No. 3 Here Comes a Duke
This rhyme is only a later development of the same game. The suitor is now made to address himself directly to his mistress, and the mercenary character of the previous transaction is replaced by coquetry. Our New England song loses nothing by comparison with the pretty Scotch.
A company of little girls sit in a row. A little girl from the middle of the room goes dancing up to the first one in the row, singing,
“Here comes a duke a-roving,
Roving, roving,
Here comes a duke a-roving,
With the ransy, tansy, tea!
With the ransy, tansy, tario!
With the ransy, tansy, tea!
Pretty fair maid, will you come out,
Will you come out, will you come out,
To join us in our dancing?”
Little girl answers,
“No.”
Suitor steps backward, singing,
“Naughty girl,39 she won’t come out,
She won’t come out, she won’t come out,
To join us in our dancing.”
Suitor advances as before. The answer now is,
“Yes.”
These two now retire, singing together,
“Now we’ve got the flowers of May,
The flowers of May, the flowers of May,
To join us in our dancing.”
They join hands and call out the next one in the row; thus the play goes on until the last is selected, when they form a ring, dance, and sing,
“Now we’ve got the flowers of May,
The flowers of May, the flowers of May,
To join us in our dancing.”
Concord, Mass.
A vulgarized form of the same game is common through the Middle States:
| Boys. | “We are three ducks a-roving, (thrice) |
| With a ransom dansom dee.” | |
| Girls. | “What is your good-will, sir?” etc. |
| Boys. | “My good-will is to marry,” etc. |
| Girls. | “Which one of us will you have, sir?” etc. |
| Boys. | “You’re all too black and blowzy,” etc. |
| Girls. | “We are as good as you, sir,” etc. |
| Boys. | “Then I will take you, miss,” etc. |
The pretended quarrel between intermediaries has here become a dispute of the principals.40
Finally, in the streets of New York the dialogue is made unrecognizable—
| The Ring. | “Forty ducks are riding, |
| My dilsey dulsey officer; | |
| Forty ducks are riding, | |
| My dilsey dulsey day. | |
| Which of the lot do you like best?” | |
| Child in Centre. | “You’re all too black and ugly—ugly,” etc. |
| The Ring. | “We’re not so black as you are,” etc. |
The child then selects a partner, when the rest sing,
“Open the gates and let the bride out,” etc.;
and the couple pass under lifted hands, circle the ring, and similarly reenter, to the words,
“Open the gates and let the bride in,” etc.
We have thus a curious example of the way in which an apparently meaningless game, which might be supposed the invention of the gamins of the street, is, in fact, a degenerate form of the ancient poetry, which was brimful of grace, courtesy, and the joy of existence.
For a purpose presently to be mentioned, we must cite the corresponding Scotch rhyme, given by Chambers:
A dis, a dis, a green grass,
A dis, a dis, a dis;
Come all ye pretty fair maids,
And dance along with us.
For we are going a-roving,
A-roving in this land;
We’ll take this pretty fair maid,
We’ll take her by the hand.
Ye shall get a duke, my dear,
And ye shall get a drake;
And ye shall get a young prince,
A young prince for your sake.
And if this young prince chance to die,
Ye shall get another;
The bells will ring, and the birds will sing,
And we’ll all clap hands together.