CIX
The first half of the tune which follows occurs in the story of Annancy and Screech-owl (No. XIX.):—
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There’s a black boy in a ring, tra la la la la,
There’s a black boy in a ring, tra la la la la,
There’s a black boy in a ring, tra la la la la,
He like sugar an’ I like plum.
Wheel an’ take you pardner, jump shamador!
Wheel an’ take you pardner, jump shamador!
Wheel an’ take you pardner, jump shamador!
For he like sugar an’ I like plum.
The boy inside the ring chooses his partner, whom he leaves there after the dance. She obtains release by choosing another partner, whom she leaves behind. So there is alternately a boy and a girl in the ring.
“Shamador” is possibly a corruption of “camerado.”