# Remember Miss Lucy? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 15, 2021, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-miss-lucy/932958 "2021-02-15T13:30:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanubv.2/32/3260_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUBv.2)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2021, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-miss-lucy/932958/21 "2021-02-16T13:11:00Z")
Miss Lucy was a dancer . . . Susie was the one with the sailboat. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2021, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-miss-lucy/932958/22 "2021-02-16T17:16:34Z")
I’m curious about the tune this is sung to. The Wikipedia article doesn’t seem to say much about it. Is the tune as old as the rhyme? ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2021, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-miss-lucy/932958/23 "2021-02-16T17:41:53Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > I’m curious about the tune this is sung to. The Wikipedia article doesn’t seem to say much about it. Isn’t it “The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down”? That’s what Wiki says. > **[The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Merry-Go-Round_Broke_Down)** > > "The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down" is a song written in 1937 by Cliff Friend and Dave Franklin and published by Harms Inc., New York. It is best known as the theme tune for the Looney Tunes cartoon series and Merrie Melodies reissued cartoon series produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons, used from 1937 to 1969. > The original version contains an introductory verse that leads up to the main part of the song, as a young man tells of his date with a young woman, in which they go to an amusement park and find... ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2021, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-miss-lucy/932958/24 "2021-02-16T22:02:21Z")
Based on the title, I was thinking: Strut Miss Lucy, strut Miss Lucy, Strut Miss Lucy all the way home. Which is actually the second verse of "[This Way Valerie"](https://www.scoutsongs.com/lyrics/thiswayvalerie.html). Like others said, I knew the song in the OP as “Miss Susie”. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2021, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-miss-lucy/932958/25 "2021-02-17T01:23:24Z")
Definitely “Merry-Go-Round Broke Down” [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/2T_HYbva-HQ/hqdefault.jpg "Miss Susie had a Steamboat :)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2T_HYbva-HQ) ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2021, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-miss-lucy/932958/26 "2021-02-17T01:28:28Z")
There’s a song we used to hear (and sing) at Ren Faires which was the same basic concept. “There was a young sailor who looked through the glass Spied a fair mermaid with scales on her Island…” [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/5IuYv971bHY/maxresdefault.jpg "The Clean Song") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5IuYv971bHY) ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2021, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-miss-lucy/932958/27 "2021-02-17T02:33:38Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > _Casey and Murphy were digging in a ditch,_ > _Casey called Murphy a dirty son of a_ > _Beaver, beaver, sitting on a rock,_ > _Along came a bumble bee and stung him on his_ > _Cocktail, ginger ale, five cents a glass,_ > _If you don’t like it, shove it up your_ > _Ask me no questions and I will tell no lies,_ > _Casey hit Murphy, and now he’s paralyzed._ My sister’s version, back in the early '60s, was almost the same: _Two Irishmen, two Irishmen_ were digging in a ditch, _One called the other one_ a dirty son of a Beaver, beaver, sitting on a rock, Along came a bumble bee and stung him on his Cocktail, ginger ale, five cents a glass, If you don’t _believe me, you can kiss my royal_ Ask me no questions, _I’ll tell you_ no lies, _If you came here [never did catch this bit] then you can close your eyes._ ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2021, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-miss-lucy/932958/28 "2021-02-17T02:44:16Z")
It’s also similar to “Chinese Breakdown.” [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ynrnxbxHCf8/hqdefault.jpg "1497 Tommy Jackson - Chinese Breakdown") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ynrnxbxHCf8) ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2021, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-miss-lucy/932958/29 "2021-02-17T04:11:40Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > Definitely “Merry-Go-Round Broke Down” > [https://youtu.be/2T\_HYbva-HQ](https://youtu.be/2T_HYbva-HQ) If anyone’s an expert, it should be Elmer J. Fudd. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2021, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-miss-lucy/932958/30 "2021-02-17T04:49:17Z")
My father used to sing this one (which turns out to be a Dinah Shore song, of all things): There once was a farmer who took a young miss In back of the barn where he gave her a lecture On horses and chickens and eggs And told her that she had such beautiful Manners that suited a girl of her charms A girl that he wanted to take in his Washing and ironing and then if she did They could get married and raise lots of Sweet violets Sweeter than the roses Covered all over from head to toe Covered all over with sweet violets The girl told the farmer that he’d better stop And she call her father and he called a Taxi and got there before very long ‘Cause some one was doin’ his little girl Right for a change and so that’s why he said If you marry her son, you’re better off single 'Cause it’s always been my belief Marriage will bring a man nothing but Sweet Violets Sweeter than the roses Covered all over from head to toe Covered all over with sweet violets The farmer decided he wed anyway And started in planning for his wedding Suit which he purchased for only one buck But then he found out he was just out of Money and so he got left in the lurch A standin’ and waitin’ in front of the End of the story which just goes to show All a girl wants from a man is his Sweet Violets Sweeter than the roses Covered all over from head to toe Covered all over with sweet violets Sweet Violets * * * Then we’d get “There Were Three Jolly Fishermen” (“Amster, Amster, dam dam dam!”). ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2021, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-miss-lucy/932958/31 "2021-02-17T20:29:49Z")
> [@SCAdian](#): > > > [@panache45](#): > > > > _Casey and Murphy were digging in a ditch,_ > > _Casey called Murphy a dirty son of a_ > > _Beaver, beaver, sitting on a rock,_ > > _Along came a bumble bee and stung him on his_ > > _Cocktail, ginger ale, five cents a glass,_ > > _If you don’t like it, shove it up your_ > > _Ask me no questions and I will tell no lies,_ > > _Casey hit Murphy, and now he’s paralyzed._ > > My sister’s version, back in the early '60s, was almost the same: > > _Two Irishmen, two Irishmen_ were digging in a ditch, > _One called the other one_ a dirty son of a > Beaver, beaver, sitting on a rock, > Along came a bumble bee and stung him on his > Cocktail, ginger ale, five cents a glass, > If you don’t _believe me, you can kiss my royal_ > Ask me no questions, _I’ll tell you_ no lies, > _If you came here [never did catch this bit] then you can close your eyes._ No tune, BTW – she just recited it as if it were a poem. ---
**Author:** ![jaycat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat/32/3015_2.png) [@jaycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaycat)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2021, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-miss-lucy/932958/32 "2021-02-17T23:07:01Z")
I thought “cut across Shorty” was what Miss Lucy said. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2021, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-miss-lucy/932958/33 "2021-02-17T23:39:50Z")
> [@susan](#): > > But then he found out he was just out of > Money and so he got left in the lurch That’s just sad. ---
**Author:** ![Limmin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f04885/32.png) [@Limmin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Limmin)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2021, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-miss-lucy/932958/34 "2021-02-17T23:56:09Z")
These are all better than the one that I know: _Hello everybody, this is Harry Cemetery_ _If you’re good you’ll go to heaven,_ _if you’re bad you’ll go to_ repeat ad nauseam ---
**Author:** ![Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulf_the_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2021, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-miss-lucy/932958/35 "2021-02-18T04:00:50Z")
My dad sang this one too! – I only dimly remember the second verse, though, and I don’t think I ever heard the third verse. I had no idea of the Dinah Shore connection and always kind of wondered where he got it. My wife had a…slightly racier version, sung to the same tune, that began “It’s springtime, it’s springtime, it’s springtime of yore I met a young lady who looked like a Beautiful lady asleep in the grass And when she rolled over she showed us her Ruffles and tuffles and even her tuck And said that she’d show us a new way to…” And so on. Great minds run in the same gutter I guess. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2021, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-miss-lucy/932958/36 "2021-02-18T04:01:33Z")
Nice! ---
**Author:** ![Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulf_the_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2021, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-miss-lucy/932958/37 "2021-02-18T04:06:51Z")
I didn’t know this Miss Lucy song growing up, but I did learn it from my wife later in life. She definitely sang it as Miss Lucy. I knew a different Miss Lucy song, from a period in the protagonist’s life when she had a baby which she named Tiny Tim (and put him in water to see if he could swim, bad parenting). An interesting life, all things considered. My kids learned all or some of your Miss Lucy song when they were fairly young, along with the handclapping (which they didn’t do very well but had fun anyway). I got a real kick out of listening to them sing the ending, which invariably came out “The boys and girls are kissing in the D-R-A-K, D-R-A-K, D-R-A-K dark!” Oh wlel. Waht you gonna do? ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2021, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-miss-lucy/932958/38 "2021-02-18T19:45:16Z")
No Lucy nor Suzie for me. The Boy Scouts in Putnam County, NY, had [Bang Bang Rosie.](https://michellegalway.wordpress.com/2011/10/07/bang-bang-rosie-lyrics-very-funny/) ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2021, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-miss-lucy/932958/39 "2021-02-18T21:58:10Z")
> [@SCAdian](#): > > No tune, BTW – she just recited it as if it were a poem. Mine definitely had a tune, from the mid-50s. ---
**Author:** ![xizor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xizor/32/102_2.png) [@xizor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xizor)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2021, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-miss-lucy/932958/40 "2021-02-18T22:39:38Z")
> [@SCAdian](#): > > Ask me no questions, _I’ll tell you_ no lies, > _If you came here [never did catch this bit] then you can close your eyes._ I always heard it as “Ask me a question, I’ll give you some advice If someone throws a bucket of sh\*t, be sure and close your eyes” And then there is this SFW but in line with this thread gem [The Assumption Song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGzvEoeGZxA) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-miss-lucy/932958.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remember-miss-lucy/932958.md?page=3)