Picking Lilies- (Glasgow) c.1782 Chapbook
["Picking Lilies" from 1782 chapbook, Four Excellent New Songs, 1. The Captain's Frolic; 2. Picking Lilies; The distressed sailors on the rocks of Scylla; 4. The Generous Gentleman, ca. 1782. Reprinted in W. H. Logan, "A Pedlar's Pack of Ballads and Songs," 1869; also in Glasgow chapbook: The Dandy---o. To which are added, Tippet is the dandy---o. The toper's advice. Picking lilies. The dying swan, Glasgow 1799 (ESTC T190595, available at ECCO) view; http://digital.nls.uk/chapbooks-printed-in-scotland/archive/104185672?mode=gallery_grid&&sn=3
R. Matteson 2017]
"Picking Lilies"
Down in yon meadow fresh and gay,
Picking lilies the other day,
Picking lilies red and blue:
I little thought what Love could do.
Where love is planted there it grows,
It buds and blossoms like any rose;
It has such a sweet and pleasant smell,
No flower on earth can it excel.
There are thousands, thousands in a room,
My true love she carries the brightest bloom,
She surely is some chosen one,
I will have her or I will have none.
I saw a Ship sailing on the Sea,
As deeply loaden as she could be,
But not so deep as in love I am,
I care not whether I sink or swim.
Must I be bound shall she go free?
Must I love one that loves not me!
If I should act such a childish part,
As to love one that would break my Heart.
I put my hand into the Bush,
Thinking the sweetest rose to find,
But I prick'd my fingers to the bone,
And left the sweetest rose behind.
If roses be such prickly flowers,
They should be gather'd when they are green,
For he that wooes an unkind Lover,
I'm sure he striveth against the stream.
If my love were dead and gone to rest,
I would think on her that I love best,
I'll wrap her up in linen strong,
And think on her when she's dead and gone.