Green Gravel is an English singing game and folk song. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 1368.
| "Green Gravel" | |
|---|---|
| Song | |
| Published | c. 1835 |
| Genre | Singing game |
| Songwriter(s) | Unknown |
Lyrics and performance
editThe version collected in Manchester in 1835:
Green gravel, green gravel, the grass is so green
The fairest young damsel that was ever seen
O Mary, O Mary, your true love is dead
He sent you a letter to turn around your head...[1]
The players joined hands and walk around in a ring. At the end of the text, one person is named and then stays in the ring but faces outwards; the song begins again and a different person is named at the end, then taking their place in the centre.[2] Lucy Broadwood and J. A. Fuller Maitland recorded in their 1893 book English County Songs that Green Gravel was a dramatic representation of mourning.[3]
See also
editNotes
edit- ^ Opie, I.; Opie, P. (1985). The Singing Game. Oxford University Press. pp. 239–242.
- ^ Simpson, J.; Roud, S. (2000). "Green Gravel". A Dictionary of English Folklore.
- ^ "Green Gravel". Mainly Norfolk: English Folk and Other Good Music. Retrieved 17 December 2020.