The Lowlands Of Holland

Trad

Now, when that I was married
And in my married bed
There came a bold sea captain
And he stood at my bedhead
Saying arise, arise young wedded man
And come along with me
To the lowlands of Holland
For to fight the enemy

Now Holland is a lovely land
And in it there grows fine grain
It is a place of residence
For soldiers to remain
Where the sugarcane grows plentiful
The tea grows on each tree
I only had the one true love
And now he’s gone far away from me

Said the mother to her daughter
Leave off your sore lament
Is there ne’r a man in Ireland
That will be your heart’s content
There are men enough in Ireland
But alas there is none for me
Since high winds and stormy seas
Have parted me love and me

I’ll wear no shoes all on my feet
No combs all in my hair
I’ll wear no handkerchief around my neck
For to shade my beauty fair
And neither will I marry
Until the day I die
Since high winds and stormy seas
Have parted me love and I

The English were at war with Holland in the middle of the seventeenth century. This song comes from young men being pressed into service in that war.