Matty Groves
Letra:
[English]
A holiday, a holiday
And the first one of the year
Lord Donald's wife came into the church
The gospel for to hear
And when the meeting, it was done
She cast her eyes about
And there she saw little Matty Groves
Walking in the crowd
"Come home with me, little Matty Groves
Come home with me tonight
Come home with me, little Matty Groves
And sleep with me 'til light"
"Oh, I can't come home, I won't come home
And sleep with you tonight
By the rings on your fingers
I can tell you are Lord Donald's wife"
"But if I am Lord Donald's wife
Lord Donald's not at home
He is out in the far cornfields
Bringing the yearlings home"
...
And a servant who was standing by
And hearing what was said
He swore Lord Donald he would know
Before the sun would set
And in his hurry to carry the news
He bent his breast and ran
And when he came to the broad mill stream
He took off his shoes and he swam
...
Little Matty Groves, he lay down
And took a little sleep
When he awoke, Lord Donald
Was standing at his feet
Saying, "How do you like my feather bed
And how do you like my sheet?
How do you like my lady
Who lies in your arms asleep?"
"Oh well, I like your feather bed
And well, I like your sheets
But better I like your lady gay
Who lies in my arms asleep"
"Well, get up, get up", Lord Donald cried
"Get up as quick as you can
It'll never be said in fair England
I slew a naked man"
"Oh, I can't get up, I won't get up
I can't get up for my life
For you have two long beaten swords
And I not a pocket knife"
"Well, it's true I have two beaten swords
And they cost me deep in the purse
But you will have the better of them
And I will have the worse"
"And you will strike the very first blow
And strike it like a man
I will strike the very next blow
And I'll kill you if I can"
...
So Matty struck the very first blow
And he hurt Lord Donald sore
Lord Donald struck the very next blow
And Matty struck no more
And then Lord Donald he took his wife
And he sat her on his knee
Saying, "Who do you like the best of us
Matty Groves or me?"
And then up spoke his own dear wife
Never heard to speak so free
"I'd rather a kiss from dead Matty's lips
Than you or your finery"
...
Lord Donald, he jumped up
And loudly he did bawl
He struck his wife right through the heart
And pinned her against the wall
"A grave, a grave", Lord Donald cried
"To put these lovers in
But bury my lady at the top
For she was of noble kin"
...
Vocabulario en esta canción:
| Vocabulario | Significados |
|---|---|
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wife /waɪf/ A1 |
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home /hoʊm/ A1 |
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sleep /sliːp/ A1 |
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hear /hɪər/ A1 |
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saw /sɔː/ A1 |
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tell /tel/ A1 |
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standing /ˈstændɪŋ/ A2 |
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swore /swɔːr/ B1 |
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feet /fiːt/ A1 |
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like /laɪk/ A1 |
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cried /kraɪd/ A2 |
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swords /sɔːrdz/ B1 |
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strike /straɪk/ B1 |
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hurt /hɜːrt/ A2 |
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dead /ded/ A1 |
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heart /hɑːrt/ A2 |
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grave /ɡreɪv/ B1 |
|
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noble /ˈnoʊbl/ B2 |
|
Gramática:
-
Lord Donald's wife came into the church The gospel for to hear
➔ Uso arcaico de 'for to' + infinitivo.
➔ La frase "for to hear" es una forma más antigua y menos común de decir "in order to hear" o "to hear". Enfatiza el propósito de su venida a la iglesia.
-
"And sleep with me 'til light"
➔ Elipsis y uso arcaico de preposición ('til).
➔ La frase completa sería "until light". "'Til" es una forma abreviada y arcaica de "until". La frase también elide el sujeto y el verbo auxiliar, diciendo implícitamente "until it is light".
-
By the rings on your fingers I can tell you are Lord Donald's wife
➔ Deducción con 'can' + verbo de estado.
➔ "Can tell" expresa una deducción basada en evidencia. El hablante está usando los anillos en sus dedos como evidencia para deducir que ella es la esposa de Lord Donald. 'Can' aquí significa que es posible hacer la deducción basada en la evidencia.
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"He is out in the far cornfields Bringing the yearlings home"
➔ Presente continuo para situaciones temporales y para describir actividades en progreso.
➔ "Bringing" es el participio presente utilizado para describir la acción que Lord Donald está haciendo actualmente. Implica que la actividad está en curso y no es un estado permanente.
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"How do you like my feather bed And how do you like my sheet?"
➔ Estructura interrogativa con "How do you like..." para preguntar sobre la opinión/experiencia de alguien.
➔ Esta frase no pregunta literalmente sobre la calidad de la cama y la sábana. Es una pregunta retórica, destinada a ser provocativa, cuestionando la comodidad de Matty e implicando un desafío.
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"It'll never be said in fair England I slew a naked man"
➔ Construcción pasiva futura ('It'll be said') y modo subjuntivo (aunque no explícito, implícito en 'never be said').
➔ "It'll be said" es el futuro pasivo que indica que la acción de decir algo sucederá en el futuro. El modo subjuntivo implícito sugiere que el hablante desea evitar que suceda algo. Esta frase significa que Lord Donald no quiere que la gente diga que mató a un hombre desarmado, lo que sería deshonroso.
