11 comments:

Jo said...

Daisy, Daisy give me your answer do.

You know the rest.

Also Frère Jaques. My aunt had a French boyfriend during the war and I would sit on his knee and he and I would sing it together.

Monday, November 09, 2009

Satima Flavell said...

My sisters taught me Frère Jaques, too. I liked the Sonnez les matines part best:-)

My eldest sister had a boyfriend who was half-French, half-German (And this during WWII - poor guy!) who read me stories. He even copied out one that was in German into French and Enlish versions for me, so I could read the tale in all three languages. He even illustrated them for me. The story was about a bear, very like Rupert, who is still a comic-strip character in Germany, I think. The funny thing is that when I went to German classes as an adult, I found I knew how to conjugate German verbs. The things you learn earliest stay with you, I guess:-)

Monday, November 09, 2009

Helen V. said...

I loved songs that circled around like On Ilkley Moor b'at'at and There's a Hole in the Bucket and rounds and silly songs like If Mares Eat Oats when I was a child. I used to sing them to my kids, neither of whom wanted to take part but loved listening to them.

Monday, November 09, 2009

Satima Flavell said...

I heard a sad thing a few months back - that children who are preschoolers now don't know any nursery rhymes! And, it seems, their knowledge of Christamas songs is largely limited to the secular ones such as Rudolf and White Christmas. What a shame to have all those beaut old songs fall away. I think they still learn There's a Hole in the Bucket at school because I've heard kids singing it, so perhaps all is not lost...:-)

Monday, November 09, 2009

Jo said...

Well you can't teach carols in school any more, its religion so you mustn't do it!!!

Re There's a hole in my bucket, Matt and I went to see Harry Belafonte some years ago. The show was held in the local arena with a stage set up in the middle. He and a guest were singing this song and laughing so much they couldn't remember where they'd got to, I called out the next line (we were close to the stage) and he asked me how I knew, I said I had seen him sing it before - he picked up on my English accent and came back with a very good sound saying "aren't you a little tired of it by now". It was pretty funny.

Mare's Eat Oats was one of my favourites as a kid, too.

Monday, November 09, 2009

Satima Flavell said...

I've heard others say how entertaining Belafonte is in person, although when he was younger he used to get people's backs up with his contant clinging off at the British and at colonialism. I can understand West Indian people feeling angry but I don't think that kind of talk has any place in entertainment.

Yeah, it's a pity Christmas Carols are being sacrficed to political correctness:-(

Monday, November 09, 2009

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Monday, January 18, 2010

Unknown said...

My Dad used to sing this to us all too. He was born in 1911 (New Zealand) - all five of us kids still remember it!

Wednesday, March 09, 2011

Satima Flavell said...

That's interesting, Tracey. I've never heard it sung here in Oz. I wonder if it's still known in EnZed?

Sunday, April 03, 2011

Hilary Forbes said...

My Mum just quoted that cricketer song to me today, and told me she'd learned it from her Mum who used to say it to her as a child. Mum is 87 now! It's a slightly different version, but I guess there were probably quite a few different versions maybe. I just wondered if it was a well known song and google searched it and found your blog :)

Thursday, December 12, 2013

Satima Flavell said...

Yes, it's an old song - possibly goes back to the 1920s or so, and I would imagine there could be several different versions about. My older sisters used to sing it and I am almost into my 8th decade!

Thursday, December 12, 2013