OAK AND THE ASH
(learned from Alfred Deller record)
A North County maid up to London had strayed,
As sadly I roam, I regret my dear home
I'm sure if I please I could marry with ease,
(from miriam berg's folksong collection)
Although with her nature it did not agree,
And she sobbed and she sighed and she bitterly cried,
I wish once again in the North I could be,
Where the Oak and the Ash and the bonny ivy tree,
They flourish at home in my own country.
Where young lads and young lasses are making the hay,
And merry bells ring and the birds so sweetly sing,
And maidens and meadows are pleasant and gay,
Where the Oak and the Ash (etc.)
Where maidens are fair, many lovers will come.
But he whom I wed must be North Country bred,
And carry me back to my North Country home,
Where the Oak and the Ash (etc.)