“I dare not dance, I dare not stay,
To-morrow is my bridal day.”
Gaily they dance in the greenwood.
“Sir Olaf, if thou wilt dance with me,
A silken shirt I’ll give to thee.”
Gaily they dance in the greenwood.
“A silken shirt so fair and fine,
Which my mother bleach’d in the pale moon-shine.”
Gaily they dance in the greenwood.
“I dare not dance, I must away,
To-morrow is my bridal day.”
Gaily they dance in the greenwood.
“Sir Olaf, if thou wilt dance with me,
A helm of gold I’ll give to thee.”
Gaily they dance in the greenwood.
“A helm of gold is a bonny thing,
But I dare not tread the elfin ring.”
Gaily they dance in the greenwood.
“And if thou wilt not dance with me,
Disease and death shall follow thee.”
Gaily they dance in the greenwood.
She struck him on the shoulder bone,
Fiercer pain he ne’er had known.
Gaily they dance in the greenwood.
Upon his steed she lifts the knight,
“Now hie thee home to thy heart’s delight.”
Gaily they dance in the greenwood.
And when he came to his home so late,
His mother stood at the castle gate.
Gaily they dance in the greenwood.