Songs Of My Childhood

This ole man, he had 10. He played knick knack on his hen. With a knick knack paddywack, give a dog a bone. This ole man came rolling home.

I am sure that many of you know this childhood song and many of you will recognize that I did not say the traditional way the number 10 goes and that is because that is the way I learned it as a kid.

After I grew up I realized that I had learned the wrong way to sing that song.

The song is from 1906 and I don't know if my Daddy or Mama or someone else in my family sang it so that I learned it the wrong way, but that was the way I sang it. I never thought once about what a paddy wack was gonna do to that hen. lol.

I think in my young mind, I was thinking, "well we wrung chickens necks when we wanted to kill em for eating and maybe a paddy wack was a good whack on the head to stun them so they couldn't get away from us"
😂😂
No matter it served it purpose to teach me to count to ten. Some other favorites of my childhood were.

*clearing* my voice.... Oh my darlin,. Oh my darlin. Oh my darlin Clementine. You are lost and gone forever. Dreadful Sorrow, Clementine.. ( A tale of lost lost) Or this one:
Oh where have you been, billy boy, billy boy
Oh where have you been, charmin Billy?
I have been to seek a wife
She's the joy of my life
She's a young thing and can not leave her mother.

Or this lively tune..
She'll be comin round the mountain when she comes
She'll be comin round the mountain when she comes
She'll be comin round the mountain. She'll be comin round the mountain. She'll be comin round the mountain when she comes.

Some of the verses are kinda scary:
We will kill the old red rooster when she comes. lol

On top of ole smokey. All covered with snow
I lost my true sweetheart for a courtin too slow
Or our version:
On top of spaghetti. All covered with cheese
I lost my poor meatball when somebody sneezed.

Songs were such an important part of my childhood whether it was at home trying to get a doodle bug to come out of the sand or whether it was Red Rover Red Rover at school.

I wonder if children today sing Children's songs or if any parents sing them..

The lady that I call Mom died this Jan and she taught my daughter a song from the ole country. I am so thankful that she did.
Mein Hut, der hat drei Ecken,
Drei Ecken hat mein Hut,
Und hätt er nicht drei Ecken,
So wär es nicht mein Hut.
The Translation:
My hat has three corners,
Three corners has my hat,
Had it not three corners,
It wouldn't be my hat.

I still remember my 3 yr old daughter singing in German and doing the motions with her little hands.

The other song she sang was this one and I still remember Wendi Gigglin.
Mairzy doats and dozy doats and liddle lamzy divey
A kiddley divey too, wouldn't you?

I hope that kids of all ages are still singing campfire songs like mine did in Bluebirds and making the motions of the Itsy bitsy Spider all over the world because what a shame it would be to lose this important part of our heritage from the old ones.
Love to all with a song in my heart, Kimmee