Bird in a Cage

As I went out one May morning,
To hear the birds sing sweet,
I leaned my back to a garden wall
And watched two lovers meet.

You courted me, was what she said,
You got me to comply,
You courted me with a merry mood
All night with you to lie.

And when your heart was mine, false love,
And your head lay on my breast,
You could make me believe, by the fall of your arm,
That the sun rose in the west.

I wish your breast was made of glass
That all in it might behold.
I'd write our secret on your heart
In letters made of gold.

My parents they have brought me up
Like a small bird in a cage,
And now I am in child by you,
Not fifteen years of age.

There's many a girl can go about
And hear the birds so sweet,
While I, poor girl, must stop at home
And rock the cradle and weep.

Rock the cradle o'er and o'er,
And sing sweet lullaby.
Was ever there a poor young girl
So crossed in love as I ?

There's many a star shall fade in the west,
There's many a leaf shall blow,
There's many a curse shall light on a man
For treating a poor girl so.

Go down in your father's garden, love,
Sit down and cry your fill,
And when you think on what you done,
You'll blame your own good will.