Lord Lovel- Gant family (TX) 1935 Lomax
[From Folk Songs of North America; 1960, Lomax. Notes from the book follow.
R. Matteson 2014]
Collected and arranged by John and Alan Lomax from singing of the Gant Family, Austin, Texas, 1935. American texts seem to be derived from a London broadside print, but singers are constantly reworking the text, as in this version.
Lord Lovel- Sung by the Gant Family, Austin, Texas, 1935
1 Lord Lovel, he stood at his castle gate,
A-combing his milk-white steed,
Miss Molly Belle come riding by,
A-wishing her lover good speed, good speed,
A-wishing her lover good speed.
2 'O where are you going, Lord Lovel?' she cried
'O where are you going?' cried she.
'I'm going away for a year and a day,
Strange countries for to see, to see,'
3 He hadn't been gone but a very short while,
Not four months to a day,
'Till something strange came over his mind
About his loving Mollee, Mollee
4 He mounted all on his milk-white steed
And rode till he came to the town,
And there he heard the death bells a-ringing,
And the people mournin' all 'round, all 'round.
5 'O who is dead?' Lord Lovel, he cried,
'O who is dead?' cried he.
'I do not know, but I will declare,
'They call her the loving Mollee, Mollee' . . .
6 'Go open the coffin," Lord Lovel, he cried,
'Go open the coffin,' cried he,
'And I'll bid adieu to this wide world
And go with my loving Mollee, Mollee ' . . .