I See the Moon

DESCRIPTION: "I see the moon, the moon sees me, God bless the (moon/sailors) and God bless me." May continue, "Grace in the garden, grace in the hall, And the grace of God be on us all," which is also used as a table grace
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1784 (Gammer Gurton's Garland, according to Opie/Opie-OxfordDictionaryOfNurseryRhymes)
KEYWORDS: nonballad religious
FOUND IN: US(MW) Britain(England)
REFERENCES (6 citations):
Opie/Opie-OxfordDictionaryOfNurseryRhymes 356, "I see the moon" (1 text)
Baring-Gould-AnnotatedMotherGoose #425, p. 202, "(I see the moon, and the moon sees me)"
Dolby-OrangesAndLemons, p. 176, "I See the Moon" (3 texts)
Averill-CampSongsFolkSongs, pp. 343, 443, "I See the Moon" (notes only)
Abrahams-JumpRopeRhymes, #258, "I see the moon, and the moon sees me" (1 text)
ADDITIONAL: Walter de la Mare, _Come Hither_, third edition, 1928, notes to #444 ("I see the moon") (1 short text)
Roud #19690
RECORDINGS:
Judy Cook, "I See the Moon" (Piotr-Archive #345, recorded 11/02/2022)
NOTES [67 words]: I believe I learned this, or the first line of it at least, somewhere in my youth, with a tune similar to the "Fiddle-I-Fee" versions of "I Had a Little Rooster." I know of no folk recordings, but that seems to imply some sort of tradition somewhere. And I have seen variants printed in non-folk sources.
Apparently there was a very popular recording issued some decades back, but I know no details. - RBW
Last updated in version 6.7
File: BGMG425

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