silly-songs

Chatter and Chitter love nonsense songs so much that sometimes they make up their own. In fact Chitter has an uncanny ability to make up a song about anything right on the spot. I told her she needs to get a job being a jingle writer.

We’ve already discussed silly songs kids jump rope to and silly songs kids clap hands to. Today I’m going to share some other nonsense songs and sayings with you.

Here’s a few I remember from my childhood:

Alice, where are you going?
Upstairs, to take a bath
Alice, with legs like toothpicks
And a neck like a giraffe!

Alice got in the bathtub,
Alice pulled out the plug.
Oh, my gracious! Oh, my soul!
There goes Alice down the hole!
“Alice, Alice?”
Blub! Blub! Blub!

—–

Tipper and Matt
Sitting in a tree,
K-I-S-S-I-N-G
First comes love,
Then comes marriage
Then comes Matt
With a baby carriage

—–

One bright day in the middle of the night,
Two dead boys got up to fight.

Back to back they faced each other,
Drew their swords and shot each other.

The deaf policeman heard the noise,
Came and shot the two dead boys.

If you don’t believe this lie is true,
Ask the blind man, he saw it too.

—–

Here’s one my childhood friend Suzann’s mother shared with me:

What ‘cha got there?
Bread and Cheese.
Where’s my share?
In the woods.
Where’s the woods?
Fire burned them.
Where’s the fire?
Water quenched it.
Where’s the water?
Ox drank it.
Where’s the Ox?
Butcher killed it.
Where’s the butcher?
Rope hung him.
Where the rope?
Rat gnawed it.
Where’s the rat?
Cat caught it.
Where’s the cat?
Dog chased it.
Where the dog?
Hammer killed it.
Where’s the hammer?
Behind the Church doors cracking hickory nuts.

The first one that shows their teeth gets ten slaps and ten pinches.

—–

In the book “How I Saw Cherokee County” Wanda Stalcup shared the following two silly songs:

Mama, Mama don’t whip me whip that boy (or girl) behind that tree. He stole money, I stole honey, ha, ha, ha, ain’t that funny.

—–

I smell plum, I smell peaches, here comes Johnny (or other child’s name) with a hole in his britches.

—–

If any silly songs from your childhood come to mind, please leave a comment and tell me about it.

Tipper

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22 Comments

  1. My school music teacher taught us wonderful old songs. This is one of my favorites that I haven’t heard anywhere else.
    Did you feed my cow? Yes, ma’am
    Can you tell me how? Yes, ma’am
    What did you feed her? Corn and hay
    What did you feed her? Corn and hay
    Did you milk her good? Yes, ma’am
    Did you milk her like you should? Yes, ma’am
    How did you milk her? Squish squish squish
    How did you milk her? Squish squish squish
    Did my cow get sick? Yes, ma’am
    Was she covered with tick? Yes, ma’am
    How did she die? Mmm mmm mmm (shaking head)
    How did she die? Mmm mmm mmm
    Did the buzzards come? Yes, ma’am
    Did the buzzards come? Yes, ma’am
    How did they come? Flop flop flop
    How did they come? Flop flop flop

  2. I have heard the most of them in my childhood. Our version of the “bean” one. Beans,Beans the magical fruit. the more you eat the more you “toot” . The more you toot the better you feel. Lets have beans for every meal. Your blog certainly brings back many fond memories,,, Thank you.

  3. Tipper–I think it likely there ‘s an appreciable store of these ditties tucked away in the recesses of my mind.
    1. What’s your name? Pudding tame. Ask me again and I’ll tell you the same.
    2. A variation on Sherry’s second offering: What you got? Chicken snot. Come and get it while it’s hot.
    3. Everyone is familiar with “Ninety-nine Bottles of Beer.”
    4. Beans, beans, good for the heart. The more you eat the more you fart. The more you fart the more you desire. Put another pot of beans on the fire.
    5. A whistling woman and a crowing hen, always come to some bad end.

    That’s enough, and leave it to you to dredge to the surface these things all of us have tucked away but somehow seldom think about.

    Jim Casada

  4. Ah that brings back more memories of our child hood. I do remember most of them. Kids miss so much now a days. THANKS TIPPER!

  5. Dad had a terrible singing voice. I inherited it. He sang a song whose first line is all I remember. “It was midnight on the ocean, not a streetcar was in sight.”

    Another one began, “The owl and the pussycat went to sea in a beautiful pea-green boat. They took some money and plenty of money wrapped up in a ten pound note.”

    1. That second one is actually a poem by Edward (Edmond?) Lear, I must’ve checked out 5 different copies over the years from libraries because the pictures are always great.

      The Owl and the Pussy-Cat went to sea
      In a beautiful pea-green boat:
      They took some honey, and plenty of money
      Wrapped up in a five-pound note.
      The Owl looked up to the stars above,
      And sang to a small guitar,
      “O lovely Pussy, O Pussy, my love,
      What a beautiful Pussy you are,
      You are,
      You are!
      What a beautiful Pussy you are!”

      Pussy said to the Owl, “You elegant fowl,
      How charmingly sweet you sing!
      Oh! let us be married; too long we have tarried,
      But what shall we do for a ring?”
      They sailed away, for a year and a day,
      To the land where the bong-tree grows;
      And there in a wood a Piggy-wig stood,
      With a ring at the end of his nose,
      His nose,
      His nose,
      With a ring at the end of his nose.

      “Dear Pig, are you willing to sell for one shilling
      Your ring?” Said the Piggy, “I will.”
      So they took it away, and were married next day
      By the turkey who lives on the hill.
      They dined on mince and slices of quince,
      Which they ate with a runcible spoon;
      And hand in hand, on the edge of the sand,
      They danced by the light of the moon,
      The moon,
      The moon,
      They danced by the light of the moon.

  6. This is just an example of why your blog is so very important, Tipper. You have triggered many memories for us with your brilliant writing and your sincere dedication to all things Appalachia. Unfortunately, I have forgotten almost all of those long ago nonsensical rhymes we chanted on the playground. Wait, we had very little playground! Much of our recess was spent combing the woods behind the schoolhouse picking up beechnuts and hickory nuts. There was no playground equipment and not even concrete to play hopscotch. No lunchroom!
    About the best I can drum up on oft repeated rhymes is the common one “(Girl’s name) and (boy’s name) sittin’ in a tree K-I-S-S-I-N-G. First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes (girl’s name) with a baby carriage.” If children showed the least inclination to flirt they were taunted with this rhyme.
    Our beautiful heritage would be lost, Tipper, if it was not for those like you who write about our Appalachian ways and history. Thank you.

  7. Tipper,
    Just like everything else, Ed’s comment reminded me of a Charlie Brown Cartoon. There was a lot of rhymes that had a peanut in them. I enjoyed all the poems.

    Nice picture of Chitter and Chatter when they were much younger. …Ken

  8. I knew many of those, although some of the wording was different (such as: we said, Boom, boom, ain’t it great to be crazy). One favorite was about the sinking of the Titanic:

    Oh, they built the ship Titanic for to sail the ocean blue.
    They thought they’d built a ship that the water could ne’er come through,
    but ’twas on her maiden trip that an iceberg sank that ship.
    It was sad when that great ship went down.

    It was sad, it was sad, it was sad when that great ship went down
    (to the bottom of the sea).
    Husbands and wives, little bitty children lost their lives.
    It was sad when that great ship went down.

    Oh, they threw the lifeboats out o’er the dark and stormy sea
    and the band struck up with “Nearer My God to Thee.”
    Little children wept and cried as the waves swept over the side.
    It was sad when that great ship went down.

    It was sad. . . .

    They were nearing to the land, they were nearing to the shore,
    and the rich refused to associate with the poor,
    so they sent ’em down below where they’d be the first to go.
    It was sad when that great ship went down.

    It was sad. . .

  9. * Tipper this may be too long to post* ….but here’s one of our still fun sung silly songs … Title: ” There’s A Hole In The Bottom Of The Sea ” 1- There’s a hole, there’s a hole ,there’s a hole in the bottom of the sea(x 3) , 2 -There’s a log in the hole in the hole in the bottom of the sea (x2), ..there’s a hole there’s a hole there’s a hole in the bottom of the sea …. 3- there’s a knot on the log in the hole in the bottom of the sea (x2), ..there’s a hole ,there’s a hole ,there’s a hole in the bottom of the sea … 4- there’s a frog on the knot on the log in the hole in the hole in the bottom of the sea(x2)…there’s a hole there’s a hole ,there’s a hole in the bottom of the sea … 5- there’s a wart on the frog on the knot on the log in the hole in the bottom of the sea (x2)..there’s a hole ,there’s a hole , there’s a hole in the bottom of the sea … 6- there’s a hair on the wart on the frog on the knot on the log in the hole in the hole in the bottom of the sea (x2) ….there’s a hole ,there’s a hole .there’s a hole in the bottom of the sea … 7- there’s a flea on the hair on the wart on the frog on the knot on the log in the hole in the bottom of the sea (x2) ..there’s a hole ,there’s a hole , there’s a hole in the bottom of the sea .. 8- there’s a germ on the flea on the hair on the wart on the frog on the knot on the log in the hole in the hole in the bottom of the sea (x2) …. there’s no hole , there’s no hole ,……. cause we done filled it up. (This silly song has a certain tune),and you tried to sing it as fast as you could without messing up.) as I was typing this that song “”I’ve Been Everywhere Man” came to mind and the silly traveling fun in it too.

  10. Do you want to the whole silly song? Here is the condensed version.

    Found a peanut,
    Found a peanut,
    Found a peanut just now.
    Just now I found a peanut,
    Found a peanut just now.

    Cracked it open,
    Cracked it open,
    Cracked it open just now.
    Just now I cracked it open,
    Cracked it open just now.

    It was rotten,
    It was rotten,
    It was rotten just now.
    Just now it was rotten,
    It was rotten just now.

    Ate it anyway,
    Ate it anyway,
    Ate it anyway just now.
    Just now I ate it anyway,
    Ate it anyway just now.

    Got a tummy ache,
    Got a tummy ache,
    Got a tummy ache just now.
    Just now I got a tummy ache,
    Got a tummy ache just now.

    Called the doctor,
    Called the doctor,
    Called the doctor just now.
    Just now I called the doctor,
    Called the doctor just now.

    Died anyway,
    Died anyway,
    Died anyway just now.
    Just now I died anyway,
    Died anyway just now.

    Went to heaven,
    Went to heaven.
    Went to heaven just now.
    Just now I went to heaven
    Went to heaven just now.

    Found a peanut
    Found a peanut
    Found a peanut just now.
    Just now I found a peanut,
    Found a peanut just now.

  11. My stepmom taught our son a song from her childhood in West Virginia.

    A horse and a flea
    And three blind mice
    Sittin’ in the barnyard
    Shootin’ dice.

    The horse he slipped
    And fell on the flea
    Oops said the flea
    There’s a horse on me

    Boom, boom
    Sets me crazy
    Boom, boom
    Sets me crazy!

  12. What a precious picture of the girls! The “whatcha got there, bread and cheese” was one of my grandmother’s favorites, and I haven’t heard that in MANY years! Thank you for the memories!!

  13. Once I had a mule
    His name was Simon Slick
    Oh that mule had dreamy eyes
    But how that mule could kick!
    He’s switch his take
    Blink his eyes
    And greet you with a smile
    Gently telegraph his leg
    And kick you a half a mile!
    That mule he’s a kicker
    A backstreet licker
    Nowhere could ever be found.
    Our daddy would sing this and many others. There’s other verses to this…My brother remembers them all. Charline probably does too. Daddy had lots of funny nonsense sayings. He would say, ”
    What’s the difference in a hen? “. He had all kinds of riddles. I miss him so.

    1. Simon Slick Cont’d;
      He killed seven Chinamen, he broke an elephant’s back
      He stopped a Texas railroad train and kicked it off the track
      That mule, he’s a kicker
      A backstreet licker
      He’s just the thing to have atound to tame your mother-in-law!

  14. I had never heard the one about Alice or the one from Suzzan’s Mom.
    This one is a little sickening and you may never eat sauer kraut again. It was used when someone asked you what have you got. Wha ye got? chicken snot. take it out and let it rot. turn it in turn it out. turn it in to sauer kraut.

  15. Peanut sitttin’ on a railroad track
    Heart a-goin’ a-flutter.
    Train a-comin’ ‘round the bend –
    Toot! Toot! Peanut butter!

    Mama taught me that one!

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