Today's Song of the Week offering is a quick study, as I am focusing the majority of my creative attention on getting ready for Kidfest this Sunday. The good news for you, my dear Spinnerets, is that I will share the fruits of my labors in the form of more stories, songs and resources. Keep in mind that once I had a word-pool going by which a reader would submit a word in the comments section, and then I would write a story based around it. I could do that again.
Today's song of the week is "May-Ree Mack," by Ella Jenkins. Most of you are probably familiar with the chant-rhyme Miss Mary Mack (which is another Jenkins staple). "May-Ree Mack" is Ella Jenkins' variation on a theme. To present it, the leader sings the first two lines, and the audience comes in on the "Hi-yos."
May-Ree Mack, dressed in black
Buttons all up and down her back
Hi-yo, hi-yo, hi-yo-o, hi-yo
Give me a nickel, give me a dime
See my honey baby all the time
Hi-yo, hi-yo, hi-yo-o, hi-yo
Went to the river, couldn't get across
Got in trouble with my boss
Hi-yo, hi-yo, hi-yo-o, hi-yo
Words and Music: Ella Jenkins
© 1968 Ella Jenkins (ASCAP)
Sound sample (Track 7)
Ohh....My kids loved to chant this song while doing this clapping game. If they knew there was a Hi-yo line now,, they would get the biggest kick out of that and yell it out loud. Seriously.
ReplyDeleteI forgot to mention, Good Luck with the Kidfest! You'll be great!
ReplyDeleteThanks, HWM! I hope your children enjoy the song, too.
ReplyDeleteI will now be chanting "Miss Mary Mack" for the rest of the day. There's nothing I love quite so much as a good jump rope rhyme.
ReplyDeleteOf course, I used to have a friend who did a version of the chant that started, "Miss Mary Mack, Mack, Mack/Hopped up on crack, crack, crack." As you can imagine, it went downhill quite quickly after that.
Oh yes!
ReplyDeleteI love both versions!
They're both on the first Ella Jenkins album I ever got, which I think is called "You Sing a Song."
On a related note, do you sing "Feed my Cow" and if so do you kill the cow like Ella does? I make her get better, myself.
Adrienne--Poor Miss Mary Mack! But that's folklore for you.
ReplyDeleteSam-- Yeah, I'm afraid I do kill that cow, just like Ella does. I don't eat the cow, though. That's something, right?