I first heard this cumulative song on the first Golden Ring album from Folk Legacy. I didn't think much of it because it seemed trivial and pointless. Years later I found it in Sharp's One Hundred English Folksongs and found that it was still in my head. I believe that it dates back to some pre-industrial time when it would have been sung by a group of workers to synchronize movements without having to think too much about the words. It isn't a performance song since it quickly becomes boring for singer and audience alike but the tune is rather pretty.