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lady margaret, lady margaret |
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was sowing at the seam |
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she's all dressed in black |
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and a thought came in her head to roam in the woods |
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to pull flowers to flower her hat, my boys |
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to pull flowers to flower her hat |
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so she hoisted up her petticoats a bit above the knee |
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and so nimbly she ran over the ground |
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and when she came to the merrygreen woods |
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she pulled those branches down, my boys |
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she pulled those branches down |
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suddenly she spied a fine young man |
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he's standing by a tree |
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he says how dare you pull those branches down? |
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without the leave of me, my dear |
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without the leave of me |
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well she says this little wood it is my very own |
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my father gave it to me |
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i can pull these branches down without the leave of thee, young man |
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oh without the leave of thee |
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and he took a by the milk-white hand |
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and by the grass-green sleeve |
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he pulled her down at the foot of the bush |
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he never once asked her leave, my boys |
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oh he never once asked her leave |
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and when it was done she twisted about |
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to ask her true love's name |
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but she nothing saw |
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she nothing heard |
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and all the woods grew dim |
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and all the woods grew dim |
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there's four and twenty ladies all in the land |
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and they're all playing a chess |
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except it was the lady margaret |
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and she's green as any glass, my boys |
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oh she's green as any glass |
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and these four-and-twenty ladies all in the land |
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grow as red any rose |
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except the lady margaret she's pale and wan, my boys |
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oh pale and wan she goes |
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up then spoke the little serving girl |
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she lifted her hand and smiled |
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she said i think my lady's loved too long |
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and now she goes with child, my dears |
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oh and now she goes with child |
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up then spoke the second serving girl |
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oh ever and alas says she |
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that i think i know a herb in the merry green wood |
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that'll twine thy baby from thee |
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it'll rip off thy babe from thee |
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so lady margaret she got herself a comb |
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she made haste to comb her hair |
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and then she's away to the merry green woods |
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as fast as she can tear, my boys |
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as fast as she can tear |
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and she hadn't pulled in the merry green woods |
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a herb that barely won |
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when by her stands the young tamlin |
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he says margaret leave it alone |
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oh margaret leave it alone |
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why do you pull that bitter little herb |
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that herb that grows so grey |
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for to destroy that fine young baby that we got in our play, my dear |
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oh that we got in our play |
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well come tell me now young tamling says she |
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if an earthly man you be |
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i tell you no lies, says young tamlin |
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i was christined as good as thee |
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i was christined as good as thee |
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but as i rode a-hunting on a bitter bitter night |
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it was from my horse i fell |
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and the queen of elvin she caught me |
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into yonder green hill to dwell |
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oh into yonder green hill to dwell |
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but tonight is halloween lady |
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the elvin caught will ride |
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and if you would your true love win |
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by the millbridge you must hide, my dears |
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by the millbridge you must hide |
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and first will run the black horse |
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then will the brown |
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and then will run the white |
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you hold him fast, you fear him not |
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for he's the father of your child, my love |
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he's the father of your child |
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they'll turn me on in your arms lady into many a beasts so wild |
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but you hold them fast, you fear no ill |
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it's the father of your child, my love |
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it's the father of your child |
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so lady margaret, she gets herself a comb |
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she made haste to comb her hair |
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then she's away to the old millbrdige |
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as fast as she could tear, my boys |
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as fast as she could tear |
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and about the dead hour of the night she heard the bridles ring |
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oh my boys, she had her heart more than any earthly thing it did |
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more than any earthly thing |
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and first run the black horse |
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then the brown |
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and then raced by the white |
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well she held it fast, she feared it not |
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for it's the father of her child |
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it's the father of her child |
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the thunderoll across the sky |
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the stars blazed bright as day |
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the queen of elvin gave a thrilling cry |
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tamlin's away brave boys |
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brave tamlin's away |
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the very first thing they turned him into |
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is a lion that runs so wild |
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but she held him fast, she feared him not |
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he's the father of her child, my boys |
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he's the father of her child |
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and the very next thing they turned him into |
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it was a loathsome snake |
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he says hold me fast, fear me not |
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for i'm one of god's own make, my love |
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oh i'm one of god's own make |
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and again they changed him all in her arms |
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to a red-hot bar of iron |
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but she held it fast, she feared it not |
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it did to her no harm |
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it did to her no harm |
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and the very last thing they changed him into |
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was like any naked man |
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she flung her mantle over him |
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she cried my love i've won i've won |
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she cried my love i've won |
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but the queen of elvin she called for a bush |
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she's red as any blood |
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i should have taken out your eyes, tamlin |
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and put in two eyes of wood |
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and put in two eyes of wood |