Lyr. Add: OVER HILLS AND HIGH MOUNTAINS
17th c. song.

1
Over Hills and High Mountains,
Long time have I been ...
Through many crystal fountains,
by my self all alone,
Through Bushes and Bryers
being void of all Care
Through Perils and Dangers
for the loss of my Dear.
2
Tis not my long journey
I value of a straw,
Nor the leaving of London
for which I do now,
But the most that do grieve me
and trouble my Mind,
Is to leave my dearest Jewel behind.
3
.... is a fine place,
O it shines were it stands,
And the more I look upon it
the more my heart warms,
If I was in ....
I should think myself at home,
For it there I have a true love
in St. Gile's I have none.
4
I'll build my love a castle
on younders pritty Ground,
Where no Lords nor no Nobles
shall near pull it down.
If anyone should Ask you
my dear what's your Name,
You may tell them your my true Love
and I am your true Swain.
5
If great Lords opr great Nobles
a Courting should come,
The Beauty deserving of a Lord or a King,
King George can but love you,
my dear I'll do the same,
I'll crown you my Mistress,
and I am your true Swain.
6
          Lads
And when they come in Company
with their pritty Maids,
O they hugg them and kiss them,
and spend their money free
And of all parts of London
............for me,
O they are pritty Blades,

Bodleian Collection, "A New Song," Harding B22(381), no date, no printer listed. Omissions and possible errors in the copy. I haven't checked NLS or other possible on line collections that may have a better copy or variant verse.
"Over the Hills and High Mountains" is listed as the tune for some of the UK ancestral songs that contributed to the complex around "Old Smokey."
The Bodleian has several songs for which this is listed as the tune, some dated in the period 1680-1706.
The first lines of "The Riddle" are similar, but not the bulk of the song (Harding B25(1620); this seems to be a later song.

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