London street games

by Norman Douglas

FOOTNOTES:

[D] Moggies are cats.

[E] A shonk is a foreigner, generally a Jew.

[F] Four words censored.

Girls’ games? Bless you, dozens of them.

They play sports together with the boys: ball-games like ROUNDERS (“FOUR CORNERS”) and HEAD GAME and DAGGLES and BROKEN BOTTLE (yes; BROKEN BOTTLE is a ball-game, and is also called PASSING ROUND) and THREE CATCHES OUT and ROTTEN EGG (or CRACKED EGG) and A AND B, where they have to stand in four rings marked in chalk on the pavement; and some without balls such as FOOL, FOOL, COME TO SCHOOL (rather like DUNCE, DUNCE, DOUBLE D.) and WRINKLE-SHELLS and HARK THE ROBBERS COMING THROUGH—an old catch game—and STEPS, and SLY FOX, and LET GO MUST GO (a wall game) and HONEY-POTS.

Honey-pots is very respectable, but a little old-fashioned. Aunt Eliza says she used to play it, and I can quite believe that. I can just see her playing HONEY-POTS.

Please we’ve come to learn a trade (also called GUESSING WORDS or DUMB MOTIONS)—another game for boys and girls. There are two parties, one on each side of the street. One of them has to think of a trade, such as picking hops, for instance; then they take the first letters, P and H, and go over to the others and say “We have come to work a trade.” When the others ask, “What’s your trade?” they must answer “P. H.”, and pretend to be picking hops with their hands. If the others guess what trade they mean, they must shout it out and chase them across the street; and if they catch one of them—why, then they, the hop-pickers, must do the guessing instead. Catch-in-the-rope is also for boys and girls, and so is PUSSY CAT, and so is STATUES. There are UGLY STATUES and PRETTY STATUES. When you play this game you have to line yourselves up against a wall or a house; then the judge comes along and pulls one of you forwards and in that moment you have to make a posture and a face, sometimes pretty but mostly ugly, and pretend to be a statue. It spoils everything if you laugh over this game, as you may understand from this description:—

“A lot of players stand on a form. One person in front tells the person to form a statue if she move or laugh she is hee—”

Another of them is HERE WE GO UP THE MULBERRY TREE, where they form two parties who challenge each other and try to pull each other across the street. And they have handkerchief games together such as I sent a letter to my love (“and on the way I dropped it”, a decent game for boys and girls, also called LOST LETTER; and if you haven’t got a handkerchief, which you generally haven’t, you can take any old rag); and NICK NACK TOLLY WHACK, which is rather rough and goes like this:—

“Pick up for sides and one side says nick nack tolly wack. Then if the other side does not move they rush and each one has to have a wack with the tolly wack (a handkerchief with a knot in it).”

There are several more of these games for boys and girls—such as LOOKING GLASS and GOOSE-GANDER and SNOW-WHITE (where they go on hands and knees and get very dirty) and PET POST—but not as many as there might be, because they don’t play together as much as they might....

Then the girls have games to themselves: ball-games like MACKINTOSH, and BASKET-BALL, and CROSS-BALL, and EMPEROR BALL, and CENTRE BALL, and CORNER CATCH BALL, and CIRCLE STRIDE BALL, and HAND BALL, and ONE IN THE MIDDLE, and QUEEN MAB (a ball-hiding game, also called QUEEN ANNE); and hand-clapping games such as ONE-TWO-THREE and ORANGES, ORANGES, FOUR A PENNY, and TWISTERS AND CLAPS; and ring games like UP TO THE RING, and RUNNING IN AND OUT THE BLUEBELLS, and FIRE, and WALKING ROUND THE VILLAGE, and THIEF, PRINCE, KING, QUEEN, BEGGAR, and THROWING THE BEAN-BAGS, and PRETTY AND UGLY—where one girl stands in the centre of the ring and picks out another one who has to make a face, and if she’s satisfied with the face, she allows her to stand in the centre instead.

Other girls’ games are MOTHER I’M OVER THE WATER and BOX NUTS and VICTORIA and TURNING MOTHER’S WRINGER and WE THREE KINGS and JOHN BROWN’S KNAPSACK and FILLING (or PUSHING THROUGH) THE GAP and when I was a schoolgirl and BREAD AND BUTTER (shuttlecock game) and COME TO SEE POOR MARY and WE ARE ROMANS (two parties of girls) and WHAT IS IT and WHO KNOWS and HOW, WHEN AND WHERE and HEAD AND SHOULDERS and BEAST, BIRD, FISH, FLOWER and POLLY GOES TO BED and POOR POLLY CAN’T SEE and TAG and RAILWAY RACE and ON THE MOUNTAIN and HOOK AND EYE and EGG IN THE SPOON and HAWK AND DOVE and BORROW A LIGHT and PEASE CODS and GOLDEN GOOSE and TREACLE PUDDING and WHO’S AFRAID OF BLACK PETER and JENNY PLUCK PEARS and WALKING-STICKS and LOOKING FOR MOTHER’S THIMBLE and TIME and LADYSMITH and PUSHY BACK and PASS OVER and WE ARE BRITISH SOLDIERS and L. S. D. and the WHITE SHIRT. The white shirt is an old ghost game, played like this:

“You have a lot of girls standing against a wall, one of them being the mother of the others. She tells them to go and see if father’s shirt’s dry (the shirt being a girl in white, standing at a distance). They go in turn to see if it is dry & each time the “ghost” in father’s shirt catches one. At last the mother alone is left, she goes and is caught; then another “shirt” is picked, and so the game goes on.”

I don’t think Aunt Eliza ever played THE WHITE SHIRT; she wouldn’t care about the name—

and MERRY MONTH OF MAY and CON-STANT-I-NO-PLE and BLACK AND BLUE and FOLLOW YOUR MOTHER TO MARKET and PUSS and MY SISTER JANE and TWO LITTLE PEOPLE WENT OUT ONE DAY (“As they went out they were heard to say”) and OLD DEVIL IN FIRE (or LIGHT MOTHER’S COPPER FIRE), which is played so:

“About one dozen girls can play. They select one who has to be the devil, she’s to stand against a wall, with a girl hid behind her. All the children have to try and light the fire, and each time the girl behind pinches them and they say “Oh, mother, the devil’s in fire.” Then the mother tries to light the fire and the devil chases them, and the one who is caught has to become devil, next time.”

It’s perfectly certain Aunt Eliza never played OLD DEVIL.

And other girls’ games are JACOB AND RACHEL (where two of them have to chase each other blindfolded) and BUSHEL BASKET and MRS. BROWN and WOODEN LEG and ROLLING PIN (two parties of girls who decide which of them has to chase the other by the red or blue colour marked on a rolling pin which is rolled between them) and PORK AND GREENS—

“One player asks a question and the next says pork and greens. If she says anything else she is out—”

and TWO’S AND THREE’S—

“A double ring is formed. Then two children are out, they chase each other & one runs in front of a child then the back one is hee—”

and BUZZ—

“One player count one then the next says two and so on. Every 5 the player instead says buzz—”

and PARSON’S CAT—

“Children sit down in a ring and begin saying something about the cat such as Abomnerble Cat. Then B and so on.”

I spy with one eye and BLACK IN TOPPER and LOOKING THROUGH THE KEY-HOLE and PEEPING BEHIND THE CURTAIN are hiding games for girls. For SWINGS you need a lamp-post and a piece of rope; it’s not exactly a game, but you can spend a nice Sunday afternoon over it, if there are no coppernobs about. In POLLY TELL ME THE TIME they wind a skipping-rope round a girl’s waist a certain number of times, and then unwind her.

And that reminds me that some of the best girls’ games are with skipping ropes.

They have SWING-SWONG, and DOUBLE DUTCH, and AMERICAN JUMP, and HIGHER AND HIGHER, and RUN AND SKIP, and HOOP AND SKIP, and INNERS AND OUTERS, and TOUCH TAIL, and NEBUCHADNEZZAR, and HIGH WATER, and NEVER LEAVE THE ROPE EMPTY, and OVER THE MOON, and ONE-TWO, and TIPPERARY (new), and ONE AND OUT, and SNAKES, and BIG BEN STRIKES ONE, and WHAT O SHE BUMPS (a new one), and ALL IN THE ROPE, and FOLLOW THE LEADER (yes; a skipping game) and FULL-STOP, and COLOURS, and HAREM SKIRT, and NAUGHTY GIRL, and THROWING UP GIRLS, and CATCH IN THE LONG ROPE, and EIGHTS, and DIFFICULTY, and THREE BETWEEN, and THREE AND ALL ON and SITTING ON THE STAR, MARY and I AM A LITTLE SHADOW and ROCK THE CRADLE and GIRLS’ NAMES, and BOYS’ NAMES, and goodness only knows how many more....

Some of the hand-clapping and ring and skipping games—most of them, in fact, and other ones too, in which the boys used to join—have songs that go with them; BOYS’ NAMES, for instance, begins like this:

Black-currant—red-currant—raspberry tart:

Tell me the name of your sweetheart,

and then they begin with A. B. C., and all through the alphabet, a skip with each letter; and when they have found the sweetheart’s name they have to discover when they are to be married, and how many rings, and how many brooches, and in what clothes, and in what carriage, and how many kisses, and in what house they will live, and how many children—all in the same alphabetical manner; so that, if this game were ever properly finished, it would take at least a month’s hard skipping. Others of them end either with the numbers 1, 2, 3, etc.; or with penny, tuppence, threepence, etc.; or with the things in the cruet-stand (salt, mustard, vinegar, pepper); or with the days of the week, or the months of the year.

Here are a few of these chants:[G]—

I had a dolly dressed in green,

I didn’t like her—I gave her to the Queen—

The Queen didn’t like her—she gave her to the cat—

The cat didn’t like her, because she wasn’t fat.

or

Sally go round the moon, Sally,

Sally go round the sun.

Sally go round the ominlebus

On a Sunday afternoon.

or

Dancing Dolly had no sense,

She bought a fiddle for eighteen pence—

And all the tune that she could play

Was “Over the hills and far away.”

(Or: “Sally get out of the donkey’s way.”)

(Or: “Take my dolly and fire away.”)

or

Eaper Weaper, chimbley-sweeper,

Had a wife but couldn’t keep her,

Had anovver, didn’t love her,

Up the chimbley he did shove her.

or

Do you like silver and gold?

Do you like brass?

Do you like looking through

The looking-glass?

Yes I like silver and gold,

Yes I like brass, etc.

or (an old one)

As I was walking through the City,

Half past eight o’clock at night,

There I met a Spanish lady

Washing out her clothes at night.

First she rubbed them, then she scrubbed them,

Then she hung them out to dry,

Then she laid her hands upon them,

Said: I wish my clothes were dry.

or

Policeman, policeman, don’t touch me,

I have a wife and a family.

How many children have you got?

Five and twenty is my lot,

Is my lot, is my lot,

Five and twenty is my lot.

or

Pounds, shillings and pence,

The monkey jumped over the fence.

The fence gave way, and the man had to pay

Pounds, shillings and pence.[H]

or

I went down the lane to buy a penny whistle,

A copper come by and pinch my penny whistle.

I ask him for it back, he said he hadn’t got it—

Hi, Hi, Curlywig, you’ve got it in your pocket.

or

I’ll tell Ma when I get home

That the boys won’t leave me alone.

They pull my hair and break my comb,

I’ll tell Ma when I get home.

or (for a shuttlecock-game)

Sam, Sam, dirty old man,

Washed his face in a frying pan,

Combed his hair with the leg of a chair—

Sam, Sam, dirty old man.

or

Look upon the mantle-piece,

There you’ll find a ball of grease,

Shining like a threepenny-piece—

Out goes she!

or

Piggy on the railway, picking up the stones,

Up came an engine and broke Piggy’s bones.

Oh, said Piggy, that’s not fair—

Oh, said the driver, I don’t care.

or

I had a black man, he was double-jointed,

I kissed him, and made him disappointed.

All right, Hilda, I’ll tell your mother,

Kissing the black man round the corner.

How many kisses did he give you?

One, two, three, etc.

or

Charlie, Arlie, stole some barley,

Out of a baker’s shop.

The baker came out and gave him a clout,

And made poor Charlie hop, hop, hop.

or

Up the ladder, down the wall,

Ha’penny loaf to feed us all,

I’ll buy milk and you buy flour,

There’ll be pepper in half an hour.

or

Lay the cloth, knife and fork,

Bring me up a leg of pork.

If it’s lean, bring it in,

If it’s fat, take it back,

Tell the old woman I don’t want that.

or (an old one)

Green gravel, green gravel,

Your grass is so green, (or: Your voice is not heard)

I’ll send you a letter

To call (Florrie) in.

I’ll wash you in milk, and dress you in silk,

And write down your name with a gold pen and ink.

or

Two in the rope, and two take end,

Both are sisters, both are friend,

One named (Maudie), one named (Kate)—

Two in the rope and two take end.

or (evidently made up of different bits)

The woods are dark, the grass is green,

All the girls I love to see

Excepting (Rose Taylor), she’s so pretty,

She belongs to London City.

or

Callings in and callings out—

I call (Rosie) in.

Rosie’s in and won’t go out—

I call (Maudie) in.

or

All the boys in our town, eating apple-pie,

Excepting (Georgie Groves), he wants a wife—

A wife he shall have, according he shall go

Along with (Rosie Taylor), because he loves her so.

He kisses her and cuddles her, and sits her on his knee,

And says, my dear, do you love me?

I love you, and you love me.

Next Sunday morning, the wedding will be,

Up goes the doctor, up goes the cat,

Up goes a little boy in a white straw hat.

or

Vote, vote, vote for (Billy Martin),

Chuck old (Ernie) at the door—

If it wasn’t for the law,

I would punch him on the jaw,

And we won’t want (Billy Martin) any more.

or

I know a washerwoman, she knows me,

She invited me to tea,

Guess what we had for supper—

Stinking fish and bread and butter.

or

Half a pint of porter,

Penny on the can,

Hop there and back again

If you can.

or

Down in the valley where the green grass grows,

Dear little (Lily) she grows like a rose.

She grows, she grows, she grows so sweet—

Come little (Violet) and grow at her feet.

or

Sweete, sweet Carroline,

Dipt her face in Terpentine,

Terpentine, made it shine,

Sweet, sweet Caroline.

or

Monday night, Band of Hope,

Tuesday night, pull the rope,

Wednesday night, Pimlico,

And out comes (Ethel Rowe).

or

I had a bloke down hopping,

I had a bloke down Kent.

I had a bloke down Pimlico,

And this what he sent:

O Shillali-tee-i-o.

or

Mary had bread and jam,

Marmalade and treacle,

A bit for me and a bit for you,

And a bit for all the people.

or

Mrs. Brown went to town,

Riding on a pony,

When she came back she took off her hat,

And gave it Mrs. Maloney.

or

Light the fire, blacksmith, show a pretty light,

In comes (Nellie), dressed in white,

Pretty shoes and stockings, pretty curly hair,

Pretty beads around her neck, but no chemise to wear.

or

One, two, three, four, five,

I caught a fish alive.

Why did you let him go?

Because he hurt my finger so.

or

The black man said (or: My mother said)

That you are A.,

If you do not want to play,

You can sling your hook away.

or (skipping)

One, two, buckle my shoe,

Three, four, knock at the door,

Five, six, breaking up sticks,

Seven, eight, Mary at the gate....

(I forget the rest)

or

One fair maid a-dancing (repeat twice),

All on a summer’s day.

All go round and curtsey (repeat)

All on a summer’s day.

Two fair maids a-dancing etc.

or (skipping)

Rat a tat tat, who is that?

Only grandma’s pussy-cat.

What do you want?

A pint of milk.

Where is your money?

In my pocket.

Where is your pocket?

I forgot it.

O you silly pussy-cat.

or

Our boots are made of Spanish (or of leather)

Our stockings are made of silk,

Our pinafores are made of cotton

As white as white as milk.

Here we go around, around,

And we all must touch the ground.

or

Rosy apples lemon and a pear

A bunch of roses she shall wear.

Gold and silver by her side,

I shall make her my bride,

Take her by the hand,

Lead her across the water,

Give her kisses one, two, three,

And call her a lady’s daughter.

or (for a ball-game)

Queen Anne, Queen Anne, she sits in the sun,

As fair as a lily, as white as a swan.

We bring you ten letters, pray can you read one?

We cannot read one, unless you bring all,

So pray Master Willie give up the ball,

The ball is ours, it is not yours—

So we have a right to keep it.

or (for an action game)

We are washing linen, linen,

We are washing linen clean (repeat)

This way, tra la la,

That way, tra la la (repeat).

We are rinsing linen, linen etc.

We are mangling linen, linen etc.

We are hanging linen, linen etc.

or

The big ship sails on the holly holly ho,

Holly holly ho

Holly holly ho

The big ship sails on the holly holly ho

On the last day of December.

or (for skipping)

Lady, lady, drop your purse,

Lady, lady, pick it up,

Lady, lady, touch the ground,

Lady, lady, turn right round,

Lady, lady, show your foot,

Lady, lady, sling your hook.

or (ring game)

There was once a king of York

Who had ten thousand men,

He led them up to the top of a hill

And led them down again,

And when they were up they were up

And when they were down they were down,

And when they were only half way up

They were neither up nor down.

or

Lady, lady on the sea-shore,

She has children one to four,

The eldest one is twenty-four,

Then she shall marry a tinker, tailor etc.

or

There come six Jews from Juda Spain

In order for your daughter Jane—

My daughter Jane is far too young

To marry you, you Spanish Jew—

Farewell, farewell, I’ll walk away,

And come again another day—

Come back, come back, you Spanish Jew,

And choose the fairest one of us—

The fairest one that I can see

Is (Dolly Hayes), so come to me—

or

The farmer’s in his den, (or: ill in bed), the farmer’s in his den,

He I Hedy Ho, the farmer’s in his den.

The farmer wants a wife etc.

The wife wants a child etc.

The child wants a nurse etc.

The nurse wants a dog etc.

We all pat the dog etc.

or

I-N spells in—

I was in my kitchen

Doing a bit of stitching,

Old Father Nimble

Came and took my thimble,

I got up a great big stone,

Hit him on the belly bone—

O-U-T spells out.

or

Caroline Pink, she fell down the sink,

She caught the Scarlet Fever,

Her husband had to leave her,

She called in Doctor Blue,

And he caught it too—

Caroline Pink from China Town.

or

Hush-a-larly, hush-a-larly

You are a funny girl.

Hush-a-larly, hush-a-larly

Will you give me a kiss?

or

Eight o’clock bells are ringing

Mother, may I go out

My young man’s a-waiting

For to take me out.

First he bought me apples,

Then he bought me pears,

Then he gave me sixpence

To kiss him on the stairs.

I don’t want your apples,

I don’t want your pears,

I don’t want your sixpence

To kiss me on their stairs.

Then he tears the leg of my drawers,

And that’s the last of all.

or (an old one)

As I was going to Strawberry Fair,

Singing buttercups and daisies,

I met a maiden taking the air—

Her eyes were blue and gold her hair,

As she goes on to Strawberry Fair....[I]

or (skipping)

Who’s in the well?

Only the pussy-cat.

Who pulled him out?

Little Tommy Stout.

Oh, you naughty pussy-cat.

or

I am a little beggar-girl,

My mother she is dead,

My father is a drunkard

And won’t give me no bread.

I look out of the window

To hear the organ play—

God bless my dear mother,

She gone far away.

Ding-dong the castle bells

Bless my poor mother—

Her coffin shall be black,

Six white angels at her back—

Two to watch and two to pray,

And two to carry her soul away.

Not a very cheerful rope-song, you’ll say; but our girls love it; you can’t think how it makes them laugh. They laugh more than the boys, anyhow, over their games—

or

Cold meat, mutton pies,

Tell me when your mother dies.

I’ll be there to bury her—

Cold meat, mutton pies.

which is also sung like this:

Cold meat, mutton chops,

Tell me when your mother drops.

I’ll be there to pick her up—

Cold meat, mutton chops.

or

My name is sweet (Jennie), my age is sixteen,

My father’s a father [farmer] and I am a Queen.

Got plenty of money to dress me in silk,

But nobody loves me but (Gladys dear).

or

My mother sent me out a-fishing,

Fishing cockles in the sea.

My foot slipped and I tumbled in—

Two little nigger-boys laughed at me.

or

Charlie likes whisky,

Charlie likes brandy,

Charlie likes kissing girls—

O sugar-de-candy.

or (a new one)

What O she bumps,

She skips and she jumps,

If she don’t jump

I’ll make her bump.

or (ring game)

There was a jolly miller and he lived by himself,

As the mill went round he made his wealth,

One hand in his pocket and the other in his bag—

As the mill went round he made his grab.

or (ring game)

Wallie, Wallie, Wall-flowers

Growing up so high—

All these young ladies

Will all have to die.

Excepting (Mabel Groves), she is the only one,

She can hop and she can skip,

She can turn the organ—

Hi, Hi, turn again,

Turn your face to the wall again.

or

In and out the windows (repeat twice)

As you have done before.

Stand and face your lover (repeat twice)

As you have done before.

Take her off to London etc.

Bring her back from London etc.

Kiss her before you leave her etc.

or

Here we go Loobeloo, here we go Loobellee,

Here we go Loobelloo, on a Sunday afternoon.

Put your right arm in, put your right arm out,

Shake it a little, a little, then turn yourself about.

Put your left arm in (repeat as before).

Put your right leg in, etc.

Put your left leg in, etc.

Put your noddle in, etc.

Put your whole self in, etc.

or (an old one)

Here comes three duks [dukes] a-riding, a-riding, a-riding,

Here comes three duks a-riding, on a Ransi-tansi-tay.

Please we’ve come to marry, to marry, to marry,

Please we’ve come to marry with a Ransi-tansi-tay.

Marry one of us Sir, us Sir etc.

Your all as stiff as pocars, pocars, etc.

We can bend as well as you Sir, you Sir etc.

Your all to black and dirty, dirty, dirty,

Your all to black and dirty, with a Ransi-tansi-tay.

or

Old Roger (or: Poor Robin) is dead and gone to his grave,

He, Hi, gone to his grave.

They planted an apple-tree over his head,

He, Hi, over his head.

The apple grew ripe and ready to drop,

He, Hi, ready to drop.

There came an old woman of Hipertihop,

He, Hi, Hipertihop,

She began a picking them up,

He, Hi, picking them up,

Old Roger got up and gave her knock,

He, Hi, gave her a knock,

Which made the old woman go hipertihop.

He, Hi, Hipertihop.

or (skipping)

I went to the animal show, and what do you think I saw there?

The Elephant sneezed and fell on his knees,

And what became of the monkey—

(Keep saying monkey untill out).

or

Early in the morning at eight o’clock

You may hear the postman’s knock,

Up jumps Mabel to open the door—

Letters, one, two, three, four.

or

We lost our cat aweek ago,

But cant tell where to find it

We sometimes hear a tuneful noise

Is daily growing weaker

So Tommy Brown we all must say

That your to be the seeker

(something is hidden and after this is sung they come and look for it.)

or

Caroline Brown from China Town,

Earning all the dollars

Ironing shirts and collars,

Busy as a bee

You can always see

Caroline Brown from China Town.

or

Ener Dena Dinah Doe

Catch a nigger by his toe,

If he hollows let him go—

Ener dena Dinah Doe.

or (one girl in the ring and two outside)

Brave news is come to town,

Polly Dawson’s married.

You can tell the parson’s wife,

You can tell the people,

You can buy the wedding-gown,

I will thread the needle.

What will you give to her for a loving token?

A piece of soap and an old cart rope,

And a candle-stick that’s broken.

Out you get and out you go for a stingy miser,

If you live till forty years I hope you will be wiser.

Brave news is come to town (repeat first six lines)

What will you give to her for a loving token?

A piece of gold and a ring to hold

The sweetest words ere spoken.

In you get and in you go....

(I forget the rest).

or

Old mother roundabout

Knocking all the kids about—

Outside Elsie’s door.

Up comes Elsie with a great big stick

And lets her know what for.

or

I was in the garden

A-picking of the peas—

I busted out a-laughing

To hear the chickens sneeze.

or

Mother got the Hooping cough

Father got the gout—

Please (Rosie Milton)

Will you walk out?

or

Half a pound of bacon,

Fry it in the pan—

No one else shall have it

But me and my young man.

or

Who’s that walking round my garden?

Only Tommy Jingle.

Don’t you steal none of my fat pigs,

Or else I’ll make you tingle.

or

My young man is so lively,

Takes me up the Wells[J] every Friday,

Wears brown boots on a Sunday,

With half a dozen buttons on his coat.

or

Here comes our jolly jolly sailors

Just arrived on shore,

We earn our money like ...

And now we’ll work for more.

or

I fell into a box of eggs—

All the yellow run down my legs,

All the white run up my shirt—

I fell into a box of eggs.

or (an old one)

Mother buy me a milking-pail, milking-pail, milking-pail,

Mother buy me a milking-pail—one, two, three.

Where’s the money coming from (repeat as above)

Sell father’s feather-bed, etc.

What’s father got to sleep in etc.

Sleep in the pigsty, etc.

What’s the pig got to sleep in, etc.

Sleep in the washing-tub, etc.

What have I got to wash in, etc.

Wash in a thimble, etc.

What have I got to sew with, etc.

Sew with a poker, etc.

What have I got to poke the fire with, etc.

Poke it with your finger, etc.

Suppose I burn my finger, etc.

Serve you right.

(The mother then tries to catch her children).

or (this is a sham)

Up you go feathery toy,

Up in the air so lightly—

Children gaze after you,

Watching your movements brightly.

Tap, tap, battledores,

Up once more you spring,

Just like little dicky-birds,

Sporting on the wing.

or (this is the real thing)

Shuttlecock, shuttlecock, if you don’t spin,

I’ll break your bones and bury your skin.

or

Appletree, peartree, plumtree pie,

How many children before I die?

One, two, three etc.

or

Three little children sitting on the sand,

All, all a-lonely (repeat both lines)

Down in the green wood shady—

There came an old woman, said Come on with me,

All, all a-lonely (repeat both lines)

Down in the green wood shady—

She stuck her pen-knife through their heart,

All, all a-lonely (repeat both lines)

Down in the green wood shady.

or

Goodbye (May), while you’re away,

Send a letter, love,

Say you’re better, love,

Don’t forget your dear old (Nell)

(Call another girl in)

or

I know a girl, sly and deceitful,

Every little tittle tat she goes and tells her people.

Long nose, ugly face, ought to be put under a glass case,

If you want to know her name,

Her name is (Evie Allen).

O (Evie Allen), get away from me,

I don’t want to speak to you,

Nor you to speak to me.

Once we were playmates,

But now we can’t agree—

O (Evie Allen), get away from me.

or (ring game)

Choose the one you love the best,

Choose the merriest of the lot.

Now you’re married I wish you joy—

First a girl and then a boy.

Seven years old and ...

Play and cuddle and kiss together—

Kiss her once, kiss her twice,

Kiss her three times over.

or

There stands a lady on a mountain,

Who she is I do not know,

All she wants is gold and silver,

All she wants is a nice young man.

Madam will you walk it, Madam will you talk it,

Madam will you marry me? No!

Not if I buy you a silver spoon

To feed your baby every afternoon?

Madam will you walk it etc. No!

Not if I buy you a nice silk hat

With seven yards of ribbon hanging down the back?

Madam will you walk it etc. No!

Not if I buy you the keys of Heaven

To let yourself in at half-past seven?

Madam will you walk it etc. Yes!

Go to church, love (repeat)

Go to church, love,—Farewell.

Put your ring on (repeat)

Put your ring on,—Farewell.

What for breakfast, love (repeat)

What for breakfast, love,—Farewell.

Boiled eggs and bread and butter (repeat twice)

On the mountain,—Farewell.

What’s for dinner, love (repeat)

What’s for dinner love,—Farewell.

Roast beef and plum pudding (repeat twice)

On the mountain,—Farewell.

What’s for tea, love (repeat)

What’s for tea, love,—Farewell.

Bread and butter, water-cress (repeat twice)

On the mountain,—Farewell.

What for supper, love (repeat)

What for supper, love,—Farewell.

Squashed flies and blackbeetles,

Squashed flies and blackbeetles,

Squashed flies and blackbeetles,

On the mountain,—Farewell.

or

Now I’m off to the butcher’s shop,

There I stay no longer.

If I do, mother will say,

Naughty girl to disobey,

And play with the boys down yonder.

Come in my (Ellen) dear,

While I go out.

And if you like these chants, here are the beginnings of a few more:—

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....