"Miss Lucy had a baby...", also known by various other names, is an American

schoolyard rhyme A children's song may be a nursery rhyme set to music, a song that children invent and share among themselves or a modern creation intended for entertainment, use in the home or education. Although children's songs have been recorded and studied ...

. Originally used as a jump-rope chant, it is now more often sung alone or as part of a

clapping game A clapping game (or hand game) is a type of usually cooperative (i.e., non- competitive) game which is generally played by two players and involves clapping as a rhythmic accompaniment to a singing game or reciting of a rhyme, often nursery r ...

. It has many variations, possibly originating from it, or from its predecessors.Henninger, Jessie.
Miss Susie Had a Steamboat: I. Structure
at ''The Raveled Sleeve''. 29 November 2008. Accessed 16 January 2014.Henninger, Jessie.
Miss Susie Had a Steamboat: V. Versions of the Rhyme Used in This Essay
at ''The Raveled Sleeve''. 29 November 2008. Accessed 12 January 2014. The song is often combined or confused with the similar but cruder "

Miss Susie had a steamboat "Miss Susie had a steamboat", also known as "Hello Operator",Mayfield, Josh. at ''Inky's Linkies''. 3 Apr 2004. Accessed 13 Jan 2014. "Miss Suzy", "Miss Lucy", and many other names, is the name of an American schoolyar ...

", which uses the same tune and was also used as a jump-rope game.

Structure

As in "Miss Susie", the rhyme is organized by its meter, an

accentual verse Accentual verse has a fixed number of stresses per line regardless of the number of syllables that are present. It is common in languages that are stress-timed, such as English, as opposed to syllabic verse which is common in syllable-timed langua ...

, in

trimeter In poetry, a trimeter (Greek for "three measure") is a metre of three metrical feet per line. Examples: : When here // the spring // we see, : Fresh green // upon // the tree. See also * Anapaest An anapaest (; also spelled anapæst or anap ...

Accentual verse Accentual verse has a fixed number of stresses per line regardless of the number of syllables that are present. It is common in languages that are stress-timed, such as English, as opposed to syllabic verse which is common in syllable-timed langua ...

allows for set number of accents regardless of the number of syllables in the verse. It is a common form in English folk verse, especially in

nursery rhyme A nursery rhyme is a traditional poem or song for children in Britain and many other countries, but usage of the term dates only from the late 18th/early 19th century. The term Mother Goose rhymes is interchangeable with nursery rhymes. From ...

s and jump-rope rhymes. The song shares much of the same melody as the 1937 " The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down" used by

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

as the theme to their ''

Looney Tunes ''Looney Tunes'' is an American animated comedy short film series produced by Warner Bros. starting from 1930 to 1969, concurrently with its partner series '' Merrie Melodies'', during the golden age of American animation. ...

'' cartoons.

History

The history of the

Miss Susie "Miss Susie had a steamboat", also known as "Hello Operator",Mayfield, Josh. at ''Inky's Linkies''. 3 Apr 2004. Accessed 13 Jan 2014. "Miss Suzy", "Miss Lucy", and many other names, is the name of an American schoolyard ...

similar rhyme has been studied, tracing it back to the 1950s, in Josepha Sherman's article published by the

American Folklore Society The American Folklore Society (AFS) is the US-based professional association for folklorists, with members from the US, Canada, and around the world, which aims to encourage research, aid in disseminating that research, promote the responsible ...

. However, several other books and articles show similar versions used as far back as the end of the 19th century.Cray, Ed. ''The Erotic Muse: American Bawdy Songs'' 2nd ed.
p. 173 ff.
UIP (

Champaign Champaign ( ) is a city in Champaign County, Illinois, United States. The population was 88,302 at the 2020 census. It is the tenth-most populous municipality in Illinois and the fourth most populous city in Illinois outside the Chicago metropo ...

), 1999. Accessed 13 January 2014. "Miss Lucy" probably developed from verses of much older (and cruder) songs, although the opposite may also be true, most commonly known as "

Bang Bang Rosie "Bang Bang Lulu" is a traditional American song with many variations. It derives from older songs most commonly known as "Bang Bang Rosie" in Ireland, "Bang Away Lulu" in Appalachia,Cray, Ed. ''The Erotic Muse: American Bawdy Songs'' 2nd&nbs ...

" in Britain, "Bang Away Lulu" in

Appalachia Appalachia () is a cultural region in the Eastern United States that stretches from the Southern Tier of New York State to northern Alabama and Georgia. While the Appalachian Mountains stretch from Belle Isle in Newfoundland and Labrador, ...

, and "

My Lula Gal "Bang Bang Lulu" is a traditional American song with many variations. It derives from older songs most commonly known as "Bang Bang Rosie" in Ireland, "Bang Away Lulu" in Appalachia,Cray, Ed. ''The Erotic Muse: American Bawdy Songs'' 2nd&nbs ...

" in the

West West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...

.Logsdon, Guy. ''The Whorehouse Bells Are Ringing and Other Songs Cowboys Sing''
pp. 154 ff.
1995 reprint of UIP (

), 1989. Accessed 13 January 2014. (NB: Logsdon's versions are set to the separate tune of the bluegrass traditional "

Roll in My Sweet Baby's Arms "Roll in My Sweet Baby's Arms" is an American traditional song. It seems to have developed from lyrics in the cowboy song "My Lula Gal", itself a development of bawdy British and Appalachian songs generally known as "Bang Bang Rosie" or "Bang Away ...

".) These songs were sometimes political, usually openly crude, and occasionally infanticidal. In those songs, the baby, that was dropped in the

chamber pot A chamber pot is a portable toilet, meant for nocturnal use in the bedroom. It was common in many cultures before the advent of indoor plumbing and flushing toilets. Names and etymology "Chamber" is an older term for bedroom. The chamber p ...

bathtub, was referencing an enormously popular mascot of

Force cereal Force was the first commercially successful wheat flake breakfast cereal. Prior to this, the only successful wheat-based cereal products had been Shredded Wheat and the hot semolina cereal, Cream of Wheat. The product was cheap to produce and ...

named Sunny Jim, introduced in the United States in 1902 and in Britain a few years later. Following his declining popularity, the baby is now usually encountered as Tiny Tim, once famous as a Depression-era comic strip and still well known as a character in

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...

's '' A Christmas Carol''. The verse was first recorded as a joke in the 1920s and as the modern children's song in New York in 1938. Although the song derives from lyrics about an unwed whore, few children consider that Miss Lucy might be unmarried; instead, the concern of the song has shifted to the appearance of new siblings. The opening lines now often change to "My mother had a baby..." or "I had a little brother..." The variants including a woman with an

alligator An alligator is a large reptile in the Crocodilia order in the genus ''Alligator'' of the family Alligatoridae. The two Extant taxon, extant species are the American alligator (''A. mississippiensis'') and the Chinese alligator (''A. sinensis'' ...

purse urging the baby's mother to vote have been seen as a reference to

Susan B. Anthony Susan B. Anthony (born Susan Anthony; February 15, 1820 – March 13, 1906) was an American social reformer and women's rights activist who played a pivotal role in the women's suffrage movement. Born into a Quaker family committed to so ...

, an American

suffragette A suffragette was a member of an activist women's organisation in the early 20th century who, under the banner "Votes for Women", fought for the right to vote in public elections in the United Kingdom. The term refers in particular to members ...

,Hollihan, Kerrie. ''Rightfully Ours: How Women Won the Vote''
p. 78
Chicago Review Press (Chicago), 2012. Accessed 13 January 2014. It was later attributed to a social worker which was their typical dress code in the 1950s A version of the song appeared in

Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featur ...

's 1964 film ''

Marnie ''Marnie'' is an English crime novel, written by Winston Graham and first published in 1961. It has been adapted as a Marnie (film), film, a stage play and an Marnie (opera), opera. Plot ''Marnie'' is about a young woman who makes a living by em ...

'', about a woman overcoming a childhood trauma. Although the ending seems closed, some argue the song serves to

ironically Irony (), in its broadest sense, is the juxtaposition of what on the surface appears to be the case and what is actually the case or to be expected; it is an important rhetorical device and literary technique. Irony can be categorized into ...

establish that nothing ever was wrong with the title character. It also appears in

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, whil ...

singer

Chely Wright Chely Wright (born Richell Rene Wright; October 25, 1970) is an American activist, author and country music artist. She initially rose to fame as a commercial country recording artist with several charting singles, including the number one hit, ...

's song "Alligator Purse" from her 1996 album ''

Right in the Middle of It ''Right in the Middle of It'' is a studio album by American country artist Chely Wright. The album was released January 9, 1996 on PolyGram/Mercury Records and contained 11 tracks. The album was co-produced by Ed Seay and Harold Shedd. Although cri ...

''. In the 1990s the singer Lucy Peach popularized a version of the song with the words "I had a little turtle, its name was Tiny Tim". Following that, there have been versions of "Miss Suzy had a turtle, she called it Tiny Tim", and an

Egyptian Tortoise Kleinmann's tortoise (''Testudo kleinmanni''), also called commonly the Egyptian tortoise, Leith's tortoise, and the Negev tortoise, is a critically endangered species of neck-hiding tortoise in the family Testudinidae. The species is native t ...

was named Tiny Tim at the

Zoological Society of London The Zoological Society of London (ZSL) is a charity devoted to the worldwide conservation of animals and their habitats. It was founded in 1826. Since 1828, it has maintained the London Zoo, and since 1931 Whipsnade Park. History On 29 ...

Whipsnade Zoo ZSL Whipsnade Zoo, formerly known as Whipsnade Wild Animal Park, is a zoo and safari park located at Whipsnade, near Dunstable in Bedfordshire, England. It is one of two zoos (the other being ZSL London Zoo in Regent's Park, London) that are ow ...

. The Australian children's music group ''

The Wiggles The Wiggles are an Australian children's music group formed in Sydney in 1991. The group are currently composed of Anthony Field, Lachlan Gillespie, Simon Pryce and Tsehay Hawkins, as well as supporting members Evie Ferris, John Pearce, ...

'' made a version called ''

Murray Murray may refer to: Businesses * Murray (bicycle company), an American manufacturer of low-cost bicycles * Murrays, an Australian bus company * Murray International Trust, a Scottish investment trust * D. & W. Murray Limited, an Australian whole ...

'' had a Turtle.

The nicknames 'Miss Lucy' and 'Tiny Tim'

The fish Chrysoblephus gibbiceps nicknamed ''Miss Lucy'' in Western Africa The nickname 'Miss Lucy' has been used in the context of literature and art: * Miss Lucy is the main character in the song " Miss Lucy Long", introduced in 1843, which has the same

meter The metre ( British spelling) or meter ( American spelling; see spelling differences) (from the French unit , from the Greek noun , "measure"), symbol m, is the primary unit of length in the International System of Units (SI), though its pr ...

and rhythmic structure of a repeated couplet, and a very similar tune. The song was popular at

blackface Blackface is a form of theatrical makeup used predominantly by non-Black people, Black people to portray a caricature of a Black person. In the United States, the practice became common during the 19th century and contributed to the spread of ...

minstrel show The minstrel show, also called minstrelsy, was an American form of racist theatrical entertainment developed in the early 19th century. Each show consisted of comic skits, variety acts, dancing, and music performances that depicted people spe ...

s. * 'Miss Lucy Neal' was a popular African-American song published in 1854. * 'Miss Luce Negro' - was the nickname of a brothel owner hypothesized to be the Dark Lady in several of William Shakespeare's writings. A version of the song has been "Miss Lucy had a steamboat". A famous steamboat disaster tied to the name Lucy occurred in 1844, when the Lucy Walker steamboat, a ship named after a race-horse owned by a

Cherokee The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, th ...

native American and run by a team of his

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

slaves, blew up. In Western Africa, the name "Miss Lucy" is the nickname of an endangered species of fish Chrysoblephus gibbiceps. The nickname 'Tiny Tim' has been used in the context of art and literature; * Tiny Tim is the nickname of a fictional character Timothy Cratchit in 'A Christmas Carol' by

from 1843. * Herbert Khauri, the American singer and

ukulele The ukulele ( ; from haw, ukulele , approximately ), also called Uke, is a member of the lute family of instruments of Portuguese origin and popularized in Hawaii. It generally employs four nylon strings. The tone and volume of the instrumen ...

player began using the stage name ''Tiny Tim'' in 1962.

Lyrics

Several versions exist, varying across time and regionally: America
(early version)
: :Miss Susie had a baby :His name was Tiny Tim :She put him in the bathtub :To see if he could swim. :He drank up all the water. :He ate up all the soap. :He tried to eat the bathtub :But it wouldn't go down his throat. :Miss Susie called the doctor. :The doctor called the nurse. :The nurse called the lady :With the alligator purse. :Out ran the doctor. :Out ran the nurse. :Out ran the lady :With the alligator purse.* :And now Tiny Tim :Is home sick in bed, :With soap in his throat :And bubbles in his head.
*(Also: "With a baby in her purse.") Britain
(1970s)
: :The Johnsons had a baby :They called him Tiny Tim, Tim, Tim :They put him in a bathtub :To see if he could swim, swim, swim :He drank up all the water :He ate a bar of soap, soap, soap :"Mummy, mummy, I feel ill :"Send for the doctor down the hill" :In came the doctor :In came the nurse :In came the lady :With the alligator purse :"Doctor, doctor, will I die?" :"Yes, my son, but do not cry. :"Close your eyes and :"Count to ten." :1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 :6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10 :Out went the doctor :Out went the nurse :Out went the lady :With the alligator purse : : : : :Miss Lucy had a baby, :she called him Tiny Tim! :She put him in the bathtub :to see if he could swim. :He drank up all the water, :he ate up all the soap. :He tried to eat the bathtub :but it wouldn't go down his throat. :Miss Lucy called the doctor, :Miss Lucyor: ''the doctor'' called the nurse. :Miss Lucyor: ''The nurse'' called the lady :with the alligator purse. :In cameor: ''walked'' the doctor, :in came the nurse. :In came the lady :with the alligator purse. :'Mumps' - said the doctor. :'Measles'- said the nurse. :'Nothing' - said the lady :with the alligator purse. : or :'Cough'- said the doctor. :'Cold' - said the nurse. :'Pizza' - said the lady :with the alligator purse. :Miss Lucy hit the doctor :Miss Lucy slapped the nurse :Miss Lucy paid the lady :with the alligator purse :Out went the water. :Out went the soap, :Out went the bathtub,or: ''bubbles'' :that wouldn't go down his throat. :Out went the doctor, :Out went the nurse. :Out went the lady :with the alligator purse.

Structure

History

The nicknames 'Miss Lucy' and 'Tiny Tim'

Lyrics

See also

References

External links