My Boyfriend Gave Me An Apple

DESCRIPTION: "And five o'clock is striking, Mother may I go out My true love is waiting for me without." He brings apples, pears, and six-pence that she "kiss him on the stairs." She rejects apples and pears and gives back sixpence after he kisses her on the stairs.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1975 (Brady-AllInAllIn)
KEYWORDS: playparty food money
FOUND IN: Ireland Britain(England) US(Ap,MA)
REFERENCES (3 citations):
Hammond-SongsOfBelfast, p. 11, "Five O'Clock is Striking" (1 text, 1 tune)
Brady-AllInAllIn, pp. 37, "My Mammy sent me to the shops one day"; "Johnny gave me apples" (2 texts)
Abrahams-JumpRopeRhymes, #287, "Johnnie gave me apples" (1 text)
Roud #12986
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Bells are Ringing (Eight O'Clock Bells)"
ALTERNATE TITLES:
Six O'Clock Bells Ringing
NOTES [106 words]: Hammond-SongsOfBelfast: "A skipping game." - BS
Brady-AllInAllIn makes it a "hot hands" (clapping) game, but it seems to be more common as a jump-rope rhyme.
According to Abrahams-JumpRopeRhymes, the jump-rope versions are more likely to start with "My Boyfriend gave me an apple," or "Johnny gave me an apple"; hence the title used. Roud combines this with "The Bells are Ringing (Eight O'Clock Bells)," and even "I Am a Pretty Little Dutch Girl." I am almost certain the latter is separate, and while I'm not as sure in the case of the former, they are distinct enough that I have quite tentatively allowed them to stay separate. - RBW
Last updated in version 6.5
File: Hamm011

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