O Father O Father, Go Build Me a Boat- Griffin (AR) 1953 Parler B
[From Ozark Folk Song Collection; Reel 178 Item 4. Collected by Mary Celestia Parler. The last two stanzas were moved to the beginning.
Listen: http://digitalcollections.uark.edu/cdm/singleitem/collection/OzarkFolkSong/id/2894/rec/13
R. Matteson 2017]
O Father, O Father, Go Build Me a Boat- sung by Mrs. Miner Griffin of Conway, Ark. on 12/12/53
A sailor's life is a roving life,
It robbed me of my heart's delight.
It causes me to weep and to mourn
The loss of a true love never to return.
Oh, dark was the color of my true love's hair,
His face resembled a lady's fair,
It causes me to weep and to mourn
The loss of a true love never to return.
0 Father, 0 Father, go build me a boat,
That I upon the sea may float,
And hail every ship that I pass by,
And there I'll enquire of my sweet sailor boy.
As I went sailing down by main,
I spied three ships coming down from Spain,
I hailed the captain as he passed by,
And there I enquired for my sweet sailor boy.
0 Captain, Captain, come tell me true,
Does my sweet William sail with you?
Come tell me quick and give me joy,
For none will I have but my sweet sailor boy.
She ran her boat against a rock,
As if some lady whose heart was broke;
She wrung her hands, she tore her hair,
As if some lady in despair.
She called for a chair to sit upon,
A pen and ink to write it down,
At the end of every line she dropped a tear,
At the last of every verse cried Oh, my dear.
Go dig my grave both wide and deep,
Place a marble stone at my head and feet,
And across my breast place a snow-white dove
To prove to the world that I died for love.