Lyr Add: Dilly Dilly

Subject: ADD: Dilly Dilly - Lavender Blue^^
From: GUEST,George Henderson NSC
Date: 04 Dec 00 - 02:28 PM

I posted this song about 2 years ago but its doesn't seem to have made the data base yet. It is one of the oldest and most beautiful English love songs that I know.

Lavender Blue

This I must say, dilly dilly, and it is true,
You must love me, dilly dilly,'cause I love you.
Lavender's green, dilly dilly, Lavender's blue.
I'll be your queen, dilly dilly, when I wed you.
Send for your men, dilly dilly, set them to hoe,
Set them to reap, dilly dilly, set them to mow,
Some to cut hay, dilly dilly, some to cut corn,
While you and I, dilly dilly, keep ourselves warm.

Lavender's blue, dilly dilly, lavender's green,
When you are King, dilly dilly, I'll be your queen,
Who told me so, dilly dilly, how can I know,
I told myself, dilly dilly, love told me so.

When you're away, dilly dilly, work all day through,
I'll be at home, dilly dilly, waiting for you.
Lavender's green, dilly dilly, Lavender's blue.
I'll be your queen, dilly dilly, when I wed you.
While you're at work, dilly dilly, I'll brew your beer,
When you come home, dilly dilly, I'll be your dear,
I'll serve your meat, dilly dilly, I'll bake your bread,
I'll share your board, dilly dilly, I'll share your bed.

Lavender's blue, dilly dilly, lavender's green,
When you are King, dilly dilly, I'll be your queen,
Who told me so, dilly dilly, how can I know,
I told myself, dilly dilly, love told me so.

Wedding's for life, dilly dilly, love is to share,
And love must grow, dilly dilly, with joy and care.
Lavender's green, dilly dilly, Lavender's blue.
I'll be your queen, dilly dilly, when I wed you.
If you love me, dilly dilly, never to roam,
If I love you, dilly dilly, babies must come.
Pink for a girl, dilly dilly, blue for a boy,
Binding us close, dilly dilly, bringing us joy.

Lavender's blue, dilly dilly, lavender's green,
When you are King, dilly dilly, I'll be your queen,
Who told me so, dilly dilly, how can I know,
I told myself, dilly dilly, love told me so.

Close we will live, dilly dilly, and when we die,
Both in one grave, dilly dilly, close we will lie,
Lavender's green, dilly dilly, Lavender's blue.
I'll be your queen, dilly dilly, when I wed you.
If I die first, dilly dilly, and that may be,
You must live on, dilly dilly, thinking of me.
If you die first, dilly dilly, maybe you will,
I will live on, dilly dilly, loving you still.

Lavender's blue, dilly dilly, lavender's green,
When you are King, dilly dilly, I'll be your queen,
Who told me so, dilly dilly, how can I know,
I told myself, dilly dilly, love told me so.^^

---

Digital Tradition Entry on this song (click)
Also see related threads:

(click here)

(click here)

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Dilly Dilly
From: GUEST,George Henderson
Date: 04 Dec 00 - 02:30 PM

I'm learning Joe.

Now I know how to do line breaks. Thanks for your help

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Dilly Dilly
From: kimmers
Date: 04 Dec 00 - 03:12 PM

There was a version of this in an old Disney movie. It was on my old "Disney's Merriest Songs" mono LP, which I still have somewhere. It's a good shower song.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Dilly Dilly
From: wildlone
Date: 04 Dec 00 - 03:19 PM

The group Marillion did a much shortened version of Lavenders Blue some time ago with another song part of which was "penny for your thoughts my dear" I have still got it somwhere but I dont know where,If I find it I will try to get the words.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Dilly Dilly
From: wildlone
Date: 04 Dec 00 - 03:32 PM

I found it
Lavender

I was walking in the park dreaming of a spark
When I heard the sprinklers whisper,
Shimmer in the haze of summer lawns.
Then I heard the children singing,
They were running through the rainbows
They were singing a song for you
Well it seemed to be a song for you,
The one I wanted to write for you, for you.

Lavenders blue, dilly dilly, lavenders green
When I am King, dilly dilly, you will be Queen
A penny for your thoughts my dear,
A penny for your thoughts my dear,
I.O.U. for your love, I.O.U. for your love.

Lavenders green, dilly dilly, lavenders blue
When you love me, dilly dilly, I will love you
A penny for your thoughts my dear,
A penny for your thoughts my dear,
I.O.U. for your love, I.O.U. for your love
For your love, for your love.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Dilly Dilly - Lavender Blue
From: Joe Offer
Date: 04 Dec 00 - 04:01 PM

Your got a songwriter attribution on that one, Wildlone? Thanks.
I found this version (click) in the database. It says it's #2, but I can find the first version.
Also see this thread (click).

George, you're progressing quite well in your training. The next step is to get you to refresh old threads and add information to them, instead of starting new threads [grin]. Actually, though, this one is much better - your previous posting had some horrible "meta" tags and other stuff that give Mudcat fits. Looks like we have a number of versions posted, and I'm going to have to decide which ones should be added to the database. Can you give me any background information on your version, George? Of the versions I've seen, I like it best.
-Joe Offer, still looking-
(can anybody direct me to other versions of this song in the database?)

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Dilly Dilly
From: MMario
Date: 04 Dec 00 - 04:14 PM

good question JOe - I tried searching on lavblue as well as lavendr; search on "lavender" doesn't turn anything up either...

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Dilly Dilly
From: GUEST,Bruce O.
Date: 04 Dec 00 - 06:30 PM

We've had this before, and the 17th century copy is in the Scarce Songs 1 file on my website. www.erols.com/olsonw

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Dilly Dilly
From: GUEST,George Henderson
Date: 05 Dec 00 - 03:23 AM

Joe,

Thanks for the praise. I never thought of refresshing a thread that could be up to 2 years old. I will have a go.

Frank McGrath has promised me a little tuition on HTML and i intend to study aspects of Web design as well so you never know. But retention gets more difficult as we follow through the ageing process.

This is the only song i have which i can truly say I got in true traditional manner. I got it from a great friend, John Knight, who passed away in 1986 or1987. John got it directly from his grandmother. The parody in the data base is dated in the 18th century but quotes the tune as Lavenders Green which is probably the origins of this song. However, according to the earlier thread, nobody has discovered any definitive proof of its age.

My own opinion is that it is even older than that but i have no evidence to sustantiate that claim.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Dilly Dilly
From: DMcG
Date: 01 Sep 01 - 12:45 PM

There is a version of this on an LP by "the City Waites" who point out that the original version had the chorus in the form

Lavender's green, Lavender's blue
You must love me 'cos I love you

Has anyone any idea when the colours swapped round? (They unfortunately didn't give a precise source and date for this in the sleeve notes, but everything else on the LP is 15c - 17c . They also say they left out 23 of the original verses)

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Dilly Dilly
From: Joe Offer
Date: 01 Sep 01 - 12:57 PM

We have this version (click) in the database, and it's pretty old - 1670's:
Lavender's green, didle, didle
Lavenders blue
You must love me, diddle, diddle
'Cause I love you.

Also see this thread (click), which gives information on the history of the song.
-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Dilly Dilly
From: GUEST,Michael Lemons
Date: 14 Jun 19 - 01:24 PM

Here's a rather beautiful rendition of Lavender's Green that I felt you mudcatters needed to hear:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4n9yzioZJow&ab_channel=GavinAtkin

Lavenders green, and lavenders blue
You must love me, as I love you
I heard them say, since I came hither
That you and I must wed together

Since I came hither (2x)
That you and I must wed together
Since I came hither (2x)
That you and I must wed together

Call up your men and set them to work
Some to the plough and some to the fork
Some to make hay, some to the corn
While you and I will keep the bed warm

Some to the corn (2x)
While you and I will keep the bed warm
Some to the corn (2x)
While you and I will keep the bed warm

Down in a dale where flowers grow
And sweet birds sing all in the row
Let the birds sing and let the lambs play
They shall be safe and out of harm's way

Let the lambs play (2x)
They shall be safe and out of harm's way
Let the lambs play (2x)
They shall be safe and out of harm's way

The brisk young man he met with a maid
And sat her down beneath the shade
When they did start to kiss and play
Like laurels in June and lambs in May

Kiss and play (2x)
Like laurels in June and lambs in May
Kiss and play (2x)
Like laurels in June and lambs in May

I will be kind until I die
Then prithee, love, my dog and I
For thee and I made one and one
As one we will live, and never alone

One and one (2x)
As one we will live, and never alone
One and one (2x)
As one we will live, and never alone

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Dilly Dilly
From: Jos
Date: 15 Jun 19 - 07:20 AM

And a rather different song remembered from Uncle Mac's Nursery Rhymes:

"What have you got for dinner Mrs Bond?"
"There's beef in the larder and ducks on the pond."
"Dilly, Dilly, Dilly, Dilly, come and be killed,
For you must be stuffed and my customers filled."

Strangely, the words didn't worry me in the least when I was a child.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Dilly Dilly
From: Mo the caller
Date: 17 Jun 19 - 05:12 AM

I remember that as "you must be cooked".
Why should the words bother anyone who isn't vegetarian? Though having actually culled a hen for the table I now eat less meat than I did.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Dilly Dilly
From: Ged Fox
Date: 17 Jun 19 - 01:35 PM

"stuffed" works better poetically, meaning the same as "filled" but something quite different.

There's a four verse version of "Mrs Bond" in the Puffin Song Book, but that really belongs in a different thread.