1. |
Companion Piece
04:15
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Sir, I read your ad in the Sunday paper--
You're a-wanting a woman to ship west and wed;
And I write to inquire as to whether you've found her,
And if you have not,
I am not much to look at, but I'm young and I'm hale.
I've five little sisters who nip at my heels.
I've my mother's hips, I've my mother's eyes;
I could bear you fine sons, if it's what you desire.
And I'll be your companion piece
On the condition you leave me be.
I know enough women to know about men,
So I'm not looking for love.
I was born in the mountains, it's there I live still.
I can work of a farm, I've the strength for to till.
And I'm no bastard child, but my father's long gone,
And my mother's not the money for to keep me at home.
So I'll be your companion piece
On the condition you leave me be.
I know enough women to know about men,
So I'm not looking for love.
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2. |
The Mail-Order Bride
03:28
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I've no want for your forty years, sir;
I've no want for your two strong sons.
And had I not five sisters dear, sir,
I'd be on the next train as it comes.
Sir, I've no want for your Rocky Mountains--
I had mountains of my own.
And if we were a little richer,
I'd be on the next train, going back home.
Your letter said you're a good, kind man, sir,
And that it's true, I sit and pray.
But I've been sitting here for hours,
And a kind man wouldn't make me wait.
I've no want to be a mother;
I've no want to share your bed
If you're not here within the hour,
I'll be on the next train that comes in.
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3. |
Maggie's Waltz
05:29
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I've twenty-five years;
I'm older than some.
I've a house on the prairie where the wind don't come.
And my husband is kind--
I hear he's kinder than some.
He's brought me a-west, I brung him a son.
And on Saturday nights
My man waltzes me down,
Round the floor of the kitchen while the stew is a-boil.
And my mattress is fine,
It is much finer than most.
And if he has me again, I shall tear out his throat.
And the axe in the backyard,
She's a-calling my name
And she says, "Maggie, don't you cry,
You was only a child,
When you boarded that train.
And you've two little babies,
Don't you bear him one more.
Say, he sleeps awful soundly for a man making war."
And the axe in the backyard,
She's a-calling my name
She says, "Maggie, don't you cry,
You was only a child
When you married that man.
And you're strong in the shoulders,
And an axe fits your hand."
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4. |
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I am an old woman, but I once was young.
I live all alone with a dog and a gun.
I married my husband when I was eighteen;
I was fresh from the mountains, so green.
I am an old woman, but I once was young.
I once had a man; I once had a son.
I once had a mother who was younger than me.
I once was a child--
And if my sisters still live, my name is gone.
I'm the wife of a man, and the man is gone.
Every river I know from my youth was gone
The day I boarded that train, some forty years gone.
I am an old woman, but I once lived east;
I once bit the hand of the man that feeds me.
If my sisters still live, my name is gone.
I'm the wife of a man, and the man is gone.
Every river I know from my youth was gone
The day I boarded that train, some forty years gone.
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