Sabine Baring-Gould

“ To get her poor dog a bone;
When she came there
The cupboard was bare,
And so the poor dog had none.
She went to the baker's
To buy him some bread,
But when she came back
The poor dog was dead. ”

“ Death butchers the butcher, and the butcher butchers the ox, and the ox sucks up the water, and the water quenches the fire, and the fire burns the stick, and the stick beats the dog, and the dog tears the cat, and the cat eats the little lamb that belonged to my daddy, and for which he paid—so much. ”

“ The goose and the gander walked over the green;
The goose walked bare-footed for fear of being seen;
Not for fear of being seen, but of wetting her toes;
And the man that drinks strong beer hath a jolly red nose. ”

“ The sheep's bleat, bleat, came over the road,
All seeming to say, with a quiet delight,
'Dear little girl, good night, good night!'
She did not say to the sun Good night,
Though she saw him there like a ball of light,
For she knew he had God's time to keep,
All over the world and never could sleep. ”

“ And pick up the crumbs and don't mind me.
Cold winter is come, but it will not last long,
And summer we soon will be greeting,
So remember, sweet Robin, and sing me a song,
In return for the breakfast you're eating. ”

“ Saying, Little St. William, if you be there,
O pity! your mammy does weep.
O how can I pity you, mother dear,
And I have so long been in pain?
For the little penknife sticks close in my heart,
For the Jew's wife she has me slain. ”

“ Some nursery rhymes have a definite object aimed at,—that of practising a child's memory, or of teaching it the letters of the alphabet, or the numbers of a clock face, or the ordinary numerals. In Jewish books of prayer for the Paschal Festival, two nursery rhymes are almost always inserted, wherewith the tedium of the service may be lightened to the children. One of these is very similar to our English, 'Sing a song of One, O!' It begins thus:—
Who is one, and who can declare it? I will teach you it; One is God in Heaven and on earth. ”

“ What makes you, my dearest, this morning to mourn?
I wish to my heart you were not so forlorn.
Do you think that your jewel you'd e'er find more shy
Than T.I.M.O.T.H.Y.?
My father he's worth ten thousand or more,
And I am his daughter, and his only heir.
Not a farthing of fortune he'd give me, I fear,
If I were to marry Y.O.U., my dear.
'O as for your fortune, my dear, I don't mind,
I'll make you a husband both loving and kind. ”

“ Cock-a-doodle-do!
My dame has lost her shoe;
My master's lost his fiddle-stick,
Alack! what shall I do?
Cock-a-doodle-do!
What is my dame to do?
Till master finds his fiddle-stick,
She'll dance without a shoe. ”

“ A pretty dog was he,
Where'er I went, 'twas his intent
To run and follow me.
His tail was but ten yards long,
His ears but five feet wide,
And round the world in half a day
Upon him I might ride. ”

“ How do you show your goodness, girls, my ducy, dulcy day?'
'We all do as we're bidden, sir, my ducy, dulcy officer,
We all do as we're bidden, sir, my ducy, dulcy day.'
'Then I bid you stop your game, stop your game, stop your game,
Then I bid you stop your game, my ducy, dulcy day.'
'No, we will not stop for you, stop for you, stop for you,
No, we will not stop for you, my ducy, dulcy day.'
'So, naughty girls, you won't obey, won't obey, won't obey,
So, naughty girls, you won't obey, my ducy, dulcy day? ”

“ He is the vast and the mighty thing,
Sailing along in the deep blue sea.
Down to the bottom sometimes he goes,
Then up to the surface again for blows,
And when he has done then off goes he,
Sailing along in the deep blue sea. ”

“ To reef the topsail now he's gone,
And sail across the stormy sea.
My Johnny was a shoemaker.
And he will be a captain, by and by,
With a sword and a spyglass too.
And when he is a captain bold
He'll come back to marry me. ”

“ Bottle of wine and biscuits too;
See what this pretty girl can do!
On the carpet she shall kneel,
As the grass grows on the field.
Stand upright upon your feet,
Choose you one that you love sweet. ”

“ So he thought he would follow the stream,
And look for his cane, wig, and hat.
His head being thicker than common,
O'erbalanced the rest of his fat,
And in plumped the son of a woman,
To follow his cane, wig, and hat. ”

“ Springtime brings the swallow and the bluebird home,
The happy little swallow knows her hour to come;
But not a bird is truer to the time of coming back,
Than a merry little clacker with his clack, clack, clack. ”

“ Little Billy Cook Always reads a book, for no other earthly reason than that 'candy' rhymes with 'dandy,' and 'book' rhymes with 'Cook.' It is true that some nursery rhymes, and especially game rhymes, have an origin that points back to very early beliefs and usages. ”

“ Johnny gave his consent, and to church they both went,
And he wedded the lady in bloom, full bloom.
At market and fair, all folks do declare,
There is none like the Boy that sold Broom, green Broom. ”

“ There's not a comb of honey-bee,
So full of sweets as babe to me.
And it's O! etc.
There's not a star that shines on high,
Is brighter than my baby's eye.
There's not a boat upon the sea,
Can dance as baby does to me. ”

“ Tommy-a-Lynn was a Dutchman born,
His head was bald and his chin was shorn.
He wore a cap made of a grey hare's skin,
O a rare old man was Tommy-a-Lynn.
All to my tooth, and a laugh a long-lee.
Tommy's a Ranter and a Rover,
Tommy's a bone of my Stover,
Brew, screw, Rivet and tin,
O a rare old man was Tommy-a-Lynn.
Tommy-a-Lynn had no boots to put on,
But two calves' skins and the hair was gone.
They were split at the side and the water ran in,
'I am damp to my feet,' said Tommy-a-Lynn.
All to my tooth, etc.
Tommy-a-Lynn has a-hunting gone,
A bridle of mouse tails has he hung on. ”

“ When the trees are all bare, not a leaf to be seen,
And the meadows their beauty have lost;
When nature's disrobed of her garment of green,
And the streams are fast bound by the frost;
When the shepherd stands idle and shivers with cold,
As bleak the winds northerly blow ”

“ He-haw; haw-hum!
The mare fell down, and she made her will,
He-haw; haw-hum!
The bridle and saddle he laid on the shelf,
He-haw; haw-hum!
If you want any more, you may sing it yourself,
He-haw; haw-hum! ”

“ Little Bo-Peep has lost her sheep,
And can't tell where to find them;
Let them alone, and they'll come home,
And bring their tails behind them.
Little Bo-Peep fell fast asleep,
And dreamt she heard them bleating ”

“ ALL. Here come three Dukes a-riding,
A-riding, a-riding, a-riding,
Here come three Dukes a-riding,
To court your daughter Jane.
MOTHER. 'My daughter Jane is all too young,
To list t' your foolish flattering tongue.'
THE DUKES. 'O, be she young or be she old,
She for her beauty shall be sold. ”

“ And all the trees were bread and cheese,
What should we have to drink?
If all the world were sand-o,
Oh, then, what should we lack-o?
I, as they say, there were no clay,
How should we take tobacco? ”

“ Three pretty girls were in them then,
On New-Year's day in the morning.
One could whistle, and one could sing,
The other could play on the violin,
Such joy there was at my wedding,
On New-Year's day in the morning. ”

“ Ten thousand pretty flowers appear,
To deck the little children's hair,
Fa-la-la-la, fa-la.
The cuckoo's picked up all the dirt.
The trees are all in bloom.
If pleasant music may divert,
Each bush affords a tune. ”

“ Tossed on the deep,
Watching a star.
Clock going—tick,
Tack,—in the dark.
On the hearth—click!—
Dies the last spark.
Sleep, baby, sleep!
What! not a wink!
Dad on the deep,
What will he think? ”

“ Last night the dogs did bark,
I went to the gate to see.
When every lass has got a spark,
Will nobody come for me?
And it's O dear! what will become of me?
O dear! what shall I do?
Nobody coming to marry me? ”

“ And brings the white siller to me, O!
My bonnie keel laddie, my canny keel laddie,
The bonnie keel laddie for me, O!
He sits in his keel as black as the deil,
And brings the white siller to me, O! ”

“ What is your Seven, O?
Seven it is the crown of Heaven, the shining stars be seven, O!
Come, etc.
I will sing you Eight, O!
What is your Eight, O?
Eight it is the morning break, when all the world's awake, O! ”

“ And then they carried him upstairs,
And laid him on his bed.
'Oh! oh!,' said he, 'poor little fish,
What tortures they have borne;
While I, well pleased, have stood to see
Their tender bodies torn. ”

“ With a whing, whing, waddle, O!
With a string, strang, straddle, O!
Blossy boys! Babble, O! under the Broom.
I sold my six horses, and bought me a cow,
I'm going to get money, but I can't tell how. ”

“ When our working school is done,
To the fields we go,
Walking in the grassy paths
Skipping we go.
Picking cooling buttercups,
Many pretty flowers,
Violets, forget-me-nots,
Spend happy hours.
Chase the bee and butterfly,
Where the summer daisies lie. ”

“ I'll carry the link.
Who'll be chief mourner?
I, said the dove,
I mourn for my love,
I'll be chief mourner.
Who'll bear the pall?
We, said the wren,
Both the cock and the hen,
We'll bear the pall. ”

“ XXV. MY BOY BILLY This wide-spread rhyme is only one portion of a long story. The youth who is dissuaded from going a-courting by his mother persists, and is poisoned by the lady with a fish. Then follows the rest of the song, which consists of a dialogue with the mother, and he says:—
'Make my bed soon, For I am sick to the heart, mother, Fain would lie down.' This, with its proper air, I have given in 'A Garland of Country Songs.' The complete story in both parts is found in Scotland. ”

“ Determined to shoot this little cock-sparrow.
For he's going to make me a nice fat stew,
And his giblets will make me a little pie, too.
'Oh no!' said the sparrow, 'that never will do!
He fluttered his wings and away he flew. ”

“ Kettles and pans,
Say the bells of St. Anne's.
You owe me ten shillings,
Say the bells of St. Helen's.
When will you pay me?
Say the bells at Old Bailey.
When I grow rich,
Say the bells at Shoreditch. ”

“ Kind friends who never deceive us;
And happy the girls who receive us,
When we come rolling home.
Rolling home! Rolling home! Rolling home,
And happy the girls who receive us
When we come rolling home. ”

“ The second a cherry without any stone,
Petsum, etc.
The third sent a book that no man could read,
Perrie, etc.
The fourth sent a blanket without any thread,
Petsum, etc.
How can there be a chicken without any bone?
Perrie, etc.
How can there be a cherry without any stone?
Petsum, etc.
How can there be a book that no man can read?
Perrie, etc.
How can there be a blanket without any thread?
Petsum, etc.
When the chicken is in the egg, it has no bone,
Perrie, etc.
When the cherry is in the blossom, it has no stone,
Petsum, etc. ”

“ The rest they ran away.
A lord there was who with the king
A mighty wager makes,
But when he saw he could not win,
He would have drawn the stakes.
He said 'twould bear a man to slide,
And laid a hundred pound;
The king said 'twould break and not abide,
Where children three were drowned.
Of which one's head was from his shoulders
stuck, whose name was John;
Who then cried out, as loud as he could,
'Oh lon-a-lon-a-don!'
Thus being drowned, alack! alack!
Water ran down their throats,
And stopped their breath, three hours by th' clock,
Ere they could get the boats. ”

“ They lived in a house that had but one door,
O what an old couple were they.
The old man he went one day from home,
Tweedle, tweedle-dee.
The old woman she couldn't stay moping alone,
O meek old woman was she. ”

“ Halliwell's 'Nursery Rhymes,' pp. 109, 241. I give a Cornish version as the most complete of all. In Cornwall formerly it formed a portion of a sort of play, and was sung by a young man and a young woman. The story was that she was engaged to him, he died, and his ghost came to claim her. She escapes through setting the ghost tasks, after he has set her others, which are impossible of accomplishment.
II. A LYING TALE This odd song was taken down from a Cornishman. Lying tales are favourite nursery entertainments for children, and there exists a great variety of them. ”

“ There was a man lived in the moon,
And his name was Aiken Drum.
And he played upon a ladle,
And his name was Aiken Drum.
And his hat was made of good cream cheese,
And his name, etc.
And his coat was made of good roast beef,
And his name, etc. ”

“ Pretty little damsels, how they chat,
Chit, chat, tittle-tattle,
All bout their sweethearts and all that,
Chit, chat, tittle-tattle-tat.
Up and down the City, how they walk,
And of the beaus and the fashions, how the damsels talk,
And now and then a little bit of slander is no balk
To their chit, chat, tittle-tattle,
Chit, chat, tittle-tattle-tat.
Pretty little damsels, go to cheapen in the shops,
Chit, chat, tittle-tattle,
Pretty little bonnets, and pretty little caps,
Chit, chat, tittle-tattle-tat. ”

“ XXVI. THE CARRION CROW A very old folk and nursery song. It is given in Halliwell; also in Crane's 'Baby Bouquet'; also in 'The Garland of Country Songs.'
XXVII. THE BABES IN THE WOOD A rewriting and condensation of the old ballad, made about the beginning of this century. It is given with the air in Miss Mason's 'Nursery Rhymes,' and in Laurie and Marby's 'Rhymes, Jingles, and Songs.'
XXVIII. I LOVE SIXPENCE And old song I remember as a child. I took it down again from a white-haired tanner who died three years ago. It is given by Miss Mason in her 'Nursery Rhymes,' p.28 ”