery" -- and Hogan takes the prize: an ornery mare.

"So her pop says, 'Nay,' and he lopes right away, And bobs right back the very next day; And he shuts one eye, And looks very sly, She gives her pop the sweet bye-bye." Chorus: "There ain't no cub as neat as him, Dandy, handy raftsman Jim!"

French: "La ous-qu'y sont, tous les raftsmen?" The raftsmen are on their way to winter camp. They arrive, suffer the usual poor food, work in the woods, go home, and "to greet them come their ladies gay, Who help them spend their hard-earned pay."

Raftsmen's Song (I), The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #4360}

"I believe some dust of the wanderlust has been molded with my clay. Though I long to come to my home sweet home, it's never long I'll stay." The singer describes his travels, talks of troubles faced by raftsmen, and considers the raftsman's afterlife

The singer is trying to make a living selling flowers. It is his only choice; father was a drunkard. One day he returns home to find mother dead. Chorus: "Flowers, bouquet, flowers I cry... My clothes don't look neat While struggling for mother and I."

"Well I'm ragged, I'm hungry, I'm dirty too... If I clean up, sweet mama, can I stay all, all night with you?" The poor, homeless, orphaned stranger hits on the woman and complains that he wants to die. Then he decides to leave her whatever it takes

"I am a poor man, God knows, And all my neighbors tell, I want both monty and clothes, And yet I live wond'rous well" because he is content. He lists the things"better" people must do to maintain their station; he prefer to be "ragged and torn and true"

The singer, once poor, receives a large inheritance. As an experiment, he goes out in poor clothing -- and is despised. As soon as he displays money, he is treated kindly. He repeats the test, then notes "Many an honest heart beats beneath a ragged coat."

A slow leader line followed by response "O Ho" and a fast line. "Ragged Leevy ... Ragged like a jay bird" "Sweet potato ... Two in the fire" "Mr. x ... Going to build me a store fence" (see notes)

"Raggedy, raggedy are we, Just as raggedy, raggedy can be. Well we don't get nothing for our labor, So raggedy are we." Similarly, "Hungry, hungry are we"; "Homeless, homeless are we"; "Landless..."; "Pitiful..."

"The raggedy-assed cadets are on parade, on parade (x2), They joined the army for the air, But they'll play hell in getting there.... Rolling on, rolling on, By the light of the Silvery moon, A ha ha ha ha... The raggedy-assed cadets are on parade."

Gaelic. "A milking-woman sings to her cow, wishing it safe from any harm."

Raging Canal (I), The: (6 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #6611}

"Come listen to my story, ye landsmen one and all, I'll sing to you the dangers of that raging canal." When the mules trip on a stormy night, the crew faces a wreck. The usual exaggerations, e.g. the cook's dress on a pole, are employed

"On Raglan Road of an Autumn day, I saw her first and knew, That her dark hair would weave a snare That I might someday rue." "I loved too much, and by such and such Is happiness thrown away." The singer warns of the dangers of courting "an angel."

"I know a dog and his name is Rags, He eats so much that his tummy sags, His ears flip-flop and his tail wig-wags, And when he walks he goes zig-zag." " He goes flip-flop, wig-wag, zig-zag, (x3), I love Rags and he loves me."

Ragtime Cowboy Joe: (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #11097}

"The roughest, toughest man by far" in Arizona is Ragtime Cowboy Joe, who got his name because "He always sings raggy music to the cattle... On a horse that is syncopated gaited." But folks are advised not to cross him; his gun will make them dance

Ragtime Flying Corps, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #10762}

"We are the Ragtime Flying Corps, We are the ragtime boys, We're respected by every nation, And we're loved by all the girls (I don't think)...." The members of the R. F. C. are known wherever they go; they "don't care a damn for Germany"

"He's a ragtime tiffy, ragtime tiffy, Early every morning with a spanner in his hands, Walking round the engine room tighteing up the glands... Happy as the flowers in May, But if you ask him,,, what he'd doing, He don't know what the bloody hell to say"

Raid of the Reidswire, The: (6 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #2863}

"The seventh of July, the suith to say," A raiding party gathers. Carmichael is the warden. All the folk of Liddesdale gater. Those who participate in the raid are listed.

"On April nineteenth, seventy-three, Of this affair we heard, The worst disaster, said to be...." A bridge is out near Richmond Switch, and the Steamboat Train goes into the stream. The singer tells of unknown losses and wishes a mail train had gone first

Railroad Bill [Laws I13]: (26 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #4181}

Railroad Bill "never worked and never will"; he drinks, steals, and travels from town to town. His career finally ends when he is shot (and/or arrested). To the very end, all he does is "ride, ride, ride"

Floating verses; "Went to the depot and I looked up on the board, It read, good times, children..."; "Where was you, mama, when the train left the shed..."; "Met a little Gypsy in a fortune telling place/She read my mind, and then she slapped my face."

Railroad Blues (II): (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #11646}

"I got the blues, but I haven't got the fare (x2). I got the blues, but I'm too damned mean to cry." "Some say the rolling blues ain't bad..." the singer concludes they have some other sort of blues. He laments his dead mother and sister gone astray.

"Every time you hear me sing this song, You may know I've caught a train and gone." A letter tells the singer his love is sick. He tries to get home. The Big Four in Dallas has burned down. He will soon be gone; a man in trouble always takes a freight

Railroad Boomer, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #24085}

"Come and gather all around me, listen to my tale of woe... Take a tip from one who's travelled, never start to ramblin' round, Yu're liable to get the wandr'rin fever." The singer plans to marry, but then hears a train; he asks to be buried by the tracks

Railroad Cars are Coming, The: (5 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #10812}

"The great Pacific railway, For California hail! Bring on the locomotive, Lay down the iron rail; Across the rolling prairies By steam we're bound to go." Even prairie dogs wag their tails and antelope stand at attention when the trains come.

Railroad Corral, The: (12 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4636}

"We're up in the morning ere breaking of day, The chuck wagon's busy, the flapjack's in play." The singer describes the hot, dusty, dirty work of the cowboy, and the long days and long trails. He rejoices to reach the end of the trip

"Every time I hear a freight train comin', Oh, I listen to the engine sob and moan. Lawd, Lawd, I've got them railroad daddy blues." The singer descries railroad life, wishes her daddy would come back, and rejoices when "my railroad daddy's home at last."

"As I went down to Simon's mill, There I found a very steep hill, The steers began to bellow and balk, And I began to cuss and talk. Railroad Dinah Gal, I'm going' over the mountains." "Me and old Dinah killed a sheep, Give old Dinah the head and feet."

Uncle Dave Macon surrealism. Singer has been in the state house and the court house; he is broke from gambling. Chorus: "Railroadin' and gamblin'/Pickin' up chips for mammy/Lawd, lawd, lawd/Take your feet out the sand, stick 'em in the mud."

"Railroading on the Great Divide/Nothing around me but the Rockies and sky/There you'll find me as the years roll by...." Singer wanders the country before landing on the Great Divide, and tells of the rails and ties he has laid there.

Singer's wife gives him trouble, runs him "out in the cold rain and snow." She comes downstairs combing her hair, saying she'll no longer be mistreated; he kills her (, lays out the body, then trembles with cold fear)

"Rain come wet me, Sun come dry me, Stand back, white man, Don't come a-nigh me."

Rain Fall and Wet Becca Lawton: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #11973}

"Rain fall and wet (Becca Lawton) (x2) Oh, brother, cry holy. Been back holy, I must come slowly, Oh, brother cry holy." ""Sun come and dry Becca Lawton." "Do, Becca Lawton, come to me yonder." "Say, brother Tony, what shall I do now?"

"When the humid shadows hover Over all the starry spheres And the melancholy darkness Gently weeps in rainy tears, What a bliss to press the pillow Of a cottage-chamber bed, And to listen to the patter Of the soft rain overhead!' No sound is more pleasant

"Takes a holy man to join us in the army of the Lord (x2), O rain, rain a rain, my savior, Rain, rain, the Lord sent it down, O rain, rain a rain my savior, Rain, rain, the Lord sent it down." "So glad I ever started in the army of the Lord...."

Rain, Rain, Come Down: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #19096}

"Rain, rain, come down, I owe you half a crown, Rain, rain, go up, I owe you half a cup."

Rain, Rain, Go Away: (7 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #19096}

"Rain, rain, go away, Come again some other day." Additional stanzas may have additional suggestions, e.g. "Rain rain, go to Spain, Never show your face again"

"And I'm one among the dying, A youth, not yet a man, From the old Rainbow Division, And a boy from Dixieland. His brother knelt beside him to hear what he might say." He asks that a message be sent to mother

"Raining, raining, raining, Always bloody well raining, Raining all the morning, And raining all the day." "Grousing... Always bloody well grousing, Grousing a the rations, And grousing at the pay." "Marching...." "When the war is over ... march no more"

"Raise 'em up higher, higher, drop 'em down (c3), Never know the difference when the sun goes down." "Twenty-one hammers fallin' in a line (x3), Nobody's hammer, buddy, ring-a like mine." The singer hopes his girl hears him and talks of work

A slave is told by his mistress that he would be freed when she died. The promise is long in coming true, and at last the singer takes things in his own hand. Having set off (down?)river, he intends to "raise a ruckus tonight."

"Raise your hands if they are clean, By your teacher to be seen; Raise them higher, turn them slow. They're almost white as snow."

Rajah of Astrakhan, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #10229}

"There was a rajah of Astrakhan, A most licentious lout of a man," who calls for his favorite concubine. But as they proceed about their business, the bed falls apart and both are injured. The singer's advice: Do it against the wall

"Beauing, belleing, dancing, drinking, Breaking windows, damning, sinking, Ever raking, never thinking, Live the rakes of Mallow." This self-centered life continues until "they get sober, take a wife, Ever after live in strife"

Rakes of Poverty, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2964}

Irish variant on "The Son of a Gambolier." The singer describes himself as "the rambling rakes of poverty... the son of a gambaleer." He likes drink, and lives shabbily, in used clothes and shoes. He wishes he had drink and sugar for all

Rakes of Stony Batter, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #7153}

"Come all you roving blades, that ramble thro the City" our time is coming to have our way with women. Lots of sexual symbolism. "Come let us take a roam, up to Stony Batter, Keep your Wife at home, for humpers will be at her"

"What do we do when we leave the Raleigh? (x3), Early in the morning." "Run like hell for the nearest station." "Catch a train to civilization." "Run like hell to the nearest boozer." "Drink to the health of the boys of the Raleigh"

Gerry Foley's stormy adventure while hunting an otter bring him to the attention of a "big vessel" captain. The captain tries but fails to lure Gerry to sea and is scolded by Gerry's wife.

Rally, Boys, Rally (I): (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #4508}

"Lead your partner up and down, I thought I heard them say, Lead your partner... I thought I heard...." "Rally, boys, rally, I thought I heard them say...."

Rally, Boys, Rally (II): (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #11031}

"Rally, boys, rally, the day is come at last (x2), Colored population can walk without a pass." "Had me an old shotgun, I called her Number One, Shot it at the rebels, you ought to see them run."

Ram Song (II), The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #12451}

Pius bought a small, thin ram from Jenny. The boys play cards for the ram "but playing cards for rams in Lent -- it was a mortal sin." The ram grows big and fat and is slaughtered "to pay the boys to plow up the old graveyard"

Young man meets young woman. He says he's known as "Rambleaway" (after his wandering habit). In some versions the last verse cautions girls about men like him; in others the woman slips away, and he rambles around searching for her in vain.

Rambler from Clare, The: (11 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1531}

The rambler tells of beginning his career in the (County Tyrone), where (the women) first dubbed him the Rambler from Claire. Captured (by the English, he faces a stiff sentence) but escapes to America (and continues to pursue the women)

"He rambled across the seas, to see the firstline (front line?) French, And there were all the Kapps Sigs, a-gossiping in French; And what they had to say that day is more than I can tell, But they all did promise faithfully to give the Kaiser hell."

Rambling Boy (III), The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #3083}

Jack the sailor and his girl spend the night and stop in a Green Street tavern where he is beaten by "turks and heathens." He is taken and "transported for theivery" to Van Diemans Land. Now in "transport blue," he will write her a letter if she is true.

"You combers all, both great and small, come listen to my ditty." He is proud to be able to read, drink and fight; his failing is "I love strong beer; I am a rambling comber." He could comb "A dozen of wool," but his clothes are ragged; he seeks a girl

"I am a rambling Irishman, in Ulster I was born," but being poor, he leaves Lough Erne for Amerikay. He spends his last night with his darling. On his way, he dreams of his Nancy. When he arrives in Philadelphia, he urges every lad to "link with his lass"

"I'm only a rambling miner, I work where I like best, In the coal mines of Kentucky, Or the copper mines in the west." But wherever he goes, the singer is gambling his life in the mines. He says he is doing it "So that the women and kids may eat."

Singer describes rambling around cities and towns, and his life as a migrant fruit picker. He wishes he could settle down, but "I am just a refugee/As I go rambling round, boys."

Rambling Soldier (I), The: (25 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #518}

Soldier (sailor) describes the joys of rambling the countryside (of England): "I once was a seaman stout and bold, Ofttimes I plowed the ocean... For honor and promotion." In some versions he brags that he has a license to ramble, granted by the king.

Rambling Soldier (II), The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #11032}

"I am a rambling soldier, From (Tipperary) come to (France), And poverty compelled my To fall out into ranks." "Cold weather is approaching, And I have no clothes to pack... They are all upon my back." The singer tells how he acquired his ragged outfit

Capstan or pumps shanty. Chorus: "Heave a pawl, o heave away. Way ay roll an' go. The anchor's on board an' the cable's all stored, timme rollockin' randy dandy o." Rhyming verses about sailing and women.

Patrick Cowley deals in cattle. He recalls the sickly scrawney "Rangey Ribs" Mickey Dubh sold to him as a thoroughbred. Pat couldn't sell him. His only use was to hang the wash. But when he died neighbors came to the burial from miles around

Rank Strangers to Me: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #13162}

"I wandered again to my home in the mountains, Where in youth's early dawn I was happy and free, I looked for my friends, but I never could find them. I found they were all rank strangers to me." He is told all of them are gone. He will see them in heaven

"Ransum scansum, through yonder, Bring me a gourd to drink water. Dis way out and t'other way in, In my lady's chamber, Dis way out and t'other way in, In my lady's chamber."

"It is of a sly ranter parson, For preaching he lived in great fame,.. but I must not mention his name." The parson desires a farmer's wife. The wife offers to sleep with him but slips a swarm of bees into the bed; he is left lovelorn and much bestung

Rantin Willie Mair's Wife: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #6771}

"Rantin Willie Mair's wife's awa wi' young MacKeelikin." She would not have been so foolish, says the singer, if she had been beaten when they met.

The singer, "a rantin' old maid," goes to a singing class to catch a man. One asks her questions: which way do you go home; what's your lover like; what's your name; am I the lad you love? She answers each and says, at last, "ye've guessed richt noo"

Rantin' Laddie, The [Child 240]: (12 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #103}

The lady has "played at the cards and the dice" with the rantin' laddie; now she has a child and is scorned. She sends a letter to the rantin' laddie -- who proves to be the Earl of Aboyne. He marries her and all are happy

Singer tells of getting drunk with his friends (all of whom he names) on the way to the lumber camp at Upyongo. At the end of the season, at home, they reminisce about how they got "drunk on the way."

Ranting Highlandman, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6253}

The singer meets a Highlandman whose appearance and smile "my favour wan." He asks that she marry and "wee'l big a cot an buy a stock an do the best that ere we can." She expects him to return "though all my kin should scauld an ban" and she'd go with him

Shanty. First refrain "Ranzo, Ranzo, hurray, hurray" (or "away, away), second refrain usually "Hilo me Ranzo ray." Verses tell of destinations and cargos, i.e. "we're bound for Yokohammer, with a load o' grand pianners."

"Rap 'er to bank, me canny lad! Wind 'er away, keep tornin! The bac-shift men are gannin' hyme...." The canaller recalls his father's life on the canal, and how he died in a fall of stones. The singer, too, is leaving the canal.

Rap At The Door, A: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6124}

A rake visits a girl but his reputation as womanizer has preceded him. He gets no sympathy from her for a supposed injury. She says her parents would beat her if she introduced him. She will not be his next victim. He feels slighted but not heart-broken.

A train heads for Cincinnati, but the engineer dies at Rarden station after jumping from the train when he saw an open switch. The fireman is crushed in the wreck. Chorus: "Did he ever come back? No, he never came back. His fate was easily learned...."

The singer is leaving his home in Clonmel. He thinks of the places there he loved. "In ev'ry fight for Erin's right, Foul tyranny to quell, First in the field and last to yield Are the boys of Rare Clonmel!"

Willie drowns in the (Yarrow). (Details of how and why vary greatly). His lover dreams a dream of woe. She sets out and finds Willie's body, and uses her hair to pull him from the water. In many accounts she (promises to) die for sorrow

The singer recalls making love in the hills one night and helping his sweetheart to dress. When they got to town "I saw another did my love attend". "Wid ye forsake a' yere former vows An break the heart o a lover true?" She would, maybe for money.

"She was a raspberry tart In her little poke bonnet, With a great big bunch Of thing-a-mees upon it; With a pinafore dress That was just the thing And a little toy dog On the end of a string... Bow wow!"

Raspberry, Strawberry: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #19383}

"Raspberry, strawberry, (Blackberry/Gooseberry Jam), Tell me the name Of your young man." Or, "Apple jelly, jam tart." "Does he like you?" "Will he marry you?" "What will he marry you in? Silk, satin, cotton, rags." "How will you get to the church?"

Rat a Tat Tat, Who Is That?: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #22244}

Jump-rope rhyme. "Rat-a-tat-tat, who is that? Only Grandma's pussy cat. What do you want? A pint of milk. Where's your money? In my pocket. Where's your pocket? I forgot it! O you silly pussy-cat."

"Rat coon, rat coon, can you-all dance? No Why? Cause my tail's too short. Putty addy bum-bum bum-bum bum-bum. Putty addy bum-bum bum-bum bum.

Couplets followed by "rata-tat-tat" with a stick beat on the shack door. "Wake up buddy it's hard but it's fair You had a good home but you wouldn't stay there." "Wake up buddy and sit on the rock It ain't quite day but it's four o'clock"

Ratcatcher's Daughter, The: (7 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #13883}

"Not long ago, in Vestminster," a beautiful ratcatcher's daugher is courted by many. She prefers a sand-seller. They plan to marry. She falls into the Thames and dies (of the foul water?). He kills himself. The inquest says she died of "too much vet."

The sailor wanders down Ratcliffe Highway (and stops at an ale-house. What happens thereafter varies, e.g. he meets a girl, he fights with the landlady, etc.). After his business is done, he welcomes the chance to return to sea, even on a lousy old tub

Thomas Power and James Kehoe from Rathaspeck had "gained an honest livelihood by toiling on the land." They take a boat out in Wexford Harbour "to pass away their evening, engaged by line and hook." They can not swim and drown when their boat capsizes.

"Where the fulmar flies on Rathlin head O'er the lake on the cliff by the sea, My love and I, in days that are dead, Watched the white clouds floating free.... But my love flew away... And I sob like the mateless dove." She prays her love will return

"Well, I wonder what's the matter, What's the matter with Captain Mac, He done got mad.... I've got the ration blues...." The singer tells of being sent out to cut wood, and sugar, but the land apparently does not yield even when cleared

Jamaican patois: Rat's mother-in-law cuts Rat's shirt; Rat laughs. Rat's brother-in-law cuts Rat's waistcoat; Rat laughs. Rat's father-in-law hits Rat in the belly; Rat laughs so hard he falls down as if dead. Mongoose comes and kills Rat.

Various animals are asked about their characteristics, e.g. "Muskrat, muskrat, what makes you smell so bad? I've been in the bottom all my life Till I'm mortified in my head." "Rattlesnake, rattlesnake, what makes your teeth so white?"

"My name is Rattlesnake Bill, I was raised in a rattlesnake den, My daily occupation all of my life, Was taking women from good old men. And I wonder how long they're gonna let me live." The singer kills a lion; people flee from him

Rattlin' Roarin' Willie: (4 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #6192}

Rattlin' Willie goes to the fair to sell his fiddle. Someone urges him, "O, Willie, come sell your fiddle... And buy a pint o wine!" He refuses; "The warl' would think I was mad." He plays in "guid company"; his wife(?) says "Ye're welcome hame to me."

Cumulative song about the "great chain of being." Sample: "On this branch there was a twig/Rare twig, a rattling twig/Twig on the branch and the branch on the tree and the tree in the bog/Bog down in the valley-o." Most versions complete a circle

The singer left home at twenty two. He went from town to town working on the railroad with his "whole estate" in his handkercheif. His money went for drink. He met and married a girl but left her in May. She tells her baby "Your daddy's a Railway Boy"

"The corbie with his roupie throat Cried frae the leafless tree... Come o'er the loch wi me!" The crow asks why he should come. He is told a farmer has plowed his field and seeded it; there is much corn to be had. The farmer shoots both birds

The trawler Ravenal, returning to St Pierre from the Grand Banks, is lost in a storm. "Wreckage was found on Lorie's shore. She may have struck a sunker, but such things we'll never know; We only know her eighteen men died in the waters cold"

Rawtenstall Annual Fair: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #23927}

"Down behind the gasworks, down in Rawtenstall... Last Saturday night, me and the lads, Ee by gum we 'ad some reet good cheer." They see a fat girl, the house of mystery, a mermaid, a tattooed lady -- "till someone shouted, 'Don't go down in the mine"

Razors in the Air: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #16086}

"Come, my love, and go with me, Ah, my love, I'll meet you, Take you down to Tennessee, Meet you by and by." "Hoe de corm... Get away from dat window... Come some other night, For dar's going to be a fight, Dar'll razors a-flying in de air."

"Reach up to the sky, and open up your eyes And, let your troubles fade away, Dream those dreams today And melt your cares away And open up your heart and sing. Live your life for everyday, The old one is gone, So don’t let this one slip away"

Leader sings: John brought the letter, put it on the table, and all the members read it. It said, "let me go!" Responses are "read 'em," "read 'em, let me go"

Variation on the "Ready or not, here I come" game cry: "Ready or not, if I come and find you, You are It. And if I don't I'll still be It, So I'd better find you."

"It rains, it hails, it's cold stormy weather, In comes the farmer drinking all the cider, You be the reaping-boy and I'll be the binder. I've lost my true love and don't know where to find her." "Go into the ring and see if you can find her."

Harvest time. "With reaphook and sickle so well we'll clear the land." The farmer provides good brown beer. Singer's "charming creature," Nancy, binds the corn and brings it to the waggoner. Harvest done, threshing begins. "A health to all you farmers"

"Reason I stay on job so long, Lawd, dey gimme flamdonies an' coffee strong." "Reason I love my captain so, 'Cause I ast him for a dollar, Lawd, he give me fo'." "Reason why I love Boleen, She keeps my house An' shanty clean." Etc.

The singer is picked up by a beautiful woman. She takes him to a house and then to bed: "You are the nicest boy I've seen today... I would love a jewelled ring." In the morning a man comes in and kicks him into the gutter. He pays and doesn't ask why

Rebel Acts of Hyde, The: (1 ref. 1K Notes) {Roud #6644}

"It's now I will relate, Though in a broken way, How the rich in Hyde Did carry the poor away." The singer tells how the people of the deep south and the rich carried the area from the Union, alludes to its recapture, and says that some stayed true

Rebel Soldier, The: (12 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #259}

Floating verses about this lonely soldier's life. "It's grapeshot and musket, And the cannons lumber loud. There's many a mangled body with blankets for a shroud." Characteristic line: "I am a rebel soldier and far from my home."

Rebel's Escape, The [Laws A19]: (4 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #2207}

The soldier relates the tale of his desertion. In prison, he gets the guard drunk and sneaks off. He crosses a river on a raft. Reaching home, he wakes his wife and children, who give him a meal and advise him to "go to Dixie's land."

Rebel exploits, poisonings and massacres are recounted, from Lord Edward Fitzgerald to Father Murphy, and their defeat at each turn by yeomen and Orangemen, in Kildare, Antrim, Ballynahinch, Wexford and Kilkenny. "Down, down, croppies lie down"

"Reborn, soldier, going to reborn again, Oh, going to reborn again...." "Reborn again, reborn again, Oh, you can't get to Heaven till you're reborn again." "Paul, and Silas, dar in de jail... One watch while de other pray."

Recent Kanab Tragedy, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #10881}

"In Kanab they will remember This Twenty-Fourth of July." "For two of the town's best men are lying In their coffins awaiting earth." "It happened because of hot anger -- A quarrel about their water right." Roundy kills Seegmiller, then kills himself

"Go we forth from our council fire Into the night, into the night. In our hearts renewed desire, Burning bright, burning bright. Loveliness of thought we've found, warmth and friendship's love." May the camp's blessing be on them as they leave

Rechess (Richard) "walk are dip and are roll ... like a good sailin' boat." "Rechess no ha' foot fo' work nigger ground ... ha' foot fo turn Bella yeye [eyes]."

"As we roll along we are all record makers, Records black and white, in the wrong or the right." Hearers are advised to be "ready when the train comes in."

"Sez Corporal Madden to Private McFadden, 'Bedad, yer a bad'un! Now, turn out yer toes, Yer belt is unhookit...." The corporal rags on the recruit for all sorts of things -- until he gets thirsty; when the private buys him a drink, he relents

Recruited Collier, The: (3 refs. 4K Notes) {Roud #3503}

Singer tells of her lover, a collier now in the army. She is terrified; he's looking forward to the adventure. She points out the coals her family burns, which his hands hewed. He bids her farewell, asking her not to forsake him; she says her life is over

Recruiting Sergeant (I), The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #1275}

Seargeant: "Mower, take my shiners bright," be a hero and mow down your enemies. Mower: No. If I go "the sword of war may mow down me"

"Red bird soon in the morning (x2), Red bird, red bird soon in the morning. (x2)" "What's the matter with the red bird soon in the morning?" "Cat got the red bird soon in the morning." "Hog got the red bird soon in the morning."

Ships caught in a gale are too far out to make Avondale or Harbour Main and ride out the weather in Red Cap's Hole. "When news got to their native homes" the "gallant band marched down by land To help the toilers home."

"The working class Can kiss my ass, I've got the foreman'sjob at last. I'm out of work... You can stuff the red flag Up your hole." The singer recalls seeing a girl at Gibraltar. The wind blew up her skirt, but there was a red flag there

Song describes the uses made of various parts of the herring, e.g., "Herring's eyes, puddings and pies/Herring's head, loaves of bread."

Very fast jump-rope rhyme. "Red hot bricks, Gotta get over what the leader's is or else you're out."

Jump-rope rhyme. "Red hot pepper, With an H-O-T. Ten, twenty, thirty, forty...."

Red Iron Ore [Laws D9]: (19 refs. 5K Notes) {Roud #2233}

A sailor tells of a trip he took on the E.C. Roberts. They set out from Escanaba with a load of ore, and at last wind up in Cleveland. Life aboard an ore boat was not pleasant, but the sailor is proud of the good time the ship made

The singer praises his love; they have promised faithfulness. But "It's all for the loss of my bonnie (brown)-eyes lass I'm leaving my homeland forever." Chorus: "Red is the rose that in yonder garden grows... But my love is fairer than any."

Red Light Saloon, The: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #9424}

The singer goes to (Bangor) on (July 4). (The train) being late, he is "forced" to visit the Red Light Saloon. Quickly recognized as a (logger/cowboy), liquor and women give him their attention. His "ellick" grows hard; he goes off with a five dollar girl

"Red lion, red lion, com out of your den, Whoever you catch will be one of your men." The invocation for a game in which the designated lion attempts to tag or catch all the free players

Red Man's Wife, The: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #15013}

"'Tis what they say, The little heel fits in a shoe." The singer loves the red man's wife. He's spent nine months in prison, but would leap the sea to be with her. The Day of Doom will come, earth will be destroyed; he'll still cry for the red man's wife

Singer asks her husband for a red mantle to wear to the fair. He buys it; but when she arrives at the fair she discovers fashions have changed, and "green mantles carried the day." She tears the red mantle to shreds and goes home in tears

Red Plaid Shawl, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #V8342}

"One summer's morning I took a ramble" and meet a girl in "a red plaid shawl." The singer wants a kiss; she wants a treat. He says he is a clerk. With his money spent, she knocks him out. When he wakes next morning his coat, chain and watch are gone.

Red River Valley, The: (66 refs. 4K Notes) {Roud #756}

The singer and his love are parting (either may be singing, and either may be leaving). "Come and sit by my side [ere you leave me]; do not hasten to bid me adieu; just remember the Red River Valley, And the (sweetheart) who loved you so true..."

"'Twas in camp we lay as you quickly shall hear, McKenzie came to us and bade us to prepare." They are to fight Indians in Red Rock Canyon. The enemy is the Cheyennes who killed Custer. The singer celebrates a thorough victory

Red Rocks of Bell Isle, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #27022}

A Bell Island man is found wounded in a battle in which the Germans are defeated. He thinks of home and has a message to be carried to his mother and sweetheart at Wabana. "It's down with Adolph Hitler, God save our gracious King!"

Jump-rope rhyme. "Red roses, blue roses, yellow roses too. Have some jumps for Mrs. Blue. One, two, three...."

"I wish I was a red rosey bush on thee banks of thee sea. Ever-ri time my true lover pased, He'd pick a rose off of me." "Wish I lived in a lonesome holler, where the sun..." "We have met and we had parted." "Wish I had a golden box to put my love in"

Team game in which one side sends a runner to try to free a captive while the other side tries to capture the runner. Each round begins with the cry, "Red rover, red rover, send (someone) on over."

Red Rover's Song, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #V36074}

"A merry life is ours, I trow, while o'er the billows' surge we go. Our birthright joy! to care unknown." "The skies may frown, or be they fair, we little look, and less we care." "But oh! our greatest joy will be: to feel, to know we're brace and free."

"When Moses was leading the Israelites, Red Sea, Pharaoh tried to catch them just for spite, Red Sea. Oh, Pharaoh he got drowned...." The remaining verses are about Jesus and how he cares for and takes away the sins of the poor

Red Sky at Morning: (4 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #25780}

"Red sky at morning, Sailors take warning, Red sky at night, Sailor's delight." The order of the lines may change, and it may be a shepherd or skipper or other occupation rather than a sailor.

Red Wing, "a pretty little Indian maid," is in love with a brave, but he has died in battle. "Now the moon shines down on pretty Red Wing... So far beneath the stars her love is sleeping, While Red Wing's weeping her heart away."

Red Wing, the unafraid Indian maid, allows the cowboys intimacies, until she is made pregnant.

Red-Haired Man's Wife, The: (7 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #3046}

The singer asks his sweetheart, by letter and in person, to leave her husband. She had sworn fidelity but married the red-haired man instead. She will not "break the command" He offers a way out: "For the Patriarch David had a number of wives"

"Red-headed peckerwood, Pecking on a pine. Want a chew tobacco, But you can't chew mine."

Jump-rope rhyme or taunt. "Red-headed sapsucker, Sitting on a vine, Wants a chew of 'bacca But he won't get mine."

Jump-rope rhyme. "Red-hot in the pot, Twice as much as the leader's got."

Red, Rosy Morning, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #21097}

"The sweet rosy morning smiles over the hills." Rise from sleep and hunt the fox or stag. At day's end, sport being over, we drink. "Let love crown this night ... and sport crown the day"

Jump-rope rhyme. "Red, white, and blue, My mother caught the flu. My father lost his walking stick, And I blame you!" Or "...and blue, Your father is a Jew. Your mother is a Japanese/Chinaman, And so are you!"

Jump-rope rhyme. "Red, white, and blue, Stars shining over you (or "I don't speak to you"), Red, white, and yellow, Who is your fellow, Red, white, and green, Who is your queen," etc., eventually breaking into a count or into A, B, C

Red, White, and Red, The: (4 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #769}

The Confederate soldiers proudly boast of their new flag, "The Red, White, and Red!" They promise the guard their land, and proclaim, "They never will subdue us, that you will see. While there's Davis, Bragg, Beauregard, Johnson, and Lee...."

"The jaybird sat on the redbird's nest. The redbird sat and mourned." Verses about the birds and their lives, with additional (floating?) material about partridges pulling a plow, a man riding a goose across a creek, etc.

Adam and Eve squander "the heritage of heaven." Christ confounds the sages in the temple, heals the sick, shares "the Pasch," is crucified, rises and "redeemed us all." "We're safe from Satan's wrath." "That will lead us home to Heaven and our Salvation"

Redesdale tells William that he can win any woman's favor "wi ae blink o my ee." William bets his head against Redesdale's lands that Redesdale cannot win his sister. Redesdale courts the sister, fails to win her (though he burns down her house)

"The sweet scented wattle sheds perfume around Delighting the bird and the bee, While I lie and take rest in my fern-covered nest." The rambler relaxes and thinks back on the friends and the girl he has left behind. He misses them, but cares little

"Ten miles down Reedy River, a pool of water lies, And all the year it mirrors the changes in the skies." The singer recalls riding with Mary Campbell to the pool. They build a homestead. But now "The wattle blossoms golden above my Mary's grave."

Reel o' Stumpie, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7252}

"Hap and rowe, hap and rowe, hap and rowe the feetie O, I thoucht I was a maiden fair Till I heard the greetie o't." The girl's father was a fiddle, her mother made mantie; she danced the "Reel o' Stumpie" and now must attend the child that is the result

A wife complains of politics which has driven her husband "clean dementit." He has no time for work "to save us frae starvation" for worrying about the nation's problems. She begs him "Leave them wha can to mak' the laws ... lat the nation look to itsel"

Regular Army-O, The: (7 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #4747}

The volunteer joined the army three years ago, and has been suffering every since under "Sergeant John McCafferty and Corporal Donahue" as well as "forty miles a day on beans and hay." Captured by Indians, the soldiers at last escape army life

"Reid Hoose it is a fairm toon It stands upon a knowe Ye maybe ken the fairmer o't For he's a muckle yewe."

"You'll get on board of Reid's Express to travel the icy rail" to the station at Badger Brook and lumber "just like a slave... 'twill carry you to your grave." "When I gets home no more I'll roam and the lumbering woods I'll shun."

The singer "in search of my love" meets her and is warned. "'Touch me not, and approach me not near; I belong to this Rath, and the Fairy host here.'" He tries to hold her but she disappears.

Reign, Master Jesus: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #15281 and 12082}

"Oh, reign, oh, reign, Oh, reign my Savior, Reign, Master Jesus, reign, Oh, reign salvation in my poor soul, Reign, Master Jesus, reign." "I tell you now as I told you before... To the promised land I'm bound to go." "I never shall forget that day"

Rejected Lover, The [Laws P10]: (17 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #412}

The girl tells the singer not to return; she prefers freedom to marriage. She later changes her mind; he is no longer interested. She warns others against her mistake

"Dartmouth spreads her snow-white sail, Her purple pennant flying O: While we the gallant Browning hail, Who saved us all from dying" [Mountjoy] rams the blockade and seems stranded -- "we mourned our falling city" -- but "a favouring gale" frees it.

Team game ending with "All in ! All in! The game is broken up" or lets players rejoin their teams when the leader shouts "Relieve-Ee-O." A game may start, "Down in the alley-o, Where we play relieve-ee-o. Up comes her mother-o...."

"Oh it's come along fathers And don't you want to go, And join that happy company That's going on before." Chorus: "Religion is the best of all (x3), I feel it in my soul." Continues for mothers, brothers, sisters, etc.

"O walk Jordan long road, And religion so sweet. O religion is good for anything, And religion so sweet." "Religion makes you happy." "O member, get religion." "O I gwine to meet my savior." "I seek my Lord and I find him."

Baptizing song/sermon: "Let's go down to Jurdon (x2)... De ol' ribber Jurdon is mighty deep, but 'ligion is so sweet." The candidates are told of the benefits of baptism, told that Jesus requires it, and reminded of the "sweetness" of religion

"Remember the times you've had here. Remember when you're away. Remember the pals you've made here. And don't forget to Come back someday. Remember we love you, campers; Remember counselors, too. For you girls belong to (XXX) And XXX belongs to you."

"Remember A, remember B, But first of all, remember me."

The singer's ship is ready to sail. He hopes his sweetheart and old Ireland boys will remember him. They spend the night drinking together and he sails away. He bids Killarney farewell. "Alas my friends I am away, Here's my hand but you have my heart"

"Remember days past, Remember me ... Oh Lord, remember me." "Remember dying days ... Oh Lord, remember me."

"Remember me and my old woman Around the fire and it a boomen" (sic.; probably means "booming")

"Remember me early, remember me late, Remember the night we swang on the garden gate." Or, "...remember me late, Remember me as your own schoolmate."

"Remember me when far away And only half awake, Remember me on your wedding day And send me a slice of cake."

"When on the wide spread battle plain, The horseman's hand can scarce restrain, His pampered steed.... Remember the Alamo." The singer hears the bugle blast, and declares that many Mexicans will die. He urges others to arms

Remember the Bible Text: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #25359}

"Remember the Bible text And keep your light so shining Just a little in front of the next."

"Remember the glories of Brian the brave... To light us to victory yet." Tell the invading Danes that we prefer "to bleed for an age ... than to sleep but a moment in chains." Do not let those that died "upon Ossory's plain" have fallen in vain

"Cold winter is coming with his keen cutting breath...." With the fields barren and the cold coming on, the listeners are urged to remember the poor. This is urged both because the listeners have something to spare and because it is the Christian thing

Singer, a tramp, tells how hard his life is, asks for understanding. Chorus ends "Remember that the poor tramp has to live"

"Remember well and bear in mind, A faithful/gentle/honest/tender friend is hard to fine, But when you find one kind and true, Never change the old one for the new."

"Remember well and don't forget, You have a friend that loves you yet."

Remember, O Thou Man: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #23782}

"Remember O thou man, O thou man, O thou man, Remember O thou man, thy time is spent, Remember... how thou art dead and gone, And I did what I can, therefore repent." The Fall is recounted; Jesus came to rescue Man from the effects

(Creole) French: "Mo parle Remon, Remon, Le parle Simon, Simon, Le parle Titine, Titine, Li tombe dans chagrin. O femme Romulus! O belle femme Romulus! O femme Romulus! O belle femme que ca voule mo faile!"

At Waterloo Napoleon was forced to yield. Marie Louisa wept and cursed the gold that bribed "False Grouchy." A monument is erected in Paris "to contain the ashes of his heart, And every Frenchman that passes by respectfully a tribute pays"

"I come home this morning, when my clock was striking two (x2) The first thing I saw was another man's hat and shoes." The singer leaves his girl and says he is going to Reno. He is never coming back. He will travel until his shoes break down, then die

"In tears I now lament the sinful life I spent It's time for to repent." "That's cheating... cursing... envying our neighbors, Lust and fornication and vile insinuations." "Old and young prepare... Pray both late and early... for God to show us mercy"

Jump-rope dialog. The jumper says "Goodbye Mama" and reports to school. The teacher asks where her report card is. Mother says the baby chewed it. The jumper is offered a "scolding or a whipping"

"Thunder Lake Lumber Company, Rhinelander, Wisconsin" has an englne so bad that "the cylinders are oval where they ought to be round." Heating her up meant "every seam leaked and at every spot." But "she's a d-- good engine for the shape she's in."

"The pockets of our greatcoats full of barley," the croppies fought with pikes and would "stampede cattle into infantry." "Until, on Vinegar Hill, the fatal conclave.... And in August the barley grew up out of the grave"

"One day when I was out of work a job I went to seek." He takes a job, is given a list of tasks and told that, once done, "The rest of the day's your own." The list is too long, so he messes up the tasks, is fired, and "The rest of my life's my own."

"A young man entered a restaurant To seek an evening meal" and orders "Salmonier," which is unavailable. He and the waitress argue and apologize and dream of their own restaurant and eventually become engaged

When the singer dies the choir will sing, the preacher will preach and the singer will be buried but she won't be there. "I'll be resting in my home beyond the sky"

"Come all you good people, I pray you draw near, A comical ditty you shortly shall hear" about the singer's visit to a tavern in Missouri. The meal was all right, but the beds were full of lice and fleas. The singer is happy to leave Missouri for Arkansas

Resurrection Morn, The: (1 ref. 1K Notes) {Roud #12014}

"O run, Mary, run, Hallelu, hallelu, O run, Mary, run, Hallelujah!" "It was early in the morning." "That she went to the sepulchre." "And the Lord he wasn't da." "But she see a man a-comin'." "And she thought he was the gardener...."

"Go and tell my disciples (x3) Jesus is risen from the dead." "Go and tell Sister Mary [and Martha]." "Go and tell poor sinking Peter." Pilate, Doubting Thomas, and others are to receive the message also

"I'll be down to get you in a tram car, honey, Taxis cost too much money... We'll go down to the Robin Hood... Go in and have a few... Tomorrow night when I roll into Leeds." They will dance and cuddle even though he has a wife and kids at home

"Was not the day (x3) dark and gloomy." "The enemy" built a position, "But Blessed be the Lord, the snare is broken." In language too reminiscent of the King James Bible, the singer gives thanks for military success and hopes for peace

The singer is spending an evening at Mahers and steps out for some air. Looking over Angel Pond, he sees the ghost of Charlie horse. When the mist closes in the singer loses sight of Charlie and goes back inside to tell the boys.

Molloy returns to Dublin after four years in America and is stopped by "a castle-hack" who accuses him of being a Fenian. He is, but he has returned with money to take Molly and his mother to America. He and Molly marry and all move to New York.

The admiral sees a shark -- a harbinger of death -- following his ship. He tries to be bold but dies that night. His body is dropped overboard and "never from that moment, save one shudder in the sea" do they see the shark again.

French. A couple takes in a passer-by because their son is also a soldier. They worry about the boy. The passer-by reveals that he is their son

Reuben and Rachel: (9 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #15451}

Rachel speculates to Reuben about "What a good world this would be If the men were all transported Far beyond the northern sea." Reuben, shocked, tries to fathom the idea; at last he offers marriage. Rachel accepts

Describes the sinking of the destroyer "Reuben James" by submarines off the coast of Iceland, the loss of 100 men [and the rescue of 44]. Chorus: "What were their names, tell me what were their names/Did you have a friend on the good Reuben James?"

Shanty. Characteristic line: "Ranzo, boys, Ranzo." Typically concerns the life of Reuben Ranzo, a landlubber who "was no sailor" but wound up aboard ship and had to learn fast -- or, perhaps, had enough schooling to turn to navigation

Reuben Wright and Phoebe Brown: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5414}

Phoebe loves Reuben; her parents disapprove, and Reuben doesn't think much of them either. They determine to marry; her father grabs a shotgun. He accidentally kills his daughter. Reuben kills the father -- and awakes from his terrible dream

Lyric piece about Reuben's train and travels. Versions vary widely; most contain a verse something like this: "Reuben had a train and he put it on the track, Hear the whistle blow a hundred miles."

"This year's been one continuous trouble, Squatters fighting hand in hand." Squatters and shearers are quarreling over wages; times are hard throughout Australia. The singer expects to win, and urges hearers to join the (shearers') union

"We praise Thee, O God! for the Son of Thy love, for Jesus who died, and is now gone above." "Hallelujah! Thine the glory. Hallelujah! Amen. Hallelujah! Thine the glory. Revive us again." "We praise Thee, O God! for Thy Spirit of light." Glory to the Lamb

Revolutionary Tea [Laws A24]: (9 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1934}

Mother Britain is angry that her daughter America will not pay the tea-tax. The mother sends the daughter a great deal of tea and demands she pay the tax (on pain of a beating); the daughter dumps the tea into the ocean

Revolutionary War Song: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #5022}

"I'm almost ninety and nine, but I still remember the time, When the country was invaded by the British, One of freedom's noble sons, our brave George Washington, Made 'em skeeedadle from the happy land of Canaan. Ha ha (x4), Bound for the happy land..."

Reynardine [Laws P15]: (19 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #397}

A lady meets Reynardine (the singer for most of the song). He courts her while bidding her not to reveal his name. He says he has a castle in the forest and that she can reach him by calling him. He then vanishes (?); she warns women against such rakes

"Rheumatism, rheumatism, How it pains, how it pains, Up and down the system, Up and down the system, When it rains, when it rains."

"First the Nab and then the Warner, Blockhouse (Spit/Fort) and (Submarine) corner"

Poem composed of the names of steamboats, rhymed with each other. Sample: "The Fred Wyerhauser and the Frontenac, The F. C. A. Denckmann and the Bella Mac, The Menomenee and the Louisville, The R. J. Wheeler and the Jessie Bill...."

"Who'll do their coutrin' With a right god will; Have courted long and have courted still? Johnnie and Annie." "Who never goes home until half past two? Johnnie." "Who thinks.... Young Jonnnie the most handsome and grand? Annie."

Singer recalls his first job, working at (or for) Rhynie. The work is ill, the wages small, the rules onerous. The place is miserable, but he dare not leave before the season ends for fear of losing his fee. When it does end, he hits the road cheerfully

Jamaican patois: Rattler can't cross the river. Then he takes a bamboo, log, stone, and makes a way to get across. Finally he comes over and dances on the river bank. The singer is glad he made it.

Roman Catholic Mick Sheridan passes a parade of Yeomen. They surround him and Colston says "he commands the Ribbon Blades." They jail him in Ballina and, when bribery fails to convince him to "make discovery," hang him.

A version of "Ring-Dang-Doo (I)" localized to Canada: "The Princess Pat's Battalion They sailed across the Herring Pond... And landed there with the Ric-A-Dam-Doo." The song describes their disorderly conduct and some of the battalion's members

A young farmer is leaving Ireland. His rich sweetheart urges him not to go to a foreign land, but Ireland is too impoverished for him. Seeing that she cannot change his mind, she at last decides to go with him

A knight meeting a beautiful lady wearing gems and a gold ring asks why she is not afraid to walk alone in Ireland. She answers: "No son of Erin will offer me harm; For tho' they love woman and golden store, Sir Knight! they love honor and virtue more!"

Sally at first scorns a suitor, then changes her mind and calls for him. She admits that she is dying for love of him. He informs her that he intends to dance on her grave. She takes three rings from her fingers for him to wear while dancing, then dies

"It was of a rich lady she had gold in store. She was loved by the rich and was good to the poor." She meets a ploughboy and gives him a letter. Later she proposes. He says she's "too good for a poor man's wife." They marry. She takes up house-keeping.

Rich Man and Lazarus, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #6567?}

"Come all thoughtless people by whom Adam came...." Listeners are reminded of Lazarus in heaven and the Rich Man in Hell. The song consists mostly of the lecture to the Rich Man which took place after he died.

"Rich man, poor man, beggar man, thief, Doctor, lawyer, Indian chief." "Tinker, tailor, soldier, sailor, Rich man, poor man, beggar man, thief." Or other verses listing occupations. Often used as a counting-out rhyme

Rich Merchant in Galway, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #6999}

The sorrowful singer says "My love is tall and handsome, well shaped in every limb." Her father, a rich Galway merchant, advertises her 1400 pound fortune and sends her love "to plough the ocean"

"It's of a rich nobleman lately, we hear." He has a daughter, who inherits when he dies. She falls in love with a (plowboy). She and her maid dress up as soldiers and "press" him with a "warrant of love." She appears in her own clothes. They happily marry

The singer has been courted by "a rich old miser" nearly four times her age. She marries him, but he becomes jealous without cause (and beat her). At last she retaliates by breaking a ladle over his head, teaching him to be civil

The singer is offered a piece of cake. In it are "insides of old concertinas," flute keys, trout hooks...." They "blow a spot off of the side" with a cannon. When he bites into it "my tooth crumbled off on a button Of a trouser rolled up on the waist."

"I am a rich widow, I live all alone, I have but one daughter And she is my own. Daughter, oh daughter, Go choose you a man, Choose you a good one, Or else choose none." (The widow marries off her daughter, says she's bound to obey, and wishes her well)

Richard (Irchard) of Taunton Dean: (12 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #382}

Herchard/Irchard/Richard courts Miss Jane, saying, "I can reap and I can mow..." and earn his ninepence every day. She replies that she needs silks and satins. He perseveres, saying he has pigs and will inherit more if they marry; she consents

The singer loves poor Richard. Her parents will have him transported if she insists on marrying him. On "the day we had planned to wed" he is taken and sent to Van Dieman's land. She and her servant girl go to Van Dieman's land. She and Richard marry.

"Injured Boston now awake While I a true confession make...." The singer, called "the Informer," got a "wretch of wretches" with child, but the crime was blamed upon a Parson. The singer confesses to every other evil and bids farewell

Richie Story [Child 232]: (7 refs. 19K Notes) {Roud #97}

An Earl's daughter is courted by one or more noble lords, but loves none but her father's servant, Richie Story. He tries to dissuade her by pointing out his poverty. At last he gives in. She goes with him and is set to work in his household

Her husband is gone for a while and she is all dressed up and ready to go with the first "dude" that will take her in a car. "Hurry down sweet daddy, Come blowing your horn, If you come too late, Sweet mama will be gone"

Singer, ostensibly a soldier in the Union army, sings of the difficulties involved in attempting to capture Richmond, VA. The Union generals have all failed badly. The singer wonders who will try next, as the Confederates, "fight like the devil"

Richmond on the James: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4811}

The women mourn the fine men slain "On a blood-red field near Richmond, Richmond on the James." A soldier lies dying as his life-long comrade sadly watches. The dying man sends tokens to his family and sweetheart

"Rick, rick, toe, Here I go, If I miss, I come to this." Or "Tip, tap, toe," or "Tit, tat, toe," etc. Or "Tic, tac, toe, My first go, Three jolly (butcher) boys, All in a row. Stick one up, Stick one down, Stick one in the old man's crown."

Rhyme for sports competitions. "Rickety, Rackety, Rust, We're not allowed to cuss, But, nevertheless, We must confess, There's nothing the matter with us."

A knight arrives to court three sisters. The youngest goes to bed with him. He promises to marry her if she can answer his riddles. She does, and he either marries her or is revealed as the Devil.

Ride Away to Aberdeen: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #13034}

The old man rides "away to Aberdeen to buy fite breid" [white bread]. When he returns he finds the old woman dead. He hits her on the ear with his club: "rise ... an' ate yer fite breid"

Chorus: "Ride on Jesus, Ride on, Ride on conquering King, I want to go to heaven in the morning (x2)." Verses: "If you see my mother (father, sister, brother), Tell her (him) for me, Meet me tomorrow in Galilee, Want to go to heaven in the morning (x2)"

Ride On, King Jesus: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #12110}

"Ride on, King Jesus, no man can hinder me (x2)." "I was young when I begun, No man can hinder me. But now my race is almost done...." "King Jesus rides on a milk-white horse... The river of Jordan he did cross. "When I get to heaven gonna wear a robe"

Chorus: "Who Lord who Lord who who Lord who gonna ride this train (x4)."Verses: "Will my mother ride this train, Will my mother ride this train?" "I went in the valley one day to pray, Soul got happy I stayed all day"

"VInce was a railroad engineer, His train a daily freight That roared through hills... Insanely testing fate." Vince the engineer is well known along his route. One day in 1923, running late, he hits a bad switch and dies. Now his ghost runs the route

Singer vows to tame a wild horse. After 17 days of pursuit the cowboy ropes him, discovering that at some point he'd been saddled and bridled, but was still wild. The horse eventually throws him and runs back to the ridges with all of his gear

"I'm ridin' in a buggy, O yes, O yes, It's a golden bright buggy... O Candy, Candy gal, Woncha hurry, Candy gal, Swing your partner, Candy gal... Now choose two partners... And I wants a good rappin'."

"RIdin of a goat and leadin' of a sheep (x3), I won't be back till themiddle of the week."

"Come hurry to de wicket And get a first-class ticket Risin' on de cable car." The singer describes the rider's experiences: Paying six cents to be jammed in a crowd on a hot day, having someone step on your toe, being harangued by a politician

"One night when logs were rafted Down to the planing mil The sparkling moonshine outside and in Was giving Del a thrill." Del sets out with a whoop; the log breaks loose -- but "Del found at port he'd ridden The shadow of the smokestack."

"'Tis old Stonewall, the Rebel, that leans on his sword, And while we are mounting, prays low to the Lord." The cavalrymen are told to be ready; they are "riding a raid." The singer revels in the fighting capabilities of Stuart's cavalry

"Riding boy from Powder River Rides the broncs until they shiver, Rides the gals until they quiver, He's the riding boy!"

Riding Down to Portsmouth: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1534}

A sailor falls in love with a pretty maid while "riding down to Portsmouth." After he promises to marry she sleeps with him and steals his gold watch and purse. He leaves the landlord his pony in pawn till he returns from the war.

"Riding herd at night, a lonely exile singing," the singer falls into waking dreams of "the cot where my love lies dreaming of me." Even as he drives herds in Wyoming (a job he never imagined), his thoughts are in Ireland. He recalls the holidays there

"Hitch her up, hold your horses! Or they'll get away. Oh, isn't it pleasant to kiss your sweetheart, Riding in a sleigh?" She asks how many bridges they'll cross. As they cross the ridge, he kisses her. Soon they will ride in a sleigh with a preacher

Riding on the Dummy: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7595}

"Of all the ways of travelling, by coach or carryall... the dummy beats them all." People step on each others' toes and bump into each other; people fall in each others' laps; etc. But the singer is happy "Riding on the dummy With the darling I adore."

Riding on the Tramway: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6988}

The singer sees a lady "looking out of a window at the New Tramway" The cost is only two pence. He gets on and sat next to her. He asks her to marry, she agrees, they marry and, he says, "we'll soon have fresh conductors on the New Tramway"

"Riel sits in his chamber o' state, Wi' his stolen silver forks an' his stolen silver plate.... O hey RIel, are ye waking yet... For we'll take the fort this morning." Riel is defeated and embarrassed; the victors insult him and his failure

French: "Quand je partis ma chere Henriette, Tu n'avais pas encore quinze ans." The singer (Riel?) left home before Henrietta was fifteen. With the fighting over, he has come home

A girl loves one of Lord Hopkin's grenadiers. Her mother asks how she will get by on so little pay. The girl is not deterred. Her mother would confine her. The drum major leads the grenadiers out of town, breaking every girl's heart

"Why come ye hither, redcoats? Your mind what madness fills?" The singer warns the British soldiers of danger in America. They are asked if there are no graves in Britain for them. He promises a quick death "If flint and trigger hold but true."

"Rig-a-jij-jig and away we go, Away we go, Away we go; RIg-a-jig-jig and away we go. Heigh-ho, hiehg-ho, heigh-ho." Remaining lyrics may be repetitions of these words or may say that the singer met a pretty girl in the street

Floating lyrics, united by the refrain "Rigby Johnson Chandler" or similar. Examples: Old man went out to plow And he hooked up a hog with a Jersey cow"; "Two old maids sitting in the sand"; "[My woman] went to the circus and ran off with the clown."

"Railroad Bill was a desperado sport, Shot tin buttons off policeman's coat, And laid this body nowhere." "Railroad Bill, he's so mean, Stayed nowhere but down in New Orleans." "Some of the boys go sixty days, some got forty-nine... I got mine."

Shiel dreams of a meeting at Athlone. Granua says "Britannia No more shall rob you of the rights of man." A man from the sky brings a shamrock. Granua promised to free them before long. The meeting parts "in exultation" at daybreak as Shiel wakes

Near Gorrachree the singer overhears Sandy and a chambermaid. Sandy seduces her. She says, "My maidenhood has got a fright and gane awa frae me." He considers it a joke he's played on fairer maids. He "hunts the beggar wives and sets them agee"

Rigs of the Times, The: (30 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #876}

Chorus: "Honesty's all out of fashion; These are the rigs of the times...." Detailing all the sharp business practices of the day, e.g. the butcher who charges two shillings a pound "and thinks it no sin" -- while placing his thumb on the scale!

"Riley, Riley, where are you, Wo, Riley! Wo, ma-an!" "Riley's gone to Liverpool... Riley's gone an' I'm goin too." "Wish I were Cap'n Riley's son... I'd lay around and drink good rum." "Thought I heard my cap'n say... Tomorrow is our sailin' day."

Riley and I Were Chums: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #9080}

"Oh, RIley and I were chums and always shared... Take my word whatever I done, I handed it over to Riley." The singer gave Riley a share of his drink. When he is arrested, he gives Riley the warrant. When his wife is unpleasant, he gives her to Riley

"O'Donald and Luffsey (first names Frank and Riley) And Wannigan, known as Dutch..." were true friends and "never too bashful to shoot." "The Marquis de Mores... had recently come from France"; Luffsey dies in a shootout; de Mores is acquitted

"Riley, Riley, where are you? Heh! Riley, Heh! Wish I was Captain RIley's son, Heh! Riley, Heh! I'd stand on the dock and drink good rum, Hey! Riley, Hey!"

Riley and his sweetheart are forbidden by her father to marry. Aided by the girl's mother, Riley goes to America and buys a plot of land. He comes back; the two set out for America. Their ship is wrecked on the way. Before dying the girl blames her father

Jump-rope rhyme: "Rin Tin Tin/Tiny Tim/Tiger Tim Swallowed a pin, He went to the doctor, The doctor wasn't in. He opened the door And fell on the floor, And that was the end of Rin Tin Tin"

A couple decide to marry but she runs away from the wedding. Her parents run after her through Tweed and Kelso, but don't catch her. The bridesmaids laugh at the groom for being silly but the bridegroom's man chalks it up to woman's flightiness.

The IRA ambush Black and Tan lorries in Rineen, County Clare. "The Black and Tans put up their hands and the peelers too likewise." "Gallant Irishmen together should unite ... And have another ambush soon to fight the Black and Tans!"

Ring Around the Rosie: (19 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #7925}

Singing game, with lyrics something like "Ring around the rosie, A pocket full of posies, Ashes, ashes, We all fall down."

On Sunday morning the singer, holding a bible, meets the devil.

Ring is Round, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #13601}

"The ring is round -- the bed is square You and I would make a pair"

"This earth has many treasures rare In gems and golden ore, My heart hath one more treasure rare, The ring my mother wore." The child received it from the mother's dying hand, and will treasure it always

"Ring rose, the one I chose (x3), It's the (latest/lady) from Baltimore." "She can rock, that lady, but she can't rock me (x3), It's the latest...."

Ring the Bell, Verger: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #10127}

"Down in the belfry chaffeur lies, Vicar' s wife between his thighs"; a voice orders him to stop driving the wife and start driving the car. A bell puller is told to stop pulling himself and pull the bell; an organist told to play the organ, not himself

Ring the Bell, Watchman: (4 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #13630}

"High in the belfry the old sexton stands, Grasping the rope in his thin bony hands." He waits until he hears: "Ring the bell, watchman! ring! ring! ring! Yes, yes! the good news is now on the wing... Glorious and blessed tidings. Ring, ring the bell!"

Ring-Dang-Doo (I), The: (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1880}

A young woman lets a lad ride her "ring dang doo," is kicked out of her house by her father for losing her maidenhead, and takes up prostitution. In some versions she gives her customers a social disease; in others her career ends when she dies of the pox

A man loses his "leg," shot off by his mother-in-law; the doctor makes a wooden replacement; but the man cannot wear a spur on it; and things in the family go from bad to worse.

Shanty. Characteristic line: "[Heave] away, Rio... And we're bound for the Rio Grande." Most versions revolve about a sailor preparing to leave port, and the girl (or girls) he is about to leave behind (with or without regret)

"Ye Liberals all, on you I'll call, I hope you will attend." "On the nominating morning... The Tories heist their colours for St. John's East did flock." Protestants attack Catholics; Clifford and others are killed. The singer condemns violence

"Be I Berkshire, be I buggery... Oi know a girl with calico drawers, and I knows how to tear 'em." In the chorus, the girl urges, "Rip my knickers away," but later (another girl?) says not to; "you'll get there by and byin'."

"The ripest apple the soonest rotted, The purest love the soonest cold, A young man's words are soon forgotten...." The singer asks that he speak her name kindly, recalls how they loved, says she will be true, and says she will never find his like

"Christmas time has now been approaching." The characters have come from far away. Room is made for each and each has his lines: General "Warrington" from Waterloo, Hieland laddie, Tom the tinker, Beelzebub, Big Head, St George and doctor.

About the troubles of a sailing trip to San Francisco, each verse ending "Rip goes the --" (boiler, engine, your money, etc.). The trip features a defective engine, a savage captain, poor food, disease, and poverty

"God said to Noah, there's gonna be a floody, floody.... (So) Rise and shine and give God the glory, glory... Children of the Lord." Noah builds the ark; the animals arrive, including elephants and kangaroos; it rains; it dries up

Rise and Shine (Bold Pilgrim): (1 ref. 3K Notes) {Roud #11040}

"Good morning, brother pilgrim, sir, pray tell to me your name, And where it is you're going to...." The other says his feet are shod with gospel peace, he carries a sword to fight his way into Canaan, his name is Apollyon. The singer refuses to join him

"Rise and shine on the Black Ball Line! Show a leg for a sea-boot!"

Shanty, with chorus "Whiskey-oh, Johnny-oh! Oh, rise me up from down below, down below, oh, oh, oh oh! Up aloft this yard must go, John! Rise me up from down below!" The verses describe "the world down below," where the "fires do roar," etc.

The wife demands, "Rise out your bed, you worthless wretch, the sun's far in the sky." She has been working while he recovers from drink. They fight and argue -- until Craigilie comes by, when they declare the husband to be well

Sung to a campfire: "Rise up O Flame, By thy lights glowing, Show to us beauty Vision and joy."

The singer arrives at his love's window and begs to come in. She asks who is there. He identifies himself, and she allows him to enter. When he leaves, he rejoices, "For late last night I've been with my lass." In other versions, his ghost bids farewell.

Ainger asks a girl to open the door and let him in on a cold night. She tells him to return to the girl he was with the night before. He says he loves only her; contrary reports are false. She lets him in. She wonders why she left him outside so long.

Rise Up, Shepherd: (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #15289}

"There's a star in the east on Christmas morn, Rise up, Shepherd, and follow." The shepherd is advised to "Leave your sheep and leave your lambs" and follow the star to where Jesus is

Rise, My Soul, And Stretch Thy Wings: (1 ref. 1K Notes) {Roud #8887 and 15084}

"Arise, my soul, and spread thy wings, A better portion trace, Arise from transitory things To Heav'n thy native place." The universe will fade; listeners should prepare for another world. "Soon our Savior will return Triumphant in the skies."

"Oh, rise, shine, for thy light is a-coming (x3). My lord says he's coming by and by." "Oh, wet and dry I intend to try, My Lord says he's coming by and.... To serve the Lord until I die." "This is the year of Jubliee... The Lord has set his people free."

The Earls of Westmoreland and Northumberland, suspected of treason, go into rebellion, bringing in others such as Master Norton. They gather their forces, but are delayed in besieging a castle. Loyal forces defeat the rebels

Rising of the Moon, The: (13 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #9634}

"Oh! Then tell me, Sean O'Farrell, Tell me why you hurry so...." The singer is told that the "pikes must be together at the rising of the moon." The pikes gather, but are spotted and defeated. The listeners are told, "we will follow in their footsteps."

Risselty, Rosselty, Now, Now, Now: (26 refs. 4K Notes) {Roud #2792}

The singer marries a woman who, from laziness, ignorance or slovenliness, does nothing right (milks the cow in the chamber pot, churns butter in a boot). In some versions she dies of shame (because "she pishit in the bed").

"Since the days when diggers thronged the bars of fifteen-score hotels... Things in dreamy Hokitaka haven't ever been so brisk. 'Tis awakened by the Rival Candidate." There is much excitement as someone runs for parliament against Richard Seddon

"They drew him from his watery bed, And shrouded him with kindly are." They bury the young driver. The song recalls what he was like before he died. "A dark young maid" was waiting for him, but "his hopes and schemes of earth [are] all o'er"

"The river goes up, The river goes down; Please, Lord, make that river stay down, River stay down. Keep our land safe and dry, safe and dry. The water is scaring the people away. Please, Lord, make the river go down...."

Capstan shanty. One fine day in May sailor finds himself broke and ships aboard the (River Lea). He spends the rest of the song (and presumably rest of the voyage) singing of all things he won't do any more once this voyage is over.

The singer describes the Lee by moonlight. For example, sounds of the "gurgling brook" at night are compared to "the lute's harmonious languor" rather than "the trumpet's clangour, Or the nerve-wounding fife"

The singer, in captivity, recalls the loss of Zion and the wickedness of the captors who now ask to be entertained by holy songs; how can we sing them "in a strange land." The singer asks that God find his words and [unstated] thoughts acceptable.

Jesus meets John the Baptist, is baptized. King Naaman, a leper, calls for Elijah, he is to dip in Jordan and "wash your spots away." Jordan is far away, so the singer will find "an altar in an old-fashioned church/and my River of Jordan that will be"

"Soon we'll come to the end of life's journey, And perhaps we'll never meet anymore, Till we get to heaven's bright city, Far away on the beautiful shore." A description of the beauties of heaven, where the singer obviously expects to go

The singer wanders by the river, and comes by the Roe Mill, where Captain Moody and his workers are about their tasks. The singer must return home, but the Roe holds him entranced

River Roe (II), The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #13532}

The singer asks what place can "match the dark Roe." The singer recalls the history of Cooey na Gal and the church at Dungiven, then describes all the places along the Roe until the "tired" river flows into Loch Foyle.

River Roe (III), The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #V1045}

A nobleman's son meets a servant maid he won't name. "But her master's habitation is on the river Roe." He proposes. She promises to meet him the next day. They meet, she agrees, and they marry the next evening. "She has servants to attend her"

River through the Pines, The: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #669}

"O Mary was a maiden when the birds began to sing, She was sweeter than the blooming rose so early in the spring...." She loves (Charlie), a shanty boy; the two are married. But he dies at his work; they are buried together

I went lumbering at sixteen and courted a pretty girl who caused me to roam. "Sure I'm a river driver and I'm far away from home." "Now I'm old and feeble and in my sickness lie Just wrap me up in my shanty blankets and lie me down to die."

"You keep going your way; I'll keep going my way; River, stay way from my door... You don't need my cabin; River, stay way from my door. Don't come up any higher; I'm so alone, just my bed and fire... Don't start breaking my heart."

"River's up and still a-rising, Just got back from a negro baptizing." "Farewell, mourners (x2), Goodbye, I'se gwine to leave you behind." Most verses are about improbable dress: "Had an old hat, had no brim, Looked like a blue jay sitting on a limb."

Men come from all around St Mary's Bay and as far as St John's on Jubilee Day "for to help Uncle Steve get the craft under way." Once the ship was "out in Riverhead Arm... we cheered for the King." There are toasts all around.

The singer lists the various rivers of Texas he has seen, noting that "Down by the Brazos I courted my dear." But now she has left him, and "I never will walk by the Brazos no more."

"The road is rocky, Lordy, But it won't be rocky long."

"Road is rugged but I must go, I must go to see my Lord." "It's a field of battle but I must go, I must go to see my Lord." "Got to pray so hard but I must go." "Jesus died and I must go."

Road to Dundee, The: (10 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2300}

"Cauld wind was howling o'er moor and o'er mountain" when the singer meets a girl asking her way to Dundee. He says he can't easily tell her, but will show her the way. As they approach the town, they exchange tokens and part. And no, they *don't* marry

Road to Heaven, The: (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7940}

"The road to heaven by Christ was made, With heavenly truth the rails are laid, From earth to heaven the line extends... I'm going home to die no more." The Christian life is compared to a railway: "The Bible is the engineer," "God's love the fire," etc.

Road to Peterhead, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5631}

On the road to Peterhead the singer is invited to join a party of three score lads and lasses. He follows them to a house where he sees a bride. He joins the parade of "more than seven score and ten," and describes the feast and happy wedding

The singer hears "a far croonin'" calling him back to the Hebrides. He lists the places he will visit on his way home, and says, "If it's thinkin' in your inner heart the braggart's in my step, You've never smelt the tangle o' the Isles."

"There are some of us, I guess, Call ourselves self-made men an such, But then there was that other cuss Went out and iced the road for us."

Roaming in the Gloaming: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #30186}

Singer recalls his "island cottage" far away where his "bonny Irish rose/Scotch bluebell" lived. Her parents were kind. "Almost every evening" the couple sat by the fire and sang about how they went roaming in the gloaming together.

"Roaming in the trenches, Ross rifle by my side, Roaming in the trenches, couldn't fire if I tried, It's worse than all the rest, the Lee-Enfield I like best, I'd like to lose it roaming in the trenches"

Singer calls Harriman a "beautiful town." Mill workers strike; the owners call in the Roane County law. The company gets an injunction; strikers are arrested but released on bail. Singer may have to leave; he'll remember home's beauty

Roaring Boys of Pakefield, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #25978}

"The roaring boys of Pakefield, Oh how they all do thrive, They had but one poor parson, And they buried him alive!"

Roast Beef of Old England, The: (4 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #V11585}

"When mighty roast beef was the Englishman's food, It ennobled our hearts and strengthened our blood." The singer complains about the new-fangled French ragouts, and recalls the good old days of Queen Elizabeth, the Armada -- and beef

"Now, friends, if you'll listen, I'll try to explain The terrible times in taking up claims." The men set out with heavy loads into the wild. All seek a claim. The bugs are terrible. The men argue over claims while eating chipmunks and other poor food

Rob Roy [Child 225]: (8 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #340}

Rob Roy comes to the lowlands and captures a wealthy lady. He orders her to marry him; she refuses. He prepares to kidnap her, and allows no delay. They are married without her consent. He describes his valor and bids her be content

"Pardon now the bold outlaw, Rob Roy McGregor, O...." "Long the state has doomed his fall... Still he spurned the hateful law." "Scotland's fear and Scotland's pride... Your reward must now abide... Welcome now for auld lang syne"

"Stand, stranger, stand, your jewels give, Your gold I must obtain.... Resistance is in vain... We are the robbers of the glen." The robber recalls how he lost all his wealth to gambling, and lost his wife to a friend. He rejoices with his fellow robbers

"Come fill up your glasses and let us be merry, For to rob bags of plunder it is our intent.... Then away, then away... To those caves in yonder mountains where the Robbers retreat.... Stand, stand and deliver, It is our watch-cry."

The singer meets and would have Robbie Barron, "a rovin' youth ... would have daizled both your eyes." Robbie asks that she walk with him "but other lasses followed us And that put Robbie mad." When he asks for a kiss she blushes.

Robbie beat his wife and tore her apron. "Robbie reave and Geordie sewed, An' Robbie reave her apron" When Robbie vowed to kiss her she refused and he tore her apron.

Chorus: "Oh the robe, the robe my Lord The robe is all ready now (x2)."Verses: "My mother's gone and left me here." "Christian trials just begun." "Ferry boat going to carry us over."

Robie and Granny go to town and spend half-a-crown on drink. On the way home Granny falls into a ditch. Robie tries to pull her out, falls, "cursed her and ca'd her an auld drunken soo" and all she could do is cry "Pu' Robie, pu' [pull]."

"Oh, Robin, they tell me you're going away, And you've come to bid me goodbye." The singer knows what he will say, and hopes he will prove true. She knows he will see fairer, finer women. She begs him not to forget her and promises to dream of him.

"What's this dull town to me? Robin's not near." The singer laments her missing Robin Adair, who is her only source of joy and mirth, who "made this town heaven and earth."

Robin observes a young man cheery one day, downcast the next. He is Allen a Dale; his bride-to-be has been betrothed to another. Robin goes in disguise to the church on the wedding day, calls in his men, and ensures she marries Allen after all.

Little John and Robin separate; Little John is taken after trying to stop an invasion by the Sheriff. Meanwhile, Robin meets Guy; they fight, and Robin slays Guy. He then takes his clothes and horn and rescues John

"Robin Hood and his merry men Went to school at half past ten. The teacher said, 'Late again!' Robin Hood and his merry men."

Robin Hood meets John Little on a bridge. They agree to fight until one falls into the brook. Robin is dunked. He blows his horn for his men and offers John a place among them. John accepts and is re-named Little John, though he is seven feet tall.

Robin, while Earl of Huntingdon, woos Maid Marian. Then, outlawed, he keeps to the wood, disguised. She dresses as a page to seek him. They meet and fight, unrecognized, till both are wounded. He calls a halt, she knows his voice, they celebrate.

The king proposes a wager with Queen Katherine, his archers against any she may choose. She sends for Robin and his men, giving them false names. They win and are revealed but the king has promised not to be angry with any in the queen's party.

Robin meets a beggar who asks charity. They fight. The beggar wins. Robin gives him his horse and clothes, goes on to Nottingham in the beggar's attire. There he finds three of his band are to be hanged. He blows his horn to summon his men who rescue them

Robin asks money of a beggar who answers disdainfully. They fight. The beggar wins and goes off. Robin is found by three of his men. He sends two to avenge his disgrace. They ambush the beggar, but he bribes and tricks them and gets away.

Robin sees a bishop with a large company and fears to be taken. He appeals to an old wife, trades clothes with her, returns to his men. She is taken for him, but they rescue her, take money from the bishop, make him say mass and ride away backwards.

The Bishop of Hereford enters Barnsdale and finds Robin Hood killing a deer. He tries to convince Robin Hood to come before the king. Robin refuses, gives the Bishop dinner, and then extracts the price -- several hundred pounds, plus a dance or a mass

Robin Hood and the Bride: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3298}

Robin Hood's band meets a "prtty boy With a bow and bolt in his hand." The unnamed man laments that his love is to be married to another. They go to the church, and Robin arranges for the correct man to marry the girl

Robin goes to Nottingham in the guise of a young butcher who sells cheap and spends freely. The sheriff returns with him to the forest for bargain-priced cattle. He is shown deer, then captured and relieved of his gold. He is released for his wife's sake.

Robin learns of a friar's prowess and seeks him out. Each submits once to carrying the other over water, then the friar dumps Robin in. They fight long, then Robin's men and the friar's dogs enter the fray. The friar is invited to join the band.

"Come listen, my frieds, to a story so new, In the days of King John... How the bold little Duke, of the fair Lancashire, Came to speak to the King...." He arrives in a tizzy, and argues with the king about "Robin Hood," but they reach no conclusion

The sheriff of Nottingham plots to catch Robin by means of an archery competition. Robin and his men go, but dress differently and scatter in the crowd, so are not recognized. Robin wins. To gloat, he sends a letter to the sheriff, by arrow.

Robin Hood decides to take mass in Nottingham. He quarrels with Little John after a shooting match, and proceeds alone. A monk betrays him to the sheriff. John and Much trick the king into giving them his seal; they go to the sheriff and rescue Robin

Robin Hood, Will Scarlett, and Little John try to stop three pedlars, succeeding only by sending an arrow into one of their packs. They fight. Robin appears to be slain. His antagonist administers a supposed healing balsam, making him puke on reviving.

A potter defeats Robin. Robin disguises himself as the potter. He sells pots in Nottingham, giving some to the Sheriff's wife. She invites him home. He offers to take the Sheriff to Robin. Robin robs the Sheriff, sending him home with a horse for his wife

Aragon has encircled London, demanding its princess, unless three champions defeat him and his two giants. Robin Hood, Little John, and Robin's nephew Will Scadlock do so, gaining pardon. Will gains the princess and is reunited with his father.

Robin is stopped from killing a deer by a forester. They fight. Robin is bested and offers the other a place in his band. He blows his horn to summon his men, the forester joins them, and all celebrate.

"Bold Robin Hood to the north he would go... with valour and mickle might... To fight and recover his right." Robin meets a Scotsman, and offers him a job providing he can pass a test of strength. The Scot pummels Robin and joins his band

Robin comes upon a shepherd and demands to know the contents of his bag and bottle. The shepherd defies him. They fight. The shepherd wins. Robin blows his horn. Little John answers the call but the shepherd thrashes him as well.

Robin Hood meets a tanner in the woods; they fight. After two hours Robin blows his horn. Little John comes running; Robin says the other has tanned his (Robin's) hide. Little John offers to continue the battle; Robin says no, praising the tanner's skill.

A Tinker asks help arresting Robin Hood for 100 pounds. Robin tricks him into drinking himself to sleep. On waking he learns his companion was Robin. He finds Robin; they fight. Robin yields, then blows his horn for reinforcements. The Tinker joins them.

The king sends a knight with 100 to arrest Robin. The knight goes alone to Robin to request surrender. Robin refuses and battle ensues. The knight (retires/is killed) but Robin, wounded, sends for a monk whose bloodletting ends his life. The men scatter.

"Robyn hod in scherewod stod hodud and hathud hosut and schod ffour, And thuynti arowus he bar In hits hondus." Or "Robyn hode Inne Grenewode Stode, Godeman was hee." Or he might stand in Barnsdale. Or elsewhere

Robin sees a young man skillfully kill a deer, offers him a place, is answered disdainfully. They fight. Impressed, Robin asks the stranger who he is. He is Robin's sister's son, who has slain his father's steward. Robin makes him next under Little John

Robin learns from (a women/their mother) that three men are to be hanged for deer-killing. He meets a (palmer/beggar) who confirms this. Robin insists on trading clothes, goes disguised to Nottingham, blows his horn for his men, and rescues the three.

One of Robin's men, Will Stutly, is to be hanged. Robin and his men swear to rescue him or die trying. At the gallows Little John leaps from a bush, unbinds Will, and gives him a sword. They fight back to back as the archers chase the sheriff and his men

Robin Hood Was a Forrester Bold: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1303}

"O Robin Hood was a forrester good As ever drew bow in a merry greenwood, And the wild deer will follow, will follow." "Little John with his arms so long, He conquered them all with his high ding dong, And the bugles did echo, did echo."

"Robin Hood, Robin Hood, said Little John, Come dance before the Queen, In a red petticoat and a green jacket, A white hose and a green."

Robin and his mother visit her brother, who makes Robin his heir and gives him Little John as a page. Robin takes Little John to his band in the forest. He meets shepherd Clorinda who impresses by shooting a buck. They go to Titbury feast and are married.

Robin Hood's Chase [Child 146]: (7 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3989}

Robin leaves London after the feats of Child 145. The king, repenting of his pardon, goes after him. Robin leads a chase through many towns, back to London, then to Sherwood. The king returns to London to learn cunning Robin had sought him there.

Robin Hood's Death [Child 120]: (19 refs. 5K Notes) {Roud #3299}

Robin Hood, feeling ill, travels to (Kirkly-hall) to be blooded. The prioress sets out to bleed him to death. Only as he nears death does Robin realize what is happening; he calls to Little John. It is too late to save Robin; he arranges for his burial

Robin Hood's Delight [Child 136]: (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3986}

Robin Hood, Little John, and Will Scarlock are met in the forest by three keepers. They fight. The keepers get the better of it. Robin asks to blow his horn but is refused. Robin invites them to compete at drinking sack instead. They become friends.

Robin, disguised as a friar, asks alms of two priests in the wood. They claim that they were robbed and have nothing. Robin follows them and forces them to reveal the gold they are carrying. He makes them vow never to lie or cheat in the future

"Ye bards who extol the gay valleys and glades.... never once mentioned sweet 'Robin Hood's Hill.' "Near Gloucester, it has a view, a clear spring, and good vegetation. Boys and girls sport there. The singer would not trade it for all the riches of Peru

Robin at age 15 falls in with 15 foresters in Nottingham. He intends to enter a shooting match. They taunt him with his youth. He wagers on his ability and wins by killing a hart, but they refuse to pay. He kills them all, escapes to the merry green wood.

"Robin, robin redbreast, O robin dear, And robin singing sweetly, In the fall of the year."

Robin Redbreast's Testament: (11 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3900}

The singer asks the robin how long it has been there; it says twenty years, but now it's sick and would make its testament. He gives parts of his body to the Hamiltons, to serve them, and others to repair bridges. He scorns the wren who mourns for him

The singer has been sent to the smithy to have the mare shod. While there he woos the smith's daughter behind her father's back. The girl dislikes his poor clothes; he says she can mend them. She decides to run off with him rather than live an old maid

Old Robin brewed "the pure mountain bead, The Forres and Elgin folk liked it gweed." "As the Tuesdays and Fraidays cam roon' The cairtie was packit [by Robin and his wife] wi' peats for the toon, Wi' a keg in the middle." They have not been seen recently.

"(The bird/robin) is alive, and alive like to be, If it dies in my hand you may back-saddle me." A "hot potato" game in which a burning stick is passed hand to hand after the player with the stick repeats the rhyme

Robyn and Gandeleyn [Child 115]: (12 refs. 15K Notes) {Roud #3976}

Robyn hunts deer. Just after felling one he is himself slain by an arrow. His knave Gandeleyn seeks its source, finds Wrennok the Dane, challenges him, and avenges Robyn.

Rock About My Saro Jane: (8 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #10052}

The singer, despite "a wife and five little children," decides to "take a trip on the big Macmillan." The troublesome operations of the boat are described. Chorus: "Oh, there's nothing to do but sit down and sing And rock about my Saro Jane."

Rock and Roll Is Here to Stay: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #19963}

Jump-rope rhyme: "Rock and roll is here to stay, Here to stay, here to stay, Rock and roll is here to stay, Now work out....."

""Johnny he did sell me, And Robert he did buy me, He took me down to Alabam', Learned me how to make rock candy. Rocked that lady, but you can't rock me (x3), Learned me how to make rock candy."

Rock Island Line (I), The: (6 refs. 6K Notes) {Roud #15211}

"The Rock Island Line is a mighty good road, The Rock Island Line is the road to ride." About life in general, engineering on the Rock Island Line, and anything else that can be zipped into the song

Rock Me to Sleep, Mother: (3 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #11721}

"Backward, turn backward, oh time in your flight, Make me a child again just for tonight, Mother, come back from the echoless shore... Rock me to sleep, mother, rock me to sleep." There is no love like a mother's

"Oh, rock o' jubilee, poor fallen soul, O Lord, do rock o' jubilee." "I have no time to stay at home." "My father('s) door wide open now." "Mary, girl, you know my name." "The wind blow east, he blow from Jesus."

"Rock of Ages, Cleft for Me, Let me hide myself in thee." The singer admits to the inability to meet God's demands, and asks forgiveness and protection

"Way down yonder in the lonesome valley, clef' for me, clef' for me (x2), Way down yonder in the lonesome valley, Let God's bosom be my pillow. Hide me over the rock of ages, clef' for me, clef' for me." "What you gon' do when the world's on fire?"

"Rock the cradle, John ... Mony [a] man rocks another man's child And thinks he's rockin his own ... Although the babe be not your own Oh rock the cradle"

"Rock to see de turkey run, Run, run, run, run, run, run, Rock to see de turkey run, Run, run, run, run, run, run, Rock to see de turkey run, Run, run, run."

"Rock-a my soul in the bosom of Abraham (x3), Oh, rock-a my soul," "When I went down to the valley to pray... My soul got happy and I stayed all day." "When I was a mourner just like you... I mourned and mourned till I come through."

"Four little prisoners here in jail, here in jail, here in jail, Four little prisoners here in jail...." The four are charged with shooting "the old man instead of the son." The required "dollar and a half to set them free" is given and they are released

The nursery rhyme: "Rock-a-bye baby on the tree top, When the wind blows, the cradle will rock...." Folk versions often add more verses (or make changes to the first), e.g. about the farmer who goes hunting to feed the baby

Rock, Chariot, I Told You to Rock: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #10961}

Biblical statements linked by the refrain "Judgement goin' to find me!" E.g., "Rock, Chariot, I Told You to Rock, Judgement goin'... Won't you rock, chariot, in the middle of the air... I wonder what chariot comin' after me...."

"Rock'd in the cradle of the deep, I lay me down in peace to sleep; Secure I rest upon the wave, For thou Oh! Lord, hast power to save." The singer reiterates a simple faith: God can save, the storms cannot harm me, I will sleep sound whatever happens

The singer's "soul for every ill prepares, Whilst I've poteen to cheer me." He prefers Rock's poteen to Briton's ale and beer. Wine is for "stupid sots." "Then fill your glass of sparkling juice That never met a gauger's nose."

"On old Long Island's sea-girt shore Many an hour I've whiled away, Listening to the breakers' roar That washes the beach at Rockaway." The singer describes the beach, the waves, the moon over the water

The old man laments "about rocking the cradle and the child not his own." Though at the time he had been happy to marry a lighthearted lass, he now finds her out at parties all the time (or keeping company with other men)

"Rocks and gravel makes a solid road (x2), Takes a do-right woman to satisfy my soul." Unrelated verses, largely about the ways a man can go wrong (and, perhaps, abandon his woman)

Rocks and the Mountains, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #12105}

Chorus: "The rocks and the mountains shall all flee away, And you shall have a new hiding place that day." Verses: "Doubter (Mourner, sinner, sister, mother, children) (x2), give up your heart to God, And you shall have a new hiding place that day"

Rocks of Bawn, The: (8 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3024}

Singer warns fellow-laborers not to hire with any master without knowing what the work will be. He describes his decrepit condition, and declares that even the British army would offer a better life (but he has not been invited to join)

Rocks of Scilly, The [Laws K8]: (13 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #388}

The singer leaves his new wife to go to sea. Lonely, he fears a disaster -- and meets one when a storm runs his ship onto the Rocks of Scilly. Another singer tells how only four sailors survive, not including the first singer. His wife dies of sorrow

"Oh, SIldin he bring rockweed to A, B, and C. 'Now say, Brother Sildin, won't you bring a load for me?'" Sildin says the purchaser should buy this load, because rockweed is growing scarce at this particular coast

Rocky Mountain Top, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #3608}

"Oh don't you remember that (rocky) mountain top, where we lay side by side?" One lover promised to marry the other but is now reneging. The singer rejects the false lover in turn

Rocky Road (Green Green): (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #15657 and 18175}

Playparty, with several possible plots, but typical chorus "Green green, rocky road, Some (young) lady's green. Tell me who you love, tell me who you love...." In one game, a girl is called into a circle, calls a boy, and so forth

Rocky Road to Dublin, The: (18 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3012}

An emigrant from Tuam recounts his comical misadventures on the way to England. He is flirted with in Mullingar, robbed in Dublin, put with the pigs on board ship, and ends in a brawl with "the boys of Liverpool."

"Out a sweetheart hunting, long a summer day." "Where shall I find her, long a summer day?" "Here is where I found her, Rocky road to (Jordan/Georgia)." "Walk and talk together...." "Hurry, boys, hurry." "Sailing 'round the ocean."

"Oh see the fleet-foot host of men..." who are hurrying to stage a rescue. "For young Roddy McCorley goes to die on the bridge of Toome today." They are too late. The song recalls McCorley's actions; he would not turn traitor even to save his life

"I met river-driver eleven years ago,"" brow wrinkled and with silver hair, with a Scottish brogue. He had much experience on the river, and boasted of even more. Now he's a boss, and tight-fisted. He hopes for a fine burial monument

"Good news to you I will unfold, 'Tis of brave Rodney's glory." In 1782 Rodney defeats De Grasse and the French fleet off Fort Royal. Five French ships are captured and thousands slain. "Now may prosperity attend Brave Rodney and his Irishmen"

Rody McCorley is betrayed in Ballyscullion by Dufferin and McErlean. Testimony that he was "a foe unto the crown" leads to prison in Ballymena and hanging "upon Good Friday... Convenient to the Bridge of Toome"

Roger and Dolly (I): (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #19663}

Roger taps Dolly's window; she won't let him in. He asks if he has a rival. She won't deny it. He starts to drown himself but, in the water, thinks better of it. Dolly wants Roger to return but he finds another lover. Dolly fears she will die an old maid.

Roger, "tripping it over the plain" bows to Dolly, "milking of the cows," and goes "tripping it back again." She asks him to come back "or else my poor heart will burst." He refuses to come back saying she may lack his company "until the last day you die"

"'Twas early in the summer time and pleasant was the weather, When Roger would wooing go." He dresses in his best, with a rusty sword and a few pence; he offers Nell his home and horse and other furnishings; she accepts; they happily marry

Roger the Ploughboy: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #17772}

Roger meets milk-maid Sue. He would take her to the fair to buy hair ribbons. She eventually agrees. In a grove "he gave her a ribbon to roll up her hair." She said it could not be bought at a fair. They marry. "Roger continues to roll up her hair"

Roger's father instructs the boy in how to find a wife. He should dress in his best and kiss each pretty girl he meets. He meets (Grace/Nell), and tries his procedure. She slaps him. He asks how she dare reject such a fine specimen as he, then goes home

Rogue, The: (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #8156 and 5132}

The girl walks down the street "like a good girl should" followed by a rogue, a sailor, a knave or some such. She rather coyly seduces him. (He coyly gets her pregnant.)

French. Twelfth Night ritual song. Singers toast the "rights" of the King of the Ball, paying him honor. The king demands champagne, saying he can't sing without it.

Roisin Dubh (Dark Rosaleen): (9 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #32189}

Gaelic. The singer laments being kept from his dark Rose. He warns that help is coming from the Pope but they will be apart. He would do anything if he could be with her. The end of the world will come before she would die.

Roll Along, Wavy Navy: (2 refs. 4K Notes) {Roud #29419}

"Roll along, Wavy Navy, roll along (x2), If they ask us who we are, We're the RCNVR, Roll along, Wavy Navy, roll along." The sailors joined for pay, for glory, for the chance to go to sea, but have found very little of any of these

Capstan shanty. "O Sally Brown she promised me, a long time ago. She promised for to marry me, Way-ay roll and go." Combination of "Sally Brown" and "A Long Time Ago" with an entirely different tune.

"I rolled and I tumbled and I cried the whole night long." The singer woke up not knowing right from wrong. His woman mistreated him but her "trouble come some day" He walked away

"Role bele for Jen Jen oh, O roll bele Ting a ling"

"There is Daniel Robb and Milly, Thomas Boswell, Jackson's Billy...." Or "Painter's Jake and Lawyer's Joe, Pat and Jack and Ervino...." The song, which obviously varies from school to school, lists and counts off the students in a particular class

"Roll down dem bales o' cotton (x3), I ain't got long to stay here now."

Roll In My Sweet Baby's Arms: (8 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #17473}

Chorus: "Roll in my sweet baby's arms (2x)/Lay around the shack till the mail train comes back/Roll in my sweet baby's arms." Floating verses, e.g. "Ain't gonna work on the railroad/Ain't gonna work on the farm"; "Where was you last Friday night...."

Roll Me From the Wall: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #8302}

The singer is courted by young men who wish to roll her from the wall. Her parents force her to marry an impotent old man. He dies and leaves her land and money. She marries a young man who does roll her from the wall but spends all her money.

The singer begins with number one, "when the fun has just begun," and progressing to number ten, when "it's time to start again."

"I'm sick and tired of the Navy, Of being a bloody AB... My chances in the Navy are small, So roll on the Aeroplane Navy, Were they won't want no flatfoots at all." He currently serves as a stoker, but in the Aeroplane Navy, there will be no need for such

"I went ashore in Singapore, And there I broke my leave," to return to learn that "You're due for a forty-two And a mansion on the hill" -- i.e. a transfer. "Roll on the boat, the boat that takes me home, Free from this land of pox and fever"

Roll on the Ground (Big Ball's in Town): (15 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #12114 (and probably others)}

Floating verses: "Let's have a party, let's have a time/Let's have a party, I've only a dime"; "Work on the railroad, sleep on the ground/Eat soda crackers, ten cents a pound." Chorus: "Roll on the ground, boys, roll on the ground (x2)."

Roll on the Rodney: (0 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #29721}

Verses vary; recognized by the chorus: "Roll on the Rodney/the Nelson/the Hood/Renown, This (four-funnelled) bastard (is no god-damned good)/Is getting me down." "This is my story, this is my song, Been in commission for too long"

"Roll on, weary river, roll on, Don't take me away with your song, Your waters are deep, many secrets they keep...." "I'm down by the river alone, No place on earth to call home...." The singer, poor and lonely, asks the river to stay away from her home

"Roll on, boys, You make your time; I am so broke down, I can't make mine." "I once was young, As you must see; But age has got The best of me." "Someday you'll think Of me I know When you are old And cannot go." Other verses of hard work and old age

Assorted verses: "I'm going to the East, Karo" "You'd better quit your rowdy ways/You'll get killed some day" "My home's down in Tennessee." Cho: "Roll on, buddy, roll on...You wouldn't roll so slow/If you know what I know/Yes, roll on, my buddy, roll on"

Roll On, Columbia: (9 refs. 25K Notes) {Roud #17660}

Tribute to the Columbia River, the development along it, and the Bonneville Power Administration that manages both: "Roll on Columbia, roll on (x2), Your power is turning our darkness to dawn, So roll on, Columbia, roll on."

"There were ten in a bed And the little one said 'Roll over, roll over.' So they all rolled over And one fell out." "There were nine in a bed...." And so forth until there was only one left, "And the little one said, 'Good night!'"

Roll the Boat Ashore (Hog-eye I): (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #331}

Tales of sailing or mountain life, held together with a chorus such as "With a hog-eye! Roll the boat ashore and a hog-eye (x2). All she wants is a hog-eye man." Typical verse: "Who's been here since I been gone? (Someone) with his sea-boots on."

Shanty. Characteristic line: "Roll the cotton down." The young man (from Alabama) joined the (Black Ball) line (and now looks back and describes the curious doings on a Black Ball vessel)

Roll the Tater (Rolly Rolly): (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7670}

"Don't you think he's a nice young man? Don't you think he's clever? Don't you think that him and me Would make a match forever? Rolly roll, rolly roll, Rolly roll the 'tater." The singer likes music/dancing so much that she wants to join the Shaker band

"We're going to roll, we're going to roll, we're going to roll the union on." Verse: "If the (boss, scabs, etc.) get(s) in the way, we're going to roll right over him (them)...we're going to roll the union on"

Roll the Woodpile Down: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4443}

Pumping or capstan shanty. Verse lines end with "way down in Florida" and "an' we'll roll the woodpile down." Full chorus: "Rollin' rollin' rollin' the whole world round. That brown gal o' mine's down the Georgia Line, an' we'll roll the woodpile down."

"O Miss Mary, I am so sorry, Bound for Texas, I am so sorry. Roll them simelons, roll 'em round, Keep them simerlons rollin' down. Roll them simelons, roll 'em down, All them pretty girls down town."

Roll Your Leg Over: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #10410}

In this quatrain ballad, singers hypothecate that if the girls were ducks, rabbits, bricks, etc., they would be drakes, hares, masons, and euphemistically enjoy lustful pleasures.

Roll, Alabama, Roll: (10 refs. 6K Notes) {Roud #4710}

The Alabama is built in Birkenhead by Jonathan Laird. After a long career of commerce-raiding, the Kearsarge catches her off Cherbourg and sinks her

Shanty. Oh Sally Brown she's the gal for me, boys Roll, boys roll boys roll. Sally Brown she's the gall for me boys, Way high Miss Sally Brown."

Roll, Jordan, Roll (I): (18 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6697}

"My brother sitting on the tree of life And he heard when Jordan roll, Roll, Jordan, Roll, Jordan, Roll, Jordan, Roll.""O preacher, you oughta been there." "My sister sitting on the tree of life." "He comes, he comes, the Judge severe." Etc.

Roll, Jordan, Roll (II): (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6697}

Humorous verses for "Roll, Jordan, Roll," e.g. "Kate went a-fishing the other night, Roll sweet Jordan roll, She broke eleven hooks and never got a bite..." "[A chicken] sneezed so hard with the whooping cough It sneezed its head and tail both off."

Rolled the Stone Away: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #11930}

"In ancient days, when Israel's host In darkest bondage lay, The mighty power of God was shown, He rolled the stone away. He rolled the sea away, He rolled the sea way. With Jesus ever near, No foe I have to fear. He rolls the sea away."

Shanty. Short refrain: "Hooray you roller bowler." Full refrain: Timme high-rig-a-jig and a ha ha ha, Good morning ladies all." Verses concern courting or at least chasing women.

The song is about Tandragee, its "darling colleens" and "rollicking boys." Other places have their fine points but Tandragee has its wonderful dancers, bold men and rare singers. "The gem of oul' Ireland is Tandragee"

"Been to your house ... been told ... You roll up that gal like grandma roll up her dough." "You take my rider ... can't keep her long ... she sure gonna come back home." He can't leave her because "she's got a dead man finger and a black cat bone"

Shanty. Chorus: "Rollin' home (x4) by the light of the silvery moon. Happy is the sailor who has shipped aboard a whaler, when she's rollin', rollin', rollin', rollin' home."

"Rollin' Sam, Rollin'; Rollin' Sam, Rollin'; Some folks say, Rollin' Sam, Rollin'; Sam won't steal, Rollin' Sam, Rollin'; I caught Sam in my corn field; Rollin' Sam, Rollin'; Rollin' Sam, Rollin'"

Rolling Down to Old Maui (Mohee): (8 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #2005}

The sailors, having spent many months in Kamchatka and the Bering Sea, are happy to flee the northern gales and return to temperate climes in Maui/Mohee. The look forward to seeing the girls

The sailors are "Rolling home, rolling home, rolling home across the sea, Rolling home (to wherever home is)." They describe they voyage, the girls or whatnot they have left behind, and the joys of returning to home (and sweethearts)

"Rolling home, rolling home, rolling home, rolling home By the light of the silvery moon! Happy is the day When you draw your buckshee pay And you're rolling, rolling, rolling, rolling home."

Boy: Where are you going? Girl: Milking. Boy: May I come? Girl: Why not? Boy: What if I lay you down? Girl: Then you'll help me up. Boy: What if you get pregnant? Girl: You'll be the father....

Singer has been "drifting and rolling ... looking for my room and board" ... "drifting from job to job, Gonna fix it." "Get me a pick and shovel." Her man is in jail "and the judge won't let me go his bail."

Rolling Neuse, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #11746}

"When Greene's horn blew a long, loud blast, At early day's bright dawning, In slumber my heart was pulsing fast. I was dreaming of the morning When Nancy would be my youthful bride." As he prepares to fight, he prays for her happiness

"Oh, rolling over the billows, rolling over the sea, rolling over the billows in the deep blue sea (x2)." "It's cheese, cheese, cheese that makes the mice go round." "It's mice... that makes the cats go round." "It's cats... that makes the dogs go round."

"Passing sheep and rocking pony, My wife died and no baloney, Ha ha ha, rolling river, My wife died and left me a widder." "All night long I want your daughter, To milk my cow and tote my water. "Some old man's gonna lose his daughter"

Rolling Sailor, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3505}

"Don't you see the ships a-coming? Don't you see them in full sail?" They are coming ith the girl's "little rolling sailor" aboard. She rejoices, and says sailors are better than soldiers. She hopes the wars end soon and the press gangs ended

Rolling Stone, The [Laws B25]: (17 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #710}

Hard times leave a husband wanting to move to (Kentucky/California/Wisconsin); his wife wishes to stay at home. She wins the argument by pointing out that they might be killed by Indians on their way

"Rolling wheels across the desert, Oh! How happy we will be, When we reach old Mserata On the road to Tripoli." As the singer rides the "Rolling wheels across Italia," he looks forward to seeing "blue Pacific waters" and thinks of those who won't return

"Molly, I'd love to be rolling your hoop, Rolling your hoop, rolling your hoop, Molly, I'd love to be rolling your hoop, Down by the country garden."

"In Rome I read a nobleman The Emperor did offend" and is sentenced to death by starvation and thirst. But one of the nobleman's daughters gains permission to see him as long as she carries no foodstuffs -- and keeps him alive with her breast milk

Romish Lady, The [Laws Q32]: (21 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #1920}

A young woman is a closet Protestant (she reads the Bible and refuses to worship angels). Her Catholic mother has her imprisoned. Tried before the Pope, she is burned at the stake. She pardons her tormentors while blaming her mother for her fate

"For we're shy, single, disengaged, free as the stars above, Yes, we're shy.... looking for someone to love. There be rabbits in the mountains, shepherds in the hills, But red-headed Kitty sets the pace that kills, So we're shy, single... ."

The singer meets a maid and accompanies her home "in Blarney Lane, convenient to the Rookery." She invites him to her room for sport and whisky punch. He wakes drunk, minus twenty pounds, a watch and coat. The neighbors laugh. Young men be warned

Rookhope Ryde [Child 179]: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4008}

The singer curses those who raid Rookhope. Northern thieves descend upon Rookhope when most of the high officials were away. But the raiders are seen, pursued, and taken in battle. The singer praises those who repelled the raid

"I ain't been long in this here army, Just a few days since I arrive." The new recruit complains about sergeants, drill, hiking, cavalry, cavalry horses, military medicine, military discipline, and anything else that springs to mind

"My Lord says there's room enough, Room enough in Heaven for us all. My Lord says there's room enough, So don't say away." Sisters, brothers, sinners, backsliders are told, "Don't stay away."

"O my mudder is gone, my mudder is gone, My mudder is gone into heaven my Lord, I can't stay behind. Dar's room in dar room in dar Room in dar in de heaven, my Lord, I can't stay behind." Repeat with father, angels; also "I've been on de road."

"The room was so cold and cheerless and bare," almost without furniture and with broken windows. The cradle sits empty, the woman is dying of hunger and cold. Her husband is a drunkard and will not reach Heaven

Roon-Moo'ed Spade, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #22216}

"Geordie Mill wi' his roon moo'ed spade Is wishin' aye for mair fouk deid," because he hopes to sell the bodies to anatomists. When a porter brings a casket to his door, Geordie and Robbie set out to sell a body. Robbie eventually repents

Chorus: "'We got to rock tonight baby'(3x) We got to rock tonight." Animal A tells animal B something; then animal B answers animal A (See notes for examples).

Various cracks about the incompetence or cowardice of the Yankees, ending by saying "We'll make the Dutch (or Old Abe, or any other tempting target) root hog or die." Also praises the confederate armies in extravagant terms

Minstrel song? "Root, Hog, or Die," with some "Walkin' in the Parlor" verses: "The greatest ole nigger that I eva' did see, Looked like a sick monkey...." "I come from Alabama with a pocketful of news..." Cho: "Chief cook and bottle washer...."

The singer heads to Arizona to punch cattle. He takes a holiday in Phoenix, where was pretty girl says she will "see what I can do for your root, hog, or die." He contracts a venereal disease; "that's why I lost the head of my root, hog, or die."

"'twas on the 24th of March we got underway, Bound to the Western Bank on a bright and sunny day." The sailor complains about his work, about getting wood from a fellow named Carter, and about the cook

The singer arrives in California broke and takes a job making hay. He soon gambles his pay away, gets drunk, and lands in jail. A friend pays his fine; he warns against the dangers of playing poker

A bull-whacker recalls good times in Salt Lake City when his Chinese whore could roll her hog eye, and he would root hog or die.

A "Western" "Root Hog" version, with the singer herding cattle and keeping an eye out for local wildlife. He complains about the hard life and bad food, but also talks about the pretty girls

"I'll tell you all a story that happened long ago, When the English came to America... The Yankees boys made 'em sing 'Root hog or die.'" The singer describes various English defeats: the Tea Party, Bunker Hill, Yorktown, Baltimore, New Orleans

"Young Rory O'More courted young Kathleen Bawn." He teases her. She says Mike loves her and dreams of hating Rory. Rory says "drames always go by contraries," After thrashing Dinny Grimes and Jim Duff he asks her to marry. They marry and retire to bed.

The bold Tip mountaineer" "Rory of the Hill" asks if Scully is dead." Rory tells how Scully and the agent turned him and his mother out. Since then he, like Michael Hayes, shot a landlord or agent. He fled to New York, but has returned to Ireland.

Rory of the Hills: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #V4205}

A son asks why a "rake up near the rafters" is not used to make hay. His father, Rory of the Hill, takes him to meet his old comrades and then reveals that the rake hides a sword. He does his soldier's drill and says "You'll be a Freeman yet, my boy"

Singer loves Rosa Lee McFall and sings her praises. He proposes to her; she accepts, but then dies. He vows to roam the world alone "'till God prepares my place in heaven With my Rosa Lee McFall"

Sailor sings about his "greatest delight," a rope maker's daughter who betrayed him when he sailed away. She tore up his letters to use as hair curlers. When he hears of this he writes a farewell to her and adds mention of her drinking and smoking habits.

The singer wishes Rosaleen Bawn to come away with him. He tells how the May moon is the perfect time to escape. He tells her she will soon forget her home, and that he will make her happy and, apparently, rich

Rosalie the Prairie Flower: (5 refs. 4K Notes) {Roud #4460}

"On the distant prairie, where the heather wild In its quiet beauty lived and smil'd," beautiful Rosalie lives in a little cottage. "But the summer faded, and a chilly blast O'er that happy cottage swept." She dies and is carried to heaven in a white robe

Rosalind's Complaint: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3852}

"On the bank of a river so deep," "faithfullest" Rosalind mourns the loss of "most fickle ... Damon her lover." Having seduced her, "his flame from that moment expir'd" and he has "gone, to deceive some fresh nymph"

King Henry II loves Rosamund Clifford, and constructs a bower at Woodstock to guard her from Queen Eleanor's jealousy. The King and Rosamund talk at length. He departs for the wars. Queen Eleanor poisons Rosamund

French: "Par un matin je me suis leve (x2), Plus mantin que ma tante (x2)." The singer enters a garden and is picking white roses when her lover approaches. She falls and "breaks her ankle." The "doctor" tells her to bathe it in water and white roses

"I was a little girl with long curly hair" when her mother warned that "the little rose bud a-blooming there It will soon fade away." A miller's boy gets her pregnant and leaves. When her daughter grows up, she will warn her that beauty blooms just once

Rose Connoley [Laws F6]: (22 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #446}

The singer kills Rose by drugging her (with "burglar's wine"), stabbing her, and throwing her in the river. He commits the crime on his father's assurance that "money would set [him] free," but the assurance was false; he is to be hanged

"Was down in the valleys, the valleys so deep, To pick some plain roses to keep my love sweet, So let it come early, late or soon, I will enjoy my rose in June." "O, the roses are red, the violets blue." "O love, I will carry the sweet milking pail."

Captain Davidson, his wife and crew pray before sailing. After a storm all vessels but his, Rose in June, return. On board the wreck Davidson leads the crew in prayer. He and his mate are washed off the wreck but the rest of the crew is saved.

"There's a rose in the garden for you, fair man, There's a rose in the garden for you, fair maid, There's a rose in the garden, pluck it if you can, Be sure you don't choose a false-hearted one. It's a bargain, it's a bargain for you, fair man...."

"Early one Monday morning as I walked Dundee street," the singer meets a beautiful girl whom he labels the Rose o' Dundee. He offers to watch over her. She says she has another man. The other man, a sailor, appears, and sailor and girl live happily

"Away from Mississippi's vale, With my old hat there for a sail, I crossed upon a cotton bale To Rose of Alabama." The singer courts Rose. His banjo falls into the stream. "And every night... To hunt my banjo for an hour... I meet... my flower."

Rose of Allandale, The: (7 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1218}

"The sky was clear, the morn was fair, Not a breath came over the sea When Mary left her highland home And wandered forth with me." The singer recounts his travels and hardships, noting that the love of Mary, the Rose of Allandale, helped him through

Rose of Ardee, The: (8 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2816}

When the singer came to this country he fell in love with Mary and would have married her. He curses the weaver who stole her. He will take his week's wages to the alehouse.

Jane falls in love with a servant, who is then sent to sea. She follows him in disguise and is wounded in battle. Her secret having been revealed, her lover marries her. They return home to find her father willing to forgive

Rose of England, The [Child 166]: (8 refs. 10K Notes) {Roud #4001}

A rose springs up in England, but is rooted up by a boar. The rose returns via Milford Haven, gathers his forces, wins the field, becomes king, and receives great praise.

Rose of Glenfin, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #10365}

The singer loves Molly from Magherafin, "the Rose of Glenfin." She swears she would be his but marries another. He curses any young man "who'd shower on any woman too much affection"; when your money's gone she'll go "with some other man's son"

"Oh! promise to meet me where twilight is falling." A love lyric to the "sweetest and fairest of Erin's fair daughters, Dear rose of Killarney, Mavourneen Asthore."

Rose of No Man's Land, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #10704}

"I've seen some beautiful flowers Grow in my garden fair... But I have found another, Wondrous beyond compare. There's a rose that grows on No Man's Land... Mid the War's great curse, Stands the Red Cross Nurse, She's the rose of No Man's Land"

Rose of Tralee, The: (10 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #1978}

"The pale moon was rising above the green mountain." He describes his love's beauty. "Yet 'twas not her beauty alone that won me, Oh, no, 'twas the truth in her eyes Ever dawning, that made me love Mary, the Rose of Tralee."

"The rose that all are praising Is not the rose for me; Too many eyes are gazing Upon that costly tree"; he prefers another rose. Similarly, he prefers a bird other than the bird that sings sweetly, and a gem that kings do not covet

Rose and Lily are each loved by a son of their cruel stepmother, who attempts to part them. The girls disguise themselves as boys and go into service with their erstwhile loves. After much adventure they are revealed and reunited, each couple marrying.

Round. "Rose, rose, rose, rose, Shall I ever see thee red? Aye, marry, that thou will, If thou but stay." Or, "Rose, rose, rose, rose, Shall I ever see thee wed, I will marry at thy desire, At thy will

"Here the rosebuds in June and the violets are blowing, The small birds they whistle on every green bough." Singer celebrates joys of spring, dancing on the green, and sheepshearing. The song may describe the cycle of the seasons.

The skeptic's daughter sets out to refute the Christians. She is instead converted. Her father orders her to reject the faith. She refuses his order, and is cast from his home. But soon her parents come to her, begging her to return and convert them

Rosemary Lane [Laws K43]: (37 refs. 6K Notes) {Roud #269}

A sailor meets a girl at an inn, and induces her to go to bed with him. In the morning he gives her gold and says, "If it's a boy, he will (fight for the king/be a sailor); if a girl, she will wear a gold ring."

Danish round: "Rosen fra Fyn (x4)." Might come into English as "Roses from Fuhn," or be misunderstood as "Raisin Fried Prunes" or garbled as "Frozen raccoon."

"Roses are red, violets are blue, (sugar/honey/gillyflower) is sweet and so are you." Or, "...blue, When I choose, it will be you," or "...blue, I love (someone) to jump in with me"

"She is watching by the poplars, Colinette with the sea-blue eyes." "Roses are shining in Picardy, In the hush of the silvery dew, Roses are flow'ring in Picardy, But there's never a rose like you." Even years later, "He loves to hold her little hands"

Roses Red, Roses White: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #1202}

Jump-rope rhyme, which may open with the line "B-L-E-S-S-I-N-G." "Roses red, roses white, Roses in my garden; I would not part With my sweetheart For twopence, ha'penny farthing."

"The Rosewater Bee is a dandy, I can't help but watch as he flies; He is steering straight for your brain, boys." The newspaper "is loaded with lies" the that Farmers' Alliance and the Independent party will fight; they will drive the bees from the hive

Rosey Apple Lemon and Pear: (7 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6492}

Singing came of courting. "(Mary Wilson), fresh and fair, A bunch of roses she shall wear, Gold and silver byher side, I know who is her bride." "Rose, apple, lemon, or pear." "Take her by the lily-white hand."

"Be my woman, gall, I'll / be your man. Every Sunday's dollar / in your hand. Stick to the promise, gall, 'at / you made me. Weren't gonna marry till-a /I go free. Well Rosie / oh Lord gal, When she walk she reel and / rock behind..."

Rosie marries Hay Marshall, but soon attracts the attention of Lord Elgin. Elgin dances with Rosie and takes her home. After more wantonness on her part, Marshall divorces Rosie. She is left to lament her fate (and court a soldier or become a prostitute)

"Rosie apple went to chapel, Riding on a pony, Get two sticks and knock her down And make her stand alone-y."

Rosie Belle Teeneau, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #19882}

In habitant dialect. The Rosie Belle Teeneau is manned by Jean Baptiste DuChene and family, and sails the Great Lakes. On one trip, they carry a cargo of gunpowder without knowing what it is. It, and DuChene, are blown up. Sailors are warned of explosives

"How oft I dream of childhood days, Of tricks we used to play.... I'd rather be with Rosie Nell, a-swinging in the lane." But then "Aunt Jemima Brown" introduces Rosie to another fellow. The singer warns men against getting too involved with women

Rosie, Darling Rosie: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #11008}

"Rosie, darling Rosie, Ha ha Rosie (x2)" "Way down yonder in Baltimore, Ha ha Rosie, Need no carpet on my floor." "Grab your partner and follow me..." "Some folks say preachers won't steal..." "Stop right still and study yourself..."

A tinker comes to solder among the ladies with "his soldering-iron tool." An old woman asks that he solder her bones. "A country chap" takes the tinker's daughter but she is rescued. If a woman had been honest, she'd have "a baby belonging to me"

"Old Rosin," who has travelled the whole country/world, is preparing to depart from this life. He hopes that future generations will emulate him, and asks to be remembered (usually with alcohol). Details vary widely

Sir Simon Fraser and Sir John Comyn led "ten thousand hielan' laddies Drest in their tartan plaidies." "For one hour and a quarter There was a bloody slaughter Till the English cried for quarter And in confusion flee"

Rossa's Farewell to Erin: (3 refs. 4K Notes) {Roud #3040}

O'Donovan Rossa, on a ship, bids "Farewell to friends of Dublin." He will return sometime. He recalls joining the Fenian Brotherhood in 1864, curses "those traitors Who did our cause betray ... Nagle, Massey, Corydon, and Talbot" and sent him to jail.

Josephine and Charlie, a sailor, have been in love since they were in school. Her father shoots them. Josephine, dying, is glad she is going to meet her dead mother and Charlie. They "never shall be parted on the rosy banks of green"

"When I was young in youth did bloom, Where fancy led me I did roam, From town to town, and country round, And to a place named Rother Glen"

"Sam Firth to Rotherham Statis [sic.] went wi' Grace through Birley Moor, Wi' Rachel Stones and Yester Dent who ne'er had been before." Vignettes from the Rotherham Hiring Fair, where all sorts of people meet and have adventures

"Last Hogmanay, at the Glesga Fair, there were me, mysel', and several mair, We a' gaed aff tae hae a tair And spend the nicht in Rothesay-O." And a tear it truly was, as they drank, sang, fought, slept, and were bitten by bugs in Rothesay.

The singer praises "bonnie Rothiemay" on the banks of the Deveron. He tells about the seasons' effects, Milltown, the churchyard and other landmarks including the "Hoose" that "shelter lent" Mary, Queen of Scots. He recalls growing up in Rothiemay.

(Knock on the door:) "Who's there?" "The Devil." "Go back and wash your face and read the Bible." (Knocks again:) "Who's there?" "Angel." "Come in." "[I] want to buy some eggs." "What color?" (red/any color). They pick a child (egg) and ask questions

Tenants are starving. At all costs save your corn and meal. Sell your cattle. The politicians will have a plan. The rents will be reduced. Food will be had "from Russia and Prussia and Americay." Potatoes have failed since '45. Things will improve.

The paved roads on the Island: "In springtime the potholes occur everywhere Oh that black roller-coaster will kill me." Mainland the roads are smooth. "My wife's not accustomed to such a smooth trip, So we pulled the car over and we followed the ditch!"

"It's a rough, rocky road, And I'm 'most done struggling/suffering (x3), I'm bound to carry my soul to the Lord. I'm bound to carry my soul to Jesus, I'm bound to carry my soul to the Lord." "My (father's/etc.) on the road, And he's 'most done...."

Round About the Punchbowl: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #12974}

"Round about the punchbowl," "First time never to fall," "Second time catching time," "Third time kissing time"

Jump-rope rhyme. "Round and round the butcher shop, Can't stay any longer, If I do my mother said, I'm the butcher's daughter."

"Round and round the garden, Like a teddy bear, One step, two step, Tickle you under there." "Round and round the garden, Like a little mouse, One jump, two jump, And into the little house."

Round the old oak tree, "I love the girls and the girls love me"

Round Apples: (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #13180 and 38106}

"Round apple... As round as can be." Poor Annie "with a knife in her hand, You dare not touch her, or else she'll go mad" (be hanged). Her cheeks are like snow. She's dying. Wash her with milk, dress her in silk, write her name "with gold pen and ink"

"I asked a maiden by my side, Who sighed and looked at me forlorn, 'Where is your heart?' She quick replied, ''Round Cape Horn.'" The singer warns boys to behave or he'll tell their fathers; they say he must go around the horn. One was born there

Corn-husking song, "Round it up a heap it up a Round it up a corn, A joog-a-loa." "De big owl hoot and cry for his mate, My honey, my love! Oh, don't stay long, oh, don't stay late... It ain't so fur to de goodbye gate."

Recitation; multiple stories of Paul Bunyan

Round Rye Bay for More: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #8095}

"We'll go round Rye Bay for more, my tars, Round Rye Bay for more" South of the buoy at Rye Bay the singer lost his trawl where "Old Crusty he told me that I shouldn't stray." The singer will go back when our money's gone.

Round the Bay of Mexico: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #207}

"Round the Bay of Mexico, Way, oh Susiana, Mexico is the place that I belong in...." The singer tells of courting girls "two at a time" and having them love him "because I don't tell everything that I know." He heads off to the fishing ground

Round the Corn Sally: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #12025}

"Five can't catch me and ten can't hold me, Ho, round the corn, Sally, Round the corn, round the corn, round the corn, Sally! Ho, ho, ho, round...." "Here's your iggle-quarter and here's your count-aquila." "I can bank, ginny bank, ginny bank the weaver."

Round the Corner, Sally: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4697}

Short-haul or halyard shanty. "Round the corner we will go, round the corner Sally." Verses refer to women or places where women may be found.

Tongue-twister. "Around the rugged rocks the ragged rascal ran." Or, "Robert Rutter dreamed a dream, He dreamt he saw a raging bear, Rush from the rugged rocks, And around the rugged rocks, The ragged rascal ran."

Sailor describes hard trip around Cape Horn (in the frigate "Amphitrite"), and the pleasures (mostly female) of shore-leave in Chile. The singer says that Spanish girls are superior to (English) women, who have no enthusiasm and steal your clothes

A group of cowboys meet in a hotel and swap tales. An old man listens eagerly. He was a cowboy, too, and recalls the work. He concludes, "I'd like to be in Texas for the roundup in the spring."

"Desert blue and silver in the still moonshine, Coyote yappin' lazy on the hill, Sleepy winks of lightnin' down the far sky line, Time for millin' cattle to be still." The cattle are advised to stay calm until morning; everyone is waiting for morning

"Rouse, Hibernians, from your slumbers! ... Our French brethren are at hand." Erin's sons defeat the tyrants now. "Apostate Orange ... Sure you might know how Irish freemen Soon would put your Orange down" "Vive la, United heroes"

"With swear and curse and oaths and worse, We sauntered to the she: We 'Ere, Sir," bawled, as names were called" as they set to work, "And wished the sheep were dead." The singer describes all the work the rouseabouts are made to do

"They shore them wet on Monday, And they shore them wet again; How in the hell can a rousie live On twenty points of rain?"

"Oh, Po' roustabout don't have no home, Makes his livin' on his shoulder bone." The singer, loading sacks of cottonseed on the steamer Natchez, has no home and a sore shoulder, but does have a "little gal in big New Orleans."

Rout of the Blues: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #21098}

The Blues have their orders and parade to the ship, rigged and ready to sail. "Lasses ... crying and tearing their hair" run home to mother and say they'll pack up and "march with the blues." All drink and cheer "success to King George and his Blues"

The singer is leaving [for the army] but will return. Polly sits him down and reveals her love for him. He writes a song about her. Leaving, he crosses the moor and cries when he loses sight of her door. At least one of them thinks they will marry

"I had a dog, his name was Rover; When he died, He died all over; All but his tail, And it turned over."

"I'm a rover of the seas, And chief of a daring band, Who obey all my decrees, And laugh at the law of the land." The singer is "King of the waves" and "terror of the main" and envies no other monarch; he lives a merry life, for "I can but die at last."

"Oh if you love me, furl your sails, draw up your boat on shore, Come tell me tales of midnight gales but tempt their fate no more." The pirate says not to fear; he'll brink a prize. But his boat is gone; his body washes ashore. She kisses him and dies.

"O ever a Rover's life for me, A gallant bark and a rolling sea; On my own proud deck, like a King I'll stand Where brave hearts bow to their Chief's command." "With the black flag roving gallantly." "We'll shun no foe and strike to none."

"True rovers bold are we, Our home the rock-hid shore, We share our plunder merrily And dance to the oceal's roar." "We yield us to no power, Save the angry sea and sky." "We rovers know no fear... defiance is our cry."

Rover's Home, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #V26508}

"Oh talk no more of the tranquil shore, of the charms of hill and dale. We love to float in the rover's boat, borne on by the northern gale." "This is the life we love" -- to see the flag of "the enemy" and feel the storms; they expect to die at sea

"Far, far to his billow The red sun has gone." "Then awake, dearest maiden, Bid slumber retire, The night is arrayed in her brightest attire." "My light bark shall dance o'er the silvery brine." "I'll bear thee o'er waters That care never sees."

"Up, rovers, with sword and sail. True pirates, we ne'er will lag... Spread out our blood red flag." "See now, within gun shot she draws, Blaze in upon her lee. She feels our lightning." "Her treasures now our prize shall e, Her maids each rover's bride."

"Rovin Tam came doun the glen" and proposes to Nancy. She says, "Me be your dearie?" "Long he pled his cause in vain" and "plunged into Ugie's stream" At that she agrees to be his dearie. He drags himself onto the bank. Within a month they marry.

Roving Bachelor (I), The: (7 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #2849}

Bachelors, be careful before you take a wife. Women are unpredictable. Even Samson and Aristotle erred in marrying. Consider the man who preferred hanging to marriage

Roving Bachelor (II), The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #1649}

The bachelor comes to town determined to find a wife. Seeing a woman, he engages her in conversation and learns of her tastes and her fortune (as well as how she treats her family). (Since her wealth is enough and he suits her fancy, they get married)

The singer freely admits his addiction to gambling, cards, and a roving life. But he also has an eye for the ladies. In one town he meets with a "pretty little girl" who takes him home and then decides to follow him wherever he goes

Roving Heckler Lad, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #1111}

"I am a roving heckler lad" and "travel the world all over." Health to hecklers "in the room that my love's in."

Roving Jack the baker returns from war with a good pension. He meets a girl with 15 pounds of her own. He courts her with lies to get her money. He promises to marry her but hopes not to. He makes her drunk, takes her to bed, steals her money, and leaves.

"Wherever you may wander And taste the nation's bounty, You'll find there is no place on earth Like good old Potter County."

Roving Journeyman (III), The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #12958}

Jamie, a tradesman, left Nancy in Caledonia, promising to write. Now he works iron and steel from six in the morning til seven at night. He recommends others marry rather than leave their sweetheart behind. He toasts journeymen, his family, and Nancy.

Roving Newfoundlanders (I), The: (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6362}

The singer, musing at home, thinks about all the Newfoundlanders who have sailed and fished in all parts of the world. They have also taken part in historic world events (mostly confined to the 19th century) The singer tells us he is from Harbour Grace.

Roving Newfoundlanders (II), The: (8 refs. 13K Notes) {Roud #6468}

"Ye roving boys of Newfoundland, come listen unto me." In 1863, Shea hires 55 men to work on the railway. They run away to Canada, work on a riverboat and are robbed, ship on the Morning Bloom which sinks on George's Bank; only seven reach St John's

Roving Ploughboy, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2138}

The singer asks that her horse be saddled so she can follow the ploughboy. After sleeping last night "on a fine feather bed," she will sleep tonight in a barn in his arms. She says none can compare with him, and bids her home farewell

Roving Shantyboy, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #4359}

"Come all you tru-born shantyboys wherever you may be." The singer describes how he met a pretty girl and took her on my knee. The song shifts to the girl's viewpoint as she laments that "he was away by the first of may." She laments with her child

"I'm a-thinkin of you, honey, Thinkin' 'case I love you so... As I hoe down row after row." "Row after row, my baby (x3)... When I think of her the rows get shorter...." "So I keep on a-hoein' an a-hoein', Thinkin' of Miss Lindy Lou."

Row Boat (Ride About): (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #13080}

"Row boat (or: "Ride About"), row, where shall I row?" The young man comes to Miss Mary's door and asks if she is in. She is, and the wedding is set for (the next day)

Row Us Over the Tide: (8 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #9132}

Two children come up to a boatman, asking him to "row us over the tide." The report that their mother is dead and their father has abandoned them; they have no home.

Singer, Clarkie, and two others go out poaching pheasants; keepers arrive, and the singer and Clarkie are captured. They are taken to Wandsworth Gaol. Released on Christmas eve, he has a drink and rejoices, but Clarkie doesn't get out until mid-January

"Molly was a good gal and a bad gal, too, Oh, Molly, row, gal." The captain and pilot make brief appearances: "I'll row dis boar and I'll row no more...." "Captain on the biler deck a-heaving of the lead... Calling to the pilot to give "turn ahead...."

"Row, row, row your boat, Gently down the stream, Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily, Life is but a dream."

An account of the Tolliver-Martin feud, which the legal system is powerless to end. Casualties of the fighting include John Martin, Floyd Tolliver, Sol Bradley (an innocent bystander), and Deputy Sheriff Baumgartner; even this does not end the feud

"This Ballarat's a curious spot, At least I'm sure I've found it so." He describes the hard times he's had mining. He courted a girl named Sal, but her boyfriend beat him up. Even the police chase him in Ballarat, which is governed by "a rowdy mob."

"I'm a rowdy soul (x2), Don't care whether I work or not." The singer raised no crop last year; he blames the poor soil. He hopes to build a better house, safe from yellowjackets. He describes his partying lifestyle

Welsh shanty. Describes a voyage round the horn. Ch. translates: "Come Welshmen all and listen to my tale, How we sailed our packet round the Horn! Twas the third day of the seek boys, When dawn was just abreakin', we passed the rocky shores of Anglesey!"

"Roxie Ann's a foolin' gal, She fools me all the while, She's been a long time foolin', foolin', She's been a long time foolin' me." "She fools me in the mornin', She fools me in the night..." "I'm goin' to tell my maw on you, I'm goin' to tell my paw..."

"Roxy, she's a daisy, She wears a hat so fine, There ain't but one thing spoils her looks, She wears a number nine." "If she don't quit that fooling me... She'll be no gal of mine." "She fooled me in the 'lasses patch, The sweetest place of all."

"Cowboys, come and hear the story of Roy Bean in all his glory. 'The law west of the Pecos' read his sign." Bean runs most of the businesses in his part of the world, and uses them to enhance his power and increase his fortune

Roy's Wife of Aldivalloch: (7 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #5137}

"Roy's wife of Aldivalloch (x2), Wat ye how she cheated me As I came owre the Braes o' Balloch?" Singer complains that Roy's wife has cheated him; she has sworn she loves him and will be his, but instead she has robbed him and left him

"A royal lady bewail'd her sad fate" near Vienna. "My Eagle, she cried, now lies in St Helena." She recalls how he left her, and his exploits and says she will look for help to rescue him. "If I cannot find him, I'll fly to old Erin."

"Oh, how glorious 'twill be (x2) Dressed in white and crowned with glory With the royal family. We'll see Joseph Smith and Hyrum Dressed in white upon Mount Zion." They will also see Brigham Young, Heber, Paul, and Peter

"As we set sail from the Rock of Gibraltar" for Dublin Bay or other destination, the sailors know nothing of disaster that awaits. The ship is wrecked; many die. We are told of the sorrows of those left behind

Royal Light Dragoon, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1323}

When the Royal Light Dragoon comes to town women's "hay ricks," landlord's inns, and pretty girls are at risk. "'Tis death to ... oppose the Royal Light Dragoon" and relief when they are called away.

While sailing on the "Royal Oak", the singer and his fellows spy ten Turkish men-of-war. They sink three, burn three, drive three off, and capture the last, which they drag into Portsmouth harbor. The singer praises their skipper, Capt. (Wellfounder)

The singer says "There is a flower in yon garden ... And I wish that flower were mine." The garden "with weeds is all o'ergrown." "He is a Rose, a royal Rose ... And is my choice above all those." If Providence ordains it, the Rose will be hers.

"Take shelter, take shelter, Pawelka has come, With barefoot unwelcome he'll shoulder his gun, At night you can hear all the shots, Across the Ruahine tops he will run!"

"Rub-a-dub-dub, Three men in a tub." They are the butcher, the baker, and the candlestick maker. They may have gone to the fair, or "jumped out of a rotten potato."

Told mostly in floating lyrics: "I'm sorry, I'm sorry that my fortune's been so bad, Since I've fa'en in love wi' a young sailor lad." They exchange letters and flowers; she says he may keep his rose and she will keep her thyme.

Rufford Park Poachers: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1759}

Forty poachers go out together because "they'd often been attacked when the number it was less." They believe that all game "was sent on earth for ev'ry one quite equal for to share." Keepers attack but are routed by the poachers

"Rufus Rastus Johnson Brown, What you goin' to do when the rent comes round? What you goin' to say, How you goin' to pay?" As Rufus knocks on the door, the singer complains about Rufus's lack of sense and inability to maintain a decent home

Rufus sadly walks to town after his mare is stolen by Tozer. He tells his story: Tozer had given him a lame mare, which he cured, whereupon Tozer requisitioned the animal back. Rufus expects Tozer to end in Hell.

"If I were the marrying kind, Which thank the Lord I'm not, sir, For the rest of my life I'd...." A formula song in which the singer -- were she of a mind to marry -- asserts that the kind of man she would wed would play various positions on a rugby team

Jamaican patois: The singer asks how much Mother Cuba paid for her new shoes and hat. Train crosses a bridge "like a breeze," girl below "wash her chemise." Girl up a tree, boy below washing "khaki pants."

Chorus: "Didn't Jesus rule Death in his Arms, Rule Death in His arms, On the other side of Jordan, Rule Death in His arms." Verses describe the division of sheep from goats at God's command, and relentless Death taking the sinner

"When Britain first at Heav'n's command Arose from out the azure main... This was the carter of the land: 'Rule, Britannia, Britannia, rule the waves: Britons never, never, never will be slaves."

The singer describes his ideal mate. She must be good-natured, clever and handsome, and get up at dawn to make his breakfast. If he comes home drunk she must kiss him and put him to bed. If he runs out of money she must pawn her clothes.

Rules of Masonry, The: (2 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #5967}

"None but an atheist can ever deny But that [masonry] came first from on high." God is "the first Great Master of Masonry." Adam first wore "a fig-leaf [mason's] apron." Solomon's temple conformed "to the just-formed rules of Masonry"

Not a song; a series of rhymes by which sailors would learn how to behave at sea. e.g. "When both side lights you see ahead, port your helm and show your Red. Green to Green or Red to Red, perfect safety, go ahead." Most concern weather prediction.

"Since the Yankees came to Trinidad" they give mothers and daughters "a better price." The song gives examples of the disruption caused by the G.I.s

Rum By Gum (Temperance Union Song): (7 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #12765}

"We're coming, we're coming, our brave little band, On the right side of temperance we do take our stand.... Away, away with rum, by gum, The song of the (Salvation Army/Temperance Union)." Various verses on the value of sobriety

"A wave is rolling o'er the land With heavy undertow, And voices sounding on the strand, The rum saloon shall go. Shall go, shall go, We know, we know, A cry is sounding o'er the land, The rum saloon shall go." The song promises to lift the curse of drink

"It was in nineteen hundred and twenty nine, I remember that day pretty well...." The singer describes the great storm that threatened the Ethel, Myrtle, and Praetoria, sinking the last. The Captain, George Brown, calls on the passengers to pray

"Didn't know Flynn? Flynn of Offaly, 'S long as he's been here?" "Here in this tunnel he was my partner, That same Tom Flynn." He holds back the "timbers ready to fall" in the mine, crying "Run for your life, Jake... Don't wait for me, And that was all"

Run Here, Doctor, Run Here Quick: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #21048}

Hammer song or similar: "Run here, doctor (huh), Run here quick (huh), Little Mary (huh) Swallowed a stick."

Jump-rope rhyme and game: "Run in. Run in again. Run out. Then call another one to come in."

Verses from different songs. "Miss Liza was a gambler, learned me how to steal"; "I went down to Huntsville, I did not go to stay..."; "Oh, Liza, poor girl...she died on that train"; "Cherry like a rose"; "Run, Mollie, run/Let us have some fun"

Dance tune with floating verses: "I went up on the mountain to get me a load of pine..."; "Me six miles from my home... Me upstairs with another man's wife..."; Chorus: "Run mountain, chuck a little hill (x3)/There you'll get your fill."

"Good Lord, by myself (x3), You know I've got to go, You got to run, I got to run, You got to run By myself (x3)." Song describes traveling, freedom, (God as) the rock, and other themes of the poor and oppressed

"Run to Jesus, shun the danger, I don't expect to stay much longer." The singer describes the difficulties of the path he must follow, but also the rewards to be found at the end. The refrain "I don't expect to stay much longer" ends each verse

Run to Jesus for Refuge: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #17292}

"I'm gonna run to my Jesus for refuge, Run right along...." Verses include floaters "Mary wore a golden chain, Every link was Jesus name" and "When I read my title clear To mansions in the skies, I bid farewell to every fear And wipe my weeping eyes"

Run, Let the Bullgine Run: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4711}

Shanty or railroading song. Refrain: "Run with/let the bulgine run. Way-yah oh-i-oh, Run with/let the bulgine run." Many verses repeat the "running" theme, i.e. "we'll run all day to Frisco Bay." Used as both a capstan and halyard shanty.

Chorus: "Run Mary, run (3x), I know the other world is not like this." Verse: "Swing low, chariot, in the east, Let God's children have some peace, ... west, Let God's children have some rest, ... north ..., ... south, Let God's children sing and shout"

Cho: "Well-a run, mountain, run (x2), No matter where in the world I go, I'm bound to have my fun." Verses often float: "I'm going to build me a scaffold on some mountain so high." "Love is like an onion, you smile.... you wonder, whatever made you bite."

Chorus: "Run, nigger, run, The (calaboose/patter-roller) will get you. Run, nigger run...." Various verses on the life of the slave, usually pertaining to punishment and perhaps the run to freedom

"If you go to the North Countrie... You'll hear how the bride from the blacksmith ran To be a liggar lady." Townfolk gather to the wedding; the bride is missing. The audience laughs at the groom's expense. Men are warned of Hieland lads luring their girls

German (Plattdeutsch). Halyard shanty. "De see geht hoch, de wind de blast. Kohm un Beer for mi!" The sea is foul. The captain calls all hands. They see the runners in Hamburg. The sailor needs clothes and soap; he hopes for kummel and a cigar

Jump-rope rhyme: "Running to school... Next year I will be in the First, second, third, fourth.... My teacher is H-O-T"

How can you sleep when the hounds are out and the sun is shining? The singer leaves his wife behind in bed to hunt the hare. "No pleasure like hunting to pass a long day... At night to our supper we will dance... over a jug of brown ale"

"The stagnant state of Auckland now Gives sone dissatistfaction, But there's nothing like a good goldfield To give some satisfaction." The gold at Coromandel is all the rage and an economic boon. Mothers tell their babies that Daddy's gone to Coromandel

"Rushes and reeds are bending, Rushes and reeds are bowing, My mother sits a-mending, My father goes a-plowing, In and out and all about, And curtsey as we go."

"Thursday in the morn, on the Nenteenth of May, Recorded be for ever the famous Ninety-two." Brave Russel sees the French fleet under Tourville. The fight is hard, but the English win. The singer blesses the King and "each brave English Tar"

"Oh, Russia, let that moon alone, Moon ain't worryin' you! God told you to till the earth, God didn't tell you to till the moon! You can make your sputnickles And your satellites, You can't get God's moon." The moon is for light, not exploration

"The French he cries ye British rise Along with us prepare And go and help the gallant Turk To hunt the Russian bear." "The bear he is a sulky brute, And naething will he eat Unless he gets some Turkish wings, He likes a dainty treat"

Cumulative song. "The first day from Iceland old AC-IC said to me, There's a Whitley up a gum tree." And so through ten days, adding various weapons, e.g. "Two Blohm and Voss," "Three Fokke-Wulfs," ending with "Ten Captains driving."

The singer meets a pretty Russian girl. He asks her for a kiss but the one she gives him has no life. "So we both sat down together on a great big rolling stone"

"The nations they are falling out, The Volunteers fall in... But ask me what 'tis all about -- I don't precisely now." Two nations are quarreling about land, or pride, or something; the militia are called up, but why "I don't precisely know"

Tune only, no text. According to Hugill, Russian seaman had few real shanties and apart from the songs quotes by Smith there is nothing in the literature.

"The Russians are rushing the Prussians, The Prussians are crushing the Russians, Rasputin's disputin' and Italy's hootin', The Balkans are balking, Turkey is squawking, But God I am thanking the Yanks started yanking And yanked Kaiser Bill up a tree"

"Well, now, I've rustled the High Ore, I've rustled the Bell... And I landed a job in the Ellermerloo." "Too-ra-lay, Too-ra-lee, For how would ya, how would ya, like to be me?" There were miners from everywhere whom the boss put to work

Dance tune: "Dog shit a ryestraw, dog shit a jackstraw/Dog tore his asshole tryin' to shit a hacksaw." "Dog shit a ryestraw, dog shit a minner/Dog shit a catfish big enough for dinner"

A song of intense alcoholism: "Rye whiskey, rye whiskey, rye whiskey I cry; If I don't get rye whiskey I surely will die." "If the ocean was whisky and I was a duck, I'd dive to the bottom...." Many verses about how drink has affected the singer's life

Ryebuck Shearer, The: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #24820}

The singer describes how anyone can gain respect if he is a ryebuck shearer. He is told that he will never be that good, but stoutly maintains that he'll get there someday

Amish hymn in German.. "O Gott, Vater, wir loben dich Und deine Gute preisen; Das du uns O Herr gnadichlich An uns neun hast beweisen." "O God, Father, we praise you, And love your many blessings, That you have proved so merciful to us...."

In Scots Gaelic: "It is I who saw the wonder/One early morning as I was looking for sheep/A girl with flowing brown hair/Sat on a flat rock of the gulls." The mermaid and her brothers are involved in a mysterious, bloody fight in a rocky cave

The singer complains about the sins of others, spelling each out (e.g. they "d-a-n-c-e" while wearing a new "h-a-t"). The singer, though, need not worry about such things; "It's g-l-o-r-y to know I'm s-a-v-e-d."

Jump-rope rhyme. "S-C-H-double-O-L Spells school for you and me."

"Oh, it isn't any trouble just to S-M-I-L-E (x2), So smile when you're in trouble, It will vanish like a bubble If you'll only take the trouble just to S-M-I-L-E." Similarly, one may G-R-I-N, grin, or L-A-U-G-H, or say Ha ha ha ha ha

Jump-rope rhyme. "S, A, I, L, O, R, Sailor, 1, 2, 3, Sailor, 1, 2, Sailor. Sailor, sailor, sailor."

"This song is not a song of love, 'tis not a song of flowers... but 'tis of a hump-backed blowhard, his name is S. D. Knowles." The song tells how Knowles left Maine for Wisconsin, and insulting describes why no one wants to be near him

"Sa up and rise, my merry lads, For a' maun rise, for a' maun rise"

Sabbath Has No End: (5 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #11969 and 12027}

Gwine to walk about Zion, I really do believe, Walk about Zion, I really do believe, Walk about....Sabbath has no end. I did view one angel In one angel stand, Let's mark him down with the forehead." "Going to follow King Jesus." "I love God certain."

"My thoughts now return to the home I love well, I hear the sweet sound of the church going bell." The singer sees the people head for church. Sailors cannot go to the church, "But the same God who looks upon them Is here and will ever with us be."

A tribute to the lifeguards at the Sable Island lighthouse who "glide from the beach to the roaring seas The lives of the crews to save ... They risk their lives in their daily work ... On the Sable Island shore"

Sable Island Song (I): (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1838}

"On the stormy western ocean ... Lies a barren little island." The singer signs to be government caretaker, wear government clothes, chase "crazy horses" and "wild cattle," swallow inedible food: "Get off Sable Island Or you'll be crazy in a year"

Sable Island Song (II): (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #1839}

Hard times for "banned steeves" at Main Station. They steal from other boys "and only call that fun" but the busy-bodies "in the castle... their tongues were never still." The "steeves" nail a postal to their door and refuse to take it down.

"Now I am only Sacker Shean's poor little girl, you know, Who was cast upon this cruel world, No home, no place to go." Her mother is dead, her father a drunk. Wandering in the streets, she is finally taken in by a kind lady who gives her a home

Singer praises the beauty and elegance of Sacramento gals, with their bustles, hoops, and powdered, painted faces. Refrains: "Nipping around, around, around"; "As they go nipping around"

Sad and Lonely Comrade: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #9987}

Bobby dies and his father and mother mourn. "Prepare to meet your darling with Christ up in the skies. We all have loved ones sleeping, all in a churchyard bed, And why not try to meet them in a moment we are dead"

"A young lady sat down in a sad condition/A-mourning the loss of her own true love/Some folks say that he was taken/In the wars with Germany/Hi-lee, 'tis not so/I'll turn back and be your beau/Turn my elbow to my wrist/I'll turn back in a double twist"

A miner takes leave of his girl, noting that tomorrow they will be married, He goes down in the mine, which caves in. The bells, instead of tolling for a wedding, toll for his funeral. Years later, his body is found, and the white-haired bride knows it

Singer tells of life as a "saddle bum" or "saddle tramp," riding the grub-line, moving from ranch to ranch, singing for his keep. When things get cool, he "forks his bronc" and moves on. Over winter, he stays with his Neta, and promises to be true to her

"Near a cool and shady woodland Where the rippling streamlets flow Dwelt a maiden kind and lovely But 'twas in long years ago." He describes their love and plans to marry, "But she's dead, my Sadie Ray." He prepares to meet her in Heaven

"Oh, the Saguenay sailed through the blue Caribbean, The Saguenay sailed o'er the old Spanish main." "We'll zig and we'll zag al over the ocean, We'll zig and we'll zag all over the sea." But eventually a torpedo hits her. The ship manages to make it home

"Said Frohock to Fanning, 'To tell the plain truth, When I came to this country I was but a youth... And then my first study was to cheat for a hoss.'" Fanning and Frohock happily exchange tales of cheating those around them

"Said I, David Crocket, you're a Tennessee Screamah, He hauled off an' he hit me in the weemah, I drew back an' I hit him in de wizzen, He bit off mah head an' I swallowed his'n and we both locked arms." The singer claims to have won the fight

Gaelic. Singer wakes and throws away his uniform. He hears gossip about his sweetheart and cuts off his finger. He will die before Easter but would return from the dead if she calls him. He curses his father for driving him to drink and the army.

"Then sail away, saii o'er the ocean so blue. With the wind in our maintop we'll plow the way trough! The time is not far off when 'How do you do?' Will be sid by your sweetheart who has long watched for you."

Sail Away Ladies: (11 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #17635}

Dance tune with floating verses: "Ever I get my new house done/Sail away, ladies, sail away/Give the old one to my son/Sail away...." "Don't you worry, don't you cry... You'll be angels by and by" Etc. "Chorus: "Don't'ye rock 'em, di-de-o (x3 or x4)".

"Sail on, sail on, O ship of state! Sail on, O Union strong and great!" The fate of humanity rests o its success. "We know what Mster laid thy keel." We should not fear or doubt; our hearts go with the ship

"Sail, O believer, sail, Sail over yonder, Sail, O my brother, Sail over yonder." The listener is invited to join in the work and view the promised land. "For Jesus comes... And Jesus locks the doors... And carries the keys away."

Sailing in the Boat: (9 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6665}

"Sailing in the boat when the tide runs high, (x3) Waiting for the pretty girl(s) to come by and by." The rest is floating verses on courting, e.g. "Here she comes so fine and fair, Sky blue eyes and curly hair, Roses in her cheek, dimple in her chin...."

Singer is sailing the ocean; says if he gets shot or drowned there will be no one to weep for him. Despite his mother's usual warning, he gambled and lost his life savings while drunk. The only girl he has loved has turned her back on him

Known mostly for the lines in the middle of the chorus: "Sailing, sailing, over the bounding main, For many a stormy wind shall blow ere Jack comes home again." About the "bold and free" life of the sailor, and his true heart, and his return home

The sailor's widow reports that her husband went to sea three years ago, after only three months of marriage. His ship was lost in a storm; she wishes that she could join him in his watery grave

Sailor and His Love, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #6724}

A sailor asks his love, bound by iron, to dress as a sailor and follow him. She refuses: her father has heard from the sailor's crew that he is married. He swears he is free. She is convinced and says she'd follow him if he frees her.

A pregnant girl hangs herself after being abandoned by her lover. The guilty youth goes to sea to escape her ghost, but the spirit follows and finds him. She threatens the captain until he is produced, and then burns the ship with him aboard

A wandering young sailor, seeing a shepherdess asleep by the sea, goes up to her and kisses her. Surprised into wakefulness, she begins to cry, but the sailor offers marriage, and she accepts

A girl and a sailor agree to marry after he finishes his voyage. When he returns, he finds that she will soon marry a tailor. He meets them and persuades the girl to change her mind

"I've sailed to the east and I've sailed to the west, They call me Sailor Bill, I have come to seek my own blood kin That settled in the hills." The sailor tells how, after sailing far, he looks for his family and settles down "with my Preston kin."

Sailor Bold (II), The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #V41196}

The sailor "came to his true love to let her know That he once more to sea must go." She saysd "pray stay at home" with her because cannons may injure him. He says "pray stay at home" and she will always be in his mind. She watched him sail.

A sailor tells his sweetheart he must sail. He promises to be true. Perhaps says, "we shall return victorious men, The joy and pride of Christendom" She recounts the dangers of sailing and war. He leaves. She receives a comforting letter from him.

Sailor Boy (I), The [Laws K12]: (76 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #273}

A girl asks her father to build her a boat so that she may search for her lover. She describes the boy to a passing captain, who tells her he is drowned. She gives directions for her burial, then dies of grief or dashes her boat against the rocks

Sailor Boy's Dream, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #3691}

"In slumbers of midnight the sailor boy lay," dreaming of home; he and his father see each other with delight. Then he is awakened by lightning and thunder. The masts are gone, the ship is foundering; "around thy white bones the coral shall grow"

The singer sees one of his shipmates "wrapped up in flannel yet colder than clay." He dies, and details of the burial are given. His headstone warns sailors, "Never go courting with the girls of the city; Flash girls in the city were the ruin of me."

"Ye maidens pretty in towns and cities, Come hear with pity my mournful strain." The girl loved a "lively sailor." He is "crossed the ocean," having been pressed. Her father confined her to keep them apart. Now she is free and wealthy and hopes to marry

"Oh, the sailor looked and looked and looked, For Geishas and for sake, And almost gave up looking, when He came to Nagasaki." He finds a girl. The go to dinner. She gets him drunk. He is unable to perform.

A sailor and his beautiful wife meet a captain who is smitten with the lady. He summons the sailor and sends him to the West Indies. Within a few days of his leaving the captain makes a pass at the wife, who refuses him and pledges her constancy.

Sailor Laddie (I), The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5808}

"I've been east and I've been wast" to Dundee and Montrose, "And the bonniest lad that ever I saw" "ploughs the raging sea" and "wears the tarry clothes." "So away with my sailor laddie Away with him I'll go"

"My sailor laddie's far away." He sends the singer a letter saying he's coming back, having left his current girl "on the railway track" "I love coffee, I love tea ... " and mother should "hold her tongue For she loved boys when she was young"

"He skips upon the plainsteens, He sails upon the sea, He's a bonny sailor laddie, The lad that I gang wi'." "His jersey's o' the bonnie blue." "I saw ma laddie gang awa... Awa to catch a whale." "He bade me aye keep up ma heart."

Sailor Likes His Bottle-O, The: (9 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #314}

Shanty. "So early in the morning the sailor likes his bottle-o! A bottle of rum, a bottle of gin, a bottle of old Jamaica Ho!" Verses carry on about all the things a sailor might love: women, tobacco, fighting, etc...

Jamie is leaving Molly to go privateering on the Spanish Shore. He tells her not to worry about the dangers, or that he will find another girl on the Spanish Shore, and that they will marry when he returns. He returns, rich, and they marry

Sailor Went to Sea, A: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #18338}

"A sailor went to sea ... To see what he could see ... all that he could see ... Was the bottom of the deep blue sea." He goes to "chop, chop, chop," ... to "knee, knee, knee," ... to "toe, toe, toe," ....

"A sailor who loved the spankin' gals Sailed off across the seas, He never set his rudder But was guided by the breeze." He searches out girls in every port. In Polynesia he finds a very special girl and asks why she shakes so. She says her bottom itches

"The sailor on the ocean wide Thinks little of his life, He laughs to see the wind and tide Engaged in endless strife." The brave sailor is unconcerned by storm. The ship is well-maintained. The crew sings songs to defy future weather

"As you mean to set sail for the land of delight, And in wedlock's soft hammock to swing ev'ry night... Fill your sails with affection, and your cabin with love." Hearers must avoid the "shoals of indifference," or else they will "double Cape Horn"

Sailor's Alphabet, The: (22 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #21100}

Capstan/pumping shanty; sailors remember the alphabet and tell of their, "merry" lives: "A is the anchor that hangs o'er the bow/And B is the bowsprit that bends like a bow.... So merry, so merry, so merry are we/No mortals on earth like a sailor at sea"

"Come rouse ye, my lads, though no land we are near, We've old Christmas aboard us to give us good cheer." They have good food and a good captain. They drink to family at home. "Christmastide cheers the heart of a brave British tar."

"Of al the curst plagues that e'er fate did decree... There's none to compare with the purser, that evil Who'se worse than a jailer, a bum or a devil." He supplies rotten food. The sailor curses the purser in complex (and rather learned) ways

Sailor's Consolation: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #12825}

Two sailors, Barney Buntline & Billy Bowline list the reasons they are lucky to be sailors, comparing the dangers of living on shore with the relatively free life they have. Sometimes has chorus of "With a tow row row-right to me addy, wi' a tow row row."

"Fare thee well my dearest friend, Thy husband now must go To greet his native element Where winds and tempests blow." The sailor blesses his wife and girls; his wish is that they find joy. They look forward to the port "where storms will cease to blow"

A sea captain lusts after the wife of one of his sailors. He offers her 50 guineas to sleep with him while he supposes her husband is away. The sailor, as they are in bed, steals the captain's clothes and makes love to the captain's wife.

Sailor's Grave, The: (17 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2676}

"Our bark was far, oh, far from land, When the fairest of our gallant band Grew deadly pale and pined away." Lacking "costly winding sheets," they wrap the dead man in his hammock and a flag and sadly bury him at sea

"'Twas post meridian, half past four, By signal I from Nancy parted"; she waits by the shore until he sails away. As the sailors sing with joy, the singer thinks of her. When he is thrown into the sea, he live because of her. Finally her returns to her

Sailor's New Leg, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #5822}

The singer was a sailor at Trafalgar. With Nelson on the foredeck, he lost a leg to a cannonball. Dr Keg replaced it with one from "fighting Jim." Immediately he returned to the fight "and flew aboard the Frenchman like a rocket O!"

"Dear sweetheart, as I write to you, My heart is filled with pain, For if these things... are true, I'll never see you again." The singer says, if she weds another, "My boat will never land." He recalls his work for her. He learns she still loves him

The sailor tells of all the places he's been and seen: "I've sailed among the Yankees, the Spaniards and Chinese.... But I'll go to the dance hall and hear the music play, For around Cape Horn and home again, oh, that is the sailor's way!"

"Sailormen what sail the seas, And keep the laws, And live on yellow peas."

"The sailors are all at the bar, They cannot get up to Newcastle, The sailors are all at the bar, They cannot get up to Newcastle, Up wi' smoky Shields, And hey for bonny Newcastle, Up wi'..."

"Now the sailors of the present day, they are all right, They smoke cigarettes and part their hair in front." The sailors on leave use all sorts of modern tricks; "Such going-on are shameful to behold," says the singer who declares "I am a warrior bold"

"There were two sailors sailing on the sea" or "three wee Glasgae molls we can let you see." The singer challenges you to choose a partner: "me" or "the fairest one" or "the one wee moll"

"The (sailors/Gloucester Boys/etc.) are going away, They won't be back for many a day, They've put all the girls in the family way, To fight for England's glory."

Mother: Don't marry a sailor; they drink and whore, spend all their money, and don't care for wife or child. Daughter: I will be "some gallant sailor's wife." Mother: Good idea; "I have been told the very most of them Are clever genteel smart young men"

Sailors' Wives, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5666}

"The first one was the gunner's wife and she was dressed in green, And in one corner of her had she stowed the magazine." Other (sailors') wives also come forward in their colors and show what the have accommodated in their "clothing"

Saint Clair's Defeat: (5 refs. 4K Notes) {Roud #4028}

Saint Clair leads an army against the Indians "on the banks of the St. Marie." Hundreds of men are killed. Several noteworthy officers are among the casualties. Victims may be scalped or tomahawked. The rest make their way home as best they can.

Saint George and Mormon Dixie: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #10852}

"St. George is bright and sunny, Its cloudless skies are blue, Its flowers are fair and bonnie, Its faithful saints are true." Other traits of the area are listed. "For St. George and Mormon Dixie I'd rather live than die."

Saint George and the Drag-On: (5 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #8596}

"Oh what a dreary place this was when first the Mormons found it; They said no white men here could live...." But Mormon industry has transformed it, and "St. George ere long will be a place that everyone admires."

A lament for Napoleon, "gone from his wars and his fightings." His past splendor is contrasted with his current fate. The sorrow of his wife Louisa is alluded to. His death is attributed to the malice of his enemies.

Saint James Infirmary: (19 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2}

Big Joe McKennedy is in the bar, reporting that he "went down to St. James Infirmary, And I saw my baby there, Stretched out on a long white table...." He gambled, and now must pay. He prepares to die, makes requests for his funeral, (blames the woman)

The singer happens to be in St John's and meets a pretty girl who drinks his champagne. He buys her a pair of kid gloves. Given a kiss and thinking to score, the singer looks to pawn his gold watch but finds she had already lifted it and his scarf pin.

"I sent Saint Jonah, I sent him down to the field ah, To see about his horses ah, I had to go after him ah, And you reckon where he as at ah?" He is on a log, playing a corn stalk fiddle and with the singer's wife's big toe

Saint Keven and King O'Toole: (1 ref. 2K Notes) {Roud #31617 and V37545}

"Saint Keven once was traveling through a place called Glendalough, He chanced to meet with King O'Toole." The king mourns his sick gander. Kevin cures it for the land over which it flies. The king complains that it's too much land but yields

"Saint Nicholas was of great post (?)." Three young women are told that they must leave their father, who can no longer care for them. All three pray to Saint Nicholas to be saved from prostitution. He sends arranges for them to find husbands

The singer recalls St Patrick's miracles while the liquor holds out: he arrived mounted on "a paving stone," drank a gallon of liquor from a quart pot, turned mutton to salmon on Friday, and drove out the snakes.

Saint Patrick Was a Gentleman: (6 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #13377}

"St. Patrick was a gentleman, and came of decent people"; they are named O'Houlihan, O'Shaughnessy... He preached from a high hill and "banished all the varmin!" Vermin's misfortunes are described. He planted turf, brought pigs and brewed good whiskey.

Saint Patrick exhortes the Irish to give up poteen and gives them other stuff to drink. They dump his stuff into a puncheon where it mixes with whisky. He tries to ask about the puncheon but they think he said "punch" and so name the drink.

Saint Patrick's Day: (1 ref. 3K Notes) {Roud #V39991}

Ask Patrick's protection. He secured Ireland's faith for the Catholic church. We pray for his support for Irish independence. In 1800 Pitt managed parliament's dissolution. Our champions now are Dan O'Connell, Shiel, and tithe opponent Fergus O'Connor.

Let Irishmen and honest men, in Ireland or France, "religiously think 'Tis his duty to drink On St Patrick's day in the morning" War is past. "Can Wellington's glory be ever forgot On the banks of the Seine, or the banks of the Shannon?"

Saint Patrick drove out the witches and necromancers. "This champion of Christ did their magic expel." "He showed ... the right way to live and the true way to die ... On Saint Patrick's Day in the morning"

"On St Patrick's day in the morning" there'll be music, dancing, fine food, and whiskey. St Patrick may not have made the blind to see but "many great things he did for his island." Celebrate the day. "All this to begin, sir, We think it no sin, sir"

Stephen sees the star of Bethlehem, and tells his master King Herod that he can no longer serve him because he must serve the better child in Bedlam. Herod says that the roasted cock will sooner crow. It does crow, and Herod has Stephen stoned.

"Of Saint Stephen, God's knight, That preached the faith day and night, He told the Jews, as it was right, That Christ was born of a may." The Jews reject his claim; he argues. They stone him to death; dying,he forgives them and commend his soul to heaven

"Listen, lordings, both great and small" as the singer tells "a wonder tale" of the "clerk... of Canterbury." "Knights came from Henry King" to slay Thomas. He died in the "mother church." "Worship ye Thomas in all your life."

Sair Fyel'd, Hinny: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3062}

"(I/Aw) was young and lusty, I was fair and clear... Mony a lang year." "Sair fyel'd, hinny, sair fyel'd now, Sair fyel'd, hinny, sin' I ken'd thou." The singer looks back on his young days, and admits, at 65, to being both "stiff and cauld."

"I went down town to see my lady. Nobody's home but Sal an' the baby. Sal was drunk, and the baby crazy; All that comes of being so lazy."

Sal's Got a Meatskin: (8 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4201}

"Sal's got a meatskin hid away/gonna get a meatskin someday"; "Sal a-sailing on the sea/Sal got a meatskin a-waiting for me"; more verses along that line.

Hazelton is waiting to be hanged. He hopes his parents do not hear of his death. He prays that God "can pardon us all ... Even Fielding ... that proved my downfall" He thinks of his youth and the girl "who taught me to love in a far distant land"

Creole French. "Salangadou-ou-ou (x3), Salangadou, Cote piti fille la ye, Salangadou, Salangadou?" "Salangadou, where is my little girl gone, Salangadou?"

A (ship carpenter), hard up for money for drink and tired of quarreling with his wife, puts her up for sale. After a lively auction, a sailor wins her. He takes her home and they live happily

The singer and a handsome young man adjourn to an inn, eat, drink, and proceed to bed. He promises to support her by highway robbery. The next morning he robs the mail coaches. She laments that he now lies in Newgate Gaol, expecting to be hanged.

"Yah-nay ha-nay hay Yah-nay ha-nay Yah-hay ay hee-nay Ah-ah nay-hay. Ah-nay hay-hee-nay-yeh!..." Translation: "Far far away, Far far away, Oh far far away Oh there my heart doth lay...."

"Oh where are you going, Sally Anne? (x3) I'm going to the wedding, Sally Anne. Oh shake that little foot, Sally Anne, (x3), You're a pretty good dancer, Sally Anne." "Did you ever see a muskrat, Sally Ann...." Other verses are equally unrelated

"Sally O, Sally O, Sally around the corner O, All day we'll heave away And it's Sally around the corner O"

Shanty. Characteristic lines: "Way, hey, roll and go... Spend my money on Sally Brown." The singer describes Sally ("A Creole lady... She had a farm in Jamaica... She had a fine young daughter") and his (unsuccessful) courtship

Sally Buck, The: (11 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3607 and 8053}

The singer goes hunting "one cold and winter day." (He tracks "the Sally buck all day.") Sundry adventures follow; the singer reports "of (15 or 20), ten thousand I did kill." The singer ends "If you can tell a bigger lie, I swear you ought to be hung."

A song in praise of Sally that manages to stress all her bad features: "Sally has got a lubly nose, Flat across her face it grows, It sounds like thunder when it blows.... Sally come up, oh, Sally come down, Oh, Sally, come twist your heels around...."

"Sally go round the (sun), Sally go round the (moon), Sally go round the (stars), On a Saturday afternoon." Sally may go around other things, e.g. the chimney pots.

"Had a piece of pie an' I had a piece of puddin', An' I gave it all away just to see my Sally Goodin." About how much the singer loves Sally, how he courts her -- with perhaps a few sundry comments about food and liquor along the way

The singer tells of his secret love for Sally Gray. They are both 17. It vexes him when she sits with others. He remains tongue-tied. If he were rich he'd give her presents. His fortune teller writes her initials. No girls can compare with her.

The singer's parents "forced me to Americay, my fortune to pursue." As the ship crosses the ocean, he thinks of his beloved Sally Greer. The ship sinks, with only (13) of 350 surviving. The poor survivor hopes to return to Sally

"Sally had a bike and the wheels went round ... On the last day of September"

Sally In Our Alley: (13 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #19807}

Johnny loves Sally. His master beats him when he stops working to be with her. On Sunday he leaves church early to be with her. When his apprenticeship is over they will marry and leave the alley with its unfriendly neighbors

"Miss Sally in the circle and she can't get out (x3), I love Miss Sally Ann." "She got the wiggles when she walks (x3), I love Miss Sally Ann." "Around and around and around she goes (x3), I love Miss Sally Ann."

Sally in the Garden: (9 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #331}

Dance tune with chorus "Sally in the garden sifting sand/Sally upstairs with a hog-eyed man"; floating verses: "Chicken in the bread pan kicking up dough"; "Sally will your dog bite, no sir, no/Daddy cut his biter off a long time ago"

Blacksmith Jim Dixon sends a letter to Sally by a friend. The friend deceitfully hides the letter, but Dixon and Sally later meet and are married. They sail for Quebec, but the ship strikes a rock. Sally is drowned. Dixon lives; he grieves for her parents

"Sally Rand, Lost her fan, Run, run, run, As fast as you can."

Sally to her Bed Chamber: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #2758}

"Now Sally to her bed chamber this night she made great moan, Saying, 'Jimmie, lovely Jimmie, your pillow is quite alone. How can I rest contented and you so far awa'? Sure I thought I'd lived and died with you in sweet Erin go bragh'"

"(Someone, e.g. Sally Walker) sells fish, Three ha'pence a dish. Cut the heads off, Cut the tails off, (Someone) sells fish."

Sally Went to Preachin': (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #11796}

'Sally went to preachin', she shouted and she squalled, She got so full religion she tore her stocking heel." "An a git a long home, nega, nega (x3), I'm bound for Shakletown." "Somebody stole my ol' coon dog...." "I'm gonna get some bricks...."

Singer describes former girlfriend Sally; he saw her changing; she caught him peeping. She's run off with Tony. Refr: "Sally, let your bangs hang down"; ch.: "Sally she can land 'em...I'll find out what Sally's got, makes the men think she's so hot"

Hog-calling chant: "Sally, Molly, Polly, O -- Come on -- git cawn! Little in the basket, more in the crib, Come on -- git cawn!"

Sally's Cove Tragedy, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #9933}

A few days after leaving home, "The rain and fog lay thick all around, the winds did howl and mourn." "Without fire, food, or water in that bitter piercing cold," two boys, Russ and Dennis, die leaving Eli Roberts to mourn.

Sally's Love for a Young Husband: (6 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #2897}

The singer complains that her parents married her to a rich old man. She would prefer a "young man without a penny." When her old man dies she marries a young man who rolls her from the wall but kills her dog and breaks her china

"Cam ye by the salmon fishers? Cam ye by the roperee? Saw ye a sailor laddie Sailing on the raging sea?" The girl may describe the sailor she loves, or how they courted, or how they expect to marry

"Down our street we had a little party, Everybody there was all so gay and hearty." It was uproarious, and they see "Salome, Salome, that's my girl Salome, Standing there with her arse all bare," who has an amazing sexual repertoire

Salome Was a Dancer: (1 ref. 3K Notes) {Roud #24174}

"Salome was a dancer, She danced before the king, And every time she danced, She wiggled everything. 'Stop,' said King Herod, 'You can't do that here.' Salome said 'Baloney,' And kicked the chandelier."

"My husband's in Salonika ... I wonder if he knows he has a kid with a foxy head" (;the slackers "puts us in a family way"). When the war's over slackers will have two legs but soldiers a leg and a half. With all the taxes they still can't beat the Hun.

"Salt beef, salt beef is our relief, Salt beef and biscuit bread, oh!" That's the sailor's diet. The sailor asks that those who eat better remember "your old shipmate." Similarly, their hammocks are wet and cold, while those at home sleep warm

Salt Horse Song, The: (12 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3724}

The singer conducts a dialog with an old horse, which has been salted and sent aboard ship. He is not too thrilled about such a diet, but there is little he can do. He proves that it is horsemeat by showing a horseshoe in the meat barrel

Jump-rope rhyme. "Salt makes you thirsty, Pepper makes you sneeze. We'll make somebody Wobble at their knees."

Saltpetre Shanty (Slav Ho): (3 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #4692}

Shanty. "To ol' Callyo we're bound away, (Slav ho!/Oh Roll!) (repeat) We're bound away from Liverpool bay, them puntas o' Chili will grab our pay. Ch: Oh rooooll, Rock yer bars! Heave 'er high-o, rock 'er, oh, rooooll!"

Floating verses linked by the words "Honey, let me be your salty dog," e.g. "Pulled the trigger and the gun said go/Shot rung over in Mexico"; "Two old maids lyin' in the bed/One turned over to the other and said/You ain't nothin' but my salty dog."

"Nowell, Nowell,Nowell, Nowell! This is the salutation of the angel Gabriel." "Tidings true there be come new, Sent from the Trinity" by Gabriel to Nazareth. He does homage to Mary. She says she will obey whatever her Lord commands

"Aroun' Pat Murphy's hearth there was music, song, and mirch" when the traveler comes to the door. She announces the news: "The fairy queen intends for to occupy the Glens" and restore prosperity to Ireland. The Irish will always remember home

"The Salvation Army's free from sin, All went to heaven in a corned beef tin; The corned beef tin was made of brass, They all fell down and skinned their ass."

Sam Bass [Laws E4]: (29 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #2244}

Sam Bass, a cowpuncher and at first a kind-hearted fellow, turns to train robbery. Betrayed by an acquaintance named Jim Murphy, he is killed by a Texas Ranger

Sam Cooper is "up for a crime," "handcuffed and caught on the house on the hill," tried in Timmum, then Wexford, then Enniscorthy and "they couldn't find me guilty on every degree." He sings, "I'll make this Lar' now repent now for all he has done"

Sam Davis sits on his coffin and writes a letter to his mother telling her not to grieve and that his father can collect his bones in Pulaski, Tennessee. Union Captain Armstrong cries after the execution because Davis died so bravely.

The singer dreams of seeing "Sam Griffith with a darky for a mate." Sam begs for a drink, claiming the squatters don't like a union man. The singer abuses him for his hypocrisy. Sam leaps to the attack; the singer wakes up

Sam Hall (Jack Hall) [Laws L5]: (29 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #369}

(Sam Hall), about to be hanged, bitterly tells his tale, spitting curses all the while -- directing them at the parson, the sheriff, his girlfriend, and the spectators. He is guilty of killing a man, and goes to the gallows still blazing away

The singer reminds Sam Holt of the various events of his life: "Oh, don't you remember Black Alice, Sam Holt... [with] teeth like a Moreton Bay shark...." Stories about Sam's courtship amid ants, his cheating and cards, his mining fortune, and his travels

MacColl, whose penis is so large there is no room for a scrotum, boasts he services the girls until they weary, then tires horses, cows and sheep.

"There was old Sam Simon And a young Sam Simon And young Sam Simon will be Sam Simon When old Sam Simon is gone."

Sam, Sam, Dirty Old Man: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #19087}

"Sam, Sam, dirty old man, Washed his face in a frying pan, Combed his hair with the leg of a chair/donkey's tail, (And scratched his belly with his big toenail), Sam, Sam, dirty old man"

"Eddie Koochy Katcha Kama Tosa Neera Tosa Noka Sama Kama Wacky Brown... Fell into the well, fell into the deep dar well." People try to pass the message so that someone can get him out, but it takes so long to say his name that he drowns

"Some tell me 'tis a burnin' shame To make the naygers fight, And that the trade of bein' kilt Belongs but to the white." The soldier declares that he is liberal enough to let Sambo be killed in his place. After all, who do the critics want to be killed?

The singer claims that "Many a man... would hang [himself] up... If [he] had half as much trouble as me." He and his wife have a young girl as a lodger; one night, coming home drunk from a concert, the singer goes to sleep in her bed. Mayhem follows.

"When I was but a little lad, Way down in Joe Batt's Arm, For jigging squids I didn't care... I got a job to join a ship.... Sammy, ain't you glad you joined the Navy." The doctor inspects him. He travels to Halifax and gets in fights

Jamaican patois: Sammy was killed because he planted corn that flourished and his black neighbors could not stand to see another black man's success. Sammy's end in hell is not his fault.

"Sammy ring the bell (x2), Four hours on watch is a bloody long spell. Cold, hard and hungry, Bloody nigh dead as well, Ring, you rubber-necked, bootneck bastard, Ring that bloody bell!"

Farewell song in Samoan pidgin. "Goodbye, my felleni, o le a outea, Ae folue le vaa, o le Alii pule mellete. Sometimes with German words also. The sailor will not forget Samoa.

German or Swedish shanty. Pidgin English (or in this case, pidgin German), nonsense verses -- "I no likie you-hou, you no-ho likie me-hie." Versions of this were to be found in several languages. Chorus of even more nonsensical syllables.

"Delilah was a woman, fine and fair, Very pleasant looks and coal black hair... If I had my way I'd tear the building down." Delilah tricks Samson out of the secret of his strength; he is captured, but manages to tear the building down.

Samuel Allen is examining a rolling dam on the Rocky Brook. The dam falls apart, and Allen is drowned

Samuel Young, of Kentucky, is courting a girl against the wishes of her father; he arranges to have him sent to the Mexican War. He gets as far as Monterey when he takes sick and dies

"Samuel's (sister/brother/mother/...) screaming and hollering (3x), My brother's dead, my brother's dead."

"'Twas on a balmy April day, the springtime flowers in bloom." San Francisco is properous and happy. "But suddenly a rumbling sound, an earthquake...." Mothers cry out to God to save their children; families are parted; God's ways are mysterious

"O, ladies and gentlemen, list to my song! It's about a poor devil who can't get along." He's tried many businesses, without success -- chased away by the locals, cheated by his clerk, ignored by his audience. All that is left for him is rag-picking

"I located a claim in Creed, And my title did not stick," so the singer sells his traps and ends up at Cripple Creek, then sells out again to go to San Juan. He tells of deserts, and hostile Navajos; he and his party barely survive

"On the Ropery Banks Jenny was sittin'... And hearty I heard this lass singin' -- My bonny keel lad shall be mine." She is knitting the stockings she promised him. She recalls meeting him, and looks forward to bearing his children

Sandgate Lass's Lament, The: (1 ref. 2K Notes) {Roud #3170}

"I was a young maiden truly, And liv'd in Sandgate Street; I thought to marry a good man... But last I married a keelman, And my good days are done." The girl lists all the men she thought of marrying, and then contrasts her ill-formed, evil keelman

Napoleon and the Tsar quarrel. When Bony had raised his army Sandy warns Bony against attacking. Bony rejects the warning. At Moscow Bony told his starving men biscuits and brandy were near but saw them burnt. Bony escapes the Cossacks and frost.

"An uncle of mine, he's an old-fashioned chap. He sits all the day by the fire," telling of Britain's victories -- victories won by the Highland Brigade and Irish soldiers. "If it was nae for Sandy and Paddy, Where would old England be?" But many died

Shanty, negro origin. Singer is going down a river when a shark eats his boat. He travels from place to place looking for more boats, but the shark keeps showing up. Other verses have rhymes about girls.

"Sandy Grant and (his/her) cousin's son" and some others "had some fun" but it turned out badly. They stay up late drinking and singing, rouse the ire of the townfolk; in the end they are referred to the police

Sandy Maranoa, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #24814}

"The night is dark and stormy and the sky is clouded o'er"; the drivers pack up go from Queensland to New South Wales, "Happy drovers from the sandy Maranoa." The singer describes the life as they travel with the cattle

Sandy McFarlane courts Jeannie Niel. His parents "ca'd her a wilfu' young jaud." "In spite o' the auld couple's girnin' and snarlin', Jeannie's persisted and stuck tae her darlin'"

"Come all you river drivers... listen unto me... Of the hardships that we underwent... to drive on Sandy Stream." Setting out, the loggers have a fight with an innkeeper. Fire destroys the camp; the loggers, guided by the owner, struggle home through snow

Sandy is a sailor. He is paid Saturday and spends it on drink. Sunday at church "he takes the button off his shirt and he puts it on the plate." You'll not find him at his ship but in the bar drinking gin.

"Sandy had a nice little mill." "Sandy, quo he, Lend me your mill!" "Sandy lent the man his mill, And the man got a loan of Sandy's mill, And the mill that was lent was Sandy's mill, An the mill belonged to Sandy."

"He's coming doun the Donside ... Wi' a feather in his bonnet and a ribbond round's knee, And Sandy's the laddie that I'm ga'en wi." The singer has no use for "Willie at the cauld wallie" or Johnnie "at the back door" or any other boy waiting.

Sandy asks Jenny to marry him. She hesitates, pointing out examples of girls who have been betrayed and abandoned by men, perhaps for money. He says that he doesn't need riches; she agrees to marry him

Chorus: "Oh Babe, Sangaree (x4)."Verses: "If I live, Don't get killed, I'm going back, Jacksonville." "My husband's got the shovel, And I got the hoe, If that ain't farming, I don't know."

Sanny Coutts' little doggies licked his mouth. Sandy ran away with "the doggies at's back" barking.

Santa Barbara Earthquake, The: (3 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #4752}

"Way out in California, among the hills so tall, Stands the town of Santa Barbara." Around daybreak, "the hills began to sway." Women and children scream; the people pray. The conclusion: "It's just another warning, From God up in the sky."

Santa Fe Trail, The: (8 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5096}

The singer asks, "Say, pard, have you sighted a schooner Way out on the Santa Fe Trail?" In the company is "A little tow-headed gal on a pinto" whom he very much wishes to see. He describes her, though he will not give her name

Shanty. Characteristic lines: "Heave Away/Hooray, Santy Anno/Anna... All on the plains of Mexico." The body of the song devotes itself to the Mexican War and/or the California Gold Rush and the sailor's desire to get married and participate

Gaelic and English. "My name is Freedom." Our first advance was in France. "When the orange tree drops its head Then liberty's sure to flourish." We'll drive out those who oppose us.

Singer describes his girlfriend/wife in unflattering ways; she hits him, she's the "terror of New York"; in short, "My poor, silly Jane...She's my darling, she's my daisy, She's humpbacked and she's crazy... She's my freckled-faced consumptive Sara Jane"

Sarah's brother disapproves of her love for Samuel. Samuel decides to face her brother "upon the mountains high" and disarms him; for Sarah's sake Samuel spares her brother's life. The brother approves the marriage and gives the couple half his lands.

"A maid of twenty summers Went forth with joy and mirth... Amidst the din of earth." "A manly face and favor Attracted her free hears." She goes astray (pregnant?), but gains no aid from "men of art and science." She dies alone

(After an unrelated opening stanza), we find Sarah Jane and Samuel courting on the D & H canal. He, however "succumbed to hard times" and is buried. As for Sarah, within a week "She started keeping comp'ny with a junk dealer... in Rondout."

Sarah Mariah Cornell: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2044}

Reverend Avery seduces and then murders Sarah. He flees from justice, but is recaptured. Sarah's ghost (?) pleads for justice, warns girls not to be decieved by men, and asks for the listeners' prayers.

Sarah dreams William, her shepherd lover, is untrue. She wakes and meets him. He says it is his wedding day: "for wealth I changed my love." She reminds him of the ring he gave her when he proposed. She goes home and dies of a broken heart.

The singer falls in love with Sarah, a domestic who "lives in a mansion near Manchester Square." One night he discovers her cozying with a soldier. The master comes home, the soldier and Sarah lose their position, and Sarah loses her suitor.

"Sarasponda, sarasponda, Sarasponda, retsetset," Additional lyrics vary but often involve some sort of drum-like sounds, "boom, boom, boom!"

Singer loves Sarie, a fat co-worker on the farm. She has humorous and suggestive escapades. When they marry, the two will be one -- but there's enough of her to make two or three. Cho: "For she's proud and she's beautiful, she's fat and she's fair...."

Sash My Father Wore (I), The: (3 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #32245}

An Ulster Orangeman, tells his "British brethren" that his forefathers fought that he might wear the sash. "It is old but it is beautiful," was worn in 1690, his father wore it and he wears it July 12. If needed, we will fight again

The singer is "a loyal Orangeman, just come across the sea." He loves to sing and dance and -- on the Twelfth -- wear his father's sash. He is returning to Dromore but he hopes to come back again to be welcomed by his brethren.

"Saskatchewan, the land of snow, Where winds are always on the blow... And why we stay here no one knows. Saskatchewan, Saskatchewan, There's no place like Saskatchewan...." The singer tells of the hard life during Depression and drought

"Well, well, well, well, well, Now, God's got a kingdom (x3), But Satan's got a kingdom too." "I'm gonna pray till I tear that kingdom down, For I heard the voice of Jesus say, 'Satan, your kingdom must come down.'" "I'm gonna shout/sing till I tear..."

"Satan's a liah, and a conjuh too, if you don't watch out he'll conjuh you (x2), Ain't gonna worry my Lawd no mo' (x2)." "Goin' to heaven on an angel's wing; When I get there you'll hear me sing." "When I get to heaven I'm gonna sit yah down...."

"Fire, my Savior, fire, Satan's camp afire, Fire, believer, fire, Satan's camp afire."

"This night my soul has caught new fire, Halle-hallelujah. I feel that heav'n is drawing nigh'r... Shout, shout, we are gaining ground, Satan's kingdom is tumbling down." Evidence is offered that heaven will triumph

Call-and-answer, with the refrain, "Satisfied." The text is at the leader's discretion, e.g., "I'm going up north, SATISFIED, I'm going down south, SATISFIED, Mama cooked a cow, SATISFIED, Gonna give all the girls, SATISFIED, Their bellies full..."

"Saturday night and Sunday too, Pretty gals on my mind. Monday mornin' break of day, Old Massa's got me goin'." The slave works through the week while looking forward to spending the weekend with the girls. Also has sundry floating verses

Saturday Night at Sea: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2020}

"A sailor loves a gallant ship And messmates bold and free And ever welcomes with delight Saturday night at sea." The sailor recalls the time when, if the weather is good, the crew is able to relax and enjoy themselves

"(On) Saturday I lost my wife, On Sunday morning I found her, Up in the moon playing a tune With all the stars around her."

He asks her to remember their good times and go again with him "to yon saughen tree." She won't: her mother flytes [argues] against it and her father frowns. He proposes. She accepts. They marry and "jog on through life and think o' lang syne"

"The saucy Essex, she sailed out, To see what she could do. Her captain is from Yankee blood And so are all her crew." She sails to the Galapagos "and nabbed the slippery whalers." John Bull traps her in Valparaiso Bay. The song glosses over her failure

"Come all you pretty maidens gay And listen unto me, Will you wed with a saucy ploughboy Whose heart is light and free?" The boy describes his life and says it is merry, with dancing and frolic. The girl says she will "live and die" with him

Jack the sailor admits his poverty to a girl, who scorns him and refuses his offer of marriage. He pulls out a handful of money and offers it to her; she instantly changes her mind. But Jack turns the tables; he has no need for a poor country girl

"Oh, sauer kraut is hunky, boys, And sauer kraut is fine; I tinks I ought to know it 'Cause I eats it all der time." Aboard the Bella Young the crew fishes in summer, carries kelp in winter, and sells saurkraut by the barrel for Johnson or Zwicker.

"Now if you'll only listen to what ye spake about, I'm going for to tell ye how to make the sauerkraut. The kraut's not made of leather as everyone supposes." It's made from cabbage, with salt; the singer eats it all the time

The singer laments his time in prison. After getting drunk, he had to be forcibly taken into custody, and the bail was more than he could raise. Now he suffers prison food and confinement (as well as a preacher who keeps on "until my ears got sore")

"Je suis du bord de l'Ohio, J'ai le courage pour noblesse...." A voyageur Come-All-Ye. La Sauvagesse tells of herself, her love of the canoe, her parentage (a Frenchman and a witch) and so on.

"A mighty angry quarrel rose Among the Tariff's friends and foes, And South Ca'lina, in a fit, De Union vows to curse and quit. But save de Union... Old VIrginny never tire." In the quarrel between Calhoun and Clay, Virginia will support the Union

"I called to my father, my father hearkened to me, And the last word I heard him say Was, save me, Lord, save me." Repeat with mother, sister, brother, preacher, children, and anything else that springs to mind

"It was many years ago, in the time of frost and snow, My poor old father fell sick and died." The orphan is forced to watch as all (his/her) memories are sold. Finally he begs, "Save my father's picture from the sale!" and a pretty girl buys it for him

"Come all you Newfoundlanders and listen to my song About St. Anthony's visitors from 'away' and 'upalong.'" "They are out to ban the seal hunt." "We're the endangered species." Listeners are urged to vote for those who support the seal hunt

"All the girls are lonely, lonely everywhere." The girls' "best boy" has gone off; "He'll come back a military man." "Never mind, little girlie, never mind. "Save your kisses till the boys come home. She'll be proud in "just a while"

Singer describes his wasteful youth as a lumberjack and impoverished old age, advising listeners to "Save your money when you're young, you'll need it when you're old." He advises married men to stay home, away from grogshops, and single men to marry.

Saville the Brave Man: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #12468}

"Saville the brave man, while other men trembled, Defied the fierce wind and the wild raging sea." In spite of storm warnings he and MacKenzie take Alma to fish the banks. Watchers from Cape Spry thought Alma could not be saved but Saville brings her in

"Savior, like a Shepherd lead us, Much we need thy tender care." "Blessed Jesus, blessed Jesus, Thou hast bought us." "Keep thy flock; from sin defend us." "Thou has loved us, love us still."

Savourneen Deelish: (11 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #V938}

"Oh the moment was sad when my love and I parted." The singer is called to fight across the ocean. The singer fights but saves his money and booty. When peace is declared he returns home to find she had died.

An account of the death of Jesus. The opening verse states "He died on Calvary, to atone for you and me." The song goes on to mention the darkness on the cross, the earthquake, the pain, and his forgiveness

"Mel Clark gets the cream of the berries, Tom Melanson don't think it no fun, Little Joe Dyer, in the pit a-hollerin', Wonders why the damn' thing don't run." The singer describes the work done (perhaps not very efficiently) in the sawmill

Sawna Ye My Peggy?: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7156}

Have you seen Peggy? The singer saw a woman "wi' her petticoats above her knee." They say she's pregnant but "I'm sure it nae to me" He slept with her three nights but "aye my back was tull her" until daybreak. She asked him to turn to her about daybreak.

"Sawney Kail Cunnie, the Laird o' Kail Caup' eat his brose [oatmeal] and drank his cup and spoon. He asked for more "kail-brose" when that was done.

"Good people, give ear to the fatalest duel That Morpeth e'er saw since it was a town... Poor Sawney... Miscarried and married a Scottish tarpawlin." Sawney ruins his prospects with his marriage; his wife regularly abuses him

"How bright is the day when the Christian Receives the sweet message to come To the mansions of glory And be there forever at home." "The angels stand ready and waiting, The moment the spirit is gone...." "The saints that have gone us before us...."

Saxon Shilling, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #V29853}

The martial parades "dazzled village youths to-day Will crowd to take the Saxon Shilling." Fools sell themselves "to shame and death," "crush the just and brave." "Irish hearts! why should you bleed, To swell the tide of British glory"?

She put "saxpence lace" around her "goon sae gran" and went to the castle looking for a man. She puts on an apron ....

"Say when, will we ever meet again (x3), Say when, my friend, say when." "Say why, do we have to say goodbye? (x3). Say why, my friend, say why." "Say where, and I’ll meet you right there (x3), Say where, my friend, say where"

Song starts out with two verses of "Hush, Little Baby," but veers off: "All I've got is you in mind/Wouldn't do nothing but starch and iron"; "Starch and iron will be your trade/And I can get drunk and lay in the shade" Chorus: "Say, darling, say"

Saying Nothing at All: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #13009}

Pat would apparently go to Scotland to make his fortune. Moral for those who would do the same: "If you don't find it there you may just lose the bake [Greig/Duncan8: biscuit] And to Ireland return saying nothing at all"

"Countrymen of England who live at home at ease, And little think what dangers are incident of the seas, GIve ear unto a sailor...." who tells of the danger of the job and how they turn to God. He also describes their far travels

Says the Old Man to the Oak Tree: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #20161}

"Says t'auld man t' the (old/oak) tree, Young and lusty was I when I kenn'd thee; I was young and lusty, I was fair and clear, Young and lusty was I mony a lang year, But sair fail'd am I, sair fail'd now, Sair fail'd am I sen I kenn'd thou."

"As I walked down the street the other day, A lady came up to me and she did say, 'Why aren't you in khaki or in Air Force blue?" He explains that he is not a civilian but an SBA, which he explains as "A Sailor with a Broken 'Art"

"I've travelled o'er mountains and hills and through valleys, Where the worker is crushed by the 'Lord of the soil,'" and everywhere known want -- because of the Scab. People suffer at the hands of the wealthy, because of scabs. The singer wants revenge

"Once a little maiden climbed an old man's knee, And asked... Why are you lonely, why are you sad, Why do the miners call you a scab?" The old man recalls sympathizing with the Union, but then returning to his job; he wishes he hadn't left the Union

"It's great to be a miner bold And work upon the hill Protected by a rifle cold Held by a scissor bill... Because you haven't got the guts To be a man and strike." The singer warns the scab of what will happen later; he'd better "beat it down the pike"

Three men and a girl from Cushendall are in Colonel Caufield's Maid of Youghal in a storm. The boat splits on Scady Rock near the Bridge of Toome over the River Bann. All are drowned. People mourn.

"I met my preacher the other day, I gave him my right hand, And just as soon as my back was turned, He scandalized my name. Do you call that religion (x3)...." The singer continues with other examples of those who defame him

A Scarborough girl learns that her sailor love has been lost at sea. She asks the waters to bring her love ashore. She finds the body, kisses it, and dies. The two are buried in "Robin Hood's Churchyard."

Scarborough Settler's Lament: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4521}

"Away wi' Canada's muddy creeks And Canada's fields of pine. Your land of wheat is a goodly land, but ah! it isna mine!" The Scottish settler thinks back with sadness to the home he left behind -- but awakes in Canada, "three thousand miles 'frae hame.'"

"I peeked in to say goodnight," and the singer hears his daughter praying to get scarlet ribbons. He tries all night to find one and is unable; the town is closed. He returns sorrowful, to find that, somehow, he bed is festooned with ribbons

The singer joins "The Scavengers' Brigade" sweeping Belfast streets. They parade like soldiers with brooms on their shoulders. His family and sweetheart think he's in some army brigade and expect promotion and glory. He recommends it as an occupation

Yiddish: The mother urges her little child to sleep. She tells the child that someday it will understand why she weeps. Father has gone to America, seeking to earn the money to let them all emigrate. Till then, baby can only sleep and mother can only wait

"Schnooglin'" is the process of keeping warm by necking, the singer asserts, adding the warning not to let a boy an inch above your knee.

This is a memorial to "William's true and gallant knight -- Schomberg, the bold and brave!" He'd had a "bright career ... But at the Boyne, for ever famed, He fell beside the wave"

"'Tis sweet to go back in memory To days of youth so dear to me When we could find a secluded spot And gather the blue forget-me-not." The singer recalls when "life was smooth as a poet's rhyme." He fondly remembers the old schoolhouse and childhood

"Still sits the schoolhouse by the road Close by the old oak tree, Where many a boy has took a dose Of grim old hickory tea." The singer describes the strict methods of the old school, and laments the laziness of the students

"School has begun, so come everyone, And come with smiling faces." The teachers are kind. Boys are advised to learn so that no one thinks them dunces; girls are advised to learn because worth and beauty are not enough

"Fond memory paints the scenes of other years"; the singer still remembers. They children swung on a swing, they gathered berries. "The school house that stands Upon the hill I never can forget."

"McClellan was a cowboy of the wild and wooly west." He courts and seduces a "school ma'am." The enter into an unhappy marriage. "If John Henry gets to raring up, he will flog him with his hat Before he goes courting another school ma'am on the flat."

Jump-rope rhyme. "School starts at what time? I don't know. It may be at one o'clock, two o'clock...."

"School's out, school's out, Teacher, let the fools out, One went east, one went west, One went up the teacher's dress."

Schooner Annie, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #3227}

The cargo schooner Annie is caught in a November gale. The crew abandons her in a dory. The storm continues for days. McCarthy is washed overboard, but saved. The crew is rescued by the Monarch, under Captain Blackmore, and brought to land.

The singer warns his comrades "not to sail in those mean packets where they put no food on board." He describes a trip that began with rotten food and no heat and ended with the steward jumping ship to get married

A sailor speaks of his vessel's travels, all the while advising the girls about the pleasures and advantages of going out with sailors

"The vessel 'Schooner Helson' from Newport sailed away Arriving safe at Georgetown Without mishap that day." A storm on the way home wrecks the schooner. All three of the crew drown and only one body is found, "washed up by the waves"

"Come, shipmates, listen to my story, I'll sing you one both sad and true, How dark one night... Sank John Brown and his crew." The ship sets out in November, and is sunk. The crewmen who died are described in rather conventional terms

Schooner John Bentely, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #19892}

Derived from "The Dreadnaught," but of about a bad boat. The singer gets drunk, then joins the Bentely on the Great Lakes. The sound of the pumps makes him sick. The bedclothes are "junk." The ship is slow. The food is bad. Finally they reach Gravelly Bay

Schooner Kandahar, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #4085}

The Kandahar's trip starts out happily, but then the vessel springs a small leak and runs into a smallpox epidemic. Despite a threat of quarantine, the ship reaches the Indies, then has a quiet trip back to Nova Scotia

Marion Rogers sails for the North from St John's and is lost near Trinity in a snow storm. The crew of seven is lost in "the most awful shipwreck, the worst one of the year"

Schooner Oriole, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #19870}

"Attention give both young and old... While I relate the hardships and the dangers of the sea, I'll tell you of the Illinois and of her reckless crew, How she sank the schooner Oriole...." The ships collide, and twelve on the Oriole die; only one survives

Schooner Thomas Hume, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #19885}

"The schooner Hume is staunch and strong, She's weathered many a blow... She's bound for Buffalo." She sails on dangerous Lake Michigan. The captain takes her out on the lake. A great storm arises. Ship and crew are lost without trace

German round. "D'r Schwiezemann hot Heisen a, (x2), Mit lauder ledene Benden dra (x2)." "The Swiss wears pants (x2), WIth all the strings of leather." "D'r Schwiezemann hot Heisen a, Mit lauder...." "The Swiss wears trouers, WIth all...."

"You may ramble 'round the country anywhere you will, You'll always run across that same old Scissor Bill." "He looks just like a human," but "He is the missing link that Darwin tried to trace." He hates foreigners and won't join the union

Gaelic. Local families gather at School of Barr d'Inse for an evening of singing and dancing. At the height of the party a local priest arrives and stops the dancing.

Scolding Wife (I), The: (10 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2132}

"I married me a scolding wife Some forty years ago And ever since I've led a life Of misery and woe." The abused husband details the various ways his wife chastises, injures, and neglects him

"Oh, you've often heard it asked Why a woman talks so fast Oh, she runs around with every bit of news." The singer claims "a woman's tongue will never take a rest"; she talks while he works. He advises marrying a wife who is "blind, deaf, and dumb."

Scolding Wife (IV): (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5556}

"Come all ye sprightly sporting youths, wherever you may be, You'll never know your misery till married that you'll be." The singer describes all the ways in which his wife makes his life miserable, and hopes she dies before she kills him

Scolding Wife (V), The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2576}

A weaver offers his loving but scolding wife to a captain. He tricks her onto the ship. The captain pays him fifty pounds. He bids her farewell on her trip to Virginia although she begs to be taken back "and I never will offend you"

"Was ne'er in Scotlan' heard or seen Sic dancin an' deray As at Pattie's weddin' on the green Tae bonnie Mary Gray." The remaining seventeen verses string together people and things that are the names of songs: Maggie Lauder, Tullochgorum, ....

A humorous song made up of titles and lines of other songs. So, "steer me back to Erin's Isle For I'm a Scotchman born," "'Oh Minnie wilt thou gang wi me?' Cries Jock o Hazeldean,"" and "get up, auld wife and bar the door For noo it's half past ten."

Scotland's Burning: (10 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3752}

"Scotland's burning, Scotland's burning, Look out, look out, Fire, fire, fire, fire, Pour on water, pour on water."

The singer says when he dies "I'll hae nane o' yer mournin' an' weepin'." "Convene me a score o' Scots pipers." When David was young he learned to play [bagpipe] while herding sheep. When Saul was possessed David sent the spirit to hell with his drone.

Scots Soldiers True: (2 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #5825}

"Scots soldiers true, with bonnets blue ... made the French to run" at Waterloo. Bonaparte had been "haunted" by the Scots Greys in Spain and at Waterloo. Now Napoleon is dead and "Louise-Philippe and Britain's Queen Oft have an interview"

"Scots wha hae wi' Wallace bled, Scots, wham Bruce has aften led, Welcome to your gory bed Or to victory!" As the English army of Edward approaches, the Scots are encouraged to "do or dee" to retain their freedom

"Ol' 'ister McClaggle, Sa gala gala gu rum, Sa valla liga dinctum, Tharang, thang a non e o, Tha rankg, thang a non e o."

"Our Father in Heaven above us, We ask Thee for guidance In our daily task. May virtue and manhood Stand strongly amongst us.... The Scout Oath, the Scout Law, Our Motto, our Good Turn, May we live it and teach it, Great Spirit of Scouting, we pray."

Scow Jean La Plante, De: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #19888}

"I'll tol' of wan boat, de scow Jean La Plante, She's sail by Batteece, a Frenchman so quaint...." Her crew is captain, mate, cook, and dog. They race the Flying Cloud, and win when the latter snags a fishing line. A barrel of powder explodes the boat

"A scow kom sailin' down Lac Sainte Claire, Sheengle an' cordwood she's deck load ware." In a storm, the cordwood floats away. The captain worries about losing profit and his boat. He gives impossible orders to control the boat and save the cargo

Scow Nettie Fly, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #19888}

"Oh, sailor, come gather and list to my ditty, To picture aright this hero I'll try. He seldom was sober... He's Captain Poulan of the scow Nellie Fly." In a storm, he drinks. He gives orders to the mate; both take a drink. When they arrive, he drinks

Scow on the Cowden Shore, The: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4529}

The singer (expressly identified as Larry Gorman) sings of "the scow on the Cowden shore." He describes the international crew of loggers, including several of the more peculiar characters, and speaks of the quest for liquor

Scranky Black Farmer, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2872}

"At the top o' the Garioch, in the lands o' Leith-hall, A cranky black farmer in Earlsfield did dwall; Wi' him I engaged a servant to be...." The singer describes the weary work and the bad company; when his time is up, he intends to return to the seaside

Scratch o' a Cat, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #12991}

"The reason o' that was the scratch o' a cat, And I canna but lauch when I tell you"

"Screw this cotton (heh!), Screw this cotton (heh!), Screw this cotton (heh!), Screw it tight." "Screw this totton... With all your might." "Here we come... do it right." "Don't get tired... Time ain't long." "Keep on working... Sing this song."

"Smokin' my pipe on the mountings, sniffin' the mornin' cool... With seventy gunners be'ind me, an' never a beggar forgets." "You can go where you please, you can skid up the trees, But you don't get away from the guns." The life of mountain artillerymen

"Before I work for a dollar a day. Down below, wey-hey, hey-hey. Grease my screws and put 'em away, Down below, wey-hey, hey-hey"

"Srubber Murphy was the captain of a steamer called Mohawk, And Scurbber is the scrubber about whom all sailors talk." In 1905 Murphy took command and set the sailors cleaning. The ship has a collision, but all Murphy cares about is his dog and scrubbing

"I went ashore last night, my pockets did jingle jang," where he drinks scrumpy wine until the pub closes -- and gets sick and wets his bed. It isn't the singer's first time getting in trouble; his superiors punish him vigorously

Sea Apprentice, The: (11 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1671}

"When I first went a sea-apprentice bound, I sailed the salt seas all round and round." The singer falls in love with Anne. The captain calls him foolish; she will take another while he is at sea. But he offers her tokens, and she promises to wait

The captain leaves his new bride to be seduced by a squire. The night the captain returns, all the women of the house give birth. The wife explains her state (the male servants had impregnated the maids); her captain forgives her (!) "for the joke's sake"

A man stows a crab (lobster) in the chamber pot while his wife is asleep. She gets up to relieve herself; the crab grabs her "by the flue." He seeks to free her; the crab grabs his nose. Caught in this predicament, they send for a doctor to free them

Sea Gulls and Crickets: (5 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #10833}

Famine threatens Mormon pioneers in the winter of 1849; spring brings new shoots, but crickets sweep down "like fog on a British coast." The pioneers battle them in vain, but flocks of seagulls arrive and devour the crickets; the harvest is saved

"Good people do but lend an ear And a sad story you shall hear." The seamen are what guard England from France. But their families starve due to lack of pay. The seamen demand what they are owed. They are condemned to death

"A ship is wood and metal, Is metal, rigging and sail; She's but an iron kettle, When hearts aboard of her fail. To my way, aye, and yea, aye, We're bound away for many a day; A Sea Scout is a good Scout, So give us our sea-way." People are her heart

The singer has seen the sea "as blue as air," "green as grass," "black as pitch," and "white as snow" but "never feared its raving yet From Yarmouth to the Bass" or "heaving yet Let the wind blow high or low"

Sea, The: (13 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2019 and 31320}

"The sea, the sea, the open sea, The blue, the fresh, the ever-free, Without a mark, without a bound..." "I love, oh how I love to ride On the fierce foaming bursting tide...." The old seaman looks back on a tumultuous but happy life

"Seaboard Air Line Never on time; At half past nine Your headlight shines; In all my dreams Your whistle screams; You are the idol of my heart, Seaboard Air Line."

"This is a fine wharf, It stands on a fine spot. God bless the owners, And all they have got. It bears a fine prospect, As it stands in from the sea, The steamers will come in WIth their helms to the lee."

"The sealer lad from his home is gone, On board his ship you'll find him." The singer recalls the good old days of sealing, noting that now a load of seals "scarce pays Alfred's duty." He hopes the rich man at home will not longer profit

"I must go up to the ice again, To the fields of purest white." The singer, though his hair has turned white, still hears the call of the seal, and will return to the work even though the pay is small, the cold terrible, and the comforts few

Sealer's Love Letter, A: (1 ref. 2K Notes) {Roud #V44741}

"Dear Miss: -- I know I can't mail this; Forgive me, it's all I can do, Out here at the ice-fields in Winter... For it's Easter good wishes I'm sending." He recalls leaving her to work as a sealer, compares their lives, and sends good wishes

Sealer's Reply to His Wife, A: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #V44689}

"Now that March month has come, And spring's in the air, The old seals are swimming Up North to their lair... So Maggie my darling I must leave you alone." The old sealer explains to his wife the lure of the seal hunt, and promises to stay home someday

"The Block House Flag is up today to welcome home the stranger." The sealing fleet is returning. The ships are named, their feats recounted [how they "kill their foe"," i.e. the seals], and they go home to parties and dancing

Sealer's Song (II), The: (3 refs. 20K Notes) {Roud #7307}

"The Terra Nova, Captain Kean, With two hundred and three men, Went through the gap this morning To try their luck again." A total of 20 ships and captains set out for the ice. The singer hopes they all return safely and with large loads of seals

"Attention, all ye fishermen, and read this ballad down, And hear about the sealer's strike the other day in town." The sealers, led by "brave Colloway," unite and present their demands. A. B. Morine secures their demands

Sealers of Newfoundland, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #V44687}

"Ho! We be the Sealers of Newfoundland! We clear from a snowy shore, Out into the gale with our steam and sail...." The singer describes life on a sealing voyage, and tells how tough the sealers are -- and how they rejoice to return home

The poet recalls the hardships faced by the sealers of 1862, then turns to the modern hunt, as SPCA planes fly overhead. He warns against actual interference with the hunt, and declares seal hunting both good commerce and a good source of food

The sealers get their money at the wharf, more at the store, and "a couple of gallons" on Saturday evening. After the dance Jack Burke's girl was with Jim McGee. When their fight was over "they found the lady she'd a-gone."

Sealers' Song (III), The: (4 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #24302}

"It caused a great sensation ... To see those little puppy seals in Codroy River Bight." Those who go after them are not experienced sealers and have all kinds of disasters. Besides, it was out of season: "now the puppies must be spared"

The song chronicles the life of sealers traveling from Twillingate to St. John's then north to the ice fields for seals. Miscellaneous mishaps and achievements are told during the song and many names and factual information mentioned.

Sealing Fifty Years Ago: (2 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #V44643}

"'Four hundred sail of shipping fine Could then be seen at anchor Awaiting time to fall in line And for a sou'west spanker." Fifty years ago, they caught 600,000 seals a year; now, they catch half as much "with hearts not half so gay."

"What means this hurrying to and fro -- This busy stirring scene? "This scene laid now before you Is not of war or strife But 'tis a fight of honest men... They go to catch the northern seal...." The sealers are described; the singer wishes them well

"All ye who love old Newfoundland And her Sons who plow the sea... I will sing to you A song about the Greenland And her hardy sailing crew." The singer praises Captain Henry Dawe, describes the efficient steamer, and tells of a good seal hunt

The singer hears a girl wailing for her love, gone these seven years at sea. He offers a token from her love, saying he is dead and she should marry whoever carries it. She says she will mourn forever. The stranger reveals himself as her missing love

"Farewell, my dearest dear, now I must leave thee; Thy sight I must forbear although it grieves me." "My fortune I will try upon the ocean, and fight most gallantly to gain promotion." "My dear, do not mourn." She should be patient until they meet again

Seaman of Plymouth, The: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2811}

A sailor must go to sea before he can wed Susan. When she refuses to marry a rich man, her parents send her to Holland. The sailor, now rich, accidentally meets her; they return home; she disguises herself from her parents and they are wed

Seaman's Compass, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #V32237}

"As lately I travelled towards Gravesend, I heard a fair damosel a seaman commend." She praises seamen, saying that she will not marry anyone not a seaman. She describes how other trades are dependent on the work of sailors

"My seafaring comrades, attend to my lay, For death, that grim reaper, has taken away The fair Emmett Gallagher...." The Clifton leaves shore and encounters a storm. It tears open the Clifton. The singer tells of the sadness of relatives left behind

"We are a band of seamen, A jolly, jolly crew, As ever sailed the ocean Or wore the jackets blue." "We are a band of seamen With a password and a sign (sign?)." Their banner shows shamrock, rose, and thistle. The singer offers a toast to sailors and girls

"Why does the poets abuse us, we that are seamen's poor wives?" The singer lists all the charges made against them, and points out how difficult are their lives when their husbands are at sea. She declares that they have no reason to be ashamed

The first verse describes an unsuccessful fox hunt: "for royalty is banished" Sean meets beautiful Anna who invites him to "take compassion" He takes off his beaver hat and, answering her invitation, introduces himself as "a Galway man by extraction"

Gaelic. "A comic song in which the poet recounts his amorous successes from early youth, all supposedly due to his attractive leather britches! He finally wins the heart of a wealthy young heiress and weds her."

"We often heard our fathers tell How in the Fenian times The noblest of Tipperary's sons Imprisoned spent their lives." The police pursue Treacy; he kills two before being slain himself. The song reports, "He died for Ireland free."

Search and Rescue, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #12476}

On August 14, 1955, Daniel Morris and his wife are cod fishing off Souris. The engine dies. They anchor off Cape Spry's rocks in a heavy wind. They are finally rescued by two Mounties, Leonard MacDonald, and his big engine boat.

Search of the Thomas J, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #25300}

The trading boat Thomas J. returns from a supposed trip to Channel and is met by a revenue boat and searched for contraband. The captain says "it's pork and beef... spuds" "The three worst government men that's on the western shore" find nothing.

Searching for Lambs: (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #576}

A young man meets a girl and asks her where she is going. She is going to feed her father's "tender lambs." He begs her to stay with him. They court for long. (He hopes that) they marry.

"Springtime in the valley, blossoms on the vine," it is time to plant, in "Oratia my valley, that's where I belong." Summer brings fruit. Autumn brings harvest, winter brings rain and houses warmed by fire. "Seasons in the valley, time goes drifting by"

The singer cannot sleep because "this young damsel she runs in my mind." Instead of counting sheep he reviews the seasons' work: when sap runs they bark and saw wood; Then, in turn, comes haymaking, harvest, fall hedging and ditching, etc. until spring

"Cheer lads, cheer! the enemy is quaking ... our foes we did defeat, ... Sebastopol is taken." Pellisier and Simpson lead the French and English "their cannons loud did rattle ... and the flags of France and England waved on Sebastopol."

"The window, the window The second story window With a heave and a ho, And a mighty throw They threw it out the window."

Call and response. Verses are a single line, repeated. Responses alternate: "Ah-a-a" and "I've been on the secret prayer." Verse lines include "I've died once to die no more," "I've been down and viewed the cross," "I've been down to Jacob's well"

"Oh, captain, captain, I'm goin' away to leave you (x3), By next payday, oh captain, next payday." The singer talks of work on the section gang, complains about not being paid, and declares that he will leave

"Owd Dickie Thompson 'e 'ad a grey mare, 'E took 'er away to Sedgfield Fair" but could not get any money for her. On the way home, she runs into a tree. They have other problems with the mare and his hens; trying to to shoot the birds, he kills the mare

"See a pin and pick it up, All the day you'll have good luck, See a pin and let it lay, Bad luck you'll have all the day."

"See four and twenty elders on their knees (x2), And we'll all rise together and view the rising sun, O Lord have mercy if you please." "They are bowing round the altar...." "See Gideon's army bowing...." "See Daniel 'mong the lions...."

The leader sings a line such as "Let me tell you the news." "God said to Noah." "Tell him to build an ark." "You know I gonna destroy the land." The congregation sings "See God ark" Leader: "Tell me how long." Congregation: "See God ark a'moving."

"See how Anansi tie Tiger (3x), Tie him like a hog, Tiger"

"A fig for your set of Lances, A fig for teh gay Quadrille." "You should see my coattails flying As I carry my partner around." The singer always dances when the music starts, "For the rare old, jolly old polka Is the merriest thing I know."

"See me here my (leader/Deacon/Preacher), See me here. All around the body, See me here"

See Saw Sacradown: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #20213}

"See-saw, sacradown, Which is the way to London/Boston town? One foot up and the other foot down, That is the way to London town."

See That My Grave Is Kept Clean: (10 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7382}

Singer, dying, asks that his grave be kept clean, that his grave be dug with a silver spade, and that he be lowered with a golden chain.

"Jesus going through the land and on his way got thirsty; He stopped at the well in Canaan's land The town was called S(y)myrna." The story of Jesus and the Woman of Samaria, with chorus, "Oh, there's no one can love you like Jesus."

See-saw, Jack a Daw: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #20216}

"See-saw, Jack a daw, Whit is a craw Tae dae wi her? She hasna a stockin Tae pit on her, An the craw hasna ane For tae gie her"

"See, saw, Margery Daw, Little Jackey shall have a new master; Little Jacky shall have but a penny a day, Because he can't work any faster." Additional verses may have sexual or other implications.

"See-saw, Margery Daw, Sold her bed and lay upon straw; Was not she a dirty slut, To sell her bed and lie in the dirt?" Or ""...and lay upon straw. Sold her bed and lay upon hay, Piskey came and carried her away."

"See, saw, Margery Daw, The old hen flew over the malt house, She counted her chickens one by one, Still she missed the little white one, And this is it, this is it, this is it."

See, See, My Playmate: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #16805}

"See, see, my playmate Come out and play with me Under the apple tree." Bring your dollies, slide down the drainpipe or my rainbow, into the cellar door. We'll be friends forever more.

The singer "sowed the seeds of love to bloom all in the spring." She asks the gardener to choose flowers for her; she does not like his offers, but chooses the rose. This in turn brings her to the willow tree

Seeing Nellie Home: (18 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #5492}

"In the sky the bright stars glittered; On the bank the pale moon shone. It was from Aunt Dinah's quilting party I was seeing Nellie home." The singer professes his love for Nellie on the way. Evidently they get married, because they are now old together

"When I left the states for gold, Everything I had I sold." The singer encounters various troubles (and Mormons) on the way west, and warns, "Leave, you miners leave... Take my advice, kill off your lice...." (To the tune of "De Boatman Dance")

Seek and Ye Shall Find: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #15286}

Chorus: "Seek and ye shall find, Knock and the door shall be opened, Ask and it shall be given, And the love comes trickling down." Verse: "My brother (my sister, Elder, Deacon, Preacher, ...) the Lord has been here, And the love comes trickling down"

The singer loves a colleen who's "happy in old Donegal." "Her figure is proper and tall,' her voice is "sweeter by far than the songbird." Singer says "I know she's an angel, And I'm not going to tell you her name." Soon they will marry.

Forebitter shanty. German. "Ein richtiger Seemanschwingt's GLas fein behend'." A "real sailor" "loves both the sea and the wine." Whatever his task at sea, he knows he'll get his grog soon. Once in port, he can drink even more freely

"The old year is gone, and a new one begun, I'll set by the fire by my wife and my son. While others are playing destruction and war, I'll set by the fire and smoke my segar." The poet enjoys life with his cigar, and will take another when it is done.

"Greeting to thee, Sego Lily, Blossom of the sagebrush desert, Lend us thy blessing dear." The singer asks its story: Did God send it to Utah as a pioneer? Will it be in heaven if the singer goes there?

The singer describes the fine clothing she would place on Jimmy Owen. She says how the girls would fight over him. She wishes he had been in battle with O'Donnell. She looks back on the days of a united Ireland, and thinks that Jimmy would have been king

"One night along the river at St. Germainde Pre I first met my beloved at a small side walk cafe." The singer wonders when he will ever see her again by the Seine. They parted by the Eiffel Tower, and he will remember for years

"Come all you sons of freedom, a chorus join with me, I'll sing a song of heroes and glorious liberty." Transportees who got in trouble are put on the Cyprus to be sent to a new prison. The prisoners rebel and gain their freedom

"Aunt Jane had a dance and she had a crowd, She sold more whisky than the law allows. She's sellin' that stuff...." The song details her life selling it, and how Uncle Jim found himself in prison for drunkenness, and how Sister Lil sells it too

Jump-rope rhyme. "Send a letter, send a letter, Be content in the weather."

"Send for the ladies, come to the ball, Don't come tonight, needn't come at all." Send for the ladies... Hiked up her left leg and showed it to us all." "Send for the ladies... Hiked up her shimmy tail and show it to us all."

"I'm thinking, Mrs. Atkins, now that Tommy's gone away You will send him a letter from home." "Send him a cheerful letter, Say that it’s all OK. Tell him you’ve ne’er felt better, Though it’s all the other way." No matter how bad the news, say good things

"Send him on down, Send him on down, Lord let the Holy Ghost come on down, We can't pray right until you send him on down"

Send Out the Army and the Navy: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #10546}

"Send out the Army and the Navy, Send out the rank and file, Send out the brave Territorials, They'll face danger with a smile (I don't think). Send out my mother, Send out my sister and my brother, But for Gawd's sake don't send me."

"Send out the Chryssy, The Moy, Ouse, and Issy, But for God's sake don't send me!" Reported to be a song about the Mediterranean Fleet.

Gaelic. On the first anniversary of her capture by fairies a woman is washing by a river and hushing a baby not hers. She asks a passer-by to tell her husband how to rescue her, if not the next day then never "for they'll make me Fairy Queen for ever"

Macaronic. A mother sings her baby to sleep "free from sorrow... Bright thou'll open thine eyes tomorrow... Through the branchy trees the breeze is sweeping... And my baby dear is sweetly sleeping." "[May] I be never a sonless mother."

Gaelic. "[The singer] sent his daughter to fetch the calves, but she fell into bad company... [apparently] had their way with her, and the father is now seeking redress"

Gaelic. "The poet laments a lost love and the fact that his poetry is no longer respected. He would prefer food and drink rather than vain composing such as he attempts"

"O (pray/preach/sing/shout/moan) right on, Just (pray/preach/sing/shout/moan) right on, I don't need this world any more Because when I cross that separating line I'm going to leave this world behind."

Sequel to Come Under My Plaidie: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #7200}

Johnnie decides he needs someone to care for him. Merrin slights him but Maclaren accepts and marries him. They live happily. Merrin marries an old rich man and mourns, "For the sake o' his treasure, I hae married a miser ... gweed for naething ava"

Halyard shanty. "In Callyo there lives a girl named Serafina" who works very hard drinking, smoking, and robbing sailors of their money and clothes.

"If you want your praties sprayed, well you can call on Sergeant Neill. Oh he's the bot that'll do it well, and he'll not destroy your kale." Many of Neill's satisfied customers are named.

"Oh, I wish I were about fourteen stone And only six foot tall. I'd take the train back north, Just to beat up Sergeant Small."

Singer boasts of his travels; he's courted all over America, England, France and Spain. The colonel's wife, hearing of his prowess, wishes to see "the naked truth", so he pulls out his "lusty pin;" she says, "You shall be my handy man."

"The sergeant, the sergeant he is the worst of all; He gets us up in the morning before the early call, With squads right, and squads left, and left front into line; Then the slimy son of a gun, he gives us double time."

Sergeant's Lamentation, The: (1 ref. 2K Notes) {Roud #3070}

The Sergeant of Grouse Hall answers the hackler's song. He rejects its accusations but acknowledges that the song is "the source of all my grief and shame." "This curst Grouse Hall caused my downfall" He would know the song writer before he leaves.

Canadian French: The young boy runs off to America to fight the hated British. He joins the army and is made a sergeant, but is wounded and returns home. His father, who warned him against leaving, says "I told you so!"

"My father kept a servant man." A gril loves him. Her father determines to send him to sea. She says she will be true even if she must go betting. She "saw his colours come and go." He returns, having risen from apprentice to butler, and marries her.

Singer tells how back in 1920, "The mills ran good and everyone had plenty;" in 1925, mountain people came to work there. Now it's 1930, and more people are unemployed than working. Singer tells fellow mountaineers to go back home and live as they used to

Every second and fourth line in verse and chorus is "I am bound to die in the army." Chorus: "I am bound to live in the service of my Lord (x2).""My Savior smiles and bids me come." "Sweet angels beckon me away"

Middle English. "Al is day ic han sou t." The maid has sought this day "for ioy e at yit ys holyday"; she sets out even though her work is undone. She and Jack meet. Soon "my wombe began to swelle"; she dares not tell her mistress

"'Set down, servant.' I can't set down... my soul's so happy that I can't set down." The servant describes the various things God promises: A long white robe, a starry crown, a golden waistband, etc. An angel is instructed to supply all these

"Settin' down, settin' down, By the side of the lamb, the lamb. I'm gwine tell my Lawd, I'm gwine tell my lawd, Ay, mighty, I never heard nobody pray. Way down yonder, I never heard nobody pray, Nobody pray, I never heard nobody pray."

"As I went out by the light of the moon... Thar I spies a fat raccoon A-settin' on a rail." The singer pulls the coon off a rail and fights with it. In at least one version, the singer is a slave who helps his master on toward death

"I'm settin' side that road with a ball and chain on my leg (x2), If I had my way I'd catch-a that westbound train." "That judge gave me six months because I didn't want to work (x3)."

"Now all intent to emigrate, Come listen to the doleful fate...." The singer sailed for Australia, was wrecked, was spared by cannibals as too thin, and had his sheep die of rot. Coming home, he will sell matches before returning to Australia

The cotton farmer complains about dreadful prices; with "Seven cent cotton and forty cent meat, How in the world can a poor man eat?" With everything he has wearing out, replacements are too expensive. (He sees improvements under Roosevelt)

"I do not have a mansion, and I haven't any land, Not even a paper dollar to crinkle in my hand, But I can show you morning on a thousand hills...." The singer offers beauty, love, and "seven daffodils"

"Come all ye bold adventurers And listen to my song About the Seven Devil mines...." Don't complain about the snakes, or the hard work, or the hard rock that you have to blast, or the "money kings" who control things. They might still get rich;drink up

"Come all ye bold adventurers And listen to my song, About the Seven Devils mines -- I will not keep you long." The singer warns to keep snakebite on hand, urges listeners to work hard in the mine, and warns of those who grow rich and forget the past

The singer warns of what happened to seven Irishmen who sailed to America. They land in New York. They are tricked into the Army. They fight the soldiers who would train them. A "gentleman from Ohio" comes to their aid

Seven Joys of Mary, The: (23 refs. 11K Notes) {Roud #278}

The carol relates the (five, seven, nine) joys that Mary had: bearing Jesus, raising him, seeing his success and miracles, observing his crucifixion and resurrection, etc.

Seven old ladies, to the tune of "Oh, Dear, What Can the Matter Be," encounter various difficulties in the lavatory, possibly while trying to have tea with the Vicar

"There’s no dew left on the daisies and clover, There’s no rain left in heaven; I’ve said my 'seven times' over and over, Seven times one are seven. I am old, I am old, I can write a letter...." The writer proceeds through life: seven times two, etc.

The singer, (Thomas), meets seven virgins, including the Virgin Mary. They are seeking Jesus, who is being crucified. Mary asks Jesus why he must suffer so; Jesus tells her it is for the sake of humanity. He dies. The singer commends God's charity

Seven Years in Dublin: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #2781}

"My parents reared me tenderly I being their only heir, I lived with my grandmother, Of me she took great care, Seven years in Dublin I was taught in the academy, My learning might have served a knight Or a lord of high degree"

Seven Years O'er Young: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #380}

"'Twas in between twa bonnie woods and valleys Where I and my love aye met so rare" that the man asks the singer if she will wed. She says she is "seven years o'er young to wed." But he finally lures her into his arms, then says he has another love

Seventeen Come Sunday [Laws O17]: (52 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #277}

The singer meets a pretty young girl. He gets acquainted by asking questions: "What are you doing?" "Where do you live?" "How old are you?" "May I visit you tonight?" She agrees to the meeting; they have their fun despite her mother's opposition

Sewing Machine, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #10406}

A soldier visits "the Heidelberg whore." He has sex with her, that is, he sews on her "sewing machine," and ends up cursing her for giving him "the clap and the blue-balls too."

A sophisticated exposition of the supposed mating habits of the "Clipper Ship of the Desert" -- added comments about the homosexual proclivities of naval personnel, hedgehogs, Harvard, Yale, Oxford, and Cambridge.

Scots Gaelic. A woman weaves a tangle of gold to bind another by the water. The bound woman awakes to find herself in danger of drowning. She begs for pity, but finds none, for her or her babes; the other will sleep with her man that night

Sh-Ta-Ra-Dah-Dey (Snagging the Klacking): (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6515 and 8861}

"Sh-ta-ra-dah-dey, sh-ta-dey, Times is mighty hard. A dollar a day is all they pay For work on the boulevard." Alternately, "Hip-fa-lad-di-dee/Graybacks/Are mighty thick/A dollar a day/Is all they pay/For snaggin'/The Klacking Creek."

"Too proud to beg, too honest to steal, I know what it is to be wanting a meal, My tatters and rags I try to conceal, I'm one of the shabby genteel." The singer has seen better days and warns that bad fortune "may reduce one of you in the very same way"

"Raise up, boys, raise up -- Breakfas' on de table an a coffee's gittin' col'." Bits and pieces of life in a levee camp: Poor food, not enough sleep, hard work, hard-driving White bosses. Much of the piece is recited rather than sung

Fragment: "Bait a hook to catch a shad/The first thing he bit was my old Dad/Pulled her away with all my might/Trying for to get the old man out/Fishpole broke and I got mad/Down to the bottom went old Dad"

Shadow of the Pines: (21 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4289}

The singer recalls walking with his love in the shadow of the pines. But "some hasty words were spoken...." and she departed in anger. Now he awakens from his dreams calling her name, and hopes that she will forgive him

Singer recalls "a parting long ago" when his little sister died. They used to roam by "the shady brookside where the water lilies grow" Now he is leaving his parents and siblings.

The singer talks about courting (in) Shady Grove. There is no particular plot. A typical chorus runs, "Shady Grove my little love, Shady Grove I say, Shady Grove my little love, I'm bound to go away." Shady Grove may be a place or a girl's name

Shady Road to Clane, The: (1 ref. 2K Notes) {Roud #9769}

The singer describes an idyllic spot on "the shady road from Bodenstown to Clane." He meets a beautiful maid who asks "is this the shady road to Clane?" He assures her it is. She leaves. He is dejected. He must find "the maid that stole my heart"

Shady Woods of Trugh, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #2911}

Before joining Owen Roe O'Neill to fight the English, M'Kenna rides from "the Shady Woods of Trugh" to bid farewell -- in case he were killed -- to Maureen McMahon at Glaslough castle. After the battle on Benburb's plains they are married.

"Get your nightcap, mama, and your gown, Baby, 'fore day we gonna shake 'em on down." "Too much of jelly to be throwed away." "I ain't been to Georgia, but I been told, Georgia women got the best jelly roll." "I done stopped holler'n. Must I shake...."

"Shake hands brother, You're a rogue and I'm another. You stole meat, I stole bone, You'll go to hell And I'll go home."

"Now, if I would be a-living when Jesus comes, And know the day and the hour, I'd like to be a-standing at mother's tomb...." The singer hopes Jesus will tell him to "shake hands with mother again"; he will tell her that of his life and never again part

"Shake hands, Mary, dum-a-la-lum" (x2). (Chorus:) "Lum, lum, lum, lum, dum-a-la-lum" (x2). "Strut, Mary, dum-a-la-lum." "Dance, Mary...."

"Shake hands, brother, You're a rogue and I'm another."

"Going to Kentucky Going to the fair." "Met a senorita with flowers in her hair." "Shake it if you can" so the boys will follow. Instructions to "rhumba" and "shake it all around"

Rhyme to do what it says: "Shake the blanked, Shake the blanked, Turn the blanket... over."

Shaker Funeral Hymn: (2 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #6670}

"Our brother's gone, he is no more, He's quit our coast, he's left our shore, He's burst the bonds of mortal clay, The spirit's fled and soars away." All alike are told to be prepared; the righteous will triumph over death

"Oh say shall the victim remain in his thrall, For maintaining a post which a people has given?" The song calls for the "liberation" of [Thomas Wilson] Dorr, asking Governor Jackson and the legislature for justice.

"Believer, O shall I die? O my army, shall I die?" "Jesus die, shall I die? Die upon the cross, shall I die?" "Die, die, die, shall I die? Jesus da coming..." "Run for to meet him... Weep like a weeper..." "Mourn like a mourner... Cry like a crier..."

Shall I Show You How the Farmer: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #12865}

"Shall I show you how the farmer (x3) Sows his barley and wheat?" "It is so, so, that the farmer... Sows his barley and wheat." "Shall I show you how the farmer... Hoes his barley and wheat?" "Shall I show... Now will dance and be gay?"

"In a dreary British prison where an Irish rebel lay, By his side a priest waits... 'Father, tell me if I die shall my soul pass through Ireland?'" The rebel dies for Irish freedom; the singer asks that his prayer be granted

Shall We Gather at the River: (9 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #14037}

"Shall we gather at the river, Where bright angel feet have trod... Yes, we'll gather at the river, the beautiful, the beautiful river... That flows by the throne of God." A description of the happy life after death in the land of God

Shallo Brown (Shallow Brown): (9 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2621}

Shanty. Characteristic line: "Shallo, Shallo Brown." The sailor admits that he is leaving, and regrets being parted from his wife and baby. In some versions he may be a slave sold for the "Yankee Dollar"; in others, he is a whaler going about his work.

Has the refrain of "Shallo Brown" but the solo text is taken from "Blow, Boys, Blow (I)" and the tune is the same as "Hilo, Boys, Hilo." The meter alternates from 3/4 to 2/4 throughout.

Hebrew round: "Shalom chaverim, Shalom chaverim, Shalom, Shalom, L'hit ra-ot, L'hit ra-ot, Shalom, Shalom." Camp (non)-translation: "Farewell, good friends (x2), Farewell, farewell, Till we meet again, Till we meet again, Farewell, farewell."

St Patrick's day 3000 Ribbonmen march in Downpatrick with muskets. Their flags are pulled down in the Shambles. They run from Protestant guns. "The Police done their best the poor rebels to save, As the Protestant strength roll'd on like a wave"

The bridegroom's father wears a shamrock. Bridegroom tells him to wear a rose: "that flower is out of place." "The old man said with tear dimmed eye I am glad your dear old mother didn't live to see this day" when you were ashamed to wear the shamrock

Shamrock Boys from Kill, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #2912}

The Boys from Kill "march down by Lavey's Strand ... with O'Connell's likeness on their breasts, for to conquer Orange Bill." None fought at Tara as well as the boys from Kill. Many Protestant girls would have liked to be with a boy from Kill.

"St Patrick he is Ireland's Saint And we're his Volunteers." We are ready to fight the French, if they invade. The Cork Volunteer societies are named: Union, True Blue, Boyne, Aughrim, Enniskillen and Blackpool.

Shamrock from Glenore, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #8126}

The singer recalls his mother's speech as he set out walking on a Saint Patrick's Day: She plucks a shamrock and praises it. But she is old; he must cross the sea. Still he cherishes the token of mother and home

The singer, who will "see [Erin] no more," recalls the green fields, the red roses, the birds' songs. He dreams of home and its history -- the feasts in the halls of the O'Cahans, the playing of Rory Dall. All this was called back by receipt of a shamrock

Hard times and high taxes force the singer to leave Ireland for America. He and his friends spend six weeks in the woods, and the other three all die. He warns against coming to America. He hopes to return to Ireland

The singer calls on the muses to help him express his grief over leaving home. Having left Ireland for (Scotland), he says that (Glasgow) girls are pretty but they aren't the girl he left behind. He warns others against leaving their loves behind

"Oh Shamus O'Brien, I'm loving you yet, And my heart is still trusting and kind... Oh why did I let you get out of my arms Like a bird that was caged and is free." The singer promises extreme devotion and asks Shamus to return to her

"O'Connell gained the day," "Catholic victory is shouted." Vesey Fitgerald and parson Fleury are vexed. "The Bible saints are routed" "Lord Tyrone, we will crack his collar bone, The County Clare will be our own, says the Shan Van Vught"

We'll defeat the Tories in this year of 1848. Pitt and Castlereagh "stole our Parliament away." The French drove out the royalists. Smith O'Brien and John O'Connell will do that here. The French are on the sea "to be here the 10th of May"

Shan Van Voght, The: (12 refs. 7K Notes) {Roud #6529}

The Shan Van Vogt declares that the French are at hand, and will rescue Ireland. The troops are called together; they will wear green; they will free Ireland and proclaim liberty

Fragment only. "Shanadar is a rolling river, E-O... I-O... E-O... I-O..." May be a variant of "Shenandoah" but the meter is quite different, alternating between 2/2 and 3/2.

"This is the tale that Cassidy told, In his halls a-sheen with purple and gold"; he has become rich, and has the best, or at least most expensive, of everything. But still he wishes "For the taste o' a morning's mornin' in Shanahan's ould shebeen!"

There are no songs about Shandrum boggoon. "The reason is plain -- no praise did it need." The singer would trade Midas's touch for a touch for Shandrum boggoon. If the Devil tastes it a host of clergy will be needed to banish him.

Squire Staples sets out to take Shane Crossagh, once a plowboy but now an outlaw "for the wearin' o' the green." Crossagh -- helped by his hound, who destroys the pursuing dogs -- escapes across the Roe. (Shane later is able to take revenge on Staples.)

"I had a farm out west, of farms it was the best, Had a cross-eyed mule... And one old Shanghai rooster with a wart on his left ear." But the rooster is dead. The singer recalls the bird, which fell in battle; all he has left is a feather

"If you feel like getting full boys, the Shankill is your bet, Have a pint in ev'ry pub and see how far you get" "We'll start us off in North Street at the Elephant Bar ... [until] the Woodvale Arms, all things to an end must come."

Captain Broke encourages H.M.S. Shannon's sailors against U.S.S. Chesapeake: "success shall soon reward our toil" Lawrence encourages Chesapeake's sailors. Chesapeake is boarded, Broke is injured, Lawrence killed, but Chesapeake is defeated.

U.S.S. Chesapeake's captain plans to "take Commodore Broke, And add to our navy the Shannon," a "tight little frigate." After being boarded, the Chesapeake "struck to the Shannon." "Let America know The respect she should show" the British flag and cannon

Shannon Scheme, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #18468}

The Shannon Scheme will "light our houses," "stitch our blouses," "milk our cows," "churn the cream," "reap and mow," "spin and sew," provide "more employment and more enjoyment and happier homes." A toast to the scheme and its promoters

"'Twas in the month of April... I met a comely damsel Upon the Shannon side." He tries to seduce her, and fails; he throws her down against her will. He departs; six months later, pregnant, she begs him to marry; he says he is pledged to another

Shannon's Flowery Banks: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #17000}

Teddy and Patty, the singer, exchange vows of "eternal truth." He is impressed "just when we named next morning fair To be our wedding day." At war's end he does not return: "my Teddy's false and I forlorn"

A girl loves a shanty boy. Her (father/mother) sends her away to keep them apart. She dies of disease and grief; her lover kills himself. They haunt her (father), whose business goes bankrupt. The moral: Don't fall in love with a shanty boy (?!)

Shanty Boy's Ill Fate: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4071}

"Gather round me, you lumberjacks, And listen to my tale. I'll tell you of a shanty boy Whose name was Jimmy Hale." Jimmy leaves home to become a logger, and quickly learns the trade, but is killed by a branch. His body is taken to his mother

"Beans are on the table/Daylight's in the swamp/You lazy lumberjack/Ain't you ever gettin' up?"

"It's in a first-rate business section Where four bush-roads cross and meet." The shanty features many sorts of drink, plus company and games. The landlord will happily take a customer's money. The customers spend their entire check and must seek another

Shanty Teamster's Marseillaise: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5091}

"Come all ye gay teamsters, attention I pray, I'll sing you a ditty composed, by the way." The listeners are urged to cheer up in "this wretched country, the Opeongo." The new-hired crew, oppressed by the boss and Jerry Welch, walk out of their jobs

Shantyman's Life (I), The: (25 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #838}

"The shantyman's life is a wearisome one, Though some say it's free from care; It's the ringing of the axe from morning until night in the middle of the forest drear." The singer lists the hazards of his life; he plans to go home, marry, and settle down

"Oh, I din' ka' how you share (shear?) 'em So you share 'em eben; Share yo' sheep and blankets -- Share 'em, share 'em, share 'em! If you want er see dem pretty gals, Look on Mon'lyn's Baniel."

Capstan shanty. Tells of going to sea "when I was just a hairless boy," getting kicked around, enduring bad weather, and jumping ship at the first chance. Cho: "When I was just a shaver, a shaver. Oh, I was fed up with sea, when I was just a shaver."

"Some rows up, but we floats down, Way down the Ohio to Shawneetown. And it's hard on the beech oar; she moves too slow, Way down to Shawneetown on the Ohio." The singer tells of life on an Ohio River keelboat: they sell drink for salt. It's hard to see

"In the town of Shawneetown, When the evening shades came down, On a quiet sabbath evening cold and gray," the bells ring to warn of a flood. Various people try to help, but many are killed. The song appeals for help for the victims

"Shawneetown is burnin' down, Who tole you so? (x2)." "Cythie, my darlin' gal...." "How the hell d'ye expect me to hold her, Way down below, I've got no skin on either shoulder...."

A young woman takes a succession of men up the hills of West Virginny to engage in an act of prostitution, after which she comes rollin' down the mountain.

"She don't wear no -- yes she do, She don't wear no -- yes she do. She don't wear no -- yes she do. She don't wear no chim nor shoe." "She don't wear no -- yes she do (x3), Yes, she wears them drawers like you." Also a chorus: "I'm satisfied with my gal."

"Says huh Julie, Hullo gal. Says early in the mornin' baby... I come to your window baby.... Says get away from my window baby... Says got another man baby, don't want you no more... You done got ugly... Hey rock that baby...."

"The white gal smells like Castile soap, The yeller gal try to do the same, The poor black gal smell like little billy goat, But she gets there just the same." Verses comparing the methods and results of several groups

The lazy "bride o' Toddlichlie" limps around and will not rise. Someone (her mother?) tells her "mak' yer claes clean For the morn is yer marriage-day And we'll be quit o' ane"

She is Far From the Land: (7 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #V5570}

"She is far from the land where her young hero sleeps." She rejects other lovers. She sings wild songs he loved about home. "He had lived for his country, for his country he died." She will join him soon.

A pack of boys jeer at "a girl who had fallen to shame." An old woman declares "She is more to be pitied than censured," and points out that "a man was the cause of it all." A clergyman, too, hopes she will find God's pity

William returns from sea and asks if Annette is true. He is told she lives with "her own grannie dear." He hears that as "her own grenadier" When Annette greets him he confronts her. She admits that "my granny is old, So I live with my own granny dear"

She Loves Coffee and I Love Tea: (8 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #740}

"I love coffee, I love tea, I love the boys and the boys love me, Wish my mama would hold her tongue, She loved the boys when she was young." "I wish my papa would do the same, For he caused a girl to change her name."

She May Have Seen Better Days: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #9582}

"While strolling along 'midst the city's vast throng, On a night that was bitterly cold," the singer sees a crowd teasing a woman in tears. She has clearly fallen on hard times, but someone notes "she might have seen better days." The crowd is silenced

Singer meets his love, who tells him it will not be long until their wedding day, then leaves and "moves through the fair." (Later, her ghost repeats that it will not be long until their wedding. Alternately, she deserts him and he enlists in the army)

She Said She Was Only Flirting: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3759}

"They stood on the beach at evening, Under the sunset so fair." He says he loves her; she says, "Oh sir, I was only flirting...." She says she is engaged to another, and goes her way. She is "a cold and elegant woman"; he is "Too soon grown worn and old."

"Way down in sunny Tennessee, Beneath blue Dixie's skies, In the silvery lake of Norris, Where my poor darling lies." The singer helped build the Norris Dam, and went boating on it with his love; she is thrown from the boat and loat. He wishes to die also

The singer meets Molly in Kent. Seeing her home they stop under a tree to avoid the rain. "She tickled me and I tickled her." After twelve months they marry. After dinner "we had a few games of card dice and chess and we both toddled off into bed"

"She waded in the water and she got her feet all wet (x3), But she didn't get her (clap, clap) wet. Yet." "Glory, glory... But she didn't get her (clap, clap) wet." And so on, through knees, thighs... until "She finally got her bathing suit wet."

Singer falls in with a girl and asks why she walks in such an inhibited way. He says he can solve her problem; she says the problem lies between her thighs. He lays her down and provides a plaster, and says she's given him "a stable for my stallion"

She Was Bred in Old Kentucky: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4973}

"As a lad I sat one day in a cottage far away... For my Sue with blushes red had just promised we would wed... She was bred in old Kentucky, where the meadow grass is blue." Her mother tells the singer he's lucky; many years later, he still agrees

She Was Happy Till She Met You: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6565}

A young wife leaves her abusive husband and goes home to her mother. Eventually he shows up at the mother's door, asking her forgiveness. The mother sends him away, saying, "She was happy till she met you, and the fault is all your own...."

A mock lament in which the village maid seduced goes to London to become a prostitute. While her customers prosper, she becomes a pox-ridden streetwalker burdened with piles. The moral: the rich takes their pleasures while the poor get the blame.

An adaptation of the English original, this is a lampoon of a former governor of Alabama, "Kissing Jim" Folsom, who sired a child out of wedlock.

"She was so good and so kind to me, Just like one of the family, I shall never forget The first time we met, She was -- She was -- She...." (And then repeat the entire thing ad nauseum)

Three verses: she washes dishes, bakes the bread, and washes the chairs three times a day.

She Wears Red Feathers: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #18994}

"She wears red feathers and a hooley hooley skirt ... lives on fresh coconuts and fish ... love in her heart for me"

She Went for a Ride in a Morgan: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #10151}

"She went for a ride in a Morgan, She sat with the driver in front." The singer praises the girl and her beauty; the characteristic of the praise is that it always starts with a euphemism, then notes that "the more vulgar-minded" instead us a vulgarity

"She wore a wreath of roses The night that first we met, Her lovely face was smiling Beneath her curls of jet." Next he sees her with orange blossoms, and someone by her "to soothe her." Now he sees her in "a widow's somber cap"

"She'll coming round the mountain when she comes." The unidentified "she" arrives with great pomp and ceremony, and is greeted with celebration (e.g. the killing and cooking of the old red rooster). The song often is supplemented by summer camp nonsense

"When you're hunting in the mountains and your dog puts up a chase" and a boar attacks, you'll eventually get pork. When you learn you dropped your socks in the beer you were brewing, there's a fix. And so forth. "So don't worry, mate, she'll be right."

"It was one evening long ago" when the singer went to ask the hand of the girl. Her mother gladly consents. He looks back happily. Chorus: "She's a flower from the fields of Alabam, Take her for she loves you, yes I know...."

Every couplet is followed by "You's/he's/she's a fool, You/he/she ain't got no sense." Some couplets rhyme on color like "See that woman all dressed in red Going with a man will kill you dead" (see notes)

She's a Tiddley Ship: (1 ref. 4K Notes) {Roud #32823}

"She's a tiddley ship, through the ocean she'll flip, She's sailing by night and by day. And when she's in motion, she's the pride of the ocean... And 'Jimmy' looks on her with pride," but "This four-funnelled bastard is getting me down."

She's A Wrang for the Richtin ot: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #18044}

"She's a wrang for the richtin o't" (x2).

"She's at the bar, selling soap, soda and blue, And things too superfluous to mention to you"

She's Aye Tease, Teasin': (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #7221}

"I bocht my wife a steen [stone] o' lint [flax] As good e'er did grow, She carded it ... And let it in lowe [set it on fire]. She's aye tease, teasin', She's aye teasin me; This wicked wife she'll en' my life She winna lat me be"

"She's but my auld sheen when you've gotten her."

She's Gone to be a Mormonite: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7640}

"I'll tell you what I'm going to do And that without delay, I'll pack my trunk and I'll be off, I'll go this very day." The singer tells of a girl who's "Gone to be a Mormonite In the new Jerusalem." (He?) knows not where she is, except that she's Mormon

She's Like the Swallow: (11 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2306}

"She's like a swallow that flies so high, She's like a river that never runs dry, She's like the sunshine on the lee shore, I love my love and love is no more." A lament for a lost girl: "She laid her down, no word she spoke, until [her] heart was broke"

"Makes no difference How you shear um; Makes no difference How or when; Makes no difference How you shear um Just so you shear um clean."

A gun shearer finishes his work, collects his pay, and takes to the road. He meets a swaggie; they camp. In the night, afraid for his pay, he flees at a noise. The swaggie also runs, afraid of the shearer. They meet again and wonder why they are running

"Oh, I dreamt I shore in a shearin'-shed, and it was a dream of joy, For every one of the rouseabouts was a girl dressed up as a boy." He dreams of clean sheep, of a cool, comfortable shed, of happy dances with the girls... and wakes to find it a dream

"We all are jolly shearers, and we like it very well." Health to our master, prosperity to his flock, and the shearers, and the man that winds the yarn. "We kiss the girls wherever we go and our wives at other times"

Shearin's Nae for You, The: (3 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #4845}

The girl is urged to "tak the ribbons fae yer hair" or the "flounces frae yer gown," because her "belly's roarin' fu'." She blames the young man (soldier?) for seducing her. He urges her to mind her baby. Other mutual accusations may follow

"All aboard! All aboard is the cry, There's a rippin' lot of shearers in the shed." Various shearers can be expected to set records. Big Mick and Barcoo Ben compete closely. The shearers are all happy at and clever in their work

"The bells are set a-ringing and the engine gives a toot, There are five-and-thirty shearers here a-shearing for the loot." The shearers are reminded that London depends on Castlereigh wool. The boss complains that the shearers were "born to swing a pick"

Shearing in a Bar: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #24811}

"My shearing days are over, though I never was a gun, I could always count my twenty at the end of every run." Despite his lack of success while actually working as a shearer, the singer never has trouble "when I'm shearing in a bar."

"There's a sound of many voices in the camp and on the track... For the shearing's coming round, boys, the shearing's coming round, And the stations... have begun to hear the sound." It's the talk of the entire region

Sheath and Knife [Child 16]: (5 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #3960}

The princess (Jeannie) is pregnant by her brother. Rather than reveal the truth, the two leave for the greenwood, where he shoots her and buries her "with their bairn at her feet." He returns home, but even the joys of royalty cannot console him.

About a riotous wedding, attended by all whether invited or not, at McGinty's. A tailor with a wooden leg loses it in mid-dance; a cyclist is carried home in a wheelbarrow; a man comes with a hundred pounds, goes home with nothing. Plus the food is bad.

"Sheep know his shepherd's voice, Yes Lord I know the way... You know the way an' you wouldn't come home Yes Lord I know the way." The pace quickens "Make a jump, jump for joy" "Sheep jump, jump for joy."

Wool "clothes the beggar and the King" and "infant babe"; "the last garments we shall have A shroud when we go to the grave." The singer prefers wool to silks and satins. The wool trade has increased "since Joshua [sic; Jason] stole the golden fleece"

"How delightful to see in the evenings of spring, When the sheep are a-going to the fold." The sheep are shorn in the heat of June. The sheep are a blessing; the meat is good and wool is warm. The singer toasts the master and flock.

"Sheep shell corn by the rattle of his horn, blow, horn, blow, Send to the mill by the whippoorwill." "O! blow your horn, blow, horn, blow" (x2) Verses about life at corn-shucking time and a desire to have done for the day.

Will Marpass stole a sheep in the marsh Saturday night. He and some friends kill and skin it, distribute the parts and have a fine dinner Sunday.

Sheep Stealer, The: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1667}

The singer goes out in "the night when the moon do shine bright, There's a number of work to be done ... on another man's ground." He steals sheep and takes them home to be butchered by his children while he stands guard against the constable.

"Sheep-nanny! She-e-ep-nanny" "Baaa!" Game, in which a leader tries to pull a flock of sheep out of a circle and those inside try t pull them in.

"Our sheep-shear is over, and supper is past ... Here's a health to our Misteress"

Sheep-Shearing, The: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #879}

Singer praises sheep and shearing. The singer laments that the sheep must be sheared in the June heat. In some versions, the singer tells of the master's demands for more wool. The song ends "when all our work is done" and the crew goes celebrating

"Sheep, sheep, come home." "I'm afraid." Of what? "The wholf." "The wolf has gone (somewhere), so sheep, sheep, come home."

The singer asks the girl to marry him. She says she is too young; she will work for a fine lady for a time. Later she writes to him to say that she is happy where she is and does not wish to wed a shepherd. He abandons his work and its tools

"Whilst tyrants grasp with greedy aim ... As Friends of Freedom we aspire The Rights of Man for to require." Holy scripture tells "that all men shall be one sheepfold and under one great master." That time is coming and "we will strive to haste it faster"

"When first I took the Western track, 'twas many years ago, No master then stood up so high, no servant stood so low." The singer recalls how he used to have a much better life. He urges ordinary Queenslanders to unite against tyranny

"Come now, ye sighing washers all, Join in my doleful lay, Mourn for the times none can recall." The singer remembers good days: "The master was a worker then, The servant was a man." But since the sixties, conditions have grown much worse

"Go away, go away, you sheet mill man, There's a better job in a distant land." The singer plans to head for Knoxville, but arrives home "condemned to die." People cheat him of his pay. He asks to be buried with with "an old flat sheet"

The singer abandons his work in London to go to Holland. His new mistress proposes marriage. He refuses her; he is already engaged. His mistress plants evidence on him and has him condemned as a thief. He bids his Polly farewell and is hanged

Singer meets Sheila Nee Iyer. She tells him to leave off flattering and go away. He claims he would never prove false. "O had I the wealth of the Orient ... I would robe you in splendour"

"One summer eve, with pensive thought. I wandered on the sea-beat shore, Where oft in heedless infant thought" he had gathered shells. He dreams again of being young. Back then, he had thrown all his toys away; thus "we leave them... like a child"

Usually has chorus "Away, you rolling river... Away, we're bound away, across the wide Missouri (world of Misery, etc.)" The basic text seems to have told of the white man who "loved the Indian maiden" but came from a different world and now is returning

Capstan shanty. "Oh, Shenandoh, my bully boy, I long to hear you holler, Way-ay, ay ay ay, Shenandoh. I lub ter bring er tot er tum en see ye make a swoller, Way-ay..."

Shepherd Adonis, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1215}

"Shepherd Adonis, being weary of his sport," lies down to rest; "He wanted no riches nor wealth from the crown." Neither has he ever wanted a girl -- until he sees Betsy. He concludes that he must be in love. He proposes; they quickly marry

Shepherd and the Maiden, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #1272}

A shepherd gives up courting his "shepherdess among the swains" but encounters a lost maiden "wandering on the plain." He falls in love and offers her a drink. She grants him a wish and agrees to wed: "Receive me here ... [then] to my father's court"

The singer dreams and sees a shepherd boy. The boy, David, is leaving his flock to go to the camp of Israel as they fight the Philistines. David kills Goliath with his sling. The singer drinks the health of the shepherd boy

"Come ye, oh come, my bonnie lass, We'll both join hands and marry." The girl wishes she could, but her father "keeps me under guard." Unable to win the girl, he jumps off a cliff in Rhynie. She dies for love

"Whaur Gairn's bonnie mountain strea Fa's into winding Dee, Aft 'mang the shady birks we've met, My shepherd lad and me." He sets out to meet her on a cold winter's night, but never appears. At last his frozen body is found.

A (shepherd) and a young girl meet on a May morning. He wishes to marry, but she is too young and wishes to work as a servant. After she has left to go into the lady's service, he writes to ask her intent. She says that she never intended to marry him

Shepherd's Song (I), The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5124}

"I'm a shepherd and I rise ere the sun is in the skies." The singer describes the hard work caring for, feeding, and selling sheep. If his girl will name the day they'll marry. He warns other shepherds against "fiery liquor" at show or fair.

"There was a young shepherd a-tending of his sheep when a girl comes by. He play his pipes; she "turned her head then so modestly away." But she consents to marry, and he reveals that he is wealthy; they live a happy and wealthy life

The singer, fishing, is so taken by a girl he sees that he loses his line and hook in the brook. She is a shepherd's daughter come to bathe in the Boyne. He proposes. She suggest he have his parents find a more suitable bride.

"Oh, the days when we went shepherding a long time ago...." The singer started digging at nine, and lived a carefree life when not working, harassing the Chinese laundrymen and being irresponsible. The days ended at four.

"Shepherds arise, be not afraid, with hasty steps prepare [repair?] To David's city, sin on earth, WIth our blest infant...." The savior has come to save us from eternal death. "Sing... to our redeemer and our heavenly king."

"'Tis misfortune o'ertook us, and a tale soon did tell; The Sheriff came in our old home for to sell." Mother and sister "prepare to depart from their old cottage door" but are spared: the purchaser of the auctioned home turns out to be a family member.

Sherman Cyclone, The [Laws G31]: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3260}

A great storm sweeps unexpectedly through Sherman, causing extensive damage and some loss of life

Sherman's March to the Sea: (10 refs. 4K Notes) {Roud #17738}

"Our campfires shone bright on those mountains That frowned on the river below... When a rider came out of the darkness... And shouted... 'Sherman will march to the sea.'" The Atlanta campaign and the March to the Sea are briefly retold

Describing the blessings of having "a shilling or twa" in the pocket. One can settle troubles, avoid bankruptcy, fool creditors, and also stay happy: "Oh! what a grand thing is a shilling or twa... It's a round ready passport, a shilling or twa."

Probably derived from "A Shilling or Twa (I)." The singer declares "Awa' wi' your dearies and juice o' the vine... gie me the glint o' a shillin' or twa." He rejects honor and fame; all he wants is "A bonnie, bright siller white shillin' or twa."

"You ought to see my blue-eyed Sally, She lives way down in shinbone alley, No number on the gate, no number on the door, Folks around here are gettin' mighty poor." Unrelated verses about southern life, disasters, prison, rising creeks, etc.

Recitation. Shine is aboard the Titanic when the ship hits an iceberg. The captain's daughter asks Shine's help; he says, "Pussy's good... but this is one time I'm gonna save Shine's ass." The captain receives the same reply. Shine survives the wreck

John hears a voice, "I am Alpha Omega, the first and last/To conquer death in Hell did cast." Terrified, he sees Jesus crucified, falling into Hell, rising again. Chorus: "Shine, shine, shine like a star in the morning... All around the throne of God"

"Shine on me, oh shine on me/Let the light from the lighthouse shine on me." Jesus calls the hearers to rest. The singer may call for help in reaching God.

Shine On, Harvest Moon: (3 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #22317}

"The night was mighty dark so you could hardly see... Couple sitting underneath a willow tree... Boy... Told the moon... Shine on, shine on, harvest moon up in the sky. I ain't had no lovin' since April, January, June or July." He hopes she'll say Yes.

"Uncrowned king of the knights of the banjo, Star of the great southern trail, With his blanket of blue, The Shiner fought through...." The Shiner takes all things in stride. He uses tricks and wits to survive. Now he "can bank on a well-deserved rest"

Shining Shore, The: (2 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #28859}

"My days are gliding swiftly by, And I, a pilgrim stranger, Would not detain them as they fly," because the singer is "on Jordan's strand" and sees "the shining shore" where friends are passing over. So take courage even in hard times

"I saw a ship a-sailing, A-sailing on the sea, And it was deeply laden with pretty things for me. There were comfits in the cabin and almonds in the hold." The sails are satin; the mast, gold; the sailors, white mice; the captain, a duck.

"Come all Christian people who do intend To know God's laws and his rights defend...." The singer tells of setting sail on a whaler, describes the horrid, rotten food, and complains of the isolation of the captain

Sailors on a becalmed ship suffer starvation. They cast lots to determine which of them shall die to feed the rest. The one who is chosen asks that a sentry climb the topmast to search for aid while he prays. A ship is sighted and they are rescued.

"The ship is all laden and ready for sea, The foy boy is coming, away let us be." The skipper is confused. The men are groggy. The owner is upset. But presumably they get to sea, since the song ends with the ship happily back in port

Ship Lord Wolseley, The: (1 ref. 2K Notes) {Roud #9149}

The ship leaves Belfast for Philadelphia on the 18th of January under Cap'n James Dunn. Song describes several ports and storms and constantly makes references to the bravery and steadfastness of the crew and officers.

"'Tis of a ship of revolution, a ship of great fame, Captain Bendigo commands her." A pirate attacks as they sail past "Cuby" (Cuba). Twice the pirate attempts to board and is beaten off. They are victorious even though they are only 28 men

Ship of Zion (I), The: (9 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4204}

"What is this ship you're going on board, oh, glory hallelujah (x2)? 'Tis the Old Ship Zion, hallelujah (x4) What colors does she hoist in time of war? oh, glory hallelujah (x2)? 'Tis the bloody robe of Jesus, hallelujah (x4)"

"Nothing to do, sucker darling, Nothing to do today. Come take a trip to Oregon -- Fat shark will ship you there." Workers are offered jobs, but the pay is low and conditions bad. "Organize, and never ship out any more."

"I once had a father but now I have none, He's gone to that beautiful home. O Lord, let me sail on that beautiful ship, The ship that is passing by. The days seem so sad and the night seems so long And I am so lonely here." Similarly mother, brother, etc.

A ship is preparing to sail. The lives of several of the passengers, their reasons for leaving, and their farewells to family and/or sweethearts are briefly described. But the ship disappears at sea, apparently with all hands

With 50 guns and 500 men an English warship meets five French men-of-war. Aloft, the cabin boy sees three English ships -- Oak, Sloe, and Unity -- that join the battle and "quickly made those French dogs flee"

"A ship was becalmed in a tropical sea, Away, away, blow the man down." "For three weeks no wind had she." The captain "prayed to King Neptune" for a breeze. Fish taunt the sailors; finally, a flying fish seems to promise help; the wind finally starts

"A shipping agent seems to me A kind of hungry shark... They crimp the sailors when they can And make them pay a fee." The sailors don't even know their destination. The food is awful and insufficient. There is no gold in the diggings they reach anyway

"From Queenstown we set sail with merry hearts." The captain soon exects a great storm. The storm causes the ship turns over and breaks a mast. Several people die. Henry Wales manages to save Jane Gibson but dies himself.

"On the fourteenth day of January last, Be sure it was a dismal sight, The famous ship away was cast, It was somewhere before 'twas light." The captain is ill when a storm comes up. They are wrecked on the rocks. Only ten men survive

"Ho, Mr. Editor, stay your pen, I've sorry news to tell." The Ocean Belle was sunk in a fierce storm along Long Island Shore. The poet found the body of sailor Walter Brown along the shore and is writing to tell of his fate

Captain McFall's ship sails "up the Lagan Canal," "bound for foreign countries," "with a cargo of Indian meal." In "a dreadful gale" they strike "a coral reef" and sink "to the shin." A coastguard rescues the crew "as none of us could swim"

Jump-rope rhyme. "Shirley Temple takes a bow, John Boles shows her how."

"Shirley Temple (Charlie Chaplin, Dolly Dimples) walks like this, Shirley Temple walks like this, Shirley Temple smiles like this, Shirley Temple blows a kiss." May be a jump rope rhyme

The sailor comes to shore and meets a girl who takes him to a dance, then to supper, then to bed. He awakens in the morning to find both his money and his clothes gone. He is forced to return to his ship in women's clothing -- to the amusement of the crew

The singer quits Dan McCann's lodgings but leaves his shirt. McCann's daughter tells him to retrieve it. That night, drunk, he sees the shirt coming down the street, hit it with a brick, and kills McCann's daughter who was in it. He is fined ten quid.

The singer recalls his parents, his wife, his children, his money -- all lost because of drink. He yearns to be free of his burden. Chorus: "Yes alone, all alone, And I feel I'm growing old, Yet I wander, oh how lonely, And I'm shivering in the cold."

"Oh, it was a fine and a pleasant day, Out of Yarmouth harbour I was faring" on a ship seeking herring. The young sailor learns that it is hard work and a hard life: "Just to earn your daily bread you're daring." He earns his pay in his years of fishing

Shock Along, John: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #12024}

Described as "A corn-song, of which only the burden is remembered": "Shock along, John, shock along; Shock along, John, shock along."

"Shocking, shocking, shocking, A mouse ran up my stocking, What did it see when it got to the knee? Oh, shocking, shocking, shocking."

The singer meets a girl and sees "shoe and ankle too likewise her lily white calf Oh! I could tell you a great deal more but I'd only make you laugh." Each verse ends with a bawdy hidden rhyme.

"Leila that's shoo my love (x2). Turn me in a hurry now. Shoo Dolly, shoo my love, Turn me in a hurry now. Shoo Dolly, shoo my love."

"Shoe old horsie, Shoe old mare, Let the little coltie Go bare, bare, bare."

"Make my Kate a pair of shoes, Make 'em out of the best of leather, I'll peg 'em well and stitch 'em tight (or: "Draw 'em around the firey side") And then they'll last forever." The singer seeks, by the making of shoes, to bind Kate to him (?)

Shoemaker (III), The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3152}

"My mother sent me to the school To learn to be a stocking-knitter, But I went wrang and played the fool And married with a shoemaker." She complains of his looks, his tools, his stink, and the miserable life she leads: "Who would have a shoemaker?"

Shoemaker's Kiss, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3807}

The girl comes to the shoemaker and requests a pair of shoes. He thereupon "fits" the girl. (Forty) weeks later she brings forth a son. When mother asks where the boy came from, she says "the shoemaker's kiss."

"Young Jimmy was a shoemaker's son, And through this country his bread he won. Her father was of high degree, He was captain over some ships on the sea."

"Married me a wife and I settled here for live. She had no shoes; I had no time to make them." "I didn't have but one old hen..., She sot for a week on a dozen eggs, and didn't hatch but one chicken." The singer also struggles with steers, cows, etc.

Shon M'Nab fails at herding, fishing, and running a still. He goes to Glasgow and is overcome by the wonders he sees. He sees fire used all around and is convinced the people in Glasgow must be in league with the Devil. He prefers the old ways.

"I think I hear the angels sing (x3), The angels now are on the wing. I feel, I feel, I feel like a morning star (x2)." "Shoo fly, don't bother me (x3), For I just been on a merry spree." (or "belong to Company G," or the like).

The singer sees an old woman lamenting, "Ochone! sure I'm nearly distracted! For it's down by the Shoofly they cut a bad vein...." With all the local mines closed, she and her family are in debt and out of work. She can only hope conditions improve

Playparty/dance tune: "And it's ladies to the center and it's gents around the row, And we'll rally round the canebrake and shoot the buffalo." Tales of courting and spitting tobacco

"Shoot your dice and have your fun, I'll have mine when the police come. Police come, I didn't want to go; I knocked him in the head wid a forty-fo'."

Jump-rope rhyme. "Shoot! Bang! house on fire. I spy a lark shining in the dark. Echo, echo, G-O stands for Go!"

Bailey informs in December about concealed arms. Those he informed on are now in jail. "On Saturday night he met his fate All by a pistol volley, By some one unknown, who did him hate, Down in Skipper's Alley." "Mind what you say." Don't be an informer.

Shooting of the Bawks, The: (1 ref. 2K Notes) {Roud #7309}

The narrator protests a law against killing bawks during the summer when they are most plentiful. He wonders how he is going to feed his family and sarcastically conjectures that the authorities will now provide the people with meat.

A Halifax policeman is murdered on board of the Shooting Star. He has a summons for the captain but sailor Burdell stabs him. The captain and ship get away but "they caught Burdel at Boston and gave him fourteen years"

"There was a rich merchant in London did dwell" with a beautiful daughter who lives with her uncle for a year. Her love writes to her to ask her to come to him; she sets out. She dies on the road. When he find out, he says they will be buried in one grave

"When I was a boy it seemed likely to me That the logical place for the navy was to be at sea," so the singer went to sea -- and didn't like it. So "I went for a cruise on land" and is now a staff member, enjoying being part of the shore navy

"Shore sailor, shore sailor, Pull for the shore. Pull like a son-of-a-bitch but don't break the oar. Safe in the lifeboat, clinging to sin more. Leave the dreary sinking wreck and pull for the shore."

"Oh, I'm on my way down to the quay, Where a big ship now does lay...." When the singer's boss tells him he will have to work harder to keep his job, Pat gives it up and heads for Australia. He rejoices to get away from brickwork.

The singer "was one of the Urhan football team." "Now we are scattered far and wide from the shores of Coolough Bay". He has worked at many jobs in Ireland, Canada and, now, in the US. Best of all is the Shores of Coolough Bay. He is saving to return.

The singer rambles out and sits down to look at Kenbane. He will set his slight skills to the task of praising it. He describes the birds, fish, shores, castle, etc. In one cottage dwells a beautiful girl; he blesses the day he found her and Kenbane

"Short life of trouble, A few more words apart, A short life of trouble, dear girl, For a boy with a broken heart." The singer reminds the girl that she promised to marry him. He takes the train out of town and/or hopes the grave will be his home

The mother will make shortening bread. Its benefits, and the extent to which children like it, may be described. (The singer steals the skillet and the bread, and winds up in jail and faced with a fine.) Often in dialect, with assorted floating verses

"Shorty George, he ain't no friend of mine... Taken all de women an' leave de men behind." (The singer goes bad as an orphan child. He finds a girl, but they go separate ways.) He learns his girl/mother is sick and arrives for her sad funeral

"Oh, Lawd, Shot my pistol In de heart of town. Lawd, de big chief hollered, 'Doncha blow me down.'" The singer (?) looks for his girls who "lef' here runnin'." He describes his love of cards. The story is not coherent

"There's a half a pound of bully-beef left from the month before" and other unsavory items, all mixed together, "And when they finished boiling it, it tasted just like glue, They gave it to the Ganges boys And called it Shotley Stew"

(After an opening from "Ain't No More Cane on this Brazos" or "Go Down, Old Hannah," about driving women like men), the singer recalls a partner doing 99 years, recalls that his girl promised to visit but did not, and promises to "be around some day."

"Shout along and pray along, ye Heaven-bound soldiers! Shout along and pray along, I'm on my way! Pray on, (sisters/fathers/mothers/children", and don't get weary; Never get tired of serving the Lord. Shout along and pray along...."

Chorus dialog: "Josephine?" "Ma'am?" "Want t' shout?" "Yes ma'am." "What time?" "Right now." "Shout Josephine Shout!" Verses: "Pain in the head (back, neck, hip, toe,...), Shout, shout, Shout Josephine, shout"

Verse format: one line, repeated, followed by "Some going to be buried in the graveyard, Some going to be buried in the sea, Get up in the morning before day, I'm going to shout about Jubilee." See notes for verse lines.

Dance tune "Shout Lulu, shout shout/What in the world you shoutin' about?" "How many nickels does it take/To see little Lulu's body shake?/It takes a nickel and it takes a dime/To see little Lulu cut her shine"

"Shout on, children, you never die; Glory hallelujah! You in the Lord and the Lord in you; Glory hallelujah." "Shout and pray both night and day, How can you die, you in the Lord?" "Come on, children, let's go home; Oh I'm so glad you're in the Lord."

A "shout," spoken rather than sung: "Hol' me, sister Betsy, hol' me (x2), Hol' mah reticule, hol' mah shawl, But pray don't techa [touch] waterfall. Three miles to walk, three cows to milk. Hol' me, sister Betsy, hol' me."

"Shout, shout, we're gaining ground, Oh glory hallelujah, For the gospel ship is sailing by, Oh glory hallelujah!" "Shout, shout... For the grace of God is coming down" "It has come down and it will come down" "The Devil's mad and I am glad"

Brief stories of bringing lumber downriver. Chorus: "Shove [or "Shore"] around the grog, boys, Chorus around the room; We are the boys that fear no noise, Although we're far from home." The singer may tell of his girl in Lewiston Falls or elsewhere

"Shove 'er up! Shove 'er up, Keep shoving of 'er up!... Shove 'er in the gangway! Shove 'er in the boat, I'd rather have a guinea than a ten pound note, Though a guinea it will sin And a note it will float, I'd rather have a guinea than a ten pound note."

The singer, a "swamper," is building corduroy roads. He describes his work, the pay, and an incident where a workmate falls into a boghole. Finally, he expresses a desire for a pretty woman, and says he'll do anything to please her -- even shove corduroy.

"I am just (forty-five), with a dear little wife, who is just ten years younger than me." The singer wishes his wife "never would roam." His wife "causes me a lot of grief... oft from her home"; she goes out for fun while he "rocks the dear baby to sleep"

Show Me the Way to Go Home, Babe: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7859}

A lament on the effects of drinking and or rambling, perhaps with a request for forgiveness and/or floating blues lyrics. The whole is held together (if it is) by the chorus "Show me way to go home." The singer may have been drunk for many months

"Show pity, Lord! Oh Lord, forgive! Let a repentant sinner live!" The singer abjectly confesses fault: "My crimes are great but can't surpass The power and glory of thy grace." The singer confidently expects salvation

"Oh, a torpedo boat is the best thing afloat to take for a fair weather sail," but although they had calm seas while hunting Pancho Villa, conditions are much harder in World War I. Don't even think about life on a destroyed in bad weather

Shrove Tuesday Song: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #1516}

"Pat, pat the pan hot, I become a-shroving. A bit of bread, a bit of cheese, That's better than nothing. Eggs and lard and flour's dear, That makes me come shroving here."

Shrove Tuesday, Shrove Tuesday: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #1516}

"Ash Wednesday, Shrove Thursday [or Fat Tuesday], When Jack went to school/plow, His mother made pancakes And left them to cool. She roast them, she toast them, She made them so hot, She used too much pepper/butter And poisoned poor Jack"

Shrowsbury For Me: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #V21423}

The singer praises Shrowsbury. He praises the churches and ministers, the "twice a week market," "gallant young men and maids," the trades-men and their wives, the fishing and fowling, shooting and bowling. "Who would not gladly live in this brave town?"

Incoherent account, with many floating insertions, of an attack on Chandler's fish-dyke. The people who did the damage are brought to trial and forced to sell their cows to pay the fines. The song objects to the Freemason jury

The first phrase of the shantyman's call is repeated as chorus. "Shub her down, shub her down, young man" ["Shub her down"] "Wheel away...." "Shub her out...." "Long and strong...." "We can do it...."

"Shuck corn, shell corn, Carry corn to mill. Grind de meal, gimme de husk, (Bake/break) de bread, gimme de crust, Fry de meat, gimme de skin -- And dat's de way to bring 'em in. Won't you git up, old horse, I'm on de road to Brighton."

The girl laments for her love, sent (to France) as a soldier. She says she will cry till "every tear would turn a mill." She will sell her spinning wheel to arm him. She will dye her clothes red and "round the world... beg for bread" till he returns

The singer prepares to return to Shulls Mills. He talks of his relations with the girls, carried out largely on the basis of cash up front, because "the girls... think I'm purty damn mean." He concludes, "When I gets my pay, Hain't gonna work a-tall."

(Eleven) miners, trapped in the mines of Coal Creek, resign themselves to death but place their trust in Jesus. Their lamps are flickering, their food is almost gone; they say farewell to their wives and children, saying they will meet them in heaven

"Shut up, (Brenda), Shut up, (Brenda), Keep your big fat trap shut"

The singer recalls "how, in olden time, ... a band of boys closed the gates and "Antrim's 'Red-shank'd' crew retreats." In beseiged Derry "pestillence held awful sway - Gaunt famine reigned... till brave Downing" saved the city.

Two farm boys decide to visit the circus. They raise the money and go in to see the sights. After volunteering to take part in various escapades, they end up being carried off by a balloon. When at last they land, they wind up in jail

French. If I had the boat which my father had given me I could cross the water and the sea without boat. If I had children who would not call me mom I would often ask God that they would die suddenly. To the proprietor's honor, let's pop the cork.

French. A young drummer/sailor returns from war. He asks a king's daughter to be his girl. She says he must convince the king he is very rich, which he does. The king agrees. The drummer/sailor thanks the king but leaves: he has prettier girls at home.

"Yes, I'm goin' downtown and the the chief police you siccin' your dogs on me." The woman apologizes, but the singer says she has his money and is loosing the dogs. He begs her to take him back. She says, "Don't you drive me round."

"Willie Wastle dwalt on Tweed." I "wadna gie a button" for his wife. "Tinker Maggie was her mither." One eye, few teeth, limping leg, hump on back and breast. Her actions are as crude as her looks. "Sic a wife as Willie had."

"Sixty-four, ninety-four! He'll never go sick no more; The poor bugger's dead."

Sidewalks of New York: (13 refs. 4K Notes) {Roud #22680}

Known by its chorus: "East side, west side, all around the town, The tots sang Ring-a-Rosie, London Bridge is falling down...." The verses describe courting in New York, and wax nostalgic for the days when the singer was one of those doing the courting

Sidney Allen [Laws E5]: (12 refs. 6K Notes) {Roud #612}

The Allen Family is in court; Sidney and the others break out by shooting the judge and starting a gunfight in the court. Recaptured and brought home, he is sentenced to a long prison term instead of being executed

Siege of Plattsburg, The: (2 refs. 8K Notes) {Roud #15541}

"Back side of Albany stands Lake Champlain." "On Lake Champlain Uncle Sam set his boats, And Captain McDonough to sail 'em." The British come to attack Plattsburg, but scare off the British governor

"On the fourteenth of November, Straight to the French coast we did steer, All against the brave St. Malo, With our fleet we did steer... To burn St. Malo down." They bombard the town. The French ships and town are burned

The singer claims to be "a country clown" looking for work. He finds muddy streets, "scavengers" on strike, strange fashions -- "the Grecian Bend" -- hawkers that will "tear you limb from limb," drunkards and shirkers and artful dodgers.

"It's sign-on day at the Dance Palais And we're down to a quid or two...." The singer describes the hard work of (sugar) cane cutting. "Our hands are raw, but two bob more Will make them seem like new. If we get enough pay we'll cut all day...."

"The old folks would be happy If they knew I'd signed the pledge, For my feet have long been straying On the brink of ruin's edge." He hopes, "God helping me," to stay free of drink, to help his parents as they grow old

Jump-rope rhyme. "Silent minister, one, two, three. Elephant feet... Fairy feet...."

German christmas song with multiple English translations, the most famous beginning "Silent night, holy night, All is calm, all is bright." The night of Jesus's birth is praised

A girl's parents send her lover away. She dresses in men's clothes and follows him. Their ship sinks. In a lifeboat, she is chosen by lot to be killed for food; he is to kill her. (She reveals herself); they spot (land or a ship) and all are saved

The singer, "a silly doe, From Elford town I strayed." The master has his keeper take his hounds to chase her down "for leaving of the bounds." The chase goes "for many miles" and she is caught, cut, and murdered by the Duke of Cornwall.

"Here's a silly ould man that lies all alone He wants a wife, and he can get none." He chooses. "Now, young couple, you're married together ... must obey father and mother ... love one another ... kiss together"

Silver Dagger (I), The [Laws G21]: (41 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #711}

Two young people wish to marry; the boy's parents are against it because the girl is poor. The heartbroken girl stabs herself to death. The boy, finding her dying, takes the dagger and stabs himself as well

Silver Dollar (A Man Without a Woman): (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #11405 and 19994}

"A man without a woman is like a ship without a sail, Is like boat without a rudder... But the saddest thing... is a woman without a man." "Now you can roll a silver collar cross the bar-room floor" but a woman won't miss her man until he is gone

"'Lift high,' shouts Clarke, 'the Silver Flagon...The gift of good John Jacob Astor... I drink the curse of hated savage."" When the flagon is found missing, Clarke hangs an Indian, despite a lack of evidence

Peddler's song/street cry: "Who'll buy my silver herrings?/I cry from door to door". Verses tell different ways prepare herring, plus different names. Many enjoy eating herring; more weep for the fishermen who are lost catching them

Silver Jack [Laws C24]: (11 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #705}

Robert Waite condemns the Bible as fictitious and Jesus as "just a common man." Silver Jack proceeds to beat the "infidel" until he admits the error of his ways.

"The silver moon is shining Upon the silent meadow, I walk adown the meadow With no one near me." The singer sighs as the nightingale sings. The moon is lovely. "My heart would ease its aching If thou wert near me."

Silver Threads among the Gold: (18 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #6403}

"Darling, I am growing old, Silver threads among the gold Shine upon my brow today; Life is fading fast away; But, my darling, you will be... Always young and fair to me." The singer describes how (his) belove will grow old, but he will love her anyway

Scots Gaelic, welcoming Bonnie Prince Charlie to Scotland: "Oh who will play the silver whistle? ... (when my) king's son to sea is going?" The singer describes those who will welcome Charlie, as well as the handsome prince himself

School rhyme: "Silvery grass will make you pass, A rusty nail will make you fail."

The singer says "never river saw I any Half so fair or dear to me As my own, the silvery Lee" He prefers it to the Rhine (and whisky to wine), the Tagus, Tiber, Danube, Seine and Elbe. But he is influenced by "her voice" who also favors the Lee.

The singer sees a girl lamenting in the moonlight. Her lover was true and brave, "but now he is dead, the youth once so gay... And he silently sleeps while I'm left here to weep By the sweet silver light of the moon."

A nobleman courts Molly while Henry is away. The noble threatens to drown Molly if she will not marry him. She refuses. He strangles her and throws her in the sea. Henry finds her body and the noble's handkerchief. The nobleman is hanged, and Henry mourns

"Seven long years did Sim court the widder... Seven long years, and Sim didn't git her." Sim went home grieving -- but not before stealing a curry-comb. Forced to return it by "my son John," the rest of the song relates Sim's disjointed further adventures

Old man and wife, Simon and Janet, hear Bonaparte has landed. In spite of her dreams of his death, he goes to join the fight. The captain tells him to be ready next morning. It is a false alarm. They return from the war unscathed, cursing the French.

Symon Brodie is honest, stupid, old and confused; "I'll awa to the north-countree And see my ain dear Symon Brodie!" He lost his cow and couldn't find her but she "came hame and her tail behind her" His bonny wife used a dish towel to bind her hair.

Two-couplet verse. Each couplet is a call followed by the response "Simon Taylor, Hilo." See notes.

"Old Simon the Cellarer keeps a rare store" of liquor, and drinks "his sober six flagons a day." "Dame Margery" also consumes heavily. It is suggested that the two would be good for each other. He says, "What, marry old Margery? No! no! no!"

Simon Too-Too sets bird traps instead of going to Sunday School. He catches a snake which is a spirit. The snake tells him to take it home, kill it, eat it, serve it to company. One bone is left and tells Simon to go to bed. He dies, a Sabbath violater

"A tall and hearty fisherman for Campobello Island Resolved to try his luck...." He meets another fisherman whose boat was confiscated. They end up in court. Buying herrings is "hundoubted larceny," so one is convicted of arson for their court behavior

"'Tis the gift to be simple, 'Tis the gift to be free, 'Tis the gift to come down Where we ought to be...." In praise of "simplicity" and love, which bring the hope of heaven

Simple Little Nancy Brown: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #4613}

Various girls go out, get in trouble, and find unexpected solutions. Example: "They went walking by the beach, Went in swimming, got out of reach; She lost her socks and evr'thing, So what d'ye suppose she came home in... She came home in the twilight."

"Simple Simon met a pieman, Going to the fair, Said Simple Simon to the pieman, Let me taste your ware." The pieman demands payment, which Simon does not have. He tries to catch a whale; he seeks plums on a thorn; he does not succeed

Simple Will walks up the street looking at every girl. Kate smiles. He proposes. She agrees, intending to wear the breeches. They fight over his drinking. She beats him with a poker. He wishes he had wed "some country wench" and not a Glasgow lady.

"Attention give while I relate Though horrible is the shame, I'll tell you of a doomed man, Bush they call his name." He is sentenced to die "for the murder of his own dear wife." The singer describes the methods of the murder, then moralizes

"Brother George is a-gwine to glory, take care the sin-sick soul" (x3).

Gospel song, describing singer's plans to meet with his mother and with Jesus, shake hands with angels, walk and talk in glory "since I laid my burden down."

Since James Went on the Stage: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #5499}

"My name is Patrick Hogan, in this city I reside, I raised a son to manhood and he was my joy and pride," but now "me carpet is tore and me house is in a roar Since James went on the stage." The singer tells of the troubles caused by his son's acting

The singer claims he has never seen a toad wearing a beaver hat "since me born." A toad is wearing a beaver hat!? A plantain is growing under a bed? A woman has given birth to a coconut? A jackass is wearing a watch and chain?

"Since me Leader dead an' gone, It is me one in the field"

The singer thinks of the days when she and her sweetheart herded on the hills and "in his plaid he's sheltered me" Now he's left her, "oot owre the sea," "wi' grief an' care" and a baby. She'll have no other but him.

The singer goes to see his sweetheart but finds her "asleep in another man's arms." He complains that young women will "promise to thirty and prove constant to none... I'll have a good one if there's one to be found."

"My name is Michael Slattery, and from Ireland I came." He has a son Terrence, who has "joined the gang" and now wears a "big watch and chain," talks back to his parents, steals, and has been convicted of theft

"From me shanty down on Sixth Street, It's meself have jist kim down"; she came from Cork 18 years ago. She worked as a launderer, but needs help "Since the Chinese ruint the thrade." She's a widow. Her daughter has run off. Help her against the heathens

"Oh, it's Sindbad [sic] the sailor and Robinson Crusoe, I left my native counterie a roaming for to go. I went to be a sailor returned just as you see, a mixture of an Indian, a Turk, and a Japanee. Oh, jeffer see my jibber ahoy...."

"O fathers, ain't you glad you left that sinful army? (x2), The sea gave way -- Oh, mothers, ain't you glad the sea gave way? Oh, Moses smote the water And the children all passed over... And the sea gave way." "oh, brothers, ain't you glad...."

Sing a Song of Sixpence: (8 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #13191}

"Sing a song of sixpence A pocket full of rye; Four and twenty blackbirds, baked in a pie." The pie is opened and the birds sing. The king is in the counting house, the queen in the parlour, the maid in the garden and a blackbird "snapped off her nose"

Shanty. "Way down in Dixie! Way down in Dixie, oh I had a gal. Ch: Sing a song, blow-along O!" Verses continue describing the aforementioned gal, the singer, and what they did (or would do) to each other.

"Gather 'round the campfire, Singing all night long. With your friends beside you, We’ll sing a campfire song. Sing around the campfire, Sing around the campfire, Sing a campfire song."

"Fare you well, I wish you well, Hurrah and fare you well, Fare you well till I return, Hurrah, sing fare you well." "Oh, fare you well, my bonny young girl." "As I walked out one morning fair... I met a lady fair," but the sailor must work on his ship

"My name Sing-Ha-Ha, come from China, Keep a little wash shop way down street. No like-a 'Melican man, too much chin-chin...." The singer is pursuing an Irish girl, but she is stolen away. He has also had trouble with the law

"Down in the lonesome pine woods, This song is sung with glee. Now I have sung a song for you And you may sing one for me."

"Sing one, two, three, Come, follow me, And so shall we Good fellows be"

Likely the predecessor to the full shanty (which has discernable words and a division of solo & chorus parts). These are short phrases or vocalizations, often made up of nonsense syllables, and used for hauling.

The singer and Johnny King are imprisoned in Sing-Sing. They make an attempt to break out, but they cannot create a large enough opening and are trapped. King is shot. Soon after, the singer is pardoned and gratefully bids farewell to prison

There are two versions, one a halyard and the other a capstan shanty. Characteristic refrain is "Sing Sally O, an' a fol-lol-de-day." The verses of the capstan version have a general whoring theme and are speaking to a "Mudder or Mammy Dinah."

erman shanty. Tired of tough meat, the steward of a ship buys a bull in Singapore. They manage to hoist it onto the ship but have considerable trouble killing it and the bull causes much damage before it expires. Last phrase of verses repeat as chorus.

"Far back in the dusty hollow Where the trees grow straight and tall, Sits the Traipsin' Woman Cabin... Where in the June-time of the year Is held the folk-lore festival." The singer describes the event and the people who attend and praises the organizer

Singin' Hinnie, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #2618}

"Sit doon, noo, man alive! Te tell ye aa'll contrive O' the finest thing the worl' hes ivver gin ye, O. It's not fine claes nor drink, Now owt 'at ye can think Can had a cannle up ti singin'-hinney, O." The song tells how the singin' hinnie shapes lives

The singers are listed. Josie Fowlie, "goodman o' Cadgiedykes," Sawners Fenty "Fleein' like a bird." "Some sang Bangor, And some sang bass, But bonny Mary Jamieson Sang munsy in the ase" [?]

The singer recalls "The merry days -- the days of old" when her husband loved her. With time, he grows more aloof and distant. Eventually "my health gave way, my spirits fled, They told him I would die." The husband again pays attention, and she survives

Single Girl, Married Girl: (9 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #436}

"Single girl, single girl, go and dress so fine... Married girl, married girl goes ragged all the time...." The lives of single and married women compared: The single girl can go out (and perhaps even spend); the married girl must care for the baby; etc.

"The birds they sing so sweetly on every branch and vine, My joys would overdouble if you were only mine.... Oh love, if an answer I must give you, a single live I'll shoose, I never thought it suited for me to be your wife."

"Some do say there are good girls, Oh, where shall we find them? Some do say there are good boys, But never do you mind them." The singer warns of deceivers, concluding, "A single life I am to live, Oh, single is my glory... Then who will control me?"

"I'm a single man, I'm a single man, I ain't doing nothing but going from hand to hand." The singer hopes to find a woman to love. He will go downtown to look for a woman. He will be a "'little 'tomic bomb" and hopes for divine support

"I wadna gie a gless o' wine For my single sailor he's new come home; And he's bidden's spen' and nowise hain, And live most royally, Since my bonnie love's brought back his ship From the high streams of the sea"

"When HMS _Hood_ went down in the deep, That was the news that made most mothers weep." "They had a duty which they had to do," but still the British are sad. Many ships combined to "send Bismarck to hell." May the sailors sleep "in heavenly peace"

Sinking of the Graf Spee, The: (3 refs. 41K Notes) {Roud #2909}

The Admiral Graf Spee, "built in Nazi Germany ... looted merchant men of every nationality." It lost a battle with three British "little cruisers" and "went to cover." The pocket battleship was scuttled "in Davy Jones's pocket"

Sinking of the Newfoundland, The: (1 ref. 2K Notes) {Roud #V44735}

"We have bred many sailors bold, Brave captains by the score, And ranking with the best of them Is Captain John Blackmore." After a long career of sailing and shipbuilding, he retires, can't stand it, builds the Newfoundland -- and sails her into a wreck

"Toll for the brave, the brave that are no more. All sunk beneath the wave fast by their native shore." 800 are lost when Kempenfeldt's ship capsized. The singer hopes the ship may float again, but the sailors and their admiral are gone

The Titanic leaves Southampton. After the ship strikes an iceberg, her officers call upon the Carpathia for help. The passengers and crew place women and children in the lifeboats, leaving the men to go down with the ship.

Sinking of the Vestris, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #22428}

Vestris sail proudly from New York into a storm: "wild waves... And in her side a hole was pounded" The captain's message for help is too late. "Well do we know that someone blundered. We must forgive after all For we are adrift on life's briny ocean"

Sinne, Sinne, Set Ye: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #13066}

The herder welcomes sunset and complains that he has only a drop of corn husks to eat all day. When a cripple bird passes, dragging its wing he clubs it. The bird cheeps. The cock warns it "come na yon road again"

"Oh, sinner man, where you gonna run to? (x3) All on that day." The remainder of the song is variations on the theme, "Run to the (rock), Rock won't you hide me? (x3)... (rock) will be (a-melting)"

"One night I was in sorrow, My heart with fear did ache, To think that on the morrow The thread of life might break. But soon the savior found me... And took me to his fold." "Each day I look for courage... To tell... His blood has washed each white"

The sinner is told what he needs to do, but he ignores the warnings. "Turn ... the sinner wouldn't turn." "My Lord call you -- wouldn't come." "Church bell ring -- you wouldn't come." "O too late, sinner, too late."

"(Sinner, what are you doing down there?) (3x) Oooh, my Lord." First lines include "Doing my Master's work," "Haul in the plank and let us go," "This old world ain't my home," "Walking on the borrowed land," "Never miss my mother till she's gone."

"When you (hear the trumpet blowing/hear the wind blowing/see the lightning flashing/hear the thunder rolling) on that day, on that day, Oh sinner, why will you die on that day"

"O the lamb been down here and died (x3), Sinner won't die no more." "I wonder what bright angels, angels, angels, I wonder what bright angels, The robes all ready now." ""I see them ships a-sailing... The robes all ready now."

Sinner You Better Get Ready: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #19341}

Chorus: "Sinner you better get ready" (3x). "The hour is coming that a sinner must die" Verse (see notes: "The good old chariot passing by, Jarred the earth and shook the sky" "I looked at my hands, my hands was new, I looked at my feet, my feet was too."

"Brother, be sure you got your soul right, Sister, be sure you got your heart right, See the time is winding up, Don't let this harvest pass." Jesus is coming. God is a warrior. Jesus is a rock. The time is coming. So get moving!

Counting-out rhyme. "Sinner, sinner, Come to dinner. Half past two. Fried potatoes, Alligators, Out goes you."

The seventeen year old pregnant singer sees her false lover and curses the church and minister of his coming marriage, future wife and sons ["every year a burial"], farm and waters. "The woman never will follow you ... That will love you so well's I do"

"Sinners will call for the rocks and the mountains (x3) When the last trump shall sound." "Jesus will bear the Christians higher (x3) When the last trump shall sound." "Brothers, won't you go to glory with me (x2) When the last trump shall sound."

Alternate lines are a chorus, "Sintali I-yah you know." The shantyman sings: Sintali was a poor fisherman who went to sea. He couldn't get bait so he took off his penis, his leg, and other parts of his body for bait. "What a great fishing guy"

Sioux Indians, The [Laws B11]: (19 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #3235}

A train of white settlers is bound for Oregon. While on their way they are attacked by a band of Sioux. Outnumbered, the whites are nonetheless victorious and finish their journey

Sir Aldingar [Child 59]: (9 refs. 19K Notes) {Roud #3969}

Aldingar, spurned by the Queen, puts a (blind/drunk) leper in her bed and shows the king. She will be burned and the leper hanged. She finds a (child) champion who defeats Aldingar. He confesses. (The leper is made whole, becomes steward.)

Sir Andrew Barton [Child 167]: (23 refs. 4K Notes) {Roud #104}

Merchants complain to the King that their trade is being disrupted. The King sends a crew to deal with Barton, the pirate. After a difficult battle marked by great courage and skill on both sides, Barton is defeated and killed

Sir Cawline [Child 61]: (11 refs. 6K Notes) {Roud #479}

Sir Cawline falls ill for love of the king's daughter; she attends him. He desires to prove himself worthy of her; she sends him to vanquish the elvish king. He then defeats a giant threatening to wed her, and survives a lion attack before marrying her.

Sir Francis Drake, or Eighty-Eight: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #22269}

"In eighty-eight, ere I was born, As I can well remember, In August was a fleet prepared, The month before September." Spain and allies prepare an "Armado." They fail. "If they come again, a, They shall be served with that same sauce."

A child tosses the ball into a Jew's/Gypsy's garden. The Jew's daughter/wife lures him into the house, where she murders him, (for ritual purposes?). Dying, he gives instructions for his burial (with a prayer book at his head and a grammar at his feet).

Sir James the Rose [Child 213]: (10 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2274}

James the Rose (has killed a squire, and) is forced to flee. He asks his leman's help. She, under pressure, tells his pursuers of his hiding place. James is taken and killed. His leman regrets her actions

Sir James the Ross: (19 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #2274}

Matilda's father wants her to marry John Graham rather than James Ross. James kills John's brother and hides with Matilda while she sends her page to raise John's men. The page betrays James to John Graham. James is killed and Matilda commits suicide.

Sir John Butler [Child 165]: (4 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #4000}

Men cross a moat by leather boat to Sir John Butler's hall. His daughter Ellen warns him his uncle Stanley is here. He says he is therefore doomed, and, indeed, he is murdered. His wife, in London, dreams his death, confirms it, seeks redress in vain.

"When I was a lad I served my term WIth 'Seddon & Co.,' then a rising firm." He shows such interest in his superiors "That now I am Sir Joseph Ward, you see." He becomes expert in politics and surpasses his mentor "Dick" and becomes a power in the land

Sir Lionel [Child 18]: (63 refs. 16K Notes) {Roud #29}

(Sir Lionel) hears report (from a lady in distress?) of a murderous boar. Meeting the boar, he slays the beast. In the older versions, the boar's keeper then comes out to demand a price, and the knight then slays the keeper also.

Sir Neil and Glengyle [Laws M39]: (10 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1914}

Ann is wooed by Sir Neil and Glengyle. Her brother, hearing a false rumor that Sir Neil has slandered his sister, demands a duel and is killed. Glengyle kills Sir Neil. Ann, horrified by the slaughter, will not have Glengyle and vows to die unwed

Sir Patrick Spens [Child 58]: (35 refs. 9K Notes) {Roud #41}

The King, needing a good sailor, calls upon Sir Patrick Spens to sail (to Norway?) in the dead of winter. Though both Captain and crew fear the trip, they undertake it, and are drowned

"Peny is an hardy knyght, Peny is mekyl of myght, Peny of wrong ge makyt right" wherever he goes. "Go bet, peny, go bet, go." One who has Peny as a messenger will do well. Men like those with Peny. When he is without Peny, they reject him

"Sir Peter Parker" relates how he attacked Sullivan's Isle outside Charleston. He receives no support from his superior, Clinton, so the rebels are able to beat off his ship Bristol. Parker decides it's time to return to base

"One morning Sir Piggy put on his fine clothes; Taking his cane, out walking he goes." He goes to a tavern, calls for wine, and goes to visit Miss Puss. Piggy and Towser duel over her; Piggy shoots off Towser's tail. A judge says Towser should ride a rail

Sir Robert o' Gordonstown: (3 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #13117}

"Oh! wha has na heard o' that man o' renown -- The wizard, Sir Robert o' Gordonstown!" The wizard had cheated the devil of his soul but is tricked into accompanying the Devil to his death.

Sir Robert Peel, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #4031}

"In the pleasant month of May, 'twas the year of thirty-eight... It was down in the narrows where they watched for the eel Lay her majesty's steamer called the Sir Robert Peel." Forced to land in America, the ship is burnt to avenge the Caroline

"When he came to his ain luve's bouir," his "fair fause luve" admits him. It is Halloween, and she kills him. At a river, she meets a knight. Only one who is faithful can cross there. She tries to ride with him, and drowns. The knight is her lover's ghost

Sir Steeple courted "queer widow Glib" for her money and the chance for knighthood if they were married. "Together they gadded to concerts and halls." At the wedding the parson says "Your wife's rather short" "In choosing two evils I've chosen the least"

"Sissy in the barn, O join the wedding, Sweetest li'l couple I e'er did see, O Bon Ton, put your arms around me! Say, li'l Sissy, Won't you marry me?" "Gety back, gal, Get yo' arms from around me!" The two children discuss courting

"Sistah Ca'oline, Sistah Ca'oline, can't you dance the peavine? See that water melyine, I'se gwine to have a home bye and by. My old mistress promised me, I'm gwinta have a home bye and bye, When she die she set me free, I'm gwinta have...."

Jump-rope rhyme. "Sister had a date last night, Boyfriend held her very tight, Brothers made a friendly bet, How many kisses did she get?"

"Sister Sue and my (Aunt/gal) Sal, Gwine to git a home bime by-high. All gwine to lib down shin-bone al; Gwine to git a home bime by." Various verses on working, sailing, complaints. Noted as a Barbadian hand over hand.

See notes for format. Verses "Sit down servant," "I know you're tired," "I know you've been talked about," "I know you've been lied on," "You've come a mighty long way"

"When the cannonballs a-singing and the mustard gas is low, If I surely had my rothers, Alabama's where I'd go. Sitting in the cotton where you won't give a damn, SInging whoa buck." He thinks of all the deaths in the war and thinks even slavery is better

"I'm just sitting here thinking, thinking about the past." When the singer gets the blues and wants to feel good he would take his baby's hand. "I wouldn't be worried if I could only hold her hand."

"Dick and Jane [or any other boy and girl] SItting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G, First comes love, then comes marriage, Then comes (something) with a baby carriage." Sometimes used as a taunt, sometimes as a jump-rope rhye

"Sitting in the moonlight, glimmer, glimmer, Here comes my boyfriend, slimmer, slimmer, Teeth knocked out and hair peroxided"; he's cross-eyed, his clothes a mess, he's lost a leg, "But I love him just the same"

Sitting on Top of the World: (12 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7689}

Singer's woman leaves him, then says "Come back... I need you so". He spurns her: "If you don't like my peaches, don't shake my tree...." He'll find another woman. Ch.: "But now she's gone, and I don't worry/Because I'm sitting on top of the world"

Six Days Shalt Thou Labor: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #16857}

"Six days shalt thou labor and do all thou art able, And on the seventh -- holystone the decks and scrape/scrub the cable" (or "the seventh the same, and clean out the stable," etc.) A (sailor's) complaint about hard work and dishonoring the Sabbath

Six Dukes Went a-Fishing: (11 refs. 11K Notes) {Roud #78}

(Six dukes) go fishing and find the body of the (some Duke). His body is brought (home/to London); the embalming is described in rather gory detail. His burial is described in language reminiscent of "The Death of Queen Jane"

Six Horse-Power Coaker, The: (6 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #7310}

An old run-down motor that still has a lot of life left in it fails one day as the weather worsens and they have a dory in tow. An orphan boy comes to the rescue in a skiff and is able to start the motor. They take on the boy from that time forward.

About "six jolly miners." They come from all over Britain, "but all of their delight was to split those rocks in twine." "Sometimes we have good credit, boys, sometimes we've none at all." "We'll call for liquors plenty and drink our healths all round."

"Six little mice sat down to spin; Pussy passed by and she peeped in. What are you doing, my little en? Weaving coats for gentlemen. Shall I come in... You'd bite off our heads... Oh, no, I'll not... That may be so, but you don't come in."

"Come all you hardy Fishermen, And hark to what I say, And hear how six were rescued Near Petty Harbor Bay." Stranded overnight on the ice, they desperately signal for help. Spotted at last, the Ingraham comes to rescue them

Singer reports that "all I've got's done gone"; he was framed by an upright judge and sentenced to six months in jail for shooting up the town. Ch.: "Six months ain't long, ain't long my dear...six months ain't long for me to be gone/oh darling...."

"Six months in jail ain't so long, baby, It's workin' on the county farm. Got my pick an' shovel now, baby, Yo' true lub is gone. Who's gwine to be yo' true lub, baby, When I'm gone? Who gwine to bring you chickens... When I'm workin' on the county farm?"

The singer recalls courting "six girls all at once." He enjoys it greatly until he starts to forget the girls' names. The girls unite to pay him back. He dreams of what else they might do -- and of being a Turk and marrying all of them

"Six whisstles, six again -- the fatal call" which makes those who hear "Ask, 'What poor devil's got it now?'" Bill, a married man with children, is the dead man "the first this month." The loggers wonder who will be next

"Oh, the six bit 'spressmen sing this song, doo dah, oh, doo dah day. Oh, the six bit 'spress is a hundred miles long." They will run the train all night and day "In a dirty lousy dugout on a bed made of hay." The singer does well at craps.

"Sixteen men in a pine-slab bunk -- Gosh, how the bullies snore!" They sleep soundly to prepare for the next day's work. They are so crowded that they have to turn in their bed in unison. They wait, eat a lot, and head out into the woods to work

Sixteen String Jack: (1 ref. 5K Notes) {Roud #15021}

"A cloudy night, and pretty hard it blowed, The dashy, splashy, leery little stringer" takes his horse and goes seeking victims on the highway. He catches the Lord of Cashel, then a lady. Jack kisses her; she says she wouldn't mind being robbed again

"Oh, I'm sixteen thousand miles from home... To think that I should humble down To come out here stone-breaking." The new immigrant is met by a local contractor, who flatters him and tricks him into a menial job. (The singer prefers to join the army)

"Now some folks say a man is made out of mud, But a poor man's made out of muscle and blood." The singer describes the hard life in the mines -- and the debts incurred. "St. Peter, don't you call me, 'cause I can't go; I owe my soul to the company store."

Sixteen Years, Mama: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #12942}

The daughter says that at 16 it is time she was wed. The mother offers her daughter a sheep instead; daughter would weep. Mother offers a cow; daughter would frown. Mother offers a man; daughter says "as soon as ever you can... Married I'd like to be"

Swedish capstan shanty. Translation - Ship sails from Cardiff, runs into various mechanical problems and bad weather and are left with nothing but bread to eat.

The singer rides up to a "lovely maid," and asks if she will come away with him. She refuses; she loves another. He says her love is married. She says he lies, and if her love were here, he would slay the singer. The singer reveals that he is her love

Skewball [Laws Q22]: (28 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #456}

(Skewball) and one or more other horses run a race; the crowd favors another animal. (Half way through the course), Skewball tells his rider he will win. He pushes on to victory (and drinks a toast with his rider)

A boy asks his father why he left Skibbereen when he is always speaking of it. The father lists reasons: First came the blight. Then the landlord took the land. Then he joined the 1848 rebellion, and had to flee. The boy promises revenge

The singer tells "what happened to me at the wake o' me cow" in Skibbereen. His "relayshuns ... in their thousands" drank up the still, fought, broke up the house and killed his sow. Next day all were sentenced to a week or two for fighting.

Complaints of the crew of a shot-up plane: "She'll be skidding down the runway when she comes." "She'll be needin' ammunition when she comss." "She'll be weepin' tears of oil when she comes. "She'll be plugged chock full of holes when she comes."

Skidmore Fancy Ball, The: (4 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #V15479}

"Oh, here we go so nobly, oh, de colored Belvederes, A number one, we carry a gun, we beat the fusileers." "Every coon's us warm as June, at de Skidmore fancy ball." "We're bon ton darkies all: Sweet Caledone, it gives a tone to de Skidmore fancy hall."

Teasing game. "Skin a rabbit, skin a rabbit, Chop him off here." (After which the singer strikes or taps another in the arm.)

"There was an old woman, all skin and bones." The old woman decides to go to church. At the church she encounters a (rotting?) corpse. She asks the (parson/clock), "Will I be thus when I am dead." When told "Yes," she screams and/or dies

Skin the Goat says before he sails that he will give Carey, the informer, his curses, such as, "by some mistake may he shortly take A flowing pint of poison." Skin the Goat promises that "when I die, my old ghost will sit on his bed-post"

"Skinnamarinkydinkydink, Skinnamarinkydoo, I... Love... You!" (repeat) "I love you in the morning and in the afternoon, I love you in the evening, underneath the moon."

The singer leaves Lockport (on the Erie Canal), curses out Skinner, and describes some of his crewmates on the canal boat.

"Skinner, skinner, you know the rule, Eat your breakfast and curry your mule, Curry your mules and curry them right, Let's get on the big boat next Saturday night." The singer complains about (work? and) his troubles with his woman

"I looked at de sun and de sun looked high, I looked at de captain and he wunk his eye, And he wunk his eye, and he wunk his eye, I looked at de captain and he wunk his eye." "I looked at de sun and de sun looked red... de captain... he turned his head."

Singer is "a little bitty mama ... got everything a little bitty mama needs." "I've got little bitty legs ... something underneath works like a boar hog's eye." She makes her lover "whine" but she would cut his throat: " graveyard be your resting place"

Skinny Malinky Long Legs: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #19020}

"Skinny Malinky long/lanky legs, And big banana/umberella feet, Jammy face.... Went to the cinema, And fell through the seat" (or, ...to the pictures, And couldn't get a seat. When he got a seat, he fell fast asleep")

"Skip to my one and skip to me two, Harriet's other is looking at you, Skip to my three and skip to my four, who's that knocking at Harriet's door? Five... six... I love you but push you away quick..." The marriage was "only a dream"

Various stanzas, all with the chorus "Skip to my Lou, my darling": "Lost my partner, what'll I do?" "I'll get another one prettier than you!" "Flies in the buttermilk, shoo shoo shoo!"

Jump-rope rhyme. "Skip, hop, hep, hep! This will give you lots of pep. If you do this twice a day, You'll be able to swim across the bay."

The Tiger is ready to go out. The singer on Sunday tries to borrow money from Skipper Dan. Skipper Dan refuses because the singer would get drunk. The singer replies that he will sell his rags to get money for liquor.

Skipper George Whitely: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #25331}

Singer/writer, from Bellburns, warns "young girls ... Never go working with Skipper Whitely." To work at Forteau, "he promised to pay ten dollars [a month] but paid only seven"; instead of a ticket home only gave her a ticket to Port aux Choix.

"The skipper brocht his guid ship hame, And he anchored aff the toun," and sees a fire burning. The skipper's mother Janet Grey, described as a witch, is being burned. The skipper curses the town and vows never to return

"I scarce been in bed three ticks of the clock When at me back door I heard a loud knock." Skipper Tom wakes the singer because he has a big fish on the line. The big fish gets away. They go closer to shore to get smaller fish.

"Good neighbours, I'm come for to tell you, Our skipper and Moll's to be wed; And if it be true what they're saying, Egad, we'll be rarely fed." The available foods are listed, as are the odd characters who will be present

Swedish shanty. A maid's her betrothed sails away. After (three) years she agrees to marry another. He returns just after the wedding, she laments it is too late, she thought he was dead. He says he will be soon, write her a farewell and kills himself.

"I hunt ze bear, I hunt ze wolf... Las' week I take my ax An' hunt ze skunk polecat." He sneaks up on it from behind, and is sprayed. When he comes home, his wife sets the dog on him. Not even the hog will let him approach. No more skunk hunting for him!

Counting-out rhyme. "The sky is blue. How old are you?" The response is used to continue the counting-out

"The scream of the outlaw split the air As we tied him hard and fast." The horse would be forced to learn to work. "Bugger" attempts to ride the horse, which goes wild. The rider stays in the saddle until the horse is too tired to continue

"Now Skyball Paint was a devil's saint, His eyes was a fiery red. Good men have tried this horse to ride But all of them are dead." The singer can't ride Skyball either. Finally he sells him to "old Sheriff Jim."

"Speed, bonnie boat, like a bird on the wing... Carry the lad that's born to be king Over the sea to Skye." The singer grieves over the dead of Culloden, and wishes Bonnie Prince Charlie a safe escape

Dutch. "Slaap, kindje, slaap, Daar buiten luupt een Schaap....." "Sleep, child, sleep, Outside there runs a sheep. The sheep has four white feet, It drinks the milk so sweet, (So) sleep, little one, sleep."

"Slap, bang, here we go again Here we go again, Here we go again, Slap, bang, here we go again Jolly friends are we." "We laugh, we sing, We laugh, ha, ha." "Bang, slap, here we go again Tired old maids are we."

"'S'posin you had Lige on a housetop? S'posin I did? S'posin' you had Adam on a housetop? S'posin' I did. S'posin' you had Ben... What would you do with Ben Pitch him a piece of cornbread every now and then... Adam... Throw him off...."

"What would my mother say to me, if I should come home with Big Billy? Chorus: Slappoo, slapeter, slap-an-der-go-she-ka, slappoo! I'd tell her to go and hold her tongue, for she did the same when she was young." Other verses have similar rhymes.

Fragment: A fair lady is heard lamenting for her slain husband, "John Hately, the Laird of Mellerstain." She laments that her ladies were not men who could have stood by him as he was killed.

Slave's Lament (I), The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #11709}

"I'm standing as a free man upon the northern banks Of old Erie's fresh water see, And it cheers my very soul... to think like the waves I am free." The slave had been promised he would never be sold. He will never be a slave again

Slavery Chain Done Broke at Last: (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #15257}

"Slavery chain done broke at last, broke at last, broke at last... Gonna praise God till I die." The former slave describes praying to God for relief from pain and oppression. God has answered with mighty armies; "He gave me liberty."

The singer recalls slavery in Virginia: "they took away my boy"; they sold his wife; at night the wind seemed to say "you people must be free"; "our souls they were tied down"; "they'll never come again... cruel slavery days"

"Slaves to the world should be tossed in a blanket" like the mill wheel that rises and falls "the ground it touch until"

"I'd oft heard tell of this Sledburn fair, And fain would I gan thither." The singer's parents let him go there with Nell. They arrive at Sledburn, find an alehouse, and settle down to enjoy a fine dinner.

The singer names one hunting dog and lists the woods and fields to hunt hare and pheasant but "our names we dare not tell, If we meet a keeper bold we'll cause his head to swell"

Sleep, Baby, Sleep: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #V42405}

"Sleep, baby, sleep, Thy father guards the sheep, Thy mother shakes the dreamland tree, And from it fall sweet dreams for thee; Sleep, baby, sleep, Sleep, baby, sleep." The moon is the shepherd, the stars sheep. The Lamb, she Savior, loves the sheep

Singing game. "Fair Rosa was a lovely child... Fair Rosa slept a hundred years... A forest grew around her tower... A wicked fairy found her there... A noble prince came riding by... And now she's happy as a bride."

Jump rope rhyme. "Sleeping Beauty think she's cuties, All she wears is bathing suities. If she can jump to 24, She may have her turn once more."

"When the boys come home in triumph, brother, With the laurels they shall gain... We shall look for you in vain." The brave man lies dead "underneath the Southern tree." "Sleeping to waken in this weary world no more... Sleeping for the flag you bore."

"When a man get trouble in his mind, he want to sleep all the time (x2)." "I'm feeling worried in mind, and I'm trying to keep from crying." "I want somewhere to go, but I hate to go to town." "I wonder what's the matter with my right mind."

Sleepy Merchant, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7164}

The merchant comes calls for a bed and a girl. She gives him a sleeping drug. The next night, he pours out the drug and sleeps with her, but does not leave the gift he promised. Later, he arrives to find her pregnant and gives her his hand in marriage

"Cam all my lads that follow the ploo:" the singer tells about the job at Sleepytoon. The foreman wakes you at five for porridge. The farmer's "weel respected" but his wife is an ugly, scowling, "argefying bitch"

Singer, tired of his old job, hires out as a laborer to farmer Adam Mitchell, of Sleepytoon. The farmer's work (no more than ten hours a day, but with strict rules and fines) is described; with the season ended, singer and friends are off to celebrate

Gaelic. It is untrue that we fled like cattle on Sliabh na mBan. Had we waited patiently we'd have had support. Few retreated but many died or were imprisoned. If it's true that the French are coming to help the Gael we'll repay the robber Saxon.

The singer says his suitcase is packed and he's ready to go "up the country" on the Sliding Delta ("baby don't you want to go"). He complains that the "big Kate Allen" -- like a man -- will "steal your baby every time she lands"

"Delta slide ... been here and gone" Singer wants to leave the delta before the water rises. "If I don't get drownded ... lose my mind." He won't come back

"Come all ye jolly miners who love to hear a song, I will unfold a circumstance which to us all belongs." The owners have proposed pay based n a sliding scale. Now everything is being done by a sliding scale. The singer wishes sarcastic success to Gowen

The singer urges the visitor from the city to view Slive Gallen Brae: the old dolmen, the chieftain's graves, the singing linnets, the flowers, the home of Rory Dall, the grave of Cooey-na-gall. He says that bards come from far away to find inspiration

The singer walks out to view the beauties of Slieve Gallen Braes. He recalls walking and hunting in the past near his small farm. "But the rents were getting higher and I could no longer stay So farewell unto you bonny, bonny Slieve Gallen Braes."

Tithes and taxes: "No more they're legal on Slieve na Mon." At Carrickshock we left "the rabble ... in death's cold agony." The accused are freed "by the means of our noble Dan." Soon "tithes no more will oppress the land" "We'll banish Brinswickers"

"Two thousand men for Ireland, on splendid Slievenamon." They are a sign to every village and to Irish in America and "every clime." They put to shame "the blushless recreant." Push on "till every mountain in the land be manned like Slievenamon!"

Slighted Suitor, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4715}

A rich merchant's daughter has many suitors; she rejects them. One wins her heart, but she says, "I have no desire a single life to part." He courts another. She begs him to change his mind. He rejects her in turn. (She warns against doing as she did)

"O once I knew a pretty little girl When pretty little girls were but few; Ofttimes I've rolled her in my arms All over the fog and dew." After all this courting/rolling, he writes to ask if she will marry him. He wishes he were in Sligo with a girl

Sling the Flowing Bowl: (7 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2015 and 24416}

"Come come my jolly lads the wind's abaft, Brisk gales our sails shall crowd...." "Then sling the flowing bowl. Fond hopes arise the girls we prize Shall bless each jovial soul." The sailors boast of their prowess while on patrol

"There's aye a muckle slippery stane at ilka body's door." If your neighbor slips "lend a hand to lift him up"; you may find yourself in his condition some day. "Kings and emperors hae fallen"

The ship is loaded and heads to Forteau. It is caught in slob ice at Launce Amour cove. A rescue boat fastens a line from shore to the ship. While four men and three women hold the line the crew pull the ship to shore. Crew and cargo are safely landed.

"There were three lads in our town, Slow men of London!" The three court a widow, and "left her undone." "They went to work without their tools." "They often tasted the widow's cheer." Eventually she sends them away

"Slumber, slumber, Float on the starry stream Worlds of wonder Fill your dream. Slumber, my little one, Slumber my pretty one, Float on the starry stream; Worlds of all loveliness, wonderful world... Slumber so peacefully, Lifted beyond the blue..."

"Smarty, smarty, had a party, Nobody there but smarty, smarty. Smarty, smarty, threw a fit, Smarty, smarty, you are it."

Smashing of the Van (I), The: (3 refs. 4K Notes) {Roud #3028}

Two Fenian leaders, Kelly and Deasy, have been imprisoned; a party of Fenians led Allen, Larkin, and O'Brien, stop and break into the prison van and free them. But the rescuers kill a man, and in the end are executed

Smashing of the Van (II), The: (1 ref. 2K Notes) {Roud #3028}

Ten Sinn Fein men smash a prison van on Glasgow's High Street to free a prisoner. The police arrest the Sinn Fein men and Father McRory "a mere clergyman." Counsellors McKane and Sandymen defend the accused and the verdict is "Not Guilty"

Singer, "with a wish for every woman": loved "a dark-eyed damsel" while "herding horny cows"; was engaged to Peg O'Doherty who "vanished with a vagabond"; hit on a widow who "nearly scalded me." He loves a girl among the blackberries at harvest time.

"When I was a baby I was my mammy's joy, In fact the girls they all said I was a handsome boy." His problem is his "smeller," which "stuck out just a feet." He describes the troubles caused by a big nose, including knocking off his girlfriend's bonnet

Smiggey marries a maid (or fights in Bull Run). The maid winds the clock and milks the cow "from the chimney top." She has a cramp (or gets the croup) and "they brought her to with some turtle soup." She meets Mose, they come to blows and home she goes.

"Smile awhile, and give your face a rest Raise your hand to the one you love the best Then shake hands with the one nearby And greet them with a smile awhile."

Motion song. "Smile awhile and give your face a rest, Stand up straight and elevate your chest, Reach your hands up to the sky... As you were, and now, before you sit, Reach right out to someone near, Shake his hand and smile."

"Dearie, now I know, Just what makes me love you so... For life’s sadness turns to gladness When you smile on me." "There are smiles that make us happy, There are smiles that make us blue... And the smiles that fill my life with sunshine" are yours

"There are smiles in Pennsylvania/Kentucky/X, There are smiles in Idaho... There are smiles all over this great nation... But the smiles you get while in (some preferred place) Are the smiles that are best of all

"Sweet roots of Erin! we can't do without them; No tongue can express their importance to man ... Then here's to the brave boys that plant them and raise them."

Smith's a Gallant Fireman, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5899}

"Rab, the village smith .... He's knicht o' war an' lord o' love an' king o' a the shire man At feast or fray, by nicht or day the smith's a gallant fireman." He is praised for honour, heart, strength, courage and generosity.

"You can turn your damper up, you can turn your damper down, but the smoke goes up the chimney (chimbly, chimley) just the same." Describes a "Man of distinction's" struggles with his stove's flue.

Smokeroom on the Kyle: (2 refs. 7K Notes) {Roud #7311}

"Tall are the tales that fishermen tell when summer's work is done." They tell of fish, of men saved from freezing, a giant potato. Grampa Walcott tops them all with a tale of a year when the squid were hard to find -- until they came in in huge numbers

"Smokey Mountain Bill... drunk a lot of gin -- That's what caused him all the trouble he got in." Bill, a moonshiner, shoots a revenuer. Imprisoned by the sheriff, he escapes to the mountains, where he and his still live a happy life

"Attention give and a tale I'll tell, Of a damsel fair in Kent did dwell... She fell deep in love with a smuggler bold." She goes to sea with him. A cutter finds them after a storm. They are killed at almost the same moment and die in each others' arms

Smuggler's Song (II), The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #3795}

"When the blink o' the day is fading fast... O, that is the hour for to flash the oar." The singer talks of the troubles at sea, sneers at the German royalty, then waxes at length about the joys when they come back to shore.

"Midshipman, search the boat, to see she carries no gin! RIght-to-lu-ral la-di-dee, Righ-tu-lu-ral lay!"

"If you wake at midnight, and hear a horses's feet, Don't go drawing back the blind or looking in the street..." The child is assured that all is well, and told not to repeat what she hears. If she keeps quiet, she may be rewarded and will hear no lies

"Come all you Sussex heroes with courage stout and bold." About a battle between the "preventive men" and a band of smugglers. The preventive men attack and shoot two smugglers, but the smugglers counter-attack and win. They celebrate

"It was on the sixth of April as I lay on my bed, A-thinking of the sorrows that crowned my aching head," that the singer, a smuggler, was taken into custody. He will go home to his girl in Sandusky when released, and hopes she never learns what happened

The singer happily remembers "Walking down through Laramie with Snagtooth Sal." "But she turned me down completely" -- by dying (!). He will die for love, and gives instructions for his own burial

"Snail, snail, come out of your hole, Or else I'll beat you as black as coal." "Snail, snail, put out your horns, I'll give you bread and barley corns." Or, "John Jago... put out... Thy brother and sister are at the back door, Crying for barley bread"

The snail leaves a slimy track, eating our leaves and stealing away under cover of night. The blackbird finds and eats him. The snail is like "a meddling old gossip with falsehood's trail; And pick ... Till no beauty appears" until "Truth finds her out"

Snake Baked a Hoecake: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3622}

"Snake baked a hoecake, left the (frog) to mind it. Frog he went a-nodding, lizard came and stole it. 'Bring back my hoecake, you long-tailed ninny!'"

A young man vigorously courts the singer, then asks how much money her father has promised as a dowry. When she answers "None," he vanishes. She warns, "But well a day, alas, alas, 'Mong roses sometimes there's a snake in the grass."

"A cruel massacre took place Of late upon the plains; 'Tis hard to describe the place -- It was upon Ward's train." A small band is attacked by Indians, and overwhelmed; two boys escape, but the rest -- men and women -- are slaughtered

"Reginald Alfonsus Bungy had a scientific mind, From his earliest childhood was he taxidermically inclined." In his field expeditions he encounters a drunken rambler who advises him to go to the nearest pub, where he has seen many (illusionary) snakes

Three German (air) officers ask the landlady if she has a daughter who will sleep with them. The mother says her daughter is much too fine; the girl protests she is not.

Singer, riding in the mountains, finds the body of a cowboy frozen in the snow. He finds a letter, bidding farewell to his mother and asking the finder to take it to her. Singer hopes the cowboy may have found heaven "for his work is all done here below"

"Sweet Snow Deer mine, moon's a-shine through the pine, While Mohawks sleep, let us sleep through the vale, Your cowboy lover Your heart will cover." "My pretty Snow Deer, Say you will go, dear." They will escape to the ranch and live happily

Scots Gaelic. The singer (a girl who has lost her love?) asks the gull where her love sleeps. She describes the dead all together in the land under the waves.

"Oh the snow it melts the soonest when the winds begin to sing... And when a woman tells me that my face she'll soon forget, Before we part, I wad a croon, she's fain to follow't yet." The singer declares analogies to why parting need not be forever

"When I heard Australian shearers talk, in good old days gone by, Of being snowed in in Maoriland, I used to wonder why." A Maori girl agreed to marry him -- until he ran out of money. He is not ready for conditions along the Condamine

"The snowflakes gave a party all on a winter's night, The snowflakes were invited and they all came dressed in white, Each rode in a tiny carriage made of the softest silk, And slowly, gently, drifting down, they all came merrily"

"There's a colleen fair as May, For a year and for a day I sought by every way Her heart to gain." He's tried everything, without luck. He would follow her to France or Spain. Don't condemn him for wanting his "snowy-breasted pearl"

"There is a practice now in use For which there is no good excuse, They smoke and chew that filthy weed And they commit a sinful deed." The singer warns against as "snuffer for a wife." They ruin everything; "it's awful, awful, awful"

"Here's my mull and tak' a sneeshin, Dodsake gie yer nose a creeshin; Ye're welcome sid ye snuff a groat, Yestreen I snuffed a pun and mair o't The feint a grain o't made me sneeze In fact it isna worth the cairryin', If it warna jist to scare flees."

Snuffer's Toast, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #6037}

"Here's to the nose, and up it goes, And all that it contains, It clears the eyes and clogs the nose, And clarifies the brain; And it makes the lugs to crack; And oh it is a capital thing For ony man to tak'. Amen."

"Snug as a bug in a rug." That's it. That's the whole (alleged) street rhyme.

The lady bids her listeners to lament for her, "for so dear is my Charlie to me." She tells how she turned down many nobles because of her love for Charlie. She admits that he is Catholic and she Presbyterian, but she will accept Rome for Charlie

The singer meets a shepherd's daughter herding her flock. She refuses his advances because he appears rich; she would prefer a "poor shepherd laddie." He says (to us) that she's "the bonniest lassie that ever I saw"

So Early in the Morning (I): (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1274}

In "South Carolina's sultry clime" "massa 'neath de shade would lay While we poor niggers toil all day." The singer used to wait on massa and "brush away de blue tail'd fly." Massa's dead now; he was the best of massa's; "miss him now, him dead and gone"

"So give me old Boorowa and give me a tart And I will be simply all right. Can anyone point to a finer old joint Than Brown Street on Saturday night?... Get out of the way, for it's Joey, they say, Going out with his fair dinkum tart."

Shanty. Characteristic line: "Handy, me boys, so handy!" The song tells of how the good crew came together: "You've got your advance and to sea you must go, Handy... Around Cape Horn through frost and snow, Handy..."

Shanty. "The Gustav's loaded down with grain. So heave away! heave away!" (x2). "The Gustav is a fine big ship, we're bound away on a damn long trip." More verses about drink and other unprintable topics.

"So, it's pass around the grog, my boys." Give me the girl I love, toast Queen Victoria, and "when our money is all gone We'll go to sea for more." Chorus: "Here's to him that merry be ... March onward, my brave boys"

"I wandered in the radiant dawn O'er glistening fields of dew, And listening to the lark's sweet song, I thought, my love, of you." No matter what the singer does or wherever (he) goes, it reminds (him) of (the girl's) song

"So longe ic haue lauedi, yhoued at i gate, at mi fot is ifrore lauedi, for i luue faste to e stake." "So long, lady, have I Waited at your gate, That my foot is frozen, lady, For, your love, (held) fast to the stake (gate-post)"

"I've sung this song, but I'll sing it again." The singer tells of the difficulties of life (in the dust bowl). At last he prepares to depart: "So long, it's been good to know you (x3)... And I've got to be drifting along."

So Merry, So Merry Are We: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #21100}

"So merry, so merry, so merry are we, There is no one more merry than the sailor on sea, Oh, I dare say... Give a sailor his grog, but no salt meat too strong." The singer tells of hard work and condition, and wants "good rum and a good shanty song."

So Now We've Gained the Victory: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #12928}

"So now we've gained our victory ... the bantam cock shall never crow on the plains of Waterloo." We'll send him to a far off island and not let him return again. A health to King George and Wellington. Boney will always remember Waterloo.

"Oh, so selfish runs the hare, and so cunning runs the fox, Who would think this little calf would grow to a noble ox? To live among the briars, and run among the thorns, And die the death his father did with a large pair of horns? Horns, boys, horns...."

""So soon this evenin', hey now, mmmm, So soon this evenin', oh Lord, Back in the bottom... Just hewin' down timber... Done had my dinner... Don't feel no better...."

"Bright angels on the water, Hovering by the light; Poor sinner stand in the darkness And cannot see the light. I want (Aunty Mary/Brother David) to go with me, I want Aunty Mary for to go with me (x2), To join the social band."

Social Fellow, The: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1252}

"Come push the bowl about and ne'er mind the score, When that is gone my boys we'll call for more And he that will not merry be shall ne'er taste of joys, See, see the game's in view, hark forward my brave boys" Various toasts.

"The Scotch and Irish friendly are, their wishes are the same, The English nation envy us, and over us would reign ... Now to conclude and end my song, may we live long to see, The Thistle and the Shamrock, entwine the olive tree"

"Blithe is the lilt o his ain mother tongue To the exile...." "We hear the auld tongue frae the stoot Border lad... The Border lass sings it in strains sweet or sad." The soft lowland Border tongue "was spoken by Leyden and Scott [and] by Hogg"

"Softly falls the light of day, While our campfires fade away. Silently each Scout should ask: Have I done my daily task? Have I kept my honor bright? Can I guiltless sleep tonight? Have I done and have I dared, Everything to be prepared?"

"Me sell me akee, go Solas Market, Not a quatty would [or "quatty-worth"] sell, Send me out, I go Solas Market, Not a quatty would sell. Why not a light, not a bite, Not a quatty would sell. Why not a light, not a bite, Not a quatty would sell."

"Farewell, fellow servants, O-ho! o-ho! I'm gwine 'way to leave you... I'm gwine to leave de ole county... I'm sold off to Georgy." The singer bids farewell to home, parents, master, wife, and child; he confesses his heart is breaking

"As I was walking down Queen Street one day I saw a big picture just over the way" of fine land for sale. A man he meets praises the property. The singer agrees to buy it -- and visits it to learn that it is nothing like the picture; it is a useless swamp

Soldier and the Sailor, The: (14 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #350}

The sailor "has a good mind to pray For the rights of all people and the wrongs of all men." He accuses the lawyers of "tak[ing] your hard earnings and giv[ing] you hard laws"; the ministers for condemning you to hell, and the farmers for high prices

"I volunteered to Texas, I will have you all to know, A long road to travel, I never travelled before, Oh, my home, sweet home!" The singer recalls the sorrow his parents suffered when he left. The song ends with verses from "The Roving Gambler."

Soldier Boy [Laws O31]: (5 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #1917}

A large company of Irish soldiers must depart for India. One of them is explaining to his sweetheart that he must leave her. She (offers to come with him and is refused. She) tearfully bids him good luck and farewell.

"I would not marry a doctor; He's always killing the sick." "I would not marry a blacksmith...." The girl praises the soldier/railroader: "O soldier boy, o soldier boy, O soldier boy for me; If ever I get married, A soldier's wife I'll be"

"The cannon’s mouth had ceased to hurl its deadly missiles through the air Its firing was no longer heard through murking clouds of dark despair." The mortally wounded boy bids farewell to mother. They bury him beneath a tree

"A soldier came to a bonnie lassie's window." She says, "I winna lat in my red coat sodger To do as he has done before." He says he'd just stand sentry over her room. She questions why he takes off shoes and stockings; "nor do I mean to fright the cat"

Chorus: "I'm a soldier for Jesus Enlisted for the war, And I'll fight until I die." Verses are about a "soldier of the cross"

A dying soldier sends a message to his home in Kansas. Having become a rebel at the urging of his neighbors and sweetheart; he regrets not following his mother's cautious advice

The singer, a maiden, runs away from her parents and enlists as a soldier/sailor. She proves highly successful. Sent home to recruit, a woman falls in love with the "soldier boy." The other woman betrays her secret; the woman is cashiered.

Soldier of the Cross, A: (3 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #5028}

"I am a soldier of the cros, A follower of the lamb, I shall not fear to own his cause Nor blush to speak his name." "Sure I must fight if I would reigh, Increase my courage, Lord...."

Leader: "I'm a noble soldier (Too young to marry)." Response: "Soldier of the Jubilee." Leader: "I'm gettin' old and crippled in my knee." Response: "Soldier of the Cross"

The girl asks the soldier to marry her. He says that he lacks suit, shoes, whatnot. She runs off to the craftsmen and fetches him everything he mentions. Now well-equipped, he tells her that he already has a wife at home

Jump-rope rhyme. "Soldier, soldier, you may be Just come home from Germany."

Soldier's Dream, The: (7 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #13899}

A soldier dreams the war is over and he was home with his wife and children, swearing "from my home and weeping friends never to part." Then he wakes up.

A mother is dying. "How can I bear to leave my little children... No father near... away from here tonight in the army of the union... he loved his country children wife but country best of all." She leaves a note for her husband and dies

"Born in North Carolina, Raised in Tennessee, Worked like hell in Georgia, Died in Germinee."

"I met a little kitten in Wairoa, Bought her a big red ruby stone, Sunday I put it on her finder, Monday she left me alone." He tries to find the girl, without success. He sees the Sergeant Major and ships off to the war. "Goodbye to all you Kiwi girls!"

A soldier, about to leave for battle, tells his sweetheart that he has her picture near his heart. He is killed and his comrade tells her he was buried with her picture and "will wait for her in heaven" She asks why men invent the implements of war

"I am dying, soldiers, dying, Soon you'll miss me from your camp, And your friend will soon be lying Beneath the earth so cold and damp.." The soldier sends farewells to his father, mother, wife. He blesses his wife and wishes he had seen her again

Soldier's Funeral, The: (9 refs. 4K Notes) {Roud #4278}

The singer describes a military funeral attended by the dead soldier's widow, orphan, and comrades. He will be forgotten by his comrades and even his orphan, horse, and dog. His widow will not forget him.

Dance tune with verses; "I am my mama's darling boy...." "Grasshopper sitting on a sweet potato vine...." "Fifteen cents for the morphine, 25 cents for the beer/Fifteen cents for the morphine, gonna take me away from here"

Soldier's Lament, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #25024}

"Beneath a far Australian sky an Irish soldier lay." As he is dying he thinks of his boyhood in Ireland and asks to be buried there. "My dying prayer -- May God bless the island of the brave!"

Soldier's Last Letter: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #25338}

Mother opens a letter from her son. It says he loves her. As he writes from a trench he gets orders. He will finish the letter later. The letter is unsigned so she knows he is dead. She prays "protect all the boys ... keep old Newfoundland/America free"

"Seven days and seven nights we retreated ... And if we don't overcome them They'll send us all down to the grave."

"The rain was slowly falling on a bloody battle-field" as the soldier lies dying. There is only time to hear a few of his last words: "Tell her that I loved her truly, And that I know no fear." The singer, with heavy heart, tells his beloved of his death

"Dear Madam I am a soldier And my speech is rough and plain. I'm not much used to writing And I hate to give my name." The writer was a friend of the girl's lover; they fought together. The young man died; the old soldier is left to write of his death

"It's little you good people know(s) What we poor people undergoes When called upon to take up arms To guard our country from all harms. As to our grub, we have enough Although our beef is lean an tough... We hope to get good beef again."

After an introduction from "The Sailor Boy," ("A soldier's life is a weary life, Robs young girls..."), the girl is given a letter about her lover, telling her that he is dying. She finds his grave, and says she will join him with joy when she dies

A poor boy, trapped in a severe storm, comes to a lady's door to ask for shelter. He explains that his mother is dead and his father gone to war. The lady lets him in and tells him to stay as long as he has to, for her own son has fallen (in battle)

Jimmie returns home from the war. He disguises himself in bandages and says his true self is close behind. He sees that everyone, including "my Jessie" is truly happy. He leaves them planning the wedding "Since Jimmy escaped the soldier's grave"

Soldier's Return (III), The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #21747}

When "the bullets flew... doon yon trench in single file We ran like hell... An mony's the lad nae rise again." Commanded to advance they sing "Marshallease" and "Scotland Yet." At war's end "we'll name the day... An we like bairnies cuddle doon"

"Upon the hill he turned To take a last fond look Of the valley and the village church." The soldier wipes away a tear as he leaves home. His girl prays as he leaves. He will be brave now that he has "wiped away the tear"

Soldiers of the Queen, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #37294}

"Britons once did loyalty declaim About the way we ruled the waves Every Briton's song was just the same When singing of our soldier-braves." "It's the soldiers of the Queen, my lads Who've been my lads... In the fight for England's glory, lads"

French. A gentleman asks his lover to join him at an inn. She has one drink and says she must leave. He suspects she has changed lovers. That's your fault, she says. I waited three years for you with no news.

Solidarity Forever: (9 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #15158}

The crimes of the corporations and their bosses are described. But the workers can protect themselves, as the chorus notes: "Solidarity forever (x3), For the union makes us strong."

"On the twelfth of June in '17, one bright mid-summer's day, The workers in the mines of Butte, they took a holiday." The miners strike for better pay; the owners "called the A.C.M." The singer calls for unity and an end to the "rustling card."

"Solomon Grundy, Born on a Monday, Christened on Tuesday, Married on Wednesday, Took ill on Thursday, Worse on Friday, Died on Saturday, Buried on Sunday. That is the end of Solomon Grundy."

"Some be merry, and some be sad, And some be busy and some be bad, Some be wild, by Saint Chad. Yet all be not so, For some be lewd, and some be shrewd, Go, shrew, wherever you go." The characteristics of many sort of women are listed

"Some die of drinking water, And some of drinking beer, Some die of constipation," and some of venereal disease. The singer likes "girls who say they will," and those "who say they won't" -- but the best are those who say they won't but probably will

Lullaby about cats: some like tortoise-shell, some white and some grey. The singer's favorite is "the old black cat." There is the obligatory "sleep, baby buntin'"

"Some folks say that a (preacher/nigger) won't steal, But I caught (one) in my cornfield." This stanza floats but sometimes is used as a platform for various complaints about the raiders on the singer's field

Singer describes perils of eating various foods, which can lead to ptomaine and death. This is why, before meals, some people pray. Ch.: "Some little bug is gonna get you someday..." "Eat that luscious ripe pineapple/And the sextons dust the chapel."

"Some love to roam o'er the dark sea foam, Where the shill winds whistle free, But a chosen band in a mountain land, And a life in the woods for me." The singer loves the life at sea. They capture even armed ships; "we merrily seize our prize. Ye ho...."

The singer complains that a rival has stolen his true love "so I in old England no longer can stay." He will "swim the wide ocean" to her and, when they meet he'll "welcome her kindly." A health to true lovers and confusion to rivals.

Some Say the Devil's Dead: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #8904}

"Some say the devil's dead, Buried in (Fowey) harbor, Some say he's 'live again, and prentice to a barber.... When Tom's father died, Tom and I took a ride, down by the rive side, and home again to dinner." "Some say he'll rise again...."

Some Ships in Port: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #20520}

Ships are listed and their characteristics or owner noted: "Gaffney's two clippers, Caledonia and Glynn ... the noble torpedo they call Jenny Lynd ... the Alice T with Splanche on her bow."

"Some talk of Handel and Mozart, Beethoven too had a very fine art, But you no can learn their tunes by heart Like the pibroch played by his nainsel." The piper is praised for his music, his clothes, his look

Singer says, "Some these days you're going to miss your honey... I am going away" "... you'll be sorry" Every verse ends, "I know you're gonna miss me, sweet babe, I be going away."

"Some things are better left unsaid; Consider carefully before you go ahead. Sometimes a gentle hint is best -- Drop a hint and let imagination do the rest."

Father Murphy excels David and Joshua. His victories are listed, and the loss at Vinegar Hill; "after all, alas, he was taken, And stripped quite naked in the open street; His flesh and bone were separated, And a crimson stream at his joints did meet"

Some Valiant Soldier: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #12001 and 12008}

"I want some valiant soldier here (x3), To help me bear the cross. O hail, Mary, hail (x2), To help me bear the cross." Alternate secomd ver: "For I weep, I weep, I can't hold out; If any mercy, Lord, O pity poor me."

"Somebody loves me. How do I know? Somebody's eyes have told me so. Somebody loves me. How do I know...." "Somebody loves me. How do I know? Somebody loves me; I know this is so... That somebody is you."

Alternate lines are a chorus: "No man can get out of here." The game leader sings "I lost my mother's henhouse key." "I betcha ten dollars I can get out of here." "Dog fleas will bite me." "Mama calling for peas and rice."

"Somebody's all de time talkin' 'bout me, But that's all right." "Talk about me just as much as you please, I'm goin' to tell it to Jesus down on my knees." "Talk about my Jesus here below, Talkin' 'bout me wherever you go."

"Somebody's buried in the graveyard, Somebody's buried in the sea, Going to get up in morning a-shouting, Going to join the jubilee." "To the promised land I'm bound to go." "Sometimes I'm up, sometimes I'm down"; he'll go to heaven no matter what

Somebody's Darling: (7 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #24336}

"Into the ward of the clean white-washed halls Where the dead slept and the dying lay... Somebody's darling was borne one day." "Somebody's darling, somebody's pride, Who'll tell his mother where her boy died?" All bid farewell to the handsome boy soldier

Chorus: "Every day, passing away (3x), Somebody's dying every day," Verses, couplets alternating with "Somebody's dying every day" (see notes for examples)

Second and fourth line of each verse: "It must be Jesus," "It must be the Lord." The third line repeats the first. First lines include "Somebody's in here," "See the lightning flashing," "Yonder's ship Maria," "She is out a-sailing," "She is heavy laiden"

"Somebody's knockin' at your door (x2), Go, Mary, go, Martha, Somebody's knockin'...." "It's your mother, Somebody's... It's your father...." "In the churchyard...." "It's the preacher...." "Come to tell you, Somebody's knockin' at your door."

"Somebody's tall and handsome, Somebody's fond and true, Somebody's hair is very black, And somebody's eyes are blue." Said somebody comes to ask the singer to marry, "And of course I said all right."

The singer reports that, being unemployed and broke, he has taken a job as a sailor. All the while, in all the ports he visits and despite all the fine things he sees, he remembers that "There is somebody waiting for me At an old cabin down by the sea..."

The singer complains that he's "always late" for everything, "for someone has been there before." A shoemaker, he invents a new heel, but someone had done that before. He asks a girl to marry but "she gave me a kick... someone has been there before"

"Someone stole my heart away, Riding on a load of hay, He looked up and I looked down, Handsome, (sunburnt) (Johnny Brown)."

"Come all you worthy gentlemen That may be standing by, Christ our blessed savior Was born on Christmas day... Oh we wish you the comfort and tidings of joy!" The Christ child is born and laid in the manger; the singers wish the householders good cheer

"Wassail, wassail, all over the town, The cup is white and the ail is brown." Singer toasts the wassail bowl, likewise the residents of the house, begging entry, food, drink, hospitality and money.

"There's no pleasures can compare Wi' the hunting o' the hare, In the morning, in the morning, In fine and pleasant weather." The singer cheers the hunt, speaks of killing the victim, and declares he will hunt again tomorrow

Something Got Hold of Me: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4224}

"When first I heard of the people who claimed This old-time religion was real," the singer concluded it was "just a weak mind," but chose to visit anyway -- though the Devil urged against it. Then "Something got hold of me" and the singer turned Christian

"Sometimes I live on de fat ob de land, Sometimes I live on de len, An' when I got nuttin' else to do, I sweeps my kitchen clean"

"Sometimes I feel like a motherless child... a long way from home.... Sometimes I feel like I have no friend(s).... Sometimes I feel like I'm almost gone...."

Sometimes I'm in This Country: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #16400}

"Sometimes I'm in this country, sometimes I'm in this town." The singer asks his love if she will be true; she replies that she has a new sweetheart. He considers drowning himself, but the water might "deceive" him; he decides to travel the wide world

Son of a Gambolier (I), The: (11 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #2964}

"I'm a rambling rake of poverty, From Tippery town I came. 'Twas poverty compelled me first, To go out in the rain." The singer tells how hard life, (drink), and rambling has turned him old and unattractive. He can't help it; he's "the son of a gambolier"

Son of a Gambolier (II): (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #2964}

Bawdy, scatological, and sundry verses to the tune of "Son of a Gambolier/Rambling Wreck from Georgia Tech." Often directed at the local arch-enemy (so, e.g. students of Stanford would lampoon California)

Son of a Seven, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #5885}

"The son of a seven's a miser." The singer is a doctor. He gives "Mr Bobie the Censer" "a powder for sleeping ... he never waked again." The doctor pays his respects and is asked for his bill. He gives it reluctantly and doesn't cash it [but see note].

Song About a Man-of-War, A: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #661}

The singer and his love part as he prepares to go to sea. The captain convinces him to come "on board of a man of war," where he is bound, abused, and fed horrid food. At last he throws himself overboard, swims to shore, and returns to his love

Song about Snowball: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #16285}

"Oh, Mammy, Mammy, tell me, Oh, tell me, Mammy mine, Why do the white folks' chillun Call me snowball all the time? My daddy calls me sugar plum, My mammy calls me precious one, And Mammy, Mammy, it's a shame, 'Cause Snowball ain't my name."

"I just arrived in town today, I'm a stranger to you all. If you don't like this music I cain't stop and give you a call." The singer exchanges glances with the girls in the street, becomes involved with one, then heads out of town

"Nob him once, Nob him once, Nob him till he whistles twice"

"'Twas on a cauld December nicht when fruits and flooers were gone, My brother Andy left me tae be wi' his brother Dan." The singer recalls her times with her brothers. Many mourn them. She hopes they will meet again hereafter

"Whigs change every year And in new dresses do appear." but Pierce and King and the Democrats will put "Whiggery" to flight and win as Polk did in forty four.

Song for the Temple Volunteers: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #10857}

"Ye saints throughout the mountains, pray listen to my rhyme"; a "noble band of brethren" "counseled by Brigham [Young]" set out "To build a holy Temple." They cheer Brigham. They have left their homes. The reward will be great

"I'll sing you a song of sixty-one -- Mormons, Mormons! For in the world there is lots of fun...." The Mormons are "determined to succeed." People are concerned at the news from Charleston. The Union is "a rope of sand." The Mormons hope for their rights

Song of All Nations: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #2766}

"I'll sing you a song of all nations." An Irishman's made of "his shamrock so green and a jug of poteen." Similar lines for Scotchman, Englishman, Frenchman, Jew, ..., old men, old ladies, ..., mammys and daddys.

Song of an Old Time Jailbird: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #7324}

"I went down town and got on a whiz... the polie nabbed me and put me in the pokey Way out in the middle of town." The singer complains of bad air, bad food, rats as big as whales, "clinches so old, they had to wear specs"; he vows to stay away from town

Song of Joaquin (Wakken), The: (4 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #3671}

"I suppose you have heard of all the talking Of that noted horse thief, Joaquin; He was caught in Calaveras, And he couldn't stand the joke; So the rangers cut his head off." His robberies and 24 murders are listed; the capture of his gang is described

"If Uncle Sam's determined On his very foolish plan, The Lord will fight our battles...." The Mormons plan a scorched earth policy "We'll throw down our houses... And we'll organize ourselves Into a roving state." Mormons will never give in

Song of Mrs. Shattuck, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #15663}

"Farewell, my dear husband and children, farewell, How I feel to leave you, there is no one can tell." On a Fourth of July trip, a hanging limb strikes the family. They are taken to the Granger home. The singer bids farewell to family and friends

"Adam the first was formed of dust, As scripture doth record, And did receive a wife called Eve...." They are happy until Eve eats the forbidden fruit and destroys their life. Now people keep up the old tradition by bundling

Song of Old Potter: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #14097}

"Sing, O Muse of the mountains, In rhythm rugged and vibrant! Sing to the music of streamlets...." The poem praises the pioneers who settled Potter County, and its fertility, as well as its part in the Gettysburg campaign

"We" United Irishmen burned Prosperous. "Our captain he forsook us," "Phil Mite the informer" betrayed us, Colonel Aylmer led us. "If Ireland had behaved like Wicklow, Wexford, and Kildare, The green flag would be hoisted through town and counterie"

A rake repents the "time sadly wasted" drinking, bragging, seducing, and versifying. He has wasted his money on musicians. His creditors would see him in jail. He is poor, growing old, and alone. He warns others not to follow his example.

"Oh, Sugar Valley, land of the sugar maple," its sweets have long delighted the young. It also had good fishing and hunting, and beautiful mountains. Now it sends forth missionaries and professionals. May it stay a good place

Song of Temptation, The: (1 ref. 1K Notes) {Roud #5333}

Her seduction attempt: birds sport, why shouldn't we? And we are born naked: why wear clothes? Don't quote Holy Writ. He cites David's fall and Sodom; she, Solomon's queens and concubines. He bids her "Begone you slut!" "Without ado they then withdrew"

Ilocano. "It's a hard lonesome fate We face in Alaska." The food is bad and the boss harsh. The weather is cold, and there is no rest. The singer wishes he were back at home and hopes the skies (gods?) will approve of his labor

"We've roamed the hills and made new trails, Our burrows by our side, We've looked for gold but ain't found none." "Oh! Oh, you desert rats, don't you cry no more. We've almost reached the golden gate." The singer looks forward to rest from prospecting

"This is the lay of the digger, The song of the keeper of gum, Sung in a kerosene twilight." It's a year-round job, done in the dark, always scraping away. The singer had to learn the trade himself, working by candlelight with a bottle by his side

The singer is "lying on a foreign shore and hear[ing] the birdies sing." His hair is "mixed wi' siller threads" He remembers a girl "in years lang, lang gane," who used to sing the old songs, which he names. He'll sing of Scotland while he can.

"Come all you bold fishermen, listen to me, I'll sing you a song of the fish in the sea, Then blow ye winds westerly, westerly...." The behaviors of the various fish are described as they come forward and speak to the sailors

"We are coming from the cotton fields, We are coming from afar, We have left the plow... And we are going to war." The freed slaves describe all the cruelties they have left behind. Now, apparently, they are fighting for their freedom

Song of the Gillie More: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #21759}

Scottish and Soviet farmers and workers share much. "Jocks and Ivans by the score Swappin yarns"; "Gar it ring frae shore tae shore, Leith tae Kiev -- Don tae Gairloch"

"In the slighted, blighted North where the giant kauris grow" people earn a living "in the trade of digging gum." New chum, "scum," even doctor and lawyer turn to gum-digging. In the end, "the bottom's gone forever from the trade of digging gum"

"Of all of life's wanderings wherever I stray, O'er old ocean's wavers or by lands far away... There's no place so dear as my own native isle." The island is home to the singer's ancestors. The lighthouse is the guide. He looks forward to going home

"The bawl of a steer in a cowboy's ear is music of the sweetest strain"; he lives a carefree life and enjoys the range. When he comes home, he sees the rancher girl; "They'll gallop back to the old home shack in the life that is new and strange"

"I've been in the saddle for hours, I've stuck it as long as I could" but "my arsehole is not made of wood." The singer asks the sergeant, "Oh, give back my stirrups to me."

"You've heard this story often, you've heard it o'er and o'er...." "A tip had come to Morrison... That they would have a visit from the native bad G. Raines." The robber gang, though captured, kills Dr. Clark. They are sentenced to long prison terms

"Far, far from my home in the Hielands so grand And attending these sheep in a wide distant land," the singer is still happy "with my lass of Australia sweet smiling by me." He describes their life together in glowing terms

"A sea maid sings on yonder reef, The spell-bound seals draw near." The song causes plowmen to cease plowing, milkmaids to cease milking; even animals listen. When she ceases, ordinary life begins again

"We seamen are the bonny boys That fear no storms nor rocks, a, That fear no storms nor rocks, a, Whose music is the cannon's noise." The song lists the English ships, and boasts of victories over the Turks and others

"Come my jovial lads let us all bid adieu To the girls that we love and to whom we'll prove true." The Vineyard sets out in search of whales. They travel the Pacific under Captain Coon. They are happy to return home around Cape Horn

"I would not be a conscript a-hiding in the wood; I'd be a volunteer and do my country good. I wouldn't be alone (x3) to weep and moan." Similarly "I wouldn't be a lawyer... I'd rather be a soldier," etc. -- then perhaps shifting to a female soldier!

Song of the Tangier Gold Mines: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #1841}

Gold mining begins May 1861 "back of Tangier and Pope's Harbour." Men leave their work, wives, and sweethearts "for the sake of 'Tangier gold"; ladies "go upon the diggings the miners for to see." Wish the miners success and hope they will be generous

"In England several years ago The seen was plesent fair and gay." One John Love sails for America, and worked in the fur trade before going to Boston. He lends three brothers money; they murder him. The murderers are caught and sentences to hang

"There's a crowd in every village, and every town astir, Who are going to gather up the gold." "Pike's Peak is the land for the young and old." Women, men, foreigners -- all are heading for Pikes Peak to seach for gold; some of them are described

"There's a deep and growing murmur Going up through all the land." The workers will gain justice: "Rally, rally, all ye voters (x3), And vote for home and right. The rich may dislike Coxey's Army, but its cause is right. "Shylock's reign is o'er."

"I'm a trap, I'm a trap, and up here I abide. The camp is my home, and my blue coat's my pride." The uses his staff with good will and to a good purpose; if he must crack heads at night, it won't be the first time. The trap tells his story in many stages

"Ho -- all to the borders! Vermonters, come down... To the gathering summons of trumpet and drum. Come down with your rifles...." The poet calls on the residents to "defy all the world" and guard Vermont's holdings

"Hurrah! tis done. Our freedom's won. Hurrah for the Volunteers!" The Irish Volunteers, behind Grattan and Flood have broken "the Saxon yoke" Prayers, tears and words were vain "till flashed the swords Of the Irish Volunteers"

Song of Welcome, A: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5953}

"Our noble Lord's come to the North To view his bonnie lands o' Forth ... Come bid him welcome." He fought the French in Egypt "wi 'Forty-twa' .... Our hero fought at Waterloo ... And bravely did the French subdue"

"September last the Point we past, With westly breeze so fair, We went over the shoals like jovial souls" to go whaling in the Leo. They take two whales and stop at the Isle of May, then at Nantucket and other points, then return home

"Young damsels all wherever you may be, I pray attention give to me, Some braken hints I will lay down, About the girls in Sherboun town." The girls dress up to look fine. The boys court them. The singer talks about them while rounding Cape Horn

Song That Reached My Heart, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #3721}

"I sat 'midst a mighty throng within a palace grand, In a city far beyond the sea, in a distant foreign land," as a girl sings "Home, Sweet Home." The memories of home, and the song, affect him deeply

"In eighteen hundred and eight, In Novo-Arkhangel'sk port, Ai Liuli, ai lili," the fort on Sitka Island is threatened with attack. The Russian allies are able to resist and to meet with Baranov. They celebrate

Song to Captain S. D. Oliver: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #27527}

"Far, far to the Arctic Ocean, There the bow heads blow, There's where my heart is turning ever, There's where I want to go." The singer declares the whales "wild and ugly," and begs the captain to let them leave the ocean for someplace better

Tune only, no text. According to Hugill, Russian seaman had few real shanties and apart from the songs quotes by Smith there is nothing in the literature.

"Rejoice! here's welcome news, Come let us merry be, Since George our gracious King... So kindly has consented his subjects' wants to ease, By taking off the cider tax." The nation rejoices to be able to drink strong cider more freely

The singer thinks back of the songs he heard as a youth. He asks to hear several such songs. He recalls fondly the days of his youth.

"This is the tale of Sonia Snell, To whom an accident befell": she uses a public toilet which has just been painted, and its seat sticke to her seat. A carpenter cuts the seat loose from the fixture, but she has to go to the hospital for help

"Oh, don't you remember Bill Walker, the great, Bill Walker, the captain of the band, That went to Sonora to clean out the state." The singer describes Walker's career in Mexico and the South, and how his "Republic" finally fell

"O let aa the rhymers sing Aboot the lands both far and near, My voice I'll raise and sing in praise My native land sae clear... Oor countrie bonnie Scotland"

"Brave sons of Hibernia, your shamrocks display, For ever made sacred on St Patrick's day." The shamrock is "the badge of our saint," "a type of religion." It is "an emblem of charity, friendship, and love. May the blight of disunion no longer remain."

Sons of Levi (Knights of Malta): (7 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #2430}

The singer calls all "Knights of (Malta)" to join with him to fight for good. "For we are the true-born Sons of Levi, None on earth can with us compare." The listeners are guided through the (Templar) ritual, and acts of God in Israel are recalled

Sons of Liberty, The [Laws J13]: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #596}

The singer, an Irish soldier, is sent to America to fight the rebels. He lands in New York and soon finds himself fighting the Sons of Liberty. He grieves for those lost in battle, and praises the courage of Washington and his army

"There was a call for volunteers sometime in last year, And there the sons of New Jersey did quickly volunteer." "Burnside now is in command" and on his way to Richmond. The men of the 24th "will fight for Uncle Sam"

"Soon as my foot struck Zion, And de lamps all lit on de shore, Bud dis world a long farewell, And de lamps all lit on de shore." "You better walk study [steady?], Jesus a-listenin', Oh, you better walk study, Jesus died... Jesus a-listenin' all day long"

"Soon I will be done with the troubles of the world... Goin' home to God." "I want to meet my mother...." "I want to see my Jesus...." "No more weepin' and wailin'...."

"There was a ship that put to sea, And the name of the ship was the Billy of Tea." The captain spots a whale and sets out to take it. The boats are lost, but the captain will not give up the pursuit even after forty days. The Wellerman visits with supply

Soon One Morning: (10 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #10069}

"Soon one morning death come creepin' in my room (x3) Oh my Lord, oh my Lord, what shall I do to be saved?... Death done been here, took my mother and gone... I'm so glad I got religion in time."

"Soon thy bark must leave our harbor, Soon thy sails must be unfurled, Soon the last fond look be taken." The sailors' beloved will gather to say farewell and wish them good luck. They hope there will be no misfortunes. They will write many letters

"I suppose that you remember when the Sophie she was new, And Johnny Buddy Antie hoped to go mate on her crew." Antie requests the job, but is rejected. He apparently is hired in a lesser job, but mishandles the sails (?) and now will never be mate

A (hobo? Georgia soldier?) prepares his meal and declares, "All the world there's none surpasses Good cornbread and sorghum molasses." "He declares, "Georgia girls there's none surpasses, They are sweeter than sorghum molasses."

"I been to the North and I been to the South... And I've travelled all over Europe; Never saw the likes of sorghum syrup." The southerner describes courting the girls and all the uses of sorghum

"Honest Denis Mahony that now lies in the clay ... his precious blood was freely spilt before the tithes he'd pay." Farmer Mahony is murdered. The Parishioners catch the murderer "and laid him on the ground" but "the tithes they paid without delay"

Since Richie Ryan up'd porter to ten bob a pint, who could be blamed for buying "last night's left-overs." Father Matthew "tried to keep us off the booze " but the new price is more effective. This should improve the market for poteen.

Sorry the Day I Was Married: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #1561}

Married woman recounts the miseries of her life and wishes she hadn't married: "Sorry the day I was married, Sorry the day I was wed; It's Oh, if I only had tarried When I to the altar was led." She recalls all the good things she had before marriage

"A soul, a soul, a soul-cake, Please good mistress a soul-cake, One for Peter and one for Paul And one for the Lord that made us all. An apple, a pear, a plum or a cherry, Any good thing to make us merry." Once a year, singers beg for food, clothes, money

"In the merry month of May, When bees from flower to flower did hum, Soldiers through the town marched gay, And the villagers ran to the sound of the drum." Cobbler, Tailor, others, leave their tasks to follow the drum; even three old ladies want to join

Chorus: "Sound off, One, two, Sound off, Three, four." Verses, in marching cadence, can be about anything soldiers dislike, or their sex lives, but often involve the despicable Jody: "Jody's got my gal and gone, Left me here a-singing this song...."

This barely qualifies as a song, as there are only three notes, repeated in the same order with slight variation. There is no plot; the depth of the river is taken in order to avoid running aground. "Half twain, quarter twain, mark twain."

"Hello darkness, my old friend, I've come to talk with you again." The sleeping singer sees a vision that is held within the "sound of silence." He sees many people not speaking. He warns against the silence

Soup Supper in Clattice Harbour: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #26159}

The singer has not recently attended the local "times" but goes to this one on November 18, held at the church. He pays the five cents admission and enjoys the soup supper, dancing till four or five, and another supper after that.

Soup, Soup, Beautiful Soup: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #25534}

"Soup, soup, beautiful soup, Staff of my life it is soup. If the cheese is past eating, Just coat it with Keating, And shove it all into the soup."

Sour-Milk Cairt, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #6336}

The singer meets a maid and offers to drive her to Glasgow on his milk cart. On the way he proposes and she agrees. Before next term they plan to marry. When he suggests a coach for the wedding she says to save their silver and use the milk cart.

Dance tune with words; young man wants his true love, but she is coy. Versions often contain a variety of floating or spontaneous verses. First stanza may begin, "Chickens crowing on Sourwood Mountain...."

"Up wi' the souters of Selkirk, And doun wi' the Earl of Home." The shoemakers are praised for their gallantry; the colors of the Earl of Home are despised because of his poor performance at Flodden.

Souters' Feast, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6072}

"The souters [shoemakers] they had a feast ... Souters cam' frae far and near." One got drunk and began to shit leather, lasts, knives and broken glass. And when he seemed finished "he spued a muckle beatin' stane"

South Australia (I): (13 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #325}

The sailor reports, "South Australia's where I was born." Often used as a shanty, with chorus, "Heave away, heave away... we're bound for south Australia." Often he speaks of leaving his Australian girl behind

South Carolina State: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #31205}

The singer enlists for gold to fight "in the northern wars." He deserts, is caught, jailed "in South Carolina State," and sentenced to be hung. He asks that the news be sent to his father, mother, and friends, and that he be buried next to his sister

"Land of the Palmetto tree, Sweet home of liberty, Of thee I sing." The singer tells of Mother Carolina, He declares that South Carolina's sons will stand despite "fratricidal war." He asks help of "Great God! our King."

South Down Militia: (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #V12682}

Famous warriors are named: King's Guards and Scots Greys, Russians and Prussians, Julius Caesar and Napoleon, "but the South Down Militia is the terror of the land." Their appearance throws the Kaiser and "Krugar" into despair and makes Victoria gush.

"South of Columbo, Down Koggala way, That's where we're stationed now, Please show us how To get away. We'd pay fifty rupees, And that isn't hay, Just to get posted Out Canada way." The airmen complain of life in the Indian Ocean.

"South of the Sangro, Down Echelon way, That's where all the Wops and all the quartermasters stay." "Ortona is peaceful, It's back of the line... But it's better to stay, South of the Sangro...." Of the dangers of the Italian campaign

"Spirit of the South Wind, riding on a cloud, Like a fabled Magi, wrapped in a flimsy shroud. String thy lute, thou laggard, Sing thy song for me." The singer asks the wind to tell its stories as he rests or dreams

Forsay fees to Johnnie Gray and names the crew. He seems to like the work well enough but at term day "I'll tak' my budgets on my back, Farewell to Johnnie Gray."

"Within a gaol I am lamenting, Will no one shed a tear for me; In agony I'm sore relenting." Singer Abraham Baker "dearly loved Naomi Kingswell," but then shot her. Making no attempt to flee, he is taken and hopes, after execution, to again be with Naomi

Round: "Oh, it's a southerly wind and a cloudy sky, Proclaim it a hunting/sailing morning. Before the sun rises away we'll fly... Hark, hark , forward."

"When I got up this mornin', I heard the old Southern whistle blow (x2), Then I was thinkin' 'bout my baby, Lord, I sure did want to go." The singer watches "the Southern cross the Dog." The singer wonders which train his baby took; he will try Georgia

Southern Cross (I), The: (12 refs. 11K Notes) {Roud #2796}

The Southern Cross goes to the Gulf in March to hunt seals. They are successful in the hunt but on their return are lost in a storm. The SS Kyle, sent off to search, could find nothing. The singer concludes by hoping that all are in Heaven if never found.

Southern Cross (II), The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #4406}

The Southern Cross sails out through the ice and is last sighted by the Portia off Cape St Mary's sailing home.

"As I rambled out one evening in the pleasant month of June, I spied an encampment by the light of the moon." The southern girl reports on the soldiers' disdain for the northerners; despite their poor living conditions, she and they expect victory

"I cannot listen to your words, The land's too far and wide, Go seek some happy northern girl To be your loving bride." The southern girl tells how her youngest brother and lover were slain in the Civil War; she will not marry one who fought to kill them

"I got a southern jack [train engine], I got a southern jack, First thing yi (sic.) do shovel in the coal, Next thing yi do watch the drivers roll. I got a southern jack, I got a southern jack; All aboard on the southern jack!"

Capstan shanty, Negro origin. "What will you fetch your Julia? Way-ay-ay-ay! What will you fetch your Julia? She's a Southern lady all the day." Meter changes from 2/2 to 3/2 throughout.

"By the cross upon our banner, Glory to our Southern skies, We have sworn, a band of brothers, Free to live or free to die." Southrons will fight northern "hirelings," and protect southern "fair-haired daughters" from "your fierce and ruffian chief"

Southern Shore Queen: (4 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #7312}

"It's concerning the harbour of Cape Broyle ... we will call it The Southern Shore Queen"; "Now Cape Broyle is famed for its beauty." The song lists the attributes of beautiful Cape Broyle

"Barbro Buck is my sweetheart's name, He's off to the wars and gone, He's fighting for his Nannie dear, His sword is buckled on. He's fighting for his own true love, He is my only joy, He is the darling of my heart, My southern soldier boy."

"I'll place my knapsack on my back, My rifle on my shoulder, I'll march away to the firing line...." He bids goodbye to wife and baby. He wonders who will care for his family if he is killed. But he hopes for the success of the southern cause

"Come all you southern heroes." The singer is a northerner who leaves for the South in 1863 after "Old Abe he ordered us out to arms." He bids parents and wife goodbye to become a Southern spy. "Stand by your canon boys While shells and grape shot fly"

"Come all ye sons of freedom and join our Southern band; we're going to fight the Yankees and drive them from our land." The song describes the state of the Confederate government and declares "The South is our wagon, we'll all have a ride."

Southern Wagon, The (Union): (4 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #3716}

"Jeff Davis built a wagon and on it put his name, And Beauregard was driver of Secession's ugly (frame/fame)." The song details the slow but steady progress of the Union forces.

"The Southland folk are stirring But they're a deal too slow; In cutting out Otago They find it is no go." Eight men guard the gold mined in Invercargill -- but there is so little that one man can carry it. The escort is mocked for its small burden

John Walker takes the "Lough Swilly Line" to Derry and buys a pig. He takes her to Marshall's to be serviced. A great crowd watches the heroic proceedings. "But all ended well and for in a short time The sow she produced a fine litter of nine"

Sow Took the Measles, The: (8 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #17759}

The singer founds his property on a sow. When the sow takes the measles and dies, he makes a saddle of her hide, a thimble of her nose, a whip of her tail, pickles and/or glue of her feet, etc.

Sow's Tail to Geordie, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5781}

Geordie [George I] meets a sow. At every action Geordie takes she makes a fool of him and shows him her tail: he wears turnips on his head, she pulls them down; he invites her to dance, she flaunts her buttocks; she beats him at a race, and so on.

A Ballaconnell sow wrestles a police sergeant to the street. The army, called for help, is stopped by two goats. The sergeant tries to take the goats to Cavan jail. The pig's ire is renewed. With the goats, she drives the sergeant into hiding

"The foremost man o' oor New Tap, He works a stallion fine. The Lion they do call him... The little one that goes to him She's swift and spunky too. Sowens for sap at oor New Tap, Ye'll find it winna do." The singer describes horses and men of the farm

"Would ye partake of Harvest's joys, The corn must be sown in Spring" "Old Mother [Earth], receive this corn [seed]" The sowers go up and down the rows: "Sow well and you gladly reap"

"Here we go a-sowing oats, sowing oats, sowing oats, Here we go a-sowing oats, And who will be the binder?" "I have lost my true love... And right here's where I'll find her."

Sowing on the Mountain: (8 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #11554}

"Sowing on the mountain, reaping in the valley (x3), You're gonna reap just what you so." "God gave Noah the rainbow sign...." "Won't be water, but fire next time."

Gaelic. Singer, a spalpeen bids farewell to Ireland; on his last job 12 women contended for him. He was happy at first, then found he was being cheated of his pay. He boasts that women like him, and compliments a young woman going down the road

Gaelic. Farewell to my dear island and the boys I left at home. I enlisted in the army; it was a mistake. One wonderful day I could persuade any woman that black was white. "Twelve envious women compete for the benefit of my love"; even the old hag.

Gaelic. The singer had been a rover for hire by farmers at fairs. Now, instead, he will carry the Pike under the French banner. He is leaving a girl behind in Kerry. When the French arrive the yeomen and English will be forced to fly.

Spanish Armada, The: (1 ref. 2K Notes) {Roud #32555}

"In May 1588, Cries Philip, 'The English I'll humble.'" So he sends the "invincible Spanish Armada." Howard tells "noble Queen Bess" that they are coming. The Lord Mayor of London promises a hundred ships. The English are victorious

Spanish Captain, The: (7 refs. 4K Notes) {Roud #4079}

A Spanish captain and his beautiful wife and daughter, bound for Newfoundland, are killed in a shipwreck near Cape Spear. The singer seems to have been one of the crew and laments the loss of the captain and his family.

Spanish Cavalier, The: (11 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2684}

The Spanish Cavalier plays his guitar under a tree, asking his sweetheart to be true while he is off to war. He promises to return if he lives, and asks her to seek him if he dies

Jump-rope rhyme. "Spanish dancer, do the spits, Spanish dancer, do high kicks, Spanish dancer, do the kangaroo, Spanish dancer, out skidoo!" Other verses may have Tillie the Toiler sit on a boiler or Buster climb a tree and throw a kiss

The singer tells of his love for (and language lessons from) a Mexican girl. "But one time I had to fly For a foolish gambling fight." Though the affair may have been a mistake, he still misses her and remembers her last words to him: "Adios, mi corazon."

"The old West, the old time, The old wind singing through..." are the habitat of Spanish Johnny, who herds cattle and kills men and "sing[s] to his mandolin." Spanish Johnny is finally hung; the night before he dies, he sings one last time to the mandolin

Sailor bids farewell to the Spanish (Australian, South American) ladies as his ship weighs anchor and departs for England (Massachusetts).

Spanish Lady's Love, The: (10 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #9735}

Imprisoned by an English captain, the Spanish lady falls in love with her captor. They exchange praises for the English, and he tells her they are mismatched. This does not convince her; at last he says he is married. They go their separate ways

The singer recalls "our last rebellion" in 1861, and declares that "battle must be fought" against Spain to "avenge the Maine": "They sunk her, never to rise again." Despite the possibility of loss, the war must be pursued

The singer tells listeners about a race urged by "Mr. Montague." Campbell Miller accepts the bet. Jockey Bell holds back his horse for a time, to increase the excitement and the wagering, then wins easily. The singer offers a toast to the winners

Sparking Sunday Night: (13 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2820}

As "Down behind the hilltops goes the setting sun," young lovers gather to court and go "sparking Sunday Night." The young people wait impatiently for her parents to drop off so they can spark seriously. Conclusion: sparking is fine -- but best on Sunday

Sparkling and Bright: (0 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #V12429}

"Sparkling and bright in liquid light, Does the wine our goblets gleam in, With hue as red as rosy bed, Which a bee would choose to dream in." The poet hopes "We’ll drink to-night with hearts as light,... As bubbles that swim on the beaker’s brim."

"Oh, speak of a man as you find him, And censure alone what you see, And should a man blame, let's remind him, From vice we are none of us free." If we knew people's hearts, many who are honored would be scorned. We should ignore gossip

Speaking Flower, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #27530}

"Our ship is ready to depart, Yet ere I go from thee, Some proof of love to cheer my heart, I pray thee grant to me." He asks at least for the flower in the girl's hand. She does not answer, but drops the flower

"Now, when I left for Ripley the weather was kind of cool...." "Now, I swung that 97...." "Now, them special agents up the country sure is hard on a man...." The singer asks the special agents to evict him near a town so he can make a recording

Speckles (Freckles): (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #8044}

"He was little 'en peaked 'en thin 'an Narr't a no 'account horse" (sic). The singer describes meeting (Freckles) many years ago, and being surprised by the gameness of this "no account" horse (which managed to rescue him from a party of Indians)

Known as a fiddle tune, Flanders gives the words as "Oh, high, diddy-di, for Sal'sb'ry Sal, Plump she was, and a right smart gal, Swing to the center and caper down the hall, High, diddy-di, and a balance all...."

"T-W-O spells two, and O-U-T spells out... My mother gave your mother A punch on the nose, And what color was the blood? (Red) R-E-D spells red, and O-U-T spells out. My mother and your mother Had a fiddle... Chopped it in the middle... How many strings?"

Broughton at the gibbet post tells about his bad companions and wicked habits that led to his execution. He bids farewell to his wife and children; he should have stayed at home with them.

"These words were composed by Spencer the Rover, who travelled Great Britain and most parts of Wales." After much rambling and assorted adventures, he returns "to his family and wife" and decides to go roving no more

Spider and the Fly, The: (3 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #13006}

"'Will you walk into my parlor?' said the spider to the fly -- ''Tis the prettiest little parlor that ever you did spy.'" The fly demurs; the spider persists; at last she is lured "within his little parlor -- but she ne'er came out again."

"By the sluggish River Gwydir Lived a wicked redbacked spider...." A drunken shearer falls asleep near its lair. A man and woman come up and set out to rob him. As she approaches, the spider bites her. She flees in pain; the shearer is saved

A spider web catches a fly but can't hold a hornet. "Poor men [are] brought to shame"; the vain rich are praised. The singer wishes to be neither rich nor poor. If rich men would be just the camel's hump could be shaven and "the rich man enter heaven"

"Down in the valley, There is a mission Down by the old oak tree. Down by the mission, There is a fountain Where my love told me, There's a web like a spider's web." But he can't go back there; they will hang him as a killer for a murder in Santa Fe

"The gaffer's looking worried, the flett's a' in a steer, Jessie Brodie's getting mairit an' the morn she'll no be here." The spinners have bought her a gift. They wish her well; she will have "love an' loyalty" even though she won't have money

Once "some canty goodman" sang "A wee pickle tow for the spinnin o't." "The stupid auld carlin" left the linen too close to the fireplace. The goodman says that he had asked forty years for a shirt with nothing to show.

"Spin, ladies, spin all day (x2), Sheep shell corn, Rain rattles up a horn, Spin, ladies, spin all day (x3)."

A young man comes courting the girl, praising her beauty and kissing her hand, "But yet I turned my spinning wheel." At last he proposes (marriage/a roll in the hay); she (accepts and leaves her wheel/orders him away)

Silvia, out hunting, sees beautiful Cloe at her spinning wheel. Inviting her to accompany him to court, he seduces her and leaves her "e'er the year ran out in tears to turn her wheel about."

Eileen and her blind grandmother are spinning. Grandmother hears someone sighing. Eileen says it is the wind. It is her lover. She sneaks out of the window while grandmother begins to sleep. "Through the grove the young lovers by moonlight are roving"

"We are a set of spinsters gay, As you can plainly see, And we can prove it's all from choice And not necessary." They could change their status in a leap year, but don't want to.Theydon't need men. They are happy as they are.

"O John, O hallelujah, O John, O the spirit of the Lord has fell on to me." "Hallelujah to the lamb, Spirit of the Lord has fell on to me, Jesus made me what I am...." "Prettiest work I ever done... To work for the Lord when I was young...."

"I am a poor forlorn dog and Sport is my name." Born in Caw, he is sent to Donegal but has no training. At first his owner treats him well, but then a dog tax is imposed; the master throws him out because he is expensive and useless

Sporting Bachelors, The: (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5556}

"Come all you sportin' bachelors, take warning by me." The singer warns of a fast life and of marriage. His wife dresses him in rags, and makes him work constantly so she may live well. He hopes she dies so he may again be free.

"I got a letter from my home, Most of my friends are dead and gone... That sporting life is killing me." The singer describes all the rowdy things he has done, wishes he had listened to his mother, and decides that he should marry and settle down

The singer meets a girl. She doesn't want to marry but only "to court with a sporting young blade that pleases Sporting Maggie." "If you love me as I love thee, What a sporting couple we would be."

Sporting Youth, The: (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3016}

The singer asks Mary to go with him to America. She agrees although friends say he would not prove true. "So now we are landed and married we be We will live in contentment and sweet unity"

"Ae morn in the sweet month o' July... Young Jockey had trysted wi' Jenny To gang wi' him in to the fair." They go to Glasgow, see all the strange people and exhibits, have sundry adventures, and head home to sleep it off

"Of the Bards of old TImes, and the minstrel gay strains Have the sports of the Chase, all transcendant reveal'd." The singer, in extremely flowery language, praises racing

Singer meets a milkmaid who has lost her spotted cow. He says he's seen the cow in yonder grove, and offers to show her. They spend the day there. Now whenever she sees him, she calls to him again: "I have lost my spotted cow"

The Anderson leaves Cupids "for a dance in Spotted Islands In the good old Fishin' Time!" The ships are named. "We had on board eight females" but the crew "kept up good behavior" and landed them safely on Wednesday morning.

"Come all you good people and listen to me, And a comical jest I will tell unto ye, Concerning one Spottee that lived on the law key...." The wild man frightens women and children and horses; many hope to see him move, but sailors will not take him

Spree at Montague, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #13996}

"There were a spree in Montague ... At a farmer's house." The fiddler could not play a good dance tune and blamed the fiddle. A second fiddler is called in and plays very well with the same fiddle. Moral: Invite fiddler number two to ensure a good dance.

"His elbows were all greased with gin." "The dancers like chain lightning flew." In the yard, someone "threw the old gander o'er his back"; it will bring fifty cents to pay the thief's school assessment

In May the singer walks "across the dreary moor" and meets a maid who wanted "to marry me." He crosses a flowery field and breaks his finger. She says, "I should like to see You break your finger to pleasure me." "One sprig of May made her belly swell."

Sprig of Shillelah, The: (14 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #13379}

The Irishman "loves all that's lovely": drinking, fighting. May English, Scots and Irish drub the French and be "united and happy at loyalty's shrine, May the rose and the thistle long flourish and twine Round a sprig of shillelah and shamrock so green!"

Daughter complains of pains. Mother says it's time to marry the rich miller. Daughter would marry the unsuspecting father, poor farmer Willie. Mother refuses. Daughter reminds mother of her own indiscretions. Mother relents and prepares a grand wedding.

"The Spring of '97 boys, For if we never knew The hardship of the frozen pan, We suffered with them too." "We struck the seals off Cabot Isle, Five days out from port." The song describes killing harp seals, storm, ice damage, and sealers dying.

Captain Himmelmann and the crew of the Ambition go out fishing in March. The song details where they go and even the frozen squid they use as bait, as well as all the trouble the crew has fishing; it ends with all happily ashore

Springfield Mountain [Laws G16]: (62 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #431}

A young man is out mowing a field. He is bitten by a poisonous snake. In "serious" versions, he dies because no one comes to his aid. In others, his sweetheart tries to draw the poison but instead is killed herself when the venom enters a "rotten tooth"

Springhill Mine Disaster (1891): (2 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #2713}

"Hark, the horn blows loud and long, There is something wrong ... One hundred three and twenty Of our Springhill miners dead Killed in the bowels of the earth Where none could hear their cries"

Describes collapse of mine tunnel in Springhill, Nova Scotia, 1958; twelve men are trapped in a cave-in, while several are killed. The lamps, food and water give out; after eight days some are rescued

"Oh, the springtime it brings on the shearing, And it's then you will see them in droves...." The singer describes the life of the shearer: Hard at work in season; rambling the rest of the year and "making johnny-cakes round in the bend"

With their fish sold, the sailors go to the store to "square up." They spend their cash on various items, often behaving very badly when they can't have what they want. All is well until the parson strolls in, whereupon the men start offering him credit

"I'll sing you a fine new song, made by my blessed mate, Of a fine Australian squatter." The squatter declared that his animals made Victoria great. He becomes rich, but when he goes to England, the English shun him as a mere colonial

"If you give me but a haring, I'll tell you of the shearing, The one we just got over, Eighteen hundred eighty-six." The squatters say they will cut the pay for shearers. The squatters say they are broke, but the shearers fight back and avoid the pay cut.

"Come, all ye lads, and list to me, That's left your homes and crossed the sea." The singer, newly come to Australia, tries to find a job with a squatter. He complains about all the tasks asked of him. He would rather be a bushranger than stay in that job

"A squatter who lived on a very fine station" prepares for the wool season. His shearers all vanish upon hearing of a gold strike. He recruits new chums, who are no good. When the shearers return, he rejects them. They say they are rich and don't need him

"Approach ye Feds, in phalanx brace, With mien and visage ireful." "For Maine her 'squatters' sends to town, On legislative station." "Now, join as one, with heart and hand, exterminate this faction." Federalists can thrive by halting the people of Maine

"O the squatters on the Flinders and the checques they are no good (x3), So don't you go down to the gulf." "For they'll charge you three bob for a pound of weevily flour (x3), So don't you go down to the gulf." To the tune of "John Brown's Body"

Squid-Jiggin' Ground, The: (12 refs. 8K Notes) {Roud #4429}

A song of the life of a squid fisherman. The fishermen are named, as are their homes and their peculiarities. The final stanzas warn of the messy work: "Now if ever you feel inclined to go squiddin', leave your white shirts and collars behind in the town"

The singer wanders by (Kellswater park) and is enjoying the bird songs when he spies Squire Agnew's hunting pack. After a long chase, they take down the stag. The singer goes to "drink brandy with Squire Johes Agnew"

Squire and the Chambermaid, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #1257}

A squire is seen kissing his chambermaid, Kitty, by the parson's wife. To save Kitty's job he takes his wife out and kisses her. The squire's wife assures the parson's wife that it was not Kitty she saw kissing the squire.

A squire meets a Gypsy. He forgets his upbringing, swearing he'll marry her. She offers to tell his fortune; he tells her he knows it: she's to be his bride. She asks if he's trying to insult her; there's more honesty in the lowly than the aristocracy

"On the eighteenth day of December in the year of ninety-five, Them dates I will remember as long as I'm alive." The singer talks mostly of the troubles and bad weather encountered by teamsters on the way to the camp, but also alludes to the men there

Squire Curtis kills his wife -- no motive is given -- and buries her in the woods. Arriving home he is told that she preceded him and is waiting. He claims that is a lie: she is dead in the woods. A party finds the body. Curtis confesses and is hanged.

SS Leinster Lass, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #13367}

The singer wanders by the Clyde when the Leinster Lass comes into view. The singer boasts of the ship, its crew, its band, its flag. He wishes success to ship and crew

Chorus: "St. Peter, St. Peter, down at Courland Bay." I'm going to St Peter's Day. Fishermen get together. The water is fresh and we "feel fresh and gay."

She asks if he remembers -- she won't tell -- what they did coming from St Peter's Fair. He says if she'll marry him he'll buy her a spinning wheel and they'll sit by the fireside, not wanting for "milk nor meal"

Jim Tombs is on the run "from his cruel foes." Gillis "like a beast of prey," finds and kills him. A passing good Samaritan tries but fails to save Tombs. "Gillis is gone, his victory won"

"The Mail Boat, Paddy, ... now lies in the sea"; a German Bomber sinks her. Captain Fardy says "All hands try your lives to save" and goes down with the ship. The survivors "risked their precious lives, their shipmates to rescue." Twenty-three are lost

The singer met James on St. Patrick's day. "My friends and my parents... False stories they told to my true love To banish me out of his mind." "Now he is crossing the ocean." She prays to meet him again on St. Patrick's Day

"When Cobb and Co. ran coaches from the Buller to the Grey, I went for a livery stable lad in a halt down Westport way" and loves a red-haired dancer at the European tavern. He hopes to earn enough marry her. But she dies and is buried in Charleston

Stagolee (Stackerlee) [Laws I15]: (52 refs. 12K Notes) {Roud #4183}

Stagolee and Billy Lyons are playing cards; Lyons wins the hand and the stakes. An angry Stagolee shoots Lyons, is arrested, sentenced, and hanged. The various versions of the ballad expand on different parts of the story

Stamford Bullards, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #23378}

The song invites "bonny boys who love to bait the bonny bull" to join in the chase and even mount the bull. "Take him by the tail ... bridge him if you can, prog him with a nail... Every man must do his best to bait the bull in Stamford."

"When the hot sun smiles on the endless miles..." the cowboys seek water, and find themselves fighting with a "nester" for his well. They spare him only because of his pretty girl. When a storm and stampede start, Texas Red saves the girl.

When the storms of life are raging, stand by me (stand by me) (x2), When the world is tossing me, like a storm upon the sea, Thou who rulest wind and water, stand by me." "In the midst of tribulation, stand...." "When I'm growing old and feeble...."

"My form is all bent and my hands are hard worn... Like a ship without a rudder, at random, I ran, All this was before the Union began." He's "only a workingman, dressed out in jeans," and they are going to cut his pay. But the Union gives him power

"The bubbles on the beer keep haunting me, Every time I have a drink I'm as happy as can be... Won't you come and have a drink we me? Cause I'll never let you Stand in the rain.... I'll hold you tenderly Here in my arms... I'll never let you go"

Chorus: "O this union, Sing this union, I love this union, Stand on a sea of glass." Alternate lines in verses are "Stand on a sea of glass." Verses have Satan failing to take the singer's soul, and Jesus shaking "the manna tree" for you and me.

Stand to Your Glasses, Steady: (4 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #29422}

"We meet 'neath the sounding rafters." "Cut off from the land that bore us... All the good men have gone before us, And only the dull left behind." "So stand to your glasses... Here's a toast to the dead already, And hurrah for the next man who dies"

"Michael McCoy takes the greatest of joy in the songs of long ago." His daughter Mary sings current songs he hates "about moon and spoon and June." He asks her to "sing for your father An old tune" like "Annie Rooney"

"Stand up for Jesus, soldiers of the cross." The battle will soon be followed by victory and eternal life with "the King of glory."

"Stan', boys, stan', Dah's now no use a-runnin', Use a-runnin'. Look up on yondah hill An' see ol' massa comin', Massa comin', See 'im comin'." "Bowie knife in one hand An' pistol in de tother." "Oberseer wid his stick... Ruckus bound to happen."

"Then it's a hooraw, and a hooraw, Through the merry green fields, hooraw! Standin' on the walls of Zion, Zion, See my ship come sailin', sailin', Standin' on the walls of Zion, See my ship come sailing home."

Jump-rope rhyme. "Standing at the bar, Smoking a cigar, Laughing at/Riding on the donkey (har-har-har)." "Take my arm, I do no harm, I only smoke a cigar"

"It's me, Oh Lord, standing in the need of prayer." "Not my mother, not my father, but it's me, Oh Lord, sanding in the need of prayer." "Not my brother, not my sister, but its me...." (Others whom it is not may be listed as desired)

Standing in the Safety Zone: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #10986}

"I'm standing in the safety zone, sometimes I have to stand alone ... If you want to get to heaven you'd better stand in the safety zone." "How well do I remember, a long long time ago ..." where different versions remember different things.

Standing on the Promises: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #18551}

"Standing on the promises of Christ my King, Through eternal ages let his praises ring, Glory in the highest I will shoul an sing, Standing on the promises of God." The singer declares, in various ways, the power of Biblical promises

Standing Stones, The: (3 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #2151}

Two lovers meet at the Standing Stones and promise to wed. After she leaves, a rival stabs him to death, solely to cause the girl pain. She hears a cry, turns, and sees her beloved. He points to the stars and vanishes; she pines away and dies

Star Light, Star Bright: (8 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #16339}

"Star light, star bright, First star I see tonight, (I) Wish I may, (I) wish I might Have the wish I wish tonight."

"Banchory's lands are bonnie When spring rolls in the year Wi' lasses sweet and mony But nane saw sweet's my dear." He praises her -- but then sees her at the fair, where she ignores him. He wishes her back or hopes she will at least be true to another

"Under the lamplight's flick'ring gleam, In the dirt of the dancehall floor, The beautiful star of Bannack lies, Never to shine no more." Having left a lover in the east, she turned heads in the west but at last "A bullet would find her there."

The singer sees a lad and lass discussing their parting. He is going to America to seek his fortune. She does not wish to part. He says the Irish will return to free Ireland. They decide to marry at once, and sail away together

Star of Glenamoyle, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #7985}

The singer asks the muses to preserve the star of sweet Glenamoyle as he praises her. Even the birds and rabbits praise her. He says that Joseph, had he been laboring to win her, would have felt it no toil; he would have sailed across the sea to wed her

Star of Glengary, The: (12 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #13901}

"The red moon is up o'er the moss-covered mountain." Donald goes to "Logan's bright water" to propose to "Mary, the star of Glengary," knowing his competition is the rich miller. She apparently accepts since she is "a gude wife to me."

Star of Moville, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #7968}

The singer sails to Moville to watch the races. Enlivened by whiskey, he meets Mary, "the star of Moville." He courts her, and buys her a drink. The girl, after spending some time, rejects him and goes home. He wishes that someone would bring her to him

Star of Slane, The: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6530}

The singer "was ruminating and meditating And contemplating" when he met a maid that would have captivated Paris, Caesar, and Alexander. Her beauty eclipses all others. "For me to woo her I am too poor, I'm deadly sure she won't be my wife"

The singer loves "That consort fit for Satan, the Star of Sunday's Well." She weighs 15 stone [210 pounds]: "She's blooming and she's bonny with real estate and money." He is rejected in favor of "a grocer's curate"

Near Banbridge town, the singer sees a "sweet colleen." He is instantly smitten with the beauty of "the star of the Country Down." He makes plans to pursue her, and dreams of life with her

"Six ladies to the center with the right hand crossed, Be careful that you don't get lost, Back to the left and don't be afraid, Pass your partner in the Star Promenade. My old girl went back on me, Just because I went to see, My old girl went away...."

Star-Spangled Banner, The: (23 refs. 12K Notes) {Roud #V5200}

A description of bombardment of Fort McHenry by the British Navy, with hopes for the survival of the United States. Either you already know the song, or you don't care. (Perhaps both.)

"Stare, stare, Like a bear, Sitting on a monkey's chair." Or "Have a good stare, By the way, you remind me of a bear."

"Oh we're tough, mighty tough, in the Starfish, And the Coxswain is a man that we well wish. Oh, the cook makes hors-de-overs Out of matelots' old pullovers, Oh, we're tough, mighty tough, in the Starfish."

"It was the last day of the rodeo, And in one of the stout corrals There stood a big sorrel outlaw horse.... He went by the name of Starlight, a bronc as tough as gristle...." The cowboy who draws the horse is depressed, and sure enough he is thrown

"He's staying tonight at a boarding house, That's known as the Starlight Hotel, Where most of the guests are... Stuck halfway 'twixt Heaven and Hell." The man who stays there is looking for work buy finding none -- but it's welcome by the fire

Starry Night to Ramble, A: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #972}

The singer lists the pleasures he enjoys. Noteworthy among them is courting with his sweetheart. But "Of all the games I love the best, that fill me with delight, I love to take a ramble upon a starry night."

Stars in the Elements: (1 ref. 1K Notes) {Roud #15226}

Chorus: "The stars in the elements are falling, And the moon drips away into blood, And the ransomed of the Lord are returning to God, O blessed be the name of the Lord." Verses: "Don't you hear those Christians praying (sinners screaming/crying)"

Stars of the Summer Night: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #V16507}

"Stars of the summer night, Far in yon azure deeps, Hide, hide your golden light. She sleeps, my lady sleeps...." "Moon f the summer night... Sink, sink in sliver light. She sleeps...." "Wind of the summer night...." "Dreams of the summer night...."

"Sure Mike Casey got a job in a powder mill At a dollar and ten a day," thinking it an easy way to earn money -- until he comes to work smoking his pipe. The mill explodes, and "He didn't come down, For men that travel like Casey did Are seldom found."

"My name is Frank Taylor, a bach'lor I am, I'm keeping old batch on an elegant plan, You'll find me out west in the county of Lane, A-starvin' to death on a government claim." After much moaning about the bad conditions, the settler gives up and goes home

A traveler arrives in Arkansas and finds that it fully meets his (lack of) expectations. He "never knowed what misery was till I come to Arkansas." His boss had promised that the state would make him a different man, and he is: He is now badly starved

States and Capitals: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7543}

A catalog of the capital cities of various states, starting perhaps in the northeast: "Maine, the capital is Augusta...." Versions may add additional details, e.g. "...Augusta, on the Kennebeck River"

"What did Delaware, boys, what did Delaware, I ask you again as a personal friend, what did...." "She wore a New Jersey, boys...." "What did Iowa, boys,..." "She weighed a Washington...." And so forth, through as many states and puns as possible

"The song I'm going to sing about will not detain you long, It is all about a station cook we had at old Pinyong." The singer says that the cook's work "gave us all the stomach ache all through the shearing time." He will blame the cook if he turns sick

"The news has spread through Ireland... Sean Hogan he was rescued At the Station of Knocklong." Hogan's guards are overpowered, and two of them killed, by rebels; Hogan is freed

"Stavin Chain he's dead and gone, Left me to carry the good work on, Evrybody ought to be like Stavin Chain." The singer complains about river life, misses his woman, and says that everyone should be like Stavin Chain. (His sexual exploits are described.)

Stay in the Field: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #12084}

Chorus: "Stay in the field, Stay in the field o warrior, Stay on the field, 'Til the war is ended." Verse: "My eyes are turned to the heavenly gate, I'll keep on my way or I'll be too late" "Green trees burning, why not dry, My Saviour died, why not I"

"Come, boy, I have something to tell you... You're thinking of leaving the farm, boy; Don't be in a hurry to go." He warns against the city's vices, and points out that the farm is safe and, over time, will offer as much gold as the mines of Nevada

A child, whose mother is already dead, is dying. (S)he appeals to father to remain by the bedside and not to leave until (s)he is dead: "Stay, father, stay, the night is wild, Oh leave not your dying child, I feel the icy hand of death...."

"Steal apples, steal apples, Steal apples for me, And while you steal apples, Steal peaches for me." "Let all of the ladies Go enter the ring...." "And when you're done swinging, Remember my call, Take the next lady And promenade all"

Recognized by the chorus, "Steal away, steal away to Jesus... I ain't got long to stay here." Verses may have to do with the end of the world; the singer reports that "The trumpet sounds within my soul"

"Steal away, rang tang doolay (x2), Stole my pretty girl, rang tang doolay (x2)."

"I've got a man and you've got none, Little Liza Jane... O Eliza, Little Liza Jane." "You swing mine and I'll swing yours...." "I've got a house in Baltimo', Forty-'leven children on the floor...." "I steal yours and you steal mine...."

"Steal, Miss Liza, Miss Liza Jane (x2), Dat ol' man ain't got no wife; I wouldn't have to save his life, Miss Liza Jane." "My ol' mistress promise me, When she die, she'd set me free." "She lib so long, she go bald, And decided not to die at all."

"Stealin', stealin', pretty mama don't you tell on me, I'm stealin' back to my same old used to be." "Now put your arms around me like a circle 'round the sun...." The singer loves a married woman; it's gotten him in trouble. He says this proves his love

"What are you doing in my vineyard? Stealing grapes. What will you do if the black man comes? Rush through if I can."

"A curious soldier I am told, About a soldier fierce and bold." The soldier loses his arm in battle and can no longer fight with his wife. He acquires a steam-powered replacement arm. He fights off his wife -- and knocks down the jail and the mayor

"Steam Doctor, steam till you're ready to faint; Without ever stoppping to ask your complaint. He gives No. 6 and lobelia so fast That within a few hours you're breathing your last These hard times!"

"Steam from the whistle, Smoke from the stack, Going to the graveyard To bring my baby back, Oh, my li'l baby, Why don't you come back?"

"If a steam ship weighed ten thousand tones And sailed five thousand miles... If the mate was each six feet talls And the captain just the same; Would you multiply or subtract To find the captain's name?" The singer admits "I can't do that sum"

Steam Tug Olson, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #19869}

"Come listen to me one and all, A story I will tell, Of the wreck of a gallant tug one night." The Olson, of Buffalo, steamed out of the harbor seeking something to tow. The boat begins to sink, and the engines fail. Only two men are rescued

The Whippoorwill, steered by Steamboat Bill, is ordered "to try to beat the record of the Robert E. Lee." Provoked by a gambler, Bill drives the boat so hard that the boiler explodes. Bill's wife says that her next husband will be a railroad man.

Steamer Alexander, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #9206}

Tuesday, July 30, Alexander leaves Newcastle. Galley, a passenger, falls overboard and drowns. The song wonders who he was, and what his girl will feel

"On the sixth day of November, On a dark and stormy night... The papers gave a warning Of a fierce and awful storm," but "The captain gave his order." The greedy owners ignore the warnings. Nineteen men die when the Idaho sinks

"Come all ye joky seamen, Now, as it's getting late, And I'll sing you my experiance On a bad package freight." Sailing on the Wyoming "almost proved my ruin": The captain is mean, the mates ruinous, and the rest of the crew unfit for their tasks

Steamship Deane, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #30703}

Deane leaves Harbour Grace for Hawke's Harbour with 50 whalers. "Making full speed she lands upon a rock." All are saved by the Penguin light keeper.

Foreman's instructions for laying a railroad iron, with variations to fit the particular situation. E.g. "Awright, awright, Ev'rybody get ready. Come on down here. Come on, boys. Bow down. Awright, up high, Awright, throw 'way...."

"The mill O, the mill O, The weary, weary mill O; O' the steel mill I've had my fill, And wish it at the de'il O." The singer wishes he were at any other job. Hard as the work is, the flour is poor. Finally he declares that he will quit

Stella Kenney is murdered on her way home after spending ten months with her uncle Rob Frazier. Frazier, married and with three children, is sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder

"Stella, Stella, dressed in black, Sat down on a carpet tack, Jumped right up and hollered Hell! How many times did Stella yell? One, two, three...."

"Oh, step it away, you pretty boys! Step it away your time! God bless your body, When your legs keep time."

Verses about situations that force (someone) to "step it up and go." The singer's woman no longer loves him. The singer flees the gun of a man whose woman he has been courting. In a river, he meets an alligator. And so forth

"Step on a crack, (You'll) break your mother's back, Step on a hole, (You'll) break your mother's (sugar bowl)." Similarly "ditch... mother's nose will itch"; "dirt... tear your father's shirt"; "nail... in jail"

"Sterling Price he was a brave man, He will clean out Dixie Land." "Sterling Price he marched to Lexington And there he took old Mulligan." "Sterling Price he wheeled his men about And cut the Dutch into sauerkraut." "Rinktum-polle-rodel-day."

Stern Old Bachelor: (8 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4306}

The singer describes his life in the "little sod shanty dear to me." He is proud that "I'm a stern old bachelor, from matrimony free." He rejoices that he can live in squalor, snore all he wants, stay out late and never have to explain where he has been

"Steve O'Donnell was an Irishman, as everybody has said. He was loved by all his friends, both rich and poor." He dies; his family mourns; he is prepared for burial. At the wake, one man jokes that O'Donnell was Jewish, and everyone fights and gets drunk

"'Twas on a Saturday afternoon, A wee before the sun gaed doon, that Ewan [MacColl] cam fae London Toon, To meet the Stewart family." They exchange songs and advice; the singer jokes that Ewan's family must have been tough to put up with the Stewarts

"Stick my head in a paper sack, Show dem niggers how to Cairo back. Shake dat flat foot. Shake dat flat foot."

"Stick your head in the porridge pot, And don't call me 'What?'"

Rhyming verses with a chorus: "God be with those merry merry days that we spent outside in Blarney." For example, "Blarney Castle stands up straight and the rocks and the rooms are underneath, If you ask for fish they'll give you meat, sticking out ...."

Chorus: "Jack t' the rack back Stickit ball a hack Low ball high ball Scallion jack."

"Sticks and stones may break my bones, But names will never hurt me." May continue with something like "When (I'm/you're) dead and in (my/your) grave, You'll suffer what you called me"

"Sticks and stones may break my bones, Say what you please when I'm dead and gone, But I'm gonna drink corn liquor till I die." Singer may admit that he is not respected, or "know you'll talk about me when I'm gone," but will enjoy himself now/hereafter

One fine morning, Old McGee sends daughter Molly out with Johnny. They see a bull mating with a cow. Molly asks how the bull knows the cow is willing. Johnny answers, "tis by the smell." She says she stinks like the cow; they emulate the bovines

Stir the Wallaby Stew: (4 refs. 5K Notes) {Roud #8242}

Dad's in jail, Mother unfaithful, the sheep are dead, the farm's for sale. Dad gets out, sees this, and goes back to jail. Chorus: "So stir the wallaby stew, Make soup of the kangaroo tail, I tell you things is pretty tough Since Dad got put in jail."

Song for "Stir-Up Sunday," the last Sunday before the beginning of Advent: "Stir up, we beseech thee, The pudding in the pot, And when we get home, We'll eat it all hot."

Stobbie Parliament Song: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #22225}

"In the shelter, oh, the shelter At the top of Albert Street, There's a sturdy crop of veterans Who regularly meet." Jamie Reid proposes that they all go for a drive. They set out about the area and have a picnic lunch. All enjoy it very much

"To horse, boys, to horse! O'er the broad plains we ride, The sun for our compass, the bush for our guide." The stockman happily sets about his work. When the day is done and the horses are tired, the workers eat, drink, and relax

"A bright sun and a loosened rein, A whip whose pealing sound Rings forth amid the forest trees...." The singer enjoys dealing with restless herds and handling his horse well. "The saddle was our childhood's home, Our heritage the whip."

Stockman's Last Bed, The: (9 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #9113}

A song lamenting the death of poor Jack, the stockman, (gored to death by a cow). "And we laid him where wattles their sweet fragrance shed, And the tall gum tree shadows the stockman's last bed."

"The stockmen of Australia, what rowdy boys are them." They curse, they ride hard, You can find him resting in camp, where he will give you a good welcome. He is the ladies' pet. He attends all fun events. The singer cheers for the stockmen

"There are men in the Navy are known as POs, But what they are there for, the Lord only knows, They stand on the plates and they bawl and they shout, And order the poor old King's Dustmen about."

"Down in the stokehold there's all sorts of jobs, Priming and topping and sorting out cobs." The chief stoker orders the stokers to work. The stokers beg the chief to let one of them go on sleeping

"Down by the river, the willows grow tall, Whippoorwill calling, hear their sad call." The girl is in love with a man from a family who is feuding with her own. Her father captures her lover. She begs for his life; refused, she accepts death beside him

The singer meets a boy playing in a field. The boy lives with gypsies. He says his parents are dead and he hopes to bring flowers to their grave.

"Where dips the rocky highland Of Sleuth Wood in the lake, There lies a leafy island...." "Come away, O human child, To the waters and the wild, With a faery, hand in hand." "Away with us he's going, The solemn-eyed" and will be seen no more

Catchall of Lindberg songs. Typical example: The singer will "tell you about the stolen baby." Lindbergh's infant is stolen from his home; the kidnapper demands money; after a great hue and cry, the baby is found, but is dead

Stomach Robber, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #6555}

"You may talk about your pleasure trips... But... the Lucy Smith, She surely takes the cake." The cook looks good, but serves poor food from a disgusting galley. "They eat of the swill till their faces turn blue But their stomachs are robbed forthwith."

The singer, a stranger, falls in love with Molly. They court "at the foot of yon mountain [where] there runs a clear stream." They marry in spite of her angry parents though he insists "it's not for her money it's her I adore"

Singer's husband returns from drinking and beats her. She kills him with a rolling pin. "Now he's stone cold dead in the market" His family swears to kill her. She says "if I kill him he had it coming" even "if I was to die in the electric chair"

A stonecutter boy sees a young woman. If she'll rest a moment, he'll "tell you of the dream I had last night." They sit under an oak; she soon gives "a little scream." Smoothing her clothes, she invites him to tell the dream again when next they meet

"No sails to turn and no vanes to set, For the waters are never still, So bring your corn, we'll grind it to flour, 'Twixt the stones of Eling Mill." The mill is powered by tide not a river. It will work "as long as old nature sends us the tides"

The prayers and fighting methods of "Stonewall" Jackson and his troops (the "Stonewall" Brigade) are described. Each exploit is described as "Stonewall Jackson's Way." The poem concludes, "The foe had better ne'er been born That gets in Jackson's way."

"In 1914, a hundred years ago it seems... they said I was a man then, but what am I today?" "I can't get the old job, can't get the new, Can't carry on as I used to do." There's no work for the ex-soldier; they have forgotten the promises to the boys

"Stop that clock or I'll lose a quarter, Doe lie snoring on yer back, If I'm not there to mix the mortar, On my word I'll get the sack, Bridget doe yer stop to dress yer, Doe yer stop to put on yer frock... Yo goo down and stop that clock."

"Stop, say the red light. Go, says the green. Wait, says the yellow light, Blinking in between. That's what they say and that's what they mean. We all must obey them, Even the Queen."

"The storm bird lives upon the rock, The angry surges roar... (incomprehensible) surges roar."

Verse and chorus end "You know the storm is passing over, Hallelu." Verses in Carawan/Carawan-AintYouGotARight begin "Some say Peter, some say Paul Ain't but one God for we all." "The tallest tree in Paradise Christians call the tree of life."

"'Twas on Thanksgiving ay The town of Heber Sprints Was visited by a cyclone And partly swept away." The people were "no doubt feasting," with no hint of their fate. It was their own fault for not properly attending to their churches

Shanty. Characteristic lines: "To me way, old Stormalong!... Aye, aye, aye, Captain Stormalong." About the death of Stormalong, who was elaborately buried off Cape Horn. The singer wishes he were Stormy's son so he could treat the sailors better

Stormy Weather Boys: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1851}

Adventures of a barge crew on the Thames. The captain arrives half-drunk; the crew gets sozzled, the barge runs aground. They meet a mermaid and a ghost (who takes the wheel); eventually they arrive at Yarmouth and wind up in "The Druid's Arms"

German (Plattdeutsch). Forebitter shanty. "De Stortebeker un Godeke Micheel" -- Stortebeker and Micheel are pirates who offend God. Near Hamburg they try to take a merchant, but the Bunte Kutz rams them; they are hanged by Rosenfeld

"Oh come all you young people and listen while I tell, The fate of Gerald Chapman who was hung in a prison cell." A "desperate criminal," he killed a policeman on his travels from Georgia to New York to Connecticut. He gives a warning and is hung

"They worked all day to the evening tide, Before the mountain made it glide, The rocks and earth came a-crumbling down, And under this those men was found."

"We've heard fantastic tales for years About the Mormon nation And Utah's wonderland of birth And courage in creation." Outsiders tell absurdities about Mormons, but Joseph Smith received a revelation and was martyred, succeeded by Brigham Young

Nonsense verses, supposedly told by a crow. "I bought me a suit of union underwear... I couldn't get it off 'cause I lost the combination", "My gal took sick the other day... I bought her a corset... She's in better shape now than she was before"

Stot, Stot, Ba', Ba': (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #20686}

"Stot, stot, ba', ba', Twenty lasses in a raw, No' a lad amang them a'." Or, "Game, game, ba', ba', Twenty lasses in a row, Not a boy among them all."

"Your stought young men who go a-whaling... little thinking while you're sailing That grim death may near you be. The singer writes to give warning. The boats pursue a school of whales, but many of the boats are wrecked; only five survive. Others lament

"I wish I was in Mobile Bay, Rollin' cotton by the day, Stow'n' sugar in de hull below, Below, belo-ow, Stow'n' sugar in de hull below." A steamboat chant, mentioning the Natchez and depicting the engineer and captain.

"From Liverpool 'cross the Atlantic Our white sail floated over the deep." A poor stepfather stows his boy aboard to seek better times in Halifax. First mate will kill the stowaway unless he says who among of the crew put him aboard. The mate relents

"We never took stock in H. Greeley, Though Baltimore took him in tow... The ticket that's honest we'll honor... We would like to have Charlie O'Conor, For O'Conor and Adams we'll go." The song encourages others to vote for the "true" democrats

The romantic "winding banks of Erne" are no more. "'Progress hates meandering' is a maxim all must learn, So the engineers have straightened out the winding banks of Erne" for the new powerhouse at the falls of Assaroe.

"All you that are at liberty, I pray you all draw near, And listen to my story, it's what you soon shall hear. It was at the last Martinmas, I went unto the fair, I did engage wi' Straloch, to work the second pair."

"I oftimes think of home and where I spent my childhood days before I was forced to roam." He recalls playing, fishing, music and dancing "by the strands of Ballilickey on the shores of Bantry Bay." He hopes to return "but fortune seems against me"

Strange Things Wuz Happening: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6623}

"Well, they'z strange things wuz happening in the land... The war wuz going on, caused many hearts to moan...." "But Uncle Sam with Germany tried to live in peace, Kept blowin' up his vessels...." Listeners are urged to stand by the United States

"A wife was sitting at her reel ae nicht... and aye she wished for company." A body comes in in pieces: Large feet, small legs and thighs, at last a great head. She asks about each part; the visitor explains its purpose. Which is to take her soul

A young woman and her baby are trapped in a cold blizzard. When they are found, the mother is dead but the baby alive; the mother had wrapped it in her cloak

A blacksmith, going to Strawberry Fair, meets "a fair maid go selling her ware." She says she has "a lock that doth lack a key." She invites him to try his key. Now she has no wares and wishes her lock had been a gun to shoot the blacksmith.

Strawberry Roan, The [Laws B18]: (30 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #3239}

An unemployed cowboy is offered the chance of a job if he can ride the strawberry roan. Confident of his skill, he mounts the horse -- to be thrown within seconds. He concludes the horse is unridable.

"Strawberry shortcake, (Gooseberry/Huckleberry) pie, Tell the initials of your honeypie/sweetheart." Or "Ice cream soda, Lemonade pop," or "Apple jelly, jam tart," or other foods....

Streams of Bunclody, The: (3 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #3000}

"Was I at the moss-house where the birds do increase" he'd have a kiss from his sweetheart. "The cuckoo is a pretty bird ..." Various if ... then verses. She shuns him. She is rich. He is poor. He is "going to America, my fortune to try."

Streams of Lovely Nancy, The: (18 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #688}

The singer (a sailor?) describes the "streams of lovely Nancy", a mountain with a castle, his beloved (who lives in the castle), a river, and a ship. He ends by addressing all "streamers"; he will write to his love, "For her rosy lips entice me..."

Streets of Forbes, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #20764}

Ben Hall is "hunted from his station" and "like a dog shot down." A bushranger for three years, he is planning to "cross the briny sea" when found and "riddled like a sieve." The authorities parade his body through the streets of Forbes

"As I walked out in the streets of Hamtramck, As I walked out in Hamtramck one day," the singer meets an old worker, "too old to work and... too young to die." The old worker talks of what he has done and says that workers must fight for pensions

(The singer meets a young cowboy "all dressed in white linen and cold as the clay.") The cowboy has been shot (or given a venereal disease?) and is dying. He regrets his carousing, gives instructions for his burial, and dies.

"A miner from Missouri lay dying in the hills, He was sick with mountain fever and various other ills"; he declares, "I wish I was in Joplin, in Joplin down in Mo." He describes all the things that are wrong with mining life in a place of scabs

Strike for Better Wages: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #3465}

"At the docks there is a strike that the company don't like...." "Strike, boys, strike for better wages... Go on fighting at the docks... Go on fighting till the bosses they give way." The singer pities the jobless seeking work. The strikes won't give in

"Strike out the top line, let this be your care, Loosen the bonds that degrade and ensnare...." "Strike out the top line, Only the top line, Sweep the drink traffic away... Vote for No License that day." The song describes the benefits of limiting liquor

"We are out for higher wages, As we have a right to do, And' we'll never be content Till we get oor ten per cent, For we have a right tae live as well as you."

"Aft on the poop deck and walking about, There's the second mate so steady and so stout," refusing to strike the bell and release the watch even though there is clearly a storm approaching. Most wish the bell would strike, but the officers stay the course

"There are white-box and pine on the ridges afar, Where the ironbark, bluegum, and peppermint are, But the one I know best and the dearest to me And the king of them all is the stringybark tree." Why is it so dear? The singer's birth-hut was made of it

Stringybark and Greenhide: (4 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #8400}

"I sing of a commodity, it's one that will not fail yer,.. the mainstay of Australia... Stringybark and greenhide can beat [gold] all to pieces." Greenhide can hold carts together; stringybark strengthens homes; the singer praises these useful products

"I'm a broke alluvial miiner who's been using his cup to drain." With no other means of support, the miner goes to work for a "stringybark cockatoo." The work is dull and the master poor, cheap, and hard to work with

"A sergeant and three constables rode out from Mansfield Town" to seek the Kelly gang. When they separate, Kelly overwhelms two, then catches the other two as they return. One man, MacIntyre, escapes to bring the news to Mansfield

"Now come here and I'll tell you a story It's all about Malta you know." Stripey is dating Blondie and an "OD winger." Blondie catches Stripey with his other man, and arranges for a 15" gun of the Warspite to blow up Stripey, the OD winger, and the bar

A young man of 18 loves a 29 year old woman. He gathers flowers, lies with them at his head and feet, and claims to be dying for her love. She says when he is in his prime he'll slight her for being old. She goes with him anyway.

"Strong is the power of Brigham's God, His name is a terror to our foes, Ye were a barrier strong and broad As our high mountains crowned with snows." The soldiers who were to have fought General Johnston are welcomed home

Struggle for the Breeches, The: (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1316}

Husband: "You are inclin'd I now do find the breeches for to wear." Wife: "No, dear, not I, but I will die or I will have my share" They trade ("comic"?) insults without resolution.

The candidate asks for votes: "Ladies and gentlemen, hearers and shearers, Both of the feminine and sheminine gender..." The candidate refuses to say where he stands; he stands with those who are "in." He appeals to "Fellow electors and blithering idiots"

Stumpie tells Meg it is safe when "ye needna dread ill when ye hae a Pitfour" now that the election is over. But "a mob wi' tar-barrel cam doon to the door" and played her "Lochaber no more" [used as a funeral dirge]

"A subaltern is one who lives a life of joy and ease, He never has to worry, and he does as others please," and when there is trouble, he will be blamed; "That's where we're happy, happy as can be." And the pay is poor, so they lose girls to high officers

"There is a corporation within this Golden State Which owns a line of railroads for conveying men and freight" which runs from Sacramento to Ogden. The route runs that way due to subsidies -- and because "The corporation's clever and the public is an ass"

Substitute (I), The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #8884}

Recitation; Tom Burke befriends young Tim Cory. Tim is crushed by a falling tree and asks Tom to take care of his children. He finds Tim's children are now orphans. The speaker later learns Tom has married Tim's oldest daughter

"De time is drawin' near, me b'ys, De narthern floe to face, So we must get out 'aulin' rope, De whitecoats fer to lace!" Various sealing ships are listed. The singer wishes success and prosperity to the sealers

Success to the Hardy Sealers: (1 ref. 5K Notes) {Roud #V44592}

"The twelfth of March is drawing near And we must all prepare Our pipers and our pannicans The sealer's life to share." Ships preparing to go to the ice are listed. The singer hopes they return safely

"Good people, listen while I sing The source from where your comforts spring; And may each wind that blows still bring Success unto the coal trade." The singer points out how coal supports the nation and feeds the people of the north

"Such is life in all its phases, When you die you go to blazes."

"Oh, The suckers sadly gather around the Red Cross office door, And at the job signs longingly they gaze." "The employment shark says, 'Right, I will ship you out tonight Where the silvery Colorado wends its way.'" But they end up as hoboes

Sucking Cider through a Straw: (8 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7867}

"The prettiest girl that I ever saw Was sucking cider through a straw." "I told that gal I didn't see how She sucked the cider through a straw." "And now I've got me a mother-in-law From sucking cider through a straw."

Sucking Pig (I), The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #8083}

Of a giant pig, which takes 7000 men to butcher, and seven years to remove a trotter; its bones yield 7000 bags of flour. Cho: "O, perhaps you may think that/O, it's not all true/But I don't care a fig/What I say, I know it's true/About this suckling pig"

Suffolk Miracle, The [Child 272]: (39 refs. 7K Notes) {Roud #246}

A squire's daughter loves a lowborn man. The squire sends her away. In time her love comes to bear her home. His head hurts; she binds it with her kerchief. She arrives home. Her father says her love is dead. She finds his dead body wearing her kerchief

"Lead her up to sugar and tea, Lead her up to candy. You swing 'round that sugar and tea While I swing 'round that dandy." "Hi oh that sugar and tea, Hi oh that candy, You swing 'round that sugar and tea While I swing 'round that dandy."

"Shoot your dice and have your fun, sugar babe... Run like the devil when the police come." The singer describes various results of getting drunk. Sundry other floating verses

Floating verses with internal chorus "this-u morning" and final chorus "My honey babe, my little babe, so sweet." Verses: "Kill me a chicken and bring be the wing." "I got a mule and the mule won't gee." "I took my girl to the crawfish stand...."

"Got no sugar baby now...got no use for your red rocking chair...who'll rock the cradle, who'll sing the song...all I can do, fuss, eat, sleep with you/send you to your mama next payday" -- floating verses all.

Dance tune; "If you want to get your eye knocked out/If you want to get your fill/If you want to get your head blowed off/Go up on Sugar Hill". Other floating verses; "Possum up a 'simmon tree."

Sugar in My Coffee: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7659}

Complaints about life laced with the refrain, "(How in the world do the old folks know) That I like sugar in my coffee-o." The singer may describe how he likes to drink, or wishes he were/were not living the life of a white man

"Bacon in the smokehouse, barrel full of lard, Milk in the dairy, butter on the board, Coffee in the little bag, sugar in the gourd, And the way to git it out is to dash the goard about."

"It was in the month of April in 1879 When seven men came to Sugar Notch to work down in the mine." The mine starts to cave in. Lacking food, they kill their mule (with difficulty) and eat it to survive

Suit of Green, The: (7 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3023}

A girl mourns the loss of her love taken by guards "for wearing of the suit of green." Her master buys her a suit of green to wear to Dublin where she pleads with the Colonel for her lover's life. The Colonel spares them both; they will marry.

"There are suitors at my door, O lê lê O Bahia, Six or eight or even more, And my father wants me wed, Or at least that's what he said." She will do it "when rivers run uphill." Perhaps she leaves home, or she marries, or she stays a proud old maid

"Sukey Sudds was a-standing in front of her tubs, A-washing her clothes so nice.... Sukey Sudds picked up her three-legged stool And she throwed it right into the fire, fire, fire, And she throwed it right into the fire."

"A tribute of praise to thy waters I bring. A beautiful fountain! O sparkling spring!" No place is more dear than Sulphur Spring. It welcomes the birds and bees, the lover, the traveler. The singer hopes it will stay unspoiled

"Sumer is i-cumen in, lhude [loud] sing cuccu!" A round celebrating the beginning of summer and the appearance of various symbols of fertility

The singer tells how he used to ramble, until he spies Cupid and is pierced by his dart. Now "I'm a wounded lover on Summer Hill." He describes the girl's beauty, and hopes to win her. He refuses to reveal his name

"The Mason-Dixie Line has given us all the pip, Your songs from the Yankee land have been done brown." The singer suggests instead the Saturday jubilation, because "It is always summer in Summer Lane." Many amusements of the town are listed

"It was one summer morning, as I went o'er the moss, I had no thought of 'listing till the soldiers did me cross." But her love is in the army. She both laments and curses him. They meet; he dries her tears and says he will return; she vows to ramble

Chorus: "Sun don't set in the morning (3x), Light shine 'round the world." Verse: "Pray on, praying sister (brother, preacher), Pray on (3x), Light shine 'round the world"

"Six o'clock I hear 'em say. Sun down, Sun down below. Time to quit and go away. Sun down, Sun down below." Hauling shanty or cargo loading song, likely of Negro origin.

"Been in that jailhouse, expecting a fine." He has no friends to help. "It's no matter, Lord, I know, Sun gonna shine in my door some day." He is alone and hungry. His buddy escaped when he was taken. His girl (?) has abandoned him

"The sun is a very magic fellow He shines down on me each day." The wind is fickle and blows dreams away. The rain is a "very sad lady" that falls on the singer. The sea is an old man. The moon is a "typical lady." The singer will "Sing all my cares away"

The singer mourns the loss of her sweetheart: "last night you were in with another... I hope you won't leave her in sorrow Alone as you've gone and left me." She will never love another and in her coffin "I'll think on the promise you made me."

"Sun lights up all the big blue skies, Shines all the live-long day... Drives all the darkness away." The mockingbird, lark, catbird sing. The roses, violets bloom. All these things make the day brighter, but what makes it brightest is her beloved (baby?)

"Man can worry from sun to sun When a woman's worries have just begun." "I can't keep from worrying no matter how I try" "I ain't goin' let no one woman make me no monkey man." "I'll go down South ... where I never been before"

The singer is in France (exiled after Culloden?) and looks across the sea toward home in Galloway, where he left Mary and their three children. "I'll meet ye aa again soon Frae my ain counterie"

Josie Langmaid is on her way to school when she is accosted by (Joseph) LePage. He abuses and kills her. Her family searches for and finds her body. The killer is condemned to hang

"Sunday night an' Nancy o! My delight and fancy, oh! All the world that I should know If I had x, oh! He! ho! my x oh! My bonny, bonny x, oh! All the world that I should keep If I had x, oh!"

Courting song, with the chorus "It's nearly sundown, sundown/Sun is almost down/Bound away to leave you, 'fore the sun goes down..." Verses begin with "Hi, my little darling"; singer promises to bring his girl back a ribbon to tie around her waist

Response line is "Sundown, Sundown below." Leader lines include "Sun is down in the hole below," "Sun is down and I must go"

"The mayor came driving around the bend, Good-bye, my lover, good-bye, All loaded down with side-walk men." "To Cooper's to get a stamp they went... Cooper dunned them for a quarter of a cent." And so on, listing details of town life in Micanopy, Florida

"Keep the sunny side up, up, And the other side too." Soldiers march, sailors sing. "Turn around and touch your toes" like the Eskimos and Japanese; "touch your chin" like an Indian.

"I left my love in Engand In poverty and pain"; they weep as he sets out across the sea. He works hard, saves his money, goes home, finds the girl. They live happily and are well-off: "The morn has 'dorned the darkest night And sunshine followed rain."

Two trains approach Sunshine at the same time. 44 die in the crash. "If those trains had only run As they should, their proper time, There wouldn't have been a disaster At a place they call Sunshine. If those brakes had only held...."

A mouthful "of good whisky will make you glad"; too much will make you mad; none is bad. Preachers, doctors, lawyers, Turks, and Quakers are against it but drink "in their turn" Germans, French, and Italians boast of their drinking; Hibernia's is best.

Swedish shanty/drinking song. Chorus translates to: "Oh listen, listen here us now, Out of deep throats we're calling you, A tot which goes from man to man, A tot for us Johnnies." Verses mention more drinking and sailing themes.

"O, Sherlock Holmes is deid lang syne In some forgotten garrett, But aa o youse hae heard the news O' Superintendant Barratt." Barratt comes north to seek the Stone, dislikes the weather, gives up, and goes home

Riddle/song: "Supposing, supposing, Three men were frozen. Two died. How many were left? 'One'? No, none, 'Cause you're only supposing."

French round: "Sur le pont d'Avignon, L'on y danse, l'on y danse." "On the bridge at Avignon, see them dance, see them dance." The song tells how men, women, and soldiers bow and dance

Framentary text, "Any amount... Surely I can do.... Courtin', courtin', courtin'...."

"The Waikato now is ours, The natives we have beaten... And now each vile offender We... humbly ask That they'll come and surrender." Maori warriors submit -- and so do children and women and old men, expecting food and support

Beautiful Susan, the singer, has many wooers; she flirts with all even though she loves a rich farmer's son. The lad proposes to a different girl. Susan poisons him, then flees. Unable to find work, she is imprisoned and now is dying of consumption

Billy Green and Susan Carr had courted, but she turns to Thompson instead. Green challenges Thompson for the right to her hand. Green kills Thompson and drowns himself. Susan dies soon after. All three are buried together

Noble Susan loves Willy, a sailor, and will not accept a husband of high degree. As she walks along the beach, worrying about him, she sees a body which proves to be his. She dies for love; the two are buried together

"Oh, Susan Van Dusan, The gal of my choosin', She sticks to my bosom like glue." "Oh, Susan Van Dusan, Oh, I will quit usin' Tobacco and boozin' for you." ""Oh, Susan Van Dusan, What gum are you usin' That sticks to my bosom like you?"

Jump-rope rhyme. "Susan, Susan, thought she was losin', So she gave the whole thing up. Martin, Martin, was only startin', But he finished and won the cup."

The Susan, returning to Bonaventure from successful fishing on the Labrador, sinks in a storm at Cutthroat and the crew of four is lost

German. "Ach market auf, ihr Menschen all." Take warning from the fate of Susanna Cox, who was seduced by her employer Jacob Gehr. She bears a child and kills it. She is tried, convicted, and executed. The story is littered with moral warnings

Susannah vows to be true to the widow's son; they break a ring as a token. Some months later she agrees to marry another man; she scorns the widow's son. He kills himself; that night his ghost comes to claim Susannah

Shanty. Characteristic line: "Hooray, oh, Susiana! Away right over the mountain." (The fragment in Doerflinger-SongsOfTheSailorAndLumberman is too short to determine the plot -- if there is one.)

"Choose your partner, Suz, Susie, Choose your partner, Susie girl." "Face your partner..." "Out the window...." "Take a peek at...." "Kiss her when you catch her...."

Jump-rope rhyme. "Susie went into a house, Susie moved out, and Jack moved in."

"When righteous Joseph wedded was Unto a virtuous maid, A glorious angel from Heaven came." "O mortal man, remember well, When Christ our Lord was born.""God bless the master of this house WIth happiness beside...."

"Susy licked the ladle An' 'er dolly rocked the cradle. Goodbye, Susie gal, I'm gone again. I fell into the gutter And my heart began to flutter. Goodbye, Susie gal, I'm gone."

"In an old Australian homestead With roses 'round the door, A girl received a letter 'Twas a message from the war... He played his part that April day, And now he lies in Suvla Bay." The grieving girl turns away suitors and joins the Red Cross

"A sifting of chaff, a bottle of hay, See the poor colts go carrying away. Squeak, boys, squeak, and wag your tais, Hi nnney, hi mommey."

"Come all you swaggering farmers of courage stout and bold." After twenty years of success, it is time to consider their poor servants, whose "wages are so small." In 1816, rents were doubled, and extreme suffering resulted.

The listeners are warned against hiring with Swaggers at Porter Fair. The singer lists all the various indignities suffered by those who work there.

"Kind friends, pray give attention To this my little song, Some rum things I will mention And I'll not detain you long." The swagman bought a pair of shears, but couldn't shear. Now he travels the country seeking short-term work. He says he is not a tramp

The clipper Swallow goes down New Brunswick's coast fighting a storm to Tormentine and waits out the storm "lying in the government dock.... for Georgetown we are bound ... our voyage is not o'er If the Swallow returns I'll sing you some more"

"The zwallow (sic.) twitters on the barn, The rook is cawin' on the tree, And in the wood the ring dove coos But my valse love hath vled vrom me." The wren and all creatures have their loves, but the singer sits beneath a withy and mourns his false love

"Lads! myek a ring An' hear huz sing The sport we had at Swalwell, O." The singer tells of a wild day at the market. He lists the various people they saw along the way. After a day of revelry, "We staggered ahint se merry, O."

Returning from Wexford the singer sees a girl "like a swan that floats o'er the ocean" who "often grieved my poor heart." She rejects his marriage proposal because "I've been promised ten years or more" to Reilly "in a foreign country"

"On the lovely banks of the Bann as we watched the gliding swan," the singer tells Mary of his plans to go oversea. She says that she would rather be poor in Ireland than live better elsewhere. He agrees to stay in Ireland and be married there

"Asheville Junction, Swannanoa Tunnel, all caved in, baby, all caved in." About the life of a steel driver: "This old hammer Killed John Henry, Couldn't kill me." The singer hopes for relief from the hard work and a chance to see his woman.

Swansea Town (The Holy Ground): (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #929}

The singer is leaving (home and/or sweetheart). He describes the various troubles the ship faces on her voyage (around the Horn), including bad weather. (He writes to his girl when the ship stops in port.) At last he arrives home with great rejoicing

The Swapping Boy (sets out for London to get a wife. He swaps wife, or the wheelbarrow he took her home in, for a) horse, which he swaps for a cow, and so forth, for a cheaper animal each time, until he ends with a mole which "went straight to its hole"

"Do you wish to be sworn at Highgate?" "I do, Father." "Amen." "Silence, O, yes! You are my son! Full to your old father turn, sir. This is your oath." The swearer vows to be honest and chaste, and to follow drinking rituals. He kisses the horn as token

"Who robs the widow of her right By work that takes her day and night To earn his poor starvation might? The Sweater/" It leads girls astray. It cheats and lies. It has great wealth. "He is society's disgrace, And must be told so to his face"

Swede from North Dakota, The: (6 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #9845}

Having spent a year working, the Svede decides to visit Minnesota's State Fair. He meets a Salvation Army group (refusing to work for Jesus when he learns "Yesus don't pay nothing"), winds up drunk, and returns home

"Sweep the floor, pick up the chair, Sweep under, place it there."

"I hate to hear folk talk about other folks affairs ... The man that keeps his own door clean has got enough to do." "Don't judge a man by what he wears ... Although he [sic] brought to poverty he's not been brought to shame"

Singer tells what cleanly work he makes as a chimney sweep. He tells the girls to arise and fetch him ale, then boasts about how he can climb to a rooftop without ladder or rope, and there you can hear him halloa. He says he will work for none but gentry.

"We're dodging mines, dodging mines, Always bleeding well dodging mines... My God they're everywhere." The singer would like to place a mine within Hitler's anatomy for deploying so many mines

"In the evening when I sit alone a-dreaming, Of days gone by, love, to me so dear, There's a picture that in fancy's of' appearing." "Sweet Adeline, My Adeline, At night, dear heart, For you I pine.... You're the flower of my heart." He hopes to reunite

Australian parody of "Ben Bolt" in which Sweet Alice becomes an Aborigine woman: "Oh, don't you remember sweet Alice, Dan Holt, the lubra so dusky and dark." The singer recalls the hard times of an Australian migrant worker

"Come all you jovial sailors That love your native home, Among strong winds and rushing seas... Our ship is full and homeward bound To sweet America." They have sailed the coasts of Chile and Peru; they look forward to seeing the girls at home

"Sweet Annie frae the sea-beach came Where Joskey's speel'd the vessel's side"; she cannot stay at home when he is at sea. Others try to tempt her when Jockey is delayed in returning, but she is determined to wait for him

Sweet as the Flowers in May Time: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7442}

"Sweet as the flowers in May/springtime, Sweet as the honey dew, Sweet as the roses in the bowers, I'm thinking tonight of you. Sweet as the rose in the garden, Sweet as the dew on the rose, I'd rather be somebody's darling Than a poor boy nobody knows."

The singer "never more shall view Those scenes I loved by Avondu." He recalls the scenes from the mountains to the sea. He bids farewell to Clara: "No more we meet by Avondu"

"Sweet" Betsy and "her lover" Ike set out from Pike County, Missouri for California. On the way they lose much of their livestock and property, but also have some amazing adventures. (They marry, then divorce.)

"The birds are returning their sweet notes of spring... As I sit in the dream... For my darling far over the sea... Oh, say, does he truly love me?" "Sweet birds (x2), Oh, say that my lover is true." She recalls the day he left and promised to be true

Sweet Blooming Lavender: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #854}

Street cry: "Won't you buy my sweet blooming lavender? There are sixteen blue branches a penny, all in full bloom." The singer tells how the plant is fresh, and how it will benefit the wearer

"Sweet bunch of daisies, Oh, how dear to me. Often I hear them Whisp'ring love of thee. Murmuring softly In a silent theme Of love's bright morning, Now one sad, sweet dream, Sweet bunch of daisies, Brought from the dell, Kiss me one... daises won't tell"

"There's a land that is fairer than day, And by faith we can see it afar.... In the sweet by and by We shall meet on that beautiful shore." The singer describes the blessings and beauties that the faithful will enjoy in heaven

Chorus: "The land I am bound for, Sweet Canaan's happy land I am bound for (x2), Sweet Canaan's happy land, Pray give me your right hand." Verses: "O my brother (sister) did you come to help me (x3), Pray, give me your right hand")

"Where's the mule and where's the rider? Where's the gal that drinks sweet cider? Sallie, won't you have some (x2), Sally, won't you have some of my hard cider?"

The singer explains why he is leaving Clonalee for America. He loved a girl, but she turned instead to a wealthy old farmer. The farmer accused the singer of sheep-stealing. He leaves his parents behind and curses James Magee (presumably the farmer)

Singer wanders out to admire Copshawholm, where he grew up. "But there is not work for all And youth must wander from Their place of birth... I maun haste away." He will dream "of times to come When I shall end my days in... sweet Copshawholm."

Sweet Country Life, A: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2406}

The singer prefers "a sweet country life" to the "lofty high towers" of towns and cities. He prefers homespun to robes and fine dresses, bird songs to fiddles, flutes and spinnets. "Country lasses ... never do forsake your own country employment"

Sweet County Wexford: (3 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #2997}

"On Moniseed of a summer's morning" the Shelmaliers fight British and Gorey cavalry. After driving the British back the Irish rest. "Had we the wisdom to follow after ... We'd have saved the lives of many a martyr That died in Arklow"

The singer and his love leave Ireland for Scotland to escape her father. The father follows and has them forcibly returned to Ireland. Although the girl says she consented, the jury convicts him. After he is freed, they will go to America instead

Fanny Adams, her sister, and another girl go to play, but meet a clerk named Frederick Baker. He sends the younger children off with money for sweets, then murders Fanny. The singer grieves for her daughter, but notes that her murderer is now dead as well

"Fancy brings a thought to me, A flower rich and rare, Of grace and beauty both combined, A fadeless flower rare." The singer recalls courting his beautiful love. In time, he proposes and they happily marry. They dwell in a cot with a forget-me-not

The singer would "give the world to live again the lovely past" with Genevieve. They are older now, but he still loves her and wishes to be with her always: "O Genevieve, Sweet Genevieve... Still the hands of mem'ry weave... Blissful dreams of long ago"

The singer is captivated by the sweet girls of Derry. He describes them as "so comely and merry" with sweet voices. "Though I left them behind me, Full soon they shall find me in Derry again"

The singer calls on the maidens to listen to his(?) story, asking them to pity a wandering youth. He recalls his departure from Glenbush; now dreams and memories of home say to him, "Come back to sweet Glenbush"

"I want to go to Heaven and I want to go right; How I long to be there; I want to go to Heaven all dressed in white, How I long..." "Sweet Heaven (x3), Oh, how I long...." About heaven, the contest between the singer and Satan, and other floating themes

Singer is going to the racetrack; he promises to share any winnings with his sweetheart. Rest floats, e.g. "Give beefsteak when I'm hungry, whiskey when I'm dry...." Chorus: "Let her go (x2) God bless her/Though she roams over land and sea...."

"I have travelled in exile midst cold-hearted strangers" in Canada and India/Indies looking for gold and spices. The singer returns home to find his home in ruins and his sweetheart dead. He will join her. "In heaven she'll welcome her wanderer home"

Sweet Jane [Laws B22]: (7 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3243}

Willie bids his Jane farewell and sets off across the sea. Three years later, having gained success as a gold miner (and suffered much hardship), he returns to his southern home and marries Jane

"Sweet Jesus, sweet Jesus, He's the lily of the valley, He's the bright and morning star, Sweet Jesus, sweet Jesus, He's the fairest of ten thousand to my soul." "How I love him. how I love him" "I'll serve him." "He's worthy."

The singer from Lissycasey (County Clare) is accosted by Peggy Malone in Kilydysart who exposes his paternity by showing his baby in public. They go for a drink. He considers her good features. They marry and return to Lissycasey to live a happy life.

An exile from Kingwilliamstown sails away, thinking about "childhood's days and happy hours ... old home and the friends so dear." "Shall I no more gaze on that shore or view those mountains high?"

"As (I/Peggy/Kitty/He) was riding one day," the squire and Kitty meet. He offers her twenty guineas to sleep with him. She agrees, then cuddles him until he falls asleep. She steals his money. When he seeks her, he doesn't even recognize her

Sweet Kitty Clover: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3743}

"Sweet Kitty Clover, she bothered me so, Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh!... Her face was round and red and fat, Like a pulpit cushion or redder than that." "Sweet Kitty in person is rather low... She's three feet tall." "If Kitty to kirk with me would go..."

Singer meets a maid who asks him to "show me the way... to the weaver's house." He agrees and, on the way, tries to seduce her. She resists and runs away when he says "if another man were in my shoes he'd spoil your thread." "She was too smart for me"

Sweet Liscarrol Town: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #16239}

Beware "roving boys of pleasure." Singer is far from Liscarrol Town and describes its "pretty girls... fine horses, fine carriages." "If I were in Liscarrol Town... I'd be happy as a king." "I curse the day I chanced to stray from... Liscarrol Town."

Sweet Little Man, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #15023}

"All the brave boys under canvas are sleeping, Each one striving to march with the van," but the "sweet little man" is not serving in the armies. The song repeatedly insults him for not joining the army that fights against the enemy

The singer describes the "ancient walled city," "sweet Londonderry on the banks of the Foyle." Orphaned, he works for years as a sailor. He courts a pretty girl of Londonderry. He hopes to work for her when they are married

"There's a mystic golden shore Where the surges evermore Break in music on the strand soft and low. I can hear the ceaseless hymn, I can see the headland dim Of the golden shores of sweet long ago, Long ago, sweet long ago...."

The singer recalls leaving Loughgiel and his friends at home. He describes his early life there. He dreams of being back. He hopes someday to return, and wishes he could be as content as he was there

Singer meets a policeman in Danville. "He bound my feet in cold iron, all tangled my feet in chains, But before I'd go back on my Lulur, I'll have them tangled again." He notes that "If it hadn't a-been for sweet Lulur, it was Lulur that brought be here."

"Sweet mama, treetop tall, Won't you please turn your damper down? I smell hoecake burning, Dey done burnt some brown. I'm laid mah head On de railroad track. I t'ought about Mama An' I drugged it back. Sweet mama, treetop tall, Won't...."

Singer can't call his "mama" "sweet" any more: "every time I come to your house It's a man standing in your door" He's leaving: "going up the country Where the Southern cross the Dog" He worries: "My plan needs a future (with) my old-time used to be"

"Roll me with your belly, feed me with your tongue." "Tell me mama how you want to roll in town." "Tell me mama how you want your rolling stone." "How come you do me mama you keep smacking me down." "Take care of me mama while you're feeling right"

"Sweet Mamie Chadman, that's the girl I love, She's got hair like her mother and teeth like a lightning bug." The police arrest him and take him before a judge. The judge give him 99 years. "I want to see my baby one more time 'fore I die."

The man longs for Marie, but finds it hard to tell her: "Sweet Marie, come to me, Come to me, Sweet Marie, Not because your face is fair, love, to see, Every daisy in the dell Knows my secret very well, Yet I dare not tell Sweet Marie... ."

Sweet Marie (Parody): (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #11354}

"From the fields of war I come, Sweet Marie, Will you kiss me welcome home, love, to thee?" "I am only skin and bones... And I'm full of army prunes as can be." "Oh, I got it in the neck." "Now I'm with you once again... you seem not to identify me"

Dialog; young man asks sweet Mary whether he may ask her parents for her hand. She replies that they will reject his suit; he says he will die of grief. She has a way to save him; "Since my parents are both so contrary/You'd better ask me."

"My Mary Ann's a teacher in a great big public school, She gets one thousand dollars every year" for she teaches Greek and Latin and French and "Timbuktu." She knows etiquette. She can dance all types of dances, and play the "pianay"

At harvest time the singer sees Mary with another man. Later they drink to each other at a tavern. He reminds her of good times they have had. She leaves for home. They kiss and part. Miles away now he pines for her.

A man tells Moll that he has her parents' or friends' approval to marry. She demands a servant boy [or handsome husband], silver buckles, meat, tea for breakfast and wine at night. He offers no silver, bacon and milk. She refuses and they part.

"Stroll through the meadows, cross over the stream, You see my darling she is a poet's dream." The singer praises Nellie's hair and voice and says he is always lonely without her. They will be married in the spring

"Sweet pinks and roses, That grow in the vine, Go find you a partner, The prettiest you can find. Honey in the gum so sweet, so sweet (x3), Joy is bound to be."

Sweet Poll of Plymouth: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #12677}

"Sweet Poll of Plymouth was my dear, When forc'd from her to go." Poll and the sailor part in sorrow. He is away for five years. By the time he returns home, "My Poll, the sweetest flower of May; Then languished, drooped, and died."

"O William, dearest William hear, While yet the ship is nigh" how much the singer grieves to see him leave. She wonders if he will ever return. She imagines his death. "But still sweet Poll of Plymouth lives In melancholy song."

"Why should men toil foreign lands to explore, When wonder and pleasement are here at the door ... and leave Portaferry and the Kingdom of Down?" If the singer were rich he might travel but at the end he'd return home.

The singer travels around Ireland but "Sweet Portaferry remains in my mind." He returns from foreign lands with "silks and fine laces" to his true love. "Then I'll whisper so fondly and I know she'll agree 'O! Sweet Portaferry, you're a dear spot to me'"

"A music hall was crowded in a village o'er the sea, And brilliant lights were flashing everywhere." A minstrel sings, and a "darkey" remembers his mother and the days of his youth; he begs, "Sing again that sweet refrain"

The river most deserving of praise is the Suir. The river "has the most devinest aspect" and the best navigators. Its shores have the most melodious bulls. "Its meandering banks so transparent pure; It far surpasses mugs, jugs, and glasses"

Sweet Rose in June, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #1202}

Couplets about milk maid Miss Kate or Katie. For example, "Down in the green meadows I'll walk with Miss Kate, Where cowslips are growing to make the milk sweet" The chorus is in the Taylor note below.

Rosie Anna knows that when the steamboat comes to pick up men for the harvest the singer will leave for the harvest and not return until payday. He sings "farewell my darling child I won't be home tomorrow"

Sweet Rosie Levinsky: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #9608}

"Sweet Rosie Levinsky, She was a blacksmith by birth. She was tired of living And decided to leave this old earth. She tried dying by inches, But finding that this was to hard She went out in the alley Laid down and died by the yard.... Three feet."

Sweet Rosie O'Grady: (8 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #9560}

"Just down around the corner of a street where I reside, There lives the sweetest little girl that I have ever spied." The singer vows never to forget the day they met, and says that the very birds sing her name

Sweet Scented Barber, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #11624}

"I'll sing of a feller that live in the city" -- a perfumed barber. Miss O'Brien casts her eyes on him. Sam Snider the butcher grows jealous. The barber kills him with a lathering brush. She kills herself with brandy. He swallows hair dye and dies

The singer talks about "the pretty girls who often may be seen 'Long about they time when they're sweet sixteen." He describes how they primp and show off and talk about boys. (He warns that they tease, or will not work.)

The singer "fell in love wi' the bonnie young lassie, The sweet smiling lassie o' modest fifteen." He proposed, she consented, they married "and noo we are livin' fu' happy and bien [prosperous]"

"Oh, thou to whom this hear ne'er yet Turned in anguish or regret, The past forgive, the future spare, Sweet spirit, hear my prayer!" The grieving singer cties out for help to "calm these trembling fears," and repeatedly begs to be heard

A young Southerner, armed and ready, bids farewell to family and sweetheart. He sets off for the war, hoping to return when the Yankees are driven off

Sweet Sunny South (II): (16 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #772}

"Take me back to the place where I first saw the light, To my sweet sunny south take me home." The singer (perhaps an ex-slave) describes home and how much he misses it. He hopes to return to the graves of "my little ones" "to rest and to die" among them

"The first time I entered sweet Swansea, For the truth unto you I will tell, I was handcuffed and put into prison, And locked up in a dark dismal cell." He describes the dreadful prison. He curses judges and juries. He wishes he had wings to fly away

The singer overhears two lovers. The man says it would be a "great sin" if the girl does not give him a love token. She asks what he would have; he names a ring, a garter, and a broach. She gives them, then laments that he is untrue. He then marries her

"What you gonna do when the pond goes dry, honey, What you gonna do when the pond goes dry, baby?" Sundry verses about catching fish, rural life, and (presumably) sexual innuendo

Sweet Trinity (II), The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #5054}

"A hunter early ranging Along the forest wild Saw o'er the greensward tripping, tripping, tripping, Three maidens fair and mild." (x2). They are Faith, Love, and Hope. They say to pick one. He asks "why must two depart" and begs them to "share my heart"

Sweet William of Plymouth: (6 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #6763}

William, a sailor, courts poor Susan. She rejects her parent's plan to marry her to a wealthy squire and is sent away. William returns from sea, and they -- not knowing he is now rich -- tell him she is dead. William and Susan meet and marry.

(Sweet William) dies while engaged. Since he has an unfulfilled commitment, his spirit cannot rest. He goes to his sweetheart, who begs him to wed her/kiss her/etc. When she learns that he is dead, she releases him from his promise

Singer's mother has died and the family delays the family reunion because she will not be there. The singer recalls the funeral when they "had to face it." The chorus says they "can't forget the hour"; mother was "sweeter than the flowers"

"Take a deep seat and a faraway look, Keep him between your knees. The higher he goes, the sweeter the breeze. Keep your mind in the middle and let both ends flop!"

"She's a little old-fashioned, that sweet mother of mine; There are many whose beauty will my mother's out-shine," but she is "sweeter each day." "She is forever sweetest mother to me."

The singer passes her sweetheart "walking fast by another girlie's side." He waves to her but she passes by "for I hate to be slighted by a man .... sweethearts I've got plenty I can count them more than twenty" and her mind will "change with the wind"

Sweetly Sings the Donkey: (6 refs.) {Roud #25393 and 30900}

"Sweetly sings the donkey at the break of day If you do not feed him this is what he’ll say Hee-haw! Hee-haw! Hee-haw, hee-haw, hee-haw!" Or, "...donkey As he goes to grass, If you don't sing sweetly, You will be the ass"

"Out on the ocean, dreary and cold, I lead the life of a fisherman bold. So swell me net full...." The singer lists a fish for each weekday, and describes how to deal with weather. When he dies, "Build me a tombstone of herring back scales."

Swiler's Song, The: (1 ref. 2K Notes) {Roud #V44858}

"Rise up me hearties with gaff and sculp, With hobnail rope and line." The singer repeatedly encourages his comrades in their tasks as they hunt seals. He admits that "many a hearty swiler sleeps 'round the Funks and Baccalieu," but still urges them on

Swiles of Newfoundland, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #V44610}

"Oh, the day we left St. John's, me b'ys, It was a very fine day! Our wives an' sweethearts on the quay Says they, ye'll understand." The singer complains about the bad conditions, but delights in killing "swiles [seals] in Newfoundland."

"If the skipper fell into the oggin [ocean], If the skipper fell into the sea, If the skipper fell into the oggin, He'd get sod-all lifebelt from me. Swim back, swim back, Oh swim back you bastard to me...."

"Swimming, swimming in my swimming (pool/hole), When days are hot, when days are cold In my swimming pool. Breast-stroke, side-stroke, fancy diving too, Don't you wish you never had anything else to do but...." Repeat as desired

"Star in the east, swing low, Star in the west, swing low, Stars shining in my breast, Swing low, chariot, swing low. "My father's gone, swing low... Angels took him...." "My mother's gone...." "I got a letter... it was sent from heaven...."

"Oh swing low sweet chariot swing low" "Must be Jesus passing by" "Swing low in the East ... Swing low in the West ... Morning star was a witness too"

Swing Low, Sweet Chariot: (44 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5435}

Black spiritual: "Swing low, sweet chariot/Coming for to carry me home"; "I looked over Jordan and what did I see/.../A band of angels comin' after me"; "If you get there before I do/.../Tell all my friends I'm a-comin' too"

Jump-rope rhyme. "Swing your right foot, Turn around, Suzie Q, And truck on down."

"Swinging along the open road, Swinging along under a sky that's clear. Swinging along the open road, All in the fall, in the fall of the year. Swinging along, swinging along, Swinging along the open road, All in the Fall of the year."

"Five, ten, fifteen, twenty..." count to one hundred by fives, then "With a high swing And a low swing And a swing To get you off of your Swing Swong Sway."

"Swinging, swinging, swinging, swinging, Swinging 'neath the old, 'Neath the old apple tree." "Now my heart is beating thinking of the greeting, Swinging 'neath the old apple tree. Swinging, swinging, swinging, swinging, Swinging 'neath the old...."

Give me the man who bids "the sun of Freedom rise" against tyrants, and the soul who "inlists for Freedom's cause." May you "no longer unavenged be called 'The swinish multitude.'" Freedom is coming to the world. Dare to die pursuing statecraft's crimes.

"All in this pleasant evening, together come are we, For the summer springs so fresh, green, and gay." The singer calls on master, mistress, and children to rise up for the May, and wishes blessings on them; the singers will not return until next May

"Mitten, Smitten, Pitten, Switten, Out goes Switten, in goes Pitten, Out goes Switten and Mitten is it."

"I have a sword in my hand Help me to use it, Lord I'm goin' away To watch an' pray Never to come back 'Till the Great Judgement day"

Sword of Bunker Hill, The: (6 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #4684}

An old veteran, dying, bid his son to bring "the sword of Bunker Hill." Grasping the sword, in a burst of energy, he tells the boy how he captured the blade from a British officer. The old man dies

Joe Thompson comes up to the singer on race day and asks him to back his horse. The singer is not interested

Keep your mouth shut and beware spies. We visit the Fenians jailed like "dogs kept in a manger." General Burk's turnkey "is worse than a Turk." Rossa, Luby and others are named. God is watching inside the walls. Our day will come.

Norwegian shanty. "Listen little bosun, what I want to tell you, do you want to play dice with me? Ch: Sing high falleri, fallala-lala."

T for Texas (Blue Yodel #1): (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #11743}

"It's T for Texas, T for Tennessee (x2), It's T for Thelma, the gal who made a fool out of me." A lonely song for an unhappy man; he will buy a pistol and shoot the woman

Gaelic. The singer goes to America and sees nothing familiar: not a Christian, horse, cow, sheep, but only roaring wild animals and people. When he meets people from Ireland he realizes he would be fortunate to be home even just to find proper mourners.

T'Owd Yowe wi' One Horn: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1762}

Old "yowe" (ewe) resists penning and kicks the farmhand around the yard. The butcher is sent for; the yowe charges him and breaks his legs. She is sent to fight for the king, and kills soldiers in quantity.

Gaelic. The singer lies awake until cock crow though the rest of the household sleeps: he had met a banshee the night before and she had doomed him to love her "until crack of Doomsday"

The singer praises Limavady. He lists the boasts of other towns (e.g. "Coleraine for Kitty justly proud"), but prefers the local product ("But the girls that take the shine off both Are the girls that come from Limavady"). He asks others to praise it also

Descriptions of how various people came to be in their present psychological and sexual states, to the tune of "Ta-ra-ra Boom-der-e"

"I had a job once threshing wheat, worked 16 hours with hand and feet" -- longer when there was moonlight. One night, he has an accident. "Ra-ra-ra BOOM de-ay, It made a noise that way." After many "accidents," the boss gives in and improves conditions

Ta-ra-ra Boom-der-e: (9 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #V15841?}

The words often consist of floating lyrics. The chorus, "Ta-ra-ra(-ra) Boom-de-ay," is diagnostic. Sayers' lyrics: "A sweet Tuxedo girl I see, Queen of swell society, Fond of fun as fond can be, When it's on the strict Q.T...."

Tacking Ship Off Shore: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1845}

In a storm the ship is driven toward "the lighthouse tall on Fire Island Head" but the skillful captain and crew avoid "a dangerous shoal" and "steady the helm to the open sea"

Taffy Was a Welshman (I): (5 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #19237}

"Taffy was a Welshman, Taffy was a thief, Taffy came to my house And stole a piece of beef." Taffy and the singer engage in a campaign of theft against each other -- e.g. Taffy takes a bone; the singer finds it and beats Taffy with it

"Her mother had a nice wee dog, she used to call it Tony, And every time I kissed the girl he bit my Tagglieownie"

Taglioni Coat, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3569}

Singer left his vulgar cronies behind when he bought a Taglioni coat. His fortunes changed when the coat led him to a wealthy lady, marriage and privilege. Clothes make the man.

The singer's wife left and before she returned "Tammie gart [made] my tail toddle [totter]." Neither dead, nor sick, "when I'm weel, I step about, An Tammie ..." Wedding guests gave coins; the bride says "o'er little For to mend a broken doddle [penis]"

A tailor and louse live in a house. Spitefully, the tailor sews the louse into a button. The louse escapes, has misadventures in town and dies. His body is carried by six fleas. A bug tolls the bell to carry the louse's soul to Hell.

Tailor and the Mouse, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #16577}

"There was a tailor had a mouse, Hey diddle inkum feedle, They lived together in one house...." The mouse eats the tailor's hat. The mouse grows ill; the tailor tries to save it, then puts it in a pie. The mouse escapes and dies. The tailor finds another

The singer says she's sought by a tailor and a sailor. "I think I'll tak the sailor and let the tailor be." Tailors just sit and sew but sailors can turn a ship about and sail her. She'll wash his shirt and maybe they'll be married; or maybe not.

Singer and tailor Ban are drinking buddies often mistaken for one another. They plan "a mad trip to Kilgarvin"; singer will marry Miss Foley but their alikeness will allow them some freedom. But if there's a child "let nobody ask who's the father"

Tailor Fell Through the Bed, The: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #13597}

[C:] Dreaming of caulking his cloth, [O:] "the tailor fell through the bed, thimbles and a'." [B:] The lassie "kend that a tailor could do her nae ill." [O:] She asks for silver. [B:] She's lying alone and would be happy to see him again.

The singer has been courted by a tailor and a sailor "but I think I'll tak' the ploughman lad and lat the rest gang free." A tailor can't work at night if he has no candle but a plowman can "water his steeds" any time

A tailor comes to mend clothes. The girl of the house falls asleep and the tailor rapes her. She would have her maidenhead returned. He asks how that should be. She says "jist the way that it was ta'en." He lays her down and "gien her't owre, and owre"

Tak It, Man, Tak It (I): (8 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5591}

"When I was a miller in Fife, Losh, I thought that the sound o' the happer, said, 'Tak hame a wee flow to your wife.'" The singer lives his life, and constantly hears the temptation, upon seeing an item (especially drink) to "Tak it, man, tak it."

Tak It, Man, Tak It (II): (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #5590}

"Langsyne, fine I mind, little mair than a lad, I wrocht wi' John Jackson at Inkaboot Mill," where Jackson's daughter teases him and flirts. Asked for a kiss, she rejects him -- but at last he steals one, and in the end they are happily married

"Cattle noo are very low, and corn winna sell, But we'll aye keep oor spirits up and tak' another gill." We'll kiss the lasses; they won't go home "and tell their auld mither"

Tak' Back the Ring, Dear Jamie: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #6144}

The singer says "I canna leave my mammie, She's been sae kind to me." The singer's mother is old and frail, her eyes are dim "And seen they'll close and a'." The singer promised her father to take care of mother. If Jamie can't wait, they cannot marry.

Take a Drink on Me: (8 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #10062}

Chorus "Take a drink on me/All you rounders, take a drink on me...." Verses float: "What did you do with that gun in your hand You give it to a rounder and he shot a good man", "If you keep on stalling, you'll make me think... your daddy was a monkey..."

Verse format: (some-line(3x) "If I never never meet you any more" same-line(3x) "I will meet you on Canaan's shore"). Verse lines include "Live the life," "Take a stand," "Pray for me," "Keep the faith," "Shake my hand"

Take a Whiff on Me: (10 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #10062}

The singer "Walked up Ellum and... come down Main / Tryin' to bum a nickel, just to buy cocaine / Ho, ho, honey take a whiff on me." The singer devotes considerable energy to seeking women and drugs, with slight success and open disregard for the risks

Take Away the Whisky: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #10897}

"Take away the whisky, coffee and the tea; Cold water is the drink for me. Our father Adam and our mother Eve They had no reason to believe That tea was for a medicine and coffee for a cold, And it appears that they loved for more than 900 years."

"One moonlight night a year ago," two lovers courted. He proposes. She later declares, "Take back the ring you gave me, Take it back, Jack, I pray. Wearing it would deprave me, More than I am today. To make me your wife would wrong you...."

Take Back Your Gold: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7427}

The singer sees a man and a woman. She is begging him to be honorable and marry her; he refuses. He is going to be married to another. He offers money to soothe her. She says, "Take back your gold, for gold can never buy me."

The singer is Bob Bell, a miller fond of drink. He tries often to quit drinking but his mill seems to say "Take it Bob, take it, it's better than tea" He dreams he is dead but hears the mill say he should take the brandy meant for the mourners.

"Take me back to dear old Aussie, Put me on the boat for Woolloomooloo, Take me over there, drop me anywhere, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, for I don't care, Just want to see my best girl... Oh, Blighty is a failure, Send me back to Australia..."

"Carry me back to dear old Blighty, Put me on the train to London town. Take me over there, Drop me anywhere, Liverpool, Leeds, or Manchester, I don't care. I should like to see my best girl... Blighty is the place for me."

"Take me back to dear old Canada, Put me on the boat for Old St. John, Take me over there, drop me anywhere, Toronto, Hull, or Montreal, for I don't dare, I should love to see my best girl... I'd sooner be there than Blighty, Canada is the place for me"

"Take me back to 'Old Montana," where there's lots of room and air... Where at at night th emagpies twitter, And the injun fights were fit. The singer mentions the rivers makiong green patches in the Bad Lands. The singer hopes to die in Montana

"Take me back to the Cumberland Mountains, I don't like Lynchburg any more; I want to go home to our old log cabin...." The singer looks back to seeing Pap, Mammy, Uncle Mose, old dog Tray, and the various farm animals

"Take me down the Harbour on a Sunday afternoon, To Manly Beach or Watson's Bay Or round to Coogee for a day... Good old Harbour, Sydney Town, They can't beat you." The singer enjoys his girl and sailing in Sydney Harbour

Take Me In Your Lifeboat: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #6629}

"Come, brother sailors, and don't you fall asleep, Pray night and day or you'll sink in the deep." "Take me in your lifeboat (x2), She can stand the raging storm, Take me in your lifeboat (x2), She will bear my spirit home." The port is nearby.

"Take me to the water (x3) to be baptized." "None but the righteous (x3) shall see God." "I love Jesus (x3), yes I do." "He's my savior (x3), yes he is."

"Take me up tenderly, Show me the big city, Far from the mountains...." The singer rejects the rain and snow and mountains and says he will work in his mother's garden. "Thus sang the tramping man, Rattling his frying pan...."

"Take my tip, pack your grip, Get right off this bleeding ship, Bye bye Loch Lomond. Dump my gear upon the quay, Then no more you'll see of me.... I will leave the Jaunty far behind me... So take my tip... Get right off this bleeding ship"

Take This Hammer: (59 refs. 4K Notes) {Roud #4299 and 6686 and 16845}

The singer tells a (fellow prisoner?) to take his hammer to the captain; the singer is running away. The hammer (which killed John Henry) will never kill him. The versions show considerable variations

"Take you feet out de sand (x2), An' stick 'em in de mud."

"Take your (fingers/hands) off it, and don't you dare touch it, You know it don't belong to you." Various people try to keep others away from their sexual partners. One complains of "a house full of children and none of them mine."

"My old mistress promised me, Before she died she would set me free, Take your lover in the ring, I don't care (x2)." "Now she's dead... I hope the devil will burn her well. Take your lover...." "It's a golden ring." "It's a silver ring."

"Honey Baby, take your time, Please don't break this leg of mine. Don't like, an' I ain't goin' to have it no more." About a difficult family meal (?): Mama picks on Sam; Sister is out of control (doing the twist); the singer gets in trouble in town

"Come all you good people, come listen you might. It's only a ditty I'm going to write,... It's all about taking your gair [=gear -- the trawls used in capelin fishing] in the night." Song lists the fishermen of Penguin Island, their boats and hardships.

Bushranger Jack Dean comes to the door of the inn and dances with May Carney. Although all know he is an outlaw, the bushmen do not betray him. But at last someone notifies the police. Dean is shot and killed as he prepares to flee

"It ain't so far from right to wrong, The trail ain't hard to lose. There's times I'd almost give my horse To know which one to choose." The poet admits the difficulty of telling which is which, and so promises to help those who have gone astray

"Talk about Jesus -- he has blessed my soul, And he is gone. Must Jesus bear the cross alone? For there's a cross for everyone And... for me." "I heard the voice of Jesus saying, Come unto me and rest." "'Tis Jesus Christ I want to hear...."

Talkin' 'Bout a Good Time: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #16307}

Alternate lines are a chorus, "We gonna have a good time." The hymn leader sings "Good time, a good time." "Singing/praying/ for a good time." "Talkin' bout a good time." "We gonna have a time."

Talking Blues: (17 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #13912, etc.}

"If you want to get to Heaven let me tell you what to do, Gotta grease your feet in mutton stew...." The singer boasts of the ways he avoids work and easily acquires food, sex, etc. Many of the verses float

"I was down along the river, just sittin' on a rock, Lookin' at the boats in the Bonneville lock." The singer describes what he sees along the river -- and how it inspired this song. He concludes that the world should be run by electricity, not dictators

Talking Blues about the dustbowl: The farmer sees his farm turn to dust, trades it for a Ford, heads out to California, has engine trouble, and winds up in California starving and having to beg. The song ends with sarcastic remarks about politicians

Talking Hard Luck: (10 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1422}

Talking blues, describing the singer's hard times in surrealistic terms: "I've been bawled out and balled up, held down and held up... lost all I had and part of my furniture...and if that ain't hard luck, folks, then you tell me what is."

"Wrap up the butt of the old cigar, And pop in the cork of the whisky jar, And hope we'll meet a block with a car... For it's ninety miles to wherever we are, On the swag!" The rambler rarely finds a room or work; even pigs are better fed

"Tall angel at the bar, lord I wonder what's to matter (x2)." "Tall Angel at the bar, will my mother got to go (x2)." "Tall angel... to the bar of God." "She come stepping down the Jordan." "She come stepping down like the lightning." "Don't a-fail...."

"Tall girls, short girls, fat and thin, What you gonna do when..." various situations occur. Instead of tall or short girls, it might be big folks, small folks, or the like

At the foot of the tall pine tree is a brook which runs through Samsonville. The brook powers the mill that feeds Samsonville. The singer(s) love the pine tree, where they "get a chance for to take a glance at the girls in Samsonville"

"Timber, timber, timber, Timber, timber, timber. Oh, the mountains high, down the canyons wide Let me roam and ride, ride through timber...." "Tall timber's calling, and the echoes ring, All nature sings a song along the timber trail."

"Glory to thee, my God This night for all the blessings of the light Keep me, oh keep me, King of kings Beneath Thine own almighty wings." This is all that is apparently sung in camps

"The sun had just peeped its head over the hill" and the birds and ploughboys are just starting their days when the hunter cries "Tally ho!" The fox is in view. They chase it for six hours. At the end, they toast the "fox hunting boys."

Footman Tipperary Joe, who "never yet owned a horse or a hound ... though I've no money, I live at my ease" enjoys the hunt on foot. "If I'm not first, I am seldom late, With my tally-i-ho"

"Come all you fathers and mothers And brothers and sisters all, I'll relate to you the history Concerning old Talt Hall." "He shot and killed Frank Salyers." Hall is taken and condemned to die. He writes to bid his brother farewell. He regrets his acts

Widower Tam goes out courting a second wife. He finds that "a' the lasses blinkit blythe, but few o' them had tocher," so at last he settles on a rich widow. He soon grows tired of her and casts her out.

The (widow) attempts to hire Tam. He asks about his wages. He talks her into an increase, then asks about his diet. Satisfied, he asks where he will sleep. After turning down several offers, he agrees to sleep with, and marry, her

"You've a' heard tell o' auld Tam Frew... Whase only way o' livin noo Is gaun aboot and cleanin' clocks... But the oddest o' his queerest ways -- He keeps his smiddy in his hat." Tam's hat, his behaviors, and his old age are humorously described

Janet goes to Carterhaugh to pull flowers. She meets Tam Lin, who makes her sleep with him. She finds herself pregnant, and demands Tam Lin marry her. But to do so, she must rescue him from thralldom to the Elven queen. With difficulty, she does so.

"There was Tam o' my back, an' Tam i' my lap ..., Tam o' the lea"

"When chapman billies leave the street, And drouthy neebors neebors meet," Tam O'Shanter, somewhat at the worse for drink, thinks he sees a coven dancing, including a pretty witch in a cutty sark. He flees; his horse loses its tail before he escapes

Tam O'Shanter Hat, The: (1 ref. 4K Notes) {Roud #5799}

"I'll sing on the Tam o' Shanter's hat For the Cameronian Rifles." "John Bull, Pat, and Sandy true, Are a' amalgamated noo." At review time we outdo the Life Guards and Royal Blues." "Tho' we lose the Cameronian name, We ne'er can lose the Cameron fame"

The singer, down on his luck, redeems himself by moving to Tambaroora and finding gold. Now he has respect, but it is only for the money. When his money is gone, his girl abandons him for someone else with Tambaroora gold.

Betty and Johnnie Smith court. He spends all his money on her. Lord Elgin seduces and leaves her. Her mother suggests Johnnie marry Betty. Betty makes up with Johnnie. They marry. Their daughters marry well and "her son micht weel command a ship"

The singer "left the kirk that patronage gae me" and his "simple flock" because "Tammie Chalmers, he's fairly diddled me." "But nocht can bring my bonnie glebe and stipend back again." He and his wife are grief-stricken.

"Tammy Toddles is a cantie chile, Fu' cantie an' fu' croosie, The fairies liked him unco weel, An' built him a wee hooe." A fairy enters the hous and skips and dances and sings. It is so shrill that Tammy "was mis-smothered in the thrang."

Tammy Traddlefeet sings "I hae been a weaver lad, for twenty years an' twa." "We weaver lads were merry blades in good times" but prices have fallen. "We'll maybe live to see the time when things'll tak' a come" and good times will return.

"Well I tamped all the way from Tampa In (21) days, buddy, in (21) days." "You got to tamp like me." Other verses tell of various disasters: "Ada shot Shorty." "Waterworks in Georgia just burning down." "I broke my brand-new hammer."

Call and response for tie-laying. "Tamp 'em up solid...Then they'll hold that midnight mail....Well, work don't hurt me...."

The singer loves a girl who lives by the tan-yard side. After a year of courtship, they prepare to be wed, but her father has him sent to sea. He vows to marry her if he ever returns

Tanneray hears his daughter is getting married. He rushes to stop the wedding. The preacher says "you better forgot it." His wife says "this thing has been done You ain't lost a daughter you done got a son." Tanneray gives the couple his blessing.

"Tap a tap shoe (or "Tap-a-shoe"), that would I do, If I had but a little more leather; We'll sit in the son till the leader do come, Then we'll tap them both together." A rhyme a mother uses while tapping baby's shoes together

Tapping at the Garden Gate: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6208}

The singer asks a girl in the room: "Who's that tapping at the garden gate" every night? She blushes and looks under the table. The singer says it's not there, and it's not a cat. "Cats don't know when it's half-past eight"

Initially and properly a bugle call, but frequently sung with the lyric "Day is done, Gone the sun, From the lake, From the hill, From the sky, All is well, Safely rest, God is nigh."

"Tar the yoll [yawl] again." Father bought the tar yesterday and Jeannie put it on.

"The passing moments to beguile, To cheer our spirits, raise a smile... We'll sing in Taranaki's praise." About "New Plymouth fair, New Zealand's boast." It has riches, farms, fair ladies, "churches for the orthodox, And for the sinners gaols and stocks"

"Come all you honest people, Whoever you may be, And help the honest workingmen Resist monopoly." The "brokers" have "Tariff on the brain (x2), Look out for politicians Who have tariff on the brain." They have Grover to support their gold standard

The singer praises Tarland's lasses braw, hearty boys, fertile fields and high mountains that "keep aff the stormy win's." Tarland toon has a weekly fair, markets, fighters that will chase all comers. "We'll drink success ... That Tarland wins ye a' man."

"Oh tarry woo' [wool]... is ill to spin, Card it well, oh card it well, card it well ere you begin." Card it, spin it, weave it. Shepherds may go out and dance. Who would be a king when he could be a shepherd?

"When first he landed on our strand," Prince Charlie charms all who meet him. "When Geordie heard the news belyve, That he had come before his daddy," the king sends John Cope north. Cope and Charlie play cat and mouse. Stories of the '45

A group of bothies go on a Sunday tear. After leaving the tavern, the singer is separated from his companions, and gets in a fight with a policeman. He's thrown in jail, escapes, is caught again, and has to pay for the policeman's torn coat, plus a fine.

Tassels on Her Boots: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3275}

The singer is intrigued by the tassels on a girl's boots. He courts her; she speculates that he is sad because he always stares at the ground. He explains that he is looking at the tassels. Now they are married; he intends to tassel the childrens' boots

"For breakfast we have potato pie, For dinner we have potato pie, For supper we have potato pie, And it's sliced potato pie all the time. 'Tater pie, 'tater pie, There's a fly in the sliced potato pie... Choked to death on cold potato pie."

The singer worked for Tattie Jock and Mutton Peggie. One night he and nine others were caught stealing potatoes. They fought the police. One escaped to join the navy. The others are sentenced to 13 years in Botany Bay.

Bothy ballad. Singer describes members of the crew harvesting potatoes, people to avoid, and humorous incidents during the harvest. He warns againt drink. When the harvest is over they scatter to their other trades such as scrap and rags

"Your hard-workin' Scotsman's gone crazy I fear, Each day ye maun hae your bit beef and your beer, But ye dinnae ken or you're maybe nae carin', Your natural food it is tatties and herrin'." The singer tells the feats of those who ate tatties and herring

"I paid a (franc/bob/shilling) to see a fair tattooed lady...." The rest of the song describes the various sights to be seen on the lady's skin. These are generally localized (e.g. in Australia they see the ANZAC logo), ending with "my home in (wherever)"

"I'm an ordinary joker, getting old before my time, For my heart's in Taumarunui on the Main Trunk LIne." A hauler, he stops regularly at Taumarunui for breaks. There he meets a "Sheila" and falls in love. She changes her work hours to avoid him

Singer laments her lover, who courted her ardently but now goes to a tavern and courts others while leaving her pining. She hopefully anticipates dying and being buried.

Taxation of America: (4 refs. 8K Notes) {Roud #3687}

"While I relate my story, Americans give ear, Of Britain's fading glory You presently shall hear." The singer tells the "true relation" or "the taxation of North America." "North, and Bute his father" propose to tax the Americas, but the Americans rebel

"There never was such taxes in Ireland before." There are seven verses of things to be taxed. "They'll double tax the hobble skirts and table up some laws, But the devil says he'll tax them if he gets them in his claws"

""The bridge, the bridge, the wondrous bridge, That spans the Firth of Tay, The greatest work of human skill" is not strong enough to stand a great storm. A train starts to cross the bridge, which collapses. Many die. Listeners should "lean upon the Lord"

"The Tay bridge is broken and I'm come to mend it"

The singer warns young men against women overly dependent upon tay (tea). He works and earns a good living, but his wife wastes the money on tay. At last he breaks kettle and pot. She attacks him; he gives in and lets her have her tay

"The Pahekas [Europeans] came with their rum and their god, And soon the broad lands of our fathers were sold, But the voice of Te Kooti said, 'Hold the land! Hold!' Exult for Te Kooti e-ha!" The story of how he was oppressed is retold

Teach, an outlaw captain, goes to Carolina after the Act of Grace, but soon turns pirate. Finally he is overtaken by Maynard's crew. In the desperate battle that follows, Maynard boards the pirate ship and himself kills Teach

Jamaican patois: Mother patches the girl's shift, but she burns the same spot; teacher beats the girl while her mother holds her, and she turns over. The girl has a baby; they beat and fine her. Bitter casava poisons Joe Brownie.

Jump-rope rhyme. "Teacher, teacher, call the roll, Who is absent? I don't know." Or, "...roll, Now call in somebody that you know.

Jump rope rhyme. "Teacher, teacher, don't whip me, Whip that fellow behind the tree. He stole peaches, I stole peaches, I stole none, Teacher, teacher, ain't that fun." Other verses may involve other things stolen, and it may be a policeman, not a teacher

Jump-rope rhyme and taunt. "Teacher, teacher, I declare, I see someone's underwear. (N-A-N-C-Y.)"

Jump-rope rhyme. "Teacher, teacher, oh so tired, How many times were you fired? One, two, three...."

"The thunder roared and the lightning flashed, Broke old granny's teakettle all to smash."

Team cheer that became a jump-rope rhyme. "THe team was in a huddle, The captain raised his head. All was silent, And this is what he said: You've gotta F-I-G-H-T (x2)."

"In eighteen hundred and ninety-five Away to the woods we thought we'd strike... To go to work at Wanapitei." The song briefly describes the trip to the woods, and the work -- but most of the song is devoted to the horses in the teams

Leslie Stubbs was a teamster "who came to the lumberlands his family to maintain," He complains of headache and becomes sick. MacDonald and Tom Proctor take him home to his wife in Sherman Mills. Doctor Harris cannot save him.

A midnight fire at Labor Union Hall. As the fire burns to the basement the local women, who are named, have their eyes on the teapots. Now, "In every home in St John's town, If you go in today, You'll find a fancy teapot in a cupboard stowed away."

Teasing Songs: (17 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #10232 and 10404}

A teasing song hints of a bawdy or ribald rhyme, but avoids it at the last minute, as in this example: Suzanne was a lady with plenty of class / Who knocked the boys dead when she wiggled her... Eyes at the fellows as girls sometimes do...."

Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, Go Upstairs: (14 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #19238 and 19264}

"Teddy bear, teddy bear, go upstairs, Teddy bear, teddy bear, say your prayers, Teddy bear, teddy bear, say goodnight, Teddy bear, teddy bear, turn out the light." "Teddy bear, teddy bear, turn around, Teddy bear, teddy bear, touch the ground." Etc.

The singer has a dreadful dream of Teddy courting another girl. She recalls where they used to meet. They cannot meet now; he has gone across the sea to seek his fortune. She would rather he were still present, even if poor

"Come hark a while, and I will speak Yonder's a house where I never saw reek." The young man who owns it explains that "the lasses they're so very scant." Assured that he can find a woman if he tries, he vows that there will be life in the house soon

Teetotal Mill, The: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5890}

Tom and Bill are "discussing the merits of brandy and gin." Tom tells of the Teetotal Mill where you go to give up drink. After a test "you're very soon cured." They go to the mill and see drunken wrecks enter and come out healthy and happy. They cheer.

"Oh, dear me, the world's on fire, news sent around on a telegraph wire! Lord have mercy, only think, news sent to Mexico quicker than a wink! Oh dear, what shall I do? Every year brings something new!" A catalog of marvels and changes of the modern age

Singer can't connect with "that scheming sparrow of mine" because the lines are busy with so many people arguing. He tries Central. "I can't get no message on the phone no matter nowhere I go." "I picked up the 'ceiver I could not hear your voice"

"Tell all the world, John (x3), I know the other world is not like this." "Well I've never been to heaven but I've been told, I know the other..., The gates are pearl and the streets are gold, I know the...." "One of these mornings." "The tallest tree.."

Chorus: "No harm! no harm! Tell Brother Elijah! No harm! no harm! Come along to Jesus. Verse: O sinner (mourner, Christian, preachers), ain't you tired of sinning (mourning, praying, shouting)? Lay down your load of hell and Come along to Jesus"

Chorus: "Tell Jesus, done done all I can (x3), I can't do no more". Verses: "Went up on the mountain, Didn't go to stay, When my soul got happy, Then I stayed all day" and other floating verses

"O tell me my bonny young lassie ... how for to woo." May I praise "your red cheeks like the morning," "lips like the rose when it's moistened wi' dew," and "een's pauky [lively] scorning"?

After "we courted mony an hoor" a shepherd asks a lass to marry. He points to his sheep, house, and wealth. She says she has not decided and is too young. He says "The morn I'll draw up with Mary." She says "Here's my hand that I will tak' you"

"I don't know why I went to war, Tell me, oh tell me now... Or what these folks are fighting for." "I don't know why I totes this gun." The singer doesn't know why the troops feed badly when the officers eat well. He hopes God will take him when he dies

"Tell me why the stars do shine; Tell me why the ivy twines; Tell me why the skies are blue; And I will tell you why I love you. Because God made the stars to shine; Because God made the ivy twine... That is the reason why I love you."

"In the morning when I rise, Tell my Jesus huddy (howdy?), oh. I wash my hands in the morning glory, Tell my Jesus huddy, oh." "Morning, Hester, morning, gal." "Say, brother Sammy, you got the order." "Pray, Tony, pray, boy, you got the order."

"Tell my mother, Tell her for me, To meet me in the morning at Galilee, O, you better walk steady, Jesus (is) a-liestening, Oh, you better walk stead, Jesus died, Oh, you better walk steady, Jesus is a-listening, All day long."

"Tell old Bill, when he leaves home this morning, Tell old Bill, when he leaves home this evening, Tell old Bill... To let them downtown coons alone...." (An hour after) Bill left he is dead/murdered and being brought home in a "hurry-up wagon"

"Tell, tale, tit, Your tongue shall be split. And all the little puppy dogs Shall have a little bit." Or, "...your mother's in a fit, Your father's in the washing tub, Tell tale tit."" Said to be used against "sneaks."

Detailed instructions for determining a horse's age from its teeth, beginning "To tell the age of any horse, Inspect the lower jaw, of course," and ending "They longer get, project before, Till twenty, when we know no more."

Temperance Ship, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #2847}

"The Temperance Ship is now afloat ... raise the temperance banner from the old Bay State to Indiana." "This ship has sailed four years or more." "Come join us then ye old and young"

Tempest, The (Cease Rude Boreas): (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #949}

"Cease rude Boreas blustering killer... Messmates hear a brother sailor Sing the dangers of the sea." A storm comes up; the crew struggles mightily to survive. The mast falls, the ship leaks; they make it home and rejoice

Ten and Ten Are Twenty: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #38124}

"Ten and ten are twenty, Give the fox plenty."

Ten Cents at the Gate: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #7651}

"There is a land that is fairer than day" to which you can gain entrance by paying "ten cents at the bar." There is no admission to the camp meeting for the poor except by paying their dime -- except for the "rowdies" who "climbed over the wall."

On successive days of final examinations, the singer's true love gives to him a special gift.

Ten Little Fingers: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #23304}

"I have ten little fingers, Ten little toes, Two little arms And one little nose. One little mouth And two little ears, Two little eyes For smiles and tears. One little head And two little feet, One little chin, And that's me complete."

"Ten little Furies, landing on so fine. One hit the round-down, Ting! Bang! Nine." And so on through many different reasons for losses, until we're left with "One little Fury, being flown by Number one, Sugar in his petrol tanks, Good idea son!"

"One, two, three, little Indians, ... Ten, little Indian boys." Game steps: "Open your gates and let us through"; "Not without your beck and bow"; "Here's our beck and there's your bow"

"John Brown he had a little Indian (x3), One little Indian boy." "One little, two little, three little Indians, four little, five little, six little Indians, Seven little, eight little, nine little Indians, Ten little Indian boys"

Ten Little Injuns: (12 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #13512}

Ten Indians stand in a line, one goes home and there are nine. Each disappears in a new way until only one is left. The last one lives alone until "he got married and then there were none"

"Ten little words was all it said, It's on their way they hum. 'Kiss Mother for me,' it singing says, 'For I'm too poor to come.'" The members of the (logging?) crew join together to raise the money to send the man home to see his dying mother

Windlass shanty. "I nebber seen de like sence I ben born! Way, ay, ay, ay, ay! Nigger on de ice an a hoein' up corn, Way, ay, ay, ay, ay! Ten stone! ten stone! ten stone de win' am ober, Jenny get along, Jenny blow de horn, as we go marchin ober!"

Ten Thousand Cattle: (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5763}

Perhaps as a result of a bad winter, "Ten thousand cattle have gone astray, Left my range and traveled away." The singer is left destitute. His girl has also left him (for another). Other verses may complain about the weather, his girl's lover, etc.

To the tune of Chopin's funeral march: "Ten thousand dollars for the folks back home (x2), Ten thousand dollars for the home folks, Ten thousand dollars for the family."

"Sing ho! for a brave and a gallant ship, And a fair and fav'ring breeze, With a bully crew and a captain too To carry me over the seas...." The singer wishes for a ship to carry him to his sweetheart, transported to Botany Bay "ten thousand miles away"

The singer recalls his aged mother "on the banks of a lonely river, Ten thousand miles away." He wishes he (were a little bird so he could be) with her. A letter from his sister says his mother has died; he wishes she were there. He prays for his mother

The reckless hobo cannot stay still; the sound of a train keeps calling him. (He may become involved with various girls, but even they cannot hold him.)

"Ten thousand Texas Rangers are laughing fit to kill At the joke of the German Kaiser, an' his fierce, imperious will." If the Mexicans are fools enough to listen to the Germans and invade the U. S., it will fail, and "by Gawd, but that one's on Bill"

Ten Virgins, The: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #15278 and 10433}

"There were ten virgins when the Bridegroom come, There were ... when He come" "(There were ...)"(x3) "When he come". Five virgins were foolish and five were wise. The foolish ask the wise for oil; the wise tell the foolish to buy from the sellers

Canadian French: A trapper is met by an Indian, who tells him that the comrade from whom he had earlier parted has died. The Indians have (buried/brought) the body. The recurrent word "Ouich'ka" seems to be an attempt to imitate Indian dialect

French. Girl looks ahead to the joy of marriage. After the wedding, she's disillusioned; she will wear the cloak of joyfulness, but the "girdle of sufferance (le cordon de souffriance)". Her mother asks who forced her into marriage. The girl still laments

Tender Mother's Grave: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #30110}

Singer gathers flowers for his mother's grave. "She is gone to the dear land of the blessed." "There's none in this wide world like your mother You shall never miss your mother till she's gone." "Shall I ever see you more gentle mother"

"Tender shepherd, tender shepherd, let me count your sheep." One, two, three... they are fast asleep. Say your prayers and be safe

"Whilst landsmen wander uncontrolled, And boast the rights of freedmen," the seamen suffer on a tender. The sailors wonder what has become of their rights. They have been torn away from their families. People's claims of freedom are vain

"I livee in tenamentee housee." Described as "a language-distortion song that satirizes a Chinese immigrant advertising his laundry."

Tennessee Killer, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #4101}

"Oh I've killed men in Georgia And men in Alabam', But kill a man in Arkansas And God your soul will damn!" The singer admits to widespread murders, but was taken in Little Rock. Now he will hang. He warns others against guns

Tennessee Wig-Walk: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #19008}

"I'm a bold-headed chicken, with a hole in me head, I ain't been happy since I don't know when ..." Walk instructions for "Doin' the Tennisis Wig Walk." "You're the King and I'm the Queen, You're the one that stole my ring"

"The tent poles are rotten, and the campfires dead And the possums they ramble in the trees overhead. I'm out on the wallaby, I'm humping my drum..." The singer describes the pleasures and virtues of a wanderer's life

"We're tenting tonight on the old camp ground... Many are the hearts that are weary tonight, wishing for the war to cease... Tenting tonight (x2) Tenting on the old campground" The singer describes how the soldiers are lonely -- and often dying

Finnish. "Teraksen muokkaajat, lisaarvon tuattajat." "Makers of steel, producers of wealth, Have heard the music of steel." The workers consider it wrong to add to the wealth of the rich. Workers are called upon to umite

Terence's Farewell to Kathleen: (7 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3826}

"So, my Kathleen, you're going to leave me All alone by myself in this place." She is leaving Terence for England. He warns her against the deceitful men. He can't stop her going and when she returns "spaking such beautiful English" he "won't know" her

The singer says her term is over. She's leaving and a new girl will replace her; in six weeks she'll be forgotten. He answers that before three weeks "I'll come and sen' and see ye"

The singer recalls the Terra Nova regatta the year the Prince of Wales brought over a picked crew that lost to the local fishermen. Everyone was at the party that followed, with dancing, drink, food, and "rousing fights with some hard cases"

Terra Nova Seal Fishing: (1 ref. 1K Notes) {Roud #V44632}

"Ye talk o' this, and talk o' that... But list taw me -- I ken ye weel Wad like tae hear aboot the seal." The singer describes the difficulties of sailing north to the ice, the difficulties of killing adult seal; he ends by describing the types of pelts

"One Monday morning March the tenth, it opened fine and clear." "Slob ice" was to be seen, but Captain Kean still takes the Terra Nova sealing. Blocked by a pan, three men die before they escape. The song describes the three dead men

"Terrell was born near Gore, my boys, A place you all know well." He grows up to be a rambled and is sent to prison. He is said to have killed the Weldon Family. His parents pray for his release. Hearers are warned against "spite or jealousy"

Terrible Privateer, The: (3 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #9381}

The singer's ship Terrilble sails from Plymouth and is intercepted by the Valance. The fight continues until "our captain and our men being slain, We could no longer the fight maintain." Twenty-seven are held in prison until "the Cartel did fetch us away"

The terrier pup has a distinguished career of extreme viciousness -- until it encounters an oversized cat. The pup's owner, seeing his dog killed, demands satisfaction of the cat's owner. She shoots him; though cured, he "never... raise[d] another pup."

Terry Toole's Cabbage: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #9958}

"Torbay boys and did ye hear..." a goat got into Terry O'Toole's cabbage. Terry stabbed it to death and the boys dressed it "on the sly." They chipped in for the $3.50 fine.

"Farewell my wife, my joy in life, I freely now do give thee My whole estate" which is very meager: a piece of soap, a frying pan, a broken pail, greasy hat, old tom cat.... "Don't cry ... Another spouse comes by-and-by, with money in his breeches"

"I came to this land with a gun in my hand, To live where there's nothing to fear. In old Teton basin I chose to remain...." The singer loves the mountains. He wrestles Mike Yokel (and loses). President Driggs lectures him about his spree

Singer says he'll never see the like of the Teuchar Howe girl he loves "and dearly she lo'es me": "her fortune's in her face sae fair." He would rather a "lass wi' a hert sincere" to "them wha wed for gear ... Their siller ... soon will wear awa"

Jump-rope rhyme. "Texaco, Texaco, Over the hills to Mexico, Where the red-hot peppers grow."

"Wo, Texarcana (Ida/Mary), holl'rin, Wo, Lord. Wo, Texarkana Ida, Godamighty, God knows." "Won't you help me to call 'em." "I'm goin' crazy in the bottom." "Oh, Mary got married." "She married old Raymond." "Tell me, who is that devil?"

"We'll travel on together Till you and I must part, So fare you well, my honey, my love, I love you to my heart." The singer says he will die when they are parted; and rejoices when she returns; "We'll travel on together... We'll settle down in Texas."

Texas Cowboy (I), The: (11 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4632}

"Come all you Texas cowboys and warning take by me, Don't go out to Montana for wealth or liberty." The cowboy has worked in all sorts of places, but Montana is colder, you can only work (and so get paid) for six months a year, the food is bad, etc.

"With a sort of careless swagger, with a movement half a stagger... Is the way the Texas cowboy seems in town." Most of the rest of the song describes how the cowboy responds to various situations

"I was borned and raised in Texas, And did not come to fame, A gambler by profession, C. W. King by name." The singer, who "did not like to work," wanders and finds himself at a "country singing. He meets a red-headed girl who "fit the bill."

"We lay the crown of memory Upon the place of rest Where noble heroes lie sleeping..." "Then strike the harp for those who fought for freedom long ago. At San Jacinto and the Mier and the blood-stained Alamo." Lists sites of battles for Texas independence

"I'm a buzzard from the Brazos on a tear, hear me toot!" The people call him "a pirate from the pampas." He lovingly describes how he abuses and flouts the law in various small towns

The singer will "try to tell you the reason why we are bound to roam." The singer was part of a caravan that was attacked by Indians. Only he and two other children were saved by Texas Jack. Brought up among cowboys, he knows no other life

Texas Rangers, The [Laws A8]: (54 refs. 7K Notes) {Roud #480}

The singer has left family and girlfriend to join a troop that finds itself fighting Indians. Many of the whites are killed; the singer describes the fight and what he left behind.

Call and response: response is "Texas sailor coming down the road, you will see them"; calls include "we coming to get the prize on the road," "is the biggest banner round the town," "when you see we you got to run"

"Down Texas way, 'Mid the clover and the new-mown hay, Where they'll be so glad, yes so glad To see me... I can see their happy faces And hear a sweet voice say Come along here." The singer hopes to come home soon,and blesses his family

"Th'art as welcome, just as welcome as can be, Th'art welcome, just as welcome as can be, Draw thy chair up to the fire, Stay as long as thou desire, For we're always glad to see a man like thee." Also, "Draw thy chair up to the table... able"

A ewe looks at the moon and sees wonders; it goes to Ireland and Aberdeen, returns home, and finds more wonders right there.

Thank You, Ma'am, Says Dan: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3044}

Courting song in which Dan says "Thank you, ma'am," whatever the girl's mother says. She invites him in; he thanks her. She allows him to marry her daughter. She will stay with her daughter; he will have to support the whole family. He thanks her

"Thanks be to god who gave us this blessing, Thanks be to god who gave us this bread, Thanks be to god the spirit eternal Thanks be to god forever."

"We was settin' 'round the ranch house on the last Thanksgivin' Day" because the religious owner would not work on the day. Each cowboy explains what he thinks Thanksgiving means. Uncle Dick says that it's a way for people to give thanks by getting drunk

That Bloody War (I): (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #5726}

""I was just a little infant boy, I was raised out on a farm, Never so much as killed a flea" until "that bloody war." A policeman takes him into the army. Ssent to France, helives on poor food. He won't fight again if there is another war

Singer, drafted into World War I, humorously describes awful experiences, saying everyone (including him) was just trying to avoid getting shot "in that war, that crazy war." In one version, he says that if there's another war he'll be hard to find.

Paddy leaves Ireland for Scotland "where everything is free." His father and sweetheart are unhappy and his mother is sure he'll drown. There's a storm. He asks the captain to stop the ship so he can walk home. If he ever gets home he'll not roam again.

"I'll sing tonight of a fairyland in the lap of the ocean set.... I'll sing tonight of Ireland's ancient days ... the dear old land, that sweet old land where the beautiful rivers flow." An exile remembers his home and its history.

"When first I heard the people tell Of finding gold in veins... [I] started o'er the plains." On the way west, the food runs short and the train has to winter at Salt Lake. The Mormons treat them badly. The singer advises leaving the "land of gold"

"As I sailed on the ocean, As I sailed on the sea, There was a lovely vision, That always 'peared to me." "That little face and big blue eyes They always take me to paradise, The sweetest angel In the whole wide world" keeps the singer out of trouble

"I am thinking today of a little old house, 'Way back in the hills where my feet once did roam." It was "a mansion to me" not because it was large or fine but because he lived happily with his family

"Woke up this morning, found somethin' wrong, My lovin' babe had caught that train and gone...." The singer asks the depot agent to shut the depot down so she cannot leave. But the girl is lost, and the train "will take you baby and run right over you."

That Old Time Religion: (36 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6423}

"Give me that (or: It's the/that) old time religion (x3), And it's good enough for me." Verses describe those for whom it was good enough: "It was good for Paul and Silas" "It was good for the Hebrew children," "It was good for my dear parents," etc.

"Most dear to my heart are the scenes of the towpath, No mortal its beauty can ever describe." The singer enjoys seeing nature along the path. He was happy there: "'Twas God, man, and nature all working together"

"We rise now to put the main question, Just how we should act and behave, When we're completely submerged by... that prosperity wave." McKinley's election was supposed to save the country, but the banks still failing and business is poor

"There's a boy that follows me every day, although he declares that I use him vilely." He is like "the very shadow at my feet." Her mother sends her away to make hay but Reilly is there. Her aunt recommends a nunnery but she would rather be bothered.

"The general inspecting the trenches Exclaimed with a horrified shout, 'I refuse to command a division That leaves its excreta about.'" But the division concludes it would prefer the "excreta" to being commanded by "that Shit Shute."

John's letter says "the Holy Ghost came to make us better," and you'd better hurry if you want to go to Heaven. The singer says, "It just suits me" Some couplets float (Ezekiel wept, can't serve God and the Devil, Jacob's ladder: every round is higher)

"That the stones of the street may turn up the pig's feet If ever I cease to the love. That the tay may come down to three ha'pence a pound If ever I cease to the love"

That Tumble Down Shack in Athlone: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #21716}

"I'm a long way from home and my thoughts ever roam To ould Erin far over the sea." The singer remembers his home in Ireland, says there are people waiting there for him, and looks forward to returning to Athlone

"That's a mighty pretty motion, dee, di, dee (x3), Rise, Sugar, rise." "That's a mighty poor motion." [Or] "That's a very pretty motion, tra, la lut" (x3), Rise, sugar, rise."

Floating verses: "Mind my mother how you're walking along/Your feet might slip and your soul be lost"; "Hush little baby don't you cry." "Jacob ladder so long and tall." Cho: "That's all right (x2) Since my soul got a seat up in the kingdom...."

Chorus: (("That's all right") (3x), "mama, Any way you do.")) Verses: mama and papa tell me "that gal you're fooling with Ain't no friend to you"; Singer is leaving town and "mama" "won't be bothered with me Hanging around your door"

Singer complains to his mother that "these low-down women ... treated your poor son wrong" till he "wished he's dead and gone." He wants "some train to come along and take me away" ... "and that's no way for me to get along"

"The world gets wiser every day, That's so and that's so; And woman's bound to have her way, And that's so too." The woman spends heavily and dresses in finery; the man should go along. "He talks of freedom and of right, But we can show him how to fight."

"I wish I"d never joined for a sailor, mother dear... The girls won't let us court them and the canteen's out of beer, And that's what it's like in the Navy." They are given medals, but they get seasick and live hard lives and get sent to awful places

"That's where my money goes, To buy my baby clothes, I'd do 'most any old thing To keep that woman in style. She's worth her weight in gold, My coal-black Venus, Say, boys, that's where my money goes."

"That's where the crocodiles chew your legs, And the swans on the river lay hard boiled eggs, Way down, the Swanee River, no more I'll chance to roam, But if my oul' woman had the figure like Maud Allen, There'd be no place like home."

"That's why they're called doughboys, Because they took so long to rise"

The singer works in Argyle, then does a quick thatching job in Glrenrea. When it is all done, he at last is able to return to his wife in Ireland, though he has been cheated (?) of some of the money he hoped he would earn. He will not return to Glenrea

"Come all you old loggers and list to my tale As I weep on the shoulder of time." The singer recalls when "timber was common and plenty and cheap." "But nowadays timber is sold by the feet"; it's all micromanagement; "the glamour has gone to the dogs"

"Then Big Black the Loyalists' custodian Lost more teeth than there are on a melodeon, Off side, on side, one a side and two a side, At half time we really played suicide."

A plowing match is described with its problems and swearing. "In spite o' a' difficulties They gaily trudged on Aft times refreshed wi' mountain dew A bannock or a scone." Prizes are announced. "The unsuccessful's never please The judges gets the blame"

Then We'll Have a New Convention: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #11747}

"Katy, Katy, don't you want to marry? Your mother says you shall not marry... Until we kill the turkey hen." "Then we'll have a new convention And we'll kill the turkey hen... And we'll have the rights of man."

Then You'll Remember Me: (15 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #13830}

"When other lips and other hearts Their tales of love shall tell, In language whose excess imparts The power they love so well," perhaps there will come a reminder: "And you'll remember me." In hard times too, then "You'll remember me."

"There's flies on me, There's flies on you, But there ain't no flies on Jesus."

Chorus: ("There are days I like to be all alone"(3x). "Tell God about my troubles When I am all alone.") Verses: "There are songs I like to sing When I am all alone ..." "There are prayers I like to pray When I am all alone ..."

"There are so many worlds to explore All you need to do is open the door And let your spirit soar... There’s a world for yourself when you’re just at home." Find friends, seek beauty; these things can make a paradise

"There cam a laddie frae the north... And he's fa'en in love wi' a bonnie lass That lived in Dundee." He offers to take her north to his home in Strathspey. She refuses; he goes home -- then comes again, asks again, and she consents

Jump-rope rhyme. "There came a girl from France, There came a girl from Spain, There came a girl from the U.S.A., And here is how she came: Hopping on one foot...." Similarly with other motions, e.g. hopping on two feet

Lost love song: "There comes a fellow with a derby hat, They say he's jealous, but what of that? If he is jealous, I am gay; I can get a sweetheart any day." The rest floats -- the blind bird, a request that the sweetheart return

There Comes a Reckoning Day: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #V57013}

"I had a dream the other night when every thing was still; I dreamt I saw the lab'ring men all going down the hill." They are ragged, poor, and overworked; they will have a "reckoning day" -- and then will do their work for a proper reward

There Goes a Man Just Gone Along: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #1355}

A man is taken to prison. The prisoners laugh and stare. The next day the turnkeys put his irons on. "Now Salisbury assizes is drawing near, Oh come, my lads, begin to cheer (x2) And wipe away all weeping tears"

There Is a Fountain: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #663}

"There is a fountain of Christ's blood, Wide open stretch'd for to drown our sins, Where Jesus stands with open arms Of mercy to invite us in." The sights of the passion are recalled" The crown of thorns, the piercing of Jesus's side. Hearers are warned

"There is a fountain filled with blood Drawn from Immanuel's veins, And sinners plunged beneath that flood Lose all their guilty stains. The thief dying (by Jesus) repents. The singer will exalt Jesus's redeeming love until he dies

There Is a Happy Land: (6 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #13784}

"There is a happy land, far far away, Where saints in glory stand, Bright bright as day, Oh how they sweetly sing, Worthy is our savior king, Loud let his praises ring." The listener is told of the pleasures of heaven and urged not to hesitate

"There is a people in the West, the world call Mormonites in jest, The only people who can say, 'We have the truth and own the way.'" The world was in darkness until Joseph [Smith] showed up. Now the truth is known in many lands. Help build Zion

"There is a sausage gun Over the way Fired by a bloody Hun Three times a day. You should hear the Tommies run When they hear that sausage gun Fired by a bloody Hun Three times a day."

There Is a School: (2 refs.) {Roud #23011 and 38954}

Jump-rope rhyme. "In Leicester Square there is a school, And in that school there is a room, And in that room there is a desk, And in that desk there is a book, And in that... there is a Ghost!" Or other links, e.g. a page from which one learns

"There's nae luck about the house... When our goodman's awa'" The mariner is due home and his wife is getting the house and children and herself ready. "I'm downright dizzy with the joy In troth I'm liker to greet!"

"There is no place in the height of Heaven, There is no place like home, home, home, sweet home, There is no place like home. Kind friends, I bid you all farewell. I leave you in God's care. And if I never see you any more, I will see you there."

"When leaving dear old Ioway In the first part of the year, My clothes were torn, my feet were bare," so he joined the army. "There is no work in the army; They call it all fagigue." The life of a soldier involves a lot of travel and is still hard

There Is Somebody Waiting for Me: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7394}

"Oh the moon shines bright and the stars they give light And the evening invites (you/me) to (stay/stray)." The singer describes (her)self as a bird in a cage, but happily announces "There is somebody waiting... There is somebody waiting for me."

A man "wi' little meat and sair wark" beats and starves a mare to death. Besides, "they say he beats his wife." The wives praise the dead mare and say they would have taken her themselves. Now they denounce the man but he does not let them bury her.

An old wife in Terwhiggan rides on a bundle of straw. It's four score miles to the dung hill But she rides only two score a day.

"Let cowardly slanderers say what they may," the Irish are brave. "Pat may be foolish and very often wrong, Pat has a temper but it doesn't last long. Pat is full of jollity and everybody knows That you'll never find a coward where the shamrock grows"

There Once Was a Soldier: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #6832}

A soldier left Annie and "in foreign lands he soon found another." He writes a letter to Annie that he has been fatally wounded "for the good of my country." She should find another. At the wedding with his new love he dies for love of Annie.

"Of all the venturous breeds of men In the Vineland's famous roster Lives one whose story attracts my pen... By the name of the Old Town Whaler." The Whaler had been everywhere and seen everything, including men swallowed alive; now he's dead

Sailors' complaint about the skipper. In bad weather he sets the crew to work while he drinks below. We get no drink but only curses. May he "never get a grave" but drown "where the sharks will have his body and the devil his soul"

Jump-rope rhyme/taunt. "There she goes, there she goes, (Peerie) heels and pointed toes. Look at her feet, She thinks she's neat, Black stockings and dirty feet. There's a rat, there's a rat, There's a rat in Janie's hat, There's a mouse in Janie's house"

"There was a bee-i-ee-i-ee, sat on a wall-i-all-i-all And he could buzz-i-uzzz-i-uzz, And that was all-i-all-i-all."' A boy hitsit with a stick. Hr bee stings him. The boy yells and tells "that bee-i-ee-i-ee to go to... way down yonder in the cornfield"

"There was a cow climbed up a tree (x3), And you're an awful bum!" "Comrades, don't believe him (x3), As you have done before."

There Was a Crooked Man: (7 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4826}

"There was a crooked man, and he walked a crooked mile, He found a crooked sixpence against a crooked stile, He bought a crooked cat, which caught a crooked mouse, And they all lived together in a little crooked house."

"There was a fair into the toon, The lads and lasses a' were boun, Wi' glancin buckles o' their shoon, An' floories i' their waistcoats"

There Was a Gallant Soldier: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #7183}

A soldier meets a maid. He asks if she is pregnant; she says yes. Who is the father? A soldier like you. Where is he? Gone to war. What if he is slain? "The king will lose a man she said an I will loose a frien." Am I the man? Yes.

"There was a girl who came to camp" and refuses to do her tasks: "She wouldn't make her bed because it tired her so, She wouldn't do the dishes, sweep the cabin floor, The Camp Fire Girls just picked her up and threw her out the door."

"There was a knicht on a bonnie simmer nicht, Was huntin' the deer and the roe; He met wi' a lady in good greenwood; In greenwood she did go"

There Was a Lady in the East: (8 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2298}

A lady with many suitors loves Jimmy, her father's clerk. Her father would disown her but she says she wants Jimmy more than treasure. Her father shoots her. Her mother faints and Jimmy commits suicide.

"Twere was a lady loved a swine, 'Honey,' said she, 'Pig hog, wilt thou be mine?' 'Humph!' said he." She offers the pig a silver sty, pinned with a silver pin, and begs for an answer. All the pig says is "Humph!"

"There was a little bird that went hop-hop-hop. I said, 'Little bird, won't you stop, stop, stop?' I opened the window to say, 'How do you do?' He shook his little tail and away he flew."

"There as a little fellow, his name was Jack. He wanted to go to heaven in a Cadillac. The carburetor broke and down he fell, Instead of going to heaven He went to -- Now don't get excited, don't lose your head, Instead of going to heaven, he went to bed"

"There was a little girl, and she had a little curl, Right in the middle of her forehead. When she was good, she was very, very good, But when she was bad, she was horrid."

"There was a little guinea pig, Who, being little, was not big. He always walked upon his feet, And never fasted when he'd eat." "When from a place he ran away, he never at that place did stay." The tale continues with similar tautologies

There Was a Little Man: (8 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1289}

"There was a little man, And he had a little gun, And the ball was made of lead." The little man goes out to hunt ducks. He hits the duck in the head and brings her home to his wife to cook. (He goes out to shoot the drake, but it escapes)

There Was a Little Nigger: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #29320}

Jump-rope rhyme. "There was a little nigger, Who never grew no bigger/Put him in a trigger, Sent him to the ten cent store. Fell out the window, Broke his little finger, And then he went home."

The madman spends his life jumping into things -- pudding bag, bottle of wine, bottle of beer, notched stick, etc. Finding each one unsatisfactory, he moves on to the next. Finally he winds up in a situation he cannot handle, and quits/dies

There Was a Man of Double Deed: (10 refs. 4K Notes) {Roud #2103}

"There was a man of double deed Sowed his garden full of seed" (or) "A man of words and not of deeds Is like a garden full of weeds." After many similes, the rhyme may well end, "When my (heart/back) began to bleed, Twas death and death and death indeed"

There Was a Man of Thessaly: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #15749}

"There was a man of Thessaly, And he was wondrous wise, He jumped into a thorn bush And scratched out both his eyes. And when he saw his eyes were out, With all his might and main, He jumped into another bush And scratched them in again."

There Was a Man Who Had No Eyes: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #20131}

Riddle. "There was a man who had no eyes, He went abroad to view the skies. He saw a tree with apples on. He took no apples off Yet left no apples on."

"There was a pig went out to dig, Chris-e-mas day, Chris-e-mas day, There was a pig went out to dig, On Chris-e-mas day in the morning." Similarly, "There was a sparrow went out to harrow," "There was a cow went out to plow," etc.

The piper has no food for his cow but plays her a tune for consolation. The cow is either happy enough to give the piper a penny to play "corn rigs are bonny," or tells the piper to play for money and use that to feed her.

"There was a priest, the dirty beast, Whose name was Alexander," who sleeps with "the Gypsy Queen, whose face was black as charcoal, But in the dark he missed his mark." The child, when born, is black and has exceptional sexual organs but no anus

"It's I hae haughs and I hae bowers, I hae castle and I hae towers, And I swear my wedded wife ye'll be For I canna live and want ye"

"There was a watermelon, A-growing in the garden, And in the garden wall there was a hole. A skinny little nigger Said if he's a little bigger, He'd climb over the garden wall. He's sneak up like a rabbit, And then he'd grab it...."

"There was a wee lambie fell over a rock And when it fell over its leg it was broke, And all that the poor little lambie could do Was to lie and cry out 'Billaloo, billaloo.'"

A young couple, or three old maids skate "on a cold and frosty morning." The ice is thin and they fall in. Can someone help them out?

"There was a young lady named Drew Who boarded the ship with the crew. When they got tough, Then she got rough, And they ended up black and blue."

"There was a young lady named Kitty Who lived down at Bay City. If you wanted to meet her, You had to treat her, And that is the end of my ditty."

"There was a young lady of Bangor, Who slept while the ship lay at anchor, She rose in dismay When she heard the mate say, 'Lift up the top sheet and spanker.'"

"There was an auld wife" and everybody said she would be hanged. She called for a peg where a nail should be and went to her "wee beddie." She danced herself dead in her own house.

Floating bawdy or scatological verses to the tune of Turkey in the Straw. The chorus urges, "Come on you bastards, come on you whores, Pull up your dresses, pull down your drawers...."

Jump-rope rhyme. "There was an old lady from Botany Bay, What have you got to sell today?"

"There was an old man And his name was Dan. He lived in he bottom Of an old tin can. He had a pair of slippers And he cut them into kippers, And they all lived together In the old tin can."

An old woman shits next to an old man smoking his pipe. "The sparks from her arse flew in to his eee" and he tells her to move away.

There Was an Old Miser: (7 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3913}

The old miser's daughter is courted by a sailor. When the miser finds out, he pays a captain to impress the boy. The girl fails to save the boy, but his ship is wrecked and he escapes to shore almost alone. He finds the girl; they are married.

"There was an old nigger, his name was Dr. Peck, He fell in de well an' broke his neck. De cause ob de fall was all his own, 'Case he order look atter de sick An' let de well alone!" With the "mourner, you shall be free" chorus and floating verses

Rope-skipping game. "There was an old woman And her name was Pat, And when she died, she died like that. They put her in a coffin, And she fell through the bottom, Just like that. They put her in a bed, And she bumped her head, Just like that"

"There was an old woman and she had a little pig, It didn't cost much 'cause it wasn't very big." Despite good care, the pig never grows up. One day it dies. The owner(s) soon follow. The song ends; "if you want any more, you can sing it yourself"

"There was an old woman, and what do you think? She lived upon nothing but victuals and drink, Victuals and drink was the chief of her diet, And this old woman would never keep quiet." Another verse may refer to her husband dying then coming back to life

"There was an old woman lived under a hill, And if she isn't gone, she lives there still." Various endings seem to have been grafted on.

"There was an old woman tossed up in a blanket" with a broom, many times higher than the moon. The singer asks what she's doing. She says she is brushing the cobwebs, or clouds, out of the sky. The singer asks to go with her, or says well done.

"There was an old woman who lived in a lamp. She hadn't no room to beetle her champ [mash her potatoes]. So she up with her beetle and broke the lamp, And then she had room to beetle her champ."

"There was an old woman who lived in a shoe, She had so many children she didn't know what to do; She gave them some broth without any bread; She whipped them all soundly and put them to bed."

There Was First Guid Ale: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5895}

"There was first guid ale, and syne guid ale, And second ale and some; Hink-skink, and ploughman's drink, And scour-the-gate, and trim"

There Was Twa Auld Carles: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #13140}

Two old men and a poor girl [quine] are in bed together. One moved off [jinkit aff], and the other moved in, and they played there.

"There were two birds sat on a stone, Fa la la lal de, One flew away and then there was one, Fa la la... The other flew after, and then there was none... And so the poor stone was left all alone." The (birds/crows) then fly back

A quatrain ballad, this is essentially an ever-changing collection of floating bawdy verses.

""Me oh my just hear the people yell, If McKinley is elected our country's gone to -- well. If we elect Billy Bryan, we'll all be living well. There's be a hot time in the old town tonight, my honey."

"There'll be no dark valley when Jesus comes (3x) To gather his loved ones home"

There'll Be No Distinction There: (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #11883}

"There'll be no sorrow on that heavenly shore, There'll be no woes at the cabin door...." Singer describes heaven as a place without sorrow, poverty, class distinctions, racism, adultery, nagging women, or booze.

There'll Come a Time: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #7125}

"Why are you sad, Papa, my darling? Why are those tears falling down?" The father calls the child "an angel," but he is afraid of what happens when he is dead: "There'll come a time someday When I have passed away" and the child will be unprotected

Singer hears a man sing "The church is in ruins, the State is in jars, Delusions, oppressions, and murderous wars." His seven sons died fighting for James. "Now life is a burden that bows me down." "There'll never be peace till Jamie comes hame"

"There's a bridle hanging on the wall and the saddle in an empty stall... gone where all the good ponies go." The rider mourns the death of the pony he thought of as a friend.

There's a Brown Girl in the Ring: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #13195}

"Theres a (brown girl or black boy) in a ring, (she/he) likes sugar and I like plum)." Dance instruction, like "stand and face your partner, wheel and turn your partner" or "skip across the ocean: show me your motion"

The singer recalls the "dear spot" where his aged mother lived with his brothers and sisters. Poverty has brought him over the sea. Now mother is dead. He hopes his brothers and sisters can join him; they will make a poor but honest home

"There's a fuck-up on the flight deck, and the Wavy Navy done it. There's a prang on the gangway and they don't know who to blame." The song describes many mistakes made aboard an aircraft carrier on a mission.

"In a quaint, old-fashioned garden in a quaint, old-fashioned town... Where the old Potomac's llowing, that is where I long to be." "There's a girl in the heart of Maryland with a heart that belongs to me." He asks that the parson be ready when he returns

There's a Good Time Coming: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #16621}

"There's a good time coming, Boys, a good time coming. We may not live to see the day, But Earth shall glisten in the ray." There will be no more wars. The poor shall be no more. Children won't have to work. Hearers are urged to "wait a little longer."

"There's a hole in the bottom of the sea, There's a hole (x2), There's a hole in the bottom of the sea." "There's a rock in the bottom of the sea... There's a rock in that hole in the bottom of the sea." "There's a frog in the bottom of the sea."

Circular song, "There's a hole in the bucket, dear Liza." "Then fix it..." "With what?" "Straw." "The straw is too long." Etc., until "...too dry." "Then wet it." "With what?" "Water." "With what shall I fetch it?" "The bucket." "There's a hole..."

"'Dear warden,' wrote a mother, 'how much longer must I wait'" until her boy is sent home. The warden is forced to answer, "There's a little box of pine on the 7:29 Bringing back a lost sheep from the fold." The mother and community mourn the dead sinner

"There's a little hand writing on the wall, There's a little hand writing on the wall, All I say and all I do, that hand writing on the wall."

"There's a little wheel a-turning in my heart, In my hear, yes, Lord, in my heart... O, for you, yes, Lord, for you." Remaining lines are variations on this theme

There's a Long, Long Trail: (10 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #23525}

The singer misses (his sweetheart), noting that "Nights are getting very lonely, days are very long." He remembers her in dreams. Chorus: "There's a long, long trail a-winding To the land of my dreams Where the nightingales are singing...."

"There's a man going round taking names (x2), And he took my mother's name, And he left my heart in pain, There's a man going round taking names." Similarly with father, sister, brother, etc.

"There's a man, man, man in Manitoba, Lonely, so lonely, There's a man, man, man in Manitoba, And to him you have pledged your word... Slaving and saving, Building a nest In the far off West, For his own little English bird"

"I take my text in Matthew, and by the Revelation, I know you by your garment, There's a (Meeting/Blessing) here tonight." ""Brother John was a writer, he write the word of God." "Sister Mary said to Brother John, 'Brother John, don't write no more.'"

Cowboy finds a fallen horse with a broken leg and a dying boy. With his dying breath the boy asks the singer to save the horse, which has a picture of the boy's dead mother in his bridle.

Singer hears a robin singing in her cherry tree. She asks that he leave some cherries for her so she "can do some singing too"

Chorus: "There is rest for the weary" (3x) / "There is rest for you" / "On the other side of Jordan / In the sweet fields of Eden / Where the tree of life is blooming / There is rest for you" Verses have to do with that home in glory.

The work of the men hired by farmers "here about": "They yoke at sax and lowse at ten, And then at twa they do the same; At sax at nicht comes whistlin' hame, And that's the boy for me"

There's a Skeeter on My Peter: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #21475}

"There's a skeeter on my peter, whack it off (whack it off!) (x2), There's a dozen on my cousin You can hear the bastards buzzin', There's a skeeter on my peter...." Or the song might address Sweet Marie. Or it might be a skeeter on Juanita

"There's a spot in the north that's not far from Belfast... And the name of that spot it is Islandmagee." On the ship Black Head "there's a rum second mate" who is from Islandmagree; you can tell by the size of his feet

"There's a cot unused in the bunkhouse tonight, There's a pinto's head bending low." The cowboy "Limpy" has left an empty saddle. He had followed a stray calf, and found it -- but the night was cold and snowy, and Limpy died in the harsh weather

Singer has "an awful wife." "If I do everything that's right, she'll find a fault somehow." He sleeps on the sofa when she takes in a lodger. She takes his money, gives him a meager allowance, "and if I spend it all at once, there's bound to be a row"

"There' buckies i' bog, there's gairies i' glen, Sing buckies again, sing buckies again."

"The word went round in Greymouth in the year of thirty-six, Internal Affairs Department was in something of a fix... The deer are far too numerous, there's culling to be done." Many join up to earn the bounties

"The maiden queen o' buttermilk She couldna get a man, To be revenged on the male sex, She tried the soor milk plan." At Tullo town "stinkin'" oatmeal and buttermilk force the men away.

There's No One Like Mother to Me: (2 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #17330}

The singer thinks of his childhood home "in that cottage far over the sea" He recalls that his mother had asked him to wait but then blessed him with a kiss. "I'll go back to that home o'er the sea For there's no one like mother to me"

There's No One Like the Old Folks: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #17222 and 11512}

A father tells his wandering boy not to go away, saying, "There's no one like the old folks after all...but your dad and mother too / Will always stand by you..." But the boy goes away, never to return, while his father grieves

There are plenty of Donside calves and cows, and "plenty of bonnie young lassies If the laddies werena sae shy"

Jump-rope rhyme. "There's somebody under the bed. Whoever can it be? I feel so very ill. I call (Bonnie) in. (Bonnie) lit the candle. Nobody there! Hi, hi, diddly-i-e, And out she goes!"

The people of Tillydeask, Piltochie, Turnerha and Dudwick's Hill "think themsel's nae sma' But they canna cope wi Elphin For Elphin capes them a'"

"There's times I think the Lord himself must take a skeely down To listen to his own wee drums The drums of County Down."

"These all my father's children (x3), Outshine the sun." "My father's done with the trouble o' the world, with the trouble o' the world, with the trouble o' the world. My father's done with the trouble o' the world, Outshine the sun."

"Oh, Lordy! These corns of mine, Just keep burnin' me all the time. I don't try to make no excuse, I can't wear no sharp-toed shoes.... Start out to walk, stop for to talk, Oh, Lordy, these dogs do burn,." The singer must walk in the shade to avoid burns

Chorus: "These dry bones of mine Shall come together in the morning." Verses: "What kind of shoes do you wear, Come together in the morning, That you make walk upon the air...." "If you get there before I do ... Look out for me, I'm coming too...."

"These temp'rance folks do crowd us awfully, crowd us awfully, crowd us awfully. These temp'rance folks.... they think I do not care." The singer complains about the threat to his liberty, concedes that drink has made him poor, and asks to be left alone

They All Love Jack: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #9444}

"Oh, for 'is heart is like the sea, Ever hopen (sic), brave, an' free, And his girl must lonely be, Till 'is ship comes back. But if love's the best of all, What can a man befall? For every girl at all, They all love Jack!"

They Are A' A-Teasing Me: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7220}

The singer complains that "he I love sae well, who has my heart and a' ..., he's owre the seas awa'." Meanwhile, Charlie, Davie, and Willie "They winna lat me be ... they're a' teasing me." Rich Carl would marry but she'll wait for her Jamie.

"They are taking us beyond Miami, They are taking us beyond the Caloosa River, They are taking us to the end of our tribe...." The singer and the singer's people are being exiled from Florida to "an old town in the west."

"They ca' my faither windy Tam, An' my mither gley'd Girsy; An' me mysel', a fine fudgell...." "He bocht to me a paor o' glo'es" and bad the singer wear them because she was a fine fudgell. Similarly, the man supplies gown and shoon

"Away out here, they have a name For rain and wind and fire... They call the wind Mariah." Mariah is very powerful; before the singer heard her, he had a girl. Now she is gone, and "there ain't no word but lonely"

Rhymed advertisement. "They come as a boon and a blessing to men, The Pickwick, the Owl, and the Waverly Pen."

"They cry 'Deluded Mormons' in all the world around, And the reason why they do so is very far from sound." "True Saints rally, around the standard come, Away in Utah's valleys, our lovely mountain home." The world is wicked; the Saints will make an Eden

"And when they asked us How dangerous it was. Oh, we'll never tell them, No, we'll never tell them. We spend our pay in some café... 'Twas the cushiest job we ever had." About life in the trenches, and what they won't tell about it

"Don't allow me to beat them, Got to drag them along." The singer has been "Stumbling and falling, Trying to get away." "If my woman had of been here, I'd have been gone, She'd have brought my shooter." "Captain got a pistol and he wants to be bad...."

"They have gone to join the number On the other shore, Gone to live in the bright city, There to die no more." Those on earth miss them, but they are in a wonderful place where there is no sorrow. "We shall meet them there in that lovely land of glory."

"They put me up to kill him, my pore old white-haired dad, I done it with a horseshoe rasp, The only thing I had." The singer describes the murder, then voices his regrets at his foolishness

"They say that I am growing old; I've heard them tell it times untold.... This frail old shell in which I dwell Is growing old I know full well, but I am not the shell." Even with bad eyes, "I still can see to follow him Who sacrificed his life for me..."

"They say there is gold on the Maggie, They say there is gold on the Maud, They say there is gold on the Louis, But it all seems like bullshit to me. Bullshit, bullshit, it all sounds like bullshit to me, to me...." "We found no gold on the Maggie...."

"They sell't his teeth to teethe a rake ... They sell't his ribs for riddle rims, His rumple banes to be claes pins. The blacksmith bocht his iron brogues, His carcase feasted the tanner's dogs."

"They shall be mine when I make up my jewels (x2), Shall be mine, they shall be mine, THus said the Lord, they shall be mine." "If you cannot pray or preach like Peter, If you cannot pray or preach like Paul, Shall be mine...."

"They strolled down the lane together, The sky was studded with stars, They reached the gate together... She raised her brown eyes to him, There was nothing between them now, For he was just a hired man And she was a Jersey cow"

They Were Only Playing Leap-Frog: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #10526}

"They were only playing leap-frog (x3) When one grasshopper jumped right over the other grasshopper's back. Oh, it's a lie... You know you're telling a lie." "They were only playing leap-frog When one staff officer jumped right over the other['s]... back"

"We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord (x2)... And they'll know we are Christians by our love, by our love." The singer hopes for reunion of the Christian sects and promises to work together with others

They're Moving Father's Grave: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #10391}

"They're moving Father's grave to build a sewer." Father's remains are being moved "to irrigate some posh bloke's residence"; the singer hopes his ghost will haunt the pipes, "for they had the bleeding nerve/To muck about a British workman's grave"

The singer loves "the thief of the world ... My heart was gone, my head was gone, my peace of mind likewise ... I'll have her up in court, I'll charge her with the felony." Her sentence: "Around my neck she'll have to hang until her dying day"

Thimble's scolding wife dies; preparations are made for her burial. Thimble regrets that her diamond ring must stay on her finger. When an attempt is made to remove it, the dead woman walks to protect it. Thimble refuses any dealings with her

"Ain't got no money, can't buy no grub... Now after all my hard trav'ling, Things about comin' my way." The singer complains about all the effects of poverty: Mother's cupboard is bare, the rent is due, sister can't get a doctor

"I've got the left hind leg of a rabbit, And things are comin' my way." "He said, oh me... I feel happy all the time." "How good I feel, I got possession of an automobile, And I can eat chicken and I don't have to steal, Because things are comin'..."

Things I Don't Like to See: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #21057}

"I don't like things that look queer to the eye" like ladies reading sonnets or wearing bonnets or corsets, or young boys smoking cigars exclaiming "I'm one of the boys," or broke Broadway dandies, or finely dressed wives of bankrupt men.

"Things I used to do I don't do no mo' (x3), There's been a great change since I been born." "Chickens I used to steal I don't steal no mo' (x3), There's been a great change..." "Whisky I used to drink, I don't drink no mo' (x3), There's been...."

Things Impossible: (13 refs. 16K Notes) {Roud #3686}

"As I was walking in a grove All by myself as I supposed," the singer meets a pretty girl who asks "To tell her when I would marry." He sets conditions: "When saffron grows on every tree," "When Michaelmas falls in February," etc., then he will marry

"Things that are naughty are nice to do, Nice to do, nice to do, Things that are naughty are nice to do, So let's be nice and naughty."

"Things I used to do I ain't gonna do no more." Singer looked for his lover but she was "hid out with her other man." He says he's sending his lover to her home and he'll go to his home. "I ain't gonna live this old life no more"

The singer remembers Maggie. "How I wish love, I were near you as in happy days long past" He hopes she'd "think of golden summer evenings and think kindly dear of me"

Thinnest Man, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #15357}

"The (thinnest/skinniest) man I ever saw Lived over in (Hoboken), And if I told you how thin he was, You'd think that I was joking." Various tall tales about the thin man's exploits, and the dangers he faces (e.g. falling through his pants and choking)

A canal boat sails for the unlucky thirteenth lock. Women on shore cry. The man at the mast refuses to steer and is kicked overboard as a mutineer. A monster appears. Those on shore, including one who had lent the captain half his gold, wait in vain.

"Thirty bright guineas was to be your fee, Right fal de diddle al de diddle dee; Other thirty and married ye shall be Wi' your firl a tirl a right Fal de diddle al de diddle dee"

Thirty Days Hath September: (13 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #20085}

"Thirty days hath September, April, June, and November; All the rest have thirty-one, Excepting February alone, And that has twenty-eight days clear, And twenty-nine in every leap year."

"Good mornin', Blues; Blues, how do you do? (x2) I just come here to have a few words with you." "Thirty days in jail... back turned to the wall... Mr. Jailkeeper, put another man in my stall." "I don't mind being in jail, but I got to stay here so long."

Thirty Pieces of Silver: (1 ref. 6K Notes) {Roud #10873}

"'Tis a sad but true story, from the Bible it came, And it tells how Judas sold the Savior in shame.... Thirty pieces of silver was the price they would pay." "Thirty pieces of silver, thirty shekels of shame." Jesus is crucified. Judas commits suicide

"Thirty white horses Upon a red hill, Now they tramp, Now they champ, Now they stand still."

"In a recent Independent I read a sketch that told of affairs and folks in Ashland way back in days of old When the Stinger ran each Sunday...." The singer looks back on his good old days as he worked for the newspaper

This Day (The Battle of Bull Run): (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7465}

"This day will be remembered by America's noble sons! / If it hadn't been for Irishmen, what would our Union done? / It was hand to hand we fought 'em, all in the blazing sun, / Stripped to the pants we did advance in the battle of Bull Run."

This Day Week I'll Nae Be Here: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #7234}

"And this day week I'll nae be here This day fortnight I'll see my dear This day three weeks I'll be his bride And this day month I'll lie by his side"

"This endris night I saw a sight, a star as bright as day, And ever among, a maiden sung, Lulley, by-by, lullay." The baby Jesus and his mother discuss his future: He will be great, and the mighty will bow to him -- but for now he asks her to care for him

"This is a sin-trying world (x4)." "Oh, heav'n is so high and I am so low, I don't know whether I'll ever get to Heav'n or no." "Jordan's stream is chilly and wide." "Way over yonder in the harvest field." "You many bury me in the east."

The singer, ten years old, lists what he has learned to distinguish: east from west, high from low, narrow from wide, mouth from chin, nose from eyes. He is also learning manners.

"This is Halloween, And the morn's Hallowday; If you want a true love, It's time you were away. Tally on the window-board Tally on the green, Tally on the window-board, The morn's Halloween."

"What difference if I hail from North or South Or from the East or West?" "This is my country, Grandest on earth." The singer pledges allegiance to the country of (his) birth and of his choice

"This is my Father's world, And to my listening ears All nature sings, and round me rings The music of the spheres." The song praises the nature that the Father created: "The Lord is King: let the heavens ring! God reigns; let earth be glad!"

"O this is nae my ain lassie, Fair tho' the lassie be, For weel keen I my ain lassie, Kind love is in her e'e." His Jean can "steal a blink by a' unseen" and only he sees "the kind love that's in her e'e"

This Is No My Ain House (I): (4 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #3790}

"O this is no my ain house." "A carle came ... claim'd my daddy's place." The "cringing foreign goose" seized it. "Was it foul, or was it fair, To come a hunder mile and mair, For to ding out [beat] my daddy's heir, And dash him with the whiggin o't?"

"This is no mine ain house I ken by the biggin o't... bread and cheese are my door cheeks And pancakes the riggin o't." "This is no my ain wean I ken by the greetie o't... I'll tak the curchie aff my head And row't about the feetie o't."

This Is No My Ain House (III): (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3790}

"This is no mine ain house I ken by the riggin o't." The singer is married and leaving her father's house. In her own house she intends "Avoiding ilka cause of strife That makes ane wearied of his wife"

This Is No My Plaid: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6720}

"This is no my plaid... Bonnie though the colours be." "The ground o' mine was mixed with blue, I gat it frae the lad I lo'e." The lad who wore the plaid "is now upon a distant shore," and "his name I daurna tell," but she hopes he will return and wed her

"This is Sunday, Sabbath day, This is why you mustn't play, Run about or make a noise Like the naughty girls and boys."

"This is the Key of the Kingdon: In that Kingdom is a city; In that city is a town; In that town there is a street" all leading to "A basket of sweet flowers. The game reverses: "Flower in a basket, basket on the bed... this is the key of the Kingdom"

"This is the nicht my Johnnie set, And promised to be here; Oh, what can stay his longing step? He's fickle grown, I fear." She describes how carefully she has prepared for his coming. At last he arrives and they prepare for a snug evening.

This Is the Place (I): (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #10830}

""Come all you people if you want to hear A story about a brave pioneer, Brigham Young is the pioneer's name...." He gathers people from all over the world. He brings them to Utah. "He ought to go to heaven with his 19 wives."

"'This is the place for the Temple Square,' Said Brigham Young to his council there." They will build a great Temple. The surveyors confirm it. The builders go to work. Even when they are all gone, it "Will still be heard, 'This is the place.'"

"I ask Father Georgy for religion, Father Georgy wouldn't give me religion; You give me religion for to run to my elder; O this the trouble of the world. This is the trouble of the world, O this is the trouble of the world."

"This is the way my father showed me How to play the fiddle, Upstairs, downstairs, Especially in the middle."

This Is the Way the Ladies Ride: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #19901}

"This is the way the ladies ride, Nimble, nimble, nimble, nimble. This is the way the gentlemen ride, A gallop a trot... This is the way the farmers ride, Joggety jog... And when they come to a slippery place, Tumble-down Dick!"

"This is the way we wash our clothes, Wash our clothes, wash our clothes, This is the way we wash our clothes, (all on a summer's day)." Similarly, "Here we come with our dollies dear," "This is the way we comb their hair," etc.

"This lady she wears a dark green shawl, A dark green shawl, a dark green shawl, This lady she wears... I love her to my heart." "Now choose for your lover, honey, my love...." "Now dance with your lover, honey, my love...." "Farwell to your lover...."

This Land is Your Land: (6 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #16378}

Singer, a wanderer, describes beauty of American (or other) land, sometimes with verses lamenting poverty. "As I went walking that ribbon of highway/I saw above me that endless skyway/I saw below me that golden valley/This land was made for you and me"

"This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine (x3), Ev'ry day (x4), Gonna let my little light shine." The singer thanks God for gifts given every day, warns that there is no hiding from sin, and urges all to let their lights shine.

"This little pig(gy) went to market. This little pig stayed at home. This little pig had roast beef. This little pig had none. This little pig said, 'wee, wee, wee....' All the way home" (or "I can't find my way home").

This May Be Your Last Time: (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #10965}

"This may be your last time (x3), May be your last time, I don't know." The singer travels about, observes various people and their misdeeds, and warns against the dangers of sin.

This Night We Part Forever: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #3630}

"This night we part forever; Thou are nothing more to me. From thee each tie I'll sever That binds my heart to thee." She will not admit to sorrow, says she does not want his love, tells him to court another, says he blighted her hopes, and blesses him

"This old man, he played one, He played knick-knack on my thumb, With a knick-knack, paddy wack, Give the dog a bone, This old man went rolling home." Similarly, "This old man, he played two, he played knick-knack on my shoe," and on upward

Chorus: "This old world is full of sorrow, Full of sickness, weak and sore, If you love your neighbor truly, Love will come to you the more." Floating verses from other hymns: "We're all children of one father." "I will arise and go to Jesus." etc.

"Because this ole world ain't goin' to stand much longer... Gettin' us ready for the judgment day." The singer praises his mother for teaching him to pray, warns of judgment, and points up the example of King Hezekiah

Game, for moving the feet. "This one's Andy Marlin, This one's Tommy Sin, And he bade him to his house, And he bade him, And him and him and him and him and him and him and him To mornin', to mornin', to mornin'."

This Pretty Girl of Mine: (9 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #8371}

"Here's a pretty little girl of mine Who's brought her bottle and glass of wine." She kneels on the carpet, then stands to choose her lover. When they're married they'll have a girl, then a boy, "seven years after, son and daughter"

"This train is bound for glory... If you ride it, you must be holy." "This train don't pull no gamblers..." (And so forth, through various sinners the train doesn't pull.) "This train don't pull no extras... Don't pull nothin' but the Heavenly Special."

Bachelor decides to marry; he goes to a girl's house in his Sunday best and proposes. Her parents appear, he panics and runs, the dog chases him, he falls over a hornet's nest, and laments, "I can't begin to tell you the half of this very unhappy man."

Something goes this way, then that way, then this way, "All day long" For example, "Here comes this one, Just like the other one, Here comes this one, All day long"

This World Is Not My Home (I): (18 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7481}

"This world is not my home; I'm just a-passing through." "Oh Lord, you know, I have no friend like you. If Heaven's not my home, then, Lord, what will I do? Angels beckon me to Heaven's open door, And I can't feel at home in this world any more."

Chorus: "This world is not my home"(2x) This world's a howling wilderness, This world is not my home" Verses: Since Christ wept for sinners, astonishing even the angels. "Let floods of penitential grief Burst forth from every eye"

Thomas and Nancy [Laws K15]: (11 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3232}

Thomas's ship is ready for sea, forcing him to leave Nancy. She calls to him to remember his sweetheart and family. His ship is wrecked almost at once. Nancy finds Thomas's body, kisses its lips, and dies of grief

The "Thomas" cat meets his Miss and asks if she's "been off keeping comp'ny with some other Thomas cat." "The cats they have a concert at the end of every year" marked by miaowing and fighting.

Thomas Cromwell [Child 171]: (3 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #4002}

(Someone) makes a request of (the King), who offers anything short of his crown. The petitioner asks the head of Thomas Cromwell. The king orders the earls of Derby and Shrewsbury to fetch Cromwell and have him executed.

"Come all ye true-born Irishmen, wherever you may be." The singer tells of "ten brave Irishmen... Who died in Pennsylvania on the 21st of June." Thomas Duffy and James Carroll are hanged. Duffy always denied the charge. The singer hopes they are in heaven

"Down in the state of Georgia there lived a famous man, His name was Thomas Watson, he is known throughout the land." Watson "struggled for his native state" and "wrote the Jeffersonian." Now he is dead; "Georgia has lost her best."

Thomas J Hodder, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #28982}

Thomas J Hodder leaves Sydney. Captain Lake runs aground taking a short cut in Placentia Bay on March 8, 1952. People from Placentia Bay come out to offload Hodder. Evette also runs aground. Both are tugged free and Hodder is repaired at Burin.

Thomas Murphy ships on The Dolphin from Liverpool to Africa. On the way home the ship springs a leak, and the crew escape in long boats. "But when our boat she struck the shore she was burst in by a wave." Of fourteen, twelve, including Murphy, are lost.

Looking for "as gentle a wife as John o' Badenyon," the singer gets his sweetheart alone and bars the door. Outraged, she leaves him and will not reconsider. Finally he marries a "gentle..." bastard milk maid his friends disdain.

Thomas o Yonderdale [Child 253]: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3890}

Thomas gets Lady Maisry pregnant and, hearing her lamenting, promises to marry her. He goes to sea and courts another woman, but a dream causes him to summon Maisry to be wed. Both prospective brides show up; he sends the other girl away

Thomas Rymer [Child 37]: (38 refs. 17K Notes) {Roud #219}

Thomas the Rhymer of Ercildoune meets the Queen of Elfland. She takes him away from earth for seven years, putting him through various rituals which no doubt instill his prophetic powers.

"I'm Thomas Trim a swell young man... girls think I'm okay... such a dandy dashing dude that you don't see every day." I don't waste time working or driving around. I just promenade "to show how cute I am"

"Twas a noble craft and a gallant crew That leaved the port that day, The sea was calm and the sky was blue As she sped on her course that day," leaving behind women and babies depending on the crew. The ship is wrecked by a winter storm on its way home.

"Ye lumber-laddies, great and small, unto us pray give an ear" to hear about "leather-headed songsters, who will mutilate a song." They produce "songs" with no metre or no rhyme. The lumbermen are good singers -- except the song-mutilators

"They were tattered, they were torn, Round the crotchpiece they were worn"; they are so vile that they paralyze the cat, and the sun will not shine on them. When they (and she) are buried, they poison the grass for a great distance

Consider the sentencing and departure of Irish convicts bound for "Vandiamonds Land": O'Reilly from Cavan, three Duffys and Bryan Seery in Mullingar. "Unto their prosecutors they never done a wrong." "Think upon those traitors that's swore our lives away"

A couple is about to be married. When the sexton asks if there are any objections, a man cries out, "Those bells shall not ring out"; the bride is his wife! He stabs her, then himself, saying "She's mine till death shall set her free."

"Thou hast learned to love another, Thou hast broken every vow." The singer recalls how she and her false love "met in scenes of pleasure," notes how he now dotes upon another, wishes they had never met, and bids "Farewell, farewell forever"

"Though the last glimpse of Erin with sorrow I see, Yet wherever thou are shall seem Erin to me, In exile thy bosom shall still be my home...." Wherever he goes, "I will fly with my Coulin," or carry a lock of her hair, and remember

Hammering song. "Thought I fell in, Uh! ten foot o' water, Uh! (x3), Over my head, Uh! over my head. Uh!" "Jay bird sat on, Uh! a hickory limb, Uh! (x3), Over my head, Uh! over my head. Uh!"

The singer invites "in fancy ... a trip across the sea" in order to think of those left behind. "Can you recall, sweetheart of mine, The place where I met you?" He recalls "when we set sail." "God forbid that we'd e'er forget Our dear little Isle"

"Heigho, my lads, for the tenth of March, And a gallant ship and crew." The singer declares that the crew will happily go to sea, brave the conditions, fill the holds, and return to Harbor Grace

Thousand Legged Worm (Centipede): (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #22406}

"Said a thousand legged worm, As he gave a little squirm, 'Has anybody seen a leg of mine? If it hasn't been found I shall have to hop around On the other nine hundred ninety-nine.'"

"Hurrah for the Roma railway! Hurrah for Cobb and Co., An of! for a good fat horse or two to carry me Westward Ho." The singer enjoys the freedom of Australia, and boasts of the climate and of the meat it produces

Thousands Are Sailing to America: (2 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #2904}

"Your sons and brave daughters are now going away, And thousands are sailing to America." The singer addresses those staying in Ireland and describes sad partings. You raise children, try to support them, "and when they are reared sure they will go away"

Singer says time passes more cheerfully since they've found a new way (drink) to drive sorrows away. He has no credit, but you will find him at home with his bottle and friend. Neither rich nor poor, he's "as happy as those that's got thousands or more"

"Henry Thra he did invite The boys to go on Halloweve night" and get drunk and make a racket on the roads until morning. "When Thra raised up that dreadful noise He took brave Hughie by surprise." Hughie chases the boys on his horse.

Thrashing Machine (I), The: (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1491}

Farmer show his servant Nell the works of his thrashing machine. He straps her into the harness, she takes the handle and turns on the steam. Nine months later, when her apron won't pin, she says she'll have him transported for his thrashing machine

"Thread the needle, thread the needle, through the eye ...; Who likes pancakes? I, I, I!" or "who am I? One, two, three, if you want a pretty girl, come and fetch me" or "thro' the skin Sometimes out, and sometimes in"

Three Acres and a Cow: (1 ref. 1K Notes) {Roud #24484}

"You've heard a deal of talk about three acres and a cow, And if they mean to give it to us, why don't they give it to us now?" The singer is upset and broke. He repeatedly asks for some sort of relief and fairness, but says land and cow would be enough

"Once upon a time in a tiny little cottage lived the three bears (cha, cha, cha). One was the papa bear, one was the mama bear, one was the wee bear (cha, cha)." The story of Goldilocks and the Bears is told with repeated "Cha cha cha's" inserted

"They worked all day (x2) As brave tars only do. They sought to save from wind and wave A sinking vessel's crew." "'All saved,' they cried, The shout rose high, Rose high o'er wind and wave. 'Twas a starry crew... That manned the good ship Three Bells."

"Three blackbirds sat on a fence, They were as hungry as they could be." They find an old dead horse. A farmer kills all but one; that one is so frightened that his wings turn white -- and that is the origin of magpies, and is why they wait to eat grain

"Three blind jellyfish, three blind jellyfish, three blind jellyfish sitting on a rock. And one fell off. Two blind jellyfish.And another one fell off." Once all are off, they start to climb on again, and the song can repeat

"Three blind mice (x2), See how they run (x2); They all ran after the farmer's wife. She cut off their tails with a carving knife. Did you ever see such a sight in your life As three blind mice?"

"We was trailin' some stolen cattle In the winder of '98 From the Sierra Capitanes Past Dry Red Lake." He and Tom are separated. He thinks he finds Tom in Lamy surrounded by insects. But Tom has gotten them to Kansas City and wants a ticket home

"Three blue pigeons (x2) Sitting on a fence. Oh look! One has flown away!" "Two blue pigeons..." "One blue pigeon..." "No blue pigeons..." "Oh, look, one has returned. Let us rejoice!" "One blue pigeon." And so on, back to three, and repeat as desired

Three Brave Blacksmiths: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #9768}

Three brave blacksmiths from County Clare refuse to work for a grabber, are thrown in jail, refuse bail, and are treated as heroes when their term is up. "Blacksmiths, whitesmiths, tradesmen everywhere, Fathers, labourers, see your model there"

"We are three (brothers/dukes/knights/jews) come from Spain, Come to court your daughter Jane." "My daughter Jane is yet too young...." "It is for gold she must be sold." The (knight) turns away. The mother calls him back; he chooses the fairest

"All four three brothers in fair Warwickshire, Three daring brothers you shall hear." The three turn to robbery. They rob Lord Granuvale. They are caught, tried, and condemned to die. They are 18, 19, and 20 year old. People are warned against bad company

Three Brothers, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #20542}

"A ship rides on the cruel wave" in sight of the Tuskar light at Carnsore. Three brothers leave shore and "steer for the vessel's side ... Then sink in the yawning wave."

Three butchers are riding when they hear a woman calling out. They find her naked and bound. They free her; she blows a whistle which summons robbers. Two butchers yield, but Johnson fights and is close to winning when the woman stabs him from behind

Hammer song. "Oh, baby, Uh! what you gwine to do? Uh! Three C railroad, Uh! done run through! Uh!" "My and my partner, him and me!" "Oh, baby, what you gwine to do? Seaboard Air-line (or other train) done run through."

Tongue-twister: "Three crooked cripples went through Cripplegate, And through Cripplegate went three crooked cripples. Hickup, snickup, rise up, rise up. Three drops in the cup are good for the hiccups."

"Three galleys came sailing to Porlock Side, And stole me away a new-wed bride. Who left my true love lying dead on the shore...." The Danish king offers to marry her. She refuses and is thrown into the sea. English ships destroy the Danes

"Ho, ho, ho! Three dogs in a row! Three dogs in a row! One dog's white, and so are the others, All three dogs are watching for their mother."

"Here comes (three dukes) a-ridin', a-ridin', a-ridin', Here comes a duke a-ridin' The raz-ma-taz-a-ma-tee." The duke comes to be married; the girls ask him to choose one of them. He calls them ugly; they say they're as good as he is. He chooses one.

Jump-rope rhyme. "Behind the mountain (One, two, three), Three dwarfs were sitting (One, two, three), They didn't drink, they didn't eat, Just sat there chatting (One, two, three)"

Three Fishers Went Sailing: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #29975}

"Three fishers went sailing out into the west," but are caught in a storm and killed, leaving their wives behind. "For men must work, and women must weep, Though the storms be sudden and the waters deep, And the harbour bar be moaning."

Three flies "resolv'd to travel." One stops on a cow turd, but "the others too dainty were." The second stops on butcher shop meat, but the third, being so dainty, stops in treacle and drowns. Moral: "stay at home", "be content with what you get"

The soldiers in the Crimea are depressed, when three Irishmen spring up, recall their homes and sweethearts, and rally the troops. In battle the next day, the British are victorious, but the three heroes die

Singer met a girl with three flowers. He asked where she found them. She named each for where she found it: Michael Dwyer from the Wicklow hills, Wolfe Tone on Antrim Hill, and Robert Emmet in Dublin. She will keep them "Though all the world should fall"

Three Frightened Virgins, The: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #12568}

Three daughters bathing naked in a pool at night are startled by a young man spying on them. Their father hears the commotion and, in the dark, takes his daughters for thieves. Eventually the truth is revealed and everyone takes it as a joke.

Three young ladies, all Sunday School teachers, and a man named John Ash are on their way to church when they try to ford Gravel Run. The three girls are swept away and drowned, although Ash manages to survive

Three Grains of Corn: (12 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #4492}

"Give me three grains of corn, mother, only three grains of corn, 'Twill keep this little life I have Till the coming of the morn." The dying singer asks what Ireland has done to deserve death by famine and neglect, and notes that others are starving too

"Three dirty grease balls standin' in a row, A-bailin' out chow for the soldier boys to stow, One bailed java and the other bailed slum," while the third is drunk. Gradually one calamity or other eliminates the dirty cooks

Tongue-twister: "Three grey geese in the green grass grazing, Grey were the geese, and green was the grazing."

"We are three jolly fishermen (x3), While the merry merry bells do ring. Make haste, make haste, you'll be too late, What fish, my friend? I cannot wait, For my fine fry of herring...." "We cast our nets upon the rocks." "We sell them three for fourpence"

Three Jolly Huntsmen: (41 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #283}

Three jolly (Frenchmen/Welshmen/other) go hunting. Periodically they see things (barn, frog, moon) which they cannot identify. In each case they propound their theories and move on. Finally they see an owl. One says it is the "evil one"; they flee

"They went down to Coalddale to work in the rock, And when they got there they did nothing but talk, John Morgan, John Jenkins, John Jones." They get in trouble with the boss, who tells them to go back to Wales

"Three kids in a sandbox, Three kids in the sand, They get along together, Yellow, white, and black hands." "Three kids in the ocean, Three kids in the sea... Bound to be free." "...in a treehouse... bound together by love." Why can't we get along too?

Three Leaves of Shamrock: (10 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #3769}

The singer, about to leave Ireland, meets a poor girl who bids him take a message to her brother Ned: "Three leaves of shamrock... 'Take these to my brother, for I have no other. And these are the shamrock from his dear old mother's grave.'"

Three Little Angels: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #15420}

"Three little angels all dressed in white, Trying to get to heaven on the end of a kite, but the kite string broke, and down they all fell, Instead of going to heaven they all went to...." "Two little angels...." "One little angel..." -- went to... bed?

"Three little girls a-skating went, a-skating went, a-skating went, Three little girls a-skating went All on a summer day." "The ice was thin, they all fell in, they all fell in, they all fell in... Or else they've run away."

Three Little Kittens: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #16150}

Mother cat says the kittens can't have pie because they have lost their mittens. When they find the mittens they put them on to eat pie and soil them. They wash the mittens and hang them out to dry. They smell a rat close by.

Three Lost Babes of Americay, The: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #9944}

"Come uncle, come tell me that wonderful tale ..." Three children are lost. Their father, mother and neighbors search in vain. They ask an Indian chief for help. The father, Indian chief and "two youths of [the] tribe" find the children

Three Maidens to Milking Did Go: (17 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #290}

"The maidens to milking did go (x2), And the wind it did blow high and the wind it did blow low And it tossed the milking pails to and fro." The singer asks a friend to help him hunt "birds." The singer wishes luck to blackbird and thrush

A gang of teamsters "that knew not who was boss" sign up to work under the three McFarlands. The bosses drive them hard and treat them badly; the men look forward to leaving the camp and seeing the girls

Counting-out rhyme. "Three men driving cattle, Can't you hear their money rattle? Out, two, three, Out goes he."

Four men go boating on the Grand River. In rough water, they are flung from the boat; Benjamin Moore and two others drown. A boy brings word to Benjamin's parents. The singer talks about God's planning (and placing rocks in the river)

"Three merry men and three merry men, And three merry men be we. I in the wood and thou on the ground, And Jack sleeps in the tree"

"This is why we love the Moore brothers so well, They feed us on the farm like they do in the Rice Hotel." The Moore family hires Texas prisoners to work, and gives them extravagantly good or bad treatment

Singer dreams of a meeting in Innishowen "when we heard of liberty," of a barge with 24 Irish boys saying "Gainne's sons are free." A health to the O'Donnells. Father William fought at Waterloo; "He once was a bold lieutenant But he's now our clergyman"

"Oh! Painswick is a healthful town." A traveler sees a very, very old crying -- because, it turns out, his father has been abusing him! Further investigation reveals that even the man's grandfather is alive. The traveler flees this place of ancient folk

"Three Oxford scholars just college, Their pride was a little too much for their knowledge." They drink themselves drunk. A ram strays into the pub cellar. The maid says it's the devil. One of the clerks claims he will subdue it. The ram defeats him

A woman and her three young children are struggling through a snowstorm. The children ask their mother to make them warm, but she cannot help. The next morning the three are found clasped in each others' arms, dead

"There was an old sow, she lived in a sty, And three little piggies had she." The grown pig said "Oink," the little ones "Wee! Wee!" The little pigs resolve to try to say "Oink" like grown-up pigs -- but can't do it, sicken, and die

"Three pirates came to London town, yo ho, yo ho! (x2) Three pirates came... to see the King put on his crown, Yo ho, ye lubbers...." They come to an inn, ask for drink, and ask about his daughter -- is she pretty and will she marry (one of) them

Counting-out rhyme? "Three potatoes in a pot, Take it out and leave it hot."

Three Ravens, The [Child 26]: (72 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #5}

(Three) ravens decide that a new-slain knight would make a nice lunch. He is guarded by hawk, hounds, and leman, who either guard the body from the birds or abandon it to its fate

Three sailors/tinkers/sweeps/... come courting and seeking lodging. Mother has daughter stay in bed and sends the suitors away. She wakes her daughter and accepts three kings. The daughter is found "not fit to walk with a king"

Three Score and Ten: (2 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #16873}

"Methinks I see some little craft spreading their sails a-lee, As down the Humber they do glide" to go fishing. But "Three score and ten, boys and men, were lost from Grimsby town" and many others from elsewhere in a great (February/October) storm

Three Times Round: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #12973}

"Three times round went our gallant ship, Till she sank to the bottom of the sea" "Haul her up, cried the little sailor lass, Ere she sinks ...." "Then I will, cried the little sailor boy, Ere she sinks ...."

Jump-rope rhyme. "Three wee tatties in a pot, Lift the lid an' see if they're hot. If they're hot, cut their throat, Three wee tatties in a pot."

Three Wise Old Women: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #3271}

Three wise old women go walking in winter. One carries a ladder; another, a basket; "the wisest one, she carried a fan to keep off the sun." (At least) one climbs the ladder and is blown to sea. (They use the basket to bail, the fan as a sail)

"Three, six, nine, the goose drank wine." The monkey "chewed tobacco on the street car line" or "got tangled in a telephone line." "The line broke, the monkey got choked, And they all went to heaven" in a row boat/luxury boat," or all but the billy goat.

Threshing Machine (I), The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #874}

"It's all very well to have a machine To thresh your wheat and your barley clean, To thresh it and win(now) it, all fit for sale, Then go off to market so brisk and well." Singer tells of the wonders of the new threshing machine and the people who tend it

"Through all the world below God is seen all around, Search hills and valleys through, There he's found. The growing of the corn, the lily and the thorn...." The song describes God's part in the entire universe, and how the creation praises the deity

"Through and through, Sally (or shally) go." The last one will be caught.

Through the City Where He Rode: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #11937}

"Through the city where he rode Was spotless white. He will lead me where No tears don't never fall. Oh yes, he is leading me, For I feel his hands on mine." "I shall know him by the prints Of the nails in his hands." All verses are variants on the first

The singer hears a maid complain, "The lad I love is gone astray." If she had wings she would fly to him. If she would lock her heart to keep it from going astray. She searched for him "over hills and dales" among the shepherds in the snow.

Through moss and moor, corn and barley, "aye the foalie shook its tailie Through the woods o' Fyvie"

Through the Wood as the Lady Ran: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #13021}

"And thro' the wood as the lady ran, She pu'd a bram'le at the hin'er end."

"Old Mother Hubbard went to the cupboard To get her poor dog a bone When she got there the cupboard was bare So she threw it out the window, The window, the window." Other nursery rhymes may be invoked, always ending with throwing it out the window

Chorus: "Throw (me, my body) anywhere, In that old field (x4)."Verses: "Members (deacons, preachers, brothers, ...), you want to die, Lord, In that old field (x4)."

"Our iron bark's our home, you see, A tough old craft and true, And of our trade right proud are we, The gallant thunder crew. Each tar will at his station be" when storm or prize appear; otherwise, they will relax -- but always ready to fight

"A boat from Thurso Bay did go, out to the fishing ground... All wrapped in oilskins were the crew... In one fatal wave they drew their last breath Their bodies now roll in the wide Pentland Firth In a watery grave instead of on earth"

Thyme, It Is a Precious Thing: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #3}

The singer laments her precious thyme, which she had and lost. A sailor gave her a rose "that never would decay" to remind her of "the night he stole my bonny thyme away." She warns others against the same mistake

"Tibbie Fowler o the glen, There's o'er mony wooin' at her... Wooin' at her, pu'in at her, Courtin' at her, cannae get her, Silly elf, it's for her pelf (money) That a' the lads are wooin' at her." She has few charms, but the lads come seeking her money

"Tibbie Fowler [or Robie Stobie] in the glen" stole her mother's hen and got the blame. Whether roasted or raw, Tibbie ate her all.

Tibo is one of a crew trying to clear a logjam. The logs he is on give way; Tibo is washed away and his comrade cannot keep hold of him. He leaves a widow and young children; the lumbermen make contributions for their support

"Tic tac tic tac to wally-wally." "O Miss x someone's on the phone." "If it ain't Mr y tell him I ain't home."

A man hauling wood with his mare "Kitty" takes a short cut across a frozen pond. The horse hesitates to cross the weak ice. The man ignores the horse and they fall in. The man shouts for help and neighbors come to haul the mare out with a chanty song.

In successive verses of this bawdy cumulative song, the singer lays his finger or touches his lady friend on the toe, knee, thigh, "funny thing," etc. With each he asks what it is and she gives a nonsensical reply.

"I'm always putting pepper in my daddy's snuff box, And it is a sight for to see. He coughs and he sneezes... Mother swore that was always tickling me." When the father recovers, "Then he took me out and then he tickled me."

"Ticky-tack-too, tack-too, Ticky-tack-too, tack-tay"(x2)

Tidal Wave at Burin: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #18242}

"The day began with sunshine." The earthquake strikes in the afternoon. Waves "going forty miles an hour" destroying ships and dwellings, drive people "to the mountain." Afterwards many "got their losses [back] and some a darn sight more"

"Tiddleywinks, old man, Find a woman if you can, If you can't find a woman, Do without, old man.' 'If it wasn't for your name and it wasn't for your shame, I'd let you have a go in a minute...." When the rock of Gibraltar Takes a flying leap at Malta....'

"An' now we are bound for ol' Bristol Town, Tiddy high O! high hay! Good-bye to them black gals, the yellars an' the browns, Tiddy high O! hay, high hay!" Verses give references to rum and sugar trading/loading.

"I'm a tidy bit of an Irish lad, as you can plainly see, And I like a drop of the creature when I go out upon a spree." The singer boasts of Irish drink, and notes how the English need the Irish, who won the battles of Waterloo, Inkerman, and Sebastopol

"Oh, (Duke) see the tie pile and Duke git mad, Oh, Duke see the money pile and Duke git glad, Oh Daddy, git one." "Oh, tain't no use in foolin' around, Oh, all of them ties got to go to town, Oh Daddy, git one."

Tie That Binds, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #18490}

"Within a small room, cold and cheerless, There sits a young woman alone." She and her husband are separated; they have divided "One small stocking's for you, dear, One small shoe is for me." He returns, for the dead baby is "the tie that binds"

Tie-Tamping Chant: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #15522}

"Oh, tamp 'em up solid, So dey won't come down... Oh, you can do it." Any suitable verse may be used. Last line of chorus is repeated until the task is finished. Another verse is "All, right now, boys, Let me tell you 'bout Sis Joe this time...."

"Early in '82," the singer "thought I'd have a little cruise from the Well Street Home down Tiger Bay." He meets a pretty girl who takes him "to the house of Mother Wright., And I was shown a cosy room." He spends his money, but will visit Tiger Bay again

A cante-fable, this tale with interpolated song tells of the encounter of a country boy with a prostitute, and their bargaining for price.

"Till home sail Willikin, this jolly gentle sheep, All to our comely King Harry this knight is knit (?), Therefore let us all syng nowel." Willikin sails home to the Lord Prince, to the Lord Chamberlain, to the Lord "Fueryn"

Jump-rope rhyme. "Tillie the Toiler sat on a boiler. The boiler got hot, Tillie got shot. How many times did Tillie get shot? One, two, three...."

Jump-rope rhyme. "Tillie the Toiler, never late, She's always at the office at half past eight."

Tilly Illy Rey Dum Dee: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #13527}

"Tilly illy rey dum daddie, Tilly illy rey dum dee" (2x)

"Jinny/Tilly on the telephone, Miss the loop, you're out, O-U-T spells Out!"

"From the bushmen to the breaker-out, From the breaker-out to the bend, From the benchie to the tailor-out, From the tailor-out to the yard. Timber, I want to go, Back to Ontario, Timber, I want to go home." And so the logs go on their way to the market

"We are trying to carry this timber to the building, Hallelujah, I don't know." "We will make doors and windows in that building, Hallelujah, I don't know." "We will build it to the glory of the Lord, Hallelujah, I don't know."

The singer encourages his mule, "Hollerin', Timber, Lord, this timber's gotta roll." He complains about his miserable boss. Jerry the mule can't pull more, so the boss beats him. Jerry kills the boss. The singer wonders why he didn't kill the boss himself

Men go to cut logs for a new bridge. Some men cut short and some long. Some worked hard and some worked light; the smallest man did the work of two. Some cut the soft wood and others did not. The boss "told every man different from what he told me"

"Timbrook has done gone and thrown the rider (x2), If you'd been there when the horses come around, You'd a swore to your maker they never touched ground." "Oh mister, oh mister, I'm risking my life To win money for you and your wife...."

The young man begs the girl to marry; she replied that there is "time enough yet." After hearing enough of this he says he will never return. She soon asks him to come back. He replies there is "time enough yet." Girls are warned not to delay marraige

Alternate lines are a chorus, "Time for man go home." The shantyman sings: It's night time when the crickets are "bawlin" and the agouti are out and it is the time to die. "Time for man go cover dem wife"

"Time has made a change since my childhood days, Many of my friends have gone away." "Time has made a change in the old home place... Time has made a change in me." The singer notes how he has aged, and looks forward to the next world when pain will end

Strew with roses life's rough path, and let's be gay, Thoughtless youth proposes, And trifle time away." "Love's sweet voice will oft betray ... Ev'ry flow'r must fade away And time is on the wing"

At sheep-dipping time a farmer takes a minor revenge on a constable -- sent to verify that the procedure is done well -- who had crossed the farmer in the past.

An old man recalls wooing his bride. Now time has stolen their youth. They still dream of the happy days of their youth but age brings "toil and pain" "[S]till the birds and burnies sing... [as] when we were young and free."

"Come railroad men and comrades, come hear my tale of woe, It's of some hustling work we done, not many years ago." The singer lists many man in the camp. They build the railroad, finishing at 8:40 on October 14, 1914, and celebrate

"Times are hard, we all do know, For tradesmen and lab'rers and farmers too, But without money we can't find a friend, But we'll trust in him for the times to men." Poor people should not feel alone; "there's thousands more"

Times Gettin' Hard: (5 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #15620}

"Times gettin' hard, boys, Money's gettin' scarce. If times don't get much better, boys, I'm bound to leave this place." "Take my true love by the hand, lead her through the town...." The singer prepares to depart for (California?) where times are better

"Come gather 'round people wherever you roam...." All are under threat; people will need to do things they have not done before, For the times, they are a-changing." Politicians, writers, parents are warned

"Come along to the Lowther/Leather/Queen's Arcade, The source of childhood's joys." "And as I passed a certain stall, said a wee little voice... O, I am a Colonel in a little cocked hat, and I ride on a tin Gee Gee." Telling the tin soldier's adventures

"Oh, I am a sailor that plows the salt sea As quickly I'll show unto your; My home is whaler a-cruising for grease...." He used to work on land, and still remembers home fondly. The sailors enjoy eating and drinking from their tin swankey pots

"Tina singu leluva taeo, O watsha watsha watsha" (repeat). Or "Tina, singu, leluvutaeo, Watcha, watcha, watcha." Rest of song may be filled out with "la la la la....." Supposedly translates as "We are filled with the fire of life."

The lady of the manor sends for the jolly tinker, who services her, her staff (including the butler) and then rides off, "little drops of semen pitter-patting at his feet."

Amid drink and celebration, bridegroom Norman Scott is wed for the fourth time (no mention of divorce or widowerhood), to fortune-teller Meg McNeil; a cheerful brawl ensues

Tinnaberna fishermen out at nightfall November 14, 1815 are overtaken by a squall blowing them northwest. They can see "Poulder fading fastly from our view," the lighthouse at Tuskar, and the warning "bonfire on the hill" but cannot return to shore.

"On the dark rocks of Wales our poor neighbors were lost ... Those tender-hearted Welshmen, we for them will ever pray That God may grant them pardon against their dying day"

Alternate lines are a chorus, "Tee-ay-ay Tinnego." The shantyman sings: Hold on. Let's go to Walabo. It's time for us to go to Walabo. "Deacon Duncan Tinnego."

"A bumper around now, my hearties, I'll sing you a song that is new; I'll please to the buttons all parties And sing of Old Tippecanoe." The singer details the history of Tippecanoe, and declares, "Bid Martin Van Buren adieu."

"Way out in old South Dakota... Once roamed the greatest of outlaws... His name was old Tipperary, Tipperary of rodeo fame, The greatest of all the bronc riders Will never forget that great name." The horse's methods of throwing riders are recounted

Dennis is christened in Tipperary. Everyone is there. "After dancing, they went in to lunching ... They had all kinds of tea ... and everything that would please." After dinner there was speaking, match making... "they wished the next would be twins"

A rebel, Sean Treacy, is dying by moonlight on Talbot Street in Dublin. He asks a passing comrade to take a lock of his hair and take it to his mother in his "native home In Tipperary far away." His comrades bury him.

"'Tis now we'd want to be wary, boys, The recruiters are out in Tipperary, boys...." The Irish youths are advised to avoid the British sergeants and the free drinks they offer. They are reminded of all the harm John Bull has done in the past

"In a wee thacket hoosie, far doon i' the glen, There lived a young lassie, the plague o' the men." Tipperty Jean's beauty has ensnared many, but she rejects them all -- even the Laird as too old. She has enough money to live, and so marries Puir Johnnie

"'Mang the noise o' wheels in motion, In a dark unhealthy den... Clouds o' dust eternal reign." There is no chance for a change; "I am getting tired o' workin', But to lose my job I'm feared." Workers cannot argue their case lest they be fired

Tired o' Workin' Lyauvie's Braes: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #5900}

"Tired o' workin Lyauvie's braes, An' tired o' gaun to Imphm's toon, I'll gang back to Peterhead, An' there I'll get my penny fun'"

"The tired soldier, bold and brave, now rests his weary feet, And to the shelter of the grave He made a safe retreat." "He's quartered in the arms of death, He'll never, never march again." He left home as a boy. His comrades and love gather at the grave

Italian song made into English: "When the mountain top through purple mist is glowing... Then must I be on my way." "Tiritomba, Tiritomba, All the world is calling, Calling to me so." The singer prepares to travel

The singer excuses his rhyme -- "education I do not claim it" -- but has long promised himself to write about the wonderful hunting, shooting, dancing, and shady groves for courting, around Tirmanagh Hill. Now he must leave and finally writes this song.

"'Tis a frantic, most romantic, silly sort of thing, That a royal King, to the man who found the ring, Should give his daughter, and no matter, be he good or bad, Should think that the daughter really oughter say that she was glad"

"No heart can think, no tongue can tell, 'Tis a wonder, a wonder, a wonder, That Christ did save one soul from hell..." (with various repetitions)

"Please, dear Uncle, now tell me why you're sighing." The boy wonders why, if he survived the war, he is always sad. The boy's mother says that she loved the uncle, but married her sweetheart's brother when she thought the uncle dead. Both regret this

The singer complains of his sad life. He courts and marries a girl. After seven years, he finds her untrue, but cannot gain a divorce because he can't prove her infidelity. He wishes to sail away, but hates to live his little girl (?). He dies at sea

"Tis well and good I come here tonight... For to do my Master's will." "Brother... show me the way... The way to the Promised Land."

Game in which players try to pick a particular number from a "wheel of fortune": "TIt for tat Butter for fat, If you kill my dog I'll kill your cat."

(Though the builders called her unsinkable), "On Monday morning... the great Titanic began to reel and rock." Rich and poor will not mix, so the poor on the lower decks drown first. The band plays "Nearer My God to Thee" and sixteen hundred people die

"The rich folks 'cided to take a trip On the finest ship was ever built. The cap'n persuaded these people to think This Titanic too safe to sink. Cho: Out on that ocean, The great wide ocean, The Titanic, out on that ocean, sinking down!"

The story of the Titanic. The women have to watch their husbands drown. Captain Smith awakens to gunshots. Millionaire Jacob Nash cannot pay his fare (to survive). Chorus: "God moves on the water (x3) And the people had to run and pray.

The Titanic is only a few hours' sailing from shore when it strikes an iceberg and sinks. Both rich and poor are lost with the ship. Husbands gallantly stand aside to let their wives be saved. The band plays "Nearer my God to Thee" as she goes down

"The Titanic left Southhampton With all its sports and gang, When they struck the iceberg, I know their mind was changed." The story of the wreck is briefly told, with a mention of John Jacob Astor, who is credited with trying to save the women

The Titanic sets out from Liverpool and sinks in the cold waters off Newfoundland. The ballad notes how both rich and poor, upper and lower classes, were lost in the disaster

"As the moon rose in glory... She told her sad, sad story / Sixteen hundred had gone to rest." A watchman dreams of the Titanic's fate, but cannot get anyone to save the ship or even their families. The widows and orphans are left mourning

"It was midnight on the sea, The band was playing 'Nearer, My God, to Thee"; Fare thee well, Titanic, fare thee well." The Titanic hits an iceberg; women and children survive; men die. Jack Johnson survives because he is refused passage

The Titanic sets sail, but sinks. The singers then draw morals, including that the hand of Man is no match for God Chorus: "Sailing out to win her fame, the Titanic was her name... Many passengers and her crew went down with that old canoe"

Titanic stops at Queenstown for Irish girls and boys. An iceberg floats by but "Titanic proudly bore along unmindful of her foe." Wireless operators send an SOS but help is too late. The Carpathia saves those in lifeboats and took them to New York.

"The Titanic called at Queenstown ... And eight hundred emigrants From Ireland sailed away." After four days "our ship struck an iceberg." The crew tries to save the women and children. Millionaires died but we mourn for our Irish lads that drowned.

"On the tenth day of April 1912 her whistles they did sound, Her power of motion was released, her twin screws turned around." The ship gives little attention to the dangers of the sea. The ship sinks 400 miles from cape race

Lyrics composed of titles or pieces of other songs, e.g. "Mickey O'Flannigan he had a Bull Pup, Down Where the Pansies Grow, Don't You Leave Your Mother, Tom, For Mary Kelly's Beau."

Tittery Nan [Laws H16]: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2194}

Joe Dimsey steals old Josiah's mare; the old man repays the younger back by recovering his horse and pummeling him

"Come all my good people and listen to my song, Although it's not so very good, it's not so very long." The Mormons have "been driven from their homes and away from Nauvoo." They keep moving; they are poor. The singer talks of marriage

"An old women went out to the barn Some eggs for to hunt... A mouse ran up her cunt." She runs to her husband, begging him to turn it around so it doesn't gnaw its way out. The husband has intercourse with her until the mouse runs out her sleeve

The singer returns from war and mother says "Johnny, you've been fighting, What do you want for tea?" She does not put out Titler's jam. [The soldier's text starts] wonderful Titler's jam sent in one pound pots is in his dreams every night.

"To all you ladies now at land, We men at sea indite," telling how hard it is to write. The singer hopes the women will understand why they are slow to answer. He tells of the hardships at sea and hopes the ladies will be true

"To Anacreon in heav'n where he sat in full glee, A few sons of harmony sent in a petition." They ask the poet to be their patron, describe how they intend to drink and enjoy themselves, and wander off into sundry classical allusions

To Coont My Kin an' Pedigree: (1 ref. 2K Notes) {Roud #6098}

The singer is offended that his antagonist, in "the filthy stuff that ye composed [with help]," ridiculed "my kin an' pedigree ... ye are like Melchisedeck we dinna know your race." He notes his antagonist's name is shared by a hangman.

"To daunton [subdue] me, and me sae young, And gude King James's auldest son, O that's the thing that ne'er can be, For the man's unborn that will daunton me." The singer claims that only poverty can keep him down: "Now I hae scarce to lay me on"

"D'ye ken the thing that wad daunton me? Eighty-eight and eighty-nine, And a'the dreary years sinsyne" The singer wants "banishment to a' the Whigs," the return of King James to Edinburgh, and "the usurper forc'd to flee"

"At Moidart our young prince did land, With seven men at his right hand, And a' to conquer nations three: That is the lad that shall wanton me." Woe to those that exiled the king. "Raise the banner, raise it high; For Charles we'll conquer or we'll die"

"To make your mother dance, Put ants in her pants."

To Market, To Market: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #19708}

"To market, to market, to buy a (plum bun/plum cake/fat pig/etc.), Home again, home again, jiggety jig, To market, to market, to buy a fat hog, Home again, home again, jiggety-job"

"Mary! dear departed shade ... See'st thou thy lover lowly laid." The singer recalls their meetings. "Still o'er these scenes my mem'ry wakes And fondly broods with miser-care; Time but th' impression stronger makes"

"I sit broken-hearted tonight, love, A-thinking of you, darling one...." "There's no one to kiss me good night, love." He says, "God knows that I love you, But, darling, we have to part." She is now "no one's darling"; she hopes they will meet in heaven

Young men are are concerned with their clothes, their snuff, and drink while they slight lasses. When courting they are "puffed up with pride" and "gar the siller flee" but after marriage "the hoose it is tae build the siller is tae borrow"

Round. "To ope their trunks The trees are never seen. How then do they Put on their robes of green? They leave [leaf?] them out! "

To President B. Young and Camp: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #10891}

"Hail! ye mighty men of Israel Who the hiding places have found... You have stood on holy ground." The "Pioneers of Latter-day" have found the place appointed for the Mormons. As the Mormons arrive," those there "may bid you welcome home"

The singer is in Scotland, driven from Ireland by the landlord and bad times. He is invited to stay a week "putting in the hay" with a 1914 veteran. He marries the farmer's niece. They'll go to Ireland now but return yearly to Scotland to make the hay.

"There lives a lass by yonder burn... And aft she gies her sheep a turn That feed amang the bracken." "Could I believe she'd woo wi' me... I'd afttimes slip out owre yon lea And roll her in my plaidie." The poor lovestruck lad tells how he would woo her

A response to, or continuation of, The Leadsman's Lament." "To the man in the chains, Send an oilskin when it rains, And if it pleases You, Take me from the seaboat's crew."

"To the mast nail our flat, It is dark as the grave, Or the death which it bears while it sweeps o'er the wave." When the pirate takes a prize, "It is mine to divide it, and yours to obey." "I only shed blood where another sheds tears."

"Slowly today we wend our way To a grave in Belvedere Behind the corpse of a hero bold." The singer tells of Kennedy's voyages, and describes his heroism when the Viking caught fire.

"To the north, to the north, Where the squatters go bung, Where greenhide's their mainstay... Where for tucker and water you'll often run short While humping your bluey In the land of the north." The singer describes the many problems of life in the north

"There are songs they sing in the army, Songs in the navy too; But we sing a song that rolls along, The song of the boys in blue." The airmen are "Zooming up boys to the stars!" "These words will guide us, 'Through adversity to the stars.'"

"My heart was ance as blythe and free As simmer days were lang," but a weaver "has gart me change my sang." Sent to the weaver, he "conveyed me through the glen." As for what happened after, "I fear the kintra soon Will ken as weel's mysel'."

"To the West! To the West! to the land of the free, Where mighty Missouri rolls down to the sea." It is a place where all may succeed if they are willing to work. There is much to be done amid the prairies and forests. Build a home there!

To the West A While to Stay: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4050}

"As I sit here sad and lonely, Thinkin' of my dear old home, Of my home an' dear old mother, How much further must I roam?" The singer recalls the sad parting when he told mother he was leaving. Now he learns that mother died while he was far away

"To the West! to the West! I once went, do you see, And one visit, I'm sure, was sufficient for me!" His children got sick; so did his wife. There were alligators (!) and snakes and buffalo. The singer "came back like a streak" and will not return

A tailor went to Turra "on business bent ... Some said he had no business, But it was the opening day." He arrived and came to a table with "dainties there for all ...."

"In Union, blessed Union, will Freedom be found." Union's first year is ending. Union "fills the traitors with fear." "'Men to your Tents', now through Erin be sung ... Till Erin, loved Erin, from tyranny's freed."

"Let's drink a toast to Beara to the gallant sporting team: On the football fields of the County Cork today they reign supreme." Their victories are listed. The members of the team are named. "Here's success to all their followers"

Tobacco Pipes and Porter: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5894}

"Tobacco pipes, tobacco pipes, tobacco pipes and porter Mony ane will sing a sang, but few will sing a shorter."

Singer has bad luck. He sat down to smoke but his pipe was empty. He tried to shave but, lacking a cake of soap, used a potato instead. He tripped over a hole in his socks and broke his nose ... If times improve he may pay the rent.

"Ye fellows smokes tobacco, come pity my case, I'm here on this island without a damn taste." Desperate people without a draw or chaw are smoking tea and worse, or chewing wax. When the wind changes and the ice goes they'll get tobacco at St Peter's.

"Come young and old and hear me tell / How strong tobacco smokers smell, / Who love to smoke the pipe so well. / For tobacco they will smell, To burn and smoke in union." A condemnation of tobacco, of those who spend money to buy it, and of its effects

Counting-out rhyme. "Tobacco, hic, 'Twill make you sick. Tobacco, sick, 'Twill make you hic."

Tobacco's But an Indian Weed: (12 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #1457}

Tobacco is offered as a parable for life: "Grows green at morn, cut down at eve." "The pipe... Is broke with a touch -- man's life is such." "The smoke... shows us man's life must have an end." The moral: "Think on this when you smoke tobacco."

The singer notes, "You can talk about your cities... But the little place of Tobasco is good enough for me." Tobasco has no fancy buildings, ornate churches, or sidewalks, and is not right for everyone -- but it suits the singer just fine

Tobias Murphy and Tom Hann: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #28981}

Two captains, Murphy and Hann, are on St Mary's banks in a September gale. Hann's boat runs aground rounding Cape St Mary's and all hands are lost. Murphy's boat heads for North Harbour but two men are swept overboard.

"When I came down from the North country, I looked so poor and toggy, A lie I am not telling you, All were deceived in Toby." Time and again, Toby shows up in some situation and proves himself capable, e.g. he goes to a pub, and he is able to pay

"Come a' my young lads, ye'll mak haste and be ready... An' we ane and a'... Maun leave Tochineal, nae mair to come back." "Awa to the West we maun a' gang thegither." Many are forced to depart; the singer laments that the new home will not be Tochineal

The singer warns "bad lumber" that she will never marry no matter how she "grease you' heel" or "pare you' toe"

"Today, while the blossom still clings to the vine," the singer intends to enjoy life. He won't worry about the future or "be contented with yesterday's glory... Today is my moment, and now is my story I'll laugh and I'll cry and I'll sing."

"Today is Monday, today is Monday, Monday is slumgullion; All you hungry brothers, We wish the same to you. Tuesday, string beans. Wednesday, soup. Thursday, roast beef. Friday, fish...." There may be other foods (often German) listed. May be cumulative

"Today is my daughter's wedding day, Ten thousand pounds I'll give away" (chorus responds, "Good old squire!") "On second thought, I think it best, I'll put it in the old oak chest." ("Rotten old squire")

"Some say to live single it is the best plan, But I was ne'er happy till I got a man, When I got a man I soon got a wean...." "It gangs toddlin' but, and gangs toddlin' ben." The singer describes the toddler's cheerful rambles, and rejoices in her life

"When I've a saxpence under my thumb, Then I get credit in ilka town: But ay when I'm poor they bid me gang by, O! poverty parts good company." The singer and his wife enjoy their ale as they wake. His wife is sweet when drinking but a fighter sober.

Jump-rope rhyme. "(Maureen) had a toffee show, and (Johnny) came a-buying. Susan took a whirly-kick And sent poor Maureen flying."

"Something cam' in" when the cart toll was twopence; at fourpence now it's "growin' vera thin; But I'll pay my rent when it comes to be due, Gin Providence send not something that's new"

The singer is determined to find her Tom. She describes (his or her) visions. Chorus: "Still I sing bonny boys, bonny mad boys, Bedlam boys are bonny. For they all go bare, and they live by the air...."

Tom Brown climbs a tree at night while looking for a missing cow. He sees the parson kissing "a nimble lass." Tom asks if the parson has seen his cow. The parson bribes Tom to keep the secret of his lovemaking. Tom goes home happy without his cow.

The singer goes bird hunting. Tom Bird's dog pursues. The singer escapes. "I don't know how many birds you got" but wishes someone had killed the dog.

"Here a sheer hulk lies poor Tom (Bowling/Bowline), the darling of our crew." Tom, faithful, kind, virtuous, and beautiful, has now "gone aloft." His family and friends are mentioned. They hope he finds "pleasant weather" in heaven

"Funniest thing that ever I seen Was a tom cat stitchin' on a sewin' machine! O-ho, my baby, take a-one on me!" "Sewed so easy and he sewed so slow, Took ninety-nine stitches on the tom-cat's toe, O-ho, my baby...."

Singer praises old "Ring Tail Tom" for his sexual prowess: "I got an old tom cat; When he steps out All the pussy cats in the neighborhood, They begin to shout, 'Here comes Ring Tail Tom, He's boss around the town...." Etc.

Tom ships on board the Lighter Home, bound to Labrador. "At last we reached that awful land Where the snow and ice was beating" and head north to Ungava "Up in the Arctic Ocean ... the salmon was so thick" but all we found were starving "huskies"

Corrigan is racing on the horse "Waiter." He is just overtaking the leader when he is thrown and killed.

"Tom Dixon runs a cathouse way down on Harlow street," a frequent destination for loggers. "The girls are not so pretty, but I guess they're not so slow." The singer talks of his trips back and forth between lumber camp and Dixon's establishment

Tom Dooley [Laws F36A]: (28 refs. 94K Notes) {Roud #4192}

Tom Dula/Dooley has killed Laura Foster. He has few regrets except that he didn't get away with it. He curses Sheriff Grayson, who has captured him. He expects to be hanged tomorrow

"I pick my banjo now, I pick it on my knee, This time tomorrow night, It'll be no more use to me." Dula says that Laura (Foster) loved his banjo playing, and says he never knew how true her love was. He bids Ann (Melton) to kiss him goodbye

Tom Halyard, mortally wounded, asks his ship's captain if he has done his duty. Assured that he has, he asks the captain to send his love a lock of his hair. He dies with Kate's name on his lips

"Tom Joad got out of the Old McAlister Pen, There he got his parole." The song summarizes the hard times faced by the Joad Family in the Depression, ending with Tom's declaration, "Wherever men are fightin' for their rights, That's where I'm a gonna be"

Tom Kelly brews poteen "that exceeds them all." John's cow drinks up the still and wakes drunk with a broken horn. She makes a deal with Tom: if he won't tell John about her drinking she "will bring [him] against Lammas a fine heifer calf."

A rich girl tries to convince Tom O'Neill to leave the priesthood and marry her. When he refuses, she claims that Tom got her pregnant. He is sentenced to transportation. He is reprieved when another man admits he fathered the child for money

Tom Pearce (Widdicombe Fair I): (14 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #137}

The singer asks Tom Pearce to lend his old mare to go to the fair. Tom wants the horse back soon, but it is slow in returning, for it has taken sick and died. (Now the horse's ghost can be seen haunting the moors at night)

Tom Potts [Child 109]: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #66}

A high-born lady loves Tom Potts, a serving man. She refuses Lord Phoenix's offer of marriage but her father overrides her. She sends word to Tom, who, aided by his master, challenges Phoenix. After several forms of contest he wins her.

"Tom Quick he lived on Sullivan hill By the Delaware's a-roaring tide." He lives alone with his dogs and his daughter Iona. When he is away, Indians find her. He attacks and kills them, but he dies soon after and she leaves the home

Dialog: What are you called? Tom Taits. What do you do? Feed sheep and goats. Where do they feed? In the bog. What do they eat? Grass. What do they give? Milk and whey. Who eats it? Tom Taits and I (or, the cat)

"I'm on Tommy (Tidler's/Tickler's) ground, Picking up gold and silver." A game for deciding a boundary

Tom Tinker's My True Love: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #8753}

Tom Tinker's my true love, And I am his dear, And I will go with him, his budget to bear, This way, that way, whichever you will, I'm sure I say nothing that you can take ill." "For of all the young men he has the best way."

Gaelic. "A drinking-song, in which 'Tom Toozick' recounts his exploits in the local hostelry, where he habitually spent all his earnings. In the end he resolves to mend his ways, and asks God's forgiveness for his previous behaviour."

"My name, d'ye see, s Tom Tough, I've seen a little service"; he has sailed with Howe and Duncan and Hawke. He's also had a family, and loves them but leaves their fate to Providence. But now he's lost an eye and a toe; other sailors will do the fighting

"Tom Twist was a wonderful fellow; No boy was so nimble and strong." Shipwrecked among cannibals, he escapes; he rides a condor to China and is made a mandarin; he at last returns home, then somersaults out the window and far away

Tom, Tom, the Piper's Son (I): (7 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #19621}

Tom, "the piper's son, Stole a pig and away did run." He eats the pig, he is beaten, and runs crying or roaring down the street.

Tom, Tom, the Piper's Son (II): (17 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #19621}

When Tom plays "Over the hills and far away" on his pipe, "those who heard him could never keep still; As soon as he played they began to dance." Even pigs, cows, old Dame Trot and a "cross fellow ... beating an ass" had to dance.

The singer warns against drinking and hiring out to Tomah Stream. Instead of the easy work and good food he was promised, he finds mud roads, thin shelters, and poor and inadequate rations. He ends by exchanging insults with the boss Natty [Lamb].

"Now, boys, if you will listen to my few lines of care, Although heart-broken in sorrow we came here." "Twas on the tenth of March" that they went to the woods. The singer lists his companions. He recalls leaving Maggie and looks forward to going home

The singer is "just about to cut for the Lachlan To turn a hundred out...." He shears for the money, not for pleasure: "Give me sufficient cash and you'll see me make a splash, for I'm (Tambaroora Ted), the ladies' man." He boasts of his shearing skills

"As Tommy was walking one fine summer day, Some rosy-cheeked apples he saw on his way." They seem to call to him. He climbs the tree to gather some, and falls off the branch, "And down came poor Tommy, the apples, and all." He won't steal apples again

"(Tommy Johnson/Diane Carson) is no good, Chop (him) up for (fire/kindling) wood, When he's dead, boil his head, Make it into gingerbread." Or "...wood, If she is no good for that, Give her to the old tom cat."

Tommy Murphy leaves Katy to join a marching regiment. He loses a leg. It is replaced by a hickory limb. He can't help marching when he hears the band. Katy sees him "after six months or more of adventures in war" but he marches away when the band plays

Tommy Tompkins and Polly Hopkins: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #18698}

"Howdy do, Mr. Tommy Tomplins, Howdy do, Howdy do?" "Howdy do, Miss Polly Hopkins." "Oh, say, Mr. Tommy Tompkins, Won't you buy a broom?" "Oh, yes, Miss Polly Hopkins, I will buy a broom... If you'll be my bride And sweep the room."

"Fred Jones, Hatter, of Leicester Square, Presents himself to you." A widow on a train falls in love with him, and she has a spoiled boy. The widow orders her boy, "Tommy, make room for your uncle." Tommy constantly causes trouble as they court

Jump-rope rhyme. "Tommy, Tommy in the tub, Mother forgot to put in the plug, One heart, one soul, There goes Tommy down the hole."

Tommy's Gone to Hilo: (18 refs. 10K Notes) {Roud #481}

Shanty. Characteristic line: "Away, (H)ilo... Tommy's gone to (H)ilo!" The girl complains that her Tommy has left her and gone to Liverpool, Baltimore, Bombay, or wherever it is that she least wants him to be. She may offer/threaten to follow

Jump-rope rhyme. "Tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow, Never comes, Tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow Always runs."

Supposedly Polynesian (exact language unspecified). Rowing song, with call and repeat. "Tongo Jimnee bye bye oh Tongo Oom ba de kim bye oh Ooh a layMah le ka ah lo way." Or "Tongo Jimminey bayo bayo Tongo, Upi upi upi-yo Ooh, ollay Mali-pa, mali-way..."

"One flea fly flew up the flue, the other flea fly flew down (x3), Oh glory, glory how peculiar." "One sly snake slid up the slide, the other sly snake slid down." "One big bug bled black blood, the other big bug bled blue." And so forth

"Down by the Launey" the singer meets "a handsome and charming young dame ... herding her kine." If he owned many fine lands he would give them all "to obtain her." "For tons of bright gold, of course, I won't tell her name" until their wedding day

Tony goes walking on a summer day and finds an apple tree. He climbs, to pick some apples, but the branch breaks and "down came Tony, apples and all"

"Too late, too late sinner, Carry the key and gone home." Jesus locked the door.

Too Much of a Name: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7041 and 4824}

"Some people are anxious for honor and fame And they strive all their lifetime in getting a name. But too much of a name is a possible thing" As a practical joke my parents named me Jonathan Joseph Jeremiah ... Jehosaphat." So long a name causes problems

"I got too much time, buddy... for the crime I done.... If I had just a-knowed it, could a broke and run." The singer thinks he should have gotten two or three years, but got ten or more. He wishes he had a gun, and thinks about what to do if free

This quatrain ballad of naval origins describes the special privileges accorded to officers of increasingly high rank.

Too Young to Marry: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #16864}

Dance tune with slight lyrics: "I'm my mammy's youngest child (youngest son, darling child), I am my mother's (baby), I'm my mammy's youngest child, I am too young to marry."

The singer remembers a quiet, peaceful home and the lullaby his mother sang: "Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral, Too-ra-loo-ra-li, Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral, hush now don't you cry. Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral... That's an Irish lullaby."

"Oh! Too-ril-te-too was a bonny cock robin, He tied up his tail with a piece of blue bobbin, His tail was no bigger than the tail of a flea, Too-ril-te-too Thought it pretty as a tail could be." The bird flies to a rail to show off and is eaten by a cat

Took My Gal a-Walkin': (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #11550}

"I took my gal a-walking', it was on one Saturday night... I asked her if she's marry me... She said she wouldn't marry me If the rest of the world was dead." The lonely singer vows he will "milk the cows and chickens" on the farm if he can't find a girl

"Toolie low, toolie low, toolie low, I am Mammy's little black baby chile. Toodie noodie, mammy's baby, Toodie noodie, mammy's child. Toodie, noodie, toodie."

"Tooney, Tooney, my Tooney O. She hopped upon her poney And ran away from Tony; If you see her just let me know and I'll meet you in the Sally Tooney O."

The singer goes out and sees various sights, e.g. a poor man eating grass, whom he tells that the grass is longer in back. He goes to heaven, where he is the first from his town, and Hell, where there are many from the place. The adventures are diverse

"Toots an Ronald a walk a road, No gie dem water to drink, If you gie dem water to drink a you yard, Lie go lef a you door"

"I don't mind those city lights On these long winter nights, When I take my annual spree In the lap of luxury... There's no place I'd rather be Than top beat With a snowline boundary." The singer has no interest in country life or those who live it

"While you're all so frisky I'll sing a little song... It's all about the Top Hand when he's busted flat." The Top Hand/top screw boasts of his prowess as a cowhandler, but it's all boasting and lies. The cowboys try to expose him, and label him a Jackass

Recitation; Bill Kirk is top loader. One day he's knocked off the load by a "cannon." His comrades rush to save him, but he's wedged into a crack. They pull the log out, and by a miracle he's not hurt, but he curses because his new pipe is cracked.

"On the top of Mount Zion is a city" -- the city of salvation. The singer briefly describes it and makes plans to go there.

The singer tells a Top Side gal to give him his hat; he is going back to the Low Side to mind his mama. Chorus: he should say he is not courting or married yet but is going back to mind his mama. The verse is repeated for bag, stick, clothes....

"The topsail shivers in the wind, Our ship she casts to sea, But yet my soul, my heart, my mind, Are, Mary, moored with thee." The singer touches on the difficulties of the voyage and thinks constantly of his return home

"Tor-e-a-dor, Don't spit on the floora, Use the cuspidora, That is what it's fora."

Torbay Ramblers listen to named lumberjacks who said "Millertown for mine." Some swear not to return. Only when the market for fish leaves them short do some go back.

"I uster own the Chickabee farm, I'm washing dishes today, Becaws a tornado comes along And takes my farm away." "It takes the cows, and the gelding... The doggone thing leaves me nothing But the wife and the mortgage due."

Toronto Volunteers, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #4515}

"In the year of Eighty-five Sure the tidings did arrive.... From the snowy plains afar Where those roving Indians are...." "Oh those volunteers did go And face the storms and snow... And when the drums did beat How the rebels did retreat"

Irish. It's a delight to be at a Ballymacoda wake. No one is turned away without a drink in that pub. "The poor wretch without food or purse will get the cask free To drink without stint"

"Noo friens I think ye're like mysel' and anxious for to see" the new Torry bridge across the Dee. The singer describes the celebration he expects: lasses in new hats, men in new suits, "gently walking sweetly talking" dancing and drinking beer

"Toss the blanket, toss the blanket, Toss the blanket over."

"One evening lately I dressed up nately, With Sunday clothes, plug had and all." The singer meets a gang which intends to rob him. But he backs up against a wall, and beats them off using tricks he learned at Donegal.

"Tossed upon life's raging billow. Sweet it is, O Lord, to know, Thou didst press a sailor's pillow. Thou canst feel a sailor's woe... Thou the faithful watch art keeping; 'All is well,' thy constant cheer." In time, the sailors will be free from storms

"I am a poor pilgrim of sorrow, I am left in this wide world to roam... I've started to make Heaven my home." "Sometimes I'm so tossed and driven. Sometimes I know not where to roam." The singer has left his family; after death he hopes to see them again

Tossing of the Hay: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2940}

The singer goes out on a summer morning and sees a beautiful girl tossing her hay alone. She reports that her brother has left her alone. He kisses her; she screams; he promises that if she marries him, there will be time to mow the hay

"Touch not the cup, it is death to the soul... Many I know that have quaffed from that bowl... Little they thought that a demon was there, Blindly they drank and were caught in the snare...." A sermon, without illustrations, on the evils of drink

Jump-rope rhyme. "Tough luck: You may miss, You may not, You may fall down And go bawl, You have fallen down, You have missed, Tough luck."

"I am a Mormon, from Utah I came, And I am a tough boy and Wells it is my name." The singer travels the southwest, revellng in his toughness -- and then comes home to Mother because he has no lover. He will return again to Utah: "for Utah I will sail."

"Toura for sour buttermilk Belleek for the brandy The Commons was the divil's hole But Mulleek was the dandy"

Creole French: "Tout pitit Negresse en bas bayou, A-pe laver chimise ye' mama! A, alla, mamselle, les blanchiseuses! (x2)" A very small black woman washes shirts on the bayou; a boy washes underclothes

Singer remembers times long past roaming the hills, valleys and coastline around St. John's. He recalls meeting his sweetheart and the places they trapped together. He would love to see those places -- Cabot Tower, Quidi Vidi, Bannerman Park -- again.

The singer recalls growing up in hard times in "the town I loved so well." He formed a band and married. The music is gone but he hopes for peace and a bright new day "in the town that I loved so well"

"Although far awa frae my ain native heather, And thousands o' miles across the blue sea," the singer still dreams of his home in Arbroath. He recalls the lessons his parents taught him. Now rich, he intends to return to his home.

The singer bids farewell to Ireland; he will wander "far from Paddy's green countrie."He recalls the beauties of County Antrim, his birthplace. He promises to remember all these things in his new home

Singer, possibly American, warns against women of Ireland; one of them has made a fool of him. He picks her up; she asks him to take her to dinner at Cleary's; he wraps her in his cloak; she scratches his nose, tears his clothes, and, apparently, robs him

"The town of Passage is neat and spacious, All situated upon the sea." The boats, sailors, bathers, lovers, and ferry to Carrigaloe are described. Molly Bowen has a lodging house where "often goes in one Simon Quin" to his bed among the fleas.

"Passage town is of great renown." Steamboats on Lough Mahon, whale-boats "skipping upon the tide," prison ships bound for Botany Bay, foreign ships, ferries, and fishing boats are described. The women hunt snails, shrimp, and cockles at low tide.

Town of Passage (III), The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #9574}

"The town of Passage ... situated Upon the say, 'Tis nate and dacent." Ships at anchor, ferries to Carrigaloe, but also mud cabins, melodious pigs and dead fish abound. Foreign ships deal in whisky-punch. Convicts are bound for Botany Bay.

The singer says Jamaica has towns and districts with funny names and names some towns and parishes.

Work song for tie-tamping: "TP throwed the water, Water in Morgan's eye...."

The singer recalls with pride the days of the horse trams when he was a trace-boy on Ligoniel Hill. Today his "friends all departed, and work now so scarce," he sleeps on open brick kilns. "The only thing left is a ride in a hearse"

Story-song about the work of laying track, with a musical line such as "Ain't but the one train riding this track (hah!), Run down to Macon and right straight back (hah!)." The singer may describe other members of the gang or the work itself

Track to Knob Lake, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #9811}

The singer signs a contract to spike three months on the Knob Lake track. Food is awful. After a month 18 men quit. Each day the first to finish has lots of food but none is left for the last. He still hopes to come back the next year.

"How to dodge the hard times is the hardest of tasks, For 'Whatever becomes of us?' everyone asks." The questioner receives advice, e.g. "Make the wool into cloth, raise your coals from the land... Be your own linen drapers For the Colony issue... papers"

The singer tells of the wreck of the Trader, bound from Galway to London. A dream warns the Captain of disaster. A storm blows up; the rudder is wrecked; the ship goes aground; seven of the crew are drowned. The singer hopes they will be remembered

"In the middle of the night if you hear a scream And there's a flame burnin'... the road... It's just a bunch of cowboys Tradin' out at the next rodeo." The song describes the wild driving cowboys do as they travel from rodeo to rodeo

Spanish: "Ano de noventa y quatro en la ciudad de Mazatlan...." Bernal is a robber who steals from the rich, gives to the poor, kills the police (and uses their skin for boots). But he is killed by treachery in Mazatlan in 1894.

"'Twas winter and the wind blew keen, Blew with its might and main, And more and more the snow did blow Across the stormy plain." John Taylor and family are safe at home when a fire stars and they must "freeze or burn." Mrs. Taylor and three girls die

"There's a little western city in the shadow of the hills, Where sleeps a brave young rebel 'neath the dew." He died saying "'Boys, I always did my best' Where the old Chehalis River flows its way." Wesley Everest died to encourage workers to organize

Singer recalls a girl he loved long ago; he left her her in the arms of another man. Many years later he meets the girl's brother. He learns she died awaiting his return, never knowing why he left. (The brother was the man who was in her arms.)

"Trail the Eagle, trail the Eagle, Climbing all the time. First the Star and then the Life, Will on your bosom shine. KEEP CLIMBING! Blaze the trail and we will follow, Hark the Eagles' call; On, brothers, on, Until we're Eagles all."

Trail to Mexico, The [Laws B13]: (21 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #152}

The singer is hired by A.J. Stinson to drive a herd to Mexico. While away, his sweetheart has left him for a richer man. Though she asks him to remain at home and safe, he sets out for the trail again and swears to spend the rest of his life on the trail

"The train's done left me, and the jitney bus has gone (x2), Lord... I won't be here long." The singer is leaving and will not be back. His woman is "further down the road" and has another man. The train has fourteen coaches

"Train I ride 16 coaches long, ... carried my babe from home." "Love my baby tell the world I do ... she loves you too." "mama meat shakes on your bones ... a poor man's dollar gone." "1 and 1 is 2, 2 and 2 is 4, You don't want me but you can't let me go"

"The train is a-coming, oh, yes! Train is a-coming, oh, yes! Train is a-coming, train is a-coming, Train is a-coming, oh, yes!" "Better get your ticket...." "King Jesus is conductor...." "I'm on my way to heaven...."

Floating verses, "Train on the island, thought I heard it blow, Go tell my true love, I'm sick and I can't go." "Train on the island, listen to it squeal, Go and tell my true love how happy I do feel." Verses mostly about courting and separation

Train Run So Fast: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #11786}

"Train, train, train, train run so fast, Couldn't see nothing but de trees go past." "Don't tell mama where I'm gone, Cause I'm on my way back home." ""Mister, Misters, I don't want to fight, I got de heart disease, don't feel just right."

Singer asks about the train that's just left; "if I knew the number I'd flag her down." He wishes it would wreck and kill the crew; "some low rounder stole my jelly roll." He asks if there's a woman a man can trust.

Train That Never Returned, The: (7 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #23794}

A train sets out, but "Did she ever return? No, she never returned, Though the train was due at one. For hours and hours the watchman stood waiting For the train that never returned." The song describes some of those who waited for it

"Remember the Church Hill Tunnel, Near a mile under Richmond." One bleak autumn afternoon, a train and crew are in the tunnel when it collapses. Many try to dig them out, but "Brothers keep shovelin' For the train that's never been found."

"When a woman gets the blues, she hands her little head and cries... When a man gets the blues, he grabs a train and rides." The singer wishes the train would take him home. His whole world is blue; he can't find a job

The hobo has been wandering till his shoes are worn to pieces. He asks a woman for work; she replies, "Tramp, tramp, tramp, keep on a-tramping, There is nothing here for you." Everywhere he tries, he is threatened with prison if he returns

"I'm a broken-down man without money or friends... I wisht I had never been born." The tramp reports that people constantly tell him to get a job, but none will offer a job. He recalls another tramp thrown off a train and killed on the track

Tramp on the Street: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #17691}

""Only a tramp, was Lazarus's sad fate, He who lad down at the rich man's gate.... They left him to die like a tramp on the street." "He was some mother's darling... Once he was fair and once he was young." Hearers should care for the poor.

"Tramp. tramp, tramp, the boys are marching, Cheer up the bobbies at the door. If you will not let me in, I will bust yer belly in, And ye'll never see yer daddy any more."

Tramp! Tramp! Tramp!: (22 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #10911}

The prisoner cries as he recalls mother and home. He recalls the battle where he was taken. But then he recalls that the troops are coming, and cheers his fellows: "Tramp, tramp, tramp, the boys are marching, Cheer up comrades they will come...."

Tramp's Story, The: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7448}

The tramp asks to sit and rest. Tramps have to live, "though folks don't think we should." He used to be a blacksmith. Then a stranger led his love Nellie astray. She died soon after he abandoned her. The tramp intends to find and punish the stranger

"Oh, the firefly is brilliant, but he hasn't any mind; He wanders through creation With his headlight on behind. Then cast your bread upon the water, And you'll see just what returns, Another time -- oh well, no matter; He who travels sometimes learns."

Tramps and Hawkers: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1874}

"Come a' ye tramps and hawker lads and gaitherers o' blaw... I'll tell tae ye a rovin' tale, an' places I hae been, Far up intae the snowy north or sooth by Gretna Green." The singer describes his travels, sights he has seen, worries he hasn't had

"Men are toiling night and day" to finish the Belfast Tramway. "Red Roger he's to be a guard ... to keep people from falling out." Lord Lurgan and Lord Lieutenant Went looked it over. A Belfast girl "says she knows Red Roger" who may get her a ticket.

"The Chevalier, being void of fear, did march up Birslie brae, man," and prepares for battle against John Cope. The battle results in a complete win for the Jacobites. Many soldiers taking part in the battle are listed.

Transport's Lament, The: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #V20190}

"All you distressed tradesmen, wherever you may be," listen and learn that it is poverty that causes crime. The singer couldn't find work, and so he turned highwayman to feed his family and is transported. If people had jobs there would be no crime.

"Sister Rosy, you get to heaven before I go, Sister, you look out for me, I'm on the way, Trabel on, trabel on, you heaven-born soldier, Trabel on, trabel on, Go hear what my Jesus say."

Traveling Man (Traveling Coon): (16 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #11771}

Protagonist, a trickster, makes his living stealing chickens/money; he's arrested, shot, sent home for burial, but escapes his coffin, etc. Cho: "He was a travelin' man, certainly was a travelin' man/Travelin'est coon that ever come through the land..."

Death comes to the door of the sinner, the gambler, the Christian, etc., asking if they are "ready to go." The sinner says, "I'm not ready to go; I ain't (got/put on) my travelin' shoes." The Christian, by contrast, is ready and eager to go

Travelling Candyman, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2163}

Singer Pat O'Flanagan sails to Glasgow, can't find work, so becomes a "candyman" -- a rag dealer. A woman accuses him of stealing her frock from the line; he denies it, and she hits him. Chorus: "For I take in old iron/I take in old bones and rags..."

"The stars are rolling in the sky, The earth rolls on below, And we can feel the rattling wheel Revolving as we go." The singer urges others to take their turns at the treadmill, and praises the pleasures of life among the mill workers

"If you treat me right, I'd sooner work than play; If you treat me mean, I won't do neither way."

The singer meets and falls in love with a girl. Her father asks him to "Treat my daughter kindly, never do her harm. When I die I'll leave you my little house and farm." The two are happily married and live a contented life

"Sons of Hibernia, attend to my song, Of a tree call'd th' Orange." Barbarians and Frenchmen are joined against the tree. "Hundreds they've burn'd of each sex, young and old". Exit Sheares and other traitors. "Derry down, down, traitors bow down"

"A tree toad loved a she toad... She was a three-toed tree toad, A two-toed tree toad he." The male toad courts the female because she lives in a beautiful tree. But "He couldn't please her whim... The she toad vetoed him."

"The trees are all bare, not a leaf to be seen, And the meadows their beauty have lost." The weather is cold and work is hard for people and animals; even the birds and hares cannot find food. Christmas is come; rejoice in the new year

King James II has imprisoned Bishop Trelawny in the Tower of London. "Trelawny he may die But twenty thousand Cornish bold Will know the reason why."

"When I was a-stealin' 'cross the deep blue sea, Lord, I's worryin' with those submarines...." The singer serves in the trenches in World War I. He has trouble understanding the women. He visits various places along the front

French. Forebitter shanty. "Le trente et un di mois d'aout, Nous vimes arriver sur nous," an English frigate comes against the French. The French captain asks if his lieutenant will board her. Despite being heavily outgunned, the French win the battle

"I'd love to live in Trentham For a week or two, To work all day for fun and pay And live on army stew. The potatoes they are rotten And the meat will walk to you; I'd like to live in Trentham For a week or two!"

"Here's a story that's worth repeating, It's a story that ends the same, Of a man gone astray and the price he must pay." The song describes Hauptmann's trial and the witnesses against him; the jury finds against him

Twiss bids sister Jane farewell from the scaffold. He is innocent of the murder of Donovan. "Paid spies and informers, my life they swore away." At the Cork assizes he is tried, convicted, and sentenced. He blesses the mayor of Cork and other supporters.

"Here we go through the Jewish nation, Trials, troubles, and tribulation."

Canadian French. "Estil rien sur la terre De plus interestant." "Now where in all the country Could e'er be found again A tale as sad as this one Of McDougall and his men?" McDougall comes to Metis country thinking to claim free land, but has to pay

"Oh, Lord, I been working like a dog all day, Just to make another dollar for you to throw away." The husband (?) complains of his wife's profligacy; she won't cook or work, but wants fine clothes to look good in. He wishes she would leave or he would die

"Oh, it's of a pair of jobbers who had a jolly time All in some old log shanty where the jobbers settle down." A disjointed song describing the work in Trimble's camp and how hard the life is: "A man who'd work for Trimble might better be in jail."

Trinity Bay Tragedy: (2 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #9983}

The small boats out sealing in Trinity Bay on February 27, 1892, are caught in wind and sleet. Some make shore at Heart's Delight the next morning but most freeze to death.

"As I leaned o'er the rail of the Eagle The letter boy brought unto me A little gilt edged invitation Saying the girls want you over to tea" for "a slice of the Trinity Cake." Everyone tries the inedible cake and "all of them swore they were poisoned"

"You can talk about your picnics and trips on the lake, / But a trip on the Erie you bet takes the cake!" A summary of life on the Erie canal, ending with comments about the cook: "A dumpling, a pet, / And we use her for a headlight at night on the deck!"

Trip on the George C. Finney, A: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #19850}

"Come all you bold sailors who follow the Lakes And in a canaller your living do make." The singer tells of sailing the Finney on the Great Lakes, starting in the Erie Canal and traveling up the Lakes to Chicago. Many ports are mentioned

Trip on the Lavindy, A: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #19858}

"Cone all you yoiung sailors and landlubbers too, An' listen to a song that I'll sing to you, It's about the Lavindy, the schooner of fame." The ship leaves Port Huron and heads for Mackinac. They cross the big lake (Superior) in record time

Trip on the Schooner Kolfage, A: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #19855}

"We shipped aboard the Kolfage at Chatham, County Kent, The fourth day of October, for Johnson's Harbor bent. Commanded by MacDonald...." The Vick takes her onto the lake. They bump a sreamer, then win a race with it. The singers quit the ship.

Trip Over the Mountain, The: (9 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #9632}

The singer comes to his girlfriend's door at midnight. He asks if she will come with him over the mountain. (After some hesitation,) she consents; they sneak off while her parents are still asleep. She never regrets her decision

"It was on the 25th of March, 1892, There met in Council Valley a jolly mining crew." "You hear of Rapid River! You take the golden fever! Got a pretty girl at home? Go away and leave her!" A group has a hard trip there, but arrive and expect to get rich

"I looked to the North and I looked to the South, And I saw the Californians a-coming," heading for the Salmon. It's a hard road to reach the river, and they have many troubles on the way from California to Idaho

Trip to the Grand Banks, A: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #9430}

When spring comes, "The Penobscot boys are anxious their money for to earn." They set out for the Grand Banks and send out their dories. They persist through summer, despite bad conditions; at last they get to head for home

On Christmas the Triplett brothers are drinking. Marshall Triplett's wife tries to stop a fight, but Lum Triplett stabs him to death. Lum meets Marshall's son Gran and confesses. Gran beats him; he dies. Gran is sentenced to 18 months on the chain gang.

The singer sees a pretty girl on a (May) morning. (Even though she is very young,) he seduces her, then tells her he has no interest in marriage. She is left alone to await the birth of her baby.

"Mon pere, mon pere, vous me tenez dans votre bouche." French version of the "Singing Bone" motif. Two hungry children are sent by their parents to find food. The girl finds three grains; the boy drowns her and takes the seeds; the seeds reveal the truth

French. Forebitter. "Nus etions trois marins de Groix (x2), Embarques sur le Saint Francois." Three sailors from Groix sail on the Saint Francois for 45 francs a month and win with every meal. A sailor falls in the sea when a rope parts and is never found

French. Three months in the country, I'll never do more. My wife is drunk and I have more to drink. Chorus: "P'tits pois, p'tits pois fayot, c'est la musique, sique, sique, c'est la musique tchqu'emploi" meaning "Peas, bean peas, the music of work"

French. Three wheat ships are blown to land. The youngest daughter of the king asks a sailor the price of wheat. She asks him to give up sailing and play here with her. She says she hears her children crying. He says she has no children yet.

"Heigh-ho, away we skim o'er the city's highways; Waking the quiet byways, clang goes the gong!" Everyone is happy on the trolley. It moves with "force vulcanic." A throng watches its progress. Everyone can take the trolley

Trooper and Maid [Child 299]: (31 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #162}

A trooper comes to a girl's door and convinces her to sleep with him. In the morning he is called to the colors; she follows and begs him to return or let her come with him. He will not let her come and will not promise to return

Trooper and the Tailor, The: (17 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #311}

The trooper is away on duty, so his wife goes to bed with the tailor. When their business is done, they go to sleep. When the trooper shows up, the tailor hides in a cabinet. The chilly trooper wants to burn the cabinet, and finds the hidden tailor.

The singer sees a trooper "wrapped up in flannel yet colder than clay." He dies as "the bugles were playin'," and details of the burial are given. His gravestone warns, "Flash-girls of the city have quite ruined me."

Trooper Watering His Nag, The: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1613}

Euphemistically, a man and a woman describe their sexual organs as a horse (pony) and a fountain. The horse drinks at the fountain, "An' I reckon you know what I mean."

First song: "Here me goes, here me goes, Going downtown to get my old shoes lined and bound. Old hare hip and old hare and old hare eat my turnip top." Second song: "Here me goes... Goin' down to grandpa's some grapes... and bring my pa two apples"

Trotting Horse, The: (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1540}

"I can sport as fine a trotting horse as any well in town." The singer declares that the animal can travel at fourteen miles per hour. He describes its intelligence and racing abilities, and says how quickly it can bring him home from far away

"Come wrangle your broncos and saddle them quick, For the chuck wagon's boggin' down there by the crick." The riders make every effort to free the wagon, for "There's nothing to eat when the chuck wagon's mired."

The singer complains that he has had "trouble all my days" and it will carry him to the grave. Mama warned him he'd have trouble where ever he'd go. His girl quits him. Police arrest him and he has no one to go his bail.

"Troubled in mind, I'm blue, but I won't be blue always; The sun's gonna shine in my back do' some day." "I'm gonna lay my head on some lonesome railroad line...." "I love all you pretty women, I love you all the same...."

"Trouble is in my way I have to cry/mourn sometime, Jesus will take me by and by." "I've got a bleeding heart." "Blessed are the pure in heart." "The Holy Bible said it's true My God died for me and you." "If I walk right he will take me."

"Climbing up de mountain Creeping on me knee I was tryin' to see me Jesus To tell Him all my troubles ... Trouble oh The whole world in trouble"

Trouble of the World, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #11855}

"I want to be my Father's children (x3), Roll, Jordan, roll." "Ah, say, ain't you done with the trouble of the world (x3), Roll, Jordan, roll." "I ask my father how long I held them (x3), held them to the end." "My sins are so heavy I can't get along...."

Chorus: "Why brother (sister)" "Poor me, poor me, Trouble will bury me down" (2x). Verse: Hallelujah once, hallelujah twice, Trouble..., The Lord is on the giving hand...." "Sometimes I think I'm ready to drop.... Thank the Lord I do not stop...."

"Trouble, trouble, I had them all my day... Well, it seem like trouble go'n let me to my grave." The singer is going to the South where it is dry. He is in his cell and missing his Mamma. He works his team.

Troubled In My Mind (I): (8 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #12091 and 14067}

"I'm troubled (x3) in my mind; If (trouble doesn't kill me, I'll live a long long time.") Remainder is mostly floating verses: "My cheeks were as red as the red blooming rose." "I'll build me a cabin on the mountain so high." "I'm sad and I'm lonely."

Troubled In My Mind (II): (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #10971}

Chorus: "I'm troubled (x3) in mind, If Jesus don't help me I surely will die." Verses: The singer asks Jesus for help in times of trouble. Jesus helped the singer to bear the "dark days of bondage"

Orange and Green fight. "Corney" ended the terror; Humbert ended peace. "Orange for Croppies went grousing." "Paddies completely divided" let John Bull adopt Union: "I'll take from them Commons and Peers" leaving "shackles and chains to the slave"

Vote for Pierce and King for President and Vice President and defeat Winfield Scott

Supposedly about a nineteenth century boxer, Tom Spring: "Spring's the boy for a Mousley-Hurst rig [fight], my lads, Shaking a flipper and milling a pate." In language non-boxers will find incomprehensible, the song praises Spring's abilities

"Now we're preparing for war we're declaring, I hear people say we'll have corpses this year." "the times they are awful the Irish unlawful." "this mean rotten super' that sent our five troopers to the gaol in Tralee."

"Tell me who's your trule love. Fare ye well. Oh, tell me who's your trule love. Fare ye well. She told me who's her true love. [Spoken: I didn't, didn't.] She told me who'se her true love. [I didn't didn't.] Let's stamp him down, let's stamp him down."

True Love from the Eastern Shore: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3610}

Singer tells sweetheart who spurned him/her that s/he "would not serve you as you served me." Singer plans to mourn and weep, and tells sweetheart to grieve over his/her tombstone. (Singer vows to "court the girl, the old lady ain't in")

True Lovers' Discussion (I), The: (9 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #2948}

The boy asks the girl why she has changed her mind about him. She explains. He offers counter-arguments, elaborately reasoned. They quarrel. He prepares to leave her. She grows sad and begs him to stay.

The Earl of Huntington, incomparable archer, consumes his wealth and is outlawed due to indebtedness to an abbot. Renamed Robin Hood, he is cruel to clergy and kind to the poor. Several adventures and his death by bloodletting are recounted.

The singer arrives in (Australia/Philadelphia) from Ireland and sets out to ramble. The girls rejoice at his presence. (A tavern-keeper's daughter) is scolded by her mother for wanting to follow him. She is determined to do so anyway

"As I rummaged through the attic, List'ning to the falling rain," the singer sees the trundle bed in the corner. It reminds him of his mother's singing, and the prayers she said for him. She is long dead, but her memory still inspires his faith

Trusty, a mastiff, bites a boy. The boy's mother hires an assassin to take revenge. The dog is shot to death[?]. Mother regrets her action: "at even when I'm wakin' and weary Oh wha will bark an keep me cheery"

An ex-cowboy, now a railway fireman, sees a child on the track. He throws his lariat around a pole, ties the end to the smokestack. The train is jerked off the track, crushing him. "He killed two hundred passengers/But, thank God, he saved that child"

Truth Sent From Above, The: (6 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #2109}

"This is the truth sent from above, The truth of God, the God of love." The singer tells how God created man, then woman, and set them in Paradise. But they ate from the tree (of knowledge), and now all suffer their punishment

"Come all young men and maidens... I will tell you what you are doing, now at this present time." The young folk are treating their parents with disrespect; they are condemned for failing to work

"Come all you Yankee sailors With swords and pikes advance"; the "Brave Yankee Boys" are urged to battle against France. Truxton with the Constellation defeat l'Insurgente and haul her into St.Kitts. The singer toasts Truxton

"Try to remember the kind of September When life was slow and oh so mellow." The song lists times worth remembering. Even though winter will come, "Deep in December, our hearts should remember... and follow"

Trying to Make a Hundred: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #18147}

"I'm singing, Trying to make a hundred, Ninety-nine and a half won't do." "I'm mourning, trying to make a hundred." "I'm praying, trying to make a hundred." "Ninety-nine and a half, it won't do, it just won't do, It's an uphill journey....."

Pennsylvania Dutch. "De tseit kotst i,mer op (x2), De tseit, de tseit kotst immer op." "Nuch Nei Yaroosalem" "Gutt visht de traina op." "My time is growing short." "To New Jerusalem." "God takes our tears away."

"Ee-ya-ho-ho ee-ya-heh-eh (x2), Ee-eh-yah-ha-ha-ha hee-yah-heh (x2), Ee-yah-ah-ah-ee-ya-heh! Soo-wa-deh-es Gi-da-ra-nit-zeh! (x2)...." "Now we hail or great chieftain! We hail, we hail our noble chief, We welcome him... From the people of Gidaranitzeh!"

"'Twas in the year of sixty-two as near as I can guess, I left my dear old hometown in trouble and distress." No one at home wanted him. He goes to the Tuapeka goldfields and strikes it rich. Now everyone wants to be friends, but he knows better

"Would you'll know me, my name is Tugal McTagger, She'll brought hersel' down frae the braes o' Lochaber." The Gaelic-speaking girl tries to adapt to Lowland life and business. Unable to handle the life, she ends up bankrupt (and returns to her old home?)

"We all live in and around Tullahoma... We work in the laundry with the rest of the trash, As we are called, you know." The singer works long hours for low pay. She never has any money. Osborn (the boss?) is unfair. The singer hopes for a better afterlife

"Come gie's a song, Montgomery cried, An' lay your disputes ' aside." The singer asks, "Let Whig and Tory all agree," and asks that all dance "The reel of Tullochgorum." Those who disagree are wished "dule and sorrow."

The mustering boss tries the new man at everything. Despite claims of many adventures and skills, he proves incompetent at every job (except drinking and smoking). The crew is glad to see him paid off and heading back to wherever he came from

Tune The Old Cow Died On, The: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4352}

"The old cow might have been living yet, A-chewin' her cud with glee, If Farmer John hadn't sung of this song...." Farmer John sings, the cows gather in surprise. The old cow tries to join in, and it kills her

"The enlisted men pull in a whaler, The captain he rides in a barge... It gives the old bugger a charge." The life of the senior officers is compared to that of the men. The sexual life of the camel also comes up. Only hedgehods are safe on ship

Turfman from Ardee, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5187}

Singer meets a turfman on the road. The turfman says his ass is tired; he'd like to sell his load. The singer says cart and ass look old and abused; the turfman says he has abused the ass, but it has never been without shoes, nor his axle without grease

"Shoot that turkey buzzard Come flopping down the hollow (x2)." "Shoot old Davy Dugger dead; He eat my meat and stole my bread." "Shoot old Davy Dugger, Take his wife and hug her." "Oh, that girl with the blue dress on, She stole my heart..."

"Up on the hill top, Belly to the sun, Tail began to wiggle And the goodie began to come." At Red Bug Branch, the "same old son fiddled And the little pigs danced." Other strange tale of animals follow

Turkey in the Straw: (35 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4247}

"As I was going down the road With a tired team and a heavy load... Turkey in the straw, Haw haw haw, Turkey in the hay, Hey hey hey... Whistle up a tune called turkey in the straw." Lyrics usually involve the strange things encountered by a teamster

"Turkey rhubarb, Turkey rhubarb, Turkey rhubarb I sell, I came here from Turkey to make you all well, Don't you all know me, Oh my name it is Dan, For I am the celebrated Turkey rhubarb man."

Turkeyloney (If Ever I Marry): (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #23359}

"If ever I marry, I'll marry a maid; To marry a widow I'm sore afraid"; widows "know too much," but maids are agreeable. He extends the comparison, and says at the end that some think bachelors are happiest of all

Turkish Lady, The [Laws O26]: (12 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #8124}

A British ship is captured by the Turks and its crew enslaved. The singer suffers until his owner offers to free him if he will accept Islam and marry her. He refuses to abandon Christianity. She eventually decides to turn Christian and marry him

"Turn again, Whittington, thou worthy citizen, Turn again, Whittington, (thrice) Lord Mayor of London. Make a good fortune, Find a good wife, You will know happiness all through your life. Turn again...."

"Pray leader, why don't you pray? Oh the pretty star shall be your guide, Turn back and pray." Verses include "Go down to the fountain if you're dry ... There you'll drink your full supply" and "Mary weep and Martha mourn ... Yes my Lord was crucified"

Turn that Cinnamon: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7667}

"Oh turn that cinnamon round and round, Turn that cinnamon round and round, Oh turn that cinnamon round!" "She's my sugar-lump, I'll never give her up, She's my sugar-lump, I'll never give her up, Oh turn that cinnamon round!"

"The stars are shining cheerily, cheerily, Horo, Mhairi Dhu, turn ye to me. The seamew is moaning drearily, drearily...." "Hushed be thy moaning, lone bird of the sea.... Thy home is the angry wave, mine but the lonely grave...."

Turn, Julie-Ann, Turn: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #5747}

Playparty: "Circle around, my Julie-Ann/Circle around I say...I ain't got long to stay." "I'll go on the mountaintop... If I can't get the girl I want/Let that old girl go." Chorus: "Turn, Julie-Ann, turn/Turn Old Jubilee."

Turn, Sinner, Turn O!: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #11991}

"Turn, sinner, turn today, turn, Sinner, turn O!" (x2). "Wait not for tomorrow's sun." "Tomorrow's sun will sure to shine." "The sun may shine, but on your grave." "Hark, I hear them sinner say" "If you get to heaven I'll get there too."

A tale of the lumberman's life and troubles in the woods of Michigan. Most of the events are described in very general terms

Singer dreams he meets Gabriel. Asked what he'll eat; he says, "Turnip greens." Asked why Ozark people are rough, yet clean; "Turnip greens." Gabriel says God's kingdom on earth is coming. Chorus: "...Cornbread and buttermilk/And good old turnip greens!"

"I went down to the turnip patch... To see if my old hen had hatched." "There set a possum on the rail, Reached up and grabbed him by the tail." "Got him on the ground and he tried to fight... Reached up my right foot and kicked out the light."

Singer hires on a farm; the farmer says he's first class. He hires elsewhere, and says if he had a son he'd be better off going to jail. He says that while some delight in harvesting and mowing, "of all the jobs that be on a farm/Give I the turnip-hoing."

Tongue-twister. "A tutor who tooted the flute Once tutored to tooters to toot. Said the two to the tutor, 'Is it harder to toot Or to tutor two tutors to toot?'"

"My name is William Edwards, I live down Cove Creek Way, I'm working on the project They call the TVA." The government is upgrading the valley. The singer writes to Sal to say, "The government has saved us; just name our wedding day."

Dance tune lyrics; "Twa and twa made the bed/Twa and twa lay together/When the bed begun to heat/The one got up abune the other." That's all.

Twa Brothers, The [Child 49]: (49 refs. 8K Notes) {Roud #38}

Two brothers agree to wrestle on their way to school. In the process, one is wounded by the other's knife. The unwounded brother (often) tries to save the wounded one, but it is too late; all that is left is to arrange for his burial and make excuses

"There were twa bumbees met on a twig, Fim-fam, fiddle-faddle, fum, fizz!" The two insects set out to find a home, frightening Jenny Wren in the process. After the babies are born, they quarrel; the male warns other bees about a "wayward, wanton wife."

Twa Knights, The [Child 268]: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #303}

A squire bets a knight that, if the knight leaves home for a time, he can seduce the knight's wife. He traps the wife into offering to come to his bed, but she sends her neice instead. When the truth is revealed, the niece weds the squire

Two lads come to the singer's house to woo lasses. The boys brag about mother, horses and daily chores and, when those topics are exhausted, leave with excuses about work that had to be done. The singer expects no such excuses if they ever return.

Twa Magicians, The [Child 44]: (15 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #1350}

A (blacksmith) sees a girl who pleases him, and sets out to sleep with her. She tries to foil him with magic transformations, but he proves as sorcerous as she, and gains her maidenhead

Twa Sisters, The [Child 10]: (94 refs. 5K Notes) {Roud #8}

A knight woos two (three) sisters, choosing the younger. The older drowns the younger. Her body is recovered and made into an instrument by a passing miller/musician. As the knight prepares to wed the older sister, the instrument sings out the truth.

Twang hawker and rag-picker Mickey Baggs courts a girl who "kep' a Traycle Billy depot." Baggs wins her heart taking her to play "Billy-in-the-bowl." So "with his twang kni-ef [twangman] tuk the li-ef Of the poor ould gather'em-up!"

Singer toasts the blacksmith, the pretty girl "who kindles a fire all in her own breast," and the Queen. Chorus: "Which makes his bright hammer to rise and to fall/There's the Old Cole and the Young Cole and the Old Cole of all/Twankydillo..."

"Twankydillo ... he [the shepherd] played on his merry bagpipes." If his sheep go astray his dog will fetch them. If he meets the old shepherd's horse he'll cut off its tail "close up to his erse"; if he meets his wife he'll cuckold the old shepherd.

"'Twas a dark and stormy night, And the rain came down in torrents. The Bugler's Band sat round the fire, And the captain said to Iona, 'Iona, tell us a tale...." And the tale went on as follows: 'Twas a dark and stormy night....'"

"'Twas aneuch to gar the maister tak Rheumatics in his toes"

In Labrador, "'Twas getting late up in September"; the singer meets a girl come to fill her buckets at the fountain. He proposes, she accepts, "a priest came up on the steamer," they marry and "live in a nice little cottage, Down by the side of the sea"

"'Twas in the month of August, or the middle of July, One evening I went walking, a fair maiden I did spy; She was mournin' for her true love, who was in Amerikee, Agh, divil a word I said to her, and she said the same to me!"

"'Twas in the pleasant month of May, When flowers began a-springing, The little lambs did skip and dance, And the birds began a-singing"

Twas in the Town of Parsboro: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #1843}

Drunk in Parsboro ,"the gallant slugger Dunkerson ... challenged Baxter [McLellan] there to fight in Bill Mahoney's barn." Baxter beats him "inside of fifteen seconds." Dunkerson staggers home and cannot get a drink, "badly licked by a sober... man"

The singer is told "my love was quite gone away" He says, "how shall I get married?" He hugs and kisses her "Till she had changed her mind She changes with the weathercock." "How shall I get married"

'Twas on the Napanee: (2 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #4057}

A young man leaves his parents' home to become a raftsman; he is drowned while rafting saw logs. His parents and friends mourn

"'Twas on the twenty second of March In the middle of the Spring O, When merry lambs began to bleat, And birds began to sing O"

Twas on Yin Night in Sweet July: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #9257}

Three lads courting one night at a farm climb a ladder to the bedroom window and stay till two. They hear the father coming upstairs, go out the window and pull down the ladder. The farmer finds his ladder broken. The cook identifies the escapees.

"'Twas you that kissed the pretty girl ... I'm sure you kissed the pretty girl ... Oh, sir; no, sir; How can you wrong me so sir? I did not kiss the pretty girl, But I know who."

Tweedledum and Tweedledee: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #19800}

"Tweedledum and Tweedledee Agreed to have a battle, For Tweedledum said Tweedledee Had spoiled his nice new rattle. Just then flew by a monstrous crow, As (big/black) as a tar-barrel, Which frightened both the heroes so, They quite forgot their quarrell."

Singer tells how Montreal Irish lick the "yellowbacks." On July 12, Fawcett fires a revolver. Hackett fires back, but is mortally wounded. Listeners are reminded that King Billy "tore down Catholic churches..." but they can't do it in Montreal

"'Tis always on the twelfth of May, We meet and dress so gaily; For tonight will merry be (x3), We'll sing and dance so gaily." "The sun is up and the morn is bright." "Yonder stands a lovely lady." A collection of floating material to celebrate May

Twelve Days of Christmas, The: (26 refs. 4K Notes) {Roud #68}

The singer's true love gives gifts throughout Christmastide, with the quantity of gifts increasing each day

Twelve Gates to the City: (13 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #18908}

Spiritual: "Oh, what a beautiful city/There's twelve gates to the city, halleluiah"; "Three gates in the east, three gates in the west/Three gates in the north, three gates in the south."

"O workingmen dear, and did you hear The news that's going round, Another China steamer Has been landed here in town." They've brought twelve hundred more Chinese. They will take workingmen's jobs; the workers should fight back

"Twelve little S-boats 'go to it' like Bevin, 'Starfish' goes a bit too far, Then there were eleven." And so on, though eight more boats, until "Four fearless S-boat, too far out to sea, 'Sunfish' bombed and scrap-heaped, We are only three."

Riddle. "Twelve pears hanging high, Twelve (knights/men) came riding by, Each (knight)took a pear, And (yet) left eleven hanging there." Answers vary; the most common may be Just one knight, named Each or Eachknight, took a pear

The singer is "dreadful nervous" because he is about to marry "an agricultural Irish girl that's twice the size of me": she weighs twelve stone two. He would like to break the contract but she would beat him. She did the courting and he had no choice.

"A twelvemonth more has rolled around Since we attended on this ground, Ten thousand scenes have marked the year Since we last met to worship here."

Twenty men from Dublin join Michael Dwyer to fight the redcoats and avenge the death of Wolfe Tone.

Twenty Pound Dog, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3495}

"My name it is (Michael McCarthy) and I live in this town of renown, I made a bet with one Terrence Mahaffey that my bulldog could wallop the town." But Murphy's dog kills the singer's dog. He cries for vengeance

"I wandered to the village, Tom, and sat beneath the tree... That sheltered you and me... But none were left to greet me, Tom... Who played with us upon the green Just (twenty/forty) years ago." The singer tells how the people have changed with the years

"Twenty years ago today, The yellow sun was settin', A soldier boy marched to the fray, And left his parents frettin'." He asks his parents to say goodbye to his girl. Although only a trombonist, he runs to rescue the flag and has his legs blown away

"O, the twenty-fourth of May Is the Queen's birthday. If you don't give us a holiday, We'll all run away." "Where will you run to? Down Stony Lane, Then old Mr. Bently will come wi' his cane, and quickly then he'll chase you all back again"

"Come all you iron workers and listen to my song, It's all about the twenty-inch." The rolling-mill workers are a diverse lot but have common troubles. They do good work; hearers are advised, "And for your life don't let them go to any other mill."

"At twenty-one I first began to court a neighbour's child...." "At twenty-two no man could view what beauty she possessed...." "At twenty-three she slighted me..." to marry Mike Whelan instead. The singer laments her falsity (and sets out to ramble)

Twenty-One Years [Laws E16]: (27 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2248}

A convict is sentenced to twenty-one years in prison. He begs his sweetheart, for whom he endured a dirty jail, to ask the governor for clemency. As nothing seems to come of this, he warns young men not to trust women

"The Twenty-third was drawn in line and ready for the strife, Each man for his country would freely give his life...." A toast to the soldiers who fought bravely "On the thirty-first of May in the Shenandoah lowlands, lowlands low...."

The singer, a country boy, describes meeting and falling in love with a beautiful city girl. He begs her to marry him, and for a while they exchange love letters. But eventually she grows tired of him and marries another man

Twilight A-Stealing: (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5745}

"Twilight a-stealing over the sea, Shadows are falling, dark on the lea, Borne on the night wind, voices of yore Come from the far-off shore." The singer tells of the home beyond the twilight where memories and good things wait

Twill Never Do To Give It Up So: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #7824}

"Oh, twill never do to give it up so (Old Uncle Ben/Mr. Brown), 'twill never do to give it up so" (x2). "Old Mr. (Brown/Coon/Jones), you come too soon, the girls won't be ready till tomorrow afternoon" (x2).

Two ballots are cast together on election day. One is by the local brewer, the other by a "Sunday school man." The Sunday school man spends all day denouncing saloons, but votes for rum. The song waxes sarcastic about this hypocrisy

"As I was sitting in my own cozy corner, Thinking all on a few dollars to make, My wife says ... They're making good wages up on the Twin Lakes." He finds the contractors "keep you right down with their foot on your neck ... keep clear ... of Twin Lakes"

"Kind friends draw nigh and give me your attention" as the singer tells of the Pittston cave-in. News comes at three in the morning that the men are "entombed." "Inspector McDonald what will be your answer When you face the Almighty?" The laws are no help

"One Sunday morning early just before the break of day Pealed forth an awful warning of ninety brave souls passed away." Many above ground gather to mourn and pray at the Twin-Sister colliery, but no one survived. The singer hopes they will meet in heaven

Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star: (9 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7666}

"Twinkle, twinkle little star." The singer wonders what the star is. It shows its light while the sun is down. It "lights the traveller in the dark" so he can see which way to go.

"Twinkling stars are laughing, love, Laughing on you and me, While your bright eyes look in mine, Peeping stars they seem to be." She, like the stars, is a source of light

Two Boys from Bruley: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #26142}

Two men from Bruley go to St Peter's for rum. On the way home a spring snowstorm almost sinks them. Captain Harvey and his crew rescue them. Warning: don't go to St Peter's in spring; Captain Harvey may not be waiting to save your life

"Two brothers on their way (x3), One wore blue and one wore gray." The cannon of the Civil War doesn't care that one of them is kind; it kills one and all. When they return, "Two girls waiting by the railroad track; One wore blue and one wore black."

Two Budding Lumberjacks, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #9185}

Two lumberjacks work for the Underhills "upon a floating bog Upon Dungarvon's Flats." Whistling Rufus criticizes them for leaving a log behind. Instead of going back for the log their father takes a fence rail from someone else "and call it square"

Dialog between Sarah Barnwell and Samuel. Her friends would kill him. He would fight for her. Her brother, Captain Barnwell, comes. After Sarah's failed intervention they duel. Samuel wins. Brother agrees to the marriage as the price of his life.

The condemned stand on the trap and proclaim their innocence. "The day of their execution, as they stood on the drop, The thunder came so dreadful that it did the people shock." At their death "the thunder still continued, with both lightning and rain"

Singer has lost "lost all my money but a two dollar bill"; he's homesick, lonesome and blue. He sees the smoke of a train, and says he's on his long journey home.

A story of a couple "yet, though feeble, old and gray / they're faithful lovers still." They've had "dull November hours as well as days of May" since they first courted. "Together hand-in-hand they pass, advancing down life's hill," faithful to the end

Dandling song. Two pretty Gypsy girls, Hat and Kate, go hawking with bundles on their backs and babies at their breasts. The boys sing, "He's a gay old singer/Here comes the galloping major"

Two Hundred Years A-Brewing: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #12930}

A song for "thirsty tourists" about "our famous stout" made "down by the Liffeyside," "our grand brewery at the top of James's Street" and "Our barges neat nigh Watling Street ... full of double X," a favourite at the Brien Boru after a funeral.

Jump-rope rhyme. "Two in the middle and two at the end, Each is a sister and each is a friend. A shilling to save and a penny to spend, Two in the middle and two at the end."

"We are two Irish laborers, as you can plainly see, From Donegal we came when small unto America." Railroad work did not pay well, so they have turned to construction. They hope to return to Ireland, and promise a welcome to any who visit them there

The two jinkers of the title are Jimmie Walsh and Steven. Bad luck to have on board, they were only hired here because men are hard to find. Their ship runs aground and Jimmie and Steven are responsible. The perturbed singer plans to quit his job.

Two Legs Sat Upon Three Legs: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #20142}

Riddle: "Two legs sat upon three legs, With one leg in his lap; In comes four legs, And runs away with one leg; Up jumps two legs, Catches up three legs, Throws it after four legs, And makes him bring back one leg."

Charlie writes that he wishes to break off the engagement, saying it would never work, and asks for his ring back. (Nellie) returns ring, photos, etc. She asks him to tell his new girl that he once gave another his ring. She claims she burned his letters

Two Little Blackbirds: (10 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #16401}

"Two little blackbirds in the ring, One named Peter, one named Paul. Fly away, Peter, fly away, Paul. Come back, Peter, Come back, Paul." "Under the carpet (?) we must go, Like a jaybird (?) in the air." "Then, Sally, will you marry?"

"Two little fleas sat on a rock. One to the other said: I've had no place to hang my hat Since my poor dog's been dead. I've searched this whole world over; No longer shall I roam. The first dog that shall show himself Shall be my home, sweet home."

Two Little Fleas (II): (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #38126}

"Two little fleas (pronounced "flays") Got fourteen days For hopping on a Jewman's back. The Jewman swore If he got any more, That he'd break every bone in their back."

A young man finds his uncle gazing at a photograph in tears. When asked why, the uncle explains the photo is of the boy's mother's sister, who married the uncle. The uncle and his wife have parted, and now he regrets it

"Two little kittens one stormy night Began to quarrel and then to fight. One had a mouse, the other had none...." The two start to fight; the woman sweeps them out into the snow. When finally allowed back in, they decide warmth is better than fighting

"Two little lads they had been friends Ever since childhood days" -- but both fall in love with the same girl. Jack wins and weds the girl, but soon dies. Tommy marries the widow -- and soon thinks of Jack in his grave and concludes, "Envy you Jack"

Jump-rope rhyme. "Two little monkeys Jumping on the bed, One fell off And broke his head. Took him to the doctor And the doctor said, 'That's what you get For jumping on the bed.'"

"Two little niggers black as tar, Tryin' to git to heaven on a 'lectric car, De street car broke, down dey fell; 'Stead a going to heaven they went to hell." Chorus might be "Oughta been arrested." Many other verses may float in

"Two little sandy girls On the sea-shore, One named (X), The other named (Y), Don't cry (X), Don't cry (Y), Come in (X), Come in (Y)."

"Two/Five little sausages, Frying in the pan, One got burned And the other said... Scram!"

Mary accuses her lover of breaking his promise to marry her; he denies this and asks who has spread the rumor that he is courting Nancy. But he still will not wed, until Mary points out that even birds are truer than he is. He gives in; they are married

"We came from Tipperary a few short weeks ago, With spirits light and airy, two emigrants, you know." The two O'Donahues intend to get rich, return to Ireland, and become famous

(The girl tells her lover that her family opposes her marriage.) Uncertain of her dowry, he has doubts about the marriage. When she breaks into tears, he assures her he did not mean it. The two settle down to a long and happy marriage

Shanty call-and-response. Response: "Oh, huro, my boys." Calls: "Two sisters courted one ... And they lived in the mountains..."

"Two soldiers lying as they fell Upon the reddened clay... Breathe their lives away." The one from New Hampshire has a wife and light-haired girl; the Georgian, a dark-haired girl. Both will be orphans. The soldiers die with their hands clasped

"There were two squirrels that lived in a wood. The one was naughty, the other was good." The bad one, Dandy Jim, strays too far and too late and dies on the railroad track; the good one, Johnny Black, stays near home and comes home early and lives

"A bunch of young fellows one night at a club Were telling of sweethearts they had." They tease one boy about not having a love; he says he loves two women: His mother and his sweetheart

Political rhymes: "Artists draw pictures and barmaids draw beer"; the TD's draw 480 a year. Hitler brags of conquering the Rhineland; we conquered Beare Island. Telegram cost is a hardship on us and delivery is faster by bus....

Two travellers compare notes. One has been everywhere, done everything and seen the wonders of the world. The other asks what of Ireland the first has seen: "the man that ne'er saw Mullinahone Shouldn't say he had travelled at all"

The singer was happy until Cupid "put into my head that I wanted a wife." He fell in love with two sisters, Betsy and Mary. He always preferred the one he was not with. Suddenly they both marry, leaving him "in the lurch." Never court two wenches at once

Two White Horses (I): (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #11939}

"Two white horses, Two white horses, side by side (x3), Nobody can ride but the sanctified." "Daniel was a man in the lion's den The good Lord proved to be Daniel's friend." "Zek'l was a man and he rassled with sin Heb'n gate opened... he rolled... in"

"O Lord, I want two wings to cover my head, O Lord, I want two wings to fly away, O Lord, I want two wings to cover my head So the devil won't do me no harm." The singer asks when "My Lord" came, or to meet King Jesus

Jump-rope rhyme. "Two years old, Going on three, I wear my dress Above the knee. I walk in the rain, I walk in the snow, And it's nobody's business If I do have a beau."

"Oh, the bosses' tricks of 'seventy-six, They met with some success, Until the hand of God came down and made them do with less." Miners are paid only two cents (per bushel of) coal. Now the frozen river hurts the bosses. The singer hopes for cooperation

"Out on a ranch way out west," the cowboys "never rest" until Saturday. One cowboy rides into town to see his girl, and is greeted by a shot through his hat. He finishes off the assailants, meets his girl, and heads off to be married

Jump-rope rhyme. "Two, four, six, eight, Don't make love at the garden gate, 'Cause love is blind But the neighbors ain't."

"A beggar man laid himself down to sleep, Rumsty-o, Rumsty-o. A beggar man laid himself down to sleep, On the banks of the Mersey so wide and steep." Two thieves come by and rob the beggar. The singer sees them in the dock, then on Tyburn gallows

Two cowboys, having spent a wild time in town, are returning to camp when they meet the Devil. The Devil tries to collect their souls; the cowboys have the better of the fight, leaving the Devil tied up, branded, and with its tail in knots

Tyler and Robinson: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2411}

Two champions, Robinson and Tyler, fight in London for fifty guineas. Robinson is favoured. Tyler knocks Robinson out and Robinson dies on the spot. Tyler is going to marry "a rich lady" but he dies "and the lady went in mourning"

"Tylus and talus and rippity-ting, All the girls gather and all the boys sing, Choose you the nearest one, Choose you the dearest one, All join together to make a big ring." Verses begin "Tylus and talus" and encourage the couples

Tyne Exile's Lament, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #3143}

"I sat by the side of a broad rolling river That sparkles along on its way to the sea; By my thoughts fly again o'er the wide-heaving main... I wish I were again on the banks of the Tyne." The singer recalls Tynside and hopes to be buried there

Tyrie Plooin' Match, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5941}

The contestants at Tyrie "warlike were ... Their tickets drew wi' anxious han', Ilk ane thinkin' he'd be the man." "They did their wark in first-rate style." "Jim was well pleased" although he had the tenth prize, "the hinmost ane o' a' the lot"

"Tyrle, tyrlo, So meryye the shepperdes began to blowe." "About the fyld they pyped full right." A light and a company of angels come from heaven. They lead the shepherds to Bethlehem, where they meet "that mek chyld."

Hebrew, urging the girls to "tzena," that is, go out and see the soldiers in the mosheva settlement; they should not hide from "virtuous" men

"Come, cowboys, and listen to my song... about West Texas and the U S U Range." The singer hired on with a well-dressed man. The food and houses are bad. The work is hard. He declares that he will not stay any longer

"Farewell my Dalmatia, farewell lovely homeland, To a foreign land I now go, there to dig that kauri gum." The singer left his home for New Zealand. Now he works hard day and night "Far from homeland and family."

"Tell me, daddy, tell me, why the men in yonder crowd, Can you tell me why they are marching...?" The father tells his son that they are marching because they are proud of American freedom; both his grandfathers died fighting for it

"U. S. E. D., suckers ev'ry day, Fifty cents an hour, four bucks a day... They make you whistle for your money." Hawaiians complains about the United States Engineer Department; others complain about life in Hawaii

U. S. Lightship 98, The: (1 ref. 3K Notes) {Roud #19860}

"They may boast of their dreadnaughts and cruisers likewise... But there is another whose fame I'll relate, It's Uncle Sam's little watchdog, the L. V. 98." She has a red hull, a small, efficient crew. It's a lonely job. We should take off our hats to her

"Your face is ugly and rotten. Nyaaa....."

"If you want to be happy... marry a woman uglier than you." She will have your meals on time and will be good to you in bed. "A pretty woman... can very often cause [your] downfall... exhibiting herself to Peter and Paul"

"A belle and a beau would walking go, In love they both were pining" as "gentle gales" blew. Then the rain starts. He offers her a place under his umbrella. They continue talking as they go home, and then marry and have children

"Once when little Isabella Ventured with a big umbrella Out upon a windy day, She was nearly blown away."

Canadian French: A Canadien rebel has been forced from his home. Stopping by a stream, he bids it -- should it flow through his homeland -- to greet his friends. He promises not to forget his homeland

Creole French: "Un, deux, trois, Caroline qui fais comme sa, ma chere?" The singer asks Caroline what is the matter. She reports that mama says yes but papa says no. She is determined to have the young man anyway.

"Un, deux, trois, j'irai dans le bois, Quatre, cinq, six, cuellir des cerises, Sept, huit, neuf, dans mon pannier neuf, DIx, onze, douze, elles song toutes rouges." The singer will go to the woods to pick cherries

Irish Gaelic: Una's father locks her up rather than let her marry the singer. Ill, she sends for him; he finds the gates shut. If he doesn't hear from her before he has crossed the river, he won't return. A servant reaches him too late. Una dies of grief

Uncle Bill Teller: (2 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #V44701}

"Uncle Bill Teller died las' fall, Young maiden, where ye bound to? We jigged t'ree days an' niver got one, Across de Western Ocean." "Bill K is de divil fer fat, Hang to 'er, b'ys, hang to 'er." "Billy K. got a fine old bark."

"Oh, Uncle Bud goin' down the road, Haulin' women by the wagon load, Uncle Bud (x3), Bud, Doggone it, Uncle Bud." About Uncle Bud's odd exploits, sexual anatomy, and extravagant farming methods, as well as poverty and perhaps the hope for salvation

Uncle Dan Song, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #13998}

"A sly young maid" warns Uncle Dan of a predatory widow who "set her cap" for him. He thanks the maid for the warning; if she marries she should treat her man well but "if he should die and you want another man, Just clear the road for Uncle Dan"

"Well, old Uncle Doody in the shade of the tree, Played on the fiddle in the key of C." Various disasters strike the farm, but Uncle Doody doesn't care; he just keeps playing. Not even Aunt Viney's yelling, or a bad harvest, can distract him

About Uncle Eef/Eph/Ephraem's exploits, usually in hunting raccoons. May include recitations. Chorus: "Uncle Eph's got the coon and gone on And left us looking up a tree."

Joe and Mabel are restored to sexual vigor by a glass of Ovaltine. (Alternately, Fleischmann's Yeast or other improbable concoction)

"Uncle Joe cut off his toe And hung it up to dry; And all the girls began to laugh And Joe began to cry." "Rock the cradle, rock the cradle, Rock the cradle, Joe...." Remaining verses, if any, appear to float; those quoted are characteristic

Uncle John -- The Sealer, 1951: (1 ref. 2K Notes) {Roud #V44702}

"Among the sealers who came home... was... Uncle John, As mad as he could be." John complains of the new law which allows sealing to begin before March 13, forcing them to take seals too young. He will not rest till the old law is restored

Uncle John is Sick Abed: (7 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #13080}

"Uncle John is sick abed, What shall we send him? Three good wishes, three good kisses, And a slice of ginger bread." "Who shall we send it by?" "[Player's name], so they say, goes a-couring night and day... And takes Miss [name] for his bride."

Uncle John's Fiddle: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5641}

Uncle John -- "the greatest performer that ever was known" -- died and left the singer his wonderful fiddle. He describes his uncle's feats, his fiddle's miraculous attributes and, now, his own playing feats which are not quite as good as his uncle's.

Uncle Ned was so old when he died that he had no wool (hair) on his head, no teeth, and was blind. Even so, both his fellow-slaves and his owners grieved at his death

"Uncle Reuben caught a coon, done gone, Chick-a-chick, done gone... and left me here behind." Assorted verses about animals, hunting, love: "Rabbit running through the grass, Foxes close behind, Trees and weeds and cockleburrs Is all the foxes find"

"Yes, Uncle Sam is trying his best, To drive the Mormons from the West, I hope that we shall stand the test, Brigham at the head. Sing, let us sing, Brigham Young shall be our King." Various leaders who have attacked the Mormons are mocked

Uncle Sam's Farm: (7 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #4556 and 15008}

"Of all the mighty nations in the east or in the west, Oh this glorious Yankee nation is the greatest and the best... Here's a general invitation to the people of the world." The singer promises them farms, lists the U.S. boundaries, praises its freedom

Uncle Sam's Funeral: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6608}

"'Twas but a little while ago That Copperheads were found With their great Vallanding-hammers A-hammering around." They declare Uncle Sam (i.e. the Union) dead. But Uncle Sam rises up "and the Coppers sneaked To where they all belong."

Uncle Sam's School: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #21647}

"Of all the institutions in the east or in the west, The glorious institution of the schoolroom is the best, There is room for every scholar...." "Then come along, ,ake no delay... For Uncle Sam is rich enough to send us all to school."

Unclouded Day, The: (7 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #17614}

Chorus: "O the land of cloudless days, O the land of an unclouded sky, O they tell me of a home where no storm clouds rise, O they tell me of an unclouded day." Friends are there, a King on a snow-white throne, the tree of life, and a city of gold.

"Unconscious of danger with their lamps brightly burning... they endered the cave... fate had destined that as their grave." Death "cuts down alike the rich and the poor"

A servant girl sets out for home to help her father. She meets a robber and kills him. She meets another stranger who returns with her to the body. They find a whistle which summons more robbers. Girl and stranger dispose of them and agree to marry

Under the Bram Bush: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #18988}

"Under the bram bush, Under the sea, True love for you, my darling, True love for me." We'll get married and have a boy for you, a girl for me"

"Under the cocoanut tree... you promised to marry me... you gave me your heart... you took my heart from me... let's go back."

The singer spies a man and a maid under or over the garden wall. The two have sex, leaving the spy sexually aroused and unfulfilled.

"In summertime, when flow'rs do spring, And birds sit on the tree, Let Lords and Knights say what they will, There's none so merry as we. There's Will and Moll, with Harry and Doll, and Tom and bonny Bettee... Under the greenwood tree

She says, "without you, nothing I find That can bring contentment to my mind." She complains that he is hard hearted but she'll "be like unto yon dove that's chaste." He says he loves her and he'll cross hills and mountains and the sea to be with her.

Motion song. "Under the spreading chestnut tree, When I held you on my knee, We were [or "danced"] happy as we could be, Under the spreading chestnut tree."

"Under the spreading chestnut tree The village smithy stands, and he Is strong as glue, and he owes not a sou, Week in, week out, he toils as a rule. And children... Play larks with the sparks and make rude remarks." He works, he goes to church, he rests

"Under the willow she's laid with care (Sang a lone mother while weeping,) Under the willow with golden hair, My little one's quietly sleeping. Fair, fair and golden hair...." The mother laments that the girl sings and plays no more

"Hurrah my lads, get underway, Right welcome comes the warning." The ship is homeward bound. The singer calls on his comrades to work hard that they may make the voyage safely. They will arrive with banners flying

(I have been unable to find a text of this. The proper title may be "The Moon in the Western Sky.")

Unemployment Insurance: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #13999}

"I'm sitting here waiting for the mail" with my unemployment insurance cheque. "I go into the office to fill out my claim, Praying to Jesus the jobs will be few." The cheque arrives. "Dear Lord.... If you find work for someone I sure hope it's not me!"

Unfortunate Boot, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #5867}

A blacksmith is courting Jessie when two farmers rap on her window to court her and her sister. He hides, thinking it is her father, but runs off with one of their boots when the sex resumes. In the snow next day one brother had to carry the other home

Unfortunate Man, The: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6367}

The "unfortunate man" has all sorts of troubles. His sweetheart jilts him. He runs off with another man's wife, but is quickly captured. His friends cheat him. Now he can only hope a girl will "think more of my heart than she did of my face."

Unfortunate Miss Bailey: (7 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #4549}

Captain Smith seduces Miss Bailey, who hangs herself. One night her ghost returns and upbraids him, saying she's been ill-used, and the parson won't bury her. The captain gives her money to bribe the sexton, whereupon she vanishes, content.

Unfortunate Rake, The: (14 refs. 4K Notes) {Roud #2}

The singer meets a young man/woman wrapped in flannel. The young person says that he/she is dying, originally of syphilis but in some versions of wounds or unspecified disease. The young person requests an elaborate military funeral.

Unfortunate Swain, The: (2 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #60}

The singer goes to a meadow to pick a rose and asks why he must "love a girl that will break my heart." He will love only her. "He that loves an unkind maid, I am sure he strives against the stream" When she dies he will still think about her.

Swedish shanty. Sailor meets a maid in a meadow, suggests that they make a bed of roses. By morning the roses have faded, and with them the girl's beauty. She begs him to marry her anyway, he refuses saying his ship is ready to sail.

The singer, Jeremiah, takes a wife. But soon she turns her attention from her husband to a lodger. She bears two children, but "they did not look... one bit like Jeremiah." At last she runs off with the lodger, "and left the brats for Jeremiah"

"Draw near a while my loving friends And lend lis'ning ear." Singer William Dale was brought up "an honest farmer's son" and apprenticed to a tinsmith, but fell in with bad companions, robbed a house, was transported; released, he returns to his mother

The orphaned singer is "going home to the old country" as a sailor on Unicorn. It is hard work and hard bread for twelve days to Liverpool. At Glasgow "girls were very kind ... I bid farewell To the darned old Unicorn"

"When first I arrived in Quirindi, those girls they jumped with joy, Saying one unto another, 'Here comes a Union boy.'" A girl falls in love with him. Her father says that he was once a scab. She says he has joined the union and is reformed.

Union from St John's, The: (8 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #4371}

On (December 18) a heavy storm drives the Union ashore. A rescue team boards the next morning and finds "three frozen seamen lashed to the pumps while six in her cabin lay cold."

The singer oversees a shearer talking with a girl. He is trying to con her into sleeping with him, pointing out that he can get rich as a scab during a strike. [Remainder omitted because Meredith & Anderson refused to print it]

"I think I sing that little song, Hope I say it nothing wrong, Hope my song she bring good cheer.... Union man! Union man! He must have full dinner can...." (John) Lewis demands a good contract. There is a strike; the workers win; the singer gets druk

Union RIver Drivers, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #25115}

"Here's Johnny Archer, that blacksmith of skill... And the top of his head like the full moon doth shine." A description of those on the river crew, mixing compliments and mild sarcasm

Union Soldier's Alphabet, The: (1 ref. 2K Notes) {Roud #21721}

"A is our army so true and so brave." The song cites Inspection, a hiding Lieutenant, Muster, Uncle Sam's ugly conscript, Veteran,.... The chorus says "I'd buy me a shirt if I had a greenback... I'd go for a soldier the bounty to jump"

"Ye loyal sons of Ulster, why slumber and be still? Once more your rebel foemen demand a Home Rule Bill." "Had they an Irish Parliament, 'twere '98 again" "Forbid it ... the Union we'll maintain." Remember Bloody Mary; remember Derry and the Boyne.

"How did they pass the Union?" Perjury and fraud. Pitt and Castlereagh used pitchcap, bayonet, gibbet and rack. "How thrive we by the Union?" Ruined trade, wealth decayed and slavery. "And shall it last?" "All Ireland thunders, No!" We'll conquer again

"The right hand of friendship to you I'll extend" no matter what Trade or Religion if you love Union. Reject the kings and "dupes of a priest" who say "divide and conquer": "Hibernians were made to unite and be free"

United Order, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #10811}

"Forty years ago and over, God's command was giv'n, Consecrate your earthly substance, learn the law of heav'n." "'Unite together, join the order' is the call today." "We're a little band of workers striving with our might To obey the prophet Brigham"

Joe Muldoon is trapped by a log drive but a stranger rides a pine log to rescue him from "the rushing roaring timber pack." He "hurtled Muldoon upon the land ... Then disappeared and left no name"

"We've been somehow left out in the cold In these new schemes of class legislation. We are unlucky diggers, we're told, Good for nothing but heavy taxation." The singer catalogs the troubles of his life and declares that diggers won't be oppressed

Unquiet Grave, The [Child 78]: (48 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #51}

After a young man dies/is killed, his lover mourns by his grave for a year and a day and beyond. This prevents the dead man from resting. He comes to his sweetheart begging for release

Unseaworthy Ship, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #V20171}

"The doomed ship weighs anchor, out she is bound, With cargo too heavy and timbers unsound." "Honour to Plimsoll, his labors will save Thousands of brave men from watery graves." The singer recalls lost ships and calls for the passage of Plimsoll's bill

German. "Unser Salwi hot en Kaldi, Hot en hilzni Pischtol." Chorus (nonsense): "Ludel lei, lei, ludell lei, lei...." "Our Salome has a cole, has a wooden pistol." Other verses are unrelated, about eating peanuts, and about a dreadful mother-in-law

"I'll sing now of a fine young swell Who in a ship did sail here," hoping to get rich in the gold fields. He can't even get a good price for the tools he bought. He grows poorer and poorer. Even when he works a good place, he has no luck

"I'm going to sit in the humble chair." "Going to rock from side to side(x2) Until I die" (repeated several times). "I'm going to rock side by side until I die"

"I moaned and I moaned, I moaned and I moaned, Until I found the Lord. My soul, I couldn't rest contented, my soul, I couldn't rest contended until I found the Lord." "I prayed and I prayed, Lord...." "I cried and I cried...."

"And oh dear friends 'tis I would be Out there with you beneath the sea, Sleeping soundly, sleeping like gentemen."

Unto the Hills (Psalm 121): (1 ref. 1K Notes) {Roud #25515}

"I to the hills will lift mine eyes, From whence doth come mine aid? My safety cometh from the Lord, Who heav'n and earth hath made." "I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills." "Behold, he that keepeth Israel, He slumbers not nor sleeps"

It's Spring. The birds united in song are Up. Plants, flowers, weeds are Up. Trees, brambles, crops, frogs, cocks all are Up. "The progress of this rising rage, No human power can stop. Then Tyrants, cease your war to wage, For Nature will be -- Up"

"Up a hickory, down a pine, Split my breeches right behind."

Once I had friends that "came to dine and drank my wine." Now that I'm poor "when they see me on the Clyde They pass me on the other side." "While you have it keep it, or you'll soon be 'up a tree'." If I recover, "preserve me from my friends"

Up an' Waur Them A', Willie (II): (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #6790}

"Up an' waur them a', Willie ... Up an' shak' your pistol fit, An' tak her fae them a' ... Up an' kiss a bonny lass"

Up Anchor for Home Boys: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #27520}

"Up anchor for home, boys, our cruise is complete, The billows are dancing our good ship to greet, Far away... Smiles a home of bliss in the land of the west." Other lands have their pleasures, but there is nothing like returning home

jump-rope rhyme. "Up and down Jamaica Town, A house made out of glass. I stepped into a lady's house And there she made me laugh."

Up and Down the Railroad Track: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #11091}

"Up and down the railroad track And halfway swing around... Do-si-do my darling Miss with the white slippers on." "The higher up the cherry tree...." "Wish I had a needle and thread...." And miscellaneous other floating verses

Jump-rope rhyme. "Up and down, up and down, All the way to London Town, Swish-swosh, swish-swosh, All the way to King's Cross: Legs swing, legs swing, All the way to Berlin. Heel-toe, heel-toe, All the way to Jericho...."

Up and Waur Them A', Willie (II): (2 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #6790}

In battle against the Whigs the Highland standard loses its top and "second-sighted Sandy said, We'll do nae gude at a'." In battles the Whigs showed fear, but if you ask who won the day: "We baith did fight, and baith were beat, And baith did rin awa"

"Up comes a man with a shovel in his hand, Saying, 'Boys, you'll get no farther. King William has a rope, And he'll hang the bloody Pope Ere ever he'll cross the Boyne Water."

Singing game. "Up green medder/meadow, down shady grove, Last one squats has to tell his beau." Game is said to be similar to "Ring Around the Rosie."

"One night I went up in a balloon, On a voyage of discovery, to visit the moon." The balloon goes out of control, hits city hall, and leaves the singer clinging to a steeple. He ends up among the stars -- and falls out of bed, and realizes it was a dream

Jump-rope rhyme. "Up in a loft, A long way off, The donkey's got the whooping cough. The doctor said That he must take Salt, vinegar, mustard, pepper."

In Gurrane we're such good neighbors we share so that rations and gas restrictions don't bother us. We attacked City Hall "when the Corporation tried to raise the rent." We'll be there at Gabriel's horn because "it's only a step to Paradise up in Gurrane"

"Up jumped the rabbit with a great big smile A hound dog run him a solid mile." Animal hunting and gambling couplets: "Skeeter and a bumble bee playing seven up, Skeeter won the money but afraid to pick it up"

"I stand and gaze at a little stream That flows from Elk Lake to the Bay. My mind goes back, and in a dream, I'm a boy again at play." The singer recalls the furnace, chemical plant, and all the buildings of a mill town, as well as his own father

Corn-husking song. "Up Roanoke and down the river, Oho, we are 'most done." "Two canoes, and nary paddle. "There is where we run the devils." Jack de Gillam shoots the devils with "blue ball and a pound of powder," and kills them

Up the Alley, Courting Sally: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #16803}

"Where have you been, All this live-long day, Down the alley, courting Sally, Picking up cinders, breaking winders" Sometimes also "feeding monkeys, riding donkeys, chasing bull-dogs"

Up the Ladder, Down the Spout: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #19617}

"Up the ladder, down the spout, Into Michael and John's house, Peep through the window, See who's there, Ma, Da, sister, brother, John came out to see about, Who did he meet but 'bandy-legs,' Bandy legs, turned in toes, Turned up teapot, teapot, nose."

Up the Ladder, Down the Wall: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #19617}

Jump-rope rhyme. "Up the ladder, down the wall, A penny load will serve us all, A bit for you, a bit for me, A bit for all the family." "You buy butter and I'll buy flour, And we'll have pudding in half an hour."

"Up the oak, down the pine, Up the oak an' down the pine, Up the oak an' down the pine, Tell my mama I'm down the line. Oh, Lord, tell my mama I'm down the line. Oh, mama, I'm goin' home, Oh, mama, I'm goin' home."

"Up the Raw, down the Raw, Up the Raw, lass, ev'ry day; For shape and colour, ma bonny hinny, Thou bangs thy mother, ma canny bairn." The mother (?) complains lovingly of the mischief her child gets into. (I think that's what it means)

Described as a "Rhyme for a Race": "Up the street, down the street, Here's the way we go, Forty horses standing in a row; [Name] on the white one, [Name] on the black, Riding to (Harrisburg) (five) miles away."

"Up the streets and down the streets And in a narrow planting, Isn't (name) a nice young lassie? Isn't (name) as nice as she? They shall be married And they shall agree.... It's love... and don't say 'nay.' Next Monday morning is her wedding day."

Jump-rope rhyme. "Up to Fargo with your cargo, Down to Hibbing, stop your fibbing. Up to Duluth, tell the truth, Down the creek to catch some trout, One, two, three, you'd better look out."

Singer goes to Cheapside in London, where he picks up a girl. He takes her to dinner; she invites him to bed. When she falls asleep, he steals a snuff box, gold watch, diamond ring, and money, then locks her in. He tells men to remember his example

The singer tells Johnny that when he's 20 we could have plenty... horses and cattle, barnsful of grain, lots of money and a farm. You would have plenty to sell at market and fair. You'd "drive like a laird." "Ye may do waur than tak up wi' the widow"

"It happened just this morning... I recognized people I’d never noticed before." "Up! Up with people! You meet ‘em wherever you go, Up! Up with People! They’re the best kind of folks we know." People are more important than things

"Uphead and scatter, boys, to learn how to row, You treat me so dirty it's a mis'ry in my soul." "When I had money, I had friends all around, But now I've no money, no friend can be found."

Upidee, Upidah (I): (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #10751}

"The shades of night were falling fast, Upidee.... And through an alpine village passed... A youth who bore... A banner with this strange device, Upidee.... "Oh stay, said the maiden, and rest, Upidee, upidah, The weary head upon his breast"

German shanty. Chorus: "Upidee, Upidah! Schnalls is goot for de cholera! Upidee, Upidah"

"Weep no more for me, sweetheart, Weep no more for me, As sharp a dart has pierced my heart That you should mourn for me." The singer walks in a pleasant garden and is shocked to see someone, all in black, whose flesh is leaden

"Sir Francis, Sir Francis, Sir Francis is come, Sir Robert and eke Sir William, his son, And eke the good earl of Huntingdon, Marched gallantly on the road." The Queen welcomes Drake and Gilbert and their mariners

Chorus: "Upon the rock (3x), Let the water run out, Upon the rock (3x) of ages." Verse: "Brother Andrew, where you been when the dry weather come, 'Been on the rock,' says, 'waiting for rain'" (x2)

Upon the Twelfth o' August: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #13013}

"I took my gun oot owre my shoulder A bag o' leads, a flask o' pouder And strode awa oot owre the heather Upon the twelfth o' August"

Upper California, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #10829}

"The Upper California, oh that's the land for me, It lies between the mountains and the great Pacific sea." It will bring freedom and life for the Saints. They will build their House of Prayer there and call on other nations to join them

The singer "scarce could get any fun" goes to Leeds Fair, "bound for a spree." On the way he enters a church for the first time. He doesn't understand what is going on. At the end he offers to pay for the entertainment but is told there is no cost.

The singer and companions used to live a roving life, "but to my sad grief I married a wife...." His wife abuses him for drinking. His sister advises him to "hit her a smack across her back and turn her upside down." The remedy works

"Upsie Mother Brown (x2), Upsie, upsie, Double time upsie, Upsie Mother Brown." "Dropsie Mother Brown...." "Dixie Mother Brown...." Presumably other ball moves were also possible

"We're on the upward trail (x2), Singing as we go, going home, We're on the upward trail (x2), Singing, singing, everybody singing, Going home."

A miner washes out his pan looking for gold in the rain but finds none. "Here's to that old digger Though empty is his pan That grumbling d[]md old miner A perfect used up man"

"A country life is swert! In moderate cold and heat, To walk in the air, how pleasant and fair!" The singer describes those who "follow the useful plow." Other professions are alluded to, without approval; they do not give to the poor.

Utah Carroll [Laws B4]: (26 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1929}

A cowboy sadly remembers the death of his partner, Utah Carroll. When the herd stampedes, Utah manages to rescue the boss's daughter (who stood in the stampede's path), but himself dies in the process

Vacant Chair (I), The: (26 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7714}

"We shall meet but we shall miss him, There will be one vacant chair, We shall linger to caress him While we breathe our evening prayer." The family remembers its beloved Willie, who now lies dead in a narrow grave, killed for his country

"The memory of days gone bye is very sad to me; A vacant chair is standing nigh And there no form I see." "The little darling of our home Once occupied that chair," but "Now she blooms in heaven above And left the vacant chair."

"How are you, boys? I'm just from camp, And feel as brave as Caesar." The singer expects to frighten the Yankees even though he was recently a plowboy. But when he accidentally fires his gun, he is ready to run and begs his comrades to do the fighting

The youth, sent to Turkey, praises Queen Elizabeth above all kings. When challenged, the youth breaks the Turkish prince's neck. Thrown to the lions, he kills the beasts. The Turkish emperor admits English superiority; his daughter marries the youth

"The broom bloomed so fresh and fair... As I wandered to breathe the fresh air, By chance a rich treasure I found." The singer praises the beauty and voice of the girl he sees. He will offer her his home and wealth if she will come with him

Valley of Kilbride, The: (3 refs. 4K Notes) {Roud #18245}

On a French battlefield, a soldier from Newfoundland thinks back to "boyhood days in the valley of Kilbride." A dying soldier asks him to comfort his parents, sister, and the girl he used to walk with "in Bowring Park."

Valley of Knockanure (I), The: (1 ref. 1K Notes) {Roud #17752}

Coming from Mass, three IRA flying column boys are caught "on a bridge near Gortaglanna ... In the Valley of Knockanure" in May 1921. The three are named. They are beaten and shot.

Valley of Knockanure (II), The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #9761}

"You may sing and speak of Easter week and the heroes of ninety-eight" but nothing was said about Knockanure. Dalton, Walshe, and Lyons are killed by the Black and Tans. Dalton's mother wishes she could kiss him before burying him.

Valley of the Ruhr, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #29425}

"There was flak, flak, bags and bags of flack, In the Ruhr, in the Ruhr." "My eyes are dime I cannot see; The searchlights they have blinded me." "There were fighters, fighters, bags of bloody fighters." "There was twitch" "There was panic"

"How sweet is my home in yon lovely valley" where birds sing, the spring is running, "in the valleys of Mormond, the home of my Jean"

The singer tells the listeners of the beautiful girl he has seen. He gives directions for finding her, and describes her beauty. He recalls speaking to her, and her refusal to give her name. He compares her to classical beauties

"Creeping round a headland as the sun was brightly rising... A raking pirate schooner... Her captain walked the quarterdeck where quarter ne'er was granted." He shows no mercy -- dead men tell no tales -- but he and his crew are taken and hung

Van Dieman's Land (I) [Laws L18]: (42 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #519}

Three poachers are taken and sent to Van Dieman's Land. Sold to planters, they are used to drive plows and live miserable lives until (Susan Summers), a fellow prisoner now married to a planter, treats them somewhat better

(Six) poachers are taken and sent to Van Dieman's Land. Destined to work for a planter, the singer is frightened to see the conditions of the workers, but is instead picked out to be a bookkeeper. He meets another prisoner, Rosanna; they fall in love

Vance Song, The [Laws F17]: (9 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #2216}

[Abner] Vance is charged falsely with murder. Recalling his beautiful home, he castigates those who have caused his unjust condemnation. He bids his family farewell

"What are life's joys and gains?" Not power, pride, beauty, ambition, or wealth. "The lesson how to live is but to learn to die"

Swedish: "Vem Kan Segla Förutan Vind? Vem kan ro utan åror?" Who can sail without a wind, or row without oars? Who can leave a friend without crying? "I can sail without a wind, I can row without oars, But I can't part from a friend without crying."

Spanish: "Young Dear." First line: "Lo que digo de hoy en dia Lo que digo sostengo." The singer promises that "What I say today I will always say." (He) will wait for (her) in the kiosk at eleven o'clock, and "you will know I love you."

"I met her in Venezuela with a basket on her head.... I knew she'd do to pass away the time in Venezuela." He gives her a sash of blue. When he leaves, he tells her there will be more sailors coming to Venezuela. He will remember her for a long time

Latin: "Veni veni Emmanuel, Captivum solve Israel...." English: "O come, o come, Emmanuel, And ransom captive Israel." The advent of Emmanuel the savior, descendant of David, is requested, and people are told to celebrate his coming

Come see Bongo night, tonight. "Dance your bongo in time." "Dance your bongo in line." Even Jackasses cannot resist.

The singer, Adonis meets Venus in the forest and asks her for one kiss. She replies, "No! I can't love you!" He asks her to stay with him as night falls. She agrees: "you've fairly won my heart, And I from you, love, never more will part"

Venus, My Shining Star: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #11379}

"Some think to love another is vain, But with them I disagree, None has ever come... 'Twixt Venus, my lover, and me. Venus, my star-kindled lover.... Sweet Venus mine, None as bright as my darling, So far, far above... I think how dear I love you...."

"In vain we lavish out our lives To gather the empty wind. The choicest blessing earth can yield Will starve an hungry mind. Come and the Lord shall feed our sould With more substantial meat, With such saints in glory love, With such as angels eat."

Vermont Boys in Gardner, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #4660}

"The boys from Vermont to Gardner did go, In search of a job, as you very well know." They are advices, "Don't leave old Vermont... They'll call you the scamps from the Green Mountain hills." The song lists those who left Vermont and came back

"Did you ever hear tell of the farmers that live among the hills, Where ev'ry man's a 'Sov'reign' and owns the land he tills." The singer praises the strong men, the pretty girls, the stock, the workers, and presumably anything else he can think of

Vermont Sugar-Maker's Song: (3 refs.) {Roud #5444 and 3737}

"When you see the vapor pillars lick the forest and the sky, You may know the days of sugar-making then are drawing nigh." Describes sugar-making; "Sweetest joys indeed we sugar-makers know." "Bubble, bubble... goes the pan." Use of sugar is advised

Singer "can't get along" with Vernita. "...tell her to hurry home." When she came home last night "the moon was shining bright." He met Alberta across the sea; she wrote him no letter. He would have Vernita change her mind and "treat me nice and kind"

Spanish. First line: "En el mil nueve cientos y diez -- Y los cuento sin edal...." Montalgo is killed from ambush in 1910 ten years after he killed Encarnacion. A month later, his body is found. His family mourns. Last verse says the other verses are lies

"The very first time I saw my love, I was very sick in bed, And the only request I asked of her Was to tie up my head. O, love it is a killing thing, Did you ever feel the pain?" The singer wishes his love were a rose and he a gardener.

Very Same Lord, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #17294}

Chorus: "Very same, very same, Very same Lord went in the lion's den." Verse response: "Very same Lord went in the lion's den." Verse calls include floaters (see notes for examples)

"A very small cat Had a very large bow, She thought she looked pretty... Till one day she stumbled And forgot all her airs, For she tripped on her bow, And she fell down the stairs!"

"I've got a belly full o' whiskey an' a head full o' gin, The doctors say t'will kill me but they don't say when." Chorus: ""I'm a long line skinner an' my home's out west, Lookin' for a man to buy me a hobble dress." Verses float between blues

"'Twas on one Sabbath morn the bells did chime for church, The young and gay were gathering there around that rustic porch." A veteran accuses them of ignoring him. He points to his gravestone, says no one recalls him, and asks to be rememberd

Veteran's Song, The: (3 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #11754}

The Union veteran lists all the fights he's fought, and all the wounds he's received, and notes that he consistently gave better than he got. He says "[I] will not sheathe my sword Until from Florida to Maine the Stars and Stripes shall proudly float"

"We are veteran union boys, We uphold the Constitution, We'll help the boys to win this strike...." The singer recalls fighting against slavery in 1861, and for Wall Street in 1916, and now wants repayment. The singer says to join the union

Swedish shanty. No story line, just sailing comments and complaints. i.e. "Callao was our port, so we go... Like a louse on a tarry fist." Chorus: "Hala hem! Hala hem! Hala hem a belagg! (Haul them home, haul them home, haul them home and belay)"

Vicar of Bray, The: (11 refs. 52K Notes) {Roud #4998}

"In good King Charles's golden days... A zealous high churchman was I, and so I got preferment." In the reigns that follow, the Vicar changes his opinions to suit the monarch, "That whatsoever king shall reign, I'll be the Vicar of Bray."

Singer has the Vicksburg blues: "my baby didn't want me no more" but "she's restin' on my mind." He looks for her in town but "she had moved away." He leaves, gets word where she may be, and is going to hop a freight back.

Victoria's Southern Cross: (2 refs. 7K Notes) {Roud #24819}

"When Ballaarat/Ballard unfurled the 'Southern Cross,' Of joy a shout ascended to the heavens...." "For brave Lalor Was found 'all there,' WIth dauntless dare, His men inspiring." Hearers should "be faithful to the standard, for victory or death"

"There's joy throughout the nation... our goalers ... have won the victory... on the plains of Onnabuoy" Ancient heroes of the game would join the acclamation. The game is described. O'Day is the hero. Players on both teams are named.

General Grant sets out to capture Vicksburg. He wins assorted small battles and besieges the city; it surrenders on July 4.

"The magic of yellow that shows in the pan Has captured the fancy of many a man" although many strive long without finding gold. Peter Pesini comes from Italy to hunt. After many years, he finds a large nugget -- but dies soon after taking it to the bank

Victory Shall Be Mine: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #16403}

"Victory, victory shall be mine (x2); Just hold your peace and the Lord will fight your battles, Victory, victory shall be mine." "Victory, victory shall be mine in the morning..." (Or, "When in trouble," or "In the evening," etc.)

Victory Won at Richmond, The: (2 refs. 4K Notes) {Roud #3629}

"The southern boys may longer lie On the first and fourth of sweet July, Our General Beauregard resound For his southern boys at Richmond." In a bloody battle, the southerners save Richmond while the Yankees run

Chorus: "Way over Jordan, View the land (x2), Way over Jordan, View the heavenly land (x2),"Verses: The singer is "born of God," wants to go to heaven and wear "gospel shoes," warns "stop telling your lies" and "let your neighbor be"

"Clang, clang, clang on the anvil, In the smithy by the dark North Sea; Is it Thor that is smiting with the hammer, Is it Odin with the leather on his knee? Clang, clang, clang on the anvil There are steel ships wanted on the sea!"

Dinah is in love with (William/Vilikens); her father insists that she will marry someone else. Dinah steals away, writes a note to her love, and drinks poison. Her love finds her body and in turn kills himself. They are buried in the same grave

"Well may the world against us cry, for these our deeds most base, For which, alas, we now must die." The singer and his comrades stole a ship and turn pirate. They had much success, but at last "are unto justice brought." Other pirates are warned

The singer tells of the drowning of Leahy. The young man is well liked for his hard work at Young's Point. The morning of his death, his mother begs him to stay home. But he goes to work, slips into a "stop log place," and is found much later

French. July 25 the ship sets sail for France. Surviving a storm, the ship arrives safely at Rochelle. The girls go on board with their men. When the owner is told that his ship has arrived safe and sound with a load of cargo and silver he thanks God.

"The Virgin Mary had a little baby, O, glory hallelujah. O, pretty little baby, Glory be to the newborn King." "What you gonna name that pretty little baby?" "Some call him one thing, think I'll call him Jesus"

Virgin Mary's Bank, The: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #18246}

A ship sees Virgin Mary praying on the bank. The captain leads the crew in jeering and a storm wrecks the ship "on Ichidony's rock." The crew are drowned. Local fishermen call "that hillock green 'the Virgin Mary's bank.'"

Virgin Most Pure, A: (8 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1378}

"A virgin most pure, as the prophets do tell, Hath brought forth a baby, as it hath befell." "Set sorrows aside; Christ Jesus, our Savior, was born on this tide." Jesus is born in Bethlehem, in a stable -- you know the rest

Virgin's Wreath, The: (3 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #1070}

The singer, "a maiden sad and lonely" is courted by "a nice young man" Now she is "abroken down." Cocks are crowing....

"Virginia lived down in Treoqueen, Married a Baltimore boy who was long and lean." Sam two-times her; she declares, "You thought I was blind but now I see" -- and admits to having an "off-side man [whp] keeps his light-house on the sea."

"In the dear old town of Princeton... Fire hundred railroad employees were as happy as could be... But they believed in Satan and quit their jobs that fall." The singer was one of those fooled into striking. Now he wishes he had his job back.

Virginia's Bloody Soil: (5 refs. 9K Notes) {Roud #2802}

The singer calls on his audience to listen as he tells of the troubles of the Civil War, and describes how Unionists sprang to the colors after Fort Sumter. The rest of the song describes the battle of the Wilderness, and the death of the captain there

Virginian Lover, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #420}

Singer courts (Martha), who returns his affection. Her mother/brother opposes the marriage because he is unpropertied, and offers her land/gowns if she'll reject him. She weeps; he tells her "if you hadn't been so faithful, I wouldn't have been so true"

Virginian Maid's Lament, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3919}

The singer, a woman, was sold after seven years service, by Captain Welsh to Madam Guy. She tells how "we are yoked in a plough," badly fed and "whipt at every meal," and must keep her baby quiet. She wants to return to Scotland. "I'm weary, weary, O"

"There was a rich merchant in this city did dwell, He had a great vision...." He is sleeping when St. Peter comes to him and promises him "suckers." The merchant demands proof it is the real Peter. They end up getting drunk together

Visit to Morans, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #14000}

"In the month of January, ninety-two... We harnessed up our team" and visited John Moran in DeGros Marsh. On the way home the snow forces them off the road. They replace a broken harness with rope and make it to Martin's for beer, then go home next day.

Vivandeer was built "to sail the ocean round ... But they left her on Blackwater Bank, a dire and total wreck." Tinnaberna men launch their boats, step aboard, and, with help of a tug, "brought the gallant Vivandeer safe into Wexford Quay"

French: The singer rejoices in his Canadien girl. He celebrates her blue eyes. He describes their meeting, mentioning how quickly their hearts are beating. "So go the hours a-flying Until our wedding day."

"Let Bacchus to Venus libations pour forth, Vive la compagnie. And let us make use of our time while it lasts, Vive la compagnie. Vive la, vive la, vive l'amour...." Bachelors toast their lasses, husbands their wives, all toast their friends

January 2 "they cried, 'to arms my clever fellows The Russians are advancing.'" "Vive la" the new convention, Republican, America "for it was in you that it a' began." America "have spent their dear heart's blood To plant the tree of liberty."

French (Voyageurs): "Nous etions trois garcons, tous jolis capitaines (x2), Y'en a un a Paris, et a'autre a La Rochelle. Vive les matelots dessus la mer jolie...." Song concerns three captains. One comes to court a girl. He cares not if he is rejected

The singer passes a tomb and hears a voice, "I once lived as you live, walked and talked as you talk, Then from earth I was soon torn away." Other voices chip in about the joys of heaven and the brevity of life. At last his mother's voice says she is safe

"How sweet at close of silent eve The harp's responsive sound... But oh, more soft, more sweet to me The voice of her I love." He will suffer all insults and "frowns of fate," "Content and bless'd whene'er I hear, The voice of her I love."

Volunteer Organist, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5378}

The preacher announces that the organist is ill. No one volunteers to play except a drunken-looking man. He tells his story in music, amazing them all. The preacher doesn't try to preach; he just has the congregation pray as the man leaves

Mabel asks her mother about the passing troops and their leader. Mother answers that the men are the Volunteers and Grattan their leader. "They rose to guard from foreign foes, as well from British guile" Witness "the baffled hosts of Gaul"

"Was she not a fool, When she took off our wool, To leave us so much of the Leather, the leather? It ne'er entered her pate, That a sheepskin well beat, Would draw a whole nation Together, together."

Amish hymn in German.. "Von Hertzen wolln wir singen, In Fried und Einingkeit." "Let us sing from the heart, In peace and in uison. Let us strive toward perfection With energy and sincerity, That we might please God... take it now to heart."

Of a woman courted by a man; when she rejects his advanced because "he had no situation," he "hoodoes" her elaborately. Now she is sick and hopes someone can stop the voodoo man even though all are afraid of him. She wonders if *she* is dead

"Vote, vote, vote for Joey Ward! He is sure to win the day. For we'll get a salmon tin, And we'll stick Bill Massey in, And we'll all shout, Hip, hip, hip, hooray!"

"Oh father, dear father, come vote for me now, My clothes are so worn out and old." The (rail)roads and banks get all the money from the farmers' crops. Their house is old. Ignore their threats; vote for change; things can be better

"If you vote for Tommy Seddon, boys, On the right road you'll be heading, boys, He'll make the roads to your abodes And bridge all the streams to heaven, boys." He will take his father's place and do good work.

Sometimes a jump-rope rhyme. "Vote, vote, vote for (someone); She'll kick (someone) out the door." The other candidate may be called a dope, or worthy of a punch, "So we don't want (someone) any more."

"B-a, ba; b-e, be; B-i, bick-a-bi; B-o, bick-a-bi-bo; B-u, bu, bick-a-bi-bo-bu." Similarly through the alphabet: "C-a, ca; C-e, ce, C-i, cick-a-ci." (The text does not specify whether "cick" is pronounced "sick" or "kick.")

"Come all you jolly seamen bold... Concerning of a voyage to New Zealand we did go, For to cut some lofty spars to load the Buffalo." After taking a load of emigrants from Portsmouth to Australia, they go logging in New Zealand

"Come all you bold whalemen that plow the rough main Off the coast of New Holland or off that of Spain." An extremely detailed (more than 70 stanza) description of a whaling voices, describing the places they visit, the whales, ships seen, the return home

"Left Plymouth one day in July and soon was on the ocean," getting sick in the Bay of Biscay. The passengers on their way to Australia fish for and catch a shark. The passengers pretend to see a ship and other sights

"Ah! c'est un mariage Que d'epouser le yoyage. Je plains qui s'y engage Sans y etre invite." The life of a voyageur is like a marriage. Safety, comfort and contentment must be given up "dans le course du voyage."

Bamboula in Creole French: "Voyez ce mulet la, Miche Bainjo, Comme il est insolent! Chapeau sur cote, Miche Bainjo, La canne a la maine, Miche Bainjo...." The singer describes the strutting about of "Mister Banjo."

"O, Vreneli, my pretty one, Pray tell me where's your home? My home, it is in Switzerland, 'Tis made of wood and stone. Yo, ho, ho, Tra, la, la." The singer asks her where is her heart. She gave it away, and cannot get over the pain. Her head is with it

Vulture (of the Alps), The: (1 ref. 2K Notes) {Roud #4777}

A family of shepherds is out with their sheep when a vulture swoops down and carries off their youngest child. Though the baby cries and reaches out to its father, there is nothing the others can do

Jump-rope rhyme: "Had a little radio, Put it on free, Only station I could get Was WBZ."

Counting-out rhyme. "W, double-O, D, Wood; Sockety peck! Run round the limb And stick your finger in, Woodpecker!"

"An' fwat are yez wantin' Paddy from Cork, An' fwat is the fuss anyhow, An' why are yez all afther stoppin' yer work?" The worker is assured that the wages are the best he's ever had, and there are always other miners where he came from anyway

Jump-rope rhyme. "W. P. A., W. P. A., You're let out; Go get your pay."

"Where did you get that pretty dress all so bright and gay? I got it from my loving man on the W. P. and A." The singer tells of how the WPA allowed him to re-establish credit and earn good money for little work -- but also how he is resented by friends

W.P.A. Gathering, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #13961}

"Uncle Sam was very kind, He gave the people aid; The W.P.A. is working hard, Good roads will soon be made." This effort makes possible the Lost Hope Hollow Singing Gathering.

In praise of the amazing Wabash Cannonball, a train which can apparently accomplish anything. The song mentions various places the train visits and the impression it makes on the townsfolk. It may close with a eulogy for "Daddy Claxton"

"Waddaly atcha, waddaly atcha, Doodley doo, doodley do, Waddaly atcha, waddaly atcha, Doodley doo, doodley do. It’s the simplest thing, nothing else to it, All you gotta do is doodley doo it, I like the rest, but the part I like best, It goes doodley...."

Waddin o McPhee, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #21762}

"At mony sprees I've been, but the best I've ever seen" is this wedding. Everyone got drunk, including the minister. Food beyond counting "but the bridegroom and the bride were cremated side by side High up on the hill on Ben Lomond."

Wade in the Water: (17 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5439}

"Wade in the water, Wade in the water, children, Wade in the water, God's gonna trouble the water." The singer warns of the coming signs of the end. The victory of Heaven over Hell is considered assured. The singer looks forward to future freedom

The leader sings "I wade the water to my knees," "The water's so cold," "Lord have mercy," with each line repeated. The response, as alternate lines, is "I'm going to pray, going to pray" and "I'm going to pray till I die."

Coast sailing pilot's guide "from Bonavista Cape to the Stinking Isles ... till Pilley's Point covers Syme's Stage." Directions on how to reach Notre Dame Bay from Bonavista

Jean: Why drink up all your money with your friends? I have burned the barn door for heat; we have no cow or ewe; let's both "join the total abstinence." John agrees. Both: "hand in hand we'll go, And we'll sleep thegither at the foot"

Wae's Me For Prince Charlie: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #16902}

"A wee bird came tae our ha' door... And aye the (burden) o' his lilt, Was "Wae's me for Prince Charlie." The singer asks the bird about Charlie's fate. The bird tells how Charlie is pursued in the Highlands. The bird says it will live in Scotland no more

The singer drinks with cronies: "It's a quarter tae twa, the last bus is awa" and he promised he'd be home at eleven. He drinks again with cronies but this time he resists temptation: "'It's the wife,' A declare, 'A wid stop but for fear o her anger'"

"We hae a dog that wags his tail -- He's a bit o' a wag himsel', O! A' day he wanders thro' the toun -- At nicht as news to tell, O!" The dog tours the town, sees many silly people, and concludes that, if people had tails, they'd be almost as good as dogs

"September last, on the seventh day, I geared my team to start away, To the South Yadkin...." The singer describes his route, talks of the cold and difficulties of the trip, and happily recounts his arrival

"Come all ye bold wag'ners, turn out man by man, That's opposed to the railroad or any such plan." The teamster says that all the goods he used to haul now travel by rail. Blacksmiths and wheelwrights are hurting too. He curses railroads and canals

Young woman is courted by wagoner's lad. Her parents don't like him because he is poor; he tells her he is self-supporting and not ashamed. He tells her he is leaving; she asks him to linger with him, but he refuses. She laments women's hard fortune

"There in Waihi, with its toil an its treasure, Men's lives are squandered while earning a crust, Leaving homes desolate and a grave for some loved one, Ruthlessly slain by the battery dust."

"Wait a little while, then we'll sing the new song (x2)." "My heavenly home is bright and fair, Then we'll sing the new song. No pain or sorrow over there. Then we'll sing...." "Sometimes I get a heavenly view... And then my trials are so few."

"Wait for the wagon, the Free Silver Wagon, Wait for the wagon and we'll all take a ride." "Here comes the wagon, the Free Silver Wagon, Here comes the wagon, and we'll all take a ride." "Hop on the wagon, the Free Silver wagon...."

Wait for the Wagon (I): (19 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #2080}

The singer invites Phyllis "to yon blue mountain free." He describes his cabin and the fine lands around it. Another suitor offers wealth, but he offers youth and health. He bids her to "Wait for the wagon (x3) And we'll all take a ride."

Wait for the Wagon (III): (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #2835}

"Come with me good Democrats and rally round our flag to fight the Black Republicans ... Wait for the waggon, The old Democratic waggon ... We'll give those Negro worshippers a good November ride"

"I wonder where Spencer gone, That used to preach up town. The church is all in mourning...." "I'm waitin' on de Lord...." "Some say John de Baptist Is nothing but a Jew." "A Baptist, Baptist is my name, And a Baptist I will die"

Wait Till the Clouds Roll By: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #9088}

"Jenny, my own true lover, I'm going far away, Out on the bound'ring billows, Out on the deep blue sea." The singer promises to think of Jenny while on the sea, and vows to return, and urges her to "Wait till the clouds roll by."

Wait Till the Ship Comes Home: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #9055}

"Jack went away to sea one day and left his Polly behind." An old man comes courting Polly. She refuses, saying "Wait till the ship comes home." At last word arrives that the ship is home and Jack safe. The old man dies and leaves Polly his money

A girl mourns her rained-out Sunday picnic. Her sweetheart comforts her: "Wait till the sun shines, Nellie, and the clouds go drifting by...." She had hoped to "show off her brand new gown"; suddenly the sun comes out; she says he has won her heart

Wait, Mister Mackright: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #11999}

"Wai', Mister Mackright, an' 'e yedde what Satan say: Satan full me full of music, an' tell me not to play. Mister Mackright cry holy; O Lord, cry holy."

"There's a good old war-cry sounding, it hangs on every lip." Everywhere, you hear, "Waitekauri, Waitekauri, Waitekauri Everytime!" After the gold rush, the land and people of Waitekauri are utterly transformed

Singer waits to hop a train. A brakeman tells him that if he has money "I'll see that you don't walk," then puts him off the train in Texas. "My pocketbook is empty/And my heart is filled with pain/I'm a thousand miles away from home/Waiting for a train"

"He's getting his dead from their lonely graves And lumping them all together; There's some of them fools, but more of them knaves, And he's yarding them all together... Waiting for kingdom come, Rotten with whiskey and rum," they pass away the years

Singer describes life on "the worst old brig that ever did weigh." Built in "Roman time"/Nelson's times," it's held together with twine and undermanned. They spring a leak and bail their way to dock. Chorus: "Waiting for the day (x3) that we get our pay"

The singer's woman's "cruel ways" may shorten his life. When he dies he'll forgive her but wait for her beyond Jordan. He would trade his pass to glory to stay with her on earth, if that pass were not for two.

"On the banks of the Wakamarina... A splendid goldfield's been discovered." The singer is "waiting for fresh information" to know if he should go there. The singer describes the effects of the rush (e.g. high prices) and tells how the new chums struggle

"Nicodemus, the slave, was of African birth And was bought for a bagful of gold." When he dies at a great age, he asks to be awakened when freedom came. He forecasts the end of slavery and the battles it causes. Freedom proves his words true

"Come all you jolly labouring men and listen to my song; The theme is well known to you all, it is of Bevington." Over five years, workers turned tangled oak forest to farmland. Mr. Webb promised to stand treat when they finished. The singer celebrates

"Here our murdered brother lies." He called for his countrymen to unite. The singer recalls 600 years of warfare, "Crumbled by a foreign weight; And by worse, domestic hate" "Monstrous and unhappy sight! Brothers' blood will not unite" A new day begins

Corn-shucking song: "Wake up, boys, the corn is a-falling, The corn is a-falling at the door. Wake up, boys, the corn is a-falling, The corn is a-falling at the door."

Chorus: "Wake up children, wake up! Arise! Wake up children, wake up! And I will serve that living God." Verse: "Old Satan thought he had me fast, And I will serve..., But thank the Lord, I'm free at last, And I will serve...."

"Wake up, Jacob, day's a-breakin', Peas in the pot and hoe-cake's caking'. Bacon's in the pan and coffee's in the pot, Come on round and get it while it's hot. (Spoken:) Wake, snakes, and bite a biscuit!"

Wake Up, Jonah (Jonah III): (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #10960}

"Wake up, Jonah, you are the man! Reelin' and a-rockin' o' the ship so long!" "Captain of the ship got trouble in mind...." The sailors throw Jonah into the sea; he is swallowed by a whale and proceeds to Ninevah

"Mommy wakes in the morning, Mommy wakes in the pukkah, Hee-ho, coffee cannot please her." Similarly, "Johnny wakes in the morning," etc.

Singer's adventures as he wanters and meets various crooks. He takes a prize at a fair, gets drunk, gives away his bull. A sharper asks him for "two tens for a five." Etc. Chorus: "Wal I swan, must be getting on/Giddyap Napoleon, it looks like rain..."

Walk Along John (I): (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7824}

Weasel invades the henhouse, rats invade the dairy, Black Sam invades the kitchen, etc. Chorus: "Walk along, John, (piper's/fifer's) son, Now ain't you mighty glad your day's work's done. Walk along, John, git towards home, Ain't you mighty glad...."

A game where a parent traces parts of an infant's head: "Walk down the path [part of the hair], Knock at the door [tough the forehead], Peep at the windows [open eyelids], Lift up the hatch [nose], And walk in [open the mouth; perhaps put fingers in]"

Walk in Jerusalem Just Like John: (14 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #12109}

"I want to be ready (x3) To walk in Jerusalem just like John." "John said the city was just foursquare... And he declared we'd meet him there." "When Peter was preaching at Pentecost, He was endowed with the Holy Ghost"

Chorus: "Walk on the bay Let me see you walk." The response to every verse line is "Let me see you walk." Singer sees his darling downtown and tells her to walk and talk. She asks "Do you want me to be your bride"; he tells her to walk and talk.

"Oh, little children, let us walk together, Little children, don't get (worried/weary),Walk together, little children." "Comin' up,,, is... a Great camp meeting in the Promised Land." "Let us (sing/shout/pray) together, little children..."

"Old Tom WIlson, he had him a horse, His legs so long he couldn't get across." "Walk, Tom Wilson, get out o' the way! Walk, Tom Wilson, don't wait all the day!" The various verses relate Wilson's improbable exploits

'I'm your child, Lord, I'm your child (x2), When I'm on this old tedijous journey, I'm your child...." ""Walk with me, Lord, walk with me (x2), When I'm on this... Walk with me." "Hear my pray, Lord, hear my prayer. "Try to sing, Lord, try to sing."

Walk, Billy Abbott: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #13976}

The response to each line is "weavin' low." The call lines are "Walk Billy Abbot," "Shout Billy Abbot," "Shout I tell you," "Swing your partner"

Walk, Johnny Wilson: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #7042}

"Mean Johnny Wilson went to town (x3), He took a barrel of moonshine down." "The hoop did break and the barrel did swell," killing Wilson. Chorus: "Walk, Johnny Wilson, walk, walk." Other verses about hens, guns, and one-horse towns

Walk, Shepherdess, Walk: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #15819}

"Walk, Shepherdess, walk, And I'll walk too, To find the ram with the ebony horn An the gold-footed ewe," plus a silver-fleeces lamb and a crystal-belled wether. "And if we never find them, I shan't mind, shall you?"

Walkalong, Miss Susiana Brown: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4694}

Halyard shanty. No story line to any of the available verses. The characteristic last chorus line is "Walkalong Miss (Susiana/Juliana) Brown."

Halyard shanty. "Oh, Rosie, she'm the gal for me. Away you Rosie, Walkalong! She hangs around the big levee. Walkalong my Rosie!" Rhyming verses, no story line.

Walkin' in the Parlor: (30 refs. 6K Notes) {Roud #766 and 4614}

"I never went to free school nor any other college, But... I will tell you how the world was made in the twinkling of a crack. Walk in, walk in, walk in I say, go in the parlor and hear the banjo ring." Sundry observations about the creation and the Bible

"Walking at night along the meadow way, Home from the dance beside my maiden gay.... Stodola, stodola, stodola pumpa," " Nearing the woods, we heard a nightingale," "Many the stars that brightly shown above, But none so sweet as her one word of love,"

"Walking boss (x2), I don't belong to you. I belong (x2) to that steel driving crew." "Work one day, just one day, just one day, Then go lay in the shanty two." Etc. Verses loosely descriptive of life on a railroad crew.

Walking Down "Memory Lane": (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #V13451}

"Silently down 'Mem'ry Lane' I slowly walk tonight, Faces of the long ago I view with great delight." While wlking, the singer "spied a place so dear," the old church. It brings back memories of the happy old times and brings thoughts of "the other shore"

This formula song chronicles the difficulties the narrator encounters in attempting to (find and) have sex with a whore.

"Walking in the green grass, green grass, green grass, Walking in... grass, so early in the morning." One party has come to get married, and chooses (Susie). Two groups discuss how they will overcome obstacles. At last both agree to the wedding

Walking in the Light: (1 ref. 1K Notes) {Roud #15255}

Chorus: "We are walking in the light (x3), "We are walking in the light of God (x2)." Verses: "Hallelujah to the Lamb, Jesus died for every man"

Walking In the Light of God: (1 ref. 2K Notes) {Roud #15266}

Chorus: "Walk you in the light (3x), Walking in the light of God." Verse: Singer says parents should teach their children to pray. He asks his sisters to help him sing as Moses's sister helped him. Elijah declared: only the righteous shall go to heaven.

"Walking John was a big rope horse" who "was willing and stout and strong," but "he sure enjoyed his joke." Every morning he tried to throw his first rider -- but then settled down to be a hard worker

Walking on the Green Grass: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1381}

"Walking on the green grass, Walking side by side, Walking with a pretty girl, She shall be my bride." Boys and girls pair off and dance; the "king" chooses a "queen"; they go around the ring

"Along the road that leads the way, We travel as it will, Itself a guidepost good enough To find both dale and hill; Our hearts are light, our courage high, The way is good and broad... Hurrah for the Open Road."

The singer "walks the floor" because "darling, I know your love ain't true."

Minstrel recitation with chorus: "O, walky-talky Jenny an' a hubble for your trouble...." Incidents include a fight with a racist, an argument with a woman he has rescued from a fire, and an incident with his baby and a dog

Sundry silliness: "Bought an old cow from Farmer Jones, She weren't nothing but skin and bones. Fattened her up as fine as silk; She jumped the fence and skimmed her milk. Wallabug, wallabug, you can't fool me...."

Wallaby Brigade, The: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #27797}

The singer boasts of the life of the swagman. He gives advice for finding (or not finding) work, and surviving the travelling life. "When the shearing's at an end we'll go fishing in the bend, Then hurrah for the Wallaby Brigade."

"The saddle is hung on the stockyard rail... And never was seen such a regular screw As old Wallaby Joe of Bellegarew." Joe, a horse, wanders off one day. Stockman Bill, his owner, decides to hunt gold; he finds the horse's corpse in his digging

"Roll up your bundle and make a neat swag, Collar onto your billycan and the old tuckerbag. It's no disgrace to be seen with your swag on your back, While searching for work on the wallaby track."

Playparty. "Wallflowers, wallflowers, growing up so high, All of you young ladies Are meant to die." One girl is excepted, because of her great skill at (something).

Singer and a friend come to Wallins Creek and pick up girls. "The only thing they want to do, smoke cigarettes and car-ride." Men offer boys loose tobacco but the prefer cigarettes. "If [girls] could get them one cigarette, they'd car-ride every day"

Singer meets a pretty walnut vendor. He tells her he's sick of single life, and "O won't we be happy until wedlock breaks us here?" Chorus: "Ten-a-penny walnuts, my Nellie she were by/Fresh from Common Garden, please to come and try...."

Walrus and the Carpenter, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #10251}

"If all the whores with dirty drawers Were lying in the Strand, Do you suppose, the Walrus said, That we could raise a stand?" The Carpenter is doubtful. The second verse seems to be about an old woman and my be unrelated

Coming from "the holy land Of Blessed Walsingham," the singer asks (a jolly palmer) about the singer's love. The (palmer) asks questions and is told that she has left him, but his love endures

Walter Lesly [Child 296]: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3925}

Walter Lesly invites the girl to drink. He then makes off with her; he intends to marry her (for her money). But he falls asleep before she does, and she escapes. She outruns his men and makes her way home.

Walter Mullin "changed his home in Whitneyville For a Canadian soldier's grave ... in the European War" The singer recalls the youth they shared. "Now you are wanted at the Front, But you will not take your stand. O why can't you be like my comrade"

Waltz the Hall: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7649 and 7927}

"First couple out, couple on the right, Charge them pards an' waltz 'em out of sight." "When you're through remember my call, Charge 'em again an' waltz the hall." "Skip to my Lou, boys, skip to my Lou... When you're through remember my call...."

A swagman (hobo) camps by a pool. He sees a sheep come down to drink, and grabs it. He is spotted by (three troopers/the landowner), who call on him to justify his actions. Rather than face up to his crime, the swagman drowns himself in the pool

Waly Waly (The Water is Wide): (37 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #87}

The singer laments the effects of unrequited love and an untrue lover. Typical symbols include the rotten-hearted oak that looks solid but breaks and the beautiful flower protected by thorns. In some versions the lover is untrue; sometimes (s)he is dead

"Cease ye winds to blow ... I think I hear my true love's voice ... don't think 'tis he ... Oh where is my wanderer gone." "I fear my love has lost his way." "The moon behind the cloud is lost ... The lightnings gleam no more...."

Singer quarrels with his father and prepares to leave home. His mother begs him not to; her heart will be broken. He leaves anyway. Now he is in a boxcar while his mother longs for the boy who will never return. He cautions others not to imitate him

"My daddy is an engineer, My brother drives a hack, My sister takes in washin' An' the baby balls the jack, An' it looks like I'm never gonna cease my wanderin'." Tales of work and poverty, held together by the refrain "never gonna cease my wanderin'."

Wandering Boy, The: (7 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4227}

"Out in this cold world and far away from home, Somebody's boy is wandering alone...." The mother begs, "Bring me back my wandering boy, He's all that's left to give me joy." She tells how his place still waits for him

A cowboy sadly tells the tale of why he left home: He had killed a childhood friend in a quarrel over a girl: "So that's the reason why I am compelled to roam. A sinner of the darkest strain, Far far away from home"

Cowboy describes ranches he's worked at. He signs on with a ranch, works summer and fall, then drifts to Arizona for a winter job. It's too lonely and boring, so he moves on again. One night in Wyoming, he dreams of his home rancho and decides to return

Singer has no home, no one to love him. He's wandering down the trail, coming to the end of his life, and thinking the only home he will ever find is "on some other shore"

Game in which a coin is passed hand to hand while one player has to guess where it is. "Dollar, dollar, how you wander, From the one unto the other, Is it fair, is it fair, TO leave [Miss Anna] so long without a chair?"

Wandering Girl, The: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1691}

The singer's lover has deserted her and their baby. She'll go home but knows she'll be turned away by her mother. "She'll tell me to wander as I've wandered before." She warns girls not to trust young men.

"It was up on the Moffat Tunnel, In Colorado's snowy clime, Two buddies while working together Quarreled over a jug of wine"; they kill each other. There are deaths on the section gang. Prostitutes take their money. But "I love my pick and shovel"

Bring my crook and bring my plaid." The singer would go to her "wandering shepherd laddie." She'll go through mountain storms to "his black-face yowes on the heather hills" and rest with him "when the moon comes over the top o' the hill"

"Oh have you seen our wandr'ing Willie In his journey through your state?" He travels with "a wadding gait," and his luggage is filled with "solid cash." He "pulled the party though." Now they have "passed him from the door."

"Want to go to heaven (see my mother (father, sister, Jesus)) when I die (x3), Good Lord, when I die (x4)."

"To the Minneap'lis Tribune came a little child one day," asking to run an ad to find her father: "Wanted, my darling papa, to come home right away." The message from Mamie is read in the mining camp, and the father sets out for home at once

Singer meets a pretty maid who wants "the chiefest grain"; she accepts his services, asking him to sow her meadow with "the wanton seed." After forty weeks she returns with a slender waist (presumably having borne a child), wanting more of the wanton seed

"There came a trooper to this town, I thank you for your gentleness, He would have maidens nine or ten, To cure him o' his wantonness." The miller's lass takes him on. They have sex nine times the first day, then six, etc.; this cures his wantonness

Wanton Wife of Bath, The: (13 refs. 12K Notes) {Roud #V13472}

"In Bath a wonton wife did dwell, As Chaucer he did write." She dies. Adam tells her that, as a sinner, she has no place in heaven. She points out his sins; he flees. Similarly Jacob, etc.. Finally she is admitted to heaven because she knows of Christ.

"A portly Roman Senator was sipping his Rock and Rye When a classic Vestal Virgin caught his educated eye." But while the "Senator" is away, a junior young officer slips into her bed. Finally the "Senator" forgives her

"You've all heard of 'Banjo' Paterson and of course I needn't say That he's the best and the greatest correspondent of the day...." The singer, alleged to be Paterson, boasts of all the people he knows and of his great journalistic skills

War in Missouri in '61, The: (2 refs. 18K Notes) {Roud #3698}

The title tells the subject. "Claybourn Jacks" tries to pull Missouri out of the Union, and Harney does little to stop him. Price and Blair and the Lion (Lyon) stop him. But the Lion is killed by McCulloch. The author asks forgiveness for his rough verse

War Song of the Revolution: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #7953}

"Come ye Americans and tremble Here before your might God." The singer describes women and children slain and husbands and families destroyed by war. Storms and fires destroy cities. Listeners are warned to turn to God

"De cap'n's in dce pilot house ringin' de bell, Who's on de way, boys, who's on de way? 'N' de mate's down atween decks givin' de niggas hell, Tell me, whar you goin?" Complains of a Black sailor on a Great Lakes ship

Singer's ship sails for the coast of Ireland. They encounter a French ship. They report that they're from Liverpool and they will show the Frenchmen what they're made of. They badly damage the French ship,which surrenders; they drink the captain's health

Warlock Laird o' Skene, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5874}

A magician swears an oath that after "ae nicht's frost ... He would drive o'er the Loch o' Skene." He casts a spell, calls out his coach and horses, and crosses the lake. Since then no fowl or fish is caught in that track.

"I once loves a young man So dear to my life, He told me so often He would make me my wife." "He fulfilled his promise, He made me his wife... I have ruined my whole life." In floating verses, she laments her sick baby and drunken husband and warns others

"Just let his be a warning to wife-stealers: Stay away! You cannot come to Arkansas and steal another's wife! And if you dare to try it you will surely have to pay, yes, You must pay most dearly with your life."

A lawyer, underemployed and impoverished, at last decides to marry a wealthy old maid. The bride prepares for their wedding night by taking off wig, false teeth, false eye, and other decorations. The husband, who failed to get a "warranty deed," flees

The singer asks if the listener has ever been in Queensland. In Warrego, in Queensland, is his love. "She was black -- but what of that?... She was just the sort for a bushman." He enjoyed her company, but then found she had given him a social disease

Wars o' Germanie, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #5608}

"O, wae be to the orders that marched my love awa', And wae be to the cruel cause that gars my tears down fa'." The singer recalls her soldier's departure for the wars overseas. Her family chides her, but she says they do not understand

Wars of America, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #678}

"I have two sons and a son-in-law, Fightin' in the wars of America. But I don't know if I'll see them more Or whether they'll visit old Ireland's shore." The singer seeks the boys; at last one comes home -- but crippled from the wars

"Come all you lads that be here for service, Come here, you jolly dogs, Who will help me with my harvest?" The famer offers a likely fellow "five pounds in standing wages" and good food, and tells him to come on Thursday; "my servants do all leave me."

"Come all you wary bachelors, come listen unto me... Before my wife was married, she was a dainty thing," but now she never finishes her work, but dresses up and goes out. "If my wife and your wife were in one boat together," the singer would drown both

German. "Was dragt di Gans uff ihren Schnawwel? En Schissel mit de Subbfe. Un em Jaejer war di Gans." "What does the goose carry on her bill? A knife and fork. And the goose belongs to the hunter." The goose carries other things on other body parts

"If you girls and boys will listen, I will tell them in my song, Of a sad thing that I noticed...." Two little children started to fight. Then a third boy comes along and causes them to make peace. "That was right, that was right."

"There was John and Jane and Betsy/Eating buns and drinking whisky/Dancing jigs upon the fiddle/Up the sides and down the middle"; singer's sister Bella is never without her umbrella; brother Joe went to Chester College for to get a bit of knowledge; etc.

Wash Me in the Water: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #10550}

"Wash me in the water That washed your dirty daughter/the Colonel's daughter, Then I shall be whiter Than the whitewash on the wall...."

Jump-rope rhyme. "Wash the dishes, Dry the dishes, Turn the dishes over. A rick tick one, A rick two, a ... ten."

Counting-out rhyme. "Wash the lady's dishes, Hang them on the bushes; When the bushes start to crack, Hang them on a donkey's back. When the donkey starts to run Shoot him with a leather gun"

"Some of these brethren gone wrong (x3), Oh, Lord, some of these brethren gone wrong." "Git right, brethren, git right." "Similarly with sisters, deacons, and presumably anyone else who has ever disagreed with the singer

"The sky with clouds was overcast, The rain began to fall, My wife she whipped the children And raised a pretty squall... Oh, the deil a bit o' comfort's here upon a washing day." The singer describes how his good wife turns evil on washing day

"We have a bold commander, Who fears no sword or gun, A second Alexander, Whose name is Washington."

"I washed dat woman's clo'es And I hung 'em on de line, My back most a-breakin', I's a-hurtin' all de time." The singer brings the clothes to their owner, who races "and she flung 'em on de flo'." The singer laments her pain and labor

"Wasn't that a wonder in the Heaven (x2), Mighty wonder in the Heaven, That woman clothe with the sun, moon under her feet." "Read about the wonder in the heaven ...." "John saw the wonder in the heaven...."

"A wasp bite Nobi on her conch-eye" (x2). Mama is summoned to hold the light; the Germans will fight.

"Then broadside and broadside full at it they went The Wasp stung the Frolick unto her content." Frolic is defeated and ordered toward port but a British 74 takes both the nest day.

"Jolly come to our jolly wassail." Wishes for a merry Christmas and a happy New Year. Have "pockets of money and a cellar of beer" A ship in full sail is in the ocean gale. Get apples for cider. "I know you'll reward us for singing wassail"

Capsan shanty. German (Plattdeutsch). "Un wenn wi nu na Hamborg kamt." When they come to Hamburg, the sailors will pay for girls. The singer lists a few of the whores he might meet, and where they can be sought

Jamaican patois: Whenever the singer remembers Liza, whenever he thinks of his "nice gal Liza," "wata come a me 'eye." "Come back Liza."

"Who has stole my watch and chain, my fair lady?" "Off to prison you must go"

"I been all around my last time, last time, last time, I been all around my last time. Young lady hold the key. Just watch that young lady how she hold that key (x2). Young lady, hold the key."

"Watch, barrel, watch, mackerel for to catch! White may they be, like blossom on the tree, God send thousands, one, two, three; Some by the head, some by the tail, God send mackerel and never fail... God send as many as we can lift in!"

In the cold windy night a mother and her dying baby see a mansion where "a hundred lights are gleaming ... and merry feet are dancing." In the morning she and the baby are dead

"The watchman blows the trumpet loud, Come listen to the trumpet's sound, And be assured there's danger there. How many are prepared to die? Your days ahead will soon be o'er, And time to you return no more. Oh, some soul to save, What will I have..."

"Water boy, water boy! (x2) Water on the wheel, How does the sun shine that I feel, Little water time, hey, little water boy (x2), Water on the wheel, How does the sun shine that I feel, Little water boy."

"Did you hear about, oh yeah! the water boy drownded... In Mobile Bay." "They dropped him, oh yeah! in forty feet of water... Over his head." "Did you hear about... Lu Etta Water ... The poor girl dead." She died at home of tuberculosis.

"One dark and dismal morning, As I from bed did rise," the singer sees a sailor part from his wife and baby boy, saying, "When shall we meet again?" The boy dies asking for his father; months later, the wife receives word that the sailor's ship sank

"Listen to the water-mill Through the live-long day.... and a proverb haunts my mind As a spell is cast, 'The mill cannot grind With the water that is past.'" The hearer is repeatedly urged to make use of time, not to waste it

"I cannot get to my love, if I would dee, The waters of Tyne stand between him and me, And here I must stand with a tear in my e'e, Both sighing and sickly my true love to see." She begs for a boatman to carry her across the river

Water Witch is wrecked on a Horrid Gulch reef near Pouch Cove. Pouch Cove fishermen save some. The Humane Society of Liverpool sent "Gold medals to those fishermen who never knew no fear, The Governor's lady pinned them on"

"Where would I get a tiny boat To carry my love and ?" He buys a tiny boat for five pounds and "that very night the two were married"

Singer can't go home because of flooding. His girl's father is mad, but the singer doesn't care "as long as I get his daughter": "If he don't give her up, we're gonna run away." He and his friends state that they're going home "before the water rises."

The singer meets a damsel who has "a bunch of watercresses." She agrees to marry but "has some bills to pay" first, so he gives her money. Next day he get a letter that she's already someone's wife. "Sure you must have been greener than watercresses"

Waterford Boys, The: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3107}

The singer pays 5 shillings for a room and dry bread and cheese; he fight rats all night. Tavern-keeper would refund 5s for a cure for rats. "Just invite them to supper" and "charge them five shillings and never the rat will again cross your floor."

Waterford staff strikes for pension rights. Union "Meter Maids" cross the line. Police are scabs and a crowd is treated to an ice hockey shutout of the Police by "Fire Boys." Nevertheless, the "cops keep order, and they're taking home the pay."

The singer is pressed and forced to leave his sweetheart. The new Redcoat serves in Belfast, then is sent to Waterloo, where he loses an arm and a leg. Now he is at least free of the army and due a pension of thirty pounds

Watermelon on the Vine: (9 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #11795}

"You may talk about your apples, your peaches, and your pears... But... The watermelon am de fruit for me." "But gimme, oh, gimme me... That watermelon hanging on the vine." The singer begs for, or makes other plans to acquire, the watermelon

"O baby, watermelon is spoilin on the vine." The singer's girl is breaking his heart. He wants his letter and ring back. Floating verses [see notes]. "Needle and thread" [let's go down the road] "Make my chimney higher"

The bride waits at home for the bride-groom. She and her maiden look for him but "he'll never win owre the waters o' Dee." At dinner the bridegroom raps at the gate. The bride gets a horse and they elope "And so they were mairriet wi' candle-light"

A girl laments "I am afraid to die a maid." A man overhears and offers her "Watkin's Ale." She accepts. After much witty repartee, they part. Nine months later, her child is born. The moral: "It is no jesting with sharp-edged tools."

Watty goes to the local alehouse and complains to Mungo about Meg's nagging. Mungo recommends Watty threaten to leave her. Watty follows the advice, threatening to enlist. Meg begs him to stay and promises never to nag him. He stays.

Watty Grimes blames Billy McKeever for blackmailing him into leaving his family to join a raid to aid Antrim. They "spent that whole night with a bottle and glass." Watty is deserted in the field, flees, is taken, jailed in Coleraine, tried and executed.

"Watty Wylie was a grieve and served at Whinnyknowe, And he had gien his promise to marry Bessie Lowe," but repeatedly puts off the wedding, pleading poverty. At last she gives up on him and marries another. She is happy, but Watty is mocked

Waukin' o' the Claes, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6269}

Betsy and Jeannie are waulking one cold night. Betsy taunts Jeannie that she has no lover to keep her warm. Jeannie's lover shows up too late. Betsy becaomes pregnant. Jeannie taunts Betsy "now your laddie's gone ... my laddie's proved constant"

The singer is a sailor who loves the sea. His wife doesn't understand why he leaves home ten months a year, with children to raise, while he "must sail the salt sea"

Wavy, Wavy, Turn the Rope Over: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #19213}

Jump-rope rhyme. "Wavy, wavy, turn the rope over, Mother's at the butcher's buyin' fresh meat; Baby's in the cradle, Playin' with a rattle, One, two, three, and a porridge."

Waxies' Dargle, The: (3 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #38105}

"Says my aul' one to your aul' one, Will ye come to the Waxies' Dargle?" The hearer hasn't a farthing to take a trip. Neither can they go to the Galway races. They agree, "When food is scarce, And you see the hearse, You'll know you died of hunger."

"We'll all go over to the waxworks, the waxworks, the waxworks, We'll all go over to the waxworks, yo ho, yo ho, yo ho." There they can see Napoleon, Robespierre, Oliver Twist, and more. The Labor Party's attempts to overthrow the crown won't stop them.

"Way bye and bye (x2), We goin' a have a good time, Way bye and bye." "Way in Beulah land (x2), we goin' a have a good time, way bye and bye." "Meet my mother over there...." "One morning soon...."

"Oh, a good beef steak and' a mutton chop, Way down below! Make dat nigger's lip go flip flap flop. Way down below (x2), Ole Aunt Kitty am honin' for de sea, Way down below." Verses float (e.g. "My old master promised me"); lines 2 and 4-6 are the chorus

Down east, among the shady maples, live Eloise and her mother. The singer would marry Eloise but her mother would not be left alone. He promises Eloise's mother they will take care of her. They marry and have children that play with grandma

Fragment of a shanty: "I've got a sister nine feet tall, 'Way down in Cuba, Sleeps in the kitchen with her feet in the hall, 'Way down in Cuba." "I've got a girl friend, name is Jane, 'Way down in Cuba, You can guess where she gives me a pain...."

"Once upon a time I loved a feller, Way down in Maine, He seed me hum (home) under his umbrella." Her calico ends up torn by the frightening rain. Her mother feeds the man. He will not marry her. So she declares, "I'm in the market still."

Way Down in Old Virginia: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #9578}

"'Way down in old Virginia Where I was bred and born, On the sunny side of that country I used to hoe the corn." The singer recalls those happy times: "And I couldn't stay away." He recalls his old mistress and master, who were "good and kind"

"Somebody stole my old coon dog, I wish they'd bring him back, He drove the big 'uns over the fence An' the little ones through the crack. It's gettin' out the way o' the fiddler O (x3), Way down in Rackensack."

Way Down in Tennessee (I): (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #9415}

"Farewell you girls of this cold countree," "I can no longer stay with you. " "I left my wife and a baby." Chorus: "Away over the ocean." "Tennessee is a-rolling." Lines are repeated three times, followed by "I'm bound/way-down for Tennessee"

"Way down in Tennessee, That's where I long to be, Right at my mother's knee, She thinks the world of me." The singer recalls all the wonderful sights. "They'll be right there to meet me, Just imagine how they'll greet me When I get back To my home in..."

"Way down near Alpena in a far-distant land, There's a hard-hearted, hard-spoken band." The men go on a spree. The singer describes their fights. Chorus: "Hurray, hurrah! For the fruit you can bet/Let's take of a drink, boys, for our credit's good yet."

Way Down on the Old Peedee: (3 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #11770}

"Away down south, on the old Peedee, Away down in the cotton and the corn, There lived old Joe, and he lived so long That nobody knows when he was born." The song describes how the old, old slave was buried

Jump-rope rhyme. "Way down south where the shrecroppers grow, I saw come croppers cropping to and fro, They cropped some peas, they cropped some beans, They cropped right up to the top of the trees...."

Fragment: "Way down the Ohio my little boat I steered/In hopes that some pretty girl on the banks will appear/I'll hug her and kiss her till my mind is at ease/And I'll turn my back on her and court who I please"

Way Down the Old Plank Road: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #18527}

Floating verses, some mentioning jail, stitched together with the usual Uncle Dave Macon logic. Chorus: "Won't get drunk no mo' (x3), Way down the old plank road."

"Way down yonder, Soup to soup! Where dem white folks Soup to soup, Just singin' and prayin'... Tryin' to make man... Biscuits hot... Corn bread cold... Thank God Almighty... Just give me a little mo'...."

'Way in the Kingdom (Aunt Susie): (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #11620}

"Oh the bells did ring when Massa did die, 'Way in the kingdom, And the darkies didn't they holler and cry." "Sinners won't you rise and tel, Jesus has done all thing well." "Hallelujah to the lamb." "Come along Moses,,, Stretch your rod and come across"

Way Out in Idaho (I): (7 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #16409}

A railroad man, enticed by "Kilpatrick's man, Catcher," goes to Idaho to work on the Oregon Short Line. Disillusioned by hard work and bad food, he winds up "happy, down in the harvest camps" and plans to marry a girl and bring her "back to Idaho."

Singer, a hobo, jumps off a freight train, makes camp, falls asleep, dreaming "the desert sand was a milk and honey land." He awakens to the sound of a returning train; he catches it on the fly. Refrain: "It gets lonesome way out there" or similar

Way Out West in Kansas: (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4455}

Complaints about life "Way out west in Kansas": "The sun's so hot the eggs will hatch... It'll pop the corn in a popcorn patch." The people are prone to fighting and often physically peculiar; the lack of amusements makes for a boring life

Playparty/courting game. "Sweet peas and roses, Strawberries on the vine Way over in the blooming garden Where sweet lilies grow." "Choose you a partner and choose him to your side." "Hug him neatly and kiss him so sweetly."

"I wish't I had-a heard when ye called me (x3) To sit on the seat by Jesus. Way over in the heavens...." "Sister, my soul's happy...." "I have a mother in the heavens...." "Won't you be glad when he calls you...."

"The hammer keeps ringin' on somebody's coffin (x2), Way over in the new buryin' groun'." "Somebody's dying way over yonder (x2), Way over in the new buryin' groun'." "Hearse keeps a-rollin' -- somebody's dyin'...."

"Of all the systems I can name Within our bee have State, Is that which much concerns us all, The way they emigrate." They came by wagon and by handcart; now they will come by "iron horse" (the railroad); "They come, they etc., to be blessed"

Way to Wallington, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #3165}

"O canny man, o! Shew me the way to Wallington: I've got a mare to ride, and she's a trick o' galloping." Sandy tells of his determination to reach the town; he is told he is on the road. He sets off "like the wind"

"Come all you jackpine savages wherever you may be"; the singer will tell of working for John Griffin at Leota. It's cold. They have to get rise 4:00 a.m. The work is too hard. When they finish, they'll drink until they feel better -- and return next year

"Way up in the sky The big birdies fly While down in the nest The little birds rest." "The little birds sleep All through the night." "The bright sun comes up, The dew flys away, 'Good morning, good morning,' The little birds say"

"In a shaky wagon we ride, For to cross the prairie wide...." "And that's the way, The way we crossed the plains...." The cattle are loud as they are driven. There is no wood, so they use buffalo chips to make fires

Wayerton Driver, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #9183}

"I'm a heart-broken driver, From Wayerton I came, I courted a sweetheart, Mary Dolan by name." Paul buys her a ring but she turns him down. He gets drunk and visits her again. She prefers Melvin Grant. Pretty fair maids, warns Paul, are "slyer than mice"

"For all the glory of the way. For Thy protection, night and day, For roof, tree, fire and bed and board For friends and home, we thank thee, Lord."

Wayfaring Stranger: (37 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3339}

The singer confesses, "I'm just a poor, wayfaring stranger / A-travelling through this world of woe." The singer plans to cross the Jordan (into heaven), there to meet with family and loved ones and live forever free from trouble and burden

The Wayward Boy has sex with a girl, who gives him "pimples thick" upon his penis in exchange for the "two little mutts up her guts."

""One day while strolling down the street, an old man lost his way." He asks some boys fir help; they make fun of him. A newsboy apologizes to him and tells them to stop. The old man has no heir, the newsboy no parents; the old man adopts the newsboy

Singer's mother has "gone to meet her Jesus." "We will never forget ... she helped you all her way." "... we all love mother." "Some day you'll meet your mother On that bright and happy day"

"Father, Mother, and Me Sister and Auntie say All the people like us are We, And every one else is They. And They live over the sea, While We live over the way, But -- would you believe it? -- They look upon We As only a sort of They!"

We Are Almost Down to the Shore: (2 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #15259}

Chorus: "Put it on (x2), Children and don't turn back We are almost down to the shore." Verse: "Peter Peter on the sea, Drop your nets and follow me" God places the commandments in Moses's mind. Moses dies and "where he's buried never been told"

We are Almost Home: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #15269}

Chorus: "I'm almost home (3x), To ring those charming bells." Verse: "Come along my brother (sister, preacher, mother, deacon, mourner, sinner,...) For your time is drawing near And the angels say there's nothing to do But to ring those charming bells"

Singer (a "sacker" in the lumber camps) tells Jim that times were formerly good for drinkers, but that good booze is now hard to find. He says that despite this, cold water (i.e., temperance) is not for either or them, so they will "drink the old jug dry"

We Are Bound Down South Alibama: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #325}

Alternate lines are a chorus, "Oh Miss Celia oh/We are bound down South Alibama." The shantyman sings: Miss Celia should be ashamed for messing with the boy on the bed.

We Are Building on a Rock: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #15256}

"We are building on a Rock," a "mighty true Rock," a "mighty solid rock," "on high, on high." "Christ Jesus is the Rock" that will prevail against "the very gates of hell." "Help me build on the rock"

We Are But Little Children Weak: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #25520}

"We are but little children weak, Nor born in any high estate; What can we do for Jesus' sake, Who is so high, and good, and great!" "There's not a child so small and weak But has his little cross to take His little work... That he may do for Jesus' sake"

"We are but little sailors weak, Our pay is fourteen bob a week. The more we do the more we may It makes no difference to our pay. Our hours per day are twenty-four. We thank the Lord there are no more"; if there were, they'd have to work those too

"We are but little Seaforths weak, Our pay is seven bob a week, Whate'er we do by night or day, It makes no difference to our pay." They work 24 hours a day; the generals would ask for more if there were more hours. They never get leave

We Are Coming, Father Abraham: (12 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #31244}

"We are coming, Father Abraham, three hundred thousand more... We leave our plows and workshops Our wives and children dear...." The song describes how those left behind are doing the young men's work so they may put down the rebels

"We are marching on (x2), To the land of light, To the land of love, We are marching on." "Where the angels wait At the golden gate, To conduct us there To a mansion fair...." "We are marching on, Happy pilgrim band... To the heavenly land."

Recorded primarily as a tune, with a few words known: "We are poor frozen out gardeners, We've got no work to do, Alas, what shall we do?"

"We are table number one, number one, number one. We are table number one, where is number two?" And so forth, for higher numbers. Text may instead be "We are table one, we are table one, We are table one, And the fun has just begun"

The barbie/mercy [Mersey?] girls wear their hair in curls and wear dungarees, father's shirt, brother's tie, "And when we want a guy We simply wink the eye/when it comes to boys We treat them as toys"

The Peckham boys "know our manners," spend our money, are well respected, "winners of the boys." "When you hear a copper shout, 'Put that dirty Woodbine [cigarette brand] out.'"

"We are the Indians, tall and quaint, In our feathers and war paint, Pow wow, pow wow, We're the men of the olden cow, We are the red men, Feathers in our headmen, Down among the dead men, Ugg pow wow!"

Jump-rope rhyme. "We are three spivs of Trafalgar Square Flogging nylons tuppence a pair, All fully fashioned, all off the ration, Sold in Trafalgar Square."

"We are volunteers in the army of the Lord, Forming into line at thy leader's word... 'Tis a bright immortal crown that we seek to gain." "Come join the army, the army of our Lord, Brigham is our leader, We'll rally at his word...."

We Be Soldiers Three: (4 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #8340}

"We be soldiers three, Pardona moy, je vous an pree, Lately come forth from the low country, With never a penny of money." The soldiers drink to their hearers, or beg their listeners to give a drink to the men who fought for them

"We be three poor mariners, newly come from the seas, We spend our lives in jeopardy, while others live at east. Shall we do dance the Round, around, around (x2)...." The singer praises merchantmen "that do our states maintain."

We beat 'em on the Marne, We beat 'em on the Aisne, They gave us hell at Neuve Chapelle But here we are again."

"We came to Tamichi in 1880, Looking for mineral all the hills o'er... Till our feet were all blistered, our legs were all sore." They have to pay tolls. They have poor food. They list all the others around the worked-out patches, and prepare to leave

"We come -- we come, in joy to greet you, Sweet dear old home so kind and true, Endeared by youthful recollections, In you I find there's nothing new." The singer feels he has been away a long time. "We come, sweet friends, we come."

"The war drum is beating, prepare for the fight, The stern bigot Northman exults in his might." Southerners are urged to prepare for battle, to never think of retreat, to defend the South, and to maintain the motto, "We Conquer or Die"

"We do nothing nothing nothing, We do nothing all day along, We do absolutely nothing. How do you like our nothing song? Second verse, same as the first, a little bit louder and a little bit worse!"

"Oh, we don't get no justice here in Atlanta (x2), For if you say the law ain't right, in the jail you'll spend the night." The rest of the song is variations on these lines.

We Go to College: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #10286 and 10149}

The ladies of this quatrain ballad -- who go to college to major in bed -- recount their various sexual adventures with students, faculty, administration, and staff.

"Way by and by, way by and by, We gonna have a good time, Way by and by." "Gonna meet King Jesus over there." "Gonna meet my (mother/father) over there." "Gonna shout, troubles over, over there." "Gonna shake hands...." "Gonna take my seat..."

"We had a piece of pie Made out of rye, And possum was the meat. The crust was tough, But we had enough, And more than all could eat. E, A, T, Eat."

"We had to walk from the train to the camp. My shoes got dusty. The white dust came up and settled on my shoes. I looked down at them and began to cry. Never before had my shoes been dusty. It was the first time I cried."

"We happy herdsmen here May sing and eke rejoice, For angels bright and clear We saw and heard rejoice." The herdsmen have heard of "the King of all mankind." He is in Bethlehem with his mother. They will go visit the baby

We Have Fathers Gone to Heaven: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #4213}

"We have fathers gone to heaven, O do tell me if you know, Will those fathers know their children, When to heaven they do go?" Similarly with mothers, brothers, sisters, children ("Will those children know their parents")

"We have lived and loved together Through many changing years, We have shared each other's gladness." He has known no sorrow as long as he can see her smile. He hopes to share her sorrows and her joys

A parody of the Federal "On to Richmond"; both begin "Well, we have the navy an' we have the men...." The song catalogs the various Southern generals and troops who fought McClellan in the Peninsula

"When you soar in the air on a Sopwith Scout, And you're scrapping with a Hun and your gun cuts out... you haven't got a hope in the morning." The airman lists all the problems with the equipment he has, and how it leaves no hope

"We haven't seen the (kaiser/sergeant) for a hell of a time, a hell of a time, a hell of a time. He came up to see what we were doin', Number eight platoon will be his bloody ruin... Perhaps he's gone up with a mine... Strafe him, he's no cousin of mine"

"We invite you all to come along, We'll have a glorious time, We're going to the mansions Where the moonlight never shine. There'll be no night there, we need not fear, forever will be day, For God alone shall be our guide and lead us all the way."

"We are the regimental boys (East End boys, Peckham boys, First Herts boys, or any other force), We never make a noise, We know our manner, We can spend our tanners, We are respected everywhere we go"

"We leaves Detroit behind us, We set our canvas tight, The tug slows up and casts off, Old Erie heaves in sight. "You'd swear that whiff of D.C. feed Came clear from Buffalo." "There's no such thing as stiddy wind Around Lake Erie here."

We Left the Port of Sydney: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #28980}

The crew leaves Sydney for Argentia with a load of coal and extra men on board. A storm comes up and sinks the ship and the passengers below deck are trapped and drowned. They had gone to Lunenburg to save money since the fishery was bad.

We Live on the Banks of the Ohio: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #21013}

"We live on the banks of the O-hi-o, O-hi-o, O-hi-o, Where the mighty waters rapidly flow And the steamboat sweeps along." "Ole Massa to his darkies is good... He gives us our clothers...." Slaves, being so well-treated (!), are encouraged not to "droop"

"I am the Texas cowboy." He describes his job, the herds of longhorns, the Spanish ponies, and the danger of lightening-triggered stampede. Paid off in Kansas City, he loafs around, then heads back to Texas and Mary, whom he hopes to marry.

We Met, 'Twas in a Crowd: (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2066}

"We met, 'twas in a crowd, and I thought he would shun me." The singer meets an old lover; they say little, but both are clearly moved. She, the rich girl, could not marry him because of her mother's opposition; both are now wed to others

"Since new (things/songs) are all the rage, In this great and glorious age, On a few things I surely will propound... Just to make a change in business all around." The singer describes those who, if they would just adapt, could change their business

"We part, my love, to meet nae mair, 'Tis cruel fate's decree; And a' the waes o' bleak despair This widowed heart maun dree." The singer recalls his lost love. He hopes to be reunited with her in death

We Poor Labouring Men: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1394}

"O, some do say the farmer's best, but I do need say no, If it weren't for we poor labouring men what would the farmers do?...There's never a trade in old England like we poor labouring men." The singer toasts laborers; good times will come again

"We read in the Bible and we understand, Methuselah was the oldest man, He lived nine hundred and sixty-nine." "We read in the Bible... Samson was the strongest man." "Joshua was the son of Nun, God was with him till the work was done."

"We sailed around old Butler's, No danger did we fear, Until we came to Sawmill Rift, Went plumb against the pier." "Big Mose" rescues what he can. The chorus floats: "And shove around the grog, boys... We are the boys that fear no noise...."

"First we set sail for the Canaries, With a cargo of 47 fairies, We laid about the bunks With those 47 punks, Till all our teeth sprouted caries." Other limericks about various destinations and unfortunate cargoes follow, e.g. "Hawaiians... lions"

"We shall come the unemployed, The disinherited of this earth, We shall come into your temples And your marble halls of mirth." "We shall come as you have made us, Ragged, lousy, pale and gaunt." The poor suffer, but the rich shall suffer in Hell

We Shall Not Be Moved: (7 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #9134}

"The Union is behind us, We shall not be moved... Just like a tree That's standing by the water, We shall not be moved." Similarly "We're fighting for our freedom, We shall not be moved"; "We're fighting for our children"; "We'll build a mighty Union."

We Shall Overcome: (13 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #21324}

"We shall overcome (x3), Some day, Oh deep in my heart, (I know that) I do believe, We shall overcome some day." Verses about the troubles of life, and how (with help from God/brothers/etc.) they can be overcome/survived. Many modern verses known

"We shall sing until we die! We will preach and testify! In that Holy Ghost religion we shall rise, Oh hallelujah! Oh we'll sing until we die, We will preach... Till my Savior's precious face again I see... On the resurrection morning we shall meet him"

"We shall walk through the valley of the shadow of death, We shall walk though the valley in peace, And if Jesus himself shall be our leader, We shall walk through the valley in peace." "We will meet our Father over there...."

We Shepherds Are the Best of Men: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #284}

"We shepherds are the best of men that e'er trod English ground." We spend freely at the ale-house. We pen our sheep safely in spite of hale, rain and snow; then "unto a jovial company good liquor for to taste"

"Nothing, nothing we sing nothing, We sing nothing all day long. How do you like our nothing song?"

"We sing of the polar bear fearless and bold, He never gets hot and he never gets cold" because he lives where there is no summer and "wears polar bear furs." The crocodile is also warm. Humans, though, need to change clothes for the weather

We Three Kings (Kings of Orient): (7 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #24751}

"We three kings of orient are, Bearing gifts we travel afar." The three "kings" come from different lands to visit the Christ Child; they offer their gifts and explain that they have been guided by a star

"Old Johnny Bull's over the ocean, Old Johnny Bull's over the sea; He wants to dictate to our people, But Johnny we want none of the. Ah, there! Stay there!...." Millionaires are "loading Mark Hanna with boodle" to elect William McKinley and support gold

"We was loggin' in Kentucky With Jerry and Joe, Draggin' up the timber.... Jerry and Joe was oxen white." "Bob" goes out to find the missing oxen. They eventually find a "skeeter," which had eaten Jerry and was ringing his bell to get more food

"Riggidy Jig (or "Rig a jig jiig) and away we go Away we go, away we go Riggidy jig and away we go Hi ho Hi ho Hi ho. We were starved as starved could be But now we’ve had enough to eat Riggidy jig and away we go Hi ho Hi ho Hi ho."

We Will Always Have Our Sealers: (2 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #V44718}

"We will always have our sealers While there's a ship to sail, While sturdy crews have fish and brewis, While there is rain and hail." The poet admits that there are many changes, but affirms that there will always be a need for the seal hunt

"We will march through the valley in peace (x2). If Jesus himself be our leader, We will march through the valley in peace." "We will march... Behold, I give myself away." "This track I'll see and I'll pursue." "When I'm dead and buried...."

"Tom Casey being commander Of the Saint Patrick by name," 28 men sign up to go sealing. They quickly become "jammed in White Bay Until the last of May." After many hard times, the sealers manage to return home

A "Come Though Fount of Every Blessing" text, with distinctive chorus: "We will walk through the city, Where our friends have gone before, We will sit on the banks of the river Where we meet to part no more."

"We wish you a merry Christmas (x3) And a happy New Year." "We want some figgy pudding (x3) And a cup of good cheer." "We won't go until we get some (x3), So bring it out here!"

We Won't Go Home Until Morning: (11 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #4251}

"We're all met here together (x3) To eat and drink good cheer." "(For) we won't go home until morning (x3) Till daylight does appear." "We'll sing, we'll dance and be merry (x3) And kiss the lasses dear." "The girls they love us dearly (x3)..."

We Won't Let Our Leader Run Down: (2 refs. 4K Notes) {Roud #V37150}

The Irish Parliamentary Party and Gladstone want to condemn Parnell. "Give Parnell the thing he requires, Home Rule and Prosperity ... then he will retire." "He has fought for prosperity unto the last, That is what the people say in Ireland"

"We work for Hay and Company, we do the best we can, I'll tell you what our jobs are, each and every man." The singer proceeds to do so, ending with himself: "I start at five in the morning, and it's six before I'm through...."

"The horn do blow, the cotton do grow, Driver blow this horn... We'll sell the pig and we'll sell the cow, O never let the child be sold." "When you hear the church bells ring, Dream sinners, dream"

We'd Better Bide a Wee: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #13365}

"The poor aul' folks at hame, ye min', are frail an' ailin' sair, An weel I ken they'd miss me, lad, if I came hame nae mair... I canna lea' the aul' folk, lad, we'd better bide a wee." The girl gives reasons why she must stay with her parents for now

We'll All Go A-Hunting Today: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1172}

"What a fine hunting day and as balmy as may And the hounds of the village will come... We'll all go a-hunting today." A lame farmer, a judge, a doctor, a parson conducting a marriage -- all leave their work to go hunting

"We'll take up our stand for the youth of our land And weave them a garland to wear, Though no leaves of the vine in our wreath we'll entwine For we'll crown them with roses so fair." The singers will bring up their children to stay away from alcohol

"Way down in old Virginny, I suppose you all do know, They have tried to bust the Union, But they find it is no go... We're going down to Washington To fight for Uncle Abe." The song describes the various attacks being made on the rebel cause

The singer promises that the temperance crusaders will "get there [to Prohibition] just the same." As examples of those who overcame equal adversity, the singer cites the oppressed Hebrews, Noah, and the American revolutionaries

Sleepy head says let's go to bed. Slow would sit a while instead. Greedy gut wants the pot put on: "let's sup before we go"

"We'll have another drink before the boat shoves off (2x), And we'll go to Mother Rackett's and we'll pawn our monkey jackets, And we'll have another...."

"I have heard W. V. Allen preach And I've heard O. M. Kem tell, There ay be a plaxe like Paradise, but there's no such place as... Hallelujah; and we'll meet you by and by." Republicans, Democrats, English capitalists, Bryan are warned of coming elections

We'll Rant and We'll Roar: (12 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #687}

Sailor Bob Pittman describes his skills as a sailor, then settles down to describing his wedding plans. Having settled on a suitable wife (after much soul-searching), he makes arrangements for wedded life and bids farewell to all the other girls

We'll Roll the Old Chariot Along: (11 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #3632}

Chorus: "And we'll roll the (old/golden/omit) chariot along (x3), and we'll all hang on behind." Sometimes sung as a shanty, with the sailors describing what they would want on shore; alternately, "If the devil's in the way, we will roll it over him..."

"We'll sail away to heaven Like a feather in de wind (x3), We'll sail away... We'll sail away to heaven by me by." "O, (sisters/brothers/fathers/mothers), don't be weary, weary, Lord, weary, Oh, (sisters), don't be waey, We'll sail away to heaven...."

"Joey Ward is Premier, but he hasn't long to live, He's sold our country's children, and a Dreadnought he did give." "Don't let a tyrant rule you while there's honest men and true." The demonstrators want peace, "And our children shall be free."

The singer complains, she makes tea for her old man, she gets grounds, and "water for the laddie with the trowsers on." Also, malt for her old man, hops for her, and "beer for the laddie ... we'll kiss the laddie with the trousers on"

"We'll soon be free (x3), When de Lord will call us home." "My brudder, how long (x3), 'Fore we done suffering here." "It won't be long." "We'll walk de miry road Where pleasure never dies." "We'll walk de golden street." ""We'll fight for liberty."

We'll Soon Be There: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #31334}

"Hurrah, hurrah, we're homeward bound, Hurrah, the wind blows fair... We'll soon, we'll soon be there." "Haul line, haul line, ye Yankee girls, and coil it clean and fair... we'll soon be there." Don't fear storms. The singer smells the home sod.

"We are tossed and driven on the restless sea of time.... In that land of perfect day, when the mists have rolled away, We will understand it better by and by." Even if lacking daily needs or faced with trials, hearers are promised eventual explanations

Jump-rope rhyme? Ring game? "We'll walk this lady, So they say, A smooth-foot lady, So they say, Come rolling under, Just a little bit faster...."

"We'll work no more Till we get the forty-four [i.e. the 44 hour work week] On the good ship Yacky Hicky Doola"

We're A' John Tamson's Bairns: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6321}

"John Tamson was a merry auld carle, And reign'd proud king o' the Dee... We're all John Tamson's bairns... There ne'er will be peace till the world again Has learned to sing wi' micht and main." The singer describes how he and the company celebrate

"O we're all a-singing, a-sing-sing-singing, Oh we're all singing so happy and gay. We open wide our lips with a soft fa-fa, And merrily we skip o'er the tra la la la." Other verses mention weaving, sewing, sawing, dodging....

"We're all cutting our passage through the world." "Nature cut out man to cut his way through life." When a boy falls out with one girl, "he cuts her for another." The beau tries "to cut a figure." Ladies try "to cut each other out."

"When Paul and Silas were in jail, Do thyself no harm, When Paul and Silas were in jail, Do thyself.... We're all here, we're all here, Do thyself no harm...."

"We all are nodding, nid-nid-nodding, And falling off to sleep." "can't keep awake, we did our best, Heavy-like and weary, We have to get our rest." "It sure is late, we can't delay, We'll get our hats and bonnets and we'll all go away."

We're All Surrounded: (1 ref. 1K Notes) {Roud #9164}

"Martha wept and Mary cried. We're all surrounded. That good old man he up and died. We're all surrounded."

"We're all waiting for a shell, Send us a whizz-bang, We're all waiting for a shell, Send us a five-nine" -- or anything that would result in a mild wound and a return to Blighty "Where the nurses change our nighties When the right shell comes along"

"In that town called San Diego when the workers try to talk, The cops will smash them with a sap and tell 'em 'Take a walk.'" Now labor forces are heading for San Diego, which they will "whip... if it takes us twenty years."

The singer mentions reports of a fine fountain in Arkansas/Idaho. The family heads out toward this wonderful place of health and wealth: "We're coming, Arkansas/Idaho, We're coming, ---, Our four horse team will soon be seen, Way out in ---"

The singer recalls a cold night in winter when he was with (his young wife) Mary when a voice came through the window, "We are coming, sister Mary." (The performance is repeated for two nights), and the singer finds Mary dead

"Oh, we're from Nairobi, And we're on the best team, We do the Watusi, We're seven feet tall, Cannibals might eat us, Cause we're from Nairobi, And we're on the ball. Sing along, sing along, sing along, sing along. Ung gowah, ung gowah, ung gowah...."

"We're gonna move when the Spirit says move (x2), Cause when the Spirit says move, Then you move with the Spirit; We're gonna move." Similarly, "We're gonna singe when the Spirit says sing." "We're gonna talk" "We're gonna march"

"We're here because We're here because We're here because we're here."

"We're here for fun right from the start so drop your dignity, Just laugh and sing with all your heart and show your loyalty. May all your troubles be forgot, Let this night be the best. Join in the songs we sing tonight, Be happy with the rest."

"We're looking for the Kaiser, He does not come our way. We've searched the mighty ocean Right down to Chesapeake Bay, And when we get to Berlin, The Kaiser he will say... What a bloody fine lot Is the navy of today"

"We're marching on to war, we are, we are, we are, We do not care what people say, nor what they think we are, We're going to work for Jesus who did salvation bring, We're hallelujah children and we're going to see our king!"

Singing game. "We're marching 'round and 'round and it's two at a time (x2), We're clinging to each other like grapes to the vine. Our company's increasing and the crown we'll win (x2), So rise up my old love to bring another in"

"As I walked doon the Overgate, I met wi' Johnnie Scobie. I says, 'Man, wil ye hae a hauf?'" "For we're no' awa tae bide awa (x3), We'll aye come back an' see ye." THey share a half, and another, and another, get drunk, and go home together

"Come along, boys, we'll off to the wars... Yo ho, yo ho, in Dixie!" The singer promises to fight for "the 'Federate states," intends to talk about the girls, and lists his leaders who will "bring Montgomery and Lane to taw."

"We're so glad to be here, We're so glad to be here, We could be dead, in our grave, We're so glad to be here"

Chorus: "We're some of the praying people (3x), For my Lord told me so." Verse: "And must I be to judgement brought, to answer in that day?"(2x)

"We are stole and sold from Africa, Transported to America, Like hogs and sheep we're marched in drove." ""See how they take us from our wives, Small children from their mothers' side." "O Lord, have mercy and look down Upon the plight of the African"

We're traveling home. "Millions have reached that healthful shore... But there's room for millions more... The way to heaven is free for all."

"We're up at (Los Cerros/Camp Kami/other), The camp of our dreams, Where (Wolf Lake), it sparkles, It glistens and gleams. So come on and join us, 'Cause we're never blue; Be a member Of our happy loving (crew?)"

"We've come to judgment, O yes my Lord, In that great giving up morning; We've come to judgment...." "O where you going, sinner, with your head bowed down?" The sinner is warned of Hell and told to get with it or face judgment

We've Done Our Hitch in Hell: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #15545}

"I'm sitting here a-thinking Of the things I left behind." The singer complains of digging trenches, cooking, fighting rattlesnakes, and the rest of army life, and claims a front seat in heaven for the Third Wyoming

We've Drunk from the Same Canteen: (2 refs. 4K Notes) {Roud #14075}

"There are bonds of all sorts in this world of ours, Fetters of friendship and ties of flowers... But there's never a bond, old friend, like this: We have drunk from the same canteen!" The singer recalls when his friend came to him when wounded

"We've got a navy, the British navy To keep our foes at bay. Our old song 'Britannia rules the waves' We still may sing today. We've got a navy, a fighting navy, Our neighbors know it too... [about] Those lively little lads in navy blue"

"we've had no beer, We've had no beer today, We've had no beer! We've had no beer, No beer at all today, We've had no beer."

"Come all you pretty fair maids and listen to my song." A "blooming damsel" is walking the fields. She goes to gather flowers, and says she is true to her missing love. The singer draws out their broken ring; they marry

Wealthy Merchant (I), The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #7033}

"There was a wealthy merchant, in Charleston he did dwell, He had a pretty woman, and a tailor loved her well, Singin' roddy hida togger, singin' roddy hi go tay." The rest is said to be bawdy

Wear a Starry Crown: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #13973}

Chorus: "Away over Jordan With my blessed Jesus, Away over Jordan To wear a starry crown." Verse: "We are going (you must be saved, my mother's going, my father's going, the sinner ain't going) to wear a crown" (3x), To wear a starry crown"

"In a saft simmer gloamin' In yon dowie dell, It was there we twa first met, By Wearie's cauld well." The singer recalls the lovers' meeting. Now "faith fades in your heart." She will marry another. "May thy joys be to come -- Mine live in the past"

Wearing of the Britches, The: (7 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1588}

Singer marries a girl for money, not love; they struggle over who will "wear the britches." She spends all he makes, even though he beats her black and blue. Eventually she dies; "now at last her tongue lies still/And she must wear the wooden britches."

Wearing of the Green (I), The: (24 refs. 7K Notes) {Roud #3278}

The singer tells of the dreadful fate of Ireland, the "most distressful country," where "they are hanging men and women for the wearing of the green." The singer bids defiance, and notes that the grass on the martyrs' graves grows green.

Wearing of the Green (II), The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #41789}

"One blessing on my native isle! One curse upon her foes!" In exile the singer thinks of Mary left behind and his parents buried in Ireland. The foe "might have let the poor man live." "But watch the hour that yet will come, For the Wearing of the Green"

""I met with Uncle Percy, and he shook me by the hand, I said, 'How is our navy, sir, and is it still on land?' 'Tis the most distressful navy, faith, that ever yet was seen'"; headquarters is full of landsmen and deadbeats but has no real sailors

"Farewell, for I must leave thee, my own, my native shore." The singer's father is buried in Ireland. His mother weeps but would weep more if he were a traitor, like some others. Exiles love to sing 'The wearing of the green" and think about return

"There's some that sing o' (Comar) Fair... But the best sang that e'er was sung... It was about the term... When we will a' win free." With their contracts expired, the farm hands set out to enjoy themselves and hope to improve conditions next year

Weary of Lying Alone: (3 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #9384}

Singer hears a maid moan: I'm weary of lying alone. She is either 11 + 1 + 7 years old or, when she was 11 she had 7 sweet hearts but now has not 1. She would be a wife. She/he says there's a flower in the garden that should be plucked before it fades.

Weary Pund o' Tow, The: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #435}

The singer bought his wife good linen for her to spin but she stalls: "I thought my wife wad end her life Before she span her tow" When he criticized her she broke a stick over his head. At last she left him, and he was happy to see her go

"Weary soul, why you da come back? ... You went to de river An' you couldn' get across, So you went to de river An' you come back"

"Weary, weary, waiting on you" or "Willie, Willie, I am waiting." The singer will wait no longer. Three times she has whistled, or the whistle has blown. She asks, "Are you coming?"

"Working in a weave-room, fighting for my life, Trying to make a living for my kiddies and my wife, Some are needing clothing... some are needing shoes, But I'm getting nothing but the weave room blues." Singer describes horrid conditions in textile mills

A weaver roves out and meets a pretty maid carrying a loom under her apron. Upon learning the man's trade, she asks him to weave upon her loom. The remaining verses feature sexual exploits euphemized as various weaving techniques and patterns.

Weaver and His Shuttle, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7218}

The singer comes over a hill [or sets his loom on the banks o' brume] and meets Sarah Kelly [or McKellie].

"I am a weaver (sailor, etc). to my trade, I fell in love with a servant maid, And if I could but her favor win, Then I would weave and she would spin." His father says he should seek someone better. But he goes to her chamber, and eventually marries her

The singer, a hand-weaver, loves a woman who works in a factory. He visits her in her bedroom despite his family's scorn. All the girls have gone to weave with steam; "If you would see them you must rise at dawn/And trudge to the mill in the early morn"

Weaver and the Tailor, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #13355}

The singer overhears a couple talking; "it was concerning love." The young man, a weaver, is trying to talk the girl out of her affection for a tailor. He describes all the tailor's faults. She gives in and consents to marry him. (They live happily.)

"Down by the river lives Weaver John, And a jolly old John is he; Maud is the name of his dear old dame...." They work at weaving as the mill goes "Whickety, whackety, click and clack." He bought her her wheel when they wed. The pets frolic as they work

Weaver Loons o' Huntly, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #13565}

"Neetle reets an' docken reets [nettle and dock roots?] Ti hale the swallin o' their queets [ankles] They are a set o' laithful breets [loathful brutes] The weyver loons o' Huntly"

Weaver's Daughter (I), The: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1277}

Singer is smitten by a weaver's daughter. He proposes. She demurs; her late mother taught her to wed for love not gold, and that her aged, blind father's heart would break. She vows that she and her father will not be separated until he lies in the grave

Description of hard life in a weaving mill. Follows the pattern of "Life's Railway to Heaven": "Weaver's life is like an engine/Coming 'round a mountain steep." Singer describes showing newcomers "breakouts" to discourage them from working in the mill.

Weavers' Garland, The: (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #V6289}

Hard times. A weaver talks to his wife. He thanks her for her care. She tells him to be patient and think of Job. Their six children will all work. "God gives and takes away, Bless'd be his name"

"I've reached the land of mud and rain, I've struggled long this land to gain." Having reached the "webfoot land," "I sometimes wish that I had not." The rain is constant. He will head back east if he can find the money; he wants to see the sun

When the webster's (weaver's) old mare declares she can work no more; when the man threatens her, she faints. He skins the horse. Awakening in the night, it comes to the door; a lad kills it fears he has done murder, then discovers it is a horse

Wedded Waters, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6810}

Aberdeenshire rivers Gadie and Ury "trysted aye to meet Amang the woods o' Logie. Like bride and bridegroom happy they." The singer wishes the same for himself: "I looket syne, but cou'dna see My sworn love at Logie"

"Hurrah for the wedding." Give an "Hurray" each for the bride and groom and notable attendees as well. Drinking, dancing, eating and fun. Bride and groom "stole off At the dawning of day ... nobody missed them Till P.M. at one." A grand time was had.

The singer asks the muses' help to describe the wedding. The guests are listed. After the ceremony, the great feast is devoured. The bride is nervous; her mother tells her to be happy; she'd marry again if she could. A happy if exaggerated occasion

Wedding at Kouchibouguac, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #9182}

The bride is "the primrose of Kishimaguac." The beef was from an ox that had died of old age and the rest of the food, was no better but, like everything else, was what "is common for supper in Kishimaguac" The usual wine, the usual songs, i.e., ho hum.

Wedding in Renews, The: (4 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #12519}

"There's going to be a happy time, I want you all to know, There's me and Joe and Uncle Snow Invited for to go" to the Wedding in Renews. The girls have goose grease in their hair, the men have "whiskers to their shoes." They will have a happy dance

"'Twas on a night so windy, When it was wet and cold, There was a celebration...." "Old H.G. acted as Justice of the Peace." Captain Martin chokes and needs the help of Doctor Hinds. (Someone) finds "the greenhorn a-laying by her side"

The singer calls on listen as he tells of Lauchie's wedding, which "To tell you the truth it was liker a battle," as they eat bad food ("the look of the beef nearly gave us the fever") and various guests make disastrous attempts at song

"Now some people think it's jolly for to lead a single live, But I believe in marriage and the comforts of a wife." "It's worth your while a-felling out to make it up again." They'll have a nice home. So get a table and chair, prepare a home, and marry

"Dear lady, since the single state You've left and chose your mate," the singer will take the opportunity to lecture her. She should make her husband bless the day they married. She should never struggle for power but be humble and clean house

Wednesbury Cocking, The: (7 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #23391}

Stories of cockfighting at Wednesbury. The competition is fierce, and many are the addicts of the sport and of gambling on it. The song relates many incidents, concluding when "Jack Baker he whacked his own father, and thus ended Wednesbury Cocking"

"I 'm a jolly servant lass, my name is Mary Ann, I'm going to sing about a thing that calls itself a man; He wanted me his wife to be, he's only four foot four...." She reviles the short suitor, and details why she wants no part of such a man

"There's a wee baby moon lying on her back With her little silvery toes in the air And she's all by herself in the deep blue sky But the wee baby moon doesn't care." There are other baby animals the singer hopes will play and sing along

"A wee bittie east, there leeve a man, O siller an' sense no had riffie." He decides he must have a wife. West of there lived a wealthy man with three rich daughters. The wee man goes and declares his love for one. The ending is missing.

"There was a little wee bridelie, In Pitcarles toun... There was few folk bidden to it, And as few fowk did come." The smallness of the feast is described: No meat but a sheep without a tongue, etc. When the bride goes to bed, the groom refuses to follow

This year's crop was so bad the barley and flax was not worth harvesting ("malt will be dear the year to the brewsters o our ale," "lint it was na gude"). The singer cannot afford help and will do the thrashing and cleaning horses's straw himself.

"As Jack from the market came the other day, His wife she sat drinking her wee cup of tay." Jack complains "I must work hard, not a shirt to my back" while she has finery and her tea. She attacks "what money you spend in whisky and beer." They argue.

Sam asks Bill if he has tobacco, then gives a long justification based on the use of tobacco by Adam, Pharaoh, Jonah, Noah, Belshazzar, and Jason and the Argonauts. Bill concedes the point, and will continue to bring in tobacco in truckloads

Wee Drap o' Whisky, A: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6033}

"Come fill up a bumper and hand it round here." When weary the singer's pleasure is a kiss and "a drap more" with his lassie. He resolves disputes with "a drap mair" and never complains. After a half pint more he'll go home "till farther occasion"

Wee Drappie O't, A: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5610}

"O, life is a journey we a' hae to gang, And care is the burden we carry alang, But though grief be our portion... We are happy a' thegither owre a wee drappie o't." The singer notes tragedies of life -- and how they are relieved by fellowship and drink

"I once had a duck when I lived in Drummuck, I was quite in luck when I lived in that land." The duck, said to be related to (Nell) Flaherty's drake, is said to be very productive -- but now has been stolen. The singer will keep better guard hereafter

Wee Falorie Man, The: (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5106 and 13175}

"I am the wee falorie man A rattling roving Irishman. I can do all that ever you can." Sister Mary Ann "washes her face in the frying pan And she goes to hunt for a man." "I am a good old working man Each day I carry a wee tin can" with a bun and ham.

""Oh, he cut a happy sucker from the muckle rodden tree, He trimmed it and he wet it and he thumped it on his knee," and the herdsman plays the whistle. He forgets the "kylie"; he fails in school; at last the teacher burns the lad's whistle

"There it stood, the Wee-House-in-the-Wood," which inspires visions of folklore: English music, King Arthur, much that is gone, all revealed by a "phantom minstrel."

Johnnie dresses up to court Jean, for he needs a wife to manage his life, and her dowrie. "I'm sure that she canna refuse me." She rejects his offer, which she thinks a joke, and he is chased away by her father and spaniels.

"Wee little piute, hi yi ya, Jolting cayuse. mountain trail, Strapped to the back of your ma ma ma, Gazing away o'er the pony's tail." Images of what the child sees as it travels the trail

There is a horse race at Easterkirk "between twa [English] lords and weel mounted" and [Scotsman] Willie on his mare. Willie wins in the mud which "'filed [dirtied] the gentles' face." "Lord Lovat he gaed mad at that Swore he wad ride nae more"

Wee Pickle Tow, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5506}

John Grumely brings tow for his wife to spin. A spark from her pipe lights it. She refuses to spin (Eve wore leaves rather than spin), or churn butter. And he can sleep with his back to her. Then, he says, they'll sleep in separate beds.

Wee Tailor from Tyrone, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #2488}

Mollie agrees to marry a tailor. She becomes a lady's waiting maid. The tailor accepts the lady's[?] offer of marriage, money, and gentleman's life. The marriage, in the dark, is a sham. When the light is on he sees "the lady" is Mollie. She rejects him

"Wee wa, petty saw, Jak Moore Jenkins, Can you shoe a horse of mine? Yes Sir, that I can, that I can, Good as any other man. Bring him in the stall, One nail drives all, Wee wa, petty saw, Jack Moore Jenkins"

"I am a wee weaver confined to my loom." Willy loves Mary. They roam by Lough Erne and Willy proposes. "So this couple got married and they'll roam no more"

"Wha the de'il hae we gotten for a King but a wee, wee German lairdie?" Geordie had to be fetched from his "yairdie," and now fills the government with foreigners. He is warned against visiting the Highlands, and his disreputable traits cataloged

Wee Wee Man, The [Child 38]: (24 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #2865}

The singer meets a "wee wee man," who, despite his size, proves amazingly strong. He takes the singer on a tour to his home, and shows him the finest ladies he has ever seen -- but then disappears.

The Wee Wifikie takes too much drink, and lies down to rest. A peddler steals her purse and cuts her hair. She awakens and finds herself changed. She thinks she is not herself. She tells her husband, who asks the minister, who reassures him all is well

"Wee Willie Winkie runs through the town, Upstairs and downstairs in his night gown, Rapping at the window, crying through the lock, Are the children all in bed, for now it's eight o'clock?"

Jump-rope rhyme. "Weedy, weedy, weedy, wop, Sour sop ripe and drop. Drop on (X's) head, (X) say, 'What day?' Weedy, weedy, weedy, wop."

Meg has no pity: John is hung over from drinking for a week at the fair with "dandy Katie" while she was left at home. John says Meg drinks also and carried on at home that week; he got her out of jail. He proposes they don't drink until New Year.

Week After the Fair (II), The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #5162}

The Fair has brought John and Meg to beggary's door. He reviews her escapades of drink and running around with other men. She says he ran around and pawned everything they owned. They agree to "tak' a drap and speak nae mair o' our faults at the Fair"

Monday the singer marries; Tuesday his wife sees a girl frying his "sausage"; Wednesday he finds a man in bed with her; Thursday they fight; Friday they part and she hangs herself in sorrow; Saturday he buries her and finds another

"On yonder hill and yonder howe" lives a wealthy farmer who wants "a bit wiffie o' his ain." He courts Jean. Her mother speaks out in his favor. Jean says courting her mother will not win her heart. Then he kisses Jean which does win Jean's heart.

Weel Like I a Drap o' Drink: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #7262}

The singer likes "a drap o' drink" and "a cup o' tea" but likes "the laddies double weel And they hae proved the ruin o' me"

Weel-Faured Maid, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #6765}

The singer meets "a weel-faur'd maid ... comin' thro' the broom." She refuses to tell her name and claims she is too young to have a man. He gets ready to leave but she calls him back. They kiss, marry, and settle happily in Glasgow.

"I know a weenie man, He runs a weenie stand, He sells most anything from hot dogs on down, Some day I'll share his life, I'll be his weenie wife, Hot dog! I love that weenie man." Other cooks, such as "hot cross Katy," may also have suitors

On judgment day there will be weeping and wailing among the damned: the rich man with his money, drunkard with his drink, and the whisky seller will end in Hell, praying too late to be saved.

"Are there anybody here like Mary a-weeping? Call to my Jesus and he'll draw nigh. Glory (x5) be to my God on high." "Are there anybody here like Peter a-sinking?"

"You may tell them, (father/mother/brothers/etc.), when you see them, I'm a poor mourning pilgrim, I'm bound for Canaan's land. I weep and I mourn, and I move slowly on. I'm a poor mourning pilgrim, I'm bound for Canaan's land."

Weeping Willer, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6785}

The miller's daughter weeps because William joined the army. She writes a suicide note, plans to hang herself from the willow hanging over the water, and changes her mind. Rather than risk falling in such cold water she'll wait till the weather is hotter

"Charlie, he's a nice young man, Charlie he's a dandy." Stories about Charlie's attempts at courting and his visits to town. The mention of "Weevily wheat" and lines such as "Over the river to feed my sheep" are common

"From Lucerne to Weggis on Hol di ri dia Hol di ria Shoes and stockings we have none, Hol di ri dia Hol dia Hol-di-re-dia Hol-di-re-dia, Hol-di-ria Hol-di-re-dia, Hol-di-re-dia Hol-dia. "Weggis starts the highest hill... Boys & girls climb with a will..."

"The banners of our county bright Are waving in the breeze; Now we are living in the light...." "In accents sweet proclaim the news... We have a worthy leader, Our superintendant dear." The singer hopes the school superintendent will lead well

Call-and-response gospel song. "Welcome home, welcome home (x2), I wanna hear Jesus saying, welcome home. You been workin... Come on home, oh, child, sit down and rest a little while." "I been travelin' over hills." "Don't cry no more"

The singer says "Welcome, my bonny lad, come when ye will" Her mother wants her to marry the rich laird and says "love will fly quickly when want's at the door." "What are his riches and broad lands to me?" If she marries any, she'll marry Donald.

"God's going to set this world on fire... One o' these days." "I'm going to walk and talk with Jesus... "I'm going to climb up Jacob's ladder." "All you sinners gonna turn up missing." "God don't want no coward soldiers... Some of these days."

"Welcome be thou, heaven king, Welcome born in one morning, Welcome for whom we sing, Welcome Yule, thou merry man, In worship of this holy day." Stephen and John's days, New Year, Candlemass, and guests are welcomed

Welcome, Royal Charlie (I): (2 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #5817}

"The man that should our king hae been, He wore the royal red and green." He defeats the Hanoverians at Falkirk and Prestonpans. Since he has left a German rules and we "daurna brew a peck o' maut." Whelps sit on his throne. Charlie! drive them away.

Welcome, Royal Charlie (II): (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #30982}

"Arouse, arouse, ilk kilted clan! Let Highland hearts lead on the van, Forward wi' her dirk in han', To fight for royal Charlie" Auld Scotia's sons would rally around him. "Welcome to our isle again"

"Let's go down to Weldon, I think I heard them say (x2), Rally, rally, rally, I think I heard them say (x2)." "My girl lives in Weldon." "One and a half in Weldon." "Let's all get drunk in Weldon. "Fare thee well in Weldon."

"Well I couldn't care less for the killick of the mess Or the Buffer of the working party. I'm pulling off ashore at a quarter past four, I'm Jack-me-bleedin'-hearty."

Singer invites girl to hear the nightingale; he offers to carry her pail. She demurs; "I've hands of my own." They agree to marry; now she's not afraid to go out walking or to "hear the fond tale of the sweet nightingale/As she sings in the valley below"

Well of Spring Water, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5215}

Singer met a lass on her way to a well "who at once won my admiration" (more than his mother!). He declares his love. They fall into the well. They can't remember the rest that was said but married soon after. Their daughter Maureen is like her mother.

"Well rung, Tom boy! Well rung Tom! Ding dong! Cuckoo! Well rung, Tom. The owl and the cuckoo, the fool and the song Well sung, cuckoo; Well rung, Tom."

The singer tells of "...the men who served their time For robbing mountain stages on the Wells and Fargo Line." Among the criminals who haunted the route were Major Thompson, Jimmy Miner, Old Jim Hughes, and Black Bart

Wells o' Wearie, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5756}

The singer leaves Edinborough to spend the afternoon with Mary Grieve at the wells of Wearie. Her mother has given him permission to discuss marriage. Whatever the future holds, "True glory and wealth are mine wi' Mary Grieve" "Gang wi' me"

"I was born not far from Cornwall In a place called the Welsh Mountain." The singer and Mary ride a donkey; "You never did see such a big time before." The go to the railroad station and party with John and Shawn; the sound of the train frightens Mary

Went to the River (I): (7 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #469}

"I went to the river an' I couldn't get across, I jumped on a (log/alligator/nigger/possum/etc.) an' thought it was a horse."

Were you at the fair/church, Did you see many people -- or did you come by the steeple -- did you see our goodman, Riding on a beetle/ladle?

"Were you ever in Dumbarton, Where they wear the tartan (x2), little above the knee.... My love she is so neat and small, She won't have me at all (x2), But try to get her full and then she'll marry me... Oh, if I had her, happy I would be."

"Were you there when they crucified my Lord (x2), Sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble; Were you there when...." "Were you there when they nailed him to the tree?" "...pierced him in the side?" "...the sun refused to shine...."

"It was in the town of Wesley As you shall understand" that the "shacker band" was accused of bad behavior. The four are arrested and taken to Machias. One of them, Wilbur Day, complains of what he has suffered and says it is enough

"Come fellowmen and lend an ear A melancholy tale to hear." "About one poor mortal." "He hired out with William Brown To help him drive his lumber down." "He started out to break a jam." He falls into the water far from a boat. McMann pulls out his body

"Lay around in the summer time, Stored up all my gold, Lay around in the winter time, Jesus, ain't it cold." Many floating verse: "Apples in the summer time," "Higher up the cherry tree." "You can talk to your sweetheart But you leave mine alone."

West Palm Beach Storm: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4145}

"On the sixteenth day of September, In 1928, God started riding early, He rode till very late. In the storm, oh in the storm, Lord, somebody got drowned in the storm." The singer alludes to several tragedies and warns people to "get the Holy Ghost."

"In the little town of West Plains, In old Missouri state," the spring flowers are blooming and young people gather for a dance when the building explodes. Forty people are killed in the blast. We can't explain why, but "we'll meet them over there"

West River Railroad: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #5454}

"We've got a little railroad And it isn't very wide. We put in twenty thousand And quite a lot beside." Few travelers take the train: "A sheriff and a parson, Three ladies... and a little red calf." After humorous incidents, all arrive

"Oh, the West Virginia hills, with their many rocks and rills," force the singer into a hard career of trying to scratch out a living. He must plow and harvest in the heat. His pigs die of cholera. When winter comes, he must find wood or freeze

West Virginia Feud Song, A: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #465}

A story of the "Lincoln County crew." Ale Brumfield is shot, perhaps by Milt Haley, but Brumfield (who survives) blames "McCoy." Later, at George Fries's house, a fight begins and many are killed. The singer blames the fight on drink

"I'm a West Virginia lad, raised on ramps and mush and bread, WIth some meat of the rarest, purest kind. I know I am no fool, though I never went to school...." The singer adds additional detail about West Virginia life and girls

The girl begs William to marry her; if he will not, she bids him kill her. He callously tells her to live in the greenwood. She tries, but at last begs her sister for alms. The sister drives her away. Willie finds her dead and mourns his cruelty

West's Asleep, The: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #25474}

"While every side a vigil keep, The West's asleep, the West's asleep." The singer laments the "slumbering slaves" in a land that demands Freedom and Nationhood. But a voice announces "'the West's awake!' 'Sing, oh hurra! let England quake!'"

"Take me back to my Western boat, Let me fish off Cape St Mary's." Singer recounts good times and wants to be buried in "that snug green cove where the seas roll up their thunder"

"I buckled on a brace of guns and sallied to Wyoming And thought I'd kill some Indians..." but the first Indian she meets is a college classmate of hers! She sees cowboys reading books. Everything has changed. "For Western life ain't wild and woolly now."

Singer's sweetheart asks him to stay and marry. He leaves her in Labrador to join a troop fighting in Flanders. "Many a brave man" and "German crowds" are killed in the bayonet fighting. "With medals now I will return to the girl I love so well"

"Now westlin winds and slaught'ring guns Bring autumn's pleasant weather." The singer describes the new season, and the farmer's harvest, and thinks of his beloved Peggy, "My fair, my lovely charmer."

"It's of an old buffer I'm going to tell, A magistrate here whom you know very well" named Weston. His clerk, French, tells him there are hundreds of illegal grog cases. One cases results in the choice of a fine or prison sentence; others are warned

Westward Ho! (Traveling Yodler): (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #8008}

"I love not Colorado Where the faro table grows.... Nor seek I fair Montana.... Sweet poker haunted Kansas.... The Nevada rough has charms enough, Yet its blandishments I fly." "I'll build a cot on a corner lot And get rich as soon as I can."

Wet Oregon (Oregon Girls): (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4899}

"I've reached the land of rain and mud Where flowers and trees so early bud. It rains and rains both night and day, For in Oregon it rains always." The singer wishes it would stop. Oregon girls with "soggy curls" reejct those who don't wipe their feet

The singer invites the girl for a walk. They discuss their wedding. Then he takes up a club (knife) and attacks her. She begs him to spare her life. He beats (stabs) her to death and throws her in the river. (He has visions of hell.) He is hanged.

"The heroes of Wexford have burst through their chains." The Shelmaliers lead the attack and trail the retreat. The Sassenach dragoons "have been trampled to death ... O! long in fair England each maiden may mourn."

Susan loves William Reilly, a Catholic farmer's son. Her father won't allow that and her mother arranges an ambush to shoot Reilly. Reilly is wounded but Susan throws him a pistol. They escape, eluding the law, and leave Wexford on a ship to America.

"They knelt around the cross divine, the matron and the maid... Three hundred fair and helpless ones... Had battled for their own." The three hundred have fallen at the hands of Cromwell's English. They pray Heaven will avenge the wrong

Wexford Schooner, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #20518}

The singer dreams of Kelly shot on Tara Hill. Then he dreams of "a schooner down from Wexford town cast on Wicklow's coast." Captain Laurence Murphy and the crew, who "have met a watery grave," are named.

Wha Saw the Forty-Second: (5 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #13073}

"(Wha saw/Saw ye) the forty-second? Wha saw then gaun away? Wha saw the forty-second Marching to the (Broomielaw)?" The singer describes the equipment (often poor) and the rations assigned to the soldiers of the regiment

Wha'll Be King but Charlie: (2 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #42006}

"The news frae Moidart came yestreen... For ships of war have just come in And landed royal Charlie." Listeners are called to rally, for "Wha'll be King but Charlie?" Both men and women are roused to come "to arms for royal Charlie"

"We'll sing you a song of Peace and Love." "'God Bless England.'" When we were savages she raised us up "and sent us to heaven in her own good time." "Irishmen, forget the past." Soon we shall be civilized. "Won't Mother England be surprised."

"Long life to old Whalan of Waitin' Awhile, Good luck to his children and wife." They never complain; "'It's no use of mooning, it might have been worse,' said Whalan...." Life is hard and nothing ever works, but the family will wait for success

Whale in Golden Bay, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #26451}

In May 1912 a crew spent 3 weeks "hunting" (?) in Golden Bay and "picked up" a (dead?) whale. They telegraphed for a whaler to come and buy it but, by the time it arrived, the whale was too rotten to be sold. The crew are the butt of jokes on land.

Whale-Catchers, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3291}

Singer and his shipmates sail to Greenland after whales. He describes hardships of their lives, and looks forward to arrival back home, when they will make the alehouses of London roar. When they've spent all their money, they'll go back to Greenland.

Whaleman's Lament, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2000}

"'Twas on the briny ocean On a whaleship I did go; Oft times I thought of distant friends...." The singer relates the voyage around Cape Horn and describes how Captain and officers abuse the crew. He vows to go sailing no more.

Cautionary song, warns whalemen of what their wives will do while they're "on the raging deep." Wives spend their husbands' half pay, pawn their belongings & run around with fancy men, only wanting their husbands back when their pockets are well lined.

Whaler's Lamentation, The: (2 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #5803}

Each of five whaling companies has a verse headed by their ship names. The verses lament destruction of their pier by storm. The chorus says "Davis Straits adieu this season, Greenland for a year goodbye" but the final verse claims the ships will sail.

"The landsman loves his downy bed, Ne'er tossed upon the heaving billow" while "The whalers of the deep, deep, Danger and toil and death we brave." The live hard lives, they hunt the whale; they would not trade it for a less thrilling life

"Along the coast the Magnet came, With Captain Bruce, a man of fame, But in his face there is no shame On the beautiful coast of New Zealand." Short tales of various people set "On the beautiful coast of New Zealand."

"There she lies there she lies Like an isle on the ocean's breast...." The crew spots a whale and pursues; they take the animal. They think about returning home to New England, and remind those who use the oil of the dangers whalers face

"A whaling scene I'll now relate On the ocean's bosom wife, sir." The boats chase the whale. The headsman harpoons it. The whale speeds off. The boat turns over. The pursuit continues. They take the whale. Whalers are told to strike hard and be careful

"When spring returns with western gales And gentle breeze sweep... We spread our sails" to hunt whales. The singer lists the lands they pass on their way north. They find and pursue a whale, which fights a long fight. "With joyful hearts we see her die"

"Come all you that have leisure And list a while to me, And I'll relate the dangers That wait you on the sea." The Adeline Gibbs leaves Fairhaven to round Cape Horn. and pass Chile, Hawaii, and Japan. They have little luck on the way

Wharfdale Sword Dancer's Song: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #610}

"The first that enters on the floor, His name is Captain Brown; I think he is as smart a youth As any in the town." Then come tailor Obadiah Trim, the Quaker; then the foppish knight, a vintner, a beautiful dame; they will dance "Jumping Joan"

What a Friend We Have in Jesus: (12 refs. 4K Notes) {Roud #16213}

"What a friend we have in Jesus, All our sins and griefs to bear! What a privilege to carry Ev'rything to God in prayer." The singer describes all the ways in which God can help with life's troubles and burdens

What sweetheart will you give me if I give you a bride? I'll give you so-and-so with "gowd about his middle Wi' the siller shakin' frae his heels."

"What a mighty (holy) God we serve (x2).""He woke me up this morning, Started me on my way, What a mighty God we serve"

"Well, I fell in love with a nice young girl"; "O, Melindy was handsome, as fair as any lamb," but "She had a nose, a very big nose, But it wasn't half so funny as you might suppose." The boys say "Jumpin' jiminy geez-whacks, look at her nose."

"O Adam, where are you (x3), O what a trying time." "Lord, I am in the garden." "Adam, you ate that apple." "Lord, Eve, she gave it to me." "Adam, it was forbidden." "Lord said, walk out the garden."

What Ails the Lasses at Me?: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7250}

The singer, is a "winsome" well-off farmer, with goods and credit, "and few I see gang oot more handsome." Lasses quickly take to wretches and sick men but deny him. He would take any girl, honest and free, if she would just write a note to him.

Chorus: "Oh poor sinner (x2), What are you going to do when the lamp burns down?" Verses: "God made man and He made him out of clay, Put him on earth but not to stay." "Satan's mad and I am glad, He miss one soul he thought he had."

"Tell me jealous-hearted swain What avails thy idle arts, To divide united hearts." Love blows where it wills, just like the wind. The two lovers conceal their sighs so that not even Argus can see them. "Mysterious love, to kindred souls conveys."

Jenny curses the money that caused her mother to sell her to an old man. She cannot please him. She will try to follow her aunt Kittie's plan: "I'll cross him, I'll crack him until I have brak him." "Oh, weary's my life with a crazy old man"

"What can go up the chimney down, Go down the chimney down, But can't go up the chimney up?" Answer: an umbrella

What Care I for the Laird o' Drum: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #13560}

"What care I for the Laird o' Drum, And what care I for Gammie O? We'll stap wir wa's [Greig/Duncan8: take our way] ti the Mains o' Drum And hae anither drammie O"

In response to the question, "What child is this" whom Mary cradles and angels hymn, we are told, "This, this is Christ the king." The child's humble estate is described, and listeners urged to praise him

"Goodnight I said to my little son, So tired out when the day was done, Then he said as I tucked him in, Tell me, Daddy, What color's God's skin?" The father answers that it is all colors; people of all races are equal to God

Chorus: ("What could I do"(5x) "without the comfort of his word? What could I see, ... say, How would I feel, ... pray, What could I do if it wasn't for the Lord?") Verses end "What could I do if it wasn't for the Lord" (see notes)

What Did You Join the Army For?: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #10566}

"What did you join the Army for? Why did you join the army? What did you join the army for? You must have been bloody barmy." Or "What did we join the army for... Skilly and duff, skilly and duff, Surely to God we've had more than enough."

"What did you want to have a crash like that for? It's the sixth you've had today. It makes you sad, it makes me mad, It's lucky it was an Avro, not a brand new Spad... And if you have another crash like that one, It's the LAST you'll have today"

What did your sailor leave? A baby. What did he wear? Blue jacket and white trousers. What if he comes ashore? We'll marry. Why are you weeping? He is far away. "Would that the wars were over, Sailors back on shore... Dear maid, how well she loved him"

"Colonel says that Kaiser William surely was a best, Dirty little job for Jesus." The colonels and generals spend their time figuring out dirty jobs for privates. "Fifty thousand privates died for democracy, Twenty major generals got the D.S.C."

"I am a young man, I live wi' my mither, A braw decent kimmer, I trow, Bu when I speak o' takin' a wife, She aye gets up in a lowe." He notes that someone is needed to care for the property. He courts Betty; she answers, "Who cares for you or your kye?"

The singer lives on a small pension. His wife makes him do the nasty jobs around the house and "if I don't do it right it's a slap ... a kick or a clout" She drinks, gossips, is ugly and dirty. He prays "the devil like lightening might sweep her away"

The big boat is coming around the bend, doing nothing but killing good men. Vicksburg was a hilly town, until the Yankee gunboats blew it down. Cho: "What does the deep sea say?...It moans and it groans, it slashes and it foams/And rolls on its weary way"

"What gives the wheatfields blades of steel? What points the rebel cannon?... What breaks the oath Of the men of the south?... Hark to the answer: Slavery." The evils of slavery, and the poison and treason it causes, are described in detail

What Harm Has Jesus Done?: (2 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #2285}

"Tell me what harm has Jesus done you Sinners all hate him so." Jews nailed him to the tree and gave him a cup of vinegar which he drank. Gabriel in the morning will separate the "sheep on the right and the goats on the left"

"What have you got there? Bread and cheese. Where's my share? Cat's got it. Where's the cat? In the woods. Where's the woods? Fire burned it. Where's the fire? Water quenched it. Where's the water?" And so the conversation continues, until a child laughs

Singer does not refer to Jesus by name. Each verse tells "What he done for me." Verse line examples: "You don't know like I know," "He picked me up and he turned me around," and "He took my feet out of the miry clay"

What Irish Boys Can Do: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #V965}

"They insult an Irishman ... it happens every day." But the Irish are noble and hospitable. Think of Irish warriors, like Wellington and the 69th at Bull Run, and poets Lover and Moore. Think of Irish songs and plays. "Then, why slur upon the Irish?"

What is Home Without Love?: (11 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #15947 and 12395}

A lonely rich man, passing a cottage window, sees a happy husband, wife, and baby. He weeps, "What is a home without baby To kiss, to tease and adore...." Alone in a mansion, with the wife who married him for his money, he repeats his lament

What Kind of Car Will You Have?: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #29381}

Jump-rope rhyme for telling fortunes: "What kind of car will you have? Ford, Chevy, Pontiac...."

"What kind of crowns do the angels wear? The angels wear the golden crown, the golden crown, I'm bound to rest, I'm bound to rest... bound to rest with God." "What kind of robe do the angels wear?" "What kind of slippers do the angels wear?"

Jump-rope rhyme for telling fortunes: "What kind of evening gown will you marry in? Red, yellow, blue, pink, white...." Or, "What will I be married in? Silk, satin, cotton, rags...."

Jump-rope rhyme for telling fortunes: "What kind of house will you live in? Brick, wood, log, glass, stone...."

What Kind of Ring Will You Have?: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #29381}

Jump-rope rhyme for telling fortunes: "What kind of ring will you have? Diamong, wedding ring, birthstone...."

"What make the wild cat wild, boys, what makes the wild cat wild? (x2), I'll ask you again as a personal friend, what makes the wild cat wild?"

What Month Was Jesus Born In?: (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #13975}

"What month was Jesus born in? Last month in the year." The song details Jesus' birth in December and the humble cercumstances of his birth.

Mr. Hoover "give you a sack of flour. No lard, neither baking powder. What more could he do for you?"

""What my mamma told me is bound to come to pass, A-drinkin' and a-gamblin' will be my ruin at las', las', Will be my ruin at last. "Went up on the mountain, To give my horn a blow...." "Went down... To get me a bottle o' gin... Ma, he's drunk agin."

Jump-rope rhyme. "What O she jumps, She skips and jumps, If she didn't jump, I'll make her bump."

"What shall I give to thee? Darling, we must part, Something to hide away, Close to the heart. Give me an ivy leaf, fresh from the vine, Give me an ivy leaf, green as the pine." "What shall I give to thee? Life is so strange. All... surely must change."

"I took a walk one sunny day" and heard the birds singing. The oldest of a flock of robins declares honesty best and describes the Saint John (New Brunswick) jail and the difficult conditions there. Then all the birds fly away

What the Old Hen Said: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5451}

Singer hears an old hen, looking over her brood of chicks, exclaim that she loves them just as a cat loves its kittens, or a ewe its lamb. She calls them to her; they nestle in their "feather bed"

"What time is it? The same time that it was yesterday at this time."

"Oh, what was your name in the States? Was it Thompson, or Johnson, or Bates? Did you murder your wife and fly for your life? Say, what was your name in the States?"

Questions and answers. What will we do when we: have no money? hawk through town; marry a tinker? sell a tin can and walk with me man; marry a soldier? handle his gun; have a daughter? take it in hand and walk with me man.

What Will You Do, Love: (11 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #23097}

He: What will you do when I sail away? She: I'll be true and pray for you. He: If I were untrue?" She: "I'd still be true but ... could not bear it!" He: If, near home, my ship were lost. She: If you were spared "I'd bless the morrow ... welcome thee"

What would you do if you married a soldier?" "What would I do but carry his gun" "...if he died on the ocean?" "... marry again." "... kettle boiled over?" "... fill it again." "...cows ate the clover?" "... set it again"

What You Doin' In Here?: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #18149}

"What you doin' in here, ain't got no garments on (x3), Don't you know God's got his eyes on you?" "Some people moaning in the church, ain't got no garments on" "Some people prayin' in the church...." "Some people shoutin' in the church...."

"Venus, Venus, beautiful star, Beautiful star, beautiful star, Venus, Venus, beautiful star, Oh, what you gon'er do on that day?" Similarly, "Rocks in the mountains, fall on me...." "Some to the right, some to de left...."

"What you gonna do when Janie leave you... [She doesn't want him any more and he cries] what you gonna do..." "What you gonna do ... [she puts him down and leaves town] what you gonna do...."

"What you gonna name that pretty baby? Gonna call it Jesus of Nazaree. Borned in a stall, laid him in a manger, Cattle all lowing...." "Go shout it on each high mountain... That Jesus is born." "Joseph and Mary went on a long journey."

"What you gwina do when the world's on fire? I'm gonna jump in a hole o' water. What you gwina do when the water gets to boilin'? I'm a gonna kick and squeal and hollo."

Skipping rhyme, "What-oh, she bumps, See how high she jumps, She jumps so high She nearly recahes the sky."

Song describes various things to do with baby: wrap him up in calico, put him in his cradle, wrap him in the table cloth, throw him in the hayloft, hang him in the tree top, etc. Also, "How in the world do the old folks know I like sugar in my coffee-O?"

"What's become of the punchers We rode with long ago?" There were hundreds of cowboy. Some died, some left, some got rich: "My old pardner made millions in Tampa, While I've got my saddle in soak!" The speaker will give up cowboy life also

What's Little Babies Made Of?: (12 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #821}

"What's old women made of?... Reels and jeels and old spinning wheels, And that's what old women are made of." "What's little boys made of?... Piggins and pails and puppy dogs' tails." "What's little babies made of?... Sugar and..."

"Poor (Mary/Jenny/Nellie/Sally) sits a-weeping, sits a-weeping, sits a-weeping, Poor Mary sits a-weeping All on a summer's day." "What's poor Mary weeping for...." "Because she wants to see her lad." "Rise up and choose another love."

"Skip o'er the mountain, tra-la-la-la-la (x3), Oh, she loves sugar and cheese." "What's the lady's motion, tra-la-la-la-la (x3), Oh, she loves sugar and cheese." "It's a very lovely motion...." "Yonder goes a redbird...."

What's the Life of a Man?: (7 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #848}

Singer, walking, observes the leaves that have fallen, noting that a few days ago they were green and growing. He calls attention to the churchyard, and to those who have withered and passed like a leaf." (But man, unlike leaves, will rise to be judged.)

What's the Matter Now?: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #7757}

The singer recalls how, when she was 17, Damon wooed her with "ardent flame" and a "wounded heart." When she consented to marry, he at first gave in to her every whim. But now, his response to all requests is, "What's the matter now?"

"O what's the rhyme to porringer? Ken ye the rhyme to porringer? King James the seventh had ae dochter, And he gave her to an Oranger." "The lad has into England come And taken the crown." "James shall have his own again."

"What's the time?" "Half past nine. Hang your britches on the line." "What's the time." "Ten to ten. Time to bring them in again." "What's the time?" "Daytime." Etc. Also perhaps, "What's the clock say?" "Tick-tock."

"Some call this the best old world that nature could contrive. One thing's sure, that none of us get out of it alive.... Makes you sometimes wonder if anything's worthwhile." Questions include "What's the point of drinking if you always have a thirst"

"What's your name? (Mary Jane). Where do you live? (Down the lane.)" "What's your name? (Curds and crame[=cream]." "What do they call you? (Pudgy dawly[=dolly]."

What's Your Name? (I): (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #19070}

"What's your name? Puddin' shane. Ask me again and I'll tell you the same." "What's your name? Puddin' pie. Ask me again and I'll make you cry." "What's...? Tom Brown. Ask me again and I'll knock you down.""What's...? Butter and tame."

What's Your Name? (II): (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #21237}

"What's your name, little girl? My name is Alaska. Alaska what, little girl? Alaska [=I'll ask-a] my mommy." "What's your name, little boy? ...Lemmy... Lemmy kiss you." "What's your name? ...Ida... Ida [=I don't] want to." And so with other name and jokes

"Whatever you do, do with your might, For things done by halves are never done right."

"Now I and Capp'n Franky Got up to go to Bal; We started for Wheal Rodney, Where there was work for all. Oh! a-mining we will go, high-o!" They ask about pay. The "knockers" (mine spirits) lead them to a good lode

A soldier courts the singer, gives her money with which she buys "silk and satin" that John Crow steals and throws away. She begs not to have the cloth torn. She dances with the soldier and asks that he be careful of her belly.

Wheel in a Wheel, A: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #15241}

"A wheel in a wheel, Oh my Lord (x2), Going to take a ride on the chariot wheel." "It runs by love ...." "It runs by faith ...." "Chariot's a-coming ...."

The young man comes to the young woman and asks her to wed. He offers her gold, silver, and land. She tells him she is not interested in these; "all I want is a (good young/handsome) man." That being offered, the two agree to marry

Wheels of the World, The: (3 refs. 11K Notes) {Roud #16901}

Spinners turn the wheels of the world. Some spinners are named with their product: Pitt, Castlereagh, Napoleon, Wellington, John Mitchell, John Bull, factory owners and the rich. "Let liberty be your bright motto and glory will turn your big wheel"

Wheelwright, The (John Hunter): (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #9058}

John Hunter is apprenticed to a wheelwright. He and the master's daughter fall in love. When his apprenticeship is finished, he prepares to leave her as he seeks work. She offers to marry him and come with him. He accepts

When a Man's in Love [Laws O20]: (17 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #990}

The singer asks his sweetheart to allow him into her room; she convinces him to stay by the fire. He tells her he has courted her long enough despite her parents' opposition; he will go to America. She agrees to be married (or spend the night together)

"When a woman blue (x2) she hang her head and cry... When a man get blue He grab a railroad train and ride." "I'm gonna lay my head Down on that railroad line. Let the train roll by And that'll pacify my mind. Honey when I die, don't you wear no black..."

Late at night the singer taps at Nell's window. She lets him in "but a' that passed 'atween us twa An' we'll keep that to our-sell." He leaves at four. Hard work, wind and rain won't deter him "while I am welcome back again To the arms of my dear"

When Adam Was Created (Wedlock): (8 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #728}

"When Adam was created, he dwelt in Eden's shade, As Moses has related, before his bride was made." Then Eve was made from Adam's rib. The rest of the song describes the duties of wedlock, based on this account of the creation

"When ah was a poor gal Nobody look at me." "Now I am a rich gal The Captain send for me." "Go and tell the Captain My time is not for he."

"A silly German sausage dreamt Napoleon he'd be" and so broke his promise to Britain. He tried to reach Paris, but hasn't gotten there yet, because "Belgium put the kibosh on the Kaiser, Europe took a stick and made him sore."

"hat time when Bob got throwed, I thought sure I would bust, I liked to die a-laffin', To see him chewing dust." The singer had been thrown a few days earlier, and Bob had laugher. Bob Beats him up for laughing, but it's worth it

When Bucks a Hunting Go: (9 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #217}

"Sweet is the horn that sounds in the morn When bucks a hunting go," but the singer thinks about Nancy. The hounds chase the fox but his mind is on Nancy, his wife [usually]. "How happy is my wife and I When that we homeward go" Let's drink to it

Jump-rope or formula song. "When Buster Brown was one, he used to suck his thumb. Thumb me over, thumb me over, A, B, C..." "When Buster Brown was two... buckle his shoe." Etc.

"The race was run, the Cup was won, The great event was o'er. The grandest horse e'er trod a course Had led them home once more." A description of how Carbine and his rider Ramage (?) won the Melbourne Cup

"At Croke Park last Sunday I hear that the Cork men faced Cavan whose fame was so dear ... but we held them and led them and beat them" The team members are named. "The Sam Maguire Cup has come home to the Lee"

"When e’er you make a promise Consider well its importance And when madeEngrave it upon your heart."

"When Fanning first to Orange came He looked both pale and wan, An old patched coat upon his back An old mare he rode on. Both man and mare wa'nt worth five pounds... but by his civil robberies He's laced his coat with gold."

"When father was a little boy, The world was not so gar. I love to hear him tell of how He passed the time of way." He walked four miles to school in the cold. A new boy shows up. Dad finds a string coming from his clothes and unravels his underwear

"When first I seen this lovely queen, On her I fixed my eyes, And thought in time, while in my prime,To gain her I would try. "But all in vain; could not obtain This virgin's love at all... My portion was too small." If she remains coy, he'll seek another

When First Into this Country: (17 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #1081}

The stranger arrives and finds no one cares about him. He is accused of crimes, but the only crime he admits is involvement with three girls. Forced into a harsh apprenticeship, he at last earns his freedom and marries his love

When First To This Country (I): (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #15600}

The singer courts Nancy, who turns him down; he steals a horse and is imprisoned. He complains of his ill-treatment, then adds "With my hands in my pockets and my cap put on so bold/With my coat of many colors, like Jacob of old"

"[My] poor heart beat sore" on leaving Molly. She pleads to come with him: "Short trouser, and jacket, my love I'll put on." He could not stand to see her beaten "So you can't come down with me, oh no my love, no." She will wait for his return.

When Fortune Turns Her Wheel: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3798}

"Come, fill a glass, let's drink about... To meet ye a' ance mair, my friends, A sacred joy I feel, Though far awa I noo maun stray Till fortune turns her wheel." The singer has been betrayed by love and comrades, and bids farewell to Scotland and home

"When grandmama met grandpapa, they danced the minuet." That was too slow "so they danced the rock and roll." Instructions for the game: "That's the way to do it"

"When griping griefs the heart doth wound, And doleful dumps the mind oppress, Then music with her silver sound, With speedy help doth lend redress." Music praises the gods and brings joy. It is a gift to humanity

"When harvest days were ended, Back from the wooly west To Georgetown came 'The Sergeant.'" He takes a job logging. He calls his mother and says the work has proven painful. At last he escapes the camp and can now be found at the grocery store

"Don't cry, little baby, don't you cry. Your sweetheart will come by and by. When he comes, if he's dressed in green, Then you may know you'll be his queen." Similarly with other colors: "Dressed in blue, Then you may know his love is true," etc.

When He Who Adores Thee: (4 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #V31869}

The singer states "though guilty to them [my foes], I have been but too faithful to thee [Ireland]!" "Oh! blessed are the lovers and friends who shall live The days of thy glory to see"; next best "is the pride of thus dying for thee"

"When through the mud you drag your weary feet, Under your tunic your heart may cease to beat, No matter what becomes of thee, I'll always smile, and think with glee, That I am LOB." The singer describes all the dangers those LOB don't face

When I Am On the Sea Sailing: (1 ref. 1K Notes) {Roud #422}

The singer is leaving to fight in Flanders for six months. He would not have his girl dress as a man and follow him. He will pray "to the High Powers above To guard you." He returns "free from harm"

"Never will forget that day when they had me in Parchman Jail.... I wonder how long 'fore I can change my clothes." No one will go his bail. He is forced to work in rain and snow and cold, with bare feet. The singer wants to wear "citizen" clothes

"When I can read my titles clear to mansions in the sky, I will bid farewell to every tear and wipe my weeping eye." Chorus: "I'm a long time traveling here below, I'm a long time traveling away from my home...." Other verses vary

Because the singer has found salvation, "When I die, I'll live again." He's made confession and will transgress no more. Ch: "When I die I'll live again/Hallelujah, I'll live again/Because I'm forgiven, my soul will find heaven/When I die I'll live again"

"When I die don't wear no black, For if you do My ghost come a-creeping back."

"When the nightingale's singing its sweet melodies, And the scent of the flowers perfumes the night breeze," the singer dreams of Ireland and his love. He describes his old home, repeating, "When I dream of old Erin, I'm dreaming of you."

When I First Came To This Land: (8 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #16813}

Immigrant comes to the USA, gets a shack, cow, duck, wife and son, and sings about them in a cumulative fashion: "Called my wife 'Run for your life'; called my duck, 'Out of luck'", etc.

"When I get big and you get little, I'm going to beat the fire out of you."

"When I git on my brand-new suit, Boots to my knees, Go to see my lovely gal And kiss her when I please."

When I Get to Heaven: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #15250}

"When I get to Heaven going to sit right down, Ask my Lord for a starry crown, Sitting down beside the Holy Lamb." "When I get to heaven going to sit and tell, Three archangels going to ring the bell, Sitting down beside the Holy Lamb."

"When I go to bed at night I lay my head on linen white. Of linen too the snowy sheet, Furzy scented, cool and sweet."

When I Go Up to Shinum Place: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2728}

"When I go up to shinum place" there will be red, white and black men. "There is no need of wigwam there, He send his angels to take care, And Jesus good and kind"

"When I lays down and dies on my tired old hunkers, The family back home will get ten thousand plunkers, Oh, this man's war is a mean man's war for sure." The singer expects to die. Women will miss him. He is learning war; he won't let a sniper get him

Recitation: "When I leave this earthly shore And mosey 'round this world no more, Don't weep, don't sob; I may have found a better job." After this introduction, the speaker spends two stanzas asking for small gifts now rather than big ones after death

When I Left the State of Georgia: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #11337}

"When I left the state of Georgia, To Alabamer I did go. There I spied a pretty fair girl, Although her age I did not know." "Your mama says that she's not willing For you to go with me. But, sweetheart, if you are willing, I will run away with you."

The singer cannot sleep, oppressed "wi' dreams and delusions" for "my lovie's far from me When I lie doon"

"Oh my Lord this is a needed time (x3) In that morning when I rise crying Holy." "I'm so glad I got my ticket in hand." "Oh sister your robe don't fit you like mine." "Oh Gabriel blow your trumpet loud." "Oh Jesus don't come that angry way."

"When I set out for glory, I left this world behind, Determined for a city that's hard to find, And to begging I will go. And to begging I will go, I'll go...." Despite warnings, the singer is set on this path, and would rather be Christian than rich

When I Wake in the Morning: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2707}

The singer is "surrounded by sorrow ... lovely Jimmie if you knew what I knew." "When the boys come to court ... I do them disdain ... I never will marry till [my love] comes back again"

When the singer wakes in the morning she says, "Benjie, try and find yourself a job." Don't tell me about the hard times. Walk. Don't take the streetcar. One of these days I'll be gone and you'll be sorry.

When I Was a Bonny Young Lassie: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #7175}

The singer, being maid to a minister, was ignorant about sex. When a young man courts her, they go out to sing and she comes home late and pregnant. When asked about her illness she recalls singing. The boy is confronted and they willingly marry

When I Was a Cowboy: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3438}

"When I was a cowboy, out on the western plains (x2), I made a half a million pulling on the bridle reins." The cowboy boasts of fighting Jesse James and Buffalo Bill. He advises, in the event of fire, abandoning the house and saving the "jelly"

"When I was a little boy about so high, Ma would take a little stick and make me cry, Now I'm a bog boy and Ma can't do it, Pa takes a big stick and goes right to it."

"When I was a little boy, strikin' at the studdy [smithy], I had a pair o' blue breeks, and oh but they were duddie [tattered]! As I strook, they shook, like a lammie's tailie; But noo I'm grown a gentleman, my wife she wears a railie"

"When I was a miner, a hard-rock miner, Down in a deep dark mine... My contract drift was paying fine. But soon I grew weary, My eyes got getting bleary... So to dodge the undertaker, I turned a moonshine maker, And gave up the deep, dark mine."

"When I was a rich man, I wore my silk and satin; But now I am a poor man, I wear my cotton bagging. When I was a rich lady, I had a rich lady's baby! But now I am a Negro, damn a Negro baby."

"When I was a (little girl/wee thing), About (seven) years old, I hadna worth a petticoat To keep me frae the cold." The singer travels to (Edinburgh), buys clothes, goes to the woods, and builds a kirk with the help of the birds of the wood

As a young man the singer "was drinking and a-smoking, boys, from morning unto night." When he had spent all his money he worked for more. He was enraged when he "walked into the public house and I called for a pint of the best" but got "the slop"

When I Was a Young Man (I): (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #1797}

The singer proposes to his long-time sweetheart but she rejects him as an idler. "In the spring had you cropped my wing" he would have won her. He says he'll "sail the ocean o'er, For the loss of one is a gain of two And a choice of twenty more"

"When I was a young thing I lived with my granny, my mama was dead and my pa gone to sea." The singer always wanted to be a sailor "and follow my dada," but he finds that a sailor's life is filled with hard work.

"When I wis little Jeanikie" the singer loved Johnny, "servant to my daddy" When everyone was asleep she "did dry his gray breeks." Now they live together with their "bairnies weel an happy"

When I Was Lost in the Wilderness: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #11943}

"King Jesus handed the candle down, An' I hope dat trumpet goin' to blow me home Yer de new Jerusalem." "When Moses smote de water wid his shepherd's rod, De waters rared back...." "When Joshua ordered dat de sun stand still...."

Singer complains that the ploughboys are "false and deceiving-o They say all and the gang awa'." At sixteen she was "just in blooming." At nineteen she's home with her baby with no idea where the father may be.

When I Was Single (II): (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #5357}

The singer recalls the gay nights he lived when single. Now married, his wife leaves him to watch the cradle and run errands. He laments that "the poor man's labor is never done."

A girl laments the loss of her virginity to a sailor, (who gives her half a dollar for "the damage I have done," and advises if she has a son to send him off to sea). She is found to be pregnant. Her parents throw her out. She warns girls against sailors

When I Was Young (II): (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #894}

Singer laments married life, saying when she was young she lived well and happily, but now she lives in poverty and misery. The chorus warns, "Ye'd better be a maiden as a poor man's wife."

Jump-rope rhyme. "When I was young and able, I sat upon the table. The table broke, And gave me a poke, When I was young and able."

The singer boasts that when he was young, he could "fetch" a kid every time, but now that he is old, he can't get a "bit to save my soul."

The singer complains that she was once "beloved in all the young men's companie." Old now, "nae bonnie laddie will fancy me"

Singer, leaving to fight for the Union in the Civil War, weeps to leave his child and wife, and vows that "if the Davis boys don't bind me" he will return as quickly as possible when it's over

""I heard of gold at Sutter's mill... But I never thought it was rich until I started off to prospect." He sets out to mine, but cannot find a place to stay. He gets lice. He is hurt in a fight. All he has has been pawned -- but he'll to "make it right"

"It'll be Lawd, Lawd, Lawd, when I'm gone." "I'm gonna fly from mansion to mansion, when I'm gone." "I'll be done with troubles and trials." "I'm gonna walk and talk with Jesus." "I'm gonna set at the welcome table."

"When I'm gone, gone gone, When I'm gone to come no more, Church, I know you goin' to miss me when I'm gone." "You goin' to miss me for my walk (x2). Church, you goin' to miss me...." "You goin' to miss me for my talk."

When Irish Eyes Are Smiling: (5 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #25290}

Known mostly by the chorus: "When Irish eyes are smiling, Sure, 'tis like the morn in Spring; In the lilt of Irish laughter, You can hear the angels sing...." The lyric concerns the singer's love's smile, and urges smiling at every opportunity

When Jesus Christ Was Here Below: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7132}

"When Jesus Christ was here below, He taught his people what to do, And if we would his precepts keep We must descend to washing feet." The song details the footwashing at the Last Supper

Jesus, on earth, is called a spy. He walks past a sinful crowd, hears a woman say, "I'd go prophesy." He tells Peter, James, and John, "It's written I must die/Shed my blood on Calvary/And never more to die"

"When Jesus wept, a falling tear In mercy flowed beyond all bound. When Jesus groaned, a trembling fear Seized all the guilty world around,"

"Good morning, and how do you do, Mrs. Murray?" Times are hard, and Jim is going to Klondike. The strikers and the soldiers drove him away. He will send money when he gets there; with his riches, they will join him

When John and I Were Married: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7140}

When the singer married John her cranky old mother gave them nothing. They saved their money and slept in a bed of straw. Now they are happy: "love will live in cottage low as weel's in lofty ha'" so marry whom you love.

When Johnny Comes Marching Home: (25 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #6673}

The singer promises that Johnny will receive a hearty welcome when he returns home from the war. Everyone will turn out; all will be gay; the old church bell will ring; there will be shouting and flowers; they will wreathe his brow with laurel

Kearon, too old to plow, hires Johnny. But Kearon had an "enjyne" with the team which Johnny did not understand. Kearon tries it himself but cannot do it. Kearon gives him some instruction. "Johnny took heed to what Kearon had said" and finishes the job

When Jones's Ale Was New: (30 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #139}

Stories from Jones's Bar. Various drinkers come in, each with his tale or his unruly behavior or his demand. Most are hard workers whose burdens are relieved by the ale.

"It fairly broke the family's heart When Lady Jane became a tart," but family is family, so they support her vocation and arrange a fine location for her; she attracts many clients. When other family members follow in her path, the family has more trouble

The singer has been sent by her parents to "Hasty Hill" until her baby is born. She wonders who the father will turn out to be: that will determine whether the baby's clothes will be expensive or cheap.

When Moggy By the Fire Sat: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #1330}

Moggy sits by the fire "a-spinning of her linsey yarn" and Jocky "came along to love." He apparently asks her to leave with him but Moggy says "my mammy she would scorn"; she must stay home to spin.

The singer's "spirits has completely left" since Mursheen went to Bunnan. She left because he drinks. He drank with her father, who turned against her when she left. He had been "bound for the west" but now he "gave up all my palaver with Yankees"

When My Blood Runs Chilly and Cold: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #15548}

"When my blood runs chilly and cold, I've got to go... Way beyond the moon. Do lord, do, Lord, do remember me.... If you can't bear no crosses, you can't wear no crown.... I've got a mother in Beulah land, she's calling me...."

When O'Connor Drew His Pay: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4065}

O'Connor (a logger), after drawing his pay, goes on a spree, starts a fire, and is arrested. Taken to "limbo" (jail), he pays his fine and they ship him (as freight) back to the woods. He swears he's "never spent his savings quite so pleasurably before"

"When old Mauch Chunk was young, J--- used to say, A man that labored hard should have Six Billy cups a day," so the town was full of drunks. They worked long hours. There were many fights. Captain Abels tried to stop it. They ate good cakes

"Our boys give up squiddin', they all joined the Navy To fight for old England, her King and her Crown." The boys get their parents consent, go "up to the court-house to join up that day," leave their women and family and go to "Keep Hitler Down"

"When Paddy McGinty plays the harp you've got to get up and dance ... It's wonderful Irish music that is neither flat nor sharp When Paddy McGinty plays the harp"

When Rocks and Hills Divide Us: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #4392?}

"When rocks and hills divide us, And you no more I see, Remember it was (Dennis), That wrote these lines for thee." "When the hills and plains depart (?) us, And my face you cannot see... Will you not stop to think of me."

Singer describes "the deeds of the sons of Saint Patrick" at a secret society meeting. "The Harp of old Ireland played Orange Lie Down" and woke the Brunswickers. "Banish this crew that our land did pollute" and let them go to some other island.

The singer hears, through his window, a sailor and his wife and child parting in the rain. "Perhaps," he says, "we'll part for years, perhaps for evermore." Later the boy dies saying "When shall we meet again"

"My mother shall crave it, My daddy shall have it, If you will go with me To younder green tree, But when she got there, She was highly mounted. She looked him scornfully... saying... 'You're highly mistaken,' And away she went galloping...."

"When sorrows encompass me 'round, And many distresses I see, Astonished, I cry, 'Can a poor mortal be found Surrounded with troubles like me?'" The weary singer hopes for peace, and expects at last to find it with Jesus

"When spring comes in the birds will sing, The lambs will play and bells will ring." "Young men and maidens" court on mountains and in meadows; "the dairymaid ... can milk and she can sing ... her master's trust and care And all a ploughman's joy."

As a baby Susie went "goo" or "ooh ahh." As an infant she went "A, B, C." As a teenager she went "kiss, kiss" or "take off my bra." She becomes pregnant, married, mother, granny, dying, skeleton, angel or devil, and finally, nothing.

When That General Roll Is Called: (2 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #10985}

Chorus: "I'll be there in the morning" (3x), "When that general roll is called I'll be there" (2x). Verse: "Going to see my father (mother, sister...), I'll be there"(2x)

Jimmy deserts (in the face of the enemy!) when he hears his mother is dying. An officer arrives, hauls him from his mother's bedside, and orders him to face a firing squad. The officer may have wanted Jimmy's sweetheart (but she shoots him)

"Sure the East End's in mourning, the times are so poor, The wolf he is knocking at everyone's door." Everyone has his turn to suffer; the singer's came "When the Black Diamond breaker was burned to the ground." He is in debt and "will starve by degrees"

The young man goes out courting; the girl thinks him too poor. He borrows his master's horse to impress her. Later, he and his (cousin) go courting together. The girls' mother kicks them out. His mistress punishes him. He keeps chasing girls

"Me troubles are o'er, Mrs. Murphy, For the Dutchman next door told me straight, That the breaker starts full time on Monday." Once the mines are at work again, the singer vows he will pay the shop bill, then start buying good things for the family

"When the cabin portholes are dark and green, Because of the seas outside, And the ship goes wop with a wiggle in between" and everyone is thrown around, "Then you may know if you haven't guessed That you're fifty north and forty west"

When the Caplin Come In: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7318}

"Oh, now is the time when the men are all ready ... And live on the beach while the caplin is in." The crowd nets caplin from the beach; row boats and motor boats and horses "full breeds and ponies" haul the netted fish away

"Who will drive the chariot when she comes?"(2x) "Who will drive the chariot?"(2x) "Who will drive the chariot when she comes?" Jesus will be the driver. She'll be loaded with angels. She won't rock or totter. She'll run level and steady....

"Cy Perkins was the village scamp of Jayville-on-the-PIke," always telling jokes. In the summer, Perkins devotes his talents to promoting the circus, listing all the things he wants to see and do wirh his gal Samantha Brown

"When the coal comes from the Rhondda (x3), When the coal comes from the Rhondda I'll be there. With my little pick and shovel I'll be standing on the quay, When the coal comes from the Rhondda I'll be there"

"When the corn is waving, Annie dear, Oh meet me by the stile, To hear thy gentle voice again, And greet thy winning smile." He begs his "Queen of Night" to come meet him by the stream; they will tell tales of love to each other

"When the curtains of night are pinned back by the stars And the beautiful moon sweeps the sky, I'll remember you, love, in my prayers." "When the curtains of night are pinned back by the stars And the dew drops of heav'n kiss the rose, I'll remember...."

When the Day's on the Turn: (3 refs.) {Roud #5598 and 6021}

"Though the house be couth and warm, And aye a blazing fire, The lang nichts o' winter Maks everybody tire." They look forward to the time when "the day be on the turn." Then "the fair maid in the evening gaes lichtly..," "the cotter sits contented," etc.

"When the doctor, spectacles on his nose... says, 'Well, I suppose A dose of castor oil is the very best thing, How'd you like to be a baby girl?" "When Father Christmas brings you lots of toys, Dolls to cudde... How'd you like to be a baby girl?"

A coarse description of women's monthly troubles

"He was a loving companion, He was a faithful friend"; Jack could always be counted on. But "I lost the best friend I ever had When the flagship Victoria went down." They had been shipmates from the first. His old mother had no other son

When the Flippers Strike the Town: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #V44719}

"You may talk about the pancakes That your mother used to fry... But this I got to tell you... The pancakes won't be 'in it' When the flippers 'strike the town.'" The song describes the enjoyable times when the flippers come back to home and family

"When all your apples been all garnered, And your mangol harvest's due... It sets my heart a-ticking, like the ticking of a clock, When the frost is on the pumpkin, And the fodder's in the shock. The singer recalls the happy sights of harvest time

"When the golden sun is setting And your face I cannot see, Will you step before the looking-glass And kiss yourself for me?" Or, "When the golden sun is setting, And your mind from care is free... Won't you sometimes think of me."

When the Ice Worms Nest Again: (6 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #4537}

"There's a dusky husky maiden in the Arctic, And she waits for me but it is not in vain, For some day I'll put my mukluks on and ask her If she'll wed me when the ice-worms nest again." There follows a description of a wedding feast in an igloo

"I may sit in my wee croo hoose, Wi' my rock and my reel tae toil, fu' dreary," but the singer is certain things will be better "The day our king comes o'er the water." Though old, she will rant and dance when he comes -- and she again becomes Lady Keith

When the King Enjoys His Own Again: (9 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #V19168}

The singer scorns the prognostications of prophets and the like; "all will be well When the King enjoys his own again." He points out the age and quality of the Stuart monarchy. He says he will "never rejoyes" until the king (Charles I) returns to power

When the Kye Come Hame: (9 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #12919}

The singer says "the greatest bliss" for shepherds when "his ewes are in the fold and his lambs are lying still" "'tis to woo a bonnie lassie when the kye comes hame ... beneath the spreading birch in the dell"

Singer is lonesome for her lover, a logger who is off in the woods. She prays for his safety, and vows that she will rush to embrace him "when the logs come down in the spring."

When the Old Dun Cow Caught Fire: (2 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #5323}

Friends are in a pub "playing dominoes" when it is declared that the pub is on fire. Several serious imbibers, rather than flee, head for the cellar to drink the unprotected spirits. Eventually the firemen break into the cellar -- and join the fun

A family from a remote outport had a successful season fishing, so they have moved to the town that is busily waiting for them and their money. They exchange outport ways for city habits.

When the Parley Dew is Faded: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #5115}

"When the parley dew is faded And the skies in beauty smile, Came a whisper like an echo From a pale and dying child." The child asks if (s)he will be an angel, and asks forgiveness for being in the way. The child says not to be angry with baby sister

"When the rebels come a-marchin' I'm a Southern man, And I feed their horses my best. When the Yankees come a-marchin' I'm a Northern man, And I feed their horses what the rebels left." The singer describes how he cooperates with both sides

When the Roll Is Called Up Yonder: (4 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #10985}

Chorus: "When the roll is called up yonder (4x), I'll be there." Verses: On judgment day, "the trumpet of the Lord shall sound" and the singer will be with the saved. Meanwhile, "let us labor for the Master from the dawn till setting sun"

"I was going up the river to my little cottage home, And the revenue men were waiting there for me. As I was coming up the hill, There they caught me with the still." When they are gone, "Then my heart will fill with cheer, for I know I'll get the beer"

"When the roses were in bloom And the leaves were green, I would join you if I could, As my queen, as my queen." He begs her to meet him by the river, and she does. Then when the roses faded and the leaves blew away, "Love had fled"

When the Saints Go Marching In: (26 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #13983}

"O when the saints go marching in (x2), Lord I want to be in that number, When the saints...." Similarly "When the sun refuse to shine"; "When the moon goes down in blood"; "We are traveling in the footsteps of those who've gone before"; etc.

"When the snow was deep, I sprinkled crumbs for the birds to eat. They would chirp for food -- The bluebirds and sparrows were in pleasant mood. They would go and come back, but not all would go, Some would stay... and eat the crumbs...."

""The stars above are shining, And the moon is sinking low, I will call to see my darling, Who will welcome me, I know." "We'll be merry, we'll be happy, Floating down the stream of time." "We'll be merry, we'll be happy, Floating onward with the tide."

When the Stars Begin to Fall: (17 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #3408}

Chorus: "My Lord, what a morning (x3) When the stars begin to fall." Verses: "You'll hear the sinner moan...." "You'll hear the gambler groan...." "You'll hear the sinner pray...." "You'll hear the Christians sing...." "You'll see my Jesus come...."

When the Stew Is on the Table: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #10520}

"When the stew is on the table (x3), When the stew is on the table, I'll be there." "When the beer is in the tankard (x3), When the beer is in the tankard, I'll be there." Verse might be, "Oh, we're marching along, And we're singing as we go...."

When the Swallows Homeward Fly: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #15358}

"When the swallows homeward fly, When the roses scattered lie... When I thus your image lose, Can I, ah, can I e'er know repose?" "Hush, my heart! Why thus complain? I shall see thy form again, Though today we part in pain."

"Way up in Aroostook County, Where in winter falls the nows... There's a smile all o'er the Couny Till then 'taters are all dug." The residents discuss the size of the potatoes. Pickets come from all around. Couples court and men drink during the season

When the Train Comes Along: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #11525}

"I may be blind and cannot see, But I'll meet you at the station when the train comes along. "When the train comes along (x2), I'll meet you at the station when the train comes along." The singer looks forward to meeting Jesus and a happy life

"When the Very lights are shining, Sure they're like the morning light," then the guns and the maxims and the mortars start to fire, so "it's time for a rum issue." If you advance when the lights are shining, "'Tis rum or lead for you."

"There's an old rusty wagon that's left to rot away." The family all rode it together in "the good old days" when everyone was friendly and the family was happy. Now, with planes and cars everywhere, "good neighbors are so few" and people need more money

"When the War is over, We shall have some jam (x3), When the war is over, We shall have some jam (x2). For you, for me, A pot of Tickler's Jam, A pot of Tickler's Jam"

A cowboy tells of his plans to at last go home and see his mother "when the work's all done this fall." Soon after, the cattle stampede. The cowboy controls the herd but is fatally injured in the process. He will not see his mother; he sends tokens home

"The world is on fire. What are you going to do? What are you going to do When the world is on fire?" "I am going to fly... I am going home... I am going to shout." "Sinners want to pray... I am going to fly." A "very fluid" song.

"I love you, baby, I ain't gonna lie, Without you, honey, I just can't be satisfied. Cause when things go wrong, so wrong with you, Well, it hurts me too." The singer hopes to be the girl's man, and wants to make her happy. He promises to treat her well

"When this (bloody/blasted/ruddy) war is over, No more soldiering for me. When I get my civvy clothes on, Oh how happy I will be." There will be no more Sunday parades, no need to request leave; the singer will be able to eat, drink, sleep when he wants

The girl asks her soldier, "Dearest love, do you remember, when we last did meet, How you told me that you loved me...." She fears for him, but urges him to fight. She is "weeping sad and lonely... When this cruel war is over, pray that we meet again."

When This Old Hat Was New: (4 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #7841}

A litany of complaints about the days "When this old hat was new." Subject can seemingly vary as long as it talks about long ago. At least one version talks about the evolution of American politics (used during the 1840 campaign)

When This Old Hat Was New (II): (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1693}

"When my auld hat was new" at harvest the master provided drink and set a feast; his wife "gie every one their due." Now the master's wife wears fine silk. Instead of a feast harvest workers are treated like beggars and "near their hoose ye dauna gang."

When This Old Hat Was New (III): (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1693}

"When this old hat was new": "provisions now are twice as dear"; "men could take each other's word." "Now the people are so poor ... plenty, aye, did then abound" "The commons they are taken in, and cottages pull'd down, And Moggy has no wool to spin"

When This Old Hat Was New (IV): (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #1693}

"This old hat was new once" "The rich then gave out food and coals to keep the poor ... the poor did never want." "Our tars were never press'd For they did boldly volunteer." "Husbandmen ... did work both soon and late But now ... are forced to emigrate."

An "Uncle Sam's Doughboy" goes to Ireland and pursues a "wild Irish rose" who "ran through the trees like a wild mountain deer." But now she "gets tamer each day" and is becoming willing to return to the West with him

"When we do meet again (x3), 'Twill be no more to part." "Brother Billy, fare you well (c2), We'll sing hallelujah, When we do meet again."

The bosses at Lithgow lower the pay rate for coal by a tuppence. The miners go on strike: "We will never work for you Till you give that tuppence back, Charlie dear." The strike is bitter, with many scabs brought in. But the miners hold firm

"We've been upon the border for a couple of months or so; We're getting might tired, and we think it's time to go." The soldiers want to leave Mexico, so "Three cheers for New York town! When we'll go marching home." The miserable border life is described

The singer wanders through hills and by streams as he had years before and finds them unchanged. He hopes to meet (his sweetheart?) "upon that far-off shore" where they "both shall reign; we'll talk about those happy days"

Two boys are playing; one's hobby-horse breaks; his brother says "I couldn't bear to see you crying/When there's room on my horse for two." They become soldiers; one is wounded, the other rescues him, saying "I couldn't bear to see you dying...."

"When we wind up the Watch on the Rhine, How we'll sing Auld Lang Syne! You and I, 'Hurrah,' we'll cry. Everything will be Potsdam fine." The Germans will go to jail. "The half-a-crown prince must resign." The Allies will have their way

"When wild war's deadly blast was blawn, And gentle peace returning," the soldier returns home. He reaches the "bonnie glen" "Where Nancy aft I courted." He meets her and asks for lodging. She says she loved a soldier -- then recognizes him.

Janie asks what Jamie will bring her when he crosses the sea. He promises a new gown, then a "gallant gay." She wants only him. He submits that he has a wife and children. She is distressed; he promises to marry her

Jennie wants Johnnie to give up drinking. He is unconvinced until she cries because the children will learn to drink from him. He resolves "that never mair I'll touch the barley bree." She is happy.

The singer recalls the days when he and Maggie were young -- the creek and the mill they wandered by, the meadows they wandered, the birds they heard. Now the mill is still, and the flowers are gone, but she is still just as beautiful in his eyes

"I wandered today up The Hill, Maggie, I applied for a rustling card... But the job it was too damned hard." The singer works in a mine full of gas; he is hit by rock, his hair is turning green; he suspects "you'll soon want your maiden name back."

"When you are old and cannot see, Put on your specs and think of me."

The singer comes to Ireland from Scotland and knocks on Pat's door seeking shelter. Pat is poor and about to be evicted but offers what he has. "You can always depend on meeting a friend when you call to an Irishman's door."

"When you feel like moanin', it ain't nothin' but love... It must be the Holy Ghost comin' down from above.... When you hear me prayin', that ain't nothin' but love.... When you love everybody... Do you love your preacher...."

"When you go to get your shears You're not allowed to pick. The first pair that you collar, Then it's to that pair you stick. It is the boss's orders; If you do not like the trick, You can go somewhere else to look for shearing."

Alternate lines are a chorus, "I am bound away." The shantyman sings "When you go, tell Julia... I'm bound away to see the light... I'm bound away to see my docky... I'm bound for North Carolina."

"When you smoke a bad cigar there's nothing to do but cough, When you're trying to ride your bike there's nowhere to fall but off...." "Nothing! Nothing! Nothing!... It makes me wild when I go out: There's nowhere to go but back." Life gives no choices

"I met him in Dakota when the harvesting was o'er, A 'Wob' he was, I saw by the button that he wore." The Wobbly exhorts workers to organize. If they will join the I. W. W., they will "strike that blow all slaves must strike if they would be free"

When You Wore a Tulip: (0 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #22493}

"I met you in a garden in an old Kentucky town... I kissed you, as I placed a yellow tulip in your hair." "When you wore a tulip... And I wore a big red rose,... 'twas then Heaven blessed me, What a blessing, no one knows." Years later, he still loves her

"Kissing's a nice celebration," "squeezing's a funny sensation," "it's better to have loved once and lost," "So haste and get married and no longer tarry, When you're in love"

"Keep the lamp of hope still brightly burning Till your boy comes back to you... Ev'ry day your far apart you grow dearer to his heart Till your boy comes back to you." The girl is advised to "Wear a bright and sunny smile" until the soldiers return

Whene'er I Take My Walks Abroad: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #7573}

"Whene'er I take my walks abroad How many poor I see; What shall I render to my God For all his gifts to me?" "No more than others I deserve, Yet God has given me more, For I have food while others starve Or beg from door to door."

Shanty. "Where am I to go me Johnnies, where am I to go? To me way hey, hey, high, roll an' go. For I'm a young sailor boy, and where am I to go?" subsequent verses answer "way up the t'gallant yard," "around Cape Horn," "through the ice and snow," etc...

Where Are Our Uniforms?: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #10790}

"Where are our uniforms? Far, far away. When will our rifles come? Perhaps, someday. All we need is just a gun, For to chase the bloody Hun. Think of us when we are gone, Far, far away."

"The West End's not the same tonight The lights aren't shining quite so bright...." "Where are the lads of the village tonight? Where are the nuts we knew? In Piccadilly? In Leicester square? No, not there"; they have gone to war. They are missed

"Where are you going Bob? Down the lane Bob. For what Bob? For rhu-bob. Let's go Bob. No Bob. Why Bob? Because you don't like rhu-bob."

Jump-rope rhyme or joke. "Where are you going, Bill. Downtown, Bill. What for, Bill? To pay my gas bill. How much, Bill? Ten dollar bill."

"Have you ever been to Ireland where Derry meets Tyrone?" The singer describes the beauty of the country, the "queen of nature," the kindly welcome a visitor may expect.

Where Did You Get That Hat?: (9 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4877}

The singer, to inherit his grandfather's property, is required to wear grandfather's hat. Now, wherever he goes, people cry out to him, "Where did you get that hat?... Isn't it a nobby one, and just the proper style...."

"Where do flies go in the wintertime? Do they go to Gay Paree? When they've finished buzzing round our beef and ham, When they've finished jazzing our raspberry jam, Do they clear like swallows every year... Tell me, tell me, where do...."

We know about Mary and her lamb, servant girl Maria blown through the roof, Burglar Bill of Pentonville on the scaffold, the rich man on the Continent and the poor man on the dole. But [chorus] "where does Father Christmas go to in the summertime?"

"Where does the Rhinoceros Get his R-H-I-N-O? Why does the Hippopotamus Not lay an egg like the ostrich does? And why does the little Ellypant Wear one tail behind and another one in front?"

"Where does the wind come from, does anybody know? Where does the wind come from before (s)he starts to blow? On Saturday night where does (s)he hang his(her) hat?Does anybody know where the wind is at? Where does the wind come from, does anybody know?"

"Where e're you be, Let your wind go free."

"Dark brown is the river. Golden is the sand. It flows along for ever With trees on either hand." "Green leaves a-floating... Boats of mine a-boating -- Where will all come home?" "Away down the river... Other little children Shall bring my boats ashore"

Where Ha'e Ye Been A' the Day?: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2330}

"... Saw ye him [Charlie] that's far away ... he gave his royal word ... wi' his friend would live or dee. Weary fa' the Lawland loon ... Wha took frae him the British crown ... But blessings on the kilted clans ... That fought for him at Prestonpans."

"Where have all the flowers gone? Long time passing. W ere have all the flowers gone? Long time ago. Where have all the flowers gone? The girls have picked them ev'ry one." The girls have gone for young men. The young men are gone for soldiers...

"Sitting alone by the door, Looking far out on the sea, Thinking of one that I love, Dearer than life is to me. All alone, all alone, Tell me why don't he write? ... Where is my darling tonight?" He is far at sea; she asks the waves to bring him home

Singer (presumably the mother, although it's not stated) weeps for her wandering boy, saying he was once "my joy and light". She begs the listener to find her boy and "tell him I love him still"

"Where oh where is old Elijah? (x3) 'Way over in the Promised Land. He went up in a fiery chariot (x3) 'Way over in the promised land. By and by we will go and see him...." Unrelated verses on Biblical themes, e.g. "Where are the Hebrew children"

The singer describes the "little cot I've never seen" (!) at home by the Moyola. Living in America, he misses Ireland, "Where a dear old mother's mourning As she keeps the home fires burning For the emigrants returning."

Where My Lord Went to Pray: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #11944}

"Way over yonder beyond the mountain, Where my Lord went to pray, They dressed my Lord in a long white robe...." "He hewed him out a cross..." "Come and help me bear this old cross along...." The singer tells of Jesus's death and salvation

"As my heart wanders back to that quiet little shack Where in childhood I used to play," the singer was happy with Mother, Dad, and prayer. Now he's "drifted away," but he wishes he could go back. But he can't go back "till he [God] shall call"

Where Now is the Prophet Brigham: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #10899}

"Now where's the Prophet Brigham? (x2) Down in Kanab, down in Kanab. By and by we'll go and fetch him, Down in Kanab, Down in Kanab.

"As I walked out one moon shiny night, As I met a big dog, he offered to bite... Now, don't you bite me. Ah, or, where shall I go?...Oh, I want to go home." The singer slips in a well and thinks he'll die. On his deathbed, they shake a brandy keg over him

Where Shall Our Goodman Lie?: (2 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #15104}

Where shall our goodman [or Bonnie Annie] lie until summer [or the cold winter night] is over? Up in the hen loft among the rotten timber.

Where the Bravest Cowboys Lie: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #11086}

The singer, a mountain resident, courts a girl; she agrees to marry him if he becomes a cowboy. Despite his parents' advice, he takes to the trail -- and suffers cold, snow, and Indian attacks. The singer wishes to "fly to where the bravest cowboys lie."

Where the Gadie Rins (I): (4 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #5404}

The singer wishes she were "Where the Gadie rins." She recalls her (ane/twa) richt love(s). "The ane he was killed at the Lowrin fair, and t'ither wis drowned in Dee." She has twice been a bride but never a wife. She recalls her mourning

Where the Gadie Rins (II): (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #5404}

Singer finds that his girl's "kilt (is) short and I could see." She tells his he's being unfair; she's going home to her mother. He muses that when her mother finds out what he's done, he'll have to fly. He laments that he can't go and see her.

Where the Grass Grows Green: (8 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #8213}

"I'm Denny Blake, from County Clare" to sing in praise of Erin. The Irishman is painted poor but "his heart and hospitality Has much to do with that." He's foolish but not vicious and has a weakness for drink. Wish for "better days to Erin"

The singer sets out "with my dog and gun o'er the blooming heather." He meets a girl, and begs her to marry him, offering to give up roving if she does. She decides to wait "another season," both to test his love and to gain her parent's consent

"I remember, I remember the place where I was born, Where the morning glories twine around the door at early morn... I'd like to wander back again down the lane to yesterday." The singer recalls the wildwood, the schoolhouse, and childhood

"I want to go back once more To those hills I roamed before... Where those mighty rivers flow." "I live in that city that is built among the hills, Where smoke is always pouring from the big rolling mills... Where the old Allegheny and Monongahela flow."

Where the River Shannon Flows: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #9579}

"There's a pretty spot in Ireland, I always claim for my land, Where the fairies and the blarney Will never, never die." The singer recalls the land and the girl by the Shannon. He will not send a letter; he will sail home himself with news of his return

"Kind friends there'll be no sad farewell There'll be no tear-dimmed eyes Where all is peace and joy and love And the soul of man never dies." Singer is bound to Canaan's land. A love-light guides his way; a rose blooms there, etc.

"I want to see my mother sometime (x2), where the flowers will bloom forever, and the sun don't never go down... Don't you feel like shouting sometimes, sometimes?" Repeat with father, brother, sister, Savior

"Sunshine is over the meadow, Sunshine is over the hill..." "Come with me, merry and free, Gay as a bird on the spray, Grief and care, come if you dare, We will be happy today." "Come where the wattles are blooming, Down in the flowery glade"

Where There's a Will There's a Way: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #13835}

"This life is a difficult riddle." "So what's the use of repining, For where there's a will there's a way, Tomorrow the sun will be shining Although it is cloudy today." A spider tries nine times to climb a wall and finally succeeds. Work brings success

"Where was Peter when the church fell down In some lonesome valley with his head hung down." "Jesus locked the lion's jaw"

Where Was You Last Night?: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #10026}

"Oh, where was you last night (x3), Under them bilers sleeping." "I wend in the valley, Lord, I didn't go to stay, Under them bilers sleepin, My soul got happy... Under them boilers..." "The head mate hollered and the captain squalled..."

Where's Your License?: (11 refs. 18K Notes) {Roud #27775}

"The inspector of traps said, 'Now, my fine chaps, We'll go license-hunting today.'" The inspectors set out to find illegal traps and diggers. But they find few traps, and the illegal diggers all make their escape

"Whether the weather be cold or whether the weather be hot, Whether the weather be nice or whether the weather be not, Whatever the weather, we'll weather the weather, Whether we like it or not." The traditional version is just the chorus of the original

"I love you, mother, said little John," but runs off to play, leaving mother to carry wood and water. "I love you, mother, said little Nell," but proceeds to pout. Little Fan also professes her love -- and helps out. So which one loved mother best?

Which Side Are You On?: (7 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #15159}

The Union comes to town to protect the miners from boss J.H. Blair. The workers are told "In Harlan County, there are no neutrals there," and asked, "Which side are you on (x4)." They are reminded "Us poor folks haven't got a chance unless we organize."

"Which way did my baby go? Did she stop by here Or did she keep on down the road?" "I'm going to find her... somewhere... some old lonesome day." "Why ... treat me this way?"

Whigs Are A'Rinnin', The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #5818}

"Saw ye Holyrood? Saw ye him there? Saw ye him there? Saw ye him sittin' In his muckle chair? For the Whigs are a' rinnin' Rin, rin, rinnin', For the Whigs are a' rinnin' Fast awa' hame"

While Gamekeepers Were Sleeping: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #363}

Singer has a dog. "She'd run a hare of a moonlit night, While gamekeepers were sleeping." A policeman catches him poaching but he gets off with a trick. The policeman retires. Poacher gives him broth for his sick wife and a pup. Now he is also a poacher.

The singer (a G.I.) gives a woman ten dollars for sex, then nine days later suffers the wages of sin.

"When I was still of tender years, Satan did entice me, He said that I might live till I got old And serve God at my leisure. At length the spirit came one day, It strove with mighty power, It caused me to weep and moan And tremble every hour."

Poem, apparently based on Harlow's experiences aboard the Akbar when she encountered 30 days of heavy weather while carrying coal from Australia. Written as if addressing the ship, each verse begins "Ship of the seas..." and ends with "I'm at the wheel."

"While shepherds watched their flocks by night, All seated on the ground, The angel of the Lord came down" to announce the birth of Jesus. They are directed to find the child in the manger in Bethlehem

"While shepherds were watching" angels shouted "Cheer up, faithful shepherds, and be not afraid ... The saviour is born." "I went to behold him. I asked them his name. His name it was Jesus; from Bethlehem came"

"It was on the day when soldiers wrote a line to those they love" that a "fair-haired boy" writes to his girl, "While the band is playing 'Dixie,' I'm humming 'Home Sweet Home'" as he thinks of her in Georgia. He is killed; the note is found in his pocket

"'One hundred pounds,' the master said, 'To you, my boy, I'll pay If you win this race for me in which you ride today.'" Horse and rider are eager for the task. In the race, the horse does fairly well; at last the rider spurs her, and she wins

Whip Jamboree (Whup Jamboree): (8 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #488}

Stanzas on the life of a sailor, characterized by the line "(whip/whup) jamboree." The lash is likely to be prominently mentioned, as is the sailors' happiness upon seeing the girls (whores?) of home.

"Whip-poor-will (x4), I know what I say but I can't be still. Whip-poor-will and you came to the woods one day and stole my nestlings away. Don't I know, can't I see, can't I feel...." "Look, look, there's a fly, I swallowed him down."

"In the starry night so soft, Listen to the whippoorwill, Forest shades repeat his song... Sadness fills and thrills his lay, Singing all the summer away... Whippoorwill, sad whippoorwill." A description of the sad times evoked by the bird's sad call

"Gone to bed is the setting sun, Night is coming and day is done, Whippoorwill, whippoorwill, has just begun."

Bridesmaid describes a bride's problems with an elderly groom. The bride modestly turns her back, then her front, but he gives no comfort. She berates her mother for marrying her to an old fool, and vows to find a young man "to play at the whirly whorl"

Whiskey Is My Name (Donald Blue): (8 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #3799}

A smith has a drinking wife, often found drunk in the street. One day, as his wife is asleep, he is called out to rescue her. He finds a drunken woman who looks so like his wife he cannot tell them apart. His wife quits drinking as a result

Shanty. Characteristic line: "Whiskey, Johnny, / Whiskey for me Johnny." The song details the sailor's love affair with whiskey: "Whiskey is the life of man / It always was since the world began...." "Whiskey killed my dear old dad..."

"Of all the crimes that ever has been, Sellin' whiskey is the greatest sin...." The troubles caused by liquor-sellers are described: "You rob the strong man of his strength" "You rob the statesman of his brains" "You rob the children of their bread"

The robber finds a victim on the road, whom he relieves of his valuables. He returns to his sweetheart's home and goes to sleep. He is awakened by the law. He reaches for his pistol, but the girl has rendered it useless. He is taken (and hanged/escapes)

Whiskey leads the singer astray. "We're on the march and off to Portugal and Spain" "The French are fighting boldly, men dying hot and coldly ... love fare thee well" A mother threatens to haunt the singer if he takes her daughter from her.

Whisper Your Mother's Name: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4774}

The singer is "seated one day in a beautiful cafe" when he sees his sister in the street. His mother's words, "If you should see your sister, do not reproach her, Dwayne," cause him to invite her back to her still-faithful love and her mother's grave

"Soft as the voice of an angel... Hope with a gentle persuasion, Whispers her comforting word." "Hope for the sunshine tomorrow After the shower is gone." "Whispering hope, how welcome thy voice, Making my heart in its sorrow rejoice."

Whist! The Bogie Man: (4 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #V18643}

"Oh gather round me, little ones, So full of fun and glee, Your father's going to be a fool To plase the family." "Oh, whist, whist, whist, Here comes the bogie man! Now go to bed, you baby." Mother and father both use the bogie man to hurry the children

Whistle Owre the Lave O't: (6 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #506}

Verses begin "my mother sent me" and end "so whistle for the rest of it": sent to the well the singer fell in; to the stack with a basket her bones crack; to the sea a sailor fell in; to the moss to gather clods "a thing sprang up atween my legs"

"Just whistle while you work, Oh Hitler is a jerk, and Mussolini bit his wienie and now it will not work." Or, "...Hitler is a squirt, Göring's barmy, So's his army, Rub them all in dirt."

Jump-rope rhyme. "Whistle while you work, Jenny made a shirt, Jessie wore it, Benny tore it, Mary made it worse!"

Whistle, Daughter, Whistle: (24 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1570}

The mother offers her daughter a (cow) if she will whistle. The daughter says she cannot. The request is repeated with (sheep, etc.); each time the daughter refuses. Finally the mother offers a man; the daughter engages to whistle with all her might

"It's to the girls of Peterhead that these few lines I write": Ploughing the ocean is what brave sailors do; "lazy lubber landsmen go whistling at the ploo"

"A whistling maid Or a crowing hen Were neither made For God nor men."

Whistling Rufus goes to parties whatever the weather. After devouring the chicken and wine, he settles down to whistling, producing a sound that makes the spectators think "the angels' harps were a-playing."

Whistling Thief, The: (12 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2738}

Pat visits Mary and whistles to announce his arrival. Mary's mother hears, and rejects Mary's explanations (the dog is howling at the moon, pigs can see the wind, etc.). The mother forces Mary off to bed, pointing out that she hasn't lost her ears

The singer takes "a stroll down to the White Cafe," where he meets and buys drinks for a pretty girl. He is convinced to take her with him. They register as a married couple at the Farmer's Hotel. She steals his luggage and money and disappears

White Cockade, The: (17 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #709}

The singer describes her handsome young love. He has taken the white cockade and joined Prince Charlie's armies. She promises to sell her possessions to equip him well. Some versions describe how Prince Charles was displaced

"The hearse was driven to our door, It brought a coffin, white as snow, Such coffins we had seen before"; it is for the singer's own child. They mourn their child and find their faith in heaven strengthened because they know their child is there

"White coral bells upon a slender stalk, Lilies of the valley (line/grace/deck) my garden (walk/wall). Oh don't you wish that you could hear them ring? That will only happen when the (angels/fairies) sing." May be sung as a round

White Fisher, The [Child 264]: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3888}

Willie learns that a "popish priest" fathered his wife's baby. She tells Willie to cast the babe in the sea; he instead gives the child to his mother. Willie's wife weeps for the babe and reviles him; Willie tells her the babe is alive; both are happy

"White folks in the parlor, Talking 'bout jelly and jam... Didn't say a word about ham." "Ham, ham, ham is good and sweet... Nothing better'n old ham meat." "Possum in the corn fields... Rabbit say, 'You dirty dog,' Possum blew the horn."

Near Oldham town lived an old white hare that has escaped beagles and greyhounds. Jim Smith or Jemmy the huntsman and Tom the whipper-in take out horsemen and beagles to hunt this hare. "There was twenty good beagles that caused this hare to die"

Singer says Hoover let the country go to ruin; now Roosevelt's "doing his best," but times are still hard -- long hours for poor wages (if they're working at all), bad clothes, poor food. The refrain says of Hoover, "Now he's gone, I'm glad he's gone."

"I was all alone in my my cabin, The Indians surrounded me." They tie him to his horse. The Indians take him to camp and prepare to burn him, but the chief's daughter declares she will burn with him. He lives with them for five years and becomes a lawyer

White Man, Let Me Go: (11 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #2055}

The Indian begs to be allowed to return to his land: "Let me go to my home in the far distant west... Let me go to my father... Let me go to the hills... Let me go to... my dark-eyed maid... And there let my body in ashes lie low"

White Marble Stone, The: (1 ref. 2K Notes) {Roud #11996}

"Sister Dolly light the lamp, and the lamp light the road, And I wish I been there for to yedde Jordan roll." "O the city light the lamp, the white man he will sold, And I wish...." "O the white marble stone, and the white marble stone...."

White Pilgrim, The: (17 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #2841}

"I came to the tomb where the white pilgrim lay And pensively stood by his tomb, And in a low whisper I heard someone say How peaceful he sleeps there alone." The pilgrim's farewell to his family after his call, and his courage in death, are recalled

Round. "White sand and gray sand. Who’ll buy my white sand? Who’ll buy my gray sand?"

White Seal's Lullaby, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #25480}

"Oh hush thee my baby, the night is behind us, And dark are the waters that sparkled so green." The billows shall be a pillow; no storm or shark shall threaten

A pretty girl, who works in a laundry and sleeps in the street because she is so poor, is recruited to be a prostitute with promises of wealth. Five years later, she has lost her looks and is diseased. Who is to blame? "The boss who pays starvation wages"

White Squall, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #13623}

"The sea was bright and the bark rose well, And the breeze bore the tone of the vesper bell"; the ship is a good one, and is approaching land. All are thinking of home when a white squall blows up and overwhelms the ship

"Mount, mount for the chase! Let your lassoes be strong... For the quarry you seek has oft baffled, I wee, Steeds swift as your own." Many men have tried the White Steed, but still it runs free

"White wings, they never grow weary, They carry me cheerily over the sea, Night comes, I long for my dearie, I'll spread out my white wings and fly home to thee." The singer longs for his Maggie Darrow, and hopes the winds will carry him to her.

Tonight we gather to help "the good folks" for "their harbour is nane o' the best." When the singer looked "it nearly upset me To ken whare a place ca'd a harbour could be." At night the sweethearts "are toddlin'" along with the rabbits and hares.

"It's of a brave young shantyboy, brave-hearted, true, He left his home near Ottawa and to Whitney's camp did go." He will return home when winter ends. "He worked until that fatal day When a hanging limb fell down on him and squashed him to the clay."

"Who am dat a-walkin' in de co'n?.... How long O Lawd, nobody knows, I pray I'll rise on judgment day...." The singer mentions several who might be among the corn: "Joshua de son ob Nun Er King David come to fight Goliar," Petuh, Gabriel, God

"Who are the greatest? We are the greatest. Are you sure?"

Who Built the Ark?: (9 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5355}

Amalgamation of floating verses about Noah, the ark, the animals, etc.. Noah builds the ark from hickory (hemlock, gopherwood), leads the animals two-by-two. Chorus: "Who built the ark? Noah, Noah," sometimes "The old ark's a movin', a-movin', a movin'"

"Who dat tappin' at de window? Who dat knockin' at de do' Mammy tappin' at de window, Pappy knockin' at de do'."

"Who did (x4), Who did swallow Jo-Jo-Jonah?... Who did swallow Jonah down?" "Whale did... swallow Jonah whole." "Noah in the arky... bailed." "Daniel... in the lion's den." "David... killed Goliath."

"'Who's going round my stone wall?' 'It's only (Bobby Bingo/Jackie Lingo/Old Tom).' 'Don't you steal my (fat sheep/chickens).' 'None but (one/two/etc.)."

"Who's that going round my house this dark and stormy night?" "Raw head and boody bones." "What do you want?" "Fire...." "AIn't got no fire." "I see smoke." "That's just the young ones...." "Give me one...." "Take the least and leave the best"

"I've traveled through the state, dear Tom, we long have loved so well. And what's the matter with things here.... The working class are very poor...." The singer recalls the good days when Nebraska was settled, and wonders who has mismanaged it since

"(Who've you got in Heaven?) (x2) Lord I can't stand still, (Stand still Jordan) (x3) Lord I can't stand still." Later verses start "I've got a (mother/sister/brother/...) in Heaven"

Jump-rope rhyme. "Who is knocking at my door? 'It is I," said the fly. 'One, two, three, four."

Who Is My Neighbor?: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7845}

"'Who is my neighbor?' Hear the poor Jew cry. 'Who will a-yescort me? Help me ere I die.'"

Who Is on the Lord's Side (I): (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #12015}

"Let me tell you what is nat'rally the fact. Who is on the Lord's side, None o' God's children nebber look back, Who is on the Lord's side." "Way in the valley, who is... Way in the valley...." "Weeping Mary...." "Mourning Martha." "Risen Jesus."

Who Is on the Lord's Side (II): (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #25521}

"Who is on the Lord’s side? Who will serve the King? Who will be His helpers, other lives to bring? Who will leave the world’s side? Who will face the foe? ... We are on the Lord’s side—Savior, we are Thine!"

Dan'l Mooney's father died and left him money if, the will said, he would marry. He sees a lady and thinks "if she would only wed me I'd be happy." He'd give her diamonds, they'd go to Ireland, they'd have a baby boy who'd become "just like his old Papa"

Who Killed Cock Robin?: (24 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #494}

"Who killed Cock Robin? I, said the sparrow, with my little bow and arrow." "Who saw him die? I, said the fly, with my little streaky eye." Various creatures, mostly birds, describe their parts in the death and burial of Cock Robin

Questions and answers. "What came of 82?": The name. "Whence came the shout of freedom?": o'er the Atlantic. "Who drove the people mad?": Pitt. "Who picketed the Croppies?": Captain Swayne. "When shall [Union] be repealed?": When the people are united.

"Who killed Kaiser Bill? We, said the Allies, Upon the road to Calais, We killed Bill Kaiser." "Then all the Germans got a great surprise When they heard of the death of old Bill Kaiser." Other questions about the death of the Kaiser

Alternate lines are a chorus, "Bear away Yankee bear away." The shantyman sings: "Who no been off no come a bay... If you want, deliver your harpoon... De gun on the blank so len' us a hand... Yankee doodle dandy boy... bear away to Baltimore."

Singer, called a bum, takes exception to the name. He tells of life as a hobo, says "I never work, I never have, and I never will by gum/I know I'm a hobo, but who said I was a bum?" My shoes are worn, my pants are torn, there's holes in both my knees."

Clapping song with gestures: "Who stole my chickens and my (hens/eggs)?" "Not me." "Who stole...?" "You!" "Who stole...?" "Not me." Etc.

"Who stole the cookie(s) from the cookie jar? (Not I stole the cookies from the cookie jar...) [Number X] stole the cookies from the cookie jar. Not me! Yes, you! Couldn't Be! Then who stole the cookies...." Repeat with a new (leader and) accused

Questions song, with the leader (or one group) calling out the questions and the other shouting the answer, e.g. "Who was in the belly (of the fish/whale)? Jonah!"

As Obadiah wanders in to his workplace, his colleagues ask, "Who were you with last night, Out in the pale moonlight? It wasn't your sister, And it wasn't your ma... Are you going to tell your missus?" He claims it was Uncle Fred, but it was another girl

Who Will Care for Mother Now?: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #18948}

"Why am I so weak and weary? See how faint my heated breath.... Tell me, comrades, is this death?" The dying soldier asks "Who will care for mother now?" He hopes someone will care for her, and hopes to die as a soldier should

Who Will Hold My Stovepipe Hat: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #11567}

"Who will hold my (stovepipe hat (3x)), Oh who will hold my stovepipe hat When I am dead and gone?" Who will ("smoke my corncob pipe," "hold my sweetheart's hand")... Nonsense refrain ending "I'm a son-of-a-gun American man"

Floating verses found in sundry other songs: "Oh who will shoe your pretty little foot, And who will glove your hand...." "(Papa) will shoe my pretty little foot, (Mama) will glove my hand...."

"Who would have tho't Harmon, that hum drum old fox, Who looks so bemeaning with his tousled locks, Would have had resolution to stand to the tack?" The speakers (Ned [Fanning] and Frank [Nash] ?) lament the troubles the regulators cause

"Who would true valour see, Let him come hither; One here will constant be, Come wind, come weather, There's no discouragement Shall make him once relent His first avowed intent To be a pilgrim." Nothing will stop the Pilgram from his journey

"Bubbo come and tell me, Who you goin' to marry to" "Marry to the girl that I love." Bubbo doesn't love Mary or Carrie: "nobody but me bent-foot Stacy." "Go give her one gold ring ... velvet clothes"

Who'll Join the Union?: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #15245}

Chorus: "Oh Hallelujah (x3), who'll join the Union? (x2)." Verses: The singer wants to see "God's work go on." "Pray to the Lord to turn you around." "Christ has bought my liberty." "If you belong to the Union band ... I love you all both bond and free"

See notes for the chorus. Dunbar's verses include: mama and papa tell him, "Don't let nobody make a fool out of you"; "I'm going away this morning, Coming here no more" and he won't change hs mind; he tells "baby," "I'm tired of fooling around with you"

"Who's gonna love you, honey, when I'm away? Who's gonna stay and say sweet things every day? Who's gonna look into your eyes divine? Who's gonna kiss those lips that I call mine?... Who's gonna love you when I'm gone?"

Jump-rope rhyme. "Who's got feet Like Arthur's seat? Who's got a bunions Like a pickled onion? Who's got legs Like ham and eggs...."

"Who's knocking at the door? The Angel with the Golden Star. What do you want? [Blue/Green/any color]." Used to pick teams for a game.

Chorus: "Who's that yonder? (3x) Looks like my Lord coming in the sky." Sample verse: "Little did I think He was so nigh, He spoke and He made me laugh and cry, Looks like my Lord...."

The experiences of a poor farmer. He describes his fieldwork methods ("Sometimes I plow my old grey horse..."), the crops, his gal's big feet, the dances they went to together, etc. Possible chorus: "Whoa back, buck! And gee! by the lamb!"

Whoa Mule (The Kickin' Mule): (52 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3774}

The singer describes courting and the dangers of a kicking mule which "kicked the feathers off a goose," etc. The stubborn mule Simon Slick is often mentioned. The chorus will generally contain the instruction "Whoa, mule."

"Mister Gradlock owned a pretty mule, the prettiest mule in town." It is blind and can't stand still. The mule throws the owner's girl and spoils her frock; she hits it and it flattens her; her only words are "Whoa mule whoa."

"Larry went out to plow in his corn, Wishing to his soul he'd never been born." The woods are too thick to pass. His breakfast is spoiled. Bugs are everywhere. "All the... Irishmen ought to have been hung." "Ha, ha, Paddy, this will never do."

"With a merry little jog and a gay little song, (Spoken: Whoa! Ha! Buck and Jerry Boy!), We trudge our way the whole day long... We'll reach Salt Lake some day or bust." The singer thinks of the girl up ahead and the dances along his journey

Vignettes of people who go "the whole hog or none," e.g. boxer Heenan, who never gave Sayers any peace, and Brigham Young, who had sixty wives

Floating verses, often praising Cindy: "Went up on the mountain top, give my horn a blow...; "Higher up the mountain top, greener grow the cherries..." Chorus: "Whoop 'em up, Cindy, Lord/I love Cindy, Lord/Whoop 'em up, Cindy, Lord, Lord/Gone forevermore"

Singer's lover has "been gone all day ... make whoopee all night." His razor will "cut" her "late hours." He gave the undertaker her height and size: "Next time you go out carry your black suit along" (so you're ready to be buried)

Whorehouse Bells Were Ringing, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #10093}

A customer and a prostitute engage in oral sex, "each trying to get their guns off first into the other's heads," until he offers to give it "the boar-hog grind."

"Twas the end of roundup the last day of June, Or maybe July I just don't remember...." The signer describes the the gathering for the roundup. When the herds gathered, "Nig" Add separates the herds. An unknown brand puzzles him; he claims the cow

Whummil Bore, The [Child 27]: (6 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #3722}

A servant has waited on the king for seven years without ever seeing the princess. One day, peering through a hole in the wall (the whummil bore), he sees her being dressed. He greatly enjoys the sight, but can't stay long.

"Where, where, where, and where, And where are you bound, young man? I'm off to the war with the good men and true, And hadn't you better come along too?" The questioner asks why, which, who, when, what about the war; the soldier answers

""The summer stars look brightly down Upon the tranquil sea And evening's breath is hushed and gone From mountain stream and tree." Three springs have gone since the sailor has seen his love. He laments and wonders, "Why art thou not here?"

"I think it is awful cruel, For a girl to be just fourteen, And never has had a fellow, A beau, of course, I men. Why can't I catch a beau (x2), I know it is long to wait so long." Her parents mistrust her; her mother follows her; at last she finds a beau

Why Can't Paddy Be a Gentleman?: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #V727}

"Being told Pat couldn't be a gentleman" I'll ask why not? "Hasn't Ireland got her colleges" and won't he "greet you with a smile?" "You cannot give the reason why, I see it in your face ...actions make a gentleman, no matter what the birth"

"You know I've loved you many long years. Vain thoughts have struck me, caused me tears. Then did my heart ache, oh, how it bled. Why can't we wed?" The singer doesn't care about wealth or fame. He wonders why he has to plead

"Why did she leave him? They grew up together, Near to the old church on the bright village green." He was mild, young, gay; now his smiles are gone. She too is unhappy without him. But "Why did she leave him? -- because he was poor."

"Poor little Nellie is weeping tonight, Thinking of days that were filled with delight." She misses her dead mother, for "sleeps that fond mother away from life's woe."

"You make me sad, you make me glad, You make me feel so blue.; You make the blue sky gray. You drove the sunshine away. "You are the only one today Can drive the blue days away." "You have broken all of your vows, BUt still I love you somehow."

Why Do You Bob Your Hair, Girls?: (6 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #7842}

"Why do you bob you hair, girls, It is an awful shame To rob the head God gave you To bear the flapper's name." The singer proclaims that "short hair belongs to me," and maintains that women with long hair will be commended by God

Why Don't You Love the Old Love?: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5216}

The singer is a stranger to this country. When an old love's back is turned she can love whom she pleases. "To me she gives nothing, Who loved her so dear" "I'll dress you my darling And take you away. Into New York we'll be sailing"

"Did you ever see a maiden in a little rolling chair? Room for two, me and you." They only met yesterday, but she whispers "Don't be quite so distant," and asks "Do you think you'd like me better if you thought that I like you." "Why don't you try?"

"How pleasant a sailor's life passes, Who roams o'er the watery main!" Although he never becomes right, he has "a light hearth, and a thin pair of breeches." The world is beautiful, "So why should we quarrel for riches?"

Round. "Why shouldn’t my goose Sell as well as thy goose When I paid for my goose Twice as much as thou?"

"Why was he born so beautiful, why was he born at all? He's no bloody use to anyone, he's no bloody use at all."

"Wi' a hundred pipers an a', an' a' (x2), We'll up an' gie them a blaw, a blaw,,, O it's owre the border awa', awa'." The soldiers look fine. Bonnie Prince Charlie leads. The song recalls an incident while crossing the Esk. The English are "Dumfoundered"

"Come all ye young lovers, I pray give attention... I'll sing ye a sang concerning twa lovers, A bonnie mason laddie comin' fra Lochee." The girl often meets her mason "wi' his apron on." They marry and live happily.

The Nancy had a gallant crew but none loved the wicked captain who never prayed. He fell ill when "God laid his hands on the sinful man." Even when "fever burned on his aching brow And gnawed his heart within" he never prayed.

Wicked Polly [Laws H6]: (25 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #505}

Polly lives a frolicsome life, saying, "I'll turn to God when I grow old." Suddenly taken ill, she realizes "'Alas, alas! my days are spent; It is too late for to repent.'" She dies in agony and is presumably sent to hell; young people are advised to heed

Wicked Wife o' Fife, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6284}

The singer's wife refused to feed him, even after he bought her a new gown. He beat her with a hazel stick. She ran home to her mother who convinced the singer to take her back. He would beat her again if she were not good. He has no more trouble.

"There is a wicked wife" who cried to "make her quit o' an auld man." She spoke "sourly and dourly," he "sweetly and meekly." Finally "she gat 'im deid" and quickly married a young man who beat her. She cried "Ochone for my silly aul' man"

Wicklow Rangers, The: (6 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #689}

A 14 year old boy from Carlow meets a colonel, who enlists him in the Wicklow Rangers. He leaves his girl. Her friends tell her not to worry. He and a comrade are shunned by two milk-maids. If he survives his enlistment he will return to his girl.

Widdicombe Fair (II): (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #666}

Singer goes to a fair at Widdicombe (or Coldingham, Ratcliffe or Monaghan). There he meets with a jolly beggar and his wife. The singer then lists all the pairs of beggars he's met at the fair

Widow in the Cottage by the Sea, The: (12 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #1743 and 4327}

"In my cottage by the seashore I can see my mansion home... Where with pleasure I have roamed." The singer recalls her family, and thinks how they would mourn if they saw her now. Now her love is dead, and she is "a widow in the cottage by the sea."

Widow Machree (I): (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #29023}

"Widow Machree, pray then open your door ... And show me the easiest plank in your floor." "Didn't old Adam loan From his rib" to "manufacture ... the first female" "As you owe man a rib, I lay claim to that same." A marriage proposal.

Widow Machree (II): (6 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #29023}

"Widow Machree, it's no wonder you frown," your black gown is unbecoming. Summer is coming and birds and rabbits all go in pairs.In winter it would be a sin to be cold and alone. "Take my advice ... take me"

"Did ye hear of the widow Malone, Ohone? Who lived in the town of Athlone alone?" All the rich men courted her but she was modest and none could see her alone. Lucius O'Brien from Clare boldly kisses her and she agrees to marry.

Widow Nolan's Goat, The: (3 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #27601}

"Oh, I'm a lone widdy, myself and my daughter; We live in a house where there's welcome galore" with "My buck Billy Goat," which has been a very good goat but is now missing. "Oh, oh, oh, oh, ohone, Come back to my bosom, my own darling billy."

Reilly marries McCarty's widow. She always talks about McCarty and says she wishes Reilly were sober and more like McCarty. He beats her to show her "now she's got a man" who won't put up with her broomstick beatings and other demands.

The widow's daughter reports losing her maidenhead to a grenadier guard. The mother wants it back; the guard invites the girl to his wedding. The bride asks about her; she proves to have slept with another man. The guard marries the daughter instead

Widow's Cruisie, The: (1 ref. 1K Notes) {Roud #6108}

His hearers knew he was a fool but he "tried the Psalms." "He tell't the story aff wi glee ... Aye the wifie wi her vessle." Then he'd wish them all into glory, assuring them of plenty and "meal an' eelie [oil] to be yer dainty"

Widow's Lament, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #4287}

"My sister, hear and I will relate The troubles I have seen, What sorrows I have seen of late Which are the fruit of sin." "My father" has beaten her brutally; her baby daughter and husband died of disease. She looks forward to meeting and praising God

The singer enters a court where a youth is on trial. There is no question of his guilt, but his mother rises to beg for mercy. The prosecutor asks the judge to silence her, but he refuses. The judge grants the boy clemency based on the mother's plea

German. "Wie kumm ich an des Grossvadder's Haus? Mein geliebdes Maedlein?" "How do I get to grandfather's house, My beloved maiden?" She tells him to follow the road. He asks other directions; she answers. The ending is only hinted at

"It's gran' to hae a wifie and a biggin [building] o' yer ain." The singer enjoys "to see my wifie wi' the bairnie on her knee" and his hearth at evening. He has been in wealthy lodgings but "it wisna half sae cosy as this biggin' o' my ain"

"My head and stay is loof (sic.) away And I am left alone. My husband dear, who was so near, Is took away and gone." The wife confesses her grief, admits she cannot rest, and says she will turn to Jesus

Jack complains that there's no one to look after his house, make him a good meal, or mend his clothes. An old man says to stop complaining: "a wife's the main thing." Jack marries a farmer's daughter "and never did he rue the day"

"Ye'll hae heard o' the Wife o' Denside... Wha pushioned [poisoned] her maid to keep up her pride, And the devil is sure o' the Wife o' Denside." She poisons a mother and her illegitimate child. She buys her way out of trouble. The gallows has been robbed

Wife o' Gateside, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5837}

"Ye've a' heard tell o' the wife o' Gateside (or Denside) ... poisoned her maid (or guid-dother [daughter-in-law]) to keep up her pride, And the Deil he is sure o' the wife o' ...."

The singer is going home after rambling to marry Ailie. Her mother favors wealthy Geordie Steele. "But if that my Ailee prove faithless, and marry before I return ... Awa' straight to some other beauty, without loss o' time I will hie"

A mother sends her sons away to school, where they die. She swears not to believe in God until they return to her. Later, they do return, but as ghosts. At last they convince her (perhaps by means of the roasted cock crowing) to let them rest

The singer recalls the days before his wife was married, when she worked so hard on her father's farm. But now she is married, she does nothing except dress up and leave home. He would happily be rid of her if he could.

A craftsman has married a wife above his station. She, being of good birth, refuses to do housework. Since she is gentle, he cannot beat her -- but he covers her in a sheepskin, thrashes THAT, and causes her to start working

The singer recounts his (boyhood and) life, telling of his many daring robberies. Now, alas, he is condemned to die, and must leave his family. He concludes with directions for his funeral

The singer meets his sweetheart, (Lula), walking with Wild Bill Jones. Since Bill will not leave Lula alone (or vice versa), the singer shoots him. Lula will not bail him out of prison, so the singer spends his last days wildly

Wild Boy, The [Laws B20]: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3241}

The singer, guilty of murder and robbery, is arrested and jailed. His family deserts him, but a rich uncle bails him out. He vows to give up his wild ways.

Wild Buckaroo, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #10091}

"I've been ridin' cattle for most of my life, I ain't got no family and I ain't got no wife." The cowboy boasts of his exploits, tells of the places he has worked, describes what he likes, and concludes "I'm a high-loping cowboy and a wild buckaroo."

A wildcat shows up on the pipe line. Norman Matchett said "'twas a monkey." Freeman Hare swears "'twas a monsterous bear." Leclair, from Australia, said "'twas a big kangaroo." The singer, a hunter, says the others must have had too much wine at Willie's

Transported from Ireland to Australia, (Jack Doolan) turns bushranger but robs only the rich. At last intercepted by troopers Kelly, Davis, and Fitzroy, he chooses to fight rather than surrender. He kills Kelly but is in turn shot by the other two

"Oh, come with me and we will go To the land where the mango apples grow, Oh, do not tarry another day, for storms may come and love deday (sic.). We'll chase the antelope over the plain..." and hunt, and have a gazelle for a playmate

Congregational song, in which the leader will ask a member to tell a story, the member will do so, and the congregation sings, "Wild goose nest (x3)." There is no plot, but there may be other verses, such as "And all the eggs were white but one...."

Wild Horse Charlie tells the poet that he prefers his work to women. He explains that he had once been engaged to one. Later it turns out she had become engaged to a number of cowboys, taking money from each and then skipping town.

Wild Irish Boy, The: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #38409}

The singer reports on his arrival in the new world. Despite his poor clothes, history of gambling, and criminal record, the girls like him for his looks. But now he is punished for his crime with poverty, prison, and loneliness

"I am a wild Irishman just come to town, To view the fine city of fame and renown." The English attack him, He fights off butcher and police and crowd with his shillelegh, and has a drink to rejoice. He wishes "Long life and success to Erin go Bragh."

Wild Lumberjack, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7736}

"One day I was out walking on the mountain... I happened to spy... A handsome young lumberjack... All dressed in white linen." The man recalls life in the woods. But he is "shot in the breast." He bids farewell to family and love, asks for water, and dies

Wild Man of Borneo, The: (4 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #2145}

Cumulative song: "The wild man of (Borneo/Poplar) has just come to town (4x)" building to "The left whisker of the flea in the hair in the tail of the dog of the daughter of the wife of the wild man of Borneo has just come to town"

Johnny catches his foot among the logs while breaking up a jam; he is swept away as the jam breaks up. His badly torn body is recovered and buried by his fellow workers

"Turn, young men, from your evil ways; (Go/Don't) sow your wild oats in the early days -- that you may be happy when you grow old."

"I will rover from the land where my forefathers lie, From the land of my birth with my own love I'll fly." "Al I'll give up... To be with my first love the wild Rover's bride." The singer will sail with her love wherever he goes and in all weather

Wild Rover No More: (25 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #1173}

The singer "has been a wild rover for many a year; I've spent all my money on whisky and beer." After years of carousing, he has gone broke and/or struck it rich; he vows that "never no more, It's never, never, never I'll play The wild rover no more."

"Come all you wild rovers and listen for a while... For love has been the ruin of many a man." The singer warns against love: "When you are married you are not your own man." He describes some of his miseries, and wishes luck to single and married alike

Wild Slieve Gallon Brae: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3577}

The singer is in love with a false-hearted girl. He sets out to view her home, but somehow goes astray and ends on Slieve Gallon Brae. There he meets a girl whose love has also been untrue. They marry and live happily on Slieve Gallon Brae

"On the wild stormy deep With Jesus I'll sleep And hold to his loving hand. In a home above I'll be there with God, and rejoice in a happy land." The singer prays, and God frees the singer from burden and sin

Wild Waves Roar, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #13518}

"The wild waves roar, And my ship's a wreck On a foreign shore"

Wild West Show, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #4831}

"We're off to see the Wild West Show, Elephants and the kangaroos, Never mind the weather, As long as we're together, We're off to see the Wild West Show." Verses may be recited, and are often obscene, regarding the various unlikely animals in the show

Wilderness Lady, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #2295}

At dinner in a London lord's house an English lady toasts King William "and to all his strong forces." The next day the "Wilderness lady" challenges her to a duel. Wounded, the English lady cries for mercy. An English lord interrupts the duel.

The singer prepares to deck herself out with flowers in her hair, in response to her former lover who now has abandoned her. She promises to behave joyfully and forget she knew him, and make him regret that he "neglected his pale wildwood flower"

Wilfrid White and John Murphy: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #25167}

"Come all you loyal shanty boys" to hear of the death of two lumbermen. Oct. 6, 1901, Wilfrid and John set out for Carl Wright's camp. They disappear before they can cross the ferry. Their drowned bodies are eventually found; why they swam is unknown

Two convicts escape from prison. Sheriff Wilkes Lovell, informed of this by his wife, pursues and recaptures them. The singer, who is one of the escapees, warns his listeners not to imitate him

Engineer Will Fox has his fireman shovel on a little more coal to set "this Moore girl" and bring him a little more gin. He says they will stop in a bar at the end of the line

"When I reach my home eternal, Reach that city bright and fair, When I stand among the angels, Will my mother know me there?" The singer is old and worn and fears not being recognized. Finally he concludes that she will know him

"Oh Papa, dear Papa, please tell to me Just what you think of Will Ray." The father tells the girl to marry banker John Burns instead of poor Will. The daughter points out that Burns has just gone bankrupt and Ray become rich; the father relents

Will loves the Earl of Mar's daughter. His brother John successfully woos her for him. She sets requirements which he meets, but her father is against the match despite learning they are of high degree. They elope, gaining acceptance after a child is born

"I was passing by the churchyard in the city and I saw a beggar old and grey." "A million miles I've traveled, And a million sights I've seen, And I'm waiting for the glory soon to be, But I wonder... Will the angels play their harps for me?"

Will the Circle Be Unbroken: (27 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #3409}

The singer witnesses his/her mother being carried off for burial. Her example is praised. The singer wonders if they will meet again: "Will the circle be unbroken, By and by, Lord, by and by? There's a better home a-waiting In the sky, Lord, in the sky."

Chorus: "Will the Lord remember me When I am called to go? ... From bonds he set me free When I reach the pearly gates He will remember me?" Verses: Thief on the cross asks Jesus to remember him. His blood set captives free and "I am included"

Will the Weaver [Laws Q9]: (38 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #432}

The newly married man regrets his hasty marriage. He is told that his wife is seeing Will the Weaver. He surprises them at his home. Will hides up the chimney. The husband smokes him out, beats him, and sends him away

"'Twas one morn when the wind from the nothward blew keenly... a famed smuggler, Will Watch, kis'd his Sue then serenely." He promises he will give up smuggling if this trip succeeds. But he is killed as he approaches home

Will Ye Go to Sheriffmuir?: (1 ref. 5K Notes) {Roud #V44081}

"Will ye go to Sheriffmuir, Bauld John o' Innisture, There to see the noble Mar, And his Highland laddies." The singer catalogs the contingents of the Highland army and predicts victory

Will Ye Go To the Indies, My Mary?: (2 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #V16277}

The singer must leave Scotland for India/the Indies. He asks Mary to go with him. She won't or can't go. "We hae plighted our troth ... In mutual affection to join"

Will Ye Go, Lassie, Go: (3 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #541}

As the summer comes in, the singer goes courting (seducing): "Will ye go, lassie, go, And we'll all go together To pull wild mountain thyme All among the blooming heather." He offers her a bower , etc., but will find another girl if she refuses

Will Ye No Come Back Again?: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #24347}

"Bonnie Charlie's noo awa, Safely o'er the friendly main, Mony a hairt will brak' in twa, Should he no come back again. Will ye no come back again (x2), Better lo'ed ye cannae be...." The singer recalls Prince Charlie's escape and hopes he'll return

"If death should take you unawares, Would you be found among the tares, Or would your happy joyous feet Be standing there among the wheat?" "The tares will all be burned with fire." "Hasten, sinner, delay no more."

"I am going to fight for fortune in a land beyond the sea." His sweetheart vows to be true until he returns. Five years later, waiting on the shore, she sees his body washed up on the shore. "With a sob she fell on his lifeless form"

Will You Come to Abyssinia?: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #5321}

"Will you come to Abyssinia, will you come? Bring your own ammunition and a gun; Mussolini will be there, firing bullets in the air, Will you come to Abyssinia, will you come?"

"Will you come to our wee party, will you come? Bring your own bread and butter and a bun; You can bring sugar and tea, You can come along with me, Will you come to our wee party, will you come?"

The singer is looking for a girl to "go out west with me." He promises happy home -- a log cabin with a dirt floor and a blanket for the door. The girl will help with the farming while the husband goes hunting

"Now, in the summer of life, sweetheart You say you love but me," but the singer had a dream of when they are old and gray. So he asks, "Will You Love Me In December As You Do In May?" When they are old, will they still be in love

"Will you love me when I am bald? When my hair is smooth and bare? For I must tell you now, sweet love, That I am surely getting there." The singer talks about how lack of hair will affect his behavior, but concludes that his love will still care for him

Will You Love Me When I'm Old?: (17 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4334}

The singer repeatedly asks his true love if she will love him when he is old, tired, gray, etc.: "Life's morn will soon be waning And its evening bells be told, And my heart will know no sadness If you'll love me when I'm old."

The singer comes back from sea to meet his love Nancy. He asks her if she will marry him. She refuses him. He brings out his money; she changes her mind. With the shoe on the other foot, he refuses her

Riley and his sweetheart flee from her father, but are overtaken. Riley is jailed; the father asks that he be executed or transported. Colleen pleads for and wins his freedom instead. (Riley leaves the country, wearing the girl's ring for remembrance)

William a Trimbletoe: (10 refs.) {Roud #16350 and 25315}

"William a Trimbletoe, He's a good waterman, Catches his (hens) and puts them in pens. Some lay eggs, and some lay none.... (Some/one) fly east, some fly west, Some fly over the cuckoo's nest. Trip and be gone... O-U-T spells OUT."

Willie is a servant to an English lady on Lough Erin's shore. She falls in love with him. He says her peers will scorn her if they marry, and prepares to leave her service. She begs him to stay; they marry. She comforts him when they leave Lough Erin

Lovers William and Harriet find their marriage plans thwarted by her father. They escape to sea, only to have their ship sink en route. They land upon a desert island, where they die of starvation and/or exposure

William and Jonathan: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1337}

"William and Jonathon came to town together; William brought learning, and Jonathon some leather." William wrote poetry, plays, etc. After twenty years "Will was very poor, but Jonathon had plenty ... prov'd that learning was'nt half so good as leather"

William and Margaret (I): (10 refs. 10K Notes) {Roud #253}

Margaret's ghost visits William at midnight. "How could you promise love to me And not that promise keep?" She leaves at daybreak: "Come see, false man, how low she lies, Who died for love of you" He falls on her grave "and word spoke never more"

William and Mary, George and Anne: (3 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #20091}

"William and Mary, George and Anne, Four such children had never a man; They put their father to flight and shame, And called their brother a shocking bad name."

Willy is leaving Ireland and Mary for America. If he would wait a season, she says, she would go with him. He refuses, saying he'll return with gold and take her to America. She says she'll elope with him now. He agrees, they marry and go to America.

(William) has been ordered to war. His sweetheart (Nancy) offers to dress in men's clothes and accompany him. William says that Nancy is not strong enough; she assures him she will be. At last he agrees; they are married and go off together

William loves Nancy, but sails away before he has married her. Eventually he learns that she has married another. He sickens with grief. Nancy comes to comfort him. Both eventually die of grief

William and Phillis: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1429}

Phyllis tells William that her father will not have her wed a sailor. She dresses as a sailor and they sail for America. They escape a storm in a longboat and land in America, marry, and live happily.

"William Baker's now in prison, And shortly hanged be, For the killing of one Prewitt, The world may plainly see." Baker invites Prewitt to join him, then ambushes him. He tells Prewitt's wife that he had abandoned her. But his crimes finally come out

"A bloody scene I'll now relate Which lately happen'd in a neib'ring state, A murder of the deepest dye, I say...." Beadle "slew Himself, his consort, and his offspring too." The singer laments that such things can happen and hopes for a better day

"There was a woman lived in Hampshire, She had one only son, and him she loved most dear." The young man spends his estate, then turns to crime. Taken and condemned, he bids a sad farewell to his mother and is executed. A dove hovers by his dying head

"Hark, hark, my young friends, it's a melancholy call, The hour of death flying swiftly along." The dying young man (William Cook) reveals that he will miss his family, and describes how he will be buried. He asks to be remembered despite his misdeeds

"Our grand old state is left in shame Since the death of William Goebel." Goebel's wisdom is praised, but the candidate he was running against, "Taylor saw his plan had failed." Someone, perhaps Taylor, arranges Goebel's death

William's parents send him to sea to get him away from his sweetheart, whom they dislike. After a long journey he returns to find his love does not recognize him. He says William is dead. She grieves; he reveals himself and they are married

William Hill worked land owned by the singer's uncle, who orders Hill to leave the land. Hill refuses and the uncle liquors the singer up to have him kill Hill. He shoots Hill, is convicted and sentenced to hang. His uncle is not punished.

The singer loves Ireland and "Fenians and traitors I'll ever disown," but cannot "set Erin's old harp above the crown." The Protestant boys wave Purple and Orange flags, hold King William's memory in esteem and toast William Johnston of Ballykilbeg.

"Within a cheerless cot, In a lone and desolate spot, Lay a dying man just ere the close of day." He looks out on the birds and sunlight. He recalls his dead daughter, then his unfaithful wife and other daughter. He dies.

William leads on like a Protestant" while James shrinks away, frightened. If the Catholics rise again "do what was done in July with Orange flags flying and on God relying"

"Near Clyde's gay stream there dwelt a maid Whose mind was chaste and pure," who loved William of the Ferry. Their parents agree that they should marry. A press gang takes him away. But the boat carrying him away sinks, and he swims to shore. They marry

"One lovely morning as I was walking," the singer hears a girl an a Sergeant in the waggon train talking. He says he must leave her; he hopes for promotion. She offers to go with him. He agrees and hopes heaven will protect her

"Come, all you men who have come here... To see my body put to death and buried in the clay." The singer warns against bad company. Lewis Collins lured the singer astray; he shot General Hyder and will be executed. He regrets leaving his family

William falls in love with Colleen at sight. Although warned about her harsh father, he seeks employment from the old man to be near Colleen. At last he asks to marry her. He is fired. The two try to elope. They are captured; the father has Riley jailed

"Though I am doomed to be hanged, in March, on the twenty-eighth day, I fear not the dreadful pang." Shackleford claims he did no wrong in murdering (Davis); it was self-defense. He laments that his account was not believed

William Sullivan is determined to leave home to earn his money so he can marry his money. His desperate parents say he shouldn't marry a girl who wants money, but he goes -- and dies after three years when hit by a pine. Final stanzas describe his burial

William Taylor [Laws N11]: (43 refs. 4K Notes) {Roud #158}

Willie is (about to be married when he is) impressed. His love dresses like a man and seeks him. She is revealed as a woman. The captain tells her that William is about to marry another. She shoots him. The captain gives her a command or marries her

William, impressed to keep him from Mary, is wounded in a sea battle and discharged. He returns. Unrecognized, he tells Mary that William has fallen (died, she assumes). She weeps. He reveals himself. They marry with his pension and her inheritance.

Johnson tells Willie that if he comes to his father's house, he'll shoot him. He goes; Johnson kills him, then falls on his knees with grief. He turns to drink; when he returns, Officer O'Daniel arrests him. The hearse takes Willie to the cemetery

Willie serves Earl Richard, loves and impregnates his daughter. Fearing Richard's wrath, they escape to the woods where the babe is born. Richard seeks his vanished daughter, finds her (alive/dead), accepts the child, and names him Robin Hood.

(The lady invites Willie to her bower.) On his way he kills all her father's guards (including her brother). She welcomes him but worries about the blood. Her father discovers them together and kills Willie. The lady (dies of a broken heart/runs mad).

A beggar comes to Mary's door three years after Willie went to sea. He tells a fortune: Willie is shipwrecked and poor, and will never return to Mary. She says she will take him in any state. The beggar reveals himself as Willie, rich and ready to marry

The singer sees two birds on a tree and "thinks I noo that unco like Willie and me." The birds sing, cuddle, court, and "there [sic] herts were as happy as happy could be,"

Willie (Archer/Angler/Ingram) wanders by the Bann, meets a young girl, and seduces her. Afterward, he tells her that he cannot marry her because he is an apprentice. She asks his name; he gives it. She (?) warns young girls against men like him

"It was by a fause young man, Willie Broon, That I was led astray He took me frae my parents and my happy, happy home, And has left me in the wild wilds to roam, to roam, to roam, And has left me in the wild woods to roam"

"I wisht I could see my Willie dear (x2), I used to think that I'd be the one To marry my lovin' Willie dear." The singer offers to write to Willie, and wishes she were a wild rose or a bee that she might see him

A girl has been advised against flirting, but does it anyway. When her love Willie comes to her, she teasingly says she will not marry him. He drowns himself in the millpond. He is found with a rose from her hair at his lips

Willie Drowned in Yarrow: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6854}

Willie's sweetheart waits for him to come and marry her. She asks if the singer had seen Willie. She searches for him. In a crack in a rock she finds him drowned in Yarrow.

Willy loves and murders his neighbor's/master's daughter. Following her dying advice he flees to sea. The ship won't sail. The captain says there must be a murderer on board. The lot falls on Willy. He confesses, is imprisoned and sentenced to die.

"My schoolmates now I leave you I bid you a fond farewell." The boy departs his home "For a sailor boy to be." He bids farewell to his family and asks those around him to remember him

Willie Lamb and Jean Beith: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #6735}

A laddie "swore he would make her [Jean] his wife" but thought "to prefer a single life." Thinking she is pregnant they send for a doctor who prescribes a cure for an illness. She recovers. They marry.

Willie Macintosh [Child 183]: (9 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4010}

Willie Macintosh (probably in revenge for the slaying of the Earl of Murray; see Child 181) swears he will burn Auchindown, even if Huntly murders him. Macintosh succeeds in his efforts

Willie Man, He Leads the Van: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #13019}

Willie leads the vanguard, Florence follows, Sawney "goes on wi' speed, Wi' legs as lang's a swallow"

Handsome young Willie Moore has courted and won the heart of fair Annie. Her parents do not approve of him. When Annie realizes her parents will not relent, she runs away and dies (kills herself?). Willie takes to wandering (and dies of a broken heart?)

Willie goes to serve at the English court. He loves and impregnates the king's daughter, Dame Oliphant. They leave the court; the child is born in the woods, They recruit a shepherdess and sail to Douglas Dale where he is lord and she now lady.

Willie o Winsbury [Child 100]: (27 refs. 5K Notes) {Roud #64}

The king has been a prisoner; he returns to find his daughter looking ill. She proves to be pregnant; her lover was (Willie o Winsbury). The king orders Winsbury hanged, but upon seeing him, understands his daughter's action and allows the two to wed

Willie Rambler leaves Lough Erne for Scotland and meets Mary "the pride of Glasgow Town." He asks that she "show to me the way." She offers him five hundred pounds to stay with her. "How could I leave Lough Erne's banks where my young Molly dwells?"

Willie the Weeper, a chimney sweep, is a hop addict. One night he has a particularly wild dream, with the (Queen of somewhere) making him promises. The further course of the ballad varies, but usually describes a crash

Willie Warfield, a heavy gambler who does not know when to quit, plays cards with the singer. The singer grows angry and shoots Warfield. He is imprisoned and his family will not help him, but his girlfriend pawns her jewels to raise his bail

Willie Was As Fine a Sailor: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2972}

Willie and Mary plan marriage but his ship must "sail for a foreign land." If he proves false he prays her spirit haunt him until he dies. He is false. His captain writes Mary. She drowns herself and haunts him until a wave sweeps him overboard.

"Willie Willie Wagtail Born in an egg-shell, Christened in a teacup, Died in a dung-cart, That was the end Of poor Willie Wagtail."

Jump-rope rhyme. "Willie, Willie, I am waiting, I can't wait no longer for you. Three times the whistle blows, Are you coming, yes or no?"

Willie's sweetheart would go home "for the clouds do gather." He can't dissuade her until he threatens to kill himself "his love thus proving." She says "I will be your bride But ... to frighten me so It was vastly foolish, vastly foolish."

Annie mourns Willie, drowned in a storm on the way to buy their marriage ring. Her aunt and mother tell her "some ither lad will marry me." Annie says, "My bridal robe's my winding sheet, The auld kirkyard my bed'll be," and dies.

Willie's Fatal Visit [Child 255]: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #244}

Willie, having spent the night with Margaret, leaves before dawn because the cock crowed too soon. On the road he meets a ghost. Since he is a sinner and has not said a prayer for the road, the ghost tears him to shreds

Willie's Lady [Child 6]: (11 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #220}

Willie travels to woo and wed a wife. His mother, not approving of the bride, casts spells to ensure that she will never bear a child. Willie tricks his mother into believing the baby has been born, and the mother blurts out the way to lift the spell

Willie wants to know if his sweetheart loves him. On the advice of his (mother), he feigns death and has his lover come to his wake. She despairs. Coming to the wake, she kisses the "corpse," which comes to life to accept her love

Willie's on the Dark Blue Sea: (8 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4223}

"My Willie's on the dark blue sea, He's gone far o'er the main." She prays that the winds will soon blow him home. A storm blows up; she prays more earnestly. At that moment Willie shows up and takes her in his arms

Four farmers discover a man weeping by a grave. He tells that he had married Fanny just before he went to sea. She was told he had died, and married another. When he came home to see her, she died. He sits by her grave, and soon dies himself.

Willow Tree (IV), The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #18831}

"As I passed by a willow tree, willow tree, That willow leaf blew down on me. I picked it up, it would not break. I passed my love, he would not speak." The singer recalls meetings, wishes she were understood, and says she would be happy if he came back

Singer is a woman. Her love won't speak to her. She wishes his bosom were glass so she could "view those secrets of your heart." Her love is a sailor: "when he gets so far away, He hardly thinks no more of me" She would be happy to have him back.

Willow Tree (VI), The: (10 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3294}

"Oh, take me in your arms, my love, for keen the wind doth blow... for bitter is my woe. She hears me not, she cares me not.... While here I lie, alone to die, beneath the willow tree. She is rich; he once was; but his gold is lost and she no longer cares

"O now we willowbee, O willowbee, O willowbee, O now we willowbee All night long." "O come through the silence." "O dancin' down the alley. "O skipping down the alley, All night long." "O singing down the alley."

"'Twas in the month of May, when flowers do spring" that the young men gather for the Crantock Games. In a fight between Crantock and Newlyn men, William Coomb is shot. He bids farewell to father, etc. and tells the coroner he was "wilfully" shot

Willy is stranded on the ice and can walk no further. He sends his companion, who is the only other survivor of their group, to the Cape St. Francis lighthouse for assistance but Willy dies before help can return.

Willy sails to the Bay of Biscay. Seven years later, he came to the girl's door. He says he is a ghost. The cock crows. He says his ghost will guard her. As he disappears he tells her "Weep no more for your Willy O"

Ellen Vare's sailor husband dies at sea. She has one son who becomes a sailor. His ship is wrecked in a storm. Willy survives alone on an island for three years. He is rescued by a ship seeking gold. He returns to his poor mother with gold and jewels

Floating verses, utterly unconnected. "The train was almost started/The conductor come by with his lamp...." "I asked her if she loved me/She said she loved me some...." "Sometimes I live in the country, sometimes I live in town...."

"Where is my little one hiding tonight, Willy, Willy, Come from your hiding-place, little eyes bright, Willy, Willy, loving and true." "Ah, but my heart is forgetting its pain, Willy, Willy, Never on earth shall I see thee again, Willy, Willy...."

Wilson Patent Stove, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #765}

"I remember very well, Jim, That Wilson Patent stove, That father bought and paid for, Jim, In the cloth that the girls wove. The people all wondered, Jim, When we got the thing to go, They swore it'd bust and kill us all Just fifty years ago."

"Hear the footsteps of Jesus, he is now passing by, Bearing balm for the wounded, healing all who apply...." "Wilt thou be made whole (x2)? O come, weary suff'rer, O come, sin-sick soul... Step into the current and thou shalt be whole."

"There's a new county gaol in Winchester, Hants, Where the young prosecutor is going to provance." The prisoners are cold, their meals of bread and water are too small, and there is no liquor. "If you don't believe me... just you go a-poaching...."

Wind and the Snow, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #6020}

"The wind and snow oer the cold world blow From the wild raging east to the west But noo I'm sitting snug at my warm chimney lug And I carena a fig for the blast"

Young woman goes to the butcher to buy beef, but he takes her in his arms, down they fall, and the wind blows her plaidie away. Three months later, her waist swells. The neighbors are upset; she blames the beef. (He marries her.)

"The wind blew the hairs of my head, Mother, Two at a time."

"Oh, the wind blow east, the wind blow west, The wind blow the Sunshine Right down in town." Similarly for other boat, e.g. the China, the Settin' Star.

Round. "The wind in The willows sighing Like a solitary soul Alone."

"Oh, the wind is in the west, And the guinea's on her nest, And I can't get any rest For my baby! I'll tell pap when he comes home Somebody beat my little baby!"

Wind of the Winter Night: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #27548}

"Wind of the winter night, whence comest thou? And whither, oh whither, art wand'ring now? Sad, sad is thy voice on the desolate moor." The wind tells the various places it has been, including the wreck of a sailing ship; the wind laments destroying it

"We're goin' to wind this ball, Oh Gean, oh Gean, We're going to wind this ball oh Gean."

Wind That Shakes the Barley: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2994}

"I sat within the valley green, I sat me with my true love." The singer tries to decide between love of a girl and love of country. He is saying goodbye when an English bullet kills the girl. Now, filled with sad memories, he goes to fight the English

"Wind the bobbin up..." Pull and tug.

"The wind, the wind, the wind blows high, The rain comes pouring from the sky." The girl says she will die if she doesn't get the boy she wants. The boys are fighting for her, but there is only one she will accept

"Wind, wind, heather gipsy, whistling in my tree." The sound of the wind makes the singer "tipsy"; it is like a "wayward lover"

"Wind'ard Car'line come down oh." "Come jump on 'pon Nine-Toe Astor." The white doctor asks if the patient has brought any money "No dacta Are jumbie wha' make me poorly"

"How swiftly the years of our pilgrimage fly, As weeks, months, and seasons roll silently by...." We are reminded that "The good rise to Heaven, but the bad sink to Hell." The singers wash their hands of sinners' blood and happily meet Christians

"Winding up the clock," "tick-tock"

"Winds are blowing and rain is falling And joy is filling the air. Trouble and sorrow are gone forever And the song abounds everywhere. We're all together now, making friends that will last." Be happy and have fun among your fellow scouts before you leave

Shape note hymn: "My God, how many are my fears, How fast my foes increase! Their number how it multiplies! How fatal to my peace."

"In the last day of September, in the year nineteen nine, God almighty rose in the weather And that troubles everybody's mind." The song the storm, concluding, "God, he is in the windstorm and rain And everybody ought to mind."

"When Joshua camped at pore Jericho's town, He blew his horn till the walls tumbled down... I blow my own horn... That's why they call me Windy Bill." Assorted tall tales, many Biblical, and often offered as explanations for the name "Windy Bill"

Windy Bill is convinced he can handle any steer. He and his mates place a wager on the matter, and they give him the worst bull available. Bill's rope technique is imperfect; he is thrown onto a rock pile. He pays up. Listeners are warned against bragging

A stranger comes up to Windy Bill. Bill boasts of his riding skill, and the stranger challenges him to come ride a difficult horse They take a long, wild ride in a car. When Bill asks where the horse is, the stranger tells him they just won a car contest

"The windy hills o' Wellington were black and cold that night," wet enough to put out even electric lights. Author is called to a dying man "who's drawn New Zealand blank." Cured, he grows rich and ignores the writer who also has "drawn New Zealand blank"

Chorus: "In this windy old weather, Stormy Old weather, When the wind blows We'll all pull together." Various fish jump from the sea and exhort the crew, e.g. "Up jumps the herring, the king of the sea, He laps on the foredeck and says, Helm's-alee"

"Dark is the night and the eyes of the father Sadly peer though the fast-falling gloom," looking out as "his darling Staggers home from the cursed saloon." Drink draws men "to a winebibber's grae." Mother is dying in poverty with her ragged child

At life's end "Nevermore pain in them old aching bones Wings in the morning to carry us home." "...on that gettin' up day... we'll fly away"

Wings of a Goney, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2011}

"If I had the wings of a goney I would fly to my native home." "Whaling has charms for the young and green hands," but they soon wish to be elsewhere. After four years whaling in Greenland the agent says the singer has "not earned a single red cent"

"Wingy, wangy, Hunky dory, Poky lory, Wingy, wingy, wang"

George O'Quinn courts Winnie MacNeil. He is at a loss for what to do when she is not around. Finally he goes to see her and he can't stop kissing her. He says let's appoint "our wedding day" in "John Dan's hay"

"Winnie/Minnie/Willie/Nanny the Witch/Old Mother Rich, Fell in the ditch, Picked up a rotten apple And thought she was rich." Or, "She thought she was rich, Because she found a ha'penny In a bundle of sticks," or "Never got back till half past six"

A man bargains with a woman to spend the night with him to win a new gown. After winning the gown she weeps for losing her other sweethearts as the cost. He gives her a ring, they marry, and she blesses the day she made her bargain.

Winning of Cales, The: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #V22429}

"Long the proud Spaniards had vaunted to conquer us, Threatening our country with fire and sword," but now the Earl of Essex has taken the war to them. From Plymouth the English sail to Cales (Cadiz) and do great damage to the Spanish fleet

Winnipeg Whore, The: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #8348}

On the narrator's first trip to Canada, he visits the eponymous lady, and while having sex with her, has his watch and wallet stolen. (When he objects, he is thrown out.)

"Old Man Sargent, sitting at the desk, The damned old fool won't give us no rest. He'd take the nickels off a dead man's eyes...." The singer describes the bad conditions in the mills, and instructs listeners not to bury his body when he dies

Singer tells of the desires of loggers after the winter camp is broken up. They want good food (and lambast the camp cook), liquor, and new clothes. When they've run out of cash and the parties are over, they'll head back to the woods

In 1873, the singer takes a job at Snowball's mill in Miramichi. A few weeks later, the mill closes, and he sets out for Indiantown. He meets some portagers, who bring him to McCullam's camp, where he has many adventures too complex to describe here

October 9, 1904, "rovin' Joe" leaves Indiantown for lumbering with the sons of Morgan Hayes. "They had no mercy on a man But to work him day and night." He tries other crews but returns to Hayes. "I spent a winter on Renous And now I love their ways"

"Oh the winter, oh the winter, oh the winter'll soon be over, children (x3), Yes my Lord." "'Tis Paul and Silas bound in chains." "You bend your knee on holy ground and ask the Lord to turn you around." "I has my trials here below."

German. "Wir kommen nicht hergeritten. Wir kommen nicht geschitten." The singer was invited by bride and bridegroom. There will be much fine food, cooked by (Kathrin Woes). Those who come to the wedding will find a place for them

German. "Jetzt ist die Zeit und Schtunde da, Wir reisen noch Amerika." The time has come for the family to depart for America. They bid farewell to friends. The ship sets out to sea, but God will protect them. They will rejoice when they reach Baltimore

"God gave the wise men their wisdom And to, the poets, their dreams To father and mother their love for each other But he left me out so it seems." The singer thought "life was an empty affair," but "when God gave me you," it was " more than my share."

"A wise old owl sat/lived in an oak, The more he heard, the less he spoke, The less he spoke, the more he heard, Why can't we be like that wise old bird?"

Wish I'd Stayed in the Wagon Yard: (8 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #16279}

Singer comes to town with his cotton. Carousers take him drinking but leave him the bill. He sees them by the missionary hall singing "Jesus Paid it All." He warns against such men -- "don't monkey with them city ducks, you'll find them slick as lard"

"Ring-Ting! I wish I were a Primrose, A bright yellow Primrose, blowing in the spring! The stooping boughs above me, The wandering bee to love me... And the Elm tree for our king!" The poet then wishes to be an elm, or a robin, and for mother's kiss

"If there were witchcraft, I’d make (two) wishes: A rambling road that beckons me to roam, And then I’d wish for A blazing campfire To welcome me when I’m returning home." The singer remembers happy days in camp

Used as a counting-out rhyme. "With a C and a sigh And a Constanti; With a nople and a pople And a Constantinople." Originally a story of a girl who met a Colonel who said that he was from Constantinople -- but he turns out to be a swindler

"With a little bit of sugar and a little bit of tea, A little bit of flour that you can hardly see, With hardly any meat between you and me, it's a bugger of a life, by Jesus."

Worksong: "Can I get a witness? Come and be a witness. Be a sanctified witness. Be a Holy Ghost witness. Jack o'Diamonds was a witness. Daniel was a witness" etc. The refrain "for my lord" can be added after each line; other Bible stories may be mentioned

Witness for My Lord: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #12131}

Chorus: "Soul is a witness for my Lord, Who'll be a witness for my Lord?" Moses receives the commandments. Samson kills three thousand but is betrayed by his wife. Christ's disciples watch him die. Methusaleh and Daniel are also among the witnesses.

"Oh, I love to travel far and near throughout my native land, I love to sell as I go 'long, and take the cash in hand...." The singer describes how in each town he visits they come up to him and declare "I'll take another bottle of Wizard Oil"

"I have written a song, so give me your attention, And I'll tell you what Wizard's Oil will and won't cure." The product proves capable of dealing with almost anything painful, "And a dollar a bottle is all it does cost."

"What's the use of wearing braces, Vests and pants and boots with laces... What's the use of shirts of cotton, Studs that always get forgotten? These affairs are simply rotten; Better far is woad." One needs no clothes when one can wear woad

"Woe be unto you (x2), You may throw yo' rocks an' hide yo' hands.... " "Well, it's woe be unto you (x2), You may dip yo' snuff an' hide yo' box..." "...You may dig yo' grave an' hide yo' spade, but it's woe be unto you."

The noble singer complains that a servant he made his wife "hae lien wi your footman an' [so] you'll never lie with me." "You disgraced the name of my high majesty."

"Woke up this morning with my mind stayed on freedom (x3), Hallelu (x4), Hallelujah." "Ain't no harm to keep your mind stayed on freedom." "Walkin' and talkin' with my mind stayed on freedom." The singer does all things with a mind to freedom

"I woke up this morning with my mind standing on Jesus (x3)/Hallelu, hallelu, hallelujah" "I'm walkin' and talkin' with my mind..." "I woke up singing..." "I'm sayin' my prayers..."

"Wolle ye iheren of twelte day, Wou the present was ibroust In to Betlem ther Iesus lay?" Three kings sought him. A star led them. Herod heard them. They came far. Jesus does wonderful deeds and is to be thanked "for alle deis that tou doest"

Woman at the Well, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #17426}

"See the woman at the well, Disputing her with her Savior, Soon she found that he could tell Her of all her past behavior." She asks for a drink and runs to the town "proclaiming, Oh you every one that thirst, Come ye to the water."

Alternate lines are a chorus:" See me daddy-o." "A woman belly full o' hair I see it when I went in there ... hurrah for de golden." "If you want to see a monkey dance ... broke a pepper in 'e ass ... monkey trick ... Broke a pepper 'pon the prick."

Woman Charming Woman, O!: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6760}

The singer cites the good ("what's the chief of man's delight") and bad ("who can clean his pockets out"), mostly good, about marriage. "Whose a match for any man? Charming little woman O: They'll wear the breeches if they can"

The singer is poor. He tells the "Woman of Three Cows" that she is too proud and scornful of those less wealthy than herself. He recounts the Irish heroes who have met misfortune or death. She cannot measure up to them.

"Come married and single, together pray mingle, And listen awhile to these lines I relate; You that single have tarried, make haste and get married... For woman's the joy and the pride of the land." The theme is repeated in every verse

"She left me this morning, never said a word." The singer tells of hard work, comes close to despair, describes his venereal disease, is told he can't be cured, talks of those who tried to escape,

Singer complains that his "good little woman" breaks his heart. "She's a married woman," "ain't anything but a stavin' chain." He wants her to "love me down there."

The singer tells of how her husband is agitated about the issue of women's rights, spending hours discussing it. He is afraid that, if women vote, men will never hold office again. He claims voting is not part of her nature. She intends to enjoy the right

"The rights of woman, what are they? The right to labor and to pray, The right to watch while others sleep...." The singer lists the good works of women, and concludes, "Such are women's rights and God will bless And crown their champions with success."

"Oh, we've heard of women's rights and of woman's wrongs... She's a right to be loved by the whole of mankind.... She's a right to disport in spangles and tights.' "But the marriage rites are her greatest delights"; her right is to be a wife, not free

Woman's Work is Never Done, A: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #1717}

The singer "heard a married woman say" that her life had been hard "ever since the time she was made a wife" because "a woman's work is never done." She rises early, prepares breakfast, cares for the children, etc. She warns against marriage

"Come all you young lover and listen to me, A warning I'm giving as clearly you'll see." The singer's woman has left him for another. He seeks her at her home; she is gone. He warns against the women of Leigh, "Singing Damn, damn, rigmarole damn."

""There's a touch of human pathos, A glamour of the West" around the female outlaws of the past such as Bronco Sue, Belle Star, Calamity Jane. They left home to turn outlaw; "They fought, and often won." The singer praises their independent spirits

The singer "went to the chamber door, where my love lay." She leaves him out in the cold and "bade me go home, keep my mind quite at ease." You can see that women are not so easily pleased.

Won't You Buy My Pretty Flowers: (3 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #12906}

"Underneath the gaslight glitter Stands a fragile little girl" who cries out to the crowds in winter, "Won't you buy my pretty flowers?" No one listens to her, or buys; all are hurrying to their home. She has no friends; no one pities her

Hauling shanty. Refrain: "Won't you/ye/yiz go my way?" Verses describe either consorting with a prostitute and now being glad to be married, or describe courting in general.

Dermot speaks to Nora from the window at night. She will not marry him because her parents oppose him. She would be ruined if he's found at her window. A hand clutches his head and a voice says, as he runs, "Won't you leave us a lock of your hair?"

Wonder Where Is My Brother Gone?: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #10969}

"Wonder where is my brother gone? Wonder where is my brother John? He is gone to the wilderness, Ain't comin' no more. Wonder where will I lie down? (x2) In some lonesome place, Lord, down on the ground."

"I wonder who first invented The ships in the ocean for to swim, For to cross the ocean to and fro, How happy was him." The singer lists all the troubles seamen face -- storms, etc. -- and all the tasks they perform, such as carrying wine

Wonderful Crocodile, The: (21 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #886}

The singer, shipwrecked at (La Perouse), encounters the crocodile. He describes its immensity: Five hundred miles long, etc. Blown into its mouth, he lives well on the other things lost inside. At last the beast dies; the singer spends six months escaping

Wonderful Grey Horse, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #13451}

Singer's horse "was rode in the Garden by Adam the day that he fell"; that turned him grey. The horse has been with Noah, ..., Brien the brave, Sarsfield at Limerick, and Daniel O'Connell. He is ready to run for a rider that will shake off Erin's yoke.

"Wonderful, wonderful Watford, Where the Little Missouri flows, We're proud of all our Norwegians And all that makes it so. You can ride o'er the plains and the coulees... And still be in wonderful Watford, The most wonderful place that I know."

Wonderful Whalers, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #27541}

"Fathers of the oratory, Listen to my surprising tale." The Ann Alexander, under Captain Deblois, goes whaling. A whale destroys one of the boats but at last is taken. The ship itself survives, although with difficulty

"What wondrous love is this... that caused the lord of bliss To bear the dreadful curse for my soul." The singer has been saved from the burden of sin by Christ's sacrifice; therefore he/she praises God and the Lamb

Woo'd and Married and A' (I): (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7159}

The bride cries because she is to be married and has "neither blankets nor sheets, Nor scarce a coverlet." Her family members tell her not to complain because she has plenty else. Willy says "though we be scant o' claes We'll creep the closer thegither"

"Ole Mister Oak, yo' day done come, Zim-zam-zip-zoo, Gwine chop you down an cahy you home! Bim-bam-biff-boom!" "Buhds in de branches fin' anodder nes'!... Ole Mister Oak Tree, He gwine to his res'!" Woodsman and axe go about their job

Woodman, Spare That Tree: (15 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #13833}

"Woodman, spare that tree, Touch not a single bough, In youth it sheltered me, And I'll protect it now." The singer relates how his grandfather planted it and how his family delighted in it. "While I've a hand to save, Thy axe shall harm it not."

"I knew by the smoke that so gracefully curled Above the green elms that a cottage was near," even though the only sound was a woodpecker's tap. He praises the place, and the girl he hopes will be there

Woodpecker's Hole, The: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #10134}

The narrator sticks his finger in the woodpecker's hole in this quatrain ballad that hints of a story otherwise left untold. In other versions, it may be a skunk's or other animal's hole

Jump-rope rhyme. "The woods are dark, the grass is green, All the girls I love to see, Excepting (Rose Taylor), she's so pretty, She belongs to London City"

Woods o' Tillery, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #6190}

A mason lad leaves the singer before daylight but says he'll come again and she will rise and let him in.

"Oh, there's no play so sweet, you may search where you can, As the dear little town on the banks of the Bann." The singer recalls the happy times he courted Kathleen around Mountsandel. Summer is gone, and they are old, but they still love each other

Woods of Rickarton, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5574}

"Come all ye jolly ploughmen lads... The praises of your bonnie glen I would be fain to sing." The singer praises the woods of Rickarton, the streams, the men -- and especially the girls (while having harsh words for a wealthy but vicious woman)

Wooed and Married an' A' (II): (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7159}

A pampered "toast o' the parish" marries. She has no skill. When she asks her husband for ribbons he sits her at the wheel to spin. She runs to her mother who sides with the husband and sends her back, admonished to work.

The widow welcomes a wooer, gives him a seat, feeds him bread and cheese, and puts him to bed, all of which he happily accepts. She frightens him by jumping into bed with him. He runs out the door and falls in a hole.

"The commandeer is underway, and blimey, what a fuss, The blinking din and clatter sure would make a parson cuss." they're desperately trying to set up a site to receive the commandeered wool. Wool comes from everywhere and is overloading the site

"An old shearer stood at the cookshop door, Weary and bleary and stiff" after a long drinking bout. He swears off drink and says he will shear no more after this season, shears brilliantly, takes his pay, heads out -- and gets dead drunk again

The singer describes his shady life since his birth in Woolloomooloo. His father is a drunkard, and his parents fight so often that "Half the time they used to spend in jail." The singer eventually turns to robbery, and ends up in prison himself.

"I looked over Woolston and what did I see, Coming for to carry me home? The old Woolston Ferry coming toward me...." The Woolston Ferry "doesn't travel very fast... it was built to last." The floating bridge is being replaced by a regular bridge

"Oh once I courted a pretty maid, I courted her right well." Her father says he'll "tickle [the singer's] bot-tum" if he vists. He falls off a ladder and hurts his "bot-tum." The doctor turpentines it. He marries Kitty despite the injured "bot-tum"

"Go work in my field, Christian, now sayeth the Lord, Your labor with blessings he'll quickly reward." "Work, work, work, Christian, work, Go labor for Jesus while yet it is day." Be patient. Warn those dying in sin. Care for children. You'll be rewarded

Work of the Weavers, The: (10 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #374}

Chorus: "If it wasna for the weavers, what wad ye do?... Ye wadna hae a coat o the black or the blue Gin it wasna for the work o the weavers." The verses describe those who insult weavers, and how -- despite this -- they depend on the weavers

""There's Ehler and Heber and Joseph Taylor, Will Brunso from Huntsville and another feller, Hurrah! hurrah! we'll shout and we'll sing. 'Taint good to be sad if you don't get a thing." Hearers are urged to work; eventually they will go to the co-op store

Anthem of the I.W.W.: "Fellow workers, pay attention To what I'm going to mention, For it is the fixed intention Of the workers of the world. And I hope you will be ready, True-hearted, brave, and steady, To gather 'round the standard..."

"Working down the sewer, Shovelling up manure" is the lot of this particular gang (of soldiers?). The foreman gives the singer the especially dirty jobs, and demands that he work a full shift

Working on the Building: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #4276}

"Lord, I'm working on that sure foundation, Holding up the blood-stained banner for the Lord. Just as soon as I get there, working on the building. Going up to heaven, get my reward." The singer is singing/shouting/praying/crying on that sure foundation

"Comrades, sit down and brush off your frown, Till we talk of our sad situation." Labor is brought low by the "trust combination." Workers must satisfy their demanding wives. Food, doctors are expensive. It's no wonder the lumbermen can't save their wages

Worms Crawl In, The: (12 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #15546}

"Did you ever think when the hearse goes by That you might be the next to die?.... The worms crawl in, the worms crawl out, The worms play pinochle on your snout...." A detailed description of how corruption attacks a body in a grave

Worried Man Blues: (11 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4753}

"It takes a worried man to sing a worried song (x2), I'm worried now, but I won't be worried long." The singer describes how he was imprisoned and shackled. He is sentenced to (21) years. His girl takes a train and leaves him

"The worse you are the more the ladies love you, The more they want to hang around... It's the bad lads that get the nice girls... don't forget to tell them All the horrible things you do And just like the ivy... All the girls will cling to you."

"It's noo, my lads, I'll sing a song, An' sure I am it's new, Although the characters I'll name Hae lang been kent by you. There's first Pie Jock...." The singer lists interesting people, then those he dislikes, Auld Horny being welcome to the latter

"At nicht feelin drowsy I had a bit stroll... We went intae the Stag on oor road comin back." There he sees many famous Dundee characters, who play and sing for a dance. But now all those characters are dead and gone

Shape note hymn: "Thou we adore, eternal name, And humbly own to thee. How feeble is our mortal frame, What dying worms are we."

Worthy Boys of Clone, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #20533}

Four "worthy boys of Clone" put to sea at night on December 3. They drown: "A monstrous wave capsized the boat as o'er the Back she sailed." The boys' names are given.

"Last week down our alley came a toff, Nice old geezer with a nasty cough." He tells "my missus" that her Uncle Tom has left her his donkey shay. Despite the donkey's problems, they regularly ride in Old Kent Road as the neighbors cry "Wot cheer!"

"Would you lend my mother a saucepan? Would you lend my mother a spoon? Because she's going to have Some friends to tea this afternoon." "Would you lend my mother half a crown," to be repaid after her husband gets work. Also, "A-hunting we will go"

"Would you like to know how bread is made... Come here and I'll tell you all about the trade." The part of the farmer, miller, and baker is described.

"Would you like to play a game? Try and guess this (boy's) name. It started with (G), it ends with (E), Come and skip and play with me."

A song of cotton workers. "Wouldn't drive so hard but I need de arns (x2). Snatchin' an' a-crammin' it in my sack, Gotter have some cotton if it breaks my back, Wouldn't drive so hard but I need de arns (x2)."

Wounded Hussar, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2699}

When the battle ends Adelaide, "alone on the banks of the dark rolling Danube," finds Henry, her "wounded Hussar." He thanks her for coming "To cheer the lone heart of thy wounded Hussar." She says "thou shalt live" but he dies in her arms.

The singer is seventeen and in love with "a very pretty man." She would go to her father's house, or her pretty man's mothers house. Lines about a gardner warning about primroses on "yon roddy bush." "Farewell all fading flowers"

"It is true when I first read your letter That I blotted your name with a tear, I was young then, but now I know better." The other lover apparently has changed her(?) mind and remembered her promises, but "now I love another, not you."

As the sun rises "from her ocean bed," the whaling crew spots a whale and sets out in pursuit. They wound the beast; it struggles and dives but at last must come to the surface, where the crew finishes the kill

A dying sailor [lumberjack, stockman] bids his comrades farewell, asking them to "wrap me up" in his work clothing and make other arrangements for his funeral. (He recalls his early life and hopes to sleep undisturbed)

The dying soldier requestes, "Wrap the green flag 'round me, boys To die were far more sweet With Ireland's noble emblem, boys, to be my winding sheet." He wishes he had lived to see Irish victory, but promises his spirit will be near the flag

About a (nineteenth century) train wreck on the Kankakee River. The train crew includes engineer Barker and fireman Hosler

"Christmas had come, and the morning was dark, The moon had hidden her face" when engineer Al Bowan started for work. He bids his mother goodbye. A switching error puts another train on his track; he is killed in the wreck

"Once two trains with mighty power running sixty miles an hour, 'Twas a fearful speed between midnight and day." The train of engineer Stergin is involved in a head-on collision on the Louisville and Nashville Railroad.

"On the thirtieth day of June, in the year nineteen hundred nine, Daddy Bryson climbed in his engine." "Down the hill on Jake's Creek, This wicked train did run." The crew know they must stop, but the sand in the airbrake fails. Daddy Bryson dies

"On a bright and sunny day, in the merry month of may," No. 52 pulls out with a load of freight. Engineer George Allen bid his wife goodbye, thinking to be home soon, but a boy had put a spike on the rail. Allen is burned and dies

"Come railroad men and listen to me, A story you will hear, Of a wreck on the line of the old L and E...." The Number Four leaves the track. Engineer John Dailey is killed in the wreck. Listeners are reminded that death is always near

A railroad engineer, whose wedding is set for the next day, leaves his sweetheart and sets out on his train. Rounding a curve, he sees another train coming. He is mortally wounded in the crash. He leaves his fiancee the cottage that would have been theirs

Wreck of Old 85, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #14025}

"Old Eight-five Had a brave engineer, To make up twenty minutes He had no fear"; he reaches a speed of 95 as he reaches the tunnel by Bluestone River. The engineer tries his brake; it fails. He bids his fireman goodbye; they will meet in the promised land

Wreck of Old 97, The [Laws G2]: (39 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #777}

"Steve" Broady is told that, due to a mix-up in numbering, his train is "way behind time." He is driving as fast as he can to make up the time when, on a long downgrade, his brakes fail. The train goes off the track; Broady dies at the controls

Wreck of the 'Mary Summers', The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #4473}

"Oh, the Mary Summers as you will see, Loaded in St. Andrews for the old countrie." An ocean-going freighter encounters heavy weather and begins leaking. The crew pumps for a week to no avail, but are rescued by the William Bradley.

Wreck of the 1256, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #11528}

"On that cold and dark cloudy evenin', Just before the close of day, There came Harry Lyle and Dillard." An accident causes their train to fall into the James River. Lyle, with a head wound, dies in the cabin. Railroad men are warned of their danger

Freight train 1262 is heading down the mountain when the air brakes fail. The brakeman tightens the brakes by hand, but the train still crashes; engineer and fireman are killed. Listeners are urged to be prepared, for "you cannot tell when He'll call"

"On a June morning at 5:35, The crew of two engines were all glad and alive." But the Norfolk and Western train is late, takes a curve too fast and derails, killing two in a cottage by the track. But there should be no more accidents

Wreck of the Annie Roberts, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #26052}

Annie Roberts leaves Sydney, Nova Scotia for Lamaline, Newfoundland in a gale with a cargo of coal. The steamer Risenor crashes into the Annie and can only rescue one man.

Wreck of the Asia, The: (2 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #3839}

The paddlewheel steamer Asia leaves Owen Sound to cross Georgian Bay, but runs into a storm. The deaths of crew and passengers are described, including a newlywed couple; two cling to a lifeboat and survive

Wreck of the Avondale, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #9777}

The lighter Avondale, bound from Carrick to the Gasworks, hits a bridge and is wrecked with 13 tons of coal. The crew -- Captain Britt, his little son, and dog -- survive.

"In the year of 1880, On a cold November day, With coal bound for Toronto, They left the Charlotte Bay." The mates are named. The captain sees a storm coming. The ship goes aground off Weller's Bay. A few are rescued, but several related crewmen die

"From Washington to Charlottesveile, then Staunton on the line Came the old Midwestern Limited...." The train hits a broken rail. It does not overturn, but veteran engineer Dolly Womack is killed by steam. He will pull a train in heaven

"Far away on the banks of New River, While the deep shades of twilight hunglow," engineer Haskell and fireman Anderson drive the trail. It goes off the train on a curve. The two are killed. The singer recalls the loved ones at home

Wreck of the Christabel, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #30704}

Sunday, Christabel is anchored in Bonavista harbour. It is wrecked by a gale with a crew of nine on board. One jumps in a rowboat "to try what he could do" but is lost. Monday the remaining crew are rescued by rowboats.

"'Twas the wreck of the fatal Columbus, On the Devil's Bridge rocks near Gay Head." A hundred people perish on the rocks. Captain Wright tries to comfort the victims. Harden officially gets the blame, but the singer thinks the Glaucus ignored the wreck

"As the City of Columber On that lovely winter's day Bade her last farewell to Boston," the passengers are happy. They settle down for a quiet night. But, as the captain slept, they strike a rock; the passengers suffer and pray in the wreck

"Many were clinging to the rigging, Many perished there and died, Some were saved to tell the story, Not a womn or a child." The singer talks of the sights as the steamer was wrecked, and wonders if the captain should be blamed

The Dandenong sets sail from Melbourne with 83 people on board. In a storm of Jervis Bay, her propeller shaft breaks and she begins to sink. A barque saves as many as possible, but many go down with the ship

Wreck of the Eliza, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #20519}

Barquentine Eliza is wrecked "at the fatal sand of Cahore Point" by hurricane winds. Rescue attempts by rocket line and life-boat fail though the life-boat itself returns safely.

The singer recalls the storm of March 4, [18?]37. The Enterprise sails out from Peru and approaches Britain. The captain's wife calculates the position, but the ship runs aground. The crew drowns, while the folk on shore gather riches

The boat sets out from Fanad with nineteen aboard "bound for the English harvest." A storm blows up and sinks the boat; fifteen of the nineteen are drowned. The singer lists their names and prays for them

"The heart of a maiden was beating with pleasure As the day of her wedding drew near"; she is waiting for her love on the "limited flyer, Duquesne." Newsboys bring word that it has crashed. She reaches her love just as he is dying near the wreck

On Christmas Day, engineer Van Martin's Train 64 is wrecked on the Gulf and Ship Island Railroad.

Wreck of the Glenaloon, The: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1965}

A ship is in a dead fog. The captain thinks he sees a rock or wreck. It's the wreck of Glenaloon. her mainmast and mizzen gone," six skeletons and a note that food is gone. They row away, or bury the dead crew: "her deck seemed swarmed with shadows"

The Green Rocks is struck by the Thomas D. and sinks. The earlier history of Green Rocks and Captain Mills is summarized.

The singer is cabin-boy on the Clonmel river boat Gwendoline. A storm comes up and they run aground. They walk ashore and go home by "ass an' car" Twenty horses pull her out of the weeds "but never more, by sea or shore, Will sail the Gwendoline"

"They called for a train crew at Paintsville, On a night that was rainy and drear." The train sets out, but goes off the tracks "only eight miles out of Paintsville On the Honnicut Curve so 'tis said." The brakeman lives, but the others die

On a stormy night, the Huron receives orders to sail. The crew, despite the bad weather, obeys orders. The Huron runs aground on the North Carolina coast and is destroyed. A hundred crewmen's lives are lost

Wreck of the Jane Hunter: (2 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #30132}

The Jane Hunter is driven against the rocks by a gale. The captain "was not well, for the deck was not inclined." The mate has a boat launched but only one man survives. The "government [is] to blame"; "a lighthouse... would prevent the same"

Wreck of the Julia Dean, The: (1 ref. 2K Notes) {Roud #19868}

"Nigh forty years have passed away... since the wreck of the Julia Dean." A heavy storm in the Straits [of Mackinac] drives her onto an island. The songs of birds and the sound of the waves are heard by the wreck, "meet requiem for the Julia Dean."

Wreck of the Julie Plante, The: (10 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #4545}

"On wan dark night on de (Lak St. Clair)... de crew of de wood scow Julie Plante got scar' an' run below." The captain ties Rosie the cook to the mast, then jumps overboard. Both are drowned. The moral: "You can't get drown... so long you stay on shore"

Wreck of the Kinsale, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #20524}

Kinsale leaves the Clyde for France November 18. In heavy winds and seas "'The engine's broke,' our captain said" and she drifts into the cliffs. A wealthy lady offers 500 pounds "to be secure" but drowns. From shore two Hook ladies rescue four.

The singer recalls sailing on the Lady Shearbrooke, and describes how the ship was wrecked on the rocks, with only 33 surviving. Upon returning to the banks of the Foyle, he sees Mary Doyle lamenting her lost love. He steps up and reveals himself

Wreck of the Maggie, The: (4 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #4413}

Maggie leaves Brooklyn in Bonavista Bay and arrives in St John's harbour "when Captain Blunden cried, 'My boys, there's a steamer bearing down.'" Maggie and the steamer Tiber crash. Many from the Maggie are drowned

Wreck of the Mary Jane, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #3026}

A song to "dryland sailors" about the Mary Jane, bound from Taghmon with a crew of 200 and a cargo of dung. When the cargo shifts in a storm the captain gives up hope. Short of tobacco they plan to put in at a pub. They run ashore at a doctor's door.

George Minnick's Number 23 train is wrecked on the Pennsylvania Railroad in Illinois.

Wreck of the Morrissey, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #9815}

Captain Charles Bailey takes the Morrissey from St Mary's Bay to Cape Breton. He picks up a load of fish at Bonne Bay and heads out to the Gulf of St Lawrence in spite of a hurricane.

"The Cannonball was westbound on the Norfolk-Richmond run, The brave man at the throttle was Harry Covington." Two trains, one on the Norfolk and Western, the other on the Atlantic Coast line, collide in Virginia; two Covingtons die

Wreck of the Nimrod, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #13369}

The steamship Nimrod sets out from Moreton Bay for Liverpool. When a storm blows up, not even the skilled crew can keep the ship from running aground. At last a bark picks up the survivors

Wreck of the Northfleet, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #1174}

"Come all ye feeling people while this sad story I relate" as the singer tells of the wreck of the Northfleet, destroyed at Dungeness. 500 died when another ship hit the Northfleet at anchor. The captain tries to rescue those he can; he and his wife die

The singer emigrates to America. He takes ship. Part way through the voyage, the ship springs a leak. Eventually it overwhelms the pumps. Another vessel comes by and takes off the passengers shortly before she sinks

Wreck of the Royal Charter, The: (1 ref. 1K Notes) {Roud #3327}

"Good people all attend I pray; Now I'll relate a sad calamity, Of a dreadful shipwreck near Beaumaris town." The Royal Charter is returning home from Australia when a storm strikes. The ship breaks in two. 455 people are lost

Wreck of the Royal Palm: (8 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4149}

On the Royal Palm and Ponce de Leon trains, heading home for Christmas, all is cheerful despite a storm. The trains collide; many are killed or hurt. The singer warns hearers to keep their orders straight; if they get their orders mixed it'll be too late

The Yankee vessel Yosemite ("Semmity") crosses the Gulf in a storm with "a load of frozen herring" and crashes on a reef. All but one of the crew are rescued.

Wreck of the Shenandoah: (3 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #4150}

"At four o'clock one evening On a warm September day A great and mighty airship From Lakehurst flew away." The dirigible encounters a storm and is wrecked. Fourteen people die. The mother of one of the crew watches in vain for the vessel

Wreck of the Steamship Ethie, The: (8 refs. 28K Notes) {Roud #24242}

On December 10, 1919, the "Ethie"-- despite the skilled work of her crew -- encounters a terrible storm and runs aground around one o'clock in the morning. She "lay wrecked on the shore" but all are saved, "taken in by kind people and treated with care"

A chronicle of the tragic wreck of the S.S. Florizel off Renews Rocks where 40 were saved out of 106.

The people of Tennessee want to know who wrecked their "gravy train"; bonds were issued to build highways, now the money's tied up, the people have nothing to show for it, and the banks have gone bust.

"You daring sons of Newfoundland, come listen unto me" as the singer tells how the Tolesby was lost in Trepassey Bay. Sailing from Galveston, she ran into a snowstorm near Cape Race. Her survivors are rescued when a fisherman takes a line down a cliff

The singer, lying in bed, hears a steamer blowing, gets up, and sees the Torhamvan wrecked. The next morning, the crowd from all around "tried to fight and grab it all, whatever there they found" They'll be able to live for a year off the salvage.

The Vartry sailed the Liffee overloaded with a cargo of Double X casks. A storm sinks her "ere they reached the Customs House" "All ye who drink of James's Gate (No matter what your sex), Take warning by the Vartry's fate, Thro' too much Double X!"

Wreck of the Virginian No. 3, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #14020}

"On one Thursday morning, in the latter part of May, Old Number three left Roanoke station, it was on their fatal day." Engineer "Dad" Aldrich recalls his twenty years on this train. Another train missed an order; the trains collide. Hearers are warned

"Come all you brave, bold railroad men and listen while I tell The fate of E. G. Aldrich...." He was "the oldest on the road," but still loved his work and would not retire. He and his fireman die in a crash. Railroad couples are told to be faithful

"Just after the dawn of the morning, in the beautiful month of May, a farewell kiss had been planted On the cheeks of one who was brave." "Dad" Aldrich and his fireman are proud of their train, but die, because rail staff must make their runs when called

"It was on one July morning About eight o'clock they say, When Thirty-Six left Ashland And thundered on her way." The train makes good time, but starts to shake and derails, scalding fireman Buddy Cheap to death though engineer McDonney is saved.

"We read of frightful fires, of death 'midst raging flames... but I never yet have heard Of an accident more terrible than on Covel's occurred." The loggers were on a train which hits a log that had fallen on the track. Seven men are killed

George Alley, a railroad engineer, is warned by his mother not to drive too fast. But George wants to set a speed record. As his train speeds, it runs into a rock from a landslide and is wrecked. George is killed; his mother gets to say "I told you so"

"You bold sons of freedom, Your attention I command." On January 18, between Bethel Station and Locke's Mills, two freights collide, resulting in explosions. The sun rises on a terrible scene. Some of those on the wreck are described.

Singer sees automobile wreck with passengers killed,, "where whiskey and blood run together...I heard the wreck on the highway/But I didn't hear nobody pray"

Wreck on the Somerset Road, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4141}

"On a dark stormy morning when the snow was falling" a train sets out for St. Louis. A sleepy brakeman and conductor both think this will be their last trip. But five men had broken the railing; the train is wrecked and the men never arrive

"When sinks the sun in the distant sea, And night steals o'er the sky, And heavy gulls all sluggishly To rocky caverns hie. Then I with my staff walk the ocean's side, To look for prey in the rolling tide." The singer will seek prey and "cheat the crew"

Wren, The (The King): (4 refs. 9K Notes) {Roud #4683}

A tale of the hunting of the wren on Saint Stephen's Day. Boys go out, hunt the wren, and bring it home for a reward: "The wren, the wren, the king of all birds / St. Stephen's Day was caught in the forest / Although he be little, his honor is great..."

""I hold my brother with a trembling hand, The Lord will bless my soul, Wrestle on, Jacob, Jacob, day is a-breaking." "I will not let you go, My Lord. "Fisherman Peter out to sea" "He cast all night...." "He catch no fish, but catch some soul."

"Wrestlin' Jacob seek de Lawd. I will not let thee go. And wrestle all night till the break ob day." "Wrestle Jacob; day is a-breakin'." "(Brethren/Elders/etc., don't get weary (x4) For de work is almost done. Keep your lamps trimmed and burnin'...."

"(Wrestling Jacob dawn is a breaking) (3x) (I'll wrestle till the break of day Never to let thee go) (2x)"

Wright and Ketchen Line: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #8865}

Singer describes working on the Wright and Ketchen narrow-gauge lumber railroad, and the characters with whom he works. At the end of the season, he plans to go to Saginaw and spend his money.

"An essay now I mean to write, Though blotted it may look, 'Tis all about the foreman Wright And of the shanty cook." The cook and Wright argue about the cook's sister, and then about pay and other things. Finally Wright leaves, and there is peace

"There is somewhere the sun is shining, There is somewhere a little rain." The singer asks that a letter tell his mother he'll be home someday. The white folks have him on a chain gang. He asks Stella if he can be her fellow; she has another beau

Singer takes the "wrong road"; he gets drunk with a man, they quarrel; the singer shoots him. He warns hearers; he is "hanging from a scaffold/Between the earth and sky." He is going home, telling us "You might forget the singer/But don't forget the song"

German. "Wu danze dann di Weiwer? In di alde Scheier." Where do women dance? In old barns." (The older the better.) "Where do men dance? In old vats." "Where do young men dance? In new rooms." "Where do girls/children/peddlers dance?"

Wyandotte's Farewell Song, The: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4342}

The singer sadly bids farewell to his ancestral home and prepares to head west. Various familiar scenes -- trees, streams, roads, church -- are fondly recalled

A gentleman will give a reward to lie with the lass of the hie toun hie. The hostler's wife lures the girl in and locks the door behind her. The gentleman sleeps with her. Eventually he sees her and her baby, and marries her

Wyoming Massacre, The: (3 refs. 5K Notes) {Roud #14095}

"Kind heaven assist the trembling muse While she attempts to tell Of poor Wyoming's overthrow By savage sons of hell." "One hundred whites in painted hue, Whom Butler there did lead..." offer terms of surrender to the defenders, then slaughter them

"Oh, dear Wyoming, clear and bright, Thy breezes are a treasure; They give us health, they give us wealth." "Much gold comes from thy mountains." "We love thy sunny weather. Thy people stand for all that's right."

"Smash! Jemmy, let us buss, we'll off An' see Newcassel Races." They will watch "X Y Z that bonny steed... He's sure to win the Cup, man." Along the way, they encounter many improbable adventures

"X-Y-Z, Sugar on your bread, Go to the doctor Before you're dead." "Porridge in the morning, And cocoa going to bed."

In praise of the power of the yaller gal: "It takes a long, tall yaller gal To make a preacher lay his Bible down. It takes a long, tall yaller gal To make a bulldog break his chain." "I got a long, tall yaller gal On do road somewhere."

The singer will dye his ribbons blue because "the lassie I love she's constant and true," which is why he won't dye them yellow.

"A Yankee boy is trimmed and tall And never over-fat, sir. At dance ad frolic and hop and ball, As nimble as a rabbit, sir. Yankee Doodle, guard your coast." The Yankee guards his land. A Yankee girl keeps her cow "Without the king or his orderly, sir."

"Yankee Dewey sailed away On an armored cruiser, He took along for company Of guns and men a cruiser." He attacks the Philippines so "That not a single ship was left Of all that Spanish fleet, sir."

Concerning the exploits of a New England backwoodsman who joins Washington's colonial army. He sees many wonders his mind cannot comprehend. He is steadily teased: "Yankee Doodle keep it up, Yankee Doodle dandy...."

Chorus: "With Yankee Doodle, doodle, doo, Yankee Doodle dandy, Our tars will show the haughty foe Columbia's sons are handy." We are free of King George and his descendants. We can whip the British tars and "care no more for France than Britain"

"Lord Howe put on his fine red coat And called or all his cronies... A-riding on their ponies." "Georgie Porgie, pumpkin pie, Georgie, he's a dandy... He's so spic and spandy." Humorous comments on the British forces in America

Yankee Doodle (Tea Tax version) : (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #5023}

"Once on a time old Johnny Bull Flew in a raging fury. "'And now," said he, 'I'll tax the tea Of all your sons and daughters.'" "John sent the tea from o'er the sea." But Americans won't drink it. They win the war, and now everyone sings "Yankee Doodle."

Yankee Doodle Dandy: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #21717}

"I have a daughter and you'd think she was a lady.... She has a sweetheart comes to see her nights... And the only tune he whistles right is 'Yankee Doodle Dandy.'" The young man causes so much trouble that the fathers vows to drive him off

Pulling shanty. Singer says that Liza Lee promised to marry him. He shipped out but promised her a ring, etc. Now she's jilted him. Remaining verses on general sailing themes. Chorus: "Yan-kee John, Storm-along." Colcord says this is of Negro origin.

A Belfast woman is seduced by "a sailor from a distant port" and said "he'd take me far away to his happy home in Yankee Land." We are left believing he reneges.

Yankee Man-of-War (III), The: (1 ref. 1K Notes) {Roud #625}

Describes a battle between an unnamed ship captained by John Paul Jones and an (also unnamed) English man-of-war. Jones chases down the man-of-war, catches up at 11 a.m., they fight "yardarm to yardarm" for five hours till the English flag comes down

"I wish I was in Yankee lad, And was a boy again, sirs... I'd never wander from my home... But stay at home, eat pumpkin pie Of Yankee manufacture." The singer boasts of things "of Yankee manufacture:" Pretty girls, George Washington, British defeats

"The very next morning we marched very slow" and attacked the Yankees through brush and thorn. "General Averil" tries to encourage the troops, but "Jackson" pushes on

"As I roved out one morning, being in the lovely month of May," the singer meets a girl. If she'd marry, he would take her to America. Though her father agrees, her parents grieve "when I took her from her parents and land her safe on the Yankee shore"

"Well, the Yanks are comin' all around; Drop your work, drop your play, Run away, don't delay, Drop your gun, on the run, there's a task to be done. Where they teach you how to salute, and they teach you how to shoot." "The Blue and Gray are one" in Dixie

Nature has bestowed the U.S. with every possible blessing, including "true Yankee hearts." A Navy is needed to "protect from each insolent foe." Examples of how "Yankee tars shall their country protect." Verses end with Dreadnaught's "derry down" line.

"Whenever the Tyrant of the main assaults Columbian seamen, He'll find them ready to maintain the noble name of Freemen." Americans will only put up with so much. The song lists well-known American naval officers

Yankees Are Coming, The: (1 ref. 1K Notes) {Roud #4503}

"The Yankees are coming! Away! Which way? Who saw them? Do tell us. And what did they?... Fifteen hundred, they say, and they are at Lamar." The people's fear is mentioned, as well as the unionists' entry into the town and their determination

Yanks Are Coming Over, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #25459}

Verse based on George M. Cohan's "Over There": "The Yanks are coming over, Now it's over over there."

Trinidadian patois. Chorus: "Wey, Bella in de yard-o, rad-o, rad-o, Bella in de yard-o eee." Nonsense verses: "Monkey play de fiddle And the baboon play de banjo." "Want to see de monkey dance Bust a pepper in he tail"

Yarmouth Fishermen's Song, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #2434}

Singer tells of a tough voyage, with high winds and seas, and few fish. Another ship comes close and cuts their anchor cable; their ropes catch fire. They limp into harbor, but proudly return to sea the next day. Singer toasts the master and crew

Yarmouth is a Pretty Town: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1068}

Pretty Nancy lived in Yarmouth "at the sign of the 'Angel.'" The singer, a soldier, must march away. "Many hearts were rejoicing But my heart was sad." He asked her to go with him but her answer was No! He grieves to think of Yarmouth

The singer grieves; her lover is dead. He had promised to marry her. After their last parting, she saw his ghost. She counsels his mother and sister to stop searching for him because he is dead. She finds him in the stream and drowns herself there.

Cowboy Yavipai (Iron Pants) Pete is refused a job because he's not tough enough for the job. Pete lassos a bear with barbed wire, rides it back to the ranch (with a rattlesnake for a quirt) and asks whether he can have the job now. The rancher hires him

"Oh, ye cannae shove yer granny aff a bus (x2), Oh ye cannae shove yer granny, For she's yer mammie's mammie, Oh ye cannae...." Song continues with those you can shove off, e.g. "Ye can shove your Auntie Maggie aff a bus... she's naethin but a twister"

"Ye elders of Israel, come join with me now, And search out the righteous, wherever they be... And bring them from Babylon to Zion so free." "O Babylon, O Babylon, we bid thee farewell." "The harvest is great and the lab'rers are few."

Ye Gae But to Your Beef-Stan': (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6076}

Cut a slice of meat -- but don't cut your hand -- for Besuthian. "Hogmanay!"

The singer wishes to remind the nobility of the dangers faced by seamen. He cites his own example. A storm off Ram's Head runs nine English ships aground. The largest ship (the Coronation?) loses almost all her crew, and the others are hardly better off

Ye Guardian Powers (Nancy Wilson): (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7397}

"Ye guardian powers that rule above, And know how fondly I do love, God grant to ease my tottering pain...." The girl's love has been banished by his father's command. She grieves and laments his absence at length

"Ye Jacobites by name, Give an ear, give an ear, Ye Jacobites by name, Give an ear... Your faults I will proclaim, Your doctrines I maun blame." Jacobites are told to stop their schemes, to fight, to support the cause

Ye Ken Pretty Well What I Mean, O: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3807}

In an woman's house "you get your fill" with a "bonny servant lassie for to carry it all." A soldier asks for ale and takes the lass to bed. They name their genitals. His plump stallion falls in her well and comes out like "a half-drowned rat"

This is the singer's departing night and "the morn's the day I'm gaun awa'" from Montrose. There's "a silly auld man" he'll be glad to leave. Nevertheless he grieves "for the sake o' my kin comerade, And the bonnie lass that I am leavin'"

The singer goes to America, then returns to Ireland -- to find that his mother had died in poverty. He kills the landlord to avenge her. Once again he flees, but sends a warning to the landlords that revenge is coming

A rich farmer's daughter loves Pat Molloy. When her father wouldn't agree to the marriage he enlists. He promises to marry her when he returns. She proves true but he returns married from "India's burning shore." Young maid: Never trust "a rovin' blade"

Ye Maidens Fair and Gay: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #6808}

"Never let a young man Lead you astray." The singer "believed man's flattering tongue ... He has ruined me ... Nowhere to go ... Now not a straw"

Singer, a sailor, describes the joys of booze and urges all to share them.

"Ye needna ban [curse] at me, guidman," she says, come in and rock the cradle and take your meal ("kail and brose" yourself) because, you know, I'm not able. I'll sell pots, pans and wooden ladles if you won't buy a side saddle for me.

Ye Needna Come an' Flatter's: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #5652}

"For ye needna come and flatter's For ye shan't come again"

Ye Noble Big Pine Tree: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #8897}

A conversation between a singer and a majestic pine. The singer admits the tree's ancient dignity, but tells it of how the loggers will attack it and take it down, then goes on to the fate of the wood

Ye Parliament of England (I): (10 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #2078}

The Americans present their claims against England: First limiting trade, then impressing American sailors, then insulting American captains. The Americans of course have gone to war, and mention their naval victories

"Ye roaring falls at Kingsey, Which hurl with mighty force," are known for their force but rarely seen. On September 25, 1815, a raft of logs is overturned by a swell, and two men, John Ames and Hopkins Towne (?), are killed

Ye Sons of Australia: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5475}

"Ye sons of Australia, forget not the brave, And gather wildflowers to place on their graves. They were four daring outlaws...." In praise of the Kelly gang. It mentions the hunt for them, and how Kelly's sister Kate warned them. The ending is implied

Ye Sons of Old Ireland: (1 ref. 1K Notes) {Roud #2357}

"Ye sons of old Ireland, I'm sorry to hear, There is no money stirring this present new year." The gentry no longer eat "turtle and wine ... Their bellies that swelled with Napoleon's renown Will grow flat like old air-bags since Boney is down"

Young men "chase about at weman's heels." After twenty weeks the singer "grew pale and wan." After 40 weeks she "brought home a son" to be named after the father; "I'll gang nae mair a rovin among the merry maids." The baby dies. "I'll go again a rovin'"

She says "ye'll fa' [fall] bonnie Geordie." He turned around, kissed her and says "Na bonnie Annie"

"Assist me, all ye muses, For to compose a song, 'Tis of a tyrant farmer Near Gartly did belong." The farmer continually demands more effort for small reward, reminding the staff "Ye're noo on Bogieside." The singer looks forward to the day he is free

Ye's Lie Neist the Wa': (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #6243}

"The day o' Duncan's marriage it was a day o' rain, I took 'er on ahin me, and vow but I was fain, I took the leem [loom] rod in my han' a scabbit beast to ca, And we's baith lie in ae bed, and ye's lie neist the wa'"

Yea Ho, Little Fish: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #5477}

From the sailor to the fish: "Yea ho, little fish, don't cry, don't cry; Yea ho, little fish, you'll be a whale by and by." The singer talks of the voyage, of how the fish try to avoid capture, and of the love whose picture is "tattooed all over my chest"

New Years 1971. Bob Mack and Mickey ride Bob's tractor to Mass but it will not pass "Maggie's" where Bob always stops for a drink. Then, drunk, he drives into a ditch, losing Mickey to the road. Mickey swears he'll not ride in the tractor for a while.

"19XX/20XX at (XXXX), No other year the same, Every girl a comrade true, No matter name or town or fame. 19XX/20XX at (XXXX), Sunset and evening glow. But it's the inspiration most That makes us love it so."

Counting-out rhyme? "Yellow cornmeal, Red tomato, Ribbon cane, sweet potato, Round melon, Ripe persimmon, Little goober peas"

Yellow Gals (Doodle Let Me Go): (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3221}

Shanty. Refrain: "Doodle let me go girls, doodle let me go, Hooraw my yaller girls, doodle let me go." Verses have dancing/drinking themes.

Singer once loved a young girl who wore a yellow handkerchief. Unfortunately, he kept "flash company", and he is now ruined and destitute; "Like a flower in the garden all my color has gone."

The Irish adventurer comes to Mr. Tapscott, seeking passage to America. Tapscott arranges for (his) voyage, (charging an exorbitant price and) leaving the young Irishman to be plundered on the voyage. The youth vows to stay on the American shore

A reluctant soldier meets the Yellow Rose of Taegu, a good two-dollar whore, who makes him forget the perils of war.

Yellow Rose of Texas, The: (27 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #2800}

The singer is going to see his "Yellow Rose" -- "The sweetest rose of color this (darkey) ever knew; Her eyes are bright as diamonds; They sparkle like the dew." He promises that "if I ever find her, we never more will part."

Yellow-Haired Laddie (I), The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6930}

"The maidens are smiling" because the clans will fight "and the yella haired laddie is first in the van." "He heeds not the danger and fear is unknown." "The maidens are crying in rocky Glencoe... for the yellow-haired laddie lies cauld in the clay"

Yellow, Yellow, What's for Yellow: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #38125}

"Yellow, yellow, What's for yellow, Yellow is the color Of a fairy's umbrella."

Capstan shanty. "Yeo heave ho! Round th' capstan go. Heave, men, with a will. Tramp an' tramp it still. The Anchor must be weighed (x2). Yeo heave ho! Yeo heave ho!" Similarly, "Yeo heave ho, cheerily we go." "...Raise her from below"

"'Twas on the fifth of November That little Jimmy Yeo he gave a party." The singer lists those who attend. All are full. The singer warns, "If ever you make a spree and don't invite me, As sure as the devil, I will make a song!"

"Little girl, little girl, Yes, sir. Did you feed my chickens? Yes sir. What did you fed them? Corn and wheat." "Little girl... did you feed my cat? What did you...? Bread and milk." "Did you feed my horse? Corn and hay." "...my sheep? Oats and Barley."

Mother buys a rooster, thinks it's a duck, roasts it, sis gets gravy from its "yas, yas, yas." A rooster taken for a hen, does not lay eggs from his.... Sister should stop waving her.... Dance: if you can't shake your shoulders shake your....

"Breaking out of barracks (x3), As you have done before." "Parading all unbuttoned (x3), As you have done before." "Take his name and number." "Up before the C.O.!" "Fourteen days' detention." "Pack-drill, bread and water." "Yes, and we can do it!"

"Yesterday at three o'clock in the morning, An empty house full of furniture caught light. The fire brigade came and put it out before it started, Ran over a dead cat and half killed it. Two naked men came running ... With their hand in their pockets..."

Original text: "Yesterday, upon the stair, I met a man who wasn't there! He wasn't there again today, Oh how I wish he'd go away!" Often slightly changed, e.g. the Withers-EenieMeenieMinieMo version ends "how I wish he'd stay away"

"Yim Yonson ship from lumberyard Upon the scow Sam Patch." He knows nothing of boats, but pretends to be a sailor. In a storm, the captain orders him to reef a sail. Yonson answers, "Der ben ten tousand tops'ls, yes, But only one Yim Yonson." He is fired

"Yip yip yip tooraliaddy, And it's yip yip yip tooraliaddy, For there's no better king in the universe Than King Edward the Seventh today!"

"Yip, yip, a nanny-goat, Yip, yip, ay, When we get our holidays, We'll all run away."

Finnish: "Kymmenen vuotta Korpinissa oli jo assuttu." "Then years we've lived in Corbin" without any stores being opened. The residents have to travel to Eveleth to buy anything, because Corbin doesn't have a store. They complain about conditions

"Fifteen men on the Dead Man's Chest, Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum." Captain, mate, bos'n, cook are all killed in a fight between the sailors. The survivors wrap up the body, "heaved 'em over," and left them "ten fathoms deep on the road to hell."

In this formula song, the singer tells of placing his hand successively on a woman's toe, knee, thigh, etc., and the results of his quest.

Yo Ho, Yo Ho, The Frisky Plank: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #25404}

"Yo ho, you ho, the frisky plank, You walks along it so, Till it goes down and you go down To Davy Jones below."

Spanish: "Yo so de la tierra, Y de donde por alla, Donde por alla, Que ni el sol se mir' al salir. Jovencita, pidale a Dios, Que no me vaya a morir...." The driver says he is from far away, and is leaving again. He hopes for success on the road

"Kissin a' the bonnie lads, and makin' fun sae free, Yon ball, bonnie lassie's been the ruin o' me"

The singer would not have a minister (has many books), lawyer (many crooks), tailor (though he is neat) or miller (dusty clothes), but "I'll hae yon bonnie, yon bonnie, yon bonnie lad"

Singer tells of a young man who courted her and swore he'd be true; for 11 months he was, but then left. She reminds him of his promise, but he must obey his "father's counsel." She recommends the single life, for "a contented mind bears no slavery."

The singer says if he had the bonnie lass he likes he'd have no reason to return to that town. If he had her on the bridal seat in church there he'd have no reason to return. Once his "errand" were finished he'd never return.

Short phrases punctuated by the phrase "Yonder come day," with chorus "Yonder come day, day done broke, now, in my soul." Examples: "Yonder come day, I heard him say (x3)"; "It's a dying day"; "It's a burying day" ; "I was on my knees"

Yonder Comes a Georgia Girl: (2 refs.) {Roud #5007 and 7884}

"Yonder comes a (Georgia girl/young man), Don't he look funny? She's got on (a/her father's) roundabout Without a cent of money." "Once I could have married you, Once I could my honey, When you wore your roundabout With a pocket full of money."

"Yonder comes a (yellow/yaller) gal, All dressed up in red, Well, I wish my wife was dead, Well, I wish my wife was dead!"

Yonder Comes My Dearest Billie: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #7009}

"Yonder comes my dearest Billie I know him by his coat of blue," his coal black hair and good behavior. The singer loves father and mother but loves Billie better: "if you turn him out I'll take him in." In a meadow she fills her apron with flowers

Yonder Comes My Love: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #3431}

"Yonder comes my purty little love, How do you reckon I know? Know her by her old cotton dress...." "Yonder comes...all dressed in yaller...Her shoes all greased with taller...." "...dressed in red...she wished my wife was dead." "Went up on the mountain"

The Devil, with his pitchfork and shovel, tries to dig up potatoes in the turnpike road. "And the road was so hard and he couldn't get 'em up. So yonder run the Devil with his tail cocked up" The Devil may call in his family, who also struggle

Yonder Comes the High Sheriff: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #21065}

"Yonder comes the high sheriff ridin' after me, Ridin' after me, yes, ridin' after me. Yonder comes... O it's captain, I don't want to go." "Been down to Frankfort servin' out my time...."

"Yon'er goes my Nora, gittin' drunk ergin (x2), Oh, Miss Sudie! She's got good booty, Di'mon' rings and fine clo'es too, But dat Nigger ain't gonna get Nothin' from me. Oh, dat woman can't friss me. Yon'er goes my Nora, gittin' drunk ergin."

"Oh, yonder she comes, and it's howdy, howdy do." "Oh, rise you up, my lady, Present to me your hand, I know you are a pretty girl, But Lord, such a man." "We two will travel on Until we have to part." Now that peace has come, they will travel and marry

"Yonder stands young couple, John Hardy was joined in hand, The other was a woman, And the other a man. Said they'd marry If they could agree...." "Now they're married, it's pity on their souls." They depart. The war is over. All raise hands

"Bane ta Claapam town-gate live an oud Yorkshire tike," a horse-dealer named Tommy Towers. He and Abey Muggins set out to cheat each other, trying to get the better deal on a horse-trade by passing off dead animals as alive. They swap dead horses

Yorkshire Sword Dance Song: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #610}

"Samson" introduces "the six lords that first ruined me": King William Raw and his brother, another milder man, one that fettered his feet and hands, one that had him blinded and "the sixt' is no better at all than the rest." He pulls down the house.

"You Stockton lads and lasses too, Come listen to my story, A dismal tale... I've now to lay before ye...." The singer and his comrades march away to the sound of the drum. They will miss their wives and sweethearts, drink, and "push about the jorum"

Yorkshireman in London, The: (9 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1640}

The singer arrives in London and offers to see a girl home. When they arrive at a whorehouse he tries to leave. She picks his pocket but he had put fish-hooks there and they strip her finger of her ring. He sells the ring.

"You and I, lovie, you and I, You and I to sinder, There couldna be a greater cross Than you and I to sinder"

You Are My Sunshine: (4 refs. 3K Notes) {Roud #18130}

The singer dreams his "sunshine" is in his arms but wakes to find she is not. He pleads, "don't take my sunshine away." In later verses he says she has broken her promise and left him but she'll "regret it all some day"

The singer accuses Clementina of deserting her sister and Gran when her mother died: "she gone Moruga Road" Chorus: "you bad an you bad / O you bad Clementina"

"You better love the Methodist -- You go'n to die; You better love the Methodist -- You go'n to die; You don't know the day nor the hour. You better love the Methodist -- You go'n to die." Repeat with other denominations

You Boys O' Callieburn: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6932}

America has "wiled" the boys of Callieburn to leave adored Machrihanish and their parents behind. Rab MacKinlay has already gone. The boys know their parents will grieve but won't disown them. The boys are named.

Chorus: ("Thank you Jesus" (4x) "You brought me from a mighty long way"). Verse: "You've been my mother ... father ... sister ... brother, You've brought me from a mighty long way"

You Cain't Lose-A Me, Cholly: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #11658}

Mild nonsense. The singer visits Willie Winston's to court. He reports "rowin' and my gal went through" and they break the bottom of the boat. He cannot afford the girl, "She use up a bale of money ev'y week." Ends with a hog and sheep talking

"You call me dog, I don' ker, Oh, my Lord! You call me dog, I don' ker, Oh, rockum jubalee!" "You call me cat, I don' ker...." "You call me mule...." "You call me snake...."

"You can be a defaulter [soldier confined to barracks] As long as you like As long as you answer your name."

The singer warns against disobeying God "You can run a long time... But your sins are going to find you out." He condemns the people around him, warns of various sins, accuses the listener of insufficient zeal, and otherwise makes an ass of himself

"You can walk on a shamrock, You can eat a leek, You can pluck a rose, But you can't sit on a thistle."

Chorus: "You must have that true religion (x3), Or you can't cross here." Verses are three lines, from among "I'm so glad my soul's converted (I've got religion, that Jesus loves me)" and "I'm going down to Jordan," followed by "You can't cross here"

"Tell the (lawyer/preacher/liar)": "(You can't hide)(3x) When the world's on fire, (You can't hide)(3x) on that day)"

The singer advises prayer, hope, and patience in times of trouble: "You can't hurry God, why don't you wait, my brother? Just obey the word you have heard. Keep on calling him, for in some day or 'nother, He will come and answer prayer."

You Can't Keep a Shantyboy Down: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4464}

"Kind friends, your attention I'll ask for a while, A few facts I endeavor to show...." The singer notes that the workers are what prop up the building of society; the wealthy have money, but aren't really needed, but "You can't keep a shantyboy down."

"You can’t ride my little red wagon Front wheel’s broken And the back wheel’s dragging Slug! Slug! Slug, slug, slug!" May have a chant between verses: "Second verse, same as the first, A whole lot louder and a whole lot worse."

You Canna Put It on to Sandy: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #5143}

Sandy knows he's taken to be simple but in every case he is shown to be more clever than "anither fella." "I'm not sae green as you may seem, Did you think I'm soft as candy? ... you canna put it on to Sandy"

"Be careful my boys... When the time comes to pick out a wife." These days, with painted cheeks and other deceits "you don't know how the dear girl is made." I'll say more when we're safely alone: "I have said too much here I'm afraid"

Bill and the singer court Suzy Brown in their various cars: "You drove a Buick, a big yellow Buick, and I drove a little tin Ford," but when Bill and Suzy drive by and guy him, the land in a mudhole, and need the singer to pull them out with his Ford

Farmer Robert Brown's wife died and left him with two children. Robert remarries and his new wife kills both children with poison. She cuts her own throat with a razor. Her ghost appears to Robert saying "my case it is now wretched" because of her crime.

"If your brother done you wrong, Take him to yourself alone; Tell him brother you done treated me wrong. You fight on, you fight on, with your sword in your hand, You fight on, yes, you fight on, Lawdy you fight on...."

English gentlemen, living at ease, don't think of the dangers faced by seamen in war and trade. If there is no war the merchants will always have work for us where "the stormy winds do blow"

The singer asks "all you girls of equal station" for comfort for her sorrow "because I loved a lad." Though he promised to be true "to another girl he roved ... he has married for gold" Warning: "do not your mind reveal So that you can bid them farewell"

"You got to move (x2)... When God gets ready, you've got to move." In one form, "That preacher's got to move!" "That drunkard's got... " "I got..." Whether high or low, policeman or prostitute, when the Lord gets ready, "you got to move"

"John say you got to reap in the harvest what you sow (x2), If you sow it in the rain, you got to reap it just the same You got to reap in the harvest what you sow"

You Gotta Clear de Line: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #16123}

"You gotta clear de line before you call (x2), If you ever 'spects to get an answer, You gotta clear de line before you call." "If you have aught against your sister/brother/preacher, Well go to her and her alone, And car' yo' gift before the altar."

Buailey takes up distilling whiskey at home in Glenlee. At the opening there was a grand party with food, tobacco, dancing, and lots to drink. Noll Buailey fell drunk while dancing having had 24 glasses.

"Do you 'member way last summer (x3), Kind captain, on the jelly roll?" "You kicked and stomped and beat me... and you call that fun." "If I catch you in my home town, Goin' to make you run, sir."

The singer says her husband has heavy shoes, a bad foot, and wears a "cap with the ears turn down." He caught and cooked a possum. She cooked chicken backside and added it to his meal. She says, "I live with the man so long, the man no know me way"

The girl recalls how her father's anger "drove my love away" to North America. She steals 500 pounds from her father to buy passage across the seas. She does not know where to look, but by chance finds her love quickly; they are married

"You lovers all, to you I call. A story I will tell; How I, a swain, courted in vain A maid none could excel." "I fell in love so hard to move... But to my grief found no relief, for she was pitiless." The singer praises his love's great beauty

"You may bury me in the East, You may bury me in the West, But I'll her the trumpet sound In-a that morning." "In-a that morning, How I long to go, For to hear the trumpet sound..." "In-a that dreadful judgament day, We'll take wings and fly away...."

You Might Easy Know a Doffer: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #20420}

"You might easy know a doffer" by her yellow hair and tools. Besides, "she'll always get a man." "You might easy know a weaver" by her greasy hair and tools. Besides, "she'll never get a man"

You Must Be Pure and Holy: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #12063}

"When I was wicked and a-prone to sin, My Lord, brethren, ah my Lord, I thought I couldn't be born again." "You must be pure and holy (x3) To see God feed his lambs." "I'll run all 'round the cross and cry... Give me Jesus or I die."

"There's fathers and mothers all over the land, They're chewing and dipping as fast as they can... You must live holy and free from sin If you aim to get to glory and enter in...." Listeners are told how to live and told to read the Bible

Action song, First voice: "You must pay the rent, you must pay the rent, you must pay the rent today." 2nd voice: "(But) I can't pay the rent." (Repeat these lines.) 3rd voice: "I'll pay the rent." 2nd voice: "My hero." 1st voice: "Curses! Foiled again"

Jump-rope rhyme. "You naughty boy, You stole my toy, You named him Roy. You naughty B-O-Y, You stole my T-O-Y, You named him R-O-Y."

Jump-rope rhyme. "You naughty flea, You bit my knee."

Jump-rope rhyme. "You naughty girl, You stole my curl, You named it Twirl -- You naughty GIRL!"

Jump-rope rhyme. "You naughty lady, You stole my baby, You named it Sadie, You naughty LADY!"

The singer remembers mother's lessons about economy: "Waste not, want not is the maxim I would teach... Do not let your chances like sunbeams pass you by, For you never miss the water...." Now married, he teaches his children the same lesson

The singer dreams about his old sweetheart who won't "even stop to say hello." "O heart of stone, you pass me by."

You Pretty Girls of Michigan: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7921}

"You pretty girls of Michigan, give ear to what I write, Of sailing on the stormy Lakes, in which we take delight." The sailors work while "Irishmen and the landlubbers" stay home. The singer urges girls to attend to sailors, who live such hard lives

"You rambling boys of pleasure, give ear to those few lines I write. Although I'm a rover, and in roving I take great delight." Singer recounts finding and losing his love, and laments that his roving ways are incompatible with love and home.

Circular dialog. "You remind me of a man." "What man?" "The man with the power." "What power?" "The power of Hoodoo/Voodoo." "Who do? "You do." "Do what?" "You remind me of...."

You Ribbonmen of Ireland: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #3081}

Ribbonmen: "Long may you reign May you roll in joy and splendour Till you raise your flag again." The singer recalls taking the Orange drum at Segimore. The Protestant "hates our religion and our ways" and curses any man that goes to church.

"You say that you love me, I say that I love you. Then if yo' love is true, darling, we will be happy... you'll never regret it. What did the jaybird say to the crow? You send snow and I send rain and we will live happy... It ain't gonna rain mo more"

"You say you are of noble race And I of low degree. We are all of Adam's race; Pray, what more can we be?" Reportedly, the girl turns down the boy because her status is higher than his

"Ev'ry time... It seems there's only a doubt that you are fooling me, yes sirree. And that feeling come a-stealing, says you're not true." "I'm afraid you'll sing this song to somebody else." When he goes out, "I always find a strange hat in the hall"

"You take the hatchet and I'll take the saw, And we'll chop off the head of my mother-in-law."

"You talk about your greenbacks being dollar bills, But you ought to see the Natchez when she passes Louisville." (Someone) talks about girls and how they make a living; the singer prepares to jump ship and his girl

"John, you told me a story, You told me so before... you haven't come no more. You went and courted Nancy With the black and roving eye." The girl wishes he had been true, "But if I am forsaken, I know I'm not forsworn"; she will rove her life away

"You will marry... (one of three boys). You will marry in... silk/satin/rags. You will live in... brick house.log house/block house. You will have [some number of] children. The will have black/blond/red hair."

"You won't to to Heaven when you die, Mary Ann, No you won't, no you won't, No you won't, Mary Ann."

A list of reasons why the hobo doesn't want to be a conductor, a banker, a broker, a doctor, adding up to this: "I just don't want to be rich" (or to have to work).

"Somewhere somebody's waiting for you, Somewhere somebody's heart is true, Sometime you'll love somebody who'll love you true, Somewhere somebody's waiting for you, you, you."

You'll Miss Me When I'm Gone: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #17225}

Singer, now feeble, tells his sweetheart she'll miss him when he's gone. He asks who will care for her. He tells her to fence their garden; the children are married. Ch.: "You'll miss me when I'm gone...There's one kind heart will miss me when I'm gone"

"A poor old man of seventy and his wife of sixty three" are on their way to the workhouse in the snow. They meet their rich son who has no time for them. They warn him that "you never know what time will bring you"

Pure patriotism: "You're a grand old flag, You're a high flying flag, And forever in peace may you wave. You're the emblem of The land I love. The home of the free and the brave.... Should auld acquaintance be forgot, Keep your eye on the grand old flag."

You're a Little Too Small: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4349}

Even very small girls won't consider the singer, saying "you're young I know, perhaps you may grow, At present you're a little too small." When he inherits a million and the girls call him he refuses because "at present I'm a little too small"

You're from the Nation: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #7671}

"You're from the Nation, an I'm from Arkansas, But I got the Battle Axe, an' I know you want a chaw." "It sure is good terbacker, we chaw it all the time, I'm goin' to buy some Battle Axe if I ever get a dime."

"You're going to leave your old home, Jim, today you're going away." Mother speaks as her boy prepares to go to the city; she says "the old home will be lonely" but he will always be welcome back. When city life fails, he comes back to mother

Chorus: "You're going to reap just what you sow (2x), Up on the mountain, Down in the valley, You're going to reap just what you sow." Verse: "Let the sinner sin (mourner mourn, deacon plead, preacher preach, liar lie) right on"

"You're in the army now, You're not behind the plow, You'll never get rich Digging a ditch, You're in the army now."

Counting-out rhyme. "You're it, You've got a fit, And don't know how To get out of it."

"You're mad, you're barmy, Your mother's in the army. She wears black britches, With pink and white stitches." Or, "She ears brown britches, With a hundred and twenty stitches."

"You're right my boy, Houl' up your head, And be like a gentleman, Sir, And tell me who King Billy was, Now tell me if you can, Sir."

"You're the biggest drip, If ever there was a drop."

"(XXX), you're/that's the camp for me, No other place do I love best, No other place I'll be, (XXX's) life is a merry whirl, We'll sing you a joyous song, For I am a (Camp Fire Girl)"

Fragment: "You're the man that stole my wife (x3), You shouldn't have 'er for to save your life."

The singer accuses Katie of calling him a rogue to her mother. He demonstrates this by stealing a kiss and trying to steal her heart. She calls that no theft; he is "welcome as the flowers in May." She says that they will marry if her mother consents

"My bark of life was tossing down The troubled stream of time When first I saw your smiling face And youth was in its prime... If ever I have had a friend, you've been a friend to me." The singer complains about hard time but is grateful for friendship

"Oh, you've got to be a lover of the Lord (x3) Or you won't get to heaven when you die." "Come humble sinners... make this last resolve, Oh, you must be a lover of the Lord, Or you can't go to heaven when you die."

"You've got your big gun, and I've got mine. Just rap on the cartridge if you don't mind dying."

The singer meets a beautiful girl as he walks toward Youghall. He asks a kiss; she refuses, explaining that her former lover has driven her from Youghall. She will have no more to do with men. He says his intentions are honorable

Youghall Harbour (II): (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #2734}

The singer meets a girl like "the Queen of May." He seduces her after going "to a director" when she insists on "performance." But he values "neither Priest nor Deacon nor yet yon fair maid of Capperquin" and gains "the maiden flower of this silly female"

Lochiel and Airly ride away with Charlie. Argyle then rides to "glent to heav'n I' the dwelling o' young Airly." Lochiel mistakes the glow for sunrise but Ogilvie realizes Airly is burning. He mourns "mither and twa sweet babies" lost and curses Argyle.

Young Allan [Child 245]: (9 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #242}

In a drunken gathering, Allan boasts of the speed of his ship. Challenged, he takes part in a race and is caught in a storm. Allan calls on a "bonny boy" to steer the ship (with offers of reward), then begs the ship to rescue him. Somehow, all survive

Alvin loves Melanie. He takes two horses to her father's house in Earl's Court. The chambermaid tells him that Melanie will be married the next day to Lord Farthington to satisfy her father's debt. They duel. Alvin wins and elopes with Melanie.

Young Andrew [Child 48]: (4 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6740}

Andrew woos a lady. He bids her to steal her father's money for their wedding. She brings the money; he takes her clothes and sends her home naked. Her father refuses to let her in without the gold; she dies. (Her brothers hunt Andrew down.)

"As I gaze in the starry heaven of blue, I see Orion and his neighbors two; And of all the fixed stars... I see only a few, And none are very new, But as old as time is old." Saturn and its rings are mentioned, as well as the animals in the constellations

Young Bearwell and the mayor's daughter are in love. She learns that false rumors are spread about him, and gives him a ship to flee in. He comes to a foreign court. She grows lonely, and sends for him; her messenger learns of his success abroad

Young Beichan [Child 53]: (112 refs. 4K Notes) {Roud #40}

A young lord is taken prisoner by a foreign king. The king's daughter frees him after receiving a promise that he will wed her in seven years. Seven years later she comes to England to see him being married. When he sees her, he marries her instead

Benjie quarrels with his lover, who vows to seek another. He drowns her. During the night watch over the corpse [lykewake] she reveals to her three brothers who killed her. They ask whether they should behead or hang him. She bids them put out his eyes.

The singer, "Nellie Harrison," is betrayed by "Cubit's" arrow and a handsome young man named Billy Crane. She describes how he courted her then went to sea. She declares she will dress in men's clothes and follow her love

Highlander MacDonald courts Caroline. Her father is opposed: he "swore Macdonnels blood should stain the earth." Caroline, scorned for their relationship, is unhappy. Her heart breaks to leave her parents, but they elope and marry happily.

Chambers's boat, smuggling liquor from St Pierre, is attacked and boarded by the crew of the Lady Clover. The crew are taken to Harbour Breton, tried, and thrown in jail. After four months of bad and meager rations they are released to run grog again.

Pretty Charlotte, going to a dance on a cold night, refuses to dress properly; warm clothes would hide her charms. First she complains of the cold, but then says "I'm growing warmer now." When they arrive at the ball, her escort finds her frozen to death

"Young Collins early in the morning Went whistling through the fields of corn, He spied a milkmaid neat and trim...." He asks, "Will you go along with me now go?" She refuses. He says he has a farm, ewes, lambs, poultry. She marries him

The singer, born in Philadelphia, abandons his family to go to Chicago where he "sinned both night and day." At last he murders a girl and is condemned to die

The singer tells how Conway and two others go to Renfrew and embark on a "Poland Spree." They find themselves in a fight, and eventually everyone turns on Conway. He dies of his injuries late the next day. Many grieve for him

The Queen appoints Essex to command the fleet against Germany. The Emperor, learning who opposes him, would avoid battle, but his son begs for the command. Essex is victorious, and the German prince must be exhibited in London before he is sent home

Young Ellen Loraine: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #13854}

"When I parted from Erin, heart-broken to leave thee, I dreamed not of falsehood, you Ellen Loraine, I thought, though but woman, thou wouldst not deceive me." But she is "faithless." He tells her, Go, false one, and laugh at the heart thou hast broken."

A father sees Ellender with a man. Father would send the man "across the salt sea Where the loud cannons they roar" and confine Ellender on "bread and no water Once a day" She would go with him. A gold ring breaks in two and each takes half. He leaves.

Singer meets Ettie, declares his love, and promises to come back to her when fishing season ends. He returns and she swears she will be his true sweetheart. "A few short weeks after this girl changed her mind." Warning: "don't depend on those fair ones"

Young Farmer's Offer, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #6216}

The singer notes that, at twenty-one, he has come into his father's estate and become a farmer. He has a good bank balance and a cozy home; he asks, "And where's the lass to take my hand And be young Mrs. Armour?"

Elmer Forbest, described as a good Christian man, works five years for John McBean. One day, as the crew is cutting the trees, the wagon holding the logs fails and Forbest is crushed. His comrades bury him and his family mourns

"Amid the Blue Ridge Mountains, there lives a maiden fair," but Freda Bolt becomes pregnant by Buren Harmon. He promises to take her away; instead, he murders her. The singer expects she is in heaven

Leader: "Young gal go round the corner." Group: "My true love gone down the lane." Group: "Wet on the grass where the dew been poured." Group: "Hay, my lady, go down the road, go down the road, go down the road, My true love gone down the lane"

Chantey/worksong: "Young gal, go swing your tail/Swing your tail to the South West gale." "Everybody gather round..." "Boys and children get troubled in mind..." "Everybody get converted..." Refrain: "Young gal, go swing your tail"

Young Hunting [Child 68]: (62 refs. 7K Notes) {Roud #47}

(Young Hunting) goes riding, and meets his love. She bids him come in; he says he cannot, for he must meet another love. She kills him. She is then told (by a bird?) that "he had no love but thee." But all she cares about is hiding the body

"Young Jean lies over the ocean, Young Jean lies over the sea, Young Ann lies just round the corner, Oh what liars these women can be."

Broadsides about James, Duke of Monmouth. "Young Jemmy is a fine lad, That's royally descended, With every virtue clad." "Or, "Brave Monmouth, England's glory, Hated by none but Papist and Tory."

Young Jimmie Drummond: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #2506 and 2157}

The singer is Jimmie Drummond, well known, and quickly handcuffed and led off to jail. After a year he quickly changes his colors. But he will no longer betray his fellows. Whenever police snatch someone for stealing, they will have snatched him alone.

Johnson is accused of forging a bill, or his uncle's will. He is tried, convicted, and sentenced to be hanged. The ladies offer five or ten thousand pounds for his life but the jury cannot free him. At his death he bows and bids his companions farewell.

Young Johnstone [Child 88]: (13 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #56}

Johnstone kills his love's brother, then seeks shelter with (successively his mother, his sister, and) his love. She hides him from his pursuers, whom she feeds while he rests. They leave and she goes to him. He kills her, probably in confusion. He dies.

The singer loves Kate of Kilcummer. He is sure he'd find none other like her. "As the rose to the bee, As the sunshine to summer, So welcome to me Is young Kate of Kilcummer."

A man sees "Young Kate." He is "shivering and shaking" and tells Kitty her kiss will cure him. She is eventually won over by his glib tongue. She says a husband may beat her, destroy all his earnings, or leave her but she agrees to marry anyway.

"Young ladies in town, and those that live 'round, Wear none but your own country linen." Homemade clothes may not be as grand, but it avoids sending money to Britain. The ladies are advised that the young men will love them all the same

"There was a young lady in the bloom of youth, Her age was about sixteen, She's called by death...." Her mother and her friends and her older brother gather to mourn. They take her to her tomb. Hearers are reminded that they too must die.

Young Lady Sat Down to Sleep, A: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7889}

"Here we go round the strawberry bush This cold and frosty morning." A girl sits down to sleep. She wants a boy to wake her. He writes his name and is called to wake her. She will marry him.

The singer notes that everyone wants to roam. One who falls victim to this is boxer Les Darcy, who wants "to fight at the Golden Gate." (He goes to the U.S. and died), leaving his family to mourn.

Nancy loves M'Tyre, her father's servant. Her father plans to transport M'Tyre. She gives him money and he escapes. She tells her father she will only marry M'Tyre. Father says she can call M'Tyre back. They marry and M'Tyre is made a lord.

"He is young and fair and handsome, he's my fancy late and early..." Chorus in Gaelic. Love song to the young MacDonald who was brought up in Glengarry, fought battles, and is now off to Colorado.

Young Maid's Love, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3019}

The singer loves a rich merchant's daughter, but her father arranges for him to be inducted into the navy. His ship wins a great victory at sea, and the prize money makes him rich. He returns home and is allowed to marry the girl

The singer comes to Belfast and meets a girl. They stop for drinks. She takes him "home." He pays the landlady, planning to marry next day. He wakes alone, with no watch, chain, money, coat, or boots. A man throws him out. "Simple country lads," beware.

Young Man from the Country, The: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #25882}

"When I first went to service, a nursemaid's place I took," and a young man from the country keeps company with her. The first time he comes, her master's coat disappears. Then other things. He ends up in Old Bailey. She is fired. She warns of such men

"Once there was a young man who travelled up and down... And they told me there that the wars were o'er." Various workers enter, are described, and declare what they will or won't do "till the wars are o'er."

A lazy young farmer will not hoe his corn, with the result that the corn is choked by weeds and destroyed by frost. When he goes courting, his suit is rejected because he wouldn't hoe his corn

Young Man's Dream, The: (3 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #V15728}

Singer dreams of Granu who says "Relate most true what you did view when you fought for liberty." She shows him "the heroes that have bled for the sake of liberty." St Patrick addresses the crowd: "Your Cross maintain ... It will lead you to paradise"

Young Man's Lamentation, The: (2 refs. 6K Notes) {Roud #6823}

An unconstant lover is worse than a thief." The singer would have married her but "she's not constant to any." "Like a ship on the ocean I am tost too and fro." He hopes wine will make him jolly. "She is mistaken if she think that I'll mourn"

"If I could but attain my wish," the singer would be content with simple joys. "I'll from each folly strive to fly Each virtue to attain I'll try, And live as I would die"

Young Mary from Kilmore: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #2918}

John's father promises him houses and land, and approves of his proposal to Mary. She refuses him: her parents are opposed, or she would rather ramble. He hears that three men from Rosslea would "banish" him from Rosslea. He says "she has deceived me"

Young men court till midnight and "sleep in the barn" when the girls would have them go home. The singer would stay single: "no woman for to bawl and no children to squall, How happy is the young man that's got none at all"

"And now, young man, I s'pose you're mad, But I'm not sorry, I am glad." The singer tells of how hard men work for poor reward -- and "off to meeting they do go On purpose for to make a show." The purpose is to be seen by the girls

A girl sings about Charlie Munro of the Forty-Second Highlanders, whom she loves. She describes his clothes, his appearance ("everything so neat about him," "that handome fellow") If she had an Indian treasure she would give it to the 42nd for his sake.

Young One I Sought, The: (1 ref. 2K Notes) {Roud #15025}

";Tis a pity I came where my name Was unknown in the town, Where no one could tell how so well I had earned renown." If they had, "the young one I sought" would have liked him better. Since he gets no respect, "to Cashel I'm going"

"It was a tall young oysterman lived by the river-side, His shop was just upon the bank, his boat was on the tide." He sees a girl across the river and swims to join her. Her father chases him off. She faints, he cramps, they die and become mermaids

Young Peggy [Child 298]: (5 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #3875}

Young Peggy and Jamie have been seen together. When her parents call him rogue and loon, she vows to rest in his arms forever. The lovers agree to run off in the middle of the night. Her father awakes in the night and pursues, but they are already married

Young People, Take Warning: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #7574}

"Young People all, attention give And hear what I shall say, I wish your soul with Christ to live In everlasting day." The singer warns against the pleasures of the flesh and tells of the dangers of Hell. He reminds them that death is coming

Young Roger of Kildare: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #1606}

"Oh mother, mother dear, May I go to the fair, May I go with young Roger, Young Roger of Kildare." The mother says she may go, "but keep your legs close together." But h "stuffed her up with ice cream and he stuffed her up with cake"

Young Roger of the Mill: (6 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #590}

Roger, a ploughman, courts Nell. She says she prefers to marry a farmer's son. He prepares to leave, saying he has "other fish to fry": Joan loves him. Nell says she has 50 shillings; Joan has none. Roger has 40. They agree to marry and buy a cow.

Young Ronald [Child 304]: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #3914}

Young Ronald loves the king's daughter. She says she can only obey her father's will. The king offers his daughter and great wealth to anyone who can slay a six-headed giant. Ronald slays the giant "wi ae sweep o his hand" and wins the princess

The merchant threatens his daughter's lover with death. She dresses as a sailor to warn him of the danger, and promises to go away with him. Her father meets her and kills her by mistake. He discovers the mistake and kills himself; the lover dies of grief

Young Sea Prentice, The: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #13135}

"I was a young sea-prentice bound, Bound by indenture, And fain I would go seek my love, If I only dared to venture"

"The young she leads with innocence In pleasure's paths to tread, A crown of glory she bestows On every hoary head." The original begins, "How happy are all they who hear true Wisdom's guiding voice."

Young Shepherd (I), The: (7 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #1151}

A shepherd courts "a rich merchant's daughter." Her father shoots the shepherd. She finds him dying. She puts on his hat and plaid and keeps his sheep; "her father shall die For the loss of his daughter and the murder besides"

"To Dartmouth Scientific Halls In olden times there came" a man known as Strongbow, who wishes to learn the "white man's" wisdom. He learns well, but then comes a conflict between Indians and Whites. The pronouns in the final verses are confusing

Susan joins the Royal Navy to follow Willie "where he was called And face his mortal enemies on board of a man o' war." She is slightly wounded by cannon fire. He goes to help and she reveals herself. They are married when they reach England.

"I am a young teetotaller, And though but six year old, Within my heart there beats A heart as true as gold." The child's mother, father, siblings "All to their pledge keep true." Even their pets reject liquor. Rejecting liquor brings happiness

"Young Tom he was a farmer's son and he lived way down in Devon"; he "had a light" for many girls but loved "sweet young mistress Nancy." She "proved proud and haughty" so he marries a rich widow. If you can't marry for love, marry for money

"I am a young virgin just come on board...." The prosperous, available girl is courted by various suitors. Merchant, doctor, apothecary, etc. offer their skills to gain her hand; she rejects each. She gives her love to a sailor.

"Our flag is unfurled and our arms flash bright, As the sun wades up the sky." The new soldier bids his sweetheart goodbye. He offers "three cheers for that flag and our country too, And the girls we leave behind."

"From the wilds of the North comes the young voyageur." His canoe is laden with furs, and there's a song on his lips. Ch.: "Gladsome and free, little cares he, For there's joy in the heart of the young voyageur." That's it.

Young Waters [Child 94]: (8 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #2860}

Because the queen has admitted that Young Waters has the fairest face of all the lords and lairds and knights she's seen, the king has him beheaded.

French: "Youpe! Youpe! sur la riviere, Vous ne m'entendez guere." The singer and Francois call upon Gauthier; they visit his girlfriend Delima. She rejects him as untrue; "You tell your little Jeremie the same things." The friends leave uproariously

Allegory about racial conflict: dogs of different colors get along and love one another. "I'm talkin 'bout a coon dog, and I'm talkin' 'bout a rabbit dog." "All them dogs, all them dogs." "You and me, gonna be so happy, sit under the apple tree."

Chorus: "Love is the way (x2), Is the way to get to Heaven, By faith and humble prayer." Verse: "Dear sister (brother, father, ...), Your feet strike Zion, The lamps are lighted on you, I bid old hell a long farewell"

Your Fingers Are Nimble: (2 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #7157}

Jack says to Jeannie: the ewes are not free so you'd better milk me. Jeannie: I never milked a ram; I won't "for fear of a lamb" until we are married when I'd milk you dry. When they marry he pleases her so well but she can't milk him dry.

"We've watched you playing cricket And every kind of game. You men have made your name, But now your country calls you To play your part in war." "Oh! we don't want to lose you but we think you ought to go For your King and your Country both need you so"

Singer tells loved one that they must now part; the singer is torn with grief, but they will eventually "walk hand in hand/As one in heaven in the family of God." Cho: "Oh my darling, my darling/My heart breaks as you take your long journey"

"If you cannot on the ocean Sail among the swiftest fleet... You can stand among the sailors... You can lend a hand to help them, As they launch their boats away." Other examples of how, even if one cannot do great things, one can help those who do

"Your spooning days are over, Your pilot light is out, What used to be your sex appeal Is now your water spout." Body parts that once were over-enthusiastic now cannot perform

Pat meets John Bull in London and mentions Robert Emmet. John Bull reminds Pat of English victories over Russians, Zulus, and Napoleon. Rather than challenging English control of, or leaving, Ireland, says John Bull, Pat should stay home and be contented.

Molly agrees to marry Willie if her father consents. Willie asks the father for a "yowe lamb" to start a flock. Her father consents and tells Willie to "choose a yowe lamb." Willie chooses Molly. Her father is upset by the trick, but allows the match

"As I cam in by Ythanside, Where swiftly flows the rolling tide, A fair young maid passed by my side." They go to her home, and talk till very late. Man and girl kiss; he promises to return, at which time she will give him her hand. They marry

Conductor asks the singer where he wants to go; he replies "Yuba Dam." Conductor beats him up. His wife scolds him, asks, "Where'd you get that load?" "Yuba Dam!" After more such troubles, he opines that "the town of Yuba Dam has no right on the map"

"Zaccheus climbed the sycamo' tree, Few days, few days! Zaccheus climbed the sycamo' tree, Few days, get along home. Oh, he's way up yondeh...." "Zaccheus climbed his lord fo' to see."

Zack, the Mormon Engineer: (9 refs. <1K Notes) {Roud #4761}

Zack, the Mormon engineer, has a wife in every town along the D&RG, and so refuses to change lines.

Zeb Tourney's Girl [Laws E18]: (13 refs. 2K Notes) {Roud #2249}

Dan Kelly thinks often of Zeb Tourney's daughter, even though his family is feuding with hers. Kelly keeps a promise made to his father by killing all the male Tourneys, but then brings home Zeb's daughter, whom he loves

Zebra Dun, The [Laws B16]: (21 refs. 1K Notes) {Roud #3237}

A new man joins the cowboys, and proves expert on many things. The cowboys think he must be a greenhorn, and allow him to take on the wild Zebra Dun. To their surprise, he controls the horse and receives a job. Not all educated people are greenhorns...

"Zek'l weep, Zek'l moan, Flesh come a-creepin' off o' Zek'l bones... I know you goin' to miss me when I'm gone." "Star in the east, star in the west, Wish that star was on my breast" "Hush little baby don't you cry, Know that your mother was born to die"

Zintie Tintie Tetherie Metherrie: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #20694}

"Zintie tintie tetherie meterie, Bamferie oorie over dover Dicky dell on tan toosh"

"Zion Road too long." (2x) "Too long, too long, Zion Road too long"

"There's a land far away in the west, A place by God assigned, 'Tis there the weary Saint can rest, Or a stranger safety find." Zion will be the source of law and salvation "And there is a home for an honest man."

Chorus: "Zion weep low (x3), Then Hallelujah to the Lamb." Verses: An angel gives the singer victory palms and a golden crown. Zion weeps for sinners hunted by Satan. The singer tells "what a dolesome road" you go to reach heaven.

Zion's Sons and Daughters: (1 ref. <1K Notes) {Roud #16373}

"See the fountain opened wide That from sinning frees us, Flowing from the wounded side Of our Immanuel Jesus." Those who thirst are called; Jesus gives freely to the dying; the woman at the well is given a warming drink; the thief forgiven

"Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, zip-a-dee-ay, My, oh, my, what a wonderful day, Plenty of sunshine headin' my way, Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, zip-a-dee-ay!" There is a bluebird on the singer's shoulder.

"Oh, thunder and lightning it's no lark When Dublin city is in the dark. If you've any money go up to the Park and view the Zoological gardens." The singer describes the odd behavior of the animals, often with a sexual subtext

"Thou lov'st another, Zula, Thou lovest him alone. Thine eyes confess it, Zula...." The singer asks if the other man will love Zula as well as he himself does. He bids her farewell, asks her to remember him, and hints she will regret her choice

"I-kama zimba zimba zayo I-kama zimba zimba zee (x2). See him there, the Zulu warrior, See him there, the Zulu chief, chief, chief."

Hebrew. "Zum, gali-gali-gali, Zum gali-gali, Zum, gali-gali-gali, Zum gali-gali. Hechalutz le'man avodah; Avodah le'man hechalutz. Hechalutz le'man avodah; Avodah le'man hechalutz." People can succeed if they work together

A nice girl gave Zutula bitter casava to eat and he died

German. "Es war einmal zwei Bauersohn, Die hatten lust in feld zu ziehn." Two brothers go to war, then come home with money. They ask to stay at the inn. The wife suggests they kill one of them. They learn it is their son. The inkeepers commit suicide

The Traditional Ballad Index Version 6.6