Lyrics:
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from 100 English Folksongs:
The water is wide, I cannot get o'er
And neither have I wings to fly.
O go and get me some little boat,
To carry o'er my true love and I.
A-down in the meadows the other day
A-gath'ring flow'rs both fine and gay
A-gath'ring flowers, both red and blue,
I little thought what love could do.
I put my hand into one soft bush,
Thinking the sweetest flow'r to find.
I prick'd my finger to the bone
And left the sweetest flow'r alone.
I lean'd my back up against some oak,
Thinking it was a trusty tree.
But first he bended then he broke,
So did my love prove false to me.
Where love is planted, O there it grows,
It buds and blossoms like some rose;
It has a sweet and pleasant smell,
No flow'r on earth can it excel.
Must I be bound, O and she go free!
Must I love one thing that does not love me!
Why should I act such a childish part,
And love a girl that will break my heart.
There is a ship sailing on the sea,
She's loaded deep as deep can be,
But not so deep as in love I am;
I care not if I sink or swim.
O love is handsome and love is fine,
And love is charming when it is true;
As it grows older it groweth colder
And fades away like the morning dew.
Scottish lyrics:
O waly waly up the bank
And waly waly doon the brae,
And waly waly by yon burn side
Where I and my first love did gae.
I leaned my back against an oak
Thinkin' it was a trusty tree,
But first it bent and then it broke,
And so did my first love tae me.
When we cam in frae Glasgow toun,
We were a comely sight tae see,
My love was clad in the velvet black,
And I mysel in cramasie.
Noo Arthur's Seat shall be my bed,
No sheets shall e'er be pressed by me,
Saint Anton's Well shall be my drink,
Since my fause love's forsaken me.
'Tis not the frost that freezes fell
Nor blawin' snaw's inclemency,
'Tis not sic cauld that makes me cry
But my love's heart's grown cauld tae me.
Oh Martinmas wind when wilt thou blaw
And shake the green leaves off the tree ?
Oh gentle death, when wilt thou come ?
For of my life I am weary.
Meaning of unusual words:
waly=expression of grief, woe
brae=hillside
burn=stream
gae=go
toun=town
comely=handsome
cramasie=crimson cloth (satin)
Arthur's Seat=a volcanic hill overlooking Edinburgh
fause=false
fell=cruelly
sic=such
Martinmas=11 November
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