Lord Land- Borusky (Wisconsin) 1938 JOAFL
[My title. From: Kentucky Folksong in Northern Wisconsin by Asher E. Treat; The Journal of American Folklore, Vol. 52, No. 203 (Jan. - Mar., 1939), pp. 1-51.
R. Matteson 2014]
28. O, LITTLE BIRD ON THE BOUGH SO HIGH
Sung by Pearl Jacobs Borusky, July 13, 1938. Cf. Sharp, Young Hunting. Pearl referred to this song as Lord Land. When asked where she learned it, she replied, "The boys (her brothers) brought it home". The word "put" in the third line is always pronounced "putt".
1. "O, little bird on the bough so high,
Fly down upon my knee
And I will put you in the cage
That hangs in the willow tree."
2. "O, I'll not fly down from this bough
And set upon your knee;
For if you would kill your own true love,
I know that you would kill me."
3(?). She threw him in the dew drop well
(About forty-thousand feet deep.)
"Lie there, lie there, Lord Land!" she cried,
"Till the flesh drops off your bones!"