Drowsy Sleeper- Frank Knox (NL) 1951 Leach B
[From: MacEdward Leach And The Songs Of Atlantic Canada © 2004 Memorial University of Newfoundland Folklore and Language Archive (MUNFLA). Notes from the website follow.
Versions from the North usually have "shining dagger."
R. Matteson 2016]
St. Shott's
Known locally as the “Graveyard of the Atlantic,” due to the vast number of shipwrecks in the area, St. Shott’s is located on the southern tip of the Avalon Peninsula. The name of the community is believed to be derived from the one assigned by French cartographers; Cap De Chincete refers to the rugged coastline and underwater shoals. Used by French, Basque, Spanish, Portuguese, and West Country English fishers as a summer fishing station during the 16th and 17th centuries, it was settled by English and Irish fishers during the 18th century, after the Anglo-French wars.
Tune: This performance is mostly in 5/4 time, created by stretching the third beat of the bar. The form is aba'b'. The "b" phrases are characterized by wide leaps. The key is major.
The Drowsy Sleeper - Collected in 1951 by MacEdward Leach from Francis (Frank) Knox [1918-?] of St Shott's, NL.
Listen: http://www.mun.ca/folklore/leach/songs/NFLD2/19-4_51.htm
Arise, arise you drowsy sleeper,
Arise and listen unto me;
There's someone at your bedroom window,
Weeping, weeping bitterly.
Who is that knocking at my window,
Who sobs and sighs so mournfully?
It's me, it's me, your own true lover,
Oh, Mary, come and pity me.
As Mary rose from her soft down pillow,
Went to her window without delay;
And there she saw her own true lover,
Standing by a willow tree.
Oh, Mary dear, go ask your father,
If you my wedded bride may be;
If he says no, return and tell me,
And I'll no longer trouble thee.
I dare not go and ask my father,
For he lies on his bed of rest;
Beside him lies a shining dagger,
To slay the one that I love best.
Mary dear, go ask your mother,
If you my wedded bride may be;
If she says no, return and tell me,
And I'll no longer trouble thee.
I dare not go and ask my mother,
For I'm the only one she has;
So, Willie dear, go seek some other,
She softly whispered in his ear.
Young Willie took that shining dagger,
And pierced it through his aching heart;
Adieu, adieu to my true lover,
The time has come for us to part.
Young Mary took that blood-stained dagger,
And pierced it through her lily-white breast;
Adieu, adieu to my cruel parents,
I hope in heaven we will rest.