- A wealthy squire he lived in our town
- And he was a man of high renown
- He had one daughter, a beauty bright
- And the name he called her was his Heart’s Delight.
- Many a young man far to court her came
- But none of them could her favour gain
- Till there came one of the low degree
- And above them all why she’d fancy he.
- But when her father he came to know
- That his lovely daughter loved this young man so
- Over fifty miles he sent her away
- All to deprive her of her wedding day.
- One night as she lay in her bedroom
- Her lover appeared from out the gloom
- He touched her hand and to her did say
- “Arise my darling and come away.”
- ’Twas with this young man she got on behind
- And they rode swifter than any wind
- They rode on for an hour or more
- Till he cries, “My darling, my head feels sore!”
- A Holland handkerchief she’s then drew out
- And with it wrapped his aching head about
- She’s kissed his lips and these words did say
- “My love, you’re colder than any clay.”
- When they arrived at her father’s gate
- He said, “Get down, love, for the hour is late!
- Get down, get down, love, and go to bed
- And I’ll see this gallant horse is groomed and fed.”
- And when she’s arrived at her father’s hall
- “Who’s that, who’s that?” her own father called
- “It is I dear father, didn’t you send for me
- By such a messenger,” and she’s named he.
- “Oh no dear daughter, that can never be
- Your words are false love, and you lie to me
- For on yon far mountain your young man died
- And in yon green meadow well his body lies.”
- The truth then dawned upon this lady brave
- And with her friends they exposed his grave
- There lay her love though nine months dead
- With the Holland handkerchief tied round his head.
The “Holland Handkerchief” is a ballad that is also known as “The Suffolk Miracle,” which is the title that Francis James Child used in his English and Scottish Popular Ballads. A Holland handkerchief refers to a particular pattern of the handkerchief’s weave. A lovely recent rendition of the song is done by the contemporary Celtic singer Connie Dover on her CD If Ever I Return. You can easily find it on YouTube.