I always thought "the story of 'I love you' it has no end" was a romantic rewrite of recent construction. Josh White used to sing it that way, I remember. He may not have made the change himself, but I suspect that someone of his generation did. The traditional versions I've seen usually make the third gift a ring, and the concluding verse suggests that "a ring when it's rolling it has no end." (Then there's the English "I gave my love an apple," which I never cared for and which plays hell with the delightful sex-symbolism theory with which this thread began.) Shucks, I'm romantic enough to have adopted Josh White's text when I sing that Appalachian version of the song. I follow it with "Pop" Maynard's rollicking Sussex version, though, which retains the rolling ring and the baby-making line.

Sandy