Two pretty boys were going tae the school
And one evening coming home
Said William tae John, 'Can ye throw a stone
Or can you play at a ball,
Or can you play at a ball?
Said William tae John, "I cannot throw a stone
Nor little can I play at a ball,
But if you come down tae yon merry green woods
I'll try a wrestlin fall,
I'll try a wrestlin fall.
So they cam doon tae yon merry green woods
Beneath the spreadin moon,
And the little pen-knife slipped out of William's pocket
And give John his deadly wound,
And give John his deadly wound.
'Oh you'll take off your white holland shirt
And tear it fae gore tae gore,
And you will bind my deadly wounds
And they will bluid no more
And they will bluid no more.'
So he took off his white holland shirt
And he tore it fae gore tae gore,
And he did bind his deadly wounds
But they bled ten times more an more
But they bled ten times more.
'O what will I tell tae your sister dear,
This night when I go home?'
'You can tell her I'm away tae a London school,
And the good books I'll bring home
And the good books I'll bring home.'
'And what will I tell tae your brother dear,
This night when I go home?'
'You can tell him I'm away tae a London school,
And a good scholar I'll come home
And a good scholar I'll come home.'
'An what will I tell tae your sweetheart dear,
This night when I go home?'
'You can tell her I'm dead and in graves laid,
And the grass is growin green,
And the grass is growin green.'
'An what will I tell tae our father dear,
This night when I go home?'
'You can tell him I'm dead and in graves laid,
And the grass is growin green
And the grass is growin green.'
'An what will I tell tae your stepmother dear,
This night when I go home?'
'You can tell her I'm dead and in graves laid,
For she prayed I might never come home,
She prayed I might never come home.'
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