Lyr. Add: CUCKOO IS A PRETTY BIRD
(A Forsaken Lover), Bradley Kincaid

1
O Johnny is on the water,
Let him sink or let him swim,
For if he can live without me,
I can live without him.
2
Johnny is a young boy,
But still younger am I;
But how often has he told me
He'd wed me or die.
3
O meeting is a pleasure
And parting is grief,
But an unconstant true love
Is worse than a thief.
4
A thief can but rob you
And take all you have,
But an unconstant lover
Will take you to your grave.
5
I'll take off this black dress
And I'll flourish in green,
For I don't care if I'm forsaken
I am only nineteen.

Hiccough, O Lordy, how bad I do feel,
Hiccough, O Lordy, how bad I do feel.

6
The grave it will rot you
And turn you to dust;
There ain't one out of twenty
That a young girl can trust.
7
They will court and kiss you
And get your heart warm,
But as soon as your back's turned
They'll laugh you to scorn.
8
The cuckoo is a pretty bird,
She sings as she flies;
She brings us good tidings
And tells us no lies.
9
Forsaken, forsaken,
Forsaken am I.
He is certainly mistaken
If he thinks I'll cry.
10
I'll tune up my fiddle
And rosin my bow,
I'll make myself welcome
Wherever I go.

Bradley Kincaid, 1928, Favorite Mountain Ballads and Old Time Songs, no publisher cited; "as sung over WLS, the Prairie Farmer Station." Page 20 with brief musical score.
Kincaid was from Kentucky. He recorded "On Top of Old Smoky" in 1929 (see Traditional Ballad Index, above; not heard).

This complex of songs is inextricably mixed by Appalachian Mountain singers.