Collectanea. 201
Pretending to be planting a tree, the ring sings —
" They planted an apple-tree over his head, Over his head, over his head, They planted an apple-tree over his head, Ae, aye, over his head.
When the apples got ripe, they all fell off. They all fell off, they all fell off, When the apples got ripe, they all fell off, Ae, aye, they all fell off."
The girl whose apron has been over the dead lodger's head pretends to gather the apples into her apron, while the ring sings —
" The woman began to pick them up, To pick them up, to pick them up, The woman began to pick them up, Ae, aye, to pick them up."
The lodger rises, strikes the apple-gatherer, while the ring sings —
" The lodger got up and gave her a knock, Gave her a knock, gave her a knock, The lodger got up and gave her a knock, Ae, aye, gave her a knock."
The lodger and the woman now hop about, while the surrounding ring sings —
" The lodger gets up and goes hippity hop, Goes hippity hop, goes hippity hop, The lodger gets up and goes hippity hop, Ae, aye, goes hippity hop."
If the game is to be continued, the two join the ring and are replaced by others.
A variant of the above is
The Lodger is Dead.
The lodger is chosen by a counting-out rhyme and, lying down on the ground, the others dance round her in a circle, holding hands and singing —
"The lodger is dead and lies in his grave, Ae, aye, O na, (E, I,0,N,A). The apple tree grows over his head, Ae, aye, O na."
