Perry, Merry, Dictum Dominee- Smith (OH) 1939 Eddy
[No date given from Eddy; Ballads and Songs from Ohio; 1939. listed under:
CAPTAIN WEDDERBURN'S COURTSHIP
(Child, No. 46)
R. Matteson 2014]
PERRY MERRY DICTUM DOMINEE- From Miss Lena Smith, Medina, Ohio. Miss Helen Hobart of Medina procured this song from Miss Smith.
1. I had four brothers over the sea,
Perry, merry, dictum, dominee,
And they each sent a present unto me,
Partum, quartum, perry dicentum,
Perry, merry, dictum, dominee.
2. The first sent me cherries without any stones,
Perry, merry dictum dominee,
The second sent a chicken without any bones,
Partum, quartum, perry dicentum,
Perry, merry, dictum, dominee.
3. The third sent a blanket that had no thread;
The fourth sent a book that could not be read.
4. When the cherries are in bloom, they have no stones,
When the chicken's in the egg it has no bones.
5. When the blanket's in the fleece, it has no thread;
When the book's in the press, it cannot be read.