Can Ye Sew Cushions

DESCRIPTION: "O can ye sew cushions, And can ye sew sheets, Can you sing ba-loo-loo When the bairn greets?" "And hee and baw, birdie, and he and baw, lamb... My bonnie wee lamb." (The singer talks of the child's future life.)
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1803 (Scots Musical Museum)
KEYWORDS: nonballad baby
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland)
REFERENCES (4 citations):
Montgomerie/Montgomerie-ScottishNurseryRhymes 135, "(O can you sew cushions)" (1 text)
MacColl-PersonalChoice, p. 64, "O can ye sew cushions" (1 text, 1 tune)
GirlScouts-SingTogether, p. 82, "Oh, Can Ye Sew Cushions" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, SEWCUSHN* CUSHION2
Roud #5527
NOTES [45 words]: Insignificant as this item sounds, it's had some pretty big names associated with it; both Burns and Lady Nairne are said to have worked on it. Murray Shoolbraid's Digital Tradition notes give information on a putative Gaelic source; I have not been able to check this. - RBW
File: MSNR135

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