Children's songs -- United States; Games with music
At the second verse, the little girls by whom this round is danced
turn so as to follow each other in an endless chain, each grasping the
skirts of the child in front, while they move faster and faster to the
lively tune.
Some of our readers may think this song not a very creditable specimen
of modern invention; but it is no doubt a relic of antiquity. A similar
round, given in "Deuteromelia," 1609 (as cited by Chappell), begins:
We be three poor mariners, newly come from the seas;
We spend our lives in jeopardy, while others live at ease.
The children of the poorer class, therefore, who still keep up in the
streets of our cities the present ring-dance, are only maintaining the
customs which belonged to courtiers and noble ladies in the time of
Shakespeare.
No. 59.
_Marching to Quebec._
This piece of doggerel may be of revolutionary origin, as it can be
traced to near the beginning of the present century. It is unusual for
political or military events to be alluded to in children's games.
As we were marching to Quebec,
The drums were loudly beating;
The Americans have won the day,
The British are retreating.
March! march! march! march!
So the game was played in Philadelphia in the childhood of a lady born
at the end of the last century. In Massachusetts and Maine it continued
to be popular until within a few years, as follows:
We were marching to Quebec,
The drums were loudly beating;
America has gained the day,
The British are retreating.
The war is o'er, and they are turned back,
For evermore departed;
So open the ring, and take one in,
For they are broken-hearted.
Oh, you're the one that I love best,
I praise you high and dearly;
My heart you'll get, my hand I'll give,
The kiss is most sincerely.
_Worcester, Mass._
That the population of Dutch extraction in New York had no deep
sympathy with the patriotic sentiments of revolutionary times seems
to be indicated in a satirical stanza, which has come to us from an
informant who learned it in youth of her aged grandmother, and which
appears also to have been originally a dance-song. We hope that errors
in spelling American Dutch may be forgiven:
Loope, Junger, de roier kome--
Spann de wagen voor de Paarde!
That is,
Run, lads, the king's men are coming;
Harness the wagons before the horses!
in jesting allusion to the speed with which the patriots were supposed
to make off. The refrain is in part unintelligible to us, but seems to
belong to a dance.
No. 60.
_Sudden Departure._
A visitor approaches the ring from without, and pleads:
It snows and it blows, and it cuts off my nose,
So pray, little girl, let me in;
I'll light my pipe, and warm my toes,
And then I'll be gone again.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account