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Willie of Winsbury Lyrics

'Tis of a lady in the West
She was clothed all in green
She looked o'er her father's castle wall
To see his ship sailing in
Daughter, oh Daughter, said the King
Why are you so pale and wan
I fear you have some sore sickness
Or else you have lain with a man

You're welcome, you're welcome, my father dear
You are welcome home to me
For I have been sick unto my heart
Since you've been so long on the sea

Then cast you off your berry-brown gown
You stand straight upon the stone
That I may know you by your shape
Whether you be a maiden or no

And she's cast off her berry-brown gown
She stood straight upon the stone
Her apron was low and her middle was round
Her face was pale and wan

Oh, is he a lord or is he a knight
Or a man of wealth and fame
Or might he be one of my serving men
I pray you tell me his name
Oh, he is not a lord nor is he a knight
Or a man of wealth and fame
But he is called Willie of Winsbury
I could bide no longer alone

And he king he has called on his merry men all
By thirty and by three
Go fetch me this Willie of Winsbury
For hanged he shall be

But when he was brought before the king
He was clad all in red silk
His hair was like the strands of gold
His skin was as white as milk

And it is no wonder, said the king
That my daughter's love you did win
For if I was a woman as I am a man
My bedfellow you would have been
Then will you marry my daughter dear
By the truth of your right hand
Oh, if you marry my daughter dear
I will make you the lord of my land

Yes I will marry your daughter dear
By the truth of my right hand
But I'll not have your gold and I'll not have your gear
And I'll not be the lord of your land

For I have houses and I have land
I have men at my command
And were it not for your daughter fair
I would not be your serving man

And he's set her upon a milk white steed
And himself on a dapple gray
He has made her the lady of as much land
As she can ride in a long summer's day
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