# Silly rhymes your parents told you **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 11, 2013, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-rhymes-your-parents-told-you/660751 "2013-06-11T21:03:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2013, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-rhymes-your-parents-told-you/660751/121 "2013-07-02T18:50:17Z")
Two of the more memorable ones from my great grandmother born who was born in 1902. _Once had a donkey, Name was Jack. Put him in a shack and he peed through the crack._ This one induced much laughter by my brother and I _Three little monkeys laying in the bed. One rolled over and the other one said, “Boom, boom, boom, boom, I see your hiney. Boom, boom, boom, boom, its bright and shiney. Boom, boom, boom, boom, if you don’t hide it. Boom, boom, boom, boom, I think I’ll bite it.” Boom, boom, boom. Yeeeeeoooowww!!!_ ---
**Author:** ![Mauvaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mauvaise/32/11084_2.png) [@Mauvaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mauvaise)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2013, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-rhymes-your-parents-told-you/660751/122 "2013-07-03T14:19:19Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > “There was a little girl > Who had a little curl > Right in the middle of her fore-head. > And when she was good, > she was very very good. > But when she was bad > She was horrid” > > My mom is totally jealous of my curly hair!! > > My dad does the “peas with honey” one every. single. time. we eat peas. And is still doing it for my nieces now. Oh yeah! I had (have) curly hair and my mom would say that first one too me. And I remember the “peas with honey” now that you’ve jogged my memory. My mom was also a big fan of AA Milne’s poetry and would randomly rattle off lines here and there: “There changing the guard at Buckingham Palace Christopher Robin went down with Alice” “James James Morrison Morrison Weatherby George Dupree took great care of his mother though he was only three” (From memory still - I know too much pointless stuff) My mom would also do this when I was very young, and then around any little kids she came across (nieces, nephews, etc): Walksy round the garden Like a teddy bear. One step, two step, Tickley under there And as she’d to it, she’d trace her finger in a circle on my palm, and then take “steps” with her fingers up my arm and then tickle me under my arm(pit) at the appropriate words. ---
**Author:** ![Roads\_Scholar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e56c9b/32.png) [@Roads\_Scholar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roads_Scholar)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2013, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-rhymes-your-parents-told-you/660751/123 "2013-07-03T17:11:25Z")
My mother would sing this song to us, but I have no idea if the melody has another name: I stuck my head in a little skunk’s hole And the little skunk said, “well, bless my soul!” Take it out! Take it out! Reee-move it!" Well, I didn’t take it out and the little skunk said, “You had better take it out or you’ll wish you had, Take it out! pssss, psssss, Take it out! pssss, pssss.” PEEE-YEW! I removed it! My dad would hand out a piece of paper that had this (or something very close) written on it, and ask us to read it out loud: Lucat bene derede go Atausen buses inaro Onojo, demis trux Summit causen, Summit dux. Having been brought up hearing/reading Latin in church we would try to render it as if it was Latin. Of course, we’d make a hash of it and he’d correct us by reciting: Look out, Bennie, there they go! A thousand buses in a row. Oh no, Joe, them is trucks Some with cows and some with ducks. Has anybody else ever encountered this? ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2013, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-rhymes-your-parents-told-you/660751/124 "2013-07-03T18:32:19Z")
One day my grandmother read me this story:Petey was a snake, only sooo big. Petey lived in a pit with his mother. One day Petey was hissing in the pit when his mother said, “Petey, don’t hiss in the pit, go outside the pit to hiss.” So Petey went outside of the pit to hiss. Petey was hissing all around when he finally leaned over and hissed in the pit. Petey’s mother heard Petey hissing in the pit and said, “Petey, if you must hiss in a pit, go over to Mrs. Pott’s pit to hiss in her pit.” So Petey went over to Mrs. Pott’s pit to hiss in her pit. Mrs. Pott was not at home, so he hissed in her pit anyway. While Petey was hissing and hissing in Mrs. Pott’s pit, Mrs. Pott came home and found Petey hissing in her pit. She said, “Petey, if you must hiss in a pit, don’t hiss in _my_ pit; go to your _own_ pit and hiss.” This made Petey very sad, and he cried all the way home. When Petey got home, his mother saw him crying, and said, “Petey, what’s the matter?” Petey said, “I went over to Mrs. Pott’s to hiss in her pit, but Mrs. Pott was not at home, so I hissed in her pit anyway. Mrs. Pott came home and found me hissing in her pit and said, ‘Petey, if you must hiss in a pit, go to your own pit and hiss. Don’t hiss in my pit.’” This made Petey’s mother very angry. She said, "Why, that mean old lady. I knew Mrs. Pott when she didn’t have a pit to hiss in."My grandmother was a speech and dramatic arts teacher, and she had no trouble with staying away from the obvious. She told me that she would read this story to her high school classes, and the students were on the edge of their seats, hoping that teacher would make a mistake and say a dirty word, but she never did. Once she invited the Principal to observe her class, and took the opportunity to read the story. The Principal’s presence heightened the suspense. ---
**Author:** ![listedmia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e0b2c6/32.png) [@listedmia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/listedmia)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2013, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-rhymes-your-parents-told-you/660751/125 "2013-07-03T23:38:09Z")
My mom, when I was taking a bath: _It ain’t gonna rain no more no more It ain’t gonna rain no more! How in the heck you gonna wash your neck If it ain’t gonna rain no more?_ Repeat with “How in the fiddle you gonna wash your middle” etc. My grandpa: _Beans beans beans beans Beans beans beans beans The Navy gets the gravy But the army gets the Beans beans beans beans_ And so on. My favorite schoolyard one. I’ve seen shorter versions of this in books and online, but I think someone local made up a bunch of it. \*Miss Suzy had a tugboat The tugboat had a bell Miss Suzy went to heaven The tugboat went to Hello operator, Please give me number 9 And if you disconnect me I’ll chop off your Behind the 'fridgerator Lay a piece of glass Miss Suzy sat upon it And broke her little Ask me no more questions I’ll tell you no more lies The boys are in the bathroom Zipping up their Flies are in the city The bees are in the park Miss Suzy and her boyfriend Were kissing in the D-A-R-K D-A-R-K D-A-R-K dark! The dark was like a movie A movie’s like a show A show is like a TV set And that is all I know I know my ma, I know I know my pa I know I know my sister With her 40 acre bra! My ma was born in London My pa was born in France I was born in diapers And dirty underpants Hello operator, Please give me number 10 And if you disconnect me I’ll sing this song again! \* ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2013, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-rhymes-your-parents-told-you/660751/126 "2013-07-04T01:55:01Z")
Peanut sittin’ on a railroad track, His heart was all aflutter, 'Long came a train, toot, toot, Peanut butter! The drunk stumbled out of the tavern, And down in the sewer he died, The barkeep renamed the tavern The Sewer-side! Oooo it ain’t gonna rain no more, no more, It ain’t gonna rain no more, How in the hell can the old folk tell If it ain’t gonna rain no more? ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2013, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-rhymes-your-parents-told-you/660751/127 "2013-07-04T22:15:42Z")
My Mom sang us this one: As I was walking down the street one dark and gloomy day I came upon a billboard and much to my dismay The sign was torn and tattered from the storm the night before The wind and rain had done it’s work and this it what I saw Smoke Coca-Cola Cigarettes, chew Wrigley’s Spearmint beer Ken-L Ration dog food keeps your wife’s complexion clear Simonize your baby with a Hershey’s candy bar And Texaco’s the beauty cream that’s used by all the stars So take your next vacation in a brand new Frigidaire Learn to play piano in your winter underwear Doctors say that babies should smoke until they’re three And people over 65 should bathe in Lipton Tea ---
**Author:** ![Gedd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gedd/32/4938_2.png) [@Gedd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gedd)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2013, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-rhymes-your-parents-told-you/660751/128 "2013-07-05T13:08:39Z")
I remember in High School choir warming up with vocal exercises: \*What a to do to die today at a minute or two till two. A thing delightfully hard to say, but harder still to do. We’ll beat a tattoo, at twenty to two with a rat-tat-tat- tat-tat-tat- tat-tat-tat tat. And the dragon will come when he hears the drum at a minute or two till two today, at a minute or two till two. \* Or something like that. ---
**Author:** ![Jake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f475e1/32.png) [@Jake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jake)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2013, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-rhymes-your-parents-told-you/660751/129 "2013-07-09T15:04:10Z")
> [@SpoilerVirgin](#): > > We’ve discussed this one from my Dad on the board before: > > _'Twas midnight on the ocean > Not a streetcar was in sight > The sun was shining brightly > As it rained all day that night > Two barefoot boys with shoes on > Stood sitting on the grass > Back to back they faced each other > Drew their swords and shot each other > A deaf policeman heard the noise > And came and killed the two dead boys_ Another version: 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 a deaf policeman heard the noise and came to kill the two dead boys ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2013, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-rhymes-your-parents-told-you/660751/130 "2013-07-09T17:53:56Z")
> [@jasg](#): > > Don’t forget Round John Virgin… And their more serious friend, Gladly, the Cross-eyed Bear. Most of the things my dad said that rhymed were actual songs, and he sang them. The silliest was: “Oh, the cow kicked Nelly in the belly in the barn. Oh, the cow kicked Nelly in the belly in the barn. Oh, the cow kicked Nelly in the belly in the barn. Didn’t do any good. Didn’t do any harm.” Second verse, Same as the first, Maybe little louder, Maybe little worse. Oh, . . . " * * * Now my grandfather had a couple. I probably won’t be able to remember all of either of them. And the odds of getting the lines in the correct order are small. Let’s see. "The train is coming, ke-chunk-a-lunk A mile a minute it has to make. A big black snake with flaming eyes That wiggles and waggles along the ties Sparks are falling, a fiery rain The tunnel is waiting to swallow the train Goodbye, goodbye, tomorrow will come again." ## There are definitely hunks missing. "Oh, this is a sorrowful story Told when the twilight fails When the monkeys walked together A’holdin’ each others tails. (missing bits) forefathers (something) They went down to the farmlands To teach the Farmer to play Then came the terrible Farmer Nothing of play he knew (something) our forefathers And put them to labor, too. (something something something) And cut off their beautiful tales (more sadness) We never speak to our forefathers For if the Farmer knew He would come down to the forest And put us to labor, too. Oh, this is a sorrowful story Told when the twilight fails When the monkeys walked together A’holdin’ each others tails." I’ve tried googling, but only got a link to part of a novel where a character recites the opening verse of the second one. Ah, but I had better luck today. I guess I needed to add the word “poem”. Grandpa definitely used different phrases, and skipped a few verses, but the original monkey poem had to be by [Kipling](http://www.kipling.org.uk/poems_legendsevil.htm). And the train poem was originally [a song](http://www.ciscohouston.com/lyrics/clickety_clack2.shtml). Grandpa always lowered his voice to make it sound spooky and sinister. He never used the clickety clack bits. ---
**Author:** ![Jake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f475e1/32.png) [@Jake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jake)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2013, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-rhymes-your-parents-told-you/660751/131 "2013-07-09T19:21:30Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Our silly, we’rereallyhungryanddon’twanttoprayalongtime Grace at Boy Scout summer camp was: > > “Rub-a-dub-dub, thanks for the grub, yay God!” > > My family still uses it now and then. Father, son, holy ghost Fastest one gets the most! ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2013, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-rhymes-your-parents-told-you/660751/132 "2013-07-09T20:35:01Z")
Can I share one in Hindi? I promise I’ll translate. When I asked for too many stories at bedtime, eventually I would get this: _Ik tha raja ik thi raani Dono margai, katham kahani_ Once there was a king and queen They both died, end of story. Of course it rhymes in Hindi - which just goes to show this sort of thing transcends language and culture. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2013, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-rhymes-your-parents-told-you/660751/133 "2013-07-10T00:50:07Z")
I’ll tell you a story about Mary Morrie, And now my story’s begun, I’ll tell you another about her brother, And now my tale is done. Snip, snap, snout, The story’s out. ---
**Author:** ![ministryman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@ministryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ministryman)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2013, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-rhymes-your-parents-told-you/660751/134 "2013-07-10T15:22:41Z")
> [@Infovore](#): > > Wow! I thought _my_ mom was the only one who sang “Cement Mixer Putty Putty”! I recently remembered it from my childhood and looked it up YouTube, and damned if it wasn’t [there](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fb2XEA5xkyc)! 😛 > > Reminds me of another one Mom used to sing, to the tune of “Don’t Get Around Much Anymore”: > > _Missed the toilet last night. > Went all over the floor. > Cleaned it up with my toothbrush… > Don’t use my toothbrush anymore._ OMFG..My mother used to sing that as well, except she replaced “went” with sh\*t, and changed the last line to “Don’t brush my teeth much any more”… ---
**Author:** ![indyvet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b77776/32.png) [@indyvet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/indyvet)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2013, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-rhymes-your-parents-told-you/660751/135 "2013-07-10T17:57:53Z")
Apple pie without cheese is like a kiss, without a squeeze. A lass with a lisp is sweet to kiss. ---
**Author:** ![KRC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/45deac/32.png) [@KRC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KRC)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2013, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-rhymes-your-parents-told-you/660751/136 "2013-07-12T10:57:45Z")
One tequila Two tequila Three tequila Four! Five tequila Six tequila Seven tequila FLOOR! ---
**Author:** ![mathmannix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5a626/32.png) [@mathmannix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mathmannix)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2017, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-rhymes-your-parents-told-you/660751/137 "2017-09-19T20:50:29Z")
Oh, this was a fun read! Here’s some from my family: My Grandpa would sing this one (I don’t know if it’s to the tune of something else…) In the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia Stood a cow on a railroad track She was a cow with eyes so fine But you can’t expect a cow to read a railroad sign, oh no! So she stood in the middle of the track And the train hit her right in the back! You will find her horns in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, And her tail on a lonesome spine! Also, my dad would always sing, Randolph the bo-legged cowboy Had a very shiny gun And if you ever saw it It would make you want to run All of the other cowboys Used to laugh and call him names They never let poor Randolph Join in any poker games Then one foggy Christmas Eve Sheriff came to say “Randolph, with your gun so bright, Won’t you shoot my wife tonight?” Then all the cowboys loved him (etc.) ---
**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:** [September 20, 2017, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-rhymes-your-parents-told-you/660751/138 "2017-09-20T02:46:51Z")
> [@dougie\_monty](#): > > _Good morning Mister Zip Zip Zip > With your hair cut just as short as mine! > Good morning Mister Zip Zip Zip > You sure are lookin’ fine > Ashes to ashes, dust to dust > If the candy don’t get you then the soda pop must > Good morning Mister Zip Zip Zip > With your hair cut just as short as, your hair cut just as short as, your hair cut just as short as mine!_ > > Anybody remember that? My Dad told us kids a lot of silly little rhymes, including Mister Zip, and Here Comes Beat-Up Again… 😃 So is that where the Tom Waits song came from, I guess? ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2017, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-rhymes-your-parents-told-you/660751/139 "2017-09-20T03:16:09Z")
> [@pendgwen](#): > > This land is my land > It isn’t your land > I got a shotgun > And you don’t got one > If you don’t get off > I’ll blow your head off > This land was made for only me The version I heard from a singer friend of mine was referred to as the “Native American version” This land was my land This land’s not your land Get off of my land Go back to your land This land was my land This land’s not your land This land was stole by you from me > [@](#): > > And from my grandmother whenever she saw me chewing gum: > > The gum chewing girl and the cud chewing cow > Are alike and yet different somehow > Ah yes, I have it now > It’s the intelligent look on the face of the cow A slightly longer version of this was a poem on the wall of one of my middle school art teachers. The gum chewing student and the cud chewing cow look quite alike, but they’re different somehow. And what is the difference? I see it all now. It’s the look of intelligence on the face of the cow. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2017, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-rhymes-your-parents-told-you/660751/140 "2017-09-20T03:53:22Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > I do not like thee, Doctor Fell, > The reason why, I cannot tell. > But this I know, and know full well: > _I do not like thee, Doctor Fell!_ [Hey that sounds familiar!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=870KgkHdJLE&feature=youtu.be&t=1h7m07s) I used to watch this movie all the time as a kid. I had no idea it was a joke! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-rhymes-your-parents-told-you/660751.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/silly-rhymes-your-parents-told-you/660751.md?page=8)