The Mower

[ Roud 833 ; Ballad Index DTthemow ; trad.]

A.L. Lloyd sang hhis ballad unaccompanied on the 1966 theme album The Bird in the Bush: Traditional Erotic Songs. It was reissued in 1992 on the compilation album Voices: English Traditional Songs. Lloyd recorded it a second time in 1966 for his album The Best of A.L. Lloyd. He wrote in the latter album's sleeve notes:

Folk songs often embody very ancient ideas of love. The old magical notion that all the world's phenomena are interdependent and that the closest unity exists between the germination of grain and the amorous encounters of men and women is still to be found, and the act of love is often symbolised as ploughing, sowing, reaping, mowing. So with this song where a rather delicate erotic situation is expressed with candour, but also with tenderness an humour. The Mower often apperared in 19th century broadsides and several versions reside among collector's manuscripts, but it is missing from the standard song-books for all that is fundamentally a kind and decent song.

Lyrics

As I went out one morning on the fourteenth of July
I met a maid and I asked her age and she gave me this reply:
“I have a little meadow, I've kept for you in store
And it's only due, I should tell you true, it never was mowed before.”

She said: “Me handsome young man, if a mower that you be,
I give you good employment, so come along with me.”
Well it was me good employment to wander up and down
With me tearing scythe all to contrive to mow her meadow down.

Now me courage being undaunted, I stepped out on the ground,
And with me tearing scythe I then did strive to mow her meadow down.
I mowed from nine till dinnertime, it was far beyond my skill,
I was obliged to yield and to quit the field and the grass was growing still.

Now the mower she kissed and did pretest, this fair maid bein' so young.
Her little eyes they glittered like to the rising sun.
She said: “I'll strive to sharpen your scythe, so set it in me hand,
And then perhaps you will return again to mow me meadow land.”

Acknowledgements

Lyrics copied from the Digital Tradition at the Mudcat Café.