Although in this country we think of forced marriage as a thing of the past, there are places all over the world where it happens regularly. It's easy to class historical folk songs as irrelevant, when for some it's not far from what they endure every day...
lyrics
Hush, hush, coming down the stair,
Creeps the lady with the golden hair,
Old Sir John spies her all alone,
And he wants her for his very own...
"Lovely lady fair and bright,
Will you lay with me tonight?
And let you down that golden braid,
In my arms 'til morn will stay."
"Old Sir John I must answer no,
And now back to my chambers go
For I am pledged to my own love James,
And for him a maid I will remain..."
"Lovely lady fair and bright,
Will you lay with me tonight?
And let you down that golden braid,
In my arms 'til morn will stay."
"Oh Sir John I have answered no,
I'll not willingly with you go,
I'll not prove myself untrue,
By giving myself this night to you."
"Lovely Lady fair and bright,
You will lay with me tonight
And let you down that golden braid,
in my arms 'til morn will stay."
Old Sir John he has gold and land,
He's bribed her father to force her hand,
Her father will her pleas ignore,
For he loves his daughter but loves money more.
"Lady lady dry your eyes, it will not do you good to cry,
You tonight will with me lie and nothing now will save you
When the morning light has come it's off to your own true love you'll run,
When he hears what I have done, I swear he will not have you."
"Lovely lady fair and bright, will you lay with me tonight
and let you down that golden braid?"
credits
from Rise Aurora,
released December 1, 2016
Words & music by Rosie Hodgson.
Arranged by Rosie Hodgson & Rowan Piggott.
Rosie is a folk singer/songwriter from Midhurst, West Sussex. Having grown up surrounded by traditional music, her voice
possesses a naturalness and maturity, bringing "a ruby-richness to lyrics new and old". (Folk Radio UK)
Rosie is currently touring with her trio, The Wilderness Yet....more
Rosie's voice is so pure and sweet, yet so rich and full of character. And when the three of them sing together (as on "Old Brock"), it's really magical. Their special music is certainly What Holds The World Together for me. John Fisher
Adapting their calculated standards into a raw, live setting, the radical UK folk duo rework six highlights from their spellbindincatalogue. Bandcamp New & Notable Dec 7, 2022