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Silly Rhymes.

Arkrite

Arkrite

master brummie
We have all had a moment when a less than half remembered memory of an old rhyme or saying from our childhood has driven us half mad trying to remember the rest of it.
I discovered this website while hunting down five words or so of a rhyme remembered by a member of another Midlands forum.
Its worth a look because of the stranger rhymes it contains as well as the better known ones.
I must warn you that the choice of background and colour of the writing is not well matched which can make reading it sometimes difficult. Any way, for what its worth take a look at
https://www.whimsy.org.uk/nonsense.html

Here is a taste,Tom tied a kettle to the tail of a cat;
Jill put a stone in the blind man's hat;
Bob threw his grandmother down the stairs -
And they all grew up ugly and nobody cares


ASBOs all round
 
We have had the two five year old grandchildren for a 'sleepover'. Granddad started singing I'm The King Of The Castle Your The Dirty Rascal. To which they asked what's a rascal. My language has changed.
 
My mrs tried to teach her grandsons the old rhymes but once they discovered the PlayStation all interest was lost. What will these new generations have when the time comes to bounce baby on their knees. Absolute silence or may be just stick'em in front of the TV.Which I have seen done by parents who swore they would never do it.I hate to sound like the boring old **** which I probably am, but the computer processor is a mixed blessing.Children interact less now with parents and peers, communication skills suffer,texting provides poor literacy and TV/ Videos teach them bad manners and how to swear. In my day it was having mates who taught you all those things.
 
Bernard67Arnold said:
What about this one, Mary had a little lamb, she also had a bear, ever ywhere that Mary went you saw her bear behind
Click to expand...
Mary had a little lamb, she also had a bear Ive often seen her little lamb but ive never seen her bear
 
I still use heaps of the old Nursery and Skipping Rhymes that I knew as a child at work (ages 0 to 5) and often have the kids in stitches explaining all the old words and coinage... some already mentioned and
1)Sing a song of 6d
2)1d 'eth of chips to grease ya lips
3) Sea-saw... Johnny will get a new master, he will get but a 1d a day...
4)P.K a 2d a packet first you chew it then you crack it...
So on and so on and other words like Cinders, stout, a runcible spoon... the list is never ending
 
Thank goodness someone is still carrying on the tradition but I fear you may be in a minority. May some of what teach fall on fertile minds and so may the tradition survive.

Pssst....What is a runcible spoon ? At my school you were taught to keep you mouth shut,not ask questions and not grass up the other inmates .
 
Arkrite... It's a two ended spoon .... one end the size of a table spoon the other the size of a tea spoon...
 
Hello Pomgolian,
Having a profound interest in the English language, may I ask where you came across your definition of runcible spoon? I was always led to believe the Edward Lear-invented word incorporated in "The Owl and The Pussy-cat" had the meaning of ........... a schizophrenic fork, i.e., a three-pronged fork, such as a pickle fork or a pseudo-posh family's dessert fork, curved like a spoon and having a semi-sharp edge to cut the cake before "stabbing" it and forking it into the mouth. I've never seen the kind of spoon you describe. What was its use? David
 
My mom used to say I chased a bug around a tree I'll catch his blood he knows I will. Or something like that. Jean.
 
Bernard and mike,
Have you heard this variant:
Mary had a little lamb,
Some strawberries for dessert;
Then she gave the wrong address,
The wicked little flirt .....
Hoping you're well, David
 
Please excuse my Roman Catholic upbringing for this version of Mary Had A Little Lamb


Mary had a little lamb she kept it in a bucket every time the lamb got out the sheepdog used to bark.----no signature
 
...... these are what I've always believed to be very similar to Edward Lear's ''runcible spoons".
I'm very sorry about the tarnish, but they haven't been polished since my Mum died in January last year. David
 
Dave don't polish them leave them as they are. Right hows about the boy stood on the burning deck ones. Delete if too naughty. A boy stood on a burning deck having a game of cricket, the ball went up his trouser leg and hit his middle wicket. Any more for any more. Jean.
 
If you google runcible spoon there are both definitions and also on wikipedia an illustration of dolimuphus duck with a runcible spoon that dosen't confirm either ,the illustration is one of Lear's. It seems to be a word he invented and other people have defined . Bernie
 
I wander if other countries have such a rich heritage of silly rhymes . I can understand places like Canada, Australia, New Zealand having one but have no knowledge of other places. Any thoughts ?
 
Good morning, Bernie,
Yes, I went to the Wikipedia page yesterday evening, saw both definitions and the illustration (which - having been drawn by Lear himself - should be accepted as the authoritative ''runcible spoon") and this morning I've had a quick rummage and come up with things that have been in the family for many-a-year.

Whichever definition you apply - barring Pomgolian's - I'VE GOT ONE !!!! David
 
This is dedicated to Jean :
This was heard in an episode of Only Fools and Horses when a drunken Del Boy shook a group of diners:
The boy stood on the burning deck,
His pockets full of crackers.
One slipped down his trouser-leg,
And burnt off both his ……. kneecaps!

I am in no way responsible for this rhyme; it was simply copied and pasted. What was acceptable on primetime television I hope will not cause a rumpus on BHF.
Best wishes, Jean. David
 
Jean,
The boy stood on the burning deck,
Picking his nose like mad.
He rolled it into little balls,
And flicked them at his dad.

(Please note that my previous posting is no worse than Dek's !!) David
 
Am I pushing my luck?
The boy stood on the burning deck
Eating a tuppenny Walls,
A bit dropped down his trouser leg
And paralysed his ...... prized possessions. Dek (not really !!?!)
 
Mary had a little lamb
His feet were black as soot
and everywhere that Mary went
his sooty foot he put!
 
I think it was the late lamented Spike Milligan who recited:
The boy stood on the burning deck
his heart was all a-quiver -
he gave a cough, his leg fell off
and floated down the river!
 
One of the greatest performers of comical rhymes was Stanley Holloway - and this was his most famous.
"Albert and the Lion"

[video=youtube;a3jXMsfLxhI]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3jXMsfLxhI&feature=related[/video]
 
Lloyd,
I believe you'll find that Spike Milligan's parody was:
The boy stood on the burning deck
Whence all but he had fled -
The twit!

It was a girl that stood on the bridge at midnight,
Her heart was all a-quiver -
She gave a cough, etc., etc. David
 
Hey David sorry I asked if you know what I am getting at. That has given me a right laugh. Me eyes are watering. I thought of another this afternoon while I was putting some plants and can't remember what it was. All of these has brought back some memories and a few my brother taught me I dare not put them on here. Jean.
 
My old man had loads of strange little rhymes and ditties he came out with, when the mood took him. Here's one of the weirdest:

In the evening, cold and grey,
The Beecham's Pill Man wended his way.
When suddenly a wasp with baited breath
Crept up his trousers and stung him to death!

and

Near Aston Church a beggar stood
Chewing his beard for lack of food.
Said he, "It's tough this stuff to eat,
"But a damn sight better than Shredded Wheat!"

We used to fall about laughing to these bits of silliness. Where he got them from I haven't a clue.

If it's still in print, I can recommend the Penguin Book Of Comic And Curious Verse.

Big Gee
 
Thanks Big Gee have not heard those before reckon your dad made them up. Do parents do that today to make their children laugh I doubt it. Will take a look at Stanley Holloway later Lloyd. Was there another about the boy stood on the burning deck eating bread and butter???? think it ended gutter???. Jean.
 
Hi Jean,

I honestly don't think my dad did make them up - he wasn't the type. By nature he was usually silent and miserable, but every so often he'd come out with stuff like that. There are loads more I remember, but too tired to post any now.

The Stanley Holloway stuff is magic - I've done a couple at our music club between songs, and they always go down well, especially Albert And The Lion.

Best regards,

Big Gee
 
My mom always told me the one about Albert I loved it. Here's one I used to teach Tom, and then I taught Demir they both loved it and chucked to bits when they repeated it.
DONALD DUCK DONE A MUCK ON THE KITCHEN FLOOR,
MRS DUCK WIPED IT UP AND DONALD DONE SOME MORE.

Innocent enough but we had great fun with it. They used to tell their mom and dad as soon as they came to pick them up, and they used to pretend to tell me off for teaching them it. The kids thought it was great, happy days
 
Like that one Patty. Mom until just before she died used to say There was a little man who had a little gun and it's bullets were made of lead lead lead but I can't remember the next line but the last line was and he shot the b....r dead dead dead. Jean.
 
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