Folk & Traditional Song Lyrics www.traditionalmusic.co.uk I Would that the Wars Were All Done 
I Would that the Wars Were All Done 
In the meadow one morning when pearly the dew A fair pretty maid plucked violets blue I've heard her clear voice making all the wood ring "Oh my love is in Flanders to fight for the king 
cho: And I would that the wars were well over Oh I would that the wars were all done 
I plucked the red robin so jaunty and gay Yet I have my Robin but he's far away His jacket is red and his cheeks as the rose He sings of his Nell as to battle he goes 
Ten thousands of blue bells to welcome the spring Oh when will the church bells of victory ring And the soldiers return and all England rejoice Oh then I'll be wed to the lad of my choice 
recorded by Roy Harris on "The Rambling Soldier" (1979) 
"The tradition has a fair stock of jingoistic songs but this one finds the folk getting closer to reality with a heartfelt longing for peace. The song appears to belong to the latter half of the eighteenth century. It was collected by Rev. Baring-Gould towards the end of the nineteenth century." - Paul Adams 
MJ