The Happy Stranger, or, The Fortunate Meeting/The Forsaken Nymph

by Anonymous

For other versions of this work, see The Forsaken Nymph.

Text divider from 'The Happy Stranger, or, The Fortunate Meeting', a chapbook printed in Glasgow in 1802

THE FORSAKEN NYMPH.

А walking, a talking, and a walking was I,To meet my sweet Billy, he'll come by & by,To meet him in the meadows is all my delight,A walking and talking from morning till night.

 Meeting is a pleasure, but parting is a grief,And an inconstant lover is worse than a thief,A thief can but rob me and take what I have,But an inconstant lover sends me to my grave.

 The grave it will rot me and bring me to dust,But an inconstant lover no maiden can trust,They'll kiss you, they'll court you, poor girls to deceiveThere's not one in twenty that you can believe.

 The cuckoo's a fine bird, she sings where she flies,She brings us good tidings and tells us no lies,She sucks of sweet flowers to keep her voice clear,The more the sings cuckoo, the summer draws near.

 Come all ye pretty maidens wherever ye be,Don't settle your love on a sycamore tree,The leaf it will wither, and the root it will die,And if I'm forsaken, I know not for why.