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As I roved out one morning, being in the lovely month of May,
I spied a pretty fair one as she was minding of her hay;
Her age had been about sixteen so near as I could understand,
She seemed to be some gorgeous queen in that lovely place called Ireland.
"Good morning, pretty fair one." "Good morning, kindly sir," she did say.
"Oh, can you fancy a sailor belonging to Americay?
If you could fancy a sailor it's married then we would be,
And then we would sail over to that lovely place called Americay."
"Oh yes," replied this fair one, "I likes your offer very well,
There are sailors in this country but no one of them can you excel,
Just step up to my father and try what he has to say,
And then we will sail over to that lovely place called Americay."
'Twas hand in hand together this lovely young couple went,
They went unto her father to try what he had to say,
He kindly saluted her and he asked her who I may be,
And she told him I was a sailor belonging to Americay.
"Kind sir, this is your daughter, she's the only one that I do adore,
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She's the only one I do adore and the only one that I do prize,
She is one of the fairest creatures that ever shined in under the watery skies."
To see her agèd father I am sure 'twould grieve your heart full sore,
To see her agèd mother I am sure 'twould grieve you ten times more,
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When I took her from her parents and land her safe on the Yankee shore.
This variant was collected in 1958 from Freeman Bennett of St. Paul's, NL, by Kenneth Peacock and published in Songs Of The Newfoundland Outports, Volume 1, pp.233-234, by The National Museum Of Canada (1965) Crown Copyrights Reserved.
Another variant was collected on a sound recording in 1952 from the singing of Cornelius Boutilier (West) of Wingin Point, Halifax County, Nova Scotia, by Helen Creighton and archived in the Government of Nova Scotia Tourism, Culture and Heritage Archives & Records Management Virtual Exhibit, Rec. no. 2162, Loc. no. AR 5546 AC 2317, MF no. 289.457.
