[HE.] PRITHEE, pretty maiden - prithee, tell me true <br />(Hey, but I'm doleful, willow, willow waly!) <br />Have you e'er a lover a-dangling after you? <br />Hey, willow waly O! <br />I would fain discover <br />If you have a lover? <br />Hey, willow waly O! <br /> <br />[SHE.] Gentle sir, my heart is frolicsome and free - <br />(Hey, but he's doleful, willow, willow waly!) <br />Nobody I care for comes a-courting me - <br />Hey, willow waly O! <br />Nobody I care for <br />Comes a-courting - therefore, <br />Hey, willow waly O! <br /> <br />[HE.] Prithee, pretty maiden, will you marry me? <br />(Hey, but I'm hopeful, willow, willow waly!) <br />I may say, at once, I'm a man of propertee - <br />Hey, willow waly O! <br />Money, I despise it, <br />But many people prize it, <br />Hey, willow waly O! <br /> <br />[SHE.] Gentle sir, although to marry I design - <br />(Hey, but he's hopeful, willow, willow waly!) <br />As yet I do not know you, and so I must decline. <br />Hey, willow waly O! <br />To other maidens go you - <br />As yet I do not know you, <br />Hey, willow waly O!<br /><br />William Schwenck Gilbert<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/willow-waly/
