Where have you been all the day, my boy Willie?
Where have you been all the day, Willie won't you tell me now?
I have been all the day courting of a lady gay
But she's too young to be taken from her mother.
Is she fit to be a wife, my boy Willie?
Is she fit to be a wife, Willie won't you tell me now?
She's as fit to be a wife as a fork fits to a knife
But she's too young to be taken from her mother.
Can she cook and can she spin, my boy Willie?
Can she cook and can she spin, Willie won't you tell me now?
She can cook, she can spin, she can do most anything
But she's too young to be taken from her mother.
Can she bake a cherry pie, my boy Willie?
Can she bake a cherry pie, Willie won't you tell me now?
She can bake a cherry pie quick's a cat can wink her eye
But she's too young to be taken from her mother.
Does she often go to church, my boy Willie?
Does she often go to church, Willie won't you tell me now?
Yes, she often goes to church in a bonnet white as birch
But she's too young to be taken from her mother.
Can she make a feather bed, my boy Willie?
Can she make a feather bed, Willie won't you tell me now?
She can make a feather bed and put pillows at the head
But she's too young to be taken from her mother.
Did she ask you to come in, my boy Willie
Did she ask you to come in, Willie won't you tell me now
Yes, she asked me to come in, she's a dimple in her chin
But she's too young to be taken from her mother.
Did she tell how old she is, my boy Willie?
Did she tell how old she is, Willie won't you tell me now?
She's three times six, seven times seven, twenty-eight and eleven
But she's too young to be taken form her mother .