West Virginia Folklore (1950s), especially children's rhymes (Liar Liar, 1958)

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I went through the NYPL's Collection of West Viriginia Folklore (1951-1958). It looks like it was typed on carbon paper and run off.Some familiar stuff is here. Each issue of just a few pages had a theme, such as ghosts or children's rhymes.


WEST VIRGINIA FOLKLORE, 1951, volume 1
Pg. ?
Settin' on the doorstep
Chewin' bubble gum,
Along came a nigger,
And asked for some.
No, you dirty nigger,
No, you dirty bum,
I'd rather take a whippin',
Than give you some.

Rinny Tin Tin,
Swallowed a pin,
Went to the doctor,
Doctor wasn't in,
Knocked on the door,
Door fell in,
That was the end of Rinny Tin Tin.

I went downtown to see Miss Brown,
She gave me a nickel to buy a pickle;
The pickle was sour, so she gave me a flower;
THe flower was red, so she gave me a thread;
The thread was black, so she gave me a smack;
The smack was hard, so she gave me a card;
And on that card was "Red Hot Pepper."

Cry baby, cry,
Stick your finger in your eye,
Go tell your mama it wasn't I.


WEST VIRIGINIA FOLKLORE, Spring 1952, Vol. II, no. 3
Pg. 3:
(Five) more days and we'll be free
>From this school of misery;
No more lessons, no more chalk,
No more teachers' sassy talk!

(Ten) more days till vacation
Back to civilization!

School's out! School's out!
Teacher let the mules out!
No more pencils, no more books;
No more teachers' sassy looks!

(Warnings not to steal)

Don't steal this book, my little lad,
For fifty cents it cost my dad.

Steal not this book for fear of shame,
For in it is the owner's name;
And when you're dead the devil will say,
"Where is that book you stole away?"

Small is the wren,
Black is the rook;
Blacker is the sinner
Who steals this book.

Steal not this book,
My honest friend,
For fear the gallows
Will be thy end.

Pg. 4:
Teacher, Teacher, I declare
I see bedbugs in your hair.

Pg. 6:
Sitting on the door step,
Chewing bubble gum,
Along came a beggar
And asked for some.
"No, you dirty beggar,
No, you dirty bum,
I'd rather take a licking
Than give you some!"

Johnny over the ocean,
Johnny over the sea,
Johnny broke a milk bottle
And blamed it on me.
I told Ma,
Ma told Pa,
Johnny got a licking,
Ha, ha, ha!

I'm a little Dutch girl dressed in blue;
These are the things that I can do;
Salute to the Captain, bow to the Queen,
Touch the bottom of the submarine.


WEST VIRGINIA FOLKLORE, Summer 1952, vol. II. no. 4
Pg. 13:
Finger Games

Ford bumper. (Touching child's forehead)
Tom Tinker. (Eyebrows)
Eye winker. (eyelashes)
Nose smeller. (Nose)
Mouth eater. (Mouth)
Chin Chopper. (Chine)
Gully, gully, gully. (Tickling child under the chin.)

Adam and Eve and Pinch-Me-Tight
Went down to the river to see the fight.
Adam and Eve got home that night
And who was left to see the fight?

(When child answers "Pinch Me Tight" the other child pinches him.)

Knock on the door, (Tap forehead with knuckles)
Peep in, (Touch eyelids)
Lift the latch  (Pull nose)
And walk in. (Touch mouth)

Here is the church, (Clasp hands with fingers pointed down)
This is the steeple; (Point first fingers up for steeple)
Open the door
And see the people. (Turn clasped hands upside down to show inside of church and people with fingers)

Here's my mother's knives and forks (Clasp hands with palms up and fingers pointed out)
Here's my mother's table, (Clasp hands with fingers pointed down and knuckles level)
Here's my lady's looking glass (Lift thumb and first knuckles)
And this is the baby's cradle. (Raise first and fourth fingers and rock)

Pg. 14:
As I went up the heeple steeple,
There I met a heap of people.
Some were black, an some were blacker,
Some were the color of a chew of tobacker.
(Ants)


WEST VIRGINIA FOLKLORE, Winter 1958, vol. VIII, no. 2, Old Autograph Album Issue
Pg. 21:
Remember me at morning
Remember me at night
Remember me my truest friend
And don't forget to write.
March 26, 1888

Pg. 21:
Love many;
Trust few;
Always paddle
Your own canoe.
March 30, 1900

Pg. 22:
Be good; be true;
And always paddle your own canoe.

New York girls are pretty;
Boston girls are smart;
But it takes a West Virginia girl
To break a young man's heart.
Dec. 7, 1937

[From SIDEWALKS OF AMERICA (1954) by B. A. Botkin, taken from NEW MASSES, vol. XXVII (May 10, 1938), no. 7, section two, pg. 109:
The Brooklyn girls are tough,
The Brooklyn girls are smart,
But it takes a New York girl
To break a fellow's heart!]

Pg. 23:
Old Mother Hubbard went to the cupboard
To get her daughter a dress;
When she got there the cupboard was bare;
And so was her daughter, I guess.
Jan. 28, 1938

Remember me in friendship;
Remember me in love;
Remember me, dear friend,
In our better home above.

Ashes to ashes,
 Dust to dust;
If you don't go to heaven,
To _school_ you must.

If the river was whiskey;
And I were a duck,
I'd dive to the bottom
And never come up.

When you get married
And live in the South,
Remember me by
My big mouth.
  Yours till kitchen sinks.

If in heaven we don't meet,
Hand in hand we'll stand the heat.
  Yours till the pillow slips.

Love many; trust few;
Always paddle your own canoe.
  Yours till window pains. (panes)

Pg. 24:
When you get poor and have no hay,
Just sign up on the W.P.A.

Love is like a lump of gold,
Hard to get and hard to hold.
  Yours until the moon turns over.

When heaven draws back its curtain,
And pins it with a star,
Remember you always have a friend,
No matter where you are.
Jan. 19, 1939

Pg. 27:
When you're in love, it's hearts;
When your engaged, it's diamonds;
When you're married, it's clubs;
And when you die, it's spades.
1/12/37

When you get married
And live in a flat,
Send me a picture
Of your first little brat.
  Yours until horse flies.
Dec. 8, 1937

As sure as the vine
Goes round the stump,
I am your darling
Sugar lump.
(Note: No. 70 is an old one. I found this, or much the same thing in an old album written in 1866. Ed.)

Love many; hate few;
Always paddle your own canoe.
(Note: Variations of this seem to be in all albums. Ed.)

Pg. 28:
Can't write; too dumb;
Inspiration won't come.
Blue ink; blue pen,
Good Luck! Amen.

There's old ship;
THere's new ship,
But there's no ship
Like friendship.

Pg. 29:
U R
2 sweet
2 be
-------
4 gotten

When you get married and think your husband is sweet,
Pull off his hoes an smell his feet.

Don't make love by the garden gate,
Because love is blind, but the neighbors ain't.

City of pans, state of dishes;
Lots of love, and plenty of kisses.

Apples on the table, peaches on the shelf;
I'm getting tired of sleeping by myself.

You're my all-day study, my midnight dream,
Sweet in my coffee, my cold ice cream.

Early to bed,
Early to rise,
And your girl goes out
With other guys.


WEST VIRIGINIA FOLKLORE, Spring 1958, Vol. VIII, no. (?)
Pg. ?
Sitting on the front porch,
Chewing chewing gum;
Along came a Nigger and (beggar?)
Asked for some.
"No, you dirty Nigger! (beggar?)
No, you son-of-a-gun.
I wouldn't give you none
For a great big bum!"
(This is a variation of a similar one in _West Virginia Folklore_ (II, 3) and _Hosier Folklore_, (VII, 1).

Pg. 40:
  New York. (or New Orleans)

Here we come. Where you from?
New York.
What's your trade?
Lemonade.
Show us some.

Pg. 45:
Oh, Margarite, go wash your feet!
The board of health is down the street.

Tell--tale--tit,
Your tongue shall be split,
And all the dogs about the town
Shall have a little bit.

You liar, you liar,
Your pants are on fire!
Your nose is as long
As a telephone wire.

Help! Murder! Police!
Your father fell in the grease.
I laughed so hard,
I fell in the lard.
Help! Murder! Police!

Pg. 46:
Want a penny?
Go see Jack Benny.
Want a nickel?
Go suck a pickle.
Want a dollar?
Go holler.
Want a banana?
Go play the piano.

Julius Caesar, good old geezer,
Stuck his head in an ice cream freezer;
When the freezer began to freeze,
Julius Caesar began to sneeze.

Alfred Baker, the undertaker,
Stuck his head in a big stone breaker;
When the breaker began to break,
Alfred Baker began to shake.