Old Maid In A Garret

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I have often heard it said from my father and my mother,
That going to a wedding was the making of another;
Well if this be so, then I'll go without a bidding,
Oh, it's kind providence, won't you send me to a wedding?

For it's oh, dear me, how will it be, if I die an old maid in a garret?

Oh, now, there's my sister Jean, she's not handsome or good lookin',
Scarcely sixteen and a fella she was courtin';
Now, she's twenty four with a son and a daughter,
Here am I, forty-five, and I've never had an offer.

For it's oh, dear me, how will it be, if I die an old maid in a garret?

I can cook and I can sew, I can keep the house right tidy,
Rise up in the morning and get the breakfast ready;
But there's nothing in this wide world would make me half so cheery,
As a wee fat mannie who would call me his own dearie.

For it's oh, dear me, how will it be, if I die an old maid in a garret?

Oh, come landsman or come kinsman, come tinker or come tailor,
Come fiddler or come dancer, come ploughman or come sailor;
Come rich man, come poor man, come fool or come witty,
Come any man at all who would marry me for pity.

For it's oh, dear me, how will it be, if I die an old maid in a garret?

Oh, well, I'm away home for there's nobody heedin',
There's nobody heedin' to poor Annie's pleadin';
And I'm away home to me own wee bit garret,
If I can't get a man then I'll surely get a parrot.

For it's oh, dear me, how will it be, if I die an old maid in a garret?

####.... Variant of a 17th-century ballad by Martin Parker of London, The Wooing Maid, recorded by the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem (Home Boys Home, 1968) ....####

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Notes On Guitar Tabs:
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All guitar tabs have been contributed by visitors to this site and represent their interpretation of the tune. We are unable to verify their accuracy.

Capo 2nd Fret; tabs shown are formations.

I have [G] often heard it said from my father and my mother,
That [D] going to a wedding was the [G] making of another;
Well if this be [C] so, then I'll [G] go without a bidding,
Oh, it's kind providence, won't you send me to a wedding.

For it's oh [C] dear [G] me, how will it [C] be, if I [G] die an old [D] maid in a [D7] gar-[G] ret