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Can you make me a cambric shirt,
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme;
Without any seam or needle work?
And you shall be a true lover of mine.
Can you wash it in yonder well,
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme;
Where never sprung water nor rain ever fell?
And you shall be a true lover of mine.
Can you dry it on yonder thorn,
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme;
Which never bore blossom since Adam was born?
And you shall be a true lover of mine.
Now you have askd me questions three,
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme;
I hope you'll answer as many for me,
And you shall be a true lover of mine.
Can you find me an acre of land,
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme;
Between the salt water and the sea sand?
And you shall be a true lover of mine.
Can you plow it with a ram's horn,
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme;
And sow it all over with one pepper corn?
And you shall be a true lover of mine.
Can you reap it with a sickle of leather,
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme;
And bind it up with a peacock's feather?
And you shall be a true lover of mine.
When you have done, and finished your work,
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme;
Then come to me for your cambric shirt,
And you shall be a true lover of mine.
Two variants were collected by Ken Peacock and published in Songs Of The Newfoundland Outports, Volume 1, p.6, by The National Museum Of Canada (1965) Crown Copyrights Reserved.
From Wikipedia: Cambric is a lightweight cotton cloth used as fabric for lace and needlework. Cambric, also known as batist in a large part of the world, was invented by Jean-Baptiste Cambrai, France, which gave the fabric its name, as early as 1595; It is a closely woven, firm fabric with a slight glossy surface produced by calendering. Modern cambric is made from Egyptian or American cotton and sometimes flax, but also polymer fibres can be added. Cambric is also used as a coating for professional playing cards, to protect them for longer and make them easier to handle.
