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THE NIGHTINGALE (ONE MORNING IN MAY) Sung by: Neal Morris Recorded in Mountain View, AR 8/29/58 Click here to listen to the original recording Oh, I spied a fair couple just making their way, And one was a lady, and a lady was she, And the other was a soldier, and a brave one was he. "Oh, where are you going," said the soldier, "so free?" "I'm going to the river; it's sparkling for me. I'm going to the river down by that great spring To see the water gliding and hear the nightingale sing." "May I go with you as you journey along? May I go with you? I'll sing you a song, Sing 'The Old Concord,' for that'll make the violin ring, And see the water gliding, and hear the nightingale sing." Said the lady to the soldier, "I'm lonesome and blue, And it seems from your actions that you're lonesome too, So we'll go together down to that great spring, To see the water gliding and hear the nightingale sing." Well, they had not been there more than an hour or two, 'Til out from his satchel a violin he drew. Played 'The Old Concord,' for then he made the violin ring, And they seen the water gliding and heard the nightingale sing. Said the soldier to the lady, "It's time we should go." "Oh, no," said the lady, "Play me just one tune more. I would rather hear the fiddle, one tap on the string, Than to see the water gliding and hear the nightingale sing." So he tuned up his fiddle in a higher key, Played 'The Shamrock of Erin' and he played it so free. Played 'The Shamrock of Erin' and he made the violin ring, And seen the water gliding and heard the nightingale sing. Said the lady to the soldier, "Why don't you marry me?" "Oh, no," said the soldier, "That never could be. I've got a sweet wife in Scotland, and children twice three. You know that's a-plenty for a soldier like me." "Goodbye," said the soldier with a parting caress. "Tomorrow I'm going to the throne of Queen Bess, But if I ever come back to thee, to that great spring, To see the water gliding and hear the nightingale sing." "Goodbye," said the lady, as she gave him her hand. "I'll think of you often in Erin's fair land, But I'd rather hear the fiddle, one tap on the string, Than to see the water gliding and hear the nightingale sing." 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 |