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Down the streets in London I heard a mournful cry,
A girl was weeping bitterly, her true love stood close by;
She cried, do not desert me for you know my heart will break,
Oh, don't desert me, cries the girl, you know I'm in disgrace.
Oh, what has changed you, do you forget?
Once we were lovers the first time we met;
Once we were lovers but now you're my downfall,
I am neglected and slighted by all.
Once you said you loved me and then I knew no fear,
Once you kissed and flattered my bonny face and hair;
But now you're trying to cast me off and leave me in my shame,
Oh, don't desert me, cries the girl, and then she did explain.
Oh, what has changed you, do you forget?
Once we were lovers the first time we met;
Once we were lovers but now you're my downfall,
I am neglected and slighted by all.
The young man, the cause of all her woe, was standing by her side,
She forgave him for all he had done just as she kissed her babe and
died;
The p'licemen and the crowds around, most ev'ryone in tears,
And as they turned their backs 'twas those words rang in their ears.
Oh, what has changed you, do you forget?
Once we were lovers the first time we met;
Once we were lovers but now you're my downfall,
I am neglected and slighted by all.
Collected in 1951 from Ned Stamp of St. Vincent's, NL, and published in MacEdward Leach And The Songs Of Atlantic Canada © 2004 Memorial University of Newfoundland Folklore and Language Archive (MUNFLA).
