No. 47 Weeping Mary (B), Swp 102
Hexatonic, mode 2 A (I II 3 IV V — 7)
When weeping Mary came to seek
Her loving Lord and Savior,
’Twas early in the morning she
In tears to gain his favor.
With guards and soldiers placed around
The tomb that held the body
Of him whom she thought under ground,
By wicked hands all bloody.
But how her aching heart was torn,
To find the tomb was empty,
In solemn silence did she mourn,
As onward she did venture.
’Twas angels in bright raiment shone,
Anticipate [imagine?] her sorrow,
And said, why doth this creature mourn,
And why this gloomy horror.
Whom seek’st thou, Mary, they did say,
And why this solemn mourning?
Because they’ve took my Lord away,
I thought to see this morning.
He, standing by her, though unknown,
She thought it was the gardener;
In flowing tears she made her moan,
Not knowing ’twas her partner.
I’ll grieve, and my poor Mary said,
’Till I know where they laid him;
And quickly turning round her head,
Began for to upbraid him.
Whom seek’st thou, Mary? said the Son;
She then perceived her Savior,
And quickly to his feet she run,
Not fearing harm or danger.
And now, like Mary, let us go
And kiss the feet of Jesus,
That we may hear his word also,
Which he delights to give us.
From God we have the word of life,
Through Christ the Mediator;
Like him we hope to die and rise,
And dwell with the Creator.
A version of both tune and words is found in Ingalls’ Christian Harmony of 1805, p. 73. Its seventh and eighth stanzas, reminding of the above text, are:
When weeping Mary came to seek
Her Lord with a perfume,
The napkin and the sheet she found
Together in the tomb.
The angels said, he is not here;
He’s risen from the dead;
And streams of grace to sinners flow,
As free as did his blood.
The tune shows unmistakable family resemblance to a number of secular folk-melodies. See for example the score of ‘Daemon Lover’ tunes, Sharp, i., pp. 244-258; ‘Lady Maisry’, Sharp, i., 97; ‘Locks and Bolts’, Sharp, ii., 17; ‘Betty Anne’, Sharp, ii., 37; ‘Swing a Lady’, Sharp, ii., 379.