Wow.

[conuly]

Go clicky.

Some variants of the song:

One
Two
Three
And a Pretty Polly to round it all out

Comments

[queenlyzard.livejournal.com]

Oh, that's depressing!

[conuly]

Fun fact: This was my standard lullaby when Evangeline was pre-walking.

[queenlyzard.livejournal.com]

ooh, too morbid for me. I prefer the one about the girl who's drowned by a jealous older sister and has her bones made into a harp.

[conuly]

The Two Sisters, The Cruel Sister, that one? Some versions eliminate the supernatural, and no harps are made.

There's actually a longer form of this one where the guy runs away to sea, and the girl's ghost follows him and causes all sorts of problems until the captain throws him overboard.

[queenlyzard.livejournal.com]

I haven't heard it under those names, but there are a lot of versions out there. In some of them, she becomes a swan.

I like the idea of the longer version of yours. :)