Round about the punch bowl,—one, two, three;
Open the gates and let the bride through.
Half-a-crown to know his name, to know his name, to know his name,
Half-a-crown to know his name,
On a cold and frosty morning.
Ah! (Michael Matthews) is his name, is his name, is his name;
(Michael Matthews) is his name,
On a cold and frosty morning.
Half-a-crown to know her name, to know her name, to know her name,
Half-a-crown to know her name,
On a cold and frosty morning.
(Annie Keenan) is her name, is her name, is her name,
(Annie Keenan) is her name,
On a cold and frosty morning.
They’ll be married in the morning,
Round about the punch bowl, I [? Hi!].
—Annaverna, Ravensdale, Co. Louth, Ireland (Miss R. Stephen).
(b) The [Fochabers’ game] is played by girls only. The players join hands and form a ring. They dance briskly round, singing the verse. The last word, “me,” is pronounced with strong emphasis, and all the girls jump, and if one falls she has to leave the ring. The game is carried on until all the players fall. In the [Belfast game], at the words “one, two, three,” the players drop down in a crouching position for a few seconds. In the [Louth (Ireland) game] the players all curtsey after the first line, and the one who rises last is the bride. She is led outside the ring by another, and asked to whom she is engaged. She tells without letting those in the ring hear, and the two return to the ring saying the second line. Then all the ring sing the next three lines, and then the girl who has been told the name tells it to the ring, who thereupon sing or say the remaining lines of the verse.
(c) The [Louth version] has more detail in its movements, and probably represents the oldest form. At all events, it supplies the reason for the words and movements, which are not quite so obvious in the other versions. Many ancient monoliths are known as “Punch Bowls,” and it may be that this game is the relic of an old marriage ceremony, “at the stones.”