Culverake explains the song: "originally sung by Jeff Wesley in 1988, we first heard this performed by Jimmy Aldridge and Sid Goldsmith. This song rooted firmly in East Anglia, explores the dichotomy of whether to choose love or heed the call of the road. Our version leans into the beautiful melancholy described by the protagonist with a pensive feel and crunchy harmonies in the third verse to emphasise the tension between duty and freedom."
Come all you young fellows who intend to start roaming
Pray pay attention and listen to me
For I once loved a girl and I would have married
But I belonged to the road and I had to be free
For I was a tinker, a-fixing and mending
Camped by a village and earning my pay
While she had a house and a father to care for
The reed cutter’s daughter from Hoveton Way
For the times they are hard when a girl loves a rover
When really she shouldn’t and knows that it’s so
Each night as the sun sets to me she should wander
And each morn as it rose to the house she would go
I knew that someday we’d be sad for the parting
Each morn I would wish and each night I would pray
So happy together with this blue eyed maiden
The reed cutter’s daughter from Hoveton Way
When I think on the short time that we spent together
Often a frown passes over my brow
She told me that some day I’d grow to forget her
But many’s the time that I think of her now
I was cruel to be kind when the time came for parting
With a kiss and a smile and I’ll see you again
But just as I found her I left her a-standing
The reed cutter’s daughter from Hoveton Way
Yes I thought it was cruel now I see it was kindness
For she could not leave and I could not stay
But ofttimes I wonder if I’m still remembered
By the reed cutter’s daughter from Hoveton Way
