One May Morning- William Hands (Glou) c.1929
[From the Carpenter Collection. This is a version of "Seventeen broadside revision about 1840. The informant lived in the village of Willersey which is in Gloucestershire, south-west England, situated close to the boundary with Worcestershire, West Midlands region and southwest of Evesham.
R. Matteson 2018]
As I Walked Out One May Morning- sung by William Hands of Willersey. Learned from a ballet (ballad) singer in Stratford upon Avon selling ballets. (Carpenter 1929-1936).
1. As I walked out one May morning,
One May morning so early,
There I espied but a pretty fair maid,
Just as the tide was flowing.
CHORUS: With me rum-i-day, fal-the-riddle aye,
Whack folair 0 aye do.
2. Her shoes were black an' her stockings white,
An' her buckles shone like silver,
She had a black an' a rolling eye,
Her hair hung around her shoulders.
3. Where are you going to, my pretty maid,
Where are you a-going, my honey?
She answered me bright an' cheerfully,
With an errand for my mommie.
4. How old are you, my sweet pretty maid,
How old are you, my honey?
She answered me bright an' cheerfully,
I'm seventeen come-a Sunday.
5. Will you come down to me mommie's house
When the moon shines bright an' clearly,
I will come down an' let you in
An' me mommie shall not hear me.
6. I went unto her mommie's house
When the moon shone bright and clearly,
She did come down and let me in
And mommie did not hear me.