Chapter VII

Some eggs and strong bacon we’ll never deny,
For the eggs we can suck while the bacon doth fry.
Now all ye young lasses, just mind what ye are about,
If you give nought, we’ll take nought, so we’ll bid you good night.
Fol di-diddle dol-di-day.

MAYING

The “Mayers” went about singing and soliciting alms for some weeks before the first of May. The following is a portion of one of their songs, and a variant may be found in Halliwell’s _Palatine Anthology_, which was given to him by Ormerod, the Cheshire historian. The tune taken down by Egerton Leigh, and given in his book of poems, is terribly mutilated, but I have reconstructed it by the aid of a very similar Lancashire tune. It is undoubtedly old, and the commencement on the supertonic is very quaint. The words are distinctly above the average of old ballads:

[Music: CHESHIRE MAYING SONG]

CHESHIRE MAY SONG