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