Hattie Belle- (NC) pre1932 Greer Collection
[No informant named no date given. From a MS in I.G. Greer Folksong Collection, Digital Collections; Appalachian State University under Pretty Fair Maid Lyric 03.
This is a hybrid version. It begins with Drowsy Sleeper and has a stanza from "Oh No, John" or "The Spanish Lady." The rest is Pretty Fair Maid (The Maiden in the Garden; The Broken Token) also known as "A Sweetheart in the Army."
cf. "Annie Girl" Hudson which has a similar mix of songs.
R. Matteson 2016]
Hattie Belle
Hattie Belle, go ask your mama
If you can be m y darling bride;
If she says yes, come back and tell me,
If she says no, we'll run away.
Mama says she is not willing,
My Papa says I am too young;
But oh, kind sir, I am not willing
To run away and marry you.
Kind miss, I have some gold and silver,
Kind miss, I have a house and land;
Kind miss, I have a ship in the ocean,
We'll sail to some distant land.
O not want your gold and silver,
I o not ant your house and land;
I do not want your ship in the ocean,
All I want is a handsome man.
I have a sweet heart in the army;
For seven long years he has been gone,
And if he stays for seven years longer,
No man on earth shall marry me.
Perhaps your sweetheart has been drowned
Or gone to some fair and distant land,
Or to some fair young girl has married;
You'll ne'er see his face again.
But if he's drowned, I hope he's happy,
Or gone to some fair and distant land,
Or some fair young girl has married,
I love the one that marries him.
You're not the man or noble honor,
You're not the man I took you to be,
Or you would not impose on a single lady
Who is a bride prepared to be.
He ran his hands all through his pockets;
His fingers they were slender and small.
He then drew forth a nickle-plated diamond,
And at his feet his love did fall.
He picked her up all in his arm,
Kisses gave her, one, two, and three.
I am your sweetheart from the army,
And have come home for to marry you.