Young Banker he has got a pretty face,
And all around his hat he wears gold lace;
And such a hand-some head of hair
That I will not go if Banker is not there.
(Lyrics for first verse as provided by the source.
No other verses listed in the Journal.
An alternative set of words is given below.)
As I walked out one morning fair,
To view the green fields and take fresh air,
I saw young banker standing there,
And his true love was a lady fair.
Chorus:
Young banker he had (such) an handsome face,
(And) all around his hat he wore a band of lace,
Beside such an handsome head of hair,
For my young banker I will go there.
He said me pretty fair maid will you go on deck,
With a chain of gold around your neck,
Whatever you do I will prove true,
But the answer that she gave, I'll have none of you.
Chorus
Young banker turned around for to go away,
But she called after him for to bid him stay,
Oh stay oh stay and I will prove true,
But the answer that she gave, I'll have none of you.
Chorus
Now she thought that she heard a foreman say,
Come pack up your clothes and come away,
It pierced her through the very heart,
To think that young banker and her should part.
Chorus
So come all you pretty fair maids your senses of loss,
Since the day in love you have been crossed,
For you may lament and you may say,
Forever rue the day that you said nay.
Chorus
abc | midi | pdf
Source: Journal of the English Folk Dance and Song Society, Dec 1936
Notes:
Anne Gilchrist wrote:
I have not been able to trace this ballad - which judging from Young Banker's gold-laced hat must be fairly old. I found the tune and one verse in Mr Charles Lolley's script amongst the MSS. sent to me by Miss Kidson. Mr Lolley contributed some good folk-songs to Mr Kidson's Traditional Tunes.
On many occasions, the Journal of the Folk Song Society does not give all the verses of a song. This is especially common when the song has been collected in several versions or is very similar to a version published elsewhere.
For convenience, we have included the lyrics from the Waterson's version above, supplied by Mr Happy (see the discussion thread.)
Roud: 3321 (Search Roud index at VWML)
Laws:
Child: