Since moving to Tennessee back in October, it seems that we need to build an ark for all the rain we’ve had. With all the rain, we’ve been singing songs related to rain like “Rain, Rain Go Away” and “I’m So Sick of all this @#@$%# Rain” (what? you haven’t heard that one?). We’ve also been singing “It’s Raining, It’s Pouring” and Tate and I are having a HUGE disagreement about the lyrics of the song.
Here’s my version, verified by Wikipedia.
It’s raining; it’s pouring.
The old man is snoring.
He went to bed and bumped his head,
And couldn’t get up in the morning.
Please note the italicized lyrics. He went to bed and bumped his head.
Tate claims that the lyrics are; He bumped his head and went to bed.
Tate claims his version makes more sense. I appreciate his logic behind the lyrics, I do! It DOES make more sense to bump your head BEFORE going to bed, thus causing one to be unable to get up in the morning. However, it’s a nursery rhyme/kiddie song. These silly songs don’t always make sense, they are not always logical.
Case(s) in point.
“Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe”
Eeny, meeny, miny, moe,
Catch a tiger by the toe.
If he hollers make him pay,
$50 everyday…..
Eeny, meeny, miny, moe.
Catch a tiger by the toe???? I don’t think there’s any logic in that. (Edited to add: The Wikipedia version states If he hollers, let him go…My version is from circa 1982, Tulsa, OK.)
“Ring around the Rosy”
Ring around the rosy,
A pocket full of posies;
ashes, ashes
we all fall down!
What??? This makes no sense whatsoever. (Edited to add: This song is a lovely ode to the Bubonic Plague. Such a touching subject to sing about.)
I need your help in straightening out Tate since my Wikipedia PROOF did not sway him in his resolve for HIS lyrics. I’m right about the lyrics, He went to bed and bumped his head, aren’t I? AREN’T I???
Actually, the verse goes like this:
Its raining
Its pouring
The old man is snoring
He hit his head
On the foot of the bed
And shant wake up ’til morning
It never says he actually went to bed, just that he hit his head and is now sleeping off the concussion. He could have been wandering in drunk, slipped and fell, hitting his head on the foot of the bed, and is sleeping it off on the rug beside the bed, much to the relief of his wife and children.
.-= ronniedidit´s last blog ..The Defiant Dandilion =-.
lol holy moly you got tons of comments for this.
we sing bumped then bed
also we sing if he hollers let him go
but it use to be the N word back in the dat.. sad
there is also a song about influenza
I had a little bird,
Its name was Enza.
I opened the window,
And in-flew-enza.
- 1918 children’s nursery rhyme
.-= mojavi at simple things´s last blog ..holy crap I am hungry =-.
I thought it was “He bumped his head as he went to bed…”
hmmm. we had it as “he bumped his head on the foot of the bed …”
and “if he hollers, let him go” as well.
i guess i’m no help at all.
.-= the planet of janet´s last blog ..The language barrier =-.
Hey! Sooo….we sang it a way that I don’t think anyone has mentioned yet:
“woke up bumped his head….”
As if he did this in the middle of the night, perhaps?!?!
It’s raining like mad down here, too, so don’t think it’s just a TN thing! Plans to take my daughter to an outdoor restaurant for her 16th birthday yesterday were ruined due to the darn weather. We’re making up our own lyrics to that “I’m So Sick of all this @#@$%# Rain” song you mentioned.
.-= Kim, Rambling Family Manager´s last blog ..More Recipes From My Grandmother =-.
yes, as stated above, he bumped his head on the head board. this made PERFECT sense to my childhood self, as a went from a headboardless bed to a fancy iron frame bed around age 5 and regularly bumped my head on it the first few months. Owee!
You are SO right. I have no idea where these other people got their crazy lyrics…but it is funny to me. It never occurred to me that there might be different words!
.-= Maggie´s last blog ..I Stand Corrected =-.
You are right. “He went to bed and he bumped his head” is how I sang it. His version DOES make more sense.
What about “Ring around the Rosy”? We grew up saying “Hush-a, hush-a, we all fall down.” (instead of Ashes, Ashes) And I get laughed at every time I say it!
.-= LZ´s last blog ..Put some clothes on – any clothes. Please. =-.
I’m with Tate. Sorry.
.-= Marinka´s last blog ..I’m Worried About My Ass. Where "Ass" is Code for "Being Fat" =-.
We knew the ‘plague’ song as:
Ring a ring a rosie,
A pocket full of posies,
A-tish-you, A-tish-you,
We all fall down.
A-tish-you (spelling?) is obviously sneezing before falling down (dying). Charming. Yes!
And as for einee, meenie, minie, moe. My kids came home from school one day singing it: catch a tigger by the toe, if he squeals let him go, einee . . . I started to tell them it was wrong and went to tell them the correct way (with the N word) and had to stop myself before i got there. Oops. Bad mummy.
The lyrics of the song, as sung by Peter, Paul & Mary, are:
It’s raining, It’s pouring,
The old man is snoring,
Bumped his head and he went to bed,
And he couldn’t get up in the morning.
.-= lceel´s last blog ..Off Schedule =-.
Tammy, It’s never “correct” to say the N word. Ouch, not sure how to take your comment…
Bumped his head and went to bed. Of course. Because going to bed after a head injury is always a good idea.
Went to bed and bumped his head! You are right!
I’ve done the eeny meenie one both ways let him go/make him pay. And we always said:
My mama told me to pick the very best one and you are not it you dirty dishrag you.
.-= Suzy Voices´s last blog ..Don’t Leave The Light On =-.
We don’t sing nursery rhymes.
But they know every word to Led’s ‘Black Dog’.
Dare you to challenge him.
.-= Amo´s last blog ..Where the hell are my bonbons? =-.
Your way, all the way.
We’re still singing Jingle Bells and Jingle Bell Rock here.
.-= kj @ Where my boys at?´s last blog .. =-.
I have to say that we always sang it Tate’s way! My Mom, the lovely 1st grade teacher, sings it that way to this day! So their are MANY people out there singing it that way to their kids too! Sorry!!!
.-= HeatherB´s last blog ..Homemade Laundry Detergent! =-.
By ‘correct’ I meant the way I was taught it. Thats the only way I knew it for 30+ years. Didn’t mean to offend.
Tammy,
Gotcha! Thank you for clearing it up…glad to know it wasn’t offensive!
By all odd of odd’s chance, I was actually mulling over this same thing the other day after my hubby and I had randomly sung this song at dinner (uh, to our 1 year old..).
I’ve always known it to be “went to bed and bumped his head” too. It wasn’t until the aforementioned dinner singing that it hit me…that no, it makes no logical sense. lol
.-= Lisa´s last blog ..The Value of Play =-.
Actually, we sing,
“He went to bed and covered his head and won’t get up till morning.” LOL
you’re right, he’s wrong.
I am with you!
This song came up in conversation the other day when my 8 year old explained to another adult that it meant he died when it says “he couldn’t get up in the morning.” Somewhat morbid. I guess I never thought about it that way.
I always sang it, “he bumped his head and went to bed.” sorry
I also sing, “if he hollers let him go.” I don’t plan on catching any tigers by the toe, though.
.-= Kim´s last blog ..Strawberry Pickin’ =-.
You raise some good points here. My mother sang a song to me as a baby – that while it had a good tune – I later realized as an adult was about a guy kidnapping a little girl!!!
These songs are crazy.
.-= Shannanb aka Mommy Bits´s last blog ..Our New Baby Has Four Legs =-.
Having bumped my head nearly every night, when I was a kid, getting into bed, I had no problems with the logic of that nursery rhyme.
.-= Diane´s last blog ..Cry Laughing =-.
First off… I didn’t know there were more than two lines to that “song”. I just thought it was “It’s raining, it’s pouring, the old man is snoring.”
Secondly… wife and I got into a pretty intense debate on the “Pop goes the weasel” rhyme. According to Wikipedia, we were both right.
.-= Joe @ Irrational Dad´s last blog ..Wordless Wednesday v. 12 Months =-.
My husband and I have an ongoing argument about pat-a-cake. We have different lyrics and both are quite adament that we are correct. but wikipedia has different lyrics altogether from what we each have. Oh well I guess it is a fight that will never be solved.
.-= mountainmomma18´s last blog ..I hope this doesn’t go the Steve Irwin route. =-.
If you watch Little Bear, I believe it’s “He went to bed with a bump on his head and he won’t get up until morning….”
he jumped in bed and bumped his head. Thus, you shouldn’t jump on the bed…
.-= ML´s last blog ..I’m her people =-.
About “Ring aroung the Rosie”:
The song IS about the bubonic plague. (Just because it wasn’t PUBLISHED until 200 years later doesn’t mean that it was not still VERY much in the mindset of the European peoples. Sorry to disagree with what you were told/read Sarah. The lyrics of the song:
Ring around the rosie: the plague was characterized by spots on the skin that are red at first and then turn black.
Pocket full of posies: They carried posies (a small bunch of flowers) to mask the smell of the rotting bodies. (Bubonic plague actually causes your body to rot away while you are still alive.)
Ashes, ashes:
They had to burn the bodies. There were so many of them, that there was no way to bury them. They went into communal burn pits.
We all fall down: We all die. The Black Death (one of the bubonic plague outbreaks-the most famous one-killed between 1/4 to 1/2 of the population of Europe. An exact count could never be made, because the bodies were burned so fast.
Yes, children are morbid little creatures. For that I only have to look back to my elementary school days, and all of the “baby in a blender” jokes.