Get down, get down, little Henry Lee
And stay all night with me
The very best lodging I can afford
Will be fare better'n thee

I can't get down, and I won't get down
And stay all night with thee
For the girl I have in that merry green land
I love far better'n thee

She leaned herself against a fence
Just for a kiss or two
With a little pen-knife held in her hand
She plugged him through and through

Come all you ladies in the town
A secret for me keep
With a diamond ring held on my hand
I never will forsake

Some take him by his lily-white hand
Some take him by his feet
We'll throw him in this deep, deep well
More than one hundred feet

Lie there, lie there, loving Henry Lee
'Til the flesh drops from your bones
The girl you have in that merry green land
Still waits for your return
Fly down, fly down, you little bird
And alight on my right knee
Your cage will be of purest gold
In deed of property

I can't fly down there, I won't fly down
And alight on your right knee
A girl would murder her own true love
Would kill a little bird like me

If I had my bend and bow
My arrow and my string
I'd pierce a dart so nigh your heart
Your warble would be in vain

If you had your bend and bow
Your arrow and your string
I'd fly away to the merry green land
And tell what I have seen