| |
| THERE were three young maids of Lee, | |
| They were fair as fair can be, | |
| And they had lovers three times three, | |
| For they were fair as fair can be, | |
| These three young maids of Lee. | 5 |
| But these young maids they cannot find | |
| A lover each to suit her mind; | |
| The plain-spoke lad is far too rough, | |
| The rich young lord is not rich enough, | |
| And one is too poor and one too tall, | 10 |
| And one just an inch too short for them all. | |
| “Others pick and choose and why not we?” | |
| “We can very well wait,” said the maids of Lee. | |
| There were three young maids of Lee, | |
| They were fair as fair can be, | 15 |
| And they had lovers three times three, | |
| For they were fair as fair can be, | |
| These three young maids of Lee. | |
| |
| There are three old maids of Lee, | |
| And they are old as old can be, | 20 |
| And one is deaf, and one cannot see, | |
| And they all are cross as a gallows tree, | |
| These three old maids of Lee. | |
| Now if any one chanced—’t is a chance remote— | |
| One single charm in these maids to note, | 25 |
| He need not a poet nor handsome be, | |
| For one is deaf and one cannot see; | |
| He need not woo on his bended knee, | |
| For they all are willing as willing can be. | |
| He may take the one, or the two, or the three, | 30 |
| If he’ll only take them away from Lee. | |
| There are three old maids at Lee, | |
| They are cross as cross can be, | |
| And there they are, and there they ’ll be | |
| To the end of the chapter one, two, three, | 35 |
| These three old maids of Lee. | |
| |
