The etymology is to be sought for in the verb lull, to sing gently, which Douce thinks is connected with λαλεω or λάλλη. One of the earliest nursery lullabies that have descended to our day occurs in the play of Philotimus, 1583:
Trylle the ball againe my Jacke,
And be contente to make some play,
And I will lull thee on my lappe,
With hey be bird now say not nay.
Another is introduced into the comedy of Patient Grissel, printed in the year 1603:
Hush, hush, hush, hush!
And I dance mine own child,
And I dance mine own child,
Hush, hush, hush, hush!
[BILLY, MY SON.]
The following lines are very common in the English nursery, and resemble the popular German ditty of Grandmother Addercook, inserted in the Knaben Wunderhorn, and translated by Dr. Jamieson in the Illustrations of Northern Antiquities. The ballad of the Crowden Doo, Chambers, p. 205, bears, however, a far greater similarity to the German song. Compare, also, the ballad of Willie Doo, in Buchan's Ancient Songs, ii. 179.
Where have you been to-day, Billy, my son?
Where have you been to-day, my only man?
I've been a wooing, mother, make my bed soon,
For I'm sick at heart, and fain would lay down.
What have you ate to-day, Billy, my son?
What have you ate to-day, my only man?
I've ate eel-pie, mother, make my bed soon,
For I'm sick at heart, and shall die before noon.
It is said there is some kind of a fairy legend connected with these lines, Billy having probably been visited by his mermaid mother. Nothing at all satisfactory has, however, yet been produced. It appears to bear a slight analogy to the old ballad, "Where have you been all the day, my boy Willie," printed from a version obtained from Suffolk, in the Nursery Rhymes of England, p. 146; [57] and on this account we may here insert a copy of the pretty Scottish ballad, Tammy's Courtship:
Oh, where ha' ye been a' day,
My boy Tammy?
Where ha' ye been a' day,
My boy Tammy?
I've been by burn and flow'ry brae,
Meadow green and mountain gray,
Courting o' this young thing,
Just come frae her mammy.
And where gat ye that young thing,
My boy Tammy?
And where gat ye that young thing,
My boy Tammy?
I gat her down in yonder how,
Smiling on a broomy knowe,
Herding ae wee lamb and ewe
For her poor mammy.
What said you to the bonny bairn,
My boy Tammy?
What said you to the bonny bairn,
My boy Tammy?
I praised her een sae lovely blue,
Her dimpled cheek and cherry mou';
I preed it aft, as ye may trow—
She said she'd tell her mammy.
I held her to my beating breast,
My young, my smiling lammy;
I held her to my beating breast,
My young, my smiling lammy:
I hae a house, it cost me dear,
I've wealth o' plenishing and gear,
Ye'se get it a', war't ten times mair,
Gin ye will leave your mammy.
The smile gaed aff her bonny face,
I maunna leave my mammy;
The smile gaed aff her bonny face,
I maunna leave my mammy:
She's gi'en me meat, she's gi'en me claise,
She's been my comfort a' my days;
My father's death brought mony waes—
I canna leave my mammy.
We'll tak' her hame, and mak' her fain,
My ain kind-hearted lammy;
We'll tak' her hame, and mak' her fain,
My ain kind-hearted lammy:
We'll gie her meat, we'll gie her claise,
We'll be her comfort a' her days;
The wee thing gi'es her han', and says—
There! gang and ask my mammy.
Has she been to the kirk wi' thee,
My boy Tammy?
Has she been to the kirk wi' thee,
My boy Tammy?
She's been to kirk wi' me,
And the tear was in her e'e;
But, oh! she's but a young thing,
Just come frae her mammy!
| [57] | Another version was obtained from Yorkshire:
Where have you been all the day,
My boy Billy?
Where have you been all the day,
My boy Billy?
I have been all the day Courting of a lady gay; Although she is a young thing, And just come from her mammy! Is she fit to be thy love, My boy Billy? She is as fit to be my love, As my hand is for my glove, Although she is, &c. Is she fit to be thy wife, My boy Billy? She is as fit to be my wife, As my blade is for my knife; Although she is, &c. How old may she be, My boy Billy? Twice six, twice seven, Twice twenty and eleven; Although she is, &c. |