1.  Oh, where have you been, Billy Boy, Billy Boy?
     Oh, where have you been, charming Billy?
     I have been to seek a wife, 
             she's the joy of my life,
     She's a young thing and cannot leave her mother.

2.  Is she fit to be your love, Billy Boy, Billy Boy?
     Is she fit to be your live, charming Billy?
     She's as fit to be my love, 
             as my hand is for my glove,
     She's a young thing and cannot leave her mother.

3.  Is she fit to be your wife, etc.
     She's as fit to be my wife, 
             as my blade is for my knife, etc.

4.  Did she ask you to come in, etc.
     Yes, she asked me to come in, 
             with a dimple in her chin, etc.

5.  Did she set you in a chair, etc.
     Yes, she set me in a chair, 
             she had wrinkles in her ear, etc.

6.  Did she ask you for to eat, etc.
     Yes, she asked me for to eat, 
             she had plenty bread and meat, etc.

7.  Can she make a pot roast well, etc.
     Yes, she can make a pot roast well, 
              I can tell it by the smell, etc.

8.  Can she make a cherry pie, etc.
     Yes, she can make a cherry pie, 
             in the twinkling of an eye, etc.

9.  Can she brew and can she bake, etc.
     Yes, she can brew and she can bake, 
             she can make our wedding-cake, etc.

11.  Can she hem and can she fell, etc.   (fell = seam) 
       Yes, she can hem and she can fell, 
               she can use her needle well, etc.

12.  Can she card and can she spin, etc.
       Yes, she can card and she can spin, 
               she can make it thick or thin, etc.

13.  Can she make-up her own bed, etc.
       Yes, she can make-up her own bed, 
               with the pillows at the head, etc.

14.  Can she tend a flower-bed, etc.
       Yes, she can tend a flower-bed, 
             full or roses, glory-red, etc.

15.  Can she read and can she write, etc.
       Yes, she can read and she can write, 
              and look pretty day and night, etc.

16.  Can she dance and can she sing, etc.
       Yes, she can dance and she can sing, 
              she can do most anything, etc.

17.  How tall is she, etc.
      She's just tall enough to kiss, 
              and to hug her is pure bliss, etc.

18.  How old is she, etc.
       She's three times six, four times seven, 
               twenty-eight and eleven, etc.
       She's a young thing and cannot leave her mother.