1.    BE GONE, DULL CARE!

1 Begone, dull care, I prithee begone from
       me,
Begone, dull care, you and I will never
      agree.

Long time hast thou been tarrying here,
And fain thou wouldst me kill,
But i' faith, dull care.
Thou ne'er shalt have thy will.

2 Too much care will make a young man
       turn gray,
And too much care will turn an old man
       to clay.
My wife shall dance and I will sing,
So merrily pass the day,
For I hold it one of the wisest things
To drive dull care away.

2.      COME LASSIES AND LADS

1 Come lasses and lads, get leave of your
        dads,
And away to the Maypole hie,
For every fair has a partner there,
And the fiddlers standing by.

To trip it, trip it, trip it, trip it,
Trip it up and down.
To trip it, trip it, trip it, trip it,
Trip it up and down.

2 A lass Shall be there, of all the most fair,
And she shall be queen of May
We'll dance and sing in a merry ring,
Till the whole round world is gay.
About, her we shall run,
And play in the golden sun,

And trip it, trip it, etc.

3.      THE CRYSTAL SPRING

1 Down by some crystal spring
Where the nightingales sing
Most pleasant it is in season,
To her the groves ring.
Down by the river side
A young captain I espied,
Entreating of his true love
To be his bride.

2 Dear Phyllis, says he,
Can you fancy me?
All in your soft bowers
A crown it shall be.
You shall take no pain,
I will you maintain,
My ship she's a-loaded,
Just come in from Spain.

3 There are young men I know,
Great kindness will show,
They will offer and proffer
Much more than they'll do;
And whenever they can find
A maiden that's kind,
With laughing and chaffing
They'll change like the wind.

4 But if ever I prove false
To my soft little dove,
May the ocean turn desert,
And the elements rove.
For wherever I shall be,
I'll be constant to thee,
Like a rover I will wander
And! swim through the sea.
 

4.      DABBLING IN THE DEW

1 O where are you going to, my pretty
little dear,
With your red rosy cheeks and your coal
black hair?
I'm going a-milking, kind sir, she answered me,
And it's dabbling in the dew makes the
milkmaids fair.

2 Suppose I were to clothe you, my pretty
little dear,
In a green silken gown and the amethyst
rare?
O no, sir, O no, sir, kind sir, she answered
me.
For it' dabbling in the dew makes the
milk-maids fair.

3 Suppose I were to carry you, my pretty
little dear,
In a cariot with horses, a grey gallant
pair? O no, sir, O no, sir, kind sir, she anwered me,
For it's dabbling in the dew makes the
milk-maids fair,

4 O, but London's a city, my pretty little
dear,
And all men are gallant and brave that
are there,
O no, sir, O no, sir, kind sir, she answered me,
For it's- dabbling in the dew makes the
milk-maids fair.

5 O fine clothes and dainties and carriages
so rare
Bring grey to the cheeks and silver to
the hair.
What's a ring on the finger, if rings are
round the eye?
But it's dabbling in the dew makes the
milk-maids fair.

5.    DRIVING AWAY AT THE SMOOTHING IRON

1 'Twas on a Monday morning
When I beheld my darling;
O she was fair and she was free
In every high degree.
Yes! She was neat 'and willing O,
A-picking up her linen clothes,
And driving away at the smoothing iron,
She stole my heart away.

2 'Twas on a Tuesday morning
When I beheld my darling; &c.
Yes, she was neat and willing
O, A-soaping of her linen clothes;
And driving away at the smoothing iron, &c.

3 'Twas on a Wednesday morning
When I beheld my darling; &c.
Yes, she was neat and willing O,
A-starching of her linen clothes;
And driving away at the smoothing iron, &c.

5 'Twas on a Thursday morning
When I beheld my darling; &c.
Yes she was neat and willing O,
A-hanging out her linen clothes;
And driving away at the smoothing iron, &c.

 

5 'Twas on a Friday morning
When I beheld my darling; &c.
Yes she was neat and willing O,
A-rolling down her linen cloths;
And driving away at the smoothing iron, &c.

6 'Twas on a Saturday morning
When I beheld my darling; &c.
Yes she was neat and willing O,
Ironing of her linen clothes;
And driving away at the smoothing iron, &c.

7 'Twas on a Sunday morning
When I beheld my darling; &c.
Yes she was neat and willing O,
A wearing of her linen clothes;
And driving away at the smoothing iron,
She stole my heart away.

 

6.     DUKE MARLBOROUGH

1 To fight the French in Flanders
Mironton, mironton, mirontania
To fight the French in Flanders,
Duke Marlborough has gone.

2 But he'll return at Easter,
Mironton, mironton, mirontania
But he'll return at Easter
When all the wars are done.

3 Now Whitsuntide is over
Mironton, mironton, mirontania
Now Whitsuntide is over,
And still he does not come.

            Chorus

For the sound of his horn brought me
from my bed
And the cry of his hounds which he oft-
times led.
Peel's View Halloo would! awaken the
dead,
Or the fox from his lair in the morning.

2 Yes, I ken John Peel and Ruby too,
Ranter and Ringwood, Bellman and True,
From a find to a check, from a check to
a view,
From a view to a death in the morning.

           Chorus: etc.

3 Then here's to John Peel, from my heart
and soul;
Let's drink to his health, let's finish the
bowl;
We'll follow John Peel, through fair and
through foul,
If we want a good hunting in the morning.

          Chorus: etc. .

7.     LAVENDER'S BLUE

Lavender's blue, diddle, diddle,
Lavender's green;
When I am king, diddle, diddle,
You shall be queen,

Call up your men, diddle, diddle,
Set them to work,
Some to the plough, diddle, diddle,
Some to the cart.

Some to make hay, diddle, diddle,
Some to cut corn,
While you and I, diddle, diddle,
Keep ourselves warm.

 

10.       LORD LOVEL

1 Lord Lovel he stood at his castle gate,
A-combing his milk-white steed,
When up came Lady Nancy Belle,
To wish her lover good speed, good speed,
To wish her lover good speed.

2 O where are you going, Lord Lovel, she
said,
O where are you going? cried she:
I'm going away, Lady Nancy Belle,
Strange countries for to see.

3 How long '11 you be gone, Lord Lovel,
she said,
How long 'll you be gone, cried she:
In a year or two, or three at the most,
I'll return to my Lady Nancy.

4 He had not been gone but a year and a
day,
Strange countries for to see,
When a strange thought came into his
head,
He'd go and see Lady Nancy.

5 He rode and he rode on his milk-white
steed,
Till he came to London Town;
And there he heard the church-bells ring,
And the people all mourning around.

 

6 Now who is dead, Lord Lovel, he said,
Now 'who is dead, said he?
An old woman said, some lady is dead
And they called her the Lady Nancy.

7 He ordered the grave to be opened a-wide
And the shroud to be turned around;
And then he kissed her cold clay cheeks
Till the tears came trickling down.

8 Lady Nancy she died, as it might be today
Lord Lovel he died as tomorrow.
Lady Nancy she died out of pure, pure
grief,
Lord Lovel he died out of sorrow.

9 Then one was buried in the lower chancel,
The other was buried in the higher.
From one sprung a gallant red rose,
From the other a gilly flower;

10 And there they grew and turned and
twined,
Till they gained the chancel top,
And there they grew and turned and
twined,
And tied in a true-lover's knot, knot,
knot.
And tied in a true lover's knot.