Joan and John Blount- Walters (NL) 1929 Greenleaf
[From: Ballads and Sea-Songs of Newfoundland - Page 41; by Elizabeth Bristol Greenleaf, Grace Yarrow Mansfield - 1933]
Joan and John Blount (GET UP AND BAR THE DOOR, CHILD, No. 275)- Sung by Mrs. Annie Walters, Rocky Harbour, 1929.
1 There was an old couple lived under an hill,
Joan and John Blount they were called, O;
They brewed great ale all for to sell,
They brewed it wonderful well, O.
2 John Blount and his wife drank some of his ale,
Till they could drink no more, O.
But not one word did the old couple say,
For fear one should bar the door, O.
3. A bargain, a bargain this old couple made,
A bargain firm and sure, O,
The very first one that should speak the first word,
Should go down and bar the door, O.
4. Along came travellers, travellers three,
Travelling in the night, O;
No house nor shelter could they find,
No fire nor candle-light, O.
5 And straight to John Blount's house they went,
And boldly opened the door, O;
But not one word did the old couple say;
For fear one should bar the door, O.
6. They ate his victuals, they drank of his drink,
Till they could drink no more, O,
But not one word did the old couple say;
For fear one should bar the door, O.
7 Then straight upstairs those travellers went,
And took the old woman out of her bed,
And kissed her on the floor, O;
But not one word did the old couple say,
For fear one should bar the door, O.
8 "You've eat of my victuals, you drank of my drink,
You've kissed my wife on the floor, O--"
"John Blount," she said, "You've spoken the first word,
Go down and bar the door, O.
9. "If you don't like what they did to me,
They kissed me on the floor, O,
Then take this to be, as a warning, see,
Every night you bar the door, O."