Cambric Shirt- I.L.M. (MA) 1904 Barry JAFL 1905
[My title; Version C; from Traditional Ballads in New England II by Phillips Barry; The Journal of American Folklore, Vol. 18, No. 70 (Jul. - Sep., 1905), pp. 191-214
R. Matteson 2014]
C. Contributed March, 1904, by I. L. M., Vineland, N . J., formerly of Lynn, Mass.
1. You go and make me a cambric shirt,
Let every rose grow merry in time,
Without any seam or needlework,
Then you shall be a true lover of mine.
2. Go wash it out on yonder hill,
Where rain never was, and dew never fell.
3. Go hang it out on yonder thorn,
That never was budded since Adam was born.
4. And now you have asked me questions three,
I hope you'll answer as many for me.
5. You go and buy me an acre of land,
Between the salt water and the sea sand.
6. Go plough it all o'er with an old ram's horn,
Go sow it all o'er with one peppercorn.
7. Go reap it all down with a peacock's feather,
Go thrash it all out with the sting of an adder.
8. And when you have done, and finished your work,
Come unto me, and I will give you the shirt.