Perri, Dixi, Dumdidee- Fish (NH) c1885 Flanders I
[My Title. Flanders Ancient Ballads, 1966.
R. Matteson 2014]
I. Perri, Dixi, Dumdidee- Sung by Lena Bourne Fish who heard an old gentleman sing this over sixty-five years ago.
I had four brothers come
Perri dixi, dum-di-dee,
And they each sent a present unto me,
From over the deep blue sea.
The first sent me cherries without any stones,
Perri dixi, dum-di-dee,
And the second a chicken without any bones,
From over the deep blue sea.
The third sent a blanket that had no thread,
Perri dixi, dum-di-dee,
The fourth sent a book that could not be read,
From over the deep blue sea.
So I counted up the presents
That my lovers all sent me
When they all came a-courting me,
From over the deep blue sea.
When the cherries are in bloom,
They surely have no stones;
And when the chicken is in the egg,
It surely has no bones.
When the blanket's in the fleece,
It surely has no thread;
And when the book is on the press,
It surely can't be read.