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MULBERRY BUSH |
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Here we go round the mulberry bush, The mulberry bush, the mulberry bush, Here we go round the mulberry bush, On a cold and frosty morning.
—Liphook, Hants (Miss Fowler).
(b) The children form a ring, all joining hands and dancing round while singing the first verse. When singing the last line they unclasp their hands, and each one turns rapidly round. They then sing the next verse, suiting their actions to the words they sing, again turning round singly at the last line. This is done with every alternate verse, the first verse being always sung as a chorus or dance in between the different action-verses. The verses may be varied or added to at pleasure. The actions generally consist of washing and dressing oneself, combing hair, washing clothes, baking bread, sweeping the floor, going to and returning from school, learning to read, cleaning boots, and lacing stays. When "going to school," the children walk two by two in an orderly manner; when " coming home from school," jumping and running is the style adopted; " lacing stays," the hands are put behind and moved first one and then the other, as if lacing; " this is the way the ladies walk," holding up skirts and walking primly; " gentlemen walk," walking with long strides and sticks. The dressing process and cleaning boots preceded " school."
(c) This game is well known, and played in almost all parts of England. It is always played in the same way. There is so little variety in the different versions that it appears unnecessary to give more than one here. In the many versions sent the only variants are: In Sporle, Norfolk, Miss Matthews says the game is sometimes called "Ivy Bush," or "Ivory Bush;' and Mr. C. C. Bell, of Epworth, sends a version, "Here we go round the Mulberry Tree" In Notts it is called " Holly Bush " (Miss Winfield). A version given in the Folk-lore Record, iv. 174, is called the " Gooseberry Bush," and Halliwell (Popular Nursery Rhymes, p. 224) records a game, the " Bramble Bush." "The bush," he says, "is often imaginative, but is sometimes represented by a child in the centre." Chambers (Popular Rhymes, pp. 134, 135) gives the game as a form of the " Merry- |
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