Oxford boys are very nice boys,
Cambridge boys are better--
and
Handy-Pandy, sugar-de-candy,
French almond rock--
and
Hoky Poky, penny a lump,
The more you eat, the more you jump--
and
There was an old lady of Botany Bay:
What have you got to sell today--
and (an old one)
All in together--all sorts of (or _frosty_) weather--
When the wind blows we all go together--
and (a very old one)
Here we come gathering nuts in May (they now call it: _and_ May)
On a cold and frosty morning--
and (quite a new one)
Soldier, Soldier, you may be
Just come home from Germany--
and
A house to let, enquire within,
And please to call my Nellie in--
and
Hot boiled beans and melted butter:
Ladies and gentlemen, come to supper--
and
Gladys, Gladys, come out tonight,
The moon is shining bright--
and
O tonight is Saturday night,
Tomorrow will be Sunday--
and (a very old one)
Sally, Sally Water--sprinkle in the pan:
Fie, Sally--cry, Sally--for a young man--
and that’s really interesting, because the children don’t understand
the meaning of this song any more, and so they have invented a new one
to take its place, like this:
Little Sally Sanders, sitting on the sand,
Weeping and crying for a young man,
Rise Sally, rise so sweet--
I forget the rest; but you can see how they have twisted it about to
make sense--
and
You naughty flea,
You bit my knee--
and
Come in my garden,
And give me your hand--
and
Slow skip, what you like,
A dolly or a pepper--
and (a very naughty one)
Mabel, Mabel,
Lay the table--
and
Mother made a seedy cake,
Gave us all the belly ache--
and
I know a doctor, he knows me,
What do you think he brought for tea--
and
Red, white and blue:
I don’t speak to you--
and
O dear me, mother caught a flea,
Put it in the tea-pot and made a cup of tea--
and
This house to let, no rent to pay,
Knock at the door and run away--
and
Dolly dear, Dolly dear,
Your sweetheart is dead--
and
Evie, Ivy, over,
The kettle is boiling over--
and
Up in the North, a long way off,
The donkey’s got the whooping-cough--
and
Turn your back, you saucy cat,
And say no more to me--
and
Send a letter, send a letter,
Be content in the weather--
and
Crossing the waters one by one,
Crossing the waters two by two--
and
Four little chickens all in white,
Saw some bread and began a fight--
and (skipping and shuttlecock)
Old mother Mason--broke a basin:
What did it cost her? One penny, tuppence, etc.
and
Stockings red and garters blue,
Shoes laced up with silver--
and
Penny on the water, tuppence on the sea,
Threepence on the railway--out goes she--
and
Down by the river where the green grass grows,
There little Sally was washing her clothes--
and
Here comes a little bird through the window,
Here comes a little bird through the door--
and
Willie, Willie, I am waiting, I can’t wait no longer for you,
Three times the whistle blows, are you coming yes or no?--
and (skipping)
Little Mary Anne who lives up stairs,
With high legged boots and a feather in her hat--
That’s the way she meets her chap--
and
Take a little bird and hop in the corner,
Take a little bird and hop away--
and
Ma she said that this won’t do,
To play with the boys at half-past two--
and
On the carpet she shall kneel,
Stand up-right upon your heel--
and
Ching Chang Chinaman had a penny doll--
Washed it, scrubbed it, called it pretty poll.
If you really like these songs, I can tell you the names of one or two
more, such as I CAN DO THE TANGO and I’LL TELL MOTHER, MARY ANNE, and
MOTHER, MOTHER, FETCH ME HOME and FATHER GIVE (that means _gave_) ME A
HA’PENNY and POLLY PUT THE KETTLE ON and JUMBO HAD A BABY and LEAVE THE
ROPE and COME ON, AMY and SOME ONE’S UNDER THE BED and PLEASE WILL YOU
LEND THE KEY and CINDARELLA-UMBERELLA and THE HOUSE IS EMPTY AND NOBODY
IN and HABERDASHER ISHER ASHER OM POM TOSH and R. WHITE’S GINGER-BEER
GOES OFF POP and MADEMOISELLE WENT TO THE WELL (which is interesting
because they have forgotten what “mademoiselle” means and now call it
ADAM AND ELL) and MY SON JOHN WENT TO BED WITH HIS STOCKINGS ON and MY
MOTHER SAID THAT I WAS BORN and POOR JENNIE IS A-WEEPING and LONDON
BRIDGE IS BROKEN DOWN (two well-known old ones) and WILLIE HAD A LETTER
FOR TO GO ON BOARD A SHIP and OATS AND BEANS AND BARLEY GROW and NOW
WE’RE ON THE BATTLEFIELD and MY FATHER HAD AN OLD SHOE and I WENT DOWN
PICCADILLY.
You can get as many of these songs out of the girls as you like, if you
care to come round and ask for them; you’ll find the girls far less
shy about their games than the boys are. And you’ll also notice that
they’re just as good at inventing sports--the boys show up best in the
duty-games, and the girls in their songs. But there’s this difference.
You’ll not find much talk in these songs about sunshine and flowers and
things like that--except in the older ones which I think were used by
girls and boys together, and perhaps even by grown-ups. The girls don’t
discover poetic things like “Swimming in Blue Water” or “Dead Man’s
Dark Scenery”; they’re matter-of-fact; they sing about clothes and food
and money. That’s what makes Aunt Eliza say that women have more common
sense than men....