The Traditional Games of England, Scotland, and Ireland (Vol 1 of 2): With Tunes, Singing-Rhymes and Methods of Playing etc.Gomme, Alice Bertha
History
The Traditional Games of England, Scotland, and Ireland (Vol 1 of 2): With Tunes, Singing-Rhymes and Methods of Playing etc.
Gomme, Alice Bertha
Folklore -- Great Britain; Games -- Great Britain
O very well, ladies.
We’ve come to see Georgina.
Then follows—]
She was coming downstairs with a basin of water, and she fell
down and broke her toe, and she’s dead.
And what shall we dress her in, dress her in, dress her in?
And what shall we dress her in? Dress her in red.
Red for the soldiers, soldiers, soldiers,
Red for the soldiers, and that shan’t do.
[Then follow blue for the sailors, black for the mourners, and finally—]
What shall we dress her in, dress her in, dress her in?
What shall we dress her in? Dress her in white.
White for the dead people, dead people, dead people,
White for the dead people, and that will do.
—Auchencairn, Kirkcudbright (A. C. Haddon).
XVII. How’s poor Jenny jo, Jenny jo, Jenny jo?
He’s very ill.
Oh, very good, very good, very good.
How’s poor Jenny jo, Jenny jo, Jenny jo?
He’s fallen downstairs and broken his neck.
Oh, very good, very good, very good.
How’s poor Jenny jo, Jenny jo, Jenny jo?
He’s dead.
Oh, very good, very good, very good.
—Annaverna, Louth, Ireland (Miss R. Stephen).
(_b_) Two children stand apart; one, who personates the Mother, stands
still and holds out her skirts with both hands; the other personates
Jenny Jones, and kneels or stoops down in a crouching position behind
her companion’s outstretched skirts. The other players form a line by
joining hands. They sing the first, third, and every alternate verse,
advancing and retiring in line while doing so. The Mother sings the
answers to their questions, standing still and hiding Jenny Jones all
the time from view. When the verses are finished, Jenny Jones lies down
as if she were dead, and the Mother stands aside. Two of the other
players then take up Jenny Jones, one by the shoulders and the other by
the feet, and carry her a little distance off, where they lay her on the
ground. All the players follow, generally two by two, with their
handkerchiefs at their eyes and heads lowered, pretending to grieve.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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