X:14
T:The Tasks
T:The Elfin Knight
B:Bronson
C:Trad
O:Baring-Gould MSS., CXXVIII(2); text; (A) apparently
O:composite.
H:Sung by Joseph Dyer, Mawgan-in-Pyder, Cornwall,
O:July 6,
1891. Noted by F. W. Bussell.
N:Child 2
N:I can't see for the life of me how this set of words is
N:supposed to fit this tune, so I've left it just as it is in
N:the book.  The letter S represents a short phrase-mark which
N:is supposed to indicate the position of the line ends.
N:Programs other than BarFly may draw a segno here, which is
N:OK as long as you know what it means.
G:B
M:6/8
K:G
D | G2 D G2 G | B2 B A3 S| G2 G F2 E | DEF G2 :|
D | EFG ABc | ddB GD SD | d2 d e2 d | cBA G |]
W:
W:Thou must buy me my lady, a cambrick shirt
W:Whilst every grove rings with a merry antine.
W:And stitch it without any needle work
W:O and then thou shalt be a true love of mine.
W:
W:And thou must wash it in yonder well,
W:Where never a drop of water in fell.
W:
W:And thou must hang it upon a white thorn,
W:That never has blossomed since Adam was born.
W:
W:And when that these tasks are finished & done,
W:I'll take thee & marry thee under the sun.
W:
W:Or ever I do these two and three,
W:I will set of tasks as many to thee.
W:
W:Thou must buy for me an acre of land,
W:Between the salt ocean and the yellow sand.
W:
W:Thou must plough it o'er with a horse's horn,
W:And sow it over with one peppercorn.
W:
W:Thou must reap it too, with a piece of leather,
W:And bind it all up with a peacock's feather.
W:
W:And when these tasks are finished and done,
W:O then I will marry thee under the sun.
W:
W:(An extra verse from John Dyer)
W:Pray take it up in a bottomless sack,
W:And every leaf grows merry in time,
W:And bear it to the mill on a butterfly's back
W:O then you shall be a true lover of mine.