The English and Scottish Popular Ballads Edited by Francis James Child. |
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The English and Scottish Popular Ballads | ||
THE TWA SISTERS—Y
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Communicated to Percy, April 7, 1770, and April 19, 1775, by the Rev. P. Parsons, of Wye, near Ashford, Kent.
1
There was a king lived in the North Country,Hey down down dery down
There was a king lived in the North Country,
And the bought it was bent to me
There was a king lived in the North Country,
And he had daughters one, two, three.
I'll prove true to my love,
If my love will prove true to me.
2
He gave the eldest a gay gold ring,But he gave the younger a better thing.
3
He bought the younger a beaver hat;The eldest she thought much of that.
4
‘Oh sister, oh sister, let us go run,To see the ships come sailing along!’
5
And when they got to the sea-side brim,The eldest pushed the younger in.
6
‘Oh sister, oh sister, lend me your hand,I'll make you heir of my house and land.’
7
‘I'll neither lend you my hand nor my glove,Unless you grant me your true-love.’
8
Then down she sunk and away she swam,Untill she came to the miller's mill-dam.
9
The miller's daughter sat at the mill-door,As fair as never was seen before.
10
‘Oh father, oh father, there swims a swan,Or else the body of a dead woman.’
11
The miller he ran with his fishing hook,To pull the fair maid out o the brook.
12
‘Wee'll hang the miller upon the mill-gate,For drowning of my sister Kate.’
The English and Scottish Popular Ballads | ||