The Traditional Games of England, Scotland, and Ireland Volume I Part 87

Next Sunday morn to church she must gae, A babe on her knee, the best of 'a- And down goes Merrima Tansa!

Jamieson gives the game as a ring within which one goes round with a handkerchief, with which a stroke is given in succession to every one in the ring; the person who strikes, or the taker, still repeating this rhyme:-

Here I gae round the jingie ring, The jingie ring, the jingie ring, Here I gae round the jingie ring, And through my merry-ma-tanzie.

Then the handkerchief is thrown at one in the ring, who is obliged to take it up and go through the same process. He also mentions another account of the game which had been sent him, which describes the game as played in a similar manner to the versions given by Chambers.

Stewart, in his _Ben Nevis and Glencoe_, p. 361, records the following rhyme:-

Here we go with merry shout, Up and down and round about, And dance a merry-ma-tandy,

but he does not describe the game in detail.

Milking Pails

[Music]

-Monton, Lancas.h.i.+re (Miss Dendy); London (A. B. Gomme).

[Music]

-Earls Heaton, Yorks. (H. Hardy).

I. Mary's gone a-milking, Mother, mother, Mary's gone a-milking, Gentle sweet mother o' mine.

Take your pails and go after her, Daughter, daughter, Take your pails and go after her, Gentle sweet daughter o' mine.

Buy me a pair of new milking pails, Mother, mother, Buy me a pair of new milking pails, Gentle sweet mother o' mine.

Where's the money to come from, Daughter, daughter, Where's the money to come from, Gentle sweet daughter o' mine?

Sell my father's feather bed, Mother, mother, Sell my father's feather bed, Gentle sweet mother o' mine.

What's your father to sleep on, Daughter, daughter, What's your father to sleep on, Gentle sweet daughter o' mine?

Put him in the truckle bed, Mother, mother, Put him in the truckle bed, Gentle sweet mother o' mine.

What are the children to sleep on, Daughter, daughter, What are the children to sleep on, Gentle sweet daughter o' mine?

Put them in the pig-sty, Mother, mother, Put them in the pig-sty, Gentle sweet mother o' mine.

What are the pigs to lie in, Daughter, daughter, What are the pigs to lie in, Gentle sweet daughter o' mine?

Put them in the was.h.i.+ng-tubs, Mother, mother, Put them in the was.h.i.+ng-tubs, Gentle sweet mother o' mine.

What am I to wash in, Daughter, daughter, What am I to wash in, Gentle sweet daughter o' mine?

Wash in the thimble, Mother, mother, Wash in the thimble, Gentle sweet mother o' mine.

Thimble won't hold your father's s.h.i.+rt, Daughter, daughter, Thimble won't hold your father's s.h.i.+rt, Gentle sweet daughter o' mine.

Wash in the river, Mother, mother, Wash in the river, Gentle sweet mother o' mine.

Suppose the clothes should blow away, Daughter, daughter, Suppose the clothes should blow away, Gentle sweet daughter o' mine?

Set a man to watch them, Mother, mother, Set a man to watch them, Gentle sweet mother o' mine.

Suppose the man should go to sleep, Daughter, daughter, Suppose the man should go to sleep, Gentle sweet daughter o' mine?

Take a boat and go after them, Mother, mother, Take a boat and go after them, Gentle sweet mother o' mine.

Suppose the boat should be upset, Daughter, daughter, Suppose the boat should be upset, Gentle sweet daughter o' mine?

Then that would be an end of you, Mother, mother, Then that would be an end of you, Gentle sweet mother o' mine.

-London Nursemaid, 1876 (A. B. Gomme).

II. Mary's gone a-milking, a-milking, a-milking, Mary's gone a-milking, mother, dear mother of mine.

Where did she get her money from, daughter, daughter?

Where did she get her money from, daughter, dear daughter of mine?

[Then follow verses sung in the same manner, beginning with the following lines-]

Sold her father's feather bed, feather bed.

What will your father lie on, lie on?

Lay him in the pig-sty, pig-sty.

Where will the pigs lie, daughter?

Lay them in the wash-tub, mother.

What shall I wash in, wash in?

Wash in a thimble, mother.

A thimble won't hold my night-cap.

Wash by the sea-side, mother.

Suppose the clothes should blow away?

Get a boat and go after them, mother.

But suppose the boat should turn over?

Then that would be an end of you, mother.

-Bocking, Ess.e.x (_Folk-lore Record_, iii. 169).

III. Mother, please buy me a milking-can, A milking-can, a milking-can!

Mother, please buy me a milking-can, With a humpty-dumpty-daisy!

[Then follow verses sung in the same manner, beginning-]

Where's the money to come from, to come from?

Sell my father's feather bed.