+----+----------------------+----------------------+--------_The Traditional Games of England, Scotland, and Ireland (Vol 1 of 2) With Tunes, Singing-Rhymes and Methods of Playing etc.

+----+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+

| 2.| -- | -- | -- |

| 4.| -- | -- | -- |

| 5.| -- | -- | -- |

| |us. |us. |us. |

| 8.|For we are going a- | -- |For we are lads a |

| 9.|We'll take this maid | -- |We'll take this pretty|

| 10.| -- | -- | -- |

| 11.| -- | -- | -- |

| 13.| -- | -- | -- |

| 14.| -- | -- | -- |

| 15.| -- | -- | -- |

| 16.| -- | -- | -- |

| 17.| -- | -- | -- |

| 18.| -- | -- | -- |

| 19.| -- | -- | -- |

| 21.| -- | -- | -- |

| 22.| -- | -- | -- |

| 23.| -- | -- | -- |

|[8.]| -- | -- | -- |

| 25.| -- | -- | -- |

| 26.| -- | -- | -- |

| 27.|A young prince for | -- |For your ain sake. |

| 28.| -- | -- | -- |

| 29.| -- | -- | -- |

| 30.|If this young prince | -- |If they all should |

| |should die. | |die. |

| 31.| -- | -- | -- |

| 32.|Ye shall get another. | -- |Ye sall get anither. |

| 33.| -- | -- | -- |

| 34.| -- | -- | -- |

| 35.|Bells will ring and | -- |The bells will ring, |

| 36.| -- | -- | -- |

| 37.|We'll all clap hands | -- |We'll clap hands |

| 38.| -- |With princes for his | -- |

| 39.| -- | -- | -- |

| 40.| -- | -- | -- |

| 41.| -- | -- | -- |

| 42.| -- | -- | -- |

| 43.| -- | -- | -- |

| 44.| -- | -- | -- |

| 45.| -- | -- | -- |

| 46.| -- | -- | -- |

+----+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+

+----+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+

| 1.|Dissy, dissy, green |Dossy, dossy, green | -- |

| 2.| -- | -- |Walking up the green |

| 4.| -- | -- | -- |

| 5.| -- | -- | -- |

| |us. | | |

| 8.| -- | -- | -- |

| 9.| -- | -- |We'll take her by the |

| 10.| -- | -- | -- |

| 11.| -- | -- |She shall go to Derby.|

| 13.| -- |I will give pots and | -- |

| 14.| -- |..... brass. | -- |

| 15.| -- |..... gold and silver.| -- |

| 16.| -- |..... pearl. | -- |

| 17.| -- |..... anything. | -- |

| 18.| -- | -- | -- |

| 19.| -- |For a pretty lass. | -- |

| 21.| -- | -- | -- |

| 22.| -- | -- | -- |

| 23.| -- | -- | -- |

|[8.]| -- | -- | -- |

| 25.| -- | -- | -- |

| 26.| -- | -- | -- |

| 27.|To love you for your | -- |A fighting for her |

| 28.| -- |Apprentice for your | -- |

| 29.| -- | -- | -- |

| 30.|If this young man | -- |Suppose this young man|

| 31.| -- |If this young man | -- |

| 32.| -- | -- | -- |

| 33.|And leave the girl a | -- |And leave the girl a |

| 34.| -- |And give his wife a | -- |

| 36.| -- | -- | -- |

| 38.| -- | -- | -- |

| 39.| -- | -- | -- |

| 40.| -- | -- | -- |

| 41.| -- | -- | -- |

| 42.| -- | -- | -- |

| 43.| -- | -- | -- |

| 44.| -- | -- | -- |

| 45.| -- | -- | -- |

| 46.| -- | -- | -- |

+----+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+

+----+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+

| 1.| -- | -- | -- |

| 3.|Thus, and thus, and |This, and that, and | -- |

| 4.| -- | -- |Dusty, dusty day. |

| 5.| -- | -- | -- |

| |us. |us. | |

| 8.| -- | -- | -- |

| 9.| -- | -- | -- |

| 10.| -- | -- | -- |

| 11.| -- | -- | -- |

| 12.| -- | -- |You shall have a duck.|

| 13.|We will give you pots | -- | -- |

| 14.|..... brass. | -- | -- |

| 15.|..... gold and silver.|Some will give us | -- |

| 16.|..... pearl. | -- | -- |

| 17.|..... anything. | -- | -- |

| 18.| -- | -- | -- |

| 19.|For a pretty lass. | -- | -- |

| 20.|You shall have a goose| -- |You shall have a swan.|

| 21.| -- |Take hold of my | -- |

| 22.| -- |Maycanameecan. | -- |

| 23.| -- | -- | -- |

|[8.]| -- | -- | -- |

| 24.|You shall have a nice | -- |You shall have a nice |

| 25.| -- |Pray tell me the name | -- |

| 26.| -- | -- | -- |

| 27.| -- | -- |A waiting for to come.|

| 28.| -- | -- | -- |

| 29.|To take you up the | -- | -- |

| 30.|Suppose this young man| -- |Suppose he were to |

| |was to die. | |die. |

| 31.| -- | -- | -- |

| 32.| -- | -- | -- |

| 33.|And leave the girl a | -- |And leave his wife a |

| 34.| -- | -- | -- |

| 35.|Bells would ring, cats| -- | -- |

| 36.| -- | -- |Come all ye pretty |

| 37.|So we'll all clap | -- |Come clap your hands |

| 38.| -- | -- | -- |

| 39.| -- |Don't you think [ ] | -- |

| 40.| -- |Don't you think [ ] | -- |

| 41.| -- |Then off with the | -- |

| 42.| -- |You shall be married | -- |

| 43.| -- | -- | -- |

| 44.| -- | -- | -- |

| 45.| -- | -- | -- |

| 46.| -- | -- | -- |

+----+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+

+----+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+

| 1.| -- | -- | -- |

| 3.| -- | -- | -- |

| 4.|On a dusty, dusty day.| -- | -- |

| 5.| -- |So early in the | -- |

| 7.| -- | -- |Come and dance with |

| | | |me. |

| 8.|[See below.] | -- | -- |

| 10.| -- | -- |Pretty [ ] come to |

| | | |me. |

| 11.| -- | -- | -- |

| 12.| -- | -- |You shall have a duck,|

| 13.| -- | -- |I will give you pots |

| 14.| -- | -- |..... brass. |

| 15.| -- | -- |..... gold and silver.|

| 16.| -- | -- |..... pearl. |

| 17.| -- | -- |..... anything. |

| 18.|I'll show you a |You shall see a | -- |

| 19.| -- | -- |For a pretty girl. |

| 20.| -- | -- |You shall have a |

| 21.| -- | -- | -- |

| 22.| -- | -- | -- |

| 23.| -- |All sorts of colours | -- |

|[8.]|We'll all go roving. | -- | -- |

| 24.| -- | -- |You shall have a young|

| | | |man. |

| 25.| -- | -- | -- |

| 26.|I'll take [ ] for my|Take [ ] for my | -- |

| 27.| -- | -- | -- |

| 28.| -- | -- |Apprentice for your |

| 29.| -- | -- | -- |

| 30.| -- | -- |If this young man |

| 31.| -- | -- | -- |

| 32.| -- | -- | -- |

| 33.| -- | -- |And leave the poor |

| 34.| -- | -- | -- |

| 35.| -- | -- |Bells shall ring, |

| 36.| -- | -- | -- |

| 37.| -- | -- |We'll all clap hands |

| 38.| -- | -- | -- |

| 39.| -- | -- | -- |

| 40.| -- | -- | -- |

| 41.| -- | -- | -- |

| 42.| -- | -- | -- |

| 43.|Naughty miss, she |Naughty old maid, she | -- |

| 44.|To help us with our |To help us with our | -- |

| 45.|Now we've got our |Now we'll get our | -- |

| 46.|To help us with our |To help us with our | -- |

+----+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+

+----+----------------------+

| No.| Sheffield. |

+----+----------------------+

| 1.| -- |

| 2.|Stepping up the green |

| |grass. |

| 3.|Thus, and thus, and |

| |thus. |

| 4.| -- |

| 5.| -- |

| 6.|Will you let one of |

| |your fair maids. |

| 7.|Come and play with us.|

| 8.| -- |

| 9.| -- |

| 10.| -- |

| 11.| -- |

| 12.| -- |

| 13.|We will give you pots |

| |and pans. |

| 14.|..... brass. |

| 15.|..... gold and silver.|

| 16.|..... pearl. |

| 17.|..... anything. |

| 18.| -- |

| 19.|For a pretty lass. |

| 20.| -- |

| 21.| -- |

| 22.| -- |

| 23.| -- |

|[8.]| -- |

| 24.|You shall have a nice |

| |young man. |

| 25.| -- |

| 26.| -- |

| 27.| -- |

| 28.|Born for your sake. |

| 29.| -- |

| 30.| -- |

| 31.| -- |

| 32.| -- |

| 33.| -- |

| 34.| -- |

| 35.|Bells shall ring, cats|

| |shall sing. |

| 36.| -- |

| 37.|We'll all clap hands |

| |together. |

| 38.| -- |

| 39.| -- |

| 40.| -- |

| 41.| -- |

| 42.| -- |

| 43.| -- |

| 44.| -- |

| 45.| -- |

| 46.| -- |

+----+----------------------+

(_e_) Henderson, in describing the curious rites accompanying the

saining or blessing of a corpse in the Scottish Lowlands, states that

empty dishes are arranged on the hearth as near as possible to the fire,

and after certain ceremonies in connection therewith have been

performed, the company join hands and dance round the dishes, singing

this burden:--

A dis, a dis, a dis,

A green griss;

A dis, a dis, a dis.

--_Folk-lore of Northern Counties_, p. 54.

This rhyme is, it will be seen, the same as the first two lines of the

game, the word "griss" in the burial-rhyme becoming "grass" in the

game-rhyme, "grisse" being the old form for "grass" or herb (Halliwell,

_Provincial Glossary_, quotes a MS. authority for this). This

identification of the game-rhyme would suggest that the game originally

was a child's dramatic imitation of an old burial ceremony, and it

remains to be seen whether the signification of the words would carry

out this idea.

In the first place, the idea of death is a prominent incident in the

game, appearing in seven out of the fourteen versions. In all these

cases the death is followed by the clapping of hands and bell-ringing,

and in five cases by the singing of birds. Clapping of hands occurs in

two other cases, and bell-ringing in one other case, not accompanied by

the death incident. Now it is singular that the burial-rite which has

just been quoted is called Dish-a-loof; and a reference to the game of

"Dish-a-loof" [under that title], will show that it derives its name

from the clapping of hands. In the ceremony, as described by Henderson,

although songs and games are part of the burial-ceremony, there is no

specific mention of hand-clapping; but it is conceivable that the action

at one time formed part of the ceremony, and hence the name

"Dish-a-loof." This would not account for the promise of a duck, drake,

&c., as in incidents Nos. 12 and 20; nor for the promise of a young

prince or young man; but these incidents might very well be variants of

some earlier forms which are not now discoverable, especially as

love-games were played at funerals, and as the tendency, in the less

complete forms of the game as they have come down to us, is in the

direction of transposing the game into a complete love-game. The use of

rushes in the Lanarkshire game might indicate the funeral garland

(Aubrey's _Remaines_, pp. 109, 139). For clapping of hands to indicate

bell-tolling or bell-ringing at times of death see Napier's _Folklore_,

p. 66. Henderson (p. 63) says the "passing bell" was supposed in former

times to serve two purposes: it called on all good Christians within

hearing to pray for the departing spirit, and it scared away the evil

spirits who were watching to seize it, or at least to scare and terrify

it.

On the whole evidence from the rhymes, therefore, I should be disposed

to class this game as originally belonging to burial, and not love,

rites.

Green Gravel

[Music]

--Madeley, Shropshire (Miss Burne).

[Music]

--Earls Heaton (H. Hardy).

[Music]

--Sporle, Norfolk (Miss Matthews).

[Music]

--Redhill, Surrey (Miss G. Hope).

[Music]

--Lancashire (Mrs. Harley).

[Music]

--Derbyshire (Mrs. Harley).

I. Green gravel, green gravel, your grass is so green,

The fairest young damsel that ever was seen;

We washed her, we dried her, we rolled her in silk,

And we wrote down her name with a glass pen and ink.

Dear Annie, dear Annie, your true love is dead,

And we send you a letter to turn round your head.

--Belfast (W. H. Patterson).

II. Green gravel, green gravel, the grass is so green,

The fairest young lady that ever was seen;

I'll wash you in milk,

And I'll clothe you with silk,

And I'll write down your name with a gold pen and ink.

O Sally, O Sally, your true love is dead,

He sent you a letter to turn round your head.

--Berrington, Oswestry (_Shropshire Folk-lore_ p. 510).

III. Around the green gravel the grass is so green,

All the pretty fair maids are plain to be seen;

Wash them in milk, and clothe them in silk,

Write their names down with a gold pen and ink.

All but Miss "Jenny," her sweetheart is dead;

She's left off her wedding to turn back her head.

O mother, O mother, do you think it is true?

O yes, child! O yes, child!

Then what shall I do?

We'll wash you in milk, and dress you in silk,

And write down your name with a gold pen and ink.

--Derbyshire and Worcestershire (Mrs. Harley).

IV. Green gravel, green gravel,

The grass is so green,

Such beautiful flowers

As never were seen.

O Annie [or any name], O Annie,

Your sweetheart is dead!

He has sent you a letter

To turn back your head.

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

V. Green gravel, green gravel,

The grass is so green,

The fairest young damsels

As ever were seen.

O ----, O ----, your true love is dead;

He sent you a letter

To turn round your head.

Green gravel, green gravel,

The grass is so green,

The dismalest damsels

As ever were seen.

O ----, O ----, your true love's not dead;

He sends you a letter

To turn back your head.

--Lincoln, Winterton, and Wakefield (Miss Fowler and Miss Peacock).

VI. Green gravel, green gravel, the grass is so green,

The fairest young lady [damsel] that ever was seen.

O ----, O ----, your true love is dead;

He's sent you a letter to turn round your head.

--Redhill, Surrey (Miss G. Hope); Lancashire (Mrs. Harley).

VII. Green meadows, green meadows, your grass is so green,

The fairest young damsel that ever was seen;

O Mary, O Mary, your sweetheart is dead;

We've sent you a letter to turn back your head.

_Or_, Green gravel, green gravel, the grass is so green,

and following on as above.

--Sporle, Norfolk (Miss Matthews).

VIII. Green grover, green grover, your grass is so green,

The prettiest young lady that ever was seen.

O ----, O ----, your true love is dead;

I send you this letter, so turn round your head.

--Gainford, Durham (Miss Eddleston).

IX. Green gravels, green gravels,

The grass is so green,

And all the pretty maidens

Are not to be seen,

Except ---- (said twice),

And she's not [?] to be seen,

So I send you a letter to turn round your head.

--Hampshire (Miss E. Mendham).

X. Green gravels, green gravels, the grass is so green,

Fine pencils, fine pencils, as ever were seen.

O Mary! O Mary! your true love is dead,

And he's sent you a letter to turn round your head.

--Wales (_Byegones_, 1890).

XI. Yellow gravel, yellow gravel,

The grass is so green,

The fairest young lady

That ever was seen.

O ----, O ----,

Your true love is dead;

I send you a letter to turn round your head.

--Cowes, Isle of Wight (Miss E. Smith).

XII. Green gravel, green gravel, the grass is so green,

Said the fairest young damsel that ever I've seen.

O mother, O mother, my true-love is dead,

He sent me this letter to turn round my head.

O mother, O mother, do you think this is true?

O yes, love! O yes, love!

And what shall I do?

I'll wash you in butter-milk, I'll dress you in silk,

I'll write down your name with my gold pen and ink.

--Isle of Man (A. W. Moore).

XIII. Green gravel, green gravel, the grass is so green,

The flowers are all faded and none to be seen.

O [Dolly], O [Dolly], your sweetheart is dead,

He's sent you a letter to turn back your head.

Wallflowers, wallflowers, growing up so high,

We are but little, and we shall have to die!

Excepting [Dolly Turner], she's the youngest girl.

O for shame, and fie for shame, and turn your back to home

again.

--Madeley, Shropshire (Miss Burne).

XIV. Green gravel, green gravel, the grass is so green,

The fairest young lady that ever was seen.

As I went up Miss Betsey's stairs to buy a frying-pan,

There sat Miss Betsey a-kissing her young man.

She pulled off her glove and showed me her ring,

And the very next morning the bells did ring.

Dear Betsey, dear Betsey, your true love is dead,

He's sent you a letter to turn back your head.

--Summertown, Oxford (A. H. Franklin, _Midland Garner_, vol. ii. p. 32).

XV. Round the green gravel the grass grows green,

All pretty fair maids are fit to be seen;

Wash them in milk, and clothe them in silk,

And write down their names with pen and black ink--

Choose one, choose two, choose the fairest daughter.

Now, my daughter, married to-day,

Like father and mother they should be,

To love one another like sister and brother--

I pray you now to kiss one another.

Now my daughter Mary's gone,

With her pockets all lined with gold;

On my finger a gay gold ring--

Good-bye, Mary, good-bye.

Now this poor widow is left alone,

Nobody could marry a better one;

Choose one, choose two--

Choose the fairest daughter.

--Sheffield (S. O. Addy).

XVI. Round the green gravel the grass is so green,

And all the fine ladies that ever were seen;

Washed in milk and dressed in silk,

The last that stoops down shall be married.

[Johnnie Smith] is a nice young man,

And so is [Bessie Jones] as nice as he;

He came to the door with his hat in his hand,

Inquiring for [Miss Jones].

She is neither within, she is neither without,

She is up in the garret a-walking about.

Down she came, as white as milk,

With a rose in her bosom as soft as silk.

Silks and satins be ever so dear,

You shall have a kiss [gown?], my dear,

So off with the glove and on with the ring--

To-morrow, to-morrow, the wedding begins.

--Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire (Miss Matthews).

XVII. Around a green gravill

The grass is so green,

And all the fine ladies

Ashamed to be seen.

They wash 'em in milk

And dress 'em in silk--

We'll all cou' don' together.

My elbow, my elbow,

My pitcher and my can;

Isn't ----

A nice young gell?

Isn't ----

As nice as her--

They shall be married with a guinea-gold ring.

I peep'd through the window,

I peep'd through the door,

I seed pretty ----

A-dancin on the floor;

I cuddled her an' fo'dled her,

I set her on my knee;

I says pretty ----

Won't [ëe?] you marry me.

A new-swept parlour,

An' a new-made bed,

A new cup and saucer

Again we get wed.

If it be a boy, he shall have a hat,

To follow with his mammy to her na', na', na';

If he be a gell, she shall have a ring,

To follow with her mammy to her ding, ding, ding.

--Wakefield (Miss Fowler).

(_c_) The more general way of playing this game is to form a ring of

children simply. The children walk round singing the verse as in the

Belfast version, and when the last line is sung, the child whose name is

mentioned turns round, facing the outside of the ring and having her

back to the centre. She continues to hold hands with the others, and

dances round with them in that position. This is repeated until all the

children have "turned" their backs to the inside of the ring. Here the

game ends in many cases, but another verse is sung in the Lincoln,

Winterton, and Wakefield versions from Miss Peacock, and this was sung

also in the London version. The second verse thus terminates the game,

with the players one by one reversing their position and facing the

centre of ring as at first. In the Forest of Dean and Wakefield

versions the action of the game is somewhat different. A child stands in

the centre of the ring of children, without apparently taking much part

in the game, except to name the children in turn. In the Wakefield

version, however (Miss Fowler, No. xvii.), a little boy stands in the

middle of a circle of girls who sing the first verse. At "We'll all cou'

don' together," all crouch down, as if in profound respect, then rising

slowly, sing the next verse. After "My pitcher and my can," each child

mentions her own name. At "Isn't ---- as nice as her?" each mentions her

sweetheart's name, and the child thus chosen goes into the circle. At

the end of the fourth verse they all clap hands, and the one that is

sweetheart to him in the middle kisses him. The "crouching down" is also

done in the Forest of Dean version when singing the fourth line. The

last one to stoop has to name her sweetheart. When this is done, the

children all dance round and sing the other lines.

(_d_) The analysis of the game-rhymes is on pp. 178-181. The most

constant formulæ of this game-rhyme are shown by this analysis to be

Nos. 1, 6, 7, 13, 15, 18, 23, and the variants, though important, are

not sufficient to detract from the significance of the normal version.

It is evidently a funeral game. The green gravel and the green grass

indicate the locality of the scene; "green," as applied to gravel, may

mean freshly disturbed, just as green grave means a freshly made grave.

The tenant of the new grave is the well-loved lady of a disconsolate

lover, and probably the incidents of washing and dressing the corpse,

and putting an inscription on the place where it is laid, are indicated

by Nos. 13 and 15. The dirge, or singing to the dead, is indicated by

Nos. 18, 23, and 26, and the beauty of the first line is in complete

accord with the mournful music. That No. 26 occurs in only two variants,

Derbyshire and the Isle of Man, is curious, as the pathos of this appeal

is very apparent in the movement of the game. The communion with the

dead which is indicated by No. 23 is by no means considered impossible

by the peasantry. In confirmation of this being a representation of an

old funeral ceremony, it may be pointed out that the action of turning

backwards during the singing of the dirge is also represented in the

curious funeral ceremony called "Dish-a-loof," which is described in

Henderson's _Folk-lore of the Northern Counties_, p. 53. Henderson's

words are: "All the attendants, going out of the room, return into it

backwards, repeating this rhyme of 'saining.'" The additional ceremony

of marriage in four of the games is clearly an interpolation, which may

have arisen from the custom of playing love and marriage games at

funerals and during the watching with the corpse, or may be a mere

transition to the more pleasant task of love-making as the basis of a

game. The Derbyshire incident (No. 24) may indicate indeed that the

funeral is that of a young bride, and in that case the tendency to make

the game wholly a marriage game is accounted for. The decay which has

set in is apparent by the evident attempt to alter from "green gravel"

to "green grover" and "yellow gravel" (Nos. 4 and 5), and to introduce

pen and black ink (No. 17). The addition of the incongruous elements

from other games (Nos. 27-31) is a frequent occurrence in modern games,

and is the natural result of decadence in the original form of the game.

Altogether this game-rhyme affords a very good example of the condition

of traditional games among the present generation of children.

The Traditional Games of England, Scotland, and Ireland (Vol 1 of 2) With Tunes, Singing-Rhymes and Methods of Playing etc. · 第 12 / 29 段