The king has been a prisoner
And a prisoner long in Spain
And Willie of the Winsbury
Has lain long with his daughter Jane
“What ails you, what ails you, my daughter Jane?
Why you look so pale and wan?
Oh have you had any ill sickness?
Or yet been sleeping with a man?”
“I have not had any ill sickness
Nor yet been sleeping with a man
It is for you my father dear
For biding so long in Spain”
“Cast off, cast off your robe and gown
Stand naked on the stone
That I might know you by your shape
If you be a maiden or none”
And she’s cast off her robe and gown
Stood naked on the stone
Her apron was tight and her waist was round
Her face was pale and wan
“And was it with a lord or a gentleman
Or a man of wealth and fame?
Or was it with one of my servingmen
While I was a prisoner in Spain?”
“No it wasn’t with a lord or a gentleman
Or a man of wealth and fame
It was with Willie of Winsbury
I could bide no longer alone”
And the king has called his servingmen
By one, by two and by three
Saying, “Where is this Willie of Winsbury?
For hanged he shall be”
And when they came before the king
By one, by two and by three
Willie should have been the first of them
But the last of them was he
And Willie of the Winsbury
All dressed up in red silk
His hair hung like the strands of gold

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