Somewhat off topic: this may be of interest to those interested in the phrases "bessie down" and "bessy dung" used in this song and others. I found the probable answer {or answers} in the book/CD "Brown Girl In The Ring, An Anthology of Song Games from the Eastern Caribbean",Alan Lomax,J. D. Elder, and Bess Lomax Hawes
{New York, Pantheon Books, 1997, pp.66-67.

The song is as follows:

BESE DOWN*
Group: Lauren, Lauran, bese down,
       Lauren, Lauren, bese down.
          We no dry like a bambam
          Bese down
          We no neery, neeray.
          Bese down,
          We no dry like a bambam,
          Bese down.

Lauren: Red rose, red rose, bese down.
Group: Red rose, red rose, bese down.
          We no drylike a bambam,
          Bese down etc.

Lauren: Green rose, green rose, bese down,
Group: Green rose, green rose, bese down, etc.
{sung by a group of children 9-11, Trinidad}

*Accents marks are written over the two e's

To Play: Children stand in a ring [circle] with one child {Lauren} in teh center.Each child making up the circle has claimed a colored rose as a name ... Lauren bows down {bese down} as the first verse is sung, either by kneeling or winding her waist in a downward upeard spiral. At the beginning of the second verse she calls on another child to join her {red rose, red rose, bese down}and the two bow down together. Then they decide which rose they will call on for the third repetition.. and so on. When all the children are inside the ringm they sing, 'All rose, all rose, bese down'.

On the island of Jamaica children play a game called "Bessie Down" in which "Bessie is instructed to walk, jump etc. It seems likely, however, that the term "bese" is a creolization of the French word "baisser," meaning "to bow", though there is some punning possible with the French term "baiser", meaning to kliss. "Bambam" means "pumpkin",and in the Trinidad they soometimes sing, "For the sake of the pumpkin, bese down". But no one has yet offered an explanation for the word 'neeray'" .