Pretty Polly- Staton (TN) 1919 Boswell
[From: Fundamentals of Folk Literature by George W. Boswell, Joseph Russell Reaver; 1956. This abbreviated version has a similar ending as Dock Boggs' 1927 version--instead of being murdered Polly falls asleep. Here's Boggs' stanza:
She threw her arms around him and began for to weep
She threw her arms around him and began for to weep
At length Pretty Polly soon fell asleep.
R. Matteon 2016]
"Pretty Polly," sung by Dr. Thomas F. Staton on June 30, 1919, is an admirably compressed version of the British broadside "The Ship's Carpenter," or "The Gaspard Tragedy."
1. Pretty Polly, Pretty Polly, yonder she stands,
Rings on the fingers of her lily-white hands.
2 Come away, Polly, come away with me,
For I have a throne all made for thee.
3. "No, oh no, dear Willie, we can't go away,
For I fear my body you would lead astray."
4. "Yes, my Pretty Polly, you must go with me,
For I have a resting-place for thee."
5. Lost within the forest, by a grave so deep,
Pretty, Pretty Polly fell asleep.