Print This Page#00195 Print This Page
A nobleman's fair daughter
Went down a narrow lane,
And met with Captain Wedderburn,
The keeper of the game;
Now, my pretty fair miss,
If it wasn't for the law,
You and I in a bed might lie,
Roll me over next to the wall.
Roll me over next to the wall.
Now, my dear good man,
Do not be perplexed,
Before that you might bed with me,
You must answer questions six;
Six questions you will answer me,
And I will ask them all,
And you and I in a bed might lie,
Roll me over next to the wall.
Roll me over next to the wall.
Now, what is rounder than a ring,
And higher than the trees?
And what is worse than a woman's curse,
And what is deeper than the sea?
And which bird sings first, which one best,
Where does the dew first fall?
And you and I in a bed might lie,
Roll me over next to the wall.
Roll me over next to the wall.
Earth is rounder than a ring,
And heaven is higher than the trees,
The devil is worse than a woman's curse,
And hell is deeper than the sea.
The lark sings first and the thrush sings best,
And the earth is where the dew falls;
And you and I in a bed must lie,
Roll me over next to the wall.
Roll me over next to the wall.
He takes her by her lily-white hand,
And leads her down the hall,
He takes her by her slender waist,
For fear that she might fall;
He lays her on a bed of down,
Without a doubt at all,
And he and she lie in a bed,
Roll me over next to the wall.
He and she lie in a bed,
Roll me over next to the wall.
Roll me over next to the wall.
Roll me over next to the wall.
This variant arranged and recorded by Great Big Sea (Turn, trk#12, 1999, Sire Records, New York, NY); and (Road Rage, trk&3035;8, 2000, Rounder Records, Cambridge, MA, which was recorded live during the Great Big Sea Turn tour on May 26, 2000, at the Apple Blossom Festival in Wolfville, Nova Scotia).
See more songs by Great Big Sea.
The YouTube video above features a live performance by Great Big Sea at the Egyptian Theater in Boise, Idaho.
A variant was collected by MacEdward Leach and published as #3, Captain Wedderburn's Courtship, in Folk Ballads And Songs Of The Lower Labrador Coast by The National Museum of Canada (Ottawa, 1965) Crown Copyrights Reserved.
Another variant was collected by Maud Karpeles [1885-1976] and published as #6, Captain Wedderburn's Courtship, in Folk Songs From Newfoundland (Faber & Faber, London, 1971; also Oxford, 1934).
