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As I roved out one evening clear,
Down by a river I did stray;
There I spied a comely maid,
These very words I heard her say:
I'm lonely since my mother died,
My friends and comrades turned on me;
Do not smile because I cry,
I'm lonely since my mother died.
My father he was married twice,
He brought a stepmother unto me;
She beats and turns me out-of-doors,
Whenever I mention mother's name.
I looked my father in the face,
And unto him did softly say:
I never hear you speak of mother's name,
Since God has taken her away.
Kind friends, a warning take by me,
You all have mothers old and grey;
Do not cause them any pain,
You ever will regret the day.
I'm lonely since my mother died,
My friends and comrades turned on me;
Do not smile because I cry,
I'm lonely since my mother died.
Collected in 1951 from Mrs. August Molloy of St. Shott's, NL, and published in MacEdward Leach And The Songs Of Atlantic Canada © 2004 Memorial University of Newfoundland Folklore and Language Archive (MUNFLA).
