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Willie the Waterboy
The Bay of Biscay / Willie the Waterboy / Willie-O
[
Roud 22567
; Ballad Index CrMa113
; Bodleian
Roud 22567
; DT BISCAYO
, GHOSWILL
; Mudcat 13440
; trad.]
Michael Downey: The Ploughboy’s Glory Sheila Douglas: The Sang’s the Thing Elizabeth Stewart, Alison McMorland: Up Yon Wide and Lonely Glen Mike Yates: Traveller’s Joy
An at his own request unnamed singer, styled ‘Mr. X’, sang Willy-O to Hugh Shields at Doonalt, Glencolumbkille, Co Donegal on 8 September 1968. This recording was released in 1975 on the Leader album of Folk Ballads From Donegal and Derry collected by Shields. He noted:
Mainly a derivative of Sweet William’s Ghost (Child no. 77). Sung to me by ‘Mr. X’ at Doonalt, Glencolumbkille, 8 September 1968.
It fairly puts the seal of latter-day banality on this revenant ballad that in the last verse the girl is only willing to lend untold wealth to the Queen of England to redeem her lover. Even so, it is quite a well-made text, popular in Donegal, noticed in other Irish counties and printed on nineteenth-century broadsides some of which are preserved in the National Library, Dublin.
The Dorian air resembles local airs of Barbara Allen. Another Irish version collected in Donegal 1965, is printed in Traditional Topics Vol. 1 No. 2, February 1968.
Tim Hart and Maddy Prior sang the night visiting song Bay of Biscay with glorious harmonies in 1969 on their second duo album, Folk Songs of Old England Vol 2. The album’s sleeve notes commented:
An Irish song of the night visiting variety collected by Geoff Woods from James McKinley of Tra-Narossen, Donegal. Like [in] so many of these songs the drowned sailor, after a seven year absence, appears to his girlfriend in the middle of the night; presumably an extension of the belief that unless a body received Christian burial the soul could not rest in peace.
Nora Cleary sang a variant of this under the title Willie-O—which shares three verses with the above—in her home at The Hand, Miltown Maybay, Co. Clare in July 1976. Jim Carroll and Pat Mackenzie recorded her; and this track was included on the anthology O’er His Grace The Grass Grew Green (The Voice of the People Series Volume 3; Topic 1998). By the way, this is the one song listed here that does not refer to the Bay of Biscay, but instead it has the cock-crow motif at the end. Probably that’s why the CD liner notes list it as Child 248, i.e. a variant of The Grey Cock.
Len Graham sang My Willy-O in 1977 on his Topic album Wind and Water. He noted:
This is a County Antrim version of The Lover’s Ghost or The Grey Cock, which I learnt from the late Johnnie McLaughlin, Skerry. Joe Holmes also recalls his mother singing this ballad.
Len Graham also sang Willie O at the Fife Traditional Singing Festival, Collessie, Fife in May 2011. This was released in the following year on the festival‘s Autumn Harvest anthology The Little Ball of Yarn (Old Songs & Bothy Ballads Volume 8). Peter Shepheard noted:
This rather fine and rare ballad has been collected only a few times. Len first heard this song in the early 1960s from Jimmy McGinley from Ros Ghoill, Co. Donegal. Joe Holmes from Killyrammer, Co. Antrim provided Len with the all important verse five with the cock crowing motif. The drowned sailor, after a seven year absence, appears as a ghost at his true love‘s bedside in the middle of the night and, as with all ghostly beings, departs before the dawn.
The song appears as a broadside ballad in the nineteenth century and seems to borrow from the older ‘night-visit’ theme of the ballad Sweet William’s Ghost (Child 77). However, Bronson classifies the ballad along with The Grey Cock (Child 248) which also includes the night visit and cock crowing motifs. Len has recorded the song on Topic 12TS334 (1976) and on Cranagh CMCD4453 (2010). There are several copies of Willie O in the Bodleian Library collection of Broadside Ballads.
Boys of the Lough sang Willie O in 1980 on their Topic album Regrouped. They noted:
This ballad is mainly a derivative of Sweet William’s Ghost (Child 77) and Cathal [McConnell] has it from Len Graham (Wind and Water), who in turn learnt it from the late Johnnie McLaughlin, Skerry, Co. Antrim.
Nick Dow sang this song as Seven Long Years in 1980 on his album A Branch of May. He noted:
This is my arrangement of a night visiting song from Northern England. It was originally called My Willie-O, a title I have changed to avoid embarrassing misunderstandings.
John Kirkpatrick sang this ballad as Willie the Waterboy in 1986 on Brass Monkey’s LP See How it Runs, which was reissued in 1993 as part of their CD The Complete Brass Monkey. They also sang in in 2013 on their 30th anniversary CD and DVD, The Best of Live The original album’s sleeve notes commented:
Sung by Mrs Whiting, of Newport, Monmouthshire, to George Butterworth in April 1908. Selected by Michael Dawney for inclusion in The Ploughboy’s Glory, published by the EFDSS in 1977. ‘Waterboy’ and ‘Waterman’ are names for fairy spirits in Germany.
I’ll have to add that, while ‘Wassermann’ is a well-known German fairy spirit and the German translation of the zodiac sign of Aquarius, I’ve never heard of any kind of ‘Waterboy’ here.
This rather long video from Barnsley Acoustic Roots Festival 2012 shows Brass Monkey performing The Friar in the Well, The King’s Hunt, Soldier, Soldier / The Flowers of Edinburgh, Willie the Waterboy, and Happy Hours:
Claire Lloyd with Folly Bridge sang The Bay of Biscay—with words very similar to Tim Hart and Maddy Prior’s— in 1991 on their WildGoose cassette All in the Same Tune. She noted:
A traditional night-visiting song of Irish origin, sung here by Claire Lloyd with Folly Bridge. Like so many of these songs the drowned sailor, after a seven year absence, appears at his girlfriend’s window in the middle of the night, with his “two pale cheeks as white as snow”, before disappearing again at daybreak. This comes from the belief that unless a body received Christian burial, the soul could not rest in peace.
Duncan Williamson sang Willie Lost at Sea in his house in Fife in August 2011 to John Howson. This recording was released on in 1995 Veteran Tapes cassette and 2014 Veteran CD, Put Another Log on the Fire.
Claire Mann sang The Bay of Biscay on Tabache’s 1999 album Waves of Rush. They noted:
Mary is left broken-hearted after waiting seven years for her lover, William, to return from sea. Unfortunately he died whilst away and comes back to Mary’s bedside one night to bid his final farewell. She says that she will give anything in the world to be able to see him one last time. The song is of English origin.
Carolyn Robson sang Bay of Biscay on her 1999 album All the Fine Young Men. She noted:
The only Irish contribution, this ghost song also has a striking melody.
Norma Waterson sang The Bay of Biscay in 1999 on Waterson:Carthy’s third album Broken Ground. Martin Carthy noted:
There are two people we have to thank for The Bay of Biscay. One is Mary O’Connor, an Irish woman who lives in Watford and who sang regularly at the Pump House club (organised by the redoubtable Bob Wakeling until apathy—certainly not his own—forced him to close it) and one of whose songs it is, and the other is Deirdre MacLennan from Inverness who got me out of a hole when I couldn’t remember the last verse and taught it to me. It’s in her repertoire too and there is no song quite like it. It’s a song about the never ending ache of loss and it haunts. I don’t think I’ve ever seen it in print.
Debra Cowan sang The Bay of Biscay-O in 2001 on her Falling Mountain album The Long Grey Line. This track was also included in 2004 on the Lancaster Maritime Festival anthology Beware of the Press-Gang!!. She noted on her album:
There are many songs about the Bay of Biscay, which is located in Southwestern Europe, bounded by France and Spain. The coastline varies from rocky cliffs to sandy beaches, thus winds and currents make navigation difficult.
Bill Cassidy sang Biscayo on the Musical Traditions anthology of songs and stories from Jim Carroll’s and Pat Mackenzie’s recordings of Irish Travellers in England, From Puck to Appleby (2003). Carroll and Mackenzie noted:
We have always thought this song to be a version of The Grey Cock (Child 248); however, ballad scholar Dr Hugh Shields has cast serious doubt on this assumption. In two detailed articles on the subject, he argues convincingly that it is a version of a nineteenth century Irish broadside entitled Willie O, the main source of which appears to be Sweet William’s Ghost (Child 77).
We have also recorded it from another traveller, Katie Dooley; and from West Clare singer Nora Cleary. Katie Dooley’s text, similar to Nora Cleary’s, has obviously evolved from the broadside, but Bill Cassidy’s text and tune are reminiscent of the well-known version entitled The Grey Cock which was recorded in the early 1950s from Mrs Cecilia Costello, a Birmingham woman of Galway parentage. Whatever the truth of the matter, all three have in common the lover returning from the dead and the couple’s time together being brought to a close with the crowing of the cock.
Both Mrs Costello’s and Bill’s versions have powerful images symbolising the difficulty of the dead returning; in Mrs Costello’s, the lover has to cross ‘the burning Thames’, while in Bill’s it is ‘the burning mountains’. Unusually, Katie Dooley’s version ends with the woman’s death and leaves her ‘sleeping beneath the billows’. This may be a mistaken substitution of she for he, but it makes perfect sense in the context of the song.
Bill was one of a number of Travellers who liberally scattered the word ‘old/ould’ into the texts of his songs!
Ref: Dead Lover’s Return in Modern English Ballad Tradition, Dr Hugh Shields: Jahrbuch Fur Volkliedforschung, 1976; Grey Cock: Dawn Song or Revenant, Hugh Shields, Ballad Studies, Folklore Soc. Mistletoe Series, 1976.
Rosie Carson and Kevin Dempsey sang The Bay of Biscay on their 2009 album The Salty Diamond.
Jon Boden learned Bay of Biscay from the singing of Tim Hart & Maddy Prior and sang it as the 7 October 2010 entry of his project A Folk Song a Day. He noted:
My absolute favourite Tim Hart and Maddy Prior track. The harmony line is so good that it took me a very long time to work out who had the melody. I think I picked the right line!
Karan Casey sang The Bay of Biscay in 2010 on her and John Doyle’s their Compass album Exiles Return. John Doyle noted:
This is the late Nora Cleary’s version of this great song on a field recording from a fantastic collection The Voice of the People on Topic Records. Another supernatural song of a ghostly visitation from this mournful maiden’s lover.
Finest Kind sang Bay of Biscay on their 2010 album For Honour & for Gain. They noted:
Ian [Robb] first heard this beautiful Irish supernatural night visiting song at the St Albans Folk Club in 1969, sung by Tim Hart and Maddy Prior. Tim and Maddy apparently had it from Geoff Woods, who collected it from James McKinley of Tranarossen, Donegal.
Alison McMorland sang The Cruel Grave in 2010 on her and Geordie McIntyre’s Rowan album Where Ravens Reel. Geordie McIntyre noted:
Alison learned this superb and distinctive version of the The Grey Cock or Lover’s Ghost from Elizabeth Stewart of Fetterangus, Aberdeenshire, who learnt it from her mother Jean. This way of it implies that the returning sailor is a revenant (other versions make it even more explicit). Nevertheless its power and supernatural sense remains undiminished.
Note the important ‘cock crow’ motif which relates to the ancient belief that the dawn bird cry is a signal to the revenant to return from the land of the living to that of the dead “to the world without pity”.
Chris Sarjeant sang The Bay of Biscay in 2012 on his WildGoose album Heirlooms.
Jim Moray learned Seven long Years from the singing of Nick Dow and sang it in 2012 on his CD Skulk.
FatDog sang Bay of Biscay on their 2014 CD New Found Land.
Robert Lawrence and Jill Greene sang Bay of Biscay in 2015 on Legends and Laments. They noted:
A haunting 19th century tale of a ghostly nighttime visitor, a drowned sailor. He visits his love Mary until dawn, when he must return to his watery grave in the Bay of Biscay.
Sam Lee sang Willie-O, “learnt from Sheila Stewart” in 2015 on his Nest Collective album The Fade in Time.
Niamh Parsons sang Willie O on her and Graham Dunne’s 2015 album Kind Providence. She noted:
I first learnt this song in the 1980s and have been singing it since. It is a derivative of Sweet William’s Ghost (Child 77). This version was published as a broadside c.1860 in Dublin, however some verses were omitted from the oral journey of this song. During research with ‘The Wild Bees Nest’ project [website now defunct] I found it in a chap-book in the National Library of Ireland.
Helen Diamond sang Willie-O on her 2018 eponymous first album Helen Diamond. She noted:
Another song my father used to sing at home when I was very small. This was one of the first songs I learned as a child, along with Long Lankin. He heard it from Len Graham who recorded it on the album Wind and Water.
Rachel Newton sang The Cruel Crave on the Furrow Collective’s 2018 album Fathoms. They noted:
Rachel came across this song in the book Traveller’s Joy: Songs of English and Scottish Travellers and Gypsies 1965-2005, compiled by Mike Yates. It was sung by Duncan Williamson in Ladybank, Fife, in 2001.
Emily Portman sang The Bay of Biscay, accompanied by Rob Harbron on concertina, in 2019 on Topic’s 80th year anthology, Vision & Revision. She noted:
The Bay of Biscay is an Irish supernatural night-visiting or ‘revenant’ ballad that Waterson:Carthy learnt from Mary O’Connor. Waterson:Carthy were my introduction to traditional song at the age of 17, and I’ve been hooked ever since. When it comes to ballad singing, for me there is no-one to top Norma; she always gets straight to the heart of a song and her repertoire is a treasure trove. Her rendition of The Bay of Biscay always gives me goosebumps, so it’s an honour to be asked to have a go.
The Norfolk Broads sang Bay of Biscay on their 2021 album Yonder Green Grove.
Phil Tyler and Sarah Hill sang Willie the Waterboy in 2022 on their Ferric Mordant album What We Thought Was a Lake Was a Field of Flax.
Adrienne O’Shea sang Ghost of Willie O on her 2023 album Threads of Gold. She noted:
This is a beautiful unaccompanied ballad that I learned from the singing of Dónal Maguire in 2017. This is a night visiting song about a young man come back from the grave to bid his partner farewell. It is one of my favourite songs to sing in the world and I couldn’t imagine recording my first album without it.
Nuala Kennedy sang Willie-O on her and Eamon O’Leary’s 2024 album Hydra. They noted:
Nuala learned this ghostly night-visiting song from a recording made by Jim Carroll and Pat Mackenzie for Topic Records of the late County Clare singer Nora Cleary (1924-1988). Inspired by Nora’s characterful, rhythmical singing style, we have added a vocable chorus…
Lyrics
Mr. X sings Willy-O
O come ye maidens both fair and handsome
Whilst in vain your tears may flow;
For my true lover I am daily weeping
For the loss of my lover Willy-O.
As Mary lay sleeping her true lover came creeping
To her bedchamber door so slow
Saying, – Rise up, rise up, my sweetheart Mary
For I am your true lover Willy-O.
Mary arose, she put on her clothing
And to her bedchamber door to go;
It was there she espied her true lover Willy
And his face it was white as snow.
– Och, Willy my darling, where are the blushes
That were in your cheeks long years ago?
– Mary my sweetheart, the cold clay has changed them
For I am the ghost of your Willy-O.
They spent that night in deep discussion
Concerning their courtship of years ago;
They then shook hands and sadly parted
Just as the cock began to crow.
– My heart it is buried in the West Indies
But my ghost ship will guide you so;
Farewell, farewell, my sweetheart Mary,
My ghost will guide you where’er you go.
– O had I the gold of the West Indies
Or had I the silver of Mexico
I would lend it all to the Queen of England
If she’d let me have back (spoken) Willy-O.
Tim Hart & Maddy Prior sing Bay of Biscay
“My Willy sails on board the tender
And where he is I do not know.
For seven years I’ve been constantly waiting
Since he crossed the Bay of Biscay-o.”
One night as Mary lay a-sleeping,
A knock came to her bedroom door,
Saying, “Arise, arise, my dearest Mary,
For to earn one glance of your Willy-o.”
Young Mary rose, put on her clothes,
Unto her bedroom door did go
And there she spied her Willy standing,
His two pale cheeks as white as snow.
“Oh Willy dear, where are those blushes,
Those blushes I knew long years ago?”
“Oh Mary dear, the cold clay has them
I am only the ghost of your Willy-o.”
“Oh Mary dear, the dawn is coming.
Don’t you think it is time for me to go?
I am leaving you quite broken-hearted
For to cross the Bay of Biscay-o.”
“If I had all the gold and silver
And all the money in Mexico,
I would grant it all to the King of Erin
To bring me back my Willy-o.”
Nora Cleary sing Willie-O
As Mary lay sleeping, her love came creeping
To her bedroom door so slow,
Saying, “Rise up, Mary, my lovely Mary,
I’m your charming Willie-o.”
Mary arose, she put on her clothes
And to her bedroom door did go,
And there she found her own true lover
And his face was white as the lily snow.
“Oh, Willie dear, where are those blushes,
That you had some long ago?”
“Mary dear, the clay has changed them;
I’m but the ghost of your Willie-o.”
They spent that night in deep conversation
Concerning their courtship years ago.
They kissed, they shook hands and sorrowful parted
Just as the cock began to grow.
And as they were in deep conversation
Down her cheeks the tears did flow.
“Farewell, Darling, I must leave you;
I’m but the ghost of your Willie-o.”
“Oh, Willie dear, when will we meet again?”
“When the fishes there will fly
And the sea it will run dry
And the rocks they will melt with the sun.”
Brass Monkey sing Willie the Waterboy
As young Mary lay sleeping, Willie come creeping
To her bed chamber door did go,
Saying, “Arise and awake, young lovely Mary,
For it is your true love, Young William-o.”
So Mary she rose and she put on her clothing,
To her bedchamber door did go,
And there she met with her true love William
Whom she’d not seen some long time ago.
Oh it’s seven long years I’ve been daily writing
All over the Bay of Biscay-o,
But it’s cruel death gave me no answer
Gave me no answer from my William-o.
Then it’s, “William dear, where are those blushes,
Those blushes you wore, being so long ago?”
Then it’s, “Mary dear, oh the cold clay has worn them
For I am but the ghost of Young William-o.”
Duncan Williamson sings Willie Lost at Sea
O it’s seven long years since my true love left me.
It is seven long years since he went to sea.
But another seven I shall wait his pleasure,
Till he comes home and he marries me.
Now I lie in my bed and I often wonder
I lie in my bed and I often pray.
I pray to my dearest God in Heaven,
Will he send my true love back home to me?
Now who is that there, who is at my window?
Who is keeping me out of my night’s rest?
It is not my father, it is not my mother,
Who is keeping me out of my night’s rest?
He said, “Open your door, love, and let me in, love.
Will ye open your door, love, will you let me in?
For I am cold, love, and I am weary.
And I am wet to the very skin.”
So she opened the door with the greatest of pleasure,
She opened the door and she let him in.
Saying, “If you’re my young man, you have changed your colour,
You’re not like the young man I used to know.”
So they sat talking and went walking,
Until the small cock he began to crow.
He said, “I must away, dear, I can stay no longer
For it’s a far way that I have to go.”
She said, “Willie dear, love, o please don’t leave me,
O Willie dear, don’t go back to sea.
O Willie dear, love, o please don’t leave me,
O Willie won’t you stay with me?”
He said, “I must away, dear, I can stay no longer,
For it’s a far way I have to go.
And when I’m gone, love, please pray no longer,
For never more can I come home to you.”
Waterson:Carthy sing The Bay of Biscay
My William sailed on board the tender
And where he is I do not know,
For seven long years I have been waiting
Since he has crossed the Bay of Biscay-o.
One night as Mary lay a-sleeping
A knock came to her bedroom door,
Saying, “Arise, arise, my lovely Mary,
It is your true lover, William-o.”
So Mary rose, put on her clothing,
So swift she’s opened up the door.
And there she saw her true lover standing,
His cherry cheeks they were as white as snow.
“Oh William dear, where are your blushes,
Your blushes you’d got some time ago?”
“Oh Mary dear—the clay has changed me
And I am the ghost of your William-o.”
“And Mary dear, the dawn is breaking,
The time has come for me to go.
And I must leave you broken-hearted
Since I have crossed the Bay of Biscay-o.”
Debra Cowan sings The Bay of Biscay-O
My Willie sailed on board a tender
And where he is I do not know
Seven long years I‘ve been constantly waiting
Since he crossed the Bay of Biscay-O
One night as Mary lay a-sleeping
A knock came to her bedroom door
Saying “Arise arise my dearest Mary
For to earn one glance of your Willie-O”
Mary arose put on her clothing
And to her bedroom door did go
And there she saw her Willie standing
His two pale cheeks as white as snow
“O Willie dear where are those blushes
Those blushes I knew long years ago”
“O Mary dear the cold waves lash them
I am the ghost of your Willie-O”
“But Mary dear the dawn is breaking
I fear it‘s time for me to go
I must leave you cold and broken hearted
For to cross the Bay of Biscay-O”
“If I had gold and I had money
And all the silver in Mexico
I would grant it all to the King of Erin
For to bring me back my Willie-O”
Bill Cassidy sings Biscayo
For he come creeping when I being sleeping,
Down to my old window, was down so low,
Saying, “Who is that at my old bedroom window
That is knocking so boldly and can’t get in.”
“For I am here, I’m your own true,
I am here this three long hours and can’t get in.”
Saying, she raised up from her soft down pillow,
She’ve opened th’ould door lads, and she’ve let him in.
And with love and kisses how they blessed each other,
Oh, when this long night being slipping in.
Saying, “I must go, I can stay no longer,
For I’m only th’ould ghost of your ould Willie O.”
Saying, “What have took your old lovely blushes,
Or whatever ate your grand cheeks away?”
“For th’ould cold, cold sea took my lovely blushes,
And it’s the worms ate my ould cheeks away.
“I must go, I can stay no longer,
Into a bay called Biscayo.
Where I’ll be guarded without hand or pilot,
For I’m but the ghost of your Willie O.
“I must cross o’er th’ould burning mountains,
That’s in to that bay called Biscayo.
That’s where I’ll still be guarded, ah, without hand or any pilot,
That’s why I’m th’ould ghost of your ould Willie O.”
Alison McMorland sings The Cruel Grave
It’s seven lang years since my true love’s left me
It’s seven lang years since he’s went tae sea
It’s seven lang years since my true love’s left me
Will he ever come hame for tae marry me?
It’s seven lang years since my laddie’s left me
It’s seven lang years since he’s went awa
It’s seven lang years since my laddie’s left me
He wis the best een oot amongst them aa.
When I go to my bed I oftimes wonder
When I go to my bed I oftimes do pray
I pray to my only God in heaven
Will he send my Willie back home one day?
Who is that at my bedroom window
Who keepeth me out of my nicht-rest?
Who is that at my bedroom window
Who gives me pain into my breast?
Tis not my father, tis not my mother
Tis not my brother, nor sister too
Tis not my father, tis not my sister
And who it is I know not who.
Will ye open the door and let me in my love
Will ye open the door and let me in
For I am cauld and I’m tired and weary
And it’s I am soaked tae the very skin.
Well she opened the door wi the greatest o pleasure
She opened the door and let him in
Sayin, If that’s you Willie you have lost your colour
For you’re nae like the young man I used tae ken.
She took his hand and she led him tae a room
Upon a bed a young child slept
She said, This is your son you have never seen
And it’s for some moments the young man wept.
So they went a-walkin and they went a-talkin
Till the early oors o the break o day
And they went a-walkin and they went a-talkin
Till soon he said, I must away.
But they kept a-walkin and they kept a-talkin
Till the early cock it began to crow
He said, I must away now I can stay no longer
For where I’m bound for I’ve far to go.
O Willie dear, o please don’t leave me
O Willie dear, don’t go back to sea
O Willie dear, o please don’t leave
Why can’t you stay and marry me?
He said, I must away I can stay no longer
Although this parting it will give more pain
And when I’m gone pray for me no longer
For never no more can I come hame again.
Len Graham sings Willie O
Young Willie sails on board a tender,
And where he‘s bound I do not know;
Seven long years I‘ve been constantly waiting,
Since he crossed the bay of Biscay O.
One night as Mary lay a-sleeping,
A knock came to her bedroom door;
Saying, “Arise, arise, my lovely Mary,
Till you get one glimpse of your lover O.”
Young Mary rose, put on her clothes,
And out of her bedroom she did go;
‘Twas there she saw young Willie standing,
Aye, and his two cheeks as white as snow.
Saying, “Willy dear, where are those blushes,
Those blushes you had many years ago?”
“Oh Mary dear, the cold clay has changed them,
I am only the ghost of young Willie O.”
“Oh Mary dear, I must be going,
For now the cocks they‘re began to crow.”
And when she saw him disappearing,
Down her cheeks the tears did flow.
“My body lies in the West Indies,
My ghost shall guard you to and fro;
So love, I fear that we are parted,
No more will you see young Willie O.”
“Had I all the gold and silver
Or all the money in Mexico;
I would grant it all to the King of Erin,
For to bring me back my Willie O.”
Rachel Newton sings The Cruel Grave
O it’s seven long years since my true love left me.
It is seven long years since he went to sea.
But another seven I shall wait his pleasure,
Till he comes home and he marries me.
I lie in my bed and I often wonder
I lie in my bed and I often pray.
I pray to my dearest God in Heaven,
Will he send my true love back home to me?
Now who is there, who is at my window?
Who is keeping me out of my long night’s rest?
It is not my father and it is not my mother,
Who is keeping me out of my long night’s rest?
He said, “Open your door, love, and let me in, love.
Will you open your door and let me in?
For I am cold, love, and I am weary.
And I am wet to the very skin.”
So she’s opened the door with the greatest of pleasure,
She’s opened the door and she let him in.
Saying, “If you’re my young man, you have changed your colour,
You’re not like the young man I used to know.”
So they sat talking and they went walking,
Until the small cock he began to crow.
He said, “I must away, dear, I can stay no longer
For it’s faraway that I have to go.”
She said, “My dear love, o please don’t leave me,
O Willie dear, don’t go back to sea.
O my dear love, o please don’t leave me,
O my love, won’t you stay with me?”
He said, “I must away, dear, I can stay no longer,
For it’s faraway that I have to go.
And when I’m gone, love, please pray no longer,
For never more can I come home to you.”
Acknowledgements
Willie the Waterboy lyrics copied from the LP sleeve notes by Garry Gillard, thanks to Wolfgang Hell.