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THE GIRL I LEFT BEHIND (THE FALSE-HEARTED LOVER) Sung by: Robert B. Stark Recorded in Miller, AR, 6/23/53 Click here to listen to the original recording They had no child but me. Me being bent on roaming, With them I couldn't agree. Me being bent on rambling, Which grieved their hearts plumb sore To think I'd go and leave them, Never to return no more. There lived a wealthy merchant In a neighboring town close by. He had an only daughter; With her I'd cast an eye. Her waist was slim and slender; Her beauty no tongue could tell. 'Twas the only object of my mind, Was the girl I left behind. Oh, I asked if it made any difference If I sailed o'er the main; She said 'twouldn't make no difference If I'd come back again. She said she'd prove true to me If death didn't prove unkind, So we kissed, shook hands, and parted, And I left my girl behind. Away to old Ireland To view that town around. My money being plentiful, The girls all crowded 'round. My money being plentiful, The girls all treated me kind, But the only object of my mind Was the girl I left behind. As I walked out one morning, Down on the public square, The coach boy rents his revenue; The coach boy met me there. He hands to me a letter Which made me understand That the girl I left behind me Had married another man. Oh, I read on down a little farther, And I found those words were true. I turned myself around and about, And I didn't know what to do. Bad company I'll give over, Good company I'll resign. I'll travel this wide world over For the girl I left behind. (Comment by Mr. Stark: "That's all of that one.") Also found in Randolph, Vol. I, #64, "The Girl I Left Behind"; Brown, Vol. II, #145, "The Girl I Left Behind Me"; Belden, p. 198, "The False-Hearted Lover." |
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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 |