The Bailiff's Daughter of Islington

"The Bailiff's Daughter of Islington" is a traditional English folk song.

The ballad concerns a young squire's son who falls in love with a bailiff's daughter from Islington, to the north of London.

There a seven-year apprenticeship affords him worldly success, although servitude sharpens his ardour for the maiden he once knew.

The youth is heartbroken and offhandedly pledges the girl his horse and tack, for he feels like nothing but departing into exile.

[1] One celebrated recording was by Owen Brannigan and Elizabeth Harwood under Sir Charles Mackerras in 1964.