Rosemary Fair- Frak Harte (Dub) 1967 REC
[From the album: Dublin Street Songs / Through Dublin City by Frank Harte, released: 1967. This is probably an arrangement or cover song of Rosemary Lane as sung by Liz Jefferies of Kilmore, Co. Wexford, in 1959.
Listen: YouTube- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2uBvoEAfVE
R. Matteson 2018]
Rosemary Fair- sung by Frank Harte, 1967.
You may go down to Rosemary Fair,
Every rose grows merry and fine,
And pick me out then the finest boy there,
And I will make him a true love of mine.
Tell him to get me an acre of land,
Every rose grows merry and fine,
Between the salt sea and the salt sea strand
Or he cannot be a true love of mine.
Tell him to plough it with a ram's horn,
Every rose grows merry and fine,
And sow it all over with one grain of corn,
Or he cannot be a true love of mine.
Tell him to reap it with a cock's feather,
Every rose grows merry and fine,
And bind it all down with strappings of leather,
And I will make him true lover of mine.
And tell him to drive it home on a snail,
Every rose grows merry and fine,
And thresh it all out with a mouse's tail,
And I will make him a true lover of mine.
Tell him to bring it to Rosemary Fair
Every rose grows merry and fine
And when he arrives, they'll be nobody there
And he cannot be a true lover of mine.
Since you have been so hard upon me,
Every rose grows merry and fine;
I'm going to be, as hard upon thee
If you wish to be a true lover of mine.
You may go down to Rosemary Fair,
Every rose grows merry and fine
And pick me out then the nicest girl there
And I will make her a true lover of mine.
Tell her to send me a cambric shirt,
Every rose grows merry and fine
Made without needle or needle work,
Or she cannot be a true lover of mine
Tell he wash it in yonder well,
Every rose grows many and fine;
Where water ne'er rose and rain ne'er fell,
And I will make her a true lover of mine.
Tell her to dry it on yonder thorn,
Every rose grows merry and fine,
Where none never grew since Adam was born,
And I will make her a true lover of mine