Girls are Sexy - They Drink Pepsi
Mary had a little lamb
Her father shot it dead
Now Mary takes her lamb to school
Between two chunks of bread.
+
Cinderella dressed in yella
Went downstairs to meet her fella.
On the way down her panties busted.
How many people were disgusted?
+
Kids are masters of naughty rhymes. From eeny-meeny-miney to this sailor bloke going to sea-sea-sea, the playgrounds of the world ring with riffs and doggerels.
And I can say the world, as yesterday I visited Fitzroy Primary in Melbourne, where almost half the kids hail from Africa, adding to the mix of origins already. That global yard pealed with folklore.
The gig is my latest assignment with Sunday Life magazine, trying to capture these fugitive verses - then next to fathom what the hell they mean. And why pre-teens are hooked on the complex skipping and clapping rhythms that accompany each zippy recital. And how come they know so many? And where do they come from?
Fitzroy is a heart-lifting school. If it was wasn’t for the faces of Kabul telling me about “stupider Jupiter” or “sexy Pepsi”, then the fallen river gum in the playground will buoy anyone’s spirits.
Nothing in Fitz PS ever goes to waste. The inspired (and inspiring) principal Annie Marshall, converted the tree’s fallen branches into psychedelic murals, designed by the kids, each limb lodged upright in the yard. In the meantime, the tall leftover stump is earmarked for a project beyond suburban dreams.
Paul Allen, the chainsaw sculptor to complete the murals, is due to return to engrave all 130 of the schoolkids’ faces into the wood. Forget Fed Square, or the Eureka Tower, this sculpted flare will stand to be one of the finest landmarks in Melbourne. I can’t wait to see those naughty poets gawking back at me.
So how about you? What rhyme came in handy for chaseys? Or tiggy? Or tag? What dip-dip poem did you use to ascertain before the game who was IT?
Or what other schoolyard riffs do you know? Your kids know? For me, growing up, Popeye the Sailor Man lived in the Garbage Can. What childhood verses live in you?
August 7th, 2007 at 9:38 pm
I was at school in Melbourne in the 80’s.
1. While counting shoes in a circle to work out who was it.
There’s a party on the hill, would you like to come?
(Response: Yes)
Then bring a bottle of rum.
(Can’t afford it)
Then get lost.
Little Miss Pink fell down the sink.
How many miles did she fall?
(Response is a number, counted in shoes in the circle, final shoe is either it or out, depending on the rules)
2. General
Jingle Bells, Batman smells. Robin flew away.
Wonder Woman lost her bosoms, flying TAA.
August 7th, 2007 at 10:45 pm
Not sure if you’ll be heartened - or alarmed - to learn that all these rhymes exist in mutant forms in today’s playground.
I recall Miss Pink from an earlier lifeform too, though in my version the second line asked the question: How many bubbles did she drink?
As for smelly Batman, his fate is no longer entwined with TAA. Or Ansett. Watch for Sir Dick trying to insinuate Virgin Blue into the ditty.