Early One Morning - Chords, Lyrics and Origins

Origins

Early One Morning is an old English folk song.  Somewhat oddly, it has been used in a variety of unlikely TV programmes including Bonanza, Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Bewitched.  Like Spanish Ladies, it is a song from the folk tradition that has found its way into the classical music cannon, in this case thanks largely to Benjamin Britten. 

Chords

D
Early one morning,

       G                       A7
Just as the sun was rising,

  D
I heard a maid sing

           G  A7    D
In the valley below.



Chorus

A7                D
Oh, don't deceive me,

A7            D
Oh, never leave me.

D                       G
How could you use

   A7                  D             G   A7   D
A poor maiden so?

Lyrics

Early one morning,
Just as the sun was rising,
I heard a maid sing
In the valley below.

Oh, don't deceive me,
Oh, never leave me.
How could you use
A poor maiden so?

Remember the vows
That you made to your Mary.
Remember the bower
Where you promised to be true.

Oh, don't deceive me,
Oh, never leave me.
How could you use
A poor maiden so?

Gay is the garland,
And fresh are the daisies,
I've culled from the garden
To bind on thy brow.

Oh, don't deceive me,
Oh, never leave me.
How could you use
A poor maiden so?

Thus sang the maiden,
Her sorrows bewailing,
Thus sang the maid
In the valley below.

Oh, don't deceive me,
Oh, never leave me.
How could you use
A poor maiden so?

Early one morning,
Just as the sun was rising,
I heard a maid sing,
In the valley below.