Geordie- Sawyer (VA) 1921 Stone/Davis D
[From: Davis; Traditional Ballads of Virginia, 1929.
Stone collects additional verses- they are given in Davis C.
R. Matteson 2016]
D. " Geordie." Collected by Mr. John Stone. Recited by Mr. W. G. Sawyer, at Radford, Va. Montgomery County. November 8, 1921. "This ballad was recited by Mr. Sawyer while we were both waiting for a train at Radford, Va. He learned it from his aunt years ago. Later I met his aunt, who added several stanzas, After that I met her daughter, who added more to it, and, finally, an old man in the mountains, who gave me a complete version " (Mr. Stone).
1 As I was riding across London Bridge
So early in the morning,
I thought I heard some poor Lemual say,
"O spare me the life of Geordie."
2 As I walked up and down the street,
I bid farewell to many;
I bid farewell to my own true love,
Which grieved me worse than any.