A FARMER'S DAUGHTER

I once did know a farmer, a good and faithful soul
Who used to work upon his farm around his cottage home.
He had an only daughter; to win her I did try,
And when I asked him for her hand, oh, this was his reply:

Chorus:
Treat my daughter kindly, and say you will do no harm.
And when I die I'll leave to you my home and little farm,
My horse, my plough, my sheep, my cow, my hogs and little barn,
And all the little chickens in the garden.

She and I went for the cows, we went arm in arm;
We drove the cows together up to that little barn.
I watched her milk her father's cows, and viewed her every charm,
And many a drink of milk I got before I left that farm.

Oh, now the old man has consented and married we will be
We'll own the little farm ourselves, and live in harmony,
And try to keep the promise that the old man asked of me,
To use her, his only child, and treat her kindly.

'A Farmer's Daughter.' Obtained from O. L. Coffey of Shull's Mills, Watauga County, NC, in August 1939.

Source: The Frank C. Brown Collection of North Carolina Folklore (Volume 2)