“Come All Young People (The Dying Lovers)”

Description

Listeners are called to hear the story of two lovers. He comes to her door, but her parents turn him away. She mourns, and no doctor can cure her. At last the parents let him come, but she dies for love and is buried. He then dies also

Notes

The theme of this song, obviously, is commonplace, but the editors of the Brown collection cannot trace it to any particular song (they suspect broadside origin), and I am similarly unable to find a relative. (Roud lumps it with Laws P12, but Laws does *not* equate them.)

The first stanza, for what it's worth, runs

Come all young people far and near,

A lamentation you shall hear

Of a young man and his true love

Whom he adored and sworn to love.

The song ends with the usual warning to parents against separating lovers. - RBW

References

  1. BrownII 73, "Come All Young People" (1 text)
  2. Roud #563
  3. BI, BrII073

About

Author: unknown
Earliest date: 1916 (Brown)
Found in: US(SE)