The farmer's daughter hath ripe red lips;
(Butter and eggs and a pound of cheese)
If you try to approach her, away she skips
Over tables and chairs with apparent ease.
The farmer's daughter hath soft brown hair;
(Butter and eggs and a pound of cheese)
And I met with a ballad, I can't say where,
Which wholly consisted of lines like these.
She sat with her hands 'neath her dimpled cheeks,
(Butter and eggs and a pound of cheese)
And spake not a word. While a lady speaks
There is hope, but she didn't even sneeze.
She sat with her hands 'neath her crimson cheeks;
(Butter and eggs and a pound of cheese)
She gave up mending her father's breeks,
And let the cat roll in her best chemise.
She sat with her hands 'neath her burning cheeks
(Butter and eggs and a pound of cheese),
And gazed at the piper for thirteen weeks;
Then she followed him out o'er the misty leas.
Her sheep followed her as their tails did them
(Butter and eggs and a pound of cheese),
And this song is considered a perfect gem,
And as to the meaning, it's what you please.
Charles S. Calverley.
NOT I
Some like drink
In a pint pot,
Some like to think,
Some not.
Strong Dutch cheese,
Old Kentucky Rye,
Some like these;
Not I.