(Banjo Mandoline Tin Whistle music starts.)
1
Johnstone he was riding along
As fast as he could ride
Til he thought he heard a woman,
He heard a woman
cry.
And johnstone gets off his horse
And searches the woods all round
Till he came upon a woman,
With her hair
bent to the ground.
2
And Johnstone being a man of his own
And being a man and bold.
He has taken off his soldiers cloak
To cover
her from the cold
Oh woman my dearest woman
Who then brought ye here for this far
Who that brought you
here this may morning
With yer hair bent to the ground.
3
Oh it was three bold and struggling men
With swords gleaming on
Who that brought me here this may morning
With
me hair pinned to the ground
And Johnstone gets on his horse
And the woman gets on behind
They rode down that lonesome
highway
Their fortune for to find.
(Tin Whistle Mandoline Music Break)
4
And then they were wide
In no way long
As faster they could ride
She has blown her fingers to her lips
And
gave three shivering cries
And out sprang three bold and strugling men
With swords gleaming on
Who let them on the
Johnstone
And commanded him to stand.
5
Oh I will stand said Johnstone
I’ll stand then for thee
For I never was in all of my life
Afraid
of any three
And Johnstone he killed two of them
Not minding the woman behind
While he was after the other one
She
stabbed him from behind.
6
And the day was free and a market day
And the people all passing by
Could have seen then this awfull murder
Could
have seen poor Johnstone die
(Tin whistle gitar and Mandoline Music)
(Which fades out at the end.)
End.
(Trad. Arr. Woods/Irvine/Moynihan. Transatlantic Records)
