Molly Vaughan - sung by Colleen Cleveland, Brant Lake, NY USA 1997. Recorded by Gwilym Davies. Colleen learnt the song from her grandmother, Sarah Cleveland.
Come all you young hunters who follow the gun Beware of late shooting by the setting of the sun Jimmie Randal the squire went a-fowling in the dark He aimed at his true love and he ne'er missed his mark.
Being late in the evening, when the shower came on She ran under a green bush, the shower to shun With her apron all round her, he took her for a swan But oh and alas, wasn't she Molly Vaughan.
He ran to his home and he threw down his gun Crying 'Uncle, dear uncle, I have shot Molly Vaughan I have shot that fair maiden, the pride of my life It was my intention to make her my wife.
'Oh Jimmy, dear Jimmy, to be sure it is grief But you will not be punished for the loss of Molly Pray stay you at home till your trial comes on You will not be punished till I lose all I own.'
The night before the trial, her ghost did appear Crying 'Father, dear father, Jimmy Randal shall go clear With my apron all around me, he took me for a swan But oh and alas, wasn't I Molly Vaughan.'
Now the girls in old England are all very glad That the flower of Killarney was shot and killed there If we gather them together and stand them in a row Molly Vaughan would shine among them like a mountain of snow.