Attributed to Mrs Francis Habergham of Lancaster (late 1600s), here is an interesting old song that delivers both a warning and a coded message to women who found themselves in a tight spot. Rue, the herb of which it speaks (also known as herb-of-grace) was traditionally used as an abortifacient...a risky method of dealing with unwanted pregnancy by today's standards, but a readily available and discreet option in centuries past...
lyrics
Beware, young maids, beware!
Beware and read my rhyme
And see that you keep your garden well
Let no man steal your thyme.
Oh when my thyme was new
It flourished night and day
'Til by there came a false young man
And he stole my thyme away.
And now my thyme's all gone
And I can plant no new
And the very place where my thyme was set
Well it's all overrun with rue.
And rue runs over all
And nothing can it stop
But there grows a flower in my father's garden
They call it the fair maid's hope.
Now spring up hope, say I
And be not afraid of rue,
And if ever that young man
Should come this way again
Well he'll surely find me true!
Well he'll surely find me true!
credits
from Book One,
released July 22, 2023
Fiddle - Jo Burke
Double bass - Alice Eldridge
Drums - Nick Franklin
Guitar/vocals - Mary Hampton
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