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Willy O Winsbury by Pentangle
Willy O Winsbury
F C G
The king has been a prisoner,
Am G F
And a prisoner long in Spain,
C Am Em
And Willie of the Winsbury
F C F
Has lain long with his daughter at home.
F C G
"What ails you, what ails you, my daughter Janet,
Am G F
That you look so pale and wan?
C Am Em
Oh, have you had any sore sickness
F C F
Or yet been sleeping with a man?"
F C G
"No, I have not had any sore sickness,
Am G F
Nor yet been sleeping with a man.
C Am Em
But it is for you, my father dear,
F C F
For biding so long in Spain."
F C G
"Cast off, cast off your berry-brown gown,
Am G F
And stand naked upon the stone,
C Am Em
That I may know you by your shape,
F C F
If you be a maiden or none."
F C G
And she's cast off her berry-brown gown
Am G F
And stood naked upon the stone
C Am Em
Her apron was low and her haunches were round,
F C F
Her skin was pale and wan.
F C G
"Oh, was it with a lord or a duke or a knight,
Am G F
Or a man of birth and fame,
C Am Em
Or was it with one of my serving men
F C F
Who's lately come out of Spain?"
F C G
"No, it wasn't with a lord or a duke or a knight,
Am G F
Nor a man of birth and fame,
C Am Em
But it was with Willie of Winsbury,
F C F
I could bide no longer alone."
F C G
Now the king has called on his merry men all,
Am G F
By thirty and by three,
C Am Em
Says, "Fetch me this Willie of Winsbury,
F C F
For hanged he shall be."
[- Instrumental verse -]
F C G
But when he came the king before,
Am G F
He was clad all in the red silk.
C Am Em
His hair was like the golden strands,
F C F
His skin was as white as the milk.
F C G
And "It is no wonder," said the king,
Am G F
"That my daughter's love you did win.
C Am Em
For if I were a woman, as I am a man,
F C F
My bedfellow you would have been."
F C G
"Oh will you marry my daughter Janet,
Am G F
By the truth of your right hand?
C Am Em
Oh, will you marry my daughter Janet?
F C F
I'll make you the lord of my land."
F C G
"Oh yes, I will marry your daughter Janet.
Am G F
By the truth of my right hand.
C Am Em
Why yes, I will marry your daughter Janet,
F C F
But I'll not be the lord of your land."
F C G
And he's mounted her on a milk-white steed,
Am G F
And himself on a dapple grey.
C Am Em
He has made her the lady of as much land
F C F
As she shall ride on a warm summer's day.
------------------
version 2
Tuning: Standard
This is basically what I hear John Renbourn doing in both the
Pentangle version of the song (from 'Solomon's Seal) and his solo
version from 'Faro Annie'.
It's a beautiful traditional tune whose
melody has been borrowed for, among others, 'Farewell, Farewell,
from Fairport Convention's 'Liege and Lief'.
Note: The only really tricky bit is at the end of Bar 3 of the
intro and leading into bar 4. Some dexterity and practise is
required to fit the little hammer-on/pull-off sequence within
the time signature.
Intro:
In 3/4 time.
e|------------------|------------------|---------------------|
B|-------3-----3----|--------3---------|--------0------------|
G|----0-----0-----0-|-----0--------0h2-|-----0-----0---------|
D|-5----------------|--4--------4------|--2-----------2h4p20-|
A|------------------|------------------|---------------------|
E|------------------|------------------|---------------------|
e|------------------|----------------------|------------------|
B|-------0-----0----|----------------------|--------3---------|
G|----2-----2-----2-|-----2h4p2p0-----0----|-----------0------|
D|------------------|--0-----------4-----4-|--0---------------|
A|-3----------------|----------------------|-----3--------3p2-|
E|------------------|----------------------|------------------|
e|-------3-----------|
B|-------0-----------|
G|----0-----0--------|
D|----------------0--|
A|-------------2-----|
E|-3-----------------|
The
Verses:
e|-------0-----0----|-------0-----0----|------------------|
B|-------1-----1----|-------1-----1----|-------3-----3----|
G|----0-----0-----0-|----------0-----0-|----0-----0-----0-|
D|------------------|----0-------------|-5----------------|
A|-3----------------|------------------|------------------|
E|------------------|-3----------------|------------------|
King has been a pri --- son---
e|------------------|-------5-----5----|-------0-----0----|
B|-------3----------|-------3-----3----|-------0-----0----|
G|----0--------0h2--|----2-----2-----2-|----5-----5-----5-|
D|-4--------4-------|-0----------------|------------------|
A|------------------|------------------|-0----------------|
E|------------------|------------------|------------------|
--er. And a Prisoner
e|-------0------------|--------0------------|-------0---------|
B|-------0------------|--------1----------1-|-------1---------|
G|----5-----5-----(0)-|-----0-----0-------0-|----0-----0------|
D|-7-----------5------|--------------0h2----|-------------2p0-|
A|--------------------|--3------------------|-3---------------|
E|--------------------|---------------------|-----------------|
long in Spain and
e|-------3----------|-------0---------|-------3------------|
B|-------0----------|-------3---------|-------0------------|
G|----0-----0-----0-|----0-----0------|----0-----0-----(0)-|
D|-------------4----|-2-----------2p0-|-------------0------|
A|------------------|-----------------|--------------------|
E|-3----------------|-----------------|-3------------------|
Wi..........lly o' Wins........bur...
e|-------3-----3----|-------3-----3----|-------0-----0----|
B|-------0-----0----|-------0-----0----|-------0-----0----|
G|-------0-----0----|-------0-----0----|-------5-----5----|
D|----4-----4-----4-|----4-----4-----4-|----5-----5-----5-|
A|-2----------------|-2----------------|-7----------------|
E|------------------|------------------|------------------|
..y has laid long with his
e|-------0-----0----|--------0------------|-------0----------|
B|-------5-----5----|--------1----------1-|-------1----------|
G|-------0-----0----|-----0-----0-------0-|----0-----0-----0-|
D|----4-----4-----4-|----(2)-------0h2----|-------------0----|
A|-5----------------|-3-------------------|-3----------------|
E|------------------|---------------------|------------------|
daughter at home. (Repeat from first bar for verses)
Outro: Same as Intro, except @ 3rd bar, thus:
e|------------------|
B|-------0----------|
G|----0-----------0-||
D|-2--------2--4----|
A|------------------|
E|------------------|
Last bar (as it appears in Intro) is changed to:
e|-------------3-|
B|-------0-------|
G|----0-----0----|
D|---------------|
A|---------------|
E|-3-------------|
Rest of verses:
'What ails thee, what ails thee
My daughter Janet?
Well, you look so pale and wan.
Oh, have you had any sore sickness
Or yet been sleeping with a man?'
'I have not had any sore sickness
Nor yet been sleeping with a man
It is for you, my father dear
For biding so long in Spain.'
'Cast off, cast off your berry-brown gown
You stand naked upon the stone,
That I may know you by your shape
And whether you be a maiden or no.'
And she's cast off her berry-brown gown
She stood naked upon the stone
And her apron was low and her haunches were round
Her face it was pale and wan.
'Oh, was it with a lord or a duke or a knight
Or a man of birth and fame
Or was it with one of my serving men
That's lately come out of Spain?'
'No, it wasn't with a lord or a duke or a knight
Nor a man of birth and fame,
But it was with Willy O' Winsbury
(I could bide no longer alone).'
And he's called forth his merry men all
By thirty and by three
Saying 'Fetch me this Willy O' Winsbury,
For hanged he shall be!'
But when he came the King before,
He was clad all in red silk
And his hair was the colour of strands of gold
His skin it was pale as milk.
'And it is no wonder', said the King,
'That my daughter's love you did win,
For if I was a woman as I am a man,
My bedfellow you'd have been.
And will you marry my daughter Janet,
By the truth of your right hand?
Oh, will you marry my daughter Janet?
I'll make you a lord of my land.'
'Yes, I will marry your daughter Janet,
By the truth of my right hand.
Yes, I will marry your daughter Janet,
But I'll not be a lord of your land.'
And he's mounted her on a milk-white steed
And himself on a dapple grey
And he's made her the lady of as much land
As she may ride in a long summer's day.
| / slide up
| \ slide down
| h hammer-on
| p pull-off
| ~ vibrato
| + harmonic
| x Mute note
----------