Sailor Boy- William Riley (LB) 1960 Leach
[From: Folk Ballads & Songs of the Lower Labrador Coast, by MacEdward Leach, 1965.
R. Matteson 2017]
The Sailor Boy (Sweet Willie)- Sung by William Riley of Lance au Loup, June 1960
1. Early, early in the spring,
When I shipped on board for to serve my king,
Leaving my own, dearest one behind,
As she oft-times told me, as she oft-times told me that her whole heart was mine.
2. O father, father, come build a boat
That o'er the ocean I may go float,
And every king's ship that I pass by
I will inquire, I will inquire, for my young sailor boy.
3. She was not long sailing o'er the deep
Before a king's ship she chanced to meet:
"O captain, captain come tell me true,
If my sweet Willie, if my sweet Willie, sails among your crew?"
4. "O no, fair lady, he is not here;
He's lost and drowned, great is my fear,
For the other night as the wind blew hard,
We lost young Willie, we lost young Willie, from our main topsail yard."
5. She wrung her hands, she tore her hair
Just like a lady in deep despair;
Her little boat against the rocks did run:
"How can I live now, how can I live now, my young sailor he's gone?"
6. She sat down for to write a song;
She wrote it broad and she wrote it long;
At every line she would shed a tear,
And in every verse cried, and in every verse cried, fare you well, my dear.
7. A short time after this fair one died,
'Twas on a pillow a letter lied:
And on her headstone a turtle dove
That all the world might, that all the world might know she died in love.