Mary Mack
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- See also Mary Mack (Scottish folk song); for the California Congresswoman see Mary Bono Mack.
Mary Mack is a clapping game played by children in English-speaking countries.
In the game, two children stand or sit opposite to each other, and clap hands in tune to rhyming song.
The same song is also used as a jumprope rhyme.
Contents |
[edit] Rhyme
Various versions of the song exist; a common version goes:
- Miss Mary Mack, Mack, Mack
- All dressed in black, black, black
- With silver buttons, buttons, buttons
- All down her back, back, back.
- She cannot read, read, read
- She cannot write, write, write
- But she can smoke, smoke, smoke
- Her father's pipe, pipe, pipe
- She asked her mother, mother, mother
- For 50 cents, cents, cents
- To see the elephants, elephants, elephants
- Jump over the fence, fence, fence.
- They jumped so high, high, high
- They reached the sky, sky, sky
- And they didn't come back, back, back
- 'Til the 4th of July, ly, ly!
- July can't walk, walk, walk
- July can't talk, talk, talk
- July can't eat, eat, eat
- With a knife and fork, fork, fork!
- She went up stairs, stairs, stairs
- To say her prayers, prayers, prayers
- And bumped her head, head, head
- And now she's dead, dead, dead!
Another version is this:
- Miss Mary Mack, Mack, Mack
- All dressed in black, black, black
- She has a knife, knife, knife
- Stuck in her back, back, back
- She can not breathe, breathe, breathe
- She can not cry, cry, cry
- That's why she begs, begs, begs
- When will I die, die, die♦
[edit] Another Version
- Miss Mary Mack, Mack, Mack
- All dressed in black, black, black
- With silver buttons, buttons, buttons
- All down her back, back, back
- She asked her mother, mother, mother
- For 50 cents, cents, cents
- To watch the elephants, elephants, elephants
- Jump over the fence, fence, fence
- They jumped so high, high, high
- They touched the sky, sky, sky
- They never came down, down, down
- Until the fourth of July, ly, ly, ly, ly, ly
[edit] Possible Origins
[edit] Merrimack
The origin of the name Mary Mack is obscure, and various theories have been proposed. According to one theory Mary Mack originally was Merrimack (an early ironclad that would have been black, with silver rivets) suggesting that the first verse refers to the Battle of Hampton Roads during the American Civil War. In America, slave children would sometimes sing the hand-clapping song while they worked.
In some variations, she asks her mother for "15 cents" rather than 50. These variations may represent an earlier version of the song, which later changed because of the speed of the rhyme and the similarity of the spoken words "fifteen" and "fifty", and because there were few things one could buy with 15 cents in the later part of the 20th century.
Another possible origin of the song from the American Civil War could be from a famous Union ship taken over by the Confederate States Army named Miss Mary Mack.
- Miss Mary Mack, Mack, Mack (name of the ship)
- All dressed in black, black, black (ironclad ships were popular at the time.)
- With silver buttons, buttons, buttons (bolts)
- All down her back, back, back (ships are referred to as females.)
- She asked her mother, mother, mother (the Confederate States of America)
- For fifteen cents, cents, cents (the Confederate States Army were going through major money problems)
- To see the elephants, elephants, elephants (elephants are the symbol of the Republican party, which was the majority of the North, and the Union)
- Jump over the fence, fence, fence (the boundary line)
- They never came back, back, back
- Until the fourth of july, ly, ly (American Independence Day)
- You lie!
