Category: Humor/games/children

The Belle of Belfast City


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This is a well known children’s song from the 19th century. It is in the Roud Folk Song Index as number 2649. It’s been collected in various parts of England and Ireland. When sung in Northern Ireland it’s known as “The Belle of Belfast City.” There is a game associated with this song. Children form a ring by joining hands while one child stands in the middle. When asked “Please tell me who they be?” The child in the middle gives the name or initials of a child in the ring and after the rest of the lyrics are sung the named child goes in the middle.

Lyrics:
[G] I’ll tell my ma [C] when I get home,
[G] The boys won’t leave [D] the girls alone
[G] They pull my hair and [C] stole my comb
[D] But that’s all right [G] till I go home

[G] She is handsome, [C] she is pretty,
[G] She is the Belle of [D] Belfast city
[G] She is a courtin’ [C] one, two, three,
[D] Please won’t you tell me [G] who is she

Albert Mooney says he loves her,
All the boys are fightin’ for her
Knock at the door and ring at the bell,
Saying oh my true love, are you well

Out she comes as white as snow,
Rings on her fingers, bells on her toes
Ould Johnny Morrissey says she’ll die
If she doesn’t get the fella with the roving eye

Let the wind and the rain and the hail blow high
And the snow come travellin’ through the sky
She’s as sweet as apple pie,
She’ll get her own lad by and by

When she gets a lad of her own
She won’t tell her ma when she gets home
Let them all come as they will
For it’s Albert Mooney she loves still

The Dodger Song


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Mp3: The Dodger Song – Click To Play
“The Dodger Song” was used in the presidential election of 1884 by Democratic candidate Grover Cleveland against Republican James Blane who was portrayed as a crooked politician.

Lyrics:
[E] Oh, the candidate’s a dodger, yes, a well-known dodger,
Oh, the candidate’s a dodger, yes, [B7] and I’m a dodger [E] too.
He’ll meet you and treat you and ask you for your vote,
[B7] But look out, boys, he’s a-dodgin’ for your [E] vote.

We’re all a-dodgin’,
Dodgin’, dodgin’, dodgin’,
Oh, we’re all a-dodgin’ out the [B7] way through the [E] world.

Oh, the lawyer, he’s a dodger, yes, a well-known dodger,
Oh, the lawyer, he’s a dodger, yes, and I’m a dodger, too.
He’ll plead your case and claim you for a friend,
But look out, boys, he’s easy for to bend.

Oh, the merchant, he’s a dodger, yes, a well-known dodger,
Oh, the merchant, he’s a dodger, yes, and I’m a dodger, too.
He’ll sell you goods at double the price,
But when you go to pay him you’ll have to pay him twice.

Oh, the sheriff, he’s a dodger, yes, a well-known dodger,
Oh, the sheriff, he’s a dodger, yes, and I’m a dodger, too.
He’ll act like a friend and a mighty fine man,
But look out, boys, he’ll put you in the can.

Oh, the general, he’s a dodger, yes, a well-known dodger,
Oh the general, he’s a dodger, yes, and I’m a dodger, too.
He’ll march you up and he’ll march you down,
But look out, boys, he’ll put you under ground.

Oh, the lover is a dodger, yes, a well-known dodger,
Oh, the lover is a dodger, yes, and I’m a dodger, too.
He’ll hug you and kiss you and call you his bride,
But look out, girls, he’s telling you a lie.

Joy, Joy, Joy, Joy, Down In My Heart


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A popular children’s gospel song. I got a lot of joy on April 1, 1978. I married Camilla.

Lyrics:
G POSITION CAPO ON SECOND FRET
[G] I’ve got a Joy, Joy, Joy, Joy, down in my heart
[D] Down in my heart, [G] down in my heart
I’ve got a Joy, Joy, Joy, Joy, down in my heart
[D] Down in my heart [G] today

I’ve got a beautiful wonderful happy feeling down in my heart
Down in my heart, down in my heart
I’ve got a beautiful wonderful happy feeling down in my heart
Down in my heart to stay

[Bm] It’s a whole new way of [Em] living, [Bm] far from the dark of [Em] night
[Bm] I’ll tell you the joy it’s [Em] giving me
[A7] Just walking in the [D] light

I’ve got a peace that passes understanding down in my heart
Down in my heart, down in my heart
I’ve got a peace that passes understanding down in my heart
Down in my heart to stay

It’s a whole new way of living far from the dark of night
I’ll tell you the joy it’s giving me
Just walking in the light

New Lyrics and Music By Roger McGuinn

This Old Man


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This is an English language children’s counting, nursery rhyme listed in the Roud Folk Song Index: number 3550. Nobody knows who composed it but it was said to have been learned from a Welsh nurse in the 1870s.

Lyrics:
[G] This old man, he played one,
[C] He played knick-knack on my [D] thumb;
[G] With a knick-knack paddywhack,
Give the dog a bone,
[D] This old man came [G] rolling home.

This old man, he played two,
He played knick-knack on my shoe;
With a knick-knack paddywhack,
Give the dog a bone,
This old man came rolling home.

This old man, he played three,
He played knick-knack on my knee;
With a knick-knack paddywhack,
Give the dog a bone,
This old man came rolling home.

This old man, he played four,
He played knick-knack on my door;
With a knick-knack paddywhack,
Give the dog a bone,
This old man came rolling home.

This old man, he played five,
He played knick-knack on my hive;
With a knick-knack paddywhack,
Give the dog a bone,
This old man came rolling home.

This old man, he played six,
He played knick-knack on my sticks;
With a knick-knack paddywhack,
Give the dog a bone,
This old man came rolling home.

This old man, he played seven,
He played knick-knack up in heaven;
With a knick-knack paddywhack,
Give the dog a bone,
This old man came rolling home.

This old man, he played eight,
He played knick-knack on my gate;
With a knick-knack paddywhack,
Give the dog a bone,
This old man came rolling home.

This old man, he played nine,
He played knick-knack on my spine;
With a knick-knack paddywhack,
Give the dog a bone,
This old man came rolling home.

This old man, he played ten,
He played knick-knack once again;
With a knick-knack paddywhack,
Give the dog a bone,
This old man came rolling home.

February Song


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Mp3: February Song – Click To Play
This was a traditional children’s song from Trinidad with one verse called “All Who Born In January.” But I have already done a Folk Den song for January so I invoked the “Folk Process” and renamed it “February Song.” I have added new verses as well. Now it’s a joyous winter song. If you wish to sing it in its original version the verse is at the bottom of the page.

The image above is “A Brush for the Lead”, lithograph by Currier and Ives, 1867

Lyrics:
[G] All who Born In February [D] come [G] around
[G] All who Born In February [D] come around
[G] Singing dancing [C] in the frost
[G] Singing dancing [C] in the frost
[G] All who Born In February [D] come [G] around

All who like a sleigh ride come around
All who like a sleigh ride come around
New York Flyers on the snow
New York Flyers on the snow
All who like a sleigh ride come around

All who like a snowman come around
All who like a snowman come around
Coal for eyes and a carrot nose
Coal for eyes and a carrot nose
All who like a snowman come around

All who like those jingle bells come around
All who like those jingle bells come around
Jingle Jangle through the town
Jingle Jangle through the town
All who like those jingle bells come around

All who like a fireplace come around
All who like a fireplace come around
Warm and cozy on your toes
Warm and cozy on your toes
All who like a fireplace come around

All who Born In February come around
All who Born In February come around
Singing dancing in the frost
Singing dancing in the frost
All who Born In February come around

Original:

From: http://musicnotes.net/SONGS/00-ALLWH.html

All who born in January skip around.
All who born in January skip around.
Tra la la la la la la,
Tra la la la la la la.
All who born in January skip around.

Acres of Clams


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Francis D. Henry wrote the “Old Settler’s Song,” or “Acres of Clams” around 1874. Set to the tune of “Rosin the Bow,” it was thought to be the state song of Washington according to the The People’s Song Bulletin until it was decided the lyrics were not dignified enough.

I learned “Acres of Clams” at the Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago around 1957 and found it recently in a book from the school.

Lyrics:
[E] I wandered all [B7] over this [E] country
Prospecting and mining for [C#m] gold
[E] I’ve tunneled, [B7] hydraulicked and [E] cradled
And I have been [B7] frequently [E] sold

CH: And I have been frequently [A] sold
And I have been frequently [C#m] sold
[E] I’ve tunneled, [B7] hydraulicked and [E] cradled
And I have been [B7] frequently [E] sold

For one who gets riches by mining
Perceiving that hundreds grow poor
I made up my mind to try farming
The only pursuit that is sure

So rolling my grub in a blanket
I left all my tools on the ground
And started one morning to shank it
For a country they call Puget Sound

Arriving flat broke in midwinter
I found it enveloped in fog
And covered all over with timber
Thick as hair on a dog

I took up a claim in the forest
And set myself down to hard toil
For two years I chopped and I loggered
But I never got down to the soil

I tried to get out of the country
But poverty forced my to stay
Until I became an old settler
Then you couldn’t drive me away

But now that I’m used to the climate
I think that if a man ever found
A spot to live easy and happy
That Eden is on Puget Sound

No longer a slave to ambition
I laugh at the world and its shams
As I think of my happy condition
Surrounded by acres of clams

Risselty Rosselty Now Now Now


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Derived from an old Scottish folk song “The Wee Cooper O’ Fife” with a nonsense chorus. It was featured in the Alfred Hitchcock classic film “The Birds.” The tune sounds like dance music from another time.

Lyrics:
[A] I married a wife in the [D] month of [A] June,
Risselty rosselty, now now now!
I carried her off by the [D] light of the [A] moon (in a silver spoon)
Risselty rosselty, hey bombosity, nickety nackety,
retrical quality, willaby wallaby now now now!

She combed her hair but once a year,
Risselty rosselty, now now now!
With every rake she gave a tear,
Risselty rosselty, hey bombosity, nickety nackety,
retrical quality, willaby wallaby now now now!

She swept the floor but once a year,
Risselty rosselty, now now now!
She swore her broom was much too dear,
Risselty rosselty, hey bombosity, nickety nackety,
retrical quality, willaby wallaby now now now!

She churned the butter in dad’s old boot,
Risselty rosselty, now now now!
And for a dasher she uses her foot,
Risselty rosselty, hey bombosity, nickety nackety,
retrical quality, willaby wallaby now now now!

The butter came out a grizzledy gray,
Risselty rosselty, now now now!
The cheese took legs and ran away,
Risselty rosselty, hey bombosity, nickety nackety,
retrical quality, willaby wallaby now now now!

She’ll Be Coming Round The Mountain

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Widely believed to be a children’s song, “She’ll Be Coming Round The Mountain” has some interesting roots. It was derived from a spiritual, “When the Chariot Comes” about the second coming of Jesus Christ and the subsequent Rapture. In this version “she” refers to union organizer Mary Harris “Mother” Jones, who traveled the southern United States to promote the formation of labor unions in the Appalachian coal mining camps.

The song was also popular with railroad work gangs in the Midwestern United States in the 1890s.

This variation with the answers “Yum Yum, Hi Babe, Whoa Back, Yee Ha” was one my wife Camilla learned as a child in her Beaufort, South Carolina elementary school.

Lyrics:

[G] She’ll be comin’ round the mountain
When she comes Yee Ha
She’ll be comin’ round the mountain
When she [D] comes Yee Ha
[G] She’ll be comin’ round the mountain
She’ll be [C] comin’ round the mountain
She’ll be [D] comin’ round the mountain
[G] When she comes Yee Ha

She’ll be driving six white horses
When she comes Whoa Back
When she comes Whoa Back
She’ll be driving six white horses
When she comes
When she comes
She’ll be driving six white horses
She’ll be driving six white horses
She’ll be driving six white horses
When she comes Whoa Back, Yee Ha

Oh, we’ll all go to meet her
When she comes Hi Babe
Oh, we’ll all go to meet her
When she comes Hi Babe
Oh, we’ll all go to meet her
Yes, we’ll all go to meet her
Yes, we’ll all go to meet her
When she comes Hi Babe, Whoa Back, Yee Ha

We’ll be eating chicken and dumplings
When she comes Yum Yum
We’ll be eating chicken and dumplings
When she comes Yum Yum
We’ll be eating chicken and dumplings
We’ll be eating chicken and dumplings
We’ll be eating chicken and dumplings
When she comes Yum Yum, Hi Babe, Whoa Back, Yee Ha

She’ll be comin’ round the mountain
When she comes Yee Ha
She’ll be comin’ round the mountain
When she comes Yee Ha
She’ll be comin’ round the mountain
She’ll be comin’ round the mountain
She’ll be comin’ round the mountain
When she comes Yee Ha, Yum Yum, Hi Babe, Whoa Back, Yee Ha

Away With Rum

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I played “Rum by Gum” on the Chad Mitchell Trio’s LP “Mighty Day On Campus” in 1961. The origin is difficult to determine. It dates back to England in the 1890s and was possibly a music hall song. There’s a rather lengthy but inconclusive discussion of it HERE.
Lyrics:
[G] We’re coming, we’re coming, our [D] brave little [G] band
[G] On the right side of temperance we [D] do take our stand
We [D] don’t use [G] tobacco, [D] because we do [G] think
[G] The people who use it are [D] likely to [G] drink

[G] Away, away with rum by gum, [D] with rum by gum, [G] with rum by gum
[G] Away, away with rum by gum, [D] the song of the temperance [G] union

We never eat fruit cake because it has rum
And one little taste turns a man to a bum
Oh, can you imagine a sorrier sight
Than a man eating fruit cake until he gets tight

Away, away with rum by gum, with rum by gum, with rum by gum
Away, away with rum by gum, the song of the temperance union

We never eat cookies because they have yeast
And one little bite turns a man to a beast
Oh, can you imagine a sadder disgrace
Than a man in the gutter with crumbs on his face

Away, away with rum by gum, with rum by gum, with rum by gum
Away, away with rum by gum, the song of the temperance union

We never drink water, they put it in gin
One little sip and a man starts to grin
Oh can you imagine the horrible sight
Of a man drinking water and singing all night

Paddy West

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Mp3: Paddy West – Click To Play
A.L. Lloyd sang Paddy West in 1960 on his and Ewan MacColl’s Tradition Records album Blow Boys Blow. He commented in the sleeve notes:

“Mr West is a redoubtable figure in the folklore of the sea. He was a Liverpool boarding-house keeper in the latter days of sail, who provided ship captains with crews, as a side-line. He would guarantee that every man he supplied had crossed the Line and been round the Horn several times. In order to say so with a clear conscience, he gave greenhorns a curious course in seamanship, described in this jesting ballad. It was a great favourite with “Scouse” (Liverpool) sailors.”

Paddy was a resourceful fellow who, with his wife, ran a home school for novice sailors. His methods were rather crude (like having his wife throw a bucket of water on their students to provide ‘sea spray’) but together they created a simulation of real conditions that could instill a sense of confidence in the lads that would most likely help them on an actual ocean voyage.

I accompanied myself on my Martin HD-7 seven string guitar and an English concertina that my wife Camilla gave me.

Lyrics:
[G] As I was walkin’ down [Am] London Street,
[D] I come to Paddy West’s [G] house,
He give me a dish of [C] American [G] hash;
And he called it Liverpool [C] scouse,
[G] He said “There’s a ship and she’s [C] takin’ [G] hands,
And on her you must [C] sign,
[G] Ah the mate’s a tyrant, the [Am] captain’s worse,
[D] But she will do you [G] fine.”
Chorus:
[G] Take off yer dungaree [C] jacket,
[G] And give yerself a [C] rest,
[G] And we’ll think on them cold [Am] nor’westers
That we [D] had at Paddy [G] West’s.

2. When we had finished our dinner lads,
The winds began to blow.
Paddy sent me to the attic,
The main-royal for to stow,
But when I got to the attic,
No main-royal could I find,
So I turned myself around,
And I furled the window blind.
Chorus:

3. Now Paddy he pipes all hands on deck,
Their stations for to man.
His wife she stood in the doorway,
A bucket in her hand;
And Paddy he cries, “Now let ‘er rip!”
And she throws the water our way,
Cryin’ “Clew in the fore t’gan’sl, boys,
She’s takin on the spray!”
Chorus:

4. Now seein’ she’s headed south’ard,
To Frisco she was bound;
Paddy he takes a length of rope,
And he lays it on the ground,
We all steps over, and back again,
He says to me “That’s fine,
If they ask you were you ever at sea
You say you crossed the line.”
Chorus:

5. There’s just one thing for you to do
Before you sail away,
Step around the table,
Where the bullock’s horn do lay
And if they ask “Were you ever at sea?”
Say “Ten times ’round the Horn”
And they’ll think you’re a natural sailor lad
From the day that you was born.
Chorus: X 2