Monday, April 18, 2005

Bobby Shaftoe

Admirers of Cryptonomicon, and maybe The Baroque Cycle (here, here, and here) may be interested in this rhyme I stubmled upon in one of my daughter's nursery rhyme books this weekend...

Bobby Shaftoe's gone to sea,
Silver buckles at his knee;
He'll come back and marry me,
Bonny Bobby Shaftoe.

Bobby Shaftoe's bright and fair,
Combing down his yellow hair,
He's my ain for ever mair,
Bonny Bobby Shaftoe.

Bobby Shaftoe's tall and sIim,
He's always dressed so neat and trim,
The lassies they all keek at him,
Bonny Bobby Shaftoe.

Bobby Shaftoe's gett'n a bairn,
For to dandle on his airm,
On his airm and on his knee,
Bobby Shaftoe loves me.

A little research reveals that this is a Northumbrian folk song. Interesting.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Bobby Shaftoe is buried in the church yard within Whiworth Estate, his baptism record exists in the parish records. Whitworth is a small hamlet outside Spennymoor in County Durham.