Maiden's Prayer- Doreen Cross (York) 1974
[From "An East Riding Songster," 1982 by Steve Gardham who says The Maiden's Prayer "invariably uses the tune of the American 'Blue-eyed Boy'."
R. Matteson 2017]
28. THE MAIDEN'S PRAYER (Died for Love) Tune from Harold Sykes of Hessle. Collected in 1974 from Mrs. Doreen Cross of Hessle. East Riding of Yorkshire, England
1. A maiden young and fair was she,
Not born of high society,
A sailor young and bold was he,
The cause of all her misery.
2. A man came home from work one night,
And found his house without a light;
He went upstairs to go to bed,
When a sudden thought came into his head.
3. He went into his daughter's room,
And found her hanging from a beam;
He took a knife and cut her down,
And on her breast this note he found,
4. My love was for a sailor boy,
Who sailed across the deep blue sea,
I often wrote and thought of him,
But he never wrote or thought of me.
5. Oh, Lord, I wish my babe was born,
Then all my troubles would be gone,
For I could never bear the shame,
To have a babe without a name.
6. So dig my grave and dig it deep,
And place white lilies at my feet,
And at my head please lay a dove,
To signify I died for love.
7. So all ye maidens bear in mind,
A sailor's love is hard to find,
But if you find one that is true,
Don't change an old love for the new.