Marriage Bed
 


Citation

“Marriage Bed,” Appalachian State University Libraries Digital Collections, accessed March 28, 2024, https://omeka.library.appstate.edu/items/show/31715.


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Title

Marriage Bed

Description

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.

Subject

Folk songs, English--United States
Love--Songs and music
Impressment--Songs and music
Sailors--Songs and music
Naval history--Songs and music

Publisher

W. L. Eury Appalachian Collection, Appalachian State University

Contributor

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

Format

PDF

Language

English

Type

Text

Transcription

Marriage Bed

When I was of marriage age
Laid on a marriage bed
There came a noble press gang
And stood at my bed head,

Saying, “Arise! O arise! you new married man
And go along with me
To the lowlands of Holland
To fight your enemy.”

My wife she cast her arms around
Me thinking I could stay
I said to her, “My dearest dear,
This night I must away

“Away, away,” said he, “where the roaring
Roaring billows roar,
But if e’er I return again
I’ll spend my life on shore”

“No shoes or socks on my feet
No red rose in my hair
No firelight or no candle bright
Shall show my beauty fair,

“No never will our marriage be
No never till I die
Since the lowlands of Holland
Has parted my love and I.”

“O daughter! daughter!” mother says,
“Why do you so lament,
Ain’t there men enough in our town
To give you heart’s content?”

“If there’s men enough in our town
There’s none enough for me,
Since the lowlands of Holland
Has parted my love and me.

“O mother, Mother, don’t you see,
That ship a sailing down the other side
Its enough to break a fair maids heart
Or lose a good man’s bride.

“That little maid, a bride,” said she,
“Most glorious to behold
May the Gods above protect my love
A glorious sailor bold.”

RRR

Informant

RRR

File name

113_MarriageBed

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Comments

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