“Come All Ye False Lovers”
Description
"Come all ye false lovers That love all alike; Give love-ly attention, And my counsel take." The singer will wait for Johnny to return, however long it takes. He eventually arrives, and they are married.
Notes
This piece is clearly composite; there are many floating lyrics, and it shifts from first to third person in the middle. It appears to be a pastiche of Riley ballads (though the theme of disguise has been lost), with the moral ("Beware of false lovers; (don't ever give up on your true love") at the beginning.
Since it cannot be identified with any particular Riley ballad, I have perforce given it its own classification. - RBW
Cross references
- cf. "John (George) Riley (I)" [Laws N36] and references there
References
- Combs/Wilgus 135, pp. 147-148, "Come All Ye False Lovers" (1 text)
- Roud #4297
- BI, CW147