On the Hillside- girls (Belfast) 2000 Mudcat
[From Mudcat Discussion Forum, 2000 posted by Jimmy C. This version is nearly identical to the Liverpool version in Hope Place
by Michael Wynne - 2014. Jimmy C's notes follow.
R. Matteson 2017]
The little girls in Belfast and probably other places used to sing a skipping song that went:
On the hillside stands a lady
Who she is I do not know
All she wants is gold and silver
All she wants is a fine young man
Lady, Lady, touch the ground
Lady, Lady spin around
Lady, Lady, touch your shoe
Lady, Lady, go right through.
During the singing of the second part the skipper would have to spin, touch her shoe etc, without getting tangled in the rope. If successful she would pass on and rejoin the line, if not she had to take the end of the rope and do the turning, this went on until everybody got a chance to skip. My sisters would sing it often, I suppose there are other verses but I can't recall any.