Hi,

This is an archaic version from Canada from Carrie Grover's "Heritage of Songs," p.18 (Grover a singer and fiddler was born in 1879 in Black River, Nova Scotia moved to Maine when she was young and later in life to Pennsylvania). Julie Mainstone who sent this to me writes:

Both of these songs however, appear in the "Mother's Songs" section so they were either handed down through her Scotch grandparents/great-grandparents, or learned within the small Nova Scotian community where Grover was raised in the late 1800s. "There She Stands" was learned by Grover's mother, Eliza Spinney, (born 1840) when she herself was a young girl living in the same area where Carrie (Grover) was born/raised.

There she stands a lovely creature- as sung by Mrs. Carrie Grover, learned from her mother c. 1887.

There she stands a lovely creature
Who she is I do not know
I will court her for her beauty
she can only answer, "no".

Madam, I have gold and silver,
Madam, I have houses and land.
Madam, I have ships on the ocean.
All will be at your command.

What care I for gold and silver?
What care I for houses and land?
What care I for ships on the ocean?
All I want is a handsome man.

Handsome man is out of the question,
Handsome man you can not find.
Handsome man is out of the question,
Can not be at your command.

Madam, do not stand on beauty;
Youth and beauty fade away
Like a rose that blooms in the morning
And in the evening dies away.

* * * *

Richie