—Hexham (Miss J. Barker).
Queen Mary, Queen Mary, my age is sixteen,
My father’s a farmer on yonder green;
He has plenty of money to dress me in silk—
Come away, my sweet laddie, and take me a walk.
One morning I rose and I looked in the glass,
I thought to myself what a handsome young lass;
My hands by my side, and a gentle ha, ha,
Come away, my sweet lassie, and take me a walk.
Father, mother, may I go, may I go, may I go;
Father, mother, may I go, to buy a bunch of roses?
Oh yes, you may go, you may go, you may go;
Oh yes, you may go, buy a bunch of roses!
Pick up her tail and away she goes, away she goes, away she goes;
Pick up her tail and away she goes, to buy a bunch of roses.
—Sang by the children of Hexham Workhouse (Miss J. Barker).
Queen Mary, Queen Mary, my age is sixteen,
My father’s a farmer on yonder green;
He has plenty of money to keep me sae braw,
Yet nae bonnie laddie will tak’ me awa’.