Subject: Lyr/Chords Add: BARBARA ALLEN
From:
GUEST,Jeremiah McCaw
Date: 11 Mar 00 - 05:52 AM
Run for your life while you still can, Ursula! Unless you wanna make ol' Babs a full time career! Here's 5 versions I've got in my file. (The chord pattern with the first is just one of several I've seen.)
BruceO: looks like a superb website; I'm looking forward to exploring when I've got more time.
BARBARA ALLEN - Traditional (Child #84)
Samuel Pepys in his "Diary" under the date of January 2 1665, speaks of the singing of "Barbara Allen." The English and Scottish both claim the original ballad in different versions, and both versions were brought over to the US by the earliest settlers. Since then there have been countless variations (some 98 are found in Virginia alone).
D................A7.......................Bm
In Scarlet Town where I was born,
.....................E7...........A
There was a fair maid dwellin'.
.........G.....................D
Made ev'ry youth cry "Well-a-day,"
......A7..........................D
Her name was Barbara Allen.
All in the merry month of May,
When green buds they were swellin'
Young Jimmy Grove on his deathbed lay,
For love of Barbara Allen.
He sent his man unto her then,
To the town where she was dwellin';
You must come to my master dear,
If your name be Barbara Allen
For death is printed on his face,
And o'er his heart is stealin';
Then haste away to comfort him,
O lovely Barbara Allen.
Though death be printed on his face,
And o'er his heart is stealin',
Yet little better shall he be,
For bonnie Barbara Allen.
So slowly, slowly, she came up,
And slowly she came nigh him,
And all she said, when there she came,
Young man, I think you're dying.
He turned his face unto her straight,
With deadly sorrow sighing;
O lovely maid, come pity me,
I'm on my deathbed lying.
If on your deathbed you do lie,
What needs the tale you're tellin',
I cannot keep you from your death;
Farewell, said Barbara Allen
When he was dead and laid in grave,
Her heart was struck with sorrow,
O mother, mother, make my bed,
For I shall die tomorrow.
Hard-hearted creature him to slight,
Who loved me so dearly;
O that I'd been more kind to him,
When he was alive and near me!
She, on her deathbed as she lay,
Begg'd to be buried by him;
And sore repented of the day,
That she did e'er deny him.
Farewell, she said, ye virgins all,
And shun the fault I fell in;
Henceforth take warning by the fall
Of cruel Barbara Allen.
BARBARA ALLEN
'Twas in the merry month of May,
When green buds all were swellin',
Sweet William on his deathbed lay,
For the love of Barbara Allen.
He sent his servant to the town,
To the place where she was dwellin',
Sayin', "You must come to my master dear,
If your name be Barb'ry Allen.
So, slowly, slowly she got up,
And slowly she drew nigh him,
And the only words to him did say,
"Young man I think you're dyin'."
He turned his face unto the wall,
And death was in him wellin',
"Goodbye, goodbye to my friends all,
Be good to Barb'ry Allen."
When he was dead and laid in grave,
She heard the death bells knellin',
And every stroke to her did say:
"Hard-hearted Barb'ry Allen."
"Oh mother, oh mother, go dig my grave,
Make it both long and narrow,
Sweet William died of love for me,
And I will die of sorrow."
"And father, oh father, go dig my grave,
Make it both long and narrow,
Sweet William died on yesterday,
And I will die tomorrow."
Barb'ry Allen was buried in the old church yard,
Sweet William was buried beside her;
Out of William's heart, there grew a rose,
Out of Barb'ry Allen's a briar.
They grew and grew in the old church yard,
'Til they could grow no higher;
At the end they formed a true lovers' knot,
And the rose grew 'round the briar.
BARBARA ALLEN
In Scarlet town where I was born,
There was a fair maid dwellin'
Made every youth cry Well-a-day,
Her name was Barb'ra Allen.
All in the merry month of May,
When green buds they were swellin'
Young Willie Grove on his deathbed lay,
For love of Barb'ra Allen.
He sent his man unto her then
To the town where he was dwellin'
You must come to my master, dear,
If your name be Barb'ra Allen.
So slowly, slowly she came up,
And slowly she came nigh him,
And all she said when there she came:
"Young man, I think you're dying!"
He turned his face unto the wall
And death was drawing nigh him.
Adieu, adieu, my dear friends all,
And be kind to Barb'ra Allen
As she was walking o'er the fields,
She heard the death bell knellin',
And ev'ry stroke did seem to say,
Unworthy Barb'ra Allen.
When he was dead and laid in grave,
Her heart was struck with sorrow.
"Oh mother, mother, make my bed
For I shall die tomorrow."
And on her deathbed she lay,
She begged to be buried by him,
And sore repented of the day
That she did e'er deny him.
"Farewell," she said, "ye virgins all,
And shun the fault I fell in,
Henceforth take warning by the fall
Of cruel Barb'ra Allen."
BARBARA ALLEN (2)
In Scarlet Town where I was born
There was a fair maid dwellin'
Made every youth cry well-a-day
Her name was Barbara Allen.
'Twas in the merry month of May
When green buds they were swellin'
Sweet William on his deathbed lay
For the love of Barbara Allen.
He sent his servant to the town,
To the place where she was a-dwellin',
Cried, "Master bids you come to him,
If your name be Barb'ry Allen."
Then slowly, slowly she got up,
And slowly went she nigh him,
And when she pulled the curtains back
Said, "Young man, I think you're dyin'.
"Oh, yes, I'm sick, I'm very very sick,
I never will be better,
Until I have the love of one
The love of Barb'ry Allen."
"Oh, ken ye not in yonder town
In the place where you were a-dwellin',
You gave a toast to the ladies all
But you slighted Barb'ry Allen."
"Oh yes, I ken, I ken it well,
In the place where I was a-dwellin';
I give a toast to the ladies all,
But my love to Barb'ry Allen."
Then lightly tripped she down the stairs,
He trembled like an aspen.
'Tis vain, 'tis vain, my dear young man,
To hone for Barb'ry Allen.
She walked out in the green, green fields.
She heard his death bells knellin'.
And every stroke they seemed to say,
"Hard-hearted Barb'ry Allen."
Her eyes looked east, her eyes looked west,
She saw his pale corpse comin';
She cried, "Bearers, bearers, put him down
That I may look upon him."
The more she looked, the more she grieved,
Until she burst out cryin';
She cried, "Bearers, bearers, take him off,
For I am now a-dyin'!"
"Oh, father, oh, father, go dig my grave,
Go dig it deep and narrow.
Sweet William died for me today;
I'll die for him tomorrow."
They buried her in the old churchyard,
Sweet William's grave was nigh her,
And from his heart grew a red, red rose,
And from her heart a brier.
They grew and they grew o'er the old church wall,
Till they couldn't grow no higher,
Until they tied a true lover's knot,
The red rose and the brier.
From The Burl Ives Song Book
BARBARA ALLEN (5)
It being late, all in the year,
The green leaves they were fallin'
When young Johnny rose from his own country,
Fell in love with Barbara Allen.
Get up, get up, her mother says,
Get up and go and see him,
Oh, mother dear, do ye not mind the time
That you told me how to slight him.
Get up, get up, her father says,
Get up and go and see him,
Oh, father dear, do ye not mind the time
That you told me how to shun him.
Slowly, slowly she got up,
And it's slowly she put on her,
Slowly she went to his bedside,
And slowly looked upon him.
You're lyin' low, young man, she says,
And almost near a-dyin'
One word from you will bring me to,
If you be Barbara Allen.
One word from me you never will get,
Nor any young man breathin',
For the better of me you never will be,
Though your heart's blood was a-spillin'.
Look down, look down, at my bed foot,
It's there you'll find them lyin'
Bloody sheets and bloody shirts
I sweat them for you, Allen
Look up, look up to my bed head,
And there you'll find them hangin'
My gold watch and my gold chain
I bestow them to you, Allen
As she was goin' home to her father's hall,
She heard the death-bell ringin'
And every clap that the death-bell gave,
It was "Woe be to you, Allen."
As she was goin' home to her mother's hall,
She saw the funeral comin'
Lay down, lay down that weary corpse,
'Til I get lookin' on 'im
She lifted up the lid off the corpse,
And bursted out with laughin'
And all his weary friends around
Cried, "hard hearted Barbara Allen."
She went into her mother's house
Make my bed long and narrow
For the death-bell did ring for my true love today
It will ring for me tomorrow
Out of one grave there grew a red rose
Out of the other a briar
And they both twisted into a true lover's knot,
And there remained forever
Sung by Johnny Moynihan on the album "Selected Songs, Reels, and Jigs" by DeDanaan
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