When I was eighteen years old

1. When I was eighteen,
I wanted to get married.
Twelve girls were asked to marry me,
All twelve of them turned me down.

2. The first one was short, that was a problem,
The second one was brown, that was a problem.
The third one turned my eyes blue,
The fourth one reduced my wealth.

3. The fifth one, I didn't come on horseback,
The sixth one, I don't have a mother.
The seventh one doesn't need cigarette smoke,
The eighth one wants a curly-haired guy.

4. Ninth, that I am an outlaw,
Tenth, that I am a knight.
Eleventh, his mother will not give him,
Twelfth, he will never marry.

5. So I will never have a wife,
I will fill my life with sorrow.
I will fill the world with sorrow,
I will enlist as a soldier.