The Servant of Rosemary Lane
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When I was a servant in Rosemary Lane
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I gained the goodwill of my master and dame,
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Till at length a young sailor came there for to lie,
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Which was the beginning of my misery.
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He called for a candle to light him to bed,
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He called for a napkin to tie round his head;
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To tie round his head as he used for to do,
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And he vowed and he swore I should come to bed too.
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In the middle of the night this young man grew bold
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And into my lap he threw handfuls of gold,
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Saying 'Take this, my dear, and more you shall have.
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I'll be a friend to you as long as I live.'
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So we tumbled and tossed by the light of the moon;
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We rose the next morning all in the same tune.
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The very next morning this young man arose
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And dressed himself out in his tarpaulin clothes.
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'Alas,'then I cried,'oh, I am undone.
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He has left me with child of a daughter or son;
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And if 'tis a girl she shall stay at home with me,
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And if' tis a boy he shall plough on the sea.
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'With his long-quartered shoes, check shirt and blue jacket,
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On the quarter-deck he shall stand like a bold British tar;
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So I'll dry up my milk as you shall plainly see,
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And pass for a maid in my own country.'
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From Oxford Book of Sea Songs
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See also RASPLANE AMBLTOWN
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