George Collins- (VA) pre1934 Cambiaire; Henry B
[From: Eastern Tennessee and Western Virginia Mountain Ballads- Cambiaire, 1934. This version appears also as Henry B. The collector, Myrtle Deel, was a a student in Lincoln Memorial University. Certainly Henry could have mentioned that it was already published.
R. Matteson 2015]
39. GEORGE COLLINS
Collected by Myrtle Deel, [from] Joel Boyd of Tenso, Virginia.
George Collins rode home one cold winter night;
George Collins rode home so fine.
George Collins rode home one cold winter night,
But he took sick and died.
A fair young lady in her father's house,
A fair young lady so fine;
But when she heard that George was dead,
She threw herself down and cried'
"O daughter, don't weep, O daughter, don't moan;
There are more pretty boys than one--.
"But mother dear, he has my heart,
And now he's dead and gone."
She followed him up, she followed him down,
She followed him to his grave;
She fell upon her bended knees;
She wept, she moaned, she prayed.
"Unscrew the coffin, lay back the lid,
Roll over the linen so fine;
And let me kiss them pale cold lips,
For I know they'll never kiss mine."