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John Minear Lyr Req: Demon Lover in New England? (185* d) Lyr Add: THE HOUSE CARPENTER (trad Maine) 12 Dec 11

Here is the version sung by Susie Carr Young, of Brewer, Maine, and collected by George Herzog in 1928. This ballad was "traditional in her family." (Bronson, 452)

THE HOUSE CARPENTER

She took her baby on her knee
And she gave it kisses three,
Saying, "Stay a t home, you sweet pretty babe,
Keep your father company."

They had not been out more than two weeks,
I'm sure it was not three,
Before this lady began to weep,
And she wept most bitterly.

"O, do you weep for the gold that you left,
Or the dangers of the sea?
Or is it for fear of that house-carpenter
That you left when you came with me?"

"I do not weep for the gold that I left,
Or the dangers of the sea;
But it's all for the love of that little baby
That I left when I came with thee."

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