Empty Hats All Around My Hat
All around my hat, I will wear the green willow,
And all around my hat, for a twelve-month and a day.
And if anyone should ask me the reason why I'm wearin'
it,
It's all for me true love who's far, far away.
Fare thee well cold winter, and fare thee well cold
frost.
For nothing I have gained but my own true love have
lost.
So sing and I'll be merry, when occasion I do see-
She's a false deluded lover, let her go, fare well she.
The other day I brought her a fine golden ring.
I asked her to marry but oh what an awful thing.
I thought that she loved me, 'til she began to laugh
She showed me the door and threw out my hat.
Take a quarter pound of reason and a half pound of
sense,
A small sprig of time and a pinch of prudence,
Now mix them all together and you will plainly see:
She's a false deluded lover, let her go, fare well she.
Background by Daniel Womack: The origin of this song,
like many others in this genre, is under heated debate.
There are a lot of songs that have been connected to it
as possible "mother songs". These include: The
Nobleman's Wedding, The Miller of Dee, Rolling Down to
Old Maui, Edmund in the Lowlands, A Garland of Country
Song, The Budgeon is a Delicate Trade, and No. 90 in
Chappell's "Collection of National Airs". It all
depends on who you speak to.