Annan Water Oh Annan Water's wondrous deep And my love Annie's wondrous bonny I'm loathed that she should wet her feet Because I love her best of any Go saddle to me my bonny grey mare Go saddle her soon and make her ready For I must cross that river tonight And all to see my bonny lady And woe betide you Annan Water At night you are a gloomy river And over you I'll build a bridge That never more true love may sever He has ridden over field and fell On moor and moss and many a mile His spurs of steel were sore to bite And from the mare's feet flew the fire The mare flew over moss and moor And when she'd won the Annan Water She couldn't have ridden a furlong more Had a thousand whips been laid upon her And woe betide you Annan Water At night you are a gloomy river And over you I'll build a bridge That never more true love may sever |
 Oh boatman come put up your boat Put up your boat for gold and money For I must cross that stream tonight Or never more I'll see my Annie The sides are steep, the waters deep From bank to brae the waters pouring And your bonny grey mare she sweats for fear She stands to hear the waters roaring And woe betide you Annan Water At night you are a gloomy river And over you I'll build a bridge That never more true love may sever And he has tried to swim that stream And he swam on both strong and steady But the river was broad and strength did fail And he never saw his bonny lady Oh woe betide the willow wand And woe betide the bush of briar For it broke beneath the true lover's hand When strength did fail and limbs did tire And woe betide you Annan Water At night you are a gloomy river And over you I'll build a bridge That never more true love may sever |
| Buried in The Child Ballads, in the notes to #215, Nic Jones found and adapted this lyric, a slightly poetic version of an older ballad and turned it back into a folk song. His version on Songs And Ballads, with its eerie guitar and missing bars (an effect heightened by my exceptionally crackly copy of this rare record...) is a long way from ours but I think the song is exceptionally powerful. We didn't want to be too near the original and this was consequently the only song we recorded with bass, percussion, voice and guitar, all live. Kate Rusby also has a version of this on her most recent record. |
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