Sweet Jane- John Cantrell
[This ballad is classified as Laws B 22. Early US versions include Folk-Songs of the Southern United States (1925) by Josiah H. Combs, contributed by Mrs. Richard Smith, Smithsboro, Knott Co., Kentucky, which begins:
Farewell, sweet Jane, I now must start
Across the waving sea;
My ship is now on Johnson's Bar,
With all my company.
and North Carolina Folklore, Brown collection from Isabel Rawn.
R. Matteson 2014]
SWEET JANE
I see the sails all on the ship,
They are all ready now,
Just, one sweet, kiss before I go
The mighty deep to plough.
The falling tears did wet her cheeks
Oh, then I kissed her hand,
Remember me, Oh Honey dear,
When I'm in a foreign land.
My bosom felt a feeling then,
It never felt before.
I got on board with Johnson's men
And left my native shore.
For three long years we labored hard
In laying up our wealth;
We lived on bread and salt alone
And nearly lost our health.
We loaded up our trunks with gold,
Oh then I thought of Jane!
With anxious thought, we homeward rolled,
While I across the main.
One night, we thought we all were lost,
Our captain was asleep.
It was our captain's good command
That brought us o'er the deep.
At five o'clock we heard a ball,
Shot from a cannon's mouth,
We were safe and to that shore;
That sweet old sunny south!
Saw a band of lovely girls,
Come running to the ship,
Saw sweet Jane with all her curls,
And I began to ship.
I ran and met her on the walk,
Our hearts were filled with charm;
With heart so full I could not speak,
I caught her in my arms!
We marched along the marble street,
Up to her father's door;
And all the crowd seemed gay and neat,
While standing on the floor.
The parson read the marriage law,
That bound us both for life;
Now Jane is mine, without a doubt,
My sweet and loving wife!
The above ballad was furnished by John J. Cantrell, who had known it all his life. He also verified the tune, as it was remembered by L. L. McDowell, who heard it in his early youth from D. B. Clark in White County, Tenn.