Scottish Childhood Songs

I really enjoyed the discussion on childhood games, and it got me thinking of songs and chants from my my childhood. Would anyone like to share some?

Of course there's everyone's favourite 'you canny shove yer granny aff the bus', but another one I remember was 'Oh dear me, when I was wee, I used to peel the tatties. But now I'm big, and I can jig, and I can kiss the laddies'.

Does anyone have any others?

The wind blow high and the wind blows low,
Ower the hiels and on he goes,
Everybody shouts " Hello !
Donald where´s yer troosers?"

My brother is callled Donald so my sister and I used to enjoy winding him up with this when we were wee.

My sisters used to sing this one:

No body loves me everybody hates me
i think ill go and eat worms

big fat juicy ones wee skinny skooshie ones
see how they wriggle and squirm

You bite off the heads and sook up the juice
and throw the skins away

nobody knows how i survive
on worms three times a day!

Three craws sat upon a wa - loved this one :)

quickfind:rodger_moffet > "No body loves me everybody hates me
i think ill go and eat worms

big fat juicy ones wee skinny skooshie ones
see how they wriggle and squirm

You bite off the heads and sook up the juice
and throw the skins away

nobody knows how i survive
on worms three times a day!"

I know a slightly different version of that one...

nobody loves me everybody hates me
I think I'll go eat worms
big fat juicy ones short wee skinny ones
itsy bitsy fuzzy wuzzy worms
the first one was easy, the second one was greasy
the third got stuck in my throat
(can remember the rest...thankfully)

Have you read the kids book 'how to eat fried worms'? It's a modern classic that I remember from primary school and apparently they still read it today.

These are so great! I'm not from Scotland and grew up in a part of the US that was mainly German so I don't know any of these, although, the second worm song sounds familiar! Anybody got any more? I'd love to hear them!

Mud, mud, glorious mud
Nothing quite like it for cooling the blood
So follow me follow, down to the hollow
And there let me wallow in glorious mud

O ye cannae fling pieces oot a twenty-story flat,
Seven-hundred hungry weans will testify to that,
If it's butter, cheese or jeely, if the breid is plain or pan,
The odds against it reaching earth and ninety-nine to one

Oh ye cannae push yer Granny off a bus,
Oh ye cannae push yer granny off a bus,
Oh ye cannae push yer Granny
'Cos she's yer Mammy's Mammy,
Oh ye cannae push yer Granny off a bus!

One that spring to mind is Bee Baw Babbity babbity babbity ,beb baw babbity a lassie or a wee laddie( loddie). A widney hey a laddie oh a laddie oh a laddie oh a widney hey a laddie oh a wid rether hey a wee lossie. Another one would be wee Willie Winkie.

Coulters candy.
Ally bally, ally bally be, sitting on ma mammy's knee
greetin for another bawbee tae buy some coulters candy

heres a playground chant from Dundee:

eech feech hen's keech toalie bum fart

feech = muck
keech = faeces
toalie = the same

the rest you should get :-)

I know Wee Willie Winkie, Tom. My grandmother used to sing that one to me. I don't recognize the rest but they're great fun to read and think about the melodies! Keep them coming!

Love the Jeelie piece song - It was a great favourite when the high rises went up in Sandy Hills.

This one wasn't so much a song as a daft rhyme:

Dan, Dan, the funny wee man,
washed his face in a frying pan.
combed his hair wi' the leg o' a chair,
Dan, Dan, the funny wee man.

You've got me thinking now (a rare event indeed) and I can almost but not quite, recall some others. "Cod Liver Oil And The Orange Juice" being one - can remember my mother getting bottles of both when I was a kid. Both the dog and I would wait for our daily ration to be dished out. I used to try persuade my mother to give me the dog's orange juice and he could have my cod liver oil as he liked it so much - alas, she would not agree. Winter saw the inclusion of a spoonful of malt extract (not whisky!) added to the menu - I truly loathed that stuff! And yet again, I wander off the subject.......sorry!

I remember this one from Primary School (you can tell it wasnt a good school)

There was a wee man who sat on a pan
the pan was too wee so he sat in the sea
The sea was too wide so he sat in the clyde
And all the wee fishes swam up his backside!

and

Our auld School's a guid auld school
Its made wi bricks & plaister
The only thing thats wrang wi it
Is the baldy heided maister

He goes tae the pub on Saturday
And he goes tae church on Sunday
Tae pray tae God to gie him strength
Tae murder the weans on Monday

I remember my mum singing this and the jeelie piece one when we were wee!

Wow, this is getting better...just remembered another one (which funnily enough my mum sings when she's cuddling our puppy!)

Shoo shuggy, ower the glen
mammie's pet and daddie's hen.

Then there was one my granny always did (with actions included)

Knock on the door, peep in, lift the latch and walk in
here's the table and here's the chair
and how do you do Mr Bear.
(all the 'actions' are done on your head)

quickfind:doonhamer > "Oh ye cannae push yer Granny off a bus,
Oh ye cannae push yer granny off a bus,
Oh ye cannae push yer Granny
'Cos she's yer Mammy's Mammy,
Oh ye cannae push yer Granny off a bus"

and we added

But you can shove your other granny
coz she's your daddy's mammy,
but you cannae shove your granny off the bus.

This was one of the ones I remember most:

Who killed Cock Robin?
I, said the Sparrow,
With my bow and arrow,
I killed Cock Robin.

Who saw him die?
I, said the Fly,
With my little eye,
I saw him die.

Who caught his blood?
I, said the Fish,
With my little dish,
I caught his blood.

Who'll make his shroud?
I, said the Beetle,
With my thread and needle,
I'll make his shroud.

Who'll carry him to his grave?
I, said the Kite,
If it's not in the night,
I'll carry him to his grave.

Who'll dig his grave?
I, said the Owl,
With my spade and shovel.
I'll dig his grave.

Who'll carry the link?
I, said the Linnet,
I'll fetch it in a minute,
I'll carry the link.

Who'll be chief mourner?
I, said the Dove,
I'll mourn for my love,
I'll be chief mourner.

Who'll sing the psalm?
I, said the Thrush
As he sat on a bush,
I'll sing the psalm.

Who'll be the parson?
I, said the Rook,
With my little book,
I'll be the parson.

Who'll be the clerk?
I, said the Lark,
If it's not in the dark,
I'll be the clerk.

Who'll toll the bell?
I, said the Bull,
Because I can pull,
I'll toll the bell.

And all the little birds
Fell a-sighing and a.-sobbing,
When they heard the bell toll
For poor Cock Robin.

and this was a favorite:

The wee cock sparra sat oan a barra
The wee cock sparra sat oan a barra
The wee cock sparra sat oan a barra
Chirpin' awa' as blythe as could be

Alang came a boay wae a bow and an arra
Alang came a boay wae a bow and an arra
Alang came a boay wae a bow and an arra
And he said "Ah'll get you, ye wee cock sparra"

The boay wae the arra let fly at the sparra
The boay wae the arra let fly at the sparra
The boay wae the arra let fly at the sparra
And he hit a man that wis hurling a barra.

The man wae the barra came ower wae the arra
The man wae the barra came ower wae the arra
The man wae the barra came ower wae the arra
And said "ye tak me fur a wee cock sparra?"

The man hit the boay though he wisnae his farra
The man hit the boay though he wisnae his farra
The man hit the boay though he wisnae his farra
And the boay stood and glowered, he wis hurt tae the marra

And a' this time, the wee cock sparra
And a' this time, the wee cock sparra
And a' this time, the wee cock sparra
Wis chirping away oan the shaft o' the barra.

I remember the Cock Robin song, too. And I thought all this time me mum was singing Irish lullabies! LOL

Skinnymalinky long legs, big banna feet , went tae the pictures but couldny find a seat, when she fun a seat she fell fast asleep, skinnymalinky long legs big banna feet.

Thought everyone might like to see this if you haven't already. Hope it works, as it's my first attempt so apologies if you cant see anything!

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woops, ignore the previous post...not very good at this as you can tell, here are the links to the youtube clips

Sorry, will need to get someone to show me how to attach the actual clip sometime!

well, look at that...I did it after all!!!