Bluegrass Messengers

Bonnie Wee Croodlin Dow- Maxwell (Renf) c. 1827 Child J

[From Motherwell's manuscript, p. 238. Version J,

R. Matteson 2011, 2018]

THE BONNIE WEE CROODLIN' DOW (Cooing Dove) Child 12- Lord Rendal Version J
Motherwell's Manuscript, p. 238. From the recitation of Miss Maxwell, of Brediland, Paisley, Renfrewshire.

1    'O whare hae ye been a' day, my bonnie wee croodlin dow?
O whare hae ye been a' day, my bonnie wee croodlin dow?'
'I've been at my step-mother's; oh mak my bed, mammie, now!
I've been at my step-mother's; oh mak my bed, mammie, now!'

2    'O what did ye get at your step-mother's, my bonnie wee croodlin dow?' [Twice.]
'I gat a wee wee fishie; oh mak my bed, mammie, now!' [Twice.]

3    'O whare gat she the wee fishie, my bonnie wee croodlin dow?'
'In a dub before the door; oh mak my bed, mammie, now!'

4    'What did ye wi the wee fishie, my bonnie wee croodlin dow?'
'I boild it in a wee pannie; oh mak my bed, mammy, now!'

5    'Wha gied ye the banes o the fishie till, my bonnie wee croodlin dow?'
'I gied them till a wee doggie; oh mak my bed, mammie, now!'

6    'O whare is the little wee doggie, my bonnie wee croodlin dow?
O whare is the little wee doggie, my bonnie wee croodlin doo?'

'It shot out its fit and died, and sae maun I do too;
Oh mak my bed, mammy, now, now, oh mak my bed, mammy, now!'