The House Carpenter- McGuire (TN) 1964 Burton
[From: Burton and Manning; Folksongs I, 1967. Not a good text, there is music for two verses.
R. Matteson 2013]
THE HOUSE CARPENTER (Child 243)
Sung by Mrs. Audrey McGuire, September 1964.
McGuire: "I have forgotten the first verse--perhaps more--but it was started with enticing the carpenter's wife to leave with his gold and on the sea, the different ones. So I'll try the other part of it."
[music upcoming]
1. "If you will leave your house carpenter
Come along and go with me,
We'll sail around the wide, wide world,
And happy we will be. "
2. She picked up her sweet little babe
And kisses gave it three,
Saying, "Stay here, stay here, my sweet little babe'
And keep your Papa company."
3. They hadn't been sailing but a week or two,
I'm sure they hadn't sailed more,
Til there came a leak in her truelover's ship, [1]
And it sank to rise no more.
4. She hadn't been sailing more than three weeks,
I'm sure she hadn't sailed four,
Till she fell to weeping in her true lover's arms.
And she wept most bitterly.
5. "Oh, are you a-weeping for my silver and gold
Or are you a-weeping for my store,
Or are you a-weeping for your house carpenter,
Who you never shall see any more?"
6. "I'm not a-weeping for your silver and gold;
I'm neither a-weeping for your store;
I'm only a-weeping for my sweet little babe,
Who I never shall see any more."
1. This clearly is the last verse, to make sense and rhyme it would need to be reworded.