Origins: Jane, Jane by Tia Blake

Subject: Origins: Jane, Jane by Tia Blake
From: GUEST,Peter Davies
Date: 08 Dec 25 - 05:47 PM

The song "Jane,Jane" is on Tia Blake's 1971 album, "Folk Songs and Ballads" and seems to be a transatlantic version of "Green Grow the Rushes-O".

Does anyone know the origins of the words in this extract from the lyrics:
"W?ll, I'm gonna send thee six by six
Six, for the six that nev?r got fixed
Five, for the five that stayed alive
Four, for the four that stood at the door
Three, for the Hebrew children
Two, for the Paul and Silas"?

PS I did try the Mudcat search facility but got error 500: "Internal server error" - any advice on this would also be welcome.

Subject: ADD: Jane, Jane
From: Joe Offer
Date: 08 Dec 25 - 07:32 PM

"Jane, Jane" was also on the 1971 album by Peter, Paul and Mary, See What Tomorrow Brings. The lyrics are almost the same as those on the Tia Blake recording.

Here are the lyrics from the PP&M Website:

JANE, JANE
Adapt. & Arr. by Yarrow/Travers/Stookey/Okun-
Pepamar Music Corp, ASCAP

Hey Hey (Jane, Jane), my Lord and Lord (Jane, Jane)
I'm a gonna buy (Jane, Jane), three mockin' birds (Jane, Jane)
One for to whistle (Jane, Jane), one for to sing (Jane, Jane)
One for to do (Jane, Jane) most any little thing (Jane, Jane)

Chorus:
Children go where I send thee, how shall I send thee
Hey Hey, my Lord and Lord

Well I'm gonna send thee three by three
Three for the Hebrew Children
Two for the Paul and Silas
One for the little-bitty baby
That's born, born, born in Bethlehem

Hey Hey, my Lord and Lord
I'm a gonna buy three hunting dogs
One for to run, one for to shout,
One for to talk to when I go out

(Chorus)

Well I'm gonna send thee six by six,
Six for the six that never got fixed
Five for the five that stayed alive
Four for the four that stood at the door
Three for the Hebrew Children
Two for the Paul and Silas
One for the little-bitty baby
That's born, born, born in Bethlehem

Hey Hey, my Lord and Lord
I'm gonna buy three muley cows
One for to milk,
One to plow my corn
One for to pray on Christmas morn

(Chorus)

Well I'm gonna send thee nine by nine
Nine for the nine that dressed so fine
Eight for the eight that stood at the gate
Seven for the seven that came from heaven
Six for the six that never got fixed
Five for the five that stayed alive
Four for the four that stood at the door
Three for the Hebrew Children
Two for the Paul and Silas
One for the little-bitty baby
That's born, born, born in Bethlehem

Hey Hey, my Lord and Lord,
I'm a-gonna buy three little blue birds
One for to weep,
One for to mourn,
One for to pray when I am gone.

PP&M: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufXAxHaHPHc

Tia Blake: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5WcX6pD4lQ

Peggy Seeger: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJSC9bowabo

I'd say the song is a variant of "Children Go Where I Send Thee." I've crosslinked related threads above. The earliest recording I found was the 1957 recording by Peggy Seeger.

Our main search engine is broken. this thread (click) is a pretty good guide to alternate ways to search Mudcat.

Subject: ADD Version: Jane, Jane
From: Joe Offer
Date: 08 Dec 25 - 08:08 PM

"Jane, Jane" is on a 1957 album titled American Folk Songs Sung by the Seegers. The voice is clearly Peggy. Notes were by Charles Seeger Sr.

https://folkways-media.si.edu/docs/folkways/artwork/FW02005.pdf

JANE JANE (THREE MOCKINGBIRDS) - a Negro ring game from Mississippi, in which there is one player who steals partners and jumps while the song is sung. Melodically it is akin to "Stewball," with its answer-back chorus and short solo, and is a popular Negro song pattern.

Leader: Hey, he-ey
Group: Jane, Jane
Leader: My Lordy, Lord
Group: Jane, Jane
Leader: I'm gonna buy
Group: Jane, Jane
Leader: Three mockingbirds
Group: Jane, Jane
Leader: One for to whistle
Group: Jane, Jane
Leader: One for to sing
Group: Jane, Jane
Leader: One for to do
Group: Jane, Jane
Leader: Most any little thing

Leader: Hey, he-ey
Group: Jane, Jane
Leader: My Lordy, Lord
Group: Jane, Jane
Leader: I'm gonna buy
Group: Jane, Jane
Leader: Three hunting dogs
Group: Jane, Jane
Leader: One for to run
Group: Jane, Jane
Leader: One for to shout
Group: Jane, Jane
Leader: One to talk to
Group: Jane, Jane
Leader: When I go out

Leader: Hey, he-ey
Group: Jane, Jane
Leader: My Lordy, Lord
Group: Jane, Jane
Leader: I'm gonna buy
Group: Jane, Jane
Leader: Three muley cows
Group: Jane, Jane
Leader: One a-for to milk
Group: Jane, Jane
Leader: One to plough my corn,
Group: Jane, Jane
Leader: One for to pray
Group: Jane, Jane
Leader: On Christmas morn

Leader: Hey, he-ey
Group: Jane, Jane
Leader: My Lordy, Lord
Group: Jane, Jane
Leader: I'm gonna buy
Group: Jane, Jane
Leader: Three little blue birds
Group: Jane, Jane
Leader: One a-for to weep
Group: Jane, Jane
Leader: One for to mourn
Group: Jane, Jane
Leader: One for to grieve
Group: Jane, Jane
Leader: When I am gone
Group: Jane, Jane


And then Peter, Paul and Mary and Tia Blake append "Children Go Where I Send Me."