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As we rowed out to Fenario
I was listening to this song just now - It seems that "Sweet William" had a bit of a problem with rejection, to his eventual detriment. For some reason this version seemed hillarious when I heard it.
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As we rowed out to Fennario
As we rowed out to Fennario
Our captain fell in love
With a lady like a dove
And he called her by name Pretty Peggy-O.
Oh will you marry me Pretty Peggy-O
Oh will you marry me Pretty Peggy-O
Oh will you marry me
And I'll take you out to sea
To lands far beyond Fennario.
Oh I would marry you Sweet William-O
Oh I would marry you Sweet William-O
Oh I would marry you
But your guineas are too few
And I fear that my mama would be angry-O.
If ever I return Pretty Peggy-O
If ever I return Pretty Peggy-O
If ever I return
All your cities I will burn
Destroying all the lands in the area-o.
Come tripping down the stairs Pretty Peggy-O
Come tripping down the stairs Pretty Peggy-O
Come tripping down the stairs
combing back your yellow hair
The fairest young maid in Fennario.
Sweet William is dead Pretty Peggy-O
Sweet William is dead Pretty Peggy-O
Sweet William is dead
To the fishes he's been fed
In a sea far beyond Fennario.
As we rowed out to Fennario
As we rowed out to Fennario
Our captain fell in love
With a lady like a dove
And he called her by name Pretty Peggy-O.
And he called her by name Pretty Peggy-O.
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As we rowed out to Fennario
As we rowed out to Fennario
Our captain fell in love
With a lady like a dove
And he called her by name Pretty Peggy-O.
Oh will you marry me Pretty Peggy-O
Oh will you marry me Pretty Peggy-O
Oh will you marry me
And I'll take you out to sea
To lands far beyond Fennario.
Oh I would marry you Sweet William-O
Oh I would marry you Sweet William-O
Oh I would marry you
But your guineas are too few
And I fear that my mama would be angry-O.
If ever I return Pretty Peggy-O
If ever I return Pretty Peggy-O
If ever I return
All your cities I will burn
Destroying all the lands in the area-o.
Come tripping down the stairs Pretty Peggy-O
Come tripping down the stairs Pretty Peggy-O
Come tripping down the stairs
combing back your yellow hair
The fairest young maid in Fennario.
Sweet William is dead Pretty Peggy-O
Sweet William is dead Pretty Peggy-O
Sweet William is dead
To the fishes he's been fed
In a sea far beyond Fennario.
As we rowed out to Fennario
As we rowed out to Fennario
Our captain fell in love
With a lady like a dove
And he called her by name Pretty Peggy-O.
And he called her by name Pretty Peggy-O.
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See the song Barbara Allen for further support of this notion.
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http://www.contemplator.com/folk3/sweetwil.html
William the Conqueror defeated the Irish in the 1600s or thereabouts. They probably were not too fond of the name "William" after that, and took any opportunity to put him in positions in which he met an untimely end...
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And here's another one!
In this one, sweet william's wife dies.
Here's a document about the Battle of Glencoe. Sounds like nobody much liked the dude...
http://www.cichw.net/pmtime2.html
This is a picture of him - he doesn't look exactly 'sweet' to me - vaguely reminiscent of Alice Cooper...
Re: And here's another one!
Glencoe (forgot the link)
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http://www.contemplator.com/folk5/fairmarg.html
So the moral of the story is never, ever name your kid (or cat, or dog, or anything) sweet William...
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Sweet William arose one May morning,
And dressed himself in blue,
Come and tell to me all about that love
Betwixt Lady Marg'ret and me.
No harm, no harm of Lady Marg'ret,
Nor she knows none by me,
But before tomorrow morning at eight o'clock,
Lady Marg'ret and you.
O I know nothing of Lady Marg'ret's love
And she knows nothing of me
But in the morning at half-past eight
Lady Marg'ret my bride shall see.
Lady Marg'ret was sitting in her bower room
A-combing back her hair,
When who should she spy but Sweet William
and his bride,
As to church they did draw nigh.
Then she threw down herivory comb
In silk bound up her hair.
And out of the room that fair lady ran,
and was never any more seen there.
The day passed away and the night coming on
And most of the men asleep,
Sweet William espied Lady Marg'ret's ghost
A-standing at his bed feet.
O how do you like your bed? said she,
And how do you like your sheets
And how do you like that fair young bride
A-laying in your arms at sleep?
Full well do I like my bed,
Full well do I like my sheet;
But better do I like the fair young maid
A-standing at my bed feet.
The night passed away and the day coming on
And most of the men awake.
Sweet William said: I am troubled in my head
By the dreams that I dreamed last night.
Such dreams, such dreams as these,
I know they mean no good,
Last night I dreamed that my room was full of swine
And my bride was floating in blood.
He called his servants unto him,
By one, by two, by three,
And the last he called was his new made bride
That he Lady Marg'ret I might see.
O what will you do with Lady Marg'ret's love,
And what will you do with me?
He said: I'll go Lady Marg'ret see,
And then I'll return to thee.
He rode up to Lady Marg'ret's door,
And jingled at the ring;
And none was so ready as her seventh born brother
To arise and let him in.
O is she in her kitchen room?
Or is she in her hall?
Or is she in her bower room
Among her merry maids all?
She is neither in her kitchen room,
She is neither in her hall;
But she is in her cold coffin,
With her pale face toward the wall.
Pulld own, pull down those winding-sheets
A-made of satin so fine.
Ten thousand times thou hast kissed my lips,
And now, love, I'll kiss thine.
Three times he kissed her snowy white breast,
Three times he kissed her chin;
but when he kissed her cold clay lipse
His heart it broke within.
Lady Marg'ret was buried in the old church yard
Sweet William was buried close beside her;
And out of her grew a red, red, rose,
And ou of him a brier.
They grew so tall and they grew so high,
They scarce could grow no higher;
And there they twined in a true lover's knot,
The red rose and the brier.
I wondered where the flower came in, and...
"There is a small flower that grows in the British Isles. In England it is known as "Sweet William" -- throughout the Gael it is known as "Stinking Billy."
Re: I wondered where the flower came in, and...
Approximate seeds per pound: 420,027
Seeding rate: 4 pounds per acre
Love life: Screwed up
Parents: Don't like it
Season: Biennual/Perennial in warm climates
Height: 14-20 inches
Bloom Season: Spring/Summer
Environment: Dry/Moist/Sun
A perennial variety which usually performs as an annual; therefore, we call it a biennual. It is adapted to all regions of the United States.
So ok, I made part of that up - not saying which part...
I just found another version in which Sweet William dies first, and his ghost comes and asks Margaret for her troth. She argues for a while saying she wants a ring first - but then relents after a while. Then she dies.
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And just for completeness sake...
http://www.rialian.com/bballen.mid
and here are the words to sing along...
In Scarlet town where I was born,
There was a fair maid dwellin'
Made every youth cry Well-a-day,
Her name was Barb'ra Allen.
All in the merry month of May,
When green buds they were swellin'
Young Willie Grove on his death-bed lay,
For love of Barb'ra Allen.
He sent his servant to her door
To the town where he was dwellin'
Haste ye come, to my master's call,
If your name be be Barb'ra Allen.
So slowly, slowly got she up,
And slowly she drew nigh him,
And all she said when there she came:
"Young man, I think you're dying!"
He turned his face unto the wall
And death was drawing nigh him.
Good bye, Good bye to dear friends all,
Be kind to Bar'bra Allen
When he was dead and laid in grave,
She heard the death bell knelling.
And every note, did seem to say
Oh, cruel Barb'ra Allen
"Oh mother, mother, make my bed
Make it soft and narrow
Sweet William died, for love of me,
And I shall of sorrow."
They buried her in the old churchyard
Sweet William's grave was neigh hers
And from his grave grew a red, red rose
From hers a cruel briar.
They grew and grew up the old church spire
Until they could grow no higher
And there they twined, in a true love knot,
The red, red rose and the briar.
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Peggy is a diminutive form of Margaret, so it's all about the same girl. William III was married to someone named Mary, not Margaret. I'll bet she knew about Margaret, though. He died childless, so perhaps that's why...
I sense that High Drama must have taken place. Wow. I could concoct a whole story about this.
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http://www.electricscotland.com/webclans/atoc/campbel-b.html
which says that the mistress of William III was named Elizabeth. Not Margaret. Back to the drawing board. Anyway, "Barbara" isn't "Margaret". But they both have the sound AR-AR in the name, so it may as well be. Maybe that's a code word for Aar-Aar, as in pirates.
Maybe it has to do with "It starts with an A, Aardvark, Aardvark". Then again, maybe not...
shhh
(stumbling is indeed the usually method of locomotion for Aardvarkian pirate crews)
May the Aardvark guide you in your quest.
(if you comment to yourself enough, eventually it all leads to Aardvark...especially if you start with an "A"...)
Re: shhh
http://www-2.cs.cmu.edu/~mjw/recipes/meat/ants.html
Or maybe William tried to eat some ants so the aardvark would think he was cool, and died due to his well-known formic acid allergy. I'll continue to research the subject, but chances Aar, we'll never know.