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As I roved out on a May mornin',
On a May mornin' right early;
I met me love upon the way,
And, Lord, but she was early.
Her boots were black and her stockings white,
And her buckles shone like silver;
She had a dark and rovin' eye,
And her earrings tipped her shoulder.
And she sang, A-litta-doo-de-litta-doo-da-litta-doo-da-dee,
She-hiddle-dum-adee-she-hiddle-dum-a-dee and she-landae.
What age are you, me nice, sweet girl?
What age are you, me darlin'?
Quite modestly she answered me,
I'll be seventeen come Sunday.
Will ya come to me house in the middle of the night,
When the moon is shining clearly?
And I'll arise to let you in,
Even though you are a stranger.
And she sang, A-litta-doo-de-litta-doo-da-litta-doo-da-dee,
She-hiddle-dum-adee-she-hiddle-dum-a-dee and she-landae.
Where do you live, my bonny wee lass,
Where do you live, my honey?
In a wee house up on the top of the hill,
And I live there with my mammy.
If I went to the house on the top of the hill,
When the moon was shining clearly;
Would you arise and let me in,
And your mammy not to hear you?
And she sang, A-litta-doo-de-litta-doo-da-litta-doo-da-dee,
She-hiddle-dum-adee-she-hiddle-dum-a-dee and she-landae.
I went to the house on the top of the hill,
When the moon was shining clearly;
She arose to let me in,
But her mammy chanced to hear her.
She caught her by the hair of the head,
And down to the room she brought her;
And with the butt of a hazel twig,
She was the well-beat daughter.
And she sang, A-litta-doo-de-litta-doo-da-litta-doo-da-dee,
She-hiddle-dum-adee-she-hiddle-dum-a-dee and she-landae.
Will ya marry me now, me soldier lad?
Will ya marry me now or never?
Will ya marry me, soldier lad?
Can't ya see I'm done forever?
No, I can't marry you, said the soldier lad,
No, I can't marry you, me darlin';
For I've got a wife at home,
And how can I disown her?
And she sang, A-litta-doo-de-litta-doo-da-litta-doo-da-dee,
She-hiddle-dum-adee-she-hiddle-dum-a-dee and she-landae.
A pint at night is my delight,
And a gallon in the mornin';
The old women they are me heartbreak,
And the young one's are me darlin's.
As I roved out on a May mornin',
On a May mornin' right early;
I met me love upon the way,
And, Lord, but she was early.
And she sang, A-litta-doo-de-litta-doo-da-litta-doo-da-dee,
She-hiddle-dum-adee-she-hiddle-dum-a-dee and she-landae.
This variant arranged and recorded by The Fables.
A variant was also recorded as As I Roved Out by Great Big Sea - Pre GBS (Rankin Street Tape - Live At The Blarneystone, 1991).
See more songs by Great Big Sea.
Another variant was arranged and recorded as As I Roved Out by Ryan's Fancy (Irish Love Songs, Boot Records 1982.
See more songs by Ryan's Fancy.
A variant was also recorded by Kenneth Peacock as Seventeen Come Sunday on the album Songs and Ballads of Newfoundland, Folkways FG 3505, LP (1956) Cut #B.07.
Two variants were collected by Ken Peacock and published as I'll Be Seventeen Come Sunday in Songs Of The Newfoundland Outports, Volume 1, by The National Museum of Canada (1965) Crown Copyrights Reserved.
