Annotation:Willow Tree (3)
WILLOW TREE [3]. AKA and see "Rue and Thyme." English, Air (4/4 time). England, Northumberland. A Minor. Standard tuning (fiddle). One part. "There are many versions of this ballad, and more than one variation or set of the melody. The song is stated by Mr. Chappell to have been written by a Mrs. Francis Habergham, of Habergham, in the county of Lancaster, who died in 1703. Ruined by the extravagance and disgraced by the vices of her husband, she soothed her sorrows by some stanzas yet remembered by the old people of the neighborhood. Our version of both tune and ballad, as sung by the common folk of Tynedale and Redesdale, differs slightly from that given by Mr. Chappell in his work" (Bruce & Stokoe).
Beware, young maids, beware,
Beware and read my rhyme,
And see that you keep your garden well,
And let no one steal your thyme. .... [Bruce & Stokoe]
