One Morning in May



One morning, one morning, one morning in May
I spied a fair couple a-making their way
One was a maiden so bright and so fair
The other was a soldier, and a brave volunteer

Good morning, good morning, good morning to thee
Oh where are you going, my pretty lady
Oh I am a-goin' to the banks of the sea
To see the waters gliding, hear the nightingale sing

Well they hadn't been standing but a minute or two
When out from his knapsack a fiddle he drew
And the tune he was playing made the valleys all ring
Sweeter than the waters gliding, and the nightingale sing

— Break —

Pretty lady, pretty lady, it's time to give o'er
Oh no, kind soldier, please play one tune more
For I'd rather hear your fiddle or the touch of one string
Than to see the waters glide, hear the nightingale sing

Oh soldier, kind soldier, will you marry me
Oh no, pretty lady, that never can be
I've a wife in old London and children twice three
Two wives and the army's too many for me

When I go back to London and I stay there one year
It's often I'll think of you, my little dear
And when I return it will be in the spring
Just to see the waters glide, hear the nightingale sing

One morning, one morning, one morning in May
I spied a fair couple a-making their way
One was a maiden so bright and so fair
The other was a soldier, and a brave volunteer


Disclaimer: Although this transcription is based on the specified version, other versions and sources may have been consulted and errors made by the artist may have been corrected. Other errors should be reported to tom@begray.net.

Tom Gray's Bluegrass Songs / tom@begray.net