Fair young maid standing by her window,
A brisk young sailor she chanced to see;
He looked on her as if he knew her,
Saying pretty girl, would you fancy me?
Seven years I have loved a sailor,
And seven more he's been gone to sea;
Seven more I will wait upon him,
Till he returns for to marry me.
Fair young maid, don't you be so foolish,
To waste your life upon just one man;
Perhaps he's dead, or perhaps he's married,
Maybe he's ill in a foreign land.
Well, if he's sick, I will wish him better,
And if he's married, I will wish him joy;
If he's dead, I will wish him heaven,
For he once was my sailor boy.
Seven years, you have been so loyal,
And seven years, you have been so true;
I wish I was that brisk young sailor,
I'd not delay for to marry you.
Seven years I have loved a sailor,
And seven more he's been gone to sea;
Seven years makes an alteration,
In the course of love between you and me.
####.... Author unknown. Abbreviated variant of an early 19th century British broadside ballad, Pretty Fair Maid (The Maiden in the Garden; The Broken Token) [Laws N42] American Balladry From British Broadsides (G. Malcolm Laws, 1957). Also a related variant of an early 19th century British broadside ballad, The Loyal Sailor, published by J. Farraby (Hull) sometime between 1803 and 1838, and archived at the Bodleian Library Broadside Ballads, shelfmark: Harding B 17(180a) ....####
This variant arranged and recorded by Pamela Morgan of Grand Falls, NL, on her second solo release (Seven Years, trk#7, 2002 CD, Amber Music, Topsail, NL).
Three related variants were collected by Kenneth Peacock as Seven Years I Loved A Sailor from Mrs. Clara Stevens of Bellburns, Mr. and Mrs. John Mahoney of Stock Cove, and Joshua Osborne of Seal Cove, White Bay, and published in Songs Of The Newfoundland Outports, Volume 2, pp.584-589, by The National Museum of Canada (1965) Crown Copyrights Reserved.
