Down in the field where the buttercups all grow

AKA
First Published1931

Writer/composerWilliam HargreavesRoudRN1736

Music Hall PerformersCharlie Higgins
Folk performancesCollected from the singing of:
Green, Harry England : Essex : 1967
Mills, Billy England : Yorkshire : Sheffield : 1970
Brightwell, William (‘Jumbo’) ; England : Suffolk : 1971
Spicer, George ; England : Sussex : 1973
Innes, Alex ; England : Gloucestershire : 1974
Withers, George ; England : Somerset : 1976
Rowe, Cliff; England : Somerset : 1977
Cornelius, Edward ‘Soldier’ ; England : Somerset : 1977
Freeman, Hubert ; England : Suffolk : Bedingfield 1991
Langsbury, Ken England : Gloucestershire : 1994
Tarling, Jack ; England : Suffolk : 1995
Unknown singer ; England : Gloucestershire : 1995
[Transcribed from recoding by Jim Dixon, see Mudcat Thread]

Oh, Mary Green loves me and I love her too.
We blush when we meet like all true lovers do,
Beside the plantation where green meadows run.
We spoon in the dark and we have lots of fun,
Down in the field where the buttercups all grow.
My sweetheart said I was too bashful and slow,
But she changed her mind when I let myself go,
Down in the field where the buttercups all grow.

We walked side by side through the long winding grass.
The rhubarb grew sideways to let us both pass.
We stood 'neath a tree and the birds up above
Were all busy dropping their tokens of love,
Down in the field where the buttercups all grow.
My girl climbed a gate and said, "Turn your head, Joe,"
But I'd a stiff neck so we let matters go,
Down in the field where the buttercups all grow.

My sweetheart and I were behind a haystack.
A bumblebee flew down the small of her back.
I saw what had happened and in my distress,
I pushed my right hand down the back of her dress,
Down in the field where the buttercups all grow,
My hand down her back when she struck me a blow.
I'd no idea that bee was so far below,
Down in the field where the buttercups all grow.

The songsters were greeting the day newly born,
The sheep in the meadow, the cows in the corn,
And when sheep and cows have been round there a bit,
It's not a nice place for a lady to sit.
Down in the field where the buttercups all grow,
A cow licking Mary's face tickled her so.
She thought it was me and said, "Don't slobber, Joe,"
Down in the field where the buttercups all grow.

A ten-gallon barrel on top of the hill
Came flashing towards us; my heart it stood still,
But Mary stood bravely unflinching and true.
Her legs were so bandy the barrel went through,
Down in the field where the buttercups all grow.
Our courtship was swift and our honeymoon slow.
The bed was so small that we both had to go
Down in the field where the buttercups all grow.

A song popularised by Manchester-born Music Hall comic and recording artiste Charlie Higgins – remembered by many Traditional singers in southern England in the late 20th century. The song was written by prolific songwriter William Hargreaves.

Charlie Higgins sings it:

Sources:

image_print