# So what DID Little Bunny Foo Foo do to the field mice? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 22, 2009, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-did-little-bunny-foo-foo-do-to-the-field-mice/500651 "2009-06-22T21:33:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Archergal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c89c15/32.png) [@Archergal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Archergal)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2009, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-did-little-bunny-foo-foo-do-to-the-field-mice/500651/61 "2009-06-23T23:08:07Z")
“Pickin’ up the field mice, Squash 'em in his hand” is what I learned, in GA, age 53 ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2009, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-did-little-bunny-foo-foo-do-to-the-field-mice/500651/62 "2009-06-23T23:12:38Z")
> [@Archergal](#): > > “Pickin’ up the field mice, > Squash 'em in his hand” Bunnies don’t have hands! ---
**Author:** ![Chopper9760](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cdc98d/32.png) [@Chopper9760](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chopper9760)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2009, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-did-little-bunny-foo-foo-do-to-the-field-mice/500651/63 "2009-06-23T23:27:39Z")
Boppin’ Female, 24, northern Idaho Oh how I loathe that song. E-vile kindergarten teachers made us sing that precious little ditty ALL THE TIME. When we were feeling snarky we would sing Tom the Toad instead. \*Oh Tom the Toad, oh Tom the Toad, Why did you step out in the road? You did not see the coming car, And now you are a piece of tar. Oh Tom the Toad, oh Tom the Toad, Why did you step out in the road? You used to be so green and fat, and now you are all dead and flat.\* – To the tune of Oh Christmas Tree – ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2009, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-did-little-bunny-foo-foo-do-to-the-field-mice/500651/64 "2009-06-24T02:09:15Z")
Boppin’, female, 32. I didn’t learn this as a wee little kid. At a regional honor society meeting, a speaker was met by a sea of blank stares when he mentioned this song, so he set about teaching 500 teenagers a song most people seem to learn in preschool. ---
**Author:** ![Mehitabel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8797f3/32.png) [@Mehitabel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mehitabel)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2009, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-did-little-bunny-foo-foo-do-to-the-field-mice/500651/65 "2009-06-24T04:26:40Z")
OK, OK, due to popular demand… I learned: Five little monkeys jumping on the bed, One fell down and broke his head. Went to the doctor and the doctor said, “That’s what you get for jumping on the bed”. My adorable little nephew knows the new version and could sing it, sort of, by the time he was 20 months old: Five little monkeys jumping on the bed, One fell down and _bumped_ his head. Went to the doctor and the doctor said, “No more monkeys jumping on the bed.” Now, imagine a head getting broken with monkey brains everywhere compared to the relative mildness of “bumped his head”. Since this song is meant to be sung while the kid is indeed jumping on the bed, the thrill is lessened. Also, the stern Victorian logic of the unsympathetic doctor is replaced by a feeble hand-waving suggestion to the precious snowflake monkeys that they please not jump on the bed, if they would be so kind. Even though Joshie shakes his little finger and looks stern at that line, it’s not the same. \ Oh yeah, anybody else learn it as “Little RABBIT Foo Foo?” I just remembered that’s how we said it. And we didn’t wonder why there were field mice in the forest that he was bopping through, we were in the Bronx and didn’t see either critter. Plenty of rats, though. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2009, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-did-little-bunny-foo-foo-do-to-the-field-mice/500651/66 "2009-06-24T04:35:06Z")
I always heard it as “No more monkeys jumping on the bed.” I don’t remember if we learned broke or bumped. Still, I guess I always assumed breaking your head was just hyperbole. Brains?! ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2009, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-did-little-bunny-foo-foo-do-to-the-field-mice/500651/67 "2009-06-24T13:16:34Z")
Bopping here. Female, 34, Maryland. ---
**Author:** ![joyfool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2009, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-did-little-bunny-foo-foo-do-to-the-field-mice/500651/68 "2009-06-24T14:07:48Z")
> [@freckafree](#): > > Am I the only person who learned “bashing”?!?? > > Female Nope, you’re not. Female, central Texas, 70s. ---
**Author:** ![little\_bit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/258eb7/32.png) [@little\_bit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/little_bit)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2009, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-did-little-bunny-foo-foo-do-to-the-field-mice/500651/69 "2009-06-24T14:29:43Z")
> [@Ranchoth](#): > > The version I heard (and I’m surprised and delighted to hear the song was this widespread) passed down through my family (my mother’s side, FYI) was “boppin.” > > Still trying to figure out what manner of beast or fiend a “goon” is, though. This is a [goon](http://www.darkhorse.com/Products/12-696/Classic-Comic-Characters-42-Alice-the-Goon). 😃 Boppin’, Female, 36, Michigan ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2009, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-did-little-bunny-foo-foo-do-to-the-field-mice/500651/70 "2009-06-24T14:50:28Z")
Boppin’, male, 35, upstate NY. And I taught my little sister, now 15, Greasy Grimey Gopher guts when she was 8 so now some kids in Florida might know that one too 🙂 why, did that get gelded, too, or did it just disappear? ---
**Author:** ![I\_Am\_The\_Lorax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19adc/32.png) [@I\_Am\_The\_Lorax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Am_The_Lorax)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2009, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-did-little-bunny-foo-foo-do-to-the-field-mice/500651/71 "2009-06-24T20:24:28Z")
Boppin’em, 80’s, NY We did ‘Momma had a baby’ with the dandelions, too. And GreasyGrimyGopherGuts. How the hell could that be made less gross? And why? It’s supposed to be gross. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2009, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-did-little-bunny-foo-foo-do-to-the-field-mice/500651/72 "2009-06-24T22:26:49Z")
> [@Mehitabel](#): > > My adorable little nephew knows the new version and could sing it, sort of, by the time he was 20 months old: > > Five little monkeys jumping on the bed, > One fell down and _bumped_ his head. > Went to the doctor and the doctor said, > “No more monkeys jumping on the bed.” I learned the version he did, and I’m in my 30s. ---
**Author:** ![Chopper9760](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cdc98d/32.png) [@Chopper9760](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chopper9760)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2009, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-did-little-bunny-foo-foo-do-to-the-field-mice/500651/73 "2009-06-24T23:43:24Z")
GreasyGrimyGopherGuts? We don’t have that one, someone expound please. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2009, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-did-little-bunny-foo-foo-do-to-the-field-mice/500651/74 "2009-06-25T02:04:14Z")
> [@Chopper9760](#): > > GreasyGrimyGopherGuts? > > We don’t have that one, someone expound please. It’s a gross-out-the-grownups song, sung to the tune (more or less) of “The Old Grey Mare”. When I was a kid, it went: _Great green gobs of greasy grimy gopher guts mutilated monkey meat itty bitty birdy feet great big vats of all purpose porpoise puss and me without a spoon!_ (I’m uncertain of the words in grey) My daughter has a CD which has the words all wrong. Of course, she’s sleeping at the moment, so I can’t transcribe them, but I’ll try to do it tomorrow. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2009, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-did-little-bunny-foo-foo-do-to-the-field-mice/500651/75 "2009-06-25T13:31:47Z")
I learned: Great green gobs of greasy grimy gopher guts mutilated monkey meat Little birdies’ dirty feet French fried eyeballs floating in a pool of blood and I forgot my spoon [sometimes followed with] …but I brought my straaaaaaaaw! ---
**Author:** ![Chopper9760](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cdc98d/32.png) [@Chopper9760](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chopper9760)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2009, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-did-little-bunny-foo-foo-do-to-the-field-mice/500651/76 "2009-06-25T14:34:39Z")
Thanks guys! “all purpose porpoise puss” and “…but I brought my straaaaw!” Good stuff man, good stuff. ---
**Author:** ![emmaliminal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7bcc69/32.png) [@emmaliminal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emmaliminal)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2009, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-did-little-bunny-foo-foo-do-to-the-field-mice/500651/77 "2009-06-25T14:55:11Z")
This has come up before, and I thought I’d straightened you all out then, but apparently it needs repeating: the line after “mutilated monkey meat” is “DIRTY TURDY BIRDIE FEET.” Get it right, people! ---
**Author:** ![Redwing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/dfb087/32.png) [@Redwing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Redwing)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2009, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-did-little-bunny-foo-foo-do-to-the-field-mice/500651/78 "2009-06-25T14:59:20Z")
Bopping, Male, 70s, Minnesota/North Dakota. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2009, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-did-little-bunny-foo-foo-do-to-the-field-mice/500651/79 "2009-06-25T16:30:45Z")
Okay, straight off my daughter’s “Gross and Silly Songs” CD, it’s: \*Great big glob of greasy grimy gopher guts jubilated monkey meat concentrated birdy feet a great big jar of all purpose porpoise puss and me without a spoon! \* So I guess it’s not so far off what we knew, but…jubilated? WTF does that even _mean_? ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2009, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-did-little-bunny-foo-foo-do-to-the-field-mice/500651/80 "2009-06-25T16:55:55Z")
Never heard the song. Male, 48 grew up in Virginia, Vermont and New York. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-did-little-bunny-foo-foo-do-to-the-field-mice/500651.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-did-little-bunny-foo-foo-do-to-the-field-mice/500651.md?page=5)