Old Lady of Botany Bay, The

DESCRIPTION: "There came an old woman/man from Botany/Poverty Bay, And what have you got to give me today? And you mustn't say Yes, o or nay, black, white, or gray."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1900 (Sutton-Smith-NZ-GamesOfNewZealandChilden/FolkgamesOfChildren)
KEYWORDS: playparty wordplay colors
FOUND IN: New Zealand
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Sutton-Smith-NZ-GamesOfNewZealandChilden/FolkgamesOfChildren, p. 53, "(There came an old woman from Botany Bay)" (1 text)
Roud #5105
NOTES [30 words]: Roud seems to lump British versions of this with the song indexed as "Poor Widow." I can only say that the extreme versions, this and Sam Henry's, do not appear to be the same song.
Last updated in version 4.4
File: SuSm053A

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