paper of/and pins

[Arnold Zwicky]

there's a folksong that occurs in several variants, including a
variation between "a paper of pins" and "paper and pins".  a man is
wooing a woman, and promises her:

I'll give  thee/you/to you  X ... if  you'll/you'll but/you will
marry me

the "a paper of pins" version is sometimes called "the Bus Stop song",
because the recording of it by the Four Lads was featured in the movie
Bus Stop (though the song is much older than that).  the "paper and
pins" version has been recorded several times by the Clancy Brothers
and Tommy Makem.

both versions are somewhat opaque to me.  anyone know anything about
the interpretation, or the history, of the song?

arnold

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