Once I knew a pretty girl   I loved her as my life   I'd gladly give my heart and hand   To make her my wife   Ooh, to make her my wife      She took me by the hand   She led me to the door   She put her arms around me   Saying, "Please don't come no more"   Ooh, Please, come no more      Well, I'd not been gone    But about six months   When she did complain   And she wrote me a letter   Saying, "please come back again."   Ooh, Please, come again      So I sent her an answer   Just for to let her know   That no young man should venture   Where once he could not go   Ooh, Where once he could not go.      So come all you young lovers   Take a warning from me   And never hang your affections   On a green, growing tree   Ooh, on a green, growing tree      For the leaves they will wither   Roots will decay   And the beauty of a young girl   Will soon fade away   Ooh, will soon fade away