The Donny Dims of the Arrow- Ashlaw (NY) 1981 Bethke
[From Bethke, Adirondack Voices (1981) pp. 105-107. A bio of Ted by Robert D. Bethke can be found here: http://adirondackmusic.org/subpages/69/8/6/theodore-ashlaw
It begins: Theodore Ashlaw (1905-1987), addressed both as “Theodore” and “Ted” throughout life, died at age 82 from natural causes in St. Lawrence County, where he resided in a modest, windswept house on a rise adjacent to rural pastureland on Lazy River Road, between the towns of Hermon and Russell.
R. Matteson 2013, 2016]
DONNY DIMS OF THE ARROW- Sung by Ted Ashlaw of Hermon, New York; 1981. Collected by Robert D. Bethke.
Oh, he went way up on the high, high hill,
And down the lane so narrow;
'Twas there he spied nine noblemen
At the donny dims of the Arrow.
It's three he drew, and three he sling,
And three were badly wounded;
When her brother John from behind the bush
He shot him with his arrow.
"Go home, go home, you false young man,
And tell your sister Sarah
That her true-love John is dead and gone
At the donny dims of the Arrow."
"Oh, mother dear, I had a dream,
I hope it proves no sorrow;
I dreamed my true-love John was dead
At the donny dims of the Arrow."
"Oh, daughter dear, dry up your tears
And weep no more for sorrow,
For a fairer a rose never bloomed in June,
Than the one you've lost at the Arrow.""
She went way up on the high, high hill,
And down the lane so narrow,
And there she spied her true-love John,
He was dead and gone at the at the Arrow.
She washed his face and combed his hair,
As she'd ofttimes done before;
She wrapped a cloth around his slate
And drew him to her Arrow.
Now, mother dear, you have seven sons,
You may wed them all tomorrow,
But as fair a rose never bloomed in June
As the one I lost at the Arrow."