Rosebud in June

DESCRIPTION: "Here the rosebuds in June and the violets are blowing, The small birds they whistle on every green bough." Singer celebrates joys of spring, dancing on the green, and sheepshearing. The song may describe the cycle of the seasons.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1840
KEYWORDS: ritual dancing nonballad sheep
FOUND IN: Britain(England(South))
REFERENCES (6 citations):
Gardham-EarliestVersions, "SHEEP-SHEARING SONG, THE"
Sharp-OneHundredEnglishFolksongs 93, "It's a Rosebud in June" (1 text, 1 tune)
Karpeles-TheCrystalSpring 90, "It's a Rosebud in June" (1 text, 1 tune)
Palmer-EnglishCountrySongbook, #11, "The Rosebuds in June" (1 text, 1 tune)
Purslow-MarrowBones, p. 77, "The Sheep-Shearing Song" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, ROSEBUDJ*
Roud #812
ALTERNATE TITLES:
Here's the Rosebud in June
Rosebud in June
NOTES [61 words]: This song, a simple pastoral on its face, has ritual overtones. Note the chorus: "We'll pipe and we'll sing, Love/We'll dance in a ring, Love/When each lad takes his lass/All on the green grass/And the lads and the lasses to sheep-shearing go." Ring-dancing was characteristic of rituals in pre-Christian Europe. Other verses have hints of sympathetic magic as well. -PJS
Last updated in version 6.8
File: ShH93

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