Edited by Azizi Powell
Latest edition -October 24, 2024This pancocojams post presents some examples of English language children's rhymes that include a politician's name.
By "children's rhymes" I mean rhymes that may or may not have been composed by children, but are documented as being chanted by children while jumping rope, playing hand clap games, recited as taunting rhymes, or otherwise.
The online sources for these playground rhymes are given after the examples. Information about the politicians whose names are mentioned is given after the first rhyme in this compilation that includes that name. This information usually comes from Wikipedia.
No performance activity is specified for most of these rhymes. However, I believe that most of these examples are either hand clap rhymes or jump rope rhymes.
The content of this post is presented for folkloric, historical, cultural, and entertainment purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
This post isn't meant to be a comprehensive collection of English language playground rhymes that include names of politicians. In most cases, I'm only showcases one version of these rhymes. However, there are often multiple versions of each featured rhyme.
In alphabetical order, the politicians' names that are featured in this compilation of children's rhymes are David Tom Bradley, George Bush, Jr., Fidel Castro, Winston Churchill, Bill Clinton, Hillary Rodham Clinton, John George Diefenbaker, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Benjamin Franklin, Muammar Gaddafi, Hermann Goering, Al Gore, Jr, Heinrich Himmler, Adolph Hitler, John Howard, Saddam Hussein, John F, Kennedy, Nikita Khrushchev, Osama Bin Laden, "Alf" Landon, Abraham Lincoln, Thabo Mbeki, Ho Chi Minh, Benito Mussolini, Barack Obama, Ronald Reagan, Nelson Rockefeller, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Albert Dean Rossellini, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Adlai Stevenson, Margaret Thatcher, Donald Trump, George Washington, and Christie Todd Whitman.
These rhymes may also include the names of other famous peoples who aren't politicians (for instance, "Monica [Lewinsky]" in the rhyme entitled "Bill & Monica"). These rhymes may also include the name of a non-political famous person such as Michael Jackson, and/ or a fictitious character such as "Betty Crocker".
-snip-
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2015/08/playground-rhymes-that-include-names-of_30.html for Part I of the pancocojams series "Children's Rhymes That Include Names Of Famous People". Part I features children's rhymes whose titles begin with A-L.
Politicians' names are purposely not included in these pancocojams posts of famous people in children's rhymes.
****
FEATURED EXAMPLES
In each rhyme, a politician's name is given in italics the first time it is mentioned.
Numbers
10-20-30-40-50 Or More [title]
10-20-30-40-50 or more
Ronald Reagan (or whoever, but if there was nobody around to sing to, we would say Ronald Reagan) let a fart in the grocery store.
Fifty men died trying to hold their breath
but Ronald Regan let another one and killed the rest.
-jennyb, https://ask.metafilter.com/122487/Teddy-Bear-Teddy-Bear-turn-aroundand-then-what, May 19, 2009
-snip-
[from Wikipedia] "Ronald Wilson Reagan[a] (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. A member of the Republican Party, he became an important figure in the American conservative movement, and his presidency is known as the Reagan era."...
A, B
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN WENT TO FRANCE
Benjamin Franklin went to France
To teach the ladies how to dance.
First the heel, and then the toe,
Spin around and out you go.
Source: http://www.homeschool.co.uk/resource/jump-rope/famous-people-rhymes
-snip-
from Wikipedia] "Benjamin Franklin (January 17, 1706 [O.S. January 6, 1705][1] – April 17, 1790) was ... one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. Franklin was a leading author, printer, political theorist, politician, freemason, postmaster, scientist, inventor, humorist, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat." [Wikipedia]
****
BILL AND MONICA
Bill & Monica sittin
in a tree
K-I-S-S-I-N-G
First comes Ken Starr
Then comes Hillary
Oops!
There goes the Presidency!
-Butirfli, http://www.streetplay.com/discus/ Streetplay.com Discussion: Girl Games: Singing: Silly songs, theme songs, etc.: Archive through November 27, 2000, May 26, 1999
-snip-
[from Wikipedia] "William Jefferson Clinton (born William Jefferson Blythe III; August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from January 20, 1993, to January 20, 2001. Prior to the presidency, he was the Governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981, and again from 1983 to 1992" [Wikipedia]
**
Monica [last name: Lewisky]:
[from Wikipedia] "President Bill Clinton admitted to having had what he called an "inappropriate relationship" with [Monica] Lewinsky while she worked at the White House in 1995–1996. The affair and its repercussions (which included Clinton's impeachment) became known later as the Clinton–Lewinsky scandal." [Wikipedia]
****
C, D
CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG
Chiti chiti bang bang I know karate
Chiti chiti bang bang
oops im sorry!
chiti chiti bang bang
I want my mommy!
chiti chiti bang bang
I gotta go potty!
chiti chiti bang bang...
abraham lincoln sittin on a fence
try to make a dollar outta twenty five cents
twist twist! Twist like this!
-missingAcastle, http://www.dance.net/topic/5144224/2/Humor/HAND-GAMES-yaaaaaaaay.html&replies=28 "re: HAND GAMES!!! yaaaa!",On Sat Sep 16, 2006
-snip-
[from Wikipedia]"Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American statesman and lawyer who served as the 16th President of the United States from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. Lincoln led the United States through the American Civil War"...
****
CINDERELLA DRESSED IN YELLA
Cinderella Dressed in Yella (1978)
Cinderella, dressed in yella,
Went downstairs to meet her fella,
Made a mistake, kissed a snake,
How many doctors did it take?
Cinderella dressed in pink,
Went downstairs to the kitchen sink.
The kitchen sink was full of ink,
How many mouthfuls did she drink?
Cinderella dressed in yella,
Went downtown to buy some mustard.
On the way her girdle busted,
How many people were disgusted?
Cinderella in the cellar,
Making love to Rockefeller,
Cinderella dressed in yella turns around like this!
From Cinderella Dressed in Yella, "a unique collection of Australian playrhymes", (1978) Turner, Factor, & Lowenstein. Heineman Educational Australia Cinderella Dressed in Yella
posted by
-snip-
"Rockerfeller" probably refers to Nelson Rockerfeller
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nelson_Rockefeller
"Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller (July 8, 1908 – January 26, 1979), sometimes referred to by his nickname Rocky,[1] was an American businessman and politician who served as the 41st vice president of the United States from 1974 to 1977 under President Gerald Ford. He had previously been elected as the 49th governor of New York from 1959 to 1973, the longest-serving governor of the state since the end of the Revolutionary War. Rockefeller was a member of the Republican Party and the wealthy Rockefeller family."
DOWN BY THE BANK A HANKY PANKY (Example #1)
Here is one I knew from New Jersey:
Down by the bank
a hanky panky
where the bullfrogs jump from bank to bank
sayin' eep opp eep opp opp
a skittle and a dittle and a kernel pop
I pledge allegiance to the flag
michael jackson makes me gag
arnold schwarz' has no brain
christie whitman went insane
LOL
-north_ernlights, http://linguaphiles.livejournal.com/4327510.html, February 19 2009,
-snip-
[from Wikipedia] [Arnold Schwarzenegger] actor and politician "served two terms as the 38th Governor of California from 2003 until 2011."
**
[from Wikipedia]Christie whitman - "Christine "Christie" Todd Whitman (born September 26, 1946) is an American Republican politician and author who served as the 50th Governor of New Jersey from 1994 to 2001..." [Wikipedia]
****
DOWN THE BANKS WITH A HANKY PANK (Example #2)
I heard at camp
where the bullfrogs jump from bank to bank
say DOWN E I O U
I pledge allegiance to the flag
Michael Jackson is my dad
Pepsi cola burned him up
now he's drinking gasoline
gasoline is meant for cars
Now he's shootin up to mars
there's a place on Mars
where the women smoke cigars
and the men wear bikinis
and the babies drink martinis
every step you take is enough to kill a snake
when the snake is dead
you put mustard in its eyes
when the mustard dries
It is 1948
Mickey mouse builds a house
Donald trump messes up
Mirror mirror on the wall
Who the fairest of them all
Y O U
-GUEST, yui, May 16, 2021, https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=94034&page=9, Origins: Down by the Banks of the Hanky Panky
-snip-
[from Wikipedia] "Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
[...]
Trump lost the 2020 presidential election to Biden but refused to concede. He falsely claimed widespread electoral fraud and attempted to overturn the results. On January 6, 2021, he urged his supporters to march to the U.S. Capitol, which many of them attacked. Scholars and historians rank Trump as one of the worst presidents in American history.
[...]
Since leaving office, Trump has continued to dominate the Republican Party and is their nominee again in the 2024 presidential election."...
****
E, F
****
G, H
never told a lie.
'till he ran around the corner
(Drag out while singing. The jumper runs out and run around a turner then jumps back in and the song continues)
stole a cherry pie.
How many cherries were in that pie?
1.2.3.4....(count until the jumper messes up)
Contributed by Solana Reed, http://www.gameskidsplay.net/jump_rope_ryhmes/jump_george_washington.htm
-snip-
[from Wikipedia] "George Washington (February 22, 1732[b][c] – December 14, 1799) was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States of America and served as the nation's first president (1789–1797)."...
****
I remember when Bush was elected in running in 2000( i think i was in 5th grade) we made up a song to "Mystikal's shake it fast" lol
it went something like
"now listen all you ladies in gents the booth is the place to be
and if you go and vote for Gore, Bush cant mess with me
now shake it fast, go to the pole, shake it fast go to the pole
pull the lever down and see Gore win"
Imagine our disappointment when he lost lol
-iGotSunshine, Aug 09 2012, http://forum.blackhairmedia.com/i-went-downtown-to-get-a-stick-of-butter_topic345408_page4.html
-snip-
This is my suggested title for this song. "Pole" here means "poll" i.e. a location where you go to vote.
In this example, "Bush" refers to George W Bush, 43rd President of the United States. He won that election against Al Gore, who had served as the Vice President for the United States with President Bill Clinton.
HERE'S MARGARET THATCHER
Here's Maggie Thatcher (open palms) Throw her up and catch her (gesture throw and catch) Squish Squash, Squish Squash (rub palms together) There's Maggie Thatcher (open palms)
-http://www.inthe80s.com/rhymes.shtml
-snip-
[from Wikipedia] "Margaret Hilda Thatcher,...October 1925 – 8 April 2013) was a British stateswoman and Conservative politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She was the longest-serving British prime minister of the 20th century and the first woman to hold the position."...
HITLER’S BALLS
Hitler had only one left ball
Goering had two but very small
Himmler had something similar
And poor ol' Goebbels, had no balls at all
- bassen, http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=2998 "Naughty kids' greatest hits II", 2/20/1999
-snip-
Hitler:
From [Wikipedia] "Adolf Hitler 20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was a German politician, demagogue,[1] and Pan-German revolutionary.[2][3] He was leader of the Nazi Party, and rose to power in Germany as Chancellor in 1933 and Führer ("Leader") in 1934.[a] During his dictatorship from 1933 to 1945, he initiated World War II in Europe by invading Poland in September 1939, and was central to the perpetration of the Holocaust."
-snip-
Hermann Goering and Heinrich Himmler were German Nazi leaders who assisted Adolph Hitler.
****
HOMEWORK AT MORNING
..."children have their own views on education, as this skipping rhyme demonstrates:-
Homework at morning
Homework at night.
All this homework
Can't be right.
Try this homework
On David Blunkett,
If HE can't do it
We'll just junk it."
-Miles Kington, href="http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/campbell-blunkett-and-fayed-join-the-playground-skipping-circle-1161862.html "Campbell, Blunkett and Fayed join the playground skipping circle", 1 May 1998,
-snip-
[from Wikipedia] "David Blunkett (born 6 June 1947) is a British Labour Party politician and the Member of Parliament." [Wikipedia]
****
I, J
I WENT TO A CHINESE RESTAURANT
We had a variation on the "I went to a chinese restaurant" one:
I went to a chinese restaurant to buy a load of bread bread bread,
He wrapped it up in a five pound note and this is what he said, said said,
My name is...elvis presley,
girls are sexy,
sitting in the back seat,
drinking pepsi,
Margaret Thatcher,
Do me a favour.....drop....down....DEAD!
I was five...I had no idea how Margaret Thatcher was! But I'm sure my Labour-supporting parents were very proud!
****
JINGLE BELLS
Jingle bells,
Batman smells,
Robin laid an egg,
Barack Obama killed Osama in the USA
or it can end with: Barack Obama taught his grandma how to suck an egg
I’m sorry, I really loved Obama as president but I didn’t grow up in America, and we were insensitive seven year olds when we came up with this one.
-snip-
This is how this rhyme was written on that page.
-Miranda Carter, 2018, https://www.quora.com/What-s-the-last-line-of-the-song-Jingle-Bells-Batman-smells What’s the last line of the song, “Jingle Bells, Batman
smells”?
-snip-
From Wikipedia- "Barack Hussein Obama II[a] (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. As a member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African-American president in U.S. history. Obama previously served as a U.S. senator representing Illinois from 2005 to 2008 and as an Illinois state senator from 1997 to 2004."...
**
[from Wikipedia] - "Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden[a] (March 10, 1957[7] – May 2, 2011[8]), also transliterated as Usama bin Ladin, was a Saudi terrorist and founder of the Pan-Islamic militant organization al-Qaeda.
On May 2, 2011,[22] bin Laden was shot and killed[23] by US Navy SEALs inside a private residential compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan"...
****
JOHN F KENNEDY WENT TO HAWAII
John F Kennedey went to Hawaii
And went down to the sea.
And the waves got highere and higher(swing rope higher up off the ground)
And faster and faster! (Swing rope faster. Jumper is out when they can't jump over the rope or can't jump fast enough.)
-http://www.homeschool.co.uk/resource/jump-rope/famous-people-rhymes.html, Jan 28 2006
-snip-
[from Wikipedia] "John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), commonly referred to by his initials JFK, was an American politician who served as the 35th President of the United States from January 1961 until his assassination in November 1963."...
JOY TO THE WORLD HUSSEIN IS DEAD [Version #1]
Joy to the world, Hussein is dead
We barbecued his head.
What happened to his body?
We flushed it down the potty.
And around and around it goes
And around and around it goes.
And around, around, around it goes.
-http://www.homeschool.co.uk/resource/jump-rope/famous-people-rhymes.html
-snip-
[from Wikipedia] "Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti 28 April 1937[b] – 30 December 2006) was President of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003.[10]...
****
JOY TO THE WORLD HUSSEIN IS DEAD [Version #2]
Joy to the world Heusein is we shot him in the head what happened to his body we flushed it down the potty around and around it goes around and around it goes around it goes what happened to his eyeballs we threw them at the school walls smush smush smush
-http://www.inthe80s.com/rhymes.shtml
****
JOY TO THE WORLD JOHN HOWARD'S DEAD
I remember this one from primary school:
Joy to the World,
John Howards dead,
We barbecued his head.
He didn't pay his taxes,
We chopped him up with axes,
Joy to the World John Howards dead.
I went to his coffin,
I went to his grave.
Everyone threw flowers,
I threw a grenade.
The coffin went up,
the coffin came down,
the coffin went splat all over the ground
Joy to the World John Howards dead.
I looked in his coffin,
He wasn't quite dead.
So I pulled out a bazooka and blew off his head
Joy to the World John Howards dead.
-Guest, Tipsy Turvy, http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=122222
"Jingle Bells, Batman Smells", 12/21/2008
-snip-
[from Wikipedia] "John Howard was the 25th Prime Minister of Australia from 11 March 11,1996 to December 3, 2007."
****
K, L
KING GEORGE HAD A DATE
King George, he had a date,
King George, he stayed out late.
He was the king.
Queen Mary, she got sore,
She waited at the door,
King George came home at four,
God save the king.
---
We sang this on the playground of P.S. 249, Brooklyn NY USA in the early 1950s. It must have originated in Britain and hopped the pond. We sang it to the tune of My Country Tis of Thee, having no idea there was such a song (same tune) as God Save the King/Queen.
-Cool Beans, 24 Aug 09, https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=115214 Famous People in Children's Rhymes
-snip-
"George" was the name of several kings of England/United Kingdom. "The King George whose queen was called Mary, refd in above, was George V, 1910-36, grandfather of present Queen Elizabeth II."- MGM Lion, 25 Aug 09 same mudcat link.
In response to my question, Cool Beans wrote in a subsequent comment "There were no motions accompanying the song about King George; we just sang it. "
"Queen Mary was the daughter of Francis, Prince and Duke of Teck, and Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge, granddaughter of George III. She married King George V in 1893 and they had six children."
****
LANDON IN THE WHITEHOUSE
Landon in the White House
Waiting to be elected.
Rosevelt in the garbage can,
Waiting to be collected.
-http://www.homeschool.co.uk/resource/jump-rope/jump-rope-rhymes.html
-snip-
[from Wikipedia] "Alfred "Alf" Mossman Landon (September 9, 1887 – October 12, 1987) was an American Republican politician, who served as Governor of Kansas from 1933–1937. He was best known as Republican Presidential Nominee, defeated in a landslide by Franklin D. Roosevelt in the 1936 presidential election." [Wikipedia]
[from Wikipedia] "Franklin Delano Roosevelt (/ˈroʊzəvəlt/,[1] /-vɛlt/;[2] January 30, 1882 – April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American statesman and political leader who served as the 32nd President of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. A Democrat, he won a record four presidential elections and became a central figure in world events during the first half of the 20th century." [Wikipedia]
****
MARIJUANA, MARIJUANA (Example #1)
Marijuana, Marijuana
PCP, PCP
Betty Crocker makes it,
Ronald Reagan takes it,
Why can't we? Why can't we?
-http://www.inthe80s.com/rhymes.shtml, retrieved by Azizi Powell, 10/15/2008
MARIJUANA, MARIJUANA (Example #2)
I remember quite a few as a kid growing up in New York
This one is specific to New York City, sung to the tune of "Frere Jacques":
Marijuana, marijuana
LSD, LSD
Rockefeller takes it
Mayor Lindsay makes it
Why can't we?
Why can't we?
This rhyme was popular in 1968-1970; teens started it and passed it down to the younger kids. I found out when I was older that this was a protest against the Rockefeller drug laws enacted when Mr. Moneybags was governor.
-meow2u3 Apr-17-11; https://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=105x9668007
-snip-
[From Wikipedia] "John V. Lindsay was the Mayor of New York City from 1966 to 1973. John Vliet Lindsay was born November 24, 1921, in New York City."...
"Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller (July 8, 1908 – January 26, 1979) was an American businessman and politician who served as the 41st vice president of the United States from December 1974 to January 1977, and previously as the 49th governor of New York from 1959 to 1973."
****
NIKOSI SIKELELI AFRICA
I got to thinking about playground rhymes a few years ago when my sons, then aged about 8 and 10, came back from school with some New South African classics (sorry, I remember only fragments of them). This one was sung to the tune of our National Anthem:
'Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrica
Thabo Mbeki promised us a VCR
When we went to fetch it, all he said
Was voetsek, and never come back'
-http://salma-gundi.blogspot.com/2008/01/skinny-malinky-long-legs-big-banana.html "Skinny Malinky Long-Legs, Big Banana Feet, and other priceless South African playground rhymes and skipping songs"
-snip-
[from Wikipedia]Thabo Mbeki was the second post-apartheid President of South Africa from 14 June 1999 to 24 September 2008"
****
O, P
ON TOP OF OLD SMOKEY (Example #1)
On top of a white roof, all covered with blood
Regan shot Khadafi, with a 44 stud.
He went to his funeral, he went to his grave
Instead of red roses, he threw a granade.
He read in the papers, that he wasn't dead
So he bought a bazooka and blew off his head.
-http://www.inthe80s.com/rhymes.shtml
-snip-
"Regan" = Ronald Reagan
Khadafi = Muammar Gaddafi, former leader of Libya [Wikipedia]
****
ON TOP OF OLD SMOKEY (Example #2)
When I was a kid one of the songs we sang was
On top of Old Smoky, all covered with sand,
I shot Premier Khrushchev with a blue rubber band.
I shot him with pleasure, I shot him with pride.
I couldn't have missed him - he's 40 feet wide.
Second verse: change rubber band color and shoot Fidel Castro.
If I'd been a few years younger I'm sure I'd have learned to shoot Ho Chi Minh...
-Harou, http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=28401,
12/07/2000
-snip-
Nikita Khrushchev was a Russian politician who led the Soviet Union during part of the Cold War. [Wikipedia]
"Fidel Castro is a Cuban politician and revolutionary who served as Prime Minister of the Republic of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and then President from 1976 to 2008." [Wikipedia]
"Ho Chi Minh was a Vietnamese Communist revolutionary leader who was prime minister (1945–55) and president (1945–69) of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam)". [Wikipedia]
****
ORDER IN THE COURT
I lived in Clearfield, Utah beginning in 1948. There were a number of military installations nearby, and all of the kids in my neighborhood chanted it as:
Order in the court
The judge is eatin' beans
Hitler's in the bathtub
sinkin' submarines.
As far as I knew, everyone just took the literal meaning, no matter how nonsensical it seemed to us, even then. We just thought it was a fun thing to say.
-Diana, Dec. 17, 2021; https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2018/01/examples-of-childrens-rhymes-order-in.html
Q, R
****
S, T
THE WAR IS OVER
The war is over
Mussolini's dead
He wants to go to heaven
with a crown upon his head
The Lord says 'no'
He's got to stay below
All dressed up
And no place to go!
-http://www.homeschool.co.uk/resource/jump-rope/famous-people-rhymes.html, June 03 2005
-snip-
"Benito Mussolini was an Italian politician, journalist, and leader of the National Fascist Party, ruling the country as Prime Minister from 1922 until his ousting in 1943." [Wikipedia]
****
U, V
UNDERNEATH THE CHURCHYARD
under neath the churchyard
six feet deep
there lies hitler
fast asleep
all the little mice come and tickle his feet
neath the churchyard six feet deep
-http://www.homeschool.co.uk/resource/jump-rope/famous-people-rhymes.html, January 31 2006
****
VOTE, VOTE, VOTE FOR WINSTON CHURCHILL (Example #1)
Here's one I learned at my mother's knee. Don't know if it's a children's rhyme or a grown-ups one. It probably dates from 1945 or so. Although I can sing it I can't remember the name of the original tune - it'll come to me soon!
Vote, vote, vote for Winston Churchill
Throw all the others in the dock.
Winston is our man, we'll have him if we can
And we'll throw all the others in the dock.
(By the cock!)
-Guest, http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=115214 "Famous People in Children's Rhymes", 10/12/2008
-snip-
"Winston Churchill was a British statesman who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 and again from 1951 to 1955." [Wikipedia]
****
VOTE VOTE VOTE FOR WINSTON CHURCHILL (Example #2)
Vote, vote, vote for Winston Churchill
Throw all the others in the dock.
Winston is our man, we'll have him if we can
And we'll throw all the others in the dock.
(By the cock!) "
It went to the tune of "Tramp tramp tramp, the boys are marching."
My mother mentioned once that, when she was at school (in Portsmouth, UK) in the early forties, election day was always a school holiday. Groups of children would spend the day going round arm-in-arm singing, at least, the first line of the song, but using the names of the ellection candidates. They weren't partisan, but would sing the name of one candidate for a while, then go on to the next.
-Guest, http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=115214 "Famous People in Children's Rhymes",
****
WHISTLE WHILE YOU WORK (Example #1)
Ah, and in my Republican white collar suburb of Detroit, in the 50's we sang:
Whistle while you work
Stevenson's a jerk
Eisenhower has the power
Whistle while you work.
-Barbara, http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=81350&messages=243 "I'm Rubber . You're Glue: Children's Rhymes", 22 May 05
-snip-
"Adlai Ewing Stevenson II (February 5, 1900 – July 14, 1965) who served one term as governor of Illinois and ran, unsuccessfully, for president against Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1952 and 1956". [Wikipedia]
****
WHISTLE WHILE YOU WORK (Example #2)
When I was growing up in North Bay in Canada, I heard this song, sung to the tune of "Whistle while you Work" from Snow White
Oh, Whistle while you work
For Hitler is a jerk
Mussolini bit his weinie
Now it doesn't work!
(We were pretty rude kids)
-Guest, http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=76185 "Naughty kids' greatest hits II", 6/26/2000
****
WHISTLE WHILE YOU WORK (Example #3)
Whistle while you work,
Hitler is a jerk,
Rosellini bit his weenie,
Now it doesn't work.
Interestingly (?), former Governor Rosellini has been in the news recently (well, a year ago maybe) for his role in the Seattle City Council "Strippergate" scandal, which led to the electoral defeat of several councilperoffspring. ("-peroffspring" is the non-sexist, non-ageist version of "-man")
I was born in 1954 in Seattle (Washington, USA)… I'm pretty sure my recollection of "Whistle while you work" dates to the early '60s when I lived at 2311 North 59th Street in Seattle.
-Haruo, http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=2795 " Heigh Ho, Heigh Ho, I Bit the Teacher's Toe!", 3/29/2005 and 3/30/2005
-snip-
"Albert Dean Rosellini (January 21, 1910 – October 10, 2011) was an American politician, the 15th governor of the state of Washington for two terms, from 1957 to 1965."..[Wikipedia]
WHISTLE WHILE YOU WORK (Example #4)
From my grade school days:
Whistle while you work.
Cyril is a jerk.
Mussolini bit his weenie
Now it doesn't squirt.
(Mussolini had been dead a good 20 years when I heard this.)
-LadyJean, (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)*, 01 Jul 04, https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=4300
-snip-
I'm not sure who the name "Cyril" refers to. Since the person remembering that rhyme is from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania*, my guess is that name referred to Cyril Wecht**. However, It's possible (but I think less likely) that the name "Cyril" was included in that rhyme at random as the name of a boy who the chanter didn't like.
*I know that Lady Jean is from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where I moved to when I was 21 years old, because she and I were active members of Mudcat Discussion forum during the same period of time.
** [from Wikipedia- "Cyril Harrison Wecht (March 20, 1931 – May 13, 2024) was an
American forensic pathologist. He was president of both the American Academy of
Forensic Sciences and the American College of Legal Medicine, and headed the
board of trustees of the American Board of Legal Medicine.[10] Wecht served as
County Commissioner and Allegheny County Coroner and Medical Examiner, serving
the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. He was perhaps best known for his criticism
of the Warren Commission's findings concerning the assassination of John F.
Kennedy."
WHISTLE WHILE YOU WORK (Example #5)
In Quebec Canada there were a few extra lines to the Whistle while you work song.(50's)
Whistle while you work
Kruschev is a jerk
Diefenbaker is a faker
Mussolini bit his weiny
Now it doesn't work.
Something like that.
-unknown, https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2015/08/playground-rhymes-that-include_87.html [comment], April 3, 2019
Here's information about Diefenbaker:
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Diefenbaker :
"John George Diefenbaker...September 18, 1895 – August 16, 1979) was the 13th prime minister of Canada, serving from June 21, 1957 to April 22, 1963."...
**
WHISTLE WHILE YOU WORK (Example #6)
Whistle while you work, Hitler is a jerk, Mussolini pulled
his weinie now it doesn't squirt.
-Anonymous, https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2015/08/playground-rhymes-that-include_87.html [comment],May 4, 2022,
****
Y, Z****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
No comments:
Post a Comment