The Six Questions

When you go down through yonder town,
Sing ivy leaf, sweet William and thyme,
Give my respects to that young maid,
And she shall be a true lover of mine.

Tell her to make me a cambric shirt
Sing ivy leaf…
Without any seam or needlework
And she shall be…

Tell her to wash it in yonder dry well
Where never spring water nor rain ever fell

Tell her to dry it on yonder thorn
That never bore blossom since Adam was born

Now he has asked of me questions three,
Sing ivy leaf, sweet William, and thyme.
I hope he will answer as many for me.
And he shall be a true lover of mine.

Tell him to find me an acre of land
Sing ivy leaf…
Betwixt the salt water and the sea sand
And he shall be…

Tell him to plough it with a cuckold's horn
And sow it all over with one peppercorn

Tell him to reap it with a sickle of leather
And bind it all up with a peacock's feather

When he has done and finished his work
O, tell him to come for his cambric shirt

Sing ivy leaf, sweet William and thyme…
etc…