The Lawyer's Wife

As I rode out one May morning,
One May morning right early,
'Twas there I spied a lovely lass;
She was charming, fair, and pretty.

I boldly stepped up to her,
And I said, "Where are you going?"
"Down to yonder meadow," she replied,
"Where my father is a-mowing."

She tripped along a mile or two,
And I soon did overtake her,
I whispered softly in her ear
That a lady I would make her.

"You shall have dresses for to wear,
And gold and silver plenty,
If you'll consent and go with me
Down to yonder town of Derby."

"Oh, keep your gold, and silver too
And take it to where yau're going
For all such false young men as you
Bring us poor maids to ruin.

"I'd rather be a poor man's wife,
Standing at the tub a-scrubbing,
Than I would be a lawyer's wife,
Sitting in the alehouse drinking."

From A Dorset Book of Folk Songs, Brocklebank and Kindersley
Recorded by Martyn Wyndham-Read
Note: What does a lawyer use for birth control? His personality. RG

RG