8C. On a Mountain Stands a Lady (Children's game song variants) Roud 2603; "There Stands a Lady" (Sharp); "There Stands a Lady on the Mountain;" "Yonder Stands a Lovely Lady;" "There She Stands a Lovely Creature;" "Lady on the Mountain" (Opie); "Lady on Yonder Hill;"
A. Nursery songs (stanzas of "Madam" sung by children)
a. "Madam I Am Come to Court You," published by Halliwell-Phillips in a number of books of nursery rhymes including the 1846 book, "The Nursery Rhymes of England, obtained principally from oral tradition."
b. "There She Stands, a Lovely Creature" from New York Games and songs of American children, collected and compared by W.W. Newell by American children, 1883.
B. Nursery songs texts (stanzas of "Madam" with game instructions)
a. "Here she stands, a lovely creature," sung by Washington children. From Lippincott's Monthly Magazine, Volume 37, 1886; "Song Games and Myth Dramas at Washington," by W. H. Babcock.
b. "Here Stands a Lovely Creature," from "Singing games," a 1890 book of children's game songs, by Josephine Pollard (1834-1892) and Ferdinand Schuyler Matthews (1854-1938). Published in New York by McLoughlin Bros.
c. "A Spanish Lady." A Cornwall informant quotes (Dec. 11, 1909) a version formerly heard at Colborne, Ont., which he supposes to be Irish. From Journal of American Folklore, Volume 31, 1917; "Canadian Folk-Lore from Ontario" by F. W. Waugh.
d. "Here Stands a Lovely Creature" hybrid collected in Australia before 1972 by Ian Turner- see Cinderella Dressed in Yella, New York, 1972; reprinted in The Bulletin of Sydney (December, 1998).
C. Children's game songs with standard "Here Stands a Lady" opening
a. "Yonder stands a lovely lady" (my title) collected by Robert Charles Hope from a Derbyshire servant-girl. From: The Folk-lore Journal, Volume 1 - Page 387, 1883 by Folklore Society (Great Britain).
b. "Here Stands a Lady," from Burne, "Shropshire Folk-Lore II" (1885) p.509 (see also Gomme III)
c. "Stands a lady" from Miss R. L. Husk, "Notes and Queries" 1892, collected in Shipley, Horsham (see also Gomme IV)
d. "The Lady On The Mountain" From "Old Berkshire School Games" by Emma Elizabeth Thofts published in The Antiquary: A Magazine Devoted to the Study of the Past, Volume 27; edited by Edward Walford, George Latimer Apperson, 1893. Reprinted in Gomme as VII.
e. "There's a Lady on the Mountain." From Children's Games communicated by Miss Nina Layard of Ipswich in Suffolk Folk-lore, Issue 37, Part 2 edited by Lady Eveline Camilla Gurdon, 1893.
f. "There Lives a Lady" collected by Miss G. M. Frances of Colchester, Essex, Gomme B. From Dictionary of British Folk-lore, Volume 1, edited by G. Laurence Gomme, 1894.
g. "There Stands a Lady" collected by Miss D. Kimball of Wrotham, Kent, Gomme E. From Dictionary of British Folk-lore, Volume 1, edited by G. Laurence Gomme, 1894.
h. "Lady on the Ocean," collected by(from) Miss Chase of Deptford, Gomme F, from Dictionary of British Folk-lore, Volume 1; edited by G. Laurence Gomme, 1894.
i. "There Stands a Lady." From "Children's Singing-Games"published in the Monthly Packet edited by Colreidge and Innes (London)- page 345, 1897 dated circa May 1896 from a paper compiled by Lucy Finch on the games played at Wing, Rutlandshire. Reprinted in Hinkson's "Victorian Singing Games" (1991) p.37.
j. "There Stands a Lady on the Mountain." Collected by Judge Udal in Dorset, published in Folk-Lore Journal Vol. 7, 1897. See also reprint in "Dorset Children's Doggerel Rhymes" by Herbert Pentin, 1918 Proceedings- Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society.
k. "There Stands a Lady. " From the chapter "Courting Songs" in "The Study of Man" by Alfred Cort Haddon of Inisfail, Cambridge; 1898.
l. "There's a Lady Over Yonder" sung by Miss Jeannie Brown, c. 1907, Greig-Duncan 8 p.143.
D. Children's game songs with standard "Here Stands a Lady" opening which are similar to folk (Mummers) plays
a. "Lady on Yonder Hill" sung by Suffolk children. Gomme's title. From "Children's Games communicated by Miss Nina Layard Ipswich" in Suffolk Folk-lore, Issue 37, Part 2 edited by Lady Eveline Camilla Gurdon, 1893. Reprinted by Gomme in her book, Dictionary of British Folk-lore, Volume 1 as one of two versions of the game song, "Lady on Yonder Hill."
b. "Yonder Stands a Lovely Lady," collected by Robert Charles Hope from a Derbyshire servant-girl. From: The Folk-lore Journal, Volume 1 - Page 387, 1883 by Folklore Society (Great Britain).
E. Children's game songs with standard "Here Stands a Lady" opening that are composites of "Madam Will you Walk (Keys of Heaven)."
a. "There Stands A Lady" (Keys of Heaven) from John Barnett of Bridgwater, Somerset on 12 April, 1906. From: Cecil Sharp Manuscript Collection (at Clare College, Cambridge) (CJS2/10/874) (Singing Game)
b. "There Stands a Lady" (The Keys of Heaven) from Gillington's " Old Surrey Singing Games and Skipping Rope Rhymes" 1909.
c. "There Stands a Lady," collected from girls at Littleport Town Girls' School by Cecil Sharp. 8 Sept 1911 at Littleport, Cambridgeshire.
d. "There Stands a Lady." From Norman Douglas, "London Street Games" (1st edition, 1916) pp. 85-87.
e. "There Stands a Lady." from the TV sitcom series "Liver Birds" set in Liverpool that aired from 1969 to 1979.
F. Children's skipping or jump rope game versions with "On the mountain stands a lady" standard opening followed by invitations for new participants to enter and leave the game.
a. "On a Mountain Stands a Lady," John Hornby, "The Joyous Book of Singing Games." Collected and Arranged with Pianoforte Accompaniments, New York: The Macmillan Co., 1914.
b. "Lady on the Mountain," dated c.1916. From "Clog Clatters in Old Sutton" by Frank Bamber, 1995. Recollection of a childhood spent in Sutton in borough of St. Helens, Merseyside in Lancashire.
c. "On a Hillside Stands a Lady" dated c.1940. From: Southern California Jump-Rope Rhymes: A Study in Variants by Ray B. Browne from Western Folklore, Vol. 14, No. 1 (Jan., 1955), pp. 3-22.
d. "On The Mountain Stands a Lady," c.1945. From: "Childhood Memories of Huyton." Huyton is a borough of Knowsley in Merseyside, Liverpoool.
e. "On the Mountain Stands a Lady," recalled from Cribbs School, Michigan about 1945. From Recollecting the Forties - page 60 by Carol L. Stone, 2000.
f. "On a Mountain Stands a Lady" sung by London girls c. 1948. From Mudcat Discussion Forum as posted by by Desideratum1731 on 23 April, 2011. "We girls sang it when skipping in the 40s and 50s in London."
g. "On a Hill There Lives a Lady," collected by Sue Shanks from Lola Kennedy of Monongalia County, West Virginia before 1948. From: Musick: Hoosier Folklore 7:1 (1948) pp. 11-12.
h. "On the Mountain." From a film of children singing in 1950 at Norton Park School in Edinburgh, Scotland (released 1951). From the short film, "The Singing Street," made in 1950 at Norton Park School in Edinburgh, Scotland by by Nigel McIsaac, Raymond Townsend andf James T. Ritchie.
i. "On the Corner Stands a Lady," c.1950 Roud A. No informant named from Hamphire, 1950s. Taken from Roud's "The Lore of the Playground: One hundred years of children's games" 2010.
j. "On a Mountain Stands a Lady" sung by school children from Edinburgh recorded August, 1954 by Hamlish Henderson; from School of Scottish Studies; SA1954.103.
k. "On a Mountain" from East York Children (Toronto, Ontario) 1959 as collected by Edith Fowke. From Canadian folklore - page 85 by Edith Fowke - 1988 see also "Sally Go Round the Sun: Three Hundred Children's Songs, Rhymes and Games," by Edith Fowke - 1969.
l. "On the Mountain Stands a Lady" No location or date collected given. From Growth Through Play by Albert M. Farina published by Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, N.J., 1959.
m. "On a Mountain Stands a Lad," sung by Lucy Stewart of Old Deer, Aberdeenshire, recorded June, 1960 by Prof. Kenneth Goldstein; From School of Scottish Studies; SA1960.171.
n. "On a Mountain Stands a Lady" sung by Pete Elliot and family of Co. Durham, Birtley. Recorded by MacColl and Seeger. From "The Elliots of Birtley" a 1962 Folkways recording.
o. "On a Mountain Stands a Lady," c.1965 from Mudcat Discussion Forum, 2010 from Guest from Canada.
p. "On a Mountain Stands a Lady," 1968 Callow A, From The James T. Callow Folklore Archive of Detroit Michigan.
q. "On a Mountain," collected in Grand Rapids, Michigan in September, 196, Callow B. From The James T. Callow Folklore Archive.
r. "Jump-Rope Rhyme," Callow C. From The James T. Callow Folklore Archive, collected in Detroit, Michigan in September, 10-15, 1969.
s. "On the Mountain Stands a Lady," dated 1971 Opie B. From Children's games with things: marbles, fivestones, throwing and Catching, Gambling, Hopscotch, Chucking and Pitching, Ball-Bouncing, Skipping, Tops and Tipcat by Iona Archibald Opie and Peter Opie - 1997.
t. "On the Mountain Stands a Castle," from Scotland, 1974 Opie C. From "Children's games with things: marbles, fivestones, throwing and Catching, Gambling, Hopscotch, Chucking and Pitching, Ball-Bouncing, Skipping, Tops and Tipcat" by Iona Archibald Opie, Peter Opie - 1997.
u. "There's a Lady On the Mountain," from Norfolk 1975 Opie D. From Children's games with things: marbles, fivestones, throwing and Catching, Gambling, Hopscotch, Chucking and Pitching, Ball-Bouncing, Skipping, Tops and Tipcat by Iona Archibald Opie, Peter Opie - 1997.
v. "On a Mountain," from Paddy resident of Liverpool, 2008. Posted by Paddy on Skipping songs from the past - YO! Liverpool.
G. Children's skipping or jump rope versions with the "On the mountain stands a lady" standard opening combined with stanzas of other songs (see also C).
a. "Happy Hooligan" Unknown informant. From The New Yorker: Nov 13, 1937. Reprinted in A Treasury Of American Folklore, Botkin- page 801, 1944.
b. "On the Mountain Stands a Lady," collected from children by Andrew D. Miller in Edinburgh, Scotland. From "Golden City: Scottish Children's Street Games & Songs" page 165, by James T. R. Ritchie- 1965.
c. "On a Mountain Stands a Lady," sung by children of S. London in 1974, Roud B. From "The Lore of the Playground: One hundred years of children's games, by Steve Roud - 2010.
d. "On a Hillside Stands a Lady," recording as schoolgirls from Huish Episcopi, Somerset, continue to demonstrate and perform playground games and songs for Iona Opie. The tape was recorded in August, 1978. From Opie collection of children's games & songs C898-76-02.
e. "On the Hillside," girls from Belfast, 2000. From Mudcat Discussion Forum, 2000 posted by Jimmy C. This version is nearly identical to the Liverpool version in Hope Place by Michael Wynne.
f. "Went Downtown (Miz Brown)," from: "At Play in Belfast: Children's Folklore and Identities in Northern Ireland" by Donna M. Lanclos, 2003.
g. "On the Mountain." Posted by Jean from SW Scotland in 2004 on TalkingScot discussion board.
h. "On a Hillside Stands a Lady" from Newry, County Down. From anon post in "Newry Journal History and Reminiesence" from Newry, Ireland (no. 20); February 1, 2006
[Some lines and stanzas of "Madam, I Am Come To Court You" (hereafter "Madam") have been adapted as nursery songs and children's game songs[1] in a variety of ways in North America, the UK and Australia. The master title, "On a Mountain Stands a Lady" is the best known title for versions of children's ring and skipping game songs found after World War Two[2] which are categorized as Roud 2603 and are the majority of versions under 8C. On a Mountain Stands a Lady (see versions F-G). That these later game songs were widely popular in the UK was corroborated by a tabulation by the Opies[3] in 1997 who noted the "On the Mountain" game song "from sixty-five places since 1950." The earlier versions from the late 1800s to the early 1900s reverse the words of the opening line and a typical title is "There Stands a Lady on a Mountain." The early versions are represented by C-E.
For completeness, the nursery song versions made up of "Madam" text which already been discussed and listed under "Madam" are also included here. My 8C type A therefore is represented by two nursery versions, an English version published by Haliwell in 1848 and one from New York published by Newell in 1883. Both use stanzas of "Madam" and include no game instructions. The nursery rhymes and children's "On the Mountain" game songs are not the same texts, in general, the nursery rhymes are shortened texts of "Madam" with little variation.
The first evidence that "Madam" was used as a nursery rhyme was a version published by Halliwell-Phillips in a number of books[2] of nursery rhymes including the 1846 book, "The Nursery Rhymes of England, obtained principally from oral tradition." Halliwell gives this English version, my Aa:
“MADAM, I am come to court you,
If your favour I can gain.”
“Ah, ah!” said she, “you are a bold fellow,
If I e'er see your face again!"
“Madam, I have rings and diamonds,
Madam, I have houses and land,
Madam, I have a world of treasure,
All shall be at your command.”
“I care not for rings and diamonds,
I care not for houses and lands,
I care not for a world of treasure,
So that I have but a handsome man.”
“Madam, you think much of beauty,
Beauty hasteneth to decay,
For the fairest of flowers that grow in summer
Will decay and fade away.
Haliwell gives no source of the nursery rhyme although the book notes claim it was taken from tradition. Despite missing the opening stanza usually associated with the game/skipping songs, this short version has the core "gold and silver" stanzas-- which were reworked to form part of the children's game opening stanza. It's an indication that the broadside stanzas of "Madam" were known in tradition by the early 1800s (see 8. Madam, I Have Come to Court You for the mid-1700s texts). A similar nursery rhyme as Halliwell's was collected by Newell from New York children. Here's the text, my Ab, from Games and Songs of American Children, collected and compared by W.W. Newell by American children, 1883 (No. 6. from New York):
There She Stands, a Lovely Creature.
This pretty song has been recited to us by informants of the most cultivated class, and, on the other hand, we have seen it played as a round by the very "Arabs of the street," in words identically the same. It is an old English song, which has been fitted for a ring-game by the composition of an additional verse, to allow the selection of a partner.
There she stands, a lovely creature,
Who she is, I do not know;
I have caught her for her beauty,
Let her answer, yes or no.
Madam, I have gold and silver,
Lady I have house and land,
Lady, I have ships on the ocean,
All I have is at your command.
"What care I for your gold and silver,
What care I for your houses and lands,
What care I for your ships on the ocean—
All I want is a nice young man."
The additional verse used in the ring game, mentioned by Newell, is not given. Notice that in this version and subsequent versions "nice young man" has replaced "handsome man." "Nice young man" is standard for all the children's game songs. Clearly Newell's version is a game song similar to those of B. It should be noted that "gold and silver" stanzas with "nice young man" are found in some folk plays (also called "wooing plays" and "plough plays") of the "Recruiting Sergeant" type that were collected in Lincolnshire in the late 1800s (c.1880). One folk play from Kentucky was collected with these stanzas and is dated c.1860. It is likely that Newll's game song and other children's song from the UK were based on the folk plays which also have 'nice young man."
8C type B, is represented by the similar nursery song texts from "Madam" but with game instructions. The versions of B are clearly children's games. The first evidence that stanzas of "Madam" were used as a children's game comes from the 1875 book, "Around the Tea-table," by Thomas De Witt Talmage, who said:
After tea the parlour is full of romp. The children are playing 'Ugly Mug,' and 'Mrs Wiggins,' and 'Stage Coach' and 'Bear' and 'Tag' and 'Yonder stands a lovely creature.'
Clearly the nursery rhymes published by Halliwell and others were not just sung but were adapted as children's games. By the title given by Talmage, this is a version with the "Madam" opening stanza and not "on the Mountain" variety. Although Talmage does not describe the game, variants of "Madam" were used a singing game (type B) in a variety of ways in both North America and the UK. An article by W. H. Babcock was published in Lippincott's Monthly Magazine, Volume 37, 1886 titled, "Song games and Myth Dramas at Washington." Part of the first stanzas and two other core stanzas were included along with a description of the game, my Ba:
There are other ring—games in which love does not divide the interest with death, but forms the sole subject-matter. In one of these what must have been originally a dialogue is blended into a continuous song, in which all join:
Here she stands, a lovely creature;
Who she is I do not know.
Madam, I have gold and silver,
Madam, I have ships on the ocean,
Madam, I have house and land.
What care I for your gold and silver?
What care I for ships on the ocean?
What care I for house and land?
All I want is a fine young man.
Then a member of the ring is selected by the one in the middle to take his or her place.
In this version too, the "handsome man" of the print versions is replaced by "nice young man." In 1890 a New York publisher, McLoughlin Bros., printed "Here Stands a Lovely Creature," my Bb, in "Singing games," a book children's game songs, by Josephine Pollard (1834-1892) and Ferdinand Schuyler Matthews (1854-1938):
HERE SHE STANDS, A LOVELY CREATURE.
"Madam, I have gold and silver,
Madam, I have house and lands,
Madam, I have ships on the ocean,
All I have is at your command."
What care I for gold and silver?
What care I for house and lands?
What care I for ships on the ocean?
All I want is a nice young man! "
The players go round in a ring. One of their number stands in the center, and at the last verse chooses a partner. The two kiss, and the one who was first in the center takes her place in the ring, and the game goes on.
Here she stands a beauty creature,
who she is I do not know,
I will court her for her beauty,
Whether she says yes or no.
This version which uses the standard nursery rhyme text is unusual because it also gives detailed instructions of the ring game. A different version from Journal of American Folklore, Volume 31, 1917 ("Canadian Folk-Lore from Ontario" by F. W. Waugh) was given under "Play Rhymes" from a Cornwall informant who quoted (Dec. 11, 1909) a version formerly heard at Colborne, Ont., which he supposes to be Irish:
"Here sits a Spanish lady,
Who she is I do not know.
Come and court her for her beauty,
Whether she say yes or no."
The next verse began, –
"Madam, I have come a-courting,
Your kind favor to obtain."
The young man set forth his qualifications: —
"Madam, I have gold and silver,
Madam, I have houses and land;
Madam, I have ships on the ocean,
And they're all at your command."
The lady then scornfully remarked,
"What care I for your gold and silver?
What care I for your houses and land?
What care I for ships on the ocean?
All I want is a nice young man."
The young man then returned, –
"Madam, I have gold, etc.,
And, besides, I'm a nice young man," —
after which they both lived happily.
F. W. Waugh's version, which was presumably Irish, includes the mysterious "Spanish Lady" who replaces the "lovely creature" found in standard versions of "Madam." This is classified as "Spanish Lady IV." See 8E. Spanish Lady or the headnotes of "Madam" for more information.
Ba-Bc are all ring games where the "handsome man" of Madam has been changed to the "nice young man." Yet the B versions are still firmly rooted in the text of "Madam."
* * * *
About the same time the ring games of B were collected, different game songs with a unique opening stanza, my C-G, began cropping up. These new games songs represented by Roud 2603 began with a new opening line, "There stands a lady on a mountain," which later became "On a mountain stands a lady." This new opening stanza is a composite of two stanzas of the "Madam" text. The new children's games were presumed to have been created during the mid-1800s and adapted from local versions of "Madam." These new ring games were developed from, and along with, text from other nursery rhymes sung by children during that period. The new text was developed from the first two lines of the first stanza of "Madam" by modifying the first line. It appears in a variety of ways:
There stands a lady on the mountain,
Who she is I do not know:
Oh! she wants such gold and silver!
Oh! she wants such a nice young man![4]
or later (early 1900s) with the text of the first line reversed:
On a mountain stands a lady,
Who she is I do not know;
All she wants is gold and silver,
All she wants is a nice young man[5].
The image of a lady on a "mountain" or "hillside" makes the stanza easily identified. It's derived from the first two lines of the opening stanza of "Madam[6]":
Yonder sits[stands] a lovely creature,
Who is she? I do not know,
I'll go court her for her features,
Whether her answer be "Ay" or "no."
The source of "mountain" is unknown and only one reference is given to it in the related "Madam" songs (see: The Dumb Lady-- 1672). The two lines are combined with a two-line variation of the last "gold and silver" stanza of "Madam" (the woman's response)[7]:
What care I for gold and silver,
What care I for house and land
What care I for rings and jewels,
If I had but a handsome man."
In the text used for the children's game songs (my B) based on "Madam" a "handsome man" has now become a "nice young man" and the young lady who eschewed "gold and silver" for a "handsome man" now wants "gold and silver." Parts of the two "gold and silver" stanzas from "Madam" are substantially the only text borrowed indirectly from "Madam." The two "gold and silver" stanzas with "nice young man" are found in some English wooing plays or plough plays. Since the text from the children's game songs has "god and silver" and "nice young man" it seems that the children's game songs are based on stanzas directly from "Madam" but rather similar stanzas from the recruiting Sergeant type play found in Lincolnshire in the 1880s. The adaptation of the "Madam" stanzas in the folk plays is older extending at least into the early 1800 (see the plough play from Kentucky dated circa 1860). The date these "There stands a lady" ring games and children's songs were created in the UK is unknown but the collected evidence (1880s) points to the later half of the 1800s although they and the folk play with Madam stanzas could have appeared anytime after the extant printed "Madam" broadsides (c.1760).
One early version of C was collected in Berrington by Charlotte Burne and published in Shropshire Folk-Lore II ( p. 509) before 1885. Burne calls it "another version of Sally Water(Walters)" since the second part is similar to or taken from it. She also says, "See the ballad of the Disdainful Lady," a version of Madam also published in the same edition (the last stanza -footnote 7-- is taken from Burne's version titled Disdainful Lady). In the notes for Disdainful Lady she says, "the first stanza slightly resembles a game-rhyme given ante (p. 509), and one in Folio Lore Journal, Vol. I. p. 387." Here's Burne's version:
Chorus. 'Here stands a lady on a mountain,
Who she is I do not know;
AU as she wants is gold and silver;
All as she wants is a nice young man.
Choose you east, and choose you west.
Choose you the one as you love best.'
(She chooses, and chorus continues,)
Now Sally's got married we wish her good joy,
First a girl and then a boy;
Twelve months a'ter a son and da'ter,
Pray young couple, kiss together.
(Shropshire Folk-lore II, pp. 509, 510).
The text of stanzas not found in versions of "Madam" are taken from other children's songs current at the time of collection. Burne mentions "Sally Water." Some other children's songs/games with a lines similar to "Choose you east" and the "kissing stanza" are "King William," "Here Stands a Young Man," "Tug of War" and the aforementioned "Sally Water." Cf. the version in Gillington's "Old Hampshire Singing Games."
Miss R. L. Husk posted a version from Shipley, Horsham (Sussex) in the 1892 Notes and Queries page 210. She commented:
The sense, the rhythm, and the rhyme have obviously got considerably corrupted in both these specimens; but I give them exactly in the form children use and are amused by them.
2. Stands a lady on the mountain,
Who she is I do not know;
All she wants is gold and silver,
All she wants is a nice young beau.
Take her by the lily-white hand,
Lead her across the water;
Give her kisses, one, two, three,
For she is her mother's daughter.
—Shipley, Horsham (Notes and Queries, 8th series, p. 210, Miss Husk).
For a similar version of the second stanza see Gomme's "Rosy Apple, Lemon and Pear[8]" and the more modern Scottish version from Ritchie[9] with "Give her a kiss, one, two, three."
* * * *
The theory that children's game song texts are similar to, or based on, courting texts associated with Mummer's plays and Plough plays found in The East Midland has been suggested by Baskervill and others who have written about the English wooing plays of the East Midlands[10]. Baskervill mentions two versions of "Lady on Yonder Hill" published by Gomme [Traditional Games, I, 323-24] in 1894 where the action of the game resembles similar action found in folk plays of the "Recruiting Sergeant" type. The two "Madam, I have gold and silver" stanzas found in the plough plays bear the brunt of this association while the opening stanzas of "Madam" common in the UK children's games are not usually found in the Plough Play dialogue.
According to Baskervill[11], "Two versions of a children's game which are apparently mummers' wooing plays in the last stages of decay were naturally not taken into account, though they at least suggest the former currency of the type in other parts of England, since one came from Derbyshire and one from Suffolk."
In a footnote to the above paragraph Baskervill adds, "In the Derbyshire version, with an opening "Yonder stands a lovely lady," like a line in the Bassingham plays printed below, the rebuffed wooer falls on the ground and is revived by the Good Fairy. In the Suffolk version the Gentleman stabs the Lady and then revives her, calling her out of her trance with lines similar to the corresponding lines in the Bassingham, Cropwell, and Axholme plays."
The original Mummer's plays, now called "Quack Doctor Plays" by Peter Millington are much older[12] but evidence of the use of "Madam" text with its identifying "Madam I have gold and silver" stanza also used (reworded) in "There Stands a Lady" has been wanting until the later part of the 1800s and early 1900s[13]. Millington also suggests the plays text was "added to pre-existing house-visiting customs, and that this took place sometime during the early to mid 18th century, as an extension of the entertainments that these customs already possessed[14]." This would mean that the "gold and silver" stanzas of Madam found in the plays would be in circulation in that area at the time of the plays creation. The theory of an early transmission of stanzas similar to "Madam" from an archaic wooing play has debunked by Millington (see for example his article, "Textual Analysis of English Quack Doctor Plays: Some New Discoveries") and others. Another possible early source of these children's game songs that is sometimes mentioned is the Elizabethan Stage Jig, a short performance by a small group of players usually in costume at the end or intermission of stage plays during the 1600s. Although Baskerville has quoted some lines from "Taming of the Shrew" (1593) which indicate the possibility that a play similar to the Recruiting Sergeant play existed at that time, there is no evidence that a dialogue song with text of "Madam" was performed at that time.
In 1894 G. Laurence Gomme published seven UK versions in his book, Dictionary of British Folk-lore, Volume 1 along with two versions of the game song, "Lady on Yonder Hill." Both versions of "Lady on Yonder Hill" are distantly related to the "wooing plays" of the 1800s and 1900s.
11. There stands a lady on yonder hill,
Who she is I cannot tell;
I'll go and court her for her beauty,
Whether she answers me yes or no.
Madam, I bow vounce to thee.
Sir, have I done thee any harm?
Coxconian!
Coxconian is not my name;
'tis Hers and Kers, and Willis and Cave.
Stab me, ha! ha! little I fear.
Over the waters there are but nine,
I'll meet you a man alive.
Over the waters there are but ten,
I'll meet you there five thousand.
Rise up, rise up, my pretty fair maid,
You're only in a trance;
Rise up, rise up, my pretty fair maid,
And we will have a dance.
—from Children's Games communicated by Miss Nina Layard Ipswich in Suffolk Folk-lore, Issue 37, Part 2 edited by Lady Eveline Camilla Gurdon, 1893.
The stabbing and rising up from the mock death are commonly found in wooing plays. These notes by Gomme follow: In the Suffolk game the children form a ring, a boy and girl being in the centre. The boy is called a gentleman and the girl a lady. The gentleman commences by singing the first verse. Then they say alternately the questions and answers. When the gentleman says the lines commencing, "Stab me," he pretends to stab the lady, who falls on the ground. Then he walks round the lady and sings the last verse, "Rise up," and lifts up the lady. In the Derbyshire game only three children play, the lover, lady, and fairy. The girl stands a little distance oft". The lover says the first four lines, then approaches the lady, falls on one knee, and says the next line. The lady replies, and retires further away. The lover then falls on the ground and says the next line. As this is said the good fairy appears, touches the fallen lover with her hand, and he is immediately well again.
In the folk plays Alan Brody points out that the "combat leads to the death and resurrection of one of the figures, after which the wooing resumes." The death of one of the wooers is found in both "Lady on Yonder Hill" and some of the "Quack Doctor" folk plays. Gomme's source was the article "Children's Games" which were communicated by Miss Nina Layard of Ipswich and published in Suffolk Folk-lore, Issue 37, Part 2 edited by Lady Eveline Camilla Gurdon, 1893. Here's the original game instructions along with the sung text published by Gurdon:
VIII.
Make a Ring.
All join hands, enclosing a boy and girl, the boy standing a distance from the girl. The boy is called a gentleman, and the girl a lady.
Gentleman: "There stands a lady on yonder hill,
Who she is I cannot tell;
I'll go and court her for her beauty
Whether she answers me yes or no.
Madam I bow vounce to thee."
Lady: 'Sir, have I done thee any harm?'
Gentleman: 'Coxconian.'
Lady: 'Coxconian is not my name, 'tis Hers and Kers and Willis and Cave.'
Gentleman: 'Stab me Ha! Ha! little I fear, over the waters there are but nine, I'll meet you a man alive. Over the waters there are but ten, I'll meet you there five thousand.'
Then the gentleman pretends to stab the lady, and she falls on the ground. Then he walks round the lady and sings:
'Rise up, rise up, my pretty fair maid,
You're only in a trance;
Rise up, rise up, my pretty fair maid,
And we will have a dance.'
Then he lifts up the lady and the game is finished.
Gomme also gives seven standard game versions with the standard "There stands a lady" opening stanza created from "Madam." One standard short version given by Gomme is:
VII. There stands a lady on the mountain,
Who she is I do not know:
Oh! she wants such gold and silver!
Oh! she wants such a nice young man!
Now you're married I wish you joy,
First a girl and then a boy;
Seven years after a son and a daughter,
Kiss your bride and come out of the ring.
—Berkshire (Miss Thoyts, Antiquary, xxvii. 254).
This also has the "kissing" stanza associated with "Sally Water" and other children's game songs.
* * * *
A number of ring game variants (designated E) have been collected that combine "Lady on a mountain" with a chorus, "Madam will you walk" associated with another courting song, "Keys of Heaven (Keys of Canterbury)[15]":
Madam will you walk
Madam will you talk
Madam will you walk and talk with me.
The best known variant that combines "Madam" and "Keys" was collected by Cecil Sharp in 1911 from some girls at Littleport Town Girl's School in Cambridgeshire. The basic theme is this: When the child playing the wooer offers to buy her "a nice arm chair to set in the garden to get fresh air" in exchange for marriage, he is rejected by a loud, No!" When he then offers to buy her a "straw hat," he is again rejected. She accepts his proposal when he offers her the Keys to Heaven. They go to the church, get married and have a dinner. The girl agrees to be an obedient wife. Here's the text from Cecil Sharp Manuscript Collection (at Clare College, Cambridge) (CJS2/10/2639):
There stands a lady on the mountain
all she wants is a nice young man
all she wants is gold and silver
all she wants is a nice young man
Madam will you walk
Madam will you talk
Madam will you walk and talk with me.
Not if I buy you a nice arm chair to set in the garden to get fresh air
Madam will you not walk etc.
(Ring, A in middle . Above sung by ring who continue)
Not is I buy you a nice straw hat
With 3 yards of ribbon hanging down your back
Madam etc No!
Not if I buy you a nice silver spoon
To feed your baby every afternoon
Madam etc No!
Not if I buy you the keys of heaven
To let you in at half past seven?
Madam etc. Yes!
Go to Church Lane go to Church Lane
go to Church Lane fare well
Say you prayer love
Stand up love
Put the ring on
Ring a ding love
Come back love
What had you for dinner for dinner for dinner
what had you for dinner farewell
Sometimes Roast Beef and a fried hedgehog
(To which A & B reply Roast beef and plum pudding)
Now you're married you must obey,
you must be true to all you say
you must be very kind a good and helpful wife to chop the wood
Chop it fine and carry it and kiss together in the ring.
In 1912 Sharp and Gomme published for Novello and Co., "There Stands a Lady," a slightly expanded version of the one collected from girls at Littleport Town Girls' School by Cecil Sharp. 8 Sept 1911 Littleport, Cambridgeshire.
"There Stands a Lady" Circle Game
All the players join hands in a ring except one, A, who stands in the centre. They then sing and act as follows:—
The players dance round in the ring and sing these lines. A says “No” very decidedly. The players then stand still and sing the last two lines. A again says " No.”
1 There stands a lady on the mountain,
Who she is I do not know;
All she wants is gold and silver.
All she wants is a nice young man.
Madam will you walk? Madam will you talk?
Madam will you marry me? No!
Not if I buy you a nice arm chair
To sit in your garden when you take the air? No!
2 There stands a lady on the mountain.
Who she is I do not know ;
All she wants is gold and silver,
All she wants is a nice young man.
Madam will you walk? Madam will you talk?
Madam will you marry me? No
Not if I buy you a silver spoon
To feed your baby every afternoon? No
3 There stands a lady on the mountain,
Who she is I do not know;
All she wants is gold and silver.
All she wants is a nice young man.
[As in first stanza, except that on the second interrogation A says “Yes.” A then chooses a partner from the ring, B.]
Madam will you walk? Madam will you talk?
Madam will you marry me! No!
Not if I buy you a nice straw hat,
With three yards of ribbon a-hanging down your back? Yes
[A and B, arm in arm, walk out from the ring under the raised arms of two of the players. B puts a ring on A’s finger,]
4 Go to church, love,
Go to church, love, farewell.
5 Put the ring on,
Put the ring on, farewell.
6 Say your prayers, love, [A and B kneel down]
Say your prayers, love, farewell.
7 Back from church, love, [A and B, arm in arm, walk back into the centre of the ring,]
Back from church, love, fare-well.
8 What’s for breakfast, love, [Sung by A and B.]
What’s for breakfast, love, fare-well?
9 Bread and butter and watercress, [Sung by the ring]
Bread and butter and watercress,
Bread and butter and watercress,
And you shall have some.
10 Bread and butter and beetles, [Sung by the ring],
Bread and butter and beetles,
Bread and butter and beetles,
And you shall have some.
12 What’s for tea, love, [Music as for sung by A and B],
What’s for tea, love, farewell?
13 Bread and butter and rats, [Sung by the ring]
Bread and butter and rats,
Bread and butter and rats,
And you shall have some.
In some versions the game concludes with the “marriage formula[ref. Heddon, Study of Man, 1898]" last stanza or “Poor Mary sits a-weeping.” Stanza 10 is also sung "Roast beef and plum pudding," or “Roast beef and fried hedgehog." This, rather elaborate, ring game was collected in 1911 and is a composite of text from two courting songs "Lady on the Mountain" and "Madam will You Walk (Keys to Heaven)." Sharp first collected a full version from John Barrett in 1906. In 1909 a short version titled "There Stands a Lady" (The Keys of Heaven) was published in Gillington's "Old Surrey Singing Games and Skipping Rope Rhymes." In the 1960s the Sharp/Gomme version was sung on the old TV series "The Liver Birds." Sharp/Gomme's version was re-published in 1985 by Iona and Peter Opie with minor changes in "The singing Game." To listen to a Scottish version online: http://sounds.bl.uk/Oral-history/Opie-collection-of-children-s-games-and-songs-/021M-C0898X0032XX-0200V0 (starts at 10:47) at Opie collection of children's games & songs; dated 1976; recorded in Scotland.
It appears the Liver Birds TV version started a wave of new collections of the Sharp/Gomme version. In a rootsweb London archive post Joanna Coventry said:
At the beginning of the 1970s only a few lines of this game-song seem to have been remembered; but in 1975-6 versions such as the above were collected in quick succession from 9 year olds in Salford, from an 8 year old at Wool in Dorset and from 10 year olds in Oxford
. The words are virtually those of the game, "There stands a lady," published by Cecil Sharp in 1912 and most of the children had learnt the song from a young man with a guitar on the TV schools programme Music Time. . . This extended version belongs to the period 1920-25; but the first four lines have been continuously popular in the skipping rope, as well as forming the basis of a simple ring game first noted in 1913.
* * * *
By the mid-1900s the short ring game songs had become popular skipping songs or jump-rope songs. These songs, my F, were popular throughout the UK and in the US and Canada as well. The standard rope jumping version begins:
On the mountain stands a lady,
Who she is I do not know,
All she wants is gold and silver,
All she wants is a nice young man. [James T. Callow Folklore Archive; Detroit, US]
After this a new child is asked to come in (called by name) to jump rope and one of the participating jumpers is asked to leave (called to leave).
Come in my dear [name],
Go out my dear [name].
The invitation ("come in" or "calling in") of another player who replaces the old player in the center of the ring or rope is the most common version known in the last fifty years and many children from the 1950s up to today have learned this basic version which is usually titled, "On the Mountain stands a Lady."
* * * *
Curiously, there is no Traditional Ballad Index listing for these various well-known jump-rope songs and they are not listed in Keefer's Folk Index either. In the Roud index it's no. 2603 with 62 listings-- several of them multiples. There are easily over 100 versions, published in books, posted in forums or in unusual collections (see, for example, Detroit versions). Regardless of the oversight by various traditional sources of songs[16], this little jump-rope song was popular and recently was known throughout the English speaking world. No attempt has been made to secure every version of the C-G songs for this brief study-- especially the skipping song versions of F-G which were so popular from the 1950s onward.
One of the few comprehensive articles on this children's game song is "The Lady on the Mountain: A Century of Play Rhyme Tradition" by Nigel G. N. Kelsey which appeared in "Lore and Language," 1985. Kelsey gives a number of versions but lacks a comprehensive knowledge of "Madam" and its variants which can only be expected.
The versions of children's songs with text from Madam may be thus categorized as:
A. nursery songs; see those by Haliwell and Newell which are shortened versions of "Madam."
B. ring game songs; see those by Babcock and Waugh which are also shortened versions of "Madam." They include game instructions.
C. ring game songs which use the standard opening: "There stands a lady on the mountain/Who she is I do not know/All she wants is gold and silver/All she wants is a nice young man," which is a composite of two stanza of Madam with changes (mountain- nice young man). The early version of Roud 2603 often have stanzas from other children's songs such as Sally Water (Walker).
D. ring game songs which use the "There stands a lady on the mountain " standard opening but have additional dialogue and characters resembling "wooing" folk plays.
E. ring game songs which use the "There stands a lady on the mountain " standard opening but are combined with "Madam will you walk" chorus (Keys of Heaven/Keys of Canterbury; see Sharp's 1911 version.
F. skipping or jump rope versions which consist of the "On the mountain stands a lady" standard opening followed by invitations for new participants to enter and leave the game.
G. skipping or jump rope versions which consist of the "On the mountain stands a lady" standard opening combined with stanzas of other songs.
The other stanzas combined with the identifying "On the mountain stands a lady" stanza are varied. One posted by Jimmy C on Mudcat in 2000 is from "little girls in Belfast and probably other places used to sing a skipping song that went":
On the hillside stands a lady
Who she is I do not know
All she wants is gold and silver
All she wants is a fine young man
Lady, Lady, touch the ground
Lady, Lady spin around
Lady, Lady, touch your shoe
Lady, Lady, go right through.
His description of the game was "During the singing of the second part the skipper would have to spin, touch her shoe etc, without getting tangled in the rope. If successful she would pass on and rejoin the line, if not she had to take the end of the rope and do the turning, this went on until everybody got a chance to skip. My sisters would sing it often, I suppose there are other verses but I can't recall any."
A similar Liverpool version appears in "Hope Place" by Michael Wynne, 2014. A second stanza with instructions for the "lady" was reported from Canada[17] in the 1960s:
So come in my lady, lady, lady
So come in my lady,
While I go out to tea.
One of the earliest Scottish versions is "There's a Lady Over Yonder" collected by James Duncan from Miss Jeannie Brown of Aberdeenshire[18] about 1907 (Greig-Duncan 8 p.143):
There's a lady over yonder,
Who she is I do not know.
All she wants is gold and silver,
That makes a fine young lass.
Telly, elly Auntie Lissie
Telly, elly Auntie Lissie
Telly, elly Auntie Lissie,
That makes a fine young lass.
The fourth line in each stanza is new and the last stanza is simply repeated rhyming syllables. Other additional stanzas show that is was also a kissing game:
Now you're married I wish you joy,
Father and mother you must obey;
Love one another like sister and brother,
And pray, young couple, come kiss one another. (Gomme II— Colchester by Miss G. M. Frances).
This stanza is similarly found in Sally Water. Here's another from Gomme:
Now she's married I wish her joy,
First a girl and then a boy;
Seven years after son and daughter,
Pray young couple kiss together.
Kiss her once, kiss her twice,
Kiss her three times three. (Gomme V —Wrotham, Kent by Miss D. Kimball).
In his 2010 book "The Lore of the Playground: One hundred years of children's games" Steve Roud said: Being a relative newcomer to the stable of children's games, it was natural for skipping to acquire some rhymes from older forms of entertainment. On a Mountain Stands a lady is an example of a rhyme that was formerly found in a ring game concerned with courtship; it received a healthy new lease of life when adapted for skipping. In the first version it is a calling-in rhyme, but in other versions it takes on the standard "how many kisses" style:
On a mountain stands a lady
Who she is I do not know
All she wants is gold and silver
All she wants is a nice young man
So go to your__, dear,
And make it Mrs___
How many kisses did he give you?
One, two, three. . .
Will you marry him?
Yes, no, yes. . .
How many babies will you have?
One, two, three. . .
Do you love him?
Yes, no, yes. . .[19]
The way the additional lines of the game were enacted were described by schoolgirls from Huish Episcopi, Somerset in a recording[20]: A girl is skipping in the middle while the girls sing "Will you marry him?" When they sing "Yes, no yes, no. . ." the rope stops swinging and if they were singing "yes" when it stopped-- that is the answer for the girl in the middle-- "Yes" she will marry him. The other questions are answered similarly.
Another variant includes an introductory stanza. This is from Botkin's "A Treasury of American Folk Song," 1944:
Happy Hooligan, number nine,
Hung his breeches on the line;
When the line began to swing,
Happy Hooligan began to sing:
"On the mountain stands a lady,
Who she is I do not know;
All she wants is gold and silver,
And a nice young man.
In Ireland a different introductory stanza was sung. From her book, "At Play in Belfast: Children's Folklore and Identities in Northern Ireland," Donna M. Lanclos gives this version:
Went downtown and met Miz Brown
She gave me a nickel so I bought a pickle
The pickle was sour so I got a flower
The flower wouldn't smell so I bought a bell
The bell wouldn't ring, so I began to sing:
"On the mountain stands a lady,
Who she is I do not know;
All she wants is gold and silver,
All she wants is a nice young man.
A new variant of the first stanza was widely known in Scotland by the 1970s. One version appears in "Children's games with things: marbles, fivestones, throwing and Catching, Gambling, Hopscotch, Chucking and Pitching, Ball-Bouncing, Skipping, Tops and Tipcat" by Iona Archibald Opie, Peter Opie, 1997. See also a version from Falkirk, 2004.
On the mountain stands a castle.
And the owner's Frankenstein;
And his daughter Pansy Potter
Hopes to get a Valentine.
So call in Fiona dear,
Fiona dear, Fiona dear,
So call in Fiona dear,
And I'll go out till next New Year.
(Versions from twelve places in Scotland. 1974 and 1975)
Ian Turner collected a number of versions in Australia (see: Cinderella Dressed in Yella, New York, 1972). Here's one reprinted in The Bulletin of Sydney (December, 1998) that has the second verse in the third person:
Here stands a lovely creature,
Who she is I do not know.
Will she answer for her beauty,
Will she answer Yes or No.
No, she won't have gold and silver
No, she won't have house or land
No, she won't have ships on the ocean.
All she wants is a nice young man.
This version and another collected in 1952 in England by the Opies have the familiar "Madam" first stanza which is the older form of the children's song.
From the preceding examples, it's clear that "On the Mountain" has been used in a variety of ways by children in North America the UK and Australia. Many versions of "On the Mountain" are attached to the British Versions page and also the US & Canada page. No attempt has been made to include every version but all easily accessible versions are included.
R. Matteson 2017]
________________________
Footnotes:
1. Some of the game songs have been collected from adults, who it may be assumed were once children :)
2. From the article "The Lady on the Mountain" by Nigel G. N. Kelsey, 1985: "Almost all versions of 'Lady on the Mountain' published since World War Two, and in all those I have come across, the rhyme begins: 'On a Mountain Stands a Lady,'. . ." This statement but Kelsey is not entirely accurate; the earliest record I've found is "On a Mountain Stands a Lady," from a book edited by John Hornby, "The Joyous Book of Singing Games;" New York: The Macmillan Co., 1914.
3. See that reference in "Children's Games with Things" by Iona Archibald Opie and Peter Opie, 1997.
4. Notice the the "Oh!" is a corruption of "All." Taken from "Old Berkshire School Games" by Emma Elizabeth Thofts published in The Antiquary: A Magazine Devoted to the Study of the Past, Volume 27; edited by Edward Walford, George Latimer Apperson, 1893. Reprinted in Gomme as VII.
5. This is the standard "skipping" game text found in dozens of versions from the 1950s onward.
6.From the earliest extant version of Madam: "The Lovely Creature" ("Yonder sits a Lovely Creature"), broadside printed at Aldermary Churchyard by one of the Dicey/Marshall dynasty and is probably about 1760. It comes from British Library 11621 e 6, items 1 to 26.
7. Taken from "The Disdainful Lady." Sung by Harriet Dowley, of Edgmond. From Shropshire Folk-lore, a Sheaf of Gleanings - Part 2, page 552, by Charlotte Sophia Burne, Georgina Frederica Jackson, 1885.
8. See: The Lady on the Mountain: A Century of Play Rhyme Tradition by Nigel G.N. Kelsey (Lore and Language, 1985).
9. "On the Mountain Stands a Lady," collected from children by Andrew D. Miller in Edinburgh, Scotland. From "Golden City: Scottish Children's Street Games & Songs" page 165, by James T. R. Ritchie- 1965.
10 Here are a few: Three Mumming Plays (Alan Brody); "Mummers' Wooing Plays" (Charles Read Baskerville); "The St. George or Mummers' Play: A Study in the Protology of the Drama" (Arthur Beatty); "The English Folk Play" (E. K. Chambers) and "In Comes I, St. George," (Alex Helm).
11. Charles Read Baskerville, "Mummers' Wooing Plays," MP, 21 (February 1924), 230.
12. Although the mummers were referenced in 1296, organized plays with published scripts date to the late 1700s.
13. Although collected plays with text from Madam date in the 1900s, the version from Kentucky dated 1930 was recreated from informants who learned the play in the late 1800s (c.1860). The play was brought to Kentucky by English ancestors which took a number of years. Several of the UK Recruiting Sergeant plays with "Madam" stanzas were published in the 1900s but date back to the 1800s (1880 and 1897).
14. From his article "Textual Analysis of English Quack Doctor Plays: Some New Discoveries."
15. Known by a number of names "Keys of Heaven" is a different courting ballad.
16. A number of indexes including Traditional Ballad Index, Keefer's Folk Index do not have versions listed.
17. Posted in Mudcat Discussion Forum in 2010 from Guest from Northern Canada.
18. My location. This Scottish version is somewhat different than the standard versions.
19. From "The Lore of the Playground: One hundred years of children's games" by Steve Roud.
20. From a recording in Opie collection of children's games & songs, online C898-76-02. The children perform the singing game 'On a Hillside Stands a Lady' (a variation of 'On a Mountain Stands a Lady') [00:00:58 - 00:01:59] http://sounds.bl.uk/Oral-history/Opie-collection-of-children-s-games-and-songs-/021M-C0898X0077XX-0100V0