Sweet Nelson- Mrs. W. Josephine Collins (NH-ME) c1854 JAF Barry D
[From: Traditional Ballads in New England II by Phillips Barry; The Journal of American Folklore, Vol. 18, No. 70 (Jul. - Sep., 1905), pp. 191-214.
This is the second part of Barry's Traditional Ballads in New England, all three parts were published in 1905 in three consecutive editions of the JAF. Bronson (as No. 23) prints the informants name, Barry on gives the initials, H.J.C.
R. Matteson 2014]
D. [Sweet Nelson.] Communicated December 3, 1904, by Mrs. W. Josephine Collins , Concord, N. H., as sung half a century ago at neighborly gatherings in Hebron, Me.
1. "Oh, where d' ye go courting, Sweet Nelson, my son?
Oh, where d' ye go courting, my sweet pretty one?"
"I went to see Polly, mother make my bed soon,
For I'm sick at my heart, and I long to lie down."
2. "What d' ye have for your supper, Sweet Nelson, my son
What d' ye have for your supper, my sweet pretty one?"
"Speckled eels, fried in fat, mother make my bed soon,
For I 'm sick at my heart, and I long to lie down."
3. "What d' ye leave to your father, Sweet Nelson, my son?
What d' ye leave to your father, my sweet pretty one?"
"My farm and farming tools, mother make my bed soon,
For I'm sick at my heart, and I long to lie down."
4. "What d' ye leave to your sister, Sweet Nelson, my son?
What d' ye leave to your sister, my sweet pretty one?"
"My purse and my jewels, mother make my bed soon,
For I'm sick at my heart, and I long to lie down."
5. "What d' ye leave to your Polly, Sweet Nelson, my son?
What d' ye leave to your Polly, my sweet pretty one?"
"The rope and the gallows. Oh, make my bed soon!
For I'm sick at my heart, and I long to lie down."
6. "Oh, where shall I make it, Sweet Nelson, my son?
Oh, where shall I make it, my sweet pretty one ?"
"Yonder in the churchyard, mother make my bed soon,
For I'm sick at my heart, and I long to lie down."