The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #79504   Message #1452009
Posted By: Azizi
04-Apr-05 - 05:08 PM
Thread Name: Lyr Req: Don't Touch the Bumble Bee
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Don't Touch the Bumble Bee
This song seems very much like the profanity avoidance rhymes that many generations of children have known and enjoyed, including children nowadays.

"Miss Susie Had A Steamboat" appears to be the most widely known contemporary example of these profanity avoidance rhymes.
The name of the female might be "Lucy", "Mary" or Lula" and the boat might be a tugboat..

The bumblebee has a featured role in thess rhyme. Here is a representative example of this rhyme:

MISS SUSIE HAD A STEAMBOAT
Miss Suzie had a steamboat
the steamboat had a bell
the steamboat went to heaven
Miss Suzie went to
hello operator give me # 9
if you disconnect me I'll chop off your
behind the fridgerator
there was a piece of glass
Miss Suzie slipped upon it
and broke her little
ask me no more questions
tell me no more lies
boys are in the bathroom
zipping up their
flies are in the meadow
bees are in the park
Suzie and her boyfriend
are kissing in the
d.a.r.k. d.a.r.k....
darker than the ocean
darker than the sea
darker than the underware
my grandma puts on me..

-snip-

There are numerous variants of this rhyme.

And here's another profanity avoidance rhyme that features a bumble bee that I found in an old Mudcat thread. I apologize if I am violating any site rule by re-posting this comment:

Subject: RE: Naughty kids'greatest hits
From: Laoise - PM
Date: 15 Sep 97 - 10:24 AM

We had a different version to Miss Lucy...

Mary had a little lamb, she thought it rather silly,
She threw it up into the air and caught it by it's...
Willie was a sheep dog sitting on the ground
Along came a bee and stung him on his....
Ask no questions tell no lies,
Ever see a p'liceman doing up his....
Flies are a nuisance, bugs are worse
And this is the end of my silly little verse.

-snip-

Both of these rhymes have the same tune and are recited in a sing-song voice. The tune is quite familiar but I can't say what it's like..I was going to say "Ring Around the Rosie" but I don't think that is it exactly..

??

Azizi