Breedloves's Folk Songs

THE RIDDLE SONG

“The Riddle Song,” also known as “I Gave My Love a Cherry,” is an English folk song,
apparently a lullaby, which was carried by settlers to the American Appalachians. It
descends from a 15th-century English song in which a maiden says she is advised to unite
with her lover. It was preformed most famously by Burl Ives and Sam Cooke
respectively. The song was featured in the famous toga party scene in the movie
National Lampoon’s Animal House”, where actor John Belushi‘s character Bluto
comes across a folk singer (portrayed by the 1970s singer-songwriter Stephen Bishop,
who is credited as “Charming Guy With Guitar”) performing the song for a group of
college girls. Belushi abruptly takes the singer’s acoustic guitar out of his hands and
smashes it violently, then hands a splintered piece of it back, saying “Sorry.” It’s not one
of my favorites either, but is noteworthy for inclusion here.
I gave my love a cherry
That had no stone
I gave my love a chicken
That had no bone
I told my love a story
That had no end
I gave my love a baby
With no crying.
How can there be a cherry
That has no stone?
And how can there be a chicken
That has no bone?
Find More lyrics at www.sweetslyrics.com
And how can there be a story
That has no end?
And how can there be a baby
With no crying?
A cherry when it’s blooming
It has no stone
A chicken when it’s piping
It has no bone
The story that I love you
It has no end
A baby when it’s sleeping
It’s no crying

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