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Mrs. Edward Gallagher (Catherine ) recorded at Chebucto Head Lighthouse, Halifax, Nova Scotia,1943

lyrics

Broken Ring Song - Mrs. Edward Gallagher [3:01]
AC: 2239 - MF NO: 289.100 & 102

Recorded: Chebucto Head, 1943. See: TSNS p. 134.

As a sailor walked all in a garden,
A pretty maiden he chanced to spy,
It was for to view her he stepped up to her,
And said, “Fair lady, can you fancy I?”

She said, “Seven years since my love has left me,
And seven years since I did him see,
And another seven I’ll wait upon him,
Perhaps he’ll come back and marry me.”

“Perhaps your lover, he is married,
And is enjoying wedded bliss,
And perhaps your love he is dead and buried,
The heavy ocean rolls o’er his breast.”

“If he be married I hope he’s happy,
If he be dead I wish him rest,
But for his sake I will never marry,
The reason why is I love him best.”

“What if I be your single sailor,
The one you don’t expect me to be,
Oh, what if I be your single lover
Who has come back for to marry thee?”

“If you be my single sailor,
The one I don’t expect you to be,
Show me the ring that was broke between us,
And when I see it I will believe.”

He put his hand all in his bosom,
His fingers being both brown and small,
He pulled out the token between them broken,
And when she saw it she down did fall.

He picked her up all in his arms,
And said, “Fair lady I’m none the worse,
For I have plenty of gold and silver,
The cruel ocean I’ll ne’er more cross.”

credits

from The Helen Creighton Folklore Society Presents: Songs of the Sea, released May 24, 2023

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Helen Creighton Folklore Society Dartmouth, Nova Scotia

Honoring folklorist Helen Creighton (1899-1989), who collected and published traditional music and lore of Maritime Canada. The mandate of the Helen Creighton Folklore Society is to encourage and promote work that reflects the diverse folk culture of the Maritimes as exemplified by the work begun by Dr. Creighton. For more information visit our website at: www.helencreighton.org. ... more

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