The Bonny Boy Is Young The Bonny Boy is Young The trees they do grow high and the leaves are growing green, The day is past and gone my love that you and I have seen; It is a cold and winters night that I must lie alone, For my bonny boy is young and a-growin. From the singing of Danny Brazil, Gloucester 5 January 1966 and from discussion with Harry and Danny (Springthyme 66.1.16). In: Shepheard, Peter. Folk Songs and Ballads of the Brazil Family of Gloucester (1967). The trees they do grow high and the leaves are growing green, The day is past and gone my love that you and I have seen; It is a cold and winters night that I must lie alone, For my bonny boy is young and a-growin. “Oh father, dear father to me you have done wrong, To marry me to my true love when you know he is too young; For he is only sixteen years and I am twenty one, My bonny boy is young but a-growing.” “Oh daughter, dear daughter I’ll tell you what I’ll do, I’ll send your love to college school for another year or two; All around his Scotch cap we’ll pin the ribbons blue, To let all the ladies know that he’s married.” Now as I was a-walking all by the college wall, I saw four and twenty college boys a-playing of a ball; And there I spied my own true love he’s the fairest of ’em all, An’ I said he was a long time a-growin. Now at the age of sixteen he was a married man, At the age of seventeen he was he father of a son; At the age of twenty one his grave the grass growed green, An’ it soon put an end to his growin. Now I’ll buy my love coffin, the best of Erin brown, An’ while they are making it those tears they shall flow down; I’ll weep for him I’ll mourn for him unto the day I’ll die, And I’ll rear his loving son while he’s growin. [ BACK ] [ HOME ][ TOP ]