—London (Miss Dendy).
Mother, come buy me a milking-can,
Milking-can, milking-can,
Mother, come buy me a milking-can,
O mother o’ mine.
Where can I have my money from,
O daughter o’ mine?
Sell my father’s bedsteads.
Where must your father sleep?
Sleep in the pig-sty.
Where must the pig sleep?
Sleep in the washing-tub.
What must I wash in?
Wash in your thimble.
What must I sew with?
Sew with your finger.
What will you say if I prick me?
Serve you right, serve you right.
—Monton, Lancashire (Miss Dendy).
Mother, will you buy me a pair of milking-cans,
Milking-cans, milking-cans,
Mother, will you buy me a pair of milking-cans,
O gentle mother of mine?
But where shall I get the money from?
Sell my father’s feather bed.
But where, O where, will your father lie?
Father can lie in the girls’ bed.
But where, O where, shall the girls then lie?
The girls can lie in the boys’ bed.
But where, O where, shall the boys lie?
The boys may lie in the pig-sty.
Then where, O where, will the pigs lie?
The pigs may lie in the washing-tub.
Then where, O where, shall we wash our clothes?
We can wash by the river side.
The tide will wash the clothes away.
Get the prop and follow them.
—Sheffield (Miss Lucy Garnett).