I Wish, I Wish - Duncan Williamson (Perth) 1968
[My title, there's no reason this should be titled Butcher Boy; also my date- a guestimation. From Duncan Williamson, Travellers’ Tales, Vol 2, (2002); Kyloe 101 (2001). Following is a brief bio.
R. Matteson 2017]
Duncan Williamson was born in April 11, 1928, in a tent on the shores of Loch Fyne, he died in November 8, 2007. Duncan was a Scottish storyteller and singer, and a member of the Scottish Traveller community.
[I Wish, I Wish] Butcher Boy - sung by Duncan Williamson.
O my little dog learnt me a trade,
To go out hunting when it was late,
There I met a young man all on my way,
And that was the beginning of my misery.
O when my apron was hanging low,
He followed me through the frost and snow,
Now my apron is touching my chin,
He will pass my window and not look in.
O there is an alehouse in yonder toon,
Where me and my love we twa sit doon,
Now he takes another girl unto his knee,
An’ he tells to her what he once told me.
O I wish my baby o it was born,
And sitting on my nurse’s knee,
And for myself I be dead and gone,
And the green green grass growing over me.
O I wish, I wish, o I wish in vain,
I wish I were a maid again,
But a maid, a maid I can never be,
Till the green grass grows all over me.