I once loved a boy, [just]1 a bold Irish boy
who would come and would go at my request;
and this bold Irish boy was my pride and my joy
and I built him a bow'r in my breast.

But this girl who has taken my bonny, bonny boy,
let her make of him all that she can;
[and]2 whether he loves me or loves me not,
I will walk with my love now and then.

About the headline (FAQ)

View original text (without footnotes)
¹ Smith: "and"
² Smith: "for"

Text Authorship:

• from Volkslieder (Folksongs)  [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 Herbert Hughes (1882 - 1937), "I will walk with my love", arrangement [sung text checked 1 time]
• by Alan Louis Smith , "I once loved a boy" [ soprano, viola, and piano ], from Four Folksongs for Soprano, Viola and Piano, no. 3, Alfred [sung text checked 1 time]

Research team for this page: John Versmoren , Garrett Medlock [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2004-07-11
Line count: 8
Word count: 78