If all the young maidens were blackbirds and thrushes —
Sing merry, sing merry, now fly not away!
I'd find me a garden of green flowering bushes
Where all the young maidens might nest them in May;
With lilac and cherry
And autumn's red berry
And oh, we'll sing merry at dawning of day!
If all the young maidens were birds in my spinneys —
Sing clearly, sing clearly, now fly not from me!
Not a thrush would I part with for ten golden guineas
Nor barter a blackbird for pearls of the sea;
I'd love them so dearly,
So late and so early,
And oh, we'll sing clearly from every tall tree!
Notes
From SAILOR WITH BANJO, by Hamish Maclaren, published by The MacMillian Co., NY, © 1930, p. 18.
Maclaren added this note with regard to this poem:
"I am indebted to two anonymous Irish writers for the first line of this ballad…I found the line in a book of old Irish airs and song-fragments, and felt compelled to complete the ballad…"
The first line is a standard one for a traditional bawdy drinking song with verses such as:
If all them young maidens were bricks in a pile,
Then I'd be a mason and lay them in style!
Charley Noble
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