If this young man shall wealthy grow
And give his wife a feather,
The bells shall ring and birds shall sing
And we’ll all clap hands together.
—Roxton, St. Neots (Miss Lumley).
Walking up the green grass,
A dust, a dust, a dust!
We want a pretty maiden
To walk along with us.
We’ll take this pretty maiden,
We’ll take her by the hand,
She shall go to Derby,
And Derby is the land!
She shall have a duck, my dear,
She shall have a drake,
She shall have a nice young man
A-fighting for her sake!
Suppose this young man was to die,
And leave the poor girl a widow;
The bells would ring and we should sing,
And all clap hands together!
—Berrington (Shropshire Folk-lore, p. 511).
Tripping up the green grass,
Dusty, dusty, day,
Come all ye pretty fair maids,
Come and with me play.