Folk and Traditional Song Lyrics:
Banks of the Roses

Home Main Menu Folk Song Lyrics A B1 B2 B3 B4 C1 C2 C3 D1 D2 E F G H I J K L1 L2 M N O P Q R S1 S2 S3 S4 T U V W1 W2 XYZ Search



Share page  Visit Us On FB


Banks of the Roses

Banks of the Roses

On the banks of the roses, my love and I sat down
And I took out my violin to play my love a tune
In the middle of the tune, O she sighed and she said
O Johnny, lovely Johnny, Would you leave me

O when I was a young man, I heard my father say
That he'd rather see me dead and buried in the clay
Sooner than be married to any runaway
By the lovely sweet banks of the roses

O then I am no runaway and soon I'll let them know
I can take a good glass or leave it alone
And the man that doesn't like me, he can keep
     his daughter home
And young Johnny will go roving with another

And if ever I get married, twill be in the month of May
When the leaves they are green and the meadows
     they are gay
And I and my true love can sit and sport and play
On the lovely sweet banks of the roses

DT #513

Note: in other versions he kills her.See DT 311
versions recorded by Redpath, Buffy Ste Marie, and Clancy Bros.
SOF
Download the song in PDF format for printout etc. Download the song in RTF format for editing etc.