Little Sparrow, Lyric Variant 02

This item is part of the I. G. Greer Folksong Collection which consists of more than 300 individual song titles and their variants as collected by Isaac Garfield Greer (1881-1967) from informants, primarily in Ashe, Wilkes and Watauga counties. The collection includes manuscripts, typescript transcriptions produced by Dr. Greer’s clerical staff, and handwritten musical notations. Songs range from traditional Child Ballads, traditional English and Scottish ballads as well as their American variants, to 19th century popular music to musical compositions of local origin.

Folk songs--United States

Warnings--Songs and music

Betrayal--Songs and music

Birds--Songs and music

Sadness--Songs and music

I Wish I was a Little Swallow, Come All You Fair and Tender Ladies, Come All Ye Fair and Tender Ladies

AC.113 Isaac Garfield (I.G.) Greer Papers and Recordings

W. L. Eury Appalachian Collection, Appalachian State University

Greer, I. G. (Isaac Garfield), 1881-1967

PDF

English

Text

The Warning

Come all you fair and tender ladies,
Take warning how you love young men,
They are like a fair bright summer
Morning,
They soon will dawn and fade away.
They’ll tell to you some lovely story
Straight way they’ll go and court another,
And that is the love they have for you

I once myself did have a lover.
Indeed I thought he was my own.
Strait way he went and married another
And left me alone to mourn
I wish that I was a little sparrow,
And had wings so I could fly
Strait after my true love I would follow
And when he spoke I’d be close by

I’d ask him who he was fooling.
Who he was trying to deceive.
And at his window I would flutter
With my little tender wings.
But I’m no little sparrow
Neither have I wings to fly
I’ll go back home and weep with sorrow
Until I pass may troubles by,

Brown, Folk Lyric - 254 Randolph, 73 Cox, 140 Combs, 188 Sharp, 118

113_LittleSparrow_Lyric_02