Down in those Meadows- Mrs. Cranstone (Sus) c.1907 Butterworth
[My title. From: George Butterworth Manuscript Collection (GB/4/59),
R. Matteson 2017]
"Down in those Meadows" sung by Mrs. Cranstone of Billingshurst, Sussex; collected by George Butterworth, c.1907; originally titled "Waly,Waly"
Down in those meadows fresh & gay,
Plucking flowers the other day,
I plucked those flowers both red and blues,
I little thought what love could do
The roses are such prickly flowers
They should be gathered when they are green,
I pricked my finger into the bone,
I left the sweetest rose behind.
I leaned my back against an oak,
I thought it was a trusty tree,
But first it bent,then it broke,
And so did my false love to me.
In yonder deep there swims a ship,
She swims as deep as deep can be,
Not half so deep as I am in love,
I little care if I sink or swim.