Roses up, and roses down,
And roses in the garden;
I widna gie a bunch o’ roses
For tippence ha’penny farden.
So and so, fresh and fair,
A bunch o’ roses she shall wear;
Gold and silver by her side,
Crying out, “Cheese and bride” (bread).
Take her by the lily-white hand,
Lead her on the water;
Give her kisses,—one, two, three,—
For she’s her mother’s daughter.
—Fraserburgh (Rev. W. Gregor).
Roses up, and roses down,
And roses in the garden;
I wadna gie a bunch o’ roses
For twopence ha’penny farthin’.
——, fresh and fair,
A bunch of roses she shall wear;
Gold and silver by her side,
I know who’s her bride.
Take her by the lily-white hand,
And lead her o’er the water;
And give her kisses,—one, two, three,—
For she’s the princess’ daughter.
—Cullen (Rev. W. Gregor).
Maggie Black, fresh and fair,
A bunch of roses she shall wear;
I know who I’ll take.
Give her kisses,—one, two, three,—
For she’s a lady’s daughter.
Roses in, and roses out,
Roses in a garden;
I would not give a bunch of roses
For twopence halfpenny “farden.”
—Nairn (Rev. W. Gregor).
(c) The players form a ring, one child stands in the centre, who chooses a sweetheart from the ring when the fifth line is sung; the two kiss, the first child takes her place in the ring, the second child remains in the centre, and the game begins again. This is the method adopted in most of the versions. The [Symondsbury game] is slightly different; the first part is the same, but when the last line is sung the child who was first in the middle must run away and take a place in the ring as soon as she can. The second one remains in the centre. The [Maxey (Northants.) version] is altogether different. All the children but one stand in a row. The one stands in front of them and sings the lines by herself; at the last line she selects one from the line by naming her. These two then sing the lines, “swinging round,” so described by Mr. Sweeting’s informant. They then select a third when singing the last line, and the three then swing round. This is repeated till all the children from the line come into the ring.
In the [Scotch versions] the players all stand in a line, with one in front, and sing. At the end of the fourth line the one in front chooses one from the line, and all again sing, mentioning the name of the one chosen (Fraserburgh). At [Cullen], one child stands out of the line and goes backwards and forwards singing, then chooses her partner, and the two go round the line singing.