| Share page | Visit Us On FB |
|
OATS AND BEANS AND BARLEY |
||
|
This is the way the farmer sows.
Here he stands and takes his ease,
Stamps his foot and claps his hands,
And turns around to view the land,
Waiting for a partner, waiting for a partner,
Open the ring and take one in,
And kiss him (or her) as he (or she) enters.
—Aberdeen Training College (Rev. W. Gregor).
XVIII. Waitin'for a partner, Waitin' for a partner, Open the ring and take one in, And now you've got your partner.
Now you're married, &c. [same as Much Wenlock.]
—Wakefield, Yorks. (Miss Fowler).
(c) The players form a ring by joining hands, with one child, usually a boy, standing in the centre. The ring walks round, singing the first four lines. At the fifth line the ring stands still, and each child suits her actions to the words sung. At "the farmer sows his seed," each player pretends to scatter seed, then they all fold their arms and " stand at ease," "stamp their feet," and "clap their hands" together in order, and finally each child turns herself round. Then they again clasp hands and move round the centre child, who at the words " open the ring and take one in,: chooses and takes into the ring with him one player from it. These two stand together while the ring sings the marriage formula. At the end the child first in the centre joins the ring; the second child remaining in the centre, and in her turn choosing another from the ring.
This is the (Much Wenlock) wray of playing. Among the variants there are some slight differences. In the Wakefield version (Miss Fowler), a little boy is placed in the centre of the ring first, he chooses a girl out of the ring at the singing of the third line and kisses her. They stand hand in hand while the others sing the next verse. In the Tean version (Miss Keary), the children turn round with their backs to the one |
||