"Come down you bunch of roses, come down"

"Bring 'em down"

"Oh, lower the boat down"

"Roll the cotton down"

"Rolling down to old Maui"

"Blow the man down"

"Knock a man down"

"Mary, come join the religion, oh Mary, oh
Mary, come join the religion, oh Mary, come down"

Down could mean any number of things. Blow & Knock a man down is exactly that. Rolling down to Old Maui, means sailing in a downwind direction toward Maui. Roll the cotton 'could' mean off rolling bails of cotton or not. Oh Mary come down & Come down you BRR is wide open to all kinds of speculation, who knows for sure?

Ewan MacColl use for his chorus in the "Big Hewer", a simple "Go down" which works & sings very well.


As for pinks & posies, again wild & wide speculation. I did collect a song the "Good Ol Brig" from George Herbert where he sings a line

"We should've sighted Hamburg a week ago it seems,
When the lookout shouted, "Strike me pink, we've sighted Barbary!"


Good luck to all
Barry