Cherry Ripe is an English song with words by poet Robert Herrick (1591–1674) and music by

Charles Edward Horn Charles Edward Horn (21 June 1786 – 21 October 1849) was an English composer and singer. Life and career Horn was born in St Martin-in-the-Fields, London, to Charles Frederick Horn and his wife, Diana Dupont. He was the eldest of their seven ...

(1786–1849) which contains the refrain,

Cherry ripe, cherry ripe,
Ripe I cry,
Full and fair ones
Come and buy.
Cherry ripe, cherry ripe,
Ripe I cry,
Full and fair ones
Come and buy.

An earlier poem by

Thomas Campion Thomas Campion (sometimes spelled Campian; 12 February 1567 – 1 March 1620) was an English composer, poet, and physician. He was born in London, educated at Cambridge, studied law in Gray's inn. He wrote over a hundred lute songs, masques for ...

(1567–1620) used the same title ''Cherry Ripe'', and has other similarities. It is thought that the refrain originated as a trader's street cry. The song's title has been used in other contexts on a number of occasions since and its tune has also been appropriated for other uses. The song was popular in the 19th century and at the time of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Alternative Lyrics

During the late 1800s, an alternative version of the song briefly appeared. The lyrics were as follows

Cherry Ripe, Cherry Ripe
Ripe I cry
Full and fair ones
Till I die
Cherry ripe, Cherry ripe
Mouse and I
River's where we're
Till you die

In popular culture

*The song is mentioned in the 1889 farcical novel ''

The Wrong Box ''The Wrong Box'' is a 1966 British comedy film produced and directed by Bryan Forbes from a screenplay by Larry Gelbart and Burt Shevelove, based on the 1889 novel '' The Wrong Box'' by Robert Louis Stevenson and Lloyd Osbourne. It was made by ...

'', written by

Robert Louis Stevenson Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll a ...

and his stepson

Lloyd Osbourne Samuel Lloyd Osbourne (April 7, 1868 – May 22, 1947) was an American author and the stepson of the Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson, with whom he co-authored three books, including '' The Wrecker'', and provided input and ideas on oth ...

, in a passage discussing the ubiquity of the penny whistle in late 19th century England, as one of two songs every player of that instrument invariably blows. *The song "Cherry Ripe" is a recurring theme in

John Buchan John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir (; 26 August 1875 – 11 February 1940) was a Scottish novelist, historian, and Unionist politician who served as Governor General of Canada, the 15th since Canadian Confederation. After a brief legal career ...

's World War I spy novel ''

Mr Standfast ''Mr Standfast'' is the third of five Richard Hannay novels by John Buchan, first published in 1919 by Hodder & Stoughton, London. It is one of two Hannay novels set during the First World War, the other being ''Greenmantle'' (1916); Hannay's f ...

'' (1919). It identifies Mary Lamington, a young intelligence officer, who falls in love, mutually, with the hero of the novel, General

Richard Hannay Major-General Sir Richard Hannay, KCB, OBE, DSO, is a fictional character created by Scottish novelist John Buchan and further made popular by the 1935 Alfred Hitchcock film '' The 39 Steps'' (and other later film adaptations), very loosely b ...

. *The song is mentioned in

Dylan Thomas Dylan Marlais Thomas (27 October 1914 – 9 November 1953) was a Welsh poet and writer whose works include the poems "Do not go gentle into that good night" and "And death shall have no dominion", as well as the "play for voices" ''Under ...

's 1955 ''

A Child's Christmas in Wales ''A Child's Christmas in Wales'' is a piece of prose by the Welsh poet Dylan Thomas recorded by Thomas in 1952. Emerging from an earlier piece he wrote for BBC Radio, the work is an anecdotal reminiscence of a Christmas from the viewpoint of a ...

''. *The song is mentioned in Book Two, Chapter 16 of

George Eliot Mary Ann Evans (22 November 1819 – 22 December 1880; alternatively Mary Anne or Marian), known by her pen name George Eliot, was an English novelist, poet, journalist, translator, and one of the leading writers of the Victorian era. She wro ...

's 1871 ''

Middlemarch ''Middlemarch, A Study of Provincial Life'' is a novel by the English author Mary Anne Evans, who wrote as George Eliot. It first appeared in eight installments (volumes) in 1871 and 1872. Set in Middlemarch, a fictional English Midland town, ...

''. *Several characters of

Iris Murdoch Dame Jean Iris Murdoch ( ; 15 July 1919 – 8 February 1999) was an Irish and British novelist and philosopher. Murdoch is best known for her novels about good and evil, sexual relationships, morality, and the power of the unconscious. Her fi ...

's Booker-prize winning novel ''

The Sea, the Sea ''The Sea, the Sea'' is a novel by Iris Murdoch. Published in 1978, it was her nineteenth novel. It won the 1978 Booker Prize. In 2022, the novel was included on the "Big Jubilee Read" list of 70 books by Commonwealth authors, selected to celebr ...

'' (1978), sing "Cherry Ripe" as they land into a party mood. *It is sung by Maud Chapman (played by

Hilda Bayley Hilda Christabel Bailey (29 June 1888 – 26 May 1971) was a British theatre and film actress. On stage from 1913, she was in both stage and film versions of ''Carnival'' in 1918 and 1921, respectively; and in the controversial crime film ''Coca ...

) in the 1942 film, ''

Went the Day Well? ''Went the Day Well?'' is a 1942 British war film adapted from a story by Graham Greene and directed by Alberto Cavalcanti. It was produced by Michael Balcon of Ealing Studios and served as unofficial propaganda for the war effort. The film shows ...

''. *In the classic 1957 British horror film ''Night of the Demon'' (released as ''Curse of the Demon'' in North America) the Mediumship, medium uses this song to attain a trance. *It is heard in the 1958 film ''Smiley Gets a Gun'', sung by Ruth Cracknell's character, Mrs Gaspen. *In the 1960 film ''Bottoms Up (1960 film), Bottoms Up'' it is sung by the character Professor Dinwiddie, who mistakes a public chastisement for a sing-along. *It also featured in the opening episode of the 2007 BBC drama "Lilies", sung by the character May Moss at a gentleman's club. *It was heard in the 1982 musical comedy film ''Victor Victoria'', sung by Julie Andrews at her character's unsuccessful audition at a nightclub. *The song is sung by Alice in the opening sequence in the 1999 television movie ''Alice in Wonderland (1999 film), Alice in Wonderland''. *It shares its name with the numbers station, Cherry Ripe (numbers station), in which the tune was played during intervals.

Paintings

*In 1879 it was adopted by John Everett Millais as the title of his immensely popular painting depicting a young girl with cherries. It was based loosely on Joshua Reynolds's portrait of Penelope Boothby. John Everett Millais, Millais had his niece Lucinda Ruby pose for the portrait only a matter of days before the girl was killed under the arches of London Bridge station. The painting was reproduced in colour as a chromolithograph by the newspaper ''The Graphic'' as a gift with its Christmas edition. The image vastly increased the newspaper's sales. *A painting by Walter Osborne (1859–1903) of a cherry seller in Ulster also used the title.

Notes

{{authority control English folk songs Street cries Year of song unknown Songwriter unknown

Alternative Lyrics

In popular culture

Paintings

See also

Notes