1 There was an old lord by the Northern sea
Bow down
There was an old lord by the Northern sea
The boughs they bend to me
There was an old lord by the Northern sea
And he had daughters one, two and three
That will be true, true to my love
Love and my love will be true to me
2 A young man he came a-courting there
And he made the choice of the youngest fair
3 He bought the youngest a beaver hat
The eldest thought much of that
4 He bought the youngest a gay gold ring
Didn’t get the eldest anything
5 “Sister oh sister shall we walk out
To see the tall ships sailing about?”
6 And as they walked down by the water’s brim
The eldest pushed the youngest in
7 “Sister of sister lend me your hand!
And I’ll give you my houses and land”
8 “I’ll never lend you my hand nor glove
But I will steal your own true love”
9 So down she sank and away she swam
She swam right into the miller’s dam
10 The miller he pulled her out of the brook
Pulled her out with his long fishing hook
11 And off of her rings took the gay gold ring
And into the water he pushed her again
12 The miller was hung by his own mill gate
And the sister was burned right at the stake
credits
from Tell Tale Signs,
track released May 5, 2012
Trad. arr Graham
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