Collected by Hubert Charles Peterson For M.C.Parler
BARBARA ALLEN
'Twas in the very month of May,
When the green buds they were swellin',
Sweet William on his death bed lay For the sake of Barbara Allen.
He sent his servants into town,
And there unto her dwellin'.
Saying Massa' sick an' sent fer you,
If your name be Barbara Allen.
So slowly, slowly she got up,
An' slowly she went to him,
She drawed the curtain from Willie's pale face, Saying young man you are a dying.
Oh yes, Oh yes, I'm very sick,
An' death is on me dwellin',
But never better will I be 'Til I get Barbara Allen.
Don't you remember the other night,
A sittin' in the tavern,
A drinkin' wine with the ladies all around,
But you slighted Barbara Allen.
Oh yes, I remember the other night A-sittin' in the tavern,
A drinkin' wine with the ladies all around,
But I didn't see Barbara Allen.
So slowly, slowly she got up,
An' slowly she went from him.
She hadn't went but a mile or two,
'Til she heard the death bells tollin'.
She looked to the East an' she looked to the West, She seen the chariots a commin',
With two gray horses a workin' in the breast,
An Willie's corpse behind 'em.
Sung by Fleecy Fox Leslie, Arkansas December 20, 1962
Reel 427, Item 6Reel 427, Item 6 Continued
BARBARA ALLEN (continued)
Oh Mother, Oh Mother, go dig my grave,
Dig it both long and narrow,
Sweet William died for me today,
And I'll die for him tomorrow.
They buried him in the old churchyard,
Barbara Allen was buried beside him,
A red rose at Sweet Willie's feet,
A green briar at Barbara.
They grew and they grew in the old churchyard, 'Til they could grow no higher,
They locked and they tied in a true-love's knot, The red rose around the briar.
