[Lord Mayor] The Two Sisters- Mrs. Smith (Va.) 1935 Wilkinson MSS, Version D; Bronson 28
[My title. From Winston Wilkinson's manuscript book, version D (Bronson 28). Arthur Kyle Davis, Jr. hired Wilkinson briefly in 1934 to transcribe recorded music for the Virginia Folklore Society. His transcriptions appear in Davis' book, More Traditional Ballads. An almost identical version titled, "Sister Kate" was collected from Mrs. L. L. Arthur and Mrs Bob Stone of Virginia in 1914 (Davis- Version D).
R. Matteson 2014]
[Lord Mayor] The Two Sisters- Mrs. F. S. Smith (Va.) Oct. 20, 1935
1. There was a Lord Mayor in our town,
Bow down
There was a Lord Mayor in our town,
Bow it's been to me
There was a Lord Mayor in our town,
And he had daughters, one, two, three
Love will be true, true to my love,
Love will be true to you.
2. There was a young man went courting [there],
And he did choose the youngest fair.
3. O sister, O sister, let's we walk out,
And view the ships a-sailing about.
4. The oldest pushed the youngest in,
And down she sunk and away she swim,
5. "O sister, O sister, O loan me your hand,
And you may have my house and land.
6. "Sister, O sister, O loan me your glove,
And you may have my own true love.
7. "I'll neither lend you hand or glove,
But I will have your own true love."
8. Down she sank and away she swum,
She swum into the miller's mill pond.
9. Miller, O Miller, yonder swims a swan,
Miller, O Miller, or a fair maiden one.
10. The miller came out with his fish hook,
To fish the fair maid from the brook.
11. "O miller, O miller, Oh, loan me your hand,
And you shall have my house and land."
12. "O miller, O miller, here's five gold rings,
If you will turn me home again."
13. And off her fingers he taken her rings,
And he pushed her in the brook again.
14. The miller was hung at his own mill gate,
For drownding of my sister Kate.