We’ve updated our Terms of Use to reflect our new entity name and address. You can review the changes here.
We’ve updated our Terms of Use. You can review the changes here.
/

about

7. PRETTY POLLY
Derived from the older British Ballad, The Cruel Ship’s Carpenter, which tells a much longer story, the American song, Pretty Polly, concerns itself almost exclusively with the murder at the heart of the story. I’ve developed a kind of Canadian version of my own that falls somewhere between the Old World and New World versions, by restoring some, though not all, of the parts of the plot that fall before and after the central event. The British song uses a four-line ballad form, while the American song, though not actually a blues harmonically, uses the three-line blues form for its stanzas. So essentially, I’m singing something that resembles the British Ballad, while using the American melody and structure. A true Canadian compromise!

lyrics

7. PRETTY POLLY
Traditional – additional lyrics by Marc Nerenberg
Near the harbour, where ships sail to many a foreign town (2x)
There lived a lovely damsel known as Pretty Polly Brown.

Oh, Handsome Willie said they’d marry; but her trust he did betray.
Willie vowed that they would marry; but her trust he did betray.
Yes, he vowed that they would marry; but instead led her astray.

Soon Polly, she could see that things were just not right (2x)
And Willie, he could see that her dress was growing tight.

And (Oh,) he said, “Polly, Pretty Polly, come and take a walk with me (2x)
Before we be married, some pleasure to see.”

And (Oh,) then he took her in a forest, so damp and dark and deep. (2x)
The darkness in that place soon made Polly start to weep.

“Oh Willie, oh Willie! I guess you’ve brought me here to die, (2x)
For you wish not for a wife, nor to hear your baby cry.”

“Oh Polly, Pretty Polly, well, you’re guessing just about right, (2x)
And I was here to dig your grave the better part of last night.”

“Oh Willie, oh (please) Willie! Won’t you pardon me my life? (2x)
I never more will covet for to be your darling wife.”

“Oh, look how your grave’s wide open; and my spade is standing by. (2x)
So into that deep grave, your fair body, it must fly.”

And then (Yes,) he stabbed her, and impaled her! Oh, (And) how her blood did flow! (2x)
Till deep into that grave, her dead body he did throw.

Willie buried her so neatly, and he covered her so well, (2x)
And there was no one there to see, so there was no one who could tell.

And then he went to board a ship for to sail the wide world round (2x)
He thought not that Polly’s awful fate ever would be found.

But (Oh,) late one night, as Willie was a-sailing, feeling bold (2x)
Pretty Polly stood before him! It made his blood run cold!

And that ghastly ghost grabbed Willie, and it ripped him into three. (2x)
“That’s what you get for murdering my unborn babe and me.”

credits

from DELIA'S GONE: Murder Ballads & Other Songs of Love & Death, released July 15, 2019
Traditional, arranged and adapted, with additional lyrics, by Marc Nerenberg

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

Marc Nerenberg image

Marc Nerenberg Montreal, Québec

Marc Nerenberg is a veteran Montreal folksinger who plays old time banjo styles and blues harmonica. He has a narrative- centric repertoire, recounting stories in song and wrapping stories around songs. You may “be drawn in by a combination of Marc’s mastery of traditional banjo styles, his idiosyncratic singing, and [his] richly detailed ballads.” (Mike Regenstreif – Folk Roots/Folk Branches 2019) ... more

contact / help

Contact Marc Nerenberg

Streaming and
Download help

Report this track or account

If you like Marc Nerenberg, you may also like:

Bandcamp Daily  your guide to the world of Bandcamp

On Bandcamp Radio

Featuring interviews with LA music scene pillar Kamasi Washington, and new London-based duo Mrcy.

listen now