Hi,

According to several sources "Seventeen" is related to "The Milkmaid" or "Dabbling in the Dew." The Brown Collection notes on "Seventeen" begin, "This song of the milkmaid, still remembered in England. . ." However misguided these notes are, a brief examination of "The Milkmaid" is in order.

In 1870 Notes and Queries (p. 243) a discussion about the origin produced some clues. An early text is found in Archaeologia Cornu-Britannica; Or, An Essay to Preserve the Ancient Cornish Language by William Pryce, 1790. Here is the link to view the original text:

https://books.google.com/books?id=k99EAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA224&dq=What+if+I+do+lay+you+down+to+the+ground&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj0rtub7

A Cornish Song

Whither are you going pretty fair maid, said he,
With your white face, and your yellow hair?
I am going to the well, sweet Sir, she said,
For strawberry leaves make maidens fair.

Shall I go with thee pretty fair maid, he said,
With your white face, and your yellow hair?
Do if you will, sweet Sir, she said,
For strawberry leaves make maidens fair.

What if I do lay you down on the ground,
With your white face, and your yellow hair?
I will rise up again, sweet Sir, she said,
For strawberry leaves make maidens fair.

What if I do bring you with child,
With your white face, and your yellow hair?
I will bear it, sweet Sir, she said,
For strawberry leaves make maidens fair.

Who will you have for father for your child,
With your white face, and your yellow hair?
You shall be his father, sweet Sir, she said,
For strawberry leaves make maidens fair.

What shall you do for whittles for you child,
With your white face, and your yellow hair?
His father shall be a taylor, sweet Sir, she said,
For strawberry leaves make maidens fair.

The note at the bottom of the page by Thomas Tonkin dates the song to 1698: "This was the first song that ever I heard in Cornwall; it was sung at Carcka, in 1698, by one Chygwyn, brother-in- law to Mr. Jonn Grose, of Penzance. (Tonkin)"

A few Scottish stanzas were provided by Robert Burns in his Reliques. His notes and stanzas follow:

It appears evident to me that Oswald composed his "Roslin Castle" on the modulation of this air. In the second part of Oswald's, in the three first (p. 7) bars, he has either hit on a wonderful similarity to, or else he has entirely borrowed the three first bars of the older air; and the close of both times is almost exactly the same. The old verses to which it was sung, when I took down the notes from a country girl's voice, had no great merit. The following is a specimen:

There was a pretty May, and a-milkin' she went,
Wi' her red, rosy cheeks and her coal-black hair :
And she has met a young man a-comin' o'er the bent;
With a double and adieu to thee fair May.

O whare are ye goin', my ain pretty May,
Wi' thy red, rosy cheeks and thy coal-black hair ;
Unto the yowes a-milkin', kind Sir, she says,
With a double and adieu to thee fair May.

What if I gang alang wi' thee, my ain pretty May,
Wi' thy red, rosy cheeks and thy coal black hair ;
Wad I bo ought the warre o' that, kind Sir, she says.
With a double and adieu to thee fair May.

To view online: https://books.google.com/books?id=XiJMAAAAcAAJ&pg=RA1-PA345&dq=%22It+appears+evident+to+me+that+Oswald+composed%22&hl=en&sa=X&ve

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Two popular versions that were based on, or similar to, these early songs emerged: "Dabbling in the Dew" and "The Milkmaid." I give the first two stanzas of "Dabbling in the Dew" from "Folk Songs from Somerset" edited by Cecil James Sharp, Charles Latimer Marson, 1905:

Dabbling in the Dew

O Where are you going to, my pretty little dear,
With your red, rosie cheeks, and your coal black hair?
I'm going a-milking, kind sir, she answered me,
And it's dabbling in the dew makes the milk-maids fair.

Suppose I were to clothe you, my pretty little dear,
In a green silken gown and the amethyst rare?
O no sir, O no sir, kind sir, she answered me,
For it's dabbling in the dew makes the milk-maids fair.

A second parallel variant known in the early 1800s is The Milkmaid. One source attributes it to composer Henry Purcell. There are various versions and it is well-known as a nursery rhyme:

The Milkmaid

"Where are you going, my pretty maid?"
"I'm going a-milking, sir," she said,
"Sir," she said, "sir," she said;
"I'm going a-milking, sir," she said.

"May I go with you, my pretty maid?"        
"You're kindly welcome, sir," she said.        
"Sir," she said, "sir," she said;
"You're kindly welcome, sir," she said.

"What is your father, my pretty maid?"              
"My father's a farmer, sir," she said.
"Sir," she said, etc.

"What is your fortune, my pretty maid?"
"My face is my fortune, sir," she said,
"Sir," she said, etc.

"Then I won't marry you my pretty maid."
"Nobody asked you, sir," she said,
"Sir," she said, etc.

"Then I must leave you, my pretty maid."
"The sooner the better, sir," she said,
"Sir," she said, etc.

The obvious similarity with "Seventeen" is apparent since both are courting dialogue songs where a man meets a pretty fair maid and asks her a series of questions in order to seduce/marry her. The opening "Where are you going, my pretty maid?" line is held in common. They are however, different songs.

In Grammy Fish's version (see above) her last stanza is obviously derived from the Milkmaid:

"Then you shall never be my wife
For you've not learned life's lesson."
"I never asked to be your wife
'Twas you that popped the question."

Richie