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THE CRUEL MOTHER There was a lady lived in York Oh, the rose and the lindsay oh She fell in love with her father's clerk Away by the greenwood side-e-o He loved her up, he loved her down He loved her 'til he filled her womb She leaned her back against an oak First it bent and then it broke She leaned her back against a thorn There she's had two bonnie babes born She had ta'en her wee pen knife With it she's ta'en those sweet babes lives She's taken a handkerchief from her pleat And made it into a winding sheet She's laid them under a marble stone And she has ga'ed a maiden home As she was passing her father's hall She saw two boys aplaying at ball Oh bonnie boys, gin you were mine I'd dress you up in silks sae fine Oh cruel mother, when we were thine You neither dressed us coarse nor fine Oh bonnie boys, can you tell to me What kind of death I am to die Seven years a bird in the wood Seven years a fish in the flood Seven years the tongue of a bell Seven years in the depths of Hell Welcome, welcome bird in the wood Welcome, welcome fish in the flood Welcome, welcome warning bell But God save me from the depths of Hell ____________ Child #20 Roud-9 A mixed version from several singers, such as Baez and Redpath @murder @baby filename[ CRUELMOT TUNE FILE: CRUELMOT CLICK TO PLAY SOF |
The Cruel Mother (from The Penguin Book Of English Folk Songs) |