Bessy Bell and Mary Lee- Young (ME) 1928 Barry B
[This version from Barry Eckstrom and Smyth's 1929 book, British Ballads from Maine, is an almost exact copy of the nursery rhyme. An exact replication is found in Davis A, from Traditional Ballads of Virginia, of the English nursey rhyme (Halliwell: 1842). The same rhyme was published in Mother Goose's Melodies (James Miller, N.Y., 1869) and appeared in The Nursery Rhyme Book edited by Andrew Lang 1897, quoted below:
BESSY BELL and Mary Gray,
They were two bonny lasses;
They built their house upon the lea,
And covered it with rashes.
Bessy kept the garden gate,
And Mary kept the pantry;
Bessy always had to wait,
While Mary lived in plenty.
R. Matteson 2013]
Bessy Bell and Mary Lee- Young (ME) 1928 Barry B
1 Bessie Bell and Mary Lee,
They were two bonnie lassies;
They built a house upon the lea,
And covered it with rushes.
2. Bessie lived at garden gate,
While Mary lived at pantry;
And Bessie always had to wait,
While Mary live in plenty.