The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #159568   Message #3802747
Posted By: Richie
30-Jul-16 - 01:04 PM
Thread Name: Origins: Gosport Tragedy/ Cruel Ship's Carpenter
Subject: RE: Origins: Gosport Tragedy/ Cruel Ship's Carpenter
Hi,

Another Irish (?) version is traditional Irish singer Frank Harte's version from a 1975 recording:

Miss Brown

Oh in Dublin's fair city, in Dublin's fair town,
In Dublin's fair city, there dwelt a Miss Brown.
And she courted a sailor for seven long years,
And from the beginning, he called her his dear.

And one morning very early, all by the break of the day,
He came to her cottage and to her did say:
"Rise up, lovely Mary, and come along with me.
Strange things they will happen; and strange sights things we will see."

Well he took her over mountain;and he took her over dell,
And she heard through the morning the sound of a bell.
All over the ocean, all over the sea,
Ye fair maids of Dublin, take warning from me.

"O sailor, o sailor, come spare me my life,"
When out of his pocket, he drew a sharp knife.
And he ripped her and tore her and cut her in three,
Then he laid his poor Mary underneath a green tree.

Oh green grows the laurel and red grows the rose
And the raven will follow, wherever he goes;
A cloud will hang over this murderer's head
He shall never rest easy now that Mary be dead.

It's easier to see the "Polly's Love" connection and the "green grows" connection in the last stanza,

Richie