Uploaded April 2025 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Here are the entire lyrics: John Riley
Traditional Folk Song
On walking out one summer’s morning,
To take the cool and pleasant air,
I spied a fair and most beautiful damsel.
Her cheeks were larks of lily fair.
Then, I went up to her, saying,
“Would you like to be a sailor’s wife?”
“Oh, no! Oh no,” she quickly answered
“My mind is to live a single life.”
I said, “Fair maid, what makes you differ
From all the rest of womankind?
You are too fair, and you are too handsome.
To marry you, I would incline.”
“Kind sir, kind sir, I could have married
Some two or three long years ago,
Or to a man whom they call John Riley,
Who was the cause of my overthrow.”
“Oh, leave all thinking of John Riley!
Come go with me to some distant shore.
We’ll sail over to old Pennsylvania,
Where John Riley lives forevermore.”
“I’ll not leave all thinking of John Riley,
Nor go with you to some distant shore.
My mind is with him, I cannot forsake him.
Oh, his face I’ll never see anymore.”
Then, I went up to her sweet kisses,
The kisses I gave her were one, two, and three.
“Oh, I’m the man who they call John Riley.
I just returned to marry thee.”
The song is derived from Homer's Odyssey, interpreted through the 17th century English folk ballad tradition, and tells the story of a prospective suitor who asks a woman if she will
arry him. She replies that she cannot because she is betrothed to John Riley, who has gone away over the seas.
The man persists, asking her whether Riley is worth waiting for and suggesting that he may have drowned, been killed in war, or married another woman. She steadfastly maintains that she will continue to wait for Riley, regardless of his possible fate. In the last stanza, the suitor reveals that he is in fact John Riley, returned from the seas, and has been testing his beloved.
The song's theme, that of the "disguised true lover", has long been a theme in traditional folk ballads and several variations of this song exist. Please check out this link as this is how we sung it in school. This was by Joan Baez
youtube.com/watch?v=1g9OHlKPOrE
Here are the entire lyrics: John Riley
Traditional Folk Song
On walking out one summer’s morning,
To take the cool and pleasant air,
I spied a fair and most beautiful damsel.
Her cheeks were larks of lily fair.
Then, I went up to her, saying,
“Would you like to be a sailor’s wife?”
“Oh, no! Oh no,” she quickly answered
“My mind is to live a single life.”
I said, “Fair maid, what makes you differ
From all the rest of womankind?
You are too fair, and you are too handsome.
To marry you, I would incline.”
“Kind sir, kind sir, I could have married
Some two or three long years ago,
Or to a man whom they call John Riley,
Who was the cause of my overthrow.”
“Oh, leave all thinking of John Riley!
Come go with me to some distant shore.
We’ll sail over to old Pennsylvania,
Where John Riley lives forevermore.”
“I’ll not leave all thinking of John Riley,
Nor go with you to some distant shore.
My mind is with him, I cannot forsake him.
Oh, his face I’ll never see anymore.”
Then, I went up to her sweet kisses,
The kisses I gave her were one, two, and three.
“Oh, I’m the man who they call John Riley.
I just returned to marry thee.”
The song is derived from Homer's Odyssey, interpreted through the 17th century English folk ballad tradition, and tells the story of a prospective suitor who asks a woman if she will
arry him. She replies that she cannot because she is betrothed to John Riley, who has gone away over the seas.
The man persists, asking her whether Riley is worth waiting for and suggesting that he may have drowned, been killed in war, or married another woman. She steadfastly maintains that she will continue to wait for Riley, regardless of his possible fate. In the last stanza, the suitor reveals that he is in fact John Riley, returned from the seas, and has been testing his beloved.
The song's theme, that of the "disguised true lover", has long been a theme in traditional folk ballads and several variations of this song exist. Please check out this link as this is how we sung it in school. This was by Joan Baez
youtube.com/watch?v=1g9OHlKPOrE
