The Lady Leroy

Bright Phoebus was shining all on the broad main,
The birds they were singing, all nature serene;
I espied a fair couple on Ireland’s shore
A-viewing the ocean, while the billows did roar.

The one was a lady, both beauteous and fair,
The other a captain, persuading his dear,
Persuading his jewel to cross the wide sea,
In a ship he commanded, called Lady Leroy.

Oh, no, cried this fair maid, this never can be.
My father has vessels, full twenty and three,
And should he o’ertake us, our lives he’d destroy,
So I dare not venture in the Lady Leroy.

Oh, then, cried the captain, I’m surely undone—
I wish that my mother had ne’er borne a son.
May sweet peace go with you, for wretched am I,
For the love of pretty Polly I am doomed for to die

Then she dressed herself up in a suit of men’s clothes,
And disguised unto her old father she goes.
She purchased a vessel, and paid full demand;
But little did he think, ’twas his own daughter’s hand.

Then to her lover—and to him did she say,
Make haste and get ready, no time for delay.
They hoisted their topsails, their colors let fly,
And they swore by their Maker, they will conquer or die.

They had not sailed more than a week or ten days
Before from the southeast there blew a fair breeze.
They espied a fine vessel, which was to their joy,
They hailed her and found her the Lady Leroy.

Turn back, oh, turn back to the Ireland shore,
Or this very instant a broadside I’ll pour.
Then broadside from broadside these vessels did pour,
And like loud peals of thunder their cannon did roar.

They had not fought more than an hour and a half,
When this pretty fair maid gained her victory at last.
Now go tell my father it is to his shame,
I have conquered his vessel, I have conquered his name.

They sailed into Boston, that city of fame,
With two as fine vessels as e’er crossed the main.
The one was the Essex, the other Leroy—
Success to Pretty Polly, she’s the source of all joy.

*Transcriber’s note: Dugaw’s catalogue contains multiple variants of this ballad; this is the first of the variants listed. To review other variants of this ballad, please consult the Dugaw catalogue.


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