Just today I saw this corrupted version of "William Trimbletoes" on the net:
"William, William Trimble Toes,
he's a good fisherman.
Catch his hands,
put 'em in the pans,
some lay eggs some not,
wire, briar, limber lock
three geese in the flock,
one flew east, a one flew west,
one flew over the cuckoo's nest;
o u t spells out, dirty dish rag
you go out!"
Whereas I learned from my Scotch-Irish elders the following:
"William, William Trimbletoes,
he's a good fisherman,
catches hens, puts them in the pens,
some lay eggs, some none.
Wire, briar, limber, lock,
three geese in a flock.
One flew east, one flew west,
one flew over the cuckoo's nest;
O-U-T spells out goes you,
you old dirty dish rag YOU!"
This shows how folk verse, transmitted orally, can be morphed out of shape and sense. Someone must have understood "catch his hands" for "catches hens" and assumed "pans" for "pens."
G/W
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