“Roll Your Leg Over”
Description
In this quatrain ballad, singers hypothecate that if the girls were ducks, rabbits, bricks, etc., they would be drakes, hares, masons, and euphemistically enjoy lustful pleasures.
Notes
This more or less recently composed bawdy song -- the earliest text recovered dates from the second world war -- is ultimately descended from "The Twa Magicians" (Child 44). See Cray, pp. 306 ff. - EC
G. Legman offers extensive notes in Randolph-Legman II. - EC
Paul Stamler suggests that this is a strongly bawdy version of "Hares on the Mountain." The dependence, in lyrics and form, is obvious, but this text apparently has taken on a life of its own in army circles. I must admit that I question the connection with "The Twa Magicians." Cray concedes there are no intermediaries between "The Twa Magicians" and the "Hares on the Mountain/Sally My Dear" complex. - RBW
Cross references
- cf. "Hares on the Mountain"
- cf. "Creepin' and Crawlin'"
- cf. "The Twa Magicians" [Child 44]
References
- Cray, pp. 301-309, "Roll Your Leg Over" (5 texts, 1 tune)
- Randolph-Legman II, pp. 643-647, "Roll Your Leg Over" (2 texts)
- DT, ROLYRLEG
- Roud #10410
- BI, EM301