The Lover's Tasks- Sung by Francis Carter Proctor, Beattyville, Ky., September 8, 1917. Collected by Sharp.
[From Sharp MSS 3996; Bronson No. 37. The Lover's Tasks is a standard title Cecil Sharp used for Child 2, The Elfin Knight. Sharps noted: "The tune imperfectly remembered by the singer." Variant reading (a) suggests confusion with "Lilliburlero."
R. Matteson Jr. 2011]
THE LOVER'S TASKS
If you will buy me an acre of land
Between the salt sea and the sea sand
Every grave grows merry by time
And you shall be a true lover of mine.