Barbara Allen
Jo Stafford Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
When the green buds they were swelling,
William Green on his death-bed lay
For the love of Barbara Allen.
He sent his servant to the town
To the place where she was dwelling
Saying "Love, there is a call for you
She was very slowly getting up
And very slowly going,
The only words she said to him
Were "Young man I think you're dying."
"Don't you remember the other day
When you were in town a-drinking,
You drank a health to the ladies all around
And slighted Barbara Allen?"
"O yes, I remember the other day
When I was in town a-drinking,
I drank a health to the ladies all around,
But my love to Barbara Allen."
He turned his pale face to the wall
And death was in him dwelling;
"Adieu, adieu, to my friends all,
Be kind to Barbara Allen."
When she got in two miles of town
She heard the death bells ringing:
They rang so clear, as if to say
"Hard-hearted Barbara Allen!"
So she looked east and she looked west
And saw the cold corpse coming,
She says "Come round you nice young man
And let me look upon you."
The more she looked the more she grieved
Until she burst out crying
"Perhaps I could have saved that young man's life
Who now is here a-lying."
"O Mother, O Mother, come make my bed
O make it both soft and narrow,
For sweet William died to-day
And I will die to-morrow."
"O Father, O Father, come dig my grave
O dig it deep and narrow,
For sweet William died in love
And I will die in sorrow."
Sweet William was buried in the old church tomb,
Barbara Allen was buried in the yard;
Out of William's heart grew a red rose,
Out of Barbara Allen's grew a brier.
They grew and grew to the old church tower
And they could not grow any higher;
And at the end tied a true lover's knot
And the rose wrapped around the brier.
The song "Barbara Allen" narrates a tragic story of a young couple, Sweet William and Barbara Allen. It is set "in the merry month of May," during which the green buds are swelling. William is on his deathbed, and he sends a message to Barbara, "if your name is Barbara Allen," to come and see him before he dies. Barbara takes her time getting to him, and when she finally arrives, she says very little to him, merely noting that he is dying. William acknowledges that he slighted Barbara previously, but that his love has always been for her. He then turns his face to the wall, and dies.
Barbara hears the death bells ringing as she makes her way back to town, and upon arriving, she sees William's corpse being carried by. She breaks down in tears, realizing that perhaps she could have saved him if she had come sooner. Overwhelmed with emotion, she approaches her mother and father to make her bed and dig her grave, as she intends to die of a broken heart following the loss of her love. William and Barbara are then laid to rest separately, and out of William's heart grows a red rose and out of Barbara's grows a brier. These plants grow together and are tied together as a symbol of their tragic fate, in a true lover's knot.
Line by Line Meaning
All in the merry month of May
When the green buds they were swelling,
William Green on his death-bed lay
For the love of Barbara Allen.
In the spring, William Green is on his deathbed pining over Barbara Allen
He sent his servant to the town
To the place where she was dwelling
Saying "Love, there is a call for you
If your name is Barbara Allen."
He sends someone to Barbara for one last meeting with her.
She was very slowly getting up
And very slowly going,
The only words she said to him
Were "Young man I think you're dying."
She only takes her time and tells him off for ignoring her, which made him sick in the first place.
"Don't you remember the other day
When you were in town a-drinking,
You drank a health to the ladies all around
And slighted Barbara Allen?"
She reminds him about the time he shamed Barbara in public.
"O yes, I remember the other day
When I was in town a-drinking,
I drank a health to the ladies all around,
But my love to Barbara Allen."
He remembers Barbara but was being foolish with other women when he was drunk.
He turned his pale face to the wall
And death was in him dwelling;
"Adieu, adieu, to my friends all,
Be kind to Barbara Allen."
He dies while thinking about her and begs that her friends be kind to her.
When she got in two miles of town
She heard the death bells ringing:
They rang so clear, as if to say
"Hard-hearted Barbara Allen!"
The death bells indicate William's death, and the townspeople finger-point at Barbara falsely for his death.
So she looked east and she looked west
And saw the cold corpse coming,
She says "Come round you nice young man
And let me look upon you."
She spots the funeral procession and wants to say a final goodbye to him through his corpse.
The more she looked the more she grieved
Until she burst out crying
"Perhaps I could have saved that young man's life
Who now is here a-lying."
The more she looks at him, the guiltier and sadder she feels after admitting she could have saved him.
"O Mother, O Mother, come make my bed
O make it both soft and narrow,
For sweet William died to-day
And I will die to-morrow."
Barbara mourns William to her mother and asks for a death bed to follow her own death.
"O Father, O Father, come dig my grave
O dig it deep and narrow,
For sweet William died in love
And I will die in sorrow."
She asks her father to bury her next to William and make her grave deep as she will die out of sadness for William.
Sweet William was buried in the old church tomb,
Barbara Allen was buried in the yard;
Out of William's heart grew a red rose,
Out of Barbara Allen's grew a brier.
William was buried in the church cemetery while Barbara buried in the yard, symbolizing social differences. William, however, loved Barbara and grew a rose, while Barbara grew a thorny brier due to feeling scorned.
They grew and grew to the old church tower
And they could not grow any higher;
And at the end tied a true lover's knot
And the rose wrapped around the brier.
The rose bush and the brier have grown closely to the church tower but stopped, and their roses entwine into the lover's knot, signifying that even though they could not be together in life, they remain united forevermore.
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: . TRADITIONAL, JIM MORAY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@helenrumjanek2415
Best version of the great Scottish folk song!!
@PaulMarinaro
Beautiful reading by Jo Stafford...and the string arrangement is stunning. It could have been written yesterday. Timeless. Really beautiful work on the video...thanks for posting this.
@LuposSobreVega
You're welcome, Paul Marinaro.