Nuts in May (rhyme)
| "Nuts in May" Roud #6308 |
|
| Written by | Traditional |
|---|---|
| Published | 1894-8 |
| Written | England |
| Language | English |
| Form | Nursery rhyme |
"Nuts in May" is a nursery rhyme often sung as a game with the aim of pairing a boy and girl from within the singers. It has a Roud index number of 6308.
Contents |
[edit] Lyrics
Replace "[name]" by a boy's and a girl's name from within the group singing and select between him/her according to the gender of the first selected person. Some versions replace the phrase "On a cold and frosty morning," with "so early in the morning"
- Here we go gathering nuts in May,
- Nuts in May, nuts in May,
- Here we go gathering nuts in May,
- On a cold and frosty morning.
- Who will you have for nuts in May,
- Nuts in May, nuts in May,
- Who will you have for nuts in May,
- On a cold and frosty morning.
- We'll have [name] for nuts in May,
- Nuts in May, nuts in May,
- We'll have [name] for nuts in May,
- On a cold and frosty morning.
- Who will you have to fetch him/her away,
- Fetch him/her away, fetch him/her away,
- Who will you have to fetch him/her away,
- On a cold and frosty morning.
- We'll have [name] to fetch him/her away,
- Fetch him/her away, fetch him/her away,
- We'll have [name] to fetch him/her away,
- On a cold and frosty morning.
[edit] Origins
The rhyme is first recorded by Alice Gomme in The Traditional Games of England, Scotland and Ireland (1894-8). It is a variant of "Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush", with which it shares a tune and closing line.[1]
As nuts are not gathered in England in May, it is thought that the lyrics could be a corruption of "knots of may", referring to the blossom of the common hawthorn.[2]
