At the Setting of the Sun- J. Lukin (Devon) 1905 Baring-Gould B
[No date given, no location. From Baring-Gould's MSS.
In Baring-Gould's MSS a second version appears with music attributed to J. Lukin, whose name is never mentioned in Songs of the West (1905 edition) or elsewhere. The 1905 published version is attributed to Sam Fone (Baring-Gould A) but is a compilation of both versions with additional recreations by Baring Gould.
In A Book Of Folk-Lore by Sabine Baring-Gould [1913] comes this excerpt:
In the Devonshire version of the story:--
In the night the fair maid as a white swan appears;
She says, O my true love, quick, dry up your tears,
I freely forgive you, I have Paradise won;
I was shot by my true love at the setting of the sun. [from Lukin, edited
R. Matteson 2015]
B. AT THE SETTING OF THE SUN- J. Lukin, no date given
1. Come all you young fellows that carry a gun,
Beware of late shooting when daylight is done;
For it's little you reckon what hazards you run,
I shot my true love at the setting of the sun.
CHORUS: In a shower of rain as my darling did hie
All under the bushes to keep herself dry,
With her head in her apron I thought her a swan,
And I shot my true love at the setting of the sun.
2. I'll fly from my country, I nowhere find rest
I've shot my true love, as a bird in her nest.
Like lead on my heart lies the deed I have done,
I shot my true love at the setting of the sun.
CHORUS: In a shower, etc.
3. In the night the fair maiden all shining appears[1],
She says, O my true love, quick dry up your tears,
I freely forgive you, I have Paradise won,
I was shot by my love at the setting of the sun.
CHORUS: In a shower, etc.
4. [The years as they pass leave me lonely and sad,
I can ne'er love another, and naught makes me glad.]
I wait and expect till life's little span done[2]
I meet my true love at the rising of the sun
CHORUS: In a shower, etc.
1. This line was changed to: "In the night the fair maid as a white swan appears;"
2. Only the first two lines of stanza 4 appear in his notebook, they are bracketed perhaps indicating that they were not collected.