"On the night that I was married
And on my marriage bed
There came a bold sea captain
And he stood at my bedhead
Crying, 'Arise, arise, young married man
And come along with me
To the low lowlands of Holland
To fight the enemy.'
"Oh, I held my love all in my arms
Thinking he might stay,
But the captain he gave an order
They were forced to march away,
Crying, 'There's many a blithe young married man
This night must go with me
To the low lowlands of Holland
To fight the enemy.'
"Oh, Holland is a wondrous place
And in it grows much green
It's a wild inhabitation
For my true love to be in
Where the gra**es grow and the warm winds blow
There's fruit on every tree
But the low lowlands of Holland
Parted my love and me.
"Oh, they took my love to a lofty ship
It's a ship of noble fame
With four and twenty sailors bold
To sail across the main
And then the seas begin to roar
And the winds begin to shout
And it's then my love and his lofty ship
Is sorely tossed about."
Said the mother to the daughter,
"What makes you so lament?
Is there not a man in all England
Can heal your discontent?"
"There are many men in old England
But none at all for me;
I only love the one lad
And he's across the sea.
"No shoes nor stockings I'll put on
Nor comb run through my hair
Nor shall no coal nor candle light
Shine in my bower fair
Nor will I lie with any young man
Until the day I die
For the low lowlands of Holland
Parted my love and I."