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THE NIGHTINGALE SONG (ONE MORNING IN MAY; THE NIGHTINGALE) Sung by: Jewel Hawkins Recorded in Rutherford, AR 8/24/61 Click here to listen to the original recording I spied a fair couple a-strolling away. One was a lady, a lady so fair. The other was a soldier, a brave volunteer. “Oh, where are you going, my pretty fair miss?” “Going down to the river, close by a spring, To see the water gliding, hear the nightingale sing.” They hadn’t been there but more than an hour, ‘Til out of the knapsack a fiddle he drew. He played her a lesson, the valley to ring, “Hark, hark,” says the lady, “Hear the nightingale sing.” “Oh, now,” says the soldier, “It’s time to give o’er.” “Oh, no,” says the lady, “Play one tune more. I’d rather hear the fiddle, a tune on one string, Than see the water gliding, hear the nightingale sing.” “Oh, now,” says the soldier, “It’s time to get . . . I’m going to fair London, stay there for one year, Quit use of cold drinks, all wine and all beer. If I ever return, it’ll be in the spring, To see the water gliding, hear the nightingale sing.” “Oh, now, says the lady, “Do you mean to marry me?” “Oh, no,” says the soldier, “It never can be. I’ll go to fair London to stay there for one year, Quit use of cold drinks, all wine and all beer.” “Oh, now,” says the lady, “Do you mean to marry me?” “Oh, no,” says the soldier, “It never can be. A wife in Missouri, and children twice three. A wife in the army’s too many for me.” Also found in Randolph, Vol. I, #58, “One Morning in May”; Brown, Vol. III, #13, “One Morning in May”; Belden, p. 239, “The Nightingale.” |
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All Songs Recorded by John Quincy Wolf, Jr., unless otherwise noted The John Quincy Wolf Folklore Collection Lyon College, Batesville, Arkansas Back to the Song Index Back to the Wolf Collection Homepage ©Copyright 2002 Lyon College |