I learned this song at GS camp, even though we're not allowed to sing it anymore because it refrences death and all that good stuff. I was also told that it was originally a song about a woman named Rose that was being forced to marry someone she wasn't in love with, so she killed herself. Nobody here seems to have quite all the verses I know in the same message, so I thought I'd put them all into one...

Rose, rose, rose, rose
Will I ever see thee wed?
I will marry at thy will, sire
At thy will

Hey, ho, nobody's home
Eat nor sleep nor money have I none
Still I will be married
Hey, ho, nobody's home

Ding dong, ding dong
Wedding bells on an April morn
Carve your name on a moss covered stone
On a moss covered stone

Mother, Father dig my grave
Dig my grave with a golden spade
Bring my friends and a turtledove
To show I died for love


The verse "Ah poor bird, take thy flight, high above the sorrows of this dark night" is a descant that can be sung with any of the verses, but we usually sing it with the third one.