The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #102317   Message #2072263
Posted By: Q (Frank Staplin)
09-Jun-07 - 01:52 PM
Thread Name: Lyr Req: Strawberry Fair - old English trad.
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Strawberry Fair - old English trad.
Baring-Gould rewrote many of the songs that he collected, one being "Strawberry Fair" (in "Songs of the West).
A. L. Lloyd said B-G discovered a double-entendre in the song and eliminated it.
In his book, "Folk Song in England," Lloyd gave the verse:

Oh, I have a lock that doth lack a key,
Ri tol, ri tol, riddle tol de lido,
I have a lock that doth lack a key,
Tol de dee,
I have a lock sir, she did say,
And if you got the key then come this way.
Ri tol, ri tol, riddle tol de lido.

p. 187, "Folk Song in England," 1967, reprint Paladin 1975.

The B-G rewrite was posted by Malcolm Douglas in thread 37992: Strawberry Fair

The far more interesting original, as collected(?) from J. Masters by B-G, from his MSS as printed in Reeves, was posted by Masato in the thread linked above on 21 Aug 01.