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Across the Blue Mountains
A-Roving on a Winter’s Night
Bay of Biscay
California Boy
Griesly Bride
Harvest Song
In 1845
I Saw Her As She Came And Went
James Alley Blues
Lord Gregory
Lucy Ann Rag
The Mermaid
Mrs. Ravoon
Old Dolores
Snowbird
Sweet Substitute
You Gonna Quit Me, Baby
Across the Blue Mountains
One morning, one morning, one morning in May,
I overheard a married man to a young girl did say:
“Go dress you up, pretty Katie, and come along with me,
Across the Blue Mountains to the Allegheny.
I’ll buy you a horse, love, and a saddle to ride;
I’ll buy myself another to ride by your side.
We’ll, stop at every tavern; we’ll drink when we’re dry.
Across the Blue Mountains goes my Katie and I.”
When up stepped her mother, and angry was she then,
Saying, “Daughter, oh Daughter, he is a married man.
Besides, there are young men plenty, much handsomer than he.
Let him take his own wife to the Allegheny.”
“But Mother, oh Mother, he’s the man of my own heart,
And wouldn’t it be an awful thing for me and my love to part?
I’d vallee (value) every woman that ever I did see
Who crossed the Blue Mountains to the Allegheny.”
A-Roving on a Winter’s Night
A-rovin’ on a winter’s night, drinkin’ good sweet wine.
Thinkin’ about that pretty little girl, that’s broke this heart of mine.
She is just like a butter rose, that blooms in the month of June.
Or like some musical instrument, that’s just been lately tuned.
Perhaps it’s a trip to a foreign land, a ship to France or Spain,
But if I go ten thousand miles, I’m a-coming back again.
And it’s who’s a-gonna shoe your pretty little foot,
Who’s a-gonna glove your hand.
Who’s a-gonna kiss your red ruby lips, when I’m in that foreign land.
Well, it’s papa’s gonna shoe, my pretty little foot,
Mama’s gonna glove my hand.
You can kiss my red ruby lips, when you come back again.
I love you till the sea runs dry, the rocks do melt with the sun.
I love you till the day I die, though we may never be one.
A-rovin’ on a winter’s night, drinkin’ good sweet wine.
Thinkin’ about that pretty little girl, that’s broke this heart of mine.
Thinkin’ about that pretty little girl, that’s broke this heart of mine.
Bay of Biscay
My true love sailed on board a tender
And where he is I do not know
For seven long years I have been waiting
Since he has crossed the Bay of Biscay-o
One night as Mary lay a-sleeping
A knock came to her bedroom door
Saying “arise, arise, my only Mary
It is your true love, I, William-o”
So, Mary rose, put on her clothing
So swift she’s opened up the door
And there she saw her true lover standing
His cherry cheeks they were as white as snow
“O, William, dear, where are your blushes
Your blushes you’d got so long ago?”
“O, Mary dear, the clay has changed me
And I am the ghost of your William-o”
(Instrumental of melody)
“And, Mary, dear, the dawn is breaking
The time has come for me to go.
And I must leave you broken-hearted
Since I have crossed the Bay of Biscay-o”
O, if I had all gold and silver
And all the money in Mexico
I’d give it all to the queen of England
For just one kiss from my William-o
For my William sailed on board a tender
And where he is I do not know
For seven long years I have been waiting
Since he has crossed the Bay of Biscay-o
California Boy
Goin’ to California is a dreary plight;
Robs young girls of their heart’s delight.
Causes them to weep; causes them to mourn
The loss of a true love, never more to return.
Father, Oh Father, build me a boat,
So that I may on the ocean float.
I’ll hail every vessel passing me by,
And I shall inquire of my California boy.
Black is the color of my true love’s hair,
And his lips they are so wondrous fair.
Should he return, it would bring me joy;
None shall I have but my California boy.
Griesly Bride (Manifold/Campbell)
“Lie down, my newly married wife;
Lie easy as you can.
You’re young, and ill-accustomed yet
To sleeping with a man.
The snow was deep, the moon was full
As it shown on the cabin floor.
His young bride rose without a word
And ran barefoot through the door.
He up and followed, fast and sure,
And an angry man was he,
But his young bride wasn’t e’er in sight,
And only the moon shone clearly.
He followed her track through the new deep snow,
Calling out loud her name.
Only the dingoes* in the hills (*wild dogs)
Yowled back at him again.
Then the hair stood up along his neck
And his angry mind was gone,
For where the two-foot track gave out,
A four-footed track went on.
Her nightgown lay upon the snow
As it might on a bed sheet,
And the tracks that led from where it lay
Were never of human feet.
He first started in to walkin’ back,
Then he began to run,
And his quarry turned all in her track
And hunted him in turn.
An empty bed still waits for him
As he lies in a crimson tide.
Beware, beware, oh trapper men,
Beware of a griesly bride.
Harvest Song (Weissman, BMI)
‘Round my backdoor, the river runs;
The land’s gone dry from too much sun.
Dust clouds hang in an empty sky;
If it don’t rain soon, my crops will die.
‘Cause I’m too young to stay here,
But I won’t leave this town.
Plant my seed in the deep, brown earth;
Pray for the harvest to come ’round,
Pray for the harvest to come ’round.
First I tried cotton, and then some corn.
The stalks grew high, ’bout six foot long.
Mean old dust come a-whirlin’ down
And it cut that young corn to the ground.
When the sun comes up and the sparrows call,
The leaves turn red and start to fall.
Field’s of bright gold, hear the heifers sigh;
I’ll till the land until I die.
In 1845
I woke up one morning in 1845;
Thought myself quite lucky, just to be alive.
Harnessed up my old team, my business to pursue,
And I went to haulin’ coal like I used for to do.
The alehouse bein’ open, the whiskey flowin’ free,
Soon as I drank one glass, another stood for me.
I only hauled but one load, instead of haulin’ four,
And I got so drunk at Chippen’s Ford I couldn’t haul no more.
Grabbed my saddle across my back, staggered to the barn.
Harnessed up my old mare, thinkin’ it no harm.
Jumped on her back and I rode off so still
That I scarcely drew a breath ’til I come to Laurel Hill.
My father fast pursued me, rode both night and day;
Must have had a pilot, or else he’d lost his way.
Looked in every hole and cranny, stopped at every light,
‘Til his old grey locks was wet with the dew of the night.
I have an honest comrade, his name I will not tell.
He asked me if I’d go downtown with him to cut a swell,
And, after much persuasion, with him I did agree
And we went off to a tailor shop, some fiddlers for to see.
Up stepped four young ladies, ready for a dance;
Up stepped four young gentlemen, all in advance.
The fiddlers bein’ willing, their arms a-bein’ strong,
I danced the ground at Laurel Hill about four hours long.
I Saw Her As She Came And Went (trad., Rustin)
I saw her as she came and went;
I saw her queenly, meek and mild,
As innocent as in a (any) child,
A flower among her flowers,
Among her flowers content.
I come again, and in her place
Are silence and a vacant room,
And, in my heart, a sudden gloom
That I no more shall see,
No more shall see her face.
There was a word I might have said,
But what it was I do not know.
I let the days fly by, and now,
Now I must say it to,
Must say it to her, dead.
James Alley Blues (James “Rabbit” Brown)
Times ain’t now, nothing like they used to be.
Oh times ain’t now, nothing like they used to be.
And I tell you all the truth, oh you can take it from me.
Well, I seen better days, but I’m puttin’ up with these.
I seen better days, I’m puttin’ up with these.
I could have a much better time with the girls down in New Orleans
‘Cos I was born in the country, she thought I was easy to rule.
‘Cos I was born in the country, she thought I was easy to rule.
She tried to hitch me to her wagon, drive me like a mule.
You know I bought the groceries, and I paid the rent.
Yes I bought the groceries, and I paid the rent.
She tried to make me wash her clothes, but I got good common sense.
I give you sugar for sugar, let you get salt for salt.
I give you sugar for sugar, let you get salt for salt.
And if you can’t get along with me, well it’s your own fault.
I said if you don’t want me, why don’t you tell me so?
You know, if you don’t want me, why don’t you tell me so?
Because it ain’t like a man, that ain’t got nowhere to go.
Oh, I want to love you, you keep a-treatin’ me mean.
You know I want to love you, you keep a-treatin’ me mean.
You’re my daily thought, and my nightly dream.
Sometimes I think, you’re too sweet to die.
Sometimes I think, you’re too sweet to die.
And another time I think, you ought-a be buried alive.
Lord Gregory
I am the Queen’s daughter, I come from Cappoquin
In search of Lord Gregory; pray God I find him.
The rain beats on my yellow hair, the dew wets my skin;
My wee babe’s cold in my arms, Lord Gregory, let me in.
Lord Gregory he is not here, I swear can’t be seen;
He’s gone to bonnie Scotland for to bring home a fair Queen.
So, leave now these windows, likewise this hall,
For it’s deep in the sea you should hide your downfall.
Don’t you remember, love that night in Cappoquin,
When we exchanged rings, love, and I against my will.
Yours was pure silver and mine was but tin;
Oh, yours cost a guinea and mine but a pin.
My curse on you, Mother, my curse being so;
I dreamed that my true love come a-knockin’ at my door.
Sleep now, my foolish son, lie down now and sleep;
‘Twas only a servant girl lies drownded in the deep.
Go saddle me the black horse, the brown and the bay;
Go saddle the finest horse in my stable this day.
I’ll ride over mountains and valleys so wide;
I’ll find the girl I love and lie by her side.
Lucy Ann Rag (Weissman, BMI)
Had a little girl by the name of Lucille;
Makes me want to hang around Mobile.
Lucy Ann, Lucy Grey,
I m gonna marry you some day.
Tell you, Lucy, what I’d like to do;
I’d like to run away with you.
Scared to travel in your neighborhood,
‘Cause your mom and daddy think I ain’t no good.
Some day I will be a wealthy man;
Until that time, I’ll do the best I can.
The Mermaid
I cruised out on a fine summer’s eve,
AlI out of sight of the land,
There I spied a mermaid a-sittin’ on a rock
With a comb and a glass in her hand.
This little mermaid sprang into the deep;
The wind began to blow.
The rain and the hail, so dark in the air,
We will never see land anymore.
Oh, the wind, how it does blow,
Old stormy seas, how they roar;
One for a sailor a-strugglin’ in the deep,
And the landlord safe on the shore.
Now the first on deck was the Captain of the ship,
A fine lookin’ fella was he;
Says, “We’re all, lost for the want of a boat,
And we’ll lie at the bottom of the sea.
And I have a wife, I have three little babes;
Tonight they’ll be waitin’ for me.
They may wait, they may look ’til the salt sea drives,
For I’ll be at the bottom of the sea.”
Now the next on deck was our little cabin boy,
And a mean lookin’ fella was he;
Says, “I care no more for my wife and my babes
Than I do for the bottom of the sea.”
Nine times ’round spun our gallant ship,
Nine times ’round spun she;
Nine times ’round spun our gallant ship
And she sank to the bottom of the sea.
Oh, the wind, how it does blow,
Old stormy seas, how they roar;
One for a sailor a-strugglin’ in the deep,
And the landlord safe on the shore.
Mrs. Ravoon (trad./Mastin)
I climbed the clock tower ‘neath the noonday sun;
‘Twas midday, at least, ere my journey was done.
But the clock never sounded the last stroke of noon,
For there from the clapper swung Mrs. Ravoon.
Mrs. Ravoon, Mrs. Ravoon,
You are too much with me, late and soon.
I stole through the dungeon whilst everyone slept
Till I came to the place where the monster was kept.
There in the arms of a giant baboon,
Rigid and smiling, lay Mrs. Ravoon.
I stood by the water, so green and so thick,
And I stirred at the scum with my old, withered stick,
When there rose from the depths of the limpid lagoon
The luminous body of Mrs. Ravoon.
I pulled in my line and I took my first look
At the half-eaten horror that hung from my hook.
I had dragged from the depths of that limpid lagoon
The bloated cadaver of Mrs. Ravoon.
I went to an amateur butcher I know
For the gut of a cat for my violin bow,
But I never imagined I’d play my next tune
On the shuddering entrails of Mrs. Ravoon.
I ran through the marsh ‘midst the lightning and thunder,
When a terrible flash split the darkness asunder.
Chewing a rat’s tail and mumbling a rune,
Mad in the moat, squatted Mrs. Ravoon.
Mrs. Ravoon, Mrs. Ravoon,
You are too much with me, late and soon.
Mrs. Ravoon, Mrs. Ravoon,
You are too much with me…..
Old Dolores (trad./Rogers)
In the country down below,
Where the little piñons grow,
And it’s nearly always half a day to water,
There stood a little town
Where a stream come tricklin’ down
From the mesa where it surely shouldn’t oughter.
The streets were bright with candlelight,
The whole town joined the chorus.
And every man in sight
Let his cattle drift at night
To mosey to the town of Old Dolores.
Then things would kind of spin
Till the sun come up again
Like the back of some old yella prairie wagon,
And show us, dim and red,
A half a hundred head
Of our saddle ponies standin’, reins a-draggin’
The red mud walls, the waterfalls,
The whole wide world before us.
But the ‘dobe walls are gone,
And the goats’ bells in the dawn
Ain’t a-jinglin’ in the streets of Old Dolores.
The pretty girls would fool
By the plaza in the cool;
There’s one, I used to meet her by a willow.
But I guess most any girl
Gives a fella’s heart a whirl
When the same’s been usin’ saddles for a pillow.
The wide-eyed stars, the big cigars,
The drinks that Joe poured for us.
If there’s any little well
Down within the gates of hell,
I know the boys have named it Old Dolores
Snowbird (Weissman, BMI)
Wish I was a snowbird, flyin’ in the sky;
I’d dip my wings in white, and I’d fly so high.
Oh, the world is free, and I’ m gone once more;
Gone too swift for the winds to blow.
Wish I was a pine tree, tallest in the grove;
I’d lift my head so high I’d touch the stars above.
Oh, I climbed a mountain with a Red Rock wren;
Flowers laughin’ at me – I wish that I was them.
Sweet Substitute
My gal went away;
I knew I’d want her back someday,
So I thought I would look around.
See what I have found:
Sweet Substitute, sweet substitute,
She always tells me she’s mine, alI mine.
Does anything I want, you know; love is blind.
She’s got such lovin’ ways,
She got my heart right down in a daze.
My new recruit, she’s awful sweet and cute;
I’m really crazy ’bout my substitute.
(repeat, with last line:)
I’m really crazy ’bout my substitute.
Don’t want no reg’lars,
Crazy ’bout my substitute.
You Gonna Quit Me, Baby
You gonna quit me, baby,
Good as I been to you,
Good as I been to you, doggone…
Standin’ at a station,
Suitcase in my hand,
Suitcase in my hand, doggone…
Tell me, tell me, baby,
Where’d you stay last night?
Where’d you stay last night, doggone…
I can get me another woman,
Soon as you get you a man,
Soon as you get you a man, doggone…
You gonna miss me, baby,
Good as I, good as I been to you,
Good as I, good as I been to you, doggone,
Good as I…