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Arrangement: Ian J. Watts / Mike Wilbury · Singalongasong Band / ClassicRocks
Lyrics
One potato, two potato, three potato, four,
Five potato, six potato, seven potato more.
See a pin and pick it up, all the day you'll have good luck,
See a pin and let it lay, bad luck you'll have all the day!
Handy Spandy, Jack-a-dandy, loves plum cake and sugar candy,
He bought some at the grocer's shop, and out he came, hop, hop, hop!
Elsie Marley is grown so fine, she won't get up to feed the swine,
But lies in bed 'til eight or nine, and surely she does take her time!
Moses supposes his toes are roses, but Moses supposes erroneously,
For Moses he knows his toes aren't roses, as Moses supposes his toes to be!
Fuzzy Wuzzy was a bear, a bear was Fuzzy Wuzzy,
When Fuzzy Wuzzy lost his hair, he wasn't fuzzy, was he?
Traditional lyrics — public domain. Arrangement © Singalongasong Band / ClassicRocks.
History & Background
History & Origin
This recording brings together a collection of short counting rhymes and playground dips, each with its own distinct character and history. "One Potato, Two Potato" itself is one of the most widely used counting-out games in the English-speaking world, used by children to select who is "it" in playground games. It works by fists, which are counted off one at a time until the sequence is complete.
"See a Pin and Pick It Up" is a traditional luck rhyme recorded as early as the eighteenth century, its warning about leaving pins on the ground probably rooted in the practical dangers of sharp metal on bare floors. "Handy Spandy, Jack-a-Dandy" appears in "Tommy Thumb's Pretty Song Book" of 1744, one of the oldest collections of nursery rhymes in print. "Elsie Marley" is a satirical rhyme about a real innkeeper's wife from County Durham, notorious for her lazy ways.
"Moses Supposes" is a tongue-twister that delights in its own wordplay, built on the old word "suppose" meaning "assume". "Fuzzy Wuzzy" is a simple riddle rhyme whose bear turns out to be not very fuzzy at all. Together they make a lively and varied collection of short verse.
