There was an old woman Went blackberry picking Along the hedges From Weep to Wicking. Half a pottle -- No more she had got, When out steps a Fairy From her green grot; And says, 'Well, Jill, Would 'ee pick 'ee mo?' And Jill, she curtseys, And looks just so. 'Be off,' says the Fairy, 'As quick as you can, Over the meadows To the little green lane, That dips to the hayfields Of Farmer Grimes; I've berried the hedges A score of times; Bushel on bushel I'll promise 'ee, Jill, This side of supper If 'ee pick with a will.' She glints very bright, And speaks her fair; Then lo, and behold! She had faded in air. Be sure Old Goodie She trots betimes Over the meadows To Farmer Grimes. And never was queen With jewelry rich As those same hedges From twig to ditch; Like Dutchmen's coffers, Fruit, thorn, and flower-- They shone like William And Mary's Bower. And be sure Old Goodie Went back to Weep So tired with her basket She scarce could creep. When she comes in the dusk To her cottage door, There's Towser wagging As never before, To see his Missus So glad to be Come from her fruit-picking Back to he. As soon as next morning Dawn was grey The pot on the hob Was simmering away; All in a stew And a hugger-mugger Towser and Jill A-boiling of sugar, And the dark clear fruit That from Faërie came, For syrup and jelly And blackberry jam. Twelve jolly gallipots Jill put by; And one little teeny one, One inch high; And that she's hidden A good thumb deep, Half way over From Wicking to Weep.
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Confirmed with Peacock Pie. A Book of Rhymes by Walter de la Mare, London: Constable & Co. Ltd., [1920], pages 69-71.
Authorship:
- by Walter De la Mare (1873 - 1956), "Berries", appears in Peacock Pie: A Book of Rhymes, in 3. Three Queer Tales, no. 1, first published 1913 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Eric Sams (1926 - 2004), "Berries", 1961 [ voice and piano ], confirmed with a concert programme booklet [sung text checked 1 time]
Researcher for this page: Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2014-03-31
Line count: 72
Word count: 282