Daughter, oh, daughter, said the king,
Whyre you so pale and wan?
I fear you have some sore sickness,
Or else you have laid with a man.
Youre welcome, youre welcome, my father dear,
You are welcome home to me.
For I have sick unto my heart
Since youve been so long on the sea.
Cast off, cast off your berry-brown gown
Stand naked upon the stone,
That I might know you by your shape
Whether you be a maiden or no.
So shes cast off her berry-brown gown
Shes stood naked upon the stone.
Her apron was low and her middle was round,
Her face was pale and wan.
Oh, was it with a lord or a duke or a knight?
Or a man of birth and fame?
Or was it with one of my serving men
Thats lately come out of Spain?
No, it wasnt with a lord nor a duke nor a knight,
Nor a man of birth and fame.
But it was with Willie OWinsbury
I could bide no longer alone.
The king, he has sent for his merry men all
By thirty and by three,
Saying, Fetch me this Willie OWinsbury,
For hanged he shall be.
But when he was brought before the king,
He was clad all in red silk.
His hair was like the strands of gold,
His skin was white as milk.
It is no wonder, said the king,
How my daughters love you did win,
For if I was a woman as I am a man,
My bedfellow you would have been.
Will you marry my daughter Janet
By the truth of your right hand?
And if youll marry my daughter Janet,
I will make you the lord of my lands.
Yes, I will marry your daughter Janet
By the truth of my right hand,
But Ill not have your gold and Ill not have your gear,
And Ill not be the lord of your land.
For I have houses and I have land,
I have men at my command.
And were it not for your daughter fair,
I would not be your servant man.
He sat her upon a milk white steed
And himself on a dapple gray
He has made her the lady of as much land
As she can ride in a long summers day.