The Jew's Daughter- Rinker (PA) c.1872 Rinker
[From: The Ballad of "The Jew's Daughter" by B. Floyd Rinker; The Journal of American Folklore, Vol. 39, No. 152 (Apr.- Jun., 1926), pp. 212-213.
R. Matteson 2015]
THE BALLAD OF "THE JEW'S DAUGHTER." - The following version of "The Jew's Daughter" (Child, No. 155) comes from Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania. It is from the singing of Mrs. Samantha E. Rinker. She learned it about 1872 from her mother, who probably derived it from a school friend. The irregularities and breaks in the tune are lost in the singing.
The Jew's Daughter
1. It rained, it hailed, it snowed, it blowed,
It stormed all over the land;
And all the boys from our town
Came out to toss their ball, ball, ball,
Came out to toss their ball.
2. First they tossed it too high,
And then again too low,
And over into the Jew's garden it went,
Where no one dared to go, go, go,
Where no one dared to go.
3. Out came the Jew's daughter,
Dressed up in silk so fine,
She said, "Come in, my pretty little boy,
And toss your ball with me, me, me,
And toss your ball with me."
4. "I can't come in, nor I shan't come in,
Unless my playmates do,
For if I come in I'll never get out,
I'll never get out any more, more, more,
I'll never get out any more."
5. First a mellow apple,
And then a gay gold ring,
And next a cherry as red as blood,
To coax this little boy in, in, in,
To coax this little boy in.
6. She took him by the lily-white hand,
And into the cellar she ran;
And called for a bowl as yellow as gold,
To catch his heart's blood in, in, in,
To catch his heart's blood in.
7. "O place my prayer book at my head,
My hymn book at my feet,
And when my mother calls for me,
Tell her I am asleep, sleep, sleep,
Tell her I am asleep."
B. FLOYD RINKER.