Willow Tree- May Bradley (Shrop) 1965 Hamer
[From a recording by Fred Hamer if May Bradley in Ludlow, Shropshire, on 28 July 1965.
R. Matteson 2017]
THE WILLOW TREE- Sung by May Bradley, Ludlow, Shropshire, on 28 July 1965;
As I pass by a willow tree, willow tree
That willow leaf blew down on me
I picked it up, it would not break
I've passed my love, he would not speak
Speak, young man, and don't be shy, be shy
For I am a girl can pass you by
For friends we've met and friends will part
You'll take my hand but not my heart
I wished your bosom were of glass, of glass
That I could view it through and through
Just view those secrets of your heart
If I'd love one, I can't love two
Oh, give me back to the one I love, I love
Oh, give, oh, give him back to me
If I only have that one I love
How happy, happy more I'd be
My love he is a sailor boy, sailor boy
He sails the ocean through and through
And when he gets so far away
He hardly thinks no more of me
So give, oh, give him back to me, to me
Oh, give, oh, give him back to me
If I only have that one I love
How happy, happy more I'd be