Come all ye fair and tender ladies,
Take warning how you court your men.
They're like the stars on a summer's mornin'
First they'll appear and then they're gone.

If i had known before i courted
What all his lyin' would have done
I'd have locked my heart in a box of golden
And never would have courted none.

I wish i were a tiny sparrow
And i had wings and i could fly.
I'd fly away to my own true lover
And all he'd ask i would deny.

Alas i'm not a tiny sparrow
I have not wings nor can i fly
And on this earth in grief and sorrow
I am bound until i die.

Come all ye fair and tender ladies
Take warning how you court your men.
They're like the stars on a summer's mornin'
First they'll appear and then they're gone.