When the little boys were playing 'Lord of the Flies" or "Let's Kill Something" we little girls were doing the opposite: clapping games. Do kids do this kind of stuff anymore? Not unless their Mommies pass it down, I suppose. I think it's fascinating to think how old these songs probably are, all passed down for the most part by word of mouth. The lyrics vary from state to state and even country to country. I know the Brits don't say "'til the fourth of July" in the last line of their version of the song. My best friend and I were all over this shit like bums on baloney sandwiches. This is how I remember singing them on the prairie, 63 years ago...
1. Clap own hands together
2. Cross arms in front of chest
3. Clap own hands together
4. Clap hands with partner three times
Miss Mary Mack
Miss Mary Mack, Mack, Mack,
All dressed in black, black, black,
With silver buttons, buttons, buttons,
All down her back, back, back
She asked her mother, mother, mother,
For fifty cents, cents, cents,
To see the elephant, elephant, elephant.
Jump over the fence, fence, fence.
He jumped so high, high, high,
He reached the sky, sky, sky,
And he never came back, back, back,
‘Till the end of July, ‘ly, ‘ly.
Miss Lucy Had a Steamboat
Miss Lucy had a steamboat
The steamboat had a bell
The steamboat went to heaven
Miss Lucy went to ...
Hello operator
Give me Number 9
And if you disconnect me
I'll kick you in the...
Behind the fridgerator
There was a piece of glass
Miss Lucy fell upon it
And it went right up her...
Ask me no more questions
I'll tell you no more lies
The boys are in the bathroom
Zipping up their ...
Flies are in the city
Bees are in the park
Miss Lucy and her boyfriend
Are kissing in the ...
D-A-R-K
D-A-R-K
D-A-R-K
Dark!
Dark!
Dark!
Optional Second Verse If We Remembered It:
Miss Lucy had a baby
She named him Tiny Tim
She put him in the bathtub
Optional Second Verse If We Remembered It:
Miss Lucy had a baby
She named him Tiny Tim
She put him in the bathtub
To see if he could swim
He drank up all the water
He ate up all the soap
He tried to eat the bathtub
But it wouldn't go down his throat
Miss Lucy called the doctor
Miss Lucy called the nurse
Miss Lucy called the lady
with the alligator purse
'Measles' said the doctor
'Tonsils' said the nurse
'Hungry' said the lady
with the alligator purse
other versions
http://everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=446284
still other versions
http://inky.50megs.com/idlechild/songs/hellooperator.htm
5 comments:
these games never die, do they? we played the same ones when I was a kid and since I'm 13 years younger than you, at 40, it seems that they were around since the beginning of the earth.
aw, thanks for the compliment, but you're actually 23 years younger than I
ah, of course, can you tell I excelled in math?
don't forget miss sue (clap clap) miss sue (clap clap) miss sue from alabama, was sittin on huh rocka, eatin betty crocka (im from boston, thus the phonetics), watchin the time go tic toc tic toc a rolla rolla, etc.
I am the man from Nantucket!
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