Sally Walker
1.
Rise, Sally Walker, rise when you can,
Rise, Sally Walker, and follow your goodman;
Come chose to the east, come choose to the west,
Come choose to the very one that you love best.
Mary made a pudding nice and sweet,
Lizzie took a knife and tasted it;
Taste love, taste love, don't say no,
Next Monday morning to the church we will go.
Clean the fire-bransticks, clean the fireside,
Roll up the curtains, and let us see the bride.
These two lovers married in joy,
Every year a girl or a boy;
Seven years after and seven years to come,
Kiss young couple, kiss and be done.
2.
Sally, Sally Walker,
Sprinkling in a pan;
Rise, Sally; rise, Sally,
For a young man.
Come, choose from the east,
Come, choose from the west,
Come, choose out the very one
That you love best.
Now there's a couple
Married in joy;
First a girl,
And then a boy.
Now you're married;
You must obey
Every word
Your husband says.
Take a kiss
And walk away,
And remember the promise
You've made to-day.
3.
Little Sally Walker sitting in a sigh,
Weeping and waiting for a young man.
Come choose you east, come choose you west,
The very one that you love best.
4.
Little Sally Walker sitting on the sand,
Crying and weeping for a young man.
Rise, Sally, rise, Sally, wipe away your tears,
Try for the east, and try for the west,
Try for the (little) very one you love best.
Now they're married I wish them joy,
Every year a girl and boy,
Loving each other like sister and brother,
I hope to see them meet again.
5.
Rise, Sally Walker,
Rise if you can,
Rise, Sally Walker, and follow your good man;
Choose to the east, and choose to the west,
Choose to the one you love best.
There is a couple married in joy,
Past a girl and then a boy,
Seven years after, seven years to come,
Kiss you couple, kiss and be done.
A' the many hours to us a happy life,
Except ---- and he wants a wife.
A wife he shall have,
And a widower shall he be,
Except ---- that sits on his knee,
A guid fauld hoose and a blacket fireside,
Draw up your gartens and show all your bride.
6.
Arise, Sally Walker, arise if you can,
Arise, Sally Walker, and follow your good man;
Come choose to the east, come choose to the west,
Come choose to the very one you love best.
This is a couple married with joy;
First a girl and then a boy,
Seven years after and seven years to come,
This young couple married and begun.
[The Christian name of a girl] made a pudding so nice
and sweet,
[Boy's Christian name] took a knife and tasted it.
Taste love, taste love, don't say No,
The next Sunday morning
To church we shall go.
Clean the brazen candlesticks,
And clean the fireside,
Draw back the curtains,
And lat's see the bride.
A' the men in oor toon leads a happy life,
Except [a boy's full name], and he wants a wife.
A wife shall he hae, and a widow she shall be;
For look at [a girl's full name] diddling on's knee.
He paints her cheeks and he curls her hair,
And he kisses the lass at the foot o' the stair.
7.
[Cullen version is same as (6) for lines 1-7, then:]
This young couple be married and be done,
A' the men in oor toon leads a happy life,
Except ---- and he wants a wife.
A wife he shall have, and a widow she shall be,
Except [a girl's name] that sits on his knee,
Painting her face and curling her hair,
Kissing [a girl's name] at the foot o' the stair.
8.
Rise, Sally Walker, rise if you can,
Rise, Sally Walker, follow your gudeman.
Come choose to the east, come choose to the west,
Come choose to the very one that you love best.
Now they're married I wish them joy,
Every year a girl or boy,
Loving each other like sister and brother,
And so they may be kissed together.
Cheese and bread for gentlemen,
And corn and hay for horses,
A cup of tea for a' good wives,
And bonnie lads and lassies.
When are we to meet again?
And when are we to marry?
Raffles up, and raffles down, and raffles a' a dancin',
The bonniest lassie that ever I saw,
Was [child in the centre] dancin'.
9.
Sally, Sally Walker, sitting in the sun,
Weeping and wailing for a young man,
Rise, Sally, rise, and wipe away your tears,
Fly to the east, fly to the west,
And fly to the very one that you love best.
Uncle John is very sick,
He goes a courting night and day;
Sword and pistol by his side,
Little Sally is his bride.
He takes her by the lily white hand,
He leads her over the water;
Now they kiss and now they clap,
Mrs. Molly's daughter.
10.
Rise, Sally Walker, rise, if you can,
Rise, Sally Walker, and follow your gueedman,
Choose to the east, and choose to the west,
Choose to the one that you love best.
There is a couple married in joy,
First a girl and then a boy,
Seven years after, seven years to come.
11.
Sally, Sally, Walker, sprinkling in a pan,
Rye, Sally; rye, Sally, for a young man,
Come, choose to the east, come, choose to the west,
And come choose to the very one that you love best.
[The choice is made here, and the two stand in the
centre as usual.]
Now there's a couple married in joy,
First a girl and then a boy.
---- made a pudding nice and sweet,
---- took a knife and tasted it.
Taste, love; taste, love, don't say no,
Next Monday morning is our marriage day.
Seven years after, seven years to come,
This young man shall be kissed and be done.
________________________________________________________
(1) Greig FSNE clii.2, from Orkney. Cf. 3.3-6 with "The
Wind, the Wind", st. 3.
(2-11) Gomme II (1898); (2) 152, from Fochabers; (3)
159, from Nairn; (4) 159, from Fraserburgh; (5) 161,
[locality unspecified; from Gregor]; (6) 161, from
Tyrie; (7) 162, from Cullen; (8) 162, from Aberdeen
Training College; (9) 163, from Nairn, Perth, & Forfar;
(10) 165, from Rosehearty; (11) 453, from Fochabers.
Gomme's lengthy analysis (pp. 167-179) takes the game
back to primitive (pre-Celtic) marriage ceremonies. The
marriage formula may belong rightly to this game, although
appearing in others. The tune, she notes, is always the same
[or extremely similar at least] for the marriage formula,
"irrespective of that to which the previous verses are sung,
and this rule obtains in all those games in which this
formula appears--a further proof of the antiquity of the
formula as an outcome of the early marriage ceremony."
See FSJ pt. 28, 111-6. Opies Singing Game (1985), 167 (no. 34),
"Sally Water", with foreign refs. (Canada, N.Z., etc.). A
relative of some sort is "Little Alexander", q.v.
MS
Thanks to Mudcat for the Digital Tradition!