House Carpenter- Swetman (MS-KY) 1930 Hudson A
[No title given or date; from the book, Folksongs of Mississippi by Hudson, which was completed in 1930. One of the fairly rare versions with the "What Hills" stanzas. This actually is a Kentucky version collected in Mississippi.
R. Matteson 2013]
A. House Carpenter- from the singing of Mrs. Flora Stafford Swetman before 1930, Hudson A. Copied by Mr. George F. Swetnam, University, from the singing of his mother, Mrs. Flora Stafford Swetnam, Vaiden, who had it from her sister-in-law, Mrs. Lou Ferguson, Blaine, Kentucky.
1 "Well met, well met, my own true love,
Well, met, well met," says he;
"And can you leave that house carpenter
And go with a man like me?"
2 She picked up her sweet little babe
And set it on her knee,
Saying, "Stay at home, my sweet little babe,
And keep your father company."
3 They hadn't been sailing two weeks, I'm sure,
They hadn't been sailing three,
When this fair lady began to weep,
And she wept most bitterly.
4 "What are you weeping for, my love?
Are you weeping for my store?
Are you weeping for that house carpenter
That you shall never see any more?"
5 "I am not weeping for your love,
Neither weeping for your store,
But I'm weeping for my sweet little babe
That I shall never see any more."
6 "Those hills, those hills, my love,
Those hills just as white as snow?"
"They are the hills of heaven, my love,
Where you and I can never go."
7 "Those hills, those hills, my love,
Those hills just as black as a crow?"
"Those are the hills of hell, my love,
Where you and I must go."
8 They hadn't been sailing three weeks, I'm sure,
They hadn't been sailing four,
When the good old ship she sprung a leak,
And she sank for to rise no more.