Lavender's Blue

Album: Sing-A-Long Songs (1922)
Play Video
  • Lavender's blue, dilly dilly,
    Lavender's green
    When you are King, dilly dilly,
    I shall be Queen

    Who told you so, dilly dilly,
    Who told you so?
    'Twas my own heart, dilly dilly,
    That told me so

    Call up your friends, dilly, dilly
    Set them to work
    Some to the plough, dilly dilly,
    Some to the fork

    Some to the hay, dilly dilly,
    Some to thresh corn
    Whilst you and I, dilly dilly,
    Keep ourselves warm

    Lavender's blue, dilly dilly,
    Lavender's green
    When you are King, dilly dilly,
    I shall be Queen

    Who told you so, dilly dilly,
    Who told you so?
    'Twas my own heart, dilly dilly,
    That told me so




    Lyrics from a song in Public Domain

Comments: 7

  • Radk from Ri, UsBritish traditional singer Jim Mageean has a version he learned as a child, in which the chorus alternates between "Lavender's blue, dilly dilly, Rosemary's green. When I am king, dilly dilly, you shall be queen," and "Rosemary's green, dilly dilly, Lavender's blue. You must love me, dilly dilly, 'cause I love you." The tune and tempo are slightly different. I don't know his source, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was from an older version.
  • Fabulous Jack Of Udorn In 1973 from FloridaI am learning to play the song on accordion I plan to use it at an upcoming recital
  • Dave from Minneapolis I have always been curious about the meaning of lavender GREEN. One source says that one early version had it as ROSEMARY's green. I have another thought. The lavender blossom comes in a variety of colors, but green is not one of them. However, a gathering of blue lavender will be in a nest of beautiful green stems and leaves. I imagine that a bridal clutch of lavender and a gown decorated as such would have lavender blue and lavender green.
  • Bill from Ft. Myers, , FlSammy Turner released a version titled 'Lavender Blue' in 1959. It is my alltime favorite song.
  • James from Westchester, EnglandIn Marillion's version (all 2 1/2 minutes of it) Fish claims some children were singing this song, and that it was like a song he wanted to write for his girlfriend.
  • Dave from Cardiff, WalesMarillion's version was simply titled "Lavender".
  • Andy from Indiana, PaAlso the name of a Marillion single in which the chorus borrows from the traditional song.
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Jon Foreman of Switchfoot

Jon Foreman of SwitchfootSongwriter Interviews

Switchfoot's frontman and main songwriter on what inspires the songs and how he got the freedom to say exactly what he means.

Adele

AdeleFact or Fiction

Despite her reticent personality, Adele's life and music are filled with intrigue. See if you can spot the true tales.

Lori McKenna

Lori McKennaSongwriter Interviews

Lori's songs have been recorded by Faith Hill and Sara Evans. She's performed on the CMAs and on Oprah. She also has five kids.

Donnie Iris (Ah! Leah!, The Rapper)

Donnie Iris (Ah! Leah!, The Rapper)Songwriter Interviews

Before "Rap" was a form of music, it was something guys did to pick up girls in nightclubs. Donnie talks about "The Rapper" and reveals the identity of Leah.

Dave Edmunds

Dave EdmundsSongwriter Interviews

A renowned guitarist and rock revivalist, Dave took "I Hear You Knocking" to the top of the UK charts and was the first to record Elvis Costello's "Girls Talk."

Andy McClusky of OMD

Andy McClusky of OMDSongwriter Interviews

Known in America for the hit "If You Leave," OMD is a huge influence on modern electronic music.