Susannes Folksong-Notizen
[1970:] These were the Glasgow back-court songs which we added
to our repertoire of the games played all over the country at
their appropriate season. 'Queen Mary, Queen Mary my age is
sixteen', 'Broken bridges falling down', 'The Bonnie Bunch o'
Roses', 'Down in yonder valley where the green grass grows', and
'Water water wallflower, growing up so high'. We moved delicately
through the movements, oblivious of mothers and grannies who
occasionally glanced our way from their tenement windows,
self-absorbed and transported into a graceful mannered world. We
were merciless on those who couldn't or wouldn't learn the
movements fast enough, and who spoilt the rhythm, and we'd pounce
on the hapless novice and put her through it again and again
until she got fed up. (Molly Weir, Shoes Were For Sunday 39)
[1994:] There was also the constant threat of the 'Green Lady'
health visitor, who had the power to knock on any door at anytime
and inspect your home. At the first sight of a Green Lady in the
vicinity the bush telegraph swung into action, sending all the
women of Blackhill on a furious tidying spree, in case the Green
Lady picked on their house and gave a bad report because
something was out of place. The Green Ladies were forever trying
to outsmart the women, [so they] often came on a Monday, washing
day, when they knew that the majority of women would be tied to
the boiler [...]. This made them doubly unpopular of course
[...]. Another good time was Friday afternoon, when the women
were waiting for their men to come home with their weekly pay
packets so that they could do some shopping. So again the last
person they wanted was the Green Lady arriving [...] and of
course they couldn't refuse to let her in. There was a children's
street song that we used to sing [...], the first line of which
was "Queen Mary, Queen Mary, my age is sixteen". So
powerful were the Green Ladies that I thought the line started
with "Green Lady, Green Lady", and I sang those words
for years without questioning them. (Henderson, Finding Peggy
88f)
[1995:] 'Tales From The Nursery' on Radio 2 was cruel
disillusionment for those who believe nursery rhymes mean
something, however obscure. World authority Iona Opie denies
categorically that Ring A Ring O' Roses has anything to do with
the Great Plague, or Mary Mary with Mary Queen of Scots. (Sue
Arnold, The Observer, 8 October)
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