One I Love, Two I Love

DESCRIPTION: Counting rhyme, usually for counting seeds or flower petals: "One I love, two I love, Three I love, I say. Four I love with all my heart, Five I cast away." And so forth, with different actions up to twelve or higher
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1883 (Newell-GamesAndSongsOfAmericanChildren, according to Opie/Opie-OxfordDictionaryOfNurseryRhymes)
KEYWORDS: nonballad love
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REFERENCES (6 citations):
Opie/Opie-OxfordDictionaryOfNurseryRhymes 382, "One I love, two I love" (1 text)
Newell-GamesAndSongsOfAmericanChildren, #44, "Counting Apple-seeds" 1 text)
Abrahams-JumpRopeRhymes, #420, "One I love, two I love" (1 text)
Welsch-NebraskaPioneerLore, p. 270, "(no title)" (1 short text)
Greenway-FolkloreOfTheGreatWest, p. 62, "(One, he loves)" (1 text)
Garland-FacesInTheFirelight-NZ, p. 270, "(One I love, two I love, three I love, I say)" (1 short text, possibly derived from this)
Roud #19522
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "I Love my Love (II)" (lyrics)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
Counting Appleseeds
NOTES [85 words]: Jean Ritchie appears to have combined this with the lyrics of "I Love my Love (II)" to produce her song "One I Love." I am not sure this counting rhyme exists as a song on its own, but the connection to the Ritchie song was (just barely) enough reason to include it.
The Greenway-FolkloreOfTheGreatWest version is an interesting variant that might be independent; I'm honestly not sure:
One, he loves,
Two, she loves,
Three, they both love.
Four, he cones,
Five, he tarries,
Six, he courts,
Seven, they marry. - RBW
Last updated in version 6.6
File: OOx382

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