Come all ye fair and tender ladies
Take warning how you court your men
They're like a star on a summer morning
They first appear and then they're gone

If I'd known before I courted
I never would've courted none
I'd a lock my heart in a box of golden
And fastened it up with silver pin

I wish I were some little sparrow
And I had wings and I could fly
I'd fly away to my false true lover
And when he'd speak, I would deny

But I am not some little swallow
I have no wings, neither can I fly
So I will sit down here to weep in sorrow
And try to pass my troubles by

Oh, don't you remember our days of courting
When your head lay upon my breast
You could make me believe by the falling of your arm
That the sun rose in the west

Come all ye fair and tender ladies
Take warning how you court your men
They're like a star on a summer morning
They first appear and then they're gone