| Share page | Visit Us On FB |
|
94 Ballads and Songs of Michigan
25 THE SAILOR BOY
For texts and references see Campbell and Sharp, pp. 293-295; Eddy, No. 28; and JIFSS, XVII, 18-19.
The present version was obtained in 1916 from Miss Mabel Tuggle, Detroit, who had heard the song sung by an older sister at Concord Depot, Virginia.
1 "O father, father, build me a boat That I may out upon the ocean float, And every ship that I pass by
It's I'd inquire for my sweet sailor boy."
2 "O lady dear, he is not here;
He drownded in the gulf, my dear." |
||
|
3 "O give me a chair to sit upon
A pen and ink for to write it down." At every word she dropped a tear, And every line cried, "O my dearl
4 "So dig my grave both wide and deep A marble stone at head and feet, And upon my breast a turtle dove For to show the world I died of love.
5 "I wish, I wish, and I wish in vain, I wish I was a child again;
My wish, my wish shall never be Till green grass grows over me." |
||