Folk and Traditional Song Lyrics:
Plains of Waterloo(1)

Plains of Waterloo (1)

Plains of Waterloo (1)

As I walked out on a fine summer's evening,
. . . . . . . .
There I overheard a damsel make a sad lamentation
About her absent lover on the plains of Waterloo.

I said, "My pretty fair.maid, ye pride of all nations,
Can I but be so bold as to ask your true love's name?
For I have been in battles where cannons loudly rattle,
And by your description I might have known the same."

"O, William Smith's his name, he's a hero of fame."
"Many's the battle him and I have been in.
Through Portugal snd Russia we often marched together,
He was my loyal comrade through France and through Spain."

"And ere that he left me he gave me a token,
A gold diamond ring that was broken in two."
"You have my heart and ring, dear lovely Sally,
To remember your dear Willy when he's far at Waterloo."

"As by the French we were all surrounded
Like bold British heroes we did them subdue;
We fought three days together until we did subdue them
Like bold Napoleon Boney on the plains of Waterloo.

. . . . . . . .
" By French soldiers your true love was slain.
It's there I saw him lie, there I saw him bleed and die,
With his low faltering voice he bid me adieu."

When he found her so loyal he pulled out the token,
The gold diamond ring that was broken in two,
Saying, "You have my heart and ring, dear lovely Sally,
To remember your dear Willy, but he's far from Waterloo."

From Ballads and Sea Songs from Nova Scotia, Mackenzie
DT #459
Laws N32
RG
oct96