Constant Farmer's Son- George Edwards (NY) 1948 Cazden USA : New York :
[From: New York Folklore Quarterly 4:1 (Spring 1948) pp. 40-45. Also in Cazden, Folk Songs of the Catskills pp. 184-187.
R. Matteson 2016]
The Constant Farmer's Son - sung by George Edwards of Lackawack Valley, NY in 1948, text from Cazden.
1. It's of a rich merchant in London town did dwell,
He had an onli daughter, her parents loved her well.
She were courted there by lords and 'mirers, but none of them could her gain,
There was but one, a farmer's son, who'd Mary's heart attained.
2. Long time young William courted her and sot their wedding day;
Her parents they gave their consent. but the brothers they did say,
“There is a lord whom she should marry, and him she shall not shun:
We'll first betray, and then we'll slay her constant farmer's son.”
3. There was a Fair not far from there. her brothers went straightway,
Also invited young Willie dear with them to spend the day;
They traveled on for many a mile where a pleasant stream did run,
And there with a stake the life did take of the constant farmer's son.
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