There Stands a Lady- (Cam) 1898 Haddon

There Stands a Lady- (Cam) 1898 Haddon

[From the chapter "Courting Songs" in "The Study of Man" by Alfred Cort Haddon of Inisfail, Cambridge; 1898.

R. Matteson 2017]


Or there is the very practical young lady on the mountain:

"There stands a lady on a mountain,
 Who she is I do not know;
  All she wants is gold and silver,
  All she wants is a nice young man.

"Now she's married I wish her joy,
  First a girl and then a boy;
  Seven years after son and daughter:
  Pray, young couple, kiss together.

"Kiss her once, kiss her twice,
  Kiss her three times three."

The marriage formula of the second verse is a very common one, subject, of course, to numerous variations. That this enshrines some ancient and widely spread sentiment there can be little doubt.