Shepherd's Daughter & the King- Niles (KY) c.1880
[From The Ballad Book of John Jacob Niles, 1961. Considering the rarity of this ballad in the region, the odds that this is authentic are slim. Considering the text, this is clearly a recreation. Listen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vj1i74Bce1s
R. Matteson 2012, 2015]
Shepherd's Daughter & the King- Learned from John Jacob Nile's father who learned it in Louisville circa 1880. Transcribed in 1917.
1. I sing of a Shepherd's daughter,
Tending sheep on a hill so high,
When one of them hirling servants
Came a-gaily riding by.
Chorus: With a ring dong, down
And a diddle-a-la-di-do,
Ring, dong, down
and a diddle-a-la-day.
2. I sing of a shepherd's daughter
With shoes of rabbit's fur,
And how that hireling servant
Did come and robb-ed her.
(repeat refrain after each verse)
3. Oh, she grabbed her pettiskirts in her hand,
And she ran by the horse's side,
And she ran twill she come to the river,
And she swam that raging tide.
4. Oh, she swam twill she come to the dri-ed land,
And she grabbed her skirts and she run,
And she run twill she come to the King's highway,
And she wasn't running for fun.
5. Oh, she walk-ed up to the castle door,
How boldly tingled the ring,
And none was so spry as the King hisself
At letting the shepherdess in.
6. "What matter, what matter, what matter, my maid?
What matter, what matter?" cried he.
"Oh, one of your hireling servants
Has been and robb-ed me."
7 "Oh, what, my maid, did he rob you of?
Oh, what did he take away?
Was it diamond rings or silver
Or gold he took today?"
8 "Twern't no gold nor silver,
'Twern't no treasure trove!"
And she hung her head, and she shame
Like the note of a mourning dove.
9. Then cried the King: "If married,
Hang-ed he shall be.
But if he's e'er a single man,
He's bounden to marry ye."