"The Eagle" - off City Road, London
This week I have been singing "Pop Goes The Weasel" to our darling baby granddaughter Margot. It is a song I have known all my life but when you pause for reflection, the lyrics seem rather odd - somewhat mysterious even. Here we go:-
Half a pound of tuppenny rice,
Half a pound of treacle.
That’s the way the money goes,
Pop goes the weasel.
Up and down the City road,
In and out the Eagle,
That’s the way the money goes,
Pop goes the weasel.
Every night when I go out
The monkey’s on the table.
Take a stick and knock it off
Pop goes the weasel.
A penny for a ball of thread
Another for a needle,
That’s the way the money goes,
Pop goes the weasel.
All around the cobbler's bench
The monkey chased the people;
The donkey thought ’twas all in fun,
Pop goes the weasel.
The song has several American versions. It seems that there was a dance craze in the the 1850's that spanned The Atlantic and the only line it had was "Pop goes the weasel". The extended lyrics probably came later as the song evolved and embedded itself in the English-speaking world.
It is likely that the tune goes back much further in time and in truth the full, accurate history of "Pop Goes The Weasel" is almost impossible to tease out. There are so many theories that often contradict each other.
It is the same with many old nursery rhymes. The truth may be as elusive as butterflies or shooting stars. Time has a habit of clouding the waters making it hard to see.
Clearly, there are references in the version I have inserted above to spinning, to pawning and to London. "The Eagle" is still a pub on City Road. However, it is not clear what "the weasel" refers to and why does it go "pop"? Some think it is a device connected with the textile industry. I wouldn't like to say for sure.
What I do know is that singing old nursery rhymes to babies is a nice thing to do - entertaining them and helping to fuel their nascent language skills as well as beginning to mark their cultural identity.
Below an amateur rendition of "Pop Goes The Weasel". This is not, I repeat NOT Tasker Dunham!
from Yorkshire Pudding https://ift.tt/kxBU7cr