I’ll away to t’beck to wash my neck,
When I get there, I’ll ask t’ould dame what o’clock it is?
It’s one, and you’ll be hanged at two.
I’ll away to t’beck to wash my neck,
When I get there, I’ll ask t’ould dame what o’clock it is?
It’s two, and you’ll be hanged at three.
[This is repeated until the old woman says, “It’s eleven, and you’ll be hanged at twelve.”]
—Yorkshire (Miss E. Cadman).
To Beccles, to Beccles,
To buy a bunch of nettles,
Pray, old dame, what’s o’clock?
One, going for two.
To Beccles, to Beccles,
To buy a bunch of nettles,
Pray, old dame, what’s o’clock?
Two, going for three, &c.
[And so on until “eleven going for twelve” is said, then the following:—]