Thursday, December 15, 2005

Hey ho, the Rattlin' Song

For those of you who read yesterday's post and wondered where it went, I pulled it back onto the draft table. I wanted to write something new, but it rambled without any sense of focus. It was neither a story nor a song, and really, I cheated toward the end by writing only the first three sentences of a story.

I write regular letters for an e-group for people who are interested in the family life of the House of Glee. The letters used to be newsier, but now they're more anecdotal. Last night, I sent out this note:

Lucia likes sequential songs. One of her favorites as of late is a shortened variation of "Hey, Ho, the Rattlin’ Bog." At her request, a dolly has taken the place of the egg. For example:

"Now in that nest there was a dolly, a rare dolly, a rattlin’ dolly,
The dolly in the nest, and the nest on the leaf..."



A few nights ago, Lucia was in bed singing a wildly altered version of the song:

"Now on that dolly there was a piano
a rare piano, a rattlin’ piano
The piano in the piano and the tree and the tree…

[pause]

Now on that piano there was a dolly,
a rare dolly, a rattlin’ dolly,
And the leaf and the leaf
And the apples fell down the piano."

After awhile, Lucia switched to the song
"Aiken Drum," which she treated in a similar fashion:

"The dolly was made of piano, piano,
The dolly was made of piano, and his name was Aiken Drum."

These songs are quite fun to hear the first 10 or 20 times. I have a high tolerance for cumulative songs (with the exception of "There's a Hole in the Bucket"). However, on the rare occasions when I drive alone, I listen to the sweet country gospel acid house music of Alabama 3.

8 comments:

Lone Star Ma said...

I never heard that rattlin' bog song until the Lone Star Girl came back from Girl Scout camp this past summer singing it(:

Liz said...

Did you run into her room and squeeze the heck out of her? How cute!

Yorkshire Pudding said...

This is the first time I have dropped by your blog. I will check it out further over Christmas. With regard to Yorkshire literature, my favourite novel is of course Emily Bronte's "Wuthering Heights" - not easy to read - it requires full concentration - but well worth the effort and application. Then there's "Kes" by Barry Hines - sometimes known as "A Kestrel for a Knave" - this gives a stark picture of life in the underclass of Yorkshire society. Well worth reading. For showing interest in Yorkshire I grant you a visa to visit our county Visa Number:CSC0003 - you are only the third citizen of Cascadia ever to be recognised by the Yorkshire Alien Control Unit. The visa will expire in 2025.

Saints and Spinners said...

Yorkshire Pudding,

I'm glad you stopped by my blog. I've stopped by your blog quite a bit, probably due to the raving antics of my tenant, Brad the Gorilla.

The first time I read Wuthering Heights, I immediately started over and began reading it again. I didn't mention it because you had it listed as one of your favorite books, and I didn't want to be guilty of "me-too"-ism. Thank you for the Barry Hinds recommendation. I will put a hold on it at the library.

Thank you, also for the visa. If I had my way, I'd use it next year. It's funny-- I have wanted to visit England my entire life (my mother reminds me that I said once, "I'm six years old and I've never been to England." I was in earnest, too). I want to go to every place that was of importance to anyone: Yorkshire, Derbyshire, Cornwall-- the list goes on.

Lone Star Ma said...

I first read Wuthering Heights when I was about ten. I thought it was great. Then I read it at 17. An entirely different, and much, much better book. I read it often. MMMM...Heathcliff.

Saints and Spinners said...

I didn't like Heathcliff! He was a petulant man. I wanted to wring Catherine's neck, too. I did love the book, though, and cared about both characters.

Lone Star Ma said...

Catherine bugged me in both incarnations...Heathcliff was worse than petulant, he became a rather terrible person, I think...but I still am mondo attracted to him. Explains a lot about me...grf.

Saints and Spinners said...

Lone Star Ma,
When I was a teenager, I fancied Mr. Rochester from Jane Eyre. Now, Kester Woodseaves from Mary Webb's Precious Bane is more to my taste. The main character, Prudence Sarn, is beautiful, wise, and spirited, but because of her hare-lip, she is believed to be unmarriageable and even cursed with witchcraft. The book is both a romance and a tragedy: romance for Prudence, tragedy for her brother, Gideon.