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Roud Folk Song Index #52
Also known as The Old ballad of Little Musgrave and the Lady Barnard with earliest known examples from the early 1600s. There are many recordings, these words are mostly the Fairport Convention version of 1969
Also known as The Old ballad of Little Musgrave and the Lady Barnard with earliest known examples from the early 1600s. There are many recordings, these words are mostly the Fairport Convention version of 1969
Obviously you can do it in any key easily because the whole song is only 2 chords. We used to play it Em/D, but if Nate was doing it alone he'd usually play Cm/Bb.
Matty Groves
by trad
[Em] A holiday, a holiday
and the [Em] first one [D] of the [Em] year
Lord Arnolds wife came [D] into the church
the [Em] gospel [D] for to [Em] hear
and when the meeting it was done
she cast her eyes about
and there she spied little Matty Groves
walking in the crowd
“Come home with me little Matty Groves,
come home with me tonight
Come home with me little Matty Groves
and sleep with me till light”
“I cant come home, I won’t come home
and sleep with you tonight
By the rings on your fingers I can tell
you are Lord Arnolds wife”
“If I am Lord Arnold’s wife
Lord Arnold’s not at home
for he is out in the far cornfields
bringing the yearlings home”
And then a servant who was standing by
and hearing what was said
he swore Lord Arnold, he would know
before the sun was set
And in his hurry to carry the news
he rent his breast and ran
and when he came to the broad mill stream
he kicked off his shoes and swam
Matty, he lay down to bed
and took a little sleep
and when he awoke, Lord Arnold
was standing at his feet
“How do you like my feather bed,
and how do you like my sheets?
And how do you like my lady gay
who lies in your arms asleep?”
“Well I like your feather bed,
and well I like your sheets.
But better I like your lady gay
who lies in my arms asleep.”
and the [Em] first one [D] of the [Em] year
Lord Arnolds wife came [D] into the church
the [Em] gospel [D] for to [Em] hear
and when the meeting it was done
she cast her eyes about
and there she spied little Matty Groves
walking in the crowd
“Come home with me little Matty Groves,
come home with me tonight
Come home with me little Matty Groves
and sleep with me till light”
“I cant come home, I won’t come home
and sleep with you tonight
By the rings on your fingers I can tell
you are Lord Arnolds wife”
“If I am Lord Arnold’s wife
Lord Arnold’s not at home
for he is out in the far cornfields
bringing the yearlings home”
And then a servant who was standing by
and hearing what was said
he swore Lord Arnold, he would know
before the sun was set
And in his hurry to carry the news
he rent his breast and ran
and when he came to the broad mill stream
he kicked off his shoes and swam
Matty, he lay down to bed
and took a little sleep
and when he awoke, Lord Arnold
was standing at his feet
“How do you like my feather bed,
and how do you like my sheets?
And how do you like my lady gay
who lies in your arms asleep?”
“Well I like your feather bed,
and well I like your sheets.
But better I like your lady gay
who lies in my arms asleep.”