We will give you anything
For a bonny lass.
No!
We will give you gold and silver,
We will give you pearl,
We will give you anything
For a pretty girl.
You shall have a goose for dinner,
You shall have a darling,
You shall have a nice young man
To take you up the garden.
But suppose this young man was to die
And leave this girl a widow?
The bells would ring, the cats would sing,
So we’ll all clap together.
—Frodingham and Nottinghamshire (Miss M. Peacock).
Stepping up the green grass,
Thus, and thus, and thus;
Will you let one of your fair maids
Come and play with us?
We will give you pots and pans,
We will give you brass,
We will give you anything
For a pretty lass.
No!