LiederNet logo

CONTENTS

×
  • Home | Introduction
  • Composers (20,139)
  • Text Authors (19,558)
  • Go to a Random Text
  • What’s New
  • A Small Tour
  • FAQ & Links
  • Donors
  • DONATE

UTILITIES

  • Search Everything
  • Search by Surname
  • Search by Title or First Line
  • Search by Year
  • Search by Collection

CREDITS

  • Emily Ezust
  • Contributors (1,114)
  • Contact Information
  • Bibliography

  • Copyright Statement
  • Privacy Policy

Follow us on Facebook

by Anonymous / Unidentified Author

There was a maid the other day
Language: English 
There was a maid the other day
  Sighed sore. God wot, 
And she said that wives might sport and play,
  But maidens, they might not.
"Full fifteen have I lived." she said,
  "Since I, poor soul, was born.
Oh, if I chance to die a maid,
  Apollo is forsworn. 
Oh, oh, oh for a husband!"
Still this was her song.
"I will have a busband,
Be he old or young." 

An ancient suitor thither came.
  His head was almost gray. 
Though he was old, yet she was young
  And could no longer stay; 
But to her mother went this maid.
  And told her presently 
That a husband she needs must have
  And thus began to cry:
"Oh, oh, oh for a husband!"
Still this was her song.
"I will have a husband,
Be he old or young." 

She had not been a wedded wife
  A quarter of a year 
But she was weary of her life
  And grew into a fear; 
For the old man he lay by her side.
  Could not but sigh and groan. 
Did ever woman so abide? 
  'Twere better lie alone.
"Oh, oh, oh with a husband,
What a life lead I. 
Out upon a husband, 
Such a husband, fie, fie, fie!" 

  "To be a wedded wife." she sald,
  "A twelve-month is too long 
As I have been", poor soul, she said,
  "That am both fair and young, 
When other wives may have their will,
  That art not like to me. 
I mean to go and try my skill
  And find some remedy.
Oh, oh, oh with a husband,
What a life lead I. 
Out upon a husband. 
Such a busband, fie, fie, fie!"

Text Authorship:

  • by Anonymous / Unidentified Author [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

  • by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist , "There was a maid the other day", 17th century. [
     text verified 1 time
    ]

Researcher for this page: John Versmoren

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 48
Word count: 278

Gentle Reminder

This website began in 1995 as a personal project by Emily Ezust, who has been working on it full-time without a salary since 2008. Our research has never had any government or institutional funding, so if you found the information here useful, please consider making a donation. Your help is greatly appreciated!
–Emily Ezust, Founder

Donate

We use cookies for internal analytics and to earn much-needed advertising revenue. (Did you know you can help support us by turning off ad-blockers?) To learn more, see our Privacy Policy. To learn how to opt out of cookies, please visit this site.

I acknowledge the use of cookies

Contact
Copyright
Privacy

Copyright © 2025 The LiederNet Archive

Site redesign by Shawn Thuris