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Little Misses Mary Mack and Lucy


My son is back in camp after the weekend away. Sometimes when I pick him up, he has a repertoire of chanting, singy-songs he goes through. Often these are unfamiliar to me, but sometimes I am stunned to hear the same words sung by him and and his classmates that I sang when I was in grade school myself, all those years ago and in a different city. The latest one is "Miss Mary Mack, Mack, Mack; all dressed in black, black, black" with those silver buttons down her back. How do kids all end up with these same songs? I have a hard time imagining parents teaching them. How do these silly, nonsense songs survive generation to generation? Who knows. But now that I'm thinking about these songs (and the clapping games that went with them), here's another I remember from when I was perhaps a couple of years older than my son is now. I haven't heard this one from him yet. Maybe you'll remember it, too. If you do (or even if you don't), hope it brings a smile.

Miss Lucy had a steamboat, the steamboat had a bell.
Miss Lucy went to heaven and the steamboat went to—
HELL-o, operator, please give me number nine,
and if you disconnect me, I will paddle your—
BEHIND the 'frigerator, there was a piece of glass
Miss Lucy sat upon it and she broke her little—
ASK me no more questions, I'll tell you no more lies.
The boys are in the bathroom, pulling down their—
FLIES are in the city, the bees are in the park,
The boys and girls are kissing in the
D-A-R-K dark!

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Maria Verivaki said…
sometimes i remember crazy verses from my childhood, which make absolutely no sense to my children (or any modern children)
July 14, 2009 at 2:44 AM

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