New Year's Day Post On The Athenaeum

January 1, 2014: "Ring Out, Wild Bells"- Alfred Lord Tennyson/Symphony # 40 In G Minor- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

http://turcopolier.typepad.com/the_athenaeum/2014/01/ring-out-wild-bells-alfred-lord-tennyson.html

Comments

[Martha Lewis]

Wonderful Mozart! Happy New Year to all.

[Maureen Lang]

I included the bonus track Symphonie Consertante movement for you & Jeff, Martha.

Great seeing you both last night- Happy 2014.

[Mary Glover]

Oranges and lemons
Say the bells of St Clements.
You owe me five farthings
Say the bells of St Martins.
When will you pay me?
Say the bells of Old Bailey.
When I grow rich
Say the bells of Shoreditch.
When will that be?
Say the bells of Stepney.
I'm sure I don't know
Says the great bell at Bow.

Thank you for posting the Tennyson, an old favourite. Happy New Year to you, Maureen.

[Maureen Lang]

Mary Glover,

And thank you for reminding me that schoolyard game rhymes can be as fascinating as a Tennyson poem. England has some of the best children's doggerel imo, although New Orleans comes in a close second: "Anna Lacker, soda cracker, does your papa chew tobacco?" "Not last night but the night before, 24 robbers came a-knocking at my door. I got up to let them in, when I did my head began to spin (this one is quite lengthy, so won't quote it all)."

Happy 2014, Mary.

[Shirley Bolton]

Happy New Year, Maureen. When I was a girl in New Orleans we had many variations to 24 Robbers when we were jumping rope. Here is one.
Not last night but the night before
24 robbers came a-knocking at my door,
as I ran out, (run out of rope), they ran in, (jump back in)
They knocked me on the head with a rolling pin
I asked them what they wanted
and this is what they said
Spanish dancer do the splits, (jumper doing the commands after each)
Creole dancer do the kicks,
Spanish dancer turn around,
Creole dancer touch the ground,
24 dancers get out of town, (run out of rope, end of turn).

[Maureen Lang]

I remember something like that version, Shirley- betting every region of the U.S. had its particular variations. Here's a link that is an interesting resource for the history of children's game rhymes. It's a study out of the U.K., but I'll bet you recognize some you've played yourself or observed on the playground:

http://www.bl.uk/learning/langlit/playground/index.html

Happy 2014!