THE RIDDLE SONG
(learned orally and from songbooks in the 1940s)
(music calligraphy by miriam berg)
I gave my love a cherry that had no stone.
I gave my love a chicken that had no bone.
I told my love a story that had no end.
I gave my love a baby with no cryen.
How can there be a cherry that has no stone?
How can there be a chicken that has no bone?
How can there be a story that has no end?
How can there be a baby with no cryen?
A cherry when it's bloomin' it has no stone,
A chicken when it's pippin' it has no bone,
The story of "I love you" will never end,
A baby when it's sleepin', there's no cryen.
(from miriam berg's folksong collection)