The Antiquity of the Novelty Song
An odd thing I discovered while searching for details of a quite different nursery song for someone.
Nursery Antiquities, from Popular Rhymes and Nursery Tales by James Orchard Halliwell"The following has been traced to the time of Henry VI., a singular doggerel, the joke of which consists in saying it so quickly that it cannot be told whether it is English or gibberish:
"In fir tar is,
In oak none is,
In mud eel is,
In clay none is,
Goat eat ivy,
Mare eat oats."
(Assuming you all know the song "Mares eat oats"?)
Nursery Antiquities, from Popular Rhymes and Nursery Tales by James Orchard Halliwell"The following has been traced to the time of Henry VI., a singular doggerel, the joke of which consists in saying it so quickly that it cannot be told whether it is English or gibberish:
"In fir tar is,
In oak none is,
In mud eel is,
In clay none is,
Goat eat ivy,
Mare eat oats."
(Assuming you all know the song "Mares eat oats"?)