My Pretty Little Pink- student (TN) 1938 Henry B
[From Mellinger Henry: Folk Song from the Southern Highlands 1938; his notes follow. Two stanzas are related to Sventeen (4 and 5) , stanza 2 is usually Shady Grove, 3 is Lonesome Dove (True Lover's Farewell).
R. Matteson 2018]
As this song was recorded under the title of "My Pretty Little Pink," it is given a place here1; but it is, of course, a mixture of several songs: stanza 2 is similar to a stanza in "Come, All You Fair and Tender Ladies" ("Little Sparrow"); stanza 3 is from "The True Lover's Farewell" (cf. Campbell and Sharp, No. 61, stanza 6); stanzas 4 and 5 are evidently recalled from "The Gypsy Laddie." The song was recorded in the Cumberland Mountains by Onelee Brooks, a student in Lincoln Memorial University.
1. Sixteen roosters on a fence,
All in a row;
There's wondering where their loves could be,
And just where they must go.
2. Wish I had a needle and thread
As fine as I could sew;
I'd take my true love to my side
And down the road I'd go.
3. Do you see that turtle dove,
Sitting in yonder pine?
It's mourning for its own true love
Just like I mourn for mine.
4. How old are you, my pretty little Pink?
How old are you, my honey?
How old are you, my pretty little Pink?
I'll be sixteen next Saturday.
5. Will you marry me, my pretty little Pink?
Will you marry me, my honey ?
Will you marry me, my pretty little Pink?
I'll marry you next Sunday.