A bunch of roses she shall wear;
I know who I'll take.
Give her kisses,--one, two, three,--
For she's a lady's daughter.
Roses in, and roses out,
Roses in a garden;
I would not give a bunch of roses
For twopence halfpenny "farden."
--Nairn (Rev. W. Gregor).
(_c_) The players form a ring, one child stands in the centre, who
chooses a sweetheart from the ring when the fifth line is sung; the two
kiss, the first child takes her place in the ring, the second child
remains in the centre, and the game begins again. This is the method
adopted in most of the versions. The Symondsbury game is slightly
different; the first part is the same, but when the last line is sung
the child who was first in the middle must run away and take a place in
the ring as soon as she can. The second one remains in the centre. The
Maxey (Northants.) version is altogether different. All the children but
one stand in a row. The one stands in front of them and sings the lines
by herself; at the last line she selects one from the line by naming
her. These two then sing the lines, "swinging round," so described by
Mr. Sweeting's informant. They then select a third when singing the last
line, and the three then swing round. This is repeated till all the
children from the line come into the ring.
In the Scotch versions the players all stand in a line, with one in
front, and sing. At the end of the fourth line the one in front chooses
one from the line, and all again sing, mentioning the name of the one
chosen (Fraserburgh). At Cullen, one child stands out of the line and
goes backwards and forwards singing, then chooses her partner, and the
two go round the line singing.
(_d_) A version which I collected in Barnes is not so perfect as those
given here, only the four first lines being sung. A Kentish version sent
me by Miss Broadwood is almost identical with the Deptford game. Miss
Broadwood's version commences--
Rosy apple, miller, miller, pear.
An Ipswich version is almost identical with that of Hersham, Surrey
(Lady C. Gurdon's _Suffolk County Folk-lore_, p. 64), except that it
begins "Golden apple" and ends with the marriage formula--
Now you're married, I wish you joy,
Father and mother you must obey;
Love one another like sister and brother,
And now's the time to kiss away.
(_e_) This game is probably derived from the mode of dressing the bride
in the marriage ceremony, and is not very ancient. The line "Lead her to
the altar" probably indicates the earliest version, corrupted later into
"Lead her across the water," and this would prove a comparatively modern
origin. If, however, the "altar" version is a corruption of the "water"
version, the game may go back to the pre-Christian marriage ceremony,
but of this there is little evidence.
Roundabout, or Cheshire Round
This is danced by two only, one of each sex; after leading off into the
middle of an imaginary circle, and dancing a short time opposite to each
other, the one strives by celerity of steps in the circumference of the
circle to overtake and chase the other round it; the other in the
meantime endeavouring to maintain an opposite situation by equal
celerity in receding.--Roberts' _Cambrian Popular Antiquities_, p. 46.
Halliwell gives Round, a kind of dance. "The round dance, or the dancing
of the rounds."--_Nomenclator_, 1585, p. 299. There was a sort of song
or ballad also so called.--_Dict. Provincialisms._
Round and Round the Village
[Music]
--Barnes, Surrey (A. B. Gomme).
[Music]
--Hanbury, Staff. (Edith Hollis).
I. Round and round the village,
Round and round the village;
Round and round the village,
As we have done before.
In and out the windows,
In and out the windows;
In and out the windows,
As we have done before.
Stand and face your lover,
Stand and face your lover;
Stand and face your lover,
As we have done before.
Follow her to London,
Follow her to London;
Follow her to London,
As we have done before.
Kiss her before you leave her,
Kiss her before you leave her;
Kiss her before you leave her,
As we have done before.
--Barnes, Surrey (taken down from children of village school--A. B.
Gomme).
II. Round and round the village,
Round and round the village;
Round and round the village,
As you have done before.
In and out the window,
In and out the window;
In and out the window,
As you have done before.
Stand and face your lover,
Stand and face your lover;
Stand and face your lover,
As you have done before.
--Deptford, Kent (Miss Chase).
III. Round and round the village,
In and out of the window;
Stand and face your lover,
As you have done before.
Stand and face your lover,
Stand and face your lover;
Oh, stand and face your lover,
As you have done before.
Follow me to London,
Follow me to London;
Oh, follow me to London,
As you have done before.
--Wakefield, Yorks. (Miss Fowler).
IV. Round and round the village,
In and out of the window;
Stand and face your lover,
As you have done before;
Oh, stand and face your lover,
As you have done before, O.
Follow me to London,
Follow me to London;
Follow me to London,
As you have done before.
--Winterton and Bottesford, Lincolnshire (Miss M. Peacock).
V. Round and round the village,
Round and round the village;
Round and round the village,
As you have done before.
In and out the windows,
In and out the windows;
In and out the windows,
As you have done before.
Stand and face your lover,
Stand and face your lover;
Stand and face your lover,
As you have done before.
Shake hands with your lover,
Shake hands with your lover;
Shake hands with your lover,
As you have done before.
--From girls of Clapham High School (Miss F. D. Richardson).
VI. Out and in the villages,
Out and in the villages;
Out and in the villages,
As you have done before.
Out and in the windows,
Out and in the windows;
Out and in the windows,
As you have done before.
Stand before your lover,
Stand before your lover;
Stand before your lover,
As you have done before.
--Cullen (Rev. W. Gregor).
VII. Go round and round the village,
Go round and round the village,
As we have done before.
Go in and out the window,
Go in and out the window,
As we have done before.
Come in and face your lover,
Come in and face your lover,
As we have done before.
I measure my love to show you,
I measure my love to show you,
As we have done before.
I kneel because I love you,
I kneel because I love you,
As we have done before.
Follow me to London,
Follow me to London,
As we have done before.
Back again to Westerham,
Back again to Westerham,
As we have done before.
--Crockham Hill, Kent (Miss Chase).
VIII. Walking round the village,
Walking round the village;
Walking round the village,
As we have done before.
In and out the windows,
In and out the windows;
In and out the windows,
As you have done before.
Stand and face your lover,
Stand and face your lover;
Stand and face your lover,
As you have done before.
Now they go off courting,
Now they go off courting;
Now they go off courting,
As they have done before.
Chase her back to Scotland,
Chase her back to Scotland;
Chase her back to Scotland,
As you have done before.
--Penzance, Cornwall (Mrs. Mabbott).
IX. Round about the village,
Round about the village;
Round about the village,
As you have done before.
In and out of the windows,
In and out of the windows;
In and out of the windows,
As you have done before.
I stand before my lover,
I stand before my lover;
I stand before my lover,
As I have done before.
Follow me to London,
Follow me to London;
Follow me to London,
As you have done before.
Dance away to Fairyland,
Dance away to Fairyland;
Dance away to Fairyland,
As we have done before.
--Stevenage, Herts. (Mrs. Lloyd, taught to a friend's children by a
nurse from Stevenage).
X. All round the village,
All round the village;
All round the village,
As we have done before.
In and out of the window,
In and out of the window;
In and out of the window,
As we have done before.
Stand and face your lover,
Stand and face your lover;
Stand and face your lover,
As we have done before.
Kiss her if you love her,
Kiss her if you love her;
Kiss her if you love her,
As we have done before.
Take her off to London,
Take her off to London;
Take her off to London,
As we have done before.
--Earls Heaton, Yorks. (Herbert Hardy).
XI. All round the village,
All round the village;
All round the village,
As you have done before.
In and out the windows,
In and out the windows;
In and out the windows,
As you have done before.
Stand and face your lover,
Stand and face your lover;
Stand and face your lover,
As you have done before.
Follow her to London,
Follow her to London;
Follow her to London,
As you have done before.
--Tean, North Staffs, (from a Monitor in the School).
XII. Round and round the village, &c.,
As you have done before.
In and out the windows, as you have done before.
Stand and face your lover, &c.
Follow me to London, &c.
--Roxton, St. Neots (Miss E. Lumley).
XIII. Out and in the windows,
Out and in the windows;
Out and in the windows,
As you have done before.
Stand before your lover,
Stand before your lover;
Stand before your lover,
As you have done before.
Follow her to London,
Follow her to London;
Follow her to London,
Before the break of day.
--Fraserburgh (Rev. W. Gregor).
XIV. In and out of the window,
In and out of the window;
In and out of the window,
As you have done before.
Stand and face your lover,
Stand and face your lover;
Stand and face your lover,
As you have done before.
Give me a kiss, my darling,
Give me a kiss, my darling;
Give me a kiss, my darling,
As you have done before.
Follow me to London,
Follow me to London;
Follow me to London,
As you have done before.
--Hanbury, Staffordshire (Miss E. Hollis).
XV. Marching round the ladies,
Marching round the ladies, as you have done before.
In and out the windows,
In and out the windows, as you have done before.
Stand and face your lover,
Stand and face your lover, as you have done before.
Follow me to London,
Follow me to London, as you have done before.
Bring me back to Belfast,
Bring me back to Belfast, as you have done before.
--Belfast, Ireland (W. R. Patterson).
XVI. Come gather again on the old village green,
Come young and come old, who once children have been.
Such frolics and games as ne'er before were seen,
We join in riots and play [? riotous].
Take her off to London,
Take her off to London,
Take her off to London.
In and out the windows,
In and out the windows;
In and out the windows,
As you have gone before.
Round about the village,
Round about the village;
Round about the village,
As you have gone before.
Soon we will get married,
Soon we will get married;
Soon we will get married,
And never more depart.
--Sporle, Norfolk (Miss Matthews).
XVII. Three jolly sailor boys
Lately come ashore,
Spend their time in drinking lager wine,
As they have done before.
We go round, and round, and round,
As we have done before;
And this is a girl, and a very pretty girl,
A kiss for kneeling there.
Go in and out the window,
Go in and out the window;
Go in and out the window,
As we have done before.
Follow me to London,
Follow me to London;
Follow me to London,
As we have done before.
Go back and face your lover,
Go back and face your lover;
Go back and face your lover,
As we have done before.
--Brigg (from a Lincolnshire friend of Miss J. Barker).
XVIII. Up and down the valley,
Up and down the valley;
Up and down the valley,
As I have done before.
In and out the window,
In and out the window;
In and out the window,
As I have done before.
Stand and face your lover,
Stand and face your lover;
Stand and face your lover,
As I have done before.
Follow me to London,
Follow me to London;
Follow me to London,
As I have done before.
--Settle, Yorks. (Rev. W. S. Sykes).
XIX. In and out the willows,
In and out the willows;
In and out the willows,
As you have done before.
Stand and face your lover,
Stand and face your lover;
Stand and face your lover,
As you have done before.
Follow me to London,
Follow me to London;
Follow me to London,
As you have done before.
--West Grinstead, Sussex (_Notes and Queries_, 8th Series, i. 249, Miss
Busk).
[Illustration: Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5]
(_c_) The children join hands and form a ring with one child standing
outside. The ring stands perfectly still throughout this game and sings
the verses, the action being confined to at first one child, and then to
two together. During the singing of the first verse the outside child
dances round the ring on the outside. When the ring commences to sing
the second verse the children hold up their arms to form arches, and the
child who has been running round outside runs into the ring under one
pair of joined hands, and out again under the next pair of arms,
continuing this "in and out" movement until the third verse is
commenced. The child should try and run in and out under all the joined
hands. At the third verse the child stops in the ring and stands facing
one, whom she chooses for her lover, until the end of the verse; the
chosen child then leaves the ring, followed by the first child, and they
walk round the ring, or they walk away a little distance, returning at
the commencement of next verse. In the first three versions the second
child is chased back and caught by the first child. In the Clapham
version the two shake hands in the last verse. The Barnes version has
kissing for its finale. The Hanbury also has kissing, but it precedes
the following to London. In the Brigg, Lincolnshire (Miss Barker), a
child stands in the middle and points with her finger to each one she
passes; finally selects one, who leaves the ring and kneels in front of
the girl in the middle. At the end of the second verse the kneeling
child gets up and the first child goes in and out under the arms of the
players, followed by the other. At the fourth they reverse and go back
under the arms in the opposite direction, finally stopping in the middle
of the ring, when another child is chosen and the first one in goes out.
In the Winterton and Bottesford versions (Miss Peacock), at the words
"Stand and face your lover," the child who has been going "in and out"
stands before the one she chooses, beckons to her, and sings the next
verse. Then the chosen one chases her until she can catch her. In the
Crockham Hill version (Miss Chase) the love is measured out with a
handkerchief three times, and after kneeling in the road, the chosen
partner follows round the ring and reverses for the return.
(_d_) The analysis of the game-rhymes is on pp. 134-39. This shows that
we are dealing with a game which represents a village, and also the
houses in it. The village only disappears in six out of the twenty
versions. In three of these (Hanbury, Fraserburgh, and West Grinstead)
the line has gone altogether. In the fourth (Lincolnshire) it becomes
"Round and round and round," no mention being made of the village. In
the fifth (Belfast) the line has become "Marching round the ladies." In
the sixth (Settle) it has become "Up and down the valley," which also
occurs in another imperfect version, of which a note was sent me by Miss
Matthews from the Forest of Dean, where the line has become "Round and
round the valley." The substitution of "ladies" for "village" is very
significant as evidence that the game, like all its compeers, is in a
declining stage, and is, therefore, not the invention of modern times.
The idea of a circle of children representing a village would
necessarily be the first to die out if the game was no longer supported
by the influence of any custom it might represent. The line of decadence
becomes in this way an important argument for the discovery of the
original form.
+---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+
|No.| Cornwall, Penzance. | Kent, Crockham Hill. | Herts, Stevenage. |
+---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+
| 1.| -- | -- | -- |
| 2.|Walking round the |Go round and round the|Round about the |
| |village. |village. |village. |
| 3.| -- | -- | -- |
| 4.| -- | -- | -- |
| 5.| -- | -- | -- |
| 6.| -- | -- | -- |
| 7.|As we have done |As we have done |As you have done |
| |before. |before. |before. |
| 8.| -- | -- | -- |
| 9.| -- | -- | -- |
|10.|In and out the |Go in and out the |In and out of the |
| |windows. |windows. |windows. |
|11.| -- | -- | -- |
|12.|As you have done |As we have done |As you have done |
| |before. |before. |before. |
|13.|Stand and face your | -- |Stand before my lover.|
| |lover. | | |
|14.| -- |Come in and face your | -- |
| | |lover. | |
|15.| -- | -- | -- |
|16.|As you have done |As we have done |As I have done before.|
| |before. |before. | |
|17.|Now they go off | -- | -- |
| |courting. | | |
|18.| -- |I measure my love to | -- |
| | |show you. | |
|19.| -- | -- | -- |
|20.| -- | -- | -- |
|21.| -- | -- | -- |
|22.| -- | -- | -- |
|23.|As they have done |As we have done | -- |
| |before. |before. | |
|24.| -- |I kneel because I love| -- |
| | |you. | |
|25.| -- |As we have done | -- |
| | |before. | |
|26.|Chase her back to | -- | -- |
| |Scotland. | | |
|27.| -- |Follow me to London. |Follow me to London. |
|28.| -- | -- | -- |
|29.|As you have done |As we have done |As you have done |
| |before. |before. |before. |
|30.| -- | -- | -- |
|31.| -- |Back again to | -- |
| | |Westerham. | |
|32.| -- | -- |Dance away to |
| | | |fairyland. |
|33.| -- | -- | -- |
|34.| -- |As we have done |As we have done |
| | |before. |before. |
+---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+
+---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+
|No.| Yorks, Earls Heaton. | N. Staffordshire, | Surrey, Clapham. |
| | | Tean. | |
+---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+
| 1.| -- | -- | -- |
| 2.|All round the village.|All round the village.|Round and round the |
| | | |village. |
| 3.| -- | -- | -- |
| 4.| -- | -- | -- |
| 5.| -- | -- | -- |
| 6.| -- | -- | -- |
| 7.|As we have done |As you have done |As you have done |
| |before. |before. |before. |
| 8.| -- | -- | -- |
| 9.| -- | -- | -- |
|10.|In and out of the |In and out the window.|In and out the window.|
| |window. | | |
|11.| -- | -- | -- |
|12.|As we have done |As you have done |As you have done |
| |before. |before. |before. |
|13.|Stand and face your |Stand and face your |Stand and face your |
| |lover. |lover. |lover. |
|14.| -- | -- | -- |
|15.| -- | -- | -- |
|16.|As we have done |As you have done |As you have done |
| |before. |before. |before. |
|17.| -- | -- | -- |
|18.| -- | -- | -- |
|19.|Kiss her if you love | -- | -- |
| |her. | | |
|20.| -- | -- |Shake hands with your |
| | | |lover. |
|21.| -- | -- | -- |
|22.| -- | -- | -- |
|23.|As we have done | -- |As you have done |
| |before. | |before. |
|24.| -- | -- | -- |
|25.| -- | -- | -- |
|26.| -- | -- | -- |
|27.| -- |Follow her to London. | -- |
|28.|Take her off to | -- | -- |
| |London. | | |
|29.|As we have done |As you have done | -- |
| |before. |before. | |
|30.| -- | -- | -- |
|31.| -- | -- | -- |
|32.| -- | -- | -- |
|33.| -- | -- | -- |
|34.| -- | -- | -- |
+---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+
+---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+
|No.| Lincolnshire. | Surrey, Barnes. | Norfolk, Sporle. |
+---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+
| 1.|Three jolly sailor | -- |Come gather again on |
| |boys. | |the old village green.|
| 2.| -- |Round and round the |Round about the |
| | |village. |village. |
| 3.| -- | -- | -- |
| 4.| -- | -- | -- |
| 5.|We go round and round | -- | -- |
| |and round. | | |
| 6.| -- | -- | -- |
| 7.|As we have done |As we have done |As you have done |
| |before. |before. |before. |
| 8.|And this a girl and a | -- | -- |
| |very pretty girl. | | |
| 9.|A kiss for kneeling | -- | -- |
| |here. | | |
|10.|Go in and out the |In and out the |In and out the |
| |window. |windows. |windows. |
|11.| -- | -- | -- |
|12.|As we have done |As we have done |As you have done |
| |before. |before. |before. |
|13.| -- |Stand and face your | -- |
| | |lover. | |
|14.| -- | -- | -- |
|15.|Go back and face your | -- | -- |
| |lover. | | |
|16.|As we have done |As we have done | -- |
| |before. |before. | |
|17.| -- | -- | -- |
|18.| -- | -- | -- |
|19.| -- |Kiss her before you | -- |
| | |leave her. | |
|20.| -- | -- | -- |
|21.| -- | -- |Soon we will get |
| | | |married. |
|22.| -- | -- | -- |
|23.| -- |As we have done | -- |
| | |before. | |
|24.| -- | -- | -- |
|25.| -- | -- | -- |
|26.| -- | -- | -- |
|27.|Follow me to London. |Follow her to London. | -- |
|28.| -- | -- |Take her off to |
| | | |London. |
|29.|As we have done |As we have done | -- |
| |before. |before. | |
|30.| -- | -- | -- |
|31.| -- | -- | -- |
|32.| -- | -- | -- |
|33.| -- | -- | -- |
|34.| -- | -- | -- |
+---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+
+---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+
|No.| Staffordshire, | Belfast. | Wakefield. |
| | Hanbury. | | |
+---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+
| 1.| -- | -- | -- |
| 2.| -- | -- |Round and round the |
| | | |village. |
| 3.| -- | -- | -- |
| 4.| -- | -- | -- |
| 5.| -- | -- | -- |
| 6.| -- |Marching round the | -- |
| | |ladies. | |
| 7.| -- |As you have done | -- |
| | |before. | |
| 8.| -- | -- | -- |
| 9.| -- | -- | -- |
|10.|In and out of the |In and out the |In and out of the |
| |windows. |windows. |window. |
|11.| -- | -- | -- |
|12.|As you have done |As you have done | -- |
| |before. |before. | |
|13.|Stand and face your |Stand and face your |Stand and face your |
| |lover. |lover. |lover. |
|14.| -- | -- | -- |
|15.| -- | -- | -- |
|16.|As you have done |As you have done |As you have done |
| |before. |before. |before. |
|17.| -- | -- | -- |
|18.| -- | -- | -- |
|19.| -- | -- | -- |
|20.| -- | -- | -- |
|21.| -- | -- | -- |
|22.|Give me a kiss, my | -- | -- |
| |darling. | | |
|23.|As you have done | -- | -- |
| |before. | | |
|24.| -- | -- | -- |
|25.| -- | -- | -- |
|26.| -- | -- | -- |
|27.|Follow me to London. |Follow me to London. |Follow me to London. |
|28.| -- | -- | -- |
|29.|As you have done |As you have done |As you have done |
| |before. |before. |before. |
|30.| -- | -- | -- |
|31.| -- | -- | -- |
|32.| -- | -- | -- |
|33.| -- |Bring me back to | -- |
| | |Belfast. | |
|34.| -- |As you have done | -- |
| | |before. | |
+---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+
+---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+
|No.| Lincolnshire, | Deptford. | Cullen. |
| | Winterton. | | |
+---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+
| 1.| -- | -- | -- |
| 2.|Round and round the |Round and round the | -- |
| |village. |village. | |
| 3.| -- | -- | -- |
| 4.| -- | -- |Out and in the |
| | | |villages. |
| 5.| -- | -- | -- |
| 6.| -- | -- | -- |
| 7.| -- |As you have done |As you have done |
| | |before. |before. |
| 8.| -- | -- | -- |
| 9.| -- | -- | -- |
|10.|In and out of the |In and out the |Out and in the |
| |window. |windows. |windows. |
|11.| -- | -- | -- |
|12.| -- |As you have done |As you have done |
| | |before. |before. |
|13.|Stand and face your |Stand and face your |Stand before your |
| |lover. |lover. |lover. |
|14.| -- | -- | -- |
|15.| -- | -- | -- |
|16.|As you have done |As you have done | -- |
| |before. |before. | |
|17.| -- | -- | -- |
|18.| -- | -- | -- |
|19.| -- | -- | -- |
|20.| -- | -- | -- |
|21.| -- | -- | -- |
|22.| -- | -- | -- |
|23.| -- | -- | -- |
|24.| -- | -- | -- |
|25.| -- | -- | -- |
|26.| -- | -- | -- |
|27.|Follow me to London. | -- | -- |
|28.| -- | -- | -- |
|29.|As you have done | -- | -- |
| |before. | | |
|30.| -- | -- | -- |
|31.| -- | -- | -- |
|32.| -- | -- | -- |
|33.| -- | -- | -- |
|34.| -- | -- | -- |
+---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+