The Demon Lover- Copper (NC) 1924 Chappell
[From: Folk-Songs of Roanoke and Albermarle, 1939. The Demon Lover is not a local title and was assigned by Chappell. This version is one of the few traditional versions that uses the broadside "on the banks of the Tennessee." A similar last verse from the NC coast is found in Brown I from Nag's Head, Dare county: "Sung to me by Mrs. J. A. Best"
Brown I. 'The House Carpenter.' Reported by L. W. Anderson
'Here's a curse, here's a curse to all seafaring men.
[For] a-ruinin' of lives,
Robbing of house carpenters
And taking away of their wives.' [verse re-ordered]
This version collected by Chappell is from the same area (NC coastal region) in 1924 with a similar ending:
Cursed be to the seafaring men,
And cursed to be their lives;
[For the ] robbing of the house-carpenter[s],
And coaxing away their wives.
R. Matteson 2013]
The Demon Lover- Sung by Henry Copper of Chapanoke, NC in 1924; collected by Chappell.
1. Well met, well met, cried my old true love,
Well met, well met, cried he,
I'm just from the old salt sea
And it's all for the sake of thee.
Says, I could have married the king's daughter dear,
And she would have married me;
But I refused the crowns of gold,
And it's all for the sake of thee.
If you could have married the king's daughter dear,
And she would have married you;
I do think you are so very much to blame
To refuse the crowns of gold.
For I've just married a house-carpenter
And I think he's a nice young man.
Go away, go away and- leave your house-carpenter,
And come and go with me;
I will carry you where the grass grows green
On the banks of old Tennessee.
If I forsake my house-carpenter
And go along with thee,
It's what have you got to support me upon,
To keep me from cruel slavery?
Don't you see them seven, seven ships,
A-sailing for yonders harbor?
A hundred and ten bold sailormen
Will all be at your command.
She dressed herself in robes of silk,
And the robes they did shine like gold;
She called unto her darling tender babe,
And gave it a kiss or two.
Says, Stay right here, stay right here,
O my darling tender babe,
And keep your poor papa company,
And keep your poor papa company.
She marched all around and around the town,
And on the deck she did go. [1]
She sailed onward two weeks,
I'm sure it was not three;
Before she began to weep,
And she wept most bitterly.
Says, What are you weeping for, my dear,
What are you weeping for?
Are you weeping for my gold or silver,
Or is you weeping for my store?
Or is you weeping for the house-carpenter
That you left on yonder shore?
Neither weeping for your gold nor your silver,
Neither weeping for your store;
Neither weeping for the house-carpenter,
The one's on yonder shore.
She sailed onward three weeks,
I'm sure it was not four;
Before she began to weep
And she wept and wept still more.
What are you weeping for, my love,
What are you weeping for?
Are you weeping for my gold or my silver,
Are you weeping for my store?
Neither weeping for your gold nor your silver,
Neither weeping for your store;
Neither weeping for the house-carpenter,
But the one on yonder shore;
I'm weeping for my darling tender babe,
The one I'll never see no more.
Dry up your tears I say, my 1ove,
Dry up your tears I say;
You will soon reach your happy, happy home
On the banks of old Tennessee.
She sailed onward four weeks,
I'm sure it was not five.
Cursed be to the seafaring men,
And cursed be to their lives;
Robbing of the house-carpenter
And coaxing away their wives.
1. Should follow: She dressed herself in robes of silk,
And the robes they did shine like gold,