52 Folk Songs: Blue

by Phil Edwards

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1.
03:26
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2.
04:05
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3.
03:53
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4.
07:18
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5.
05:00
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6.
02:06
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7.
04:58
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8.
03:46
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9.
03:06
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10.
05:03
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11.
06:01
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12.
02:59
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13.
03:32
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14.
06:05
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15.
03:24
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16.
03:54
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17.
05:41
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about

78 minutes of music including album-only bonus track La Belle Dame Sans Merci (John Keats / copland smith), as well as full lyrics, notes and artwork.

credits

released 19 January 2012
Phil Edwards: vocals, flute, recorder, whistles (D and G), melodica, zither, concertina, drums

tags

tags: english traditional folk knitted traditional Manchester

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Track Name: Sir Patrick Spens (1)
The King sits in Dunfermline town
Drinking the blood red wine,
And it's "Where can I get me a fine mariner
To sail seven ships of mine?"
Then up spoke a fine young man
Sat at the King's right knee,
"Sir Patrick Spens is the finest sailor
That ever sailed upon the sea."

So the King has written a broad letter
And signed it with his own right hand,
And he's sent it to Sir Patrick Spens
Walking on Leith strand.
And the very first line Sir Patrick read,
A loud loud laugh gave he
And the very last line Sir Patrick read,
The salt tears filled his eye.

"O who is he has done this deed
And told the King of me?
For never was I a fine mariner
Nor ever do intend to be.
O who is he has done this deed,
This ill deed done to me?
To send me out his time of year
To sail all on the sea.

"But rise up, rise up, my merry men all,
Our ship she sails in the morn
Whether it's windy, whether it's fair,
Whether there's hail and storm,
Late yest'reen I saw the new moon
With the old moon in her arms,
And I fear, I fear a deadly storm
Our ship she'll come to harm."

They hadn't been sailing a league, a league,
Leagues but barely three,
When cold and watery blew the winds
And grumly grew the sea.
They hadn't been sailing a league, a league,
Leagues but barely nine,
When the wind and the wet and the sleet and snow
Came blowing up behind.

"O where can I find me a little cabin boy
To take the helm in hand
While I climb up to the topmast high
To see if I can't spy land?"
"Come down, come down, Sir Patrick Spens!
We fear that we all must die.
For in and out of the good ship's hull
The wind and the ocean fly."

And the very first step that he took upon the deck
The water it came to his knee
And the very last step that he took upon the deck
They drowned they were in the sea
And many was the fine feather bed
That floated all on the foam
And many was the little lord's son
That never never more came home

And it's long, long may their ladies sit
With their fans all in their hands
Before they see Sir Patrick Spens
Come sailing along Leith strand
For it's fifty miles to Aberdeen shore
It's fifty fathoms deep
And there does lie Sir Patrick Spens
With the little lords at his feet.
Track Name: The outlandish knight (1)
An outlandish knight came from the northlands
And he's courted a lady fair
He said he would take me to those northern lands
And there he would marry her.

'O fetch me some of your father's gold,
And some of your mother's fee,
And two of the best horses from out of the stable
Where there stand thirty and three.'

She fetched him some of her father's gold,
And some of her mother's fee,
And two of the best horses from out of the stable
Where there stood thirty and three.

She mounted on her milkwhite steed
And he on the dapple grey,
They rode till they came to the northern shore
Three hours before it was day.

'Light off, light off your milk white steed
Tether it to yonder tree
For six pretty maidens have I drowned here
And the seventh will surely be thee.

'And take off, take off your silken robes,
And deliver them unto me,
For I do think that they are too fine
To rot all in the salt sea.

'And take off, take off your fine Holland smock,
And deliver it unto me,
For I do think that it is too fine
To rot all in the salt sea.'

'If I must take off my fine Holland smock
Then turn your back on me,
For it is not fitting for such a rogue
A naked woman to see.'

He's turned his back all on that maid
And looked at the leaves so green
She's taken him by the middle so small,
And tumbled him into the stream.

Sometimes he sank, sometimes he swam,
Until he came to the side.
'Catch hold of my hand, my fair pretty maid
And then I will make you my bride.'

'Lie there, lie there, you false-hearted man,
Lie there instead of me,
For six pretty maidens hast thou drowned here
And the seventh has drowned thee.'

She mounted on her lilywhite horse,
She's led the dapple grey,
She rode till she came to her father's hall
Three hours before it was day.

Now the parrot being in the window so high,
Hearing the lady, he did say:
'I feared that some ruffian had led you astray,
You tarried so long away.'

The king being in the bedroom so high,
Hearing the parrot did say,
'What ails thee, what ails thee, my pretty Polly,
You're prattling so long before day?'

'Don't prittle, don't prattle, my pretty Polly,
Tell no tales of me,
And your cage shall be all of the glittering gold,
Though now it is made of a tree.'

'It's no laughing matter,' the parrot did say,
'So loudly I call upon thee,
For the cats have got into my bedroom so high
And I fear they're the death of me.'

'Well turned, well turned, my pretty Polly,
Well turned, well turned for me.
Your cage shall be all of the glittering gold
And the spokes of the best ivory.'
Track Name: True Thomas
True Thomas lay on Huntlie bank
He spied a wonder with his eye
For there he saw a lady bright
Come riding down by the Eildon tree

Her skirt was of the grass green silk
Her mantle of the velvet fine
At every lock of her horse's mane
Hung fifty silver bells and nine

True Thomas he pulled off his cap
And bowed low down on his knee
"All hail thou mighty queen of heaven
For your like on earth I never did see"

"O no, o no, Thomas" she said
"That name does not belong to me
I am but the queen of fair Elfland
That here am come to visit thee

"Harp and carp, Thomas," she said
"Harp and carp along with me
But if ye dare to kiss my lips
Sure of your body I will be"

"Betide me weal, betide me woe
That fate shall never daunton me"
And he has kissed her rosy lips
All underneath the Eildon tree.

"Now you must go with me she said
"True Thomas, you must go with me;
And you must serve me seven years
Through weal or woe as chance may be"

She's mounted on her milk white steed
She's drawn true Thomas up behind
And every time her bridle rung
The steed flew swifter than the wind

O they rode on, and they rode on
They waded rivers to the knee
And they saw neither sun nor moon
But heard the roaring of the sea

It was dark, dark night with no starlight
They waded red blood to the knee
For all the blood that's shed in this world
Runs in the springs of that country

Then they came to a garden green
She pulled an apple from a tree
"Take this and eat, Thomas," she said,
"'Twill give you a tongue that cannot lie"

"My tongue's my own," true Thomas said
A goodly gift you'd give to me
I'd never dare to buy nor sell
At fair or tryst where I may be."

"Now hold your tongue," the lady said
"For as I say, so must it be.
But bide ye here a little space
And I will show you wonders three

"O see ye now yon narrow road
So thick beset with thorns and briers
That is the road of righteousness
Though after it but few enquire.

"And see ye now that broad road
That lies across the lily leven
That is the path of wickedness
Though some call it the road to heaven

"And see ye now that bonny road
That winds across the fernie brae
That is the road to fair Elfland
Where you and I this night must go.

"But hold your tongue, Thomas," she said,
"Whatever you may hear or see
For, speak a word in Elfin land
And you'll ne'er return to your own country."

He's got a coat of the even cloth
And a pair of shoes of velvet green
And till seven years were gone and past
True Thomas on earth was never seen.
Track Name: The keys to the forest
I live alone in old Carntyne
Where sorrow fills the bars
I walk beside the Firth of Clyde
In winter's lonely hours.

In winter walks I still recall
The love that I let go
I close the door and love no more
I watch the swollen tide flow

- She gave me the keys to the forest,
The keys to the forest,
And then,
She gave me the keys to the forest,
And then the forest was mine.

I met her on the edge of town
Her hand was in her hair
She smiled at me so dangerously
Resistance was laid bare.

I laid her in a wooded glen
Where good men disappear
Her willing hand caressed the land
She left me lying there

- She gave me the keys to the forest...

The forest filled my heart with fear
As I lay there alone
I saw the names of unknown men
Carved in the shining stone

I fell apart in stinging rain
Cold fingers tore at my mind
Inhuman force possessed my source
And left me dumb and blind

- She gave me the keys to the forest...

Yea though I lie in ghostly latrines
My hand in another man's piss
My face is wet on shining stone
I still can feel her kiss

And now the pictures on my wall
Display no sign of life
The branches bare, the dead man's stare
And dried blood on the leaf
Track Name: Little Musgrave
A holiday, a holiday
The first of all the year
Musgrave to the church did go
To see fair ladies there

And some came down in red velvet
And some came down in pall
And the last to come down was the lady Barnard
The fairest of them all

"Good day to you, young man," she said,
"God keep you safe and free.
What would you give this day, Musgrave,
To spend one night with me?"

"I dare not for my lands, lady
I dare not for my life
For the ring on your white finger tells me
You are Lord Barnard’s wife."

"Lord Barnard he’s to the hunting gone
And I hope he’ll never return
And you shall creep into his bed
And keep his lady warm.

"There nothing is to fear, Musgrave,
You nothing have to fear
I’ll set a page by my chamber door
To see that none comes near."

But the page, he was Lord Barnard's man
And there he would not bide
And he was away to the green wood
As fast as he could ride

And when he came to the wide water
He fell on his belly and swam
And when he came to the other side
He took to his heels and ran

And when he came to the green wood
The night was dark and deep
And he found Lord Barnard and his men
Asleep beneath a tree

"Rise up, rise up, master," he said
"Rise up most speedily,
Your wife’s in bed with another man
Rise up and follow me!"

"Now if this be true that you tell to me
Then gold shall be your fee
And if it be false that you tell to me
Then hanged you shall be."

"Go saddle me the black," he said
Go saddle me the bay
And sound not the horn as we ride along
Lest our coming it betray."

Now there was a man in Lord Barnard’s train
Who loved the little Musgrave
And he blew his horn both loud and shrill
"Away, Musgrave, away!"

"I think I hear the morning cock
I think I hear the jay
I think I hear Lord Barnard’s men:
Away, Musgrave, away!"

"Lie still, lie still, little Musgrave
Keep me from the cold
It’s nothing but a shepherd boy
Driving his flock to the fold.

"Is not your hawk upon its perch
Your steed is eating hay
And you with a gay lady in your arms
And yet you would away?"

So he’s turned him three times round about
Till he fell fast asleep
And when he awoke Lord Barnard’s men
Were standing at his feet

And it's "How do you like my bed, Musgrave?
How do you like my sheets?
And how do you like my false lady
That lies in your arms asleep?"

"Right well I like your bed," he said,
"And well I like your sheets
But better I like your fair lady
That lies in my arms asleep."

"Get up, get up young man," he said,
"As swiftly as you can
For it never will be said in my country
I slew a naked man."

"I have two swords in one scabbard
Dear they cost my purse
And you shall have the best of them
I shall have the worst."

Now the first blow that little Musgrave struck
The wound was deep and sore
But the first blow that little Musgrave took
He fell and he never rose more

"And how do you like his cheeks, lady
And how do you like his chin
And how do you like his fair young body
Now there’s no life within?"

"It’s well I like his cheeks," she said,
"And well I like his chin
And better I like his fair body
Than all your kith and kin."

He took his sword all in his hand
The edge was keen and smart
He struck his lady a mortal blow
And pierced her through the heart

"O I have slain the finest knight
That ever strode a steed
And I have slain the fairest lady
That ever did a woman's deed."

He set his sword all to the ground
The point to his chest
"Here's three souls to heaven bound,
Pray that they find rest."
Track Name: Shady Grove
Peaches in the summertime,
Apples in the fall
If I can't have the girl I love
I won't have none at all.

Shady Grove, my little love,
Shady Grove, I know,
Shady Grove, my little love,
I'm bound for Shady Grove.

Cheeks as red as the blooming rose
Hair of the prettiest brown
She's the darling of my heart,
The prettiest girl in town.

Wish I had a fine big horse
Corn to feed him on
And Shady Grove to stay at home
And feed him while I'm gone.

Used to have a zither of gold,
Strung with golden twine
The only tune that zither would play
Was I wish that girl were mine.

When I was a little boy
I wanted a whittling knife
Now I just want Shady Grove
To love me and be my wife.

Went to see my Shady Grove,
She was standing at the door,
Shoes and stockings in her hand,
Little bare feet on the floor.

Peaches in the summertime,
Apples in the fall
If I can't have the girl I love
I won't have none at all.

Shady Grove, my little love,
Shady Grove my darlin',
Shady Grove, my little love,
I'm going back to Harlan.
Track Name: The bonny hind
It's May she comes and May she goes down by the garden green
And there she's spied as fine a squire as e'er her eyes had seen
It's May she comes and May she goes down by that hollin tree
And it's there she's spied the finest squire that e'er her eyes did see

"Come give to me your green mantle, give to me your maidenhead
If you won't give me your green mantle, give me your maidenhead."
He's taken her by the milk-white hand and gently laid her down
And when he raised her up again he's given her a silver comb

"Perhaps there may be bairns, kind sir, perhaps there may be none.
But if you be a courtier, pray tell to me your name"
"Oh I am no courtier," he said, "but lately come from sea,
No, I am no courtier," he said, "save when I courted thee.

"They call me Jack when I'm abroad, sometimes they call me John
But when I'm in my father's hall, Jock Randal is my name."
"You lie, you lie, you false young man, so loud I hear you lie,
For I am Lord Randal's only daughter, he has no one but I."
"You lie, you lie, you bonny maid, so loud I hear you lie
For I am Lord Randal's only son, he has no one but I."

Then she has reached into her gown and out she's taken a knife
She's thrust it in in her own heart's blood and taken away her life
He's taken up his bonny sister with a salt tear in his eye
And he has buried his own sister beneath the hollin tree

Then he has hied him o'er the dale, his father dear to see
Crying "O, sing O for my bonny hind beneath that hollin tree!"
"What care you for your bonny hind? For it you need not care,
For there's aught score hinds in yonder paddock, and five score of them to spare.

"Four score of them are silver-shod, of them you may take three."
"But O, sing O for my bonny hind beneath that hollin tree!"
"What care you for your bonny hind? For it you need not care,
Take you the best, leave me the rest, for it's plenty I've to spare."

"I care not for your hinds, father, I care not for your fee.
But O, sing O for my bonny hind beneath that hollin tree!"
"If you were at your sister's bower, your sister fair to see
Then you'd care no more for your bonny hind beneath that hollin tree."
Track Name: George Collins
George Collins walked out on a May morning
When May was all in bloom;
There he espied a fair pretty maid
Washing her marble stone.

O she's whooped and she's hollered, she's highered her voice,
Held up her lily-white hands,
“Come hither to me, George Collins,” she said,
“Your life shall not last you long.”

He set his foot on the broad water strand,
O'er the lea sprung he;
He embraced her round the middle so small,
Kissed her red ruby cheeks.

George Collins rode home to his father's own gate,
Crying, “Mother, make my bed,
And I will trouble my dear sister
For a napkin to tie round my head.

"And if I should chance to die this night
As I do think that I shall,
Bury me under the marble stone
That stands by fair Eleanor's wall.”

Fair Eleanor sat in her room so fine
Working a silken skein.
She saw the finest corpse a-coming
That ever the sun shone on.

She called unto her Irish maid,
“Whose corpse is this so fine?”
“That is George Collins's corpse a-coming,
That once was a true love of thine.”

“Come lower him down, my six pretty lads,
And open the coffin so fine
That I might kiss those lily-white lips;
Ten thousand times they have kissed mine.

"And go you upstairs and fetch me the sheet
That's sewn with the silken twine.
Hang it over George Collins's face,
Tomorrow it'll hang over mine.”

The news was carried to fair London town,
Wrote upon London's gate:
Six pretty maids died all in one night,
And all for George Collins's sake.
Track Name: Sir Patrick Spens (2)
The King sits in Dunfermline town,
Drinking at the wine
And he has called for the finest skipper
In Fife or all the land.

Then up and spoke an old man
Sat at the King's right knee:
"Sir Patrick Spens is the finest sailor
That ever sailed the sea."

The King has written a broad letter,
And sealed it with his hand,
And sent it to Sir Patrick Spens,
Walking on Leith strand.

"To Norrowa, to Norrowa,
To Norrowa o'er the foam;
The King's own daughter of Norowa,
'Tis you shall bring her home."

They had not been in Norrowa
Weeks but barely three
When all the lords of Norrowa
Began to speak so free

They said, "These outland Scots drink our good King's gold,
They swallow our Queen's fee."
Now woe be to the tongue that told
Such a fearful lie.

"Now how can this be?" said Sir Patrick Spens,
"I pray you, tell it unto me,
When the bows of our ship are wrought in gold,
And we've ten chests of bright money.

"But take heed, take heed, my good men all,
Mind that you be forewarned,
For cometh wind or cometh hail
Our ship, she sails in the morn."

Then up there spoke a weatherman,
Saying "I fear we shall all be drowned,
For late yest'reen I saw the new moon
With the old moon in her arms."

They had not sailed a league, a league,
A league but barely one,
When the bows of that good ship did crack
And the salt sea did rush in.

And loth, loth were those good Scots lords
To wet their cork-heeled shoes
But before the race was halfway run
They'd wet their hats also.

And many was the feather-bed
That fluttered on the foam;
And many was the good lord's son
That never more came home.

And it's long, long may the ladies sit
With their fans all in their hands
Before they see young Sir Patrick Spens
Come sailing along Leith strand.

Half ower, half ower to Aberdour,
Where the seas do run so deep,
'Tis there does lie young Sir Patrick Spens,
With the Scots lords at his feet.
Track Name: The outlandish knight (2)
An outlandish knight came from the northlands
And he's courted a lady fair
He said he would take me to those northern lands
And there he would marry her.

'O fetch me some of your father's gold,
And some of your mother's fee,
And two of the best horses from out of the stable
Where there stand thirty and three.'

She fetched him some of her father's gold,
And some of her mother's fee,
And two of the best horses from out of the stable
Where there stood thirty and three.

She mounted on her milkwhite steed
And he on the dapple grey,
They rode till they came to the northern shore
Three hours before it was day.

'Light off, light off your milk white steed
Tether it to yonder tree
For six pretty maidens have I drowned here
And the seventh will surely be thee.

'And take off, take off your silken robes,
And deliver them unto me,
For I do think that they are too fine
To rot all in the salt sea.

'And take off, take off your fine Holland smock,
And deliver it unto me,
For I do think that it is too fine
To rot all in the salt sea.'

'If I must take off my fine Holland smock
Then turn your back on me,
For it is not fitting for such a rogue
A naked woman to see.'

He's turned his back all on that maid
And looked at the leaves so green
She's taken him by the middle so small,
And tumbled him into the stream.

Sometimes he sank, sometimes he swam,
Until he came to the side.
'Catch hold of my hand, my fair pretty maid
And then I will make you my bride.'

'Lie there, lie there, you false-hearted man,
Lie there instead of me,
For six pretty maidens hast thou drowned here
And the seventh has drowned thee.'

She mounted on her lilywhite horse,
She's led the dapple grey,
She rode till she came to her father's hall
Three hours before it was day.

Now the parrot being in the window so high,
Hearing the lady, he did say:
'I feared that some ruffian had led you astray,
You tarried so long away.'

The king being in the bedroom so high,
Hearing the parrot did say,
'What ails thee, what ails thee, my pretty Polly,
You're prattling so long before day?'

'Don't prittle, don't prattle, my pretty Polly,
Tell no tales of me,
And your cage shall be all of the glittering gold,
Though now it is made of a tree.'

'It's no laughing matter,' the parrot did say,
'So loudly I call upon thee,
For the cats have got into my bedroom so high
And I fear they're the death of me.'

'Well turned, well turned, my pretty Polly,
Well turned, well turned for me.
Your cage shall be all of the glittering gold
And the spokes of the best ivory.'
Track Name: Sheath and knife
It is whispered in the kitchen and it's whispered in the hall,
- And the broom blooms bonny, and the broom blooms fair
That the king's daughter goes with a child to her brother
- And they never will go down to the broom any more.

He has taken his sister to their father's deer park
With a yew-tree bow and arrow slung across his back

“O when that you do hear me give a loud cry,
Shoot from your bow an arrow, and there let me lie.

“And when that you do see that I am lying dead,
Then dig for me a grave, put a turf at my head."

And when that he did hear her give that loud cry
A silver arrow from his bow he suddenly let fly

Then he has dug a grave both long, wide and deep,
And he's buried his own sister with her child at her feet

And when he has returned to his father's own hall,
There was music, there was dancing all among the ladies all

“Oh Willie, oh Willie, what is it gives you such pain?”
“I have lost a sheath and knife that I'll never see again."

“There are ships of your father's sailing on the sea,
That'll bring as good a sheath and knife unto thee."

“There are ships of my father's sailing on the sea,
But such a sheath and knife they will never bring to me."
Track Name: Tom the Barber
As I looked over the castle wall
To see what I could see,
There I saw my father's ship
Come a-sailing home to me.

"What's the matter, my daughter Jane,
That you look so pale and wan,
Have you had some sore sickness
Or been lying with some young man?""

"Oh, I've had no sore sickness
Nor lain with any young man,
But I have a grief all to my heart
That you bide so long at sea."

Then she took off her gown of green,
She's hanged it against the wall.
Her apron strings they would not tie
She was three quarters gone.

"Is it to a noble gentleman
Or to one of high degree?
Or is it to one of them jolly tars
That sailed in along of me?"

"It is to no noble gentleman
Nor to one of high degree;
But it is to Tom the Barber bold
Who sailed in along of thee."

The king's called for his merry men,
By one, by two, by three,
And Tom the Barber that used to come first,
The last come in was he.

In came Tom the Barber bold,
He was dressed all in silk.
His eyes did shine like morning sun,
His skin was like the milk.

"Will you marry my daughter Jane?
Will you take her by the hand?
Will you prove a father unto that child,
And be heir to all my land?"

"Yes, I'll marry your daughter Jane,
I'll take her by the hand.
I'll prove a father unto that child,
But I value not your land.

"For I have gold and silver store,
I've houses and I've land.
If it were not for your daughter Jane,
I'd never have been your man."
Track Name: John from the Isle of Man
There was a lady lived in the west and she was dressed in green
And she leaned over her father's castle wall for to see the ships sail in
What is wrong with you her father did say, you look so pale and wan
For you must have some sore sickness or have lain with some young man
Oh I have had no sore sickness but I'm in love with a young man
And the only thing that breaks my heart is what keeps him away so long

Is he a lord or a squire or a duke or a man of noted fame
Or is he young John from the Isle of Man that ploughs the raging main?
He is neither a lord, a squire or a duke or a man of noted fame
But he is young John from the Isle of Man that ploughs the raging main

Then call him down, the salt sea clown, and bring him here to me
If he's thinking to gain my daughter's hand he must leave this country
Oh father dear don't be severe or be cruel unto me
If you send away young John Barlow, you will get no good of me

Then the king he called in his merry, merry men and he called them by one two and three
And instead of young John being the very first man, the very last one was he
He entered the room young John Barlow and the clothing he wore was silk
And his two blue eyes like the morning star, and his skin as white as milk

I think it is no wonder, the king did say, my daughter's in love with thee
For if I was a woman as I am a man, my bedmate you would be
Will you wed my daughter? he said, will you take her by the hand?
And you shall dine at my table and be master over all my land

I will wed your daughter, he said, but she's no match for me
For every pound that she counts down, I can count thirty three
Now fill your glasses to the brim, drink a health to your country
Drink a health to young John from the Isle of Man and to his lady Winsbally
Track Name: Jamie Douglas
Oh, waly, waly up the bank and waly, waly down the brae,
And waly by the riverside where my true love and I would go.
I was a lady of renown that lived all in the North country;
I was a lady of high renown when Jamie Douglas courted me.

And when we came to Glasgow town, it was a comely sight to see,
My lord was dressed in velvet green and I myself in cramosie.
And when my eldest son was born and set upon his nurse's knee,
I was the happiest woman born and Jamie Douglas, he loved me.

There came a man into our house and Jamie Lockhart was his name
And it was told unto my lord that I did lie in bed with him.
There came another to our house and he was no good friend to me;
He put Jamie's shoes beneath my bed and bade my good lord come and see.

And when my lord came to my room this great falsehood for to see,
He turned him round all with a scowl and there he took his leave of me
"Farewell, farewell, my lady fair! Farewell, farewell, once dear to me!
Farewell, farewell, my lady fair! With me you never more shall be."

“Come down the stairs now Jamie Douglas, come down awhile and dine with me,
I'll set you on a chair of gold and serve you kindly on my knee.”
“When cockleshells turn silver bells and fishes fly from tree to tree,
When frost and snow turn fire to burn it's then I'll come and dine with thee.”

Oh woe be unto thee, Blackwood, I vow an ill death may you die,
You were the first and the foremost man that parted my good lord and I.
And when my father came to know that my lord had forsaken me,
He sent fifty of his brisk dragoons to fetch me home to my own country.

Farewell, farewell now Jamie Douglas! Farewell, forever dear to me!
Farewell, farewell now Jamie Douglas! Look to the babes I bore to thee.
You think that I am like yourself and lie with each one that I see,
But I do swear by Heavens high, I never loved a man but thee.

Oh, waly, waly up the bank and waly, waly down the brae,
And waly by the riverside where my true love and I would go.
O waly, waly, love is bonny a little while when first it's new,
But love grows old and waxes cold and fades away like morning dew.
Track Name: The leaves in the woodland
O the grass in the meadow, the reeds by the mere,
The sad boom of the bittern is all that I hear.
And the leaves in the woodland and the gulls by the shore cry
“You never shall sit by your loved ones no more.”

When I was a young girl the world did seem gay,
But these cruel hard times do drive comfort away.
And the leaves in the woodland and the gulls by the shore cry
“You never shall dance with your sweetheart no more.”

Once I gathered wild flowers in the sweet countryside,
But my garlands have withered, my posies have died.
And the leaves in the woodland and the gulls by the shore cry
“You never shall lie by your husband no more.”

Once I went a-courting, but now my man's gone,
Once I was a mother, but now I'm alone.
And the leaves in the woodland and the gulls by the shore cry
“You never shall walk with your menfolk no more.”

Come all you young women that's free from all care,
Don't you never get married, all sorrows lies there.
And the leaves in the woodland and the gulls by the shore cry
“The heart that is given no man can restore.”

Now the fields are all empty, the hedgerows are bare,
Only wild desolation is all I find there.
I'll go down to the river and I'll ease all my pain
And who knows but I might see my dear ones again,
Who knows but I might see my dear ones again.
Track Name: This is the ballad of Sir Patrick Spens
O the King sat in Dunfermline town,
And in Dunfermline town sat he.
In the King's great hall, on the King's high throne
(Very much where you would expect a king to be)
And that's enough information for now.
Sell the horse, you can saddle the cow!
Fol-de-rol-de-riddle and too-ra-loo
This is the ballad of Sir Patrick Spens
And tonight I intend to sing it all the way through.

O the King was drinking the blood-red wine,
For the colour of the wine that the King preferred was red.
And the King put down his blood-red wine
And the King turned to his lords and this he said -
I'll tell you what he said in a minute or two.
Turn your money when the moon is new!
Fol-de-rol-de-riddle and too-ra-lee
This is the ballad of Sir Patrick Spens
And we should get finished around a quarter to three.

O the King turned to his lords and he said,
"Find me a mariner who can sail the sea.
Not a mariner who hunts, or makes little wooden toys -
Those kinds of mariner are no good to me,
For it's sailing a ship that I've got in mind."
Knock them dead and you can rob them blind!
Fol-de-rol-de-riddle and too-ra-loo
This is the ballad of Sir Patrick Spens
And if you liked that bit you're going to love verse 22.

"O Sir Patrick Spens is the man that you want,"
Said a little lord sitting at the King's right knee,
By the King's high throne, in the King's great hall,
In Dunfermline, as we've established previously.
I hope you're keeping up with the story so far.
Never trust a man with a big cigar!
Fol-de-rol-de-riddle and row-tow-tow
This is the ballad of Sir Patrick Spens
And it should start hotting up any time now.

So the King has written a letter so broad
(He preferred that to a letter that was long)
And he's sent it to Sir Patrick Spens
Who, as you may remember, is the hero of this song
And he'll be coming in after the next refrain.
One man's loss is another man's gain!
Fol-de-rol and rickety-tickety-tin
This is the ballad of Sir Patrick Spens
And if it goes well I might just do Tam Lin.

O Sir Patrick Spens was walking on the strand
When a messenger came with a letter from the King.
"O why has the King sent this letter to me?
For I'm something of a novice at the whole ship-sailing thing.
Still, the orders of the King must be obeyed."
Never count the profits till the bills are paid!
Fol-de-rol-de-riddle and hi-de-ho
This is the ballad of Sir Patrick Spens
And I think we all know how this one's going to go.

O Sir Patrick Spens and all his men drowned
While they were doing as the King proposed.
I know there's more to say - I've left a lot of bits out -
But I wanted to get through this song before the bar closed.
So that's all I'm going to say about Sir Patrick Spens.
Never say 'whither' when you mean to say whence'!
Fol-de-rol-de-riddle and roll them bones
That was the ballad of Sir Patrick Spens -

And if you want to hear it done properly, try Nic Jones.