Come all you lads and lasses dear,
That likes to revel at the fair.
The fiddle's merry on the green,
But they can't get on with the crinoline.
So Master John, now just beware!
Don't kiss the girls at Marlborough Fair.
The farmer's wives and daughters, too,
They really don't know what to do.
They try to get to the fair in time,
But they can't get on with the crinoline.
So Master John, now just beware!
Don't kiss the girls at Marlborough Fair.
There's Carotty Kate, so jolly and fat,
She wears a flippetty, floppetty hat.
There's holes in her stockings as big as a crown,
And the hoops of her skirt are dragging the ground.
So Master John, now just beware!
Don't kiss the girls at Marlborough Fair.
Take my advice before you go,
And treat the girls to a fairing O!
But don't get dancing on the green,
With a girl that wears a crinoline.
This is traditional folk song collected in Wiltshire by Wiltshire poet Alfred Williams.