“The Wayerton Driver”

Description

"I'm a heart-broken driver, From Wayerton I came, I courted a sweetheart, Mary Dolan by name." Paul buys her a ring but she turns him down. He gets drunk and visits her again. She prefers Melvin Grant. Pretty fair maids, warns Paul, are "slyer than mice"

Supplemental text

Wayerton Driver, The
  Partial text(s)

          *** A ***

From Louise Manny and James Reginald Wilson, Songs of Miramichi,
#45, pp. 181-182. From the singing of probable author Paul Kingston
of Wayerton in 1960.

I'm a heart-broken driver,
  From Wayerton I came,
I courted a sweetheart,
  Mary Dolan by name.
I courted a sweetheart
  Down by the Trout Brook side
And I always intended
  To make her my bride.

It was on a Christmas Eve,
  To the town I did fly,
A present for the fair maid
  A ring I did buy.
It's then she refused it,
  And left me to shame,
Saying, "Take back your ring, Paul,
  I won't change my name."

(6 additional stanzas)

Notes

Wayerton is far up the Northwest Miramichi River in New Brunswick. - BS

The note on the tune says that this derives from "The Girl I Left Behind Me," and there is in fact a strong resemblance in the shape of the melody. But the first verse, at least, is clearly based on "Jack Haggerty (The Flat River Girl)" [Laws C25]. - RBW

References

1. Manny/Wilson 45, "The Wayerton Driver" (1 text, 1 tune)
2. ST MaWi045 (Partial)
3. Roud #9183
4. BI, MaWi045