Perry-erry Igden
Media & Downloads
Hear the song/tune as collected (mp3 stream):
Hear the song/tune (midi file)
Version to sing (PDF file)
Hear a version to sing (midi file)
Song/tune as collected (abc file)
Version to sing (abc file)
To carry out a simple search, type the term that you want to find in the Search box next to the Advanced Search tab, and press enter.
For a more refined search of songs or tunes use the Advanced search function. To carry out a search on two or more terms at once, e.g. Collector+Roud Number, select each term as above and then click search.
Be sure to clear previous searches before starting a new one by clicking on the x next to each search term at the top.
This really is one of our oldest folksongs with versions going back to the 1430 ballad
“I have a yong suster”, as follows:
| I have a yong suster Fer biyonde the see; Manye be the durries [‘gifts’] That she sente me. She sente me the cherye Withouten any stoon, And so she dide the dove Withouten any boon. She sente me the brere [‘briar’] Withouten any rinde; She bad me love my lemman Withoute longinge. How sholde any cherye Be withoute stoon? And how sholde any dove Be withoute boon? How sholde any brere Be withoute rinde? How sholde I love my lemman Withoute longinge? Whan the cherye was a flowr, Thanne hadde it no stoon; Whan the dove was an ey, [‘egg’] Thanne hadde it no boon. Whan the brere was unbred, Thanne hadde it no rinde; Whan the maiden hath that she loveth, She is withoute longinge. |
||
As “The Riddle Song” or “I Gave my Love a Cherry”, the song continued in oral tradition for many centuries, spreading over to the other side of the Atlantic where it became very popular. Cecil Sharp found it many times in the Appalachian Mountains.
Richard Chidlaw learnt the song from a Cornishman, Peter Bunt, who in turn had learnt it from his wife, Margaret. Margaret had learnt it from her aunt from Nailsworth. Research carried out by Margaret Bunt states that it was sung by Lizzie (nee Roberts) Dance, born in Nailsworth in the 1860s.
Notes by Gwilym Davies 30 May 2015
Hear the song/tune as collected (mp3 stream):