Come all ye fair and tender ladies Take warning how you court your men They're like the stars on a summer's mornin' First they'll appear and then they're gone If I had known before I courted What all his lyin' could have done I'd have locked my heart in a box of golden And never would have courted none I wish I were a tiny sparrow And I had wings, and I could fly I'd fly away to my own true lover And all he'd ask I would deny Alas, I'm not a tiny sparrow I have not wings nor can I fly And on this Earth, in grief and sorrow I am bound until I die Come all ye fair and tender ladies Take warning how you court your men They're like the stars on a summer's mornin' First they'll appear and then they're gone