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When first to this country a stranger I came here,
I placed my affection on the maid who was fair;
She being young and tender, her waist small and slender,
Kind nature has framed her, proved my overthrow.
When first I beheld her on the banks of a river,
She appeared like a goddess or some noble queen;
Her eyes shined like diamonds, like the stars brightly shining,
Her cheeks were bloomed like roses or blood on the snow.
It was her cruel father who first turned against me,
Because she was rich and above my degree;
I will do my endeavours, my darling, to gain you,
Although you were born of a rich family.
Oh, Johnny, lovely Johnny, don't be melancholy,
For I will prove constant, to you I'll be true;
There's no other superior will ever gain my favour,
On the banks of the Bann, love, I'll amble with you.
Now, since I gained her I'm contented as ever,
I'll put the rings on her fingers, gold drops in her ears;
With diamonds and pearls I will dig my brown curls,
And all sorts of grandeur I will style up my dear.
Sung by Mary Whalen (b.1885) of Cape Broyle, NL, and published as On The Banks Of The Band (sic) in MacEdward Leach And The Songs Of Atlantic Canada © 2004 Memorial University of Newfoundland Folklore and Language Archive (MUNFLA). A variant was also collected from William Holloway of King's Cove, NL, by Ken Peacock and published as The Brown Girl in Songs Of The Newfoundland Outports, Volume 2, pp.355-356, by the National Museum of Canada (1965) Crown Copyrights Reserved.
