Lord Lovel- Bancroft (MD) pre1936 Scarborough A
[From A Song Catcher; Scarborough, 1937. Version A.
R. Matteson 2015]
Lord Lovel- sent in a letter by Margaret C. Bancroft, Silver Spring, MD
Lord Lovel he stood at his castle gate,
Combing his milk-white steed,
When up came his Lady Nancy Belle,
To wish her lover good speed, speed,
To wish her lover good speed.
Where are you going, Lord Lovel, said she?
Where are you going, said she?
I'm going, my Lady Nancy Belle,
Strange countries for to see, see,
Strange countries for to see.
When will you be back, Lord Lovel, she said?
When will you be back, said she?
In a year or two or three at the most,
I'll return to my fair Nancy, -cy,
I'll return to my fair Nancy.
But he had not been gone but a year and a day,
Strange countries for to see,
When languishing thoughts come into his head,
Lady Nancy Belle he would see, see,
Lady Nancy Belle he would see.
So he rode and he rode on his milk-white steed,
Till he come to London town,
And there he heard St Pancras' bells,
And the people all mourning round, round,
And the people all mourning round.
Oh, what is the matter? Lord Lovel he said,
Oh, what is the matter? said he.
The Lord's lady is dead, an old woman replied,
And they called her Lady Nancy,
And they called her Lady Nancy.
He ordered the grave to be opened wide,
And the shroud to be turn-ed down,
And there he kissed her clay-cold lips
Till the tears come trickling down, down,
Till the tears come trickling down.
Lady Nancy was laid in St Pancras church,
Lord Lovel was laid in the choir,
And out of her bosom there grew a red rose
And out of her lover's a briar, briar,
And out of her lover's a briar.
They grew and they grew to the church steeple top,
And there they could not grow no higher,
And there they twined in a true lovers' knot,
For all true lovers to admire, -mire,
For all true lovers to admire.