Captain Wedderburn

A nobleman's fair daughter
Came 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, she said,
Do not be perplexed,
Before that you might bed with me,
You must answer questions six;
Six questions you must 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.

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?
What 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.

The 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, the thrush sings best,
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,
And takes her by her slender waist,
For fear that she might fall;
And 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.
Roll me over next to the wall.
Roll me over next to the wall.

####.... Author unknown. Arranged by Great Big Sea (Turn, 1999). Variant of a 19th century British broadside ballad, Lord Roslin's Daughter's Courtship, published by Stephenson (Gateshead) sometime between 1821 and 1850, and archived at the Bodleian Library Broadside Ballads, shelfmark: Harding b25(1143). Also a variant of a 19th century traditional Scottish ballad, Captain Wedderburn's Courtship (Child Ballad #46) The English And Scottish Popular Ballads (1882-1898) edited by Francis James Child [1825-1896] (Dover, 1965) ....####

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).

See more songs by Great Big Sea.