William and Poll- Hooker (NC) 1924 Chappell A

William and Poll- Hooker (NC) 1924 Chappell A

[My title; fragment from Chappell, Folk-Songs of Roanoke and the Albemarle; Morgantown: Ballad Press, 1939, version A.

R. Matteson 2014]


2. Lady Isabel and the Elf-Knight

A [William and Poll] (sung by Columbus Hooker, East Lake, NC 1924)

William was a false and a false young man,
He courted a lady gay,
Courted her for her heart and own good will,
All for to lead her astray.

Then he mounted the milk-white steed.,
And she the dappled gray;
They rode till they came to the north greensides
All on one summer day.

Get down, get down, my pretty little Poll,
And listen unto me,
For six fair maidens I have drowned here
And the seventh you shall be.