THEY were three bonny mowers Were mowing half the day; They were three bonny lasses A-making of the hay. "Who'll go and fetch the basket?" "Not I." "Nor I." "Nor I." They had no time for falling out Ere Nancy Bell came by. "What's in your basket, Nancy Bell?" "Sweet cakes and currant wine, And venison and cider, lads; Come quickly, come and dine." They were two bonny mowers Fell to among the best; The youngest sits a-fasting, His head upon his breast. "What ails ye, bonny mower, You sit so mournfully?" "Alas! what ails me, Nancy Bell? 'Tis all the love of thee." "Now laugh and quaff, my bonny lad, And think no more o' me. My lover is a finer man Than any twain o' ye. "He's bought for me a kirtle, He's bought for me a coat, Of three-and-thirty colours, Wi' tassels at the throat. "And twenty Maids of Honour They stitched at it a year, And sewed in all their needlework The kisses of my dear!" | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE GOOD SHEPHERD WITH THE KID by MATTHEW ARNOLD NEVADA by HELENA GRACE BRADLEY FIRST MATERNITY by KATHARINE BROWN BURT LINES SUGGESTED BY THE FOURTEENTH OF FEBRUARY (1) by CHARLES STUART CALVERLEY TOWARDS DEMOCRACY: PART 3. A VOICE OVER THE EARTH by EDWARD CARPENTER |