Barbara Allen- Pritchard (NC) 1924 Chappell
[My title. From Folk Songs of the Roanoke and Albemarle; Louis Chappell, 1939.
R. Matteson 2015]
Barbara Allen- sung by Henry Pritchard, Weeksville, NC; 1924.
At last Young Jimmie was taken sick,
And sent for Barbara Allen;
Saying, One sweet kiss from your red rosy lips
Witt save me from my dying.
O don't you remember, young man, said she,
When you were at the tavern drinking?
You made the health go round and round,
But slighted Barbara Allen.
He turned his Pale face to the wall,
For death was with him a-dealing:
Adieu, adieu, my dear friends all,
Be kind to Barbara Allen.
Sweet Jimmie was buried in the old churchyard,
And Barbara by the side of him;
There sprang a red rose from Sweet William's[1] grave,
And a briar from Barbara Allen's.
They grew, they grew to the steeple's top,
They could not grow any higher;
They linked and tied in a true-love knot
For all young people to admire.
1. Sweet Jimmie's (to be consistent)