Curly-locks, Curly-locks,
Wilt thou be mine?
Thou shalt not wash the dishes,
Nor yet feed the swine;
But sit on a cushion,
And sew a fine seam
And feed upon strawberries,
Sugar, and cream.
Notes
Here's a version with notes from "The Traditional Games of England, Scotland, and Ireland (Vol I of II) with Tunes, Singing-Rhymes and Methods of Playing" (1894), collected and annotated by Alice Bertha Gomme:
Bonny lass, canny lass,
Wilta be mine?
Thou's nowder wesh dishes
Nor sarra the swine:
But sit on thy crippy, etc.
""Dickinson's Cumberland Glossary.
- Two children, a girl and a boy, separate from their fellows, who are not particularly placed, the boy caressing the girl's curls and singing the verses.
- This game is evidently a dramatic representation of wooing, and probably the action of the game has never been quite completed in the nursery. The verses are given as "nursery rhymes" by Halliwell, Nos. cccclxxxiii. and ccccxciv. The tune is from Rimbault's Nursery Rhymes, p. 70. The words given by him are the same as the Earls Heaton version.
Photos & Illustrations
Comments
This rhyme and the 2nd illustration can be found in The Real Mother Goose (1916), illustrated by Blanche Fisher Wright. The 1st illustration is from The Little Mother Goose (1912), illustrated by Jessie Willcox Smith (with a little graphical editing by Lisa Yannucci).
Thanks and Acknowledgements
MP3: Allyson Hester
