Down in the Alley Where the Green Grass Grows

Down in the alley where the green grass grows
See Raymond ******* washing his clothes
He sings, he sings, he sings so sweet
He calls for Ann ******* down the street

‘Ann, Ann, will you marry me?’
‘Yes dear, yes dear, at half past three
Ice cakes, jam cakes, all for tea
And we’ll have a jolly wedding at half past three.’

Notes from Hugh Shields

A ring game. For other references see A Gomme’s The traditional games of England, Scotland and Ireland (1964, vol 1:99–100, vol 2:416–18); L Daiken’s Children’s games throughout the year (1949:81); JTR Ritchie’s Golden city (1964:122–23); N Douglas’s London street games (1931:32–33, 53). A Dublin version is recorded on Ewan McColl and Dominic Behan’s The singing streets (1958:Folkways LP FW 8501) and often by the School of Scottish Studies. This too has been burlesqued, and the last line runs: “The worst of it all, she’s (the teacher’s) got sweaty feet” (see Opie and Opie, The lore and language of schoolchildren [1967:364]).