One of my early favorites:
MUST I GO BOUND
from: Something to Sing About! - The Personal Choices of America's Folk Singers
Collected and arranged by Milton Okun, The Macmillan Company - Collier-Macmillan Ltd., London, 1968, p 184.
"Buffy Sainte-Marie" , '…. For this collection Buffy has chosen a song of English origin, "Must I Go Bound," that has numerous versions. The poetry of the lyrics is among the most refined to found in any folk-art collection, as deft and subtle as the most polished work of a classical poet.'
Key of A 4/4
Must (A)I go bound while you go (E)free?
Must (E) I love one who won't love (A)me?
Must I then act the (A7) child-ish (D)part,
And (E7) love the one who'd break my (A) heart?
I put my finger to the bush
To pluck a rose of fairest kind,
The thorn it pierced me to a touch,
And so I left the rose behind.
I leaned my back against an oak.
I thought it was a trusty tree,
But first it bent and then it broke,
Just as my love proved false to me.
Oh, I'll go bound while you go free,
And I'll love one who won't love me,
And I will act the childish part,
And love the one who'd break my heart.
Sincerely,
GargoyleClick to play
Click to play (Okun arrangement)