May we come in blue?
Blue is for sailors, you can’t come in blue.
May we come in white?
White is for weddings, you can’t come in white.
May we come in black?
Black is for funerals, so you can come in that.
—Bocking, Essex (Folk-lore Record, iii. 471).
I come to see poor Jenny Joe,
Jenny Joe, Jenny Joe,
I come to see poor Jenny Joe,
And how is she now?
She’s washing, she’s washing,
And you can’t see her now.
Very well, ladies, ladies, ladies,
Very well, ladies, and gentlemen too.
I come to see poor Jenny Joe,
Jenny Joe, Jenny Joe,
I come to see poor Jenny Joe,
And how is she now?
She’s folding, she’s folding,
And you can’t see her now.