Dusting Bluebells (rhyme)

Last updated

In and Out the Dusting Bluebells , also known as In and Out the Dusty or Dusky Bluebells, is a children's playground song and dance. The game is not thought to have formed until the early 20th century and although it enjoyed great popularity amongst girls during the 1960s and 1970s, its popularity had waned by the 2000s. [1] [2]

Contents

Description

The children form a circle holding hands with arms raised to form an arch between each child. A child chosen to start the dance begins to weave in and out of the arches singing:-

In and out the dusty bluebells,
In and out the dusty bluebells,
In and out the dusty bluebells,
Who will be my master?

The child stops on the word 'master' and begins to tap on the shoulder of the nearest child in the circle, singing:-

Pitter-patter, pitter-patter on my shoulder,
Pitter-patter, pitter-patter on my shoulder,
Pitter-patter, pitter-patter on my shoulder,
You will be my master.

The tapped child now joins with the dancer and begins to weave through the arches with the original child holding on behind.

The first verse is repeated, until the end, when another child is chosen and tapped upon the shoulders.

This continues until only one child is left of the original circle. The others dance around her and then form a new circle and she becomes the chosen child to start a new cycle. [3]

Origin

The first noting of the rhyme/song is by Alice Gomme in 1898 in her book The Traditional Games of England, Scotland, and Ireland. [4]

The author Karen Maitland has speculated that the song might be a reference to folklore about bluebells, in particular that a bluebell wood in bloom was seen as an enchanted place where fairies lived. A child who picked bluebells alone could be spirited away (mastered) by the fairy folk. Even an adult who ventured into a bluebell wood by themselves was in danger of being led by pixies to wander round and round, unable to find their way out. This folklore may originate in the poisonous nature of the bluebell bulb which can kill if eaten. The children's author, Beatrix Potter, made use of these old superstitions in her only full-length novel for older children, The Fairy Caravan (1929). [5]

Another element is the English tradition of the rural hiring fairs or mop fairs which sometimes took place around the time of year in the spring when bluebells are in bloom. A tap on the shoulder from an employer could be enough to form a contract for the next year's work. There may be an allusion here but most mop fairs were held in the autumn around October. Death was also said to tap his victims on their shoulder as he chose them at random, so there may be an allusion to the plague years.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nursery rhyme</span> Traditional song or poem for children

A nursery rhyme is a traditional poem or song for children in Britain and many other countries, but usage of the term dates only from the late 18th/early 19th century. The term Mother Goose rhymes is interchangeable with nursery rhymes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oranges and Lemons</span> Folk song

"Oranges and Lemons" is a traditional English nursery rhyme, folksong, and singing game which refers to the bells of several churches, all within or close to the City of London. It is listed in the Roud Folk Song Index as No 13190. The earliest known printed version appeared c. 1744.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">London Bridge Is Falling Down</span> Nursery rhyme from England

"London Bridge Is Falling Down" is a traditional English nursery rhyme and singing game, which is found in different versions all over the world. It deals with the dilapidation of London Bridge and attempts, realistic or fanciful, to repair it. It may date back to bridge-related rhymes and games of the Late Middle Ages, but the earliest records of the rhyme in English are from the 17th century. The lyrics were first printed in close to their modern form in the mid-18th century and became popular, particularly in Britain and the United States, during the 19th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Singing game</span>

A singing game is an activity based on a particular verse or rhyme, usually associated with a set of actions and movements. As a collection, they have been studied by folklorists, ethnologists, and psychologists and are seen as important part of childhood culture. The same term is also used for a form of video game that involves singing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ring a Ring o' Roses</span> Folk song

"Ring a Ring o' Roses", "Ring a Ring o' Rosie", or "Ring Around the Rosie", is a nursery rhyme, folk song and playground singing game. Descriptions first emerge in the mid-19th century, but are reported as dating from decades before, and similar rhymes are known from across Europe, with various lyrics. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 7925.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Children's street culture</span> Childrens behavior on the streets

Children's street culture refers to the cumulative culture created by young children. Collectively, this body of knowledge is passed down from one generation of urban children to the next, and can also be passed between different groups of children. It is most common in children between the ages of seven and twelve. It is strongest in urban working-class industrial districts where children are traditionally free to "play outside" in the streets for long periods without supervision.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hunt the thimble</span> Party game

Hunt the thimble is a party game in which one person hides a thimble, or other small object, somewhere in the room, while all other players wait outside. When everyone comes back in, they race to locate the hidden object. The first to find it is the winner, and hides it for the next game.

"The Farmer in the Dell" is a singing game, nursery rhyme, folksong, and children's song. It probably originated in Germany and was brought to America by immigrants. From there, it spread to many other nations and is popular in a number of languages. It is Roud Folk Song Index number 6306.

"I Got Rhythm" is a piece composed by George Gershwin with lyrics by Ira Gershwin and published in 1930, which became a jazz standard. Its chord progression, known as the "rhythm changes", is the foundation for many other popular jazz tunes such as Charlie Parker's and Dizzy Gillespie's bebop standard "Anthropology ".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nuts in May (rhyme)</span> Nursery rhyme

"Nuts in May" is a singing game played by children with the aim of pairing a boy and girl from within two teams of participants. It was first recorded in the second half of the 19th century and has Roud Folk Song Index 6308.

Iona Margaret Balfour Opie, and Peter Mason Opie were an English married team of folklorists who applied modern techniques to understanding children's literature and play, in studies such as The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes (1951) and The Lore and Language of Schoolchildren (1959). They were also noted anthologists, assembled large collections of children's literature, toys, and games and were regarded as world-famous authorities on children's lore and customs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Youngest son</span> Stock character in fairy tales

The youngest son is a stock character in fairy tales, where he features as the hero. He is usually the third son, but sometimes there are more brothers, and sometimes he has only one; usually, they have no sisters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bluebird of happiness</span> Bird as harbinger or symbol

The symbol of a bluebird as the harbinger of happiness is found in many cultures and may date back thousands of years.

Qila Raipur Sports Festival, popularly known as the Rural Olympics, is held annually in Qila Raipur, in Punjab, India. Competitions are held for major Punjabi rural sports, include cart-race, athletic events and rope pulling.

<i>The Starlight Express</i>

The Starlight Express is a children's play by Violet Pearn, based on the imaginative novel A Prisoner in Fairyland by Algernon Blackwood, with songs and incidental music written by the English composer Sir Edward Elgar in 1915.

"Poor Mary" or "Poor Jenny" is an English language nursery rhyme and singing game. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 1377.

"Go In and Out the Window" is an English singing game. It has Roud Folk Song Index 734. Documented since the late 19th century, the game was assumed to be an expression of an earlier adult tradition, such as a courtship dance. Later study discounts this idea and regards singing games as specifically a child activity.

Queen of Elphame or "Elf-hame", in the folklore belief of Lowland Scotland and Northern England, designates the elfin queen of Faerie, mentioned in Scottish witch trials. In ballads and contemporary texts, she is referred to as Queen of Elphane, Elphen, or the Fairies. She is equivalent to the Queen of Fairy who rules Faërie or Fairyland. The character as described in witch trials has many parallels with the legends of Thomas the Rhymer and Tam Lin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Duck, duck, goose</span> Childrens chasing game

Duck, duck, goose is a traditional children's game often first learned in preschool or kindergarten. The game may be later adapted on the playground for early elementary students. The object of this game is to walk in a circle, tapping on each player's head until one is finally chosen; the chosen player must then chase the picker to avoid becoming the next picker.

"The Singing Street", is a short film made in 1950 in Edinburgh, Scotland and first shown in 1951. It was created by a group of teachers from Norton Park School, who filmed some of their pupils playing street games, accompanied by traditional children's songs, at various locations in the city. It documented an oral tradition which has all but vanished in the decades since it was made.

References

  1. "Dusting Bluebells". The British Library. Retrieved 2020-10-29.
  2. Hammond, David. "Dusty Bluebells". Belfast Film Festival. Retrieved 2020-11-12.
  3. Games, Rhymes, and Wordplay of London Children by Author N. G. N. Kelsey, Editors Janet E. Alton, J. D. A. Widdowson Publisher Springer, 2019 ISBN   3030029107, 9783030029104 Page 181
  4. Gomme, Alice. The Traditional Games of England, Scotland, and Ireland (Vol II of II) with Tunes, Singing-Rhymes, and Methods of Playing etc. Andesite Press. pp. 122, 143. ISBN   978-1166207762.
  5. Maitland, Karen (2019-05-08). "The History Girls: 'In And Out The Dusty Bluebells' by Karen Maitland". The History Girls. Retrieved 2020-10-31.