|
BONNIE LASS OF FIVE-E-O (PRETTY PEGGY O) Sung by: Norman Kennedy Recorded in Mountain View, AR 4/1/6/66 Click here to listen to the original recording There was a troop of Irish dragoons, Come marching up . . . five-e-o, And the captain fell in love With a very bonny lass, And her name, they call it pretty Peggy-o. There’s . . . bonny lass, And the . . . And there’s . . . bonny lass and . . . There’s . . . bonny quine (queen?) In the town of Aberdeen, But the . . . five-e-o. Come down the stairs, pretty Peggy, my dear, Come down the stairs, pretty Peggy-o. Come down the stairs, comb out your yellow hair. Take the last farewell of your Danny-o. “Oh, how can I come down, bonny laddie,” she cried. “How can I come down, bonny laddie-o? How can I come down, and I’m locked into my room, And a draw well ‘neath my window-o. But I’ll give ye a ribbon . . . bind up your hair. I’ll give ye a ring for your finger-o. I’ll give you silken gowns to wrap you round and round, If you’ll follow me on my wanderings-o. Oh, I’ll ne’er be a soldier’s lass; A soldier will never enjoy me-o. I never did intend to go to foreign lands. No, I wouldn’t ne’er marry a soldier-o. Mount, boys, mount . . . cardinal did cry. “Tarry--oh, tarry,” cried the captain-o. “Would you tarry here just another day or two, ‘Til I see if that bonny lass’ll marry-o.” Now, ‘twas on the Monday morn, and we met down . . . Oh, but her captain, he was dreary-o, And the drums, they did beat o’er the bonny braes of . . . And the band played the bonny . . . of five-e-o. Now, where . . . we got to the . . . Oh, captain, we had to carry-o. And . . . we got to bonny Aberdeen, Oh, captain, we had to bury-o. Green grow the becks on bonny . . . side. Low lie the bonny . . . of five-e-o. Well, Captain’s name was Ned, and he’s died for a maid. He’s died for the bonny lass of five-e-o. (Almeda Riddle: “No, that’s the way it goes. I have a record that George and Jerry Armstrong did, but it isn’t . . .” ??: “Oh, we know them.” ??: “Well, I know and love George and Jerry, but I don’t like . . .” Mr. Kennedy: “I’ll just sing what comes into my head, you see. Start off with slower dances, Scottisch maybe, and then I’ll finish up with a reel. Click here to listen to “Mouth Music” ??: “And they dance to that.”) Also found in Belden, p. 169, “Pretty Peggy O.” |
|
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 |