Polly Bond- H.J. Shinn (WV) 1969 Bush B
[From Michael E. Bush's Folksongs of Central West Virginia III, (Ripley, W. Va.: The Author, 1969).
R. Matteson 2016]
[music]
POLLY BOND- as sung by H. J. Shinn of Jackson County, 1969.
1 Come all you brave hunters that follow the gun,
Beware of late hunting by the sitting of the sun.
Jimmy Ransome, a squire, who hunted in the dark;
Took aim at his true love and missed not his mark.
2 It was late in the evening when the rain it came on,
She sat under green bushes, the rain for to shun.
With her apron pinned 'round her, he took her for a fawn,
But O, ne'er the less, it was poor Polly Bond.
3 He threw down his gun, and home he did run,
Saying, "Father, dear father, I surely am done.
I shot that fair damsel, the pride of my life.
I'd always intended for to make her my wife."
4. On the day of the trial, her ghost did appear,
Saying: "Father, dear[2] mother, Jimmy Ransom goes clear,
He never intended to take my sweet life,
But he always intended for to make me his wife."
1. But oh, and alas,
2. has "dead" typo?