D
“John of Hazelgreen.” Collected by Mr. John Stone. Sung by Mr. Thomas H. Bailey, of Shenandoah, Va. Page County. November 10, 1919. With music. “Mr. Bailey heard Mrs. Martha Lee Graves, of Page County, sing it years ago. The tune is practically the same as the tune of ‘Say Au Revoir but not Good-bye.’ I wonder which borrowed from the other? To get this song I walked about thirty-three miles, rode about seventeen miles on the train, and slept less than two hours, part of that being under a tree in the woods, and part in a railway station. I crossed the Blue Ridge mountains twice and made the round trip in about twenty-eight hours” (Mr. Stone).
1 As I walked out one fair May morning
Down by the Haywood side,
There I saw a pretty fair miss,
And all alone she cried.
2 “You are welcome home with me.
And you can have my oldest son,
A loving husband for to be.”
3 “I neither want your oldest son
Nor a lord nor a king;
I can never be the bride of none
But John over the Hazelgreen.
4 “His arms is long, his shoulders is broad,
He is the flower of all his king,
His hair hangs down like links of gold,
John over the Hazelgreen.”
5 As we rode ’long the lonesome road,
The road drew near the town;
Up steps John of the Hazelgreen
And helps his lady down.
6 Forty times he kissed her cheeks,
And forty times her chin,
And forty times her rosy lips,
And led his lady in.
7 “If ever I forsaken you,
I hope heaven will forsaken me,
And send me down to the torment place,
There forever to be.”
