Captain Woodstock- Hartlan (NS) 1932 Songs and Ballads from Nova Scotia By Helen Creighton
Karen James recorded this version on Folkways in 1961: This song is taken from Dr. Helen Creighton's book "Songs and Ballads from Nova Scotia". The reference to Melchisidecas being a priest unborn comes from St. Paul (Hebrews VII) and is apparently a variant on later versions which give Caesarean birth as an answer to that particular riddle.
Captain Woodstock- Hartlan (NS) 1932 Songs and Ballads from Nova Scotia By Helen Creighton
1. As I rode out one May morning,
Down by a shady lane,
I met with Captain Woodstock,
The keeper of the game,
He said unto his servant,
If it were not for the law,
I would have that maid in bed with me,
As she lay against the wall.
2. Before I'd lie one night with you,
you must answer my questions six,
What is rounder than a ring?
What is higher than a tree?
What is worse than a woman's tongue?
What that is deeper than the sea?
What tree blooms first and what bird sings best?
You must answer my questions all.
Before I'd lie one night with you at either stock or wall.
3. The world is rounder than a ring,
Heaven is higher than a tree.
The devil' s worse than a woman's tongue.
Hell is deeper than the sea.
The oak blooms first and the thrust sings best.
I have answered you questions all
So shake you up that old straw bed
you must lie next to the wall.
4. Oh it's for my breakfast you must get me
Chickens without bones
And for my dinner you must get me
Cherries without stones,
And for my supper you must get me
a bird without any gall,
Before I'd lie one night with you
at either stock or wall.
5. When the chicken is in the egg
I'm sure it has no bones,
Then a cherry is in blossom,
I'm sure it has no stone,
The dove she is a gentle bird, she
flies without any gall,
So shake me up that old straw bed,
we must lie next to the wall.
6. "Oh, bring to me a silken gown,
A web that never went through
And you must get me a priest unborn
To join us one and all
Before I'd lie one night with you at
either stock or wall."
7. Oh my mother has a silken gown,
A web that never went through
Melchisidec is a priest unborn
He will join us one and all,
So shake you up that old straw bed,
you're going to lie next to the wall."