RootsChat.Com
General => The Common Room => The Lighter Side => Topic started by: MadaboutRoses1883 on Friday 21 August 15 23:40 BST (UK)
-
So I was bouncing my little granddaughter on my knee singing a nursery rhyme that I sang to my own children 30+ years ago. It occurred to me that it is way out of date, 'Horsey Horsey don't you stop', (so horse & cart era, possibly 100-150 years ago?) but I remembered my mother singing it to me and my brothers and sisters and also I remember it being sung by my grandmother when she looked after us when my mother went shopping. And she must have learned it from her mother , possibly her grandmother too?
I have a feeling that if I took my granddaughter to a playgroup and sang her that I'd get funny looks from the young mothers. :o
So how old do you reckon the oldest nursery rhyme is? Do you think our modern day nursery rhymes would stand the test of time, like the old ones have?
(what do they sing to them nowadays, CBB's don't do much nursery rhyme singing?)
-
Ones I remember
This one is great for teaching them to count as it has 10 versus............,
This old man, he played 1
He played nick nack on my thumb
With a nick nack, paddy wack
Give the dog a bone,
This old man came rolling home
------------
This little piggy went to market
This little piggy stayed at home
This little piggy had roast beef
This little piggy had none
This little piggy cried wee wee wee
All the way home (While tickling their feet, belly & under ams)......has them in giggles ;D
Annie
-
So how old do you reckon the oldest nursery rhyme is?
Hi,
I don't think you will find the oldest considering they were not written down in the olden days, Rhymes and songs was passed down orally. And do you mean only children's ( Nursery) - because many of our Nursery Rhymes were not considered just for Children, they started life off before they entered the Nursery.
When you mean oldest , world's oldest? or British Oldest? Because I think it would basically impossible to find out what is considered to be the world's oldest. Also many of the British ones did not come from Britain ;D
It may be easier to find the first published nursery Rhyme, or lullaby. And considering it is poetry The oldest Nursery Rhyme would be asking what is the oldest Poem? Goodness knows - Poetry is at the dawn of time. Wouldn't lullaby's be older? And when is a Lullaby a Lullaby and a nursery Rhyme a nursery Rhyme . A Rhyme is a poem. They interweave with each other. Confusing.
Take for instance , the most popular Nursery Rhyme that every child still knows today, (which is a simile poem )Twinkle Twinkle little star( it was first published in the very early 1800's, but before that it was written down as a poem ) . It is sung as a Lullaby and also said as a poem - but, hang on- before it was published as Twinkle Star- it was published in Alice's adventurers in Wonderland (Lewis Caroll) as Twinkle twinkle Little Bat, How I wonder what your at, up above the world you fly, like a tea tray in the sky, twinkle twinkle little bat, How I wonder what your at (1865)
I think it is a really an Impossible task to find the oldest.
Kind Regards :)
-
I expect the first parents that could talk sang songs and nursery rhymes to their littlies.
I know my grandmother, who would be about 132 if still alive would talk about nursery rhymes her grand mother (206) told her that she had learnt from her mother.
-
According to my [1984] copy of the "Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes" edited by Iona & Peter Opie:
1.8% of the rhymes [presumably those in the book,] are definitely found recorded in contemporary documentation dating 1599 and before.
8.6% were known when Charles l was executed in 1649.
-
According to my [1984] copy of the "Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes" edited by Iona & Peter Opie:
1.8% of the rhymes [presumably those in the book,] are definitely found recorded in contemporary documentation dating 1599 and before.
8.6% were known when Charles l was executed in 1649.
Interesting stats, but they don't surprise.
-
[Interesting stats, but they don't surprise.
No. not surprising to me either Gut, but the question was asked, so I tried to help with the best answer I could find. ::)
-
Take for instance , the most popular Nursery Rhyme that every child still knows today, (which is a simile poem )Twinkle Twinkle little star( it was first published in the very early 1800's, but before that it was written down as a poem ) . It is sung as a Lullaby and also said as a poem - but, hang on- before it was published as Twinkle Star- it was published in Alice's adventurers in Wonderland (Lewis Caroll) as Twinkle twinkle Little Bat, How I wonder what your at, up above the world you fly, like a tea tray in the sky, twinkle twinkle little bat, How I wonder what your at (1865)
1865 ? According to "The Annotated Alice" from Martin Gardner:
The Hatter's song parodies the first verse of Jane Taylor's well known poem, "The Star"
See also:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_T0yxoMC2c
Jane Taylor (23 September 1783 -- 13 April 1824), was an English poet and novelist. She wrote the words for the song "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" in 1806 at age 23, while living in Shilling Street, Lavenham, Suffolk.
Bob
-
[Interesting stats, but they don't surprise.
No. not surprising to me either Gut, but the question was asked, so I tried to help with the best answer I could find. ::)
I've replied 5 times and it keeps disappearing.
I certainly appreciated the information.
I once read that Baa Baa Black sheep dated back to the Wool Tax, which from memory was introduced in 1125.
-
Am I the only one that finds some of these nursery rhymes creepy...
Rock a bye baby ... Down comes baby cradle and all
Ring a ring a Rosie .... They all fall down
Humpty Dumpty ... Falling off the wall
Creeeeeeeepy.
-
I once read that Baa Baa Black sheep dated back to the Wool Tax, which from memory was introduced in 1125.
Wow!! That will be part of the 1.8% then. :D
-
Am I the only one that finds some of these nursery rhymes creepy...
Rock a bye baby ... Down comes baby cradle and all
Ring a ring a Rosie .... They all fall down
Humpty Dumpty ... Falling off the wall
I think they often did commemorate nasty, creepy things........ e.g. incy wincy spider :)
But "Utty Dumpy" (as my boys called him,) was about a war, and Ring a ring a Rosie was about the plague I believe.
-
Am I the only one that finds some of these nursery rhymes creepy...
Rock a bye baby ... Down comes baby cradle and all
Ring a ring a Rosie .... They all fall down
Humpty Dumpty ... Falling off the wall
I think they often did commemorate nasty, creepy things........ e.g. incy wincy spider :)
But "Utty Dumpy" (as my boys called him,) was about a war, and Ring a ring a Rosie was about the plague I believe.
But singing songs to kids to put them to sleep about plague and war .....
-
Am I the only one that finds some of these nursery rhymes creepy...
Ring a ring a Rosie .... They all fall down
But singing songs to kids to put them to sleep about plague and war .....
Y-e-s, but, Ring a ring a Rosie for instance, is a skipping song culminating in "all fall down" gruesome yes, but not meant as a lullaby I think?
-
Am I the only one that finds some of these nursery rhymes creepy...
Rock a bye baby ... Down comes baby cradle and all
Ring a ring a Rosie .... They all fall down
Humpty Dumpty ... Falling off the wall
Creeeeeeeepy.
Check the origins and history of Nursery Rhymes!
Baa, Baa Black Sheep relates to the Wool Tax of 1275
Goosey Goosey Gander relates to the persecution of Catholics (I came across an old man who wouldn't say his prayers, so I took him by the left leg and threw him down the stairs!)
Jack & Jill possibly relates to King Charles I attempts to standardise liquid measures? Jacks and Gills? (Jack fell down and broke his crown)
Mary, Mary quite Contrary probably relates to Queen Mary. "Contrary" being one way to describe a murderous psychopath! Silver Bells and Cockle Shells being torture devices!
Ring-a-Ring-a-Rosie is popularly supposed to refer to The Great Plague. The rash on the skin being rings, and sneezing being a symptom. Atishoo, Atishoo, we all fall down - meaning we all die after sneezing!
See: http://listverse.com/2012/11/28/10-sinister-origins-of-nursery-rhymes/
-
Thanks everyone, I know I have asked an impossible question, I was pondering really.
My grandmother would have been 132 also, so she would have learnt them from her mother/grandmother too.
I hadn't realised that Baa Baa black sheep was about wool tax? But it makes sense. I always thought that it was a sharing out of bags of wool, first come first served kind of thing for who gets the prized black wool?
As for their origins, and I do think some were creepy too.
I wonder if many were passed down as verbal warnings, re Cradle in tree tops and Poseys causing sneezing (or the it's about keeping the plague away, as I was once told)
Georgey Porgey could have been about warning girls about boys advances? (he kissed them and made them cry)
Polly Flinders (not to sit too near the fire?)
Now, what were they thinking about Sing a song of sixpence? To make sure the birds were dead before cooking in a pie?
3 blind mice , was that from the rime when killing/cutting off the tail would get you 3d or 6d from the rat catching department of the local council?
Jack Spratt, could that be waste not, want not?
-
Thanks everyone, I know I have asked an impossible question, I was pondering really.
My grandmother would have been 132 also, so she would have learnt them from her mother/grandmother too.
I hadn't realised that Baa Baa black sheep was about wool tax? But it makes sense. I always thought that it was a sharing out of bags of wool, first come first served kind of thing for who gets the prized black wool?
As for their origins, and I do think some were creepy too.
I wonder if many were passed down as verbal warnings, re Cradle in tree tops and Poseys causing sneezing (or the it's about keeping the plague away, as I was once told)
Georgey Porgey could have been about warning girls about boys advances? (he kissed them and made them cry)
Polly Flinders (not to sit too near the fire?)
Now, what were they thinking about Sing a song of sixpence? To make sure the birds were dead before cooking in a pie?
3 blind mice , was that from the rime when killing/cutting off the tail would get you 3d or 6d from the rat catching department of the local council?
Jack Spratt, could that be waste not, want not?
I was told (true or not I have no idea) that it was based on a Little Person who was given to a Queen of France after he jumped out of a pie. Said little person killed one of my distant relatives in a duel.
-
Some more origins here:
http://www.historic-uk.com/CultureUK/Nursery-Rhymes/
http://www.historic-uk.com/CultureUK/more-nursery-rhymes/
-
I don't think these rhymes are disappearing - I still sing them to my grandchildren and they also sing them at playgroup and nursery, along with more modern ones like "The wheels on the bus go round and round". "Twinkle, twinkle, little star" is a particular favourite because of the actions (rather more modern, I think) that go with it.
-
These rhymes are very much part of our heritage.
Speaking to young mothers from other countries, they are surprised by the number of old songs and rhymes we have in the UK. They have a few but nothing like the amount we have.
-
These rhymes are very much part of our heritage.
Speaking to young mothers from other countries, they are surprised by the number of old songs and rhymes we have in the UK. They have a few but nothing like the amount we have.
My OH was born in the middle east and when my children were young my mother in law (Arab and Russian background - don't even think of researching their family history!) would sing them rhymes in Arabic which sounded very much like the English ones we have, in terms of rhythm and timbre. I seem to remember one she tried to translate as being about a bird which left its nest to end up in a dinner - a familiar theme?
-
I don't think these rhymes are disappearing - I still sing them to my grandchildren and they also sing them at playgroup and nursery, along with more modern ones like "The wheels on the bus go round and round". "Twinkle, twinkle, little star" is a particular favourite because of the actions (rather more modern, I think) that go with it.
I now agree, I was talking to my boss yesterday, who has a 2 year old and she sings Horsey Horsey to her little one also, which surprised me. She said her mum used to sing it to her too.
-
These rhymes are very much part of our heritage.
Speaking to young mothers from other countries, they are surprised by the number of old songs and rhymes we have in the UK. They have a few but nothing like the amount we have.
My OH was born in the middle east and when my children were young my mother in law (Arab and Russian background - don't even think of researching their family history!) would sing them rhymes in Arabic which sounded very much like the English ones we have, in terms of rhythm and timbre. I seem to remember one she tried to translate as being about a bird which left its nest to end up in a dinner - a familiar theme?
That's really interesting that other countries have similar rhymes to ours.
-
These rhymes are very much part of our heritage.
My OH was born in the middle east and when my children were young my mother in law (Arab and Russian background - don't even think of researching their family history!) would sing them rhymes in Arabic which sounded very much like the English ones we have, in terms of rhythm and timbre. I seem to remember one she tried to translate as being about a bird which left its nest to end up in a dinner - a familiar theme?
That's really interesting that other countries have similar rhymes to ours.
It is REALLY interesting!! Due to finding an ancestor who was transported to USA, during the 18c, I have been reading up on the subject which I have found fascinating.
Apparently hundreds of thousands of white Europeans were captured and taken into slavery by North African "Turks and Corsairs", so now I am imagining white female slaves looking after "brown babies" and soothing or entertaining them with songs from their homelands. :'(
Which could possibly explain why some songs resonate?
-
Not now permitted to teach/sing to children Bah Bah Black Sheep - its considered racist at least in Scotland :(
Younger grandson was being a playground buddy and some of the younger children, who he was looking after, were playing a game and singing this very old nursery rhyme and a teaching assistant came over and gave them all a telling of :'( They were aged 6/7 . Grandson says you can still sing it but one word has to be omitted.
No offence to anyone but is this not political correctness gone mad ???
Dorrie
-
Not now permitted to teach/sing to children Bah Bah Black Sheep - its considered racist at least in Scotland :(
Younger grandson was being a playground buddy and some of the younger children, who he was looking after, were playing a game and singing this very old nursery rhyme and a teaching assistant came over and gave them all a telling of :'( They were aged 6/7 . Grandson says you can still sing it but one word has to be omitted.
No offence to anyone but is this not political correctness gone mad ???
Dorrie
pOlitical correctness is just crazy.
Baa Baa Blacksheep has exactly nothing to do with race.
Like when poor old Noddy and Big Ears were un trouble over "gay".
-
If Baa Baa Black Sheep is potentially racist....what about Mary had a Little Lamb whose fleece was white as snow ???
Carol
-
If Baa Baa Black Sheep is potentially racist....what about Mary had a Little Lamb whose fleece was white as snow ???
Carol
Don't you know PC doesn't apply to white.
-
my mother in law (Arab and Russian background) would sing them rhymes in Arabic. I seem to remember one she tried to translate as being about a bird which left its nest to end up in a dinner - a familiar theme?
I remembered a few words & googled them & got this selection.........
http://petcaretips.net/nursery-rhyme-bird.html
Annie
-
Not now permitted to teach/sing to children Bah Bah Black Sheep - its considered racist at least in Scotland :(
Younger grandson was being a playground buddy and some of the younger children, who he was looking after, were playing a game and singing this very old nursery rhyme and a teaching assistant came over and gave them all a telling of :'( They were aged 6/7 . Grandson says you can still sing it but one word has to be omitted.
No offence to anyone but is this not political correctness gone mad ???
Dorrie
I know of a Scottish Nursery who have changed this rhyme to Baa Baa Rainbow Sheep (a friend's child was taught this version) :)
-
MadaboutRoses,
Horsey, Horsey don't you stop was a huge favourite of mine's and my younger sister, especially when my sister was on her rocking horse.
Years later I sang it too my 2 sons, then after a gap to their wee sister (now 15).
We still joke among the family about her as a toddler sitting on a rocking horse in Ottakars book shop singing her own incomprehensible version.
I sang it to them bouncing on my knee too - happy memories.
Looby :)
-
Do you remember the one which says here comes the chopper to chop off your head ? I think it was Oranges and Lemons. Children gleefully singing and mimicking the chopper seemed so macabre. Sue
-
Do you remember the one which says here comes the chopper to chop off your head ? I think it was Oranges and Lemons. Children gleefully singing and mimicking the chopper seemed so macabre. Sue
That it was.
-
Oranges and Lemons was used in George Orwell's book "1984"
Carol
-
Thankyou Gut. Carol,I don't remember that but thankyou. I haven't seen you since old sayings , how are you ?
-
Hi A-L...Fine thank you how about you?
Carol
-
I'm fine thankyou still laughing ! Sue
-
Does anyone remember Dr Foster went to Gloucester ?
-
Does anyone remember Dr Foster went to Gloucester ?
............ in a shower of rain.
He stepped in a puddle
right up to his middle.
And he never went there again!!
One of my favourites................... :D
-
If Baa Baa Black Sheep is potentially racist....what about Mary had a Little Lamb whose fleece was white as snow ???
Carol
Well, I don't know about you - but I have seen hundreds of sheep whose fleece is black ;D ;D Perhaps I need to clean my glasses! ;D ;D And the same can be said for those sheep whose fleece is white. ;D
-
The grand old Duke of York, was that a specific battle , does anyone know ?
-
Supposedly the Battle of Wakefield - 1460 in the Wars of the Roses - but there are other candidates according to various entries on Mr Google. :-\
-
The grand old Duke of York, was that a specific battle , does anyone know ?
My Oxford Dictionary suggests it refers to Frederick Duke of York**, and the Flanders or Helders Campaigns but as Flanders is very flat it is thought the words were changed to deride him, and the original was "The King of France went up the hill with forty thousand men"............ no mention of which campaign he was on though!! :-\
** Died 1827. Brother of George lV
-
The grand old Duke of York, was that a specific battle , does anyone know ?
According to that great source of all wisdom :P Wikipedia ... Prince Frederick, Duke of York commanded the army during the 1793 Flanders Campaign in the French Revolutionary Wars and the hill was Cassell. However this theory is disputed as the rhyme seems to predate this, though not quite in the same form:
"The King of France with forty thousand men,
Came up a hill and so came downe againe"
was written around 1642.
So, I guess no one really knows ;)
-
Sorry, we're all replying at the same time!
I love Nursery Rhymes, especially interesting where they originated!
-
Thankyou BumbleB, mowsehouse and Maddy52 for your replies, much appreciated. It's certainly intriguing pondering their origins.
-
"Horsey horsey...." was new to me. Didn't ring a bell at all. Even after checking out -
www.powerfulwords.info/nursery_rhymes/nursery_rhymes_index.htm
where I recognised virtually every one.
-
I always thought Horsey Horsey was written for children in 1938 by Paddy Roberts. My dad had it on a Paddy Roberts LP. But maybe he stole it from an old nursery rhyme and took the credit?
-
I always thought Horsey Horsey was written for children in 1938 by Paddy Roberts. My dad had it on a Paddy Roberts LP. But maybe he stole it from an old nursery rhyme and took the credit?
I think "horsey horsey" might be a fairly new one..... it does not appear in the Oxford dictionary of nursery rhymes.
-
I think "horsey horsey" might be a fairly new one..... it does not appear in the Oxford dictionary of nursery rhymes.
I tend to agree not a nursery rhyme in the conventional sense like some of the really old ones.
I remember when I was very small dad used to bounce me on his knees and sing "Bumpety ,Bumpety, Bumpety, Bump as I was riding my Charger"! It was not a nursery rhyme but could be mistaken for one. I too used to do same to my children and will do same to grandchildren. Maybe in the future that will be classed as a nursery rhyme?
Jane
-
Courtesy of Google have just listened to Billy Cotton's 1937 recording of Horsey, Horsey.
-
A letter in the Daily Mail, May 1838 puts "Horsey, Horsey" at No. 8 in a list of the best 10 dance tunes of 1937.
Cannot find mention of "Horsey, Horsey" as a song/tune pre 1937.
-
Bumpety bumpety bumpety bump - "The Galloping Major c1906
-
Bumpety bumpety bumpety bump - "The Galloping Major c1906
That's the one. I have it on ipod Stanley Holloway version. It's lovely, well I like it!
-
Does anyone remember Wallflower, Wallflower growing up so high, all the pretty maids will surely have to die ? I can't remember any more of it. Anyone know it's origin please ?
-
I think that's a traditional Folk Song? Irish?
http://www.traditionalmusic.co.uk/folk-song-lyrics/Water_Water_Wallflower_2.htm
http://www.mamalisa.com/?t=es&p=3460
-
Thankyou kgarrad I remember singing that when playing . Why it has suddenly entered my mind though defeats me.
-
As a child...I often wondered why "Poor Mary sat a weeping...a weeping...."
Carol
-
I had forgotten that one Carol, what was the last line ? On a cold winters day ?
-
I thought it was...a bright summers day?
Carol
-
Thankyou Carol, I did say I'd forgotten it he! he! . I wonder if it was Mary Queen of Scots ?
-
We sang the same song, but it was Sally who wept! A playground game, where a "Sally" kneels on the ground "weeping" while others danced around her in a circle singing "Poor Sally is a weeping" etc.
Chorus
On the carpet she shall kneel
While the grass grows in the field
Stand up on your own two feet
And choose the one you love so sweet!
When the singing got to the chorus, Sally would stand, eyes closed and twirl with her arm pointing out. When she stopped twirling, whoever her finger was pointing at was the next "Sally".
We also played one - a clapping game "My Mother Said, I never should..... Play with the Etc. (Probably not PC these days so don't want to offend anybody).
I think there were other clapping/chanting games we did too, but that's the only one I can recall at the moment. Some had quite complicated and fast clapping patterns too??
I'll probably start standing up and doing them when I go into sheltered care!! ::)
-
That reminded me of a two ball rhyme! Who remembers throwing balls at the wall, catching and chanting rhymes? This one has always stuck in my mind, the name itself was a mouthful for a 7 or 8 year old! Here goes, not sure of the name spelling:
Nebuchadnezzar King of the Jews
Bought his wife a pair of shoes
when the shoes began to wear
Nebuchadnezzar began to swear
When the swear began to stop
Nebuchadnezzar bought a shop
When the shop began to sell
Nebuchadnezzar bought a bell
When the bell began to ring
Nebuchadnezzar began to sing
Doh, Ray, Me............. and so on!
This is a real trip down memory lane!
One more that Dad used to recite to me that I loved.
To Bed, to bed, said Sleepy Head,
Tarry a while said Slow
Put on the Pan said Greedy Nan
We'll sup before we go!
-
That reminded me of a two ball rhyme! Who remembers throwing balls at the wall, catching and chanting rhymes?
Oh yes. I got really good at that, and could do it with 3 balls, but I have never mastered the art of true juggling!
-
With regard to Baa Baa Black Sheep the rhyme is often thought to refer to the rich pickings from the slave trade rather than to the species Ovis aries. I don't know the origins of the rhyme but "black sheep" was used in that sense (as was "black ivory") as found in the sea shanty "Congo River":
What do you think they had for cargo?
Blow boys blow
Black sheep that had run the embargo
Blow me bully boys blow
The alternative theory that it relates to the medieval wool tax isn't popular with those who actively seek to be offended.
Personally I have no opinion on the two alternatives.
-
With regard to Baa Baa Black Sheep the rhyme is often thought to refer to the rich pickings from the slave trade rather than to the species Ovis aries. I don't know the origins of the rhyme but "black sheep" was used in that sense (as was "black ivory") as found in the sea shanty "Congo River":
What do you think they had for cargo?
Blow boys blow
Black sheep that had run the embargo
Blow me bully boys blow
What an interesting idea.
My Oxford dictionary of nursery rhymes dates it to 1744 and only connects it to the wool trade, but perhaps it remained in general usage due to the allusion to slave trading.
-
It used to make my hair stand on end, but my mother in law, who was of Scots/Irish extraction, used to croon to my newborn baby son
Shoot me like an Irish soldier
Do not hand me like a dog
For I fought to free old Ireland
etc
Apparently a song recounting the death of Kevin Barry a member of the IRA, hanged on 1/11/20 as one of 'The Forgotten Ten'. Mother in law was born in 1929, so nor forgotten at all!
On a lighter note she used to sing an old Glasgow street song
You can't push this granny off the bus
Oh you can't push this granny off the bus
You can push your other granny
Cos she is your mammy's mammy
But you can't push this granny off the bus
Valerie
-
A bit more.....of the same ;D ;D ;D
Ye canny push yer granny aff a bus
Nae Ye canny push yer granny aff a bus
Ye can push yer ither granny
Cos she's yer Daddy's Mammy
Ye canny push yer granny aff a bus
Jeanne
-
Anyone remember the rhymes for choosing who would be picked to be " It " in a game:
Ip dip dip
My blue ship
Sailing on the water
Like a cup and saucer
Ip dip dip.
Or
Ickle ockle chocolate bottle
Ickle ockle out.
Oh dear...the spell check didn't like that ;D
Carol
-
One potato two potato three potato four
Five potato six potato seven potato more. -- you're out!
Ink pink pen and ink
I smell a great big stink
And it smells like Y - O - U! ---you're out!
There another one trying to get out of my head - but it's just not coming!!
Jeanne
Modified - it was Eeny Meeny Miny Mo!
But long before the days of PC, we said "catch a fella by the toe"! We just weren't allowed to say that other word, as it was " not a nice word, and very disrespectful" . As so it is!
-
I remember those too....
Was it...
Eeny Meeney miney mo
Carol
-
Scroll down a bit on this link - has the English translation!
http://www.folkways.si.edu/west-african-song-chants-childrens-ghana/music/tools-for-teaching/smithsonian
-
Hope I'm not repeating what someone has said - (I have flicked through the whole thread . . .) I was told Rock-a-bye-baby was about King Charles I sleeping in an oak tree - - and his eventual fall from grace.
Fascinating reading in this thread. ;)
Wiggy
-
I remember my sister singing Chase me Charlie...chase me Charlie lost the leg o me drawers....and she got a clip around The ear!!!
Carol
-
Found Tom Connors singing it on YOU TUBE. ( have a listen, it's cool!) Below are the words on You Tube
Now Sing along with me for Carol! - altogether now.....
Chase me Charlie,
Through the barley
In the afternoon
Chase me Charlie
Through the barley
By the light of the moon
Chase me Charlie
Through the barley
If you catch me soon
You'll be married to me
By the 1st of June
Jeanne 😄
-
Anyone remember the rhymes for choosing who would be picked to be " It " in a game:
Ip dip dip
My blue ship
Sailing on the water
Like a cup and saucer
Ip dip dip.
Just re watched some Monty Python the other night - Graham Chapman doing "dip dip dip" in the Ypres sketch. Classic! ;D ;D
-
Ickle ockle chocolate bottle
Ickle ockle out. ;D
Carol
Isn't it interesting how these rhymes morphed as they travelled around the country........
At my school they used to chant:
Iggle oggle, black bobble, iggle oggle out. ::)
-
I remember my sister singing Chase me Charlie...chase me Charlie lost the leg o me drawers....and she got a clip around The ear!!!
Carol
Carole remember dad singing "Auntie Mary had a canary up the leg of her drawers .... i don't know anymore words. I thought it terribly risque when I was small. I wondered if it could be a music hall song.
Jane
-
That's a variation of the same song Jane... ;D
Carol
-
Ickle ockle chocolate bottle
Ickle ockle out. ;D
Carol
Isn't it interesting how these rhymes morphed as they travelled around the country........
At my school they used to chant:
Iggle oggle, black bobble, iggle oggle out. ::)
Yes I have heard other variations too...must be a regional thing ;D
Carol
-
Found Tom Connors singing it on YOU TUBE. ( have a listen, it's cool!) Below are the words on You Tube. Now Sing along with me for Carol! - altogether now.....
Chase me Charlie, Through the barley, In the afternoon.
Chase me Charlie, Through the barley, By the light of the moon.
Chase me Charlie, Through the barley, If you catch me soon
You'll be married to me Charlie,
By the 1st of June !!
Brilliant. I'l be singing that all day now! :P
Jeanne 😄
-
These are probably "music hall songs" that my grandad taught me. Perhaps someone may know all the
words..
I kissed her on the lips ..how ashamed I was(then something about smelling fish+chips)
also..
"My name is Ikey Moses, I'm very well known you see
I live in the city of Manchester, I keep a shop of my own"
Jackie
-
This is a great thread and so many memories are being unlocked.
Just remembered this one:
Winking, Blinking and Nod one night sailed off on a silver shoe....
That's all I remembered so googled it. Written in 1889 by an American a Dutch Lullaby. Spelling is Wynken, Blynken and Nod. It's a lovely rhyme.
To symbolize child's sleepy eyes and nodding head-so sweet.
Dad loved poetry and Shakespeare,believe it or not he used to recite many of the soliloquies to me, his favourite was To Be or not to be-heavy stuff for a child. But I loved it and still do, know it off by heart!
Jackie he too taught me lots of music hall songs that his dad taught him.
And Stanley Holloways monologues, Albert and the Lion and The Battle of Hastings - ..and 'arold with eye full of arrow, on 'is 'orse with 'is 'awk in 'is 'and. Brilliant.
Lovely happy memories of Dad :)
Jane
-
This is a great thread and so many memories are being unlocked.
Dad loved poetry and Shakespeare,believe it or not he used to recite many of the soliloquies to me, his favourite was To Be or not to be-heavy stuff for a child. But I loved it and still do, know it off by heart! :)
Jane
I know I used to recite anything I could think of to keep my first born from screaming.
I swear he knew the "Owl and the Pussycat" backwards at 2 weeks old!! :'(
-
Funny how these things trigger long forgotten memories - this one from 1960
I remember the whole of the top class of Bulwell St Mary's school singing and skipping to "The Big Ship Sails on the Ally Ally Oh" while waiting to be let into class to take our 11+
Valerie
-
I remember Aunty Mary lol. Here's another one, A froggy would a wooing go hey ho says Roly. I can't remember any more but I think it was a very long song. We sang that around the piano at Infant school. Also Soldier , Soldier won't you marry me ? I'll be singing that all day now it's got into my head !
-
I remember Aunty Mary lol. Here's another one, A froggy would a wooing go hey ho says Roly. We sang that around the piano at Infant school. Also Soldier , Soldier won't you marry me ?
We are a bit Off Topic right now, as these are not nursery rhymes, but does anyone else remember the singing sessions guided by radio broadcasts in the late 50's and early 60's?
-
my apologies
-
Yes, I remember the Broadcasts to schools. They were great. One song I remember - one that is particularly appropriate at the moment, was
Jolly rugger weather
Frosty tang in the breeze
All pull together??
Bare arms and knees
School School forever
On the ball till the daylight flees
School school forever
On the ball till the daylight flees!
Others may be more clever
rivals may make more row
But we'll stick together
No foe shall make us bow
.?
.???
.???
Oh darn it... Will have to go and check Google for the rest of the words !
I seem to remember reading somewhere that it was adapted from the original Eton Boating Song!
So I will sing that tomorrow when I watch the All Blacks playing Tonga! And if I don't go to sleep right now, I'll miss it altogether!
Night all! Go the All Blacks!
Jeanne
-
my apologies
It was just a statement, not meant as a rebuke. You can see I have been doing it too. :)
-
Okay...Here's your chance to share your favourite song that you and your Parents sang...you can get some exercise from your chair.. walking down Memory Lane:
http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=732560.new#new
Carol
-
Mary had a little lamb
She also had a bear
I've seen Mary's little lamb
But Iv'e never seen her bare :o :o
-
Mary had a little lamb
Her father shot it dead
Now she takes her lamb to school
Between two bits of bread.
-
Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall
All the King's horses and all the King's men
Said "Bgrugr it, scrambled eggs for breakfast again.
-
Mary had a little bike,
She rode it on the grass.
And every time the wheel went round,
A spoke stuck up her . . . . . . . . elbow! ;D ;D
-
There was one my Dad used to sing that I partly remember, On top of old smokey , about a meatball, if anyone remembers it. Possibly a Burl Ives song ?
-
There was one my Dad used to sing that I partly remember, On top of old smokey , about a meatball, if anyone remembers it. Possibly a Burl Ives song ?
I remember bits of the meatball one. Think it was take off of Burk Ives one.
.........all covered in chesse,
i lost my poor meatball when somebody sneezed
It rolled off the table and onto the floor
And then my poor me a ball rolled out of the door...
-
Original recorded by The Weavers, 1951!
Burl Ives version hit #10 on the Billboard chart later in 1951.
Meatball one recorded by Tom Glazer in 1963.
-
Thankyou jettejane and kgarrad that's the one!
-
Burk Ives also recorded it, so did Hank Williams.
-
Burk Ives also recorded it, so did Hank Williams.
BURK Ives? ;D ;D ;D
Lovely typo there, Jane. Not sure Burl would have liked it though ;)
-
Burk Ives also recorded it, so did Hank Williams.
BURK Ives? ;D ;D ;D
Lovely typo there, Jane. Not sure Burl would have liked it though ;)
Oops,
Should have gone to specsavers ;D ;D
-
schoolboys' ruder version went something like this...
On top of Old Smokey
Where nobody goes
There lies a lady
without any clothes
along comes a cowboy
clippety clop
down with ****************
******************
-
Radstockjeff
Re.On top of Old Smokey
I wrote that down at school, and stupidly just put it in my satchel..Mom found it..and boy..did I
have a "good hiding"
The version I had.."Along came Roy Rogers as bold as a brick"
After about 52yrs..still feel ashamed about Mom finding it.
Jackie
-
schoolboys' ruder version went something like this...
On top of Old Smokey
Where nobody goes
There lies a lady
without any clothes
along comes a cowboy
clippety clop
down with ****************
******************
Took me a few minutes to fill in the gaps. Think I have it right.
There are a few other versions here is my alternative.
On top of old smokey covered in grass sat a bald eagle
Scratching his ......
Don't be mistaken
Don't be misled
Coz that bald headed eagle
Was scratching his head.
-
There was an old woman who walked like a duck
Who said she'd invented a new way to
Bring up her children to sew and to knit
While back in the cowshed they shovelled the
Contents of the cowshed from the back to the front
While the milkmaid sat counting the hairs on her
Hand.
-
There was an old woman who walked like a duck
Who said she'd invented a new way to
Bring up her children to sew and to knit
While back in the cowshed they shovelled the
Contents of the cowshed from the back to the front
While the milkmaid sat counting the hairs on her
Hand.
Not sure we can call this a nursery rhyme, more a limerick :o However it is very clever, worked it out quite quickly.
Think we straying off the topic, not that I am a prude-far from it. However, my dad did have a wealth of Limericks and Rugby songs but best kept to myself!
-
Jane, I think that one must have been sung to the tune of "Sweet Violets"!
-
No, it's nothing like a limerick :)
It was sung but I don't remember whether the tune had a name. I could hum it but that probably wouldn't help much. (I don't know 'Sweet Violets'.)
This ditty was popular at my girls-only high school ;D
Carol
-
It's called a censored rhyme. Dinah Shore Sang it! See her on you Tube.
These lyrics sound familiar?? You can even download a ring tone for your mobile phone.
Sweet Violets
Sweeter than the roses
Covered all over from head to toe
Covered all over with sweet violets
There once was a farmer who took a young miss
In back of the barn where he gave her a lecture
On horses and chickens and eggs
And told her that she had such beautiful
Manners that suited a girl of her charms
A girl that he wanted to take in his
Washing and ironing and then if she did
They could get married and raise lots of
Sweet violets
Sweeter than the roses
Covered all over from head to toe
Covered all over with sweet violets
The girl told the farmer that he'd better stop
And she call her father and he called a
Taxi and got there before very long
'Cause some one was doin' his little girl
Right for a change and so that's why he said
If you marry her son, you're better off single
'Cause it's always been my belief
Marriage will bring a man nothing but
Sweet Violets
Sweeter than the roses
Covered all over from head to toe
Covered all over with sweet violets
The farmer decided he wed anyway
And started in planning for his wedding
Suit which he purchased for only one buck
But then he found out he was just out of
Money and so he got left in the lurch
A standin' and waitin' in front of the
End of the story which just goes to show
All a girl wants from a man is his
Sweet Violets
Sweeter than the roses
Covered all over from head to toe
Covered all over with sweet violets
Sweet Violets
Jeanne
-
Apologies to one and all.
-
Jane, what the galloping heck are you apologising about ??? ::)
Jeanne, thanks for the memory nudge, I remember hearing that 'family' version years ago 8)
Carol
-
Has anyone heard this one?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NxyrlKhNAWk
Cant blow the candle out
-
This really has triggered a few memories and reminded me of my time in the Cubs and various singsongs. A favourite was "Once there were three Jews". The version we sang wasn't particularly "naughty" apart from the one verse which ran
"The first one came from Amster - shhhhh,
The first one came from Amster - shhhhh,
Ah Ah Amster - naughty word
Ah Ah Amster - naughty word ,
The first one came from Amster - DAM
The lyrics "shhhhh" and "naughty word" were sung sotto voce and then we would explode with the final "DAM".
This was a very long time ago and pretty hot stuff for us 7 year olds
-
Spring has sprung and the grass is riss
I wonder where the birdy is
they say the birdy's on the wing
but that's obserdy the wing is on the birdy.
my mom at bed time.
-
Spring has sprung and the grass is riss
I wonder where the birdy is
they say the birdy's on the wing
but that's obserdy the wing is on the birdy.
my mom at bed time.
Forgotten that one, mum used to say that one to me!!
-
Forgive me..I know I'm going off topic, but..does anyone remember the"grace" we said before our
bottle of milk ..(morning playtime) and in my case ..toast brought from home and wrapped in greaseproof paper..
warmed on the radiator..
"Thankyou for the food we eat"
Jackie
-
We had to sing it! Four lines - your one, then three I've forgotten, then a long 'Aaaaaameeeeeen'.
The tune is now stuck in my head ::)
Carol
-
Thank you for the world so sweet,
Thank you for the food we eat.
Thank you for the birds that sing,
Thank you God for everything.
-
We sing that with my grandchildren before meals.
-
KGarrad
Wonderful!! Thankyou!
Don't suppose you know "Summer has come from the Summer/Sunny Land"
My Dad reminded me of this song/hymn a few weeks ago... he said I used to "pipe it out"
Jackie
-
...we used to do "Thank You For The Food We Eat" too!
-
KGarrad
Wonderful!! Thankyou!
Don't suppose you know "Summer has come from the Summer/Sunny Land"
My Dad reminded me of this song/hymn a few weeks ago... he said I used to "pipe it out"
Jackie
Was it:
Summer has come from the sunny lands,
Summer is here again,
Bringing the birdies to sing their songs
In every wood and lane.
Chirruping, chirruping, loud and sweet,
High in the rocking tree,
Dear little birdies I think you sing
Your prettiest songs to me.
Tell me dear birdies I’d like to know
who was it taught you to sing?
Who was it taught you the way to fly.
and gave you each tiny wing?
The dear Lord above us all,
Loving and kind and true,
Twas he who has taught us the way to sing
and taught us the way to fly too
Thank you dear birdies for telling me,
I am so glad to know,
Now if my friends ask me, I can say,
A little bird told me so!
-
KG, you have the memory of an elephant :D
I trust the resemblance ends there :-X :)
Carol
-
KG.
That as really brought back memories..Thank you.
Jackie
p.s.I know I'm pushing it.. "You in your small corner, and I in mine"
-
I have to admit - I had a helping hand from Google! ;D ;D
Partial memory to start with, but Google added extra verses ;)
-
KG.
That as really brought back memories..Thank you.
Jackie
p.s.I know I'm pushing it.. "You in your small corner, and I in mine"
Jesus Bids us Shine.
-
Re." You in your small corner" Found the lyrics from Google.
My Dad's 95 yrs old neighbour remembers singing this one ..sadly in the Workhouse.
Jackie
-
Jesus bids us Shine - yes - at Sunday School! And All Things Bright and Beautiful was as well!
Hand me down my Silver Trumpet Gabriel
Dona Nobis Pacem....a real favourite of mine!
Jeanne
-
Dona Nobis Pacem....a real favourite of mine!
Jeanne
That reminded me of one I sung at primary school that I loved. Non Nobis Domine. Not heard it for 50 odd years. Just googled it. I realised for years have got the words wrong!
-
That reminded me of one I sung at primary school that I loved. Non Nobis Domine. Not heard it for 50 odd years. Just googled it. I realised for years have got the words wrong!
That was our (Secondary) School song! ;D
-
That was our (Secondary) School song! ;D
OK don't rub it in ;Dyou are younger than me :'(
-
KG.
That as really brought back memories..Thank you.
Jackie
p.s.I know I'm pushing it.. "You in your small corner, and I in mine"
Very fond memories of singing 'Jesus bids us shine.....You in your small corner and I in mine' at primary school in the infant class and of our very kind teacher.
-
That was our (Secondary) School song! ;D
OK don't rub it in ;Dyou are younger than me :'(
No - he just spent longer in the corner! ;D ;D ;D
-
That was our (Secondary) School song! ;D
OK don't rub it in ;Dyou are younger than me :'(
No - he just spent longer in the corner! ;D ;D ;D
[/quote
I spent lots of time in naughty corner-still do ;D or as we say today the naughty step.I have the splinters in my you know what to prove it, lol.
-
That was our (Secondary) School song! ;D
OK don't rub it in ;Dyou are younger than me :'(
No - he just spent longer in the corner! ;D ;D ;D
Hey! I was a good boy!! ;D
And very busy talking to young ladies :D ;)
-
The radio programme used to get schoolchildren singing was called, appropriately enough, "Singing Together".
Jarvis Cocker did an "Archive on 4" about it in November last year. They even turned up some recordings!
I've just checked, and it's still available - http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04stc6c
I've been fascinated by the longevity of some playground rhymes. One we had in the early 1960s when I was at primary school went:
"Will you come to Abyssinia, will you come?
Will you come to Abyssinia, will you come?
Mussolini will be there,
Shooting bullets in the air,
Will you come to Abyssinia, will you come?"
This obviously refers to the war of 1935, and the rhyme had survived over a quarter of a century then, even failing to be "updated" when Nazi Germany became the aggressor.
-
Just found this interesting thread and spent a pleasant few minutes reminiscing.
Two more playground 'dips' others might remember:-
1. You stand in a circle and count people's feet for this one -
DIP -Your shoes need cleaning with Cherry Blossom Shoe Polish; please change your feet. (You had two chances before you were out).
2. Up the pole, down the pole
Monkey choose (or chews?) tobacco.
How many ounces did he choose?
Shut your eyes and guess.
(Person pointed at chooses a number 1-10, which randomised the rest of the dip)
e.g. Four....and out you go with a jolly good smack on your left ear-'ole!
As far as I remember, the 'smacks' were always pretend.
Melbell
-
Now all get in a circle and hold hand girls and boys -
I wrote a letter to my love
And on the way I dropped it
One if you has picked it up
And put it in your pocket
It wasn't you and it wasn't you and it wasn't you
And it WAS YOU! Run!
Jeanne