Old Ballads

Old Ballads

The Project Gutenberg EBook of Old Ballads, by Various This eBook
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Title: Old Ballads
Author: Various
Release Date: February 23, 2004 [EBook #11236]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK OLD
BALLADS ***

Produced by The Internet Archive Children's Library, Ted Garvin and
the Online Distributed Proofreading Team.

OLD BALLADS
_Illustrated by
JOHN EYRE R.B.A._

CONTENTS.
COME, LASSES AND LADS COMIN' THRO' THE RYE
CHERRY-RIPE ANNIE LAURIE ROBIN ADAIR MOLLY BAWN
GO, HAPPY ROSE! THE ANCHOR'S WEIGH'D ALICE GRAY
HOME, SWEET HOME JOHN ANDERSON, MY JO MY PRETTY
JANE ROCK'D IN THE CRADLE OF THE DEEP THE MINSTREL

BOY ON THE BANKS OF ALLAN WATER AULD LANG SYNE
WITHIN A MILE OF EDINBURGH TOWN THE NIGHT-PIECE TO
JULIA TOM BOWLING MY LOVE IS LIKE THE RED RED ROSE
WIDOW MALONE THE JOLLY YOUNG WATERMAN CALLER
HERRIN' A HUNTING WE WILL GO HEARTS OF OAK THE FINE
OLD ENGLISH GENTLEMAN THE BAY OF BISCAY O!
BLACK-EYED SUSAN DUNCAN GRAY THE BAILIFF'S
DAUGHTER OF ISLINGTON THE MILLER OF DEE THE
ANGEL'S WHISPER SIMON THE CELLARER AULD ROBIN
GRAY BONNIE DUNDEE SALLY IN OUR ALLEY KITTY OF
COLERAINE HERE'S TO THE MAIDEN OF BASHFUL FIFTEEN
THE LEATHER BOTTEL WOODMAN, SPARE THAT TREE THE
TOKEN O WERT THOU IN THE CAULD BLAST THE
PASSIONATE SHEPHERD TO HIS LOVE LOVELY NAN THE
LASS OF RICHMOND HILL TELL ME NOT, SWEET SHE WORE
A WREATH OF ROSES O NANNY, WILT THOU GO WITH ME?
D'YE KEN JOHN PEEL?
* * * * *

COME, LASSES AND LADS.
Come, lasses and lads, get leave of your dads, And away to the
Maypole hie, For ev'ry fair has a sweetheart there, And the fiddler's
standing by;
For Willy shall dance with Jane, And Johnny has got his Joan, To trip it,
trip it, trip it, trip it, Trip it up and down!
"You're out," says Dick; "not I," says Nick, "'Twas the fiddler play'd it
wrong;" "'Tis true," says Hugh, and so says Sue, And so says ev'ry one.
The fiddler than began To play the tune again, And ev'ry girl did trip it,
trip it, Trip it to the men!
Then, after an hour, they went to a bow'r, And play'd for ale and cakes;
And kisses too,--until they were due, The lasses held the stakes. The
girls did then begin To quarrel with the men, And bade them take their
kisses back, And give them their own again!
"Good-night," says Harry; "good-night," says Mary; "Good-night," says
Poll to John; "Good-night," says Sue to her sweetheart Hugh;
"Good-night," says ev'ry one. Some walk'd and some did run, Some
loiter'd on the way, And bound themselves by kisses twelve, To meet

the next holiday.
_Anon._

COMING THRO' THE RYE.
Gin a body meet a body Comin' thro' the rye, Gin a body kiss a body,
Need a body cry?
Ilka lassie has her laddie, Nane, they say, hae I, Yet a' the lads they
smile at me When comin' thro' the rye.
Gin a body meet a body Comin' frae the town, Gin a body meet a body,
Need a body frown? Ilka lassie has, etc.
Amang the train there is a swain I dearly lo'e mysel'; But what his name,
or whaur his hame, I dinna care to tell. Ilka lassie has, etc.
_Anon._

CHERRY-RIPE.
Cherry-Ripe, ripe, ripe, I cry, Full and fair ones, come and buy; If so be
you ask me where They do grow? I answer, There, Where my Julia's
lips do smile, There's the land or cherry isle, Whose plantations fully
show All the year, where cherries grow.
Herrick.

ANNIE LAURIE.
Maxwelton braes are bonnie, Where early fa's the dew; And it's there
that Annie Laurie Gied me her promise true; Gied me her promise true,
Which ne'er forgot will be; And for bonnie Annie Laurie I'd lay me
doun and dee.
Her brow is like the snaw-drift, Her throat is like the swan, Her face it
is the fairest That e'er the sun shone on; That e'er the sun shone on, And
dark blue is her ee; And for bonnie Annie Laurie I'd lay me doun and
dee.
Like dew on the gowan lying, Is the fa' o' her fairy feet; And like winds
in summer sighing, Her voice is low and sweet; Her voice is low and
sweet, And she's all the world to me; And for bonnie Annie Laurie I'd
lay me doun and dee.
_Trad._

ROBIN ADAIR.
What's this dull town to me? Robin's