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The Flower of Serving Men

from Traces by Chris Foster

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about

A daughter resorts to some strategic cross-dressing to escape her spectacularly dysfunctional family. This is an unusual English version of one of the great ballads. Collected in December 1908 from Albert Doe of Bartley, Hampshire, England George Gardiner.

lyrics

My father built me a shady bower
and he covered it over with shamrock flowers.
The finest bower I ever did see,
my aged father he built for me.

My father married me to a noble knight
and my mother she owed to me a dreadful spite.
She sent nine robbers all in one night,
to rob my bower and to slay my knight.

How could she have done me a bigger harm
than to murder my babies all in my arms.
Left nothing at all for to wrap them in,
but the bloody sheets that my love died in.

All alone, all alone then I will wash them.
All alone, all alone I will bury them.
Cut off my hair and I’ll change my name
from fair Eleanor to sweet William.

I’ll saddle my horse and away I will ride,
until I come to where some king do reside.
To one of his servants give a gay gold ring
to carry a message to the king.

“Do you want any cook or groom
and do you want e’er a stableman.
Do you want a man servant in your hall,
to wait on nobles when they do call.”

“Well we don’t want any cook or groom
and we don’t want e’er a stableman.
But we wants a man servant in our hall,
to wait on nobles when they do call.“

Well it’s not long after it happened so,
that the young king and his nobles did a hunting go.
Left no one at all but a gay old man,
to keep company with sweet William.

When she thought she was all alone,
she took out her fiddle and she played a fine tune.
“Once my love was a rich and noble knight
and me myself was a lady bright.”

Well it’s not long after the king come home.
“What news, what news, Oh me gay old man”
“Good news, good news, Oh my lord” said he.
“Your serving man is a gay lady.”

“Well go and fetch me down then a pair of stays,
That I might lace up her slender waist.
Go fetch me down that gay gown of green,
that I might dress her up just like my queen.”

“Oh no, Oh no, Oh my lord” said she
“Pay me my wages and I will go free.
For I never heard tell of a stranger thing
as a serving man to become a queen.”

credits

from Traces, track released January 1, 1999
Chris Foster - vocal and guitar.

Arranged and produced by Chris Foster. Recorded by Ken Macpherson at Track Station Recording, Burton upon Trent.

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about

Chris Foster Reykjavik, Iceland

Chris Foster grew up in the south west of England. A master of his trade, he was recently described as “one of the finest singers and most inventive guitar accompanists of English folk songs, meriting legend status.” Over the past 40 years, he has toured throughout the UK, Europe, Canada and the USA. He has recorded six solo albums as well as working on many collaborative projects. ... more

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