Reece intended this as a sort of parody of "The Unquiet Grave," Child Ballad 78.  The first four lines, which I've turned into a repeating chorus, are taken from that old ballad.

Lyrics

I’ll Do as Much for My True-Love
 
 
I’ll do as much for my true-love
As any a young man may;
I’ll sit and mourn all at her grave
For a twelvemonth and a day.
 
Yet as he sat the grave beside
A day but barely one
He said, “It’s hard to sit and grieve
While my hawk wheels toward the sun.”
 
But still he sat the grave beside
Where his true-love was lain;
O still he sat the grave beside
And his tears fell down like rain.
 
Now as he sat the grave beside
And wept upon the ground
He said, “It’s hard to weep two days
And the fox before the hound.”
 
But still he sat the grave beside
As he had sworn to do;
O still he sat the grave beside
And his tears fell down like dew.
 
As he sat by the grave’s side
Nor wiped his eyes at all
He said, “It’s hard to weep three days
While my horse waits in the stall.”
 
Still he sat by the grave-side
Of her whom he had kissed;
O still he sat the grave beside
And his tears fell down like mist.
 
The fourth day by the grave’s side
The tears dried on his cheek.
He said, “I mind another maid
With whom I used to speak.
 
“It’s hard to weep four long, long days
Beside a clay-cold form;
It’s hard to love a clay-cold maid
While living maids are warm.”
 

His first love in her clay-cold bower
He’s left to take her rest;
He’s plucked to him a second flower
To wear against his breast.