House Carpenter- Ford (WS) 1937 Cowell; Bronson No. 18 (1954 recording); AFS 3286 B1
[Warde H. Ford made another recording in 1954 for Sidney Robertson Cowell that added the opening three stanzas. The first recording was made in July 1937, Forest County (Crandon), Wisconsin. The recording can be heard on-line in the Wisconsin Folksong Collection, 1937-1946 (The Mills Music Library Digital Collections). The text below is from Bronson No. 18 which is more complete but varies slightly from the 1937 recording.
R. Matteson 2013]
House Carpenter- Ford (WS) July, 1937 Cowell
1. I'm going away from you, Mary Anne,
I'm going away for awhile.
I'm going away but I'll come back again
If I go ten thousand miles.
I'm going away but I'll come back again
If I go ten thousand miles. [1]
2. Now, if I prove false to you, Mary Anne,
If I should not return,
May the sun turn to blood and the moon shade the earth,
And the raging billows burn,
May the sun turn to blood and the moon shade the earth,
And the raging billows burn.
3. And to you I'll swear by the stars above,
And the rolling waves of the sea,
By the lily of the valley and the fowls of the air
That I'll ever prove constant to thee.
By the lily of the valley and the fowls of the air
That I'll ever prove constant to thee.
4. Well met, well met, my own Mary Anne,
Well met I say to thee,
For I have just returned home from sea
And it's all for the love of thee,
For I have just returned home from sea
And it's all for the love of thee.
5. Now I could have married the Queen's daughter fair,
She fain would have married me,
But I rejected all power and wealth,
And it's all for the love of thee.
Yes, I rejected all power and wealth,
And it's all for the love of thee.
6. If you could have married the Queen's daughter fair,
I'm sure you are undone,
For I have married the house carpenter
And he is a nice young man.
For I have married the house carpenter
And he is a nice young man.
7. O remember you swore by the stars above,
And the rolling waves of the sea,
By the lily of the valley and the fowls of the air
That you'd ever prove constant to me.
By the lily of the valley and the fowls of the air
That you'd ever prove constant to me.
8. "But will you leave your house carpenter
And go along with me?
I'll take you to where the grass grows green
On the banks of a sweet valley.
I'll take you to where the grass grows green
On the banks of a sweet valley."
9. If I should leave my house carpenter
And go along with thee,
What have you got to maintain me with
And to keep me from poverty?
What have you got to maintain me with
And to keep me from Poverty?
10. I have three ships upon the sea,
And one upon the land,
And they're all manned with brave gallant men
And they're all at your command.
Yes, they're all manned with gallant brave men
And they're all at your command.
11. She laid her baby upon the bed,
And kisses gave it three,
Saying, "Stay at home, my sweet little babe,
Keep your father sweet company.
Saying, "Stay at home, my sweet little babe,
Keep your father sweet company."
12. Now they had not sailed a league past two,
I'm sure it was not three,
When this fair lady was seen for to weep
And to weep most bitterly,
When this fair lady was seen for to weep
And to weep most bitterly.
13. Now do you weep for the want of gold
Or do you weep for fear?
Or do you weep for that house carpenter
Whom once you called your dear?
O do you weep for that house carpenter
Whom onc€ you called your dear?
14. "No, I do not weep for the want of gold
Nor do I weep for fear.
But I do weep for my sweet little babe,
Likewise my husband dear.
Yes, I do weep for my sweet little babe,
Likewise my husband dear."
15. O cursed be you salt sailor men,
And cursed be your lives,
When you come to the homes of the house carpenters
And steal away their wives,
When you come to the homes of the house carpenters
And steal away their wives.
16. Then three times round went this gallant ship
And three times round went she.
Yes, three times round went this gallant ship
And she sank to the bottom of the sea.
(No repeat) [2]
1. Floating stanzas 1, 2 and 3 from, "Ten Thousand Miles," "Dearest Dear."
2. Ford repeats last two lines on 1937 recording