I asked my girl if she would consent for me to cross the main

VoiceColl. by Cornelia Bowman Mrs. Louella Cox Transc. by MCP Evansville, Ark. January 13, 1960 Reel 336, Item 13 The Girl I Left Behind Me I asked my girl if she would consent for me to cross the main And if she would prove true to me till I returned again, She said she would prove true to me till death did prove unkind, We kissed, shook hands, and parted, and I left my girl behind. Then I struck out for a foreign land, for Alaska I was bound, To,view that famous city of honor and renown, All labor I'll give over, all company I'll resign, And I'll roam around from town to town for the girl I left behind. Then I struck out some fu'ther on,strange faces for to see, Where handsome Margaret Riley fell deep in love with me, My pockets being empty,I thought it now . . time To stop a while and think no more of the girl I left behind. One day as we sat musing, she said, my boy, don't-grieve, For I have money aplenty to serve both you and me, Your pockets shall be loaded, all labor you'll give o'er, If you'll consent to marry me and say you'll roam no more. If I consented to marry you, than I would be to blame, And my sweet Irish lady would laugh at me for shame, I'll go and see my parents before I do resign, And take a last farewell of them and the girl I left behind. If this be true you tell to me, then you're one of the worst of men, My pockets being at your command when fortunes being too . . And I've always have maintained your cause when others run you down. Then I consented to marry her, knowing what she said was true Then I consented to marry her, for what more could I do? She's the only object of my heart, she's loving, true, and kind, But, ah, I never shall forget the girl I left behind.Funding for digitization provided by the Arkansas Humanities Council and the Happy Hollow Foundation