Come all you fair and tender ladies
Be careful how you court young men
They're like the stars on a summer's morning
They first appear and then they're gone

They'll tell to you some flattering story
And then declare they love you well
Away they'll go and court some other
And leave you hear in grief to dwell

I wish to the lord I'd never seen him
Or in his cradle he had died
To think a fair and tender lady
Did fall in love and was denied

I wish I was a little sparrow
And one of them that could fly so high
I would fly away to my true love's dwelling
When he would speak I'd be close by

But I am none of those little sparrows
And none of those that fly so high
So I'll sit down in grief and sorrow
And hope my morrow will pass by

Oh love is handsome and love is charming
And love's a beauty when first it's new
But love grows older and love grows colder
It fades away like the morning dew

Come all you fair and tender ladies
Be careful how you court young men
They're like the stars on a summer's morning
They first appear and then they're gone