Tommy Makem – The White Cockade lyrics

It was a summer's morning as I went o'er the moss
I had no thoughts of listing 'til some soldiers did me cross
They kindly did invite me to a flowing bowl in town
They advanced me, they advanced me, they advanced me some money, ten guineas and a crown

Oh yes my love has listed, he wears a white cockade
He is a handsome young man, likewise a roving blade
He is a handsome young man, he's gone to serve the king
And my very, and my very, and my very heart is aching all for the love of him

Oh yes my love is handsome and comely for to see
And by a sad misfortune, a soldier now is he
I hope the man that 'listed him may never happy be
And I wish that, and I wish that, and I wish that the Hollanders would sink him in the sea

Oh may he never prosper and may he never thrive
Nor anything he turns his hand as long as he's alive
May the very ground he walks upon, the grass refuse to grow
Since he's been, since he's been, since he's been the only cause of my sorrow, grief and woe

Then he took out his handkerchief to wipe her flowing eyes
Leave off your lamentations, likewise your mournful cries
Leave off your lamentations, for I must roam the plain
We'll be married, we'll be married, we'll be married in London when I return again

Oh yes my love is listed and I for him will rove
I'll carve his name on every tree that lies in yonder grove
The huntsmen he will follow, the hounds they will all cry
To remind me, to remind me, to remind me of my ploughboy until the day I die