The Unwilling Bride- Howard (KY) c.1940 Niles
[This versions is interesting in that the last refrain--As the doe skims over the green valley, seems closer to the old English doe as in dove. Niles provides no date so I'm guesstimating c.1940.]
The Unwilling Bride- Aunt Etta Howard (Niles No. 59) Cutshine, KY no date given c.1940
Oh, I married a wife and I tuck her to home,
As the gentle young Jenny, the rosemary tree,
But I many times wished I'd left her alone,
As the doe skims over the green valley.
But I, bein' young, I tuck me to wife,
As the gentle young Jenny, the rosemary tree,
A woman who plagued me out of my life,
As the doe skims over the green valley.
3. Oh, for fear of her spoilin' her pretty cloth shoes,
The pots in the kitchen she never would use.
4. Oh, first day when so weary I come from my plow,
Said, "Wife, dearest wife, can I eat a bit now?"
5. "Lays a piece of stale pone on yon highest shelf,
If you want more for dinner, go git it yourself."
6. Next day, as before, come I in from my plow,
Said, "Wife, dearest wife, can I eat a bit now?"
7. Oh, she grabbed a hot spider,* said, "You git away,
'Cause they hain't no more cooked than they was yesterday."
8. Oh, I went to my woodland, aside of my barn,
And I cut me a hickory as long as my arm.
9. And then, in a twinkle, I quickly went back,
And whacked my woman a lackety-smack.
10. Next e'en, as before, come I in from my plow,
Said, "Wife, dearest wife, can I eat a bit now?"
11. Oh, she flew and she fluttered, the board it was spread,
And when I bespoke me, 'twas "Yes, sir!" she said.
* Skillet, frying pan.