The water is wide, I cannot cross over,
And neither have I wings to fly,
Give me a boat that can carry two,
And both shall row - my love and I.
A ship there was, and she sails the sea,
She's loaded deep as deep can be,
But not so deep as the love I'm in,
And I know not how, I sink or swim.
I leaned my back up against some young oak,
Thinking he was a trusty tree,
But first he bended and then he broke,
And thus did my false love to me.
Oh, love is handsome, love is fine,
Gay as a jewel, when first it is new,
But love grows old, and waxes cold,
And fades away, like summer dew.