Green Holly An' Ivy- Belcher (Oxf) 1930 Carpenter
[From James Madison Carpenter Collection, JMC/1/3/K, p. 06910
R. Matteson 2018]
Green Holly An' Ivy- sung by W. Belcher of Oxfordshire about 1930
My father he left me an acre o' land,
Sing ovy, sing ivy,
My father he left me an acre o' land,
With a bunch of green holly an' ivy.
I sowed it with a teaspoon,
Sing ovy, sing ivy,
I sowed it with a teaspoon,
With a bunch of green holly an' ivy.
I harrowed it with a garden bush,
Sing ovy, sing ivy,
I harrowed it with a garden bush,
With a bunch of green holly an' ivy.
I rolled it down with a rollin' pin,
Sing ovy, sing ivy,
I rolled it down with a rollin' pin,
With a bunch of green holly an' ivy.
I reaped it with me little pen-knife,
Sing ovy, sing ivy,
I reaped it with me little pen-knife,
With a bunch of green holly an' ivy.
I shocked it up in nine little shocks,
Sing ovy, sing ivy,
I shocked it up in nine little shocks,
With a bunch of green holly an' ivy.
I builded a ricked in the mouse's hole,
Sing ovy, sing ivy,
I builded a ricked in the mouse's hole,
With a bunch of green holly an' ivy.
An' threshed it wi' my walking stick,
Sing ovy, sing ivy,
An' threshed it wi' my walking stick,
With a bunch o' green holly an' ivy.
And winnied it in the tail of me shirt,
Sent it to market wi' a team o' rates
And the team o' rats came rattlin' back,
with fifty guineas in an empty sack.