What a fun subject, and what a great idea, David. Megan, having missed this thread the first time I’m glad you resurrected it. I have a fascinating book called Folklore on the American Land, by Duncan Emrich, that includes some jump-rope rhymes in the section on children’s folklore. They were collected at an elementary school in Washington, D.C. in the 1960s. Here’s a sweet example. It reminds me of "Sumer is icumen in":
Blackbird whistle, woodpecker drum,
"Spring has come, Spring has come."
Cardinal sing in the maple tree,
"Spring is here for you and me."
Longer day and shorter night,
Little boy, bring out your kite.
Emrich includes others I remember from my childhood in Buffalo in the 1970s, like "Ladybug, ladybug, turn around" and a version of the one Alicia quoted way upstream, about Miss Suzie, Tiny Tim, and the lady with the alligator purse. Miss Suzie has longevity! My seven-year-old daughter, who has just gotten into jump-rope games, knows another variant of it in which Tiny Tim floats up in a soap bubble that pops at the end.
|