Merry Green Broom
Kate Rusby Lyrics


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A wager with you my pretty fair maid
Five hundred pounds to your ten
A maid you will go to the merry green broom
And a maid you'll no longer return-o

A wager, a wager with you kind sir
Five hundred pounds to my ten
A maid I will go to the merry green broom
And a maid I will boldly return-o

The maiden she sat in her bower alone
She is in torment and strife
If I don't go to the Broomfield this night
My love he won't make me his wife-o

So up and she goes on her good white steed
Away for her young man to meet
She found him lain there and all fast asleep
With a blood red rose at his feet-o

She's kissed him twice on cheek and on chin
Then over his body did lean
There she did place five rings on his chest
Just so he would know she had been-o

Then off through the woods the young maid did go
Just when her love did arise
He saw the five rings laid there on his chest
On his face was nought but surprise-o

A wager with you my pretty fair maid
Five hundred pounds to your ten
A maid you will go to the merry green broom
And a maid you'll no longer return-o

A wager, a wager with you kind sir
Five hundred pounds to my ten




A maid I will go to the merry green broom
And a maid I will boldly return-o

Overall Meaning

The song "Merry Green Broom" by Kate Rusby tells the story of a maiden who accepts a wager with a kind sir. The wager is for five hundred pounds, and the maiden must go to the merry green broom as a maid and not return as a maid. The maiden agrees and sets out to the Broomfield to complete the wager. She's tormented at the thought of not being able to marry her love if she fails to complete the wager successfully.


The maiden goes to meet her young man on her good white steed, finding him asleep with a blood-red rose at his feet. She kisses him on cheek and on chin and puts five rings on his chest so that he would know she had been there. The young maid then runs off through the woods, and when her love wakes up, he sees the five rings on his chest and feels nothing but surprise.


Line by Line Meaning

A wager with you my pretty fair maid
I propose a bet to you, my lovely lady


Five hundred pounds to your ten
I will offer you five hundred pounds if you can go to Merry Green Broom and not return as a maid


A maid you will go to the merry green broom
You will leave as a maiden and go to Merry Green Broom


And a maid you'll no longer return-o
And you will not return as a maiden


A wager, a wager with you kind sir
I accept your bet, kind sir


Five hundred pounds to my ten
I will take your offer and bet ten pounds that I will go to Merry Green Broom and come back as a maiden


A maid I will go to the merry green broom
I will leave as a maiden and go to Merry Green Broom


And a maid I will boldly return-o
And I will return as a maiden, triumphantly


The maiden she sat in her bower alone
The young lady sat alone in her room


She is in torment and strife
She is distressed and anxious


If I don't go to the Broomfield this night
If I don't go to Merry Green Broom tonight


My love he won't make me his wife-o
My lover won't marry me


So up and she goes on her good white steed
She rides her white horse and sets off


Away for her young man to meet
To meet her young man


She found him lain there and all fast asleep
She found him sleeping there


With a blood red rose at his feet-o
There was a blood red rose at his feet


She's kissed him twice on cheek and on chin
She kissed him on both his cheek and chin


Then over his body did lean
She leaned over his body


There she did place five rings on his chest
She put five rings on his chest


Just so he would know she had been-o
So he would know she was there


Then off through the woods the young maid did go
Then the young lady went through the woods


Just when her love did arise
Just when her lover woke up


He saw the five rings laid there on his chest
He saw the five rings on his chest


On his face was nought but surprise-o
He was only surprised




Contributed by Sophia O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
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Comments from YouTube:

carole7777

A variant of "The Broomfield Hill," "The Merry Green Broom" is a retelling of the very popular and ancient British tale of the crafty young maid who outwits her over-enthusiastic suitor. The maid uses the magical herb broom to put the amorous knight to sleep--thus saving her virginity and winning five hundred pounds all in one day. The ballad is thought to have been handed down from mother to daughter in hopes of teaching young women how to deal cleverly while in difficult situations with men.

kiwicowgirl95

Has to be one of the prettiest songs to ever touch the earth!!! =)

Becky Pratt

I just burst into tears listening to this. I grew up on kate's songs and now I'm living on my own in a city she always reminds me of summer evenings back home in the country

Colin Hugh Abbott

Jeez! It's bloody hard for us blokes ... and all we really wanna do is "get our leg over" ... anyway ... best wishes from Big Hugh of Mundlimup ... in wonderful Western Australia ... it's not fair ... is it? Cheers!