And More Songs!

Lily requested a few other songs:

A Toad Went a Courtin'

A toad went a courtin', he did ride
A sword and a pistol by his side;
He knocked on Lady Mouse's door
And he said "Lady Mouse, are you within?" Mm-hmm.

Oh, he took Lady Mouse upon his knee
And he said, "Lady Mouse, will you marry me?"
He said, "Lady Mouse, will you marry me?" Mm-hmm.

"You'll have to ask Uncle Rat," said she;
"You'll have to ask Uncle Rat," said she;
"You'll have to ask Uncle Rat," said she. Mm-hmm.

Oh, Uncle Rat laughed till he shook his fat sides
Saying Lady Mouse must be his bride;
Saying Lady Mouse must be his bride. Mm-hmm.

Oh, where shall the wedding supper be?
Where shall the wedding supper be?
'Way down yonder in a hollow tree. Mm-hmm.


And this one (Mom sang it to us just once, and we never forgot it, to her regret; she thought it was disrespectful.):

The Old Man Died and Was Laid in His Grave

The old man died and was laid in his grave,
Laid in his grave, laid in his grave.
The old man died and was laid in his grave,
Laid, laid, laid in his grave, grave, grave.

There grew an old apple tree out of his grave,
Out of his grave, out of his grave.
There grew an old apple tree out of his grave,
Out, out, out of his grave, grave, grave.

The apples got ripe and began to fall down,
Began to fall down, began to fall down.
The apples got ripe and began to fall down,
Began, 'gan, 'gan to fall down, down, down.

There came an old woman a pickin' them up,
Pickin' them up, pickin' them up.
There came an old woman a pickin' them up,
A pick, pick, pickin' them up, up, up.

The old man arose and he hit her a clout,
Hit her a clout, hit her a clout.
The old man arose and he hit her a clout,
Hit, hit, hit her a clout, clout, clout.

This made the old woman go flipperty-flop,
Flipperty-flop, flipperty-flop.
This made the old woman go flipperty-flop,
Flip, flip, fliperty-flop, flop, flop.


I'm not really sure of all the words, I originally thought some of them were different, but I presented them here as my oldest sister Laurie (Leora) remembered them.

And the piéce de resistance - this is not quite so old, a novelty song sung by Gordon MacRae in the early '50's*. We had an old 78rpm record of it that was a gift to Lily, but she got so tired of hearing it that she hid it, and it was never found. I know where she hid it, she told me, but no one will ever find it now, because the house it was in has fallen down, and it is not only buried in rubble, but probably deteriorated to nothing (some of the words might not be exactly accurate, and don't press me for the correct spelling of the nonsense words):

The Tongi Islands

I sailed from port one summer day
And to the south I made my way,
But I got wrecked in Boski Bay
Down in the Tongi Islands.
At last I landed on the shore,
Where I found pearls and maids galore
I vowed I'd live there evermore
And never leave the Islands.

Refrain:
Hongi Tongi, hokey pokey,
Hingledy, jingledy, pokey mokey,
Hongi Tongi, hingledy gee
In the Tongi Islands.

The king was Tunci Winci Wangle
Flipsy Flopsy Whiskey Bang
And he could fling the boomerang
Around the Tongi Islands.
I said I'd be his son-in-law
And wed his daughter Wisky Wau
And we'd live in a hut of straw
Right in the Tongi Islands.

(Refrain)

My wife was kind as she could be,
And we both lived in harmony
Till all the natives envied me
Throughout the Tongi Islands;
They said my marriage they would break
And then they'd burn me at the stake;
I swore that they would never take
Me in the Tongi Islands.

(Refrain)

I knew that I could never stay
And so, when dawn turned into day,
I stole away from Boski Bay
And left the Tongi Islands.
And now at last I'm safe and sound
Once more upon me native ground
And nevermore will I be found
In the Tongi Islands.

(Refrain)

*This may have been in the '40's yet, but I was thinking it was after we got our first electric radio/record player (which happened late 1950), as opposed to our hand-cranked victrola.

(Oringally posted January 18, 2007)