{"id":20215,"date":"2023-05-09T10:38:52","date_gmt":"2023-05-09T10:38:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/folksongandmusichall.com\/?page_id=20215"},"modified":"2025-12-24T07:36:27","modified_gmt":"2025-12-24T07:36:27","slug":"rhymes-limerick-song","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/folksongandmusichall.com\/index.php\/rhymes-limerick-song\/","title":{"rendered":"Rhymes [limerick song]"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
AKA<\/strong><\/td>Sing us another one do<\/td><\/tr>
First Published<\/td>1931<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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Writer\/composer<\/td>Leslie Sarony<\/td>Roud<\/strong><\/td>RN10247<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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Music Hall Performers<\/strong><\/td>Leslie Sarony<\/td><\/tr>
Folk performances<\/strong><\/td>Collected from the singing of:<\/strong>
Crumit, Frank; USA : New York 1932
Easton, Robert; USA : California; 1960
Lewis, Clayton; Canada : Nova Scotia; 1970
Barrington, Wayne; Canada : Newfoundland 1971
Hall, Gordon; England : Sussex ; 1989<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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I'm just about to hold the competition,\nIt's just a little bright idea of mine,\nI'm going to write a rhyming composition'\nAnd then leave you to add the ending line;\nI'll sing the whole thing first in case of doubt,\nThe second time I'll leave the last line out.\n\nThere was a young lady of the Ealing\nWho walked upside-down on the ceiling,\nShe fell on her neck\nAnd she shouted \"By heck!\nIt's a very peculiar feeling!<\/em>\n\nThat was a cute little rhyme,\nSing us another one do...\n\nThere was a young fellow of Cosham,\nWho took out his false teeth to wash 'em,\nHis wife said \"Oh Jack!\"\nIf you don't put them back\nLa da<\/em> da<\/em> da<\/em> da<\/em> da<\/em>  da<\/em> da<\/em> da<\/em> da<\/em>.\n\nThat was a cute little rhyme,\nSing us another one do...\n\nThere was a young man of Calcutta,\nWho was having a sleep in the gutter,\nThe heat from the sun\nBurnt him up like a bun\nLa da da da da da  da da da da.<\/em>\n\nThat was a cute little rhyme,\nSing us another one do...\n\nThere was a young man from Kildare,\nWho was playing at golf on a chair,\nOn the very last stroke,\nWhy the blessed chair broke,\nLa da da da da da  da da da da.<\/em>\n\nMy limericks must have met with approbation\nThe fact you listened to them tells me so\nI hope to win still further admiration \nBy giving you a few more that I know;\nAnd let me say my motto's always been\nI may not be clever, but I'm clean..\n\n[EXTRA CHORUSES]\n\nThere was a young man of Saint Pauls \nWho once did a turn on the Halls, \nHis favourite trick\nWas to stand on a stick \nLa da da da da da  da da da da.<\/em>\n\nThat was a cute little rhyme,\nSing us another one do...\n\nThere was a young fellow named Skinner \nWho once took a girl out to dinner,\nAt a quarter to nine\nThey sat down to dine, \nLa da da da da da  da da da da.<\/em>\n\nThat was a cute little rhyme,\nSing us another one do...\n\nThere was a young man of South Wales \nWho lived upon fruit juice and snails, \nWhen he couldn't get these\u2014\nHe lived upon cheese,\nLa da da da da da  da da da da.<\/em>\n\nThat was a cute little rhyme,\nSing us another one do...\n\nThere was a young lady of Hitchin,\nWho was scratching her nose in the kitchen, \nHer mother said \"Rose,\nGnats I suppose?\"\nLa da da da da da  da da da da.<\/em>\n\nThat was a cute little rhyme,\nSing us another one do...\n\nThere was a young lady of Gloucester \nWho's parents thought they had lost her, \nBut it came to pass\nShe was found on the grass\nLa da da da da da  da da da da.<\/em>\n\nThat was a cute little rhyme,\nSing us another one do...\n\nThere was a young man of Belgrave \nWho was having a rest in a cave, \nHe said \"I admit \nI'm a bit of a nit\" \nLa da da da da da  da da da da.<\/em>\n\nThat was a cute little rhyme,\nSing us another one do...\n\nThere was a young girl of Cathcart \nWho made a most wonderful tart, \nClay from a pit,\nDonkey's harness and grit, \nLa da da da da da  da da da da.<\/em>\n\nThat was a cute little rhyme,\nSing us another one do...\n\nThere was a young lady of Kent\nWho was always behind with the rent, \nThe landlord said \"Miss,\nGive me a kiss\u2014\"\nLa da da da da da  da da da da.<\/em>\n\nThat was a cute little rhyme,\nSing us another one do...\n\n\nThere was a young fellow of Chislehurst\nBefore he could sing had to whistle first\nOne hot day in June\nHe forgot the darn tune\nLa da da da da da  da da da da.<\/em>\n\nThat was a cute little rhyme,\nSing us another one do...\n\n<\/pre>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Another comic dance song from the 1930s composed, written and sung Lesley Sarony<\/a> …<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Although limericks have been around since the early 1700s or earlier, it’s often been suggested that their modern popularity started when Edward Lear championed them in the late 19th century. The origin of the term Limerick <\/em>is a bit obscure – one theory is that they were popularised  in the 1750s by a group of Irish poets who composed  Gaelic poems in their drinking sessions at a pub in Croom, County Limerick. I suspect this is just a nice story and the form certainly goes back much further.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One factor which may be relevant and help to contextualise Sarony’s first verse: Britain in  the first 40 years of the 20th century there were thousands of regular limerick competitions, inviting readers to write or complete limericks. For 12 months in 1907\/08 there was a national limerick craze that didn’t completely subside until the late 30s. Competitors often had to pay a small entrance fee with the prospect of a large prize and the suspicion was that winners were randomly selected, the “competitions” were a way of bypassing  gambling laws –  lotteries in all but name ….<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The history of songs based on limericks is, I suspect,  yet,to be written, but songs of this type were fairly common in the halls. This one is relatively  well-known and later appeared in the repertoire of Albert Whelan, Jimmy Edwards, Max Bygraves and the cast of the TV series It Ain’t Half Hot Mum.<\/em> Other examples  of songs constructed from limericks are George Lashwood’s Fol-the-rol-lol<\/a> <\/em>from 1902 and Wilkie Bard’s Limerick Mad<\/a> <\/em>from 1907 but I suspect there are many others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This song has been collected from a number of named traditional singers, but is equally likely feature in anonymous collections of bawdy songs, as limericks have proved such a fruitful vehicle for such material… It appears in the following collections of bawdy songs and many others:<\/p>\n\n\n\n