It hails, it rains, in Merry-Cock land,
It hails, it rains, both great and small,
And all the little children in Merry-Cock land,
They have need to play at ball.
They toss'd the ball so high,
They toss'd the ball so low,
Amongst all the Jews' cattle,
And amongst the Jews below.
Out came one of the Jew's daughters,
Dressed all in green,
"Come my sweet Saluter,
And fetch the ball again."
"I durst not come, I must not come,
Unless all my little playfellows come along,
For if my mother sees me at the gate,
She'll cause my blood to fall."
She show'd me an apple as green as grass,
She show'd me a gay gold ring,
She show'd me a cherry as red as blood,
And so she entic'd me in.
She took me in the parlour,
She laid me down to sleep,
With a Bible at my head,
And a Testament at my feet.
And if my playfellows quere for me,
Tell them I am asleep.
I had a true love over the sea,
Parla me dixi dominee!
He sent me love tokens one, two, three,
With a rotrum potrum trumpitrorum,
Parla me dixi dominee!
He sent me a book that none could read,
He sent me a web without a thread.
He sent me a cherry without a stone,
He sent me a bird without a bone.
How can there be a book that none can read?
How can there be a web without a thread?
How can there be a cherry without a stone?
How can there be a bird without a bone?
When the book's unwritten none can read;
When the web's in the fleece it has no thread.
When the cherry's in the bloom it has no stone;
When the bird's in the egg it has no bone.
With a rotrum potrum trumpitrorum,
Parla me dixi dominee!