Recorded from Mark Anderson, retired lead miner of Teesdale, Yorkshire in 1947 be Ewan MacColl and Joan Littlewood
Jim Carroll

FORTY MILES
It's forty miles I've been today
I spied a cottage all on the way
Which I've never seen before, before
Which I've never seen before

I boldly rattled all on the pin.
A bonnie young maid she heard the din
And she cried: Is anyone there, o, there?
And she cried: Is anyone there?


For pity's sake love open the door.
I've come a long journey ower the moor.
And I pray you let me in, o in,
And I pray you let me in.


To let you in that may not be
There's nobody here at home but me,
And I dare not let you in, you in,
And I dare not let you in.

See how it rains, it hails, it snows,
The night is dark, the cold wind blows,
And I'm soaking to the skin, the skin,
And I'm soaking to the skin.

To let you in, that may not be
My dad's gone lambing and ta'en the key,
And I may not let you in, you in,
And I may not let you in.

I turned to go but she said: Nay,
'T would be a sin to send you away.
And she up and she let me in, me in,
And she up and let me in."