Milking Song, The

DESCRIPTION: "Pbroo, pbroo! my bonnie cow! ... Ye ken the hand that's kind to you; Sae let the drappie go, hawkie." The calf is sleeping in the pen, but will come soon. The milk makes visitors glad.
AUTHOR: Robert Jamieson
EARLIEST DATE: 1930 (Ord-BothySongsAndBallads)
KEYWORDS: animal food nonballad
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Ord-BothySongsAndBallads, p. 244, "The Milking Song" (1 text)
Roud #3939
NOTES [101 words]: Ord-BothySongsAndBallads believes that Jamieson produced this as an imitation, or perhaps an improvement, of an actual milking song. It seems likely enough. I know of no purely traditional collection.
And, no, I have no idea how one pronounces "pbroo"!
Similar milking rhymes are of course common. Baroing-Gould-MotherGoose 490, p. 213, runs
Cushy cow, bonny, let down thy milk,
And I will give thee a gown of silk;
A gown of silk and a silver tee,
If thou will let down thy milk to me.
There is a similar text in Montgomerie/Montgomerie-ScottishNurseryRhymes -- #29, "(Bonnie lady, Let down your milk)." - RBW
File: Ord244

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