The Lady and the Shepherd- Tolliver (KY) 1932 Niles A
[From: The Ballad Book of John Jacob Niles; 1961. As with all of Niles' collection, it's hard to tell real from fantasy. I am of the belief that there are collected bits and pieces of ballads that have triggered his imagination and led to the recreation and completion of many of his ballads. I also believe Niles could not resist perfecting and completing them.
R. Matteson 2013, 2016]
The Lady and the Shepherd- Tolliver (KY) 1932 Niles A
1. There was a lady in our town,
And none so fair as she.
Courted she was by six men of renown,
And a shepherd most tenderly.
CHORUS: Oh fol-le dol-le dol-le,
Fol-le dol-le dee,
And a shepherd most tenderly.
2. Oh, she washed up and she washed back down,
And combed her black, black hair
To please the lords of high degree,
And the shepherd who loved her sair. (repeat last line and Chorus)
3. Oh, the shepherd walked in, and the shepherd
walked out,
Until he came to Yarrow,
And there six men without a doubt
Did wait to draw his marrow.
4. "Oh, I'll fight you all, by one, by two,
And suffer myself small pain,
For each in turn I'll do to death
If the others will but refrain."
5. He fit them hard, he fit them sound,
And left them where they lay.
Upon the green beflowered ground
With their folly he did repay.
6. Now this lady had of brothers one
Who had no heart for fight,
While he did steal the shepherd on
And stab him as he might.
7. "Oh John, oh John, you might have been
A brother unto me,
But by this dark and backward sin
You've foully murdered me.
8. "Go back unto your sister's side
And speak small words of cheer,
That she may dig a grave full wide
And join her lover here."