Here is a set of lyrics I found at http://www.blackbeers.rdsor.ro/foggydew.html. I don't know what their source is.

This version is very similar to that sung by McCormack. Where McC has a different word, I've placed it after the one in the text separated by a slash (eg. word in text/McC's word).

Alice, I think your awkward 'spied' in the last verse is in fact 'sighed'. My version here says 'signed' but I think that's just a typo.

Also, in this version there's a line in the first verse given as 'Sweet Anner's verdant side'. It certainly sounds like this is what McC says, but it doesn't mean anything to me. Does anyone else have any ideas about this line?

If anyone has any info on the history of this song before 1913, it would be greatly appreciated :-)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A down the hill I went one morn,
A lovely maid I spied.
Her hair was as/(nothing) bright as the dew that wets
Sweet Anner's verdant side.
'And where go ye, sweet maid,' said I?
She raised her eyes of blue,
And smiled and said 'The boy I wed
I'm to meet in the foggy dew.'

Go hide your blooms ye roses red
And droop ye lilies rare.
For you must pale for very shame,
Before a maid so fair.
Said I 'Dear maid, will you be me bride?'
Beneath [She raised] her eyes of blue,
She/And smiled and said, 'The boy I wed
I'm to meet in the foggy dew.'

A down the hill I went at/one morn,
A singing I did go.
A down the hill I went at/one morn,
She answer'd soft/sweet and low.
'Yes I will be your own dear bride,
And I know that you'll be true.'
Then signed/sighed in me/my arms and all her charms
Were hid/hidden in the foggy dew.

Zena

HTML line breaks added. --JoeClone, 3-Sep-02.