Cecil Sharp's Note 51 (1916)

No. 51. The Sweet Priméroses

This is one of the most common of English folksongs. The words are on broadsides by Barraclough of Nuneaton and others. Variants of the tune are given in Barrett’s English Folk Songs (No. 46), and in the Journal of the Folk-Song Society (volume i, p. 21). In the version of the tune given here the rhythm is quite regular, differing in that particular from all other forms of the air that I know. Barrett, in a footnote, states: “This song is usually sung without any attempt to emphasize the rhythm.” The words have been compiled from those supplied to me by several singers.