Mythology & Folklore
Trip Trap Over the Grass
From The Nursery Rhymes of England, collected by J. O. Halliwell (London: Warne; first ed. 1842; this printing 1886)
B. Trip trap over the grass: If you please will you let one of
your [eldest] daughters come,
Come and dance with me?
I will give you pots and pans, I will give you brass,
I will give you anything for a pretty lass.
A. says, "No."
B. I will give you gold and silver, I will give you pearl,
I will give you anything for a pretty girl.
A. Take one, take one, the fairest you may see.
B. The fairest one that I can see
Is pretty Nancy,--come to me.
You shall have a duck, my dear,
And you shall have a drake,
And you shall have a young man
apprentice for your sake.
If this young man should happen to die,
And leave this poor woman a widow,
The bells shall all ring, and the birds shall all sing,
And we'll all clap hands together.
Codex Note
Halliwell's class: Games. [A stands with a row of girls (her daughters) behind her; B, a suitor, advances.]
Cite this poem
MLA
Anonymous (English nursery rhymes). “Trip Trap Over the Grass.” Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/anonymous-english-nursery-rhymes/328/.
Chicago
Anonymous (English nursery rhymes). “Trip Trap Over the Grass.” Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/anonymous-english-nursery-rhymes/328/.
Read this poem with the Codex →