Bonnie Wee Croodlin Doo
1.
Whare hae ye been a' the day,
My little wee croodlin doo?
Oh, I've been at my grandmother's;
Mak' my bed, mammie, noo!
What gat ye at your grandmother's,
My little wee croodlin doo?
I got a bonnie wee fishie;
Mak' my bed, mammie, noo!
Oh, whare did she catch the fishie,
My bonnie wee croodlin doo?
She catched it in the gutter hole;
Mak' my bed, mammie, noo!
And what did you do wi' the banes o't,
My bonnie wee croodlin doo?
I gied them to my little dog;
Mak' my bed, mammie, noo!
And what did the little doggie do,
My bonnie wee croodlin doo?
He shot out his head and feet, and dee'd,
As I do, mammie, noo!
2.
Where hae ye been a' the day,
My bonny wee croodin doo?
O I hae been at my stepmother's house;
Make my bed, mammie, now!
Make my bed, mammie, now!
Where did you get your dinner,
My bonny wee croodin doo?
I got it in my stepmother's;
Make my bed, mammie, now, now, now!
Make my bed, mammie, now!
What did she gie ye to your dinner,
My bonny wee croodin doo?
She ga'e me a little four-footed fish;
Make my bed, mammie, now, now, now!
Make my bed, mammie, now!
Where got she the four-footed fish,
My bonny wee croodin doo?
She got in down in yon well strand;
Make my bed, mammie, now, now, now!
Make my bed, mammie, now!
What did she do wi' the banes o't,
My bonny wee croodin doo?
She ga'e them to the little dog;
Make my bed, mammie, now, now, now!
Make my bed, mammie, now!
O what became o' the little dog,
My bonny wee croodin doo?
O it shot out its feet and died!
O make my bed, mammie, now, now, now!
O make my bed, mammie, now!
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(1) Chambers PRS (1826) [per Saturday Review, 30 July
1870].
(2) PRS (1870), 52, with music (1847, 205, sans music,
"The Crowden Doo"); "Mrs. Lockhart's copy, as she used
to sing it to her father at Abbotsford." Slightly more
Scots ("wee" for "little" etc.) in Montgomerie SNR 140
(no. 175), with music. Another version ("Willie Doo"),
with music in Moffat 50 TSNR (1933), 5. I doubt the
provenance of this.
See Child (12), and Bronson Trad. Tunes of the Child
Ballads I (1959), 224 ff. The parody (treated in
Child's Appendix) has its own ramifications; see "Bonnie
Tammy". ODNR 75 (no. 44).
Child #12
MS
Thanks to Mudcat for the Digital Tradition!