The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #83945   Message #1546362
Posted By: Don Firth
20-Aug-05 - 03:03 PM
Thread Name: Matty Groves pocket knife query
Subject: RE: Matty Groves pocket knife query
From the version sung by John Jacob Niles (where I learned it):
I cannot rise, I will not rise;
I fear 'twould cost my life;
For you have got two bitter swords
And I hain't got a knife.
It's fun to track these things down if possible, but frequently if you take some ballad lyrics as some sort of gospel, you wind up chasing a lot of wild geese.

Don Firth