The Prickly Bush
THE MAID FREED FROM THE GALLOWS—K
[_]
Mr Heywood Sumner, in English
County Songs, by Lucy E. Broadwood and J. A. Fuller
Maitland, p. 112. From Somersetshire.
1
‘O hangman, hold thy hand,’ he cried,
‘O hold thy hand awhile,
For I can see my own dear father
Coming over yonder stile.
2
‘O father, have you brought me gold?
Or will you set me free?
Or be you come to see me hung,
All on this high gallows-tree?’
3
‘No, I have not brought thee gold,
And I will not set thee free,
But I am come to see thee hung,
All on this high gallows-tree.’
4
‘Oh, the prickly bush, the prickly bush,
It pricked my heart full sore;
If ever I get out of the prickly bush,
I'll never get in any more.’
[_]
The above is repeated three times more, with the
successive substitution of ‘mother,’ ‘brother,’ ‘sister,’
for ‘father.’ Then the first two stanzas are repeated,
with ‘sweetheart’ for ‘father,’ and instead of 3 is
sung:
5
‘Yes, I have brought thee gold,’ she cried,
‘And I will set thee free,
And I am come, but not to see thee hung
All on this high gallous-tree.’
‘Oh, the prickly bush,’ etc.
