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Broadside ballads entitled 'The Pardon Came Too Late', 'She was Bred in Old Kentucky', 'You Can't Put an Old Head on the Shoulders of a Child', and 'Just Like the Ivy, I'll Cling to You'

Transcription

The Pardon Came Too Late

YOU CANT PUT AN OLD HEAD ON THE SHOULDERS OF A CHILD

Just   like the   Ivy   I'll   Cling   to   You

SHE WAS BRED IN OLD KENTUCKY

The Pardon Came Too Late.

A fair-haired boy in a foreign land at sunrise was to die;
In a prison cell he sat alone, from his heart there came a sigh;
Deserted from the ranks, they said, the reason none could say
They only knew the orders were that he should die next day;
And as the hours glided by, a messenger on wings did fly,
To save this boy from such a fate?a pardon, but it came too
late.

                         CHORUS-

The volley was fired at sunrise, just after break of day,
And while the echoes lingered, a soul had passed away,
Into the arms of his Maker, and there to hear his fate;
A tear, a sigh, a sad good-bye?the pardon came too late.

And round the camp fire burning bright, the story then was
told,
How his mother on a dying bed called for her son so bold ;
He hastened to obey her wish, was captured on the way;
She never saw her boy so fair?he died at break of day;
And when the truth at last was known, his innocence was at
once shown,
To save from such an unjust fate a pardon sent, but 'twas
too late.      Chorus.

She was bred in Old Kentucky.
As a lad I stood one day by a cottage far away,
And to me that day all nature seemed more grand,
For my Sue with blushes red had just promised we should wed,
And I'd come to ask her mother for her hand;
As I told the old tale, of love that ne'er would fail,
The grey-haired mother stroked her daughter's head,
And I-fancied I could trace just a tear on her kind face,
As she placed my sweetheart's hand in mine and said?

CHORUS?

She was bred in old Kentucky where the summer skies are blue,
There's the sunshine of the country in her face and manner too.
She was bred in old Kentucky, take her lad, you're mighty
lucky,
When you marry a girl like Sue.

Many years have passed away since that well-remembered day
When to that dear old Kentucky home I came;
And my happiness through life was my sweetheart, friend,
and wife,
For the sunshine in her heart remained the same.
I am sitting all alone in the place we long called our home,
For yesterday my darling passed away,
And I think with tears of joy of the day when but a boy,
When I took her hand and head her mother say?

CHORUS?

She was bred in old Kentucky where the summer skies are blue,
There's the sunshine of the country in her face and manner too.
She was bred in old Kentucky, take her lad, you're mighty
lucky ,
When you marry a girl like Sue.

You can't put an Old Head on
Young Shoulders.

To spare the rod will spoil the child, I've often heard people
say,
But with such sayings I will ne'er give in;
To ill-use or abuse a child, everyone must own,
Is not the way a child's respecte to win.
Advice goes further than a blow, so when they do what's wrong
speak kindly to them, don't fly in a rage
But show to them their error,   and   you'll find when they
grow up,
They'll love and honour you in your old age.

CHORUS?

Treat them with kindness, don't cause them pain,
Don't let passion master you, be lenient with the cane;
For children will be children, and remember though they're
wild,
That you cannot put an old head on the shoulders of a child.
Young blythesome things, their presence brings sunshine to
our homes,
And awakens in our hearts fond memories dear,
They take us back to bygone days when we were young our-
selves,
And recall to mind old scenes we now revere.
Cold indeed must be the heart that does not love a child,
Shame on them who would them cruelly beat,
They surely can't remember that they once were young them-
Or their little offsprings they would ne'er ill-treat.
selves,

Just like the Ivy I'll cling to you

Written and composed by A. J. Mills and
Harry Castling. Sung by Marie Kendall.
Music at Francis, Day & Hunter's, 142 Char-
ing Cross Road, London, W.C.

Grand-dad sat at evenfall

'Neath the dear old garden wall,
Where the ivy was clinging all around;
And a maiden, young and fair,
With blue eyes and golden hair.
Was nestling there beside him on the ground.
"Some day you'll be leaving me
For a sweetheart," the old man sighed?
"Some day he forgetting me; "
But with a smile the maid replied?

CHORUS?

"Just watch the ivy on that old garden wall,
Onnging so tightly, whate'er may befall;
As you grow older I'll be constant and true,
And, just like the ivy, I'll cling to you,."

"When the ivy, years ago"?
Said the maid?"began to grow,
Then the old wall supported it with pride;
Now the old wall's in decay,
And is crumbling fast away,
The ivy clings more tightly to its side.
Loving you have ever been-
You have cared for me day by day;
Loving I shall ever be,
And always by your side I'll stay."

Copies can: always be had at the Poets' Box, Overgate, Dundee.

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Probable period of publication: 1880-1900   shelfmark: RB.m.143(123)
Broadside ballads entitled 'The Pardon Came Too Late', 'She was Bred in Old Kentucky', 'You Can't Put an Old Head on the Shoulders of a Child', and 'Just Like the Ivy, I'll Cling to You'
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