The House Carpenter- Young (ME) 1928 Barry B (Bronson No. 53)
[From: British Ballads from Maine, 1929 by Barry Ecksorm and Smyth. This fragment (end stanzas) is likely very old as the Carr family singers can be traced back to the 1700s in MA.
R. Mattteson 2013, 2016]
THE HOUSE CARPENTER- Sung by Susie Carr Young, of Brewer, Maine, and music by George Herzog; 1928. This ballad was "traditional in her family."
She took her baby [on her knee]
And she gave it kisses three,
Saying, "Stay at home, you sweet pretty babe,
Keep your father company."
They had not been out more than two weeks,
I'm sure it was not three,
Before this lady began to weep,
And she wept most bitterly.
"O, do you weep for the gold that you left,
Or the dangers of the sea?
Or is it for fear of that house-carpenter
That you left when you came with me?"
"I do not weep for the gold that I left,
Or the dangers of the sea;
But it's all for the love of that little baby
That I left when I came with thee."