| Share page | Visit Us On FB |
|
384 |
ENGLISH SONG AND BALLAD MUSIC. |
|||
|
Are you awake, sweet William ? she said, Or, sweet William, are you asleep 1
God give you joy of your gay bride-bed, And me of my winding-sheet.
■ When day was come, and night was gone, And all men wak'd from sleep,
Sweet William to his lady said, My dear, I have cause to weep,
I dreamt a dream, my dear lady,
Such dreams are never good; I dreamt my bower was full of red wine,
And my bride-bed full of blood.
Such dreams, such dreams, my honoured Sir,
They never do prove good; To dream thy bower was full of red wine,
And thy bride-bed full of blood.
He called up his merry men all,
By one, by two, and by three; Saying, I'll away to fair Marg'ret's bower,
By leave of my lady.
And when he came to fair Marg'ret's bower,
He knocked at the ring; And who so ready as her seven brethren
To let sweet William in.
Then he turned up the covering sheet,
Pray let me see the dead; Methinks she looks all pale and wan,
She hath lost her cherry red.
I'll do more for thee, Margaret, Than any of thy kin; |
For I will kiss thy pale wan lips, Though a smile I cannot win.
With that bespake the seven brethren,
Making most piteous moan : You may go kiss your jolly brown bride,
And let our sister alone.
If I do kiss my jolly brown bride,
I do but what is right; I ne'er made a vow to yonder poor corpse
By day, nor yet by night.
Deal on, deal on, my merry men all, Deal on your cake and your wine;
For whatever is dealt at her funeral to-day, Shall be dealt to-morrow at mine.
Fair Margaret died to-day, to-day, Sweet William died the morrow ;
Fair Margaret died for pure true love, Sweet William died for sorrow.
Margaret was buried in the lower chancel,
And William in the higher ; Out of her breast there sprang a rose,
And out of his a brier.
They grew till they grew unto the church-top, And then they could grow no higher ;
And there they tied in a true lover's knot, Which made all the people admire.
Then' came the clerk of the parish,
As you the truth shall hear, And by misfortune cut them down,
Or they now had been there. |
|||
|
END OF VOLUME THE FIRST. |
||||
|
|
||||
|
\0 |
||||
|
|
||||