BRUTON TOWN I
(learned from Ellen Faust during the 1960s;.also found in Cecil Sharp' folk song collection but in a different meter)
In Bruton Town there lived a farmer,
One told his secret to no other
If he our servant courts our sister,
A day of hunting was prepared
Now welcome home, my dear young brothers,
She went to bed crying and lamenting,
You rise up early tomorrow morning,
Then she rose early the very next morning,
She took her kerchief from her pocket,
And since my brothers have been so cruel
(from miriam berg's folksong collection)
Who had two sons and one daughter fair.
By day and night they were contrivin'
To fill their parents' hearts with fear.
But to his brother this he said,
I think our servant courts our sister,
I think they have a mind to wed.
That maid from such a shame I'll save.
I'll put an end to all their courtship,
And send him silent to his grave.
in thorny woods where briars grow.
And there they did that young man a merder,
And in the brake his fair body threw.
Our servant man, is he behind?
We've lost him where we've been a-hunting,
We've lost him where no man can find.
Lamenting for her own true love.
She slept, she dreamed, she saw him by her,
All covered o'er in a gore of blood.
And straightway to the brake you go.
And there you'll find my body lying
All covered o'er in a gore of blood.
Unto the forest brake she went.
And there she found her own dear lover,
All covered o'er in a gore of blood.
And wiped his eyes though he was blind.
Because he was my own true lover,
My own true lover and friend of mine.
To take your tender sweet life away,
One grave shall hold us both together,
And along with you, in death I'll stay.