On a Mountain Stands a Lady- (S. Lon) 1974 Roud B
[From: The Lore of the Playground: One hundred years of children's games, by Steve Roud - 2010. Notes by Steve Roud follow,
R. Matteson 2017]
Being a relative newcomer to the stable of children's games, it was natural for skipping to acquire some rhymes from older forms of entertainment. On a Mountain Stands a lady is an example of a rhyme that was formerly found in a ring game concerned with courtship; it received a healthy new lease of life when adapted for skipping. In the first version it is a calling-in rhyme, but in other versions it takes on the standard "how many kisses" style:
On a mountain stands a lady
Who she is I do not know
All she wants is gold and silver
All she wants is a nice young man
So go to your__, dear,
And make it Mrs___
How many kisses did he give you?
One, two, three. . .
Will you marry him?
Yes, no, yes. . .
How many babies will you have?
One, two, three. . .
Do you love hime?
Yes, no, yes. . . [South London 1974]