British Young Waterman- Hollingsworth (Essex) 1911 Carey
[Clive Carey Manuscript Collection (CC/1/146). Full text with the end made of "Constant Lady and False-hearted Squire" stanzas.
R. Matteson 2017]
A British Young Waterman- sung by Mrs. Hollingsworth of Thaxted, Essex on 5 October, 1911. Collected by Clive Carey.
A British young waterman courted me,
He stole away my liberty,
My liberty is with a free good will
But with all his faults I love him still.
There is an old alehouse in our town,
Where my love goes and sit himself down,
And takes another young girl on his knees
He laughs at her and frowns at me.
And I can tell you the reason why,
Because she's got more gold than I
But gold will waste and fade away,
And beauty changes every day.
I wish for him my baby had been born
Sit smiling on his father's knee
And I poor girl was in the grave,
And green grass growing over me.
There is a flower I've been told
A cure for love both young and old,
And if I could but that flower find,
It would ease my heart and cheer my mind.
So down to the meadows straightaway,
A plucking flowers as the sprang
And to every flower she gave a pull
Until she had gained an apron full.
She gathered green grass for her bed,
A flowery pillow for her head,
She laid her self down and no more she spoke
Alas! Alas! her heart was broke.
Go dig a grave both long, wide and deep,
Put a marble stone at her head and feet
and in the middle a turtle dove
To let the world know she died for love.