LL-L "Literature" 2006.05.01 (05) [E]

[Lowlands-L]

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A=Afrikaans Ap=Appalachian B=Brabantish D=Dutch E=English F=Frisian
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   L O W L A N D S - L * 01 May 2006 * Volume 06
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From: Sandy Fleming <sandy at fleimin.demon.co.uk>
Subject: "Literature" 2006.04.29 (07) [E/German]

> From: R. F. Hahn <sassisch at yahoo.com>
> Subject: Literature
>
> Servus, Karl-Heinz!
>
> Thanks for the insightful explanation.
>
>> Yes, of course, "picking flowers" has the same meaning in German
>> traditional
>> folksongs as it has in English or Scottish ones - SEX! Didn't you know
>> that?" (source: http://cazoo.org/folksongs/heidenroslein.htm)
>
I think saying it symbolises sex doesn't quite catch the tone of the
literature in general. For example the traditional Welsh flower-picking
verse by Hen Banillion seems to be about love, romance, relationships in
general:

Mynd i'r ardd i dorri pwysi,
Pasio'r lafant, pasio'r lili,
Pasio'r pincs a'r rhosys cochion,
Torri pwysi o ddanadl poethion.

Er, my Welsh is a bit rusty, but guessing at some of the flower names:

Going to the garden to pick a posy,
Pass by the lavender, pass by the lily,
Pass by the pinks and the red roses,
Pick a bunch of stinging nettles.

The clue is that the poem would be a bit silly and pointless if it were
taken literally, but having got that I think you need to use imagination
and intelligence to figure out what it might be about rather than just
applying a code such as "picking flowers" > "sex".

Similarly, Alexander Montgomerie's long Scots poem "The Cherrie and the
Slae" (
http://scotstext.org/makars/alexander_montgomerie/the_cherrie_and_the_slae.asp
) uses berry-picking symbolically in a parody of the romantic love
tradition.

>
> On the serious side, though -- and there is obviously a very serious
> side to this -- it amazes me no end that people don't understand the
> actual meanings of traditional songs (or do they?), perform them as
> almost sacrosanct bits of culture and even teach them to small children.
>
Indeed, as in the English nursery rhyme:

Goosey goosey gander,
Whether shalt thou wander?
Upstairs, and downstairs,
And in my lady's chamber.

> Did you have in mind "Comin' Thru The Rye" (see below) when you
> mentioned Scottish songs? To me it represents the latter category.
>
Oh dear! "Lat me in this ae nicht" is probably the Scots equivalent of
Dat du myn leyvsten büst: http://ingeb.org/songs/olassiea.html

 > I wonder if these types of songs used to serve as legitimate ways of
talking about things that were usually considered socially inappropriate.

I think in Puritan England the use of innuendo for sex education while
not offending the ears of the innocent or registering with the
puritanical was highly developed. "Two Maids Went A-Milking" is
seemingly a pleasant pastoral theme to those whose minds aren't on those
other matters:

Two maids went a-milking one day
Two maids went a-milking one day
And the wind it did blow high
And the wind it did blow low
And it tossed their pails to and fro, tralala!
It tossed their pails to and fro.

They met with a man that they knew
They met with a man that they knew
And they said have you the will
And they said have you the skill
To catch us a small bird or two, tralala!
To catch us a small bird or two?

He said Yes, I have excellent good will
And he said I have excellent good skill
If you will come with me
Neath yonder flowering tree
I may catch you a small bird or two, tralala!
I may catch you a small bird or two

So they went and they sat beneath the tree
And they went and they sat beneath two
And little birds flew round about
Little birds flew in and out
And he caught them by one and by two, tralala!
He caught them by one and by two

Well, boys...
Let us now drink down the sun
And let us now drink down the moon
Take your lady to the wood
If you really think you should
You may catch her a small bird or two, tralala!
You may catch her a small bird or two

Sandy Fleming
http://scotstext.org/ 

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