Nuts in May (Song or Nursery Rhyme)

Posted on : May 4th, 2018

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Here we go gathering nuts in May,

Nuts in May, nuts in May,

Here we go gathering nuts in May,

On a cold and frosty morning.

Who will you have for nuts in May,

Nuts in May, nuts in May,

Who will you have for nuts in May,

On a cold and frosty morning.

We’ll have Maisie for nuts in May,

Nuts in May, nuts in May,

We’ll have Maisie for nuts in May,

On a cold and frosty morning.

Who will you send to fetch her away,

Fetch her away, fetch her away,

Who will you send to fetch her away,

On a cold and frosty morning.

We’ll send Isidro to fetch her away,

Fetch her away, fetch her away,

We’ll send Isidro to fetch her away,

On a cold and frosty morning.

Remember this old nursery rhyme? Did you ever wonder what it means? I don’t know of any trees that have nuts in May! (Or I didn’t before I decided to do this blog post.) 🙂

The song “Nuts in May” is sung to the tune of “Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush” and one is considered a variation on the other. It was first recorded by British folklorist Alice Gomme in the book The Traditional Games of England, Scotland and Ireland (published sometime between 1894-8). That means it is MUCH older than that and possibly not of English origin at all as the melody is known in parts of Scandinavia. That might account for the “frosty morning” part but they don’t have nuts on the trees in May either!

On the other hand, they do have Earthnuts, or Pignuts, in the British woodlands. Those are edible tubers that children would dig up on their way to or from school to nibble on as they walked. They taste like young hazelnuts and are definitely ready in May where they might have been gathered to cook with rabbit for May Day celebrations.

And that leads us to the grand tradition of going “a maying”, which is almost certainly what this song is about. That’s when, on May Day, you gather your dearest love by the hand and run off for a tryst in the woods to celebrate!

May Day Maypole Dance

Maisie Jane’s California Sunshine Products, Inc. was founded on strong beliefs and passion for offering unique, flavorful, top-quality, nut products. We strongly believe in earth-friendly practices that start on our family owned and operated orchards. We use Organic farming practices and continue in the process by using all-natural ingredients with no preservatives or GMOs. We believe in honest, friendly and helpful customer relations at all levels. We take pride in every task, every day, with every person.

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