Lyrics:

My young love said to me my mother won't mind
And my father won't slight you for your lack of kind
And she laid her hand on me and this she did say
It will not be long now 'til our wedding Day

And she went away from me, she moved through the fair
And fondly I watched her move here and move there
And then she went onward, just one star awake
Like the swan in the evening moves over the lake

The people were saying no two e'er were wed
But one had a sorrow that never was said
And I smiled as she passed with her goods and her gear
And that was the last that I saw of my dear

Last night she came to me, my dead love came in
So softly she came her feet made no din
And she laid her hand on me and this she did say
It will not be long now 'til our wedding day

[] Versions
Many modern versions leave out verse three with some reason.

The second line of the first verse has two versions:
And my father won't slight you for your lack of kineAnd my father won't slight you for your lack of kind
Kine is an archaic plural of cow, whereas kind in this sense refers to general goods and property, as in the same sense that one would say 'payment in kind' (rather than implying that the suitor is not pleasant or genteel). Either way, the line says that the father won't object to the marriage because the suitor is not rich. Both versions are normally considered correct.

'My dead love' in verse four is sometimes sung as 'my dear love' or 'my own love'. This may be:
Where verse three is sung, because it is already implied that she is dead, orWhen the song is sung on a happy occasion, such as a wedding, to remove the tragic aspect
Both 's version (as used in the soundtrack of the film ) and the one by change the gender of the pronouns and so the song became He Moved Through The Fair although both versions still appear as 'She Moved Through The Fair' on their respective album sleeves.

There is an alternate version of the lyrics; which are sung on the Mary Black version, as well as the Dolina Mackay version, amongst others. The lyrics are as follows:

I once had a sweetheart, I loved her right well
I loved her far better than my tongue can tell
Her parents did slight me for want of some year
Adieu to all pleasure since I lost my dear

She went away from me
And moved through the fair
Where the hand clappin' dealers'
Loud shouts rent the air
The sunlight about her did sparkle and flame
Saying it will not be long love
'till our wedding day

When dew falls on meadows
And moths fill the night
When the glow from the creosote
Is half rose and half light
I will slip from my casement and I'll run away
Then it will not be long love
'till our wedding day

I dreamt it last night, my young love came in
She came creepin' so softly
Her feet made no din
She came steppin' up to me
And this she did say
It will not be long love 'till our wedding day

When the old man recovers
The young woman leaves
Her love was too precious for one old as he
The only remembrance
Her shoes in the rain
He should not have tried her
He won't come again