Henry Lee

Get down, get down, young Henry Lee
And stay all night with me
The very best lodging that I can afford
Will be a fair bed for thee

Well I can’t get down
And I won’t get down
And spend the night with thee
For the girl I have in that merry green land
I love far better than thee

She leaned herself against a fence
Just for a kiss or two
With a little pen-knife held in her hand
She plugged him through and through

Come all you ladies in the [?]
The secret for me keep
For this diamond ring held in my hand
I never ever will forsake

Some take him by his lily-white hands
Some take him by his feet
We’ll throw him in this deep, deep well
More than one hundred feet

Lie there, lie there, young Henry Lee
Till the flesh drops from your bones
For the girl you have in that merry green land
Will wait for your return

Fly down, fly down, you little bird
And alight on my right knee
Your cage will be of purest gold
Indeed, of ivory

Well I can’t fly down, and I won’t fly down
And alight on your right knee
For the girl who would murder her own true love
Would kill a little bird like me

Oh if I had my banded bow
My arrow and my string
I’d pierce a dart so near your heart
Your warble would be in vain

But if you had your banded bow
Your arrow and your string
I’d fly away to that merry green land
And tell what I have seen