Fair and Tender Ladies

Posted by Lesley on September 04, 1998 at 03:09:57:

I started on a little dective hunt today because of the poem Fair and Tender Ladies that was included at the beginning of Lee Smith's book, Oral History. Her books are all set in Appalachia. Anyway, I thought the verses were haunting and beautiful but they sounded like they had come from some where in the UK and I found some evidence that I was right. I thought you all might like both versions:

The one in Smith's book:

Come all you fair and tender ladies
Take warning how you court young men.
They're like a bright star in a summer's morning
First appear and then they're gone.

If I'd a-knowed before I courted
That love, it was such a killin' crime,
I'd a-locked my heart in a box of golden
And tied it up with a silver line.

The Mudcat Cafe's version:

Come all you fair and tender ladies
Take warning how you court young men
They're like a bright star on a cloudy morning
They will first appear and then they're gone

They'll tell to you some loving story
To make you think that they love you true
Straightway they'll go and court some other
Oh that's the love that they have for you

I wish I were some little sparrow
And I had wings and I could fly
I would fly away to my false true lover
And while he'll talk I would sit and cry

But I am not some little sparrow
I have no wings nor can I fly
So I'll sit down here in grief and sorrow
And try to pass my troubles by

I wish I had known before I courted
That love had been so hard to gain
I'd of locked my heart in a box of golden
And fastened it down with a silver chain

Young men never cast your eye on beauty
For beauty is a thing that will decay
For the prettiest flowers that grow in the garden
How soon they'll wither, will wither and fade away

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REPLIES:

• For those of you that have a sound card Caroline 21:42:36 9/04/98 (4)
  • Oh, that's beautiful... Marie-Bernadette 12:20:15 9/05/98 (0)
  • Appalachia and the old world Caroline 21:57:47 9/04/98 (2)
    • England in Virginia Beth 11:50:35 9/07/98 (0)
    • Another version Lesley 01:47:20 9/05/98 (0)
• Aka Waly, waly Linden 19:26:58 9/04/98 (8)
  • Thanks , I love the melodic melancholy ... Ann2 07:06:16 9/05/98 (0)
  • Again, for those that can hear it..... Caroline 21:52:21 9/04/98 (6)
    • Another "Water Wide" sound file... The Mysterious H.C. 14:03:57 9/06/98 (5)
      • You cannot keep a good tune down..... Caroline 14:40:29 9/06/98 (4)
        • HC's tune Lesley 01:13:31 9/07/98 (3)
          • Old tunes Caroline 11:42:49 9/07/98 (2)
            • Name that tune Lesley 00:01:28 9/08/98 (0)
            • Folk Music Captain Everett 21:44:27 9/07/98 (0)

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