Loving Henery- Johnson (VA) pre1936 Scarborough A
[From Scarborough, A Song Catcher in the Southern Mountains, 1937. This is presented in MS form with original spelling errors and punctuation.
R. Matteson 2012, 2014]
Loving Henery- as written down by Ora Johnson (Russell Fork, Council, VA) pre1936 Scarborough A
Come in loving Henery and stay all night by me,
your bed shall be made of the finest of silk or gold or silvery.
I cant come in nor stay all night by you
For the prettiest girl in some foreign land will say my heart's untrue.
Loving Henry stepted upon the steps
To take a kiss or two.
Little Margretre had a knife in her right hand,
She stab loving Henry through.
She picked him up by his brown curly locks,
Her sister by his feet,
They carried him down to the high stone well
And threw him in the deep.
Lie there loving Henry lie there
Until the flesh rolls from your bones.
And tlre prettiest girl in some foreign lands
Will say you a long time coming home.
Fly down my prettiest bird
And rest upon my knee.
I wont fly down and I cant fly down
nor rest upon your knee.
For you've just murdered your own true lover
I'm afraid you might murder me.
Go home, go home little Margretre
and weep over what you have done.
Next morning little Margietre was found
with her face turned to the sky
With a letter pen upon her breast
bidding her friends goodbye.